Marc Perkel Rantz

Democrats could stop the war if they really wanted to.

Letter to the Editor

They say that the Democrats don't have the votes to stop the war but that isn't true. Bush is going to come to Congress wanting another 50 billion dollars. Democrats have the votes to not give Bush any more money. If you fund the war you are supporting the war. I'm tired of funding the politicians who are funding the war so I refuse to give money to politicians of either party who keep voting for the war.

This week they are going to lie to us again and tell us that we're winning. We are not winning because to win we have to defeat the people who we are trying to liberate. After 5 years we are told over and over that we are almost there when the reality is that it keeps getting worse and worse. The time has come to shut it down and get out of there. If you really want to stop the war then cut off the money.

Larry Craig - is he back?

Letter to the Editor

Apparently Senator Larry Craig is considering reversing his guilty plea and fighting charges that he was trying to pick up men the restrooms for gay sex. But Larry's story just doesn't add up. For example, I'm 51 years old and been using the Men's room for a long time. Never in my life did my foot ever come close to touching the foot of the guy in the next stall. That just doesn't naturally happen. Then if Larry has a "wide stance" - if I had my legs so far apart that my foot was touching the guy in the next stall, I wouldn't be able to get my pants down. As Judge Judy would say, "If is doesn't make sense, it isn't true."

Believing doesn't make it true

Letter to the Editor

The problem with people who rely on belief think that if you believe something, and get everyone else to believe it, that makes things true. Bush thinks that if he convinces himself that we are winning in Iraq and he can get America to believe it then we win. But that's not reality and reality always wins in the end.

The reality is that we are not winning in Iraq because in order to win we have to defeat the people who we are trying to liberate. The reason there is no Iraqi army is because we destroyed and dismantled it and we can't rebuild it. Iraq has no real government. The government that's there has no power and is fighting among themselves. Iraq is now just tribes at war with each other. The only thing they all agree on is that they want us out.

So it doesn't make us a winner if we believe we are a winner. All it does is allow things to continue to get worse until we get to the point that we can no longer ignore Bush's failure. One can not achieve victory by twisting the truth and ignoring reality. So even if Bush and the Republican controlled media want you to believe that the occupation is working and you believe it, that doesn't make it so.

Things I was happy not knowing about

Letter to the Editor

They say that ignorance is bliss and the Senator Larry Craig incident has shattered my ignorant bliss. I've used the restrooms at airports for some 30 years without even considering that guys were in there trying to pick up other guys for sex. I was very happy not knowing anything about this and now when I walk into a public restroom I'm going to be aware of what might be going on around me. The innocence of just going to the bathroom is now gone.

Funding the war is the same as voting for it

Letter to the Editor

Democrats like to talk like they are against the war but now rumor has it that Bush wants another 50 billion dollars on top of another127 billion dollars that was anticipated that nill be requested this fall. If you vote to fund the war you are voting for the war. If Democrats keep voting for the war then they are no different than Republicans voting for the war. Why should we vote for people who vote with Bush?

I am calling on everyone to stop donating money to political campaigns of both parties until Congress votes against funding the war. If you give monet to a party that is enabling the war you too are voting for the war. We can't force Democrats to vote against the war unless we stop giving them money

Gay Republican Larry Craig should Resign

Letter to the Editor

In 1998 Republican Senator Larry Craig voted to impeach President Clinton over sex and perjury charges. Now Larry Craig has pleaded guilty to charges involving him attempting to have gay sex with an undercover police officer in the Men's Room of an airport. Larry claims that he is not gay and that he really didn't do what he pleaded guilty to. But when Clinton was on trial they said that it wasn't really about the sex, but that he lied under oath about it. Today Larry Craig admitted that he lied under oath to a judge when he pleaded guilty in court. Isn't that the same thing that they impeached Clinton over?

The problem with Republicans and sex scandals is that if you are going to be the party that stands up to the gay agenda then you have to get rid of senators who plead guilty in court. Besides, when I'm in the airport and I go into the Men's Room, I don't want to think about if there are gay Republican senators in there tapping their feet and looking through keyholes for someone to have oral sex with.

Bush's Brain is Retiring

Letter to the Editor

Carl Rove is knows as "Bush's Brain". Bush's Brain is retiring at the end of the month. So what's that supposed to mean for America? Considering Bush does everything wrong are we better off with his brain retired? America is in trouble.

Cheap Gas?

Letter to the Editor

People in the news are talking about gas being "cheap" because it's below $3.00 a gallon in some states. I remember when Clinton was president that cheap gas was 75 cents a gallon.

Congress Legalizes everything Bush Does

Letter to the Editor

Every time Bush breaks the law Congress legalizes what he does. When Bush illegally tapped our phones Congress passed a law suspending the 4th Amendment. When Bush set up secret prison torture camps Congress legalized secret prison torture camps. I just wish Bush would start smoking Pot and visit a Hooker so Congress would legalize Marijuana and Prostitution.

Congress votes away our Civil Liberites - Again!

Letter to the Editor - Tell me if I sound pissed off!!

Some people object to the words "Under God" in our Pledge of Allegiance but tonight find the words "Liberty and Justice for all" even more offensive. Tonight Congress voted away our liberty so they could start their summer vacation without delay. They voted to let Bush spy on us without a warrant.

I am disgusted on a level I've never experienced before. Please quit calling America a free nation when we give up our freedom by voting it away. I feel as if I should burn a flag but I question if the flag it worthy of burning because it no longer stands for anything. Our soldiers in Iraq are not even dying for the illusion of freedom anymore. We are a nation of dishonest cowards.

I have to ask the question, if the Democrats can't stand up to Bush how the hell are they going to stand up to terrorists? Bin Laden is free and we aren't. The terrorists are laughing at us tonight. They say they hate us because we're free. That reason is now gone.

Bush orders Congress tyo stay in session for more spying

Letter to the Editor

Today Bush ordered Congress to stay in session till it passes a new spying law because the secret FISA court ruled Bush's secret spying illegal. Just what we need - more Bush spying! Congress should do the same thing to Bush that Bush did when Congress issued subpoenas - ignore it. Hopefully the Democrats won't be stupid enough to give Bush more powers.

Of course Govzales is going to lie to Congress

Letter to the Editor

People seem surprised when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales lies to Congress as if they expect him to tell the truth. Why should he tell the truth? After all, who is going to investigate him? The Justice Department? He is the Justice Department. And even if he were investigated, brought to trial and convicted of perjury he'd never go to jail because Bush would pardon him just like he did for Scooter Libby. So Gonzales and anyone in the Bush administration can break the law with impunity and get away with it.

The Democrats don't have the votes to impeach Bush and Cheney. It takes two thirds of the Senate to remove Bush from office. The Democrats want to impeach Bush but nothing is going to happen unless the Republicans decide to stop the lawlessness too. The Republicans are the ones allowing Bush to flaunt the law. We need to hold the Republican party accountable for allowing the Bush administration to act lawlessly.

Where do the candidates stand on Reality?

Letter to the Editor

I believe the reason America is in trouble is that our leaders have turned their backs on reality, relying too much on faith instead. The candidates in both parties have stated how faith is part of their private and public lives. What I want to know is -- where does reality fit into your life and will you make your decisions as president based on faith or reality? I want to know if you've are willing to make a personal commitment to the pursuit of reality the way it really is and let reality guide you to restore the soul of our nation?

Where's the moral Outrage?

Letter to the Editor

I remember in 1998 when President Clinton has an encounter with Monica Lewinski. Conservatives were outraged and demanded impeachment. Clinton lacked the moral integrity to be a public servant, they claimed, because he had committed "adultery". The Neocons were salivating for a divorce saying that Hillary had to leave Bill for the self respect of women. Wendy Vitter, wife of Senator David Vitter said Hillary should not be forgiving saying, "I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary. If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me."

Now in 2007 when David Vitter who called for Clinton's resignation has been exposed having relations with multiple prostitutes you don't hear the moral outrage. No one is using the word "Adultery" to describe Vitter, nor are conservatives calling for his resignation because he has asked for and received forgiveness from God and therefore the problem is solved. I personally have a problem with giving forgiveness to those who refuse forgiveness for others who have done something similar.

If the Vitter's want to be forgiven they need to ask forgiveness from the Clintons who they attacked during their time of marital crises. These people were absolutely viscous the way they went after Bill and Hillary and now I think they should answer not for the sin of Adultery, but for what they did to the President and the country. I believe that if the Vitter's ask for grace then they should earn it by saying that are sorry for having denied grace to others.

I don't remember anything like THIS when the Jesus freaks were going after the Clintons!

From: http://frcblog.com/
Statement on Sen. David Vitter

The statement by my friend and form colleague, Louisiana Senator David Vitter, was very disappointing. He admitted to a “serious sin” in a statement he released to the press on Monday, prior to news reports revealing that his phone number appeared on a long list of client’s numbers of the now infamous DC Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey.

In the release David assumed complete responsible for what he did and that he “asked for and received forgiveness from God and [his] wife in confession and marriage counseling.” These allegations first surfaced about 4 or 5 years ago when David was considering running for governor of Louisiana. He backed away from the race admitting to marital problems and he and his wife sought counseling. This public revelation coincides with that time frame.

While I commend him on assuming personal responsibility and working to make things whole in his life, I cannot defend David’s behavior. Adultery is a serious matter that affects not only the individuals involved but families and the well being of the entire community. Voters have the right to consider issues like this when they assess the character of an elected official.

Having said that, the American people have shown themselves to be very forgiving toward a public official who admits their failures and takes redemptive steps. And despite what some have said since he released his statement, so does God. Proverbs 24:16 reads “For a righteous man many fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.” I hope to see David back on his feet again.

Chertoff has gut feeling?

Letter to the Editor

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says he has "Gut Feeling" that terrorists are going to strike something this summer. I have a gut feeling that he's just covering up for Bush and trying to distract attention away from the upcoming report that mo progress is being made in Iraq. My gut feeling is that if there were a terrorist attack that Chertoff wouldn't be any more ready than we are for Hurricane Katrina.

Republicans Making Moral Comeback!

Letter to the Editor

When Republicans held control of Congress in the 1990s the had occasional sex scandals with prostitutes and fathering children out of wedlock. But by 2006 Republican morality had sunk to a new low with conservatives like Reverend Ted Haggard having gay sex on methamphetamines and Republican Congressman Mark Foley trying to have gay sex with underage boys.

But now Republican Senator David Vitter has publicly apologized after his phone number was linked to being a client of an alleged Washington prostitution ring. What this means is that Republicans are making a moral comeback, moving from gay sex with boys on drugs to adult heterosexual sex with female prostitutes. This shows that Republicans have reversed course and are now heading back in the right direction. If this trend continues they might start talking about getting out of Iraq and balancing the federal budget.

Bush Kept his Promise

Letter to the Editor

On September 30th 2003 Bush told reporters in Chicago, "If there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated the law, the person will be taken care of..." Today Bush made good on his promise and took care of Scooter Libby by commuting his sentence. Unfortunately there is only one remedy for a president who commutes the sentence of someone who lied to cover of for his own crimes and that's impeachment. But the Republicans are standing in the way and allowing Bush to continue to be lawless.

Supreme Court gets it right on Racism

Letter to the Editor

I rarely agree with this new Supreme Court but the decision they made to make the nation more colorblind was the right decision. I'm old enough to remember when I was in the 4th grade when they stared busing kids around to schools far from their home to end segregation. I thought it was a bad idea then and it's still a bad idea today.

I agree with Justice Roberts, "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." I think that racial policies that were intended to integrate society has institutionalized segregation making us all aware of the race of a person and that race should play a role in decisions. But why is it important to classify a person based on the frequencies of light reflected by the surface of a person's skin? After all, we all come from Africa if you go back far enough and we all have black ancestors. All of humanity evolved from black people and we're all pink on the inside.

Racial identity is racist. I think that black leaders such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have done black people a disservice and that it's time that black people stop thinking of themselves as "African Americans" and start thinking of themselves as ordinary people. If we are going to have affirmative action then let it be for poor people and let's achieve integration by building the best schools in the poorest neighborhoods where they are most needed.

More confusion for school systems

Letter to the Editor

The announcement by Vice President Cheney that he is not part of the executive branch of government is going to be another burden on the school systems because text books will have to be rewritten. States that passed laws to remove evolution from science books and those who want to teach "Creation Science" and "Intelligent Design" will now have to revise text books so they can teach that the Vice President is not part of the Executive Branch of government.

After all "Checks and Balances" is just a theory because if there really were checks and balances in the Constitution the Congress wouldn't sit back and let Cheney declare he is above the law and get away with it. I think that Nancy Pelosi's decision to declare impeachment is off the table is as outrageous as Cheney's decision. Impeachment isn't an option. Impeachment is a duty the Congress is required to perform when Bush and Cheney declare themselves kings.

Cheney above the law?

Letter to the Editor

Vice President Cheney has declared that he doesn't have to comply with executive orders and that he is not part of the executive branch of government. But what's scares me more isn't just the lawlessness of it all, but the fact that we Americans stand back and allow it to happen. It blurs the line as to whether or not George Orwell's book "Animal Farm" was fiction or prophesy.

Eliminate Toll Booths to reduce Global Warming

Letter to the Editor

These days everyone talks about ways to reduce carbon emissions to fight global warming. One simple way to cut carbon emissions is to eliminate toll roads and toll bridges. Toll collection requires people sit in traffic with their engines running generating useless smog while waiting in line to pay a tax. If these tolls were eliminated then millions of tons of greenhouse gases would not be dumped into the air we breathe and it would reduce our need to buy Arab oil and avoid gas shortages that drive up prices.

A toll is a tax with a high cost to the environment. If we must pay a tax then we should raise the tax on gasoline to make up the difference. A gasoline tax doesn't require that we sit in traffic with our engines running to pay the tax. If we are going to fight global warming then we need to make changes in a carbon friendly way. So lets close down those toll booths before the ice caps melt and it's too late.

Republican Candidates Backpedal on Faith

Letter to the Editor

It was interesting to see the Republican candidates back pedal on their faith in the Bible. When asked if they literally believe that God created the world in 6 days thay all said that they didn't know. To me that means that they don't really believe in the Bible. The Bible says 6 days and that is what it means. If you believe in God you have to believe that God knows how long a day is and that those who don't believe it are rejecting the authority of the Bible.

The issue of faith is that you have to choose to believe in it regardless of the science and regardless of reason and evidence. It's a choice you have to make between faith and reality. You can't have it both ways. Science, reason, and evidence indicates the universe is about 15 billion years old. The Bible says it's 6000 years old. These views are incompatible. You have to either choose faith or reason, and when Republican candidates say they believe in the Bible but ignore what it says makes me think that they don't really have the faith they say they do.

Why Gas Prices are so High

Letter to the Editor

People are asking why gas prices are up $1.00 a gallon over last year. Some say it's because there aren't enough refineries. Some say it's because China and India are using more gas. But the real reason gas is up is because last year was an election year and this year isn't. The lowest price that gas was last year was coincidentally on election day. Maybe the solution to keeping gas prices low is to have congressional elections every 6 months.

Every Day is Memorial Day

Letter to the Editor

Memorial Day doesn't seem any different than any other day because under Bush every day is Memorial Day.

News you'll find everywhere but in America

Letter to the Editor

You would think that news that Bush stole the 2004 election too would make the news. It did. But not here in America. The BBC broke the news as the top story about "voter caging" in the 2004 election. Caging is a way of massively disqualifying voters. It's a go to jail felony that was revealed last week when Monica Goodling testified that the justice department was involved in rigging the 2004 election.

Similarly just a few days ago Bush signed a directive granting himself extraordinary powers in the event he declares an emergency. The orders designated NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive, gives Bush the powers of a dictator. Yet you won't see that story in America's news.

What we do know is that Paris Hilton is going to jail, Britney Spears is a tramp, and Lindsay Lohan crashed her car DUI. That's why we need to have a Clinton as president again because when Clinton was president if the presidents 5th cousin worked for the government it was a major scandal. With Bush as president the news is suppressed. If not for the Internet we wouldn't know what's happening in our own country. We think it's bad when Hugo Chavez takes over the media in Venezuela but the same thing has already happened here. America has a dictator and the media is his state run propaganda machine.

Voter Caging

Bush orders to be Dictator

Democrats are being tested

Letter to the Editor

The Democratic candidates claim to be against the Iraq war, but now they are facing the test. How are the going to vote on funding the war? Funding the war is the same as reauthorizing the war. You can't be against the war and vote to fund it. And to give Bush the money without conditions is to not only be stupid, but to be both stupid and cowardly. If the Democrats are to prove themselves worthy of our vote they are going to have to show that they can fight and win. If Democrats can't win against the Republicans when they have both houses of Congress then how are they going to win the war on terror?

It's time for Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama to step up and show us what they have. America needs leadership. We need a president who has the strength to do the right thing. This is where we see who is strong and who is weak. If we are going to stop this war and embrace reality we need a leader who can make it happen.

Democrats and Republicans are both losers

Letter to the Editor

Democrats and Republicans are both losers in this new agreement to fund the Iraq war. The Democrats are losers because the voters sent them there to end the war, not fund it. They are failing to do the one thing the voters wanted and failed to distinguish themselves from Republicans on the one issue that matters. The Republicans are getting what they want but if the voters hated Republicans in 2006 it's going to be far worse in 2008. The real losers are the voters who demanded that Congress accept reality and we aren't getting what we voted for. We can win a war where the enemy and the people who we are liberating are the same people.

I suppose that it's time to add "Impeach Harry Reid" and "Impeach Nancy Pelosi" stickers next to my "Impeach Bush" sticker. If Hillary votes for it she'll have some 'splainin to do.

Bloggers are Replacing the News

Letter to the Editor

Network news channels like ABC and CBS are wondering why they losing to war on news to the bloggers. The can't understand why it is that their market share is dropping. Maybe it's because they don't know what news is.

For example ABC and CBS have yet to report the power struggle between the Gonzales and then Attorney General John Ashcroft over the warrantless domestic wiretapping, Acting Attorney General James Comey testified before Congress that he prevented Gonzales from pressuring Ashcroft in his hospital bed from reauthorizing Bush's illegal wiretapping. This is news that is all over the blogs but is being ignored by ABC and CBS.

Network news has been focused on what they consider more important issues like Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears. Anna Nichole Smith got more news coverage when she died than Presidents Reagan and Ford put together. Instead of covering how many soldiers died in Iraq we have to hear about what's happening on American Idol. So people like me are turning to the bloggers for real news and leaving the network news to those who are more interested in celebrity gossip than what is happening in the world.

Falwell is in a Better Place

Letter to the Editor

With the passing of Reverend Jerry Falwell a lot of people are saying a lot of different things. Some people really liked him. Some people really hated him. But in this time of reflection on his life I think one thing that everyone can agree on is that Jerry Falwell is in a better place.

Tony Blair cuts and runs

Letter to the Editor

I think the reason that Tony Blair is resigning is that he can see that the Iraq war is about to melt down and he wants to be out of there so that it doesn't happen while he is in charge. If Bush wants the war to not fail while he is president then maybe he should do what Blair is doing and resign before Iraq melts down.

Benchmarks ignore Reality

Letter to the Editor

Bush and the Congress are talking about authorizing funding for Iraq based on "benchmarks" which require Iraq to accomplish certain feats to get continued funding. But on the eve of the Iraqi parliament starting a two month vacation we already know that Iraq isn't going to meet the benchmarks. So why bother?

This is all about stalling. Bush wants to stall because he wants to stick the failure on the next president. The Democrats want to stall because they are too chicken to cut off funding and a bad war helps them in the next election. And the Republicans have an adverse relationship with reality and are trying desperately to hold on to their denial. But the real problem is with the American people because if we aren't going to accept reality as a nation then our leaders won't either. If we continue to elect leaders because they lie and tell us what we want to hear, then who are we to complain when we believe it?

The war was fatally flawed to begin with. So if we win the war then we succeed at a failed plan. Maybe a better way to win is to fail to accomplish the failed mission. This is a war where losing is actually better than winning and the sooner we lose this war the quicker America can get back to reality. Reality is reaching out to tap America on the shoulder. The time has come to listen to the voice of reality.

War dragging Republicans Down

Letter to the Editor

Republicans are in between a rock and a hard place when it comes to their war in Iraq. With the Iraqi parliament about to take a 2 month vacation it's rather doubtful that they will be meeting the benchmarks that they seem to favor. On one hand Republicans don't want to lose the war. But it's not a matter of if we lose but when and the longer we wait the bigger we lose. The only things that all Iraqis agree on is that Americans should get out.

America is still in denial about the war but the denial is wearing off. If Americans didn't like the war in the 2006 elections they really won't like the war in the 2008 election. One thing that might be useful about the war is that the Republicans own it and the longer it goes on the more the Democrats get to rub their noses in it. It will be interesting to see how long the Republicans will support a war that is dragging them down.

Time for Democrats to Pull the Plug

Letter to the Editor

In 2006 America elected the Democrats to shut down the war. We didn't elect them to create political theater pretending to oppose the war while still passing the funding to sustain it. Now is the time when we'll see if the Dems have what it takes to do what the voters want. We want it shut down now. This should be easy. They don't have to give Bush something that he'll agree to. All they have to do is nothing. Don't fund the troops. Let the war starve.

Bush wants the war to continue and I wonder if the Democrats want it to continue as well. The worse things get the better it is for them in the 2008 elections. Democrats have shown no political courage to do the right thing. They sat silently as Bush passed laws authorizing torture, domestic spying, secret prisons, and the shredding of the Constitution. They didn't oppose the war until opposing the war was cool. Now Democrats have to show they have what it takes to lead, that they are not the party of the weak and stupid. This is their test. This is where they earn their paycheck.

Stop supporting the Troops

Letter to the Editor

On the fourth anniversary of Mission Accomplished it's clear that Bush has the war so screwed up that it's not winnable. We don't even know who the enemy is that and every day we are there we are hurting America. We elected the Democrats to get us out of Iraq, not to pass non-binding symbolic votes. It's time for Democrats to pull the plug. Supporting the troops is supporting the war. Voting for funding is the same as reauthorizing the war. Why should we keep sending soldiers to die for nothing. It's time to pull the plug and get out now.

Mike Gravel

Letter to the Editor

I watched the first debate between the Democratic candidates for president tonight not expecting to change my mind or be impressed by anyone. One of the candidates, Mike Gravel, was a name I never heard before. Although I liked what everyone who I knew said, I was really impressed with this new guy because he gets it on the Iraq issue.

Mike Gravel fully understands that the war in Iraq wasn't only a crime, but that Democrats need to take extreme measures to shut down the war and shut down the Bush administration now. Although he probably has zero chance of winning I was impressed enough to go to his web site to make a donation. Unfortunately his web site was so overloaded that I couldn't get in. But I like what he said and I want to hear more of it.

-----

And - it's a name I can pronounce!

Time to cut off the money

Letter to the Editor

I hope Bush does veto the Iraq funding and I hope that the Democrats refuse to send him another bill funding the occupation. Every dollar we put into Iraq makes America weaker and causes more soldiers to die for nothing. It's time to end the denial and face reality. Why is the point in putting it off till later and let things continue to get worse? I think that when Bush vetoes the funding then we should call the occupation over.

The War is Lost

Letter to the Editor

I'm glad Senator Harry Reid finally admitted what most of us already know, that the Iraq war is lost. Republicans have challenged the Democrats saying that if Democrats really believe the war is lost then they should cut off funding now. I agree. Why should we spend another 100 billion dollars and waste another 1000 lives on a lost cause? Why should we put it off so that the next president has to clean up Bush's mess?

The way I see it Bush should consider himself lucky that the Democrats are offering some money with a time table. I think if Bush vetoes the bill then that should be the end of funding. This is Bush's war. We should lose it while he is still president.

We need a Peace Czar

Letter to the Editor

Bush wants to hire a war czar to run his wars. But war isn't working. What we need is a peace czar. The way I see it if Bush vetoes the spending bill with the deadlines then Congress should just refuse to send him another one. The war is lost. We were wrong to have started it. It's time for Bush to face his defeat. Every soldier that dies is another wasted life.

John McCain should do it

Letter to the Editor

Presidential candidate Senator John McCain, a proponent of the war, says that Iraq is safe and said he would have walked through the Bab al-Sharqi market in Baghdad without the military protection that surrounded him last week when he was there. Last week he had 100 soldiers and several helicopters guarding his safety. Does McCain actually expect anyone to believe him? Mr. Straight Talk Express should actually do it, walk in Baghdad without protection. Show us how it's done.

If he wants to prove a point bad enough he could make it happen. But he won't because he's lying to us. He's telling us that the only reason he didn't go unguarded was because the military wouldn't let him. Our soldiers are fighting and dying so that McCain can pose in front of them for political purposes. I think the next time McCain goes to Iraq he should let the Iraqis protect him. And if someone doesn't put a bullet in his back I'll vote for him.

Talking to Syria

Letter to the Editor

Bush doesn't like it that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is talking to the president of Syria. But when you consider that Bush is wrong about everything he does then doing the opposite of what Bush wants makes it more likely that she has the right idea.

The American people will know who to hold responsible

Letter to the Editor

Today Bush responded to the vote by the House and the Senate to pass emergency funding for the troops but to limit the length of the war. Bush said that he's going t veto it saying, " ... the American people will know who to hold responsible." I think that's something we can all agree with. But, if Bush does veto funding for the troops I think he's going to have some splainin' to do.

Let's Question Gonzales and Rove in secret foreign prisons

Letter to the Editor

The Bush administration and Attorney General Gonzales don't want to testify to Congress under oath. Congress is ready to subpoena them to force them to testify. Bush threatens a constitutional showdown if they do. Can a compromise be reached? Is there a way that Gonzales and Rove can be questioned in a way that the Bush administration would approve of?

Bush and Gonzales have vigorously defended the use of secret prisons in foreign countries as a way of getting to the truth. Both have stated to Congress that they are totally legal, that they are not torture, and that they are effective. So maybe we should send Gonzales and Rove to a secret foreign prison for questioning. How could they object to that? I bet the Democrats would go along with that.

Will Impeachment save the Republican Party?

Letter to the Editor

I'm glad to see Republican Senator Chuck Hagel bring up the idea that Bush should be impeached if Bush presses ahead with his failed policy on Iraq. Republicans might have to take a leadership position on impeachment getting rid of Bush before Bush gets rid of the Republican party. In 2006 the Republicans lost the House and the Senate because of Bush's failures. Two more years of Bush could be the end of the Republicans. Perhaps that's why the Democrats have taken impeachment off the table because they know that Bush is dragging them down with him.

Bush is like a cancer in the Republican party and I think in two years it's going to be fatal. Republicans are going to have to choose if they are going to stick with Bush and go down with the ship or save themselves while they still can. It makes me wonder if Senator Hagel is the only Republican who understands this.

Bush thinks law doesn't apply to him - again

Letter to the Editor

It's amazing that Bush again thinks he's above the law and that he can decide if his people are going to testify to Congress under oath or not. It's not his choice. The only question is if the Democrats are going to be intimidated by a fake threat. Suppose it were president Hillary Clinton telling a Republican Congress that her people were going to fight subpoenas and refuse to testify threatening a constitutional showdown. Can you imagine that anyone would seriously consider letter her get away with that?

How many more years of failure can we stand?

Letter to the Editor

On the 4th anniversary of Bush's war we have to ask ourselves how many more years will it take before we figure out that the war is lost? Will it be 5 years or 10 years? Yes it is true that if we pull out there will be a civil war but that's going to happen anyway unless we decide to stay there forever One point that people are missing is that if the government doesn't get us out of Iraq we're going to have a civil war here. The people are going to rise up and take the government back from both the Republicans and the Democrats.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confesses to everything

Letter to the Editor

Apparently Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind behind the 9/11 has, after being tortured for several years, confessed to the 9/11 attacks, the murder of Daniel Pearl, plotted to kill Presidents Clinton and Carter, and Pope John Paul II. It just goes to show that torture works. That if you torture someone enough that you can get them to confess to anything. Some experts don't think it's possible for one guy to be behind as many things as he's confessed to. But they don't care because what really happened doesn't matter as long as we can pretend someone is responsible.

His confession provides no information. We don't know if he was involved or not in anything. All we know is that he was forced to say he was. Rumor has it that he also confessed to being behind the attack on Perl Harbor, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the crucification of Jesus Christ. He is currently being tested to see if he is the father of Anna Nichole Smith's baby.

Gonzales makes Mistakes?

Letter to the Editor

Attorney General Gonzales concedes that he "made some mistakes" as if his firing of 8 prosecutors who refused to participate in Bush's latest voter suppression scheme was some sort of simple error. Gonzales should go to jail for what he did but that's not going to happen because he fired all the prosecutors who had the integrity to prosecute him for it.

Why Gas Prices are going up Again

Letter to the Editor

People are wondering why gas prices are going up again. Some think it's supply and demand. Some think it's oil refinery maintenance. Some say it's because of China and India. But I think it's none of those things. Last year was an election year and the gas companies lowered gas prices to help Republicans get elected. This year isn't and election year so we're going to have to pay big time. But next year as November approaches you'll see gas prices dropping again.

Libby Guilty

Letter to the Editor

It's a shame the Scooter Libby was merely convicted of perjury instead of treason. Scooter Libby should be hung because he was a key figure in the web of lies that got America into this war. He is directly responsible for the deaths of over 3000 of our soldiers. Even if Bush doesn't pardon him at best he'll only do 2 years or so. When people lie to get a country into a war that's high treason. And the entire Bush administration is guilty of it.

Public Servants must be loyal to the people

Letter to the Editor

There is talk that Bush might order an illegal attack against Iran and there is also talk that several generals might refuse to cooperate with that plan. We are a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people. That means that the people come first.

Government workers are suppose to follow the lawful orders of their superiors. The key phrase here being "lawful" If you are a government worker and your superior or your president orders you to do something that is not lawful then you are obligated to refuse to act on that order. You must say "no" because your loyalty is to the people, not the president. So if the order comes to attack Iran and the Congress hasn't authorized it then it is your duty to refuse to obey. If the president commits treason and you go along with it then you are a party to that treason. I am asking all public servants and members of the military to remember that you serve the people, not the government, and not the president.

Innocent of the Truth

Letter to the Editor

A lot of people accuse President Bush of doing dishonest things. But I think if Bush were put on trial for telling the truth, he would be found - Innocent!

Reality is closing in on Bush

Letter to the Editor

Our troop surge allow the British a window of opportunity to "cut and run" leaving Bush's war for Bush to solve, and rightly so. This is Bush's disaster and Bush and his right wing Republican backers need to own it. Are the soldiers over there fighting in vein? Is it a lost cause? Is it a failure? Of course it is.

The only meaning that is going to come from these lives that are still being sacrificed for nothing is that it will be a message to future generations to refuse to die for the wrong cause. And it is also a lesson that teaches Americans that if we vote for Republicans and if we let Evangelicals use the military to fight a religious war then we have to pay a price. If we don't rub their noses in heir defeat then those troops have truly died for nothing. Only by learning our lesson that this war was wrong can give this war any value at all.

Over There

Letter to the Editor

Bush and the Republicans keep saying that "we have to fight them over there because if we withdraw they will follow us over here". That's as much of a lie as the lies that got us into this occupation in the first place. The truth is that being over there has absolutely nothing to do with them coming over here at all. All we are doing is wasting our resources, killing our troops for no reason while we sit in the middle of an Iraqi civil war. We are more at risk staying there than bringing the troops home because if we are attacked here our troops are over there and there's no one to defend the homeland.

Reverend Ted Haggard cured of being Homosexual

Letter to the Editor

Reverend Ted Haggard emerged for three weeks of treatment and announced that he's been cured of being homosexual. What a miraculous event! Now he should go into treatment to be cured of being a lier, but if he gets cured of that his homosexual problem might come back.

The big question is if his New Life Church is going to believe him and that depends on if they want to believe him. That does seem to be what faith is about, that if you want to believe something hard enough then that makes it true. Will they have enough faith to maintain the illusion or will reality reach out and tap them on the shoulder? Sincerity is most important when it comes to religion and faith. Once you learn how to fake that you have it made.

What great economy?

Letter to the Editor

People in the news media are asking why Bush doesn't get more credit for the economy. Maybe it's because America went from the world's biggest surplus under Clinton to the world's biggest deficit under Bush. Maybe it's because Bush ran the national debt up higher than all the presidents put together. Maybe it's because the price of gasoline has tripled while the minimum wage has stayed the same. Or maybe it's because this president has never got anything right so why would we believe he got the economy right? The reason people don't give Bush credit for the economy is because we just don't believe it.

Peace is the right path

Letter to the Editor

Those who refuse to learn from their mistakes are bound to keep paying the price when they do the same thing again. You would have thought we would have learned from Vietnam but the right wing has been arguing for war for the last 40 years. Now they have the power they started another war and have proved those who are on the side of peace were right yet again.

This is what happens when we let the right wing take power. They got us in a hole and they just keep digging it deeper. Instead of give peace a chance they are singing give war a chance. The more they fight the more they lose. Since we didn't learn from Vietnam maybe we should give war a chance and see how much failure we can stand before we throw the rest of the Republicans out of office. How much failure do we need before it's time to give peace a chance?

I agree with McCain

Letter to the Editor

There's apparently one thing that John McCain and I have in common. We both had a hard time staying awake during Bush's State of the Union address.

Buy one, get one free

Letter to the Editor

Back in 1992 when Bill Clinton ran for president he talked about his wife Hillary saying that she was an outstanding partner. He talked about his run in terms of "Buy one, get one free", meaning that you're getting two for one. Now that Hillary is running for president she too can run a "Buy one, get one free", campaign because her husband is a proven great president. So I'm glad to see her get into the race because things were a lot better with the Clintons in the White House and I think it's time to bring the Clintons back. I'm looking forward to bringing back the debate about how we are going to spend the surplus rather than how we are going to stop the deficit.

Liberal Voting Pays Off

Letter to the Editor

For those of you who are wondering if you vote makes a difference or if you wonder if it makes a difference who you vote for, these questions have been answered. Yes - it does. In just a few days Nancy Pelosi has accomplished more that the Republican controlled congress did in the last 6 years. The first thing that changed was that Rumsfield is gone. The Congress now works Monday through Friday rather than Tuesday through Thursday. They reformed congressional ethics standards, they raised the minimum wage, cut the interest on student loans in half, and cut tax give aways to big oil. The day before the hearings on domestic spying started Bush announced that he's going to stop breaking the law and get warrants before tapping your phone.

So voting does make a difference and we are seeing the results. The Democrats are trying a new way to hold onto power, do a good job, put the people first, and hope that people will appreciate it by reelecting them for doing a good job. Nancy is also proving that women are qualified to lead and if she does a good job she will be a big help to Hillary's run for president.

It makes me wonder if Republicans will adopt a similar strategy if they see Democrats getting elected by doing a good job. Imagine Republicans and Democrats competing t see who can please the people the most. That could happen as long as the people show up at the polls are reward the good politicians and punish the bad ones. And good government is the reward the voters get by paying attention to what's happening and showing up to vote. Thank you in advance for voting in 2008.

2008 Election Prediction

Letter to the Editor

A lot of people are talking about what the 2008 election will be like. Who will the contenders be? I'm predicting it will be Clinton/Edwards vs. McCain/Lieberman. If I'm right, you heard it here first.

Republican future tied to Bush

Letter to the Editor

Republican party is linked to Bush's success in Iraq. Bush wants to escalate the Iraq war and Republican are faced with the dilemma of siding with Bush and hoping his plan works or joining the Democrats in opposing it. Those who join Bush risk sharing the blame two years from now if Bush's plan fails.

So - will Bush succeed in sending in more troops? Not likely. He made the decision in spite of the fact that it is the opposite of what the Iraq Study Group and the military experts are advising him to do. He had to fire top generals who disagreed with him and bring in a navy admiral with no Iraq experience to support his position. Again Bush makes up his mind and then finds "yes men" to support him. So the Republicans who are betting on him being right are taking a really big gamble by going all in on a proven loser. So I think in the long run the Republicans are the ones who will hate Bush the most.

Bush is stalling for time - again

Letter to the Editor

Bush is just stalling for time so that he he can put off defeat of his war on the next president. This war was a bad idea and we lost it. It's over. Let us not stay 10 more years like we did in Vietnam after we have lost before we get out. Why should we go with Bush's plan when he's been wrong every time and his plan is just more of the same all over again?

This is Bush's war, Bush's defeat, and he should now step down because he has failed us. I'm tired of America paying for Bush's failures.

Should troops die to cover for Bush?

Letter to the Editor

Why should soldiers die to cover up for Bush? This is Bush's war and Bush's failure. Now Bush wants to escalate the war so that he can push off the blame for defeat onto the next president. Adding more troops just gives the Iraqis more bodies to shoot at. Soldiers who are asked to die for nothing. And Bush wants us to pay welfare to Iraqis to create jobs there so they can build things that other Iraqis can blow up. We're just funding death squads with American tax dollars and money we're borrowing from the Communist Chinese that future generations will have to pay back.

Iraq got to lynch their tyrant, maybe it's time we lynched ours. What kind of a nation are we that we will kill our children for political reasons

Republicans Under Estimate Nancy Pelosi

Letter to the Editor

Republicans who under estimate the new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi do so at their own peril. Nancy is a lot sharper than your average Democrat and she is only in politics for one reason, to make America a better place. She is independently wealthy and doesn't have any favors that she has to repay to get reelected. She is a true public servant. I especially like it that her first order of business was to put Congress back on a 5 day work week. Unlike the last Congress they won't get to sit around and do nothing. Go Nancy go!

Saddam is Dead - Declare Victory and Leave

Letter to the Editor

Now that Saddam has been executed it's time to declare victory and leave. Bush can tell Americans that the mission in Iraq was to have Saddam executed, get out the "Mission Accomplished" banner, celebrate our victory, and bring the troops home. I think this is as close to the illusion of victory in the Iraq war as we're going to get.

Saddam is dead. But what has changed?

Letter to the Editor

Does Saddam deserve to die? Of course he does. After all, look at what he's done. He used chemical weapons against Iraqis. He tortured people at Abu Ghraib. He had an advanced domestic surveillance program. People were hauled off to secret prisons where people were tortured.

Now we have defeated him and even though we removed the evil tyrant, we used chemical weapons, and we tortured Iraqis at Abu Ghraib. Our government is surveillance us and we have a network of secret prisons where people are tortured. Now every day Iraqis torture each other and Americans collect the bodies on the streets as they kill each other in civil war.

For the last 1400 years since the dawn of Islam there has been war, and torture, and killing, and tyrants. Does Saddam deserve to die? Clearly he does. The middle east is full of people who deserve to die. War after all is about killing people who deserve to die. Saddam's execution is but another step in a 1400 year old tradition of vengeance against the evildoers and we hand this down as an example to the children of humanity. Our wars will continue for yet another generation.

If war is about the killing of those who deserve to die then what is peace? Is peace not the point where we stop killing those who deserve to die? So as we kill Saddam tonight I ask this question, "Is it worth it?" Especially when you consider that Iraq is actually worse off now, and that all the bad things that we killed Saddam for are still going on. Saddam is dead. Tomorrow Iraqis will kill and torture each other. As it has been for centuries, nothing has changed. The killing doesn't stop until we stop the killing.

Nixon Pardon Revisited

Letter to the Editor

On the day of President Ford's death people in the news are praising his decision to pardon Nixon saying that Ford "Healed the nations woulds and brought Americans together after Watergate". I am not one of those who share that opinion. Nixon broke the law. He abused his power as president for his own personal gain. By pardoning Nixon he cheated America out of justice and a change to show the world the even the president isn't above the law. Instead America is left with a legacy the high ranking officials who break the law will be pardoned "for the good of the nation".

I wonder if we would be Iraq today and our current elected officials would flaunt the law the way they are today if Nixon had faced justice. We will never know if Ford was chosen because he made a promise to pardon Nixon if he was given the job. I believe that it was wrong for an unelected president to pardon the person who appointed him. Elected officials who break the law should face justice and I hope that we don't see justice cheated again by presidential pardons.

We need a Plan

Letter to the Editor

There are a lot of opinions out there about what we should do about Iraq. Do we stay or do we leave? I say that what we need is a plan. Right now we don't know why we are there or what we are doing. We can't "win" because we haven't even determined who the enemy is.

Not only do we need a plan, but I suggest that we need not just any plan, but a plan that really works. How do we come up with a plan that really works? There's only one way to do that. We have to take reality into consideration. So in order to come up with a plan that really works we have to all commit to a process where we agree to put aside or personal point of view and go with reality wherever that leads us. We can't stay in Iraq without a plan, nor can we just up and leave Iraq without a plan. We have to have a plan. Let us all as a nation commit to reality in forming this plan.

2007 - The Year of the Meltdown

Letter to the Editor

It's that time of the year to make predictions for the new coming year. What will the year 2007 bring? What will 2007 be known for? My prediction is that 2007 will be the year of the meltdown. I predict that when 2007 is over that the word "meltdown" will be the word that describes the year. But in the long run it will be a good thing because America has turned it's back on reality and melting down is part of the healing process.

The answer only comes if we ask the right question

Letter to the Editor

Everyone is asking the question, "How do we win that war in Iraq?" Shall we pull out? Shall we send in more troops? Do we side with the Shiites or the Sunnis? We aren't going to win this war because the war is not winnable. We're asking the wrong question. What we should be asking is, "How do we win the peace?" War has failed, It's time to give peace a chance. We need a plan for peace, not a plan for war. War is the problem and war isn't solved by more war. War is solved by a plan for peace.

Do we side with the Sunni or Shiite Muslims?

Letter to the Editor

Now that Iraq has degenerated into a civil war, we have to figure out which group to side with. Most Iraqis are Shiite, the the elected president of Iraq is Shiite. Saddam and Osama are both Sunnis. So I guess we side with the Shiites. But - our friends in Saudi Arabia, the guys Bush has been kissing, they're Sunnis. The vast majority of Muslims are Sunnis. And our friends in Saudi Arabia made it clear to Cheney the there were going to have to side with the Sunnis if we sided with the Shiites.

Iran is part of the Axis of Evil, but they are Shiites, just like Hezbollah, just like the Syrians, as well as the leaders of the militias that we are trying to get rid of. So we're going to help the Iranians, Syrians, and Hezbollah conquer Iraq. What would Reagan have done? When Reagan was president we are supporting the other side. Saddam and Osama bin Laden were our best buddies. Wow - this is really confusing. Maybe that's our problem. Maybe the reason we're not winning this war is because we haven't figured out who the enemy is yet?

Fortunately we have a president who has the solution to the problem. Let's double down. Send in more troops. The one thing that brings Sunni and Shiites together is killing Americans.

Iraq - It's Over! We lost!

Letter to the Editor

For those who haven't figured it out yet the Iraq war is over and we have lost it. Now we have to figure out how to get out of there and make the best of what we have left. The Congress has a choice to make now. Are we going to face reality or are we going to send more soldiers to fight and die so that Bush can save face? I for one believe the sending soldiers to die for politics is murder.

This is Bush's war. Bush is far to dishonest and incompetent to handle the problems he created. It is now time for Bush and Cheney to resign and step aside and resign. It is time to find someone else to clean up Bush's mess. American should not have to continue to bleed while Bush runs out the clock. Bush can't handle it and it's time for him to get out. Getting rid of Bush will send a message to the rest of the world that America is serious about change. Something that our froends need to see.

Say after me. Bush get out! Bush get out! Bush get out!

Reality is in - Faith is out

Letter to the Editor

After six years of faith based government reality is making a comeback. For the last six years we were expected to blindly follow the government and do whatever Bush wants. It was a Crusade against terrorism that was really a proxy war of Christians vs. Islam to determine which religion has the stronger fictional deity. Americans being asked to surrender their freedom in the name of freedom and to surrender their liberty in the name of liberty.

Bush declared that he was above the law and whenever he broke the law Congress would try to change the law to make it legal. Bush brought back torture from the middle ages with people being kidnapped and hauled off to a network of secret prisons. To question any of this was blasphemy. Money was being spent like there was no tomorrow as if our acts didn't matter because Jesus was coming back and the world was soon to end. And if we all believe it hard enough then it would come to pass.

Now faith is out and reality is back. Now people want to find real solutions that really work. When the new Secretary of Defense said that we were not winning the war in Iraq the Armed Services Committee all voted for him. Now people want real solutions to real problems. Every time faith puts us on the path of extinction America turns back to reality to restore our strength. That's because reality works. Reality changed my life. It can change your's too. Make reality part of your life today.

Republicans still don't get it

Letter to the Editor

Even after the landslide election last month Republicans still don't get it. Newt Gingrich is proposing what I would call "supervised free speech" as a dinner in honor of the First Amendment. Republicans are still using Bush logic. They think that freedom is giving up your freedom to the government. They think that peace can only be achieved through war without end. They think fiscal responsibility is spending like there's no tomorrow. They shred the constitution and call it patriotism.

Republicans have no chance of winning in 2008 for the same reason they lost in 2006. That reason - George W Bush. If the voters don't like Bush now they definitely won't like him 2 years from now. So Republican will either have to embrace Bush and go down with him, or try to be more against Bush than the Democrats are. Quite frankly if I were a Republican up for election in two years I'd switch parties now because the Republicans are stuck with Bush and he's going to bring them down again.

Time to go home

Letter to the Editor

The Pentagon has said that we have three options, "Go big, go long, or go home." The first two option assume there is some sort of change for some sort of victory. But there is no victory in this war. If we go big or go long we just kill more people and in the end we still don't win. The problem is that the enemy and the people who we are trying to liberate are the same people thus making victory impossible.

This war is lose only. If we go big we lose. If we go long we lose. If we go home we lose, but we lose less. And quite frankly we should lose because we are on the wrong side of history. This is Bush's war. Bush lied our way into is for less than honorable reasons. He went in in spite of the United Nations refusing to join in. Everything about Bush's war is was wrong. America doesn't win till Bush is in jail. Iraq is in a civil war and our presence is just making it worse. We are going to have to get out eventually so why not embrace reality and get out now?

I call on Bush and Cheney to Resign

Letter to the Editor

I call today for the resignation of Bush and Cheney. This presidency is a failure and a sham. From the stolen elections to the Iraq quagmire no one wants you in office anymore. The Democrats hate you. The Republicans hate you. The troops who you have enslaved hate you. We can't stand to wait two more years while you run America into the ground. You are a criminal. You are a disgrace, and you bring shame on our nation. It is time for you to go!

Letter to the Editor - I'm asking Republicans to REPENT!

Letter to the Editor

Most people don't fully appreciate the significance of last week's election. What happen is that America's march to self destruction has been broken. The voters told Republicans that failure is just not good enough and I believe that Republicans got the message. So what Republicans were is now gone and what Republicans will become has yet to be decided. The Republicans know that the voters voted for reality.

As the founder of the Church of Reality I say to Republicans, "Repent! Embrace Reality! It's never too late to come back to the real world. Decisions that are based on reality are usually better decision than decisions that aren't. Let your heart embrace reality, think about the real world as it really is. Reality changed my life. It can change your's too. I'm asking you today to make a personal commitment to the real world and make the pursuit of wisdom part of your daily life."

BTW - check this out: WOW!!!

Click Here

Crazy Web Claims Pretty Much Confirmed By Newsweek

Oh shit, it's Mini Me! - WonketteWe found this insane story last week about James Baker III shouting down Cheney and Bush 43 (in a fetal position) in some Godfather-style Oval Office takeover meeting right before the election. It was allegedly told by Newsweek’s Richard Wolffe to Chris Matthews during Election Night coverage, live on MSNBC at 4:30 a.m. — of course there are no transcripts, no YouTube evidence, etc.

But now that Newsweek has pretty much confirmed the whole story, we might as well repeat it here, after the jump.
Here’s the original claim, which appeared on the world’s greatest lunatic website (Godlike Productions) on Thursday:

Wolffe relates that he and a few select Senior media were there when Junior bush received this 1’ thick report/recommendations.

1) Baker informed Junior bush First of all - “EVERYBODY HATES YOU.” This amazed & humbled Junior bush. Baker was NOT alone with Junior bush was confronted with the above issues. Baker - “The people HATE YOU.” Junior bush turned white, the blood leaving his face, turning White - visible drawing up as in FETAL with his hands clasped in his lap.

2)Baker - ” you KNOW your not a leader - Your a Cheerleader.” Those in the room gave a silent - YA you got that right - it’s about time he was told the TRUTH!!!

3) Baker asked for and received a list of his advisors- and MARKED THROUGH those advisors to IGNORE - ALL ADVISORS WERE ELIMINATED AS ADVISORS TO JUNIOR bush.

4)One concession was Rumsfeld - Baker wanted him fired immediately - that waited till after election.

5) Ignore Cheney - Cheney got up at a meeting and flailing arms while espousing what should be done (about Iraq) Junior bush told Cheney VERY FIRLMY to “sit down and be quiet.” After 30 minutes of sitting quietly Cheney left. Nobody has EVER talked to Cheney in this way - ((and lived???)) - HAH!!!

6) 6) Baker informed Junior bush that you WILL negotiate with North Korea!

7) Baker informed Junior bush that you WILL negotiate with Iran. Baker went to Iran - And leader of Iran did NOT want to see Junior bush last monthy when in the USA - but WENT TO HOUSTON TO SEE JAMES BAKER III. Baker sees Iran overseeing Iraq after USA pullout of Iraq!

Very entertaining — especially the spelling and ALL CAPS CRAZY. So, how much of this actually turned up in Newsweek?

* Baker and Bush 41 fired Rumsfeld and hired Bob Gates.

* Bush 43 snapped “I don’t care” when aides asked how they should deal with the press jabbering about Bush 41 taking over for junior.

* Gates, also a member of Baker’s Iraq Study Group, is going to quickly accept the recommendations since they are basically his recommendations.

* Those long-rumored recommendations — as Tony Blair confirmed Monday — include substantial deals with Iran and Syria.

* Everybody does hate Bush 43, as his approval ratings sank to 31% in the days after the election.

* Evan Thomas reminds us that Baker “once described Bush 43’s core principles as ‘God and exercise,’” which is pretty funny.

* Baker is the “obvious choice to pursue the diplomatic initiative that the Iraq Study Group will surely call for.” Which means he’s already meeting with Iranian and Syrian diplomats.

* Seriously, where the hell’s Cheney?

The Rescue Squad, Can Bush Sr. and His Team Save Son’s Presidency?

How about a quick bipartisan impeachment?

Letter to the Editor

Democrats aren't happy with Bush and want him impeached. The voters turn over control to the Democrats because they don't like Bush either. And the Republicans don't like Bush because the lost the election because of him and he's going to ruin their chances in the 2008 elections. But Republicans don't want to impeach Bush and Cheney because Nancy Pelosi would become president.

So here's the compromise. In the lame duck session of Congress they could do a quick bipartisan impeachment before the end of the year. Republican Dennis Hassert would become president for the remaining two years. Not everything the Dems would want but everyone would be a winner. Dennis Hassert isn't the ideal president but he couldn't be worse than Bush/Cheney. When you have interesting problems sometimes it takes innovative solutions.

Hold off on Saddam Hanging

Letter to the Editor

Here's an innovative way to deal with the Iraq occupation quagmire. Maybe we should tell the Iraqis to get along and form a unified government or we are going to to put Saddam back in power and let him unify Iraq. If given the choice between democracy and having Saddam back maybe they might want to quit fighting among themselves and start thinking about peace. Either way it would bring it to an end. We might want to hold off on executing Saddam and think about this.

Who won the election? The People!

Letter to the Editor

Did the Democrats win the election or did the Republicans lose? Is the country moving to the left or right? I think the true winners of the election were the People. The People voted for reality and against failure. The People are sending the Government a message that we want real results in the real world. We aren't going to take failure and corruption anymore.

If the Democrats are going to hold power they are going to have to take Congress in a new direction. They need to resist taking bribes from the special interests and start producing results for the People. Same message to the Republicans. Republicans have to work with the Democrats and run on a record of accomplishment and make a clean break with their corrupt past. Any elected official who does not get the People's message will have to face the voters in 2008. In 2008 they better be arguing about how to spend the surplus and not who is to blame for the deficit. If Congress comes up empty handed they will face the meat grinder as the voters give them the boot.

Rush Limbaugh has been LIBERATED!

Letter to the Editor

How bad have the Republicans screwed up lately? Well - when Rush Limbaugh can no longer take it and declares himself as being "full of crap", you know things are in bad shape. Of Republicans Rush declares, "The way I feel is this: I feel liberated, and I'm going to tell you as plainly as I can why. I no longer am going to have to carry the water for people who I don't think deserve having their water carried." The very concept that Rush has been liberated fascinates me. I think I'm ready to start tuning in. And hey Rush, thanks for the Senate and carrying OUR water. You ROCK!

Rush Limbaugh Deserves Credit

Letter to the Editor

Liberals put down Rush Limbaugh but they should give credit where credit is due. If not for Rush Limbaugh mocking Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease Claire McCaskill would never have won her senate race in Missouri. And if not for that win the Democrats wouldn't control the Senate. So in behalf of all us liberals Rush, I want to say to you, "Thank you Rush for giving us San Francisco liberals control of the Senate!" Congratulations on being liberated!

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Rush says he's now "Liberated". Does that make him a Liberal? Enjoy your Liberty Rush. I sure am!

America moves back to Reality!

Letter to the Editor

After having turned its back on reality for the last six years America has decided to come home and rejoin the real world again. After years of failure and illusion the voters got tired of the corruption, the lies, the daily body count, a war going no where, deficit spending, torture, domestic spying, and incompetence. Now that the Democrats have won reality has made a comeback. We will see if Democrats embrace reality and Republicans embrace their new reality and maybe they will both realize that when Congress gets too far off course that the American voter will rise up, smack them down, and put them in their place.

Bill Mahur, "Republicans wanted to vote a straight ticket. There just wasn't enough straight Republicans to vote for."

Fill your gas tank on Tuesday

Letter to the Editor

After you vote you might want to visit the gas station on your way back from the polls. I don't want to accuse the Republicans and the oil companies of conspiring to drop gas prices to help Republicans, but I just have this feeling that gas is going to be a better deal now than it will be after the elections.

Saddam Convicted - ho hum

Letter to the Editor

Saddam Hussein was convicted today and sentenced to hang but you won't see Republicans cheering about it. That's because Saddam's conviction draws attention to the fact that Iraq is worse off now than it was under a brutal dictator. No one is bring out the "Mission Accomplished" banner this time.

This election is about who wants it more

Letter to the Editor

When it comes down to it this election comes down to turnout. It's about who wants it more. If people who want a higher minimum wage shows up to vote they will get it. If Black people turn out then life will get better for black people. If students turn out then Congress with pass laws helping the afford college. If old people turn out then they won't lose their social security. If military families turn out then maybe less of your family members will be needlessly killed in Iraq. If the people who want peace turn out then we will have peace. But if you stay home and you don't vote then the other side wins. Victory is at hand and all you have to do is get out and vote to make it happen.

Are you better off than you were 6 years ago?

Letter to the Editor

When it comes to a choice between Democrats and Republicans the question is, are you better off than you were 6 years ago? The Republicans have given Bush the power of a king so this election is really about Bush and Iraq. Are going to stay the course in Iraq or are we going to figure out a solution. Bush says the "our plan is to win" but what he doesn't understand is that winning is a goal, not a plan. Everyone wants to win, but Bush has no plan as to HOW to win. This election is about the future and the Democrats are the light at the end of the tunnel.

I did not have sex with that man!

Letter to the Editor

Clinton said, "I did not have sex with that woman." Reverend Ted Haggard said, "I did not have sex with that man." Clinton said that he smoked pot but he "didn't inhale". Reverend Haggard said he bought Meth but he didn't snort it. The more things change the more they stay the same.

If you haven't seen the HBO special "Hacking Democracy" here's some
links to exerpts of the video. Feel free to pass them around.

http://video.lisarein.com/hbo/hackingdemocracy/hbo-hackingdemocracy-1.mov
http://video.lisarein.com/hbo/hackingdemocracy/hbo-hackingdemocracy-2.mov
http://video.lisarein.com/hbo/hackingdemocracy/hbo-hackingdemocracy-3.mov

Bush Flip Flops on Flip Flopping

Letter to the Editor

Bush was for "stay the course" before he was against it. Last week he said, "We've never been stay the course." Did Bush "cut and run" from "stay the course"? Now it seems he's back. He's sticking with Rumsfield and Cheney says, Bush is going "full speed ahead" with stay the course. The only problem is that Bush doesn't have a course to stay. Bush says Democrats have no plan, but it clear than Bush has no plan and is flip flopping on sticking with it.

The Military is Calling out - vote against Bush

Letter to the Editor

On Monday all four independent military papers, the Army Time, the Navy Times, The Marine Corp Times, and The Air Force Times, are coming out against Bush. A day before the election they are calling for Rumsfield to Resign. That are saying with a single voice that, "Regardless of which party wins Nov. 7, the time has come, Mr. President, to face the hard bruising truth: Donald Rumsfield must go." These independent papers can speak freely where those serving in the military can not. The military is crying out for the voters help and they want you to vote Republicans out. If you support the troops then listen to them now. Rumsfield must go.

Bush posts Nuclear Weapons Plans on the Internet

Letter to the Editor

It's getting to the point where Bush is starting scandals faster than I can write about them. Today's scandal is that Bush posted detailed plans on how build a nuclear weapon on the Internet. Under political pressure from Republicans Bush posted many documents captured in the Iraq war on the web to help make the case that there was justification for Bush's war. In those documents were detailed plans to build nuclear weapons from before 1991 when Saddam was our best buddy.

Last night the White House finally shut down the web site after the New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts that Bush was giving nuclear weapons plans to the terrorists. The weapons experts were shocked by the public disclosures. Bush talks about fighting a war on terrorism yet he gives terrorists the most detailed plans to build an atomic bomb that has ever been published. How could they put nuclear plans on the Internet without knowing that they were there? It looks to me like Republicans are putting the safety of the world at risk for pure political purposes.

Evangelical Opposition to Gay Marriage

Letter to the Editor

I used to think that the reason that evangelicals were against gay marriage was because they believed that it was morally wrong. But now I'm beginning to realize that perhaps I was wrong about that. Since evangelicals require that people who have sex get married, I'm wondering if the opposition is based on gay evangelical men not wanting to have to marry their gay lovers. I have to say that I'm rather surprised about evangelist Ted Haggard being caught in a relationship with a gay hooker that involved using hard drugs like Methamphetamine. After all, he's the leader of the National Association of Evangelicals.

I can't see becoming an evangelical myself because it's just not my kind of life style. I think I'll stick with being a heterosexual Atheist for moral reasons.

----

I'm having nightmares about being butt fucked by tweaked up evangelical preachers.

Laura Bush takes a cheap shot

Letter to the Editor

Laura Bush accused Michael J. Fox of "manipulating feelings" by using his Parkinson's Disease to promote stem cell research. She is implying that people like Fox are faking it for political purposes. Just like Christopher Reed was faking being a quadraphonics when he was promoting stem cell research. My sister has been a diabetic for 40 years and I'm beginning to wonder if she might have been faking it for political purposes too.

The stem cell issue is a fake issue put out there to sucker gullible evangelicals into feeling good about themselves and give them another fake cause to keep them occupied. But the price of their moral masturbation is that it denies valuable medical research for the rest of us. My sister might not get a cure for Diabetes in her lifetime because Laura Bush is using step cells in a cheap political ploy. I want to encourage people to vote for stem cells, for Michale J. Fox, Christopher Reed, and for my sister who really is not faking Diabetes.

Reublican Contract with America 12 years later

Letter to the Editor

It was just 12 years ago that the Republicans took control of Congress with their Contract with America. In this contract the Republicans pledged to do the following:

"Require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply equally to the Congress; select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse; cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff by one-third; limit the terms of all committee chairs; ban the casting of proxy votes in committee; require committee meetings to be open to the public; require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax increase; guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting."

It goes on to say, "This year's election offers the chance, after four decades of one-party control, to bring to the House a new majority that will transform the way Congress works. That historic change would be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public's money. It can be the beginning of a Congress that respects the values and shares the faith of the American family."

"Like Lincoln, our first Republican president, we intend to act "with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right." To restore accountability to Congress. To end its cycle of scandal and disgrace. To make us all proud again of the way free people govern themselves."

So - if you think that the Republicans upheld the contract then reelect them. if not then it's time to throw the bums out and drain the swamp.

The Dead are Voting Republican

Letter to the Editor

With electronic voting machines a Democrat needs to have a 5 point lead to actually win elections. That's because electronic voting machines are inaccurate and always makes mistakes in favor of Republicans. Most of the country's elected officials who are in charge of voting are Republicans and they slant the elections by not providing enough machines in Democratic areas. This make Democrats wait in lines for hours to vote when Republicans only wait 5 minutes.

Republicans have already started their election tricks. In California a Republican mailed 14,000 LEGAL immigrants threatening them with jail if they vote. They are now trying to purge Dems from voter rolls. 2600 dead people have already voted in New York and the dead are voting for Republicans. (Perhaps because Republicans are against the death tax?)

We are still waiting to see if Republicans get Osama to make an election eve appearance like he did in 2004. Maybe Bush will fake a disaster and suspend elections? If there's a way to cheat the Republicans will figure it out. So Democrats have to work harder to win elections that are slanted in favor of Republicans.

Iraq is a Local Issue

Letter to the Editor

Republicans are saying that "All politics is local" and that the Iraq war is a national issue. I don't agree. We've had 3000 dead soldiers shipped back from Bush's wars. When your friends and relatives are shipped to your home town in a box, that's local. I think that the Republicans are making a serious error understanding what local means.

Ending up where you are heading

Letter to the Editor

There's an old saying that if you don't change course you might end up where you're heading. Think about that when you vote on November 7th.

We can't Even Win Baghdad

Letter to the Editor

After occupying Iraq for 3 years we can't even win control of Baghdad. Every day we lose ground. That sad part is that 2800 of our troops and 650,000 Iraqis have died for nothing. Bush even failed to steal their oil. Maybe it's time to put Saddam Hussein back in power. As bad as it was then, it's actually worse now. We can't win because to win means we have to defeat the people who we are trying to liberate. The people there hate us and they want us to leave. When America goes to war for all the wrong reasons we should expect to lose. One thing for sure is that Bush and the Republicans who got us into this mess aren't going to be the ones who get us out.

Election Year Conversions

Letter to the Editor

A lot of politicians are making election year conversions trying to fool us into pretending to be someone different than they really are. With the election a few days away they are singing a different tune. Now they are against the war when last year they supported it. Now they say "We've never been Stay the Course". Republicans like Clay Shaw and Rick Santorum are running political ads about how well they worked with President Clinton (not Bush) when a few years ago they were trying to impeach him. Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't running special elections this year trying to make power grabs. Joe Lieberman is no longer on kissing terms with Bush.

So if your candidate is singing a new tune - beware. Just as sure as gas prices are going up after the election you can bet that their election personality is going to go away just as soon as they sucker you into voting for them yet again. I say, when in doubt, vote them out!

Clinton more Conservative than Bush?

Letter to the Editor

Is Clinton more conservative than Bush? When Clinton was president he made government smaller. Bush made it bigger. Clinton cut taxes on the middle class and had the biggest surplus in history. Bust increased taxes on the middle class and we have the biggest deficit in history. Clinton believed in pay as you go. Bush spends like there is no tomorrow.

Clinton was a highly respected leader. Bush is an embarrassment. When Clinton was president we won the wars in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo. Under Bush we lost the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon. When Clinton was president the price of gas was only a dollar. Clinton didn't have the NSA tapping your phones and Clinton didn't have a network of secret torture camps. The difference between Clinton and Bush isn't Liberal vs. Conservative. The difference is success vs. failure.

Torture is a No Brainer

Letter to the Editor

Cheney says that a "dunk in water" is a "no-brainer for me" then tries to claim later that trying to drown someone isn't torture, that it's not water boarding. The Republican Congress, after John McCain sold us out, gave Bush the power to torture without the Bush administration having any idea what torture is. We can't pretend that torture is not what it clearly is. We've all seen the pictures of Abu Ghraib where our troops were torturing people for nothing more than amusement. Abu Ghraib is now legal under the laws that Republicans just passed. Being an American with legalized torture is like what it must have been to be a German with Hitler as its leader. Torture is just plain evil and we have to rise up against it.

Bush says, We've Never been Stay the Course

Letter to the Editor

Bush is finally giving up staying the course, declaring "We've Never been Stay the Course". Bush is now actively avoiding the "stay the course" phrase. His message now is that when you see something isn't working you try something different. That's something I agree with and that's why I'm voting for the Democrats. When you're heading in the wrong direction the right thing to do is turn around. Even Bush finally gets it.

Can't Bush spy on the Republican Congress?

Letter to the Editor

People are asking themselves if they reelect Republicans how they will be able to solve the problem with gay Republicans wanting to have sex with underage pages. But this isn't a problem for Republicans because in their wisdom they passed laws that will protect the children from their sexual advances. Those who call this a "do nothing Congress" don't appreciate the wisdom of the laws they passed.

You see, they gave Bush the authority spy on Congress. He can tap their phones and email and Instant Message access and Bush will be watching over them to make sure they keep their hands off the kids. Bush is like Santa Claus on steroids. "He know when you are sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been bad or good so be good for Heaven's sake!"

And how could Congress object to Bush tapping their phones because if there was anything wrong with Bush spying on Congress then why would they have voted to let him do it? So mothers, don't you worry your pretty little heads. Your children are in good hands with the Republican led Congress.

How low do gas prices go to get Republicans elected?

Letter to the Editor

How low do gas prices have to go to get Republicans elected? Especially knowing that as soon as the election is over that prices are going back up, how low would Republicans have to go? Under $2.00? Or what if they went all the way down to 75 cents? Maybe Republicans should try sending us all a $300 tax refund? Or they could do a prayer circle to show us how religious they are. Or maybe if we blame it all on those "commie lib'rals" like Nancy Pelosi and the witch Hillary who are going to put gays in charge of the military. Who are just going to "cut and run" while raising your taxes and destroying the moral fabric of society. If you don't vote Republican then Islamic death squads will slaughter your family, and then the Democrats will tax you after you die.

I just can't take two more years of insanity. Time to pull the plug on the Bush plan.

Politics of Fear might work against Republicans this time

Letter to the Editor

In 2002, before Bush's war in Iraq, Republicans played the fear card convincing voters that there's an enemy lurking out there and if you don't vote for someone tough then the terrorists will kill you. In 2004 Bush ran ads using wolves to terrorize voters into voting for him. But now it's 2006 and although terrorism is still there, it's also clear that terrorism has gotten worse under Republican rule and that Bush's bad decisions are making terrorism worse.

In spite of it being an election year all the intelligence agencies, all of the free speaking military commanders, and many respected Republican leaders now admit that America is on the wrong course and that Bush's plan isn't working. We have lost the war in Iraq, losing in Afghanistan, and bin Laden is still free and laughing at Bush. What this means is that the more the Republicans try to scare voters this time the more likely they are to vote against them. After fool me once and fool me twice the Republican strategy of fooling the voters the third time might be as flawed as the Iraq war strategy itself.

Would Republicans lie to us (again)?

Letter to the Editor

President Roosevelt once said "The Only Thing we have to Fear is Fear Itself". Bush's message is, "Vote Republican or the Terrorists will Kill You". We are supposed to trust Republicans to keep us safe. Can we trust them? The same Republicans who put a congressman who they knew was a sexual predator in charge of the Exploited Children's Caucus? Republicans have made terrorism much worse. Time to drain the swamp, throw the bums out, and try someone new.

Iraq vs. Vietnam

What's the difference between the war in Iraq and the war in Vietnam? George W. Bush had a plan to get out of Vietnam.

The Day America Died

Letter to the Editor

Today marks the end of what we once called America. Today Bush signed into law a bill that gives Bush the powers of Adolf Hitler. Bush can now torture people in secret torture prisons. We are our own enemy. History will mark today as the day that America died. This will cause the people of the world to hate America because it is causing Americans to hate America.

Message to the World - Watch America's Elections

Letter to the Editor

Some people here in America think that Bush is going to find a way to postpone American elections scheduled for November 7th. It is looking like he is going to lose control of our Congress and that he might be impeached. Knowing what's coming the current regime might choose to attempt to hold on to power no matter what is lawful.

As an American I am asking the world to pay close attention to us and see if our elections occur and are fair. We have electronic voting machines that the Republicans have rigged to make Republicans win. bush might also fake an attack as an excuse to suspend elections under emergency powers. We the people of the United States need to restore a ligitimate government and stop being a threat to the rest of the world. We ask that humanity help us restore sanity to our nation.

No one knows what goes on behind closed doors

Letter to the Editor

The Republicans say that they want to get to the bottom of the Mark Foley sex scandal and that they aren't trying to cover it up. Well then, why are the hearings behind closed doors? When they were roasting Clinton they did it on live TV and made it as public as possible. But when it comes to their sex scandal, we don't get to see that. Foley was co-chair of the Exploited Children's Caucus and was trying to have sex with underage boys. And with Foley hiding out in an alcohol rehab center and the investigation hidden away till after the elections Republicans are hoping that the voters will forget it in the next few weeks. If the Republicans have nothing to hide then why are they hiding behind closed doors?

A good year for Poor to Vote

Letter to the Editor

This is a good year for poor people to vote because the election is so close and the consequences so great of the lower and middle class. The Democrats are for raising the minimum wage, Republicans are not. Republicans are in bed with oil companies who are raising gas prices and making record profits. Republicans don't care about health care costs, prescription drug prices, education, or ethics. And it's the poor who are sending their children off to die in Bush's wars.

But the lower and middle classes are often lazy when it comes time to show up to vote thinking that their vote doesn't count. But this year is different so I want to encourage people to get out and vote because if you don't vote you won't get an increase in the minimum wage.

Election about Reality vs. Denial

Letter to the Editor

This election isn't about Republicans vs. Democrats. It's about Reality vs. Denial. We can either vote to accept reality and change course or we can vote for denial and stay on the wrong path for another 2 years. The thing about reality is that reality doesn't go away. How bad do things have to get before we vote to drain the swamp?

Which Scandal hurts Republicans More?

Letter to the Editor

Just when Republicans were looking to take the focus off the Mark Foley sex scandal Republican Bob Ney pleaded guilty to bribery and corruption charges in a string of scandals linked to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Will this string of corrupt congressman from Tom Delay to Duke Cunningham hurt the GOP more than Foley? Or are they worse off with the sex scandals of gay Republicans Foley and Kolbe and the gay prostitute Jeff Gannon who posed as a Whitehouse press correspondent and had full access to President Bush? I think the sex scandal hurts the GOP more.

Everyone already knows that Republicans are financially corrupt so the money scandals are nothing new to voters. It is generally known that Republicans take bribes and take care of those who take care of them. After all we have seen lobbyists passing out checks on the floor of the house during votes that affect those who are making those donations. But Republican sex scandals are somewhat more rare. During the Clinton impeachment Republicans were exposed in several heterosexual scandals and several lost their jobs. But these recent homosexual scandals are new to the Republican party and it is my opinion that new scandals hurt Republicans more than old ones.

Of course both sides might be wrong and people will get tired of the daily body count from the Iraq war and vote against that. Or maybe the drip drip drip of bad news will just put voters in the mood to "drain the swamp" and throw them all out.

Evangelicals sell out to the GOP

Letter to the Editor

The new book "Tempting Faiths" claims that Republicans are just using Evangelicals for political purposes, mocking them behind their backs. But the relationship between Evangelicals and Republicans is far more complicated that that. Evangelicals claim to be a mighty political force and demanded Republicans support honor their demands. Republicans responded not because the believed but because they saw an opportunity to take advantage of them. And thus formed an unholy alliance.

But Evangelicals can not claim they were the victim here. One of the reasons Bush set up his office of Faith Based Initiatives was to funnel huge amounts of government money to churches conditionally based on the efforts of churches to turn out Republican voters. Evangelicals understood that in taking the money they were selling out their faith to the Republican party for money and the illusion of power. If Evangelicals fail to actively support Republicans then all that government money that they are now dependent on goes away.

As they say in the Bible, "no one can server two masters". Billy Graham figured that out in the 1970s when Nixon tried to cozy up to him. Now Evangelicals are faced with this choice between following Jesus or Carl Rove. It seems like an easy choice except in order to follow Jesus you have to give up the money. When Judas took the money he had to give up Jesus.

I personally am an Atheist and when I see Evangelicals selling out their faith for money it just proves to me that there's nothing there. If Evangelicals truly had a personal relationship with God then they wouldn't sell out. If Evangelicals don't value what they preach then why should I?

---

With Evangelicals it's all about the money. They rake in millions in faith based money and now Republicans are above sin. If Clinton has bribed Evangelicals then Monica wouldn't have been a problem.

Republicans are hiding Foley

Letter to the Editor

Just after Republican Mark Foley was caught trying to have sex with young boys he checked himself into an alcohol rehab center supposedly to treat alcoholism even though he's not an alcoholic. What Foley is really doing is hiding out till after the election. He's avoiding the FBI and congressional inquiries that could really expose what happened. I think it's time to call Foley out of hiding and have him face the consequences of his actions. I think it's time for Hastert and the Republican leadership to stop being in on the Foley cover up and pretend Foley is being treated for something that we all know is a lie. To use a treatment center as a hideout from justice is just plain wrong.

Why is the GOP behind?

Letter to the Editor

People have different opinions as to why Republicans are trailing in the polls this election season. Some say it's because of the Foley scandal. That's because Evangelicals took credit for electing Republicans they are now taking the blame for what the Republicans did. Putting a gay congressman in charge of the exploited children caucus who is trying to exploit children isn't what Evangelicals want on their list of political accomplishments.

However others think it's not just the Foley cover up that is sinking the GOP. Every day hundreds of new bodies are discovered in Iraq and more of our soldiers come home in a box from a war that has made America weaker and headed for defeat. Others think it's fiscal conservatives who see America going from a surplus from the Clinton years to a national debt on track to top 10 trillion dollars before the end of the Bush presidency. Libertarians and small government conservatives have a problem with the government tapping our phones without a warrant and the idea that we have to give up being free to be free. Many Jews are uncomfortable with the legalization of secret torture camps which cause them to wonder if this is a step to the return to Nazi style Concentration Camps.

Then there's the general population that are just tired of Bush's bad judgment. He ignored the warnings before 9-11. Then there was "Mission Accomplished" and "Bring 'em on!", hurricane Katrina, gas prices are double even with the temporary election season price dip. Republicans have managed to offend everyone except the super rich who still get huge tax cut even though we are supposedly fighting 2 wars. So even though the Foley scandal is huge for Republicans, it's just the latest scandal in a long record of failure after failure. America is just tired of heading in the wrong direction.

Congress needs your Punishment

Letter to the Editor

America is a democracy where we elect people to represent us and make decisions that are in the best interest of our nation. It is part of our duty as citizens to make sure that they are doing a good job and looking out for the welfare of the people. If Congress fails to do a good job then it is our civic duty to punish them by denying them our vote. If we fail to deny them our vote then they will act in their own self interest instead of acting for the good of the public. It's the same as "spare the rod and spoil the child". We punish Congress because we love America. So let us all express our love for America on election day this November 7th.

Republicans Drifting Sideways on Iraq Occupation

Letter to the Editor

Republican Senator John Warner seems to be drifting sideways on the Iraq war issue casting doubt as to if the Republicans are going to be able to cover up the fact that America have lost the war in Iraq until after the election. John Warner becomes the latest Republican to show signs that he is finally waking up to the same conclusion that many generals, the National Intelligence Estimate, and the majority of America has already figured out. Iraq was a mistake, it is making things worse, we have accomplished less than nothing, and the longer we stay the course the worse it gets.

"It seems to me the situation is simply drifting sideways." says Senator Warner, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee. If the Iraqi government can't function effectively after several months, Warner said, "It's the responsibility of our government to determine is there a change in course we should take. I wouldn't take any option off the table at this time."

Clearly Republicans are trying protect the illusion of unity before the elections but the shear volume of failure is to great to conceal. We don't need another 60 to 90 days to figure out what is going on in Iraq as Mr. Warner suggests. Why wait till after the election to figure out what we all already know? Let's do as Nancy Pelosi suggests and "drain the swamp". Get the Republicans out of there, end the cover up, and take a fresh look at what's really going on.

It's not our fault says Republicans about Foley

Letter to the Editor

Republicans are going on the offense fighting back against the Foley scandal. "It's the usual suspects", claim Republicans. The Democrats are behind this! It's those Lib'rals, like mysterious bloggers funded by George Soros, ABC News, operatives associated with Clinton(s), and Hollyweird. They're the ones who suppressed the proof until just before the election! After all, we all know that Republicans are far too disciplined to get caught trying to have sex with underage boys just 5 weeks from an election. So it's the Democrats fault. It's a vast left wing conspiracy.

It's not our fault, Republicans declare. Foley was an alcoholic. He had a disease. And he was sexually abused by clergy. (Probably Lib'ral clergy!) And he's a gay man. He can't control himself. But we have to protect our children. Our children come first. Republicans are the family values party. So the Republicans are suggesting ending the 200 year old Page program to make sure our children are protected from horny gay Republicans. Republicans are being victimized by evil Democrats who are exploiting this story for purely political purposes. How dare they! How dare they!

The Republican's can stop Foley because he raises so much money. So much money that it causes anyone who looks at it to go blind, deaf, and lose their memory. But Republicans are going to take responsibility for this scandal that the Democrats started. "The Buck Stops Here" exclaims Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert! What he means is - Republicans are going to keep Foley's money!

Republicans distance themselves from Foley but not his Money

Letter to the Editor

We are now finding out that a huge number of Republicans knew about former congressman Mark Foley's problems with trying to have sex with underage boys. Foley was co-chairman of the Exploited Children Caucus. However everyone's memories are fuzzy and by amazing coincidences no one did anything about it until Mr. Foley was busted by the news media. Mr. Foley raised a lot of money for the Republicans, some 2 million dollars or so. A Republican staff member who resigned today offered to bribe ABC News with an exclusive if they kept the truth from the public regarding the details of what Foley did.

Now the Republicans are all shocked and surprised by these revelations claiming that they knew nothing about it. Republican's claim to be the party of family values. They put the safety of children ahead of money. Some people might think that Foley's money has led to Republican's looking the other way. Republicans of course deny they would put money ahead of the safety of children. But the Republicans are keeping Foley's money.

Maybe the Foley Scandal Helps Republicans?

Letter to the Editor

Many Republicans are worried the congressman Mark Foley's gay sex scandal with underage boys will hurt Republican's in this year's elections. But it may end up helping them because it draws attention away from all the other scandals that might affect the election even more.

For example, the Foley scandal distracts the attention that just last week congress passed a law allowing Bush to set up a network of secret prison torture camps. Or that they passed a 700 mile fence on the Mexican border but didn't allocate the money to build it. It also distracts from the National Intelligence Estimate saying that the war in Iraq is making terrorism worse. Or that Osama bin Laden is still free. Or that Iraq is in a civil war. Or that 3000 soldiers died in Iraq for nothing. Or that we are now losing the war in Afghanistan too. Or the Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay scandals. Or of hurricane Katrina scandals. Or that the national debt is about to exceed 10 trillion dollars. Or the Abu Ghraib scandal. And there's Haliburton no bid contracts, global warming, the failed war in Lebanon, failed diplomacy with Iran and North Korea, ignoring the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations, and the Anti-ballistic treaty, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, warrantless wire tapping of our phone conversations, no weapons of mass destruction, and Bob Woodward's latest book "State of Denial".

So although this sex scandal is bad for Republicans, it isn't nearly as bad as all the other scandals. Besides Clinton won with a sex scandal. I think Republicans are better off dealing with a sex scandal than dealing with a record of failure.

Let's Torture Republicans to find out about gay sex scandal

Letter to the Editor

GOP Speaker of the house Dennis Hastert says that he has asked the Attorney General to do a full investigation to determine how many Republican members of Congress knew that Congressman Mark Foley was trying to have gay sex with 16 year old boys working in Congress. I say why should we wait for an investigation? Just last week the Republicans approved Bush setting up a network of secret prisons designed to get this kind of information from people who don't want to talk. I think that if we submitted these Republicans to "harsh questioning" we could get these Republicans to confess to their crimes. After all, as they claim, it's not torture, and it's legal now.

Republican Pedophile in charge of Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus

Letter to the Editor

Isn't it wonderful? The Republicans put a pedophile, Florida representative Mark Foley, in charge of the Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus. Apparently the Republican leadership knew about it for a year but chose to cover it up. Republicans blocked a real investigation of the incident and of course no criminal investigations are pending even though attempting to have gay sex with a 16 year old boy is clearly illegal. The Republican leadership knew about it and allowed it to continue. Now they want to conceal the cover up.

With all this great work the Republicans are doing to protect children I can't wait to see what they do with Social Security.

----

It's amazing that the news media is covering up the details and pretending like they aren't sure if Foley broke any laws. Here is the transcript of Foley hitting on a boy.

Maf54 (7:25:14 PM): hey
Auto response from Xxxxxxxxx (7:25:14 PM): scrounging for food...brb
Maf54 (7:25:25 PM): ok
Maf54 (7:25:35 PM): kep scrounging
Xxxxxxxxx (7:31:51 PM): boo
Maf54 (7:32:13 PM): bo dude
Xxxxxxxxx (7:32:17 PM): lol
Xxxxxxxxx (7:32:26 PM): whered ya go this afternoon
Maf54 (7:33:39 PM): i am in pensecola...had to catch a plane
Xxxxxxxxx (7:33:47 PM): oh well thats fun
Maf54 (7:34:04 PM): indeed
Xxxxxxxxx (7:34:14 PM): what are you doing in pensecola
Maf54 (7:34:21 PM): now in my hotel room
Xxxxxxxxx (7:34:39 PM): well ..like why did you go there
Maf54 (7:35:02 PM): for the campaign
Xxxxxxxxx (7:35:29 PM): have you officialy announced yt
Maf54 (7:35:45 PM): not yet
Xxxxxxxxx (7:36:06 PM): cool cool...
Maf54 (7:37:27 PM): how my favorite young stud doing
Xxxxxxxxx (7:37:46 PM): tired and sore
Xxxxxxxxx (7:37:52 PM): i didnt no waltzing could make you sore
Maf54 (7:38:04 PM): from what
Xxxxxxxxx (7:38:34 PM): what do you mean from what
Xxxxxxxxx (7:38:42 PM): from waltzing...im sore from waltzing
Maf54 (7:39:32 PM): tahts good
Maf54 (7:39:32 PM): you need a massage Maf54 signed off at 7:39:37 PM. Maf54 signed on at 7:40:35 PM.
Xxxxxxxxx (7:40:44 PM): got kicked off?
Maf54 (7:41:24 PM): must have
Xxxxxxxxx (7:41:57 PM): ugh tomorrow i have the first day of lacrosse practice
Maf54 (7:42:27 PM): love to watch that
Maf54 (7:42:33 PM): those great legs running
Xxxxxxxxx (7:42:38 PM): haha...they arent great
Xxxxxxxxx (7:42:45 PM): thats why we have conditioning
Xxxxxxxxx (7:42:56 PM): 2 days running....3 days lifting
Xxxxxxxxx (7:43:11 PM): every week
Xxxxxxxxx (7:43:14 PM): until the end of march
Maf54 (7:43:27 PM): well dont ruin my mental picture
Xxxxxxxxx (7:43:32 PM): oh lol...sorry
Maf54 (7:43:54 PM): nice
Maf54 (7:43:54 PM): youll be way hot then
Xxxxxxxxx (7:44:01 PM): haha...hopefully
Maf54 (7:44:22 PM): better be
Maf54 (7:46:01 PM): well I better let you go do oyur thing
Xxxxxxxxx (7:46:07 PM): oh ok
Xxxxxxxxx (7:46:11 PM): have fun campaigning
Xxxxxxxxx (7:46:17 PM): or however you spell it
Xxxxxxxxx (7:46:18 PM): lol
Xxxxxxxxx (7:46:25 PM): ill see ya in a couple of weeks
Maf54 (7:46:33 PM): did any girl give you a haand job this weekend
Xxxxxxxxx (7:46:38 PM): lol no
Xxxxxxxxx (7:46:40 PM): im single right now
Xxxxxxxxx (7:46:57 PM): my last gf and i broke up a few weeks agi
Maf54 (7:47:11 PM): are you
Maf54 (7:47:11 PM): good so your getting horny
Xxxxxxxxx (7:47:29 PM): lol...a bit
Maf54 (7:48:00 PM): did you spank it this weekend yourself
Xxxxxxxxx (7:48:04 PM): no
Xxxxxxxxx (7:48:16 PM): been too tired and too busy
Maf54 (7:48:33 PM): wow...
Maf54 (7:48:34 PM): i am never to busy haha
Xxxxxxxxx (7:48:51 PM): haha
Maf54 (7:50:02 PM): or tired..helps me sleep
Xxxxxxxxx (7:50:15 PM): thats true
Xxxxxxxxx (7:50:36 PM): havent been having a problem with sleep though.. i just walk in the door and collapse well at least this weekend
Maf54 (7:50:56 PM): i am sure
Xxxxxxxxx (7:50:57 PM): i dont do it very often normally though
Maf54 (7:51:11 PM): why not
Maf54 (7:51:22 PM): at your age seems like it would be daily
Xxxxxxxxx (7:51:57 PM): not me
Xxxxxxxxx (7:52:01 PM): im not a horn dog
Xxxxxxxxx (7:52:07 PM): maybe 2 or 3 times a week
Maf54 (7:52:20 PM): thats a good number
Maf54 (7:52:27 PM): in the shower
Xxxxxxxxx (7:52:36 PM): actually usually i dont do it in the shower
Xxxxxxxxx (7:52:42 PM): just cause i shower in the morning
Xxxxxxxxx (7:52:47 PM): and quickly
Maf54 (7:52:50 PM): in the bed
Xxxxxxxxx (7:52:59 PM): i get up at 530 and am outta the house by 610
Xxxxxxxxx (7:53:03 PM): eh ya
Maf54 (7:53:24 PM): on your back
Xxxxxxxxx (7:53:30 PM): no face down
Maf54 (7:53:32 PM): love details
Xxxxxxxxx (7:53:34 PM): lol
Xxxxxxxxx (7:53:36 PM): i see that
Xxxxxxxxx (7:53:37 PM): lol
Maf54 (7:53:39 PM): really
Maf54 (7:53:54 PM): do you really do it face down
Xxxxxxxxx (7:54:03 PM): ya
Maf54 (7:54:13 PM): kneeling
Xxxxxxxxx (7:54:31 PM): well i dont use my hand...i use the bed itself
Maf54 (7:54:31 PM): where do you unload it
Xxxxxxxxx (7:54:36 PM): towel
Maf54 (7:54:43 PM): really
Maf54 (7:55:02 PM): completely naked?
Xxxxxxxxx (7:55:12 PM): well ya
Maf54 (7:55:21 PM): very nice
Xxxxxxxxx (7:55:24 PM): lol
Maf54 (7:55:51 PM): cute butt bouncing in the air
Xxxxxxxxx (7:56:00 PM): haha
Xxxxxxxxx (7:56:05 PM): well ive never watched myslef
Xxxxxxxxx (7:56:08 PM): but ya i guess
Maf54 (7:56:18 PM): i am sure not
Maf54 (7:56:22 PM): hmmm
Maf54 (7:56:30 PM): great visual
Maf54 (7:56:39 PM): i may try that
Xxxxxxxxx (7:56:43 PM): it works
Maf54 (7:56:51 PM): hmm
Maf54 (7:56:57 PM): sound inetersting
Maf54 (7:57:05 PM): i always use lotion and the hand
Maf54 (7:57:10 PM): but who knows
Xxxxxxxxx (7:57:24 PM): i dont use lotion...takes too much time to clean up
Xxxxxxxxx (7:57:37 PM): with a towel you can just wipe off....and go
Maf54 (7:57:38 PM): lol
Maf54 (7:57:45 PM): where do you throw the towel
Xxxxxxxxx (7:57:48 PM): but you cant work it too hard....or its not good
Xxxxxxxxx (7:57:51 PM): in the laundry
Maf54 (7:58:16 PM): just kinda slow rubbing
Xxxxxxxxx (7:58:23 PM): ya....
Xxxxxxxxx (7:58:32 PM): or youll rub yourslef raw
Maf54 (7:58:37 PM): well I have aa totally stiff wood now
Xxxxxxxxx (7:58:40 PM): cause the towell isnt very soft
Maf54 (7:58:44 PM): i bet..taht would hurt
Xxxxxxxxx (7:58:50 PM): but you cn find something softer than a towell i guess
Maf54 (7:58:59 PM): but it must feel great spirting on the towel
Xxxxxxxxx (7:59:06 PM): ya
Maf54 (7:59:29 PM): wow
Maf54 (7:59:48 PM): is your little guy limp...or growing
Xxxxxxxxx (7:59:54 PM): eh growing
Maf54 (8:00:00 PM): hmm
Maf54 (8:00:12 PM): so you got a stiff one now
Xxxxxxxxx (8:00:19 PM): not that fast
Xxxxxxxxx (8:00:20 PM): hey
Xxxxxxxxx (8:00:32 PM): so you have a fetich
Maf54 (8:00:32 PM): hey what
Xxxxxxxxx (8:00:40 PM): fetish**
Maf54 (8:00:43 PM): like
Maf54 (8:00:53 PM): i like steamroom
Maf54 (8:01:04 PM): whats yours
Xxxxxxxxx (8:01:09 PM): its kinda weird
Xxxxxxxxx (8:01:14 PM): lol
Maf54 (8:01:21 PM): i am hard as a rock..so tell me when your reaches rock
Xxxxxxxxx (8:01:23 PM): i have a cast fetish
Maf54 (8:01:27 PM): well tell me
Maf54 (8:01:32 PM): cast
Xxxxxxxxx (8:01:44 PM): ya like...plaster cast
Maf54 (8:01:49 PM): ok..so what happens
Maf54 (8:01:58 PM): how does that turn you in
Xxxxxxxxx (8:02:02 PM): i dont know
Xxxxxxxxx (8:02:04 PM): it just does
Xxxxxxxxx (8:02:08 PM): ive never had one
Xxxxxxxxx (8:02:16 PM): but people that have them turn me on
Xxxxxxxxx (8:02:27 PM): and if i had one it would probably turn me on
Xxxxxxxxx (8:02:29 PM): beats me
Xxxxxxxxx (8:02:32 PM): its kinda weird
Xxxxxxxxx (8:02:50 PM): but along with that i like the whole catholic girl look....thats our schools uniform
Maf54 (8:03:02 PM): ha thats wild
Xxxxxxxxx (8:03:14 PM): ya but now im hard
Maf54 (8:03:32 PM): me 2
Maf54 (8:03:42 PM): cast got you going
Maf54 (8:03:47 PM): what you wearing
Xxxxxxxxx (8:04:04 PM): normal clothes
Xxxxxxxxx (8:04:09 PM): tshirt and shorts
Maf54 (8:04:17 PM): um so a big buldge
Xxxxxxxxx (8:04:35 PM): ya
Maf54 (8:04:45 PM): um
Maf54 (8:04:58 PM): love to slip them off of you
Xxxxxxxxx (8:05:08 PM): haha
Maf54 (8:05:53 PM): and gram the one eyed snake
Maf54 (8:06:13 PM): grab
Xxxxxxxxx (8:06:53 PM): not tonight...dont get to excited
Maf54 (8:07:12 PM): well your hard
Xxxxxxxxx (8:07:45 PM): that is true
Maf54 (8:08:03 PM): and a little horny
Xxxxxxxxx (8:08:11 PM): and also tru
Maf54 (8:08:31 PM): get a ruler and measure it for me
Xxxxxxxxx (8:08:38 PM): ive already told you that
Maf54 (8:08:47 PM): tell me again
Xxxxxxxxx (8:08:49 PM): 7 and 1/2
Maf54 (8:09:04 PM): ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Maf54 (8:09:08 PM): beautiful
Xxxxxxxxx (8:09:38 PM): lol
Maf54 (8:09:44 PM): thats a great size
Xxxxxxxxx (8:10:00 PM): thank you
Maf54 (8:10:22 PM): still stiff
Xxxxxxxxx (8:10:28 PM): ya
Maf54 (8:10:40 PM): take it out
Xxxxxxxxx (8:10:54 PM): brb...my mom is yelling
Maf54 (8:11:06 PM): ok
Xxxxxxxxx (8:14:02 PM): back
Maf54 (8:14:37 PM): cool hope se didnt see any thing
Xxxxxxxxx (8:14:54 PM): no no
Xxxxxxxxx (8:14:59 PM): she is computer dumb though
Xxxxxxxxx (8:15:01 PM): it makes me so mad
Maf54 (8:15:04 PM): good
Maf54 (8:15:08 PM): haha
Maf54 (8:15:11 PM): why
Xxxxxxxxx (8:15:23 PM): cause she cant do anything
Maf54 (8:15:31 PM): oh well
Xxxxxxxxx (8:15:41 PM): she couldnt figure out how to download a file from an email and open it
Maf54 (8:15:53 PM): haha
Xxxxxxxxx (8:16:14 PM): and she only does it like a million times a day
Xxxxxxxxx (8:16:16 PM): oh well
Xxxxxxxxx (8:16:18 PM): whatever
Xxxxxxxxx (8:16:53 PM): well i better go finish my hw...i just found out from a friend that i have to finish reading and notating a book for AP english Maf54 signed off at 8:17:43 PM.

What does the National Intelligence Report Mean

Letter to the Editor

Republicans and Democrats are fighting over the meaning of the National Intelligence report. Democrats point out that it concludes that the war in Iraq has inflamed our enemies hatred and that terrorism has increased. Republicans however point out that pulling out of Iraq would show American weakness and embolden the terrorists.

So we are dammed if we do and dammed if we don't. Bush has lied America into a war that we are going to lose no matter what we do and he proposes that we not only stay the course, but we further inflame the world but legalizing torture. We are not only hated by our enemies, we are hated by our allies. Our friends hate us. We even hate ourselves. Bush is hated more around the world than any other person on the planet. Bush is America's worst president ever.

So I say no. Let us not stay the course. Let us turn away from failure. We were wrong to go to Iraq in the first place. Maybe America should try to embrace truth and honesty for a change. Maybe we should embrace reality and figure out a new solution that makes sense. The first step in that process it to get rid of the Republican majority.

Keith Olbermann Gets it right in this video.

Was McCain really a POW?

Letter to the Editor

When I went to school they taught us that Washington chopped down the cherry tree saying "I can not tell a lie". We also were told that Lincoln walked 10 miles to pay back a penny. Both stories are just political fables. Now we are told that John McCain was a tortured POW and riding a bus called the "Straight Talk Express". But I'm beginning to wonder about McCain's history as a POW in light of him caving into Bush allowing Bush to keep torturing prisoners in secret foreign torture camps. I think McCain's story is also a fable.

McCain is the son of an admiral and it is known that he got special treatment when he was supposedly held in North Vietnam as a POW. I think that maybe McCain either wasn't really tortured like the real troops were because if he were he wouldn't have caved in to let Bush do the same sort of thing that the Commies did to us.

Any senator who supports legalized torture is committing treason to the Constitution and undermines everything America stands for. America is not a country of barbarians and people like John McCain who tells fables about his war experience and pretends to be truthful should be recaptured by an enemy and treated under the same laws that he proposes the Senate pass. Torture is an evil practice and America should not embrace it.

McCain sells out on Torture

Letter to the Editor

John McCain has caved into Bush yet again on the only issue that people thought still had meaning for him. McCain who was a prisoner of war has now caved into Bush's plan to allow the CIA to torture prisoners in secret prisons in countries that allow torture. The Republicans think that if you tamper with the definition of torture then it makes it not torture. However - if Bush doesn't intend to torture then why do you need secret prisons in countries that allow torture in order to do it?

I don't know about anyone else but I am more troubled by Americans lowering our standards to the same level as Islamic Terrorists. There is now no moral difference between us and them. We are both a society of barbarians who practice the methods of Hitler in the way we treat people. This isn't going to save any American lives. It's going to cost American lives because more people around the world we hate Americans for our barbarism. This is so outrageous that it will even cause Americans to hate Americans. This is no longer my country anymore. The America I remember would never legalize torture.

The Politics of Standing up to Bush

Letter to the Editor
People have been wondering why the Republicans poll numbers are going up lately. Is it that Bush has become more popular? Does the public like the idea of American's setting up secret torture camps? I don't think so. The reason Republicans are doing well lately is that they are finally standing up to Bush. Republicans finally get it that Bush has led America in the wrong direction and the people don't want to go the wrong way anymore. When it come to standing up to Bush, maybe the Democrats can learn something from the Republicans?

Bush uses weasel words to conceal the truth

Letter to the Editor

Bush uses weasel words to conceal what he really means. When Bush talks about "The Program" he means
secret torture camps. When he says that he doesn't understand what the Geneva Conventions mean, it
mean he does understand them and that torture is illegal. When has asks for "clarification" he really
means redefinition of the word torture so as to pretend that torture is somehow legal. He says that
he doesn't want CIA professionals to be tried as international war criminals, but I think that he is
the one who is worried about being tried as a war criminal because he clearly understands that secret
torture camps violate international law.

Last time Bush tried to redefine torture it lead to Abu Ghraib prison where Americans were torturing
people and got caught. As a result they started chopping people heads off. Now Bush wants us to make
the same mistake again. Bush wants America to become barbarians. You don't defeat barbarians by
becoming one yourself. But that's not who we are and I urge people to call their Republican
representatives and tell them that Colin Powell and John McCain are right, torture camps are wrong.

Republicans aren't what they used to be

Letter to the Editor

It seems that today's Republicans are a different party than they used to be. Republicans used to be the party of small government and keeping the government out of people's private business. Now Republicans want the government to tap you phone calls, trace your money, and watch everything you do. I remember when Republicans talked about fiscal responsibility, balancing the budget, and paying off the national debt. But you don't hear about that anymore.

Now republicans consider it a patriotic act for people to give up their freedom. Now they want to allow the government to tap our phones without warrants and set up secret CIA torture camps in foreign countries that allow concentration like camps. Now Republicans run on the fear of terrorism saying that if you don't vote for us then the terrorist will get you. It's hard for a person to say that they are a Republican now that the meaning of Republican has changed.

Tuesday's Elections Resonate Anti-Bush Sentiment

Letter to the Editor

Tuesday's elections were both good news and bad news for Republicans. The good news is that GOP incumbent Lincoln Chafee won the primary election. The bad news is that he is an anti-war and anti-Bush senator. Last month Senator Joe Lieberman, a pro war Democrat who was photographed kissing President Bush, lost his election to unknown novice anti-war candidate Ned Lamont. I think that the voters are sending a message that both Democrats and Republicans need to hear. That message is that we are tired of Bush, we are tired of failure, we are tired of
the lies, we aren't going to stay the course, and that we want America to recover and be a strong nation again. Voters are turning back to reality in 2006.

Bush is losing the war on terror

Letter to the Editor

Bush admits that Saddam Hussein was not behind the 9/11 attack, yet he uses 9/11 to try to justify his failed war in Iraq. Iraq had no terrorists until Bush created a place where terrorism can flourish. Why should they attack us over here when they ca beat us in their area?

We are on the wrong path, headed in the wrong direction, and America is weaker than we were 5 years ago. We are so bogged down in Iraq that we can't fight the war on real terrorism and all our enemies have to do is sit back and watch as we destroy ourselves. After all, with leaders like Bush, who needs enemies?

Path to 9/11 will cost ABC bigtime

Letter to the Editor

I don't think ABC News really appreciates how offensive their 9/11 "docudrama" is to many of its viewers. This is far more than just a "controversial" position. The movie "Path to 9/11" is really a fraud on the public. The movie was directed by the son of the founder of an evangelical cult and contains knowingly untrue facts that support the conclusion that 9/11 was President Clinton's fault. ABC is now hiding behind a disclaimer which uses weasel words describing the movie as "fiction".

There's a difference between a "fiction" and a "lie". Fiction is a movie meant to entertain. Thus if "The Path to 9/11" is fiction that means that ABC considers it "entertainment" to air a falsified account of 9/11 on its 5th anniversary. Makes me wonder if people who take 9/11 seriously are going to be amused. I don't think so.

So who will be offended? People who liked the job that President Clinton did find it extremely offensive. People who take 9/11 seriously and are sensitive to attempts to rewrite history will be offended. The only people who are going to like it are the hard core Clinton haters. But a lot of their thrill is gone because it has been widely publicized that ABC's movie is fake.

I'm no news expert but I would think that when you deeply offend a significant share of your audience that it would be bad for ratings. So ABC's fake story is going to have a price. When your viewers no longer respect you they change the channel. I'll be watching Loose Change 911 dot com on the Internet instead.

Bush endorses torture and he must be stopped

Letter to the Editor

US President Bush today admitted today that the United States used secret prisons run by the CIA to torture prisoners, and Bush said that he was going to keep on doing it. Although Bush says the the United States does not torture, he also has his own definition of torture and claims that the Geneva conventions are vague.

Torturing people is just plain wrong. It's something that civilized people do not do. While Bush claims that America's use of torture has saved innocent lives, in reality the opposite is true. It has caused America to be the object of scorn in the international community by our friends an enemies alike. It has led to our people being kidnapped, tortured, and beheaded and it is used by terrorists to recruit new terrorists as they point to our president as an example of a leader gone mad.

The bottom line is that Bush is doing more hard than good and he has to be stopped in order to prevent further damage. He is leading America down an evil path that threatens the security of the civilized world. Americans are good people and we ask that the world not judge us by our insane leader. We ask that the people of the world join us to help remove Bush from power. Bush isn't just our problem. He is a danger to the planet and he must be stopped.

Gas prices ahead of Election

Letter to the Editor

Just a month ago British Petroleum announced that it was going to shut down the Prudhoe Bay oil fields because of leaks in its oil pipelines. Experts were predicting gas prices to rise to above $4.00 a gallon in western states. But with the election just 60 days away all of a sudden there's plenty of oil and prices are dropping. What an amazing coincidence. Do you think that the oil companies are helping Republicans get elected? Maybe we should have new elections every 6 months of we want to keep oil prices lower.

My advice to voters this election day is, fill your tank before the votes are counted because gas prices might not be as low the day after the election as the day before.

Vote Republican or Die!

Letter to the Editor

The Republicans seem disparate. Their message is effectively "Vote Republican or Die!" Their claim is that if we don't stay the course and achieve victory in Iraq then the Islamic Terrorist Fascist Insurgents are coming to get you. Bush compares the war in Iraq to fighting the Nazis in World War 2 as if it were some noble cause. But we can never win in Iraq because the enemies are the same people that we are trying to liberate.

The truth is that Bush has failed and the Republicans have failed. We can either change direction now or wait till it gets worse and change direction later. The question that voters have to figure out is how bad are we going to allow things to get before we do something about it? I say lets throw the bums out.

Islamic Fascism?

Letter to the Editor

The new Republican buzz phrase this week is "Islamic Fascism" saying that anyone who questions the Iraq war is immoral and is the kind of person who would have appeased Hitler. Excuse me? Who was it that decided to lie our way into a war with Iraq? Who was it that decided torturing people was OK? Who supports kidnapping people off the street and rendering them to countries where they are tortured and killed? We do have a problem with a new kind of fascism. Rumsfield is the fascist and he is the one who is emulating Hitler. If not for the Republicans we could actually deal with real Islamic terrorists rather than fighting fake wars against the wrong enemies.

Now we have two perverts in the news

Letter to the Editor

Now that JonBennet Ramsey's murder suspect John Mark Karr has been determined to be some nut case who made a fake confession to get attention, I'm trying to figure out what is more perverted. Was it Karr's obsession with young girls or is it the media's obsession with perverts? The journalists are supposed to be the "normal people" but they were more obsessed than he was. Now they caught polygamist Warren Jeffs so now the news media has a new pervert to obsess on. With two perverts in the news we may never know how the war in Iraq turns out.

What ever happened to the good old days when news was news and the tabloids covered the perverts?

---

I mean - Jesus! Media obsession on sex scares me. Journalists seem far more obcessed than the stalkers do. Yeah the perps are creazy but watch the journalists covering them. Talk about people who have problems.

Katrina - Only promises a year later

Letter to the Editor

It's been one year since Bush let New Orleans drown and emergency trailers are still not yet delivered and people are just left with nothing. During this same period the oil companies have got another 14 billion in subsidies, the super rich got more tax breaks. and Congress raised it's pay. The only thing people got from the insurance companies was a rate increase. The gulf coast states voted for Bush so the lesson to be learned is that if you elect an incompetent president then you get incompetence.

---

Of course I feel sorry for those who voted for Kerry who lived in New Orleans but to some extent when you elect stupid people, and that includes Ray Negan, then you get the government you elect.

Years before the hurricane I'd seen several specials on what could happen to New Orleans if the right hurricane hit so even I was familiar with it. So there is was with many days worth of warning and they all just sat there and did nothing. Everyone knew the canals and levies had problems and did nothing. When the storm came they just sat there like morons.

Secret Republican Plan to Impeach Bush?

Letter to the Editor

Have you heard that there is a secret Republican plan to impeach Bush? If the Democrats win both houses it just might happen. Here's the reason. If the Dems win then they might impeach Bush and Cheney making Nancy Pelosi president as she would be Speaking of the House and next in line. However, if the Republicans impeach Bush before the Dems take power in January then Dennis Hassert becomes president instead of Pelosi. But they would have just over 60 days to do it so they have to have it all planned out in advance.

It does seem extreme for Republicans to impeach Bush, but as we know if Nancy Pelosi is president she will probably pick Hillary Clinton as VP and the Republicans can't let that happen. So the rumor might just be true. When you think about it it all starts to make sense.

What the 2006 Election is Really About

Letter to the Editor

This election in 2006 is about denial. Are we as a nation going to face the reality that America is heading in the wrong direction or are we going to lie to ourselves for 2 more years and pretend that everything is just fine? If we are going to survive we are going to have to stop the breeding and accept that America needs a new direction. However - I still waiting to for the Democrats to state what they have to offer. I want to hear a message of change. I just can't stand the lying anymore.

We are in really bad shape and we can't pretend that it's all going to just go away. I'm looking for real courage and I'm not seeing it. If America turns it's back on reality then reality might turn it's back on America. And that's a scary thought.

Stay in Iraq Till the Job is Done?

Letter to the Editor

Bush said that we aren't going to leave Iraq until the "job is done". I suppose we should have got out of Iraq 4 years ago when Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" because we were closer to having the job done then that we are now. Now Iraq is a lost cause, fighting a civil war, and our troops are there to try to hide the civil war till after the elections. We are left with a choice of accepting failure now or waiting till things get worse. I fail to see the logic in staying the wrong course.

War is a problem that can be solved

Letter to the Editor

Even though cultures and religions have been at war for thousands of years the problem of war can be solved. In order to have a war there has to be an agreement to go to war. This agreement comes from a Vocabulary of War.

In the Middle East Muslims and Jews kill each other, but in San Francisco Muslims and Jews march together to protest for peace. The reason San Francisco is different than the Middle East is that San Francisco uses the Vocabulary of Peace and the Middle East uses the Vocabulary of War. We respect each other here. In San Francisco "we" are all "us", fellow members of the human community. Over there "they" are "terrorists" or "Infidels" and "they" deserve to die.

The Vocabulary of Peace humanizes people. The Vocabulary of War dehumanizes them. The difference is in the vocabulary and I think that if we change the vocabulary we can change the world. It's harder to kill people when you see them as individuals. And they have a harder time hating you when you are being respectful and considerate.

Israel needs a new plan

Letter to the Editor

With the less than successful Lebanese war coming to a close it may be time for the people of Israel to come up with a long term better plan to establish a new relationship with the world community. Israel has been at war with other religions for thousands of years. I ask the question, how many more thousands of years does the war have to continue until Israel figures out how to get along with the rest of the world? Or, perhaps it's time for Israel to rethink it's role in the world now and spare generations of war?

Israel needs to stop dehumanizing Arabs and start seeing them as people. They are not "Hezbollah" who are all "Terrorists" who need to be exterminated as vermin. They are people like you and me who have children, parents, brothers and sisters, friends, and a community of people who they care about. They are good people who are trying to do the right thing as bast they know how. Seeing the enemy as people is the first step towards peace.

Here in San Francisco California we have Jews and Muslims but we don't kill each other here. We are a community that includes all people and here Jews and Muslims live together and work together and we march together to Anwar Sedat protest the US invasion of Iraq. What is different here is that Jews and Muslims respect each other and we speak the vocabulary of peace, not the vocabulary of war.

So if we can do it then Israel can do it. In 1979 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat put aside put aside his hatred defying the Islamic community to make peace with Israel and now Egyptians and Israelis no longer kill each other. Sadat put aside the vocabulary of war in favor of the vocabulary of peace and it worked. It is time for Israel to look to the future and put aside the past and decide if it wants to embrace reality and be a peaceful member of the world community.

Bush loses war to Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran

Letter to the Editor

Bush just lost another war to Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran. I say Bush lost the war because it turns out that it was Bush who talked Israel into fighting a proxy war against Hezbollah and failed to get Syria and Iran involved in a larger regional war. The losers in the war includes the people of Lebanon, a democracy almost wiped out by the US and Israel. Israel and the US are also big losers because this war was an unjust war and it has turned world opinion against us. The winners, unfortunately, are Hezbollah, who held off the Israelis and Iran and Syria who had the restraint to not get involved, and Islamic radicals.

Because America has a weak and stupid president Bush has made us weaker while making Islamic terrorists stronger. It is time we get rid of the Republican congress so that we can impeach this criminal and restore America to be a force for good rather than the biggest threat to democracy and freedom on the planet. Bush has make us the bad guys now that we have destroyed yet another nation we have to do whatever it takes to stop him.

------

Think about it. Israel destroys Leboneese homes and now Hezbollah is going to rebuild homes. Who do you think is going to be more popular with the people? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the party the rebuilds your house is going to be more popular than those who destroyed it.

As to Bush being behind the war on Lebanon, I found this articl on Consortium News.

Amid the political and diplomatic fallout from Israel's faltering invasion of Lebanon, some Israeli officials are privately blaming President George W. Bush for egging Prime Minister Ehud Olmert into the ill-conceived military adventure against the Hezbollah militia in south Lebanon.

Bush conveyed his strong personal support for the military offensive during a White House meeting with Olmert on May 23, according to sources familiar with the thinking of senior Israeli leaders.

Olmert, who like Bush lacks direct wartime experience, agreed that a dose of military force against Hezbollah might damage the guerrilla group's influence in Lebanon and intimidate its allies, Iran and Syria, countries that Bush has identified as the chief obstacles to U.S. interests in the Middle East.

As part of Bush's determination to create a new Middle East one that is more amenable to U.S. policies and desires Bush even urged Israel to attack Syria, but the Olmert government refused to go that far, according to Israeli sources.

One source said some Israeli officials thought Bush's attack-Syria idea was nuts since much of the world would have seen the bombing campaign as overt aggression.

In an article on July 30, the Jerusalem Post referred to Bush's interest in a wider war involving Syria. Israeli defense officials told the Post last week that they were receiving indications from the US that America would be interested in seeing Israel attack Syria, the newspaper reported.

While balking at an expanded war into Syria, Olmert did agree on the need to show military muscle in Lebanon as a prelude to facing down Iran over its nuclear program, which Olmert has called an existential threat to Israel.

With U.S. forces bogged down in Iraq, Bush and his neoconservative advisers saw the inclusion of Israeli forces as crucial for advancing a strategy that would punish Syria for supporting Iraqi insurgents, advance the confrontation with Iran and isolate Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

But the month-long war has failed to achieve its goals of destroying Hezbollah forces in south Lebanon or intimidating Iran and Syria.

Instead, Hezbollah guerrillas fought Israeli troops to a virtual standstill in villages near the border and much of the world saw Israel's bombing raids across Lebanon which killed hundreds of civilians as disproportionate.

Now, as the conflict winds down, some Israeli officials are ruing the Olmert-Bush pact on May 23 and fault Bush for pushing Olmert into the conflict.

Building Pressure

Soon after the May 23 meeting in Washington, Israel began to ratchet up pressure on the Hamas-led government in the Palestinian territories and on Hezbollah and other Islamic militants in Lebanon. As part of this process, Israel staged low-key attacks in both Lebanon and Gaza. [For details, see Consortiumnews.com A "Pretext" War in Lebanon.]

The tit-for-tat violence led to the Hamas seizure of an Israeli soldier on June 24 and then to Israeli retaliatory strikes in Gaza. That, in turn, set the stage for Hezbollah's attack on an Israeli outpost and the capture of two more Israeli soldiers on July 12.

Hezbollah's July 12 raid became the trigger that Bush and Olmert had been waiting for. With the earlier attacks unknown or forgotten, Israel and the U.S. skillfully rallied international condemnation of Hezbollah for what was called an unprovoked attack and a kidnapping of Israeli soldiers.

Behind the international criticism of Hezbollah, Bush and Olmert justified an intense air campaign against Lebanese targets, killing civilians and destroying much of Lebanon's commercial infrastructure. Israeli troops also crossed into southern Lebanon with the intent of delivering a devastating military blow against Hezbollah, which retaliated by firing Katyusha rockets into Israel..

However, the Israeli operation was eerily reminiscent of the disastrous U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Like the U.S. assault, Israel relied heavily on shock and awe air power and committed an inadequate number of soldiers to the battle.

Israeli newspapers have been filled with complaints from soldiers who say some reservists weren't issued body armor while other soldiers found their equipment either inferior or inappropriate to the battlefield conditions.

Israeli troops also encountered fierce resistance from Hezbollah guerrillas, who took a page from the Iraqi insurgents by using explosive booby traps and ambushes to inflict heavier than expected casualties on the Israelis.

Channel 2 in Israel disclosed that several top military commanders wrote a letter to Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, the chief of staff, criticizing the war planning as chaotic and out of line with the combat training of the soldiers and officers. [Washington Post, Aug. 12, 2006]

One Israeli plan to use llamas to deliver supplies in the rugged terrain of south Lebanon turned into an embarrassment when the animals simply sat down.

Reporter Nahum Barnea, who traveled with an Israeli unit in south Lebanon, compared the battle to the famous Tom and Jerry cartoons with the powerful Israeli military playing the role of the cat Tom and the resourceful Hezbollah guerrillas playing the mouse Jerry. In every conflict between them, Jerry wins, Barnea wrote.

Olmert Criticized

Back in Israel, some leading newspapers have begun calling for Olmert's resignation.

If Olmert runs away now from the war he initiated, he will not be able to remain prime minister for even one more day, the newspaper Haaretz wrote in a front-page analysis. You cannot lead an entire nation to war promising victory, produce humiliating defeat and remain in power.

You cannot bury 120 Israelis in cemeteries, keep a million Israelis in shelters for a month and then say, "Oops, I made a mistake." [See Washington Post, Aug. 12, 2006]

For his part, Bush spent July and early August fending off international demands for an immediate cease-fire. Bush wanted to give Olmert as much time as possible to bomb targets across Lebanon and dislodge Hezbollah forces in the south.

But instead of turning the Lebanese population against Hezbollah as Washington and Tel Aviv had hoped the devastation rallied public support behind Hezbollah.

As the month-long conflict took on the look of a public-relations disaster for Israel, the Bush administration dropped its resistance to international cease-fire demands and joined with France in crafting a United Nations plan for stopping the fighting.

Quoting a senior administration official with Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, the New York Times reported that it increasingly seemed that Israel would not be able to achieve a military victory, a reality that led the Americans to get behind a cease-fire. [NYT, Aug. 12, 2006]

But the repercussions from Israel's failed Lebanon offensive are likely to continue. Olmert must now confront the political damage at home and the chief U.S. adversaries in the Middle East may be emboldened by the outcome, more than chastened.

As in the Iraq War, Bush has revealed again how reliance on tough talk and military might can sometimes undercut not build up U.S. influence in the strategically important Middle East.

Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at Amazon.com, as is his 1999 book, Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth.'

Democrats send a Signal - No to Bush, No to War

Letter to the Editor

Anti-war activist Ned Lamont, a political unknown who has never held public office has won over a pro-war Democrat Joe Lieberman, who just 6 years ago was almost elected vice president. Clearly the people are sending a message that we are against the war, we are against Bush, and we are going to vote out Democrat collaborators who support a right wing agenda. The time has come for the people to rise up against this failed congress and vote the bums out. If you are a Democrat or a Republican it's time that you get the message. No to war, no to Bush. If you don't get it then we'll replace you with someone who does.

Who is the antisemite?

Letter to the Editor

If a Jewish man is drunk leaving a bar and his friend takes his car keys refusing to allow him to drive home drunk, is that antisemitism? Of course not! Israel has engaged in a war that is very very wrong and this war is bad for Israel. The bigger their military success the worse it will be in the long run. Supporting this war is against the best interest of Israel. Opposing this war is in the best interest of Israel. I therefore say that it is not those who of us who oppose this war who are antisemitic. It is the supporters of this war who are. True friends keep you from self harm, not encourage it.

Republicans say that Democrats are Week on Terror

Letter to the Editor

The Republicans say that the Democrats are weak on terror. Perhaps they are right. Democrats have never terrified me that way Republicans have.

Israel - Bad Neighbor

Letter to the Editor

If Israel doesn't respect Lebanon's right to exist then how can Israel expect the rest of the world to recognize its right to exist? If you can't play nice with your neighbors then you might get find yourself getting kicked out of the neighborhood.

Does Israel have any special right to exist?

Letter to the Editor

A lot of people have been talking about Israel's right to exist as if Israel has some special rights that other countries don't have. Israel has no more of a right to exist than any other country in the world has. There is nothing special about Israel as compared to any other country in the world. Nor is there anything special about the rights of Jews as compared to any other religion. Judaism like Islam and Christianity is just another religion. Lebanon has the same right to exists as Israel does. The right to exist is an earned right and it is based on a country's ability to respect the rights of others and to work towards peace and oppose war.

Has Bill Clinton switched to the Dark Side of the Force?

It almost reminds me of the Star Wars movies where Luke Skywalker is slowly transformed from a Jedi knight into the evil Darth Vader. Has Bill Clinton given in to the dark side of the force? After 5 years of deafening silence and political neutrality Bill Clinton has emerged to actively endorse Bush's strongest supporter in the Democratic party, Joe Lieberman. Joe Lieberman is a right wing pro war Zionist who the Democrats are actively trying to get rid of. Clinton has been silent on the war in Iraq, silent on the destruction of the economy, silent on Bush's corruption and abuse of power, silent on domestic spying, silent where people should speak out.

I have been uncomfortable for some time with the Clinton/Bush love fest but now I'm really uncomfortable with Bill Clinton. I don't know if Clinton's endorsement is going to help Lieberman but I can tell you that it definitely hurts my opinion of him. I'm not sure I want Clinton back if he's switched sides. I am really really really really disappointed with Clinton right now.

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Clinton is urging voters to put their opposition to the war aside when they vote. BULL SHIT! Voting is the only real way we have to oppose the war. This is not the time to put our opposition asside. A vote against those who support the war is a vote against Bush and the war.

Is Bush behind Israel's Invasion of Lebanon?

People are wondering if Bush is behind Israel's invasion of Lebanon. Why would people wonder that? Perhaps it's their plan. Israel is going to bomb Lebanon into loving Israel. Kind of sounds like Bush's plan for Iraq where victory is defined as defeating the people who we are there to liberate. When you see a country with a really bad idea looking for any excuse to start a war and everything about it is wrong and dishonest, that's the Bush style of making decisions. I think Bush was trying to use Israel to start a proxy war with Iran and Syria and has failed to do it. All it's doing is making America and Israel weaker.

What if Israel bombed frozen embryos?

Letter to the Editor

What will it take to get Bush to ask Israel to stop destroying Lebanon? Maybe if Israel bombs a fertility clinic and kills some frozen embryos - maybe only then we can get Bush to ask Israel for a cease fire.

What if Israelis Kill Americans?

Letter to the Editor

What if Israelis start killing Americans? It could easily happen because Americans are also pinned down by Israel's discriminate attacks. If Israelis kill Americans then who's side are we supposed to be on? I can't accept that Israeli lives are more important than American lives or the rights of Israelis are superior to ours. If Americans in Lebanon are killed by Israelis then Americans have the right to defend themselves.

The Enemy is who?

Letter to the Editor

America is trying hard to get Americans out of Lebanon so that American's aren't killed by enemy forces who are attacking. Who are these forces who Americans are running from? Israelis? But I thought Israel was our friend. I'm so confused.

Bush no longer hunts for his buddy Osama

Letter to the Editor

Is it any surprise that the CIA has disbanded the unit that is hunting for Osama bin Laden? After all, he's Bush's buddy. The Bush's and the bin Laden families are business partners in the Carlyle Group. Osama appeared on television 3 days before the election to help Bush win a second term. And after 9-11 the only plane in the air after the attack was a plane taking the bin Laden family back to Saudi Arabia. Osama is the Republican's boogie man and they pull him out every time they take away more of our freedoms. The "war on terrorism" is a fraud. If we aren't going after bin Laden then we aren't going after terrorism.

America no longer world leader

Letter to the Editor

Fortunately for the world North Korea's missile test was a failure. The problem however is that the United States is powerless to do anything about it. In the past America was a trusted nation in the world community that had the power to bring nations together and create a unified world consensus as to what to do about the world's crazy leaders. But that is no longer the case. America no longer has a trusted status in the world community because of our crazy leader.

In 2003 America invaded and occupied Iraq without the support and agreement of the world. In an act of defiance against United Nations authority we showed the world that we can do whatever we want. Then we started setting up secret prisons to torture people and declared that America will not follow the Geneva Conventions and honor international treaties that we have agreed to. Because of this America no longer has the trust of the world community and can not lead the would like it once had.

So now when we come crawling back to the United Nations calling for resolutions regarding nuclear proliferation we are neither respected nor trusted. We are in fact seen in the same light as Iran and North Korea as a nation with bombs that is out of control. There is a price to pay for thumbing our noses at the world community and we are now paying that price. Our military is overextended, our economy is weak, and no one likes us anymore.

Supreme Court Rules Bush isn't a King

Letter to the Editor

The Supreme Court today ruled that bush is not king and has to obey the law when it comes to locking people up without a trial and torturing them. It's sad that only 5 members of the Court get it when it comes to the concept that we are a nation of laws that apply to everyone. Bush is going to continue to ignore the law and do it anyway on the claim that he is above the law. The only solution is to impeach him.

Flag Burning Amendment isn't about Burning Flags

Letter to the Editor

The so called Flag Burning amendment doesn't have anything more to do with flag burning than the Patriot Act has to do with patriotism. People are led to think that the purpose of this amendment is to stop people from burning flags, but it is not. The true purpose is to criminalize any behavior that the government doesn't like by broadly interpreting the concept of "flag desecration" to mean any form of expression that they consider unpatriotic. Please tell your senator that this is just a cynical attempt to undermine freedom.

Now the are spying on our bank records

Letter to the Editor

They were caught listening in on our phone calls without a warrant and they said that it was only between Americans and foreign terrorists. But it turns out they are tracing all phone calls. Now we find out that they are looking into bank accounts. Will we soon find out that they are tracking all our spending without a warrant? Are they lying about this too? When the government breaks the law then there is no law.

Bush is above the law

Letter to the Editor

I was in the courtroom today in San Francisco watching the Bush Administration argue in front of the court that Bush was above the law. They stated that the Electronic Frontier Foundation can not sue AT&T for tapping our phones without a warrant. I sat there in amazement as they actually told the judge that if Congress passed a law prohibiting what they are doing that Bush would refuse to obey it and it would create a constitutional crisis. It was like I was a witness to the death of freedom.

Yep - I was actually there and they really did say that.

Can we shoot down North Korea's Missiles?

Letter to the Editor

North Korea is about to launch a missile test to see if it can create a weapon that can hit California. For years the Republicans and the military have been claiming that we have a missile defense system that can keep us safe. So - lets see if Korea launches its test missile if America can shoot it down. If we don't shoot it down I think it's an admission that we can't.

Flag Burning Political Stunt

Letter to the Editor

It's an election year and the Republicans are dragging out their second election year political stunt to further curtail our rights with a flag desecration amendment. What does this mean? All they have to do it print a flag on anything they don't want debated to make it an act of flag desecration. If Republicans want to support and honor the flag they should pass a law requiring that all flags be made in America. I find it offensive to see Republicans posturing behind a flag that is made in Communist China.

Protecting Marriage

Letter to the Editor

The Republicans, in an attempt to reassure religious conservatives, suggest that we need a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in order to protect heterosexual marriage. But wouldn't a better way to protect marriage be a constitutional amendment banning heterosexual divorce? Think about it.

Let's build a dome over the United States

First there were calls to build a wall on the Mexican border. Now they want to defend the Canadian border. I say, let's just build a dome over the United States!

If we built a dome then we can protect all our borders so no one can get in. It would solve all our problems. No foreigners to take our jobs, no trade deficit, it would keep out hurricanes, protect us from global warming, and keep aliens from outer space from breeding our women; an issue that the religious right is passionate about.

The way I see it if you're going to fantasize and come up with fake solutions to fake problems, then why not go all the way? However if we are going to embrace reality then we should be looking for real solutions that will actually work.

Bush Cuts Anti-Terrorism Funds

Letter to the Editor

On 9-11 New York and Washington were attacked by terrorists. Now Bush has decided to cut anti-terrorism funding by 40% for those two cities. I guess that we need to make sacrifices in our homeland security budget to make sure we have enough money to give the rich more tax cuts. How bad does it need to get before America impeaches this moron?

Defending the Mexican Border

Letter to the Editor

It's and election year and there's two kinds of people, there's us - and there's them. And we need to keep them from crossing the border and becoming an us. So Bush want to deploy 6000 of the national guard to defend the border against the alien invaders, and the Republicans want to build a wall that will keep them out. What a brilliant idea! That's just what we need to solve the problem! But here's a better idea. Why don't we hire some Mexicans to build the wall and defend the border. After all, it's work no one else wants to do. If you have a plan that's not going to work then there's no need to worry about doing it right.

Democrats and Republicans come together to defend corruption

Letter to the Editor

Rarely do Democrats and Republicans join together. What kind of event can cause them to completely agree on something? Has such an event occurred? Yes it has! When a Democrats gets busted for corruption and they find $90,000 in marked bribe money in his freezer and the FBI goes to search his office WITH a warrant, they cry foul. Apparently it's a constitutional crisis when a member of congress who commits a crime for the FBI to search his offices for evidence. Republicans join Democrats in the outrage of it all.

Of course when the NSA taps the phones of ordinary people like you and me WITHOUT a warrant our congress critters aren't sure if anyone broke the law. They don't cry foul when OUR rights are violated but when it's about them - well that's a different story. Congress will tell you that they aren't above the law, but they want to control the investigation. That's why when Congressman Kennedy is caught driving drunk after wrecking his car, the police give him a ride home without checking him for alcohol or drugs. We're all equal, but some of us are more equal than others.

The congressman can claim separation of powers and various immunities but I would argue that taking bribes is not an official duty of a member of congress and that taking a bribe is a personal crime and that it is an act outside the the protections of his office. So if a member of congress commits a crime, especially a crime that he used his position to commit, that it is fair to search his offices for evidence. If congress will not protect our rights and let the government tap our phone illegally then I'm not ready to come to their defense when they claim a constitutional foul. Let them feel the hand of tyranny on their throat and live like the rest of us.

Government to Prosecute Reporters

Letter to the Editor

The corporate news media is now the victim of it's own deceptions. In 2003 when Bush started the war they were totally complicit in the marketing of Bush's war. More people watch the news as they sold the "America at War" story, knowing at the time that it was false. Now the monster they created has turned on them. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is now going to go after journalist and prosecute them for reporting government corruption. The Bush administration has redefined corruption as a military secret in it's fake war on terror an reporters who report it may end up in jail. We now live in a country where freedom is considered a threat to national security.

Yahoo Article

X-Men more realist than Bible

Letter to the Editor

I don't understand why everyone is so worked up over fiction these days. The movie "The Da Vinci Code" is a work of fiction. It's a fictional story about the Bible which is also a fictional story about fictional characters like God and Jesus. None of this is real. I haven't seen people so worked up over a movie since we found out that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father in Star Wars! Will I watch the movie? Probably not. I think I'll wait for the X-Men movie because the characters are more realistic.

After tapping the Phone Compaines, what's next? Microsoft Windows and Apple OS-X

Letter to the Editor

Now that we know that Bush has been tracking every phone call made by every person in the United States, or at least those made by AT&T and Verizon customers it makes you wonder what's next? Has Microsoft or Apple collaborated with the NSA to plant spy software into Windows or Apple OS-X? Are they tracking everything we do online? That would be the next logical step in the progression of illegal spying. So I would ask Apple and Microsoft, hopefully before the fact, if they intend to cooperate with the NSA to illegally tap our computers?

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I'm trying to bring up computer tapping BEFORE it happens, assuming that it hasn't already happened. I think we need to go after this proactively and put pressure on corporations BEFORE the NSA forces them to sell out and spy on us.

When the government breaks the law then there is no law

Letter to the Editor

The NSA is breaking the law. They are illegally tracking every phone call you make. When you cal your friends and family the government know who you are calling, when you called, and how long you talked. And it's all illegal. The under the law the NSA is required to go to a special court set up specifically to issue warrants and to oversee the NSA. The NSA refuses to obey the law. The insist on acting outside the law. They are asserting that no law applies to them and no court has authority over them. When the government breaks the law then there is no law.

Here we go again, another tax cut for the rich ...

Letter to the Editor

As President Reagan used to say, "Here we go again!" The Republicans just passed another big tax cut for the rich which will be paid for by borrowing another 70 billion dollars from Communist Chinese and Saudi billionaires like the bin Laden family. This tax cut of course benefits everyone we are told. If you make $30,000 a year you save $9. But if you make a million dollars a year you save $42,000. Gone are the good old days when Republicans talked about a balanced budget and how we are going to spend the surplus. Now it's just borrow and spend without any sense of fiscal responsibility.

General Michael Haydon is a Felon

Letter to the Editor

Bush's nominee, General Michael Haydon, is not qualified to lead the CIA because he is a felon. He's the one behind the illegal domestic spying. The law specifically prohibits taping Americans phone lines without a warrant and like Bush he just ignores the law and does it anyhow. The man is a criminal and deserves to be in jail, not leading the CIA. I suppose the government thinks that they are above the law but one of these day the people are going to rise up and take America back and restore law and order.

Now it's Flag Burning Again

Letter to the Editor

As if the idea of the $100 kickback idea wasn't insulting enough now the Senate wants to further avoid reality by passing an anti-flag burning amendment. We have two wars and we're close to a third one. Gas is almost $3.50 a gallon. The government is spying on us illegally. Soldiers are dying for the freedom that they are trying to take away from us. And then there's the 9 trillion dollar debt, the torture pictures, the bribes, the lying, that raw stupidity of it all and all they can do is waste time tring to trick us by posing as a patriot. I'm beginning to wonder if the flag is worthy of burning. I wonder if the flag means anything anymore.

Gas Prices - Supply and Demand

Letter to the Editor

Oil company executives say that gas prices are up because of supply and demand. Those who have the supply can demand whatever they want.

Nope - not origional.

The Decider insists on English

Letter to the Editor

Bush says that the national anthem should be sung in English, not Spanish. What I find amazing is that people want to sing the anthem at all considering the stolen elections, the fake war in Iraq, the domestic spying, the secret CIA torture camps, the corruption, lawlessness, and corporate greed. And in spite of being threatened with deportation and prison these hard working people still want to sing the anthem. I say why not? But Bush says if they are going to live in America they need to learn the language. And Bush gets to say that because he's the "decider".

The $100 Bribe

Letter to the Editor

In the face of rising gas prices and record profits by the oil companies the Republicans have a brilliant idea as to how to fix the gas price crisis. The solution - give everyone a $100 election year bribe. It's not just that it's a really bad idea, but that the Republican's think the voters are dumb enough to fall for it. Or maybe they understand the voter, which is even worse. I guess they are so used to getting bribes that it never occurs to them that it's wrong. We are a nation in serious trouble.

Lend and Forgive Cycle

Letter to the Editor

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury John Snow said Sunday that the United States should end it's policy of lending money to poor nations and forgiving the debt. I question if it's wise to take that position now that we are 9 trillion dollars in debt ourselves. At some point in the future we are going to have to stop our borrow and spend policies and start paying down our national debt. If America takes a harsh position against the debt of poor countries then who will have compassion for us when we come to the world with our hat in our hand asking for help? America needs to be both compassionate towards others and fiscally responsible for our own borrowing. Right now we are neither.

Bush Screws Arnold Schwarzenegger Again

Letter to the Editor

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger strongly criticized Bush Saturday because he refused to declare a federal disaster for California's fragile levees. And Arnold is surprised by this? In 2004 Arnold could have fixed the levy problem and most all other California problems by opposing Bush for president so that the "dicider" wouldn't continue to ruin America. But instead Arnold make a last minute run to Ohio to help put Bush over the top. Had Arnold declared Bush to be the worst president ever then Bush would have lost and Arnold would get his levy money from a new president.

Now it's election year for Arnold and his karma has returned to haunt him. He put politics ahead of the people. It was more important to be loyal to Republicans than to act for the good of the people. So if there is any silver lining to this it is a lesson for people in both parties that if you don't put the people first then you will suffer the consequences. Unfortunately the people have to suffer the consequences too.

Gas Price Gouging

Letter to the Editor

"I'm concerned about higher gasoline prices," Bush says. "The government has the responsibility to make sure that we watch very carefully and investigate possible price-gouging, and we will do just that," Do I believe that? I still remember how he said he was going to investigate the leaks related to the outing of the CIA agent. Bush called for a criminal investigation to "get to the bottom" of it just to find out that he was the one behind it.

They can pretend that the high price of gas is because of "world demand" and "political uncertainty" and "converting to ethanol", but when I see the president of Exxon getting a retirement bonus of close to half a BILLION dollars it's pretty clear that it's greedy oil companies raping the public again. These are the guys who met in secret with vice president Cheney to create the energy policies that make them rich and us poor. When the oil companies are showing record profits it doesn't take a genius to figure out that if they made a little less then we would be paying less at the pumps. The quickest way to bring down gas prices is to impeach Bush and Cheney.

Republicans = High Priced Gas

Letter to the Editor

People are guessing about why gas prices are so high. Some say it's worldwide demand. Others say that it's related to hurricanes. But when it comes down to it the real reason is that it's about corporate greed. Electing Republicans is like voting for $100 a barrel oil and $5.00 a gallon gas. When the people are hurting while the oil companies are swimming in money you know the Republicans are in power.

How can you declassify information you don't know about?

Letter to the Editor

Bush's latest story is that he declassified the information that Scooter Libby leaked to the press and therefore there was no leak of classified material. But Bush had previously stated that he knew nothing about the leaks and called for a criminal investigation to “get to the bottom” of the scandal. I'm having a hard time grasping the concept that Bush could declassify something that he didn't know about. If Bush didn't know then he couldn't have declassified it. If Bush lied then he too is obstructing justice. He would have called for a special prosecutor to get to the bottom of something he knowingly started? I vote to impeach.

If Bush can't say Nuclear - he shouldn't start a nuclear war

Letter to the Editor

I think that Congress should pass a law that says if the President can't properly pronounce the word "nuclear" that he shouldn't be allowed to start a nuclear war with Iran. Maybe that will keep the moron from wiping out civilization.

Iraq Celebrates Iraqi Freedom Day

Letter to the Editor

Today is Iraqi Freedom Day celebrating three years since Iraq was "liberated". Unfortunately no one was out celebrating their freedom because they are too scared to come out for fear being killed.

The Gospel of Reality

Letter to the Editor

When the president breaks the law it sets a bad example for society, especially the children. It is like telling the world that America is a fundamentally dishonest nation. Our president is a criminal, a liar, and an election cheater. He lies to send men away to die. He takes food from the poor and medicine from the old to give fat cat corporations a tax break, leaving the poor folk with a 9 trillion dollar debt. What does this tell the world about us? What example does it set for the children? And how will it affect our future.

I call on all the people of the world that it is time that we embrace the power of Reality. That we turn to Reality to make our important decisions. We need to think about Reality when we vote. There's a new Gospel. There's a new holy book. There's a new way of looking at religion and experiencing the real world as it really is. The Gospel of Reality. In these troubled times when nations contemplate nuclear war and weapons of mass destruction, what is it that gives us the moral certitude to help us decide that wiping out the human race is a really bad idea? There is but one source of true wisdom, and that is to open your hearts to Reality, embrace the real world, and commit your life to making decisions that make sense. Because if we turn our backs on Reality, Reality will punish us.

Bush caught lying again

Letter to the Editor

Now we find out that Bush was the one who gave the order to tell Scooter Libby to leak government secrets to the press for the purpose of political revenge that led to the outing of the name of a CIA agent. But, since Bush is above the law when it comes to illegal wiretapping I suppose that this is legal too because he's above the law. After all, America is at war. A war he got us into by lying. Will someone please give Bush a Monica so we can impeach him?

Get to the back of the bus nigger!

Letter to the Editor

One thing I thing we can agree on about who hit who first is that I doubt that the Capitol Police will fail to recognize Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's face now. Sometime you have to hit someone to get them to remember you.

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Just another way for cops to try to intimidate blacks. I think Cynthia McKinney was being hassled by racist cops. When you work in a place for 11 years they can't say they didn't know who you were. That's bullshit.

Republicans are a Cancer on America

Letter to the Editor

How bad does America have to get before we impeach Bush? Do we do it now, or do we wait till things get much worse? The Republican party is a cancer on America and it needs to be removed as soon as possible.

Is this a Victory? Where is the Outrage?

Letter to the Editor

Sometimes it's easier to tell what isn't a victory than what is a victory. The current government of Afghanistan has a constitution that says anyone converting from Islam to Christianity is to be put to death. That ny friends is NOT a victory. Bush says that he is deeply troubled that Christians can be executed for their faith. I was expecting Bush to be outraged rather than just troubled because after all, he is a Christian, isn't he?

I thought we liberated Afghanistan?

Letter to the Editor

I thought Afghanistan was liberated. I thought we won the war there, gave them freedom and democracy, and that victory there had been achieved. Now we find out that under their laws that a person can get the death penalty for merely being a Christian. Under the new Afghan constitution being a Christian is a death penalty offense. How is it that we can liberate a country and have them bless killing Christians in their Constitution? Is this what we sent our Christian soldiers there to fight for? I'm an Atheist and this even offends me! Only Bush and his ilk could call this a victory.

Impeachment will bring troops home sooner

Letter to the Editor

President Bush said today that it will be up to a future president to bring the troops home. So I think we should impeach him and bring the troops home 2 years sooner. Is there going to be anything left of America if we don't accept the fact that our president is a failure? Impeach Bush Now!

We lost the war

Letter to the Editor

We can pretend that we are winning in Iraq but we have already lost the war. The reason is that there is no insurgency. Iraq is in a civil war and the own way we can win the war is to defeat the people who we are trying to liberate. You can't win a war when you don't know who the enemy is. And who is the enemy? Bush is America's enemy.

Republicans continure borrow and spend orgy

Letter to the Editor

The Republicans are about to vote again to increase the national debt, this time to 9 trillion dollars or $30,000 for every man, woman, child, and illegal immigrant in America. It's like having your credit card stoled by Uncle Sam and he charges $30,000 and sticks you with the bill. I'm old enough to remember when Republicans used words like "Balanced Budget Amendment" and "Paying off the National Debt" but concepts like that are now as outdated as the 4th Amendment and Civil Liberties.

This is the 4th time that Bush has increased the debt limit since he stole the election and one of these days the Middle East Arabs and the Communist Chinese are going to come knocking wanting us to pay back the money we borrowed, with interest. And on that day Freedom, Democracy and Government of the People will cease to exist as well. Everything that America stands for will be gone. We are a nation in denial. We have turned our backs on reality.

Fight for what Freedom?

Letter to the Editor

There is no longer a reason for people to sign up for the military to defend America's freedom. Now that Bush has signed the Patriot Act we no longer have any freedom to fight for.

Superman is not dead!

Letter to the Editor

Today marks the passing of Dana Reeve, wife of Christopher Reeve who played Superman in the movies, but who real story started years later when a horseback riding accident left him paralyzed. Yesterday she died of lung cancer at the age of 44.

Dana and Christopher Reeve leaved behind a story of love, loyalty, courage, and taking adversity and turning it into advantage. They took a situation that might otherwise have been a tragedy and used it to bring them closer to each other and to be an example of not only recovering but thriving. Together they raised awareness of the plight of the paralyzed and formed an organization to fund research and became a voice for promoting stem cells as a way to regenerate spinal nerve tissue.

Although Dana and Christopher are gone as individuals their work and their foundation live on. Their legend is part of the Tree of Knowledge and they live as an example of what people can accomplish in the short amount of time we exist in reality. Their lives inspires us to live the kind of lives worthy of being remembered. Their accomplishments are not only still alive, but they leave something for the rest of us to build upon. Their lives so us that even in the absence of an afterlife that we are not without some measure of immortality. All of us have the opportunity to leave behind part of ourselves if we choose to live the kind of life worth remembering as Dana and Christopher have.

South Dakota's Fetus Fetish

Letter to the Editor

I agree with the Governor of South Dakota when he says, "In the history of the world, the true test of a civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society." What I don't agree with is that a fetus is a member of society. The legislature of South Dakota is insincere and is acting out a fetus fetish to make themselves feel morally superior rather than focusing their scarce resources on child care for working mothers, education, and medical care for children. The worst kind of morality is faked morality and I am wholly unimpressed. Religions people who merely pose as moral to make themselves feel self important drive people away from religion.

Forcing women to bear the children of their rapist is wrong

Letter to the Editor

The State of South Dakota has passed a law that prohibits all abortions with no exceptions for rape or incest. What this means is if a woman is raped she is forced by the State to bear the child of the rapist against her will. And this is touted but South Dakota as "moral"? I don't think so. Some of us have a different standard of what is right and wrong and my values say that it is fundamentally wrong to force the victims of rapists to bear the children of their attacker.

Why not run our own ports?

Letter to the Editor

I have a radical idea. Why not have America's ports run by Americans? Why do we need any other government to run our ports? Are we some third world country that needs other countries to come in and take care of us?

Why not have Americans in running our ports?

Letter to the Editor

Everyone is arguing about if we should let the foreign Arab countries run US ports. Especially countries involved in the 9-11 hijackings. I have a radical idea. Why don't we let United States companies run our own ports. Maybe it's time to start doing things ourselves rather than rely on the Muslims and the Communist Chinese to take care of us. These kind of decisions makes it seem as if America is deliberately trying to destroy itself.

Brownie feels Abandoned

Letter to the Editor

Michael Brown, (Brownie) former head of FEMA who was fired from the Bush administration for being incompetent testified before Congress that HE feel abandoned. That is TOO funny!

My own lying eyes

Letter to the Editor

With the new Abu Ghraib torture pictures that just surfaced you have to wonder when Bush tells us, "We do not torture." What am I to do? Am I supposed to believe him or my own lying eyes?

Terrorists hate us for our freedoms

Letter to the Editor

President Bush has said, "Terrorists hate us for our freedoms." So, using Bush logic, the less freedoms we have the safer we are. But the time Bush becomes king with the help of new Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito, the terrorists won't have any reason to hate us because we'll be just like them. So let's all give up our freedoms for the illusion of safety. Lets invade countries, torture people, kidnap people to secret prisons, let the government spy on us, track us, listen in on our phone calls, and read our email. Bush is making bin Laden the winner!

Patrick Henry said, "Give me liberty or give me death." Bush says, "Give up your liberty or we're all going to die!" I'm with Patrick Henry.

Where are the Democrats?

Letter to the Editor

About the only thing that the Democrats have going for them right now is that they aren't Republicans, and they aren't doing a very good job on that issue. As the vote for an extreme right wing Bush puppet is about to be put on the Supreme Court to further turn America into a fascist state, the Democrats are missing in action in the war to protect freedom and liberty. If the Democrats aren't going to be the opposition party then why should we bother to vote at all in the 2006 elections?

Why I use Google

Letter to the Editor

One of the reasons I use Google to search the web is that Google has a stronger commitment to civil liberties than Microsoft's MSN and Yahoo do. MSN and Yahoo turned over search information to the Bush administration to support their policy of spying on The People. Google stood up for our rights and said No to Bush. So I'm going to stick with Google because I want to support companies who understand that freedom is important.

Dark Times for America

Letter to the Editor

Is America going to the dark side? The US Senate is about to confirm a new justice who supports the idea of giving the president the power of a king at a time when the President is openly breaking the law and asserting the power of a king. When criminals like Bush get to appoint their own judges then the future of freedom itself is in jeopardy. We should impeach Bush before we vote in any new justices.

It is time for world leaders to speak out!

Letter to the Editor

In the last century the leaders of the world stood silent as Hitler marched across Europe taking the world nation by nation until it was almost too late. Let us never make that mistake again. Here in the United States President Bush has declared that he is above the law and that he has the power to declare war whenever he wants. Iraq isn't the end, it is the beginning. We are looking at a crisis that can lead to World War III if it is not stopped now. I therefore ask that the people of the world who value peace and civilization rise up and speak out against it while there is still time. America must not be allowed to become an imperialist dictatorship. Leaders of other nation must speak out against this now.

Alito must not be confirmed

Letter to the Editor

At a time when the President has declared himself to be above the law we must not confirm a justice to the Supreme Court who agrees that the President is above the law. Sam Alito agrees with Bush that he is allowed to break the law. As Americans we The People must take whatever actions necessary to block him or we will no longer be a free nation.

First things First

Letter to the Editor

Now that Bush has declared that he is above the law and he refuses to obey the law I think that we as a nation should deal with that rather than confirm any new Supreme Court nominees who might support Bush's position that he has the powers of a king. We need to put a stop to Bush and his lawless behavior now before The People decide to rise up and restore a Constitutional government. I'm not as concerned about civil war in Iraq as I am about civil war in America. No new justices until Bush is impeached.

Leaking the Leak Investigation

Letter to the Editor

Instead of investigating President Bush for breaking the law by illegally spying without the required warrant from the court, the justice department has opened an investigation into who is leaking that Bush was breaking the law to the press. We are opening an investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified materials related to the NSA," an official said on condition of anonymity. So the Bush Justice department is leaking to the press that they are opening an investigation into leaking to the press. Bush logic never ceases to amaze me.

Happy Hollidays to All Faiths

Letter to the Editor

Now that Christmas is over and we are now in the Chanukah and Kwanzaa season I hope that all the nuts who made such a big deal about Christmas can find it in their heart to wish the rest of us a merry holiday season and a happy New Year.

Is Bush above the law?

Letter to the Editor

President Bush is asserting that he is above the law and that he can decide to just up and break the law if he finds it inconvenient. He doesn't need a warrant, he does what he wants. He's saying that a strong president doesn't have to obey the law. If America allows that to stand then we have a constitutional crisis.

War? What War?

Letter to the Editor

President Bush Keeps saying over and over that America is a nation at war but we are in fact not a nation at war. America has never declared war on Iraq. Only Congress can declare war and the last time that happened was when America declared war on Japan in WWII. Iraq isn't a war, it's an illegal invasion based on lies. Bush can't use war as an excuse to break the law. Spying on Americans without a warrant is illegal. Bush admitted he did it and says he's going to keep doing it. The president isn't above the law. Bush should be arrested. It's time for Bush to resign.

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Imagine if Clinton decided to just up and break the law. Do you think the press would sit there and let him get a pass? I don't think so. But they are getting paid off by the Pentagon with our tax dollars to keep silent about Bush's criminal activities. That bastard Gonzalles should be locked up too as well as members of congress who knew this was going on, that is, if there really were any who actually knew it!

_______________________________________________

Bush Should resign

Letter to the Editor

President Bush has finally accepted he made a lot of mistakes going into the war, but he now asks us to trust him to win the war. But can America afford to invest it's trust in a leader who hasn't been trustworthy? America is a nation of laws where we value honesty, trustworthiness, honor, freedom, liberty, and justice. The issue isn't if we want to choose between victory and defeat but if Bush has a plan for victory that will work. Bush has put America in a hole that we can't get out of by going deeper into the hole. We are on the path of defeat and if we want to have victory we need to turn around and go in that direction. America can't do that if our leader is a loser. A week leader puts our nation in jeopardy. I therefore think it's time to ask Bush to resign the presidency so that we can get a leader who can win the war.

I don't need no stinking laws!

Letter to the Editor

"I don't need no stinking laws! I'm the president, I do what I want." This is what Bush is effectively telling America when he decided to authorize using the NSA to spys on Americans without getting authorization from the courts. So I don't understand why Bush wants the Patriot Act renewed because if he really has the powers to authorize spying without law then why bother with laws? Bush now claims that he's above the law. I think someone need to remind Bush that he's not the king.

Bush Spies Everywhere

Letter to the Editor

Today's revelations that the Bush administration is using the NSA to spy on Americans without a court order is disturbing for many reasons. Besides the obvious move towards a communistic society the fact that the New York Times sat on this story for more than a year because the White House requested they keep it secret shows that not only are we secretly being spied on, but also that the Bush administration has control over the press. Congress has just passed a bill specifically written to try to get Bush to stop torturing people. I think it's time to make it illegal for Bush to stop spying on his political enemies by urging Congress to stop the so called "Patriot Act". The idea that moving towards Communism is a patriotic act is against everything America stands for.

The Rich are Americans Too!

Letter to the Editor

President Bush is often criticized for ignoring poor Americans but it looks to me like it's the rich that are being ignored. Every time he asks Americans to sacrifice for the country he always leaves the rich out. Is Bush saying that the rich aren't Americans?

Christmas isn't a Christian Holiday

Letter to the Editor

I find it somewhat amusing to see Christians making a huge deal about saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays" because Christmas isn't a Christian holiday in the first place. There is nothing at all in the Bible that relates to anything in the Christmas holiday. Christmas was started by Roman Pagans as Saturnalia in honor of the god Saturn. It was celebrated with a week of lawlessness with widespread intoxication, rape, and other sexual rituals. Christmas Caroling started with the tradition of naked singing in the streets and on the last day culminated in human sacrifice. In the 4th century Christians imported Saturnalia hoping to convert pagans who continued to celebrate it in the traditional way.

Christmas is at best a stolen pagan holiday. I'm surprised that Christians even still celebrate it considering its origin and history. I just hope they don't bring back human sacrifice.

Here's the Real Story behind Christmas.

Patriot Act Treatens Religious Freedom

Letter to the Editor

The Patriot Act threatens religious freedom and the American way of life. I don't know why Americans who have fought and died for freedom and liberty have to waste their sacrifice as Congress legislates away the freedoms and principles that this country was founded upon. Under the patriot the government can send spies into your church and issue secret warrants to track people who oppose government policy. We didn't elect these people to vote in communism so please let your congressman know that voting away our freedom and liberty is wrong.

Bird Flu Insanity

Letter to the Editor

They tell us that we are on the verge of a world wide killer bird flu pandemic where millions are going to die and the Republicans are cutting funds to the Center of Disease Control. We are a nation gone mad!

Now we take from old disabled people

Letter to the Editor

The United States Supreme Court ruled today the the government can garnish the Social Security checks of old disabled people who haven't paid back their student loans. The decision against a 67 year old Seattle man who lives in public housing who says he needs his $874 a month to pay for food and medicine. It may be legal for America to take money from a poor old disabled man but that doesn't make it right. It speaks as to who we are as a nation and a people and reflects the (lack of) heart of America's soul.

Heading in the Wrong Direction

Letter to the Editor

This Iraq war is making America weaker and the enemies of America stronger. And Bush wants us to "stay the course"? I don't think so! When one figures out they are heading in the wrong direction it is time to turn around.

America can not win in Iraq

Letter to the Editor

America can not win the war in Iraq because in order to win the war we are going to have to defeat the very people who we are supposedly trying to liberate. The people of Iraq are not terrorists. They are a people who are fighting for freedom against a brutal invading force who has used rape, torture, and chemical weapons against the civilian population. Saddam is gone. There are no weapons of mass destruction. Bush lied to get us into this war and we have no plan to get out and we don't even understand why it is we are there in the first place. Iraq was better of when Saddam was in power than it is now. The situation is bad and the longer we stay there the worse it gets.

America Bribes Iraqi Journalists

Letter to the Editor

It is not a surprise the the Bush administration is bribing Iraqi journalists to print stories in Iraqi newspapers written by the US military pretending to be Iraqi citizens. After all - the Bush administration is doing the same thing here. That's why we are fighting a fraudulent war in the first place. I suppose if you lie your way into a war you might think that you could lie your way out of one. This is America. Can't we do any better than this?

A Cold Winter is Coming

Letter to the Editor

This coming year is likely to be one of the coldest winters in decades. Cold can be measured several ways. What I'm talking about is the average temperature inside of homes of people over 65 years old. The cost of gas and heating oil is expected to go up over 50% while oil companies rake in record profits. As the temperatures inside the homes of old people gets colder one has to ask themselves this holiday season, "What kind of people do we Americans want to be? Do we want to put oil company profits ahead of giving old people a little heat in the winter?" I vote no.

Gotta Love those Republicans

Letter to the Editor

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to cut $700 million dollars from the food stamp program cutting off 235,000 people who will now go hungry. But what I find more shocking is that the $700 million is less than the tax cut that Bush gave Bill Gates. 235,000 people are going to go hungry so that a single individual can keep billions. Gotta love those Republicans!

Patriot Act is a Victory for bin Laden

Letter to the Editor

The Patriot Act is a victory for Osama bin Laden who's goals were to take away our freedom. Now the government has powers that move us towards Communism with a government that can spy on it's own citizens, jail people without due process of law, and even haul people off to foreign countries to be tortured. Instead of fighting for our freedoms we surrender them over the destruction of 2 buildings. We are a nation of cowards who give away our liberties without a fight. I would burn the flag in protest but our flag no longer has any meaning and is unworthy of burning.

Let's put all the war criminals on trial

Letter to the Editor

Any leader who used banned weapons should be put on trial for international war crimes. It doesn't matter what country the leader is from. If he did the crime he should face the penalties. This includes the generals and the men who carried out the mass slaughters. If Saddam Hussein used poison gas he should be imprisoned or executed. Similarly, if George Bush used illegal banned weapons in Iraq then he too, along with the generals that executed his orders, be put on trial along with Saddam and imprisoned or executed.

It is becoming clear that America used phosphorus shells last November in its attack on the city of Fallujah. Phosphorus burns bodies. It melts the flesh all the way down to the bone. It is a hideous weapon that only a cruel tyrant would use. If the reports are true that Bush used phosphorus, an outlawed chemical weapon, then Bush should be removed from office immediately and taken into custody for trial. Shock and awe is the experience of watching America degenerate into doing what the Nazis did. Secret prisons, torture, and now massacre. It's a crime that we allow it.

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Reporters who help the government conceal war crimes are criminals too!!!!

Here's the article:

US forces 'used chemical weapons' during assault on city of Fallujah

By Peter Popham

Published: 08 November 2005

Powerful new evidence emerged yesterday that the United States dropped massive quantities of white phosphorus on the Iraqi city of Fallujah during the attack on the city in November 2004, killing insurgents and civilians with the appalling burns that are the signature of this weapon.

Ever since the assault, which went unreported by any Western journalists, rumours have swirled that the Americans used chemical weapons on the city.

On 10 November last year, the Islam Online website wrote: "US troops are reportedly using chemical weapons and poisonous gas in its large-scale offensive on the Iraqi resistance bastion of Fallujah, a grim reminder of Saddam Hussein's alleged gassing of the Kurds in 1988."

The website quoted insurgent sources as saying: "The US occupation troops are gassing resistance fighters and confronting them with internationally banned chemical weapons."

In December the US government formally denied the reports, describing them as "widespread myths". "Some news accounts have claimed that US forces have used 'outlawed' phosphorus shells in Fallujah," the USinfo website said. "Phosphorus shells are not outlawed. US forces have used them very sparingly in Fallujah, for illumination purposes.

"They were fired into the air to illuminate enemy positions at night, not at enemy fighters."

But now new information has surfaced, including hideous photographs and videos and interviews with American soldiers who took part in the Fallujah attack, which provides graphic proof that phosphorus shells were widely deployed in the city as a weapon.

In a documentary to be broadcast by RAI, the Italian state broadcaster, this morning, a former American soldier who fought at Fallujah says: "I heard the order to pay attention because they were going to use white phosphorus on Fallujah. In military jargon it's known as Willy Pete.

"Phosphorus burns bodies, in fact it melts the flesh all the way down to the bone ... I saw the burned bodies of women and children. Phosphorus explodes and forms a cloud. Anyone within a radius of 150 metres is done for."

Photographs on the website of RaiTG24, the broadcaster's 24-hours news channel, www.rainews24.it, show exactly what the former soldier means. Provided by the Studies Centre of Human Rights in Fallujah, dozens of high-quality, colour close-ups show bodies of Fallujah residents, some still in their beds, whose clothes remain largely intact but whose skin has been dissolved or caramelised or turned the consistency of leather by the shells.

A biologist in Fallujah, Mohamad Tareq, interviewed for the film, says: "A rain of fire fell on the city, the people struck by this multi-coloured substance started to burn, we found people dead with strange wounds, the bodies burned but the clothes intact."

The documentary, entitled Fallujah: the Hidden Massacre, also provides what it claims is clinching evidence that incendiary bombs known as Mark 77, a new, improved form of napalm, was used in the attack on Fallujah, in breach of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons of 1980, which only allows its use against military targets.

Meanwhile, five US soldiers from the elite 75th Ranger Regiment have been charged with kicking and punching detainees in Iraq.

The news came as a suicide car bomber killed four American soldiers at a checkpoint south of Baghdad yesterday.

Powerful new evidence emerged yesterday that the United States dropped massive quantities of white phosphorus on the Iraqi city of Fallujah during the attack on the city in November 2004, killing insurgents and civilians with the appalling burns that are the signature of this weapon.

Ever since the assault, which went unreported by any Western journalists, rumours have swirled that the Americans used chemical weapons on the city.

On 10 November last year, the Islam Online website wrote: "US troops are reportedly using chemical weapons and poisonous gas in its large-scale offensive on the Iraqi resistance bastion of Fallujah, a grim reminder of Saddam Hussein's alleged gassing of the Kurds in 1988."

The website quoted insurgent sources as saying: "The US occupation troops are gassing resistance fighters and confronting them with internationally banned chemical weapons."

In December the US government formally denied the reports, describing them as "widespread myths". "Some news accounts have claimed that US forces have used 'outlawed' phosphorus shells in Fallujah," the USinfo website said. "Phosphorus shells are not outlawed. US forces have used them very sparingly in Fallujah, for illumination purposes.

"They were fired into the air to illuminate enemy positions at night, not at enemy fighters."

But now new information has surfaced, including hideous photographs and videos and interviews with American soldiers who took part in the Fallujah attack, which provides graphic proof that phosphorus shells were widely deployed in the city as a weapon.

In a documentary to be broadcast by RAI, the Italian state broadcaster, this morning, a former American soldier who fought at Fallujah says: "I heard the order to pay attention because they were going to use white phosphorus on Fallujah. In military jargon it's known as Willy Pete.

"Phosphorus burns bodies, in fact it melts the flesh all the way down to the bone ... I saw the burned bodies of women and children. Phosphorus explodes and forms a cloud. Anyone within a radius of 150 metres is done for."

Photographs on the website of RaiTG24, the broadcaster's 24-hours news channel, www.rainews24.it, show exactly what the former soldier means. Provided by the Studies Centre of Human Rights in Fallujah, dozens of high-quality, colour close-ups show bodies of Fallujah residents, some still in their beds, whose clothes remain largely intact but whose skin has been dissolved or caramelised or turned the consistency of leather by the shells.

A biologist in Fallujah, Mohamad Tareq, interviewed for the film, says: "A rain of fire fell on the city, the people struck by this multi-coloured substance started to burn, we found people dead with strange wounds, the bodies burned but the clothes intact."

The documentary, entitled Fallujah: the Hidden Massacre, also provides what it claims is clinching evidence that incendiary bombs known as Mark 77, a new, improved form of napalm, was used in the attack on Fallujah, in breach of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons of 1980, which only allows its use against military targets.

Meanwhile, five US soldiers from the elite 75th Ranger Regiment have been charged with kicking and punching detainees in Iraq.

The news came as a suicide car bomber killed four American soldiers at a checkpoint south of Baghdad yesterday.

Parsing Bush Speak

Letter to the Editor

President Bush today declared loudly, "We do not torture!" But this statement is just coded "Bush Speak". You have to understand what he really means. Of course we don't torture. That why Bush has secret foreign prisons so that someone else can torture for us. That makes it look like "we" aren't doing it. It's just like Bush said about the CIA leak, "If the person has violated law, that person will be taken care of." What does "taken care of" mean to Bush? It means that they will get a pardon. it's now clear his entire staff knew about the leak and they are all being taken care of.

Now that you know how Bush speak works here's a quiz. Ask yourself what these phrases mean in Bush speak. "Strengthen Social Security", "Simplifying the Tax Code", "Brownie is doing a heck of a job!", "Mission Accomplished", "I won't raise your taxes.", "War is a last resort.", "Social Security Lock Box", and "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud". Think about it and have fun figuring it out.

Secret Prison Torture Camps

Letter to the Editor

Even though Bush has secret prisons in countries that allow torture, Bush claims that he isn't torturing prisoners. He says, "We do not torture!". But we've seen the pictures from Abu Ghraib so do we believe him or our own lying eyes. In spite of his claim that he doesn't torture, he is pressing Congress for an exemption for the CIA to allow them to do what he says they don't do. John McCain is supposedly fighting against Bush on the torture issue but he's been AWOL in this fight as he is spending all his time in California trying to help Schwarzenegger undermine Democracy in California.

What I think we should do is ship the White house staff to these foreign prison camps to be interrogated to see who committed treason be outing a CIA agent who was the wife of an ambassador. This ambassador was revealing that Bush lied to get us into a fraudulent war. Since Bush says that they don't torture anyone and that these secret prisons are legal, then they shouldn't have any complaints about what might happen to them. Since a CIA agent was exposed then the CIA should get to use these prisons that Bush has said is a legal means of questioning.

Anti-Torture Law Tests McCain's Integrity

Letter to the Editor

John McCain's anti-torture bill is a test of his personal integrity and leadership. McCain, who was tortured himself when he spend 5 years as a prisoner of war on Vietnam, sponsored this bill to try to stop Bush from torturing people that was the Communists and Nazis do. This law will make it clear that it really is illegal to torture people. Vice President Cheney however is fighting McCain's bill trying to provide a loophole to allow the torture to continue.

John McCain has been a very week advocate for his causes. He talks a good story but in the past usually caves in to what Bush wants. I think that McCain takes positions for show so that he can appear to have issues and creates the illusion that he stands for things. I think it's all and act and that McCain will cave into Bush even though he was personally tortured that way Bush is torturing others. If McCain can't get an anti-torture bill passed it's because he doesn't really want to do what it takes to make it happen.

WalMart and Politics

Letter to the Editor

I used to shop at WalMart and I used to be a WalMart stockholder back when WalMart bragged about their products being made in America. Now I'm living in California where WalMart has given Governor Schwarzenegger over a million dollars to promote his special election reforms. WalMart is now the third largest trading partner with Communist China and I'm not comfortable with communist money being pumped into our local elections. So I'm going to vote against WalMart in the elections on Tuesday because I really don't think WalMart has the best interests of the people in mind.

Rosa Parks Inspires Us All

As I watch the funeral of Rosa Parks I can't help but to think of the legacy she leaves behind. Some of the most important changes in the world start with one person who stands up and says No to power. She was as ordinary of a person as anyone can be, but she came to a point where she had had enough and wasn't going to take it anymore. A simple act that changed the world. We are reminded that sometimes it is far more convenient to just let things go and go along to get along. We should not only honor Rosa Parks by celebrating her life but honor her by refusing to give up our seat when the powers that suppress us today want us to move to the back of the bus. We too can change the world by saying no to injustice.

Oh - the outrage!

I sit here in total amusement watching Republican senators responding in total outrage to the Democrats declaring a "Closed Session" of the senate to discuss the issue of whether the Bush administration fabricated a fraud that led America into a war for false reasons. Republicans are totally shocked declaring that they have never seen such a thing before. "They have no convictions, they have no principles" declares Senator Frist. Republicans can not imagine that a politician would be so low as tp stoop to using "dirty tricks" for political advantage. Is this the beginning of Armageddon? Oh what a shocker!!!

Halloween has just past and the Democrats have risen from the dead!

Politics around Alito

Letter to the Editor

I'm somewhat confused about that politics of the Judge Alito nomination. What confuses me is why the Right supports him and why the Left opposes him. Maybe I'm missing something but he voted in favor of partial birth abortion. He is also someone who considers being open minded as a virtue which is clearly liberal. As compared to Harriet Miers who was a right wing born again evangelical Christian, Alito is merely a Catholic.

I was somewhat amazed the Bush didn't appoint a real right wing extremist like Judge Bork or Kenneth Starr. And considering that Alito was already confirmed as judge by a unanimous decision of the Senate I would think it would be highly unlikely that they would be able to defeat this candidate. I think the media and the Right aren't going to get the fight they are looking for.

Special Elections Cheat Democracy

Letter to the Editor

I think special elections should be outlawed unless it is to replace an elected official who has died or otherwise hard to leave office. Governments often run special elections to pass issues due to low turnout that wouldn't pass in a regular election. Special elections are a manipulation of the electoral system requiring people to show up for elections that are not on a date that the usually expect to vote. I'm living in California now but I used to live in Springfield Missouri where it was common practice to try to sneak in a tax increase using a special election and hoping that few people will show up to oppose it.

Special elections are designed to subvert democracy and take away control from the people. I consider it to be un-American because I believe that the vote is something sacred. So I always vote against the government in special elections because I assume that if the government is trying to subvert the will of the people then it must be something that will not stand on its own merits. So I urge people in all states to vote against the government in all special elections as a way of preserving our rights as voters.

Fixing Bush's Problems

Letter to the Editor

President Bush has had a lot of problems lately and he needs to fix them quickly. Maybe Bush needs to think outside the box and try some unusual ideas to turn things around, not only for his legacy, but for the good of the country. Thinking outside the box I would suggest the following:

First - for the Supreme Court - appoint Patrick Fitzgerald. Not only is he universally liked, but it might solve two problems at once. He then needs to shake up his staff getting rid of Rove and bring in someone who knows how to get the job done. Someone who knows how to turn the economy around. Bush should make Bill Clinton chief of staff and the economy Czar. If you put politics aside and go with what works, Clinton is a natural choice. And if there's another opening on the Supreme Court - appoint Hillary Clinton. That would keep her from running for president and winning in 2008. Of course the right wing of the Republican party would hate it but for the last 5 years we did it their way and it's been a huge failure. Now that Bush can't run for president again and the Right Wing is backstabbing him, what's the point in sticking with failure?

Scooter says, "I forgot"

Letter to the Editor

In these days when we talk about how to honor the 2000+ troops lost in Iraq I think that Scooter Libby's excuse that "he forgot" about exposing a CIA agent's identity as part of selling this fraudulent war to the world is more than just hard to believe. I think it's an insult to those who died thinking that they were protecting freedom, but died for a lie instead. Although Scooter's trial is technically about him obstructing justice by going out of his way to mislead the prosecutor in his investigation of who committed a crime the bigger question is, "Are we at war because Scooter was part of a lie?" And where is the outrage at the Whitehouse? Why isn't Bush outraged about the idea that America was misled into war? Why doesn't Bush want to talk about it?

This administration is far to comfortable with lies. To them it's all just "politics" and "everyone knows" that lying is just part of the game. It doesn't matter what's true, what matters is what you can get away with. America is supposed to accept that government is dishonest and that it's OK to lie. Well, it isn't. Lying to America to convince us that Iraq was close to having "the bomb" and leading us into war is treason. The question that I ask is, "Was Bush part of the lie that took us to war?" And if Bush lied he too should resign and go to jail.

More Misfortune for Bush

Letter to the Editor

President bush got more unfortunate news today as Lewis (Scooter) Libby was indicted on 5 felony counts that follows a string of other unfortunate events. He lost his nominee to the supreme court. The price of gas hovers at 3 dollars a gallon and Exxon posted record profits. The death toll in Iraq crossed 2000 and mothers like Cindy Sheehan are following him around questioning if he lied to start the war. Then there was the hurricane Katrina debacle where hundreds died because the FEMA director was inexperienced and clueless. This all is on top of the growing deficit and higher inflation, with more and more people no longer able to afford health care costs. New bankruptcy laws prevent people from starting over in favor of credit card companies. His program to change Social Security is going nowhere and congress is working on cutting Medicare and Medicaid so raise money to give permanent tax cuts to the super rich.

The right wing is turning on him as well as the Republicans in Congress who fear the 2006 elections will no longer favor them, even with rigged voting machines. Teen pregnancies are up and high school graduation is down. Taxes are up and services are down. The stock market has been flat hovering 2000 points below where it was 6 years ago. Then there's Halliburton kickbacks, Bin Laden is still free, the insurgents are winning, no weapons of mass destruction, Abu, Ghraib torture scandal, questions about the 9-11 attack, a gay hooker posing as Whitehouse press reporter, reporters going to jail, questions about stolen elections, global warming causing more hurricanes, bird flu, anthrax attacks, huge increases in heating oil, natural gas, and electricity costs, arctic oil drilling, mission not quite accomplished, Tom Delay was indicted, Bill Frist is under SEC investigation, and with the Republicans in power there's no one else to blame.

Poor Mr. Bush. Being president is hard work.

Let's Torture cheney

Letter to the Editor

It is somewhat ironic that Vice President Dick Cheney is trying to weaken the anti-torture bill to create loopholes allowing suspected criminals to be tortured when he is facing possible criminal charges himself. As someone who may of outed the identity of an undercover CIA agent it makes me wonder of Cheney himself would be subject to his proposed torture exception provision that would allow CIA agents working undercover to use torture. Perhaps if we shipped Cheney to GITMO and kept him awake 24 hours a day playing peace protest music he might crack and confess to outing the identity of Valerie Plame. Maybe we should allow special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to tortue Bush's staff and see how it works?

2000 died for Bush's Lies

Letter to the Editor

On the eve of criminal indictments against top Bush administrations officials America has now lost 2000 of our military in Iraq. They all died because Bush lied to America fabricating evidence to trick us into an unjust war. We are losing this war and perhaps rightfully so because, like Vietnam, we are on the wrong side of history. If Bush lied and the prosecutor can prove it, he should be put on trial for murder and treason and if convicted shot as a traitor. The way it looks to me is that the Bush administration knowingly lied sending thousands of people to their death. This strikes at the very heart and soul of who we are as a country and what we stands for. Are we going to face reality as a nation and do the right thing or are we going to continue to believe our own lies?

No Republican Ads Suppoting Miers

Letter to the Editor

During the nomination of John Roberts various Republican related groups were running TV ads supporting Roberts and saying that he shouldn't be required to answer questions. The also demanded an up or down vote on the nomination. Now Harriet Miers is the nominee and I don't see the Republicans running ads urging that she get a fair process. It seems the Republicans have a different process for nominees they like and nominees they don't like. If Roberts was urged not to answer questions an get and up or down vote then why should Miers nomination process be different? After all - this isn't the first Bush crony sent to the Senate for approval.

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I think the real reason Bush appointed Miers is because he needs someone he can call from jail who will get him out.

Is God Punishing America?

Letter to the Editor

Many people are asking, "Is God punishing America for its sins?" Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan declared that God was punishing America for attacking Iraq. TV Preachers Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell often declares Florida hurricanes is the wrath of God for being pro gay. But is it God who's punishing America or is Reality itself punishing America?

Warm water in the Gulf of Mexico causes more and stronger hurricanes. Ignoring warnings that terrorists are about to attack leads to terrorists being successful. Going to war with Iraq for reason that turned out to be lies leads to a drop in America's trustworthiness and empowers our enemies. Having incompetent political cronies in charge of FEMA leads to hundreds of deaths. A nation spending more than it earns leads to bankruptcy. And overpopulation leads to resource shortages.

It is not God but Reality that is punishing America. We are a nation who has turned our back on reality and allowed our nation to be run by a Christian cult who envisions the future in the destruction of the world and is advancing the cause of Armageddon though a reckless disregard for the principles of cause and effect. If we are going to turn America around we are going to have to put Realists in charge who put reality first when making the important decisions that affect us all. Now that we've seen the devastation that is caused by ignoring reality I think it's time for America to come home to the real world.

Iraq Vote Rigging

Letter to the Editor

It's seems that Iraq has passed it's constitution - or have they? More people voted for the constitution than there were registered voters in some areas. Some people might disagree wether or not a constitution approved by a rigged vote is legitimate. But there's one think I think we can agree on - that Iraq has an American style democracy.

Christian Credentials for Supreme Court

Letter to the Editor

President Bush this week touted Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers as being an evangelical Christian in order to send a signal to his base that the "fix is in" and that he knows how she will vote on issues like Abortion and the Separation of Church and State. But can this nominee serve two masters? Is she going to put the Constitution ahead of her religious beliefs as required by her oath of office? Or is she going to substitute her religious beliefs for the law as her fellow evangelicals expect?

As the founder of the Church of Reality I find it disturbing that the president appears to be part of a plot to undermine our basic freedoms and shift power to a small cabal of Christians who feel that they own America. We Realists have a big problem with the mixed messages and the level of deception that is going on around this nominee. America has turned it's back on reality and it's time to question whether or not we should accept this nomination based on our faith in President Bush.

Bush doesn't need the Religious Right

Letter to the Editor

The Religious Right is angry with Bush for nominating Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court instead of someone who is clearly going to overturn abortion.They are threatening to turn against Bush like they do every time they don't get their way. But what they don't get is that Bush doesn't need them any more. He's been reelected and he can't run again. So Bush isn't appointing someone for the Religious Right - he's appointing someone for himself - someone who's going to be loyal to him personally. Bush doesn't care about abortion or religion. It's just an act. It's all fake. Both sides are always ready to stab the other in the back if they don't get what they want. They just need to learn not to believe their own lies.

It's all about sincerity!

Letter to the Editor

There's an old saying, "The most important thing in politics is sincerity. Once you learn how to fake that you have it made." Today President Bush demonstrated that principle with a fake teleconference where Bush pretended to do an unscripted interview with troops in Iraq. However they forgot that the cameras were on while the troops were being coached as to what would be asked and what to say. A fake interview to sell a fake war to an American audience who wants to believe that they aren't being suckered into sacrificing the lives of their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers for no reason at all. I believe that when someone has to lie that they are admitting that the truth is something other than what they are trying to get you to believe.

Pakistan Aid Faster than New Orleans

Letter to the Editor

I'm happy that we can give aid to the people in Pakistan. But I can't help but to wonder if we brought in the heavy lift helicopters dropping food and water and getting evacuees out like we did there how many more lives could have been saved in New Orleans. Too bad we can't bring in the same resources for America that we do overseas.

Republican / Oil Company Looting Continues

Letter to the Editor

Will gas prices at record highs the Republicans in the House again showed their loyalty to Big Oil over the American but passing another huge giveaway to help cash rich oil companies to build more refineries. The bill does nothing to curb gas prices or the expected huge increase in heating oil and natural gas prices expected this winter. The government has become the looter of the people attaching itself to us like a leach instead of serving the people like it should be. The American people are like the proverbial from in a pot of boiling water. We have accepted far to much government corruption and we are a nation in deep denial.

Is Creationism evolving into Intelligent Design?

Letter to the Editor

Is Creationism evolving into Intelligent Design? As our scientific knowledge increases it is becoming more and more obvious that the universe is more than a few thousand years old. We now know through genetic mapping that humans and monkeys are a 98.5% genetic match. So in order for creationism to survive in the face of scientific evidence the concept of creationism is evolving. Now the word "day" in the Bible might mean "a thousand years" or perhaps a billion years. And as we see science take apart the Bible we see Creationism evolving into "Intelligent Design".

But Intelligent Design just obscures science. It basically assumes that anything complex had to be made by "someone" and it stops there. I find it dishonest for Christians to claim that ID isn't really Creationism and should consider the commandment "Thou shalt not lie". I would encourage Christianity to evolve into reality.

Harriet Ellan Miers has no experience

Letter to the Editor

I'm concerned about Bush's pick of Harriet Ellan Miers for the Supreme Court because she has never been a judge. Bush seems to want to pick his personal friends for high positions instead of people who are experienced an competent. Why pick someone to be a judge on the Supreme Court who has never been a judge? That makes as much sense as Michael Brown being picked to be head of FEMA - and we know how that turned out.

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I'm sure that there will me more to come on this - but has this person even argued a case in the Supreme Court? Is she even a member of the Supreme Court Bar? This woman's only qualification is she's a Bush political hack.

Roy Blunt - GOP Leader

Letter to the Editor

It is my hope that now that Tom Delay has stepped down that his replacement Roy Blunt will take the Republican party in a new direction, back to smaller government, balanced budgets, and fiscal responsibility. Over the past years since the GOP took control government spending has been out of control with the government now spying on everything we do, soaring deficit spending, and rising taxes on the middle class America is being looted.

Roy Blunt was elected in 1996 replacing the retiring Mel Hancock who was one of the most fiscally responsible members ever elected to congress. It is my hope that Roy Blunt will take the GOP in a different direction than self annihilation and earn his place in history as the guy who turned things around.

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I ran for congress against this guy in 1998.

One Nation

Letter to the Editor

People who are arguing about the Pledge of Allegiance need to think about the two words before "Under God" - the words "One Nation". The phrase "one nation" means that New Orleans didn't happen to "them". It happened to "us" and "we" needs to step up and make it happen. And in order to do that we need to take a long hard look at the reality around us and figure out how "we" are going to make it happen.

We have to face the tough questions about what we are doing with our money. We spent hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq. Are we going to continue to choose Iraq over Louisiana. Are we going to take the money from old sick people by delaying their prescription drug plan? Are we going to take it from children by cutting Head Start? Bush has already ruled out taxing the rich so that leaves borrowing the money from the Communist Chinese. I think that borrowing from the Commies is not good long term thinking.

We can't afford empty promises and poor judgment. It's time for America to come out of the fog and begin to actually think. We are being tested as a nation to see if we are worthy of survival. We aren't just rebuilding New Orleans, we are rebuilding the nation As a sit here on the edge of the San Andreas fault I ask if we are really one nation?

The Blame Game Works

Letter to the Editor

People have said that Americans shouldn't play the "blame game". President Clinton said that there's a time to review the failures of the government response but that time isn't now. I have to strongly disagree with that.

Because the people rose up screaming about what a poor job the government did the politicians are finally getting off their butts and getting the job done. If we weren't pointing fingers and screaming the evacuees would still be at the astro dome dying for lack of food and water. And if not for the blame game Bush wouldn't be on TV along with the governors and the mayors trying to get the job done (finally) and at least making promises about what they say they are going to do.

We Americans have to keep the pressure on and keep the blame going. We need to see if Bush is going to follow through. We need to see if they rebuild the levies right. We need to see that the money isn't stolen by Bush cronies, Oil Companies, and corrupt local officials. The blame game works. It is saving lives and helping people recover. What they call the blame game is what we call holding people accountable and taking responsibility. That's what we elect them to do and that's what we pay taxes for and we need to hold their feet to the fire and whip the stupidity out of them until they become the kind of people they represented themselves as when they ran for office. And if we can't afford to do it right, how are we going to afford to do it over?

Pledge not ruled Unconstitutional

I find it disturbing that the news media is falsely reporting that the Pledge of Allegiance has been ruled unconstitutional. That is not what happened. What the court ruled was that the inclusion of the religious words "under God" in the pledge is unconstitutional. No matter what side of the argument to are on the news media should at least get the story right.

The pledge ends with the words, "Liberty and Justice for All". The world "All" means everyone including non theist religions, those who are without religion, and those who believe in deities other than the Christian's God. Issues of religion are very divisive and our founding fathers went out of their way to make sure the government was religiously neutral so that everyone is equal and have the freedom to express their beliefs without the government choosing sides. If the words "Under God" are left in then they should take out "Indivisible" and "Liberty and Justice for All" because liberty has no meaning when the government makes religious choices.

Time to Raise Taxes on the Rich

Letter to the Editor

The tax cut that Bill Gates alone got under the Bush administration would have paid for levies that could have saved New Orleans. Ross Perot's tax cut could replace all the bridges that were destroyed. When we hear about the government not having enough money we have to wonder why they are giving such big tax cuts to the rich. I think it's time we went back to taxing the rich and not making the middle class bear the brunt of paying for everything.

Energy Crisis Fake?

Letter to the Editor

In 2000 we had a fake energy crisis with priced of gas, heating oil, and electricity doubling and rolling blackouts in California and it all turned out to be fake. It was just a coordinated scam to raise prices by companies like Enron. Now it's happening again. So why isn't the media asking if this isn't a scam? I have a hard time believing it after being lied to the last time.

Good Riddance Judge Rehnquist!

Letter to the Editor

When a person passes we reflect upon the life of that person and how he changed society. I think that most people would agree that Justice Rehnquist's most enduring legacy will be the 5th vote that appointed Bush president, substituting his judgment for the will of the American electorate. Had he not joined in appointing Bush we would not be at war in Iraq. We would not have gone from the most prosperous nation on the planet to the biggest debtor nation on the planet. And - it would have cost less than half to fill our gas tank than it does today.

When a person passes they leave a legacy behind. What a person does in life often affects generations to come. It's just too bad Justice Rehnquist couldn't have taken his legacy with him because life in this world is far worse today because of his bad choices. His passing reminds us that when we face the judgment of history, if we want to be remembered well, we have to accomplish good things in our lives.

FEMA directs donations to TV Evangelist Pat Robertson

Letter to the Editor

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is directing donations to TV Evangelist Pat Robertson (Operation Blessing) who recently called for the assassination of the president of Venezuela. I think it's a shame that in this hour of crisis that Bush and FEMA are teaming up with crooked crazy evangelists to scam people who want to help. That might explain why FEMAs response to this disaster have been so ineffective. It appears that Religion has joined in on the looting of America along with the oil companies. Americans want to help the hurricane victims, not make Bush's political buddies rich.

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Details at:

http://www.sploid.com/news/2005/09/01/fema-directing-donations-to-rev-pat-robertson-123509.php

FEMA Web Page

http://www.fema.gov/press/2005/katrinadonations.shtm

Pat Robertson's Page

http://www.patrobertson.com/humanitarian/

Denial Driven Hurricane Response

I watch in utter amazement at the lack of response to the hurricane disaster in New Orleans. I see reporters being able to drive in and out.and cover the story, so why can't they get an army of thousands of buses to at least get the people out of there? They could at least helicopter in food and water but they don't. If I know the response was going to be this slow I would have grabbed a school bus and driven out there from California and started hauling people out myself.

We are sitting here doing nothing and allowing people to suffer and die when we could drive in there and rescue them. But we don't do that because we have to protect the tax cuts for the rich and make sure that the oil companies maintain record profits. All of America is being looted and it started 5 years ago. I'm sorry Bush had to cut his vacation short leaving his ranch after the hurricane rather than before. But at least he got past war protester mom Cindy Sheehan without getting noticed. I'm really angry. We need to fix this.

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PS - Several things confuse me about this. The reporters are driving in so there is dry clear roads into there. Not only could they grab every school bus within 1000 miles to drive them out - but if I were there I would just walk out. The flooded area can't be that big and a few hours of walking and you're out. Why aren't people at least walking out?

The only place for refugees is all the way to Houston Texas? Can't we take some of them to north? Can't we take over facilities closer than Houston? What about Dallas, Little Rock, Memphis? These are our people down there. This is fucking insane!

I've seen shows on the Discover Channel years ago predicting this, so we already knew what was going to happen. Yet when a cat 5 hurricane headed for the city the evacuation wasn't near as mandatory as it should have been. New Orleans actually got lucky at the last minute that it didn't hit directly. The military should have been mobilized for a forced evacuation before it hit.

Bush is asking his dad and Clinton to come pass the collection plate. Why doesn't the Fed drop something in. The 10 billion they are proposing 5 days after the disaster - which still hasn't been passed by the vacationing Congress - is less than the tax cuts the oil companies got. Do we see an emergency session of Congress like the one they convened to interfere with the death of Terri Schiavo? NO! Again - FUCKING INSANE !!!!!!!!!!

I also question rebuilding New Orleans. The city is way below sea level - continues to sink, and with global warming we are going to see stronger hurricanes and more of them. And September is just starting. We will probably be hit several more time this year in Florida and on the east coast.

Maybe Congress could end their fucking vacation and show up in Washington to do something about it. American is falling apart and the very character of this country is in question by our ambivalence towards our own disasters. When we protect the tax cuts of the rich and watch the poor die and do nothing it shows the world what kind of people we are. And it's not anything to be proud of.

New Orleans pays the price for Iraq

Letter to the Editor

Normally we would have a national guard to come in and deal with natural disasters like the hurricane in New Orleans. Thousands of people are likely to die for lack of resources to evacuate people and bring in emergency aid. But we don't have a national guard in our own country anymore because they are all over in Iraq. Poor judgment has put America at risk.

Changing the Environment

Letter to the Editor

A few months ago I was driving behind a very large SUV that had a bumper sticker that said, "I'm changing your environment." From what I see with all the hurricanes I know exactly what that person is talking about.

What is the noble cause?

Letter to the Editor

Whether or not you agree with the Iraq conflict Cindy Sheehan is asking an important question that should be answered. She is asking what the noble cause is that her son died for.

If Americans are being asked to give the lives of their sons and daughters, their wives and husbands, and their parents then America should at least be able to articulate why it is that we are there and what we hope to accomplish. The reason we went in has proved to be false. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Iraq has recently failed to agree on a constitution and the unsupported proposed constitution to be voted on establishes and Islamic state. So - is establishing an Islamic state the noble cause that we are fighting and dying for? I sure hope not!

The real issues that Cindy Sheehan is trying to point out is that we don't know why we are there and we don't know what we are doing. The problem is that there is no plan. Even the most hawkish of the war supporters need to at least know that Bush has a plan.

Not sure what scares me more

Letter to the Editor

After listening to Pat Robertson openly advocating assassination I'm not sure who scares me more, him, or the one million Christian followers he has that think the way he does. This is why we Realists find Christians scary. We are watching to see if the Christian community comes out against this or continues to remain silent. The way I read the Bible, advocating to murder is wrong. Is this some sort of Christian fatwa?

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This is why Christians are so scary to us Atheists. The want to be as radical as Muslims and they have this total disconnect with reality to where the million followers don't get it why murder is wrong, even when it's right in their own Bible.

TV Preacher calls for Assassination

Letter to the Editor

TV evangelist Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition and the 700 Club, is calling for Bush to assassinate democratically elected Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stating, "You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson said. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don't think any oil shipments will stop."

I find it disturbing that a pro-life Christian leader who supposedly believes in "Thou shalt not kill" would be so comfortable advocating murder for oil. This is a man who supposedly has the spirit of Jesus Christ in his heart and a role model for Christian morality and politics. Is this the way a spirit filled Christian acts? If so, I will have no part of it. People like Pat Robertson make me thank God I'm an Atheist.

Computer Worm Attacks U.S. Media Giants

Letter to the Editor

There are a lot of headlines like "Bot Attacks U.S. Media Giants" as if the computer worm were targeted at them. But my question is - where were their system administrators? The news agencies reported the vulnerability a week ago. Then they reported that a worm was in development. Then they reported that Microsoft developed a patch to fix the problem. Now they are complaining about being hit.

My question is - why didn't the tech staff at the news agencies download and apply the security patches that Microsoft provided before the worm hit?

Although it's a nuisance, these attacks are a part of online life these days and are generally preventable by keeping current on all the latest patches and having a properly configured firewall to keep intruders from getting in. If their tech staff were listening to their news reports these news agencies wouldn't have been hit.

If I were CNN, ABC, and The New York Times I would be asking their own tech staff why they didn't install the security patches rather than imagining that they were targeted. And - if you're running Windows, always install the latest patches.

60 Years of Atomic Weapons

Letter to the Editor

Sixty years ago was one of the darkest days in the history of the human race. It was then that America exploded an atomic weapon over Hiroshima and a few days later Nagasaki killing 300,000 civilians. At the time some scientists worried that exploding an atomic weapon might ignite the atmosphere turning this planet into a sun and destroying all life on Earth. Fortunately they were wrong, but taking that risk was humanities most chilling experiment.

In 1945 then President Truman could have demonstrated the power of the bomb by targeting an uninhabited area, something that he considered and rejected. He decided instead to target highly populated cities to demonstrate the full killing power of this weapon against men, women, and children.

We now have weapons that are hundreds of times as powerful as those two bombs and over 20 nations now have the bomb. To posses such a weapon is a curse because we now have the ultimate responsibility to never never never use these weapons under any conditions whatsoever. I want to say to the world that as an American I am deeply ashamed of what this country did and the terrible legacy we left behind. The sins of our past shall live on as long as anyone possesses nuclear weapons. To have an atomic weapon is a sin against the human race.

Open Letter to the Muslim Community

Open Letter to the Muslim Community,

We, the People of the United States ask that you not vent your anger on us citizens for the acts George Bush. Our ballots are rigged and our elections are fixed. We no longer have a free press. We used to be a democracy but like you, we are occupied by a power that is hostile to freedom and liberty. When you attack the American people you only strengthen the hand of our common oppressor. I live in the San Francisco area where Muslims, Palestinians, and Jews march hand in hand for peace and social justice.

We too are angry about the state of the world, but we need to ask ourselves what we want for the future. Do we want live in violence or peace? What do we have to do to make sure that the future that we leave to the next generation is better that what we inherited?

Bush beleives Rafael Palmeiro

Letter to the Editor

Rafael Palmeiro is now suspended from Baseball because he tested positive for steroids use after swearing that he never, never. never takes steroids. Even after steroids were found in his body he still denies taking steroids. President Bush says Palmeiro is "a friend" and said, "He's testified in public, and I believe him." What a surprise. No wonder we're stuck in Iraq!

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Of course Bush doesn't believe drug tests - that's science and science is against faith.

House gives bin Laden a Win Today

Letter to the Editor

Osama bin Laden won an important victory in the United States House of Representatives today as Congress voted to give up the basic freedoms that our forefathers fought and died for. And they have the guile to call it the "Patriot Act". What it really should be called is the "Cowardice Act" because it shows that America is so week that we are willing to surrender our freedom over the loss of a mere 3000 lives and 2 buildings. Why did hundreds of thousands of soldiers fight and die for just to have Congress vote our freedom away. Every time we give up our freedom the enemies of freedom win. Congress should vote against what bin Laden wants - not with him.

Supporting the Troops is Supporting the War

Letter to the Editor

It seems to be politically correct these days to say that we should support the troops even if we don't support the war. But I really don't see the difference. If the war itself is a fraud and we are in the wrong fighting it then supporting the troops is supporting the war. I have a hard time grasping the idea that if your cause is immoral that we should support the individuals who are participating in the immoral cause. I think that sends the wrong message and it helps to perpetuate the immoral act.

This war is a lie. We are on the wrong side of history and the first step in fixing it to to at least be honest with ourselves about the reality of what we are doing. We now know that the Iraq war was based on lies. We know that our efforts there increases terrorism. We know that this war makes us weaker and the enemies of freedom stronger. Those who are fighting this war are fighting and dying for a shameful cause and to honor that is to lie to them that what they are doing is honorable when it is not. There is nothing that is in any way noble about fighting and dieing for a cause that is a fraud. It is wrong of us to perpetuate that lie because it is used to sucker more of our children to join and participate in this evil cause.

Supporting the troops starts with first being honest about where we are and how we got here. Then we need a plan to fix it and bring our fighting forces home. The Free People of America have two enemies who are trying to undermine what America stands for. The terrorists and our own government are both the enemies of freedom. We best serve America by embracing reality and reclaiming our position as the good guys so that we can fight the terrorists rather than empower them as we are doing now. The downfall of America will only stop when we give up living the lie.

London Bombing no Surprize

Letter to the Editor

There is no justification for terrorism. The London bombing is tragic. We now know however from the Downing Street Memos that the reasons behind the war were in fact faked. No one knows what the reason was that caused these particular terrorists to act. I believe however that when wars are started without justification that it increases the likelihood of a terrorist attack. When governments lie to people to start wars it puts the safety of the people in jeopardy and it may well turn out that the British are paying the price for the moral failings of their leader. No one has clean hands anymore.

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When you lie to start a war people are going to attack you. The real terrorists here are Tony Blair and George Bush. Not that it makes the London bombers blameless, but Blair and Busk have far more blood on their hands than even bin Laden does.

Bush lied to cover for Carl Rove

Letter to the Editor

For the last two years, the Bush White House claimed that presidential adviser Karl Rove had nothing to do with the leak of the female CIA officer's identity. Bush said that whoever leaked it would be fired. We now know Bush was lying because Bush knew all along Rove was involved but concealed it. Now a reporter sits in jail because Bush lied. What kind of a country do we live in where the people who tell the truth go to jail and the ones who lie go free?

Good Riddance Justice O'Connor

Letter to the Editor

Retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will now get her wish that a GOP president appoint her successor. She was at an election night party on November 7, 2000 when became "visibly upset" when network anchors first awarded the state of Florida to Al Gore. Her husband said she was upset because the couple wanted to retire and that his wife preferred that a GOP President appoint her successor. Shortly thereafter she was the swing vote that appointed Bush president after the people elected Al Gore. Now everyone in the world is paying the price for her act of treason to the Constitution. I say good riddance to you.

Bush asks for sacrifice

Letter to the Editor

President Bush is asking America to sacrifice again for the Iraq war, but not all Americans have to sacrifice. Rich America isn't sacrificing. As poor America tightens the belt and sends their sons to die, the rich keep getting more tax cuts. Just this week the Senate wants to give oil companies another 18 billion dollars at a time when oil companies are making record profits. With the Downing Street memo we know that the war was a fraud. So I question if it i good for America to give tax cuts to the rich while the poor have to fight and die. I think that Americans should not join the military until Bush makes the rich pay their fair share and he has a plan about how to get us out of a state of perpetual war.

Church of Reality claims victory in Supreme Court Decision on Ten Commandments

Letter to the Editor

As the founder of the Church of Reality - a religion based on believing in everything that is real - I consider both the decisions made by the Supreme Court to be a victory for religious freedom. The Texas case correctly allows the Ten Commandments to be displayed among other historical images and is distinguished from the Kentucky case where the Ten Commandments was clearly an endorsement of a specific class of religion. This was an important victory for religious freedom because we only have religious freedom as long as the government remains religiously neutral. There must always be room in America for a reality based religion because if the government takes reality away from the people, what do you have left?

Ten Commandments and Law

Letter to the Editor

I find it interesting that people think that the Ten Commandment is the basis of US law. In reading the Commandments I see only three of them, killing, stealing, and lying as having any relationship to current law. The other seven are totally legal. Some people want to replace the law with biblical law, but what would that mean? Exodus 31:15: says, "Whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death." And that comes from the same book in the Bible that the Ten Commandments come from. I don't think WalMart is going to have an easy time hiring help if we start enforcing that biblical law.

Rumsfield doesn't like Iranian Elections

Letter to the Editor

Defense Secretary Rumsfield doesn't like the outcome of the Iranian elections where the winning candidate won in a landslide getting 60% of the vote. Rumsfield called it a mock election complaining that the 8 candidates they had to choose from were somehow fixed.

Here in the USA we don't have 8 candidates to choose from. We have only 2 which are chosen by political insiders. We had Skull and Bones man Bush vs. Skull and Bones man Kerry, with the electronic voting machines under the control of the Republican party. Bush won the previous election only because the Republican controlled Supreme Court stopped the vote count and illegally declared Bush the winner. This election was won by rigging voting machines in Florida to swap the totals in Democrat dominated counties in Florida.

So it seems to me that we are hardly in a position to criticize the outcome of Iran's elections. But Rummy would have to make that claim because he is moving to invade Iran next. Who would have thought we would see the day when Iran had freer elections than America?

America became more fascist today

Letter to the Editor

The Supreme Court has again expanded the power of the government at the expense of The People ruling that city governments can force home owners out of their homes so that the city can give their land to corporations for private development to generate tax revenue. We are no longer a country where the interests of The People outweigh the interests of corporations and of the government serving itself. Now WalMart can take your home if they bribe the right city council members to do so. Another sad day for America as it slides into becoming fascist state. I want to burn a flag while I still can.

Porter Goss Claims He Has Idea Where Bin Laden Is

Letter to the Editor

Porter Goss, Bush's "Intelligence Czar" says he knows where Osama bin Laden is, but he's not saying right now. I know where he's hiding. Or should I say I know where Porter Goss thinks ne's is hiding. It's hardly a secret when you know how the Bush Cult thinks.

Porter Goss thinks bin Laden is hiding in Iran.

Why? How do I know this?

It's simple. Bush is in the process of putting together an invasion of Iran for the 2006 mid term elections (wag the dog) to distract the people again from the gutting of America by the Corporate/Dominion alliance. So in order to help justify this coming war they will need to put bin Laden in Iran. So that's where he is.

The way the intelligence community works in this administration is that the President tells them what he wants reality to be and then they go out and fabricate the story that supports the president's fiction.

Porter Goss is under orders from Bush to find bin Laden in Iran, so that's where he will be. By the time next summer rolls around, Osama bin Laden will have been discovered to be secretly in control of Iran and in control of their nuclear arsenal. And like Iraq, we will be required to go to war over it. I feel a draft coming.

Gitmo Gulag

Letter to the Editor

Thank you Senator Durbin for finally standing up to tell the truth about America's torture chambers! It's about time someone is telling the truth the way it really is. When America acts like the Nazis, the Communists, and like power crazed third word dictators then it is a act of patriotism to stand up and call it like it is. At what point did telling the truth become a bad thing? At what point does telling the truth put our troops at risk? What puts Americans at risk is what the truth is. We really do torture people to death. It really is happening. We are not as bad as the Nazis, but we are heading in that direction. If stories about American torture camps is bad for America then what we need to do is stop doing the torture - and not trying to keep it a secret.

Closing Gitmo

Letter to the Editor

Is the Guantanamo Bay prison camp an embarrassment to the United States? I suppose it all depends on who you believe. If you believe the American press which says that the Koran was inadvertently urinated upon then it's no big deal. People accidentally urinate on holy books all the time according to us. But some people in other parts of the world aren't believing it. The problem is - we really are acting like the Nazi's and we need to stop it. We have become our own enemy.

Deep Throat did the Right Thing

Letter to the Editor

FBI agent Mark Felt, who today revealed he was "Deep Throat" did the right thing more than 30 years ago when he leaked information that brought down a corrupt president. Some people will say that what he did was unethical, but that depends on where your loyalties are. We are a nation of the People, by the People and for the People. The first duty of all government employees is to the people, and not to the government or its institutions. It is the duty of all officials to reveal corruption and to protect the integrity of America.

Would something like this happen today? Unfortunately not. Today we have a level of corruption that far exceeds anything that was going on when Nixon was president. Today people put the government ahead of the people. Even if they did leak corruption the corporate press would never print it. And under the "Patriot" Act what Nixon did would probably be legal. Nonetheless I want to thank Mark Felt for being loyal to the people of this great country.

Newsweek was right after all

Letter to the Editor

As it turns out and FBI memo has revealed that American jailers at Guantanamo Bay actually did flush the Koran down the toilet. This was on top of International Amnesty's report calling Guantanamo the "gulag of our time" comparing it to communist prisons. Makes me wonder if all those corporate media apologists are going to apologize to Newsweek for being right all along?

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Have you noticed that the corporate news media is barely mentioning it? These two stories both about America's torture camps isn't getting near the attention that the getting near the attention that Paris Hilton is getting over her hamburger commercial.

United Bankruptcy Preview of Social Security

Letter to the Editor

The United Airlines bankruptcy is a preview of what is going to happen to the Social Security system if Bush gets his way. All these years United was supposed to be paying into the retirement fund for its workers, but now is defaulting on its obligations. The same thing is happening with Social Security. For the last 30 years the baby boomers have been paying in excess Social Security into what is called a "Trust Fund" that Bush jokes is nothing more than an IOU. Our money we paid in is being doled out in tax breaks for the super rich.

Now Bush wants to take our Social Security money and give it away to his crooked stock broker buddies who are going to invest it for us and we are going to trust that it's going to be there when we retire. But as you see more companies dumping their obligations on the tax payers while protecting the investor class it's clear that putting Social Security in Bush's hands would be a huge mistake. The Republican Party is looting the retirement system.

Medicare Cuts Tax the Middle Class

Letter to the Editor

The Republican budget makes huge cuts in Medicare and gives huge tax breaks to oil companies who are already rolling in money from their record profits. But these Medicare cuts hit the middle class the hardest because when poor people get sick and go to the hospital - someone has to pay for it. And when the government pays less then those costs are passed on to those of us who do pay as increases in insurance premiums and higher out of pocket expenses. As insurance goes up more companies are telling employees that they have to pay more of their own medical costs. Some companies are dropping medical coverage entirely. In cutting Medicare the Republicans are really taxing the rest of us.

Bush Energy Plan is a Joke

Letter to the Editor

It's amusing to hear Bush talk about an energy plan with his record. Bush gives huge tax breaks for buying Hummers. Oil companies who are making record profits are getting huge tax breaks. Now he wants to give away military bases to oil companies to build refineries. I don't think corporate fascism is the right solution to bringing down the price of gas and make life better for the people of America.

Will the Bankruptcy Bill Kill Christmas?

Letter to the Editor

Now that the credit card companies have their debt slavery bill it makes me wonder if they are going to be happy with what they got. This bill might result in people changing their behavior and becoming more responsible. And what do I mean by more responsible? I mean - people spending less money. No more impulse buying. After all - if you are going to protect yourself against bankruptcy, it means that you are going to be a lot more careful in your spending. The bottom line is - it's going to hit the economy hard. The law goes into effect in October and that's when people will really stop spending money,. We'll see if the credit card companies are happy come Christmas. Looks to me like Christmas has been cancelled.

Why should Eric Rudolph Fear Death?

Letter to the Editor

Eric Rudolph - a pro-life terrorist plead guilty to being a serial killer in exchange for immunity from the death penalty. What confuses me is why does he fear death? If he truly has faith then being dead is an opportunity to go to Heaven. If God really wants Christians to assassinate the heathens then shouldn't they welcome death so that God can reward them? Muslim mass murders don't fear dying because Muslims terrorist are true believers. I don't think Mr. Rudolph is as strong a believer as he claims to be. He's only pro-life when it comes to saving his own sorry hide.

How America sees the World

Letter to the Editor

Some people don't understand why American President Bush wants to send John Bolton to the United Nations. John Bolton is a man who understands the New World Order. He understands that there are two kinds of people in the world - Americans - and foreigners. And it's up to the Americans to help bring civilization to the poor ignorant foreigners. We give them loin cloths, teach them English, build them a Wal-Mart store, and teach the heathens some religion. The Bush administration is truly confused as to why the foreigners aren't welcoming John Bolton's help.

Disgraced Cardinal leads Mass for Pope

Letter to the Editor

Disgraced Cardinal Bernard Law, who moved priests who raped children from church to church so they can rape again, led a Mass for thousands mourning Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Basilica. What this says to me is that the Catholic Church doesn't take the issue of priests raping children seriously and it makes people everywhere question the moral standing of this religion.

In the last week we've heard how great the late Pope was and it made it look like being Catholic really meant something. But I doubt anyone is going to take a religion seriously that lets those who support child rape play a such a major role in the Pope's funeral. This is a man who should be in jail. I can't believe he's still a Cardinal!

Being Consistent

Letter to the Editor

One thing that most people believe about George Bush is that he's consistent. But I'm not sure being consistent is going to help persuade people to like his Social Security reforms. When you look at his legacy as president so far, it doesn't look real good. He turned the worlds biggest surplus into the worlds biggest deficit. He ignored the warnings about bin Laden, who is - still free. We went to war in Iraq on bad intelligence. Medicare reform is a failure. Taxes are up, the dollar is down. The flat worlders want to control the schools. And the government wants to put tracking chips (RFIDs) in federally issued ID cards to spy on everything we do.

So - do we want Bush to be consistent with his past when it comes to Social Security? I don't think so! I think we should put it off another four years and focus on paying off the national debt. I don't think we can afford to risk Social Security with someone who has a bad track record.

Bush says: Social Security Trust Fund is Fiction

Letter to the Editor

Bush atated today that the Social Security Trust Fund was a fiction, saying that it's just an IOU. That's because he took all the money and gave it away to his billionaire friends in the form of tax cuts for the rich. Under Clinton we had a surplus and we were paying off the borrowing left by the previous Bush and Reagan administrations. What is Bush's solution - more borrowing. This time he wants to borrow money and gamble it in the stock market.

I remember the good old days when Republicans wanted a balanced budget amendment and at least gave lip service to fiscal responsibility. Bush's statement that the Trust Fund is fiction means that he borrowed the money and he's not paying it back. Bush claims that the Democrats don't have any ideas on how to fix Social Security - but that's not true. The Democrat's plan was fiscal responsibility, pay back the trust fund, and run surpluses. And I think it's a better plan that borrow and spend and gamble in the stock market.

Bankruptcy Bill is Morally Bankrupt

Letter to the Editor

I find it amazing that Congress wants to write a bankruptcy bill that penalizes consumers to the benefit of credit card companies. It is so much in favor of corporations that credit card companies can take away your child support payments! They should change the Declaration of Independence from :"We the People" to "We the Corporations". And they are doing this at a time when the national debt is bringing the entire nation into bankruptcy. If I were rewriting the bankruptcy laws I would make members of Congress personally responsible for paying the national debt and take everything they own if they can't pay. Instead we are becoming slaves to the fascist state!

What is in the Bush's Living Will?

Letter to the Editor

First Lady Laura Bush stated that she and the President as well as their parents all have living wills in case they become incapacitated live Teri Schiavo. So - what are in their living wills? Do they want to be kept alive in a permanent vegetative state or do they want to be allowed to die? It seems to me that in preparing a living will that the Bush's don't want the government, congress, Terry Randal, and Jesse Jackson to make the decision for them. They want the family to make that choice.

Christians Confuse Me

Letter to the Editor

I don't understand why the Christian community is so committed to keeping a brain dead woman alive. After all - if she dies - according to their belief - she will be with Jesus. So - if they really believe that then why are they trying to keep her away from God? It makes me think that the "faithful" don't have any faith. I don't think they actually believe what they preach.

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Interestingly - after I sent this letter off I saw some preacher being interviewed who made the same point. He said that letting a person go can be a strong act of faith. So - it's good to see that some Christians actually get it.

Congress and the Brain Dead

Letter to the Editor

There are those who question if Congress and President Bush inserted themselves into the death of Terri Schiavo as a mere political stunt. This case, however, hits pretty close to home with a lot of members' personal lives when it comes to withholding food from the brain dead. That's an issue they relate to personally and something they worry about. If a judge can withhold food and water for Terri Schiavo because she's brain dead - a judge could close the cafeterias in the Congress and the Whitehouse as well for the same reason. Something to think about!

Terri Schiavo - Form vs. Substance

Letter to the Editor

The Terri Schiavo controversy is an example of form vs. substance when it comes to politics and religion. The battle creates the illusion that it is about saving the life of someone who is actually already dead. It gives religious people the illusion that they are in a battle for some great cause, and the illusion is the cornerstone of faith based thinking.

In reality this is about letting a dead woman die and respecting her choice to not endure a living death. It's about whether an individual gets to choose their own fate or have to endure politicians using the law for personal political opportunity. If people of faith and politicians wanted to pass "pro life" legislation they wouldn't be meeting at midnight to interfere with the death of a single individual. Instead they would be increasing Medicare and Medicaid so that the lives of thousands poor people and old people can be saved. The difference between form and substance is - do you want to really do something to better humanity or do you want to just pretend you're doing something to better humanity?

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I'm surprized they didn't attach another tax cut for the rich to this legislation. They might have - but we'd never hear about it for the parrot press.

A Celebration of Failure

Letter to the Editor

It's been two years since the Iraq occupation began and the Bush administration is celebrating the anniversary of failure. It is not surprise to us who have opposed the war from the beginning that no weapons of mass destruction were found. The war is a fraud. America is in decline. We are living a lie. America has turned it's back on reality.

Bush tries to steal from poor - again!

Letter to the Editor

I want to thank the Republicans in the Senate who crossed party lines and voted with the Democrats to stop Bush from cutting medical services for the poor so that the super rich can keep their tax cuts. Poor people who are sick need medical services to stay alive and get well. I would hope that America remains a country who still shows compassion for poor sick people.

Avoiding World War 3

Letter to the Editor

I've always wondered about how Adolf Hitler could have been stopped in the 1930s during his rise to power. And I've blamed the German people for not having stopped it from the beginning. But at the time nothing like that had ever happened before and our world barely escaped a one world evil empire.

Suppose the same thing were happening today and we can all see it coming - what are we to do? Are we going to sit back and let it happen again - or are we going to nip it in the bud? We know better now and with today's technology we no longer have the excuse that we didn't know. We can say that we don't see the same thing coming because it is so obvious.

When telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act there can be no denying that we have a responsibility to act and to prevail. So I ask the people of the world one simple question, "Are we going to sit back and allow it to happen again - or are we going to rise up and stop it?" We simply can not sit back and allow this to happen.

Syria Speaks!

Letter to the Editor

It's interesting that even though Syria executed the president of Lebanon that the size of the protests against the United States today was far larger than the protests against Syria. I think it speaks to the fact that the rest of the world doesn't trust Bush. Nor should they. We have become the world's biggest threat. In spite of the fact that there are a lot of bad guys out there in the Arab world -the direction we are headed in is far scarier in the long run.

It's all bad news under Bush

Letter to the Editor

The bad news is coming so fast that I can't write about it all. Do I write about the Italian Journalist being shot? Or the CIA shipping people overseas to be tortured? Or the price of gas going up to record highs? Or the programmer you admitted writing the software to fix the election for Bush? Or that Bush appointed John Bolton, a man who hates the United Nations to the United Nations? Or the destruction of Social Security? Or the ongoing problems like the federal deficit, going deeper and deeper and deeper into debt. The tax cuts for the rich, the war in Iraq, the coming war in Iran - there's just no end to the bad news. If Bush was actually elected - which I don't believe he was - America made a really bad choice.

Saving Social Security

Letter to the Editor

President Bush and I have different views on how to save Social Security. His plan is to destroy Social Security and give the money to his rich friends. My plan to save Social Security is for the people to rise up against the Republicans and take back America before they destroy everything. That is the only way we are going to save Social Security and everything else America stands for.

War with Iran soon to come

Letter to the Editor

The war with Iran will happen because the Republicans need a new war for political cover for the 2006 elections. With the Republican Party poised to destroy social security they will need a serious distraction in order to hold onto power in the next election. How will the Republicans distract America from putting old people out on the street and record borrowing and deficits? They need a new fresh war. And since war seems to be necessary for Republicans to get elected on a record of failure - they will have to start another war for their political survival. And Iran is next on their list.

What does "Privatizing" really mean?

Letter to the Editor

When Bush talks about "privatizing" social security - what does that really mean? Doesn't that really mean that he's going to take our public tax dollars that we pay to help the elderly and put it in the pockets of private people (his friends) instead? Just like "protecting" Social Security is really a code name for destroying it. We're supposed to borrow money from the Communists in China to gamble it in the stock market and use those funds to make the government the biggest stock holder in the private US economy? I think someone has their head in a place where the sun don't shine. We are really in trouble.

Bush to cut law enforcement

Letter to the Editor

Bush is cutting law enforcement so that he can make up for the funds he spent to give huge tax breaks to the rich. This on the heals of his proposal to destroy social security. The term "privatize" is a code word that really means give the money to rich private individuals instead of the public. We need to quit gutting society and go back to taxing the rich. I'm tired of rich people paying a lower tax rate than the middle class. We are a nation in decline and going down fast. Terrorist don't need to attack us. They can just sit back and watch as we destroy ourselves.

The End of Social Security

Letter to the Editor

Bush is reforming social security the same way he reformed the economy and everything else he's done as president. He's changing it from working to broken. We went for the biggest surplus in the history of the world to the biggest deficit in the history of the world. Now he's going to destroy social security the same way. It's all about giving tax cuts to the rich while old people live in poverty and eat dog food.

Alberto Gonzales bad choice for Atorney General

Letter to the Editor

President Bush's choice of Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General is a really bad decision. Alberto Gonzales was the one who wrote Bush's pro torture memo that led to American sponsored torture and murder at Abu Ghraib prison.

If America is going to portray itself as a civilized nation it has to send the world a message that behaving like Nazi's is something that we don't condone. Alberto Gonzales who would be our chief law enforcement officer is someone who should be tried as a war criminal. He brings America down to the same level as the Muslim terrorists that we are at war with.

Torture is just plain wrong - period. You don't torture people. Alberto Gonzales doesn't seem to understand this. What kind of a country do we live in where people who believe in torture run the country? Alberto Gonzales makes us a nation of barbarians. Are enemies have won when we become like them.

End of Tyranny - Or just the Beginning

Letter to the Editir

Mr. Bush talks about an end to tyranny, but if he really wanted to end tyranny - he would resign. That way senior citizens wouldn't have to eat dog food so that the rich can get tax breaks. He uses words like "expansion of freedom" to mean that that we are going to start more wars. The darkest places in that world may be right here at home.

Four More Years of Shame and Failure

Letter to the Editor