Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Iraq

Hump day, hump day -- can't trust that day. (Swiping from the Mamas & the Papas "Monday, Monday.) If I heard it once, I heard it thirty times today, "Man, I wish it was Friday." Me too.
Let's kick it off with Democracy Now!


Bush Suggests Troops To Remain in Iraq Until At Least 2009
President Bush has indicated US troops are likely to stay in Iraq until at least 2009. Speaking at a White House press conference Tuesday -- his second this year -- Bush said whether US troops are withdrawn from Iraq will be up to future US presidents and Iraqi governments to decide. Bush also defended the job performance of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld amid growing calls for his resignation. But Bush left open the possibility for future changes, saying "I'm not going to announce it right now."

This is why you gotta speak out. Bully Boy's not going to stop the war. That's no surprise. But now he's on record saying that the war will go on until 2009. How many more Iraqis and troops are you going to let die by staying silent? You gotta use your voice. This war can drag on and on. It's March now. May's not that far away. What happens in May? High school students graduate. You want to know that you're staying silent helped some recruiter trick some poor high school kid? Maybe she or he had some plans but thought, "This recruiter is going to take care of me." So she or he signs up and goes straight to the killing factory that is Iraq.

"How am I responsible?" you might ask. If you're staying silent, you are responsible. If you're staying silent, this isn't just Bully Boy's war, it's your war too.

You grant permission when you can't find the voice to speak out. You may not mean to but you do. It's assumed that if you disagreed, you'd speak out. So if you don't agree, you need to start making your voice heard.

White House Steers Millions in Federal Grants to Conservative Groups
The Washington Post is reporting the Bush administration has funneled millions of dollars in federal grant money to conservative groups that support its social policies. Using faith-based programs and other government initiatives, the Bush administration has steered at least $157 million to groups that support the President's views on issues such as abortion and gay marriage. According to the Post, most of the funding came through government programs enacted after the Bush administration took office. In scores of cases, small antiabortion centers have received federal funding that doubled or tripled their operating budgets. Democratic Congressmember Chet Edwards of Texas called the grant funding one of the largest patronage programs in American history.

And where does the money go? Wonder why high schoolers might be tempted by lies from some recruiter? Cause all the money goes elsewhere. You think colleges could have used the $157? How about public schools? How about Head Start? But where's it going? If you're okay with that, Bully Boy's the boy for you. So go to DC and worship him. Otherwise, get off your butt and speak out.

Matthew Rothschild has an interesting thing on Bully Boy's press conference called "Press Conference Confessions:"

OK, Bush finally fessed up: U.S. troops are going to be in Iraq after he's out of the Oval Office, a day that can’t come soon enough.
At his press conference on Tuesday, Bush let slip that it’s going to be up to "future Presidents" to decide when all the troops can come home.
Hey, let the next one deal with it.
But I'm glad Mr. Mission Accomplished all but confessed that he'll never be able to accomplish the mission.
That should encourage more Americans to demand the withdrawal of our troops.
As he's done so many times before, Bush suggested that there's another turning point coming right up: this time, the formation of the so-called unity government.
But that'll be as effective a turning point as all the other ones: the capture of Saddam, the killing of his sons Uday and Qusay, the handing over of power by Paul Bremer, the formation of the provisional government, or the two elections the Iraqis have had.

I thought C.I. had a really good summary of reality re: Iraq war today:

Bully Boy's efforts at the latest wave of Operation Happy Talk (not surprisingly) didn't charm/fool this community. This as CBS announces that Abdul Ameer Younis Hussein will be tried April 5th. The CBS cameraman will stand trial (no charges announced) exactly one year after he was taken into military custody. This news comes as Samir Mohammed Noor is released (Reuters cameran) after being held for eight months without charges. And in Baghdad, a car bomb has taken the life of at least one person and injured at least three others. Also in Baghdad, at least two people have been killed and forty-two wounded as Iraqi Shi'ites were targeted on their return from a pilgrimage. Away from Iraq, Dr. Malcolm Kendall-Smith is now facing a court martial for refusing to deploy to Basra. The prosecution/persecution, sounding a lot like Bully Boy, said that the issue of the legality of the war was "irrelevant." This as "US Faces Charges of Two Massacres of Iraqi Civilians." That's a small snap-shot of where we are as year four of the illegal war of choice begins.

And Kat has a good thing worth reading. (If you're smart, you'll go buy Ben Harper's Both Sides of the Gun.)

There's not much to this post, I know. It's taken forever though. That's because Nina and I have been on the phone with Elaine. Elaine's got some strong points in her post for tonight and she reads it to us with "I don't know" and we're like, "You've got to post it." She better. And you better check out Like Maria Said Paz.







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