True or False?

From Paul Cummins on the Huffington Post

True or false:

1. Iraq's reconstruction -- as promised before the U.S. invasion -- has been paid for with Iraq's oil reserves...

2. Iraq's weapons of mass destruction posed an imminent mushroom-cloud threat to the U.S.A...

3. The U.S. invasion of Iraq was greeted by cheering Iraqis...

4. Lucrative no-competitive, no-bid contracts are a responsible way to do business...

5. Torture is an effective way to gain essential information and win international admiration...

6. Tax cuts for the affluent are an effective way to fund wartime expenses...

7. Expenses and debts can be increased indefinitely without worrying about revenue...

8. It is the responsibility of tomorrow's children to pay for the debts of today's adults...

9. The president of the U.S. should not feel constrained by the Constitution if he feels that it need not apply to certain situations that he feels warrant circumventing the Constitution...

10. To combat terrorism, the president of the U.S. has the sole and unquestionable power to seize an American citizen on U.S. soil, send him off to prison and hold him there without evidence or charge indefinitely...

11. Spending $186 million dollars a day in Iraq is a good investment for the future of the U.S.

12. Global warming is just a theory which we don't need to take seriously...

13. Increased pollution and climate changing emissions are not sufficient reasons to restrict the profits of coal-producing plants...

14. Nuclear proliferation is not a danger the U.S. needs to be very concerned about...

15. Corporate CEOs have gotten so good they warrant their current $450:1 ratio to workers pay -- up from 43.1 thirty years ago.

16. The U.S. decision to attack Iraq was justified because God told George W. Bush to do so.

How did you score? How does America?

On the Road in Sioux City

Tom Curry from MSNBC covered Evan Bayh's visit to Sioux City, Osceola and Council Bluffs.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - With the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination well under way here, Evan Bayh showed off the assets that seem to be making him a top-rank competitor for Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses 18 months from now.

During a campaign swing across the state this past weekend, the Indiana senator's mellow demeanor, folksy Midwestern charm and credentials as a governor and U.S. senator gave Bayh threshold credibility with most of the rank-and-file Democrats he met.

Click Here for the entire article.

Why the Republicans Need Illegal Immigrants

Why the Republicans Need Illegal Immigrants

OK. In case you were wondering what in the heck all the sudden furor was regarding the so-called “threat” of illegal immigrants, I’ve got an answer for you. It’s all a Republican conspiracy of sorts! As you know, in recent years Bush and the Republicans were successfully able to excuse almost anything – torture, spying, secret prisons, renditions, infringements on the personal liberties of Americans, tax cuts for the rich, etc. – with recourse to cries of “9/11!” As Garry Trudeau has so nicely lampooned in his popular comic strip “Doonsbury,” the Bush Administration time and again has cited 9/11 and the putative terrorist threat when justifying any and all controversial actions. For the Bush crowd, no other explanation was felt necessary. However, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have bogged down with little progress to show, and the immediate fears of repeat terrorist attacks have started to wane, the threat to the Republicans’ well-constructed smoke-and-mirrors show has grown alarmingly. People are just now beginning to ask questions, while the president’s popularity has sunk to abysmal levels.

Enter the “new” threat of illegal immigrants overwhelming our country! Blasé about terrorism and terrorists? Well, have the Republicans got another equally amorphous threat for you! Illegal immigrants make the perfect bogeymen of the new post-9/11 age; they comprise a rather mysterious and misunderstood group upon which the Republicans can refocus the diffuse frustrations and anger of the majority of Americans, while diverting our attentions from their own mistakes and blatant looting of the public purse. Security, after all, is an issue on which Republicans traditionally score better than Democrats.

Fear, we now know, sells. The more fear the better, as we’re less likely to question those in authority who claim to be protecting our interests. Fear is also very good for
American business, or at least those in America’s fast-growing military-industrial complex. Just think how much profit is to be made in building a security fence along our lengthy southern border!

Let’s face it folks, the Bush Administration and its stooges are still messing with our heads! They’re identifying so-called threats that have long been in our midst – terrorism, illegal immigrants – and suddenly re-packaging them as dire emergencies so as to better promote Republican interests. They promise action, but in unproven and overly simplistic ways (Do you know any knowledgeable security expert outside of the political arena who thinks the building of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border offers any real hope of stemming the tide of illegals? Or remember back when the Bush Administration suggested Iraq’s problems would all be solved by the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, or Afghanistan’s through the defeat of the Taliban?).

If we still value our freedom, now is the time to start scrutinizing our elected officials. We must start demanding more from them than empty platitudes and simplistic worldviews. We must also cease giving in to our fears, and insist on accountability on the part of our elected political class. So long as we allow fear to distract us, the Bush Administration will continue to tap our phones, check what books we read, hold people without charge, and otherwise chip away at our remaining civil rights and freedoms.

Consenting to “Big Brother” is not a sign of a healthy democracy!

Peace!
Historian

John Edwards in Sioux City May 25

John Edwards will be in Sioux City on May 25 for a fundraiser for the Woodbury County Democrats.

This event just keeps getting better: Before Edwards speaks, you can hear brief remarks from our major candidates for Governor of Iowa, and U.S. Congress.

Tickets are $20 in advance, or $30 at the door. Tickets are also available for a private reception before the main event. You can buy your E-tickets at our website online before May 25 with a major credit card. When you buy online, your name will go on the list at the door of "prepaid" ticket holders. Click Here for details.

A New Day

Don't worry! Everything is dandy in Iraq... It's a New Day (again). Reminds me of all the pundits who have said since mid-2003 that we should "just give Iraq another 6 months" and Iraq will be a peaceful, democratic paradise.

A NEW DAY

The formation of a unity government in Iraq is a new day for the millions of Iraqis who want to live in freedom.

--President Bush, May 21, 2006

Today, the call of liberty is being heard in Baghdad and Basra, and other Iraqi cities, and its sound is echoing across the broader Middle East.... It means that the days of tyranny and terror are ending, and a new day of hope and freedom is dawning.

--President Bush, December 12, 2005

A long night of terror and tyranny in that region is ending, and a new day of freedom and hope and self-government is on the way.

--President Bush, December 1, 2004

The Iraqi people, themselves, are seeing a new day thanks to the brave men and women who came to liberate them.

--President Bush, August 14, 2003

As trade expands and knowledge spreads to the Middle East, as women gain a place of equality and respect, as the rule of law takes hold, all peoples of that region will see a new day of justice and a new day of prosperity.

--President Bush, May 9, 2003

Step by step Iraqi citizens are reclaiming their own country. They are identifying former official guilty of crimes and volunteering for citizen patrols to provide security. Many are reviving religious rituals long-forbidden by the old regime, and speaking their mind in public -- a sure sign that a new day has come.

--President Bush, April 25, 2003

Many Iraqis are now speaking their mind in public. That's a good sign. That means a new day has come in Iraq.

--President Bush, April 24, 2003

The fall of that statue in Baghdad marked the end of a nightmare for the Iraqi people, and it marked the start of a new day of freedom.
--President Bush, April 16, 2003

The world is also witnessing the liberation and humanitarian aid our coalition is bringing to that country as a new day begins in Iraq.

--President Bush, April 8, 2003

Nice piece of work by Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog, where you can find links to all the quotes.

Evan Bayh's First Impression

I wasn’t prepared to be so impressed.

I figured Evan Bayh had something going for him. He had served two terms as governor of Indiana and was easily re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004 even though President Bush clobbered Kerry in the state. But I thought a large part of his career might stem solely from being the son of a political icon, Birch Bayh, who served in the U.S. Senate and ran for president in 1976.

But Evan Bayh made the most of his first impression in Sioux City Saturday night, speaking as part of the Woodbury County Democratic Party’s Truman Club.

He played to the crowd, pointing out that he knows things have reached bottom because the other day he saw a “Never Thought I'd Miss Nixon” bumper sticker. He came across as more of a political heavyweight than namesake lightweight as he explained his stance on issues from Medicare to national security to Iraq. And there was no question that he has the charisma for the national stage.

The most difficult moment for him was when he was asked to defend his vote on attacking Iraq. Bayh said as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee he attended classified briefings. At one of those closed-door briefings, he asked CIA Director George Tenet if his life depended on it would he say that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, to which Tenet answered “yes.” Bayh added that other countries’ intelligence agencies agreed with that assessment.

But now he said the vote was a mistake and if he had to do it over again he would vote against authorizing the use of force.

He said U.S. troops need to remain for at least six to eight weeks to give the new Iraqi government time to quell the violence. At that time, a decision will need to be made on whether progress to stabilize the country is being made or if civil and regional warfare is inevitable with or without our military presence.

He said a recent classified briefing for the Intelligence Committee by the Administration outlined how grave the situation is. Potentially, Turkey could move into northern Iraq to try to stop the Kurds from creating an independent nation. Iran could move into southern Iraq to help the Shiites. And all of the potential warfare could not just destabilize Iraq, but other countries in the region including Saudi Arabia.

Echoing John Kerry, Bayh said the Democratic plan for national security and fighting terrorism would be to be both tough and smart. He said Democrats cannot shy away from this issue because if people don’t feel we will protect their lives they’ll never vote for us.

On domestic issues, Bayh genuflected at the alter of ethanol and the need for energy independence. Corn growers in Indiana aren’t that much different than here in Iowa.

On education, he said as governor of Indiana he began a program where eighth graders receiving free or reduced school lunches could sign a contract to stay out of trouble and if they did they receive a college scholarship upon graduation from high school.

On health care, he said he voted against the prescription drug bill. He said it’s simply too confusing and should be changed. At the very least, he said, the deadline to sign up should be extended to the end of the year.

He cited the national deficit as another concern. He said some of President Bush’s tax cuts should be rolled back. He pointed out that he did not raise taxes for eight years as governor of Indiana, but said a tax increase may be necessary to close the whopping budget gap. He suggested his position will be somewhere between Walter Mondale, who as the presidential candidate in 1984 took the honest approach and admitted he would have to raise taxes to close the budget deficit, and George H.W. Bush, who as the presidential candidate in 1988 made the infamous pledge: “Read my lips. No new taxes.”

I thought these statements were Bayh’s weakest moment. He seemed to genuinely want to be frank about the difficulties ahead with balancing the budget and making investments in education and health care. But it’s never easy to endorse a tax increase.

He also did not present a grand theme that is at the core of why he wants to be president. But it’s early. He’s still clearly testing lines for reaction and more than likely looking himself for a compelling reason to run.

When his father was contemplating running for the Senate, he and his parents traveled to Independence, Missouri, to meet former President Truman. When they all sat down, the six-year-old Evan blurted out that he had to go to the bathroom. His parents were horrified. But Truman simply announced he had to go as well, and off they went.

It was a fitting anecdote to conclude the first Truman Club event of the year. And the best news for Bayh is that he accomplished his mission Saturday. Most people left the gathering impressed. It would not be hard to imagine Bayh on the national ticket.

Something Evan Bayh Said He Recently Saw

Bushlandia

It's now come down to this: here's the three states where Bush's approval rating is above 50%.

Thanks to Billmon

The Universal Cure-All: Tax Cuts!

Robert Weissman writes on the Huffington Post:

Under the just passed Republican tax deal ...

If you make less than $10,000/year, you will save $0 in taxes annually.
If you make $10,000-20,000/year, you will save $3 in taxes annually.
If you make $20,000-30,000/year, you will save $10 in taxes annually.
If you make $30,000-$40,000/year, you will save $17 in taxes annually.
If you make $40,000-50,000/year, you will save $47 in taxes annually.
If you make $50,000-75,000/year, you will save $112 in taxes annually.
If you make $75,000-100,000/year, you will save $406 in taxes annually.
If you make $100,000-200,000/year, you will save $1,395 in taxes annually.
If you make $200,000-500,000/year, you will save $4,527 in taxes annually.
If you make $500,000-1 million/year, you will save $5,656 in taxes annually.
If you make more than $1million/year, you will save $42,766 in taxes annually.

Less than 3.5 percent of U.S. taxpayers fall into the category of making $200,000 a year or more.

So, this is a targeted tax cut -- at a $70 billion cost to the Treasury -- for less than THREE AND A HALF PERCENT of the population.

These figures are according to the Tax Policy Center.

Terrorists R Us

Terrorists R Us:

Of all the lame excuses for the U.S. war in Iraq, the one that has always troubled me the most is the Bush Administration’s oft-repeated: “It’s better to fight the terrorists over there than here in the streets of America!”

Unless, of course, you happen to be a citizen of Iraq! The statistics today tell a tragic story: according to the website www.iraqbodycount.net, well over 34,000 Iraqis have died since the start of Bush’s “vanity war” in March 2003. Dozens of new deaths are reported every day. Moreover, despite the Bush Administration’s constant drumbeat of upbeat pabulum on Iraq, the Iraqis themselves are voting with their feet, some 100,000 having fled their homes and/or the country itself, according to no less an authority than one of Iraq’s own Vice-Presidents!

The situation seems to careen from bad to worse. As reported recently in several major national newspapers (the Sioux City Journal excluded, of course), a late March 2006 poll by the International Republican Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., found Iraqis extremely pessimistic about the current state of their nation. 52% of Iraqis polled now think their country is moving in the wrong direction, believing that jobs are scarcer, wages lower, basic services like electricity poorer, and the country less secure and more politically divided than before. An impressive 68% of respondents cited corruption as a serious problem in daily life. Most tellingly, in a situation of such pervasive and extreme insecurity, a pitiful 1% of respondents reported having trust in American troops for their protection (for the full report, go to www.iri.org).

Meanwhile, back in the States we have General Michael Hayden, the second-ranking intelligence official on Iraq, giving official confirmation in a recent speech in Texas of what we war critics have long suspected: U.S. military activities in Iraq are serving as inspiration for, and a recruitment tool of, anti-American jihadists! “Fortunately,” General Hayden was able to keep sight of the Bush Administration’s “big picture;” after we defeat the jihadists in Iraq, their movement worldwide will be seriously weakened, the General added reassuringly.

So we’ve come full circle. The U.S. has to maintain a military presence in Iraq, the Bushies claim, so as to defeat an anti-American insurgency sustained by that very same U.S. military presence!

Is it just me, or does it sometimes seem like Joseph Heller’s 1st Lt. Milo Minderbinder is running things our Middle East policy?! “Catch 22” is back!

During the initial U.S. roll-over of Iraq’s armed forces in March of 2003, I remember being politely chided by a local TV newscaster about the seemingly overwhelming American “victory” (I admit to having been a bit of a pessimist in earlier on-air interviews). “Defeating the Iraqi military is the easy part. It’s winning the peace afterwards that we need to worry about,” I recall saying. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration just hates to let troublesome details spoil its vision of reality, and so we now find ourselves in the eminently predictable morass of Iraqi sectarian civil war.

Yet, the majority of Americans seem content to try and ignore the violence in Iraq as best they can. It is, after all, over there! Hardly anyone can even place Iraq on a map of the world. And we assuage our nagging doubts over allowing our own government to wreak such havoc on an innocent land by burying reports of such devastation in the back section of the local newspaper, or by accepting at face value the Administration’s morally suspect defense of “Better over there than over here!”

What do you think will happen when the Iraqi people finally figure out whose real best interests we’re serving?

Peace!
Historian

Decider House Rules

From our friends at the Daily Kos comes this Seussification on GW's declaration that "he's the decider."

I'm the decider.
I pick and I choose.
I pick among whats.
And choose among whos.

And as I decide
Each particular day
The things I decide on
All turn out that way.

I decided on Freedom
For all of Iraq.
And now that we have it,
I'm not looking back.

I decided on tax cuts
That just help the wealthy.
And Medicare changes
That aren't really healthy.

And parklands and wetlands
Who needs all that stuff?
I decided that none
Would be more than enough!

I decided that schools
All in all are the best
The less that they teach
And the more that they test.

I decided those wages
You need to get by
Are much better spent
On some CEO guy.

I decided your Wade
Which was versing your Roe
Is terribly awful
And just has to go.

I decided that levees
Are not really needed.
Now when hurricanes come
They can come unimpeded.

That old Constitution?
Well, I have decided
As"just goddam paper"
It should be derided.

I've decided gay marriage
Is icky and weird.
Above all other things,
It's the one to be feared.

And Cheney and Rummy
And Condi all know
That I'm the Decider -
They tell me it's so.

I'm the Decider
So watch what you say
Or I may decide
To have you whisked away.

Or I'll tap your phones.
Your e-mail I'll read.
`cause I'm the Decider -
Like Jesus decreed.

Yes, I'm the Decider
The finest alive
And I'm nuking Iran.
And that ain't no jive!!