The 666 Club

Update: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered to help the poor in US with cheap oil. No wonder Robertson wants this guy killed. Chavez said yesterday that the Venezuelan-owned, Texas-based Citgo Petroleum Co. would offer to poor schools, hospitals, and churches in America 66,000 barrels a day of oil products refined at its U.S. plants. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Chavez has offered heating oil to be sold directly to communities, avoiding retailers, to bring down costs, Ramirez said.

The minion of the devil and host of the 700 Club show, Pat Robertson, called for the murder of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez last week. "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. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war, and I don't think any oil shipments will stop." He continued: "We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with." This is what I find interesting, here is one of Bush's spiritual advisers, revealing what appears to be the real reason we went to war in Iraq. Oil.

So just for fun, let's dissect the evil dictator Chavez. Business Week reported that Venezuela President Chavez is harming the oil industry to feed his social programs. Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) Venezuela's state-run oil company is funding community health clinics that provide free medicine, PDVSA subsidizes the rice, cooking oil, and other staples at government-run stores. Venezuela has the largest petroleum reserves outside the Middle East. Now, Chávez is reaching deep into PDVSA's coffers to finance a "democratic revolution" to raise millions of Venezuelans out of poverty. Chávez is pumping some $4 billion of PDVSA's windfall profits into social programs each year. Gee, how un-Christian, helping the poor. No wonder Robertson is angry. BW goes on to report that once a dependable American ally, Venezuela has become a thorn in Washington's side. The White House takes a dim view of Caracas' sales of subsidized oil to Fidel Castro's Cuba. It's also none too thrilled that Chávez is using petrodollars to outfit his army with Russian-made Kalashnikov rifles, combat helicopters and MiG fighter jets. Ever since the Bush Administration appeared to endorse a short-lived coup d'état against Chávez in 2002. So who could blame Chavez, or any other oil-rich country from stepping up their defenses, in light of the illegal invasion of Iraq.

So why does Robertson care about oil, aside from owning several oil fields himself, he is also the owner of CENCO Refining Co which has an oil refinery in Santa Fe Springs, CA. With $20 million from Robertson's 'charitable trust', Robertson formed Cenco in 1998 to buy the refinery, hoping to turn California's thirst for gasoline into a generator of revenue for his work.

Robertson's evil goes outside of oil, he likes gold and diamonds too, even if they're covered in blood. The Washington Post reported a couple of years ago. Christian Coalition founder Dr. M. G. "Pat" Robertson's private, for profit company 'Freedom Gold' is, according to Robertson, digging for commercial grade ore in Liberia so that he might be in a better position to lift the fallen, find the lost and bring the sinful into righteousness. (Insert gag here). Profits from Robertson's "Freedom Gold" have funded Liberian President Charles Taylor. Taylor's government has been charged with running guns into and smuggling diamonds out of Sierra Leone. An alleged al Qaeda connection with Liberia has surfaced in the press. The United Nations and the United States have taken steps to prohibit the importation of diamonds from Liberia because funds from that country's diamond sales have allegedly been used to finance some horrifying atrocities against unarmed civilians. Robertson is quoted as saying that Taylor ran a country overflowing with God's unconditional, inclusive love. More than 150,000 lives were lost in the Taylor-initiated civil war. The WP goes on to reveal that Right-to-lifer Pat Robertson, is a current investor of millions of dollars in the People's Republic of China, the world's largest Marxist regime, which also proudly pursues a policy of forced abortions. Amen.

All Aboard, The Bullshit Express

Bill Moyer, 73, wears a "Bullshit Protector" flap
over his ear while President George W. Bush
addresses the V FW (AP Photo)

President George W. Bush is shoveling it this week. This Tuesday in Donnelly, Idaho-Dubya addressed the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) saying that anti-war protesters such as Cindy Sheehan, who want U.S. troops brought home immediately, are "advocating a policy that would weaken the United States." Bush made these remarks outside of an exclusive resort where he is currently vacationing. So, this is a vacation from his vacation? I know it's tough watching people die for your lies. Or perhaps he heard big bad scary Cindy Sheehan is coming back to Crawford to resume her protest of this war. Or maybe Bush heard his approval rating is now at 36%-the same as his illegal war.

On his Saturday radio address Bush said the United States is fighting "terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world." No, you created terrorism in Iraq- and you placed only a handful of soldiers in Afghanistan-where our real enemy dwells. Had we used the massive force we used in Iraq, to find Osama Bin Laden these past FOUR years, we would have had him by now. Don't you wonder why we have spent billions of dollars and thousands of lives on a bogus invasion against a country that didn't attack us on 9/11 and kill close to 3,000 Americans?

Bush delivered his remarks in his weekly radio address and former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia spoke in the weekly Democratic radio response. W noted that the four-year anniversary of 9/11 is approaching, said "since that day, we have taken the fight to the enemy," saying the country has upended "terror cells and their financial support networks" and have taken insurgents on "in foreign lands before they can attack us here at home. Our troops know that they're fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere to protect their fellow Americans from a savage enemy." Right, so again England and Spain weren't attacked on their own soil. It was just people who hate trains, not Al Qaeda.

Okay, make sure your boots are on, W went on to shovel: "They know that if we do not confront these evil men abroad, we will have to face them one day in our own cities and streets, and they know that the safety and security of every American is at stake in this war, and they know we will prevail," Bush said. Cleland, who came home from Vietnam a triple amputee, said that the U.S. military must give the troops what they need to win or get out of Iraq. "I learned in Vietnam that the best way to support our troops is to either give them the forces and equipment needed to win or bring them home so we can care for those who have borne the battle," he said. Critics say the administration has not properly equipped troops and underestimated the number that would be necessary to fight.

Cleland went on to say: 'Miscalculations' rampant" the "administration needs to step up the plate...it's time to face the truth. It's time for a strategy to win in Iraq or a strategy to get out."
He said the administration miscalculated the number of troops needed to fight, saying "we don't have the forces there to make it secure." Bush, he said, sloughed off the advice the "top military brass who said that at least 500,000 troops were needed to secure Iraq. The president committed only one-fifth of that force to the war." Currently, Cleland said, the military, including the National Guard and Reserves, is struggling because of this. Service members are returning for more tours and the casualties are growing, with almost 2,000 service members dead and more than 15,000 wounded. Osama bin Laden and his terrorist cadre who did attack our country on September 11, 2001 are still on the loose."

Another miscalculation Bush made was that he declared an end to major combat in Iraq on May 1, 2003, Cleland said. "This judgment was wrong. Major combat is not over. The cost has been extremely bloody for this nation." Cleland also criticized the administration's budget for veterans, arguing that "at least $3.5 billion more is needed. We should be expanding V.A. healthcare -- especially counseling for veterans and their families dealing with the emotional aftermath of war." Couldn't have said it better myself. I hate to tell him, but the Bush Administration just announced the closure of the Walter Reed hospital.

A Dream Realized

Aw, Dubya's dream came true. He got to ride his bikey with Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, while more of our troops died. Well, my dream is being realized. Bush's poll numbers are sinking even further. Pinch me. The latest poll by the American Research Group shows Bush's approval rating has fallen to 36%. This is lower than Richard Nixon's during the end of the Vietnam War and the unraveling of his misdeeds with 'Watergate'. Bush also set a record yesterday for the most vacation days taken by a president. And this is the guy who calls himself a war president. If you're curious as to who the original record setter was, it was the other Republican puppet president- Ronnie Reagan.

I'm not the only one who's dream has been realized...word has it that Iraq is all set to become an Islamic Republic. In today's Guardian UK, it is reported that "Iraq is to be defined as a federal republic which would combine the principles of Islam with human rights and democracy." Oil and other natural wealth would be shared "according to the needs" of the central government and the provinces. Our young troops and innocent Iraqi's died to put our enemies in power. A country that posed no threat to the US, now has made Osama's dreams come true. Imagine how happy the theocracy in Iran is, to have another theocracy right next door.

Bush's latest excuse for his illegal war and his theft of billions in US taxpayer dollars: We're fighting the terrorists over there so we don't have to fight them over there. Right, so Britain and Spain were never attacked on their soil for participating in this illegal war. We're safe.

Roberts: Conservative White Man

The disclosure of more than 50,000 pages that cover Roberts' tenure as a lawyer in the White House counsel's office from 1982-86 are showing that he is not a supporter of women, minorities, or Democrats, but he loves corporations, white men, Republicans, oh and the Contras- remember those guys?

EQUAL RIGHTS
USSC nominee John G. Roberts consistently opposed strengthening women's rights during his years as a legal adviser in the Reagan White House, what he called "the purported gender gap" and, at one point, questioning "whether encouraging homemakers to become lawyers contributes to the common good." Roberts's comment about homemakers startled even Christians like Phyllis Schlafly, the president of the conservative Eagle Forum. In internal memos, Roberts urged President Reagan to refrain from embracing any form of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment pending in Congress; he concluded that some state initiatives to curb workplace discrimination against women relied on legal tools that were "highly objectionable"; and he said that directing employers to pay women equally to men for jobs of "comparable worth" -- was "staggeringly pernicious" and "anti-capitalist." Hey women, take your lesser pay, it's pro-capitalism, pro-corporations, pro-white man... just like Judge Roberts.

DIRTY POLITICS
Roberts will be facing many questions before the Senate, when his confirmation hearings begin the day after Labor Day. He also, the documents illustrate, played a bit role in the Reagan administration's efforts in Nicaragua to funnel assistance to CIA-supported "contras" who were trying overthrow the Marxist Sandinista government. Roberts gave his advice on proposed rules that would prohibit recipients of federal grants or contracts from using that money for lobbying or other forms of political advocacy. Democratic groups that received such money were complaining that the rules were intended to harm them. Roberts, in a February 1983 memo, agreed that the proposals were too broad, but worried more about the hit that government contractors would take. "It is possible to 'defund the left' without alienating [defense contractors] TRW and Boeing, but the proposals, if enacted, would do both," Roberts opined. Yeah, this jack-ass wouldn't be an activist judge when he reached the highest court in the land, would he? Nah.

DAMN BRAUDS & MINORITIES
As a lawyer in the Reagan White House, John Roberts scoffed, at the notion of elevating Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to chief justice as a way to close a political gender gap, calling it a "crass political consideration." On another topic, Roberts, who was nominated as a justice by President Bush last month, advised the White House to strike language from a description of a housing bill that referred to the "fundamental right to be free from discrimination." He said that "there of course is no such right."

STEAL THE VOTE
Roberts also was directly involved in the Reagan administration's opposition to expanding the Voting Rights Act. The legislation would have required that discrimination in elections be deemed a violation of the act, even if it wasn't intentional. Roberts, in a memo, argued that the change could lead to a "quota system." "Just as we oppose quotas in employment and education, so too we oppose them in elections," he wrote. Again, I must be psychic, Roberts needs to be sitting on the Supreme Court for the 2006 elections and more importantly, the theft of the Presidency in 2008. As mentioned on my previous posts, Roberts was one of the lawyers for Bush v. Gore in 2000.

I don't think the Republicans are getting sloppy, letting us see their play book lately, I think they just don't care. They are the elite, in control of all houses of government. As Cheney would say: America 'go fuck yourself.' I'm gonna go open my 'Psychic Readings by Lisa' shop.

Progress, Schmogress

Update: Iraq's national assembly allowed the team drawing up a draft constitution an extra week to complete their work. Otherwise, the government would have dissolved, requiring new elections in December, thereby starting this process all over again. What did the Bush mafia/administration have to say? "We are witnessing democracy at work in Iraq," said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Wow, whatever this administration is smoking, they need to share it.

Eh, so Iraq isn't the beacon of freedom and democracy. Sewage fills the streets in Baghdad. Unemployment is at 50-65%. Many of Baghdad's 6 million people go without electricity for days in 120-degree heat. Parents fearful of kidnapping are keeping children indoors.. Hey, we tried. Yeah, we'll just be leaving now. Good luck with those freedom hating suicide bombers. Bush's corporate buddies got their contract money.

In today's Washington Post, U.S. officials are saying that 'the Bush administration is significantly lowering expectations of what can be achieved in Iraq, recognizing that the United States will have to settle for far less progress than originally envisioned during the transition due to end in four months, according to U.S. officials in Washington and Baghdad. The United States no longer expects to see a model new democracy, a self-supporting oil industry or a society where the majority of people are free from serious security or economic challenges" U.S. officials say. "What we expected to achieve was never realistic given the timetable or what unfolded on the ground," said a senior official involved in policy since the 2003 invasion. "We are in a process of absorbing the factors of the situation we're in and shedding the unreality that dominated at the beginning."




What does the AWOL president have to say (from his golf cart cell phone)? "Iraqis are taking control of their country, building a free nation that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself. And we're helping Iraqis succeed," President Bush said his radio address on Saturday. Yes, he's completely out of touch and as we have all assumed, not the real President.

Aside from the insurgent attacks, there is much religious unrest. "Barbers post signs saying they do not shave men, after months of barbers being killed by religious extremists". The Bush administration had stated that they had planned to establish a "secular and modern Iraq that honors human rights" (insert laugh here) and one that would "unite disparate ethnic and religious communities."



U.S. officials and Iraq analysts say that the US "set out to establish a democracy, but we're slowly realizing we will have some form of Islamic republic." The WP goes on to report that "U.S. officials now acknowledge that they misread the strength of sentiment among Kurds and Shiites to create a special status. The Shiites' request this month for autonomy to be guaranteed in the constitution stunned the Bush administration, even after more than two years of intense intervention in Iraq's political process, they said. Killings of members of the Iraqi security force have tripled since January. Last week was the fourth-worst week of the whole war for U.S. military deaths in combat, and August already is the worst month for deaths of members of the National Guard and Reserve. Attacks on U.S. convoys by insurgents using roadside bombs have doubled over the past year.

According to Wayne White, the former head of the State Department's Iraq intelligence team: "The administration says Saddam ran down the country. But most damage was from looting [after the invasion], which took down state industries, large private manufacturing, the national electric system." We didn't even allow the Iraqi's to rebuild their own country after we demolished it. Nope, we gave billions in no bid contracts to American corporations, or rather the highest donors to the Republican Party. God Bless America!

AWOL President

NY Times

In the fifth circle of hell that Bush and his fellow crooks have created in Iraq: Five more soldiers were killed this morning in Baghdad. Our troops are still begging for the basics. Marines are driving unarmored amphibious vehicles in the middle of the desert. Ah, well you go to war with the military you have. Speaking of dementia sufferer Rumsfeld, he is claiming that today's explosives -once again- are clearly from Iran. I think he's as certain of it as he was of the 'chemical belt around Baghdad.' Granted US intelligence analysts state they cannot blame the Iranian government for these explosives, rather they believe they are coming from a 'rogue element' in Iran. That doesn't matter- Dubya and Dick will bomb them soon anyway. Meanwhile, the Iraqi's are trying to complete their constitution in the shitstorm that Bush has created for them. If they are able to finalize the constitution in it's current state, women will have had more rights under Saddam Hussein. Bush has been pushing for the Iraqi's to finish this up. He must have a cell phone in his golf cart. Although, I think Bush is more concerned about the oil asset portion of the constitution. As for Hussein, his rape rooms aren't closed, they're just under new management.

As U.S. troops endured deadly attacks last week in Iraq, 61% of Americans polled by Newsweek said that they disapprove of the way President George W. Bush is handling the war in Iraq. A whopping 34% said they approve. This is Bush’s lowest rating on Iraq. 54% of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time. 64% percent say the Iraq war has made Americans less safe. In the wake of the London attacks, 45% of those polled say it’s very likely that there will be major terrorist attacks against U.S. cities, buildings or national landmarks in the near future.

Speaking of an impending attack by Al Qaeda: The British Chief of Police is warning that terrorists are surveying the financial centre of London, Europe's premier financial centre, and an attack on this district is only a matter of time. "Every successful terrorist group pre-surveys its target," the commissioner of the City of London police, told the Financial Times newspaper in a front-page interview. "There's no doubt we've been subjected to that surveillance," he said adding that "that sort of thing has been successfully disrupted".

Just as North Korea went nuclear under Bush and Bolton's watch, so is Iran -the other so-called member of the Axis of Evil. Iran has broken the UN seals at their atomic plant. Perhaps they're trying to follow Dubya's logic- if you do have WMD's, he won't invade your country.

The US embassy in Saudi Arabia has been closed for fear of attacks by Al Qaeda. And where is the drunk driving, coke snorting, pretzel choking, AWOL National Guardsman, insider trading Dubya? At his fake ranch, on vacation for the 50th time since becoming president.

Crawford's Getting Crowded

Cindy Sheehan (AP)

Aside from the nuclear protesters at Dubya's photo-op ranch, a mother of a dead soldier is also protesting. Cindy Sheehan, the co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace is protesting outside of the Crawford 'ranch' with 50 of her fellow group members. Her son, Army Spc Casey Sheehan, was killed in Baghdad on April 4th, 2004. Cindy wants to know why her son had to die. She said she will stay and continue to protest until she can speak with Bush. Bush, whilst on his five-week vacation, said last Wednesday that sacrifices of U.S. troops were "made in a noble cause." Sheehan was not comforted. "I want to ask the president, why did he kill my son?" Sheehan told reporters. "He said my son died in a noble cause, and I want to ask him what that noble cause is."

Sheehan appeared on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer and delivered a stinging judgment on Bush and his apathy towards the troops and the Iraqi people who have died. On the show Sheehan said that she and 15 families met with the president one day last June.
" We wanted to use the time for him to know that he killed an indispensable part of our family and humanity. And we wanted him to look at the pictures of Casey. He wouldn't look at the pictures of Casey. He didn't even know Casey's name. He came in the room and the very first thing he said is, 'So who are we honoring here?' He didn't even know Casey's name. He didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear anything about Casey. He wouldn't even call him "him" or "he." He called him "your loved one." Every time we tried to talk about Casey and how much we missed him, he would change the subject. And he acted like it was a party...he came in very jovial, and like we should be happy that he, our son, died for his misguided policies. He didn't even pretend like somebody."

Joe Hagin, White House deputy chief of staff, and Stephen Hadley, national security adviser, met with Sheehan for about 45 minutes Saturday, according to White House spokesman Trent Duffy. Sheehan said that the two men "were very respectful." "They told me the party line of why we are in Iraq," she said. "I told them that I don't believe that they believed that."

In a Newsweek poll released Sunday, 64 percent of those asked said they do not believe the war in Iraq has made Americans safer, and 61 percent said they disapprove of the way the president is handling the war.

In Our Name

Hiroshima victim

Sixty years ago today, the United States dropped an atom bomb on the town of Hiroshima, Japan- killing more than 140,000 people, most of them instantly. Only 1% of those killed were soldiers. Survivors say that the victims were vaporized, charred or left with flesh dangling from their bodies, bones exposed. Some of those who survived died later of radiation sickness and recurring cancer. Not only did we incinerate thousands of Japanese civilians, we left them with a disease that still exists to this day- cancer.


Child's lunchbox from Hiroshima

Today, hundreds of doves were released in Hiroshima at the Peace Memorial Park before thousands of people. At 8:15 a.m., when the bomb detonated on August 6, 1945 -- the crowd fell silent out of respect for those who were killed 60 years ago. At this ceremony, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed to "take the lead in the international community to promote ... nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation and do our best to abolish nuclear weapons."


Tricycle from Hiroshima

On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped another atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing at least 66,000 people. Protesters here in America, disrupted Bush's 50th vacation in 5 years at his Crawford ranch, to protest nuclear armament. One of the protestors was an 87 year old survivor of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atom bombs. Bush was too busy clearing a nature path to speak with him.

No worries, we now have a calm, collected, diplomatic ambassador at the UN. God Bless America- and no place else!

The Psycho Gets the Job

Diplomatic!

The wheels are finally in motion now for our attack against Iran. The final role has been cast. In a pathetic, lame duck move, George W. Bush bypassed Congress by installing John Bolton, a complete psychotic neo-conservative, as our UN ambassador via recess appointment. This recess appointment comes 5 months after Bush nominated Bolton for the post. Bolton arrived at the UN 5 hours later to the sound of booing. Watch the booing and the response by democrats and republicans here. If you're not familiar with why Bolton is a total and complete joke for this position, watch Bolton scream like a total psychotic about how much he detests this international body and how "if you lost 10 stories (of the 38 storied UN building) today, it wouldn't make a bit of difference." Wow, how diplomatic! And how typical of this disgustingly arrogant, greedy administration. After 9/11, the world was with us. And Bush flipped them off. Bolton will do the same.

But don't take my word for it, take the objection of 100 diplomats who fiercely oppose the appointment of John Bolton to the post of UN ambassador. So what's the rush? The August 1, 2005 issue of The American Conservative reports that Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. "The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons. Within Iran there are more than 450 major strategic targets, including numerous suspected nuclear-weapons-program development sites. Many of the targets are hardened or are deep underground and could not be taken out by conventional weapons, hence the nuclear option. As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States. Several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are reportedly appalled at the implications of what they are doing—that Iran is being set up for an unprovoked nuclear attack—but no one is prepared to damage his career by posing any objections." So you see this administration doesn't want to protect us from another 9/11 type attack. They seem to welcome it as it is their chance to steal more oil.

I don't mean to gloat, but does anyone recall the question I posed to you in my June posting-Saddam Likes Doritos? I asked: "To build a pipeline from Iraq to the Caspian Sea, you must go through which countries? Hint: When Bolton receives his recess appointment, you'll find out. We will be invading them next." I hate it when I'm right.

Democrats in the Senate had drafted a document accusing Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control, of "four distinct patterns of conduct" that disqualify him for the post. Those 4 are that Bolton regularly tried to stretch intelligence to fit his views. He exhibited abusive behavior and intolerance for alternative views, repeatedly trying to fire intelligence analysts who disagreed with him. He repeatedly made "misleading, disingenuous or non-responsive statements" to the Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing.

The findings in this document were based on more than 30 interviews, a review of public documents, media reports and documents provided by the Bush administration.This recess appointment comes about a week after it was discovered that Bolton had lied during his confirmation hearing. Bolton gave the Senate false information when he failed to note on a questionnaire that he had been questioned by the department's inspector general as part of a joint probe by the State Department and CIA into allegations that Iraq attempted to obtain uranium from Niger in Africa. The State Department acknowledged the error in Bolton's statement last week.

So you see, any time I hear that the Democrats in Congress are trying to work with the President or the Congressional Republicans, I ask why? This administration and it's foot soldiers in Congress don't give a shit about us Democrats, our military, our poor, our hungry, or the innocent Iraqi's they've killed and the innocent Iranians they plan to kill.

Back to the Clinton days... remember Richard Holbrooke, who Republicans delayed for 14 months as Bill Clinton's nominee to the U.N.? Holbrooke refused to bypass the Senate with a recess appointment, saying that it would introduce him to "the world body with no credibility or authority." Oh, the good ol' days of diplomacy and respect.