Open thread

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The Iraq War vote in '02 was a vote to go to war, not for diplomacy. And everyone knew it.

Last week marked the fifth anniversary of the votes in the House and Senate to authorize the Iraq War. The resolution was called "A joint resolution to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq." The Senate roll call vote is here.

Yet, we still hear spin from candidates that their vote was a vote for diplomacy. The facts say otherwise.

I've been reading through transcripts and speeches made back in October of 2002. It's really amazing to see again just how jingoistic and blood-thirsty politicians were in the build-up to the Iraq war. The Bush administration made it very clear that the vote in October of 2002 was a vote for war. After the House voted for the Iraq war resolution on October 10, 2002, and shortly before the Senate vote the next day, then-Bush Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said it quite bluntly -- this is a vote for Bush to use force for a war. Bush wasn't hedging. Every Senator who voted knew they were voting for war, no matter what they say now.

Here's the transcript of the press briefing on October 10, 2002:

Q If the President gets the same kind of a vote from the Senate, does he feel that he can immediately or at any point have a free hand to go to war?

MR. FLEISCHER: Well, under the Constitution, Helen, the President, of course, does have the authority --

Q -- or even with or without allies.

MR. FLEISCHER: Under the Constitution, the President does have the authority as Commander-in-Chief to make those determinations. The President has asked -- said he would ask the Congress to weigh in on this matter, and the Congress is doing so and doing it today. And the President thinks that will be very helpful in keeping the peace. The President has made no decisions about what the next step will be. Clearly, we will continue to talk to the United Nations about the inspection process, and that's where the matter currently stands.

Q But he would never go back to Congress again for another go-ahead? I mean, he considers this the green light?

MR. FLEISCHER: The Congress is speaking today about authorization of the use of force. Today's vote by the Congress is an important vote.

Yes, that was an important vote. A vote to go to war. In 2002, everyone knew it. And, they still do. Read More......

Republicans freaking over children's health insurance veto

As well they should. Millions of children are in jeopardy because George Bush is a fool, and the Republican party has been taken over by people who no longer represent real Americans.

Here's the story of one kid that the Republicans are putting in jeopardy:
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Fred Thompson - divorced, not a church-goer, and a bit sketchy on abortion - is the REAL conservative

Well, if by "real" conservative these guys mean someone who lies about their positions and doesn't really believe in anything, then yes, Thompson and Romney are both real conservatives. Read More......

Obama wooing Evangelicals via the environment

Very interesting. Obama is now linking the environment to faith. That's code for "going after Evangelical Christian voters." Well not just Evangelicals. More die-hard Christians believe that we are "stewards of the earth" (a lot of other people do too). Linking environmentalism to faith is a smart move to help get more people supporting pro-environment policies, and to help get more Evangelical voters looking again at Obama. Read More......

Republicans smear American general

What? Has going after 12 year old boys lost its luster?

Now the GOP smear machine is going after General Sanchez, our former top commander in Iraq who now says that the war is a disaster ("nightmare" was his word). Iraq war/Bush lovers John McCain, Lindsey (DADT) Graham, and Mitch McConnell are now smearing Sanchez, suggesting that as a top general he was supposed to contradict and undermine his commander in chief during wartime by snitching to Congress and the public about Bush's incompetence.

Putting aside the irony of Republicans now suggesting that it's okay to smear our troops - their opinion on that subject changes by the week, and putting aside the irony of the fact that McCain, Graham and McConnell never once dared challenge Bush on the war while they expected Sanchez to do so - I'm equally fascinated that the GOP now thinks that active duty service members are supposed to openly undercut the commander in chief.

For all of you soldiers and families out there, this is what the Republicans think of you. The same people who refused to give you the body armor you needed, who refused to do anything about conditions for vets and injured troops at Walter Reed and around the country, are the same people who are now smearing your former top general. Republicans don't give a damn about you. Your lives are expendable, so long as your deaths keep the Republicans from having to admit to making a horrible mistake by running a really crappy war. Read More......

Flip-flopping Romney says he's the only one who represent TRUE conservative Republican values

You have to give the guy credit for chutzpah, because he's possibly even more liberal than Rudy Giuliani - well, he "was" more liberal, until he decided to run for president and then had a series of epiphanies on every single issue, suddenly and amazingly converting to the uber-conservative view on everything. Though I do take a certain pleasure in seeing the Republican lie machine turn its guns on its own voters - just repeat a lie enough, and people will believe it. (By the way, did you hear that Romney is really a Christian?) Read More......

Should Muslims really be required to always denounce terrorism?

It reminds me of Democrats and liberals always having to say how much they love the troops, even when our love for the troops is totally irrelevant to the discussion. Or how gays used to always be asked to respond to every gay pedophile story. Somehow, as a class, we're expected to be responsible for every member of our class. I've always found parallels between anti-gay prejudice and anti-Muslim prejudice. More from Ali Eteraz over at Huff Post. Read More......

Larry Craig tells how he got dumped by Mitt Romney

Larry Craig is having a busy week. He's got a big interview with Matt Lauer, he's appealing his court case and he's trashing Mitt Romney:

The senator also discussed his relationship with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Craig was Senate liaison for Romney's campaign, a post he abandoned when the scandal came to light.

"I was very proud of my association with Mitt Romney," Craig told Lauer. "... And he not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again."

That's a bad break-up. Read More......

Bush allegedly starting illegal spying on US phone record BEFORE September 11

It's difficult to overstate how bad this is. And anybody like to take any bets on how quickly Congress is going to ignore this? The funniest/sickest part of all of this is that the Dems are reportedly on the verge of giving the telecoms immunity for what is turning into a potentially huge scandal. Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

Yep. It's Monday. Let's get this started. Read More......

Oil hitting new highs, again

At least we have an oil president, who knows how to jaw bone Big Oil. Read More......

What was Congress thinking?

The fox guarding the hen house in real life. How many more examples of failure with programs such as this do we need?

The Food and Drug Administration is moving with unprecedented speed to launch a drug research center to be paid for by companies it regulates.

The goal of the Reagan-Udall Foundation, approved by Congress and signed into law late last month, is to streamline and improve the development of drugs and medical devices, a goal long sought by regulators and the biggest players in the industry, such as Merck & Co., Pfizer Inc., Wyeth, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, and Johnson & Johnson.

Considering the excessive number of pharmaceutical recalls (even cough medicine for kids!) how is this cozy relationship going to deliver results that are good for consumers? Read More......

What ever happend to compassion in America?

Everyone understands that organizations need the people they hire, but c'mon, this is absurd. When people are in times of need, is throwing them on the street really the only option? Is this where we want to be as a nation?

Tremul, 50, learned that lesson while working for the City of Manassas in May 2006, when a doctor told her she had breast cancer. She had worked as an emergency communications specialist, directing calls for the fire and police departments for 12 years. But July 26 this year, after going on long-term disability while she underwent seven surgeries and chemotherapy, Tremul received a letter in the mail terminating her employment. With her job went her health and life insurance benefits, she said.

"You don't cut someone off at the knees when they're sick. And that's what they did," Tremul said. "I was fired for having cancer."

Being diagnosed with cancer or another life threatening illness can happen to anyone whether they are rich or poor, Democrat or Republican, Senator or fireman. Do we really want to be a country who lacks compassion like this? Read More......