"Other members of Congress seem to believe that we can have it all: that we can find al-Qaida, pursue national reconciliation, initiate aggressive diplomacy and deter Iran's ambition in Iraq — all the while withdrawing from Baghdad and reducing our force levels," the president said.Remind me again who had the brilliant idea to invade Iraq instead of targeting al-Qaida? Who tried to short cut a war because the likes of Chalabi convinced Cheney and Bush to run into war? The real world is somewhat different than the Bush world, so the rest of us will just have to figure out what is encouraging about over 100 people being killed. Read More......
"That sounds good in theory, but doing so at this moment would undermine everything our troops have worked for. There are no shortcuts in Iraq."
Last night, Coulter defended herself on Fox News by saying "faggot" isn’t offensive to gays. Wrong! We all know the truth is that "faggot" is a loaded word. It is a weapon used to demean and wound our community. And perhaps she should explain to the tens of thousands of gay kids, whose personal safety is too often threatened, that when they are called "faggot" in school hallways and playgrounds, it isn’t anti-gay....Read More......
Would so many of our elected officials and members of the news media be so indifferent if Coulter had gone on a racist, anti-Semitic tirade? Of course not. The fact is that everyone should be treating Ann Coulter as the equivalent of David Duke. Because she is....
The media must stop giving Coulter the opportunity to broadcast her vile slurs. Any time Coulter’s column runs in a newspaper, these news outlets are giving her credibility as a respected voice in the national dialogue. They are putting the stamp of approval of their newspaper on Coulter’s level of discourse. Well, will they continue? Or will they finally say: Enough!
....Already today, three major American corporations have spoken out and pulled their advertising from Coulter’s website. We must insist that the news media follow the lead of Verizon, Sallie Mae and Georgia-based NetBank and place Ann Coulter in the "off-limits" category along with the "David Dukes" of the world — where she belongs.
Take action today! Stand up and send a clear message to Ann Coulter, and those who would provide her with a platform, that calling someone a "faggot" is wrong, and we won’t sit by without taking action.
Make sure that Ann Coulter’s platform for bigotry and hate is dismantled.
Contact Universal Press Syndicate, the largest independent newspaper syndicate in the world, and let them know that carrying Ann Coulter as a syndicated columnist is not acceptable.
COLLINS: And remind me, Wolf, there was also quite a bit of discussion about whether or not her identity was very well known in the circles of Washington, D.C., and the level of covertness that she held.Go Wolf.
BLITZER: I can speak as a reporter here in Washington for 30 years. I did not know that Valerie Plame-Wilson was a covert officer. I didn't even know that Joe Wilson was married at the time.
I'm not sure it was all that widely known what she did, what she didn't do. The fact of the matter is, she had been what they call a knock.
She was not working undercover as a U.S. espionage officer, a CIA clandestine officer working overseas. The CIA had, years earlier, established fake businesses, fake companies for her to go out and recruit spies, foreigners who would help the United States in various capacities. And as a result, she was not working at a U.S. embassy pretending to be a scientific attache or a cultural attache or something else.
COLLINS: Right.
BLITZER: She was out there on her own, working as a clandestine officer, pretending to be an energy consultant, a private citizen, when, in fact, she was an employee of the U.S. government. She was a clandestine officer working for the CIA.
COLLINS: OK.
BLITZER: And that's very dangerous work. And to release that kind of information obviously not only can compromise her, but can compromise a lot of people who might be working and cooperating with the CIA.
"What can you tell me about sealed indictments?" Wilson asked, according to Iglesias' sworn testimony before the committee today.On Domenici:
Iglesias said "red flags" immediately went up in his mind about the conversation because it was unethical for him to talk about an ongoing criminal investigation, particularly on matters as sensitive as the timing of indictments.
"I was evasive and unresponsive," he said of his conversation with Wilson. She became upset, according to Iglesias, and ended the conversation.
Domenici also began asking about the local corruption case, which involves Democrats and a courthouse construction project, specifically inquiring about indictments.One of the three people involved was concerned about the ethics involved. The other two are a Republican Senator and a Republican House member.
"Are these going to be filed before November," Domenici asked, according to Iglesias' testimony. Unnerved by the call, Iglesias said he responded no.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Domenici replied, according to Iglesias, who added that the senator then hung up on him. "I felt sick afterward. . . . I felt leaned on, I felt pressured to get these matters moving," Iglesias told the committee.
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said he was gratified by the verdict.We wish the original reason for the lies did not happen. That would be the Iraq war. Lying is standard operating procedure in the Bush White House. Scooter just got caught. And, why wouldn't Libby think lying was okay? He watched the President of the United States lie repeatedly to the American people.
"The results are actually sad," he added. "It's sad that we had a situation where a high level official person who worked in the office of the vice president obstructed justice and lied under oath. We wish that it had not happened, but it did."
I welcome the jury’s verdict. It’s about time someone in the Bush Administration has been held accountable for the campaign to manipulate intelligence and discredit war critics. Lewis Libby has been convicted of perjury, but his trial revealed deeper truths about Vice President Cheney’s role in this sordid affair. Now President Bush must pledge not to pardon Libby for his criminal conduct.This story is very far from over. Read More......
You have a generation of young people here who are the products of an education system that didn't educate, a judicial system of no consequences, and a culture of political corruption that has driven businesses away. What you have left is [...] an AK-47. They suffer from a fundamental misunderstanding of the social contract, of how to deal with people and how to resolve conflicts without using a gun.That's easy, I thought. Iraq. A generation of young people oppressed by sanctions and war, struggling to survive in anarchy through corruption and violence. Perhaps written about Kurdistan or the south, both of which were denied basic opportunities by Saddam's regime. Nope, my friend wrote back, adding another few lines.
[It] has long been plagued by drugs and violence, but many who returned hoped for a new start . . . for about six months [afterwards], crime had declined dramatically. [After that], however, with the rebuilding process still sluggish in many ways, a sharp upturn in violent crime has shaken confidence . . . a resurgent drug trade -- in some ways more diverse, chaotic and violent than what existed before [...] -- is largely responsible.Ahh, drugs and violence, the twin terrors of a failed state. AK-47s plus drugs plus catastrophic event equals Afghanistan, right? The increased violence, slow recovery, resurgent drug trade; I thought I had it pegged. Wrong again, my friend wrote. Darfur? Chechnya? No. I was ready to get esoteric. Oaxaca? Dhaka?
I just got an email from the American Conservative Union. They won't say if they'll disinvite Coulter from CPAC next year. They won't actually condemn Coulter's speech. Money quote:NOTE FROM JOHN: So, "ACU and CPAC leave it to our audience to determine whether comments are appropriate or not." Well, your "audience" gave her bigoted remarks uproarious applause. So CPAC/ACU says that means it's appropriate to call John Edwards a "faggot." Nice. Read More......ACU and CPAC leave it to our audience to determine whether comments are appropriate or not. "Ann Coulter is known for comments that can be both provocative and outrageous. That was certainly the case in her 2007 CPAC appearance and previous ones as well. But as a point of clarification, let me make it clear that ACU and CPAC do not condone or endorse the use of hate speech," said David A. Keene, ACU Chairman.Does that mean he believes her speech was "hate-speech"? Why can he not just say so and disinvite her in the future? The answer: because the base would explode. Coulter is central to a core element of the conservative movement today. And Keene can't risk taking her on.
Less than 4 per cent of the people arrested under anti-terror laws since the September 11 attacks five years ago have been convicted of terrorist offences, it was disclosed yesterday.Shameful. Read More......
Even those with insurance have reason to be concerned, economists say, because they end up paying for the uninsured in various ways. Some of the costs are also passed on to taxpayers and employers. To help cover the cost of treating the uninsured, hospitals often increase charges to other patients. Insurers then increase premiums for companies that provide health benefits, and they in turn shift some costs to employees.And to think that this is a solidly middle class example. This is about someone who is working and making money. Within my own circle of family and friends I also know of retired Americans who are in a panicked state because of their health care coverage that is either becoming too costly or high deductibles are making them nervous, leaving them wondering about how they will be able to face the high cost of health care when they are on a fixed income. Isn't it strange how we could afford a war of convenience but are unable to fund health care for Americans. Strange times, indeed. Read More......
Ms. Readling is engaged to be married in June, to another real estate agent. But she said she may postpone the wedding because she would not want her husband to be legally responsible for her medical bills.
“I am scared to get married because I don’t have insurance,” Ms. Readling said. “If I have to go to the hospital and I can’t pay my hospital bills, what happens? Do they go after him? Can they take your home?”
To collect unpaid medical bills, health care providers often obtain judgments against a patient’s spouse, as well as the patient, and file liens against their homes. Ms. Readling says she does not own a house, but her fiancé does.
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