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Sunday, February 26, 2006
Late Night Open Thread
Let's thread through the night. There's so much to discuss.
Read the rest of this post...
Bush is weakening National Guard say the Governors
George Bush may claim that he is making America safer -- that's just not true. Here's another example courtesy of the nation's Governors -- both Republicans and Democrats:
Governors of both parties said Sunday that Bush administration policies were stripping the National Guard of equipment and personnel needed to respond to hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, forest fires and other emergencies.Bush is a national security disaster. Read the rest of this post...
Tens of thousands of National Guard members have been sent to Iraq, along with much of the equipment needed to deal with natural disasters and terrorist threats in the United States, the governors said here at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.
Will Bush wait for a smoking mushroom cloud over the Port of New York City before taking the Dubai issue seriously?
The Los Angeles Times:
President Bush may not like the arguments that critics are raising against the Dubai company attempting to take over cargo and cruise operations at ports in six U.S. cities. But he should recognize them. The arguments marshaled against Bush closely echoed the ones he deployed to defend the Iraq war.Read the rest of this post...
The president, in other words, is stewing in a pot he brought to boil....
"Facing clear peril," Bush declared in his starkest expression of this argument, "we cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud."
....By Bush's own logic in Iraq, the Dubai port deal is suspect. But Congress needs to think carefully about whether the deal's potential risk justifies the clear and present danger of twisting that spiral a notch higher.
Dubai admits that Bush didn't do thorough review of the national security implications of proposed ports deal
This is an outrageous admission by the government of Dubai/United Arab Emirates.
According to the article Joe quotes below, the government of Dubai is offering to let the Bush administration conduct a "broader review of security issues in its deal to take over major operations at six U.S. ports." Which begs the very large question as to why such a review, if necessary, didn't happen BEFORE Bush decided to give the go ahead to this deal?
Rather than a "gift," as the Associated Press so naively puts it (not to mention, this "gift" was likely arranged by the Bush administration itself as a public relations move, and AP knows it), what this "gift" really says is that Bush did not conduct the appropriate security review before selling off control to some of our most important ports to a country that has ties to the September 11 attacks.
Or, if Bush tries to say he DID conduct the national security analysis, then this "new" analysis is simply a CYA publicity trick that means nothing.
So which is it? Did our president not conduct the extensive security analysis he should have before selling off control of our ports to people having ties to Osama, or is this "new" review just a whitewash typical of the Bush administration?
Either way, no American should take comfort in a gift that's beginning to look a lot like a Trojan Horse. Read the rest of this post...
According to the article Joe quotes below, the government of Dubai is offering to let the Bush administration conduct a "broader review of security issues in its deal to take over major operations at six U.S. ports." Which begs the very large question as to why such a review, if necessary, didn't happen BEFORE Bush decided to give the go ahead to this deal?
Rather than a "gift," as the Associated Press so naively puts it (not to mention, this "gift" was likely arranged by the Bush administration itself as a public relations move, and AP knows it), what this "gift" really says is that Bush did not conduct the appropriate security review before selling off control to some of our most important ports to a country that has ties to the September 11 attacks.
Or, if Bush tries to say he DID conduct the national security analysis, then this "new" analysis is simply a CYA publicity trick that means nothing.
So which is it? Did our president not conduct the extensive security analysis he should have before selling off control of our ports to people having ties to Osama, or is this "new" review just a whitewash typical of the Bush administration?
Either way, no American should take comfort in a gift that's beginning to look a lot like a Trojan Horse. Read the rest of this post...
UAE has "asked" their friend, George Bush, to follow US law and review their agreement
This is too much. AP, and clearly the White House, are viewing the fact that the UAE owned company is "asking" for a review to be a positive step for Bush. A gift? We're talking national security here, folks. The Bush team is trying to be clever here, but they make their guy look emasculated:
We'll have to see if the wimpy traditional media buys this one. They're used to being spoon fed story lines from Karl Rove.
And, it will be interesting to watch all those GOPers on the Hill, starting with Bill Frist, parrot the White House lines -- even though they know this is a political loser. Every step the Bush team takes on this makes them all look worse. But, hey, they're the ones who wanted to make national security a big political issue this year. And, the GOP has basically ignored port security. Karl Rove and the GOP wanted a political debate. Have at it. Read the rest of this post...
The White House got a gift in the ports security debate, a chance for the president to sidestep a battle with members of his own party and to tone down bipartisan criticism of the deal.This episode should once and for all put an end to the idea that Bush is a leader who can deal with keeping his country safe. He ignored the warnings that Al Qaeda was going to attack in the U.S. He has completely screwed up in Iraq. The response to Katrina was a catastrophic disaster. Now, Bush is letting a foreign country "save" him from a major political scandal because his administration put economic concerns before national security.
The offer by Dubai-owned DP World to submit to a broader review of security issues in its deal to take over major operations at six U.S. ports also could salvage a business deal critically important to its economic future.
We'll have to see if the wimpy traditional media buys this one. They're used to being spoon fed story lines from Karl Rove.
And, it will be interesting to watch all those GOPers on the Hill, starting with Bill Frist, parrot the White House lines -- even though they know this is a political loser. Every step the Bush team takes on this makes them all look worse. But, hey, they're the ones who wanted to make national security a big political issue this year. And, the GOP has basically ignored port security. Karl Rove and the GOP wanted a political debate. Have at it. Read the rest of this post...
Hyatt Hotels embraces racist white supremacist group
UPDATE: Correct link to article.
Hyatt says it doesn't "discriminate" against guests.
Cool.
I hope we'll be seeing the Klan holding its annual conference at the Hyatt next.
More importantly, this is a theme far-right religious extremists have grabbed on to, and it's been repeated by different factions on the right: You must tolerate our intolerance.
The way it goes is this: If you have a problem with the Klan, then YOU'RE the one who's intolerant. If you find the American Family Association's history of anti-Semitism unsavory, then YOU'RE intolerant of their intolerance. And if the homophobes at the Concerned (wo)Men of America and the Family Research Council make you sick, then you're intolerant of their homophobia.
You see, the way to show your civil rights stripes in George Bush's America is to embrace hate and show how diverse you really are.
Seig Hyatt! Read the rest of this post...
Hyatt says it doesn't "discriminate" against guests.
Cool.
I hope we'll be seeing the Klan holding its annual conference at the Hyatt next.
More importantly, this is a theme far-right religious extremists have grabbed on to, and it's been repeated by different factions on the right: You must tolerate our intolerance.
The way it goes is this: If you have a problem with the Klan, then YOU'RE the one who's intolerant. If you find the American Family Association's history of anti-Semitism unsavory, then YOU'RE intolerant of their intolerance. And if the homophobes at the Concerned (wo)Men of America and the Family Research Council make you sick, then you're intolerant of their homophobia.
You see, the way to show your civil rights stripes in George Bush's America is to embrace hate and show how diverse you really are.
Seig Hyatt! Read the rest of this post...
GOP Congress sells off America's national security to the United Arab Emirates
As Joe notes below, it only took Republican Senate Leader Bill Frist a matter of days to retract his criticism of Bush's plan to sell control over several key US ports to the United Arab Emirates. Frist was one of the most scathing in opposition to the plan to sell off US security to a middle eastern country with sketchy ties to terror. And now Frist is the first to cave to White House pressure.
And before I begin my tirade, let's not forget that Bush cut these guys a deal on security - they're NOT even having to provide the same standard guarantees that OTHER port operators in the US have to provide. Apparently, enabling the finances of the September 11 hijackers gets you special bennies with the Bush administration. Kind of like a coupon.
Not only do Republicans in Washington have no backbone whatsoever, they clearly have a pre September 11 mentality that simply does not enable them to understand the threats America faces in the new age. The Republican leadership in Washington, that controls the US Senate, the US House and the White House, believes that money comes before safety, that helping corporate interests is more important than keeping America safe.
Just look at Iraq. It's been one big corporate feeding frenzy from the beginning, and who has benefitted the most, Dick Cheney's energy company. And now that it's a choice between protecting America's ports from terrorists trying to sneak in nuclear bombs, a deal that even the US Department of Homeland Security objected to, George Bush steps in with his Republican congressional enablers and says there's suddenly no problem handing over the safety of our families, our children, our nation to a middle eastern country that had ties to, and financially enabled, the September 11 attacks.
Initially, it looked like the Republicans in Congress had finally found their spine. Rather than genuflect to the Bush White House as they've been doing the past five years, the Republicans who control the US House and the US Senate finally started acting like real Senators and real House members. They spoke up in opposition to the deal. They started to exercise a mind of their own, started to finally conduct oversight over the White House and the executive branch, started to question yet another of Bush's bizarre policies that undercut rather than enhance national security in an age of terror.
But with just a few days of White House pressure, the Republicans have now caved.
GOP Senator Bill Frist, who thinks he's going to be president after Bush's term is over, is now caving to big money, big oil, and big special Middle Eastern special interests. He'd rather line the pockets of the Emirates than protect the security of American citizens in the face of ongoing threats from Osama bin Laden.
If ever there was an issue that finally exposed the current Republican leadership for the shills they are, people who are simply out to funnel money to their friends, even when their friends have uncomfortably ties to the terrorists who attacked our country on September 11, George Bush and Bill Frist say to hell with our country, this is the issue that finally exposes how little the Republican leadership cares about Americans' safety and well-being.
Every American - Democrat, Republican and Independent - should be outraged at this betrayal of our national security during wartime. Our president, with the collusion of the Republican congressional leadership, is selling us out. If anything shows how badly the Republicans do not understand the lessons of September 11, this is it.
If you like what you're seeing. If you like that America is now selling control of its ports in New York, New Jersey, and beyond to a country that enabled the 9/11 terrorists, then vote this fall to continue the Republican control of Congress (and yes, the Republicans have the majority in the US Senate and the US House). But if you're an American who actually cares about your country, who is tired of the lies and the empty promises and the lectures about how you're just too stupid to understand that President Bush knows what's best, even when he seems to be getting worse by the day, then throw the bums out this November and vote Democratic.
It's time to stop these un-American traitors before their negligence, incompetence, and pandering to foreign interests leads to another September 11. If George Bush and Bill Frist aren't man enough to defend our country against the next 9/11, then we're going to need to force them to do their job by stopping this sale in its tracks, before we pay the ultimate price. Read the rest of this post...
And before I begin my tirade, let's not forget that Bush cut these guys a deal on security - they're NOT even having to provide the same standard guarantees that OTHER port operators in the US have to provide. Apparently, enabling the finances of the September 11 hijackers gets you special bennies with the Bush administration. Kind of like a coupon.
Not only do Republicans in Washington have no backbone whatsoever, they clearly have a pre September 11 mentality that simply does not enable them to understand the threats America faces in the new age. The Republican leadership in Washington, that controls the US Senate, the US House and the White House, believes that money comes before safety, that helping corporate interests is more important than keeping America safe.
Just look at Iraq. It's been one big corporate feeding frenzy from the beginning, and who has benefitted the most, Dick Cheney's energy company. And now that it's a choice between protecting America's ports from terrorists trying to sneak in nuclear bombs, a deal that even the US Department of Homeland Security objected to, George Bush steps in with his Republican congressional enablers and says there's suddenly no problem handing over the safety of our families, our children, our nation to a middle eastern country that had ties to, and financially enabled, the September 11 attacks.
Initially, it looked like the Republicans in Congress had finally found their spine. Rather than genuflect to the Bush White House as they've been doing the past five years, the Republicans who control the US House and the US Senate finally started acting like real Senators and real House members. They spoke up in opposition to the deal. They started to exercise a mind of their own, started to finally conduct oversight over the White House and the executive branch, started to question yet another of Bush's bizarre policies that undercut rather than enhance national security in an age of terror.
But with just a few days of White House pressure, the Republicans have now caved.
GOP Senator Bill Frist, who thinks he's going to be president after Bush's term is over, is now caving to big money, big oil, and big special Middle Eastern special interests. He'd rather line the pockets of the Emirates than protect the security of American citizens in the face of ongoing threats from Osama bin Laden.
If ever there was an issue that finally exposed the current Republican leadership for the shills they are, people who are simply out to funnel money to their friends, even when their friends have uncomfortably ties to the terrorists who attacked our country on September 11, George Bush and Bill Frist say to hell with our country, this is the issue that finally exposes how little the Republican leadership cares about Americans' safety and well-being.
Every American - Democrat, Republican and Independent - should be outraged at this betrayal of our national security during wartime. Our president, with the collusion of the Republican congressional leadership, is selling us out. If anything shows how badly the Republicans do not understand the lessons of September 11, this is it.
If you like what you're seeing. If you like that America is now selling control of its ports in New York, New Jersey, and beyond to a country that enabled the 9/11 terrorists, then vote this fall to continue the Republican control of Congress (and yes, the Republicans have the majority in the US Senate and the US House). But if you're an American who actually cares about your country, who is tired of the lies and the empty promises and the lectures about how you're just too stupid to understand that President Bush knows what's best, even when he seems to be getting worse by the day, then throw the bums out this November and vote Democratic.
It's time to stop these un-American traitors before their negligence, incompetence, and pandering to foreign interests leads to another September 11. If George Bush and Bill Frist aren't man enough to defend our country against the next 9/11, then we're going to need to force them to do their job by stopping this sale in its tracks, before we pay the ultimate price. Read the rest of this post...
Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread
What's the news from the talk shows?
Saw McCain on This Week. After Stephanopolous showed a clip of Hillary Clinton saying port security needed to be treated more like airport security -- meaning, among other things, no foreign ownership -- McCain led with an economic defense of the existing situation. Sounded like money trumped national security from the way he answered.
Think Progress has outspoken Iraq War supporter/defender Bill Kristol now saying we haven't had a serious effort there for three years. Huh? Then why do we have almost 2,300 dead soldiers?
What other outrages? Read the rest of this post...
Saw McCain on This Week. After Stephanopolous showed a clip of Hillary Clinton saying port security needed to be treated more like airport security -- meaning, among other things, no foreign ownership -- McCain led with an economic defense of the existing situation. Sounded like money trumped national security from the way he answered.
Think Progress has outspoken Iraq War supporter/defender Bill Kristol now saying we haven't had a serious effort there for three years. Huh? Then why do we have almost 2,300 dead soldiers?
What other outrages? Read the rest of this post...
US Chamber of Commerce gives DeLay award, endorses his re-election
Because the US Chamber of Commerce truly has no scruples whatsoever.
Read the rest of this post...
Frist now backs Bush deal to let UAE guard ports
You knew that the GOPers would bow to White House pressure and start supporting Bush on the UAE deal. It didn't take long for Frist to be one of the first to fall in line with the White House. It's what usually happens to that spineless, gutless GOP leader of the Senate:
Frist said Republicans trust the Bush administration and think its determination that the port deal doesn't threaten American security is "in all likelihood absolutely the right one."This is one of those times that it's fun to see the GOPers in Congress cave to the White House. Let's hope that Republicans keep trusting Bush on this one. Bush cut a deal to let a country with ties to terror guard American ports. If the GOP thinks that's a winning issue, so be it. Read the rest of this post...
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