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Daschle speech: administration attacking good people for telling the truth

This morning Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle spoke--with characteristic understatement born of caution, not wit--about "a disturbing pattern of conduct by the people around President Bush." They are attacking good, honest American citizens simply for stating the facts about issues important to our nation. It bothers Tom (but I hope it doesn't surprise him) that

*Larry Lindsay was fired as the President's Economic Advisor because he spoke honestly
about the costs of the Iraq War; that
*General Shinseki, the Army's top general, was targeted when he spoke honestly about the number of troops that would be needed in Iraq; that
*U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers
was suspended from her job when she disclosed budget problems that make our nation's parks are less safe; that
*Professor Elizabeth Blackburn was replaced on the Council on Bioethics because of her fair and balanced scientific views on stem-cell research; that
*Richard Foster, an actuary for the Dept. of Health and Human Services, was told he would be fired if he told Congress and the American people the real costs of last year's Medicare bill; that
*Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, when he stepped forward to criticize the Bush Administration's Iraq policy, was ridiculed and then made the victim of a spurious government investigation to see if he improperly disclosed classified documents. "He was, of course, exonerated," Daschle reminds us, "but the message was clear. If you speak freely,
there will be consequences."

The most heinous example of this "disturbing pattern of conduct by the people around President Bush" crosses the boundry of the realm of odious dirty tricks into that of High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Daschle relates what we all likely have heard once at least, but must never forget: that
"Ambassador Joseph Wilson....who by all accounts served bravely under President Bush in the early 1990s, felt a responsibility to speak out on President Bush's false State of the Union statement on Niger and uranium; but when he did...[his] wife was the target of a despicable act. Her identity as a deep-cover CIA agent was revealed to Bob Novak, a syndicated columnist, and was printed in newspapers around the country." Otherwise-subtle Daschle adds significantly that: "That was the first time in our history that ... the identity...of a CIA agent was disclosed for purely political purposes."

White House counterterrorism chief to slam Bush on 60 Minutes tonight

You've heard about Richard Clarke by now, but hear with your own ears tonight on 60 Minutes. Clarke--a 30-year gov't veteran and one of the longest-serving White House staffers--rips the Bush squad to shreds.

Stunning allegations:
*Clarke wrote to National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on Jan. 24, 2001, asking "urgently" for a Cabinet-level meeting "to deal with the impending al-Qaida attack." It was months later when finally, in April, Clarke met with deputy cabinet secretaries, and the conversation was about terrorism, right? No. Iraq.

*Clarke: "I'm sure I'll be criticized for lots of things, and I'm sure they'll launch their dogs on me. But frankly I find it outrageous that the president is running for reelection on the grounds that he's done such great things about terrorism. He ignored it. He ignored terrorism for months, when maybe we could have done something."

*Clarke harshly criticizes Bush's decision to invade Iraq, noting that it has whipped supporters of Osama bin Laden into a frenzy of anti-American." Clarke: "Bin Laden had been saying for years, 'America wants to invade an Arab country and occupy it, an oil-rich Arab country.' This is part of his propaganda. So what did we do after 9/11? We invade ... and occupy an oil-rich Arab country, which was doing nothing to threaten us."

Bush is still likely to win, let's remember

Some friends of mine are pretty excited about Kerry's strong poll numbers. They shouldn't be. Bush is still likely to be reelected. Here's why:
1. The Electoral College favors Bush as it did in 2000. Chicago Sun Times:

The Electoral Map favors Bush over Kerry, starting with the 30 states the president won four years ago. Those states were worth 271 electoral votes in 2000, but reapportionment has increased their value to 278.Kerry's base will be the 20 states plus the District of Columbia won by Gore, worth 267 electoral votes in 2000. Those venues get just 260 electoral votes Nov. 2.

2. Incumbents are likely to be reelected.

3. The Iraqi people are happy that we invaded, would be happier if we left, but regardless are happier now than they were under Saddam, and their hope for the future is better! Hope! Hope is the power behind all great things.This good news will probably crowd out discussions about the cost of the invasion at the expense of our healthcare, US credibility throughout Europe, and trust in our government. No, happy Iraqis do not suddenly change the fact that lies were perpetrated in order to get us into this Bush war, and they are still being stated, amazingly. But, Iraqi happiness will be, in an overblown manner, probably successfully used by media, FOX and this administration to disingenuously "prove" that the unilateral invasion was a great idea. The media has already proved itself to be a great stenography corps for this Administration's spin. And positive spin the American people like. Democratic attacks will eventually seems incomplete messaging unless coupled with a vision and clear plans for a better future. So far, Kerry has done a mediocre job of "the vision thing."

The President just hopes that if there are more terror attacks here or in Europe they won't give credence to the logic that the invasion stirred up a hornets nest, just when we have fewer friends than ever. (Though attacks in Europe might simply draw Europe closer to us. It didn't in Spain, but Spain's reaction is not necessarily what reactions would be in Britian or Germany if they were attacked.) Bush so does not want to become another Anzar. For starters, he'd look silly in that little Dewey mustache.

Remember: Bush said it--There never was a connection between Saddam Hussein & 9/11

We can't remind the world and each other of this admission often enough. "We have no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the 11 September attacks." - G. W Bush

As Bush unleashes his ads insinuating he's the answer to America's terrorism fears, let's remind America that Bu$h's invasion of Iraq has made a vacuum there into which al-Qaeda is pouring, and that he has spent--is still spending--BILLIONS of dollars on his Iraqi adventure instead of our security at home. Remember: he had determined way before 9/11 ever happened to make us all gluttons, fully half of us unwilling ones, for a dangerous Iraqi invasion.

To contemplate the psychopathic cynicism required for a President of the United States to knowingly exploit a national tragedy for the sake of a pet project unrelated to either the American peoples' need for better security or their thirst for justice is to realize soon that a High Crime has been committed, and nothing less than formal impeachment of Bush is apt.

The magical and the moralistic

Gore Vidal once remarked that Christianity's success over other Near Eastern religions of the first century was due to its brilliant fusion of the magical sense with the moral sense. The believer got miracles and ritual, but also a code of conduct, and they were balanced just right. Mithras, the Gnostics, and the Essenes just couldn't compete.

Well, Christianity has changed, and within conservative evangelical Protestantism, Christianity's dominant flavor in the U.S., the moral is ever more transforming into the moralistic; ritual was out the door a long time ago, and wonderment increasingly takes back seat to supposedly-righteous indignation and realpolitik.

This essay from BuzzFlash is important. It touches on some consequences, that we are now seeing very sharply, of evangelicalism's evolution within our republic.

Where's this story now?

Coverage about Bush being AWOL from Alabama Air Force obligations is itself AWOL. Here are some other AWOL topics.

White House betrayed one of our own spies ...cuz her hubby exposed a Bush lie

Hundreds of economists, including 10 Nobel laureates, warned us and Bush that his tax cuts would fail to do anything but give us a deficit (Small PDF file)

Bush trying to halt 9/11 commission

GOP staff snooped Dem e-mails

Enron

Bush, Rice, et al ignored Clinton plan to deal with al-Qaeda

Bush, Rice, et al ignored warnings about al-Qaeda

Could you pass Shays' rifle, please?

Progressives had better fix bayonets yesterday to form ranks today. "This is a war," declares Geov Parrish. Seemingly extreme. But far more is at stake in the November 2004 election than when Daniel Shays brandished arms against the government in 1786. (Thanks to Marilyn for bringing Parrish to my attention.)

As if our jobs crisis, debt crisis, and security crisis (no protection of ports, a gov't who won't give money to hospitals and first responders for attack-preparedness training, etc.) weren't enough, we have Bush's continuing hypocrisy:

President Bush "clamped down" on the media, extending and expanding a controversial policy that banned reporters from photographing flag-draped caskets of soldiers killed in combat. The White House said the policy was enforced to "spare the feelings of military families." Yet, in the very first television advertisement of his 2004 campaign, the president has blanketed the nation's airwaves with an image of "firefighters carrying a flag-draped body" from the 9/11 wreckage at Ground Zero.

The hypocrisy of preventing Americans from receiving a "reminder of the toll of war" at the very same time the president exploits an image of a dead body for his own political gain has caused an outrage among victims' families. Chris Burke, whose brother Tom died in the attacks, said, "Using my dead friends and my dead brother for political expediency is dead wrong. It's wrong, it's bad taste and an insult to the 3,000 people who died on Sept. 11."

The president's actions have also raised new credibility questions because he previously promised not to exploit the 9/11 attacks. Speaking of 9/11 in January 2003, President Bush told the Associated Press that he had "no ambition whatsoever to use this as a political issue." - Misleader.org

Super Tuesday's other winner: The Democratic Party

For several months Democratic presidential candidates have demonstrated to America the genuine diversity, inspiring creativity, honorable legacy, and promising future of a Democratic Party re-energized and unified. Through the efforts of all the candidates the Democratic Party has found hope for victory in November.

To paraphrase an e-mail from MoveOn.org sent to members today: Howard Dean reminded Democrats that they can fight President Bush, and revolutionized campaigning. Dennis Kucinich, Carol Moseley Braun, and Al Sharpton reminded Democrats that progressive values are something to be proud of. Wes Clark and Bob Graham took Bush to task on national security. Joe Lieberman demonstrated that personal faith is a Democratic value. Dick Gephardt spoke powerfully for working people and jobs. And John Edwards demonstrated the power of a positive vision for our country.

SUPER TUESDAY!!!!!!!!

Okay, folks, it's tomorrow: Super Tuesday. FINALLY! Watch results on CNN.com's special page. These are the states (and delegate counts) involved: California (370), New York (236), Ohio (140), Connecticut (49), Georgia (86), Maryland (69), Massachusetts (93), Minnesota (72), Rhode Island (21) and Vermont (15).

If you live in one of those states, remember to VOTE!!!!!!! If you can't because you're not registered, register to vote online, or call City Hall and ask them how you can register, so you're good to go come the General Election in November.