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Courtesy of DemSpeak, DNC Chair Howard Dean tells it like it is about the Bush & Co Republicans:
1. Republicans are great at sending other people's kids to war. But not so good at following up. It's not good enough to be tough. You've got to be tough AND smart.
2. You can't trust Republicans to defend America. Not because they don't want to defend America, but because they're not smart enough to listen to the military and listen to people who've served, like Jack Murtha.
Unbelievable. From Sidney Blumenthal's review of Ron Suskind's shocking new book about the Bush administration, The One Percent Solution:
Suskind begins at the briefing of President Bush at his Crawford, Texas, homestead on Aug. 6, 2001, about a CIA memo titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." Upon listening to the CIA briefer, Bush says, "All right, you've covered your ass, now." He asks no more questions.
.....
At one briefing in 2002, Suskind writes, Bruce Gephardt, deputy director of the FBI, told Bush that a group of men of "Middle Eastern descent" in Kansas had been discovered offering "cash for a large storage facility." "Middle Easterners in Kansas," said Bush. "We've got to get on this, immediately." Bush is reported to like barking orders, almost at a shout. The next day, he demanded a report. "Mr. President, the FBI has Kansas surrounded!" "That's what I like to hear," Bush replied. But it turned out that the men of Middle Eastern descent were operators of flea markets, not would-be terrorists. The diligent FBI had closed in on their accumulated piles of old clothing and Sinatra records.
More from Sidney Blumenthal's review of Ron Suskind's shocking new book about the Bush administration, The One Percent Solution:
On Tuesday, Vice President Dick Cheney, in a speech at the National Press Club, defended his statement of May 2005 that the Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes." "I don't think anybody anticipated the level of violence that we've encountered," he added. His comment, besides strangely echoing Bush's on Hurricane Katrina ("I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees"), belied precise warnings from the CIA, the Army War College and 70 experts gathered by the National Defense University, who sent a report before the war to the administration but never received acknowledgment of receipt. But for the moment at least, Cheney's restatement of optimism or obliviousness expresses regained political confidence.
After the presidential election, in mid-November 2004, Suskind writes, Cheney directly pressured Miscik to leak a distorted part of a CIA report to "prove" that the war in Iraq was quelling, not inciting, terrorism. Cheney intended to declassify it and have the CIA make it public. But Miscik knew that the report "concluded nothing of the sort," and refused to take part in leaking false information. She was told that the new CIA director, Porter Goss, had said, "Saying no to the vice president is the wrong answer." "Actually," she replied, "sometimes saying no to the vice president is what we get paid for." Within a few weeks, she was forced out. Soon much of the CIA's top echelon was purged for adhering to its residual professional standards.
The passage of the Republican congressional resolution on Iraq stands on the wreckage of those standards. (The Pentagon talking points refer to Zubaydah as "bin Laden's field commander.") The continuing primacy of apparatchiks Cheney and Rumsfeld reflects the conquest of their conception of the executive. And Rove's exploitative strategies subordinate a potential political solution in Iraq to the paramount importance of a political solution in the midterm elections. Call it the triumph of surrealpolitik.
as we sit back to watch the Senate debate a constitutional amendment over flag burning, we wonder how some of the things we've seen "reflect the values of the American people." We're thinking here about places like New Orleans and Guantánamo; we're thinking about families struggling to make it on a federal minimum wage that hasn't been increased in nearly a decade; we're thinking about more than 50,000 dead Iraqis, more than 2,500 dead Americans, and thousands upon thousands upon thousands of both who will spend their lives suffering from the devastating injuries of war.
Jasmyne A. Cannick has a keen perspective on gay marriage and the black community, in "Republicans, Marriage Bans and Blacks: Let’s Not Go Down This Road Again."
Some highlights:
You know it’s an election year when gays become the topic of conversation at the White House. Not satisfied with dividing the entire country over immigration reform, for extra added insurance, President Bush decided to bring up the issue of banning marriage for lesbians and gays…again.
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In 2004,...Black leadership allowed right wing conservatives to come in and appeal directly to African-Americans on gay marriage and supporting the re-election of President Bush because he would protect America’s morals. Seemingly, black pastors allowed their congregations to be bought with faith-based money in the guise of protecting the institution of marriage.
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Two years ago, black leadership failed African-Americans by not exposing Bush’s political pandering for what it was. Choosing instead to focus on the war on terrorism, the economy, education, healthcare and affirmative action, they didn't see gay marriage as an issue they were ready to tackle.
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Black gays who tend to live where blacks live in general and have the same economic characteristics as their heterosexual counterparts, are dealing with the same issues that most blacks are.
It's Pride Weekend here in NYC, and there are things you can do to help advance civil rights and dignity for gay and lesbian Americans.
Give a donation or gifts to the Ali Forney Center for gay homeless youth. Over 40% of the homeless adolescents on the streets of New York are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. (In fact, 25% of all gay teens who come out to their parents are rejected by them.)
The center can always use Non-perishable foods, Toiletries, Cleaning supplies, Office supplies, Twin sheet sets, Towels and wash cloths, Socks, underwear & T-shirts.
Consider giving a donation to Lambda Legal. They are fighting in our courts all over America for LGBT rights.
Another thing you can do is simply give time and money to Democratic candidates like Chris Murphy (in CT) or Bruce Braley (in IA) who are running in one of the 74 seats Congressional Quarterly says are "in play," 52 of which, like Murphy's seat, are currently in GOP control, but probably vulnerable. Every seat Democrats pick up, even if the Democratic candidate is not a champion of gay civil rights, is one more seat towards a Democratic majority in Congress, and progress on civil rights for LGBT Americans isn't going to happen under a Republican majority--period. Let's get a Democratic majority in there! At this point in US history, it's a necessary prerequisite for progress.
And know who your political friends are and support them. That's something else you can do.
Consider the awesome words of Sen. Russ Feingold when he spoke out against the grossly un-American, heavy-handed Constitutional amendment gay marriage ban,
"I happen to believe that two adults who love each other and want to make a lifelong commitment to each other, with all of the responsibilities that that entails, should be able to do so, regardless of their sex.... [The gay marriage ban] is pure politics, an election year gambit. Mr. President, we should not play politics with the Constitution. Nor should we play politics with the lives of gay and lesbian Americans who correctly see this constitutional amendment as an effort to make them permanent second class citizens."
That sort of commonsensical thinking isn't so common these days, even among Democrats, and needs to be applauded. Thank Sen. Feingold today.
ProgressiveNY is now EqualityNY. Name duly changed on "NY(C) Politics" TypeList. Check out the new site.
These 13 Senators voted on the Kerry-Feingold proposal to redeploy American combat troops out of Iraq by July 1, 2007. Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI); Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), co-sponsor; Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL); Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA); Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI); Sen. James Jeffords (I-VT); Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA); Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ); Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), co-sponsor; Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ); Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Sen. Kerry stated:
Let me be absolutely clear. Russ Feingold and I would have forced this vote even if the outcome were going to be 98 to 2. Ending the Bush administration's disastrous approach to this war [is]...about applying constant pressure to change a broken course.
It's about utterly rejecting the desperate tactics of cowardly political operatives like Karl Rove who, as John Murtha pointed out, have no qualms about telling our soldiers to "stay the course" from the comfort of their air-conditioned offices at the White House.
It's about doing what's right.
Karl Rove may worry about losing votes. It's our job to worry about young Americans losing their lives. It's our job to provide a new vision that offers real security for America while giving the Iraqis their best chance for a stable Iraq.
The Knickerbocker Sailing Association's 4th Annual Gay Pride Regatta is Friday, June 23. The race course will be in the Upper Bay of New York Harbor, in view of the
Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan. Itinerary from the KSA site:
11AM: Skippers Meeting at True North Sailing School in Jersey City, NJ. For directions, please go to True North Sailing School.
1PM: Start of Race #1. We will attempt to run four to five races depending on weather conditions. Racing will end at 4:30PM when all boats will return to Newport Marina.
6PM: Awards Ceremony and Party after the Regatta at Newport Landing Marina. If you are unable to race in the Regatta, please join us for a great after race party!
England advances to the "Round of 16" in the World Cup! They tied with Sweden 2:2 today. (Bad news: Michael Owen might be hurt fairly badly.)
Now back to mostly political stuff . . . .
