Will General Pace get the Kokesh treatment?

Will General Peter Pace get the same treatment as Adam Kokesh?

Via Think Progress:

While the Marine Corps was actively working to repudiate “opposition groups and individuals” like Kokesh, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was advocating — in his official capacity — on behalf of “Scooter” Libby.

After Libby was convicted of “lying to investigators and a federal grand jury examining the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity,” Pace wrote a letter endorsing Libby’s character, specifically noting his “selfless” nature and his penchant for examining decisions “legally and morally.”

I was always very impressed with Mr. Libby’s professionalism and his focus and attention to the matters at hand. He impressed me as a team player when addressing issues and with his selfless approach to his wide-ranging responsibilities. … From my perspective dealing with Mr. Libby on national security issues, he served the United States Government extremely well.

The administration appears to oppose the political advocacy of uniformed officers, except when they’re advocating on behalf of administration policy.

Previously, I had written on Kokesh:

General discharge for Kokesh

After a hearing Monday before an administrative separation board at the Marine Corps Mobilization Command, the panel decided not to recommend an other-than-honorable discharge, choosing instead the general discharge.

"This is a nonpunitive discharge," said Col. Patrick McCarthy, chief of staff for the mobilization command. "The most stringent discharge that could have been received is other than honorable, and the board chose to raise that up to a general discharge."

snip

Kokesh is a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, which consists mainly of those who have left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligations. His service is due to end June 18, but the Marine Corps is seeking to let him go two weeks early with a less-than-honorable discharge.

I am not sure how a "general" discharge affects his security clearance or job prospects? They make no mention of that in the article. It may be no worse than getting a hardship or medical discharge. Considering Kokesh says that he will appeal the decision on principle, I doubt it affects those situations adversely, but I also have my doubts about any change in this decision considering this is the military that he is dealing with.

Needless to say, I am certain that many veterans on both sides of the political aisle are somewhat disappointed with this decision. Even the conservative leaning VFW was supporting Adam Kokesh's right to freedom of speech on this one.

Wonkette may have hit on one of the main reasons they might have wanted to go after who she calls "some kind of magical Cindy Sheehan":

And while right-wingers had no problem mocking the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, they have a tougher time mocking an actual living Marine male veteran who actually fought in the war they just write about on their blogs. Plus, you get the feeling he wouldn’t mind beating the shit out of, say, the entire staff of National Review Online … and that they’d probably enjoy it, too.

snip

On Monday, Kokesh has to show up at a hearing so the Corps can re-discharge him, this time dishonorably. Why? Because even when you get out of the military these days, Rumsfeld’s “back door draft” makes you eligible for another call-up because there aren’t enough people volunteering to jump in the Baghdad Meatgrinder. But they don’t want him back, even for the Individual Ready Reserve. So what’s the point?

Kokesh at the GONEzales hearings keeping track of how many times GONEzo says "I don't recall", "I can't remember" and "I don't recall if I can't remember".

All the chickenhawks will have permission to call him a traitor or whatever on the blogs and talk radio if he suddenly becomes dishonorably discharged, that’s the point!

And that is just another example of how the GOP and the military under their control, plays politics with the soldiers lives.

On Chlorine Bombs and Exploding Kids

While reporting that a U.S. General said "Suicide attacks and car bombings have soared 30 percent in Iraq since the start of a security crackdown in Baghdad last month" at the Pentagon on Friday, Iraqslogger also hits on some other dismal statistics and facts:

Earlier Friday, a Marine commander told reporters, "What you have to understand is that chlorine bombs have more of a psychological effect than they do as a killing effect," the AP reports. Insurgents have launched at least eight chlorine gas attacks lately, including one in Fallujah Wednesday.

"If they'll resort to this, they'll resort to anything," Barbero said.

Barbero also mentioned two recent attacks where children were used as suicide bombers. A teenage boy was killed instantly March 21 in Haditha when a bomb in his backpack detonated, as police pursued a suspicious vehicle nearby, Reuters reported. Days earlier, in Baghdad, a bomb detonated in a car carrying three children in the backseat.

While attacks targeting coalition forces were up, Barbero said the security crackdown had led to 30 percent fewer civilian deaths in Iraq and 50 percent fewer in Baghdad compared to the six weeks preceding the crackdown.

Needless to say, and as a direct result of the failed bush and GOP foreign policies, enrollment in the Jihadists' favourite Alma Martyr is on a huge upswing:



Wouldn't that make a great epitaph for the bush administration and the neoconservative movement that advocated for and supported their policies?

"Life will be great when we're dead"*


* A note to the local FBI that seems to think every joke and snarky comment is a lead: I am not advocating blowing them up or anything... I believe in letting time take care of them all. So please don't waste your resources and our tax dollars like you did on Ken Krayeske. It is a sad statement about this country when you have to add a "Krayeske disclaimer" to every political joke just to be on the safe side. :)

Traitor Libby Gets 2 and a Half Years

The verdict is in in the sentencing phase of the Scooter Libby trial:

Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Tuesday for lying and obstructing the CIA leak investigation.

Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, stood calmly before a packed courtroom as a federal judge said the evidence overwhelmingly proved his guilt.

"People who occupy these types of positions, where they have the welfare and security of nation in their hands, have a special obligation to not do anything that might create a problem," U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said.

Walton did not set a date for Libby to report to prison. Though he saw no reason to let Libby remain free pending appeal, Walton said he would accept written arguments on the issue and rule later.

If Libby goes directly to jail we get to see if bush supports traitors with presidential pardons sooner rather than later. It also, likely, ups the anti on whether or not Libby will flip cheney...

This is the highest ranking White House official to be found guilty of crimes since the Iran-Contra scandals and judge Walton also imposed a $250,000 fine and a couple of years of probation.

As Patrick Fitzgerald said when asking for a 3 year sentence:

"We need to make the statement that the truth matters ever so much,"

We are one step closer to the truth as long as bush doesn't pardon his neocon buddy.

Firedoglake is all over this, as per usual:

Walton basically accepted the premise of Fitz' sentencing arguments, which put the range for the obstruction up to 30-37 months, but on the basis of the fact that Libby is a nice guy, took the lowest end of that range, 30 months. He gave him 15 on the other countrs, concurrent, but those other counts need to be recalculated, bc one should be lower and one should be higher. So the sentence is 30 months, but on stay until the Probation department does new calculations.

As to bond pending appeal, Walton basically said no, but Defense can submit a memo. That is due on Thrsday, and then the govt's is due on Tuesday, with Libby's response due on Wednesday. If Walton decides against bond pending appeal after reading those motions, then it all goes to the prison system and Libby goes to jail in normal schedule, which would be about 45-60 days.

snip

No pressers. Neither side had a comment, ostensibly because they've got to come back for next week's hearing (on Wednesday) on bail pending appeal.

Now it's either beer thirty or I'm going to try to sneak into the SJC hearing. Can anyone tell me if it's beer thirty in DC?

I think it is Champagne o'clock in most places... But in my budgetzone it makes it beer thirty too! heh

We have all waited a long time for this Fitzmas present that keeps on giving.

General discharge for Kokesh

Giving him a general discharge does not effect his military benefits:

After a hearing Monday before an administrative separation board at the Marine Corps Mobilization Command, the panel decided not to recommend an other-than-honorable discharge, choosing instead the general discharge.

"This is a nonpunitive discharge," said Col. Patrick McCarthy, chief of staff for the mobilization command. "The most stringent discharge that could have been received is other than honorable, and the board chose to raise that up to a general discharge."

snip

Kokesh is a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, which consists mainly of those who have left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligations. His service is due to end June 18, but the Marine Corps is seeking to let him go two weeks early with a less-than-honorable discharge.

I am not sure how a "general" discharge affects his security clearance or job prospects? They make no mention of that in the article. It may be no worse than getting a hardship or medical discharge. Considering Kokesh says that he will appeal the decision on principle, I doubt it affects those situations adversely, but I also have my doubts about any change in this decision considering this is the military that he is dealing with.

Needless to say, I am certain that many veterans on both sides of the political aisle are somewhat disappointed with this decision. Even the conservative leaning VFW was supporting Adam Kokesh's right to freedom of speech on this one.

Wonkette may have hit on one of the main reasons they might have wanted to go after who she calls "some kind of magical Cindy Sheehan":

And while right-wingers had no problem mocking the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, they have a tougher time mocking an actual living Marine male veteran who actually fought in the war they just write about on their blogs. Plus, you get the feeling he wouldn’t mind beating the shit out of, say, the entire staff of National Review Online … and that they’d probably enjoy it, too.

snip

On Monday, Kokesh has to show up at a hearing so the Corps can re-discharge him, this time dishonorably. Why? Because even when you get out of the military these days, Rumsfeld’s “back door draft” makes you eligible for another call-up because there aren’t enough people volunteering to jump in the Baghdad Meatgrinder. But they don’t want him back, even for the Individual Ready Reserve. So what’s the point?

Kokesh at the GONEzales hearings keeping track of how many times GONEzo says "I don't recall", "I can't remember" and "I don't recall if I can't remember".

All the chickenhawks will have permission to call him a traitor or whatever on the blogs and talk radio if he suddenly becomes dishonorably discharged, that’s the point!

And that is just another example of how the GOP and the military under their control, plays politics with the soldiers lives.

[update]Since I was not familiar with a General Discharge (I have an Honorable Discharge so I didn't have to worry about it) I did a quick Google search and came up with this.

General (Under Honorable Conditions)

General discharges are given to servicemembers whose performance is satisfactory but is marked by a considerable departure in duty performance and conduct expected of military members. Reasons for such a characterization of service vary, but are always preceded by some form of nonjudicial punishment utilized by the unit commander as a means to correct unacceptable behavior prior to initiating discharge action (unless the reason is homosexual conduct or drug abuse, in which case discharge is mandatory). A commander must disclose to the servicemember in writing why he is initiating discharge action, and will further explain the reason he is recommending service be characterized as General (Under Honorable Conditions). The servicemember is normally required to sign a statement acknowledging receipt and understanding of the notification of pending discharge memorandum. He is also advised of his right to seek counsel and present statements on his behalf.

In addition, servicemembers are required to sign documents acknowledging that "substantial prejudice in civilian life" may be encountered under a general discharge. [1] Despite this, some personnel think because the discharge is described as general under honorable conditions, it is as good as or the same as an honorable discharge. However, a general discharge may preclude participation in the GI Bill, service on veteran's commissions, and other programs where a fully-honorable discharge is required.

Another common misunderstanding is that a general discharge will be automatically upgraded after 6 months' time. While a veteran is eligible to appeal for an honorable discharge after 6 months, upgrade is neither guaranteed nor automatic. In fact, only a slim percentage of those who appeal a general discharge will have their discharge upgraded to honorable, and many more will never file an appeal for various reasons.

That doesn't sound all that promising for CPL. Kokesh... I hope he fixes it on appeal.

The Heart of Corrupticut

ctblogger and tparty at MLN says it all ends with a loving hug:

"I know Lou.... He loves helping people."
- Sen. John McKinney, R-Fairfield

"This is a very difficult personal family situation. It is my understanding that the senator cooperated fully, that he recognizes it was poor judgment and recognizes that his behavior was unacceptable,"
- Gov. Jodi Rell, R

"I went in and gave him a hug... I've known him a long time. We're not only elected officials, but we all have loved ones and family members who we would protect. All families have issues."
- Rep. Stephen Dargan, D-West Haven

"I can't think of a more honest, upright and straightforward guy than Lou DeLuca... I stand up for him, regardless of party."
- Rep. William R. Dyson, D

“I can't think of a guy who's more straight and honest and above board than Lou DeLuca... I can't help but believe that in the final analysis of whatever has taken place there would be a resolution on it and I think he will be vindicated.”
- Rep. Dyson, again

"I can't think of anybody who is more of a family man.... His grandchildren at one time or another have lived with him as his children have gone through troubles."
- Richard Crane, first selectman of Woodbury, R

"I am so disgusted to hear that [Sen. Prague had called for DeLuca's resignation]... She is a disgrace if she said that."
- Rep. Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk

"We agree on nothing. I used to tell him, `You never met an insurance company you didn't like.' He used to tell me, `You never met a labor union you didn't like.' But he's a good man,"
- Biagio Ciotto, former Democratic senator, after hugging DeLuca on Friday

WTF? Those Democratic party members are in on this shitbag Republican's lovefest?

But where does it all begin:

Okay, lets recap what we know about Minority leader "Loony" Louie DeLuca regarding his association with trashman James Galante (you know, the guy from Danbury with mob connections...)

DeLuca and Galante met in 2001 when Galante made a large contribution to a charitable cause sponsored by DeLuca. DeLuca had Galante named Italian-American of the year by the Italian-American legislative caucus.

Authorities also said DeLuca promised an undercover agent that he would use his influence to discover anything that could hurt Galante, and "blunt it as best I can." However, he rejected the agent's offered $5,000 bribe, according a law enforcement arrest affidavit.

Now that alone should raise the eyebrows of the so called "party of morality" at the Capitol... at least you would think.

It should raise the eyebrows of every citizen. So should the fact that any politician thinks that they can stand up for this kind of BULLSHIT behaviour from any other politician.

Is the Bus Strike Really Settled?

The NewsTimes is reporting that some drivers are getting a little pissed again:

All-Star Transportation school bus driver Wendy Demers was fuming Friday afternoon that her weekly paycheck did not contain a promised raise and retroactive wages.

snip

"They promised the raises for a change to get a 'yes' vote and they got their 'yes' vote, so now give us our money.''

snip

For the 23 veteran drivers there was to be an immediate $250 bonus and another $250 in the fall. Several said they received the first bonus this week after complaining to the union representatives that they had not gotten them last week. But they are still waiting for the retroactive pay raises.

All-Star transportation is saying that the contract has yet to be ratified, and the Board of Education Chairman Wendy Faulenbach is hoping the drivers will remain patient concerning any misunderstangs about the contract process.

I sure as heck hope this is just the process and nothing more.

The school board is still looking at recouping losses due to the failure to provide the services in the contract that All-Star Transportation signed.

"We are monitoring the bus driver situation daily,'' Faulenbach said.

Another Picture of Success?

Here is another report on the catastrophic success in Iraq from retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez:

Calling the situation there bleak, retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez also said America has been in the grips of a leadership crisis since 9-11, and that only a sweeping re-examination of Iraq and a renewed, long-term commitment there that includes a large U.S. troop presence will turn the tide of the conflict.

"I think if we do the right things politically and economically with the right Iraqi leadership we could still salvage at least a stalemate, if you will — not a stalemate but at least stave off defeat," Sanchez told the San Antonio Express-News. "It's also kind of important for us to answer the question, 'What is victory?', and at this point I'm not sure America really knows what victory is."

snip

"I am absolutely convinced that America has a crisis in leadership at this time and we've got to do whatever we can to help the next generation of leaders do better than we have done over the past five years," Sanchez said, "better than what this cohort of political and military leaders have done."

Again... For those of you that might not understand the picture of the Iraq situation and American leadership that Sanchez is painting for you:

Message to the media: Let the Candidates Speak!

Let them all speak!

In no way have I decided which candidates I am considering supporting in the 2008 elections, but I have decided that I am sick and tired of the media trying to shape the debate by giving more face time to their favored choices in the races. Matt Browner Hamelin over at the Chris Dodd Blog has been kind enough to paint an obvious picture:


It is a sad statement on the liberal side of the debate when Wolf Blitzer, a former member of the neocon supporting AIPAC lobbying group and former reporter for the ultra-conservative Jerusalem Post, gets more time to shape and twist the debate than five out of the seven Democratic candidates.

What a joke. Unfortunately, it makes all of the viewers the punchline.

Fortunately Bloggers are out here in today's modern political battlefield to try and bring some balance back to the news. With that thought in mind, many of us in CT's left and the national Blogosphere will be trying to get the voices of the other candidates, voices that are consistantly ignored and maligned by the MSM, a fair shot at being heard.

Here is an example of a real issues candidate, Chris Dodd, that is actually talking about and leading on issues, as he takes hard questions from Bloggers and participants at DailyKos, My Left Nutmeg, Buckeye State Blog, and CT Local Politics and answers them in a very NO BS manner that you don't get to see much of in the televised debates:



Keep watching Connecticut's Blogosphere, as many of us will do our best to get the messages out from the candidates that, apparently, the MSM would rather you not see. We will also be demanding a more equitable share of debate time because we want a fair process.

Wolf Blitzer
Uploaded by Scarce

Don't you think you deserve a fair picture of where every candidate stands on the issues?

Another Response To ctblogger's Comcast Campaign

Previously I put up a video where BigTurd exhibits his true xenophobic and racist colors. ctblogger has put together another video that pretty much sums up the rules that BigTurd has broken edited together with the video evidence of BigTurds offending statements:



I like this response, below, because it pretty much sums up how I feel about freedom of speech in a straightforward and to the point way:

To whom it concern:

Tom Bennet´s show on Comcast´s public access channel should be removed.

On the May 18 show he clearly violates both F.C.C. regulations and Comcast´s own regulations: No material which incites violent or harmful acts on other persons.

In at least three instances on May 18, he says that undocumented immigrants should be "shot" or "killed."

I am an adamant supporter of free speech, in general, and no friend to censorship, but, this type of speech IS NOT protected under F.C.C. regulations NOR is it protected under the rules and regulations of Comcast. In fact, it may very likely be illegal.

Many members of my family are immigrants, including my wife, several uncles,
and others, as are many of our friends.

I find this material extremely abhorrent and unconscionably offensive. Both my business and my home currently use Comcast products, and we enjoy their use, however, if Tom Bennet is not removed from the air forthwith, I will seek other solutions, as will my friends and other members of my family.

Normally I would suggest using our own form of freedom of speech in a letter campaign to advertisers of certain shows in order to get someone yanked by pure market pressures, that is not censorship since the offenders are still free to spew their twisted messages BUT the marketplace has determined that they are not a viable product.

In this case there are no sponsors of BigTurd's shows, since he is on public access (if he relied on sponsors I don't think the show would exist, to be honest), but the rules of the public access channel provide a mechanism for controlling threatening statemensts which may incite violent acts.

In this case we are not censoring the turd, he has effectively censored himself through his own statements, we are only trying to ensure that Comcast's rules, legitimate rules, are enforced.

And I would note that BigTurd would still be free to stand on Danbury's street corners and spew his hatred to anyone that would pay attention to a lunatic like himself. Heck, he could still have a parade through the streets of Danbury to celebrate his warped views any time he wanted... Well, maybe not. heh

To contact Comcast concerning the BigTurd's show:

Please keep the pressure on Comcast and tell them to do the right thing.

Dave King: Head Coordinator, Comcast Public Access
Phone: 203-792-1265
Email: Dave_King@cable.comcast.com

Candiann Roswell, Public Access Coordinator
Phone: 203-792-1265
Email: Candiann_Roswell2@cable.comcast.com

When emailing Comcast, please cc: HatCityBLOG (hatcityblog@yahoo.com) so we can place your message on the site (privacy will be honored).

The Picture of Success?

Via the NY Times:

Three months after the start of the Baghdad security plan that has added thousands of American and Iraqi troops to the capital, they control fewer than one-third of the city’s neighborhoods, far short of the initial goal for the operation, according to some commanders and an internal military assessment.

The American assessment, completed in late May, found that American and Iraqi forces were able to “to protect the population” and “maintain physical influence over” only 146 of the 457 Baghdad neighborhoods.

In the remaining 311 neighborhoods, troops have either not begun operations aimed at rooting out insurgents or still face “resistance,” according to the one-page assessment, which was provided to The New York Times and summarized reports from brigade and battalion commanders in Baghdad.

The assessment offers the first comprehensive look at the progress of the effort to stabilize Baghdad with the heavy influx of additional troops. The last remaining American units in the troop increase are just now arriving.

I don't know about how this looks to those of you who provided the astute analysis and planning (and cheerleading) that have us in this situation now, but to me it looks kind of like this:

Some Humour from Up North

Canadian musicians and satirists Bowser and Blue:



I have seen these guys live in Montreal where they are very popular. They do a kindof combination of standup and music. They cover Canadian politics for the most part, but they also poke fun at a lot of other things. I think they are hilarious.

Another example of their humour (and probably their most popular song in Canada) filmed at the "Just for Laughs" comedy festival in Montreal:



Hope it made you laugh! :)

BigTurd Called ctblogger What?

OMG! No questions about whether this guy is a bigoted Xenophobe, and outright racist... He is. I can't believe he called you that ctblogger. Scratch that... From the many videos I have seen so far I can believe it, I just can't believe that he is still on the air.

Via ctblogger at HatCity Blog:

At some point, Comcast has to see the light, enforce their policy, and remove Tom Bennett. Here's another letter sent to Dave King.

Hi Dave

I called you recently about Tom Bennett's show on Comcast. In our conversation you agreed that much of what he says is objectionable but protected under the First Amendment.

However, on the May 18 show he clearly violates the Comcast regulation:
No material which incites violent or harmful acts on other persons. In at least three instances on May 18, he says that undocumented immigrants should be "shot" or "killed." This is not an abstraction; he says "those people at Kennedy Avenue." What will you do if someone, like the caller he said could join him and his co-hosts to make an "army" of four, followed through and went to Kennedy Park and killed someone? Would you say that Comcast bore no responsibility?

He has defended his use of profanity, racist, sexist and anti-gay hate speech, and personal attacks by saying viewers can always turn to another channel. Actually that is a reasonable defense when the content of the show is merely disgusting or offensive. This defense won't work here; he is calling for killing people which is a clear violation of your policy and may even be illegal. What does your Corporate Counsel have to say about this?

You cannot allow this to continue. I don't know how you justified renewing his contract until August 2007. He can be as disgusting as he wants but he can't advocate killing people. Get rid of him now.

This type of speech IS NOT protected under F.C.C. regulations NOR is it protected under the rules and regulations of Comcast. In fact, as the writer of the letter states, it might even be illegal.

PUBLIC access belongs to the PUBLIC. Tom Bennett's profanity and indecent language must come to an end and it needs to be done now.

What will it take for Comcast to act...an immigrant getting shot from a person who was incited by Bennett, John McGowan, and Bones' call for people to shoot and murder members of the immigrant community on the street?

With each passing day, more and more Comcast consumers are expressing their outrage with many considering canceling their service and switching to AT&T or dish, and even an editorial has been written on Bennett.

Please keep the pressure on Comcast and tell them to do the right thing.

Dave King: Head Coordinator, Comcast Public Access
Phone: 203-792-1265
Email: Dave_King@cable.comcast.com

Candiann Roswell, Public Access Coordinator
Phone: 203-792-1265
Email: Candiann_Roswell2@cable.comcast.com

When emailing Comcast, please cc: HatCityBLOG (hatcityblog@yahoo.com) so we can place your message on the site (privacy will be honored).

Immigration Xenophobes Cut'n'Running from Republicans

The coalition of fools that carried many republicans into power over the years is starting to show more signs of crumbling as the Xenophobe faction are closing their wallets to the RNC as they sqwawk over immigration:

The Republican National Committee, hit by a grass-roots donors' rebellion over President Bush's immigration policy, has fired all 65 of its telephone solicitors, Ralph Z. Hallow will report Friday in The Washington Times.

Faced with an estimated 40 percent fall-off in small-donor contributions and aging phone-bank equipment that the RNC said would cost too much to update, Anne Hathaway, the committee's chief of staff, summoned the solicitations staff last week and told them they were out of work, effective immediately, the fired staffers told The Times.

The RNC is deluded if they think that immigration policy is the only reason they are losing support...

THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!

Pardon the lengthy introduction, but The Dead Parrot Sketch is one of Monty Python’s most important contributions to the humor of western civilization. Or not. I suppose it depends on whether you like Monty Python.

Be that as it may, the sketch is also instructive regarding the imminent demise of what we used to call “The Grand Old Party” which became the nickname of Republicans back in the day when “The Grand Army of the Republic” – Union veterans of the Civil War – pretty much ran the party. Those 400,000 or so veterans elected every Republican president from Grant to McKinley. Their endorsement carried huge weight with a grateful electorate who recognized the veteran’s sacrifices and honored them even beyond the effective life of the GAR.

Now the party is run by cynical hacks and jackanapes who, despite all evidence to the contrary, insist that the parrot isn’t dead, it’s just resting. The plumage may still be pretty. But maggots have already begun to eat away at the insides.

What political conservatives and on-the-ground Republicans must understand at this point is that they are not breaking with the White House on immigration. They are not resisting, fighting and thereby setting down a historical marker—”At this point the break became final.” That’s not what’s happening. What conservatives and Republicans must recognize is that the White House has broken with them. What President Bush is doing, and has been doing for some time, is sundering a great political coalition. This is sad, and it holds implications not only for one political party but for the American future.

The White House doesn’t need its traditional supporters anymore, because its problems are way beyond being solved by the base. And the people in the administration don’t even much like the base. Desperate straits have left them liberated, and they are acting out their disdain. Leading Democrats often think their base is slightly mad but at least their heart is in the right place. This White House thinks its base is stupid and that its heart is in the wrong place.

Peggy Noonan is not some turncoat, traitorous, weak kneed Republican pantywaist. She helped put Ronald Reagan’s ideas and thoughts to some of the most beautiful rhetorical music of 20th century politics. But she, along with many of us, are tired and dispirited. We have seen the Republican party run into the ground and then stepped on by an Administration and a President who have gone beyond taking most of us for granted and instead have declared war upon those who have sustained his presidency in the face of the most vicious and determined opposition to his policies. We have been slapped in the face, kicked in the teeth, stabbed in the back. And the smug, self-righteous mountebanks who are taking the party with them to oblivion could care less.

In fact, given all that has transpired since the 2004 election (which coincided with the last time the Bushies even paid lip service to the base) one could say that this President has seemed most determined to destroy the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Reagan leaving behind only a charred husk for the rest of us to live with. They have decided that Götterdämmerung is in order; if they can’t prevail, then they will destroy what is left of the grand coalition that changed the face of America and the world in the 1980’s and in a fit of either pique or ignorance, leave it for the next crew to cobble together something else.

I will say that it didn’t take much to destroy what was left of that coalition. Since the end of the cold war – the single uniting expedient of the Republican party for more than 30 years – the GOP has been adrift. Uniting against Clinton was fairly easy although that unity was a mile wide and an inch deep. It was based on the absolute worst of political bargains; the cold, calculus of how to get power and keep it. So for ten years Republicans played the special interest game, feeding the lobbyists a steady diet of earmarks and favors, reaping huge amounts of campaign contributions in return, while selling out their basic principles of smaller, less intrusive government and fiscal discipline.

And now, there’s precious little left. No ideology. Little loyalty. Less desire to help this gang of cynical galoots maintain what power and position they have remaining. Witness the news [about the firings of phonebankers] from the Republican National Committee.

Not dead. Just resting.

The real danger, of course, is that come November next year GOP candidates simply won’t be able to compete in the 70 or so seats in the House that the Democrats are licking their chops to see change hands. With little available help from the national party and a base that will not only sit on their wallets but probably sit on their hands come election day, the chances are growing that a truly remarkable collapse will occur, an historic implosion that, like a tidal wave, will change the political contours of the country once it recedes.

The Conservative parrot, err party, is dead...

Bush and the GOP Fucking with the Soldiers

And it is all political.

I still get the occasional call from recruiters, but lately those calls have been fewer and farther between. I have repeatedly and respectively told them over and over again that while I support the troops, and I even considered reenlisting for Afghanistan, that I cannot reenlist because I am against the illegal invasion of Iraq. In other words:

I am a war protester.

I tell them that I am doing everything I can to end the war in Iraq and then I thank the recruiter for their service to their country. You see I question the legality of the war in Iraq, and more importantly, I question the rational for having gone to Iraq to begin with.

It was all a pack of lies.

I am lucky, as I am a veteran that has long since passed my separation date (in 2001) and received my official honorable discharge in 2005. There are many veterans and soldiers that risk serious harassment and possibly even charges if they question the logic of the Iraq war, never mind protest it.

Here are 2 examples of this.

Part 1

Marine veteran faces hearing on discharge
status for wearing uniform at protest rally

An Iraq war veteran is scheduled to appear before a military panel Monday for wearing his uniform during an anti-war protest.

Marine Corporal Adam Kokesh was photographed with several other veterans wearing their fatigues while attending a protest last month marking the forth anniversary of the war. After superiors spotted his picture in The Washington Post, Kokesh was told he might have violated a rule that prohibits troops from wearing uniforms without authorization.

Kokesh finishes up his reserve commitment in less than three weeks. The military panel will decide whether to change his discharge status from "honorable" to "other than honorable."

Here is a man that served his country honorably and separated from the service. Unfortunately for him, and I don't know if he knew this, when you initially separate from the services you are still bound contractually for a total of 8 years service. Suppose you get out after a typical four year stint, you are still not officially discharged for another 4 years.

When I separated in 2001 I was still bound by many rules and regulations that the Army could have nailed me with. Up until around mid 2005, if I had worn any Army uniform (even one of the Army PT uniform T-shirts I wear so often to this day) to a protest, or political activity of any sort I would have been in the same deep shit this soldier is in now.

Unfortunately for Kokesh, and even though he had separated from the military with an honorable discharge, that is not the one that counts. He is 3 weeks away from his second, the real, honorable discharge that you need to end your 8 years of service. Kokesh faces the very real possibility that he could lose all of his benefits, have to repay the thousands of dollars he earned and used for school and, the worst of all, he could have some sort of "Less than honorable" discharge tag added to his service records. That can be the kiss of death on many job applications.

This sucks in so many ways because you can be god-damned certain that if he had been at a rally supporting the war they would not be fucking with him right now. Just think how many times bush (Mission Accomplished!) and the GOPeeons have used these soldiers as props themselves.

The video conveys the impression that somewhere in Iraq, a soldier is having his mission and Christmas tarnished by weak-willed Democrats. Here is a frame from the ad and the actual picture of the soldier, taken two years ago. As shown below, the soldier was really watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

The doctored photo of a soldier as GOP political prop

Bush has distorted images of U.S. soldiers before. During the 2004 campaign, he got into trouble when one of his ads, titled "Whatever It Takes," doctored the images of soldiers. The ad showed a crowd of soldiers listening to the president. But some of the faces appeared several times in several different places within the same crowd shot, the result of an attempt to increase the number of soldiers appearing to listen to Mr. Bush.

What neither party has done—until now—is inject the idea that the other party is undermining our troops overseas. The RNC is pimping a mute and unnamed soldier not just to defend the Iraq war but to imply that Democrats are white-handkerchief-waving cowards who want the United States to lose.

The absurdity that all of these soldiers can be freely politicized by the President and the GOP but have no right to a voice of their own...

Part 2

I am not going to comment on this soldiers situation beyond saying that I share many of the same questions this soldier is asking, as do millions of other Americans. The difference? I have an honorable discharge securely in my files already. He doesn't.

After 20 years in service the military is fucking with him. Not for any public statement he has made, or any public action he has ever taken, but simply because he has questions that have never really been answered thoroughly and honestly and he mentioned it in an Email to other soldiers.

Since joining the Army in 1987, he had risen to the rank of sergeant first class, serving in both Gulf Wars, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Korea. He ended up with shrapnel scars and a Purple Heart and, back in the U.S. after his last tour in Iraq, a job as intelligence analyst at Fort Sam Houston.

He couldn’t have foreseen that one e-mail could derail his career and put him on his way out of the Army. One e-mail, speculating about events that millions of people have questioned for the last six years, was all it took.

Sgt. Buswell wants to know: What really happened on 9/11? And he said so in his e-mail. In the few paragraphs of that August 2006 message — a reply not to someone outside the service, but to other soldiers — Buswell wrote that he thought the official report of what happened that day at the Pentagon, and in the Pennsylvania crash of United Airlines Flight 93, was full of errors and unanswered questions.

“Who really benefited from what happened that day?” he asked rhetorically. Not “Arabs,” but “the Military Industrial Complex,” Buswell concluded. “We must demand a new, independent investigation.”

For voicing those opinions in an e-mail to 38 people on the San Antonio Army base, Buswell was stripped of his security clearance, fired from his job, demoted, and ordered to undergo a mental health exam. (Via Raw Story: Read on!)

I am a firm believer that as long as soldiers bear the responsibility of performing their duties honorably, duties that he or she must perform under the most hazardous and strenuous of conditions imaginable, they should be allowed to represent their personal and political views and beliefs whether they are in or out of uniform. They should be given the option of not showing up to some presidential propaganda effort if they do not want to be a propaganda prop. They should be allowed to voice their views publicly on the wars that they have to fight. In or out of uniform AND without fear of reprisals.

They are, no doubt, the people with the eyes directly on the objective. As close to the situation as anyone can get and they can add to the debate with legitimate concerns that should always be considered. Both tactical and/or political considerations.

Pre-war National Intelligence Council documents

From Cho's ePluribusMedia mailbag:

Pre-war National Intelligence Council documents available online

Kid Oakland sends us a request to try to let more people know that these documents are available and can be searched. Here's the link to his blog and the larger story for context: Kid Oakland's blog.

For a flavor of what Kid O sees as the importance:

Washington Post writers Walter Pincus and Karen De Young detailed last Saturday that new pre-war documents released by a Senate Intelligence Panel show that the consensus view of US intelligence agencies was that a US invasion of Iraq would "be likely to spark violent sectarian divides and provide al-Qaeda with new opportunities in Iraq and Afghanistan" and "'result in a surge of political Islam and increased funding for terrorist groups" in the Muslim world."

Those two documents, Principal Challenges in Post Saddam Iraq and Regional Consequences of Regime Change in Iraq, are now available online in their public, yet redacted, and in places, poorly photocopied, versions posted within a PDF published by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at their website. For a direct link to download the pdf, click here.

Again, Kid Oakland gives his full explanation of the importance and why he hopes folks in the "blogosphere" start searching and reviewing these documents on his blog k / o politics and culture.

I know how many of you just love to dig through stuff like this! heh

The Future's So Bright... Joe Has Gotta Wear Shades

The Courant picks up the McLatchy article that has been buzzing in the Connecticut and national Blogosphere the last couple of days:

"He looks just like me," he said. "I didn't want to come back. ... We're waiting to get blown up."

Williams wasn't sure if he'd say how he really felt. But if he could, he'd ask about body armor.

"I don't want him to snap his fingers to get things fixed," Williams said, referring to Lieberman. "But he has influence."

Next to him, Spec. Will Hedin, 21, of Chester, Conn., thought about what he was going to say.

"We're not making any progress," Hedin said, as he recalled a comrade who was shot by a sniper last week. "It just seems like we drive around and wait to get shot at."

But as he waited two chairs down from where Lieberman would sit, Hedin said he'd never voice his true feelings to the senator.

"I think I'd be a private if I did," he joked. "It's just more troops, more targets."

As for Lieberman's McCain like view of the situation on the ground:

Then Lieberman walked in, wearing a pair of sunglasses newly purchased from an Iraqi market that the military had taken him to in southeast Baghdad.

Note to those with no snarkometers: This is a badly doctored photo.

The future's so bright... He's got to wear shades.