Judging by the uninspiring and dispassionate campaign launched by the McCain camp, one can conclude that the current regime along with the entire Republican ‘leadership,’ are completely unconcerned with the outcome of the November election, and with good reason. Last week, the White House announced that the next administration will inherit roughly, a 500 billion dollar debt. The question the American people continue to avoid is, to whom do we owe this astronomical sum? The answer, while ugly, is quite simple. We owe it to them. When Georgie W. took over the family business in 2001, he had one and only one goal: to establish a perpetual source of wealth for his father’s friends and the private interests who installed him in office. Through a campaign of lies, deceit, and propaganda he has achieved his goal.

I haven't put together a video to song in awhile, than I came across "Lock Them Up"

The song in video is by 'Nam Veteran Pat Scanlon brother member of Vietnam Veterans Against The War and Veterans For Peace.

"Tell me something I don’t know,” is a regular feature of The Chris Matthews Show. On Sunday night, Andrew Sullivan responded:

The latest revelations on the torture front show—the memo from John Yoo—as well as revelations from Phillippe Sands’ book, mean that Donald Rumsfeld, David Addington and John Yoo should not leave the United States any time soon. They will be at some point indicted for war crimes. They deserve to be. (Check out the video.)

I probably should have, but I didn’t know who Andrew Sullivan was, nor did I know Phillippe Sands. Soon enough, I learned that Sullivan is a political scientist blogger on The Atlantic Online and a senior editor at The New Republic. I’ll get to what else I learned a little later .

I love the Vermonters, they have it right.

The good folks of Brattleboro, Vermont, will vote at town meeting on whether President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should be indicted and arrested for war crimes, perjury or obstruction of justice if they ever step foot in Vermont. Wouldn't that be nice?

As the presidential campaign gains momentum in favor of change, it would appear that the neo-cons, the hierarchy of the status quo, remain curiously calm. The Democratic frontrunners and the National Committee would collectively commit a grave error by breathing any sigh of relief upon the departure of Karl Rove from his perch in the Oval Office.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


click to enlarge

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


click to enlarge

We as a nation are watching the country of Pakistan, a primary ally of the United States, in a state of emergency and now under martial law. This, in my opinion, is a condition that the United States, through thoughtful deployment of our armed forces could have helped to avoid - yet when we had the chance to completely decimate the Taliban and Al Qaeda, your Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, answering to you and Vice-President Dick Cheney - allowed both of the above terrorist entities to escape from Tora Bora by allowing the Afghanistan Military, as ill-trained as they were, to conduct the final mop-up of the remaining insurgents in Afghanistan and the Central Commands refusal to commit the necessary troops to finalize the destruction of Taliban and Al Qaeda elements, which allowed many of them to escape into the northern tribal areas of Pakistan and again become a threat to US interests, Pakistan itself, and now the fight in Afghanistan is almost as fierce as it was when we first began.

There have been a few different events this week that could foreshadow a different approach towards the President. It looks like his aura of invincibility may have been chipped away in a number of important ways, and for the first time there may be reason to think an effective push against his imperial style has begun.

Yup, he was. Look:

Sep 25, 9:07 PM EDT
Who Runs DC? Dick Cheney Wants to Know

WASHINGTON (AP) –

...The vice president was spotted Tuesday night with a copy of Washingtonian magazine's October issue featuring the "Power 150," its choices for the capital city's most influential people in business, culture, education and other pursuits...

...With his motorcade waiting outside the Borders bookstore at L and 18th streets NW, several people watched through streetside windows as Cheney browsed on the store's ground floor. (continued)

(Updated below) (Update II)

On July 31, 2007, I wrote an article titled "Operation Enduring Propaganda", concerning an unrelenting blitzkrieg-like, coordinated propaganda counter-strike to sell the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while making the case for more war in the Middle-East (especially Iran), through it all playing on the fear and insecurity of Americans.

In a follow-up article of August 13, 2007, titled "On Why The Surge Must Appear To Be Successful", I further discussed Operation Enduring Propaganda with regards to Iraq and the surge, and how it has been keeping in full swing despite the rise of discordant voices rising louder and louder - voices largely ignored by the MSM, of course. This then begged the question: why must there be at least an appearance of success with regards to the surge in Iraq? And my short answer was: Iran. I also discussed at the time the up-coming Petraeus-Crocker report (before news came out that the White House would be actually writing it), as follows (emphases mine):

The collective power of the peace movement helped the Democrats take control of Congress and turn Nancy Pelosi from Minority leader into Madam Speaker. But in May the new Congress turned its back on the peace movement, granting Bush another $95 billion for war with no timetable for withdrawal. While the Speaker of the House herself voted against the war funding, she failed to put pressure on the conservative Democrats to form a united front against another blank check for war. She also failed to effectively use her power to decide what bills would come up for a vote. In the case of both the unrestricted war funding and the expanded FISA wiretapping, Pelosi had the ability to keep the bills off the floor but refused to do so.

Last night I was watching the "Daily Show" with Jon Stewart, which I never miss, and then this morning came across a tribute to Mr. Stuart on the Smirking Chimp - and because of the contribution Jon Stewart has made toward educating a politically naive America - I felt it appropriate to expand on the original thought expressed so eloquently at the Chimp:

The American People have lost their power.

Lots of people are going on with things as if we still have some sort of power, like we will figure out something that will cause or force the Bush administration to stop it's criminal actions at home and abroad. As if there is a button we haven't yet pushed, a fee we haven't yet paid, a word we haven't yet said, or a legal incantation that has not yet been filed or stamped or approved by a proper notary.

I am calling that fantasy.

Click here if you don't want to hear anymore.

The rest of you, please hear me out.