But you are on the politic board - enjoy your hearing your opinion

• Here's a fun tidbit...(sm) - Just the big bad
  • So sad, get out that big soup ladle, get in line.....sm - Cyndiee
    • But you are on the politic board - enjoy your hearing your opinion - icytoes
  • I think that what a lot of people forget is that it took a lot more than just the pubs in congress t - Zville MT
    • Great and balanced post, so very true, this crisis did not develop.....sm - Cyndiee
    • Very INTELLIGENT Post - Let's Work Together!
      • Well, the first thing we have to do - Backwards typist
  • And with good right they should be - oh really
    • Well said. nm - MT and worn out
    • Amen. So agree. - Pushing pet pig projects?
  • Oh brother. Obama is doing something, - Sunflower
    • John "The Economy is doing Well" McCain? nm - sm
      • At least he would not appoint members - WHO DO NOT PAY THEIR TAXES!
        • No, he runs for office with a dupa who is bilking her own state...... - sm
        • Yes, because he could not get elected no matter what he tried, like the man, terrible, worn-out, in - Cyndiee
    • Excellent post - thanks (no message) - icytoes
  • Doesn't look like ALL the people are in favor of it. sm - m
    • I work in an office. EVERYONE there is against this - package, pubs and dems. HUGE waste!.nm
      • That's probably because...(sm) - Just the big bad
      • But the Dems would have you believe..........sm - m
        • Wrong! I am a Democrat - You Don't Know Us All
          • Perhaps I should have clarified........... sm - m
  • The more we want things to change, the more they stay the same. nm - sm
    • "Change" does not mean it is GOOD!. Gee, some - of us see the garbage this plan is.nm
      • When you have a bipartisan version of the bill to view...please enlighten us. nm - sm
    • Realistically....(sm) - Just the big bad
      • My sentiments exactly........ - sm
      • It's the same either way...sm - mt45
        • Give me a break...(sm) - Just the big bad
          • Actually.... - mt45
        • They were unpatriotic if they didn't... - sm
          • The people have spoken now and - Backwards typist

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Cuz it's been tough watching you mentally unravel and unhinge on this board. 

But once again you are wrong.  I doubt that anyone on this board wants to see an injustice done, no matter what the accused's race, creed or political party affiliation is.  If Clinton had done the Iraq thing I personally would be just as disgusted.

That's where we differ, you and I.  It's all about keeping the courts and this country on the right track and party lines don't matter much.  Judging by your posts it is something you will never understand.

posts - don't let the extremists bum you out.

coverage.   They show a lot of behind the scenes stories at this time.  I like to hear from people such as the chief usher of the White House.  Who knew?  I saw a story about the little boy who lives next door to Obama and was writing a book about him.  He was asked if he ever saw Obama mowing the yard or shoveling snow.  The little boy said no.  Cute stuff after all the negativity from the other side during the campaign. No more friend of terrorists and mysterious birth certificates.  This is real America.

well thought out posts on this board.  She doesn't deserve the brutal treatment she receives on here, yet she keeps coming back, so I also admire her courage, considering what she's dealing with here.

There were a couple other posters who wrote very good posts too, but they're not here any more, so we're mostly left with junk. 

Please keep posting JTBB.  You're by far the most intelligent person on this board.

Image below. Will take some time to load, so be patient.

Two articles below:

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-bucky23mar23,1,7624344.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

From the Los Angeles Times

Bush's Uncle Earned Millions in War Firm Sale

An SEC filing shows William H.T. Bush collected about $1.9 million in cash, plus stock valued at $800,000, from the deal.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Times Staff Writer

March 23, 2006

WASHINGTON — As President Bush embarks on a new effort to shore up public support for the war in Iraq, an uncle of the commander in chief is collecting $2.7 million in cash and stock from the recent sale of a company that profited from the war.

A report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows that William H.T. Bush collected just under $1.9 million in cash plus stock valued at more than $800,000 from the sale of Engineered Support Systems Inc. to DRS Technologies of New Jersey.

The $1.7-billion deal closed Jan. 31. Both firms have extensive military contracts.

William Bush was a director of Engineered Support Systems. Recent SEC filings show he was paid cash and DRS stock in exchange for shares and options he obtained as a director.

Before DRS purchased it, Missouri-based ESSI experienced record growth as a result of expanded U.S. military contracts — many to supply U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The contracts, some awarded on a no-bid basis, include a $77-million deal to refit military vehicles with armor for use in Iraq.

Other ESSI products used in the war include radar and detection services, field medical stations and field electrical generator units.

SEC filings show that two federal investigations of ESSI are underway. One inquiry involves a stop order from the government on the field generators. The order was issued because the units didn't operate properly.

The generator contract was a major source of revenue. SEC files show that ESSI did not tell stockholders about the stop order until last June, about seven months after it was issued.

During the interim, several ESSI executives, including Bush's uncle, cashed in stock and stock options worth millions of dollars, the filings show.

According to one recent filing, the SEC and the U.S. attorney in St. Louis are investigating the delayed disclosure and other matters.

Unnamed members of the ESSI board and corporate officers have been subpoenaed in the inquiry, according to documents.

SEC filings show that William Bush, 67, exercised options on 8,348 shares of ESSI stock on Jan. 18, 2005, about two months after the stop order was issued and six months before it was disclosed. He collected about $450,000 in cash.

Bush, known as Uncle Bucky in the president's family, joined ESSI's board in 2000, several months before his nephew became president.

He heads a St. Louis investment firm and is the youngest brother of former President George H.W. Bush.

He declined to comment Wednesday. However, in an interview last year, he said he played no role in ESSI's winning federal contracts.

I don't make any calls to the 202 [Washington, D.C.] area code, he said.

Patricia Williamson, a spokeswoman for DRS, would not comment on the status of the federal investigations.

The company has said it is cooperating in the probes, which also involve an ESSI insurance contract.
_________________________________________________________________

March 22, 2006, 11:58PM

Former first lady's donation aids son

Katrina funds earmarked to pay for Neil Bush's software program

By CYNTHIA LEONOR GARZA
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Former first lady Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund with specific instructions that the money be spent with an educational software company owned by her son Neil.

Since then, the Ignite Learning program has been given to eight area schools that took in substantial numbers of Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

Mrs. Bush wanted to do something specifically for education and specifically for the thousands of students flooding into the Houston schools, said Jean Becker, former President Bush's chief of staff. She knew that HISD was using this software program, and she's very excited about this program, so she wanted to make it possible for them to expand the use of this program.

The former first lady plans to visit a Houston Independent School District campus using the Ignite program today to call on local business leaders to support schools and education.

The trip to Fleming Middle School is intended to showcase Bush's commitment to education for both Houston-area and New Orleans evacuee students, according to a press release issued Wednesday by Ignite.

Fleming, which has more than 170 New Orleans students, was one of eight area schools chosen by the Harris County Department of Education to receive a donated COW, or Curriculum on Wheels, multimedia program after Hurricane Katrina.

Neil Bush founded Austin-based Ignite Learning, which produces the COW program, in 1999.

Becker said she wasn't at liberty to divulge how much money the Bush family gave to the hurricane funds, but said the rest of their donation was not earmarked for anything.

Nationally, some other donors also specified how they wanted their donations spent, Becker said.

For example, one man wanted his money to go to Habitat for Humanity but via the former presidents' fund. Nearly $1 million has been raised for the local fund and more than $120 million for the national.

Regarding the fact that Bush's earmarked donation also benefited her son's company, Becker said, Mrs. Bush is obviously an enthusiastic supporter of her son. She is genuinely supportive of his program, and has received many letters from educators who support it. Bush honestly felt this would be a great way to help the (evacuee) students.

Barbara and Neil Bush presented the donated programs to Houston-area schools this winter.

Districts that received the free curriculum include Houston, Alvin, Katy, Pearland and Spring and the New Orleans West charter school.

There are 40 Ignite programs being used in the Houston area, and 15 in the Houston school district, said Ken Leonard, president of Ignite.

Information about the effectiveness of the program, through district-generated reports, was not readily available Wednesday, according to an HISD spokeswoman.

Two years ago, the school district raised eyebrows when it expanded the program by relying heavily on private donations.

In February 2004, the Houston school board unanimously agreed to accept $115,000 in charitable donations from businesses and individuals who insisted the money be spent on Ignite. The money covered half the bill for the software, which cost $10,000 per school.

The deal raised conflict of interest concerns because Neil Bush and company officials helped solicit the donations for the HISD Foundation, a philanthropic group that raises money for the district.

HISD school principals decide for themselves whether to spend their budgeted money on Ignite.

Leonard said that in the past six to eight months, the company has hired national sales representatives across the country — in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada — in hopes of expanding beyond Texas. Currently, about 80 percent of the company's customers are from Texas.

Last year, Neil Bush reportedly toured former Soviet Union countries promoting Ignite with Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky.

According to the Times of London, Berezovsky, a former Kremlin insider now living in Britain, is wanted on criminal charges in Moscow accusing him of seeking to stage a coup against President Vladimir Putin.

The purpose of today's event is to showcase everyone's efforts in helping the hurricane evacuee students who ended up in Houston, Leonard said.

We have a role, but we're not the leader in this, Leonard said. He also acknowledged that his company will benefit from the former first lady's visit.

Barbara Bush is expected to observe both teachers and students using the Ignite Learning program while touring classrooms, according to the Ignite press release.

During a short reception, teachers and students will give testimonials about the program and Bush will encourage community business leaders to have a stronger presence in supporting schools and education, the press release said.

The free-standing instructional tools that are not dependent on the Internet. They include a built-in computer, projector and speakers and come pre-loaded with science and social studies courses.

cynthia.garza@chron.com

HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: Houston & Texas
This article is: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3742329.html

of sharing the wealth will put us in the GREAT DEPRESSION just like back when Hoover was in office, exept this time, it will be worse because many more people make more than 100,000 a year than they did years ago.  So basically it will be spreading the wellfare around.

get money for a bailout? Wall Street and the banks did, but WS and the banks are HOLDING ONTO the money for BONUSES, not to bail themselves out. GM and Chryler need it to KEEP JOBS.

The bailout was wrong in the first place because everyone would want money, but that's the only thing they could come up with at the time. What's done is done but I don't think we ought to keep throwing money out there. NP and Barney Fife are too free with money that's not theirs and they should be thrown out of office. 

It was brought to a vote and that is that.  We come from a place where it was once taboo to be gay.  You had to hide your sexual orientation.  Now you can go out with your partner and live your life for all to see.  I don't agree with that kind of lifestyle, but they are free to choose what kind of lifestyle they wish to live and who am I to judge.  However, I feel that marriage should be defined as one man and one woman.  To redefine marriage, I think, is wrong.  If they want to be life partners and have a small ceremony joining them in some sort of civil union.....go ahead but marriage should be left alone as a man and a woman.  I am sick and tired of redefining everything to make it politically correct so every minority group is happy.  You can't make everyone happy.  I personally feel that redefining marriage to include marrying anyone whether it be same or opposite sex could be confusing to children in general and I don't agree with it.

I don't have a problem with them protesting their viewpoint, but when I see them rip a cross out of an old woman's hands and stomp on the cross as she was protesting her opinion.....that is just wrong.  First of all, you don't go after an old woman and secondly....she was sharing her opinion just like they were....so don't get mad at us for our opinion because we are entitled to it as well.

THE DIAGNOSIS

Maybe it’s the newly appointed speech writer. Maybe Peter Feaver has been locked away in some windowless sub basement of the White House, without access to the outer world. Maybe he can do little more than recycle earlier speeches about the war in Iraq. Maybe he and everyone else in this administration have become trapped in a bizarre and crippling time warp. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s that George Bush is hard of hearing.

That has to be the explanation. After listening to his delirious portrayal of progress today and of victory tomorrow in war-torn Iraq, there is only one conclusion: the President of the Untied States is nothing more than a deaf man, talking.

It’s not as if anyone in this administration has ever listened with a discerning ear.  Standard operating practice at the White House has been to listen only to those who furthered their agenda, and to absolutely no one else.

But this time, the man at the helm of a sinking nation has gone a bit too far. This time he has gone stone, cold, deaf.

George W. Bush and his handlers have a lengthy history of hearing problems.  For more than five years, they selectively closed their ears to those who knew things they chose to ignore. For more than five years, they dismissed the advice of the experienced, and the knowledgeable. They heard nothing that was critical or challenging. They heard nothing that questioned their ill fated policies or their inaccurate conclusions.  They heard nothing but their own applause.

George Bush developed a severe hearing malady early in his presidency. From day one, he turned a deaf ear to warnings that his policies were dangerous and destructive. Fortunately for the administration, the corporate media under-reported or simply ignored the advice of experts with as much disdain as the White House.

Just think about how the President absolutely and intractably refused to listen when:

• 
  
  Scientists warned about teaching Intelligent Design
  
  
• 
  
  Educators warned about serious flaws in No Child Left Behind
  
  
• 
  
  Environmentalists warned about pollution and global warming
  
  
• 
  
  Health experts warned about the dangers mercury levels
  
  
• 
  
  Economists warned about an inquitable tax policy
  
  
• 
  
  Researchers warned about cutting stem cell projects
  
  
• 
  
  Ecologists warned about deforestation
  
  
• 
  
  Engineers warned about New Orleans levees
  
  
• 
  
  Civil libertarians warned about the Patriot Act
  
  
• 
  
  AIDS organizations warned about ignoring condom education

And yet, George Bush chose to hear the words of the most extreme voices on the religious right and the most self indulgent arguments of corporate America. His selective hearing set the standard for every one of his regressive and injurious domestic policies.

No matter. George Bush was president and he knew better even without his hearing. He had the answers before the questions were ever raised. He was right. Everyone else was wrong. He had no reason to listen.

It was an outrage for the President and his henchmen to totally ignore the advice and expertise of anyone who disagreed with their self-serving agenda. It was, in effect, an irresponsible surrender to special interests and supporters who would help keep George Bush in power. But, perhaps, it was politics as usual.

Perhaps it was.  Domestic policies often deteriorate into partisan food fights, regardless of the toll on the people at large.

But in the wake of 9/11, George Bush’s hearing took a far more serious turn for the worse. His festering malady became a chronic affliction.  In time, his condition became more and more noticeable and more and more debilitating.

Looking back, we now can see that 9/11 was the prelude to a long planned war against Iraq, When it came to the attacks or to the march to his war, George Bush found himself unable to hear a great many voices.  Once again, the media were cooperative and complicit by selectively underreporting the warnings as well.

Consequently, among the voices that went unheeded by the President were:

• 
  
  Intelligence sources who warned about impending attacks on US soil, using hijacked airliners
  
  
• 
  
  CIA insiders who warned of the increased ‘chatter’ in the summer of 2001 that  signaled that something was brewing among Al Qaeda operatives
  
  
• 
  
  Families of 9/11 victims who demanded an independent investigation into the attacks
  
  
• 
  
  Intelligence reports discounting any connection between Saddam  Hussein and Al Qaeda
  
  
• 
  
  Weapons Inspectors in Iraq who insisted there were no WMD’s, but begged for more time to complete their mission
  
  
• 
  
  Experts who knew the Middle East and warned that a war against Iraq would foment civil war and instability in the entire region
  
  
• 
  
  The major nations of the world, with the exception of the UK and the bribed coalition of the billing, who warned about the consequences of an illegal preemptive or preventive war against a non belligerent nation.
  
  
• 
  
  Millions of people around the world who marched in protest to the impending invasion
  
  
• 
  
  A bipartisan group of US Military and Diplomatic experts who warned about the recklessness of a war against the people of Iraq
  
  
• 
  
  The Army War College experts who warned that GW Bus was “…on a course of open-ended and gratuitous conflict with states and non-state entities that pose no serious threat to the United States. 
  
  
• 
  
  Experienced military men such as Generals Shinzeki and Zinni, who openly criticized the poorly laid plans for invasion and the horrific management of the occupation.
  
  
• 
  
  Any an all voices in opposition to the Bush/PNAC dream of global domination.

Instead, George Bush listened intently to the words of his PNAC partners who had waited so patiently for the chance to invade Iraq. And yet, he listened to Ahmed Chalabi, a felon convicted of embezzling millions in absentia, who said that an invasion of Iraq would be a cake walk. Instead, he listened to people who had no clue as to the realities of war, or the cultural and tribal entanglements of the Iraqi people.

Instead, he went to war. And the war became a quagmire. And the quagmire became a nightmare. And the nightmare began to show in the polls.

And so, something had to be done.  That something was another series of speeches by the President to shore up support for his war. That is why George Bush came before the American people once again to introduce a redundant and meaningless National Strategy for Victory in Iraq.

When George Bush gave the first of his scheduled speeches, his otic infirmity could no longer be hidden.  Sadly, his second address to the nation simply reinforced the obvious: the President of the United States is completely and totally deaf.

No matter how he tried, there was no way to conceal it.  In his effort to regain public support for his invasion and occupation of Iraq, George Bush made it perfectly clear that he was incapable of hearing anything even remotely related to reality. In order to distort his failed war policy, he turned a deaf ear to the devastation and chaos that define his war of choice. He closed off any and all warnings that a military victory in Iraq is not possible.

But, in a really bad move, he also turned a deaf ear to the American people.

The American people are asking questions, and George Bush refuses to hear them.  Instead, he offers public relations sound bites to a nation that is beginning to demand the truth.

So far he has refused to give the nation any explanations about what is really happening in Iraq. So far, George Bush has refused to address:

• 
  
  the failure to plan for our role as occupiers in Iraq
  
  
• 
  
  the chaos and bloodshed that intensify every day
  
  
• 
  
  the lack of water and electricity for the people
  
  
• 
  
  the failure of any significant reconstruction
  
  
• 
  
  the daily kidnappings and rampant crime
  
  
• 
  
  the mass exodus of doctors and other professionals
  
  
• 
  
  the use of torture by both Americans and the new Iraqi regime.
  
  
• 
  
  the widespread corruption and missing billions
  
  
• 
  
  the terrible effects of depleted uranium
  
  
• 
  
  the illegal and devastating use of white phosphorus
  
  
• 
  
  the fundamentalist government that is now in charge
  
  
• 
  
  the lack of body and vehicle armor for our troops
  
  
• 
  
  the tens of thousands of Iraqis who died at his hand
  
  
• 
  
  the claim by his own man, Ayad Allawi, that things are worse in Iraq now than under Saddam.
  
  
• 
  
  the five billion dollars a month being spent on the war

And George Bush refused, above all, to present a cohesive and specific strategy for ending the terrible war he began.

People all across this nation wanted to know what went wrong and why. And they wanted to know how their President planned to fix it. But George Bush has closed his ears to the growing concerns of a majority of Americans. He simply refuses to hear them.

He has chosen, instead, to revert to type. He has chosen, instead, to remain deaf to facts that had been revealed about his war.  He has chosen, instead, to ignore the truth about the tragic and deadly catastrophe that was the war in Iraq.  He has chosen, once again, to lie.

George Bush speaks only before courteous audiences.  Assured of applause at appropriate intervals, he can comfortably hold both hands over his ears and refuse to acknowledge that he had led the nation into an endless morass.

He cannot tell the truth, we know that. So he did what he does best. He lied. But, the irony of it all is that more and more Americans are on to the lies by now. Just for starters, they know that:

• 
  
  There is no connection whatever between the invasion of Iraq and his trumped up war on terror. And yet, George Bush opted to use the word “terror” FIFTY TIMES his first strategy speech, and continued to the same harangue in the second.  
  
  
• 
  
  The insurgency in Iraq is composed of dozens, possibly as many as 100 cells working independently. And yet, George Bush identified only three sources of insurgent activity – and placed much of the blame on “the brutal terrorist, Zarqawi – al Qaeda’s leading operative in Iraq.”
  
  
• 
  
  American marines, not Iraqi security forces, led the incursion into Tal Afar. And yet, to make them appear battle-ready, George Bush gave full credit to the Iraqi security forces for leading the attack.
  
  
• 
  
  Former supporters of the war, such as Vietnam veteran John Murtha, are convinced that a military victory in Iraq is not possible. And yet, George Bush repeated his old, weathered war cry, “There will be no withdrawal without victory.”
  
  
• 
  
  General William Odom has called the war in Iraq a failure. And yet, George Bush touts the “amazing progress” of the occupation.
  
  
• 
  
  More than 2130 Americans and 200 coalition troops have died for his illegal and immoral war of choice, and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis are dead as well. And yet, George Bush still insists that he has “taken the fight to the terrorists,” and that his bloody war will “lay the foundation of peace for generations to come.”
  
  
• 
  
  Progress in Iraq cannot be measured by the number of buildings being rebuilt after being destroyed by US bombs. Instead, that is exactly what George Bush insists is so.
  
  
• 
  
  Progress in Iraq cannot be measured by the number of cell phones being used. And yet, that is how George Bush measures it.
  
  
• 
  
  Oil revenues are not going to the Iraqi people, but to foreign oil companies.  And yet, George Bush claims that increased oil production was a sign of progress.
  
  
• 
  
  There is no definable victory possible.  And yet, George Bush insists there is.

But George Bush has no clue about what the public knows. The man is as deaf as a door post. But his impairment is one of choice, not affliction. He believes he can use his hearing loss as a cover for his ineptitude and his obstinacy.  In his world apart from reality, George Bush continues to believe that he can fool all of the people all of the time.

But this time, the American people are not buying it.

THE REMEDY

We are approaching day 1,000 of this outrageous war, and the mood of the nation is changing.  The winds of opposition are gaining strength across the vast expanse that is America. George Bush and his PNAC handlers are pretending not to hear the calls for an end to this terrible war. But they hear it.  They really do.

The turning point, of course, was triggered by Congressman John Murtha, whose opinions can no longer be countered by the usual rhetoric from the White House.  Murtha spoke with the tacit encouragement of his close friends in the Pentagon who cannot speak out personally, but who fully understand the hopelessness of ‘staying the course,’ His message clearly signaled the beginning of the end.

But it won’t be easy.  There will be distractions in the form of token withdrawals, and the war will go on.  More people will die.  The mayhem will continue.   But the voices of protest will get louder and louder.

And George Bush will continue to make speeches.  He will recite the words of his new speech writer with gusto and sincerity.  He will continue to sell his war as if it were a product on the open market.  And he will remain deaf to those who oppose and those who criticize and those who demand that the war must end.

He can do this because the voices of protest are still muted.  They will only be heard if they become loud enough to penetrate the ears of the deaf man who is in charge.  George Bush is the Commander in Chief. He calls the shots.  He sits in the safety of the Oval Office and sends people to their death.

The tragedy is that right this minute, as he still dreams of a glorious victory in Iraq, he doesn’t hear a thing.

Maybe one day soon, before thousands more die, if their outcry is loud enough, George Bush will hear the voices of the people he once swore to serve; then again, maybe not.