Iraq Pull Out Plan

I’m not happy with it, but at least it sets a solid date for withdraw from Iraq. By August 31 of next year the force will have dropped from 138000 to 50000, and by 2011 the remaining troops will leave.

How much of a difference would it make if we pulled them all out right now? What magical things are going to happen in the next two years that makes 2011 a better year for ending this fiasco than 2009?

I don’t like the way it was announced. The plan was announced on a Friday. Studies show that people pay less attention to the news on Friday, because they are preparing for the weekend. It was also announced in front of a military audience. There isn’t much chance of having an angry protester asking why it isn’t ending this month at a venue of this nature. Soldiers are not allowed to criticize the president, it’s a military regulation. The remaining 50,000 troops are still going to be carrying out counter insurgency operations, so why say that combat missions are going to end Aug. 31 2010? Changing the name of a combat battalion to a “counter insurgency” battalion is just word play and it is meaningless.

This is the type of media manipulation and word games I would have expected from the former president. We were supposed to have change, but I guess it was just change, but the change seems to be nickels and dimes. I am still willing to give the new president a chance, but this was a bad move in my opinion.

Why Leahy's "Truth Commision" Plan is Unacceptable

I was shocked today to learn of democratic senator Pat Leahy's plan for exposure of crimes that may have been committed by the Bush administration. The plan calls for granting immunity in exchange for testimony in the areas of warrantless wiretapping and torture.

We don't need these people to admit the truth under oath, we pretty much know the truth already. Granting immunity in exchange for testimony is a cop out, plain and simple.

Under the constitution of the United States of America, we have the right to be secure in our homes and our person and such things cannot be searched without a writ of Mandamus. If someone in a position of power violates this right, and is then granted immunity, then we really don't have the right. In fact, we don't have any rights, because if a situation dictates that one right is to be taken away, they can all be taken away. No one is above the law.

In fact, torture and warrantless wiretapping is just a tip of a very large iceberg. What is lurking under the surface of the water? Were voting machines tampered with in 2000 and 2004? Was intelligence faked in the lead up to the Iraq war? And if so, to what purpose was it faked? And why did building 7 fall at free fall speed due to fire? Why were vaccine companies granted immunity in the Patriot act?

Our economy is in a free fall, our water isn't fit to drink and our food isn't fit to eat. I demand answers, and I demand people be held accountable for their actions.The first three letters to the preamble of the constitution is "WE THE PEOPLE". Take note that it is not we the republicans, we the democrats, we the corporations, or even we the politicians. It is We The People. Our representatives are in congress to represent US. Not the banks, not the special interests, US. It is their solemn duty to investigate possible crimes committed against American citizens and prosecute when evidence is evident. A "Truth Commission" will only serve to provide a few soundbites where a few low level officials admit to wrong doing and ask forgiveness. If we are to remain a country of rights and laws we must have an investigation and prosecution if clear evidence of the violation of constitutional rights emerge.

No Good Reason

This post from Ben Jones @ HPANWO really made me think, and if you haven't read it yet, check it out.

It got me thinking about Veterans day tomorrow, and how I've said privately to my wife "They're sending those boys to fight in Iraq for no good reason." I realized tonight I was only part right.

Iraq is a sovereign country that never attacked the United States, and we invaded and occupied it anyway. I've talked to a few people here who are like parrots who repeat what they hear on the television without stopping to think about what it means. "They are fighting for freedom."

My response would be "So if we win the war in Iraq, America will finally be free?" To which I would get a stare akin to a deer caught in a truck's high beam headlights.

"Support the troops!"

To which I would say "Does supporting the troops mean sending them to a war for no good reason without the proper equipment, then not providing them with the proper medical attention and educational benefits when they come home?" Then they would either tell me how Iraq attacked America on 9-11, or they would just walk away, not wanting to think about the truth, because if they did, they might find something they don't like.

While it's true they were sent for no good reason, something good may come from their efforts. The Bush administration's bizarre action of attacking Iraq and using 9-11 as an excuse opened the eyes of many people. When the "opposition" party Democrats were voted into congress, and they refused to end the war, it opened more eyes up to the fake left right paradigm.

I remember when I was in the matrix, it wasn't easy waking up and realizing that a lot of the things I believed in was a lie, but I believe I am a better person for it. I want to say god bless the troops who are being used as pawns in a chess match. I no longer think they are fighting in vain, but by putting themselves in harms way, they are opening up the eyes of the people and allowing them to see the evil cabal that put them there.

False Predictions for 2008

Over the past eleven months, I've read several predictions mad in "conspiracy circles" that just didn't pan out. When the predictions were made, I thought they would more than likely would come true, so I shared them with my wife. Now I look like a raving lunatic, and my credibility has taken a hit.

1. Hillary Clinton will win the presidential election.

I must say, she did seem like she would be the "chosen one", but it didn't happen. Barrack Obama ran a better campaign, but if he was nothing more than a puppet, why would he? Were we hoodwinked by the elites, or do they not have as much power as we thought?

2. The United States would go to war with Iran.

This could still happen, but it probably won't. I remember Rosie O'Donnell saying on the View that another Gulf of Tonkin was coming, but it didn't happen. Gary Hart wrote a letter to the Iranian leadership warning of a possible false flag, but it didn't happen. Did this not happen because plans were exposed, or was there never a plan to invade to start with? And if the COFR are part of the conspiracy, why would a high profile member write Iran a letter of warning?

3. Martial Law would be declared.

It didn't happen. It's been threatened lately, but we still don't have it. It can still come, but it probably won't be in 2008.

4. The elections will be cancelled.

It didn't happen. In fact, Bush has stated he wants a "smooth transition."

5. The economy will crash.

Ok, I must admit this one did come true. Is it going to end with the Amero? I hope not, but time will tell.

I want to make clear I'm not saying all conspiracy theories are crap, but as Socrates said "True knowledge is knowing that you know nothing." Question everything.

Sleep

I'm a big fan of Countdown with Keith Olberman. One of the sponsors of his show is "the Nation", a self proclaimed liberally biased magazine. In it's TV spot, it claims that it "peels away layers of obfuscation."



In this screen capture, the word "peels" is super imposed over Bush, Cheney, and former speaker Denny Hassert. I'm sure the good people of the Nation don't know that if the word is subconsciously read backwards it says "sleep". In other words, don't question the fake left right paradigm, fight the evil republicans. Don't question why there are only two parties, vote democratic to end the war.

What bothers me is that the dems have had every opportunity to end the war by way of the purse and have refused to do so. They use the argument by implying (not really saying, because that would expose the spin) that cutting off funding would leave the troops in place with no ammo, which is utterly ridiculous.

Sleep my friends, sleep long and well.

Damn Republicrats!

When I took political science in college, I thought I had learned the difference between republicans and democrats. The republicans believed in small government, a conservative budget, low taxes, right to life, and a strong national defense. The Democrats believed in social programs, unions, abortion rights, civil rights, and they were considered to be the party of the working man. Years after graduating college I have come to realize there is no significant difference between the parties. Congress on C-Span is a show, kind of like professional wrestling for intellectuals. There are various proofs of this I could show you, but I am going to go with the hot topic of today, the Iraq war.

The democrats were elected in 2006 with a mandate from the American people to end the Iraq war. A couple of days before the election, the presumed Speaker of the House elect Nancy Pelosi said "impeachment is off the table" but only after the democrats were assured a victory. I remember the elected Democrats saying things like "The American people have spoken. They are tired of the infighting and they want both parties to work together to get things done." Total and utter bullshit. The democrats were elected to end our involvement in Iraq, and also to investigate lawbreaking by the administration. But inexplicably, every time a war spending measure came in front of the congress, they gave the president everything he wanted. The power of the purse was the only power the congress has over the legislative branch to force an end to the Iraq war, and they refused to use that power every single time the opportunity to use it came before them. I can only assume the reason is that they are as pro war as the republicans.
Well, don't look now, but it is that time again. An Iraq spending bill is now before the House of Representatives.. The people in congress see the majority of the public as stupid, and they treat us as such. The democrats have added riders to the bill, the two significant riders deal with extension of unemployment benefits and veterans education benefits. The Dems say the education benefits is a way to pay back our men and women in service for the brave work they do. THe White House says that such a good benefit would discourage veterans from re-enlisting, and would lead to a draft. Ok, here is the thing. There would be no need for a draft if there was no war! The Democrats attached the riders, and the republicans stepped into their script of smaller government and took up arms against the riders. They have been arguing about the riders for a couple of weeks now, and no one in congress is arguing about ending the Iraq war! Which is what the democrats were put in office to do in the first place! But to the average American citizen who gets his news in sound bytes is going to hear the democrats and the republicans are fighting over the Iraq war spending bill, and think to themselves "that's good they are standing up to them, I wonder what's for dinner tonight?" In my former career as a car salesman, I was trained to change the subject every time the issue of price came up, and do it in a way that would get the customer to forget about the price for now and think about how that Mustang GT felt when they shifter from 3rd gear to fourth. This is what is being done with the Iraq war. Instead of using their power of the purse to end the war, they are creating distractions. Don't get me wrong, I am for veterans benefits and extending unemployment compensation, but those things could be written on an independent bill and not tied to the war in Iraq.
Bush has said in a recent AP article that delay in approving the bill could mean no more paychecks for troops serving in Iraq after July. The sad thing is, I really do think they would cut out the checks of the men and women getting shot at but keep the billions of dollars going to the civilian contractors, contractors who are doing things like torching 80,000 dollar trucks when the get a flat tire so they can order a new truck and charge the taxpayers 250,000 k while keeping the 170,000 k as pure profit. They are letting this kind of shit go on and at the same time threatening soldiers paychecks as a way to get some kind of public outcry? The bullshit meter has reached full capacity my friends.