Finding Strength to Survive Until 1/20/09

It's another one of those days. The days where even the last couple of minutes of spirit-lifting nature footage on CBS Sunday morning can't fix. One of those days when the utter hopelessness of the world is just too much for my mind. Of all the things that are fixed and set in the world, the one that continues to boggle my mind is the mindset of our administration. Heads buried deep in the sand, unwilling (unable?) to see the world for what it is - they continue moving with blinders on month after month, year after year. I begin to think that there are only 50 people left in the universe who cling to the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld vision of the world - all of them in that administration or staffing Fox news.

If you look at the bottom of this page, you'll notice that as of today, Bush has 582 more days in office. I have given up hope that anyone, anything, can force the administration to get their heads out of the sand and do their best to fix this mess they made. We need to get OUT of Iraq NOW. In November, I thought the elections showed Congress where to find the spine to drive the efforts. Those hopes have disappeared. For a while I thought the overwhelming opposition to this war by Americans who had supported B/C/R and going to war would bring change. It hasn't.

The only thing that is going to fix this situation is a change in the administration. And as Congress can't find the spine to stand up for those who elected them - they certainly won't have the spine to impeach either prez or veep. I have been slow coming to realize that - but I get it now. And all I have to offer at the moment are links to some must-reads in today's WaPo - and the notice that I'm going to go hide under the covers for a couple of hours.


While fighting for democracy in Iraq - it's apparently ok to watch it be trampled underfoot in Pakistan as long as our buddy Musharraf needs breathing room from whiny democracy-lovers in return for promising he'll crack down on the al-Qaeda/Taliban (ok, so the fact that Musharraf has let them settle in along the border is probably just an oversight). Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid reminds us of the administration's democracy hypocrisy. Oh, and if you're wondering where the lead comes from in the administration for our tunnel vision view of Musharraf? According to Rashid, "Current and past US officials tell me that Pakistan policy is essentially being run from Cheney's office. The vice president, they say, is close to Musharraf and refuses to brook any US criticism of him. . . . Pakistani opposition politicians visiting Washington have been ushered in to meet Cheney's aides, rather than taken to the State Department. No one in Foggy Bottom seems willing to question Cheney's decisions."

Steven Simon and Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations give it to us straight between the eyes with their no holds barred piece, "We've Lost. Here's How to Handle it."

David Broder's op ed piece "Failure on Two Fronts" looks at the administration's helplessness in the face of their efforts to push Maliki's government towards competency. Efforts that recently included using the New York Times (yes, the NYT) to send a message to Maliki.

Finally, in the "thanks but where were you when it counted" column is George Will's piece on a senator from my old homeland of Oregon - Republican Gordon Smith. Gordo (as my father still calls him) is the "Iraq Caucus of One" in Will's column. Gee George - you think we might all be stuck in this quagmire if you & your crew hadn't worked so hard to push the administration's agenda for the past six years?

This Month's Must Read

You may recognize the BBC's investigative journalist Greg Palast by his best seller, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.” Well Greg has a new work out now, "Armed Madhouse" - and it's a definite MUST READ book. Heck, I'd have bought it just for the subtitle alone - Who's Afraid of Osama Wolf?, China Floats, Bush Sinks, the Scheme to Steal ‘08, No Child’s Behind Left and Other Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Class War.

You can read a recent Democracy Now interview with Palast here.

But turn your browsers to Powell's Books or Amazon.com or get on your bikes or running shoes and get down to a book seller near you and be prepared to find some truth and humor that we so disparately need in these gray days of the Bush empire.

Why We're in Iraq

I finally figured it out! It's taken all this time, but the clue that led to the answer was in a news story from a few days ago. It mentioned calls going out to the Shiite & Sunni factions in Iraq, challenging them to work together against the U.S.

And then all the pieces fell into place. I know why Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld stuck us in Iraq. It's not, as a surface examination would show, that they're incompetent boobs. No, they're sly as foxes, those three. They predicted that these two groups that got along before the invasion were going to turn on each other. So what did they do? They planted our troops right in the middle, working HARD to give each side a good reason to hate US, instead of each other.

Sure, this plan has cost the lives of thousands of Americans, and tens of thousands of Iraqis, but don't you see, it was all in the cause of fixing a situation that could not have existed if we hadn't invaded in the first place! And they were willing to sacrifice American lives to do it. Well, not, of course, THEIR lives, or the lives of anyone they know, but hey, it's a sacrifice all the same for those three who obviously care so much for humanity.

So Much Nonsense, So Little Time

The ongoing right wing & bush administration psychosis was running rampant this week. What to talk about?

The folks who wanted Clinton lynched for Monica-related sins begging the white house to pardon Scooter? The Justice Department finally noting that the FBI has been having its way with us through various patriot act laws? Bush's assertion that people have to be paid to protest against him & his policies?

No, I think I'll talk about the recent ruling here in DC that our no handguns in the home law is somehow unconstitutional. You know all of those people who spend weeks running around and shreaking on FOX newsless about activist judges? I've stood for a while with a hand to my ear, waiting and listening for their outrage. But all I hear is silence. Because apparently if the judge's rulings go your way, they're not activist judges. As a longtime DC resident, I'm used to being a Congressional plaything. We're the place Congress goes to make a point, making laws that rule how we live in DC to show off for the folks back home.

But this wasn't the usual Congressional rape of DC. This was a panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. It's a ruling that seems primed to head to the Supremes, which would mean the rest of the country would soon be paying attention. But for now, I can rest comfortably in my apartment, knowing that it's ok for the guy next door to have a gun. It's ok for us all to have guns. But we'll be ok, because as we all know, guns don't kill people, lunatic people with drinking and behaviorial problems kill lots of people when they have easy access to something more deadly than a stick or a knife.

A Few Recent Poll Numbers

ABC News/Washington Post 2/22-25/2007 - "Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation in Iraq?"
31% approve (who ARE these people)
67% disapprove
1% are unsure

Same poll "All in all, considering the costs to the US versus the benefits do you think the war with Iraq was worth fighting or not?
34% worth fighting
64% not worth fighting
2% unsure

"Do you think the United States should keep its military forces in Iraq until civil order is restored there, even if that means continued U.S. military casualties; or do you think the United States should withdraw its military forces from Iraq in order to avoid further U.S. military casualties, even if that means civil order is not restored there?"
42% keep forces in Iraq
56% withdraw forces
2% unsure

"Do you support or oppose Bush's proposal to send approximately 22,000 more military forces to Iraq?"
32% support
67% oppose
1% unsure

Bush's disapproval rating is anywhere from 51% (FOX, go figure) to 65% (at least four different polls)

A Good Day

It was exhilarating to be out among tens of thousands of people who are doing what they can to get the troops out of Iraq. Trying to get this administration to abandon its bone-headed policy of creating democracy by destroying a country. Many are staying through Monday when they will go to lobby their members of Congress. (I would, but as a DC resident, my member of Congress doesn't have any voting rights, so it would be useless.)

Help those out who have come to DC to lobby against this insanity by contacting your members of Congress and reminding them of the lesson they should have learned in November. We want the war over - we want our troops out - and we want Congress to stand up to Bush/Cheney. After all, if we have to rely on W & the Veep to get us out of this, it will never happen. Cheney's still wandering around the place saying that things are going well in Iraq. It's absolutely unbelievable how divorced those people are from reality.

So bring reality to them!

But it's a Solid 24%

Latest Newsweek poll shows that only 24% of the citizenry agree with Bush that his latest excuse for an Iraq policy will work. Ok, so probaly most of those in that 24% came from mental homes or the Bush family friends, but hey, that's still 24% of the American population who for some unbelievable reason thinks that Bush's policy has a shot.

The rest of the numbers?

45% “strongly oppose” the plan -- how do those people break down politically?
92% Dems
70% Independents
31% Republicans disapprove (wow! That's a majority of the Republican party who still has their heads up their butts!)

53% of the people doubt the surge proposal will reduce violence in Baghdad
59% think that surge won't buy enough time for sectarian groups to agree on a settlement
67% think it is either “very” or “somewhat” likely to lead to more U.S. casualties in Iraq without getting the U.S. closer to its goals.

Why the Bushies Are Glad They Lost in November

No, really. Sure the American public kicked them in the teeth. And sure, the Republicans and Bush administration have finally convinced a majority of Americans that they can't be trusted with handling policy matters above city dog catcher.

So you would think that the Bushies really mean it when they look sad about November's election and the loss of the House and Senate to the Democrats. But as Fareed Zakaria points out in his last Newsweek column, having Democrats in Congressional control is something they can use in Iraq. How you ask? Easy. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has been content to sit back and watch the US flail around while pushing a pro-Shiite agenda. And why not? Bush isn't about to pull the troops out of Iraq or change policy, Maliki has no reason not to keep going the way he has been.

From Zakaria's column,
"The Maliki government, and the Shiite leadership more generally, understand that they must crack down on militias and compromise with the Sunnis. Why? In the words of one senior U.S. official—under instructions to stay anonymous—because Shiite political leaders understand they no longer have 'unquestioning American support anymore, especially from Capitol Hill.' This suggests that the administration finally understands that Bush's blank-check policy for the Iraqi government has proved totally counterproductive. The one action that might be forcing the Iraqi leadership to make some compromises has been the threat that Congress would force a withdrawal of American support. One month ago, the White House was criticizing Congress as being borderline treasonous for suggesting such a thing. Today its strategy in Iraq rests on the fruits of that assertiveness."

Yup, those traitorous folk are apparently the ones who the Bush administration may be relying on to pull their balls out of the fire. I wonder when we get our thank you notes?