9/11: Ineptitude by Design?

Call my cynical, or overly suspicious, or a tin-foil hat wearer… whatever. At this point there is nothing I would put behind this administration, its PNAC founders, or its idiot puppet. It also doesn’t matter, except to “degrees” that they are either supremely incompetent, bordering on total buffoonery or, as it appears more and more so, the orchestrator of one of the biggest evils to have ever been enacted against this country. Whether they Planned the thing, or not, it seems that they knew all along that something horrific was impending. They either didn’t care, or desired it to happen (so their tragedy of shock and awe could take place) and did nothing to stop the threats (warned over and over again).

Does it matter if they are inept? Or evil? Shouldn’t they be held accountable in either case?

From gottalaf at Cliff Schecter:

September 11, 2001: They knew but did nothing

by GottaLaff · Saturday March 08, 04:52 PM

Go here to findan easy-to-understand, extensive excerpt from a new book by Philip Shenon that reveals how the White House tried to hide the truth of its ineptitude leading up to the September 11 terrorist attacks. 

And here are a few excerpts from the excerpts:

“Bin Ladin Planning Multiple Operations” (April 20)and “Bin Ladin Threats Are Real” (June 30) It was especially troubling for Hurley’s team to realise how many of the warnings were directed to the desk of one person: Condoleezza Rice, the National Security Adviser. Emails from the National Security Council’s counter-terrorism director, Richard Clarke, showed that he had bombarded Rice with messages about terrorist threats. He was trying to get her to focus on the intelligence she should have been reading each morning in the presidential and senior briefings

“Bin Ladin Public Profile May Presage Attack” (May 3)

“Terrorist Groups Said Co-operating on US Hostage Plot” (May 23)

“Bin Ladin’s Networks’ Plans Advancing” (May 26)

“Bin Ladin Attacks May Be Imminent” (June 23)

“Bin Ladin and Associates Making Near-Term Threats” (June 25)

“Bin Ladin Planning High-ProfileAttacks” (June 30)

“Planning for Bin Ladin Attacks Continues, Despite Delays” (July 2)

One more quote that sums things up depressingly accurately:

But what had happened in the White House in the first eight months of George Bush’s presidency had all but guaranteed that 19 young Arab men with little more than pocket knives, a few cans of mace, and a misunderstanding of the tenets of Islam could bring the US to its knees.

America The Torturers

It is official, all you rednecks who defend the maniac in chief. America DOES torture and will continue to torture as long as it is run by these fools who can lie with absolute abandon and are fearless of accountability. Explain to me in the comment section how proud of America and your president you are. OK?

Bush vetoes Bill to ban torture tactics

PRESIDENT George W. Bush said yesterday he vetoed legislation stopping the CIA using interrogation methods such as waterboarding on suspected terrorists.

Mr Bush said the Bill would end practices that had prevented attacks.

“The Bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror, so I vetoed it,” he said in his weekly radio address.

Well, of course you will not provide any “proof” that such techniques saved us from attacks… how convenient. Should I remind you, again, that America doesn’t trust you, dude?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress would work next week to override Mr Bush’s veto.

“In the final analysis, our ability to lead the world will depend not only on our military might, but on our moral authority,” the California Democrat said.

Based on the margin of passage in each chamber, it would be difficult for the Democrat-controlled Congress to reverse it.

It takes a two-thirds majority, and the Lower House vote was 222-199, with the Senate’s 51-45.

Which is why Peolosi can flex a muscle she knows will not change anything. If this country and its politicians really cared about how we are viewed in the world, subsequently understanding that our actions are causing so much hatred for us, the vote wouldn’t have been as close as it was in the first place.

They will allow Bush this victory and can scream about not having the majority. We need to vote all these scumbags out.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Mr Bush often warned against ignoring the advice of US commanders in Iraq, yet the President had rejected the Army Field Manual, which recognised harsh interrogation tactics elicited unreliable information.

“Democrats will continue working to reverse the damage President Bush has caused to our standing in the world,” Nevada Democrat Senator Reid said.

Yeah? Well, surprise me and the rest of the world.

Bill Foster: Can We Hope Again?

We are truly at a crossroads in this country. There are few ways to change the direction or heal the pain that the neocons have ravaged America with. If rednecks will wise up and begin to vote for those that are FOR their needs and desires and AGAINST those who use and abuse you, by lying to you and stealing from you, then we can avoid the only other way of taking America back (it is much more painful and damaging to this country).

In the case where that ReTHUGlican Dennis (its my gavel and I’m shutting down this meeting) Hastert resigned after losing his “position” of power due to the outrageous and ill-gotten defensive positions of Bush and the “War on Terror” the foolish Republican party signed its death knell with, people who had voted Republican for decades pulled their heads out of the THUG ass and finally voted someone in that inspires real “hope” in me. Someone who ran on getting out of Iraq and holding the Telecoms responsible (along with the Bush Admin) in their law breaking. The “hope” isn’t in the man (Bill Foster), but in the people who seem to have somehow snapped out of their brainwashing. It gives me hope, because I want the rednecks to snap ot of it, too.

The hope is that Bill won’t change and become “one of them”. This is the problem with our politics… it is SOOO very enticing for good people to become enamored with power and especially money, then become one of them. With campaign finance as it is (corporately fed), this doesn’t change unless you just so happen to find an honest, real, constitutionally patriotic “wealthy” person (for if you do not receive the corporate funding, such as Dennis Kucinich and a few others, then public financing cannot compete). Until the system is changed, all we have is hope in another rich person. Good luck with that, but it isn’t impossible. (I hope that the system changes and we don’t have to rely on rich people or corporations)

IF (a big “if”) Bill and others like him get elected… don’t change… and then actually honor their campaign commitments (I said it was a BIG IF), then we stand a chance at changing America’s political/military driven identity back into what it was once… honorable and loved by the world. That doesn’t mean that we can’t be strong militarily, but surely we can keep it in perspective with the rest of the world and find other ways to bring us back economically (manufacturing, etc).

This entire scenario will be much harder to achieve in the SE because so many are simply not interested, misled by their religion, too busy or more than likely, life is too hard to take the time to catch their breath, much less be “involved”. We MUST change that, IF we are going to restore America to greatness and honor.

Nonetheless, I cannot express how important and significant this win is… in this particular district that has been dominated by Republicans for so long. The GOP is trying to play it down, but the truth is that they POURED money into this race (and lost). Now, if Bill just won’t become one of them, and we can elect even more (and that WILL include getting rid of the Blue Dog Bush-lites and other Democratic Party Bush enablers such as Pelosi, Reid, and as many of the Dem Iraq War funding enablers as possible), we may stand a chnce at actually making America the great country it once was.

Talking about a large order… but we must start somewhere.

From dday at Hullabaloo:

Foster’s

by dday

It’s Australian for “the Republicans are in deep shit,” mate!

U.S. House - District 14 - Special General

Illinois - 564 of 568 Precincts Reporting - 99%

Name Party Votes Vote %
Foster, Bill Dem 50,947 52%
Oberweis, Jim GOP 46,125 48%

Put it this way: if I told you in the middle of 2006 that Democrats would control Tom DeLay AND Dennis Hastert’s seats in Congress within two years, would you believe me?

Now, Foster needs to be watched. He ran strongly on ending the war in Iraq and stopping retroactive immunity for the telecoms. He needs to be held to those campaign promises. I can’t guarantee that we won’t be putting him on Bush Dog lists before too long. But clearly, this is a big victory for a new Democratic coalition that can win in erstwhile red districts and red states, that can capitalize on this uniquely horrible President and the trashed Republican brand. The NRCC spent a MILLION dollars, one out of every three dollars they have in their account, to save this seat, and they came up short. Foster’s win is a road map for how to win in these districts; run strong against the war and George Bush’s lawbreaking, and offer a real contrast.

This is also a big victory for Barack Obama, who cut an ad that ran all week to help Foster. John McCain came in here to help Jim Oberweis and it didn’t matter. Obama’s reputation as a map changer is very enhanced by this. In a way it’s bigger than his win in Wyoming today.

Oberweis was unique in his dickishness, too, so just seeing him lose is a victory.

There are now DOZENS more seats in play than anybody thinks. This is going to throw the NRCC into total disarray. Tom Cole, their chairman, might have to resign. Money may dry up even more than it already has. This is awesome.

Obama or Clinton: Who Has the Itchiest Trigger Finger?

It is my contention that Barak, nor Hillary are true Progressives and are just as pro-war and pro-Military Industrial Complex as are McInsane or Herr Bush. Obama can use the only ammunition of his voting record to say he was against the Iraqi invasion, but he has voted to fund the clusterf**k at every chance he got (only a few have voted against further funding this travesty). True leadership would have been fighting against this illegal action all along, if they really cared about anything except their political life. So, it appears evident to me that neither of these Democratic candidates are true leaders formed in any mold other than what Big Money and Big Military expect.

Besides Iraq and all the other idiocies they endorse that Big Military instructs them to endorse, they had to fall into the same old “Dems are failures at fighting terra” meme that the MSM perpetuates (with their obvious participation in the rhetoric)… defending our only neocon right-wing ally in South America, Columbia that just pulled the same illegal stunt we did with Iraq. Nevermind the negotiations and efforts to secure those hostages. Nevermind that there are international laws that are in place to stop the very incursion Columbia conducted.

Even Keith Olbermann falls into the Big Money trap by suggesting Chavez is a Dictator, when their elections are far more fair and open than ours. It truly is that all Americans appear that whatever we say goes, no matter what the law is. Americans have fallen for the Bush mentality and it is dangerous and so far away from what Christ did that it is a foolish idiocy to call ourselves a “Christian Nation” (sorry, that is another rant for another post).

Allow Greg Palast to illuminate the truth about South America and how Clinton & Obama are just the same old shit we have had for the last 7 years.

$300 MILLION FROM CHAVEZ TO FARC A FAKE

Here’s the written evidence… and - please say it ain’t so! - Obama and Hillary attack Ecuador

Note: Saturday, Bobby Kennedy hosts Greg Palast on “Ring of Fire”on Air America Radio. Sunday, catch Palast with Amy Goodman on WABC Television (New York), hosted by Gil Noble, Channel 7 at 1 pm(est).

Friday, March 7, 2008 for TomPaine.com/Ourfuture.org
By Greg Palast

Do you believe this?

This past weekend, Colombia invaded Ecuador, killed a guerrilla chief in the jungle, opened his laptop – and what did the Colombians find? A message to Hugo Chavez that he sent the FARC guerrillas $300 million – which they’re using to obtain uranium to make a dirty bomb!

That’s what George Bush tells us. And he got that from his buddy, the strange right-wing President of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe.

So: After the fact, Colombia justifies its attempt to provoke a border war as a to stop the threat of WMDs! Uh, where have we heard that before?

The US press snorted up this line about Chavez’ $300 million to “terrorists” quicker than the young Bush inhaling Colombia’s powdered export.

What the US press did not do is look at the evidence, the email in the magic laptop. (Presumably, the FARC leader’s last words were, “Listen, my password is ….”)

I read them. While you can read it all in español, here is, in translation, the one and only mention of the alleged $300 million from Chavez is this:

“… With relation to the 300, which from now on we will call “dossier,” efforts are now going forward at the instructions of the boss to the cojo [slang term for ‘cripple’], which I will explain in a separate note. Let’s call the boss Ángel, and the cripple Ernesto.”

Got that? Where is Hugo? Where’s 300 million? And 300 what?Indeed, in context, the note is all about the hostage exchange with the FARC that Chavez was working on at the time (December 23, 2007) at the request of the Colombian government.

Indeed, the entire remainder of the email is all about the mechanism of the hostage exchange. Here’s the next line: “To receive the three freed ones, Chavez proposes three options: Plan A. Do it to via of a ‘humanitarian caravan’; one that will involve Venezuela, France, the Vatican[?], Switzerland, European Union, democrats [civil society], Argentina, Red Cross, etc.”

As to the 300, I must note that the FARC’s previous prisoner exchange involved 300 prisoners. Is that what the ‘300’ refers to? ¿Quien sabe?Unlike Uribe, Bush and the US press, I won’t guess or make up a phastasmogoric story about Chavez mailing checks to the jungle.

To bolster their case, the Colombians claim, with no evidence whatsoever, that the mysterious “Angel” is the code name for Chavez. But in the memo, Chavez goes by the code name … Chavez.

Impeach Them All, including Mukasey

Dear Fellow American who is living in this country as the neocons bring us to the brink of disaster,

Two weeks ago, the House took a bold step demanding accountability for the Bush/Cheney Administration by holding former White House Council Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten in Contempt of Congress for blatantly ignoring congressional subpoenas for over 8 months.

Though it was not a surprise, Attorney General Michael Mukasey, wrote a letter to the House of Representatives stating that he refuses to call a Grand Jury to enforce those contempt citations.

The Attorney General’s letter, effectively claiming that members of the executive branch are immune from congressional subpoenas, calls for quick action.  

Click HERE to watch my latest video discussing Mukasey’s outrageous response.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Judiciary Chairman Conyers have smartly decided to pursue a civil lawsuit to force Bolton and Miers to appear before Congress. We should pursue a lawsuit – but I think we can do even more.

While a court may order – months from now –that Miers and Bolten must appear before Congress, by then George Bush and Dick Cheney will have largely accomplished their goal of running out the clock on the investigation into this Administration’s politicization of the Justice Department. Even a successful outcome in federal court might only mandate that they appear, at which time the witnesses are likely simply to continue their obfuscation by claiming executive privilege of the 5th Amendment in person.

The House of Representatives must re-establish its legitimate rights as a co-equal branch of government.  Congress cannot allow its power to be summarily ignored and justice delayed.

The House was correct to hold these renegade White House officials in contempt, and much credit should be given to Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Conyers for pushing for that outcome.  Now, we must go further:  The House must immediately consider taking the following actions:

- Initiating impeachment hearings that would likely break through the reckless claims of executive privilege made by the Bush Administration.

- Approve a resolution that calls for an inherent contempt citation which would give the House Sergeant at Arms the power to bring Miers and Bolton before Congress.  

As you may know, 17 of my colleagues, including four of my fellow members of the Judiciary Committee have joined my call for impeachment hearings. This is not an issue between Democrats and Republicans. As members of Congress, we have an absolute duty to enforce the checks and balances prescribed by our Constitution.

We have ceded too much for too long, enabling George W. Bush to assume a unitary imperial Presidency.  It is long past time to secure accountability for those who have, by all appearances, committed significant breaches of our laws and trust.

Mukasey’s claims are simply the latest in a long line of outlandish legal arguments ranging from the idea that we can selectively cherry-pick from torture laws to the concept that the Vice President is no longer part of the Executive Branch (except, of course, when he needs to claim Executive Privilege).

Over the past months, I have received tens of thousands of emails and letters from you expressing your great support for my efforts.  Your encouragement and activism on these causes are much appreciated.  I continue to work hard on your behalf and hope you feel these updates are valuable.

With kind regards,

Congressman Robert Wexler
www.WexlerForCongress.com

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B’Man: I will note that it is a crying shame that this man, a patriot determined to bring justice to these criminals, is forced to use a handycam and post this video on YouTube. The MSM media will not touch their Golden Boy or Bush Lite, McInsane. If you read this and haven’t signed Wexler’s impeachment petition, you should.