Hallucinations and obsession

Bush, dedicating the Marine Corps museum, said:

"Years from now when America looks out on a democratic Middle East, growing in freedom and prosperity, Americans will speak of the battles like Fallujah with the same awe and reverence that we now give to Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima" in World War II."

The scream was mine.

Idaho votes based on strong GOP economy!

Strong GOP economy? Robert Freeman buried that GOP claim in ink, paraphrased below:

Millions of people have dropped out of the workforce; heckuva no good jobs, but thanks for the low unemployment rate. Meanwhile, three million high-paying manufacturing jobs went to China, and most new American jobs were low-paying service positions.

The Dow may be over 12,000, but it only indexes 30 stocks. NASDAQ, which tracks a broader collection, is 55% below its high.

Gross domestic product has gone from 5.6% to 1.6% in the last three quarters. Hello recession.

The trade deficit is over $800 billion a year, double the last year of the Clinton administration. Bush has added $3 trillion to the national debt, and so the US has to borrow almost $3 billion a day to keep functioning, mostly from foreigners. When he leaves office, Bush’s administration will have created more debt than all previous presidents combined! Finally, he gets to be #1 in SOMETHING.

Of Bush’s $1.6 trillion in tax cuts, 70% went to the top 20% of earners; the bottom 40% got a heckuva 5%.

The economy has stayed afloat this far due to the complete fiscal irresponsibility of this administration. Combine $11 trillion in home mortgage debt with home prices just taking their biggest plunge in 35 years, and guess what’s at the end of the road? The open arms of the Bush Bankruptcy Act.

The savings rate has fallen below zero and income inequality is the greatest since just before the Great Depression.

And a direct quote from Mr. Freeman:

“Any moron borrowing almost $18 trillion in five years can fake the illusion of prosperity. But even at that, Bush can still barely even muster the illusion. The facade is popping rivets like the Titanic just before it went down.”

Aimee New
Gooding

I'm confused...

Why are we legislating against unions between consenting homosexual adults? Seems to me there is far more harm done to society by hidden Republican homosexuals whose unresolved issues morph into hate for their ilk. We should be legislating against allowing unadmitted homosexuals to become Republicans; (Rove? Mehlman? Craig? [sorry, but I even wonder about our "leader," with his macho swagger], etc., etc.). Seems likely they've caused one heck of a lot more trouble for us. And yes, I am being facetious, but it's Saturday and I have to work. Oh yes, and Haggard -- who incidentally is looking much more haggard as time passes. Must be exhausting making up those intricate, believable excuses. "I bought it but I threw it away." "I only got a massage."

US tied with Botswana, Croatia and Tonga, yet Idahoans continue to decry the "liberal" media.

Since 2002, Reporters Without Borders has rated freedom of the press in 168 nations. That year, the U.S. ranked 17th. The 2006 index shows the U.S. to be in 53rd place, shared with Botswana, Croatia and Tonga.

In a February 2006 article, Timothy Karr wrote, “The tab for the fleecing and flogging of Americans comes to at least $1.6 billion. That's the amount seven Bush administration agencies spent from 2003 through mid-2005 on hundreds of contracts with advertising agencies, PR firms, and individuals, according to a Government Accountability Office report released yesterday.”

Those who continue to play the “Liberal Media” record can’t look much further than Fox News, because if they were interested in the truth there are still places it can be found. But by 2008, the Government Accountability Office will probably be gone because its very name is an anathema (look it up) to this administration.

Sometimes I wonder how all of these talking heads can continue to spit out the lies and consciously avoid the truth that should be the goal of a trustworthy fourth estate. Then I remember the ownership.

Doubtless, Bushco would label Justice Hugo Black treasonous for his interpretation of the first amendment as regards press freedom.

"In the First Amendment, the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people...paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell." Hugo Black, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

Sharon Metcalf
Gooding

Idaho Protection the Federal Way

It defies logic that this administration’s strong point is protecting us from terrorism.

In 2005, The Boyd Group (http://www.aviationplanning.com/asrc11.htm) reported:

• “The United States is just as vulnerable as it was on 9/11...very little fundamental progress has been made in light of five years of trying.

• The Transportation Security Administration is a raging failure, run at the top by patronage appointees who have no fear of accountability.

• The proof for these conclusions is overwhelming - GAO reports, instances of major security breaches, instances of near-zero security on major airport ramps, and what is outright confusion on the part of Homeland Security. Further, note that in nearly every case where there's been a failure, the TSA never admits mistakes or faults.”

Meanwhile, Idaho’s own airborne threat does not seem to be of major concern to many local governments.

A Times-News editorial on Nov. 13, 2003 protested the state’s failure to notify news agencies for two weeks that the first human case of West Nile had been identified in Twin Falls. Rather than allow the potato vine to spread the news, they felt people should know it was not a public health threat.

In August 2004 the arrival of West Nile in Idaho was confirmed in a dead magpie; followed by infection of a Gooding County man and six Gooding horses in September 2004.

The adult Culex species of mosquito and any virus they carry are capable of surviving winter. Also, while resistance can build as the virus wends its way through birds, animals and humans, it is also true that the virus can replicate and become more virulent to overcome that resistance.

Gooding County Commission candidate Troy Hurd recently presented an emergency petition to county commissioners for creation of a mosquito abatement district. The commission has failed to take action.

Stan Metcalf
Gooding

Submitted 10/22/06

Hey, there are a whole lot of Idahoans who don't get it, Jack.

Submitted to Times-News 10/19/06

October 15-21 has been declared “National Character Counts Week” by President Bush.

Given what this administration has done to America, if it showed character for even one week, it would be an improvement. But knowing Bush’s tendency to misspeak, I fear he likely thought he was proclaiming it “Only By Being a National Character Do you Count Week.” We all know who our national characters are, don’t we.

Bush proclaimed that “by demonstrating values such as integrity, courage, honesty, and patriotism, all Americans can help our children develop strength and character.” Hmmm. I wonder if his proclamation included the usual signing statement; backdated to forgive former lapses, of course.

Jack Cafferty opened his Broken Government special on Oct. 19 by saying, “Our leaders lie to us and steal from us and do it all with a straight face. They think we just don’t get it.”

My response? “Hey, there are a whole lot of Idahoans who don’t get it, Jack!”

So those who want to jump on the Times-News website and spout support for Bushco and their flying monkeys, go right ahead. If you haven’t figure out by now what has been done to your country, your constitution, and your future, the day is looming when you won’t be able to cover your ears with your hands and chant nanananana any more.

In the latest issue of Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi writes, “The Republicans who control this Congress are revolutionaries.... In the past six years they have castrated the political minority, abdicated their oversight responsibilities mandated by the Constitution, enacted a conscious policy of massive borrowing and unrestrained spending, and installed a host of semipermanent mechanisms for transferring legislative power to commercial interests. They aimed far lower than any other Congress has ever aimed, and they nailed their target.”

Sharon Metcalf
Gooding

Twin Falls, ID resident sings R-E-S-P-E-C-T

http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006/10/06/news_letters/opinion_letters.5.txt

Disagree with leaders, but don’t disrespect them
By ROBERT B. NORTON
Twin Falls

I do not respect anyone, nor will I read an article when they demean the office of the president of the United States. Calling our president (whether a Democrat or Republican) any type of name except Mr. President is not acceptable in my opinion.

I had the privilege to provide security for a past president of the United States. Did I agree with all he did? No. Did I call him anything but Mr. President, hell no! Did I like or respect what President Clinton did with a certain intern and the way he disgraced the office of the president of the United States? No, but I will never call President Clinton anything but sir or Mr. President. It’s not the man I always respect, but the office he holds.

I spent many a time with President Reagan. President Reagan overhead me say, under my breath, that a certain senator was a “member of the jackass family” after I overhead the senator say something I felt was not proper outside ear shot of the president.

The president told me in no uncertain terms that I was to always respect any senator of the United States and never refer to him or her as anything but Mr. or Ms. Senator. The president said that to do otherwise was not acceptable, and that it just diminished my ability to convey my point of view.

I knew the president was correct, and I never again (in public) showed disrespect for that senator or any other person that held that privileged office.

So when people feel the need to express their opinion on how the country should be governed by the president of the United States, I hope they do not belittle themselves or their views by also being a member of that jackass family.

REPLY SUBMITTED 10/6/06

Stop reading right here, Robert Norton, because I have just about as much respect for the members of this administration, especially the president, as they do for the American people. The latest scandal oozing out of Washington is just a small example of how they operate. Look like you’re doing what the people want but if you’re caught with your pants down (figure of speech), lie, spin, lie again, blame the Dems, blame the victims until everyone gets fed up with hearing about it.

Besides, what’s the big deal? So there will be some emotional scars from working in Washington. Many young people only a year or two older than the retired pages contacted by Foley but working in Iraq will not come home at all, will come home without parts of their bodies and/or with physical and/or emotional scars. Just imagine how much spin that generates by these idiots to justify their lack of concern for America’s soldiers.

Twenty-one killed in the first 6 days of October. But the fearless leader won’t consider leaving. He’s too busy learning those canned “cut and run” messages so he can continue to preach to his 30-something percent approval. Pathetic.

Aimee New

No Rocky in Idaho?

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4263654

See? Even after speaking these words in Utah's pro-Bush rarified air, lightning didn't come down and strike the Mayor!

Same old Idaho Republicans

Stand behind party platform in GOP
By TERRY ROEMER
Jerome

Will you vote Republican? The Idaho Republican platform can be found at www.idgop.org. Some points of interest from the preamble:

We believe the strength of our nation lies with our faith and reliance on God our creator, the individual and the family.

We believe the proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organization.

From financing government:

We believe Social Security should be stabilized, diversified and privatized to expand individual retirement options.

From education:

The Idaho Republican Party recognizes that the future of this great state lies with our faith and reliance on God our creator, in our strong efforts to uphold family values and in the quality of education provided for its citizens.

From American family:

We believe the traditional family to be the basic unit of society. Government officials and legislators are called upon to protect the traditional family and use all means possible to prevent expansion of the definition of marriage beyond that of a bond between one man and one woman. (Has Sen. Coiner read this?)

Are these ideals outdated in modern society for a political party? With liberals, environmentalists, Democrats and “enlightened” progressives running as Republicans in the Idaho State primary, the Republican Party will be transformed. Keeping the open primary system in Idaho will change (read destroy or transform) the Republican Party as we know it today. Idaho’s primary needs to be closed as 39 other states have done.

Read both parties platforms on their respective web sites. There is a difference.

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors (Plato).

RESPONSE:

Read between the lines... wrote on August 30, 2006 11:04 AM:
"Same old "save our morals" speech failing to note what has happened to this country under a GOP who knows what strings to pull, but does whatever they want (moral or not) when the people aren't watching. They want Social Security changed so rich people don't have to repay bonds with interest they've borrowed out of it. This even though only the first $94,000 of earnings has Social Security deductions. Privatizing would transfer over $1 trillion from the bottom 95% of income distribution to the richest 5%. Well, they're taking almost everything we earn just to live now, why not give them the rest? And education? Look at the headline on Yahoo "Sharpest SAT drop in 31 years." Yet another "tell them one thing but do another" result. Unbelievable! And the old "God" argument. Let's be honest here. You have no more proof of the existence of your god than the Muslims do. Look into the origins of the bible you live by and get a clue."

Who'd Have Guessed? A Decent Challenger for Hillary

Far closer to what most of us consider of Democrat persuasion. Unfortunately, without the big bucks that seem to come to Hillary.

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=27250&mode=nested&order=0

See Idahoans Respond to "Slash That Brush, Kill..."

Sometimes I feel like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall!

http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006/08/10/news_letters/opinion_letters.3.txt

Will Someone in Idaho Direct me to the Liberal Media?

Perhaps those Idahoans who are sure all accusations against Bushco originate with the evil liberal media will tell me. Where are they?

Democrats on the House Judicial Committee issued the final version of their report, “Constitution in Crisis,” the first week in August. But because there was no coverage by major dailies and no network news coverage other than a brief mention by Jack Cafferty, I wonder; is it possible that the “liberal media” is yet another fiction created by the great GOP bubble machine?

The report outlines possible violations of over 20 federal laws/regulations by Bushco, some repeatedly. It is a meticulously documented report that includes legal analysis, relevant laws and key documents and can be found at: http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/iraqrept.html

The report offers “detailed factual findings” on: “Determination to go to War Before Congressional Authorization; Misstating and Manipulating the Intelligence to Justify Pre-emptive War; Encouraging and Countenancing Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment; Cover-ups and Retribution; and Thwarting Congress and the American Public.” I just love the way they say “misstating and manipulating intelligence.” In Kindergarten, we called it lying.

Reporter Justin Rood asked Rep. John Conyers, ranking Dem, why he produced the report.

Conyers answered, "We could get no response from the president...then we tried to get hearings in the Judiciary Committee," which met with a "no way" response. "Every sentence, every allegation, every accusation that we have in this 371-page report has a citation or a reference to it of where we got it.”

As soon as I find that liberal media, wow, are they ever gonna love spreading this one!

"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." ...Abraham Lincoln


Aimee New
Gooding

Submitted to Times-News 08/09/2006

Idaho gets another duward on mere principle...

http://www.walter-c-uhler.com/Reviews/crackpot.html

Slash that brush, Kill them moslems, er muslims, er

It must be time for a vacation at the ranch. He’s done a great job; death and destruction are at a high. And how’s this for policy?

Supply even more bombs to Israel, but if the media in England reports the planes flying in and out to deliver them, muffle the media!

Promise humanitarian aid to displaced Lebanese...(those who live through this),

Promise more money to set up a Lebanese army to protect the southern border of Lebanon,

Provide NSA information to Israel. That way, whenever there's a suspicion of activity, they can bomb them to smithereens.

Congratulate yourself because you’ve diverted attention from the Iraq meltown.

Do you stiff-necked Idahoans who still support this monstrous administration ever consider the disconnect here? These are human beings who are being slaughtered. They are somebody's child, brother, sister, mother, father....

Just how many of the “terrorist organizations” in the world began in response to covert American policy? You won't find that in a high school history book.

It's time we started facing reality. We are not always good and everybody else is not always bad. We are not always right and everybody else is not always wrong.

America is known over the world as the most destructive terrorist organization of all. We must stop this wholesale murder. We must stop this administration.

"A great war leaves the country with three armies - an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves." - German proverb


Sharon Metcalf
Gooding

Registering to Vote in ID - I.D. not required

Voter Registration Forms can be downloaded from the net or copied (torn out?) from the phone book. They must be postmarked 25 days prior to an election and mailed to the county clerk in the appropriate precinct. The clerk will register the application and mail a confirmation card to the street address provided. Note: Signing statements, such as those adopted by our president, are not allowed.

According to the registration form, "If you are a first-time voter in Idaho, a copy of a current and valid photo identification or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or government document that shows your name and address must be submitted with this form or shown at the polls prior to voting."

This method suggests all sorts of possibilities, doesn't it?

SO MANY DUHWARDS, SO MANY DESERVING IDAHOANS

http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006/07/10/news_letters/opinion_letters.3.txt
America worth celebrating every day
By NICK BARRY
Twin Falls

In response to James W. Cimino’s letter which appeared on Tuesday, July 4:

Mr. Cimino explains that he won’t be celebrating Independence Day this year due to the disgrace the current administration has brought upon this country. Unfortunately, he neglects to share any specific examples of this disgrace, only saying his health won’t allow him to be so stressed.

How convenient. As it turns out, it’s infinitely easier to complain about how horrible something is and stop there than it is to back up claims with actual facts.

I wonder when Bush’s “self-serving values and leadership” began to destroy this country. Was it when he pledged to annihilate those behind 9/11? Since that day, how many more terrorist attacks has this country sustained?

How about when Saddam Hussein was removed from power after committing the most heinous acts of murder and genocide since Adolf Hitler’s time?

Maybe Bush started ruining America the day Al Zarqawi was killed; that certainly seems self-serving.

In every national address ever spoken by our president, God has been mentioned and even thanked. I’d hope God isn’t one of Bush’s disgraceful values. I’d continue with more examples of evil by our president, but I can’t. It’s not for health reasons — just the 300-word limit.

Even if Al Gore, John Kerry or even Hillary Clinton were president of the United States, I’d still be proud to live here. No Democrat or liberal can make me ashamed of this great nation because no single individual makes up this country, we, all of us, do.

Mr. Cimino signs off by saying “God Bless (and save) America.”

Lucky for us, God already has. He’s given us a country where we can say and do what we choose — even if what we choose to do is make unfounded (and fact-free) claims against the very man keeping our nation safe. I celebrated America yesterday, I will today and I’ll do it again tomorrow.

To everyone who’s made our country what it is today and to everyone who’s fighting to keep it that way, thank you; you’re in my prayers.

To all those who side with James Cimino’s views and are not proud to be Americans: Move out; you won’t be missed.


http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006/07/10/news_letters/opinion_letters.4.txt
Bush tackled terrorism with time, fortitude
By JOHN H. WILSON
Kimberly

I was recently reading a letter to the editor by George Neumann of Kimberly.

I must admit President Bush’s tour of duty has been scary — if you listen to the liberal left’s spin. This country (USA) is truly hated for its standard of living and worldwide influence by the Middle Eastern Arabs. They excel in tourism. They have the funds and expertise to train killers and ways of securing necessary explosives and chemicals to perform the acts.

Think about prior terrorist attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans, some before the Bushes’ time in office. A U.S. embassy in Jordan was attacked, killing many U.S. Marines and civilians. An attack by a terrorist ship loaded with explosives into one of our U.S. naval ships providing safety in the Mediterranean Ocean to oil transporting ships. More innocent Navy personnel killed. A ground attack on the World Trade Center and subway system, again killing more innocent people in New York City. Then the big one in September 2001 at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing thousands of more innocent people right here in the USA. Brutally killed. Now think about this, George. Since President Bush was “tricked into war” in Iran and Iraq, have the Taliban and other Middle Eastern terrorist organizations been able to plan and carry out attacks in this country? Thank God, no. We are now at war against terrorism. Where do you want to fight this war, George? Here in the USA or in the Middle East where it originates? Or do you just want to surrender and give up?

I think President Bush has taken an oath to protect this country and yours and my freedoms. This war is how he sees it being done. It may be a while, if it is ever completed.

REPLY TO ABOVE, submitted 7/10/2006

Respect for the truth comes close to being the basis for all morality. -Frank Herbert

Some people not only never learn, they don’t even make the attempt. July 10 letters from Bush supporters Nick Barry and John Wilson make that evident.

I have been researching the illegal, covert behavior of this administration for over 5 years. Have either of you taken the trouble to actually read the Patriot Act, the National Security Act, or any such documents that systemically diminish our freedom?

George has outperformed Saddam by far with estimates of up to 250,000 innocent Iraqi victims. George approves of torture and manipulated an invasion into a sovereign country knowing they had no WMDs. Craig Murray, former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan actually wrote in protest of the invasion, knowing there were no WMDs in Iraq or terrorists, let alone any involvement in 9-11.

Bush has taken many oaths; he does not honor them; certainly not those to protect this country or our freedoms. In fact, he has signed caveats to 750 bills which essentially state "unless I say otherwise." Inquiries made by this enfeebled Congress are not answered due to "national security."

And here’s how safe you are, an extensive study with participation by terrorism experts of various persuasions can be viewed at http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=1763037.

But just who do you think you are to suggest I leave this country? My family came to America in 1635 and helped build this country. They fought fiercely and included one of the original leaders of the Green Mountain Boys. But their work and that of others to create a place of freedom and equality faces destruction by this manipulative, underhanded administration and its believers.

How many true patriots are turning over in their graves?

Aimee New
Gooding

TERRORISTS TO THE LEFT OF ME, TERRORISTS TO THE RIGHT OF ME...

”FBI thwarts terrorist plot against NYC.”

It seems that terrorists had planned large-scale New York tunnel bombings designed to cover Manhattan with Hudson River water and wash away the World Trade Center site and Wall Street, along with the American economy.

They must have researched George’s half-assed-glass-half-full reports on the economy, which was like building their plan on sand instead of rock. Economy-crippling is one mission he really did accomplish.

As Buzzflash pointed out on July 7, “the idea of the Hudson River flowing UP into Manhattan defies the laws of physics. ”http://www.buzzflash.com/index.php?story=Story2

So, to prove that the Sears Tower plot wasn’t a fluke of incompetent terrorists and total lack of imminent danger, the FBI had to release their latest contender for fish tale of the year. After all, what is a war on terrorism without terrorists?

Maybe the NY terrorists were caught by Bush’s great spy net trying to order boots or flippers from Sears which, of course, would be included in the previous information collection.

Either way, the plot is now history; not revisionist history, more like fairy tale history. However, George was furious that he will have to wait for the next hurricane to demonstrate how he holds back water with a staff.

I think what we have now in America are faith-based whoppers. Bush has faith that anyone who can still stomach his three-words-at-a-time speeches will swallow anything including a line with a fake worm attached.

All of this excitement is to prove that widespread, illegal domestic spying is worth abandoning our privacy. As Cheney said, if spying had been in place earlier, 9-11 would have never happened, despite Bush being handed a hard copy of the threat on August 3, 2001.

But oops, Bloomberg News reports charges filed in federal court papers stating that AT&T was asked by the NSA to assist with domestic call monitoring 7 months before 9-11.

Unless this group is planning a surprise “third time’s the charm” attack because we have been lulled by their rank stupidity, it’s time to return to wrapping fish and chips in newsprint instead of reading it.

I just can’t wait until Totalitarian Day. Then I can return to genealogy. I prefer finding illegitimate relatives to an illegitimate government.

No, she's a harlot, strumpet, trollop...

Is Michelle Malkin dumb or just evil?

This is a serious question — well serious in the same sense that a debate about which is worse, being bitten by a rattlesnake or a rabid skunk, might be considered serious.

Malkin’s the snake by the way. The question at hand is whether she’s also the skunk.

Unlike many progressive bloggers, I studiously avoid Fox News. I don’t read Ann Coulter’s columns and I’ve never voluntarily listened to more of a Rush Limbaugh radio broadcast than the time it took to change the channel. So I’m actually not much of an expert on the highly profitable (in terms of money not wisdom) world of extreme right wing columnists/commentators.

To be honest, it’s only recently that I even learned that Malkin exists (man was that a red-letter day), and then only because of the coverage her hatefulness garners on liberal websites.

But now I’ve watched her on television a few times. And yes, she strikes me as hateful, bigoted and revolting. But she also strikes me as something else — as dumb as a stump.

But still, my contact with her “work” has been limited. So I can definitely use some input from others.

So tell me what you think: Is Malkin evil and dumb, or just evil?

This entry was posted by Steve on Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 at 3:47 pm and is filed under Comment.

...7 replies...


sleight47 (Founding Daughter) Says:
July 7th, 2006 at 2:59 pm

The same question has been asked about our president! I don’t watch her (or “them”) either. Just keeping updated on the present scenarios is enough to curdle your gruel. Let’s go in a different direction here. I live in Idaho. People here believe there is no such thing as dumb (they’re entitled to their beliefs regardless of facts), nor is there such a thing as evil as long as it’s cloaked in Christianity. I think Malkin and her cohorts are better classified as belonging to the world’s oldest profession…they’re prostitutes. Some are men, some are women, but it’s all the same.

3 OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE RED RINGS AROUND THEIR MOUTHS.

The Times News has a section on their on-line edition for comments. My mother always taught me to consider the source. SM

Tim wrote on June 30, 2006 6:18 AM:
"This gal needs to get off of moveon.org, daily Kos, Michael Moore's website and all the other leftists websites and start thinking for herself. "

Sharon Metcalf wrote on June 30, 2006 7:30 AM:
"Then show me the proof I'm wrong. Facts, Tim, facts. Not spin."

Disgusted wrote on June 30, 2006 7:34 AM:
"Say Tim, How is the weather out there in LaLa Land these days."

To Sharon wrote on June 30, 2006 9:53 AM:
" I went to college. I can drum up fancy words to make myself look important if I want. But your letter is so typical of the liberal far left banter. You all say the same thing over and over. You can sit with a dictionary on your lap all night and it still doesn't change the facts. We are a nation that helps other nations in time of need. The butcher is now on trial and the people of Iraq are finding their way in a new world. There will always be sacrifice with change. Move to Cuba"

Calvin Draper wrote on June 30, 2006 9:57 AM:
"I'm glad you guys have Sharon down there. We have too many of here type moving to Kethcum everyday. She'd be a real peach. Say Sharon, have you changed your Califiornia plates yet? How about that Bill Chisholm campaign poster? Still on your lawn I suppose? Your a good argument for gay marriage. At least we know you can't breed."

Sharon wrote on June 30, 2006 10:39 AM:
"Have any one of you stated one single fact? You've learned well from your "leader," never address the issue. So, the butcher is now on trial, huh? And we help people in need? What are you going to do about the butcher who has caused many more deaths in Iraq than Saddam? Or isn't that your concern because he's the American president? As for going to college, that's no guarantee you know how to think. And Calvin, even without a photo, you're the poster child of ignorance."

James Glandon, Jr. wrote on June 30, 2006 10:49 AM:
"That's funny. I thought they taught the word "statistics" in college. It's funny how all the experts and even the Department of Defense is coming out and proving that all we are getting are lies from the far right. We don't help nations in times of need. If that was the case, why aren't we stopping genocide in Darfur? If we were out to "get the bad guys", why didn't we go after North Korea until they started waving their Taipoe Dong missile at us? The answer is because neither Darfur nor North Korea have the oil that Iraq does. It's a joke how many people still think Saddam Hussein was involved with 9/11. That was even disproven in the 9/11 Commission Report, which didn't help much beyond that. The truth will be out by November. The Supreme Court is working on that as we speak. Remember the loyalists? They were on the wrong side of the American Revolution. Oh and you might want to start noticing reality, like the national polls showing most of this country is fed up with the manure that is being desperately shoveled our way hoping America will "fall in line" once again. Get real."

NOTE: Thank you James!

HAVE SOME MORE KOOL-AID, IDAHO!

Where are Rove’s Machiavellian plots? Or are these two laughable diversions actually designed to distract from more realistic diversions?

The Santorum and Hoekstra "revelation" of WMDs discovered in Iraq has been destroyed by the Department of Defense, yet they are still pushing this Bushwah. How’s this for their origin: In 1992 Ted Kopple reported that it was increasingly clear that George Bush Sr. had initiated and supported much of the financing, intelligence, and military help during the 1980's that built Iraq’s military power.

Seven arrested in plot to attack the Sears Tower! A senior federal law-enforcement source told the Chicago Tribune that there was no threat at all, that the seven men had "aspirations" but "no means" to attack the Sears Tower.

Otherwise, the Bushbots saw to stripping the addendum barring permanent bases in Iraq out of the $94.5 billion emergency spending bill.

Quiz: What is costing us $592 million? What will cover 104 acres? What will be surrounded by 15 foot thick walls? What will consist of 21 buildings, restaurants, shops, gym, swimming pool, beauty salon, movie theater, 619 apartments and be entirely self sufficient.

Answer: According to Nicholas von Hoffman in The Nation, it’s what the locals call "George W’s Palace," AKA American Embassy.

Are you ready yet to discard the little crumbs Bushco throws out concerning staged withdrawal?

Are you familiar with the word occupation?

Are you prepared to lose more loved ones to George’s pet project?

If Santorum and Hoekstra want to bring up "discoveries" to support the lies, then I feel compelled to bring up the Department of State list of 45 countries (made just before September 11, 2001) where there were active members of Al Qaeda. Why wasn’t Iraq on this list?

Sharon Metcalf

YELLOW DESERTER VISITS GREEN ZONE

Ah, my mind is so eased now that George has gone to Iraq for 5 hours to find out what’s really going on in a tiny part of the 4 square mile Green Zone. You know, that’s where the new government lives and works and enjoys regular water and electricity and security, security, security. I wonder how easy it was to fit the 3,500 Bush guards in this zone?

Scott Johnson wrote in Newsweek: “One recent night at a saloon called The Bunker, a resident contractor asked, ‘So, what's going on out there in Iraq anyway?’ He hadn't left the Green Zone in six months. ‘It's like Plato's republic in here, all of these well-meaning, smart people who want to do the right thing,’ says one security contractor and Green Zone regular. ‘But they never leave here and they have no idea what's happening in the country they're supposed to be building. It's totally absurd.’ “

But gosh, if we hadn’t kept on we wouldn’t have gotten Zawqari. That's what this administration tells us. In truth, wasn’t this about the 20th time we “got Zawqari?” And this one won’t make any more difference than the last 20 did.

Try going outside of the Green Zone once in a while, even if it’s only on the net because you surely won’t see it on evening news. There are even pictures: http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/37572/

If you don’t know by now this this is the most corrupt administration and congress ever, then steering you to a little truth won’t make any difference. There is overwhelming proof that this government has lied to and cheated the American people over and over again while systematically destroying rights which we have taken for granted.

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —President George W. Bush.

Well, it’s no longer possible to count the times you’ve been fooled even if you use all of your fingers and toes.

Aimee New

FREEDOM'S JUST ANOTHER WORD...

THEIR “NET” GROWS AND GROWS, AND IT’S NOT THE INTERNET I’M TALKING ABOUT!

The one remaining outlet that can carry the truth is in danger of manipulation by big business.

BUT REP. MIKE SIMPSON voted against net neutrality this week.

“As millions of us raised our voices to defend the free and open Internet2, Internet operators like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast spent millions lobbying the House of Representatives to kill Net Neutrality. A majority of the House members caved—voting for a telecommunications law that would give these companies more control over what you see and do online.” ...Move On

Call or e-mail Senators Craig and Crapo and tell them you expect support for the Snowe-Dorgan Internet Freedom Preservation Act (S. 2917) before next week.

As the caissons go rolling along...The Supreme Court voted 5-4 in support of no-knock searches by ruling that “judges cannot throw out evidence collected by police who have search warrants but do not properly announce their arrival.” And we all know how diligent this administration is about getting proper “search warrants.”

Also this week, forget about accountability by phone companies who broke the law and released YOUR records because:

YOUR government sued the New Jersey Attorney General's office to prevent it from asking telephone companies if they gave YOUR records to the National Security Agency.

It’s the standard “grave harm to national security" excuse.

“Any nation that thinks more of its ease and comfort than its freedom will soon lose its freedom; and the ironical thing about it is that it will lose its ease and comfort too.” W. Somerset Maugham

Remember this?

Far more fitting today...

ONE TIN SOLDIER
(The Legend of Billy Jack)
words and music by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter
Copyright © 1969 by ABC / Dunhill Music, Inc.

Listen children to a story that was written long ago
'bout a kingdom on a mountain and the valley folk below.
On the mountain was a treasure buried deep beneath a stone,
and the valley people swore they'd have it for their very own.


Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of heaven, justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowin' come the judgment day
on the bloody morning after one tin soldier rides away.


So the people of the valley sent a message up the hill
asking for the buried treasure, tons of gold for which they'd kill.
Came an answer from the kingdom: "With our brothers we will share
all the secrets of our mountain, all the riches buried there."


Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of heaven, justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowin' come the judgment day
on the bloody morning after one tin soldier rides away.


Now the valley cried with anger; mount your horses, draw your sword,
and they killed the mountain people, so they won their just reward.
Now they stood beside the treasure on the mountain, dark and red,
turned the stone and looked beneath it. "Peace on earth" was all it said.


Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of heaven, justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowin' come the judgment day
on the bloody morning after one tin soldier rides away.

SILLY BILLY KNOWS YOUR BODY!

It's bad enough that Idaho is now #1 in support of Bushco. Now we have Bill Sali GOP candidate for Idaho's 1st Congressional District telling women about their bodies.

Lord help us all if he ever comes across the theory that an "active" (open to interpretation) sex life decreases the prospect of prostate cancer; he'll be trying to legislate times per week!

IDAHOANS: COME IN FROM THE FIELDS!

A warning for those whose eyes are Fox News logos shining out of their solid brick heads.

You are a group that marches in step. All Bushco has to do is hype an issue to set off every stiff-necked, righteous fool in the area.

Those of you writing in about illegal immigration, do you really have any idea what is going on in this country? Bushco has done far more to bankrupt your future than every Hispanic in North America ever could, legal or “illegal.”

How many of you so concerned about the law readily dismiss the rampant corruption of this administration? How many support the illegal wiretapping? Forgive media manipulation? Ignore the murder of soldiers (85% of whom think Saddam was involved in 9-11) and untold Iraqi citizens? Have you taken on the companies who hire illegals or is it only those to whom you feel superior who should answer for their crimes?

The illegal immigration issue sat in limbo until scandals called for another diversion. The biggest problem we face is that thanks to Bushco and laws written by corporations, you just might have to vie with an illegal immigrant for the chance to flip burgers or clean toilets while trying to survive on a bottomed-out dollar.

Mike Whitney recently wrote, “In just 6 years, Bush has taken the world’s strongest currency and chopped it into finely ground hash. By the time people rouse from their stupor, the greenback will be eye to eye with the peso.”

I suppose it will be poetic justice for those who march to Bush’s drummer to experience what George and corporate America have in store for them. It’s called the other end of the stick. Unfortunately, way too many innocents will be sharing the experience.

Sharon Metcalf
Gooding

I SPY!

What does an expert on the NSA have to say? (I'm a poet and just don't...)

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/05/15/aid_interview/

THINK!

Instead of the fury that should erupt when you find your government conducting an overall spying program on the average American, too many citizens are like cows, standing in the field, happy to chew their cuds while the world outside disintegrates.

Susan G at Daily Kos lists 10 items of note for those who support this type of program at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/5/12/123644/35474. For those without computer access, I will paraphrase:

1. It doesn’t make sense to make the haystack bigger when looking for a needle.

2. Being mere citizens, we won’t ever know the cost of this program, but you can bet it’s not cheap.

3. You are being lulled into acceptance by a group who has repeatedly lied to America in order to get their way.

4. The president is not above the law. The program is illegal.

5. The information is available to all subcontractors in the program and there is no general oversight.

6. Do you really want the world to know how often you contact your healthcare providers? Picture being denied coverage in the future.

7. Bushco is in bed with big business. What’s to stop them from sharing info gleaned from records of an innovative new company.

8. This is the largest database in the world. We know this group. Very likely their database holds even more than has been revealed.

9. What’s to prevent an “innovative” NSA or subcontractor employee from watching the way this administration operates and deciding, “Wow, I could blackmail _____ with this!”

10. It’s unAmerican (the old America).

Remember this: If you don’t guard your basic rights, this administration certainly won’t!

Sharon Metcalf

WHY ARE THEY IGNORING THE LETTER FROM TEHRAN?

http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_documents/ahmadinejad0509.pdf

Too bad they didn't know that Bush has elevated himself from mere "Christian" to the above.

Turns out the translation of Iran's letter must have been read by a number of citizens, many who had the same reaction I did. Why else would Dubya's response today that the letter said nothing about Iran ridding themselves of nuclear development?

Read it yourself from the link above. I am stunned that despite trustworthy sources reporting that this is NOT an emergent situation, Bushco continues with yet another push to bomb another mid Eastern country with oil resources.

THAT WASCALLY WABBIT HAS NOMINATED ELMER FUDD!

Just what we need. A member of the military to head the CIA AND a supporter of the illegal domestic wiretap program!

Hysterically funny!

Stephen Colbert's appearance at the White House Correspondent's dinner can be linked through Buzzflash.com. I laughed so hard (in between gasps at his amazing temerity to tell the truth) my jaws ache.

A side note: Considering the accusations of left-wing media perpetrated by the lying GOP over these past 6 years, watch and see how many in the audience refused to smile, laugh, or give anything but a smattering of applause.

Colbert is the best of heroes; nobody expected it!

What In The World is Wrong with You People?

Submitted to Times-News on 04/25/06

Lois, the mother on Malcolm in the Middle, typifies sheer outrage when she yells, “What in the world is wrong with you people?” Exactly my reaction when I saw Idaho approval for Bush up to 55% again in March.

Even the mainstream media are forced to mention Bushco scandals what with new ones unveiled almost every day. Don’t those glued to Fox News at least wonder why nationwide approval of the president is down to 32%?

Ask yourself why Dubya immediately orders investigations of ”leaks” that alert Americans to the extent of wrongdoing by this administration, but evidence of lies by Dubya and his gang are never investigated other than by their own appointees, and official inquiries are never answered.

Tyler Drumheller, CIA head of covert operations in Europe, appeared on 60 minutes on May 23 and revealed his knowledge of widespread administration cherry-picking of evidence for WMD and the push for war. But despite three interviews with the Robb-Silbermann Commission and two with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (this one only after they released their report), Drumheller and his colleagues were stunned at how little of this information ended up in the reports.

If this rotten-from-the-core-out administration fails to completely destroy our civil rights in the next two years, (and they’re well on their way), eventually we will learn the whole truth hidden by their self-investigations, every last one of them, to include 911.

Aimee New
Gooding

Inspiration

Just when you think protesting Bushco in Idaho is futile (as his approval hits 55% once again), a Canadian comes to the rescue!

It's all too easy to become frustrated and heartsick watching this execrable excuse for leadership continue to destroy the world. Spittin' in the Snake has reached a saturation resulting in inability to issue letters of protest to the Times-News, and it's certainly not for a lack of subjects!

But as of May, our windows will be rattling with Neil Young's Living With War, in a background of computer keys clicking.

Steve Goldstein posts on the Living With War blog: "Starting April 28, fans can log onto Young's Web site, www.neilyoung.com, and listen to the 10-track collection in its entirety, free of charge, said Bill Bentley, a spokesman for Warner Music Group's Reprise Records."

America For Sale, The Cost of Republican Corruption

This excellent report by Rep. Louise Slaughter, was taken off Nancy Pelosi's site after Republican threats. However, I did copy it before that happened. If anyone wants me to e-mail them a copy, just leave your e-mail address in comments.

Founding Daughter

More Opinionhated

The following appeared in the Gooding County Leader on Thursday, April 6.

I've been put in my place

Well, gee whiz and shuckie darn! Was I ever put in my place by that letter from Aimee New. She has a distinct advantage over me being able to quote Emerson and all, when I barely remember who he is.

Although I did notice a slight paradox in the analog which, at first, I thought was supposed to be directed at me. The quote (Emerson's) loosely translated, as I humbly understand it, is that a person's character is defined by what one says or writes. And what did Ms. New do in the remainder of her letter? She, with her vitriolic rambling, defined her own character.

Unfortunately, she very publicly hoist by her own petard.

Kathy Rooney, Gooding


Response submitted to GCL on 04/06/2006


Oh come on, Rooney, for once answer the letter instead of playing Karl Rove’s assistant!

Just what is it that compels you to perpetuate the unethical pit bull attitude so successfully implemented by this destructive administration? Are you still defending Delay and Dubya? Or aren’t treason and persistent lawbreaking as bad as a group of progressives meeting on a Friday night?

If I follow your reasoning, and it is a ramble, Aimee New displayed her character in much the same way as you, merely by exposing you? On the contrary, I think it’s about time that people of good character learn to stand up against the destructive elements in our society who believe facts are a luxury.

If you had really been “put in your place,” we wouldn’t have to be reading your letters any more.

Sharon Metcalf

You mean painted like this?

Opinionhated

See blog We Have Failed Our Duty as Citizens, "I Can't Win With These People."

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.” Kathy Rooney’s recent opinion of a letter by Diana Pauls certainly illustrates that point.

Diana Pauls has a history of supporting the Gooding community through various service organizations other than the progressive group. She is an intelligent, well-intentioned person who has much to offer our town and her letter was a sincere attempt to correct local misconceptions.

Yes, the “far left” does have a sense (not senses) of humor. Rooney should learn that cloaking unnecessary nastiness and even threats of lost business with witticisms a 10-year-old could relate to is not a sense of humor.

For someone who predicts that “nobody will care about the ‘Drinking Liberally’ group,” she has expended no little energy spouting off about it.

Rooney couldn’t resist an opportunity to accuse the “far left” of questionable practices honed to perfection by this administration. Besides, knowledge would take a little investigation on her part and turning off Fox. A good portion of the country is awakening to the danger we are in; others must think they will be “swept up” instead of “swept out” as Dubya has in mind for them.

Rooney’s statement that drinking conservatively “in my experience, definitely is not the case” was entirely unnecessary. I could have guessed.

Aimee New
Gooding

Permanent bases versus diversion

(Submitted to Times-News 03/17/2006)

On March 16 the house approved by voice vote an amendment of Representative Barbara Lee, declaring that no funds will be used to enter into military base agreements between the US and Iraq. This administration has repeatedly denied the reality of permanent bases in Iraq, although on March 15, General John Abazaid, told the House Defense Appropriations committee that we could in fact end up having permanent bases in Iraq. Abazaid is in charge of the US troops in Iraq.

But it was Operation Swarmer that inundated the cable news channels this week. A guest on CNN accused cable news channels of irresponsibility in their ramped-up coverage of such a non-event.

Now look for the disconnect here. Have you heard anything about permanent bases? Why not? And how newsworthy is it for 800 Iraqi and 700 American soldiers to sweep an area that only contains 1,500 people? How many “permanent” bases already exist?

Tom Engelhardt writes, “...these bases, with some of the most expensive and advanced communications systems on the planet, are like vast spaceships that have landed from another solar system. Representing a staggering investment of resources, effort, and geostrategic dreaming, they are the unlikeliest places for the Bush administration to hand over willingly to even the friendliest of Iraqi governments.”

Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski spoke about the Iraq debacle: “It is a failed occupation as a consequence of a decision-making process that compounds errors, that involves a very narrow group of true believers, and that evades responsibility and accountability – for errors and even crimes. No one responsible for wrong judgments has been fired. No one responsible for setting in motion a chain of events that produced extraordinarily embarrassing crimes has been put on trial.”

Every trembling, fear-filled American who has swallowed the lies of this administration needs to look at the reality that many other Bushco creations will likely impact their life before Bush’s bogeyman terrorist. Things like the poles melting and not reforming for two years; unprecedented economic imbalances; loss of U.S. manufacturing; unavailable clean water, the selling of America; loss of civil rights; the 1,500 foreign purchases in America, CFIUS approved..

We cannot just focus on the “disaster of the moment” with this group. It’s almost a given that the moment attention is diverted elsewhere, they get busy under the radar...and those elected who have failed to protect our rights should never be elected again.

Stan Metcalf
Gooding

Balance Dowd with new Coulter column

By BUCK TAYLOR
Filer

Thank you for printing the op-ed by Ann Coulter (Feb. 24).

I may be stating the obvious; however, it seems the majority of articles in this forum have a recurring theme. Liberal authors can pretty much discuss issues as they see them; conservative authors' viewpoints tend to be muted unless they oppose the current administration's policies.

In fairness to all readers, we should see as many of Ann's as we do of Maureen Dowd's.


Response from Founding Daughter to above.

Conservative authors face an uphill battle in proving their viewpoints; lack of facts supporting their claims and inability to request the death of those whose viewpoints they don't like (unlike Ann Coulter) for fear of being arrested for "terrorist threats."

As for balance, Dowd at least sometimes comes up with an original idea. Coulter simply makes outrageous statements that could be heard at many a bar in Idaho at closing time.

I suspect she is mainly read by men named "Buck" who own pitbulls. Wait until they hear she's a transsexual!

Someone said a president ages at roughly twice the norm

while in office. Then why do I feel 50 years older since 2001? Should we make it to a 2008 presidential election without having martial law imposed and if somehow the wide open GOP voting machines implode, maybe my vision of the future can be shelved.

Compare this:



with Bush critics (if they manage to stay out of detention centers).





with the 1% thanks to permanent tax reductions.



with the American work force in 2009.




with New Orleans in 2009.





with America, now a foreign country having been sold off by the Bush administration, now being invaded by his private Blackhawk force!




Happy 2009!

Thank you Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bushie

Jim Gooding, an organic dairy farmer in Wisconsin writes, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts a drop of 23 percent in income for the farming sector this year, on the heels of last year's 12 percent drop.

Proposed cuts in farm subsidy payments will account for a significant portion of the decrease in income, a fact farmers will have to get used to in a globalized free trade economy.

While subsidy programs are at best a very poor solution to a very big problem (low farm income), the real beneficiary of the subsidy program has always been the corporate grain buyers and the dairy and livestock processors.”

But don’t worry farmers, every average American is in line to share in the results of traitorous decisions made by our elected leaders: President Reagan, GHW Bush for giving China most favored nation status, Clinton for North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) and, of course, Dubya for finishing the job!

At one time, America had tariffs which protected our manufacturing industry. If a U.S. worker made $10 an hour and foreign worker made $2 an hour to make the same product, a tariff was imposed to equal the $8 per hour paid for cheaper labor. Because our government became more loyal to multinational corporations than American citizens, the tariffs were removed, jobs went outside the U.S. and America was flooded with cheaper products (Wal-Mart, dollar stores, etc.).

We now have a $700 billion trade deficit, thanks to our thrill at purchasing cheap goods. What do other countries do with all of those American dollars? Why they spend them by buying any profitable companies left in the U.S. Then the profits from those profitable companies go back to the country owning it.

Amoco profits now go to England. Most of the profits from Chrysler, Random House and GTE/Sylvania go to Germany. Ralston Purina and Gerber profits go to Switzerland, and on, and on. Instead of being a wealthy nation known for production, we are now consumers living with unprecedented debt.

If you have any courage whatsoever, go to www.economyincrisis.com for the whole story. It’s ugly. If there is any hope of saving the future of America, we must band together and get rid of the elected officials who have betrayed America, start counting votes, and elect people who can help us get out of this mess.

Aimee New
Gooding

A triple tax whammy!

The Bushies crow about the unemployment rate as proof that their "trickle-down" tax cuts are fueling the economy (there's that word again -- fuel). But they don't count people who are unemployed for longer than six months. Contrast the U.S. Department of Labor rate of 4.9 percent to the rate estimated by economists able to decipher government press releases -- more than 8 percent.

Despite his promises, Bush's tax cuts in 2001 and 2002 did not create jobs. So he cut taxes again in 2003. He now claims 4 million jobs created since 2003, but 2.8 million of those jobs resulted directly from government spending. If this puny job growth is due to his tax cuts, then why the 18 million new jobs created in Clinton's first six years with a tax increase?

Since 2001, 70 percent of U.S. income growth has gone to corporate profits despite worker productivity increasing three times faster than wages. In the seven preceding business cycles, 77 percent of the income growth went to wages.

Updated Bureau of Labor Statistics job data from 2001 through 2006 analyzed by MBG Information Services shows:

We are more than 7 million jobs short of keeping up with population growth alone.

A loss of 2.9 million manufacturing jobs, close to 17 percent of this entire work force. Examples: communications equipment, down 43 percent; computers and electronics, down 30 percent; textile mills, down 43 percent; clothing manufacturing, down 50 percent.

All job growth has been in service-related areas -- credit, social assistance, waitresses, state and local government, etc.

But we are an "ownership society," remember? And you own lots more than you used to, thanks to housing values. It is a shame that many have had to borrow on this increase just to afford basics. Try to keep your greater wealth in mind while pumping black gold into your tank.

Of great interest, especially with obscene oil company profits, is the following from Daily Kos:

"New projections, buried in the Interior Department's just-published budget plan, anticipate that the government will let companies pump about $65 billion worth of oil and natural gas from federal territory over the next five years without paying any royalties to the government ... the government will give up more than $7 billion in payments between now and 2011 ... even though the administration assumes that oil prices will remain above $50 a barrel."

ADAM METCALF

Gooding



http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006/02/26/news_letters/opinion_letters.4.txt

Tax-cut criticisms ignore the real prosperity

In answer to Adam Metcalf's letter of Feb. 18, I would like to refute some of his misguided liberal letter. It is merely a re-hash of the same whining we have heard for the last five years.

In the first place, many of the so-called "tax cuts" were timed and only kicked in over several years. And even at the beginning, the tax cuts were supposed to be "revenue neutral." All this meant was that the IRS took from one and gave to another. Actually, however, I recently read that in 2005, the government collected more tax revenue than in any other year in history. So much for "tax cuts"!

Actually, the one tax cut that was unnoticed at first and one that has spurred one of the greatest economic boons in history was the little-noticed one that said that if you had lived in your home for more than two years and sold it for a gain, that gain was not taxable. At first, it was good only for a lifetime limit of $250,000 per person but later, this limitation was removed.

This tax cut has spurred that greatest boom that has reverberated throughout America. The couple that bought a home in California in 1975 for, say, $75,000, found that they could sell it for $500,000 and pay no tax. So they sold the place, came to Idaho perhaps, and found that they could buy or build a new place (maybe even larger than the old one) for $200,000 with $20,000 or less down. So they buy the new place and retire -- no tax.

There is only one way to treat taxes, and that is to expand the tax base and lower the rate. Also, get away from the Communist Manifesto-recommended income tax and put our system on a basis of spending rather than on income. There is no problem of definition when you spend something, but income can vary tremendously, depending on who is doing the definition.

DUARD LAWLEY

Twin Falls


http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006/03/05/news_letters/opinion_letters.3.txt

Duard Lawley’s defense of the “boom” produced by gain from sale of your home only tells half of the story. Those windfalls exist because all Americans are paying significantly more for basic housing. And face it, Duard, whether you or the talking heads want to blame the uproar on liberals, more and more conservatives of conscience are adding to the noise.

Most readers have already received the majority of their cuts from the 2001 legislation. However, 80 percent of the windfall for the wealthy is scheduled to come from tax changes that phase in after 2005. If the Bush tax reductions are still in place by 2010, we will see 52 percent of the cuts go to the richest one percent.

Lawley’s statement that “in 2005, the government collected more tax revenue than in any other year in history...so much for tax cuts!” inspires a hoot of derision. This increased tax revenue wasn’t enough to make up for the shortfalls which have developed since 2000.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports “much of the recent growth of (tax) revenues has occurred because of a boom in corporate tax receipts rather than in taxes on wages and salaries. This is consistent with the notion of increased income inequality, and is consistent with revenues exceeding expectations at the same time that overall economic growth has not.” Fifty billion dollars of that 2005 revenue came from expiration of a business tax at the end of 2004.

Former chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, N. Gregory Mankiw, author of an introductory economics text book, wrote that any economist who claims that tax cuts pay for themselves is a “snake oil salesman who is trying to sell a miracle cure.” But Rattlesnake George recently said, “...this tax relief not only has helped our economy, but it’s helped the federal budget...You cut taxes and the tax revenues increase.”

For several years now, consumer spending and the real estate market have helped maintain the economy. Unfortunately, most of this outlay came via new consumer debt; not because your average American is better off. Consumer debt is already unbearable and the real estate boom is slowing; what will take their place?

Mr. Lawley writes “income can vary tremendously, depending on who is doing the definition.” So can information on the economy “vary tremendously, depending on who is doing the definition.”

Sharon Metcalf
Gooding

Petty attacks on Bush are all liberals have

It's in ongoing saga, the hate for George W. Bush. One thing for the liberals, they get set on something, they stay with it, don't they?

After the 2000 election, their target was "get George Bush," and no amount of national tragedy or world trauma diverts them. In every situation, we see them -- national Democratic leaders and major media -- searching diligently for a chance to charge George Bush with some deviation from duty.

Barney, down in Hagerman, thinks he is a pea-brain, and a lady over in Gooding calls him a dumbbell, and they all fancy themselves ahead of the curve on insight about George Bush's presidential performance.

The truth is, they don't have a clue. It looks like he has stayed ahead of the game fairly well and could do a lot better if he would turn a deaf ear to all those folks who keep hammering him about needing to be more liberal-minded and condescending. If the country wanted to go more liberal, perhaps the voting the last two elections would have gone that direction. It was close, but we narrowly escaped major catastrophes both times. With the mind-set of both opponents, how would we have survived?

It's pretty clear that the hate for Bush overrides any positive direction for the nation in the liberal minds. I fear that it will take another national tragedy to shake them loose from that one goal to "get George Bush"! We can't win the war against the terrorists, for that would support George Bush. Somehow or other, he is at fault for every dreadful thing that comes along -- the hurricanes, terrorist attacks, including 9/11. now Vice President Cheney has accidentally shot a hunting companion. Surely, George Bush is somehow to blame and Cheney must have had some ulterior motive! Liberals scheme and connive like 3-year-olds in the sandbox.

As for the war, it's a war on terrorists and not a specific nation. It was true military strategy to invade Iraq, for one of the first tactics of a commander is to cut off the enemy's source of supply. That seedbed of terrorism was at least that, having already positioned itself in rebellion against United Nations decrees. An old proverb, I think, sums up the whole picture: "Wisdom is justified by her children."

GL
Twin Falls



Letter below appeared in The Times-News' edition of 03/04/06.

Stupidity, outrage, vanity, cruelty, iniquity, bad faith, falsehood—we fail to see the whole array when it is facing in the same direction as we.
Jean Rostand (1894–1977)

Come, come, Mr. Lawley. Surely you can do better than defend George by stating he has stayed ahead of the game. All he’s stayed ahead of is the law. As for him turning a deaf ear to liberal “hammering,” I can’t imagine you are speaking of the same president who hand-picks his audiences and even provides questions for them to ask–that is if any questions are allowed.

Isn’t it amazing, though, that after years of fear-mongering in order to get the American people to let him do anything he wants to ensure their “safety,” suddenly it’s okay to have the United Arab Emirates manage our ports? It couldn’t be that there are business benefits to any of the Bushes, could it? You know, like connections to The Carlyle Group or the UAE funding a Bush brother’s education software, or the $1 million donation to the Bush Library in Texas?

Philadelphia talk show host, Michael Smerconish, writes, “...a year after Bin Laden served formal notice of his intention to kill Americans anyhow, anywhere, the CIA appropriately tracked his whereabouts and was prepared to take him out, but was denied the opportunity because of the presence of high-level UAE officials who were socializing with the head of Al Qaeda. Worse, when the United States alerted the UAE of their displeasure with these contacts, the UAE’s response was to tip off Bin Ladin and further thwart our efforts to kill him.”

Mr. Lawley’s feeble excuse that this is a war on terrorists and not a specific nation only makes me wonder at his “ability to process information.” Wouldn’t it seem logical, since the hijackers were from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, that they would be invaded before Iraq? We already know there were no weapons of mass destruction, no 911 hijackers, and it took some time after that to think up the “spread democracy” lie.

I think it might be time for my immediate and extended family to stop attempting to inform the 55% of Idahoans who support Bush that their country is circling the drain. If they’re that stupid, they won’t even notice when we become a third world country.

Gene New
Gooding

U.S. picks a president as smart as its people

That this all-around incompetent president enjoys 40 percent approval of his deadly policies is incomprehensible. At least it was until I came across a recent article by Paul Craig Roberts, "Polls Show Many Americans are Simply Dumber Than Bush," in which he cites a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll and a New York Times/CBS News poll which reveal how Bush can operate without consequence or worry. While Roberts does blame the media for faithfully following the administration line free from any urge to scream, "What Bush *$!#" he adds that half of our population is actually unable to acquire, process or understand information. Maybe it should have been "No Adult Left Behind."

Roberts writes: "Americans need desperately to understand that 95 percent of all Muslim terrorists in the world were created in the past three years by Bush's invasion of Iraq.

Americans need desperately to comprehend that if Bush attacks Iran and Syria, as he intends, terrorism will explode and American civil liberties will disappear into a 30-year war that will bankrupt the United States.

The total lack of rationality and competence in the White House and the inability of half of the U.S. population to acquire and understand information are far larger threats to Americans than terrorism.

America has become a rogue nation, flying blind, guided only by ignorance and hubris. A terrible catastrophe awaits."

So if those "unable to process" among you (not that I really think you are reading this) were horrified at the new threat of human/animal hybrids revealed in Bush's State of the Union speech, this is merely animal testing in search of cures for human illnesses. Biology professor P.Z. Myers writes, "He's (Bush) trusting that everyone will think he is banning monstrous crimes against nature, but what he's really doing is targeting the weak and the ill, blocking useful avenues of research that are specifically designed to help us understand human afflictions."

As for my personal processing of information, I have a sickeningly clear conception of what is really going on in this country and the inevitable results; however, I will admit that the human/animal hybrid reference did bring an immediate picture of the chimp to my brain.

AN
Gooding

Iraq war killing far more than U.S. soldiers

Bravo, Mr. Hartley, for questions regarding actual soldier and civilian deaths in Iraq. I, too, have written Sen. Craig in the past inquiring whether there was any truth to a national political cartoon that inferred only deaths on Iraq soil were counted as fatalities. Those airlifted out who died later were not included. He repeated the Department of Defense statistics.

There have been more than 25,000 soldiers medically evacuated from Iraq, yet the Department of Defense reports 16,400 injured. Some estimates indicate that one out of four serving in Iraq will have post traumatic stress disorder.

In early 2005, a group of Johns Hopkins researchers estimated that in the first 14 months of the war, about 100,000 Iraqi civilians died. They attributed 60,000 of the deaths to the United States and its allies. Since that time, the United States has implemented air attacks with pilot-less reconnaissance aircraft followed by precision guided munitions, or "smart bombs." Unfortunately, the smart bombs are about as smart as our president and kill far more civilians than insurgents.

We will never know how many civilians were killed in the bombing during Bush Sr.'s Gulf War. However, the subsequent economic sanctions are estimated to have resulted in the deaths of 1 million to 1.5 million civilians, including 500,000 children under 5 years of age due to malnutrition, lack of health care, etc.

With GWB's 2003 war, even more munitions rained down in Iraq destroying much of what infrastructure survived. These bombs and missiles have been saturated with depleted uranium. In "Oil Simply Oil," Manuel Valenzuela writes "... the cradle of civilization is being contaminated by the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, poisoned, since 1991, by radiation equivalent to between 250,000 and 400,000 Nagasaki bombs."

And so, those deaths will be followed by years and years of whatever mutations and slow agonies the uranium will visit on individuals; not just Iraqis, but those serving there too.

The 911 tragedy cannot be forgotten, but until all Americans realize it had absolutely nothing to do with this wholesale carnage, Bush will continue to use it as an excuse for his imperialism.

This is not a war on terrorism. It is a corporate and administration-sponsored race to take over resources belonging to others. How many more are they willing to sacrifice for their greed? GWB continues to say the war is "worth it." To whom?

SM

Iran's atomic threat overstated

Iran's atomic threat to the U.S. overstated

What's behind the administration's exaggeration of the threat to America by Iran's 20-year-old nuclear ambitions?

With approximately 31,000 nuclear warheads (13,000 deployed and 4,600 on high alert) in the stockpiles of eight countries and 441 reactors already operating in 30 countries, why all the fuss?

Anyone savvy enough can see the writing on the wall: "This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous ... Having said that, all options are on the table." (George W. Bush, February 2005)

Iran holds the key to a much greater threat than gaining nuclear power, and it's one that strikes real fear in the desiccated hearts of this administration. The Iranian Oil Bourse is scheduled for debut on March 20, 2006.

At that time, Tehran has plans to start competition with the New York Mercantile Exchange and London's International Petroleum Exchange and use a Euro-based oil-trading method. Most oil importers have to purchase oil with U.S. dollars, which is why most of their foreign currency is in dollars. The American economy stays afloat through the demand for its currency.

A worldwide switch from dollars to Euros for foreign currency reserves would mean that hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars would suddenly become unwanted. The U.S. would have to change its severely unbalanced tax, debt, trade and energy policies. No amount of spin would hide this one.

In September 2000, Saddam Hussein announced that Iraq would no longer accept dollars for oil sold under the Oil-for-Food program and would switch to the euro for oil currency. We all know what happened next -- invasion based on lies. Interestingly enough, by June 2003, Iraqi oil sales were once again in U.S. dollars.

Intelligence analyst Philip Giraldi's article, "In Case of Emergency, Nuke Iran," in The American Conservative discloses reports of Vice President Cheney's instructions to the Pentagon for contingency plans against Iran in case of another terrorist attack inside America. Plans up to and including a nuclear attack whether Iran is involved in the terrorism or not.

If you've got the stomach, read William Clark: "The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War in Iraq" and "The Real Reasons Why Iran is the Next Target."

I really think George should add another costume to his repertoire: top hat, tails and a cane for the State of the Union song and dance.

STAN METCALF

Gooding

GOP doesn't even bother to try and remember their lies; they just create new ones.

GOP tries to distort truth

What a perfect example of a Fox-viewing, Rush Limbaugh-adoring Idahoan who has swallowed the party line from hell. Darrell Hampton ignores documented GOP media manipulation scandals while boldly stating that Democrats constitute half of those involved in Abramoff corruption. Did he hear that on the "liberal" network news? Probably, but no Democrat received money from any Indian tribe involved in Abramoff's exchange of money for favors.

As for his statements regarding the Swift Boat slime and GWB's desertion, journalist David Corn said it well in an article covering Swift Boat lies: "Just where do the Republicans think they are taking us? If they succeed in destroying the concept of truth and the shame of being a liar, how will our society differ from the great tyrannies of the 20th century?"

But rather than interrupt Hampton's daydream of Ann Coulter in thigh-high jackboots, spiked heel hovering over the jugular of some wimpy Democrat while she spews filth, I will review some recent White House-related activity that you won't see in the "liberal media."

Buried in the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act, signed Jan. 5 by GWB and punishable by fines and two years in prison, is a section that prohibits sending annoying Web or e-mail messages unless you disclose your true identity. A federal crime.

Even though "we do not torture," when GWB signed the bill containing McCain's amendment to stop torture, he added his favorite little caveat, "Unless I say otherwise." He has used it some *500 times since taking office. See a pattern here?

Two British MP's have been indicted for leaking secrets; namely the report of the Blair-Bush meeting wherein Blair talked Bush out of bombing al-Jazeera.

James Moore, co-author of "Bush's Brain," discovered he was on the Department of Homeland Security's no fly list a year ago. He said: "I have been on the No Fly Watch List for a year. I will never be told the official reason ... You cannot sue to get the information. Nothing I have done has moved me any closer to getting off the list. There were 35,000 Americans in that database last year. According to a European government that screens hundreds of thousands of American travelers every year, the list they have been given to work from has since grown to 80,000."

How many of that 80,000 criticized our leader?

*Subsequent reports note use of 100.

Gene New
Gooding


A response to the above response is below, published 2/5/06. The guy's got a sense of humor!

I recognize the "bad for the health" comment, having redeveloped an old ulcer, but I think my fear would be greater if not attempting to get the word out.

Founding daughter

A few light-hearted responses to letter
By DARRELL HAMPTON
Twin Falls

Regarding letter from Gene New on Jan. 20:

I want to apologize for taking so long to reply to your letter. The paper thought that my letter was too muted and wanted me to start a Times-News Jerry Springer happening. Just kidding. Sorry, just not my style.

I do want to thank you for the laugh about Ann Coulter. The best scenario would be for her and Hillary to engage in a costume showdown and charge big bucks for admission. It would be a huge fundraiser for both parties. I chuckle every time I think about it.

I will respond to one item in your letter. I hope you noticed the Associated Press article on the same day as your letter, which identified Harry Reid as a recipient of Indian tribe money. All of the items you noted, I have read about but will not respond to. I believe I have caused you enough angst already.

I do not believe political debate should be taken quite so seriously. Bad for the health.

Again, I want to thank you for a good laugh. Have a nice day.

Let's be blunt

Submitted 01/06/06

DODO’s are not extinct! They migrated to Idaho and now form the 50% who continue to support Bushco. Why have I taken to outright slamming instead of more subtle sarcasm? Because our civil rights are being destroyed while I type, and if you support this administration you are complicit in the destruction of America.

If you aren’t outraged by what is going on in our country, then you’re not paying attention.

All excuses to the contrary, the warrantless domestic spying program is neither legal nor are the excuses offered for it valid. The fear-mongering that this leak alerted and assisted the enemy is laughable. Do you know that Alberto Gonzales, one of Bush’s big defenders on this action, tried to get the second in command at the DOJ to recertify it while Ashcroft was in the hospital with pancreatitis? He refused, knowing it was illegal. So Gonzales and Andrew Card went to the hospital to have Ashcroft sign off. He at first refused.

Through four previous administrations, the FISA approved all but one warrant application. Come 2000, problems developed. The court rejected six requests and modified 179. For the first time the government clashed with the court. Changes were requested by Bushco including changing the phrase “the purpose of the surveillance is to obtain foreign intelligence information” to “a significant purpose of the surveillance.” However their attorneys were unwilling to expand on what other purposes there might be besides suspicion of terrorism or espionage.

Bushco got their way, but obviously even with the expanded powers of the Patriot Act and FISA warrants, it wasn’t enough. In 2003-2004 four applications were denied, the court forced them to withdraw three, and 173 were modified. Compare this to a total of six application objections in the previous 24 years. The FISA judges were appointed by Rehnquist, so don’t pull out the “liberal” label.

According to an article by Doug Thompson from Capitol Hill Blue, millions are being spied on by the FBI, Homeland Security and the Pentagon. He reports a former NSA agent who quit in disgust as saying, “We’re no longer in the business of tracking our enemies. We’re spying on everyday Americans.”

And as for the Patriot Act so beloved in Idaho, read it and know that formerly investigations on Americans that led nowhere were destroyed. Bush stopped that in 2003. It’s now all being saved.

SM
Gooding

Mr. Potato Head Award!

12/27/2005

Socialist Democrats will do anything for control

Our federal legislators many times get up to address their peers and say things that are false, inflammatory, and often slanderous, then assert the right to revise or edit before it is inserted in the record. It is claimed these august politicians should not be held accountable not only for what is said on the legislative floor, but also in public.

Politicians come into the public arena voicing outrageously slanderous statements against the administration and president. The statements are mostly false and slandersou because if they were true, they would have impeached the president before now. The Socialist Democrafts want President Bush out of office, period! Their voices have become shrill and outrageously seditious, if not treasonous and incessant until many no longer remember the truth.hey hope to regain power by turning public media who are their willing accomplices. The Vietnam war was not lost on the battlefield but in the media, egged on by the real radicals, our Socialist-Democratic caucus.

Yes, there is a place for serious, reasoned and truthful debate on matters of national security and troop disposition -- that is on the legislative floor and not in the public arena. They haven't been winning elections or arguments on the legislative floor, so they come to the public with innuendoes, half-truths. The Socialist Democratic leadership knows well the principle that if they repeat something often enough, they will eventually lead many to believe it is the truth. This way they turn public opinion and cause confusion, distrust, unrest and anger against the target of their venom. Their irresponsible public statements jeopardize efforts in the war on terrorism and the lives and morale of our honorable men and women in the service.

These people are only interested in the power they lost. Their damage control, and plan for our future, is to discredit anyone else. This is also the politics of personal destruction and unwillingness to accept the obvious. People seem so ready to believe that all government, even our government, is evil. Some alternatives to our form of government are socialism-communism, anarchy or totalitarianism. Our form of government is still the best.

Kenneth Kuhlman


http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006/01/05/news_letters/opinion_letters.2.txt

“See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." —George W. Bush, 5/24/05.

In attempting to reveal the not-so-hidden agenda of this presidency I am only too aware of those who continue to waltz down country roads yelling about “socialist Democrats” in blissful ignorance. This fight has nothing to do with Democrats, Republicans or Independents. It has everything to do with recognizing what is happening to our country and trying to stop it.

It is ludicrous to suggest that mainstream media is an accomplice of Democrats. BushCo has manipulated the media endlessly; inviting editors to the White House claiming a threat to national security if domestic spying were revealed before the 2004 election; repeating the effort when the issue surfaced again in 12/05; paying columnists to write favorably about administration programs; abridging government agency reports to minimize negative aspects while enhancing their own agenda.

Only recently has the media begun revealing some of the truth of the past 5 years. Is it treasonous to object to the president disregarding our basic constitutional rights? Is it treasonous to protest against administration war crimes? BushCo spies on America for their benefit--not ours, as when they used the NSA to spy on UN delegates hoping to gain leverage in their race to war. No thinking person can possibly believe all of this surveillance is for protection from terrorists. With this group, it’s far more likely for blackmail.

Let’s talk about the politics of personal destruction: Review the slander aimed at John McCain when he came to South Carolina after a 19-point win against GWB in the 2000 primary. Immediately there was a concerted push poll instituted which suggested that McCain’s adopted Bangladeshi daughter was his own illegitimate Black child. The same method was used by the Swift Boaters during their merry bob in sewage. Truth is not a basic ingredient in BushCook.

This GOP congress has been complicit in every underhanded, preferential legislation passed during this administration, and they’re not about to impeach the originator of the feast. So pull your head out and do a little investigating. Start with a few General Accounting Office reports. If you really want to keep America free, you’ll go on from there.

AN
Gooding



Media bias for Bush? Coverage shows otherwise

Regarding the media advisory to Bush, Jan. 5:

The author seems to believe that the mainstream media cater to Bush. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many books have been written on the subject, all coming to the same conclusion -- the media is heavily biased toward the Democrats. All one has to do is follow what the main stream media prints and what the facts are.

For example: National Security Agency tapping into calls from terrorists out of the country to people -- citizens or not -- within the country has been upheld by the courts several times. If the media want to impeach Bush, then all living presidents will have to be impeached also. This includes Clinton and Carter. The top party members of both parties on the Senate Intelligence Committee were briefed on all of the wire taps on a regular basis. Absolutely no problems expressed by the Democrats until The New York Times article. This right has been exercised by presidents from George Washington on. All one has to do is review the appropriate Federalist Papers. Yes, George intercepted mail. Maybe the author would rather see citizens die rather than stopping them. The Abramoff scandal has been portrayed as a Republican problem; the fact is that about half of the recipients are Democrats, including Harry Reid, Hilary Clinton, Schumer, and on and on. The forged documents about Bush's service in the National Guard; about 19 out of 20 political cartoons published in The Times-News are anti-Bush. The distortions and lies go on daily. They are very hard to miss.

McCain must not have been too upset; he supported Bush in that election. Kerry never offered any proof that the Swift Boaters where wrong. In fact, evidence supports their case. All Kerry had to do was release his military record.

Our left-leaning Times-News can never be considered balanced as along as all of its political news comes from the Associate Press, USA Today, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, etc. All card-carrying members of the Democratic Party.

DH
Twin Falls