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