Move on Idaho!

Move-On must have too many members for Bushco’s usual shut-up tactic--arrest. And while Congress is unwilling to stop the Iraq fiasco, they are able to express outrage at the Betray-Us ad. I suspect some Dems joined in because Move-On actually expects them to remember why they were elected.

But Congress must have missed the editorial cartoons which were equally as revealing of the “Petraeus Show” underwritten by none other than Little George.

While Bush supporters are found everywhere in Idaho, elsewhere citizens are sick and tired of recycled lies and destruction for the sake of oil and money. Many have expressed support for Move-On’s right to free speech as quoted on their site:

“I'm currently in Iraq. I do not agree with this war...You have the RIGHT to speak the truth. We KNOW that you support us. Thank you for speaking out for being our voice. We do not have a voice. We are overshooted by those who say that we soldiers do not support organizations like MoveOn. WE DO. YOU ARE OUR voice.”

“...Wearing a uniform does not mean someone isn't a shill, spewing propaganda, and downright lies. MoveOn has every right to buy an ad and say what they want about a public figure. This administration has lied to us, deceived us, misled us and when posed with a challenge this is how they respond? –Keith G., Va.

As for me, I am sick and tired of obnoxious loudmouths who are so bereft of independent thought that they repeat GOP talking points over and over. Hey, some of us knew they were lies the first time we heard them; they don’t impress us any more coming out of different mouths.

There is even uncanny evidence of the spread of Bushspeak: “I'm tired of hearing liberals accusing conservatives of questioning their loyalty, which we have not done, ...and yes, I do question the loyalty of some of the Democrat leaders and even some Republican leaders in Congress of disloyalty.” John Thiebert.

While I may be accused of being politically incorrect, I feel that those who continue to support this administration despite the lies, misuse of power, death-dealing and unprecedented future burden are as guilty as the originators. That includes General Petraeus.

Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other...Benjamin Franklin

Idahoans don't don rose-colored glasses, they GLUE THEM ON!

It seems that Cameron is very offended at the suggestion that Petraeus might be, well, a "plant," as was Mr. Thiebert in the link following my comments.
Founding Daughter

From Cameron in Story Commenting Forum:
" What is a joke is how a 4 star general was treated by Congress- a Congress that unanimously approved him for his position. What is a joke is the moveon.org ad that came out slandering the general before he ever spoke. An ad of which Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said, "I don't buy into that. This is an honorable guy. He's telling the truth." What is a joke is Ms. Metcalf's characterization of the general's report as a "rosy picture", when his reports over the last 9 months have been anything but. He has laid out the positives and negatives of the situation in Iraq, and given his assessment of what needs to be done. The fact that a 4 star general's assessment of Iraq differs with Sharon Metcalf's does not make him a liar. The fact that anti-Iraq groups started their character defamation before General Petraeus even had a chance to give his report shows their irrational fear of any positive outlook for Iraq."

My response:
Cameron. A postscript to the “joke” of how Congress treated Petraeus is that they failed to inject a little reality into Petraeus’ background in Iraq when they had the opportunity. They should have pinned him to the board, much like an insect, for a close examination. The Independent of London reports that he is held at least partly responsible for the failure to train an effective Iraqi army, the capture of Mosul by insurgents, and the theft of the entire Iraqi arms budget in 2004-05.

Use your head. If we have a White House full of liars and crooks whose main objective is to keep this occupation going, any general who is touted as knowing what’s going on in Iraq supports their hallucinations or leaves. This is a general who was in on the biological warfare trailer lie, subsequently wrote an op-ed before elections in 2004 boasting of Iraq progress, and created the Special Police Commandos who have played such a role in fueling the civil war. Four retired generals have reported that the SPC needs to be disbanded because of their corruption and sectarionism.

Guess who held meetings in Mitch McConnell’s office last February to make a case for the surge? It starts with “P” and it’s not pissant...well, then again. Another perspective on what he’s done in Iraq is found in Petraeus & the Central Front Myth by Robert Parry. Defense Secretary Gates’ claim that there has to be political reconciliation in Iraq for a successful outcome would make one think that this administration and their toadies aren’t doing everything they can to keep what’s left of the country in turmoil. Dream on.

...and in today's (15 Sept.) Times-News...

http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2007/09/15/opinion/letters/120604_5.txt

Tired of hearing liberal accusations

It is Sept. 11, 2007, as I write this. And I am fuming as I hear our congressional leaders and Moveon.org treating our Gen. Petreaus accused of lying and treason or giving an honest and encouraging report on Iraq.

I'm tired of hearing liberals accusing conservatives of questioning their loyalty, which we have not done, but I'm afraid we have been too generous with some, and yes, I do question the loyalty of some of the Democrat leaders and even some Republican leaders in Congress of disloyalty.

They claim to support our troops out of one side of the mouth, and from the other accuse them of raiding "women and children in the dark of night," of lying to Congress, of other crimes, but do not take notice of the good things they do for the people of Iraq and elsewhere they are stationed.

These people fail to recognize that we lost the war in Vietnam because we were unwilling to support our servicemen and treated them like dirt when they returned home. We have not been willing to win a war since 1945.

And until we are willing to do so and win decisively, we will have to face greater and greater challenges until our freedom is gone forever.

If it is not bin Laden, it will be someone else, because we have shown weakness. If we are not willing to fight for our freedom, we deserve what we get. Remember: Freedom is not free, and thank your lucky stars for the men and women who are risking their lives and limbs to protect us.

JOHN THIEBERT

Twin Falls

Another Idaho "Your Politician is More Corrupt Than my Politician!"

Politicians who should have resigned but didn't.

You have to love our political parties. It gets more laughable every day. It seems their goals are to destroy each other rather than run the country.

Now the Democrats are accusing the GOP of double standards regarding Larry Craig and his toe tapping. The poor guy may have just been asking for another square of toilet paper.

But let me get back to double standards and my response to them saying he should resign. Examples:

Ted Kennedy, while cheating on his wife, drove off a small bridge, ran off leaving Mary Joe to drown, came back 12 hours later. Was he asked to resign by the Democrats? No.

Harry Reid got caught in several very shady land deals. Was he asked to resign by the Democrats? No.

Charlie Rangle had a whorehouse running out of his basement. Was he asked to resign by the Democrats? No.

Bill Clinton, convicted of perjury, lied to a grand jury, lied to the world, his wife and his party on TV regarding sex in the White House, etc. Was he asked to resign by the Democrats? No.

Another democrat wrecks his car early one morning, enters drug rehab the next. Was he asked to resign by the democrats? No.

Sandy Burger steals papers that were damaging to his boss by stuffing them in his Fruit of the Looms; should have done jail time. Was he asked to step down? No.

Nancy Pelosi got the minimum wage raised; however, the people of American Samoa are not included. Who is the largest employer on American Samoa? Del Monte - 7,000 people. Guess whose district Del Monte's corporate offices are in? Fancy Nancy's. Was she asked to resign by the Democrats? No.

And the Democrats are crying double standards, go figure.

MIKE SIMMONS
Buhl

NOTE TO MIKE: Rangel, not Rangle. Berger, not Burger.

Chappaquiddick: Reprehensible, but still almost 40 years old.

Harry Reid's "shady" land deal consisted of transferring ownership of property he owned to an LLC in which he then took partial ownership equal to the land’s value. When the LLC sold the land, he made $700,000. In October 2006, Reid announced that he was filing a correction to his ethics form that would better represent the actualities of the arrangements surrounding the land deal and included 2 other small holdings previously unreported. In 6 days, CNN aired 17 REPORTS of allegations that Reid improperly reported a land deal in which he made $700,000. In June 2006, CNN aired 65 WORDS about a land deal in which House Speaker Hastert made nearly $2 million. The value rose after he earmarked taxpayer funding for a highway near the property, something CNN failed to report. Unlike Hastert, Reid was not alleged to have taken government action leading to his profit.

Mike, Mike, Mike. You really need to read those Googles carefully. This was not Charlie Rangel. Pat Buchanan recently asserted that Rep. Barney Frank "had a fellow running a -- basically a full-service whorehouse in his basement." Investigation by the House ethics committee discovered that a man's initial public assertions that he had run a prostitution ring out of Frank's residence were contradicted by evidence and the sworn testimony of third parties. I think this happened around 25 years ago.

Clinton was impeached for his lies about having sex with a consenting "adult." As deceptions and machinations perpetrated by this White House (responsible for massive death and destruction) continue to grow to unprecedented levels, I recall someone stating, "Will somebody please given George Bush a ---- job?

Patrick Kennedy accident. Since I don't have access to his medicine cabinet, I will not make conjecture as did Faux News when they broadcast "it has been reported that he is bipolar and has been in drug rehab before." Excuse me? Reported by whom? Then, licking their chops, they were able to once again talk about Chappaquiddick.

Sandy Berger theft. If only they'd been in e-mail form, he could have "disappeared" them like the 5,000,000 White House e-mails that vaporized.

Nancy Pelosi having Del Monte offices in her district? Somebody should have told her that she has the power to make them do what she wants--oops, I forgot, it’s only Bush who can do anything he wants. But thanks for thinking that up! A new White House excuse for corporate greed; blame the district representative!

Get real. We need ethics reform in government no matter what party, NOT to include rules about sex between consenting adults! We need to return the 4th estate to its intended purpose. We need to call a lie a lie, educate Americans about their true history, and start the long climb to actually being as principled as we have always claimed to be.

How Idaho's Craig could have avoided that egg (on his face)

Craig's problem is that he veered off the party line. First, he should have done a study on how many men have been charged with indiscretions in that restroom. If that didn't fit his needs, he then could have found out how many men were charged in that very stall. Add in every man who ever picked up a piece of paper and wasn't charged, add in everyone who has finished their business in a stall and found there was no toilet paper, add in every blue eye that peered into a stall, then go to the nearest hospital and add in men leaving after prostate surgery who have wide-based gaits. Then he could take the number of men who were not charged (with the original charge, but pled down), manipulated these numbers and presented a picture to prove his innocence...sort of like the Petraeus report. He should have never answered questions or admitted that the situation even existed. For someone who has been consistently in step with this administration, he missed the Bushco Boat.

How Many Idahoans Donned Their Rose-Colored Glasses Today?

Just as expected. Petraeus’ Iraq surge report was a crock! Such a rosy picture, but it’s the administration wearing the glasses, while the soldiers and Iraqis wear blood.

An ABC News/BBC/NHK Poll - Iraq: Where Things Stand reveals the opinions of those who actually have to live in this mess–Iraqis, 65-70 percent of whom judge the 6-month surge as resulting in worse security, more political instability, and less redevelopment.

Just 39 percent of Iraqis say their lives are going well, down from 71 percent in November 2005.

Every Iraqi polled in Anbar as well as Baghdad said their lives have been made worse by the surge.

Bush’s recent photo op in Anbar missed the 62 percent there who rate a number of items, such as clean water, availability of household items as “very bad.” In the Anbar area, 100 percent of those polled view attacks on American forces as acceptable.

Nearly 2/3 of Iraqis say the American-led invasion was wrong; 79 percent oppose the presence of coalition forces, and 47 percent of Iraqis say the U.S. and the coalition forces should leave Iraq immediately.

Meanwhile 53 percent of Americans polled didn’t expect Petraeus, the general in charge of the 190,000 lost weapons before being put in charge in Iraq, to report anything other than more White House smoke.

Karen De Young in The Washington Post writes, “"Many experts within and outside the government... contend that some of the underlying statistics are questionable and selectively ignore negative trends."

Michael Winship writes that...”the Bush administration has misinterpreted or cooked or hidden the numbers that tell the real story: the number of attacks, the number of suicide bombings, the numbers of civilian dead and wounded...on Inauguration Day 2009, those troops -- and Iraqis, of course -- will still be dying. Are we nuts?”