Gonzo-Gate --And Commentary on the Iraq War Supplemental Bill

I will respond-hastily and angrily-on the subject of the recent passing of the Iraq War Supplemental Spending Bill momentarily, but first, our scheduled commentary on the subject of the U.S. Attorney Debacle.

It is good timing on the part of the one-man Notepad Team that we speak of Gonzo-gate, a day after a evangelical law school graduate at which less than half of the graduating class passed the bar on their first try, a woman who had never taken on a court case of any kind, admitted under oath that she was given the authority to fire 8 U.S. attorneys based on political bias, gracing every major newspaper in the nation saying she "crossed the line."

First of all, who in the world gave Monica Goodling this power to hire any personnel? For a woman who had never even gotten her feet wet in the federal court system, she had the power to fire any District Attorney, not just the 8 fired, or the 26 which were planned to be fired, but all District Attorneys, because of the PATRIOT Act. Also, being a White House liaison, the Justice Department is definitely at fault; how could they allow someone to have that power when it should be in the hands of, in my opinion, the Judiciary Committee? This is ludicrous.

As for the reasons why, this scares me more. This was done to take out attorneys with cases against Republicans and replacing them with-who else?-Bush cronies. In other words, because of the wonderful PATRIOT Act, they could have taken out Patrick Fitzgerald, the Special Prosecutor on the U.S. v. Scooter Libby trial, who some attorneys say is on the rise, and replaced him-indefinitely-with Rush Limbaugh!

Now my opinion on the Iraq Spending Bill. This is total cowardice by the Democratic Party. A compromise, says Mr. Reid of Nevada? A compromise, says Madam Pelosi of California? A compromise, say Mr. Hoyer of Maryland? No, this is not a compromise, this is rolling down and dying by the Democratic Party! Do they know they won both houses last November? Do they know that they won both houses because the American people, en masse, were sick of what was being done in Iraq? And what about Sen. Biden of Delaware, who has seen young men and women, in body bags, come into Dover Air Force Base? Why did he vote yes? And John Murtha? Doesn't he want to help the troops by getting them the hell out of there? And he actually has a spine?

The Democratic Party needs a spine transplant. And quick. Because they can be gone quite quickly.

On the Iraq War

"I remember a sign from the Old West, that said: "Wanted...Dead or Alive."

-President George Walker Bush, on Osama bin Laden

"I don't know where he is. I just...haven't spent that much time on it."

-President George Walker Bush, on Osama bin Laden

The Iraq War should have never happened: we should have stayed in Afghanistan, hunting down our true enemy, Osama bin Laden, to the death; we should have sealed the mountains of Tora Bora; we shouldn't have left what we started to begin with; we should have actually defended our country against an imminent threat.

I've read the papers, I've read the documents, I've read the Iraq Study Group report, I've done my research: this War wasn't necessary. Neither war was necessary; this President could have read the Presidential Daily Briefing that said "al-Qaida Planning to Attack Major American Landmarks" instead of My Pet Goat.

I saw the Twin Towers fall, as did my father and the rest of my family. My uncle worked at the WTC; he survived, while a few of his co-workers in that North Tower Blue Cross/Blue Shield office didn't. And we fought a meaningless war, a preemptive strike, against the country of Iraq.

It all began with a little conspiracy circle known as the Project For a New American Century(PNAC), filled with Republican wackjobs such as Vice President Cheney, newly resigned World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, and Richard Perle, and others. Their mission: to create a colonizing America, especially in the oil-laden parts of Afro-Eurasia. It just couldn't have been done without a "Pearl Harbor-like incident." Cue 9/11. That's why this is happening.

There are a few people to blame. One is Congress, for not coming to a compromise, especially after seeing young men and women come home in body bags, without prosthetics, without some brain functions, and with post-partum depression syndrome. The other is the President and his kitchen Cabinet, for insulating the President from reality as a whole, not able to see the men and women going through this time, not meeting the silver- and gold-star mothers and fathers, and not even making appearances at sites and 'think tanks,' that disagree with him. He won't even speak at the Cato Institute, which is libertarian. To think, this president is more right-wing than a libertarian.

Here's what we can do about this crisis in Iraq:

• Open up the bidding for contracting jobs in Iraq, especially to European businesses. I believe that European businesses getting into Iraq will curry favor with Europe and score points diplomatically, which can bode well in the greater fight against terror.
• Focus brigades and battalions on certain areas. Right now, troops are doing this: clearing out a city of any terrorist threats, then leaving, all for it to sprout up again. When brigades and battalions are centered in certain areas, then order can be restored on a local level, which can lead to restoration of order on the national level.
• Rewrite the Iraqi constitution, to make it democratic, and not the fascist-supporting government it is after the interim American government got to it.
• Help out the Iraqis, for once: restore a full 24-hours of electricity, water, &c; if you were going to "liberate" the Iraqis, you have to make it a better situation.
• Finally, set up timetables to leave Iraq. We can't stay forever. We mustn't stay forever. Thus, we have to set timetables for the Iraqi government so that they can finally take control of this mess.
• Redeploy troops to Afghanistan, and finish what we started.

There you go: strong, constructive ideas for what to do in Iraq. Now, where's my post as Defense Secretary?...wait, it's already been taken by Dr. Gates?...Oh well, I'm still better than Rumsfeld.

Here's a link on PNAC: http://newamericancentury.org. It's crazy, loony stuff.

Wednesday I'm off, mainly because I need a day off. Thursday: I'll be talking about Gonzo-Gate.

New Book-Al Gore's "The Assault on Reason"

Here's something I forgot to tell all of you: President Al Gore's new book is out.(Yes, I said President Gore.) The title is The Assault on Reason, and is on the threat to democracy that is the current political system. I've read an excerpt in the latest issue of TIME; it's marvelous, it's eloquent, it's what Al Gore would write about the current time.

It's $15.57 on Amazon and $18.16($16.34 for members) at Barnes and Noble; I think that's worth it. If it's not worth it, borrow it from your local library. Or a friend. Or a coworker.

Read the book. Before Al Gore unrightfully falls into obscurity and political purgatory.

Election 2008 Spotlight-Chrisopher Dodd

Well, you asked for it. (Right after I gave it to you.) Here's the facts about Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd:

• Contrary to popular belief, Dodd is not the Junior Senator from Connecticut; while Joe Lieberman was first elected in 1989, Dodd was elected in 1981.
• Dodd is a classic modern-day liberal: he is for gun control, has called for an end to the Iraq War, and has called for environmental and healthcare reform.
• He has called, along with a handful of his Democratic colleagues, to restore the Constitution and the right to habeas corpus.
• He is against same-sex marraige and for NAFTA and CAFTA; this is one of the ways in which Dodd diverges from this.

On Tuesday: I opine on the War in Iraq.