Musings of a Liberal Texan

I have often said that I hate gwb. I guess the following helps me to amend or rather correct that. I don't know him. I cannot possibly hate someone I don't know...I don't think. I mean, I really dislike Hitler...but I didn't know him. I guess I have combined the sinner with the sin in that case. But I guess what I hate is the policies...the overwhelming feeling of being led by people that have no interest in what interests me, what I consider important. I feel a frustration and an anger at this administration that I have never quite felt before. I am sure I would have felt the same way about the reagan administration but I was too young and not yet independent to know about that then. I like this piece. It reflects a great deal of my sentiment. I'm No Bush Hater There's a huge difference between disliking the president and disliking his policies. by Rosa Brooks Are you a Bush hater, so blinded by "primal" loathing for the president that you automatical...

Abramoff and Rove Had 82 Contacts, Report Says By PHILIP SHENON WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 — A bipartisan Congressional report documents hundreds of contacts between White House officials and the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his partners, including at least 10 direct contacts between Mr. Abramoff and Karl Rove , the president’s chief political strategist. The House Government Reform Committee report, based on e-mail messages and other records subpoenaed from Mr. Abramoff’s lobbying firm, found 485 contacts between Mr. Abramoff’s lobbying team and White House officials from 2001 to 2004, including 82 with Mr. Rove’s office. The lobbyists spent almost $25,000 in meals and drinks for the White House officials and provided them with tickets to numerous sporting events and concerts, according to the report, scheduled for release Friday. The authors of the report said it was generally unclear from available records whether the aides reimbursed Mr. Abramoff for the meals or tickets. Ethics r...

ACTION ALERT!! New federal law may pass TOMORROW that labels peaceful activism as "terrorism!" The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) is pending in Congress (HR 4239). Industry groups are pushing it through quickly and with little public scrutiny (fast-tracking it like the Patriot Act... first through the House of Reps, then through the Senate ) before the Fall recess. They plan to vote on this tomorrow, Friday, September 29 in the House.This is the most important call yet because it affects our ability to help ALL animals! We need to flood the lines with calls in opposition now! Contact your House Reps now at 202-224-3121 to urge them to oppose HR 4239. Contact your Senators now at 202-224-3121 to urge them to oppose S 3880 (was S 1926). Contact co-sponsors Senators Inhof & Feinstein at 202-224-3121 to oppose S 3880. Forward this message to friends, the ACLU & social advocacy groups. Details & Talking Points:. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act drastically ...

White House Refuses to Release Full NIE Report The Associated Press Wednesday 27 September 2006 The White House refused Wednesday to release in full a previously secret intelligence assessment that depicts a growing terrorist threat and has fueled the election-season fight over the Iraq war. Press secretary Tony Snow said releasing the full report, portions of which President Bush declassified on Tuesday, would jeopardize the lives of agents who gathered the information. It would also risk the nation's ability to work with foreign governments and to keep secret its U.S. intelligence-gathering methods, Snow said, and "compromise the independence of people doing intelligence analysis." "If they think their work is constantly going to be released to the public they are going to pull their punches," Snow said. Iraq as a bulwark against terrorists In the bleak National Intelligence Estimate, the government's top analysts concluded...

2001 memo to Rice contradicts statements about Clinton, Pakistan 09/26/2006 @ 12:59 pmFiled by Larry Womack A memo received by United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shortly after becoming National Security Advisor in 2001 directly contradicts statements she made to reporters yesterday, RAW STORY has learned. "We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda," Rice told a reporter for the New York Post on Monday. "Big pieces were missing," Rice added, "like an approach to Pakistan that might work, because without Pakistan you weren't going to get Afghanistan." Rice made the comments in response to claims made Sunday by former President Bill Clinton, who argued that his administration had done more than the current one to address the al Qaeda problem before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. She stopped short of calling the former president a liar. However, RAW STORY has found that just five days after President George W. B...

I found this to be very interesting.... KATRINA TIMELINE Friday, August 26 GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA [ Office of the Governor ] GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1 press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional forces on Friday, 8/26. [ DOD ] Saturday, August 27 GOV. HALEY BARBOUR DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN MISSISSIPPI [ Office of the Governor ] 5AM CDT — KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE [ CNN ] GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: “I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.” [ Office of the...