Letter Never Sent Tell me when to go.

Well, I don’t know if it matters much, but I went ahead and voted. They had early voting set up at the modern equivalent of the town-square, the local mall. I made sure to vote against anyone who voted to support Mini Me’s Iraq resolution.

Bush and the rest of his fellow ‘Republicans’ are trying very hard to maintain their regime, and to gain the reins in Congress. It’s not like their Democratic doppelgangers are very different, but a Republican triple-crown would be a scary thing indeed. Bush Enlists Government in GOP Campaign: Cabinet Members, Memos to Workers, Photo Ops Employed to Push for Midterm Success

Too bad I’m working. Central Texans are turning out to hear, protest the noted intellectual’s talks.

Bush On Economy: ‘Saddam Must Be Overthrown’

Georgia School Board Bans ‘Theory Of Math’

This has to be more than coincidence. Regardless of what this ‘anonymous’ source says.

Latest Sniper Victim Worked for FBI:

An FBI agent is the latest victim of the Washington-area sniper, and investigators said Tuesday they were confident that detailed witness accounts from the scene will lead them to the person who has now killed nine people.

Fact Sheet on the ADL:

The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith (ADL) gave an award Nov. 18, 1998 to the city of Coeur d’Alene. City Fathers assume this is something to be proud of and have unthinkingly rolled out the red carpet for the ADL.

They think that an imprimatur from the ADL, a prominent Jewish group with a multi-million dollar budget and substantial media clout, is a kind of certification of our area’s goodness. But in point of fact, hosting the ADL and its regional Seattle director at the Coeur d’Alene Resort is a shameful blot on the region.

The ADL is a branch of the masonic B’nai B’rith (Sons of the Covenant), which was established Oct. 13, 1843.

Up until recently, for decades the chief “fact-finder” (head spy) for the ADL was the late Irwin Suall. From 1957 through 1962, Mr. Suall was national secretary of the Socialist Party. (1)

The ADL keeps extensive espionage files on those who are critical of Israeli policies. Last year the ADL attempted to blackmail Benjamin Chavis, leader of the NAACP, with some of those files. (2)

The ADL spies on American dissidents on behalf of the Israeli government. Automobile license plate numbers of people attending a meeting of the Committee on the Middle East were recorded by ADL agent Roy Bullock, channeled through San Francisco police officer Tom Gerard, also an ADL operative, and furnished to the Israeli government. (3) …

Related:

Oil has always been top of Bush’s foreign-policy agenda:

October 7 2002

As the United States prepares for war with Iraq, a report commissioned early in George Bush’s presidency has surfaced, showing that the US knew it was running out of oil and foreshadowing the possible need for military intervention to secure supplies.

The report forecasts an end to cheap and plentiful fuel, with the energy industry facing “the beginning of capacity limitations”.

Prepared by the influential Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, it urged the Bush Administration to admit “these agonising truths to the American people”.

Strategic Energy Policy Challenges for the 21st Century, written early last year, was a policy document used to shape the new administration’s energy policy.

It applauded the creation of Vice-President Dick Cheney’s energy task force to address the creation of specific energy plans, and suggested it consider including representation from the Department of Defence.

Saying “there is no alternative” and “there is no time to waste”, the document projects periods of exploding US energy prices, economic recession and social unrest unless answers are found.

It suggests that a minimum three to five years is needed to find a solution, and says a “reassessment of the role of energy in American foreign policy” is called for, with access to oil repeatedly cited as a “security imperative”.

The involvement of the Council of Foreign Relations in the report’s preparation adds weight to its findings. The council ranks as one of the most influential groups in US political circles, with members including Mr Cheney and the former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and James Baker.

The report also explodes the myth that the US is insulated from Middle East oil supply problems because it receives the bulk of its oil from less volatile sources outside the Persian Gulf. It says Middle East pricing and supply trends “will affect energy costs around the globe regardless”.

Continue reading →

I thought this was pretty funny.

BBC: Bush challenged to ‘duel’ with Saddam:

“Bush wants to attack the whole [of] Iraq, the army and the infrastructure,” the Iraqi vice-president said.

“The American president should specify a group, and we will specify a group and choose neutral ground with Kofi Annan as referee and use one weapon with a president against a president, a vice-president against a vice-president, and a minister against a minister in a duel.”

Mr Fleischer poured scorn on the proposal saying:

“In the past when Iraq had disputes, it invaded its neighbours. There were no duels; there were invasions. There was use of weapons of mass destruction and military. That’s how Iraq settles its disputes.”

Bush is a wuss. He talks a big talk when other people’s lives are on the line, but his blue blood is a little too precious.

From the NY Times:

Harvard’s Pro-Israel, Jewish president, Lawrence H. Summers, has attempted to paint critics of Israel as anti-Semites. This is the sort of thing a person does when they are unable or unwilling to make a coherent argument and wish to stifle discussion. This came after many students and professors have called for Harvard to divest itself of all Israeli investments.

Labeling the petition anti-Semitic is a strategy to detract from the criticisms of Israel,” Professor Spelke said. “It turns the substance of a political debate into a debate of morals and supposed racism.

I thought the following portion contained an important omission:

Lawrence S. Bacow, president of nearby Tufts University, applauded Mr. Summers for his stand. “University presidents ought to raise important questions and I think he has,” Mr. Bacow said, adding that he, too, was concerned about signs suggesting a rise in anti-Semitism on campuses.

Regardless of how unimportant it may actually be, isn’t it at least noteworthy to mention that Lawrence Bacow is Jewish? Might that not factor into your appraisal of the situation? He is the only other University president quoted in the piece.

You have to read this. It covers all the bases. You’re joking right? by Joel S.

7. Flight 93. I would never dishonor the memories of those guys on board, their actions were truly heroic. But you would reduce the words “Let’s Roll” to a sound bite for political gain. There’s that integrity thing again. The victim’s families and the country are not expected to ask questions, right? The three missing minutes on the cockpit recorder, the fact that Cheney admitted he would have made the call to fire, the seismic evidence of a jet in the area at that time, the witnesses who saw one, the wide trail of debris, all lead to the “possibility” of a shoot down. And no one would be blamed, because the action would have been justifiable. It’s the cover-up and lies that aren’t ethical. That integrity thing, remember? But we are supposed to trust you and not ask questions. You’re joking, right?

8. Showdown with Saddam. Let’s send the boys into Baghdad. Let’s get that bastard. Hmmm… Who served in Nam? Not Dubya.. a pilot in the Air National Guard (p.s. don’t say the word kamikaze to a Texas pilot, they don’t know about those things). Not Cheney… “other priorities.” Perle, Wolfowitz, Card, and most of the Administration’s advisors and bureaucrats clamoring for war, ducked when it was their turn. But now we are supposed to charge blindly into war, without asking questions, or examining all of our options, even while in the middle of another war. You’re joking, right?