THE ISSUES
War: “Iraq sent spies from Canada to New York and Washington this month to snoop and stir up anti-war demonstrations, according to a government report obtained by the Daily News. The classified document also reveals a plot by Al Qaeda-linked militants in Zimbabwe to attack American targets in that country and elsewhere if the U.S. declares war on Iraq. “ – Daily News Do any other Junkies wonder about the time of the “leak” of this intelligence report? Do Junkies remember during the Cold War that press accounts of Russian Subs appeared just before the military budget was considered by Congress? Hmmm…..
Nelson Mandela exhorts TW for leading the effort to go to war without UN support. – CNN
Jimmy Carter opines that TW has NOT made the case for war. – ABC
41 Nobel laureates issue a joint statement opposing TW’s war. – NYT
Eight European states pledge their unity with the US and Britain. This sparks more talk of “old Europe” versus “new Europe.” “Drafted by Spain's Jose Maria Aznar, the text of their collective article was a pointed rebuke to Germany's Gerhard Schröder and France's Jacques Chirac - labelled "Old Europe"by US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld - for thinking they alone represent Europe's collective will. It is the latest example of the shifting centre of gravity in Europe, which would be reinforced if France and Germany were not part of a victorious coalition against Iraq.” – Daily News Twenty-one countries will give the US access to their territory if necessary during the war. -- Daily Telegraph
In the regards to Italy’s support of the war, the Vatican specifically chides Italy’s foreign minister for taking the position. “Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's secretary of state, changed tack Wednesday, saying the Vatican was hoping to convince the United States that a war against Iraq isn't worth "irritating a billion of Islamics." "We want to say to America: Is it worth it to you? Won't you have, afterward, decades of hostility in the Islamic world?" -- Yahoo
70% of Japanese are opposed to TW’s unilateral war. – ASAHI
British government releases report that al-Qeada probably has a “dirty” nuclear device. – BBC Do any other Junkies wonder about the timing of this release, even if true!
Unnamed White House sources indicate that SOS Powell will release intelligence intercepts of Iraqi officials admitting that they are moving and hiding “stuff” and not reporting WMD. – MSNBC
In a sign of hope, Iraqi officials will meet with the UN Inspections regarding their cooperation. – CBS
Meanwhile, the Hawks are telling Bush to increase military spending by 100 million dollars a year. – Present Danger
Blair: Junkie has noted in past months that the British public is opposed to war and Blair’s continued support of TW could result in Blair falling as PM. CNN is now reporting “Blair . . . risks splitting his own party, alienating his two biggest partners in Europe -- France and Germany -- and perhaps even losing office, so unpopular is his support for war with Iraq in Britain. . . . "If it goes wrong, Tony Blair could be gone by Christmas, and that's why he's looking tired. He's looking stressed," says Piers Morgan, editor-in-chief of the Daily Mirror.” -- CNN 84% of Brits opposes the war. – Mirror
Brits are starting to ask who will speak for them if Blair will not. – Guardian Unlimited Junkies, this is an excellent piece.
Economy: In the 4th quarter, the US economy slowed again. In short, the US enconomy cannot sustain any meaningful growth. – Washington Post
The Euro is now stronger than the US$. – Washington Post
Women Rights: The Repubs in Virginia are signaling the attack on women rights. “Virginia's House of Delegates approved a bill today that would allow health care workers to invoke a "conscience clause" if they wish to avoid participating in abortion or birth control procedures. The measure was among five abortion limits that cleared various stages in the General Assembly, and activists on both sides of the issue said they were predicting a landmark year for abortion regulation in Virginia. Bills that would bar a practice defined as "partial-birth infanticide," a late-term procedure commonly called "partial-birth abortion" by opponents; require parental consent for abortions; and remove a woman's mental health as a condition for allowing a late-term abortion all advanced toward final votes on the House floor. The Senate's Education and Health Committee approved a parental consent bill for the first time. The one setback today for abortion opponents came when the committee failed to pass a bill that would have toughened the regulation of abortion clinics. "We are very optimistic," said Victoria Cobb, director of legislative affairs for the Family Foundation, who said today was a "historic day in Virginia. We believe the voice of Virginians has been heard." Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax), who voted against Thursday's late-term abortion bill and today's parental consent and clinic regulation bills, said "there's been nothing like this, this wave of anti-choice legislation." -- Washington Post
Judiciary: Senate Repub Judiciary Committee approves Miguel Estrada for federal judiciary. Estrada is another ultra-conservative Repub. The question is whether the Sen Dems will filibuster. A number of groups are asking citizens to contact their Dem Sens to block Estrada. – PFAW & Feminist Majority & NARAL Junkies should consider contacting Edwards, who voted against Estrada in committee and write Dole, who will most probably vote for Estrada, to show that such support comes with political consequences.
Environment: Eric Pianin of the Washington Post writes an excellent piece on how environmental groups are turning to the courts to protect the environment. – Washington Post Junkie would note that if TW gets his way, the courts will not be much of a refuge for this vital issue.
JUNKIES SPEAK
Helen Church: Junkie Helen Church writes that Bob Herbert’s op ed piece in the NYT on TW’s SOTU was the best. She’s right. Herbert hit the nail on the head with a title called “Bait and Switch.” -- NYT
Helen also forwards a VERY interesting article by Jim Moscou entitled “Newsrooms Bewitched by Iraq War.” -- Editor & Publisher If Junkies want to understand the true slant on the war news, this is a very good start.
Jim Senter: Junkie Jim Senter responded to TW’s SOTU with some thought provoking comments. He writes:
The idea that this Tuesday’s rehash of months-old unsubstantiated accusations is a convincing argument for war is a phantasm that exists only in the vacuum between the ears of our beloved cadre of talking heads. And [TW’s] domestic agenda? That doesn't even deserve a response. I hope Congress is worried enuf about the next election to label that DOA.
Below is a letter I sent to the Durham Herald yesterday
To the Editors, The Herald Sun
The comedy team of Blair and Bush pulled a whopper yesterday. According to the funny men from Downing Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, there is evidence that Al Quaeda operatives are being sheltered in Iraq.
Never mind that they have been making this claim ever since the war in Afghanistan failed to bring us bin Laden's head. Never mind the fact that CIA analysts for months have been complaining of being pressured by the White House to find such evidence, no matter how flimsy, in order to support the decision for war that has already been made.
In his State of the Union address, Bush claimed to have evidence that weapons of mass destruction still exist in Iraq.
Never mind that the weapons inspectors would very much like to use that evidence, if it exists, to plan their inspections, and as yet, they haven't seen it. Never mind the fact that this so-called evidence still remains hidden, denying citizens in democratic countries the information they need to assess the appropriateness of their government's actions.
The joke is, Blair and Bush expect the world to be convinced by their "Trust me, I know what I'm doing" routine. Mr. Bush has been talking for six months about this evidence. It's time for him to put up or shut up.
Michael Carmichael: Junkie Michael Carmichael forwarded several articles from Europe. In particular, he noted opinions of Gunter Grass in a piece entitled “No beginning or end to war.” – Guardian Unlimited In another wonderful Guardian article, “Forward into battle,” the effect of going to war on Tony Blair is explained. – Guardian Unlimited Both articles are must reads for all Junkies.
Herman Brannen: Junkie Herman Brannen, a decorated Vet, forwarded the following; again pointing out that TW loves war but not the people who have to fight it.
By David Hackworth
© 2003 David H. Hackworth . . . But on Feb. 12, an army of scarred and ornery warriors will once again be walking the walk instead of talking the talk, invading this nation's capital for real. And they won't be Saddam's thugs or Kim's crazies – but true-grit American heroes protesting the raw deal they've gotten from dishonest politicians with short and shifty memories. Barely a month before Bush's Missiles of March will more than likely thump Iraq, thousands of World War II and Korean War vets – all more than 70 years of age – will travel by train, bus, plane, car, horseback, wheelchair and shoe leather to stand tall together in front of the Supreme Court while they tell the nation how the capital gang has hung them out to die on promised lifetime health benefits for retired vets. Their skipper – leading the class-action lawsuit – is Medal of Honor recipient turned Florida lawyer Col. George Day, now flying with a briefcase full of hard facts instead of the jet fighter he piloted over Vietnam. Although the feisty three-war vet has been battling this case for years, only now, after much shameful government double talk, backpedaling and welching, is the case finally going before the highest court of our land. Their story is as old as war and peace: how promises were conveniently forgotten or baldly broken; how the Justice Department has cynically used stonewalling and other slippery delaying tactics, knowing full well that these senior citizens are dying daily – which statistics show will save the feds big bucks if and when the liars lose. Bush clearly stated during his campaign for the presidency and again after his boots hit the Oval Office that the nation must keep faith with our vets and that vows made by our government must be honored. But despite all the polished political words, the promised medical support is still AWOL. Navy vet Jerry Bell says: "This is our last chance to show how we feel about being betrayed. When warriors are treated in such a shameful manner, both the fabric of our country and its military institution are in question." Billboards around Washington are delivering that same message with the hard thud of a 155 mm barrage: "WWII/KOREA RETIREES FIGHT TO RECOVER STOLEN MEDICAL CARE. 'COURT SAYS THEFT IS OK.' WHO IS RIGHT, WARRIORS OR GOVT?" . . . " Now Bush and his war hawks – who almost to a man dodged service in the Vietnam War, just like the majority of our members of Congress – are again sending warriors to employ the military solution in the Gulf at even greater risk, since the Pentagon has just admitted the bio/chem suits our attacking troops will wear are good only for bunker duty. There's already a buzz of putting plans in place for bulldozers to mass-bury our sons and daughters who fall from germs. Not that this scenario would trouble the dedicated folks in Veterans Affairs. You know, no messy claims or protesters to worry about down the track. Consider the pattern of betrayal: We rebuild Afghanistan but don't take care of our heroes, or spend the bucks on the right bio/chem suits to protect our troops. It seems that "Lest We Forget" is no longer the American way. Now it's "Use 'em, abuse 'em and lose 'em."
THEM DEMS
’04: Dems better get ready. The Repubs are! The are planning on recruiting candidates earlier, undertaking the largest voter registration drive in their history and recruiting minorities into their party! -- ABC
Where Are The Dems?
Edwards: “U.S. Sen. John Edwards has chosen a pair of fellow lawyers and two Iowa political operatives to lead his campaign effort in the first 2004 presidential caucus state. Co-chairing Edwards' Iowa effort will be lawyers Rob Tully and Roxanne Conlin. Tully, a former state Democratic Party chairman, has been advising Edwards since his first foray to Iowa nearly two years ago. Conlin is a former party chairwoman and former gubernatorial candidate. She is also a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an exclusive club of trial lawyers to which Edwards belonged during his days in the courtroom. Rob Berntsen, chief of staff for Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver, will serve as caucus director, handling day-to-day operations of Edwards' Iowa campaign. Aaron Pickrell will serve as Edwards' political director in Iowa. He is currently chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell of Iowa.” -- N&O
TUMBLE WEED WATCH
War: TW is Blix’d! In his SOTU address, TW relied on Blix’s negative comments about Saddam to justify war. The only problem is that Blix indicates there is nothing to support TW’s “facts” in a number of specific areas. “In an interview on Wednesday, Dr Blix, the United Nations chief weapons inspector, seemed determined to dispel any impression that his report was intended to support the United States' campaign to build world support for a war to disarm Saddam Hussein. “ -- SMH
1. “Dr Blix took issue with what he said were US Secretary of State Colin Powell's claims that the inspectors had found that Iraqi officials were hiding and moving illicit materials within and outside of Iraq to prevent their discovery. He said that the inspectors had reported no such incidents.”
2. Similarly, he said, he had not seen convincing evidence that Iraq was sending weapons scientists to other countries to prevent them from being interviewed
3. Nor had he any reason to believe, as President George Bush charged in his State of the Union speech, that Iraqi agents were posing as scientists, or that his inspection agency had been penetrated by Iraqi agents and that sensitive information might have been leaked to Baghdad.
4. Finally, he said, he had seen no persuasive indications of Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda. "There are other states where there appear to be stronger links," such as Afghanistan, Dr Blix said. "It's bad enough that Iraq may have weapons of mass destruction."
FBI and CIA chime in! “Some analysts at the Central Intelligence Agency have complained that senior administration officials have exaggerated the significance of some intelligence reports about Iraq, particularly about its possible links to terrorism, in order to strengthen their political argument for war, government officials said. At the Federal Bureau of Investigation, some investigators said they were baffled by the Bush administration's insistence on a solid link between Iraq and Osama bin Laden's network. "We've been looking at this hard for more than a year and you know what, we just don't think it's there," a government official said.” – NYT
“Having positioned enough U.S. troops and equipment all around this Persian Gulf neighborhood, George W. Bush can launch a war on Iraq any time, with or without United Nations' approval. But he has already lost the political war.” -- The Star This is a thought provoking article on the political consequences of TW’s war and a must read for all Junkies.
Tony Blair convinces TW to wait six more weeks in order to convince France and Germany of the need for war. – Guardian Unlimited
TW’s SOTU address has apparently increased support for war, even without UN support according to an ABC poll. “President Bush has reversed the slide in public support for a possible war with Iraq, with two-thirds, 66 percent, in an ABC-Washington Post poll released Saturday saying they support military action against Iraq. That's up from 57 percent who felt that way in mid-January in this poll. Significantly, 51 percent said they support military action even if the United Nations is opposed. The number that supported military action over U.N. opposition was at 37 percent in mid-December.” – ABC
TW has approved the use of nuclear weapons if there is war. “A classified document signed by President Bush specifically allows for the use of nuclear weapons in response to biological or chemical attacks, apparently changing a decades-old U.S. policy of deliberate ambiguity, it was learned by The Washington Times.” -- Washington Times
The NYT takes TW to task in making the case for a preemptive war. “Throughout this long crisis there has been an unsettling sense of improvisation to the administration's explanations of its concerns, goals and postwar plans. That is particularly troubling since what is being talked about here is a preventive war, not instant retaliation for some Iraqi attack. Serious and consequential decisions lie ahead. The administration owes the American people and the rest of the world a more careful and consistent approach.
Even the rationale for war seems to change from day to day. Mr. Bush ticked off a litany of accusations against Iraq in his State of the Union address, some more compelling than others. Few Americans would quarrel with Mr. Bush's assertion that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a liar. The question that needs answering is whether he poses such an urgent danger to international peace that an American invasion is required, even without the explicit approval of the Security Council. “ – NYT
Budget: TW has released his budget. “The budget that President Bush sends to Congress on Monday would expand the military, create a major new social entitlement, energize the economy and, most likely, produce big deficits for the foreseeable future. The $2.25 trillion plan would offer something for almost everybody. . . . Not since the early days of Ronald Reagan's presidency has an administration harbored such bold ambitions and such a lack of concern about red ink. White House officials concede that deficits could top $300 billion this year and next, and the budget will probably not project a return to surpluses in the next five years.
The president's budget will also leave out other big new liabilities linked to his tax plans. The budget will include Mr. Bush's proposal for tax-advantaged individual retirement programs. But the tax cuts will not show up in his budget, which lays out costs for the next five years, because contributions to the savings plans will not cut a taxpayer's current taxes. The tax cuts will only occur as people retire and start to withdraw the profits that accumulate, which will be tax free.
Nor will the budget include the huge costs of Mr. Bush's call to make his tax cuts from 2001 permanent. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that cost at $785 billion over 10 years, but almost none of those costs will show up until nearly the end of the decade.
Mr. Bush's Democratic opponents in Congress are already starting to attack the budget as "reckless" and "irresponsible," and House Democrats have calculated that the sum total of Mr. Bush's tax plans would add $1.7 trillion in debt by 2011.
Having won control of both houses in November, Republicans say they will hew closely to Mr. Bush's line and press their advantage for everything it is worth.” -- NYT Didn’t TW promise in the SOTU not to pass on our problems to future generations? Some promise.
Tax Plan: It appears that TW’s recent “stimulus” package will not pass congress in its current form. – LAT
Environment: “President Bush encountered an unexpected roadblock Friday in his effort to open part of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration -- six Republican senators. The senators objected to a possible effort by fellow Republicans to use a parliamentary device to advance the measure. They urged their leaders to resist any effort to attach the drilling measure to a budget bill, a strategy designed to overcome a threatened filibuster by Democrats who oppose the drilling proposal. The plea shows that even with Republicans in control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, parts of the president's legislative agenda will face a tough time in Congress.” – LAT
Labor: TW is advocating changes in wage and hour laws that would allow businesses to require more hours without paying overtime. “A Bush administration overhaul of decades-old labor regulations could force many Americans to work longer hours without overtime pay. The administration argues that the pillars of American labor law, which established the 40-hour work week, a minimum wage and overtime pay, are antiquated. “ -- Yahoo
Food Safety The NYT writes an editorial that the safety of meat products is under threat by the federal judiciary. A federal judge has called into question whether or not the Dept. of Ag. can close a meat processing plant that produces tainted food. “All this has a familiar ring. Just two years ago, in a different case, a federal appeals court in New Orleans declared that the Agriculture Department lacked the power to close a Dallas beef processing plant that had failed three rounds of tests for Salmonella contamination in a year. Unfortunately, Congress and the Bush administration failed to heed the message of that misguided decision by passing a law that reaffirms the government's authority to enforce health standards.” --
THE UGLY
“California Dream’n” “As the only African American among California Republican Party leaders, Shannon Reeves sets his brethren squirming when he shouts about racism in its upper ranks. "We can't just sweep it under the rug," Reeves told party loyalists Saturday at a San Bernardino dinner. For weeks, fellow Republicans have urged him to keep quiet about his charges of bigotry in the state GOP boardroom. Reeves has refused. The dispute has not only embarrassed California Republicans; it has also clashed with efforts by President Bush to shed the party's reputation for exploiting racial divisions. And it has served as a reminder that Bush and the party -- both nationally and in California -- continue to send mixed signals on race, particularly toward African Americans.
Julian Bond, chairman of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, said Bush -- like Lott and other Republicans -- was "mouthing the language of inclusion" while sanctioning voter bigotry with "a wink and a nod." - LAT
Blind Eye: Laura Bush cancels a poetry symposium at the White House because some of the submissions would be opposed to TW’s war. – Yahoo
NORTH CAROLINA
War: Those opposed to the war are starting to organize in North Carolina. – N&O
General Assembly: Dems reelect Basnight to leadership in the Senate. – Pilot Neither party can muster a majority to elect a Speaker of the House. -- N&O Junkie notes that ALL Dems held together; an encouraging sign for the Party.
Power: The N&O writes a major article on how things really work in the General Assembly. For Junkies who are interested in such things, it is a good read. – N&O
NC SOTU: One group estimated the effects of parts of TW’s tax cuts on North Carolina. Very interesting numbers. “Under Bush’s new tax plan, 1,992,800 taxpayers in North Carolina would receive $100 or less; of those, 1,268,900 would get nothing at all. More than 68,800 jobs have been lost in North Carolina; unemployment is 6.1%, up 36% since Bush took office. In 2001, 1,167,000 had no health insurance in North Carolina, a number expected to rise because of Bush’s recession.” -- http://www.democrats.org/pdfs/2003sotu/states/NC.pdf
JUNKIE EDITOR FOR EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
( “Blair’s Balloon Busted”)
Prime Minister Tony Blair, clearly one of the most intelligent and vigorous heads of government on our planet, is suffering a massive political rebellion within his own party. One hundred and twenty-two Labour MPs voted against the war motion. They defied Blair's strongest ever appeal in the form of a three line whip requiring subordination and acquiescence to him on the issue of war on Iraq. This rebellion is being reported as the largest backbench revolt in over a century.
Blair is emerging from the rubble as a haggard and shaken shell of his former gallant and commanding self. He has told party loyalists and close aides that he is prepared for political defeat on the issue of war with Iraq. His position on the war issue has been confusing to his supporters from 9/11, for he represents the centre left in Britain, which is deeply disillusioned with both conservatism and Conservatives. Blair's natural constituency would have been the peace movement, the antiwar demonstrators and the likes of CND, Stop the war and the Muslim Council of Great Britain.
By following in the footsteps ordained by the deeply conservative US, Blair has lost credibility with a large proportion of his core constituency, and that is never good for any politician. There are grumblings throughout the palace of Westminster about his leadership. Certain elements in the press that have been supportive of him in the past have begun to criticize him harshly. This is the beginning of the end of his premiership. He had so much to offer Britain, and he delivered a portion of his promised agenda, but his foreign policy has been absolutely poisonous to his core of political support.
The British parliamentary system allows party members to replace their leadership whenever they choose. Blair still has a majority of support for the party leadership, but there will be carpings about his lack of moral authority which might even crescendo into a fully blown leadership challenge. Leadership challenges - even losing ones - always weaken the party leader in power. Margaret Thatcher was challenged by a no-hoper, who got only about 30 votes against her, but it was the beginning of her end. She was gone one year later.
While Blair is safe in the near term, a real threat to his mid-term leadership could be forming. Much will depend on the course of events vis a vis the war - which lies at the core of his difficulties. Any Labour MP can stand for party leader against Tony Blair, and if there are any moves in this direction, it will be major news.
The news media is heavily controlled in the US, where yesterday's vote will likely be reported as a victory for Blair. It was not. It was the opposite. He has been forced to debate and vote on war against his wishes. The massive size of public discontent with his war policy forced his hand. He has no war powers act to give him carte blanche to wage war. Due to the parliament's attitude, there will now be other votes. For instance, if the UN were to adopt a second resolution, Blair is committed to a return to parliament for approval. A surprising development was the statement by a top-Tory, Kenneth Clarke, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer under John Major. Clarke's stance against the war suggests that he senses the public mood, which is swinging away from his old foe, Iain Duncan Smith, the current Tory party leader. Thus, there could be a leadership challenge amongst the Conservatives, as well. If British political support were to fall away from the war, it would transform public opinion in the US. Stay tuned.
MATTHEW SLOTKIN (on TW’s War)
In brief, I don't question the ruthlessness of Saddam. Rather, the timing of
any US-led incursion is particularly problematic. After 18-19 UN resolutions
thus far ignored by
Iraq, dating back a decade plus, the U.S. and the West has lost its credibility.
Credibility will not be so easily restored if we go charging in now, absent a
real causus belli.
I regret
Clinton didn't act on his watch, amid Monica-gate. Bill's diminished standing
with the military (from day one, justly or not), weakened his political position
in the wake of the 1994 Republican electoral landslide (i.e., so-called
"revolution."
TW’s saber-rattling, (i.e.,
we're gonna kick their butts, send Saddam runnin'), is unsettling. His manner
vis-a-vis the imminent war difficult to reconcile with his proclaimed devout
Christian beliefs. I don't know, nor do I question, the sincerity of his piety;
rather, I find TW’s glee in having it both ways a bit unseemly, playing the frat
boy rallying the brothers (read: the armed forces) off for a panty raid and
turning about to invoke G-d in virtually all public proclamations.
I read
somewhere, too, that
NO ONE amid the upper echelons of the Bush Administration has voiced ANY
discernible hesitation, apprehension, real and honest discussion
of any and all consequences on a human level (as opposed to prattling on about
100k troops here and $25 billion in aid to Turkey and . . . .) is mind-boggling
and
seems a recipe for disaster.
I'm eager to see Saddam
go---to be sure. But, boy, I fear for what follows . . .
JUNKIE EDITOR FOR NC DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND POLITICAL NEWS
(on John Edwards taking positions contrary to trial lawyers.)
In Friday's edition of the News and Observer, it was reported that Senator Edwards has spoke out in favor of several steps to limit the filing of frivolous malpractice claims. According to this article Edwards has come out in favor of the law that requires lawyers to produce a medical expert who will testify on their behalf before filing a claim. As the article points out, North Carolina already has this law. The significance of Edwards position is that even though he was a trial attorney, his position is contrary to the position of the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers who oppose the law. In fact, a panel of Democratic judges on the Court of Appeals ruled that the law Edwards now supports is unconstitutional. The links below provides an analysis of that decision. – Court of Appeals Decision Analysis & Court of Appeal Decision Analysis II
The decision was later overturned by the North Carolina Supreme Court on other grounds so the law remains in effect in North Carolina. One of the co-signers of the decision declaring the law unconstitutional was Linda McGee who will be the only Court of Appeals Judge up for re-election next year at the same time that Edwards in running for president.(McGee was also one of the 3 judges that voted to deny Terence Garner a new trial.) Some of you may know that I hear prisoner tort cases [against the State of North Carolina which includes medical malpractice cases] on occasion for the state of North Carolina. I can tell you that this rule prevents prisoners from pursuing frivolous malpractice claims.
Rep. Kucinich goes head to head with Richard Perle, one of TW’s chief architects of war in Iraq. Kucinich directly confronts Perle that Saddam poses no immediate threat to the US and that war is not justified. – Meet the Press [Junkie: Great to see a Dem standing up and making the case.]
HELEN THOMAS
Thomas is the “dean” of the White House press corps and a member of TW’s hit list for her comment that TW was the worst POTUS in the history of the US. Now, Thomas fires at the Dems. “The Democratic presidential aspirants have been pussyfooting around the Iraq question, wanting to have it both ways on whether to support President Bush's rush-to-war. The time has come for them to show some backbone. They should declare their position clearly and point to peaceful options that the president has no time for. Speaking of clarity, I salute Bush for his laser-focused campaign against Saddam Hussein, even if he ignores facts and history. Also getting strong marks for clarity would be Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who is just as hawkish as Bush. It's disappointing that the Democrats don't have a leading candidate to challenge that point of view with the force of moral clarity. Most of the leading candidates are straddling the fence, reluctant to take a firm stand one way or another. . . . At a time when the Democrats need giants to challenge the incumbent president, they are surrounded by "me too" candidates. -- SeattlePI
SENATOR GRAHAM
It is official. Senator Graham is in the Dem race for POTUS. -- Washington Post
IN SEARCH OF POTUS
Dem POTUS hopefuls were in Iowa this past week. On reviewer describes Edwards as great on attacking TW but as “stumbling” because most people in Iowa are opposed to TW’s war. Dean gets rave reviews not only because of his stance on issues but because he is against the war. -- TNR [This article is a must read for all Junkies as it clearly analyzes the effect TW’s war is having on Dem politics.]
Edwards calls TW’s administration a failure. – N&O
DOLLARS FOR DEMOCRATS
“Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe vowed yesterday to raise enough money for the party's presidential campaign in 2004, but said it will be impossible to match the Republicans' fund-raising skills dollar for dollar. . . . In a briefing for reporters at the opening of the Democratic National Committee's three-day winter meeting here, Mr. McAuliffe laid out an elaborate high-tech campaign plan for the next two years in a bid to deny Mr. Bush a second term. At the heart of the DNC campaign plan is an elaborate database initiative called "DataMart" that will be able to identify and send campaign messages to millions of voters selected on the basis of their demographic and consumer profiles from a storehouse of 158 million names. The DNC showed how their computer programs have been fashioned to identify prospective Democratic voters such as single and working women and environmentalists in key states and districts, even precincts, where an election can be decided by a few thousand or even a few hundred additional voters.” – Washington Times
The Guardian Unlimited has broken a story that the US “[t]he United States is conducting a secret 'dirty tricks' campaign against UN Security Council delegations in New York as part of its battle to win votes in favour of war against Iraq. Details of the aggressive surveillance operation, which involves interception of the home and office telephones and the emails of UN delegates in New York, are revealed in a document leaked to The Observer. The disclosures were made in a memorandum written by a top official at the National Security Agency - the US body which intercepts communications around the world - and circulated to both senior agents in his organisation and to a friendly foreign intelligence agency asking for its input. The memo describes orders to staff at the agency, whose work is clouded in secrecy, to step up its surveillance operations 'particularly directed at... UN Security Council Members (minus US and GBR, of course)' to provide up-to-the-minute intelligence for Bush officials on the voting intentions of UN members regarding the issue of Iraq.” -- Guardian Unlimited [IF true, the prestige of the US around the world will sink to new lows.]
SINS OF THE FATHER
A German magazine releases a story NOT yet running in the US that Iran is suing the US in the world court because the TW I gave Iraq the capability of developing chemical weapons. “[T]he USA [is alleged to have] violated the Friendship Treaty which both countries had signed in 1955. It is this Treaty which constitutes the legal basis for these proceedings, according to a 1996 decision by the highest court of the United Nations. Both delegations will be able to argue their positions in detail during the next three weeks.” – D.C [English Translation], Spiegel [original article in German]
SINS OF THE SON
TW’s is having trouble with the facts – again. “There was only one problem with President George W. Bush's claim Thursday that the nation's top economists forecast substantial economic growth if Congress passed the president's tax cut: The forecast with that conclusion doesn't exist. Bush and White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer went out of their way Thursday to cite a new survey by "Blue-Chip economists" that the economy would grow 3.3 percent this year if the president's tax cut proposal becomes law. That was news to the editor who assembles the economic forecast. "I don't know what he was citing," said Randell E. Moore, editor of the monthly Blue Chip Economic Forecast, a newsletter that surveys 53 of the nation's top economists each month. "I was a little upset," said Moore, who said he complained to the White House. "It sounded like the Blue Chip Economic Forecast had endorsed the president's plan. That's simply not the case." -- Newsday
As all Junkies know, TW’s tax cut will cause massive budget deficits well into the future. So, how does TW respond? The Federal Government will simply stop providing economic forecasts that extend the traditional 10 years into the future. “Acknowledging the difficulty of accurately predicting the federal government's revenues and expenses even a year in advance, the Bush administration is abandoning the practice of providing 10-year fiscal forecasts. The new policy makes sense, but the change probably owes more to embarrassment than to realism.” -- Houston Chronicle
TW AND TERRORIST CONNECTIONS
In a developing story, it appears that TW has a relationship with a suspected terrorist in the US – knowing that the person, Sami Al-Arian, was a suspected terrorist. The plot thickens even more. It appears that Al-Arian helped organize Muslims in Florida to vote for TW in the 2000 election. Here are the facts. “Al-Arian, a Florida professor indicted last week for his alleged role as a leader of a Palestinian Islamic terrorist group, attended a group meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building with White House political director Karl Rove in June 2001. Al-Arian was part of a 160-person group from the American Muslim Council that was briefed by Rove on President Bush's faith-based agenda and other issues, according to AMC spokesman Faiz Rehman. Rehman characterized the meeting as routine, and said that Al-Arian had attended such events before. But according to press reports, Al-Arian had already been under federal investigation for six years for suspected ties to the Islamic Jihad terrorist group at the time of the 2001 meeting. Further, the White House confirmed reports that Al-Arian had been flagged by the Secret Service as a potential terrorist. According to a report published in the current issue of Newsweek, White House aides, reluctant to create an incident, let him participate in the event despite the warning. Vice President Dick Cheney, who had been scheduled to meet with the group, canceled his appearance, reportedly under pressure from Jewish activists and conservative critics.” – Forward Salon magazine asks the poignant question, “If the government has long known that Sami Al-Arian was supporting terrorism, why did the controversial professor win an invitation from Karl Rove? – Salon [These articles are must reads for all Junkies!]
SAYING NO TO FAMILIES
TW is at it again! TW prohibits States from using unemployment compensation funds to pay workers during family leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Under Clinton, the Federal Government permitted States to determine whether or not to use unemployment funds to fund such leave. TW is rolling back those regulations. Some 70% of Americans support using unemployment benefits for leave under the FMLA. – Tom Paine [Where are the Dems!]
TW’S WORLD OF GOOD AND EVIL
Australia may soon be on TW’s “evil list.” The minority party in Australia is opposing TW’s war without UN authorization. The American ambassador publicly and specifically attacked the head of the minority party. “Federal Labor backbencher Laurie Brereton has demanded the United States recall its ambassador to Australia after he accused the ALP of making a "rank appeal to anti-Americanism, to anti-George Bush feeling". Tom Schieffer's [the US Ambassador] comments in The Bulletin magazine have also upset Labor leader Simon Crean, who says it is unprecedented interference in Australian politics. . . . I believe that Mr Crean should go on record as saying what . . . Schieffer did was totally unacceptable. . . . I think it has to be made, time and time again because the United States has a record of not really welcoming decisions taken by democratic governments which they disagree with. . . . And it's almost as though democracy is seen by the US as acceptable for only so long as it produces decisions which are agreeable to by the United States. . . . The United States is very jealous of keeping its politics clean of foreign intervention and that includes activities of foreign ambassadors making public statements direct to the American people - they're not fond of that at all. . . . It simply smacks overly of a partisan relationship with a political party in Australia. – Public Record
Add Syria to TW’s List of Good and Evil. “U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said in meetings with Israeli officials on Monday that he has no doubt America will attack Iraq, and that it will be necessary to deal with threats from Syria, Iran and North Korea afterwards. Bolton, who is undersecretary for arms control and international security, is in Israel for meetings about preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.” – Ha’aretz
TW makes a direct threat to France. “The United States fired a warning shot Tuesday across the bows of France, the leading critic of its Iraq policy, saying it would view any French veto of a new U.N. resolution authorizing force as ‘very unfriendly.’ The U.S. ambassador in Paris issued the warning after France said it and Germany opposed what it called a shift toward "a logic of war" and circulated a rival proposal that would give U.N. weapons inspectors at least four months to scour Iraq. Even as he spoke, other members of the decision-making U.N. Security Council added their voices to the chorus of skepticism over the resolution, clouding Washington's hopes of winning the nine votes needed to pass it by mid-March.” -- Washington Post
TW’s threat did not work. On the very next day, Russia, who most observers thought would not veto a UN Resolution for war, now says that it, too, may exercise its veto rights. – ABC
THE WORLD’S LIST
The US is quickly becoming a member on the world’s list. “Just a couple of weeks ago, the United States stood up for brave, endangered Turkey, insisting that NATO come to its defense against Saddam Hussein, even as France and Germany balked. We eventually prevailed, and soon Turkey got the chance to repay the favor by letting us deploy troops there to invade Iraq. Instead, the government in Ankara replied: How much of our gratitude would you like to buy? Turkey was one of the many countries that willingly provided crucial help to us during the 1991 gulf war. It's also one of the many that see the coming war as foolish. On Iraq, the world is increasingly divided into two camps--the United States, and everyone else. And the division may turn out to be permanent. The president says this time we're prepared to rely on "a coalition of the willing." But a lot of arm-twisting and palm-greasing has been required to get any cooperation. As Harvard international relations scholar Stephen Walt says, what the administration has assembled is really "a coalition of the coerced, the cowed and the co-opted." -- Chicago Tribune
US Embassies around the world are reporting increasing sentiment against the US. “The messages from U.S. embassies around the globe have become urgent and disturbing: Many people in the world increasingly think President Bush is a greater threat to world peace than Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. ‘It is rather astonishing,’ said a senior U.S. official who has access to the reports. ‘There is an absence of any recognition that Hussein is the problem.’ One ambassador, who represents the U.S. in an allied nation, bluntly cabled that in that country, Bush has become the enemy.” – Seattle Times
A Liberal PM in Canada after speaking about the coming war in Iraq calls Americans “bastards,” and immediately apologizes. -- CBC
This article documents that TW’s policies are driving our former Arab friends away from the US. “A generation of Arabs wooed by the United States and persuaded by its principles has become among the most vociferous critics of America's world view. Within its ranks are affluent businessmen with ties to the West, U.S.-educated intellectuals and liberal activists. Their ire is directed not at U.S. culture, but at preparations for a war that they believe has left them voiceless, discredited and isolated in a landscape almost universally opposed to U.S. policy. To them, the Bush administration's talk of a more democratic Arab world is rendered hollow by its policy toward the Palestinians and Iraq. They see their desire for more secular, progressive societies overwhelmed by growing radicalism and religious fervor, a tide so pronounced that it has caught even mainstream Islamic activists off guard. In sentimental tones, they lament the end of an era in which the United States appeared as a beacon.” -- Washington Post [A must read for all Junkies.]
ECONOMY
Then -- 2000
“In the first year of [TW’s] presidency, [TW] and his budgetary advisers predicted federal budget surpluses totaling $5.6 trillion over 10 years.”
Now -- 2002
“The federal deficit for fiscal 2002, which ended in October, was about $300 billion. The president's budget for 2003 predicts another deficit on the order of $300 billion. . . . Buried in the budget [TW] presented to Congress is the prediction that budget surpluses will return by 2004-2005 if Congress passes none of the additional tax cuts Bush is asking for. If Congress passes the tax cuts, the administration predicts, high deficits likely will continue indefinitely. By the administration's own admission, the status quo would do more for surplus-producing economic growth than adoption of the president's agenda.” -- Houston Chronicle [Where are the Dems!!!]
David Broder of the Washington Post gets it right. He talks to those engaged in health care and other public service providers, all of whom are reporting that TW’s policies are hurting their programs. He concludes, “The message from all of them: The gains that have been made, slowly and painfully in the past decade, may well be reversed now.” – Washington Post
GOING UP IN CIGARETTE SMOKE
“Accusing President Bush's administration of being beholden to cigarette multinationals, a coalition of American medical groups demanded that the United States withdraw altogether from international anti-tobacco negotiations and stop sabotaging the planned treaty. Just days away from the scheduled completion of the talks, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and other developing countries complained that the U.S. delegation was using strong-arm tactics and financial threats to try to force through its will. ‘At this critical juncture, the United States government is working methodically to weaken virtually every aspect of this treaty,’ said John Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. ‘We call on the U.S. government to observe the first rule of the Hippocratic Oath: Do No Harm.’ . . . The vast majority of countries want the treaty to introduce sweeping restrictions against tobacco, including a total advertising ban and tough labeling controls to introduce graphic images of health problems and to stop use of terms such as "mild" and "light." Developing nations also want the agreement to state that health should be given priority over trade in international law — thus protecting them from potential U.S. action in the World Trade Organization if they try to impose restrictions on cigarette imports. The United States — home to the world's biggest cigarette exporter, Philip Morris — has flatly rejected an advertising ban, saying it would violate constitutional principles of free speech. In view of this, the current draft text would allow countries with constitutional objections to impose restrictions, while other nations would introduce a complete ban after three years. But there is particular anger at perceived U.S. attempts to water down many other parts of the treaty — such as on labeling — and insistence on the right to use reservations to exempt it from individual provisions it doesn't like. Thailand's Hatai Chitanondh said that the U.S. delegation had told the meeting that it would stop funding anti-tobacco programs and transferring know-how if it didn't get its way on exemptions. ‘It's very arrogant,’ complained Chitanondh. ‘The United States has the technology and sophisticated tobacco control programs and yet they are behaving like this toward the rest of the world.’ A member of Saudi Arabia's delegation, who asked not to be identified, said his government took offense at a U.S. State Department letter stressing that the tobacco treaty should not seek to undermine the WTO's free trade provisions. . . . ‘I am ashamed of the role my government has played in the negotiations,’ said Alfred Munzer of the American Lung Association. “It has clearly sacrificed long-term improvement in global public health to serve the interests of an industry whose product is responsible for four million deaths annually from cancer, heart disease and emphysema.’ – CBS
WAR
THEN – ONE MONTH AGO
TW estimates that the war with Iraq will cost about 60B$, the same amount that the 1991 war in Iraq cost.
NOW
The Pentagon has begun telling the White House and Congress that defeating Iraq and occupying the country for six months could cost as much as $85 billion, according to sources — considerably more than what senior administration officials have been saying in public. Combined with aid for regional allies such as Turkey, the price tag for the conflict could top the $100-billion mark, twice the war costs cited just last month by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and an amount that the White House dismissed as outlandish last fall.
TW “recently told Sen. Peter Fitzgerald he would order the assassination of Saddam Hussein ‘if we had intelligence on where he was now and we had a clear shot,’ the Illinois senator said Monday. Such an order would represent a major shift away from a nearly 30-year U.S. ban on assassinating foreign leaders. That ban was put into place during the Ford administration in response to criticism of CIA-backed plots in the 1960s and 1970s. . . . Illinois' senior senator, Democrat Dick Durbin of Springfield, cautioned against such a policy. ‘I would say we ought to take care not to go too far on this issue,’ said Durbin, who sits on the Senate's intelligence panel. ‘In the world we live in today, any elected official would be fair game for retaliation.’” – Daily Herald
TW is telling the UN the decision for war has already been made. “’In meetings yesterday with senior officials in Moscow, Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton told the Russian government that "we're going ahead,’ whether the council agrees or not, a senior administration official said. ‘The council's unity is at stake here.’ A senior diplomat from another council member said his government had heard a similar message and was told not to anguish over whether to vote for war. ‘You are not going to decide whether there is war in Iraq or not,’ the diplomat said U.S. officials told him. ‘That decision is ours, and we have already made it. It is already final. The only question now is whether the council will go along with it or not.’ -- Washington Post
Even US allies are starting to crack. PM Aznar of Spain has warned TW that SOD Rumsfeld is hurting TW’s war effort! “The Spanish prime minister has asked President George W Bush to rein in his defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, whom he accuses of stoking anti-war sentiment in Europe with his hawkish rhetoric. [Aznar] told the president that Mr Rumsfeld's words were making his job more difficult. . . . Mr Aznar said: ‘I did tell the president that we need a lot of [secretary of state] Colin Powell and very little of Rumsfeld.’ . . . At a weekend meeting at Mr Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, the Spanish leader also stressed the importance of staying with the United Nations on Iraq and trying to make immediate progress in the Israel-Palestinian peace process. . . . Mr Rumsfeld's hawkish stance on Iraq and apparent disdain for detractors of the Bush administration were reflected recently when he compared dovish Germany with Libya and Cuba. Both those countries are on the US State Department's list of sponsors of terrorism.” -- Telegraph [Rumsfeld’s remarks about Germany ran in TPJ two weeks ago.]
TW pays a high price at the Ankara bazaar. TPJ published a recount of negotiations between TW and Turkey on the cost the US would pay for using Turkish military bases and to compensate Turks for disruption to their economy. TW initially offered 6B$ and the Turks demanded 50B$. The Turks struck the better end of the bargain, announcing that the US will pay between 20 and 30B$ to use bases in Turkey and the negotiations are still not done; 6B$ in grants, 8.5B$ “bridging loan” and 30B$ in loan guarantees. – Bloomberg [Junkie, TW pays for disruption to Turk economy – US citizens are paying for their disruption in higher gas and heating oil costs and unemployment. Some deal. Where are the Dems!]
Despite some 30B$, the Turkish Parliament rejects TW’s offer and fails to authorize American troops in Turkey! – Yahoo [Junkies should recall that Turkey is an Arab nation with a democratic form of government – the type of government that TW wants to build throughout the Middle East! And even they don’t support him!]
MoveOn lead a virtual protest on Congress on February 26th. The result: hundreds of thousand of emails, faxes and phone calls swamped Congressional phone lines. “Tom Andrews, a former Democratic representative from Maine who is running the organization, said more than 500,000 people had signed up on the Internet to take part and a half a million more were also expected to participate without registering on the group's web site (Moveon.org). ‘We have hundreds of thousands of calls and faxes that we know are going in. It's a first-of-its-kind protest and a tremendous success already," he said. "People are making their voices heard loud and clear -- don't invade and don't occupy Iraq.’ -- Reuters
The casualties of TW’s war sometimes boomerang! A senior State Department official stationed in Athens is resigning because of TW’s unrelenting desire for war. “J. Brady Kiesling, political officer at the U.S. embassy in Athens, said in a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell that Bush's policies are ‘driving us to squander the international legitimacy that has been America's most potent weapon’ for the past century. The letter was quoted by The New York Times. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher confirmed that Powell had received a letter from Kiesling. ‘This is a place where people have all kinds of ways of expressing their views,’ Boucher said. ‘It's too bad the gentleman didn't feel he could continue in the Foreign Service, given his views. But these things happen.’” -- CNN This is the hyperlink to the actual letter of resignation. – NYT
Why all of the concern? Well, TW proudly hails that he has brought “democracy” to Afghanistan. The Charlotte Observer has this to say: More than a year after U.S. forces toppled the Taliban government that sheltered Osama bin Laden, Afghanistan is a fractured country torn by ethnic strife and divided regional loyalties. Its roads are impassable and unsafe, plagued by bandits. Regional armies owe no allegiance to the national government, and neither do political leaders who run their provinces like little countries. Opium production is surging. According to a U.N. report, about 3,400 tons of opium were produced in Afghanistan last year, making it the largest opium producer in the world. An international military coalition led by the United States holds Afghanistan together -- barely. But after nearly a year of relative quiet, the coalition has stumbled into a series of skirmishes with pro-Taliban and al-Qaida fighters who evidently don't think the war is over. It is a sobering lesson about the limits facing an outside power trying to rebuild a country divided by ethnic and tribal factionalism. And it suggests something of the monumental tasks the United States may face in Iraq -- an equally diverse country -- should it topple Saddam Hussein, as it did the Taliban. -- CO
SAY WHAT?
An incredible story is being published that TW gave safe passage out of Afghanistan to al Qaeda forces that were surrounded by US troops during the Afghan War. “In a PBS "NOW" interview, Seymour Hersh tells how al Qaeda got away. Pakistan Intelligence [ISI] was with al Qaeda, training them, and they requested Musharraf to ask the US to help them escape. Musharraf, fearing a revolt amongst his own Muslim fundamentalists, asked the US to let his troops out. In a decision that "must have" gone at least as high as Donald Rumsfeld, if not the White House, Rumsfeld ALLOWED these terrorists to escape. Sy Hersh: “I am here to tell you it was authorized - Donald Rumsfeld who - we'll talk about what he said later - it had to be authorized at the White House. But certainly at the Secretary of Defense level. Jane Wallace: “What did we do that? Why we would put our special forces guys on the ground, surround the enemy and then-- fly him out?” Sy Hersh: “With al Qaeda?” Jane Wallace: “With al Qaeda. Why would we do that, assuming your story is true?” Sy Hersh: “We did it because the [Pakistan] ISI asked us to do so." -- NOW [This link is to the entire incredible interview.]
HOMELAND SECURITY
Dems have been noting that TW, while promising to “secure” our homeland, has not provided the funds to do so adequately. The issue is obviously resounding as TW accuses House Republicans of failing to provide the necessary funds. “President Bush's campaign to enact his domestic agenda and win reelection next year is creating political problems for congressional Republicans. Bush, accused by Democrats of shortchanging homeland security, is blaming the GOP-controlled Congress for underfunding programs to guard against terrorism. Mr. Bush told the National Governors Association this week that Congress ‘did not respond to the $3.5 billion we asked for -- they not only reduced the budget that we asked for, they earmarked a lot of the money’ for other unrelated programs. ‘Tactically, that was a stupid thing for the [White House] to do,’ a senior House GOP aide said yesterday.” – Washington Post
POLLS
CNN polls “registered voters.” A CNN poll has TW’s overall approval rating at 57%, the lowest since 911. The percentage indicating they would vote to reelect TW falls to 47%, the lowest since 911 and -4% since the previous poll. 45% favor TW’s economic plan and 40% oppose. “On Iraq, the support for invading that country seemed to hinge on several factors. One example: Forty percent of those polled said they would support an invasion of Iraq with U.S. forces only if the United Nations approves another U.S. resolution against Iraq. And support for an invasion drops significantly if Saddam destroys missiles cited by U.N. weapons inspectors, falling from 71 percent to 33 percent.” – CNN [Junkie: these poll numbers reflect TW’s continuing decline, but polls this far from an election really have no correlation to the probability of Dem success. But, being Junkies, we love the numbers.]
LOGGING
TW refuses “wilderness protection to millions of acres of Alaska's Tongass National Forest. The decision by the U.S. Forest Service, rebuffing an effort by environmentalists to limit logging, formally affirms a recommendation the Forest Service made last May. Environmental groups said the decision could open more than a million acres of old-growth forest to logging, particularly if the administration or federal courts reverse the Clinton administration's restrictions on forest road building.” – Washington Post
CHILD HEALTH CARE
TW THEN -- Egleston Children's Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia 3/1/01