Office of the Independent Blogger

The New York Times is running an article written by active duty soldiers which argues that our invasion has robbed Iraqis of their “self-respect” and claims that press coverage of the War in the United States neglects the social, political and civil problems in that country. I say, Oh really? What self-respect did Iraqis have before us? What self-respect should they have had, exactly? You always respect yourself as a human being, or try to, but that’s a difficult thing to do when you’re controlled by a brutal dictator. There are significant portions of the world that lack self-respect on a national or international scale because they’re so used to being pushed around, and so I doubt that we’ve robbed the Iraqis of any self-respect unless we did so by, say, allowing them the freedom to fight amongst themselves and destroy one another and then look in the mirror and say, “What are we doing?” but I doubt they’re talking about that. I think they’re just trying to strengthen a good argument (US + Iraq = bad) with a bad one (”We’ve robbed them of their self-respect”). As to the media, No no no no no. The press definitely covers the instability and social breakdown in Iraq. The American public wouldn’t be so opposed to the war if our failures weren’t being illustrated loud and clear.

Recently, I spoke a little about the Iron Triangle in Washington and today, I conveniently read this article about Mike Brown’s work as a consultant to government agencies on natural disasters. If there’s something that better illustrates the need to reform our system, I haven’t heard it, but I’d like all the evidence I can get!

Woke up this morning and the sun was gone. Not just because the White House is cutting back troop levels in Iraq in an effort to win the war. First of all, the war is unwinnable now and that is a direct result of the President’s refusal to commit from the start, but if we’re going to try and win anyway, the only way to do it is with an increase in soldiers. We’ve been trying the less is more approach for years and that has been proven foolish time and time again.

The other cause of darkness is “>this: the news that Virginia’s ad campaign, “Virginia is for Lovers” will be changed to eliminate images of people making hearts across their chests with their hands. Why? Because that’s a gang sign in Virginia as well. First of all, any gang that represents itself with a heart lacks credibility instantly. Second, who on Earth is going to watch those advertisements and say, “Hey, he’s fronting, yo”? I can’t fathom it. And third, this is simply politically correct nonsense, and it compromises the integrity of the state.

It’s funny what we’ll cut and run from and what we won’t.

If you’re laundering money or perpetrating fraud in today’s age, you’re bound to get caught eventually, and that was true of these women, but it’s still rather disheartening to hear about how easy it is to scam the American government.

A small South Carolina parts supplier collected about $20.5 million over six years from the Pentagon for fraudulent shipping costs, including $998,798 for sending two 19-cent washers to an Army base in Texas, U.S. officials said. The company also billed and was paid $455,009 to ship three machine screws costing $1.31 each to Marines in Habbaniyah, Iraq, and $293,451 to ship an 89-cent split washer to Patrick Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Pentagon records show. The owners of C&D Distributors in Lexington, South Carolina — twin sisters — exploited a flaw in an automated Defense Department purchasing system: bills for shipping to combat areas or U.S. bases that were labeled “priority'’ were usually paid automatically, said Cynthia Stroot, a Pentagon investigator.

C&D and two of its officials were barred in December from receiving federal contracts. Today, a federal judge in Columbia, South Carolina, accepted the guilty plea of the company and one sister, Charlene Corley, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to launder money, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said. Corley, 46, was fined $750,000. She faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years on each count and will be sentenced soon, McDonald said in a telephone interview from Columbia. Stroot said her sibling died last year.

Ask yourself, Dear Reader — if the Pentagon can be milked as it naps by twin sisters and their ninety cent washers, what can al-Qaeda do in the night? What can North Korea do? What can Iran do? It’s unacceptable, someone should lose their job over it and then be barred from lobbying. Our government’s heart finds shape at the Pentagon and our business’ heart finds shape in the Iron Triangle — and both of them need to be re-shaped.

Two years ago, who among us would have imagined John Ashcroft a defender of the Constitution, standing for the Bill of Rights even as he lays ill in a hospital bed?

Then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft was “feeble” and “barely articulate” following a hospital room confrontation in March 2004 with Alberto R. Gonzales, who wanted Ashcroft to approve a warrantless wiretapping program over Justice Department objections, according to personal notes from the FBI director released today. Five pages of heavily censored notes from FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III also suggest that Ashcroft’s deputy was so concerned about undue pressure from Gonzales and other White House aides that he asked Mueller to bar any more visitors from entering Ashcroft’s room.

“Saw AG,” Mueller writes in his notes for 8:10 p.m. on March 10, 2004. “Janet Ashcroft in room. AG in chair; is feeble, barely articulate, clearly stressed.” The records also show that Mueller met with Vice President Cheney in connection with the dispute later in the month, on March 23. The notes, which were released after Mueller turned them over to the House Judiciary Committee, provide further insight into a tumultuous but secret legal battle that gripped the Justice Department and White House in March 2004, after senior Justice Department officials had determined that some activities of a warrantless wiretapping program run by the National Security Agency were illegal.

Although the broad outlines of the legal dispute have been reported in media accounts dating to early 2006, the episode has attracted sharp attention from Congress in recent months following testimony from James B. Comey, the former deputy attorney general under Aschroft. Comey described in vivid detail his rush to Ashcroft’s bedside prior to the visit from Gonzales, who was White House counsel at the time, and White House chief of staff Andrew Card. Comey testified that he was angered because he believed Gonzales and Card were attempting to take advantage of a sick man.

It might be that age and infection tempered his legal enthusiasm, but I think it likelier that Ashcroft is simply a strict Constitutionalist and his calm conservatism clashed with the active neoconservatism of the Bush Administration, details of which will gush onto the record in future years but are already leaking now. To be honest, I still don’t believe that John Ashcroft belonged anywhere near the Justice Department, but legal conservatism calls for restraint and the Constitution, which is something that I relate to. I don’t hold myself to the standards held by members of, say, the Federalist Society, but I consider myself a Federalist and a Constitutionalist. I just don’t believe that every word is to be literally interpreted today, though many should be and are.

Speaking of unlikely heroes, how about Dick Cheney circa Nineteen Ninety Four? That was a strange year. The Montreal Expos were the best team in baseball, the World Series was cancelled, Hillary Clinton’s health care program was destroyed, Kurt Cobain committed suicide (or was killed), Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump were filmed and Dick Cheney made sense. You know, I’m teasing, but he was a very smart, sensible man. Now he’s a smart, foolish man, and his transformation from Annakin Skywalker to Darth Vader will make for a great biography someday.

The depths to which Newt Gingrich will sink in an effort to make himself relevant know no boundaries. There is reason to be outraged over this story that he decries, but his take on it is absurd. Guess we don’t have to wonder whether or not he still thinks that Democrats still cause the nation’s murders to happen.

I spent today working for the Clinton campaign in Springfield Illinois at the State Fair. It was a good time, and we got a lot accomplished, especially me and my partner. It is simply amazing how much effort Americans put into their elections. We all woke up in the early morning (four thirty for me) so that we could drive to Springfield Illinois in time for the start of the day to maximize our time at the fair. Democracy is, and always has been, and always will be a beautiful thing worth fighting for.

It’s bad enough that the Chinese own the mortgage on our country. Now they’re stocking our nation’s playrooms with faulty toys. How terrible is it that the toy factories are taken from us by greedy industrialist human rights abusers who want to make a couple of extra books in Asian sweatshops and then we don’t even have the assurance that these goods are, well, good?

What an embarrassing set of circumstances for this country.

Dear Reader: meet the newest superstar running for President — Elizabeth Edwards!, who wants you to know that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are terrible. Her husband is, as you should and will know once they’ve overcome the injustices thrown their way, a very strong and charming and intelligent man, but you don’t give him a chance because he isn’t “black or a woman” and can’t be made into one.

Funny…some people might say he’d get more attention if his wife weren’t picking fights with Ann Coulter and his fellow candidates to begin with, but maybe I’m just imagining.

In other humorous political news, Hillary Clinton’s First Lady records will be locked up until after the election, at least, which is awfully convenient: cite your record but not your sources and nobody can challenge you on anything. All I know is, I’d flunk out of College if I tried to pull that and got caught.

To be fair, Hillary Clinton isn’t responsible for the archiving, but it is rather ironic, all the same.

Karl Rove resigned today. I don’t know what that means for the White House. I do know that it’s come far too late to do anyone any good as the country is a mess and the Bush Presidency is being destroyed by the policy incompetence and moral failures of Karl Rove. Some might say, “He won’t be making policy anymore, and that’s a plus,” to which I say: “Now Bush will. Or worse: Cheney.” So, we’re not out of the woods yet and won’t be until the President has left office and his replacement exorcizes the Oval Office. For what it’s worth, I think King Turd is overrated by the press, Democrats and George W. Bush as his track record is weak (.500 winning percentage, as he lost 2000 and 2006 while winning 2002 and 2004, but 2004 is more attributable to John Kerry than Karl Rove, in my opinion), and Prince Blossom will always be a poor, evil man’s Mark Hanna in my book.

Ted Turner pledged one billion dollars to the UN ten years ago but hasn’t paid up yet, and won’t for at least eight more years, which’ll be eight years past the original due date. I’m all for philanthropy, and it’s awfully generous of him to have given anything, but if you make a pledge you’ve made a pledge and you have to keep it.

There’s a good article here about how unimportant the Iowa Straw Poll was and how unimpressive Romney’s victory was. It makes a good argument, but Romney knows all those things, as does every other candidate who ever makes a big deal about a straw poll, and they ignore them because the reason to win the straw poll is simply boasting power. The average voter doesn’t care if you outspent your opponents ten to one in a fundraiser, weren’t challenged by your biggest competitors and didn’t even win a third of the vote: they want to know that you’re a winner, and that’s a great first step for Mitt Romney.

The Russians flew bombers over Guam over the last few days. Just a threat, but it tells me that they’re starting to feel the pressures that come with inactivity in their military. In the last five years, we’ve invaded two countries for various reasons and cracked down on our civil liberties. They’re starting to feel left out, you know?

Mitt Romney won an Iowa Straw Poll today that doesn’t mean much of anything for the future except for the fact that Mike Huckabee won second. Huckabee is, as I said a few days ago, my bet to be the Republican Vice Presidential candidate and he’d be my choice if I were running for President under the GOP banner. Speaking of Romney, one of his major fundraisers has re-signed because he’s been indicted for several crimes. There’s another bullet for the Democrats, provided Hillary Clinton isn’t the nominee (Mark Rich Mark Rich Mark Rich). Though even if she isn’t, I’m sure there are third party “groups” (with a wink) who can blast Romney for this.

Now, onto more interesting news: the Canadians are building military bases on the North Pole, to counter the Russians and to take the Pole for their own use.

Won’t anybody think of Santa Claus?

For Your Information: Dick Cheney is urging attacks on Iran. First reaction: what’s new? Second reaction: he may have something going, if any attack on Iran is an attack in Iraq on Iranian agents. Any attack on Iran in Iran is uncalled for but outside is perfectly within reason. It’s something that should be examined carefully but I’d give it serious consideration.

Yesterday, the Democrats had a forum with a gay rights group and MTV where they found a million ways to avoid saying they support gay marriage or to hide their opposition to it, as I’m sure Edwards has issues with homosexuality from his background and his prior comments (no matter how much he spins it), and now we know that Bill Richardson has issues with homosexuality, as can be taken from his spin after the debate.

The Democratic candidates’ positions on gay issues had largely been known before Thursday night’s event, and few in attendance expected any major about-faces on the marriage issue. In a move that could cost him significant support within the gay community, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson caused noticeable groans when Etheridge asked if he thought “homosexuality is a choice, or is it biological?”

“It’s a choice,” Richardson said.

When asked to clarify, Richardson said he was “not a scientist” and did not “like to categorize people.” Speaking to reporters after the event, Solomonese, the HRC president, said “I feel like the immediate action item here is a conversation with Governor Richardson.” The Richardson camp later emailed a statement to reporters saying he had misunderstood the question.

“Let me be clear- I do not believe that sexual orientation or gender identity happen by choice. But I’m not a scientist, and the point I was trying to make is that no matter how it happens, we are all equal and should be treated that way under the law.

If it’s any consolation, Governor, Democratic voters with an emphasis on gay rights now think you’re a hater and Republicans/Democrats alike without emphasis on homosexuality believe that you’re a wuss. Congratulations!

I read this story in the morning and felt sick to my stomach after having completed it.

The makers of “Resident Evil 5,” to be released sometime next year, have been accused of racist game design. The game’s trailer shows Chris Redfield, a protagonist of past “Resident Evil” games, on the run from swarms of bloodthirsty zombies in a desert African setting. Redfield ducks and dodges his attackers while unloading rounds on them when he has the space, but the pack of pick-wielding undead only seems to swell. […..] It should be noted, however, that Redfield’s enemies may not even be zombies. “Resident Evil 4” broke with previous games in the series by replacing the undead with parasite-controlled humans, so next year’s title could introduce a new fiendish species.

But early critics of “Resident Evil 5” couldn’t care less what type of creature will haunt Redfield throughout the game. They’re concerned by the color of his enemies’ skin. Kym Platt of Black Looks, a blog penned by African women about African women, says of the game, “This is problematic on so many levels, including the depiction of black people as inhuman savages, the killing of black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young - fearing, hating, and destroying black people.”

The image Platt constructs is indeed unsettling, particularly to an American public that has heard endless stories about police brutality toward blacks and even watched New Orleans officers beat down a black man on TV. But Platt misrepresents the mission of “Resident Evil 5.” Like all earlier games in the series, the enemies aren’t people depicted as inhuman savages, they are inhuman savages. A zombifying virus or cerebral parasite mutates them into mindless creatures of the night.

In the first three “Resident Evil” games, those creatures were mostly white, metropolitan Americans dressed in street clothes, police uniforms and three-piece suits. “Resident Evil 4” was set in the dreary Spanish countryside, where lower-class farmers and villagers swung their axes and pitchforks at the protagonist. Are the makers of these games to blame for breeding fear and hatred toward whites and Spaniards?

It’s so ridiculous that I thought, Kym Platt has got to be kidding but she’s not. Platt truly believes that this is a racist game, and that disturbs me so much that I must be a racist. I suppose Kym Platt believes that no one who happens to be black should ever be written as a villain in a story under any circumstance. I suppose Kym Platt believes that no one who happens to be black can ever be criticized, either. I suppose she would have us consider the color of someone’s skin at all times, with the first and foremost goal being to avoid ever portraying any black person in a negative light or allowing a black person to be seen in a negative situation because that’s racist!

Listen: it’s not. They’re zombies or they’re controlled by aliens, and it’s set in Africa. Why would the characters be white if they’re in Africa unless it’s South Africa and even that’s a stretch. What kind of person sits around criticizing a video game series for the color of the character’s skin? It’s such an absurd criticism that I considered completely ignoring it but it’s such a great illustration of racist hypocrisy that I thought I’d comment.

The goal, with regards to race, is to have a world where we don’t have to judge others based on what color they are and don’t. If Platt truly desires that, she needs to reconsider her methods because she’s judging her comments on what race the characters involved are and not much else and that leads to terrible ideas and stupid comments.

Yesterday’s debate was a great one to watch as every candidate is heavily courting labor so every candidate came to Soldier Field at the top of their game. It was far too hot for my liking (over a hundred degrees, and I was dressed professional) but I loved it. I thought that Clinton and Kucinich came out the big winners, and that Christopher Dodd (who is a candidate I’ve always had my eye on) did a great job pushing for a Vice Presidential nod.

And let me say it here now: I think that Mike Huckabee will be the Republican Vice Presidential nominee. Romney/Huckabee? Seems like it, but Huckabee should the one on their side of the aisle for the Vice Presidency.

That said, I thought it would be a fun exercise if I answered the questions put to the candidates yesterday with my own thoughts. Questions are, of course, in italics and punctuated by question marks. My answers, aren’t.

Obviously, in light of what happened in Minnesota last week, fixing infrastructure requires spending — what should we do to see that it’s all maintained?

The States should be on the hook to maintain most infrastructure but the federal government must do three things: create legislation that mandates antiquated infrastructure restored, maintain a department meant to inspect the nation’s infrastructure and provide supplimentary funds to do it.

In the wake of the infrastructure tragedy, without the benefit of hindsight, is our government doing anything better at making us safer?

With regard to infrastructure? No. Not enough to make us safe, and anything they are doing with infrastructure is a smokescreen. They haven’t provided the funds or the leadership needed to correct our problems.

If we are not being proactive to the degree that we should, what else do you think we aren’t prepared for?

Just about any natural disaster or terrorist attack.

The case can be made that the bridges have been deteriorating since you’ve been in office. Did you guys drop the ball on infrastructure?

I am not, of course, a member of the government, so I didn’t drop that ball. But the answer is yes, for every candidate that was on stage, and in my opinion: they have dropped the ball by not giving it proper focus or finance.

How can you convince Americans that rebuilding infrastructure and its inconveniences would be worth it?

The American public needs to look to the tragedy in Minnesota, the attacks of 9/11, the bombing of Hiroshima, the great floods of history and all forms of natural disaster and understand that these can all happen here in America, anywhere in America, and we must be proactive. It would be better to repair bridges and roads and buildings now than have to do it when they’ve been destroyed and everybody is panicking and lives are being lost.

Should public money be spent on sports team stadiums instead of on infrastructure?

That is up to states and cities. Federal money has no business being spent on sports teams, however.

Should we sell the toll roads to private companies?

Yes, I think so. I know that it’s worked very well in Indiana, and while it’s not popular, it is true that private corporations that must worry about a profit must therefore ensure that their toll roads work to the satisfaction of the public. I would provide provisions that prevent a company from buying it and shutting out union workers or abusing the public with outrageous service fees, but I don’t think it’s a terrible idea.

Over the weekend, you expressed disappointment that NAFTA did not realize the benefits it promised. How would you fix it? Would you scrap NAFTA or fix it?

I do not know enough about NAFTA to comment. I will say that I’m more likely to suspend and mend it rather than end it because I believe in free, fair trade, and would like to iron it out. If, with modification, it continues to fail, I would absolutely consider ending it.

If buying American costs more, how do you convince a working family that’s struggling to get by that it’s good to spend more money on American goods?

One of America’s greatest problems in the last ten years has been a significant decline in American patriotism as well as a drop in the level of compassion that we have for one another. Americans must look upon their flags with pride and their neighbors with understanding. We must look out for the best interests of our country and countrymen, and it is by pointing out the patriotism of buying American, by showing each other respect and dignity by working to ensure that our families and neighbors have work that we will convince Americans to look out for one another.

Is China an ally or an adversary?

They are a third Alex Rodriguez and two thirds Yogi Bear. Therefore, we are one third Prince Fielder, and two thirds Park Ranger. We’re competing with them in the world, and that’s fine. But they would also like to steal our lunch, and we must not allow them to. If they do, we must call upon animal control.

If you get us out of Iraq and somehow al-Qaeda takes over anyway, what will you do then?

al-Qaeda would never take over in Iraq. If we leave Iraq, there will be a genocide. Whether it’ll bet he Shia killing the Shiites or the Kurds doing the killing, I don’t know, but the presence of those three factions in Iraq prevents al-Qaeda from ever “taking over.”

Obama’s “assertions about foreign affairs” are “confusing and confused” and he should “not be making unwise categorical” statements. What’s confusing?

The junior Senator from Illinois’ statements are confusing because he should know better than to air foreign policy before it is set and there’s no reason to unequivocally allude to violence if you are a candidate for President. That was pandering and it was unacceptable.

As President, what will you do to improve the health and safety of our coal mines?

Shut down cited mines whose owners don’t remedy the violations and pass legislation forcing them to pay workers for missed time that comes as a result of their safety violations. When it costs them money, they’ll fix the problem.

What would you do to restore the rights of workers like myself who want to form a union?

I believe in the first amendment. I believe in the right to organize, the right to strike, the right to bargain collectively — period.

What will you do to keep manufacturing jobs like mine from leaving the country?

I would not engage in trade with countries that will not allow our goods onto their shelves. I will not allow the tax code to reward corporations for moving away.

Why was my daughter forced to buy some of her uniform and gear that the military didn’t supply her? Why are our active reserves being forced to spend double the normal time?

Because the President doesn’t know how to fight a war or treat his fellow Americans. I won’t allow our soldiers to fight wars with inadequate strategy and inadequate supplies.

What’s wrong with America and what will you do to change it? (Can’t afford to buy my family health care after I became disabled.)

Take steps first to insure every child, and then work our way up to universal health care.

How can you reassure people who have rightly earned a pension that they will be able to keep their pension without descending into poverty?

Reform pension laws so that corporations can not reneg on their committments and to make it so that Americans don’t have to live below the poverty line to live.

My concern is for those undocumented workers that establish roots here and my question would be, in your future, if you’re going to create a path to the citizenship for those workers?

I believe that our current system needs to be changed to shorten the time for citizenship by a small amount of time and I believe that we should lessen our fees.

What will you do to cut our reliance on foreign oil?

I would strive for nuclear energy and hydrogen cars. I would tax oil and gasoline, as well, to help ween the average American off of oil.

What specific changes to the No Child Left Behind do you believe must be made?

I believe each state needs to take more control of its education system and I believe we should give more funding to public Colleges to provide opportunity to more Americans.

What would your job description be for your Vice President?

His job would be to be my Vice President. He would be responsible, in a very significant way, of my relationship with Congress and would serve as a liason. And he would be an honest, competent man who could take over for me if something were to happen.

Why do lobbyists make more money than average Americans?

Because they are doing work that they ultimately know is wrong. Because of this — because of their bribery — they need to be compensated well-enough for the erosion of their souls.

Would you go bipartisan and appoint a Republican to appoint either Homeland Security or the Pentagon?

There would be no Department of Homeland Security in my Administration. That is why we have an FBI, CIA, NSA, State Department and Justice Department. But yes, I would appoint a Republican if I thought that Republican were the most qualified candidate. Absolutely.

Was the Department of Homeland Security a good idea?

Absolutely not.

What have you and your colleagues changed in this session of Congress?

I wasn’t there, but I can’t see too many changes.

If you were President today, would you honor Barry Bonds at the White House?

Absolutely not.

It’s been two years now since Hurricane Katrina — what would you do now to truly improve it?

As Hillary Clinton said: appoint someone who truly cares about the people of New Orleans. I would also hire contractors to do the work, and encourage the state and city to come to the federal government with requests of assistance, financial or otherwise, so that they know they have our support and will have our means to fix their problems.

Would you pledge to stop no-bid contracts?

Yes.

Does it bother you that, if you were elected, the campaign to replace you or try to will begin only days into your first term?

Elections do cost too much and last too long, but no. It doesn’t bother me. Ambition ignites ambition, and I would take it as reason to work harder and be more efficient. It would be a challenge that I’d welcome.

The Russians are firing missiles into the homes of their neighbors. Fortunately, the missiles aren’t exploding. Unfortunately, they’re meant to intimidate and they violate the sovereignty of Georgia, and create tension for the State Department and I. You see, the last thing the world needs right now is an aggressive Eastern state, but we’ve been getting it from Iran and Russia of late, and that’s very disconcerting. Like this story, about the availability of heroin to our soldiers in Afghanistan. I’ve long held that the Bush Administration’s sorriest failure has been with regard to Afghanistan due to their sheer refusal to devote resources to the situation, and then when I read stories like this it makes my blood run cold. Our soldiers deserve better than what they’ve gotten, and so do their families, not to mention the people of Afghanistan.

On a personal-political note — Hillary Clinton’s in town and I’ll be with her campaign today at Soldier Field. It won’t be the first time. Should be fun, as I love meeting people. In the meantime, check this out. Do they sound like running mates to you? They won’t be.

Thirty percent of the weapons we’ve given to Iraqis are missing and are likely being used to kill American soldiers. That is incompetent beyond any acceptable measure.