Mullah Reid does it again.

Pronounces Iraq surge a failure:

Top US congressional Democrats bluntly told President George W. Bush Wednesday that his Iraq troop "surge" policy was a failure.

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi challenged the president over Iraq by sending him a letter, ahead of a White House meeting later on Wednesday.

"As many had forseen, the escalation has failed to produce the intended results," the two leaders wrote.

"The increase in US forces has had little impact in curbing the violence or fostering political reconciliation.

"It has not enhanced Americas national security. The unsettling reality is that instances of violence against Iraqis remain high and attacks on US forces have increased.

"In fact, the last two months of the war were the deadliest to date for US troops.

No duh Fuckstick. When you engage the enemy head-on, you're going to run into more casualties!

Time to resurrect Dennis Miller:

Amendments for Amnesty

From an email from Grassfire.org:

Leo,

I was just informed that the back-room plan is currently underway to bring Bush-Kennedy back and get it quickly passed through the Senate. I call it "amendments for amnesty."


Here's what's happening.


President Bush and the Amnesty Republicans are attempting to convince about a dozen Republicans to support "cloture" on Bush-Kennedy in exchange for a commitment that a set list of amendments will be considered -- thus, "amendments for amnesty."


Also, Bush and the amnesty leaders are strong-arming conservatives into accepting the "amendments for amnesty" deal or face being banished into Senate oblivion.


Amnesty Republicans have already submitted their list of amendments to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Once the "amendments for amnesty" deal is finalized between Reid and the Republicans, the bill will be quickly brought back to the floor. The amendments will be defeated and amnesty passed.


+ + We can stop "Amendments For Amnesty"!


Leo, this is the FOURTH TIME our leaders have gone behind closed doors to work out some secret scheme to get this bill passed. Despite unprecedented and overwhelming grassroots opposition, they think they can still pull off their legislative,
slight-of-hand trickery!

+ + Call to Action #1 -- Call these Senators and say you oppose this "Amendments for Amnesty" deal:

Sen. Klobuchar
Sen. Coleman

Key Senators to call:

McConnell 202/224-2541
Lott 202/224-6253
Kyl 202/224-4521
Brownback 202/224-6521
Burr 202/224-3154
Chambliss 202/224-3521
Cornyn 202/224-2934
Hutchison 202/224-5922
Isakson 202/224-3643
Warner 202/224-2023
Webb 202/224-4024


Talking Points (Your calls will carry more weight if you are
polite and respectful!):


1. I understand that Senate leaders are working on a back-room deal
that will bring the Amnesty bill back for a vote in exchange
for consideration on certain amendments.


2. I oppose this "Amendments for Amnesty" deal.


3. If you support this deal, then you will forever be listed as
a supporter of amnesty.


4. The American people have spoken in opposition to this amnesty
bill. I urge you to oppose this deal and the bill.

Wednesday Hero Blogburst 6-13-2007

This Weeks Hero Was Suggested By Malinda


69-year-old Bert Brady has never stepped foot in Iraq or Afghanistan, yet many soldiers who have know who he is and appreciate what he's done for them. You see, for the past year Mr. Brady has made a trip to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport nearly every morning to welcome home returning American troops. Bert Brady, along with fellow veterans, is a member of the Welcome Home a Hero program. They make sure that every soldier who steps off a plane in Dallas gets a special homecoming.

Brady shows up each day with the goal of making soldiers feel appreciated and proud of their service. He's often joined by veterans of the Vietnam and Korean wars who did not get a warm reception when they returned from battle.

"We are not going to forget them like a lot of Vietnam soldiers have been forgotten," Brady said. "We are not going to forget the soldiers of today."

To read more about Bert Brady, you can go to ABCnews.com

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesday Hero, you can go here.

Wednesday Heroes are written by Indian Chris as part of a non-partisan effort to recognize the bravery of our men in uniform.

With no thanks to the Minnesota DFL...

Minnesota tax burden is no longer in top 10

It's the first time since 1981 that taxes in the state and spending have ranked so low.

By Mark Brunswick, Star Tribune

For the first time in about 25 years, Minnesota has dropped out of the top 10 in per capita tax rankings, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, and now stands 12th in the nation in state and local taxes as well as in spending.

But when taxes and spending are measured as a percentage of personal income, the numbers really nosedive. By that measure, the state has fallen to 23rd in taxes and 31st in state and local government spending, according to the report from the Minnesota Center for Public Finance Research, an arm of the nonpartisan Minnesota Taxpayers Association.

The numbers reflect years of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's no-tax-increase policies and budget cuts, but they also show that local government appears to have remained in check as well.

For nearly three decades, Minnesota has almost always been in the top 10 in most bottom-line measures of tax burden. This is the first time since 1979 that it has dropped out of the top 10 in spending per person by state and local governments and the first time since 1981 that it has dropped from the top 10 in taxes per capita.

Very welcome news indeed, and the folks at the Star Sickle & Diaper had to have had a coniption writing that piece.

Trying to shed the label

Governors in all three major parties in Minnesota, going back to DFLer Rudy Perpich, have made a goal of escaping the tag of top 10 tax status.

One would not have known that, given the proclivities of the past DFL-led legislature.

The report released Monday shows that efforts by Pawlenty to change the tax burden have had an impact.

Lynn Reed, executive director of the Taxpayers Association -- which is not affiliated with the conservative Minnesota Taxpayers League (wouldn't you know that they would have to throw that in--ed) -- said that the figures show that incomes remain strong in Minnesota, but that it might be difficult to sustain the kind of growth the state has seen. While taxes per capita have dropped, they remain in the top tier nationwide.

Minnesota's change in the rankings also is a reflection of actions by other states. "We've dropped because other states did raise taxes during their budget crunch and generally we didn't," Reed said.

In other words, other states who were taken over during the 2006 democrat hiccup were not so fortunate to have a steadfast governor and a willing minority party to keep things in check.

And of course, the wailing and gnashing of teeth have begun:

A number of groups have said the tax decline already has been accompanied by declining graduation rates, slumping income growth, traffic congestion, increased poverty and fewer people with health insurance.

"All through the period when we ranked higher in public investment, Minnesota actually was gaining on other states in income growth and quality-of-life rankings," said Dane Smith, president of Growth and Justice, a public policy research group that advocates for more progressive tax policies. "This is unknown territory for Minnesota, and it's not good for our state and our proud tradition of shared prosperity."

Translation: Dammit! Minnesota is a proud SOCIALIST state! Quality of life can only be measured via government programs! Now, thanks to Pawlenty and those evil Republicans, we're moving away from socialism--and that makes us scared!

Quick question: Why is a "progressive" tax, a tax that by its very definition punishes achievement, productivity, and therefore, progress, called, "progressive"?

But I digress.

And I just shake my head...

I'm sorry.. when it comes to energy policy, Norm Coleman continues to have his head up his arse.

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday night passed an amendment championed by Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., aimed at reducing U.S. oil consumption by 35 percent by 2030.

[SNIP]

Under the amendment, the federal government would be required to come up with a plan to reduce U.S. oil consumption by 10 million barrels a day by 2031.

"I have fought long and hard for independence from foreign oil, and I'm thrilled the Senate has passed an oil savings target equal to the task of addressing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil," Coleman said in a statement.

I beg to differ, Normie. You have not fought long and hard to decrease our dependence on foreign oil.

In fact, I'd say you worked long and hard for exactly the opposite. We, the United States of America, have plenty of areas that could yield significant amounts of oil to reduce or even eliminate our dependence on foreign oil, but yours and your democrat and RINO colleagues' incessant kowtowing to the environmentalist whacko lobby makes that damned near impossible, doesn't it?

Sitting on our thumbs up to the third knuckle on top of billions of barrels of untapped oil resources, while being at the mercy of tinhorn dictators and jihadist mullahs, until we finally find that "magic bullet" energy solution is no way to go through life.

We are the United States of America. We built the Hoover Dam. We built the Panama Canal. We put men on the moon.

Much to yours and others' amazement, we can walk and chew gum at the same time.

We have the ability to harvest available oil, explore new domestic sources of oil, AND the simultaneous ability to research viable energy alternatives.

The two are not mutually exclusive; and to send our economy and lifestyle back to the stone age to play into the hands of those who actively seek the demise of our way of life in an attempt to appear politically correct is nothing less than unconscionable.

Al Gore and the Case for Invading Iraq...

From 1992...




Oh... the irony of it all.

Cheney Tops Reid in Polls...

Harry Reid once famously stated, "“I’m not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating,” Other than the fact that Mr. Reid was engaging in hyperbole, the facts of today strongly suggest that it should be Cheney who shouldn't lower himself to engage with Reid. Specifically, according to a poll reported on by the Wall Street Journal, Vice President Dick Cheney currently has a 28 percent positive approval rating.

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid's approval rating?

22 percent.

Some saying about stones and glass houses comes to mind here, don't you think?

h/t Don Surber.

***UPDATE****

Dennis Miller hits Reid between the eyes.

A brand of statesmanship that is all but lost...

Where is Ron today? Where is the statesmanship?

Check out a great post over at Freedom Dogs.

Live Bloggin' from da Lakez...

(taken with my cell phone--pardon the quality)

From Detroit Lakes, specifically. I'll be here for a couple of days...so posts will be light, if non existent.

Have a good one!!

Ron Carey Re-elected State Chair

Final Vote 195-150 with one vote abstaining.

Hopefully Carey got religion after this.

Carey called for party unity, and that he will carry on the fight.

Well--I'm out of here, and off to the lake :)

Have a good one

-Leo-

Live Blogging from State Central...

I've never been good at this "live blogging thing" and I'm sure it will show, but here goes:

10:04am... Ron Carey is speaking right now. He's defending all his resources that he put into Pawlenty's re-election. Those who introduced him say that he "listens to the grass roots." (Err... if you did, you wouldn't be in the jam that you're in right now, Ron). Says that he's solely responsible for re-electing Pawlenty (although he mentioned nothing about Mark Kennedy's shellacking).

Went on to parrot the red-meat platitudes. A Carey operative is handing out hand-made signs; one that says, "Annoy the Star Tribune--re-elect Ron Carey." Nice touch. Carey absolutely shirked any responsibility for the shellacking that we took as a party, and instead blamed it on the climate.

10:08am. THe DFL whacked us over the head with a 2x4 (under your leadership, Ron).

"Now is not the time for on-the-job training." Talked about his endorsement by Pawlenty, etc.,.

Says he'lll continue to serve with a "servant's attitude". Heh


10:10am---Joe's up.

Lead off with a joke about democrat & republican puppies (the dem puppies hadn't opened their eyes yet--heh.

Volunteered after 9/11--one of only 300 officers chosen.

"Pro life, small governemnt. 30,000 Liberate Iraq signs, 20,000 people on the Capitol Steps. I can motivate people!"

I will start Camp Reagan, to train the Grass Ro"ots, state of the art communications, report cards for legislators--won't put all the eggs in one basket anymore. Will make sure that the State House and Senate return to Republican hands."

Carey has rejected technology; Joe promises modern technology--"I never sent a troop into battle with a slingshot.

You don't duck from responsiblity -- you accept it. It is a badge of honor to accept responsibilities.

He had to command the materiel and personnel for 20,000+ troops in Iraq...."

Joe Repya gave a rousing speech that had a large contingent doing a "standing O" at the end.

10:27a... speeches are done, final seating of delegates is taking place. I'm an alternate, and my SD was taken, so I doubt whether I can be seated at this time. Everythings's kinda screwy, I don't know if the left hand knows what the right hand is doing here.

10:34a... Doing the balloting right now, but I never heard the final credentials report for who is or isn't eligible to be seated, and how many delegates were actually being seated! (There was supposedly a credentials report earlier, but they were still seating ten minutes ago!

10:36am... Now the 3rd CD's ballots needed to be destroyed, since there was apparently one more vote than there were seated delegates.

This is the stuff that the Keystone Cops were made of.

10:42am... Annoucement and understatement: "There seems to be some confusion here."

All the ballots needed to be tossed, since the "At-Large" delegates were seated with their BPOUs rather than in the "At Large" delegate section. So here we go again.

10:45am... In the process of roll-calling and double-checking at-large delegates. Once this process is done, and the At-Large delegates are confirmed to be seated in the correct area, voting will re-commence.

10:53am....Still waiting. When the ballots are cast and counted, I'll be sure and do an on the spot post of the winner.

10:59am... Balloting is about to begin...

11:14am.. scratch that.... like trying to move a graveyard.

11:27am... YAAAAAaaaawwwnnnn... Still waiting.

11:39am... Ballots have been received; 40 spots were identified at large; but 46 votes were received. Right now they've supposedly certified the number of votes. There is a motion on the floor to re-certify the number of possible votes at 46. The vote has been railroaded taken and the new number of At-Large delegates has been revised as being 46.


12:05pm: Ron Carey is re-elected 195-150, with one abstention

Joyless bastards...

These joyless, feminized, cheerless societal dregs want to suck the life out of everyone in their endless quest to produce a sterile, joyless society, in their quest for a "brave new world."

The Blue Angels have 35 air shows scheduled in 2007 in various U.S. locations. Last year, more than 15 million people watched the fighter pilots. (Watch a short video of the 2006 air show in San Francisco.)


Veterans for Peace takes issue with the pro-military message and the recruiting efforts that come along with the annual visit as well as what it refers to as the “noise pollution.” The group calls the event a public safety risk, pointing to the April crash of a Blue Angels plane during an air show in Beaufort, S.C.

Oh go suck on a tail pipe already if you're that depressed with life, you joyless dregs! God--how can you even continue on with your miserable, depressed existence?

Last I heard, Jack's out of jail.

Why don't you give him a call, and quit imposing your miserable world on the rest of us, you pencil-necked moronic geeks.

Dirty joyless bastards.

Is that why this moron appeals to them so much?

Senator Edwards is outlining a new national security strategy that includes the creation of a 10,000-person civilian peace corps to stem the tide of terrorism in weak and unstable countries.

Mr. Edwards's plan, which he presented in Manhattan yesterday, comes less than a week after he called President Bush's war on terror a "bumper sticker slogan" and said the current national security strategy has not made America safer.

Despite the criticism those comments are drawing, the Democratic presidential candidate did not back down from his position yesterday and said the president's strategy has undermined the country's long-term safety and led to a worn-out military.

Mr. Edwards, who has garnered strong support among anti-war Democrats, also took a swipe at Mayor Giuliani, the front-runner for the Republican nomination.

"If Mayor Giuliani believes that what President Bush has done is good and wants to run a campaign for the presidency saying, 'I will give you four more years of what this president has given you,' then he is allowed to do that," the former North Carolina senator said. "He will never be elected president of the United States, but he is allowed to do that."

The comment elicited a testy response from the Giuliani campaign, which has focused largely on the former mayor's leadership after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and his aggressive strategy for dealing with Islamic fundamentalists.

"We are glad to see Rudy's criticism of the Democrats not understanding the terrorists' war on us is starting to register with them," Mr. Giuliani's communications director, Katie Levinson, said. "John Edwards's track record of predicting election outcomes speaks for itself."

The plan Mr. Edwards presented yesterday, which he dubbed "A Strategy to Shut Down Terrorists and Stop Terrorism Before It Starts" calls for a 10,000-person "Marshall Corps" to deal with issues ranging from worldwide poverty and economic development to clean drinking water and micro-lending. He said investing in those areas would shore up weak nations and help ensure that terrorism does not take root there. That, he said, would allow the country to stop potential terrorists before they even join the ranks.



There are "thousands committed to violence" today, he said, and America needs to use all of its tools to go after them. But he said millions more people are "sitting on the fence" about whether to join those ranks. "We have to offer them a hand to our side instead of a shove to the other side of that fence," he said.

Mr. Edwards proposed creating a Cabinet-level position to oversee the initiative, which he said would require international allies.
The president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Clifford May, said he was "skeptical" of Mr. Edwards's proposal.

"Humanitarian aid is a good thing. I approve of that. But it doesn't really have much to do with the causes of terrorism," Mr. May said. "Mohamed Atta, the lead terrorist on 9/11, was based in Germany, was well-educated. The causes of terrorism are several, but poverty is not one of them."

Mr. Edwards is also proposing shifting more responsibility for tactical and operational decisions to military personnel from civilian leaders.
He said he would double the budget for military recruiting in order to reduce waivers for recruits with felonies. According to the Edwards campaign, those waivers have skyrocketed under Mr. Bush.

Mr. Edwards has called for withdrawing troops from Iraq and has called on Congress to cut off funding for the war. Unlike Senator Clinton, who disputed his comments that America is less safe today than it was before the so-called war on terror began, Mr. Edwards is tacking to the left. While Mrs. Clinton is seeking to create the impression that the Democrats generally hold the same position on the war, Mr. Edwards is attempting to do the opposite.

Yesterday, he was quick to respond to critics who have cast him as lily-livered and weak on national security.

"I think what we've seen with President Bush is that he uses this doctrine to stifle debate," Mr. Edwards said. "He doesn't want anyone to speak out in opposition. If you speak out in opposition, you either don't understand the threat or you're not a patriot."


"It doesn't help that the Republican presidential candidates seem intent on trying to one-up each other, each of them trying to be a bigger, badder George Bush," he added. "I think they want to be George Bush on steroids."

In this photo, Democrat Presidential Candidate John Edwards
Demonstrates how he would hug a terrorist if he were to meet one.

Torture? Feh.

Now they're hanging our Canadian friends out to dry:

The government of Afghanistan has committed to investigate the clams and they'll be working closely with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. This is their role and their responsibility," said Andre LeMay, a spokesman for MacKay.

Three of the fresh reports come from prisoners interviewed in the country's notorious intelligence service jail in Kabul - the fourth account was obtained in Kandahar. The precise details of the allegations were not made clear, although earlier this week MacKay described the initial reports as serious.

"All I can tell you is that these claims came to light in private interviews with Canadian officials," said LeMay. "These officials had clear and unrestricted access."

[SNIP]

The latest revelation could boost a legal challenge by Amnesty International and the B.C. Civil Liberities Association, which have applied to the Federal Court for an injunction to halt the transfers. They argue that Canada could find itself complicit in torture if it knowingly hands prisoners over to authorities who will abuse them.

Unless the "torture" of these poor widdle Taliban tewowwists looked like this, I don't even want to hear about it.

*****UPDATE*****


ibid.

Rome trial challenging CIA extraordinary renditions opens as Bush arrives

Egyptian cleric Osama Hassan Mustafa Nasr, known as Abu Omar, who was allegedly kidnapped by CIA agents off the streets of an Italian city and taken to Egypt where he said he was tortured, listens during Amnesty International press conference in Cairo, Egypt, in this file photo. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

MILAN, Italy (AP) - The first trial involving the CIA's extraordinary rendition program opened in Italy on Friday without the presence of any of the 26 American defendants.

The case threatens to expose the workings of the U.S. and Italian intelligence agencies.

Highlighting the strain the trial has placed on U.S.-Italian relations, it began on the same day President Bush arrived in Rome for meetings with the pope, Italy's premier and president.

After ruling on several motions, the judge postponed the trial until June 18 so he could consider a defence request to suspend the proceedings until Italy's Constitutional Court rules on matters related to the case later this year.

Yeah...just look at him. I'm sure he was on his way to visit his sick grandma when he was "kidnapped."

Forklift Safety video...

H/T--one of my favorite blogs, who states, "The mayhem starts about 4 minutes in. (warning, graphic, really cool physical carnage)"

***WELCOME Dr. Sanity Readers *******

Trackback: http://haloscan.com/tb/drsanity/8240565485208596669

Regarding degrees of separation

John Edwards and Danny Glover:


Danny Glover and Hugo Chavez:


Degree of separation between John Edwards and Hugo Chavez?

Well, I'll leave you to do the math.