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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (8383)	2/26/2005 10:34:40 AM
From: CalculatedRisk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 361245

Why Not Here? Good question. But neocon Brooks should ask about America ... like the Russian journalist asked Bush! You probably didn't see this on Faux News<G>! washingtonpost.com Bush's Defense It was an amazing moment: After the introductory comments, Andrey Kolesnikov, a correspondent for the Russian business newspaper Kommersant, got up and said -- albeit not so succinctly, and not in English -- Hey, no wonder you guys see eye to eye! You're both authoritarians. This prompted Bush to launch into a possibly unprecedented defense of himself as a democratic leader. He did it by describing his view of the country. And while Putin didn't challenge what Bush said, there have been some news reports of late that suggest that things may not be as black and white as Bush said. "I live in a transparent country. • Cadre grows to rein in message; Ranks of federal public affairs officials have swelled under Bush to help tighten control on communiques to media, access to information, Newsday, Feb. 24, 2005; Administration Paid Commentator; Education Dept. Used Williams to Promote 'No Child' Law, Washington Post, Jan. 8, 2005; Groups raise concerns about increased classification of documents, GOVEXEC.com, Oct. 27, 2004. "I live in a country where decisions made by government are wide open and people are able to call people to -- me to account, which many out here do on a regular basis. • High Court Backs Vice President; Energy Documents Shielded for Now, Washington Post, June 25, 2004; Mr. President, will you answer the question?, NiemanWathchdog.org, Dec. 3, 2004; Bush Says Election Ratified Iraq Policy, Washington Post, Jan. 16, 2005 (in which Bush says: "We had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 elections.") "Our laws and the reasons why we have laws on the books are perfectly explained to people. Every decision we have made is within the Constitution of the United States. We have a constitution that we uphold. • How U.S. rewrote terror law in secrecy; White House group devised new system in aftermath of 9/11, New York Times, Oct. 24, 2004; In Cheney's Shadow, Counsel Pushes the Conservative Cause, Washington Post, Oct. 11, 2004; Slim Legal Grounds for Torture Memos; Most Scholars Reject Broad View of Executive's Power, Washington Post, July 4, 2004. "And if there's a question as to whether or not a law meets that constitution, we have an independent court system through which that law is reviewed. • Recount 2000: Decision Sharpens the Justices' Divisions; Dissenters See Harm to Voting Rights and the Court's Own Legitimacy, Washington Post, Dec. 13, 2000; Scalia Won't Sit Out Case On Cheney; Justice's Memo Details Hunting Trip With VP, Washington Post, March 19, 2004. "So I'm perfectly comfortable in telling you our country is one that safeguards human rights and human dignity, and we resolve our disputes in a peaceful way." • Torture at Abu Ghraib, the New Yorker, May 10, 2004; Ground War Starts, Airstrikes Continue As U.S. Keeps Focus on Iraq's Leaders, Washington Post, March 21, 2003.

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (8383)	2/26/2005 3:24:04 PM
From: ThirdEye	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 361245

OK, I read your stuff, which poses the question "Why not here?" while completely overlooking the details of how we got here.....as if the ends justify the means. And where is "here" anyway? I will admit that the Shiites have exercised admirable restraint so far in not responding to the post-election violence, but to characterize what is happening in Iraq or anywhere else in the Muslim world as some kind of wondrous event overlooks the fact that we are being spared most of the details of what's actually going on. How many were actually eligible to vote? What areas had high turnouts and what % of Sunnis did not vote at all? If the overall turnout is accurate, it was far below that of Afghanistan, and there were areas of Iraq where it simply wasn't safe to vote at all. The press is huddled in a hotel afraid to leave, there are those who have left only to have their video disappear mysteriously. Then there's that matter of how we got here. We have Rice's deceptions before Congress, Powell's shameful lies before the UN, the entire rationale for invasion segueing from WMD to "making the world safe for democracy," an attorney general who sanctions torture, Abu Graib, US citizens being held indefinitely and without charge and incommunicado in secret locations, the Valerie Plame outing, the use of illegal weapons, massive collateral damage, private security forces running amok, unexplained murders of US citizens who knew too much about kickbacks, massive overcharging by US contractors, and the piece de resistance, Cheney's secret talks with with US energy corps. How much ya wanna bet they talked about Iraq? And if you can sweep all of this under the rug just because somebody in Lebanon is talking about democracy, you have been sold a bill of goods. And this is all not to mention the greatest mistake of all, squandering the lives of our armed forces who are prepared to give us the greatest gift of all, their very lives, so that this faith-driven bunch of(as Hunter Thompson put it) "greedy little killers," who thirst for the Rapture, can hasten Armegeddon. One more thing, the Berlin Wall came down without war. And the future of the human race depends not on might making right, but whether we can find non-violent ways to resolve conflict. This is 180 degrees from the imperial neocon agenda. And a grub to boot. Wow.