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Politics : John Kerry for President Free speach thread NON-CENSORED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (934)	9/13/2005 4:27:22 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1449

Bush: 'I take responsibility' Sep 13 2:27 PM US/Eastern WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush took responsibility on Tuesday for any failures in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and acknowledged the storm exposed serious deficiencies at all levels of government four years after the September 11 attacks. "To the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility," Bush told a White House news conference at which he openly questioned U.S. preparedness for another storm or a "severe attack." Bush's rare admission of "serious problems in our response capability" came as the White House stepped up efforts to repair his public standing. Bush will address the nation at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT) on Thursday from hard-hit Louisiana, his fourth visit to the disaster zone since Katrina struck. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush would use Thursday's address to "talk to the American people about the recovery and the way forward on the longer-term rebuilding." The president's approval ratings have hit new lows, partly due to fierce criticism of the slow response to the August 29 hurricane, which killed hundreds and displaced 1 million people in the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Fifty-four percent of Americans disapprove of Bush's handling of the response, but 57 percent say state and local officials should bear responsibility for the problems, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC poll. Asked if Americans should worry that the government remains unprepared to respond to another major disaster or a terrorist attack, Bush said: "Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government." Bush himself raised questions about preparedness, after four years of record spending on domestic security since September 11, 2001. "Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack or another severe storm? That's a very important question and it's in our national interest that we find out exactly what went on so we can better respond," he said at a news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Michael Brown resigned as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Monday. Republican senators with close ties to Bush have urged him to appoint a top official to lead the long-term recovery. White House officials say that is among options being discussed. Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and retired Gen. Tommy Franks, former head of the U.S. Central Command have been mentioned for the job. Giuliani said on CNBC that a commission like the one that investigated the September 11 attacks could assess the response. "Whether there were failures here on the state, city and federal level, I think a commission can decide that six months from now," he said. "No one person is responsible for this."

To: American Spirit who wrote (934)	9/14/2005 7:26:48 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1449

Voter Fraud May Be Uncovered In New Jersey Sep 14, 2005 6:06 pm US/Eastern (CBS) NEW YORK CBS 2 has obtained a draft of a letter that the New Jersey Republican State Committee will deliver Thursday to state Attorney General Peter Harvey asking him to investigate election irregularities, including voter fraud. The letter lays out the results of what the committee calls an investigation that revealed, among other problems: 1. Nearly 17,000 registered voters are "officially" deceased 2. Nearly 5,000 of them voted in the last Garden State election. Further, the committee claims that 170,000 people are registered to vote in New Jersey and at least one other state and that more than 6,500 of them voted in both states in the last election. (© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

To: American Spirit who wrote (934)	11/30/2005 4:29:59 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 1449

Sen. Clinton Defends Iraq War Vote Nov 30, 8:56 AM (ET) By DEVLIN BARRETT WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday defended her vote to authorize war in Iraq amid growing unease among liberal Democrats who could determine the potential 2008 presidential candidate's future. "I take responsibility for my vote, and I, along with a majority of Americans, expect the president and his administration to take responsibility for the false assurances, faulty evidence and mismanagement of the war," the New York senator said in a lengthy letter to thousands of people who have written her about the war. At the same time, she said the United States must "finish what it started" in Iraq. Clinton and other hawkish Democrats have come under criticism from liberal anti-war activists, many of whom will hold sway over presidential primary contests. The former first lady, who is up for re-election in 2006, would likely be an early front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination should she decide to seek it. The 1,600-word letter was sent, mainly through e-mail, on Tuesday - a day before President Bush was to deliver a speech on his Iraqi policies. The president's approval ratings plummeted in recent months as the U.S. death toll and anti-war sentiments grew. The debate has also put Clinton in a tight spot: generally viewed as pro-military, the former first lady is the most-watched member of a party that is increasingly turning against the war. In her letter to voters, the senator cited prewar assurances from the White House that the United States would use the United Nations to resolve the issue of Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction. "Based on the information that we have today, Congress never would have been asked to give the president authority to use force against Iraq," she said. Clinton stopped short of saying her vote was a mistake, the political path chosen by two other potential Democratic candidates - former vice presidential candidate John Edwards and Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. "Given years of assurances that the war was nearly over and that the insurgents were in their 'last throes," this administration was either not being honest with the American people or did not know what was going on in Iraq," she wrote. Clinton's allies billed the letter as her most comprehensive statement on the war to date. "It is time for the president to stop serving up platitudes and present us with a plan for finishing this war with success and honor," she wrote. Clinton, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said earlier this month it would be a "big mistake" for U.S. troops to pull out immediately. She stuck with that line Tuesday. "America has a big job to do now. We must set reasonable goals to finish what we started and successfully turn over Iraqi security to Iraqis," she wrote.

To: American Spirit who wrote (934)	12/7/2005 7:27:08 PM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1449

Picture of U.S. Soldier in Iraq Shaking Hands With Senator Hillary Clinton--But Not Willingly-Truth! Summary of the eRumor The eRumor includes a picture of a U.S. soldier shaking hands with Senator Hillary Clinton. He is also crossing the fingers of his left hand, which the email says is a soldier's sign for coercion. The Truth This eRumor started circulating shortly after Senator Clinton made a Thanksgiving visit to the soldiers in Iraq in 2003. There was a lot of speculation about what the picture really meant. Was the soldier really indicating that he didn't like shaking hands with Hillary? Was the picture doctored to make it look that way? Was he sending some other kind of message with his crossed fingers? The answer is that he did intentionally cross his fingers during the handshake and it did mean that he was not thrilled to shake Senator Clinton's hand. After his discharge from the Army, the soldier posted a personal profile on Yahoo Personals as part of looking for introductions to single females. In his profile, he includes the picture with Hillary and explains "The picture of me and Hillary Clinton was taken when she came to visit Iraq. I was actually ordered to shake her hand, and I never figured that my friends would circulate it all over the net. I AM NOT a Hillary fan by any stretch." Updated 5/2/05 A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet: truthorfiction.com