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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (11480)	8/31/2006 12:37:02 AM
From: tejek	Respond to of 71588

Did you hear about the unknown senator who was trying to prevent the passing of a bill that would lend more transparency to pork spending? He finally decided to out himself........its none other than the-bridge-to-nowhere senator from Alaska. Its really quite amazing to me that you all can go around criticizing when your own 'house' is in such bad shape and has been disgraced as badly as the GOP has been over the past two years. "You know the joke about how the government paid $436 for a hammer? It's true. So a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 -- a bill that would create a public, searchable database of all federal grants and contracts. Letting the public and the press see where the money goes would be a huge step towards eliminating ridiculous, wasteful spending. A Google-like web site to find out where your tax dollars go -- seems like a no-brainer, right? Think again. A Republican Senator famous for pork barrel spending placed a "secret hold" that's preventing the proposal from even getting a vote. The mystery Senator has revealed himself -- it's none other than Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who became famous for trying to waste taxpayer dollars to build a "bridge to nowhere". It's time to ratchet up the pressure and get this bill on the Congressional agenda. Tell Ted Stevens to give this important open government measure a fair up or down vote: democrats.org Under the Bush administration, fraud, corruption and abuse are worse than ever. In fact, their chief procurement officer -- the guy who spends the money Congress authorizes -- was arrested and charged with being part of the web of Republican corruption surrounding disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Under Bush and the Republican Congress, the number of contracts awarded without competitive bidding has skyrocketed, as Democrat Henry Waxman on the House Government Reform Committee has documented. There are likely thousands of examples even more ridiculous than a toilet seat out there -- money wasted, stolen or misspent under this administration. There's only one way to find out for sure, and that's by publicly accounting for which companies are getting your federal tax dollars. Send your message demanding a vote on the bill now: democrats.org Ted Stevens, the most senior Republican in the Senate, don't want you to see the wasteful mess that he and his party have made of the federal budget. From Iraq to our own Gulf Coast, dollars that could be saving lives are being held up, misspent, or wasted. Troops don't have the body armor they need, small businesses in New Orleans haven't received support, and across the country 45 million people go without health insurance. We've seen the damage that Republican secrets and lies can do to our country, and enough is enough. Tell Republican Ted Stevens that you demand accountability from the people who spend your money: democrats.org The corruption and right-wing ideology of Republican rule has created a double nightmare for taxpayers. Republicans have created the most expensive government in history through their corruption and out-of-control spending, but at the same time they've either refused or failed to meet the challenges of governing, like adequately preparing for disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Democrats offer a new direction. We'll cut waste, root out corruption, and reprioritize federal spending so that it works for the people -- and we'll do it responsibly. Remember -- only one president has balanced the budget in the last 45 years, and he was a Democrat. One lesson learned over the last six years should be clear beyond any doubt: You cannot trust Republicans with your money. By pressuring the Republicans to give this accountability measure an up or down vote, you can make this election about the open government and fiscal responsibility Americans deserve. Thank you." Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (11480)	8/31/2006 12:44:12 AM
From: tejek	Respond to of 71588

see you have passed on providing evidence on why you think Israel violated the Geneva Conventions. You elected instead to pull a typical liberal trick, you feel like it is. Your argument failed without factual augmentation. No, I didn't......the use of cluster bombs is a violation of the Conventions. I believe I posted that info to someone if not to you. BTW unlike Israel, Hezbollah is not a signatory to the Geneva Conventions and therefore is not required to follow them.......not that that matters. The US IS a signatory but under Bush, we pretty much ignored them.........invalidating their importance in the process........not that that matters to you and Bush. If it works for you all, you'll bring them up and make a big stink like you did in this post to me." The US has not violated the Geneva Conventions. The US is a signatory of the first two, and the third and fourth are controversial with very few nations signing on. We have not violated our treaties, unlike Lebanon by allowing a terrorist proxy for a terrorist nation to operate freely within its borders. Posting egregiously false statements is not an effective way of winning people to your side. I beg to differ: U.S. Shifts Policy on Geneva Conventions Bowing to Justices, Administration Says It Will Apply Treaties to Terror Suspects By Charles Babington and Michael Abramowitz Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, July 12, 2006; Page A01 The Bush administration has agreed to apply the Geneva Conventions to all terrorism suspects in U.S. custody, bowing to the Supreme Court's recent rejection of policies that have imprisoned hundreds for years without trials. The Pentagon announced yesterday that it has called on military officials to adhere to the conventions in dealing with al-Qaeda detainees. The administration also has decided that even prisoners held by the CIA in secret prisons abroad must be treated in accordance with international standards, an interpretation that would prohibit prisoners from being subjected to harsh treatment in interrogations, several U.S. officials said. The developments underscored how the administration has been forced to retreat from its long-standing position that President Bush be given extensive leeway to determine how to interrogate and prosecute terrorism suspects captured in Iraq, in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Until recently, the White House and Defense Department have pursued such anti-terrorism policies with little interference from Congress and the courts, but that has begun to change. Since 2002, the administration has contended that the Geneva Conventions would be respected as a matter of policy but that they did not apply by law to terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or in U.S. military custody elsewhere. Administration officials have voiced concern that the conventions are too vague and could expose the military to second-guessing about appropriate treatment. continued............ washingtonpost.com