Iraq Death Toll

Gis Killed in Iraq: 2,474
WMDs Found in Iraq: 0

For the gory details on Bush's Mideast adventure and Halliburton bonanza, see Iraq Coalition Casualty Count

Does it matter? -- losing your legs? . . .

For people will always be kind,

And you need not show that you mind

When the others come in after hunting

To gobble their muffins and eggs.

Does it matter? -- losing your sight? . . .

There's such splendid work for the blind;

And people will always be kind,

As you sit on the terrace remembering

And turning your face to the light.

Do they matter? -- those dreams from the pit? . . .

You can drink and forget and be glad,

And people won't say that you're mad;

For they'll know that you've fought for your country,

And no one will worry a bit.

--Siegfried Sasson, 1917

Bush Lawbreaking Continues

Unable or unwilling to catch Osama bin Laden, President Bush is distracting the public with an all-out attack on U.S. citizens. The unwarranted NSA wiretap program was one hideous example. The more recently disclosed roundup of the phone records of tens of millions of Americans is another.

Phone Firms Questioned

Legal experts say the divulging of records to the government is prohibited by a 1986 law.

By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — While Capitol Hill debated the issue Friday, many lawyers voiced surprise that three major telephone companies had agreed to make available to the National Security Agency the phone records of tens of millions of Americans.

That's because Congress made it illegal 20 years ago for telephone companies and computer service providers to turn over to the government records showing who their customers had dialed or e-mailed.

"I would not want to be the general counsel of one of these phone companies," said Orin S. Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University and a former Justice Department lawyer who has worked on electronic surveillance.

Kerr was referring to the disclosure Thursday that the Bush administration has been secretly collecting the domestic phone call records of millions of Americans. The government reportedly obtained the records from AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth but was turned down by Denver-based Qwest Communications.

The law doesn't make it illegal for the government to ask for such records. Rather, it makes it illegal for phone companies to divulge them.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 was passed when cellphones and the Internet were emerging as new forms of communication. Section 2702 of the law says the providers of "electronic communications … shall not knowingly divulge a record or other information pertaining to a subscriber or customer … to any government entity."

Companies that violate the law are subject to being sued and paying damages of at least $1,000 per violation per customer.

The first such lawsuit was filed Friday against Verizon in New Jersey.

Bush Jabbed by Colbert

Colbert Lampoons Bush at White House Correspondents Dinner -- President Not Amused?
from Editor & Publisher


WASHINGTON A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk-show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday, April 29 night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.

Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk-show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”

Turning to the war, he declared, "I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."

He also reflected on the alleged good old days for the president, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.

Addressing the reporters, he said, "Let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know -- fiction."

Mission Accomplished Day

Photo Op President Going Down in Flames

Three years after a smirking flyboy landed on the U.S.S. Lincoln and stood before a huge Mission Accomplished banner from the Rove print shop, President Bush's popularity is in the toilet.

The sad anniversary of his empty promise was marked by the 2,401st G.I. death in Iraq and tumbling poll numbers at home.

With gas prices sky-high and no end of the Iraq war in sight, President George W. Bush's approval rating hits an all-time low in a new CBS News poll.

Only 33 percent approve of his job performance, Mr. Bush's lowest approval rating yet in CBS News polls. A majority – 58 percent of those polled – say they disapprove of the president. Mr. Bush appears to be losing support from his own party. His approval rating among Republicans has dropped to 68 percent.

Exactly three years since the president gave the speech declaring "major combat operations" in Iraq at an end, Americans say that war remains the most important problem facing the country, and most do not approve of the way Mr. Bush is managing the war.