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.

Iraq War Update

U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq: 2,400
WMDs: 0

Cost of war in taxpayer dollars: click here

Rush Goes to Jail

Radio host Rush Limbaugh turned himself in to authorities on a warrant for fraud. Limbaugh was photographed, fingerprinted and released on $3,000 bail.

The porcine, hypocritic chatterbox reached a settlement with Florida prosecutors in a fraud case involving prescription painkillers. Declaring his innocence, Limbaugh

"Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. ... And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up," Limbaugh said on his short-lived television show on Oct. 5, 1995.

Prosecutors accused Limbaugh of "doctor shopping," or illegally deceiving multiple doctors to receive overlapping prescriptions, after learning that he received about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors, in six months.

As a primary condition of the dismissal, Limbaugh must continue to seek treatment from the doctor he has seen for the past 2½ years.

Bush Continues to Do Dubai's Bidding

Perhaps the Dubai ports deal was just a distraction - so that this move to sell U.S. security to Bush's Arab buddies who bankroll terrorists would slip through quietly.

Bush Backs Dubai Firm's Plant Operations

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush on Friday approved a deal for a Dubai-owned company to take control of some U.S. plants that manufacture parts for American military contractors.

Initial reactions from Congress indicated that there would not be the opposition to the deal that prevented another Dubai-based company from taking over operations of several U.S. ports.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which must review foreign transactions of this kind, began its review of the transaction on Jan. 28 and made its recommendation to Bush on April 13. He had 15 days to make a decision, a timeframe that expired Friday.

The decision follows a political uproar earlier this year after Bush backed a deal allowing another Dubai-owned company to operate several major U.S. port terminals. The company, DP World, decided to sell the U.S. operations that it acquired in its purchase of a British firm to an American firm after Republicans and Democrats in Congress balked, saying the transaction could compromise America's security interests.

Are Rumsfeld's Days Numbered?

You know you're in serious trouble when Bush says you're doing a heck of a job.


Former drug company executive, former Secretary of Defense and current Secretary of Defense indicates the size of his ego.

Crusty and unapologetic, Donald H. Rumsfeld is the public face of an unpopular war and a target of unrelenting criticism. A growing number of commanders who served under him say he has botched the Iraq operation, ignored the advice of his generals and should be replaced.

The White House insists Rumsfeld retains President Bush's confidence.

"The president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period in our nation's history," Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said Thursday as the administration circled its wagons around the embattled Pentagon chief.

Retired Army Major Gen. John Riggs on Thursday became the fifth general to publicly say Rumsfeld should resign.

Joining the criticism earlier this week was retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who served as an infantry division commander in Iraq until last November. He called for a "fresh start at the Pentagon," accusing Rumsfeld of ignoring sound military decision-making and seeking to intimidate those in uniform.

Earlier calls this year for Rumsfeld's replacement came from retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, retired Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold and retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton.

Another Bush WMD Lie Exposed

Trailers Carried Case for War

Administration Pushed Notion of Banned Iraqi Weapons Despite Evidence to Contrary

By Joby Warrick, Washington Post

On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. and Kurdish troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile "biological laboratories." He declared, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction."

The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.

A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq -- not made public until now -- had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons.

Deadeye Dick Shooting Award Goes to...

Apparently you don't have to get drunk as a skunk while hunting with a fat cat contributor in order to have an embarrassing shooting accident.

A Drug Enforcement Agency hot-shot was empasizing the danger of guns to school kids when his own gun went off and shot him in the foot.

The agent is suing the government, claiming it's the DEA's fault that he's been humiliated--and his career compromised--by the release of the amateur video to TV stations and Internet web sites.

Details and a video clip at The Smoking Gun.

Iraq Death Toll Hits 2,350

U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq: 2,350

WMDs Found: Zero

Bush Leaks Top-Secret Info Like a Sieve

GOP First, USA Second

Cheney Aide Says Bush Approved Leak
By David Jonston and David E. Sanger, New York Times

WASHINGTON, April 6 — President Bush authorized Vice President Dick Cheney in July 2003 to permit Mr. Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., to leak to a reporter key portions of a classified prewar intelligence estimate on Iraq, according to Mr. Libby's grand jury testimony disclosed in court papers filed late Wednesday.

The court filing provided the first indication that Mr. Bush, who has long assailed leaks of classified information as a national security threat, played a direct role in the disclosure of the intelligence report on Iraq and was also involved in the swirl of events leading up to the disclosure of the identity of an undercover C.I.A. officer.

The grand jury testimony by Mr. Libby, who has been charged with perjury and obstruction in the C.I.A. leak case, is said by prosecutors to indicate that Mr. Cheney obtained explicit approval from Mr. Bush to permit Mr. Libby to divulge portions of a National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq's efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

The disclosure prompted Democrats to demand that the White House be forthcoming about Mr. Bush's role. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, released a statement saying: "In light of today's shocking revelation, President Bush must fully disclose his participation in the selective leaking of classified information. The American people must know the truth."

Bell Tolls for Crooked GOP Leader

[He's not just another pretty face on awfulplasticsurgery.com]

Rep. DeLay Won't Seek Reelection

By Jonathan Weisman and Chris Cillizza, Washington Post

Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), a primary architect of the House Republican majority who became one of the most powerful and feared leaders in Washington, told House allies tonight that he will resign from the House rather than face a reelection fight that appears increasingly unwinnable.

The decision came just three days after his former deputy chief of staff, Tony C. Rudy, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and corruption charges, telling federal prosecutors of a criminal enterprise being run out of DeLay's leadership offices. By placing the influence-buying efforts of disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff directly in DeLay's operation, the former aide may have made an already difficult reelection bid all but out of reach.

DeLay's decision capped a long, difficult slide from power that began in September, when a Texas grand jury indicted him on money-laundering and illegal campaign finance charges. Under House Republican rules, DeLay had no choice but to relinquish is post as House majority leader, but he vowed to beat the charges and quickly return to power.

John Dean Skewers Bush Wiretapping

Censure Resolution Sparks Bitter Debate in Senate

By David Stout, New York Times

WASHINGTON, March 31 — President Bush's once-secret surveillance program sparked a bitter debate today before the Senate Judiciary Committee over what kind of president George W. Bush has become and how he stands in history.

The committee met to consider a resolution by one of its members, Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, to censure the president over the surveillance program. The resolution was not voted on and is almost surely going nowhere, but it still had the power to ignite feelings.

Under Mr. Bush's theory of government, Mr. Feingold said, "we no longer have a constitutional system consisting of three co-equal branches of government. We have a monarchy."

Then there was John Dean, the White House lawyer for President Richard Nixon, making his first appearance before a Congressional panel since he mesmerized the country in his Nixon-incriminating testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee more than three decades ago.

Mr. Dean, who spoke in favor of Senator Feingold's measure, is the author of the 2004 book "Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush." Presidents "push the envelope as far as they can" in their power struggles with Congress, Mr. Dean warned. Had Mr. Nixon been censured, "it would have been a godsend," Mr. Dean said, apparently meaning that all the abuses that led to Mr. Nixon's resignation might never have happened.

One thing Mr. Dean said prompted no disagreement whatever. "I must say, I think I have probably more experience first-hand than anybody might want in what can go wrong and how a president can get on the other side of the law."

Noose Tightens Around DeLay

Ex-DeLay aide pleads guilty in lobbyist fraud probe

By MICHAEL HEDGES, Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Tony Rudy, a former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy this morning in connection with an influence-peddling scheme that for the first time brought the Sugar Land lawmaker into the federal investigation.

The plea from Rudy, who served as DeLay's deputy chief of staff, is part of a sprawling federal investigation into the activities of Abramoff, whom DeLay once called "one of my closest and dearest friends.''

Earlier this week, Abramoff was sentenced to 70 months in prison for fraud in connection with the purchase of a casino-boat company in Miami. Abramoff is still under investigation in Washington, where he has also pleaded guilty to fraud charges relating to bribery activities on Capitol Hill.

Former DeLay spokesman Michael Scanlon, who was an Abramoff business partner, has also pleaded guilty to fraud charges in the case.

Doggie-Style, In Sweden

Note to RNC: "War on Terror" not playing well?
Try touting legislation to ban puppy sales to lesbians

Kennel Owner Won't Sell Puppy to Lesbian

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- A Swedish court has imposed a 20,000 kronor ($2,600) fine on a woman kennel owner who refused to sell a puppy to a lesbian.

The kennel owner, who was not identified, had initially been willing to sell the woman a puppy but changed her mind when she found out the woman was living with a lesbian partner, according to Sweden's discrimination ombudsman, a government watchdog who filed the lawsuit.

GOP Lobbyist Gets 6 Years in Slammer

Bush fund raiser Jack Abramoff will sing for prosecutors. That's the only way a convicted felon gets the minimum sentence. And that means more Republicans will be in hot water in the months ahead.

Abramoff Gets Minimum Sentence

Former Lobbyist to Spend 5 Years, 10 Months in Prison

By Peter Whoriskey and William Branigin, Washington Post

Abramoff pleaded guilty in January to federal charges of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. His plea deal with federal prosecutors in that case required him to cooperate with a broad federal investigation of corruption involving members of Congress, congressional staffers, other lobbyists and employees of the Interior Department and other federal agencies.Among the congressmen whose names have come up in the probe are Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), former chairman of the House Administration Committee, and Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), the former House majority leader.

Ney has been identified as the "Representative #1" who, according to court documents, received bribes from Abramoff in exchange for official acts, including congressional statements that promoted the SunCruz deal during contentious purchase negotiations. DeLay, who once described Abramoff as "one of my closest and dearest friends," took three overseas trips with the lobbyist and received more than $70,000 in political contributions from him, his associates and his Native American tribal clients. Ney and DeLay have denied any wrongdoing.

Abramoff also raised funds and made political contributions to President Bush while becoming a major player in Republican efforts to dominate Washington lobbying. He has claimed close ties to the Bush White House, although the president has publicly denied knowing him.

How to Start a War - Bush Style

Gulf of Tonkin Redux

Bush Was Set on Path to War, British Memo Says
By Don Van Natta Jr., New York Times
LONDON — In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq, as the United States and Britain pressed for a second United Nations resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush's public ultimatum to Saddam Hussein was blunt: Disarm or face war.

But behind closed doors, the president was certain that war was inevitable. During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2003, he made clear to Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that he was determined to invade Iraq without the second resolution, or even if international arms inspectors failed to find unconventional weapons, said a confidential memo about the meeting written by Mr. Blair's top foreign policy adviser and reviewed by The New York Times.

The memo indicates the two leaders envisioned a quick victory and a transition to a new Iraqi government that would be complicated, but manageable. Mr. Bush predicted that it was "unlikely there would be internecine warfare between the different religious and ethnic groups." Mr. Blair agreed with that assessment.

The memo also shows that the president and the prime minister acknowledged that no unconventional weapons had been found inside Iraq. Faced with the possibility of not finding any before the planned invasion, Mr. Bush talked about several ways to provoke a confrontation, including a proposal to paint a United States surveillance plane in the colors of the United Nations in hopes of drawing fire, or assassinating Mr. Hussein.

Mama Bush: Charity Begins at Home

Bush League Ethics: Everything is a business deal

Katrina donation ignites debate
HISD says focus on Neil Bush's software didn't violate policy
By Jennifer Radcliffe, Houston Chronicle

As Barbara Bush spent two hours championing her son's software company at a Houston middle school Thursday morning, a watchdog group questioned whether the former first lady should be allowed to channel a donation to Neil Bush's Ignite Learning company through Houston's Hurricane Katrina relief fund.

"It's strange that the former first lady would want to do this. If her son's having a rough time of it, couldn't she write him a check?" said Daniel Borochoff, founder of the American Institute of Philanthropy, a Chicago-based charity watchdog group. "Maybe she isn't aware that people could frown upon this."

Some critics said donations to a tax-deductible charitable fund shouldn't benefit the Bush family. Others questioned whether the Houston Independent School District violated district policy by allowing the company to host a promotional event on campus.

"I said to George one day: 'Maybe it's sort of selfish of me, but I'd like to give something that I could see the results of,' " she told the crowd.

Bush Remains Out of Touch

If it seems that George Bush is the only politician who thinks the Iraq war is beneficial to the United States, the American people can rest assured that he is sensitive enough to brood about the drawbacks -- and let the toughest decision fall to someone else.

Bush vows to stay in Iraq

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON — President Bush said today that American forces will remain in Iraq for years and it will be up to a future president to decide when to bring them all home. But defying critics and plunging polls, he declared, "I'm optimistic we'll succeed. If not, I'd pull our troops out. "The president rejected calls for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, chief architect of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Listen, every war plan looks good on paper until you meet the enemy."

"I understand war creates concerns," the president said. "Nobody likes war. It creates a sense of uncertainty in the country."

Bush has adamantly refused to set a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Asked if there would come a day when there would be no more U.S. forces in Iraq, Bush said, "That, of course, is an objective. And that will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq."