Gung Ho!

Main Entry: gung ho Pronunciation: 'g&[ng]-'hOFunction: adjective Etymology: Gung ho!, motto (interpreted as meaning "work together") adopted by certain U.S. marines, from Chinese (Beijing) gOnghé, short for ZhOngguó GOngyè Hézuò Shè Chinese Industrial Cooperative Society: extremely or overly zealous or enthusiastic

Gung Ho!
Additional Pages

Gung Ho!
And The Cost of War!


Cost of the War.Com
(JavaScript Error)

Gung Ho!
And The Cost of War In Lives!


Saturday, June 18, 2005

How Many Insurgents?

Snip

"The goal is not to seize territory," said Marine Col. Stephen Davis, a commander from New Rochelle, N.Y. "This is about going in and finding the insurgents."




We use search and destroy tactics in Vietnam. The U.S. military leaders thought that the rate in in which the NVA and Vietcong were losing men, the U.S. military could out last. Thus we would win the war. It didn't work then, what makes them think it will work now.

Semper Fi


GOP Senator Wants White House Climate Deal

By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer

A leading Republican senator, trying to shepherd a broad energy bill through the Senate, is urging the White House and other GOP senators to support a compromise proposal on global warming, including mandatory curbs on climate-changing pollution.

Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., met Friday with Vice President Dick Cheney to discuss the climate issue, which will be the focus next week when the Senate resumes work on the energy bill.


Cheney will just rewrite it, to be gas company friendly!

Semper Fi


US concerned about spread of insurgent tactics from Iraq to North Africa

North Africans are beginning to show up among insurgents in Iraq, raising US concerns that they will carry home tactics and techniques learned from that conflict, two senior US officials said.

Major General Thomas Csrnko, head of US special operations command in Europe, said analysts were still trying to determine where the North Africans came from and who they were affiliated with.

"The potential does exist for individuals or groups to go to Iraq and either conduct operations or receive some of the training," he said.

"And one of our fears is that if they do get that training and get some of the techniques that are going on Iraq, they could bring that back to Africa," he said.


Iraq, the training ground!

Semper Fi


Is worst yet to come in Iraq?

Senior Bush official says insurgents likely to step up attacks as terrorists try to derail constitution, elections

BY TIMOTHY M. PHELPS AND KATIE THOMAS
STAFF WRITERS; Phelps is Washington bureau chief. The story was supplemen- ted with wire service reports.

June 17, 2005

WASHINGTON -- During a terrible week for violence in Iraq, a senior administration official yesterday warned that the worst is yet to come.

Five Marines and a sailor were killed Wednesday in attacks west of Baghdad, the U.S. military announced yesterday, a day that also brought news of a suicide bomber in Baghdad who killed at least eight police officers and wounded 25 others.

"I think you'll see it continuing up, because the terrorists know what's coming," said the official, speaking as peace demonstrators chanted outside the White House.

Snip

The official spoke after one of the bloodiest weeks in the war, in which at least 17 U.S. servicemen and 155 Iraqis have been reported killed.

Snip

Now, in addition to Gallup and Washington Post/ABC News polls showing a decrease in public support for the war, there are signs of restlessness on Capitol Hill as well. Yesterday, four U.S. lawmakers, including two Republicans from the South, announced they would introduce legislation requiring President George W. Bush to submit a timetable for a U.S. pullout.

The senior official yesterday rejected any deadlines, saying they would either increase attacks or give the insurgents reason to wait for the pullout.

He said the administration remains convinced that its strategy is working, with progress on the political front as well as in training and equipping Iraqi soldiers to take over the fight themselves.

"There is a timeline, and we're still on it," he said.

But he came back to the new, realistic tone about Iraq.

"Nobody denies the loss of life and the carnage that is being wreaked on the Iraqi people and on us by the terrorists," he said.


Time to get out! The Iraqi troups will never be as effective as U.S. troups no matter how many. The Iraqi leaders are in fighting on how the country should be lead! And the insurgents are trying to kill everyone! As long as U.S. troups are there, Iraq will not stablize!

Semper Fi


Bush hand seen in public broadcasting

E-mail messages obtained by investigators at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting show that its chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, extensively consulted a White House official shortly before she joined the corporation about creating an ombudsman's office to monitor the balance and objectivity of public television and radio program, the New York Times reports Saturday. Excerpts follow.

Mr. Tomlinson said in an interview three months ago that he did not think he had instructed a subordinate to send material on the ombudsman project to Mary C. Andrews at her White House office in her final days as director of global communications, a political appointment.

But the e-mail messages show that a month before the interview, he directed Kathleen Cox, then president of the corporation, to send material to Ms. Andrews at her White House e-mail address. They show that Ms. Andrews worked on a variety of ombudsman issues before joining the corporation, while still on the White House payroll. And they show that the White House instructed the corporation on Ms. Andrews's job title in her new post.


Bushco won't be happy until they take over everything. Repug propaganda being put out via tax payers money!

Semper Fi


Nine coalition troops killed in Iraq

Nine troops from the U.S.-led multinational forces were killed Saturday in a mortar attack in the troubled city of Fallujah west of the capital.

Coalition officials said in a statement that six soldiers also were injured in the attack in Fallujah, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Baghdad, but did not identify the nationalities of the casualties.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bush: Pulling Out of Iraq Not an Option

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON -
President Bush said Saturday that pulling out of Iraq now is not an option, rejecting calls by some lawmakers and many people asked in polls to start bringing U.S. troops home.

"The terrorists and insurgents are trying to get us to retreat. Their goal is to get us to leave before Iraqis have had a chance to show the region what a government that is elected and truly accountable to its citizens can do for its people," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

"We will settle for nothing less than victory" over terrorists there, he said later.

Bush's radio address is part of a series of appearances and speeches in the coming weeks aimed at countering poll ratings that are near their lowest levels on both the Iraq war and the economy.


Will Bushco, nine U.S. will be leaving Iraq and comeing home!

Semper Fi


Friday, June 17, 2005

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    Lance Cpl. Chad B. Maynard, 19, of Montrose, Colo.

Died June 15 when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Ar Ramadi, Iraq.


Semper Fi Marine


TWO MARINES KILLED IN ACTION

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – Two Marines assigned to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), were killed in action June 16 when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. The incident took place during combat operations near Ar Ramadi, Iraq.

Semper Fi my Marines


Fears of military action on Iraq-Iran border

By Phil Sands and Jumana Al Tamimi Muntheria, Iraq/Dubai:

Tensions between Iran and Iraq have escalated in recent weeks to the extent that threats of military action have been made, a senior member of Iraq’s security forces said.

General Nazim Mohammad, chief of Iraq’s Border Police in Muntheria, told Gulf News he had personally told his Iranian counterparts their soldiers would be shot if they strayed too close to Iraqi fortifications.


Oh, goody, maybe even more fighting in Iraq!

Semper Fi


House readies more war funding

By William M. Welch, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives on Thursday considered an additional $45 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan next year on a presumption that U.S. troops will need the money to defeat insurgencies and defend the nascent democracies there.

Although the measure came up late Thursday, the House postponed a vote on it until Monday.


Semper Fi


U.S. double standard to hamper Rice Mideast drive

By Saul Hudson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration's different standards for its friends and foes could hurt the credibility of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's push for democracy in the Middle East on a trip that starts on Saturday.

President Bush pledged this year to make democracy and human rights a central plank in relations worldwide, and particularly in the Middle East where Washington has traditionally tolerated allies' repression and abuses.

Critics and supporters of the campaign say it has so far delivered little, because Washington has tempered its criticism of nations such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia for fear of losing support on policies ranging from the war on terrorism to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to oil supply.

To much of the Arab world, the Bush administration appears hypocritical as it hammers longtime foe Iran over its flawed presidential election set for Friday but refuses to call Egyptian election reform the sham most political analysts say it is.

"U.S. contradictions on democracy aren't new, but rarely has an administration been so self-righteous in its rhetoric -- and that only exposes for the world its double standards," said Stephen Zunes, a politics professor at the University of San Francisco.

Analysts also say the U.S. diplomatic campaign is hamstrung because: Washington has lost credibility due to U.S. abuse of detainees;
it is reluctant to back real reform that could bring anti-American forces to power; and it has exaggerated the role of elections in establishing democracy to the neglect of other key elements such as the rule of law.




Poor Condi, whats a girl to do?

Semper Fi


US forces storm Iraq rebel stronghold

RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. aircraft and ground troops launched heavy attacks on Iraqi insurgents Friday near the city of Qaim, near the Syrian border, local residents and the U.S. military said.

Semper Fi


Msnbc Live Vote Results

Do you believe President Bush misled the nation in order to go to war with Iraq?

* 28448 responses

Yes 93%

No 7%


Go Vote at Live Vote: Did Bush mislead nation to go to war? (middle of page).

Semper Fi


U.S. jets drop 500 lb bombs in Iraq operation

By Luke Baker

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. F-16 fighter planes dropped a series of 500 lb (220 kg) bombs on insurgent targets in western Iraq overnight as the U.S. military launched a heavy offensive against rebels near the Syrian bord


Semper Fi


His church was bombed, and now he protests funerals of the war dead

Kansas preacher says he's coming to Idaho

By CHUCK OXLEY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOISE, Idaho -- A Kansas preacher and gay rights foe whose congregation is protesting military funerals around the country said he's coming to Idaho tomorrow to picket the memorial for an Idaho National Guard soldier killed in Iraq.

A flier on the Web site of Pastor Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church claims God killed Cpl. Carrie French with an improvised explosive device in retaliation against the United States for a bombing at Phelps' church six years ago.

"We're coming," Phelps said yesterday.

Westboro Baptist either has protested or is planning protests of other public funerals of soldiers from Michigan, Alabama, Minnesota, Virginia and Colorado. A protest is planned for July 11 at Dover Air Force Base, the military base where war dead are transported before being sent on to their home states.

Phelps gained national notoriety in 1998 when he picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, the gay college student beaten to death in Wyoming.


He has the right for free speach. But, he (phelps) is nothing but pure hate. He does not teach the word of God, but the devil!

Semper Fi


DoD Identifies Casualties

Released on June 15, 2005

DoD Identifies Marine Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of four Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    Lance Cpl. Jonathan R. Flores, 18, of San Antonio, Texas

    Cpl. Jesse Jaime, 22, of Henderson, Nev.

    Cpl. Tyler S. Trovillion, 23, of Richardson, Texas

    Lance Cpl. Dion M. Whitley, 21, of Los Angeles, Calif.

All four Marines died June 15 when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Ar Ramadi, Iraq.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DoD Identifies Navy Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    Petty Officer 2nd Class Cesar O. Baez, 37, of Pomona, Calif.

Died June 15, as a result of enemy small arms fire while conducting combat operations in al-Anbar province, Iraq. Baez was a Hospital Corpsman assigned to 2nd Marine Division.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    Sgt. Anthony G. Jones, 25, of Greenville, S.C.

Died June 14 in Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    Pfc. Michael R. Hayes, 29, of Morgantown, Ky.

Died June 14 in Baghdad, Iraq, where a rocket-propelled grenade hit his HMMWV (humvee) while he was providing security cordon for an improvised explosive device found earlier.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Released on June 16, 2005

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    Pfc. Nathan B. Clemons, 20, of Winchester, Tenn.

Died June 14 from wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Ar Rutbah, Iraq.


Semper Fi


U.S. 'deletes' climate change

U.S. Pressure Weakens G-8 Climate Plan
Global-Warming Science Assailed

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer

Bush administration officials working behind the scenes have succeeded in weakening key sections of a proposal for joint action by the eight major industrialized nations to curb climate change.

Under U.S. pressure, negotiators in the past month have agreed to delete language that would detail how rising temperatures are affecting the globe, set ambitious targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions and set stricter environmental standards for World Bank-funded power projects, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. Negotiators met this week in London to work out details of the document, which is slated to be adopted next month at the Group of Eight's annual meeting in Scotland.

The administration's push to alter the G-8's plan on global warming marks its latest effort to edit scientific or policy documents to accord with its position that mandatory carbon dioxide cuts are unnecessary. Under mounting international pressure to adopt stricter controls on heat-trapping gas emissions, Bush officials have consistently sought to modify U.S. government and international reports that would endorse a more aggressive approach to mitigating global warming.


Bushco is still pandering to big oil and the energy companies.

Semper Fi


U.S. military launches major operation to hunt insurgents

By Associated Press

The U.S. military launched a major combat operation today, sending 1,000 Marines and Iraqi soldiers to hunt for insurgents and foreign fighters in a volatile western province straddling Syria.
Operation Spear started in the pre-dawn hours in Anbar province to hunt for insurgents and foreign fighters, the military said. The area, which straddles the Syrian border, is where U.S. forces said it killed about 40 militants in airstrikes in Karabilah on June 11.
The operation came one day after Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Alston called the Syrian border the ``worst problem'' in terms of stemming the influx of foreign fighters to Iraq.


Just like in Vietnam. Take some ground and then give it up. Retake the same ground and give it up! They (the military) called it search and destroy missions in Vietnam. Now they just give the missions fancy names. It didn't work then and its not working now. Oh, we kill insurgents, put we are not winning this war.

Semper Fi


US lied to Britain over use of napalm in Iraq war

By Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor

17 June 2005

American officials lied to British ministers over the use of "internationally reviled" napalm-type firebombs in Iraq.

Yesterday's disclosure led to calls by MPs for a full statement to the Commons and opened ministers to allegations that they held back the facts until after the general election.

Despite persistent rumours of injuries among Iraqis consistent with the use of incendiary weapons such as napalm, Adam Ingram, the Defence minister, assured Labour MPs in January that US forces had not used a new generation of incendiary weapons, codenamed MK77, in Iraq.

But Mr Ingram admitted to the Labour MP Harry Cohen in a private letter obtained by The Independent that he had inadvertently misled Parliament because he had been misinformed by the US. "The US confirmed to my officials that they had not used MK77s in Iraq at any time and this was the basis of my response to you," he told Mr Cohen. "I regret to say that I have since discovered that this is not the case and must now correct the position."

Mr Ingram said 30 MK77 firebombs were used by the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in the invasion of Iraq between 31 March and 2 April 2003. They were used against military targets "away from civilian targets", he said. This avoids breaching the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which permits their use only against military targets.


Semper Fi


Gunmen take over Ramadi as bomb kills five marines

Rory Carroll in Baghdad and Osama Mansour in Ramadi
Friday June 17, 2005
The Guardian

Insurgents have taken over much of the Iraqi city of Ramadi and used it to launch attacks against US forces while terrorising the population with public beheadings.

A huge bomb killed five American marines yesterday and showered body parts on to rooftops, fuelling suspicion that armour-piercing technology is being developed and tested in Ramadi.

US troops recovered the remains and withdrew to their base outside the Arab Sunni stronghold, leaving masked gunmen to erect checkpoints and carry out what residents said was the latest of many executions.

A man described as an Egyptian spy was beheaded and his body dumped on a busy shopping street. Warned by the killers to leave it for five days, shoppers pretended not to notice the figure in the brown robe, its head resting on its back.

Four days ago two suspected Shia militiamen were beheaded in the marketplace in full view of traders, said a senior police officer who asked not to be identified. Two boys played football with one of the heads, he added.


Now the Marines will have to go back and retake Ramadi.

Semper Fi


Forum focuses on 'Downing St. memo'

Democrats urge inquiry into whether Bush misled nation on war

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Amid new questions about President Bush's drive to topple Saddam Hussein, several House Democrats urged lawmakers on Thursday to conduct an official inquiry to determine whether the president intentionally misled Congress.

Rep. John Conyers of Michigan and a half-dozen other members of Congress were stopped at the White House gate when they hand-delivered petitions signed by 560,000 Americans who want Bush to provide a detailed response to the so-called Downing Street memo.

At a public forum where the word "impeachment" loomed large earlier in the day, Exhibit A was the Downing Street memo, a prewar document leaked from inside the British government to The Sunday Times of London a month and a half ago.

Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, organized the event.



Rep. John Conyers delivers petitions to an unidentified aide at the White House Thursday.


On June 7, President Bush said there was no decision made in 2002 to go to war with Iraq.

Can you feel it? I can, and I live in Muncie, In.. A gentle breeze is starting to blow out of Washington. Centered around the Dems. It is building and will soon reach the whole nation. Hopefully it will be strong enough to blow down the corruption in Washington and we'll once again have a truely free America! Can you feel it?

Semper Fi


Thursday, June 16, 2005

House Leaders See Need for Ethics Process

By ERICA WERNER
The Associated Press

Snip

Copley News Service reported Sunday that Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., who sits on the powerful Appropriations defense subcommittee, sold his home in 2003 to a defense contractor who took a $700,000 loss.

Around the same time, the contractor's company, MZM Inc., reportedly began getting large government contracts.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., told reporters Wednesday he'd seen the allegations and that's why the committee was needed. "We need to get the ethics committee up and running," he said.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the Cunningham deal raised questions. Immediately after buying the house, contractor Mitchell Wade reportedly put it back on the market for nearly the same price, finally selling it nine months later at a $700,000 loss.


Another repub in trouble.

Semper Fi


Democrats Cite Downing Street Memo in Bolton Fight

By Vicki Allen
Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats rejected a Republican compromise over John Bolton's nomination as U.N. ambassador on Thursday and cited a British report backing their view that the Bush administration hyped intelligence on Iraq before the 2003 invasion.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, said the Senate would hold a procedural vote on Monday to try to break the deadlock on Bolton. Democrats said they had enough votes to block the nomination, but Republicans hoped they would be viewed as obstructionists.


Obstructionists? Thats all the repubs have? Their playing a losing hand!

Semper Fi


Texas death penalty under fire from Supreme Court

By Jeff Franks

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of another Texas death penalty case this week was the latest rebuke to the state's legal system that critics complain is too pro-capital punishment.

It was the fourth time in two years that the nation's highest court overturned a death sentence that Texas courts and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans had let stand.

Snip

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out the 1986 conviction of Thomas Miller-El, who is black, on grounds his trial was unfair because prosecutors in Dallas tried to keep blacks off the jury that sentenced him to die for killing a hotel clerk.

It was the second time the court overturned the conviction and the majority opinion written by Justice David Souter reflected a certain incredulity that the lower courts had not thrown the case out earlier.




I hope the 5th circuit will learn something. That, they must do their jobs and not rubber stamp Texas convictions!

Semper Fi


Ambassador Warns of More Afghan Violence

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Four people, including two boys, were killed by mines in the latest violence in Afghanistan, officials said Thursday, and the U.S. ambassador warned that militants are likely to try to subvert legislative balloting in September.

"As we get closer to the elections, they are likely to intensify their efforts to ... derail the elections," Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said in the capital, Kabul.

"We have a good plan in place to deal with" the threat, he said, without elaborating.




Semper Fi


A picture is worth...

From Alternet Blog:

I really can't say anything more to this... ThatColoredFella calls it "Selective Intelligent Design."



I call it pure hatred!

Semper Fi


Marines' toll in Iraq passes 500

By Otto Kreisher
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON – The Marine Corps has passed a grim milestone in its service in Iraq this week, topping 500 deaths since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003.


Semper Fi my Marines!


Lawyers Fought U.S. Move to Curb Tobacco Penalty

By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: June 16, 2005

WASHINGTON, June 15 - Senior Justice Department officials overrode the objections of career lawyers running the government's tobacco racketeering trial and ordered them to reduce the penalties sought at the close of the nine-month trial by $120 billion, internal documents and interviews show.

The trial team argued that the move would be seen as politically motivated and legally groundless.

"We do not want politics to be perceived as the underlying motivation, and that is certainly a risk if we make adjustments in our remedies presentation that are not based on evidence," the two top lawyers for the trial team, Sharon Y. Eubanks and Stephen D. Brody, wrote in a memorandum on May 30 to Associate Attorney General Robert D. McCallum that was reviewed by The New York Times.

The two lawyers said the lower penalty recommendation ordered by Mr. McCallum would weaken the department's position in any possible settlement with the industry and "create an incentive for defendants to engage in future misconduct by making the misconduct profitable."

At the close of a major trial that dozens of Justice Department lawyers spent more than five years preparing, the department stunned a federal courtroom last week by reducing the penalties sought against the industry, from $130 billion to $10 billion, over accusations of fraud and racketeering.

The decision generated protests from health advocates and Democratic lawmakers, who accused the Bush administration of political motives, and it prompted an internal departmental inquiry. But details of the behind-the-scenes debate over the issue had remained a mystery.

Snip

The newly disclosed documents make clear that the decision was made after weeks of tumult in the department and accusations from lawyers on the tobacco team that Mr. McCallum and other political appointees had effectively undermined their case. Mr. McCallum, No. 3 at the department, is a close friend of President Bush from their days as Skull & Bones members at Yale, and he was also a partner at an Atlanta law firm, Alston & Bird, that has done legal work for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, part of Reynolds American, a defendant in the case.

"Everyone is asking, 'Why now?' " said a Justice Department employee involved in the case who insisted on anonymity for fear of retaliation. "Why would you throw the case down the toilet at the very last hour, after five years?"

Ultimately, Mr. McCallum overruled the objections from the trial team, and the documents and interviews suggest that his senior aides took the unusual step of writing parts of the closing argument that Ms. Eubanks delivered last week in federal court in seeking the reduction in penalties.

Officials who insisted on anonymity said the change on the penalties provoked such strong objections from the trial team that some lawyers threatened to quit. Department officials have now proposed that a lower-level lawyer who has outlined the reasons for reduced penalties take over crucial parts of the remainder of the trial.


More republican meddling into what should have been a clear victory for people. But with Mr. McCallum changing to the lower amount, the tobacco industry can just write that amount off as a loss and charge smokers alittle more per pack to regain their loss.

What a waste of tax payers money!

Semper Fi


Lobbyists' Role for Public TV Is Investigated

By STEPHEN LABATON

WASHINGTON, June 15 - Investigators at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are examining $15,000 in payments to two Republican lobbyists last year that were not disclosed to the corporation's board, people involved in the inquiry said on Wednesday.

One of the lobbyists was retained at the direction of the corporation's Republican chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, they said, and the other at the suggestion of his Republican predecessor, who remains on the board.

The investigators, in the corporation's inspector general's office, are also examining $14,170 in payments made under contracts - which Mr. Tomlinson took the unusual step of signing personally, also without the knowledge of board members - with a man in Indiana who provided him with reports about the political leanings of guests on the "Now" program when its host was Bill Moyers.

While the amounts of the contracts are relatively small, the issues they pose are part of a broader examination by the inspector general of Mr. Tomlinson's efforts to bring what he says is more political balance to public television and radio and what critics say is political interference in programming.


Tomlinson needs to be fired!

Semper Fi


Roadside Bomb Kills Five Marines in Iraq

By FRANK GRIFFITHS
Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A roadside bomb attack killed five U.S. Marines, and gunfire killed an American sailor in a western Iraqi town, the U.S. military said Thursday.

Snip

The Marines died Wednesday after their vehicle was attacked near Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, the military said. Officials in Ramadi had reported a roadside bomb blast in the pre-dawn hours.

A sailor attached to the Marines' unit, the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was also killed Wednesday in Ramadi by gunfire, the military said.




The Sailor was probably a "Corpsman" (medic).

We have up armored our vehicles, but the insurgency have up IDE their bombs. They are using artillery rounds. Using a small explosion to set off the artillery round.

Semper Fi

Update:

From Reuters

U.S. officers have said some rebels have been using "shaped charges," which concentrate blasts onto a small area allowing them to penetrate even the heavy armor of tanks.

Improvised explosive devices, as the troops call them, are the biggest single threat to Americans in Iraq. Though many are spotted and defused, dozens go off every day.

Five U.S. marines killed by bomb in Western Iraq


Wednesday, June 15, 2005

GOP rep. sponsors Downing inquiry



U.S. Representative Walter Jones (news, bio, voting record) (R-NC) is seen in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. June 15, 2005. Jones will co-sponsor legislation about calling for the truth regarding the Downing Street Memo and reasons how the U.S. got involved in Iraq. Reuters/Mannie Garcia

Go Rep. Jones!

Semper Fi


Democrats White House again cozy with Big Oil

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats said on Wednesday that the resignation of a former official on the White House Council on Environmental Quality to join ExxonMobil was an example of coziness between the Bush administration and the oil industry, a charge denied by the White House.

Philip Cooney resigned as chief of staff of the White House council last Friday, two days after The New York Times reported that he edited some descriptions of climate research in a way that cast doubt on links between greenhouse gas emissions and rising temperatures.

The White House has denied that Cooney watered down the impact of global warming, and said that Cooney, who will work for Exxon in the fall, had been looking for another job for some time.

"He had been looking to move on to other opportunities for some time ... a few months at least," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "It's unrelated in any way to the news reports of last week."


Semper Fi


W.House launches second day of attacks on Democrats

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House accused Democratic leaders on Wednesday of obstructing President Bush's agenda in a second straight day of combative attacks against the minority party on Capitol Hill.

"I think the American people reject those who simply say no and stand in the way of getting things done," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.

Snip

The rhetoric suggested a level of frustration by the president at his struggle to advance his second-term agenda.

So far he has been unable to gain traction in Congress over his proposals to overhaul Social Security and has had ongoing struggles over energy legislation and the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement, among other items.

Snip

"We've made some progress in this session of Congress," McClellan said. "But too often lately you're seeing Democratic leaders holding up the stop sign and saying no to everything that we're working to achieve on behalf of the American people, and that's unfortunate."

Bush's approval ratings are in the mid-40s, the lowest of his presidency, and pundits have quickly begun speculating whether he is on the verge of becoming a lame duck with three-and-a-half years left in his term.




If it walks, and quacks like a duck!

Semper Fi


Jacksonville Marine Dies In Iraq

News4Jax

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Family, friends and a church family are grieving for a 20-year-old Marine private from Jacksonville who was killed Tuesday when an roadside bomb went off near his convoy in Iraq.

Pfc. Nathan Clemons was a graduate of Terry Parker High School.




Semper Fi Pfc Nathan Clemons


MyDD: Repealing the 22nd Amendment?

by Chris Bowers

Why on Earth is there a bill in Congress to repeal this amendment?
109th CONGRESS, 1st Session
H. J. RES. 24

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 22nd amendment to the Constitution.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 17, 2005

Mr. HOYER (for himself, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SABO, and Mr. PALLONE) introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Snip

Is it really possible? Bush For Life? House Judiciary Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.)has sponsored legislation to amend the Constitution by repealing the 22nd Amendment, which confines the President to two terms.

Sensenbrenner, architect of the National ID requirements, which are a violation of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, is also a prime supporter of the repeal of the Bill of Rights using the USA PATRIOT Act.


Go read the entire post at MyDD

Semper Fi


House panel gives preliminary approval to CAFTA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A controversial free trade agreement with Central America cleared its first hurdle in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, as the U.S. Congress edged toward final votes on the pact in coming weeks.

The House Ways and Means Committee approved a draft bill to implement the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, by a vote of 25-16. Two Democrats joined crossed party lines to join Republicans in support of the pact, while one Republican voted against it.


CAFTA is bad for the U.S.. More reasons for big business to out source Jobs!

Semper Fi


I Feel A Draft In bu$hmeriKa

Go read Chuck at Bu$hmerika, very powerful stuff.

This war is a QUAGMIRE, like it or not. The bush cabal will need more bodies to fight it. Oil is their God and your family members' deaths don't mean anything to them. The final push is on for recruitment. It's not working. And when it fails, you must wonder, where does that leave us?

Semper Fi Chuck


The Biggest Lynching in History

donkey o.d. has the story. Go read!

A murder was committed and the guilty party was hung by the neck until dead, without benefit of trial, by the good citizens of East Tennessee on September 13, 1916.

Semper Fi Jen


FRIEND OF THE DEVIL

Todays sample of The Heretik. Go read!

IF THESE ARE OUR FRIENDS, WHO ARE OUR ENEMIES?
Pakistan is a strange ally. Seller of nuclear arms across the globe, harbor of terrorists, and an A 1 American friend, this one nation commits a multiplicity of crimes on one brave woman. A woman who might have been crushed by injustice to her, who holds out the open hands of a soul free of bitterness may now be crushed by the politics of nations. This is the story of Mukhtaran Bibi, a saint who forgives small sinners, only again to see great sins visited upon her.


Semper Fi Heretik


3 former Newsday, Hoy employees are arrested in alleged circulation scheme

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Three former employees of the newspapers Newsday and Hoy were arrested Wednesday for their alleged roles in schemes to inflate ad prices by overstating the newspapers' circulation figures, prosecutors said.

The arrests were the first in an investigation by U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf into alleged circulation fraud at Newsday and the Spanish-language Hoy, both owned by the Chicago-based Tribune Co.


The MSM (main stream media) just trying to make an illegal buck.

Semper Fi


Bombings overshadow Iraq rescue

Bombers have hit Iraqi security forces in and around Baghdad, killing at least 33 people in two separate attacks.

At least 25 Iraqi soldiers were killed in the first blast, by a suicide bomber wearing an Iraqi army uniform.

Hours later, a suicide car bomber slammed into a police patrol in southern Baghdad, killing eight.

The attacks come on the same day that Australian hostage Douglas Wood, 63, was freed after being held captive in Iraq for six weeks.

Mr Wood was freed during an Iraqi security operation, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said.



Wood has thanked his rescuers in a public statement

Semper Fi


Bankruptcy law seen hurting entrepreneurship

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new law that makes it more difficult for Americans to file for bankruptcy may hurt the nation's economy by discouraging entrepreneurs from taking risks, according to a study released on Wednesday.

The study argues that government data has greatly undercounted the number of bankruptcy filings caused by business failure.

"There are as many as nine times more bankruptcies involving a business than the current government data suggest," it said. The undercounting has led to an erroneous perception among policymakers that nearly all bankruptcy filings are by overextended consumers.

The new law may dampen the formation of new businesses, the authors argue. This could have serious consequences for the economy because most new jobs are created by companies less than three years old, they said.


Bushco with more fuzzy math.


Latest list of Republican pro-lynching Senators From AMERICAblog

STILL HAVEN'T COSPONSORED

Lamar Alexander (R-TN) - (202) 224-4944
Robert Bennett (R-UT) - (202) 224-5444
Thad Cochran (R-MS) - (202) 224-5054
John Cornyn (R-TX) - (202) 224-2934
Michael Crapo (R-ID) - (202) 224-6142
Michael Enzi (R-WY) - (202) 224-3424
Chuck Grassley (R-IA) - (202) 224-3744
Judd Gregg (R-NH) - (202) 224-3324
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) - (202) 224-5251
Kay Hutchison (R-TX) - (202) 224-5922
Jon Kyl (R-AZ) - (202) 224-4521
Trent Lott (R-MS) - (202) 224-6253
Richard Shelby (R-AL) - (202) 224-5744
John Sununu (R-NH) - (202) 224-2841
Craig Thomas (R-WY) - (202) 224-6441

LATEST TWO WHO NOW HAVE COSPONSORED

George Voinovich (R-OH)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Semper Fi


Critics: Frist vetoed full vote on lynching

RAW STORY

From the (registration-restricted) Atlanta Journal Constitution, a claim that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has waded into a political whirpool.

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) refused repeated requests for a roll call vote that would have put senators on the record on a resolution apologizing for past failures to pass anti-lynching laws, officials involved in the negotiations said Tuesday.

And there was disagreement Tuesday over whether Saxby Chambliss, one of Georgia's two Republican senators, had supported the measure when it was approved Monday night.


Semper Fi


The Path of War Timeline - By Larisa Alexandrovna and Muriel Kane, Raw Story

Go read Raw Story timeline!

Semper Fi


New Memos Detail Early Plans for Invading Iraq

British officials believed the U.S. favored military force a year before the war, documents show.
By John Daniszewski
Times Staff Writer

June 15, 2005

LONDON — In March 2002, the Bush administration had just begun to publicly raise the possibility of confronting Iraq. But behind the scenes, officials already were deeply engaged in seeking ways to justify an invasion, newly revealed British memos indicate.

Foreshadowing developments in the year before the war started, British officials emphasized the importance of U.N. diplomacy, which they said might force Saddam Hussein into a misstep. They also suggested that confronting the Iraqi leader be cast as an effort to prevent him from using weapons of mass destruction or giving them to terrorists.

The documents help flesh out the background to the formerly top-secret "Downing Street memo" published in the Sunday Times of London last month, which said that top British officials were told eight months before the war began that military action was "seen as inevitable." President Bush and his main ally in the war, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, have long maintained that they had not made up their minds to go to war at that stage.

"Nothing could be farther from the truth," Bush said last week, responding to a question about the July 23, 2002, memo. "Both of us didn't want to use our military. Nobody wants to commit military into combat. It's the last option."

Publication of the Downing Street memo at the height of Britain's election campaign at first garnered little notice in U.S. media or other British newspapers. But in the weeks that followed, anger has grown among war critics, who contend that the document proves the Bush administration had already decided on military action, even while U.S. officials were saying that war was a last resort.


It's as clear as the nose on the worlds face, Bushco, that you are lying!

Semper Fi


Bush blasts Democrats for 'agenda of road block'

By Adam Entous

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Tuesday unleashed his harshest criticism yet on Democrats for thwarting his second-term agenda, demanding they put forward ideas of their own or "step aside" and signaling a more aggressive administration strategy of attack.

With approval ratings the lowest of his presidency and critics suggesting he is already losing political clout, Bush blamed "do-nothing" Democrats for holding up an overhaul of Social Security and delaying votes on his nominees to the federal bench and the United Nations.

The assault highlighted administration frustrations over Democratic tactics, and offered a preview of Republican strategy in the run-up to the 2006 mid-term elections.

"On issue after issue, they (the Democrats) stand for nothing except obstruction," Bush said at the annual President's Dinner, a $23 million fund-raiser attended by Republican leaders, party donors, and a blond porn star and former California gubernatorial candidate named Mary Carey.

Bush accused Democratic leaders of trying to "delay solutions" and "obstruct progress."

The speech marked a combative turn for the president, who declared two days after winning re-election last November that he had earned "political capital, and now I intend to spend it."

Much of Bush's legislative agenda has run into opposition, and critics point to the administration's recent troubles keeping fellow Republicans on board as a sign Bush may soon become a lame duck.




So, Bushco thinks the Dems are his problems. Hmmmmm. Maybe an illegal war in Iraq, a Social Security plan that will cut benefits, and a polical party that is taking hand outs from lobbists and big business is his problem! Not us Dems! I just don't see how Bushco can come out and bash the Dems to get his poll numbers back up and think the American people are going to buy it. If the Bushco numbers were up a little higher, and the Dems were (which we are not) trying to "delay solutions" and "obstruct progress", then I could. But, Bushco poll numbers are so low, he has to use a ladder to see them. And also, this country was not build for one polical party rule. Thank God the Dems haven't been rubber stamping the neocons agenda!

Semper Fi


Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Two Marines from Camp Lejeune killed in Iraq

By The Associated Press
Associated Press

A pair of Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune have died from injuries they received while fighting in Iraq, the Department of Defense said.


Lance Cpl. John J. Mattek Jr., 24, of Stevens Point, Wis., was the latest casualty reported. He died Monday from injuries sustained in a June 8 explosion while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Anbar province.

He was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team-2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Posted by Hello

The department also reported that Lance Cpl. Andrew Kilpela, 22, of Fowlerville, Mich., died after a roadside explosive went off in Iraq, his father and brother said.

Kilpela was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineering Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Lejeune, and had been in Iraq since March. He'd been a Marine since 2003.

Semper Fi My Marines


Think Progress » Exxon Hires Ex-Official Who Doctored Global Warming Docs

Snip

June 13, 2005: Cooney hired by ExxonMobil.

Philip A. Cooney, the White House staff member who repeatedly revised government scientific reports on global warming, will go to work for ExxonMobil in the fall, the oil company said today.


Snip

The headlines will read that Cooney was hired by Exxon today. The reality is he never stopped working there. The taxpayers were just taking care of his salary for the last few years.


Think progress has got it!

Semper Fi


Is A Dark Future Emerging? bu$hmeriKa HAS ARRIVED...: Will It Blow Up In His Face (THIS TIME)?

A sample from Chuck at Bu$hmerika.

The bush (MIS)administration is about to face yet another scandal among countless others. The difference this time is that a direct violation of the Constitution Of The United States Of America has been perpetrated and found out. Proof positive that bush was planning to attack Iraq long before presenting a declaration of War to Congress or the United Nations and going as far as moving money around covertly to fund initial invasion costs, fixing 'facts' and writing policy around propaganda, has surfaced.

Go read Chuck!

Semper Fi


Judiciary GOP pulls the plug on Conyers 'forums'

By Albert Eisele and Jeff Dufour

If the Financial Services Committee is the best in the House when it comes to bipartisan comity, then the Judiciary Committee may well be the worst.

In December, ranking Democrat John Conyers (Mich.) began holding “forums” — gatherings with all the trappings of official hearings — after Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) refused to hold hearings on topics Conyers requested. The forums have been held in smaller committee rooms, often with C-SPAN coverage and formal witness lists.

In a sign of how far relationships on the committee have soured, majority staff recently announced a new policy to deny any request from a committee Democrat for the use of a committee hearing room.


Rooms! Rooms! We don't need any stinking rooms!

Go Conyers!

Semper Fi


SUSA polls all Senators

Go Read Dkos and see where your Senator is.

Top ten:

1. Obama (D-IL)
2. Collins (R-ME)
3. Conrad (D-ND)
4. Leahy (D-VT)
5. Snowe (R-ME)
6. Dorgan (D-ND)
7. Inouye (D-HI)
8. Rockefeller (D-WV)
9. Reed (D-RI)
10. Bayh (D-IN)

Only two repugs are in the top ten, and moderates at that!

Indiana's other Senator:

31. Lugar (R-IN) 61/26 (Roemer's thinking about taking him on)

Semper Fi


Lying on lynching vote on DKos

From DKos. Go read the entire post.

Snip

Aravosis also has the final Wall of Shame list:

Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Kent Conrad (D-ND)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Michael Crapo (R-ID)
Michael Enzi (R-WY)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Trent Lott (R-MS)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
John Sununu (R-NH)
Craig Thomas (R-WY)
George Voinovich (R-OH)

They can still co-sponsor the legislation. So what are they waiting for?

Update From Dkos

Lynching Wall of Shame
by kos
Tue Jun 14th, 2005 at 13:59:32 PDT

I just heard that Kent Conrad added his name today to the anti-lynching resolution passed yesterday, making the holdouts an all-GOP cast.


Every Senator should have co sponsor this legislation. Hate is showing its ugly head in the Senate.

Semper Fi


The Raw Story | Democrat introduces fast-track resolution to rebuke GOP chairman over Patriot Act hearing

RAW STORY

Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) has introduced a privileged resolution in the House which seeks to rebuke House Judiciary Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) for abusing his power at a Patriot Act hearing last week, RAW STORY has learned.

The resolution declares Sensenbrenner 'willfully trampled the right of the minority to hold an additional day of hearings,' and 'willfully and intentionally violated the Rules of the House by abusing and exceeding his powers as chairman.'

It moves to have the House condemn the Wisconsin's actions and enjoins the chairman to schedule an additional day of hearings on the Patriot Act.


I doubt if this goes very far, but I'm glad somebody toke some action.

Semper Fi


Monday, June 13, 2005

Pentagon gives no excuses for suspect treatment; senators aghast on Yahoo! News

The US military offered no excuses for interrogation techniques used on a Saudi terror suspect at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying his questioning followed a "detailed plan" and that prevention of new attacks justified the means.

The retort followed publication of a secret document detailing the military's handling of Mohammed al-Qahtani, suspected of being the 20th hijacker on September 11, 2001, that suggested his interrogators may have used a combination of forced hydration and denial of bathroom facilities to pressure him for information.

The revelation has left some US lawmaker aghast, with Republican Senator Chuck Hagel openly suggesting "a vacuum of leadership" at the Pentagon.

The interrogation log obtained by Time magazine also indicated Qahtani had his head and beard shaved, was stripped naked, ordered to bark like a dog, prevented from sleeping by loud music, had pictures of scantily clad women hung around his neck and was straddled by a female interrogator, a contact particularly offensive to a Muslim.

A one point, when the detainee refused to drink water, an IV tube was inserted into his arm, he was pumped with three and a half bags of fluid and told that a bathroom visit will be allowed only in exchange for information.



A detainee is escorted by military police at Guantanamo US Naval Base, Cuba in 2004. The US military offered no excuses for interrogation techniques used on a Saudi terror suspect at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying his questioning followed a 'detailed plan' and that prevention of new attacks justified the means(AFP/Pool/File/Mark Wilson)

Does the Pentagon, ie. Donald Rumsfeld, realize we have troups in combat? They too maybe subjected to torture, in retaliation by the insurgents or Taliban.

Semper Fi


Syria says U.S. accusations like those of Iraq WMD

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. accusations that Syria has not fully withdrawn its intelligence agents from Lebanon are similar to the unfounded prewar charges that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, Syria's ambassador to the United States said on Sunday.

"I would say it's a shame that the world's unique superpower, the United States of America, will degrade itself to this level," Imad Moustapha said on CNN's "Late Edition."

After almost 30 years in Lebanon, Syria has said it had pulled out all military and intelligence personnel after former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was assassinated in February.


Well, we still have 3 1/2 years of bushco. I think the U.S. will go even lower. Wait until the Downing Street Memo gets a full play in the MSM.

Semper Fi


White House dismisses setting Iraq withdrawal time

By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House dismissed calls on Monday for setting a date to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq as a new poll showed a growing number of Americans believe the United States should pull its forces out.

President Bush has repeatedly said that U.S. troops would leave Iraq once Iraqi forces were trained to take over the security of their country.

"The president's talked about how timetables send the wrong message," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

"It would send the wrong message to the terrorists and it would send the wrong message to the Iraqi people. They have shown they're committed to democracy and freedom, and we're going to stand with them to complete the mission," he said.

A new Gallup Poll shows that nearly six in 10 Americans say the United States should withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq, up from 49 percent with that view in February, USA Today reported on Monday.


Semper Fi


Republican lawmakers urge shift in Iraq plans

By Vicki Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican congressman called for a deadline to pull U.S. troops from Iraq, while some other members of President Bush's party urged on Sunday that his administration come to grips with a persistent insurgency and revamp Iraq policy.

Rep. Walter Jones, a North Carolina conservative, said on ABC's "This Week" that he would offer legislation this week setting a timetable for the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

"I voted for the resolution to commit the troops, and I feel that we've done about as much as we can do," said Jones, who coined the phrase "freedom fries" to lash out at the French for opposing the Iraq invasion.


Semper Fi


Pentagon analyst charged with divulging secrets

By Deborah Charles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Defense Department analyst was charged with disclosing to a foreign diplomat classified information about a Middle Eastern country's activities in Iraq, court documents showed on Monday.

Lawrence Franklin was arrested in May on charges of illegally disclosing classified defense information. An indictment returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed on Monday gave further information on the charges, including that he disclosed secret information to the diplomat.

Franklin, who worked on the Iran desk within the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the time the government says he disclosed the information, was also charged with disclosing top-secret information about potential attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq to two employees of a pro-Israel lobbying group.


Semper Fi


Suicide bomber kills five US troops in Afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a U.S. military convoy in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing at least five American soldiers, police said.

The blast came from a taxi as a U.S. military convoy was heading down a main road to the west of Kandahar city, said a senior police officer, who did no want to be identified.

"The latest report I have is that five people in the vehicle that was hit by the suicide car have been killed," he said. "This was a suicide attack. The person in the car that carried out the act has been torn into pieces."


Semper Fi soldiers