Hail to the Thief

There's been a lot of discussion lately on Democratic blogs like Daily Kos about whether or not Bush should be impeached now that the Democratic party is finally in a position to initiate investigations.

kos weighed in last week with this commentary which was immediately met by a firestorm of debate:

I agree with Reid.

[Reid:] The degree to which the new Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill despises Vice President Dick Cheney is a big plus for President Bush. Consider why incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scrapped an idea to impeach Bush: "Two words: Dick Cheney," he says, joking that it would vault the veep into the Oval Office.
***
It's a point which is so obvious, I wonder why the "impeach now!" people don't get it. "President Cheney" is fucking scary. I'd rather focus on solidifying our gains in Congress and taking state legislatures and governorships and the White House in 2008 than waste another second of our time over the Worst President Ever.

As far as I'm concerned, if Bush has committed impeachable offenses - and there certainly is evidence that he has - it's the duty of congress to impeach him. It shouldn't be optional or based on fears of a 'scary' President Cheney ending up in charge. Let's face it. He's already the president.

Charlie Savage of the Boston Globe details Cheney's political history and his continual push to advance the unitary executive theory which in effect means 'the will of congress be damned'.

A close look at key moments in Cheney's career -- from his political apprenticeship in the Nixon and Ford administrations to his decade in Congress and his tenure as secretary of defense under the first President Bush -- suggests that the newly empowered Democrats in Congress should not expect the White House to cooperate when they demand classified information or attempt to exert oversight in areas such as domestic surveillance or the treatment of terrorism suspects.

Peter Shane, an Ohio State University law professor, predicted that Cheney's long career of consistently pushing against restrictions on presidential power is likely to culminate in a series of uncompromising battles with Congress.

"Cheney has made this a matter of principle," Shane said. "For that reason, you are likely to hear the words 'executive privilege' over and over again during the next two years."

That comes as no surprise and I say that if the Oval Office faux monarchy wants a fight, bring it on. Cheney and his imperial-minded sidekicks have been stealing democracy from the American people for decades and their rubber-stamping Republican congress have been letting them get away with it. The results of the latest election were not just a protest against the handling of the Iraq war, they were also a strong rebuke to the way this government has handled its power. If the Republican party even thinks Americans would elect another president in '08 from within such a corrupt establishment, they have another thing coming. And if the WH wants to make the next 2 years a battle of wills, they'll hurt their party even more.

So, let Cheney have his very public tantrums as he continues to attempt to subvert democracy. He may be the gift that keeps on giving to the Democrats as he keeps obstructing their search for the truth.

Sunday Food for Thought - Teach Your Children Well

Video: Crosby Stills and Nash - Teach Your Children

I love my daughter. She and I travelled down a very long and tough road as we struggled with my drug addiction until she was 9 years old and I finally got clean and sober - some 20 years ago now. I was so lost and so defeated when I thought I had damaged her permanently. It took a lot of healing over the years - a lot of pain and sorrow, a lot of anger and strife...so much life packed into a very short time.

Somewhere in there though, I had managed to teach her my core values: charity, compassion, tolerance, justice, equality and love. Those things were never lost to me. They were covered by the mask of addiction and as we made our way back together, we had a foundation that transcended the fog and eventually overcame the distractions of any given day.

When I called her yesterday, she told me she'd been in a car accident. She'd slid out of control on an icy patch of highway and ended up lodged in some pine trees with my baby grandson. My heart skipped a few beats.

They're both all right and she found help quickly. (Tears fill my eyes as I write this).

No matter what, she will always be my little girl - that adventurous, free-spirited, challenging, fiery, curious, and stubborn little girl - who has become such a fine woman today in spite of all of the odds stacked against her early in her life.

There are times when I think I could have taught her so much more but I do know this: I taught her what I was able to and her passion for life is so much more than I ever could have imagined.

She was telling me yesterday, after recently returning from Mexico and since being in the Dominican Republic a few years ago, that she's going to look into ways for her family to help out the poor in other countries by joining a group to build homes or to provide some other charitable form of work in order to help lift someone out of the world of poverty. That's a challenge with an 11 year old and a baby who's almost 1 year old, but that's the kind of person she is and her mate lives on the same wavelength. They care.

So, despite everything that went so horribly wrong way back when, I know now that her spirit shines so bright that I must have taught her something right. And that is very humbling indeed.

I couldn't be more proud of her and although I'm still certainly nowhere near being mother of the year, I sure can say that in my eyes - she is.

I love you, sweetie. You'll never know just how much you've taught me.

Please drive carefully...

Ship Ignatieff to Britain

Apparently, they love him there although they don't seem to understand what being a 'perfect' Canadian is all about:

Ignatieff is almost the perfect Canadian, even if he has spent most of his adult life abroad: Russian forebears in a country that has no hang-ups about immigrants; a father who was a star Canadian diplomat; an elite education. And, like Max Aitken or Conrad Black, the compulsive need to prove himself in England because Canada was too small. This he did with a remarkable series of interventions, books, broadcasts and lengthy articles trying to make sense of public policy ethics and morality.

Although a star of London left-liberal elites, he sided with Margaret Thatcher over the miners' strike and with George W Bush over Iraq from his perch as director of Harvard's Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy.

Yes, every 'perfect' Canadian longs to follow in the footsteps of snooty Conrad Black. 'Canada is too small' after all for egos like Black's and Ignatieff's that need a larger audience.

We don't need Michael 'Philosopher King' Ignatieff to lead Canadians out of Plato's cave. We've already seen the light while he was busy being adored in Britain and the US.

Another Video Flashback

The Beatles - Revolution

Sorry! This video disappeared from YouTube's site.

Who's Telling the Truth About the Burned Iraqi Mosques?

The so-called 'official' version from the US Army at Camp Victory in Iraq is that only one mosque was set on fire in the Hurriya district of Baghdad.

BAGHDAD — Contrary to recent media reporting that four mosques were burned in Hurriya, an Iraqi Army patrol investigating the area found only one mosque had been burned in the neighborhood...
[...]
An alleged attack on a fourth mosque remains unconfirmed. The patrol was also unable to confirm media reports that six Sunni civilians were allegedly dragged out of Friday prayers and burned to death. Neither Baghdad police nor Coalition forces have reports of any such incident.

While they try to blame this on 'media reporting', they forget to mention that Iraqi government sources originally made the claims:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Gunmen bent on revenge burned mosques and homes in a Sunni enclave of Baghdad on Friday as Iraq's leaders pleaded for calm, a day after the worst bomb attack since the U.S. invasion.

Some 30 people were killed, police said, as suspected Shi'ite militiamen rampaged for hours, untroubled by a curfew enforced in the capital by U.S. and Iraqi forces after bombs killed 202 people in the Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City.

Four mosques and several houses were burned in a small Sunni part of the mainly Shi'ite Hurriya area in northwest Baghdad, Sunni Deputy Prime Minister Salem al-Zobaie told Reuters.

Remember the US military claiming that Pat Tillman was hit by enemy fire and that Jessica Lynch's rescue was a stunning feat which turned out to be a complete myth?

Right-wing bloggers are once again playing the CSI:Bloggerville game and are falling all over themselves to push this military press release as the final truth. When it comes to investigating military claims though for their worthiness, they've learned absolutely nothing, it seems. Anyone who believes that the US military always reports about what's really happening in Iraq just needs to go back over the archives since this war began to see how many times they've corrected their own pronouncements and covered up what's gone on.

In the absence of verifiable evidence like pictures from anyone who purports to know whether or not 4 mosques were actually burned, the best course is skepticism and that definitely includes being skeptical of so-called official reports from the US military.

Things That Make You Go Duh...

Via CTV:

Power outage in west Calgary

POSTED AT 1:49 PM Saturday, November 25

It was a cold morning and even colder for thousands of people on the west side of the city.

Just after nine o'clock Saturday morning the power went out for about 3,000 Enmax customers in Westgate, Westbrook, and Strathcona Park.

The problem was found to be an underground cable and Enmax officials say it was not related to the cold weather.

Power was restored about an hour and a half later.

Enmax says that even in this cold most modern homes can hold their heat for up to four hours.

The power company reminds people not to try to heat your home with a barbeque no matter how cold it gets.

If you believe you have a real emergency call 911.

Oh...and don't stick lit candles up your butts either.

Alberta PC Leadership Race Results

Will be updated as more results come in...

The race is on to see who will replace King Ralph. Early first ballot results have Jim Dinning in the lead with Ted 'Firewall' Morton in second place. (According to local CTV television coverage, the latest margin between the two at this time is about 150+ votes with over 6000 counted so far in total at 9:25 pm/11:25 pm ET). Ed Stelmach is coming in third but it's not exactly a squeaker as far as he's concerned.

CTV is just giving very quick clips of the results that you miss if you blink, but the numbers are in this range right now:

Dinning 27oo+
Morton 2580+
Stelmach 1800+

I don't like any of these guys but Morton is one of the worst (too far right) of the bunch, afaic. Let's hope he loses.

Update: Via CHQR

CALGARY/AM770CHQR - Alberta Tory Leadership Results As Of 9:45 p.m.

Jim Dinning - 5,545
Ted Morton - 4,706
Ed Stelmach - 3,192
Lyle Oberg - 2,801

19 constituencies reporting/83 in the province

Update: Via CHQR

CALGARY/AM770CHQR - Alberta Tory Leadership Results (10:30 p.m.)

Jim Dinning 26,115
Ted Morton 21,507
Ed Stelmach 12,019

130/179 polls reporting

Update: The race isn't over. Because neither Dinning or Morton got over 50% of the votes, there will be a second ballot next weekend with only the top three contenders.

Numbers via CFCN:

Here is a list of the final overall provincial results as of 11:45 pm (mountain time) Saturday night:

Jim Dinning 29470
Victor Doerksen 873
Dave Hancock 7595
Gary McPherson 744
Ted Morton 25648
Mark Norris 6789
Lyle Oberg 11638
Ed Stelmach 14967

Update: Dec 2, 2006 Looking for today's second ballot results? Click here.

Gaza Cease-fire Agreement Reached

It was reported earlier this week that the Palestinians had offered Israel a truce in order to stop the increasing violence in the Gaza strip. On Saturday, it was announced that the Palestinians and Israelis have reached an agreement.

"Abbas asked in response that Israel stop all military operations in the
Gaza Strip and withdraw all the forces," she said. "The prime minister ... told Abbas that Israel would respond favourably, as Israel was operating in the Gaza Strip in response to the violence. With the end of violence, Israel would be happy to withdraw its troops."

Earlier in the week, Israel threatened to step up the military offensive it began in Gaza in June after militants who tunneled across the border abducted an Israeli soldier, who is still being held.
[...]
More than 400 Palestinians, about half of them militants, have been killed in Israeli strikes over the six months, Palestinian hospital officials say. Three Israelis also have been killed.

"(Olmert) expressed his hope that the end of violence would bring stability to both sides," Eisin said.

It's going to take a lot more than a cease-fire to address all of the concerns in the region but at least if they stop killing each other, that's a good first step.

The head of Hamas' political wing says he'll give negotiations six months to see if any progress can be made.

"We give six months to open real political horizons ... we agreed on the national accord to establish a Palestinian state, with the June 4, 1967 borders," he said, during talks in Cairo. "They have to seize this opportunity."

Meshal warned that if an agreement is not reached within that time, "Hamas will become stronger and the resistance will resume ... and will go on with a third uprising."

Additionally:

The deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Musa Abu Marzuk, said over the weekend that Israel had agreed to an exchange of prisoners for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Abu Marzuk, based in Damascus, also said that based on talks Hamas political head Khaled Meshal had held in Cairo, it appeared Israel had agreed to release prisoners simultaneously with the release of Shalit, which it had opposed in the past. "This is definitely encouraging," he said.

The cease-fire goes into effect Sunday morning at 6 am.

CNN Anchor: 'Why not take him [al-Sadr] out?'

And she didn't mean take him out to dinner...

Via Saturday's CNN transcript:

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: How do you do, Carol?

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the step that the U.S. government is taking to try to quell this violence. President Bush is supposed to meet with the Iraqi prime minister in Jordan next week. If that happens, Muqtada al-Sadr, the cleric, I guess, chiefly responsible for this sectarian violence, has vowed to pull out of the Iraqi government and that could crash the Iraqi government. So, let's say the worst happened, where would that leave the U.S. military if the Iraqi government just dissolved?

SHEPPERD: It'd be one more tragic step in a very tragic war, Carol, it would leave the United States in a country without a government to support, in other words, responsible for everything that's gone on there, instead of just some of the things that have gone on. This is as desperate a situation as it gets.

And there's two phrases the U.S. and the U.S. military doesn't want to hear, "spinning out of control," which clearly things are doing in Baghdad, and "civil war," which has become a symbol of failure if it evolves into a civil war. Clearly there is some sort of civil war going on. So, it's as desperate and depressing as it gets.

COSTELLO: So we can say definitively now there is a civil war going on in Iraq.

SHEPPERD: No, you can't say there's a definitive war as we know civil wars, but definitely this sectarian violence is some type of civil war, and it seems to be escalating, not getting less, so it's a very, very tough situation.

COSTELLO: So, if Muqtada al-Sadr is making life miserable for the U.S. military, why not take him out?

SHEPPERD: Well, it's easier said than done. He is visible, but we don't know where he is all the time. And also, you are there to support Nouri al Maliki, the prime minister of the sitting government, if he does not want Muqtada al-Sadr taken out and of course Muqtada al-Sadr is part of his -- one of the major parts of his support, if that would cause him more problems, then you produce more problems for the government that wants to support. So it's a circle of -- it's a very difficult circle to tread.

I almost expected Shepperd to say, 'Jane, you ignorant slut'.

Then again, Shepperd's 'it's not a civil war, yes it is, no it isn't' battle that he was having with himself probably kept his mind a bit distracted.

Write Your Own Caption

Cheney visits Saudi Arabia...

Cheney: 'Remember when we snuck your nationals out of the US right after 9/11? What a hoot.'