Cathie Martin Reveals Key Discrepancy in Libby Trial

Cathie Martin started talking at the Scooter Libby trial today.

In July, 2005, I'd introduced you to Catherine J. Martin, who was once Dick Cheney's press secretary (and has since been named White House deputy communications director for policy and planning) - and who has been part of the Fitzgerald investigation on the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame because of some questionable cell phone calls. Catherine J. Martin's husband, Kevin Martin, just so happens to be the fellow who took Michael Powell's place at the FCC when Powell stepped down. Kevin Martin worked for Ken Starr during the witch hunt against Clinton, and when the Florida fix was in danger of falling apart in 2000, "Martin left for Miami so quickly he didn't pack a bag. Working round the clock, he could be seen on TV peering over ballot counters." [Loyal partisans, both Mr. and Mrs. Martin.]

Here's what Cathie Martin had to day today, per Raw Story:

In a major development today in the I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby perjury and obstruction of justice trial, a former vice presidential spokeswoman raised questions about the defense employed by Dick Cheney's former chief of staff. Cheney's former Press Secretary Cathie Martin took the stand and told the prosectuion she had briefed Libby and the Vice President on the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame as the wife of Iraq war critic Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

Martin revealed that she had a conversation with a CIA counterpart who in the course of the discussion said that Plame was Wilson's wife. She immediately informed Cheney and Libby of this fact, on a date she said was prior to July 6th, according to the Associated Press. Libby claims he learned of Plame's identity days later.

Somebody's been lying...or so it seems. As loyal Cathie Martin and her husband have been to CheneyCo and BushCo, she doesn't appear willing or able to lie about this in a court of law.

Iraq is Over - When Will Leadership Admit It?

Raw Story: Senator Feingold asks, 'How can Congress end a war?' Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) will hold hearings next week to examine “Exercising Congress’s Constitutional Power to End a War,” RAW STORY has learned.


Andrew Sullivan has a good point to make on Iraq, and it's something we can all see but our leaders seem to be in denial about. They dance around the reality that, in order to have the kind of victory Bush talks about, we're going to have it soon, and we are going to have to see the draft activated. Otherwise, it's nothing but magical thinking and fancy to think this kind of "victory" can be achieved. Try tapping into the will of the People on this idea and you'd have an additional 500 thousand in the streets of Washington DC this weekend protesting our occupation of Iraq.


Senator John Edwards on Iraq and Bush's SOTU speech:

"America needs leaders who will do more than propose half-measures and baby steps; President Bush has left us a legacy of challenges that can only be met with courage, conviction and bold change.

And that change must begin in Iraq. President Bush's decision to adopt the McCain Doctrine and escalate the war in Iraq is terribly wrong. There is no military solution to this civil war. Instead of increasing the number of troops in Iraq, we should immediately withdraw 40-50,000 troops. In order for the Iraqi people to take responsibility for their country, we must show them that we are serious about leaving, and the best way to do that is to actually start leaving. Since the President refuses to change course, Congress must use its power of the purse and block funding for an escalation of war. Over 80,000 people from across the country have joined me in calling on Congress to stop President Bush's misguided plan to escalate the war. Congress has the power to stop this escalation - they should use it."

Amos Lee - "Sympathize" video

Amos Lee sings Sympathize
Live at the Hotel Cafe, L.A.
Video by tstumphauzer

Abbé Pierre: Poverty Warrior Dies at 94

"We have lost a great figure, a conscience, an incarnation of goodness."

-French President Jacques Chirac

The Roman Catholic priest, Abbé Pierre, one of France's most popular figures has died. The leading social rights activist, who was 94, had been in hospitalised for just over a week ago with bronchitis. Often donning a beret and cape and clutching a cane, Abbe Pierre - a code name from his World War II resistance days - topped polls as France's most beloved public figure almost year after year.

His death was announced by President Jacques Chirac who described him as a "living legend", adding that France had lost "an immense figure, a conscience, a man who personified goodness."

- Born Henri Groues into a large and affluent family in Lyon, Abbé Pierre renounced wealth to campaign for more than half a century on behalf of the homeless and downtrodden.

- He entered the resistance in the Second World War, taking the name Abbé Pierre in 1942 as a cover for his work manufacturing fake identity papers and helping Jews cross the border to Switzerland. Elected to parliament after the war, in 1945, his devotion to the "street sleepers" was awakened. A lawmaker for seven years, until 1951, he occasionally begged alms while organizing rag pickers among the homeless so they could fend for themselves. With the help of an ex-convict and his lawmaker's salary, the first Emmaus Community house was born in 1949 in Neuilly-Plaisance, northeast of Paris. Emmaus, which helps the disenfranchised to help themselves, is now present in many countries.

"Abbé Pierre represented the spirit of rebellion against misery, suffering, injustice and the strength of solidarity."

- A quote from French President President Jacques Chirac, who awarded Abbé Pierre a higher order of the Legion of Honor (Grand Officier de la Legion d’Honneur)on April 19, 2001.

- He set up the Emmaus Community Foundation for the impoverished in 1949. It gained nationwide notoriety when he persuaded parliament to pass a still existing law which forbids landlords from expelling tenants during winter months. Well into his 90s, he continued to champion the causes close to his heart and will be remembered as a staunch defender of the homeless and the destitute.

- His campaigning for the homeless first achieved national attention in the winter of 1954 when an indignant Abbé Pierre issued a radio appeal to the public on behalf of the homeless, after a woman froze to death on a Paris boulevard clutching an eviction order.

- The priest freely admitted to using provocation as a tactical weapon in his war on misery. "I’m not by temperament a man of anger," he said in a 1994 interview with the Associated Press. "But when I must denounce something that destroys man, I get mad. It is love that engenders this holy anger. They are inseparable."

- The president of the French Muslim Council, Dalil Boubakeur, spoke of a deep sense of loss at the news of the death. "We would like to express our deepest respect and total admiration for the life of this man of God which was devoted to defending the powerless and the rights of the poorest to live with dignity," he said.

- In the Vatican, French cardinal Roger Ethchegaray said Abbé Pierre’s death "affects all of humanity for a simple reason: he never strayed from the cause, declaring war on poverty and putting first those who suffered the most."

- In France, he created his own Abbé Pierre Foundation in 1992.

- Abbé Pierre inspired the U.S. cooperative known as H.O.M.E. in Orland, Maine.



Sources: Euronews, TimesOnline

Related articles:

France's Voice of the Voiceless, TimeOnline

Abbé Pierre - champion of the homeless by Jo Siedlecka, Independent Catholic

Bloomberg News

Abbé Pierre speaks about death - In 2000, the Abbé Pierre had some conversations with a group of young children. These were recorded in a book, entitled: 'What is Life? Why Death? ... Explained to Children.'

Quixote "cities", CBS News; Associated Press story

Abbe Pierre, Adventus (blog)

Peace Activists Looking Seriously at John Edwards

"I think some of us (peace activists) are taking a good, hard, long look at him. I'm not at the point of making a decision (on who to support for president), but I certainly like some of the things he's saying about Iraq."

- Eloise Cranke, peace activist from Des Moines, Iowa

An article at Radio Iowa today explains that peace activists are beginning to see John Edwards as a presidential candidate they would consider for 2008.

In the article, there are statements by Elazabeth Edwards, wide of the former Senator, that drive home the amazing power that a simple, heartfelt apology can hold. The statement is regarding John Edwards' Washington Post op-ed, The Right Way in Iraq, written over a year go.

Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, says she's watched her husband struggle with the issue and the turning point came in 2005 when Edwards authored an opinion piece. "He wrote a version and then of course, the staff goes at it and they took out the 'I was wrong' and he said 'No, I've got to start with "I was wrong."' Maybe it's lots of good years as a husband where you teach them that they have to say that," Mrs. Edwards says. "Whatever it is, he knew he had to say he was wrong."

She says her husband argues that "holding on to the lie" makes it impossible to find the right solution.

There are lies in our own lives we sometimes have held onto for too long. It's only in admitting that they were lies that we can begin letting them go.

Sen. Clinton: Bush's Authority Limits Congress' Ability to Block Escalation

Just back from her visit to Iraq, the New York Times is reporting that Senator Hillary Clinton is calling for capping the number of American forces in Iraq to the total number that were there on January 1 — before President Bush proposed adding forces and escalating the violence. [roughly a 140,000-troop cap] She has also said she's leaning toward threating the Iraqi government's leaders with the loss of American funds to train and equip Iraqi forces, the loss of funds to rebuild the economy, and perhaps even a loss of funds to provide security for the leaders themselves. Although the Senator hasn't talked about timelines or benchmarks just yet,

she indicated that the Shiite-led government would be expected to crack down on sectarian militias in Baghdad and elsewhere and to find new ways to work with Sunni political groups. [NYT 1-17-07]

Senator Clinton said this on today's CBS "Early Show" -

"I’m for redeploying our troops out of Baghdad and eventually out of Iraq so we can make sure that they’re not in the midst of a civil war."

More from the NY Times article:

She insisted that sectarian violence would continue in Iraq regardless of whether there were more or fewer troops, because the Iraqi government was not committed to the mission.

“They’re waiting us out,” she said on NBC’s “Today” show. “They intend to do everything they can to impose a particular brand of dominance over the Sunnis, and there’s no reason for the Sunni insurgency therefore to stop.”

Senator Clinton also said on NBC that Congress had limited ability to block the president’s troop plan outright.

“The president has enormous authority under our constitutional system to do exactly what he’s doing,” Mrs. Clinton said. “He already has the money appropriated in the budget.”

She said she was troubled that the Bush administration seemed willing to shift troops from Afghanistan to take part in a “losing strategy” in Iraq; a moment later, she expressed concern about sending more troops “to Iraq on this very bad mission.”

From the CBS report:

"Unless there is a total partnership with the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Army, this can't work," [Senator] Clinton said. "And I didn't see the signs of that partnership."

Instead of adding more U.S. troops in Iraq, [Senator] Clinton said she wanted troops to be redeployed from Baghdad to Afghanistan.

____________________________

Just How Enormous Is Bush's Authority, Anyhow?

Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has drawn a check and balance-line in the Constituational sand proclaiming,

"This is not a monarchy."

Bush is not a King and he's not a dictator (even though he's "joked" that he'd like to be one). He can pose and growl with as much power as he can summon up, but it won't take away the fact that there are solid-as-rock Constitutional checks and balances and solid efforts Congress can make to see that he is reined in on this escalation of violence in Iraq.

At The BradBlog, Brad displays a copy of an Edwards campaign e-mail where campaign manager and former Congressman David Bonior (D-MI) holds little back in his sharp criticism of both George W. Bush and Democratic members of Congress for their Iraq War policies and politics. Mr. Bonoir says in the Edwards campaign e-mail:

This weekend, President Bush claimed on national TV that Congress does not have the power to stop his proposed escalation of the war in Iraq.

That's bull. I served in Congress for 26 years, and I can assure you that Congress does have the power to stop this escalation -- and it has used that power many times before, including in Vietnam, Lebanon, Nicaragua and Colombia.

In essence, Bonoir is saying that Bush's authority is not so enormous that Congress is incapable of - or powerless to - stop the president from escalating the war in Iraq.

See the post by Mathew Gross referring to the same Edwards campaign e-mail. The title of the post is Total Bull. Total bull refers to those elected represebtatives who calling for symbolic statements that do nothing to stop the escalation. The experirnced former Congressman Boinoir warns:

If you hear a member of Congress say "non-binding resolution," then you're really hearing them say "pass the buck."

Quiz: How Long Ago Did I Say This?

Here's a quick quiz for my readers.

How long ago did I say this about Bush and Iraq?

"Bush hopes to hand over power by June, yet I can't see (in light of all the mistakes we've already made over there) how we won't be getting bogged down in a major ethnic power struggle."

The answer is in the comments section below.

Bush: The Loneliest Lone Ranger

Three and a half years ago, Sweden's Foreign Minister Anna Lindh called Bush a "Lone Ranger" on Iraq.

Today, he's the loneliest lone ranger.

Not only has he left the international community behind, he's left the American people and their representatives behind.



Here he is with his little buddy John McCain who's saying, "Heckuva job, Keem-o-sabe Bush!"

__________________

Here is he playin' sheriff all by hisself.

Zogby Poll: Edwards Leads Dem Pack in Iowa

According to the latest Zogby Poll, John Edwards is still way out ahead in Iowa.

Bring The Troops Home Legislation Unveiled

Jonathan Tasini is reporting some breaking news at Daily Kos about brand new Bring The Troops Home legislation coming from the House.

At 2 p.m. Eastern today, Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee (co-chairs of Progressive caucus, which has roughly 64 members) and Maxine Waters (chair of Out of Iraq Caucus, roughly 74 members) are introducing comprehensive End the War legislation, answering Bush's challenge that Democrats provide alternative proposals (the announcement will come in the House Radio/TV Gallery). It's called The Bring the Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act.

It's important to note the caucuses that are supporting the legislation. The sheer number of those caucus members who are already backing the legislation is impressive.

UPDATE: Congresswoman Lynne Woolsey's diary is now up at Daily Kos:
This bill's for you: "The Bring Our Troops Home and Sovereignty of Iraq Restoration Act of 2007"

The Congress has already appropriated funding that will support our troops and keep this occupation going for at least another six months. That funding instead should be used to finance an aggressive withdrawal plan that brings our troops home to their families. Our bill would do exactly that.

Our plan will also...

1 Withdraw all U.S. troops and military contractors from Iraq within six months from date of enactment.

2 Prohibit any further funding to deploy, or continue to deploy U.S. troops in Iraq. The bill does, however, allow for funding to be used, as needed, to ensure a safe withdrawal of all US military personnel and contractors, diplomatic consultations. Funding may also be used for the increased training and equipping of Iraqi and international security forces.

3 Accelerate, during the six month transition, training of a permanent Iraqi security force.

4 Authorize, if requested by the Iraqi government, U.S. support for an international stabilization force. Such a force would be funded for no longer than two years, and be combined with economic and humanitarian assistance.

5 Guarantee full health care funding, including mental health, for U.S. veterans of military operations in Iraq and other conflicts.


In addition the bill would:

6 Rescind the Congressional Authorization for the War in Iraq.

7 Prohibit the construction of permanent US military bases in the country.

8 Finally, we believe that Iraqi oil belongs to the Iraqis. Once the oil is in the international market, the U.S. will certainly have access to our share. That’s why our bill ensures that the U.S. has no long-term control over Iraqi oil.

Our plan, with the exception of Veterans’ benefits, will cost the American people pennies on the dollar as compared to continuing the occupation for two more years. It will save lives, bodies, and minds, and it will give Iraq back to the Iraqis. It is an important step in regaining our credibility in the region and throughout the world, and provides the President, and this Congress, with a comprehensive way to respond to the majority of Americans who want our troops to come home.

I will update this diary thoughout the day when we have a bill number, as well as when we are able to get the text of the bill online. You have remained at the forefront of opposing this war from the beginning, and you have held those in Washington accountable. Thank you for all that you have done, and thank you for helping me to get this bill approved.

In solidarity,

-Lynn

We Shall Overcome

"The Drive" - A Film About New Orleans After Katrina

The filmmakers of NOVAC have, for decades, created their art in support of the democratization of video storytelling in New Orleans. They are now part of a group on MySpace called the New Orlean Filmmakers. The group was established on January 14, 2006 as an online meetup group. It eventually has grown to much more and as of August 2006, the New Orleans Filmmakers have reached 133 filmmakers in and around the New Orleans area, including members of the Director's Guild of America and the American Society of Cinematographers.

The following short film is from YouTube. It's titled "The Drive" and it shows scenes of devastation just four months after Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing flooding ravaged the city. The filmmakers say that the painful irony of post-Katrina New Orleans is how few people throughout the country understand the extent of what has happened to the city. Many people do not realize that, just over a year later, things are not back to normal in New Orleans. As America's attention fades from Hurricane Katrina's impact, a disabled New Orleans continues to struggle for survival.

Directors: Tim Ryan & Matt Wisdom
Narration: Heather Ryan:
Original Score: Gil Talmi - www.giltalmi.com:

From NOVAC's website:

Why should New Orleans be rebuilt? NOVAC hopes to answer this question through a series of community-based short documentaries. Local filmmakers are directing the shorts that highlight the unique culture, people, and spirit that make New Orleans a city worth rebuilding.

While parts of New Orleans are alive and kicking, a short drive outside of the French Quarter or Uptown reveals neighborhoods severly damaged by the flooding. NOVAC is also producing a one-hour documentary called The Drive. It is a driving tour through four of the most devastated neighborhoods in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The first segment of The Drive on the Lower 9th Ward and is now available on DVD at cost ($4.75 + shipping) through Custom Flix. The DVD also includes the entire series of short documentaries.

To view the other short documentaries, visit YouTube. Please vote and email the YouTube video links to friends and family.

If you are interested in supporting this project with a tax-deductible donation or your time, please contact Tim Ryan.

Lance Armstrong: "Thank God I Got Sick"

"This disease came along and really gave me perspective on life. I viewed my days a lot differently than I do now. I have to live every day to its fullest. Thank God I got sick."

Lance Armstrong, January 16, 2007

(From article Armstrong tells Iowans to push cancer research by Bonnie Harris, Des Moines Register Staff Writer

Juan Cole Becoming Hill Staffers' New Best Friend

Ask yourselves how, after so many Iraqi purple fingers wagged proudly, we can expect we won't get "the middle finger" (stained or unstained) for arresting the very people they elected! Talk about mayhem and confusion. From Informed Comment [Juan Cole]:

KarbalaNews.net reports that a joint American-Iraqi (apparently American-led--see the picture) force invaded the offices of the elected provincial council of Wasit in the Shiite South and arrested two elected members of the council. They took away Qasim al-A'raji and Fadil Jasim Abu al-Tayyib without making any announcement of the charges. [..] This is sort of as though in the US, federal troops attacked the South Carolina State House and arrested the elected secretary of state and treasurer. [..] You can't celebrate elections and purple fingers and self-determination, and then have foreign troops involved in arresting elected officials. It looks colonial...

So much for U.S. troop support for the McCain Doctrine/Bush Escalation. Professor Cole says:

One thousand active-duty soldiers and Marines have come out to call for a quick US withdrawal from Iraq. Take that, Frederick Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute!

Ah! It seems that Hill staffers will be able to more breezily coordinate with Professor Cole now that most Americans (and a growing number of active duty troops) are in agreement against perpetuating this failed foreign policy.

Senators will introduce a bipartisan resolution in the senate condemning Bush's escalation of the Iraq War with an extra 21,500 troops. [..] I remember doing a briefing on the Hill in June of 2004 on Iraq, to a distinctly less than full room of staffers and I think no congressional representatives. Some of the staffers came up and gave me their cards and sheepishly admitted that it was very hard to get their bosses interested in taking a stand on Iraq.

First 2008 Debate April 4-5 in NH

In case you missed this, the first Democratic debate for the 2008 POTUS race will take place early in 2007. Mark Silva of the Chicago Tribune:

With a little help from the Manchester (N.H.) Union-Leader, Manchester television station WMUR and the national 24/7 cable news network, CNN, the two major parties' candidates for president in 2008 will get their first chance to debate one another in April 2007. This could bump more than a few people off the fence, as they consider entering a field that already has drawn several candidates.

Mark the dates: April 4 and April 5, back-to-back party debates.

John Edwards On Iraq and Barack Obama

"..when I had the chance to vote years ago on the funding of the war in Iraq, $87 billion at the time -- and I thought the president was headed on the wrong course. It turns out, unfortunately for our country, that I was right -- I voted no."

Senator John Edwards

2008 presidential candidate John Edwards was interviewed on CNN's Situation Room by Wolf Blitzer today.



On the entry of Senator Barack Obama into the 2008 presidential race:

"I think we want good people in the race, because we desperately need new leadership in 2009."

Regarding Senator Edwards' comments about the Iraq war during his speech at Riverside Church in Harlem last Sunday, Wolf Blitzer asks Senator Edwards:
"Did you see that as a direct attack against [Senator Hillary Clinton]?

"I wasn't thinking about anybody in particular. It was directed at members of Congress who, I believe, as a matter of conscience, should stop this president from escalating this war and from continuing in a long series of really tragic mistakes that -- that he's made in Iraq. And, as I said in the clip you just ran, Congress has the power to stop this escalation. [...]

[...]I didn't speak about anybody by name. I talked about members of Congress. By the way, I also spoke to the American people, who need to step up and be heard on this escalation of the war.

And I was specifically referencing Dr. Martin Luther King's speech 40 years ago, a year to the day before he died, in Riverside -- at Riverside Church, where he spoke out against the war in Vietnam, and talked about silence being a betrayal. And that was the theme of what I was talking about.

I believe I was right. I stand behind it. We should not be escalating this war. And I hope that members of -- of Congress will have the good conscience and the good sense to show some strength about this, and stand up to the president, and stop him."

* Thanks to NC Dem for the YouTube video.

Shams of Tabriz Tomb Hoped to Be World Cultural Heritage Site

The Tomb of Shams of Tabriz in Khoy, Iran, which will be renovated to become a widely-visited tourist destination. The border city of Khoy with a population of 356,000 is located 130 km to the north of Orumiyeh, the capital of West Azarbaijan province.


The Sufis believe that Shams of Tabriz was elevated to a symbol of God's love for mankind.

Shams of Tabriz (Persian, Shams-e-Tabrizi) who is estimated to have died at 1248 AD was an Iranian Sufi mystic born in the city of Tabriz in Iran. He is responsible for initiating Mawlana Jala ad-din Mohammad Rumi, usually known as Rumi in the West, into Islamic mysticism, and is immortalized by Rumi's poetry collection)"The Works of Shams of Tabriz" (Persian, Divane Shamse Tabrizi). Shams lived together with Rumi in Konya, in present-day Turkey, for several years, and is also known to have travelled to Damascus in present-day Syria.

Last August, Chairman of Khoy Islamic City Council proposed that the tomb of Shams of Tabriz be turned into an international tourism and cultural complex. [Iran Daily]

Iran's non state-run "Rumi Home" association director, Mehdi Meigani has recently informed that the association was determined to register Shams' Shrine in Khoy as one of world cultural heritage sites in the UNESCO. [LINK]

After 4 Yrs:Blair Still Trying to Explain Iraq War to World?

Whew. You know you have a war that has no measurable effect, no end game, and no chance for success when, four years into the war, one of the top world leaders who still supports the war has to explain to the public and to the international community that his guys aren't the "killers."

Mr Blair made mention of this fact when he was asked about Iraq's soaring death toll at his monthly press briefing in Downing Street on Tuesday:

"But of course it is tragic when there's innocent people losing their lives in Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of them lost their lives, innocent people, under Saddam.

"Now thousands of them are losing their lives, but they're losing their lives because terrorists and because internal extremists, linking up with external extremists, are killing them," he said.

"It's not British and American soldiers that are killing innocent people, we're trying to protect innocent people."

[BBC News]

Really? He still has to convince others of that? Who's convinced that this war is working out well? Who's convinced that an escalation of violence is the panacea?

Without Law Enforcement, Iraq is Lost Cause

From the New York Times breaking news:

Unveiling its latest human rights report on Tuesday, the United Nations chided the government for allowing killers, some of them inside the security forces, to go unpunished.

"Without significant progress on the rule of law, sectarian violence will continue indefinitely and eventually spiral out of control," the U.N. human rights chief in Baghdad, Gianni Magazzeni, told a news conference.

Today we learn that 60 people, mostly bright young women, have been slaughtered by a suicide bomber at a Baghdad university in retaliation for the SaddamCo hangings. Another 110 students were seriously wounded.
Who will ever obtain justice for ending those beautiful women's lives?
How will they obtain justice? More killing by U.S. troops in more civil war?
What's that solving?
Who is being convinced? Surely not U.S. citizens. Surely not Iraqi citizens. Surely not the international community.

Over 34,000 Iraqi citizens were killed by violence in 2006 alone. That's over 10 times the number of those killed in New York City on 9/11, and the government of Iraq never had one thing to do with 9/11.

What a disaster.

A "crackdown" in Baghdad with only 21,000 more U.S. troops, embroiling America more deeply in Iraq's ever-growing sectarian fight and making moving targets of our servicemen and women, will clearly not allow the Iraqi government the ability to show Iraqis that the rule of law means a damn.

President Bush is going to have to stop these half-measures and either commit our nation fully in this Civil War of Iraq 2007, or he's going to have to tell the Iraqi government to make immediate compromises and reconciliation so the rule of law - whatever laws and oil-revenue-deals they sit down and compromise on - can begin to be implemented....and we begin to redeploy U.S. troops.

Where there is no recognition of law, there is only lawlessness.

It's high time for Bush to sh*t or get off the pot.

We started this war the wrong way, we mismanaged the war, and now the war has a completely different face. It is not the action for which our Senators gave their good faith consent and authority in 2002. That authority needs to be rescinded.

This is not "cut and run."

This is "get real and deal."

We need to redeploy the right way.

We need to start doing it now, and we know our President isn't listening to reason.

What do we do?

2008: Obama to Make Declaration Feb 10

According to the NY Times, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois will make a formal declaration Feb. 10 in Illinois about his decision to run for President 2008.

Although there are downsides to Obama's potential for success that cannot be dismissed, SF Gate political blogger Mark Sandalow believes that Senator Obama has a strong shot at winning in 2008:

It would be irresponsible to dismiss the chances of Hillary Clinton or John Edwards, along with a cavalry of dark horses who make the 2008 election among the most interesting in memory. Yet Obama is clearly in the top tier for his party's nomination, and given the standing of the GOP and the situation in Iraq, the Democratic nominee selected in Denver in August 2008 has a strong shot at winning the White House.

NRO's Jim Geraghty blogs about the report that Senator Obama will announce important news on Oprah January 17th, and Jim repeats the words he heard from a GOP consultant:

"Announcing on Oprah could be potentially very smart... I'm glad she's also from Illinois, because that means she can’t be his running mate... Christopher Dodd goes on Imus and announces his candidacy, Obama goes on Oprah. I know which show I'd rather have my candidate make his announcement."

I can't argue with them there. Oprah's show is certainly a sensational venue for this type of announcement.

In news I find to be rather sad and definitely divisive, the right wing Christian group known as the National Clergy Council, along with the help of another right wing organization called Faith and Action, [a Washington, DC-based Christian outreach to policy-makers on Capitol Hill who always hopes that the GOP will co-opt their narrowest views on religion - anti-gay, anti-choice] is raising what I consider to be a defamatory stink about Senator Obama.