This is timely and pithy commentary from Kos:

Ignorant, yet defiant
by kos
Wed Feb 22, 2006 at 10:03:40 AM PDT
Yesterday, Bush said:

President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that a deal for a state-owned Dubai company to manage major U.S. ports should go forward and will not jeopardize U.S. security.

Bush told reporters traveling back to Washington with him from Colorado that he would veto legislation to stop the deal from going through.

"After careful review by our government, I believe the transaction ought to go forward," Bush said. He added that if the U.S. Congress passed a law to stop the deal, "I'll deal with it with a veto."

But as the firestorm increases on Bush from Democrats, the press, and - gasp - suddenly emboldened Republicans, the White House decided that they needed a different strategy.

And today they rolled out Operation Bush Is An Out-Of-Touch Dumbass.

President Bush was unaware of the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates until the deal already had been approved by his administration, the White House said Wednesday.

Of course, the big question is who reviewed and approved the deal, since we now find that a decision with major national security ramifications was made without input from either the president (supposedly) or the Secretary of Defense. Or perhaps the better question is whether the administration has decided to hang Chertoff off to dry. The dude is on his way out anyway, might as well tar him with this disaster as well. Because as far as we can tell, we have no proof the committee that McClellan assured us yesterday had unanimously approved the deal has even met.

Furthermore, while the administration was required under law to conduct a 45-day investigation into the deal, none took place. Of course, "laws" are those pesky words on paper that King George and his infallible administration are allowed to ignore and discard at their own perogative.

Yet this is a case with national security ramifications so obvious that even Republicans can't sit on the sidelines. I mean, we're talking about a nation that impeded our ability to take out Osama Bin Laden because half its royal family was chillin' with the terrorist mastemind himself. We attacked Iraq because one of the 9/11 terrorists allegedly met with a Iraqi security official in Prague, yet we give control of our ports to a nation whose leadership is on a first-name basis with Osama himself and got together for tea and crumpets.

So Republicans are suddenly oh so concerned about port security, yet they couldn't give a rat's ass about it before yesterday.

Democrats have been at the forefront of efforts to tighten port security for just about this entire decade. Republicans have stood in the way. And we now see the logical conclusion to their indifference -- the selling of our ports to a nation with extensive ties to the very terrorists who are trying to destroy us.

From my blog site at http://www.mytopia.org/serendipity/

1) What involvement, if any, did you have in the whisper campaign against Paul Hackett? If you deny involvement, how has your name become associated with this - especially given that Democratic operatives in the state have implicated you?

2) Were you involved in any way with working Paul Hackett out of the campaign? Why is there resistance to him running in the primary? If you deny these sentiments, how has your name become associated with the situation - especially given that Democratic operatives in the state have implicated you?

Thank you for answering my questions in a timely manner

The only conclusion I can come up with, Chuck, is that they don't care about anything concerning the welfare and safety of the American people.

They really don't care about obeying laws, terrorism, or the economy. It's all about amassing as much money as possible and acting like big shots who don't have to answer to anyone.

Nixon at least cared about the economy and world peace. Benedict Arnold served in the military.

Paul Hackett has a lot of other things to worry about besides politics. I wonder how long before he's redeployed to Iran or Syria? He said some pretty ugly (yet truthful) things about the ruling class in the White House. They like to get even.

The Beltway Democrats are their own worst enemy. They will be replaced in due time. Concentrate instead on things that will get us back the majority in Congress this fall. You are exerting a lot of energy in the wrong place.

Speak clearly.
Use few words.
Tell the truth.
Do not be afraid.
The American people do not value blowhards, no matter how bright and correct they may be.
"Give 'em hell Harry" is what America wants.

I have medicare part D. I pay $2.00 per prescription, all my drugs are covered, no deductable, and it costs me $6.50 per month. I have had no problems--AT ALL. SO WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE HAVING DIFFICULTY--THEY didn't take the time to investigate before choosing! ! !

Medicare part D???
Haven't you paid attention? The rules keep changing. People who researched their options carefully are suddenly finding their rates changed, or the meds suddenly getting denied.
Bush had the thing written so the drug companies can crap on the recipients and get away with it.
If you haven't had trouble yet, don't worry, you will.
I just want this asshole out of office and this Medicare straightened out before I turn 65 in two years.

MaJoad:
You are sooo right! You go, girl! Tell them how it is! Hooah!!!

Bravo for Louise Slaughter! She used to be my Congresswoman, and probably still would be but for the fact that my wife refused to move out of the town she grew up in.

(If Jen stops by this thread, I suppose that might be her signal to queue Bobby Caldwell's What You Won't Do for Love.

Sandy,

Your comments represent the pathetic nature of the party. "Come together at all costs". It's a travesty and there needs to be reform. Sadly, there USED to be Democrats who had spine enough to take folks to the woodshed for their behavior. None such luck.

It is a disappointment that people such as yourself and other Dems who are sweeping this under the rug simply don't get it - Ohio is most likely lost as a result of this ridiculous and unnecessary tomfoolery.

You have done a good job of convincing me never to vote a straight ticket.

Consider me out of the party. What is it worth, anyways? Why would I associate with hypocritical, myopic mini-Republicans who eat their own.

You are one helluva convincer, Sandy...thanks for completely turning me off.

Mentioning the welfare of the American people, NPR did a piece on the air, this morning, on people who are depending on food banks. The majority of these people are employed. Many of them are women and single parents. Food bank recipients' income covers rent and the fuel to get to work, but not food. A month of Food Stamps only covers about 2 1/2 weeks of groceries.
The working people in this country are in a Depression. This is the 500lb gorilla in the living room and he is still growing.
The right to life does not stop at birth. We have kids who will be left behind, in spite of Bush's insistent rhetoric, because they don't get a good night's sleep because the house isn't properly heated, and who can't concentrate in school because they are just too hungry.
Bush's betrayal of the working people needs to be a number one issue in the Democrat platform.
I personally know of people, who are working more than one job, who are scrimping.
This administration has encouraged the outsourcing of jobs, and touted the strength of the economy using greedy multinational corporations as the measure.
The true measure of an economy is how its people are doing. They are not doing well at all.
The cost of "free trade" is a price that this country can not afford.

Thank You, Our Darling Senator Slaughter, I wish we had more caring people like this making a complete investigation, to expose crime and evil commited by the Republicans! Keep up the good work and incourage others to do the same.

Something that just came up on AP:
In an article by Martin Crutsinger,on jobless claims dropping by 20,000 last week, Bush is on record as saying that this increase in jobs is due to his tax cuts, which he is urging Congress to make permanent.
There is also a statement in the article that the Fed is watching to see if wage pressure from the tight job market start to push inflation higher.
In other words, cutting taxes for the rich make the job market increase, but they are watching to see that working people get to make a living wage bacause that would increase inflation? What about windfall profits for oil companies caused by over priced oil, which has driven up not only gas and heating prices, but the cost of shipping goods to markets, and what about the fact that wages have not kept up with this inflation?
When are the Democrats going to make an issue on the mistreatment of the working people and the pandering to the rich. It should one of the main Democrat agendas in this economy.
We need a "Give 'em hell, Harry" approach to start standing up for the common people, who are busting their butts only to see a decent lifestyle get farther and farther away.
National security is important, but the Republicans seem to be turning it into a single-issue-voter issue.

A true story about medical malpractice. My ankle surgery was preformed in my Pod's office. Come to find out later, it was not a sterile office, several employees entered the room while the procedure was ongoing, they were not wearing masks, and one even came over to view the procedure and talk with the doctor.
The Dr. left on vacation a few days later, with the stiches intact. I wasn't notified of this vacation thing. He went out of State, left no instructions with anyone about my post-op care, or what to do if there was trouble while he was out of state.
Staff infection set in while he was away. I spent the next 8 days in the hospital, taking a total of 3,000 mg of Vancomicim a day, after I come home from the hospital, I conttinued to take the same antibiotic dosage for the next forty eight days. I have been taking Hyperbaric treatments for the past 8 weeks, under wound care treatments even today.
I am a diabetic, and thus far, This same doctor has not done any thing wrong.

America must realize by now that this war was not about wmd's, oil, nor Saddam. It is about the U.S. treasury which "W" has raped at will and he willed and willed including medicare and S.S.. But-- what is he doing with all the money? It is no longer in U.S.. Where is it? To me it is a bigger mystery than Saddam"s wmd's.If anyone has the answers, please let me know at my Email address. THanks.
rikicat

It is becoming increasingly difficult to wade through the miasma of Busherrea flowing from the White House on a daily basis. In his latest attack on the sensibilities of the American people, Mr. Bush is attempting to portray his administration as one which cares about the will of the American people. The President has been advised to address the topic of oil dependency. Led by the strategy of Karl Rove, the highest paid propagandist in American history, Mr. Bush is spewing sound bites such as, “the American people are addicted to oil,” and, “we must decrease our dependency on foreign oil.” Is this the same George Bush who responded to the question, is the Iraq war about oil, with the following quote, “America is not dependent upon Mideast Oil. Oil from that region constitutes less than five percent of the American consumption”? It appears that the Bush regime does in fact employ the truth when it’s convenient. Let’s present the facts. Logistically speaking, the importation of oil from the Mideast is a ridiculous proposition. Most crude consumed in America is supplied by the Alaskan Pipeline. The countries upon whom the American consumer allegedly depends are Mexico, Venezuela and Canada. I read the times this morning and if my information is correct we are not at war with any of these countries. President Bush is quite obviously capitalizing on the latest wave of anti-Arab hysteria to improve his fading popularity and to further distract the American people from focusing on the rampant corruption of the Republican Party.

Historically, American oil interests invaded the Mideast fifty years ago. Based upon the astronomical profits to be made by buying off corrupt governments and royal families, these same companies colonized those countries without the use of an army. The ripple effect caused a boom in development of specific areas in these countries. Even more American companies such as Bechtel, General Dynamics, Westinghouse and Halliburton were the beneficiaries of the subsequent development. Based upon projected oil revenues, several American banks financed the ventures. The aforementioned entities are among the same corporations who own the United States government, lock, stock and barrel. Are the American people expected to believe that George Bush and his cronies are truly interested in developing alternative energy sources which will bring this money machine to a screeching halt? When one considers that these same private interests have financed nearly every Republican campaign for half a century, one must conclude the will of these quasi-monopolies will triumph over the will of the people. When George Bush looks into a camera and states, “I know we will get through these hard times because I believe in the American people,” he means exactly what he says, the corporate agenda will be the served and the American people are on their own but, they will surely endure.

It was Mr. Bush himself who employed the metaphor of addiction in his discussion of the oil dilemma. Appropriately, every drug dealer makes a feeble effort at some point to warn his dependents about over use at a time of obvious crisis. Mr. Bush, whose family is in the oil business, may have some insights from both ends of this metaphor. No enterprising drug dealer would implement any drastic measures to curtail his cash flow. I am prepared to believe that Mr. Bush earnestly wishes to encourage the development of alternative energy sources. Further, I believe that he will aggressively pursue this plan the day after Osama Bin Laden records his rendition of John Lennon’s, Give Peace a Chance.

--Quinn Stilletto
President, Unwantedchildren.com

Never in the history of this country has a President done more damage to our Constitution, to our economy, to our international standing and credibility, to our civil rights or TO OUR SAFETY than the jerk making the decisions now.

I do not believe that American democracy or the American economy can survive this administration and I'm jumping ship. I've had all I can stand and I'm taking my money and getting the hell out of the USA, happy to leave it in the hands of those who elected GWB, those who WILL NOT take action against his reign of stupidity, corruption and lies, and those who continue to defend him.

The 'ports deal' is the last straw. We need to get rid of the SOB and ALL OF HIS CRONIES and TRY recover some semblence of sanity and logic.

The Democratic Party, over the past 5 years, has behaved like a terrorized wife who is convinced that she cannot do anything while she watches her husband abuse and rape her children. If you guys don't do something NOW, there will be nothing left to stand up for.

What has Bush done with all the money? That's simple.
The tax cuts Bush has pushed through and now wants to make permanent cut the taxes for the richest 10% of Americans. The 10% with the 90% of the money. That's where the money went. It is in the pockets of the uber-rich while the rest of us are left to pay for Bush's war, and what ever can be funded out of the little that's left over.
The rich demand services and infrastructure while they have gotten out of paying their fair share for them.
The rest of us, the 90% with the 10% of the money are stuck with the bills. Like we have anything left over after we pay for such luxury items as groceries, rent, heat, and gas to get to work.
Now Bush wants to sell them our public lands so they can build themselves luxury homes, and lock the rest of us out of our heritage, while looking down their noses at us.

We need to kick-start the DNC, push Republican legislators who are against this deal, and be very vocal about impeachment.
Impeachment of Bush and Cheney is vital to recovering our Constitutional Rights, and correcting this mistreatment of the poor,elderly, disabled, and our military personnel at home and restoring our credibility with the rest of the world.
We need to email legislators, and tell them exactly how we feel. We need to get involved with the local parties and support those candidates who are supporting the working people. We need to send a message that enough is too much and we need to demand accountability from the Bush administration and from those legislators, both Reoubpican and Republi-lite Democrat who are supporting the policies of greed and corruption.
This is a legislative election year, this means that angry voters do carry clout and we need to use it.
We need to email, email, email. We need to get out friends, family, and our cousin's yellow dog to do the same.
IMPEACH BUSH AND CHENEY!!!!
LEAVENWORTH KANSAS, THE NEW WEST WING!!!

Remember that the main difference between a republican and democrat is that the former values property/profit/power while the latter values people. This is no where better demonstrated than by the examples noted above by Rep. Slaughter. Everything that Bush has done has been to increase control of property/profit/power, usually at the expense of people.
It is easy to go after the 3 p's as the goal is clear (more is better), everything and anything done to attain that goal is considered legit, and you don't need to consider the consequences on anybody else (as other people don't really matter, especially if it is 'them' not 'us'). If you view life/legislation with a base value system based on materialism, everything that Bush & Co has done makes sense and has been in line with their true values. (Note: to get a better understanding of neocon belief of the value of religion, get a hold of the "Power of Nightmares" documentary series produced by the BBC a couple years ago -- religion is to be used to help control the population, not to be truly embraced by those in power)
It is significantly more difficult to value people and to consider all the ramifications of legislation on all groups of people - not just the 'pioneers' (remember "what you do to the least of these, you do to me", a value somehow forgotten by the 'family value' crowd).

When you go over to the DLC (Democrat Loosership Comittee) site, you find them saying two of the party's top strategists are warning not to be fooled by Bush polls.
The gist of the article is that Democrats need to be "less liberal" and "more centrist".
According to Mark Penn's poll, only 13% of the voters would vote for a liberal Democrat, and 43% say they regard the party as "too liberal.
They are appearantly wanting Democrat candidates to soft pedal it and do some more limp-wristed (and loosing) campaigning.
To my way of thinking, they are accepting the Republican Bushivision and Rovian propaganda definitions of "liberal" and "centrist" all too readily.
We need to redefine the Democrat party as being more populist, more for the "regular hard-working" guy without using the demeaning "Joe Sixpack" term used by the Republican oiligarchs in a lot of their media blather.
Working people are centrist in a lot of the values we hold, but we are not centrist in terms of kissing the posteriors of the mega corporations and the uber-rich especially when they are shipping jobs overseas and lobbying against the best interests of the American people.
The problem is that "centrist" has become defined in far too many politicians minds as being "for big business" and spineless as far as the rights and well being of the American people is concerned.
The Democrat party needs to agressively re-define the terms used in the Republican spin and bring them closer to the truth.
The Democrats need come out fighting and show the country that they are pragmatic, care about the people of this country, especially the workers, the disabled, the children, and the military personnel who are dying for the lie.
Many Democrat legislators are already fighting these fights, but it isn't showing up in the media. The Democrats need to start tooting their own horn and bring these issues into the light of public opinion.
They also need to loose the single-issue-voter issues that keep shooting them in the foot because the issues are irrevelant, not as important as other issues at this time, and/or been spun so much by the Republicans that they don't mean what they are supposed to mean.
If the DLC isn't smart enough to figure it out, or has sold out to the Republi-lites' big business interests, then who needs them.
The way it looks to me the DNC needs to stand up, fire the DLC and start running a winning campaign.