The above toon is how Bush would look without dental insurance.

"The White House released President Bush's military records from the National Guard, which include a rare photo of Bush in an F-102 flown by his chauffeur."  -Craig Kilborn

"You can tell that the campaign has shifted into high gear because whenever President Bush refers to John Kerry, he calls him 'the senator from the gay wedding state'." - David Letterman

ODD NEWS

CIA Web Site Notice Seeks Iraq WMD Information

Reuters - 2-12-04

The CIA, under fire over its intelligence about Iraq's arms programs, has posted a notice on its Web site offering rewards for information on the elusive weapons...

Lies, damn lies -- and phone calls

Wed Feb 11, 1:47 PM ET

People who tell lies are likelier to do so in a phone call rather than an e-mail, a psychologist says...

U.S. men's magazine names Hillary Clinton one of 25 'toughest guys'

Wed Feb 11, 9:46 PM ET

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has been called many things, a savvy politician, a devoted wife...

"Congress won't look into Iraq. They won't look into Enron. But Janet Jackson's bra? They looking into that!" - David Letterman

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SUBJECT: Howard Fineman Essay

This country simply has no history of going to war halfcocked and trigger-happy. Our ideal is the reluctant warrior; Alan Ladd in "Shane," Gary Cooper in "High Noon." We aren't (and don't think of ourselves as) quick-drawing gunslingers who shoot first and ask questions later.
Howard Fineman

Maybe "we" don't like to think of ourselves as reckless, and maybe Howard Fineman actually believes what he has written, but his description of the US as a "reluctant warrior" is at utter variance with the facts of US policy since the campaigns of extermination of the native inhabitants.

National expansion continued with the grab of first Texas and then half of Mexico. Politicians at the time praised the "civilizing mission" of the United States. But Ulysses S Grant who saw his first combat in Mexico in the 1840s always little taken by pretense, made a different assessment later in life: "It was a war of aggression, pure and simple."

How about the "liberation" of the Hawaiian Islands from it's people? After bringing "Christian civilization" to the fun-loving natives who lacked the ambition necessary to become good capitalists, the native queen was deposed and a "republic" setup by US business men while US troops encircled the palace. Annexation followed in about 1900.

Then it's on to the phony "defensive" war to grab Puerto Rico, Guam and The Philippines from Spain. The battleship "Maine" exploding in Havana harbor [probably from overheated boilers] provided the pretext for an attack. That ship constituted the non-existent "WMD" of the era.

When Filipinos didn't want to exchange US domination for Spanish rule, several hundred thousand were killed in a racist slaughter. Tired of being called "nigger," and hearing the Filipinos called by the same name, some African-American soldiers went over to fight for the Philippine resistance.

This is the kind of heroic solidarity that I think ought to be celebrated.

This is only a beginning. US aggression, not "reluctant warriorism" is the ugly face of United States foreign policy.



Bob Schwartz
Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism

complete Fineman article: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4235590/

Thanks for writing Bob. No wonder we're called Ugly Americans.

Americans should insist on the creation of a Department of Peace, as suggested by Dennis Kucinich.

Graphic by Oz

"As John Kerry sails toward the Democratic nomination, new questions are emerging about President Bush's service in the National Guard, like where he was for six months in 1972 and why he refused to take a routine physical. President Bush has vowed to get to the bottom of this right after Election Day." -Craig Kilborn

Department of Justice Seeks Abortion Records
CBS News - 2-12-04
... The lawsuit was one of three filed last November by the National Abortion Federation
immediately after President Bush signed a law banning the abortion ...
 

This seems like a scenario right out of Margaret Atwood's novel: A Handmaid's Tale

Disturbing News

GAO: Contractors Owe $3B in Unpaid Taxes

AP - 2-12-04

A total of $3 billion in unpaid taxes is owed by more than 27,000 defense contractors, according to government records reviewed by congressional investigators.

GOP Blames Clinton for Iraq Intel Lapse

AP - Wed Feb 11,11:23 PM ET

In a sign of how Republicans may try to quell criticism of prewar intelligence in Iraq, the head of the House Intelligence Committee tried Wednesday to direct blame to the Clinton administration.

Sergeant-At-Arms Defends Probe of Memos

AP - Wed Feb 11, 8:01 PM ET

There is "no doubt" that Republican staffers acted improperly in accessing Democratic strategy memos on judicial nominees, the Senate's sergeant-at-arms said Wednesday, as he defended his investigation into the incident.

Scalia Defends Hunting Trip With Cheney

AP - Wed Feb 11,11:21 AM ET

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia strongly indicated he will ignore calls to recuse himself from a court case involving his friend and hunting partner, Vice President...

"Well, the Republicans, of course, can't find Osama bin Laden. They can't find weapons of mass destruction. They can't find the anthrax or the ricin terrorists. So, why do they want to spend their time and our money searching for Janet Jackson's wayward breast?" -Paul Begala on Crossfire Click here for full transcript

www.megspace.com/computers/beaver/comics.html

"I look around today and here's what Republicans stand against... they are interested in investigating Bill Clinton's wiener, Janet Jackson's boob, and whether two gay guys make out in Massachusetts. That's a little sad and a little sick, isn't it?" -Paul Begala on Crossfire Click here for full transcript
 

How I've become such a cynic

By Alan Charles

My first political memory goes back to when I was in elementary school and wore an
"I like Ike" button because my parents supported General Eisenhower for president.

My next political memory is when JFK was assassinated. I still vividly remember
where I was when I heard about it on the radio that cold November day.

My next political memory is when Ronald Reagan fired all the air-traffic controllers because they were striking for better wages, benefits and hours....

click here for entire commentary
 

Sept. 11 Panel to Ask for Bush Testimony

AP - 2-12-04

The federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks will soon ask President Bush, former President Bill Clinton and their vice presidents to testify in public about possible warnings they might have received from U.S. intelligence sources before the attacks...

Gee, do you think Bush and Cheney will testify?

metrosexual

(met.roh.SEK.shoo.ul) n. An urban male with a strong aesthetic sense who spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle.
 

Thanks for the Valentine Professor Ray, James, Josh and Bill!

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Hi,
May I draw your attention to Tony's Lie-O-Matic Statement Generator at
http://home.t-online.de/home/069503340-0001/tony/index.html

Regards,
Thomas M. M.

Good stuff!  Thanks for writing and the link. I love the old and new Europeans!

NOTICE

I will post the Questions for President Bush tomorrow!

A composite satellite photo of part of Europe and Africa.

Peace.