Scalding

Armed Chinese Troops in Texas!

2012-01-02T22:21:00.000-05:00

Stop PROTECT-IP/SOPA

2011-12-21T17:27:00.000-05:00

House GOP Refuses to Allow Dem Whip to Speak on Floor & Offer Senate Com...

2011-12-21T16:13:00.000-05:00

I live in John Boehner's District....

2010-11-05T05:43:00.003-05:00

I live in John Boehner's district, which is the 8th Congressional District of Ohio, and I did not vote for him. I didn't vote for him but he won anyways, actually his seat is a fairly safe congressional seat; but this is neither here nor there.

What I really wanted to say is this:

I hereby challenge Rep. Boehner that if he is so dead set against extending health care benefits to the very needy, then one of his first actions as the new prospective Speaker of the House should be to introduce a bill that would strip all members of Congress of their government health care plans. After all, ol' John seems like a boot strappy kind of guy, perhaps he should use part of his 200k+ salary as Speaker of the House to purchase his own health care insurance.

Until then, he's just a hypocrite.

GO USA!

2010-06-12T04:27:00.000-05:00

GO USA!

eBay Scammer on Judge Judy

2010-05-22T21:35:00.000-05:00

Senate Cloture Vote

2009-12-21T03:35:00.000-05:00

This list is based on the recent cloture vote for the U.S. Senate health care bill.

This list breaks down as party (vote was divided along part lines) and then ranks each senator by how much money that have been paid by the health care industry based on this information, and while the information may be antiquated and does not cover all of the current Senators, it gives up an idea of the reasonings behind each vote.

With the information available at the link, we are able to determine that Democrats were paid $8,511,067 by Health Care PACs, an average of $146,742.53 per Yes vote.

With the information available at the link, we are able to determine that Independents were paid $455,116 by Health Care PACs, an average of $227,558 per Yes vote.

With the information available at the link, we are able to determine that Republicans were paid $7,663,032 by Health Care PACs, an average of $191,575.80 per NO vote.

What can we determine by this?

Well, for one thing, Republicans are paid more per vote, even though it appears that the Democrats are paid more this is only because there are more Democrats in the Senate to inflate the total amount donated.

Additionally, despite his rhetoric that he will not cooperate with the Senate Democrats, Senator Lieberman voted yes for cloture.

State	Senator	Party	Vote	Amount Donated by Health Care PACs
Illinois	Burris	Democratic	Yea	N/A
Delaware	Kaufman	Democratic	Yea	N/A
Massachusetts	Kirk	Democratic	Yea	N/A
Minnesota	Franken	Democratic	Yea	N/A
Colorado	Bennet	Democratic	Yea	N/A
Connecticut	Dodd	Democratic	Yea	$767,841
Massachusetts	Kerry	Democratic	Yea	$680,184
Montana	Baucus	Democratic	Yea	$655,899
Nebraska	Nelson	Democratic	Yea	$522,546
Indiana	Bayh	Democratic	Yea	$448,938
Pennsylvania	Specter	Democratic	Yea	$366,828
Nevada	Reid	Democratic	Yea	$361,750
North Dakota	Conrad	Democratic	Yea	$339,330
New Jersey	Menendez	Democratic	Yea	$236,725
Delaware	Carper	Democratic	Yea	$232,220
Maryland	Cardin	Democratic	Yea	$219,854
New York	Schumer	Democratic	Yea	$203,450
Arkansas	Lincoln	Democratic	Yea	$203,050
Michigan	Stabenow	Democratic	Yea	$198,850
California	Feinstein	Democratic	Yea	$190,660
South Dakota	Johnson	Democratic	Yea	$182,450
Rhode Island	Reed	Democratic	Yea	$172,900
Iowa	Harkin	Democratic	Yea	$166,806
Illinois	Durbin	Democratic	Yea	$159,100
Oregon	Wyden	Democratic	Yea	$155,500
Michigan	Levin	Democratic	Yea	$151,156
Louisiana	Landrieu	Democratic	Yea	$150,458
Virginia	Warner	Democratic	Yea	$148,700
West Virginia	Rockefeller	Democratic	Yea	$141,024
North Dakota	Dorgan	Democratic	Yea	$140,950
Florida	Nelson	Democratic	Yea	$130,962
Colorado	Udall	Democratic	Yea	$122,750
California	Boxer	Democratic	Yea	$99,720
Washington	Murray	Democratic	Yea	$86,750
New Jersey	Lautenberg	Democratic	Yea	$83,800
Maryland	Mikulski	Democratic	Yea	$82,950
Ohio	Brown	Democratic	Yea	$73,100
Minnesota	Klobuchar	Democratic	Yea	$72,950
Arkansas	Pryor	Democratic	Yea	$72,500
New Mexico	Bingaman	Democratic	Yea	$71,207
Wisconsin	Feingold	Democratic	Yea	$62,659
Pennsylvania	Casey	Democratic	Yea	$60,187
New Mexico	Udall	Democratic	Yea	$35,600
Washington	Cantwell	Democratic	Yea	$34,925
Missouri	McCaskill	Democratic	Yea	$34,800
Hawaii	Inouye	Democratic	Yea	$26,700
Rhode Island	Whitehouse	Democratic	Yea	$23,850
North Carolina	Hagan	Democratic	Yea	$23,433
Montana	Tester	Democratic	Yea	$17,400
Vermont	Leahy	Democratic	Yea	$15,800
West Virginia	Byrd	Democratic	Yea	$15,625
New Hampshire	Shaheen	Democratic	Yea	$14,450
Hawaii	Akaka	Democratic	Yea	$14,030
New York	Gillibrand	Democratic	Yea	$13,500
Alaska	Begich	Democratic	Yea	$11,800
Virginia	Webb	Democratic	Yea	$7,750
Oregon	Merkley	Democratic	Yea	$4,750
Wisconsin	Kohl	Democratic	Yea	($50)
Total Donated				$8,511,067
Average cost per vote				$146,742.53
State	Senator	Party	Vote	Amount Donated by Health Care PACs
Connecticut	Lieberman	Independent	Yea	$449,066
Vermont	Sanders	Independent	Yea	$6,050
Total Donated				$455,116
Average cost per vote				$227,558
State	Senator	Party	Vote	Amount Donated by Health Care PACs
Florida	LeMieux	Republican	Nay	N/A
Arizona	McCain	Republican	Nay	$684,787
Kentucky	McConnell	Republican	Nay	$520,327
Nevada	Ensign	Republican	Nay	$477,620
Iowa	Grassley	Republican	Nay	$422,149
Utah	Hatch	Republican	Nay	$382,880
Arizona	Kyl	Republican	Nay	$350,968
Georgia	Chambliss	Republican	Nay	$314,823
Alabama	Shelby	Republican	Nay	$285,900
Maine	Collins	Republican	Nay	$284,830
New Hampshire	Gregg	Republican	Nay	$248,175
North Carolina	Burr	Republican	Nay	$247,686
Kentucky	Bunning	Republican	Nay	$247,437
Wyoming	Enzi	Republican	Nay	$237,750
Idaho	Crapo	Republican	Nay	$199,750
Alabama	Sessions	Republican	Nay	$195,037
Georgia	Isakson	Republican	Nay	$194,400
Tennessee	Alexander	Republican	Nay	$176,750
Utah	Bennett	Republican	Nay	$157,705
Indiana	Lugar	Republican	Nay	$149,913
Ohio	Voinovich	Republican	Nay	$146,340
South Carolina	Graham	Republican	Nay	$146,173
Maine	Snowe	Republican	Nay	$138,486
South Dakota	Thune	Republican	Nay	$137,716
Missouri	Bond	Republican	Nay	$136,150
Oklahoma	Inhofe	Republican	Nay	$134,954
Kansas	Roberts	Republican	Nay	$128,600
Texas	Cornyn	Republican	Nay	$127,675
Texas	Hutchison	Republican	Nay	$119,700
South Carolina	DeMint	Republican	Nay	$114,710
Tennessee	Corker	Republican	Nay	$88,725
Alaska	Murkowski	Republican	Nay	$78,950
Mississippi	Wicker	Republican	Nay	$74,100
Kansas	Brownback	Republican	Nay	$69,500
Mississippi	Cochran	Republican	Nay	$65,500
Nebraska	Johanns	Republican	Nay	$52,800
Wyoming	Barrasso	Republican	Nay	$42,750
Oklahoma	Coburn	Republican	Nay	$32,958
Louisiana	Vitter	Republican	Nay	$26,608
Idaho	Risch	Republican	Nay	$21,750
Total Donated				$7,663,032
Average cost per vote				$191,575.80

Why We Need Government-Run Universal Socialized Health Insurance

2009-09-05T08:26:00.001-05:00

These Townhall Protests Are Not Productive.

2009-08-13T11:21:00.000-05:00

I am a registered Republican, though I vote Libertarian for the most part. I live in one of the most important conservative congressional districts, the Ohio 8th District, which is represented by House Minority Leader John Boehner. I voted for Barack Obama in the last election. Here is why:

I knew that John McCain would not sign a universal health care bill into law, I think everyone else knew that as well. This was one of the major deciding factors for me because, for me, health care is a morality issue. I believe it is immoral to have health care as a commodity that is available only to those who can afford the enormous costs. It doesn't have anything to do with any socialist agenda on my part, personally I believe in a free market for most areas. However, there are certain areas where the free market should not be allowed to operate. For me, these areas include the military, which is why I am against mercenary organizations like Blackwater, and health care. Somethings are just so important that they must be provided to the public, even the poorest amongst us.

Now, I know these things must be paid for and difficult decisions must be made. For these reasons, a civilized public debate must take place.

This is not a civilized public debate.

If these protesters cannot sit down and engage their representatives in a calm manner, regardless of their opinions on the matter, then they are doing themselves and everyone else a disservice by denying the public an opportunity to discuss the future of health care in the United States.

Can't afford health care now? Hold on to your seats!

2009-07-03T05:35:00.001-05:00

"WASHINGTON - Americans who refuse to buy medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000 under a healthcare overhaul bill unveiled yesterday by key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Obama’s top domestic priority.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines would raise around $36 billion over 10 years. "

Dodd and Kennedy seem hell bent on assuring that if you cannot afford a plan now, you sure as heck won't be able to do so after they get done with you. Leave it to them to turn an attempt to give people health care into a fundraising scheme!

"The revised plan from the Senate health committee also calls for a government-run insurance option to compete with private plans, as well as a $750 annual fee on employers for each full-time worker not offered coverage through their job and $375 for each part-time worker. Companies with fewer than 25 employees would be exempt. The fee was forecast to generate $52 billion over 10 years."

Really? Now if I were an employer whose sole focus was reducing costs and increase profits and I had to choose between giving my employees health insurance that costs hundreds a month per employee OR paying a annual fee that is much smaller than any health insurance costs, what choice would I make?????

Full Article: Boston Globe

Living with First-Person Shooter Disease

2009-06-28T03:44:00.001-05:00

IGN Video: LandlineTV Video - Living with First-Person Shooter Disease

Shared via AddThis

Rachel Maddow: Indefinite detention? Shame on you... President Obama

2009-05-29T06:10:00.001-05:00

The Crisis of Credit Visualized

2009-03-10T06:24:00.001-05:00

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Mayor Virg Bernero of Lansing, Michigan tears Fox News a new one.

2009-02-18T02:23:00.001-05:00

MTV Martial Law Warnings

2009-01-17T07:18:00.001-05:00

THE ORIGINAL Scary 'Mary Poppins' Recut Trailer

2008-12-20T18:55:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas

2008-12-18T18:07:00.001-05:00

Let's Bring Em Home!

2008-11-20T02:30:00.001-05:00

I just donated a few bucks to a real noble cause. Let's Bring Em Home is a non-profit that buys and provides plane tickets to American soldiers every year so they can fly home and spend the holidays with their families. The guy who started this project has been doing this ever since 2001 and he's a real great guy for doing it. So, if you want to do so, please donate.

Donate!

Meep Meep Meep

2008-11-12T23:35:00.001-05:00

Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meep Meeeeeeeeeep Meep-Meep

Family Guy Sums Up Iraq War In 30 Seconds

2008-11-04T02:53:00.001-05:00

Bruce Wayne / Batman Has a Conversation With Himself

2008-10-25T23:35:00.001-05:00

The Dark Knight VS Toy Story 2

2008-10-14T23:33:00.001-05:00

Nick von Stein for Congress

2008-10-08T18:08:00.003-05:00

Because my congressional representative voted for the bailout, not once but twice, I cannot support him this fall. I live in House Minority Leader John Boehner's district, which is the 8th district of Ohio. Because I cannot support him, I must vote for the alternative. This year a young man named Nick von Stein is running on the Democratic ticket for the 8th district of Ohio. I thereby throw my support behind this man, if only to spite John Boehner, who is not a true republican.

The only problem is, Nick doesn't seem to be running a very large campaign, so it he will probably lose. :-/

Nick's website

Wall St. may reject bailout!

2008-10-05T17:27:00.002-05:00

Wall Street investment firms and banks may end up refusing to partake in the government bailout, choosing to ride out the storm of the recession the nation finds itself in. Apparently, they don't particularly like the idea about executive pay limitations. Really? I wonder why. Heh. Next we will see President Bush calling for Congress to pass an amendment to the bill striking out the pay limit provisions.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

Expand the powers of the Vice President?

2008-10-04T03:09:00.002-05:00

Such an act would require a constitutional amendment.

Sarah Palin's idea to expand the governmental powers of the office of the Vice President in yesterday’s debate raised criticism from a variety of sources, I among them. The office of the Vice President is clearly defined in the constitution as the replacement for the sitting President and as the presiding officer of the Senate. If the President is unable to perform their duty or dies in office the Vice President becomes the President. As the President of the Senate all the VP does is preside over debate and voting and to pass a tie breaking vote if the Senate is split. There is NO OTHER job or authority assigned to the office of the Vice President. Without an amendment to the constitution, assigning new power to the office would be unconstitutional and thus illegal.

However, this does not mean the President can't use the Vice President as a proxy or representative, which is quite common and does not provide the Vice President any additional powers.

Hey Vegeta, whats the scouter say about their national debt???

2008-10-01T22:53:00.002-05:00

ITS OVER $10 TRILLION!

What, $10 trillion?

Yep, our national debt has officially risen above the mark of 10 trillion dollars, no mean feat considering it took from the creation of our nation to right around 2000 to reach 5.6 trillion dollars. Gee, I wonder what political event happened around 2000? President Bush and Congress have nearly doubled our national debt over the length of Bush's presidency.

Click for more information

Senate passes bailout bill. Mmmmm delicious earmarks.

2008-10-01T22:42:00.001-05:00

The Senate passed its own version of the wall street bailout earlier tonight, it include such gems as:

An "Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children."
An earmark for auto racing.
An earmark for wool research.
An "increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands."

McCain discovers telephone.

2008-09-28T01:17:00.003-05:00

After snubbing Letterman's show in favor of "returning to D.C." to work on the emergency bail out (only to show up across the street for another interview), McCain made an incredible discovery today which allows long distance voice and data communication through a wire. These wires, which sprang up all over the nation over night, allow electronic signals to be carried from a variety of distances, even world wide. So, instead of returning to D.C. to perform whatever work one lone senator can do on such a massive problem, McCain has decided to do all his work by telephone. He could stay home, maybe watch a little of the daily soaps, perhaps check his email every few hours, you know, just in case he might be needed. Then later on he could watch a little Leno.

Think Progress

Privatize profits, Socialize losses

2008-09-28T00:39:00.004-05:00

This whole idea of a bail out package for irresponsible private banks and mortgage companies flows against the very foundation of a free market economy. Home prices are over inflated, the market must adjust prices like it would do for any other product or service, laying out a 700 billion dollar trough for these corrupt and incompetent members of the mortgage industry will do nothing but keep home prices artificially inflated and will do nothing to fix the over all problems with the economy. I guarantee you, if this bail out passes, it will not be the last bail out and it certainly will not be the largest.

Traitors in the Senate

2008-07-09T18:23:00.001-05:00

The following is a list of Senators who voted to provide immunity to Telecom companies which spied on Americans.

Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)

Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCaskill (D-MO)

McConnell (R-KY)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)

Democrats Cave To Telecom Immunity Request

2008-06-19T14:08:00.001-05:00

"WASHINGTON -- After more than a year of partisan acrimony over government surveillance powers, Democratic and Republican leaders have agreed to a bipartisan deal that would be the most sweeping rewrite of spy powers in three decades. The House is likely to vote on the measure Friday, House aides said.

Removing the final barrier to action on the measure, which has been hashed out in recent weeks by senior lawmakers in both parties, House Democratic leaders decided to allow a vote on the bill, despite the opposition of many in their party.

The new agreement broadens the authority to spy ..."

Source: Wall Street Journal

Firefox 3 Download Day

2008-06-17T17:01:00.001-05:00

Today is the day to download Mozilla Firefox 3, the newest version of the popular web browser. Mozilla is going for a world record on the number of downloads on in a single day.

Supreme Court strikes down Military Commissions Act of 2006

2008-06-12T18:17:00.001-05:00

"WASHINGTON - In a stinging rebuke to President Bush's anti-terror policies, a deeply divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign detainees held for years at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have the right to appeal to U.S. civilian courts to challenge their indefinite imprisonment without charges."

Source: Yahoo News

Breif overview of all types of government!

2008-05-31T23:28:00.001-05:00

Michigan and Florida Committee Vote

2008-05-31T18:10:00.003-05:00

Florida will get full seating with 1/2 vote per delegate.
Michigan will get full seating with 1/2 vote per delegate, Hillary will get 34.5 delegates and Obama will get 29.5.

Ickes reserved the right to appeal.

Fox News Jokes About "Knocking Off" Obama

2008-05-25T20:57:00.003-05:00

Liz Trotta, Fox News contributer jokes about "knocking off" Obama.

"[...] and now we have what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama. Um, uh, Obama. Well them both, if we could."

From New York penal code:
S 490.20 Making a terroristic threat.

1. A person is guilty of making a terroristic threat when with intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping, he or she threatens to commit or cause to be committed a specified offense and thereby causes a reasonable expectation or fear of the imminent commission of such offense.

2. It shall be no defense to a prosecution pursuant to this section that the defendant did not have the intent or capability of committing the specified offense or that the threat was not made to a person who was a subject thereof.

Making a terroristic threat is a class D felony.

Hillary = Shameless

2008-05-23T18:58:00.003-05:00

Hillary notes that one of the reasons she is staying in the race is in case something terrible happens to Obama before June. She cites Robert Kennedy being assassinated in June as an example.

Shame on you, Hillary Clinton.

Shame on you.

Drop Out, Hillary

2008-05-21T01:27:00.002-05:00

Seriously, drop out of the race. You are done. Quit wasting your time and enjoy your time as a Senator. If you are worried about all of the money you have wasted, write a book about how much you fail at running for the POTUS.

But, seriously, drop out.

Breaking: Ted Kennedy has Brain Tumor

2008-05-20T12:43:00.001-05:00

(CNN) -- U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor, doctors treating him at Massachusetts General Hospital said Tuesday.

read more | digg story

Young Democrats Argue

2008-05-10T19:23:00.001-05:00

Man Jailed for 26 Years While Lawyers Knew He Was Innocent

2008-04-13T17:51:00.001-05:00

Two Chicago public defenders disclose a killer's confession — as another man continues to serve sentence. An innocent man was behind bars. His name was Alton Logan. He did not kill a security guard in a McDonald's restaurant in January 1982. "In fact," the document said, "another person was responsible.''

read more | digg story

Man accused in fellow Marine's death captured

2008-04-10T22:51:00.001-05:00

U.S. Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, the main suspect in the killing of 20-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who was pregnant at the time of her death, has been captured in Mexico, authorities announced Thursday. He has been on the run since January and successfully fled to Mexico only to be captured by Mexican officials. Extradition is pending.

read more | digg story

McCain's Pastor Says: Attack Iran to Fulfill Bible Prophesy

2008-04-08T15:13:00.001-05:00

McCain friend and spiritual adviser, Rev. John Hagee says: "The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God’s plan for both Israel and the West… a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Christ."

read more | digg story

Hillary's Bosnia gunfire footage discovered...

2008-03-27T00:54:00.000-05:00

New Site Design

2008-03-11T15:22:00.001-05:00

I've launched version six of the scalding news blog website.

Hillary Clinton's Going Crazy

2008-02-23T22:59:00.001-05:00

Traitors In The Senate

2008-02-12T23:12:00.002-05:00

The following traitors voted for cloture on debate related to S. 2248, which included legislation that gave telecommunication companies immunity from prosecution for spying on Americans.

YEAs ---69
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)

The following didn't bother to show up at all.

Not Voting - 2
Clinton (D-NY)
Graham (R-SC)

Iran Offline

2008-02-01T14:58:00.001-05:00

Three undersea internet cables have been severed, rendering much of the middle east without internet access. Iran has been completely cut off from the world wide web and is suffering complete packet loss.

read more | digg story

Kucinich's loss is America's loss.

2008-01-28T03:15:00.002-05:00

Kucinich's loss is America's loss.

"NEW YORK - The legacy of Dennis Kucinich's longshot presidential campaign may be less his anti-war views than a futile fight that legally reinforced the rights of TV networks to organize their own debates."

ABC, CNN and MSNBC were able to exclude him from debates that they had invited him to. It should comfort no one that the media not only controls what we hear and see but who we can now vote for.

"We want to give voters a chance to make an informed judgment about the people who would be their president," said Sam Feist, CNN's political director. "By having people in a debate that don't have a reasonable chance at the nomination, that takes away from the voters' ability to hear from the people who do have a reasonable chance."

Here is a protip, Mr. Feist, the American people do not care who you see as 'having a reasonable chance', the American people do not pay you to make that decision, in fact they don't pay you at all

Article: Yahoo News

Giuliani Drops to 4th in Florida, But Still Confident

2008-01-28T03:13:00.001-05:00

Rudy Giuliani has now dropped to fourth in the Republican race according to recently released polls.

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Ron Paul: The impact if we "bring the troops home"

2008-01-28T03:00:00.001-05:00

“All the dollars currently spent abroad to support 737 overseas bases would be spent at home. Income for foreigners would become income for Americans, and the trade deficit would shrink. The impact of the 737 military base payrolls on the U.S. economy would end the housing crisis and bring back the 140,000 highly paid financial services jobs."

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Hillary has her eye on Florida and Michigan delegates

2008-01-27T03:23:00.001-05:00

Hillary Clinton said Friday — just four days before Florida's primary — that she wants the convention delegates from Florida and Michigan reinstated. The National Democratic Party eliminated all the delegates from those states because they broke party rules by holding their primaries before Feb. 5. Democrat candidates agreed not to campaign there, yet Hillary refused to remove her name from the ballots in those states.

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Monkey Island - A Pirate I was Mean't to Be

2008-01-17T11:46:00.001-05:00

Draft Reinstatement Proposed by Congress in 2007

2008-01-13T17:32:00.001-05:00

"To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the favorable treatment afforded combat pay under the earned income tax credit, and for other purposes."

Sponsor: Rep. Charles Rangel [D-NY]
Cosponsors: Rep. Yvette Clarke [D-NY], Rep. James McDermott [D-WA]

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Terminator vs Robocop vs Predator

2007-12-28T23:05:00.001-05:00

Rudy Giuliani admitted to hospital

2007-12-20T03:25:00.001-05:00

The former New York City mayor felt the symptoms while campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination in Missouri, and they soon became worse, campaign spokeswoman Katie Levinson said. The mayor decided to go to a St. Louis hospital and spend the night there, she said.

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House Passes Ban On Waterboarding

2007-12-14T16:18:00.001-05:00

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved an intelligence bill that bans the Central Intelligence Agency from using waterboarding, mock executions and other harsh interrogation methods.

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Bush Threatens To Veto Bill That Bans Torture

2007-12-14T16:10:00.001-05:00

The administration particularly opposes restricting the CIA to interrogation methods approved by the military in 2006. That document prohibits forcing detainees to be naked, perform sexual acts, or pose in a sexual manner; placing hoods or sacks over detainees' heads or duct tape over their eyes; beating, shocking, or burning detainees; threatening

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Gang-Rape Covered Up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR

2007-12-10T20:51:00.001-05:00

A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident.

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C.I.A. Says It Destroyed Tapes of Harsh Interrogations

2007-12-07T17:03:00.001-05:00

The C.I.A. destroyed the tapes in 2005 in the midst of congressional and legal scrutiny about its secret detention program, according to government officials.

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Feingold To Offer Amendment Striking Telecomm Immunity

2007-11-15T23:10:00.003-05:00

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) will offer an amendment in the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow to "strike retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies alleged to have assisted with the President’s illegal warrantless wiretapping program."

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DEA Admits 98% Of Domestically Eradicated Marijuana Was Actually Wild Hemp

2007-11-15T23:10:00.001-05:00

Of the estimated 223 million marijuana plants destroyed by law enforcement in 2005, approximately 219 million were classified as "ditchweed," Unlike cultivated marijuana, feral hemp contains virtually no detectable levels of THC.

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The Potential for a Coup d'Etat by National Emergency

2007-11-12T00:17:00.001-05:00

Under National Security Presidential Directive-51, only limited ‘National Essential Functions’ of government will continue, which may or may not include Congress and the courts. Can you think of anyone better than Bush with whom to entrust the dictatorial powers hinted at in NSPD-51? Or perhaps you are unwilling to trust anyone with such powers.

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Pelosi and Reid move to kill renewable energy

2007-11-10T14:42:00.001-05:00

Thursday morning, Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi decided to drop the renewable energy standard out of the energy bill and drop the tax title. No tax title means no extension of the investment tax credit for solar, and no extension of the production tax credit for wind. Let's see...nothing for solar, plus nothing for wind...

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Congress overrides veto on water projects bill.

2007-11-08T12:21:00.000-05:00

With a Senate vote of 79-14, Congress handed President Bush his very first overridden veto. The bill provides for various water related construction projects across the nation, including rebuilding levees in Louisiana. The House had voted 361-54 on Tuesday to override the veto.

Obama Supporters Tried To Keep Stephen Colbert Off the Ballot

2007-11-07T12:44:00.001-05:00

Two prominent supporters of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign in South Carolina called state Democratic Party officials and urged them to keep funnyman Stephen Colbert's name off the primary ballot, according to party officials and Obama supporters.

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Ron Paul's Record-Breaking Fundraising Day

2007-11-07T00:05:00.001-05:00

Ron Paul raised $4.2 million in a 24 hour period, entirely online, setting a presidential election record.

Ron Paul sets record $4.2 million in 24 hours.

2007-11-07T00:00:00.001-05:00

WOW, $4.2 million in 24 hours!!! Dr. Ron Paul has well surpassed the grassroots goal of two million dollars. Rep. Paul has drawn millions with his message of liberty, and refrain from empire building. The message of non-intervention, secure borders, no entangling alliances, no income tax, ending the war on drugs, and liberty is rapidly spreading.

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Irony: WhiteHouse tells Pakistan not to restrict rights in name of "terror"

2007-11-06T23:59:00.001-05:00

White House tells Pervez Musharraf to “never restrict constitutional freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism."

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Bush beats Nixon’s disapproval ratings for the 1st time in history

2007-11-06T23:58:00.001-05:00

Sixty-four percent of Americans disapprove of the job President Bush is doing, and for “the first time in the history of the Gallup Poll, 50% say they ’strongly disapprove’ of the president. Richard Nixon had reached the previous high, 48%, just before an impeachment inquiry was launched in 1974.”

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Bush Vs. Zombies

2007-10-16T02:06:00.001-05:00

Illiteracy in the US growing by 2.25 Million Annually.

2007-10-06T21:26:00.001-05:00

Every year, at least 2 million functionally illiterate adults join the ranks of Americans who can't read. If this critical problem isn't addressed soon, society will most certainly pay the price.

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Senate passes mammoth $648 billion defense bill

2007-10-02T20:15:00.001-05:00

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. This Monday the U.S. Senate passed a defense bill which pledges an additional $128 billion dollars of the tax payers money to the failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course, this is all off budget, "emergency spending" which means our government will have to borrow more money from China in order to pay for it.

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U.S. government fast approaching its current $8.965 trillion credit limit

2007-09-29T21:13:00.001-05:00

Congress has voted to raise to credit limit to $9.815 trillion. The current U.S. government doesn't seem able to do anything beside spend, spend and spend some more. This debt will be inherited by the children and grandchildren of the average Americans.

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Saddam offered to leave...

2007-09-29T21:04:00.001-05:00

Saddam Hussein offered to leave Iraq 3 weeks prior to Bush's demand that he leave within 48 hours. All he asked was to keep 1 billion dollars of his own money.

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Vote Fraud In Texas Legislature

2007-09-29T20:58:00.001-05:00

Members of the Texas legislature are actively voting for other members of the legislature. Whatever happened to one man one vote?

Interrogation of Larry Craig Audio Tape - Long Version

2007-08-31T20:07:00.001-05:00

Larry Craig, Senator from Idaho, was charged earlier this year for allegedly 'cruising' for a homosexual encounter in a restroom in Minnesota. This is the aftermath/conversation between him and and the officer.

Bush Wants $50 Billion More for Iraq War

2007-08-29T19:57:00.001-05:00

President Bush plans to ask Congress next month for up to $50 billion in additional funding for the war in Iraq, a White House official said yesterday, a move that appears to reflect increasing administration confidence that it can fend off congressional calls for a rapid drawdown of U.S. forces.

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Big Brother can use your cell phone to spy on you!

2007-07-14T22:14:00.000-05:00

When you cellphone is off, nobody can spy on you right? WRONG! The government has a method of turning the microphone part of your cellphone on so that it can spy on you.

Break.com seems to have disabled embedding for this particular video. Here is a link to the Break.com page for this video.

Are You Friggin Kidding Me - Watch more free videos

GOP Senator seeks to limit presidential signing statements

2007-07-03T23:35:00.001-05:00

The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee quietly reintroduced a bill before Congress recessed last week aimed at reigning in President Bush's ability to modify laws to his whims. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter called President Bush's abuse of the signing statements an "unconstitutional attempt to usurp legislative authority."

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Children Arrested For Riding Bikes

2007-07-02T20:13:00.000-05:00

House votes to accept $4,400 pay raise

2007-06-28T13:11:00.001-05:00

"WASHINGTON - Despite low approval ratings and hard feelings from last year's elections, Democrats and Republicans in the House are reaching out for an approximately $4,400 pay raise that would increase their salaries to almost $170,000."

Ron Paul voted against this pay increase.

The Yay's and Nay's

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VICTORY!

2007-06-28T11:53:00.000-05:00

Senate blocks amnesty bill with 53 'NO' votes!

List of those who voted 'no' and those who voted 'yes' to follow.

46 Y - 53 N - 1 DNV
Senators up for election in 2008 are bolded.
Name	Party	State	Vote
Akaka	Democrat	HI	Y
Bennett	Republican	UT	Y
Biden	Democrat	DE	Y
Boxer	Democrat	CA	Y
Cantwell	Democrat	WA	Y
Cardin	Democrat	MD	Y
Carper	Democrat	DE	Y
Casey	Democrat	PA	Y
Clinton	Democrat	NY	Y
Conrad	Democrat	ND	Y
Craig	Republican	ID	Y
Dodd	Democrat	CT	Y
Durbin	Democrat	IL	Y
Feingold	Democrat	WI	Y
Feinstein	Democrat	CA	Y
Graham	Republican	SC	Y
Gregg	Republican	NH	Y
Hagel	Republican	NE	Y
Inouye	Democrat	HI	Y
Kennedy	Democrat	MA	Y
Kerry	Democrat	MA	Y
Klobuchar	Democrat	MN	Y
Kohl	Democrat	WI	Y
Kyl	Republican	AZ	Y
Lautenberg	Democrat	NJ	Y
Leahy	Democrat	VT	Y
Levin	Democrat	MI	Y
Lieberman	Independent	CT	Y
Lincoln	Democrat	AR	Y
Lott	Republican	MS	Y
Lugar	Republican	IN	Y
Martinez	Republican	FL	Y
McCain	Republican	AZ	Y
Menendez	Democrat	NJ	Y
Mikulski	Democrat	MD	Y
Murray	Democrat	WA	Y
Nelson	Democrat	FL	Y
Obama	Democrat	IL	Y
Reed	Democrat	RI	Y
Reid	Democrat	NV	Y
Salazar	Democrat	CO	Y
Schumer	Democrat	NY	Y
Snowe	Republican	ME	Y
Specter	Republican	PA	Y
Whitehouse	Democrat	RI	Y
Wyden	Democrat	OR	Y
Alexander	Republican	TN	N
Allard	Republican	CO	N
Barrasso	Republican	WY	N
Baucus	Democrat	MT	N
Bayh	Democrat	IN	N
Bingaman	Democrat	NM	N
Bond	Republican	MO	N
Brown	Democrat	OH	N
Brownback	Republican	KS	N
Bunning	Republican	KY	N
Burr	Republican	NC	N
Byrd	Democrat	WV	N
Chambliss	Republican	GA	N
Coburn	Republican	OK	N
Cochran	Republican	MS	N
Coleman	Republican	MN	N
Collins	Republican	ME	N
Corker	Republican	TN	N
Cornyn	Republican	TX	N
Crapo	Republican	ID	N
DeMint	Republican	SC	N
Dole	Republican	NC	N
Domenici	Republican	NM	N
Dorgan	Democrat	ND	N
Ensign	Republican	NV	N
Enzi	Republican	WY	N
Grassley	Republican	IA	N
Harkin	Democrat	IA	N
Hatch	Republican	UT	N
Hutchison	Republican	TX	N
Inhofe	Republican	OK	N
Isakson	Republican	GA	N
Landrieu	Democrat	LA	N
McCaskill	Democrat	MO	N
McConnell	Republican	KY	N
Murkowski	Republican	AK	N
Nelson	Democrat	NE	N
Pryor	Democrat	AR	N
Roberts	Republican	KS	N
Rockefeller	Democrat	WV	N
Sanders	Independent	VT	N
Sessions	Republican	AL	N
Shelby	Republican	AL	N
Smith	Republican	OR	N
Stabenow	Democrat	MI	N
Stevens	Republican	AK	N
Sununu	Republican	NH	N
Tester	Democrat	MT	N
Thune	Republican	SD	N
Vitter	Republican	LA	N
Voinovich	Republican	OH	N
Warner	Republican	VA	N
Webb	Democrat	VA	N
Johnson	Democrat	SD	DNV
Joe Biden is running for POTUS

Mitt Romney's Past Animal Abuse

2007-06-27T23:45:00.000-05:00

According to a Time.com article, shocking details of a horrible act of animal cruelty have come to light. The act? Strapping a dog container to the top of a car and then taking it on a twelve hour road trip from Boston to Ontario, all while the a dog was within the container. The perpetrator? Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The Romney pet was a dog named Seamus, an Irish Setter.

Article: TIME

Ron Paul on Neil Cavuto Show 6-26-07

2007-06-27T22:51:00.001-05:00

FBI wants students to stop travelling

2007-06-27T17:03:00.001-05:00

THE FBI IS visiting the nation's top technical universities in a bid to stop students taking their holidays outside the country. MIT, Boston College, and the University of Massachusetts, have all had a visit from the spooks to warn them about the dangers of foreign spies and terrorists stealing sensitive academic research.

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Ron Paul in Arizona

2007-06-26T02:17:00.001-05:00

"Dr. Paul addressed a sold-out crowd of ARA members and guests delivering his signature message that harkens back to the fundamental principles America was founded upon: limited constitutional government, personal responsibility, low taxes, free markets, non-intervention and sound monetary policies."

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Rick Perry & Rudy Giuliani Linked To NAFTA Superhighway & SPP

2007-06-26T02:12:00.001-05:00

Gov. Perry has received campaign contributions from Cintra and Zachry Construction Company, a San Antonio-based construction firm selected by TxDOT to build out the Trans-Texas Corridor. It has also been established that Cintra is represented in the United States by Bracewell and Giuliani, Republican Party presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani's Houston-based law firm.

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Report: Iranian Forces Enter Southern Iraq

2007-06-26T01:23:00.000-05:00

According to AFP, the Sun tabloid is reporting that British forces have spotted Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces in southern Iraq. The British defense minister would not confirm or deny the report and refused to make a comment on the matter due to it's sensitive nature.

"An unidentified intelligence source told the tabloid: "It is an extremely alarming development and raises the stakes considerably. In effect, it means we are in a full on war with Iran -- but nobody has officially declared it.""

Breitbart Article

The Sun Article

Digg Entry

Democrats Plan To Cut Cheney Out Of Executive Funding Bill

2007-06-23T15:00:00.001-05:00

"Following Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that his office is not a part of the executive branch of the US government, Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) plans to introduce an amendment to the the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill to cut funding for Cheney's office."

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Bush exempts himself from security too, LA Times to report

2007-06-23T14:40:00.001-05:00

"The White House said Friday that, like Vice President Dick Cheney's office, President Bush's office is exempt from a presidential order requiring government agencies that handle classified national security information to submit to oversight by an independent federal watchdog," the Los Angeles Times will report Saturday.

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City Council Member: "Screw Folk's Constitutional Rights"

2007-06-23T14:32:00.001-05:00

Sacramento City Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell voted to restrict access to constitutionally protected material in the public library system. Here is what she has to say on the matter of constitutional rights.

Ron Paul Excluded In Iowa

2007-06-21T01:43:00.001-05:00

Kent Snyder, Chairman of the Ron Paul 2008 for President campaign, was recently interviewed by radio host Jan Mickelson of WHO News Radio 1040. The topic of the interview was the arbitrary decision to exclude Ron Paul from a panel in Iowa. The groups Iowans for Tax Relief and Iowa Christian Alliance decided to bar Ron Paul because they decided, on their own, that Ron Paul is not a credible candidate, despite winning most internet polls and having a large conservative backing.Ron Paul, despite his golden voting record when it comes to taxes, is not welcome in Iowa, or at least that is what Edward Failor would have Iowans believe. Edward Failor is a board member of the Iowans for Tax Relief and a member of the McCain presidential campaign, an interesting little coincidence.

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U.S. military arming Iraqi guerrillas.

2007-06-08T23:51:00.000-05:00

"BUHRUZ, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. forces have begun arming nationalist guerrillas and former Saddam Hussein loyalists -- and coordinating tactics -- in a marriage of convenience against al Qaeda radicals in one of Iraq's most violent provinces, senior U.S. commanders tell CNN.

This new alliance, a result of the deepening divisions among Iraqi insurgent factions, was on display earlier this week at a highway intersection in the town of Tahrir. There, a group of some 15 insurgents publicly chanted: "Death to al Qaeda.""

Full Link: CNN

This is the exact same bonehead move we made when the Soviets were at war in Afghanistan, we went in and armed and trained a bunch of guerrilla forces; a move that came back later to bite us in the ass.

Ron Paul's Statement Opposing the use of Military Force against Iraq

2007-05-29T15:11:00.000-05:00

The following is a speech by Rep. Ron Paul, M.D. with regards to the congressional authorization for military action against the nation of Iraq. Ron Paul voted against the resolution, but not before delivering the following speech on the floor of the House.

I am posting this because these articles talk about various senators who did or didn't read the evidence provided to Congress with regards to the Administration's reasoning for the war in Iraq.

The source for this speech is here.

Statement Opposing the use of Military Force against Iraq
by Ron Paul
Delivered on 8 October 2002 on the floor of the House by Ron Paul, U.S. Representative for the state of Texas.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution. The wisdom of the war is one issue, but the process and the philosophy behind our foreign policy are important issues as well. But I have come to the conclusion that I see no threat to our national security. There is no convincing evidence that Iraq is capable of threatening the security of this country, and, therefore, very little reason, if any, to pursue a war.

But I am very interested also in the process that we are pursuing. This is not a resolution to declare war. We know that. This is a resolution that does something much different. This resolution transfers the responsibility, the authority, and the power of the Congress to the President so he can declare war when and if he wants to. He has not even indicated that he wants to go to war or has to go to war; but he will make the full decision, not the Congress, not the people through the Congress of this country in that manner.

It does something else, though. One-half of the resolution delivers this power to the President, but it also instructs him to enforce U.N. resolutions. I happen to think I would rather listen to the President when he talks about unilateralism and national security interests, than accept this responsibility to follow all of the rules and the dictates of the United Nations. That is what this resolution does. It instructs him to follow all of the resolutions.

But an important aspect of the philosophy and the policy we are endorsing here is the preemption doctrine. This should not be passed off lightly. It has been done to some degree in the past, but never been put into law that we will preemptively strike another nation that has not attacked us. No matter what the arguments may be, this policy is new; and it will have ramifications for our future, and it will have ramifications for the future of the world because other countries will adopt this same philosophy.

I also want to mention very briefly something that has essentially never been brought up. For more than a thousand years there has been a doctrine and Christian definition of what a just war is all about. I think this effort and this plan to go to war comes up short of that doctrine. First, it says that there has to be an act of aggression; and there has not been an act of aggression against the United States. We are 6,000 miles from their shores.

Also, it says that all efforts at negotiations must be exhausted. I do not believe that is the case. It seems to me like the opposition, the enemy, right now is begging for more negotiations.

Also, the Christian doctrine says that the proper authority must be responsible for initiating the war. I do not believe that proper authority can be transferred to the President nor to the United Nations.

But a very practical reason why I have a great deal of reservations has to do with the issue of no-win wars that we have been involved in for so long. Once we give up our responsibilities from here in the House and the Senate to make these decisions, it seems that we depend on the United Nations for our instructions; and that is why, as a Member earlier indicated, essentially we are already at war. That is correct. We are still in the Persian Gulf War. We have been bombing for 12 years, and the reason President Bush, Sr., did not go all the way? He said the U.N. did not give him permission to.

My argument is when we go to war through the back door, we are more likely to have the wars last longer and not have resolution of the wars, such as we had in Korea and Vietnam. We ought to consider this very seriously.

Also it is said we are wrong about the act of aggression, there has been an act of aggression against us because Saddam Hussein has shot at our airplanes. The fact that he has missed every single airplane for 12 years, and tens of thousands of sorties have been flown, indicates the strength of our enemy, an impoverished, Third World nation that does not have an air force, anti-aircraft weapons, or a navy.

But the indication is because he shot at us, therefore, it is an act of aggression. However, what is cited as the reason for us flying over the no-fly zone comes from U.N. Resolution 688, which instructs us and all the nations to contribute to humanitarian relief in the Kurdish and the Shiite areas. It says nothing about no-fly zones, and it says nothing about bombing missions over Iraq.

So to declare that we have been attacked, I do not believe for a minute that this fulfills the requirement that we are retaliating against aggression by this country. There is a need for us to assume responsibility for the declaration of war, and also to prepare the American people for the taxes that will be raised and the possibility of a military draft which may well come.

I must oppose this resolution, which regardless of what many have tried to claim will lead us into war with Iraq. This resolution is not a declaration of war, however, and that is an important point: this resolution transfers the Constitutionally-mandated Congressional authority to declare wars to the executive branch. This resolution tells the president that he alone has the authority to determine when, where, why, and how war will be declared. It merely asks the president to pay us a courtesy call a couple of days after the bombing starts to let us know what is going on. This is exactly what our Founding Fathers cautioned against when crafting our form of government: most had just left behind a monarchy where the power to declare war rested in one individual. It is this they most wished to avoid.

As James Madison wrote in 1798, "The Constitution supposes what the history of all governments demonstrates, that the executive is the branch of power most interested in war, and most prone to it. It has, accordingly, with studied care, vested the question of war in the legislature."

Some - even some in this body - have claimed that this Constitutional requirement is an anachronism, and that those who insist on following the founding legal document of this country are just being frivolous. I could not disagree more.

Mr. Speaker, for the more than one dozen years I have spent as a federal legislator I have taken a particular interest in foreign affairs and especially the politics of the Middle East. From my seat on the international relations committee I have had the opportunity to review dozens of documents and to sit through numerous hearings and mark-up sessions regarding the issues of both Iraq and international terrorism.

Back in 1997 and 1998 I publicly spoke out against the actions of the Clinton Administration, which I believed was moving us once again toward war with Iraq. I believe the genesis of our current policy was unfortunately being set at that time. Indeed, many of the same voices who then demanded that the Clinton Administration attack Iraq are now demanding that the Bush Administration attack Iraq. It is unfortunate that these individuals are using the tragedy of September 11, 2001 as cover to force their long-standing desire to see an American invasion of Iraq. Despite all of the information to which I have access, I remain very skeptical that the nation of Iraq poses a serious and immanent terrorist threat to the United States. If I were convinced of such a threat I would support going to war, as I did when I supported President Bush by voting to give him both the authority and the necessary funding to fight the war on terror.

Mr. Speaker, consider some of the following claims presented by supporters of this resolution, and contrast them with the following facts:

Claim: Iraq has consistently demonstrated its willingness to use force against the US through its firing on our planes patrolling the UN-established "no-fly zones."

Reality: The "no-fly zones" were never authorized by the United Nations, nor was their 12 year patrol by American and British fighter planes sanctioned by the United Nations. Under UN Security Council Resolution 688 (April, 1991), Iraq’s repression of the Kurds and Shi’ites was condemned, but there was no authorization for "no-fly zones," much less airstrikes. The resolution only calls for member states to "contribute to humanitarian relief" in the Kurd and Shi’ite areas. Yet the US and British have been bombing Iraq in the "no-fly zones" for 12 years. While one can only condemn any country firing on our pilots, isn’t the real argument whether we should continue to bomb Iraq relentlessly? Just since 1998, some 40,000 sorties have been flown over Iraq.

Claim: Iraq is an international sponsor of terrorism.

Reality: According to the latest edition of the State Department’s Patterns of Global Terrorism, Iraq sponsors several minor Palestinian groups, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). None of these carries out attacks against the United States. As a matter of fact, the MEK (an Iranian organization located in Iraq) has enjoyed broad Congressional support over the years. According to last year’s Patterns of Global Terrorism, Iraq has not been involved in terrorist activity against the West since 1993 – the alleged attempt against former President Bush.

Claim: Iraq tried to assassinate President Bush in 1993.

Reality: It is far from certain that Iraq was behind the attack. News reports at the time were skeptical about Kuwaiti assertions that the attack was planned by Iraq against former. President Bush. Following is an interesting quote from Seymour Hersh’s article from Nov. 1993:

Three years ago, during Iraq's six-month occupation of Kuwait, there had been an outcry when a teen-age Kuwaiti girl testified eloquently and effectively before Congress about Iraqi atrocities involving newborn infants. The girl turned out to be the daughter of the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Washington, Sheikh Saud Nasir al-Sabah, and her account of Iraqi soldiers flinging babies out of incubators was challenged as exaggerated both by journalists and by human-rights groups. (Sheikh Saud was subsequently named Minister of Information in Kuwait, and he was the government official in charge of briefing the international press on the alleged assassination attempt against George Bush.) In a second incident, in August of 1991, Kuwait provoked a special session of the United Nations Security Council by claiming that twelve Iraqi vessels, including a speedboat, had been involved in an attempt to assault Bubiyan Island, long-disputed territory that was then under Kuwaiti control. The Security Council eventually concluded that, while the Iraqis had been provocative, there had been no Iraqi military raid, and that the Kuwaiti government knew there hadn't. What did take place was nothing more than a smuggler-versus-smuggler dispute over war booty in a nearby demilitarized zone that had emerged, after the Gulf War, as an illegal marketplace for alcohol, ammunition, and livestock.

This establishes that on several occasions Kuwait has lied about the threat from Iraq. Hersh goes on to point out in the article numerous other times the Kuwaitis lied to the US and the UN about Iraq. Here is another good quote from Hersh:

The President was not alone in his caution. Janet Reno, the Attorney General, also had her doubts. "The A.G. remains skeptical of certain aspects of the case," a senior Justice Department official told me in late July, a month after the bombs were dropped on Baghdad…Two weeks later, what amounted to open warfare broke out among various factions in the government on the issue of who had done what in Kuwait. Someone gave a Boston Globe reporter access to a classified C.I.A. study that was highly skeptical of the Kuwaiti claims of an Iraqi assassination attempt. The study, prepared by the C.I.A.'s Counter Terrorism Center, suggested that Kuwait might have "cooked the books" on the alleged plot in an effort to play up the "continuing Iraqi threat" to Western interests in the Persian Gulf. Neither the Times nor the Post made any significant mention of the Globe dispatch, which had been written by a Washington correspondent named Paul Quinn-Judge, although the story cited specific paragraphs from the C.I.A. assessment. The two major American newspapers had been driven by their sources to the other side of the debate.

At the very least, the case against Iraq for the alleged bomb threat is not conclusive.

Claim: Saddam Hussein will use weapons of mass destruction against us – he has already used them against his own people (the Kurds in 1988 in the village of Halabja).

Reality: It is far from certain that Iraq used chemical weapons against the Kurds. It may be accepted as conventional wisdom in these times, but back when it was first claimed there was great skepticism. The evidence is far from conclusive. A 1990 study by the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College cast great doubts on the claim that Iraq used chemical weapons on the Kurds. Following are the two gassing incidents as described in the report:

In September 1988, however – a month after the war (between Iran and Iraq) had ended – the State Department abruptly, and in what many viewed as a sensational manner, condemned Iraq for allegedly using [[w:chemical weapons}chemicals]] against its Kurdish population. The incident cannot be understood without some background of Iraq’s relations with the Kurds…throughout the war. Iraq effectively faced two enemies – Iran and elements of its own Kurdish minority. Significant numbers of the Kurds had launched a revolt against Baghdad and in the process teamed up with Tehran. As soon as the war with Iran ended, Iraq announced its determination to crush the Kurdish insurrection. It sent Republican Guards to the Kurdish area, and in the course of the operation – according to the U.S. State Department – gas was used, with the result that numerous Kurdish civilians were killed. The Iraqi government denied that any such gassing had occurred. Nonetheless, Secretary of State Schultz stood by U.S. accusations, and the U.S. Congress, acting on its own, sought to impose economic sanctions on Baghdad as a violator of the Kurds’ human rights.

Having looked at all the evidence that was available to us, we find it impossible to confirm the State Department’s claim that gas was used in this instance. To begin with. There were never any victims produced. International relief organizations who examined the Kurds – in Turkey where they had gone for asylum – failed to discover any. Nor were there ever any found inside Iraq. The claim rests solely on testimony of the Kurds who had crossed the border into Turkey, where they were interviewed by staffers of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

It appears that in seeking to punish Iraq, the Congress was influenced by another incident that occurred five months earlier in another Iraqi-Kurdish city, Halabjah. In March 1988, the Kurds at Halabjah were bombarded with chemical weapons, producing many deaths. Photographs of the Kurdish victims were widely disseminated in the international media. Iraq was blamed for the Halabjah attack, even though it was subsequently brought out that Iran too had used chemicals in this operation and it seemed likely that it was the Iranian bombardment that had actually killed the Kurds.

Thus, in our view, the Congress acted more on the basis of emotionalism than factual information, and without sufficient thought for the adverse diplomatic effects of its action.

Claim: Iraq must be attacked because it has ignored UN Security Council resolutions – these resolutions must be backed up by the use of force.

Reality: Iraq is but one of the many countries that have not complied with UN Security Council resolutions. In addition to the dozen or so resolutions currently being violated by Iraq, a conservative estimate reveals that there are an additional 91 Security Council resolutions by countries other than Iraq that are also currently being violated. Adding in older resolutions that were violated would mean easily more than 200 UN Security Council resolutions have been violated with total impunity. Countries currently in violation include: Israel, Turkey, Morocco, Croatia, Armenia, Russia, Sudan, Turkey-controlled Cyprus, India, Pakistan, Indonesia. None of these countries have been threatened with force over their violations.

Claim: Iraq has anthrax and other chemical and biological agents.

Reality: That may be true. However, according to UNSCOM’s chief weapons inspector 90-95 percent of Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons and capabilities were destroyed by 1998; those that remained have likely degraded in the intervening four years and are likely useless. A 1994 Senate Banking Committee hearing revealed some 74 shipments of deadly chemical and biological agents from the U.S. to Iraq in the 1980s. As one recent press report stated:

One 1986 shipment from the Virginia-based American Type Culture Collection included three strains of anthrax, six strains of the bacteria that make botulinum toxin and three strains of the bacteria that cause gas gangrene. Iraq later admitted to the United Nations that it had made weapons out of all three…

The CDC, meanwhile, sent shipments of germs to the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission and other agencies involved in Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. It sent samples in 1986 of botulinum toxin and botulinum toxoid — used to make vaccines against botulinum toxin — directly to the Iraqi chemical and biological weapons complex at al-Muthanna, the records show.

These were sent while the United States was supporting Iraq covertly in its war against Iran. U.S. assistance to Iraq in that war also included covertly-delivered intelligence on Iranian troop movements and other assistance. This is just another example of our policy of interventionism in affairs that do not concern us – and how this interventionism nearly always ends up causing harm to the United States.

Claim: The president claimed last night that: "Iraq possesses ballistic missiles with a likely range of hundreds of miles; far enough to strike Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey and other nations in a region where more than 135,000 American civilians and service members live and work."

Reality: Then why is only Israel talking about the need for the U.S. to attack Iraq? None of the other countries seem concerned at all. Also, the fact that some 135,000 Americans in the area are under threat from these alleged missiles is just makes the point that it is time to bring our troops home to defend our own country.

Claim: Iraq harbors al-Qaeda and other terrorists.

Reality: The administration has claimed that some Al-Qaeda elements have been present in Northern Iraq. This is territory controlled by the Kurds – who are our allies – and is patrolled by U.S. and British fighter aircraft. Moreover, dozens of countries – including Iran and the United States – are said to have al-Qaeda members on their territory. Other terrorists allegedly harbored by Iraq, all are affiliated with Palestinian causes and do not attack the United States.

Claim: President Bush said in his speech on 7 October 2002: " Many people have asked how close Saddam Hussein is to developing a nuclear weapon. Well, we don't know exactly, and that's the problem…"

Reality: An admission of a lack of information is justification for an attack?

Also worth mention:

President Bush claimed that our deposing Saddam Hussein .....

Federal government screws nation over in the amount of $59 trillion!

2007-05-29T14:35:00.001-05:00

$59,000,000,000,000.00
$195,504.71 per person

That is how much debt, public and hidden, the American people have been forced into being responsible for. The federal government has RUINED our nation's future.

The Federal Reserve is CRIMINAL!
The Internal Revenue Service is CRIMINAL!

The federal government has printed more and more and more of their fiat, worthless, paper promise currency. This is not our currency, our currency was backed by gold as the Constitution requires, our currency was powerful and actually worth more than the material used to make it! The Federal Reserve notes are cotton lies.

Ron Paul on C-SPAN May 22, 2007

2007-05-24T01:58:00.000-05:00

"Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran"

2007-05-23T01:17:00.000-05:00

"The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com."

Full article: ABC News

Note that this story could very well be disinformation.

The last time we authorized "covert operations" in Iran, we overthrew a democratically elected man by the name of Dr. Mohammed Mossadeq, who was anti-communist and pro-western. Mossadeq hit bump, though, when he decided to nationalize the oil fields, which angered British Petroleum to no end. BP influenced the CIA and British Intelligence to take Mossadeq out. The CIA then installed the Shah, a brutal dictator. The Shah was later overthrow by the current Iranian government.

The civil war in four minutes

2007-05-22T18:09:00.001-05:00

Ron Paul 2008

2007-05-18T16:44:00.001-05:00

Ron Paul 2008
For President

He has never voted to raise taxes.

He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.

He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.

He has never voted to raise congressional pay.

He has never taken a government-paid junket.

He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

He voted against the Patriot Act.

He voted against regulating the Internet.

He voted against the Iraq war.

WWW.RONPAUL2008.COM