Author: Cedwyn

cross-posted from dembloggers and my blog

I actually found a wonderful piece over at Worldnet Daily, believe it or not.  It’s an older article, but tremendously relevant at the moment.

A photo essay on the White House website shows President Bush had a hands-on role in “revising” January’s State of the Union speech that included a now-disputed allegation about Iraq’s alleged nuclear-weapons program. It also indicates he scribbled notes beside various passages of text in the margins of the speech drafts.

– the White Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland

cross-posted from dembloggers and my blog

It’s Action Alert Time! And away we go:

Update [2005-10-26 18:20:10 by Cedwyn]: The original diary I linked to here went kaput. I have now fixed the url to go straight to Conyers’ letter. Please sign it and share it!

Congressman John Conyers is, as always, on it!  He is asking voters to demand that shrubya not issue pardons regarding indictments in LieraqGate.

sign his letter to shrubya

As the Fitzgerald investigation nears its conclusion, I am becoming increasingly concerned that Bush will prevent the exposure of wrongdoing in Treasongate by pardoning any indicted members of his administration before trial.  I wrote a letter in July asking the President to pledge not to pardon these persons.  I have yet to receive an answer so I have organized a letter writing campaign demanding an answer.  Over 4,000 people have already signed so I’d like to generate at least 10,000 letters to Bush.

As some of you may recall, the President’s father, President George H.W. Bush, pardoned officials under indictment in the Iran-Contra scandal. Some of those pardoned by Bush Sr. include officials in the present White House, like Elliott Abrahms, as well as others who have been purportedly linked to the falsification of the Niger documents.  Those previously indicted and pardoned seem to be nearby when further crimes are committed against our country.

Update [2005-10-26 18:20:10 by Cedwyn]: We won! In the face of being defeated by a house vote, shrubya backed off from the Davis-Bacon suspension! Go Rep. Miller! Please do send him some love.

Action Item #2

We have until Nov. 4th to prevail upon our House Reps to vote down shrubya’s gulf coast minimum wage waiver.  As you know, he suspended the Davis-Bacon Act for Katrina reconstruction efforts.  This is unconscionable and flies in the face of all the “trickle-down,” “we need tax cuts for the 1%” mythology.

Please contact your Reps and tell them that this is reprehensible.  And send Rep. George Miller (D-CA) some support while you’re thinking of it.

Action Item #3

Call the White House and FEMA, shrubya and Chertoff, and tell them that, as a U.S. taxpayer, you are appalled that your money is going to Brownie’s paycheck.

While people were dying in New Orleans, Brownie was dining in Baton Rouge.  No take-out for him; no.  He needed more time for his sit-down restaurant dinner before he made his TV appearance.  Heckuva job, Drownie – shameful and shameless all at the same time.

Brownie needs the firing that he didn’t get the first time around – bring the noise!

FEMA – 202-646-2763; FEMAOPA@dhs.gov

White House – 202 456 1111

Action Item #4

Contact NBC and insist that Andrea Mitchell issue a correction for her inaccurate reporting about Joseph Wilson IV.  Despite speaking with him herself on the air, she is still reporting the canard that Wilson claimed it was Cheney who sent him to Niger.

Mrs. Greenspan should know better; 5 minutes with Google demonstrates this inaccuracy.  Here’s a thought for Little Miss Journalist:  Maybe she could read Wilson’s book?!  You know, do some research and stuff.

And #5 – Local to Eugene, Oregon

Please help EFAHP protect the wildlife habitat and natural resources of the East Fork Amazon Headwaters Forest.  It is nearly 40 acres and one of the most pristine sites left in the Eugene Urban Growth Boundary, but is being threatened by development interests.

If you live in the Eugene Area, please contact the city council members.  Letters to the editors would also be good.  We non-locals can help by making a contribution to EFAHP and, of course, by getting this information out as far as possible.

cross-posted from dembloggers and my blog

Perkie is my little nickname for Harriet Miers.  So I’m easily amused; don’t begrudge me that.  It’s one of the few things keeping me relatively sane.

Anyhoo, back to Perkie…it seems she failed her first Senate test – her questionnaire answers have received dismal reviews from all quarters, even the Moonie Times.  The Senate Judiciary Committee has requested that she do some of the questions over; it would appear that, contrary to some reports, her attention to detail is somewhat lacking.

Except when it comes to shrubya, of course.  On that score – and if anybody keeps score, it’s cronies and toadies – she seems to be involved at every turn.  When his questionable military service record endangered his bid for re-election as governor of Texas, it was none other than Perkie who was charged with the task of <s>scrubbing</s&gt investigating his military service records for the case.  

cross posted at my blog.

Before the ink was even dry on Halliburton’s no-bid contracts to rebuild the Katrina-ravaged Gulf of Mexico, shrubya also mandated suspension of the Davis-Bacon act, which amounts to suspending minimum wage requirements.

The  Davis-Bacon Act as amended, requires that each contract over $2,000 to which the United States or the District of Columbia is a party for the construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or public works shall contain a clause setting forth the minimum wages to be paid to various classes of laborers and mechanics employed under the contract.

<span style=”font-weight:bold;”>Under the provisions of the Act, contractors or their subcontractors are to pay workers employed directly upon the site of the work no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits paid on projects of a similar character.</span&gt The Davis-Bacon Act directs the Secretary of Labor to determine such local prevailing wage rates.

In addition to the Davis-Bacon Act itself, Congress has added prevailing wage provisions to approximately 60 statutes which assist construction projects through grants, loans, loan guarantees, and insurance. These “related Acts” involve construction in such areas as transportation, housing, air and water pollution reduction, and health. If a construction project is funded or assisted under more than one Federal statute, the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage provisions may apply to the project if any of the applicable statutes require payment of Davis-Bacon wage rates.

That’s right – we still can’t entertain the notion of repealing tax-cuts for the rich or re-instating the dividends tax.  No; the only way to keep these reconstruction costs managable is to screw the workers out of living wages.  Could anything fly more in the face of the trickle-down justification for such tax-cuts?

Thankfully, Congressman George Miller (D-CA) has taken action.  Shorty after shrubya issued his proclamation, Miller introduced a bill to overturn it; but it has languished in the House since then.  Surprise, surprise.  But Miller has also found a little-used statute that enables the Dem House leadership to force a vote on his bill.

Now, Miller is finally able to force a vote in the House on the wage cut issue.  Miller today introduced a Joint Resolution under the 1976 National Emergencies Act, which provides for fast track action by Congress when the President unilaterally suspends a law, as he did with Davis-Bacon. Although the National Emergencies Act is nearly 30 years old, this is the first time that a lawmaker has ever invoked its fast track procedures. By law, Congress must act on Miller’s Joint Resolution within 15 calendar days – in this case, by November 4.

So, you heard the man!  We have until Nov. 4th – roughly two weeks – to call/email/write/fax our Congress members to make sure they support Miller’s proposal to reinstate Davis-Bacon.  And letters to the editor are great, too, provided you actually write them, of course.

Now if we could just get someone to introduce “Anti-profiteering” legislation…but God forbid we dip into Halliburton’s profits for the good of the commonwealth.  Or something.

cross-posted at dembloggers.com and my blog

The reason for the season is treason, and what a Fitzmas this will be!  Cheney might even   retire!

A Fitzmas poem for all the kids:

The aspens are turning
liars’ pants are burning
Fitzgerald is tightening the screws.

Hannah has sung,
and now Wurmser’s tongue
also helps place the clues.

Chalabi and WHIG and PNAC
wanted to run the middle east
and so sought all the lies they could use.

“Saddam is a turrrist,
we’d best get him first
before he blows his fuse!”

“Iraq, 9/11, Niger yellowcake!
Aluminum tubes for mushroom clouds he’ll make!”
And the media fell for the ruse.

But Wilson debunked their Niger claim
so they outed Ms. Valerie Plame
thinking the tiff would diffuse.

But Fitzgerald is tough
and he’s called their bluff
and now it appears they will lose.

The White House is sweating
to them, it’s upsetting
that we have heard of this news.

It seems that Bush knew
of the deeds of his crew
and Fitzgerald is dropping the shoes.

Indictments are looming
turd blossom ain’t blooming
the whole group is singing the blues.

On joyous Fitzmas day
not too far away,
they’ll be frogmarched away by the twos!

And, of course, no celebration would be complete without Fitzmas carols!

Fa la la la la and

Yes, that’s Baghdad Judy, self-serving hack.