Now, that would have been a confession worth hearing back when it really mattered. Newt, remind me to thank you for that three years from now.

Of course, we all know that the Republicans did some pretty vile things in the '04 campaign. The SwiftBoat Liars, the strategically timed terror alerts, invoking 9-11 for political gain, the windsurfing thing which I still haven't figured out...

But for Mr. Gingrich to admit that the Bush campaign intentionally deceived the American public is pretty big. Despite the fact that most people concluded long ago that a President who would lead the country into a war based on lies, who labels himself "compassionate" while stripping kids of health care and "conservative" while starting a trillion dollar war of choice, would have no problem getting re-elected the same way, they rarely hold themselves accountable.

You know, I heard Newt is running in '08. Then I heard he's not. Then he is. Oh, right. I forgot to mention the flip-flop flap. Another lie that served the Bush campaign well. Well, if he is running, this video from our friends at TPM should sink him pretty fast.

Now, you might ask if it's really fair for me to blame Newt for the Republican deception of '04. Well, yes. Yes it is. Because everyone with access to the media who put party before country and let it happen is guilty of misleading the American people. He may not have promoted the lies, but he could have said something at the time, and chose to remain silent. Until now. Just like Powell and Tenet and a host of others who've suddenly developed a conscience. And that calls into question both his motive and his timing.

Perhaps he's trying to get Hillary to let her guard down. I haven't picked an '08 candidate yet, but my advice to all of them is to not give an inch. The Republican smear machine is ruthless and well funded. And just because Karl Rove got canned, doesn't mean he and his minions aren't still hanging around, waiting for something juicy to sink their teeth into. They will do anything to win, even if it means lying to the American people.

But don't take my word for it, just ask Newt.

Senator John Kerry will deliver a major speech offering a 21st Century economic strategy for America’s middle class at Faneuil Hall on Monday, October 1, 2007 at noon.

Awesome. I've seen JK at Faneuil Hall, and it's an experience not to be missed. An inspiring setting for what's sure to be an equally inspiring event.

See you there!

As United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrives in Burma (Myanmar) today in a diplomatic effort to quell the violence, details of the death toll and current situation surrounding the massive peaceful protests against the ruling military regime remain unclear. The official government count of protesters killed is 10, while most outside estimates reach as high as 200. There have been reports of over 700 arrests of Buddhist monks after raids on dozens of monasteries as the pro-democracy protesters continue to demonstrate against a dictatorial military government that, in addition to documented human rights violations, has devolved Burma from one of the wealthiest countries in Southeast Asia, to one of the poorest. Currently, Burma (Myanmar) is ranked the most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International.

US Charge d'Affaires in Burma Urges World Attention

Melissa Block talked with the U.S. Charge d'Affaires, Shari Villarosa, in Yangon, Myanmar, about the situation in this NPR interview. Ms. Villarosa provided an overview of the the situation and a plea to the world to "keep remembering what's going on here".

Click here to listen (WMV)   >>

Senator Kerry and others took to the floor of the Senate this week to urge support for the peaceful protesters, primarily monks and students, who continue their opposition to a repressive regime where documented human rights violations are common and the failed economy is evidenced in the stunning contrast between the excesses of the ruling military regime and the relative poverty of the people of Burma.

FreeBurma.org has more on the current situation and suggestions for what you can do to support the people of Burma in their struggle. If you have a Facebook account, also check out the actions and updates posted in the group "Support the Monks' protest in Burma" which was featured in this Reuters article.

Thrice divorced drug addict and chickenhawk troop leader Rush Limbaugh has been known to make some asinine comments, like accusing Michael J Fox of exaggerating his Parkinson's symptoms, and claiming Darfur is about the black vote. Even some anti-American, anti-veteran remarks, like calling Senator Chuck Hagel "Senator Betrayus".

But the latest insult has got to be an all-time low for the radio host who, when it was his turn to serve his country, literally gave the military the 'bum's rush". Yup. Rush's initial deferment was due to a cyst on his bottom.

Let's see if the Senate Republicans have a resolution to propose. How about a nice floor speech for our friend Mr. Limbaugh, who yesterday called our troops "phony", Senator Cornyn? That is if you can muster up some outrage for a Republican this time.

Senator Kerry appears to share our sentiment:

"This disgusting attack from Rush Limbaugh, cheerleader for the Chicken Hawk wing of the far right, is an insult to American troops. In a single moment on his show, Limbaugh managed to question the patriotism of men and women in uniform who have put their lives on the line and many who died for his right to sit safely in his air conditioned studio peddling hate. On August 19th, The New York Times published an op-ed by seven members of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division critical of George Bush's Iraq policy. Two of those soldiers were killed earlier this month in Baghdad. Does Mr. Limbaugh dare assert that these heroes were 'phony soldiers'? Mr. Limbaugh owes an apology to everyone who has ever worn the uniform of our country, and an apology to the families of every soldier buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He is an embarrassment to his Party, and I expect the Republicans who flock to his microphone will now condemn this indefensible statement."

Here's Mr. Limbaugh, calling our soldiers "phony" because they don't agree with his views on Iraq.

In a scathing blog post yesterday morning, Senator Kerry condemned Bush and his Roadblock Republicans for once again putting party and greed before the need of our children.

Playing Chicken with Children's Health Care by John Kerry on September 27th, 2007

If there’s anybody left who doubts that “compassionate conservatism” is an Orwellian smokescreen for the same old Republican policies, listen to this:

After promising he’d work on “expanding health care for children,” the President has now unilaterally declared war on a successful, wildly popular program that gives health care to millions of low-income kids.

Democrats see a successful program, S-CHIP, and they see 11 million kids still uninsured in the richest country in the world, and they want to build on what works and expand it. Makes sense, right? But this White House is so hell-bent on denying the Democratic Congress a victory, the President’s threatening to veto health care for kids.

This is the same guy who never met a Republican spending bill he couldn’t sign. Not one. $300 million bridge to nowhere? Pass the pork. Half-trillion dollars on the road to quagmire in Iraq? Bring it on. But a few billion a year for health care for millions of kids? Forget it. Not this President. Not the “compassionate conservative.”

This time the President’s “coalition of the willing” is even more puny: a handful of right-wing ideologues who put half-baked economic theories above the all-too-real health problems of poor children and the bipartisan advice of, well, just about everyone else. Families support it. Doctors support it. Hospitals support it. Many Republican governors support it. Hell, even insurance companies like this bill!

The President still says he’s committed to “expanding health care to children” but his machinations on this issue tell a different story — this is what happens when people who hate government run our government: we get regulators who don’t regulate, “heckuva-job” cronies, and trickle-down tax cuts that leave middle class families feeling trickled on.

For Republicans, this S-CHIP bill is the worst threat of all: a bipartisan bill to expand a government program that actually works, and a chance for this Democratic Congress to deliver. That’s like kryptonite to Republicans, who honestly seem to think that America’s gain would be a Republican loss if it’s passed by a Democratic Congress.

His was not the only warning to put the welfare of our kids first. Senator Kennedy held a press conference a bit later, in which he challenged the Senate Republicans and Bush to do the right thing:

Video Credit: CapNewsNet

Apparently these warnings and calls for decency paid off, because late in the evening, S-CHIP passed by a margin of 67-29. The Senate vote is therefore veto-proof.

In light of yesterday's threat of a military crackdown in Burma, Senator Kerry followed up Tuesday's statement condemning impending military action with a call today for US diplomatic leadership in rallying the international community to stand behind the demonstrators.

Here is an excerpt of Senator Kerry's floor speech, given yesterday morning:

Mr. President: Against all odds, the long-suffering people of Burma have risen up against one of the world’s most repressive regimes. What began a month ago as modest, impromptu protests has since mushroomed into a nation-wide, peaceful democratic groundswell. Tens of thousands of students have joined Buddhist monks in the streets, marching and chanting in unison against Burma’s brutal military rulers.

The Burmese people should know that America and all free peoples across the globe stand in awe of their commitment and courage. Their actions follow in the venerable footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Lech Walesa, and all those heroes who understood that nonviolent resistance is humanity’s greatest weapon against tyranny and injustice. I want to join the President of the United States, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and many others in letting them know: We support your struggle. We stand with you.

What is happening today in the streets of Rangoon is as tenuous as it is unexpected. The cabal of generals, who pillage Burma under the guise of governing it, could easily meet these non-violent protests with a bloodbath, just like they did in 1988. And we must do all that we can to ensure that this does not come to pass.

We will hopefully be able to bring you the Senator's speech in its entirety and in video form by the end of the week. Meanwhile, please watch this Youtube clip of a Lehrer newscast on the Burma Demonstrations.

We at KV wish to join Senator Kerry in his pledge to stand with the Burmese people fighting for freedom and democracy. Our thoughts are with them and our hearts go out to them.

If KerryVision were to give out an Award for Decency and Integrity, Senator Joe Biden would surely be a recipient. During yesterday's debate of his Iraq Federalism Amendment, Biden acknowledged Senator Kerry's continued leadership on the issue. This was high praise indeed, and amazingly heartfelt.

Biden's expression of gratitude and respect for John Kerry came shortly after the Senator had spoken in support of the amendment and had again voiced his concerns about the situation in Iraq.

"This plan recognizes the reality that the Iraq government has not made any significant progress toward the goal of national reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites," Kerry said in a subsequent press release. "We need a 'plan B' for Iraq. Based on what we've seen from Iraqi politicians - who in the end are representing the will of their constituents - it is increasingly clear that the only viable political solution is a federal solution."

Kerry's expression of support for the amendment also drew praise from Senator Warner, who credited him with having been one of the first in the Senate to consider the federalist approach. The Biden Amendment should come to a vote at some point this morning.

As a leader on Climate Change and the Environment, Senator Kerry participated last Thursday, September 20th on a teleconference briefing in advance of the United Nations meeting "The Future in our Hands: Addressing the Leadership Challenge of Climate Change," which took place yesterday, Monday September 24th.

In this conference call Senator Kerry is very hopeful in movement on this critical issue. As he states:

"So we're very hopeful, but there's no way to make a prediction. I don't want to downgrade because we are hopeful, and we want to be positive about what might come, but I'm not going to hype a huge transition in an administration that's obviously been very reluctant to deal with this for seven years."

Listen to Senator Kerry's remarks and the Q&A that followed.

Fortunately Senator Kerry did not make a prediction about this administration in the conference call. Bush has lived down to his usual standard of behavior and has now indicated that he will not meet with other world leaders on this critical issue but merely dine with them.

Senator Kerry released a statement on Bush's refusal to attend the meetings going on in New York this week:

“The Bush Administration has done everything in its power to downplay, discount, and distract from the threat of climate change, so it’s not surprising that the President is skipping a series of high-level meetings designed to address the problem,” Kerry said.

“As heads of state of 80 different countries and representatives from 150 countries gather in New York to chart the global response to climate change, the President’s absence sends a clear signal that he isn’t really serious about an international emissions reduction plan.

“The President needs to exhibit leadership and spend some political capital by committing to serious domestic emission reductions and rejoining the world’s leaders in a new global strategy to tackle this urgent issue.”

And now we find out Bush is having his own Climate meeting in Washington, D.C. later this week so that he can set the agenda. James Connaughton, the president's chief environmental adviser, stated, "It's our philosophy that each nation has the sovereign capacity to decide for itself what its own portfolio of policies should be.

Bush's approach sets the stage for a new round of diplomatic confrontation. It raises the prospect that he could once again put the United States in the position of objecting to any binding international agreement intended to slow or reverse the damages of climate change.

We're counting on you, Senator Kerry, to keep on carrying the banner for serious action on the issues that climate change and our environment demand.

When the highlight of your week is a Senate floor speech, does it mean you've got to get out more? Perhaps, but this was one hell of a speech, and I had a pretty slow week.

The thing is, if you didn't catch it live on C-SPAN or here, you probably missed it entirely. Funny, isn't it, that the traditional media is all over the latest Brittany fiasco, OJ trial, and newspaper ad, yet nothing much on the Democratic Senate's attempts to stop the bleeding in Iraq and the ensuing Republican obstruction? And by 'funny', I don't mean 'ha ha' funny, more like 'what's that smell in the back of the refrigerator 'funny'.

The most recent and most egregious Bush announcement this week was his proposed veto of SCHIP funding. What I heard on Blitzer's show the other day is that kids are stuck in the middle of the SCHIP fight. No, Wolf, they're not. The kids and their parents are on our side. The middle is Scrooge territory, and the Administration is where they send you when hell is full.

All I'm asking for is a little perspective here. Bush is going to veto children's healthcare, we're stuck in the middle of another country's civil war, and the big news story is about how mean some liberal group is to a grown man? I'm pretty sure the General is tough enough to take a little criticism. The Senate Republicans, from their reaction ON THE FLOOR OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE, are not so confident in his ability. After all, it was one ad with a provocative headline, possibly recycled from Rush Limbaugh's attack on Republican Senator Chuck Hagel. It wasn't like they built a multi-million dollar organization to attempt to take him down.

Yes, it was a week full of fake outrage and tabloid news, but we're not here for that. Our mission is to give you guys the straight scoop on our favorite Senator. So, without further ado, here's the news.

Again, our great thanks to Shotgun Wedding for the tune. Hey, they're not The Electras, but who is?

To be perfectly honest, I have no concept of a trillion anything. It's just too big.

We put counters up on KerryVision yesterday to remind us all of the cost of Bush's war in blood and treasure. It wasn't easy to look at the numbers or the faces of the service members who lost their lives as we searched through websites for the counters, but I can at least relate to the statistics. Three thousand, seven hundred ninety five is a lot of people, God rest them, it's 3,795 too many. But the number itself isn't beyond anyone's capacity to fathom.

What I couldn't grasp, in terms of volume, is the half a trillion dollars we've already spent on Mr. Bush's war. For someone like me, who is mathematically challenged, it took a lot of research to try to wrap my head around the concept of a trillion. I'm still not sure I can grasp the enormity of a trillion anything, but at least I have an idea.

It's way too much.

How much bigger than a billion is a trillion? One thousand times. Three zeros bigger. It's a number so big, it needs to be seen in a human context before we can really grasp its size. So, we might say: It's the year 0, the beginning of the first millennium, and you have a trillion dollars to spend, at the rate of a million dollars a day. At just before three years, you've reached a billion. You keep spending, and now you are in the year 2001. You still have 737 years to go, spending a million every day, before you reach the end of your trillion dollar pile.

I cut the grass today in my average sized yard and wondered how long it would take, mowing an average of 30 times a year, to cut a trillion blades of grass. My best estimate was 66 years. No matter what method I used, I'll be dead long before I ever reach a trillion blades of grass.

In it's 60 years of operation, McDonalds has sold over 100 billion burgers. Currently, they average about a billion a year. At that rate, McDonalds will sell a trillion burgers in a thousand years.

A galaxy is pretty big. The number of stars in our galaxy, as Carl Sagan (and Johnny Carson) might have said, is "billions and billions". Of course, no one knows the exact number of stars in our galaxy, but one estimate is 400 billion. That's less than the dollar cost of the Iraq war to date.

Here's what a trillion pennies looks like.

David Leonhardt provides some perspective in his January, 2007 NYT article, "What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy".

How much will the war in Iraq end up costing American taxpayers? Difficult to say. Some estimates are as high as two trillion dollars. That's two times something I can't imagine once.

When my daughter was little, she asked a lot of questions, like all kids do. Questions like "Mommy, why is the sky blue?", or "Why are there 64 crayons in a box?" or "Why do most grandmas have blond hair?" Good thing she never asked me what a trillion is, because I didn't know. Still don't. But there's an easy answer. If your kids or grandkids ever ask you what a trillion is, you can tell them,

"It's what you paid for Bush's war."

10 million of them.

You have a phone call to make to 202-456-1414 202-456-1111. Here's why.

Yesterday, President Bush threatened to veto bipartisan funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Think about it. The President of the United States of America, who has so far spent half a trillion dollars on a war of choice based on lies does not want to provide health care to the children of American working families.

Stunning.

Senator Kerry's statement on Bush's threatened veto of SCHIP

“President Bush today once again threatened to veto health care for poor children. The president hides behind the word “federalization” because his political base opposes doing what is decent and humane. The Senate and the House both approved legislation that would extend health care coverage for poor kids, not cut it back. It would be a refreshing reversal if the president remembered the promise he made in 2004, when he spoke out forcefully in favor of SCHIP. On behalf of families across the country who want him to put kids first, we ask the President not to put their health care coverage last.”

Nice. We're talking about kids, W. Grow a heart, will ya?

To say Senator Kerry was in rare form yesterday on the Senate floor would be a diminishing of all his previous speeches he has made on Iraq. Still, today's call for a new Iraq policy went even beyond his already brilliant record on speaking out against the failed strategy that is currently being pursued by the administration.

His point-by-point dismantling of counter-arguments, such as 'we cannot leave Iraq in the hands of Al Qaeda' or 'The surge is a success, it was only the previous approach that was the failure', revealed Senator Kerry's depth of knowledge about the history of Iraq and the world, that is amazing in its detail.

To simply recap the speech or post a transcript would not do it justice, so here is the video footage instead.

Senator Cornyn came in last.

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) took to the floor today to speechify on his Sense of the Senate resolution, an attempt to condemn MoveOn.org's recent ad, "Genral Petraeus or General Betray Us?". First, I have to say that although I agree that the title was not what I would have chosen, it was catchy. And the text of the ad was enlightening and fact-based.

In a floor speech, Cornyn condemned any attack on those who have served. Except he didn't.

"I call on all Senators to tell America that they do not condone such character assassination of those who are sworn to protect the very freedom that we enjoy ... and the very system of government in which we all serve ... Our military service members simply deserve better ..."

Unless they're Democrats.

When questioned by Senators Durbin and Boxer why there wasn't the same defense of Senators Kerry and Cleland when they were being attacked for their service, Cornyn hemmed and hawed, and then he said this:

I am not willing to amend my resolution ... He [Durbin] keeps emphasizing that this [Swift Boat Liars] is a Texas based group... I have no idea whether it is or it is not ..."

OK, I'm not saying Cornyn is either a liar or stupid or both. Maybe he doesn't read. Or watch TV. Or know who donated to his campaign. Or live on this planet.

According to information released by the IRS on February 22, 2005, more than half of the group's reported contributions came from just three sources, all prominent Texas Republican donors: Houston builder Bob J. Perry, a longtime supporter of George W. Bush, donated $4.45 million, Harold Simmons' Contrans donated $3 million, and T. Boone Pickens, Jr. donated $2 million.

source: wikipedia

Senator Cornyn, who did not serve in the military, seems to believe that politicians are fair game for attack, even if that means attacking their military service, although he's against attacking a person's service. Unless he's for it. What makes this even worse is that Senator Cornyn's hypocrisy came on the heels of the Republican filibuster of the Webb amendment. So, the so-called family values, support the troops Republicans claim to support the troops even though they won't vote to give them time to spend time at home with their families. And they pontificate about defending the military from attack, but only if they're on the proper side of the aisle or adhere to the same ideology.

I don't get it. But since Cornyn's up for re-election in 2008, maybe someone should take his advice on the whole 'politicians are fair game' thing. MoveOn might be interested.

The Republicans in the Senate have done it again. Attacked the rule of law and supported the disintegration of our legal rights under the Constitution. Beachmom has many of the details at daily kos.

Here's the latest in the email inbox from Senator Kerry:

WASHINGTON D.C. – Sen. John Kerry issued the following statement today, after a majority of Senate Republicans blocked a final vote on a measure to expand the rights of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. The measure received 56 votes, but Republican leaders used a filibuster to insist it reach 60.

“The roadblock Republicans today stopped the Senate from demonstrating that we can keep our values and keep America safe at the same time. Only these rubberstamp Senators for George Bush believe you can’t detain enemy combatants while honoring habeas corpus,” Kerry said. “We all want to stop terrorist attacks. We all want to effectively gather as much intelligence as possible. We all want to bring those who attacked us to justice. But, we weaken our ability to do that when we undermine our own Constitution, when we throw away our system of checks and balances or when we hold detainees indefinitely without trial. We endanger our moral authority at great peril. The United States should send a signal to the rest of the world that America stands for the rule of law.”

Senator Kerry had more to say about it in September 2006:

And why is restoring habeas corpus so important? The NPR program This American Life had a Peabody Award-winning episode about it called Habeas, Shmabeus.

Give it a listen.

The last two days in the blogosphere have seen some visceral and over the top reactions to the actions of the police and Andrew Meyers at Senator Kerry's speech given at the University of Florida-Gainsville. We at KV think that a bit of perspective is in order.

Was it wrong to tase Meyer? Possibly.

However, it is not up to John Kerry to determine this. That particular task lies with the school and the police's Internal Affairs Department.

Senator Kerry did what was within his power to do: he attempted to diffuse the situation and answer the young man's questions. To claim as some have, that Senator Kerry was advocating police violence and the suppression of free speech because he didn't leap off the stage in an attempt to save the young man from being arrested is just ludicrous.

Fortunately and surprisingly, the unfair attacks on Senator Kerry that permeated some of the blogs did not extend to the media. This time, they were the levelheaded ones, reporting fairly and without attempt to sensationalize. One excellent example was the Taser Segment in last night's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:

Lest we forget, the senator is a champion of dissent.

"It is important for us to guarantee that in the United States of America, this right that was fought for so hard through so much of the difficult history of our country, we finally make real the full measure of that right." - John Kerry

There are 100 members of the United States Senate. Of that number, 8 have co-sponsored the Count Every Vote Act of 2007.

That's not a typo. There are eight.

Here are the sponsors of the S. 804 The Count Every Vote Act of 2007:

• Sponsor
• Sen. Hillary Clinton [D-NY]
• Cosponsors
• Sen. Barbara Boxer [D-CA]
• Sen. Sherrod Brown [D-OH]
• Sen. John Kerry [D-MA]
• Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ]
• Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]
• Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D-MD]
• Sen. Barack Obama [D-IL]

Considering we have an election coming up, wouldn't it be a really good idea to do everything possible to ensure that the election problems of 2004 aren't repeated? Do we want another Ohio, or are we ready to do something? Is there a reason 92 Senators don't agree with the eight to the extent they will co-sponsor a bill to secure our right to vote?

Ask them.

It's time to get on the phone and call the other 92.

On July 20, 2006, Senator Kerry spoke on the Senate floor of the need to secure our right to vote and to have our votes counted. He also spoke of the disenfranchisement and discrepancies of 2004, something we should all be doing. Before it's too late, and another election is stolen.

Transcript with full text of speech

Who's running this war, anyway?

This is nuts. I knew we had contractors in Iraq, but I had no idea there were this many.

Do you think maybe when Bush cited 36 as the number of coalition partners in his Groundhog Day speech the other night, he was counting private contractors? We actually have more of them in Iraq than we have troops, and at a staggering cost.

I suppose it's not yet decided if the Iraqis are going to kick Blackwater out over Sunday's incident in which 8 Iraqi civilians were allegedly killed by Blackwater security personnel, or if Condi can talk Maliki into keeping them there. After all, she did make a phone call. Diplomacy Accomplished!

I'm not sure what the right answer is here. I'd guess that a lot of the individuals working for these outfits are good people. But I really was under the (obviously mistaken) impression that wars were fought with soldiers, not corporations.

From fighting for childrens' health care, to the SFRC hearing, to beating the snot out of John McCain on Sunday's Meet the Press, it's been another busy week for the Senator, and this time I couldn't quite keep up. In addition to what's in KVNews this week, JK joined both Ed Schultz and WRKO on the radio, and had a couple TV appearances that I wasn't able to catch. What can I say? The music ran out, and the Senator kept on going. We'll have to get Danny to write a longer song.

Thanks, once again, to Danny Dragone and Shotgun Wedding for the tune.

Join us right here at KV Sunday morning at 10:30 ET to liveblog the action as our favorite Senator kicks some right wing butt in a debate on the Iraq war.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA)
Foreign Relations Committee
Democratic Presidential Nominee (2004)

SEN. JOHN McCAIN (R-AZ)
Ranking Member, Armed Services Committee
2008 Presidential Contender

Exclusive! Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ) debate the war in Iraq. How will the Petraeus report affect U.S. policy? We will discuss the future of the war with two key senators and Vietnam veterans -- only on "Meet the Press."

Find ‘Meet the Press’ in your area

So, fire up your computers, make a fresh pot of coffee, and get ready to rumble.
Pajamas optional (for you,not for the Senators).

UPDATE: Today's video...

Twice this week, JK has compared Bush's Iraq speech to Groundhog Day, and it's been bugging me since yesterday exactly what he means. Either it's a really complex and intellectually profound statement on Bush's Iraq 'strategery', or he just likes the flick and saw a parallel. Maybe it's both. Here's my take:

In the movie Groundhog Day, Phil Connors (Bill Murray) re-lives Groundhog Day, over and over. The day repeats, unchanged, beginning with the song on the radio alarm clock, as it turns from 5:59 to 6:00.

Every. Single. Day.

There's no change, there's no progress, and there's no hope of ever getting out.

Until ...

Phil learns. The way he escapes from his endless nightmare is to study his mistakes and alter his response until he finally gets it right, and the conflict ends. That's where the metaphor diverges from the movie. Bush does not study, does not learn and does not correct. He's content to live out his term repeating the same mistakes, never escaping Groundhog Day. Problem is, the rest of us are caught up in his endless cycle of frustration and despair.

Either that, or Bush is being compared to a squinty-eyed little rat in a hole.

But I'm sure that's not it.

Senator Kerry talked to Ed Schultz yesterday about Bush's failed policy and the need for change.

Click to listen  » 

JK's statement on Bush's 'progress' report

"It's telling that the only report that shows progress in Iraq comes from the same Administration that predicted we'd be greeted as liberators and proclaimed 'mission accomplished.' This Administration is in deep denial. Their misguided account is out of touch with every recent independent Iraq assessment, from General Jones to the GAO report, which found that the Iraqis met only one of eight benchmarks on political reconciliation. The White House needs to stop spinning and start changing course now."

There were some pretty odd remarks in President Bush's speech last night. It's was late when I finished listening to the pundits (Chris Matthews was good) and the pols, so I picked out the most obvious, and the easiest to fact check. This stood out.

No matter how you define "fighting on the ground", I can't come up with any source with 36. I found 21 from two sources. That includes Latvia with 2 people, and seven other countries with 50 or less. Did someone join since February? I know the Brits are pulling out soon. I haven't heard of anyone who signed on since then.

Non-US Forces in Iraq - February 2007

The size and capabilities of the Coalition forces involved in operations in Iraq has been a subject of much debate, confusion, and at times exaggeration. As of August 23, 2006, there were 21 non-U.S. military forces contributing armed forces to the Coalition in Iraq. These 21 countries were: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

I checked wikipedia. They also list 21.

OK, so he was off by a dozen or so. I guess it happens.

But that wasn't all that struck me as really weird.

Senator Kerry posted at The Huffington Post today.

Boehner's Small Price

Just yesterday on CNN, Wolf Blitzer asked John Boehner, the leader of the GOP in the House, this question (video on Horse's Mouth):

"The loss in blood, the Americans who are killed every month, how much longer do you think this commitment, this military commitment is going to require?"

And Mr. Boehner responded:

"The investment that we're making today will be a small price if we're able to stop al Qaeda here, if we're able to stabilize the Middle East, it's not only going to be a small price for the near future, but think about the future for our kids and their kids."

What a stunningly cavalier statement about the lives of the young men and women who serve our country.

Whether you support or oppose the Bush escalation, no American should ever for even a moment think the cost of war is small.

A single life is a large price to pay for any endeavor. Sometimes, in our national interest, we choose to pay that awful price, but we must always make sure that the policy is worthy of it.

Visit our wounded warriors at Walter Reed hospital and ask whether the price they paid was small. Talk to the mothers, fathers, husbands and wives of those who have been killed and ask them to measure the price of war. Young lives stopped short, children who won't have a mother or father there as they grow up, when they graduate, when they get married -- that loss is many things, but it is not small.

Where is Representative Boehner's apology? And where is an Iraq policy equal to our soldiers' tremedous sacrifice?

He doesn't know how long we'll be in Iraq. He doesn't know if we're safer for the war in Iraq. He doesn't know because it's not his job to know. It's Bush's job, and Bush's failure. Petraeus is the military guy, and should not be a primary spokesman for the White House on the war since we're all agreed there is no military solution in Iraq.

So, where the hell was Bush? "Uniting" the country in memory of the victims of 9-11? Spending the day in front of the Senate, defending his war? No, of course not. He left that to Petraeus, who, of course, can NOT be responsible for ending this war, because there is no military solution, and Petraeus is the military guy. Ambassador Crocker, who was completely out of his league? I don't think he has much of a clue. Where was the guy who started this war, promoted it, and won't get us out of it?

Bush is the one who's supposed to know. I think it's pretty obvious he doesn't. Why didn't he defend his war to Congress?

Petraeus and Crocker were the wrong guys in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'd say pretty much a metaphor for Bush's fiasco.

That's not to say Petraeus is totally without responsibility for the quagmire that is Iraq. He was tasked with training the Iraqis, and painted a pretty rosy picture of their progress just six weeks before the 2004 election in a Washington Post op-ed. That was three years ago. Difficult to believe that none are trained well enough to take over security for their country and allow our troops to stand down.

They don't know how to end this mess. But someone does.

Yesterday, Senator Kerry's plate was full again. His schedule called for two Boston area radio interviews, quickly followed by the SFRC hearing on the Petraeus Report at 9.30 AM. Unfortunately, one of the radio appearances had to be cancelled with very short notice due to time constraints.

We at KV were fortunate to be able to record the first interview with former Massachusetts Speaker of the House, now radio talk show host Tom Finneran. John Kerry once again did brilliantly.

Not even twenty minutes after his call-in to WRKO, Senator Kerry had to attend the hearing at the Hart Building. His turn to give a statement and question Petraeus and Crocker came roughly an hour into the proceedings:

In anticipation of today's SFRC hearing with Petraeus and Crocker, Larry King hosted a panel with Senator John Kerry, Senator Lindsey Graham, and Washington Post correspondent Robin Wright, to discuss the devolving situation in Iraq. While all three agreed that the war is not going well at all, their assessment on what needs to happen going forward differs greatly.
Watch the video below.

911

No other number evokes such intense emotion for Americans, or brings to mind the horror of a single moment on a single day that started like any other. Before it turned into a day like no other. A day that seized the heart of this great country and of the world when we were "all Americans", bound by tragedy and fear and hope, and united in purpose at a moment in time.

We all recall where we were, what we were doing when we first saw the images and realized that our nation was under attack. We were overcome.

We seem to have lost the unity and much of the good will that came after that terrible day.

But we all remember the victims.

2,974

May they rest in peace.

What a week.

I think I got it all. There were some major happenings this week, including the SFRC hearing on the GAO report, the ASP report, funerals of two West Roxbury firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty, Labor Day, JK's appearance on This Week, a kos diary, and some more traditional Senate business like attempting to stop another Bush crony appointment and saving the planet from global warming.

OK. He hasn't done the last one. Yet. But when he does, we'll let you know.

In Politics, a year can appear as a lifetime, so a decade or two seems an eternity.

Just such an eternity ago, John Kerry and John McCain had formed an alliance and friendship by working together on resolving the question of American soldiers missing in action in Vietnam, which led to normalized relations between the countries.

Fast forward to the 2004 presidential race, where this unique friendship fell victim to the ugly politics of personal destruction. While at first mildly defending democratic presidential candidate and friend Kerry against vicious lies by the Swift Boat Liars, McCain quickly abandoned honesty and decency for political advantage. Only a year later, he accepted a $4200 campaign donation from Swift Boat funder (to the tune of 4.5 million) Bob Perry.

Today, the only thing these two men have in common is their job description.

John McCain is running for president, and is emulating the current man in office by adopting 90% of his agenda - including wholehearted support of the handling of the Iraq war. He supports the surge and believes that the Petraeus report will back him up in that belief. He opposes a deadline to withdraw the troops, stating that we must allow the war to be ended with our troops' honor intact.

Senator Kerry, having foregone a second try at the presidency in favor of what really matters- ending the war- has been working tirelessly towards this goal, making quite a bit of headway in the Senate and in the court of public opinion.
He argues for a political solution in the Iraq conflict, stating that a military solution is not possible at this point, and that a deadline for withdrawal is imperative. Without deadlines, Kerry points out, the Iraqi government has done very little to advance towards a resolution and self-sufficiency.

George Stephanopolous interviewed both on This Week today. The contrast between Kerry and McCain could not be any more pronounced. McCain continued the drumbeat for war, while Senator Kerry again promoted a real political solution. Watch the Kerry portion of the interview below. We decided to spare you McCain's same old song and dance. For those with masochistic inclinations: his drivel can be found at abc.com in a little while.

5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

Terror!

I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right about this new bin Laden video. The last time we saw OBL was Oct 29, 2004, with a conveniently released video five days before the 2004 election. Three years and a trip to the salon for a touchup later, bin Laden shows up, this time five days before the sixth anniversary of Sept 11 and the "We're making progress despite our dismal failure" White House Iraq report.

Does that seem a little odd to anyone else? Is this bin Laden's way of reminding us of the murders he committed six years ago, or is the release date of the sequel a little too convenient? Maybe it's just me reacting to Bush's history of crying 'wolf at the door' at the most opportune moments, but I'm a little suspect. Remember the terror alerts of '04? With another election coming up, I'm waiting for the administration to dust this off again. If you recall, it's a lot scarier without Cookie Monster.

Ooga booga. Get out the duct tape and the plastic sheeting, it's time to start pre-election Terrapalooza.

By the way, the current level is Ernie for commercial flights, and Bert for everything else.

MoveOn.org has a new video which is another variant on the theme we presented in I heard you the first time.

Check out the petition and their other actions.

As Massachusetts remembers Firefighters Paul Cahill and Warren Payne, we reflect on the service of all firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Yesterday Senator Kerry posted and cross posted on The Escalation Didn't Work. Senator Kerry didn't mince words, he wasn't about to let the parsing and spinning take away from the fact that the escalation was not the right answer and just another in a line of failed policies of this administration.

Judgment time is here, and the only verdict is the same one we had in January, the same one we've had for a long time in Iraq: the Bush policy is a tragic failure. It's a policy that not only isn't working; it can't work. A political solution in Iraq cannot come about without a clear deadline on where our troops will be pulling out. Only Iraqis can end this civil war, and they aren't - and won't be - making any progress with an open-ended, massive presence by our military in their country.

He took time out in his busy schedule to respond to several questions and to make clear that this is not preaching to the choir:

Believe me, I intend on making this case as forcefully as I can as often as I can. Although you are selling yourself short there, many, many people read what happens here, from politicians to journalists. So making a case here is not just "preaching to the choir." A lot of others are listening in to the choir in this case. As for coordinating message, I think that's part of what we do here. This isn't a grass tops campaign, it's a grassroots campaign. One thing about Democrats: We don't march in lockstep and take orders, and I wouldn't want to belong to a party that did. But we're as united as we've ever been on this, and media reports to the contrary are overblown. Keep in mind “only one Democrat wasn't on board with our deadline the last vote we had. Harry Reid put himself on the line fighting for the Reid-Feingold amendment to fund a very different mission and change course. Don't underestimate those decisions. We've got a ways to go, but I've seen how the perseverance of you, me, and a lot of folks is paying off. We need to keep fighting.

In his opening statement of the SFRC Hearing on the Independent Assessment by the GAO, Senator Kerry goes over the assessment and concludes:  "We cannot continue to ask Americans to die for a policy that can't work or is based on a shifting rationale".

You can watch the complete hearing at the SFRC website (real player only). Links to the GAO report card and complete report are in this post.

Stay tuned for next week's hearing on the Crocker-Patraeus White House Report. It's scheduled for Tuesday, September 11th at 9:30 a.m.

Senate Resolution 306 Concerning the Return of Senator Tim Johnson

Whereas Tim Johnson is returning to the United States Senate after an absence to recuperate from an intercranial hemmorage suffered on December 13, 2006, now, therefore, be it resolved that as Senator Tim Johnson returns to the Senate, his fellow members of the Senate extend their warmest welcome and express their personal happiness at his return, and offer their very best wishes for his continued good health.

Us, too, Senator. Welcome back.

Watch the full video at C-SPAN

would they be grounded? Would you call it 'progress'?

Here's the link to the full GAO report.

I just don't believe you.

The Bush administration may not be good at war, or peace, or handling disasters, or just about anything. But you have to admit, they sure are good at repetition. You'd think their folks would be able to recall things a little better than they do, considering their proclivity for repeating the same stuff over and over and over again.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not scared, and I'm sure as hell not patient after six and a half years of Bush's propaganda remix. There is no way for him to spin his way out of this one, though. Patience has left the building. It's time to stop terrorizing the American people and try a winning strategy for once.

Watch this video from YouTuber davedawgnyc, and read ProSense's list, and you'll see that the only real strategy this group has is one aimed at frightening the hell out of the American people and attempting to keep us that way. I think it's time that the President and his people end this fear campaign and tell the American people the TRUTH.

The Kerry-Feingold Amendment to redeploy our troops from Iraq was proposed in June, 2006. Had it passed and been signed into law, our troops would be headed home and there would likely be some progress toward a political solution in Iraq. Sadly, there were not enough brave Senators willing to stand up at that time and do the right thing, and the situation in Iraq and the greater Middle East appears to be steadily worsening as President Bush desperately clings to his failed strategy.

The press release below lays out the particulars. Seems to me we could just change a few numbers, and this would still be a damn good plan. The Brits have realized that their continued presence is not helping matters. They've pulled back, as we should, and let the Iraqis take over responsibility for their country.

Contact your Senators and Representatives, and tell them we need to set a deadline to bring our troops home.

Happy Labor Day

To all of you fine people who keep this great country running, enjoy your day. You deserve it, and so much more.

I have the day off from work too, so my plan is to set aside my unpaid stuff like housework, yard work and this blog for the day as well, and do ...

Nothing.

Enjoy the newsreel. Special thanks to Danny for the awesome tune. Talk to y'all tomorrow.