Here is more of the results from the Bush Administration:

Trade deficit soars to record reflecting higher oil bill
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER (AP Economics Writer)
From Associated Press
December 18, 2006 9:01 AM EST
WASHINGTON - America's deficit in the broadest measure of trade shot up to an all-time high in the summer, reflecting the huge jump in the country's foreign oil bill.

The Commerce Department reported Monday that the current account trade deficit increased 3.9 percent to a record $225.6 billion (euro172.13 billion) in the July-September quarter. That represented 6.8 percent of the country's total economy, up from 6.6 percent of the gross domestic product in the spring quarter.

The current account is the broadest measure of U.S. trade because it tracks not only the flow of goods and services across borders but also investment flows. The figure is closely watched by economists because it represents the amount of money the country must borrow from foreigners to make up the difference between what America imports and what it sells overseas.

The current account deficit is expected to hit a new record for the full year, far surpassing last year's $791.5 billion imbalance even though the shortfall for the fourth quarter is likely to show an improvement, reflecting the drop in oil prices after hitting records this summer.

Democrats, who took over control of the House and Senate in the November elections, attacked President George W. Bush's trade policies, charging that the administration has run up record deficits for five straight years by failing to protect U.S. workers from unfair foreign trade practices.

Critics have singled out the biggest culprit as China, the country which is posting the biggest trade surpluses with the United States. A high-level delegation of seven members of Bush's Cabinet, led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, held two days of talks in Beijing last week to launch a new strategic economic dialogue with China aimed at resolving long-festering trade problems between the two countries.

However, the two sides reported no breakthoughs after the initial discussions on the biggest issues such as American manufacturers' complaints that China is manipulating the value of its currency to gain trade advantages.

The $225.6 billion (euro172.13 billion) deficit was in line with economists' expectations. It followed a $217.1 billion shortfall in the April-June quarter and topped the previous record of $223.1 billion in the final three months of last year.

The increase in the shortfall last quarter was led by an $8.1 billion (euro6.18 billion) rise in the deficit in goods, which was driven higher by surging global oil prices. America's surplus in services, which includes such things as airline tickets, banking services and consultants' fees, rose by $810 million (euro618.04 million) to $18.3 billion (euro13.96 billion).

The deficit in investment flows - meaning that the United States is now having to pay foreigners more than Americans' earn on their overseas investments - rose by $1.6 billion (euro1.22 billion) to an all-time high of $3.8 billion (euro2.9 billion).

Economists expect that figure to climb even higher in coming years representing the growing size of U.S. assets now in the hands of foreigners, reflecting all of the trade deficits run up over the past three decades.

The category of unilateral transfers, which includes foreign aid and pension payments to Americans living overseas, rose by $406 million (euro309.78 million) to $21.5 billion (euro16.4 billion) in the third quarter.

Drmiler

By the way, the source of the above news is the Commerce Dept which reports DIRECTLTY to Bush!

Drmiler et al

Here is the Powell Stroy:

Powell casts doubt on troop increase; Reid open to short-term surge
By HOPE YEN (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
December 18, 2006 8:34 AM EST

WASHINGTON - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is casting doubt on a plan under consideration by President George W. Bush that would increase U.S. troops in Iraq, calling the U.S. Army overextended and "about broken."

We were told the Iraq War would be QUICK and Clean. In fact I thing that was the exact words Bush used when the Pope expressed concern about our invading Iraq. We were told the cost would between 40-60 Billion. We were told we would be greeted as liberators. We were told that this would enable a democratic government in Iraq that would enhance our security. NOT ONE of those things is even close to the results of this war. We have destabilized not only Iraq but the entire region and have helped create a government like Iran that Bush says is EVIL. We have enabled foreign terrorists to operate in Western Iraq despite the fact we have 130,000 troops in that country. There were no such Foreign Terrorists operating when Saddam was running the country. Rummy is the worst thing that has ever happened to the Defense dept. His refusal to support increasing the size of our military has caused great harm to both the active and reserve components. We have lost 3,000 troops; suffered 25,000 injured and spent about 3/4 of a trillion dollars to fight a person that posed no danger to this country. If we were to invade every country that would like to harm our country we would be at war with scores of countries NOW. This administration is the most inept and dangerous we have EVER had in our history. The damage done to this country will take decades to correct. We are hated thought the world. The division internally has never been greater. Many public officials Bush has appointed are incompetent or outright corrupt. We are bankrupting our country with the debt Bush has created. Our education system, despite the Bush policy, is failing. Trade is a joke and we are not protecting our ports and borders. Our laws are not enforced and we are destroying our environment. We are doing very little to rebuild the Gulf and our energy policy consists of tax cuts to oil companies that are making profits by overcharging us for the energy we need and we are more dependent on foreign oil then ever. Two million more people have lost health coverage since Bush took office. The new jobs that Bush claimed are the result of his tax cuts pay 20% less then the jobs that were lost from 2001-2004. The Average Weekly Wage AFTER INFLATION is lower then when Bush took office. The only group that is better off under the Bush economic policy are the wealthy. We have shifted more of the tax burden to the middle income workers and the spread between the rich and poor is expanding at an alarming rate. That is what Bush and the GOP controlled Congress have done to our country!

Provide evidence to back up your claims.

I don't recall ever being told the Iraq war would be quick and clean. I recall just the opposite. That this would be a long and difficult struggle.

Moreover, again, 3,000 casualties is pretty tiny comparatively speaking.

And all your rhetoric asside, hundreds of thousands of Americans died to help create the governments like France.  How's that working out for us? Which country thwarts US interests more? France or say Poland?  Had the United States not done the cross-channel invasion, odds are that the Soviets would have overrung western Europe. They still would have collapsed at some point due to the inherent flaws in their system.

I noticed that you answered none of the points I raised. You simply ignored it and went on with a bunch of melodramatic claims. 

Just so you know, I won't allow you to use JU as a propaganda site.  If you're just ging to repost propaganda and ignore any discussion then I'll act.  I won't remove your blog or your account, but we can make sure that none of your blogs are traceable by search engines.

That way, if you're truly writing based on principle, it shouldn't matter to you. But if you're writing here just to take advantage of JU's high google search ranking, well, that's a different matter.

Here are a few clips I found.



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Vatican envoy who met with President Bush Wednesday said he "clearly and forcefully" conveyed a message from Pope John Paul II that a war against Iraq would be a "disaster." "You might start, and you don't know how to end it," said Cardinal Pio Laghi said after his half-hour meeting at the White House. "It will be a war that will destroy human life. Those people that are suffering already in Iraq, they will be in a really bad situation."
Bush takes a tongue-lashing from the Pope over Iraq


John Hooper in Rome and John Aglionby in Singapore
Saturday June 5, 2004
The Guardian
The Pope yesterday subjected George Bush to a very public, relentlessly critical assessment of the US administration's performance in Iraq, attacking "deplorable" abuses of prisoners and calling for an international solution to the country's crisis.





By Martin Wolk
Chief economics correspondent
MSNBC
Updated: 7:25 p.m. ET March 17, 2006

White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey was the exception to the rule, offering an "upper bound" estimate of $100 billion to $200 billion in a September 2002 interview with The Wall Street Journal. That figure raised eyebrows at the time, although Lindsey argued the cost was small, adding, "The successful prosecution of the war would be good for the economy.”
U.S. direct spending on the war in Iraq already has surpassed the upper bound of Lindsey's upper bound, and most economists attribute billions more in indirect costs to the war effort. Even if the U.S. exits Iraq within another three years, total direct and indirect costs to U.S. taxpayers will likely by more than $400 billion, and one estimate puts the total economic impact at up to $2 trillion.
Back in 2002, the White House was quick to distance itself from Lindsey's view. Mitch Daniels, director of the White House budget office, quickly called the estimate "very, very high." Lindsey himself was dismissed in a shake-up of the White House economic team later that year, and in January 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the budget office had come up with "a number that's something under $50 billion." He and other officials expressed optimism that Iraq itself would help shoulder the cost once the world market was reopened to its rich supply of oil.

Transcript for Sept. 14
Sunday, September 14, 2003 GUEST: Dick Cheney, vice president Tim Russert, moderator

VICE PRES. DICK CHENEY: My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.

From the mushroom clouds to the cost and duration of the war EVERYTHING we were told was a lie. For the $50 Billion cost estimate to be correct, we would have had to end our occupation in about 6 months. We are spending over $100 billion per year to maintain 140,000 troops in Iraq. The people of Iraq DO NOT look at us as LIBERATORS but OCCUPIERS. ALL LIES.

Brown and his four principal subordinates. The Chief Procurement Officer at the White House. The staff rebuilding Iraq that have lost $9 Billion Dollars. The current FEMA Staff that has lost $1 Billion dollars in the Gulf (this is after Brown). Most of the poor in the Gulf have not even started to rebuild. The rubble remains on the sites where there homes were before the storm. There has been NO decision as to rebuilding the levies to withstand a Cat 5 storm. How can you rebuild before we know if the levies are to be constructed to PROTECT the areas prone to flooding?

All of that is handled by the local government not the feds.
there is a board that has been receiving federal money for 30 years to fix or replace the levies where did that money go? The other two states seemed to be able to get the streets cleared and homes rebuilt. You are blaming the federal government for local screw-ups. Please understand this, I used to live in the area, most of the poor are renters not home owners so it would be easy to get the homes rebuilt if the landlords wanted them rebuilt. I am in the business of property management so this is a field I know about. When the hurricanes hit Florida I was managing 50 single family homes. I had the damaged ones up and repaired in under 30 days. I picked up business because of how well I work. If the landlord wants the house fixed it is not that hard. But the Florida government does not get in our way and slow things down like in Louisiana where you have to bribe everyone to do anything. Yes, it looks bad and people wonder why the feds are not more involved but they are restricted by law that says the Governor of the state has to approve their action. This was delayed for days when other Governors were acting in hours. Over a year has gone by and they are still arguing over who will manage the federal money already given them. In every other disaster FEMA has worked well but only in this one state we have a problem. It is all local politics holding up the works and using the feds as a whipping boy.

You can not protect areas prone to flooding. Do like all the other states and make those areas parks.

If we had not gone into Iraq, we could have properly dealt with the terrorists that caused 9/11.

I disagree.

Brown and his four principal subordinates. The Chief Procurement Officer at the White House. The staff rebuilding Iraq that have lost $9 Billion Dollars. The current FEMA Staff that has lost $1 Billion dollars in the Gulf (this is after Brown). The staff that can not account for 500,000 small arms we sent to Iraq. All are part of the Bush Administration. Then look at the Former Sec Def. He was a DISASTER! The Last Two Secretaries of the Treasury are nothing more then parrots of GWB and his bankrupt fiscal policy.

These people were corrupt? They are supposed to be parrots of the President. All of them are it is their job no matter who is in the White House. You do understand how the Executive branch is made up and how it functions right?

From the mushroom clouds to the cost and duration of the war EVERYTHING we were told was a lie. For the $50 Billion cost estimate to be correct, we would have had to end our occupation in about 6 months. We are spending over $100 billion per year to maintain 140,000 troops in Iraq. The people of Iraq DO NOT look at us as LIBERATORS but OCCUPIERS. ALL LIES.

It seems that you are not interested in answeing or debating. most of what you write here is untrue. Please provide proof of your claims or I will not waste my time with your statements. I have more than once refuted your above statements yet you have not countered them or even acknowledged them. Instead you just repeat what you said earlier. If I am wrong I want to know it but you have not even given a small amount of proof that your statements are correct or even honest.

Transcript for Sept. 14 Sunday, September 14, 2003 GUEST: Dick Cheney, vice president Tim Russert, moderator VICE PRES. DICK CHENEY: My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.

We were. There were 21k pictures of it happening. There is video of it happening. Yet you still refuse to admit it happened. This means you are not interested in the truth.

Back in 2002, the White House was quick to distance itself from Lindsey's view. Mitch Daniels, director of the White House budget office, quickly called the estimate "very, very high." Lindsey himself was dismissed in a shake-up of the White House economic team later that year, and in January 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the budget office had come up with "a number that's something under $50 billion." He and other officials expressed optimism that Iraq itself would help shoulder the cost once the world market was reopened to its rich supply of oil.

Yes, it was an estimate for fighting the war. First of all it was an estimate not an exact figure. Take your car into the shop and you get an estimate, it is not always what you will pay. Second the war in Iraq was over in less than a month. War and peacekeeping are not the same thing though they may look the same. What we are doing in Iraq is trying to provide security for the people as they form and act as a government. Like I said before we did not fully come together as a nation until after the Civil war. It takes time and you don't wish to see that.

You need to realize col that you cannot get your "facts" from the NYT and any other anti-Bush propaganda source.  There are thousands, and I mean thousands of pictures of Iraqis welcoming and thanking troop for liberating Iraq. 

Another liberal myth.......busted!

Holland has done just what you claim can not be done. The levy system in New Orleans is a Corps of Engineers responsibility.

Your statement about Afghanistan does not square with the facts on the ground. We diverted our resources to Iraq and now see Afghanistan becoming a problem.

I have posted stories you ignore. The cost estimates of the war and how Cheney said we would be received. The warnings of the Pope.

To have an estimate of 50 Billion that has turned into 500 Billion and heading to a Trillion says that the estimate was worthless!!!!!!

As I said, everything we were told about the Iraq war was not a little wrong it was totally WRONG. We have a President that insists he did the right thing when ALL the results say just the opposite. We are NOT safer. We have enabled a government in Iraq like the government in Iran. We have destabilized the area. We have enabled Foreign Terrorists to operate in Western Iraq where they did not operate before our invasion. The majority of the Iraqi people want us to leave. We have added millions of new enemies. There is no prospect to secure a stable Iraq that will improve our security. Most other countries do not support our Iraq War. Bush lives in a world he make up in his mind that has NOTHING to do with reality. He NEVER admits what he was wrong and refuses to alter his course when his plan fails. He is a stubborn arrogant and ill informed man that has not succeeded with almost anything in his life. In the past when he failed daddy and daddy’s friends bailed George out. This time our country will suffer from what he has done and it will take future Presidents and members of Congress to fix what GWB has done! The American People will be stuck with the bill and the disaster that the 43 rd president has left as his legacy!

What a Way To Win a WAR!

Pentagon: Iraq Attacks at Highest Level
December 18, 2006 5:18 PM EST

WASHINGTON - Attacks on U.S. and Iraqi troops and Iraqi civilians jumped sharply in recent months to the highest level since Iraq regained its sovereignty in June 2004, the Pentagon told Congress on Monday in the latest indication of that country's spiraling violence.

In a report issued the same day Robert Gates took over as defense secretary, the Pentagon said that from mid-August to mid-November, the weekly average number of attacks increased 22 percent from the previous three months. The worst violence was in Baghdad and in the western province of Anbar, long the focus of activity by Sunni insurgents.

At a ceremonial swearing-in attended by President Bush, Gates warned that failure in Iraq would be a "calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility and endanger Americans for decades to come." He said he intended to go to Iraq soon to get the "unvarnished" advice of U.S. commanders on how to stabilize the country.

A bar chart in the Pentagon's report to Congress gave no exact numbers but indicated the weekly average had approached 1,000 in the latest period, compared to about 800 per week from the May-to-August period. Statistics provided separately by the Pentagon said weekly attacks had averaged 959 in the latest period.

The report also said the Iraqi government's failure to end sectarian violence has eroded ordinary Iraqis' confidence in their future. That conclusion reflects some of the Bush administration's doubt about the ability of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to make the hard decisions U.S. officials insist are needed to quell the violence.

"The failure of the government to implement concrete actions in these areas has contributed to a situation in which, as of October 2006, there were more Iraqis who expressed a lack of confidence in their government's ability to improve the situation than there were in July 2006," it said, calling for urgent action in Baghdad.

Issued just hours after Gates took the oath of office to replace Donald H. Rumseld, and amid an effort by the Bush administration to find a new war strategy, the report made no mention of a timetable for ending U.S. military involvement.

Very well Gene. Plonk.

I have posted stories you ignore. The cost estimates of the war and how Cheney said we would be received. The warnings of the Pope.

No more than "you" do!