Today the Philadelphia Inquirer has a story by Tom Lasseter about the situation in Iraq which is more accurate and anything we are hearing from the Bush administration. The interview is with two 3rd infantry division snipers serving in Iraq. They described their day-to-day life in this struggle and have come to some very disturbing conclusions. The bottom line for these two sergeants who have served over 7 years each in the Army including multiple tours in Iraq are as follows: Qu...

The most basic concept embraced by the conservatives is REDUCED FEDERAL spending. When George Bush leaves office on January 20, 2009, he will leave behind a legacy that will prevent conservatives, for decades to come, from reaching their most basic goal i.e. reduced federal spending. The reason is quite simple. The national debt by the time he leaves office will be approaching $10 trillion dollars. That will be an increase of $4.3 trillion and will make him the president who add...

Some JoeUsers believe a 15% falt tax is the way to go. I still do not know how much such a tax would produce in Total Federal Revenue to see if that would balance the budget. However, this is what it would do to couples filing jointly and claiming the standard deduction in 2004 if they made $20,000 and $35,000 compared with the Bush/Cheney taxes: Income of $20,000 would pay $500 more Income of $35,000 would pay $700 more . Bush would pay $86,000 less. Cheney would pay $ ...

Reading many of the JoeUser posts one would think that ALL the poor are by CHOICE. It would be useful to look at the poor and determine the real reasons thay are poor not just- it is their choice or fault. The reasons would include: Lack of will Age mental or physical capacity Available jobs non-living wage jobs Natural disaster i.e. Katrina Looking at the reasons WHY would not produce the simple answer - It is the fault of the poor that they are poor. These storms have sh...

The highly publicized election in Afghanistan yesterday has documented the fatal flaw in the foreign policy George W. Bush is pursuing which is, the Spreading Democracy Theory. This is the holy Grail of foreign-policy which is supposed to make America safer and for which we are willing to sacrifice our young men and women. The problem with this idea is that in many areas of Afghanistan, the voters DID NOT KNOW any candidates running for office. At the polling places, voters talke...

Less then 24 hours after the fine speech of President Bush, we hear the same old BS. We must cut spending to pay for the largest reconstruction project in history! Even Republican conservatives in Congress are saying that is NOT POSSIBLE! What Bush is telling us is that he plans to add the cost from Katrina to the national debt and pass it on to our children to pay. Americans can not allow that to happen! Write Congress and say NO. Restore taxes to the pre 2001 rates except for the ...

George Bush gave one of the best speech's of his career last night. He and his speech writers deserve kudos. His address contained some very important statements to include: We have a duty to confront poverty with bold action. We must rise above the legacy of inequality. We will do what it takes. We cannot allow people to continue to live in poverty. To hear this from President Bush was a unique experience. He even included some specificity such as tax incentives an...

Sometime ago, Bush addressed a wealthy audience and put his finger on the problem with his policies. He said, some call you the haves and the wealthy, I call you MY BASE. That truth is what is wrong with the policies of George W. Bush and the other conservative Republicans who push them through the Congress. By definition, the truly wealthy in this country represent maybe 5% of the total population. If you include the upper end of the middle income Americans you might get to 10%. Th...

Now the Bush Administration is saying federal troops were NOT sent early in the week because the governor of Louisiana didn't ask for them until Wednesday after the storm. However, the governor in her first conversation with President Bush on Monday asked for All Available Federal Help. Since when is the active military not part of the Federal Government? The governor did not specifically list all the types of Federal Help including the active military when speaking with the president?...

Katrina is beginning to uncover some very nasty secrets in the Bush administration. It now turns out FIVE of the TOP FEMA officials got their jobs with virtually no experience in managing emergency situations. Director Brown, Chief of Staff Rhode, Deputy Chief Alshuler were tied to the Bush 2000 election campaign. Two other positions are filled by other political operatives - The Lt. Governor of Nebraska and an official in the US Chamber of Commerce. None of these top five appoin...

We need to STOP the Mayor of New Orleans from the forced evacuations. The pictures on the TV should NEVER take place in America. I believe the people that choose to remain in New Orleans have made an error. However, it should be their option, even if it means an end to their life! The Governor or the Courts should stop this NOW!

This disaster and its impact on New Orleans and the Gulf coast was not only predicted but there were detailed plans prepared showing what needed to be done to strengthen the levees around New Orleans and the coastline along the Mississippi river. These studies and simulations were prepared in 2001 and 2002 for the Bush administration. They were almost 100% accurate as to the consequences of failing to rebuild this infrastructure in the largest port in the United States. George W. Bus...

The disaster created by Katrina should be the focal point for President Bush to acknowledge the federal tax revenue is insufficient to meet the overwhelming needs in the United States. The devastation created by this storm will surpass any natural disaster in our history. It has destroyed over 90,000 mi.² and displaced more than 1.5 million Americans. The resources that will be necessary to rebuild this region as well as the ongoing needs of the 1.5 million people who have no job...

Today the Washington Post reported Bush Froze the Army Corps of Engineers funding to improve the levees holding back Lake Pontcartrain. Bush has under cut the funding since Sept 2001. Budget cuts last summer stopped work on the New Orleans east bank for the first time in 37 years. Every day more failures come to the surface about GWB!

The Iraqi Assembly has failed to agree on their proposed constitution. They used a technical sleight-of-hand to provide the assembly with incomplete draft constitution with 20 items that have not been resolved. At least three of these issues are MAJOR sticking points. If the Iraqi Assembly fails to either adopt a constitution or if they adopt a constitution that is not ratified in October, Bush has a MAJOR PROBLEM. Should Iraq fail to adopt a constitution in October 2005, it wi...