Worth Reading:
House
of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two
Most Powerful Dynasties, by Craig Unger
Worse
Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush, by John W. Dean
- He ought to know. That's the Nixon Administration's own John Dean.
:::
Not So Fast...
“This resolution [see below] is more about what the Republican leadership wants
us to forget about the past year... the
costs, the bloated contracts, the lies, no weapons, no ties to Al-Qaida, the
flawed intelligence, the wounded and the dead.”
- Rep. James McGovern (D-MA)
It was supposed to be a simple little pat on the back, an “attaboy” for the
troops; and OK, a bit of “we did the right thing” chest-thumping for the GOP
and the White House Gang. It turned into hours of partisan brawling on the
House floor.
For their part, the Republicans couldn't “understand why there is any controversy.”
[Rep. David Dreier (R-CA)].It didn't help that
Republicans wrote the bill without the involvement of a single Democrat...
All this on the first anniversary of the assault on Baghdad.
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 557
Relating to the liberation of the Iraqi people and the valiant service of the United States Armed Forces and Coalition forces.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 11, 2004
Mr. HYDE (for himself, Mr. DELAY, Mr. BLUNT, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. GOSS, and Mr. HUNTER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
RESOLUTION
Relating to the liberation of the Iraqi people and the valiant service of the United States Armed Forces and Coalition forces.
Whereas Saddam Hussein and his regime committed crimes against humanity, systematically violating the human rights of Iraqis and citizens of other countries;
Whereas Saddam Hussein's terror regime subjected the Iraqi people to murder, torture, rape, and amputation;
Whereas on March 16, 1988, Saddam Hussein's regime had and unleashed weapons of mass destruction against Kurdish citizens, killing nearly 5,000 of them;
Whereas as many as 270 mass grave sites, containing the remains of as many as 400,000 victims of Saddam Hussein's regime, have been found in Iraq;
Whereas rape was used to intimidate the Iraqi population, with victims often raped in front of their families;
Whereas the regime punished the Marsh Arabs by draining the marshlands, which created hundreds of thousands of refugees and caused an ecological catastrophe;
Whereas the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-338), passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 360 to 38, made it United States policy to support efforts to remove from power the regime headed by Saddam Hussein;
Whereas with the Iraqi regime failing to comply with 16 previously adopted United Nations Security Council resolutions, the Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 1441 on November 8, 2002, declaring that Iraq `has been and remains in material breach of its obligations under relevant resolutions, including resolution 687 (1991), in particular through Iraq's failure to cooperate with United Nations inspectors'; and
Whereas on October 10, 2002, the House of Representatives passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243) and on March 19, 2003, the United States initiated military operations in Iraq: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
Funny Things in Store Windows
Honest, officer – it's just incense you smell on my clothes!
Fallout from the Janet Jackson incident continues
as retailers across the country undress their mannequins in tribute
:::
It Snowed Yesterday.
They said it would be gone by today. They were wrong. Snow can be quite pretty
when it falls, or it can be miserable.
:::
I made a quick visit to Warren's apartment in Queens on Saturday. He said
“you have to see Chloe (the cat) play – it's like she's in The
Matrix.” On
the way there, we saw a guy dressed up like a warped version of Lady
Liberty. I was
trying to get some reaction shots from the passing crowd. One of those almost
worked, but the focus wasn't right. When he realized I was taking his picture,
he grinned.That one was a keeper. When we got to Warren's apartment, Chloe
walked on walls for me.
What if Lady Liberty was really an Arab man?
Chloe does The Matrix
:::
The Vespa scooter was parked on Atlantic Avenue. A broken tail light, bent
metal in a few places, spots of rust and worn rubber all indicated that it
has seen a lot of action, and it still seems up to the task of basic transportation.
The styling and the wear and tear made it an interesting photographic subject.
I started circling the vehicle with my camera, taking pictures as interesting
perspectives revealed themselves.
A guy in one of the stores saw me taking pictures, and walked out to me, wanting to know how
much I was selling it for. I said “it's not mine,” and he seemed to understand,
explaining that a lot of times people photograph their possessions when they
want to sell them. I agreed that made sense, then he asked me again if I was
selling it. If I'd been a con man, I could have made some money that afternoon.
I don't know the details, but Assemblyman Roger Green pled guilty to charges
recently. [Thanks for the correction, John.] I didn't read the article plastered to the light pole, so I don't know the specifics. Somebody
in the neighborhood clearly wanted us all to know about it. Letitia James had campaigned from
Roger Green's office space on
Fulton
Avenue.
A couple
of
blocks from where this article was plastered, someone had written “Letitia
James takes checks –” suggesting that James is part of Green's corrupt political
machine.
:::
At a Gallery Opening in Brooklyn
Fellow lensman Mark Blackshear says “Where do I know you from?”
Patrons have many styles
Art?! There are more important things in his world.
