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*Bush to Blair: Go Pound SaltNo, that is not exactly what he said. He was presidential."I really don't view our relationship as one of quid pro quo," Bush told Britain's ITV1 television in an interview. "Tony Blair made decisions on what he thought was best for keeping the peace and winning the war on terror, as I did."The prime minister will try to put the best face on it but it must hurt.The Washington Post 7/5/05

*Another July 4thDon't hear the sound of fire crackers....yet but it will begin soon.Just got back from a long hike and a picnic in the foothills. Thought I'd share the e-mail that I received today from friends traveling through N.Dakota:"Hope you are doing something you enjoy, being with someone you love, eating something you "love" and are content with life in general.We will use this as a travel day, but not far. About 145 miles South to Menoken, which is close to Bismarck. We will miss these beautiful rolling hills, wonderful roads almost empty of traffic and volatile weather. A young waiter we talked to in St Cloud, MN told us he was going to move to Seattle next year to finish school. Elizabeth told me she bet he would be sorry he made that move. "How could one go from having skies of blue, clouds of white, gray, black, rain and hot weather, all in the space of a few hours to mostly gray skies day in and day out?" She has a point. We never know what the weather will do here, except that it WILL have lots of thunder storms, but it is fun to watch the sky change and not know for sure if the storm will pass by on the North or South, if the wind will get fierce or not, or if it will get you wet or not. Sure is interesting.Also interesting is that we 'Amuricuns' celebrate our independence and defend it so vigorously and yet we seem to have a reluctance to let other countries do the same. Hmm. Must be something wrong with this picture.Elizabeth told me that something she read yesterday, "Historically,when the needs and desires of a smaller group-any group-are different from the needs of the majority, our individual and collective fears are often times projected on those in the minority." This could true of a nation, a City, even a family. Wonder what fears we are projecting on whom today?Enjoy your independence. Think about allowing others to enjoy theirs. Be all you can be; but don't join the army."That says it all. Stay well, my visitors in cyber space.Let's not forget Bruce Catton (1899-1978) Death of the eminent Civil War historian Shelby Foote has received a lot of coverage in the media. He deserved it.It was Ken Burns' documentary about the Civil War that made Mr. Foote familiar to a broad segment of the American public. There are more people who watch TV than there are readers who have interest in books about the Civil War. I remember the pleasure I experienced pulling out the volumes of Mr. Foote's three volume set and following the series on the local PBS station. Ken Burns and Shelby Foote produced masterpieces for generations.Reading about Shelby Foote reminded me of the late Bruce Catton, another great chronicler of that important part of our nation's history. His name is not well known except among Civil War history buffs. In 1954 he was awarded the Pulitzer for "A Stillness at Appomattox". Superb piece of writing.It was at Appomattox that General Lee surrendered to General Grant. That meant the end of the Confederate army although the war didn't officially end until May 26, 1865, when General Kirby Smith surrendered Confederate forces west of the Mississippi. "From U.S. Grant To R.E. LeeAppomattox Court-House, Virginia April 9, 1865.General:In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th instant, I propose to receive the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate, one copy to be given to an officer to be designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the government of the United States until properly exchanged; and each company or regimental commander to sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery, and public property to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers nor their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside."U.S. Grant, Lieutenant-General""From R.E. Lee To U.S. GrantHead-Quarters, Army of Northern Virginia April 9, 1865.General:I received your letter of this date containing the terms of the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia, as proposed by you. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th instant, they are accepted. I will proceed to designate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect.R. E. Lee, General"Source: Harvard Classics series, 1909.Note: This post edited and corrected on July 10,2005.

George W. Bush at Al Smith Dinner, Waldorf-Astoria,10/19/2000"This is an impressive crowd. The haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base."The Sad and Unpleasant TruthTo whom the country really belongs? Primarily to the lobbyists of "K" Street, Washington,DC (also known as Gucci Gulch) and the organizations that pay their salaries. Now that it has become fashionable to use the name of God and wear lapel pins displaying Old Glory, perhaps they have switched from Guccis to union made footwear. I would not be too sure about that.They are the movers and shakers who represent special interest groups. We didn't elect them but they have a say in every legislation that is enacted. And they block many from being enacted. Most of the elected representatives are under their insidious influence. The masters of the lobbyists fund their campaigns; lavishly entertains them; provide tickets to events. Golfing in Scotland is certainly more pleasant than sweating over the nation's problems, especially when a friendly lobbyist picks up the tab.Like Goethe's Faust, the legislators have sold themselves and, as part of the bargain, sold you and me down the river. The Washington Post published a report by Jeffrey Birnbaum on June 22nd titled The Road to Riches is called K Street."The lobbying boom has been caused by three factors, experts say: rapid growth in government, Republican control of both the White House and Congress, and wide acceptance among corporations that they need to hire professional lobbyists to secure their share of federal benefits."Tax Shelters to Make the Rich RicherThere are many books and articles that cover this subject. The Pulitzer prize winning journalist Hedrick Smith produced an excellent documentary "Tax Me, If you Can" which was aired on Frontline (PBS) Feb.19, 2004. It is still available for watching online. If you don't have the time, I recommend The Washington Post's transcript of Mr. Smith's appearance at a question and answer session about the documentary. "The tax shelter was one of corporate America?s biggest hidden profit centers in recent years. Shelters have become so lucrative that some experts estimate as much as $50 billion is lost to the U.S. Treasury each year. And ordinary taxpayers wind up footing the bill. Frontline correspondent Hedrick Smith provides an inside look at how big corporations and wealthy individuals cut their taxes with intricate, hidden, and abusive tax shelters and investigates the role of blue chip accounting firms in these secret deals." ...

*Justice Sandra Day O'Connor decided to hang up her hatThis came as somewhat of a surprise. The age and state of health of Chief Justice Rehnquist made people believe that he would be the first to leave the Court. But Justice O'Connor beat him to the punch. The announcement from the Chief Justice cannot be too far off.Now that Justice O'Connor has announced her retirement, the Bush administration must be delighted. This is what the conservatives were waiting for--the opportunity to fill two vacancies in the Court and make sure that the fine balance becomes a thing of the past.

*The Outing of Valerie Plame - Perhaps the Guilty Party/Parties are too High to TackleNovak: 'I will reveal all'When I read the headline I thought "well, finally, Robert Novak has decided to come clean". Nope. The headline was deceptive--like some of the ads by car dealers. Novak continues to stonewall. The mystery about the special prosecutor remains alive. Why is Novak being treated with kid gloves?Judith Miller of The NY TimesTimesonline.UK reports that Judith Miller of The NY Times is facing time in prison because of her refusal to divulge sources who provided material for reports about Valerie Plame."Ms Miller insisted that she was ready to go to prison. She said: “Journalists simply cannot do their jobs without being able to commit to sources that they won’t be identified.”On the face of it, Ms. Miller's willingness to defend the Fourth Amendment appears praiseworthy. Ms. Miller's background, however, makes me question her position. This reporter, with access to Ahmed Chalabi during his stay in the US, authored many reports about Iraq's WMD program. Although they later turned out to be without any basis, the reports helped to spread fear about the non-existent weapons and garnered support for the unjustified war against Iraq. Whether she was a dupe or willing partner of Chalabi is not known.Chalabi and his group received a lot of money from our government. He was later appointed Oil Minister in the new Iraqi government!Governor Bush persecuting Michael SchiavoDead, autopsied, buried but the holy rollers won't let her rest. Governor Jeb Bush asked the state attorney of Pinellas-Pasco County to dig into records about Michael Schiavo's call to 911 after Terri Schiavo collapsed on Feb.25, 1990.The fact that the details have been looked at, checked, double-checked, analyzed under a microscope means nothing to the governor. With an eye on the White House, he is out to earn brownie points from his conservative supporters. Jeb Bush believes he can get some traction out of it. A recent poll showed that a large majority of Florida residents were against the governor's action.It might backfire as it did on Senator Frist and Congressman DeLay who had postured in front of cameras about the late Ms. Schiavo's condition--that she was alive and aware when there was conclusive medical evidence to the contrary. Once the contents of the autopsy report became public, President Bush made a strategic retreat; there was no more political capital to made from the hapless woman. Apparently, his valiant brother does not agree.Selling of American workers' rightsThe Administration that says one thing and does another - U.S. Blocked Release of CAFTA Reports by Larry Margasak, Associated Press Writer"In practice, labor laws on the books in Central America are not sufficient to deter employers from violations, as actual sanctions for violations of the law are weak or nonexistent," the contractor, the International Labor Rights Fund, wrote in one of the reports.Corrected July 14,2005

*Potential Nominees Jan Crawford Greenberg's article in The Chicago Tribune summarizes what we could expect. If Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez is not considered suitable by the conservatives, imagine what could be coming down the pike.It will be interesting to see whether the opposition would be able to muster enough support to have a voice in the confirmation proceedings . A Bouquet for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor - A Sane Voice"At a time when we see around the world the violent consequences of the assumption of religious authority by government, Americans may count themselves fortunate: Our regard for constitutional boundaries has protected us from similar travails, while allowing private religious exercise to flourish. … Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must therefore answer a difficult question: Why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly."Thus wrote Justice O'Connor on 6/27/05 in her opinion about the display of Ten Commandments.I do not expect the zealots,who want to ram their beliefs down our throats,to pause even for a moment to think about the opinion expressed by Justice O'Connor. They wish her gone from the Court; sooner the better.In the private property seizure (so called "eminent domain") case, Justice O'Connor was on the losing side of the 5-4 decision."She argued that cities should not have unlimited authority to uproot families, even if they are provided compensation, simply to accommodate wealthy developers." (AP, 6/23/05)I am with those who feel that this ruling would open a floodgate for unscrupulous municipal officials and greedy developers (there is no other kind).For Justice O'Connor, applause and a bouquet.

*Exploitation of a national tragedyIf you sat through the president's speech last evening, my question is did you hear anything new?I did not. However, during approximately 25 minutes, the president mentioned 9/11 five times!We know now: There were no Iraqis among the terrorists who carried out the attacks Saddam Hussein had no link with the plotters (al Qaeda) Iraq was not a hot bed of terrorists before we began the war. It certainly has become one. For the Bush administration, 9/11 is like a cash cow that keeps on giving. Mention of 9/11 is a proven aid in getting support. It touches a chord. It will be milked for ever and ever.The New York Times - excerpt from editorial 6/29/05:"We did not expect Mr. Bush would apologize for the misinformation that helped lead us into this war, or for the catastrophic mistakes his team made in running the military operation. But we had hoped he would resist the temptation to raise the bloody flag of 9/11 over and over again to justify a war in a country that had nothing whatsoever to do with the terrorist attacks. We had hoped that he would seize the moment to tell the nation how he will define victory, and to give Americans a specific sense of how he intends to reach that goal - beyond repeating the same wishful scenario that he has been describing since the invasion."To find out about the background of president's plans for war, read the Downing Street Memo(s).

*Robert Novak remains free of prosecution!The Associated Press report dated June 28th summarizes the mysterious case about former CIA officer Valerie Plame. Two journalists facing possible jail time for being "in contempt of court". They are refusing to divulge their source(s). But the burning question is why Robert Novak, who originally disclosed that Valerie Plame was a CIA operative, remains beyond the special prosecutor's reach. Perhaps we shall never know."Plame's name was first made public in 2003 by columnist Robert Novak, who cited unidentified senior Bush administration officials for the information. There has been no public explanation for why prosecutors are not pursuing Novak."

* Yes. The partially nude statues of "Spirit of Justice" (known as Minnie Lou) and the "Majesty of Justice", at the Department of Justice, which former Attorney General Ashcroft had ordered covered with drapes at a cost of $8,000.00, are again visible to the public. Minnie Lou's boob is now exposed as it was for decades before it offended the delicate sensibilities of the former attorney general.According to BBC, "...... the decision to remove the curtains which covered the two statues was taken by an assistant attorney general, and not Mr Gonzales himself, the spokesman added. Mr Gonzales "agreed with the recommendation", Kevin Madden said. ...

Six more American soldiers died in Falluja,Iraq, June 24, 2005Banner behind President Bush, USS LincolnMay 2, 2003From transcript of "Meet the Press with Tim Russert" Feb.8, 2004"I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policymatters with war on my mind. Again, I wish it wasn't true, but it is true. ..."Vice President Cheney on Larry King (CNN) May 30, 2005:"The level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."Excerpts from Thursday's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Iraq war: Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.: "General Abizaid, can you give us your assessment of the strength of the insurgency? Is it less strong, more strong, about the same strength as it was six months ago?" Gen. John Abizaid, top U.S. commander in the Persian Gulf: "In terms of comparison from six months ago, in terms of foreign fighters, I believe there are more foreign fighters coming into Iraq than there were six months ago. "In terms of the overall strength of the insurgency, I'd say it's about the same as it was." Levin: "So you wouldn't agree with the statement that it's in its last throes?" Abizaid: "I don't know that I would make any comment about that other than to say there's a lot of work to be done against the insurgency." Levin: "Well, the vice president has said it's in its last throes, that's the statement the vice president _ it doesn't sound to me from your testimony or any other testimony here this morning that it is in its last throes." Abizaid: "I'm sure you'll forgive me from criticizing the vice president." Levin: "I just want an honest assessment from you as to whether you agree with a particular statement of his _ it's not personal. ... Abizaid: "I gave you my opinion of where we are." The President will speak to the American people on Tuesday, June 28th, at 8 PM. He will again emphasize that we are on right track and the need to stay there. There is no question that getting out of the mess in Iraq is not a simple matter of withdrawing our troops. But what the president will not touch upon is how we got there---the deceptions, the half truths, and the fact that plans were made to attack Iraq long before a cooked up scenario was presented to the nation.The now famous Downing Street Memo published by the London Times on May 1, 2005, fully disclosed the secret plans for war that were made as early as July 2002.Where is our money going?There is a deep sinkhole in Iraq for our tax dollars. Newsweek (April 4th issue) covers the subject in detail in an article titled "Follow the Money". Corruption is rampant; our money is lining up pockets of unethical officials and contractors.