Our George neglected the warnings in 2001 from his experienced anti-terrorism advisor, Richard Clarke, from President Clinton, from the Hart-Rudman Commission’s Roadmap for National Security, from the Gore Commission on Aviation Safety & Security, from the CIA, from Jordan Intelligence, from Israeli Intelligence, from Russian Intelligence, from Morrocan Intelligence, and from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, all regarding an imminent Al-Qaeda attack. (Google: "Bush +ignored +warnings")
"HE HAS CALLED TOGETHER LEGISLATIVE BODIES AT PLACES UNUSUAL, UNCOMFORTABLE, AND DISTANT FROM THE DEPOSITORY OF THEIR PUBLIC RECORDS, FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF FATIGUING THEM INTO COMPLIANCE WITH HIS MEASURES."
Our George began making phone calls to Congressmen from Air Force One at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, November 22, 2003, when his Medicare Prescription Drug Bill was rejected in a roll call vote by a margin of 218-216. Though such roll call votes are only supposed to stay open for 15 minutes, Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay refused to close the voting, stretching it to 2 hours and 51 minutes. That’s when the Bush phone calls, the Karl Rove phone calls, and the in-person pressure from Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson finally resulted in the vote Bush wanted, just before 6:00 a.m. with just two votes to spare. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts said, "I don’t mean to be alarmist, but this is the end of parliamentary democracy as we know it." (Google: "Medicare +vote +November 2003")
"HE HAS ERECTED A MULTITUDE OF NEW OFFICES, AND SENT HITHER SWARMS OF OFFICERS TO HARRASS OUR PEOPLE, AND EAT OUT THEIR SUBSTANCE."
Our George, before a Joint Session of Congress and the American People on September 20, 2001, announced, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." On October 25, 2001, with no time for the bill to be properly studied, the U.S. Patriot Act was passed. Aside from the abuses that have become obvious in the news of late, the Patriot Act has allowed the government to demand lists of individuals’ reading materials from librarians and booksellers, while forbidding them from uttering a word about such requisitions to anyone. Our ability to be informed, which is the substance of a democracy, is being eaten away. (Goggle: "Bush +Patriot +books")
"HE HAS AFFECTED TO RENDER THE MILITARY INDEPENDENT OF AND SUPERIOR TO THE CIVIL POWER."
and,
"HE IS AT THIS TIME TRANSPORTING LARGE ARMIES OF FOREIGN MERCENARIES TO COMPLEAT THE WORKS OF DEATH, DESOLATION AND TYRANNY, ALREADY BEGUN WITH CIRCUMSTANCES OF CRUELTY AND PERFIDY SCARECELY PARALLELED IN THE MOST BARBAROUS AGES, AND TOTALLY UNWORTHY OF THE HEAD OF A CIVILIZED NATION."
Our George has contracted dozens of private security firms, manned by highly-paid former U.S. military (such as Special Forces, Seals, etc.), foreign mercenaries and Iraqis to carry out military work in Iraq. This would have stayed more secretive had not pictures been taken at Abu Ghraib, where "Military Intelligence" ordered actual U.S. military to soften up prisoners. Hired as interrogators, these employees of Titan and CACI International, Inc., as well as others, have been paid to pursue top secret information, while they have no more loyalty to the U.S. than their next employer. (Google: "Iraq +private security")
Our George created the Coalition Provisional Authority, which has granted immunity to Private Security Contractors (not normally resident in Iraq) from Iraqi legal process. Such contractors are also not subject to U.S. military law; though the U.S. Department of Defense hires the contractors, maintaining discipline of contractor employees is the responsibility of the contractor’s management structure, not the military chain of command.
Our George had L. Paul Bremer, Pro Consul of the Coalition Provisional Authority sign several edicts on Saturday June 26, 2004, two days before leaving Iraq, which enforce future control by the United States. The edicts specifically include ongoing immunity for U.S. contractors. "If they know they have full immunity, they will do anything they want because they know no one can do anything about it," stated Interim Iraqi Minister of State Mahmud Farhad Othman. (Google: "Iraq +contractors +immunity")
Concluding his list, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "A PRINCE WHOSE CHARACTER IS THUS MARKED BY EVERY ACT WHICH MAY DEFINE A TYRANT, IS UNFIT TO BE THE RULER OF A FREE PEOPLE." (Google: "Declaration of Independence")
Happy Fourth of July. Let us make sure our leader is upholding our highest ideals for our democracy, that we pay attention.
July 4, 2004
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KNOW BUSH FACT #31
While the Bush Administration is discussing the possible postponement of the November election, and a newly revealed May 2001 memo shows Rep. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay requested $100,000 from Ken Lay at Enron to push redistricting Texas, and BBC journalist Greg Palast finally is testifying before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission regarding his investigation into the 57,000 voters purged in Florida in 2000 – it is timely to share another 2000 moment.
On November 21, 2000, when the Florida Supreme Court ruled against the Bush demand that the recount be stopped, and then required the three counties to send in the amended results by Saturday November 26th at 5:00 p.m., Bush was ready.
Because on November 18, the Bush/Cheney campaign had put the word out: "We now need to send reinforcements... The campaign will pay airfare and hotel expenses for people willing to go." But if that failed, there was a backup plan. Reinforcements were hired.
The Capitol Hill office House Majority Whip (then) Tom DeLay (R-TX) organized the recruitment of over 200 Republican Congressional staffers, who were put on the Bush Cheney campaign payroll and flown to Florida in a fleet of corporate jets, including planes owned by Enron and Halliburton.
So, on Wednesday morning, November 22, on the 18th floor of the Stephen P. Clark Government Center for Miami-Dade County, as the 3-person Board of Canvassers met to begin the recount – a crowd of those "reinforcements," in the guise of irate locals, was growing outside the room. With the tension rising, and limited time, the Board announced that they and the official observers would be retreating to a smaller office on the 19th floor, where they would examine and count the 10,750 disputed ballots, away from the general public.
The Republicans seized the moment.
U.S. Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY) called out, "Shut it down!" and the hired mob went mad. They charged up to the 19th floor, raising a ruckus – pushing, banging on walls and doors, chanting, "Stop the count, stop the fraud!" – and preventing official observers and journalists from entering the office (from Paul Gigot, reporting in the Nov. 24 Wall Street Journal).
