This election is going to be decided primarily on the war in Iraq. It seems most Americans are either fed up, angry, or just want the whole mess to go away. It won't go away, it is a mess and all the Republican pundits in the world aren't going to sell this endless civil war. The President, Vice-President, Republican candidates, Congress people, Senators can't sell the endless dead and wounded. They can't even sell it to the military and then they call the soldiers phony. The response to Rush has come from the field

Apparently anyone in the military is above criticism as long as they agree with Rush's brave belief that we should be in Iraq "as long as it takes." And I use the term 'we' loosely, as I believe the closest Rush has ever gotten to combat was watching We Were Soldiers with surround sound.

Please link to this blog because the pictures and captions are very good. What is not being taken into account in this war is the military viewpoint. There are a number of retired generals who have spoken out, many who lead our troops in Iraq. There are large numbers of soldiers serving in Iraq who are speaking out. These are brave, honorable soldiers serving their country, doing the best they can, being labeled as phony. Don't take my word for it, but take theirs.

Enough is enough. Those who want our youth to fight their war should not be labeling those they send as phony (especially when they got a deferment for ingrown hair-really that's what Rush did). We can and must get out of Iraq even if it takes a year. Start somewhere.

The latest numbers on Iraq will give even a hardened economic analyst like Alan Greenspan a panic attack.

The war is costing $720 million a day or $500,000a minute, according to the group's analysis of the work of Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard public finance lecturer Linda J. Bilmes. The estimates made by the group, which opposes the conflict, include not only the immediate costs of war but also ongoing factors such as long-term health care for veterans, interest on debt and replacement of military hardware.

This is known as full-cost accounting which is what the IRS does when it says it costs 40 cents a mile to operate a typical car. This is what it is costing to run this war all piled on an already bloated national deficit that is becoming untenable. Like a sub-prime mortgage gone bust, we can't even afford the interest on the national debt. This war, which the leading Republican candidates fully support as a permanent war, coupled with Bush's fiscal insanity, has rendered our country the debtor nation of all time. We're in hock up to and including the White House.

This war, which is decimating the military, leaving tens of thousands of our youth crippled for life has already cost almost a trillion dollars. $720 million a day. What could we be doing?

The money spent on one day of the Iraq war could buy homes for almost 6,500 families or health care for 423,529 children, or could outfit 1.27 million homes with renewable electricity

That's just a start. It's a question of priorities and what safety really means. Ask yourself: would we be safer if we had not invaded and occupied Iraq for the past 4.5 years? If we had supported the UN instead of going it alone and invaded would we be spending our treasure and youth today? Perhaps O.J., Britney, and the other celeb trash would be alone in the headlines and we could be building a better country.

The Orwellian period is in full swing. Our wonderful, all exalted big brother is now taking into account not only where we travel but what we read or even what letters we write to the local newspaper and I presume what we write on blogs (some people's files must be getting thick):

The U.S. government is collecting electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly, drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry during their journeys, and even the books that travelers have carried, according to documents obtained by a group of civil liberties advocates and statements by government officials. The personal travel records are meant to be stored for as long as 15 years, as part of the Department of Homeland Security's effort to assess the security threat posed by all travelers entering the country.

And it's all innocent, they're just trying to protect us, to make us safe from all those terrorists. It wouldn't be to intimidate Americans would it? It wouldn't be part of stifling of dissent would it? It would never result in a firefighter being questioned for letters he sent to his local paper would it?

Zakariya Reed, a Toledo firefighter, said in an interview that he has been detained at least seven times at the Michigan border since fall 2006. Twice, he said, he was questioned by border officials about "politically charged" opinion pieces he had published in his local newspaper. The essays were critical of U.S. policy in the Middle East, he said. Once, during a secondary interview, he said, "they had them printed out on the table in front of me."

And some of you are thinking that with that first name he should probably be deported. Sick. Why does it take until a family member gets 'interviewed' or arrested that we get how far the current Republicans will go to keep power. That's what this is all about. Staying in power by scaring us. This cancer of consolidating power by fiat in the executive branch is what is scaring. I'm a Democrat and I don't want any President, D or R, to continue down the road to total power. The abuse of power must be stopped before it gets much worse.

Yes, and Nelson Mandela is dead don't you know, and there must be some WMD oil around here somewhere. I hope President George Bush campaigns with every Republican in the land (who will have him). If you want a real tell on how far the Republican party has fallen watch how far the Presidential and Congressional candidates run from Bush. They may want him for their $2,000/plate chicken dinners because the rich have made out like bandits (literally) under this president. As he once said, he's their president.

He just isn't ours. The president of the war that never needed to happen, the economy that is a house of debt cards, the balloning national debt, the shame of Katrina, the cronyism, the no-bid contracts, the million dollar screws (literally), the most vacations ever, and the worst health care. Yes, please campaign with Rudy, Fred, Newt, and Tom, Dick and Mitt. Go for it or as you would say, bring it on.

The fact that 25% of the voters will continue following him over one cliff after the other does not mean the rest of America has lost its mind. Of course, given the Democrats have been unable to get even the Webb amendment thru the Senate, they may well need 60 seats to end the war.

Please Mr. President, campign often, campaign in every state and let's see how it goes. Maybe you could get bin Laden to campaign with you. At least then you could say you found him.

Despite the best efforts of the Bush administration, assorted pundits bloggers and the traditional media (including the NY Times and Washington Post), Americans have had it with this war and think the Dems in Congress have not done enough to end the war. According to a new Pew Research Center poll:

Check out the independent numbers. They are not moving President Bush's way. The only ones who feel good about the song and dance in Washington recently were Republicans (their numbers feeling the war was getting better went up a little).

President Bush and General Petraeus convinced no one else. The American people are speaking but are the leaders really listening. What a sad state that not even a few Republicans would support a Dem troop rotation that would give them as much time at home as in Iraq. It's not enough the war goes on, the elected Republicans are fine with the suffering on top of it.

Enough is enough.

Once again, the Uniters, those comic book hero characters in their own minds, have done it again. They've united the generals against a war with Iran. It seems fairly common now that a general retires and soon after starts speaking out against the Iraq debacle or the pending Iran fiasco. This time it's Gen. John Abizaid who most recently was the Army general who headed Central Command for nearly four years. He said:

The Iranians are aware, he said, that the United States has a far superior military capability. "I believe that we have the power to deter Iran, should it become nuclear," he said, referring to the theory that Iran would not risk a catastrophic retaliatory strike by using a nuclear weapon against the United States. "There are ways to live with a nuclear Iran," Abizaid said in remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank. "Let's face it, we lived with a nuclear Soviet Union, we've lived with a nuclear China, and we're living with (other) nuclear powers as well."

He went on to say there is basis for hope in dealing diplomatically with Iran and that Iran recognizes that it cannot compete with the US's arsenal. He took a shot at the White House and reminded his audience that war is only a very last resort. Even while Cheney is trying to goad the Iranians into war, it's becoming clear there is little stomach for yet another war at the Pentagon. There will always be those who fear any other nation who might, possibly, some day in the future, threaten our vaunted superiority but it isn't Iran. Their attempt to build a bomb may well be a self defense mechanism. Our nation has been undercut but not by them or North Korea but by the Uniters.

Our military is hurt and way overextended. They squandered every resource and world opinion is we are allowing ourselves to be led by incompetents. The definition of kakistocracy is : Government by the least able and most unprincipled. That's what we have all right. Thank you General for joining many recent retired military in speaking the truth.

In case you haven't heard, President Bush announced the nomination of federal judge Michael Mukasey as his next (and hopefully last) attorney general.

Mukasey was appointed by Ronald Reagan, has a rep as a law and order guy and yet the Dems will probably not oppose him. Why? Because they likely suggested him among others to the White House as being acceptable. Highly unlikely the WH is looking for yet another fight with the Senate and looked for a compromise candidate.

How could Mukasey, a strict law and order guy, a right winger in most things, be a compromise candidate? Well, as a judge in the Jose Padilla case he stood up to the Bush's then AG (that would be Alberto Gonzales) and told them they needed to follow the law in prosecuting people. He was apparently suggested by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and since Schumer would be a key senator in the confirmation process, that is the telling clue.

The fact the WH is avoiding a fight over this nomination is telling as well. They really don't have the forces to take on a unified Dem team but fortunately for them, they don't have to. The national Dems keep backing away from the big fights: defunding the war and/or impeachment because they don't have the votes in the Senate. Maybe they're right but some people think they should try. There's still 16 months of this Administration and so far they have reduced America to being something less than a super power, ravaged the military, the treasury, and can't even clean up after a hurricane. They're so incompetent it boggles the mind but at least they've stopped fighting over the AG. Let's hope this one can restore some professionalism at the Justice Department. It's long overdue.

Last night Fox had to say something nice about Al Gore. Why? Because the Emmys were on Fox and he won for his work to merge internet and TV called Current TV. Gore was also nominated for and won the Spanish Nobel Prize, sometimes viewed as the precursor to the Nobel Prize. Another busy week for someone who is not campaigning for President.

Oh yes. He has stated many times (in response to thousands of questions) that he has no current intention to run. He has also said the candidates are not emphasizing the importance of a real campaign to adapt/adjust/slow down the effects of global warming, and he may have to 'reconsider'. Al Gore has certainly done more than anyone else to throw a spotlight on the scientific facts. It's important to stick to the science and the facts when passing judgment and setting policy. Yes, there's some heavy lifting required in that link but that's why it's important to follow the science. Will Al Gore run? I don't know but using his own reasoning, he should. The President of the United States can make a huge difference in addressing the future. That's what's at stake.

What else happened at the Emmy's. Nothing except censorship. Apparently Sally Field said something like (paraphrase)

"If mothers ran the world, there'd be no damn wars!"

It underscores a real and present danger. Media in this country routinely censors itself in any number of ways. Withholding stories (including the supposed liberal NY Times and WaPo) misquoting sources, using anonymous sources to support administration positions and more. It's why more and more people turn to blogs to find information.

Wow. Alan Greenspan's memoir is being previewed and George W. does not come out well. Remember, Greenspan is a life long Republican and a revered voice in financial circles. He was optimistic when his friends were elected.

When Bush and Cheney won the 2000 election, Greenspan writes, "I thought we had a golden opportunity to advance the ideals of effective, fiscally conservative government and free markets. . . . I was soon to see my old friends veer off to unexpected directions."

Here's what he's saying now about the Bush administration:

"Little value was placed on rigorous economic policy debate or the weighing of long-term consequences." The large, anticipated federal budget surpluses that were the basis for Bush's initial $1.35 trillion tax cut "were gone six to nine months after George W. Bush took office." So Bush's goals "were no longer entirely appropriate. He continued to pursue his presidential campaign promises nonetheless."

Smack down and he's only getting warmed up. Tell us how you really feel Alan.

By the end of last year, Greenspan writes with some bitterness, Washington was "harboring a dysfunctional government. ... Governance has become dangerously dysfunctional."

This from Alan Greenspan, never considered a radical. He worked with whoever was in office. He apparently appreciated Bill Clinton's ability to digest facts and face economic reality but pretty much says President Bush is the worst president ever. Now, I'm no Greenspan fan myself but we have found something to agree on here. The national debt has escalated faster than Republicans can send more brigades to the endless war. History will not be kind to this reckless cowboy and Greenspan is probably just the start. Worst President Ever, not the heroic cardboard cutout the Pretender sports.

Sen. John Sunnunu, R-N.H., might as well pack his bags. He can barely get a 43% approval rating and now former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen is going to run for his seat. From an e-mail sent to the press

because we have major problems facing this country, and there is an urgent need for real change in Washington," Shaheen said. "We've proven in New Hampshire that we can work together to get things done. I want to take that common-sense approach to Washington and help get this country moving in the right direction."

She will make an announcement Sunday. Just by entering the race preliminary polls show her leading the incumbent. That doesn't happen often. Meanwhile Sen. Ted Stevens, he of the bridge to nowhere, is now facing the problem of what happens when one accepts free help. According to the guy who did the bribe (CEO, pipeline company)

"I gave Ted some old furniture," Allen said. "I don't think there was a lot of material. There was some labor."

Nothing to see here. Move on, move on. Except for this:

The workers were Veco employees, probably one to four at a time, Allen said. He said the work on the home lasted for "probably a couple of months." Later, he said it might have been as much as six months. The remodeling work in summer and fall 2000 more than doubled the size of the house, a four-bedroom structure that is Stevens' official residence in Alaska.

Gosh, we just threw some old furniture around and didn't do much besides DOUBLE the size of his house. Maybe Sen. Ted Stevens could find that bridge and keep driving.

It's happened again. Another foot, another mouth. This time it's Rep. John Boehner, the lead Republican in the House. What did he say? The death of thousands and wounding of tens of thousands was 'a small price to pay'. Seriously.

BLITZER: "Mr. Leader, here is the question. How much longer will U.S. taxpayers have to shell out $2 billion a week or $3 billion a week as some now are suggesting the cost is going to endure, the loss and blood the Americans who are killed every month, how much longer do you think this commitment, this military commitment, is going to require?"

A small price. Tell it to the families. Even other Republicans are not backing him. John McCain said:

With all due respect, every American wounded or sacrificed is the greatest possible price to pay,"

And of course Democrats seized on Boehner's very poorly chosen words. Rather than apologize, Boehner's office said he was talking about the money but the question was how much longer do you think this commitment, this military commitment, is going to require?" And now, we're supposed to accept the sacrifice of thousands more. A small price indeed.

Mark Warner, the popular recent Governor of Virginia appears set to replace John Warner (no relation) who has announced his retirement. Having lived in Virginia during his predecessor (Gilmore) and during Warner's term, it's no surprise the early polls show a blow-out.

Rasmussen Reports. 9/5. Likely voters. MoE 4.5% (No trend lines) Gilmore (R) 34 Warner (D) 54 Davis (R) 30 Warner (D) 57. It's not even close.

The pending announcement makes it pretty clear:

Former Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, is widely expected to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on Thursday, pledging to bring a spirit of bipartisanship to Washington. Warner, in around-the-clock meetings and phone calls with political advisers in recent weeks, has been weighing whether to run for the Senate seat being vacated next year by longtime Republican incumbent John Warner, or wait until 2009 and run again for governor. One strategist who asked not to be identified said Warner has put out word to a few that he has decided on the Senate. Many others said Warner had indicated in conversations with them in recent days that he is leaning heavily toward the Senate. "I'd be surprised if he didn't run for the Senate," said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist, who said he spoke with Warner on Friday night.

This coupled with Hagel retiring in Nebraska (with Bob Kerrey set to run) Coleman (MN), Sunnunu (NH) (with Sheehan maybe getting in) all below 40% in their favorables and Collins (ME) facing a strong challenge from Rep. Tom Allen, the picture starts to form. A 4-8 vote swing in the senate would be very significant. It's early but the betting line forms to the left.

In yet another sign the Bush/Petraeus report does not represent the best in military thinking, there's another Pentagon report. It does not share the Administration's view that adding two and taking away two equals any reduction or progress at all. According to Newsweek:

a separate internal report being prepared by a Pentagon working group will "differ substantially" from Petraeus's recommendations, according to an official who is privy to the ongoing discussions but would speak about them only on condition of anonymity. An early version of the report, which is currently being drafted and is expected to be completed by the beginning of next year, will "recommend a very rapid reduction in American forces: as much as two-thirds of the existing force very quickly, while keeping the remainder there." The strategy will involve unwinding the still large U.S. presence in big forward operation bases and putting smaller teams in outposts. "There is interest at senior levels [of the Pentagon] in getting alternative views" to Petraeus, the official said. Among others, Centcom commander Admiral William Fallon is known to want to draw down faster than Petraeus.

Admiral Fallon is hardly a wallflower and has been, until now, a supporter of the Republican war. Maybe the prospect of another thousand dead soldiers, thousands maimed & wounded and $200 billion dollars to buy another year in hell and end up right where we have been for the last four years was enough to turn his stomach. There's only so much we can take, you know. The majority of the American people and now many in our military are saying enough is enough. What will it take to convince the lawmakers to pull the plug? Remember, any withdrawal will take at least a year. If we still have 130,000 troops plus an equal number of contractors next summer and we're still losing 5-10 troops a day, Democrats will be swept into office in droves but only if they take an oath to end the worse foreign policy blunder ever.

The public has had it with this war. From "Mission Accomplished" to "Bring It On" through "Last Throes" to just 6, 12, 18 and back to 6 or maybe 12 months before we even begin to exit, the public, the rank-and-file military, many officers but especially the voters have had it. Even congressional Republicans have had it and are breaking with Bush. Here's a snippet about Rep. James Walsh, R-N.Y.:

"Things have not changed substantially in Iraq," Walsh said after returning to Washington Monday. "It's a very, very dangerous place, if not the most dangerous place on Earth. Governance is a serious issue. They are stumbling toward democracy." [...] "What occurred to me while I was in Iraq is that it's time," Walsh said. "We've done enough. No country has done more than we have for Iraq. The question I kept coming up with is how much do we have to give Iraq to make things work? I think we have given enough."

We have given enough. If a Republican can tell the difference between killing more soldiers and bringing them home, then the Democrats should stand and say, "Enough." Just today on the radio I heard the Iraqi defense minister say his forces could handle 80% of the load right now.

Fine. Good Enough. Let them do it, it's the only way to get our guys out. Even if we started tomorrow it would take at least 12 months to do an organized withdrawal to the perimeter. More Republicans will break with Bush and we know he's just trying to run the clock out and hand this mess to anyone else. Meantime we lose more troops, meantime we lose more credibility, meantime it becomes a bigger mess. Thanks Mr. Walsh, you only won by 3,000 votes last time but you may have saved your seat with today's statement.

Today I want to take a moment and honor those who are serving in harm's way, even though they should be home and even if our so-called government is playing with their lives and prolonging their torture. They should not have been sent, they should be home where their families and the country needs them. My friend's sons and my good neighbor's grandkids should be home today. But they aren't and while they are there, they need help. There are also tens of thousands wounded already home. Over 33% have brain injuries, PTSD and more.

There are a growing number of ways to support the troops. Here are a few. Please add your favorites in the comments:

Freedom Calls Foundation – helping troops stay in touch with their families.

The Wounded Warrior Project – providing programs and services for wounded veterans.

anysoldier.com – an amazing service that sends letters and packages to military contacts in Iraq who pass them on where needed. Check out the other branch-specific sites as well:

Marines
Navy
Air Force
Coast Guard

Operation Helmet – making our troops safer by supplying them with helmet upgrades.

Fisher House – providing homes to family members to be close to a veteran loved one during hospitalization or treatment. Frequent fliers can donate their miles here.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America - this is the largest group dedicated to the troops and veterans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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