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TV Tube:
This Memorial Day Weekend John Edwards asks Americans to "Reclaim Patriotism"

Support The Troops End The War

SupportTheTroopsEndTheWar.com

"A Strong Military for a New Century" ... “The core of this presidency has been a political doctrine that George Bush calls the ‘Global War on Terror.’ He has used this doctrine like a sledgehammer to justify the worst abuses and biggest mistakes of his administration, from Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, to the war in Iraq. The worst thing about the Global War on Terror approach is that it has backfired—our military has been strained to the breaking point and the threat from terrorism has grown.” ... “We need a post-Bush, post-9/11, post-Iraq American military that is mission-focused on protecting Americans from 21st century threats, not misused for discredited ideological pursuits. We need to recognize that we have far more powerful weapons available to us than just bombs, and we need to bring them to bear. We need to reengage the world with the full weight of our moral leadership.” ... “What we need is not more slogans but a comprehensive strategy to deal with the complex challenge of both delivering justice and being just. Not hard power. Not soft power. Smart power.” -JohnEdwards.com 

 

TV:
"Goodling Dismisses Voter Supression Tactic Of ‘Caging’ As Just ‘A Direct-Mail Term’" ... "As research director at the Republican National Committee, U.S. attorney Tim Griffin was involved in a plan to suppress Florida votes — primarily those of African-American servicemembers — in the 2004 election." ... "Suppressing votes on the basis of race is illegal under the federal Voting Rights Act." -ThinkProgress.org

"Goodling Admits Her Partisan Hirings Were ‘Illegal’"

"Did Gonzales Obstruct Justice By Attempting To ‘Shape’ Goodling’s Testimony?"

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PBS TV's News Hour did a multi-part news report on the costs of the Iraq war. The first part can be watched online [pt.1], it describes how the costs of the Iraq war, unlike the offensive lowball estimate of "something under $50 billion" by Republican Rumsfeld, has already exploded to almost $450 billion and may grow to $1 TRILLION and possibly $2 TRILLION US DOLLARS. While those cost estimates are contentious, the costs to American military families are indisputably not being shared by their non-military American neighbors. The second part can also be watched online [pt.2], it illustrates the personal costs of the Republican's Iraq war on military families, with the segment beginning with a father of a US Marine trying to raise money to buy his son and his son's Marine squad body armor. The US Marine and his Marine squad are pictured above. The second segment can be listened to online or an MP3 downloaded to listen to later. The first part can also be listened to online or an MP3 downloaded. See how much your state is paying for the Iraq war via CostOfWar.com

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ANGELINA JOLIE, Cooler every day (with Brad Pitt getting credit, too, of course:)

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"Is there better body armor for the troops? Do our troops have the best body armor possible in the heat of battle? A growing chorus of critics says "maybe not." Is there better equipment that could save lives? NBC's Lisa Myers investigates." Part 2: "Side-by-side test: Interceptor vs. Dragon Skin: The U.S miltary now uses an armor system called "Interceptor." No one disputes that it saves lives. But could a type of armor called "Dragon Skin" save more? NBC compares them under fire." -Dateline NBC

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DRAGON SKIN body armor may be more effective than INTERCEPTOR body armor but the Army disagrees. Guess where the Army Colonel that made the decision is working now? An Interceptor manufacturer.

[Republican President Bush]

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"Pre-war intelligence predicated Iraq violence." ... "A Senate committee released portions Friday of a pre-war CIA report that warned about the violent consequences in Iraq if Saddam Hussein was toppled." NBC's Lisa Myers reports.

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Republican Vice President Dick Cheney explaining that a US invasion and occupation of Iraq would be a "quagmire."

C-Span Video via: GrandTheftCountry.com

Transcript via EditorAndPublisher.com TRANSCRIPT: "Q: Do you think the U.S., or U.N. forces, should have moved into Baghdad [Iraq's capital]?" ... "[Republican Vice President Dick Cheney:] A: No." ... "Q: Why not?" ... "[Dick Cheney:] A: Because if we'd gone to Baghdad we would have been all alone. There wouldn't have been anybody else with us. There would have been a U.S. occupation of Iraq. None of the Arab forces that were willing to fight with us in Kuwait were willing to invade Iraq." ... "Once you got to Iraq and took it over, took down Saddam Hussein's government, then what are you going to put in its place? That's a very volatile part of the world, and if you take down the central government of Iraq, you could very easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off: part of it, the Syrians would like to have to the west, part of it -- eastern Iraq -- the Iranians would like to claim, they fought over it for eight years. In the north you've got the Kurds, and if the Kurds spin loose and join with the Kurds in Turkey, then you threaten the territorial integrity of Turkey." ... "It's a quagmire if you go that far and try to take over Iraq." ... "The other thing was casualties. Everyone was impressed with the fact we were able to do our job with as few casualties as we had. But for the 146 Americans killed in action, and for their families -- it wasn't a cheap war. And the question for the president, in terms of whether or not we went on to Baghdad, took additional casualties in an effort to get Saddam Hussein, was how many additional dead Americans is Saddam worth?" ... "Our judgment was, not very many, and I think we got it right." -EditorAndPublisher.com

 
TV via TV:

"CBS Exposes Bush Admin’s ‘Outrageous Delay’ In Providing Marines With Bomb-Resistant Vehicle." ... "While President Bush has been busy politically demagoging funding for the troops, CBS Evening News highlighted a disturbing report tonight that the administration waited over a year before acting on a “priority 1 urgent” request to send blast-resistant vehicles to Iraq, the so-called Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles." ... "Calling it “an outrageous delay,” CBS noted, “The Marines in the field asked for 1,200 MRAPs in February 2005 — but so far, they’ve received less than 100.” The report also noted that the problem is widespread and systemic." ... "For American troops in Iraq, the heavy-duty armored vehicle has proven to be a life-saver. As a testament to MRAP’s effectiveness, top Marine commander Gen. James Conway said recently, “We have yet to have a Marine killed in the al Anbar Province who is riding inside an MRAP.” He added, “How do you not see it as a moral imperative to get as many of those vehicles to theater as rapidly as you can?”" -By Faiz -Think Progress

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The Colbert Report. Political Humor. ?-|

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God Bless Tom DeLay. Colbert DeLay 2008?-|

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Navy Lt Cmdr Matthew Diaz. US military lawyer Lieutenant Commander Matt Diaz's video interview, part of DallasNews's article: "'Moral decision' jeopardizes Navy lawyer's career: Officer says he leaked list of terror suspects in the name of justice; now convicted, he could face prison term," by journalist Brooks Egerton. Egerton reports that,

What is illegal, he [Cmdr. Diaz] said, is the Bush administration's prosecution of the war on terror. He accused officials of violating international law, such as the Geneva Conventions on the humane treatment of war prisoners, and the Constitution's guarantee of due process.

"I made a stupid decision, I know, but I felt it was the right decision, the moral decision, the decision that was required by international law," Cmdr. Diaz said. "No matter how the conflict was identified, we were to treat them in accordance with Geneva, and it just wasn't being done."

TV Tube:
James Comey's testimony about Alberto Gonzales's apparent interference to pressure hospitalized John Ashcroft to certify as legal the NSA's (National Security Agency's) domestic surveillance program that the US Department of Justice had determined was not legal.

TV:
"SPYING ON THE HOMEFRONT," PBS Frontline's full TV program online on the US government's massive domestic intelligence surveillance.

TV Tube:
General Eaton: "If the President [Bush] Won't Listen, Congress Must" ... "Former second commander in Iraq, Major General (ret.) Paul D. Eaton declares that the President did not listen to his commanders, and is still not listening, when it comes to the war in Iraq."

TV Tube:
Ron Paul: Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul explaining the Iraq War and some US military history at the Republican Presidential debate.

Ron Paul discusses the Republican Presidential debate, US military history, current American foreign politcy, and military intelligence "blowback" with CNN TV's Wolf Blitzer.

TV Tube:
Mother's Day for Peace. "Celebrate the true meaning of Mother's Day." ... "In 1870, after the devastation of the American Civil War, social activist and poet Julia Ward Howe wrote the original Mother's Day Proclamation calling upon the women of the world to unite for peace." -via MothersDayForPeace.comtalks about the origins of Mother's Day with a reading of Julia Ward Howe's 1870 poem "Mother's Day Proclamation." More: Mother's Day News. 

TV Tube:
General Batiste: "Protect America, Not George Bush" ... "Retired Major General John Batiste takes President Bush on, directly, when Bush says that he's just "listening to commanders on the ground" in Iraq."

TV Tube:
LAW AND ORDER? Law and Order <--V--> Republican Law and Disorder. A clear pattern of corruption: Jack Abramoff, Tom Delay, Rick Renzi, John Doolittle, Bob Ney, Jerry Lewis, Gary Miller, Duke Cunningham, Alberto Gonzales, Heather Wilson, Tom Feeny, Tim Murphy, Ken Calvert, and Vito Fossella were apparently all the lawless Republican politicians that could be comfortably highlighted in 70 seconds of video. TPM's scandal sheet might be able to help with the next episode of Law and dis Order, TPM will have a full deck of scandal-cards soon, especially if more shoes drop with the Republican's Veco scandal.

TV Tube:
The Super Friends Super Duper Funny Cartoon Political Humor ;-) heh. The riddle is whether the Super Friends can work together and stay friendly amongst themselves (it's a safe bet the Riddler and the Joker have different plans). via: ChallengeOfTheSuperDuperFriends.com

TV Tube:
Red State Humor?-! Red State political humor. Red State's satirical duo, Travis and Jonathan, have their own tv tube channel. Apparently The You Tube lets just anyone have a channel. Crazy. Red State book critics, military strategists and intelligence experts are not for the weak of heart, they'll either leave you laughing or in despair for our country. Welcome to Red State America.

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"National Guard Equipment Woes: The war in Iraq is having an effect on the National Guard at home — much of the Guard's equipment has been taken to Iraq, where it is either destroyed or heavily damaged. David Martin reports."

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Carlo Bonini, Italian journalist, interviewed by Bill Moyers on PBS about the fake Niger documents apparently created by Italian intelligence officials and given to US intelligence agents that were used as military "intelligence" by Republican President Bush as one of the key justifications for the Iraq invasion.

Transcript - Profile

TV:

Josh Marshall, journalist-blogger, interviewed by Bill Moyers on PBS about the US Attorney scandal.

Transcript - Profile

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JOSH MARSHALL'S TV TUBES:

TPM TV & Veracifier

JOSH MARSHALL'S WEBSITES:

TalkingPointsMemo.com

tpmMuckraker.com

tpmCafe.com

TV:
• Jon Stewart interviewed by Bill Moyers on PBS
• Transcript - Profile

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  Daily Show with Jon Stewart

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IRAQ WAR SOLD TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY MEDIA 'NEWS' CORPORATIONS. (Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

 

Bill Moyers Journal,

"Buying The War," 

TV:
China's religious censorship.

The US shipped nearly $1/4 of a trillion US dollars to China in 2006, a neo-free-market country without free-speech or the right to worship freely. That's an unholy cost of business and a heckuva way to run a country. Specifically: $232.5486 BILLION US Dollars (net) were shipped to repressive China in 2006 via Neo-Conned Republican economics. Total trade between the US and China (imports plus exports) in 2006: $342.997 BILLION US dollars.