I never wanted to believe that those we elect (or those who steal the elections) would be criminals who abuse their power and lie to us about it, and who are more than willing to sacrifice human life for profit...the list goes on, but the fact of the matter is that greed runs this country and this administration and we’re letting them get away with it.  There is a major flaw in our election process - like in some states, we the people need to have the option of recalling an elected official.  We should be able to fire them at any time.  GW would no longer be in office at this time and his corporate cronies (or maybe he’s the cronie) wouldn’t be either.  They’re thieves and should be put away - period.

70% of us would like them to be gone, but we’re doing nothing.  Where are the millions of people marching in the streets?  Where’s the resistance?  Where’s our voice?  On blogs and email, where it’ll remain until Americans can no longer leave their own country for fear of being killed by those who know the truth.

If we took to the streets the way Mexican immigrants did recently, maybe something would change.  How frightening it is when we have a criminal in the oval office and no one has the power to get him the hell outta there.

Something is seriously wrong when Clinton goes through an impeachment trial for lying about a blowjob and this entire administration is lying at every turn - about national security issues - and nothing.  Our process needs to be such that they should be shaking in their boots right now for fear of spending the rest of their lives in jail.  Why jail?  War crimes, for starters…

Finally, and just in case ‘big brother’ is reading this...I understand that we’re all human, and I forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Peace.

Iranian Horror http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi6WXK_1Leo

In #16667…

“Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 7, also took exception to media coverage of the situation in Iraq. “It is very disturbing to me to sit here every day and watch the news back home that focuses on the bad things that are occurring in Iraq,” he said.

Let’s make a deal. How about YOU DON’T WATCH THE NEWS BACK HOME, and, WE’LL STOP WATCHING WHATEVER IT IS YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING IN IRAQ!

“The general says it makes it seem as if the sacrifices of coalition troops is not being appreciated. He said there is progress in every area of the country.”
“We ought to make sure that America knows that their sons’ and daughters’ sacrifices are for a good cause,” he said. “We have eliminated a dictator here. We are making a difference every single day.””

This is such a CROCK. If “we” had just waited a few years, SADDAM HUSSEIN would have DIED… thus “eliminating a dictator"… AND A FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND OTHER PEOPLE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE.

What a pack of FOOLS!

OOPS!

For the Senate, and the Congress to allow this man to continue to manage our military, represents the complete and utter downfall of our Democracy and our Military…

and the total abdication of congress responsibiliy, as the representatives of the people..

Essentially it means, that what ever Rumsfeld says or does doesn’t matter, because the party’s still going strong on Capital Hill, and no one has time to notice trivialities like the war in Iraq…

Shame on you all, you’ve disgraced the flag, your countrymen, and every man and women who has ever sacrifised themselves, or given a drop of blood for the beliefs that this nation was founded on.

“Unlike many armies in the world you came not to conquer, not to occupy, but to liberate.”

- Don Rumsfeld, speaking to US troops, April 2003

This is worse than optimistic - this is enthusiastic.

He must have caught it from Napoleon Bonaparte and Frederick Stanley Maude.

Further proof of his blatent disregard for the truth…

http://freshnotes.com/TextRover/TextRover?search=optim istic+progress

Rumsfeld, Sanchez Say Press Ignores Good News From Iraq
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 5, 2003 – American officials here took on the press for not reporting the “good news” coming out of Iraq.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld visited the headquarters of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit and the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul Sept. 5.

Following the visit, he held a press conference. He said that as he came back, he was told a member of the traveling press said it was a good trip, but there really wasn’t any news in it.

That obviously annoyed the secretary. “There was news up there,” Rumsfeld said during the press conference held in one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces. “There was good news. Important good news.”

He said constructive things are happening throughout Iraq. “The Iraqi people are being substantively benefited and advantaged by being rid of that vicious dictator,” he said.

He pointed to the surroundings and said that anyone who doubts whether the Iraqi people are better off should just examine the palaces and the enormous sums of money Saddam spent on the military. Officials estimate that Saddam spent up to 35 percent of the country’s gross domestic product on the military, the intelligence service and other means of staying in power. “It’s a tragic, heartbreaking thing to see how the Iraqi people suffered over these past decades,” he said.

Rumsfeld said coalition forces have built or rebuilt schools, ensured hospitals are working and helped universities function. In addition, coalition forces are helping to dig wells, refurbish the irrigation system and rebuild roads. Specialists are helping to maintain and rebuild the oil, electric and water infrastructure.

Rumsfeld said the scope and speed of such operations are impressive. “If one looks back at Germany or Japan or Bosnia or Kosovo and measures the progress that has taken place in this country in four or five months, it dwarfs any other experience that I’m aware of,” Rumsfeld said.

He said he is not wearing rose-colored glasses in looking at the situation. He stressed that the road ahead will be hard and have many bumps, but that it is worth traveling.

Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 7, also took exception to media coverage of the situation in Iraq. “It is very disturbing to me to sit here every day and watch the news back home that focuses on the bad things that are occurring in Iraq,” he said.

The general says it makes it seem as if the sacrifices of coalition troops is not being appreciated. He said there is progress in every area of the country. “We ought to make sure that America knows that their sons’ and daughters’ sacrifices are for a good cause,” he said. “We have eliminated a dictator here. We are making a difference every single day.”

Sanchez also addressed charges that the security situation in the country mandates that he needs more U.S. troops. He said soldiers are experiencing about 14 to 16 attacks per day from individuals or very small groups.

“I have about 160,000 service members here,” he said. “I don’t need any more forces here. When you look across this country … there is no practical threat. There is no tactical threat, there is no strategic threat or operational threat that exists to the coalition or to America.

“One battalion’s worth of coalition power can accomplish the task of defeating any threat that may surface in the coming months,” he continued. “We can do this. We are doing this. We are making a difference. And we need to capture the great news that is out there and make sure that America knows what their sons and daughters … are doing in Iraq.”

When searching for other rosey statements from the Rumsfeld corner, be sure to include the assurances from his former deputy Paul Wolfowitz and his various chairmen of the Joint Chiefs.

DONALD RUMSFELD HAS ALWAYS BEEN CONSTITUTIONALLY UNABLE TO ADMIT THAT HE HAS EVER MADE A MISTAKE AT ANY TIME.  HE NOW SEEMS TO BE DESCENDING INTO A ‘KING’LEAR’-ISH TYPE OF DEMENTIA, EVEN AS HIS FACE BEGINS TO LOOK LIKE A SKELETON.  AND HIS RAMBLING INCOHERENCES ARE STARTING TO SOUND AS DISJOINTED AS HIS SO-CALLED BOSS, BUSHIE-BOY.

WE ARE IN DEEP, DEEP TROUBLE AS A COUNTRY.

Rumsfeld does what politicians do best: Be as vague as possible. One can attach several different definitions to the terms ‘vastly different’ and a ‘greatly improved’. The problem is that nobody asked him to be specific at the time when he said this.

I’m telling yuo right now, Rumsfeld needs to lay off the LSD.  There is no doubt this man is tripping on something; my guess is LSD.  All the hand motion and gestures are evident of someone trying to shoo away those trippy insects hovering around the face at a time normally reserved for grace.  This man has some demons that are desperately trying to escape his brain.

DONALD RUMSFELD IS, AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN, CONSTITUTIONALLY UNABLE TO ADMIT BEING REMOTELY WRONG ABOUT ANYTHING.  BUT HIS GAME IS UNRAVELING, AND HIS RAMBLINGS ARE STARTING TO BE AS INCHOHERENT AS THOSE OF HIS BOSS.  HE IS DESCENDING INTO MADNESS, NOT UNLIKE KING LEAR.

Its unfortunate that Rummy wasn’t under oath when he lied through his fucking teeth like that.  Of course now that Bush has packed the judiciary with Repugnican zealots they would find a way to turn his lies into the truth anyway, so we’re still screwed.

“It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings!”

And now their are reports that the “neocon scenario extends far beyond that objective to pushing Israel into a “cleansing war” with Syria and Iran, says the national security official, which somehow will redeem Bush’s beleaguered policy in the entire region.”

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2006/08/03/mideast/

Rumsfeld is a leading indicator that it is starting to unravel for these folks (the neocons) ... and a big bunch of ‘em are going to wind up in prison (think of it: the lying to Congress, the fraud in government, the on and on and on) if the Democrats win ANYTHING in November ... and they are NOT going to let that happen if they can avoid it.

So let’s have a REAL world war and declare martial law and if “you’re not with ‘em, then you are supporting the terroists.”

Anybody who doesn’t think these tribal fanatics (the neocons) won’t do anything to stay in power had better start looking at the pictures coming out of Lebanon (we should have been paying closer attention in Iraq over the civilian casualties) ... and they have the perfect foil in the tribal fanatics (the Muslim extremists) to keep escalating the violence ... until we nuke ourselves back into the jellyfish age.

Rumsfeld’s “shock and awe” approach is so OLD Testament ("spare the rod and spoil the child") ... so “knock some sense into ‘em” ... so “it’s your fault you made me hit you” ... my god, when are we ever going to learn what we already know as a supposedly Christian people, that the strong must break the cycle of violence ... if it is to BE broken.

Rumsfeld and his ilk simply never grew out of the pissing contest stage. And now these little men have nuclear weapons to ratchet up their flow of violence.

This is shere, utter insanity ... in a world where we WERE powerful enough just a few years ago with the moral stature and authority to set the ultimate example for peace.

My god, my god, why have we forsaken thee?!

I’ve always felt that the definition of a compulsive liar is someone who turly believes that any shit which drools out of his own mouth is the truth. 

This fascist administration is lousy with compulsive liars.

Well, now even the diehard Rummy supporters have to be aware that the Emperors are bare-assed naked - but will Americans continue to be sheep being led to slaughter or will they wise up and kick the bastards out, so we can finally get them into court, where they belong?  Sure hope so and SOON!  Now THAT would be entertainment television!!!  When the average American finally gets tired of lies and illusion, then something will get done, but not before.  As long as THEY keep everyone divided, poor, worried and scared, then people won’t join together and that’s the plan, Stan.  Meanwhile, the neo-conmen’s bottom lines are soaring!!!  And we all know that’s what really counts with these guys.  The best government money can buy!!!

“There is no question but that they would be welcomed...” he once said, referring to the Iraqis rejoicing when our soldiers hit the scene, to Jim Lehrer, a month before the invasion.

I interviewed “Pieces of Intelligence” author Hart Seely recently, and one comment he made stuck a strong chord - these days, simply remembering what someone said in the past, and bringing it back up as a reminder, has turned into a political act.

We need a lot more political acts like this to help get Rummy out of office for good.

I watched Mr Rumsfeld today twice on C-SPAN and I was amazed at the whole “baffle ‘em with bullshit” routine, the “dickens” this and the “my goodness” that.  Thank God most of us can see through his act now…

...I know the Mr Rumsfeld’s got Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder from seeing him profiled somewhere and he walks all over his “farm” picking up nails and crap and sorts and catalogues everything he finds and stores the whole Dickensian lot in his barn… just bins and bins of rusty nails and screws, etc.

What was astonishing was when GEN Pace was trying to explain how THIRTEEN BILLION DOLLARS was going to be used to buy parts and re-hire people to repair all the vehicles in “the depots” that the military’s been hangin’ onto, and that’s why they needed THREETY-ELEVENTY BILLION DOLLARS, I guess.  When Pace was finished with this long, meandering “explanation,” some Republican dude thanked him for his “excellent” answer.  I mean, Jesus. 

Rumsfeld and Pace, those two birds made a great team.  Baffling....

Rumsfeld Praises U.S. Forces, Progress in Iraq
By Terri Lukach
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2004

Rumsfeld told radio host Steve Gill of WTN Radio in Nashville, Tenn., that U.S. forces are “doing a superb job in Iraq...”

“In Fallujah,” Rumsfeld said, “they have killed or captured a large number of extremists who have been killing Iraqi people and trying to attack coalition forces” and “they’ve just done a wonderful job.”

“I think Iraq’s going to be a wonderful accomplishment,” Rumsfeld said.

Nov. 15, 2002:
“Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn’t going to last any longer than that,” he said. “It won’t be a World War III.”

What arrogance!  What hubris! What chutzpah!

You want people to believe stuff? Just lie and they’re stupid enough to believe EVERYTHING--let’s just wait for Hondo to tell us Rummy’s absolutely right!

Amazing that it was the first Republican president who said:

“You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time (like Hondo), but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time!”

Ok, Ok, Abe Lincoln didn’t mention Hondo--that’s my editorial license, but he was thinking about Hondo, or his 19th century equivalent.  Rummy just tripped over the last part.  Arrogant treasonous putz!

Six months, tops.  That’s what he said going into the war.  The arrogance of this man is astounding.

“In those regions where pockets of dead-enders are trying to reconstitute, General (Tommy) Franks and his team are rooting them out.” CBSNews.com
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld 06.19.03

--``We are, in a sense, seeing the definition of a new battlefield in the world, a 21st-century battlefield. And it is a different kind of conflict, it is something that is not unique to this century, to be sure, but it is—given our geography and given our circumstance—it is in a major sense new for this country.’’ Sept. 12, 2001.

--``There are a number of terrorist states pursuing weapons of mass destruction ... but no terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people than the regime of Saddam Hussein and Iraq.’’

--``You’re thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don’t. I think that’s old Europe. If you look at the entire NATO Europe today, the center of gravity is shifting to the east and there are a lot of new members.’

--``These events occurred on my watch. As secretary of defense, I am accountable for them. ... I deeply regret the damage that has been done.’’ Congressional testimony, May 7, about the prisoner abuse scandal.

Rumsfeld rejected the notion that the United States is failing in Iraq, and that Iraq is becoming like Vietnam. “It’s worth noting,” he said, “that the enemy does not appear to share that view. On the contrary, terrorists like [Abu Musab al-] Zarqawi are indicating concern about the lack of support from the Iraqi people.”

The secretary gave his own assessment of the reasons for terrorists’ pessimism: “[T]he terrorists, the insurgents, are not a nationalist movement with a strong popular support. They have lost their safe havens in Iraq. Their most prominent leaders are not Iraqis, they’re not Ho Chi Minhs with a nationalist base, but, in the case of Zarqawi, a Jordanian murderer. And their massacres of innocents have outraged most Iraqis rather than attracting broad support.”

how about doing us all a favor and shutting the fuck up rumsfield.

I found dozens of examples of Rumsfeld being optimistic on Iraq by Googling: Rumsfeld Iraq Progress

Has anyone explained Google to Rumsfeld?

Rumsfeld Welcomes Iraq Progress, Supports CIA Nominee
By Al Pessin
Washington
09 May 2006
Pessin report (Real Media) - Download 375k
Listen to Pessin report (Real Media)

Donald Rumsfeld
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has welcomed indications by Iraq’s new leader that he is close to forming a national unity government, but said he is still not ready to recommend any reduction in U.S. forces in the country. At a news conference, the secretary also expressed support for the president’s nomination of an air force general as the next head of the Central Intelligence Agency, but denied reports that he is trying to assert control over all U.S. intelligence operations.

Secretary Rumsfeld said Iraq’s leaders seem to sense that they have what he called a “window of opportunity” to make progress on addressing the country’s many problems. “I was encouraged by reports on the comments of the prime minister-designate, Mr. Maliki, in his press conference earlier today, in particular his statement that the government being formed will represent all Iraqis and strengthen the unity of the country,” he said.

Secretary Rumsfeld said once the new Iraqi government ministers are in place, they can meet with the coalition commander in Iraq, and the U.S. ambassador, to begin to assess the security situation and talk about possible foreign troop reductions. He would not predict when that might happen, but the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey, has indicated that if the new government is approved by parliament this month as expected, his recommendations for future troops levels could go to Washington fairly quickly.

Secretary Rumsfeld also called on Congress to fully fund the supplemental budget for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House of Representatives has removed about $760 million from the budget, which the secretary says will hurt the development of the Iraqi security forces and could delay the expected reduction in U.S. forces in the country.

The defense secretary also denied media reports that the president’s appointment of General Michael Hayden as CIA director is part of a Washington power play to give Rumsfeld control over the agency. He said such speculation is wrong. “It isn’t, in my view, something that any one entity necessarily ought to be in charge of. It’s something that we’re trying to figure out - the Congress, the executive branch - we’re trying to figure out what the arrangements ought to be,” he said.

Secretary Rumsfeld also denied contradictory reports that he does not want General Hayden to run the CIA because of a disagreement they had several years ago. Rumsfeld said the difference of opinion was not a big issue then, and is not a big issue now.

But he did express continuing concern about the accuracy of the intelligence provided to the defense department by the CIA and other agencies, including some inside the department itself. And Rumsfeld agreed with a reporter’s suggestion that the problems with intelligence in the run up to the invasion of Iraq cause concern as tensions rise with Iran. “It turns out it was wrong, that intelligence. Fair enough, it’s a tough business. It’s a difficult thing to be right all the time. And the information was not correct.  Does that give one pause, you bet,” he said.

Secretary Rumsfeld said the most important thing right now in the global war on terrorism is to create a stable, democratic Iraq. He said the enemies of the United States recognize that, even if what he called “some observers and pundits” do not.

Rumsfeld, Myers Detail Iraq Progress

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2004 – Terrorists and former regime elements used 66 of the 77 mosques in Fallujah as ammunition bunkers and to plan attacks, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said during a press conference today.

Officials said Iraqi soldiers searching the mosques found explosives for making improvised explosive devices, suicide-bomber vests, rocket-propelled grenades, shoulder-fired weapons and small arms and ammunition.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers – just returned from a visit to Iraq – said once the January 30th elections are over in Iraq, the United States can look at the troop numbers in the country.

Myers said that the conditions on the ground will determine the number of troops in Iraq, but said that when people think about troop requirements, they shouldn’t just focus on the United States. “Obviously, we’re a big part of the troop-contributing nations over there, but Iraq would be next and the coalition would be after that,” he said.

Reports from Iraq indicate that Iraqi troops fought well in the recent offensive in Fallujah, Myers said. It comes down to leadership, he said, and the Iraqis are working to build leaders particularly at the colonel and general officer level. “I think we can anticipate them being able to handle more of their own affairs,” Myers said. “And that, of course, is, in the end, going to be the goal.”

Retaking areas from insurgents remains the key to the elections in January, Rumsfeld said. In Fallujah the process is working, he said, adding, “Operations in Fallujah and elsewhere demonstrate anew the extremism of those opposing Iraqi democracy.

“Over the past two weeks, a single military unit found 191 weapons caches, and 431 improvised explosive devices in one sector of Fallujah alone,” Rumsfeld noted. “Soldiers and Marines have found large IED-making facilities, and facilities for making vehicle-borne bombs. They have discovered torture rooms, including one that had a human-size wire cage, and others with bloody handprints on the wall.”

The secretary said that attacks will continue, “and perhaps intensify as the Iraqi election approaches.” He said extremists have much to lose, “but if the coalition is steadfast, and it will be, eventually we will see the last vestiges of this dying order fade away.”

Myers said that intimidation is the preferred tactic of the enemy. “The horrific murder of (British-Iraqi aid worker) Margaret Hassan (around Nov. 16) and other brutal slayings demonstrate the insurgents’ determination to go to absolutely any length to prevent Iraqis from stepping forward to assume critical roles at all levels of government,” the chairman said.

“Yet courageous Iraqis continue to volunteer to serve in the Iraqi government, and their leadership is absolutely key to their success in Iraq,” he continued. “The preponderance of enemy forces are, we think, former regime elements who will stop at nothing to prevent a free and democratic Iraq, yet they have no alternative solution except to rule by terror and by fear.”

Rumsfeld Urges Optimism on Iraq

By Daniela Deane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 5, 2005; 11:33 AM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2 005/12/05/AR2005120500577.html

He said there was a “jarring contrast between what the American people are reading and hearing about Iraq and the views of the Iraqi people.”

“Which view of Iraq is more accurate?” Rumsfeld asked. “The pessimistic view of the so-called elites in our country or the more optimistic view of millions of Iraqis and some 155,000 U.S. troops on the ground?

“A lie moves around the world at the speed of light,” Rumsfeld said, “while truth is still trying to get its boots on.”

Rumsfeld Encouraged by Progress in Iraq
Secretary of defense says he is optimistic about the newly elected leadership

http://usinfo.state.gov/mena/Archive/2006/May/01-44434 8.html

By Melody Merin
Washington File Staff Writer

“It is an historic event for the Iraqi people to vote and then for a new government to be formed,” said Rumsfeld during an April 28 radio interview with host Laura Ingraham.

Rumsfeld noted, “The progress they’re making there is notably faster and better than I had appreciated from Washington.”

From USA Today, April 1, 2003: * Feb. 7 [2003], Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, to U.S. troops in Aviano, Italy: “It is unknowable how long that conflict will last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.”

Isn’t lying to Congress a crime?  These people act like there’s no such thing as a camera!  I think perhaps the dementia has completely kicked in with Rummy.

“Iraq is also making progress. The security situation is improving and the Iraqi people are in discussions about the process of assuming governance of their country and also assuming security responsibility for their country. They’re in a process that is not untypical of countries moving from a dictatorial system to a democratic system.”
Feb 2004, Munich

“The situation [in Iraq] is getting better every week without question,” in terms of basic services, such as schools, medical care, utilities and oil production.” NPR Morning Edition March, 2004

Check out this December 5, 2005 AP story:

“Rumsfeld: Americans Should Be Optimistic About Iraq”

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177680,00.html