God bless these folks

It's true. Our national security does begin at home.

VoteVets.org is putting these ads out with local vets speaking to citizens of their own state.

h/t to mcjoan

--the BB

Imagine my surprise

From the Karen DeYoung at the Washington Post:

Previewing the world for the next U.S. president, a top U.S. intelligence official this week predicted that the Bush administration would make little progress before leaving office on top national security priorities including an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, political reconciliation in Iraq and keeping Iran from being able to produce a nuclear weapon.

[Emphasis mine]

Who could imagine that Junior Bush - whose life history is littered with business failures, unexplained gaps, and drug use that he cannot even remember - would prove incompetent or disinclined?

--the BB

'Thousands of Aliens' in U.S. Flight Schools Illegally

When you put people who don't believe government works in charge of government, they prove themselves right. This is why, from Reagan forward, modern so-called conservatism is a really bad idea. They came in to dismantle government and they have succeeded admirably.

What brought on this rantlet? Read on.

Thousands of foreign student pilots have been able to enroll and obtain pilot licenses from U.S. flight schools, despite tough laws passed in the wake of the 9/ll attacks, according to internal government documents obtained by ABC News.

"Some of the very same conditions that allowed the 9-11 tragedy to happen in the first place are still very much in existence today," wrote one regional security official to his boss at the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration.

"Thousands of aliens, some of whom may very well pose a threat to this country, are taking flight lessons, being granted FAA certifications and are flying planes," wrote the TSA official, Richard A. Horn, in 2005, complaining that the students did not have the proper visas.

You can read the whole thing at ABC News. I took the header from them also.

That George W. Bush sure has done a bang-up job making us safer.

h/t John Aravosis at Americablog
--the BB

It was done in your name

From The Rude Pundit (most of whose posts are not work-safe; very strong language):

Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, a Yemeni citizen, says he was arrested and tortured in Jordan and was eventually given to CIA custody, flown to Afghanistan, and interrogated, for 19 months total, until, never charged with anything, he was released. On his transfer to CIA custody, Bashmilah says, "They started tearing down my clothes, from above all the way down. And I was being stripped completely naked. They started taking pictures from all directions. And they also started to beat me on my sides and also my feet. And then they put me in a position similar to the position of prostration in Muslim prayer, which is similar to the fetal position. And in that position, one of them inserted his finger in my anus very violently." That was done to an innocent man. It was done in your name. It was done because the government told you it wants to keep you safe.

--the BB

Counterterrorism? Not a Bush priority

Poster courtesy oldamericancentury.org

Remember the SCWOT (so-called war on terror)? Well, in case you thought the Bush maladministration gave a good goddam about it, let's take note of this from the WaPo today:

Emergency Responders Face Deep Aid Cuts
By EILEEN SULLIVAN and DEVLIN BARRETT
The Associated Press
Saturday, December 1, 2007; 6:51 AM

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration intends to slash counterterrorism funding for police, firefighters and rescue departments across the country by more than half next year, according to budget documents obtained by The Associated Press.
...
The plan calls for outright elimination of programs for port security, transit security, and local emergency management operations in the next budget year. [emphasis mine]

Feeling any safer? Me neither.

They plunge the nation further into debt for the accumulation of power and the profits of their crony corporations, destabilizing the world and leaving us increasingly vulnerable, then this?

Ah, I forget, they have a plan to make us "safer"--taking away our liberties!

Poster courtesy oldamericancentury.org

As some others have begun writing in end-tags: impede, impeach, imprison. They have violated their oath of office and are imperiling the American People.

UPDATE: h/t to BarbinMD at DailyKos who alerted me to the WaPo passage. (I did not mean to omit the acknowledgment in the original post.)
--the BB

Enjoying the scenery

Let us suppose you are traveling in a country where you do not speak the language, having a lovely time. You are riding a train and enjoying the scenery. You like to take pictures so you can remember your travels. You take some photos as you ride.
You are taken into custody at the next stop. There is no way to contact the friends who expect you to arrive at the other end.

Not my story, though the photos above were taken as I rode a bus in Russia.

We're talking about America. Or should I spell it Amerika?

[Read the story at Episcopal Cafe by clicking on the link above.]

What is happening to us? What are we allowing to happen?

--the BB