Progressive Cleveland

Why doesn’t Congress just forego the bullshit legislation and simply give Bushco the checkbook. What a joke Pelosi and company are.

Senate Passes Emergency War Bill:

The Senate has passed an Emergency War Supplemental Spending Bill (H.R. 2642) by a vote of 92 (Y) to 6 (N). The overall bill will provide some $162 billion in funding for war-related activities in Iraq and Afghanistan through the rest of this year and part of 2009. The Senate technically had already passed the war funding portion of the bill earlier this year while this vote focused on the domestic spending provisions.

Those provisions include the initiation of a new GI bill program which is estimated to eventually cost around $52 billion (the Associated Press estimates the 10 year cost at $63 billion). It would provide an essentially free four-year education for returning war veterans to be used at any public state university.

Also included in the package is an extension of unemployment benefits for 13 weeks. The Associated Press estimates the two-year cost of this extension at $12.5 billion. They also note that the extensions are for those whose 26-week benefits have run out. As a concession to President Bush and some Republican members, an individual must work at least 20 weeks at a job before they are eligible to receive any benefits.

Some $2.7 billion in disaster relief funding is also included in the bill along with an estimated $10 billion in foreign aid. Additionally, the bill would include provisions to block 6 out of the 7 newly proposed regulations toward the Medicaid program as offered by President Bush. It was estimated that those regulations would have reduced spending within the program by $10 billion over a five-year period.

Afghanistan, Bush, Congress, Conservatives, Democrat, Government, Iran, Iraq, Republican, Right-Wing, Senate, W, Warmonger

On second thought, quite believable:

Booman: More War Money With No Strings

Congress, House, Iraq, Senate

The infamous Curveball:

So his family, his friends, his co-workers and his employers, from Iraqi warehouses to German Burger Kings, all knew him to be a con man, crook and general nut. German officials warned the Americans not to use information provided by him, and weapons inspectors who investigated his claims before the war found them false.

But that still wasn’t enough to keep his valued “information” out of the hands of the special intelligence gathering operations of Rumsfeld and Cheney, who then passed it to the press, or from Colin Powell’s speech at the United Nations, or from George W. Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address, or from any of the myriad other administration reports used to justify the war. Truly, the Iraq War was a perfect example of a group of con men getting together and deciding to believe each other’s stories.

Coalition deaths in the Iraq War have recently topped 4,100. The number of Iraqi deaths are not known, and not counted.

Hunter at Dailykos: ‘Curveball’ Turns Out To Be Two-Bit Con Man

Bush, Conservatives, Impeach, Iraq, Republican, Right-Wing, W, Warmonger

1. Talking Points Memo: Phase II

2.

But there was no sex, so I guess it’s ok.

Congress, Conservatives, Democrat, Government, House, Impeach, Iraq, Media, Ohio, Republican, Right-Wing, W, Warmonger

Digby

Bush, Iraq, W, Warmonger

long after it would of made a difference…

BUSH: WE’LL BE IN IRAQ FOR 40 YEARS, HAMAS ELECTION WAS “GOOD THING”

Everyone keeps saying that Grumpy Old Man McCain is the same as Bush. Not so, McCain thinks we’ll be in Iraq for 100 years

Thanks to Atrios: Sigh

Afghanistan, Bush, Conservatives, Impeach, Iraq, Media, Propaganda, Republican, Right-Wing, W, Warmonger

Booman

Bush, Conservatives, Government, Iraq, Media, Republican, Right-Wing, W, Warmonger

Cheers and Jeers: Tuesday

Bush, Conservatives, Iraq, Republican, Right-Wing, SCOTUS, Voting, W, Warmonger

15 billion for who the hell knows… I simply can’t understand why 52% of the country voted for these people.

A pittance for the people to help corporate america and this:

The Pentagon cannot account for nearly 15 billion dollars in payments for goods and services in Iraq, according to an internal audit which members of Congress blasted Friday as a “shocking” accountability failure.

“We estimated that the army made 1.4 billion dollars in commercial payments that lacked the minimum documentation for a valid payment, such as properly prepared receiving reports, invoices, and certified vouchers,” deputy inspector general Mary Ugone told a Congressional committee Thursday.

“We also estimated that the army made an additional 6.3 billion dollars of commercial payments that met the 27 criteria for payments but did not comply with other statutory and regulatory requirements.”

The Pentagon also was found to have given away another 1.8 billion in Iraqi assets “with absolutely no accountability,” said Congressman Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

“Investigators examined 53 payment vouchers and couldn’t find even one that adequately explained where the money went.”

Another five billion dollars spent on supporting the Iraqi security forces could not be properly traced, according to a November 2007 inspector general report.

“Taken together, the inspector general found that the defense department did not properly account for almost 15 billion dollars,” Waxman said.

Full story…

Bush, Congress, Conservatives, Government, House, Iraq, Must See's, Republican, Right-Wing, Senate, W, Warmonger

When was the last time either Democratic candidate mentioned, even in passing, the war in Iraq?

michaelmoore.com: US troop deaths push monthly toll to 7-month high in Iraq

08', Iraq