A few laps for "freedom"

From Senate Democrats:

Americans Pay for Olympic-Size Swimming Pool in Iraq as U.S. Troops Go Without

Today, in his speech in New York on the economy, President Bush boasted that he would make sure American troops had all the equipment they need. Unfortunately, two recent Pentagon reports give reason to doubt the President's claim. Our troops are going without even as government funds go to pay for such boondoggles as an Olympic-size swimming pool in an unused training camp. As the President is planning to send 21,500 more American service members into Iraq and asking for $1.2 billion in new reconstruction aid, Americans have every reason to question his spending priorities.

President Bush Today: "And we're going to make sure our troops have all the equipment they need to do the job we sent them to do." [President Bush, 1/31/07]

Two Pentagon Reports Tell a Different Story:

U.S. Troops Went Without:

Troops Lack Up-Armored Vehicles. [DOD/IG, Equipment Status of Deployed Forces, 1/25/07]

Troops Lack Communications Equipment. [DOD/IG, Equipment Status of Deployed Forces, 1/25/07]

Troops Lack Electronic Jammers for Roadside Bombs. [DOD/IG, Equipment Status of Deployed Forces, 1/25/07]

Troops Lack Heavy Machine Guns. [DOD/IG, Equipment Status of Deployed Forces, 1/25/07]

The Shortages Will Be Exacerbated with Bush's Escalation Plan: "President Bush's plan to send five additional U.S. combat brigades into Iraq has left the Army and Marines scrambling to ensure that the troops could be supported with the necessary armored vehicles, jamming devices, radios and other gear, as well as lodging and other logistics." [Washington Post, 1/30/07]

Where the Money Went:

Olympic-Size Swimming Pool. [Quarterly Report of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, 1/30/07]

20 VIP Trailers. (Pool and trailers cost $4.2 million combined.) [Quarterly Report of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, 1/30/07]

Missing Body Armor and Equipment. $36.4 million for weapons such as armored vehicles, body armor and communications equipment that can't be accounted for. [Quarterly Report of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, 1/30/07]

An Unused Training Camp. $43.8 million for a residential camp for police training personnel outside of Baghdad's Adnan Palace grounds that has stood empty for months. [Quarterly Report of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, 1/30/07]

Bottom Line: American Service Members Pay the Price for the Bush Administration's Flawed Priorities: "Service members performed missions without the proper equipment, used informal procedures to obtain equipment and sustainment support, and canceled or postponed missions while waiting to receive equipment." [DOD/IG, Equipment Status of Deployed Forces, 1/25/07]

Millionaires to working poor: "stick it"

Ten right-wing millionaires stuck it to the working man:

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK)
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

Check out some fun facts about these "compassionate" conservatives at Think Progress.

Bush to pretty much the entire world: "I'm the decider!"

We've come to expect a bullying machismo from the President and his lackeys at this point. He's proven in many different capacities that "He's the decider" whether it's his start to finish go-it-alone strategy in Iraq, his stubborn tax cuts for the rich approach to any economic situation, or his continued obsession with dismantling (although he refers to it as saving) of social security.

Well, the latest decree from King George is that he has the ultimate power to control regulatory guidelines for business, energy, health, safety, and privacy issues or his direct political appointees will do that for him rather than career experts in the above mentioned fields. YEE HAW!!! Rodeo cowboys only have to stay on for eight seconds...we have to hang on to this beast for 8 years. Only 2 to go.

More at the New York Times and Capitol Hill Blue

Apparently, dogs can read.

President Bush Pushes Health Insurance Proposal to One of Most Affluent Communities in the Nation

From our Change America Now partners, Americans United for Change

Lee's Summit, Missouri

President Bush Pushes Health Insurance Proposal to One of Most Affluent Communities in the Nation

In the same year the President will submit a budget making his tax cuts permanent - tax cuts that have gone overwhelmingly to the richest Americans - he is proposing to shift more of the cost of health care onto working Americans. Under President Bush's leadership, the nation's health insurance crisis has worsened: costs are up and the number of uninsured Americans has grown. This latest proposal is another step in the wrong direction.

President Bush wants to raise taxes on middle class families to fund a proposal that will provide virtually no assistance to the 47 million uninsured. Instead of taking his proposal to the working class families that need assistance to pay for health insurance, the President instead is going to peddle his healthcare plan for the rich in Lee's Summit, MO, one of the most affluent communities in the country.

Lee's Summit, MO

Population 86,357

Over 76% of the Lee's Summit workforce is employed in management, professional, sales or office positions.

The median family income is $79,841.

The homeownership rate of Lee's Summit is 75.6%.

The median home value is $170,800.

Percent of the Lee's Summit population with a Bachelor's degree or higher is 43.1%, where the national average is at 27.2%.

Over 95% of Lee Summit's adult population is a high school graduate or higher.

(Source: www.census.gov)

ADA President Responds

ADA President Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)

Response to the President's State of the Union Address from Rep. McDermott's Congressional Office

January 23, 2007

"The single most important issue facing America is the Iraq War, but the President felt it was more important to talk first in his State of the Union speech about earmarks and judges. The President tried to divert the attention of the American people, but the speech, like his Iraq policy, cannot succeed.

"Early on in his speech, the President announced he was staying with his conviction; that is code for staying the course, even after the American people demanded a change of course in the November election. The President ignores the American people, the Iraq Study Group and retired military leaders. He said he'll stay the course no matter how far off course he remains.

"America is mired in a bloody civil war in Iraq and all the President can offer the American people is military escalation, an approach that failed in
Vietnam and is doomed to fail in Iraq.

"America faces real problems in health care, energy resources and global warming, but the President offered the American people warmed over platitudes and old ideas that his own political party avoided during all the years they controlled Congress and the White House.

"Tonight, we did not hear the State of the Union; instead, the President offered us a State of Denial. It is clear that the executive branch thinks it is accountable to no one, in the Iraq War, or any other serious issue facing America.

"The American people spoke loud and clear in November, but the President said tonight he wasn't listening then, and doesn't intend to listen now."

-30-

All Things SOTU

We pretty much know what the real State of the Union is and has very little to do with the delusional speech President Bush is sure to drone out this evening.

If you don't plan on watching the SOTU but would rather catch some Zzzs or settle in for hours of WoW gaming, you can always catch up later.

Below are some SOTU resources and action opportunities for you:

Tell about your own State of the Union.

SOTU by the Numbers from Campaign For America's Future

Wonkette's SOTU Game

John Stewart


Comments from Liberal Rage

ALSO, leave us your comments about the SOTU, Bush, Iraq, or how awesome you are at WoW.

Campaign for a Fair Minimum Wage

ADA's Campaign for a Fair Minimum Wage, a coalition of more than 200 progressive advocacy groups supporting an increase in the federal minimum wage, applauds the U.S. House of Representatives on the passage of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, increasing the current $5.15/hour federal minimum wage to $7.25/hour in three modest steps by 2009.

"This vote exemplifies the best in Congressional legislative action - a bipartisan vote of 315-116, including 233 Democrats and 82 Republicans" said Jane O'Grady, Executive Director of the Campaign.

The effort to increase the federal minimum wage has been ongoing for the last 9 years; the last increase in the federal minimum wage went into effect in September of 1997. The Democrats in the House of Representatives made a minimum wage increase a cornerstone of their "100 hours" legislative agenda, which included bills that had been stalled by previous Republican-controlled Congresses.

The legislative action now shifts to the U.S. Senate. The organizations participating in the Campaign for a Fair Minimum Wage are united in their message to their Senators: pass an increase in the federal minimum wage without delay and without amendments. There are forces in the U.S. Senate who want to use the minimum wage bill as a vehicle for more business tax cuts or other "poison pill" amendments. We believe these extraneous matters would only delay the final passage of a wage increase for millions of hard-working Americans. And we look forward to that speedy final passage for a bill that has been too long delayed.