TVNL Editor's Comments: GUEST COMMENTARY by Reggie: A Mother’s Day Message to George!

Hey, George! While Laura and Mama Bush are opening their Mother’s Day cards, just take a minute to think about the mothers you’ve sent to fight your freaking wars. And take a nanosecond to think about the mothers of all the troops you’ve used as fodder for your dreams of empire. Yeah, like you give a tinker’s damn….

I doubt that you’re even capable of imagining the kind of Mother’s Day they’re having, George. Life in your sociopathic bubble doesn’t allow for any reality or empathy, so let me clue you in.

Here are some of the numbers, George, if you can handle the math:

• Right now there are 24, 475 women deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and close to FORTY PERCENT of these women are mothers. To make it easier for you, - that comes to more than NINE THOUSAND women celebrating a dangerous and miserable Mother’s Day in your illegal and immoral debacle.

• For the record, as of April of this year, 85 women have lost their lives in your bloody quest for empire. It figures that some of them were, or might one day have become mothers. Surely most of them had mothers. Thanks to you, they won’t be celebrating any Mother’s Days ever again. Doesn’t that make you proud?

• And, again for the record, 474 women have been wounded in Iraq as of April, 2007. You don’t dare show us the severity of their wounds, but we can guess that many of these women have been left with massive wounds and missing limbs and emotional scars that they will last for many Mother’s Days to come. Doesn’t that bother you, even a little?

I’ll bet you didn’t know this about military mothers either, George:

According to a report today from the bi-partisan Joint Economic Committee, you’re short about 35,000 child care centers for military families. Nice going, George. You’ve also run short on resources for mental health service to help military mothers and their children. Isn’t that just special?

I suppose you were too busy planning your celebrations with Laura and Mama Bush to do anything about this, George. I know, you’ve had a rough couple of months and just couldn’t get around to it. Never mind, there’s always next year.

But, for just a second, George, imagine what today must be like for Cindy Sheehan and the other mothers who won’t get Mother’s Day cards from the sons and daughters who never came back from your horrible war. Can you do that?

There’s something so wrong with this picture, George. I haven’t even brought up the mothers in Iraq. That’s a whole other story that I’ll talk to you about another time. Right now, it’s Mother’s Day in the USA, George, and you’ve made it a tragic and devastating day for so many American mothers. I hope Laura and Mama Bush have as good a day as the other women I’ve told you about, George. It’s the least they can do.

After all, it’s been four Mother’s Days since you and your PNAC buddies lied us into this mess, George, and you’re all still clueless.

NOTE: You can respond to my daily comments on my blog, located here: http://tvnewslies.org/blog

WAR : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#war

Subject of Times profile dies in Iraq - Marine Maj. Douglas Zembiec said he 'never felt so alive' as in battle.

Billions in Oil Missing in Iraq, U.S. Study Says - Between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels a day of Iraq’s declared oil production over the past four years is unaccounted for and could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling, according to a draft American government report.
TVNL Comment: The money is probably not missing. I would guess that the American oil companies are just taking the oil and not paying for it and I would guess this was approved by the Bush administration.

3 missing, 5 killed in attack on U.S. patrol - American troops were on the hunt in a volatile region south of Baghdad for three members of a U.S.-led military patrol, who went missing after an insurgent attack Saturday that killed five others.

US Commander in Northern Iraq Asks for More Troops - The U.S. commander in northern Iraq says he does not have enough manpower to secure the increasingly violent Diyala province.

As attacks rise in Green Zone, U.S. tamps down - Once an isle of security, it now feels a siege mentality as staffers are told to wear flak gear.

Iraqi Lawmakers Back Bill on U.S. Withdrawal - A majority of members of Iraq's parliament have signed a draft bill that would require a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from Iraq and freeze current troop levels.

POLITICS : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news#politics

Impeach Bush or Get Rid of the Impeachment Clause - Talking with members of Congress, one hears the same refrain: “I know Bush and Cheney have committed impeachable crimes, but impeachment is a bad idea.” The rationales offered are many, but all are either specious or based upon flawed reasoning.

Linda Sanchez vs Alberto Gonzalez: Is he confused or what? - Linda Sanchez pressed Alberto on this and many other issues including Debra Wong Yang of Los Angeles, a US Atty that accepted a lucrative job offer from the same firm that represents Rep. Jerry Lewis that C&L reported on earlier…

Administration Withheld E-Mails About Rove - The Bush administration has withheld a series of e-mails from Congress showing that senior White House and Justice Department officials worked together to conceal the role of Karl Rove in installing Timothy Griffin, a protégé of Rove's, as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Bush changes plan for emergency shadow government - President Bush yesterday issued a national security directive that would, in the event of a catastrophic attack on the federal government, assign the responsibility of running a shadow government to the White House, not the Department of Homeland Security, according to a Washington post report.
TVNL Comment: Are you ready for the next attack! Now we know it is coming!

Powell's Chief of Staff Proposes Impeachment - "The language in that article, the language in those two or three lines about impeachment is nice and precise – it's high crimes and misdemeanors. You compare Bill Clinton's peccadilloes for which he was impeached to George Bush's high crimes and misdemeanors or Dick Cheney's high crimes and misdemeanors, and I think they pale in significance."

ECONOMY : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#economy

Tenet hands Jeb Bush a big windfall - Jeb Bush will get over $450,000 in the next year from Tenet for being a board member -- about three times what the average director makes at major U.S. corporations.

Retailers Issue Gloomy Sales Report for April - From department stores to discounters, the nation’s retailers today reported the worst monthly slump in sales in at least six years for April, blaming wet weather, higher gas prices and a quirk in the calendar.

Wal-Mart Sales Decline Is Worst in 28 Years - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. posted its worst monthly same-store sales results in at least 28 years, tallying a 3.5% decline in April due to this year's early Easter as well as generally challenging economic conditions for consumers.

9/11 News : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#911

9/11 Truthers Should Thank Fox News - Laughable weekly attempts at debunking only give the movement more credibility

CONGRESS : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#congress

CREW files FEC complaint against Senator Martinez - “Basically, Mel Martinez broke the law in order to win an election."

Senators who weakened drug bill got millions from industry - Senators who raised millions of dollars in campaign donations from pharmaceutical interests secured industry-friendly changes to a landmark drug-safety bill, according to public records and interviews.

Conservatives Replace Scandal-Plagued Doolittle With Scandal-Plagued Calvert - But Boehner’s rhetoric is merely a PR stunt. Named one of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s “20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress,” Calvert has a history of abusing his power just as much as Doolittle:

Pentagon restricting testimony in Congress - The Pentagon has placed unprecedented restrictions on who can testify before Congress, reserving the right to bar lower-ranking officers, enlisted soldiers, and career bureaucrats from appearing before oversight committees or having their remarks transcribed, according to Defense Department documents.

DOMESTIC : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#domestic

New Charges Against Former CIA Official - New charges have been filed alleging that a former top CIA official pushed a proposed $100 million government contract for his best friend in return for lavish vacations, private jet flights and a lucrative job offer.
TVNL Comment: Has America ever experienced as much governmental corruption as it has over these past six or seven years?

Bush Administration Goes After SiCKO - I believe that the decision to conduct this investigation represents the latest example of the Bush Administration abusing the federal government for raw, crass, political purposes. Over the last seven years of the Bush Presidency, we have seen the abuse of government to promote a political agenda designed to benefit the conservative base of the Republican Party, special interests and major financial contributors. From holding secret meetings for the energy industry to re-writing science findings to cooking the books on intelligence to the firing of U.S. Attorneys, this Administration has shown time and time again that it will abuse its power and authority.

IRS Leans On Auction Sites to Spill Customer Information - The Center for Democracy and Technology is raising a red flag over the prospect after language appeared in the President Bush's budget that would require brokers of personal property—including online auction houses and consignment stores—to collect personal data from customers and to share it with the Internal Revenue Service.

Fed Up in Louisiana - When I asked the governor if she were as baffled as I by the level of resistance in Congress and in the White House to helping Louisiana with post-Hurricane Katrina recovery (the continuing refusal to waive the onerous 10 percent match required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency comes to mind), Blanco let 'er rip. - "It's all political,"...

Feds arrest 38 in Medicare fraud crackdown - Home to ''prevalent'' Medicare fraud, South Florida is now also home to a federal-state strike force looking to root out medical schemes.

Boy, 10, guilty of beating homeless man - A 10-year-old boy was convicted Thursday in the beating of a homeless Army veteran that left the man so severely injured he required reconstructive surgery.
TVNL Comment: America the beautiful.

No Child Left Behind Scandal Widens - According to the report, the directors had "extensive ties with education publishers" at the same time they were responsible for evaluating other publishers' programs. The report concluded that such ties may have "improperly influenced actions."
TVNL Comment: Neil Bush made a great deal of money on this program. He was backed by Saudi money. Surprised? We told you about this when the program first began.

ENVIRONMENT : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#environment

Climate change could lead to global conflict, says Beckett - Climate change could spawn a new era of conflicts around the world over water and other scarce resources unless more is done to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, warned yesterday.

• Peruvians sue oil giant over Amazon pollution - Members of an indigenous tribe from the Peruvian Amazon sued the oil giant Occidental Petroleum yesterday in California's superior court, alleging that the company knowingly put the health of the Achuar people at risk and damaged their habitat.

GM Crops Contaminate Honey in Bee Hives - The disclosure, showing that GM organisms can enter the food chain without consumers — or even farmers — knowing they are present, will undermine assurances by Tony Blair and ministers that such crops can be tested in Britain without contaminating the food chain.

INTERNATIONAL : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#international

U.S. relations with Russia have gone steadily downhill under Bush - "President Putin thinks the United States has been weakened by Iraq and that he has been strengthened by recent events and high-priced oil," former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke said. "He is trying to put Russia back on the international map."

The globalization of electronic election theft - From Ohio and California to Scotland and France, the disputes surrounding electronic voting machines have gone truly global.

Pressed by Police, Even Innocent Confess in Japan - But all were acquitted this year in a local district court, which found that their confessions had been entirely fabricated.

U.S. criticized at talks on troubled nuclear treaty - But speakers from the NAM told the meeting that disrespect for the NPT was also being bred by U.S. military ties with Israel, widely assumed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal and one of just three nations outside the treaty.

Putin's pointed US-Nazi allusion - President Putin lashed out at US unilateralism saying the US is driving the world in the same direction that Germany's Third Reich did.

Two jailed for trying to leak details of Blair's talks with Bush - Tony Blair's ill-fated war with Iraq claimed two more victims yesterday when a civil servant and an MP's researcher were convicted of disclosing details of a secret conversation between the Prime Minister and President George Bush.
TVNL Comment: Exposing crimes comitted by our leaders is a crime. How sweet.

Wary of Security Hassles, European Tourists Steer Clear of US - With tourism from across the Atlantic at a record low, the stakes are high, both economically and for the US image abroad.

MILITARY & VETERANS : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#military

Army Tries Incentives to Keep Officers - The Army will offer incentives to keep midlevel officers as it faces another decade or so in combat around the world, its chief of staff said Friday.

Department of defense to block troop access to Myspace, Youtube, MTV, Blackplanet , photobucket and more sites - Starting May 14th, the Department of defense, citing security reasons, will block troop access to some of the most popular websites on the planet.
TVNL Comment: Security? They don't want a revolution on their hands after the troops learn about all the lies they have been told by their commander in chief and his cronies!

EDITORIAL : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#editorial

A Mother’s Day Message to George! - Here are some of the numbers, George, if you can handle the math:

DOHA Debates: The pro-Israel Lobby - The motion: "This house believes the pro-Israel lobby has successfully stifled Western debate about Israel's actions." Debaters: Norman Finkelstein, Andrew Cockburn, Martin Indyk, David Aaronovitch.

Suppressing critics of Israel - In discussing Finkelstein's case on Democracy Now, Avi Shlaim, Oxford professor and notable scholar on the Israel-Palestine conflict, stated, "Israel has no immunity to criticism, moral immunity to criticism, because of the Holocaust. Israel is a sovereign nation-state, and it should be judged by the same standards as any other state.

JOURNALISM & MEDIA : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#media

Ann Coulter: Her goons and her dick - The FBI man in question, Supervisory Special Agent Jim Fitzgerald, [Dan] Borchers tells us, was Coulter's former boyfriend!

CNN International Chyron: "Bush Resigns" - Here's a screen grab from CNN International around midnight ET:

Local news reporting outsourced to India - When is local journalism not really local? When it's about Pasadena and written by someone in India.

The Assassination of Journalists - Protected by States Secrets - The memo alleges that President Bush expressed his frustration with al-Jazeera, which is the equivalent of a large broadcast news company such as CNN and has a viewership of 50 million, and wanted to bomb their headquarters using US bombers stationed nearby.

CBS fires Gen. Batiste over VoteVets ad. - Iraq veteran Gen. John Batiste “has been asked to leave his position as a consultant to CBS News” over a new VoteVets ad criticizing the Iraq war.

Smoking warnings for US movies - The US film ratings board has announced it will now take smoking into account along with sex, violence and adult language when classifying movies.

FBI agent steps into Coulter voting case - So why would an FBI profiler who went after the Unabomber take time from his busy day to even think about a municipal election snafu?

'Pentagon Moved to Fix Iraqi Media Before Invasion' - In the run-up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Pentagon planned to create a 'Rapid Reaction Media Team' (RRMT) designed to ensure control over major Iraqi media while providing an Iraqi 'face' for its efforts, according to a ‘White Paper' obtained by the independent National Security Archive (NSA) which released it Tuesday.

HEALTH & SCIENCE : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#health

British Study: Artificial Food Additives Linked to Children’s Behavioral Problems - In a new study that may have major implications for the food industry, scientists at the University of Southampton have found what they believe is a definitive link between artificial food additives and hyperactivity and restlessness in young children.

OxyContin Makers Admit Deception - The manufacturer of the potent painkiller OxyContin and three current and former executives at the company yesterday pleaded guilty to falsely marketing the drug in a way that played down its addictive properties and led to scores of people becoming addicted, prosecutors said.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#rights

Afghans Growing Irate Over Casualties - "The soldiers killed my mother-in-law, then my father-in-law. I begged to touch him, but they shouted at me not to come close. Then they left me alone with the children, crying for help,"

US Marine 'shot unarmed Iraqis' - A US Marine who led the unit accused of killing 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha shot five men as they stood with their hands in the air, another marine said.

Crackdown makes Iraqi city 'unbearable' - Residents of Samarra complain that security strictures have denied them water, other necessities for days.

OF INTEREST : http://www.tvnewslies.org/news/#interest

Smile! You're Under Federal Investigation! - Check out some snapshots from the Caribbean cruise businessman Warren Trepp sent Gov. Jim Gibbons (R.-NV) and his wife on in 2005.

Jehovah's Witnesses Settle Abuse Cases - A victims' rights group released documents Thursday that showed the Jehovah's Witnesses recently settled civil suits with 16 people who claimed they were sexually abused by church elders or that church officials failed to act on abuse allegations.

Multiple Sources - Cheney On DC Madam's List - The White House saw to it that ABC/Disney killed the DC Madam's story before yet another scandal swamped the Bush administration.