[Mb-civic] Online action plus--Recent highlights of Bush Adm "Misleads" (ie Lies)

[ean at sbcglobal.net]

This email contains:
1.  Quick online action to tell your senators to deny funding for new nuclear 
weapons.
2.  3 specific instances of recent Bush admin "misleads"
3.  A short article by Norman Solomon "Hope is Not on the way but hopefully 
Bush is on the way out"

----------

NO NEW NUKES!

Congress is challenging the federal government's dangerous nuclear 
weapons agenda. The House of Representatives recently cut funds for the 
most provocative programs to develop new kinds of nuclear weapons. Now 
the Senate is debating whether to approve funding for these same programs. 
Please write your senators and tell them to stop the reckless drive for new 
nuclear weapons. 
TAKE ACTION! 
http://action.envirocitizen.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=20235 

-----------------

KERRY STATEMENT DISTORTED TO PUSH FLIP-FLOP CLAIM

In their desperate efforts to paint Senator John Kerry (D-MA) as a serial
flip-flopper, President Bush's reelection campaign has resorted to gross
distortions of his public statements. The campaign is now trumpeting the
fact that Kerry, after voting to authorize the use of force in Iraq,
described himself "as an anti-war candidate."[1]  The claim is based on a
clip of Kerry's 1/6/04 appearance on Hardball with Chris Mathews, which is
featured in a new 12 minute "documentary" on Kerry produced by the
Republican National Committee. This is how the RNC presents the
interview:[2]

MSNBC'S CHRIS MATTHEWS: "Are you one of the anti-war candidates?"

KERRY: "I am - Yeah."

The real transcript of the interview reveals that the clip was doctored.
Kerry was not trying to shift his position but actually reiterating his
belief that President Bush made a mistake in the way he went to war. Here
is the actual transcript:[3]

MATTHEWS: Do you think you belong to that category of candidates who more
or less are unhappy with this war, the way it's been fought...Are you one
of the anti-war candidates?

KERRY: I am -- Yes, in the sense that I don't believe the president took
us to war as he should have, yes, absolutely.


SOURCES:

1. "Extreme Makeover Day 4 Fact Sheet: Setting the Record Straight",
BushCheney04.com, 7/29/04.
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1260828&l=48493

2. "RNC Ad Backgrounder",DemsExtremeMakeover.com, 7/28/04.
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1260828&l=48494

3. Hardball, Nexis-Lexis Transcript, 1/6/04

----------------------------

BUSH ADMINISTRATION MISLEADS ABOUT AFGHANISTAN

Vice President Dick Cheney claimed yesterday that under the President's
leadership we "closed down the training camps [in Afghanistan] where
terrorists trained to kill Americans."[1] His comments are not only bold,
but a look at the record shows they are deliberately misleading. Just two
weeks ago the Bush administration essentially contradicted the claim,
warning Americans of an imminent attack on the U.S. homeland from
terrorists operating in Afghanistan.

As CNN reported on July 8, Bush administration officials are warning that
"a plot to carry out a large-scale terror attack against the United States
in the near future is being directed by Osama bin Laden and other top al
Qaeda members." According to the administration, these terrorists are
operating in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.[2]

Unfortunately, in 2002, the Bush administration shifted key special forces
out of Afghanistan, effectively removing them from the hunt for al Qaeda.
These troops were sent to prepare for an Iraq invasion.[3] That leaves the
U.S. with only about 15,000 troops in Afghanistan hunting down al Qaeda,
whom they now say are plotting an imminent attack against the country.[4]
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has designed plans to add troops to the 140,000
already stationed in Iraq[5] - a country that never had any collaborative
relationship with al Qaeda[6] or connection to the 9/11 terrorist
attacks[7] (even though the Bush administration has claimed both).[8]

Sources:

1. The Vice President Delivers Remarks at a Reception for Senatorial
Candidate Bill Jones, WhiteHouse.Gov, 7/27/04.
2. "Officials: Bin Laden guiding plots against U.S", CNN.com 7/08/04. 3.
"Shifts from bin Laden hunt evoke questions ," USA Today, 3/28/04. 4.
"Afghanistan: 'Unrelenting Battle'," CBSNews.com, 5/26/04. 5. "U.S. force
in Iraq to grow as Marine deployment pushed up," USA Today, 6/08/04. 6.
"Administration Moves to Regain Initiative on 9/11 ", New York Times,
8/27/04. 7. "Bush rejects Saddam 9/11 link", BBC News, 9/18/03. 8. "Cheney
Link of Iraq, 9/11 Challenged",The Boston Globe 9/16/03.

Visit Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion. -->

www.misleader.org


BUSH MISLEADS ON HOMELAND SECURITY EFFORT

In a speech before the Urban Institute last Friday, President Bush said
that his administration is "trying to do everything we can to protect our
homeland."[1] But the reality is that the Bush administration has
underfunded critical domestic security programs and failed to address key
vulnerabilities. 

The Coast Guard said it needed $8.8 billion over the next 11 years - and
$1.5 billion in immediate funding - to secure the nation's ports from
terrorist attacks.[2] In 2005, the administration has proposed spending
just $46 million on port security.[3] 

William Milner, the executive director of the American Public
Transportation Association, said that the nation's public transit systems
- including subways, commuter rail, buses, ferries and light rail - need
$6 billion for security improvements.[4] Since 2001, the Bush
Administration has provided just $115 million to secure public transit
systems. 

Meanwhile, an estimated 2.5 million tons of uninspected cargo is loaded
into the bellies of passenger planes each year. The Bush administration
has failed to designate a federal agency to monitor the cargo or track who
is sending it. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration says it
does not have "enough money or big enough machines to scan enough cargo
fast enough without impeding commerce."[5] 


Sources: 

1. "Bush Address to Urban League," 07/23/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1260828&l=47679. 2. "Maritime
Security: Overview of Issues," Congressional Research Service, 12/5/03,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1260828&l=47680. 3. "Lack of Funding
Slows Port Security Measures," Boston Globe, 06/30/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1260828&l=47681. 4. "Spain Blast
Prompts Demands For Funds," Washington Post, 03/22/04. 5. "Jets' Cargo a
Threat to Security," Denver Post, 04/04/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1260828&l=47682. 

Visit www.Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion.

------

Published on Friday, July 30, 2004 by CommonDreams.org  
Hope Is Not On the Way, But Hopefully Bush Is On the Way 
Out  
by Norman Solomon 
  http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0730-13.htm
No, hope does not gallop in like Paul Revere. And it certainly doesn't arrive 
breathless from a corporate party convention. 

Movements for peace and social justice can bring realistic hope -- not with 
rhetoric but with the tough daily tedious uplifting work of political organizing. 

Yes, we'd be better off with John Kerry in the White House instead of the 
Rove-Cheney-Bush regime. And the only way that's going to happen is if 
enough people in swing states (www.swing04.com) vote for Kerry on 
November 2. 

But I'm already getting tired of the bulk email messages claiming that Kerry is 
the embodiment of progressive dreams. Please. We can simultaneously 
walk, chew gum and be clear about the reality that Kerry embraces a centrist 
matrix of militarism and corporatism -- and, at the same time, in a world of 
contradictions, it's extremely important that George W. Bush lose the election 
on November 2... Let's not make stuff up. And let's not imitate the 
Democratic Party's hype machine. Just because you think people should hold 
their nose and vote for Kerry, don't act like there isn't a stench. 

Meanwhile, it's unfortunate some progressives feel compelled to claim that 
overall the political differences between Kerry and Bush are insignificant. 
Sounds righteous all right -- but for anyone who's been paying attention to the 
Bush administration for nearly four years, it shouldn't pass the laugh test. 

I agree with the Greens For Impact - www.greensforimpact.comorganization: 
"The presidential election of 2004 is not a debate about voting your fears or 
voting your conscience. It is not an academic or theoretical exercise. Real 
people's lives are at stake. Women, people of color, the GLBT community, 
our nation's poor, and many others, save for the privileged few, will face real 
consequences from the outcome of this election. As a result, we must view 
the effect of our votes collectively, not merely by what they mean to us as 
individuals." 

I don't agree with people who say that it's not worth concerning ourselves 
much about who wins, that we're powerless to affect the results. Activists 
know firsthand that what we do, or don't do, can have profound effects. 
Greens For Impact (which urges support for Green Party presidential 
candidate David Cobb in safe states and Kerry in swing states) points out: "In 
six states -- Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, and 
Wisconsin -- the 2000 presidential victor won by fewer than 7,500 votes. The 
margins in 2004 will be potentially so slim that our collective voice can have 
an IMPACT." 

Will we be stuck with the likes of Bush, Cheney and Rove for another four 
years? For the next three months, we should do a whole lot more than hope 
not. We have less than a hundred days to go. Let's make each one count. 

Norman Solomon is co-author, with Reese Erlich, of "Target Iraq: What the 
News Media Didn't Tell You." His columns and other writings can be found at 
www.normansolomon.com. 

###
 



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Action is the antidote to despair.  ----Joan Baez
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