Just Another Day in Paradise

Where is George Bush, still back at the ranch?

American troops in Iraq fire on Canada's chargé d'affaires to Iraq and three others travelling with them. I guess it just points to the State of d'affaires in what was once considered Paradise. I am not referring to the reign of Saddam here.

It has been over two years now since the President of the United States declared mission accomplished. Even as he said those words he had to know it was not, but it had an election to win. Think about the words for a minute. If you won, wouldn't you have said "we won". Hundreds of Americans and thousands of Iraqi citizens have died since that day the President staged a stunt even Hollywood would have applauded were it a movie and not real life.

Landing on the aircraft carrier, suited up in a uniform he so artfully avoided as a young man, the President beamed that folksy smile and Mr. Rove must have been laughing, full of glee. People will buy this he thought. And they did, at least long enough to re-elect the President.

Just before the President gave his State of the Union address his security folks arrested Cindy Sheehan. Sheehan was arrested because she was wearing an anti-war T-shirt and did not wish to remove it.

The United States has come to the point where a citizen risks being hauled off in handcuffs for what should be accepted as legitimet and peaceful expressions of dissent. With the administration in power, any opposition to a war in Paradise is a security threat.

Guess what the Bush administration has added to the Patriot Act. They have dumped a provision onto the bottom of the bill to make criminals out of ordinary US citizens that oppose the administration. The legislation if passed would allow the security forces at national events to charge anyone that crosses a barricade under a new felony.

America home of the free and the brave. No so much anymore.

Another day in paradise.

The President pushed his efforts to open up more of Alaska to drilling for oil. Another place many consider paradise will become another oil field if the Republicans get their way. Add to this the almost $400 billion defict and $8 trillion of debt, you can see the that one of the administrations concerns is really not how much oil is being used, but who has it. Paying out the weakening American Dollar for all that oil to a foriegn country is a real matter for concern.

Over $2 Trillion or 25% of the US Government's debt is held by foriegners. What would happen if they wanted the US to start paying it back?

CBC has this ... The Canadian chargé d'affaires to Iraq and three other Canadian diplomats riding in a consular vehicle were shot at by American soldiers in Iraq on Tuesday, the U.S. military says.
INDEPTH: Iraq

"The Canadian ambassador's vehicle did sustain damage (Tuesday) from U.S. military gunfire," said the statement released overnight.
There were no injuries.