death by a thousand cuts

No matter what, this will end as badly as it began. Someone has to put an end to it. And by someone, I mean us.

talk still cheap | Hardball Mix

talk still cheap | MoveOn Mix

The US House of Representatives didn't censure Vice President Cheney when he falsely connected Al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein.

They didn't hold Colin Powell responsible for the misleading testimony he gave the United Nations about WMD in Iraq.

They didn't exercise their constitutionally mandated obligation to check President Bush when he went outside the law to begin warrantless (and therefore legally unwarranted) eavesdropping on American citizens.

They didn't condemn the Republicans when they attacked Sen. John Kerry's war record and questioned his patriotism.

They didn't disavow the dispicable actions of Senator Saxby Chambliss when he ran ads comparing triple-amputee and war hero Max Cleland to Osama bin Laden.

They still haven't done the hard work necessary to shift the course of US policy on Iraq.

But this afternoon, the US House of Representatives joined the US Senate in condemning a MoveOn.org newspaper ad that cast doubt on the trustworthiness of General David Petraeus as a spokesman for Administration policy in Iraq.

I'm one of three million MoveOn.org members. I was unhappy with the ad's headline because I thought it was undisciplined. But the substance of the ad demands a considered response from the US Congress and the American people.

I figure we're all included somewhere in that short list.

calling in a debt at the White House

Dear Mr President,

The question before us is, "Can another 20 thousand US troops secure the safety of Baghdad's citizens beyond the day those US Soldiers and Marines leave?"

I find no reason to believe they can.

Mr President, I'm afraid "you broke it, you bought it" includes living with the consequences of your failed policy.

I don't believe the debt you owe can be paid under the terms you've outlined.

The 109th Congress should have taken care of this but they didn't. That's why we elected the 110th Congress.

So, sorry, but we're cutting you off.

I find myself resisting the urge to quote the Bible at you here . . . You'll have to find another way to make the best of this wretched mess . . .

Godspeed,

Jim Hancock