Ford Disagreed With Bush About Invading Iraq - washingtonpost.com

Ford Disagreed With Bush About Invading Iraq - washingtonpost.com:

"Former president Gerald R. Ford said in an embargoed interview in July 2004 that the Iraq war was not justified. 'I don't think I would have gone to war,' he said a little more than a year after President Bush launched the invasion advocated and carried out by prominent veterans of Ford's own administration.

In a four-hour conversation at his house in Beaver Creek, Colo., Ford 'very strongly' disagreed with the current president's justifications for invading Iraq and said he would have pushed alternatives, such as sanctions, much more vigorously. In the tape-recorded interview, Ford was critical not only of Bush but also of Vice President Cheney -- Ford's White House chief of staff -- and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who served as Ford's chief of staff and then his Pentagon chief.

Rumsfeld and Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction," Ford said. "And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."

The webpage from this link also has a variety of information on Gerald Ford.

Whether you agree with Ford's pardoning of Nixon, you have to admire his reasons for doing it. He strongly felt it was in the best interests of the country. It was not something done out of self-interest, which is what is happening to the presidency today era of polls and power-mongering. And he did it knowing full well that he would have the wrath of the American people on him for doing it--but his rationale for doing it needs to be respected. As a former football player, "he took one for the team."

WP: Bush faces risks on 3 crises - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

WP: Bush faces risks on 3 crises - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com:

"WASHINGTON - On three key flash points -- North Korea, Iran and Sudan -- the Bush administration confronts the possibility that its current diplomatic approaches have reached the end of their effectiveness, forcing it to consider potentially riskier 'Plan B' alternatives, administration officials and outside experts said."

So what's new? It appears everything the Bush Administration touches, especially in foreign policy, results in destruction and chaos.

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 12/22/2006 | Spending freeze targets pet projects for members of Congress

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 12/22/2006 | Spending freeze targets pet projects for members of Congress:

"WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders in the new Congress plan to strip funding for thousands of pet projects for individual members, a big display of fiscal discipline they say will help cut deficits and curb spending abuses.

As soon as they take control on Jan. 4, Democrats plan to impose a one-year moratorium on all special projects, known as earmarks, effectively killing those that were tucked into unfinished spending bills by the Republican-led Congress.

Although earmarks are best known for financing big public works projects, the moratorium will come with a distinct human cost."

I help small communities in Washington find funds for public works projects. While I deplore much of the pork that has happened with the Republican led congress, some of these earmarks have helped communities provide clean drinking water through updating wastewater treatment facilities and drinking water systems. Small communities with low-income populations rely on these earmarks to prevent their utility rates from reaching $80-$100 a month. Granted, much of the antiquated infrastructure in our country is due to a reluctance to reinvest and maintain existing infrastructure. Nonetheless, it will be a tough pill to swallow for many.

I hope that democrats don't take a lot of heat for taking away these local subsidies, and I hope that the nation recognizes that if not for a useless military effort in Iraq, many of the problems facing small communities in Washington would not be near the magnitude that they are today. I hope that there is a recognition that Democrats are taking a responsible fiscal position, as compared to the "triple-spending" (i.e., spend, spend, spend!) Republicans.

Daily Kos: Big Government Incentives to Big Oil

Daily Kos: Big Government Incentives to Big Oil: "The New York Times has a story on yet another report the government has kept under wraps for a substantial period of time (in this case over a year). "

Openness in Government: myth?

Andrew Sullivan | The Daily Dish: What women (and men) want

Andrew Sullivan | The Daily Dish: What women (and men) want:

"At the risk of provoking a volley of battle-of-the-sexes jokes from my co-bloggers, here's a neat one that arrived in my in-tray. I've run it past my wife, and she agrees it's both non-sexist and funny."

I thought Andrew Sullivan wasn't married....