Notice who owns the headlines, lately?

[understandinglife]

Senior Democrat Rep. John Murtha on Thursday called the war in Iraq "a flawed policy wrapped in illusion."

Democratic hawk: U.S. must leave Iraq
Murtha: 'U.S. and coalition troops have done all they can'

Thursday, November 17, 2005; Posted: 10:17 p.m. EST (03:17 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the leading House Democrats on defense issues on Thursday called for a swift U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, drawing strong criticism from Republicans and escalating the debate over President Bush's war policies ...

Link to CNN article featured on the CNN Homepage:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/17/murtha.iraq/index.html

Hawkish Democrat Joins Call For Pullout
GOP Assails Murtha's Demand to Leave Iraq

By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 18, 2005; Page A01 and WaPo Homepage

The top House Democrat on military spending matters stunned colleagues yesterday by calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, while many congressional Democrats reacted defiantly to President Bush's latest attack on his critics.

Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), a decorated Vietnam War veteran, said many of those troops are demoralized and poorly equipped and, after more than two years of war, are impeding Iraq's progress toward stability and self-governance.

More at the link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111700794.html

Spending Bill Fails Amid GOP Discord
Moderates Join Democrats to Block Health Bill

By Shailagh Murray and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, November 18, 2005; Page A01 and Top/Center WaPo Homepage

Nearly two dozen renegade Republicans teamed up with the Democrats to shoot down a giant health and education spending bill for the coming year, dealing an unusual defeat to a House GOP leadership that has been struggling to keep control of the budget.

By a vote of 224 to 209, the House rejected the $142.5 billion measure, which contained spending cuts in many health care and education programs that are strongly supported by moderate Republicans and by Democrats. Many rank-and-file lawmakers were unhappy with the bill as well because it did not contain special programs and projects they had sought for their congressional districts

Stunned Republican leaders then scrambled last night to avert a ...

More at the link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111700931.html

Top two stories on the NY Times homepage:

November 18, 2005

Rapid Pullout From Iraq Urged by Key Democrat
By ERIC SCHMITT

WASHINGTON - The partisan furor over the Iraq war ratcheted up sharply on Capitol Hill on Thursday, as an influential House Democrat on military matters called for the immediate withdrawal of American troops and Republicans escalated their attacks against the Bush administration's critics.

Representative John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, a Vietnam combat veteran who voted for the Iraq war, has grown increasingly frustrated with the administration's post-invasion handling of the battles against insurgents. Mr. Murtha said that the conflict had become a "flawed policy wrapped in an illusion" and that the 153,000 American troops in Iraq should be pulled out within six months.

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More at the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/politics/18military.html?ei=5094&en=2f4f176ef0c3f15b&hp=&ex=1132290000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

November 18, 2005

In Loss for G.O.P., House Rejects Spending Plan

By CARL HULSE

WASHINGTON - House Republican leaders were dealt a rare defeat Thursday as Democrats and 22 Republicans teamed up to kill a major health and education spending measure.

The 224-to-209 rejection of the $142.5 billion in spending on an array of social programs was the first time since the early days of the Republican takeover of the House a decade ago that the majority had come out on the losing end of such a vote.

The struggle on the spending measure underlined the divide over spending policy confounding House Republicans as they struggle to provide relief for hurricane victims while placating party members alarmed about growth in federal spending.

It also focused attention once again on the difficulties of a leadership team that has been somewhat off balance since September, when Representative Tom DeLay was forced to step aside as majority leader after he was indicted in Texas.

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More at the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/politics/18cong.html?ei=5094&en=7565c2e54183e988&hp=&ex=1132290000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

Editorial

The Congress From Nowhere

November 18, 2005

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Bush administration officials and the independent 9/11 commission have warned of the risks in maintaining the current formula. But lately Congress's idea of homeland security has been political posturing. The House has been wallowing through its great "budget hawk" melodrama - making a show of slashing Medicaid spending for the poor while quietly preparing still more tax cuts for the rich. Meanwhile, the Senate has passed resolutions on Iraq aimed at making it very clear that whatever happens, the members up for re-election should not be held responsible.

No one expects any profiles in courage, or even difficult decisions, from this House and Senate. But putting local political pork above the protection of major terror targets is just pathetic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/opinion/18fri1.html

George Bush is getting the sh*t kicked out of him on CNN

by Rob in Baltimore - 11/17/2005 10:26:00 PM

So we're now 26 minutes into the new Anderson Cooper 360 and it's all kicking Bush all over the place. Negative after negative. ....

While I'm sure that some will find fault along the way, I really am impressed by the change in tone. Think about this - is anyone really talking about the fact that Bush is overseas? Who's controlling the message? We are.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/11/george-bush-is-getting-sht-kicked-out.html

Were is Bush .... no one seems to care ...


Peace.

[Patsy Stone]

1. Bush, who?

:hi:

[understandinglife]

5. You know -- the war criminal who stole two elections ...

:hi:


Peace.

[Patsy Stone]

9. Oh, right...

Him. Since they've sent him away, it's been outta sight outta mind. :)

[msongs]

2. bsh and arnold are meeting secretly in china - bush wants to find out why

arnold was so successful in the CA elections last week hahaha

Msongs
www.msongs.com/chinamart.htm

[understandinglife]

3. AOL "Top Story" -- November 17, 2005

http://cdn.news.aol.com/aolnews_photos/0c/01/20051117130809990009

Hawk Democrat Calls for Immediate Pullout
John Murtha, a Vietnam Veteran, Voted for Invasion of Iraq

By LIZ SIDOTI, AP

WASHINGTON (Nov. 17) - One of Congress' most hawkish and influential Democrats called Thursday for an immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, sparking bitter and personal salvos from both sides in a growing Capitol Hill uproar over President Bush's war policies.

Link:
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20051117110009990002

Peace.

[Domitan]

4. He's one right murthafucker!

I mean that in a very good way, of course.

[understandinglife]

6. CIA leak probe fallout unlikely to fade

CIA leak probe fallout unlikely to fade

By TONI LOCY and PETE YOST
Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON — Controversy surrounding the leak of a CIA operative's identity showed no signs of abating Thursday, dashing any hopes White House officials had that the investigation was nearing an end.

A group of former intelligence officers urged President Bush not to pardon anyone convicted of leaking Valerie Plame's name to reporters and to pull security clearances of any White House officials implicated in the investigation.

Plame's husband went on the airwaves urging the Washington Post to conduct an inquiry into why top reporter Bob Woodward kept his editor in the dark about an interview 17 months ago with a senior administration official about Plame's identity and her work at the CIA, a conversation a month before another journalist published her name.

The Woodward revelations renewed attention to an investigation into who was responsible for leaking Plame's name, an inquiry that had appeared to be winding down after last month's indictment of a top aide to Vice President Cheney.

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Link:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?wire=/APWires/headlines/D8DUL9H00.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1324182

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-CIA-leak.html

This AP story is spreading ...


Peace.

[understandinglife]

7. "This will be remembered as the week when President Bush lost control over

... the Iraq war debate.

An Iraq Deadline for Bush

By E. J. Dionne Jr.

Friday, November 18, 2005; A23

This will be remembered as the week when President Bush lost control over the Iraq war debate. His administration has perhaps six months to get things right. If the situation in Iraq fails to improve significantly, public pressure for withdrawal will become irresistible.

There was a political thunderclap across the capital yesterday when Rep. John Murtha -- Marine veteran, defense specialist, longtime hawk and traditional supporter of presidential prerogatives in foreign policy -- called for pulling American troops out of Iraq. American soldiers, he said, "have done all they can in Iraq." Continued engagement by American troops was "not in the best interest of the United States."

To understand what these words meant coming from this tough, moderately conservative Pennsylvania Democrat, try to imagine Bush calling for increasing taxes on the rich or Arnold Schwarzenegger criticizing bodybuilding. Support for the administration's war strategy is crumbling.

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If the administration cares more about the long-term outcome in Iraq than short-term maneuvering to punch up its polling numbers, it will pay attention to Murtha's defection and the Senate's warnings. Like it or not, Bush doesn't have much time to arrange a decent result. The administration will lose its Iraqi bet altogether if it fails to deal with this reality. The president's problem is not with partisan or dovish Democrats but with members of his own party, with dispirited hawks and with loyalists who are losing heart. They need to believe Bush has a plausible approach to the endgame. As of now, they don't.

Link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111701305_pf.html

Peace.

[TankLV]

8. Best news in a very LONG time!

And way overdue!

[understandinglife]

10. I agree. I thought this WaPo editorial deserved its own thread so ...

... I just posted it so that everyone would see it.

Rep Murtha definitely stunned a bunch of folk.


Peace.