Life in OUR America, Volume 5, the Livyjr Files Options

[Livyjr]

Good morning, jeffmoskin .....

It's good to see you back .....

We feared for you, out there in the wilds of Los Angeles .....

With the searing heat .....

The coyotes ....

The mountain lions ....

The alligators .....

It takes a brave man out there .....

Just to go out to the mailbox .....

What with all that one has to cope with out there .....

Predators lurking around every corner .....

Never knowing ....

When one might be waiting for you .....

Ready to spring ....

And so ....

You've been missed, jeffmoskin .....

Call home more often ....

Let us know .....

That you are still .....

Occupying ....

A niche .....

On the food chain ....

And so ......

[Livyjr]

And speaking about predators lurking .....

WHAT IS IT WITH TEXAS AND WEIRDOS?

If George W. Bush .....

Wants to straighten out the world ....

Send that boy down to Texas, FIRST .....

And when he has that place straightened out .....

Then maybe he will be ready for something bigger .....

Which is doubtful .....

But what the hey .....

Everybody deserves a chance ....

And so .....

"Monks plead not guilty to sex charges"

By ELIZABETH WHITE, Associated Press
Last updated: 11:17 p.m., Monday, July 31, 2006

JOHNSON CITY, Texas -- Four monks pleaded not guilty to charges alleging a boy was sexually assaulted at a Texas monastery that draws thousands of visitors every year, officials said Monday.

Authorities raided the Christ of the Hills Monastery last week in search of "instruments of child abuse," Blanco County District Attorney Sam Oatman said.

The four monks, plus another serving a 10-year prison sentence for indecency with a minor, were charged after a young man claimed he had been assaulted at the monastery beginning in 1993, when he was a teenager.

Oatman said another accuser has come forward, and others could follow.

Three of the monks appeared in court in shackles and orange prison jumpsuits Monday and entered not guilty pleas to charges of sexual assault of a child and organized criminal activity.

Monastery founder Samuel Greene, 61, who has health problems related to a car accident, was not in court but has pleaded not guilty to those charges as well as one count of sexual performance of a child, said his attorney, Michael W. White.

"He's upset," White said of his client.

"You can just imagine what it's like to be accused."

The fifth indicted monk, Jonathan Hitt, 45, was convicted in 1999 of indecency with a 14-year-old novice monk at the Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery.

Oatman said Hitt has not entered a plea on the new charges.

The others, Walter Christley, who turns 45 Tuesday; Hugh Fallon, 40; and William Hughes, 55, remained in custody and did not yet have lawyers.

Greene pleaded guilty six years ago to indecency with the same novice monk from the Hitt case and was sentenced to 10 years' probation.

Oatman said charges also are possible with regard to the monastery's main attraction: an image of the Virgin Mary that has been said to cry tears of myrrh, seen as a sign of divine intervention.

The icon has brought in thousands of visitors and their donations to the monastery between Austin and San Antonio.

Father Thomas Flower, of the Blessed Martin de Porres Urban Mission in San Antonio, said he is taking care of the monastery for now.

Flower said he used to travel with a monk who was once affiliated with the monastery.

"He would have told me if things like that were going on," Flower said.

[Livyjr]

And then .....

Well ...

Hey .....

How about that American economy, will you now?

It's blazing they say .....

Ah ....

Whoops ...

Sorry ...

That was the headline for the temperatures across the country ....

"Door starts to close on housing market - Sales slow as prices, interest rates make homes less affordable"

By KEVIN HARLIN, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, August 1, 2006

ALBANY -- For-sale signs are sprouting in front of more homes -- and staying longer -- as the Capital Region's fiery-hot real estate market cools.

The number of homes sold over the first six months of the year was virtually flat with the same period a year ago, according to data from the Greater Capital Region Association of Realtors.

But sales dropped 4 percent in June, and the association predicts 2006 sales will eventually fall 7 percent below 2005's record mark.

Sales have slowed as interest rates and prices have climbed, making housing less affordable.

The Federal Reserve has raised rates 17 times since June 2004 in an effort to keep inflationary pressures under control.

And while prices are still increasing, they're not doing so as quickly.

The median sale was $187,500 January through June, up 9 percent from a year ago.

But in the winter and spring, prices had been rising at double-digit rates.

"I see fewer buyers now than I have in months past," said Karen Thomas, owner of Reality Realty, in Saratoga Springs.

"But in Saratoga County, prices are still up there."

Buyers who are out shopping have more breathing room, there are fewer bidding wars and some prices have come down, real estate agents said.

Thomas, president of the Saratoga Schenectady Schoharie Association of Realtors, said homes have stayed on the market for weeks or even months.

A year earlier, similar homes were selling in days or hours.

More sellers are jumping in, too, trying to get a piece of the market before it loses more sizzle.

The number of new listings jumped 20 percent in June, and was up 15 percent for the first half of the year.

Alex Psomas, an associate broker with Weichert Realtors Northeast Group, said he expected the number of sales this year to be close to last year.

But he said agents were working harder for each deal.

"It's not that easy any longer," he said.

"We can look at this as a positive, as a chance to show our stuff."

The conditions make for the closest thing to a buyer's market in years.

Saratoga County still had the highest prices in the region, with the median price -- the point at which half sell for more and half for less -- at $262,425 over the first half of this year, up 13 percent from the same period in 2005.

But prices were more modest in Albany, at $190,000 in the first half of the year.

Rensselaer's median was $168,000, and Schenectady County was $153,850.

GCAR, which tracks sales over an 11-county region, was careful not to spook anyone.

In a statement, the association's president, John McNamara, president of Coldwell Banker Prime Properties Inc., said both buyers and sellers would be busy.

And he said houses in every price range are on the market.

Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported sales of existing homes nationwide dipped 1.3 percent in June, the eighth decline in the past 10 months.

Prices edged up less than 1 percent, the smallest year-over-year gain since May 1995.

Harlin can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at kharlin@timesunion.com.

[Snuffysmith]

Blair turns out not to be such a poodle after all:

(London) Times Online
August 01, 2006

BLAIR TAKES BUSH TO TASK OVER FAILURE TO DELIVER ON PALESTINIANS

By Rosemary Bennett in Los Angeles and David Charter


Tony Blair is tonight calling for a total rethink of the approach to
the Middle East in a speech which admits that military action in Iraq
and Afghanistan had alienated moderate Muslims and undermined the War
on Terror.

The Prime Minister, seeming to break from the tough stance adopted with
President Bush four days ago, said that the wider problem of extremism
would never be conquered unless there was a lasting peace between
Israel and the Palestinians.

As soon as conflict in Lebanon ends, all efforts had to be focused on
resolving that dispute, Mr Blair believes.

His plea for the use of more "soft power" was immediately interpreted
as a rebuke to Mr Bush for failing to fully engage in the Middle East
peace process, despite repeated claims that it was a priority for his
administration, as well as an acknowledgement of the deep concerns over
his tactics in his own party.

Mr Blair's change of emphasis followed growing tensions within his
Cabinet over his tough approach to the Lebanon crisis. The Times
understands that Foreign Office officials pushed hard last week for Mr
Blair to exert pressure on Mr Bush to call for an immediate ceasefire,
but were rebuffed by No 10.

The move was understood to have been endorsed by Margaret Beckett, the
Foreign Secretary, who then demanded that Mr Blair show some sign that
he was not slavishly following Washington by banning from Britain US
flights re-arming Israel.

Again Downing Street resisted strongly and Mrs Beckett was forced to
accept a compromise brokered by Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, that
the US planes would stop over in Britain but only at American bases.

Mrs Beckett is understood to have made it plain to Mr Blair not only
that a wide body of opinion in the Foreign Office but also in the
Labour Party were strongly opposed to his tactics. He seems belatedly
to have moved towards them in his San Francisco speech.

Mr Blair's speech in Los Angeles to the World Affairs Council, on the
same day that four British servicemen were killed on active duty, said
that the wider problem of extremism would never be conquered unless
there was a lasting peace in the Middle East.

His speech suggested that he had become frustrated with Mr Bush for
failing to fulfil his promise to fully engage on the peace process.
Aides described it as a challenge to the US, not a change of attitude.

As fierce fighting continued in Lebanon, Mr Blair said the immediate
priority was ending the conflict and he was still hopeful there would
be a UN resolution.

"We will continue to do all we can to halt the hostilities. But once
that has happened we must commit ourselves to a complete renaissance of
our strategy to defeat those who threaten us," he said.

There was an "arc of extremism" now stretching across the Middle East
and reaching countries outside that region.

"To defeat it we need an alliance of moderation to paint a different
future in which Muslim and Christian, Arab and westerner, wealthy and
developing nations can make progress in peace and harmony with each
other," he said.

"My argument is we will not win the battle against this global
extremism unless we win it at the level of values as much as force,
unless we show we are even-handed, fair and just in the applications of
those values to the world.

"At present we are far away from persuading those we need to persuade
that this is true.

"Unless we reappraise our strategy, unless we revitalise the broader
global agenda on poverty, climate change, trade and in respect of the
Middle East, bend every sinue of our will to making peace between
Palestine and Israel, we will not win and it is a battle we must win."

Officials said it was "nonsense" to suggest the speech showed Mr Blair
was having doubts about war in Iraq.

Mr Blair's plans for his summer holiday, due to start this weekend, are
now under review. The Prime Minister will decide on Thursday whether he
intends to change his arrangements.

Officials said that the Prime Minister believed as much effort should
have gone on resolving the Israel-Palestine dispute as had been spent
on military action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"What we accept is that we haven't persuaded Arab and Muslim world that
we are committed to the same things they are, including peace in
between Palestine and Israel," his official spokesman said.

Other aides said Northern Ireland showed that resolving conflict
required effort "day in and day out", an approach that was now needed
for the Middle East.

[Livyjr]

That's why I am a day-to-day person, Snuf .....

Because you just never know ....

Personally ...

I think that is great ....

Blair being forced to separate himself .....

At the hip ....

From Bush ....

This is a healthy development ....

And a sign of hope ....

For tomarrow .....

And so ....

GOOD CATCH, Snuf ....

Because likely .....

I would have missed this one ....

My sources being different from your sources ....

And so .....

[Livyjr]

And while we are on the subject ...

Of the need ....

TO NEUTRALIZE ....

THE HARM ...

THAT GEORGE W. BUSH ....

IS DOING OUT THERE ...

IN THE WORLD .....

BY REMOVING THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ...

FROM POWER .....

IN OUR UNITED STATES CONGRESS .....

HERE .....

IN OUR AMERICA ....

"General: Guard units not combat ready"

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press
Last updated: 4:46 p.m., Tuesday, August 1, 2006

WASHINGTON -- More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat ready due largely to vast equipment shortfalls that will take as much as $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said Tuesday.

The comments by Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum came in the wake of disclosures by Army officials, analysts and members of Congress that two-thirds of the active Army's brigades are not rated ready for war.

The problem, they say, is driven by budget constraints that won't allow the military to complete the personnel training and equipment repairs and replacement that must be done when units return home after deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan.

"I am further behind or in an even more dire situation than the active Army, but we both have the same symptoms, I just have a higher fever," Blum said.

One Army official acknowledged Tuesday that while all of the active Army units serving in the war zone are "100 percent" ready, the situation is not the same for those at home.

"In the continental United States, there are plenty of units that are rated at significantly less than a C-1 rating," said Lt. Col. Carl S. Ey.

"Backlogs at the depots, budget issues and the timeliness of receiving funds to conduct training are all critical to the Army's ability keep their force trained, ready and at the highest readiness level possible."

Once a taboo subject for the military, often buried deep in classified documents, readiness levels -- generally ranked from C-1 (the best) to C-4 (the worst) are now being used as weapons themselves to force money out of Congress and the administration.

And while Army officials still won't specify how many units are at which levels, they are being more open about the overall declining state of readiness of their armed forces.

Driving the current problem is the fact that Army units returning from the war have either left tanks, trucks or other equipment behind or are bringing them home damaged or broken.

And once they arrive, many of their comrades either leave the Army or move to other posts, forcing leaders to train other soldiers to replace them.

As a result, the unit's ratings drop, said Ey, an Army spokesman.

[Livyjr]

And while George W. Bush is out there .....

Trying to burn down the world ....

And is breaking OUR America ....

In the process ...

The earth strikes back .....

At OUR America ....

As a menace to itself ....

And so ....

"Heat wave hits eastern half of nation"

By LARRY McSHANE, Associated Press
Last updated: 6:16 p.m., Tuesday, August 1, 2006

NEW YORK -- Blistering heat settled over the eastern half of the nation Tuesday, sending man and beast in desperate search of relief: An air-conditioned subway car in New York City.

A plunge into the Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey.

And cold showers for suffering livestock in Ohio.

The same heat wave that was blamed for as many as 164 deaths in California brought a fifth straight day of oppressive weather to Chicago and promised at least three days of brow-mopping temperatures in the New York metropolitan area.

Residents on Chicago's South Side were evacuated from buildings by the hundreds, one day after the power went out to 20,000 customers.

Illinois officials blamed three deaths on the heat.

The blistering temperatures also scorched Conyers, Ga., where a high school football player died one day after collapsing at practice.

"I am pretty much dying," said Grace Hartmann, a New York University student.

"I'm from California, where it's not this hot and not humid."

"To be honest, I can't believe it's going to be hotter" on Wednesday.

By midafternoon, the temperature in Chicago was 100, Baltimore reached 99 and Washington hit 97, though the humidity made it feel like 107.

In New York's Central Park, it was 95; the record for the date was 100, set in 1933.

The National Weather Service said the mercury could reach 104 on Wednesday, and Thursday could be bad, too.

"This is a very dangerous heat wave," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

"It's more than just uncomfortable."

"It can seriously threaten your life."

Boston reached 93, and in Philadelphia the temperature was 97, with a heat index of 110.

Atlanta sweltered at 95.

With a disastrous 10-day power outage in Queens still fresh in memory, New York City adopted energy conservation measures.

Thermostats in city offices were set at 78, and large municipal installations such as the Rikers Island jail used backup generators.

The New York skyline will reflect the cutbacks, with lights turned down on the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.

The giant Pepsi-Cola sign on the Brooklyn waterfront was to be dimmed, as were the lights illuminating the George Washington Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge and other spans.

Erin O'Brien, a spokeswoman for the agency that oversees electricity usage in six New England states, said demand on Wednesday could surpass the one-day record set just two weeks ago.

Demand was just shy of the record Tuesday, she said.

Ohio farmers used fans and cold showers to keep their cattle cool.

Even with those efforts, the animals produced about 10 pounds less milk per day because of the heat, said farmer Clark Emmons of Fayette, Ohio.

Colonial Downs, a horse track in New Kent County, Va., canceled racing because of the 100-degree heat.

But gamblers still could take refuge in the air-conditioned simulcasting area, where they could watch and bet on races taking place elsewhere.

In Richmond, Va., sheriff's deputies bought 200 pounds of ice to offer some relief to jail inmates and used industrial exhaust fans to suck hot air out of their cells.

Prisoners were encouraged to take it easy, despite a requirement that inmates be provided daily recreation.

We'd really frown on them playing pickup basketball," sheriff's department spokeswoman Tara Dunlop said.

"But it's not a struggle; they don't want to be bothered by running around on a concrete lot."

Joe Calandro, a mechanic in New Haven, Conn., worked on an Oldsmobile with an electrical problem.

Despite ceiling fans and wide-open garage doors, there was little escape from the heat.

"A hot day like this, a car that comes in that's been running all day, it's like sticking your head in a furnace," Calandro said.

In New Jersey, soaring temperatures were suspected in a huge fish kill at a Piscataway lake, and beachgoers were on the sand and in the water before most people had arrived at work.

Diana Tredennick of East Brunswick, N.J., slathered herself with sunscreen before 8:30 a.m.

"I'll be in the water a lot," promised Tredennick, who brought along a cooler filled with ice and water.

Some people had no choice but to muddle through the day at work.

Lee Spivey, 42, stood on a street near ground zero, directing tourist traffic and moving construction trucks through lower Manhattan.

"You just deal with it," he said.

"This is not the hottest day, but tomorrow might be."

------

On the Net:

Cooling Centers: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/hazards/heat--cooling.shtml

------

Associated Press Writers Matt Apuzzo in Connecticut, Geoff Mulvihill and Wayne Parry in New Jersey, Pat Milton and Amy Westfeldt in New York City, Zinie Chen Sampson in Virginia, John Seewer in Ohio and Don Babwin in Illinois contributed to this report.

[Livyjr]

And while it bakes up here ....

"Widespread flooding hits El Paso, Texas"

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press
Last updated: 5:46 p.m., Tuesday, August 1, 2006

EL PASO, Texas -- A third day of heavy rain caused widespread flooding around El Paso on Tuesday, swamping mountainside homes, forcing evacuations and closing major roads.

Emergency crews juggled an onslaught of distress calls, but there were no immediate reports of any serious injuries.

"We're doing OK at the moment," said police spokesman Javier Sambrano.

Authorities said at least 60 people had been rescued, some standing on roofs, others atop cars.

Fire officials said they were worried about boulders and other debris falling from rocky cliffs around several El Paso neighborhoods.

Rosa Reyes was given five minutes to evacuate with her 6-year-old daughter and a neighboring family after a rock wall behind her home collapsed.

The tumbling wall punched a hole in the side of a house.

"The material things can be replaced," she said.

"It sure didn't feel like five minutes."

A small apartment complex on a hill above Reyes' home was in danger of collapsing and had to be evacuated, said fire Capt. Keith Burch.

The rain threatened to push the Rio Grande over its banks and more than doubled the normal speed of the river's current, authorities said.

The parched region had less than an inch of rain in the first six months of the year.

But it may have gotten as much as 6 inches since Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

Forecasters expect the rain to continue through at least Wednesday morning.

Volunteer fire departments around the county helped residents sandbag their homes.

end quotes

LIFE ...

IN OUR AMERICA ....

IN THIS SIXTH YEAR ....

OF THE INTERMINABLY LONG REIGN ....

OF THE TYRANT ...

KING BUSH THE MALIGNANT ......

BIBLICAL PLAGUES ....

AND PESTILENCES ....

AND DROUGHTS ....

AND FLOODS .....

AND WHATNOT .....

TO ACCOMPANY ....

THE REIGN ....

OF THIS SELF-CONFESSED ....

BIBLICAL FIGURE ....

And so .....

[Livyjr]

And while we are on the subject .....

Of the REAL GODLY among us ...

Down here on this earth of OURS .....

The ones that know ...

That GOD ...

Put them down here .....

To rule over us ...

Because, of course ...

We are nothing ...

But a bunch ...

Of ignorant, heathenish louts ....

As is said .....

By Thomas Hobbes .....

In the little green book ....

Of REPUBLICAN IDEOLOGY .....

That rules us all now ....

Like the little red book ...

Of Chairman Mao .....

Ruled China .....

We have ....

From George Pataki's ....

CORRUPT REPUBLICAN EMPIRE of NEW YORK ...

As follows ....

"Media join lawsuit in pork case - Times Union action to obtain information on spending draws support from major news groups"

By JAY JOCHNOWITZ, State editor, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, August 2, 2006

ALBANY -- More than two dozen news organizations moved Tuesday to join a Times Union lawsuit against Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver over their refusal to reveal the names of lawmakers who helped direct millions of dollars for pork barrel projects.

The motion came as legislative leaders moved for dismissal, arguing lawmakers don't have to answer for what they say in the legislative process.

The organizations seeking to join the suit included daily newspapers from around the state, the Associated Press, the Virginia-based Gannett Company, NBC, and the New York Press Club.

The case in state Supreme Court alleges Silver, D-Manhattan, and Bruno, R-Brunswick, violated the state Freedom of Information Law by refusing to disclose which lawmakers asked for specific grants for community projects, part of $170 million in annual discretionary spending.

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office, in papers filed Monday, said the names are protected under the state constitution, which says "for any speech or debate in either house of the legislature, the members shall not be questioned in any other place."

Spitzer's office argued that disclosing "information concerning a legislator's involvement with particular pieces of legislation could potentially chill the legislator's activities."

In papers supporting the Times Union's case, the news organizations, represented by Nixon Peabody of Rochester, said the names are public information and, "The public needs to know how its representatives are serving the best interests of the state as much as it needs to be aware of those using public funds for personal gain."

Recent Times Union stories have reported instances in which some groups hired family members of legislators who steered public money to them.

end quotes

It is not surprising .....

To see ....

"BIG EL" Spitzer in there .....

Fighting to keep this "PORK" money .....

A GREAT, BIG SECRET .....

"BEER AND BLACKTOP MONEY" .....

We call it up here ...

Where politicians .....

Use OUR tax money ...

To buy elections with ....

"BIG EL" ....

Wants to be the "GOV" up here .....

Which will get ...

The hands ...

And arms

Of "BIG EL" Spitzer .....

Into the same kitty .....

THAT "BIG JOE" BRUNO IS WALLOWING IN ....

Right up to "BIG EL's" ear lobes ....

SO "BIG EL" .....

WILL HAVE SOME CASH ON HAND .....

TO BUY AN AMERICAN PRESIDENCY WITH ....

WHICH IS HOW IT IS DONE THESE DAYS ......

And so ...

BEING OH SO SOFT ...

On public corruption ....

As he is .....

SOFT ...

LIKE A MARSHMELLOW ....

It is not surprising ...

TO SEE ....

"BIG EL" SPITZER .....

FIGHTING .....

TOOTH AND NAIL ....

TO KEEP NEW YORK CORRUPT ....

And so ....

[Livyjr]

And as George W. Bush ...

EXPORTS ....

OUR FUTURE ....

Over to India ....

NEWER ....

AND BETTER .....

JOBS ....

Are now cropping up ....

Over there ....

In response ....

TO GEORGE'S INITIATIVE ....

INTENDED TO ...

BREAK THE BACK ...

OF AMERICA ....

Just as the MBA George ....

Knew they would ....

When he exported ....

OUR jobs ....

Over to there .....

And so ....

Speaking of new and wondrous ....

JOB OPPORTUNITES .....

In George W. Bush's INDIA ...

REPUBLICANS ONLY NEED APPLY ...

We have ....

"India tries to chase monkeys from trains"

Associated Press
Last updated: 7:37 a.m., Wednesday, August 2, 2006

NEW DELHI -- In an effort to keep monkeys out of the New Delhi subways, authorities have called in one of the few animals known to scare the creatures -- a fierce-looking primate called the langur, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported Wednesday.

The decision to hire a langurwallah -- a man who trains and controls the langurs -- came after a monkey got into a metro car in June, the newspaper reported.

The langur handler is being paid a retainer of India rupees 6,900 ($160) a month, and "he will be called whenever there is a monkey problem," Anuj Dayal, the spokesman for the Delhi Metro Rail Corp., was quoted as saying.

On June 9, a monkey reportedly crawled through some pipes and ended up aboard a train, scowling at passengers and jumping around a car.

Passengers had to be moved to another car while staff chased the dexterous creature, causing delays.

The langur handler was being employed to prevent more such problems.

"There are too many monkeys," Dayal was quoted as saying.

end quotes

Of course .....

As always ...

You know how it is .....

There were some real nasty rumors floating around .....

That that was really Dick Cheney in that railroad car ......

Scowling at passengers ....

And jumping around in that car ....

But me ....

Well .....

I just don't know ....

It certainly seems plausible .....

When you think on the scowling ....

And jumping around ....

And scaring people ....

Except for the part .....

About crawling through a pipe .....

To get in there .....

What with the massive build on Dick ....

The pipe would have had to be ...

A pretty big one .....

To allow Dick to get through .....

And so .....

Perhaps .....

The monkey .....

Was really just a monkey .....

Who closely resembled Dick Cheney .....

Which is certainly plausible ....

As well ....

And so .....

Perhaps ....

We will get ...

A congressional investigation .....

To get to the bottom of this .....

Dick Cheney .....

Allegedly acting like a monkey .....

And scaring people .....

But with the REPUBLICANS ....

In control of everything in the world .....

Well ...

I wouldn't hold my breath .....

On there being any effort .....

To contain Dick Cheney .....

Or to keep him ....

From acting like a monkey .....

And scaring people ....

And so .....

IF YOU ARE FOR .....

DICK CHENEY ....

BEING ALLOWED ...

TO ACT LIKE A MONKEY .....

IN A RAILROAD CAR ....

SCOWLING ......

AND JUMPING AROUND .....

AND SCARING PEOPLE .....

JUST VOTE REPUBLICAN ...

AND THEY WILL KEEP DICK CHENEY .....

DOING JUST THAT ....

And so ...

[Livyjr]

IF YOU ARE FOR .....

DICK CHENEY ....

BEING ALLOWED ...

TO ACT LIKE A MONKEY .....

IN A RAILROAD CAR ....

SCOWLING ......

AND JUMPING AROUND .....

AND SCARING PEOPLE .....

JUST VOTE REPUBLICAN ...

AND THEY WILL KEEP DICK CHENEY .....

DOING JUST THAT ....

And so ...

The question on everybody's mind, of course .....

These days ....

Is whether the Iraqis .....

Are going to vote REPUBLICAN ....

Or not .....

To keep Dick Cheney .....

Acting like a monkey ....

Scowling at people .....

To scare them .....

Which is Dick Cheney's style .....

And by all indications .....

It looks like ....

The Iraqis .....

Are going to dump the REPUBLICANS ....

Which is something ....

That we should do as well .....

For the good of not only India ....

And the poor people who must ride trains ...

Over there ....

Full of monkeys .....

But for the good ....

OF AMERICA ....

And the world as well ....

And so ....

"Iraq vows to handle security this year"

Associated Press
Last updated: 8:06 a.m., Wednesday, August 2, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Wednesday that Iraqi forces will take over security in all of the country's 18 provinces by the end of the year.

U.S. forces currently are responsible for security in all but one Iraqi province.

Iraqi leaders have said previously that their goal is to be fully in control of the country's security by the end of 2006, but Talabani's statement to reporters was the most direct on the subject.

Talabani did not elaborate, and it was not clear if he meant whether the U.S. would retain an advisory type of role in security or take a fully hands-off approach.

U.S. forces are currently responsible for the security of 17 of Iraq's 18 provinces.

Only Samawah province is totally under Iraqi forces at present.

[Livyjr]

And as to why ...

The Iraqis ....

Want George W. Bush .....

And Dick Cheney .....

And the REPUBLICAN PARTY ....

Clean out of their affairs over there .....

"Official: Charges prepared on 4 Marines"

By THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press
Last updated: 10:55 p.m., Tuesday, August 1, 2006

SAN DIEGO -- Unspecified charges are being prepared against four Marines as a result of an investigation that has already led to allegations that seven other Marines and a Navy corpsman murdered an Iraqi civilian, a Marine Corps official said Tuesday.

It was not known if the four will face charges stemming from the April 26 killing of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad, or if the charges will relate to separate incidents uncovered during that probe.

"There are four other (Marines) that are pending charges," said Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, the Marine Corps' defense coordinator for the western U.S.

"For what, I don't know."

Two other attorneys defending suspects in the Iraqi civilian's death said they did not believe the charges were related to that case.

Three of the Marines are enlistees, one is an officer.

All belong to the same platoon in Kilo Company of the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

Vokey learned charges were imminent because he was instructed to find attorneys for the four men.

He said he expects charges against the three enlisted Marines to be announced later this week.

The eight troops already charged with the kidnap and murder of Awad are in the Camp Pendleton brig.

Navy investigators claim that without provocation, the eight entered the Iraqi town of Hamdania, took Awad from his home, tied him up, put him in a hole and shot him.

After the killing, the troops placed an AK-47 in Awad's hands and put a shovel in the hole to make it appear Awad was an insurgent planting explosives, investigators allege.

Attorney Joseph Casas, who represents Pfc. John Jodka III, one of the eight in the brig, said the investigation details incidents separate from the killing in which the four other Marines allegedly engaged in misconduct.

"There are some allegations that indicate (the officer) and some of the other Marines were engaged in some prior bad acts," Casas said.

Another attorney said the new charges would be less serious than those leveled against the eight in the brig.

"There is other suspected misconduct, but not at the level of the previous charges in the investigation," said Maj. Haythan Faraj, the military defense attorney for Marine Cpl. Trent D. Thomas.

However, Victor Kelley, an attorney for one of the eight, said he was led to believe the additional Marines may face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, according to the North County Times, which first reported that new charges may be imminent.

In coming weeks, charges against the eight in the brig are to be considered at an Article 32 hearing, similar to a grand jury proceeding, in which a commanding officer will decide whether there is probable cause for a full trial.

end quotes

The one man .....

Here in OUR America ....

Who should be in that brig .....

Along with those troops .....

Sleeps in a fancy bed .....

In the White House .....

Here in OUR America .....

Instead .....

And so ...

As long as that is the case ....

And it is ...

Don't expect the murders to stop .....

Since that is just AMERICAN policy be executed ....

Along with some Iraqis, of course .....

Who are merely ...

OBJECTS .....

Of that policy .....

And so .....

[Livyjr]

And as to WHY ....

We should have ....

George W. Bush .....

And the REPUBLICAN PARTY ....

Out of OUR affairs over here .....

BEFORE THEY COMPLETELY DESTROY .....

THE INTEGRITY ....

OF THIS NATION ....

AND OUR FUTURE .....

We have ....

"Iraq vets may have memory lapses"

By LINDSEY TANNER, Associated Press
Last updated: 4:05 p.m., Tuesday, August 1, 2006

CHICAGO -- Veterans of the fighting in Iraq are more likely than other U.S. soldiers to suffer mild memory and attention lapses back home, but they also tend to have better reaction time, at least in the short-term, a study found.

The findings may simply reflect the normal changes that would be expected to occur as soldiers make the transition from combat to regular life.

But they could also signal more serious mental health problems down the road, said lead author Jennifer Vasterling, a psychologist and researcher with the Veterans Affairs' Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System.

The study involved 654 soldiers who took mental-function tests a few months before going to Iraq in mid-to-late 2003 and within three months after returning in 2005.

The researchers noted subtle changes in their scores.

If the changes persist, "that's where you have to worry about people developing stress-related emotional problems like post-traumatic stress disorder," Vasterling said.

The study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

It is one of the first studies to show war's effect on military personnel by documenting before-and-after mental function.

Vasterling said the researchers hope their work will help "avoid some of the ambiguity and confusion that happened after the 1991 Gulf War," when it was unclear if some soldiers' ills were war-related.

While some of the changes documented in the study could be "considered as essentially normal coping experiences," it will be important to track the participants to see if they develop more serious problems, two British specialists in military psychiatry, Matthew Hotopf and Simon Wessely, said in an editorial.

A Pentagon study in JAMA earlier this year found that 35 percent of Iraq vets received psychological counseling shortly after returning, and earlier research found that about 17 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq had symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

About 11 percent of the vets Vasterling studied reported such symptoms upon their return, she said.

Most Iraq vets in Vasterling's study had some type of combat-related experience.

Their before-and-after scores were compared with those of a group of 307 soldiers who were not sent to Iraq and who took the tests around the same time.

The psychological tests given are commonly used to measure thinking and motor skills.

Most soldiers in both groups scored within a normal range on all the tests.

In one test measuring visual memory, participants looked at geometric designs consisting of squares and dots for 10 seconds and had to draw the pattern right away and then half an hour later.

Both groups' before-and-after scores declined slightly, but the declines were bigger among the Iraq veterans.

The portion of Iraq veterans scoring in the bottom quarter on that test increased from 25 percent before Iraq to about 35 percent afterward.

In an attention-measuring test, a series of alphabet letters flashed briefly on a computer screen.

For about eight minutes, participants had to watch for a specific letter and press the keyboard space bar or mouse each time it appeared.

It is the kind of test in which better scores are expected the second time around because the first time gave test-takers practice.

But only about 1 percent of Iraq veterans who had scored in the bottom range the first time did better than that the second time, compared with 8 percent in the non-deployed group.

In a reaction-time test, participants were supposed to press the space bar or click a mouse as fast as they could each time a snowflake-like image flashed on the screen.

Scores declined among the non-deployed but improved slightly among the Iraq vets.

The improvement makes sense, because war trains people to react quickly to life-or-death situations, Vasterling said.

------

On the Net:

JAMA: http://jama.ama-assn.org

[Livyjr]

CAN ANYONE .....

POSSIBLY BE SURPRISED ....

THAT THIS GOVERNMENT .....

UNDER GEORGE W. BUSH ....

AND THE REPUBLICANS .....

WOULD LIE TO US .....

THROUGH THEIR TEETH .....

CONSTANTLY ....

ABOUT EVERYTHING?

CAN ANYONE, REALLY?

"Pentagon's 9/11 data drew concern"

Washington Post
First published: Wednesday, August 2, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Some staff members and commissioners of the Sept. 11 panel concluded that the Pentagon's initial story of how it reacted to the 2001 terrorist attacks may have been part of a deliberate effort to mislead the commission and the public rather than a reflection of the fog of events on that day, according to sources involved in the debate.

Suspicion of wrongdoing ran so deep that the 10-member commission, in a secret meeting at the end of its tenure in summer 2004, debated referring the matter to the Justice Department for criminal investigation, according to sources.

Staff members and some commissioners thought that e-mails and other evidence provided enough probable cause to believe that military and aviation officials violated the law by making false statements to Congress and to the commission, hoping to hide the bungled response to the hijackings, these sources said.

In the end, the panel agreed to a compromise, turning over the allegations to the inspectors general for the Defense and Transportation departments, who can make criminal referrals if they believe they are warranted, officials said.

"We to this day don't know why NORAD (the North American Aerospace Command) told us what they told us," said Thomas H. Kean, who led the commission.

"It was just so far from the truth."

"... It's one of those loose ends that never got tied."

A Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday that the inspector general's office would soon release a report addressing whether testimony delivered to the commission was "knowingly false."

A separate report, delivered secretly to Congress in May 2005, blamed inaccuracies in part on problems with the way the Defense Department kept its records, according to a summary released Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Transportation Department's inspector general's office said a final report was near.

Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said she could not comment.

end quotes

When George W. Bush .....

Made his ascension .....

To POWER ....

Here in OUR America .....

Along with that pack of REPUBLICANS .....

That runs with him ....

THE TRUTH .....

WENT RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW ....

AHEAD OF THEM ....

Never to return ....

Until they are gone ....

And so .....

IF ....

YOU ARE FOR ....

THE ENDLESS LIES ....

AND THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION ....

THAT CAME TO WASHINGTON, D.C. ....

WITH GEORGE W. BUSH ....

AND HIS CROWD ....

WELL ...

YOU AT LEAST ....

ARE FACED WITH A "NO-BRAINER" .....

COME NOVEMBER ...

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO ....

TO KEEP THINGS THAT WAY ....

IS TO VOTE FOR EVERY REPUBLICAN ....

WHO IS ON YOUR BALLOT ....

And so .....

See how easy ....

Life can be ....

Here in OUR America?

And so ...

[jeffmoskin]

Good morning, jeffmoskin .....

It's good to see you back .....

We feared for you, out there in the wilds of Los Angeles .....

With the searing heat .....

The coyotes ....

The mountain lions ....

The alligators .....

It takes a brave man out there .....

Just to go out to the mailbox .....

What with all that one has to cope with out there .....

Predators lurking around every corner .....

Never knowing ....

When one might be waiting for you .....

Ready to spring ....

And so ....

You've been missed, jeffmoskin .....

Call home more often ....

Let us know .....

That you are still .....

Occupying ....

A niche .....

On the food chain ....

And so ......

The heat is gone...

Sent eastward...

We aimed it at Crawford, Tx, but it seems that the occupant would not know the difference, since his "ranch" is air-conditioned.

Power supplied by ENROB...

Money for ENROB stolen from the people of Kah-Lee-FAWN-Yah.

I guess the heat has hit the east coast.

Hope you find some shady places, Liv.

And I don't mean Albany.

[Snuffysmith]

Here is how your money is at work:


In this second defense budget tutorial on the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it seems a legal requirement to report future expenses in Iraq has been ignored by the administration and Defense Department. On the other hand, some in Congress are also happy to try to keep the public in the dark on related issues.

The first “tutorial” of this series can be found at http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm?Do..._page=index.cfm

Straus Military Reform Project


August 1, 2006


Defense Budget Tutorial: Congress and the Pentagon, Co-Abusers of the War Budget


The Bush administration has circumvented a significant law, passed by Congress in 2004. The legislation required the president to report by January 2005 on the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the future years, 2006 to 2011.[1][1] On May 13, 2005, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reported that such a report was impossible to write for any fiscal year more than one year in advance.[2][2]

However, testimony at a July 18 hearing of Congressman Chris Shays’, R-Conn., Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee revealed that no one ever asked the responsible official in the Defense Department to estimate the likely costs of the war: neither before the war was begun (when senior officials were dismissing others’ estimates), nor in response to the statutory requirement.

There is a reasonable claim that costs for any future event is full of uncertainties, however, many have dealt with them in an analytically straightforward fashion. Using clearly articulated criteria for two different scenarios, CBO estimated the costs of future operations in Iraq.[3][3]

One scenario assumed U.S. military personnel in the Persian Gulf region would be reduced to 140,000 in 2007, and the deployments would end in 2009. The additional costs for that scenario came to $202 billion.

The second scenario would reduce forces to 170,000 in 2007 and 40,000 in 2010; U.S. deployments would end in 2016. Costs would be $406 billion, above the amounts already spent.[4][4]

What the Bush administration was unable, rather unwilling, to reveal - CBO has analyzed.

It remains to be seen what, if anything, Congress might do about the administration’s non-compliance with the statute.

Another important matter addressed at the July 18 hearing involved the timing and nature of executive branch requests for funding for the wars, such as they have existed. There are two issues; one attracted much attention at the hearing; the other attracted none.

Discussed at much length at the hearing was the administration’s habit of submitting budget requests for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that are either too late or too little. The former come in the form of “supplemental” appropriations requests submitted in the middle of fiscal years. Congress often takes its own sweet time to enact these, and as a result the Defense Department has been forced to raid its own non-war accounts to transfer dollars needed immediately for war spending (called “cash flowing”). The “cash flowing” invariably causes the postponing or cancellation of regular DOD activities. This may be very ill-advised, especially if postponed training activities, are never rescheduled for units going to Iraq.


The other form of war funding comes in the form of “bridge funds,” which are provisions added to annual DOD appropriations bills to make money available at the start of a fiscal year. These funds are sometimes, but not always, requested by the president, and they are routinely inadequate to support combat operations for more than a few months. Also, like supplementals, bridge funds are accompanied by the scantest justification materials from the Defense Department, and sometimes none at all. Congress is left quite literally in the dark about what to provide funds for, a vacuum it is frequently happy to fill with favorite – but unnecessary even irrelevant – spending items (otherwise known as “pork”).

A pernicious element to both the supplementals and the bridge funds is that they are designated as “emergency” funds – a specific budgetary term that means the money is exempted from the spending “caps” that Congress imposes on regular annual appropriations. The “caps” are intended to restrain spending and keep annual deficits under control. Technically for spending that is not just urgent, but also “unforeseen, sudden, and not permanent” (as defined in OMB and congressional guidance for budget matters), “emergency” funding in effect provides an escape valve for big spenders on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon.

In past years, the Pentagon has included in the “urgent, unforeseen, not permanent” emergency budget, requests of billions of dollars for programs that do not qualify: items such as the Army’s longstanding reorganization costs, known as “modularization.” Other Pentagon requests in war budgets have the same appearance, but because congressional oversight is so feeble in the Armed Services and Appropriations Committees the legitimacy or ill-legitimacy of these requests is tricky to identify.

Congress exploits “emergency” spending designations similarly. It transfers billions of dollars in non-emergency, non-war DOD programs from the “capped” regular DOD appropriations bills to the emergency war accounts. According to OMB, the House Appropriations Committee thusly transferred $2 billion in its new 2007 DOD Appropriations bill, and it looks like the Senate Appropriations Committee is transferring even more in its version of the same bill. These shady transfers permit two things:

1) Congress pretends it is cutting DOD appropriations bill and is being “frugal,” while it is really only transferring the spending from one account to another. (Doing so also has the negative consequence of displacing billions of dollars of spending intended for the wars with non-war programs transferred from the regular bill.)

2) Congress routinely also replaces some, but not all, of the money transferred away from the non-emergency, capped, annual spending bill with “pork.” Some amount of cutting is preserved so the pretense at savings can be made, while, in fact, spending is actually increased. (The net total of the transferred spending and the pork plugged back into the annual bill will exceed the amount Congress pretends that it “cuts.”)

Needless to say, it was the congressional abuse of emergency funding that attracted not a single word of comment at the July 18 hearing.

Conclusion

One might expect howls of protest that the Bush administration gave the back of its hand to a statutory requirement to estimate the future cost of the wars. But to expect any such protest, let alone enforcement of the law, is to misunderstand Congress as it currently exists. Today’s Congress is not the guardian of taxpayers dollars, assiduously watching how every pinched penny is being spent. Instead, Congress is happily joining the Pentagon as a co-abuser of its own appropriations process. There are some members of Congress who have the decency to notice and remark upon the transgressions. However, those erstwhile reformers can expect their lamentations to be completely ignored unless and until they decide to take action to give real meaning to their complaints.

Winslow T. Wheeler
Director
Straus Military Reform Project
Center for Defense Information @ www.cdi.org/smrp
202 797-5271 in DC
301 840-8992 in MD
301 221-3897 cell
winslowwheeler@comcast.net



[1][1] See Sec. 9012, P.L. 108-287.


[2][2] Letter of Joshua B. Bolten, director, Office of Management and Budget, to the Speaker of the House, May 13, 2005 and accompanying “report.”


[3][3] See CBO Letter to Congressman John M. Spratt, Jr., D-N.C., with attachments, July 13, 2006, signed by Acting Director Donald B. Marron.


[4][4] Using CBO’s estimates for war costs up to now, total costs would be $634 billion for Scenario I and $838 billion for Scenario II.

[Livyjr]

Hope you find some shady places, Liv.

And I don't mean Albany.

Albany is a real SHADY place, alright .....

Chock full of hot air ....

And that never changes ....

Regardless of the season ..

And so ....

[Livyjr]

Straus Military Reform Project

August 1, 2006

Defense Budget Tutorial: Congress and the Pentagon, Co-Abusers of the War Budget
 
The Bush administration has circumvented a significant law, passed by Congress in 2004. 

George W. Bush .....

Is a UNITARY EXECUTIVE ....

In a time of war .....

By his interpretation ....

Of the United States Constitution ....

Which is controlling of course .....

Since he also controls the courts .....

Laws passed by Congress ....

Are not binding on him ...

If he doesn't want them to be .....

And so .....

All he is really doing here ....

According to his interpretation ...

Of OUR constitution .....

Is doing what he damn well pleases ....

Which UNITARY EXECUTIVES .....

Like kings and emperors before him .....

Could also do .....

And so ....

When you are the one ....

Who gets to say ...

What the law ...

And the constitution mean ...

As does George W. Bush .....

In OUR America today ...

You can never be outside the law ...

Even when you are not within it .....

Since no one can call you on it .....

And so ....

[Livyjr]

"Widening war complicates US policy goals"

By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent

Wed Aug 2, 10:02 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush has described the Israel-Hizbollah crisis as another opportunity to remake the Middle East in his democratic vision.

But as civilian casualties from the Israeli-Hizbollah conflict in Lebanon mount, the situation looks increasingly chaotic, and a damage-control operation will make it harder to advance U.S. foreign policy interests, analysts say.

"I think the chances of this having a silver lining are diminishing," said Ellen Laipson, former vice chairman of the National Intelligence Council.

"The phrase 'this is an opportunity' is such a best-case scenario."

"Haven't we learned from the Iraq experience?"

"Be careful of setting out a strategic goal that is so unrealistic," Laipson said.

Bush's agenda was already loaded -- escalating turmoil in Iraq and Afghanistan, nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea -- when rocket attacks by the Lebanon-based Hizbollah guerrilla group three weeks ago provoked Israeli retaliation.

Initially, the world focused on Hizbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria, as the aggressor.

But Israeli air attacks caused hundreds of civilians deaths and stoked a new backlash against the Jewish state and America, its chief ally.

Israeli forces thrust further into Lebanon on Tuesday, fueling fears of a wider war that could engulf Syria.

Regional outrage over Israeli airstrikes forced Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to call off two stops on a Middle East trip.

The conflict did not prevent the U.N. Security Council from adopting a resolution demanding Iran halt a key aspect of its nuclear program.

But it revived tensions between European allies demanding an immediate cease-fire, and the administration, which wants to give Israel more time to degrade Hizbollah's capabilities.

"This administration has pursued an us-versus-them policy in every strategy and opportunity; in every opportunity, it pursued a strategy which created more of them and less of us," said Ivo Daalder of the center-left Brookings Institution.

"You don't bomb people into liking democracy."

But Danielle Pletka of the conservative American Enterprise Institute said Hizbollah is a well-organized, well-equipped proxy for Iran, so the conflict with Israel is a front in the U.S. war on terror.

The conflict has refocused attention on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Critics say the fighting might not have ignited if Bush pursued his predecessors' sustained Mideast engagement.

Five years ago, Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos of California proposed legislation calling for deployment of Lebanon's army along borders with Israel and Syria, but he said former Secretary of State Colin Powell "fought it tooth and nail."

If Bush had backed the initiative, Lebanon could have removed Hizbollah when the guerrilla group was "a tiny fraction of its current strength, and you would not have seen this warfare we've seen for two weeks now," Lantos said.

The war is also raising questions about the limits of U.S. support for Israel.

"The United States will remain committed to defending Israel."

"... But, it need not, and cannot, be at the expense of our Arab and Muslim relationships," Sen. Chuck Hagel said this week.

The Nebraska Republican also warned that extended military action alone would not destroy Hizbollah, but would "tear apart Lebanon ... and deepen hatred of Israel" in the Middle East.

[Livyjr]

And while we are on the subject of George W. Bush ....

As a UNITARY EXECUTIVE ....

As though he were an English King .....

Or a Roman DICTATOR ....

Which means that he IS the law ....

At least in his own mind ....

Regardless of what Congress says ....

We have ....

As encouragement for George ......

TO SUBVERT OUR FORM ...

OF CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT ....

WHAT APPEARS TO BE ....

A COMPLETE RE-WRITING ....

OF OUR AMERICAN HISTORY .....

By a HARVARD professor ....

As follows ....

From none other ...

But that FOUNT OF TRUTH ....

Here in OUR America .....

That is known as the WEEKLY STANDARD .....

The NEW CON rag ....

From down there in Washington, D.C. ...

That drives George W. Bush's foreign policy ....

And apparently ....

His domestic policy, as well ....

And so ...

"The Law and the President - In a national emergency, who you gonna call?"

by Harvey Mansfield

01/16/2006, Volume 011, Issue 17

EMERGENCY POWER FOR SUCH UNDERHANDED activities as spying makes Americans uncomfortable and upset.

Even those who do not suffer from squeamish distaste for self-defense, and do not mind getting tough when necessary, feel uneasy.

A republic like ours is always more at ease in dealing with criminals than with enemies.

Criminals violate the law, and the law can be vindicated with police, prosecutors, juries, and judges who stay within the law: At least for the most part, the law vindicates itself.

Enemies, however, not merely violate but oppose the law.

They oppose our law and want to replace it with theirs.

To counter enemies, a republic must have and use force adequate to a greater threat than comes from criminals, who may be quite patriotic if not public-spirited, and have nothing against the law when applied to others besides themselves.

But enemies, being extra-legal, need to be faced with extra-legal force.

This home truth gets little recognition from critics of the Bush administration's surveillance activities in the war on terror.

Some of its defenders, too, seem unaware of the full extent to which the Constitution addresses the problems we face today and how useful and relevant its principles prove to be.

One can begin from the fact that the American Constitution made the first republic with a strong executive.

A strong executive is one that is not confined to executing the laws but has extra-legal powers such as commanding the military, making treaties (and carrying on foreign policy), and pardoning the convicted, not
to mention a veto of legislation.

To confirm the extra-legal character of the presidency, the Constitution has him take an oath not to execute the laws but to execute the office of president, which is larger.

Thus it is wrong to accuse President Bush of acting illegally in the surveillance of possible enemies, as if that were a crime and legality is all that matters.

This is simplistic, small-r republican thinking of the kind that our Constitution surpassed when it constructed a strong executive.

The Constitution took seriously a difficulty in the rule of law that the republican tradition before 1787 had slighted.

The difficulty is obvious enough, but republicans tend to overlook it or minimize it because they believe, as republicans, that power is safer in the hands of many than in those of one or a few.

Power is more surely in the hands of many when exercised in the form of law--"standing rules," as opposed to arbitrary decree.

Republics tend to believe in the rule of law and hence to favor legislative power over executive.

Yet the rule of law is not enough to run a government.

Any set of standing rules is liable to encounter an emergency requiring an exception from the rule or an improvised response when no rule exists.

In Machiavelli's terms, ordinary power needs to be supplemented or corrected by the extraordinary power of a prince, using wise discretion.

"Necessity knows no law" is a maxim everyone admits, and takes advantage of, when in need.

Small-r republicans especially are reluctant to accept it because they see that wise discretion opens the door to unwise discretion.

But there is no way to draw a line between the wise and the unwise without making a law (or something like it) and thus returning to the inflexibility of the rule of law.

We need both the rule of law and the power to escape it--and that twofold need is just what the Constitution provides for.

In the Constitution executive power represents necessity in the form of response to emergencies.

It anticipates that events will occur or situations will arise that we cannot anticipate through our laws; it anticipates what we cannot anticipate.

The legislative and the judicial powers (and the executive insofar as it merely executes laws) represent our choices as they have been fixed in law, our foresight as far as it goes.

The Constitution mixes choice and necessity, reflecting our desire for self-government (which takes effect in our legislation) and our recognition of the limitations of human foresight and the imperfection of human laws.

These are opposite principles made into opposing elements of our government, yet they are also complementary.

Each needs the other, and the constitutional system makes each in some degree aware of the other.

Yet the legislature and the judiciary will of course be partial to the rule of law, and the executive partial to the need for discretion.

The Constitution maintains both opposite principles by arranging for an interested party or parties to support that principle in exercising its power.

It does not try to teach the overall truth to all parties, as if it were possible to have the legislature and judiciary demurely defer to the executive when discretion is needed, and the reverse when the rule of law rightly asserts itself.

No, there will be conflict between discretion and the rule of law, each party aware of the other principle but more convinced by its own.

That is why the two principles do not coincide with the differences between liberals and conservatives, or Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats uphold the rule of law now, because as things stand that is all they can hope for.

When they held the presidency with Bill Clinton, it was they, during the impeachment trial, who called for pardon and the Republicans holding Congress who tried manfully to vindicate the rule of law by punishing a president who admitted he had violated the law.

In combining law and discretion, the Framers of the Constitution made a deliberate departure from the sorry history of previous republics that alternated between anarchy and tyranny.

The Federalist Papers, the most authoritative source for understanding the thinking of the Framers, make it clear that republicans had gone astray because they had overconfidently ignored the necessities that all governments face and had tried to wish away; the advantages of size, power, flexibility, foresight, and prudence that monarchies may offer.

In rejecting monarchy because it was unsafe, republicans had forgotten that it might also be effective.

The Framers made a strong executive in order to have both power and security, and they took note of emergency occasions when more power gives more security.

Separation of powers was a republican invention of the 17th century, but the Framers improved it when they strengthened the executive.

They enabled the executive to act independently of the legislature and not merely serve as its agent in executing the laws.

In the current dispute over executive surveillance of possible terrorists, those arguing that the executive should be subject to checks and balances are wrong to say or imply that the president may be checked in the sense of stopped.

The president can be held accountable and made responsible, but if he could be stopped, the Constitution would lack any sure means of emergency action.

Emergency action of this kind may be illegal but it is not unconstitutional; or, since the Constitution is a law, it is not illegal under the Constitution.

To be held responsible, the executive must be able to act independently.

To the extent that he depends on others to act, as in getting a law passed, responsibility is distributed to others and it is no longer clear who precisely is responsible.

A president can evade responsibility by consulting with others and then, if something goes wrong, put the blame on them.

This is one of the oldest tricks in the book, and canny politicians will often refuse to be consulted lest they get the blame for someone else's mistake and lose the ability to lay blame themselves.

To be sure of responsibility you must fix it on one person; true responsibility is sole responsibility.

That is why, under our republican Constitution, the people, when they want to hold the whole government responsible, end up holding the president responsible.

The Federalist tells us that a republican constitution needs energy and stability, terms taken from physics to designate discretion and law.

Energy has its place in the executive, and the foremost guarantee of energy is "unity" (Federalist 70), meaning unity in one person as opposed to a committee or a council.

Unity facilitates "decision, activity, secrecy, and dispatch."

Note secrecy in this list.

Secrecy is necessary to government yet almost incompatible with the rule of law (the exception being when congressional committees meet in "executive," i.e. secret, session).

Yet secrecy is compatible with responsibility because, when one person is responsible, it does not matter how he arrives at his decision.

To blame or reward him, one does not have to enter into "the secret springs of the transaction," as would be necessary if responsibility were shared.

In the present administration, we do not really need to know the sort of secrets we learn from reporters like Bob Woodward.

We do not need to know, for example, how important Vice President Cheney is; we can praise or blame President Bush for choosing to be advised by him.

With one person in charge we can have both secrecy and responsibility.

Here we have the reason that American society, in imitation of American government, makes so much use of one-man rule.

In all of its institutions--corporations, unions, sports teams, gangs, and universities--our republic likes to place power in the hands of one person, and then hold him responsible.

That is our republican maxim, quite different from the traditional one that sees safety in numbers.

From this standpoint the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is a mistake.

That law makes surveillance subject to approval by a secret court of judges, who are thereby placed in a false position.

If they give approval readily, they go against their profession as judges and fail to give judicious consideration to each case.

Yet if they think as judges in terms of criminals rather than enemies, that may do harm to the country.

We note that President Bush's critics do not want him to stop surveillance; they just want him to do it legally--as if legality could guarantee success and morality could make our enemies give up.

Much present-day thinking puts civil liberties and the rule of law to the fore and forgets to consider emergencies when liberties are dangerous and law does not apply.

But it is precisely difficult situations that we should think about and counsels of perfection that we should avoid.

Otherwise we end up admitting truth with a bad conscience, as did John McCain recently, when after denouncing the use of torture, he suddenly said on the contrary: "You do what you have to do."

In this way you have morality and the rule of law on one side and necessity on the other.

But isn't there a legal and a moral way to deal with necessity?

Our Constitution, properly understood, shows that there is.

We need to take better stock of our own achievements.

Harvey Mansfield is the William R. Kenan Jr. professor of government at Harvard.