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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist
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Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan
#4143715 - 05/06/05 06:48 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Click on link to read the pdf of the account which includes signatures.
http://www.rawstory.com/aexternal/conyers_iraq_letter_502
SECRET PLANS Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan RAW STORY
Eighty-eight members of Congress have signed a letter authored by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) calling on President Bush to answer questions about a secret U.S.-UK agreement to attack Iraq, RAW STORY has learned. Advertisement In a letter, Conyers and other members say they are disappointed the mainstream media has not touched the revelations.
"Unfortunately, the mainstream media in the United States was too busy with wall-to-wall coverage of a "runaway bride" to cover a bombshell report out of the British newspapers," Conyers writes. "The London Times reports that the British government and the United States government had secretly agreed to attack Iraq in 2002, before authorization was sought for such an attack in Congress, and had discussed creating pretextual justifications for doing so."
"The Times reports, based on a newly discovered document, that in 2002 British Prime Minister Tony Blair chaired a meeting in which he expressed his support for "regime change" through the use of force in Iraq and was warned by the nation's top lawyer that such an action would be illegal," he adds. "Blair also discussed the need for America to "create" conditions to justify the war."
The members say they are seeking an inquiry.
"This should not be allowed to fall down the memory hole during wall-to-wall coverage of the Michael Jackson trial and a runaway bride," he remarks. "To prevent that from occuring, I am circulating the following letter among my House colleagues and asking them to sign on to it."
The letter follows.
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May 5, 2005
The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States of America The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We write because of troubling revelations in the Sunday London Times apparently confirming that the United States and Great Britain had secretly agreed to attack Iraq in the summer of 2002, well before the invasion and before you even sought Congressional authority to engage in military action. While various individuals have asserted this to be the case before, including Paul O'Neill, former U.S. Treasury Secretary, and Richard Clarke, a former National Security Council official, they have been previously dismissed by your Administration. However, when this story was divulged last weekend, Prime Minister Blair's representative claimed the document contained "nothing new." If the disclosure is accurate, it raises troubling new questions regarding the legal justifications for the war as well as the integrity of your own Administration.
The Sunday Times obtained a leaked document with the minutes of a secret meeting from highly placed sources inside the British Government. Among other things, the document revealed:
* Prime Minister Tony Blair chaired a July 2002 meeting, at which he discussed military options, having already committed himself to supporting President Bush's plans for invading Iraq.
* British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw acknowledged that the case for war was "thin" as "Saddam was not threatening his neighbours and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea, or Iran."
* A separate secret briefing for the meeting said that Britain and America had to "create" conditions to justify a war.
* A British official "reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."
As a result of this recent disclosure, we would like to know the following:
1) Do you or anyone in your Administration dispute the accuracy of the leaked document?
2) Were arrangements being made, including the recruitment of allies, before you sought Congressional authorization go to war? Did you or anyone in your Administration obtain Britain's commitment to invade prior to this time?
3) Was there an effort to create an ultimatum about weapons inspectors in order to help with the justification for the war as the minutes indicate?
4) At what point in time did you and Prime Minister Blair first agree it was necessary to invade Iraq?
5) Was there a coordinated effort with the U.S. intelligence community and/or British officials to "fix" the intelligence and facts around the policy as the leaked document states?
We have of course known for some time that subsequent to the invasion there have been a variety of varying reasons proffered to justify the invasion, particularly since the time it became evident that weapons of mass destruction would not be found. This leaked document - essentially acknowledged by the Blair government - is the first confirmation that the rationales were shifting well before the invasion as well.
Given the importance of this matter, we would ask that you respond to this inquiry as promptly as possible. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Members who have already signed letter: Neil Abercrombie Brian Baird Tammy Baldwin Xavier Becerra Shelley Berkley Eddie Bernice Johnson Sanford Bishop Earl Blumenauer Corrine Brown Sherrod Brown G.K. Butterfield Emanuel Cleaver James Clyburn John Conyers Jim Cooper Elijah Cummings Danny Davis Peter DeFazio Diana DeGette Bill Delahunt Rosa DeLauro Lloyd Doggett Sam Farr Bob Filner Harold Ford, Jr. Barney Frank Al Green Raul Grijalva Louis Gutierrez Alcee Hastings Maurice Hinchey Rush Holt Jay Inslee Sheila Jackson Lee Jessie Jackson Jr. Marcy Kaptur Patrick Kennedy Dale Kildee Carolyn Kilpatrick Dennis Kucinich William Lacy Clay Barbara Lee John Lewis Zoe Lofgren Donna M. Christensen Carolyn Maloney Ed Markey Carolyn McCarthy Jim McDermott James McGovern Cynthia McKinney Martin Meehan Kendrick Meek Gregory Meeks Michael Michaud George Miller Gwen S. Moore James Moran Jerrold Nadler Grace Napolitano James Oberstar John Olver Major Owens Frank Pallone Donald Payne Charles Rangel Bobby Rush Bernie Sanders Linda Sanchez Jan Schakowsky Jose Serrano Ike Skelton Louise Slaughter Hilda Solis Pete Stark Ellen Tauscher Bennie Thompson Edolphus Towns Stephanie Tubbs Jones Chris Van Hollen Nydia Velazquez Debbie Wasserman Schultz Maxine Waters Diane Watson Melvin Watt Robert Wexler Lynn Woolsey David Wu Albert R. Wynn
To read the letter in PDF format, including signatures, click here.
66 Comments
Article originally published May 5, 2005.
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi "We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin "Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style. -Common sense is uncommon.
Edited by Psychoactive1984 (05/07/05 03:16 PM)
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faslimy
Dead Man
Registered: 04/04/04
Posts: 3,436
Last seen: 8 years, 3 months
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: Psychoactive1984]
#4143750 - 05/06/05 06:58 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Could it fucking be anymore blatent that the war was nothing but ritual slaughter. Apparantly it can...
Edited by faslimy (05/06/05 06:59 PM)
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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist
Registered: 02/06/05
Posts: 3,546
Loc: California, Monterey Coun...
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: faslimy]
#4143791 - 05/06/05 07:09 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Talk to zappa, he'll tell ya otherwise.
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi "We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin "Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style. -Common sense is uncommon.
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faslimy
Dead Man
Registered: 04/04/04
Posts: 3,436
Last seen: 8 years, 3 months
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: Psychoactive1984]
#4143805 - 05/06/05 07:14 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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I'm sure he will tell me that the deaths of thousands of woman and children were necessary, from the comfort of his well endowed home.
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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist
Registered: 02/06/05
Posts: 3,546
Loc: California, Monterey Coun...
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: faslimy]
#4143840 - 05/06/05 07:22 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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I dunno what he'll say, either way I'm sure it'll be something to the effect that all of these 88 members of congress are dissenters to patriotism and that we are at war with terrorists who are destroying the American way of life one day at a time
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi "We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin "Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style. -Common sense is uncommon.
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Alan Stone
Corpus
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: Psychoactive1984]
#4145001 - 05/07/05 02:31 AM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
The Honorable George W. Bush
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA !
To any and all Americans: how's your faith in your government's ability to protect the world now?
-------------------- It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle
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JesusChrist
Son Of God
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: Alan Stone]
#4145197 - 05/07/05 05:55 AM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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The War will be over before the Democrats end debating whether we should go to war. How progressive and forward thinking they are.
-------------------- Tastes just like chicken
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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist
Registered: 02/06/05
Posts: 3,546
Loc: California, Monterey Coun...
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: JesusChrist]
#4146521 - 05/07/05 01:08 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Actually.... the war on terrorism will never be over, just like the war on drugs...
Seems as if we Americans like to burden ourselves with wars that have no conceivable end, rather then look to simpler alternatives. We should on the world front collectively be looking, and dismantling terrorist organizations rather then countries... unless of course America decides to abandon Israel, and end its double standard (very unlikely).
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi "We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin "Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style. -Common sense is uncommon.
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SoopaX
Criminal DrugAnalyst
Registered: 11/12/04
Posts: 1,690
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: Psychoactive1984]
#4147098 - 05/07/05 02:49 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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88 = Heil Hitler. Clearly, they are nazis.
-------------------- Jackie Treehorn treats objects like women, man
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: Psychoactive1984]
#4147221 - 05/07/05 03:06 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Psychoactive1984 said: I dunno what he'll say, either way I'm sure it'll be something to the effect that all of these 88 members of congress are dissenters to patriotism and that we are at war with terrorists who are destroying the American way of life one day at a time
I defy you to find any post of mine that cites patriotism. I'd also like to see you make your links work. How many members of Congress are there again? 536 or so last I looked. So these 88 would constitute what 16%? Yep, seems like a ruling minority to me.
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: Alan Stone]
#4147235 - 05/07/05 03:08 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Alan Stone said:
Quote:
The Honorable George W. Bush
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA !
To any and all Americans: how's your faith in your government's ability to protect the world now?
Don't quite understand this little bit of nonsense from an S&P refugee.
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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist
Registered: 02/06/05
Posts: 3,546
Loc: California, Monterey Coun...
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: zappaisgod]
#4147299 - 05/07/05 03:17 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Defy me all you want ... the truth is more then evident to a few of us.
The link is fixed, you could've alternately entered the address.
Minority or not, get off your fix, somethings just aren't right about this administration regardless of your fanaticism.
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi "We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin "Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style. -Common sense is uncommon.
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newuser1492
Registered: 06/12/03
Posts: 3,104
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: zappaisgod]
#4147328 - 05/07/05 03:22 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Hey zappa which way to lean politically? I don't mean left or right rather which party most closely represents your beliefs.
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
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Posts: 81,741
Loc: Fractallife's gym
Last seen: 7 years, 9 months
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: newuser1492]
#4147391 - 05/07/05 03:36 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
cb9fl said: Hey zappa which way to lean politically? I don't mean left or right rather which party most closely represents your beliefs.
Hate to say it but I think you know it's Republican. Which is quite an indictment of the Democrats for a militant atheist to seek common cause with some of these fucking loons. I think the Democrats are so bad that I will accept the major abuses of the Republicans because the alternative is, in my opinion, such an absolute horror.
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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist
Registered: 02/06/05
Posts: 3,546
Loc: California, Monterey Coun...
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: zappaisgod]
#4147400 - 05/07/05 03:39 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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I agree with your reasoning for your stance partially... but I choose not to take sides as I believe the full association and undying support for any cause is ridiculous, well support for actions that aren't worthy of support that is. I don't exactly believe in absolution.
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi "We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin "Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style. -Common sense is uncommon.
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newuser1492
Registered: 06/12/03
Posts: 3,104
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: zappaisgod]
#4147407 - 05/07/05 03:40 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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So you don't fall into the Libertarian category?
Do you agree with Republican led corporatism?
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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist
Registered: 02/06/05
Posts: 3,546
Loc: California, Monterey Coun...
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: zappaisgod]
#4147411 - 05/07/05 03:41 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
zappaisgod said:
Quote:
Alan Stone said:
Quote:
The Honorable George W. Bush
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA !
To any and all Americans: how's your faith in your government's ability to protect the world now?
Don't quite understand this little bit of nonsense from an S&P refugee.
Perhaps you should go to the S&P, reasoning is a fundamental concept that is looked at.
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi "We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin "Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style. -Common sense is uncommon.
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
Registered: 02/11/04
Posts: 81,741
Loc: Fractallife's gym
Last seen: 7 years, 9 months
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: Psychoactive1984]
#4147461 - 05/07/05 03:49 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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Clicked the link then folowed that to a Times of London article citing the alleged secret meetings. Unfortunately, they didn't actually link to the minutes of the secret meetings so there is no way to tell if they actually say what they say it says. See your other post about Torture if you are unclear as to why I doubt your source's veracity, especially since Raw Story is the one in both. There isn't even anything here to debunk and the 88 are jackasses who don't care about evidence, they just grandstand, like Bush did with the turnip Schiavo.
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole
Registered: 02/11/04
Posts: 81,741
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Last seen: 7 years, 9 months
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: zappaisgod]
#4147490 - 05/07/05 03:55 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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I check out S&P a good bit. Too much navel gazing. And the "reasoning" there is mostly not very rigorous. I still have no fucking idea what Alan was talking about. I don't do faith. And I don't know about protecting the world. If there's a killer asteroid coming I sure aint gonna ask the Hopi to do a prayer of deflection, if that's what he's talking about.
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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist
Registered: 02/06/05
Posts: 3,546
Loc: California, Monterey Coun...
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Re: Eighty-eight members of Congress call on Bush for answers on secret Iraq plan [Re: zappaisgod]
#4147519 - 05/07/05 03:59 PM (18 years, 10 months ago) |
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http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/letters/bushsecretmemoltr5505.pdf It's a government website if that makes you feel better.
Ya... the 88 don't care about evidence, they're just left/liberal fucks that wish to waste peoples times and their own. Great outlook.
Do you expect something to debunk? Wait till your favorite administration responds (if it does) their will be plenty of debunking.
I agree with your views on faith, I'm merely suggesting that someone that posts from S&P isn't automatically less rational then someone who posts in here.
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi "We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin "Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style. -Common sense is uncommon.
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