Filed 4:45 PM EST Today's House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Hearing:

or, "Your Tax Dollars at Work for Donald Rumsfeld"

Listening to the Hearing today left me with one predominant feeling: Folks, we're in deep doo doo. If this is representative of the "check and balance" of our Congress and administration, then the teeter totter has not only tipped earthward, it's halfway to China. This was not a hearing - it was a "grab and grovel" fest - with Rummy doing the grabbing (his arm upto the shoulder into our nation's till) and Congress doing the groveling. Every single Congressperson that "questioned" (yeah, right) Rumsfeld and his sidekick Dov Zackheim prefaced their statements by planting a big juicy one where the sun don't shine. To summarize and paraphrase said opening comments: "Oh Rumsfeld, sir, oh most august and high one, let us prostrate ourselves and whimper how very much we are in awe of your magnificence and of your staggeringly heroic performance and of all those even vaguely associated with you and your Most Holy boss....Smmmmack! (kissy sound).

Rumsfeld's big pitch was all about flexibility. Gotta have more and more of it...in fact, just hand Dubya and me a blank check and we'll be on our way. However, when the issue of "accountability" was raised, Rumsfeld was annoyed. "Later," he said. The whole wacky idea was tabled in favor of "flexibility."

Alas, even David Obie, the one relatively outspoken Democrat I heard speak, was careful to expose plenty of belly before and after his questions. And, though he raised a CRITICAL point, he apologetically retreated the moment the "Mighty one" (apparently - it was radio) cocked a displeased eyebrow in his direction. Obie's point: Is it a really very good idea to allow Bush the power to dip into DOD funds (the biggest single chunk of the entire American budget and thus all our tax dollars) any time the spirit moves him, for any project, anywhere in the world for "security reasons", without asking the public or Congress's approval? And is it such a very good idea to give Bush the authority to define just what constitutes a "security issue?" Obie observed that the last time Rumsfeld and Bush dipped into the till on the sly, they made off with $20 billion and later simply sent Congress an e-mail (I'm NOT making this up) mentioning that "Oh, by the way, we took this money and spent it."

Obie had one great line: "Flexibility is one thing - turning the Constitution into a pretzel is another." We would have cheered him on, but he shortly thereafter caved in when Rummy said that he needs to be able to have money without oversight to address unforeseen "crises." What a great sales pitch - that could become a whole multi-level marketing approach: NEED CASH FAST? TIRED OF HAVING TO GIVE GOOD REASONS FOR WHY YOU WANT MONEY? CALL CREATE-A-CRISIS!!! WE'LL HELP YOU CONCOCT A NEW CRISIS EVERY TIME YOU NEED CASH FAST!l This company would, of course, have subsidiaries: PICK-A-FIGHT and PLANT-A-WEAPON.

It was revealed during the hearing that Rumsfeld, while exhorting the average American to do their patriotic duty by supporting HIM, is shoveling taxpayer bucks into the pockets of foreign companies, even though American companies are producing the same products or services more cheaply. In fact, as we speak, Rummy is currently using taxpayer cash to have a foreign company work on an office addition. God Bless 'Merica! So what was Rummy's response to this issue? Gotta have that flexibility! And, while you're at it throw in about $150 billion.

One of Rummy's new favorite lines is about how he has "waited and waited and waited" for "months and months and months" or "weeks and weeks and weeks" for money. Ex. The Bush administration offered Turkey a whopping $26 billion for the use of their air facilities. And then they "waited and we waited and we waited" for their answer...which was no. So now it is all the Turkish governments fault that Rummy needs more money to fix up other air strips....which will cost about .001% of the 26 billion promised to Turkey. But details like logic and accountability can't concern a Very Important Man like Rummy.

Rumsfeld, Zackheim and their Congressional toadies act like the world owes the US a living just for existing. They seem to paint a picture that the US was somehow deputized by the world to go into Iraq as a "strong arm man". Although this is (like most things emanating from this administration these days) a fantasy, this fairy-dust brigade is shocked that the world is not coming across with lots of cash and warm bodies.. HELLO!! No one but you mini-Napoleons wanted this war! Why on God's green Earth should the rest of the world have to pay for it now that you're finding it more expensive - and with less of a payoff - than you thought it would be? When we taxpayers go on a toot and run our credit cards up and over limit, it usually doesn't occur to us to go to the White House and ask G.W. Bush to pick up the difference. Maybe it should!

But Rumsfeld, ever the geriatric John Wayne blustered forth his concerns that our "allies" (who exactly does he mean?) are "not pulling their weight....in our view they aren't doing enough. We don't mind doing what we're doing, we're happy to do it for em..." Like the flimflam company that reroofed that lady's house without asking then took her to court to try to force her to pay up.

The most offensive person at the hearing (what I heard of it before nausea overwhelmed me) was Texas Rightwingnut Henry Bonilla, the Hispanic version of Colin Powell (I'm sure the Hispanics have their own counterpart to "Uncle Tom" - a large percentage of his constituents are Hispanic, a high percentage of whom are Catholic...the pope has condemned the war, yet good ole Henry is rapidly in favor of it. Who and what exactly does he represent? Our Father who art in White House?)

Here are some choice comments from Uncle Tomas: He told Rummy that they could all just ignore anyone not going along with the Bush war program because "The anti-war protestors are "a handful of kooks on the coasts in the big cities...They aren't indicative of what the overwhelming majority of Americans are feeling." On what does he base this? Because his constituents - rightwing Texans - have called and told him so. What a consensus! That's like saying, Hey! I think Bush is a genius! Why? Cause his mamma called and told me so.

Bonilla went on to demand why "Our quote-unquote "Allies" aren't meeting their responsibilities." and asserted, in a pathetic imitation Bush's phony cowboy swagger: "Don't you think it's time they belly up to the bar and pay some of these bills?" This is like a company dropping off a lemon of a car you didn't order in your front yard - despite your repeated loud assertions that you DID NOT WANT THE CAR - then demanding to know what the hell is wrong with you that you aren't leaping to pay for it.

Anyone who wants to tell Bonilla what you think, here's his "info."
http://www.house.gov/bonilla/district1.html

War Criminal John Negroponte walks out of UN meeting after Iraqi accuses US of attempting to exterminate the Iraqi people.

There is nothing more embarrassingly lame than an unprosecuted perpetrator of crimes against humanity trying to show "righteous indignation" when he hears accusations of attempted war crimes. But this is the sad act the UN was treated to when John Negroponte walked out following comments by IRaqi rep Mohammed Al-Douri. Want to read more about Negroponte's crimes: See

http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0313-03.htm There is also a fantastic series in the Baltimore Sun exposing the depths of Negropontes evil - if you don't mind paying for the archive, go to http://www.sunspot.net/search/bal_all.jsp?keyword0=John+Negroponte+series&Fields=&SortBy=recent&bal_news_lib__section_path2=

IRAQI ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER IN MAKING

U.S. is building a SIXTY MILE pipeline across part of Iraq to bring fuel in. Just great. A hastily constructed fuel line carrying diesel fuel, leaking and seeping into the desert and into Iraq's precious groundwater supply.