>I have trouble thinking of people like Winston Churchill and Theodore >Roosevelt as corrupt. If they were it would have to be pretty obscure. > >What I see is a system which weilds too much power concentrated as the >Federal level and this is too tempting. A system of laws which is so >verbose it is easy to hide corruption making it look legal, or at least >hard to find. Also, if an honest man becomes part of this system it is >quickly evident the honest man will not 'play the game', and the rest >work to sink him. Brice, do you mean the way that John McCain was "destroyed" and sunk in the 2000 campaign? That was really dirty. Interesting also how you should not critizice and not hold the president accountable for anything, because this would destroy the moral of the troops. Did you read the latest Pentagon-report about the inadequacy of body armor for American soldiers? Did you also read or listen to L. Paul Bremer? He send several requests to Rummy but didn't even hear back. He made sure that Rummy got these requests in person. But Rummy just ignored them, because they didn't fit into his picture. Very nice interview on FOX-News last sunday. What did Rummy and GWB promise? 3 yrs into this war, over 200 billion spend (guess mainly for Haliburton) and still inadequate body-armor. Somebody is getting very rich and the troops get killed. Shame on this adminstration. They are a bunch of liars and cowards. ACCOUNTABILITY Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy( I don't think to much of him either, but he right about this) used Bush's argument against the president. "I wholeheartedly agree with President Bush about the need for accountability in the debate on the war in Iraq. 2006 must be the year when the American people demand that President Bush and other high government officials be held accountable for their mistakes," he said. Reid said it was outrageous that Bush was using U.S. troops as a shield from criticism in an address to veterans and also had refused to address a recent Pentagon report on the inadequacy of body armor for American soldiers in Iraq. "Patriotic Americans will continue to ask the tough questions because our brave men and women in Iraq, their families and the American people deserve to know that their leaders are being held accountable," Reid said. California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who was in Iraq in December, said he agreed with Bush's call for a reasoned discussion of the war and the need for constructive criticism. "But the administration cannot question the patriotism of those who disagree on war strategy and at the same time call for greater civility," Schiff said, adding, "We should be exploiting the divisions among our enemies, not among ourselves." Bush is trying to convince skeptical Americans that his strategy for Iraq will work even as the U.S. death toll continues to mount nearly three years after the invasion to oust President Saddam Hussein. The president also urged disaffected Sunni Arabs to join in the governing process in Iraq, saying "compromise and consensus and power-sharing are the only path to national unity and lasting democracy." "A country that divides into factions and dwells on old grievances cannot move forward and risks sliding back into tyranny," he said. On concerns Iraqi security forces are engaging in torture against minorities, Bush called it "unacceptable" and said adjustments were being made in the way forces are trained. * To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, * * etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *