Uh oh - Watching CSPAN - Breaking News Headline

[Avalux]

"President Bush to start troop increase by end of month. National Guard expected to play larger role in coming YEARS".

:grr:

Pengaton policy will have to change in order to be able to extend NG troop deployment (there's currently a limit). That's how the little asshole's gonna get more troops, by continuing to abuse the National Guard, who shouldn't even be there in the first place. And YEARS?? Lovely.

[goclark]

1. Slimeball Bush

[shadowknows69]

2. Governors need to start refusing to deploy their guard units.

n/t

[Clark2008]

5. That's an excellent idea. I think they can do that.

Unless Bush has issued another signing statement making their control over their own guard's useless, that is.

[woodsprite]

25. Didn't he sign something that gave him that power? I thought so.

I believe he sneaked something like that into the Military Commissions Act recently.

[elehhhhna]

64. Yes he did. He can do whatever the hell he pleases w/ them, IIRC.

[MADem]

6. Cue Twilight Zone theme (see below, I was typing the same thing!) NT

[roamer65]

9. Yes, they do. I agree.

..or dump all state funding for the NG and begin to form state militias under direct control of the state governments.

[NCarolinawoman]

23. I can see my Democratic governor fighting this.

Mike Easley is already on record as saying he doesn't like the way Bush has been using the NG.

Easley seems kind of bland on the surface, but he has a record as a crime fighter, and he use to be our Attorney General.

Also, most INTELLIGENT governors from hurricane states really appreciate the NG's importance on a state level.

[Pastiche423]

62. Just yesterday

the Oregonian Govenor Kulongnoski announced on air that he was against the surge and did not want our National Guard sent.

[Virginian]

69. Didnt the Gov of Louisiana have that same problem?

I don't remember exactly what was rumored and what was true, but it seems like he was with holding aid because she wasn't going to give him the state's NG. I'm not sure I ever heard exactly what the story was there.

[malaise]

44. They will

New rules. Should be fun.

[buddysmellgood]

3. That's not gonna fly. He is digging a deeeep hole.

[MUAD_DIB]

16. This is just more Urinary Executive.

Fitting since it is coming from a pissy little creep.

[MADem]

51. Heh, heh.....

Right on the mark...

[MADem]

4. Wonder if governors will start playing the state's rights cards?

And REFUSE to release their Guardsmen to the federal gov't? I'd love to see one governor bite the bullet and do it....there might be some hell to pay, but if one or two brave souls got the ball rolling and they all did it, the war would end.

[Debau2005]

10. Mine won't!

The repuke in GA, will more then happily send the National Guard to be cannon fodder for *.

[Avalux]

12. Same here in TX.

Our guard troops will be available for whatever Bush wants.

[Rosemary2205]

41. Well it won't be Sonny Purdue in Georgia

Purdue has his head so far up Bush's petard that he's no longer even able to see the light of day.

[flamin lib]

7. This from a guy who couldn't make all his NG meetings! nt

[bullimiami]

8. the guard should never have been available to bush for this debacle.

[EST]

11. This should be an NRA dream.

We will have to start organizing homeland security militias to do the NG's job.

[Divernan]

27. Is that why NRA president was hunting w/ Cheney this week in PA?

Cheney, Santorum & NRA president had another canned hunt (where they shoot ducks & pheasants who are too weak to fly more than a very short distance) at Rolling Rock Club in southwestern PA - we all wondered what the nexus was between these 3.

[EnviroBat]

13. Has he officially become a wild animal trapped in a corner yet?

The guy is fucking nuts. Is his own stubborn stupidity his "blaze of glory", that he seems to be going out in?

[Z_I_Peevey]

22. Yes.

Sure looks that way.

[baldguy]

14. Why not eliminate the regular Army altogether?

Have press gangs roam the streets picking up any able bodied man they come across, then ship them out to fight & die for Bush's wars in the ME?

Right now, there are about 9000 troops available for the next few months - after March & April there will be none. They'll have to pull from S Korea, Europe & Afghanistan to get 20,000

[Avalux]

15. So that means they will HAVE to use NG troops -

I look for a major Pentagon policy shift announced by Gates, probably tomorrow.

[Jackpine Radical]

24. Why bother with troops at all? Why not hire mercenaries?

We're already going down the path of ancient Rome. Might as well take the next step.

[bdamomma]

42. aren;t they doing that now with that Blackwater agency, those

guys are mercenaries.

[Jackpine Radical]

61. Of course. Might as well go the rest of the way.

Of course, in today's Iraq we use our low-paid, disposable military to provide security for the high-paid mercs.

But I'm sure the world is filled with people who would fight for us for almost nothing. There could be entire Spanish-speaking divisions, for example.

[doublethink]

17. Dammit ...... can't find the bill, signing statement or whatever it was ......

that the Repubs and Bush pushed through at the end of 2006....... in effect stating that he had the power to take control of all states National Guard Units .... someone help me here, lots of posts on it here in DU at the time? .... anyway this from wikipidia ....

"Though little known, one of the main functions of National Guard as envisioned by the Founding Fathers of the U.S.A. is to be a line of defense preventing the President from using martial law against the interests of the individual U.S. states. This in effect makes the National Guard a buffer or guard against renegade and/or despotic executive power(s)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Guard

[Avalux]

21. CRAP!!!! It was a provision of the House spending bill -

Governors no longer have control of the NG in times of national crisis - but don't know if this "surge" applies. Here's an article about it from August - I'll try to find the provision -

"The provision was tucked into the House version of the defense bill without notice to the states, something Vilsack said he resents as much as the proposal itself.

Under the provision, the president would have authority to take control of the Guard in case of "a serious natural or manmade disaster, accident or catastrophe" in the United States.

Huckabee said he does not know if President Bush wants that authority, but said "the administration is supporting this."

He and Vilsack said they believe the provision was a reaction to Hurricane Katrina, when Bush debated taking control of National Guard units from Louisiana and Mississippi to end confusion about who was responsible for security in storm-devastated areas."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/05/AR2006080500732.html

[Ian_rd]

28. You beat me to it. Nice find.

This is an important lesson. Not only is Bush willing to unconstitutionally grab power in devious ways, but he is also willing to use it.

[woodsprite]

29. Well, I guess the Oil War counts as a manmade crisis. n/t

[doublethink]

30. Thanks Sparosnare! Your OP hit me like a ton of bricks and I ....

just couldn't think straight to find the details on what all that was about, but In effect I remembered it suspended Posse Comitatus and such in certain circumstance. Anyway thanks for getting this out there, damn Bush to all hell. :grr:

[Avalux]

32. It's the "John Warner National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2007"

Thank you for jarring me on that one - I had forgotten about it. Now I wonder what national disaster will occur to justify seizure of the National Guard? x(

[doublethink]

35. In Bush-World ...... he may just try and claim that ......

this 'War on Terror' has reached such a critical stage that he (as the decider, dictator) under his "unitary executive" authority will re-define it as a National Disaster and preemptively impose this NDAA ...... okay that's all a stretch? ;) but in 'Bush world' what isn't a stretch? :grr:

[Avalux]

37. OR -

tinfoil hat time - something happens. After all, wasn't there a scare at the Port of Miami this weekend involving Iraqis? I don't want to think such things.......

[doublethink]

43. Yea turn to FAUX .....

:eyes: I know .... but just now they were reporting another 'suspicious package' found in Miami somewhere. Was just flipping the channels and seems they were the only ones covering it. They were the only ones covering some missing child too ..... damn that channel goes out of their way to find this stuff .... anyway if something happens (Gawd forbid) I'm sure we'll hear of it first on Faux ya know. :eyes: ..... I keep at the back of my mind Bush's attempts to provoke something from Iran, or some false flag thing going off somewhere, wouldn't take much with the hysteria propagated through the MSM. We shall see.. sigh.

[bdamomma]

46. we have open borders and our national guard is not being

used for our states, we are totally not secure in this country. And our first responders have been struggling also, we are not a secure nation right now. We all should know that because we saw what happened during Katrina when even the Guard showed up late, because they were in Iraq and the equipment too.

[rpgamerd00d]

54. Iraq is not "In the United States" Bush cant take control of the NG.

[Avalux]

56. Well, he's done everything else he's wanted.

I have no reason to believe he won't try to do what he wants with the NG; who will stop him? :shrug:

[doublethink]

58. Iraq is not "In the Untied States" so why is our NG in Iraq?

see that's the way bush world works. :shrug:

[EST]

65. Better check under the bed.

He has already sent 40% of the guard to Iraq.

[Blackhatjack]

18. This Might Be Last Straw, And Could Lead Repubs To Call For Bush's Impeachment...

Just in case anyone forgot to look at the public opinion polls, the people are against continuing this war in Iraq 2-1, and want the troops brought home now. Plus the results of the last election that swept out Republican majorities in both Houses of Congress are indicators of the level of public discontent with this war.

Long term career Republicans facing reelection can read the handwriting on the wall. If Bush continues down this path, paying no attention to the people, the generals on the ground, the Congress, and even his father's top advisors, then there may very well be only one option left. Impeachment and removal proceedings initiated, in the hope that Bush will resign office.

Otherwise, after the next election Congressional Republicans may hold a minority so small they will be unable to prevent the Congress from overriding any veto that a President issues. But in that case, the likelihood of a Republican President being elected in 2008 will be virtually zero.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

19. Impeach, Impeach, Impeach

eom

[RestoreGore]

20. This is our doing as well...

"A shocking crime was committed on the unscrupulous initiative of few individuals, with the blessing of more, and amid the passive acquiescence of all."

Tacitus

IT'S TIME TO IMPEACH THIS CAESAR.

[earth mom]

26. Impeach Already! Jeez! How much more abuse must this country take?!

:grr:

[Avalux]

34. It just doesn't end, does it?

I really don't know, but I've had ENOUGH.

[smoogatz]

31. You knew this was coming.

Since the "surge" is purely symbolic anyway, they could send 20,000 cooks, dishwashers and tuba players. Doesn't matter who the fuck they send, because the "mission" is to punt Iraq into the hands of whatever unlucky bastard is going to be President in 2009. It'll take six months or so to fully implement the "surge," six months or so for the "surge" to have a first chance, six more months for a second chance (because the "mission" in Iraq is "crucial"), then we'll have an election to think about, then Bush will be done--with no military defeat in Iraq to stain his "legacy." It's desperate, but it'll buy him the time he needs to get out of the White House and back to pig farm, or down to Paraguay, or wherever the hell he's going to go and hide from the mobs with pitchforks and torches for the rest of his miserable life.

[marmar]

33. Sigh

"It's not a matter of whether the war is not real, or if it is, Victory is not possible. The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous. Hierarchical society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance. This new version is the past and no different past can ever have existed. In principle the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation. The war is waged by the grueling group against its own subjects and its object is not the victory over either Eurasia or East Asia but to keep the very structure of society intact." - George Orwell

“War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses." - Smedley Darlington Butler

:argh:

[Catherine Vincent]

36. Republicans! Wake up!

n/t

[bdamomma]

38. the National Guard did not sign up for active duty in a War

they just signed up for weekend duty, and to protect their states.

[dogday]

39. I told my Son today that I felt it would not be

long before he is called up again and he just returned home in November... I just have that feeling...

[bdamomma]

48. oh dogday, that just (excuse my bluntness) sucks.

thank your son for his service for me.

[dogday]

50. I do almost every day...

Thanks for thinking of him... I don't think I can take another year of him being over there....:hi:

[Avalux]

52. Tell your son thank you -

and I hope and pray he's not sent back to Iraq. There has to be a way to keep this from happening. :hug:

[seemslikeadream]

40. He said it would take a thousand years

"Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer, ein Volk"



One Hope, One people, One country, One leader.
One Hope, One people, One country, One destiny.

Stand up be brave my people we're here to stay, for a thousand years.
An oath you've spoken, can never be broken, you'll pay, in blood and tears
Never tire, never doubt, never falter, never slacken, Just believe in me.
Stand up, shout loud, stand proud, in what we will we will achieve.

One Hope, One people, One country, One leader will set you free
One Hope, One people, One country, One destiny for a thousand years

Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk,
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk,
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk,
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk.

It's not enough just to say you love your country, its not enough.
It's not enough to get down on your knees and pray, it's just not enough.

The price is high, the price you have to pay is your freedom, surrender yourselves.
Mothers send me your blue-eyed blonde-haired boys and let me see them, blue-eyed blonde-haired boys.

One Hope, One people, One country, One leader will set you free.
One Hope, One people, One country, One destiny for a thousand years.

Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk,
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk,
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk,
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk,
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk,
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk,
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk,
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher, Ein Volk.

One Hope, One people, One country, One leader will set you free
One Hope, One people, One country, One destiny for a thousand years.

[progressivebydesign]

45. You're right they HAVE been abusing the National Guard.

The only way Bush has gotten away with this so far has been to exploit them. What part of NATIONAL doesn't he get?

[bdamomma]

49. bush is abusing all military branches, he is just totally evil.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

47. Just think of how many National Guard members live normal lives with good jobs, house payments etc

are going to probably lose it all for this sociopath.
I wonder if there have been any statistics on how many National Guard members have had to declare bankruptcy and how many wind up becoming divorced?

[Danascot]

53. Won't happen

You can't fight a war that doesn't have the broad support of the populace. Examples from throughout history. That said, it may take longer than we like for it to take hold ... it already has.

If the Pukes (and the Dems for that matter) don't stop it they'll pay dearly.

[Neecy]

55. More information here...

I posted a thread with the current regulations regarding the use of the Guard, and how the Guard itself (as well as the Pentagon) does NOT want their deployments extended - but Bush is going to do it anyway.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x3082011

[Avalux]

57. Thanks. n/t

[TZ]

59. bad karma

Wait till a storm like Katrina hits his town of Houston and drowns it too. With very few National Guards I doubt he would be welcome even in the "great state of Texas":hide:

[bluewave]

60. Governors should reject this.

I hear they have the power over the guard.

[fooj]

63. But...but...the Iraqis are expected to take over in November...

:grr:

[LibDemAlways]

66. Whenever I go to the movies these days

the theatre shows an ad for the Guard, playing up how its role is to "serve in your community" and assist in national emergencies. They don't say a thing about getting shipped off to Iraq as cannon fodder. Guess that part is in the fine print on the enlistment papers.

[robertpaulsen]

67. Anyone have that "Weekend Warrior My Ass!" picture?

I remember seeing a picture of some National Guardsman in Iraq driving a Humvee with a sign that said something like One weekend a month, My Ass! or something like that. I'd love to put that on my wallpaper at work.

[file83]

68. LOL - the 'Pengaton' - LOL

Some times typos are just pure genius. "Pengaton" sounds so much more accurate than "Pentagon". I'm going to start calling it "Pengaton" from now on.

:rofl: