The Republican leadership in the Senate has done it again.
After an all-night session called by Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in which the Iraq war was, at long last, debated as to its continued viability, Republicans led by Mitch McConnell, John McCain, and phony Independent Joe Lieberman, blocked attempts to pass the Levin-Reed (Jack Reed of RI, not Harry) amendment, which would have finally begun the process of bringing this disastrous war to an end. The Republicans are feeling quite proud of themselves tonight, having voted to protect the president, rather than American troops, once again. Apparently, support the troops, for Republicans, means supporting only their commander in chief, and to hell with those who are actually fighting and dying for his catastrophic mistake. (Note that the latest NIE indicates that Bush insistence on switching our focus from Afghanistan to Iraq in 2002 hurt the war on terror, by taking our eye off the ball in the Afghan-Pakistan border region, where al-Qaida is actually based, as opposed to Iraq, where only name-only offshoots dwell... for Michael Ware's spot-on take, click here.)
Reid has responded by pulling the entire Defense Authorization Bill from the floor, leading Republicans, in an incredible display of chutzpah, to blame Democrats for not supporting the troops. John McCain's melodramatic press conference performance, gilded by his pathetic attempts to get back into the good graces of the hard core fools who now constitute the Republican Qaida, was actually embarassing.
So now, Republicans, you must take complete ownership of this war. The Democrats are now four square against its continuation, as are seven in ten Americans. That leaves you alone as the defenders of the president an his Mesopotamian adventure. You own it, with all its consequences.
The tally in today's 52-47 vote: only four of the seven or so Republicans who have now publicly expressed opposition to the current war strategy had the courage to vote their convictions. They were: Chuch Hagel of Nebraska, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Susan Collins, also of Maine. Others, like Virginia's John Warner, tucked their pride and manhood into their pockets and voted with the president. Shame on them.
And to those who are still clinging to this war, and to this president, apparently without regard to the carnage its creating, both against Iraqis, and against our troops, shame on you.
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dim done
done = request.form("done")
if done = "" then
done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
'Response.write ("Sent to ") & email
End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
