|
Here's where you can get Linda Eddy
stuff:
Currently available:
click here for t-shirts, posters, stickers, mugs & more
click here for t-shirts, posters, stickers, mugs & more
*click
here for buttons, posters, magnets & more
*click
here for just the t-shirt
click
here for t-shirts, buttons, stickers, magnets, mugs & more
click
here for t-shirts, buttons, stickers, magnets, mugs & more
click
here for t-shirts, buttons, stickers, magnets, mugs & more
|
Veterans for Bush
Republicans are set to outdo the Democrats' roster of a dozen retired
generals and admirals who endorsed Sen. John Kerry. The Bush campaign
is creating a list of more than a hundred who will pledge support to
Bush.
Veterans have become a code word for stating that Kerry is qualified
to be Commander in Chief and can take care of our nation’s security
issues. However, if Lt. Kerry is not accepted by the veterans, that
premise doesn’t work.
Bush reforms intelligence agencies
All the institutions of our
government must be fully prepared for a struggle against terror that
will last into the future. Our goal is an integrated, unified national
intelligence effort. Therefore, my administration will continue moving
forward with additional changes to the structure and organization of
our intelligence agencies… All these reforms have a single goal: We
will ensure that the people in government responsible for defending
America and countering terrorism have the best possible information to
make the best decisions."
President George W. Bush,
August 2, 2004
Presidential Action, August 2,
2004
Following a careful review of the
9/11 Commission report, President Bush announced his support for the
creation of the new position of National Intelligence Director (NID)
and looks forward to working with the Congress to move forward the
necessary process of intelligence reform as quickly as possible.
President Bush also announced that he
will establish a National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and take
other actions designed to continue the process, underway since
September 11, 2001, of strengthening America’s ability to win the war
on terrorism.
President Bush agrees with the 9/11
Commission’s recommendations for improving information sharing among
agencies involved in national security work, embracing the information
revolution while protecting sensitive national security information
and preserving privacy, and the continued changes underway at the CIA
and FBI.
President Bush strongly supports the
9/11 Commission’s recommendations regarding congressional oversight
reorganization for both intelligence and homeland security.
President Bush has already taken
numerous actions since September 11, 2001, to better address terrorist
threats to our nation. With this announcement, President Bush will
have taken actions consistent with almost every one of the 9/11
Commission’s recently published recommendations.
Background on Presidential
Action
During the last three years, the Bush
Administration has implemented the most sweeping changes to the
organization of our national security institutions since World War II,
and has launched a number of significant foreign policy and homeland
security initiatives consistent with 9/11 Commission recommendations.
It created a new Department of Homeland Security and ensured it has
the resources and authority to protect the homeland. It established
the Terrorist Threat Integration Center to integrate and analyze, in a
single place, both foreign and domestic intelligence on global terror.
It has transformed the primary focus of the FBI to preventing
terrorist attacks. President Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act, which
strengthens law enforcement's abilities to prevent, investigate, and
prosecute acts of terror, facilitating Federal government efforts to
thwart potential terrorist activity throughout the United States. And
it is continuing to expand and strengthen the intelligence collection
and analytical capabilities of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Taking the next logical steps to
build upon these and other efforts, President Bush called for the
establishment of a National Intelligence Director and a
National Counterterrorism Center.
National Intelligence Director (NID).
Once established in law, the NID will serve as President Bush’s
principal intelligence advisor and the head of the Intelligence
Community. The NID's authorities and responsibilities will further
enhance the ability of our intelligence community to give the
President and his advisors an integrated intelligence product on
threats to our national security and improve the warning function of
intelligence. This will help to make certain that every President has
the best, unbiased, unvarnished assessment of America’s intelligence
professionals. These organizational changes will allow a Director of
the CIA to focus solely on foreign intelligence collection, analysis,
and any additional responsibilities assigned by President Bush. It
will not only lead to improvements in the quality of analysis, but
will also ensure that our human intelligence collection capabilities
continue to grow in their quantity and quality. The NID will:
-
Assume the responsibilities and
authorities of the current Director of Central Intelligence as head
of the Intelligence Community, including responsibilities to oversee
the national intelligence program and its budget, and coordinate the
activities of the CIA, DoD intelligence agencies, the FBI’s
intelligence and counterterrorism activities, and parts of the
Department of Homeland Security.
-
Have the authority and
responsibility for presenting an integrated intelligence budget to
the President for his consideration through the existing OMB budget
process, and increased authority in the selection of personnel at
national intelligence agencies.
-
Oversee the work of the newly
created National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). The Director of the
NCTC will report to the NID.
-
Through the NCTC, have overall
responsibility within the U.S. Government for integrating foreign
and domestic intelligence related to terrorism.
-
Be a Presidentially appointed,
Senate-confirmed position who will serve at the pleasure of the
President, report to the President, and be available to testify
before a new, streamlined oversight structure set up by Congress.
The NID will not be a member of the President’s Cabinet and will not
be located in the Executive Office of the President.
National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).
Building on the Terrorist
Threat Integration Center (TTIC), the NCTC will be responsible for
analyzing and integrating foreign and domestic intelligence acquired
from all U.S. Government departments and agencies pertaining to
terrorism. The Center will identify, coordinate, and prioritize the
counterterrorism intelligence requirements of America’s intelligence
agencies. TTIC analytical capabilities will be integrated into the
NCTC. All departments and agencies that have analytic resources on
transnational terrorism, or conduct operations against transnational
terrorism, will contribute analysts and staff to the NCTC. The
Director of NCTC will report to President Bush through the NID, but
will not be located in the Executive Office of the President. The NCTC
will:
-
Support the development and
coordination of U.S. Government action plans, ensuring that
individual departments and agencies receive the all-source
intelligence support needed to execute their plans to counter
terrorist threats against the U.S. and U.S. interests.
-
Serve as the principal U.S.
Government coordinator for plans and monitor action plans of the
agencies and departments for the collection of terror-related
intelligence and to counter terror threats against the United States
and its interests and, as appropriate, the interests of its friends
and allies.
-
Concentrate analytical expertise on
foreign and domestic terrorism in one location and assure the flow
of alternative analytic views, to the extent they exist in the
Center and among agencies and departments, to policymakers,
including to the President. Agencies and departments are to retain
sufficient analytic expertise on counterterrorism to support their
unique operational missions.
-
Prepare the President’s Terrorist
Threat Report (PTTR) and a range of other integrated analytic
products on terrorism.
-
Support the National Security
Council’s preparation of the national counterterrorism strategy,
which will be coordinated with the Homeland Security Council.
-
Help identify and coordinate
intelligence requirements on terror targets both overseas and at
home.
-
Serve as the U.S. Government’s
central and shared knowledge bank on known and suspected terrorists
and international terror groups, as well as their goals, strategies,
capabilities, and networks of contacts and support.
-
Coordinate counterterrorism plans
and ensure all source intelligence support for counterterrorism
operational planning efforts underway in the departments and
agencies of government.
-
As necessary, coordinate the
prioritization of and interagency law enforcement or
counterterrorism response to terrorist threats, and de-conflict and
track the actions of the United States Government as currently done
by the interagency Counterterrorism Security Group.
Congressional Oversight.
President Bush agrees with the 9/11 Commission regarding congressional
oversight restructuring. As the Commission notes, congressional
oversight of intelligence and homeland security functions is critical,
and no amount of executive branch reorganization can complete the
necessary work of reshaping our approach to fighting terrorism in the
absence of equally sweeping congressional reform. President Bush also
encourages Congress to study ways to guarantee the rapid confirmation
of all national security and other senior executive branch officials
to improve transitions between administrations and ensure that the
executive branch can operate effectively.
Review of WMD Intelligence and
Planning. Given the
growing threat of weapons proliferation around the world, President
Bush believes it may be necessary to create a center similar to the
NCTC to bring together the intelligence analysis, planning, and
operations to track and prevent the spread of weapons of mass
destruction. President Bush will ask the Commission headed by Judge
Laurence Silberman and Senator Chuck Robb to address this matter in
its report.
Much Work Is Already Underway
The Bush Administration has already
implemented or is implementing policies consistent with most of the
9/11 Commission’s proposals relating to foreign policy and homeland
security. Overseas, the Administration is aggressively pursuing a
strategy that is defeating terrorists, denying them support and
sanctuary, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, and working to eliminate
the underlying economic and social conditions that terrorists seek to
exploit. The Bush Administration is also working with its
international partners to stop WMD proliferation through the
Proliferation Security Initiative and other cooperative actions
designed to preserve our common security.
At home, the Bush Administration is
developing and deploying cutting-edge technologies to secure our
borders, ports, critical infrastructure, and other potential
vulnerabilities of our homeland. It has vastly improved cooperation
and information sharing among the intelligence, law enforcement, and
homeland security communities. It is employing the latest technologies
to counter the threat of chemical and biological weapons in the hands
of terrorists. It is using the PATRIOT Act to track terrorists,
disrupt their cells, and seize their assets. It has brought focus to
federal anti-terrorism and homeland security efforts through a series
of Homeland Security Policy Directives on: management of domestic
incidents; integration and use of screening information; critical
infrastructure identification, prioritization, and protection;
national preparedness; biodefense; and the safety and security of
agriculture and food supplies.
JUST POLITICS:
No bounce
Kerry has been to the convention and the best he could do, according
to one poll, was a four percent bounce -- other polls have Kerry
losing ground. The
NY Times reports
that such bad results haven’t been matched since the Democrats
nominated George McGovern:
"This is a huge problem for them because now they have a situation
where having John Kerry talk to the American public is at best neutral
and at worst negative," Mr.[ Matthew] Dowd [Bush advisor]said. "And
their announced strategy to keep positive is putting them in a box at
a time when they might want to be attacking the president."
Mr. Dowd added: "The time that John Kerry did the best in this
campaign was when he was off the radar screen."
The Kerry campaign responded with:
Mr. Kerry's campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill, said the fact that Mr.
Kerry was leading Mr. Bush at least in some polls, albeit by a tiny
margin, was heartening.
"We're leading the president coming out of the convention and there
are only three challengers in that position and they all won," Ms.
Cahill said. "The White House can say whatever they want about this.
We've had a very good convention.'
The
USA Today ran a
headline that said, "So why did Bush, not Kerry, get the bounce?"
The article interviews one of those questioned who said that Kerry did
a good job and he has a nice family. However, she is not going for
Kerry.
"I'm not sure he has enough fortitude to act when necessary," she says
of Kerry. "I do believe that is an attribute Bush has over him."
Black votes
The Washington Times reports that Kerry forgot the appeal to Black
voters at his convention. The article reports that Kerry is dumping $2
million in advertising to Black voters. The dissatisfaction for Kerry
appears to be serious:
"Six months before an election, the black vote typically lags 10
points or so behind the white vote in intensity. Democrats usually
close the gap in the interim by way of black media outlets and other
get-out-the-vote efforts. But when the Tarrance Group conducted its
battleground survey in June, it found that black voter intensity was
trailing by more than 20 points. It also found that union voters, a
Democratic constituency that comprises a disproportionate number of
blacks, were less motivated by Mr. Kerry than white conservative
Christians were by Mr. Bush."
Kerry’s negative attacks
Sen. John Kerry’s pledge to be positive on the campaign trail turned
out to be a lie. Kerry has already launched into three negative
attacks.
"They said, when it comes to fighting the threats of the world, and
making America safer and promoting the peace, 'we're turning the
corner,' " Mr. Kerry said outside a Grand Rapids fire station. "Saying
that we turned the corner doesn't make it so, just like saying
'mission accomplished' doesn't make it so," Kerry said.
"We have a commission that was stonewalled, that people didn't want to
even put into existence, that you had to struggle to empower, that
finally has come up with recommendations, many of which I've made over
the course of the last few years," Kerry said. "We need leadership,
not followship."
Kerry also argued that the administration was encouraging the
recruitment of terrorists through policies that "have resulted in an
increase of animosity and anger" at the United States and by failing
to reach out to moderates in the Muslim world.
Kerry continued his line that he would provide more power to France,
Germany and Russia -- who have as their goal the weakening of American
power in the world.
Bush responded to Kerry’s charge that he was creating more terrorists.
Bush said that it represented "a fundamental misunderstanding of the
war on terror." He added: "It is a ridiculous notion to assert that
because the United States is on the offense, more people want to hurt
us. We're on the offense because people do want to hurt us."
Kerry: U.N. tax
The Sen. John Kerry’s penchant to subsume American interest to
internationalist could be difficult since the U.N. is about to try and
tax Americans. Kerry’s love for the United Nations could cost him
votes as the world body prepares to consider "global taxes" to fund
development.
The proposals to be considered include a carbon tax on fuel use, a tax
on currency transactions, an arms-sales tax, a global lottery and a
tax on international airline travel.
A report states that the issue of global taxation is heavily opposed
by powerful nations such as the United States and Japan, but other key
countries embrace the idea.
France and Germany, backed by Chile and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, signed a declaration in January re-launching the concept of
taxing arms sales and financial transactions to boost funding for
global development efforts in combating poverty and hunger.
Teresa (The Mouth)
Teresa Heinz Kerry continues with her colorful language. The latest
was her response to protesters who were chanting four-more-years of
Bush.
"Four more years?" Heinz Kerry said. "They want four more years of
hell."
The crowd roared. "Three more months!" the audience started chanting.
Sen. John Kerry took the stage and said his wife "speaks her mind, and
she speaks the truth - and she's pretty quick on her feet, too.''
"That's why America is going to embrace her, and she's going to make a
spectacular first lady," he said.
Clinton on Saturday Night
Live?
According to an AP story carried in the
StarTribune, former President Bill Clinton could be a
guest host on 'Saturday Night Live' this season. At least that is what
the folks at NBC are hoping. But will he end up in a hot tub, like Al
Gore did in his SNL guesting?
TV Guide quotes anonymous sources saying that Clinton has been offered
the gig if he wants it.
Clinton is scheduled to appear Tuesday on 'The Late Show with David
Letterman,' a week after he addressed the Democratic National
Convention in Boston.
He will also be soldiering for his memoir 'My Life,' which has sold
over 1.5 million copies since its release on June 22.
Clinton last appeared on Letterman’s late night show on September 11,
2002 the first anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
|
to read past Daily Reports