WHY WOULD SCOOTER LIE? TO COVER FOR CHENEY!

Dick Cheney's chief of staff Scooter Libby gets indicted on five counts and the Republicans are now saying, "There is no one suggesting that Bush has anything to do with this matter." Yesterday Bush and Cheney went out to rally their base, and as usual they had to go to the friendly confines of a military audience.

The key question relating to the Libby indictments is of course - how deeply was Cheney involved in all of this? Did Cheney's chief of staff lie under oath to protect Cheney and Bush? I think the answer is a clear YES!

Let's face it. They were covering up an illegal war and dramatic lies about WMD'S in Iraq. News commentators spent hours yesterday wondering why Libby - "such a brilliant lawyer, who went to Yale, had the best pedigree, why would he lie? Why would he risk such a bright career?" He lied to cover their ass. Simple as that. People with the right pedigree lie in order to cover their deceptions all the time. Welcome to the USA. Welcome to corporate dominated government.

Let's just hope that more of the liars will be brought to justice. It would only be right considering all the damage they have done.

WAR IS OVER - NOBODY WANTS IT

Yesterday peace groups all over the nation held vigils to remember the 2,000 GI's that have now been killed in the tragic war in Iraq and the 15,000 who have been seriously wounded. Also remembered were the 100,000 Iraqi people that have died in this needless and insane war.

In my town of Brunswick, where we hold regular Friday afternoon vigils at the town square, we had 40 people turn out. On a good day we normally get 15. The number of horn honks yesterday was quite revealing as we see growing numbers of the public turn against this war that has now cost the U.S. more than $300 billion.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) has just announced that he will introduce legislation in the House of Representatives to cut off further funding for the war. This legislation deserves the strong support of all Americans who oppose the war. Please contact your congressional delegation and demand they support Rep. McGovern's effort.

Yesterday over 175 folks gathered in downtown Portland, Maine as well. One of our local peace group members, Dexter Kamilewicz of Orr's Island, was there and was featured in an article in the local paper this morning. Dexter said the tragic milestone shows a democracy in the breakdown lane.

Dexter, whose son Ben is serving in Iraq with the Vermont Army National Guard, said he met several parents of active-duty military personnel at the recent September 24 antiwar protest in Washington.

He said they told him that they were disillusioned by an apparent lack of progress in Iraq and what they view as indifference to their concerns by those in power.

"Our members of Congress just sit by in silence without questioning, and approve the continuing slaughter and waste of money," Kamilewicz said. "We're just going to continue to pay a huge, huge price if we don't stop this war."

The time has come for the American people to step-up our protest of this war for oil. If we don't it won't be long before we gather to vigil in rememberance of the 4,000th GI killed in Iraq. Speak up, speak out now!

NEW YORK TIMES MUST MAKE AMENDS FOR WAR PROMOTION AND COVERUP

The New York Times is reeling from the revelation that reporter Judith Miller (on left in photo above) not only lied about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but was involved in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Not yet fired by the Times, Miller has now acknowledged that she was involved in discussions with Vice President Cheney's chief aid Scotter Libby about Plame even before the Bush team disclosed that Plame was a CIA agent. This fact shows that Miller was not only involved in the selling of the illegal war in Iraq but was also involved in the coverup.

For the New York Times to have a reporter involved in the selling and coverup of a war is a massive betrayal of the public trust by a media outlet. The Times should immediately fire Miller and should do a front-page apology to the American people and the rest of the world for their crucial role (as America's newspaper of record) in creating justification for the war. In addition, the Times must call for an immediate withdrawal from the war and must call for the legal prosecution of all those implicated in the selling and coverup of the war. And that includes Judith Miller and anyone else at the Times that played any role in the scandal. How can anyone ever believe anything the Times ever prints again unless they purge themselves from the outrageous relationship their paper has forged with the war-making machine of the Bush Pentagon?

I urge you to join me in writing a letter to the New York Times calling on them to take these steps to make good to the public.