Saint Patrick's Day is early this year

Found this on MarkDRoberts.com:

I vote for calling October 28, 2005 Saint Patrick Fitzgerald's Day.

More to come on the Karen Hughes' fiasco in the Middle East. . .

Lady Margaret Thatcher has Doubts over Iraqi WMD, reports the Independent

Here is the article from the Indepent in the UK:

Thatcher reveals her doubts over basis for Iraq war

By Andrew Grice

Published: 14 October 2005

Baroness Thatcher has criticised Tony Blair for taking Britain to war in Iraq on the basis of flawed evidence about Saddam Hussein's weapons. The former prime minister's embarrassing criticism emerged as Mr Blair was among the 670 guests who attended a party to mark her 80th birthday.

Although Lady Thatcher remains a strong supporter of the decision to topple Saddam by invading Iraq, it is the first time she has questioned the basis for the war. Yesterday's Washington Post reported that when asked whether she would have invaded Iraq given the intelligence at the time, Lady Thatcher replied: "I was a scientist before I was a politician. And as a scientist I know you need facts, evidence and proof - and then you check, recheck and check again."

She added: "The fact was that there were no facts, there was no evidence, and there was no proof. As a politician the most serious decision you can take is to commit your armed services to war from which they may not return."

The article was written by the journalist Tina Brown, who said she had been told Lady Thatcher's view by Lord Palumbo, the former chairman of the Arts Council, who asked the former prime minister about Iraq when he had lunch with her six months ago. Lord Palumbo was also among the guests at last night's party at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel near Hyde Park, London. The guest list, which was headed by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, included many former members of Lady Thatcher's cabinets as well as prominent figures from industry, arts, showbusiness and the media.

The Tory leader Michael Howard and the two right-wing candidates for the leadership, David Davis and Liam Fox, were present but the two moderates - Ken Clarke and David Cameron - had not been invited.

Lady Thatcher's office did not dispute her reported remarks but said she had been - and remained - in full support of the decision to oust Saddam by military means, which she always believed would be the only way to remove him. Aides said she wished that had been achieved by the first Gulf War, prompted by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, which took place shortly after she was forced to resign as Prime Minister after losing the confidence of her cabinet.

Her criticism of Mr Blair's methods comes as a surprise given her staunch backing for the conflict. In 2002, on a visit to America, she said she was "proud that Britain stands where we all must stand - as America's surest and staunchest ally". She told the Heritage Foundation in Washington: "Prime Minister Blair and I are, as is well known, political opponents but, in this vital matter, I salute his strong, bold leadership."

Although Mr Blair condemned Saddam's record in the build-up to the war, he did not advocate "regime change" because that would have been illegal. Instead, he sought to build a case on the ground that Saddam's arsenal put him in breach of United Nations resolutions. After no weapons of mass destruction were found after the conflict, Mr Blair sought to justify it by arguing that the world is a better place without Saddam in power.

The continuing problems in Iraq were highlighted when Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, admitted that it could take up to 10 years to turn the country into a stable democracy. He told BBC2's Newsnight programme: "I am optimistic about Iraq. I think in five to 10 years we will see it becoming stable."
An ICM survey for the programme found that 31 per cent of people wanted British troops pulled out immediately, while 23 per cent believed a firm date should be set for withdrawal later. Some 40 per cent indicated they should stay until the Iraqi security forces were ready to take over.

Mr Straw told the Cabinet yesterday that, with a referendum on the Iraqi constitution taking place tomorrow, the political strategy for the country was "on track". He cited higher levels of voter registration than for the elections earlier this year.

The Foreign Secretary said that transforming a failed state into a successful democracy would always take time. It took four years to elect a national government in post-war Germany, but just two in Iraq.

Sir Menzies Campbell, foreign affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said Mr Straw's remarks about a 10-year period showed that the Government did not have a credible exit strategy. "None of this was ever put before parliament or the British people in March 2003 when military action commenced," he said.

Democrats starting to beat their Drums

There seems to be a great deal of Democratic leaders speaking out about the mis-direction of the country and the future direction of the Democratic party.

Al Gore comments on the state of Democracy.

Jamestown Project is tackling the far reaching issues of race and religion in society.

Third-Way sturs the pot of issues and lifts up some ugly truths to the top.

"While Democracy Sleeps" at Yale University, Jamestown Project

I had the great pleasure of attending the first panel of the Jamestown Project at Yale Univeristy. The title of the panel was "While Democracy Sleeps".

Cornel West was on the 5 person panel including another very impressive Princeton University professor, Eddie Glaude. Both Prof. West and Glaude are brilliant speakers who avoke the memories of Dr. King and other great preachers. I found myself glued to every word of Prof. West and motivated by his ideas.

My appreciation of Prof. West's words has inspired me to create a page on my Blog devoted to Cornel West and Eddie Glaude, two prolific thinkers on racial and religious issues.

I was encouraged to see a group dealing in real terms with racism and social injustice.

Karen Hughes having a tough trip

Karen Hughes is hopping around the middle east, at great cost to the American taxpayer, trying to communicate with Arabs as the new Under Secratary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

I called 2 organizations in the US to get their reactions, no word yet. Any ideas of who else I should call for comment? Much appreciated.

Karamah - Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights

Muslim Womens League

What is your reaction to Karen Hughes travelling to Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia?

Did anyone from the State Department or the Under Secratary's office call or consult with you before this trip? What did they say?

Who do you think the State Department should have sent with Karen Hughes or instead of the Under Secratary?

This is becoming Messy Politics (muddy) - Delay to step aside

What will be the affect if the President stands with Tom Delay? Will we be entering a new era of mud slinging from both sides? Shouldn't the President distance himself from Delay and did he when Scott McClellan continuously answered questions at the White House briefing saying, "We will let the legal process work"?

From the Right:
Ankle Biting Pundits - bulldogpundit made it clear that some tough days lie ahead and to buckle up:
"Buckle up people, it's going to be a rough ride for a while, and there's going to be more valleys than peaks in the short term. What this will mean long term is unclear pending the outcome of DeLay's case."

NRCC-Chairman Tom Reynolds: “Until Majority Leader Tom DeLay has his day in court, it is vitally important he be afforded the same presumption of innocence afforded to every other American.”

From the Left:
A number of things appear to be going wrong for Republicans:

• White House under investigation for the Valerie Plame, outing of a CIA agent case being looked into including Karl Rove
• Mike Brown testifying yesterday to the House, looking angered and blaming for an abyssmal Federal response to Katrina. I wonder if the good people of Louisiana were watching him. Oh that's right there are still a few hundred thousand without electricity - Heck of a job, Brownie
• The Iraq war is not going very well - Cindy Sheehan and the Anti-War movement are only confirming the waning support for the war. General Casey backed away from his rosey estimate of beginning to draw down troops by the end of next year. Some believe that the October 15th vote will be rejected, which could delay elections an additional year. Thus keeping thousands of soldiers in Iraq indefinitely.
• Bill Frist, Senate Majority leader is being investigated by the SEC for inside trading of control stock in HCA through his Blind Trust, saving himself from a potential 9% drop in stock price 1 month after he sold.
• Government spending is out of control and what seems to be upsetting many Democrats is that the administration wants to Cut critical services for the poor, the ill and the elderly. Deficit Hawk Republicans are also upset about spending and this is creating a rift in the party.
• Gas prices are on the rise at the pump, there has been no visible effort to reduce Crude Oil prices which affect Natural Gas and Oil Heating prices. That means a frigid winter for many without heat. Economists also fear that more money spent on Heating, means less discretionary income being spent on goods in the economy.

DailyKos bloggers are pretty excited by Tom Delays indictment. I love the way Kos starts this one off.

Monica or Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was a terrible storm that is currently causing massive problems and deaths. Much of those deaths should be lying on the White House door steps. I can not believe that we are living in a time when grown people are pointing fingers at each other and not taking responsibility. What are we, in a sand box like 3 year olds?

I guess we are.

I'd take a president who plays a little on the side, than a president who is vacationing while hundreds drowned and is more concered with who is going to get part of the $200 billion being pumped into the Gulf States.

God bless those that have been affected by Katrina and Rita. Hopefully your leaders and our National leaders will learn something.