Brasscheck's interesting view on the fraud of the US elections

Who will be the next president?

The fix is in

I'd like to see Ron Paul become next president of the US.

I don't agree with him on everything, but he's an honorable man who loves the country and respects the rule of law.

But that's not the kind of person who gets elected president of the US these days.

The job is really only open to mental and moral midgets who can be be counted on to forward the fascist agenda. Rudy Giuliani fits the bill perfectly.

Here's some old video of a private meeting showing how close he is to the Rockefeller family.

There's no way Hilary Clinton will become president and Barack Obama, capable and decent as he may be, doesn't have a chance. So that really only leaves one person. Add the Republican election fraud machine and the fix is in.

It's pretty clear that Giuliani has been anointed by the "free pass" he's been given by the US news media. The endorsement by Pat Robertson shows that the right wing Christian nut job vote is being herded into supporting him.

Open adultery? No problem. Doing business with criminals? No problem. Gross incompetence and dishonesty? No problem.

In no sane country would a fraud like Giuliani be considered as a candidate. The fact that he's being taken seriously is a very, very bad sign for where we're headed.

Original article posted here.

And what the next president SHOULD be saying in response to this

Weazl says fuck the Demz, and endorses Ron Paul (if he annoys the Rethugs this much, he must be doing something right)

Ron Paul to bite back

Ron Paul, CIA Big, to Rebut Giuliani at Press Confab, May 24

Presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX) will be joined by Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA's Bin Laden Unit, to discuss flawed American foreign policy and its implications on terrorism, security and Iraq.

The press conference will be held at 9:30AM EST on Thursday, May 24 in the National Press Club Lisagor Room.

During the "First in South" GOP debate, earlier this month, Dr. Paul stated that 50 years of interventionism in the Middle East is a significant motivating tool for radical Islamists. Dr. Paul's position, though disparaged during the debate, has since received backing from numerous individuals, including others in the GOP, administration officials and - in excerpted reports - from the 9-11 Commission itself.

In the debate, Rudy Giuliani, a presidential candidate and well-known former Republican mayor of New York, called Dr. Paul's position "absurd." Giuliani is commonly characterized as a GOP "front-runner." He is also considered well-versed in foreign policy, given his supervision of the "international city" of New York and his position as its leader during 9/11. However, he stated that he had "never heard such an explanation" as Ron Paul's.

According to a limited-circulation release, Dr. Paul and Mr. Scheuer are expected to explain why Rudy Giuliani is wrong on security and foreign policy and provide documentation about the unintended consequences of interventionism - known to many in the intelligence community (and Dr. Paul as well) as "blowback."

Original article posted here.

Keith Destroys 9/11 Presdiential Charlatan

Giuliani's Not-So-Little 9/11 Problem

Giuliani foes hope 9/11 changes everything

Critics want to mar his hero image and hobble his candidacy by questioning his moves.

WASHINGTON — Many Americans know Rudolph W. Giuliani only from his performance in the smoke and ashes of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York — a steely image that has propelled him atop the polls in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Now, some groups at the center of the 9/11 experience are laying aggressive plans to tarnish that image and undermine the central pillar of his candidacy.

Officials from a national firefighters union, along with some relatives of Sept. 11 victims, say they will publicly attack decisions Giuliani made as New York mayor before and after the terrorist strikes.

Among other complaints, they say that Giuliani failed to support modernized radios that might have spared the lives of more firefighters at the World Trade Center, and that he located the city's main emergency command center in the complex, even though it had been targeted by terrorists eight years earlier.

Giuliani aides say the accusations are baseless and driven by politically motivated unions with strong ties to Democrats.

So far, the International Assn. of Fire Fighters, the country's biggest firefighter union, says it will aim its anti-Giuliani effort at its own 280,000 members. But union President Harold A. Schaitberger said the group will also "stand ready" to support a much more public campaign by families of firefighters and workers who died in the World Trade Center.

Some organizers are comparing that potential campaign to advertisements by the group Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth, which used personal testimonials from veterans to accuse 2004 Democratic nominee John F. Kerry of exaggerating his achievements as a Navy lieutenant in the Vietnam War.

Kerry disputed the claims, but many Democrats believed the Swift Boat group effectively pierced his image as a war hero and ultimately doomed his candidacy. "It might have the same effect [as the Swift Boat campaign], but our effort will be 100% accurate and truthful," Schaitberger said.

The union's actions are among several threats that could put Giuliani on the defensive in discussing the very aspect of his record that defines his national persona. Lawyers want to question the former mayor under oath as part of a federal lawsuit alleging that the city negligently dumped body parts and other human remains from ground zero in the Fresh Kills garbage facility on Staten Island.

Giuliani's testimony "could undercut his hero status," said Norman Siegel, the lawyer representing families who brought the suit. Siegel is also consulting with some families who have discussed forming a committee aimed at influencing the presidential race.

In a separate matter, one of Giuliani's most prominent political rivals, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), is considering calling the former mayor to testify before a Senate committee on whether the government failed to shield recovery workers from the effects of polluted air after the attacks.

The hearing could provide the unusual spectacle of one party's presidential front-runner questioning the other party's front-runner on an emotionally charged subject central to both of their campaigns.

Giuliani's televised news conferences and other actions after the Sept. 11 attacks helped him build an image as a cool and competent manager who counseled a frightened nation through unimaginable loss. That image has spurred his rise in surveys of Republican voters, acting as a counterbalance to his liberal positions on abortion, gay rights and other social issues, which typically disqualify a candidate in the eyes of conservatives.

But Giuliani has also left bitterness among the families of some Sept. 11 victims.

Representatives of some families said they have not yet decided whether to create a political organization but plan to speak out aggressively against Giuliani. The families are wary of being painted as overly political.

"This is going to be a war for truth," said Sally Regenhard, whose 28-year-old son, Christian, was one of 343 New York firefighters who died in the attacks. "I'll be speaking out as a mother and a parent."

Critics are considering ways to back up their claims with video footage, documents and perhaps audio from recently released emergency dispatch tapes — though no decision has been made whether they would create television ads with the material.

Anthony V. Carbonetti, a strategist for Giuliani who was also mayoral chief of staff and later a business partner, said Giuliani's presidential campaign would respond by showcasing Giuliani's long-standing relationships with rank-and-file firefighters and police officers.

The mayor opened firehouses, Carbonetti said, and pushed for new "bunker gear" that protected firefighters from intense heat. He attributed the union's anger to disagreements over city pay issues and partisan interests — the International Assn. of Fire Fighters was an early supporter of Kerry, the Democratic nominee, in the 2004 presidential campaign.

"The union is not the firefighters. You have to separate the two," Carbonetti said. "I don't think they'll have any success. The more we keep talking about Rudy's record, the more people will see how much he did to support all the uniformed services in the city."

Giuliani's aides have enlisted help from Lee Ielpi, a retired New York firefighter whose 29-year-old son, Jonathan, also a firefighter, died in the World Trade Center. Ielpi said he got to know the mayor after the attacks.

"Rudy Giuliani was not flying those planes. Terrorists flew those planes and caused that disaster on 9/11," Ielpi said. "Giuliani just happened to be the figure who was mayor at the time who did a spectacular job to the best of his abilities."

Clinton has also made the Sept. 11 attacks a theme on the presidential campaign trail. She has been using the 9/11 experience to reach out to union leaders who can help her win the Democratic nomination. Clinton has cited her work securing federal money for New York's reconstruction and in probing the health effects of poor air quality on workers in the months after the attacks.

Without criticizing Giuliani, Clinton has told several unions that the Bush administration failed them in the wake of the attacks by allowing them to work in unhealthy conditions. Her comments have come in speeches to the Communications Workers of America, the Building & Construction Trades union and in private meetings with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — all of whom, she says, contributed to the recovery efforts, and all of whom will play a key role in deciding who wins the coveted AFL-CIO endorsement.

A spokesman said Clinton had not decided whether she would call Giuliani to testify before a subcommittee she heads that is looking into World Trade Center air quality issues. The meeting is expected to focus mostly on actions by federal environmental protection officials.

The Fresh Kills lawsuit presents further complications for Giuliani. If the families fend off an attempt by city officials to dismiss the suit, Siegel, the lawyer, said he plans to question Giuliani on his post-9/11 decisions.

"Most Americans don't know that this was dumped in a garbage dump," Siegel said, referring to claims that human remains wound up in the landfill. "Who made that decision? He will have to answer questions under oath."

Giuliani's dispute with the firefighters union erupted publicly last month when he declined to attend the group's candidate forum. Schaitberger then distributed a scathing three-page letter laying out what he called Giuliani's "disgraceful" treatment of firefighters after 9/11. A central complaint was an order from the mayor in November 2001 that, citing safety reasons, limited the number of people who could work on the still-smoldering pile at ground zero.

Firefighters were irate because some of their comrades' remains were still unrecovered. Giuliani reversed his decision, but the anger did not subside.

"Our disdain for him is not about issues or a disputed contract, it is about a visceral, personal affront to the fallen," Schaitberger wrote.

The union and some families charge that Giuliani failed to modernize communications systems that on Sept. 11, they say, proved unable to relay an evacuation order to some firefighters in the World Trade Center.

Giuliani and other city officials have said that communication lapses came because the attacks rendered parts of the system inoperable, and that other parts were overloaded with calls in the chaos. They also say that many firefighters who did hear the evacuation order probably ignored it in hopes of saving more people.

Critics also point to Giuliani's decision to place the city's emergency command center in the World Trade Center complex, even though the towers had already been targeted in a 1993 bombing. The office, on the 23rd floor at 7 World Trade Center, was destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks, forcing the mayor and other officials to establish makeshift command posts.

For Giuliani, who turned his image as "America's Mayor" into a lucrative career as a security consultant and motivational speaker, confronting critics of his 9/11 leadership on the national stage will be a new experience.

Two men who did quiz him once — the chairmen of the bipartisan federal commission that investigated the attacks — lamented that they might have been too soft on Giuliani when he testified in 2004.

"We did not ask tough questions, nor did we get all of the information we needed to put on the public record," wrote commission co-chairmen Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton in their book, "Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission."

Kean later credited Giuliani with answering questions in a private session. He told National Public Radio that putting the command center in the World Trade Center "was not, in retrospect, the wisest decision in the world," but he said he did not blame Giuliani for outdated communications systems that continue to plague fire and police, not just in New York but across the country.

Original article posted here.

A Stake in the Heart of Ghouliani's Presidential Aspirations

Firefighters Union Letter On Rudy Giuliani

On March 14, 2007, the IAFF will host the first bi-partisan Presidential Forum of the 2008 election cycle. No other union and very few organizations has the credibility and respect to attract top-tier candidates from both political parties. The lineup of speakers who have agreed to participate in our Forum is truly a testament to our great union and the reputation we have built as a powerful political force and a coveted endorsement.

John Edwards, John McCain, Barack Obama, Chuck Hagel, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Duncan Hunter and seven other candidates will make their case before the 1,000 delegates who will be attending the Forum and to our entire membership via same-day broadcast on our web site.

Early on, the IAFF made a decision to invite all serious candidates from both political parties — except one: former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

We made this decision after considerable soul-searching and close consultation with our two New York City affiliates, the Uniformed Firefighters Association Local 94 and the Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 854, as well as our former Local 94 President and current IAFF 1st District Vice President covering New York.

The IAFF recognizes that Mayor Giuliani generally enjoys a favorable reputation as a result of his actions immediately after the tragedy of 9/11. As such, we want our affiliates and every one of our members to clearly understand the reason and rationale behind this very serious and sober decision.

Many people consider Rudy Giuliani "America's Mayor," and many of our members who don't yet know the real story, may also have a positive view of him. This letter is intended to make all of our members aware of the egregious acts Mayor Giuliani committed against our members, our fallen on 9/11, and our New York City union officers following that horrific day.

Rest assured, our exclusion of Mayor Giuliani is not about any particular contractual or policy issue or disagreement, nor is it based on his unfriendly relationship with our New York City affiliates prior to 9/11 — which we will document and explain in additional correspondence later on during the campaign. In fact, we invited several candidates with whom we have had substantial disagreement on policy issues because we feel very strongly that our members have the right to hear from all candidates, not just those who tow the IAFF line.

Regrettably, the situation with former Mayor Giuliani is very different. His actions post 9/11 rise to such an offensive and personal attack on our brother and sisterhood — and directly on our union — that the IAFF does not feel Rudy Giuliani deserves an audience of IAFF leaders and members at our own Presidential Forum.

The disrespect that he exhibited to our 343 fallen FDNY brothers, their families and our New York City IAFF leadership in the wake of that tragic day has not been forgiven or forgotten.

In November 2001, our members were continuing the painful, but necessary, task of searching Ground Zero for the remains of our fallen brothers and the thousands of innocent citizens that were killed, because precious few of those who died in the terrorist attacks had been recovered at that point.

Prior to November 2001, 101 bodies or remains of fire fighters had been recovered. And those on the horrible pile at Ground Zero believed they had just found a spot in the rubble where they would find countless more that could be given proper burial.

Nevertheless, Giuliani, with the full support of his Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, decided on November 2, 2001, to sharply reduce the number of those who could search for remains at any one time. There had been as many as 300 fire fighters at a time involved in search and recovery, but Giuliani cut that number to no more than 25 who could be there at once.

In conjunction with the cut in fire fighters allowed to search, Giuliani also made a conscious decision to institute a "scoop-and-dump" operation to expedite the clean-up of Ground Zero in lieu of the more time-consuming, but respectful, process of removing debris piece by piece in hope of uncovering more remains.

Mayor Giuliani's actions meant that fire fighters and citizens who perished would either remain buried at Ground Zero forever, with no closure for families, or be removed like garbage and deposited at the Fresh Kills Landfill.

Our Local presidents at the time attempted to meet with the Mayor to stop this despicable treatment of those who perished, but he refused to even see them face-to-face.

The scoop-and-dump continued. And when hundreds of family members of the fallen joined with our affiliate leadership and members to protest Giuliani's decision, he ordered senior officers of the New York Police Department to arrest 15 of our FDNY brothers, including a number of local elected IAFF leaders.

Giuliani modified his policy after the protest because public opinion was so strongly with our members. Ultimately, he was forced to put the fire fighters back on the pile. Our protests were later proven justified as more bodies were ultimately recovered and those families given a chance for some closure and a decent burial.

Giuliani argued that the change was for our own safety, but his argument was empty and without substance. Fire fighters had been on that pile since minutes after the twin towers fell — why all of a sudden, after nearly two months working on the pile, was Giuliani concerned about fire fighter safety?

In our view, he wasn't really concerned. The fact is that the Mayor's switch to a scoop-and-dump coincided with the final removal of tens of millions of dollars of gold, silver and other assets of the Bank of Nova Scotia that were buried beneath what was once the towers. Once the money was out, Giuliani sided with the developers that opposed a lengthy recovery effort, and ordered the scoop-and-dump operation so they could proceed with redevelopment.

In the first few days immediately after the disaster, Giuliani had said he was committed to the recovery of those lost "right down to the last brick." We believed him at the time. But, what he proved with his actions is that he really meant the "last gold brick."

Giuliani crucified fire fighters after our protest and publicly stated that our members were essentially acting like babies, that they didn't have the market cornered on grief. His insensitive statements demonstrated his inability to grasp what members of the FDNY were experiencing.

What Giuliani showed is a disgraceful lack of respect for the fallen and those brothers still searching for them. He exposed our members and leaders to arrest. He valued the money and gold and wanted the site cleared before he left office at the end of 2001 more than he valued the lives and memories of those lost.

Our members deserved the right to continue with a full search for their lost brothers and other innocent victims. Proudly, as you know, the fire service has a code similar to the military, where we leave no one behind. Recovering even a piece of a turnout coat or helmet gave our FDNY brothers and sisters and the families of the fallen some small semblance of peace, something to honor. But hundreds remained entombed in Ground Zero when Giuliani gave up on them.

The fundamental lack of respect that Giuliani showed our FDNY members is unforgivable - and that's why he was not invited. Our disdain for him is not about issues or a disputed contract, it is about a visceral, personal affront to the fallen, to our union and, indeed, to every one of us who has ever risked our lives by going into a burning building to save lives and property.

We have heard from some affiliates that Giuliani's campaign is beginning to reach out to our locals, looking to build support. If you are contacted by Giuliani, Von Essen, or a representative of the Giuliani campaign, we hope you will say not just, "No," but, "Hell no." And please let the IAFF Political Affairs Department know about it by calling (202) 824-1582.

Please share this correspondence with your membership. Thank you.

Fraternally and Sincerely,

Harold A. Schaitberger, General President

Vincent J. Bollon, General Secretary-Treasurer and Past President, UFOA of NYC, Local 854

Kevin Gallagher, IAFF 1st District Vice President and Past President, UFA of NYC, Local 94

Stephen Cassidy, President, UFA of NYC, Local 94

Peter Gorman, President, UFOA of NYC, Local 854

Written by IAFF

Original article posted here.

Potential President (and 9/11 Cover Up Artist) Rudy's family values (read Just another Rethug Hypocrite)

All not in the family for GOP hopeful Giuliani

• Giuliani's son says he doesn't want to help his father campaign
• In 1994, Andrew Giuliani played for the cameras during his dad's inauguration
• Andrew Giuliani's mother and the former NYC mayor had bitter divorce
• Andrew's sister Carolina is also absent from dad's campaign Web site



NEW YORK (CNN) -- When Rudy Giuliani was first inaugurated as New York City's mayor in January 1994, his son, Andrew, then a rambunctious, chubby-cheeked 7-year-old, stole the show by imitating his father as he was sworn in and joining him, quite uninvited, at the podium.

But some 13 years and an acrimonious divorce later, the younger Giuliani, now a sophomore at Duke University, says he won't be participating in his father's bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

In an interview with the New York Times, Andrew Giuliani, 21, said "there's obviously a little problem" between him and Rudy Giuliani's current wife, Judith.

He also said his quest to become a professional golfer doesn't leave him any time to help out his father.

"I am going to be focused on my golf ... definitely over the next bunch of years," the younger Giuliani told the Times. "So, I'm not going to have time to, even if I wanted to, be in the campaign."

Andrew Giuliani and his younger sister, Caroline, are both absent from their father's campaign Web site, although their stepmother, Judith, is featured.

The Times reported the former mayor has recently been estranged from both children from his marriage to Donna Hanover, which ended in 2002 after a long and contentious separation and divorce played out in tabloid headlines.

Asked about his family issues during a campaign appearance in California, Rudy Giuliani acknowledged "these problems with blended families are challenges."

"And the challenges are best worked on privately," he said. "The more privacy I can have for my family, the better we're going to be able to deal with all these difficulties."

But Giuliani also defended his current wife as "a loving and caring mother and stepmother."

"She's done everything that she can," he said.

How to handle such a personal situation while in the political cauldron of a White House run could prove a delicate balancing act for the former mayor.

"When the toughest shots are coming from your own quarter, they're difficult to respond to because, unlike a barb from Sen. McCain or Gov. Romney, he really can't push back on his son too hard," said GOP strategist Jonathan Grella.

Of the 43 men who have held the reins of the American presidency, only one, Ronald Reagan, had ever been divorced.

Giuliani, if he wins, would be the first to be divorced twice. His first marriage, to Regina Peruggi, lasted from 1968 to 1982 and produced no children. He married Hanover, a television news anchor, in 1984.

Among the other Republican presidential front-runners, Sen. John McCain of Arizona has also been divorced. But former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has been married for 37 years to his wife, Ann, whom he met in elementary school and began dating in high school.

Ann Romney raised some eyebrows in February when she joked in front of an audience in Missouri that the biggest difference between her husband and his rivals was that he has had "only one wife."

Original article posted here.