Colin Powell endorses Hillary Clinton.

Proud to have the endorsement of General Powell, a decorated soldier and distinguished statesman. https://t.co/4uBFn2aw4W -H

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 26, 2016

Courtesy of CNN: 

Former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday he'll vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, a high-profile snub of his party's standard-bearer, Donald Trump. 

Powell, who also served in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, backed President Barack Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 campaigns. He announced his plan to a Long Island group during a luncheon. 

The announcement was confirmed by Powell's chief of staff, Peggy Cifrino.

I don't think that this should really come as much of a surprise despite the fact that Powell was a little irritated that Hillary pulled him into the private email server debate.

After all he also endorsed President Obama in both 2008 and 2012 and his feelings about Trump were already exposed in one of his own hacked emails: 

"Trump is nuts. Everybody wants me to speak out, but I will pick the time and place for maximum effect like I did in 2008 and 2012. Right now, Trump is his worst own enemy."

Still it's yet another feather in Hillary's cap and another reminder that those who understand the job of President the best do not want Donald Trump anywhere near it. 

Colin Powell hacked emails show him calling the Benghazi investigations a "stupid witch hunt" and referring to Donald Trump as a "national disgrace."

Courtesy of TPM:  

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell dismissed the years-long Republican outcry over the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya as “a stupid witch hunt” in leaked emails published by BuzzFeed News on Tuesday. 

“Benghazi is a stupid witch hunt. Basic fault falls on a courageous ambassador who thoughts Libyans now love me and I am ok in this very vulnerable place,” Powell wrote in a December 2015 email to former Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, according to BuzzFeed. 

His email refers to Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, one of four Americans killed in the 2012 raid.

I think this is my favorite tidbit of information because it confirms what those of us on the Left have been saying for years.

However that was by no means the ONLY explosive bit of information exposed by this hack.

Courtesy of the Buzzfeed: 

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a retired four-star general who served under three Republican presidents, slammed GOP nominee Donald Trump as “a national disgrace” and an “international pariah,” according to his personal emails seen by BuzzFeed News. 

The remarks came in a June 17, 2016, email to Emily Miller, a journalist who was once Powell’s aide. In that same email Powell also said Trump “is in the process of destroying himself, no need for Dems to attack him. [Speaker of the House] Paul Ryan is calibrating his position again.

”In an Aug. 21 email from Powell to Miller, he blasted Trump for embarking on a “racist” movement that believes President Obama was not born in the US. 

“Yup, the whole birther movement was racist,” Powell wrote. “That’s what the 99% believe. When Trump couldn’t keep that up he said he also wanted to see if the certificate noted that he was a Muslim.”

So apparently Colin Powell has the same opinion of Donald Trump as every other rational halfway intelligent person in this country.  Most of who are apparently NOT members of the Republican party.

In other e-mails shared by CNN Powell also expressed irritation with Hillary Clinton and her team for drawing him into the whole e-mail investigation kerfuffle:

"The only thing I would add is to simply say she had a private account on a public server before becoming SecState and continued to use it when she became SecState. On the other hand this might to lead to questions about the basement," Powell said.

His main point seems to be that he advised her to use a private e-mail address, but not a private server which in his eyes is completely different. However he also fails to mention that the entire Bush administration used the RNC's private email server and then deleted 22 million emails which was against the law.

Which does not do much to support his faux outrage over Hillary's choices.

E-mail between Colin Powell and Hillary Clinton shows Powell instructing her how to avoid having her e-mails become part of the official record.

The full back and forth between Hillary Clinton and Colin Powell is here. And wow. pic.twitter.com/jHKpEbTS8W

— Matt Viser (@mviser) September 7, 2016

Courtesy of CNN:  

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell told his successor, Hillary Clinton, that he used his own personal computer to communicate with friends and foreign leaders and sent emails without going through the State Department server, according to emails released Wednesday by congressional Democrats. 

Clinton has previously said she reached out to Powell when she began serving as the nation's top diplomat to find out how he used personal devices. In a four-paragraph email response from Powell, he told Clinton he didn't use a BlackBerry, but detailed how he got around having his communications with both employees and people outside the State Department becoming part of the agency's official record. 

"What I did do was have a personal computer that was hooked up to a private phone line (sounds ancient). So I could communicate with a wide range of friends directly without it going through the State Department on their personal email accounts. I did the same thing on the road in hotels," Powell wrote.

Powell also admitted that he conducted business with foreign leaders on his private e-mail account, and warned Clinton to keep her Blackberry use private so that it would not be considered part of the official record.

Gee that does not sound like Colin Powell's version of events at all now does it?

Staying with Clinton's e-mail kerfuffle, FBI Director James Comey also just released a memo defending his decision not to prosecute and his decision to make the FBI notes public:

"We don't play games," the FBI director said as he further defended his decision not to recommend charges in the matter. 

"[D]espite all the chest-beating by people no longer in government, there really wasn't a prosecutable case," Comey wrote in the message obtained by ABC News. "The hard part was whether to offer unprecedented transparency about our thinking."

"I'm okay if folks have a different view of the investigation (although I struggle to see how they actually could, especially when they didn't do the investigation), or about the wisdom of announcing it as we did (although even with hindsight I think that was the best course)," Comey said. "[B]ut I have no patience for suggestions that we conducted ourselves as anything but what we are -- honest, competent, and independent. Those suggesting that we are 'political' or part of some 'fix' either don't know us, or they are full of baloney (and maybe some of both)." 

Comey told his employees they “may be sick” of hearing about the Clinton email probe, and he ended his message by saying, “I will try not to bother you with this any longer.”

Last night during the Commander-in-Chief forum Hillary also stated once again that she did not send nor receive any e-mails with the official markings of a confidential document.

And whether the Right Wing likes that or not it is supported by the FBI's investigation.

Hillary Clinton goes on Jimmy Kimmel to address concerns about her health and to talk about her e-mails.

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

Being in the presence of Clinton allowed Kimmel not merely the opportunity to ask questions but to check if Clinton was actually still alive. Given the conspiracy theories about her health, she could very easily be a cyborg by now. 

“Oh my God, there’s nothing there!” Kimmel joked, taking her pulse. 

“Back in October, The National Enquirer said I would be dead in six months,” Clinton said, “so with every breath I take I feel like I have a new lease on life!” 

Clinton was shocked why the GOP would hope to paint her as unhealthy. “I don’t know why they are saying this. I think on the one hand, it’s part of the wacky strategy. Just say all these crazy things and maybe you can get some people to believe you. On the other hand, it just absolutely makes no sense. I don’t go around questioning Donald Trump’s health.” Clinton said, as far as she can tell, that Trump’s health seems to be physically fine. 

Kimmel cited Trump’s doctor, who says a medical examination proved the GOP nominee has the best health ever — of all time. Of all time. Clinton smiled and nodded, saying that she’d heard about that. To prove her stability, Kimmel gave Clinton the ultimate test: Open a jar of pickles. Somehow, she managed.

I am going to suggest that the pickle jar was pre-loosened or else I doubt that Hillary would have agreed to do that on live television. That's just common sense.

However when anybody argues about Hillary's poor health I always suggest that they sit and watch that eleven hour testimony before the House Benghazi witch hunt.

That would have killed Donald Trump.

Clinton also addressed the release of more of her e-mails.

I want to once again remind everybody that neither Condoleezza Rice nor Colin Powell ever released ANY of their e-mails from when they were Secretary of State.

All standards are changed when it comes to Hillary.

While on the subject of clearing up nonsensical GOP charges against Hillary here is an article in which John Dean (Yes, THAT John Dean.), does that for the charge that she lied under oath. 

FBI notes that Hillary Clinton informed investigators that Colin Powell told her to use a private e-mail address. And he did.

Courtesy of Time:  

Hillary Clinton told FBI investigators that former Secretary of State Colin Powell advised her to use a personal email account, according to a new report. 

The claim was included in notes given to Congress by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, The New York Times reports. Powell confirmed he did write Clinton an email talking about how his use of a personal email account “vastly improved communications within the State Department.” 

A book by left-leaning author Joe Conason on Bill Clinton’s post-presidency includes a claim that Powell had given similar advice to Clinton at a dinner party early in her tenure, hosted by another former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright. 

“Albright asked all of the former secretaries to offer one salient bit of counsel to the nation’s next top diplomat,” Conason writes according to the Times, which obtained an advanced copy of the book. “Powell told her to use her own email, as he had done, except for classified communications, which he had sent and received via a State Department computer.”

According to Reuters Powell did not recollect that dinner conversation:

Colin Powell's office in a statement said he could not recall the dinner conversation. He did recall describing the system he used to her, but the statement did not say he suggested Clinton do the same. 

"He did write former Secretary Clinton an email memo describing his use of his personal AOL email account for unclassified messages and how it vastly improved communications within the State Department," the statement said. "At the time there was no equivalent system within the department."

Seriously? An AOL account?

Now the conservatives will jump on the fact that Powell told Hillary to use the State Department e-mails for classified information, but she must have done that because, also according to the FBI, she did not send ANY classified information through her private e-mail server, and only three of the thousands that she received had any markings which might have indicated that they had classified material in them, and THAT was only indicated by a small "c" in the body of the e-mail.

Gee I bet the Congress is really glad they asked for these FBI notes now.

Upgrades by the State Department as to what is "confidential" or "secret" find that former Secretaries of State Condollezza Rice and Colin Powell may now be in violation of the guidelines as well. Oops.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Colin Powell and top staffers for Condoleezza Rice received classified information through personal email accounts, according to a new report from State Department investigators. 

Hillary Clinton has received severe criticism -- particularly from Republicans and computer security experts -- for using her personal email account while serving as the nation's top diplomat under President Barack Obama. 

Thursday's revelation about the two secretaries of state under former President George W. Bush gave her supporters an opportunity to claim the Democratic presidential candidate was being singled out over the practice. 

The emails were discovered during a State Department review of the email practices of the past five secretaries of state. It found that Powell received two emails that were classified and that the "immediate staff" working for Rice received 10 emails that were classified. 

The information was deemed either "secret" or "confidential," according to the report.

So I assume that we can now look forward to Condi and Colin having to sit before some Congressional investigative committee as well now, right?

Oh no I'm sorry that only happens if your name is Clinton.

Colin Powell is not exactly happy that he has been dragged into this BS either:

"The State Department cannot now say they were classified then because they weren't," Powell said. "If the Department wishes to say a dozen years later they should have been classified that is an opinion of the Department that I do not share." 

"I have reviewed the messages and I do not see what makes them classified," Powell said.

Okay we need to move onto a new scandal, this one is boring.

I think the new shiny object is that Hillary is supposedly the mascot of Wall Street.

Well at least it's relatively new.

Colin Powell says he remains in the Republican party because "it annoys them."

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell joked that he identifies as a Republican to annoy the GOP’s right-wing. 

“Yes, I’m still a Republican,” he said about his party affiliation during the Washington Ideas Forum in Washington, D.C., according to the Daily Mail. 

“I want to continue to be a Republican because it annoys them,” Powell quipped to host Walter Isaacson. 

“I think the party has shifted much further right than where the country is and it should be obvious to party leaders that they cannot keep saying and doing the things that they were doing and hope to be successful in national-level election in the future, not just in 2016,” he added.

Joking or not I have little doubt that Colin Powell really does frustrate and irritate many Republican politicians because he is one of the few members of the Bush administration who came out with most of his reputation intact and he has not been shy about criticizing both his former administration and his current political party.

I remember that there was a time when the Republicans were pushing Powell to run for President.

Oh how times have changed.

Hillary Clinton apologizes. But for what?

Courtesy of ABC News: 

Hillary Clinton on Tuesday told ABC News’ David Muir that using a personal email account while Secretary of State was a “mistake” and that she is “sorry” for it. 

“I do think I could have and should have done a better job answering questions earlier. I really didn’t perhaps appreciate the need to do that,” the democratic presidential candidate told Muir in an exclusive interview in New York City. "What I had done was allowed, it was above board. But in retrospect, as I look back at it now, even though it was allowed, I should have used two accounts. One for personal, one for work-related emails. That was a mistake. I’m sorry about that. I take responsibility.” 

This is the farthest Clinton has gone yet in offering an apology for her use of a private email server while Secretary of State.

You know here's the thing.

This is all the result of the Republicans beating the bushes over Benghazi, and if they had not flushed out the private e-mail server, which so fucking weak, they would have found something else.

And here's the other thing, NONE of Colin Powell or Condi Rice's e-mails have been made available for review, from the time they served as the Secretary of State, and in fact Colin Powell's were not even archived.

The excuse for Rice is that she really didn't use e-mail that often.

Yet nobody seems to find that suspicious considering the fact that these e-mails occurred during the buildup to, and execution of, the Iraq War, and would contain details of great interest to the American people.

If we don't think that sensitive and top secret information was sent through both Rice and Powell's private e-mail accounts then we are fooling ourselves.

And here is another point laid out by Massachusetts's Senator Stephen Lynch: 

“We have clandestine information that is now in the hands of the Chinese,” he said, citing a recent data breach at the Office of Personnel Management. “Her information now is the only information that hasn’t been hacked.” “It’s hard to argue that if she had put it on a government server, it would have been safer.”

Exactly! There was no breach of Clinton's e-mail security, however the one that affected the State Department e-mail server was the "worst one ever."

So like I said, what in the hell is Hillary apologizing for?

Colin Powell calls for universal health care in America.

Courtesy of Spero News:  

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said universal health care should be available to all Americans. He was speaking at a charity event for prostate survivors in Seattle. 

Powell told the audience that countries in Europe, Canada and South Korea offer universal, single-payer health care and said he often asks why the United States has not implemented the same system. 

"Whether it's Obamacare, or son of Obamacare, I don't care," Powell said. "As long as we get it done." 

Powell, a retired four-star general, was diagnosed with prostate cancer and credits his survival to the universal health care provided by the United States military. 

Sharing health stories with the audience about his wife, Alma, and a neighbor, Powell said he and his wife have never worried about whether their health care would bankrupt them. He contrasted his experience with his neighbor, Anne, who cannot afford the MRIs to identify tumors in her brain before doctors will operate on her. Powell said she has health insurance, but it does not cover MRI imaging. He said she was out of work and he gave her the funds three weeks ago to receive treatment. 

"We are a wealthy enough country," Powell said, "with the capacity to make sure that every one of our fellow citizens has access to quality health care."

Son of Obamacare. Sounds like a good deal to me.

I have the hardest time forgiving Colin Powell for allowing himself to be used by the Bush administration to sell the Iraq war, but if he keeps on talking sense like this I may have to start trying.

Of course single payer universal health care is the best option for our country, and if Americans would stop allowing themselves to be frightened by the Right Wing scare tactics we could be enjoying its benefits today.

Colin Powell on Republican voter suppression: "I think, are going to backfire because these people are going to come out and do what they have to do in order to vote."

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Powell told CBS host Bob Schieffer that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn part of the Voting Rights Act had been followed by states “putting in place procedures and new legislation that in some ways makes it a little bit harder to vote, you need a photo ID.” 

“And they claim there is widespread abuse and voter fraud, but nothing documented, nothing substantiates that,” he pointed out. “There isn’t widespread abuse. And so these kinds of procedures that are being put in place to slow the process down and make it likely that fewer Hispanics and African-Americans might vote, I think, are going to backfire because these people are going to come out and do what they have to do in order to vote. And I encourage that.” 

Powell added that he wanted to give Republicans the benefit of the doubt that they wanted to improve the voting system, “but when they start to say, let’s restrict the number of voting hours or make it harder for students to vote, then I have to get a little bit suspicious of it.” 

“Here’s what I say to my Republican friends: The country is becoming more diverse. Asian-American, Hispanic-Americans and African-Americans are going to constitute a majority of the population in another generation. You say you want to reach out, you say you want to have a new message, you say you want to see if you can bring some of these voters to the Republican side. This is not the way to do it.” 

“The way to do it is to make it easier for them to vote,” Powell insisted. “And then give them something to vote for that they can believe in. It’s not enough just to say, we have to have a new message. We have to have a new substance to that new message.”

I think Colin Powell is making sense in one respect and that is the fact that attempting to suppress the vote is going to bite the GOP right on the ass.

However I don't think they have another play.

The only other option they have is to fundamentally change the party, and try to attract a different demographic of voters.

But if they start supporting immigration reform, in order to reach out to Hispanics, they lose the racists. If they stop trying to restrict abortion by passing draconian laws, in order to attract more women, they lose the Evangelicals. And if they start talking about implementing a reasonable tax plan, in order to attract more moderates, they lose their big business donors, and then they essentially cease to exist.

As jaded as it sounds, there may be no way for the Republicans to compete in the upcoming elections cycles, that is NOT underhanded and nefarious.

I'm just saying.

Deaprtment of Justice to grant Bush Administration immunity from prosecution over the Iraq War. Seriously, WTF Obama Administration?

Courtesy of War is Crime:  

In court papers filed today (PDF), the United States Department of Justice requested that George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and Paul Wolfowitz be granted procedural immunity in a case alleging that they planned and waged the Iraq War in violation of international law. 

Plaintiff Sundus Shaker Saleh, an Iraqi single mother and refugee now living in Jordan, filed a complaint in March 2013 in San Francisco federal court alleging that the planning and waging of the war constituted a “crime of aggression” against Iraq, a legal theory that was used by the Nuremberg Tribunal to convict Nazi war criminals after World War II. 

"The DOJ claims that in planning and waging the Iraq War, ex-President Bush and key members of his Administration were acting within the legitimate scope of their employment and are thus immune from suit,” chief counsel Inder Comar of Comar Law said. 

The “Westfall Act certification,” submitted pursuant to the Westfall Act of 1988, permits the Attorney General, at his or her discretion, to substitute the United States as the defendant and essentially grant absolute immunity to government employees for actions taken within the scope of their employment.

Okay I have defended this administration through thick and thin, and often have taken buckets of crap for doing so.

But I simply CANNOT defend this action.

Iraqi woman files class action lawsuit against President Bush over his "war of aggression." Oh PLEASE let this be successful!

Courtesy of Yes magazine:  

George W. Bush keeps a low profile these days, making the rounds on the public speaking circuit, engaging in a bit of philanthropy here and there, occasionally sharing his dog paintings or offering an unsolicited opinion on the immigration debate or national security. 

Given his role in the current media landscape, it may be easy to forget that just 10 years ago he led an invasion of a foreign country that many in the international community saw as criminal. 

Sundus Shaker Saleh, an Iraqi single mother of three, has not forgotten. The violence and chaos that engulfed Iraq following the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 had tragic consequences for her family and ultimately forced her to flee her homeland for an uncertain future. She has left Iraq, but she is determined to make sure the world hears her story and that someone is held accountable. 

Saleh is the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit targeting six key members of the Bush Administration: George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, and Paul Wolfowitz. In Saleh v. Bush, she alleges that the Iraq War was not conducted in self-defense, did not have the appropriate authorization by the United Nations, and therefore constituted a “crime of aggression” under international law—a designation first set down in the Nuremberg Trials after World War II. The aim of the suit is simple: to achieve justice for Iraqis, and to show that no one, not even the president of the United States, is above the law.

I don't have muhc faith in this actually going anywhere, but an anti-war liberal can dream can't he?

Nonpartisan group finds that, without a doubt, the Bush administration is guilty of torture. Somebody organize a jury while I get some rope.

"Yeah, so we broke the law and used torture, What are ya gonna do about it?" 

Courtesy of Raw Story:

A nonpartisan group led by a former top Bush administration official concluded a two-year review on Tuesday that finds the former president and his top advisers knowingly ordered interrogation techniques that U.S. officials have previously referred to as torture. 

“After conducting our own two-year investigation, weighing the credibility of all sources and studying the current public record, we have come to the regrettable, but unavoidable, conclusion that the United States did indeed engage in conduct that is clearly torture,” former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), who served as undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security during the Bush administration, said in an advisory. 

The 577-page review, put together by the advocacy group The Constitution Project, includes interviews with dozens of people who have first-hand knowledge of the discussions about interrogation techniques and their implementation. Although Bush administration loyalists said at the time that “enhanced interrogation tactics” like stress positions, waterboarding, mock executions, sensory deprivation and prolonged diapering were not torture, this report aims to specifically and finally emphasize that these activities meet the clinical definition of “torture.” 

“As long as the debate continues, so too does the possibility that the United States could again engage in torture,” the report says, according to The New York Times, which received an advance copy. 

“What sets the United States apart as a world leader, in addition to our military might, are our values and respect for the rule of law. All the available evidence led us to conclude that, for many of these detainees, the U.S. violated both international law and treaties and our own laws, greatly diminishing America’s ability to forge important alliances around the world,” former Rep. James R. Jones (D-OK) added in the group’s advisory. 

The report also notes dozens of instances in which U.S. officials and U.S courts treated similar tactics as torture when applied to U.S. persons, and urges the Obama administration to declassify a 6,000-page Senate report on the extent of torture’s use during the Bush years. 

“This has not been an easy inquiry for me, because I know many of the players,” Hutchinson told The New York Times. “But I just think we learn from history. It’s incredibly important to have an accurate account not just of what happened but of how decisions were made.” 

Okay so now that this report is finished and it leaves NO doubt that the Bush administration engaged in criminal activities. let's have the whole slimy bunch of them arrested for treason.

All criminal investigations into the Bush torture program have been called off by the Obama administration.

Fuck!

So nothing. These bastards destroy our reputation, lie us into two unnecessary wars, spy on our citizens, and damn near near bankrupt the country, and nothing happens to them?

No of course not. But just let President Obama fail to leave a tip after eating lunch and the impeachment hearings will commence posthaste.

Fucking Republicans!

Make sure you clear your calendars for the premiere of the documentary "Hubris: The Selling of the Iraq War." Which is scheduled for Monday on MSNBC, and will be hosted by our own Rachel Maddow.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I often call myself a "Bush Democrat" meaning that I was essentially an Independent until George W. Bush was elected, and then I decided it was time to take sides in what I saw as a war against the American people being waged by the Republican party.

I KNEW before the first shot was fired that the reasons given for going into Iraq were false, and I simply could not believe that the media in this country refused to call the administration out on that.

My most constant frustration with President Obama is that he has refused to go after the people that falsified the information that got us into the Iraq War, and the politicians who supported it even though they HAD to have known, or at least suspected, the truth.

I'm not stupid. I have seen the incredibly partisan climate we currently live in, and realize that IF the President had attempted to launch an investigation, or charge the ex-President and his staff with treason, it would have split this country irreparably, and we would right now be fighting that long threatened civil war that some on the Right are itching to start.

Having said that, I for one certainly hope that at some point, with documentaries like this getting the truth out to the American people, the time may soon be right to revisit this criminal enterprise and find justice for the thousands of young Americans who died needlessly in a war that NEVER should have taken place.

Colin Powell shames the Republican party for its racist rhetoric, and singles out a certain ex-Alaskan Governor for special condemnation.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

POWELL: There’s also a dark — a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party. What do I mean by that? I mean by that that they still sort of look down on minorities. How can I evidence that? When I see a former governor say that the President is “shuckin’ and jivin’,” that’s racial era slave term. When I see another former governor after the president’s first debate where he didn’t do very well, says that the president was lazy. He didn’t say he was slow. He was tired. He didn’t do well. He said he was lazy. Now, it may not mean anything to most Americans, but to those of us who are African Americans, the second word is shiftless and then there’s a third word that goes along with that. The birther, the whole birther movement. Why do senior Republican leaders tolerate this kind of discussion within the party?

Just in case there is ANY question as to which "former governor" General Powell is speaking of concerning that "shuckin' and jivin'" comment, let us take a trip down memory lane to Sarah Palin's Facebook post of  October 24, 2012:

President Obama's shuck and jive shtick with these Benghazi lies must end.

Yep, let's face it, when you are talking about examples of racism in the Republican party you really cannot leave out the poster girl for racist rants and hateful rhetoric now can you?

Colin Powell puts country before politics and once again endorses President Obama.

Courtesy of CBS News:  

With 12 days to go before the presidential election, Powell publicly endorsed President Obama for re-election on "CBS This Morning" Thursday. 

"I voted for him in 2008 and I plan to stick with him in 2012 and I'll be voting for he and for Vice President Joe Biden next month." 

Powell explained his choice to Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell: 

"When he took over, the country was in very very difficult straits. We were in the one of the worst recessions we had seen in recent times, close to a depression. The fiscal system was collapsing. Wall Street was in chaos, we had 800,000 jobs lost in that first month of the Obama administration and unemployment peaked a few months later at 10 percent. So we were in real trouble. The auto industry was collapsing, the housing was start[ing] to collapse and we were in very difficult straits. And I saw over the next several years, stabilization come back in the financial community, housing is now starting to pick up after four years, it's starting to pick up. Consumer confidence is rising." 

Summarizing the past four years under Obama, Powell said "Generally we've come out of the dive and we're starting to gain altitude." He acknowledged that problems remain, saying "The unemployment rate is too high, people are still hurting in housing but I see that we're starting to rise up." 

Turning to foreign policy, Powell said he saw "the president get us of one war, start to get us out of a second war and did not get us into any new wars. And finally I think that the actions he has taken with respect to protecting us from terrorism have been very very solid. And so, I think we ought to keep on the track that we are on." 

Powell also did not mince words concerning WHY he is not endorsing the President's opponent and Republican instead:

"The governor who was saying things at the debate on Monday night ... was saying things that were quite different from what he said earlier. I'm not quite sure which Gov. Romney we would be getting with respect to foreign policy." 

"One day he has a certain strong view about staying in Afghanistan but then on Monday night he agrees with the withdrawal, same thing in Iraq. On almost every issue that was discussed on Monday night, Governor Romney agreed with the President with some nuances. But this is quite a different set of foreign policy views than he had earlier in the campaign. And my concern ... is that sometimes I don't sense that he has thought through these issues as thoroughly as he should have." 

Powell also said that he has given close consideration to Romney's domestic policies. "As I listen to what his proposals are especially with respect to dealing with respect to our most significant issue, the economy, it's essentially let's cut taxes and compensate for that with other things but that compensation does not cover all of the cuts intended or the new expenses associated with defense."

Well put.

I have to say that of ALL the members of the Bush administration, I tend to give a Colin Powell the most credit for taking responsibility for his actions and for working hard to make it up to the American people.  He has a unique perspective on the damage that a war mongering GOP administration can cause, and clearly wants to do what he can to prevent another one from taking office.

In the least surprising news of the day, Dick Cheney is still a liar.

I have the hardest time imaginable believing ANYBODY from the Bush administration.

But if I had to choose somebody, it would be Colin Powell hands down.

If the video does not play for you, try clicking here.)

Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama, slams Sarah Palin!

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, describing the Illinois senator as a "transformational figure."

Powell says both Obama and Republican John McCain are qualified to be commander in chief. But, in an interview Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," he said Obama is better suited to handle the nation's economic problems as well as help improve it's standing in the world.

Powell expressed disappointment in the negative tone of McCain's campaign, as well as in his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential nominee. Powell says he does not believe Palin is ready to take over as president, if necessary.

This is huge!

Having Colin Powell, a man who clearly felt betrayed by the policies of George W. Bush, endorse Barack Obama is yet another indication that the WHOLE country wants to move away from the mistakes of the past and embrace a better future.

Maybe Barack will give Powell a cabinet position and help him to redeem himself for his part in the WMD fiasco. I have to imagine that the General would welcome that opportunity.

Update: Here is the video of the endorsement from Meet the Press. Colin Powell does a great job of outing ALL of McCain's underhanded political attacks and explains to the American public how false these attacks are and the damage they have done. His story of the mother crying over the grave of her Islamic son who dies in this war is especially poignant.

Colin Powell to endorse Barack Obama at Democratic Convention.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell will endorse Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention, Weekly Standard Publisher Bill Kristol told FOX News exclusively on Thursday.

“He may well give a speech at the Democratic convention explaining his endorsement of Obama,” Kristol said, citing inside sources. “For whatever reason I think he has decided he’s going to endorse Obama. I think [Powell] has a high respect for Senator McCain, they go back a long way.”

Kristol continued, “This is not an absolute done deal, but these people are very confident that Powell will endorse Obama.”

Okay so it is not for sure yet, but if it does happen, holy shit!

This is going to make McCain drop a load in his Depends for damn sure.

This is going to be a great convention! I may to have to take the day off from work so that I don't miss a second of it!

Update: According to Andrea Mitchell, speaking on "Hardball" today, this rumor is false. Powell has not yet decided who he will endorse, but he will not endorse anybody during either convention. This is what I get for linking to an article from FOX News. When will I learn?

I know this may seem like old news to some but I believe we should never forget just how we got into the Iraq war in the first place.

A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."

The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.

And when you see the current crop of Republican candidates remember that they are continuing to support the conflict and to keep our brave soldiers in harms way for an indeterminate amount of time.

And also don't let it slip your mind that Hillary was the last of the Democratic Presidential contenders to stop supporting the invasion and has never really said her vote to go into Iraq was a mistake.