Posted on 10/10/2002 8:21:15 AM PDT by BigWaveBetty
WASHINGTON - The House headed for a strong vote Thursday to open the way for President Bush to wage war against Iraq if he decides force alone can subdue Saddam Hussein. The Senate brushed off more efforts to weaken the measure.
By a 66-31 vote, the Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. [ha-ha!] — the most outspoken Senate opponent of the war resolution — that would have ended the authorization for him to use force against Iraq after two years.
Bipartisan support for Bush's request for war authority was growing steadily, and chances seemed good he'd have the measure on his desk by week's end to put the nation on combat-ready footing.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the administration believed the House will give the measure "a large bipartisan vote" approving it.
"The president hopes this will send a strong message to the world, and to Iraq, that if Iraq does not obey the U.N. resolutions, that the United States is prepared to enforce the peace," Fleischer said.
A bipartisan vote for the president appeared likely in the House, and the Senate could follow by the end of the week, putting the nation on a combat-ready footing.
Bush, who has stressed that he has made no decision on launching a military strike against Baghdad, has urged Congress to stand with him as he presses the U.N. Security Council to approve a new resolution demanding that Iraq abide by comprehensive inspections and disarmament or face the consequences.
The Senate was likely to clear a hurdle Thursday with a vote to deter a possible filibuster by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., a tenacious opponent of ceding congressional warmaking powers to the president.
"Congress is being stampeded, pressured, adjured, importuned into acting on this blank check," said Byrd, the Senate's 84-year-old president pro tempore. [boo-hoo!]
Progress was slower on the diplomatic front, where three members of the U.N. Security Council — France, Russia and China — continued to hold out against a U.S.-British proposal sanctioning military action if Iraq does not comply with coercive inspections.
A 25-minute telephone call between Bush and French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday failed to yield a breakthrough over wording of a new Security Council resolution to disarm Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "This is intricate diplomacy and we are continuing our consultations," White House spokesman Sean McCormack said.[will this frog ever learn?]
In Paris, Chirac spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said the French president was open to strengthening the powers of U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq, but still could not accept making military recourse an automatic response should they be hampered. In Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov relayed a similar stance.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, interviewed on CNN's "Larry King Live" program, said world leaders were coming together on Iraq. "There is a new determination, a new understanding within the international community that we cannot turn away from it this time, we cannot look away and trust Saddam Hussein to do the right thing," he said.
Debate in the House went deep into the night both Tuesday and Wednesday, with nearly every member intent on expressing the necessity, and gravity, of granting authority to send Americans into war. [Yea!]
"I know the heartache and pain of the families that are left behind," said a tearful Rep. Randy Cunningham, R-Calif., who was a pilot in the Vietnam War.
But Cunningham and almost every Republican backed the president. "It's time we go straight to the eye and dismantle the elements from which the storm of brutal, repressive tyranny and terrorism radiate," said Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., He said that as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, "I can attest to the evilness of Saddam Hussein." [Go Porter Go!]
About half the Democrats were ready to vote for an alternative proposal, sponsored by Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., that would authorize the use of U.S. force in conjunction with U.N. punishment of Iraq, but require the president to come back for a second vote if he wants to act unilaterally against Saddam. The White House-backed resolution encourages cooperation with U.N. efforts, but gives the go-ahead for unilateral action.
Many Democrats said unilateral action could come at a terrible cost in lives and resources, set a bad precedent for other countries seeking to depose the leaders of other countries and create a backlash in the Muslim world. [yadda, yadda, yadda]
"It is not a victory to strike down one tyrant and breed 10,000 terrorists," said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., a supporter of the Spratt proposal.
A similar proposal offered by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and debated Wednesday night in the Senate also seemed headed for defeat. An amendment by Sen. Bob Graham , D-Fla., to expand Bush's authority for pre-emptive military action to include five terror organizations, went down, 88-10.
At the same time, several senior Democrats said they would support the White House-backed resolution, with reservations, including Sen. Harry Reid [Reid is a nut. He calls Art Bell in the middle of the night to talk about aliens.] of Nevada, the Senate's second-ranked Democrat, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden, D-Del.
Reid urged Bush to use his war-making powers carefully, saying: "As president of the United States, you are the leader of the free world, not its ruler." Biden, who had favored more checks on presidential authority, came along as well, saying the measure would help give the administration more leverage before the Security Council.
"If Saddam Hussein is around five years from now, we are in deep trouble as a country," Biden said.[I knew there was a tiny bit of brain in that Biden head somewhere!]
After spending time with the dimlibs at the Orlando Slantinel message board, all I can say is:
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!
I love you all!!!
I had to bring this masterpiece along for the day.
The charity ball I'm heading is giving me fits. I'm now going through the guest list making notes on who divorced whom, who hates whom, how to address each name, where not to seat certain people, who the drunks are so we can put them close to the door.
Thank the Lord for hairdressers who know the dirt on everyone. They have been the best source for a kind and gentle guest list. I swear this is the last time I'll be doing this ball. My family's sick of it.
Soon, I'll be able to freep again.
Magic Johnson is on talking about AIDs. You told me this was going to be fun. What gives? ;-)
Question to MJ: Does this change the way you've lived the past 11 years?
What MJ should have really answered: Well yeah, I had to stop screwing everything in a skirt!
Lunch is over, back to work. I'll keep the tv going for any good scoop.
 |
|
|
I will match those donations up to a total of $500 Please let me know the amount you donate, thanks.
|
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
|
|
Stephen Craig is no stranger to the world of entertainment.. His mother, show business legend Marie Osmond, introduced him to music at a very young age. By the time he was ten years old, Stephen was on Broadway appearing in The Sound Of Music. Growing up, there was never much doubt in Stephen's mind as to what he would choose to do as a career. However, his priorities were set on getting an education first, and then pursuing his music. As a very young boy, Stephen met bass player Gary Baker who was playing in Marie's band. A friendship and bond were formed that would bring them together almost thirteen years later for Stephen's record debut. Prior to meeting Gary, Stephen also met musician Jerry Williams. When it came time to go into the studio to record the album, "It was just like old home week," says Stephen. In 2001, Stephen turned eighteen years old. Even though his studies continue, he knew that the timing was right for him to take his first steps in becoming a recording artist.. Encouraged by his father and mother, as well as long time friends and now his producers, Gary Baker and Jerry Williams, Stephen signed a recording agreement with the newly formed company, The Plugged In Corporation, and began recording his first album "That's What You Get" in August of 2001. By the time recording began on the album, Gary Baker had become one of the most successful pop songwriters in the business, with sales of over one hundred and thirty million units worldwide. As a producer he has worked with artists 98 Degrees and Alecia Elliott. Jerry Williams has enjoyed great success as a television and film composer, as well as songwriter, with tunes recorded by Leann Rimes and Boyzone. With mix engineer Eddie Delena (Michael Jackson and Red Hot Chili Peppers), this combination has emerged with a great new album and an exciting new artist. Stephen Craig is a new face in the music scene, but it is very evident by his performance on songs such as "100 Days, 100 Nights" and "In My Life," that he has matured into a class act. Stephen's rendition of the sixties classic "Bend Me, Shape Me" is sure to delight fans both old and new, and the bass groove-driven "Goin' Down" will most certainly please the ear.
I can't believe no Guilder has posted the news on the Clintoons and Gift Gate. A House subcommittee has released their findings of more than $1 million in gifts the Arkanasas gangsters never reported or revealed. Get this. They say the items were for the library, so they didn't have to disclose them. Never mind that they USED them...example: tuxedo shirts in his case, Judith Leiber bags in her case. And they can borrow them again from the library anytime they choose! This is just too much.
Remember these?
(Chihuly isn't mentioned in the articles, but it was soooo funny I just had to stick it in here. LOL!)
But Dick Morris says it best. He nails Hitlery in a lie she told him about her purses:
HILLARY'S BAGS SURFACE
No Guilder could have written it better...I wonder if he peeks now and then?
Ha! The smartest woman in the world was photographed with the non-existent bags, and all the while denied ever having them.
What an arrogant maroon!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
