"They're blowin' this town all to hell" -- Bo Hopkins in Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch"(1969)

By Sheila Samples

Senator John Warner (R-Va.) has the unexpected problem of a foreign state-owned company taking over operations at U.S. ports all figured out.  The dour, self-righteous chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee announced from the Senate floor on March 9 that Dubai Ports World (DPW), one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), "has decided to transfer fully U.S. operation of P&O Ports North America to a United States entity."  

For Rove-Cheney watchers, that immediately begs the question -- what U.S. entity?  What does "transfer fully" mean?  But, alas, Warner said details about that part of the scam "weren't immediately available."  For Warner watchers, especially those of us who have looked at him from every possible angle while scratching our heads, another question springs to mind -- What could Liz Taylor possibly have been thinking back in December 1976 when she took this cranky, cheerless man for a spin on her seventh time around?

The message should ring loud and clear to anyone with sound judgment - Impeach George Bush before he does more damage.  How much damage can one Administration do before common sense, patriotism, and true conservatism take over?

We have just been informed that only 5 percent of the nine million containers that go through U.S. ports are being inspected.  Is that homeland security?  The Republican Administration has failed to be alert to Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi.

The U.S.A. was never in any grave danger because Clinton had sex outside of marriage.  Nevertheless, the Republican hate machine went into high gear spending taxpayers' millions, with $30 million from Ken Starr's vendetta alone, to reek personal revenge on a Democratic president, all the while posing as moral guardians.  

With the record of every kind of corruption going on in this Republican led Administration, the glaring spotlight on hypocrisy is evident for the eyes of the world to witness.

While the smoke, dust and ash was still settling from the collapse of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, the Bush Administration's mad political scientist, Karl Rove, retreated deep into his undisclosed laboratory and began to create his dream; the pinnacle of his life's work...the ultimate political monster.

Working in the dead of night not unlike the witches from MacBeth, he concocted his monster from a powerful mixture of stolen parts of the body politic: a yellow belly, a lilied liver, trembling hands, rubber legs, lying eyes, and, worst of all, the heart of darkness.

He programmed his monster to listen to only his voice and vowed then and there that this creation would become the power behind his plans.

And the mad scientist succeeded in creating his alter-ego, Fearenstein.

loosely knit group of Arab royalty control of our ports.
Shouldn't We Bring Democracy To the UAE Before We Let Them Manage Our Ports?

President Bush and some of his supporters are saying that opposition to this sale is racist and anti-Arab. I decided to learn more about the United Arab Emirates. Most of the following was obtained from the websites of the U. S. State Department and the CIA World Fact Book.

The United Arab Emirates is a loosely knit group of seven rulers. They do not have political parties or any form of Democratic government. Each ruler holds power on the basis of their dynastic position in their tribes. Yes--dynasty, tribes. Doesn't sound very American does it? Unless you are Bush.

There are not clear borders between the U. A. E. and its' neighboring countries of Saudi Arabia and Oman. That sounds pretty unstable.

Here is what the CIA site says: "Location and status of boundary with Saudi Arabia is not final, de facto boundary reflects 1974 agreement; no defined boundary with most of Oman, but Administrative Line in far north."
  An erratic perimeter in a volatile region. They can't keep their own borders safe. Yet we are handing them the keys to ours.

According to a new report, President Bush did not know about the port deal until after it was finalized.

President Bush was unaware of the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates until the deal already had been approved by his administration, the White House said Wednesday.

So let's get this straight: he didn't know about it until after the fact, but stresses that every "i" was dotted and "t" was crossed.

Which is basically a load of crap. Donald Rumsfeld, a sitting member, wasn't even aware of the details. And Dick Cheney has been too busy covering his butt to give much imput.

So basically, the three top federal executive in charge of keeping this country safe either don't remember or didn't know about one of the most questionable deals in involving our borders and our safety.

It's a little unnerving when the base of both parties voices the same opposition to an issue. It's a bit too close to Bizarro world. But where both sides may agree on the broad principle that DP World should not control U.S. ports, our basis for opposition differs radically. Where the opposition in some corners is the result of xenophobia, the issue deserves a more nuanced analysis.  Over at DailyKos, I've been stressing that opposition to the deal should be narrowly focused on the implications of allowing a foreign government--friend or foe--to operate our vulnerable ports.  

More below...