EAST IDAHO DEMOCRATS National Democrats Idaho Democrats East Idaho Ds District 35 .Dialog Bannock County Photos Links Young Dems Bonneville County Butte County Clark County Custer County Fremont County Jefferson County Lemhi County Madison County .Teton County Bonneville County Democrat Candidates Bonneville Democrat Polo & T-Shirts Help Wanted Bonneville County 2008 Spring Newsletter Idaho County Map What journalists should be asking about the no-bid Iraqi oil deals What was the Bush administration's involvement in the recent deals? Editor's note: This article also appeared on TomDispatch.com By Nick Turse July 14, 2008 | On June 19, the New York Times broke the story in an article headlined "Deals With Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back: Rare No-Bid Contracts, a Foothold for Western Companies Seeking Future Rewards." Finally, after a long five years-plus, there was proof that the occupation of Iraq really did have something or other to do with oil. Quoting unnamed Iraqi Oil Ministry bureaucrats, oil company officials, and an anonymous American diplomat, Andrew Kramer of the Times wrote: "Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP ... along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq's Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq's largest fields." The news caused a minor stir, as other newspapers picked up and advanced the story and the mainstream media, only a few years late, began to seriously consider the significance of oil to the occupation of Iraq. As always happens when, for whatever reason, you come late to a major story and find yourself playing catch-up on the run, there are a few corrections and blind spots in the current coverage that might be worth addressing before another five years pass. In the spirit of collegiality, I offer the following leads for the mainstream media to consider as they change gears from no comment to hot pursuit when it comes to the story of Iraq's most sought after commodity. I'm talking, of course, about that "sea of oil" on which, as Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz pointed out way back in May 2003, the month after Baghdad fell, Iraq "floats." More,,, Vote Republican because,,, Emerging Threats Top Iraqi cleric warns of uprising Published: June 9, 2008 at 6:16 PM BAGHDAD, June 9 (UPI) -- A leading Iraqi Shiite cleric said Monday the status of forces agreement between Washington and Baghdad could lead to an uprising in Iraq. "It is not to the benefit of the U.S. as a major power to lessen the sovereignty of Iraq. This treaty is humiliating to the Iraqi people, and might cause an uprising against it and those who support it," Grand Ayatollah Mohammad al-Modarresi told the Iranian state-run English-language service, Press TV. Modarresi said the strategic framework between Iraq and the United States needs a full understanding of the situation in Iraq before negotiations on the arrangement proceed. "It will surely fail if kept as it is," he said. The current U.N. mandate for Iraq expires in 2009. The United States wants to establish 50 military bases in Iraq, provide immunity to security personnel from Iraqi law and maintain the right to conduct autonomous military operations as part of the legal framework defining the relationship with Iraq. More,,, Saturday, June 7, 2008 (Idaho Democratic Party) Tax Commission Inquiry By Wendy Jaquet In the past few days, a whistleblower report by a state employee has made serious charges against the Idaho Tax Commission. First of all, the Idaho Tax Commission is comprised of both Republican and Democratic appointees, as required by law. The report comes from an auditor who has worked for the Idaho Tax Commission for almost 30 years and says he has personally witnessed taxes being overly reduced for certain companies which challenged the amount of money that the state said the companies owed. The report alleges that certain corporations “have been allowed to pay less income tax than that required by Idaho law… (T)he process allows these companies to avoid paying millions of dollars in income tax that are due to the state of Idaho, and to do so in complete secrecy.” The allegations made in the whistleblower report are serious and deserve a timely response from the Legislature. There is no question that Idaho tax policy must be fair and honest, and as transparent as the law allows while protecting the privacy of individuals and corporations.       As lawmakers and overseers of the public trust, we as elected members of the Legislature must assure that each allegation is thoroughly and independently investigated. Additionally, we want to look at the entire corporate tax assessment and collection procedure and question whether any institutional flaws exist in the process that may lead to under-collected corporate taxes. More,,, Why This Fifty-Five Year Old White Lifelong Republican Wants Obama To Win Frank Schaeffer Posted June 4, 2008 | 11.11 AM (EST) This is a great day for those of us who have been fighting for Senator Obama! I'm a good example of why he'll win in November. I'm the least typical Obama supporter. And there are many more like me.  I cut my political teeth in the seventies through the early eighties as an organizer in the antiabortion religious right. I'm a fifty-five year old white man who has been a conservative most of my life. I've been a Republican activist who campaigned for McCain in 2000. I'm a big fan of the military. My son served in the Marines. If Obama can reach me he can reach anyone.  My support for Obama has cost me friends. For instance the Bush family gave one of my recent military-related books (Keeping Faith-A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps) a ringing endorsement. After Laura Bush read an excerpt out on Meet The Press sales skyrocketed. I probably won't get too many more of those sorts of endorsements. But the chips are down and the presidential choice this year is too important not to not fight for. We can't afford McCain. He'd be a president with a desire to be vindicated and "win" at all costs in Iraq. Iraq never attacked us. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. The terrorists were not in Iraq while Hussein was in charge. We opened the door for them. We aren't bringing democracy to Iraq. This was a war of dumb choice launched in a part of the world that can't ever be fixed by our military.  More,,,   Nicole LeFavour: 20 Bills Not Passed The Pledge Since our elected Republican leadership has chosen to leave those with no Health Insurance out in the cold, many people are having serious budget problems handling their prescription expenses.  We suggest they investigate this  Free Drug Card.  It may help them save as much as 75% off their prescription costs.

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