BushCo was planning to charge Americans to get them out of Lebanon.

[Cyrano]

What if you were in a burning house, a fireman showed up and said, "I'll get you out, but it's going to cost you $500."

Well, that's just about what our government was planning on doing. Randi Rhodes mentioned on her show yesterday that people being evacuated from Lebanon on a cruise ship would have to pay $500.

And in this morning's local paper, I saw a piece reprinted from the L.A. Times that closed with the sentence: "The State Department said Tuesday it had dropped a plan to make Americans reimburse the government for the trip."

They probably dropped it because it had become public and it would have been too embarrassing in an election year. But the point is that it became an issue at all, which shouldn't be surprising, given the sub-human scum running our government. Every time we think the sewer they live in can't get any deeper, it does.

[charlie]

1. Didn't hear they dropped the fees

Good. The fuckers.

[wakeme2008]

2. Passed in 2003

by Congress I do not have link but it was posted on DU.

[Cyrano]

4. Hadn't heard about that, but maybe the burning house analogy isn't

that far off. For all we know, there may be a law that says you have to pay to be saved from a fire on federal property.

These Republicans have passed so much crap in the middle of the night, it's virtually impossible to tell the extent of damage they've caused.

If we ever get back control of our own government, it's going to take decades to undo the chaos caused by these barbarians.

[papau]

3. The GOP passed in 2003 a new law charging for rescue as offset to tax cuts

for the rich.

The GOP can't just offset the tax cuts for the rich with increases in the birth tax (increases in the deficit that increase the national debt we are leaving to our kids and grandkids) plus sales of America to foreign governments/corporations as that trade deficit is paid off by foreign purchase of our economy.

The GOP is also trying to sell the "more fiscal restraint than Democrats" con job - and of course our US media is helping them sell the con. So a visible effort is made to find a fiscal offset to the revenue lost in the tax cuts for the rich via rate reduction and taxing less than 100 cents on the dollar of investment income (heck we give the rich a wage cap above which there is no tax on wages plus a zero tax rate on investment income in the other income tax called the Social Security/Medicare payroll tax).

In 2003 that "fiscal restraint" gave us "pay for your own damn rescue".

[Cyrano]

7. I wish I believed in Hell so there would be

an appropriate place to send these people. I get shudders just thinking that they're part of the same species as us.

[marmar]

5. I guess that's what he means by "Freedom isn't free."

$$$$$$$ :hurts: $$$$$$$

[lonestarnot]

6. GOP... Gas Oil Petrol and Money. That's what they are all about.

[pooja]

8. Condi was getting killed on the decision... Also t.v. reporters

were all over this shit... they would interview scared Americans who were essentially signing their life away to pay whatever to get out of harms way. The longer that American's remain in Lebanon, the longer they become targets for hostage taking. It is clear that Lebanese govt cannot control the region on their own and Israel seems clearly willing and able to take advantage of bombing the hell out of the piece of country they once held.