Buzzing Bees Enliven Washington Scene
Hartford Gnat Swatted at Rell Parade

The head nanny is sworn in; no doubt about it, the nanny state will be intensified under her gavel! The dem leadership's undermining of the war effort knows no bounds:

Top Democrats Oppose More Troops in Iraq
By DAVID STOUT

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 -- As President Bush prepares to present his new strategy on Iraq to the American people, Democratic Congressional leaders said today they will fight any approach that calls for deploying more United States troops there.

“We want to do everything we can to help Iraq succeed in the future but, like many of our senior military leaders, we do not believe that adding more U.S. combat troops contributes to success,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, wrote to Mr. Bush.

“Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our military to the breaking point for no strategic gain,” the Democrats’ letter said.

Also reiterating his deep opposition to any troop increases was Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin. “The administration refuses to acknowledge the devastating impact that keeping our brave troops in Iraq is having on our national security, and now the president is considering sending even more troops,” Mr. Feingold said in a statement.

“We should be bringing our troops out of Iraq, not the other way around,” he said. “The American people’s message at the ballot box was loud and clear, and it is past time that the administration listened.”

The Pelosi-Reid letter, and Mr. Feingold’s allusion to the November elections, underscored the new political reality for the White House. As President Bush prepares to take his case to the American people, and assembles a new military and diplomatic team to go with his redefined Iraq strategy, he is encountering fierce opposition from the newly empowered Democratic leadership.

In fact, Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid are digging in more firmly than some of their Democratic colleagues who have not ruled out at least a modest, temporary troop increase. President Bush must be heartened, for example, by the stance of Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who is the new head of the Armed Services Committee, who has said he would not “prejudge” the president’s proposal, provided that any troop increase is linked to a broader approach to disentangle the United States from Iraq.
NY Times 1/05/06
Hat tip: Rush Limbaugh for the graphic and photo

Meanwhile in Hartford......

It seems not a good idea to ride a bike alongside an official parade, speed up, quickly dismount and dash to front of the procession ostensibly to photograph the dignitary (in this case Gov. M. Jodi Rell). The freelance journalist/photographer who tried this in yesterday's inaugural parade for Gov. Rell was immediately intercepted by the police and charged with breach of peace and interfering with a police officer. The individual, Ken Krayeske, 34 years of age (pictured below) was reportedly identified by police as a person of interest whose photo had been circulated amongst law enforcement agencies in the state. The arresting officer said he immediately recognized Krayeske from the circulated photos and intercepted him as he jumped in front of the procession.

Hartford police spokesman Nancy Mulroy said:... "if you rush off a bike and start charging toward the governor during a processional parade, you are going to be arrested," Mulroy said. "In this day and age, when security is a very serious matter, you cannot expect to act like that and not have to face the consequences. Our job was to protect the governor, and we took it seriously."

(Krayeske)..."said he has a record of three previous arrests involving acts of civil disobedience protesting the war in Iraq and the launching of a nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. Jimmy Carter."
Melissa Bailey photo
Reporting by Hartford Courant
and CT News Junkie