WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Cindy Sheehan said she will be part of the live audience during the president's State of the Union speech to congress Tuesday.

Bay Area Congresswoman Lynn Woosley gave anti-war activist a gallery pass late Tuesday, just hours before the planned State of the Union speech. Sheehan was in Washington to protest the president during his national address, but then came word she was invited to see the speech live.

A spokesman for Sheehan says she decided to accept the invitation two hours prior to the speech. The spokesman also said that Sheehan will be respectful and listen to the address because she is a guest of a member of congress.

Sheehan is expected to fly back to Berkeley Wednesday. She announced over the weekend that she is considering running for Senate against Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

It is Cindy Sheehan's extremely bloated ego which is considering to run against Sen. Feinstein...

Some "wow we" facts about water....

• The brain is 75% / Moderate dehydration can cause headaches and dizziness
• Regulates body temperaturs
• Carries nutrients and oxygen to all cells in the body
• Protects and cushions vital organs
• Helps to convert food into energy
• Helps the body absorb nutrients
• Removes waste
• Bones are 22% water
• Muscles are 75% water
• Cushions joints

Source: bottledwater.org

I was raised in a time when it was inculcated to me that when you don't come on top in whatever situation that you do everything not to appear as a "sore loser." While there may be a lot of pain, you leave a situation with your head and nose held high. So why doesn't this apply to Sen. Kerry and Vice-President Gore?

Despite the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is supported by a majority of Americans, the latest news is that Sen. Kerry wants to do a filibuster to be obstructionist and embarrass President Bush and block any vote that might approve the appointment of Judge Alito. This despite the fact that several very liberal Democratic senators including Sen. Byrd of Virginia are planning to vote for the confirmation of Judge Alito.

Then you have preachy Vice-President Gore criticizing all of the moves of the President at every step of the way...to the point of saying once, "If I had been elected President I would have...."

Puhleeze....don't you guys have any dignity left? Or did you sell it to a lobbyist?

This so reminds me when President Reagan could never acknowledge the existence and growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS during his presidency.

BUSH: NO 'BROKEBACK'
Mon Jan 23 2006 17:09:44 ET

President Bush has so far skipped BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN -- the Hollywood hit about two homosexual cowboys.

During a Q&A session at Kansas State University today, a student asked Bush: "I was just wanting to get your opinion on BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN if you'd seen it yet."

The crowd laughed softly before the student said loudly: "You would love it! You should check it out."

"I haven't seen it," Bush said flatly. "I'd be glad to talk about ranching, but I haven't seen the movie," he said to laughter. "I've heard about it."

The president waited a second or two, then said, according to a transcript: "I hope you go -- (laughter) -- you know -- (laughter) -- I hope you go back to the ranch and the farm, is what I was about to say. I haven't seen it. (Laughter, applause.)"

Jay Leno made the comment the other night how the icons of the American Western would never quite make it if they were paired together in the cinema blockbuster, "Brokeback Mountain."


(Camera opens on a clearing in a mountain pass. Horse neighs in the background)

John Wayne: "Hey, Pilgrim....love is a force of nature...I wish I knew how to quit you...."

Clint Eastwood: "Go ahead, make my day.... Show me your six shooter...we'll see who draws first...and draws best...."

(Clint looks into John's eyes and snorts. John Wayne reaches over and grabs Clint's hand and puts it on his hard six shooter.)

Clint: "What the hell?"

(Sounds of belts unbuckling and pants sliding down....John Wayne grunts as Clint introduces him to his six shooter.)

(Camera cuts to a two shot of both and scene fades to black as Clint and John make there way into their tent as the sun sets in the background.)

(Fade to black with more grunting coming from the tent)

Jay Leno made the comment the other night how the icons of the American Western would never make it if they were paired together in the cinema blockbuster, "Brokeback Mountain."


(Camera opens on a clearing in a mountain pass. Horse neighs in the background)

John Wayne: "Hey, Pilgrim....love is a force of nature...I wish I knew how to quit you...."

Clint Eastwood: "Go ahead, make my day.... Show me your six shooter...we'll see who draws first...and draws best...."

John Wayne reaches over and grabs Clint's hand and puts it on his hard six shooter.

Clint: "What the hell?"

(Sounds of belts unbuckling and pants sliding down....John Wayne grunts as Clint introduces him to his six shooter.)

(Camera cuts to a two shot of both and scene fades to black as Clint and John make there way into their tent as the sun sets in the background.)

(Fade to black with more grunting coming from the tent)

This is why progressives aren't being taken so seriously by the general public when you see quotes like these from public officials:

Nagin also said the hurricane that devastated New Orleans was God's way of showing displeasure about U.S. involvement in Iraq. "Surely God is mad at America," Nagin said in a speech Monday. "Surely He's not approving of us being in Iraq under false pretense. But surely He's upset at black America also. We're not taking care of ourselves."

Here's a link to the full story

Just as I understand how conservative Americans can make those on the "left" irritated, I happened to come across a program on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation main channel (there are two: one is news/talk and the second is classical music).

There was a commentator repeating all of the usual diatribe how Pres. Bush "lied" to get into the war, there was no connection between Al-Queda and Iraq, etc., of course totally discounting that three thousand Americans were killed in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. What gets me is how all of these people keep repeating the urban legends surrounding the war, yet NOBODY has gone definitely to back up their claims.

This Canadian commentator kept on going on with all of his anti-American screed, while all I can say how the Canadians are going to be yelling blue murder when the terrorists attack Toronto's or Montreal's vast subway system during rush hour, bomb Toronto's massive "Eaton Centre" shopping mall, or bring down their much heralded "CN Tower." It will happen....and then we can start criticizing Canada how the government openly abuses native Canadians with their policies, etc.

Well....America's own public crazy woman Cindy Sheehan (my favorite target!) is at it again thinking that we really care about her and think she is the next Sister Bernadette. GIVE IT UP CINDY! YOU HAVE USED UP YOUR 15 MINUTES OF FAME!

A similar forum in San Diego drew a wopping 25 people! Woohoo! Now that sounds like a real beginning of a movement. Not only that her epic book released last November ranks today at #116,397 in sales/popularity on Amazon.com.

Cindy, go do something truly productive and volunteer for Habitat For Humanity or some other charity in the name of your dead son -- and stop try to bring on publicity for yourself to fertilize your insane ego. (By the way, you might want to renounce your membership in the Revolutionary Communist Party of the USA for PR sake.)

Sheehan Urge Supporters to Take Action

(AP) SACRAMENTO, Calif. Activist Cindy Sheehan told supporters at a peace forum Saturday that troops would get out of Iraq if millions of U.S. citizens took the simple step that she did outside President Bush's vacation home last summer. "Anybody could do what we did in Crawford, Texas. We just went down and sat down," Sheehan told the crowd of several hundred people, with Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn in the front row. She urged them to lose their apathy and do something. "We have to get so freakin' fed up with what's going on that we all go and sit down," Sheehan said.

Sheehan, a Berekley resident whose 24-year-old soldier son died in Iraq, attracted hundreds of anti-war protesters to her makeshift camp near Bush's ranch in August. "These people, they're not going to change unless they see us out in the streets," she said at the forum that organizers said was among dozens of town hall-style events held across the nation. Penn, an early opponent of the war who drew criticism for his visit to Iraq, said he is buoyed by recent efforts in Congress to rein in the president's powers and bring troops home, and by the outraged response to disclosures that the government had wiretapped without obtaining warrants. "When we said, 'Listen to us' _ they're doing it through covert surveillance," Penn joked. He read his brief remarks from a single crumpled piece of paper and said it "probably looks like the administration's war plan."

Deborah Johns of nearby Roseville, who heads Northern California Marine Moms, said most people support the troops in Iraq. However, she said the president and news media have done a poor job showing the troops' progress. Johns led Sheehan opponents on a 21-state caravan to Bush's ranch last fall. "I saw thousands of people who came out to thank our men and women," Johns said in a phone interview Saturday. "I don't think that sort of grass-roots effort is out there that Cindy Sheehan would like people to believe. It's a fantasy."

I respect those who have deep religious convictions -- those who despite their imperfection as human beings -- try to practice what they preach on a daily basis. But on the other hand, I really think these days that there are some Christians who think they out of their perceived goodness that they are going to go straight to the Promised Land with their demogoguery against other people.

The fact is I think some of the loudest so called "Christians" are going to be sadly disappointed when they are stuck in traffic on the way to heaven. Jesus Christ taught us to love one another and that judgement and wrath belongs to God, yet these people go around ever so pious and make judgement on groups of people just because their sexual orientation does not meet the standards set by the dogma of their particular "flavor" of Christianity. (While some may lambaste me on my use of the word "flavor" when trying to differentiate the different Christian sects now practicing, this word was used by a very schooled Theologian and to me personally by a "Born Again Christian".)

The dirty truth the "Eagle Forum" likes to hide is that the son of the organization's central figure, Phyllis Schafly, is gay. The nephew of Christianity's own Jabbah-The-Hut, Rev. Jerry Fallwell, is openly gay and apparently has good relations with his hateful uncle.

God loves all of His children -- be they straight, gay, white, black, yellow or red. It is the mortals that God placed on His green earth who has decided that they need to summarily issue a memorandum superceding God's word that some of His children are destined for damnation in eternal Hell. At this point, it is these intolerant hateful Christians who God is going to deal with PERSONALLY one-by-one when their meeting with Him comes up on His schedule.

Christians have a LOVING and FORGIVING God, not a God of hate and spite, for vengeance is His. And the ultimate vengeance is that God may be very well using this situation to teach a few people a lesson before it is too late.

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Romans 12:18-20

(I take off my minister's robe and cleric's collar and step down from my orange crate at this point.)

Utah Theater Cancels 'Brokeback Mountain'

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. (AP) A movie theater owned by Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller abruptly changed its screening plans and decided not to show the film "Brokeback Mountain." The film, an R-rated Western gay romance story, was supposed to open Friday at the Megaplex at Jordan Commons in Sandy, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Instead it was pulled from the schedule.

A message posted at the ticket window read: "There has been a change in booking and we will not be showing 'Brokeback Mountain.' We apologize for any inconvenience." Cal Gunderson, manager of the Jordan Commons Megaplex, declined to comment. The film, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, is about two cowboys who discover feelings for one another. The two eventually marry women but rekindle their relationship over the years. The movie's distributor, Focus Features, said that hours before opening, the theater management "reneged on their licensing agreement," and refused to open the film.

Gayle Ruzicka, president of the conservative Utah Eagle Forum, said not showing the film set an example for the people of Utah. "I just think (pulling the show) tells the young people especially that maybe there is something wrong with this show," she said.

Mike Thompson, executive director of the gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah, called it disappointing. "It's just a shame that such a beautiful and award-winning film with so much buzz about it is not being made available to a broad Utah audience because of personal bias," he said.

I was sent this image tonight by an individual which prompted me to write the following response to him:

Dave,

I guess I should thank you for this, but, at best, I find it mildly amusing. I really do avoid discussing religion or politics, but I am a little surprised after being given access to my personal website and blog that you would be sending me this movie poster parody.

I do support the President, and I do support his war on terrorism. He is certainly not a "Dumbfuck." I'm not a lock step Republican, but I really haven't seen any superstars in the Democratic party emerge who would be offering an alternative leadership. Only thing I see are a lot of Democrats who can only bitch and moan about anything, but NOT PROVIDE A SOLUTION they think would be viable. As someone who is fiscally conservative, socially liberal, and basically a political fence sitter who is driven by issues rather than a political ideology, I have not forgotten about the 3,000 Americans who were killed on September 11th, I have not forgotten about the hundreds of thousands of people killed by Saddam Hussein, I have not forgotten about the millions of people who have been denied freedom for over forty years by a vicious dictator. As an first generation American with strong ties to Europe, I often feel I'm looking into American politics and culture from outside the fishbowl.

With that, I find it amusing to watch the American populace view the war like a 22-minute sitcom with a cute and neat and sophomoric ending. War is hell, David, and is/was totally justified after 19 United Nations resolutions compelling Saddam Hussein from gassing and anihilating people who happen to disagree with him. Adolf Hitler did the same in World War II, as did Josef Stalin. As for both of these despots, I have personal ties: my father, a Jew but raised Catholic, was arrested by the Nazis and held for nearly a year in Belgium. Only thing that saved him was when the Nazis discovered that he hadn't been circumsized. My grandfather on my mother's side sat on the Supreme Court of Latvia until he was executed by the occupying Russians. My mom...as did hundreds of thousands of Balts... herself had to escape from Latvia to the west with the clothes on her back and an old suitcase in the dead of winter.

Meanwhile, Senator Barbara Boxer, who I voted for, goes on the floor of the Senate, yells and screams about President Bush and the question of the secret suveillance, yet will do nothing to denounce and combat the open selling of landline and private cell phone records, as reported in today's online edtion of the Chicago Sun Times. Here's the link to that article: http://www.suntimes.com/cgi-bin/print.cgi?getReferrer=http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-privacy05.html

Neither political parties are really interested in the well being of our country, while they try to sell us the concept that they "are." They are about power and ego and worn out cliches. Has President Bush made some serious miscalculations: yes. But every true leader makes miscalculations...leaders are not omniscent. Individuals who sit on the fence and just try to do what is politically correct and expedient are not leaders...they are simply chair warmers. Whether what we have done in Iraq is right or wrong is not for us to say. It will be the political landscape and historians in 25-and-50 years from now who will be the judges.

The time has come in this country that we stop addressing our political views as a string of pejortives, but rather as educated discourse. "Dumbfuck Mountain" is not educated discourse.

This all said, while I disagree with your perspective, I hope that you would respect mine...with the hope that you will stay in touch with me.

All the best,

Ivars

I find it so amazing how some people are just doing everything to look for trouble. and getting their asses whupped:

Iranian President Hopes Sharon Perishes

Thu Jan 5, 5:44 PM ET

Iran's president said Thursday he hoped for the death of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the latest anti-Israeli comment by a leader who has already provoked international criticism for suggesting that Israel be "wiped off the map." "Hopefully, the news that the criminal of Sabra and Chatilla has joined his ancestors is final," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency.

Ahmadinejad was referring to Sharon, who as defense minister in 1982 directed Israel's ill-fated invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli commission found him indirectly responsible for a massacre of Palestinians in the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps by Christian Phalangist soldiers. Iran's official media, including state-run radio and television, did not report Ahmadinejad's remarks about Sharon.

"Hopefully, others (criminals like him) will join him too," ISNA quoted Ahmadinejad as telling a group of clerics in Qom, a holy city 80 miles south of the capital, Tehran. He spoke a day after the 77-year-old Sharon suffered a massive stroke and underwent surgery. In the last two months, Ahmadinejad has called the Holocaust a "myth" and said if Europeans insist it did occur, then they should give some of their own land for a Jewish state, rather than the one in the Middle East. He also called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

It would seem that the Rev. Pat Robertson has once again found a way to make Christians look stupid...or should I say "stoopid" and practicing diplomacy without a license. (Hillary Clinton several years ago as Fist Lady did the same when she refused to denounce remarks by Yassir Arafat's wife at a women's conference saying how Israel was practicing infanticide).

Robertson says Sharon's stroke is God's punishment

The Reverend Pat Robertson says Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke could be God's punishment for giving up Israeli territory. The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network told viewers of "The 700 Club" that Sharon was "dividing God's land," even though the Bible says doing so invites "God's enmity." Robertson added, "I would say woe to any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course." He noted that former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. Robertson said God's message is, "This land belongs to me. You'd better leave it alone."

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

As I have said so many times, I am a fence sitter politically...I veer little right...I veer a little left... The Democratic party thinks that by harping on the issue of wiretapping by the President they will convince people like me to switch to see things their way and vote Democratic. They are so far from reality. Many Americans such as myself are IN FACT happy that the President is watching out for us....just as President Clinton and President Carter did when they ordered secret wiretaps of suspected terrorists. If there was another major terrorist attack on the U.S. these same jerk politicians would then criticize the President for not doing the wiretaps no matter how he would have had it done.

The Democratic party is just interested in power...they don't give a damn for the country... And what about a debate on the American system of justice and Sen. Ted Kennedy and his killing of campaign worker Mary Joe Koepechne while being stone drunk?

(Washington Times) Democrats on Capitol Hill are drafting a strategy to attack the Bush administration and Republicans as having little regard for the privacy of Americans.
"We will initiate at the beginning of this year one of the most serious debates and discussions on Capitol Hill in our history about individual rights and liberties," Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin said just before Christmas.
The topic will be a major focus of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of federal Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. as privacy rights -- the political code phrase for abortion rights -- already has become a major issue, Mr. Durbin said.
Democratic leaders then plan to keep the issue alive as they continue their opposition to key parts of the USA Patriot Act, which is set to expire in early February unless extended.
But the real payoff, Democrats say, will be the hearings into President Bush's authorization of warrantless spying on terror suspects. Already, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, said he wants to hold hearings on the matter.

I was engaged in a conversation about the whole controversy about saying "Merry Christmas" etc.
This is what I respondeded:

I'm a Jew (although not practicing)...and there are a lot of us in the world who are really tired of everything in the world getting so banal and politically correct. You can't say anything without offending anyone anymore. While the United States is a country of many diverse cultures and religions that invites everybody to "the big table," that doesn't mean that these people need to bulldoze over the prevailing Judeo-Christian culture prevalent un the United States. YOu have a right not to participate in the holiday season and be a Scrooge...but you don't have a right to say that I can't celebrate it...but there is something very beautiful when once a year the world comes together and thinks of the elusive dream of "peace on earth" -- be it with a Hanukah menorah or a yule log in the fireplace. This is not intended as a jab, but apparently you may not have had a positive experience during this time of year, or were raised in an environment of political correctness much in the way the Soviet Russians imposed "Father Frost" and tried unsuccessfully to replace the basic belief systems of millions of people and impose their "religion" of their corrupt and evil ideology.

Where have all the cowboys gone?

This evening I was chatting on line and had someone give me their philosophy of life...and it really gave me pause to think...

I have always lived by the philosophy that my "word' is to be kept. I have always believed that if your "word" is no good then how much better can the rest of you be? I try to do the right things for others that i would have them do for or to me. It isn't always fun...but I think in the long run the "good" will catch up to you.

Why is this concept so hard for some people?

Karma keeps very accurate books.

I have made changes to the way I publish my blogs so that if you wish to receive them automatically when they are published, I will put you on my specific e-mail list that will forward them to you.

"Brokeback Mountain" is a beautiful yet bittersweet study of relationships and how social mores often put a straitjacket on two hearts while still living in the world under wraps. Heath Ledger's performance as "Ennis Del Mar" and Jake Gyllenhall's performance as fellow cowboy "Jack Twist" and Michelle Williams as Ennis' wife rely on complicated interwoven subtexts as Ennis and Jack grow and bond together. "Brokeback Mountain" is not about what some may characterize as "two gay men" who happen to be rough and tough cowboys, but rather, two fragile souls which bond together in a union in the midst of an unforgiving and misunderstanding world. Ang Lee's direction and Gustavo Santaolalla's musical score is sensitive yet never gets in the way of the story. "Brokeback Mountain" has the ingredients to covet all of the awards to win big in the Golden Globes and the Oscars -- especially the hopelessly tightly wound Gordian Knot which drives Heath Ledger's character.

"Brokeback Mountain" gets four popcorn bags out of four.

Copyright © 2005 by Ivars Bezdechi.

I really don't understand why those with more liberal views than I are the first ones to prevent and or demean someone with opposing views than their own....they are always hyperventilating and are prone to heckel those who might have opinions other than their own.. They accuse people on the "right side of the aisle" of hate speech, but they end up doing it themselves by preventing others from expressing themselves. They accuse conservatives of being "intolerant," yet they are being "tolerant" when they preventing an opposing view to be expressed?

Conservative Anne Coulter, in my opinion, is rude and brash. I don't agree with all what she says and how she says it. But just as those at the University of Connecticut put out the red carpet (no pun intended) to whack job Cindy Sheehan (who I really disagree with but defend her right to express her beliefs), they were less than conciliatory to Anne Coulter. What about Anne Coulter's right to freedom of speech? What about her right to express her beliefs? Even Hillary Clinton was the victim of those on the far left who were intolerant of her views.

So many liberal people these days could be accused of being intolerant of diverse views just as they accuse others of being intolerant.... The United States was built on the premise of offering of what has been called a "marketplace of ideas." When others are prevented from expressing themselves, one could look upon this type of behavior as one group trying to have their own monopoly in this so-called "marketplace."

It all comes down to the fact is that by themselves, the Democratic or Republican parties can never win an election without those, so as myself, who are independent. Seeing how the liberals are portraying themselves these days -- I can only suggest that more people would be apt to hear to listen to their point of view if they were more tolerant of others views, not demean them, and not scream so loud.

Hecklers Cause Coulter to Cut UConn Speech

Associated Press
Dec 07 11:14 PM US/Eastern

STORRS, Conn. - Conservative columnist Ann Coulter gave up trying to finish a speech at the University of Connecticut on Wednesday night when boos and jeers from the audience became overwhelming. Coulter cut off the talk after 15 minutes and instead held a half-hour question-and-answer session. "I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am," Coulter told the 2,600 people at Jorgensen Auditorium.

Coulter's appearance prompted protests from several groups, including Students Against Hate and the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center. They criticized her for spreading a message of hate and intolerance. Nearly 100 students gathered inside the Student Union for a rally against Coulter. About a half-dozen people held protest signs outside the auditorium. After a book signing following her appearance, Coulter called the audience's reaction "typical." Coulter, originally from New Canaan, Conn., has a history of bashing Democrats in best-selling books, frequent television appearances and speeches. Harding University in Arkansas dropped her from its lecture series in September, citing her abrasive image. Last April, the president of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota denounced a speech on the campus by Coulter, calling it hateful.

In October 2004, University of Arizona police arrested two men who ran on stage and threw custard pies at Coulter; one of the pies glanced off her shoulder. In her speech at UConn, Coulter called Bill Clinton an "executive buffoon" who won the presidency only because Ross Perot took 19 percent of the vote. She called California Sen. Barbara Boxer a good candidate for the Democrats because "she is a woman and she's learning disabled."

During the question-and-answer session, someone asked Coulter if she really was against a woman's right to vote. "Not having women vote is a joke," she said, reversing comments she has previously made. Eric Knudsen, a 19-year-old sophomore journalism and social welfare major at UConn, didn't attend the speech. "We encourage diverse opinion at UConn, but this is blatant hate speech," said Knudsen, head of Students Against Hate. Kareem Mohni, a 20-year-old junior and a member of a campus Republicans group, said he was disgusted with the Jorgensen crowd. "It really appalled me that we're not able to come together as a group and listen to a different view in a respectful environment," he said.

Hillary makes sense.....again!

(This is turning out to be a disturbing trend for me.)

Hillary Clinton Defends Pro-War Vote

By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press WriterTue Nov 29,10:54 PM ET

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday defended her vote to authorize war in Iraq amid growing unease among liberal Democrats who could determine the potential 2008 presidential candidate's future.

"I take responsibility for my vote, and I, along with a majority of Americans, expect the president and his administration to take responsibility for the false assurances, faulty evidence and mismanagement of the war," the New York senator said in a lengthy letter to thousands of people who have written her about the war.

At the same time, she said the United States must "finish what it started" in Iraq.

Clinton and other hawkish Democrats have come under criticism from liberal anti-war activists, many of whom will hold sway over presidential primary contests. The former first lady, who is up for re-election in 2006, would likely be an early front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination should she decide to seek it. The debate has also put Clinton in a tight spot: generally viewed as pro-military, the former first lady is the most-watched member of a party that is increasingly turning against the war. In her letter to voters, the senator cited prewar assurances from the White House that the United States would use the United Nations to resolve the issue of Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction.

"Based on the information that we have today, Congress never would have been asked to give the president authority to use force against Iraq," she said. Clinton stopped short of saying her vote was a mistake, the political path chosen by two other potential Democratic candidates — former vice presidential candidate John Edwards and Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. "Given years of assurances that the war was nearly over and that the insurgents were in their 'last throes," this administration was either not being honest with the American people or did not know what was going on in Iraq," she wrote.

Clinton's allies billed the letter as her most comprehensive statement on the war to date.

"It is time for the president to stop serving up platitudes and present us with a plan for finishing this war with success and honor," she wrote. Clinton, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said earlier this month it would be a "big mistake" for U.S. troops to pull out immediately. She stuck with that line Tuesday. "America has a big job to do now. We must set reasonable goals to finish what we started and successfully turn over Iraqi security to Iraqis," she wrote.

Cindy Sheehan must be having puppies by now.