Saturday, June 24, 2006
Voting Rights Act Nailed To Burning Cross Greg Palast
Reading Palast always makes me drag out the tin foil hat, because I know he is right, and that kinds puts me on the thin edge of insanity, but here goes anyway. No one ever reads this blog but the NSA anyway. They should be used to my weird rantings by now.
Anyway, what if the Republicans don't have to blatantly discriminate anymore. What if they could challenge blacks, whites, Latinos, Asians, what have you, evenly across the board?
With all of the data they have collected on Americans in the last 5 years, I would be willing to bet that they could put together a list of white folks, from red states and blue states, who seem to be a bit too blue to vote.
I don't think that the Republicans have said that they won't challege a voter, did they? Maybe they are going to be even more sohphiticated than last time. Perhaps there will be no difference in challenges for racial reasons, just political issues. They are gonna challenge Blues.
But maybe the Republican feel secure enough to allow the Voing Rights Act to become history, a Palast believes they will.
My personal opinion is that that is stupid in the extreme, on their part, if that is their plan.
Hell, this may well be what really reunites that old 60s crowds and clans.
Nostalgia.
Voting Rights Act Nailed To Burning Cross Greg Palast:
"New York] Don't kid yourself. The Republican Party's decision yesterday to 'delay' the renewal of the Voting Rights Act has not a darn thing to do with objections of the Republican's White Sheets Caucus.
Complaints by a couple of Good Ol' Boys to legislation has never stopped the GOP leadership from rolling over dissenters.
This is a strategic stall. meant to de-criminalize the Republican Party's new game of challenging voters of color by the hundreds of thousands.
In the 2004 Presidential race, the GOP ran a massive multi-state, multi-million-dollar operation to challenge the legitimacy of Black, Hispanic and Native-American voters. The methods used broke the law, the Voting Rights Act. And while the Bush Administration's Civil Rights Division grinned and looked the other way, civil rights lawyers are circling, preparing to sue to stop the violations of the Act before the 2008 race.
Therefore, Republicans have promised to no longer break the law, not by going legit, but by eliminating the law."
High Court Saves Some Best Cases for Last
Oh, hell....here it comes....the Unitary Executive on Steroids (presidentiaal war powers.). The Supremes may be about to make everything Bush has done with his spying and data-mining legal.
My Way News - High Court Saves Some Best Cases for Last:
"As usual, justices have left some of the most significant cases to the very end. There are 10 rulings left, on issues from a president's wartime powers, capital punishment, Texas' political boundaries and the insanity defense."
Largest processor of credit cards turned over info. to Feds
...right after 9/11.
Sure didn't take long for all of this spying stuff to get going, eh?
Washington and the West � 2006 � June � 21:
"Colorado's First Data Corp., the world's largest processor of credit-card transactions and wire transfers, gave the FBI and CIA unfettered access to data on millions of customers shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a new book alleges.
First Data's computer systems served as the 'FBI's own in-house search engine,' and the CIA was allowed to monitor money-wire transactions in real time, according to 'The One Percent Doctrine' by Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Suskind. "
Sure didn't take long for all of this spying stuff to get going, eh?
Washington and the West � 2006 � June � 21:
"Colorado's First Data Corp., the world's largest processor of credit-card transactions and wire transfers, gave the FBI and CIA unfettered access to data on millions of customers shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a new book alleges.
First Data's computer systems served as the 'FBI's own in-house search engine,' and the CIA was allowed to monitor money-wire transactions in real time, according to 'The One Percent Doctrine' by Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Suskind. "
Feds' sting videotaped oaths to terrorists
...in their bathrobes?
I'm scared now. Bwahahahahaha.
MiamiHerald.com 06/24/2006 Feds' sting videotaped oaths to terrorists:
"They thought they were joining al Qaeda, but they were not. They were led by a ''Moses-like figure'' who carried a cane through Liberty City and wore a cape or sometimes a bathrobe. They allegedly sought to sow death and terror, and they ended up in leg irons.
The seven men arrested in an alleged terrorist plot believed they were conspiring with al Qaeda ''to levy war against the United States'' in attacks that would ''be just as good or greater than 9/11,'' according to a federal indictment unsealed Friday.
The campaign was to begin with the bombing of the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago, according to the indictment, though an FBI sting foiled the plot long before it reached that point"
FBI: Data brokers probably act illegally - Yahoo! News
....and is anything going to be done about it?
Why of course not. What on earth would make anyone think that accountability matters.
FBI: Data brokers probably act illegally - Yahoo! News:
"WASHINGTON - Despite the use of private data brokers by federal and local law enforcement agencies, the FBI said Thursday that practices by such companies to gather Americans' private telephone records without warrants or subpoenas are almost certainly illegal.
A senior FBI lawyer, Elaine N. Lammert, told lawmakers the bureau was still surveying agents around the U.S. but so far has found no 'systemic' use of data brokers by the FBI seeking telephone records or other information without warrants or subpoenas.
Lammert, the bureau's deputy general counsel for its investigative law branch, told a congressional panel: 'There are compelling reasons for the government to believe that these operations violate federal law.'
Lawmakers agreed. Police use of such data brokers 'might compromise sensitive law enforcement information, compromise operational security or maybe just violate the Constitution,' said Rep. Joe Barton (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee." (Read On ^)
The Mass Production Of Fear
Scaring people is a sin. Why? because it brings out the worst in people.
It is for the same reason, that scaring people is dangerous business. One never can tell when the fear will turn to rage and come at the fear-monger like a bloody Bengal tiger
The Mass Production Of Fear: (FULL ARTICLE)
So much to be afraid of.
So many of us...trying to scare the rest of us.
So many of us...being scared by the rest of us.
So many of us...scaring the Life out of the rest of us.
So many of us...making a living...scaring the Life out of the rest of us...
With visions of...
Loss, Pain, Injury, and Death...
In this Mass Production Of Fear.
Bushstapo Uses Entrapment-Tainted "Terrorist Arrest" of Laughable Bozos to Bump CIA Massive Spying on Bank Records as Top News Story
....and the great MSM falls for it again!
Rob Kall: Bushstapo Uses Entrapment-Tainted "Terrorist Arrest" of Laughable Bozos to Bump CIA Massive Spying on Bank Records as Top News Story:
"Most of the mainstream media ignored the important news and fell for the bait the Bushstapo threw them. It was a brilliant day for media manipulation and spin for Karl Rove.
Yesterday two major news developments emerged. The important one was that the CIA has spied upon millions of financial transactions, which is outrageous evidence of further abuses of power by the Bush administration. They are throwing the constitution down the toilet.
But Bush's team masterfully played the media, almost totally wiping the real story off the front pages, dropping it to minor news on TV, by electing to arrest, using major entrapments, a group of silly, incompetent misfits, who might have had fantasies of being terrorists.
It appears the Bush administration was working from an out of date version of a Canadian playbook, since the Canadians had arrested a group of 'terrorists' a few weeks earlies. The problem is, apparently, the Bushstapo didn't keep paying attention in Canada, because the Canadian terrorists have become the laughing stock of Canada. They ordered two tons of highly-tracked-as-potential-bomb-material Ammonium nitrate to be delivered to a local storage locker, a dead give-away that something strange was amiss.
But the Miami 'terrorists' didn't even come close to ordering explosive materials. They carried out a few actions that the government agents trying to entrap them encouraged them to engage in. Even Bushstapo chief Gonzalez acknowledged there is no immediate threat.'
The reason this ragtag band of bozos was arrested was because the Bush administration needed a cover for the real news that was leaked, to the great consternation of Dick Cheney"
Rob Kall: Bushstapo Uses Entrapment-Tainted "Terrorist Arrest" of Laughable Bozos to Bump CIA Massive Spying on Bank Records as Top News Story:
"Most of the mainstream media ignored the important news and fell for the bait the Bushstapo threw them. It was a brilliant day for media manipulation and spin for Karl Rove.
Yesterday two major news developments emerged. The important one was that the CIA has spied upon millions of financial transactions, which is outrageous evidence of further abuses of power by the Bush administration. They are throwing the constitution down the toilet.
But Bush's team masterfully played the media, almost totally wiping the real story off the front pages, dropping it to minor news on TV, by electing to arrest, using major entrapments, a group of silly, incompetent misfits, who might have had fantasies of being terrorists.
It appears the Bush administration was working from an out of date version of a Canadian playbook, since the Canadians had arrested a group of 'terrorists' a few weeks earlies. The problem is, apparently, the Bushstapo didn't keep paying attention in Canada, because the Canadian terrorists have become the laughing stock of Canada. They ordered two tons of highly-tracked-as-potential-bomb-material Ammonium nitrate to be delivered to a local storage locker, a dead give-away that something strange was amiss.
But the Miami 'terrorists' didn't even come close to ordering explosive materials. They carried out a few actions that the government agents trying to entrap them encouraged them to engage in. Even Bushstapo chief Gonzalez acknowledged there is no immediate threat.'
The reason this ragtag band of bozos was arrested was because the Bush administration needed a cover for the real news that was leaked, to the great consternation of Dick Cheney"
Helen Thomas says, No DLC
Calls DLCer's Republican Lite.
You got that right, Helen
Democrats need a new script:
"Are the Democrats going to be such easy prey again, neutralized by phony wedge issues and neglectful of the real issue, which is the administration's flagrant use of falsehoods to justify a war of choice?
It could happen again. The leaderless Democrats, speaking in a cacophony, are being outgunned by the conservatives and members of their own party representing the Democratic Leadership Council who are at heart 'Republican lite.'
There are a handful, including Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a Vietnam veteran who is calling for a speedy U.S. pullout from Iraq. He also took a swipe at Rove on NBC's 'Meet the Press' Sunday for pushing the war while 'sitting in his big air-conditioned office on his big, fat backside, saying 'Stay the course.' '
He was responding to Rove's speech in New Hampshire last week in which Rove attacked Democrats for what he called 'that party's old pattern of cutting and running.'"
You got that right, Helen
Democrats need a new script:
"Are the Democrats going to be such easy prey again, neutralized by phony wedge issues and neglectful of the real issue, which is the administration's flagrant use of falsehoods to justify a war of choice?
It could happen again. The leaderless Democrats, speaking in a cacophony, are being outgunned by the conservatives and members of their own party representing the Democratic Leadership Council who are at heart 'Republican lite.'
There are a handful, including Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a Vietnam veteran who is calling for a speedy U.S. pullout from Iraq. He also took a swipe at Rove on NBC's 'Meet the Press' Sunday for pushing the war while 'sitting in his big air-conditioned office on his big, fat backside, saying 'Stay the course.' '
He was responding to Rove's speech in New Hampshire last week in which Rove attacked Democrats for what he called 'that party's old pattern of cutting and running.'"
All Hell's Brakin' loose in Baghdad
This ends a particularly deadly week in Iraq.
Maybe Chimpy should stay home.
They do not seem to like him.
He sets 'em off.
Baghdad in state of emergency:
"BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's government clamped a state of emergency on Baghdad and ordered everyone off the streets Friday after U.S. and Iraqi forces battled insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and rifles near the heavily fortified Green Zone.
The military also announced the deaths of five more U.S. troops in a particularly violent week for American forces that included the discovery of the brutalized bodies of two soldiers. Twelve U.S. service members have died or were found dead this week.
The fighting in the heart of Baghdad came despite a crackdown launched 10 days ago that put tens of thousands of U.S.-backed Iraqi troops on the streets as the new prime minister sought to restore a modicum of safety for the capital's more than 5 million people.
Iraqi and U.S. military forces clashed with heavily armed attackers throughout the morning Friday within earshot of the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. and British embassies and Iraqi government headquarters." (Read On ^)
Cutting and Running with George and Karl
Ron Schalow: Cutting and Running with George and Karl:
It was less than five years ago that Karl and 'The Decider' got spooked by terrorists 800 miles away and hit the pavement burning rubber like Thelma and Louise. Instead of engaging the enemy and defending the country during the 9/11 attacks, President Bush surrendered the cities of New York and Washington, D.C. to al Qaeda without a fight and retreated to a deep hole in the Corn Husker State. Karl 'Braveheart' Rove cowered at his side hugging a 6 pack of Dove Bars -- he was sticky." (Hilarious; Read On ^)
Like too many Democrats, it strikes me they are ready to give the green light to go to war, but when it gets tough and when it gets difficult, they fall back on that party's old pattern of cutting and running. They may be with you at theRove wasn't just jawing when he labeled combat veterans John Kerry and John Murtha, and Democrats in general, as cowards -- he's been there, man!
first shots, but they are not going to be there for the last tough battles. --
Karl Rove
It was less than five years ago that Karl and 'The Decider' got spooked by terrorists 800 miles away and hit the pavement burning rubber like Thelma and Louise. Instead of engaging the enemy and defending the country during the 9/11 attacks, President Bush surrendered the cities of New York and Washington, D.C. to al Qaeda without a fight and retreated to a deep hole in the Corn Husker State. Karl 'Braveheart' Rove cowered at his side hugging a 6 pack of Dove Bars -- he was sticky." (Hilarious; Read On ^)
Impeachment Calls Grow Louder (REPOST)
There is still somthing going on that the mainstream isn't getting, except that it is growing bigger and meaner, with frustration.....
Impeachment Calls Grow Louder The Progressive:
"Last Saturday, I went to a town hall meeting on the Iraq War and impeachment in Madison, Wisconsin. This one was sponsored by Veterans for Peace. More than 150 other events around the country on January 7 were co-sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America and afterdowningstreet.org.
In Madison, about 350 people crammed into the Labor Temple to show their enthusiastic support for bringing the troops home. But what really got the crowd going was the drive for impeachment.
The event opened with longtime peace activist Robert Kimbrough asking people to speak up so we all could hear them. But not for the sake of the NSA or the CIA or the FBI or the Pentagon, he said, adding that they all have recording devices that will pick everything up anyway.
Someone shouted behind me, 'Bring it on!'
Ed Garvey, a great Wisconsin progressive, addressed the dismissive attitude that prevails in Washington and among the cynics: that impeachment is impossible, and that we�re just wasting our time talking about.
The same was said about the women's suffrage movement and about the civil rights movement, he observed, adding that when he's done he'd like to echo Rosa Parks, who said, after the bus boycott, 'My feet may be tired but my soul's at rest.'
I'm telling you, my friends, there's something going on at the grassroots that the mainstream media isn't getting."
The Hit on Kerry
The Hit on Kerry The Progressive:
God forbid that an elected official actually admits a mistake.
God forbid that a politician actually takes a risky and courageous stand.
But that's what John Kerry has done, and The New York Times hammered him for it in a nasty, ad hominem front-page story on June 21 entitled 'On Iraq, Kerry Again Leaves Democrats Fuming.'
What Kerry has called for is withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq within the next year.
For this, Kate Zernike of The New York Times makes Kerry out to be a spoiler.
Here are some of the disparaging words from the paragraphs that appeared on the front page, not attributed to any Senator;
'the latest evolution of Kerry's views', as if they're always evolving (you know, flip flopper); 'a frustration with Kerry';
'Kerry, never popular among the caucus, and still unpopular among many Democrats' for failing to beat Bush;
'too focused on the next Presidential campaign';
'more politics than principle';
''nsistence on pushing ahead with his own plan';
'left the Democrats divided, and open to renewed Republican accusations that they are indecisive and weak' the same ridicule that Republicans heaped on Kerry in 2004.'"
(Read On ^)
God forbid that an elected official actually admits a mistake.
God forbid that a politician actually takes a risky and courageous stand.
But that's what John Kerry has done, and The New York Times hammered him for it in a nasty, ad hominem front-page story on June 21 entitled 'On Iraq, Kerry Again Leaves Democrats Fuming.'
What Kerry has called for is withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq within the next year.
For this, Kate Zernike of The New York Times makes Kerry out to be a spoiler.
Here are some of the disparaging words from the paragraphs that appeared on the front page, not attributed to any Senator;
'the latest evolution of Kerry's views', as if they're always evolving (you know, flip flopper); 'a frustration with Kerry';
'Kerry, never popular among the caucus, and still unpopular among many Democrats' for failing to beat Bush;
'too focused on the next Presidential campaign';
'more politics than principle';
''nsistence on pushing ahead with his own plan';
'left the Democrats divided, and open to renewed Republican accusations that they are indecisive and weak' the same ridicule that Republicans heaped on Kerry in 2004.'"
(Read On ^)
The Latest Bush-Rove Terror-Scare -- This is what it is all about, and it isn't about terrorism"
What it is about is what it is always about; election years politics.
The Progressive Daily Beacon: "The Latest Bush-Rove Terror-Scare -- This is what it is all about, and it isn't about terrorism":
"The latest U.S. terror-scare is unfolding like a cheap dime-store romance novel's all-too-predictable plot. No doubt, the latest terror-scare is a Rove coordinated gimmick. The so-called seven terrorists in Miami had no weapons, no bombs, and no bomb-making material. According to neighbors these highly 'dangerous' men would -- for all the world to see -- stand guard outside their little cinder-block residence/'terror' den, while wearing black ninja-like attire with only their eyes showing. All seven of the men were planning a 'ground invasion' of the United States -- that's right, all seven of them! The sinful-seven never made contact with al-Qaeda, but supposedly swore allegiance to an FBI informant they believed to be a member of al-Qaeda. So, is this latest terror-scare about election-year politics or more?
The simple answer is more. The FBI's Director, Muller, just happened to make an 'exclusive' appearance on CNN's Larry King, while the terror-scare was unfolding. His message? The dangers of 'homegrown' terrorism. Incredibly enough, the next day, Friday, Director Muller had a pre-scheduled speech to be delivered to a group at the Cleveland City Club. The message? Again, the dangers of 'homegrown' terrorism. "
Senator Rick Santorum's last showdown?
Little Ricky is a true fruitcake. The sooner he is gone the better.
WorkingForChange-Senator Rick Santorum's last showdown?:
"If recent polls showing that his Democratic opponent is leading by anywhere from 6 to 23 percent are correct, the political career of one of the country's most conservative Senators may be coming to an end. It's never say die time for Pennsylvania's two-term incumbent Republican Senator Rick Santorum, and he is counting on several hot-button 'values voters' issues -- immigration and same-sex marriage in particular -- to bring out his core constituency, conservative Christian evangelical voters.
Santorum's opponent, Pennsylvania State Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., is the son of the very popular former Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey. One of the unusual aspects of this race -- for a seat Democrats need to win if they are to have any chance of winning back control of the Senate -- is that both Santorum and Casey have staked out anti-abortion positions, therefore basically taking that issue off the table.
With the abortion issue neutralized, Santorum, who was elected to the House in 1990 and the Senate in 1994, is turning to the Pennsylvania Pastors Network for support. This new group, which models itself after the Ohio Restoration Project, is squarely in Santorum's camp. "
(Read On ^)
The Bush code of secrecy
Don't think the law will work, to stop an illegal administration, which has shown only contempt for the law and the people whom it is supposed to protect.
The Bush code of secrecy Salon News:
"American presidents have long tested the bounds of executive power during wartime. But when it comes to protecting its secrets, the Bush administration has flexed unilateral power to a degree never before seen in U.S. history.
Since 2001, the administration has wielded the 'state secrets' privilege as a wide-ranging weapon to snuff out legal challenges to its most Draconian tactics in the global war on terror. At stake are no less than bedrock American moral and legal principles. Bush lawyers have aimed to shoot down court cases involving the indefinite detention and brutal interrogation of prisoners, the covert transfer of terror suspects to foreign governments known to torture, and domestic surveillance prying into the lives of thousands of Americans. " ((Read On ^)
Analysis: Bush Powers Reach Cash Tracking
Where is this KGB Crap going to stop?
Guardian Unlimited World Latest Analysis: Bush Powers Reach Cash Tracking:
"Polls show that Americans generally accept some erosion of civil liberties if they think it makes them safer from the possibility of terrorist attacks.
Still, Bush's war on terrorism is an open-ended one. Constitutional scholars suggest there are limits.
At some point, the Constitution can't bear the kind of continued strains that are being imposed by the demands of the fight on terrorism,'' said Harold J. Krent, dean and professor of law at Kent College of Law in Chicago.,
What I am worried about is that there is a potential for amassing huge databases of individuals - linked by phone records, linked by financial records - that can be kept and used without any kind of real oversight. It's frightening,'' Krent said.
Many in both parties point to Cheney as the engine behind Bush's power plays.
At a Republican luncheon in Chicago on Friday, Cheney defended the financial-data tracking and earlier surveillance programs as ``good, solid, sound programs'' and castigated the news media for disclosing them.
When Cheney in the 1970s was chief of staff to then-President Ford, he saw presidential authority at a low point, eroded by the unpopular Vietnam War and the Watergate scandals. The balance of power was still tilted in favor of Congress when he and Bush took office in January 2001, Cheney contends. "
Guardian Unlimited World Latest Analysis: Bush Powers Reach Cash Tracking:
"Polls show that Americans generally accept some erosion of civil liberties if they think it makes them safer from the possibility of terrorist attacks.
Still, Bush's war on terrorism is an open-ended one. Constitutional scholars suggest there are limits.
At some point, the Constitution can't bear the kind of continued strains that are being imposed by the demands of the fight on terrorism,'' said Harold J. Krent, dean and professor of law at Kent College of Law in Chicago.,
What I am worried about is that there is a potential for amassing huge databases of individuals - linked by phone records, linked by financial records - that can be kept and used without any kind of real oversight. It's frightening,'' Krent said.
Many in both parties point to Cheney as the engine behind Bush's power plays.
At a Republican luncheon in Chicago on Friday, Cheney defended the financial-data tracking and earlier surveillance programs as ``good, solid, sound programs'' and castigated the news media for disclosing them.
When Cheney in the 1970s was chief of staff to then-President Ford, he saw presidential authority at a low point, eroded by the unpopular Vietnam War and the Watergate scandals. The balance of power was still tilted in favor of Congress when he and Bush took office in January 2001, Cheney contends. "
Say Goodbye to Bolton
Can't wait!
I am sure the U.N. can't wait, either.
Hell, New York will probably smell; sweet, like after a spring rain, once that piece of NeoCon garbage scows on out of town.
Say Goodbye to Bolton:
"It is almost a year since the Bush Administration sent John Bolton to the United Nations. In some ways, it is a foreign policy achievement of a high order to appoint someone who has so successfully poked his thumb up the nostrils of almost 190 other countries simultaneously. However, it is a dubious achievement.
As Bolton mouthed indignation at Mark Malloch Brown's recent, almost grovellingly polite exhortations to Washington to show proper leadership at the UN, he compounded the immense damage he has already done to American diplomacy.
In fact, as Malloch Brown noted, albeit more politely, successive US administrations have long used the United Nations and tossed it aside after achieving their satisfaction. The difference is that Bill Clinton sweet-talked as he did it, while this administration is much more into rough wooing, berating and belittling the organization before and after its perfunctory consummations. " (Read On ^)
Friday, June 23, 2006
'End Times' Religious Groups Want Apocalypse Soon - Los Angeles Times
In all seriousness, these people really are dangerous. Not because they are in any way right in their beliefs. I am not even sure they believe what they say they believe. If they did, why would they not sell all that they have and give the money to the poor, like Jesus told them to do, not run around raising more money for more world missions and more, bigger mega churches?
I cannot say that I know much at all about the Islamic Messiah that the Shia allegedly believe in; the Mahdi. I know quite a few Muslims and I have never heard this one before.
We all know about the long awaited Jewish Messiah, or most of us do..
It is not, in the least, surprising that all three Abrahamic traditions have come down with endtimes fever. Many of them are scared witless, apparently, because the 21st Century, in many ways, does mean the end, for them. Religious scholars say that we are entering a new axial age. The last one brought us Buddha, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed, and quite a few others that no one talks about much.
An Axial age, is one in which humanity re-examines its beliefs, traditions, culture, etc. It usually is a time of great turmoil.
It can be set in motion by a cataclysmic event of somekind. I believe that this axial age was not set in motion when Israel was recognized by the U.N. It was really set in motion by something far less obviously religious; the use of, not one, but two, nuclear weapons in Japan.
Many people, for thousands of years, have longed for a savior; someone who would come rescue them from ...what.... Themselves and the mess they have made of things, or others, whom they hate, because they are convinced that they made the mess and life, therefore, unbearable?
The first Atomic generation is no different. My generation is the first to never experience a day of our lives without the threat of nuclear annihilation in the backs of our minds. Truth be told, were it not for our "atomic 'awareness" I doubt seriosusly that the turbulent 60s and all that grew out of that time would have ever happened.
Well, it isn't gonna happen, Folks. Jesus of Nazareth is not coming back. The Christ never left and is here now. But if one insists on literal interpretations of scared scripture, one will not experience Christ.
What one will do, by insisting on helping God bring about a gizzly end for sinners of all traditions, is create untold suffering, put even more burdens on the poor, sick and elderly, which I can tell you that Jesus Christ frowned upon greatly, and, eventually, bring great harm to oneself and others.
I will leave it to rational Muslims and Jews to deal with their own endtimers. Ours, over here, are about all we can handle.
'End Times' Religious Groups Want Apocalypse Soon - Los Angeles Times:
"For thousands of years, prophets have predicted the end of the world. Today, various religious groups, using the latest technology, are trying to hasten it.
Their endgame is to speed the promised arrival of a messiah."
(Read On. It is better to know the crackpots we are up against; all of them)
I cannot say that I know much at all about the Islamic Messiah that the Shia allegedly believe in; the Mahdi. I know quite a few Muslims and I have never heard this one before.
We all know about the long awaited Jewish Messiah, or most of us do..
It is not, in the least, surprising that all three Abrahamic traditions have come down with endtimes fever. Many of them are scared witless, apparently, because the 21st Century, in many ways, does mean the end, for them. Religious scholars say that we are entering a new axial age. The last one brought us Buddha, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed, and quite a few others that no one talks about much.
An Axial age, is one in which humanity re-examines its beliefs, traditions, culture, etc. It usually is a time of great turmoil.
It can be set in motion by a cataclysmic event of somekind. I believe that this axial age was not set in motion when Israel was recognized by the U.N. It was really set in motion by something far less obviously religious; the use of, not one, but two, nuclear weapons in Japan.
Many people, for thousands of years, have longed for a savior; someone who would come rescue them from ...what.... Themselves and the mess they have made of things, or others, whom they hate, because they are convinced that they made the mess and life, therefore, unbearable?
The first Atomic generation is no different. My generation is the first to never experience a day of our lives without the threat of nuclear annihilation in the backs of our minds. Truth be told, were it not for our "atomic 'awareness" I doubt seriosusly that the turbulent 60s and all that grew out of that time would have ever happened.
Well, it isn't gonna happen, Folks. Jesus of Nazareth is not coming back. The Christ never left and is here now. But if one insists on literal interpretations of scared scripture, one will not experience Christ.
What one will do, by insisting on helping God bring about a gizzly end for sinners of all traditions, is create untold suffering, put even more burdens on the poor, sick and elderly, which I can tell you that Jesus Christ frowned upon greatly, and, eventually, bring great harm to oneself and others.
I will leave it to rational Muslims and Jews to deal with their own endtimers. Ours, over here, are about all we can handle.
'End Times' Religious Groups Want Apocalypse Soon - Los Angeles Times:
"For thousands of years, prophets have predicted the end of the world. Today, various religious groups, using the latest technology, are trying to hasten it.
Their endgame is to speed the promised arrival of a messiah."
(Read On. It is better to know the crackpots we are up against; all of them)
More on Santorum/ Hoekstra B.S.
When will someone in the MSM, which insists on giving these idiots air-time, ask one of them if the degraded mustrad gas was a gift from the Reagan administration, which was great pals with Saddam back in the 80s?
War and Piece::
"Note from Jamal Ware, spokesman to House intel committee chairman Peter Hoekstra: 'U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, will hold a press conference to release the unclassified summary of an Army report on chemical weapons found in Iraq since May 2004. The press conference is scheduled for 5:15 p.m., today, in the Senate Radio-TV Gallery, S-325.'
Update: Here's what they said. And here's what they didn't:
...The lawmakers pointed to an unclassified summary from a report by the National Ground Intelligence Center regarding 500 chemical munitions shells that had been buried near the Iranian border, and then long forgotten, by Iraqi troops during their eight-year war with Iran, which ended in 1988.
In other words, the leftovers from back in the 80s in the era that saw even Rumsfeld personally meeting with Saddam to offer Iraq some intelligence assistance in its war with Iran. It's hard not to believe that Santorum and Hoekstra were put up to this as surrogates of the White House, which gets all of the desired effect on the eastern side of the buzz machine, without too many fingerprints.
Update II: And don't forget, by the way, who has a big role in the Army National Ground Intelligence Center, down in Charlottesville, Virginia. That would be MZM, until recently chaired by one imprisoned-for-bribery Mitchell J. Wade. And as Walter Pincus reported, MZM systematically hired relatives of top NGIC officials, and then the NGIC officials themselves, as they started to seek and win ever larger contracts to provide database intel services to the Army center. "
FEEL SAFER YET? Well, you shouldn't.
More evidence that the "War on Tur" is as bogus as
the war on Drugs.
Blue Inkblots: FEEL SAFER YET?:
"Washington is failing to make progress in the global war on terror and the next 9/11-style attack is not a question of if, but when. That is the scathing conclusion of a survey of 100 leading American foreign-policy analysts.
In its first 'Terrorism Index,' released yesterday, the influential journal Foreign Affairs found surprising consensus among bipartisan experts.
Some 86 percent of them said the world has grown more, not less, dangerous, despite President George W. Bush's claims that the U.S. is winning the war on terror.
The survey's participants included an ex-secretary of state and former heads of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, along with prominent members of the U.S. foreign policy establishment.
--'War on Terror Called a Failure: Washington's Diplomatic Efforts Rated a 1.8 out of a 10,' Lynda Hurst, Toronto Star, June 15, 2006." (Link Above)
Miami 7 guilty of "wish crime."
"There was no threat."
FBI: Sears Tower targeted Chicago Tribune:
"The men, who told neighbors in the Liberty City area of Miami that they were starting a children's karate class at a warehouse, had been plotting for an undetermined amount of time, but their scheme was thwarted well before any attack could be carried out.
'They talked about belonging to an Islamic army. They wanted to raise an army in the U.S.,' a second senior law-enforcement official said Thursday. 'But they didn't have the means to do this.'
'There was no threat at all,' the senior federal law-enforcement source said, referring to the Sears Tower. Chicago police said the city is not on increased alert despite the news."
Ray McGovern: Next Victim: Iran or North Korea?
Oh, God, here we go again!
The War Preznit needes his imag burnished. Who is Rove going to bomb?
Ray McGovern: Next Victim: Iran or North Korea?:
"This may seem a bit quaint, perhaps even obsolete, but it used to be standard procedure to require intelligence before deciding to make war. Unless you have been asleep these past several months, you know that this sequence was reversed in 2002 when the White House ordered intelligence 'fixed' to justify a prior decision for war on Iraq.
The question today is whether that war-decision-then-intelligence sequence remains in effect as President Bush's advisers weigh whom to attack next. This is hardly a frivolous question. As the president's poll numbers sink and the embarrassment of Iraq rises, Vice President Dick Cheney, defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and presidential adviser Karl Rove no doubt are trying to choose the best way to enable Bush to polish his favorite image as 'war president,' in order to stem Republican losses in the mid-term elections this November. There are only two countries left of the 'axis of evil.' Which will it be: Iran or North Korea?" (Read On ^)
Tonight we're gonna party like it's 2002
Ain't nobody, but the slack-jawed wingnutters, buying this one, Folks.
This bunch of ninnies in Miami probably couldn't have set off a bottle rocket without blowing their own noses off.
But it may well say something about how the Bushites have managed to reate enemies in their own country in a time of "war."
Attytood: Tonight we're gonna party like it's 2002:
Yup, they've found the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the Democrats are aiding the terrorists, Karl Rove is back in the saddle, and now they' ve busted another 'terror cell' in Miami which we can guarantee will ultimately prove to be not what it seems to be.
When are they going to raise the 'terror alert' level to orange?
Break out the 'freedom fries,' boys. Must be a new election year."
Snow: Program Vital to War on Terrorism
DAMN!
This must be Bullshit Friday.
Guardian Unlimited World Latest Snow: Program Vital to War on Terrorism:
"WASHINGTON (AP) - Treasury Secretary John Snow on Friday said a program tracking millions of financial transactions was not invasion of privacy of Americans but ``government at its best'' and vital to the war on terrorism.
Snow told a news conference the program, run by the CIA and overseen by the Treasury Department, was ``responsible government, it's effective government, it's government that works.''
`It's entirely consistent with democratic values, with our best legal traditions,'' Snow said.
The once-secret program, which has been going on since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, drew protests from Democrats in Congress, who said it raises concerns about intrusions on privacy and who saw it as the latest step in an aggressive Bush administration expansion of executive-branch powers.
Snow defended the newly disclosed program, saying it was an effective tool in tracking the financial operations of terrorists."
(Read On ^)
News Analysis: The Truth Behind the Exaggerated Threat against the Sears Tower
Is this desperation or what?
News Analysis: The Truth Behind the Exaggerated Threat against the Sears Tower:
"Earlier today, BuzzFlash suggested that the Bush Administration's claim of foiling an attempt to destroy the Sears Tower was propaganda exaggerated to distract and mislead us. While we have not denied there were indeed rumors and boasts of committing acts of terror, a careful examination of the facts makes it clear that the Miami group was not as serious a threat as portrayed in the media. They had no operational ability beyond their mouths.
Here is what we found buried in the middle of some reports:"
(LINK ABOVE)
- No welcome mat for W at EU Summit
New York Daily News - World & National Report - No welcome mat for W:
"With thousands of anti-American protesters crowding Vienna's streets, an irked President Bush snapped yesterday at a suggestion U.S. foreign policy has become a threat to global security.
'That's absurd,' Bush barked at an Austrian reporter during a press conference with European Union President and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel.
'We'll defend ourselves, but at the same time, we're actively working with our partners to spread peace and democracy.... It's an absurd statement.'
Europe's anti-Americanism flooded Vienna, where more than 3,000 Austrian police expected about 10,000 protesters at multiple demonstrations coinciding with the U.S.-EU
summit." (Only 10,000?)
"With thousands of anti-American protesters crowding Vienna's streets, an irked President Bush snapped yesterday at a suggestion U.S. foreign policy has become a threat to global security.
'That's absurd,' Bush barked at an Austrian reporter during a press conference with European Union President and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel.
'We'll defend ourselves, but at the same time, we're actively working with our partners to spread peace and democracy.... It's an absurd statement.'
Europe's anti-Americanism flooded Vienna, where more than 3,000 Austrian police expected about 10,000 protesters at multiple demonstrations coinciding with the U.S.-EU
summit." (Only 10,000?)
Dan Bartlett Stumped When Asked to Name Anyone, "Calling for the White Flag of Surrender"
Some one ought stick white flag of surrender up George AWOL Bush's butt!
Think Progress � Dan Bartlett Stumped When Asked to Name Anyone �Calling for the White Flag of Surrender�:
"The White House strategy on Iraq, to smear critics as favoring 'retreat and defeatism,' has provided 'a much-needed psychological boost' to conservatives in Congress. At a fundraiser on Monday, President Bush himself got in on the act:
It is important to have members of the United States Congress who will not wave the white flag of surrender in this war on terror.
It apparently doesn't matter at all to the right that their smears are completely untrue. Yesterday on NBC, Matt Lauer gave Bush councelor Dan Bartlett the opportunity to point out one person 'calling for the white flag of surrender.' Bartlett couldn't do it." (Read On ^)
FASCISM ALERT!! 5 Alarmer.. BluegrassReport.org Being BLOCKED By State Government
BluegrassReport.org: BluegrassReport.org Being BLOCKED By State Government:
"I've gotten a handful of e-mails this morning already that BluegrassReport.org has apparently been blocked to state computers by the Commonwealth Office of Technology. Readers in three different cabinets have e-mailed to tell me they get a 'blocked' message when they try to access the site.
Nothing like a little censorship with your breakfast. Welcome to the People's Republic of Kentucky.
UPDATE: I'm getting flooded with e-mails and a couple of phone calls from readers in other cabinets -- and other elected constitutional offices -- that the site has been blocked. But what's interesting is there's no problem allowing state workers to access the Republican Party of Kentucky or Fox News or Drudge Report or at least one conservative Kentucky blog. Pathetic.
UPDATE #2: The Bluegrass Institute's blog is accessible, as are the political blogs run by Mark Hebert and Pat Crowley. Looks like BGR is being targeted. What are they afraid of?
UPDATE #3: An e-mail from a reader:
Mark, got an email from a state employee friend today, to tell me that effective today 6/21, the COT has blocked Bluegrass Report and Wonkette on state computers.
You're traveling in rarified company - they shall know you by who censors you!" (Keep reading, it just gets worse, or better, depending your point of view) Damn, this looks like all out cyber war.
"I've gotten a handful of e-mails this morning already that BluegrassReport.org has apparently been blocked to state computers by the Commonwealth Office of Technology. Readers in three different cabinets have e-mailed to tell me they get a 'blocked' message when they try to access the site.
Nothing like a little censorship with your breakfast. Welcome to the People's Republic of Kentucky.
UPDATE: I'm getting flooded with e-mails and a couple of phone calls from readers in other cabinets -- and other elected constitutional offices -- that the site has been blocked. But what's interesting is there's no problem allowing state workers to access the Republican Party of Kentucky or Fox News or Drudge Report or at least one conservative Kentucky blog. Pathetic.
UPDATE #2: The Bluegrass Institute's blog is accessible, as are the political blogs run by Mark Hebert and Pat Crowley. Looks like BGR is being targeted. What are they afraid of?
UPDATE #3: An e-mail from a reader:
Mark, got an email from a state employee friend today, to tell me that effective today 6/21, the COT has blocked Bluegrass Report and Wonkette on state computers.
You're traveling in rarified company - they shall know you by who censors you!" (Keep reading, it just gets worse, or better, depending your point of view) Damn, this looks like all out cyber war.
War on Iraq: U.S. Lays Waste to Another Iraqi City
Dear God, when will this carnage stop and when will the criminals who started it be held accountable?
AlterNet: War on Iraq: U.S. Lays Waste to Another Iraqi City:
"Fearful residents are now pouring out of Ramadi after the U.S. military has been assaulting the city for months with tactics like cutting water, electricity and medical aid, imposing curfews, and attacking by means of snipers and random air strikes. This time, Iraqis there are right to fear the worst -- an all-out attack on the city, similar to what was done to nearby Fallujah.
It has always been just a matter of time before the U.S. military would finally get around to destroying Ramadi, the capital city of al-Anbar province. After all, Ramadi is not far from Fallujah, and so similar to Fallujah both tribally and in their disdain towards the idea of being occupied, that many people in Ramadi even refer to Fallujah as 'Ramadi.' I know many people from Ramadi who lost relatives and friends during both U.S. assaults on Fallujah, and the level of anti-American sentiment has always been high there.
By now, we all know the scene when the U.S. military in Iraq decides to attack an entire city ... we've seen this standard operating procedure repeated, to one degree or another, in Haditha, Al-Qa'im, Samarra, parts of Baghdad, Balad, Najaf and Fallujah twice ... so far. The city is sealed for weeks if not months, water and electricity are cut, medical aid is cut, curfews imposed, mobility impaired, air strikes utilized, then the real attack begins. Now in Ramadi, the real attack has begun."
How the Left Is Wrong About Iraq
It all depends on one's defintion of success.......
AlterNet: War on Iraq: How the Left Is Wrong About Iraq:
"The war in Iraq was not a 'mistake.' It was a deliberately calculated exercise of U.S. power with a specific end in mind -- namely, control of Iraq and the Persian Gulf region. It was illegal and remains so. It was a war crime and remains so. Its perpetrators were war criminals and remain so. Its goals were unworthy and remain so.
Few Democrats, and almost no Republicans, have been willing to challenge Bush's war on these terms, however. Neither have most of the Bush administration's so-called mistakes truly been errors: the brutal dismantling of the Baath party and the dissolution of the Iraqi armed forces, widely castigated now as 'mistakes' by many Bush critics, were meant. They were thought out. They were planned with purpose. They, too, were deliberate actions aiming at U.S. hegemony in Iraq.
Nor is the war simply, or even largely, a 'failure.' As cruel and brutish as it is, it is grinding its way toward its goal. Victory for the United States in Iraq, as evidenced by the recitation of bad news I cited earlier, is by no means certain. But it is far too early to call it a failure either. To do so at this stage is Capra-esque. It assumes that bad guys don't win. But sometimes they do. And on Iraq, the jury remains out.
The danger of emphasizing the supposed 'mistakes' and 'failures' of the Bush administration's Iraq policy is that it plays into a notion held by an increasingly large component of centrists in both parties -- that, although the war itself was a 'mistake,' the only rational option for the United States now is to win it anyway. There are countless variations on this theme emanating from both Democratic and Republican centrists."
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Common Cause addresses election fraud
Those of us in the states listed below should refuse to pay state taxes until we can be sure our votes count and that we are being represented.
Common Cause:
New Report Shows 17 States at High Risk for Election Results Compromised Due to Electronic Voting Machine Problems
WASHINGTON - June 22 - A new report released Thursday by Common Cause concludes that the push to use direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines was misguided, has resulted in serious security and reliability concerns, and should be reversed. The report also assesses states at greatest risk of having elections compromised due to problems with voting machines, presents information on voting systems used by each states and makes recommendations on safeguarding votes to citizens who must use a DRE in November.
'
With nearly 40 percent of voters in 37 states expected cast ballots on DRE voting machines in less than five months, Congress needs to stop ignoring the problems and take action to assure that citizens votes are counted as cast,' said Common Cause President Chellie Pingree. 'We need legislation passed that would mandate random manual election audits of voting machines and require voter-verified paper trails, and citizens need to come to the polls knowing how to safeguard their vote.'
The report, Malfunction and Malfeasance: A Report on the Electronic Voting Machine Debacle, finds that 17 states, including critical swing states such as Pennsylvania, are at 'high' risk of having election results compromised due to problems with voting machines known as DREs. States designated as high risk because they use DREs with no paper backup are: Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Twenty-three states are at mid-level risk of having election results compromised. Those states use a voter-verified paper trail, " (Link above for more and suggested solutions)
How a Coalition of Bloggers is Turning the Democratic Donkey
We shall see.
So far, not one blogger-backed candidate has won an election.
2006 will tell the tale, providing election theft is not the deciding factor, again!
How a Coalition of Bloggers is Turning the Democratic Donkey:
Veteran politicians under threat from 'netroots' uprising that bypasses corporate kingmakers
by Julian Borger
Joe Lieberman has a fight on his hands. Until very recently, the three-term Democratic senator and former presidential candidate was cruising to re-election in Connecticut, his home state. But the 64-year-old grandee now finds himself in sudden danger of falling victim to a new political life form: the internet candidate.
Ned Lamont, a cable television entrepreneur, has come from nowhere to pose a serious threat, with the help of internet fundraising and anti-war bloggers outraged at Mr Lieberman's gung-ho support for the Iraq invasion." (Link Above)
New Levels of Extremism
These last 5 years should mean the end of GOP power in this country for years to come. But it won't, because of all the extremist and racist who continue to vote for these pigs every two years.
American Family Voices AM Feed - June 22: New Levels of Extremism:
"Just how extreme has the right-wing dominated House of Republicans become? Yesterday the Republican leadership was forced to cancel a vote to extend the landmark Voting Rights Act, after an internal revolt within party ranks. The Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965, is responsible for ending discrimination at polling booths, and for creating an environment that allowed for blacks to be elected to office throughout the South. Yet conservatives yesterday complained about renewing the act, claiming that it unfairly targeted the South, and that its requirements for ballots to be printed in foreign languages were unnecessary. The Republican House leadership had promised to renew the bill, and this latest internecine squabbling is yet another sign of conservative unrest. "
Focus Group-Tested Buzz Words, Like 'Cut and Run,' Debase the Seriousness of War.
Give Hagel his due!
He is a serous man, with principles, unlike the fools in the White House and many others of his colleagues in the Senate and in the House.
Think Progress � Hagel: �Focus Group-Tested Buzz Words�Like �Cut and Run��Debase the Seriousness of War�:
"This afternoon on the Senate floor, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) blasted conservatives who have turned to 'catchy political slogans' to avoid having a serious debate about Bush's Iraq policy. Hagel argued that using such focus-group tested words like 'cut and run' demean the debate and 'debase the seriousness of war.' Watch it." (Link Above)
Cheney's faulty reasoning
Many people I hear talking about Cheney think he is just another lying Bushite.
I have come to the conclusion that it is far worse than that. He is insane; a deeply pathological, paranoid man who should be nowhere near the halls of power in this country.
Is there a psychiatrist in the house?
Cheney's faulty reasoning - The Boston Globe:
"GIVE DICK CHENEY CREDIT.
The man doesn't give up on arguments easily -- even when the evidence has made them unsupportable and even offensive.
Cheney continued suggesting that Iraq was behind the 9/11 attacks long after the rest of the Bush administration gave that up. Last week, he did something similar, reiterating in an interview his certainty that the war in Iraq is, in part responsible, for the fact that we haven't been hit again in nearly five years. That's no accident. The fact is, we've taken the battle to the enemy. That's been the key to the safety and security of the American people these last few years, and we need to continue to do it.'
This is not just post-Zarqawi giddiness: Cheney has an eye on public opinion and knows that this myth has legs. As pollster Celinda Lake pointed out in the Washington Post last week, voters respond positively to the claim ``We'll either fight terrorists there or we'll fight them here.' This is likely to be a central part of the Republican defense of the war in mid-term electioneering.
So consider some reasons why this argument deserves a stake in the heart." (Read On ^)
I have come to the conclusion that it is far worse than that. He is insane; a deeply pathological, paranoid man who should be nowhere near the halls of power in this country.
Is there a psychiatrist in the house?
Cheney's faulty reasoning - The Boston Globe:
"GIVE DICK CHENEY CREDIT.
The man doesn't give up on arguments easily -- even when the evidence has made them unsupportable and even offensive.
Cheney continued suggesting that Iraq was behind the 9/11 attacks long after the rest of the Bush administration gave that up. Last week, he did something similar, reiterating in an interview his certainty that the war in Iraq is, in part responsible, for the fact that we haven't been hit again in nearly five years. That's no accident. The fact is, we've taken the battle to the enemy. That's been the key to the safety and security of the American people these last few years, and we need to continue to do it.'
This is not just post-Zarqawi giddiness: Cheney has an eye on public opinion and knows that this myth has legs. As pollster Celinda Lake pointed out in the Washington Post last week, voters respond positively to the claim ``We'll either fight terrorists there or we'll fight them here.' This is likely to be a central part of the Republican defense of the war in mid-term electioneering.
So consider some reasons why this argument deserves a stake in the heart." (Read On ^)
News Alert: New Report Highlights Yet Another Bush Failure to Protect Homeland
If we hadn't spent gazillions on the illegal and failed war in Iraq, Homeland Security could be better funded.
No telling how much the Bushites are spending spying on Americans!
We are living in a failed state, under a foolsih king, who only knows how to do three things: send in the military, no matter the problem (or lack of one), give no-bid contracts to his and Cheney's buddies and lie his arse off about everything.
News Alert: New Report Highlights Yet Another Bush Failure to Protect Homeland:
"On Tuesday, Rep. Benny Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released a report examining the Bush Administration's failure to improve America's rail and mass transit security program.
The report comes just days after news reports that Al Qaeda planned to attack New York City's subway system with poison gas.
Bush's inaction has left vulnerable some 11.3 million Americans who use some form of rail and mass transit every day. The 9-11 Commission found that we are just as susceptible to attacks on the ground as in the air, if not more so. Nevertheless, the federal government has spent only one penny per transit trip improving security in the past four years, compared to $9 per airline passenger.
'Rail and mass transit security absolutely is not a priority for this Administration,' said Rep. Thompson. 'Americans deserve more than this type of wait and see approach to homeland security.'
The report makes several recommendations, including the development of a comprehensive security strategy, clarification of the roles and responsibilities of relevant government agencies, and improving funding."
Dems had more money on hand at the end of May than GOP
But Bush raised $27 million in last Monday, telling the crowd that the GOP would maintain control of the Congress, thanks to them.
Wonder what the $27 mill is going to be used for, election theft?
New York Daily News - Breaking News:
"WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate and House Democrats, optimistic about their election-year prospects, have more money in the bank for the midterm contests than their Republican counterparts.
Some four months before the voting, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has $33.5 million cash on hand compared to $18.3 million for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the groups said Tuesday. The Democrats raised $4.7 million in May; the Republicans collected $4.3 million in the month.
'Our fundraising success reflects a deep desire for change and recognition that the best way to get things back on track is by electing more Democrats to the Senate,' said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic committee.
Although the GOP committees trail in cash on hand, it has the advantage of the presidency and the fundraiser in chief as well as majority control of the House and Senate"
Rove Has The GOPers Back In Line
So, I guess they will be sticking with their "Lie and Die Policy" in Iraq.
G.O.P. Decides to Embrace War as Issue - New York Times:
"The approach might yet be upended by more problems in Iraq, as Republicans were reminded this week with reports about two American servicemen who were abducted, tortured and apparently killed. Some polls show a majority of Americans continue to think that entering Iraq was a mistake, and pollsters say independent voters are particularly open to the idea of setting some sort of timetable for withdrawal, the very policy Democrats have embraced and Republicans are now fighting.
But people who attended a series of high-level meetings this month between White House and Congressional officials say President Bush's aides argued that it could be a politically fatal mistake for Republicans to walk away from the war in an election year.
White House officials including the national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, outlined ways in which Republican lawmakers could speak more forcefully about the war. Participants also included Mr. Bush's top political and communications advisers: his deputy chief of staff, Karl Rove; his political director, Sara Taylor; and the White House counselor, Dan Bartlett. Mr. Rove is newly freed from the threat of indictment in the C.I.A. leak case, and leaders of both parties see his reinvigorated hand in the strategy. "
Politicizing the Pentagon and Other GOP Nonsense
Rummy is as much a political operative as Rove and anyone who thinks otherwise either hasn't been paying attention or is a fool.
Attytood: Politicizing the Pentagon:
"The meetings were followed by the distribution of a 74-page briefing book to Congressional offices from the Pentagon to provide ammunition for what White House officials say will be a central line of attack against Democrats from now through the midterm elections: that the withdrawal being advocated by Democrats would mean thousands of troops would have died for nothing, would give extremists a launching pad from which to build an Islamo-fascist empire and would hand the United States its must humiliating defeat since Vietnam.
Republicans say the cumulative effect would be to send a message of weakness to the world at a time of new threats from Iran and North Korea and would leave enemies controlling Iraq's vast oil reserves, the third largest in the world. (The book, including a chapter entitled 'Rapid Response' with answers to frequent Democratic charges, was sent via e-mail to Republican lawmakers but, in an apparent mistake, also to some Democrats.)
So let's get this straight: Over in the Pentagon, they are busy managing troops that are now overtaxed not just by the endless insurgency in Iraq but also by a 'reinvigorated' Taliban in Afghanistan and a missile threat from North Korea; planning operations like the recent search for two kidnapped and ultimately murdered American soliders, securing more body armor, and so on and so on.
Yet somehow they found the time to write a 74-page briefing book with the sole purpose of trashing Democrats? It's hard to separate government and politics, but certain branches should be above the partisan fray, and that includes intelligence but also the folks who actually wage the wars. A lot of these same generals may be taking orders from a Democratic president (we said 'may') in January 2009, after all."
"High Infidelity" among GOP Presidential Hopefuls
I any of these guys were Democrats, Karl Rove would be starting rumors that they are rapists.
"High Infidelity" by Steve Benen:
"Lurking just over the horizon are liabilities for three Republicans who have topped several national, independent polls for the GOP's favorite 2008 nominee: Sen. John McCain (affair, divorce), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (affair, divorce, affair, divorce), and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (divorce, affair, nasty divorce). Together, they form the most maritally challenged crop of presidential hopefuls in American political history.
Until relatively recently, a self-confessed adulterer had never sought the presidency. Certainly, other candidates have been dogged by sex scandals. In the 1828 presidential election, John Quincy Adams questioned whether Andrew Jackson's wife was legitimately divorced from her first husband before she married Old Hickory. Grover Cleveland, who was single, fathered a child out of wedlock, a fact that sparked national headlines during the 1884 election (though he managed to win anyway). There have been presidential candidates who had affairs that the press decided not to write about, like Wendell Wilkie, FDR, and John F. Kennedy. And there have been candidates whose infidelities have been uncovered during the course of a campaign: Gary Hart's indiscretions ultimately derailed his 1988 bid, and in 1992, during the course of his campaign, Bill Clinton was forced to make the euphemistic admission that he 'caused pain' in his marriage. "
(Read On ^)
TheAgitator.com: Scholar Cited by Scalia in Hudson Not So Thrilled to Have Been Cited by Scalia: Comments
Why doesn't Professor Sam Walker sue the crap out of Scalia for attributing to him the exact opposite of what he said, in official court documents, no less?
TheAgitator.com: Scholar Cited by Scalia in Hudson Not So Thrilled to Have Been Cited by Scalia: Comments:
"Scholar Cited by Scalia in Hudson Not So Thrilled to Have Been Cited by Scalia
Actually, 'not so thrilled' is putting it mildly.
I just spoke with Prof. Sam Walker, one of the most respected criminologists in the country, and an expert on police tactics and procedures. Justice Scalia cites Walker in his opinion in Hudson, quoting him directly on page 12:
There have been 'wide-ranging reforms in the education, training, and supervision of police officers.' S. Walker, Taiming the System: The Control of Discretion in Criminal Justice 1950-1990, p. 51 (1993).
Scalia preceded the Walker cite with this thesis sentence:
Another development over the past half-century that deters civil rights violations is the increasing professionalismof police forces, including a new emphasis on internal discipline."
(Read On ^)
Emissions of CO2 are up 78% since 1960 in Wisconsin
Judging from what wev'e seen in the last 5 years, at least, perhaps mankind is not fit to survive.
The Capital Times:
"Emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, thought by most scientists to be a cause of global warming because it tends to trap the sun's heat near the Earth, rose 78 percent in Wisconsin from 1960 to 2001, according to a new analysis of government data by the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group.
WISPIRG found that emissions from coal-powered power plants made up 38 percent of the increase, while vehicles caused 32 percent.
Using data compiled by the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the organization examined trends nationally and in Wisconsin and found that: (Read On ^)
Bush disaster in Iraq is just one of many failed policies
The Capital Times:
"Bush has lied and deceived us into a conflict that has caused 2,500 of our soldiers to die and thousands to be maimed, as well as totally destroying a country's infrastructure and killing tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children. Then he has the unmitigated gall to say, 'better to fight them there than here.' That goes beyond the pale.
And the war is just one small part of this disgraceful administration. Bush, like other failed presidents, has totally divided this country, governed erratically and has left this nation worse off than when he came to office: disastrous domestic policies, foreign policy blunders and military setbacks, executive misconduct, and a crisis of credibility and public trust.
If Karl Rove doesn't think that Bush should 'apologize' for stumbling badly in every one of the key issues in this country, if he doesn't see that Bush has totally squandered the public's trust and credibility, then I don't know what more you can say."
"Bush has lied and deceived us into a conflict that has caused 2,500 of our soldiers to die and thousands to be maimed, as well as totally destroying a country's infrastructure and killing tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children. Then he has the unmitigated gall to say, 'better to fight them there than here.' That goes beyond the pale.
And the war is just one small part of this disgraceful administration. Bush, like other failed presidents, has totally divided this country, governed erratically and has left this nation worse off than when he came to office: disastrous domestic policies, foreign policy blunders and military setbacks, executive misconduct, and a crisis of credibility and public trust.
If Karl Rove doesn't think that Bush should 'apologize' for stumbling badly in every one of the key issues in this country, if he doesn't see that Bush has totally squandered the public's trust and credibility, then I don't know what more you can say."
Democrats want change in Iraq
Boxer speak for us!
The Bush/Cheny Iraq policy is a freakin' disaster, the proportions of which most Americans have not, yet, begun to realize. But they will, when it is too late.
Democrats want change in Iraq - Yahoo! News:
"'The public is very happy about the fact that we have not been attacked since 9/11,' Sen. Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record), the second-ranking Senate Republican, said, even though polls show voters are weary about the war that's in its fourth year.
'Americans want an exit strategy,' countered Sen. Barbara Boxer (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif. 'The status quo is a disaster.'
The GOP-controlled Senate was poised to vote Thursday on two Democratic proposals to start redeploying U.S. troops from Iraq this year, a week after both houses of Congress soundly rejected withdrawal timetables.
Both proposals, offered as amendments to an annual military bill, were expected to be defeated, mostly along partisan lines."
The Bush/Cheny Iraq policy is a freakin' disaster, the proportions of which most Americans have not, yet, begun to realize. But they will, when it is too late.
Democrats want change in Iraq - Yahoo! News:
"'The public is very happy about the fact that we have not been attacked since 9/11,' Sen. Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record), the second-ranking Senate Republican, said, even though polls show voters are weary about the war that's in its fourth year.
'Americans want an exit strategy,' countered Sen. Barbara Boxer (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif. 'The status quo is a disaster.'
The GOP-controlled Senate was poised to vote Thursday on two Democratic proposals to start redeploying U.S. troops from Iraq this year, a week after both houses of Congress soundly rejected withdrawal timetables.
Both proposals, offered as amendments to an annual military bill, were expected to be defeated, mostly along partisan lines."
Veteran Critic of White House Turns on 'Gullible' Press Pack
Helen could not be more right.
The Washington press corp is as reponsible for the quagmire abroad and the horrendous mess at home as the administration is.
When will they be held accountble?
Maybe they should change their ways, before it is too late for them.
Veteran Critic of White House Turns on 'Gullible' Press Pack:
"For almost five decades, White House reporter Helen Thomas has been covering America's leaders with a healthy dose of scepticism and an endless string of pointed questions.
Along the way she has ruffled presidential feathers and, since becoming a columnist in 2003, she has made clear her views on some of those incumbents - including George W Bush who she has described as the 'worst president in all of American history'." ( Read On ^ )
The Washington press corp is as reponsible for the quagmire abroad and the horrendous mess at home as the administration is.
When will they be held accountble?
Maybe they should change their ways, before it is too late for them.
Veteran Critic of White House Turns on 'Gullible' Press Pack:
"For almost five decades, White House reporter Helen Thomas has been covering America's leaders with a healthy dose of scepticism and an endless string of pointed questions.
Along the way she has ruffled presidential feathers and, since becoming a columnist in 2003, she has made clear her views on some of those incumbents - including George W Bush who she has described as the 'worst president in all of American history'." ( Read On ^ )
Nonprofit Health Care Often Better: Study
What moreis it going to take, people, before we take back out nation and its capitol?
Nonprofit Health Care Often Better: Study:
"For-profit nursing homes and hospitals on average provide an inferior quality of care compared with their nonprofit peers, according to an extensive review of studies published on Tuesday.
Authors writing in the journal Health Affairs found that a systematic analysis of 162 studies of nonprofit versus for-profit health care providers supports the concept that a facility's ownership status makes a difference in outcomes and in the cost of health care.
'Their work should lay to rest claims that little distinguishes nonprofit versus for-profit health care,' University of Michigan professor Jill Horwitz wrote in editorial also running in the policy journal.
The analysis found a pattern of differences between nonprofits and for-profits in cost, quality and accessibility, said Bradford Gray, a principal research associate at the Urban Institute -- a nonprofit research group -- and lead study author.
For-profit ownership is climbing in most sectors of health, from hospitals to hospice care. For example, for-profit hospitals accounted for 11 percent of all hospitals in the early 1990s and now account for 16 percent.
HCA Inc. is the biggest U.S. hospital chain, with about 180 hospitals and $24 billion in revenue, and is for- profit. The third-biggest hospital chain by number of facilities, after the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department, is Tenet Healthcare Corp., also for-profit."
Nonprofit Health Care Often Better: Study:
"For-profit nursing homes and hospitals on average provide an inferior quality of care compared with their nonprofit peers, according to an extensive review of studies published on Tuesday.
Authors writing in the journal Health Affairs found that a systematic analysis of 162 studies of nonprofit versus for-profit health care providers supports the concept that a facility's ownership status makes a difference in outcomes and in the cost of health care.
'Their work should lay to rest claims that little distinguishes nonprofit versus for-profit health care,' University of Michigan professor Jill Horwitz wrote in editorial also running in the policy journal.
The analysis found a pattern of differences between nonprofits and for-profits in cost, quality and accessibility, said Bradford Gray, a principal research associate at the Urban Institute -- a nonprofit research group -- and lead study author.
For-profit ownership is climbing in most sectors of health, from hospitals to hospice care. For example, for-profit hospitals accounted for 11 percent of all hospitals in the early 1990s and now account for 16 percent.
HCA Inc. is the biggest U.S. hospital chain, with about 180 hospitals and $24 billion in revenue, and is for- profit. The third-biggest hospital chain by number of facilities, after the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department, is Tenet Healthcare Corp., also for-profit."
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Until this issue is burning on the mind of every citizen� -- Words of Power Interviews Mark Crispin Miller
This country is finished if we don't make it our national obsession to stop these Democracy-hating thugs
Words of Power: SPECIAL EDITION: �Until this issue is burning on the mind of every citizen� -- Words of Power Interviews Mark Crispin Miller:
"If there is a future for the U.S., and reality-based history is a part of it, Mark Crispin Miller's contribution to the ongoing struggle of these last few years will be acknowledged as vital and uniquely important. With his one-man shows, and his books, and his blog, Notes from the Underground, Miller has provided invaluable context and continuity during this strangest, and most disturbing episode in the life of the nation.
His three books, Bush Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder, Cruel and Unusual: Bush/Cheney's New World Order, and Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election & Why They'll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them), taken as a whole, offer a profound overview of what is wrong with our body politic, how it all went so bad, and who is responsible.
In my reading of Bush Dyslexicon and Cruel and Unusual, two themes dominate:
The Bush-Cheney cabal, along with much of the right-wing movement that the cabal has co-opted for its own gain, is psychologically unhealthy, dangerously so." (Read On ^ This is more important than anything you have read yet)
Santorum lies that WMD were found in Iraq
Rick Santorum is the most vile kind of liar.
He expects that his voters are idiots with ADD.
I guess we shall see if they are.
Crooks and Liars:
"WMD scam by Santorum
Rick held a press conference carried by FOX during John Gibson's show today to say they found WMD's in Iraq. Sources in Washington are saying that these are artillery shells that predate the gulf war...as TP notes:
The Bush administration commissioned the Iraq Survey Group to determine whether in fact any WMD existed in Iraq. After a year and half of meticulously combing through the country, here's what the administration's own inspectors reported:
While a small number of old, abandoned chemical munitions have been discovered, ISG judges that Iraq unilaterally destroyed its undeclared chemical weapons stockpile in 1991. There are no credible Indications that Baghdad resumed production of chemical munitions thereafter, a policy ISG attributes to Baghdad's desire to see sanctions lifted, or rendered ineffectual, or its fear of force against it should WMD be discovered.
Bill Kristol came on with 'Five in the Noggin 'Gibson and was beside himself because the administration fought to keep these findings secret. I seem to remember that the key point Dick Cheney made was a mushroom cloud would appear over Cleveland because Saddam had reconstituted his program.
CHENEY: Well, I think I've just given it, Tim, in terms of the combination of his development and use of chemical weapons, his development of biological weapons, his pursuit of nuclear weapons.---We know that based on intelligence that he has been very, very good at hiding these kinds of efforts. He's had years to get good at it and we know he has been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons. And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.
These are pre-Gulf war shells."
He expects that his voters are idiots with ADD.
I guess we shall see if they are.
Crooks and Liars:
"WMD scam by Santorum
Rick held a press conference carried by FOX during John Gibson's show today to say they found WMD's in Iraq. Sources in Washington are saying that these are artillery shells that predate the gulf war...as TP notes:
The Bush administration commissioned the Iraq Survey Group to determine whether in fact any WMD existed in Iraq. After a year and half of meticulously combing through the country, here's what the administration's own inspectors reported:
While a small number of old, abandoned chemical munitions have been discovered, ISG judges that Iraq unilaterally destroyed its undeclared chemical weapons stockpile in 1991. There are no credible Indications that Baghdad resumed production of chemical munitions thereafter, a policy ISG attributes to Baghdad's desire to see sanctions lifted, or rendered ineffectual, or its fear of force against it should WMD be discovered.
Bill Kristol came on with 'Five in the Noggin 'Gibson and was beside himself because the administration fought to keep these findings secret. I seem to remember that the key point Dick Cheney made was a mushroom cloud would appear over Cleveland because Saddam had reconstituted his program.
CHENEY: Well, I think I've just given it, Tim, in terms of the combination of his development and use of chemical weapons, his development of biological weapons, his pursuit of nuclear weapons.---We know that based on intelligence that he has been very, very good at hiding these kinds of efforts. He's had years to get good at it and we know he has been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons. And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.
These are pre-Gulf war shells."
Only if they have the right stuff
Say What?
Only if they have the right stuff:
"QT Early Warning System:
Saudi Arabia has announced scholarships for young Saudis who want to study civil aviation in the United States."
Ranking Democrat Slams Phone Company Legislation
Maybe Net Neutrality is not dead....
That would be nice, but don't count on it.
The corporations are the government.
Advertising Age - Ranking Democrat Slams Phone Company Legislation:
"WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- Comments today from a top Senate Democrat are raising the possibility a net-neutrality fight could yet derail phone companies' hopes for congressional action this year that will make it easier for them to compete against cable TV."
The Perfect Stonewall
The lawlessness of this White House will come back on them in a way that will be horrendous for them and, more importantly, for this country.
The fish always rots from the head down. Lawlessness at the top leads to lawlessness at the botom, and everywhere in between.
TomPaine.com - The Perfect Stonewall:
"Future presidents and press secretaries will owe much to George W. Bush and Scott McClellan, that is, if they ever want to mount a cover up. A week after Karl Rove's lawyer announced he was no longer under investigation by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald in the CIA leak case, it's rather clear that Rove and the White House pulled perfected the art of stonewalling. They, and this caper, will be an inspiration to spinners everywhere.
In July 2003, when columnist Bob Novak (first) and Time magazine (second) published stories disclosing that Valerie Wilson was a CIA officer, and cited administration officials as their sources�the White House responded with a simple denial. McClellan, who had just inherited the White House press secretary position from Ari Fleischer, said of this leak, 'That is not the way this president or this White House operates.' There was no wiggle room in that statement.
Months later, once the news broke that the Justice Department, acting in response to a CIA request, would be investigating the leak, the White House got more specific. Scott McClellan stated that any White House aide who leaked information on Valerie Wilson would be dismissed, and he asserted that neither Karl Rove nor Scooter Libby had been involved in the leak. Months after that, Bush reaffirmed that the leaker, if discovered, would be booted from his White House.
This was all unambiguous. It ain't us. It ain't Rove. It ain't Libby. And if we knew who had done this, he'd be run out of town. This straight talk got the White House all the way through the 2004 elections."
The fish always rots from the head down. Lawlessness at the top leads to lawlessness at the botom, and everywhere in between.
TomPaine.com - The Perfect Stonewall:
"Future presidents and press secretaries will owe much to George W. Bush and Scott McClellan, that is, if they ever want to mount a cover up. A week after Karl Rove's lawyer announced he was no longer under investigation by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald in the CIA leak case, it's rather clear that Rove and the White House pulled perfected the art of stonewalling. They, and this caper, will be an inspiration to spinners everywhere.
In July 2003, when columnist Bob Novak (first) and Time magazine (second) published stories disclosing that Valerie Wilson was a CIA officer, and cited administration officials as their sources�the White House responded with a simple denial. McClellan, who had just inherited the White House press secretary position from Ari Fleischer, said of this leak, 'That is not the way this president or this White House operates.' There was no wiggle room in that statement.
Months later, once the news broke that the Justice Department, acting in response to a CIA request, would be investigating the leak, the White House got more specific. Scott McClellan stated that any White House aide who leaked information on Valerie Wilson would be dismissed, and he asserted that neither Karl Rove nor Scooter Libby had been involved in the leak. Months after that, Bush reaffirmed that the leaker, if discovered, would be booted from his White House.
This was all unambiguous. It ain't us. It ain't Rove. It ain't Libby. And if we knew who had done this, he'd be run out of town. This straight talk got the White House all the way through the 2004 elections."
Soldiers agree with Murtha
1010 WINS - On-Air, Online, On Demand:
"JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- While Staff Sgt. Randy Myers was dodging roadside bombs in Iraq, his congressman was calling the war a lost cause.
Sixteen-term Rep. John Murtha, a decorated Vietnam veteran and military hawk, has become the face of the Democrats' anti-war movement since he called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops last fall. His oft-repeated criticism of the Bush administration's war policies also has earned him the wrath of Republicans.
In Murtha's southwest Pennsylvania district, however, many share the war critic's views.
At a welcome home ceremony this week for Myers and other troops from the Johnstown, Pa.-based 876th Engineer Battalion, the crowd cheered when a Murtha aide welcomed the troops on the congressman's behalf.
Myers said he backs Murtha, an opinion echoed by a number of other troops and their families. Several share his frustration with the conflict." (read On^)
Troops charged with murdering Iraqi civilian - Yahoo! News
....and what about the war criminals who sent these guys over there is the first place? When are they going to be charged?
Troops charged with murdering Iraqi civilian - Yahoo! News:
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The military on Wednesday charged seven Marines and a Navy medic with premeditated murder and other crimes in the April 26 killing of an Iraqi civilian in a village west of Baghdad, the U.S. Marine Corps said. "
Dispute charges at your peril
Dispute charges at your peril:
"If you've ever reversed the charge for a dubious credit card transaction or online purchase, your name could be on a secretive overseas database that consumer advocates say may violate protections guaranteed under U.S. law.
The database is maintained by a Panama company named Goldwell Corp., which runs an online service called ChargeBack Bureau (chargebackbureau.org).
Chargebacks are a right provided to U.S. consumers under the Fair Credit Billing Act. The system allows people to reverse credit card payments for goods or services that were unauthorized or end up being different than advertised.
Most chargebacks involve a consumer bringing a disputed transaction to his or her credit card issuer. The issuer, in turn, takes up the matter with the merchant, often requiring repayment of any funds involved. " (Read On ^)
"If you've ever reversed the charge for a dubious credit card transaction or online purchase, your name could be on a secretive overseas database that consumer advocates say may violate protections guaranteed under U.S. law.
The database is maintained by a Panama company named Goldwell Corp., which runs an online service called ChargeBack Bureau (chargebackbureau.org).
Chargebacks are a right provided to U.S. consumers under the Fair Credit Billing Act. The system allows people to reverse credit card payments for goods or services that were unauthorized or end up being different than advertised.
Most chargebacks involve a consumer bringing a disputed transaction to his or her credit card issuer. The issuer, in turn, takes up the matter with the merchant, often requiring repayment of any funds involved. " (Read On ^)
AT&T rewrites rules: Your data isn't yours
If you are doing business with AT&T, cancel!
AT&T rewrites rules: Your data isn't yours:
"AT&T has issued an updated privacy policy that takes effect Friday. The changes are significant because they appear to give the telecom giant more latitude when it comes to sharing customers' personal data with government officials.
The new policy says that AT&T -- not customers -- owns customers' confidential info and can use it 'to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process.'
The policy also indicates that AT&T will track the viewing habits of customers of its new video service -- something that cable and satellite providers are prohibited from doing. "
Progressive Unity on Iraq: Redeployment Must Begin Immediately
Rethugs will be the end of this country.
The good news: maybe we will never have to see Bill "Cat Killer" Frist's ugly, smug face again
Think Progress � Progressive Unity on Iraq: Redeployment Must Begin Immediately:
"Today, the Senate will debate a pair of amendments that urge the administration to begin a phased redeployment of American troops out of Iraq. Increasingly, progressives and conservatives are unifying behind two very different approaches to resolving the Iraq conflict. Progressives across the spectrum believe that redeployment of U.S. forces must begin immediately:
[Sen. Jack] Reed (D-RI) said redeployment should begin, as quickly as possible, to ease the strain on the troops, but added that the measure does not establish a pace.
Joint statement of Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA): 'Our troops have done their job in Iraq. It is time to redeploy, to help increase stability in Iraq, and more importantly, to strengthen the national security of the United States.'
Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI): '[The amendment] does urge that a phased redeployment begin this year, partly as a way of moving away from an open-ended commitment and a way of avoiding Iraqi dependency on a U.S. security blanket.'
Conservatives, however, remain wedded to Bush's stay the course (over a cliff) rhetoric, unwilling to make any promises of a near-term departure from Iraq.
In defense of Bush, Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) said:
Retreat is not an option. Those calling for an early withdrawal of American troops from Iraq utterly fail to understand the potentially catastrophic implications of their proposal."
News Alert: Bipartisan House Committee Passes Resolution Demanding Bush Reveal Role in Illegal Phone Surveillance
Yeah, like that's gonna happen.
Bush isn't going to listen to Congress until somone drags his sorry ass out of the White House for a little mano-mano.
News Alert: Bipartisan House Committee Passes Resolution Demanding Bush Reveal Role in Illegal Phone Surveillance:
"In a bold move, the House Judiciary Committee passed a resolution calling on the Bush Administration to disclose its role in the NSA's telephone monitoring program.
Several Republican congressmen joined Democrats in approving the resolution in a voice vote today. Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) even challenged Bush by threatening to put the measure up before the full House if the Administration does not comply.
In an exclusive statement provided to BuzzFlash.com, House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) said, 'six months ago it was warrantless wiretapping, last month phone records, and now today eavesdropping on internet traffic. Until this Congress asserts its oversight authority and investigates what the NSA is doing and whether it is legal - much less effective - the Administration will continue to expand its ability to spy on average Americans.'
BuzzFlash was told by a Democratic source on the Hill that the vote is representative of a growing trend of Republicans becoming weary of White House privacy infringements. Just yesterday, twenty-three Republicans broke ranks to support an amendment that would prohibit electronic surveillance without a warrant. "
Bush isn't going to listen to Congress until somone drags his sorry ass out of the White House for a little mano-mano.
News Alert: Bipartisan House Committee Passes Resolution Demanding Bush Reveal Role in Illegal Phone Surveillance:
"In a bold move, the House Judiciary Committee passed a resolution calling on the Bush Administration to disclose its role in the NSA's telephone monitoring program.
Several Republican congressmen joined Democrats in approving the resolution in a voice vote today. Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) even challenged Bush by threatening to put the measure up before the full House if the Administration does not comply.
In an exclusive statement provided to BuzzFlash.com, House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) said, 'six months ago it was warrantless wiretapping, last month phone records, and now today eavesdropping on internet traffic. Until this Congress asserts its oversight authority and investigates what the NSA is doing and whether it is legal - much less effective - the Administration will continue to expand its ability to spy on average Americans.'
BuzzFlash was told by a Democratic source on the Hill that the vote is representative of a growing trend of Republicans becoming weary of White House privacy infringements. Just yesterday, twenty-three Republicans broke ranks to support an amendment that would prohibit electronic surveillance without a warrant. "
CEOs earn 262 times pay of average worker - Yahoo! News
There ought to be a law against this kind of ...well.... I am not sure there is a word for it.
We have endured "sin taxes' in this country for years. Why not a greed tax? After all, that one IS mentioned in the Bible. It is one of the 7 deadlies, as I recall.
CEOs earn 262 times pay of average worker - Yahoo! News: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chief executive officers in the United States earned 262 times the pay of an average worker in 2005, the second-highest level in the 40 years for which there is data, a nonprofit think-tank said on Wednesday.
In fact, a CEO earned more in one workday than an average worker earned in 52 weeks, said the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
The typical worker's compensation averaged just under $42,000 for the year, while the average CEO brought home almost $11 million, EPI said.
In recent years, compensation has been a hot issue with shareholders who have been bombarded with news stories about chief executives who are given multimillion dollar bonus and pay packages even if shares have declined."
We have endured "sin taxes' in this country for years. Why not a greed tax? After all, that one IS mentioned in the Bible. It is one of the 7 deadlies, as I recall.
CEOs earn 262 times pay of average worker - Yahoo! News: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chief executive officers in the United States earned 262 times the pay of an average worker in 2005, the second-highest level in the 40 years for which there is data, a nonprofit think-tank said on Wednesday.
In fact, a CEO earned more in one workday than an average worker earned in 52 weeks, said the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
The typical worker's compensation averaged just under $42,000 for the year, while the average CEO brought home almost $11 million, EPI said.
In recent years, compensation has been a hot issue with shareholders who have been bombarded with news stories about chief executives who are given multimillion dollar bonus and pay packages even if shares have declined."
Another GOP Pervert; so what else is new?
The Monitor - McAllen, Texas: "EDINBURG � Political consultant and ad producer Carey Lee Cramer is expected to testify today defending himself against charges he sexually molested two young girls.
Cramer, 44, took the stand shortly before court recessed at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. He will likely continue today before Visiting Judge Homer Salinas in Auxiliary Court A, where his trial began June 7.
Cramer, who gained national notoriety with an anti-Al Gore commercial in 2000, is facing several counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
He is the second witness defense attorney Charles Banker called to rebut the testimony of the two 15-year-old girls who testified Cramer sexually molested them when they were younger."
Cramer, 44, took the stand shortly before court recessed at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. He will likely continue today before Visiting Judge Homer Salinas in Auxiliary Court A, where his trial began June 7.
Cramer, who gained national notoriety with an anti-Al Gore commercial in 2000, is facing several counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
He is the second witness defense attorney Charles Banker called to rebut the testimony of the two 15-year-old girls who testified Cramer sexually molested them when they were younger."
Bush made decision to let bin Laden escape
Bush had no wish to capture Osama. That would have been the end of the all out war on terror. There would have been no invasion of Iraq, nor bombing hell out of Iran.
Besides, isn't Osama a friend of the family?
No wonder Osama wanted Bush to win the 2004 election. Kerry might have changed course and Osama would be a dead duck.
Crooks and Liars:
"'Not only was the information and decision elevated to the White House, but that the CIA specifically told the president that the local forces weren't capable and shouldn't be relied upon to get Bin Laden. Yet George W. Bush, when presented with the choice of committing US forces to go in and get him, or doing nothing and letting the inevitable happen, chose to let the local forces do it, and then saw Osama get away.'"
Besides, isn't Osama a friend of the family?
No wonder Osama wanted Bush to win the 2004 election. Kerry might have changed course and Osama would be a dead duck.
Crooks and Liars:
"'Not only was the information and decision elevated to the White House, but that the CIA specifically told the president that the local forces weren't capable and shouldn't be relied upon to get Bin Laden. Yet George W. Bush, when presented with the choice of committing US forces to go in and get him, or doing nothing and letting the inevitable happen, chose to let the local forces do it, and then saw Osama get away.'"
The Cheney Supremacy
Oh boy, betwen Suskind's new book and Frontlines expose', Cheney is definitely being thrown under a bus.
Can't help but wonder if this is with or without Bush apporval.
The Cheney Supremacy:
"The part of Ron Suskind's new book that's getting all the attention this morning is his chilling disclosure that al-Qaeda apparently planned, then called off, a hydrogen cyanide gas attack in New York's subway in 2003.
But the longer-term significance of Suskind's new book -- his second major expose of the Bush White House in three years -- will likely be how it documents Vice President Cheney's singularly dominant role in the foreign policy and national security decisions typically attributed to President Bush.
Where other journalists smarmily imply that Cheney is in charge, or credulously relate White House assurances that he's not, Suskind appears to have gotten people with first-hand experience to actually describe how Cheney operates -- and what he has wrought.
I haven't yet seen a copy of it myself, but starting with its title, Suskind's new book, 'The One Percent Doctrine,' looks to be all about Cheney.
Writes Suskind on his Web site : 'What is the guiding principle of the world's most powerful nation as it searches for enemies at home and abroad? The One Percent Doctrine is the deeply secretive core of America's real playbook: a default strategy, designed by Dick Cheney, that separates America from its moorings, and has driven everything -- from war in Afghanistan to war in Iraq to the global search for jihadists.'"
AT&T seems to be hiding another government spy room
This time in St. Louis
AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth:
Seriously.
That company needs to be made a lesson of and taken down.
It looks like they may be spying on our Internet traffic from this facility, or at the very least on the Internet traffic of all of their customers.
In a pivotal network operations center in metropolitan St. Louis, AT&T has maintained a secret, highly secured room since 2002 where government work is being conducted, according to two former AT&T workers once employed at the center.
In interviews with Salon, the former AT&T workers said that only government officials or AT&T employees with top-secret security clearance are admitted to the room, located inside AT&T's facility in Bridgeton. The room's tight security includes a biometric 'mantrap' or highly sophisticated double door, secured with retinal and fingerprint scanners. The former workers say company supervisors told them that employees working inside the room were 'monitoring network traffic' and that the room was being used by 'a government agency.'"
'Dark Side' sheds light on Cheney
If Darth has a light shown on him, will he die or melt or something like that?
'Dark Side' sheds light on Cheney - The Boston Globe:
"Frontline' delivers a devastating look tonight at the efforts of Vice President Dick Cheney to gain control of the war on terror after 9/11. In doing so, the show purports, he compromised the integrity of America's intelligence system.
'The Dark Side' is riveting television, heavily reported, that exemplifies what 'Frontline' does best: go inside a major story and give us context. The title is a ripe double-entendre that applies both to Cheney and the turf on which the war against terrorists is fought. 'We have to work the dark side, if you will,' we hear Cheney say. 'Spend time in the shadows of the intelligence world.'
To many, Cheney is the dark side of the Bush administration, and this program will only cement that judgment. ``Frontline' chronicles the brutal campaign by two consummate political in-fighters -- Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld -- to decimate the CIA, politically emasculate Secretary of State Colin Powell, and construct a near-limitless concept of executive power during war. While many of these strands are familiar, they have not been assembled as effectively before on television to present a coherent picture of what happened after 9/11." (read On ^ and then watch Frontline with all your friends)
Bushites use data brokers to get around warrants to spy on Americans.
AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth:
"Surprise surprise surprise. Remember that story we helped explode back in January about how your phone records were for sale online to ANYONE for $100? We even bought General Wesley Clark's cell phone records to prove the point. As a result, there was a big media uproar, the US House passed legislation unanimously, 409-0, to fix the problem, and the Senate was even considering legislation.
Well, today we learn that the federal government and local police were using these questionably-legal online data brokers to get YOUR private phone records without the necessary search warrants.
Yes, the Bush administration once again didn't go to courts of law to get search warrants when it was supposed to."
(Read On ^)
"Surprise surprise surprise. Remember that story we helped explode back in January about how your phone records were for sale online to ANYONE for $100? We even bought General Wesley Clark's cell phone records to prove the point. As a result, there was a big media uproar, the US House passed legislation unanimously, 409-0, to fix the problem, and the Senate was even considering legislation.
Well, today we learn that the federal government and local police were using these questionably-legal online data brokers to get YOUR private phone records without the necessary search warrants.
Yes, the Bush administration once again didn't go to courts of law to get search warrants when it was supposed to."
(Read On ^)
Probe Finds Iraqi Troops Killed 2 American Soldiers
Yep, things are going just swimmingly in Iraq....NOT
abc7.com: Probe Finds Iraqi Troops Killed 2 American Soldiers:
"SAN FRANCISCO. June 20, 2006 - Two California soldiers shot to death in Iraq were murdered by Iraqi civil-defense officers patrolling with them, military investigators have found.
The deaths of Army Spc. Patrick R. McCaffrey Sr. and 1st Lt. Andre D. Tyson were originally attributed to an ambush during a patrol near Balad, Iraq, on June 22, 2004.
But the Army's Criminal Investigation Division found that one or more of the Iraqis attached to the American soldiers on patrol fired at them, a military official said Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the military did not plan to release the report until Wednesday.
The families of McCaffrey and Tyson were to be briefed on the report's conclusions Tuesday and Wednesday by Brig. Gen. Oscar Hilman, the soldiers' commander at the time, and three other officers."
News Alert: "Bush is Spending Like A Drunken Sailor and the Tax Payers are Being Stuck with the Bill:" Rep. Waxman Issues Report on Contract Waste
When will the American people rise up and say, NO MORE?
I can tell you that I am not paying for this mess. Neither should anyone else. Not until the Bush family, The Cheney family and all the rest of the wealthy hotshots in this administration have had their assets taken away and are living in trailer parks with the rest of the Faux news watchers.
Why should they stop screwing up when they have found screwing up to be so profitable?
News Alert: "Bush is Spending Like A Drunken Sailor and the Tax Payers are Being Stuck with the Bill:" Rep. Waxman Issues Report on Contract Waste:
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