Iraqi Refugees Seek Safe Harbor, in U.S.

Good Lord, why would they want to come here?

WSJ.com - Iraqi Refugees Seek Safe Harbor -- in U.S.:

CHICAGO -- When gunmen broke into Nabil Toma Shabo's Baghdad home a year ago and threatened to kill his family, he says he decided to flee Iraq. He had no idea how long the search for safety would last -- or where it would take him.

Agent infiltrated terror cell, U.S. says - Aug 11, 2006

This just gets curisor and curisor.

CNN.com - Agent infiltrated terror cell, U.S. says - Aug 11, 2006:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Terrorists were in the 'final stages' of a plot to simultaneously blow up as many as 10 jets leaving Britain for the U.S., sending the planes and thousands of passengers into the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday.

British and Pakistani authorities teamed up to thwart the attacks, and 24 men were arrested in overnight raids in Britain, authorities said.

An undercover British agent infiltrated the group, giving the authorities intelligence on the alleged plan, several U.S. government officials said. (Watch as neighbors describe the dramatic arrests -- 2:18)

The men had not bought plane tickets, the officials said, but they were in the process of perusing the Internet to find flights to various cities that had similar departure times.

Shock wave from Lieberman race

About a 6,1 on the Richter scale, I would say.

Shock wave from Lieberman race csmonitor.com:

WASHINGTON - Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman's defeat in the Democratic Party primary has sent a shock wave across the American political landscape, reverberating beyond this November's midterm elections and into the 2008 race for the presidency.

By the time the returns were in Tuesday night, showing Senator Lieberman losing to antiwar businessman Ned Lamont 52 percent to 48 percent, the sight of the 2000 vice presidential candidate losing his party's nomination for a fourth Senate term did not come as a surprise. Polls had shown Lieberman trailing for weeks. Still, the loss came as a stark reminder to all Washington politicians that the support of the voters back home can never be taken for granted - especially if their position on a central issue, in this case the Iraq war, differs markedly from that of a critical mass in their own party.

Lebanese direct growing anger at US

Who could possibly blame them?

They aren't stupid. They know who is behind this horror.

The NeoCons.

Lebanese direct growing anger at US csmonitor.com:

BEIRUT, LEBANON - With his arm raised and fist clenched, Sheikh Hussein furiously expressed a sentiment rapidly taking hold here.

'We know who our first enemy is: America,' he shouted before tearful mourners at a funeral Wednesday for 30 civilians killed by an Israeli airstrike on Monday. The white-turbaned sheikh led the crowd in a militant chant: 'Death to America! Death to America!'

The Death of Triangulation

We can only hope that the Dems get it.

We are tired of Dems trying to cooperate and work with the thugs in the current GOP.

They are not interested in working with you! They are only interested in maintaining one party power and they will do whatever it takes to do so. If you are not prepared to fight, then go home and stay there.

We are ready for a knock down drag out fight for Democracy, truth and the rule of law in DC.

The Death of Triangulation:

Ned Lamont's victory Tuesday night in Connecticut's U.S. Senate primary is great news for Democrats. And it's a watershed moment for the growing majority of Americans, in red states and blue, who want change.

For months, polls have warned that across the political spectrum people are fed up -- with the no-end-in-sight occupation of Iraq; with an energy policy that caters to oil giants while gasoline prices soar; with a health-care system that leaves more behind with every passing day. Lamont's victory is evidence that a long-awaited wave of voter sentiment on those issues has materialized.

When Demons And Criminals Rule Our World

We are in hell.......

True Blue Liberal � When Demons And Criminals Rule Our World:

It's not too long ago that in his second inauguration, January 20, 2005, President Bush hypocritically preached that his administration would stand with all the freedom loving nations of the world, especially in the Middle East. In that speech, he also said, 'America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.'

Talk is cheap, and can be misleading. So, as I had feared in my earlier assessment, Bush delivered just the opposite of his promise. His administration did not want Dr. Ibrahim al-Jafri to become the Prime Minister, in spite of the fact that Jafri was the clear choice of the plurality of the Iraqi people. It did not matter what the Iraqi people, and its Shia majority in particular, had decided or wanted; once again it had to be someone that Washington wanted. Yet the same Nouri al-Maliki when he condemned Israel's criminal, brutal and murderous campaign in Lebanon, Washington and its Israeli 'Amen Corner' were irate that their 'good' Prime Minister did not quite sing the Master's voice.

So, when al-Maliki was to appear in the Capitol Hill, many senators and congressmen threatened not to show up during his speech unless he retracted his condemnation of Israel. What a travesty of democracy and naked demonstration of support for the pariah state!

Bush Now Admits to War Crimes!

Have we ever had a president who has just out and out admitted to being a war criminal before?

I can't remember one.

...and why isn't this on the front page of every newpaper in the land? (Oh, nevermind)

Daily Kos: Bush Now Admits to War Crimes!:

Following months and years of denial, Bush now all but admits that he and his subordinates have engaged in war crimes. America should impeach the bum now and, if he shows remorse, spare him imprisonment or worse for which he and his subordinates so rightfully deserve by statute.


A 'war crime' means any conduct: (read on at KOS)

Snow: Bush approved RED Alert YESTERDAY

Say What?

Daily Kos: Snow: Bush approved RED Alert YESTERDAY:

"Not sure if any of you caught the gaggle with Snow today but Keith Olbermann today discussed politicizing terror alerts. And mentioned that Snow slipped up today and told the press that Bush had known of this terror story since at least Sunday and approved 'Red Alert' yesterday.

Today's press gaggle:

Q But the President, himself, approved the red alert?

MR. SNOW: Correct. It was a recommendation by the Homeland Security Council, by Secretary Chertoff and others.
Q When did he approve it?

MR. SNOW: Yesterday. "

(Read On, it gets better^)

Daily Kos: State of the Nation

Nothing the Rethugs love more than terrorists

Daily Kos: State of the Nation:

'Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big,' said another White House official, who also spoke on condition of not being named, adding that some Democratic candidates won't 'look as appealing' under the circumstances.

Jim Webb Slams George Allen on Iraq, "War on Terror"

Yahooo!

Daily Kos: Jim Webb Slams George Allen on Iraq, "War on Terror":

From the Webb campaign...Jim Webb goes after George Allen for his 'blind support of the Bush Administration's failed strategy in Iraq.' (bolding added for emphasis)
'
The news of a terror plot uncovered and foiled in England today highlights the continuing need to stay committed and strong in our fight against global terrorism. This fight cannot be won by simple intimidation. America must continue to make funding and executing the war on terror a priority. British authorities should be commended for their excellent work in foiling this terrorist plot.

Disaffection with Congress may fail to bring real change - Financial Times - MSNBC.com

No shit, Sherlock!

The time is coming when the war won't be so far away!

Disaffection with Congress may fail to bring real change - Financial Times - MSNBC.com:

Tired but still preppy-looking Ned Lamont late on Tuesday shouted a familiar question to his supporters, who had gathered to celebrate the millionaire's dramatic victory over Joe Lieberman in the Democratic Senate primary in Connecticut. 'How many lobbyists are there in Washington for every member of Congress?' he yelled. 'Sixty-three,' came back the collective reply.

Mr Lamont's victory owed much to Connecticut Democrats' outrage over Mr Lieberman's unflinching support for President George W.?Bush's war in Iraq. But it also owed something to a broader distaste among Americans for politics as usual. Moral alarm over the backroom political culture of America's capital goes back much further even than James Stewart's 1930s film Mr Smith Goes to Washington. Like the popular Hollywood classic, anti-Washington

American politics are full of crap

Daily Kos: State of the Nation:

Every time the Democrats do anything Republicans run to reporters and say how wonderful this is and how it means the downfall of the Democratic party and blah blah blah. Hell, when Dick Cheney shot a man in the face they were claiming it'd be good for poll numbers. The press always believes it, and too often Democrats do too.

U.K. Terror Plot Foiled Just a Day after Lieberman's Defeat. Coincidence? | BuzzFlash

Why the hell should we believe anythng any of them say. They have lied out their arse for years, now!

U.K. Terror Plot Foiled Just a Day after Lieberman's Defeat. Coincidence? BuzzFlash:

The pattern continues. A terrorist plot is uncovered just as the masses start to question national security strategy. The day after Senate Democrats brought a vote to pull out of Iraq, we catch a few idiots in Miami who were supposedly trying to blow up the Sears Tower, despite the fact that they lacked the means and ability to do so. Then there were the guys busted for supposedly plotting to blow up a New York subway exactly a year after the London bus bombings. And don't forget the release of new Osama bin Laden tapes just before the 2004 election as well as the very day after the Supreme Court decision striking down the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals. And now today, a few men in England were arrested for a plan to blow up planes flying to America, just a day after Connecticut voters flatly rejected Joe Lieberman and the war in Iraq.

Voter Suppression in Missouri

This sucks big time!

There should be riots in te streets about this bullshit by Rethugs!

Voter Suppression in Missouri - New York Times:

Missouri is the latest front in the Republican Party's campaign to use photo ID requirements to suppress voting. The Republican legislators who pushed through Missouri's ID law earlier this year said they wanted to deter fraud, but that claim falls apart on close inspection. Missouri's new ID rules, and similar ones adopted last year in Indiana and Georgia, are intended to deter voting by blacks, poor eople and other groups that are less likely to have driver's licenses. Georgia's law has been blocked by the courts, and the others should be too.

Even before Missouri passed its new law, it had tougher ID requirements than many states. Voters were required, with limited exceptions, to bring ID with them to the polls, but university ID cards, bank statements mailed to a voter's address, and similar documents were acceptable. The new law requires a government-issued photo ID, which as many as 200,000 Missourians do not have.

British say plot involved 10 airliners - Yahoo! News

Can someone please explain to us why these terrorist operations seem to happen in American election years?

Just wondering.

British say plot involved 10 airliners - Yahoo! News:

LONDON - British authorities said Thursday they thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up 10 aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in carry-on luggage, averting what police described as 'mass murder on an unimaginable scale.'

Police arrested 24 people, saying they were confident they captured the main suspects in what U.S. officials said was a plot in its final phases that had all the earmarks of an al-Qaida operation. President Bush called it a 'stark reminder' of the continued threat to the United States from extremist Muslims.

Britain disclosed no details about the plot or those arrested, although one police official indicated the people in custody were British residents. A French official in contact with British authorities described the arrested as originating from predominantly Muslim Pakistan.

Officials raised security to its highest level in Britain, suggesting a terrorist attack might be imminent, and banned carry-on luggage on all flights. Huge crowds backed up at security barriers at London's Heathrow airport as officials searching for explosives barred nearly every form of liquid outside of baby formula.

Freeze-Out of the Arabists

Oh, fine, this is all we need. Why not just nuke ourselves and be done with it?

Freeze-Out of the Arabists:

Ronald Schlicher is a senior official in the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, an enclave for America's Arab specialists. He is the kind of Middle East expert who would presumably be in the vanguard of officials bound for Baghdad to run the US Embassy there. A twenty-two-year veteran with experience in places like Cairo and Jerusalem, including a six-month assignment in postwar Iraq, Schlicher was this year presented one of the most distinguished honors among foreign-service officers.

Schlicher was awarded the American Foreign Service Association's annual prize for producing the year's best 'dissent channel' cables--tightly written and cogently argued memos to Washington taking issue with particular aspects of US foreign policy. In effect, Schlicher was recognized for his constructive criticism of President Bush's policies in the Middle East, a region Schlicher, a fluent Arabic speaker, knows as well as anyone in government.

But Schlicher, now Iraq desk officer in Washington, is not boasting about his prize. In fact, like the State Department's other Arab hands, he's not even giving interviews. American diplomats, both active and retired, say he is outraged at the way America's most talented Arab experts were until recently blocked from playing any meaningful role in the administration of postwar Iraq.

Mercenary Jackpot

How can anybody be proud to be an American now?

Mercenary Jackpot:


While the Bush Administration calls for the immediate disbanding of what it has labeled 'private' and 'illegal' militias in Lebanon and Iraq, it is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into its own global private mercenary army tasked with protecting US officials and institutions overseas. The secretive program, which spans at least twenty-seven countries, has been an incredible jackpot for one heavily Republican-connected firm in particular: Blackwater USA. Government records recently obtained by The Nation reveal that the Bush Administration has paid Blackwater more than $320 million since June 2004 to provide 'diplomatic security' services globally. The massive contract is the largest known to have been awarded to Blackwater to date and reveals how the Administration has elevated a once-fledgling security firm into a major profiteer in the 'war on terror.'

Blackwater's highly lucrative 'diplomatic security' contract was officially awarded under the State Department's little-known Worldwide Personal Protective Service (WPPS) program, described in State Department documents as a government initiative to protect US officials as well as 'certain foreign government high level officials whenever the need arises.'

Justice Kennedy Warns: "Turning Point in History".

We see a bad moon rising!

Daily Kos: Justice Kennedy Warns: "Turning Point in History".:

In a keynote address at the American Bar Association's annual meeting in Hawaii, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy gave a muted warning to members assembled there:

'We are at another turning point in the history of the law,' Kennedy remarked. Discussing the importance of an independent judiciary, Kennedy added, 'I sense a slight foreboding, I sense that we are not making the case as well as we ought.'

Let the war criminals be held accountable!

Our country and the world depend on it.!

Amnesty International:

Proposed War Crimes Act Amendments Are Administration's Latest Attempt to Protect Failed War on Terror Policy Architects

WASHINGTON - August 9 - Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA's executive director, issued the following statement in response to news reports that the Bush administration has drafted amendments to the War Crimes Act that would essentially remove the possibility of prosecution for American nationals, including political appointees, CIA officers, contractors and former military personnel, accused of humiliating and degrading war detainees:

'This latest administration attempt to provide cover for those who created and implemented its failed war on terror policies that violated U.S. and international law is deplorable. Since the September 11 attacks, the administration has attempted to immunize its people from prosecution for breaching the Geneva Conventions and other laws through crafty legal interpretations. Now that the Supreme Court has affirmed the rule of law and the applicability of Common Article 3 of the Conventions,

President Bush is looking to limit the War Crimes Act through legislation. The administration should stop seeking escape valves for those who have committed crimes and instead use its energy to hold perpetrators accountable.'

Bring The War Home

Yes, it is past time to bring the war home, in the streets of every American capital and the U.S. capital.

Let the streets run red with American blood if necessary!

Bring The War Home:

During the Vietnam War, a favorite slogan of the antiwar movement was: Bring the War Home. It was, of course, a double entendre ; first, of course, it was a play on an earlier, more modest slogan ('Bring the boys home'). But it had a more threatening interpretation: that the Vietnam War had so divided the country that it was time to instigate a political war at home.

At this stage it might be too early to say so definitively, but it's clear that the Iraq War finally seems to be coming home, too. At the very least, the victory of Ned Lamont over Joe Lieberman puts the war in Iraq at the very front and center of political debate for the next 12 weeks, until the November elections, and beyond.

The defeat of Lieberman was not, of course, a surprise. It had been anticipated widely among political cognoscenti , who were reading the polls. One by one over the past several weeks, leading Democratic moderates began drifting, like embarrassed Johnny-come-latelies, into, or at least into the vicinity of, the anti-war camp. Perhaps the clearest indication of that process came when, without much fanfare, the entire Democratic congressional leadership inked their names to a letter to President Bush demanding that a 'redeployment' of U.S. forces out of Iraq begin immediately, that is, before the end of 2006. From the letter, which has not, by the way, been widely quoted in the mainstream media:

We believe that a phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq should begin before the end of 2006. U.S. forces in Iraq should transition to a more limited mission focused on counterterrorism, training and logistical support of Iraqi security forces, and force protection of U.S. personnel. ' Mr. President, simply staying the course in Iraq is not working. We need to take a new direction.

Cluster Attacks and International Law

War crimes, again!

Cluster Attacks and International Law:

As if the ruthless air attacks on Lebanese civilians weren't enough, Israel has been using illegal cluster munitions in populated areas of that country. Human Rights Watch researchers working on the ground in Lebanon confirmed that an attack with cluster weapons was carried out on the village of Blida on July 19, killing one and wounding at least 12 civilians, including seven children. According to Human Rights Watch, the use of such munitions in populated civilian areas may violate international humanitarian law.

What makes those munitions particularly lethal is that they consist of a container that breaks open in mid air and disperses smaller sub-munitions. Those weapons are designed to explode on impact, right before and immediately after impact, saturating an area with flying shards of steel. These sub-munitions generally have a higher explosive charge than anti-personnel land mines.

The failure rate for cluster weapons is between 5 percent and 30 percent. Failure to explode on impact doesn't mean they are harmless. On the contrary, they may explode with the slightest touch by a child or an innocent passerby. What makes them even more dangerous is that they become more unstable with each passing year, according to bomb-disposal experts working in Laos.

Human Rights Watch said it has not found any evidence that Hezbollah is using cluster munitions.

Love the Other as Yourself

It is the commandment of The Christ, and it is a wonderful dream, but at the moment, it is only a dream.

Anger and hatred poison in the entire planet.

Love the Other as Yourself:

Thank heavens for Mel Gibson. How could we have a conversation about an important social issue in this country without a celebrity?

As everyone who doesn't live on Mars knows by now, a couple of weeks ago, in a drunken rage, Gibson spewed anti-Semitic venom on some Malibu police officers who were arresting him for driving under the influence of alcohol.

He later 1) apologized to the police officers without mentioning his anti-Semitic remarks; 2) then apologized to Jews everywhere for his anti-Semitic remarks; 3) then promised to make amends for his anti-Semitic remarks; and 4) checked himself into rehab. The only question now is whether he will go on Letterman or Leno when he comes out.

During a time when Israeli troops were hammering Lebanese civilians and Hezbollah fighters, when American generals finally used the words 'civil war' and 'Iraq' in the same sentence, and when Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman lost his Democratic political life as payback for supporting George Bush's war-mongering policies, why should it matter what Gibson thinks about anything?

Because of what his remarks revealed about him: his deep-seated belief in The Other.

For Gibson, The Other is the Jews. 'The Jews started every war in the world,' is his now-famous quote. (I don't think Hitler annexed Poland just to get at its Jews, though, Mel. The Poles would have gladly handed them all over and kept their country.)

Rise of the 'Netroots': Lieberman Upset Hints at Impact of Online Activists

Yes, the netroots have had an impact, but only because others agree with what we say, not because we have some sort of magical power over voters.

Ours is a grass/netroots movement for truth and the re-establishment of Democracy in this country.

Rise of the 'Netroots': Lieberman Upset Hints at Impact of Online Activists:

Ned Lamont's upset victory over incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman in Connecticut's Democratic primary Tuesday is an electoral lesson about the power -- and potential liabilities -- of bloggers and online organizers, a growing liberal political force collectively known as the 'netroots.'

Ned Lamont, addressing supporters in Meriden, Conn., says he will push for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Reuters photo by Mike Segar

From the initial support of Lamont by influential bloggers like Markos Moulitsas of the Daily Kos to the cash and volunteers supplied by the online progressive hub MoveOn.org to the 11th-hour accusations on Tuesday that vandals had hacked into Lieberman's campaign Web site, the netroots have been a driving force in the campaign.
The netroots pushed voters to challenge Lieberman's support for the Iraq war and raised the national profile of Lamont, a previously unknown candidate.

While some observers say the election's outcome should be seen as a milestone for how the new media is reshaping politics, few suggest that online liberal activists were entirely responsible for Lamont's victory. Rather, the netroots amplified the political debate already rumbling in liberal Connecticut: Lieberman was a vulnerable incumbent with ties to an unpopular war in Iraq and to President Bush; Lamont is a multimillionaire cable television executive with an anti-war stance and next to no political record other than serving on local boards.

Nagasaki Warns against Nuclear Arms on A-bomb Anniversary

The people of Nagasaki are frustrated and furious. (So are we, our friends.) as nuclear non-proliferation collapses.

This is insanity, pure and simple!

Perhaps the human race does not deserve to survive. It is too hateful, stupid and barbaric.

Nagasaki Warns against Nuclear Arms on A-bomb Anniversary:

The Japanese city of Nagasaki has mourned the 61st anniversary of the world's second and last nuclear attack, with its mayor voicing anger that non-proliferation efforts were 'collapsing'.

UN Asked to Investigate Massacre of 17 Aid Workers

UN Asked to Investigate Massacre of 17 Aid Workers:

UNITED NATIONS - A prominent international humanitarian organization is calling for the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate the killings of a group of aid workers in Sri Lanka.

Last Friday, 17 humanitarian workers, four of them women, were killed in the northeastern Sri Lankan town of Muttur, where government forces are engaged in heavy battle with the rebel Tamil Tigers.

The deceased workers were associated with the Paris-based international organization Action Against Hunger (ACF), which has been operating in the strife-torn country for the past 27 years.

They were found dead, lying face-down in their office compound, according to local aid activists. All of them--sanitation experts, engineers, agronomists, and project managers--were involved in post-tsunami relief and could not be evacuated due to the fighting.

Since both the Sri Lankan army and Tamil fighters have denied involvement in the incident and have laid the blame on each other, the group's officials say they have no option but to turn to the UN for help.
'
It's baffling to us. We don't understand why it happened,' Cathy Skoula, the group's top official in New York, told OneWorld.

Skoula said the aid workers employed by her organization had no tensions, whatsoever, with either side involved in the armed conflict in Sri Lanka.

'We are transparent,' she added. 'We don't hide anything.'

Antiwar Challengers Across US Get a Vote of Confidence

It's about time!

Those who do not listen to the people are in danger, period.


Antiwar Challengers Across US Get a Vote of Confidence:

"WASHINGTON -- In October 2002, lawmakers in Congress were presented with a preelection test about where they stood on Iraq, and most answered it by siding with President Bush, voting to authorize his use of force against Saddam Hussein and promising an anxious electorate that they would be protected against a potential threat from Iraq.

Joe's fall from grace

Translation: Lieberman is a Schmuck.

Joe's fall from grace Salon:

Joe Lieberman's fall from grace appears straightforward. In Connecticut, where George W. Bush and his war are intensely disliked, Lieberman stationed himself as the president's defender. But Lieberman's precipitous descent from nomination as vice president to rejection by his home state partisans is also something of a mystery.

Lieberman was once the most attractive and promising Democrat in his state, his grasp of political realities subtle and sinuous. But he became scornful of disagreement, parading himself as a moral paragon to whom voters should be privileged to pay deference. The elevation of his sanctimony was accompanied by the loss of his political sense.

Did US want Israel to attack Syria?

Dumb question. Ofcourse they did.

We, the people, should declare war on these SOBs

Did US want Israel to attack Syria? csmonitor.com:

The White House, and in particular White House advisors who belong to the neoconservative movement, allegedly encouraged Israel to attack Syria as an expansion of its action against Hizbullah, in Lebanon. The progressive opinion and news site ConsortiumNews.com reported Monday that Israeli sources say Israel's 'leadership balked at the scheme.'

One Israeli source said [US President George] Bush's interest in spreading the war to Syria was considered 'nuts' by some senior Israeli officials, although Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has generally shared Bush's hard-line strategy against Islamic militants.

After rebuffing Bush's suggestion about attacking Syria, the Israeli government settled on a strategy of mounting a major assault in southern Lebanon aimed at rooting out Hizbullah guerrillas who have been firing Katyusha rockets into northern Israel.

In a July 30 story about Israel being prepared for a possible attack by Syria in response to its attacks in Lebanon, The Jerusalem Post noted the White House interest.

The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] was also concerned about a possible Syrian attack in response to the ongoing IDF operations in Lebanon. It was also known that Syria had increased its alert out of fear in Damascus that Israel might attack.

Defense officials told the Post last week that they were receiving indications from the US that America would be interested in seeing Israel attack Syria.

Rice's Hurdles on Middle East Begin at Home

NeoCons ride herd on Condi, for Cheney.

Rice�s Hurdles on Middle East Begin at Home - New York Times:

On her recent trips to the Middle East, Ms. Rice was accompanied by two men with very different outlooks on the conflict: Elliott Abrams, senior director at the National Security Council, and C. David Welch, a career diplomat and former ambassador to Egypt who is assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs.

Mr. Welch represents the traditional State Department view that the United States should serve as a neutral broker in the Middle East. Mr. Abrams, a neoconservative with strong ties to Mr. Cheney, has pushed the administration to throw its support behind Israel. During Ms. Rice's travels, he kept in direct contact with Mr. Cheney's office.

One administration official described how during the trip, including a July 29 discussion in Ms. Rice's Rabin suite at the David Citadel Hotel, with its panoramic view of Jerusalem's Old City, Mr. Welch and Mr. Abrams served as counterfoils, with Mr. Welch arguing the Arab view and Mr. Abrams articulating the Israeli stance.

Ms. Rice selected Mr. Abrams for the National Security Council staff in 2002 when she was national security adviser. His return to government service was unexpected. After President George H. W. Bush pardoned Mr. Abrams in 1992 for his role in the Iran-Contra affair during the 1980s, Mr. Abrams said he would never work as policy maker again.

Cheney: Nutmeggers egg on Al Qaeda

Cheney just gets more insane by the day. Could we please have a battery of psychological tests done?

Even the Intelligence community knows that Al Qaeda prefers the dumbasses in the Bush administration!

New York Daily News - Politics - Cheney: Nutmeggers egg on Al Qaeda:

WASHINGTON - Sen. Joe Lieberman's loss to an anti-war upstart will only encourage Al Qaeda and other enemies of the U.S., Vice President Cheney said yesterday.
'
The thing that's partly disturbing about it is the fact that, [from] the standpoint of our adversaries, if you will, in this conflict, and the Al Qaeda types, they clearly are betting on the proposition that ultimately they can break the will of the American people,' Cheney said.

White House spokesman Tony Snow echoed him, saying that giving in to the anti-war left and leaving Iraq means waving 'a white flag in the war on terror.'

President Bush's political guru Karl Rove reportedly called Lieberman about his loss, but Snow said the President wasn't offering help in a Democratic contest that GOP campaigners are licking their chops over.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee capitalized yesterday by firing off releases demanding to know whether a slew of Democratic candidates would back 'fringe candidate Ned Lamont or the 2000 VP nominee, Joe Lieberman?'

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid countered, saying, 'Americans aren't buying the same old, tired, Republican line that being strong on national security means being wrong on Iraq.'

Bush Would Lose to Gore and Kerry Today: Angus Reid Consultants

But he already lost to both of them!

Bush Would Lose to Gore and Kerry Today: Angus Reid Consultants:

Adults in the United States would vote differently in a rerun of the last two presidential elections, according to a poll by Scripps Howard News Service released by Ohio University. 46 per cent of respondents would support Democrat John Kerry in a repeat of the 2004 ballot, while 40 per cent would vote for Republican George W. Bush.

The survey asked Americans to ponder their options in every U.S. presidential election held since 1964. Democrat Al Gore would receive the support of 46 per cent of respondents in the 2000 rerun, while Bush would finish second with 38 per cent.

Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan remain extremely popular. The Democrat would receive 52 per cent and 56 per cent of the vote in the 1992 and 1996 races, while the Republican would win with 56 per cent and 64 per cent in the 1980 and 1984 presidential contests.

Democrat Jimmy Carter maintains a 17-point edge over Republican Gerald Ford in the 1976 race, while Republican George H. Bush keeps a 20-point lead over Democrat Michael Dukakis in the 1988 contest. Democrat Lyndon Johnson reaches 50 per cent in a rerun of the 1964 election.
Republican Richard Nixon barely defeats Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey in the 1968 race, and trails rival George McGovern in the 1972 contest.

Exclusive Survey: Brown Leads Incumbent DeWine

Please, Please, Ohioans!

Get Dewine out of there!

Exclusive Survey: Brown Leads Incumbent DeWine:

A SurveyUSA poll taken this weekend shows Democrat Sherrod Brown defeating incumbent Republican Mike DeWine in the race for one of Ohio's Senatorial seats.
Brown, who represents Ohio's 13th District in Congress, unseats DeWine, 49% to 41% in a vote today, statistically unchanged from an identical SurveyUSA poll released two months ago.

Though there is volatility among age groups - Brown is up among the youngest voters, down among middle-aged voters - the overall outcome is unchanged.

The two candidates are tied among male voters.

Brown's overall 8-point advantage comes entirely from his 15-point lead among female voters.

Counterintelligence Officials Resign

Can Washington GET any more corrupt?

Seems we need to forget the rest of the world, and clean up our own house.

Growing up in the South, I've seen a lot of political corruption in my life, but never anything this bad or all pervasive.

I am afraid my country has lost all sense of decency.

Counterintelligence Officials Resign:

David A. Burtt II, director of the Counterintelligence Field Activity, the Defense Department's newest intelligence agency whose contracts based on congressional earmarks are under investigation by the Pentagon and federal prosecutors, told his staff yesterday that he and his deputy director will resign at the end of the month.

In an internal message, Burtt said, 'I do not make this decision without trepidation, but the time is right to move on to the next phase of my career.' He said he had been privileged to serve as CIFA director and was 'especially proud of all of you and what you have accomplished for the CI counterintelligence] community and for the overall CI mission.'

Israel: Ceasefire plan halts new push

Well, this is a waste of time, but if it prevents another loss of innocent life, we are all for it.

We have the feeling it is just a PR move.

New York Daily News - World & National Report - Ceasefire plan halts new push:

JERUSALEM - Israel has decided to hold off on plans for a massive new ground offensive into southern Lebanon to give diplomats working on a ceasefire agreement more time, an Israeli cabinet minister and senior officials said today.
Israel's security cabinet approved an expanded ground offensive in Lebanon yesterday, a decision that came on the deadliest day of the war for Israeli troops in Lebanon, with 15 soldiers killed.

But Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided to put the campaign on hold for two or three days to see whether diplomatic efforts will produce results, a senior Israeli official said this morning on condition of anonymity.

Top Democrats drop support of Lieberman - Yahoo! News

61% in poll say Lieberman should not run as an independent.

But does that matter to the egotistical Soreloserman? Hell no.

Any Democrat who votes for Lieberman in November is a fool. He will get Republican support, that's for sure.

Top Democrats drop support of Lieberman - Yahoo! News:

Even so, top Senate Democrats, including John Kerry and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Harry Reid of Nevada, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Chuck Schumer of New York, said they supported Lamont as the duly elected choice of Connecticut's Democratic voters.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton stopped short of calling on Lieberman to quit the race but urged the senator to 'search his conscience and decide what is best for Connecticut and for the Democratic Party.'

Lieberman said he was not bothered by losing the support of his colleagues, noting he lost the primary even with their backing. 'In the end, the people make up their own minds, and this is going to be a people's campaign,' he said.

The defeat put Lieberman in the familiar role of a go-it-alone politician. He was the first prominent Democrat to openly criticize President Clinton's conduct with Monica Lewinsky. His support for the Iraq war and his defense of President Bush also have made him unpopular with members of his own party and gave Lamont a powerful platform on which to run.

War claims have left credibility at near-zero

This administration contains the most pathological liars ever to be gathered in one organization, except, maybe, Enron.

Young: War claims have left credibility at near-zero:

WACO, Texas - Two astounding poll figures are out, seemingly conveying completely opposite conditions about a lot of Americans.

The first appears to show that astounding numbers of Americans are exceedingly gullible. Another shows that stunning numbers are exceedingly skeptical.

The first: Fully half of Americans in a July Harris Poll believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when our troops invaded. This though the U.S. occupation has turned up only scattered chemical shells that the Pentagon itself called so old as to be worthless.

The second sampling of public opinion is even more amazing, and maybe more telling:

More than a third, 36 percent, of those asked in a Scripps-Howard poll said it is probable that the 9/11 attacks either were a government 'inside job' or that the government purposefully did nothing to prevent them.

Thirty-six percent. You talk about a core of distrust for what our government is saying and doing. And that distrust grows by the day.

It goes along with the belief of many, backed by increasing anecdotal evidence, that ultimately the invasion of Iraq had nothing to do with WMD or 9/11 but was all about 'regime change' based on whatever pretext would fly.

It goes also with the growing evidence now that events are spiraling out of control in Iraq and into civil war.

Tears of Frustration in Brittish Airports

This will probably keep happening now that Blar and Bush have made such a horrible nightmare of things.

BellSouth - NEWS:

"LONDON (AP) - Passengers shed tears of frustration and worried aloud about flight safety while waiting in long, chaotic lines at Britain's airports Thursday, after the announcement of an alleged terrorist plot brought air travel to a halt.

At Heathrow, Britain's busiest airport, check-in lines stretched out the door, armed police patrolled the terminals and staff struggled to keep up with a flood of questions from travelers at the height of the summer travel season.

Some passengers stood for hours in slow-moving lines, while others gave up and sat, surrounded by piles of luggage.

Kendra Webb, an 18-year-old student from San Francisco, cried as she spoke on the phone to relatives back home.
'This is hell,' she said. 'I hate this airport. I just want a cigarette right now.'

Rice cancels U.N. visit as issues grow over Mideast cease-fire plans

Translation: Bush, Cheney and the NeoCons are still hoping that Syria and Iran can be drawn into this mess, because they don't have any better sense.

KRT Wire 08/09/2006 Rice cancels U.N. visit as issues grow over Mideast cease-fire plans:

WASHINGTON - Nine days after suggesting that a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at quelling Mideast fighting was close at hand, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice canceled a trip to the U.N. on Wednesday as significant differences remained between Washington and its allies over how to achieve a cease-fire.

The key sticking point, especially between the U.S. and France, centers on the details of an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, an issue that did not appear close to resolution Wednesday as Israeli officials approved a plan to expand their ground offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas. While Bush administration officials declined to comment publicly on whether the Israeli expansion would help or hinder diplomatic efforts, a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, called it a 'clear message' aimed at pressing the U.N. into quick action.

Although U.S. officials have generally avoided discussing the details of their negotiations, Rice said on July 31 that the ground was prepared for an 'urgent and comprehensive' resolution to be passed by the end of last week. Then Sunday, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said that U.S. officials hoped for a vote by Tuesday morning.

Why We Don't Know Our Enemy

Because we are looking outward when the enemy is much closer to home? That would be my bet

AlterNet: Why We Don't Know Our Enemy:

Hysteria over the barbarians at the gate has destroyed republics from Rome to Germany. Will President Bush's post-Sept. 11 America meet a similar fate?

In the name of stopping the new bogeyman of international terrorism, our government has claimed an unfettered right to torture foreigners, eavesdrop on citizens and reorder the world with our military might. It is a policy that depends for its domestic political success on the specter of an enemy whose power and purpose must never be subject to logical and factual inquiry, lest it lose its power to alarm.

Five years ago, a moribund Bush administration seized upon the national fear and revulsion over the Sept. 11 attack to tighten its grip on power. Quickly diverting the nation into a disastrous foreign military adventure in Iraq, which had nothing to do with fighting terrorism, the Republicans happily shed painstakingly established domestic civil liberties and mocked the ideal of representative democracy by lying to the American public. A July 21 Harris Poll revealed that fully half the public still buys the carefully constructed Bush falsehood that Saddam Hussein had usable weapons of mass destruction.

Is Lebanon the Trigger for U.S. War With Iran?

We can only hope that someone with some sense can prevail upon Junior not to do this. Of course that would take a miracle of Biblical proportions.

Maybe if Poppy would tell him to do it, he won't.

AlterNet: Is Lebanon the Trigger for U.S. War With Iran?:

Connect the dots, and it's clear that Cheney and the neocons are desperate to start a war with Iran.

Top Democrats throw support to Lamont - Politics - MSNBC.com

Seems like the DC Dems just might be getting the message.

Getting hit over the head with a 2x4 often does that.

Top Democrats throw support to Lamont - Politics - MSNBC.com:

WASHINGTON - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., threw their support behind Connecticut upset winner Ned Lamont this morning.

Both senators issued a joint statement this morning on the Connecticut Senate race, saying, in part, 'The Democratic voters of Connecticut have spoken and chosen Ned Lamont as their nominee. Both we and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) fully support Mr. Lamont's candidacy. Congratulations to Ned on his victory and on a race well run.'

They laid the blame for incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman's loss on his connection to President George W. Bush, saying, 'Joe Lieberman has been an effective Democratic Senator for Connecticut and for America. But the perception was that he was too close to George Bush and this election was, in many respects, a referendum on the President more than anything else. The results bode well for Democratic victories in November and our efforts to take the country in a new direction.'

Lieberman loses despite late anti-Bush strategy

It's not just about the war or Bush, Lieberman just isn't all that good, period, and he has certainly shown his very ugly true colors these last few weeks.

WorkingForChange-Lieberman loses despite late anti-Bush strategy:

WASHINGTON -- It is a sign of the deep anger in the American body politic that a popular 18-year Senate veteran would lose a Democratic primary because he was seen as being too close to a Republican president and his unpopular war policies.

The victory of anti-war businessman Ned Lamont over Sen. Joe Lieberman on Tuesday says much about the low esteem in which President Bush is now held. But so does the way in which the incumbent almost managed to survive: Lieberman nearly closed the gap once he realized, too late, that he, too, had to run against Bush.

Republican supporters of Bush and the Iraq War were claiming even before the primary that a Lamont victory would signal a dovish takeover of the Democratic Party by activists organized by anti-Bush bloggers and show that there is no room left in Democratic ranks for moderates.

The most over-the-top version of this argument came from William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard. 'What drives so many Democrats crazy about Lieberman is not simply his support for the Iraq War,' Kristol wrote. 'It's that he's unashamedly pro-American.'

This charge of extremism enrages Democrats, including many who supported Lieberman in the primary. It's absurd to attribute Lamont's victory primarily to bloggers who were his prime supporters three months ago, when he registered less than 20 percent in the polls. Something happened in Connecticut that went well beyond the blogosphere.

The Anti-Bush Movement

It's not just anti-Bush. It is also anti-NeoCon.

The Neocons are going to destroy this country and Israel if we allow them to. It is time to get them out of government and off the planet if possible.

When is that trip to Mars scheduled?

The Anti-Bush Movement:

Political fledgling Ned Lamont's unlikely triumph over President Bush's favorite Democrat in the Connecticut Senate primary lends itself to all sorts of fascinating interpretations -- and one is that it could mark the emergence of an anti-Bush voting bloc.

Lamont's out-of-nowhere victory, fueled by his depiction of incumbent Joseph Lieberman as a presidential patsy, suggests a political awakening of that sizeable group of Americans who intensely disapprove of Bush, his war in Iraq, and pretty much anything else he touches.

So What's Our Role in Iraq's Civil War?

Well, now, this could get very interesting.

So What's Our Role in Iraq's Civil War?:

Of all the signs that the American people are fed up with the war in Iraq, the one that the administration should fear most was put forth last week by a longtime supporter of both the president and the war, Virginia Republican John Warner.

While chairing a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Warner suggested that the president might need a new congressional resolution authorizing our presence in Iraq, since the conflict there has become (or, best case, may yet become) a civil war.

Clinton lashes out at big oil in speech here

Is Hill beginning to get it, just a little?

Clinton lashes out at big oil in speech here:

In a fiery speech to union members in Chicago, Democratic U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York on Tuesday lit into the oil company that had to temporarily shut down a corroded Alaskan pipeline, arguing the firm should be held responsible for fixing it.

'BP should use some of the billions of dollars in excess, windfall profits to fix that pipeline without passing on the cost to the rest of us,' Clinton said to thunderous applause. 'I am tired of cleaning up the messes of oil companies that are making more money than they know what to do with.'

The pundits' platitudes do nothing to solve this crisis

If the Brits think it's bad over there, they should get a load of what we have to endure on a nighty basis.

Everybody, 1- 2 - 3 ...The Press and news media Suck!

Guardian Unlimited Guardian daily comment The pundits' platitudes do nothing to solve this crisis:

If the first casualty of war is truth, the second is comment. While soldiers fight, diplomats struggle and civilians die, the commentariat is having a poor Middle East conflict. 'Solutionists' dribble out their six-point plans for peace and interventionists behave as if all the world were fools and only they wise. I almost prefer the propagandists.

The format is familiar. It starts with an eye-catching list of atrocities attributed equally to the Israelis and Hizbullah, followed by nuanced sympathy for each in turn. Having thus established his impartiality, the writer continues with a dollop of historical bromide in which the west is to blame, as prelude to a 'proposal' as pat as it is implausible. Last comes a thunderous demand that all show various abstract qualities 'if peace is to return' - and the west's moral supremacy made evident.

Bush: Favorability: 32%

Who the hell are these people and why aren;'t they in a Home somewhere?

Bush: Favorability: For poll numbers

"CBS News/New York Times Poll. July 21-25, 2006. N=1,127 adults nationwide. MoE � 3 (for all adults). RV = registered voters
.
'Is your opinion of George W. Bush favorable, not favorable, undecided, or haven't you heard enough about George W. Bush yet to have an opinion?'

What's worse, who are the idiots who have not heard enough to make a decision? Where do they live? Under a freakin' rock?

Conservative Christian Evangelicals take friendly fire from Ken Connor

Sounds like a guy with some sense, but we shall reserve judgement.

This could be a trap, given what these people are capable of, in the name of JeeeZus.

Conservative Christian Evangelicals take friendly fire from Ken Connor:

In a series of columns in Ideas in Action, Connor, the former head of the Family Research Council, lambastes Tom DeLay, GOP opportunism and the Christian Coalition, and suggests engaging in civil debate with an emerging 'Christian left'

In early April, Ken Connor expressed his dismay that the scandal-ridden former Congressman Tom DeLay had been rapturously received by the crowd at the late-March 'War on Christians and the Values Voters in 2006' conference. In a column, he observed that 'the willingness of far too many Christian conservatives to cast a deaf ear and a blind eye' to DeLay's misdeeds was extremely disheartening.

In another column, Connor criticized the Christian Coalition of Alabama for its 'series of scathing attack ads' that were an 'inaccurate and unfair attack on trial lawyers.' And in another, he suggested that liberal religious leaders shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, and should be engaged in a sincere and civil debate. In yet another column, he maintained that it would be mistaken if 'some conservatives ...dismiss Al Gore's arguments [about Global warming] simply because he is Al Gore.'

French changes to resolution rankle U.S. - Yahoo! News

Oh hell, if the French breathe, it rankles the Bushites...but not the U.S.....there is a huge difference.!

French changes to resolution rankle U.S. - Yahoo! News:

UNITED NATIONS - The United States and France appeared at odds Wednesday over Arab demands to change a U.N. resolution they are co-sponsoring to call for a complete halt in Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities and withdrawal of Israeli forces, diplomats said.

ABA urges halt to `signing statements' - The Boston Globe

If Bush hated lawyers before, he will probably have them all gassed now.

ABA urges halt to `signing statements' - The Boston Globe:

"WASHINGTON -- The American Bar Association's House of Delegates voted yesterday to call on President Bush and future presidents not to issue ``signing statements' that claim the power to bypass laws, and it urged Congress to pass legislation to help courts put a stop to the growing practice.

Bush's axis of failure Sidney Blumenthal - openDemocracy

How can we rid ourselves of the bungling egg-heads?

Bush's axis of failure Sidney Blumenthal - openDemocracy:

The neo-conservative dogma that has ruined Iraq is now being applied to the Lebanon war. The result could be a regional conflagration with untold consequences, writes Sidney Blumenthal.

W.House: Democrats' extreme left defeated Lieberman�|�Politics News�|�Reuters.com

Are these jokers insane, or do they simply lack math skills? 60% of Americans agree with Lamont, not Lieberman and BushCo on the war in Iraq.

Tony Snow is a liar! Why doesn't someone call him on it. This isn't spin, it is an outright lie!

W.House: Democrats' extreme left defeated Lieberman��Politics News��Reuters.com:

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - The White House accused the Democratic Party on Wednesday of catering to the extreme left after Connecticut voters defeated Sen. Joe Lieberman in a primary election over his support of the Iraq war.

Foreshadowing a debate likely to play itself out in November congressional elections, White House spokesman Tony Snow called the election a defining moment for the Democratic Party.
'
I know a lot of people have tried to make this a referendum on the president. I would flip it. I think instead it's a defining moment for the Democratic Party whose national leaders now have made it clear that if you disagree with the extreme left in their party, they're going to come after you,' he said.

The former vice presidential candidate lost Tuesday's vote, in which Democrats chose a U.S. Senate candidate for the November election, to Ned Lamont, who had accused Lieberman of being too close to President George W. Bush.

Tony Snow: A Vote For Lamont Is A Vote For Another 9/11

Someone ought to whip the hell out of Tony Snow.

It isn't dealing with terrorists that we don't take seriously, it is you and your bosses, Tony, that no one in their right mind takes seriously, including Osama bin Laden, who is freer than we are.

Oh, and by the way, whose watch was it, when the events of 9/11 unfolded?

Think Progress � Tony Snow: A Vote For Lamont Is A Vote For Another 9/11:

At a press briefing moments ago, Tony Snow claimed that last night's Connecticut Senate primary gave voters the chance to answer the question, 'Do you take the war on terror seriously?' Snow said that Connecticut voters who backed Ned Lamont (and the 57 percent of Americans who support his position on Iraq) were choosing to 'ignore the difficulties and walk away.' That is the same approach, he said, that led Osama bin Laden to the conclusion 'that Americans were weak and wouldn't stay the course and that led to September 11th'

For All The Party Honchos Who Endorsed Lieberman...

Amen, say it again!

Hoffmania!: For All The Party Honchos Who Endorsed Lieberman...:

To President Clinton, Senator Biden, Senator Salazar, Senator Schumer, Senator Reid, and yes - even you, Senator Boxer:

You gave Joseph Lieberman your support leading up to the primary.

You cited his record as a Democrat and rewarded his tenure with your blessing.

You stood behind your colleague in a time when he really needed it.

Tonight, Joe Lieberman turned around kicked all of you right in the nuts.

He turned his back on your party. He took your trust and threw it right in the face of Ned Lamont. He's taking the money he made on your names and will use it against the Democratic Party.

You hitched your wagons to a turncoat. If Ned Lamont forgives you, please stand that act alongside the actions of Joe Lieberman tonight.

You might also think about condemning this ingrate as soon as possible. You owe it to us and to Ned Lamont, your party's candidate for United States Senator for Connecticut.

Daily Kos: Why Lieberman Website Crashed

Soreloseman owes Lamont and bloggers an apology.

We won't hold our collective breath.

Truthdig - Ear to the Ground - Daily Kos: Why Lieberman Website Crashed:

Aides to Sen. Joe Lieberman accused Ned Lamont's campaign Tuesday morning, with no evidence, of attacking and bringing down Lieberman's website. But Markos (of Daily Kos) seems to have found the real culprit: Lieberman's $15-a-month web hosting company went down, along with all its clients. (Thanks to reader 'publius' for the link.)

Kos: 'If you're paying $15 because your $12 million campaign is too freakin' cheap to pay for quality hosting, then don't go blaming your opponent when your shitty service goes out.'

US plans to challenge Shi'ite cleric Sadr and his militia - The Boston Globe

Yeah, like this is going to work.

It will more than likely light up the middle east like a forest fire.

US plans to challenge Shi'ite cleric Sadr and his militia - The Boston Globe:

WASHINGTON -- Moqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shi'ite Muslim preacher who has steadfastly fought against American forces in Iraq, has emerged as one of the most powerful leaders in the country, holding the key to ending the tit-for-tat sectarian violence that threatens to drag Iraq into civil war, US officials say.

Activists: Advisory proves Blackwell suppressing vote

Blackwell is trailing in the polls by huge double digits. He is going to have to cheat much more than he did for Bush/Cheney to win his race for Gov.

Activists: Advisory proves Blackwell suppressing vote:

Columbus -- Voting-rights activists on Thursday produced what they said is the most compelling evidence to date that Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell is trying to suppress the vote in November.

In an advisory that contradicts a provision in the voter-reform bill legislators passed last year, Blackwell's office informed county boards of election on June 5 that voters must present a photo ID 'showing the voter's name and current address' to cast a regular ballot.

That conflicts with the new law, which permits a person to vote by regular ballot even if the ID -- typically a driver's license -- has the voter's former address.

After ignoring the activists groups' entreaties since early June -- even after they threatened to go public -- Blackwell's office sent an e-mail to all 88 county elections boards Thursday. It reiterated instructions the office sent in May that voters who present an ID with a former address may cast a regular ballot if they provide the last four digits from their ID card.
'It's not satisfactory,' said Suzanne Gravette, spokeswoman for the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, or COHHIO. 'It's not a directive and it's not working,' she added, citing a COHHIO survey that showed mass confusion among county elections officials.

U.S. directs criticism at Israel

Yeah, right.

Bush has unleashed hell in the middle east and, now, he thinks he can contain it?

I seriously doubt he even wants to control it.

U.S. directs criticism at Israel - Yahoo! News:

CRAWFORD, Texas - The White House said Wednesday neither Israel nor Hezbollah should escalate their month-old war, as Israel decided to widen its ground invasion in southern Lebanon.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said the U.S. message was for both sides, though his remarks came after Israel's Security Cabinet voted to expand the war effort in an attempt to deal further blows to Hezbollah.

'We are working hard now to bridge differences between the United States position and some of the positions of our allies,' Snow told reporters in Texas, where President Bush was vacationing. 'We want an end to violence and we do not want escalations.'

Lieberman Concedes; Predicts Win As Indy In November

Jomo, disgraceful in defeat, cares not a whit for Democracy, nor the Democratic Party, announces he will run as and independent.

He has gotten a message from Karl Rove saying that the Rethuigs will support his independent run for the senate.

Dems of CT unite and throw the bum out!

Hotline On Call: Lieberman Concedes; Predicts Win As Indy In November:

Thank you dear friends for standing by me in this difficult race.'

'Your support has sustained my family and me and made this a much closer race than all the pundits were predicting.'
'I called Ned Lamont and congratulated him on his success today.'

We've just finished the first half and the Lamont Team is ahead. In the second half, our team, Team Connecticut, is going to surge forward in November.'

'The old politics of polarization won today. For the sake of our state, my country and my party, I cannot and will not let those results stands today.'

'I will continue to offer Connecticut a different path forward.'

'People are fed up with the petty partisanship and angry bickering in Washington. It is continually blocking progress on major problems and wasting America's greatness.'

'I'll never hesitate to work with members of the other party if it helps to acheive solutions to build better life for people of Connecticut. I will always do what I believe is right for my state and country regardless of what the political consequences may be.'

Tomorrow is a brand new day. [I'll run a] new campaign to unite people of Connecticut, GOP, Democrat and independent, and move forward together and solve our most serious problems together.'

Poll: 60 percent of Americans oppose Iraq war - Aug 9, 2006

That is about the same percentage of people who opposed the war before the Bushites began painting terrifying pictures of mushroom clouds over American cities.

I would say, we are back where we stared from, but alas, that would not be true. Hundreds of thousands are now dead and Iraq lies in ruins, not to mention Lebanon.

CNN.com - Poll: 60 percent of Americans oppose Iraq war - Aug 9, 2006:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sixty percent of Americans oppose the U.S. war in Iraq, the highest number since polling on the subject began with the commencement of the war in March 2003, according to poll results and trends released Wednesday.

And a majority of poll respondents said they would support the withdrawal of at least some U.S. troops by the end of the year, according to results from the Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted last week on behalf of CNN. The corporation polled 1,047 adult Americans by telephone.

According to trends, the number of poll respondents who said they did not support the Iraq war has steadily risen as the war stretched into a second and then a third year. In the most recent poll, 36 percent said they were in favor of the war -- half of the peak of 72 percent who said they were in favor of the war as it began.

Sixty-one percent, however, said they believed at least some U.S. troops should be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year. Of those, 26 percent said they would favor the withdrawal of all troops, while 35 percent said not all troops should be withdrawn. Another 34 percent said they believed the current level of troops in Iraq should be maintained.

San Francisco Puts Impeachment on November Ballot

Hot damn, summer in the city!

Go, San Fransiscans!

San Francisco Puts Impeachment on November Ballot:

With Help From Constitution Summer, San Francisco Approves Ballot Initiative to Call for Impeachment Announcement Comes on Anniversary of Nixon Resignation

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Four City San Francisco Supervisors have put their pens to a document that will allow the city's 421,000 registered voters an up or down vote on the merits of impeaching both President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney this November 7th. The San Francisco Impeachment Ballot Initiative, like the Berkeley Impeachment Ballot Initiative approved on June 27th, 2006, was drafted in close coordination with Constitution Summer, a nonpartisan, national coalition of students at the nation's law schools and universities. Champaign-Urbana, Illinois quietly approved the first municipal presidential impeachment initiative in American history on April 11th, 2006.

Bloggers Battle Website Issue

Since Liebermans's server is in Texas, we think Rove's demons did it.

Investigate the hell out of it!

courant.com Bloggers Battle Website Issue:

Many of the bloggers who were the foot soldiers in Ned Lamont's upstart campaign to unseat Sen. Joseph Lieberman were up early Tuesday morning, the fire of an electoral rebellion burning in their bellies.

Their early posts were impassioned pleas to get out the vote, or personal accounts of what it was like to pull a lever for their man Lamont."

Law may complicate plans to replace Ney

This is priceless!

Law may complicate plans to replace Ney - Yahoo! News:

NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio - The leading Republican candidate to replace scandal-scarred Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record) on the November ballot may be ineligible, party officials said Tuesday, complicating GOP efforts to assure a smooth transition for the fall campaign.

Shock loss shows US anti-war mood

Hey, the Brits get it!

BBC NEWS Americas Shock loss shows US anti-war mood:

Washington insiders from both parties have long been muttering that George W Bush's Republican party is going to lose ground in elections in November.

The only question, they say, is how much ground. Enough to lose control of one or both houses of Congress?

They may have had the beginnings of an answer on Tuesday night, but the scalp that was claimed was not Republican - it was Democrat Joe Lieberman.

His support for the Iraq war was a major factor in his loss, experts say.

Mr Lieberman's opponent, political novice Ned Lamont - who was unknown six months ago - campaigned hard on an anti-war platform and became the first man in decades to beat an incumbent senator in a primary race.

McKinney loses runoff for Georgia seat

No great loss for the Dems here. Cynthia has gone a bit 'round the bend.

McKinney loses runoff for Georgia seat - Yahoo! News:

DECATUR, Ga. - Cynthia McKinney, the fiery Georgia congresswoman known for her conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11 attacks and the scuffle she had earlier this year with a U.S. Capitol police officer, lost a runoff election Tuesday for her district's Democratic nomination.

courant.com | Lamont Supporters Energized

This primary win by Lamont and his hardworking supprters has invigorated the entire country, not just Lamont supporters!

Come on, America, let's take our country back!

courant.com Lamont Supporters Energized:

MERIDEN -- The first sign that things were going Ned Lamont's way came early, when Tom Swan, his campaign manager, meandered through the press room at the Four Points Sheraton hotel in shorts and sandals, a baseball cap turned backward, looking like he hadn't a care in the world.

The Meriden campaign headquarters were across the street, but Swan didn't feel any need to be there. 'It's better if we stay out of their way,' he said. 'We have a phenomenal team.'

Revenge of the Irate Moderates

We can assure the NYT that irrate moderates are full of piss and vinegar, the whole country over.

It is nice to see that the NYT sees through all the Lieberman (and DLC) B.S.

This is not an extremist movement. It is a common sense movement!

Revenge of the Irate Moderates - New York Times:

The defeat of Senator Joseph Lieberman at the hands of a little-known Connecticut businessman is bound to send a message to politicians of both parties that voters are angry and frustrated over the war in Iraq. The primary upset was not, however, a rebellion against the bipartisanship and centrism that Mr. Lieberman said he represented in the Senate. Instead, Connecticut Democrats were reacting to the way those concepts have been perverted by the Bush White House.

Ned Lamont, a relative political novice, said he ran against Mr. Lieberman because he was offended by the senator�s sunny descriptions of what was happening in Iraq and his denunciation of Democrats who criticized the administration's handling of the war. Many other people in Connecticut may have felt that sense of frustration, but no one else had the money and moxie to do what Mr. Lamont did. Mr. Lieberman was stunned to find himself on the defensive, and it was only in the last few weeks that the 18-year veteran mounted a desperate campaign to reclaim his party's support.

Senator Lieberman says he will run as an independent in November, taking on Mr. Lamont and the Republican, Alan Schlesinger. Mr. Schlesinger is a very weak candidate, but Mr. Lieberman should consider the risk of splitting his party if the Republicans are able to convince Mr. Schlesinger to drop out of the race in favor of a stronger nominee.

Mr. Lieberman's supporters have tried to depict Mr. Lamont and his backers as wild-eyed radicals who want to punish the senator for working with Republicans and to force the Democratic Party into a disastrous turn toward extremism.

War Crimes Act Changes Would Reduce Threat Of Prosecution

This is outrageous!

It will further isolate our country in the global community and prove to the whole world what most already believe:

The U.S is a rogue state that has no respect for International law that is respected by every other civilized nation on earth, as well as by the U.S., until the illegitimate, criminal Bushites took over the country.

Whatver happens, it will not change Geneva, and we can only hope that International law will prevail, and the Bushites will find themselves in the Dock at the Hague.

War Crimes Act Changes Would Reduce Threat Of Prosecution:

The Bush administration has drafted amendments to a war crimes law that would eliminate the risk of prosecution for political appointees, CIA officers and former military personnel for humiliating or degrading war prisoners, according to U.S. officials and a copy of the amendments.

Officials say the amendments would alter a U.S. law passed in the mid-1990s that criminalized violations of the Geneva Conventions, a set of international treaties governing military conduct in wartime. The conventions generally bar the cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment of wartime prisoners without spelling out what all those terms mean.

Lamont Topples Lieberman, And Shakes Up The Country

Watch out, Dem. Grand Poobas and High Hoohas:

This is only the beginning!

New Haven Independent: Lamont Topples Lieberman, And Shakes Up The Country:

Ned Lamont crushed Joe Lieberman in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate nomination, upsetting a three-term incumbent in a fable-like campaign that promises to reshape Connecticut and national politics in the fall and 2008 elections.

Lieberman sort of conceded the race (he's still saying he's running as a third-party candidate in November), as Lamont captured roughly 52 percent of the vote in an upset that saw him emerge from anonymity to a national symbol of progressive change in just six months.

The balllroom of Meriden's Four Points Sheraton was mobbed and filled with deafening roars as Lamont declared, 'No more stay the course. Stay the course is not a winning strategy in Iraq, and it is not a winning strategy in America.'

Joementum Ain't Going to Cut It as An "Independent" Candidate | BuzzFlash

The Senate vote from the little state of CT, heard 'round the world

Joementum Ain't Going to Cut It as An "Independent" Candidate BuzzFlash:

If the poobahs who lead the Democratic Party in D.C. (with the exception of Howard Dean who knows that it's time for a housecleaning) don't get 'it' after Ned Lamont beat the Chia
Pet Democrat for the Busheviks, they never will.

If Schumer, who heads the Democratic Senate Re-election Campaign, doesn't come out of the gate and endorse Lamont, he will doom the Democratic Party to continuing to be a minority party in Congress.

For six years, we've heard from the smug, failed leadership of Republicans and Democrats alike on Capitol Hill. Now the voters have spoken -- and it's not a message that is going to be well-received by the 'don't rock the boat' entrenched status quo Dems on Capitol Hill.

The biggest reason Lieberman was rightfully defeated was that he repeatedly supported policies of failure. The Lamont voters aren't wild-eyed love-in peaceniks. They oppose the Iraq War, for the most part, because it was founded on lies and, more importantly, it's a failure, an utter fiasco. It only persists because no one has the guts or wherewithal to stand up to the lies, thuggishness and bullying of the Bush Administration. We have a continuing war because the people who began it aren't men enough to admit their mistakes.

War Crimes Continue in Lebanon

Heckuva job Condi!

Daily Kos: War Crimes Continue in Lebanon:

War crimes continue in Lebanon as both sides intentionally target civilian populations. About that there is no question, as indicated by this report from Juan Cole (Informed Consent). While there is expectation by a few that Israel would act more civilized than Hezbollah in this conflict, both Israel and Hezbollah continue to disgust the world. It is only those who lack understanding of religion including Islam, Judiasm, and Bush's evangelical Christianity, who would expect otherwise. As Steven Weinberg wisely observed, 'in the course of life, good men will do good things, and evil men will do evil things. But for good men to do evil things, it takes religion.' The Lebanon conflict certainly demonstrates this truth most clearly.

LAMONT WINS

Xanax and booze are flying off the shelves in DC

courant.com: ELECTION NEWS ...

A Loss for Lieberman Would Be a Win for Progressives

Amen.

Will the results ever come in?

We are nervous wrecks!

A Loss for Lieberman Would Be a Win for Progressives:

Joe Lieberman has been in the Senate for 18 years. He's a leader of the Democratic Leadership Council, the money wing of the party. He became the party's vice presidential nominee, even as he championed the DLC's 'triangulating' politics, pushing off of the Democratic Party base to demonstrate his 'independence' by embracing key elements of the conservative agenda -- championing the war in Iraq, attacking affirmative action, pushing capital gains tax cuts that benefit only the very wealthy.

Now he's pushed off so long, he seems confused about whom or what he represents. He now says he's a good Democrat, but he's collecting petitions to run as a third party man if he loses the primary today. He now says he's a critic of the war, even though Bush gave him a famous kiss to thank him for his unstinting support. He now says dissent is good, when before he essentially challenged the patriotism of critics.

Times Call for New Pentagon Papers

What we need is riots in the streets and all hell to break loose.

Seems that is about the only thing that gets anyone's freakin' attention!

Times Call for New Pentagon Papers:

According to recent opinion polls, most Iraqis don't believe that we're making things better or safer in their country. What does that say about the legitimacy of prolonged occupation, much less permanent American bases in Iraq?

What does it mean for continued American patrols such as the one last November in Haditha, which, we now learn, led to the deaths of a Marine and 24 unarmed civilians?

Questions very much like these nagged at my conscience at the height of the Vietnam War, and led, eventually, to the publication of the Pentagon Papers in the summer of 1971, 35 years ago.

As a former Marine commander and defense analyst in 1970, I had exclusive access to highly classified defense documents for research purposes. They constituted a 47-volume, top-secret Defense Department history of American involvement in Vietnam titled U.S. Decision-making in Vietnam, 1945-68. The Pentagon Papers made it very clear that I, like the rest of the American public, had been misled about the origins and purposes of the war I had participated in. Today's troops in Iraq have also been misled, as 85 percent of them believed, according to a Zogby poll from March, that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11 and that he was allied with al-Qaeda.

That period had several other similarities to this one.

Israel's Military Invincibility Dented by Hezbollah

Israel's Military Invincibility Dented by Hezbollah:

UNITED NATIONS - Israel's phenomenal victories against collective Arab armies in 1967 and later against Egypt in 1973 firmly established the Jewish state's legendary military superiority in the Middle East.

The 1967 war -- called the Six Day War -- was so swift it ended in less than a week, with Egypt losing 264 aircraft and 700 battle tanks; Jordan 22 aircraft and 125 tanks, and Syria 58 aircraft and 105 tanks.

The only equipment losses suffered by Israel in the 1967 war were 40 aircraft and 100 battle tanks, according to Dilip Hiro, a Middle East analyst based in London.

The war ended with Israel capturing East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, the Golan Heights and Sharm al-Shaikh -- some of which are still under occupation despite U.N. Security Council resolutions seeking Israeli withdrawal.

But as the relentless military attacks against Hezbollah and Lebanon continue into the second month, the duration of the current conflict and the resistance by the Islamic militia have dented Israel's reputation of military invincibility in the Middle East.