Saturday, January 20, 2007
One sick, delusional, hateful SOB (and I'm not talking about Cheney)
I caught this guy on the Colbert Report the other night.
I couldn't believe my ears or my eyes.
Number 1. : I happen to be a liberal and I don't watch obscene things ( gratuitous violence and explicit sex, just to name a couple) on television and I don't go to the theatre to see such things either. I simply do not support entertainment and not much else, if find offensive or distasteful.
Why is it that the cultural warriors have yet to master the remote?
Further, why do they believe that Muslims are so inferior that they cannot decide for themselves what to watch or subject their minds to in some other way?
Does he think the entire world is as much of an unconscious dufus as he apparently is?
Dinesh D’Souza’s Bizarre New Book:
Dinesh D’Souza is at it again.
In his new book, “The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11,” conservative ideologue D’Souza blames the American left for Sept. 11.
Here’s how his reasoning goes: The Muslim world is angry at the United States for the moral and cultural breakdown that liberals brought about in this country, and then exported to the Middle East. In addition, the left exhibits an anti-Americanism in its critique of U.S. policy that is quite similar to the worldview of Islamic fundamentalists.
“The cultural left and its allies in Congress, the media, Hollywood, the nonprofit sector, and the universities are the primary cause of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world,” D’Souza writes in the portion excerpted on the book’s back cover. “Without the cultural left, 9/11 would not have happened.”
As a fellow Indian immigrant, I have a particular interest in D’Souza. I have been following his work since the early 1990s, when he first made a name for himself with “Illiberal Education,” which lambasted the supposed epidemic of political correctness on campuses by stringing together the worst incidents of this phenomenon and making it seem like an all-pervasive curse across the nation.
He followed this up a few years later with “The End of Racism,” which posited that African Americans suffer from inherent cultural pathologies that keep them down. The book’s take on race was so vile that two African-American conservatives associated with the American Enterprise Institute, Glenn Loury and Robert Woodson, resigned from the think tank in protest over “The End of Racism”.....
Show Me The Intelligence
Congress had damned well better demand the new NIE now!!!!
Bush is already moving the troops in.
Show Me The Intelligence:
Have you noticed?
Neither President George W. Bush nor Vice President Dick Cheney have cited any U.S. intelligence assessments to support their fateful decision to send 21,500 more troops to referee the civil war in Iraq. This is a far cry from October 2002, when a formal National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was rushed through in order to trick Congress into giving its nihil obstat for the attack on Iraq.
Why no intelligence justification this time around? Because there is none.
Having successfully cooked intelligence four years ago to get authorization for war, the Bush administration has zero incentive to try a repeat performance. Nor is there any sign that the new Democratic chairmen of the Senate and House intelligence committees will even think to ask the intelligence community to state its views on the likely effect of the planned “surge” in troop strength. This, even though an NIE on Iraq has been “almost ready” for months.
For the Bush administration, it has been difficult enough whipping its fickle but ultimately malleable generals into line. The civilian intelligence chiefs have proven more resistant. So the White House is playing it safe, avoiding like the plague any estimate that would raise doubts about the wisdom of the decision to surge. And that is precisely what an honest estimate would do. With “sham-dunk” former CIA director George Tenet and his accomplices no longer in place as intelligence enablers, the White House clearly prefers no NIE to one that would inevitably highlight the fecklessness of throwing 21,5000 more troops into harm’s way for the dubious purpose of holding off defeat for two more years.
Internet as Political Force Grows, Poll Finds
The corporatists are having an ang-dang, no doubt.
This is a huge threat to the power-elite in this country and around the world.
The fight for freedom of speech and information is just beginning.
Internet as Political Force Grows, Poll Finds:
"Candidates and those who run their campaigns have known for some time how the Internet has energized politics and reshuffled the old rules of how office-seekers, the media and the public operate. A survey released Wednesday about online activities and the 2006 election shows just how dramatic that shift has been.
Americans who received most of their political information online (15 percent) has doubled since the previous midterm election in 2002. And almost a third of the public -- 31 percent -- used the Internet during the 2006 campaign to get political news and discuss the election through e-mail.
Those findings came from a telephone survey of 2,562 adults, conducted for the Pew Internet and American Life Project between Nov. 8 and Dec. 4, and included interviews with 200 people who use cell phones only, to reflect the growing number of people without traditional land lines.
Spurred by greater broadband use, a growing number of Internet political activists -- about 14 million people, according to the survey -- are generating and sharing political content, including video clips that had a major impact on some races.
This is a huge threat to the power-elite in this country and around the world.
The fight for freedom of speech and information is just beginning.
Internet as Political Force Grows, Poll Finds:
"Candidates and those who run their campaigns have known for some time how the Internet has energized politics and reshuffled the old rules of how office-seekers, the media and the public operate. A survey released Wednesday about online activities and the 2006 election shows just how dramatic that shift has been.
Americans who received most of their political information online (15 percent) has doubled since the previous midterm election in 2002. And almost a third of the public -- 31 percent -- used the Internet during the 2006 campaign to get political news and discuss the election through e-mail.
Those findings came from a telephone survey of 2,562 adults, conducted for the Pew Internet and American Life Project between Nov. 8 and Dec. 4, and included interviews with 200 people who use cell phones only, to reflect the growing number of people without traditional land lines.
Spurred by greater broadband use, a growing number of Internet political activists -- about 14 million people, according to the survey -- are generating and sharing political content, including video clips that had a major impact on some races.
ACTION ALERT: ACLU
American Civil Liberties Union:
ACLU Calls on Lawmakers to Demand Accountability from Gonzales, Seeks Torture Memos and Answers on Increased Surveillance
WASHINGTON - January 18 - As Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, the American Civil Liberties Union called on panel members to hold the administration's feet to the fire for its approval of torture policies and warrantless surveillance. This will be Gonzales' first appearance before the committee under the new leadership of Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
'This is the first real test to see if the new Congress will conduct meaningful oversight on the administration - a test it must not fail,' said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. 'We urge the attorney general to explain the Justice Department's justification of torture and increased secrecy. Lawmakers must reject any attempts by Mr. Gonzales to stonewall their constitutional duty to find out how laws Congress has passed are being implemented. We are looking to Chairman Leahy to bring back real oversight.'
ACLU Calls on Lawmakers to Demand Accountability from Gonzales, Seeks Torture Memos and Answers on Increased Surveillance
WASHINGTON - January 18 - As Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, the American Civil Liberties Union called on panel members to hold the administration's feet to the fire for its approval of torture policies and warrantless surveillance. This will be Gonzales' first appearance before the committee under the new leadership of Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
'This is the first real test to see if the new Congress will conduct meaningful oversight on the administration - a test it must not fail,' said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. 'We urge the attorney general to explain the Justice Department's justification of torture and increased secrecy. Lawmakers must reject any attempts by Mr. Gonzales to stonewall their constitutional duty to find out how laws Congress has passed are being implemented. We are looking to Chairman Leahy to bring back real oversight.'
Gonzales blames bloggers for opposing terrorist surveillance
This has got to be the most incredibly absurd thing I have heard yet, out of this lame-brain administration.
What a total asshat!
I read a lot of blogs and I have yet to read any opinion, by anyone, on any blog, that even remotely suggests that anyone is against wire-tapping terrorists.
I am, however, against skirting FISA to wiretap political opposition, reporters, dissenters an anyone else, who has nothing to do with terrorism.
Since when does the White House give a damn what anyone says, least of all bloggers.
The Carpetbagger Report » Blog Archive » Gonzales blames bloggers for opposing terrorist surveillance:
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is spending the day being grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a whole host of fascinating subjects, but this exchange deserves special attention. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), to his enormous credit, reminded Gonzales of the political debate over warrantless searches over the last year. (Click over to read the exchange between Lil Alberto and Senator Feingold)
U.S. plans envision broad attack on Iran
Emails and phone calls to Congress are the order of the day.
U.S. plans envision broad attack on Iran: analyst - Yahoo! News:
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. contingency planning for military action against Iran's nuclear program goes beyond limited strikes and would effectively unleash a war against the country, a former U.S. intelligence analyst said on Friday.
'I've seen some of the planning ... You're not talking about a surgical strike,' said Wayne White, who was a top Middle East analyst for the State Department's bureau of intelligence and research until March 2005.
'You're talking about a war against Iran' that likely would destabilize the Middle East for years, White told the Middle East Policy Council, a Washington think tank.
'We're not talking about just surgical strikes against an array of targets inside Iran. We're talking about clearing a path to the targets' by taking out much of the Iranian Air Force, Kilo submarines, anti-ship missiles that could target commerce or U.S. warships in the Gulf, and maybe even Iran's ballistic missile capability, White said.
'I'm much more worried about the consequences of a U.S. or Israeli attack against Iran's nuclear infrastructure,' which would prompt vigorous Iranian retaliation, he said, than civil war in Iraq, which could be confined to that country.
Friend: Cheney says Washington is 'all BS,' full of 'suffering fools'
We think that Cheney is a suffering fool (who hasn't suffered enough) and is full of BS, but must not be ignored because he is one of the most dangerous psychotics on earth.
The Raw Story Friend: Cheney says Washington is 'all BS,' full of 'suffering fools':
Vice President Cheney believes Washington is full of 'suffering fools' and 'all BS' that should be ignored, according to a friend quoted today in the Washington Post.
The Post's David Ignatius ponders how Vice President Dick Cheney manages to retain so much power in the White House in spite of the ruinous political consequences that his policy has had for the Bush presidency. One insight Ignatius offers is that Cheney is driven by a belief that politics in the nation's capital is 'all BS' that he believes should be ignored.
In his column, Ignatius suggests that 'Cheney has been the political equivalent of a black hole -- exerting a powerful but mostly invisible force on decisions. The Office of the Vice President has had a gravitational weight that sucked in other personalities and entire branches of the government without emitting light or heat that would explain the decision-making process.'
The Raw Story Friend: Cheney says Washington is 'all BS,' full of 'suffering fools':
Vice President Cheney believes Washington is full of 'suffering fools' and 'all BS' that should be ignored, according to a friend quoted today in the Washington Post.
The Post's David Ignatius ponders how Vice President Dick Cheney manages to retain so much power in the White House in spite of the ruinous political consequences that his policy has had for the Bush presidency. One insight Ignatius offers is that Cheney is driven by a belief that politics in the nation's capital is 'all BS' that he believes should be ignored.
In his column, Ignatius suggests that 'Cheney has been the political equivalent of a black hole -- exerting a powerful but mostly invisible force on decisions. The Office of the Vice President has had a gravitational weight that sucked in other personalities and entire branches of the government without emitting light or heat that would explain the decision-making process.'
Andrew Greeley:: Bush is a picture of defeat
A useless surge....so why?
To drag out the quagmire so that it can be ceremoniously dumped into the lap of the next president?
Is it a prelude to an attack on Iran?
Is it a test of the New Congress? Put out the dumbest of all possible plans, just to see if the Congress will let them get by with it.
Congress should tell Junior that his war resolution of October 2002 is null and void.
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Andrew Greeley :: Bush is a picture of defeat:
The presidential address last week was pathetic enough to make one feel sad for the poor dear man, as they say in the old country. With little emotional affect he read a lecture about his ''new strategy,'' which was in fact nothing more than a new tactic, growled at Iran and Syria, threatened the Iraqi government, and promised that the United States would emerge the winner in Iraq.
The notion that 20,000 more American troops would pacify Baghdad was farcical. If one really intended to stop internecine war between two religious tribes, one would have had to promise a lot more Americans. John Keegan, the famous English military historian and commentator, estimated that pacification would take 50,000 troops. Various American military experts suggested that it would require at least 100,000 soldiers and Marines. If one calculates two American soldiers or Marines for every 1,000 people in a city, as does the Army's counter-insurgency manual, 140,000 fighting men (which excludes the half of the troops in Iraq who are not combat soldiers) would be required.
The mountain labored and gave birth to a mouse.
To drag out the quagmire so that it can be ceremoniously dumped into the lap of the next president?
Is it a prelude to an attack on Iran?
Is it a test of the New Congress? Put out the dumbest of all possible plans, just to see if the Congress will let them get by with it.
Congress should tell Junior that his war resolution of October 2002 is null and void.
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Andrew Greeley :: Bush is a picture of defeat:
The presidential address last week was pathetic enough to make one feel sad for the poor dear man, as they say in the old country. With little emotional affect he read a lecture about his ''new strategy,'' which was in fact nothing more than a new tactic, growled at Iran and Syria, threatened the Iraqi government, and promised that the United States would emerge the winner in Iraq.
The notion that 20,000 more American troops would pacify Baghdad was farcical. If one really intended to stop internecine war between two religious tribes, one would have had to promise a lot more Americans. John Keegan, the famous English military historian and commentator, estimated that pacification would take 50,000 troops. Various American military experts suggested that it would require at least 100,000 soldiers and Marines. If one calculates two American soldiers or Marines for every 1,000 people in a city, as does the Army's counter-insurgency manual, 140,000 fighting men (which excludes the half of the troops in Iraq who are not combat soldiers) would be required.
The mountain labored and gave birth to a mouse.
American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America
A must read book; you can buy it from Buzzflash
American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America (Hardcover):
In a 2004 article that served as the basis for his new book pulling the fire alarm on thuggish Christian fascism, Chris Hedges recalled:
'Dr. James Luther Adams, my ethics professor at Harvard Divinity School, told us that when we were his age, he was then close to 80, we would all be fighting the 'Christian fascists.'In a 2004 article that served as the basis for his new book pulling the fire alarm on thuggish Christian fascism, Chris Hedges recalled: For more of this book review^
Mondale: Cheney cooks up lousy advice - Yahoo! News
Mondale was a lot more polite than he should have been.
Cheney is a criminal, period. He has done more than step over the line.
Furthermore, this president has been served as he has wished to be served.
He knew in 2004, that the Vice had been the nexus of stove-piped Intel. in an effort to deceive the nation into an unnecessary and disastrous war; a war that this president wanted.
He could have dumped Cheney from the ticket if he was being ill-served. He chose not to. No more needs to be said about this president being ill-served. He has been told the facts, by Generals and others. He doesn't listen and people who speak up get fired.
Mondale: Cheney cooks up lousy advice - Yahoo! News:
ATHENS, Ga. - Vice President Dick Cheney has bullied federal agencies and given absurd advice about the nation's risk and Iraq, Walter Mondale said Friday, adding that never would have been tolerated when Mondale was vice president.
'I think that Cheney has stepped way over the line,' Mondale said at the opening of a three-day conference about former President Jimmy Carter at the University of Georgia.
Mondale, who served under Carter, said Cheney and his assistants pressured federal agencies as they prepared information for President Bush.
'I think Cheney's been at the center of cooking up farcical estimates of national risks, weapons of mass destruction and the 9/11 connection to Iraq,' he said.
That does not serve the president, because he needs facts, Mondale said.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Huckabee spent State Funds to Destroy Hard Drives in His Office
Another Rethug is hiding something!
This man plans to run for president, maybe. We need to et to the bottom of this, before 2008
NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source:
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee depleted the governor’s office emergency fund in the final weeks of his administration in part to pay for the destruction of computer hard drives in his office.
That left Gov. Mike Beebe, who replaced Huckabee on Jan. 9, with no emergency funds for the last half of fiscal 2007.
Documents that the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, describe the destruction of the computer drives, as ordered by Huckabee’s office, and Huckabee complaining strongly about his cell phone and Blackberry not working.
A memo dated Jan. 9 from a state Department of Information Systems official to Huckabee told of the “disposition of data maintained” by the department “for the office of the governor” during Huckabee’s tenure.:
“All drives have been subsequently crushed under the supervision of a designee of your office,” wrote Gary Underwood, the agency’s chief technology officer and a former Huckabee staff member.
This man plans to run for president, maybe. We need to et to the bottom of this, before 2008
NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source:
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee depleted the governor’s office emergency fund in the final weeks of his administration in part to pay for the destruction of computer hard drives in his office.
That left Gov. Mike Beebe, who replaced Huckabee on Jan. 9, with no emergency funds for the last half of fiscal 2007.
Documents that the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, describe the destruction of the computer drives, as ordered by Huckabee’s office, and Huckabee complaining strongly about his cell phone and Blackberry not working.
A memo dated Jan. 9 from a state Department of Information Systems official to Huckabee told of the “disposition of data maintained” by the department “for the office of the governor” during Huckabee’s tenure.:
“All drives have been subsequently crushed under the supervision of a designee of your office,” wrote Gary Underwood, the agency’s chief technology officer and a former Huckabee staff member.
Transcript of Gonzales-Leahy exchange on Arar
A must read:
Little Albert could be looking at impeachment, himself.
TheStar.com - Unassigned - Transcript of Gonzales-Leahy exchange on Arar:
This is an edited transcript of the exchange yesterday between U.S. Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales and Senate judiciary committee chairman Patrick Leahy.
LEAHY: You know, I live about an hour's drive from Canada and go up there often. And in Vermont, we tend to get a lot of Canadian news, just radio and so on.
But something that made the news here in the United States was the question of Maher Arar. -- M-A-H-E-R A-R-A-R, in case I mispronounce it.
He's a Canadian citizen. He was returning home from a vacation. Plane stops at JFK in New York and continues on to Canada.
He was detained by federal agents at JFK airport, 2002, on suspicion of ties to terrorism.
He was deported to Syria; was not sent on the couple of hundred miles to Canada and turned over to the Canadian authorities, but he was sent thousands of miles away to Syria. He was held for 10 months.
He was held in abhorrent conditions there and those sending him back must have known he was going to be tortured.
The Canadian government has apologized for its part in this debacle. In fact, the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police actually resigned over it. The country is prepared to compensate him for it. This is an edited transcript of the exchange yesterday between U.S. Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales and Senate judiciary committee chairman Patrick Leahy.
Little Albert could be looking at impeachment, himself.
TheStar.com - Unassigned - Transcript of Gonzales-Leahy exchange on Arar:
This is an edited transcript of the exchange yesterday between U.S. Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales and Senate judiciary committee chairman Patrick Leahy.
LEAHY: You know, I live about an hour's drive from Canada and go up there often. And in Vermont, we tend to get a lot of Canadian news, just radio and so on.
But something that made the news here in the United States was the question of Maher Arar. -- M-A-H-E-R A-R-A-R, in case I mispronounce it.
He's a Canadian citizen. He was returning home from a vacation. Plane stops at JFK in New York and continues on to Canada.
He was detained by federal agents at JFK airport, 2002, on suspicion of ties to terrorism.
He was deported to Syria; was not sent on the couple of hundred miles to Canada and turned over to the Canadian authorities, but he was sent thousands of miles away to Syria. He was held for 10 months.
He was held in abhorrent conditions there and those sending him back must have known he was going to be tortured.
The Canadian government has apologized for its part in this debacle. In fact, the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police actually resigned over it. The country is prepared to compensate him for it. This is an edited transcript of the exchange yesterday between U.S. Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales and Senate judiciary committee chairman Patrick Leahy.
Fox Poll: More Americans Dislike Bush Than ... Cheney!
Only because they have to see more of Bush. Familiarity does breed contempt, as they say.
Cheney stays in his hidey-hole quite a bit. when he isn't slithering around back channels, doing God knows what.
Fox Poll: More Americans Dislike Bush Than ... Cheney! TPMCafe:
This has to be a milestone: A new poll has found that the American people dislike President Bush more than they dislike ... Dick Cheney. The poll — by Fox News, of all people — finds that President Bush's unfavorable rating is 58%, while Cheney's unpopularity rating is five points lower at 53%. Bush can, however, still take some small solace from the fact that his approval rating is one point higher than Cheney's; the President's is 38%, while the VP's is 37%.
Judge sends Ney to prison for 30 months
He should be barred from lobbying as well.
Otherwise, he will just be back in D.C. in a few months, working for some defense/security contractor.
Judge sends Ney to prison for 30 months - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - Former Republican Rep. Bob Ney was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Friday for trading political favors for golf trips, campaign donations and other gifts in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
Ney, the first congressman convicted in the federal bribery investigation involving lawmakers, their aides and Bush administration officials, pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy and making false statements.
The six-term lawmaker from Heath, Ohio, who once chaired the powerful House Administration Committee, accepted golf and gambling trips, tickets to sporting events, free meals and campaign donations arranged by Abramoff and his associates.
'You violated a host of laws that you as a congressman are sworn to enforce and uphold,' said U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, who recommended that Ney serve his time at a federal prison in Morgantown, W.Va., about an hour-and-a-half drive from his birthplace in Wheeling.
Ney will also serve two years probation and must pay a $6,000 fine. Huvelle recommended he enter a prison alcohol rehabilitation program for treatment of a drinking problem Ney has spoken of in recent months. Completing the program could knock about a year off his sentence.
Pelosi comments draw White House ire
Spokeswoman says that Pelosi's remrks are "poisonous," and not in keeping with bipartisanship, as Pelosi questions Bush's motives, not his policies.
Memo to Dana Perino:
What has been poisonous to this country is a Congress that has alllowed a delusional president to tear two nations to pieces: Our and the Iraqis.
What is equally poisonous, is Juniors cult following, who keep threatening to kill people and bomb buildings, or simply suggesting, to the more slack-jawed of the group, that such acts would be patriotic and a fine thing to do.. Bush, nor any member of his administration has, even once, disassociated him from any of these deranged remarks.
What do you think bipartisanship is, never uttering a discouraging word, while Junior and the Dick drive this nation over a cliff, continue to do irreversible damage to the enviornment, thus affecting the enitre world and refusing all advice on the nightmare in the middle-east they have created and how to get the hell out of it, and by all accounts, fully intend to make matters worse by blindly following the NeoCon game plan straight through the gates of hell?
That is not bipartisanship. It is treason!
Furthermore, it is not what we elected Democratic leaders to do. We want them to challenge Bush. Actually, we want them to impeach and convict him for his mmany crimes.
You people have called anyone who dissents, or even runs against a Rethug, a terrorist appeasers; treasonous pile of camel poop. That wasn't very bipartisan either.
Junior's policies have been questioned by damned near every conscious being in this planet, still he keeps falling in the same hole, over and over again; taking actions that have no chance of accomplishing his own stated goals. Sooner or later, someone should start questioning his motives, because either he is the most retarded person in officialdom, and that's going some, or he is lying about what his ever-changing motives and goals are.
Pelosi comments draw White House ire - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - In a critique the White House labeled as 'poisonous,' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) charged Friday that President Bush is wading too deeply into Iraq and said it should not be 'an obligation of the American people in perpetuity.'
Pelosi said Bush 'has dug a hole so deep he can't even see the light on this. It's a tragedy. It's a stark blunder.'
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino retorted that Pelosi's comments were 'poisonous,' referring to the portion of Pelosi's statement that asserted Bush is rushing new troops there and betting that Congress won't cut off funds once they're in battle.
'It's certainly not in keeping with the bipartisan spirit and civility that the Democrats pledged and that we looked forward to,' Perino said. 'Speaker Pelosi was arguing in essence that the president is putting young men and women in harm's way for tactical political reasons. She's questioning his motivations rather than questioning his policies.'
Democratic support is building around a resolution that would rebuff Bush's plans for more troops to Iraq, and more Republicans are looking for ways to sign on to the measure.
And Now for Something Not Completely Different
Yep, the knot-head in the W.H brought this on himself, when he said that we owned space and would do as we damned well pleased with it. There would be no treaties about that.
What are he and his corporate buddies gonna do if the Chinese decide to hit communication satellites. So much for global communication, corporate or otherwise.
p m carpenter's commentary: And Now for Something Not Completely Different:
At least this morning's above-the-fold story didn't contain the word, 'Iraq.' My geopolitical awareness was beginning to suffer the narrowness that every international crisis brings, and the Iraq crisis, nearly four years grinding, was taking a predictable toll: The only real estate that mattered any longer, it seemed, was a parcel of desert populated by warring Sunnis and Shiites sandwiched between other warring Sunnis and Shiites in training.
So God bless the Chinese, who literally went ballistic and zapped a weather satellite in orbit last week. Their high-wire act of technological demolition caused 'concern' of crisis proportion among U.S. officials, reminding me that once we dispense with laying waste to the cradle of civilization, we do have at least one other enemy -- this time a worthy one -- waiting geopolitically elsewhere in the wings.
What are he and his corporate buddies gonna do if the Chinese decide to hit communication satellites. So much for global communication, corporate or otherwise.
p m carpenter's commentary: And Now for Something Not Completely Different:
At least this morning's above-the-fold story didn't contain the word, 'Iraq.' My geopolitical awareness was beginning to suffer the narrowness that every international crisis brings, and the Iraq crisis, nearly four years grinding, was taking a predictable toll: The only real estate that mattered any longer, it seemed, was a parcel of desert populated by warring Sunnis and Shiites sandwiched between other warring Sunnis and Shiites in training.
So God bless the Chinese, who literally went ballistic and zapped a weather satellite in orbit last week. Their high-wire act of technological demolition caused 'concern' of crisis proportion among U.S. officials, reminding me that once we dispense with laying waste to the cradle of civilization, we do have at least one other enemy -- this time a worthy one -- waiting geopolitically elsewhere in the wings.
PAUL KRUGMAN: Surging and Purging
Soviet-style purges won't be the last or worst thing they do. They are running scared.
Welcome to Pottersville: PAUL KRUGMAN: Surging and Purging:
There’s something happening here, and what it is seems completely clear: the Bush administration is trying to protect itself by purging independent-minded prosecutors.
Last month, Bud Cummins, the U.S. attorney (federal prosecutor) for the Eastern District of Arkansas, received a call on his cellphone while hiking in the woods with his son. He was informed that he had just been replaced by J. Timothy Griffin, a Republican political operative who has spent the last few years working as an opposition researcher for Karl Rove.
Mr. Cummins’s case isn’t unique. Since the middle of last month, the Bush administration has pushed out at least four U.S. attorneys, and possibly as many as seven, without explanation. The list includes Carol Lam, the U.S. attorney for San Diego, who successfully prosecuted Duke Cunningham, a Republican congressman, on major corruption charges.
Dems seek to bar U.S. attacks on Iran
....and if he does it anyway?
Then what?
Dems seek to bar U.S. attacks on Iran - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders in Congress lobbed a warning shot Friday at the White House not to launch an attack against Iran without first seeking approval from lawmakers.
'The president does not have the authority to launch military action in Iran without first seeking congressional authorization,' Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev., told the National Press Club.
The administration has accused Iran of meddling in Iraqi affairs and contributing technology and bomb-making materials for insurgents to use against U.S. and Iraqi security forces.
President Bush said last week the U.S. will 'seek out and destroy' networks providing that support. While top administration officials have said they have no plans to attack Iran itself, they have declined to rule it out.
This week, the administration sent another aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf — the second to deploy in the region. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the buildup was intended to impress on Iran that the four-year war in Iraq has not made America vulnerable. The U.S. is also deploying anti-missile Patriot missiles in the region.
Then what?
Dems seek to bar U.S. attacks on Iran - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders in Congress lobbed a warning shot Friday at the White House not to launch an attack against Iran without first seeking approval from lawmakers.
'The president does not have the authority to launch military action in Iran without first seeking congressional authorization,' Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), D-Nev., told the National Press Club.
The administration has accused Iran of meddling in Iraqi affairs and contributing technology and bomb-making materials for insurgents to use against U.S. and Iraqi security forces.
President Bush said last week the U.S. will 'seek out and destroy' networks providing that support. While top administration officials have said they have no plans to attack Iran itself, they have declined to rule it out.
This week, the administration sent another aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf — the second to deploy in the region. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the buildup was intended to impress on Iran that the four-year war in Iraq has not made America vulnerable. The U.S. is also deploying anti-missile Patriot missiles in the region.
Impeach Gonzales
WTF does this mean?
Oh, by the way, doesn't the Declaration of Independence plainly state that if a government fails to take the best interests of the citizens to heart and behaves in a tyrannical fashion, the people, not only have the right, but a duty to replace it?
This country was born out of rebellion against tyranny, so why should Habeas Corpus be suspended for such a rebellion, in this country?
Our founders knew damn well that tyrants would rise to power in this country, sooner or later, even with all the safeguards they put in place. Tyranny is as much a part of human nature as, say, authoritarianism.
So, how are tyrants brought down and a new government established and what is the official definition of "rebellion"?
Daily Kos: Impeach Gonzales:
Specter: Now wait a minute, wait a minute. The Constitution says you can't take it away except in the case of invasion or rebellion. Doesn't that mean you have the right of habeas corpus?
Gonzales: I meant by that comment that the Constitution doesn't say that every individual in the United States or every citizen has or is assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn't say that. It simply says that the right of habeas corpus shall not be suspended.
Gregory To Tony Snow: "What's An Appropriate Way To Dissent"?
Tony Snow is insufferable; the perfect choice to speak for this insufferable administration.
Gregory To Tony Snow: "What's An Appropriate Way To Dissent"? | TPMCafe:
In today's press briefing, David Gregory pointed out that Dems opposing this or that aspect of President Bush's war policies have long been painted by the White House as friends of the enemy. He then asks the key follow-up question: 'What's an appropriate way to dissent?' It's a good question, and Snow has a fair amount of trouble coming up with an answer to it -- at first he appears to start denying that this charge has ever been lodged at Dems before cutting himself off. View it here.^
Crusading in the Arc of Instability
Our Delusional, crusading-crackpot, POTUS .........
Funny, that only days after 9/11, President Dumbass, not only knew that his "GWOT" would take a very long time, but he believed that we knew it too.
How the hell would we have known what was coming?
How long did anyone believe it would take to route the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan? 6 months, maybe?
At the time, most Americans had no clue that Junior was, basically, declaring war on half the world.
TomDispatch - Tomgram: Crusading in the Arc of Instability:
The Look of a War against Islam
Just five days after the September 11th attacks in 2001, in a Q and A with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, a President with a new mission, a new cause, and a new purpose in life told the American people that, though they had to 'go back to work tomorrow,' they should now know that they were facing a 'new kind of evil.' He added, 'And we understand. And the American people are beginning to understand. This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while.'
This crusade, this war on terrorism. It had such a ring to it; in the Arab world, of course, it was a ring many centuries old and deeply disturbing. And it came so naturally, so easily off the President's tongue (though it took days of backtracking by his spokesmen and prominent presidential references to 'the peaceful teachings of Islam' perverted by 'a fringe form of Islamic extremism' to begin to make up for it). But that little 'slip' of the tongue spoke volumes. It signaled that George W. Bush was already in his own heroic dream world and, only those few days after the 9/11 attacks, had both a 'crusade' on the brain and 'victory' in that crusade firmly in mind. As a result, he made this promise to the American people: (Read On^)
Little Alberto gets peppered by Senators
So, the W.H., after calling opposition to domestic wiretapping tantamount to terrorist appeasement, now says it will play by the rules.
Why don't I trust this?
Are they hoping that the truth of the wiretapping, like the names of people being wiretapped, will not come out, now that they have agreed to stop the program? Are the hoping Dems will just forget about it?
Perhaps they have come up with a new program that no one, yet, knows about.
We thought that TIA had been deep-sixed, only to find it had moved from the Pentagon to the NSA, where they were wire-tapping anyone and everyone they wanted, with no judicial oversight.
So, why is this program, suddenly, unnecessary?
Bloomberg.com: Politics:
Senators peppered Attorney General Alberto Gonzales with complaints that the Bush administration paid scant attention to civil liberties and made overreaching claims of presidential power during its five-year war on terror.
During his first appearance before a Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee, Gonzales was questioned repeatedly about why President George W. Bush didn't act sooner to put electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists under court supervision.
In a reversal, the Justice Department announced yesterday that a secret court will oversee the wiretapping of international phone calls by suspected al-Qaeda agents in the U.S., a program that began in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks.
``It is a little hard to see why it took so long,'' said Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican who headed the panel until Democrats took control of Congress this month. ``There hasn't been a sufficient sense of urgency'' to ``get this job done faster,'' he said.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Cheney has always been bad news for America
Vice seems more like the anti-Christ, every day.
The Capital Times:
Dick Cheney worked in the White House of Richard Nixon, who had to resign as Congress began impeachment proceedings that grew out of his dishonest and disreputable stewardship of the presidency.
Dick Cheney worked with the White House of Ronald Reagan, which was investigated by Congress and the courts for establishing - and then lying about - a secret plan to violate the law by directing resources to its Iran-Contra co-conspirators in the Middle East and Latin America.
Dick Cheney worked in the White House of George Herbert Walker Bush, who pardoned former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Robert C. McFarlane, Elliott Abrams and others who had been indicted - and in some cases convicted - by Iran-Contra prosecutors.
Dick Cheney left the public sector to work in the corporate sector, where he established close alliances with the executives of Enron and hired the Arthur Andersen accounting firm to manage Halliburton's books.
The Capital Times:
Dick Cheney worked in the White House of Richard Nixon, who had to resign as Congress began impeachment proceedings that grew out of his dishonest and disreputable stewardship of the presidency.
Dick Cheney worked with the White House of Ronald Reagan, which was investigated by Congress and the courts for establishing - and then lying about - a secret plan to violate the law by directing resources to its Iran-Contra co-conspirators in the Middle East and Latin America.
Dick Cheney worked in the White House of George Herbert Walker Bush, who pardoned former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Robert C. McFarlane, Elliott Abrams and others who had been indicted - and in some cases convicted - by Iran-Contra prosecutors.
Dick Cheney left the public sector to work in the corporate sector, where he established close alliances with the executives of Enron and hired the Arthur Andersen accounting firm to manage Halliburton's books.
Oil meters being installed in Southern Iraq
Maybe somoene is about to uncover even more thievery and corrpution by our oily, slick administration and their pals.
Basra-Meters :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq:
Basra-Meters
South Oil Company preparing to install meters
By Malek Saadoun
Basra, Jan 14, (VOI) - A South Oil Company official said on Sunday that technicians and engineers of the company are getting ready to install meters at Basra oil terminal, 135 km southwest of Basra city, to measure the amount of exported oil.
'Installation of meters in Basra's oil terminal will take place on Tuesday after all technical procedures were completed,' media director Sallam al-Maksousi told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) by telephone.
Exports from the terminal would stop for a few days, but Maksousi said this would not affect the exports rates as the port of Khour al-Amaya would make up for the amounts pumped by Basra terminal.
He said installing these meters was delayed for three years because there was no company to undertake the project due to the security situation, adding that only U.S. company Parsons accepted the project.
A spokesman for the Iraqi oil ministry had earlier said that Basra's oil port would stop exporting oil as of January 14, 2007 for four days due to the installation of oil meters that would accurately determine the exported amount.
Oil expert Jabbar al-Halfi said: 'The oil ministry is the party that should purchase these meters and Iraqi technicians should receive a training course on the use of these meters.'
'Installing these meters is an advanced step in Iraqi oil shipment technology and would put an end for the groundless accusations against South Oil Company of involvement in oil smuggling,' he said
Edwards: 'Total Bull' That Congress Can't Stop Bush Iraq Escalation Plan
Go, Johnny Go!
The BRAD BLOG : 'Total Bull' That Congress Can't Stop Bush Iraq Escalation Plan Says John Edwards Campaign:
In a harshly worded fund raising letter sent to members of John Edwards's 2008 presidential campaign e-mail list late this afternoon, his new Campaign Manager, former Congressman David Bonior (D-MI), holds little back in his sharp criticism of both George W. Bush and Democratic members of Congress for their Iraq War policies and politics. (Email posted in full at end of this article.)
The email --- with the eye-popping, if impolitic, subject line 'Total Bull' --- first takes aim at Bush's recent pronouncements, as reported by U.S. News and World Report and elsewhere after Bush's appearance on CBS' 60 Minutes last Sunday, 'that Congress does not have the power to stop his proposed escalation of the war in Iraq.'
White House reverses course on spy program
What a difference a year makes!
Can't help it, we are still paranoid.
Are the Bushites on the run, in the face of a veritable hurricane of dissent, or are we being set up for another "new Pearl Harbor?"
Or have they found another way to accomplish the same goals through a different methods entirely? Scroll down
White House reverses course on spy program - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - A year after disclosure of a domestic spying program that President Bush maintained was within his authority to operate, the administration shifted its position and said it would seek the approval of an independent panel of federal judges.
The program allowed the National Security Agency — without a court-issued warrant _to monitor phone calls and e-mails between the United States and other countries when a link to terrorism was suspected. Bush secretly authorized the program shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told senators in a letter Wednesday that 'any electronic surveillance that was occurring as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program will now be conducted subject to the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.'
Gonzales announced the change on the eve of his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, his first since the committee came under control of Democrats after the November elections. Congressional intelligence committees had already been briefed on the shift.
Technology giving DPS more power to spy on us
This is really creepy!
Not only is it necessary to consider the ideas in this article, it is time to get stupid laws, which have not worked and never will, except to further punish the poor for what many do, off the books.
....and for those of us who say that we don't care because we never, ever break the law; except, of course, when we drive the usual 5 mph over the speed limit while on the highway, yield at very familiar intersections, where the sign states clearly to STOP or imploy any otherdriving habits we have, which are technically against the law, but not unsafe, at the time we do them, think about this: What is to stop the police from selling the data to corporate insurance companies.
I imagine this scenario: You have an accident and it's your fault, technically. (It can and does happen to the best of us) You call your insurance agent and tell him/her what happened. Later, you get call back, informing you that your accident will not be covered, because, you have a habit of law-breaking where the accident occurred.
Welcome to the future! A uniquely American fascism..........
Technology giving DPS more power to spy on us www.azstarnet.com ®:
The Arizona Department of Public Safety has a new law-enforcement tool: a car-mounted license-plate scanner. Similar to a radar gun, it reads the license plates of moving or parked cars — 250 or more per hour — and links with remote police databases, immediately providing information about the car and owner.
On the face of it, this is nothing new. Police have always been able to run a license plate. The difference is they would do it manually, and that limited its use. It simply wasn't feasible for police to run the plates of every car in a parking garage or every car that passed through an intersection. What's different isn't the police tactic, but the efficiency of the process.
Not only is it necessary to consider the ideas in this article, it is time to get stupid laws, which have not worked and never will, except to further punish the poor for what many do, off the books.
....and for those of us who say that we don't care because we never, ever break the law; except, of course, when we drive the usual 5 mph over the speed limit while on the highway, yield at very familiar intersections, where the sign states clearly to STOP or imploy any otherdriving habits we have, which are technically against the law, but not unsafe, at the time we do them, think about this: What is to stop the police from selling the data to corporate insurance companies.
I imagine this scenario: You have an accident and it's your fault, technically. (It can and does happen to the best of us) You call your insurance agent and tell him/her what happened. Later, you get call back, informing you that your accident will not be covered, because, you have a habit of law-breaking where the accident occurred.
Welcome to the future! A uniquely American fascism..........
Technology giving DPS more power to spy on us www.azstarnet.com ®:
The Arizona Department of Public Safety has a new law-enforcement tool: a car-mounted license-plate scanner. Similar to a radar gun, it reads the license plates of moving or parked cars — 250 or more per hour — and links with remote police databases, immediately providing information about the car and owner.
On the face of it, this is nothing new. Police have always been able to run a license plate. The difference is they would do it manually, and that limited its use. It simply wasn't feasible for police to run the plates of every car in a parking garage or every car that passed through an intersection. What's different isn't the police tactic, but the efficiency of the process.
Iraq resolution may expose GOP divide
If Bush runs head-long into this "surge," increasing the chances of war with Iran, with increasing, obvious dissent in Conggress, impeachment had damned well better be back on the table!
What is happening in the Senate and in the House, now, reflects to a very small degree what has been happening in the country.
Iraq resolution may expose GOP divide - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - A Democrat-driven resolution on Iraq that has attracted the support of at least two Republicans threatens to expose fissures within the GOP over the unpopular war.
Republicans are deeply divided on the war in Iraq and how Congress should react to President Bush's plan to send 21,500 more troops to join the estimated 130,000 already there.
Ten Republicans met behind closed doors late Wednesday with Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record), R-Ky., in a bid to generate consensus on Iraq. The senators emerged from the meeting to announce that no deal had been reached.
'This is a very fluid situation,' said Sen. Jon Kyl (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz.
The meeting came after Sens. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska and Olympia Snowe (news, bio, voting record) of Maine, both Republicans who have sparred with the administration on the war, announced that they would co-sponsor the resolution.
Kennedy On Opposing Escalation: "Now is the time, this is the moment"
Amen, Brother Ted!
We stand with you!
BobGeiger.com: Kennedy On Opposing Escalation: "Now is the time, this is the moment":
In a conference call with bloggers and activists Wednesday, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) spelled out his Senate bill to legislatively stop the Bush-McCain Doctrine of escalating the Iraq war, saying 'we have to try to get this resolution done expeditiously' and urging his Senate colleagues to step up to the plate and speak out for the majority of Americans.
'Now is the time, this is the moment for Congressional action to begin to bring this war to an end,' said Kennedy, on a call sponsored by a coalition of Progressive activist groups.
Kennedy has introduced legislation that would essentially nullify the original Iraq war resolution -- which he voted against in 2002 -- and declare it obsolete based on a review of the three main components of that measure.
The denial / Assassination of a peace initiative
Did the veto come from the Bushites?
Either way, sinking this peace process is criminal!
The denial / Assassination of a peace initiative - Haaretz - Israel News:
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could have said that he had no idea about the covert channel for talks with Syria in which Alon Liel and other Israelis participated. Perhaps his bureau officials forgot to report to him about the meeting with the European mediator. It happens.
It could also be that the officials in the Foreign Ministry director general's bureau thought there was no need to tell the Prime Minister's Bureau about the latest developments resulting from the covert channel. They know that, in any case, Olmert can't talk to the Syrians because of the veto imposed by U.S. President George W. Bush, or that Olmert doesn't want to move closer to Syrian President Bashar Assad because of the veto of Minister for Strategic Threats Avigdor Lieberman. (Lieberman? Gee, that is a familiar name?)
(In case yu missed it:) Israeli, Syrian representatives reach secret understandings - Haaretz - Israel News
Looks like somebody is re-gaining their senses.
We wish the blessed peacemakers much luck We are with you in spirit!
Israeli, Syrian representatives reach secret understandings - Haaretz - Israel News:
In a series of secret meetings in Europe between September 2004 and July 2006, Syrians and Israelis formulated understandings for a peace agreement between Israel and Syria.
The main points of the understandings are as follows: (Click on over^)
Cheney kept in loop on Syria talks
Souldn't this be Rice's job?
Does, Cheney, now, run everything, including the State Department?
Why are we paying everyone else?
American officials: Cheney kept in loop on Syria talks - Haaretz - Israel News:
Senior American government officials received regular reports of the secret meetings that took place in Europe between a former Israeli official and a Syrian representative, Haaretz has learned.
Senior officials in Washington told Haaretz that U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney was kept in the picture about these indirect talks between Syria and Israel. Ibrahim (Ayeb) Suleiman, the Syrian representative, also said this at his meetings with former Foreign Ministry director general Alon Liel, adding that Cheney had made no move to stop him from participating in the talks. Suleiman is a Washington resident.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Pelosi warns Bush shouldn't 'abuse power' on troop escalation
Something tells me that impeachment is back on the table!
Pelosi warns Bush shouldn't 'abuse power' on troop escalation:
01-15) 12:37 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, returning to her hometown of San Francisco, strongly warned today that President Bush 'should not abuse his power' with regard to troop escalation in the Iraq war and said it is the duty of Congress to 'exercise oversight over his power.'
'If the president doesn't have a plan, Democrats will hold him accountable,' Pelosi said in her first public appearance outside Washington since her election as speaker Jan. 4.
Regarding Bush's decision to push ahead with an escalation of about 21,500 troops in Iraq, she said, 'Congress also has its role, and neither of us should abuse our power.'
Military Personnel Present Iraq Petition at Capitol
Troops say they will not tolerate rhetoric about funding being support for the troops.
The funding is only keeps them in harms way.
Well, duh!
NPR : Military Personnel Present Iraq Petition at Capitol:
All Things Considered, January 16, 2007 · Active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces visit Capitol Hill to present more than 1,000 signatures demanding that lawmakers cut off funding for the Iraq war. They say that most of the people who signed the Appeal for Redress have served in Iraq, while others expect to be sent there. Two House Democrats received the petition and promised to urge the entire House to consider it.
One of those presenting the petition was Marine Sgt. Liam Madden, 22, who, two years, ago did combat duty in Iraq's turbulent Anbar province. Madden dressed in a civilian coat and tie in a chilling wind outside the Capitol to formally present the 1,028 appeals for redress from other active-duty forces — 60 percent of them fellow Iraq veterans.All Things Considered, January 16, 2007 · Active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces visit Capitol Hill to present more than 1,000 signatures demanding that lawmakers cut off funding for the Iraq war. They say that most of the people who signed the Appeal for Redress have served in Iraq, while others expect to be sent there. Two House Democrats received the petition and promised to urge the entire House to consider it.
One of those presenting the petition was Marine Sgt. Liam Madden, 22, who, two years ago, did combat duty in Iraq's turbulent Anbar province. Madden dressed in a civilian coat and tie in a chilling wind outside the Capitol to formally present the 1,028 appeals for redress from other active-duty forces — 60 percent of them fellow Iraq veterans.
Iran president sends note to Saudi king
Saudis have lost faith in their oily pals; Junior and his Vice.
It is difficult for Bush to isolate someone from his own isolation cell.
Iran president sends note to Saudi king - Yahoo! News:
CAIRO, Egypt - Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that he sent a message to Saudi King Abdullah proposing that they cooperate in helping stabilize Iraq.
Ahmadinejad's comments came as Washington is trying to rally its Arab allies and isolate Iran.
'
We, Saudis and other neighboring countries can help the Iraqi people to take the lead to consolidate their government's capability to stabilize and maintain security in their country,' Ahmadinejad told the Saudi-owned satellite television channel.
'I sent a message to King Abdullah in this regard and the answer, generally, was positive,' the Iranian president said in the interview taped Saturday in Venezuela, one of the countries on his Latin American tour.
Iran's top national security official, Ali Larijani, had delivered a message to Abdullah, the official Saudi Press Agency reported Sunday, but did not reveal its contents.
Iran's overture to Saudi Arabia appeared to be an attempt to counter American efforts to rally its allies in the region and isolate Tehran.
Bush should resign from presidency
We agree, for the simple reason that Bush and his administration have made it impossible for him to govern (even if one believes he was ever capable of governing).
How can the nation survive two more years of these mit-wits?
However, the chances of Bush resigning are nil. The chances are much greater that he will see that he has nothing left to lose and take, not only his party, but the entire nation straight through the gates of hell. They lie directly ahead!
Inside Bay Area - Bush should resign from presidency:
It was an incredible irony for President Bush to address the nation on Iraq, just a week after the burial of President Ford.
Bush said Ford 'assumed the presidency when the nation needed a leader of character and humility.' Add to that Vice President Cheney's, 'Gerry Ford was always a striver, never working an angle, just working.' Cheney quoted the late Michigan Representative Martha Griffiths, who said of Ford, 'I never knew him to make a dishonest statement part true and part false.'
Lastly, former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Ford 'was there to restore the strength of the presidency, to rebuild our defenses, and to demonstrate firmness and clarity. ... He reminded Americans of who they were, and he put us on the right path.'
A week later, here was Bush, nearly four years down the wrong path.
He, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz got 3,000 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed in working the false angle that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Wolfowitz had Americans swimming in fool's oil, saying Iraqi petrol would pay for the war and claiming that former Army chief of staff General Eric Shinseki, a double-Purple Heart Vietnam veteran who lost part of a foot, was 'wildly off the mark' in saying that hundreds of thousands of troops would be needed to secure Iraq.
How can the nation survive two more years of these mit-wits?
However, the chances of Bush resigning are nil. The chances are much greater that he will see that he has nothing left to lose and take, not only his party, but the entire nation straight through the gates of hell. They lie directly ahead!
Inside Bay Area - Bush should resign from presidency:
It was an incredible irony for President Bush to address the nation on Iraq, just a week after the burial of President Ford.
Bush said Ford 'assumed the presidency when the nation needed a leader of character and humility.' Add to that Vice President Cheney's, 'Gerry Ford was always a striver, never working an angle, just working.' Cheney quoted the late Michigan Representative Martha Griffiths, who said of Ford, 'I never knew him to make a dishonest statement part true and part false.'
Lastly, former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Ford 'was there to restore the strength of the presidency, to rebuild our defenses, and to demonstrate firmness and clarity. ... He reminded Americans of who they were, and he put us on the right path.'
A week later, here was Bush, nearly four years down the wrong path.
He, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz got 3,000 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed in working the false angle that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Wolfowitz had Americans swimming in fool's oil, saying Iraqi petrol would pay for the war and claiming that former Army chief of staff General Eric Shinseki, a double-Purple Heart Vietnam veteran who lost part of a foot, was 'wildly off the mark' in saying that hundreds of thousands of troops would be needed to secure Iraq.
Fascism Alert!!!!
The past election is meaningless to the designs of the Bushites, for one-party rule.
TPMmuckraker January 16, 2007 03:22 PM:
The administration is replacing U.S. Attorneys throughout the country. How'd they get that power?
It was an obscure provision in the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, and it didn't take them very long to use it. The president signed it into law in March of last year -- by June, they were already moving to replace unwanted prosecutors.
Former Arkansas USA Bud Cummins told the Wall Street Journal that 'a top Justice official asked for his resignation in June, saying the White House wanted to give another person the opportunity to serve.' Cummins was finally forced out in December, replaced with Timothy Griffin, formerly the research director of the Republican National Committee.
Section 502 of the PATRIOT Act reauthorization, which was first drafted in July of 2005 and finally signed in March of 2006, changed the law regarding the appointment of U.S. Attorneys. Whereas before the relevant federal district court would have appointed a replacement within 120 days after the Attorney General picked one, now that pick stood without challenge.
GOP faces tough vote on Bush's war plan
What's tough about it?
Really, how hard can this be? Bush, Cheney and their eleves from hell have done nothing but lie to all of us from day one. Does anyone on earth still have any faith in what these people say? Can anyone but doubt that they are following a NeoCon plan, long since proven to be so deeply flawed, that it would be comical, had so many not paid such a high price for it?
So far, the NeoCons have only been successful at one of the goals of their "hidden" agenda; that of draining the U.S. treasury and assuring generations of Americans debt.
This is a symbolic vote, for heaven's sake! It's a no-brainer for any Gooper who gives a damn about his/her party.
The vote which will measure whether or not one gives a damn about the country has yet to be announced.
GOP faces tough vote on Bush's war plan - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - Bruised by the elections and divided on the Iraq war, Republicans will find themselves in a tough spot when Democrats force them to go on record for or against President Bush's troop strategy.
Democratic House and Senate leaders intend to hold votes to gauge GOP opposition to Bush's decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. Senate leadership is expected by Thursday to propose a resolution denouncing the plan, with debate planned around the same time Bush delivers his State of the Union speech next Tuesday.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (news, bio, voting record) said the House will follow suit with its own resolution.
The resolutions would likely be a symbolic expression of Congress but would not affect the Pentagon's war budget or challenge the president's authority over U.S. forces. Such votes could be a shot across the bow to Bush, who said Jan. 10 that the extra troops are needed to protect U.S. interests in Iraq.
The resolutions also would help Democrats measure GOP support for more aggressive legislative tactics, such as cutting off funds for the war.
Such a vote puts many Republicans in an uncomfortable position. They will have to decide whether to stay loyal to an unpopular GOP president and risk angering voters disillusioned by the war or buck the party line.
Really, how hard can this be? Bush, Cheney and their eleves from hell have done nothing but lie to all of us from day one. Does anyone on earth still have any faith in what these people say? Can anyone but doubt that they are following a NeoCon plan, long since proven to be so deeply flawed, that it would be comical, had so many not paid such a high price for it?
So far, the NeoCons have only been successful at one of the goals of their "hidden" agenda; that of draining the U.S. treasury and assuring generations of Americans debt.
This is a symbolic vote, for heaven's sake! It's a no-brainer for any Gooper who gives a damn about his/her party.
The vote which will measure whether or not one gives a damn about the country has yet to be announced.
GOP faces tough vote on Bush's war plan - Yahoo! News:
WASHINGTON - Bruised by the elections and divided on the Iraq war, Republicans will find themselves in a tough spot when Democrats force them to go on record for or against President Bush's troop strategy.
Democratic House and Senate leaders intend to hold votes to gauge GOP opposition to Bush's decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. Senate leadership is expected by Thursday to propose a resolution denouncing the plan, with debate planned around the same time Bush delivers his State of the Union speech next Tuesday.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (news, bio, voting record) said the House will follow suit with its own resolution.
The resolutions would likely be a symbolic expression of Congress but would not affect the Pentagon's war budget or challenge the president's authority over U.S. forces. Such votes could be a shot across the bow to Bush, who said Jan. 10 that the extra troops are needed to protect U.S. interests in Iraq.
The resolutions also would help Democrats measure GOP support for more aggressive legislative tactics, such as cutting off funds for the war.
Such a vote puts many Republicans in an uncomfortable position. They will have to decide whether to stay loyal to an unpopular GOP president and risk angering voters disillusioned by the war or buck the party line.
Doomsday Clock Will Move Closer to Midnight
Tick-tock, Tick-tock, seven minutes to midnight............
Doomsday Clock Will Move Closer to Midnight:
WASHINGTON, DC, January 12, 2007 (ENS) - The minute hand of the Doomsday Clock will be moved closer to midnight on January 17, the first such change to the clock since February 2002. The Doomsday Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world's vulnerability to nuclear weapons and other threats.
The move was announced today by the Board of Directors of the magazine 'The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.'
It reflects growing concerns about what the board calls a 'Second Nuclear Age' marked by grave threats, including nuclear ambitions in Iran and North Korea, unsecured nuclear materials in Russia and elsewhere, and the continuing 'launch-ready' status of 2,000 of the 25,000 nuclear weapons held by the U.S. and Russia.
The board also cited 'escalating terrorism, and new pressure from climate change for expanded civilian nuclear power that could increase proliferation risks.'
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Washington Peace March Nears
See you there. Folks!
Truthdig - Ear to the Ground - Washington Peace March Nears:
United for Peace & Justice—a coalition of more than 1,300 activist groups with the support of MoveOn.org and other progressive organizations—is planning a march on Washington set for Jan. 27. Organizers hope the demonstration will pressure Congress to begin the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and end the war.
Journalists and Civilians Now Vulnerable to Military Justice
Unless we can stop these criminals in the W.H., whom no one elected, we are headed straight for a uniquely American form of fascism.
Lindsay Graham is a sly little Nazi, now isn't he. The very fact that it was slipped into a bill says it all.
Yes, military contractors should be held accountable for crimes; like rape, torture, murder and theft, just to name a few. They should be tried in American courts. They are civilians, after all...making big bucks for their dirty work.
Graham is a sleaze bucket!
Truthdig - Ear to the Ground - Journalists and Civilians Now Vulnerable to Military Justice:
A provision slipped into a spending bill by the last Congress and approved by the president makes civilian contractors in Iraq subject to military court-martial. But legal scholars believe the rule could also be extended to include civilian government employees and even embedded journalists.
CIA Leak Probe: Inside The Grand Jury (01/12/07)
Cheney, Libby and others are responsible for the end of Plame's career, thus blacking out a network of information regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions and capacity.
Interesting, to say the very least. Treason, according to the Bushites own rantings, to be more accurate.
Hang 'em high!
NATIONAL JOURNAL: CIA Leak Probe: Inside The Grand Jury (01/12/07):
Late in the morning of July 12, 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney stood atop a pier at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia awaiting the commissioning of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, a ship 20 stories high that took eight years to construct. More than 15,000 people stood under clear skies to watch the pomp and ceremony. As she christened the carrier by breaking a bottle of champagne over its bow, Nancy Reagan told the crowd: 'I only have one line. Man the ship and bring her alive.'
A Washington Post reporter recounted what happened next: 'With those time-hallowed words, hundreds of crew members wearing dress whites ran aboard the 20-story Reagan and lined the flight deck while four fighter jets flew overhead and every crane, radar, whistle, and alarm aboard was turned on simultaneously.'
Cheney himself later took the podium, and as he spoke, the spirit of the crowd turned somber: 'The Ronald Reagan sets sail in a world with new dangers,' he said, 'The outcome is certain. There will be victory for the United States.'
What they are saying about Edwards in N.H.
There is something about this guy that I like a lot.
Who does he remind me of?
Blue Hampshire A progressive online community for the Granite State.:
You want to know what a preemptive strike on the Obama candidacy looks like? Here is it is, textbook perfect, from John Edwards himself. Today, standing in front of a sign asserting 'Tomorrow Begins Today' he stated:
'Identifying the problem and talking about hope is waiting for tomorrow.'
And in perhaps the most brilliant framing I've seen in this campaign so far, he began to weave a theme into the rest of the remarks: There's hope, and there's action. I'm action.
Examples? Well, perhaps you were waiting for the Federal Government to raise the minimum wage. Not Edwards. He is fresh off a campaign to raise the minimum wage state by state, and has had success so far in six states. He has worked with organizing unions.
It continues. Asked what he will do about issue X, the response is invariably twofold. First, let me tell you what we are already DOING, and second let me tell you what we all can do, with or without me.
And it comes back to us as well. 'What are you all doing about it?', is a question he's not shy about asking. We've got to invest in re-newables, but we also have to conserve. We have to address economic injustice, but we can start by organizing, and getting laws passed on the state level. Don't wait for me in the White House in 2009.
Opposition to Troop Increase Unchanged After Bush's Iraq Speech
Seems like no one, to speak of, is listening to Junior anymore. He is being tuned out by many, and others are counting his lies about the old lies of the administration.
He is like a cheerleader, who keeps cheering for the home team, when we all know that his policies have little to do with the home team, and everything to do with Neo-Conservative visions of American Corporate Empire for the next century. (Can we spell PNAC?)
He is cheering for a losing, idiotic, delusional team of jackasses, whose moniker, "NeoCons," will become as much of a curse-word in the future as "Liberal" has been in the past 40 years.
It is time for America to become a nation again, and not the belly of the beast; a cruel, exploitive empire.
I am one of those people who believes that even the worst of human behavior can be redeemed; not by being "born again," whatever the hell that means, but by people learning lessons, finding hope and acting, together, for the good of all.
George Bush, Dick Cheney and company, through their incompetence, their greed, their delusions, their various mental illnesses...whatever; have destroyed the American Empire they so love.
Thank God!
That may well me the only redemptive factor in all of this and if the human race understands, from this, that empire is evil, no matter who is running it, our soldiers and the Iraqis will not have died in vain.
If the peace movement, the world over, can see this opportunity for what it is, an empire being brought down from within, consciously and with purpose, perhaps the vast majority of the people of this planet can come together in such a way that another empire will be impossible.
What a gift for humanity that would be!
Opposition to Troop Increase Unchanged After Bush's Iraq Speech:
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- There has been little change in the public's overall attitudes toward the Iraq war and the administration's proposed plans for an increase in troops in the days following President George W. Bush's speech to the nation this past Wednesday. Americans continue to oppose, by a 59% to 38% margin, President Bush's plan to increase troops in Iraq. Americans remain unconvinced that it is necessary to send new troops to Iraq to gain victory, as Bush argued, and a majority favors withdrawal of troops within one year. Most Americans continue to say the costs of the war outweigh the benefits of succeeding in Iraq, and a majority of Americans also continue to say it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq initially.
Americans are split on the issue of congressional action that would block funds for the deployment of additional troops. Although, there is majority approval for a non-binding congressional resolution voicing opposition to the surge in troops.
These results are from the weekend USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Jan. 12-14, 2007.
Opposition to Troop Increase Unchanged After Bush's Iraq Speech
No one I know wants to see our troops go without the money it takes to support them, while they are in harms way, unlike the Bush administration, who couldn't get it together, and still can't, apparently, to give them the equipment they needed from day one.
I don't want to hear another word from the Bushites about support of the troops, when it has been them, who have not supported the troops, either in theater or at home!
Opposition to Troop Increase Unchanged After Bush's Iraq Speech:
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE:
PRINCETON, NJ : There has been little change in the publics' overall attitudes toward the Iraq war and the administration's proposed plans for an increase in troops in the days following President George W. Bush's speech to the nation this past Wednesday.
Americans continue to oppose, by a 59% to 38% margin, President Bush's plan to increase troops in Iraq. Americans remain unconvinced that it is necessary to send new troops to Iraq to gain victory, as Bush argued, and a majority favors withdrawal of troops within one year. Most Americans continue to say the costs of the war outweigh the benefits of succeeding in Iraq, and a majority of Americans also continue to say it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq initially.
Americans are split on the issue of congressional action that would block funds for the deployment of additional troops. Although, there is majority approval for a non-binding congressional resolution voicing opposition to the surge in troops.
These results are from the weekend USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Jan. 12-14, 2007.
It is clear that no one is listening to Junior anymore!
Republicans Revolt Over Bush’s Iraq Plan
Trent Lott spoke volumes, by not saying anything.
Seems everone except McConnel is one of the few Goopers who does not get it.
Junior and his Vice do not give a flying rats ass about the GOP, except as vehicle for their idiotic, delusional NeoConservative policies. They will take the GOP, and their country, down with them.
They have committed crimes that could land them in prison for the rest of their miserable live. It would not be wise of the, already, complicit Republicans to continue to support them.
Republicans Revolt Over Bush’s Iraq Plan - Newsweek National News - MSNBC.com:
Jan. 22, 2007 issue - Last Tuesday afternoon, a day before President George W. Bush went on TV to explain his decision to send more troops to Iraq, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called his Republican colleagues together for a private talk. Several GOP senators had already come out against the plan. McConnell, Bush's closest Senate supporter on Iraq, hoped to keep others from defecting.
He urged his colleagues to stand together at least until Bush had the chance to speak to the country.
After the meeting, the senators went outside the room to display their unity to waiting reporters.
McConnell said he thought more troops were just the thing to 'give us a chance to succeed.' He then stepped aside so the other senators could second his sentiments. No one came forward. McConnell's eye fell on Trent Lott. 'Trent?' McConnell said, motioning him toward the microphone. 'I don't think I have anything to add,' said Lott.
MLK’S Guide for Antiwar Activists
Dr. King was right the, and his words still hold true today.
That is why, no matter how outraged we are or become, from time to time, violence in the street is not the answer. It only scares the hell out of people.
We have had more than a belly full of fear in this country.
Adrenalin is, truly, "stupid juice."
MLK’S Guide for Antiwar Activists:
This year on Martin Luther King Day everyone will be reading -- or should be reading -- Dr. King’s famous denunciation of the Vietnam war: “A Time To Break Silence.” For those of us working to end the war in Iraq, it holds a valuable lesson: Once we’ve expressed our moral outrage, we’ve only just begun the real work.
Dr. King expressed outrage more eloquently than anyone. But he knew that, if we really want to bring peace, we need to talk to people who aren’t outraged -- people who think in terms of American self-interest -- and convince them on their own terms that we’ll be better off bringing our troops home. This year on Martin Luther King Day everyone will be reading -- or should be reading -- Dr. King’s famous denunciation of the Vietnam war: “A Time To Break Silence.” For those of us working to end the war in Iraq, it holds a valuable lesson: Once we’ve expressed our moral outrage, we’ve only just begun the real work.
Vice-President Capone Meets the Reich Ministry of Justice
If any American's financial records ought to be examined until hell won't have it, that man would be Dick Cheney.
p m carpenter's commentary: Vice-President Capone Meets the Reich Ministry of Justice:
A 'perfectly legitimate activity' is how the vice president described the government's most recently revealed intrusion into civil liberties -- that of the Pentagon and CIA's snooping into financial records of 'suspect' Americans -- an intrusion that the New York Times bluntly reports is 'barred ... by law.'
In the accommodating atmosphere of 'Fox News Sunday,' Mr. Cheney declared, 'There’s nothing wrong with it or illegal. It doesn’t violate people’s civil rights. And if an institution that receives one of these national security letters [i.e., a written Pentagon/CIA demand for private financial records] disagrees with it, they’re free to go to court to try to stop its execution.'
Such institutional pushback would be an odd reaction indeed to a 'perfectly legitimate activity' by the government, however. First of all, financial institutions are being instructed officially as to the letters' legitimacy, so many are apt to automatically comply without question or resistance.
Fox News reporter says Bush admitted using cocaine, then retreats, citing, 'questions'
To our knowledge, he has pretty much refused to answer that question in a direct way, which makes us think that he has used Cocaine. I just hope he isn't using it now.
The Raw Story Fox News reporter says Bush admitted using cocaine, then retreats, citing, 'questions':
As political media buzzed about whether or not Senator Barack Obama's admission eleven years ago that he used cocaine as a teenager would hurt his political prospects, Fox News ran a segment on 'Obama's Cocaine Confession.' Their conversation took an unusual turn, however, when Fox reporter Kirian Chetry said President Bush had also admitted to using cocaine.
Obama 'talks very candidly, as did our current president, who admitted to using cocaine, correct? [Others demur] Well, who wrote, somebody wrote in a book -- well, he admitted that he had an alcoholic, he had a drinking problem. Who was it who said they witnessed him using cocaine? It was somebody who wrote a book...'
As her colleagues tried to talk her down from the line of discussion, Chetry responded, 'Okay, okay, fine, but there were questions about the current president and whether he used cocaine or not as a young guy, but there's something about turning your life around...that people can accept.'
Iran Gets Army Gear in Pentagon Sale
How the hell can anyone take the Bushites seriously, when this kind of crap happens?
My Way News - AP: Iran Gets Army Gear in Pentagon Sale:
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. military has sold forbidden equipment at least a half-dozen times to middlemen for countries - including Iran and China - who exploited security flaws in the Defense Department's surplus auctions. The sales include fighter jet parts and missile components.
In one case, federal investigators said, the contraband made it to Iran, a country President Bush branded part of an 'axis of evil.'
In that instance, a Pakistani arms broker convicted of exporting U.S. missile parts to Iran resumed business after his release from prison. He purchased Chinook helicopter engine parts for Iran from a U.S. company that had bought them in a Pentagon surplus sale. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, speaking on condition of anonymity, say those parts made it to Iran.
The surplus sales can operate like a supermarket for arms dealers.
Major investment bank issues warning on strike against Iran
Duh.
The Raw Story Major investment bank issues warning on strike against Iran:
Warning that investors might be 'in for a shock,' a major investment bank has told the financial community that a preemptive strike by Israel with American backing could hit Iran's nuclear program, RAW STORY has learned.
The banking division of ING Group released a memo on Jan. 9 entitled 'Attacking Iran: The market impact of a surprise Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities.'
ING is a global financial services company of Dutch origin that includes banking, insurance, and other divisions. The report was authored by Charles Robertson, the Chief Economist for Emerging Europe, Middle East, and Africa. He also authored an update in ING's daily update, Prophet, that further underscored the bank's perception of the risks of an attack.
The Warming of Greenland
More bad news.......
The Warming of Greenland - New York Times:
All over Greenland and the Arctic, rising temperatures are not simply melting ice; they are changing the very geography of coastlines. Nunataks — “lonely mountains” in Inuit — that were encased in the margins of Greenland’s ice sheet are being freed of their age-old bonds, exposing a new chain of islands, and a new opportunity for Arctic explorers to write their names on the landscape.
“We are already in a new era of geography,” said the Arctic explorer Will Steger. “This phenomenon — of an island all of a sudden appearing out of nowhere and the ice melting around it — is a real common phenomenon now.”
Dollar Continues its Meltdown
Just as we predicted months ago.....
Hang on, Folk, we are in for a very bumpy ride, headed straight for a cliff.
Dollar Lower Against Yen - New York Times:
TOKYO (AP) -- The dollar fell against the yen in Asia Tuesday after an early session rise, retreating after comments by Japan's finance minister seen as signaling tolerance for higher interest rates.
The dollar was trading at 120.34 yen at 2:50 p.m. Tuesday, down from 120.41 yen late Monday in European trading. U.S. markets were closed Monday for Martin Luther King Day.
The euro bought $1.2950, up from $1.2934.
Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi said Tuesday that he sees no need for the government to ask the Bank of Japan to delay decision on interest rates later this week.
Currency traders interpreted his comments to mean that Tokyo may be more willing than previously thought to let the bank lift its key benchmark interest rate to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent when the meeting ends Thursday.
Clinton Team's Testy Response To Edwards' Speech Against Sending More Troops... | The Huffington Post
Go, Johnny, Go!
Report From Huffpo's Melinda Henneberger: Clinton Team's Testy Response To Edwards' Speech Against Sending More Troops... The Huffington Post:
John Edwards had a hard time getting through yesterday's anti-surge speech at Harlem's Riverside Church, repeatedly interrupted by cheering from the pews. Standing where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached against American involvement in Vietnam 40 years ago, the former Democratic senator from North Carolina declared that, 'As he put it then, there comes a time - not just for Dr. King, but for all of us - when silence is betrayal.''
It is a betrayal to quietly countenance widespread poverty in the richest country in the world, he told a crowd of 1,200, and a betrayal to stand silent in the face of an AIDS epidemic ravaging a new generation of African children. With a Clintonian comfort level at the pulpit, he drew the most sustained ovation of the day when he said, 'It is a betrayal not to speak out against an escalation of the war in Iraq.''
Edwards, who is running for president in '08, has not only opposed the president's plan to send 21,500 more troops into Iraq but has argued that it is time to bring 50,000 home. The only senator mentioned in the speech was Arizona Republican John McCain, when Edwards called the plan the 'McCain Escalation.' But the speech was also an overt challenge to two of his likely competitors for the Democratic nomination in particular: New York Senator Hillary Clinton and Illinois Senator Barack Obama have criticized the president's proposal too but have not said they would go so far as to try and prevent it by cutting funding.
Turn Over The Logs, Mr. Bush
Hey!
The White House belongs to the people, right?
Why shouldn't we have the right to know if crooks are running in and out of our house?
courant.com Turn Over The Logs, Mr. Bush:
All the forced secrecy surrounding the White House visitors log raises an inevitable question: What is the Bush administration hiding and why?
Last spring, in the thick of an influence-peddling scandal involving prominent Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and questions about the extent of his ties to Congress and the White House, administration officials signed an agreement with the Secret Service declaring the visitors log to the White House off-limits to the public.
The Sociopath Next Door (or in our house)
For anyone who thinks we are just name calling when we call Bush a sociopath, this book will; be an eye-opener.
The Sociopath Next Door (Paperback) and "WTF?" Bush Lemon Drops: (You can buy it from Buzzflash and support Democracy at the same time)
Uh, does the following description sound like anyone we know? Perhaps the 'decider-in-chief' in the White House?
'As Martha Stout explains, a sociopath is defined as someone who displays at least three of seven distinguishing characteristics, such as deceitfulness, impulsivity and a lack of remorse. Such people often have a superficial charm, which they exercise ruthlessly in order to get what they want. Stout argues that the development of sociopathy is due half to genetics and half to nongenetic influences that have not been clearly identified.'
Oh yes, this description fits George to an 'S.'
Although Stout's book -- unlike 'Bush on the Couch' by Justin Frank -- is not about Bush per se, it does deal with Bush's most likely untreated psychiatric diagnosis: sociopathology. Oh yes, this description fits George to an 'S.' Although Stout's book -- unlike 'Bush on the Couch' by Justin Frank -- is not about Bush per se, it does deal with Bush's most likely untreated psychiatric diagnosis: sociopathology.
Can Jews Go To Heaven? Bush said "NO."
How in Hell did this guy ever become president?
The Bush Watch:
Until Bush backed off this position after Billy Graham told him it was a decision for God, not governors, it was unsettling news for Jews, Muslims, and believers in any faiths other than the Christian, perhaps even for backsliding Christians.'
Bush joked to reporters about his '94 answer a year or so ago, prior to a trip to the Middle East.
According to stories in the Austin American-Statesman, he told reporters that he planned to stop in Israel and tell the Jews they were all going to hell. An exchange of messages between Bush and the Jewish Anti-Defamation League followed. While no one has accused Bush of anti-Semitism, there have been comments about his insensitivity, both toward the Jews and his own family. A Jewish reporter said Bush's remarks were quite upsetting to his son. No one in the Bush family has commented, but there's little doubt that Bush has touched a sore spot in family history.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Fire Breaks Out In California Refinery
Sure have been a lot of fires in the past few years; at chemical plants and, now, a major oil refinery.
What's up?
BellSouth - NEWS:
RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) - A fire broke out at an oil refinery Monday morning, injuring one employee, sending flames as high as 50 feet into the air and prompting an order for residents to stay indoors, authorities said.
The fire began at about 5:24 a.m. at Chevron's Richmond Refinery, said Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials specialist Maria Duazo. 'We are asking residents to stay inside, close their doors and windows and shut off ventilation,' Duazo said.
The fire was under control by daybreak and the worker's injury was minor, Chevron spokesman Dean O'Hair said.
About 1,200 employees were in the refinery at the time, O'Hair said.
Toll booth workers on the nearby San Rafael Bridge were evacuated, though the bridge remained open to traffic with high patrol officers directing traffic, Duazo said.
The 2,900-acre refinery is the largest in the Bay Area and is more than 100 years old, according to Chevron's Web site.
It had a previous fire in March, 1999, O'Hair said.
Corporate Media Malfeasance:
There are, basically, three groups of people who stand responsible for the current national nightmare. The news media is certainly one of them!
The other two are: The administration and their enablers in Congress.
Corporate Media Malfeasance: A BuzzFlash Update from the Memphis Media Reform Conference -- Part II BuzzFlash:
It is now estimated that more than 3500 people attended the 2007 Conference for Media Reform in Memphis, Tennessee, January 12-14.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated not far from the Memphis Conference Center where the conference is finishing up.
It was noted by more than one speaker that the Civil Rights Movement – and the protests against the Vietnam War – might not have succeeded if the media had not transmitted the horrible images and stories from those two tumultuous clashes.
But now we have a corporate media that censors images of death in Iraq because they might make the viewers squeamish and change the channel. More likely, we cannot even see our war dead or dead Iraqis because the corporate media has put too much money on Bush to risk the wrath of Junior, Cheney and Rove. We rarely see a burial of a fallen GI or a grieving family. That’s 'too real' for the corporate news.
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