Mr. David Corn,

A nice piece but I fear bluster (from both sides) then a bunch of meaningless insincere words then confirmation (even if reluctantly).

I think this is another case of defanged dems and only some sanity from within the GOP, maybe a little dagger in the Bunnypants action.

The momentum will not be put in check by the dems so we have to depend on the GOPhers to do the right thing? How sad is that.

The system is broken and serves a new master, and it is not the people. We can expect nothing in return for our nationalism or financial support for the slugs.

Time will tell, obviously the only way to nix the Scalito will be on the shoulders of a handful of the GOPhers (the NE's would be the likely ones).

I am sure the politicians want to see how it is polling first (as they should). God forbid the polling services are sold out for profit as well as everything else. ( should I have said "have been")

Thanks again for all of your work
You are a stand up guy because you do not always say what I want to hear.

I hate it, but respect you more for it.

Thanks

Kirk

David, I heard Orrin Hatch two times today on Npr and Chris Matthews. This guy has no shame.

Now ..according to Hatch the nomination, Alito, deserves an "up and down vote".

Now.. Hatch tells the american public that the job of the Senate is to "advise and consent". After the right wing threw Harriet Miers out on her ass, kicked her in the stomach, and then attempted to blame the Democrats.

I just wanted to "reach through the screen" (as Fitzgerald said last Friday) and grab Hatch by the collar and scream, "I just can't take your lies anymore." This selective application drives me crazy.

I really want them to take their "nuclear option" and stick it up where the sun doesn't shine, and watch them implode.

Excuse me, it has been a long day. The hypocrisy is just really getting to me.

David Corn: Can Dems Say "Finito" to "Scalito"?

Micki: No.

David Corn: Can Dems Say "Finito" to "Scalito"?

Micki: Can the Repugs Say "non una probabilità" to the bushevik cabal?

I also heard Senator Dewine tell the american public today. That if the Democrats try to fillibuster the "Scalito" nomination, he will jump on the "nuclear option" bus.

All I can say to Dewine is jump, jump, jump, you chump. From what I hear from folks here in Ohio (and I talk with lots of folks), all over Ohio. Hackett is going to give Dewine a run for the money.

another AOL poll...

How would you rate Samuel Alito as a Supreme Court pick?
Poor 45%
Excellent 30%
Fair 16%
Good 9%
How would you rate Bush's overall choices?
Poor 59%
Excellent 19%
Good 15%
Fair 8%
Total Votes: 161,321
-----
What choice should Bush make regarding Cheney?
Let him go 65%
Keep him 35%
Total Votes: 109,231
-----
What choice should Bush make regarding Rove?
Let him go 74%
Keep him 26%
Total Votes: 109,477
-----
How would you rate Bush's choices on the economy?
Poor 65%
Excellent 17%
Good 11%
Fair 8%
Total Votes: 109,886
-----
How would you rate Bush's choices on Social Security?
Poor 72%
Excellent 13%
Good 9%
Fair 6%
Total Votes: 71,212
-----
How would you rate Bush's choices on the war on terror?
Poor 68%
Excellent 18%
Fair 7%
Good 7%
Total Votes: 70,893
-----
How would you rate Bush's choices on energy policy?
Poor 74%
Excellent 12%
Good 8%
Fair 7%
Total Votes: 68,835

I can't wait. If the Democrats even breathe the word filibuster, they are going to get their collective asses kicked, and rightly so.

Despite the fact I'm happy with some of the Presidents policies, particularly on border security, he has redeemed himself in my eyes for nominating the type of SC candidate he should have in the first place!

Hmmmm. it's getting late as I made a freudian slip there. I meant to say I'm UN-happy ...

Great scientific poll there, Alan

It is the obligation of government to represent the people of this nation. It is not the obligation of the nation to change to fit the government. Most people are moderate. This government is extreme. It is big business. It is pro war. It is anti women's rights. It is anti environment. It's anti middle class.

What I have seen in the last four years is a constricting of the rights of the people. I have seen the protections disappear. I have seen an illegitimate group take power and alter the checks and balances that stabilize the democracy.

Why does George Bush have the right and the power to make decision about the Supreme Court when he has stolen both elections? And why when his administration has broken laws while occupying the White House?

I say the Democrats need to spell out to the American people just what Alito represents. What rights would he be willing to smother? What protections will he help eliminate? Who does he really represent? Is he honest in his respect for the law? I can't say he is when he rule in favor of a mutual fund that he had $300,000 in.

Well lets start by taking an excerpt of David Corn's entry and sending it to each of our senators. Here is a good excerpt in my opinion:

The Supreme Court, they should argue, keeps becoming more significant in the lives of Americans, deciding critical matters (privacy rights, religious controversies, environmental laws, assisted suicide and at least one presidential election). Consequently, Democrats should say they are now going to judge potential Justices on the basis of where these men and women may lead the nation.

Yes, in the past, Republicans have voted for qualified Court nominees who were liberal (Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for one), and Democrats have voted for qualified Court nominees who were conservative (Scalia, for some reason, comes to mind). But the Democrats should candidly declare such days are over--at least for now, with the Court hanging in the balance and Bush actively moving to shove it in a distinctly ideological direction. Democrats have no obligation to watch and wave as Bush and his now-happy and unified conservative base proceed in a manner they believe to be inimical to the interests of the nation.

So Democrats should be honest and blunt and declare they are opposing Alito because of how they expect he will vote. And they should explain--in broad, values-laden language, not the rhetoric of process--what they fear and how Alito's decisions could affect Americans. There is nothing wrong with a senator proclaiming that protecting reproductive rights and privacy rights is a top priority and that he or she would not vote for a Justice who is likely to restrict those rights or even seek to abolish some of them. The same goes for any senator who believes abortion is mass murder. Why should such a senator vote for a nominee who would protect such a practice?

I also peppered my request that we tone down the NARAL extreme rhetoric used against Roberts and focus on the broader issues at stake with 'Scalito'... without reaching to middle america any attempt will fail, and with middle america it will only continue to errode the Cheney-Bush deathhold.

Yeah Tim, I figured you wouldn't like it. There's a link at the bottom of each one with a 'note' about it each vote. I didn't read it. Because it's a 'whoever wants to participate' thing instead of a from professional pollsters might make you doubt it's validity, but... it has well over a hundred thousand responses on most of the questions, and that's alot more voices than the 'name' polls. I'd think it was good to get more participation, a more accurate read even. If you don't like the results, then I hope your pet canary dies. hmphh!

Capt, thanks for covering my back on the last thread (while I wasn't around) at #159. I liked Jeanne's response too. Thanks guys, for straightening out the Bill-dude. Timmie's a lost cause, so we can avoid him.

Heh, Heh, Heh! You puny democrats can not stop us now. Just try filibustering us and we will go nuclear on your arses. Heh, heh, heh!

Heh, heh, heh! Those ignoramus rednecks and doofus bible beaters that voted for us and plus a few of our voting machines here and there. We can finally rule the world or steal everything they have. Heh, heh, heh!

Heh, Heh, Heh! I gots a mandate and I plan on spending it before the rapture. Heh, Heh, Heh!

Oh dang it! Is that internets on! I did not know it was a live feed! I am ruined! 'Merica won't be fooled again! Will they???

Oh if it wasn't for the those pesky Korn Kids...

Here's something for Tim...

Timmy Loses Gobbles

Billmon made a funny...

Cheney: Think about aspens, Scooter -- you know, the ones that are connected at the roots. And if you'll pardon me for saying so, I've always thought of you as a team player. And so does everyone else here at the White House. Get my drift?

Miers is unqualified.. um cause.. um... she.. um didnt tell us that she would follow our plan for a socialist society! And Alito is unqualified.. um.. cause..um... he's not liberal and would not follow our plan for a socialist society!

Lets clone Breyer-- that way we can go completely communist..

Drew

Regarding a powerful study of Iraq civilian causalties...

In the recent "This American Life" with Ira Glass (see http://www.thislife.org/pages/archives/archive05.html look for episode 300). He mentioned a study from John Hopkins University that says over 100,000 Iraq civilians have died as a result of the US-Iraq war, while the Iraq Body Count site using the tracking of MSM reports of deaths gives a high of ~30,000. Glass mentions he dismissed the Hopkins report as likely bogus and slanted as many people did. However, after hearing more about the report and the remarkable way that it was done he began to realize that it may be more accurate than all the other studies because it was done with well accepted methods. Therefore he interviewed the lead statistician of the study. I too was impressed how they went into the war zone and used a rigoursly acceptable standard method for estimating mortality rates and causes called a cluster sample survey. They randomized locations throughout Iraq based on population (i.e. Baghdad had multiple sites but towns all over Iraq came up). They went to each town and using a GPS they drove around the border of the town and mapped the coordinates, and then did a random selection of a point within the town without any human prejudice toward safer or dangerous neighboorhoods, or more readily accessible areas, etc. They then went to the closest 30 households and surveyors who were nationals (Iraqi citizens) then would go interview them and asked them basically two questions: "how many people died in the 14 months before the war started and how and when did they die" and "how many people died in the 17 months since the invasion and how and when did they die" often even seeing the death certificates. The results led to an estimate of nearly 100,000 deaths due to the war. The death rate went up unsurprisingly by 60% since the war, but the shocker was how they were dying. The leading cause of death wasn't disease like it almost always is but bombs and bullets. In the 32 of 33 clusters sampled, 21 people died of violence. Of the 21 people: 2 died in firefights where it is unclear where the bullet came from, 3 died by insurgent actions, 7 died by criminal violence like carjackings, 9 died by coalition forces. This surprised the surveyors they had no idea that a larger percentage of deaths were directly due to coalition forces, because compared to prior wars it has supposedly been a "clean" war for civilian casualties (as compared to bombings of tokyo and dresden). Most of the coalition killings were from coalition airpower sources rather than ground troops, such as helicopter gunships and bombings. Later the head surveyor heard a pentagon presentation where it was said that over 50,000 bombs have been dropped in Iraq. He realized that only a small percentage would have to miss their targets in order to account for the results of their survey.

In the 33rd cluster sampled which was Fallujah (kept to last because of the high danger), they couldn't even use all the houses closest to the random point because many of the houses were bombed out and left abandoned. Neighbors said most of the occupants of those home had died, but because it couldn't be substantiated the surveyors didn't count them, and ended up going to 52 houses before getting the needed 30 homes that had people who could be interviewed. In this cluster (in Fallujah) alone: 53 deaths were accounted since the war started, of which 52 were violent deaths. All but one of them was caused by coalition weapons, and 24 of them were children under 12 years old.

I was impressed by the lead statistican being interviewed he described having to accept death as very real possibility in doing this survey and found himself remaining very cool in difficult situations.

Ira Glass mentioned that it got only 21 seconds coverage on NBC news, no one else covered it, except 45 seconds on NPR. He shared an irony that this surveyor did surveys using the same methods in Africa which got front page news in MSM, but even though he risked his life doing the same study in Iraq and that the US was more involved in the situation, it didn't hit the papers.

Oh, and let me guess what the WH admin and the right wing nuts would say about this 100,000 Iraqi citzen casaulty study, if somehow it wasn't surpressed during the pre-election run up. It would have been the usual onion layered response...

first attack Ira/NPR as liberal, finally get a concession that it is the John Hopkins study that is the subject not Ira Glass or NPR,

second attack the study as being biased, finally concede that such methods are acceptable (after getting pointed out that right wing arguments are often based on similar study methods),

third attack that it was poorly done by biased people (unlike themselves) but after finally actually reading the report and recognizing they get no support from the scientific community for their attack claims, the hold firm against the scientific community (well practiced for global warming studies) and don't really concede that these methods were done well and carried out at grave costs (but just in case, some more extreme ones will say out loud what is in the minds of most of the right wing nuts... and lay out a fourth attack below)

the fourth attack as needed would be, well hey its 100,000 nameless Iraqi citzens who are likely to grow up to be terrorists and want to kill us like those prisoners in Gitmo and Abu Ghraib were trying to do, so lets get them before they get us... and make a "democracy" out of what is left.

This onion model worked well as the reason for the war shifted with the incoming evidence, so why stop now.

"There is no question that Alito is qualified, in that he has been an assistant solicitor general, a deputy assistant US attorney general, a US attorney and an appeals court judge."

The problem with this is that he has worked all his life for the government. He can be opposed, at a time when a diverse nation needs a diverse court, as another white man whose life experience has been too narrow.

As long as the "nuclear option" is held over America it will be like the bully in the school yard. Until you stand up for what is right, you cannot resume a fair standard. Therefor, let them change the rules with their criminals in leadership, and we should fight alito or endorse him based on alito, not delay and frist and the others. Conservative americans can either wake up and return to being reasonable or we can have the fight for America that appears unavoidable. It is an opportunity to heal. What astounds me is that bush/cheney have brought the nuclear option to world affairs as well as the U.S. Senate.
doobie

A US ear in the Muslim world

By Ioannis Gatsiounis

No one expected that Karen Hughes' "listening tour" to improve America's image in the Muslim world would be easy. But few thought the campaign would founder as it did.

In Saudi Arabia, she angered a room full of Arab women when she implied that they should fight for their right to drive. In Egypt she erroneously accused Saddam Hussein of gassing hundreds of thousands of his own people. In Indonesia her defense of the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq engendered hostility among students.

In Malaysia she again exculpated the invasion. "President [George W Bush] made the decision that he believed was in the best interest of American security and for greater peace in the world."

Needless to say, Hughes hasn't won America many new friends in her latest role as under secretary of public diplomacy. What she has inadvertently done is bolster perceptions that Washington is self-righteous beyond redemption. And without a thorough revision, her rebranding campaign will abet rather than assuage the "enemy".

The root of the problem lies in the nature of her agenda. Contrary to official spin, Hughes has not been hired to improve America's standing in the world, but the Bush administration's.

This is a hopeless cause - to expect the Muslim world to change its mind over arguably the most brazen and unilateralist American president in history; one who has chosen to make the Islamic world the battle front for "freedom and democracy".

*****end of clip*****

"Hughes has not been hired to improve America's standing in the world, but the Bush administration's."

See he really does care about his standing but America'a standing can pound sand.

What a guy.

capt

ANew Study Suggests The Stomach -- Not The Heart -- Offers Greater Lie Detection Accuracy

A new study suggests that changes in gastric physiology perform better than standard polygraph methods in distinguishing between lying and telling the truth. The University of Texas study, released today at the 70th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, demonstrates a clear link between the act of lying and a significant increase in gastric arrhythmia.

To test their hypothesis that the gastrointestinal tract is uniquely sensitive to mental stress because of the communication between the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch recruited sixteen healthy volunteers to undergo simultaneous electrogastrogram (EGG) and electrocardiogram (EKG) recordings for three periods.

The researchers found that both lying and truth telling affected cardiac symptoms, while the act of lying was also associated with gastric symptoms. The EGG showed a significant decrease in the percentage of normal gastric slow waves when the subject was lying that corresponded to a significant increase in the average heart rate during the same situation.

"We concluded that the addition of the EGG to standard polygraph methods has clear value in improving the accuracy of current lie detectors," said Pankaj Pasricha, MD, University of Texas Medical Branch. "The communication between the big brain and the little brain in the stomach can be complex and merits further study."

Editor's Note:The original news release can be found HERE

*****end of clip*****

I read this piece and thought is sounded about right.

I have a gut feeling about it! HA!

capt

How Karl Rove Got His Groove Back -- And Other Sordid Tales of the White House Betraying America

November 1, 2005

In an unprecedented media moment, long before most Americans were awake, the White House released the news that one of those mild-mannered looking right wing ideological perverts would be Bush's second Supreme Court nominee, just four days after his first nominee announced she was "withdrawing."

News of Mr. Scalito's appointment hit the wires on a Monday morning so early that the squirrels were still sleeping in Camp David. Normally, rumors fly before a Supreme Court nomination, but it's not confirmed as a nomination until the President presents the candidate at a press event.

Why, the rather unusual before-dawn announcement of Scalito (who believes it is okay to strip search a 10-year-old girl and that a married woman must receive the permission of her husband before receiving an abortion -- among other medieval opinions)? Because Karl Rove wanted to suck TreasonGate out of the Monday morning headlines.

Karl Rove, like Goebbels, is a master of propaganda -- and a key component of crisis management propaganda is timing. If Monday, October 31, began with another wave of TreasonGate headlines, it could spell further erosion for a White House that not only daily betrays a nation, but is totally and utterly incompetent. (Any person not caught up in the national state of right wing hysteria is suicidal if they support this administration, because the WH's bungling ineptitude daily threatens our national security and economic well-being.) So Scalito was "rolled out" early, before he was probably even out of bed, to divert the press from Friday's indictment (that was really a door opening onto the entire conspiracy behind lying America into war).

*****end of clip*****

When did it become who is the best liar at lying.

I hear "conservatives" are happy? The correct statement is anti-choice neocons are happy. That is less than 30% of the electorate.

I wonder what Kkkarl Rove is leaking today?

We have started a war of choice to divert from the failures of policy and the MSM are helping as much as they can. Hard to see the submarines when counting clouds.

capt

It's just a case of musical chairs.

Roberts is another O'Connor.

Alito is another Renquist.

Zero change on the court, regarding Roe. Write it on the wall.

Bob in North Dakota.

Who cares? Whether this ideologue is confirmed or not sooner or later the doofus in charge is going to get his way or else he will pout, start another war and be nasty in the back room. Let them have their three years, by that time there will be revolution in the streets and no soldiers left to put in the american homeland to defend it, so we outsource it to a peacekeeping force from the Peoples republic of China wearing Wal Mart body armor, see it all works out. Pretty slick too, as the walton family become the new government. Run it like a business, aren't you happy now? Enjoy your new lifestyle.

let's see... what's the new guy judge's name? is it roberts? - weren't the dems "opposed" to him because all his papers wouldn't be released? - and then what happened? - he was confirmed anyway. I bet the dems will "oppose" alito just to give the impression they are the opposition party, and then he will be confirmed anyway.

Please explain Pajamas and Michael Ledeen. thanks.

New Blog Venture Unveils All-Star Contributors, Prepares for November Debut

Pajamas Media confirms "Instapundit" Glenn Reynolds, CNBC's Larry Kudlow, Michael Barone, David Corn, and Claudia Rosett among Editorial Board Members

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Oct. 17, 2005 – Pajamas Media, a new blogging venture designed to bring together top online writers, journalists and commentators under a single umbrella, today unveiled its editorial board as it prepares for its formal debut next month.

The announcement comes as Pajamas Media further realizes its vision of coalescing the internet’s brightest minds and most compelling content into a single source that will, in turn, complement and re-define journalism in the 21st century. The company will detail its vision and strategy -- and unveil its new name -- at an invitation-only New York City event slated for mid-November.

Pajamas Media today revealed that its editorial board members and contributors include "Instapundit" Glenn Reynolds, one of the world's most-read bloggers; CNBC's Larry Kudlow, blogger and host of "Kudlow & Company"; Michael Barone, blogger and senior writer, U.S. News & World Report; David Corn, blogger, columnist and Washington, D.C. editor for The Nation; and Claudia Rosett, a prize-winning journalist and blogger central to breaking the United Nations' "Oil for Food" controversy.

For more information on Pajamas Media's New York event, please contact Ben Hohmann at bhohmann@vocecomm.com or (650) 228-5187.

*****end of clip*****

I hope this helps?

capt

No James,
The filibuster is another right being stripped from the American people not just from the democrats. That is a safeguard that the Republicans are happy to remove from government. I'd be blaring that into the streets.
The American people are slowing being deprived of all their rights.

#18 Yelnats, Thank You so much for writing about the John Hopkins report, having to do with how many Iraqi civilians have been killed.

During Desert Storm in the early 90's, I was so frustrated by the mainstream media not asking about the numbers of dead in Iraq. I called the UN, the Interantional Red Cross, and many media sources including Npr. (these folks had no answers) the Iraqi embassy (which had numbers of dead within the first month of around 60,ooo (including Iraqi soldiers). I could not validate those numbers, and the american media was certaily not investigating, and did not even seem to be asking. We did hear the dead mentioned periodically as "collateral damage" During this time , I was told that it was part of some military "cease fire" agreement between the U.S./Coalition and Iraq that the numbers of the Iraqi dead would never be released. How true this was I do not know.

It is deeply disturbing when our MSM and the Bush administration can repeat how many people Saddam Hussein had killed during his reign. Yet, somehow no one can report the numbers of how many people we have killed in Iraq. The LANCET REPORT that came out over a year ago reported over 100,ooo, and that report was swept under the rug very quickly.

During this invasion I again called the UN, International Red Cross and many news sources. No one had any answers. The deaths of tens of thousands and the absence of the questions by our media and the lack of serious investigative reporting demostrates how spiritually bankrupt our nation has become.

Ira Glass sounds as if he is making a real attempt to report about the deaths, that many americans really seem not to care about.

#27 "I bet the dems will "oppose" alito just to give the impression they are the opposition party, and then he will be confirmed anyway."

With all due respect, James, even if (not likely admittedly) ZERO Dems voted for Scalito and they fought relentlessly, he could STILL be confirmed.

I mean really! Do the math.

#28 Zen nurse. you can read Michael Ledeen's articles which reflect his twisted thinking, at the National Review web site.
I have read a bit about him. He did a great deal of studying Italian Fascism in Italy while he was working on this PH.D. It does seem he has incorporated a great deal of the fascist thinking and strategies into his own foreign thinking and advise. Rove has been called "Bush's Brain". Michael Ledden has been referred to as "Rove's Brain) in regard to the middle east.
He uses terms like "creative destruction" and the "noble lie", very dangerous thinking and methods promoted by him. These methods and thinking are expecially dangerous to people who do not belong and agree with the neo-con philosophy.
I believe this thinking reflects some psychopathic conditions that he may be suffering from
I was able to ask him some direct questions here at Ohio University at the Baker Peace Conference, several years ago. He is comfortable with lying and seems to have very little regard for many people's lives. He pushes for "THE CLEAN BREAK..SECURING THE REALM". A document and strategy proposed for the expansion of the powers of both the U.s. and Israel in the middle east.

He was involved with the Iran/contra crimes, and has been alleged to be involved with the creation and dessimination of the Niger documents. According to what I have read he developed his relationship with the Italian Secret Police "SISMI", during his years of study in Italy. This has been written about by Justin Raimando and others the last several years. some of these journalist have been writing about the Italian/ sSISMI/NIGER DOCUMENT CONNECTION FOR CLOSE TO 2 YEARS. The american mainstream media is just catching up on this topic.

well, ok. I did some math and concluded that the democrats are good guy pillars of the community, and veritable salts of the earth. whew! what would we ever do without their stand-upness?

Will the Dem's "loose" the fight if they oppose the scalito nomination? Probably. But they should fight anyway. They are in a loose-loose. FIGHT! Always Question authority. ALWAYS. Let the Repugs pull their option, and when November 2006 comes it will be very interesting.

He has written decisions that weaken civil rights law, particularly in the areas of race and gender. David C.

Doesn't this merit more than a one-liner? With Congress falling all over themselves to honor Rosa Parks in the Capitol Rotunda, and W. ordering the flags at half-staff, couldn't we start to be a little specific here?

Win an election first, Ok? Then you can put all the ACLU lawyers you want on the court.

Sorry, Mr. Corn, as I believe you wrote that you have a cordial acquaintance or even friendship with Wolf Blitzer, but if anyone still has a doubt whether Blitzer is a useless tool, read here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/31/205332/45

On the other hand, Daniel Schorr, who I normally just find annoying and pedantic, read a nice opinion on NPR yesterday recapping the criminal fraud perpetrated on the people of US by the Bush administration in leading the US to invade and occupy Iraq, of whicyh the Plame matter is just a minor indication. Nice piece by former prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega outlining the clear case for impeachment in The Nation.

Cheers/ - Folks

#37, Regardless of the papertrail controversy, the Florida debacle, the SCOTUS decision, nobody can argue that Bush got more votes than Gore in 2000. Similarly ignoring all electoral fraud issues in Ohio in 2004, the vote was hardly a referendum on the Judiciary for most Americans - with the Republican scare alerts going on throughout the election season.

It is not whether the dems can actually stop anything, it is all about right and wrong.

The dems cannot do anything to stop much of anything but if they cannot or will not stand together how can any GOPhers break away to stand with them?

If they have no real voice in the outcome I think it is more important that the dems oppose. The only thing they have to lose is their dignity, their honor and their spine. Nothing to win but a great loss if they do nothing.

The lines between the left - right distraction are not clear enough for a peaceful revolution. That is what they both want, division but not too much. So they blur the lines on purpose. It works in their favor, all of them.

Bush has never been well received by all. He now has very few. Only the fanatics are still ardent supporters. Nor surprisingly it is the opposite of what they claim to stand for. Majority rule? If that was true our votes would count.

Someone posted before about the up - down vote as a misrepresentation of the majority. Spot on, in my book and this can be proven. So, they have smaller numbers in total, actually a very small percentage can take over the government. (should I have said taken over)

The system is broken and IMHO even a strong third party will not address the problems, cannot address the problems until they have attained power. Then the corrections to the failed and flawed policies will never be implemented as radically as the Bush WH so it will take longer to fix than it took to mess-up.

One of the most obvious conservative values is a resistance to change. This has never been an endorsement of the status quo, just the wisdom to make changes carefully because the possibility for error is high. These neocons are radicals. That is always bad.

Oh well.

capt

The dems will fight the Scalito nomination. They will not win the fight. November '06 is sooooooooo far away. Americans have short memories. Americans don't know shit from shinola. Americans will keep on "electing" Repugs because they are afraid of their shadows. General Rove is laughing at all of us. CEO Cheney is reveling in our distress.

The Refucklicans are not worried about a thing. They even have a propaganda plan about making us *think* they are worried. Nope. They have it made in the shade. They are not worried.

I have been an activist since my highschool days. I was raised in a civics-minded household. My parents are rolling over in their graves. I am not giving in. I am not giving up. I will work hard for what I think is the right thing to do. But I see the handwriting on the wall.

They have a plan. They hold all the cards.

I recall some dems pointing out in a weak voice that the diebold blackbox system was corrupt -
I also recall some other dems vowing to count every vote - so much for that!

US steps up planning for a Cuba without Castro
Financial Times
By Guy Dinmore in Washington

Updated: 12:42 a.m. ET Nov. 1, 2005

US planning for Cuba's "transition" after the demise of Fidel Castro has entered a new stage, with a special office for reconstruction inside the US State Department preparing for the "day after", when Washington will try to back a democratic government in Havana.

The inter-agency effort, which also involves the Defense Department, recognises that the Cuba transition may not go peacefully and that the US may have to launch a nation-building exercise.[...]

********************

This militarism is getting way out of hand. We are on an extreme course. It's time to end the government secrecy, blow the "whole Bay of Pigs thing"...

David,
We need to replace Sandra Day O'Connor with another swing vote. No - let's see; Bill Clinton replaced Byron White, a swing voter, with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the most liberal judge on the bench.

Well, we need to replace a minority (woman) with another minority. No - let's see; George H.W. Bush tried that with Clarence Thomas, but was villified because Thomas was the "wrong kind" of minority, one who didn't believe blacks belonged on the federal plantation with their Jesse Jackson slavemasters.

We must oppose the President's picks if they differ with our philosophy. No - let's see; Orrin Hatch sat down with Bill Clinton to vet the two liberal justices, Breyer and Ginsburg, that were named by Clinton. Hatch understood it was a President's perogative to choose whom he wished. Both Justices were confirmed overwhelmingly in the Senate.

Any more sterling logic or empiricism?

Bush to Unveil Super-Flu Strategy on Tues

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) -

The Bush administration's long-awaited plan on how to fight the next super-flu will likely include beefed-up attempts to spot human infections early, both here and abroad.

Expect recommendations on how to isolate the sick. Governors and mayors are on notice to figure out who will actually inject stockpiled vaccines into the arms of panicked people.

Bush on Tuesday is visiting the National Institutes of Health to announce his administration's strategy on how to prepare for the next flu pandemic, whether it's caused by the bird flu in Asia or some other super strain of influenza. Federal health officials have spent the last year updating a national plan on how to do that.

The president will ask Congress for unspecified new money, not just for a vaccine against bird flu but to fund a buildup of infrastructure ready to deal with any pandemic, said a senior administration official, who spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity.

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Any flu will do. Here comes Marshall law and we all know who will be playing the Marshall.

capt

#38 Riff. I agree. Daniel Schorr's opinion Monday night on NPr,about the Libby indictment and the Bush administrations successful efforts to drag our military into Iraq, was honest, outstanding, and impressive.

I could not understand why Bush would pick someone like Harriet Miers. Even less why Conservative groups were the ones attacking her. I was blind but now I see.It was a case of bait and switch. It was part of the master plan for Harriet Miers to withdraw. Then it would look like Bush treid but had no choice than to pick a hard line Anti-Abortion Conservative like Judge Samuel Alito. Bush will now use the fact, ( after weeks of opposition from both liberals and conservatives Harriet Miers had to withdraw) as the reason why he wants to rush Judge Samuel Alito on to the court. Harriet Miers, not the best choice for a judge on the court. But as a life long pal of Bush, she would be the best person to take a hit for the team. Bush is not as dumb as some people think. Remember the best tick the devil ever played was convincing the world he does not exist. Judge Samuel Alito will be placed on the court. The laws on Abortion and on so many things will change. I hope i am wrong but it looks that way.

http://novus-ordo-seclorum.us/

David,

As always I enjoy your comments. About "Scalito" and the opinion he had on the spuuse notification aspect to the Pennsylvania abortion law. While it is true that he was "in favor" of this notification, it is also true that the provision also included exceptions for those women in an abusive relationship. I think we need to be out front with this fact.

On Tim comment on 11-2 at 12:15pm. This is not the "infamous Tim" who is the iconoclastic conservative of this blog. I am henceforth "Timo."

David, one of my faves no Plames just raves just a kindly hint on the Pajama stint be careful how "in" you cave. PS Altruism? Really?