Mr. David Corn,

Great story, in a major sad way, on a very sad day. When you write from the heart it moves the reader. You are able to get right to the center of the feelings about the theme you address.

You really shame me, I have never taken up a cause with the energy you do (very often).

Your contribution is not limited to what you write but makes what you write a move valuable gift that you share so generously.

Thanks,

Kirk

Crucifixion
By Phil Ochs

And the night comes again to the circle studded sky
The stars settle slowly, in loneliness they lie
'Till the universe expodes as a falling star is raised
Planets are paralyzed, mountains are amazed
But they all glow brighter from the briliance of the blaze
With the speed of insanity, then he dies.

In the green fields a turnin', a baby is born
His cries crease the wind and mingle with the morn
An assault upon the order, the changing of the guard
Chosen for a challenge that is hopelessly hard
And the only single sound is the sighing of the stars
But to the silence and distance they are sworn

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Images of innocence charge him go on
But the decadence of destiny is looking for a pawn
To a nightmare of knowledge he opens up the gate
And a blinding revelation is laid upon his plate
That beneath the greatest love is a hurricane of hate
And God help the critic of the dawn.

So he stands on the sea and shouts to the shore,
But the louder that he screams the longer he's ignored
For the wine of oblivion is drunk to the dregs
And the merchants of the masses almost have to be begged
'Till the giant is aware, someone's pulling at his leg,
And someone is tapping at the door.

To dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Then his message gathers meaning and it spreads accross the land
The rewarding of his pain is the following of the man
But ignorance is everywhere and people have their way
Success is an enemy to the losers of the day
In the shadows of the churches, who knows what they pray
For blood is the language of the band.

The Spanish bulls are beaten; the crowd is soon beguiled,
The matador is beautiful, a symphony of style
Excitement is estatic, passion places bets
Gracefully he bows to ovations that he gets
But the hands that are applauding are slippery with sweat
And saliva is falling from their smiles

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Then this overflow of life is crushed into a liar
The gentle soul is ripped apart and tossed into the fire.
First a smile of rejection at the nearness of the night
Truth becomes a tragedy limping from the light
All the (canons|heavens) are horrified, they stagger from the sight
As the cross is trembling with desire.

They say they can't believe it, it's a sacreligious shame
Now, who would want to hurt such a hero of the game?
But you know I predicted it; I knew he had to fall
How did it happen? I hope his suffering was small.
Tell me every detail, I've got to know it all,
And do you have a picture of the pain?

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Time takes her toll and the memory fades
but his glory is broken, in the magic that he made.
Reality is ruined; it's the freeing from the fear
The drama is distorted, to what they want to hear
Swimming in their sorrow, in the twisting of a tear
As they wait for a new thrill parade.

The eyes of the rebel have been branded by the blind
To the safety of sterility, the threat has been refined
The child was created to the slaughterhouse he's led
So good to be alive when the eulogy is read
The climax of emotion, the worship of the dead
And the cycle of sacrifice unwinds.

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

And the night comes again to the circle studded sky
The stars settle slowly, in loneliness they lie
'Till the universe expodes as a falling star is raised
Planets are paralyzed, mountains are amazed
But they all glow brighter from the briliance of the blaze
With the speed of insanity, then he died.

Ffolks,

I've noticed the tunes in my head (to which the voices sing in harmony) lately have been greatly slanted to Beatles and John Lennon tunes. I think "Eggman" has had something to do with that, but I honestly believe not a day goes by without a lyric or a tune touched by John Lennon hasn't crossing my mine. (an admittedly brief journey)

My local NPR CLASSICAL station just ended "Performance Today" with John Lennon singing "Norweigan Wood". A telling thing, that.

His life's work crossed all lines and continues to touch, influence and move people in every corner of planet earth.

If, somewhere out there, there's intelligent life (gods know it hasn't happened HERE yet) I can only pray that the first radio waves they decipher sound like.... "All we are saying...is GIVE PEACE A CHANCE".

Imagine...

A Working Class Hero

I remember exactly where I was when I learned that Lennon was shot dead - doing push ups in eleventh grade P.E. class - one hero shot down by a kook with a gun -

standing up to the NRA was admirable of you, but times have certainly changed haven't they? - it might come to pass that one would wish for a gun, or be glad that they already have one -

no one is taking my gun(s) away now, that is for sure

Today's Democracy Now! includes a performance of John Lennon's "John Sinclair" from a free John Sinclair rally performance, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1971.

Wow, David really likes talking about himself. Just like a progressive/liberal to blame the gun instead of the wack job that pulled the trigger.

Capt, it is really embarrassing reading your posts about David. It must take him all day to clean his ass of all that slobber from the ass kissin you give him. Hey, what ever chokes your chicken!!

Where was I? Getting ready for school, hearing on the mourning news. Then meeting up with the group who stopped to smoke on the defunct railroad platforms every morning. The normal dulling effect of the smoke did nothing to deaden the pain of the news. That day in school was a blurry swirl of "other things" I refused to allow in.

A days before I'd stood on stage in my Catholic School to sing sang, "Imagine" for some assembly. That remains my only public, solo singing performance.

-T

"A FEW days before...."

HA,
Happiness is a warm gun. May it continue to give you cold comfort and may the people you know and love never be harmed by it.

Hajji,

Let me get this straight. On a Catholic School stage you sang, "Imagine no religion...?"

Cool.

Two, one, two, three, four
Ev'rybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism,
Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, That-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m
All we are saying is give piece a chance,
All we are saying is give piece a chance
C'mon
Ev'rybody's talking about ministers,
Sinister, Banisters
And canisters, Bishops, Fishops,
Rabbis, and Pop eyes, Bye, bye, bye byes
All we are saying is give peace a chance,
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Let me tell you now
Revoluton, evolution, masturbation,
Flagellation, regulation, integrations,
Meditations, United Nations,
Congratulations
Ev'rybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan,
Tommy Copper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer,
Allen Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare
Krishna

"to call for sensible handgun control"

I do not think David was off base at all.

Sensible gun control is sensible. ie: a person with mental health issues access to firearms is insane.

Just sayin'

capt

I was getting ready for class. Later that eve there was a candle light vigil. Many attended, Then slowly the songs began. everyone got bolder when we sang and sang...

"All We Are Saying
Is Give Peace A Chance"

Three days later, my team of students and geologoists left for Pakistan. The country was very curious about our American treatment of John Lennon. Two men offered candles.

As I loaded this article of Mr. Corn's, by coincidence, Lennon was singing "Cry Baby Cry" through the speakers of my computer...from the White Album.

Yes, it was a terrible crime, and a horrible loss.

I do wonder, though, how many people as talented as Mr. Lennon have died in Mr. Bush's war? In car accidents in the past year? How many people potentially as talented as Mr. Lennon will never write music, or sing, due to their death in an abortion clinic?

Mr. Lennon's senseless death reminds me that senseless death is all around us.

Bob in North Dakota

Robert,

It was in my 11th year of being in a class of about 20-some in a 2-story school builing with maybe 18 classrooms...

One of the first things they taught me there was to QUESTION EVERYTHING... They were quite surprised when I actually did!

As adversarial as it became, as much trouble I caused for the teachers, my poor MOM, and myself, I wouldn't trade that education for the world.

-T

I cannot place my memory for that day. No memory at all. I know I heard about it but . . .

Maybe a mental block.

capt

Who Killed John Lennon

Do not mention his name.
The man kills John Lennon, now he's on TV again.
He's blaming Holden Caulfield in the face of the lens.
And each time he does it, he kills him again.
Who killed John Lennon?

A loser with a pistol, a martyr's best friend.

And each time he's televised, he kills him again.
It's the prize that he wanted when he loaded the gun.
And each time he's mentioned, murder is done.
So, who killed John Lennon?

A no one.

He's on TV again.
He's playing the hero.
The networks won't let the story end.
He brings in the ratings for them.
He's playing the hero.
But he's a killer.
He's been convicted.

He's been convicted...

His lawyer must think it's a game.

Though he knows Lennon's songs, both in word and by name.
He cold calls the networks, retrieves all the funds.
Then he scrapes his percentage when the programs are run.

Who killed John Lennon?

A lawyer, an agent.
Big money's best friend.
And each time he's televised, they kill him again.
It's the prize that they wanted when he emptied the gun.
And each time he's mentioned, murder is done.
So who killed John Lennon?
A no one.
A no one.

-Ellis Paul

cold comfort? - no. I hate guns. but food and water may become quite an issue someday, and guns may be the only way to hang on to food and water.

Over 30,000 firearms deaths (2002?)

Three times as many as back then.

Very sad.

capt

Autobiography of a Pistol
__________________________

I'm a pistol, a forty-five,
I just shot two men in this hot-house dive.

Now I'm smoking - burning hot barrel of metal.
Believe it or not, I was bought by this guy named Ray,
a card carrying member of the NRA,

But he left me out in his car one day,
And now the finger on my trigger hasn't seen it's sixteenth birthday.

Some things they never tell you when you're riding the assembly line.
Like who'll be the hands to hold you and what's their state of mind - -
Hey, I'm not much bigger than a pointed index finger.
So who am I to lay the blame?
I'm only here to cause some pain...

The sirens --
I can hear them, they're singing ...
They're singing my song,
"When the sun sets, I get upset --

Darkness fills me and I want to light up the world"...

Would you believe I've seen better days?
I starred in westerns and won rave reviews.
Now I sit on a shelf, tagged for judgment day.
I've got to change the jury's point of view.
You see, guns don't kill people, it's the bullets that do.
I said guns don't kill people, bullets do.
Yeah, the bullets do...

Some things they never tell you when you're riding the assembly line.
Like who'll be the hands to hold you and what's their state of mind - -
Hey, I'm not much bigger than a pointed index finger.
So who am I to lay the blame?
I'm only here to cause some pain...

-Ellis Paul

(prolific on the subject, eh?)

off topic:: look at these flight paths of the highjacked planes on 911:: flight path precision :: choreography that even the bolshoi could be envious of

> David really likes talking about himself.
Baf likes to hear himself talk.

> Just like a progressive/liberal to blame the gun instead of the wack job that pulled the trigger.
It takes both a gun and a shooter. I don't know why you think it can be done without both. "Wack jobs" as you so eloquently put it, shouldn't have access to hand guns but how do you know in advance? We've got a powerful NRA lobby that fights for accces to handguns as well as assault rifles. What is the sense in providing the public with assault rifles? The issue is not just one of self-defense, ita about the safety of unarmed citizens and powerful economic interests, gun makers. When everybody caries guns, your safety is at the whim of the wack job that doesn't like the way you looked at him.

>Capt, it is really embarrassing reading your posts about David. It must take him all day to clean his ass of all that slobber from the ass kissin you give him. Hey, what ever chokes your chicken!!
This statement merits no response but three questions, you want in? as ass-licker or as ass-licked? or can we just leave it as ass?

Feingold says he'll filibuster Patriot Act

12/08/2005 @ 12:30 pm
Filed by RAW STORY

Senator Russ Feingold issued the following statement this afternoon in response to an announcement that the House and Senate conference committee had reached an agreement to extend controversial provisions of the Patriot Act. (Read about the compromise here.

"I will do everything I can, including a filibuster, to stop this Patriot Act conference report, which does not include adequate safeguards to protect our constitutional freedoms. The version of the Patriot Act that was signed today is a major disappointment. I appreciate that it includes four-year sunsets on three controversial provisions, but merely sunsetting bad law is not adequate. We need to make substantive changes to the law, and without those changes I am confident there will be strong, bipartisan opposition here in the Senate.

This isn't about stopping Patriot Act reauthorization. The President could sign Patriot Act reauthorization legislation into law tomorrow if the House would just take up and pass the compromise Senate bill that was approved unanimously in the Senate earlier this year –†a bill that includes important and reasonable privacy protections. The conference committee had the opportunity to fix many of the provisions of the Patriot Act to which Americans across the political spectrum have voiced their opposition over the last four years. Unfortunately, they decided not to listen. This battle is not over."

CNN virtually ignores Pearl Harbor anniversary

Could it be that they don’t want the words “Pearl Harbor” mentioned? (UPDATE 10:35 AM ET: CNN mentioned Pearl Harbor in its news update. No stories on the event however.)

Whenever there is an event, a holiday, celebrity news, or anything that enters the public discourse, a percentage of people automatically search the Internet for information related to the topic de jour. Could it be that the media do not want you to “Google” “Pearl Harbor?” Could it be that they are terrified that you will find out about the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) and their call for a “new Pearl Harbor?” Performing this search will surely lead people to information about the events of 9/11 and the very incriminating facts related to the members of the Bush administration who signed on to the Project for a New American Century’s colonial agenda. It will also lead you to a mother load of information about the real facts surrounding 9/11.

^^^^^^^^^^6

oh, I forgot ~ there IS no PNAC ~ ha

[The disarming of citizens] has a double effect, it palsies the hand and brutalizes the mind: a habitual disuse of physical forces totally destroys the moral [force]; and men lose at once the power of protecting themselves, and of discerning the cause of their oppression.

-- Joel Barlow, "Advice to the Privileged Orders", 1792-93

David Corn is an idealist and he should be an idealist, especially since he has young children. Thoughts of butterflies and flowers are better than real thoughts of America. We live in a real world and in this real world America is a nation that embraces hatred, murders, torture, and wars. America is also a corrupt and a deranged country.

Niel

You can leave it at ass!! I would not want to take the title of ass licker from you and capt. It might hurt your feelings!! Besides no telling where Davids ass has been- ewwww!!!

Yes, it does take both a gun and a wack job, but David seems to only write about the gun, this makes my point.

As long as progressive/liberals do not have access to guns then we can eliminate the wack job part.

UN rights chief warns on torture

The absolute ban on torture, a cornerstone of the international human rights edifice …†is becoming a casualty of the so-called war on terror," she said.

Ms Arbour's comments preceded a ruling by Britain's highest court yesterday that evidence obtained under torture cannot be used in British legal hearings, backing the case of eight terrorism suspects and civil rights campaigners.

A panel of seven Law Lords overthrew a decision by Britain's Appeal Court last year that secret tribunals hearing cases relating to the terrorism suspects could consider evidence that would not be acceptable in a criminal court trial.

That meant British authorities could consider information that might have been extracted using torture in another country, provided British agents were not directly involved.

"I have to conclude that the duty not to countenance the use of torture by admission of evidence in judicial proceedings must be regarded as paramount, and to allow its admission would shock the conscience, abuse or degrade the proceedings and involve the state in moral defilement," Lord Carswell said.

The Lords' ruling comes a day after the US banned its interrogators around the world from treating prisoners inhumanely after pressure from European governments and the US Congress.

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

We banned torture yesterday?

capt

Gerald

"America is also a corrupt and deranged country"

No, that would only be you and your Cornnut buddies Gerald.

David, I know how passionate a subject this is for liberals and progressives, but the statistics don't lie. A couple days ago I posted a letter from a police officer in Australia with the statistics of the first year of a complete gun ban in that country. The results, as the statistics below confirm, banning guns is a complete failure. There's got to be a better way. Common sense dictates that convicted felons and people with mental health issues should not be able to legally possess a gun, but there's the rub, like illegal drugs, anyone who wants a gun can get one, and criminals are in no way deterred from getting them illegally. So what to do? Disarm the overwhelmingly law abiding citizenry in a bogus attempt to reduce gun crimes? How does that reduce crime when they were never the problem? The problem is still out there, running around with guns, only now the innocent people have no means of defense other than the hope that a police officer will show up in time to save the day. Sorry, but I don't have much faith in that scenario! I do not want to give up my personal right to own a gun because of some well intentioned but unworkable solution like banning guns for everyone.

Five years before the D.C. Council banned nearly all firearms in 1976, the District's murder rate fell from 37 to 27 per 100,000 people. In the five years after 1976, the murder rate rose to 35 per 100,000 people. Between 1976 and 1991, the D.C. homicide rate rose 200 percent. The national homicide rate during the same 15-year period rose just 12 percent.
According to the FBI, the District has the highest violent crime rate in the nation of any city over 500,000 people. Its homicide rate is eight times higher than the rest of the country and four times higher than similarly sized Ft. Worth, Texas. The comparison is apt. Texas has some of the most constitutional gun laws in the country.

Pentagon Memo on Torture-Motivated Transfer Cited
By Ken Silverstein
The Los Angeles Times
Thursday 08 December 2005

A court filing describes a classified proposal to send a detainee away for information extraction.

Washington - Although Bush administration officials have denied that they transfer terrorism suspects to countries where they are likely to be abused, a classified memorandum described in a court case indicates that the Pentagon has considered sending a captured militant abroad to be interrogated under threat of torture.

The classified memo is summarized - its actual contents are blacked out - in a petition filed by attorneys for Majid Mahmud Abdu Ahmad, a detainee held by the Pentagon at its Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, facility.

The March 17, 2004, Defense Department memo indicated that American officials were frustrated in trying to obtain information from Ahmad, according to the description of the classified memo in the court petition. The officials suggested sending Ahmad to an unspecified foreign country that employed torture in order to increase chances of extracting information from him, according to the petition's description of the memo.

The precise contents of the Pentagon memo on Ahmad were not revealed, but the memo was described in the petition by New York attorney Marc D. Falkoff, who contested the transfer of Ahmad and 12 other Yemenis in U.S. District Court in Washington this year.

Falkoff's description was not disputed by U.S. government lawyers or by U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer, who read the actual Pentagon document. The judge ruled in favor of the Yemenis on March 12, and Ahmad has not been transferred from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

The memo appears to call into question repeated assertions by the administration that it does not use foreign governments to abuse suspected militants - what critics call "torture by proxy."

Pentagon officials did not return calls Wednesday seeking comment on the memo.

More.

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

That should make these Europeans feel so much more reassured:

NATO Allies Welcome Rice's Explanation
Thursday December 8, 2005 5:16 PM
By ROBERT WIELAARD
Associated Press Writer

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - European foreign ministers said Thursday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had ``cleared the air'' by assuring NATO allies that the U.S. does not allow torture of terrorist suspects and respects principles of the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war.

Shifting away from a confrontation with Washington, some NATO allies welcomed Rice's explanation of U.S. views on secret prisons and treatment of terrorist suspects at a private dinner Wednesday with her NATO and European Union counterparts.

``It is my impression that Secretary Rice ... cleared the air. You will not see this discussion continuing'' at the NATO headquarters, NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer told a news conference.

Rice ``addressed the principles that guide United States policy with regards to respect for international law,'' Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht said.

More.

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

Who knew?

Looks like the terrorists have decided to torture and kill their hostage today!

Where was Cindy Sheenan? Why was she not protesting this? Where is the outrage by you Cornnuts?

Oh ya, it's because it wasn't our military doing the torture, who cares what the enemy does!!!

Saladin 29

There is a better way- no guns for Cornnuts and we all will be safe!!

Where was Cindy Sheehan?

#4 on the petition, between Dennis Halliday and Noam Chomsky.

An Urgent Appeal: Please Release Our Friends in Iraq

Four members of Christian Peacemaker Teams were taken this past Saturday, November 26, in Baghdad, Iraq. They are not spies, nor do they work in the service of any government. They are people who have dedicated their lives to fighting against war and have clearly and publicly opposed the invasion and occupation of Iraq. They are people of faith, but they are not missionaries. They have deep respect for the Islamic faith and for the right of Iraqis to self-determination.

C.P.T. first came to Iraq in October 2002 to oppose the US invasion, and it has remained in the country throughout the occupation in solidarity with the Iraqi people. The group has been invaluable in alerting the world to many of the horrors facing Iraqis detained in US-run prisons and detention centers. C.P.T. was among the first to document the torture occurring at the Abu Ghraib prison, long before the story broke in the mainstream press. Its members have spent countless hours interviewing Iraqis about abuse and torture suffered at the hands of US forces and have disseminated this information internationally.

Each of the four C.P.T. members being held in Iraq has dedicated his life to resisting the darkness and misery of war and occupation. Convinced that it is not enough to oppose the war from the safety of their homes, they made the difficult decision to go to Iraq, knowing that the climate of mistrust created by foreign occupation meant that they could be mistaken for spies or missionaries. They went there with a simple purpose: to bear witness to injustice and to embody a different kind of relationship between cultures and faiths. Members of C.P.T. willingly undertook the risks of living among Iraqis, in a common neighborhood outside of the infamous Green Zone. They sought no protection from weapons or armed guards, trusting in, and benefiting from, the goodwill of the Iraqi people. Acts of kindness and hospitality from Iraqis were innumerable and ensured the C.P.T. members’ safety and wellbeing. We believe that spirit will prevail in the current situation.

We appeal to those holding these activists to release them unharmed so that they may continue their vital work as witnesses and peacemakers.

Signed,**

Arundhati Roy, author, The God of Small Things

Tariq Ali, author, Bush in Babylon

Denis Halliday, former U.N. Assistant Secretary General and Head of the U.N. Humanitarian Program in Iraq (1997-1998)

Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan

Noam Chomsky, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Haifa Zangana, Iraqi novelist

Kamil Mahdi, Iraqi economist and anti-occupation activist. Lecturer, University of Exeter

Mahmood Mamdani, "Herbert Lehman Professor of Government," Columbia University

Rashid Khalidi, "Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies," Middle East Institute, Columbia University

Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of Rachel Corrie, killed by Israeli military

Hasan Abu Nimah, Permanent Representative of Jordan at the United Nations (1995-2000)

Ralph Nader, former independent presidential candidate

James Abourezk, former US Senator

Howard Zinn, historian

Naseer Aruri, Professor (Emeritus) University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Kathy Kelly, Voices for Creative Nonviolence/Nobel Peace Prize Nominee

Naomi Klein, author/journalist

Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights

Rev. Daniel Berrigan, poet

Jeremy Scahill, independent journalist

Mazin Qumsiyeh, author, Sharing the Land Of Canaan, board member US Campaign to End the Occupation

Milan Rai, author, War Plan Iraq: Ten Reasons Against War on Iraq

Sam Husseini, writer

Dahr Jamail, independent journalist

Ali Abunimah & Nigel Parry, Co-founders, Electronic Iraq

Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator, United for Peace and Justice

Eve Ensler, author

Jennifer Harbury, Director, Stop Torture Permanently Campaign

Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Detroit

Anthony Arnove, author, Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal

Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange

G. Simon Harak, SJ, War Resisters League

David Hartsough, Co-Founder and Capacity Building Director of Nonviolent Peaceforce and Executive Director of Peaceworkers. Nonviolent Peace Force

Blase Bonpane, Office of the Americas

Carol Bragg, Coordinator, Rhode Island Peace Mission

Rev. Richard Deats, former Executive Secretary and Fellowship Editor, Fellowship of Reconciliation

Omar Diop, Président de la Coalition Sénégalaise des Défenseurs des Droits humains

Jim Forest, Secretary, The Orthodox Peace Fellowship

Thomas C. Cornell, The Catholic Worker

David Grant, Nonviolent Peaceforce

Ted Lewis, Global Exchange

Charles Jenks, Chair of Advisory Board, Traprock Peace Center

Jeff Leys, Voices for Creative Nonviolence

Andréa Schmidt, independent journalist

Michael Albert, ZNet

Richard McDowell, Senior Fellow for Iraq Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation

Dave McReynolds, former Chair, War Resisters International

Peter Lems, Program Associate for Iraq, American Friends Service Committee

Kevin Zeese, Director, Democracy Rising

Sunny Miller, Director, Traprock Peace Center

Dave Robinson, Director, Pax Christi USA

Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, National Coordinator, Clergy and Laity Concerned about Iraq

David Swanson, Co-Founder, After Downing Street, Board Member Progressive Democrats of America, Washington Director Democrats.com

Mary Trotochaud, Senior Fellow for Iraq Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation

Michael Birmingham, activist

Barbara Wien, Co-Director, Peace Brigades International/USA

Bishop Gabino Zavala, President, Pax Christi USA

U.S. consumer borrowing plunges
Dec. 8, 2005. 01:00 AM

WASHINGTON Consumer borrowing in the United States plunged in October by a record amount in dollar terms, reflecting a big drop in demand for auto loans.

The Federal Reserve Board, the U.S. central bank, reported yesterday that Americans' borrowing fell by $7.2 billion (U.S.) at an annual rate in October, the biggest amount on record, with much of that decline reflecting a record drop of $5.6 billion, at an annual rate, in the category that includes auto loans. The declines were a drop of 4 per cent in overall borrowing, the biggest setback in nearly 15 years, and a decline of 4.9 per cent in the category that includes auto loans, the biggest drop in 13 years.

The big drop took analysts by surprise. They had been expecting that consumer spending would rise at an annual rate of $5 billion in October.

The decline in borrowing was certain to spark concerns about how much consumers plan on spending during the current holiday shopping season.

Associated Press
------------
Those analysts are idiots who can't see the forest for the trees!
-------------

Foreclosures up 35 percent this year
By Ken Maguire, Associated Press Writer | December 7, 2005

BOSTON --Home mortgage foreclosure filings are on the rise in gritty cities and leafy suburbs, according to a new report showing a 35 percent increase statewide through October.

Boston.com

Filings in suburban Reading more than tripled and there's been a 113 percent increase in Lawrence compared with the same period last year, according to Land Court filings tracked by Framingham-based ForeclosuresMass.

"It spans the whole gamut of income levels," said Jeremy Shapiro, president of ForeclosuresMass.

The number of foreclosures filed through Oct. 31 was 9,459, compared with 7,003 in the same 10-month period last year, the report said. Essex County had the largest increase, at 50 percent.

Adjustable-rate and interest-only loans, which are riskier than traditional fixed-rate loans, are partly to blame. They've become popular because they cost less up front, but they require higher payments typically after a year or two.
------------
Like ducks in a row. That light at the end of the tunnel is getting mighty noisy.

I sometimes wonder what the people like John Lennon and Sam Cooke would be doing now if lived. Sam Cooke was just beginning to address the civil rights movement in a big way when he died.

I sometimes wonder what the people like John Lennon and Sam Cooke would be doing now if lived. Sam Cooke was just beginning to address the civil rights movement in a big way when he died.

From: Wake Up From Your Slumber Blog

Coming Soon: PAY from the GRAVE!
You drag yourself to work each day to pay back monstrous student debts.

Can it get any worse?

Apparently, it can.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the government can seize up to 15% of a retiree's monthly Social Security benefit to pay off old student loans.

NICE.

This is another blow to baby boomers on the heels of Greenspan's calls that they forego health and pension benefits [and eat Hostess cupcakes instead!]

"The court [ruled] in the case of James Lockhart, who attended four institutions of higher education between 1984 and 1989 and took out nine federally guaranteed loans. By 2002, he was disabled from diabetes and heart disease,[!!!] and had $80,000 in unpaid student loans."

"[Disabled,] Lockhart received a Social Security benefit, but the government withheld $93 per month to repay his student loans . . . when he reached retirement age . . . the government . . . began withholding $143 per month."
--------------
Only in Bizzaro America!

Ok I even checked to see if I had posted and so I posted again. Grrrrrrrr.

By the way, Hajji's game Bush's brain is addicting.

I wonder how many christians who gaze upon the crucifix realize their symbol's violent history is reflected in it's very name::
'cross' and 'crucifix' stem from the latin verb cruciare - to torture.

Diebold execs gave to Republicans in spite of ban

Although Diebold officially banned political donations by top brass in 2004, Diebold executives have continued to feed money to Republican campaigns, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The story was earlier reported by blogger Michael Petrelis.

After a Bush campaign fundraiser and controversial statements by CEO Walden O'Dell, Diebold barred its CEO, financial officer, and Election Systems VP from making political donations. However, that ban has not stopped other executives from giving to GOP campaigns.

In all, Diebold executives contributed $1,400 to the campaigns of Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Ohio State Senator Kirk Schuring (R-Canton).
---------------------
In other words, the company that brings you the voting machine and committs voting fraud also gives to the Republican Party.

#33

Well that clears that question up. I thought they may have been doing something TOTALLY USELESS. Sending love notes to kidnappers at least provides some amusement to others.

here is another bush game :: bushco shoot-out starring con rice

Veterans for Peace member Stan Merriman got this letter published in today's Houston Chronicle...

A message local vets had hoped to give to Cheney
VFP members protest the misuse of military in Iraq

here's a couple of grafs from the letter...

As we were being escorted off the premises of the Westin Oaks Hotel in the Galleria, outside the event, with 300 other protesters, stood a proud and amazing person, Ann Wright, a fellow VFP member and anti-Iraq war activist with a resume as powerful as anyone's in the fund-raiser. A diplomat and foreign service officer as well as Army Reserve colonel, Wright became an international media "star" when she resigned her post at the outset of the invasion of Iraq. She had most recently served in foreign service posts in Mongolia and Kabul, Afghanistan.

The local media chose only to depict Wright as just another sign-carrier on the sidewalk at the Galleria, and as a modest person, she chose anonymity as well.

Inside the Cheney banquet, another VFP member, Diane Wilson, a nationally recognized environmental activist and author unfurled a banner opposing the Cheney-concocted war, representing the very imaginative protest group Code Pink, which has managed similar incursions into gatherings at both Republican and Democratic national conventions. Wright, Wilson and our team of six share these viewpoints about this administration and its treatment of the military, along with our tens of thousands of brothers and sisters of Veterans For Peace in 85 chapters across America.

Instead of defending the people of the United States from foreign attack, Cheney and the Bush administration have used our military as a tool to further a plan for world domination and reward corporate friends.
=============================
It's not a long letter, so please read the whole thing. I'm surprised our paper published it.

Christian Peacemaker Team Kidnapped In Iraq

So, who is responsible for this kidnapping? And, who benefits? If these insurgents want us out, why do they insist on acts that are guaranteed to not only keep us there, but expand this horrid war all across the middle east? This doesn't make any sense. Add to that our endlessly lying govt. through the endlessly lying media tells us what is going on. Why do I find these sources less than reliable? If you want to learn a little about what these peace keeper groups do, read this article, it is short, and you will see motives you won't hear about on the MSM.

From: BrusselsTribunal.Org

Young Iraqi surgeon testifies about the horrors of the Iraq war

Even during operations, doctors were shot at by US soldiers.

Barbara Debusschere, De Morgen (Belgium), 26 November 2005

translated 07 December 2005

The Iraqi surgeon Salam Ismael (29) has piles of pictures and interviews with survivors and witnesses that show that many Iraqi civilians and doctors were victims of much more than collateral damage, as was the case with the US attacks on Fallujah. Doctors and patients were killed, ambulances were attacked. They used illegal weapons such as napalm, and even those who surrendered and dared to move, were shot.

I want to return to Iraq soon. In Fallujah, I'm going to help set up a water purification plant, and in Hadeetha, I want to help build a new hospital, Ismael says. It sounds like urgent. A member of the Doctors for Iraq Society, Ismael is thin and has those typical long, fine surgeon's fingers. But in Iraq, Ismael has already survived the worst situations. His organisation is gathering evidence of human rights violations under occupation. He was invited to Brussels by the Belgian NGO Medical Aid for the Third World in order to draw attention to the war crimes being committed in Iraq.

Right before he would show his images to demonstrate that indeed illegal chemical weapons had been used by the US during the second siege of Fallujah, Dr. Ismael finds the time to tell his story. He doesn't know where to start. But then comes an avalanche of stories, images, and examples to underscore his point. The breaches of medical neutrality must stop. Shooting at doctors and ambulances is a crime.
------------
This reminds me of TRH's statement that our soldiers aren't killing people on purpose. This sure doesn't sound accidental to me. This also ties in with the work the peace keepers perform. They have documented a lot of evidence that I am sure a certain state would do anything to keep quiet. Remember the Italian journalist? She had a lot of info. too.

David, you should have named your pet organization "Blame the Gun". By the way, the NRA does not advocate wide-open firearms access, and especially not access to firearms by the mentally impaired.

"Dear Editors, Do Joseph Pulitzer's words still apply today?"

"I will always fight for progress and reform, never tolerate injustice or corruption, always fight demagogues of all parties, never belong to any party, always oppose privileged classes and public plunderers, never lack sympathy with the poor, always remain devoted to the public welfare, never be satisfied with merely printing news, always be drastically independent, never be afraid to attack wrong, whether by predatory plutocracy or predatory poverty." -- Joseph Pulitzer, April 10, 1907

"There is a better way- no guns for Cornnuts and we all will be safe!! Baf 32"

Pure drivel, why bother?

No argument, just attack.

While she *reassured* the world that the United States does not use torture or condone its use, Miss Con-di, elaborated at a NATO press conference today: she said she can give no guarantee that terrorism detainees won't be abused again despite what she called the US' clear rules against torture.

"Will there be abuses of policy? That's entirely possible," Rice said, "Just because you're a democracy it doesn't mean that you're perfect."

She offered assurances, however, that any abuses would be investigated and violators punished.
"That is the only promise we can make," Rice said.
************
Well, well. I guess now they are off the hook for their *honesty.* I can just hear it, "mistakes were made." Fuckers.

David,

I believe we lost one of the most talented musician and songwriter on that day. I may not have agreed with his politics, but I would never have denied him the right to express his views, as the Nixon Administration had attempted to do.

Thanks for an ispirational piece. The lack of progress is an indigtment of those of us who are Lennons' contemporaries.

Iran's Ahmadinejad says Israel should be moved to Europe

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that if Germany and Austria feel responsible for massacring Jews during World War II, a state of Israel should be established on their soil.

Ahmadinejad, who sparked an international outcry in October when he said Israel "must be wiped off the map", also repeated his view Thursday that the Jewish state was a "tumour".

"Now that you believe the Jews were oppressed, why should the Palestinian Muslims have to pay the price?" the hardline president asked in an interview with Iran's Arabic-language satellite channel, Al-Alam.

"Why did you come to give a piece of Islamic land and the territory of the Palestinian people to them?

"You oppressed them, so give a part of Europe to the Zionist regime so they can establish any government they want. We would support it," he said, according to a transcript of his original Farsi-language comments given to AFP.

"So, Germany and Austria, come and give one, two or any number of your provinces to the Zionist regime so they can create a country there which all of Europe will support and the problem will be solved at its root," he said.

"Why do they insist on imposing themselves on other powers and creating a tumour so there is always tension and conflict?"

Al-Alam said Ahmadinejad was speaking in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia where he was attending a two-day meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference that opened Wednesday.

"Is it not true that European countries insist that they committed a Jewish genocide? They say that Hitler burned millions of Jews in furnaces ... and exiled them," Ahmadinejad told Al-Alam.

"Then because the Jews have been oppressed during the Second World War, therefore they (the Europeans) have to support the occupying regime of Qods (Jerusalem). We do not accept this," he said.

He also noted that European countries "believe in this so much and are so determined that any researcher who denies it (the Holocaust) with historical evidence is dealt with in a most harsh way and sent to prison."
--------
He has a point! I am reminded of the quote, I believe Capt. posted it, that we never had enemies in the middle east until Israel showed up.

"Pulitzer may be turning over in his grave, wanting to pull his name from the prestigious awards given out yearly, considering the media's pathetic coverage of 9/11, the PATRIOT Act and doctoring of WMD intelligence reports to sell the war in Iraq."

For example, New York Times "reporter"-and I use that word loosely--Judith Miller once won a Pulitzer Prize, believe it or not. One can thus conclude that news awards, as presented by the self-congratulatory US press, have become almost a fraud perpetrated by phonies as awards for fakery. Otherwise the US news media would be attacking rather than ignoring the mountain of discrepancies in the 911 event. The US media might even conclude that, yes, 911 was indeed an act of terror. An act of terrorism conceived after weeks of secret planning in some five-sided fortresses, by a cabal of war criminals, double agents and nefarious profiteers.

Baf is like the distant cousin that keeps showing up at family gatherings, getting drunk and making as ass of himself.

Occasion after occasion he makes himself the center of attention and a source of embarassment. When people try to have serious conversations he buts in, contradicts and calls people names like ass-licker, wack-job etc.

Family members try to keep their social events a secret but he continues to show-up oblivious that everyone involved wishes he would just stay away or atleast keep his inflammatory ad hominem attacks to himself.

Neil, I see him as an annoying dog barking, eventually he will get tired and give up, especially if he is continually starved of attention, he will realize that barking gets him nowhere. That is, if he even has the sense of a dog!

I believe that is correct; that we never had enemies in the middle east until Israel showed up. did anyone see where Israel sed that an entire Ukrainian university should be invalidated? then the same university sed that Israel should be invalidated, so Israel of course got all outraged and cried "anti-semitism" in response to the university's response... typical.

about my post at #43... I emailed Stan Merriman with a short note thanking him for his letter, and telling him I sent copies to my mailing list and also posted it here on David's site. He just replied to my email with this...

thank you. I am a big David Corn reader and "fan". stan

hey hey!

James, I posted that article yesterday. My response to Israel- WAAAAAHHHHH!!!

Neil

You butted into my conversation so you would be the drunk uncle. You also brought up the butt licker comment which I responded to. So you can add dumbass to your description of yourself-idiot!!!

Most of us who are sane would agree that our nation's obsession with guns is absurd, but how can we reduce the obvious dangers from this problems? Under what circumstances would gun control work? At the end of a journey to East Germany before the wall fell, my neighbor on our train was an elderly woman, whose husband was a friend of Kurt Masur, the conductor of the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra, and he always went hunting with him, because Mr. Masur was the only man he knew, who could own a gun. In that sort of society, gun deaths are very rare, because so very few own guns. I own some guns, but I am definitely not in love with them, but consider them a burden, which I must bear to protect my family. Having to kill during my tour in Vietnam was a traumatic experience, as it is for anyone who has retained his sanity. It's the same question that we face with international disarmament. Who will take the first step, and how can we trust them not to cheat? I don't know the answer.

Open and Shut 9/11
Four years later, we still have ten big questions
by Jarrett Murphy

This is linked to the Village Voice by Raw Story.

if it a secret prison how can any abuses be heard and investigated? Stupid bitch!!! Condi deserves a little vacation at one of these places just to get a heads up on what torture truly is. I would love to see the whole crowd enjoy a taste of it, just to awaken them from their torpor.

Saladin

I do not expect you Cornnuts to respond, you have tried already and fail horribly. Flan has tried, you have, Hajji has, Jeanne has, Kathleen has, Robert S has, Don S. has, What the Fuck has, James Ha has, Capt has made a weak attempt, Alan has and now Neil and all have failed. It is better to hide than get slaughtered in front of your peers. I still have fun making you guys look silly so though-it's all good!!!

I dont no whye you leftys get so werked up about guns and people shoting people anyways. I have had a bullit lodged in my brian for manny years and Im no werse for where.

Saladin

I do not expect you Cornnuts to respond, you have tried already and fail horribly. Flan has tried, you have, Hajji has, Jeanne has, Kathleen has, Robert S has, Don S. has, What the Fuck has, James Ha has, Capt has made a weak attempt, Alan has and now Neil and all have failed. It is better to hide than get slaughtered in front of your peers. I still have fun making you guys look silly so though-it's all good!!!

I reached this post through Pajamas Media. I have had friends brutally murdered by sociopaths, with knives. I remain unconvinced that the best defense of sociopathy is to become helpless, because in my experience, I lose friends to that method. Making it more difficult for sane people to resist the power quests of the deranged does not serve civilization or society.

I respect your feelings of loss and disagree with your conclusions as to the cause.

Wolfgang, My husband and I have had this conversation as well. In an ideal world there would be no need of guns as self-defense. My husband could envision a day when govt. officials could actually come to your door and demand that you hand over all your firearms. At the time I disagreed that this would ever happen, but then Katrina hit and that is exactly what happened. Now SF has passed a gun ban that will force everyone to hand over firearms. What bothers me the most is the Stalinist fashion in which these laws are being enforced. Statistics show that when these laws are enacted, the very opposite result is achieved. I don't know the answer either, but I do know that when Govt. force is used, I don't like it. Especially when it adversely affects mainly law abiding citizens. Why should the many be forced to pay for the crimes of a few? If someone gets drunk and kills someone else with their car, should we ban all cars and ban alchohol as well? Even though most people are responsible enough to avoid that situation, drunk driving does kill a lot of people, so, should all drivers pay the price?

Baf, is that the best you can do? "It's not me, it's you."

Saladin

I am only here because David has asked me (he offered to pay me but I said I would do it for free) to liven it up a little because you trolls are so damn boring. He has a reputation to uphold!!!

The Middle East during World War One
By Professor David R Woodward

The Ottoman Empire called for a military jihad against France, Russia and Great Britain in November 1914. How did this affect subsequent Allied campaigns in the Middle East? David Woodward charts the demise of an empire and a dramatic shift in the region's balance of power.

Few events in world history have had a more profound impact than that of World War One (1914-8). Although the German attempt to dominate Europe was thwarted in the end, the equilibrium of the region was also destroyed by the fierce fighting between its different elements.

'At the beginning of November 1914, the Ottoman Empire ...abandoned its ambivalent neutrality.'
The Middle East was no less affected by the conflict. After four centuries of continuous rule, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, creating a vacuum that contributed to tensions between local inhabitants and external powers or interests. The 'war to end all war' had not achieved its aim.

At the beginning of November 1914, the Ottoman Empire, the world's greatest independent Islamic power, abandoned its ambivalent neutrality towards the warring parties, and became a belligerent in the conflict, with the sultan declaring a military jihad (holy war) against France, Russia and Great Britain.

The Ottoman Empire had recently been humiliated by setbacks in Libya and the Balkans. Participation in what had begun as a European war might seem to outside observers, therefore, to have been suicidal, but key elements in the government, impressed by German industrial and military power and motivated by dreams of imperial glory, greeted the expanding war as an opportunity to regain lost territories and incorporate new lands and nationalities into the empire.

'In a pre-emptive strike, London immediately landed an Anglo-Indian force at Basra.'
The Ottoman/Turkish army (some 600,000 troops divided into 38 divisions) was of an unknown quality. But with Germany as an ally, the Ottoman Empire represented a serious threat to the British Empire, so in a pre-emptive strike, London immediately landed an Anglo-Indian force at Basra, near the estuary of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. This was done to protect the Anglo-Persian oil pipeline, which was vital to the British navy, and to show the Union Jack in this strategically important area in the Persian Gulf.

Within weeks the Central Powers struck back with a surprise attack against Britain's 'jugular vein', the Suez Canal. This attempt, in early February 1915, to breach British defences on the Suez Canal and raise an Islamic revolt in Egypt, failed however, and resulted in heavy losses for the attackers.

More.

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

[...]that we never had enemies in the middle east until Israel showed up.

I suppose that depends on whom "we" is. America fought on the Allied side in WWI, the first war for oil resources; my Jewish forebears fought on the German side, go figure.

Then again, there was the issue of the Barbary Pirates:

"To this state of general peace with which we have been blessed, one only exception exists. Tripoli, the least considerable of the Barbary States, had come forward with demands unfounded either in right or in compact, and had permitted itself to denounce war, on our failure to comply before a given day. The style of the demand admitted but one answer. I sent a small squadron of frigates into the Mediterranean. . . ." Thomas Jefferson

I have to wonder why an obviously right wing shill would continuously post to this site. 1. He/she is very lonesome? 2. He/she is trying to convert lefties to righties 3. He/she is here to collect info on bloggers 4. He/she has burnt all other bridges 5. He/she has mental health issues 6. He/she is a government (CIA) spy (see# 3 above) 7. All of the above 8. Some of the above 9. None of the above 10. Pervasive headupassitis

Neil

You are on confused Cornnut.

Say it over and over Baf, reaffirm it, reaffirm it constantly, "I make them look silly, I make them look silly, I make them look silly." You are the master of this domain, don't let anyone tell you differently, so incredibly smart, smarter then everyone, and master of the bon mot, Oh that ass-licking comment was pure genius, what a nimble mind. "I make them look silly, I make them look silly...

Den

None of the above, I just like being an ass to idiots!!

Neil

I don't have to say anything you make yourself look silly, and yes I am the master of domain- damn right!!

Damn

I was looking for a quiet day of Corn bashing but Neil had to go and open the flood gates. It is rather draining taking on so many Cornnuts at once. But boy is it fun!!

All we are saying...Is give peace a chance.

Baf, Bourbon or beer? Before lunch or after 5pm? High school diploma or not?

OK Jeanne

I am going to lunch now-you Cornnuts can come back now.

#11 a comedian

No one can proof me wrong when I say you are all idiots buttlickers dumbassas doofuses Cornnuts dummies brane-dead goobers drug attics shirt-for-branes boneheads faglovers slobberers and wackjobs. Doesn't anyone know how to engaje in intellagent debate?

Neil

There you go again, shooting yourself in the foot. Couldn't you take the hint from Jeanne and not speak? Don't you know that I am being blackballed for being a bully? Get with the program!

And yes I do have a High School diploma, I chose not to go to college to start my own business and now make lots of money with employees to boot. This is why I have time to waste on fools like you. What do you do Neil? What does that higher education bring in for you? Or are you unemployed sucking up my taxes to pay for your internet service like the rest of these Cornnuts.

Were'nt you going to lunch?

Den

I would if you would just shut Neil up- he's starting to get on my nerves, which gives me heartburn at lunch so I may just have to wait.

I am out to lunch

Saladin

I do not expect you Cornnuts to respond, you have tried already and fail horribly. Flan has tried, you have, Hajji has, Jeanne has, Kathleen has, Robert S has, Don S. has, What the Fuck has, James Ha has, Capt has made a weak attempt, Alan has and now Neil and all have failed. It is better to hide than get slaughtered in front of your peers. I still have fun making you guys look silly so though-it's all good!!!

Baf, no need to tell us "I was looking for a quiet day of Corn bashing," we know. That's what you do; BASH, INSULT, NAME CALL, and ATTACK.

The only thing you accomplish is getting a rise out of people but that’s at the expense of people taking you seriously. People think you're an idiot because you don't bother to offer any thoughtful opinions.

If you're interested in news and politics, try making a thoughtful argument without getting personal. It might give you the same feeling you get from provoking reactions with your inflammatory, name-calling posts, and people would start taking you seriously.

Can you leave your companys' address so we can send your employees a sympathy card?

Keep on paying them taxes baf we need the input, I will just bet that you are rich, more like a poor dimwit that flips burgers and has his mom's laptop on every other day. Too bad you didn't go further in school you might have learned to spell. Oh well, continue on your way; your betters know all about you, and see it won't hurt much.

Conservatives are upset

The conservatives are upset because Bush's Christmas card excludes the word, Christmas. When are the conservatives going to wise up and realize that Bush is not a born-again Christian? He is, in fact, more evil than Hitler and Stalin together. I love it when the conservatives are upset at their god, George W. Bush.

The conservatives are so full of shit that they have shit coming outside their ears and eyeballs. Yet, if we had a fair election today the conservatives would vote for Mr. Evil, a mass murderer and a war criminal. What a country?

Well Neil

You're kidding right? Like I care if you guy's take me seriously. You people love to bash Bush, Isreal, our military, corporations, republicans and everything you do not agree with with. When I come in and do the same to you trolls, all of a sudden you don't like it-not fair-bully-ass licker. What a bunch of damn woosies. However, I am done for the day. You can have the rest of the day trashing America and our troops baf free!!!

robert -
I suppose that depends on whom "we" is.

point taken my friend

What the Fuck

If it makes you feel better thinking that I am a looser like you- then go ahead. See I am not a complete ass, afterall it's Christmas.

Den 88

Just like a progressive/liberal- destroy what you can't have just because you feel left out.

This is the FUNNIEST stuff I've seen on this blog, He thought I was a comedian, I yield the stage. My stomach hurts from the laughter

At least I can spell baf. Go for it, just shows your upbringing these days, public schooling huh?

Den-What the Fuck

Don't you morons have a conspiracy theory to talk about? Really, it's not fun if it's not challenging!

I got one, comedian trolls secretly practicing their jokes on Davids blog, fact...or fiction?

#43 Alan, thank you for sharing the letter. My fellow Americans, the noose around our necks is tightening. We are a fascist country. Cheney, the draft dodger, hates the military because they remind him of how chickenshit he really is.

#44 Saladin, we need more outspoken peacemakers in the U.S. Why go to Iraq when America is in need of 54 million peacemakers so we can out vote the repugnants.

#49 micki, Condi's two famous words are "trust me." Please excuse me so I can take a puke.

I am the master debater!

hahahahahaha please..stop masterbater hahahahahaha!

Neil 87

"Inflammatory name calling posts"

I guess Gerlads post at # 90

"Shit coming out there ears and eyeballs" "GW, MR Evil, mass murderer and a war criminal."

-meets your decency standard but my ass kissin remark doesn't?

Can you see (smell) the hippocracy oozing from you Cornnuts?

Baf:"You can leave it at ass!! I would not want to take the title of ass licker from you and capt. It might hurt your feelings!! Besides no telling where Davids ass has been- ewwww!!!

Yes, it does take both a gun and a wack job, but David seems to only write about the gun, this makes my point.

As long as progressive/liberals do not have access to guns then we can eliminate the wack job part."

Wow Baf, you can't lay off being an asshole even to honor the dead. It's hate filled Republicans like yourself that we need to keep from gun ownership. Your party continues to spit out the Tim McVeighs and Eric Rudolphs of the world. It's in my opinion that these psychos need to start targeting their own party (republicans). The world would be much better off without you evil, hateful, bigots. Besides, I'm sure Satan could use the company. Your mission is complete. You hypocrites have misled enough followers to their hellish final demise.

Republican Party--Reign of the Anti-Christ and False Prophets

Den 100-101 in the same

Talking to yourself as two people again?

and for those of you who don't know, hippocracy is what you get when you let hippos take over your country!

Baf,

Congrats on the business. I hope you have a good year.

Sorry if I was getting on your nerves; Quid Pro Quo was not my intention. My intention is to convince you to try to make an argument about an issue you care about without calling people names. Site facts and opinions, and express yourself in a manner that a reasonable person would be convinced to adopt your point of view. .

My college education did a few things for me. It put me in the company of people smarter than me and different from me. It got me interested in the world outside the small town I grew up in. My classmates were from all over the US and the world. Some were rich, some poor, one was from Hawaii, another from Milwaukee, Monaco, Jordan, El Salvador, and South Africa during apartheid.

We had small classes; the conversations in English Literature were as interesting as the conversations in Poli Sci - everyone comes to the material with their own experiences in life. I have classmates who write fiction for a living, another who is a federal prosecutor, a real estate lawyer in Milwaukee, a mother of two in Vermont, a veterinarian, etc etc. I'm an IT Director.

luvthyself

Well, you all can see from this cornhuckster that I am very effective in exposing the just down right looney trolls you all are in bed with. One big orgy.

I Love Bush

How can anyone not love this bag of shit? He talks so tough but we know him as that chicken shit scurvy rat quivering in the corner of some bar in Alabama during his Vietnam days. On a questionnaire he said that he did not want to serve in another country so he was stationed in Alabama.

Wailing Walls

I see much pain and suffering ahead for Americans. I do not see life situations improving in America. In order for Americans to survive they will have to remember what life was like in the USA. To remember each state will have a certain number of wailing walls. California could have as much as 100 wailing walls. These walls will be for lamenting and weeping about the pain and suffering in America. All that will be left are memories of a once great country.

Brutal and Inhumane

Let me start by saying that I have ripped on Bush with relentless abandon. As you know, I am not a fan of Bush. There is something about Bush and his family that rubs against the grain.

The 21st century brings in a brutal and an inhumane period in American history. I am afraid that this brutal and inhumane period will never go away. I oppose this kind of treatment that is directed at our people but it will not matter who resides in the WH. The American form of government will always remain brutal and inhumane. Every American dictator will be brutal and inhumane.

There is no way to avoid this kind of dictatorship. Our population will double in the next 50 years for both legal and illegal residences. The government because it lacks leadership will have to control the people like rats in a maze. Americans will only be considered rats that need to be controlled. We will have more Patriot Acts and brutality and inhumanity in America. This is our manifest destination for controlling the people. I oppose this destiny but it is inevitable. We will only be rats to be controlled by brutal and inhumane dictatorships.

Didn't find out about Lennon's death till the next day... come on corn it was breaking news everywhere...or maybe you and ralphie boy was in the .....

Since no one can debate me I will have to go and debate myself as only a master debater can!

#110 Baf
Left handed or right?

Hippocracy from hippos running the country? BWAAAAAAHHH! this guys a hoot! Owls running the country....Hooterocracy

Don't worry baf nobody wants to masterdebate you!

David,

Hoorah for you for standing up for a good cause! Though I was too young to remember John Lennon's death, great men and women have losed their lives due to the irresponsibility of our government choosing to lookout for corporate interest over the well being of it's citizens. When will the madness end? When will those who claim to love Christ, love the people of this country more than the mighty dollar? I'm sure a positive change will not occur under this administration. But our silver lining is that the majority of the country consist of a very compassionate group of people, it's a small minority (about 30-35%) who have taken the word "morals" and redefined it to mean bigotry and elitism. There's still hope for us yet!

Brothers and Sisters Awake

Neil,

Of coarse right handed, I don't want to be like you leftys. I only use my left hand for wiping my butt so I don't have to wash it after.

#113, DEN floors baf or brock with a counterpost.

That's disgusting. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?

The media likes to repeat the Republican talking point that Democrats have no agenda--you and I know that is simply not true. Across the country Democrats are participating in dozens of events and with one voice saying it's time to reform: together, America can do better.

In Washington, DC, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi unveiled a new piece of legislation to eliminate tax giveaways for energy companies. Frank Lautenberg spoke in New Jersey about how America can do better than a Medicare prescription drug bill that confuses and shortchanges seniors by providing giveaways to drug companies.

In Wisconsin, Herb Kohl addressed the need for America to do better than an economy that kicks families out of the middle class and how we can help everyone achieve the American dream. While in New York, John Kerry discussed a plan to do a better job protecting Americans from terrorist attack. Patty Murray held four events across Washington State focusing on issues ranging from affordable housing to full funding of veterans' programs. And Chuck Schumer and Robert Byrd both addressed energy independence with members of their local communities.

Today Barbara Mikulski, Paul Sarbanes and I held a town hall meeting in Baltimore with nursing students to highlight the Democratic Party's commitment to reform. While we are working to increase opportunities for higher education, Congressional Republicans are slashing financial aid and curbing opportunities for students to get ahead. Christopher Reed, Patrice Pantin, and Julie Story, students at the John Hopkins School of Nursing, told us about their own struggles to get the training they need.

Each of these events focuses on an important part of the Democratic agenda that will guide us towards taking back both the Senate and House in 2006. We can have a government with open, honest elected officials--it's a matter of priorities. Democrats believe the government works for people, that issues such as student loans, high energy prices, safety and security, should be our top priority not handouts for the well connected.

Thank you,

Harry Reid

Den, Neil's right. Ignore posters who are unable to contribute to a positive debate even if two views are opposing. As long as we continue to become sidetracked by insignificance, the real issues that effect the people of this country will continue to be ignored. We've had enough distractions this year from people who are scared of a real debate with real issues and have to turn to diversionary tactics to hide their own ignornance. There are some positive changes on the horizon that will effect all Americans, not just a hand-selected few. Those who oppose reuniting Americans sense they change is coming soon and they're scared. The more you see them sniffing around trying to distract, the more reason you have to cheer.

Neil

Now that is the most sense I have heard all day!

I also try to be around people that are more successful than myself to improve. Now I do not pretend to be smarter than anyone(except Den and What the Fuck) but I have been successful in what I do. I was raised by a single mother who worked two jobs. I owe everything to the opportunity that this country has given me. I despise people who trash our country and the economic opportunities available because they are to lazy to get off their ass. If a uneducated troll like myself can do it then anyone can so quit your whining about how terrible things are(not you in particular but your cornnut friends).

No offense but if you are trying to be around people smarter than you then what are you doing here? I mean come on, you are hanging out with people called "what the fuck." If this is all you get for being educated then I would rather not waste the money.

Neil

Now that is the most sense I have heard all day!

I also try to be around people that are more successful than myself to improve. Now I do not pretend to be smarter than anyone(except Den and What the Fuck) but I have been successful in what I do. I was raised by a single mother who worked two jobs. I owe everything to the opportunity that this country has given me. I despise people who trash our country and the economic opportunities available because they are to lazy to get off their ass. If a uneducated troll like myself can do it then anyone can so quit your whining about how terrible things are(not you in particular but your cornnut friends).

No offense but if you are trying to be around people smarter than you then what are you doing here? I mean come on, you are hanging out with people called "what the fuck." If this is all you get for being educated then I would rather not waste the money.

Neil, I bet he does, everytime he brings food to her in the shed out back.

Den

Double posting as me, has that what it's come down to? Only a corndick like you would be so consumed with playing with yourself and then Neil had to jump in. I was beginning to think that you might not be as looney as these cornnuts.

Den

Double posting as me, has that what it's come down to? Only a corndick like you would be so consumed with playing with yourself and then Neil had to jump in. I was beginning to think that you might not be as looney as these cornnuts.

Hey pal you're double posting not me.

luvthyself #120

Ya that's it