Mr. David Corn,

Yes, and you nailed it before by exposing the weakness and lack of strategy on the part of the opposition as a whole.

I think Byrd really throws a stick in the spokes. What kind of a hero is he?

Chirac's comments were laughable (if nukes were not so serious).

I dig your take on the tunnel. Makes me wonder (as always) why not legalize weed?

Thanks

Kirk

David:

Good morning on this gorgeous Friday here in Houston!

Anyone who follows the braod spectrum of news, not just Antique Media and Left-wing blogs, caught wind of Chirac's nuclear declaration of future wars! I was kinda wondering when the ruckus was going to start. Had Bush and Co. said something to that effect, well, you know what the reactions of the Left, and even moderates, would have!

As for Alito, your idea of a frontal assault based on total honesty (ideology) probably would have worked better but not necessarily a different result.

The dems BOTCHED it? HA, that's a laugh!! They didn't botch anything, they do what they're told. I'm still waiting for even one leading dem to make a stand against the outrageous diebold rigged voting scandal. The proof is irrefutable, yet not a word from any of them, not even kerry who got srewed out of the WH. Don't hold your breath waiting for those bought off assholes to prevent this handbasket from roaring straight into hell, it's already gone off the cliff!

This was my last post on the previous thread, didn't notice the new one in time.

Osama and the J. Edgar Hoover Memorial Vacuum Cleaner

Kurt Nimmo | January 26 2006

Osama, dead and buried, is the reason George Bush and the NSA are snooping your daughter's cell phone calls to her boyfriend, or reading your email, disregarding the Constitution, and turning America into an Orwellian police state. All of this is necessary because, who knows, your neighbor might be a member of a sleeper cell or a vegetarian.

Bush tells us the Bill of Rights must be sacrificed because Al-Qaeda has placed operatives inside of our country. They blend in with the civilian population. They get their orders from overseas. And then they emerge to strike from within. Never mind that since nine eleven not one Al-Qaeda terrorist has been apprehended and convicted of plotting against the United States.

None of this snooping has anything to do with terrorism. It has to do with American citizens opposed to the Bush administration and the mass murder schemes of the Straussian neocons. Over the last several months, it has been revealed that the FBI, the Pentagon and the National Security Agency have each set up apparently independent covert operations to monitor the constitutionally protected political activities of citizens opposed to the Bush, explains Joel Bleifuss. The FBI has issued tens of thousands of national security letters, extending the bureau's reach as never before into the telephone calls, correspondence and financial lives of ordinary Americans. Most of the U.S. residents and citizens whose records were screened, the FBI acknowledged, were not suspected of wrongdoing, the Washington Post reported.

According to information released under a FOIA request, the FBI's targets included people involved in a vegan community project in Indianapolis, the Catholic Worker movement and its semi-communistic ideology, Code Pink, the anti-war coalition United for Peace and Justice, Greenpeace and attendees of the Third National Organizing Conference on Iraq, which was held at Stanford University in May 2005. According to the documents, in some cases the FBI received information about those under surveillance from informers within the targeted groups. In other words, COINTELPRO is alive and well and sifting through your credit card and medical records.

It has nothing to do with the dead Osama bin Laden and everything to do with books written by people such as William Blum, books we are absurdly told are on Osama's reading list. Of course, most Americans don't care about such things and a startling large number of them believe there is nothing wrong with the government violating the Fourth Amendment. Obviously, millions of Americans have no use for the Constitution. In fact, millions of Americans believe the Bill of Rights is an excuse for terrorists to attack America. It took more than a hundred years to get the populace in this state of ignorance. Now they are beginning to pay for it.
----------
Newsflash to bill, they are breaking the law by violating the 4th amendment, if there even IS such a thing anymore. Osama is dead and AL-CIADA is a neocon fabrication used to keep gullible cowards like you under control.

The Nanny Press

This says it all!

Gen. Hayden: "4th Amendment and wrong"

Keith Olbermann posted this video clip of Gen. Hayden botching the fourth amendment- which Keith says:

OLBERMANN: To quote the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States in its entirety, the one the general and the NSA folks are so familiar with and know is about reasonableness and not about probable cause, quote, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Well, maybe they have a different Constitution over there at the NSA.

Video-WMP Video-QT (hat tip Arnie)

This also helped to open the door for Glenn Greenwald to expose them on FISA.

Glenn: "In other words, DeWine's bill, had it become law, would have eliminated the "probable cause" barrier (at least for non-U.S. persons) which the Administration is now pointing to as the reason why it had to circumvent FISA...read on"

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

Keith nailed him! Glenn waxed 'em and taxed 'em!

capt

Jacques Chirac was probably just asserting his -- and, by extension, European -- independence from the United States of Bush. Chirac was "being French" -- and I believe that he was suggesting that France's nuclear force was, essentially, the European Union's nuclear force.

Chiarc's remark was no dumber than a lot of the bullying rhetoric that spews out of bush's mouth.

Capt, you are WAY too concerned with your "precious civil rights!!" Quote by timL

I usually reserve the "waxed and taxed" for Pande - I really liked the cat toying with a mouse metaphor!

I hope Pande always find a little time to share his POV and insights. I find it hard to believe any self-respecting troll would ever come back after a Pande waxing. But there are no self-respecting trolls - an oxymoronic statement without a doubt.

Thanks Pande! as always you RAWK!

capt

...and since we're on the topic of nuculur options (both weapons & filibusters)...

Someone needs to formulate a clear, concise, convincing message that because of the mistakes the busheviks have made with their Iraqi War, a direct result is that the United States' position in dealing with Iran has been severely weakened.

If that case is made, the neocons are OUT!

"Chirac's remark was no dumber than a lot of the bullying rhetoric that spews out of bush's mouth."

I think you are being too kind to Busheney!

Chirac would have to study at the university of dumbf**k many semesters to sound as dumber than Busheney.

I think you are right about the assertion.

IMHO

capt

Title: BY THE WAY AN AIRCRAFT FLEW INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTRE
Source: Cooperative Research via Bella Ciao
URL Source: http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=10084
Published: Jan 26, 2006
Author: Cooperative Research

Excerpted from the groundbreaking research "An interesting day : President Bush's Movements and Actions on 9/11 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/...

Cooperative Research .org has compiled a most extraordinary summary of post 9/11 White House Spin. One article they dug up from the "liberal" Washington Times 10/7/2 includes the following ditty : " Bush claims Andy Card told him the following : " Here's what you are going to be doing , you're going to meet so and so. BY THE WAY AN AIRCRAFT FLEW INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. " (end quote) Isn't that the equivalent of asking Mrs. Lincoln , by the way, how was the play?

There are nine differing versions on how President Bush received the news that Flight 11 had smashed into the World Trade Center, the first of three fatal attacks taking place on 9/11.

1) Mr. Bush was notified while he was en route to Booker Elementary.

2) Navy Captain Deborah Lower notified him as he arrived at the school

3) The aforementioned "by the way" remark allegedly made by Andy Card.

4) Mr. Card tells the President upon arrival at Booker that it is urgent for him to speak to NSC advisor Condi Rice immediately. (5) Bush personal aide Blake Gottesman tells Bush "By the way Andy Card says an aircraft flew into the the World Trade Center."

6 ) Karl Rove greets Mr. Bush as he disembarks from his motorcade , leads him to a room in the school , tells him the horrible news whereby the President responds "What a terrible accident." !

7) Mr. Bush claims he saw the first plane hit the Tower (an impossibilty) from a TV set at Booker Elementary and said "That's one terrible pilot." 8) Realising that he has strayed from the party line , he immediately corrects himself by stating " I said it must have been a horrible accident. "
------------
You would think they would all get together to AGREE on a lie before turning that idiot puppet loose! Allowing him to hang out at the school was another stupid move. As Mike Rivero says, "the dog that didn't bark!"

Hawking Iran

President Bush's rhetoric toward Iran has been strikingly similar to his rhetoric in the run-up to war against Iraq. For example, in July 2004 he said"

"They're harboring Al Qaeda leadership there. And we've asked that they be turned over to their respective countries. Secondly, they've got a nuclear weapons program that they need to dismantle. We're working with other countries to encourage them to do so. Thirdly, they've got to stop funding terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah that create great dangers in parts of the world.

And don’t forget that Bush named Iran, along with Iraq and North Korea, as a member of the "axis of evil."

Certainly, the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran is unsettling and unwelcome. But even if Iran is able to build a few weapons in the near future, the mullahs in Tehran can no more ignore the reality of deterrence and the vast U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal than could the Soviet Union before, or North Korea now.

So, striking Iran would be as big of a mistake as invading Iraq. Attacking another Muslim country would only reinforce the claim that the U.S. war on terrorism is a wider war against the Muslim world. And while the Iranians would unlikely be able to retaliate militarily, they could chose to use their ties to terrorist groups as a response. Worse yet, the result could be to push the terrorist groups that Iran supports into an alliance with Al Qaeda and other radical Islamic groups against a common enemy: the United States. So attacking Iran—even limited air strikes against its nuclear facilities—would make the terrorist threat against America worse.

I think you are being too kind to Busheney!

...well, that certainly wasn't my intention! I can be "unkinder" if you'd like! ;-)

"to sound as dumber than Busheney"

That passed my proof read - Now I sound as dumber as Busheney! HA!

Sounded almost like I was intentionally making a funny. . . I wish! HA!

capt

US economy up at slowest pace in three years in fourth quarter

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The U.S. economy increased at an annual rate of 1.1 percent in the last quarter of 2005, the slowest pace in three years, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

The report also showed that U.S. economy registered respectable overall growth of 3.5 percent for all of 2005, compared with an increase of 4.2 percent in the previous year.

The sharp slowdown of the U.S. economy in the fourth quarter resulted mainly from the fact that consumers turned cautious as high energy prices and rising borrowing costs took their toll budgets. U.S. consumer spending increased by just 1.1 percent pace in the fourth quarter, the slowest since the second quarter of 2001 when the U.S.economy was suffering through a recession.

Most of the weakness came as consumers sharply cut back on purchases of durable goods including cars and appliances. Spending on durable goods dropped by a hefty 17.5 percent rate in the final quarter, the sharpest decline since the first quarter of 1987.

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

I could have sworn I heard some very happy talk about the economy. Must have been the delusions of someone detacted from reality. No biggie.

capt

Capt, I thought that was on purpose! Sort of a jab at the chimp!

A Factual Appraisal Of The 'Holocaust' By The Red Cross

Kathleen, this could be one of the reasons the Iranian Pres. made such a bold comment regarding "a myth that has grown around the Holocaust." I have read several articles about the Red Cross and their findings while inspecting the concentration camps. Rather than starting a reactionary round of anti-semite accusations, I prefer to read these reports and look into both sides of the matter. People are being sent to prison over this and I want to know why. It is the only subject you aren't allowed to touch or question, it has become like a religion where the dogma is fathfully preached and no veering away is permitted. What the Red Cross has to say is very interesting.

I think it was before WW I that France talked about the Amagano (spell) Line to serve as a buffer to keep out the invading forces. Such line or a wall or a fence will not work for France and it will not work for the USA. Our government needs to work with governments so that the governments give their people hope for a better life. As long as people believe Nazi America is a paradise, they will try to get here somehow or some place.

The Democrats' threat of a filibuster is all for blowing and showing.

The Republican Party Has NO Conservative Roots
Al Benson Jr.

When the Republican Party ran its first presidential candidate, John C. Fremont, back in 1856, Fremont had the open backing of several men who were socialist refugees from the failed socialist revolts in Europe in 1848. One of the most well-known of these was Friedrich Hassaurek, an Austrian socialist, who stumped the Midwest in Fremont's behalf.

Although Fremont was beaten in 1856, the socialists and communists were nothing if not patient. In 1860 they found another candidate they could and did support--Abraham Lincoln. So Hassaurek, Carl Schurz, and a whole host of other Forty-Eighter socialists were all involved in the presidential campaign of 1860 supporting Mr. Lincoln. Carl Wittke, author of "Refugees of Revolution" has noted that: "Lincoln was fully aware of the political influence of the Forty-Eighters in the campaign of 1860, in presuading many of their countrymen to desert the Democratic alliegiance for the Republicans..." It would appear that the Forty-Eighters had quite a bit of influence in the Republican convention in 1860--even to helping to write parts of the party's platform.
---------
I love finding little historical nuggets like this! Republicans, the original American Communists. They have finally gotten back to their roots.

What about the timing of this judicial appointment by the busheviks?

Noel Hillman, the prosecutor heading up the Abramoff investigation, has been appointed by bush for a judgeship on the U.S. District Court in New Jersey. That means Hillman stepped down as prosector on the Jackoff Case.

This could be construed as tampering with an investigation, it seems to me.

But, I am not a lawyer (today).

The Maginot Line - from the Smithsonian Magazine

Gerald, here is an article you might find interesting.

"Faith in the ability of a leader is of slight service unless it be united with faith in his justice." ~ George Goethals (1858 - 1928)

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." ~ John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963), speech prepared for delivery in Dallas the day of his assassination, November 22, 1963

Quotationspage.com

Poll: Most think Bush is failing second term

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A majority of Americans are more likely to vote for a candidate in November's congressional elections who opposes President Bush, and 58 percent consider his second term a failure so far, according to a poll released Thursday.
_____________
Hellllllloooooooooo!!! Why are the Dems still afraid of their shadows??

Conservatives are not conservative, neocons are neo-liberals and trotskites.

Progressives are the only fiscal conservatives.

It only makes sense in our topsy-turvy crazy upside down bass ackward world!

"Don't let people drive you crazy when you know it's in walking distance." ~ Unknown

capt

Caroline,

I think the polls could be 99 to 1 and the two headed snake would still vacillate between two frauds.

Some thoughts from H L Mencken:

I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.

The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office.

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

The typical lawmaker of today is a man devoid of principle--a mere counter in a grotesque and knavish game. If the right pressure could be applied to him he would be cheerfully in favor of polygamy, astrology, or cannibalism.

Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on "I am not too sure."

The theory behind representative government is that superior men--or at all events, men not inferior to the average in ability and integrity--are chosen to manage the public business, and that they carry on this work with reasonable intelligence and honesty. There is little support for that theory in the known facts...

Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule--and both commonly succeed, and are right... The United States has never developed an aristocracy really disinterested or an intelligentsia really intelligent. Its history is simply a record of vacillations between two gangs of frauds.

****

And there you go!

capt

#23 micki, thank you for the spelling of Maginot. The article was an interesting read. Governments can better serve their citizens by working to improve the quality of life. Why has our animalistic nature taken over our humanistic nature?

Two more because they are so on point:

"The kind of man who wants the government to adopt and enforce his ideas is always the kind of man whose ideas are idiotic."

"The worst government is the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very tolerant and humane. But when fanatics are on top there is no limit to oppression."

~ Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956)
U. S. Editor and Critic.

*****

Hard to believe the guy passed 50 years ago.

Maybe everything is different in the same ways or the same in different ways. Sure seems like politicians and politics have not changed very much and not for the better.

capt

capt, that summarizes Nazi America and both political parties are gangs of fraud.

capt, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

Nazi America is so predictable. It is a garbage in and a horseshit out kind of nation.

Support a Filibuster of Samuel Alito

Senator John Kerry will join Senator Ted Kennedy in attempting to filibuster the confirmation vote of Samuel Alito. A lifetime appointment as crucial as this one deserves a throrough debate by the full Senate, and that's the goal of this effort.

For this to work, 41 senators must join the Democratic filibuster. Most Republicans and a few conservative Democrats have already pledged to vote for Alito, so getting to 41 won't be easy. Every single Democrat could end up casting the last crucial vote—°nd this is the moment for us to weigh in.

Tell your senator(s) to join the effort

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

Hurry and send this one out. Time is getting short!

capt

I can't help but wonder how much leadership does Kerry have if he cannot lead 41 from the party he claims to lead?

Not to say he would be worse than Busheney just wondering if he would have been any better?

There would be some different considerations and some different priorities with regard to issues but overall? I think he might have actually pissed me off even more than Busheney - I would feel more duped.

Just sayin'

capt

Too late assholes!

Planted Articles May Be Violation

WASHINGTON — A secret U.S. military program that pays Iraqi newspapers to publish articles favorable to the American mission appears to violate a 2003 Pentagon directive, according to a newly declassified document released Thursday.

The information campaign run by U.S. troops in Baghdad and a Washington-based private contractor is the subject of a high-level military investigation. Last month, the top U.S. general in Iraq said a preliminary investigation into the program had found it did not violate U.S. law or Pentagon regulations.

"We concluded that we were operating within our authorities and the appropriate legal procedures. And so we have not suspended any of the processes up to now," Army Gen. George W. Casey told reporters then.

A secret directive on the Pentagon's information operations policy released Thursday, however, appears to prohibit U.S. troops from conducting psychological operations, or psy-ops, targeting the media.

"Psy-op is restricted by both DoD [Department of Defense] policy and executive order from targeting American audiences, our military personnel and news agencies or outlets," says the directive, dated Oct. 30, 2003, and signed by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

The document, titled "Information Operations Roadmap," was released by the National Security Archive, a research institution based at George Washington University that obtained it under the Freedom of Information Act.

A Pentagon spokesman did not return calls seeking comment.

But one senior Pentagon official said that based on the wording in the directive, the operation seemed to violate Pentagon policy.

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

Jeeze, the shoes are dropping like raindrops from a desert cloudburst. Amazing to think the GOPhers could conduct a thousand investigations under Clinton but cannot address even a handful under Busheney?

capt

capt,

Unfortunately, it's not going to happen. The Senate is filled with cowards, Democratic and Republican alike. (I am glad to count one of my senators, Carl Levin, among filibuster supporters.) This had nothing to do with Alito's qualifications and everything to do with his judicial philosophy (especially his positions on the power of the executive branch and choice). That is all they had to say; my take is they had nothing to lose. And of course, you have the continued institutional humiliation of the Senate by the Bush administration in the NSA scandal.

In the essay I linked yesterday, Gore Vidal, quoting the message Tiberius sent to the craven Roman Senate, summed it up perfectly:

"How eager you are to be slaves."

"We've seen the head of the White House procurement office arrested. We've seen some of our most powerful leaders of both the House and the Senate under federal investigation. We've seen the number of registered lobbyists in Washington double since George Bush came into office. And of course, we've seen the indictment of Jack Abramoff.

Over the past few days, there have been suggestions by Republican operatives and commentators that this is somehow a bipartisan scandal.

But let's be clear - while the Democrats certainly are not without sin when it comes to money in politics, Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon and the K Street project - these are Republican sins, and Republican sins alone.

What is also true is that the offenses involved go beyond Jack Abramoff. They are bigger than golf junkets to Scotland and lavish gifts for lawmakers.

The recent scandals have shaken the very foundation of the American people's faith in a government that will look out for their interests and uphold their values.

Because they don't just lead to morally offensive conduct on the part of politicians. They lead to morally offensive legislation that hurts hardworking Americans."

~ Barack Obama from Meet the Press January 22

Yet a filibuster might rock the boat! HA! Even a filibuster of Alito is just more rearranging the chairs on the Titanic.

OFW

capt

How liberating to be a troll.

No reason to hold back and the flowers that spring from their ineloquent non-verbosity never need tending as they die on the lips of a fool and his folly.

Must be so very easy to just spew without regard to the potential reader. Never concerning ones self with cogency or substance.

Pigs do fly on the wings of foul mouthed trolls, they have snowballs and no balls to impede their flight of fancy and fantasy.

How self fulfilling to operate under the delusion that someone, anyone gives a flying flip what they spew.

Ignorance is truly bliss and I have identified the blissful.

capt

Here I am still dinking aroung with a G%*#& modem! Slopes are waitng.

I told my senator to support a John Kerry filibuster. I told John Kerry that I supported him launching a filibuster..It will probably not be successful, but it is good to see Kerry get loud, finally.

In my opinion the most appropiate talking point should be that the several investigations going on, including the outing of a CIA agent, S. Alito is privy to many and would not recuse himself if any should get to his desk.

But what the fu*# does it matter. I am not certain the human monkey race has the skills necessary for adapting to any of the things that are facing the earth, and the monkey usa government is certainly not going to advance any adaptable behaviors. It was just an illusion that it ever could.

later,
th

Capt,

I agree with you. I think Kerry is just blowing wind so that he looks better come time to make a run for president.

I think we have already been duped.

Here's the problem for the Democrats:.....

it might be time to look at the problem OF the democrats

TH,

Take a few turns for me!

Get out there! The modem is not going anywhere and they have to heal themselves anyway . . .

capt

Please tell me that Kerry isnt going to run for pres again? No vote from me, I am going to waste it and vote for anything that breathes and isn't a repug or dem. Damn they just never learn, why is it that our choices for president seem to always come from the same six hundred skull and bonesmen? Something not right about that?

I hope he doesn't run either, but it's really not up to us.

David

Do you think they made the people who used the tunnel take their shoes off first?

Hi all! anybody heard about when they are going to nuke Texas yet?

Re: Kerry

Go to:

http://www.democrats.com/

On the right column there is a poll. A very small sample but . . .

capt

It's nice to see others are not falling for Kerry's bullshit.

WHO RULES AMERICA

#5
Saladin,
Still wondering why no one reads the newspaper? Great line. They advertise newspapers for their ads and coupons. I find it very insulting when somebody tries to sell me a subscription not on the content of the newspaper but on the money I can save on a freaking coupon.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid admitted on Friday he and fellow Democrats lack the votes to block President George W. Bush's nomination of conservative appeals judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Everyone knows there is not enough votes to support a filibuster," Reid said, referring to the procedural roadblock that some Democrats said should be used to put off a vote on Alito.

The Nevada Democrat said, however, he would vote for such a measure to at least send a message of opposition to the nominee. That vote will come on Monday with final confirmation set for Tuesday.

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

Sounds like Harry is going to make them vote on the filibuster. That is a good thing because the slugs and DINO's will not be able to hide.

capt

#35
Capt,
Maybe they need Ken Starr to help them.

#47
Gore has my vote. The guy has the courage to tell it like it is.

What are these Democrats so afraid of? My God, they are fighting for their country. The people of the nation will stand behind them. Look at Harry Reid. I never heard of the guy 6 months ago and now I'm screaming "Go Harry!" when I see him on TV. Nobody on the Republican side has damaged his reputation, but he has punched a few holes in their facade.
GO HARRY!

From previous thread #196
Pande,
That video was great. So, so funny. I wish they had interviewed Gerald.
Gerald if you didn't watch it you should. They asked people why George Bush is awesome.

In fact, Gerald, you could be our spokesman. I wouldn't mind.

Say, ummm, yoo hooo. You guys in Congress...yeah you. Read this.

Study Finds Rich-Poor Income Gap Growing

ALBANY, N.Y. - The disparity between rich and poor is growing in America as the federal minimum wage has remained flat for years, union membership has declined and industries have faced global competition, according to a study released Thursday.

The report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute, both liberal-leaning think tanks, found the incomes of the poorest 20 percent of families nationally grew by an average of $2,660, or 19 percent, over the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the incomes of the richest fifth of families grew by $45,100, or nearly 59 percent, the study by the Washington-based groups said.

Families in the middle fifth saw their incomes rise 28 percent, or $10,218.

The figures, based on U.S. Census data, compare the average growth from 1980-82 to 2001-03, after adjusting for inflation.

The poorest one-fifth of families, the report said, had an average income of $16,780 from 2000-03, while the top fifth of families had an average income of $122,150 —†more than seven times as much. Middle-income families' average income was $46,875.
----------------------
This happened under your watch.

With all due respect to those here urging Harry onward...he could have kept his mouth shut about lacking the votes for a filibuster!!!!

Sheesh! That really helps to say, "gee whiz, we don't have enough strength for the fight, but we'll play the game to throw a bone to our constituents."

Great strategy. The fat lady DIDN'T sing yet, and he throws in the towel!! (Sorry for all the cliches...but I am pissed!)

I know what you're saying Micki. I don't really understand the logic in Congress. I think a lot of them need ADHD medication to help with their concentration.

Yeah way to rally the troopers! Don't bother voting for the filibuster guys because we are going to lose. But I'm going to vote anyway. I'll show those republicans.

Worse,

The Democrats are probably thinking Alito will make a few boneheaded decisions and they think their no vote can be used to show how right they could have been (if the actually filibustered).

SSDD

capt

Saladin ...you are so right. Anything to do with Israel is locked in the closet in the U.S.
One of the best books that I have read about the endless focus on JUST the Jews who died in that horrendous and gruesome war...instead of ALL WHO DIED IN THAT WAR...is the HOLOCAUST INDUSTRY...

All of the Kerry bashing. Did anyone watch him during the Rice or Bolton hearings?...Kerry was amazing, hit both of them hard with calm, clear, direct hard hitting questions and statements. He voted against both of them.

While I do not like everything about Kerry or Gore. They are both way better than anything we have to consider.

Feingold is on target on most issues....but he will get written off as too left. We will be hearing a great deal about Virginia's Governor...Mark Warner

Email Harry Reid at this address and GIVE HIM hell!!!!

harryreid@giveemhellharry.com

It will be a cold day in hell...well, you get the picture.

All of the Kerry bashing. Did anyone watch him during the Rice or Bolton hearings?...Kerry was amazing, hit both of them hard with calm, clear, direct hard hitting questions and statements. He voted against both of them.

While I do not like everything about Kerry or Gore. They are both way better than anything we have to consider.

Kathleen, yes I saw him and I agree with you. And I agree with you on your 2nd paragraph above, too. (surprised?)

I had the opportunity to see Kerry in person In Tacoma and participated in a few phone conferences with him during his campaign. He showed passion, strength, and leadership...but I guess he "looked too French" or something to too many sheeple. I dunno.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_leveraging_wives_2;_ylt=AhZ7vo5J7Grf660D_7V2PkFX6GMA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Documents Show Army Seized Wives As Tactic

The U.S. Army in Iraq has at least twice seized and jailed the wives of suspected insurgents in hopes of "leveraging" their husbands into surrender, U.S. military documents show.

In one case, a secretive task force locked up the young mother of a nursing baby, a U.S. intelligence officer reported. In the case of a second detainee, one American colonel suggested to another that they catch her husband by tacking a note to the family's door telling him "to come get his wife."

It would make me want to kill the bastards even more if they did that to my wife.

"but I guess he "looked too French" or something to too many sheeple. I dunno."

I am pretty convinced he won, Micki. The real dissapointment came when he did not pursue the matter in Ohio as he promised. As I recall, he said he had a team of lawyers ready to jump right on it. It was obvious almost immediately that something was amiss, and much more has come to light since that time. Same thing for Mr. Gore in 2000. I wonder why?

And the rich keep getting richer with their lobbied paid for tax cuts that also enriched our lobbied paid for congresspersons.

No Micki I am not surprised...it is not a requirement or very interesting to always be on the same page about all issues.

WAIT A MINUTE ISRAEL HAS BEEN ON THE U.S. WELFARE SYSTEM FOR OVER 50 YEARS WHY NOT THE PALESTINIANS......THE SETTLERS GET MORE THAN PEOPLE IN THE STATES ON WELFARE..

I HAVE ALSO READ THAT YOU CAN WRITE OFF ANY DONATIONS TO ISRAEL... OFF ON YOUR TAXES.

US set to review all aid to Palestinians
Fri Jan 27, 2006 01:31 PM ET
Printer Friendly | Email Article | Reprints | RSS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will review "all aspects" of its aid programs to the Palestinians if the militant group Hamas is in government after its victory in this week's elections, the State Department said on Friday.
"To be very clear, we do not provide money to terrorist organizations," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. Hamas is classified by the United States as a terrorist group.

"We will base our actions on our law and our policies," he added.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

More Politics
Senate Democrat says can't block Alito
Top Democrat urges security funds for U.S. cities
Bush to discuss nuclear energy in State of Union
US warns it may cut aid to Palestinians
Bush nominates two finance experts for Fed

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I find that conservatives feel that a person is either (1)a conservative or (2)mistaken.

Liberals feel that a person is either (1)liberal or (2)evil. They can't ever just be wrong.

By the way, Cass Sunstein, one of the most liberal legal profs out there, believes President Bush and the NSA acted properly regarding warrantless wiretaps.
http://www.radioblogger.com/archives/december05.html#001248

And Hugh Hewitt completely eviscerates poor Jonathan Alter on the subject.

http://www.radioblogger.com/#001339

Now, I've read Glenn Greenwald and responded to him. Any of you legal eagles care to respond to Cass Sunstein or Hugh Hewitt?

Have any of you read the case law on this?

I know that facts get in the way of the emotions of you liberals, but try hard on this one.

Am I going to get a serious reply, or just another round of acerbic euphemisms?

Chirac's bid to join the World Chief Executives Loose Cannon Club received no coverage on Al-Bawaba (at least none that their own internal search engine would disclose). Al-Jazeera's English-language site only ran the Agence France-Presse story. I didn't check a third Arab news site because I would like to continue being able to fly on domestic airliners. Sometimes the leaders of France can display such a combination of arrogance and stupidity that you would think they were members of the Bush administration.

I wonder why?

I wonder, too, Robb. Many things come to mind.

One thing that has occurred to me, though it isn't a very satisfying answer is that we have always prided ourselves on a "peaceful transfer of power" in this nation and Gore and Kerry were trying to avoid triggering a military coup on the part of the cheney/rumsfeld/norquist/bush/et al gang.

Maybe that's why.

kathleen, you never disappoint.

I feel that a certain conservative's findings of what a liberal feels a conservatives perceptions are is just wrong

Hey Alan,

I sent that maze game to a bunch of people at work. One person screamed so loud a manager came over to see if she was ok. Need to put a warning on that one! I am in a little hot water with my boss. Oh well.

I am generally a Happy guy! More so when the week ends with:

1) Canada booting Liberals and goes w/Conservatives
2) The Fatah boys are sent to the woodshed
3) Chirac goes `Nuclear'
4) Kerry, well, being Kerry
5) Hillary's candle dims even more
6) FDA Approves Pfizer's Inhaled Insulin Exubera (I think one of you Corn lefties is a diabetic) and stock ought to pipe up Monday
7) The Markets worldwide are Happy

Addendum: Just think, in less than 2 years, Leaders of the Coalition have ALL been Re-elected while those UnCoalitionable "Men in Leotards" went down, down, down! Who would ever thunk!

Before I head off for a weekend of R&R to celebrate the week, I caught a drift of Dracula! Poor Sucker, can't survive in daylight and must use his precious nighttime to hunt crafty, nimble, brainy mouses who know just what to do, with the least amount of energy, to jerk his fangs. Us mouse come and go totally at will leaving few traces. Goodwill Hunting!

Sure have things to look forward to next week! Hopefully, starting with Samuel ole buddy!

I know that facts get in the way of the emotions of you liberals,...

ha ha. would it be too acerbic of me to wonder what facts you might be referring to? because I can think of a whole gang of facts regarding 911 that you have conveniently ignored.

Is the End Near?

Dear Cornposters:

My wife was watching television and she noticed all the problems around the world. She says to me that the world may be coming to an end.

I cannot prove or disprove her comment to me. I do sense that our world is in dire straits because the human population has turned their backs on God.

We see so much pain, suffering, hatred, murders, our inhumanity to each other, diseases and malignancies due to depleted uranium, and human trafficking to mention some problems. Unless we return to God and His love and mercy, the end is near. It does not matter if it happens in 10 years, 20 years, or more. If we do not return to God and we die, it will be over for us. An eternity in hell may be the placement.

I call upon the human population to return to God, love, and mercy. We have a free will and the choice is ours to make.

Sincerely,

Gerald

#56 Jeanne, my message is if you want peace, work for justice with such ingredients as love and mercy.

See Gerald,
That's why I chose you.

From the previous thread #196!

Very good information and keep those barrels loaded!

Pandemoniac and Jeanne, I do not read the trolls' posts and so I really do not make comments on them. I have so much to read from articles and Cornposters who want to see a better world on this website that keeps me very busy.

After 9/11 congress voted with a vengeance to grant the President the war powers act. The war powers act should only have applied to go after OBL in Afganistan. The Adminstration extended this war to Iraq with false innuendo connecting Osama to Sadam. With mores lies he can take this war powers act anywhere he wants. Congress should immediatly remove war declaration privileges from the president.

#66 and #72 Robb and Micki:

I think that possibility makes sense, but it is too frightening to contemplate. In fact, now that I think more about it, that's probably why.

#81 Gerald:

You are very wise to ignore trolls' posts. I have read here that you have a heart condition. Their posts are so obnoxious and mean, it could not be good for you. I do not read them any longer either.

Carol and Cornposters, I do not read the trolls' spewing because I have relatives who are trolls and listening to their crap, I have my fill.

Carol mentioned that she likes to hear about my neoconevans relatives. It's two months since the neoconevans had us over the day after Thanksgiving. I usually see them every 2 or 2 and one half years. That is about all I can stomach. If I saw them anymore, I would be upchucking in their homes. I try to save my upchucking for our home.

Caroline,
Actually, if you took all the troll posts and put them in a pit you could probably collect enough methane gas to light a large city like say...New York.
Now if you combined their posts with the Republican BS imagine the cost savings. Why, every American could hear their house for free.

Heat...I meant heat not hear.

Carol, if you read the trolls' posts, you will be reading the clone comments from my neoconevans relatives.

#83 caroline, that is another reason for scrolling past their posts. The trolls really do sound like my neoconevans relatives and I try to avoid as much of their nonsense as I can.

Posting in itself is stressful for me and to compound that stress with reading the trolls' post would be too much of a strain on my heart.

#85 Jeanne, I love it! Now if we collected all of their dung and caked it for fuel, we could keep all of the northern states warm and cozy for the winter.

What truly is amazing about the trolls is that they do not know the difference between right and wrong behavior or between good and bad policies for the common good. To be a moral person knowing the difference between right and wrong is a basic principle. Why even comment to trolls who do not know right from wrong in their lives?

The latest national survey does not bode well for New York Sen. Hillary
Clinton, should she seek the presidency in 2008.

A Gallup poll for CNN and USA Today reveals 51 percent of Americans say
they would absolutely not vote for Mrs. Clinton for president, with only
16 percent definitely backing her. Another 32 percent say they'd
consider voting for the Democrat.

Thus, committed anti-Hillary voters outnumber pro-Hillary voters by 3-1.

The figures are impacting talk radio today, as conservative host Rush
Limbaugh pointed out it is not inevitable that Mrs. Clinton will be
president.

"I don't think it's written in the clouds, written in stone, written in
the beach," said Limbaugh. "Hillary is not going to president. The
Republican nominee will be, and that is why, folks, we have to be
careful about who's nominated on our end."

He was responding to a concerned caller who said, "She is something to
be afraid of, and fear has to motivate people."

The senator is especially unpopular among men, according to the Gallup
poll, with 60 percent saying they'd definitely oppose Hillary for
president, with 62 percent opposition from men 50 and over.

Among women, 22 percent say they're solid in backing Clinton, but just
11 percent of men agree. Only 14 percent of white Americans are
committed supporters, with 28 percent of non-whites in the Democrat's fold.

Perhaps the worst harbinger is that even among self-proclaimed liberals,
only 33 percent say they'd definitely vote for her.

Just last week, a Diageo/Hotline survey showed Hillary losing to
Arizona. Sen. John McCain 52 to 36 percent in a hypothetical matchup.
*****end of clip*****

It looks like it's a lock for the GOP in 08! The democratic party is in serious trouble. Let me explain:

The base of the democratic party will not nominate a centrist or moderate democrat, only a liberal. A liberal has never won and never will win the presidency. So when the nominate a liberal in 2008, it will be a repeat of the 2004 election!

Gerald, if your relatives are like our trolls, I can see why you can't be around them. I have a cousin that lives in Southgate and we e-mail. She's a Bush lover, and MAN is it hard to write to her. I grit my teeth. I'm glad she's far away and I never have to be in the same room with her because someone would have to pry my hands from around her throat.

Kerry's Senate floor speech on Alito

"Mr. President, let me begin by congratulating the Senator from Minnesota for an absolutely superb presentation of the arguments that are at stake in this choice the Senate faces. I think he has done a terrific job of summarizing a great many of those issues in the broad scope of those issues, and I particularly appreciate the last comments he made about the absence of unanimity and the divisions in the Senate over their vote.

"None of us should forget the debate Harriet Miers met with a storm of criticism -- not from this side but from the other, from the right-wing. In fact, she became more unacceptable to the Republicans because she did not make clear which ideological direction she would take the Court, rather than for the very broad-based appeal she would pose to the country.

"So the reason we are here with this decision is not because of a choice we have made. It is because of a choice the President has made. It is because that’≥ the direction the President wants to move in. We have had countless opportunities in the Senate where we have had votes on nominees which have garnered 100 votes, 98 votes, 95, 90. Anyone who is watching this understands that the Senate is divided on this nominee. At this pivotal moment in our country's history with the issues we face, that is not the way to tip the balance of the Court or to move the Court in an ideological direction....

...."In 1984, for example, Judge Alito wrote a Justice Department memorandum concluding that the use of deadly force against a fleeing unarmed suspect did not violate the fourth amendment. The victim was a 15-year-old African American. He was 5 foot 4. He weighed 100 to 110 pounds. This unarmed eighth grader was attempting to jump a fence with a stolen purse containing $10 when he was shot in the back of the head in order to prevent escape. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found the shooting unconstitutional because deadly force can only be used when there is 'probable cause that the suspect poses a threat to the safety of the officers or a danger to the community if left at large.' That is what we teach law enforcement officials.

“Çut Judge Alito disagreed. Judge Alito said: No, he believed the shooting was reasonable because 'The State is justified in using whatever force is necessary to enforce its laws' -even deadly force. That is his conclusion. That is the standard that is going to go to the Supreme Court if ratified. It is OK to shoot a 15-year-old, 110 pounds, a 5-foot-4-inch kid who is trying to get over a fence with a purse, shoot him in the back of the head.

"Otherwise, Judge Alito believed that any suspect could evade arrest by making the State choose between killing them or letting them escape. That is the conclusion. Think about that. Judge Alito believed that the State could use whatever force was necessary to enforce its laws regardless of whether the suspect was armed or dangerous. Does the Chair believe that? Do the other Senators believe that? I don't think so. Do mainstream Americans believe that?...

...."Perhaps Professor Liu of the Berkeley Law School put it best when he wrote this. He said:

Judge Alito's record envisions an America where police may shoot and kill an unarmed boy to stop him from running away with a stolen purse; where federal agents may point guns at ordinary citizens during a raid, even after no sign of resistance; where the FBI may install a camera where you sleep on the promise that they won't turn it on unless an informant is in the room; where a black man may be sentenced to death by an all-white jury for killing a white man, absent a multiple regression analysis showing discrimination; and where police may search what a warrant permits, and then some. This is not the America we know. Nor is it the America we aspire to be."
-------------------
Is this what America wants in a supreme court judge? Tell your Senators to vote NO!

Hurrah for Kerry. No self respecting senator should vote for Alito. He doesn't represent the people of this nation.

Senator Dayton's (MN) statement.

STATEMENT BY SENATOR MARK DAYTON ON JUDGE SAMUEL A. ALITO

.....As one illustration, while he served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Reagan Administration, Judge Alito recommended the use of interpretive Presidential "signing statements" – statements issued by the President when signing a bill not only to explain why the President signed it into law but also to provide his view of how the law should be interpreted.

The apparent purpose of such statements is to encourage the courts to pay as much attention to the President’s interpretation of a law as they do to the legislative branch and give the President the "last word on questions of interpretation." Judge Alito explained that such statements would "increase the power of the Executive to shape the law."

He also wrote in that memo: a "President’s understanding of a bill should be just as important as that of Congress." As a recent Los Angeles Times editorial stated, "On its face, the assertion threatens to undermine the fundamental constitutional principle that it is for Congress to write the laws and for the executive to, well, execute them."

President Bush has issued over 100 signing statements since 2001. The most notable was a signing statement a couple days after the President signed into law H.R. 2863, the "Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006," which contained the McCain amendment banning inhumane treatment of detainees by U.S. personnel. The President, in his signing statement, basically asserted he could ignore parts of the law he had just signed under his Constitutional authority.

Nowhere in the Constitution does it say a President can ignore the parts of a law he doesn’t like.

Nowhere in the Constitution is there mention of "signing statements." The Constitution makes it very clear under Article I, Section 7 – what the President can do with legislation that Congress has enacted. He can sign it into law as it is written by Congress, or he can veto it. There is no other option.

For almost 190 years, our country’s first 39 Presidents followed this very clear language of the Constitution. Yet, then-Deputy Assistant Attorney General Alito in 1985 decided that he could ignore all those precedents and try to fabricate this ill-considered power for the President.

As yet, the Supreme Court has not been called upon to decide whether this unprecedented exaggeration of Presidential power is Constitutional. Can there be any doubt, however, how Judge Alito would vote in such a case?
--------------------
Why does this information not scare the members of the senate? Why are they voting for Alito.

capt,

I did just that under lift 8. You know the place, it was GR8!!!!

Later,th

th,

Too cool for school!

I am right there, oh yeah!

Thanks

capt

the current online poll at AOL's welcome page...

How would you rate the state of the union?
Poor 48%
Fair 20%
Good 19%
Excellent 13%
Total Votes: 55,857
---
How would you rate Bush's performance?
Poor 63%
Excellent 17%
Good 14%
Fair 7%
Total Votes: 56,709
---
What kind of priority should Bush and Congress give the situation in Iraq?
Highest priority 42%
High, but not the highest 39%
Lower priority 19%
Total Votes: 55,251
---
What kind of priority should Bush and Congress give the campaign against terror?
Highest priority 45%
High, but not the highest 42%
Lower priority 13%
Total Votes: 27,227
---
What kind of priority should Bush and Congress give the economy?
Highest priority 59%
High, but not the highest 37%
Lower priority 4%
Total Votes: 26,415
---
What kind of priority should Bush and Congress give taxes?
High, but not the highest 42%
Lower priority 38%
Highest priority 20%
Total Votes: 23,403
---
What kind of priority should Bush and Congress give reducing government spending?
Highest priority 53%
High, but not the highest 33%
Lower priority 14%
Total Votes: 22,023
---
What kind of priority should Bush and Congress give the federal budget deficit?
Highest priority 56%
High, but not the highest 32%
Lower priority 12%
Total Votes: 21,906

Flan said... "I am in a little hot water with my boss. Oh well."

*ooopz Sorry 'bout that! (haha)

Everybody see the "Bush never lied" Tee-shirt?

Or is it the "second coming of Bush" Kristo-fascist hooded sweatshirt?

Paging Ann Coutler?

HA!

capt

Alan,

Yeah, that's what I said to my boss!

I JUST HEARD THAT DIANNE FEINSTEIN NOW SUPPORTS THE FILIBUSTER

I hope my source is accurate....it's a good source!

Maybe ya'll have already heard this???

If that was the *&*%$ maze game?

Here is sad, I could not get my shaky hand to get past the second maze for the longest time. I gave up and only went back after you guys talked about getting scared!

HA! - Good one Alan!

capt

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world - no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men. ": Woodrow Wilson

=
"I, however, place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared.": Thomas Jefferson - (1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President - Source: letter to William

Plumer, July 21, 1816

=
"Today democracy is a facade of plutocracy. Because the peoples will not tolerate naked plutocracy, power is nominally turned over to them, while real power rests in the hands of the plutocrats. In democracies, whether republican or monarchical, the statesmen are marionettes, and the capitalists are the wire pullers: they dictate the political guidelines, they control the voters by buying public opinion, through business and social connections [they control] higher government officials ... The plutocracy of today is more powerful than the aristocracy of the past, because nothing stands above it except the state, which is its tool and helper.": Count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, "Pan-european" publicist and political figure, in his book Praktischer Idealismus ("Practical Idealism"), Vienna, 1925.

=
"I would rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than win in a cause that will some day lose.

===

Thanks ICH Newsletter!

This skit is so much like Bush it's scary.

State of the Union 2006 -- Bush Impression

101

I JUST HEARD THAT DIANNE FEINSTEIN NOW SUPPORTS THE FILIBUSTER

I hope my source is accurate....it's a good source!

Maybe ya'll have already heard this???
__________
I hope this is true! Spines will grow exponentially!!!!

Wow! That Woodrow Wilson quote could have been signd George W. Bush. Fitting!

Tim L,

Liberals say that they scroll past conservative posters.

The fact is that they read our posts, but because our logic is so overwhelming and doesn't comport with their skewed view of the world, they are scared to death of us.

It was the same way the White man was scared of the Black man. Because he was scared, he tried to segregate himself in all white schools, all white neighborhoods.

Liberals are like that, afraid to engage in the arena of ideas, afraid to challenge their own pitiful belief systems. They, just like the crackers a hundred years ago, are safe in their own bigotry and prejudices.

And so the cowards come to "safe" sites like this one, where they feel they won't be confronted. Kind of like the Whitey retreating to his country club.

Ideas are to liberals what water was to the Wicked Witch of the West.

Stop Alito

Thank you very much for getting this fax to key senators, urging them to join John Kerry in his effort to filibuster the Alito nomination.

Get your friends, family and associates to send this fax now.

http://www.SaveTheCourt.org/AlitoFilibuster

Time is short. The stakes are high. This is our best, last chance to stop Alito from taking a seat on our Supreme Court.
Your message was sent to:

Senator Barack Obama
Senator Christopher Dodd
Senator Joseph Lieberman
Senator Joseph Biden
Senator Richard Durbin
Senator Evan Bayh
Senator Olympia Snowe
Senator Harry Reid
Senator Charles Schumer
Senator Hillary Clinton
Senator Lincoln Chafee
Senator Russell Feingold

Here is a copy of the message you sent:From: capt

Justice O'Connor said "War is not a blank check for the President" Alito would provide that blank check.

Samuel Alito’≥ record is clear, and so is the threat posed by his nomination: presidential power unchecked by judicial oversight; Congress stripped of much of its ability to protect the environment; Americans stripped of their right to privacy and subject to abuses of corporate and government power.

I understand that the filibuster is not a tool to be used trivially. Alito is not a trivial threat. Stand up for your Senate, stand up for the Constitution, and stand up for we, the people. I ask you to filibuster Samuel Alito’≥ nomination to the United States Supreme Court.

Sincerely,

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

The first line is all mine!

Keyboard activism.

capt

Capt,
After reading Kerry and Dayton's speeches I don't know why anyone would vote for Alito. I have sent an email to Senator Coleman asking him how he is going to vote.

Oh, shut up. You're such an idiot.

That was for Bill and the stupid crap in his last post. Not you, Jeanne.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.

It has a great ring to it, doesn't it?

Here's another one you people better get ready for.

Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Luttig.

He's coming next, and, as far as conservatives go, he makes Justice Alito look like Justice Ginsburg by comparison.

This is just great!!!

Carol,
It's just more waste for the methane pile. He's helping to light a city.

Impeach or Indict Bush and Cheney

The year 2006 will be historic for the nation, and probably for humanity. Texans Bush and Rove and their conspirators in the second Bush presidency have disgraced American democracy at home and in the world with debasements of our nation and our values that have now entered their climactic phase. What part will the rest of us Texans play in this decisive year?

As I have written in a review-essay that appears in the tenth-anniversary spring issue of Yes!, the quarterly of new solutions published in Washington state by David and Frances Korten (YesMagazine.org), we are living and working in the very days and nights of the American Emergency, the climactic American Crisis. Our elections are bought, and our government is run by and for the major transnational corporations. Bush announced in 2002 his illegal presidential policy that the United States can and will attack other nations first, waging war on them, when he so decides. He is now waging, as if he were doing it in our names, a bloody war of aggression against Iraq, which on the face of it is a crime against humanity under the Nuremberg principles that we and our allies established and enforced with hangings after World War II. The President, the Vice-President, and their factors sold this war to Congress with twistings and lies that were crafted to infuriate and terrorize us about Iraq’≥ alleged connections to Al Qaeda and mass-murder endangerments to us from Iraq itself, all of which literally did not exist. In polls now six of 10 Americans do not believe the president is honest. Yet he has three more years of dictatorial control over our nuclear and other arms and our Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps and seems now to be maneuvering to use that control to wage another aggressive war on Iran, with literally incalculable consequences.

We Texans are a major source of this deterioration into crisis. The leading Democrats of the state so dishonored the liberal traditions of their party that in the resulting political vacuum, Bush was elected Governor here, and from Austin he mounted the campaign that a 5-4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court illegally decreed made him President. After that, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, from Sugar Land, crafted his scheme to use corporate money to widen the Republicans’†majority in the Texas delegation to Washington, D.C., battening down right-wing GOP control of the House and the Congress. The third President from Texas and his Republican Congress then waged aggressive war on Iraq, drove the nation into insolvency to further enrich the already rich, and just for good measure tore up the Constitution.

Read more HERE

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

I say do both! Why one of the other?

capt

Of or or?

And here's another one on whom you better be doing opposition research, because he's going to be the next President of the United States.

The Hon. George Felix Allen, the good Senator from the great Commonwealth of Virginia.

This is a great country!!!

Bill said:

"Ideas are to liberals what water was to the Wicked Witch of the West."

You mean: Ideas & logic are to liberals what water was to the Wicked Witch of the West.

These people make the most intellectually indefensible and irrational statements known to man. It baffles my mind how these people think, i.e. accuse Bush of being behind the 9/11 attacks, but THEN in the same breath criticize him for not doing enough to prevent 9/11!!!

Yes Bill, I love George Allen! I can't stand McCain, but it ever comes down to Hillary Clinton vs. John McCain, I would be support him and be doing exactly what the liberals were doing in 2004, i.e. "Anybody But Bush".

"You guys are so clueless!! lol. Which arguement are the American people going to buy, Bush is violating our precious civil liberties, or Bush is protecting America against terrorists. Once again, you're on the wrong side of the issues."

Posted by: Tim L at January 26, 2006 11:44 AM

For all who may have missed this enlightening comment, here it is. Of all the detestable posts from all the trolls who have ever darkened Davids site, this is the worst I can recall. These are the words of a traitor to the constitution, a full blown Nazi who is willing to sacrifice the rights of us all in pursuit of his own personal idea of security, and fuck anybody who disagrees.
I am still seething over this, because I know there are many who feel the same way. For all those who would gladly trade in our "precious civil liberties", the one thing our founding fathers considered worthy of dying for, there is a place in Red China for, you don't belong in the US.

HEY...burn up the phone lines and the faxes and the emails this weekend!

Not only is Feinstein now supporting the filibuster, but Clinton and Reid are on-baord the filibuster express, too.

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS -- AGAIN!

REMEMBER BORK!!!!!!!

Capt 103, for God's sake, wilson is the one who did that!! He was a traitor as well as a psycho!

Call the Republican senators too and tell them how you feel! If they are concerned about this nation's civil liberties why would they vote for Alito?

Saladin,

One of the most liberal constitutional scholars in the country, Professor Cass Sunstein at the University of Chicago, thinks the NSA's warrantless eavesdropping was legal.

Now, what do you think he knows that you don't know?

Keep that good brain working. As Cole Porter so brilliantly intoned, "Use your mentality. Wake up to reality." (Although I don't have you under my skin, as the song title suggests.)

Jeanne, America is concerned with civil liberties, it is just way more concerned with national security.

If you aren't doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear.

#122 Jeanne...thank you for helping on this. Encourage everyone you know to call/email at least ten people about this important issue of civil liberties..and encourage them to call email ten people.

The fact that Feinstein has capitulated on the filibuster is HUGE -- if We, the people keep applying the pressure, good things can happen.

#123
Ick. You're revolting.

#124
Now I know why Gerald upchucks when his neocon relatives come over.

57% Americans support military action in Iran
By Greg Miller, Times Staff Writer
Published: January 27 2006 15:22 | Last updated: January 27 2006 15:22

WASHINGTON — Despite persistent disillusionment with the war in Iraq, a majority of Americans supports taking military action against Iran if that country continues to produce material that can be used to develop nuclear weapons, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found.

The poll, conducted Sunday through Wednesday, found that 57% of Americans favor military intervention if Iran’s Islamic government pursues a program that could enable it to build nuclear arms.

Support for military action against Tehran has increased over the last year, the poll found, even though public sentiment is running against the war in neighboring Iraq: 53% said they believe the situation there was not worth going to war.

The poll results suggest that the difficulties the United States has encountered in Iraq have not turned the public against the possibility of military actions elsewhere in the Middle East.Bush ratings sink in latest poll

Bush ratings sink in latest poll
Click here

Support for a potential military confrontation with Iran was strongest among Republican respondents, among whom 76% endorsed the idea. But even among Democrats, who overwhelmingly oppose the war in Iraq, 49% supported such action.

In follow-up interviews, some respondents said they believed Iran posed a more serious threat than Saddam Hussein’s Iraq did.

“I really don’t think Saddam had anything to do with terrorism, but Iran, I believe, does,” said Edward Wtulich, of Goshen, N.Y. He was among the 1,555 adults who participated in this week’s survey, which has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. “Iran has been a problem, I think, for years,” Wtulich said, “and we’ve known about it.”

Wtulich, a registered Democrat and retired manager for the New York City Housing Authority, said he supported taking a hard line with Iran despite the strain of the Iraq war on the U.S. military.

“It makes me scared,” he said, “but we may not have a choice.”

Experts said the public’s views on Iran appeared to have hardened in part because of the more aggressive anti-Western posture of Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Elected last year, he has riled the international community with remarks denying the Holocaust and with declarations that Iran will defy European and U.S. pressure and continue to pursue efforts to enrich uranium.

His comments have fostered an impression of him as “very reckless, a real rogue, as opposed to simply a populist,” said political science professor John Mueller of Ohio State University, who is an authority on wartime public opinion.

Mueller said that Americans’ rising support for confronting Iran was “impressive,” especially considering their misgivings about the war in Iraq, and that their support suggested “concerns about the new president.” But he added that poll respondents are often more inclined to voice support for military intervention when the question is framed broadly and the potential for casualties is unclear.

“You always get higher support for things like ‘military action,’ because that could just mean bombing, as opposed to sending troops or going to war,” Mueller said.

Poll respondents expressed a strong preference for the United States working with allies to fight international law violations or global aggression.

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is solely for energy production. But the United States and other Western governments suspect Iran’s program is aimed at developing weapons.

European nations that have negotiated with Iran over its program want the matter referred to the United Nations Security Council. Iran has indicated it might be open to a compromise in which Russia would provide enriched uranium to Iran, for use exclusively in energy reactors.

The American public’s position on Iran appears to have hardened over the last year, a period marked by an increasing international focus on Iran’s nuclear program. When a similar question was asked in a Times poll last January, 50% favored military action against Iran.

Regarding Iraq, the latest poll shows that although most Americans remain disenchanted with the war, opinions have stabilized, at least for now. The percentage saying they believe the situation in Iraq was not worth going to war over dipped slightly, to 53%, compared with 56% in a survey a year earlier.

When asked who was winning the war in Iraq, 33% said the United States, 7% said the insurgents, and 55% said neither side was winning.

Americans remain divided over how long U.S. forces should stay in Iraq: 40% believe the United States should remain in Iraq for “as long as it takes,” 36% want U.S. troops withdrawn within a year, and 14% support immediate withdrawal.

Respondents were also divided, largely along party lines, over whether the Iraq war is really part of Washington’s war on terrorism; 51% say it is, 46% say it is not. President Bush has repeatedly cast Iraq as the central front in the war on terrorism. But many of his administration’s prewar claims about Iraq’s ties to Al Qaeda have turned out to have been overstated or based on unreliable intelligence sources.

The poll also found that 32% of Americans believed that terrorism around the world had increased because of the Iraq situation, 17% believed it had decreased, and 47% believed the problem was about the same.

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

I guess were going to bomb Iran!!! Now that would be something I'd support.

capt,

I sent the e-mail. I also sent Senator Stabenow an e-mail urging filibuster yesterday. As I said earlier, my other senator, Levin, is already aboard.

Hopefully, the Democrats will make the right decision and, as Atrios so quaintly puts it, drop a mighty turd in the punch bowl before Shrubby's SOTU.

The Truth About the State of our Union

In his 2004 and 2005 addresses, the President spent a considerable amount of time advocating policies that would roll back much of the social progress made since the New Deal. In 2004, the President touted a Medicare prescription drug bill that will fatten the pockets of the pharmaceutical industry, endangering the future finances of the entire Medicare program, while leaving seniors confused and empty handed as they try to fill their prescriptions under the new plan. In 2005, the President used his address to promote his plan strip seniors of the guaranteed promise of Social Security, and replace it with a risky scheme to gamble their future in the stock market.

What the President has in store for his message this year is not known yet. But, we do know the President Bush will speak in glowing terms about the state of our union. The truth is the state of our union is in great peril. This Administration is conducting a war with no end in Iraq, illegally spying on Americans at home, overseeing an economy that is increasingly leaving more and more Americans behind and abandoning Gulf in their hour of great need.

If recent history is any precedent, then next week we should see more of the same old dance around reality that has been the hallmark of President Bush's annual address.

Read more HERE

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

I expect some catapulting of propaganda. I bet Busheney will make more that a couple of outright lies. Why should the SOTU be an exception?

capt

Don, filibuster Alito and make the Dems look even MORE out of touch?? You guys are the gift that keeps on giving!!

Micki,
The Democratic Senators have to stand up to this. At this point who cares who gets re-elected. The country's democracy is at stake. I say go for it.
Senator Dayton did a very noble thing. He decided not to run for re-election. That has given him the time to concentrate on issues and to stand up for what he believes in. I have a lot of respect for him.

Bill wrote:

One of the most liberal constitutional scholars in the country, Professor Cass Sunstein at the University of Chicago, thinks the NSA's warrantless eavesdropping was legal.

Now, what do you think he knows that you don't know?

But, in fact, a number of prominent Republicans, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona, have criticized Bush and the wiretapping without court warrants as a violation of the law and basic civil liberties. So have other well-known conservatives, including former Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia. Bruce Fein, a lawyer who worked in the Justice Department under President Ronald Reagan, wrote in a commentary in the Washington Times last week that Bush should face "possible impeachment" if the practice is not stopped.

Now, what do you think they know that you don't know?

Capt,
Every time I see Busheneny I think of a hootenanny. Swing your partners.

Saint Patrick's Four

The date is March 17, 2003. St. Patrick's Day and just two days before U.S. bombs began raining down on Baghdad, 40 year-old Teresa Grady, her older sister Clare, Daniel Burns and Vietnam veteran Peter De Mott decided to take action against the impending illegal Anglo-American invasion of Iraq.

The group of Catholic Workers from Ithaca, New York, known as the "St. Patrick's Four," entered an Army-Marine Recruiting Center and poured their blood on the walls, recruiting posters and an American flag in an act of non-violent civil resistance to what they knew already was to be the first of countless violations of international law the Bush Administration would commit during their invasion and occupation of sovereign Iraq.

More HERE

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

What a country.

capt

Don,

Great link to the SFGate. The articles talked about how some liberals are supporting the warrantless wiretaps, while some conservatives aren't.

So you agree with me that there can be an honest difference of opinion between peoples of goodwill on this issue.

Thanks for coming over to my side on this one.

Sashay and Promenade!

HA!

capt

Earth in the Balance (Paperback)
by Al Gore

Al Gore would have made a fine president were he allowed to assume the presidency he won in 2000 (by more than 540,000 votes). He would have made an even better president in 2004 after he had his epiphany that turned him from a skilled career politician into an impassioned advocate for democracy. He would, we might add, make an even greater president in 2008, just in case you asked.

"Earth in the Balance" is an unusual book in that it was actually written by Al Gore. Most political figures have people "co-write" or ghost write their books, but not Gore.

Now that Al Gore is being lauded for his environmental work, which was profiled in a documentary that has received rave reviews ("...activist cinema at its very best") at the Sundance Film Festival, we thought it time to offer his book "Earth in the Balance," which was written just before his presidential run in 2000.

In the documentary, Gore warns that we are facing "a true planetary emergency."

"The former U.S. vice-president came to town for the premiere of 'An Inconvenient Truth,' a documentary chronicling what has become his crusade since losing the 2000 presidential election: educating the masses that global warming is about to toast our ecology and our way of life," the article notes.

Another article in the New York Times ended with this quotation: "The film's first showings received standing ovations. 'Our primary objective is for as many people to see the movie as possible,' Gore said. 'I'll sell the movie door-to-door if that is what it takes.'"

Widely ridiculed by the right wing and the Busheviks when it was published, "Earth in the Balance" has proven itself even more prophetic with the passing of time. Gore didn't write this based on policy advisors. He wrote "Earth in the Balance" from a passionate conviction that the future of our environment is in grave danger. The Busheviks have only accelerated the peril that we face as inhabitants of this planet.

In retrospect, "Earth in the Balance" foreshadowed Gore's transformation into a seer about our modern political, economic and environmental crisis. In the book, he did an unusual thing for a then sitting vice president, he took the risk of telling the truth.

Now, because Gore, in speech after speech, is holding up the mirror to the horrors of the Bush Administration, he continues to be marginalized by the mainstream press, the right wing echo chamber, and even leaders of his own Democratic Party. Someone who dares to declare that the emperor wears no clothes endangers the status quo, and many of the Democratic Senators in Washington don't like to become involved in battles that require them to summon courage. They also like their cushy jobs and have forgotten that they serve the people, the nation, and the Constitution -- not just themselves.

What Gore said about the Sundance-premiered film equally applies to "Earth in the Balance": "The average person is ahead of politicians on this issue. People who care about it get disappointed by the lack of interest from the political system. We are beginning to see the critical formation of a mass movement in the public, which will make it impolitic for politicians to keep doing nothing.''

"Earth in the Balance" would have been a blueprint for beginning to salvage our environment were Gore to have been installed in the White House, as he was elected to do. But now, it summons us to understand how much further we have unfortunately traveled down the road to destroying it.

It's time to take a fresh look at Al Gore's "Earth in the Balance." We ignore his warnings at our peril. The past five years have only come to prove how much we owe him, and how little we have listened as a nation.

This book should be in every house and classroom in the country. But now that telling the truth is a crime while lying is risk free, it is destined to be read only by those who seek it out. That's horribly unfortunate, but a sad sign of the Bushevik "Through the Looking Glass" times that endangers us all.
-------------------
Gore for president.

Bush: 'L'etat, C'est Moi'

We are now learning what President Bush considers to be the limits of his power - nothing.

In public appearances this week, Bush defended his program of domestic spying without court approval, citing the inherent war powers of the presidency under the U.S. Constitution.

The president points to his status as commander-in-chief and the resolution approved by Congress three days after the 9/11 attacks authorizing him to use "all necessary and appropriate force" against the terrorists.

It is an obvious overreach of presidential prerogative; thin justification for what amounts to a snooping foray against Americans and others in the U.S.

It all smacks of France's Louis XIV's famous dictum: "L'etat, c'est moi" - "I am the state."

The administration is on shaky legal ground. Last week, the Justice Department issued a 42-page analysis declaring the president "will exercise all authority available to him, consistent with the Constitution, to protect the people of the United States."

The Justice Department brief also contended that some presidential powers are simply "beyond congressional ability to regulate."

But the law is the law. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 which was enacted after in-depth congressional hearings on domestic spying established a special court to issue warrants for electronic eavesdropping on suspected foreign agents inside the United States.

So far, that court has been basically a rubber stamp for government petitions, rarely turning down a request at crisis times. The court permits emergency wiretaps without court approval for up to 72 hours.

If court procedures tie law enforcement's hands, Congress is open to fixing it. "I know of no member of Congress, frankly, who, if the administration came and said, 'Here's why we need this capability,' that they wouldn't get it," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

But the Bush administration wanted unfettered freedom to spy on who they want, when they want, with no legal constraints whatsoever.

More HERE

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

Helen is always a hoot!

capt

Folks:
John Kerry has plunged his party into an internecine squabble this afternoon by pushing for a filibuster on Samuel Alito's confirmation, a sure losing strategy even with Dianne Feinstein's late reversal on her pledge to give Alito an up-or-down vote. The pandering to Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and People For The American Way has dragged Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer back to the parliamentary procedure they'd hope to save for a possible retirement by John Paul Stevens or Ruth Bader Ginsburg and set off a public argument over the foolishness of fighting lost causes in an election year:

Two of the party's Senate leaders, Harry Reid of Nevada and Charles Schumer of New York, privately made clear their unhappiness with the strategy, even though they, too, oppose Alito's confirmation. And Rep. Harold Ford, seeking a Senate seat in Republican-leaning Tennessee, dismissed the filibuster approach openly.

"It does not appear that there is any reason to hold up a vote. I hope my colleagues in the Senate will move quickly to bring this process to a dignified end," he said.

Ford wasn't the only Democrat to go on record opposing a filibuster. Kent Conrad, who faces a red-state electorate in an uphill battle for re-election this year in North Dakota, ticked off a number of reasons to oppose blocking Alito's nomination:

In an interview, Conrad said that in remarks to fellow Democrats at the caucus, he outlined several factors. These included Alito's strong backing from the American Bar Association, his uncontested confirmation 15 years ago to the appeals court, public opinion polls and the fact that Republicans had voted overwhelmingly to confirm Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer when President Clinton nominated them.
"So I put that all together and I find it makes it hard to justify a filibuster," Conrad said.

Put that together with the three Democrats who have already agreed to vote for his confirmation and one can see that a filibuster has little hope of succeeding. Even if a few Republicans may not vote for Alito's confirmation, none of them will be stupid enough to join a filibuster, especially with Democrats crossing the aisle to support Alito.

What will the Democrats win from all this? They will have momentarily obstructed a nominee who has the support of 2/3rds of the country for confirmation, proving yet again to be nothing more than knee-jerk obstructionists. They will have lost the filibuster for all the other judicial nominations, which would mean a return of Henry Saad to the list. It will also mean that if Stevens or Ginsburg leave the court in the next three years -- a distinct possibility -- the Democrats will have no means to stop Janice Rogers Brown or Priscilla Brown from taking their place. They will have lost all leverage with which to bargain.

And along the way, they will have once again emphasized their inability to produce anything positive with all of the smear tactics and character assassination in which they indulged, a chapter so shameful that even their own senior member stood on the floor of the Senate and called it a "disgrace".

However, John Kerry may prove to be the consummate party leader of this era. He gladly led the party to an across-the-board loss against a vulnerable president during a divisive war, and now he gleefully calls for their further humiliation and degradation while playing on the slopes of the Swiss Alps, as far from the fight as he can get. It's the Era of Absent Maturity for Democrats, and Kerry may well be its poster boy
Ed Morissey -Captiansquartersblog.com

ARE THERE ANY GROWN-UPS IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY?

A President Who Can Do No Right
by Bob Herbert

We should be used to it by now. There are a couple of Congressional committees trying to investigate the tragic Hurricane Katrina debacle, but the Bush administration is refusing to turn over certain documents or allow certain senior White House officials to testify before the committees under oath.

Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat who is by no means unfriendly to the Bush crowd, said this week, "There has been a near-total lack of cooperation that has made it impossible, in my opinion, for us to do the thorough investigation that we have a responsibility to do."

Once again the president has, in effect, flipped the bird at Congress. He's amazing. Forget such fine points as the Constitution and the separation of powers. George W. Bush does what he wants to do. He won fewer votes than Al Gore in 2000 and then governed as if he'd been elected by acclamation. He dispensed with John Kerry in 2004 by portraying himself -- a man who ran and hid from the draft during Vietnam -- as more of a warrior than Mr. Kerry, a decorated combat veteran of that war....

....George W. Bush had no such concerns. In fact, he joked about his failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Like a frat boy making cracks about a bad bet on a football game, Mr. Bush displayed what he felt was a hilarious set of photos during a spoof that he performed at the annual dinner of the Radio and Television Correspondents Association in March 2004.

The photos showed the president peering behind curtains and looking under furniture in the Oval Office for the missing weapons. Mr. Bush offered mock captions for the photos, saying, "Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere." And, "Nope, no weapons over there, maybe under here."

This week, as the killing of American G.I.'s and innocent Iraqis continued, we learned from a draft report from the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction that, like the war itself, the Bush plan for rebuilding Iraq has been crippled by incompetence and extreme shortages of personnel. I doubt that this will bother the president any more than any of his other failures. He seems to truly believe that he can do no wrong.

The fiasco in Iraq and the president's response to the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe were Mr. Bush's two most spectacular foul-ups. There have been many others. The president's new Medicare prescription drug program has been a monumental embarrassment, leaving some of the most vulnerable members of our society without essential medication. Prominent members of the president's own party are balking at the heavy hand of his No Child Left Behind law, which was supposed to radically upgrade the quality of public education.

The Constitution? Civil liberties? Don't ask.
-------------------
As I've said before, what scares me is what we don't know.

So you agree with me that there can be an honest difference of opinion between peoples of goodwill on this issue.

I think you missed my point, troll.

It doesn't matter whether one is liberal or conservative if they are on the wrong side of the argument as you always are.

In an effort to soften their image Hamas is changing their name to Hummus although all of the Fatah group had a belly laugh at the first version that omitted one "M" as Humus! HA!

capt

TimL, did you not claim to be a psychiatrist? you seem to take quite a perverse glee from political lefty bumbling/misfortune. I can just picture you now with your peers, making fun of your patients (god help them). and doesn't it seem that perhaps your constant use of "LOL" is inappropriate coming from a psychiatrist?
I submit that you are either a liar and are not a psychiatrist, or else a terrible psychiatrist.
LOL!

Don,
Maybe he's a part of the new pentagon psyops group. If he is, they haven't perfected the program.

US plans to 'fight the net' revealed

A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for "information operations" - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks.

Bloggers beware.....

.....Perhaps the most startling aspect of the roadmap is its acknowledgement that information put out as part of the military's psychological operations, or Psyops, is finding its way onto the computer and television screens of ordinary Americans.

"Information intended for foreign audiences, including public diplomacy and Psyops, is increasingly consumed by our domestic audience," it reads.

Psyops messages will often be replayed by the news media for much larger audiences, including the American public," it goes on.

The document's authors acknowledge that American news media should not unwittingly broadcast military propaganda. "Specific boundaries should be established," they write. But they don't seem to explain how.

Don,

And you missed my point.

And they're/I'm on the wrong side of the issue because...why, again? Because you said so?

And, please - a little deference to your vastly superiors.

james ha,

I submit that you are either a liar and are not a psychiatrist, or else a terrible psychiatrist.

Ask him how his sweet, sweet love of moral relativism is going these days.

And, please - a little deference to your vastly superiors.

Fuck off.

Speaking of bush's SOTU -- here's the video.

For a good laugh (dialups beware...it's not that long, but still...)

bush playing president for SOTU on TV

James Ha, I was quoting a psychatrist on her take on "Bush Derangement Syndrome, which every leftist nut job on this blog has.

Sir Don, I like your style.

Should've known better to feed 'em. You feed 'em, and then they shit all over the blog.

My apologies, folks.

When Republicans Loved a Filibuster

Supporters of George W. Bush are lambasting Sen. John Kerry for a threatened filibuster against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. But 15 years ago, their attitude was different as backers of George H.W. Bush wielded the filibuster to block a probe into Republican secret dealings with Iran that could have doomed the Bush Dynasty.

In 1991, the Democratic-controlled Senate was planning an investigation into whether Republicans had conducted secret negotiations with Iran’≥ Islamic fundamentalist regime during the 1980 campaign, when Jimmy Carter was still President and Iran was holding 52 Americans hostage.

The unresolved hostage crisis destroyed Carter’≥ reelection hopes and gave an important boost to Ronald Reagan when the hostages were released on Jan. 20, 1981, immediately after he was sworn in as President and George H.W. Bush became Vice President.

A decade after those events, some Democrats wanted to get to the bottom of recurring allegations that George Bush Sr., a former CIA director, had joined clandestine negotiations with Iran in fall 1980 that may have delayed release of the hostages for political gain, what was called the "October Surprise" mystery.

Meanwhile, Republicans were worried that a full-scale October Surprise investigation might implicate Bush in near-treasonous talks with an enemy state and devastate his 1992 reelection campaign. Confirmation of the allegations also would have eviscerated the legitimacy of the Reagan-Bush era.

So, in November 1991, Republican leaders used the filibuster to block funding for the investigation. The Democrats mustered 51 votes –†a majority –†but fell short of the 60 votes needed for cloture. A fully funded investigation was prevented.

More HERE

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

Sure, it is okay when the GOPhers do it. Hypocrites, liars, criminals and slugs. The two faced bastards are shameless.

capt

What does this tell you about the economy?

Thousands apply for jobs at new Wal-Mart

Eighteen months after the Chicago City Council torpedoed a South Side Wal-Mart, 24,500 Chicagoans applied for 325 jobs at a Wal-Mart opening Friday in south suburban Evergreen Park, one block outside the city limits....

...."In our typical hiring process, you're pretty successful if you have 3,000 applicants," he said. "They were really crowing about 11,000 in Oakland, Calif., last year. So to get 25,000-plus applications and counting, I think is astonishing."

Assistant manager Rachael Fierro, who was still interviewing prospects Wednesday, said "we saw a little bit of everything -- people who hadn't worked for a long time, people who saw an opportunity to do something with themselves. That's the information I got from applicants."

dammit TimLoL - just when I think it doesn't get any stupider I encounter yet another of your inanities ::
It baffles my mind how these people think, i.e. accuse Bush of being behind the 9/11 attacks, but THEN in the same breath criticize him for not doing enough to prevent 9/11!!!

I can count on one hand the # of posters here that believe 911 was an inside job, and we don't fault someone for not preventing something that that same someone was a part of.

Don,

Yeah. I guess that dumb ol' Cass Sunstein (Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago, School of Law, Harvard University '75, Harvard School of Law, '78) doesn't know nearly as much about constitutional law as you do.

He says the warrantless wiretapping is OK. And you say it's not because....why, again? And please quote code and case law.

Bill/happy/et al:

Knock off the "I'm gone for the weekend" BS. You're still online and playing games.

Do you want to keep that email address you have been using guiness? I could post it if I wanted to.

Don,

Do you get this angry whenever you get your head handed to you in a debate?

You must be angry all the time.

And you still haven't answered my question. Is casting aspersions and obscenities the best you can do?

Obviously, so.

First rule of debating:
He who curses first loses.

James:
"I can count on one hand the # of posters here that believe 911 was an inside job, and we don't fault someone for not preventing something that that same someone was a part of."

I think you're wrong about the # of people, most on this blog do think 9/11 was an inside job. And Capt has BOTH accused Bush of being behind 9/11 AND criticized Bush for not doing enough to prevent 9/11. My only explanation why Capt would do this, b/c of his seething rage and hatred for Bush that he BLAMES everything and anything that is bad on Bush, therefore, contradicting himself.

James:
"I can count on one hand the # of posters here that believe 911 was an inside job, and we don't fault someone for not preventing something that that same someone was a part of."

I think you're wrong about the # of people, most on this blog do think 9/11 was an inside job. And Capt has BOTH accused Bush of being behind 9/11 AND criticized Bush for not doing enough to prevent 9/11. My only explanation why Capt would do this, b/c of his seething rage and hatred for Bush that he BLAMES everything and anything that is bad on Bush, therefore, contradicting himself.

"The unresolved hostage crisis destroyed Carter’s reelection hopes "

Um, it did not help but neither did double digit inflation and double digit prime. I still believe if Carter's economy was better he would have stood a chance.

People liked Jimmy just most felt like he did not have a grip on the economy. It is easy to say it was the hostages but I remember the checkbook being the larger concern. We all wanted the hostages to be released but many thought that was a lost cause and as great as it was to get them released it did not drive my voting preference.

capt

capt, thank you, too, for taking an active role in encouraging the senate to support the filibuster.

Keep at it over the weekend. Wouldn't it be great to be in full filibuster mode as chimpy subjects the nation to his SOTU? He will have to be on SERIOUS meds!

Halliburton swings to $1.1 billion profit, cites 2005 as company's best

DALLAS – Oilfield services conglomerate Halliburton Co. swung to a profit in its fourth quarter on robust sales and increased rig activity, and called last year the best in its 86-year history.

The income reversed a loss from a year earlier for Houston-based Halliburton, the company once led by Vice President Dick Cheney. Its KBR unit has become known for its support work for troops stationed in the Middle East.

Net income was $1.1 billion, or $2.08 a share, including a gain of $540 million or $1.02 a share, for a future tax allowance. That compared to a net loss of $203 million, or 46 cents a share last year, which included a $384 million loss from discontinued operations.

Fourth quarter revenue rose 12 percent to $5.8 billion, largely from the performance of its energy services group, which saw sales increase 31 percent.

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

President Cheney mutters "I love it when a plan comes together."

The real world suffers the worst quarter in three years as big oil, military industrials and well connected cronies make out like bandits!

The bumper crop under Busheney is all about the wealthy and the wealthier.

capt

"A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountain top." ~ Unknown

"He who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonder." ~ M. C. Escher (1898 - 1972)

capt, jeanne, and all who participate:

We are on a roll. Be sure to appeal to Senators Snowe, Collins, Chaffee, Jeffords and others who could make this a classic 21st Century declaration for justice and equality.

Stand up and be counted. Be a part of the solution! Tell your friends.

"Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute." ~ Josh Billings (1818 - 1885)

"Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech." ~ Martin Fraquhar Tupper

"He had occasional flashes of silence, that made his conversation perfectly delightful." ~ Sydney Smith (1771 - 1845), referring to Macaulay

For once I am in complete agreement with the Cornposters. Please keep up the filibuster effort.

Call all the Senators, Republican and Democratic alike.

Ask them to go on the television talkshows on Sunday and really talk up the filibuster issue.

Keep the Senate in session over the weekend!!

Have them keep going to the well of the Senate to proclaim what an evil man Judge Alito is.

Have Senator Kennedy go up there and lecture Judge Alito about morals and decency again.

Have John Kerry talk for hours.

Invite Al Gore to come back as a guest speaker.

This is going to be great!!!

Bill,

You can save your kindegarten teacher troll schtick for someone who gives a shit.

I'm not angry in the least. I don't have to be angry to curse; in fact, I was laughing when I told you to "fuck off."

I'm not debating you any more on this subject because you'll just keep quoting the needles of people outside the administration who agree with it's interpretation of the Constitution in the haystack of those who don't. I shouldn't have engaged you in the first place, but that's why you keep trolling here, isn't it?

I've told you more than once that if you want a debate about the NSA spying scandal, go to a law blog like Volokh or Unclaimed Territory. You shold be able to find a good discussion about the many laws Bush and his cronies are violating.

But again, that isn't what you want, is it? You think your behavior is causing me to say "fuck" and that gives you a little chubby in your undies, right? Well, you got what you wanted. Don't let the virtual door hit you in the ass.

"Nothing is so good for an ignorant man as silence; and if he was sensible of this he would not be ignorant."
Saadi (1184 - 1291)

1. Ignore the media whores. Karl Rove is feeding them lies as he always does, and they are swallowing those lies as they always do. The only media that matters is the media we are creating right here by calling each Senator and getting a YES or NO statement from them on the Alito filibuster.

2. Keep calling the Senators who are undecided or opposed to a filibuster. You can call their DC office all weekend and leave polite but firm voicemails urging the Senators to support Kerry's filibuster. When offices open on Monday 9 a.m. ET, make another round of calls. Let's shut down the Capitol switchboard on Monday!

http://democrats.com/alito-48

3. Call the DNC (202-863-8000) and the DSCC (202-224-2447) and tell them your 2006 contributions will depend on the success of the Alito filibuster. Tell them they need to get every Democratic Senator on board.

4. Wake up the sleeping bloggers. Where are the biggest blogs, including DailyKos.com, TalkingPointsMemo.com, CrooksandLiars.com, and AmericaBlog.com? (Complaining about how Democrats played last week won't cut it -we're in the Super Bowl and we can win this damn game if we get Democrats to play their best game on Monday - and hopefully the rest of this coming week.) Thanks to Agonist, BobGeiger, BradBlog, BuzzFlash, CultureKitchen, The Democratic Daily, DemocraticUnderground, Eschaton, Firedoglake, Mahablog, MakeThemAccountable, Mark Crispin Miller, NewsDissector, PoliticalWire, RudePundit, Vichy Democrats and everyone else who's plugging this.

5. Lend a hand to real-world groups like NOW, People for the American Way, Feminist Majority, Backbone Campaign, Moveon, Planned Parenthood, Progressive Democrats of America, and Working Assets Long Distance, which have worked tirelessly for two months to Stop Alito.

6. Call talk shows like Air America, C-SPAN, etc. and talk about what we're doing on this blog and how we're killing ourselves to stop Alito - and how we can win if everyone who cares about the future of our Democracy joins us.

7. Keep hope alive - because American Democracy is worth it!!!

ooops..."finding" the needles makes much more sense in that last post.

"In silence man can most readily preserve his integrity." ~ Meister Eckhart

"Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn." ~ George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950), Back to Methuselah (1921) pt. 5

"It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence." ~ Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)

"Silence is argument carried out by other means." ~ Ernesto "Che" Guevara

The only Bill I trust is Bill Clinton. The only bush I trust is my own.

That other Bill can f**koff

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." ~ Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

Hey,
Pay attention to John's mom. She's a mom. Moms are the smartest people in the world. I should know. I am one.

"'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt." ~ Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865), (attributed)

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." ~ Plato (427 BC - 347 BC)

If you live in California, write a letter to these California newspapers; suggested letter follows. Look up addresses for other newspapers around the country at: http://www.refdesk.com/paper.html

Step up; be counted.

San Francisco Chronicle: letters@sfchronicle.com

San Jose Mercury: letters@mercurynews.com

Sacramento Bee: opinion@sacbee.com

Los Angeles Times: letters@latimes.com

SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear Editor

As a Californian (San Diegan/ resident of Oakland/Marinite, etc.) who supports (a woman's right to choose/ civil rights for all Americans, the rights of workers to belong to a union/my right to make a phone call without the NSA listening in), I applaud Senators Boxer's and Feinstein's support for a filibuster to prevent the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

If Judge Alito is confirmed, the price will be paid by ordinary Americans for years to come. Women, people with disabilities, immigrants and minorities who seek redress against discrimination, workers whose health and safety protections will erode, and millions of Americans will be denied access to justice.

Senators Boxer and Feinstein deserve our support. I hope they can convince their fellow Senators to join them in taking a stand at this pivotal moment for our constitutional rights.

Yours sincerely,

capt. - point taken -

U.S. Government Agrees to Pay ACLU Over No-Fly List

The American Civil Liberties Union will receive US$200,000 from two U.S. government agencies to pay for attorneys' fees in a lawsuit the ACLU brought to uncover information about the government's no-fly list.

The suit was filed by the ACLU on behalf of two San Francisco peace activists, Rebecca Gordon and Janet Adams, who were detained three years ago while checking in for a flight. They were put on the list for being critical of the Bush administration.

The ACLU invoked the Freedom of Information Act to force the government to disclose how people get on and off watchlists. After they obtained all the information they believed they could receive from the government, they filed for compensation.

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

That darn ACLU, if they would just quit it totalitarianism would be so much easier.

capt

Are We, the People, the Enemy?

Well, our "elected" are certainly not listening to us, and that is quite a dilemma. For the last several years, every time I wrote to Congress and expressed my concerns for things like the Patriot Act, CAFTA, the Endangered Species Act, etc., I get responses that 1) don’¥ address any of the points I made in my letters, and 2) I am told in no uncertain terms why the Patriot Act, CAFTA, and other legislation will be (and was) supported. One of my reps actually had the nerve to say that CAFTA was needed to be fair to the Third World. What about the world of the American family and the world that you are paid to represent?

I’∂e seen at least 100 letters from reps, which circulate on the Internet, also proving that we are not being listened to and our opinions not taken into account. I think it is clear to say that government by the people has become a clich?, for it is certainly not a point of fact or law anymore. Our elected are demonstrating a regime change mentality in action and deed. Let’≥ look at some facts:

More HERE

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

We are the enemy if we dare to disagree.

Democracy is all but dead, long live tyranny!

capt

Dear Jeanne:

Thank you for asking people to pay heed to my plea. It's not about my son, you know, it is about our country which he cares about deeply.

Jeanne, I would love to see a show of hands of those of you who have taken action on this important matter for our children's and grandchildren's future. I would hope that all of you have participated.

Thank you for all that you do.

See, Don,

I'm not trying to say that I have metaphysical certaintude that warrantless eavesdropping is right, just the same way you have no such evidence on your side.

But liberals don't believe people can just be wrong. You say "the law Bush and his cronies are violating", with absolute certaintude.

What gives you that certaintude? What makes you think you know more than Cass Sunstein? Certainly nothing you've posted here.

And so, again, I will say to you that good people of different political persuasions can have valid differences of opinion on a subject. And they can do it without one side being the epitome of evil.

That is, unless you are so close-minded (usually meaning small-minded) that you are not open to discussing the matter. I would hope that not to be the case.

Drunken bum!

"We didn't lie. We were all fooled by this drunken bum!"

"The President was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"The Vice President was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"The guy looking at photos of balloon inflators and claiming they were mobile biological laboratories was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"The CIA was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"The FBI was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"The entire United States Congress was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"ABC was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"NBC was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"CBS was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"FOX was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"CNN was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"Newspapers were fooled by this drunken bum!"

"Clear Channel was fooled by this drunken bum!"

"The weapons inspection teams who scoured Iraq over and over and over and over without finding anything were fooled by this drunken bum!"

"The boys who made the fake Osama video tapes were fooled by this drunken bum!"

"The Mossad agents arrested while cheering the collapse of the World Trade Towers were fooled by this drunken bum!"

"Yessirrebob we were all fooled by this drunken bum. It's all his fault. Honest. Really. None of us did anything wrong."

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

I cannot help but ask: Which drunken bum? Curveball or Dry-drunk-monkey-boy?

capt

"He who does not know how to be silent will not know how to speak." ~ Ausonius

"I think the first virtue is to restrain the tongue; he approaches nearest to gods who knows how to be silent, even though he is in the right." ~ Cato the Elder (234 BC - 149 BC)

"Of those who say nothing, few are silent." ~ Thomas Neill

someone is VERRRRRRRRRRRRY small in one part of the anatomy.

Alright, who cares about their civil liberties? Who cares about their democracy? Who respects the founding fathers for the courage it took to build this nation, to create it from nothing more than ideas? Who has that same courage to lead our nation into the next century? Do what it takes. Get the word out that we want NO votes on the Alito nomination.
Call your senators!
Email your senators!

ALITO DOESN'T CARE ABOUT CIVIL LIBERTIES. THAT MEANS YOUR CIVIL LIBERTIES. THAT MEANS YOUR CHILDREN'S CIVIL LIBERTIES.

What kind of country do you want? This isn't just about the nomination, it's about the fight. The more people we can get to call and email, the greater the message the people send the Republicans and the white house. WE the people are taking our country back.

WE THE PEOPLE!

Oui we!

US plans to 'fight the net' revealed

It (DOD) seems to see the internet as being equivalent to an enemy weapons system.

And, in a grand finale, the document recommends that the United States should seek the ability to "provide maximum control of the entire electromagnetic spectrum".

US forces should be able to "disrupt or destroy the full spectrum of globally emerging communications systems, sensors, and weapons systems dependent on the electromagnetic spectrum".

The US military seeks the capability to knock out every telephone, every networked computer, every radar system on the planet.

Neo-Con Mouthpieces Still Clinging to Osama-Saddam Link

Neo-Con mouthpiece government shills Sean Hannity and Newsmax simply don't know when to stop. They are still claiming that Osama bin Laden met with Saddam Hussein, this time dragging out Saddam's former lieutenant, Gen. Georges Sada, who related a supposed rendezvous between the two in the mid-80's.

The problem with this of course is that Donald Rumsfeld was also meeting with Saddam Hussein at almost exactly the same time to sell him the chemical and biological weapons that were later used as an excuse to invade.

First of all, how can we believe anything that these people say? From Saddam's invading biological drones that were set to reign down terror on US cities, to biological weapons trucks that turned out to be for blowing up weather balloons, to WMD stockpile bunkers that turned out to be bakeries. Congenital liars don't tend to deserve to be afforded much credibility.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

More HERE

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

I think Rummy meeting with Saddam should be reason enough to call ourselves complicit in anything Saddam has done.

But what do I know, I am so stupid I apply the neocon rule of guilt by association.

capt

Murtha Says Iraq Is Now a Civil War

PITTSBURGH - U.S. troops will leave Iraq by the end of the year as predicted.

"Our troops are the target," Murtha told the newspaper. "We're not fighting terrorism in Iraq. We're fighting a civil war in Iraq. We've got to give them an incentive. We fought our Civil War. Let them fight their civil war."

"There is no reason in the world we couldn't do what we're doing (in Iraq) from the periphery," Murtha said. "I've just come to the conclusion it's going to happen and it's just a matter of time."

Murtha, who voted in 2002 to give President Bush the authority to go to war, said he believes Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, had no ties to al-Qaida and wasn't a threat to the United States.

"We're not cutting and running. We're giving the Iraqis incentive to take over," he said.

Murtha also weighed in on other topics during the meeting, saying the United States should use diplomacy in combating the threats Iran poses to Mideast stability. He also said Sen. Hillary Clinton , D-N.Y., could win the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, but that she would lose in the general election.

Information from: Tribune-Review, http://www.triblive.com

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

If Bush can trump the constitution and the "rule of law" what would stop the neocons from calling Murtha seditious? (Oh yeah, they have done so already)

If Bush can declare any citizen an "illegal combatant" and hold them without probable cause for any length of time on his word only, how long until the gulags will be full of liberals and patriots? How long until any voice of dissent is silenced by a wave from the leaders hand?

Now - trolls - substitute Clinton for Bush and tell me how accommodating you would be, how much support you would have for the "war on anybody that disagrees?"

If you trolls had an iota of intellectual integrity you would be rallying in support of the constitution and country not blindly supporting a party, politician or policy that violates our inalienable rights given to all of us by our creator not granted us by the feckless at any level of government. Needless to say I will not be holding my breath.

capt

bill 123, I don't give a damn what any liberals think, I'm NOT a liberal! And if they think anyone has the right to trash my 4th amendment rights in the name of some bullshit personal security, they can sure as hell move to RUSSIA!
Tim L 124 FUCK YOU! Take your security to the nanny state of China you whining bedwetter!
hillary 179, PUUHHLLEESSEE! Trust bill? UGH!

From Patrick Henry's speach. Give me Liberty or give me death. Pay attention trolls, if you are able.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.

...Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it?

Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us.

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery!

Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
------------
Where are these politicians today? We are abandoned in the name of money and power. The trolls are betrayers, they don't care about liberty or freedom, they are cowards, terrified of a fabricated enemy and willing to sacrifice everything in exchange for a temporary sense of safety. They are a shameful legacy for our country, they are what future generations will remember.

Saladin,

How right you are on all points!

I hate to pile on but . . .

Troll wearing his "Bush NEVER lied" tee-shirt with the Ann Coulter poster . . .

You get the picture.

If the trolls wanted to be taken seriously they would act and sound serious. They do not so they are not. So why bother with the blather, bother with their betters.

IMHO

capt

The most rational thing I have heard during this whole debacle was the following: "if an atm can give us a text reciept for a deposit, then why can't a voting machine do the same?".

We need to barrage our Reps with our honest opinions. I know its tedious and I know it often seems hopeless, but the Vote is our only weapon.

We need to make SURE every vote is verifiable.

We need to do everything in our power to inform others of new information in a timely manner.

We need to verify new information before distribution.

We need to watch our backs.

It is a particularly disturbing time for the Net, legislation has been passed, but not tested, servers are testing their power to data mine.

I feel strongly that we need actual Geeks in to discuss the future of the Net. Not government lawyerbot newbies. The Net is a Global Constituancy. Its important to keep this in mind.

We can still find truth here, Id like to do everything I can to make sure this continues. MSN and GOOGLE, caving to Communism in the persuit of commerce is disturbing to me.

The President is constantly shaking his fist at Iran, but is onboard a Russian/Chinese plan to refine their uranium.

China has Navy installations in South America and at both ends of the Panama Canal.

Now Shrub wan'ts to put a power groupie on the Supreme Court. This dude is Gannon with a legal degree.

Any Dem who fails to respond to a fillabuster SHOULD be voted out of office.

Bush claims authority on war, eavesdropping

President Bush yesterday said he has exclusive authority over a broad range of issues -- including forbidding White House officials to testify before Congress about the government's Hurricane Katrina response and ordering warrantless electronic surveillance within the United States.

"Conducting war is a responsibility in the executive branch, not the legislative branch," the president said at a 46-minute press conference. "Most presidents believe that during a time of war that we can use our authorities under the Constitution to make decisions necessary to protect us."

Democrats have accused the president of breaking the law by ordering the National Security Agency in 2002 to eavesdrop on international communications between suspected terrorists and people in the United States. Senate hearings on the once-secret program are scheduled for Feb. 6.

Mr. Bush acknowledged that "there will be a legal debate about whether or not I have the authority to do this," but added, "I'm absolutely convinced I do. And I'm going to continue using my authority."

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

(in my best Jon Stewart doing his best Bush impression)

"I can do what I want, heh heh heh. I'n the boss and I said I could say so. Heh heh heh, I will bug every single terrorist in or out of America. I can do that, because I said so, heh heh heh. I mean who is gonna stop me? I have a bunch of these army guys, they will do what I tell em, heh heh heh."

It will go one of two ways: Either Busheney will get a civics lesson or the public will get a lesson in totalitarianism through total control.

capt

ARE CONCENTRATION CAMPS COMING TO THE U.S.?

Catastrophe Looms

The Bush administration is astonished because it stupidly believes that hundreds of millions of Muslims should be grateful that the US has interfered in their internal affairs for 60 years, setting up colonies and puppet rulers to suppress their aspirations and to achieve, instead, purposes of the US government.

Americans need desperately to understand that 95 percent of all Muslim terrorists in the world were created in the past three years by Bush’≥ invasion of Iraq.

Americans need desperately to comprehend that if Bush attacks Iran and Syria, as he intends, terrorism will explode, and American civil liberties will disappear into a thirty-year war that will bankrupt the United States.

The total lack of rationality and competence in the White House and the inability of half of the US population to acquire and understand information are far larger threats to Americans than terrorism.

America has become a rogue nation, flying blind, guided only by ignorance and hubris. A terrible catastrophe awaits.

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

I enjoy Paul Craig Roberts but I am not so sure the neocons are not getting exactly what they want. The permanent war needs a bigger enemy than Iraqi insurgents or even OBL. Making the horror of nuclear war a reality while taking away the rest of our civil liberties are just bonuses to the consolidation of power. Power already asserted as global and without borders. Heck, make a few millionaire pals into billionaire pals and the quality of opulence can be shared and protected by pals - globally!

capt

Our intentions are always good. We may kill a few million innocent civilians here and there, but you have to crack some eggs if you want to make an omelette. We Americans are God's gift to humanity and we can do no wrong! It is time that you liberal cockroaches and foreign dogs engage in some serious fear and trembling. Get on your knees and bow before the Almighty USA....

Our nation dominates the world, militarily, culturally, and financially, and those of you who do not embrace the McWallStreet Way deserve to wallow in the misery of your limited existence. If you are not going to play the game by our rules, you do not deserve the resources you have. If we do not wrest them from you militarily, we will see to it that our puppets dominate your governments and enable our powerful corporate entities to exploit you through free trade agreements.

We use depleted uranium in our “conventional” weaponry to ensure that there is lasting suffering for our conquered foes in the wake of our wars of necessity.

history doesn't lie, historians do

Bayh silent after meeting with nominee

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh met privately Friday with Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito for about half an hour but declined to say afterward whether he would vote for Alito next week.

"Senator Bayh will consider the answers to the questions in the meeting and the answers Judge Alito gave during his confirmation hearing before making a decision on the nominee," spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said, adding they discussed Alito's "judicial philosophy on a number of issues, including the parameters of executive power."

Supreme Court votes are considered crucial for senators with potential presidential aspirations, such as Bayh, because hot-button issues the court deals with, such as abortion, are very important to many party activists.

Bayh, D-Ind., voted against Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts last year because, he said, he wasn't able to learn about Roberts' beliefs.

How do you like your democracy now, Mr. Bush?

Hamas' stunning victory underlines the contradictions and hypocrisies in Bush's Mideast policies.

By Juan Cole

To be sure, many Israelis believe that Hamas is only using the truce to rearm, that it will never change its opposition to the very existence of Israel, and that any negotiations with the Islamist group will only weaken the Jewish state. And Hamas' failure to speak clearly about its intentions does nothing to allay such fears.

But no one has ever put Hamas to the test. Neither Bush nor Israel have ever made good-faith efforts to resolve the underlying issues, preferring to issue moralistic denunciations that ignore the reality on the ground. The bitter fruits of that shortsighted policy are now evident. In Iraq, Bush has been forced -- albeit too late -- to act pragmatically, negotiating with the leaders of Sunni insurgents whom his administration earlier denounced as "terrorists." He and Israeli leaders should follow the same course in Palestine and try to engage Hamas in a realistic, good-faith political effort to resolve the conflict.

There is no evidence that either party will do so. Bush announced early in his administration his unwillingness to do anything that would challenge Sharon. For his part, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is following in Sharon's footsteps. He said that he would refuse to deal with the Palestinian Authority if it was led by Hamas or included Hamas as a partner, and that he would continue to take the high-handed unilateral actions planned by Sharon, including holding on to the large Israeli settlements in the West Bank and refusing to negotiate the status of Jerusalem.

Bush has boxed himself into an impossible situation. He promoted elections that have produced results opposite of the ones he wanted. For all his constant rhetoric about his determination to hunt down and kill terrorists, in Palestine he has in effect helped install into power a group he calls "terrorists." His confusion over whether this is democracy, which should be legitimate, or is an unacceptable outcome -- and his unwillingness to address the underlying issues behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- suggest that a fatal paralysis will continue to afflict the region.

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

I think Bush is a little confused about what democracy is. He thinks "democracy" is whatever he says it is. Democracy means agreement with the Bush WH or they will cut funding, welfare or assistance.

Freedom to follow Busheney and democracy to elect whomever Busheney decides is acceptable. Any variation from the rule is not the kind of democracy they will support. Period.

capt

How do you like your democracy now, Mr. Bush

A must read article! There are many great articles to read on antiwar.com.

I have not reached to level of wanting to strangle my neoconevans relatives. That is why I see them only after 2 or 2 and one half years. The best illustration that I can give you is for you to picture my relatives with a Bible in one hand and an uzi in the other hand.

With all the crap and nonsense that we have to contend with I recall Thomas Jefferson, "If God is just, I tremble for my country." That is why I say always pray for a merciful God and not a just God.

U.S. Won't Complete Iraq Projects

If you studied Bush's entire life, you would witness a total screw up. Bush is a sniveling spoiled brat and his personality coincides with Nazi Americans' personalities.

Gerald!

JINX!

210 & 211 - Great minds think alike, eh?

capt

The Federal Government Has Damaged Our Country

Another must read article!

Capt, I fully expect the trolls to come back and rail against that leftie, liberal looney Patrick Henry! I never imagined I'd live to see the day when a large proportion of the population would be transformed in a huge mass of quivering crybabies, begging the nanny state ruled by king bush to protect them from all those mean ole terrorists. I am ashamed of what so many of our countrymen have become, the days of truth and bravery delivered by amazing orators like Henry are gone forever to be replaced by mealy mouthed, lying traitors who have never experienced war first hand but are happy to hide in secret bunkers while commanding the death and destruction of any and all perceived enemies. How did such a devolution occur? We must appear to the rest of the world to be the biggest bullies to have ever afflicted the planet, as well as the most cowardly, like all bullies who are not interested in seeking peace through diplomacy, but rather dropping bombs and irradiating massive segments of countries while we sit in our house, confident and content with the TV propaganda that assures us that we are righteous and everyone else is evil. We are witnessing the end of a once great nation, the drive for empire is what leads to the end every time, we will be no different.

#213 capt, what I do before I read David Corn's website and the posts, I review my websites of interest for articles that I find important. I, than, copy the title to share with the Cornposters. That is why from time to time there is overlapping of certain articles. You tend to give more information and I usually just post the title of the article. If we do overlap, the readers can scroll past the title of my article.

Bush, the Universe's Biggest Screw-up

I think the good posts are worth posting many times. Someone might miss one and read the other and that is all good!

It is all about sharing and caring, reading informing and learning.

Saladin and I went on a tear for a time, we were posting the same things and I always take it as a compliment. It means that we are on the same page - literally! HA!

I take pride in posting something my like minded friends also post!

It is all good!

capt

This article is so good that I had to post it. It has already been posted but a second glance is still helpful.

P.S. Bush, the Universe's Biggest Screw-up

It's a different article but Bush's screw-ups need to be highlighted.

NATIONAL FORECLOSURES INCREASE MORE THAN 13 PERCENT IN DECEMBER ACCORDING TO REALTYTRAC? U.S. FORECLOSURE MARKET REPORT
Foreclosure Rate Matches Highest Level of the Year with More Than 80,000 New Foreclosures Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Nevada and Utah Post Highest Foreclosure Rates in the Country

Irvine, Calif. –†January 12, 2006 –†RealtyTrac? (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its December 2005 Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows 81,290 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure in December, a 13.5 percent increase from the previous month. The report shows a December national foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure for every 1,422 U.S. households, the highest foreclosure rate reported in 2005.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest national database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, with more than 550,000 properties in nearly 2,000 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN House & Home, Yahoo! Real Estate, AOL Real Estate and HomeGain.com.

December's higher US foreclosure rates were almost exactly the same foreclosure rates reported in October, which means that the two months with the highest numbers of foreclosures were both in the fourth quarter of 2005,Ӡsaid James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. These rising numbers to finish off the year may indicate that economic factors such as higher interest rates are making it harder for some homeowners stay current on their mortgage payments.
----------
That alluring trap known as ARM is snapping shut. These people got suckered in with zero down, interest only ARM'S and are paying the price. Thanks to this wobbly house of cards built by the criminal in charge of the Counterfeiters Guild that goes by the name Federal Reserve, alan greenspan, the market has begun to crack. But how can this be?? The economy is GREAT! Everyone has a wonderful job! Growth is up! We have low to no inflation! bernanke has promised to drop dollars out of helicopters for the people, free money, woohoo!! GDP is up, the deficit will be under control in no time and people are saving more than ever!! Soon China will be buying all the wonderful things manufactured right here in the USA! Whoops, damn, forgot to take these rosey colored glasses off.

Dear Gerald:

You were mentioned to me as a person who has a heart and a feel for what is right. Please, if you haven't already, do what you can this weekend to convince others to urge their Senators to filibuster Alito. (There is contact information in a post above.)

Your sons will respect you for it; and your neocon relatives will, too, once they realize how wrong they are.

Thank you for all that you do.

Dear Capt:

Keep up the good work with your "keyboard activism." We need you!

Would you please write letters to a few newspapers in support of a filibuster. The letters may not be printed, but they are indicative to editors of the public's mood.

Thank you for all that you do.

Dear Robert Schwartz:

Please help get the word out about the importance of an Alito filibuster. We need your expert assistance!

Thank you very much.

Dear Mr. Pandemoniac:

Please help with the filibuster effort. You have proven that you are a man who keeps his eye on the doughnut and not on the hole.

Thank you for all that you so.

First we got the bomb,
and that was good.
'Cause we love peace
and brotherhood.
Then Russia got the bomb
but that's okay.
The balance of power's
maintained that way!

Germany 'needs a nuclear arsenal of it's own!'

what, are they gonna nuke al qaeda?

Dear Don:

Can you help this weekend? We need people like you who are able to tell it like it is.

Thanks for all that you do.

An Open Letter To Senate Democrats:

Don't Give Up So Soon. Samuel Alito Still Can Be Defeated

It looks to me like you guys are throwing in the towel too soon, dragging your heads as if the Samuel Alito confirmation is a done deal. It is not. Every hour that goes by, his opponents are gradually improving and refining the very strong case against him. This is one of the great benefits of having Free Speech and Open Debate: The Truth eventually comes out.

HERE'S WHAT WE NEED TO DO:

1. CONCENTRATE ON THE GOAL: TO SWITCH ENOUGH VOTES SO THAT WE WIN 51-49.

This means that we stop this very moment talking at all about anything which would make it more difficult for a good Republican Senator to vote against Alito. In other words, do not say one more word about Freedom To Choose, Separation of Church and State, or Gay rights. Now is not the time. Now we must talk only about the reasons a good Republican should join with us, on this one occasion, to defeat Judge Alito.

2. CONCENTRATE ON THE MOST POWERFUL MESSAGE, WHICH IS: ALITO IS WONDERFULLY-WELL QUALIFIED IN ALL RESPECTS BUT ONE: HE DOES NOT ACCEPT CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN THE CONSTITUTION, AND BECAUSE OF THAT HE CANNOT BE A GOOD SUPREME COURT JUSTICE.

He is great on the details, and on personal characteristics, but he does not embrace some of the main ideas which a Justice must believe. MOST IMPORTANTLY, HE DOES NOT REALLY AGREE WITH THE IDEA OF CHECKS AND BALANCES. If he did agree, he could not possibly embrace the Unitary Executive Theory, because this Theory denies the authority of Congress, the Courts, or anything else to interfere with the Executive's performance of his functions, however he chooses. The fact that Alito does believe in this dangerous theory, makes him absolutely unsuitable for the job he is seeking.

While you were out of the room, Sen. Ken Salazar, Democrat from Colorado, delivered a brilliant speech explaining why he could not vote for Alito. This speech should be a model for you all. Read it, memorize it, embellish it, and share its main points with your Republican colleagues.

Sen. Salazar's speech ended about 3:00 PM yesterday, January 26, 2006.

3. CONCENTRATE ON REPUBLICANS WHO ARE NOT FROM THE OLD CONFEDERACY, WHO ARE NOT BIG-BUSINESS/FAT-CAT REPUBLICANS, AND WHO DO HAVE LIBERTARIAN TENDENCIES,

I have no real knowledge of these people, but it looks to me like this list might contain all the votes we need. So talk with them, have dinner with them, and send messages to them. Convince them that this man Alito is perfectly suited for the job he now holds, but not suited for the Supreme Court. Let him keep his present job, which is pretty good, after all.

Allard, Wayne- (R - CO) Class II - Web Form: allard.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?

Bennett, Robert F.- (R - UT) Class III Web Form: bennett.senate.gov/contact/emailmain.html

Burns, Conrad- (R - MT) Class I - Web Form: burns.senate.gov/index.cfm?

Craig, Larry E.- (R - ID) Class II - Web Form: craig.senate.gov/email/

Crapo, Mike- (R - ID) Class III - Web Form: crapo.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

Domenici, Pete V.- (R - NM) Class II - Web Form: domenici.senate.gov/contact/contactform.cfm

Ensign, John- (R - NV) Class I - Web Form: ensign.senate.gov/forms/email_form.cfm

Enzi, Michael B.- (R - WY) Class II Web Form: enzi.senate.gov/email.htm

Murkowski, Lisa- (R - AK) Class III - Web Form: murkowski.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Smith, Gordon H.- (R - OR) Class II - Web Form: gsmith.senate.gov/webform.htm

Snowe, Olympia J.- (R - ME) Class I - Web Form: snowe.senate.gov/contact.htm

Stevens, Ted- (R - AK) Class II - Web Form: stevens.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Sununu, John E.- (R - NH) Class II - Web Form: www.sununu.senate.gov/webform.html

Thomas, Craig- (R - WY) Class I - Web Form: thomas.senate.gov/index.cfm?

DON'T GIVE UP!

Blessings to you.

May God help us all.

Rev. Bill McGinnis, Director
http://www.LoveAllPeople.org
and http://www.InternetChurchOfChrist.org

Explosive Testimony: Revelations about the Twin Towers in the 9/11 Oral Histories, David Ray Griffin

There was just an explosion [in the south tower]. It seemed like on television [when] they blow up these buildings. It seemed like it was going all the way around like a belt, all these explosions.-Firefighter Richard Banaciski

I saw a flash flash flash [at] the lower level of the building. You know like when they demolish a building? -Assistant Fire Commissioner Stephen Gregory

It was [like a] professional demolition where they set the charges on certain floors and then you hear 'Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop'."--Paramedic Daniel Rivera

The above quotations come from a collection of 9/11 oral histories that, although recorded by the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) at the end of 2001, were publicly released only on August 12, 2005. Prior to that date, very few Americans knew the content of these accounts or even the fact that they existed.

Why have we not known about them until recently? Part of the answer is that the city of New York would not release them until it was forced to do so. Early in 2002, the New York Times requested copies under the freedom of information act, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration refused. So the Times, joined by several families of 9/11 victims, filed suit. After a long process, the city was finally ordered by the New York Court of Appeals to release the records (with some exceptions and redactions allowed). Included were oral histories, in interview form, provided by 503 firefighters and medical workers.1 (Emergency Medical Services had become a division within the Fire Department.2) The Times then made these oral histories publicly available.3

Once the content of these testimonies is examined, it is easy to see why persons concerned to protect the official story about 9/11 would try to keep them hidden. By suggesting that explosions were occurring in the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, they pose a challenge to the official account of 9/11, according to which the towers were caused to collapse solely by the impact of the airplanes and the resulting fires.

In any case, now that the oral histories have finally been released, it is time for Americans and the world in general to see what these brave men and women reported about that fateful day. If this information forces a reevaluation of the official story about 9/11, better now than later.

That said, it must be added that although these oral histories are of great significance, they do not contain the first reports of explosions in the Twin Towers. Such reports---from firefighters, reporters, and people who had worked in the towers---started becoming available right after 9/11.

These reports, however, were not widely publicized by the mainstream press and, as a result, have for the most part been known only within the 9/11 truth movement, which has focused on evidence that seems inconsistent with the official story.

I will begin by summarizing some of those previously available reports. Readers will then be able to see that although in some respects the newly released oral histories simply add reinforcement, they also are revelatory documents: Some of the testimonies are quite stunning, even to people familiar with the earlier reports; and there are now so many testimonies that even the most skeptical reader is likely to find the cumulative effect impressive.
---------------
Dear John Kerry's Mom, would you please get John to read this article and arrange to interview these fire fighters and medical personnel? They have provided eye witness accounts in support of the controlled demolition theory that are impossible to refute. As a leading dem concerned about the direction of our country he needs to take seriously these allegations as they will have potentially devastating consequences to all of us. Thank you.

Rove colored glasses?

...janitor William Rodriguez reported that he and others felt an explosion below the first sub-level office at 9 AM, after which co-worker Felipe David, who had been in front of a nearby freight elevator, came into the office with severe burns on his face and arms yelling "explosion! explosion! explosion!

Rodriguez's account has been corroborated by Jose Sanchez, who was in the workshop on the fourth sub-level. Sanchez said that he and a co-worker heard a big blast that sounded like a bomb, after which a huge ball of fire went through the freight elevator.

Engineer Mike Pecoraro, who was working in the sixth sub-basement of the north tower, said that after an explosion he and a co-worker went up to the C level, where there was a small machine shop. There was nothing there but rubble, said Pecoraro. We're talking about a 50 ton hydraulic press--gone! They then went to the parking garage, but found that it was also gone. Then on the B level, they found that a steel-and-concrete fire door, which weighed about 300 pounds, was wrinkled up "like a piece of aluminum foil." Having seen similar things after the terrorist attack in 1993, Pecoraro was convinced that a bomb had gone off.

Given these testimonies to explosions in the basement levels of the towers, it is interesting that Mark Loizeaux, head of Controlled Demolition, Inc., has been quoted as saying: If I were to bring the towers down, I would put explosives in the basement to get the weight of the building to help collapse the structure.
----------
Alan, I recall your theory that those explosions could have been caused by electrical circuit busses, but how could that account for the damage described by these eye witnesses? Also, in some testimony it was revealed that some of these explosions began just minutes BEFORE the first plane hit.
David, maybe you could get an interview with some of these people. This has got to come out, this sweeping it under the rug is UNACCEPTABLE!

I was watching c-span's daily re-cap late last night. Some of the best orations on what effect a Supreme Judge can have on this nation.

It comes down to should such a person who cannont get a true consensus be a person who weilds such power?

No. There should be much more broadly accepted people sitting in judgement of the fates of so many. There should be a great deal more general agreement on SCOTUS judges.

If Bush had his way, "Torture Boy" Gonzales and "Cheerleeder's Cheerleader" Meyers would already be canceling our "precious civil liberties".

F'em! Keep throwing these marginals back until the clueless prick in the oval office (still trying to find a corner to stand in, no doubt) sends somebody without pre-concieved notions about the limit(lessness) of Executive power!

-T

#198:"Fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me." Nice adage, Cap, but I prefer the Klingon version: "Fool me once, prepare to die screaming." Qap'la!---IBW

Let us remember on this anniversary of the (1st) Shuttle disaster. Scientists and engineers gave us credible backing for the cause of this massive failure in just a few months.

Nothing even close has been offered in the way of explaination for the collapse of the WTC Towers, much less the implosion of Building 7.

WHY? Why wouldn't the effects get the closest scrutiny ever afforded a man-made disaster? Why is there still ANY questions left unanswered?

Where are the security tapes from the cameras surround the Pentagon? Where are the tapes from the gas stations and banks that offered a clear view?

Where are those pesky black boxes?

-T

Canada's Harper rebukes US over Arctic claims in first address

Canada's first conservative prime minister in 12 years was expected to try to improve the sometimes-tense relations that outgoing Prime Minister Paul Martin had with Washington.

But in his first public address Thursday, Harper chided US Ambassador David Wilkins for lambasting his plans to bolster Canada's Arctic military presence.

'The United States defends its sovereignty. The Canadian government will defend our sovereignty,' Harper told reporters outside the House of Commons.

'I've been very clear in the campaign that we have significant plans for national defense and for defense of our sovereignty, including Arctic sovereignty,' he said.

Canada's northern territorial claims became an election issue following reports that a US submarine traveled unannounced through Canadian Arctic waters in December.

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

Harper is a Canadian conservative and is no a neocon. He is more a traditional conservative and is not going to please Bunnypants as much as people are saying.

Above, the first volley over the bow of the American ship of state. Bush does not respect Canadian sovereignty, as the king of the world Bush does not think he needs to.

capt

It is said that Charlie Rangel was asked what he thought of George Bush.

"Well," he said, "I really think he shatters the myth of white supremacy once and for all."

When anyone has the answers, give me a call!

"It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers." ~ James Thurber (1894 - 1961)

Hajji in KY, I swear not many people really seem to give a shit, it's like ancient history already! I am still grieving the loss of those people even though I didn't even know them, I have come to terms with the fact that our own govt. was behind it but I have not made it past the "rage stage!" I guess getting to the truth doesn't matter anymore, it is water under the bridge. The fact that the leading dems have completely ignored the obvious even though 9/11 provides enough ammunition to completely gut bushco shows me that the well being of our country means nothing to them. They have become nonexistent to me, they have betrayed the memory of 3000 American citizens by refusing to seek justice for that horrendous crime. I know there are those here who will accuse me of giving up or guilt by failure to act, and god only knows what else, but my faith in the rulers of this county has been beaten to a pulp because of THEIR failure to act. I have yet to see anything to restore that faith.

Hil's for filibuster

Takes rebel stand to oppose Alito OK for Supremes

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Clinton yesterday backed a rebel band of Senate Dems seeking to filibuster a vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito.

Democratic leaders had warned that filibuster efforts were going nowhere and would let President Bush score easy political points, but Clinton said, "I oppose his nomination and support efforts to block his confirmation."

"I do not think Judge Alito would advance the principles Americans hold most dear," she said, adding she would vote against a move to cut off a filibuster should one occur.

Any senator can filibuster - or command the floor to block a vote. It takes 60 votes to invoke cloture to end a filibuster.

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

Something is happening here. You know Hillary would only support a filibuster if it polls well.

capt

I notice the fudd(s?) is/are dropping in again. I guess by now I should expect the Fuddish Inquisition.

*THUD-WHOOSH*

"NOBODY expects the Fuddish Inquistion! Suhpwise is ouwah main weapon. And feaw. Feaw and suhpwise. TWO weapons--ouwah two weapons ahwuh feaw and suhpwise and wuthwess efficiency. THWEE WEAPONS! Ouwah thwee weapons ahwuh feaw, suhpwise, and wuthwess efficiency. And an almost fanatical devotion to ouwah bewoved Chimpewuh Jowuj W. Bush--FOWUH WEAPONS--AMONG OUWAH WEAPONS ahwuh feaw, suhpwise, wuthwess efficiency, and an almost fanatical devotion to ouwah Chimpewuh--oh, we'll come in again."

"WUN AWAY! WUN AWAY! THAT SCWEWY WABBIT'S A KIWWAH!"

Wespectfuwwy youwuhs, Ivowy Bill Woodpeckah (Acting Deputy Ministuh of Siwwy Wawks)

oh! a video that purportedly shows flight77 impacting the pentagon will be shown to the jurors at the moussaoui trial -

Jury selection in Zacarias Moussaoui's sentencing hearing begins feb 6th. at this hearing the govt will show the jury the CDROM they have of flight 77 impacting the pentagon. It's the govt's hope that these graphic images (having never been seen before) will help shock the jury into delivering the death sentence to Moussaoui (the so-called '20th hijacker')..... 911blogger.com

Looney Tunes and Monty Python: Do these two great tastes taste great together?

You know, it's kinda hard to type in Fuddish. :)

look at the mighty 'raging inferno' at the north tower that was hot enough to melt all the steel links in the building simultaneously thus causing it's collapse! image 1 note the poor gal holding on for dear life in the very heart of this 'raging inferno' as she struggles to not be burnt to a crisp in the 'raging inferno'!
from 911 strange images

capt,

Something is happening here. You know Hillary would only support a filibuster if it polls well.

I don't think filibuster is polling well, but Hillary is definitely doing it for political reasons and not for any deeply held principles. My guess is she doesn't want to be on the wrong side of this in the '08 Democratic primaries.

Maybe hillary, being the good, concerned patriot that so many believe her to be, can get to the bottom of this while seeing to it that none of these people lose their jobs. She IS the senator of NY, isn't she?

Why, we may wonder, have the firefighters and medical workers not been speaking out? At least part of the reason may be suggested by a statement made by Auxiliary Lieutenant Fireman Paul Isaac. Having said that there were definitely bombs in those buildings, Isaac added that many other firemen know there were bombs in the buildings, but they're afraid for their jobs to admit it because the higher-ups forbid discussion of this fact.

Would we not expect, however, that a few courageous members of the fire department would have contacted the 9/11 Commission to tell their story? Indeed. But telling their story to the Commission was no guarantee that it would find its way into the final report---as indicated by the account of one fireman who made the effort.

Firefighter Louie Cacchioli, who was quoted earlier, testified in 2004 to members of the Commission's staff. But, he reported, they were so unreceptive that he ended up walking out in anger. I felt like I was being put on trial in a court room, said Cacchioli. They were trying to twist my words and make the story fit only what they wanted to hear. All I wanted to do was tell the truth and when they wouldn't let me do that, I walked out.

That Cacchioli's experience was not atypical is suggested by janitor William Rodriguez, whose testimony was also quoted earlier. Although Rodriguez was invited to the White House as a National Hero for his rescue efforts on 9/11, he was, he said, treated quite differently by the Commission: "I met with the 9/11 Commission behind closed doors and they essentially discounted everything I said regarding the use of explosives to bring down the north tower.

When reading The 9/11 Commission Report, one will not find the name of Cacchioli, or Rodriguez, or anyone else reporting explosions in the towers. It would appear that the Commission deliberately withheld this information, as it apparently did with regard to Able Danger and many other things that should have been included in The fullest possible account of the events surrounding 9/11.
----------
FULLEST possible account? HA!

Siwwy Wawks....ha ha ha ha what a thing to wake up to.

Dean, Clinton, Kerry, is ANYBODY out there??? HEEELLLOOO!

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Ivory Bill, the silence is deafening. And yet these are the people we are supposed to pin our hopes on? What a joke.

Paging Ann Coulter the femobot with the troll talking points still fully invested in the anti-leader while the more Pythonic declare He is not our messiah! he has the wrong passion to be a Christian.

Infiltrated by feds, antiwar group turns on photographer.

From Global Research

The first time federal agents infiltrated the Broward Antiwar Coalition was in July 2003, two months before a planned protest against President George W. Bush, according to one member of the South Florida activist group.

The second time was in September 2003, two months before the infamous Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting in downtown Miami, which resulted in several lawsuits against the Miami Police Department for using excessive force against protesters.

And the third time was less than a year ago, just days before the Organization of American States meeting in downtown Fort Lauderdale, said Ray Del Papa, one of the original members of the activist group.

Each time, it was a different person who had joined their group or befriended one of its members, asking prying questions and knowing just a little too much personal information about the activists. Each time, the individual seemed to contradict statements they had made about themselves and their background. And each time, that person would disappear within a few months, never to be heard from again.

So last month, when NBC revealed that the federal government had been spying on antiwar groups around the country, including several in South Florida, it confirmed what Broward Antiwar Coalition members had suspected for more than two years: that Big Brother had been watching all along.

And it left them with a simmering rage -- and paranoia from being spied upon -- that exploded on the streets of Miami earlier this month when one of its members allegedly attacked a photojournalist, landing the activist in jail. The incident revealed the untold price of domestic surveillance: that people who feel they are being spied upon are liable to turn on each other.

Comment by Mike Rivero: "Which is what the government WANTS: a population so afraid of being spied on they cannot function together as a unit to achieve change.
So, fuck fear (there's a new T-shirt) and work harder for peace, and to bring down the corrupt. If you are afraid to speak out, then they have won."
--------------
What the hell, it's just a few civil liberties at risk, right? Nothing to get all worked up over.

#244 Don and capt

Barely a week ago, in man-on-the-street interviews, fewer than 20% of the people who were asked knew who Samuel Alito is. Less than 20% could identify Tom DeLay or Dennis Hastert.

However, over 80% were familiar with Alan Greenspan and an equal percentage knew definitely who Jason Timberlake is.

What does that say about apathy?

So, I am willing to give Hillary a break on this one. Now, that the people are waking up to WHO ALITO IS, the elected ones are paying more attention, too.

IBW, try meshing Looney Toons, Monty Python AND Star Trek and THEN we'll have some laughs!

I have been writing the other blogs and urging them to print the Kerry statement. I ask that they urge their readers to call both Democratic and Republican senators to vote NO on the Alito nomination.

The Repubican Senators need to know we are watching. We aren't apathetic. The numbers are going to keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

Write to the other blogs. Tell them to push this campaign NOW. NOW is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the country.

Saladin, tell me who you pin your hopes on, if you will.

Seriously, I would like to know. Who/what do you want?

Refute the policies of Bush and Clinton; declare war on the Nationalist-Globalist Class
John Stanton | January 28 2006

When will Americans recognize that theirs is a polarized, politically segregated society, not unlike those they helped create in Iraq and Palestine? When will they come to the realization that their political process is nothing more than a collusive duopoly and, as such, borderline totalitarian? There is no opposition political party of substance, of courage and, of course, there’≥ no real choice between two political parties. When will Americans refuse to participate in sham federal elections? When will they recognize that all the accumulated data from study after study clearly shows that America is in real crisis across the entire socioeconomic, political and foreign policy spectrum?

The Nationalist-Globalist Class (NGC) runs the show and consists of corporations/media, foreign interests/agents, nonprofits and the like. The NGC’≥ enforcement arms are the three branches of American government, housing the two-party system, its agencies/departments and, of course, the US military. They are insulated/protected from the daily grind of American life and, at the first hint of attack/natural disaster, are whisked away to the safety of their bunkers.

Vital to the NGC are its American Disciples -- those millions upon millions of Americans who believe the myth and propaganda generated by their corporate and religious masters. They have signed on to The Covenant of the NGC. In this they are the American equivalent of Hamas in Palestine. The American Disciples offer a religion that grotesquely merges commodity with religious faith, and censor anyone who seriously threatens their system. They are found in the form of the local auto mechanic, with the W bumper sticker, or the computer technician with the John Kerry bumper sticker. On the national stage, it’≥ George Bush and Hillary Clinton, or those like John McCain and Barak Obama. What do they have to offer the world that hasn’¥ been seen or heard before?
-----------
Divided we fall. This is a very hard hitting article, with many painful truths.

Caroline, I know you didn't ask me but...

Russ Fiengold for President! The ONLY Senator who voted against the Patriot Act (because he read it!) and who has consistently been against the war in Iraq.

AND he's MY Senator!

We need to fight for our rights for all the soldiers coming home. We need to fight for better government.

Conservative talk show hosts and their stupidity towards the troops By Specialist Douglas Barber

My Country Has Failed Me In Every Way: Spc. William Wooldridge OIF Vet With PTSD

Caroline, I am pinning my hopes on the slim chance that the majority of America will awaken from this politically induced stupor and TAKE THIS COUNTRY BACK!! Tell me, which pro-war candidate will you vote for on a diebold rigged machine?

From the above linked article. This is where my hope lies, not in politicians who don't even have the decency to demand truth and justice for the outrageous crime committed on 9/11.

The Remainder

The Fractional Class (FC) occupies the second tier of American society. These are the millions of remainders -- those Americans who are nothing more than temporary renters in the behemoth domestic and global system run by the NGC. They own tiny fractions of the stock and housing markets. They have minor input in their respective workplaces. They volunteer on weekends at the local homeless shelter. They go to dinner and a movie once a week and find solace in television entertainment. They must borrow heavily from the NGC to make their lives and those of their children work. In their homes, they argue over invoices/bills at least once a week.

Yet, The FC is not easily labeled as conservative, liberal, idealistic, realistic, republican or democrat, nor do they want to be. They want to be countrymen and women who are respected for their love of life and community, their tolerance and strength, the flexibility to adapt to change, and the recognition that making a profit or entering the military is not the highest calling in life.

The FC overflows with those who know that the NGC is destroying the social compact of American society, the environment, local communities and the community of nations. The FC understands that America must talk to the world and, moreover, take care of its own people ravaged by natural disasters and under the care of sick political leadership. They are the bloggers, the community activists, the artists, the realtor's, the cooks, the temporary workers, the unemployed poor, the working poor, the poor middle class, and the upper middle class that has gone as far as it can go. They are opposed to low wages, raped pensions and benefits, free markets that are non-free, racism, homophobia, collapsing infrastructures, religious intolerance, war, dependence on foreign nations, the police state, the lies, the staged debates/speeches, religious leaders who preach from palaces, corporate/government intrusions into their homes, and "freedom" as administered by the NGC.

The FC is hungry for change, for a new social compact, for taking chances. They are frustrated, angry and fearful of the future and are very afraid to take a stand against the NGC. But in them lies the only hope for breaking the NGC and ushering in a new era of possibilities.

READ THIS!!!!

The Alito 48

Senators are freaking out! They have turned off their DC phones and their voicemails are full.

Bush is freaking out!

Corky...are you watching?

Crucial question: How many of the prowar Democrats are prowar from conviction, versus how many are just afraid that the fuddvoters will throw them out of office for insufficient "patriotism"? If the latter group composes the majority, then we can hope if public opinion turns strongly enough against the war, so will they.

There also lies our one real hope against the vote-riggers: Vote-rigging works best in close elections, else it becomes too obvious. If a supermajority opposes neo-"conservatism", the neocons either will have to accept that and lose, or else their vote fraud will become too obvious. I use the quotation marks because there is nothing truly conservative about messianic foreign policies or Brobdingnagian budget deficits.

Since I work weeknights and sleep days, I really need to go crash now. Also, my daggerlike beak is sore from pecking all those trees.

From the swamps of Arkansas, Ivory Bill Woodpecker

Call and email your republican senators. You know the anti abortion people are calling and writing them. Override their numbers.

Our civil liberties are at stake.

This administration cannot be trusted to run anything without worsening or creating disasters so why should we trust them to appoint a Supreme Court Justice that will affect this country for decades to come?

Support the Filibuster!

Hurricane Investigators See 'Fog of War' at White House

"WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 The White House was beset by the "fog of war" in the crucial days immediately after Hurricane Katrina, leaving it unable to respond properly to the unfolding catastrophe, House investigators said Friday after getting the most detailed briefing yet on how President Bush's staff had handled the events."

Texas City a strike point for nuclear attack
Jerry Mazza | January 28 2006

Excerpts

...on the night of Jan. 26, no less than the History Channel did a repeat airing of a documentary called Wrath of God: Texas City Explosions, which immediately went on sale for $24.95 in DVD format. The title alone gives you the religious right willies, and makes you wonder about media complicity. Check out the ad copy describing the story:

It was the worst industrial disaster in American history, claiming the lives of 567 people. On the morning of April 16, 1947, the cargo ship SS Grandcamp was being loaded with ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer with explosive properties. As longshoreman loaded the volatile cargo on the ship, one of them smelled smoke. At 9:12 AM, the Grandcamp blew up, sending red-hot pieces of steel hurtling up to several thousand feet away. They cut through everything in their path, killing hundreds, injuring scores more, puncturing oil tanks, and sparking countless fires.

TEXAS CITY EXPLOSION relives the disaster through contemporary accounts and the recollections of people who were fortunate to escape with their lives, as well as the emergency workers called in to prevent the disaster from becoming even worse. The incredible devastation is brought to life through photographs, many of them uncovered specifically for this program.

For one terrible morning, the fires of hell took over a Texas town. THE WRATH OF GOD goes back to that fateful day to tell the complete story.

The last two lines come out of nowhere after the description of an industrial disaster, which maybe wasn't that at all. But the obvious question is why would the History Channel suddenly rerun this apocalyptic tale as the Houston PD was running a nuclear terror drill in Texas City?

In conjunction with these activities, Captain May received an email from one of his Ghost Troop members, today. The man, who shall remain nameless, works at the huge BP oil facility in the Texas City area. He had this to say to May:

I just wanted to let you know what's going on at BP. When they moved 400+ people out of the plant and into the new office building a couple of months ago, they appointed me and some others as Building Monitors. We had our first meeting this afternoon all of a sudden. We are supposed to be in charge of our appointed groups during an emergency evacuation, fire, explosion, etc. At our meeting today, they told us that there will be a practice drill for the building next week sometime (our first).

And why is this drill overlapping the Charlotte drill I recently wrote about, "Another nuke exercise, your next 9/11?" about to be run from Fort Monroe in Virginia, as if Charleston were hit by a 10-megaton nuclear bomb. I mean that's 1,000 times more powerful than what hit Nagasaki. That's not something a terrorist could carry in his backpack or a suitcase. What's going on?

Mounting Activity in Other Areas

Well, for several things, we know from May and Szymanski that besides the activity in the Houston metro-Texas City areas, other reports have been mounting from Bank of America branch managers in Houston and Los Angeles areas that Homeland Security agents, those little teddy bears, allegedly have been holding employee instructional meetings in the past two weeks, explaining how to deal with customers in the case of, you guessed it, a pending national disaster.
What's more, employees allegedly have been told to keep their lips zipped about orders handed down from Homeland Security, claiming it is for national security reasons. The alleged capper is, in addition to remaining silent, employees are not to distribute valuables from safety deposit boxes. This includes gold, silver and firearms in the case of emergency. Let me repeat that allegation. Don't distribute valuables from safety deposit boxes, i.e. gold, silver and firearms in case of emergency. Keep everybody broke, lost, and unarmed. Now, while all this stuff is going on . . .

The Senate Wrestles With The nuclear Option Again

What's more, as Captain May points out, the Republicans get to lock the door on inquiry as the still-powerful American populus hangs in 9/11 loose ends, with a continuing failed war and presidential abuses abounding, all tolerated, by the way, by the non-leadership of both parties.

And do you hear that boot? That's the stomp of the Homeland State on your neck. They've been setting it up since 9/11, which was our own tragic Reischstag Fire. And when that boot comes down, we'll finally realize what many pointed out, including the affable Harry Belafonte, a WW II Navy vet, that the Bush Boyz are following in the steps of the old goose-stepping Gestapo. Tough stuff, to say and swallow, I realize. And I apologize for upsetting people.

Let's hope the senators who make those decisions really understand what's being debated and decided upon. It could be the future of the world, a part of which is America. After we've had an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, disaster, a New York City, New York, disaster, we don't want a Texas City, Texas, conflagration to be the match that lights it all. And speaking of explosions, next week the Enron trial starts in Houston.
-------------
Would they really do it? God help us.

"Al Gore's remarkable speech on Bush's illegal wiretapping - combined with his earlier criticisms of the Iraq war and his longstanding attention to the dangers of climate change - make him the only major Democratic figure, save Russ Feingold, worth the attention of the decent and democratic wing of the Democratic Party."

Sam Smith: 'Getting reacquainted with Al Gore'

I don't think the average american needs to read this to know that the Bush Tax Cuts didn't help them but...here's a good report.

"New forecasts issued by the Congressional Budget Office confirm that if the tax cuts and Alternative Minimum Tax relief are extended, the nation faces large and growing deficits over the next ten years, with total deficits of between $3.5 and $4 trillion over that period."

INCREASES IN CBO'S REVENUE PROJECTIONS DO NOT SHOW TAX CUTS ARE HELPING THE ECONOMY

Make the Republican Senators have to make the same tough choices they have been demanding of the Democratic colleagues.
Call them. Demand that they vote NO on the Alito nomination. They have a choice. Civil liberties and the constitution or Roe vs. Wade.

It's time they sweat.

BYU professor's group accuses U.S. officials of lying about 9/11
By Elaine Jarvik
Deseret Morning News

Last fall, Brigham Young University physics professor Steven E. Jones made headlines when he charged that the World Trade Center collapsed because of "pre-positioned explosives." Now, along with a group that calls itself "Scholars for 9/11 Truth," he's upping the ante.
"We believe that senior government officials have covered up crucial facts about what really happened on 9/11," the group says in a statement released Friday announcing its formation. "We believe these events may have been orchestrated by the administration in order to manipulate the American people into supporting policies at home and abroad."
Headed by Jones and Jim Fetzer, University of Minnesota Duluth distinguished McKnight professor of philosophy, the group is made up of 50 academicians and others.
They include Robert M. Bowman, former director of the U.S. "Star Wars" space defense program, and Morgan Reynolds, former chief economist for the Department of Labor in President George W. Bush's first term. Most of the members are less well-known.
The group's Web site (www.ST911.org) includes an updated version of Jones's paper about the collapse of the Twin Towers and a paper by Fetzer that looks at conspiracy theories.
------------
GO PROFESSOR! It's high time to boot that skeleton out of the closet!

To the Lurking Sean Hannity - We at DU have some words for you.

Since you come here, and read what we write, we at DU have some words for you. Since your screener will never take my calls, I shall communicate with you here.

My husband was a NYC fireman, working on 9/11. We both used to be republicans; in fact, I used to listen to you every day. I finally turned you off and started thinking for myself. Why? Because no matter the issue, you always support the Republican way. Now, any thinking person will have some issues with their party. But you never did . Because you don't think.

Take the war on terror, for instance. My husband and I are angry; we are angry that you and your cohorts and this president are using our tragedy for political gain. You see, my husband, a fireman in NYC, was working on 9/11. I thought he was dead the entire day. He is now disabled, due to the clean-up at the WTC site. And yet, even with our personal experience with terrorism, we believe the Iraq war was a sham. We believe that Bush and Cheney should not use our tragedy to promote a sham war, and spying on Americans, violating the 4th Amendment of our Constitution and the ideals that those before us died to protect. We believe these things are fundamentally wrong. So that makes us "evil" in your book. That makes us "un-American" and giving "comfort to the enemy." That makes us "want to see bin Laden attack us again." All things you have said. All things your listeners parrot. And I could never be a part of a party that does that.

So let me tell you the final reason I became a Democrat and only listen to you to keep tabs on what you are plotting: the rhetoric coming from you, Limbaugh, O'Reilly and your ilk. I heard you call liberals "evil" one too many times, and it disgusted and scared me. You see, this is what the Germans did to the Jews in the 1930s. I used to teach my students the propaganda that went on in 1930s Germany when I taught them the book "Night" by Elie Wiesel. The Jews were called "evil," "disloyal," "against their country," "rats," all words, if you notice, that you call Democrats/liberals. So I could no longer support a party that was actively trying to cause hatred between Americans, and promoting such dangerous speech. I no longer support a party that whips up the worst instincts in its members, rather than their better side.

And you have succeeded beyond your wildest expectations. Most of your callers parrot the same speech as you, never even thinking (because if they thought, they would not listen to you anymore) that that evil liberal that they are talking about might be their neighbor, their kid's teacher, their doctor. Calling us traitors and treasonous.

Do you ever stop to think what the next step is?? If we are truly traitors, shouldn't you round us up and execute us? THIS, Mr. Hannity, is what your speech is suggesting, but you would probably pretend to recoil in horror and say that you would NEVER promote that, while promoting speech that suggests just those actions. You would hide behind your oft quoted, "We are all God's children," while smirking as your callers line up to spew hatred and venom against their fellow Americans in terms that would make McCarthy proud.

This, Mr. Hannity, is your legacy. This is your work. Look at it well, because if the next step is taken, and harm is done to someone in the name of patriotism, the blame will be at your feet.
---------------------
Yeah, I've seen a few of those parrots around here.

from TBR News

The Voice of the White House

January 27, 2006: I know from the private Republican polls (the ones you never see and never get into the media) that they are in serious danger of losing control of the government come November. The problem is that although the rank and file, and the leadership, know this, they cannot communicate to Bush that sea changes have to be made, at least cosmetic ones, or public anger will get to the point that impeachment is a probability.

Frankly, our President is a nut. He won't listen to anyone and does what he wants. The stupid twit actually believes he is some kind of God and can do anything he likes whenever he likes it. Thank God Bush doesn’¥ get the urge to shoot a hunting rifle at passing tourists. His bizarre and distasteful sex life coupled with his binge drinking makes him a true menace. People thought a lecherous Clinton was bad but this one makes Clinton look like St. Vincent DePaul by comparison.

The leadership has more or less decided that since Bush will not change, he will simply have to go to save the rest of them or, if they are ideologues, for the common good. For themselves, not necessarily for the American people.

Although Bush stubbornly refuses to release any document which he feels might make him look bad, others are doing just that. Tens of thousands of pages of memos, reports, notes, tapes, and all kinds of priceless milestones on George W. Bush's journey to the underworld are being assembled and studied for possible "leaks."

I have seen some of these and am now going to do my frightened friends a huge favor by publishing some of the more awful ones.

For example: According to in-house memos now circulating, the DHS has issued orders to banks across America which announce to them that under the Patriot Act(whatever that crap means) the DHS has the absolute right to seize, without any warrant whatsoever, any and all customer bank accounts, to make periodic and unannounced visits to any bank to open and inspect the contents of selected safe deposit boxes. Further, these boxes, taken from a DHS list of people who are considered hostile to the present government, citizens who have visited outside the United States before or after 9/11 to countries now considered to be hostile to this country :Russia, Peoples Republic of China, Mexico, Guatemala, Spain, Italy, Egypt, France, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Turkey or the Sudan, or any citizen who has a bank account in any of those listed countries are considered to be of legitimate interest in the ongoing investigations into foreign and domestic terrorism.

Further, the DHA shall, at the discretion of the agent supervising the search, remove, photograph or seize as evidence any of the following items, bar gold, gold coins, firearms of any kind unless manufactured prior to 1878, documents such as passports or foreign bank account records, pornography or any material that, in the opinion of the agent, shall be deemed of to be of a contraband nature.

DHS memos also state that banks are informed that any bank employee, on any level, that releases improper classified DHS Security information to any member of the public, to include the customers whose boxes have been clandestinely opened and inspected and any other party, to include members of the media and further that the posting of any such information on the internet will be grounds for the immediate termination of the said employee or employees and their prosecution under the Patriot Act.

Currently, the two major targets of these completely illegal and warrantless searches and seizures, are the California-based Bank of America and the Compass Bank. The former is one of the largest banks in the United States and Compass Bank ( Compass Bancshares, Inc). is a $30.1 billion Southwestern financial holding company which operates 385 full-service banking centers including 139 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 73 in Arizona, 42 in Florida, 32 in Colorado and 10 in New Mexico.

Of extraordinary interest to the DHS are Bank of America records relating to their Bank Of America SafeSend Money to Mexico program.

It should be noted that the DHS states that in the event that the owners of these confiscated objects do not file an administrative complaint within three (3) months subsequent to said confiscation, the aforesaid items shall pass to the permanent custody of the DHS.

Isn't that wonderful? You and your wife are visiting relatives in France, Uncle Einar's $100,000 collection of gold coins is lifted out of your box and you don't get back to the United States for two months and don't check your looted box for another four months. My, some nice DHS person, or maybe two, has a nice new BMW to show off to his neighbors. Tough luck, Uncle Einar!

Oh, and you might like to know that the spate of robberies of bank credit card and personal data that took place in and around February of 2005, were not robberies at all. The DHS, using its muscle, simply went off with trucks full of data to mine at their leisure. The banks involved said nothing, and will say nothing. If they do, their people will be at a nice Federal country club, making shoes for the Army while the DHS bosses, to include the FEMA thieves, will be buying property on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills or Palm Desert. Or some nice marina like Marine del Ray to keep their nice new 150' yacht.

To date, in California alone (the only report I have seen) over 1,500 banks have been visited and boxes rifled between January, 2005 and January, 2006.

Next time, something about DARPA to amuse and entertain you all.
-----------
Now the trolls will come to reassure us that this is all perfectly legal and acceptable, because the DOJ says so!

Bush Broke the Law

What the Bush administration is saying is, to hell with the Bill of Rights. We are changing the standard. No probable cause and no oaths or affirmations are needed. All that is needed is if we personally decide that search and seizure is reasonable. By that standard, no police department in the U.S. would need to bother with search warrants.

Sorry, but the Constitution cannot be amended by arrogant public officials who don't wish to bother with it. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and if the American people allow it to be violated at will, then they will deserve the loss of liberty that will surely follow. We do not need to become a dictatorship just to catch terrorists. Nor does a declaration of war (which Bush, by the way, doesn't have) suspend the Constitution.

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

Imagine Clinton tried the same thing because we were at war in Kosovo? I am sure the GOPhers would have been apoplectic.

capt

They try soooo hard to be funny, and fall flat on their asses:
Thank you for all that you so (sic).
Posted by: An Incurable Moron at January 28, 2006 11:10 AM

TImmieeeee! Dude, have you found that transcript or videotape or audiotape recording of Chimpy's testimony before the 911 commission where he talks about what the intel community told him about WMD? DIdn't think so.

If Chimpy wasn't such a chickenshit liar, he might have testified under oath and allowed the world to see what he really knew. He might have even been able to do it without President Cheney to hold his hand and wipe his nose. And speaking of wiping yer nose . . . .

HI Bill. IT's me again.

Bubblenose BIll is back and he is once again impressed with his phlegmatic production. Then he wonders why no one else is.

From BB's post yesterday:
"I don't have the time to go back and reread all the posts from the previous two days like you do."

I don't have to read much. Your posts are so sadly lacking in substance (or humor) that they're easy to digest. Besides, my computer skillz (which pay my rent) allow me to zip, copy, paste and link citations in no time flat.

As for reading my posts from the previous 2 days, I don't post that often (compared to threadhogs like you).

More goop,
"FISA says you need to do obtain certain approvals from it, unless approved by someone else."

Since you're so familiar with the caselaw, please cite the section of the code that allows wiretapping to be approved by someone other than a court. Here's the law.

While you're looking that up, you might want to consider that wiretaps by federal officials are a crime. The exclusive basis for warrantless wiretaps on Domestic calls is either Title III of FISA (wiretapping a foreign power, which terrorists are not considered) for criminal investigations or sections 1802 & 1811 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for foreign intelligence investigations. It is a crime to conduct wiretaps unless there is a "statutory" basis for doing so.

So what Chimpy and the Cheney Administration are looking for is relief from FISA or the federal statutes against wiretapping.

BB continues:
"Under both Hamdi and AUMF, President Bush, the Justice Department and others said that approval had already been granted."

Hamdi won't cut it. Mme. O'Connor noted in Hamdi that Chimpy needs a sitter (careful it's one of those PDF bastards):
".... although Congress authorized the detention of combatants in the narrow circumstances alleged in this case, due process demands that a citizen held in the United States as an enemy combatant be given a meaningful opportunity to contest the factual basis for that detention before a neutral decisionmaker."Pp.14 -15. (page 2 of the PDF)

She also said
"We have long since made clear that a state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the Nation 's citizens. (Youngstown Sheet &Tube ,343 U.S.,at 587). Whatever power the United States Constitution envisions for the Executive in its exchanges with other nations or with enemy organizations in times of conflict, it most assuredly envisions a role for all three branches when individual liberties are at stake." (page 31 of the PDF)

With the NSA's long history of screwing with civil liberties, she knew that the Cheney Administration needs to be kept on a short legal leash (not that it would stop them from breaking the law .... ).

Bubblenose Bill is brimming with glee, pointing out the obvious:
And do you believe that if the government receives permission to tap a person's phone, the government can only listen to one-half of the conversation, because it didn't get the warrant for a tap on the other end of the conversation?

International spying requires listening in on foreigners (enemies as well as allies, I would say). The Chimpy's Spygate problem isn't about listening in on people who aren't covered by the Constitution. It's about wiretaps without a warrant (illegal Activity) perpetrated against Americans who just as circumstance would have it ARE covered by the Constitituion of the United States and all of it's freaky amendments.

As for the AUMF, it is an extremely unpersuasive argument. Sunstein is downright wobbly on it: "It is not clear that the President is right on it (AUMF)". As if Chimpy even knows what AUMF stands for. Sunstein isn't the backing you want for a Unitary Executive.

Minus the AUMF, can the NSA spy on Americans? Hell yes!! Here's the catch: they need a warrant. Why invoke the AUMF if you can already wiretap American phone calls? Because it takes too long? The Bad guys might get away? The NSA can get a retroactive warrant days later. Tap first, warrant later. See? Verrrry easy and very legal.

Could it be because the FISA courts are too strict about granting warrants? Nope only a handful out of about 18,000 have ever been denied. After 911, which court would deny a FISA warrant?

I suspect it's because 173 warrants had to be amended under Chimpy and only a dozen or so had been amended before. They weren't denied. They had to be amended to suit the court. That's harrrrrrd work. There's no accounting for the Cheney Administration's laziness.

As I've said before, wiretaps are good. Wiretaps work. But if you look at the way the Constitution was set up (listen up Giving-up-your-Liberty-Dad):
It "most assuredly envisions a role for all three branches when individual liberties are at stake."

The best part of BB's post was:
"And do you agree with me that the only Americans being wiretapped without warrants were those (1)receiving phone calls (2)from outside the United States and (3)from known AlQaeda combatants?"

In a word NO.

According to people familiar with the program, it taps lines 500 at a time (sez the New Pravda) and monitored not by a judge but by a "shift supervisor (sez Gen. Hayden), it is indiscriminate in its snaring of innocent Americans (so sez the FBI) and even if they were talking to AQ agents, Title III of FISA doesn't recognize AQ as a foreign power.

As for Cass Sunstein's argument, look at the Perfessor's 2nd paragraph, last line:
"Of course nothing I have said suggests that under the AUMF, the President can engage in surveillance of people without a tie to organizations or nations associated with the attacks of 9/11.)"

If what the New Pravda, the whistleblowers (in the FBI and the NSA), and General Hayden are telling the truth, the Cheney Administration has been breaking the law for the last few years.

But then again, we all knew that already. Natch, they're Republicans.

Republicans gone wild

"Ethics reform" gestures and suddenly hazy memories can't hide the truth: Abramoff is an integral part of the GOP machine that revved up with the '94 "revolution."

Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials, has left a trail of hard evidence in addition to his sworn confessions. At the end of every business day his former assistant wrote a summary of all his contacts and their conversations, e-mailed it to him and carefully saved it; these documents mapping the days and ways of Jack Abramoff are now in the hands of the prosecutors. (Abramoff's former assistant, Susan Ralston, moved seamlessly from his employ to the White House to become Karl Rove's assistant, where she regularly vetted supplicants to Rove through Grover Norquist, Abramoff's longtime political associate and business partner.)

Abramoff's appearance at the federal courthouse in Washington on Jan. 3 attired in black fedora and black trench coat, like an old-style "Mustache Pete" Mafioso, was bizarre but brilliant self-casting. He was not only his own producer but also his own dresser. In fact, Abramoff loved to recite lines from "The Godfather." One of his favorite bits was Michael Corleone's reply to a politician seeking a cut of his illegal businesses: "Senator, you can have my answer now if you like. My offer is this: nothing."

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

"At the end of every business day his former assistant wrote a summary of all his contacts and their conversations, e-mailed it to him and carefully saved it"

Those notes might be better than the Nixon WH tapes. No wonder Crusader Codpiece want the court to be packed.

capt

The economic parameters-GNP,employment,inflation- these are meaningless when the current deficit is running one billion dollars a day. Republicans are unable to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation; once again it will take a Democrat president to fix the problem.

More funny stuff from Bubblenose Bill:
Am I going to get a serious reply, or just another round of acerbic euphemisms?
Posted by: Bill at January 27, 2006 05:05 PM

Soooo, am I ever going to get a serious reply about your WashPost Civility Scam or that nonsense about Operation Merlin? Or are you just going to accuse me of ducking you and calling me Dracula?

Sadly, BB notes,
"Liberals say that they scroll past conservative posters."

I don't. Even TRH would agree that you're a funny lot to screw around with. You guys are like drunks in a barfight, easy pickins.

Exposing his inner-doofus (which is hard to notice with that big snotbubble just hanging there), BB sez,
"Ideas are to liberals what water was to the Wicked Witch of the West."
Posted by: Bill at January 27, 2006 09:22 PM

Well... since we're all still here, either we ain't liberals or you haven't gotten around to presenting any actual ideas. I'm sure we all know which it is.

Actually, if you'd been around longer, you'd know that there's as many lapsed Reds and Libertarians (no those aren't the ladies that help you find a book) in this joint as there are Liberals.

===+===

Bubblenose Bill spouts the talking points and cites the idiots Hugh Hewitt and Assrocket.

BB. They're called "talking points" rather than "facts" for a reason. Talking points are filled with inaccuracies. Let's take Hugh Hewitt first.

Dewey and Louie's little brother sez,
"Truong Court, as did all other courts that have decided the issue, held that the president did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless surveillance to obtain foreign intelligence information."

Byron York and his fellow inhabitants of Planet Dipshit often lift that quote from an appeals court decision that mentions Truong and these lying shiteaters take the quote out of context to mislead uninformed ignoramuses like you (and Pags / Happy and Timmie) into thinking that the Truong case was dispositive in Chimpy's case.

The decision proves the opposite of what hewey tries to prove:
We reiterate that Truong dealt with a pre-FISA surveillance based on the President’s constitutional responsibility to conduct the foreign affairs of the United States. 629 F.2d at 914."

It goes on to say that Truong (which was decided at about the same time as FISA was enacted) applied in cases where there was no law in place to limit warrantless spying:
It (the Truong decision) had no occasion to consider the application of the statute carefully. The Truong court, as did all the other courts to have decided the issue, held that the President did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information.26 The question before us is the reverse, does FISA amplify the President’s power by providing a mechanism that at least approaches a classic warrant and which therefore supports the government’s contention that FISA searches are constitutionally reasonable."

BB, you really shouldn't rely on a Hugh Hewitt V. Jon Alter discussion to base legal arguments on. That's like watching guys play chess in the park, wait, do you know what chess is? Nevermind.

It's like watching a gaggle of fat guys playing flag football in Central Park. Their expertise (or lack thereof) is more than a little obvious to those with discerning eyes.

Live on the Air Filibuster

We are doing a live on-air filibuster on The Young Turks right now until we get 41 Senators to support a filibuster of Sam Alito. We are not going to give up. We have a couple of days to make a difference.

We will stay on-air until we get the Democrats to join the fight.

Please join us so we can build pressure on the Senators. By "join us" I don't mean just watch us on the website, I mean get other stations, other shows, other blogs to join the filibuster until we are all demanding a filibuster of this extreme nominee.

Watch the live on-air filibuster here.

UPDATE:

21 HOURS AND COUNTING!

When we first came on air, there was only one Senator who had stated publicly that he was in favor of a filibuster, John Kerry. We now have 10 confirmed Senators signed on for a filibuster, including Senator Feinstein who had said earlier that a filibuster was not a good idea. Pressure works.

The pressure we are putting on together might be a small factor, but every little bit helps. And with the strong push of Kerry, more and more Senators are coming out in favor of the filibuster.

A "no" vote means nothing. It is senseless symbolism. The only way to actually defeat this radical nominee is to force a filibuster.

Thousands of people have called and e-mailed in to tell us how they are fighting in their own way -- calling their Senators, going into their Senator's offices, contacting the press and spreading the word on the internet and on the ground in their local communities. We appreciate everyone's efforts and all of the blogs who joined the fight.

We have to press ahead. We have to keep fighting over the weekend and into Monday. Keep the momentum going. We have to believe. It can be done.

Link to show

The link on Huffington Post is down. The link above will get you to the in progress show.
Hopefully it works.

FEMA employees busted for taking bribes

The FBI arrested two Federal Emergency Management Agency employees Friday after each accepted $10,000 in cash kickbacks from a food services contractor, the U.S. Attorney said.
The contractor, who was not immediately identified, notified the government of attempts to bribe him soon after he arrived at a FEMA camp in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said the suspects _ identified as Andrew Rose and Loyd Hollman, both of Colorado _ took the contractor into a locked room to discuss how they could artificially inflate the head count of FEMA workers taking meals at the camp, which would increase the contractor's revenue. They allegedly told the contractor they would need $20,000 in kickbacks to inflate the figures.

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

Now here is an example of following the law. The FBI did the hard work, got warrants and satisfies probable cause.

The real sickler is Probable Cause (or PC) in every case. The cops and FBI have always had to have it. It is not a standard, or a policy it is law founded on the constitution.

Bush broke the law, continues to break the law and thinks he can do so on his word.

capt

Capt,

The Republicans Gone Wild article is a must read for everyone! And I mean you trolls too, who believe that this isn't just a Republican scandal.

The K Street Project was strictly a Republican affair to push their adjenda to eliminate Industrial regulations to project the environment and the consumers, and would allow them to line their pockets - to get while the getting is good. It is a total breach of their oath of office to work for their consituents, the people of their district or State. Instead, they are only insterested in their own quest for money and power.

This is not a bipartisan scandal and don't let anyone try to say that it is. This was a deliberate plan for the Republicans to take control over the government and they have succeeded, mostly due to the greed, stupidity and apathy of the general public. It sickens and depresses me to think about it. But it also angers me and that anger has fuel action, contacting my senators and even my Congressman (even though I know in that case it wouldn't do any good since it's Sensenbrenner). I do what ever I can to get the peole around me to open their eyes to what has happened while they were sleeping.

Maybe, just maybe, it's not too late. But I am fearful that it is. We'll see what '06 brings.

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Flan,
That is why I am pushing the Alito thing so much. This is an opportunity for the average person to know they can make a difference. The senate is going nuts right now. They don't know what to do with all the phone calls and emails. We are holding them accountable. That is why I am telling people to call their Republican Senators too. There is no excuse for the Alito nomination. The guy is a fanatic. He should never have been chosen. What senator who cares for his country is going to vote for that guy? What Senator that supports his nation is still behind Bush?

Make the phone calls everybody. You are making a difference. It's one step at a time.

Oh oh. Ivory Bill, time to use your beak on something other than a tree.

BB laments the fact that he can't get a response to his cut-and-paste Assrocket article:
... I post an opinion by John Hinderaker. John is an Ivy-league educated attorney, and one of the most respected members of the Minnesota bar. And yet what is the response to his article? A lot of typical name calling. Not one legal or equitable argument addressing the contents of the article."
Posted by: Bill at January 23, 2006 10:29 AM

Click here and scroll down to #389. I responded to the only consequential issues in the article. He made a handful of silly semantic points and never refuted the main idea of the Newsweek article (that CIFA, JPEN and the TALON Reports are being used to spy on Americans).

The first 2 grafs give background. Then he starts off by questioning the choice of title (The Other Big Brother). Assrocket thinks that our government is nothing like the "totalitarian state" in 1984. If you look at the American Heritage Dictionary's definition of Big Brother. Definition 3 fits just fine. (Ivy League educated?)

Then Assrocket, being the manly-man that he is proceeds to rape a straw man. He argues that the Def. Dept. (working for CIFA) wrote a report about some peace activists and dismisses it by saying it's just a itty-bitty, teensy weensy, little report. He asks dismissively: "Since when is writing a report on a demonstration 'spying'?"

Well, the thing is that the "report" gets turned into TALON, a huge database for people that the Cheney Administration doesn't like (peace demonstrators, quakers, longhairs, troublemakers). Talon is explicitly described as part of CIFA by none other than Paul Wolfowitz. That was my first link (careful it's a PDF).

He tries to make a semantic point about "spying" and the word "dragnet," both of which fall flat because if you look at the definitions for those words they don't match his use of the words. The third definition in the Am. Heritage Dictionary matches the story's use of the word spying ("3. One who secretly keeps watch on another or others."). Assrocket doesn't seem to understand that just because the peace activists weren't apprehended doesn't mean that CIFA isn't a system in place to catch bad guys (hence the term "dragnet"). Jeez, at least I hope they're trying to catch the bad guys. With Chimpy in charge, ya never know.

Assrocket makes a fool of himself by claiming that TALON reports come from surfing the "internets" (another citizen from Planet Dipshit?). Read page 2 (addressing the methodology for collecting) of Wolfie's report on TALON. The TALON report and resulting CIFA database are the only tech-based aspect of the program.

Assrocket makes a bigger assrocket of himself by claiming that Arkin (a known Bush hater) is the primary source for the story. Never mind that Walter Pincus @ the WashPost and NBC and others have substantiated the story without using Arkin as a source. I linked the NBC article and mentioned the Pincus article but forgot the link.

Assrocket misfires again (get it? rocket. misfires. *ducks flying tomatoes*) by arguing that Isikoff scrood the pooch by not proving that there was nothing wrong or illegal in the CIFA or TALON reports. He even uses the words "de minimis" to throw you cretins off the trail.

If you read the Pincus article and Newsweek piece, you'll see that Defense Dept. officials acknowledged that stuff that was supposed to be deleted from the database about the peace activists magically remained on the database. I guess Assrocket would just strike it up to incompetence.

OK. Now that they've admitted to one goofup. I'm sure there aren't any others. Nah. Not in America. Maybe in Russia where the KGB kidnaps and tortures people. Here in Amerka we don't . . . hey wait a minute . . . .

Seriously, BB, Assrocket is a moron. I'm sure you know (and probably agree with) this assessment of Chimpy: "It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can't get anyone to notice."

Interesting locution: "approaching to" genius.

I guess that's why he ‚ô•s Chimpy. Chimpy has a way with words too:
"Because the—all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculate, for example, is on the table; whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those—changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be—or closer delivered to what has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the—like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate—the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those—if that growth is affected, it will help on the red."
—Chimpy McFlightsuit, Explaining his plan to save Social Security, Tampa, Fla., Feb. 4, 2005

Jeane...keep reminding folks.....we know it works right...WMD'S...WMD'S.....repeat it enough and people begin to believe it. WE CAN BE EFFECTIVE...WE CAN BE EFFECTIVE.....YOU GO GIRL...keep telling us.
i just returned from two different meetings and everyone was talking about a fillibuster

The fillibuster is all over the web.

Crybaby Bill complains that we scroll past "conservative" posts? I have yet to see any bush supporter who could be labeled as conservative. Supporting this behemoth and calling it conservative is akin to driving a hybrid vehicle that boasts 50+ MPG, but ignoring the big hole in the gas tank where all the fuel is leaking out! Bills very premise that bush is a republican is flawed, so he doesn't even present a solid foundation from which to debate. That is why I scroll past. At least TRH is able to admit that they are screwing up big time!

Kerry's long-distance call for a filibuster reminded me of the time he played hockey -- yes, hockey -- instead of showing up in D.C. to vote against a bill to deny overtime pay to millions of workers. And that was during the Democratic primaries. The guy's a hopelessly obtuse hunk o' wood. I sure hope he has no delusions of making another run at the presidency. He had his chance, and despite a fully mobilized Democratic Party, still managed to lose. He needs to get the hell out of the way and let someone competent run.

Still, I hope he does filibuster. He owes us that much, at least.

The Energizer
Amory Lovins has a vision: The U.S. economy keeps going and going and going, without any oil.
By Cal Fussman DISCOVER MAGAZINE

Now for a bit of positive news, this is in the current issue of Discover Magazine, one of my favorites and one of the few publications that is worth it's subscription price. These are the kinds of articles that give me a small ray of hope. It makes me wonder why we are wasting trillions of dollars on destruction when we have this to develope and look forward to.
---------------

AMORY LOVINS is a physicist, economist, inventor, automobile designer, consultant to 18 heads of state, author of 29 books, and cofounder of Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmental think tank. most of all, he's a man who takes pride in saving energy. The electricity bill at his 4,000-square-foot home in Old Snowmass, Colorado, is five dollars a month, and he's convinced he can do the same for all of us. His book, "Winning the Oil Endgame" shows how the United States can save as much oil as it gets from the Persian Gulf by 2015 and how all oil imports can be eliminated by 2040. And that's just for starters.
------------
But, maybe war is far more profitable.

Postpone Alito Vote!

It is inappropriate to be voting on an appointment to the Supreme Court by a President that may have broken the law.

As a unified group the Democrats should resolve to pospone the vote until it is decidely determined the George Bush is not guilty of breaking the law.

"Listen, the other day I was asked about the National Intelligence Estimate, which is a nation intelligence estimate."

George Bush - September 23, 2004
Clearing up the uncertainty in Wash DC

This is the man we have chosing the next Supreme Court Justice. I don't even want the guy chosing the color for the walls in the White House cafeteria.
How the Powerline can consider him a genius is beyong me but "approaching to genius" does say something.

The Sacredness of Human Dignity

Young Turks web site
Great listening on the filibuster radio. This is a huge deal.

Torture of a human being is a mortal sin and it separates the torturer from God and without forgiveness places the soul in hell for eternity.

Robert Scheer is now on Young Turks.

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

CLICK HERE FOR EMAIL AND CONTACT NUMBERS FOR THE UNITED STATES SENATORS

Dear American Citizens:

Please, please, please! Write a short appeal to each and every U.S. Senator and tell him/her they must filibuster Samuel Alito's nomination! NO! on Alito! Republicans must be contacted! Tell them to think of the country first.

Yours in hope, John Kerry's Mom

Scroll right on past. This is for Bill.

Apologies in advance to the folks who tire of me flogging Bill.

Hi BB. Having fun? I can't tell cause you (and your reactionary friends) spend an awful lot of time whining about the level of discourse on this blog, as if anyone gives a shit what you and the scummy defenders of the current Administration might think about the meaning of "civility."

Like I said before, child, it's time to put your Big Girl Panties on and stop whining.

Ask and ye shall be given:
"Your claim that the "purple" links are to facts. Sometimes, yes. But most times they are linked to wild opinions proffered by left-wing nut jobs."

The sites that I cite tend to have links on them with substantiating information. That's why they call us the Reality-based people. We deal in facts not opinions.

Here. I have a suggestion. Read the link. If you have a question about its veracity, rip it apart like I just did to your silly Assrocket cut-and-paste. Remember, you have questions, we have answers.

BB sniffs:
"You dispute my claim that Dems are weak on defense. That is not only my claim, Pande, but the claim of the American people."

First off, I don't dispute your claims. The facts speak for themselves. See again: Band of Brothers, Fighting Dems, and the Chickenhawk Roll Call. Have you ever seen such a humongous list of folks who never served in the military? Funny how they're almost all Republicans. Facts are facts, BB. Republicans are bunch of chickenshithawks.

BB moans,
Why do you think that they keep voting for incompetent and/or corrupt Repubs? It's because national defense is the biggest factor in their lives, and they just can't trust the Dems/children with it."

Why do I think they keep voting for Reds? Mostly it's reactionary simpletons like you that repeat over and over and over that Dems are weak on Defense EVEN AFTER looking at the record of service. You guys are like parrots that are incapable of analyzing the bullshit that you spout.

Reality-based Fact: Clinton forced the Reds to balance the budget; Chimpy runs up Trillions of dollars in debt.

Reactionary Talking Point: Democrats are tax and spend big-govt. moonbats.

Reality-based fact: Clinton wanted universal health care, vetoed a ban on partial-birth abortions, instituted the Family Leave act, screwed the Rich with progressive as hell taxes and a veto on killing the Paris Hilton Tax, then by threating to shut down the Govt. if Reds didn't balance the budget.

Reactionary talking point: Clinton was a moderate Democrat. Not one of those tax the rich, abortion on demand, sex crazy liberals.

Reality-based Fact: Murtha and Kerry got war medals.

Reactionary talking point: I support the military unless they become a Democrat and try to say bad shit about a Preznit that never did any more drilling than at a dentists office in Alabama. In that case, decorated war vets are lying chickenshit scum.

I could go on and on, but you get the gist. There is no accounting for the idiocy of the folks who vote Republican because they're not interested in Reality-based facts.

Bill pouts and stands arms akimbo:
"You say I don't respond to your talking points. Well, not only yours, but most of the points, are simply invectives hurled at me by people who are incapable of engaging in rational discourse."

Helloooooo. Mr. Whiny Titty-baby. Try looking in the mirror. As Groucho Marx used to say, "You resemble that remark."

Bubblenose Bill loses it here,
"And you are obviously skilled in the presentation of the half-truth. You state that 11 alumna (sic) from your school were killed on 9-11, but you don't mention if you knew any of them. That's an old sophist's trick."

Hmmm. That's a half-truth? I said they were alumni from my alma mater; but unless I knew them personally ... what? They weren't alumni? They didn't die in Tower 2? We shouldn't scream for vengence over the fact that no one has been brought to justice for their murders? I don't get it. What's the "trick?"

BB doesn't get it,
"you do this country a great disservice when you so blithely dismiss the problems on the Left. You marginalize your cause and render the Democratic party irrelevant."

I don't need to dismiss the problems in the Democratic party because they aren't running this country headlong into a shithole. Besides, even my friends here like to pile onto the Dems when they don't win. Look at how uncomfortable everyone gets when one of those Spineless Dems‚Ñ¢ speaks their mind. Hackett, Dean, Conyers, Murtha will fuck your shit up if you let them. They (and I) couldn't give a rat's fart what you think about their verbal attacks on the establishment. AS for the filibuster, Fuck it! It's a parlimentarian trick for those who have no power. Let the Reds invoke cloture. Big freekin' whoop. That's the benefit of being in the majority, you can squash the shit out of the minority party. Whether Dems filibuster or not, this country will still be Trillions of dollars in debt with no fiscal plan to save us. We will still have troops in a country that doesn't want us there. The Cheney administration will continue to screw the lower and middle classes in America. Health care costs will continue to rise, incomes will remain stagnant, the rich will continue their consolidation of wealth. Big Companies will continue to screw the smaller ones with Chimpy's approval. Our environment will continue to be destroyed. And morons like you will continue to bitch about the Democratic Party because you refuse to hold your party responsible for ruining our Great Nation from the military on down.

But I believe we have a brighter future. We have recovered from bigger idiots than Chimpy. Al Qaeda has as much chance of ruining our country as the Australian national soccer team (the Socceroos). Your party's refusal to right the ship of state has a better chance of destroying our country than either AQ or the Socceroos. Deal with it. Put yer fucking Big Girl Panties on and deal with it.

Sheesh, this is pathetic,
"Don't you see that you and your kind are largely responsible for the Republicans being in power?"

And you probably wonder why I call you Bubblenose Bill.

BB shakes his head,
"You and the others on the Left offer little or nothing to Americans. All you can do is complain. There is no alternative you offer.

Go to the library of congress and look at all the legislation that the Dems have offered up, from social security, to health care, to student loans, to funding for the military, to investigations into corruption and mismanagement by this investigation. Do you know how bills become laws, BB? How can Dems present legislation if the Reds kill it in committee, and keep it from getting to the floor. Helping the poor. The Reds aren't interested. Helping the elderly, nope. Helping protect children who can't afford health care? screw 'em. Taking care of the military that comes from the lower and middle class? Why would they help an organization that they've never been a part of? Again, this is the right of the majority party. It's their doing, though. You can't blame the Dems for that.

"You are obviously more intelligent than most of the posters here. Please act like it."
Posted by: Bill at January 23, 2006 10:29 AM

Please stop trying to ingratiate yourself. It's annoying.

Pande,
Fire away. I read everything you write.

Search

Dear Cornposters:

The irreligious right, the neocons, the repugnants, and the Nazis are not searching for God. They have found their god in money, nuclear weapons, and the bushgod. Their religion is bushianity and it embraces hatred, murders, torture, war crimes, decadence, corruption, greed, and lies.

Why do the Progressives or Democrats search? The journey of life can be summed up in one word, search. The Progressives go from one thing to the next searching for truth, love, security, contentment, and essentially God. When all is said and done, we realize every soul is searching for God. St. Augustine once said, "We were made for God and our hearts are restless until they rest in Him."

Pope Benedict XVI once explained, "The saint is he who is so fascinated by the beauty of God and by his perfect truth so as to be progressively transformed by it." Progressively transformed? What did Pope Benedict mean by this term? He was pointing to the gradual transformation that is hidden, arduous, ongoing, and painstaking. But, the problem is that although the Democrats have the true potential for sainthood, it is their stubbornness that prevents their true transformation.

I say to the Progressives that it is precisely during these stubbornness periods of transformation that we must embrace our God in faith, hope, and love. We must be willing to search for Him in the most unlikely of places and to find His beauty and truth in the most deformed vestiges.

Pope Benedict so beautifully displays this truth when he says, "because of this beauty and truth, the saint or the Progressives who are awaiting to be transformed is ready to renounce everything, even himself. The love of God is enough, which he experiences in the humble and disinterested service of the neighbor, especially to those who cannot give back in return." That is fruit of searching for God and that is the fruit of holiness for which we should all yearn.

Sincerely,

Gerald

Pande, I think you show run for public office and use the same technique to support your case as you use here -- facts and a dose of humor.

I don't want to start another food fight, but you make mincemeat out of that meatball -- and you do it in a reality-based world!

(I'm not trying to ingratiate myself ;-)...just stating the facts about your technique!)

oops... should

dear John Kerry's Mom,
please ask your son why it is that despite a veritable mountain of evidence all pointing towards 911 being an inside job, he and every other congressional bendover save for two refuse to address the topic at all? does your son and all the rest of them have something to hide? they all pretend to have integrity, yet not a one of them including your son seems to exhibit any. I hope that your son decides to run for president again in '08 so I can be sure to campaign against him and any other cowardly complicit he might put on the ticket. please be so kind as to suggest to him and all his pals that they stand up straight and be a man for once. you might remind him that bravery is doing the right thing despite one's fear.

one more thing John Kerry's Mom ::
click my name to order the FREE DVD::
'CONFRONTING THE EVIDENCE: Reopen 911 Investigation'
6-8 weeks for delivery

Pande,
You wrote "We have recovered from bigger idiots than Chimpy."

Who could that possibly be? I know we've had some bad presidents but I can't imagine they were bigger idiots.

Saladin, #285

I don't think I used those precise words but I agree with your sentiment. I'll be the first to call for accountability of those elected officials, regardless of party affiliation, who abuse their office or betray the public trust. We have also previously discussed our disdain for the outrageous growth of the Executive branch of government. If the framers of our Constitution were alive today, they would be asking what system of government we currently have. Many of the uneducated masses would respond, "the system of government you created."
The Framers' reply? "Don't you dare associate us with this mess!"

I think the framers would get their muskets and they would march into the halls of congress to do some house cleaning.

Jeanne,

Carter was worse and yes, a bigger idiot when it came to being president. The difference between Bush 43 and Carter is that most people like Carter personally, regardless of how bad a president he was. Count me among them.

Good evening, Saladin and flan,

No, Saladin, I don't intend to vote for a "pro-war" candidate on a Diebold machine because (1) in my county we don't use Diebold machines because at the grassroots level we citizens told the county that they were not acceptable and WON. (It works to be a part of the solution, especially at the local level where a lot of good things can happen.); and (2) because I don't think most candidates can be fairly characterized as "pro-war" as a philosophy or a choice. (It's sort of like saying people who are "pro-choice" are "pro-abortion" which is a lot of horsehit.)

flan, I will gladly take a hard look at Russ Feingold; I think he's a good person. And I would gladly take a hard look at Wesley Clark, who is not "pro-war" as a military man. In fact, many (enlightened, intelligent military men and women) are more "anti-war" than most. They look on war as a last resort. (I prefer NO war, ever! But, that isn't likely so I will take a good hard look at the best available and make a rationale, informed decision.

Carter? The guy was a nuclear scientist.
BTW, he saw a UFO and promised to look into it if he became president. He was really interested in what the government knew about UFOs. He became president and you never heard another word about it. These are the facts you learn when you have a neighbor who is into UFOs.

Pande,
I thinking idiot in a clinical sense. Are you?

Jeanne,

Carter was a peanut farmer. Bush 43 was a multi-tried, multi-failed business owner. I do not know what education Carter had but Bush 43 has an MBA. Just remember, having initials and degrees after your name does not make you smart. It just means you have the money or the lack of initiative to actually begin to work to accumulate that amount of education. It reminds me of someone I knew in college. He was there a few years before I arrived and was there when I was a senior. He still didn't have a degree and still didn't have a major. That was 1985. For all I know, he could still be there. And some
people would consider him smart because of all those years of edgumacation and ciphering on the sidewalk. Even Uncle Jed thought Jethro could be a brain surgeon because he graduated the 6th grade and Uncle Jed was a millionaire. Go figgur!

That's One Dumb Shrub

According to statements in the report, there have been twelve presidents over the past 50 years, from F. D. Roosevelt to G. W. Bush who were all rated based on scholarly achievements, writings that they alone produced without aid of staff, their ability to speak with clarity, and several other psychological factors which were then scored in the Swanson/Crain system of intelligence ranking.

The study determined the following IQs of each president as accurate to within five percentage points:
147 Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
132 Harry Truman (D)
122 Dwight D. Eisenhower (r)
174 John F. Kennedy (D)
126 Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
155 Richard M. Nixon (r)
121 Gerald Ford (r)
175 James E. Carter (D)
105 Ronald Reagan (r)
098 George HW Bush (r)
182 William J. Clinton (D)
091 George W. Bush (r)

The six Republican presidents of the past 50 years had an average IQ of 115.5, with President Nixon having the highest IQ, at 155. President G. W. Bush was rated the lowest of all the Republicans with an IQ of 91. The six Democrat presidents had IQs with an average of 156, with President Clinton having the highest IQ, at 182. President Lyndon B. Johnson was rated the lowest of all the Democrats with an IQ of 126.
--------------------
What does this say about Republicans? Again, why do we have a man with less than average IQ making decisions in this country.
They had a guest on the Young Turk show that was suggesting that Bush will be impeached next year if we elect Democrats to the congress.

Jeanne #308

I'm not pande but I am not referring to idiocy in the clinical sense. I'm not a psychiatrist so I am in no position to judge the saneness of others. I'll put it this way, regardless of their education, their political affiliation, their likability, Carter was a bigger screw-up than Bush 43. Not by a great margin mind you and that is only my opinion.

Caroline, I am glad you don't have to deal with diebold, many others are not so fortunate. When I speak of pro-war candidates I am referring to those on the presidential ticket. So far the ones being touted like hillary are definitely pro-war. It will be interesting to see who ultimately receives the elite endorsement. My guess is that they will be sword rattlers comparable to dubya, but I hope I am wrong.
TRH, I wasn't trying to make a direct quote, just acknowledging your willingness to assign fault when it is deserved. I don't know if you saw the excerpts I posted from Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death" speech, but I imagine that he would find the current leadership on both sides of the isle absolutely contemptable, just like I do.

Jeanne,

I could care less about the IQ of a President.
If you don't get that some of the biggest idiots of our time could also be the most intelligent people of our time, based on their IQ, then I have no further point to make. Regarding your little list, try finding one on the IQ's of the Congress. It probobly doesn't exist because they all are morons!

Carter was a greater screw up than Bush? Huh? No way. You are going to lose this one buddy.
Now, you may not like Carter. I never like Reagan but I give him more credit than I give W. Georgie is a half wit. Too many bike accidents. Or something. Maybe the powdery substance he liked to indulge in.
It really makes me angry that he is president. Not only was he offered up as a candidate but his "people" stole the election so he could be president. I know he's got handlers but he's also there capable of making huge mistakes. Get the guy out of office. He needs to be impeached yesterday.

TRH: WTF is your problem with Carter? Especially given the good works he and his wife have been doing since he's been out of office. BTW can you even imagine Chimpy doing anything like that after he leaves his disgusting legacy as President behind him?

Saladin,

I knew you weren't quoting because we have had that conversation before. Yes, I did read your Patrick Henry post. What gets me more than anything is that our education system has deteriorated so much in this country that anyone under the age of 30 probably has no idea who Patrick Henry is and doesn't even care enough about their country to find out who he is and most wonder why they should even bother.

Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him

The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

The scientist, James E. Hansen, longtime director of the agency's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said in an interview that officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists....

....Mr. Acosta said other reasons for requiring press officers to review interview requests were to have an orderly flow of information out of a sprawling agency and to avoid surprises. "This is not about any individual or any issue like global warming," he said. "It's about coordination."

Dr. Hansen strongly disagreed with this characterization, saying such procedures had already prevented the public from fully grasping recent findings about climate change that point to risks ahead....

....But Dr. Hansen said that nothing in 30 years equaled the push made since early December to keep him from publicly discussing what he says are clear-cut dangers from further delay in curbing carbon dioxide.

In several interviews with The New York Times in recent days, Dr. Hansen said it would be irresponsible not to speak out, particularly because NASA's mission statement includes the phrase "to understand and protect our home planet."
--------------------
2005 has been recorded as the warmest year in history. There is a lake by my house that is nearly at the ice out stage. That is very early. Usually fish houses can stay on the lake until Feb 15 when the sun becomes strong enough to eat the ice regardless of the weather.

Jeanne, Truthseeker,

I do not know your age, but I was sixteen when Jimmy Carter was voted into office. I knew he was an idiot then and he is to this day when it comes to his Presidency. If you bothered to read all of my post, speaking specifically to you truthseeker, you will find that my differences with Carter begin and end with his presidency. He is a likeable person, and I count myself among them. Giving back the Panama Canal, the Iranian Hostage fiasco, double digit inflation and double digit credit rates, high unemployment.... The only reason he defeated Ford in 1976 was because Reagan challenged Ford in the primary and created division among the Republicans. The main reason he was soundly defeated by Reagan in 1980 was because his incompetent handling of the office for four years, regardless of that massive IQ!

TRH, I agree about the dismal education problem. But I guess that is what happens when trillions are invested in reigning destruction down on foreign nations rather than the education of our future generation. Besides, how much education does a carbon based bullet stopper really need anyway?

Was Karl Rove Briefed On Bush's Warrantless Spying Program?

Hats off to the Washington Post for its editorial yesterday on the White House's politicization of the NSA warrantless wiretapping story. The silence of editorial boards since Karl Rove decided to make a sensitive national security program the subject of a national campaign has been deafening.

But there's an important question that hasn't been asked: Has Karl Rove been briefed about this sensitive program?

If Rove has been briefed about it then the White House has more questions to answer. Why does someone who is currently under investigation for leaking sensitive information have access to a program so sensitive that the President is refusing to consider a change in the law because doing so would "Tell the enemy what we're doing." Why was Rove breifed and not elected members of Congress that serve on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees?

If Rove has not been briefed on the program - and there is no reason why he should have been briefed - then you have to wonder: why is he urging people to spend the next 11 months campaigning about a program about which he knows nothing other than what has been in the press?

How did you "know" at 16 that Carter was an idiot? You didn't know anything when you were 16.

Presidential IQ - Snopes says status: False (darn)

Myth: The recession of 1982 was Carter's fault.

Fact: That recession occurred in the second year of Reagan's term, following tax cuts and deregulation.

The recession of 1982 hit during Reagan's second year in office. Double-digit inflation was well on its way to being defeated by this time, and Reagan's tax cuts and deregulation policies were already in effect. Blaming Carter's tax and regulation policies for this recession is therefore difficult.

Argument

Many conservatives and libertarians take it as an article of faith that the unusually severe recession of 1982 should be blamed on Carter's mishandling of the economy, even though it happened in the second year of Reagan's term. But why should that be? Was the 82 recession really the fault of Carter? Let's take a look:

Reagan came into office in January 1981, and within 108 days passed a budget that contained his famous supply-side tax cuts. Of course, a budget passed in 1981 would be enacted in 1982, so business owners had plenty of advance notice of their impending good fortune. It is true the tax cuts were supposed to be phased in over three years, 10 percent a year. But David Stockman had produced computer simulations "proving" that the tax cuts would result in 5 percent growth in 1982 alone. Optimism was so high that today Stockman derisively refers to the 5-percent growth calculation as the "Rosy Scenario."

....If Carter deserves "blame" for this recession -- which Wall Street heavily supported, because soaring inflation had to be defeated -- then his responsibility is limited to his nomination of Paul Volcker to the Fed. As you can see, attempts to pin the blame on tax and regulation policies fail, because Carter actually began reigning in the federal government. Furthermore, Reagan dramatically accelerated this trend for an entire year before the recession hit. Therefore, this myth is complete nonsense.
-----------------
My God, TRH, the man is a saint. He started Habitat for Humanity. He goes around the world promoting democracy in a peaceful way.

I liked Carter, but he wasn't brutal enough to be president. When he went up against the Army Corps of Engineers to prevent more dam building, I think that was his death sentence.

Saladin,
That I agree with.

Saladin,

I am with you on that one. I am not an isolationist but we spend much more money overseas than we should. Money will not solve our educational ills, but spending money elsewhere does not help either.

Jeanne, Truthseeker,

The problem with your party is that you see only the corruption, idiocy, ill-will of the other party. As a conservative, I can see it on all sides and call it for what it is. Carter was a horrible president. Habitat for Humanity has nothing to do with his presidency. For you to give him credit for that is admirable. For you to dismiss his inept presidency, is sheer hypocracy. If Bush 43 personally funds and finds a cure for AIDS in in 2010, would you praise him then as you do Carter? I doubt not. I judge his presidency based on his years in office. I judge him personally on his years as a human. I have no quarrel with Jimmy Carter the person. I do have quarrells with Jimmy Carter the president.

Bush won't personally fund and find a cure for AIDS. I don't hate all all Republicans. In fact I am an independent. I have in the past voted for Republican candidates for different offices. The problem with the Republican party right now is that it has been taken over by radicals, fanatics and sociopaths. They are incompetent, greedy and criminal.

What do want me to say? Read the news. It's all there on page one, page two and for the stuff they don't want out in the open, page 29B.

Well,
Reality has just found it's way into the mainstream.

Poll: Most think Bush is failing second term

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A majority of Americans are more likely to vote for a candidate in November's congressional elections who opposes President Bush, and 58 percent consider his second term a failure so far, according to a poll released Thursday.

Fewer people consider Bush to be honest and trustworthy now than did a year ago, and 53 percent said they believe his administration deliberately misled the public about Iraq's purported weapons program before the U.S. invasion in 2003, the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found.

Pollsters interviewed 1,006 American adults Friday through Sunday. Most questions in the survey had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. (Poll)

Bush is preparing for his State of the Union address, set for next week, and told reporters Thursday that he is "looking forward" to campaigning for Republicans in November's elections. (Full story)

But the latest poll indicated Americans remain in a pessimistic mood.

Fifty-eight percent of those polled said Bush's second term has been a failure so far, while 38 percent said they consider it a success. A smaller number -- 52 percent -- consider his entire presidency a failure to date, with 46 percent calling it successful. (Complete poll results)

In the latter case, the numbers fall within those two questions' margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Bush defended his performance Thursday, pointing to an improved economy despite higher prices for gasoline, heating oil and natural gas. He said the November elections would be about "peace and prosperity."

"We've got a record, and a good one," he said. "That's what I intend to campaign on and explain to people why I made the decisions I made, and why they're necessary to protect the American people, and why they've been necessary to keep this economy strong -- and why the policies we've got will keep this economy strong in the future."
----------------
A strong economy? Then why did 24000 people run to Wal-Mart for 324 jobs in Chicago?
In W's world the economy is strong because in his world the profits are wonderful and the taxes are nonexistent.

Hey, folks, don't let the discourse get off-track with TRH's false accusations about Jimmy Carter.

He's using the red herring technique to bolster his position, and that dog don't hunt.

He deserves no more attention on this matter than the trolls would warrant.

Jeanne,

24,000 people ran from Chicago to apply for the jobs at the Wal-Mart that Chicago
voted in favor of keeping from being built within the city limits. The Wal-Mart was built two blocks outside the city and I doubt any of the applicants ran. They probably took public transportation and used the application process only to continue to be eligible for unemployment benefits.

.......and used the application process only to continue to be eligible for unemployment benefits.

a very astute observation, probably

TRH,
Poverty is a bitch.

911 was a godsend for bush

look at these newsstories immediately preceding 911

#330 Your mean streak is bursting through your veneer of civility. Please STFU. You may be Bill or happy or LBH. You are no different.

Caroline,

I'll match my list of bad presidents against yours and I guarantee yours will not include one Democrat. Here is my list, just in my lifetime.

Lyndon Johnson
Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
George H.W. Bush

I don't think Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton were great, but they weren't bad.

John F. Kennedy was president when I was born but he was assisinated before history really got a good read on his presidency. I think he deserves kudos for standing up to Russia but his Bay of Pigs fiasco was a black mark on his presidency, though not all of his own doing. I think history would have judged him more on what he would have done with regards to Viet Nam had he lived. Again, my opinion.

David writes that they need to also dig trenches and build moats.

I think you were trying to be funny but don't give those people any ideas!

Someday we might need to build tunnels ourselves to get the hell out.

Jeanne,

Post 330 was not a knock against the people applying for the jobs, it was a knock against the city of Chicago for voting against the Wal-Mart being built within the city limits. Here is specifically why. When Wal-Mart builds, not only are there the Wal-Mart jobs available. Other businesses spring up in the area as well. Usually places to eat and specialty shops for things you can't find at Wal-Mart. That adds to the employment base which adds to the tax base but since the Wal-Mart was built outside the city limits, nobody in the city of Chicago benefits. Only those who will be employed there.

I know that y'all find the issue of 911 uncomfortable to even think about, so instead I'll focus on 9/10/01 for a few::

5 ) Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs issues a terror alert to it’s employees and clients on this day (9/10/01). Clients and executives worldwide are admonished to avoid close proximity to tall buildings. 6) NSC advisor Condoleezza Rice decides that she will call former SF Mayor Willie Brown to urge him to cancel his flight to NYC scheduled for the following morning. 7) Attorney General John Ashcroft continues his practice of flying on private chartered jets ,citing unspecified "security concerns" 8) Top Pentagon civilian leaders suddenly cancel their flights scheduled for the morning of 9/11/01.

Ronald Reagan's administration gave the neocons the foothold they were looking for. The CIA and the government walked into the Latin American countries and killed anybody who looked cross eyed at them. I don't have anything good to say about Reagan. I don't have as much a problem with the Democratic presidents because they weren't part of a twisted imperialist group bent on taking over the world.

Caroline,

I am having a difference of opinion with Jeanne. She knows where I am from, I where she is from. I may look at things differently as does she. Whether Jeanne or I disagree or agree, that is between us. For you to enter the debate and then have the gall to tell me to STFU is very unlady-like. But then again, you may be no lady. Again, that is my opinion.

By the way,

I am not Bill, happy or LBH. Right click on my TRH and you will find my e-mail address is tytandan@yahoo.com. I don't know what theirs are and do not care to know. You and capt must have a thing going on. I am every troll on this site in your view.

Just an observation:

bush has negative numbers (and results) for his handling of Iraq, federal budget deficit, ethics in government, prescription drugs for the elderly, the economy, immigration, health care, and taxes.

Two areas where he has "strength" are mobilizing his base and fundraising.

That's pretty damned pathetic. We could have outsourced his job because he's nothing but a PR flack.

9/10/01
15) The final preparations for another emergency disaster preparedness drill are taking place at the Defence Dept. Some crazy idea about an airplane striking the Pentagon . The next day as the drill commences, a real plane strikes the Pentagon, leaving drill participants in total quandry - not knowing whether they are reacting to a simulated "disaster" or the real deal. The Navy Captain (Res. ) who helped prepare these disaster drills is the lead pilot of the plane that actually crashed into the Pentagon. That part of the Pentagon where these drills are planned is the location where the plane exact it’s fatal toll on passengers and employees of the Defence Dept.

the official govt. 911 fairytale:: one giant coincidence after another

Micki,
And all Bush really knows how to do is make people think he'd be fun to have a beer with.

Jeanne,
I'd rather die of thirst than have a beer with that guy.

Micki, I strongly considered running against Henry Bonilla because he is in Tom DeLay's buttcrack 99% of the time. He has said some of the funniest shit that ever a Texan uttered. With the filing deadline at the beginning of '06, I was wondering if anyone would step up. I checked out the dKosopedia to find out how to run for office and waited to see if an experienced pol would run. Back in '02 a crazy Texican named Victor Morales drove his pickup all over Texas trying to win Phil Gramm's vacated seat. I thought I might try the same thing in my district.

Right before Xmas, I dropped off the blog to finish a huge work project. The fog didn't lift till after the New Year and I suddenly realized that I'd missed the deadline. I was seriously pissed until I read that Rick Bolanos stepped in to challenge. I'll be hitting the road for Bolanos and Radnofsky next fall. It'll be David and Goliath all over again; but it'll be fun because KBHutch is a dimwit ex-UT cheerleader and Bonilla is cornier than the entire state of Nebraska.

TRH, that was cold. I think you meant to say that they heard that they were handing out welfare checks; but got turned away cause it was all Corporate Welfare (serfs need not apply). I believe you were being told to Stop Throwing Fast Underhandedly. There's nothing unladylike about that. It's a safety issue.

As for Jimmy, he let OPEC have its way with him (kinda like Chimpy is now). That kinda snowballed into 16 levels of hell. Internationally, he's ahead of Chimpy in the number of Secular states he's turned into raving Theocracies.

Funny how everyone is spinning like mad trying to play off the Hamas disaster: maybe it'll temper them and force them to go mainstream. Yeah, ain't that how it worked out with the Taliban?

Worst Preznits? In deference to Mencken:
1. Gamaliel
2. Hoover (I hear the Depression kinda sucked)
3. Nixon (criminal) didn't know how to win a war
4. Chimpy (stoopid Texan criminal) doesn't know how to win a war
5. Johnson (Run of the mill Texan) Yeah, he helped the poor and minorities; but he didn't know how to win a war either.

I was just watching the young turks filibuster show. Joe, a caller just made a very good point. "Kill the senators with kindness. If you call or email be respectful. And also encourage those senators who may not want to vote on the cloture ask them to just not show up for the vote.

Chevron Corp.'s fourth-quarter profit climbed 20 percent to $4.14 billion, a company record that continued the most prosperous stretch in its 126-year history as the oil company capitalizes on high fuel prices that are squeezing consumers and ruffling politicians.

what do you want to bet that every politician and every one of their family members have a gasoline credit card - courtesy of the tax-payers

Jeanne,

That is exactly what I mean. On a personal level, most people like Carter. He is a likeable person. Bush 43 does not portray that personality, though he tries. But neither should should have their presidency judged on their personal traits. I do not hold Clinton's personal affairs against his ability as president. I don't think he was great, but I do not think he was bad. I didn't vote in '96 but there is no question I would have voted for him over Dole.

Pandemoniac #345

I am currently watching "The Holy Grail" and ran over your post and laughed as hard at your Stop Throwing Fast Underhandedly comment than anything in the movie. You are da man, and since you straightened it all out for me, Caroline be da woman.

Senators are talking about the filibuster and the Young Turk filibuster is starting to spread to other blogs.
Your phone calls and your faxes and your emails are making a difference.
Here's the link with the numbers.

The Alito 48

Hey, Pande, I lived in Texas when Victor Morales won the upset victory in the Dem primary by driving around in his white pickup, convincing folks that he was the man. That was pretty damed cool. Just a good ole' school teacher showing his kids that anyone could run for office if they put their mind to it!

Not to go all historical on you, but I think that was in '96, not '02 (unless he did it again after I left for my home-turf in the Pacific Northwest in '00 and I missed out on the fun.)

You'd be dynamite in Texas politics. I'd even consider putting up with the Texas heat to campaign for you. I'd be real polite.

Pande,
When you are campaigning with Bolanos and Radnofsky just remember Paul Wellstone. I don't think that guy even thought about the odds against him. He loved meeting the people. He loved hearing what the people had to say. It showed and they voted for him.

Link to troll posts by TRH

Link to troll posts by TRH

90

"Starry Eyed"

Hi, Saladin. Glad you are back, Saladin. You sound like you hate the Jews as much as Gerald does. At least I can probable blamd his Anti-sematism on the Viagra they are passing out to him in Junior High these days. Where does your
hatred of the Jewish people come from? By the way, David. Who did you spend your week with on Cape Cod? Was it a human of the male persuasion? Not that there is anything wrong with that! Just clear your mouth of that goose down pillow before your next post. It must be embarrasing to be sitting at your computer with feathers flying out of your mouth.

Posted by: Starry Eyed at August 19, 2005 12:11 AM

***********
92
Post #3

Excuse me while I pull my lying Pinnochio nose out of David's backside. If I had Mick Jagger lips it would be more comfortable.

"starry Eyed"

Posted by: Capt at August 19, 2005 12:19 AM

*******

93

Post 91

Excuse me while I wipe this foreign matter from my nose. I thought it was just a big booger. David needs to invest in some ex-lax. Me, I'll never understand why any U.S. citizen can't meet with the President on demand. Especially those who have met with him before! Who the hell does he think he is? Barbara Streisand? Gotta go now, clear my nose before my next post to David.

Posted by: capt at August 19, 2005 12:28 AM

******

Just a taste of "Starry Eyed" who TRH used to post as "bartender" Starry Eyed" "Tim H" - posted as "capt" "Capt" and a many others.

TRH is a liar, the best he could say is he NO LONGER posts as others. You can decide how believable he is.

Tim must be an idiot! I have said it before I will say it AGAIN :

I will remind all of his lies each and EVERY time he want to pretend he is anything but a pathetic clone poster.

Why is he so stupid as the mention me in anything he posts?

I AM HERE AND I HAVE NOT POSTED TO TRH BUT HE INSISTS ON BRING UP THE PAST - NOT ME.

Just do not kid yourself. And quit bringing up the past, your lies, your filthy posts, your troll stupidity, you have ZERO credibility!

STFU you poor excuse for a human bening.

And please - folks - quit posting to the troll. If you feed them they will alway be here. The ONLY chance of purging our fine blog of this kind of a psycho is to freeze them out.

Thanks

capt

Gamaliel?

#355
Warren Harding.

Pandemoniac,

If you run for office, let me know. I can't vote for you but will do what I can. You are a straight shooter which is sorely lacking in politicians of all stripes these days, including those in or soon to be in prison stripes.

They are decimating Ann Coulter on the young turks show.
You can get on through whiterosesociety.org.

Yeah, Micki, he did better in 96 than in 02 (lost to Ron Kirk in the primary).

Jeanne, I will try to be nice. I will try to be humble. Anytime I leave the house, Mrs. Pandemoniac chides me, "compórtate bien." (behave!) Maybe I need a civility coach. How's that for the understatement of the day.

Hasta pasta, folks.

The NSA of the David Corn website has spoken. I have been outed from my previously covert RNC paid troll job by posting as Bartender & Starry-Eyed. I did post initially on this site as Tim H and did cop a few posts using capt to demean David Corn as being a member of NAMBLA and for capt being a kiss up to David Corn.

But I have apologized for that. Yet I am contunually accused of being every troll on this site by capt and others. I offered capt a 2-1 bet recently and he didn't take it. He accused me of being miku, baf and others. I offered to have the webmaster of this site release the IP address of all my posts under TRH and compare them to those I have been accused of being. He didn't take it. My quip to Caroline was a knock against her accusation, I wonder where she got the idea from?

capt,

$100.00 to your $20.00. Prove me wrong. Put up or Stop Throwing Fastballs Underhandedly!

Here is a link to TRH Troll posts

3
Sorry David,
Nose in the wrong place again. Next time, I'll be more careful. I know how painful those speed bumps are.
Posted by: capt at August 19, 2005 12:52 AM

5
I am sure we all agree, to loose a child is a terrible thing. I pray God takes pity on Cindy Sheehan, and does the best thing for America and gives her a permanent, long over due, visit with her son, as soon as possible.
Posted by: tim at August 19, 2005 01:01 AM

6
David,
Why are you at home at 12:16 am? Use a tooth pick. Those feathers can become a pain. I use a Q-tip on my nose. Works fine so far.
Your biggest fanny, sorry "fan" capt.
Posted by: Starry Eyed at August 19, 2005 01:03 AM

8
Message to Cornots worldwide:
When will you ever provide a solution to the problems of the world rather than bitching about what is going on in the world? You Cornbots are nothing but a bunch of sissy Liberals hurling your hatred at a keyboard and cowering in the protection of the protection of the GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD! If you doubt that, why do you rely on the "GREATEST MILITARY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!" to spew forth your hatred of this country"?
Hi, David. Feather still stuck in your teeth, David? Note to David, don't be the pillow muncher.
Posted by: Starry Eyed at August 19, 2005 01:20 AM
129

Hi there Tommy Hodges, Greenville South Carolina. AKA Hajji. Do you really think it was a sin form me to be posting on a site other than my real name? How about you "Hajji?" And how about you Captain Kirk? Are you really Captain Jerk or are we just supposed to guess. My name is Tim Hodges and you can read all about me and my family at www.tytandan.com. You Liberal pukes are pathetic and have no humor at all.
Regarding the link to NAMBLA. David Corn is a founding member as is still a member to this day. I was just assuming that most Cornbots were also members. I wasn't trying to recruit, just providing a quick link to your favorite site.
Both of you claim I am a coward postiing on this pathetic site under an assumed name.Who the hell is Hajji and Capt? You both are spineless liberals! Just in case you missed it Tommy Hodges of Greenville South Carolina, my name is Tim Hodges of Flatwoods, KY. My website is http://www.tytandan.com. I live and work in Greenup County, KY. My wife is Maria, my sons are Tyler, Tanner, Daniel and Mark. Did you really think I had something to hide{other than the fact that I am related to you} or were you just blowing the liberal stalk of the month. Apparently, David Corn's is your favorite.
Get some humor.
Posted by: Tim Hodges at August 19, 2005 11:03 PM

131
Noticed you didn't have the courage to use your real name, Captain of no gonads. Go ahead and bow low to your Liberal NAMBLA god David Corn. And you Libs wonder why I would never give you a serious thought other than to irritate you now and then. By the way coward. Tim Hodges, http:www.tytandan.com. You are a wuss!
Posted by: Tim Hodges at August 19, 2005 11:25 PM

132
Hey Tommy Hodges, Greenville South Carolina and Captain Jerk. I am waiting. You challenged me, tell people who you really are. You both are spineless Liberal dweebs.
http://www.tytandan.com
Tim Hodges
Flatwoods, KY
What are you afraid of? Your Liberal beliefs?
Posted by: Tim Hodges at August 19, 2005 11:31 PM

138
Hi Capt. Notice you didn't tell the fellow Cornbots who you really are. You are a bigger wi!mp than GW and Rummy put together.
Jeanne?
Are you a man or a woman? Couldn't care less. Your post was a worthless piece of David's chance to entice a 13 year old boy to engage him in some sexual activity at some place, like Clinton's office in Harlem. You may think that this is a knock against Clinton, but come on!
Does anybody think Bill is ever ther? In Harlem?
Sorry, I know you think so!
Posted by: Tim Hodges at August 19, 2005 11:50 PM

Hi there Arianna!
I have to warn you of something. I know that your are not Arianna Puffington, but God forbid if Hajji or Capt reads your post. You see, they are both humorous Liberals who think that in order for your post to be credible, you must say who you really are. Yet, neither of them do. As for Hajji, I know who he is. He is Tom Hodges of Greenville, S.C. He was born and raised in Ashland, Ky. and was president of his senior class at Holy Family High School. My 6 year old attends school there as will my 2 month old when he gets old enough. I don't know what Tom has to hide because he is really a funny guy except when he delves into politics. Then he just kind of goes off the end of a long walk on a short pier. Capt? He's pathetic. He has no gonads, and even if he does have any,they are the size of Jimmy Carter's. Peanuts and sagging to beat all.
Just in case you get you get attacked by those who persecute you for not revealing who you really are while hiding behind their Liberal cloak of indecency, just direct them to me.
Tim Hodges
http://www.tytandan.com

They are spinelss Liberals and nothing more than mouthpieces over the nether regions of David Corn, when he is not with a 9 year old boy celebrating NAMBLA's founding.
Posted by: Tim Hodges at August 20, 2005 12:12 AM

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

This is what you are inviting for a return trip?

Come on now people, we deserve a better more adult troll, no?

I do not make accusations, I simply re-post posts. You all can decide for yourselves who is the liar.

WHY oh WHY do you keep mentioning my handle.

I will repeat this EACH AND EVERY TIME YOU MENTION ME OR TRY TO PRETEND YOU ARE NOT A LIAR AND A SPOOF? CLONE POSTER-BOY!

I only asked, with your well documented history as a juvenile punk, sppofer, cloner, etc. IF you were still spoofing, you went into melt down (again) and you still have not let it go.

Let it go Timmny, accept that you are a liar and a fake. You will be better for it.

I am still praying for you and you family.

capt

capt

C'mon. You can do better than that. That's just a small samplying of what I have posted here. Do me a big favor and repost everything I have ever posted on this site. I am sure David and everyone else would appreciate it. Don't forget those from baf, miku bill et al. I am them as you are you, in your demented world.

Need more proof?

Here I will find a few more.

Your effort at revisionist history is never going to work you poor excuse for a poster.

Here is a challenge:

"Yet I am contunually accused of being every troll on this site by capt and others. "

Find where I continually post anything to you?

I do not, you keep bring up my handle, playing a pathetic vicitm of some sort.

So, prove your point! Or you could just accept who you are?

Come on you loser, prove the lies you post?

You have made some pathetic attemp to gain some false credibility by their "bet" bullshit.

You have already lost because I do not accuse I offer proof, you have none, you want David to give you IP addresses? Because THAT whould prove what?

We both know there is free software available to spoof your IP? So what are you talking about?

Prove I have posted anything except in answer to your tragic lies.

GET SOME MENTAL HEALTH YOU PSYCHO!

The ball is in your court. Prove anything you say as I have proven clearly I back my comments with simple facts, your posts.

" by posting as Bartender & Starry-Eyed. I did post initially on this site as Tim H and did cop a few posts using capt to demean David Corn as being a member of NAMBLA and for capt being a kiss up to David Corn."

You admit to your lies then say you are not a liar?

Jeeze and WOWSER, that will convince everybody, eh?

capt

I doubt you even remember all of the fake handles you have used on this board.

That is a strong indication of "borderline personality disorder" or simple psychotic behavior - What happened you forgot you posted as Tim Hodges?

Get to the nearest mental health facility and get some help. You will be a better troll for it.

capt

Time for capt to bogart the site.

"Post all of me, why not post all me, can't you see that I'm no good without you!"

You are a hoot!

P.S.

Save your prayers. They are about as sincere as your "I support the troops." I would pray for you but I am not a religious person. Somewhere, someday..maybe.

148
Hygien!

Do i detcet a foul odor in the air? Or are just not willing to admit as a devout Cornbot that your lord and savior, David Corn, is gay?

I speak the truth. What do you speak when you
are not gagging on the object of your desire?

And you expect me to take you seriously?

Posted by: Tim Hodges at August 20, 2005 12:25 AM

**********

Totally fixated on gay NAMBLA, why Timmy boy? You have issues, no?

To quote you: "And you expect me to take you seriously?" you will be very disappointed because I do not. Never have, never will.

I have forgiven you your issues but forgiveness means not forgetting or we are doomed to repeat this. Over and over, if you do not like being outed as an arse, all you need to do is quit posting with any reference to me? Naw that'd be too easy.

capt

Okay, more you say!

Just give me a minute - this is too easy.

I just received this information from my high sources within the federal government.

Secret Code

After numerous rounds of "We don't know if Osama is still alive," Osama
himself decided to send George Bush a letter in his own handwriting to
let him know he was still in the game. Bush opened the letter and it
appeared to contain a single line of coded message:

370HSSV-0773H

Bush was baffled, so he emailed it to Condi Rice. Condi and her aides
had no clue either, so they sent it to the FBI. No one could solve it
at the FBI so it went to the CIA, then to the NSA. With no clue as to
its meaning, they eventually asked Britain's MI-6 for help. Within a
minute MI-6 cabled the White House with this reply:

"Tell the President he's holding the message upside down."

I am getting these on one thread! Just wait until you start sounding liquored up!

********

149
Capt:

You are nothing but a fart in the wind. One quick wiff and you turn your head in disgust. Why do you not reveal who you really are? No balls, must be Capt-strated.

Tom Hodges aka:{Hajji}

If you have something to say to me, you have my
e-mail. Funny that you choose your CornGod to air your grievances with me. Go figure, one lone voice in the wilderness of a Liberal forest of echo's can elicit your hatred. I am glad to be of service.

Go to hell, Tom. Print this like all else you do to save for a later date. I am tired of your hatred. You hate me, you hate this country and to be quite honest, you must hate yourself. Never in any of the posts on the David Corn
site did I ever attack you. Yet, you figured out my playing around and you chose to atttack me publicly. Go wipe that sticky stuff off your hand. Mission accomplished. You got your jollies.

Goodbye,
Cousin Tim

Posted by: Tim Hodges at August 20, 2005 12:55 AM

***********

My prayers are sincere, I pray God will reward you according to your deeds. Did you know the bible says you also answer for the things you speak? You might want to find some religion.

capt

Dear NSA of the David Corn Site,

Forgive me for what I have done. You obviously have a better memory than I. Of course, you also have the funds to hire spies to do your remembering for you. I know you don't need my permission but please do release all my previous posts in their original form to this site. No redactions, no executive privelage, no security
clearance questions. Post them and post them all.

Nitecap(t)!

Gerald,

Get off this site. capt is on a roll! Must not commit NSA interruptus!

Come on capt, I have a 7 year old son and his 8 year old cousin still awake and it's either be entertained by watching them play video games or watching you replay my posting history on this site. I think you'll lose. I know what I posted before and do not care that you repost it. No mystery there. At least with the video games, no telling what may happen.

May the posts be with you!

Capt, give it a rest! What the hell is wrong with you? None of us want to see all that crap. You're wasting bandwidth. Geez oh Pete.

Carol,

Please, he's busy digging up my old posts. If I die this moment, my posts shall live in infamy!

From #368, has anyone decoded the secret message?

I don't know what the heck sets him off, but I'm sick of it. I know, I know, just scroll past.

"Of course, you also have the funds to hire spies to do your remembering for you."

WHat is with the paranoia?

All you have to do is quit it, Timmy.

Unlike you I am a man and I keep my word.

You will get your re-posted crud each time you include me in one of your posts. All you have to do is quit it.

But you do not, so I will not.

More you say?

Just give me a minute. I do not keep your posts - type "David Corn NAMBLA" into your google and it takes you to your posts! Try it, your kids will be able to see how grown up their daddy really is when they learn to use a search engine.

I have never been rude to you, I have never accuse you of anything you have not admitted to.

I do not edit, or change your re-posts and I include a link. It is all there to be read.

I still think it is very funny that you would have the temerity to ask favors of David? You say he is a founding member of NAMBLA, that he is gay, that he is . . .

Here I'll show you AGAIN!

This is WAY too easy.

capt

Maybe there should be a "Troll Offender"s list like the sex offender's list. Let's not let ANYONE get on with their lives.

#363

"The ball is in your court. Prove anything you say as I have proven clearly I back my comments with simple facts, your posts."

Having a little trouble proving the lies you spew?

(crickets chirping)

capt

From #340

"You and capt must have a thing going on. I am every troll on this site in your view. "

This was out of the blue?

I have not to or about Timmy, he want to play with the capt?

This is the type of a slug you want to post to? You want this jerk on this board talking shit and spreading lies? All Timmy has to do is quit it.

Why he continues to pursue me I will never know.

Too tragic for words.

capt

Tim, never, NEVER mention the Capt again! I, for one, don't remember you mentioning him on this thread but I guess you must have. *sighing*

(crickets chirping)

TRH

"Maybe there should be a "Troll Offender"s list like the sex offender's list. Let's not let ANYONE get on with their lives."

I will tell you what, you post what you like and I will do the same. If you do not like what I post just read past, I have already afforded you that honor.

Thanks

capt

That's what I thought!

Still more you say?

Gimme a minute

capt

PS - not a smart move.

Carol,

Nuff said! Never again!

Did you read #340?

That is where the troll that posts under many handles brought up my handle, I did not bring up his.

Somebody is not reading the thread.

capt

"I have not to or about Timmy, he want to play with the capt?" - what? huh?

Sad to see someone throw out what little credibility they might have had.

Sad and tragic!

capt

Insert the word "posted"

#384

I giggle thinking of what you are doing at this moment. Searching through the archives from this site to post. I am now enjoying an adult beverage and watching a rerun of Cheers. My seven year old and his cousin are now asleep. After I finish my beverage, I will retire, because I know my 8 month old will likely awake around 6:00 a.m. You will still be searching for my old posts. And I have a problem?

Get some humor. David is my favorite Liberal. Even though he is a member of NAMBLA.

You are not doing yourself any favors here:

"Regarding the link to NAMBLA. David Corn is a founding member as is still a member to this day. I was just assuming that most Cornbots were also members. I wasn't trying to recruit, just providing a quick link to your favorite site."

Unless you think the about quote is civil discourse?

The link is to the complete record. Read it yourself - no editing, just what the troll posted.

Says more about you than anything I could post.

capt

Capt, now you're getting snotty with me. Are you drunk? You're acting so damned childish. Get a thicker skin.

More you say?

OKAY!

I just take the time to expose you as the liar you are. If you do not like it just quit it!

(you cannot can you)

capt

I am not getting snotty with you, you wanted to jump into a defensive position for a troll, if you get hit with a little flak it is your fault not mine.

Thanks

capt

(No Name)

Post away! You da (no name!)

You're acting childish. I'm not jumping into a defensive position. I'm just trying to stop you like I would try to stop a troll from posting his nonsense. You're wasting time here. You're letting your lower nature take over for you and all common sense has taken a back seat. It doesn't look good and you're certainly losing my respect.

Carol,

I am not posting to you or for you and you will either respect me or not.

You do yourself no favors defending the vile and juvenile posts from our troll.

All I can say is respect is always mutual.

capt

BTW - You ask if I'm drunk?

I should care if you respect me?

You can do the math on that one.

I do not drink - diabetes.

If the comment was a joke it was not funny and HUH yourself.

capt

(no name)

Seventy-three men sailed up from the San Francisco Bay, Rolled off of their ship and here's what they had to say. "We're calling everyone to ride along to another shore,
Where we can laugh our lives away and be free once more."

Ride, (no name) ride on your mystery ship,
Be amazed at the friends you've got there on your trip.
Ride, (no name) ride on your mystery ship,
Be aware of the things others just might have missed

No one heard them calling, no one came at all,
'Cause they were too busy watching those old raindrops fall. As a storm was blowing out on the peaceful sea, Seventy-three men were sailing off into history.

Ride, (no name) ride on your mystery ship,
Be amazed at the friends you've got there on your trip.
Ride (no name) ride on your mystery ship,
Be aware of the world others just might have missed

"You're acting childish."

Yeah, the feeling is very mutual.

I could not have said it better myself!

HA!

capt

You're an ass. Good-night.

You just cannot quit it?

Someone has to be the adult here, by default it is me.

Mention me again and we will run through this process again. The choice is all yours Timmy.

Quitting would be the smart move so I assume you will not.

It is up to you.

capt

One more as I promised above. I am a man of my word.

Get some humor. David is my favorite Liberal. Even though he is a member of NAMBLA.

96
Capt:
Just once I would like to see you post an argument of your own rather than posting an article and then jerking yourself off in praise of it with a sticky hand and extended fist.

Posted by: Starry Eyed at August 19, 2005 12:50 AM

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

There is a rich history of Timmy’s posts. This is what you defend Carol, nothing will lose your credibility more completely than defending the type of tripe Timmy has been posting here for years.

And Carol, really, you are not the blog monitor nor does anybody that post here need to please or satisfy what you think are good or bad posts.

You tell me to get thick skin? Get some yourself - or - you could just post posts about something else?

If you think the posts are not up to your standard elevate YOUR posts as you have no control over others.

Thanks

capt

You are the the easy one! Insert the disgruntled "you know who" into the "no name" of this song by the Grand Funk Railroad.

Everybody, listen to me,
And return me, my ship.
I'm your no name, I'm your no name,
Although I'm feeling mighty sick.

I've been lost now, days uncounted,
And it's months since I've seen home.
Can you hear me, can you hear me,
Or am I all alone.

If you return me, to my home port,
I will kiss you mother earth.
Take me back now, take me back now,
To the port of my birth.

Am I in my cabin dreaming, or are you really scheming,
To take my ship away from me?

You'd better think about it, I just can't live without it.
So, please don't take my ship from me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah ...

I can feel the hand, of a stranger,
And it's tightening, around my throat.
Heaven help me, Heaven help me,
Take this stranger from my boat.

I'm your no name, I'm your no name,
Although I'm feeling mighty sick.
Everybody, listen to me,
And return me, my ship.

I think that says it all.

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." ~ Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

"In silence man can most readily preserve his integrity." ~ Meister Eckhart

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." ~ Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

The last one is gender neutral - obviously!

HA!

capt

PS - childishness includes name calling, no?

Okay, Timmy you want more?

You just cannot quit it?

Okay, one more!

capt

G'nite no name!

Hope you regain command of your ship from those evil trolls! They are so wicked!

WOW, what's going on here?

No Name

Please, no more quotes! You are like the Knights who say Ni! It is not what you say that is annoying, but that you are saying it at all!

p.s.

Please go on posting my history. I still enjoy that!

Standard troll boilerplate insults.

No biggie.

I am a childish ass and many other things, Carol does not respect me. (tears)

capt

Get some help.

On the Young Turks while ago, this lady caller talked about this site. She downloaded a free 2-week trial of their program to use your computer to send faxes. She mentioned calling a bunch of Senators that had full voice-mail boxes. Faxes get through tho, so I thought she was very smart. I doubt I'll D/L the program, but if y'all wanna check it out, it's here...

efax

Saladin,

flan could give you the cliff note version but I'll give you the TRH version. Ca(no name) and I are arguing. Carol engaged but I do not know if she is active at this moment or not.

(No Name) I will put an end to this argument if you will. I have never said I was not Bartender, Starry Eyes and if you couldn't figure that Tim H and Tim Hodges was not TRH than you have less brain matter than I am willing to give you credit for. But, I have never been baf, miku, Tim L, bill, happy, et al. If you quit accuse me of being the latter, I will stop invoking your name in posts where someone accuses others of being someone who they are not.

Your call.

I dialed 911. Nobody came. I said I needed help.
They replied that all the help was over at "no names" place.

Guess I have to wait.

So you only posted as those other handles?

What about posting as capt?

You vile cyber-creep?

Too easy to forget, eh?

Get some help - you only compound your issues.

We are to believe you admit to being a liar and a spoofer but you only do so once in a while? Great defense.

Thanks - you made my point for me.

No argument, just the facts. Show me where I accused you of being anything except a liar and a spoofer?

I asked you to do so earlier, you seem to have plenty of time on your hands. Put up your proof. Or maybe you are just lying AGAIN - just this one last time, eh? For sure, I am so sold!

I have posted my proof more than once.

Nothing to support your lies? No surprise!

capt

If TRH was a regular troll I would not bother. He is unfortunately Hajji's cousin so I hold him to a higher standard. Sadly he is unable to rise to the occasion. *sigh*

So be it!

capt

#286 Drewp,

I'm with you on that one. Same goes for Hilary. Has she said yes to the filibuster?

(No Name)

I will leave you with this, you are a (no name).

Have fun posting all my previous posts and please do it with the knowledge that it pleases me. I rest assured that in 2012, when somebody wants to know what I said, the (no name) National Security Advisor to the David Corn Website will have the answer readily at hand.

But I will have had the last laugh. For lo many years, the NSA (no name) will have thought that I was baf, miku, happy et al when he had a chance to prove it years ago. I sleep peacefully. The NSA of the David Corn Website never sleeps because he is so paranoid. That in itself, is satisfaction for me.

Palace Revolt

They were loyal conservatives, and Bush appointees. They fought a quiet battle to rein in the president's power in the war on terror. And they paid a price for it. A NEWSWEEK investigation.

Feb. 6, 2006 issue - James Comey, a lanky, 6-foot-8 former prosecutor who looks a little like Jimmy Stewart, resigned as deputy attorney general in the summer of 2005. The press and public hardly noticed. Comey's farewell speech, delivered in the Great Hall of the Justice Department, contained all the predictable, if heartfelt, appreciations. But mixed in among the platitudes was an unusual passage. Comey thanked "people who came to my office, or my home, or called my cell phone late at night, to quietly tell me when I was about to make a mistake; they were the people committed to getting it right—and to doing the right thing—whatever the price. These people," said Comey, "know who they are. Some of them did pay a price for their commitment to right, but they wouldn't have it any other way."

One of those people—a former assistant attorney general named Jack Goldsmith—was absent from the festivities and did not, for many months, hear Comey's grateful praise. In the summer of 2004, Goldsmith, 43, had left his post in George W. Bush's Washington to become a professor at Harvard Law School. Stocky, rumpled, genial, though possessing an enormous intellect, Goldsmith is known for his lack of pretense; he rarely talks about his time in government. In liberal Cambridge, Mass., he was at first snubbed in the community and mocked as an atrocity-abetting war criminal by his more knee-jerk colleagues. ICY WELCOME FOR NEW LAW PROF, headlined The Harvard Crimson.

They had no idea. Goldsmith was actually the opposite of what his detractors imagined. For nine months, from October 2003 to June 2004, he had been the central figure in a secret but intense rebellion of a small coterie of Bush administration lawyers. Their insurrection, described to NEWSWEEK by current and former administration officials who did not wish to be identified discussing confidential deliberations, is one of the most significant and intriguing untold stories of the war on terror.

These Justice Department lawyers, backed by their intrepid boss Comey, had stood up to the hard-liners, centered in the office of the vice president, who wanted to give the president virtually unlimited powers in the war on terror. Demanding that the White House stop using what they saw as farfetched rationales for riding rough-shod over the law and the Constitution, Goldsmith and the others fought to bring government spying and interrogation methods within the law. They did so at their peril; ostracized, some were denied promotions, while others left for more comfortable climes in private law firms and academia. Some went so far as to line up private lawyers in 2004, anticipating that the president's eavesdropping program would draw scrutiny from Congress, if not prosecutors. These government attorneys did not always succeed, but their efforts went a long way toward vindicating the principle of a nation of laws and not men.

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

Five pages to read at the link.

Thank goodness for the handful of honest patriotic Americans that refuse to bow to king George.

capt

Still cannot back up your lies?

Figures!

HA!

capt

You have had two hours since I challenged you to offer anything in the way of proof. Clearly you cannot back up what you spew.

David and I are now NSA? And I am suppose to be the paranoid?

To bad for you!

capt

Poll: Most disagree with Bush on Iraq

A new Time magazine poll finds 60 percent of U.S. citizens disapprove of President George W. Bush's handling of the war in Iraq.

The country is split on whether the United States should have invaded Iraq, with 51 percent saying no and 44 percent yes. Forty-eight percent disapprove of Bush's handling of the war on terrorism and 47 percent approve.

While Bush's approval rating remains low at 41 percent, the poll has some backhanded good news for Republicans. Seventy-four percent of those polled said Republicans and Democrats are equally corrupt -- while 14 percent said Republicans are more corrupt and 7 percent said Democrats are.

The poll found that 57 percent have not been following the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal closely.

Fifty-six percent said they disapprove of Bush's handling of the economy, while 39 percent approve, and 64 percent said Bush is not holding the line on government spending.

The 41 percent approval rating is roughly the same as the president's approval rating in other recent polls.

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

These darn polls. They are all lefty I origin and published on left leaning publications. . . Well This one is from Washington Times but they are left leaning now days, right?

Imagine what the numbers would be if the Reich-wing did not own the MSM? Jeeze, it would be more like eighty percent.

capt

TRH, Re: Carter vs. Bush: Which is bigger screw-up

Yeah, there were things that Carter could have handled better but if he screwed up", as you say, but I think he was honestly trying to do his job to the best of his ability, with the country's true best insterest at heart.

If you compare that to GW, it's like night and day. GW is in it for for the power and the glory and the money. They have turned the term Conservative into a dirty word. They are not Conservatives, they are Facists. They - the Bush Administration - do not care about you and me. This is a government for the corporation, by the corporation, of the corporation.

The war machine feeds the corporation, but this Administration cuts VA benefits and subjects it's soldiers to depleted uranium and who knows what else under bad conditions, without the proper armor, etc., etc., etc. And THEY say WE are un-American for saying bring home the troops now!?

They are all traitors, not us.

Breathtaking Power Grab

I would argue, on the other hand, that almost everything the administration has done since 9/11 suggests a fundamentally unserious approach to bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Intelligence was poor, to be sure, but it was not nonexistent. After 9/11 the administration didn't use what was available about Afghanistan but went in cold and blundered about, failing to capture either Mullah Omar or bin Laden. Then it attacked Iraq, which had not been involved in the 9/11 attacks (and didn't have WMDs either), which stretched U.S. military forces to the breaking point and served as a recruiting ground for terrorists.

All these activities had the effect of building up the state without posing any more than trivial inconveniences – in some cases bolstering – the terrorists who pose the most concrete threat to the United States. Is it too fanciful to suggest that building the state rather than destroying or even seriously weakening al-Qaeda was the primary goal?

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

Not a great clip, the article is very good.

capt

Fax key Senators

Fax to Filibuster!

This is it! Senator John Kerry today called on his Senate colleagues to help him defeat the Alito nomination with a filibuster. If Sen. Kerry’s effort fails, Alito will be confirmed and help shape our laws for decades.

We’ve identified key senators who could provide critical support to the filibuster effort – and they all need to hear the same message from you:

"FILIBUSTER ALITO!"

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

You can Fax the key senators in one step via the link above.

Message Recipients
Obama, Barack (Democrat)IL
Dodd, Christopher (Democrat) CT
Lieberman, Joseph (Democrat) CT
Biden, Joseph (Democrat) DE
Durbin, Richard (Democrat) IL
Bayh, Evan (Democrat) IN
Snowe, Olympia (Republican) ME
Reid, Harry (Democrat) NV
Schumer, Charles (Democrat) NY
Clinton, Hillary (Democrat) NY
Chafee, Lincoln (Republican) RI
Feingold, Russell (Democrat) WI

If anybody has not done so yet.

capt

Any uptick in Bush's numbers after speech won't last, analysts say

WASHINGTON - The State of the Union address is a staple of the Washington political cycle, but its ability to jump-start a presidency is usually less than the hype and hoopla suggests.

President Bush's strategists hope his sixth State of the Union speech on Tuesday launches a year of political recovery after a 2005 even his most devout partisans concede was his worst year in the White House.

As a general rule, however, any bump in the polls a president gets from the speech is fleeting.

"You get a bounce," says legendary Republican political consultant Stuart Spencer, "but it's just a bounce. It doesn't have any staying power."

A senior Bush adviser is more blunt: "It's very overrated. People pay attention and they move on to something else two days later."

Last year, for example, was the first in Bush's tenure where his approval ratings were significantly higher a week after the speech, most likely a result helped by his November 2004 re-election victory.

Six months later, however, his standing had slumped from 57 percent to 45 percent, as disenchantment over the Iraq war and soaring gasoline prices set in. Bush's stumbling response to Hurricane Katrina in August and September drove his numbers even lower.

Unless a president has the oratorical skills and personal appeal of a Franklin Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan, analysts say, even a strong State of the Union performance is usually secondary to major events in shaping his approval rating.

In 2001, for instance, Bush got no bounce from the speech. Six months later, however, his approval rating had soared to the highest level ever recorded in a Gallup Poll in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

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

This is the first time I have read a honest description of SOTU bounce. As far back as I can remember the "media" always hooted and hollered about the bounce never taking the time to explain "bounce" like a ball means a temporary up followed by the down. The ground never changes or moves.

This from a republican consultant? I think they are scared there will be little or no bounce.

Now I am dreaming - but how cool would it be if the bounce was a down-tick? That the SOTU actually drags his numbers further down? Maybe into the twenties?

A guy can dream. They mentioned the no-bounce in 2001, makes me think this is a preemptive lowering of expectations. Pretty standard GOP crud.

capt

Saudis: U.S. paved way for Hamas victory

A confidential Saudi report prepared just weeks before the Palestinian elections predicted a Hamas victory in Gaza and the West Bank and puts the blame on the United States: "By failing to strengthen (President Mahmoud )Abbas's position, the U.S. has paved the way for a Hamas victory," states a document prepared by the Saudi National Security Assessment Project.

"Moreover, the U.S administration's faith in the power of elections to transform people makes it oblivious to the possibility that the democratic process is often a double-edged sword which can have unintended consequences," goes on to say the policy brief delivered last Dec. 27 by the SNSAP's director, Nawaf Obaid.

Furthermore, the brief states that the U.S. failed to press "Abbas to implement his commitments to security and disarmament, and has not succeeded in convincing donor nations to fulfill their pledges for financial assistance to the Palestinians."

Obaid's study anticipated that the Palestinian elections set for January 25, 2006 "will in all probability result in a victory for Hamas."

"Such an outcome would have wide ranging implications for Saudi Arabia's national security and emerging foreign policy in the region," warned the confidential brief made available to United Press International, adding that "the Palestinians face dire social welfare needs not addressed by the current government."

Recent surveys conducted by the Saudi National Security Assessment Project indicate that there is deep distrust of senior officials in the Palestinian Authority, most of whom are Fatah members. "This situation has created an opportunity that Hamas has been able to exploit."

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

This is getting freaky - the Washington Times again?

Seems a bit curious to me.

capt

Mr. Smith Comes to Washington

"Dad always used to say the only causes worth fighting for were the lost causes."
– Jimmy Stewart as Senator Jefferson Smith in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

How many senators does is take to launch a filibuster? If you said 41, you’d be wrong. It takes only one.

The term, filibuster, from a Dutch word meaning "pirate," describes a hallowed tradition of unlimited debate in the Senate based on the principle that any senator has the right to talk his head off for as long as he wants on any issue. That is, until at least 60 senators vote to shut him up.

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

A very good explanation of the law and history with the conclusion that Alito should not be confirmed because he refuses to answer some questions.

A good piece!

capt

Dems Don't Know Jack

The big picture is also compelling. Taken together, Abramoff's tribal clients gave $868,890 to Dems before hiring him; afterwards, they gave $794,483 -- a decrease of nine percent. By contrast, the tribes’†donations to Republicans went from $786,560 pre-Abramoff to $1,845,975 after he became their lobbyist -- an increase of 135 percent. In other words, when Abramoff entered the picture, contributions to Dems dropped, while donations to Republicans more than doubled.

Adding to the case, the Morris firm also did a year-by-year analysis, from 1991 to the present, of the giving of scores of tribes -- Abramoff's clients included. The firm's look at the year-by-year giving of his clients is eye-opening. It shows even more clearly that in some cases clients giving to the GOP jumped dramatically just after Abramoff signed them.

For example, the Saginaw Chippewa became Abramoff's client in late 2000, and in the election cycle that immediately followed, the tribe's giving to Republicans more than doubled -- from $78,000 to $167,000 -- while giving to Dems rose only $12,000.

"The giving of Indian tribes in general has increased dramatically over the last decade," Morris told The Prospect. "But if you single out Abramoff's clients year by year, you can see that the giving increases far more to Republicans when Abramoff became their lobbyist."

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

Lobbying is a criminal enterprise and should be stopped but the Abramoff scandal is a GOP scandal. Nothing the GOPhers have said about it is true. No surprise!

capt

If you are a Dem and you fail to urge fillabuster you are part of the problem.

How long can we watch our civil rights..........subverted? In the Name of National Security???????????

We are dangerously close to kiss your ass goodbye.

"they that can give up essentail liberty, to purchase temporary safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Ben Franklin.

Size does matter

Miller points out that Sarbanes-Oxley will cost large firms about $5 million on average in new compliance costs, with auditing costs going up around 50 percent. Small firms are seeing their auditing costs doubling and tripling.

Furthermore, as result of this law, private firms are having second thoughts about going public and having to submit to the regulatory nightmare. As result of staying out of the capital markets, they forego new growth opportunities, which translates, for us simple folks, into jobs.

Sarbanes-Oxley put new criminal offenses on the books, adding to the four thousand that are already encoded. The total number of federal crimes enumerated in our Constitution, we learn in this little book, is a grand total of three.

Bottom line: One American does something wrong and the rest of us pay the price forever. That is, all of us except the politicians who have even larger fiefdoms to oversee and lawyers and accountants who have more laws requiring compliance and opening the door for more litigation.

Miller quotes former Senator Phil Gramm at the time Sarbanes-Oxley passed saying, "In the environment we're in, virtually anything could have passed the Congress."

Do you get the feeling we're getting ready for more of the same?

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

My better half spends most of her time addressing Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Too bad big corporations cannot police themselves and one or two bad apples mess it up for all of the others.

capt

Gaining faith in federal money?

When President Bush launched his "faith-based initiative" in 2001 to funnel federal money to religious groups, Pat Robertson was skeptical, calling the idea a "Pandora’s box" and a "narcotic" that would ensnare religious organizations in government red tape.

Those misgivings notwithstanding, the federal government has become a major source of money for Operation Blessing, Robertson’s international charity, under the Bush initiative. In two years, the group’s annual revenue from government grants has ballooned from $108,000 to $14.4 million.

Critics worry that the president’s program, which directed more than $2 billion to religious groups nationwide in 2004, is subsidizing evangelistic activity and religious discrimination in hiring.

Operation Blessing says it adheres carefully to federal guidelines designed to safeguard church-state separation and uses the grants for humanitarian relief, not evangelism.

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

$2 BILLION ?

I guess that answers the question about whether Pat Robertson is broke. $14.4 million is nothing to sneeze at.

capt

U.S. posts wrong photo of ‘al-Qaida operative’

After year and a half, wrong man's photo removed from wanted page

After NBC news shared its findings with the CIA, a CIA spokesman then admitted a "human error" and said, at some point, an "incorrect photo" was provided for the Web site. However, the official insists all other intelligence on Abu Khabab is accurate.

"It's embarrassing," says NBC News terrorism expert Roger Cressy. "It's a bit of a black eye, but it's not going to have any long-term impact on the CIA or its ability to fight the war on terror."

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

I wonder, this is what we get for $40 billion a year?

Sounds more like keystone cops to me.

capt

Stonewalling the Critics

The problem for Bush is that the contradictions go beyond him. On Sept. 3, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff also said the combination of a Category 4 hurricane and the breach of the levees was a combination that was ''unreasonably foreseeable." He said, ''This major breach of the levee, while something itself that might have been anticipated, coming together (with the Category 4 storm) I think, was outside the scope of what people I think reasonably foresaw."

At that time, we did not know that there was a report from Chertoff's own storm analysts that warned, ''Any storm rated Category 4 or greater will likely lead to severe flooding and/or levee breaching." At a press conference Thursday, Bush defended his executive privilege on Katrina. He said he needs to protect the right to get ''sound" and ''unvarnished" advice in private. But his sound advice told him that Katrina's destruction was reasonably foreseeable. Despite Bush's stone walls, the truth has breached the levees.

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

Bunnypants promised, just another lie.

capt

Stonewalling the Critics

The problem for Bush is that the contradictions go beyond him. On Sept. 3, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff also said the combination of a Category 4 hurricane and the breach of the levees was a combination that was ''unreasonably foreseeable." He said, ''This major breach of the levee, while something itself that might have been anticipated, coming together (with the Category 4 storm) I think, was outside the scope of what people I think reasonably foresaw."

At that time, we did not know that there was a report from Chertoff's own storm analysts that warned, ''Any storm rated Category 4 or greater will likely lead to severe flooding and/or levee breaching." At a press conference Thursday, Bush defended his executive privilege on Katrina. He said he needs to protect the right to get ''sound" and ''unvarnished" advice in private. But his sound advice told him that Katrina's destruction was reasonably foreseeable. Despite Bush's stone walls, the truth has breached the levees.

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

Bunnypants promised, just another lie.

capt

If you have not yet signed these petitions here is a list for stopping Alito.

Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)

Act for Change

Moveon PAC

Save the Court

National Council of Jewish Women

One American Committee

Democrat Party

ACLU

Court Watch

USA Alone

*****

I will post more If I can find them.

capt

Alito Filibuster

Database of Persuadables

Many of the phone lines are jammed, so we need to switch to faxing and sending emails by webform or to a regular email address. According to Daily Kos, these are the senators who aren't yet on board. The names that are bolded are senators who may need special persuasion.

You can copy the table below to your clipboard and then paste it into an Excel spreadsheet to give yourself the ability to do automated faxes. It's very easy to do using Word and WinFax Pro. Send your questions to caro@makethemaccountable.com.

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

Another list for some Keyboard activism.

capt

I, for one, will admit that Abramoff is a GOP scandal. But lets not kid ourselves here. Do you think Jack Abramoff is the only one doing this in D.C. and Republicans are the only ones taking the "donations?"

I at least am willing to admit that they are all corrupt. John McCain admitted as much when he was fighting for McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform. To point the fingers at some and to look the other way when it comes to others is
showing true partisan colors. At least I have seen you admit here that there are others caught with their hands in the proverbial "cookie jar" who are not Republican.

Joel Stein where are you?

ABC News crew seriously injured in roadside bomb and there is not one word about pulling the news correspondents out of Iraq! They did not start this war and are innocent bystanders to this illegal police action until their employer, ABC News, sends them to Iraq. Lacking a little journalistic integrity here Joel? Or do you not support the news folks in the same manner you do not support the troops?

I apologize for posting that here. Joel Stein does not have a blog that I am aware of.

TRH, Mordor on the Potomac! DC is one huge festering sewer of corruption. I really feel sorry for the few honest and good hearted individuals that are forced to wallow in it. I don't know how patriots like Paul Craig Roberts and John Conyers can stand the stench!

Saladin,

How right you are. Must be sad to live in a city, this country's capital, not have a true vote nor a voting representative, and looked upon by the rest of the country as a festering sewer of corruption. Local eyes look to the capital and wonder. How long will it take for the corruption to reach here, if it already hasn't?

#368
Gerald,
That was good.

If one cannot remove himself from the past, how can he move to the future.

If one builds his house using others stones, he should not be surprised if the others want them back.

Make peace first with yourself, then with others, for we are all capable of forgiveness.

The past is a lesson learned, the future is unknown lessons yet to be learned, there is no future in regret.

Gerald, keep up the prayers brother, and the great humor.

Title: MADSEN: JEB BUSH'S FL GOV'T DESTROYING RECORDS TO IMPEDE ABRAMOFF/BOULIS INVESTIGATION?
Source: Wayne Madsen Report
URL Source: http://waynemadsenreport.com/
Published: Jan 27, 2006
Author: Wayne Madsen
Post Date: 2006-01-28 12:47:31 by aristeides

January 27, 2006 -- John Caylor of http://www.insider-magazine.com reports that a well-placed source within the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation has revealed Governor Jeb Bush ordered the destruction and shredding of public records and documents in violation of Florida law. The department maintains oversight and approval of state gaming licensees, slot machines, dog and horse tracks, and jai-alai. In addition, the state government source revealed that Jeb Bush has replaced key members of the Governor's Staff in Tallahassee with personnel from Texas who are overseeing the destruction of state documents. An FBI source has confirmed the destruction of public records by Jeb Bush may be in response to the ongoing criminal proceedings against GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the Federal investigation of the 2001 gangland murder in Miami of Sun Cruz casino boat owner Gus Boulis.
------------
Shredding documents? Me thinks someone is getting way too close for comfort to the abramoff-atta tie, we can't have that! I'd be willing to bet money that is the main reason all the MSM will focus on is the bribery scandal. Politicians taking bribes is nothing new under the sun and is unimportant in the big picture. What IS important is finding out what the hell atta was doing on one of abramoff's gambling boats, I doubt if he was playing blackjack.

People are calling from all over the world on the Yound Turk show. The announcers are getting a little punch drunk.

White Rose Society

Kathleen you can call in. They would love to hear from you.

Call all the local offices and call the Republcians too. Does the Congress not care about the power they are losing by unitarian executive powers. Bush ignored their law to stop torture. 90 signers on that bill and Bush overroad it.
Everybody MAKE THE PHONE CALLS.
EMAIL
YOU MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!!!!!

YEAH YOUNG TURKS! YEAH BLOGS
WE ARE CHANGING THE COUNTRY - GO GO GO GO GO!!!!!!!

From Iraq to Philippines,
murder is top cause of journalist deaths in ?05
Death toll is 47 worldwide; Iraq becomes deadliest recent conflict

I can see it coming. The same people who bitch about the media not doing their job are going to be saying, "well, he had no business getting in the way" (or worse words to that effect).

At least 61 journalists have been killed in Iraq since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

War reporting is an important and dangerous job.

The people who'd rather get all their "reliable" information directly from the Pentagon have their heads up their asses.

You become a louder voice when you email and call your senator. They consider one person a percentage of the population. You make a difference. It's your country. Make the calls.

Young Turks say go visit the local and DC senators offices. SIT IN SIT IN SIT IN.

Another link to the Young Turks

Young Turks Web site

Q. Did you hear about Bush's stance on Roe vs Wade?
A. Bush did not take a stance. He felt that the residents of New Orleans could either Wade or Roe out of New Orleans.

The Alito 48
Senator Obama has relunctantly agreed to the filibuster on George S's show.

We are up to 14 now. Wait until Monday morning.

Iran Claims U.S., Britain Fomenting Unrest

TEHRAN, Iran - A top Iranian commander accused U.S. and British intelligence agents of fomenting unrest in southwestern Iran and threatened to respond with missiles if attacked.

Iran's improved version of the Shahab-3 missile can strike more than 1,300 miles from their launch site, putting Israel and U.S. forces in the Middle East in easy range.

Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, the chief of the Revolutionary Guards, said the United States and Britain were behind bombings Jan 21 that killed at least nine people in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, near the southern border with Iraq where 8,500 British soldiers are based.

"Foreign forces based in Iraq, especially southern Iraq, direct Iranian agents and give them bomb materials," he said in remarks carried by state-run television.

"We have no intention to invade any country. We will take effective defense measures if attacked," he said. "These missiles are in the possession of the Guards."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards are a separate organization from the regular armed forces. Founded after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Guards have their own air, naval and ground components.

The Guards were equipped with the missiles in July 2003.

Iran announced last year that it had fully developed solid fuel technology for missiles, a major breakthrough that increases their accuracy.

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

Sounds like we are trying to get Iran to fire off a missile. Even a small conventional weapon will be played up like they launched a nuke.

capt

Aggregate the Travesties to Hold Bush and Cheney Responsible

by Ralph Nader

What will it take for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to be held responsible for a multitude of political crimes, recklessness, prevarication’≥ and just plain massive ongoing mismanagement of the taxpayers government?

The first step is to aggregate these travesties so they add up to a more comprehensive judgment. Then, together they confront us with an awful truth - that our present system of constitution, law and checks and balances have failed to be invoked by the elected and appointed officials of our Congress and our Courts. This is happening even though the polls have been dropping on the Bush regime for over a year and are now quite negative on many important questions.

Consider the following sample of irresponsibility and flouting of the law and then ask yourself how much more will it take to start holding the Bush/Cheney crowd of serial fibbers and dictacrats accountable? Is there ever to be a tipping point in the Washington world of spineless Democrats and supine Congressional Republicans worried about Bush losing the 2006 elections?

More HERE

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

A pretty good piece.

capt

JUST A REMINDER:

There are two Pro-Choice Republicans who might possibly vote against Alito -- CALL THEM!

Lincoln Chafee (RI)
Providence
Phone (401) 453-5294
Newport
Phone (401) 845-0700

Olympia Snowe (ME)
Auburn
Phone (207) 786-2451
FAX (207) 782-1438
Augusta
Phone (207) 622-8292
FAX (207) 622-7295
Bangor
Phone (207) 945-0432
FAX (207) 941-9525
Biddeford
Phone (207) 282-4144
FAX (207) 284-2358
Portland
Phone (207) 874-0883
FAX (207) 874-7631
Presque Isle
Phone (207) 764-5124
FAX (207) 764-6420

Additionally, contact Arlen Specter, Chair of the Judiciary, Pro-Choice, and the Republican who immediately called for the congressional hearing into the legality of the bush's wiretapping without FISA warrant. Remind him that if Alito is confirmed, because of his known view of "Unitary Executive Power", these hearings will be useless, because Alito will back bush. Mention this when you call or fax.

Allentown
Phone (610) 434-1444
FAX (610) 434-1844
Erie
Phone (814) 453-3010
FAX (814) 455-9925
Harrisburg
Phone (717) 782-3951
FAX (717) 782-4920
Philadelphia
Phone (215) 597-7200
FAX (215) 597-0406
Pittsburgh
Phone (412) 644-3400
FAX (412) 644-4871
Scranton
Phone (570) 346-2006
FAX (570) 346-8499
Wilkes-Barre
Phone (570) 826-6265
FAX (570) 826-6266

Capt, I just read this on Lew Rockwell, "Two recent polls, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll and a New York Times/CBS News poll, indicate why Bush is getting away with impeachable offenses. Half of the US population is incapable of acquiring, processing and understanding information."

That is from a Paul Craig Roberts article. Is it any wonder the facist bush regime continues to get away with even the most outrageous violations of the law? Half the people don't even understand what is going on!

Saladin, half of our population does not know what is happening. That sounds about right. That must be the half that voted for Bush!

Gerald, even worse than not knowing is the fact that they DON'T WANT TO KNOW! Who posted the article that said most people haven't a clue who alito is? That is why I am confident that he will be confirmed. A filibuster will only delay the inevitable. I know, I know, that is SUCH a defeatist attitude, but give me one reason, one example to hope. Show me how this is not just another DC stage play, act 4 scene 2. This is just one of a million flys in the ointment. What I'd like to know is what is going on BEHIND the scenes that this alito fiasco is distracting us from. What was going on behind the scenes during the last filibuster show? Does anyone remember?

bush has lucked out again. He doesn't have to worry about Bob Woodruff reporting from Iraq in follow-up to his platitude-filled SOTU speech on Tuesday.

Man oh man, bush has all the luck. Kinda makes one wonder...

Saladin,

Catastrophe Looms!

No doubt.

Like I say it is people not caring about the apathy that always gets us in trouble! HA!

capt

If the people that do not vote voted it would be better for everybody. Like following the laws, it should be a responsibility - a social contract.

I should not talk, I was apolitical for years. The only thing that got me interested again was when the went after Clinton with articles of impeachment.

If more people voted the GOPhers would get waxed but good but the snake would be the same snake. The real problem is the money and the money game is played by all.

capt

I was in Richmond, British Columbia, yesterday and saw a bumper sticker (on a U.S.-licensed car!):

Yes, I'm apathetic. And I just don't care!

Micki,
Of course his being injured sent a message to those who watch the news.

It is more likely the politicians get the people to vote against their own self-interests than for the people to get the politicians to vote against their own self-interest. So the "we the people" will be convinced they screwed themselves and they will be right.

The big money will stay in the game. So says the prophet profit!

capt

66 hours ago only one senator on board for the filibuster now we have 14 senators. Wait until Monday morning when they can't open their office doors for all the faxes.
Young Turks have heard indirectly from Harry Reid's office that over 30 senators are ready to get on board.
The senators are overwelmed by the faxes and the emails and calls. We are making a difference. Make the connection with your senators and all senators who are on the fense.

American Soldiers

More American soldiers are killed in the Middle East.

2,501 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan for Bush and his evil lies.

Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy. Henry Kissinger

G.K. Chesterton said, "Jesus speaks sanity to a world of lunatics."

Before you seek revenge, dig two graves. Confucius

Contamination

Linda Schrock Taylor says, "When God means to punish a nation, He deprives its rulers of wisdom."

Hitler Bush and the Nazi cabal will prowl the world seeking endless wars. With endless wars and depleted uranium the Nazi States of America will contaminate people, land, air, and water. In time our entire world will become contaminated through the use of depleted uranium in fighting our endless wars.

The Nazi States of America is an evil nation.

To sin is a human business; to justify sin is a devilish business. Leo Tolstoy, Russian author 1828-1910

Nazi Americans continually justify sin.

The incestuous relationship between government and big business thrives in the dark. Jack Anderson

PEACE TAKES COURAGE!

HONOR THE TROOPS, DEMAND THE TRUTH!

The CIC (Coward in Crawford) lies about lying about his lies.

We are being heard. Our voices are being heard to both Democrats and Republcians. Here's your chance to tell Washington that the lobbyists don't have the power that the citizens of the US. We still "ARE THE NATION". We have to all be part of the fight.

WE CAN DO THIS!!!!

Mainstream America does not want Alito on the Supreme Court. Conservatives and liberals and all those in between do not want Alito on the Supreme Court. This is about our civil rights.

Who represents you in Washington? Who voted them in? You did. Demand that the senators do the job you elected them to do.

We are being heard. Our voices are being heard to both Democrats and Republcians. Here's your chance to tell Washington that the lobbyists don't have the power that the citizens of the US. We still "ARE THE NATION". We have to all be part of the fight.

WE CAN DO THIS!!!!

Mainstream America does not want Alito on the Supreme Court. Conservatives and liberals and all those in between do not want Alito on the Supreme Court. This is about our civil rights.

Who represents you in Washington? Who voted them in? You did. Demand that the senators do the job you elected them to do.

It's an important message but I really didn't mean to post that twice. The site was messing with me.

Phone numbers on this site.

The Alito 48

Alito wants to give the power to president alone. Do we want a fascist totalitarian government or a democracy? This is the fork in the road. This is it.

No one believes in the radical beliefs that alito, clarence thomas, scalito, maybe roberts. And we have most of them on the bench. Why do we want alito on the bench. This will lead to dictatorship.
These are not concervative justices they are radical and fanatical.

concervative - no
conservative - yes

Jeanne..Micki thanks for continuing to remind folks to call Republican Senators about the fillibuster. Not over yet. Great to catch up some interesting dialogue. Great to read when people can stay on point without attacking one another. Place your bets on what Bush's "STATE OF DENIAL" will be about. I think he will stay firmly planted in the FEAR FACTOR STRATEGY. Let's count how many times he refers to 9/11. That comment by Rove about PRE 9/11 THINKING AND POST 9/11 THINKING WILL BE THE THEME SONG. Although on the Sunday morning programs there was mention of a UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE bone that is possibly going to be thrown out to the dogs. ( I am one of the 45 million dogs without health coverage) Chris Matthews seems to often Kerry Bash as a theme on this program. He also did a piece on Americans obsession with cars (big hogs in particular). He made me sick. He was almost pushing/missing the good old days of the big american hog. (we still have plenty of them) Matthews amazes me with his persistent disconnect between how americans live (consumer units) burning fuel without a thought as to who is dying today because of our oil addiction. Although he often seems consumed with the abortion issue and the death of the unborn..yet never mentions how many Iraqi children we have killed. He is a TRUE AMERICAN ELITIST. Senator Hagel was on Stephanapoulos's "This Week" Hagel poked hard at Rove using national security as a device to divide our representatives or the american people. Hagel is impressive, I generally like everything I hear this guy say. I'll put money on it that it will be a McCain/Hagel ticket in 08 for the RepubliCONS. It will also be interesting to see how many things Bush says in the "STATE OF DENIAL" that will be supportive of his EVER EXPANDING FASCIST AGENDA. When facism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the American flag. - Huey Long Facism Anyone? By Laurence W. Britt full text at www.hartford-hwp.com/archive...076.html 1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. 2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. 3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. 4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. 5. Rampant sexism. 6. A controlled mass media. 7. Obsession with national security. 8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. 9. Power of corporations protected. 10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. 11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. 12. Obsession with crime and punishment. 13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. 14. Fraudulent elections. Wed, November 2, 2005 - 9:28 PM - permalink - 1 Comment | m

This has to be the DUMBEST thing I've ever heard. Joe Klein suggested this morning that having health insurance should be made mandatory, like having to have car insurance. What planet is he living on? Oh, he must be one of the rich people that are clueless. Average people could NOT pay that bill.

"Yes, I'm apathetic. And I just don't care!"

That's a good one. Here are a couple I've seen:

1) Remember-You are UNIQUE! Just like everybody else.

2) A day without sunshine is like ...night.

Later,
th

U.S. IN TECHNICAL DEFAULT
by Dr. M
(AKA Dr. Chris Martenson)
January 27, 2006

From: Financial Sense.com

In a shocking development, the Treasury Department website is openly stating that as of January 24, 2006 our national debt stood at $8,185.3 billion and on January 26th at $8,190.5 billion.

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm

Yet the US national debt ceiling, the maximum amount of debt the US government may hold at any one time, stands at $8,184 billion, a full $5.5 billion less. Although called upon by John Snow, Congress has not yet passed an expansion of the debt ceiling and so the US government is now operating in technical default.

You may recall that when last the debt ceiling was approached in the months surrounding the 2004 elections, the Treasury department furiously employed every accounting trick in the book (and then some) to avoid breaching the limit. They even went so far as to take the unprecedented step of borrowing $14 billion from the Federal Financing Bank to cover up the shortfall.

But they never breached the ceiling.

On January 24th they breached it brazenly and openly and with nary an accompanying explanation. Neither have any lawmakers have broached this indelicate subject.

I suppose we could write this off as merely an unsurprising development from a government that no longer bothers to even appear to be adhering to rules, laws and procedures, let alone actually doing so.

But the silence is all the more troubling because there is an unprecedented level of government borrowing on the books for 1Q06 with next 2 weeks (Feb 1st to Feb 9th) an especially busy period of time. An ambitious ~$70-$80b in Treasury paper will hit the market.

The federal government does not have the legal authority to borrow above the statutory debt limit, which raises the prospect of emergency congressional action to avoid a full-fledged default.

Congress will probably attach a rider to a must-pass defense appropriation bill and ironically title it The Fiscal Responsibility Amendment of 2006. And if they do, $50 says they do it very late on Friday night.

Another odd facet of this story is the deafening silence from the financial press (and I use that term loosely) regarding this matter. Leaving aside the issue of a technical default, one wonders why questions aren’¥ being asked about the rate of debt accumulation and whether it's sustainable.

The last debt-ceiling adjustment was $800 billion and was passed in November 2004. Now, on January 24th 2006, it is entirely gone. $800 billion in only 16 months for an average of $50B a month.

Factoring out the plundering of excess social security contributions, the US government borrowed $52B in 3Q05, $96B in 4Q05 and expects to borrow $171B in 1Q06. A trend nearly as mind-boggling as the soon to be discontinued M3 series.

Why do I even bother to pen such distressing factoids?

Because in all my time studying economics I have determined only one thing; there's no free lunch. Pay now or pay later, but pay we will.

Or, more accurately, we hope that our kids will, and not stiff us for the bill. But if they did, who could blame them?

I, for one, would not be shocked.
----------
It doesn't matter whether the filibuster is successful or not. This disaster is hanging over us like a guillotine, and you can't filibuster it. Come March who sits on the SC may be the last of our worries. Anyone investing in Euros?

Americanblog.com

The filibuster.
The blog disagrees with the filibuster. He thinks it will turn into a Terri Schiavo fight.

No, no, no, no, no. The Republicans did not have a leg to stand on. They fought the fight for a for purely political reasons. That is not what this is about. We are fighting for our democracy. This is about the people of the nation having a voice.

Number 15 vote on the filibuster.
Joe Biden.

I wish we could filibuster the debt.

Those chickens are coming home to roost.

That is why we need the filibuster - I feel like no filibuster no impeachment.

If we cannot muster 1 to talk and 41 to stand up I cannot see how to get to an impeachment.

capt

But then he turned around that maybe I won't. What the heck is that. Come on Joe Biden your constituents do not want Alito.

#477 Carol. I heard Joe Klein's ignorant comment. Hell many of the people who do not have health insurance do not have cars or car insurance. Joe Klein needs to get out more. Out of his protected BUBBLE.

How does a filibuster work when the dems are outgunned? Won't the facists just use their "nuke option?" What is this really all about? It's not the loss of democracy, that was gone 5 years ago, and bush already does pretty much whatever he wants, alito would make little difference in a country where half the population is totally clueless about what is happening around them, and a large portion laugh when psychos like coulter suggest that a Justice should get the rat poison treatment. I'm starting to think a nice, long job assignment somewhere like Costa Rica could be just what the doctor ordered!

Hagel: Bush "Can't Unilaterally Decide That A 1978 Law Is Out of Date And...Violate The Law

Karl Rove wants the American public to believe only one political party disagrees with Bush's warrantless domestic spying program. But this morning on ABC's This Week, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) said the program was illegal:

HAGEL: I don't believe, from what I've heard, but it's going to give the administration an opportunity to explain it, that he has the authority now to do what he's doing. Now, maybe he can convince me otherwise, but that's OK.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But not yet.

HAGEL: Not yet. But that's OK. If he needs more authority, he just can't unilaterally decide that that 1978 law is out of date and he will be the guardian of America and he will violate that law. He needs to come back, work with us, work with the courts if he has to, and we will do what we need to do to protect the civil liberties of this country and the national security of this country.

Hagel joins other prominent conservatives - including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) - who have questioned the legal basis of Bush’≥ warrantless domestic surveillance program.
---------------------
These senators are not real comfortable with the power Bush is demanding.

Joe Klein has never spent a day in his life having to worry about insurance for his family. I have, while I had cancer by the way - which makes me a pre-existing. I had 2 kids still at home at the time. Do you know what that feels like? I wanted my husband to divorce me so that he and the kids were not on the sinking ship with me.

Joe Klein doesn't have a clue.

Saladin,

"How does a filibuster work when the dems are outgunned? Won't the facists just use their "nuke option?" What is this really all about?"

They found out when they were blustering about the nuclear option they actually do not have enough in their party to try it.

They can still go about trying but the GOP is not in as strong a position as they were last summer.

They might not be able to muster 51 to change the rules. It is not that popular.

capt

Joe Klein is a tool.

Saladin,
I'm banking on the fact that the Republicans are going to see that the country is against them.
It's also getting the people of the country interested in politics. This is important Saladin.

My husband just faxed and emailed this to Senator Arlen Specter -- if you agree, please copy and paste, edit, add, whatever, and send it to him, too:

Senator Specter, I strongly urge you to bear in mind that, if Judge Alito is confirmed, it is a foregone conclusion that he will routinely support Bush - the concept of so-called "unitary executive power." Therefore the hearings you plan to investigate the Bush warrantless wiretaps of American citizens will be moot - useless - DOA.

Our country faces a Constitutional crisis due to the incessant thirst for power by the Neocons who have given your party a bad name. Do you want part of your legacy to be "aided in the destruction of the balance of power" stipulated in the Constitution?

Please, sir, THINK! Then take the strong, courageous, moral path of country before party.

Saladin, you are a smart cookie (not trying to ingriate myself, as if I could! hahaha), so you should know that this filibuster action is very important.

I can see it now! If you sign on to this effort -- it will work for the country! Ya never know. Give it a shot! PLEASE!

Saladin, it's partly about the PEOPLE FINALLY PAYING ATTENTION and taking responsibility to hold elected officials accountable.

Come on board!

The young turks are wearing me out. I am going to the library. See you later.
BTW I'd like to see the guy on the show run for office. He knows his stuff.

micki and Capt, I understand the principle behind the filibuster and agree with it. But as Jeanne pointed out, getting the people to care is another story. micki, why have you assumed I am NOT onboard? How do you know I haven't phoned, faxed and snail mailed everyone I think might even remotely give a shit? Is it because I don't rant and rave about it and post dozens of links encouraging others to do it as well? I have been very vocal about quite a few problems this country faces, even those I personally feel are a lost cause, but I do care and do not want to be counted among those that don't even try. Please don't underestimate my efforts, this blog is only one of many avenues I take advantage of. I also want everyone here who makes so much effort to know I am very impressed and moved by your devotion, it is one thing that gives me hope, even if I sound negative at times. It's hard to remain positive all the time in the face of such overt and brutal destruction those mobster hitmen in DC are constantly getting away with, but I haven't given up yet!

Sorry, Saladin...you kept sounding (to me) that you were pooh-poohing the whole thing as just more bullshit.

That's my opinion. So, are you on board?

Saladin and Micki....we can not all have the same commitment and interest on every issue. I appreciate the reminders and cheerleading that many are involved with the last few days. Some organizations have been pounding on this fillibuster for months now

You are both incredibly concerned and caring individuals. That is so obvious so crystal clear in everything that the two of you have shared.

While I have written, called, (as suggessted months ago) and presently about the fillibuster of Alito.I do agree with Obama(who was asking on one of the Sunday morning news programs on the Alito issue.... Why have our representatives(including him) waited so long to gather steam for this fillibuster. (was that a planned strategy). Why not be more pro'active?

I'm on board and many folks are talking about it....I hope it is a FILLIBUSTER TIDAL WAVE...WE SURE NEED ONE TO GET THESE RADICALS AGENDA OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE

LOCAL NUMBERS, CALL AND FAX THE LOCAL DISTRICT OFFICE NUMBERS! HIT THEM ALL WEEKEND! GET ALL YOUR SENATORS' NUMBERS WITH THE ONE CLICK
***********
PS to Saladin

The reason I have posted multiple times about the filibuster is that THERE ARE OTHERS THAN US WHO VISIT DAVID CORN'S SITE and may not see the previous messages from capt, or kathleen, or Jeanne, or the others who have posted more than once about the filibuster contacts. THAT'S WHY! Besides the easier it is to contact someone, the more apt people are to participate. So...I just may be posting again, and again, and again...just like you do about conspiracies.

kathleen, as a committed activist for years, I know that most people don't pay much attention until the 11th hour. I have been on this "judicial case" for months, too. Unfortunately, as you have experienced I would imagine, it takes a crisis to motivate most people. sigh.

YOu go Micki...we know that repetition works. THE "WMD THING" (we have to use the same techniques)..even though it can sometimes drive one crazy...YOU GO...

I appreciate Robert Fisk so much

The Problem with Democracy
By Robert Fisk&
The Independent UK
Saturday 28 January 2006

And now, horror of horrors, the Palestinians have elected the wrong party to power.
Oh no, not more democracy again! Didn't we award this to those Algerians on 1990? And didn't they reward us with that nice gift of an Islamist government - and then they so benevolently cancelled the second round of elections? Thank goodness for that!
True, the Afghans elected a round of representatives, albeit that they included some warlords and murderers. But then the Iraqis last year elected the Dawa party to power in Baghdad, which was responsible - let us not speak this in Washington - for most of the kidnappings of Westerners in Beirut in the 1980s, the car bombing of the (late) Emir and the US and French embassies in Kuwait.
And now, horror of horrors, the Palestinians have elected the wrong party to power. They were supposed to have given their support to the friendly, pro-Western, corrupt, absolutely pro-American Fatah, which had promised to "control" them, rather than to Hamas, which said they would represent them. And, bingo, they have chosen the wrong party again.
Result: 76 out of 132 seats. That just about does it. God damn that democracy. What are we to do with people who don't vote the way they should?
Way back in the 1930s, the British would lock up the Egyptians who turned against the government of King Farouk. Thus they began to set the structure of anti-democratic governance that was to follow. The French imprisoned the Lebanese government which demanded the same. Then the French left Lebanon. But we have always expected the Arab governments to do what they were told.
So today, we are expecting the Syrians to behave, the Iranians to kowtow to our nuclear desires (though they have done nothing illegal), and the North Koreans to surrender their weapons (though they actually do have them, and therefore cannot be attacked).
Now let the burdens of power lie heavy on the shoulders of the party. Now let the responsibilities of people lie upon them. We British would never talk to the IRA, or to Eoka, or to the Mao Mao. But in due course, Gerry Adams, Archbishop Makarios and Jomo Kenyatta came to take tea with the Queen. The Americans would never speak to their enemies in North Vietnam. But they did. In Paris.
No, al-Qa'ida will not do that. But the Iraqi leaders of the insurgency in Mesopotamia will. They talked to the British in 1920, and they will talk to the Americans in 2006
Back in 1983, Hamas talked to the Israelis. They spoke directly to them about the spread of mosques and religious teaching. The Israeli army boasted about this on the front page of the Jerusalem Post. At that time, it looked like the PLO was not going to abide by the Oslo resolutions. There seemed nothing wrong, therefore, with continuing talks with Hamas. So how come talks with Hamas now seem so impossible?
Not long after the Hamas leadership had been hurled into southern Lebanon, a leading member of its organization heard me say that I was en route to Israel.
"You'd better call Shimon Peres," he told me. "Here's his home number."
The phone number was correct. Here was proof that members of the hierarchy of the most extremist movements among the Palestinians were talking to senior Israeli politicians.
The Israelis know well the Hamas leadership. And the Hamas leadership know well the Israelis. There is no point in journalists like us suggesting otherwise. Our enemies invariably turn out to be our greatest friends, and our friends turn out, sadly, to be our enemies.
A terrible equation - except that we must understand our fathers' history. My father, who was a soldier in the First World War, bequeathed to me a map in which the British and French ruled the Middle East. The Americans have tried, vainly, to rule that map since the Second World War. They have all failed. And it remains our curse to rule it since.
How terrible it is to speak with those who have killed our sons. How unspeakable it is to converse with those who have our brothers' blood on their hands. No doubt that is how Americans who believed in independence felt about the Englishmen who fired upon them.
It will be for the Iraqis to deal with al-Qa'ida. This is their burden. Not ours. Yet throughout history, we have ended up talking to our enemies. We talked to the representatives of the Emperor of Japan. In the end, we had to accept the surrender of the German Reich from the successor to Adolf Hitler. And today, we trade happily with the Japanese, the Germans and the Italians.
The Middle East was never a successor to Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy, despite the rubbish talked by Messrs Bush and Blair. How long will it be before we can throw away the burden of this most titanic of wars and see our future, not as our past, but as a reality?
Surely, in an age when our governments no longer contain men or women who have experienced war, we must now lead a people with the understanding of what war means. Not Hollywood. Not documentary films. Democracy means real freedom, not just for the people we choose to have voted into power. And that is the problem in the Middle East.

The American Legacy

The American Legacy

A Worldwide Calamity

Dirty Bombs, Missiles, and Bullets

I didn't see Barack Obama on one of the sabbath gasbag shows, but I read some of his remarks. I agree that the Dems need to convince the public "their values are at stake" rather than use procedural tactics to oppose judicial nominations -- especially on ALL future nominations.

BUT, as far as Samuel Alito is concerned, a filibuster is a must, IMO, because this is the here and now. Kerry and Kennedy have been very effective about couching the filibuster in terms of what is a stake.

I wish Obama hadn't suggested that this is about "thwarting the president" -- NO! It is about taking a stand on values.

Frankly, Obama and Joe Biden appear to be wanting to have it both ways, expressing their "unhappiness" with the filibuster, at first saying they wouldn't support it, putting their political fingers to the wind, saying it's a lost cause, but I'll go along with it blah blah blah -- I never thought I'd lump those two together.

Let's get Jesus back

LET'S FILIBUSTER AGAINST DEPLETED URANIUM!!!

micki, I was in no way criticizing the repeat posts. God knows I have raved about the same three subjects over and over again! The passion is what matters, we all have priorities as to what receives that passion, we cover all the bases that way.
A doctors appointment down south forces me to be out of the loop for a couple days. Keep up the good fight, those bastards haven't won yet!

I have a few days off and am considering heading to Washington tomorrow (monday) to the Impeachment panels...and the "STATE OF DENIAL/THE UNION gatherings in the city...anyone else going to be there?

Senator Kennedy's Call to Arms by mcjoan Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 02:58:11 PM PDT Senator Kennedy just had a conference call with a number of bloggers to update us on his and Senator Kerry's filibuster effort, and to encourage the netroots and the grassroots to keep up our efforts. He's very excited by what he's seeing here and throughout the blogosphere, and gave a great pep talk. He is encouraging you to contact your Democratic Senators, regardless of what they might have said so far, but specifically mentioned Senators Pryor, Lincoln, Cantwell, Murray, Baucus, Harkin, Levin, Bayh, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Lieberman. In addition, he said to keep the pressure on Republican Senators Snowe, Collins, Chaffee, and Stevens. Senator Kennedy talked in particular about one thing that I think is critical to keep in mind as we approach our Senators, and for them to keep in mind as they are considering this vote. We need to overcome the media noise machine by letting our Senators know that in voting their conscience, and making it clear that they are voting on principle, on conscience, they will overcome the media noise machine calling them obstructionists. We can help them realize this by letting them know that we've got their backs. That they are voting our conscience as well, and that we will not forget their courage. Here are some more thoughts on breaking down the Republican talking points we know will be flooding the traditional media from Ed Kilgore: I can only hope Senate Dems make a serious effort to stay focused on the Big Case against Alito during the debate.... It's especially important that they deal with the GOP "obstructionist" talking point by relentlessly reminding people that Bush deliberately picked this fight by giving conservative activists their very own Supreme Court nominee. And it wouldn't hurt to spend some time exposing the hypocrisy of "pro-choice" Republican Senators who are deliberately giving the anti-abortion movement the fourth vote they need--just one short of a majority--to erode and then overturn Roe v. Wade. This is, as Senator Kennedy reminded us, a generational battle. Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court could turn back a generation's worth of progress in civil rights, in worker protections, in equality for women, in environmental protection, in the fight of the little guy against the corporation. And Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court will affect the generations to come. We cannot afford to refight the battles of the past 40 years during the next 40 years. This is an uphill battle, but one in which we can at the very least achieve a moral victory. Approached with principle, with passion, and with vigor, a moral victory is not a hollow victory. As Senator Kennedy told us, "You don't ever lose fighting for principle, for what is decent and right. You don't ever lose when you have the power, the force of being correct."

The letters@latimes.com is not able to take delivery of emails. I think their mailbox is stuffed!

I hope so!

I do not know but it seems like more people catching on!

We can only hope. I still feel like the "powers that be" and the MSM are trying to stuff Alito down our collective throats but . . .

I have heard/read here that the senators switchboards are swamped and such.

capt

kathleen, thanks for posting that info about Sen. Kennedy's pep-talk. I had just sent this letter to my senators -- my experience is, it WORKS to get their attention in the first paragraph. ;-))

Dear Senators Murray and Cantwell:

I haven't heard yet if you're decided to support the filibuster of Samuel Alito.  I certainly hope you have, because if you haven't I think your days in the United States Senate will be ended with your next campaign for reelection.

Jonathan Turley (certainly not a Democratic Party partisan) said: "In my years as an academic and a litigator, I have rarely seen the equal of Alito's bias in favor of the government. To put it bluntly, when it comes to reviewing government abuse, Samuel Alito is an empty robe."

Turley put the consideration of Alito's nomination into context when he wrote: "The Alito vote might prove to be the single most important decision on the future of our constitutional system for decades to come. While I generally defer to presidents in their choices for the court, Samuel Alito is the wrong nominee at the wrong time for this country."

In that context,  I think you can see that the filibuster is entirely appropriate and an entirely legitimate legislative tool.  You would be using it on a matter of principle and what is right.

You swore an oath to the Constitution, not to political security.  It is your duty to provide the checks and balances of the Constitution by backing the filibuster.

Thank you.

Iran gives UN inspectors access to nuclear site

UN nuclear inspectors have visited sites related to the former Lavizan military complex in Iran in what is a key concession in the UN investigation of the Islamic Republic's contested nuclear program, diplomats have told AFP.

A diplomat close to the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told AFP that IAEA inspectors had visited sites related to Lavizan and seen equipment.

The access comes ahead of a meeting in London of the foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China to attempt to find agreement on how to respond to Iran's resumption of sensitive nuclear activities.

The European trio and the United States want to take Iran before the UN Security Council, which has enforcement powers such as sanctions, to pressure Tehran to cease all nuclear fuel work and to comply fully with a now three-year-old IAEA investigation into Tehran's atomic program, which the United States charges hides secret weapons work.

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

Might not be as good as it sounds.

capt

Capt you just watch the next PR BLITZ ON IRAN WILL BE AT THE AIPAC CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON IN MARCH. THEY WILL BE HITTING THIS DESIRE TO ATTACK IRAN HARD. I am hoping folks pre-empt them on the blogs. you know facts about the IAEA'S FINDINGS. ALLOW THE IAEA TO DEAL WITH THIS NOT THE NEO-CONS.

signing off.. OOPS THIS IS OFF TOPIC BUT..has anyone seen the PRODUCERS ( I AM NOT BIG ON HOLLYWOOD MOVIES...BUT THIS WAS A HYSTERICAL ....NATHAN LANE IS INCREDIBLE I have not laughed this hard in a while...and boy did I need it.

Please contact Senators Murray and Cantwell about the filibuster.

maria@cantwell.senate.gov

senator_murray@murray.senate.gov

Maybe they think all Washingtonians care about is the Super Bowl because the Seattle Seahawks are in it and that's ALL THAT IS ON LOCAL TV!

Jeez Louise, as of Friday, a FRIGGIN' hot dog bought on play-off day is on eBay and the high bid was $7,100!!! Who knows where the bid is now!

Oy! No wonder we're fucked in the drive-thru in this country.

My Real Treasure Is in Heaven

Be Careful of Too Much Education

CIA expands "targeted killing"

It's striking how much we've come to resemble the Israelis. We now even have our very own gigantic version of the West Bank.

Trouble is, targeted killing, hasn't worked out so well for the Israelis. They killed all the top leaders of Hamas (including rocketing a wheelchair-bound cleric), and it's now a major political force.

Maybe there's a lesson to be learned here. Maybe threats aren't the best way to win people over. Maybe murderous violence really isn't a good way to further your own interests.

Nah.

Micki, Nice letter to Cantwell and Murray. Given Bush's domestic-spying scandal, if the words "government abuse" don't shake them out of their D.C. stupor, nothing will.

micki, I just sent a letter to both cantwell & murray as well as boxer and feinstein

Just emailed Senator Harkin, Lieberman, Snowe and Levin. Support the filibuster.

I emailed Senator Obama.