Mr. David Corn,

I hope they bust or bust down every criminal on the hill. I am sure we will have to settle for only a handful because if they actually went after every criminal we would have nearly empty buildings in the capitol.

I hope this new year will bring some truth and justice, I hope we do not discount the character of Americans in general. Nobody, right or left, nobody likes criminals. You never see the media talking about a criminals politics, the same applies with political criminals. No surprise there are more republicans in trouble, they are in power and occupy a majority so more opportunity to abuse that power.

Sadly the crimes are the most bipartisan thing going on on the hill~!

Thanks - good post!

Kirk

Morning everone! Hope your new years celebrations were safe and enjoyable. With regards to Abramoff, is'nt it a bit premature to let this yuck cop a plea? There is the potential for much more to be discovered, would that limit the prosecutions case on what the jerk could be charged for? And also as long as were after crooked lobbyists, should'nt we be looking at others also. I believe having Abramoff cop a plea at this time lets HIM control the game. He directs what gets investigated by the info he provides, no? This is a very tangled web indeed.

Morning everone! Hope your new years celebrations were safe and enjoyable. With regards to Abramoff, is'nt it a bit premature to let this yuck cop a plea? There is the potential for much more to be discovered, would that limit the prosecutions case on what the jerk could be charged for? And also as long as were after crooked lobbyists, should'nt we be looking at others also. I believe having Abramoff cop a plea at this time lets HIM control the game. He directs what gets investigated by the info he provides, no? This is a very tangled web indeed.

AHAH! first double post of the year. For webmaster: Clicked post and waited, showed "waiting for adserver" lower left above "start" waited approx 30 sec. I stopped the loading I thought it was stuck. clicked post again and it went through. I hope this helps. Try again

Darn those web gremlins~!

Maybe we jinxed it yesterday.

May 2006 be the year that ALL political profiteers get what they deserve!

Thanks, David, for the forum... I hope we "CornHoles" give back enough to make it worth your while.

I wish you and your family a great 2006!

-T

I'll second that!

2006 is the year of the dog. ruff!

the biggest scandal to hit Congress in decades

yup, right up there with AIPAC and DSM and Plamegate - if a scandal gets any bigger people might even notice

For a bit of humour, bushbot humour that is, Here

Distractions, distractions, nothing but distractions. I would like to try my hand at a prediction, and it is this, more distractions to come! Happy New Year everyone!

Sal

DEN,

HA! Sounds like some real fart smellers - I mean some real smart fellers!

It all makes far more sense that Satan, I mean Santa . . er. . um . . GAWD made a mud puppet and breathed life into it. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Thanks

capt

Pupils Being Given 'Patriotism' Tests in Washington State Schools

Paul Joseph Watson | December 30 2005

Children in Washington State are being given 'Patriotism tests' which are completely unrelated to their studies. The paper gauges whether or not the student shows fealty to the power of the state and whether the student believes in the right to overthrow a corrupt government.

A reader from Washington State writes us to highlight a questionnaire paper handed out to her daughter and the rest of her 10th grade class.

The reader comments,

"We live in Washington state. My daughter is in 10th grade and found this to be interesting. She has a GPA of 3.75 and uses her brain. This was given in her English class, and has nothing to do with the materials they were studying. We thought you might be able to use this. They are grooming our kids. Keep up the great work. Christine."
----------
I.D. in science class, now this. Carol is right, we are doomed. You can see the actual questionaire at Prison Planet.

Mything link?

That says it all!

capt

Saladin,

I'd just love to have a copy of that test! I might have to one day cheat on it to stay out of one of them there "internment" camps!

-T

Happy New Year to one and all.

While I am all for getting the crooks, no matter what their political stripes may be, I think it is pathetic that these Abramoff scandals are already being "message manipulated" into a bipartisan problem -- "oh, they all do it" type thing.

The timing of the Abramoff plea bargain can't be worse. Now the BIGGER scandal -- bush's uncontrollable need/quest for power which fuels the rampant disregard for morality in this country -- will be consigned to semi-oblivion in the minds of the fear-filled American people. (Well, at least consigned to the inside pages.)

The busheviks' calculated dishonesty is the root of many of the problems facing our nation on January 1, 2006 -- we have an executive branch that blatantly flouts the law, scorning the Constitution, spying on citizens without reasonable cause, and we finally get closer to holding them accountable and BOOM! Abramhoff cops a plea and then the BIGGER scandal -- the monarchial privilege of the totally corrupt regime in the White House is second banana in the media.

Unless Abramhoff's plea bargain leads to the White House, I wish it had stayed out of the spotlight until bush and cheney et al. had gotten their just desserts. bush is destroying our country -- we need to get him before it's too late.

Hajji, here is my answer to all the test questions, "F**K OFF AND DIE!!!"

Saladin,

Well said. I would ask permission to quote you, but I believe I already do!

-T

Just in case you folks missed all the fireworks lastnight theres THIS

...at least the camps will be populated by some very interesting people!

Hajji, all the patriots will be there!

Tom Brady? Adam Viniteri?

Will the CHEERLEADERS be there too! Woo Hoo!

If bush and his justice department thought the the NSA spy program leak was so devastating to our national security, why didn't they call for an investigation a year ago? The New York Times sat on the story for a year at the behest of the White House, so only when the story was published did the WH decide to go after the leakers.

This latest "investigation" -- the executive branch investigating the executive branch (what a joke) -- is clearly political and is intended to insulate the WH from public scrutiny. We are going to hear again and again and again, "I cannot comment on that because there is an investigation going on."

Please Abramhoff: Divulge something that leads to the WH!

At CSW we provided small, portable Sound System for the Patriot's Cheeleaders, the guys from Aerosmith, Reeves Gabrells and thousands of other people.

Mine usually ends up as a kick-ass car system!

-T
(a personal endorsement, not a paid advertisement...no cheerleaders were harmed in the making of this endorsement, and money hasn't changed hands in over 6 years)

micki,

Had they come out and announced an investigation, details of the program would've been out before they were ready to deny, deny, deny, lie and then "Swiftboat" the leakers. (who, obviously have to be pretty deep inside the admin, NSA, or congressional over(blind)sight...

A year to lay out a strategy, shred evidence and get talking points to talking heads is priceless to these bastards. I wanna know what Times was given to sit on this for a year! Had to be pretty juicey!

-T

Okay, captain kiss-butt here:

I swear, if it was not for Mr. David Corn and all of you guys, I would surely be lacking (many things like sanity).

To read the funny stuff, the serious stuff, the outrage, and all of the commentary. Whether kidding around, making me laugh or sharing, you all keep me from stewing on just the bad news. You all keep me sane!

You are all the wind beneath my wings, you make me SOAR!

Thank you all, new and old, friend or foe.

capt

Capt, I think the trolls are jealous of our harmonious little community, that is why they are so rude and nasty. As one of my fav bumper stickers points out, mean people suck, nice people lick!

Capt, aw shucks, gettin emotional here (sniff) Lets here it for the CAPT! Hip Hip....

Iraqi Civil War? Some Experts Say It's Arrived

The full extent of the conflict is veiled by the presence of U.S. troops, says one, but Americans' premature exit could lead to far worse strife.

By John Daniszewski
Times Staff Writer

January 1, 2006

BAGHDAD — Fourteen members of a Shiite Muslim family are slaughtered in their home. Days later, masked gunmen invade a Sunni Arab household, killing five people. Organized political killing proceeds, as if there had not been elections two weeks ago.

In a speech delivered as Iraqis prepared to go to the polls, President Bush said he didn't believe a civil war would break out in the country. But some observers believe it has already begun — a quiet and deadly struggle whose battle lines were thrown into sharp relief by the highly polarized vote results.

On any given day, a group of Shiite police might be hit in a Sunni suicide attack or ambush. A militiaman in the Shiite-dominated Iraqi security services might arrest, torture and kill a suspected Sunni insurgent. Or a Kurdish official in the new government might be gunned down between home and office.

Unless the assassination target is prominent, or the number of victims rises to at least the high single digits, such events barely rate a mention in Western news reports. Yet the most reliable estimates are that about 1,000 Iraqis have been dying each month, most of them killed by fellow Iraqis.

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

"Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An' if I stay it will be double" ~ The Clash

capt

PS - I like the lick idea! HA!

At the risk of tearing our comity asunder, I question that article about "Washington State schools" administering the "patriotism test" -- I will concede that perhaps a (stupid) misguided teacher or two may have given the test, but to claim that "Washington State schools" gave the test does not, well, it does not pass the truth test...

Which schools gave the test? When? Who? Why? Who "designed" the test?

The only "attribution" for this story is the parent's first name, "Christine."

I emailed two of my friends (okay, admittedly not a large sample) who are school teachers in Wash. State and they both said this story is FALSE --"Washington State schools" did not give this test.

If anyone has PROOF that this test was sanctioned and given by "Washington State schools," please let me know.

Questioning articles carries no risk of hurting this community, that is the nature of reasonable people!

"Sure smells like smoke"

Smoke....yeah.
Smoke. He he he he he. Yeah.

Before making judgements about the "patriotism test", we really ought to know in what context it was used.

A likely one is that a teacher listed a group of common statements, or famous quotes, asked students to reflect on whether they agreed or disagreed, never asked for them to be turned in, and conducted a class discussion based on the issues raised.

I participated in similar exercises in high school. Once after the discussion in class, we were assigned to write an essay that required that we honestly argue the position opposite the one we held ourselves.

Would this not be a useful and commendable exercise?

Our views of 2005

SF gate - too long and diverse to clip but a good recap.

I question everything. It (patriotism test) could be a snafu.

Usually inforwars (Alex Jones) tries to be ahead of the pack but risks a correction. Alex Jones, prison planet - inforwars is pretty good about admitting an error and publishing a correction if such is necessary.

I expect a bunch of corrections from Washington state if the "report" is a fabrication. It has been a few days but vacation for many.

capt

The last of the article. I think it addresses most of the questions.

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

"We have covered several examples before where the government identifies a target group in society and canvasses their views on the nature of power and when that power goes too far. For example, in the 90's, American marines and national guard were occasionally asked if they would be willing to fire on American citizens in a time of crisis.

"We are by no means against patriotism when it means love of country. Unfortunately however, the new brand of so-called patriotism translates as worship of government, and that definition is something that the founding fathers never intended.

"This may be an isolated case but if we receive anything similar then watch this space for any updates.

**********

Honest and skeptical. Hard to beat that!

I have listened to the Alex Jones show on radio for many years. He was the ONLY person I heard that was railing about a government attack on our people and on our soil before 9/11.

Alex and Paul have been accurate and prescient more than the MSM.

IMHO

capt

Florida gets an F in science

The state's K-12 standards are "thin," "disappointing" and fall short on evolution, a watchdog group says.

By RON MATUS, Times Staff Writer
December 30, 2005

Gov. Jeb Bush staked out a curious position on a hot-button issue last week: Florida's K-12 science standards need beefing up, he said. But Darwin's theory of evolution should not be part of them.

Had they heard, many scientists probably would have cringed.

Darwin's theory is a pillar of modern biology. And a new state-by-state analysis by an influential education foundation concludes that Florida's standards are among the worst in the nation - with a big reason being its failure to adequately explain evolution.

The report by the Washington,D.C.-based Fordham Institute calls Florida's standards "thin," "naive," "disappointing" - and in some cases, flat wrong.

"The superficiality of the treatment of evolutionary biology alone justifies the grade "F,' " it says. "But there is in any case scant mitigation elsewhere in these documents."

Critics say the report exposes a glaring oversight in Bush's education revamp, which has focused mostly on reading and math in early grades. It also adds urgency to a pending review of Florida's science standards, which some observers say could devolve into a culture war showdown over evolution and intelligent design.

Bush's off-the-cuff remarks came in response to reporters' questions after a hurricane-related meeting in South Florida.

Evolution "is a scientific theory and he's not opposed to it being taught in classrooms," Bush spokesman Russell Schweiss later clarified. "But he doesn't think it should be necessarily dictated in the standards."

"Oh, boy," University of South Florida chemistry professor Gerry Meisels said Thursday, when told of Bush's position. Meisels directs the state's Coalition for Science Literacy. "Frankly, the state of Florida will be embarrassed, nationally and internationally, if it takes that position."

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

Frankly, the state of Florida should be embarrassed by the dunce they elected Gov. and only that is assuming the black boxes were not stuffed.

capt

2 taxes on wealthy expiring

5-year phaseout starts Jan. 1; move to cost treasury $27 billion

By William Neikirk
Tribune senior correspondent
Published December 31, 2005

WASHINGTON -- They call them the PEP and Pease provisions of tax law, and they are on their way out. If you are wealthy, this should make you smile. You could be a little richer.

PEP and Pease refer to two tax increases adopted in 1990 when President George H.W. Bush broke his "read my lips" promise against boosting taxes in order to cut the deficit, angering many in the Republican Party.

But on Sunday, thanks to a law quietly passed in 2001 when his son, George W. Bush, was in the White House, the PEP and Pease provisions--essentially limitations on tax exemptions--will begin a five-year phaseout at a cost of $27 billion.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank here, about 53.5 percent of that money will go to households earning more than $1 million. Another 43.2 percent will go to those with incomes of $200,000 to $1 million. The rest will go those earning $100,000 to $200,000.

"It is particularly ironic that these two new tax cuts repeal provisions of the tax code that President Bush's father signed in 1990 to reduce deficits," said Robert Greenstein, executive director of the center.

By contrast, conservative groups said the PEP and Pease tax increases are bad tax law. PEP stands for "personal exemption phaseout." Basically, Congress decided in 1990 to slash the personal income exemption (now $3,200) for high-income Americans. Pease refers to former Rep. Don Pease (D-Ohio), who sponsored a provision limiting the value of itemized deductions for the wealthy.

By 2010 those provisions will be gone unless Congress reinstates them, and that does not appear likely.

Millionaires will receive an average tax cut of $19,000 a year when the two provisions are wiped out, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said. The center added that this comes on top of an average tax cut of $103,000 that millionaires received in 2005 because of other tax cuts adopted since 2001.

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

The poor little rich millionaires.

Who cares if their "tax breaks" (read: welfare) are literally taking the food from the mouths of the needy. They can either quit acting poor or die from hunger.

capt

#32 Ann -- good point. Context is key.

#24, You could be right about the delays...but it could also be that they thought they had the NYT cowed and they wouldn't get caught.

micki,

Getting caught isn't really the concern... Getting "their" people in key Judicial positions will negate "getting caught" in the long run. It only need delay the process long enough.

and THAT is #1 stragedy for Bushco!

-T

DOJ "Investigation" Could Shield Bush
_______________
WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Bush’s announcement Friday, that the Justice Department would begin an investigation into the leak that brought forth his probably illegal domestic spying project, is clearly political and meant to insulate the White House and intelligence agencies from further public scrutiny by saying they are the subject of a criminal investigation.

It will be up to Congress to undertake a serious investigation, issuing its own subpoenas, and calling the major participants to testify.

Even as he sought to gain advantage from the spy leak, Bush was faced with a series of new and unsettling events tied to intelligence and foreign policy.
_______________

More "sTragedy" from the WH?

-T

From the Boston Globe and La Times, months ago.
___________________
Bush removal ended Guam Investigation

US attorney's demotion halted probe of lobbyist
By Walter F. Roche Jr., Los Angeles Times | August 8, 2005

WASHINGTON -- A US grand jury in Guam opened an investigation of controversial lobbyist Jack Abramoff more than two years ago, but President Bush removed the supervising federal prosecutor, and the probe ended soon after.

The previously undisclosed Guam inquiry is separate from a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia that is investigating allegations that Abramoff bilked Indian tribes out of millions of dollars.

In Guam, a US territory in the Pacific, investigators were looking into Abramoff's secret arrangement with Superior Court officials to lobby against a court reform bill then pending in Congress. The legislation, since approved, gave the Guam Supreme Court authority over the Superior Court.

In 2002, Abramoff was retained by the Superior Court in what was an unusual arrangement for a public agency. The Los Angeles Times reported in May that Abramoff was paid with a series of $9,000 checks funneled through a Laguna Beach, Calif., lawyer to disguise the lobbyist's role working for the Guam court. No separate contract was authorized for Abramoff's work.
_________________

If Abrahmof cops to a couple charges, how many more will he avoid? It'd better be a wholesale slaughter of the criminals in the House, Senate and Whitehouse, or it might not be worth letting the rat bastard off.

Some suggest an Abramoff/Atta connection via the gambling boat industy... Abramoff probably knows more than any elected official about how the dots connect. Who's balls does he hold in the palms of his plea-bargaining hands? Inquiring minds REALLY WANT TO KNOW!

-T

__________________

It they can side step justice, just until they cement the 2006 (s)election, a super-majority will be impossible to slow down and there will be no stopping them.

I can hear them now: "Bush rebounded in the polls because of his taking action on Iran and the GOP landslide reflects the full support and a real mandate for more" (75 GOP senators and 75% in the house).

*shudder*

capt

2006 prediction:

Investigations and possible indictments against a slew of Democrats as an October assist for the November election stealing spree (nation wide).

If will not matter how true, just a standard smear of any in the opposition so the neocons can claim it as a reason the exit polls are so incorrect AGAIN.

capt

I hope I am a loon! I hope I am completely wrong.

Feliz Año Nuevo to all. I was so messed up last night, I (allegedly) told my wife that I needed to move all the clocks in my house forward an hour for the new year. Cheap foolishness brought to you by the folks at Moët & Chandon.

2006. Is Chimpy still the Preznit? Is our Gubmint still torturin' folks? Are they still snoopin' on my phone calls? Do we still have Secret Prisons in Europe? Is the Republican Party still getting bought out by Big Money? Is Journamalism still leaving us high and dry? Do we still owe 9 Brazilian Dollars to foreigners?

It seems Chimpy is supposed to be in my neck of the woods sometime today. He's visiting the wounded Vets at Brook Army Medical Center. Good for him (if it's true). I hear Chimpy's a funny guy. I hope he does that bit where he looks under and behind the furniture and wonders out loud: Hey, where are those WMD? I coulda swore they were around here somewheres. Yuk, yuk, yuk.

A couple of Marines got nicked last night on the riverwalk and blabbed all about the Preznit's plans. Seems a little reckless, loose lips and all. You never know when a terrorist might hear you telling the world that the President is coming to town.

DEN, from your DKos link: "Some people might call them idiots, sadly misled, or pig ignorant ... George Bush calls them his Base." Well, that would explain a lot about the goobers that drop in on us periodically, wouldn't it? Sad.

Where's the Happynews when a brother needs a lift?

Even the NYT's PUBLIC EDITOR can't get a straight answer from the brass about why they buried such a blockbuster story for over a year!

_____________

Behind the Eavesdropping Story, a Loud Silence
By BYRON CALAME
THE New York Times's explanation of its decision to report, after what it said was a one-year delay, that the National Security Agency is eavesdropping domestically without court-approved warrants was woefully inadequate. And I have had unusual difficulty getting a better explanation for readers, despite the paper's repeated pledges of greater transparency.

For the first time since I became public editor, the executive editor and the publisher have declined to respond to my requests for information about news-related decision-making. My queries concerned the timing of the exclusive Dec. 16 article about President Bush's secret decision in the months after 9/11 to authorize the warrantless eavesdropping on Americans in the United States.

I e-mailed a list of 28 questions to Bill Keller, the executive editor, on Dec. 19, three days after the article appeared. He promptly declined to respond to them. I then sent the same questions to Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the publisher, who also declined to respond. They held out no hope for a fuller explanation in the future.

Despite this stonewalling, my objectives today are to assess the flawed handling of the original explanation of the article's path into print, and to offer a few thoughts on some factors that could have affected the timing of the article. My intention is to do so with special care, because my 40-plus years of newspapering leave me keenly aware that some of the toughest calls an editor can face are involved here - those related to intelligence gathering, election-time investigative articles and protection of sources. On these matters, reasonable disagreements can abound inside the newsroom.

_________________

Pande,

It is my dearest wish that a couple of irresponsible,mischeivous drunks might be flying the Presnit somewhere! (Need a place with more mountains, though!)

-T

"A final note: If Mr. Risen's book or anything else of substance should open any cracks in the stone wall surrounding the handling of the eavesdropping article, I will have my list of 28 questions (35 now, actually) ready to e-mail again to Mr. Keller.

The public editor serves as the readers' representative. His opinions and conclusions are his own. His column appears at least twice monthly in this section."
_______________

Certainly shows the distain that the NYT's top brAss has for its readers!

-T

Funny thing,

AG wants to investigate the leak about the wiretaps? Might they expose what has actually transpired with these lap-dogs sitting on the story for a year or more?

I have never lost a dime betting on the ineptitude of this misadministration.

I also like to side with the "unintended consequences" column.

Anybody want to bet they are shooting themselves in the foot? (maybe not in a big way but still), the way things are going I think the whole Iran thing will blow up in their pudgy little faces.

Well, a guy can hope.

capt

"Under the influence of politicians, masses of people tend to ascribe the responsibility for wars to those who wield power at any given time. In World War I it was the munitions industrialists; in World War II it was the psychopathic generals who were said to be guilty. This is passing the buck.

The responsibility for wars falls solely upon the shoulders of these same masses of people, for they have all the necessary means to avert war in their own hands. In part by their apathy, in part by their passivity, and in part actively, these same masses of people make possible the catastrophes under which they themselves suffer more than anyone else. To stress this guilt on the part of the masses of people, to hold them solely responsible, means to take them seriously. On the other hand, to commiserate masses of people as victims, means to treat them as small, helpless children. The former is the attitude held by genuine freedom fighters; the latter that attitude held by power-thirsty politicians." : Wilhelm Reich, The Mass Psychology of Fascism

=

"It is part of the general pattern of misguided policy that our country is now geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificually induced psychosis of war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant propaganda of fear." : General Douglas MacArthur, Speech, May 15, 1951

===

OUCH!

Thanks ICH newsletter!

Likud members: Bomb Iran

In conference organized Saturday night by Minister Yisrael Katz, 400 Likud members vote to 'bomb nuclear reactor before it is too late'; party's central committee expected to convene Sunday to approve change in constitution initiated by Likud Chairman Netanyahu
Ilan Marciano

About 400 Likud members, who took part Saturday evening in a conference organized by Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz in the town of Hod Hasharon, voted by a large majority to "bomb Iran's nuclear reactor before it is too late," in the words of Likud member and Ra'anana Deputy Mayor Uzi Cohen.

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

Before it is too late, RIGHT? Seems like the question is not if but when.

capt

Bunnypants in Pandeland
________________

Bush spent the past week relaxing at his ranch where he rode his bike, cleared brush and prepared for his sixth year in office. He and his wife, Laura, and her mother, Jenna Welch, stayed at the ranch on New Year's Eve and had a steak dinner.

The president had a two-inch scratch across the left side of his brow.

"As you can probably see I was injured myself, not here at the hospital but in combat with a cedar," Bush quipped. "I eventually won."
________________

What is it with this guy and shrubbery?

_________________

"Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can
`nee' at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land,
nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies
are under considerable economic stress at this period in history."

Roger, Shubber...
__________________

The more I think of this idiot passing out purple hearts to REAL soldiers (and making stupid jokes about his own "combat" injury), the more I wanna buy Long Island Ice Teas for those who'd fly him! Make it a DOUBLE!

-T

I think his masters get a little overdone when they slap him around for being such a BS bluster cowboy. They only see the Amdover cheerleader.

What I would give for a few pokes at the monkey-boy.

HA!

capt

Chimpy made it to BAMC! There are pix of his visit. He had a big gash on his forehead from "clearing cedar" on his ranch. Yeah, my head still hurts from all the cedar I cleared last night, too.

David,

Keep at this. The corruption must end, Repulican and Democrat alike.

James Ha, your welcome - from the previous post

To all,

Let us take a moment to reflect on the great career of Brett Farve. Today's game was possibly his last. The state of Wisconsin may be in mourning for quite a while. There won't be another player like him to come along for a long, long time.

!!!*you're

too much champage last night!

flan,

...never anybody better, down 7 with 2minutes left! He's Canton-bound damn near immediately!

-T

Imperialism and its young admirers

Democracy talk was a sham, and realists in Washington are getting worried as the vacant character of the neo-cons is exposed for what it is: adolescent, dangerous bravado, writes Azmi Bishara

Apart from the inevitable readjustments necessitated by having become bogged down in a bloody and intractable situation in Iraq, Washington's policy towards the region remains essentially the same. Spreading democracy was not originally one of its aims, and it was not the goal of the Iraqi parliamentary elections, the Palestinian presidential elections or the Saudi municipal elections, which nonetheless have been cheered as the first tender shoots of a democratic future. Following all these elections, violence in Iraq intensified and spread in new directions. In spite of these elections, the US bore down on regimes that were targets for the policy the US secretary of state dubbed "constructive destabilisation". Meanwhile, Washington's allies in the region have become increasingly bolder in making it choose between accepting them with all their corruption and the spectre of radical political Islam.

The US still acts as though it is at the beginning of a historic mission in the region, as Britain had in the wake of World War I. Bush showered Sharon with promises in an exchange of letters in April 2004 that have a strong whiff of the Balfour Declaration. Then, as surreptitiously as Sykes and Picot, the US began to draw up plans for dividing the Middle East. Although these British and French colonial architects used their pens and straightedges to carve their map onto countries, Washington is carving up countries along sectarian and ethnic lines.

As awry as things have gone in Iraq, the US administration cannot bring itself to look at that disaster in any way other than how it impacts on its popularity ratings or on its allies in the area who are cringing at the prospect of the growing influence of Iran. The destruction of Iraq and the suffering of the Iraqi people acquire importance only from this perspective. Therefore, the American president sat down with his military chiefs on 28 September to ponder a way to lift the morale of the American public, and came up with the ingenious "plan for victory in Iraq". The "plan" is to enable the Iraqis to defend "the freedom they have won" by building an Iraqi army capable of that aim. Then, once the Iraqi army "stands up" America will "stand down", as the US president so eloquently put it. The "victory plan" is reaping yet more bloodshed and more destruction.

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

Seems like there are some valid perspectives that see more than the vainglorious spread of democracy and freedom that Bush babbles on about.

I still think this take (above) is more optimistic than I am but I am a cynic.

capt

"too much champage last night"

I bet it was too much champagNe!

HA!

capt

Capt,

HA1

yOU got that write!

#39 Hajji and others, did y'all see that AP story by Toni Locy in which SCOTUS CJ John Roberts was quoted as saying that current pay levels for federal judges are a "direct threat to judicial independence." (That could be parsed in a LOT of different ways...including, "name your price.")

He also said, in his year-end assessment of the federal judiciary, "A strong and independent judiciary is not something that, once established, maintains itself."

NO SHIT SHERLOCK!!!

First GOP Lie of 2006

Yes, David -- follow the money! If the GOP get their hands caught in the cookie jar, maybe we can have a less corrupt gov't; of course, Clinton's "Marc Rich" pardons were not the GOP fault, but seemingly WERE a big inspiration. Of course any corruption will hurt the GOP more -- they're the ones mostly making the current laws.

Bush Says, Bring It On; the Critics Will

By KAREN TUMULTY, MIKE ALLEN

Up until a couple of weeks ago, George W. Bush's script to put the misery of 2005 behind him had seemed destined for a smooth rollout. Buoyed by the apparent success of the Iraqi elections, the President would score a quick confirmation victory with Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, follow it up with a soaring State of the Union address and then return to full campaign mode with a sweep around the country, talking about big issues like immigration and Medicare and throwing the spotlight on a resurgent economy. But the revelation that his Administration has been spying in this country without warrants--illegally, critics say--may have put a crimp in Bush's plan to climb back on top of the agenda as the new legislative session begins. "When Congress comes back," warns a top G.O.P. congressional aide, "domestic surveillance and privacy issues will be all over the front pages."

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Can you believe this guy?

capt

Hello all,
I am typing quietly so as not to provoke my headache and neck sprain. No I was not in an alcoholic haze last night. I was playing horsey with my grandkids. They won.

I read and reread your post David. I think it is too soon to speculate. In the twisted world of capital hill, anything is possible. But I take some comfort in seeing that somehow, someway, there are people with enough ethics to launch an investigation and the balls to stick with it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Later,
th

Hillary, Libby connected via Marc Rich

Though Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., hammered indicted ex-Cheney aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, saying his alleged lying to a grand jury was "simply reprehensible," connections exist between the senator's husband, former President Bill Clinton, and the central figure in the CIA-leak probe via Marc Rich, the man who received an 11th-hour pardon from Clinton and who was represented by attorney Libby.

The Concord, N.H., Monitor points out Libby represented Rich during the '80s and '90s. Rich was the target of a 65-count indictment for various crimes, including trading with Iran amid the American hostage crisis and tax evasion. He was convicted in absentia on 51 counts. Libby reportedly collected $2 million in fees from Rich during the time he represented the financier, who fled the country rather than face the charges.

Around the time of Clinton's 2001 pardon of Rich, his wife, Denise, donated more than $1 million to Democratic causes, including $70,000 to Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign and $450,000 to the Clinton Foundation.

While Libby denied having any involvement in the pardon, the Monitor reported, he did call Rich Jan 22, 2001, to congratulate him on his good fortune.

"Libby's powerful presence inside the White House – his title was assistant to George W. Bush as well as chief of staff to Cheney – might help explain why the incoming Bush administration failed to pursue obvious threads of corruption trailing out of President Clinton's pardon of Rich and other dubious figures," the paper conjectured.

Some see Hillary Clinton's denouncement of Libby as more than ironic, since Independent Counsel Robert Ray accused her of giving false testimony during his probe of the White House travel office. In addition, her husband was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives based in part on a plea bargain deal he made with Ray that included the admission he gave false testimony under oath to a federal grand jury about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

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Facts are facts, Libby represented Marc Rich.

Not to mention, Clinton is not the president and any crimes can he has committed be pursued none of which would mitigate the crimes of the Bush crime family. Not even the crimes done on their behalf.

capt

Down the GOP Memory Hole: Libby Lawyered for Marc Rich

Remember when every Republican hack in the known universe expressed such grave disapproval of Bill Clinton's last-second pardon of the (yes, very dubious) fugitive Marc Rich?That was right about the same time the incoming Bush staff spread scurrilous, unfounded rumors about the state of disrepair in which the departing Clinton team left the West Wing, the adjacent Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and even Air Force One. Now that's the way to restore honor and integrity to the White House! Heckuva job, Karl and Ari.

Anyway, back to the Rich pardon...Here's Rudy Giuliani in January, 2001: "The Marc Rich pardon cries out for an explanation." He was right! But guess who represented Rich at the time? Yep...Irving Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

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

With Scooters representation, it would seem Libby was just a bag man many years ago. Maybe the Rich pardon was a bit more a GOP scandal? Why would Crusader Codpiece just drop the whole "justice" thing if it were not so?

capt

If we just pay the congresscritters a million a year, all will be well. Who suggested that recently?

I had an idea, let the politicians have their pay be first in line to absorb any deficit spending. I bet the deficit spending stops on that day.

A million? They are not worth a dollar but how about polygraphs and pee tests just like real jobs?

Just a thought

capt

#55
Notice the lack of smiles in the pictures on this post. In fact a few in the group look down right sullen and forlorn.

"Pete Ahearn is with us with the FBI. Uh, Pete why don't you share with us, like (very long pause) what, what it was like not to talk to somebody."

George W. Bush - April 20, 2004

Presidential Speak - my new calender.

"Notice the lack of smiles in the pictures on this post. In fact a few in the group look down right sullen and forlorn."

It is because monkey-boy smells of monkey-butt!

HA!

(that is why even he winces a sneer, albeit lipless)

capt

I hope that there is a major scandal in D.C. Arrogance can catch up with people.

Critical thinking and critical writing skills are important for a person's psyche and persona. As you know, I have neocon/fundies for relatives. Limbaugh, O'Reilly, and Hannity have screwed up their minds so much that their brains are now mush. Failure to challenge the brain leads to a brain dead person.

Alito's confirmation is Tinkle King Bush's trump card for supreme power over the people.

Tinkle King's constant pissing inside and outside his pants will leave a stench that can paralyze the human senses.

Let's ring in the new and wring out the old, that is the good ol'boy facists, and that includes Condi. Yeah, sure. Must have had a little too much to drink last night.

Happy New Year everyone!

There seems to be some excitement about Abramoff's squeals. But, is he going to name the facists or the Democrats? We will have to just wait and see. He has an opportunity to make megamillions by naming Democrats and only scorn by naming the repugnants. My money is on megamillions in Abramoff's bank accounts.

Coast to Coast has a few predictions. The best (most funny) is neo-Condi gets knocked-up by someone in the WH!

As funny as it is unlikely but . . .

capt

THANKS DAVID CORN FOR A GREAT BLOG;WILL BE READING YOU ALL YEAR. WISHING YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

"He has an opportunity to make megamillions by naming Democrats and only scorn by naming the repugnants."

I had considered the same thing and concluded: it is all about the money trail. The neocons can play some games but the money trail is like so many bread crumbs. That is how they got him to begin with.

There will be direct lines to members of both parties but nobody believes for a fatmosecond that this is anything except GOP criminal insanity.

Any Democrats or Indy that wanted some of the funny money deserve more scorn because they are DINO's (Democrat in name only) if they are in bed with these slugs.

IMHO

capt

64 entire posts before a wingnut mentioned Clinton as a rebuttal to the latest Republican outrage...must be a new record!

Damn, but did that guy's penis drive some people wacko or what?

A VERY powerful appendage, eh!

Good for Bill and no small wonder Hillary stays!

To bring up Marc Rich? Where have these people been? (echo chamber) Rich is Libby's guy. He might even be involved with Abramoff. Birds of a feather.

capt

going back to that "combat" wound on bush's forehead...bush is "subjected" to more injuries than the average joe...I mean, really! bush falls off his bike with regularity, gets a doozey of a shiner by falling off his couch by chocking on a pretzel, etc.

So, I did a search about non-traffic, alcohol-related injuries...seems like ole GWB sure gets more than his fair share of injuries...

Alcohol and injury: a case-crossover study. Daniel C. Vinson, Nancy Mabe, Luralie L. Leonard, Jay Alexander, Julie Becker, John Boyer, and John Moll. Archives of Family Medicine (4):505-511, June 1995.

Key words: injury, drinking patterns

Summary: This study concludes that even moderate drinking significantly increases the risk of injury. The authors find that the risk of injury increases with moderate and high alcohol consumption near the time of injury. The data indicate that a person who suffered an injury was:

* 2.5 times more likely to have been drinking in the six hours prior to the injury than he or she was to have been drinking at the same time on the previous day
* 11 times more likely to have had four or more drinks in the six hours prior to the injury than he or she was to have had any drinks at the same time on the previous day
* 5.6 times more likely to have been drinking during the six hours before the injury than he or she was to have not been drinking during the same six-hour period on the same weekday in the previous four weeks
* 4.5 times more likely to have had between one and three drinks as opposed to no drinks during the six hours before the injury than he or she was to have not been drinking during the same six-hour period in the previous four weeks

The study was designed to overcome a serious limitation in the research on alcohol and injury risk. Calculating risk entails accurately comparing the circumstances surrounding injury. Cohort studies compare different groups' risk over time, while case-control studies compare two (or more) different populations. However, it is difficult to match the two groups (the "case" group, which suffers the injury, and the "comparison" group, which does not) with respect to all the factors that might be relevant to explaining the injury. Thus individuals in the case group may differ in average age or other characteristics from those in the comparison group.

This study uses a case-crossover design to avoid this problem. Each individual in the study reported on his or her alcohol consumption during the six hours, the 30 hours, and the 28 days prior to the injury. In this way, each individual's drinking immediately prior to the injury was compared with his or her drinking at other times in order to determine how frequently injury was accompanied by the individual's drinking (including the amount consumed).

Three hundred and fifty adult patients reporting with acute trauma to two emergency rooms in a Midwestern city were studied.

Practical implications: This study makes a strong argument linking increased injury risk with moderate and high alcohol consumption near enough to the time of the injury so as to make it plausible that alcohol was in some way a contributing factor to the injury. This bolsters the position that decreasing alcohol consumption is likely to decrease injuries.
++++++++++++
I hate having a drunk/druggie as Commander-in-Chief!

Siege Heil: The Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus and the Destabilization of California

by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

George W. Bush's grandfather helped finance the Nazi Party. Karl Rove's grandfather allegedly helped run the Nazi Party, and helped build the Birkenau Death Camp. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Austrian father volunteered for the infamous Nazi SA and became a ranking officer.

Together, they have destabilized California and are on the brink of bringing it a new Reich. With the Schwarzenegger candidacy they have laid siege to America's largest state, lining it up for the 2004 election.

The Bush family ties to the Nazi party are well known. In their 1994 Secret War Against the Jews, Mark Aarons and John Loftus use official US documents to establish that George Herbert Walker, George W. Bush's maternal great-grandfather, was one of Hitler's most important early backers. He funneled money to the rising young fascist through the Union Banking Corporation.

In 1926, Walker arranged to have his new son-in-law, Prescott Bush---father of President George Bush I, grandfather of George Bush II---hired as Vice President at W.A. Harriman and Company. Prescott became a senior partner when Harriman merged with a British-American investment company to become Brown Brothers Harriman. In 1934 Prescott Bush joined the Board of Directors of Union Banking.

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Let us not forget what we are up against.

"The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?'"

~ George Orwell 1984 Chapter 3 Section 3

I fear future history will say Orwellian was an understatement.

capt

Miki,

Taking Spec. Spanky to ATL in the morning. I'm thinkin' a few dozen drinks before I push him down the escalator might just keep him from going to Iraq...

His release date, from the Army is 6/06...

There's about 10 guys in his unit who will be subject to "stop loss" for the full year.

-F

George W. Bush and Kaiser Wilhelm II had something in common -- when Wilhelm was in exile, he developed a hobby of cutting down trees. During his years in Doorn, he deforested his estate.

Seriously. What kind of obsession is this?

Micki,

I had not heard that! VERY interesting/odd.

Thanks

"" ~ Homer J Simpson

capt

Mikki, that #83 was the funniest thing I've read in a while. And as for the tree thing, it may have been the original impetus for the Healthy Forests Initiative (the No Tree Left Behind Act). Mebbe?

I just remembered that I wanted to offer Giving-up-my-Liberty-Dad a chance to do just that. There's a form he can fill out and let the government have their way with him. It's Judge Posner's waiving-your-liberty affidavit. I would highly recommend it to those folks who would like to cut a 4th-Amendment-sized hole in the Constitution.

Oop's

"Coincidence doesn't just happen" ~ Homer J Simpson

I must be tag challenged.

capt

Pande,

Excellent! That will do the trick!

You always have the goods!

capt

Oh, Pande! Keep posting the link to the waiver. You must give Liberty Dad every opportunity to sign! No Liberties Left Behind!

capt...but, what does the "coincidence" mean? It's kinda weird...

It is very odd.

Like so many of the "royals" having a small/crippled arm? The blue-blood lines are an inbred lot.

capt

Liberty dad is not even in America.

Name: Tom Grey
Birthday: 11 July
Location: Bratislava : EU : Slovakia (Slovak Republic)

A Slovakian telling us about conservative v. liberal bias, media, issues - interesting but not very applicable to our soil. Or am I being too nationalist?

The guy is a kook, might be well meaning but . . .

capt

British, U.S. spying draws us closer to Orwell's Big Brother

In the United States, President Bush is acting under apparently self-granted powers to ``authorize'' the National Security Agency (NSA) to spy on Americans -- of course, only on Americans threatening terrorist acts.

In an act of high integrity, one of the judges of the secret court that grants Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act search warrants resigned, citing the fact that Bush was now bypassing even that minimal civil rights guarantee by directly authorizing NSA spying on U.S. citizens. One can only imagine that this troublesome judge will be replaced with one more friendly to the administration.

With only the need to combine two real-world technologies for spying and tracking, the vision of 1984 -- once just a dark philosophical concept -- becomes an engineering project.

The president and those to whom he delegates his authority can now authorize government spooks to listen to us in our homes and on our cell phones. When we are not home, they can track us in our automobiles. The system could be airtight and could be used to control our actions.

It's simple enough for most Silicon Valley companies to create a chip to detect a valid GPS signal and disable an automobile's ignition system to prevent citizens from the ``unauthorized use'' of their own vehicles.

The final move into the totality of 1984 requires only a bit of philosophical drift, as exemplified by J. Edgar Hoover's directive to spy on the Rev. Martin Luther King because he was a subversive. If Bush's latest acts are left unchallenged, the government will become bolder at spying on whomever it wants and secretly jailing those it deems a threat to national security -- all with no troublesome warrants or messy public trials.

In this environment, acts other than terrorism will certainly be put on the subversive activities list, all in the name of protecting our freedom.

Why should law-abiding citizens fear these trends? Because the government cannot be trusted. I don't trust President Bush to honor my rights, nor did I trust President Clinton, who was caught with secret FBI files on his political enemies.

It's not that I'm unpatriotic. The founders of our country did not trust any government -- either that of George III or an uncontrolled democracy. That's why we have the Bill of Rights to protect American citizens from their own government -- by demanding, for example, that ``Congress shall make no law abridging the right of free speech.''

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Orwellian as an understatement.

capt

capt, I like the DINOs comment (Dems in name only).I would say that in the Senate we have 25 Dems and 20 DINOs.

micki, Bush is a dry drunk. He may always be drunk even though he is dry.

capt, I believe that the Bushes have committed treasonous acts on several fronts. The famiy has great admiration for Hitler.

Will Abramoff be given a similar deal as Ollie North received when he testified and the whole deal was a sham?

I emailed this link to some of you guys. Thought I'd post it so everybody could see it. Microsoft won't have a patch for about 10 days, so after reading about the prob and this patch, I decided to go ahead and get it now. It's easy to un-install when Microsoft's official patch comes out, so... read and learn more about it here and decide for yourselves.

Patch for Windows Flaw

Thirteen U.S. soldiers were recently killed in Afghanistan.

American Soldiers

2,438 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan for Bush's evil lies.

16,000+ American soldiers have been maimed in Iraq and Afghanistan for Bush's evil lies.

40,000+ American soldiers are suffering from PTSD.

Over 100,000+ Iraqis have been killed in Iraq since Bush declared shock and awe bombings on March 19, 2003.

Are you feeling more safe and secure with Bush in the WH and Cheney as his chief hatchet man overseeing America and her people.

American elections are rigged to favor the repugnants.

We will have to see how events play out. Seymour Hersh (when he was asked to comment about the 2004 election)

Bush will declare martial law in 2008 and the elections will be suspended.

Our military men and women are used as cannon fodder for a terrorist American government.

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we. George W. Bush, August 5, 2005

There is no sense trying to make sense from those who have no sense.

THE GLORY OF BUSH IS MAN FULLY DEAD!!!

This war in Iraq really pisses me off!!!!!

Rigged elections doom American democracy. American soldiers are being killed and maimed TO PROMOTE AN AMERICAN NAZI STATE.

THE GLORY OF GOD IS MAN FULLY ALIVE. St. Irenaeus

I shall pass this way but once. Any good that I can do let me do it now for I shall not pass this way again. St. Ambrose

We must work tirelessly for man to be fully alive.

American soldiers are being killed like flies for Bush's lies. To date 2,438 American soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

DON'T PATRONIZE ME WITH TALK ABOUT HUMAN LIVES. COLIN LAPDOG POWELL

It sounds like human lives are not important to Lapdog.

I was provided with additional input that was radically different from the truth. I assisted in furthering that version. Oliver North

There is no sense trying to make sense from those who have no sense!

Wolfowitz + World Bank = War + Poverty

As Diebold goes, so goes the election!

American democracy is dead as we know it. We are now OUTSOURCING our dead American democracy around the world with our dead and maimed soldiers who are fighting in foreign lands so these lands can revel in our dead democracy.

My fellow Americans, Bush does not view our Constitution as a piece of paper. He views our Constitution as a piece of toilet paper so he can wipe his ass with it.

When God means to punish a nation, He deprives its rulers of wisdom. Linda Schrock Taylor

No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices. Edward R. Murrow

All Americans are accomplices in Bush's murders and war crimes.

To sin is a human business; to justify sin is a devilish business. Leo Tolstoy, Russian author 1828-1910

The incestuous relationship between government and big business thrives in the dark. Jack Anderson

PEACE TAKES COURAGE!

HONOR THE TROOPS, DEMAND THE TRUTH!

Galilee biblical park on tap?

JERUSALEM (AP) —†Israel is offering evangelical Christians a chunk of the Holy Land.

Thirty-five acres of rolling hills and rocky shores of the Sea of Galilee, tucked between key sites in Jesus' ministry, would be leased to an association of evangelists led by American religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, Israeli tourism officials say.

The potential deal for turning over biblical lands to develop a tourist destination underlines how ties have strengthened in recent years between Israel and evangelical Christian groups that support the Jewish state.

For other Christian denominations, which represent tens of thousands of Arabs living in the Holy Land, the deal raises questions about possible threats to the sensitive status quo in the Galilee region where they have owned land for hundreds of years.

The land envisioned for the lease also is near a politically contentious area. It lies just under two miles from territory that Syria wants returned in any future peace deal with Israel, said a Syrian expert on geography, Hamed Halaby.

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

I have a better idea. Let the Kkkristo-fascists and the KKKevangelicals move there. They can have their terrorist wars, hate (maybe even stone to death) some homosexuals.

I guess the "theme" park will be akin to the "Jesusland" jokes or Ned Flanders religious theme park on "The Simpsons".

capt

A Criminal Administration

Caught in gratuitous and illegal spying on American citizens, the Bush administration has defended its illegal activity and set the Justice (sic) Department on the trail of the person or persons who informed the New York Times of Bush’s violation of law. Note the astounding paradox: The Bush administration is caught red-handed in blatant illegality and responds by trying to arrest the patriot who exposed the administration’s illegal behavior.

Bush has actually declared it treasonous to reveal his illegal behavior! His propagandists, who masquerade as news organizations, have taken up the line: To reveal wrong-doing by the Bush administration is to give aid and comfort to the enemy.

Compared to Spygate, Watergate was a kindergarden picnic. The Bush administration’s lies, felonies, and illegalities have revealed it to be a criminal administration with a police state mentality and police state methods. Now Bush and his attorney general have gone the final step and declared Bush to be above the law. Bush aggressively mimics Hitler’s claim that defense of the realm entitles him to ignore the rule of law.

Bush’s acts of illegal domestic spying are gratuitous because there are no valid reasons for Bush to illegally spy. The Foreign Intelligence Services Act (FISA) gives Bush all the power he needs to spy on terrorist suspects. All the administration is required to do is to apply to a secret FISA court for warrants. The Act permits the administration to spy first and then apply for a warrant, should time be of the essence. The problem is that Bush has totally ignored the law and the court.

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

Sounds very Hitleresque to me.

Bush is not the law, his word is not the law. No president can dictate what is legal. That is a dictator.

Rule of law. Our founding fathers would be leading the opposition to the government. No two ways about it.

King George has taken the colonies. He did it with a 5-4 vote in the smallest chamber now devoid of justice. I do not think he will give our country back without a fight.

The 2006 elections will be the tell. The only question is will it be too late if we wait until after a neocon super-majority?

capt

"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."

"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. "

"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... "

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard. "

"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under. "

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

~H. L. Mencken

Scariest bumper sticker I've seen so far, "Condoleeza Rice President 2008." I thought, hillary, condi, we are truly up shit creek! WTF are we gonna do? Two war mongering women, and no hope in sight. How ironic. Gerald, what was that you were saying about women? (Girls, don't take offense, I'm being facetious!)

What Did They Say When Clinton Was Being Impeached?

From: The Bulldog Manifesto

Tom Delay (R-TX):
"This nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard, sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth, justice and the rigorous application of the principle that no man is above the law. Now, the other road is the path of least resistance. This is where we start making exceptions to our laws based on poll numbers and spin control. This is when we pitch the law completely overboard when the mood fits us, when we ignore the facts in order to cover up the truth.

No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That’≥ the principle that we all hold very dear in this country."

Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.):
"I suggest impeachment is like beauty: apparently in the eye of the beholder. But I hold a different view. And it's not a vengeful one, it's not vindictive, and it's not craven. It's just a concern for the Constitution and a high respect for the rule of law. ... as a lawyer and a legislator for most of my very long life, I have a particular reverence for our legal system. It protects the innocent, it punishes the guilty, it defends the powerless, it guards freedom, it summons the noblest instincts of the human spirit.

The rule of law protects you and it protects me from the midnight fire on our roof or the 3 a.m. knock on our door."

James Sensenbrenner: (R-WI):
"What is on trial here is the truth and the rule of law. Our failure to bring President Clinton to account for his lying under oath and preventing the courts from administering equal justice under law, will cause a cancer to be present in our society for generations. I want those parents who ask me the questions, to be able to tell their children that even if you are president of the United States, if you lie when sworn "to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," you will face the consequences of that action, even when you don't accept the responsibility for them."

Chuck Hagel (R-NB):
"There can be no shading of right and wrong. The complicated currents that have coursed through this impeachment process are many. But after stripping away the underbrush of legal technicalities and nuance, I find that the President abused his sacred power by lying and obstructing justice. How can parents instill values and morality in their children? How can educators teach our children? How can the rule of law for every American be applied equally if we have two standards of justice in America--one for the powerful and the other for the rest of us?"

Bill Frist (R-TN):
"I will have no part in the creation of a constitutional double-standard to benefit the President. He is not above the law. If an ordinary citizen committed these crimes, he would go to jail."

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas):
"When someone is elected president, they receive the greatest gift possible from the American people, their trust. To violate that trust is to raise questions about fitness for office. My constituents often remind me that if anyone else in a position of authority -- for example, a business executive, a military officer of a professional educator -- had acted as the evidence indicates the president did, their career would be over. The rules under which President Nixon would have been tried for impeachment had he not resigned contain this statement: "The office of the president is such that it calls for a higher level of conduct than the average citizen in the United States."
-------------
Do as we say, not as we do.

One more from the Bulldog manifesto.

9/11 -- The Gift That Keeps on Giving

(I feel a rant coming on......)

So what if the Bush administration wants to conduct illegal wiretaps, they are fighting the terrorists!

So what if the Bush administration wants to attack a country that has never attacked us and was not a threat to us, they are fighting the terrorists!

So what if the Bush administration wants to take away all my liberties, they are fighting the terrorists!

So what if the Bush administration outs a CIA operative in order to smear a political opponent, they are fighting the terrorists!

So what if the Bush administration has encumbered more foreign debt in the past five years then all of the preceding administrations did combined, they are fighting the terrorists!

So what if the Bush administration paid American journalists to write deceptive and administration-friendly news stories, they are fighting the terrorists!

So what if the Bush administration hasn't enacted an exit plan in Iraq, they are fighting the terrorists!

So what if the Bush administration has destroyed the United States' reputation overseas, they are fighting the terrorists!

Wanna break the law? Invoke 9/11!

Wanna start a war? Invoke 9/11!

Wanna piss on the Constitution? Invoke 9/11!

Wanna make sure your family business profits off the war? Invoke 9/11!

Wanna fuck with people you just don't like? Invoke 9/11!

Wanna make your political adversary look like a treasonous bastard? Invoke 9/11!

I'm so sick and tired of 9/11. The Bush regime uses 9/11 like a heroin addict uses a spoon. It's the ultimate political weapon. Meanwhile, ignorant bastards keep driving around town in their cars with their "9/11- Never Forget" bumper stickers. That's akin to a southern slave in the 1800's wearing a shirt that says "I Need to Be Whipped Some Mo' Masseh"

For fuck's sake, who has gained the most from 9/11? Who? Isn't it obvious?

Terrorists? Who the fuck are these terrorists? The only terrorists I see are the ones sitting in Washington D.C. fucking over my country. Who is fighing against those bastards, that's what I wanna know.

The only terrorists I see are the ones handing out tax breaks to the rich while the poor fight over the scraps. Why isn't the Army fighing those dangerous thugs?

The only terrorists I see are the CEOs making $27 million dollars while the grunts make $17,000 (Walmart). Shouldn't we call in the Navy SEALS?

My government is one big organized crime family. That's the way I see it. Like any strong crime family, you gotta have muscle. And we certainly have the muscle. We make up 5% of the world's population, and yet we are responsible for 50% of all money spent on defense worldwide. "Luca Brasi swims with the fishes!"

Speaking of which, when can we begin calling "military defense" by it's rightful name? It should be called "military offense." For pete's sake, we've been on the offense for about 60 fucking years now. I think the days of "defense" are long gone, aren't they?

Yes indeed, 9/11 is the ultimate lotto prize for the neocon pigs. Full Spectrum Dominance? Try Full Spectrum Fascism.

Oh they danced and danced, drank lots of wine, and listened to lots of Wagner and Beethoven. Meanwhile their "brave leader" was out there fighing against the scourge of communism, the scourge of the Jews, and the scourge of everything else that wasn't Nazi. Yup, the Germans in the early 1940's were asleep too. Their leader had saved them from the communists who, after all, were accused of burning down the Reichstag building. (Oh wait, Hitler actually set the building on fire himself. Sounds so familiar?) Ah yes, because Germany was "under attack", they let Hitler enact the Enabling Act, thereby giving him dictatorial authority over Germany.

Dictatorial power. Where have I heard that before?

Yup, it all goes back to that eleventh day in September, 2001. The day when our country did a swan dive off the top of the World Trade Center, straight fucking down!

9/11-- the gift that keeps giving.
-------
OOOHHH yeh America, swallow it whole. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.

"The office of the president is such that it calls for a higher level of conduct than the average citizen in the United States."

That is exactly what they twist into higher level as being above the law.

We are on the wrong side of the looking glass.

Truth is a lie and lies all truth
it is a crime to expose criminals
raising the debt ceiling is reducing spending
Negative job growth is a good economy
"Brownie was doing a fine job"

It all makes sense once you reverse it or stand it on its head.

We have neocons thinking they are manufacturing reality when in reality they cannot find their arse with both hands and a helper.

AAAARRRGGGHH!

capt

Capt, you know we have entered the Twilight Zone. Is this the darkest dark before the dawn? Or, could it possibly get darker? I am leaning towards the latter.

Seems to me, all of this BS is just setting for the real trouble ahead.

I hope I am wrong but if history is any guide . . .

capt

Bush Defends Spying Program As 'Necessary' to Protect U.S.
But President Acknowledges Civil Liberties Concerns

By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 2, 2006; 2:45 AM

President Bush today mounted his third defense in two weeks of his secret domestic spying program, calling his order authorizing warrantless eavesdropping on U.S. citizens a limited, legal program that Americans understand is protecting their security.

Taking questions from reporters after a brief stop at an Army hospital in San Antonio to visit wounded troops, the president acknowledged concerns that monitoring overseas telephone calls and e-mails of citizens with suspected ties to terrorism may violate civil liberties. But he called his directive to the National Security Agency (NSA) after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks "vital and necessary" to protect the country.
========================
and you know millions are drinking that Kool-aid

For fuck's sake, who has gained the most from 9/11? Who? Isn't it obvious?

who gained from 911? who covered up crucial information about 911? who put out the patently false stories about 911 in the first place?

highly placed individuals in the bush administration, with all roads leading thru dick cheney.

interesting 'old' news...

Churchill Urged Electric Chair for 'Gangster' Hitler
Declassified Notes Detail British Leader's Hard Line

at Crooks and Liars is the video...

Safire:

"I was writing a speech on welfare reform, and the president looks at it and says, "OK, I'll go with it, but this is not going to get covered. Leak it as far an wide as you can beforehand. Maybe we'll get something in the paper." And so I go back to my office and I get a call from a reporter, and he wants to know about foreign affairs or something, and I said, "Hey, you want a leak? I'll tell you what the president will say tomorrow about welfare reform." And he took it down and wrote a little story about it. But the FBI was illegally tapping his phone at the time, and so they hear a White House speechwriter say, "Hey, you want a leak?" And so they tapped my phone, and for six months, every home phone call I got was tapped. I didn't like that. And when it finally broke--it did me a lot of good at the time, frankly, because then I was on the right side--but it told me how easy it was to just take somebody who is not really suspected of anything for any good reason and listen to every conversation in his home--you know, my wife talking to her doctor, my--everything."

Heya Oldtimers - and newbies . . .
Hope you have a great new year! And, that these fuckers start getting what they deserve!

It is not a good time to web surf. Political sites are the most likely to spam your system in increasingly nasty ways.

We NEED to pay attention to the advance of Presidential Power.

THIS IS A POWER PLAY.......PURE AND SIMPLE.

From Democracy to Dicratorship is but a few Constitutional Amendemnts.

WE THE PEOPLE need to put the brakes on this runaway Administration.

Right the hell now, No MATTER WHAT PARTY.

This IS Democracy meets the Anti Christ.

Wake up or shut up.

The time is now..

Heeeey, Chris!! I was wondering where you were, dude. Good to see that the NSA hasn't swept you up and the CIA hasn't shipped you off to one of those secret prisons in Poland.

I read about the Supply Side study by the CBO in the New Pravda. Who'd a thunk it that the home of the Stock Market would run an article about that? I guess HST is right, even a blind pig finds an acorn every oncet in a while. Supply Side Economics, Bush's Mandate, and the hunt for Bin Laden: all rightwing myths.

As Chris used to say, time to make the donuts.

Chris!

Happy New Year!

And the very best for you and yours every day of the year!

Been missing you. Don't be a stranger.

capt

Hey Cornbloggers,

Have you ever visited any of the right wing blogs?I have gone to a few and they are very different. The difference between forums like this one and forums like GOPUSA are striking. Like the difference between a democracy (like the one we used to live in) and a third world dictatorship. The conservative blogs are strictly managed, the polls are fishy, and even the slightest amount of dissent is quickly squashed. They must always have thier playing field slanted. It is amazing that a political party based on exclusion would find any success in a democracy. For a laugh go visit one of these one sided GOP "forums". They are hilarious. If you even manage to register ( usually they have a lot of crazy requirements or charge you money) if you were to say anything like the Bushbots like to say when they come here, you will be bounced out faster than Ken Mehlman can dish out talking points. I think that is a metaphor for the current state of the republican party. Everything is a double standard for them.

My new years resolution is to try and be more understanding and less hateful of the people who have been sucked into the neoconservative cult. Hate and ignorance are the tools of the devil. It is easy to become what you try to fight. Pat Robertson looks more like Osama every day.

Hate and ignorance are the tools of the devil. It is easy to become what you try to fight. Pat Robertson looks more like Osama every day

true, but fight we must - click my name to order the FREE DVD:
'CONFRONTING THE EVIDENCE: Reopen 911'
6-8 weeks for delivery

Happy New Year!

Boy, Jim Jones sure messed up Kool-Aid's reputation in ways Ken Kesey never imagined!

And Ken Kesey was a pretty imaginative guy.

Things have been reminding me an awful lot like the Nixon years, what with the NSA story surfacing and all, and looking back at COINTELPRO; also reading Michael Ruppert's very controversial "Crossing The Rubicon".

So for the New Year, I offer a musical selection:

Graham Nash's

My head is hanging heavy with the thoughts of him in mind

'Tis sacrilege for us to take advantage of the blind

So, tell before you come to me from out of yonder skies

A man's a man who looks a man right between the eyes

And the pain that we can bring to him

I don't think he could beat

Please don't ask me how I know

I've just been up that street

And all the people living there

Have been silenced by their own lies

A man's a man who looks a man right between the eyes

And talking' from experience I know how he would feel

Waking up and finding that his one love wasn't real

But the age of truth will soon appear, Aquarius arrives

A man's a man who looks a man right between the eyes

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

Interpret at will, and of course, goes for women too.

AAR - Jerry Springer had a speech by Nixon from 1969 where they dubbed "Iraq" for the word "Vietnam" and it is the same speech that Bunnypants just gave.

It was the same speec