Mr. David Corn,

Great post!

Thanks

Kirk

Seems like we need to outlaw lobbying but the "reforms" will only refine the process of corrupting and buying influence in a government that is suppose to answer to the people, not the mountains of lobbying money funneled to the politicians.

It is either the money or the people that have a voice in our government, currently it is the money and to stop that will be like taking heroin away from a junkie.(you can expect a fight)

Jack Abramoff is a symptom of the problem not the cause of the problem. The whole lobbying effort has perverted and demeaned those in a position of power as they sell our democracy one vote at a time to any bidder.

capt

Custodians of chaos

In this exclusive extract from his forthcoming memoirs, Kurt Vonnegut is horrified by the hypocrisy in contemporary US politics

"Do unto others what you would have them do unto you." A lot of people think Jesus said that, because it is so much the sort of thing Jesus liked to say. But it was actually said by Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, five hundred years before there was that greatest and most humane of human beings, named Jesus Christ.

The Chinese also gave us, via Marco Polo, pasta and the formula for gunpowder. The Chinese were so dumb they only used gunpowder for fireworks. And everybody was so dumb back then that nobody in either hemisphere even knew that there was another one.

We've sure come a long way since then. Sometimes I wish we hadn't. I hate H-bombs and the Jerry Springer Show

But back to people like Confucius and Jesus and my son the doctor, Mark, each of whom have said in their own way how we could behave more humanely and maybe make the world a less painful place. One of my favourite humans is Eugene Debs, from Terre Haute in my native state of Indiana.

Get a load of this. Eugene Debs, who died back in 1926, when I was not yet four, ran five times as the Socialist party candidate for president, winning 900,000 votes, almost 6 percent of the popular vote, in 1912, if you can imagine such a ballot. He had this to say while campaigning:

"As long as there is a lower class, I am in it.

"As long as there is a criminal element, I am of it.

"As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free."

Doesn't anything socialistic make you want to throw up? Like great public schools, or health insurance for all?

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

Not a good clip, just the first couple of paragraphs!

capt

An American Hitler and his Gestapo

The U.S. Department of Justice, led by Alberto "The Constitution is an outdated document" Gonzales, wants to know if you've been looking at any racy material on the Internet.

Yahoo and MSN have already complied with subpoenas from Gonzales storm troopers demanding records on who is using their search services to look at porno sites on the Internet.

Google, to their credit, said no and is now caught in a tough legal fight against the George Bush's Gestapo.

Ohmigod! Did he say Gestapo?

Damn right I did. If you don't think the rights-robbing, privacy-invading, Constitution ignoring administration of George W. Bush is anything less than a Hitler-style Gestapo then you've got your head stuffed so far up your ass that all that brown stuff is blinding you.

America, once hailed as the land of the free, has under the tyranny of King George become Amerika, reviled as a global thug that doesn't give a damn about anyone's rights, especially those of its own citizens.

Protest if you want. Spout the Republican Party line is you can without gagging. I don't give a damn. If you believe George W. Bush is anything less than an American Hitler then you're too damn dumb and stupid to argue with anyway.

Bush is an evil man, a power-grapping despot who believes in absolute rule, a madman so wrapped up in his perceived role as "a wartime President" and "Commander in Chief" that he believes no law applies to him or his rotting, corrupt, administration. The Constitution? Why it's just "a goddamned piece of paper" to this insane megalomaniac.

Legal scholars agree that Bush blatantly broke the law by ordering the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without warrants or court review. The only cretins who support this dictator are the brain-dead Republicans who put power above the law and party loyalty above their country.

Bush is a traitor to his country. As a traitor, he should be led from the White House in chains and tried as one. Since he insists he is a "wartime President," then let's try the son-of-a-bitch as a wartime traitor, a Benedict Arnold who turned on his country and gave aid and comfort to its enemies. Bush has done far more damage to the freedoms and security of American than Osama bin Laden. In fact, I'm starting to believe the traitorous asshole is in league with bin Laden and others who want this country destroyed.

No true American would treat the Constitution with the contempt that spills like toxic bile from the lips of George Bush. No true American would continue to support this maniac as he continues to dismantle what once was the greatest country in the world.

Bush is clearly guilty of high crimes against the Constitution of the United States. It's time to give this reincarnation of Adolph Hitler exactly what he deserves.

*****end of article*****

I could not agree more on every point.

That is specifically why I have nothing to say to the blind lemmings that troll here with their self-aggrandized vainglorious GOPher talking points BS.

capt

Plant Closings, Job Cuts Loom at Ford

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. employees are bracing for thousands of jobs cuts in North America as the company embarks on a new restructuring plan.

Ford was set to announce details of the plan Monday morning in Dearborn, Mich., home of the 103-year-old automaker's headquarters.

Ford has refused to release details of the plan, dubbed the "Way Forward," which is expected to include plant closings, product changes and cuts to Ford's salaried ranks. Ford has approximately 87,000 hourly workers and 35,000 salaried workers in North America.

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

One day erases all of the "gains" made in 2005, now another 25,000 - 35,000 will get pink slips? GREAT ECONOMY, eh?

capt

Captain,

Once again you post and run. Coward.

There are nut jobs on the right, nut jobs on the left. Your second post is one from someone who is obviously unhinged, not a serious person.

The American people may have serious disagreements with George Bush, but such allegations make you seem foolish and childish in their eyes. Instead of helping your cause, it hurts it.

I am always here, I just see no need to drop to your pathetic low-brow name calling piffle.

Take it as a compliment~!

You use the implied insult "COWARD" often, you fear you are a coward? You know are what you post, you are at least that insightful.

Get over yourself.

capt

"No true American would treat the Constitution with the contempt that spills like toxic bile from the lips of George Bush. No true American would continue to support this maniac as he continues to dismantle what once was the greatest country in the world."

Read 'em and weep.

"Protest if you want. Spout the Republican Party line is you can without gagging. I don't give a damn. If you believe George W. Bush is anything less than an American Hitler then you're too damn dumb and stupid to argue with anyway."

Read 'em and weep!

HA!

More questionable practices by Halliburton in Iraq

Troops and civilians at a U.S. military base in Iraq were exposed to contaminated water last year and employees for the responsible contractor, Halliburton, couldn't get their company to inform camp residents, according to interviews and internal company documents.

Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, disputes the allegations about water problems at Camp Junction City, in Ramadi, even though they were made by its own employees and documented in company e-mails.

"We exposed a base camp population (military and civilian) to a water source that was not treated," said a July 15, 2005, memo written by William Granger, the official for Halliburton's KBR subsidiary who was in charge of water quality in Iraq and Kuwait.

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

The warmongering chicken-hawks make a bundle by screwing over the troops that are in harms way. What a racket?

capt

Once again the troll has nothing to offer except a criticism of others commentary?

Typical. Yet some of my friends will post to the piffle posters - several times over?

That is not sad, it is tragic. At least you all should demand a better troll, one that can speak to issues not just offer insults and such. I am a coward - AGAIN - WHATEVER! I am all the bad names your juvenile brain can string together, SO WHAT?

You think that passes for discussion? for political discourse?

Read a book, you have not done anything for yourself here. The Internets are clearly rotting your brains (if you ever had any)

IMHO

capt

"Everything you can imagine is real." ~ Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." ~ Philip K. Dick (1928 - 1982), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

"Humankind cannot stand very much reality." ~ T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

"The Republican Party has been and continues to be the party of reform. Reform is a continuing process which is going on....We have continued down the road toward major reform for a long period of time. And I see this as a wonderful new opportunity for us..."

But David, they ARE the party of reform! They have undergone a most remarkable transformation, from constitution supporting, minimal govt. advocating, privacy protecting conservatives to fascist dictators bent on world domination at the expense of the entire country's economy and infrastructure in just 5 short years! This is nothing short of a miracle!

Pande,
I'm glad you read my posts so carefully. I can't quote verbatim from yours like you can from mine, but here are some of the topics I'd like to address.

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.

You dispute my claim that Dems are weak on defense. That is not only my claim, Pande, but the claim of the American people. 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.

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. There is no question.

For instance, 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.

And you are obviously skilled in the presentation of the half-truth. You state that 11 alumna 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.

There are a lot of things wrong with this country. Republicans are responsible for a great many of them. But 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.

Don't you see that you and your kind are largely responsible for the Republicans being in power? 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.

You are obviously more intelligent than most of the posters here. Please act like it.

capt.

I found your post's to be quite rational and very informative.

Bill=LBH=Happy,

Hey man there is a little bit of foam hanging from the corner of your mouth. No the other side. Yah thats it.

I love how Scottie McStonewall actually said Emporer Bush never met Abramoff. That is a good one. These guys don't even bother with half truth anymore. They just blatantly lie now.

Reform party!!!

Reforming your Democracy into a Pluto-dictatorship. Reforming your world into a toxic chaotic hell whole.

If you believe George W. Bush is anything less than an American Hitler then you're too damn dumb and stupid to argue with anyway. Pretty much says it all doesn't it? Whack a troll starts now!!!

So where did the reich learn reform? Reform school of course! Only in Amerikkka.

We could really use a political party that stands for fiscal responsibility, a party that opposes a giant federal government and a party that stands for a strict constructionist view of the U.S. Constitution.

Where did that party go?

Speaking of silly things coming out of the mouths of Repugs:

Regarding lobbying and ethics, George McNeil, of the Ripon Society, said: "We are not skirting any ethics rules," he said, adding that the society has a "hard and fast," if unwritten, rule that "we don't allow any lobbying."

Lobbyists Help Fund Ripon Society Travel

One more example of the Repugs' inimical ethics standards....

PS Hey,LinkDaddy! Read it again! Laughed again!

David,
Silly is right. What a way to start a week - with laughter.
As for the lobbying? Who gravitates toward that kind of money like a sociopath? We are going to continue to see the Tom DeLays of the world in politics until we get rid of the amounts of money that can be gotten. It is a candy store for people like him.

Is "Pro-choice" the best we can do?

A rant about the need for an "anti-fucktard" movement

They call us baby-killers and blood-thirsty perpetrators of infanticide. They harass women trying to get a safe, legal medical procedure with horrific insults. They display disgusting photographs of mangled fetuses - the result of emergency, late-term abortions. They blow up clinics and shoot doctors in the head while they're eating breakfast with their families.

And we call them "anti-choice." Real tough, that comeback. Is it really the best we can do?

I think not. So I, for one, am done with it. The language of "choice" is weak, passive and poorly reflects the true parameters of the debate.

Our opponents are hypocrites, hucksters and snake-oil salesmen and their followers, while perhaps well-intentioned, are ignorant dupes that buy into every straw man argument their leaders spin.

They wouldn't know a culture of life if it kicked them in the ass. They're addicted to the death-penalty; they love the most gruesome of wars.

Joshua Holland is a staff writer at Alternet and a regular contributor to The Gadflyer.

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

I do not even think many of the "followers" are well intentioned at all. The above describes them to a "T"!

capt

Watch out we are on a roll! HA!

Wayward Christian Soldiers

by Charles Marsh

In the past several years, American evangelicals - and I am one of them - have amassed greater political power than at any time in our history. But at what cost to our witness and the integrity of our message?

Recently, I took a few days to reread the war sermons delivered by influential evangelical ministers during the lead up to the Iraq war.

In that period, from the fall of 2002 through the spring of 2003, many of the most respected voices in American evangelical circles blessed President George W. Bush's war plans, even when doing so required them to recast Christian doctrine.

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

An interesting perspective. Worth a read.

capt

Did bush judicial nominee break the law?

James H. Payne has been under scrutiny because of his stockholdings and not recusing himself from cases involving companies in which he holds those stocks...how is this for a silly Repug thing to say?

As a nominee for the federal bench in both 2001 and 2005, Payne pledged to the U.S. Senate to adhere to conflict-of-interest rules. "In general, I plan to comply with Canon 3 Code of Judicial Conduct and the provisions of 28 U.S.C. 455 concerning disqualification of United States District Judge or United States Magistrate Judge."

IN GENERAL???????

Kathleen 352 from previous thread, Why do you feel the Iranian Pres. statement about wiping Israel off the map is outrageous? Why is that sentiment any worse than this one:

'seven nations greater and mightier than thou [are to be delivered into the Judahite's hands], Thou shalt utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them. . . ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. . . for thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are on the face of the earth. . . Thou shalt be blessed above all people. . . And thou shalt consume all the people which the Lord thy God shall deliver thee; thine eyes shall have no pity upon them. . . And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven; there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them. . . Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein...

And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the Name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. . . thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath. . .
-----------
Do those words sound familiar? They should, they are taught in "Christian" churches and Synogogues around the world. It is claimed that this was inspired by the ONE true God, a god of love and justice, a god that sacrificed his only son on the behalf of all humans. So, where is the shock? Where is the outrage? These people believed they were ordained by their god to wipe 7 nations off the map! Yet no one even blinks. These are the words of cruel, racist supremicists who use God as an excuse to murder and despoil and plunder all in their path. And, they are STILL doing it today. Yet the Iranian pres. calling for the end of Israel causes the very earth to tremble in outrage, unbelieavable. Such disgusting hypocrisy I have not encountered before. I am tired of their endless use of their victimhood as an excuse to inflict guilt and extort billions of dollars to support their brutal rampage across the middle east. It was OUR country that sacrificed millions of people to rescue their ass! Yet that is not good enough. Roughly 60 million people died in that war, but they are of no consequence because they were not Jewish? And they still hold the generation today somehow responsible for the suffering of their ancestors, people who weren't even born yet? I'm sorry, but I think that is wrong. I do not hold the descendants of those in charge of the forced march known as "The Trail of Tears" my ancestors were forced to endure responsible for that horrendous crime. Neither do I expect any govt. help or kickbacks from the reservation. I neither suffered from that crime nor do I contribute to the Cherokee people since I was born and raised over 2000 miles away. I'm sorry for this long rant, but I am fed up with this double standard where Jews are free to practice and teach such overt hatred and predjudice as that described in the scriptures above, but the Muslims are threatened with nuclear destruction if they dare utter a negative word against Israel. If the Israeli leadership will not see ALL people as their equals, they can vanish off the earth, and I for one won't miss them. Then maybe the Jewish people around the world will be able to live in peace with their neighbors without having to suffer the backlash and blind anti-Jewish hatred that is caused by this extremist minority.

Vatican 'cashes in' by putting price on the Pope's copyright

From Richard Owen in Rome

THE Vatican has been accused of trying to cash in on the Pope’≥ words after it decided to impose strict copyright on all papal pronouncements.

For the first time all papal documents, including encyclicals, will be governed by copyright invested in the official Vatican publishing house, the Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

The edict covers Pope Benedict XVI’≥ first encyclical, which is to be issued this week amid huge international interest. The edict is retroactive, covering not only the writings of the present pontiff —†as Pope and as cardinal —†but also those of his predecessors over the past 50 years. It therefore includes anything written by John Paul II, John Paul I, Paul VI and John XXIII.

The decision was denounced yesterday for treating the Pope’≥ words as "saleable merchandise" and endangering the Church’≥ mission to "spread the Christian message".

A Milanese publishing house that had issued an anthology containing 30 lines from Pope Benedict’≥ speech to the conclave that elected him and an extract from his enthronement speech is reported to have been sent a bill for €±5,000 (?10,000). This was made up of 15 per cent of the cover price of each copy sold plus "legal expenses" of €≥,500.

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

The prophet profit speaks to the Vatican too!

Pretty soon "good works" will be eclipsed by "profitable works."

capt

"...The terrorists (alCIAda) started this war, and the President made it clear that we will end it at a time and place of our choosing..."

There may be more truth than you think in that statement, David!

Sure seems easy enough to roll out some video, audio or letters from OBL whenever times are darkest for the Dark Prince Bushcheney!

-T

Is Miss Nevada a Republican?

A very stupid remark...

Miss Nevada's controversial pro-Yucca Mountain stance was sparked by "ruthless" judges involved in the Miss America Pageant interview process, according to her mother.

"They really nailed her on the interview," said Lena Wosik. "The judges were ruthless."

Miss Las Vegas Crystal Wosik, who won the Miss Nevada title, was asked by one of the preliminary judges about the planned nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

Wosik replied, "It has to go someplace, and that was the best-built facility in the country," Nevada's state pageant director, Nancy Ames, told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

And if people die?

"We just have to take one for the team," said contestant Wosik, according to Ames.

NCH Hate Crimes Statement

In recent days, the media has engrossed American viewers to the brutal reality of the vulnerability associated with living on the streets. On the early morning of Thursday, January 12, 2006, two teenage boys were caught on surveillance video viciously attacking a defenseless homeless man while he was sleeping. Though the man survived, a few hours later the teens, along with a third accomplice not caught on tape, struck again, this time succeeding in killing a different homeless man. The teens, after fatally beating the 2nd homeless man, went on to a final attacking, critically injuring the third man who was also sleeping on the streets. Fortunately in the second case, two of the teens were caught on film, putting substantial proof and evidence toward the plague of hate crimes/violence against those who live on the streets.

In this instance, the perpetrators were caught on film. Hidden from most Americans, however, is the number of shocking crimes committed nationwide against people experiencing homelessness each year. Homeless men, women, and children around the nation are particularly vulnerable to crimes against them because they represent an easy, visible, susceptible target and often lack a place to retreat for safety and protection.

Across the nation, people experiencing homelessness, advocates, and service providers report an alarming epidemic of hate crimes and violent murders, arson, harassment, and damage of personal property. Thrill seekers, primarily in their teens and early twenties, are the most common perpetrators of the violence. This trend has been exacerbated by the proliferation of "Bum Videos" in which homeless people are coerced to perform degrading and dangerous stunts for money, alcohol, or food.

There is so much that we, along with the Florida Legislature and U.S. Congress, can do to protect one of the most vulnerable populations in our society. It is time for legislation to be introduced in both Florida Legislature and the U.S. Congress adding homelessness to existing hate crimes statutes. Until such legislation is passed, we strongly propose that law enforcement agencies keep track of hate crimes/violence against people experiencing homelessness.

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

This is what we are becoming as a nation? We have to do and be better than that.

The violence and intolerance follows the brown-shirt mentality. Heaven help us if we do not do better.

capt

Saladin,

I see what you are saying. There has always been a double standard where Isreal is concerned. I fear extremism equally, whether it is Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Spaghettinoodlemonsterist. I think the Iran guy is pretty extremist. If we could send all of the radicals away, lets say to Mars, I think we might find ourselves living in paradise.

capt.,

The Bush effect!

The biggest problem here has been that the republicans get more votes (1%) for better defense because they scare us to death with bogeyman WMDs under their beds. shrub and friends have capitalized on this pitiful (1%) majority by tax cutting the rich, cutting programs such as Medicare, Education, etc. while purchasing fighter jets that cost $250,000,000 a copy. He will have a $10 trillion national debt when he retires (unless the king uses marshall law to usurp 2008 elections). The K street corrupted Republican majorities in the House and Senate are aiding and abetting this criminal executive branch. The only hope is 2006 and impeachment.

corky, extremism almost always has it's roots in one religion or another, from the KKK to Zionism. They all operate on the premise that one race of people is superior to all others, and this god is bigger and badder than that god, etc.etc. That one religion is allowed to advocate genocide over others is supremicism in the extreme, but no one ever seems to notice it when Israel or Christendom preaches it! Until that mindset is taken out of the human equation we will never have peace. And the power elite don't want peace, they want endless misery and strife because that provides a cover for the real agenda, which will enslave us all if we don't put a stop to it.

We are ripe for the Brownshirt picking. I tried to instill the urgency for political action to prevent further erosion of liberty in my associates but was rebuffed. "wont do any good", "everything seems OK to me", "yea I heard about that but theres nothing I can do" "both parties are as guilty", "no reason to vote, it doesnt matter", "I'm off the radar so I wont participate", "the democrats are as guilty as the repugs so it wont help". A myriad of excuses and reasons not to do anything except sit on their asses and DO NOTHING. I will not give up on these folks, but it is no wonder why the repugs get away with murder.

I watched an interesting program on the History channel about the Knights Templar. The Knights Templar were an elite force sent to fight in the crusades. They were a huge well trained and equiped force that were destroyed by the forces of the Arab leader Saladin. They were demolished because of the bumbling mistakes of thier leader who refused to listen to his advisors.

Decoding the Past!

I am watching it now.

Good show.

capt

DEN,

The only people who piss me off more than the Bush cult followers are the people who are apathetic.

The power elite have always been running the show. The endless misery and strife are necessary for them to sell their weapons and bullshit. How many congressional votes would you buy if you were Lockheed and the Government was going to give you $250,000,000 a copy.

IF you're gonna talk about the stupid things Republicans SAY...their latest crusade against Howard Stern SHOULD be criminal--- http://www.phpbbforfree.com/forums/eminemsrevengea-post-1190.html#1190

Peace Takes Bravery

No Bravery Lyrics

There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
Tears drying on their face.
He has been here.
Brothers lie in shallow graves.
Fathers lost without a trace.
A nation blind to their disgrace,
Since he's been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

Houses burnt beyond repair.
The smell of death is in the air.
A woman weeping in despair says,
He has been here.
Tracer lighting up the sky.
It's another families' turn to die.
A child afraid to even cry out says,
He has been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
But no one asks the question why,
He has been here.
Old men kneel and accept their fate.
Wives and daughters cut and raped.
A generation drenched in hate.
Yes, he has been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

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

I hope every troll and every pro-war pinhead would watch the video and think about every body, every death, every injury, every orphan on every side of every conflict. Make excuses to the pictures, I bet you will run out before the video is over.

Which scroll from Revelations brings war and pestilence?

Pro-war is not pro-life. Pro-war is not pro-troops. You cannot claim moral high-ground built on the bodies of those you have killed and surely your blind support for an illegal war made from Busheney's whole cloth counts you as culpable until you change course. No more slogans, no more BS rhetoric. It is time to stand up for what is right. No more lies, no more killing or dying for a jerk politician.

Anybody that would still offer apologies or excuses for the crimes being committed daily by this misadministration is too fucking stupid to worry about. No doubt about it.

capt

Iran's master puppeteer

Indeed, the successful election of Ahmadinejad is the culmination of Khamenei's masterful engineering. With Western expectation for continued nuclear negotiation, Khamenei permitted Ahmadinejad's aggressive nuclear posturing, commencing with his rejection of the EU-3 (Germany, Britain and France) proposals in August and continuing with the recent resumption of nuclear "research" this past Monday. Ahmadinejad has inflamed constituencies right and left with his anti-Zionist rhetoric, even garnering censure from his own conservative parliament. The supreme leader recently elevated former presidential candidate and head of the powerful Expediency Council, Hashemi Rafsanjani, giving him supervisory power over the elected branches of government. In effect, Ahmadinejad has created much dissension among the clerical rank and file.

Such antagonistic policy has been a political coup for Khamenei as he has mobilized popular support behind the nuclear program as well as demonstrated to the international community that the Iranian president is indeed fanatical in his orientation and objectives. For the supreme leader, who has spent 16 years isolated in power, Ahmadinejad's unleashing is being manipulated to his benefit. By taking Iran to the brink, Khamenei, the ultimate arbiter, will be the moderate one who can take Iran back.

In this vein, he will emerge having successfully consolidated his power, with a motivated Iranian public supporting a restrained role for the overzealous Ahmadinejad and room to maneuver again at the nuclear negotiating table. His tactics will finally win him his long-awaited support both from domestic parties, which seek to contain the fanatical Ahmadinejad, and from the international community, which hopes Iran will tone down its rhetoric and cooperate with an ever-impatient international community. Perhaps now, Khamenei can feature as producer, director and lead actor in the unfolding Iranian drama, finally winning the hearts and minds of the public.

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

Sounds like the real show is behind the scene’s. I think all of the saber rattling includes underestimating the Iranians.

capt

#24
Capt,
Great article. I have never been able to figure out how the anti abortion people could justify their thinking. These are the people who demand the child be born into a world that does not provide housing, medical care, or food. They do this knowing the government continues to fund less and less to the poor. How do you justify those two things? There is something really deep seated in that in that warped thinking.

#28
Kind of reminds me of the 'Canterbury Tales' Era of Catholicism.

Saladin I said that the Iranian Presidents's statement (if indeed he actually said what the american press reports)is outrageous. And that equally outrageous is Perle and Sharon's demand at the Aipac conference for pre-emptive military action against Iran. I also agree that the Torah/Bible have violent and racist demands made of those who believe or are CHOSEN. Who benefits by all of the enraged and racist comments made by all sides. Who benefits by Israel ignoring UN resolutions? Who? Who benefits by the Iranian leader making inflammatory statements. who? DEFENSE CONTRACTORS...THAT'S WHO

I have a hard time understanding why we have to BOMB people into submission, why not KILL THEM WITH KINDNESS instead. The CIA and their technoligical wizardry bombs Pakistani civilians into the next world meanwhile the earthquake victims there continue to suffer in COLDASS temperatures with no shoes, no gloves, tents without heat, no healthcare for sickness, People huddling together just to stay warm. Why does this continue?....Lets change things to an IDEAL situation. The US clothes and feeds the people in Pakistan affected by the earthquake, sends in medical personel to help with rampant disease and infection. We provide them with the bare essentials to survive. Generally help them through the frigid winter with food clothing, meds etc. Does anyone believe that helping instead of hurting these people would be wrong. What do you think the people of that country would do?.....March in the streets protesting the help we have given them?....I don't think so at all. I remember the old adage which says, "you can get a lot more with a spoonfull of sugar than a bushel of lemons" Maybe I'm an Idealist still at 53 but watching a small child, his eyes were swollen shut because of an infection treatable with antibiotics, crys uncontrollably in his fathers arms brought me to tears in a way that nothing else has. This world has always been a cruel place, so why then do some people try to make it even more cruel? Peace will come to that small child when he is taken from this earth and rests in the caring hands of GOD. When will peace come to the EARTH?

January 2009

I take one last look at my small apartment. I doubt I will ever see it again. I have been ordered to spend the next nine months at a Patriot Re-education Center. Shortly after dissolving congress in 2007 President Bush wrote the Patriot Act 2. This 1000 page law required all people labeled as "terrorist sympathizers"
to be fitted with special locator bracelets and have thier citizenship revoked. Data mined in 2006 produced a list of several million Americans whom the Department of Homeland security said were "giving comfort to the enemy". I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the kitchen window. The scars on my face and hands remind me of the day when myself and a few thousand of us marched into D.C. to face the Pentagons new microwave crowd control device. We lost.

An olive drab truck pulls up to to the curb. Time to go...

Iran warns Israel not to make `fatal mistake' of attacking

When it comes to Arabs

...both articles from haaretz.com

I am an admitted cynic but why is peace considered less profitable than war? There is a peace dividend. Why is it the first asset squandered to pay for failed foreign policy?

The millionaires could become billionaires in industries that fight the poisoning of our little blue marble and services that feed and clothe all of us humans. Should our borders dictate out station, our geography define our worth?

Bullets and bombs are a poor substitute for bread and butter. There are too many dying for no reason.

*sigh*

I think of Tiger and the challenges of the future. I am convinced the generation after us will show us up. They will not have to make much of an effort.

Imagine, a new discovery that makes fossil fuels obsolete? Maybe hydrino's?

What a world we could have if we took oil off the table.

It will happen, I dream of a future where they look back on us and have a jolly good laugh: "HA! They used fossil fuel for combustion motors! HA HA HA!"

We are the dinosaurs, I hope the next generation is the meteor!

capt

Support our troops?

Heckuva job Halliburton!

>> Time says the person who showed its reporter(s) the photos would not permit the magazine to publish them.

If I held these photos, under this Administration, I would fear for my safety.

Got a crisp new Benjamin says that there are at least five poeple at TIME who'd be on the phone to the Security Apparatus in a heartbeat, ratting out the Owner of these pics.

Fairly good sources claim that the Zapruder film was gaffed at LIFE by individuals with an Agenda.

All,

I recommend a book called "The End of Faith". I can't remember the author's name, but when I get home I'll update you. I basically states what Saladin was saying in #35.

Organized Religion is bad for society as a whole.

You go David throw their words back at them. The twisted double/triple speak is...I'll use your description David "obscene".

Not that I am suggesting that we take any Canadian ideas and implement them in the U.s. I
mean it's Canada "you know". Where socialized medicine and education actually works. Wouldn't want their methods to infiltrate our system.

Lobbyist in that country have a 5 year "cooling off" period between holding a position with an administration and saling out the american taxpayer.

Pictures of Abramoff and Bush would speak a BILLION.....WORDS.

Capt. at #42. Heck of a video and song in that link there. Do you know if anybody is raising funds to get wider exposure for it?

Sadly, Kathleen, our friends up north are about to make a very stupid mistake.

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." ~ The Dalai Lama (1935 - )

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind." ~ Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." ~ Steven Weinberg (1933 - ), quoted in The New York Times, April 20, 1999

"Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one." ~ Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

"Angels dancing on the head of a pin dissolve into nothingness at the bedside of a dying child." ~ Waiter Rant, Waiter Rant weblog, 06-21-05

******

Personal observation: Religion is not bad - organized religion test the tenents of faith because once "organized" it is a business.

capt

Riff,

Go to the site at the end of the video. Peace takes courage has just revamped their site, it is all new to me! It looks better than it did. They have some very good video/music mixes.

capt

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason

The Clash of Faith and Reason

This important and timely book delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in the modern world. The End of Faith provides a harrowing glimpse of mankind’s willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when these beliefs inspire the worst of human atrocities. Harris argues that in the presence of weapons of mass destruction, we can no longer expect to survive our religious differences indefinitely. Most controversially, he maintains that "moderation" in religion poses considerable dangers of its own: as the accommodation we have made to religious faith in our society now blinds us to the role that faith plays in perpetuating human conflict. While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, Harris draws on insights from neuroscience, philosophy, and Eastern mysticism in an attempt to provide a truly modern foundation for our ethics and our search for spiritual experience.

Winner of the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris is a genuinely frightening book about terrorism, and the central role played by religion in justifying and rewarding it. Others blame "extremists" who "distort" the "true" message of religion. Harris goes to the root of the problem: religion itself. Even moderate religion is a menace, because it leads us to respect and "cherish the idea that certain fantastic propositions can be believed without evidence". Why do men like Bin Laden commit their hideous cruelties? The answer is that they "actually believe what they say they believe". Read Sam Harris and wake up.

—Richard Dawkins, The Guardian

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

Looks promising!

capt

Capt: I see they put something together about once a week. I'll have to check in regularly, like I do with the comics at Working for Change. Thanks.

I am kind of a Sci-fi geek. I watch the Sci Fi channel a lot. Last Friday I checked out a show called Battlestar Galactica. The episode seemed to be trying to repeat the Rovian idea that peace activist's are violent terrorists. A group of "Peace Activist's" in the show were blowing things up, sabotaging military equiptment, acting like jihadist's and then came into possession of a nuclear bomb.

Good mini interview with Kurt Vonnegut on NPR this morning...no time to find it, (wurkin' ana' lurkin', donchaknow!)
-t

"Excuse me, but if Bush could put al Qaeda "out of business" at a "time and place" of his "choosing," then why has he not done so already?"

Why? Because Osama is US, has been US and will continue to be US in the bogeyman role that we all fear so predictably. Remember when Jack Idema and his boys "went off the reservation" and were quite close to getting Osama? He and his crew were quickly arrested, tried and taken out of the scene for 10 years. Osama has been and will continue to be a CIA "asset". Make no mistake about it.
Didn't your bullshit meter go into the red zone when you read the translation of his supposed broadcast from last week? An alleged absolutist Jihadist dwelling on poll numbers and offering the idea of a "truce"?! I don't buy it.

#63 Here, here! Exactly. If the busheviks can end it at a "time and place of their choosing." -- well.........then DO IT!

What a bunch of crap. Snotty McClellan is getting snottier all the time.

Check #3 for Kurt?

Snotty McClueless!

HA!

Got that Capt, looking for link to today's interview...

as always...

THANX!

Duke Professor Skeptical of bin Laden Tape

(01/19/06 -- DURHAM) - A Duke professor says he is doubtful about Thursday's audiotape from Osama bin Laden.

Bruce Lawrence has just published ?Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama Bin Laden,? a book translating bin Laden?s writing. He is skeptical of Thursday?s message.
?It was like a voice from the grave,? Lawrence said.

He thinks bin Laden is dead and has doubts about the tape. Lawrence recently analyzed more than 20 complete speeches and interviews of the al Qaida leader for his book. He says the new message is missing several key elements.

?There?s nothing in this from the Koran. He?s, by his own standards, a faithful Muslim,? Lawrence said. ?He quotes scripture in defense of his actions. There?s no quotation from the Koran in the excerpts we got, no reference to specific events, no reference to past atrocities.?

While the CIA confirms the voice on the tape is bin Laden?s, Lawrence questions when it was recorded. He says the timing of its release could be to divert attention from last week?s U.S. air strike in Pakistan. The strike targeted bin Laden?s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, and killed four leading al Qaeda figures along with civilians.

Lawrence believes faulty Pakistani intelligence led to the strike and the civilian deaths, and the tape was leaked by Pakistani authorities to divert attention from their mistake.

?It led to a failed military operation where America got blamed, but they people who are really to blame are the ones who provided the intelligence,? Lawrence said. ?I think this is an effort to say were not going look at this terrible incident that happened.?

Another element that Lawrence takes issue with in bin Laden?s latest message is it?s length - - only 10 minutes. Previously, the shortest was 18 minutes.

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

The fact is, this tape is a fake and that means the other BS videos/audio’s are just as fake. It is all bullshit.

We need to impeach the slugs in power.

capt

Kurt Vonnegut Judges Modern Society

The author Kurt Vonnegut has been looking to the future through his writing ever since the publication of his first novel, Player Piano. The story tells of a time when men are displaced by machines in the workplace. Society is reduced to a managing class and a consuming class. His books have often included an element of science fiction, including his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five.

As part of the Long View series on Morning Edition, Vonnegut, 83, looks back with Steve Inskeep at how society has changed in the last 50 years.

Vonnegut's latest book, published in 2005, is a series of essays and speeches called A Man Without a Country.

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

This is what is up today on NPR.

capt

Democrats Hold Hearing on Illegal Spying

There can be no doubt that today we are in a constitutional crisis that threatens the system of checks and balances that has preserved our fundamental freedoms for more than 200 years. There is no better illustration of that crisis than the fact that the president is openly violating our nation's laws by authorizing the NSA to engage in warrantless surveillance of US citizens.

The Bush Administration offers two arguments to justify their actions. First, they assert, that warrantless searches were authorized by the Afghanistan use of force resolution. Second, they say, the Constitution permits and even mandates such actions. To this member and indeed to most of our nation's legal community, neither argument is remotely plausible or credible.

As for the Administration's claim of statutory authority, a plain reading of the text of the resolution reveals that there is no reference whatsoever to domestic surveillance. Former Majority Leader Daschle told us that the resolution was narrowed from the Administration's initial request to avoid such construction, and the Attorney General went so far as to admit that they were told by Members of Congress that it would be "difficult if not impossible" to amend the law to authorize such a program. As Harvard Law Professor Larry Tribe wrote me, "to argue that one couldn't have gotten congressional authorization ... after arguing that ... one did get congressional authorization ... takes some nerve."

In terms of inherent constitutional authority, this too flies in the face of both common sense and legal precedent. If the Supreme Court didn't let President Truman use this authority to take over the steel mills during the Korean War in 1952, and wouldn't let President Bush use the authority to indefinitely hold enemy combatants in 2005, it is quite obvious the constitution doesn't allow warrantless wiretapping of US citizens today. As Justice O'Connor wrote, "a state of war is not a blank check."

Perhaps what is most troubling of all is that if we let this domestic spying program continue, if we let this president convince us that we are at war, so he can do what he wants, we will allow to stand the principle that the president alone can decide what laws apply to him. I submit that is not only inconsistent with the principles upon which our Republic was founded, it denigrates the very freedom we have been fighting for since the tragic events of September 11. That is why we are holding today's hearing.

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

Go Congressman John Conyers Jr.!

capt

Searching for a New Direction

Could it be that we're all looking in the wrong places for a solution to recurring, constant, and pervasive corruption in government? Perhaps some of us in Congress are mistaken about the true problem; perhaps others deliberately distract us from exposing the truth about how miserably corrupt the budget process in Congress is. Others simply are in a state of denial. But the denial will come to an end as the Abramoff scandal reveals more and more. It eventually will expose the scandal of the ages: how and to what degree the American people have become indebted by the totally irresponsible spending habits of the U.S. Congress- as encouraged by successive administrations, condoned by our courts, and enjoyed by the recipients of the largesse.

This system of government is coming to an end- a fact that significantly contributes to the growing anxiety of most Americans, especially those who pay the bills and receive little in return from the corrupt system that has evolved over the decades.

Believe me, if everybody benefited equally there would be scant outcry over a little bribery and influence peddling. As our country grows poorer and more indebted, fewer people benefit. The beneficiaries are not the hard working, honest people who pay the taxes. The groups that master the system of lobbying and special interest legislation are the ones who truly benefit.

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

Go Congressman Ron Paul!

capt

"Mr Abramoff admitted being involved in outrageous wrongdoing," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday.

"The president does not recall meeting him. We have previously indicated, however, it would not be surprising if the president met him at some of the widely attended events we know they both attended," she said.

"The president has taken tens upon thousands of pictures at such events."
+++++++++
Outrageous wrongdoing? Oh, those silly Repugs and their silly words! How 'bout illegal, low-down, corrupt, snivelin', low-life CRIMES?

Can you believe this guy? Embodiment of SATAN, read his latest spew from a speech in San Fran.:"You believe, as I do, that every human life has value, that the strong have a duty to protect the weak, and that the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence apply to everyone, not just to those considered healthy or wanted or convenient," Bush told the abortion foes......Human life has value?, Protect the weak? Quoting the Declaration of Independence? I guess he hasnt wiped his ass with it yet, probably has some Constitutional paper left.... By the way how does one wipe his ass if his head is in it?

Bill,

I will engage you in a debate on the legality of Bush's wiretapping. I dont pldege allegiance to any political party believing instead to cast my vote for the right man or woman for the job. I am, however, liberal in this sense: favoring a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties. I have also been in the military for the last 12 years. Only 8 more to go! I will debate you on this topic in a rational manner, not resorting to name-calling or other shenanigans. I believe that Bush broke the law, but I'm not a lawyer. At the very least, I believe that if this type of law enforcement is to be pursued it had better have oversight from someone outside the executive branch and the DoJ. It's my understanding that FISA was created to avoid this type of breach of the 4th ammendment by placing a specially designed court to provide oversight. Why shouldn't Bush use this court? When requests for warrants can be submitted up to 72 hours after the surveillance, what is the problem with using the system that's in place? If the President has unchecked authority for surveillance, seizure of property and persons placing them in custody in undisclosed locations for undetermined amounts of time, is there no a need for oversight in his authority? If John Kerry or, hell anyone other than Bush were President today, would you allow this wiretapping to stand? Furthermore, do you not believe that the Constitution was founded on the principle of checks and balances? IF not can you show me where in the Constitution this idea is not expressed?

David:

1)...spinner Scott McClellan said:....and the President made it clear that we will end it at a time and place of our choosing.

Excuse me, but if Bush could put al Qaeda "out of business" at a "time and place" of his "choosing," then why has he not done so already?
-------------------------------------------------
My fun times on your blog have rubbed off a bit when it comes to conspiracies. Either that, OR a much higher appreciation for the GOP's intelligence and the impotence of the shrill Left.

Perhaps Mr. McClellan blurted out too much of the `truth'. Recall the `informed' speculations before the 04 Elections: some Lefties just `knew' that OBL would be captured just-in-time? Swift Boat Vets and Dan Rather made sure that this trump card was'nt needed. Could it be that OBL and gang are still `useful' at least through the 2008 elections? Not likely, but still, the Left can't rule it out completely. Must drive you folks nuts, LOL!

Question: Do you believe that (1)wiretaps are necessary but that the Bush administration has obtained them illegally or (2)wiretaps are not necessary under any circumstances?

Here is an article about a recent Washington Post editorial. Rather than the usual name-calling, will anyone here dare to address the actual points of the article?

"The Washington Post pronounces itself unconvinced by the Bush administration's legal defense of the NSA intercept program, which it calls an "end-run." The Post rejects the administration's reliance on the congressional Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), which allows the president to "use all necessary and appropriate force" to prevent "any future acts of international terrorism against the United States."

In doing so the Post attempts to work around the Supreme Court's ruling in Hamdi which, as I noted yesterday, found that AUMF implicitly allows the president to detain U.S. citizens captured on the battlefield as enemy combatants, even though AUMF says nothing specific about that particular matter.

Hamdi supports the argument that AUMF authorizes the president to use traditional and accepted incidents of force, and these "incidents" might well include warrantless electronic surveillance to intercept enemy communications.

The Post tries to distinguish Hamdi on the grounds that, prior to passing AUMF, Congress had already enacted a detailed law regarding domestic surveillance in time of war, namely FISA. This was not the case with respect to detaining captured U.S. citizens, the issue in Hamdi. The Post concludes that "the vague wording of AUMF can't reasonably be read to implicitly trump FISA.

But the Post, in undertaking its own "end-run," overlooks the fact that FISA contains an exception for surveillance authorized by other statutes. Thus, if AUMF authorizes the NSA program (even if implicitly) -- and Hamdi suggests that it very well might -- then the program can be viewed as authorized by another statute.

In that case, the Post's concern about AUMF "trumping" FISA is a red-herring because the statutes are not in conflict -- both permit the president's action.

The Post stresses that if the administration's view is accepted, it would call into question Congress' ability to prevent the president from doing a host of things the Post does not want the president to do.

But the fact that the administration's position conflicts with the Post's agenda (an agenda that would limit our ability to learn what terrorists are up to, and thus increase the likelihood of a successful attack on the U.S.) is no excuse for its refusal to analyze fully and fairly the merits of the administration's legal position."
John Hinderaker - Powerline

I believe they are necessary, but obtained illegally. To me, and my limited knowledge, FISA stands as the authority for domestic wiretapping. The AUMF authorizes use of "force". I don't see any parallel between force and surveillance. Maybe there is another statute which defines what is and what isn't force. I don't trust a government with this much unchecked power. The Constitution to me clearly states that noone should trust the government. It's why we have a system of checks and balances, its why we have term limitations and other things.

If these wiretaps are so effecient in halting terrorist activities, then why didn't it pick up the various bombings that have occurred since 9/11 they have also failed to show where the wiretapping has actually disrupted a terrorist activity. Make no mistake they would trumpet that success as proof that their tactics are working, instead they hide behind statements such as ongoing investigation. Or national security. I don't believe that international terrorism is the threat that these clowns would have us believe. No proof just doofus up there at the podium making stupid statements, not credible.

YO, FOLKS!!!

CONGRATS, CAPT!!! You're my 1st inductee into the TROLL KILLA HALL-OF-FAME!!! Thanks for today's posts! Oh yeah, POPS says "hi" and to tell you that he wants to cut in the juror line for "Ol' Cockroach" DeLay's trial.

Check out This Weeks Top 10 Conservative Idiots (Media Morons Edition). On www.democratic underground.com

Hey CORKY, Hope you're in great health. SALADIN! How'ya doin'? Loved that #27,hon. Yo RIFF, no School Finance Bill yet for TX school kids.

R.I.P. Wilson Pickett: I'm gonna miss that voice!That was some SOUL POWER right there!!

Saladin--That sure was a bumpy road of a rant at #27--hope you stayed upright on your Trollmobile, don't forget to walk it at intersections.

Quoting from an item written thousands of years before Xtianity is the theme of your sillyness? Or course, the basis is your hate is deeply rooted Antisemitism, and you do have your supporters here. How fun!

Can you give a link to:

Muslims are threatened with nuclear destruction if they dare utter a negative word against Israel

I never saw anything like that and Israel never stated it had a nuclear bomb. It would be dumb to threaten with something you don't have. And the Iran high muc-muc did say he wanted Isreal destroyed, recenttly. Wow. That sounds like a 'negativeword' and Iran is still here! Wow!

Rant away Saladin, it's so charming.

P.S. How did a Cherokee get (or choose) an Egyptian name?

I found this interesting bit about trolls on the internet.

But first, to circumvent FISA displays contempt for court and for our system of checks and balances in Government as shaped by the framers of the Constitution. They understood very well the abuses of power by dictators/emperors/kings and wanted a system of Government as far from that as possible.

If Bush and company were doing anything other than a massive fishing expidition they would have no problems pointing out the direct examples of how circumventing the FISA courst has aided us in our attempt to ferrett out the weasels who would do us harm.

But to the subject of trolls, I found this funny piece by David Pogue of the NYTimes.

How to Be a Curmudgeon on the Internet

Last week in my Times column, I referred to the five-note "Intel Inside" jingle often heard in TV ads. At least a dozen readers e-mailed me to inform me that the jingle is actually four notes, not five. As I've come to expect, some of these readers expressed, ahem, somewhat more anger than the circumstances might have seemed to require.

"If you have that much trouble counting on one hand," one wrote, "you shouldn't be reviewing technology. Maybe a four-year-old can help you out next time."

I replied to this reader that I'm including the first "ping" in my tally. In that case, there ARE five notes in the jingle, as you can hear here.

But my correspondent never wrote back. That, of course, would violate the rules for being an Internet pill, reprinted here in their entirety, courtesy of the Pills of the American Internet Neighborhood Society (PAINS):

RULES FOR TROLLS AND PILLS

WHEREAS, 95 percent of all the e-mail received by critics and columnists is civil, friendly or respectfully constructive;

but WHEREAS, this is the Internet age, and we're all anonymous and can avoid making eye contact forever;

and WHEREAS, there's so much information overload, a little heat and drama on your part may be necessary just to be heard above the din;

and WHEREAS, many of those who fire off potshots are missing out on some of the best techniques for effective snippiness;

THEREFORE let us now post the rules for membership in the Pills of the American Internet Neighborhood Society.

1. Use the strongest language possible. Calling names is always effective, and four-letter words show that you mean business.

2. Having a violent opinion of something doesn't require you to actually try it yourself. After all, plenty of people heatedly object to books they haven't read or movies they haven't seen. Heck, you can imagine perfectly well if something is any good.

3. If it's a positive review that you didn't like, call the reviewer a "fanboy." Do not entertain the notion that the product, service, show, movie, book or restaurant might, in fact, be good. Instead, assume that the reviewer has received payment from the reviewee. Work in the word "shill" if possible.

4. If it's a negative review, call the reviewer a "basher" and describe the review as a "hatchet job." Accuse him of being paid off by the reviewee's *rival*.

5. If it's a mixed review, ignore the passages that balance the argument. Pretend that the entire review is all positive or all negative. Refer to it either as a "rave" or a "slam."

6. If you find a sentence early in the article that rubs you the wrong way, you are by no means obligated to finish reading. Stop right where you are--express your anger while it's still good and hot! What are the odds that the writer is going to say anything else relevant to your point later in the piece, anyway?

7. If the writer responds to your e-mail with evidence that you're wrong (for example, by citing a paragraph that you overlooked), disappear without responding. This is the anonymous Internet; slipping away without consequence or civility is your privilege.

8. Trolling is making a deliberately inflammatory remark, one that you know perfectly well is baloney, just to get a rise out of other people. Trolling is an art. Trolling works just fine for an audience of one (say, a journalist), but of course the real fun is trolling on public bulletin boards where you can get dozens of people screaming at you simultaneously. Comments on religion, politics or Mac-vs.-Windows are always good bets. The talented troll sits back to enjoy the fireworks with a smirk, and never, ever responds to the responses.

9. Don't let generalities slip by. Don't tolerate simplifications for the sake of a non-technical audience. Ignore conditional words like "generally," "usually" and "most." If you read a sentence that says, for example, "The VisionPhone is among the first consumer videophones," cite the reviewer's ignorance and laziness for failing to mention the prototype developed by AT&T for the 1964 World's Fair. Send copies of your note to the publication's publisher and, if possible, its advertisers.

And there you have it: the nine habits of highly effective pills. After all: if you're going to be a miserable curmudgeon, you may as well do it up right!

The warrantless wiretapping violates the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution:

"Amendment IV
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 shall 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."

Now, both the Constitution and the AUMF is being used as justification for the legality of the wiretapping.

"Authorization for Use of Military Force September 18, 2001 Public Law 107-40 [S. J. RES. 23] 107th CONGRESS (a) IN

GENERAL- That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons."

As far as I am aware, any law passed by any branch of federal or state government is null and void if it conflicts with the Constitution. The warrantless wiretapping--warrantless being a key word--clearly violates the IV Amendment. FISA specifically includes electronic surveillance in its language and complies with the IV Amendment by requiring that a warrant be obtained in a legal fashion.

The other justification, the inherent power vested in the President by the Constitution is an issue to be decided by the US Supreme Court. I'm not a law student but I'm confidant the Supreme Court will strike it down.

After they do so I'm interested to see if any repercussions will ensue.

My 2 cents for what they're worth.

"We are waging a war that defends the lives of all Americans. And we wage that war each day in a way that values and protects the civil liberties and the constitutional freedoms that make our Nation so special."

Alberto R. Gonzales - June 9, 2005

Okay, so this is not a recent silly remark by a repuglican, but it's ridiculous nevertheless because it is so Orwellian. The BIG lie in action. Values? Protects civil liberties?

About the photos of Bush and Abramoff: Hopefully the White House is not going to use our tax dollars to buy the photos and avoid the problem. Or maybe the GOP will bid for them as well.

#63, Osama means money and election votes for the repugs and that is why the Nazis in the WH will not take him out.

#74
Exactly.
And Amen.

Are we animals or are we human beings?

"He [Bush] said, "I'm mindful of your civil liberties, and so I had all kinds of lawyers review the process. We briefed members of the United States Congress . . . about this program."

I added "[Bush]".

I'd like to know when this was done, who these "members" were, what exactly they were told.

#3 capt, Kurt Vonnegut never ceases to amaze me.

I was in the car today and turned on NPR. Guess who was speaking. Bush. He explained the war on terror to me. I feel so much safer now.

Capt,
Just put 'The End of Faith' on hold. Thank you.

Democrats: Get Up and Walk Out By William Rivers Pitt

I have a wild and crazy idea.

George W. Bush's delivery of the State of the Union address will take place on Tuesday, January 31, a little more than a week from now. It is my strong belief that every single Democrat present in the House chamber for the speech should, at a predetermined moment, stand up and walk out. No yelling. No heated words. Every Democrat should simply stand silently and leave.

Crazy, I know. Crazy, and possibly the best idea ever put before a body of Democrats since the New Deal.

Understand this, congressional Democrats, and understand it well: you are not dealing merely with a body of political opponents in the GOP. You are dealing with a group of people that want you exterminated politically. The days of walking the halls of the Rayburn Building, sharing a bourbon with a colleague from the other side of the aisle, and hammering out a compromise are as dead as Julius Caesar. Collegiality is out. Mutual respect is out. They want you gone for good. Erased. Destroyed.
-----------------------------
Walk out! Walk out! Walk out! Walk out!
Do it. Do it. Do it.

Osama seemed, from all accounts, no more than a practicing, as opposed to zealous, Muslim. ... he dislikes the United States as symbol and as fact. But when our clients, the Saudi royal family, allowed American troops to occupy the Prophet's holy land, Osama named the fundamental enemy "the Crusader Zionist Alliance." Thus, in a phrase, he defined himself and reminded his critics that he is a Wahabi Muslim, a Puritan activist not unlike our Falwell/Robertson zanies, only serious. He would go to war against the United States, "the head of the serpent." Even more ambitiously, he would rid all the Muslim states of their western-supported regimes, starting with that of his native land. The word "Crusader" was the giveaway. In the eyes of many Muslims, the Christian west, currently in alliance with Zionism, has for a thousand years tried to dominate the lands of the Umma—the true believers. That is why Osama is seen by so many simple folk as the true heir to Saladin, the great warrior king who defeated Richard of England and the western crusaders.

Who was Saladin? Dates 1138-1193. He was an Armenian Kurd. In the century before his birth, western Christians had established a kingdom at Jerusalem, to the horror of the Islamic Faithful. Much as the United States used the Gulf War as pretext for our current occupation of Saudi Arabia, Saladin raised armies to drive out the Crusaders. He conquered Egypt, annexed Syria, and finally smashed the Kingdom of Jerusalem in a religious war that pitted Mohammedan against Christian. He united and "purified" the Muslim world and though Richard Lion-heart was the better general, in the end he gave up and went home. As one historian put it, Saladin "typified the Mohammedan utter self-surrender to a sacred cause." But he left no government behind him, no political system because, as he himself said, "My troops will do nothing save when I ride at their head ..." Now his spirit has returned with a vengeance.

Mushroom Cloud and her induction into the "It gender" Hall of Fame

War is imminent with Iran!!!

Do you guys have any recommendations for a newspaper that is good enough to read on a daily basis? I have been reading the Washington Post, but when they started attacking Dan Froomkin and his "White House Briefing" I've been wary.

Any suggestions? I'm looking for national and international news with some decent analysis.

I'm guessing the answer will come that no ONE source is good. You have to mix and match.

American Soldiers

More American soldiers are killed in the Middle East.

2,491 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan for Bush's evil lies.

Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy. Henry Kissinger

16,000+ American soldiers have been maimed in Iraq and Afghanistan for Bush’≥ 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.

#79
Bro. Tex
I love the picture of Arnold! Ha Ha Ha Ha. I love it. He He He He. He never got around to getting his license. Yeah. Like the rest of us. Who remembers things like that?
Never thought about it. Precious.

The Top 10 Conservative Idiots
(No. 228)

Safe and Secure With Warm Fuzzies All Around Me

#98
Really, Gerald.
We don't have time for your sarcasm.
George Bush explained today that if he told the American public that everything was going to get worse no one would have voted for him. That's when I got really worried and turned on my classical music.

Depleted Uranium or DU

Dear Cornposters:

I will try to paraphrase an article that talks about DU. The article is "Depleted Uranium –†Dirty Bombs, Dirty Missiles, Dirty Bullets –†A Death Sentence Here and Abroad" by Leuren Moret, January 21, 2006. I will add personal comments in parenthesis.

Vietnam was a chemical war for oil contaminating large regions and countries with Agent Orange (yes, Nazi America does use nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons). It was also the most environmentally devastating war in world history. Since 1991 the U.S. has staged four nuclear wars using DU weaponry and like Agent Orange meets the U.S. government criteria of WMDs. Vast regions of the Middle East and Central Asia have been permanently contaminated with radiation (we are an evil terrorist nation).

And what about our soldiers? The Gulf era veterans who are now on medical disability since 1991 has reached the number 518,739 (with Nazi America's endless wars we will soon have no men and women healthy enough to fight). DU is the definitive cause of the Gulf War Syndrome.

DU was first used in 1991 and DU has shown that it is a death sentence and very nasty stuff. DU trashes the body. It is the perfect weapon for killing lots of people (who says that Nazi Americans are not cold blooded killers).

Multiple malignancies have spawn from DU soldiers exposed to DU on and off the battlefields brought it home. DU in the semen of soldiers internally contaminated their wives. partners, and girlfriends. Women in their 20s and 30s who were sexual partners of exposed soldiers developed endometriosis and were forced to have hysterectomies because of health problems (why is Robertson silent about God's punishment of Nazi America for using DU).

A study in Mississippi of soldiers who had normal babies before the Gulf war revealed 67% of their post-war babies with severe birth defects. They are born with missing legs, arms, organs, or eyes or had immune system and blood diseases.

Development of DU started with the development of poison gas weapons from radioactive trash of the atomic bomb project of WW II. It could penetrate all protective clothing and contaminating the lungs and the blood and it could kill or cause illness very quickly. With the use of DU permanent terrain contamination was possible and could be used to destroy populations, water supplies, and agricultural land (are you starting to get the feeling that the Project for a Next American Century is on target to wipe out six billion people on planet, Earth).

The first DU weapon system was developed for the Navy in 1968 and the DU weapons were given to and used by Israel in 1973 under the supervision of the U.S. in the Yom Kippur war against the Arabs. DU weapons have been sold to 29 countries by the U.S. The U.S. is the chief exporter of WMDs in the world).

A military research report details the testing of DU from 1974-1999 and today 42 Nazi American states are contaminated with DU from manufacture, testing, and deployment. Women living around these test facilities have reported increases in endometriosis, birth defects in babies, leukemia in children, cancers and other diseases in adults. Fallon, Nevada is the fastest growing leukemia cluster in the U.S. for the past decade (who says that the Republicans are pro-life).

The medical profession has been active in the cover-up and the profession was threatened with fines and jail time if they talked about the soldiers and their medical problems.

Senator Paul Wellstone is credited with revealing certain information before his tragic death (maybe his death was a CIA covert operation). 95% of Gulf War veterans had been recycled out of the military by 1995. Those in the military were isolated from each other, preventing critical information being transferred to new troops. The "next DU war" had already been planned and those planning it wanted "no skunk at the garden party" (now we can see that killing human beings is a garden party for the Nazi rats).

The U.S. has a dirty (DU) little (CIA) secret. DU is being planned to be used in the Middle East and Central Asia where most of the oil deposits are located to destroy the genetic code and genetic future of large populations of Arabs and Muslims (yes Nazi America will eliminate six billion people in the world). Vietnam Special Ops Green Beret Captain John McCarthy was asked who devised the plan to use DU and he replied, "It has all the handprints of Henry Kissinger."

(Are you now beginning to understand why I put my fate in Jesus Christ and not in people like Kissinger, Bush, Cheney, and the Nazi cabal?)

In Zbignew Brzezinski's book, "The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives," the map of Euroasian chessboard includes four regions strategic to U.S. foreign policy. The "South" region corresponds to the region now contaminated permanently with radiation from U.S. bombs, missiles, and bullets made from thousands of tons of depleted uranium (the world is only a chess game to the lunatics who control Nazi American power).

(Cornposters put your fate in God's hands. He is the light and the way to eternal salvation.)

Sincerely,

Gerald

P.S. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God. Matthew 5:1-12

To Citizen X and John Griffith,

Thank you for your reply. I, too, have problems with the idea of what might be illegal wiretaps. And I, too, believe that the Constitution trumps any law passed by Congress. But, I believe, AUMF has not yet been declared unconstitutional, and FISA calls for wiretap authorization unless allowed by other means. (See my post at #76, above.)

I also believe it is the power of the President, under Article II as Commander-in-Chief and powers granted him by Congress under Article I, Section 8, to wage war (and institute letters of marque) that allow such actions.

The President did not call for this wiretap in a vaccuum. He had substantial legal advice on its authority. And, not trying to make two wrongs a right, but Bill Clinton's administration did much the same thing with its Operation Echelon. Just the opposite, I am trying to say that both administrations took what they believed to be preemptive measures to combat terrorism.

Should the NSA be gathering information on John Lennon (or whoever's alive today) like Nixon did? - absolutely not. But I have not seen where any illegal eavesdropping has been perpetrated on any "civilians", if you will. And as far as trumpeting the NSA's successes as someone so ridiculously proposed, what better way for the enemy to understand our processes, the better to circumvent them?

I think there is a way to alleviate the obviously inherent problems in wiretaps not authorized by the courts. A tribunal could be created to review the taps on an ex post facto basis, so as to assure the efficacy of the taps.

Thank you for the tenor, logic and content of your response.

To John Griffith,

President Bush notified the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees about the NSA wiretaps.

#99 Jeanne, it really will get better! Here is why!

Cabinet Positions

I have stated in previous posts that the repugnants will remain in office through the 21st century. Repugnants are known for expanding government and taxing the middle class. Here are the next cabinet positions within the next three to five years -- Department of Prostitution, Department of Cultivation, Department of Plowfields, Department of Military Boot Camp, and the Department of Stabilization of Military Forces.

Let me start with the Department of Cultivation. This department will oversee pregnancies that will be terminated at certain time periods in the woman’≥ womb. Fetus body parts are worth between $4,000 and 7,000. The pregnancy would be aborted after 8, 12, 16 weeks, etc. for certain fetus body parts, such as a limb, skin, retina, heart, brain, gonads, etc. With more and more people being added to the poor class people will have to supplement their wages and this will be a perfect way to add money for them. With cuts in welfare and food stamps women will need more money.

The Department of Plowfields is for women who are citizens, legal, or illegal immigrants. Certain women will be designated for pregnancy duty or military duty. The embryonic stem cells will be implanted in the womb of the women for full term pregnancy. Babies born under this department will be contracted for military services. The woman will give up her baby at the age of twelve.

At age twelve the young boy or girl will enter military boot camp. These children will be property of the Department of Military Boot Camp. Schooling will continue but courses will be slanted toward military terminology, such Body Dismemberment 101, Grenades 201, Adva