Mr. David Corn,

Thanks - Good commentary and now I know what I missed.

Thanks

Kirk

The Real Danger of Presidential Spying

The most important issue is not, however, whether people feel comfortable talking on the phone or sending emails. The real danger is that electronic surveillance can be used to increase and solidify executive power. A president can collect private information not simply about "ordinary Americans," but extra-ordinary ones – political rivals, journalists, and activists – and use this information against them. After all, if a president is convinced he is right, he may well view those who disagree with him as dangerous and believe it’s legitimate to use any means available to stop them.

Americans were treated to an extensive description of such abuse 30 years ago, in the aftermath of President Nixon’s harassment of political enemies. A Senate committee chaired by Senator Frank Church of Idaho focused on the activities of several administrations and revealed that officials spied to learn opponents’ plans and to stay a step ahead, to feed opponents’ private information to the press to discredit them, and to blackmail them.

The danger that information gathered through the Bush Administration’s ongoing surveillance program could be used in this way was recently raised by former CIA analyst Ray McGovern in a recent Counterpunch article. Unfortunately, this danger has not yet become a part of our national discussion. It should be. McGovern asks, for example, whether the president could hypothetically use private information to blackmail Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) into deciding not to hold Judiciary Committee hearings to investigate presidential spying.

The danger is even more frightening, however, than McGovern’s brief example suggests. Let’s amplify his point and look at a few other scenarios showing how even a well-intentioned president, believing that he’s acting in the national interest, could neutralize opponents:

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

Like all megalomaniacs Nixon was just going after those he thought were un-American - the Democrats. Who believes these magical powers would not be abused? That Busheney have the moral compass to use and never abuse such power? Jeeze they both lie about what they had for lunch.

capt

And Bush pointed out the parents and widow of Marine Staff Sergeant Dan Clay, who was killed last month in Fallujah. They were sitting behind Laura Bush in the balcony.

Did anybody see the Sgt's wife and mother put their hand on their heart, on cue, at the same time? That was sooooo transparent!

I don't see my last post so I will just say that Cindy Sheehan was arrested in her seat at the State of the Union tonight.

Raw Story had it, Michael Moore had it and four or five other hits on google.

The NY Time's site had nothing, nor did the Washington Post.

Hope this one sticks.

My bad.

Cindy was invited by Lynn Woolsey (D California)

Why We Fight

Why We Fight utilizes an impressive array of analysts –†I would say "talking heads," but the phrase doesn't do them justice –†in order to make its case that a misguided war in Iraq was made possible by a systemic disorder of American democracy. Most striking is Chalmers Johnson, author of Blowback and The Sorrows of Empire, two of the most comprehensive recent studies of militarism and interventionism, whose analysis –†framed in a historical context and informed by a healthy skepticism of ostensibly idealistic motives –†trips off his lips with impressive facility.

9/11, says Johnson, "provided a group of people deeply committed to the expansion of the American Empire the opportunity to implement plans they had been laying since 1992." This was, in short, a "grand plan" for nothing less than global hegemony:

"We are the New Rome. That's their strategy: on 9/11, they began to implement it."

Kristol, who, along with Perle, here represents the neocons, would politely demur, protesting that what he wants is "benevolent world hegemony," as he called it in a famous essay. Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz is shown making the case for war with Iraq, while Perle chimes in with a bold declaration that American foreign policy after 9/11 rightly shifted in "a radical direction." He clearly believes that isn't a bad development. Well, yes, says Kristol, but it would have happened even without 9/11 –†and that really is a doubtful proposition. George W. Bush was elected to office promising a "humbler" foreign policy, and it is hard to imagine how he would have made the leap from humility to hubris quite so easily, if at all.

It was "a huge leap," as former Pentagon analyst and retired Air Force Col. Karen Kwiatkowski says in this film about the administration's post-9/11 focus on Iraq: "A manufactured leap, in order to implement a very calculated and pre-developed foreign policy."

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

A very good piece, the clip does not do justice.

capt

Angry, skeptical Americans unimpressed with State of the Union speech

Americans reacted with skepticism and anger at President Bush's fifth State of the Union address Tuesday night, reflecting a national mood that reflects serious reservations about the controversial war in Iraq, revelations about the administration's secret domestic spying program, and missteps following Hurricane Katrina.

At an Uptown neighborhood bar in New Orleans, both Republicans and Democrats paused to watch with at least one common hope: Rebuilding the Gulf Coast will be a top issue for the federal government.

But neither Tom Short, 75, a Republican and a Korean War veteran, nor attorney Todd Hebert, 38, a Democrat, found much to cheer about in Bush's address.

After Bush mentioned the Gulf Coast in one or two sentences deep into his speech, Short exclaimed, "Did I miss something? I think that's a crying shame."

Hebert was just as dismayed. Throughout the speech, he had been looking at his watch to see how long it would take Bush to mention the wrecked area.

"We are some of the most devastated people in a country right now and we're really feeling left behind. And that speech did nothing to make us not feel left behind."

In Souwest Ohio, the president's description of the economy as "healthy, and vigorous, and growing" didn't sit well with one auto worker, where the financial troubles of General Motors Corp. and parts supplier Delphi Corp. have been keenly felt.

"As an auto worker, no, it's not going OK, because we're losing a lot of jobs," said 49-year-old Dave Shores as Bush's speech competed with classic rock and the crack of pool balls at the Upper Deck Tavern in this Dayton suburb.

Blue jeans and black leather jackets are the fashion of choice at a modest bar in Moraine, which has NASCAR posters on its walls, drifting cigarette smoke and sits in the shadow of a GM plant that cranks out SUVs.

Shores is a union member and registered Democrat who has worked for 30 years at auto parts supplier Delphi, which filed for bankruptcy last year. He said his plant employed 4,000 people a few years ago, but now has just 1,500.

"Can I blame that on George Bush? No, not all of it," he said, before noting that Bush's policies have made it easier for American companies to move jobs overseas.

"George Bush has helped open those gates to let them go," Shores said.

At a private home tucked in a quiet neighborhood in central Orange County, California, about two dozen people gathered to watch over tacos and potato chips.

Julie Carlson, 29-year-old social worker, said she felt "negative" about the overall state of the nation. She said her biggest concern was bringing home U.S. troops from Iraq and had grown more uneasy with the conflict as time passed.

"I don't understand the true reasons for why we're there and I feel like we were mislead. There doesn't seem to be any rational," said Carlson, a Democrat.

Carlson also said she was concerned about health care and Medicare reform because she works primarily with senior citizens. "There seems to be every week something that comes up, something I don't agree with or something that disheartens me," she said.

In Richmond, VA, Bush did nothing to calm the fears of Anne Jowaisas, a 38-year-old nanny who identified herself as an independent and voted for John Kerry in 2004.

"In terms of his speech, it was a good speech and he delivered it pretty strongly," said Jowaisas. "But I had a lot of skepticism what he had to say."

She said that Bush's plan to reduce the deficit by 2009 by cutting programs raised plenty of questions, asking, "how is all this going to balance out?"

Jowaisas said that despite the president's low approval ratings, the country "is going in a Bush direction" and believes the religious right has too much influence in Washington, D.C.

"It's not a democracy anymore. It's special interest groups," she said.

As a retired accountant and a World War II veteran, Joe Benavidez of Albuquerque, NM, has two big worries on his mind: the national budget and the war in Iraq.

"The nation is going broke. We get into debt every day with this war," said Benavidez, 84. "Veterans are not going to get what they want or what they need. They're going to cut veteran benefits. They're going to cut welfare, lots of things."

When it came to Bush talking about reducing the deficit by 2009, Benavidez gave a slight chuckle. He said he's heard that promise before by past presidents with no results.

"He wants to cut taxes and do good on the deficit? How do you do that? He'll cut a lot of programs -- programs people need. Talk is cheap," he said.

In St. Louis, MO, Diana Jenkins watched the speech in a downtown bar and wasn't impressed.

"The man is a crook," she said. "He belongs in jail, not the White House."

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

Bush and his crime family of liars and thugs should be in the cross-bar hotel and it seems everybody knows it (with the exception of the blind true believers) *sigh*

capt

State of the Union Rapid Response

There's links there to some polls we should hit.

Here's msnbc's poll...

Did President Bush persuade you that he has the right plan for the country? * 34269 responses


Yes
32%

No
68%

last half of Howard Dean's email...

Tonight and tomorrow, Republicans will be out in full force, spinning, distracting, distorting and dividing. But don't be fooled. You know what you heard in Bush's speech -- and you know the reality.

When Republicans hurl insults and lies, we must be ready to stand up and speak the truth in response -- and to make sure our friends and neighbors are not afraid to do the same.

Please take the time to write a letter to the editor about what's wrong with the Republican priorities -- and what we'll do to put America on the right track:

http://www.democrats.org/sotu/rapidresponse

We cannot sit back and let them attack us. And we cannot sit back and let them attack the values and ideals we hold dear.

That's why we are investing millions of dollars and countless volunteer hours to build the Democratic Party everywhere. We're building a year-round, 50-state party capable of winning elections for every level of office.

Building our party everywhere isn't only about electing more Democrats. It's about bringing people back into the political process and ensuring that we have at least one political party representative of, and responsible to, the people.

These are not short-term investments, and we are not there yet. But we will only create lasting change if every single one of us takes responsibility for speaking out and organizing in our local community.

Over the next ten months, that's exactly what we're going to do.

Thank you.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

David Corn wrote a great blog.

I do not trust Bush and his bait and switch tactics.

Our energy problems are solved. 1. We will collect dung - human and animal - to be caked for fuel. 2. Bottling the release of human noxious gases should also give us unlimited energy. The beauty of these noxious gases is that they are free. Everyone releases these noxious gases. Release of noxious gases keeps the internal body healthy.

American Soldiers

More American soldiers are killed in the Middle East.

2,504 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan for Bush and his evil lies.

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

G.K. Chesterton said, "Jesus speaks sanity to a world of lunatics."

Before you seek revenge, dig two graves. Confucius

Osama's back

He's not your CIC

"It is characteristic of the military mentality that nonhuman factors (atom bombs, strategic bases, weapons of all sorts, the possession of raw materials, etc) are held essential, while the human being, his desires, and thoughts - in short, the psychological factors - are considered as unimportant and secondary...The individual is degraded...to "human materiel"." ~ Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

******

Even worse - they call this a "culture of life"

Although I agree with most of your opinions, I am still debating whether you are a professional journalist or propaganda producer. In what school of literature would this be acceptable? "Bush and his speechwriters (who went through 30 drafts of this not-so-monumental speech)" -- Purely, simply, completely inappropriate, baseless, intentional degradation without any reasonable explanation; ad-hominem, if you will. It seems the focus of this article is, very simply, to degrade Bush's points at all possible cost. No, not to make logical points, not to present counter-viewpoints where appropriate -- this is, after all, the purpose of a blog, and I'm not arguing the presentation of personal viewpoints. Your article was instead focused on degrading the speech and the man at every possible opportunity, without logical rhyme or reason. The pure, unfettered bias seething through this article makes it intensely painful to read, and, I'm afraid, damages your credibility so badly, that no points within can be taken seriously. If you read this article and thought "Good article", you deserve to go back and re-examine your bias and ability to read and produce rational discussion on a given topic. While I have accused the Right of being hopelessly biased many times, I'm afraid this article falls under the exact same category: "Shameless Political Propaganda".

Great article David! Another example of exposing the lies. Keep up the good work.

"Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly." ~ Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955), quoted in New York Times, March 13, 1940

Sorry Dave, Im forever getting you mixed up with Oberman. I think you are both good guys, I guess thats why.

Oberman first mentioned Cindy's arrest, not Dave.

y'all gotta check out this flag picture

To Howard Dean, Im sorry Howard, but Im a little ticked off that not every Democrat voted NO on Alito.

The Party has to work at unity. Why ANY Dem would have voted yes on this man is WAY WAY beyond me. I would like each of them to produce an answer to that question and publish it, soon.

But, it won't wash, Alito could not have Been more wrong for this place in time.

We just sold Manhattan for wampum.

As a Dem, Im at a very low ebb.

Experts Claim Official 9/11 Story is a Hoax

Scholars for 9/11 Truth call for verification and publication by an international consortium.

Duluth, MN (PRWEB) January 30, 2006 -- A group of distinguished experts and scholars, including Robert M. Bowman, James H. Fetzer, Wayne Madsen, John McMurtry, Morgan Reynolds, and Andreas von Buelow, have concluded that senior government officials have covered up crucial facts about what really happened on 9/11.

They have joined with others in common cause as members of "Scholars for 9/11 Truth" (S9/11T), because they are convinced, based on their own research, that the administration has been deceiving the nation about critical events in New York and Washington, D.C.

These experts suggest these events may have been orchestrated by elements within the administration to manipulate Americans into supporting policies at home and abroad they would never have condoned absent "another Pearl Harbor."

They believe that this White House is incapable of investigating itself and hope the possibility that Congress might hold an unaccountable administration accountable is not merely naive or wishful thinking.

They are encouraging news services around the world to secure scientific advice by taking advantage of university resources to verify or to falsify their discoveries. Extraordinary situations, they believe, require extraordinary measures.

If this were done, they contend, one of the great hoaxes of history would stand naked before the eyes of the world and its perpetrators would be clearly exposed, which may be the only hope for saving this nation from ever greater abuse.

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

I do not think the valid questions are going away.

capt

12:22a ET - SHEEHAN FINALLY RELEASED! SAYS SHE WAS "ROUGHED UP"...According to Fertik who is in touch with David Swanson...

David reports Cindy has just been released. She was filmed by 3 networks and answered a few quick questions and mentioned she was "roughed up" - David said she looked tired and frustrated. She went off to sleep and will appear on the Today show in the morning.

12:44a ET- NBC reports the shirt in violation of the "law" read: "2,245 Dead — How Many More??"

Bush Stretches to Defend Surveillance

The president's justification for his spy program has disputable roots, as do some of the facts and figures he put forth in his speech.

WASHINGTON —†President Bush received a roaring ovation Tuesday for his prime-time defense of wiretapping phone calls without warrants. But Bush's explanation relied on assumptions that have been widely questioned by experts who say the president offers a debatable interpretation of history.

Defending the surveillance program as crucial in a time of war, Bush said that "previous presidents have used the same constitutional authority" that he did. "And," he added, "federal courts have approved the use of that authority."

Bush did not name names, but was apparently reiterating the argument offered earlier this month by Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, who invoked Presidents Lincoln, Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt for their use of executive authority.

However, warrantless surveillance within the United States for national security purposes was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972 —†long after Lincoln, Wilson and Roosevelt stopped issuing orders. That led to the 1978 passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that Bush essentially bypassed in authorizing the program after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Since the surveillance law was enacted, establishing secret courts to approve surveillance, "the Supreme Court has not touched this issue in the area of national security," said William Banks, a national security expert at Syracuse Law School.

"He might be speaking in the broadest possible sense about the president exercising his authority as commander-in-chief to conduct a war, which of course federal courts have upheld since the beginning of the nation," Banks said. "If he was talking more particularly about the use of warrantless surveillance, then he is wrong."

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

A good piece. Takes Bunnypants to task - point by point.

capt

must be a 100 photos here, plus some of Cindy in her t-shirt, and the billboard trailer

Cindy Sheehan Released After Arrest for Wearing Shirt... details article with some of the best photos from above link

52 percent say Bush's presidency a failure

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- More than half of the people asked in a recent poll said the term of U.S. President George W. Bush has been a failure.

During his State of the Union address, Bush needs to be convincing about his plans for Iraq, the economy, healthcare, immigration and corruption while staying the course on terrorism, The Gallup Organization said of its phone survey of 1,006 U.S. adults.

The 52 percent who consider Bush's presidency a failure contrasts to the more than 80 percent approval rating former President Bill Clinton received in January 1999 despite already being impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The high-octane economy of the late 1990s was the main reason Clinton weathered the impeachment process so well, analysts said.

Bush still has relative strength in the areas of terrorism, caring and honesty, the poll concludes.

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

Funny, the same numbers as the Zogby poll. I guess Gallup is just another left wing radical polling service, eh?

Majority rules. I wonder how much of the 52% polled would say "miserable failure?"

capt

RE: Cindy's shirt

They had to hide the numbers from Bunnypants - the cocoon of "yes" persons around him have to protect him from reality because it conflicts with his beliefs.

Time for articles of impeachment. Enough damage has been done.

capt

from your linked article, Capt...

The president also seemed to ignore Supreme Court precedent when he called for Congress to give him the "line item veto." But Congress did that once, in 1996, and it was used once, by former President Clinton. But in 1998, a federal judge ruled that it was unconstitutional. That was affirmed by a 6-3 decision of the Supreme Court.

If that was a signal, a 'wink' to Alito 'n crew, what else do they have planned?!!

The "Terrorist Surveillance Program" was described tonight on the Sean Hannity radio show as "A winning strategy." He is definately IN your face about this issue.

Of course, calling it the T.S.P doesn't make it legal.

Kucinich on the State of the Union

James, here's one I found for you.

March For Truth N.Y.C. '06

March for Truth N.Y.C. 2006 When? February 20th 2006 Where? "Ground Zero" New York City 10:00am -On February 20th 2006, 9/11 Truth activists will convene at "Ground Zero" former site of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan New York City to march against the U.S. Government's mass murder of 2,986 Americans on September 11th 2001.

Micki, Thanks for the pointer to Mark Wilson's site on the previous thread. He looks like just the ticket for The Betrayed.

As far as I'm concerned, deciding who to vote for in the Democratic primary will be as easy as ABC (Anybody But Cantwell).

"If there are people inside our country who are talking with al Qaeda, we want to know about it--because we will not sit back and wait to be hit again."

Now that's an interesting sentence. He's unwittingly acknowledging that he and Cheney did indeed sit back and wait for us to be hit during the 8 months he held office before 9/11.

He obviously didn't need to spy on Americans to prevent 9/11. All he needed to do was, say, make Cheney actually convene at least one meeting of the "terrorism task force" that he had appointed. Or shorten his record-long vacation a tad and remind Condi that, yes, as his National Security Adviser it was indeed her job to make sure that the airlines knew that Atta and the others were in the U.S.

By now we all know that Bush knew all he needed to know to stop 9/11. He simply failed to do anything.

Bush's list of repressive regimes also omitted Saudi Arabia, but I guess that's because soon we will no longer depend on their oil!

Bush's list of repressive regimes also omitted Saudi Arabia, but I guess that's because soon we will no longer depend on their oil!

The state of the Union? We're still Trillions of dollars in debt. The Grand Ol' Squandering party had over a thousand earmarks (pure pork) in their last few budgets where only a few hundred had been included in all of the previous budgets combined. That's a lotta squandering.

We're stuck in a war in Iraq where the locals are talking shit about the Preznit:
Bush said in his address Tuesday that "a sudden withdrawal of our forces" would abandon "our Iraqi allies to death and prison." He said the United States had little option but to "keep our word, defeat our enemies and stand behind the American military in its vital mission."
"That did not sit well with those Iraqis who are weary of the continued violence and lack of basic services such as water and electricity, and believe things would get better if the Americans went home.
"Health Ministry employee Baqir Jaafar agreed. He complained that the Americans were more interested in securing Iraq's vast oil wealth than building a stable, democratic country.

Ungrateful MoFos. Almost 20,000 Americans dead or wounded in the war, thousands more suffereing from ptsd and they worry that we want their oil. Sheesh.

Seems a lot of folks don't get it:
President Bush acknowledged America's reliance on oil Tuesday night, but his proposals will do nothing to curb today's high energy costs and are likely to make only a modest dent on oil imports even in the long run.

Feingold gives expression to his inner-Frenchman (as Patriotboy would say).

Harry Reid boils the trouble with the Preznit down to a single word: Honor. The Reds have no honor. They lie. They steal. They waste taxpayer money. They favor the rich over the middle class or poor. They hate black folks. They tried to drown New Orleans. They violate every other stricture in the Constitution. They don't know how to run a war.

They sure know how to beat the hell out of a woman, though. All these strong, brave Reds who're too scared to go off to fight in Iraq, but are plenty brave enough to take on a woman. That explains a lot (like Borkito).

And the culture of corruption continues to drain the blood from the Grand Ol' Torturin' Party. Dumbasses. Gotta keep it clean, like Hellraisin' Harry.

Hey, Timiee! Did ya' find the transcript or the tape showing what the Preznit testified to so that we can tell if he's lying about WMD? It's hard to tell when they hide the truth, eh?

And Bubblenoze Bill goes on hiatus, while LBH is left to make a purebread ass of himself. How far the party has fallen to be defended by a couple of ignoramuses (and a yammering, dimwitted Moneyhound like Happy). Maybe someday, the Preznit will get something right that they can brag about. Like a majority of Americans, I won't hold my breath.

Time to make the Donuts.

What Really Happened at the State of the Union

by Cindy Sheehan for BuzzFlash

The very Janus of theater...

One side of the face speaking proudly about death of the wife of one of our nation's most lauded "free speakers" while the other side drags out a woman who wears a t-shirt emabarassing to the p(r)esident...

But I'll bet Lee Greenwood's still proud.

I cannot say the same for myself today.

-T

As usual you left wing dolts have made my morning. Theres nothing better then getting to work and reading the morning funnies as brought to you by Capt Kangaroo and Gerald the Nazi lover. I was a little dissapointed Gerald didn't throw out any nazi refrences, but alas the day is young, and we all know it takes a Nazi to call another person a Nazi. I also want to give kudos to the good Capt, feverishly typing away night after lonely night, all by himself in his govt subsidized apt whacking off to his paranoid delusional fantasies. Thanks again capt and heres to another 3 years.

Congrats to Cindy Sheehan, not everyone can turn there childs honorable death into a career move, im sure Casey is proud. Casey would be proud of his commy loving mom and all her friends like Hugo and Michael Moore.

MHJC,

Um, the original name of this Blog was "Bush Lies" Hmmmm, kind of puts in perspective doesn't it? And when Bush provides so much material - i.e. everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie - what else can David do but point them out?

Great article David!

Alan, I can't understand why he would even want line item veto when he hasn't vetoed one single bill that has been put before him. If the only bills that get to the floor are ones put up by the lobbyists and the Republican machine that there is no point to veto.

"I can't understand why he would even want line item veto when he hasn't vetoed one single bill "

To cut line items like children with fatal disease, food for the poor, etc.

just saying

capt

Dead Man Talking

State of the Union -- Bush's address laid it all out in the open: his presidency is finished.

George Bush is hanging by a thread. As he gamed his way through his fifth State of the Union Speech last night, it was clear that his is a presidency laying in ruin. Except for a reactionary judiciary that will be his continuing legacy -- pushed passed the too-little, too-late efforts of a limp Democratic Party -- Bush has no accomplishments he can look forward to in the next three years.

George is dead, spun-out of spin, yet like his zombie followers he just keeps on talking.

Gone was the swagger, the big ideas for shaping his corporatist "Ownership Society." As his party enters their Year of the Perp-walk, as many expect 2006 to play out, any semblance of a true politics of opposition will bring down the whole sordid experiment that he represents. We've come light years from the time when the White House's soft-peddle of compassionate conservatism could soothe public concern.

The roid-rage foreign policy that marked his earlier speeches -- focused on the the now infamous "Axis of Evil" -- was replaced last night with the tamer statement that military force could only go so far in the "War on Terra."

More HERE

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

The brain-dead zombies have made their coffin and they will lay in it. Clearly evidenced by a few zombies that post here.

capt

Think Progress on the SOTU

Point by pathetic lying point.

capt

One con too many

To use those sports cliches that pundits like to deploy when talking about politics, President George W. Bush needed to hit a home run in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night to save his sagging, corrupt Presidency.

Instead, he fouled out.

Offering nothing but pathetic political platitudes, Bush fell back on his tired, overused con game of "trust me, I’≠ your President." Problem is, America no longer trusts this man who has lied, abused the Constitution and misused the power of the Presidency to further his tarnished political goals.

In another sports analogy, Bush looked like a tired fighter, worn out, against the ropes, flailing wildly but seldom connecting.

The con man is out of cons. He has gone to that well once too often and no one is buying his snake oil.

"I thought that speech was tired," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, an Illinois Democrat. "I thought that speech said, 'if you liked the last six years, we're going to give you two more years of that.'"

While you’§ expect a Democrat to find fault with Bush’≥ speech, the truth is the President looked, acted and sounded tired, like a runner out of breath, unable to muster enough strength to cross the finish line. While the Republican party leadership offered its usual collection of worn-out clich?s to try and support the President’≥ speech, Americans across the country –†Republican and Democrat –†expressed doubt, dismay and disbelief at what they heard.

In New Orleans, a 75-year-old Republican and Korean War veteran watched the State of the Union Speech and shook his head.

"Did I miss something? That’≥ all he had to offer? I think that’≥ a crying shame," he said.

In interviews with Americans who watched the speech, reporters found skepticism and disappointment that crossed party lines and revealed an angry nation fed up with its President and his many failures.

They know the state of the union is bad and the nation is in trouble. They no longer buy the lies from the man responsible.

Bush offered another lame attempt to justify his illegal orders allowing the National Security Agency to spy on Americans, a claim that virtually every legal scholar –†Republicans included –†call phony and an outright violation of the Constitution.

He served up his tired rhetoric that anyone who dares oppose his policies is aiding and abetting the enemy and repeated the often-discounted argument that his dictatorial policies have made America safer in this age of international terrorism.

In a dramatic, pitiful example of how repressive America has become under Bush, antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan was led from the House gallery in handcuffs because she committed the horrific crime of wearing a T-shirt protesting the Iraq war.

Sheehan’≥ t-shirt read: "2,245 Dead. How many more?" -- a reference to the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq." Capitol Police ordered her to cover it up. She refused, citing her right of free speech. But free speech does not exist in George W. Bush’≥ America and Capitol police held her incommunicado for four hours so the TV cameras could never focus on her or her anti-Bush message.

In St. Louis, Republican Diane Jenkins, joined friends in a downtown bar to watch Bush and said she felt like getting drunk after the speech.

"The man is a crook," she said. "He belongs in jail, not the White House."

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

The last line really says it all!

capt

One way to succeed, is to keep absolutely quiet-

Write that on a rock, and sleep on it-

The Wush's speech was as bad as to be expected, but the democratic response was just as disappointing, without a mention of the quagmire this administration has blundered us into.

Then today, on Washingtoon Journal Congresscritter Clyburn, the new Democratic caucus chair, defended the arrest of Cindy Sheehan.

It is time to send Mrs. Sheehan to Congress as a Senator...

David, connecting the insurgents to the war in Iraq works somewhat 30 something percent have fallen for it. I must give you kudos for having the stomach to watch and listen to that liar, I can't even stand to see his face flash by on the TV! The only thing that will stop this insane bushco end run is when our country is finally bankrupt and Asia refuses to finance us anymore. Mr. "Helicopter" ben bernanke will see to that!

Sheehan to replace Feinstein?

I would love to see that primary fight here in California!

Assertions on Spying, Jobs And Spending Invite Debate
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post

David:

Great analysis of Bush--one that any Bush supporter will hate because it delves beneath his empty rhetoric.

I would appreciate your musings on the Cindy Sheehan arrest. Before the SOU speech, one news service stated she was arrested for unraveling a banner in protest before the speech. This appears to be misinformation. It should frighten everyone, including hardcore Bush supporters, that a woman who wears a shirt with the number of dead on it is considered a protestor subject to arrest. What do we call the democratics who refused to clap for many of Bush's ideological positions?

It is a very sad state of affairs when the Country that declares itself the leader in the free world arrests someone for the statement on a T-shirt. If this happened in China, Syria, or Iran, it would be conclusive proof of an oppressive government. Here, it is considered merely enforcing orderly decorum.

This was purely content based discrimination in direct violation of the first amendment. Put your hand over your heart, wear a flag lapel pin or support your troops button and you are a patriot. Question the policies of your government and you are a criminal.

Criticize Ms. Sheehan for her viewpoints if you like, afterall that is your first amendment right. But to support her arrest does damage to your own right of dissent on any issue you feel important.

Your thoughts David--afterall it is a first amendment issue, or has the Bill of Rights become an irrelevant document?

China's veto power weighs heavy

BEIJING - China this week sided with the other four of the United Nations Security Council's five permanent members - the United States, Russia, Britain and France - to favor referral of Iran to the Security Council over its nuclear program. But whether Beijing uses its power of veto to block possible sanctions against Tehran is another issue.

The Iranian nuclear case is expected to be forwarded to the Security Council at a meeting on Thursday of the governing board of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned on Iranian television late Tuesday that a referral to the Security Council would result in Iran halting cooperation with the UN atomic agency as of February 4.

China, with its Security Council veto power and its seat on the board of the governors of the IAEA, plays a key role in how the world deals with Iran.

Should Iran avoid sanctions now, and be allowed to develop its nuclear program - and possibly a nuclear device - Beijing fears this would prompt North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to become even more obstructive in future talks over Pyongyang's nuclear program. This would endanger China's carefully crafted position of a peace broker on the Korean Peninsula and present the Chinese leadership with a real nuclear threat across its border.

Yet should China cave in to pressure from the United States and refrain from using its veto power on a resolution condemning Tehran's nuclear ambitions, that would most certainly jeopardize Beijing's stable and rising supply of oil from Iran.

China believes that to be a serious threat to the country's economic stability and growth, which its leaders consider a matter of national security. China became a net importer of oil in 1993 and imports since then have risen sharply, accelerating in recent years.

In 2004, it imported 2.46 million barrels per day, accounting for about 40% of demand. Currently the world's second-largest oil importer, China gets more than 12% of its oil imports from Iran and wants to step up imports of Iran's natural gas too.

Agreeing to UN sanctions would potentially destroy the value of many investments Beijing has made. In Iran, where US companies are prohibited from investing more than US$20 million annually, Chinese companies have signed long-term contracts valued at $200 billion, making China Iran's biggest oil and gas customer.

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

Always interesting to hear from a point of view from other parts of the planet.

capt

Capt 26, isn't 52% what the facists call a "mandate?" HA!
Alan 31, I find that a somewhat curious remark. Are you saying that the march for truth is for some and not others? Do you still believe bushco is telling the truth about 9/11? That there is no need to pursue it any farther, even to force them to answer to the thousand obvious lies under oath, because we already know what happened? I am stunned. Truth shoud be the priority for everyone, ESPECIALLY where 9/11 is concerned.

Cindy Sheehan May Challenge Calif. Senator

CARACAS, Venezuela - Cindy Sheehan, the peace activist who set up camp near President Bush's Texas ranch last summer, said Saturday she is considering running against Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record) to protest what she called the California lawmaker's support for the war in Iraq.

"She voted for the war. She continues to vote for the funding. She won't call for an immediate withdrawal of the troops," Sheehan told The Associated Press in an interview while attending the World Social Forum in Venezuela along with thousands of other anti-war and anti-globalization activists.

"I think our senator needs to be held accountable for her support of George Bush and his war policies," said Sheehan, whose 24-year-old soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004.

Feinstein's campaign manager, Kam Kuwata, said the senator "doesn't support George Bush and his war policies."

"She has stated publicly on numerous occasions that she felt she was misled by the administration at the time of the vote," Kuwata said by phone from California.

But with troops committed, Feinstein believes immediate withdrawal is not a responsible option, Kuwata said.

"Senator Feinstein's position is, let's work toward quickly turning over the defense of Iraq to Iraqis so that we can bring the troops home as soon as possible," he said.

Sheehan accused Feinstein of being out of touch with Californians on the issue.

She said she would decide whether to run after talking with her three other adult children. The Democratic primary will be held in June, and candidates must submit their statements for the voter guide by Feb. 14.

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

Maybe Cindy will give all Californians a Valentines day gift?

capt

With 80% of Iraqis wishing the U.S. would withdraw its forces, one is led to ask the question:

What part of Democracy doesn't this president get?

Then, considering how hard his legal team fought for his appointment in 2000, despite being clearly behind in the popular vote, one is forced to the conclusion:

All of it.

Of course, I know the Constitutional Republic rhetoric, and all that, but I'm jest sayin'...

Robert, it's only undemocratic when the neocons LOSE!

Here's something for YOU Alan! I am simply amazed that this has appeared at Daily Kos, are people FINALLY waking up???

20 reasons to question the official story of 9/11
by dailykoster
Tue Jan 31, 2006 at 07:16:42 AM PDT

There's a lot more than 20 reasons, but this a good start!

Polls Left Alito Filibuster Wide Open to Democrats

One assumes the Democratic leadership has staff paid to look at numbers like I easily uncovered and to make recommendations like I would have made to their bosses, that they get out there, as publicly as possible, and make the case to the American people that Samuel Alito will tilt a judiciary that only a tiny percentage of the country believes is too liberal even farther in the opposite direction.
------------
For everyone who thinks I have poo-pooed the filibuster efforts, here is a short but sweet article that explains my feelings very well. While not giving up I sure don't have much faith, if it depends on the uninformed public that is more concerned about the Brad Pitt-Jennifer Aniston fiasco, and a dem leadership that couldn't care less.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iraqi money gambled away in the Philippines. Thousands spent on a swimming pool that was never used. An elevator repaired so poorly that it crashed, killing people.

A U.S. government audit found American-led occupation authorities squandered tens of millions of dollars that were supposed to be used to rebuild Iraq through undocumented spending and outright fraud.

In some cases, auditors recommend criminal charges be filed against the perpetrators. In others, it asks the U.S. ambassador to Iraq to recoup the money.

Dryly written audit reports describe the Coalition Provisional Authority's offices in the south-central city of Hillah being awash in bricks of $100 bills taken from a central vault without documentation.

It describes one agent who kept almost $700,000 in cash in an unlocked footlocker and mentions a U.S. soldier who gambled away as much as $60,000 in reconstruction funds in the Philippines.

"Tens of millions of dollars in cash had gone in and out of the South-Central Region vault without any tracking of who deposited or withdrew the money, and why it was taken out," says a report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, which is in the midst of a series of audits for the Pentagon and State Department.

Much of the first audit reports deal with contracting in south-central Iraq, one of the country's least-hostile regions. Audits have yet to be released for the occupation authority's spending in the rest of Iraq.

The audits offer a window into the chaotic U.S.-led occupation of Iraq of 2003-04, when inexperienced American officials - including workers from President Bush's election campaign - organized a cash-intensive "hearts and minds" mission to rebuild Iraq's devastated economy.

But the corruption and incompetence documented in the reports reveal that much of the effort, however well-intentioned, was wasted.

The failure of the rebuilding effort has been borne out most vividly by the rise of a virulent anti-American insurgency that has claimed most of the 2,237 U.S. military lives lost since the war began.

In some cases, auditors could find no trace of cash, much of which came from Iraqi oil revenues overseen by the occupation authority.

"Those deficiencies were so significant that we were precluded from accomplishing our stated objectives," the auditors said of U.S. officials in Hillah being unable to account for $97 million of the $120 million in Iraqi oil revenues earmarked for rebuilding projects.

An October 2005 audit found documentation for the spending of just $8 million of that money.

Negligence proved deadly in at least one case. Three Iraqis plummeted to their deaths in an elevator in the Hillah General Hospital that was certified to have been replaced by a contractor who received $662,800.

Also in Hillah, occupation officials spent $108,140 to replace pumps and fix the city's Olympic swimming pool. But the contractor merely polished the old plumbing to make it look new and collected his money.

When the pool was filled, the water came out a murky brown and the pool's reopening had to be canceled. The reports did not identify the contractors involved.

Auditors have asked the U.S. ambassador to recover a total of $571,823 that the reports describe as overpaid funds.

In some cases, cash simply disappeared.
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Damn, if only a clinton were in charge of this clusterf**k, maybe something could be done!

Brad and Jen?

OMG - what happened to Brad and Jen?

HA!

capt

The only thing worse than Emperor Bush's speech was Gov Kaines response. I played a little drinking game during the speech. I chugged a beer every time I heard "terror" or "freedom". About fifteen minutes into ths address I was pretty buzzed. I quickly lost interest as it became apparent that once again there was nothing but the repetition of the previously regurgitated talking points. Stay the course. Do the same dumb shit we have been doing. Repeat the same dumb shit we have been saying. Our soldiers will continue to die and be treated like crap by Halliburton. Any lemming who questions "the march of freedom" is a "defeatist". Blah blah blah...

I actually found myself missing Ronald Reagan.

I turned the channel and found that one of my favorite movies "They Live" by John Carpenter was on. That wierd B grade movie was a more accurate representation of our current reality than a Bush speech could ever be.

US Senate Confirms Alito for Supreme Court
By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
31 January 2006

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court in a largely party-line vote. He is poised to become the 110th justice on the high court, succeeding Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Senator Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican, announced the vote as he presided over the Senate.

STEVENS: "On this vote, the ayes are 58, the nays are 42. The president's nomination of Samuel A. Alito, Jr. of New Jersey to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is confirmed."

The vote fell generally along party lines, with all but one of the Senate's majority Republicans voting in favor of Judge Samuel Alito. All but four of the Democrats voted against the nomination
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UH, what happened to the filibuster? What a f**king joke. Still wondering why I have lost faith? The two-party system is dead, long live the king.

How to Tell if Bush is Serious about Ending US Dependence on Foreign Petroleum

The way you could tell Bush was serious would be if he ordered the Pentagon to use green sources of energy where possible. If a major US bureacracy spent even a few billions on things like solar power and electric vehicles, there would be technological breakthroughs and prices would plummet.

Or Bush could rescind some of his tax cuts for the super-rich and use the money as incentive for green energy.

But as long as Bush, who is as he keeps reminding us, the chief executive officer of the US government, doesn't even require his own employees to try to use less petroleum, then all he is doing is mouthing plattitudes he stole from Al Gore and John Kerry, without intending to do more than flap his lips.

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

I bet our Michigan bloggers would love to see Juan Cole run for office? He has really expanded his commentary lately. More to the point than he used to be and he is covering much more ground on more diverse issues.

capt

The State of the Union is not so stately.

Saladin,

We have a two party system, it is just that both parties listen to the same prophet, profit.

Both parties will do everything they can to stop a viable third choice and both parties offer some very good kabuki theater while giving themselves raises and passing any bill that is paid for in advanced. (by lobbyists)

capt

Capt, their agenda is the same. The arguments and left-right rhetoric is an act. If the actions don't say that loud and clear, nothing will. I will say it again, it is up to we the people to take the country back, but that won't happen either because half don't even know what's going on. I am seriously considering a move to Bora Bora!

Era Ends: Western Union Stops Sending Telegrams

After 145 years, Western Union has quietly stopped sending telegrams.

On the company's web site, if you click on "Telegrams" in the left-side navigation bar, you're taken to a page that ends a technological era with about as little fanfare as possible:

"Effective January 27, 2006, Western Union will discontinue all Telegram and Commercial Messaging services. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, and we thank you for your loyal patronage. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a customer service representative."

The decline of telegram use goes back at least to the 1980s, when long-distance telephone service became cheap enough to offer a viable alternative in many if not most cases. Faxes didn't help. Email could be counted as the final nail in the coffin.

Western Union has not failed. It long ago refocused its main business to make money transfers for consumers and businesses. Revenues are now $3 billion annually. It's now called Western Union Financial Services, Inc. and is a subsidiary of First Data Corp.

The world's first telegram was sent on May 24, 1844 by inventor Samuel Morse. The message, "What hath God wrought," was transmitted from Washington to Baltimore. In a crude way, the telegraph was a precursor to the Internet in that it allowed rapid communication, for the first time, across great distances.

Western Union goes back to 1851 as the Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company. In 1856 it became the Western Union Telegraph Company after acquisition of competing telegraph systems. By 1861, during the Civil War, it had created a coast-to-coast network of lines.

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

Time they are a changing.

capt

George W. Bush had the chutzpah to speak with undue optimism and hubris regarding the "progress" of his War on Iraq. Cindy Sheehan is removed from the gallery; he uses a family as his political prop to "honor the sacrifice" in his War of Choice.

If the families of over 2,300 soldiers who've been killed in his unnecessary War of Choice had been sitting in the chamber, instead of just one Rovian hand-picked family, do you think the American people would have been able to hear bush's empty words over the pain and cries of grief?

bush is a coward.

bush is nothing more than a puppet. He has nothing to say about anything. He is just a front man, and not a very good one, for the guys behind the curtain.

Bill Clinton Member of Bush Family

Newsmax | January 31 2006

Related: Act Three, Scene Two: Clinton Criticizes Bush (Again)

President Bush said Sunday that ex-President Bill Clinton has worked so closely with his father on tsunami and Hurricane Katrina relief that he's like a member of the Bush family.

Referring to Clinton as "my new brother," Bush told CBS's "Face the Nation" that it was "fun" to watch his two predecessors interact when they all attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

"You know, there's a lot of shared experiences and so I can understand why ex-presidents are able to put aside old differences," he told "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer.

The president said that he, too, has grown closer to the man whom he once said had disgraced the Oval Office.

"I check in with Bill Clinton occasionally, just to see how he's doing," he admitted.

Bush says that their conversations "makes it obvious to me that we're kind of, you know, on the same wavelength with the job of the presidency."

When Schieffer reminded the president that Sen. Hillary Clinton was planning to succeed him, Bush interjected: "Yeah. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton."
-----------
Check the source. If this doesn't raise the hair on the back of your neck, nothing will.

In Washington State, we still have a mess to clean up at Hanford, a nuclear site. bush yammers about us being "addicted to oil" -- which is one of the few accurate things he said -- but he didn't say anything about scaling back demand for oil. (Did he?)

Helllllllllllllloooooooooooo! How about expanding public transportation? He yakked about hydrogen, but didn't elaborate that his plans for hydrogen fuel would require coal-fired power plants -- in other words, his "clean" energy would be made possible using a high pollution process.

More bullshit from the busheviks.

Feds Want A Wiretap Backdoor In All Net Hardware and Software

Networking Pipeline | January 31 2006

Thinks the federal government is too intrusive? You ain't seen nothing yet. An FCC mandate will require that all hardware and software have a wiretap backdoor that allows the government to tap into all your communications.

The mandate expands the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), and requires that every piece of hardware and software sold include the backdoor.

The rule isn't yet final, but once it is, all vendors will have 18 months to comply. And in fact, says Brad Templeton, chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), some router makers already include such a backdoor. So your hardware may be vulnerable.

There are several problems with this rule. First is the obvious massive intrusion into all of our privacy. Second, says Templeton, is the way that the rule will stifle innovation. According to the Washington Post, he claims that the rule will "require that people get permission to innovate" would create "regulatory barriers to entry." He adds "The FBI gets veto on new companies."

The final problem is that if all hardware and software has a backdoor, it's an open invitation to hackers. So we may be faced with a double-whammy: The feds and hackers working their way into our systems.

The EFF, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the COMPTEL association of communications service providers, and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief last week with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to try and stop the FCC. Here's hoping they win.
------------
It seems the goal is to completely shut down the only source of truth.

BTW, I didn't watch the bastard. I read the transcript, which was painful enough.

Saladin, I recall you said you had doctors' appointments earlier this week. I hope things went well.

You're back in your usual form, so I will take that as a good sign. ;-))

micki, did you know that a plan to place offshore platforms utilizing solar energy in producing hydrogen was shut down by bushco? Whatever were they thinking? I guess we can't have any competing with oil companies until they've sucked out every last drop.

I am seriously considering a move to Bora Bora!

by: Saladin

be sure BoraBora has internet connections; otherwise, I worry what will you do?

your admirer

I got this in my email this a.m.....

# When will we have a new strategy in Iraq that protects American lives? Violence is increasing, not decreasing there and the mismanagement of this war has cost the lives of Americans and billions of dollars in fraud. And when will we secure our ports and chemical and nuclear plants, which remain vulnerable?

# When will the Republican Party put its responsibility to the people before its greed and thirst for power? The Republican culture of corruption in the executive and legislative branches has violated the law and cost taxpayers billions.

# When will President Bush and the Republican Congress wake up to the economic crisis tens of millions of Americans face? Good jobs are leaving this country, and many of the jobs that remain exploit working families by denying them adequate benefits. Millionaires and corporations receive tax breaks while Americans can't afford to save, and the gap between rich and poor continues to widen to levels unseen since the 19th century.

# When will we finally do something for the 46 million Americans who lack health insurance? Many have had their lives ruined financially when the worst happened, and many more no longer seek the care they need because they cannot afford it.

# When will we make serious strides towards energy independence? We get a greater percentage of our oil from cartels and dictatorships now than we did in 2000.

# When will he take steps to further ensure retirement security for every American? Growing old with dignity is a right, not a privilege, and dismantling Social Security in favor of private accounts is the wrong direction for our society.

Thanks micki, but the appointment was for my husband who had major back surgery a month ago. He is on the mend. And I am on my usual tear!

Tuesday, March 4, 2003 Posted: 9:52 PM EST (0252 GMT)

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A lawyer was arrested late Monday and charged with trespassing at a public mall in the state of New York after refusing to take off a T-shirt advocating peace that he had just purchased at the mall.

According to the criminal complaint filed Monday, Stephen Downs was wearing a T-shirt bearing the words "Give Peace A Chance" that he had just purchased from a vendor inside the Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, New York, near Albany.

"I was in the food court with my son when I was confronted by two security guards and ordered to either take off the T-shirt or leave the mall," said Downs.

When Downs refused the security officers' orders, police from the town of Guilderland were called and he was arrested and taken away in handcuffs, charged with trespassing "in that he knowingly enter(ed) or remain(ed) unlawfully upon premises," the complaint read.

Downs said police tried to convince him he was wrong in his actions by refusing to remove the T-shirt because the mall "was like a private house and that I was acting poorly.

"I told them the analogy was not good and I was then hauled off to night court where I was arraigned after pleading not guilty and released on my own recognizance," Downs told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Downs is the director of the Albany Office of the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, which investigates complaints of misconduct against judges and can admonish, censure or remove judges found to have engaged in misconduct.

Calls to the Guilderland police and district attorney, Anthony Cardona and to officials at the mall were not returned for comment.
--------------
Does anyone remember this story? We are SO doomed.

David , you certainly have covered the obvious contradictions in the Presidents "State of Denial" address.

I thought bringing up Coretta Scott King's passing at the very beginning illustrated the contradictions in the Bush administration loud and clear. For me it put the spolight directly on the Bush administration's failures in responding to the needs of the poor in New Orleans before and after the flooding, and how they are continuing to ignore the reconstruction there.

The list of critical issues "LEFT BEHIND" in the State of Denial is a long one. Of course he did not mention raising the minimum wage, the 32% of students who will not graduate from high school, no plan for the 47 million uninsured, and the outsourcing of jobs etc. etc.

While these issues were "LEFT BEHIND". President Bush did not leave behind his desire to see the tax cuts for the wealthy to become permanent... behind. Just another example of his truely compassionate conservative nature coming through.

I found it especially telling about the state of our union when the family who had lost a son in the war of choice in Iraq was being applauded. Cindy Sheehan who also lost her son in Iraq was being arrested...now that is the symbol for THE STATE OF OUR UNION.

You can really tell that Bush does not get out much in the real world when he said we live in a "hopeful society". This really made me wonder about his life in his "bubble".

I came away from the state of denial saying "SWITHGRASS" "SWITCHGRASS". TRying to say it 10 times in a row really fast and wondering had V.P Cheney switched some of his investments into the research of this grass that I had never heard of.

oops "Switchgrass"

kathleen, I thought it was odd, too, that bush would single out a particular grass. Maybe the republicons' favorite Big AG company holds the patent on a new "super-seed" (GMO) for switchgrass.

Did you know that "switchgrass" is from the genus Panicum (panic)?

I just read a rumor that cheney is stepping down for health reasons. Has anyone heard this news?

THE SCARIEST THING ABOUT THE SOTU SPEECH
by Bob in North Dakota

All of the pundits missed what, to me, is the scariest thing about the SOTU speech last night.

Bush made it loud and clear that HE doesn't want to hear ANY negative news about the situation in Iraq. He doesn't want "defeatism" to come from the lips of people in Congress...and he made it clear that he doesn't want to hear it from his Administration as well. Anything but happy happy news is unpatriotic, helping the terrorists, not supporting the troops, etc.

This is way scary. We have over 100,000 troops in a foreign land, and he only wants to hear the happy happy good news.

Bob in North Dakota

This really comes as no surprise. This has been indicated in the MSM. I had written about this on Corns site, because I had heard George Will say this several times over the last few months on Stephanopolous(sp?) program "This Week".

;LET US HOPE THAT FITZGERALD IS CLOSING IN ON HIM.

See there is a reason to listen and watch main stream news...they sometimes know know what is coming.

Also, regarding switchgrass....a very unremarkable native grass. Produces biomass, not much different than wheat straw, corn stalks, or lawn clippings. I have a Ph.D. in Agronomy, and even did some research on switchgrass some 30 years ago. For the life of me, I cannot understand why the federal government has fixed its gaze on this most unremarkable grass. If you want biomass for cheap, harvest corn stalks.

Bob

Multimillion dollar Abramoff client, who gave readily to Republicans, got meetings with Bush, DeLay, Hastert, Lott and Burns John Byrne Published: February 1, 2006 Print This | Email This Fitial with President Bush in 2001Eleven million dollars can buy a lot of access in Washington. Especially if your lobbyist is Jack Abramoff. Take Beningo Fitial, the current governor of the Northern Marianas Islands, a U.S. territory in the Pacific. He and his company, along with their trade lobby and funds doled out by the islands at his prodding, spent $11.5 million dollars lobbying Washington between 1995 and 2002. Fitial—who became Speaker of the Marianas House after a coup organized by Abramoff’s associates and former aides of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay—was treated like a king. Advertisement In January 2001, Fitial enjoyed the inauguration of President George W. Bush. Three months later, in April, Fitial met Bush a second time. He also met Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS). Then he stopped in for visit with Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL). Fitial with Tom DeLay and Conrad BurnsIn other words—Abramoff seems to have arranged for a non-head of state for a tiny island in the Pacific to meet with the three most powerful men in the United States of America. But that’s not all: Fitial also met with then-Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Senate Interior Department Appropriations Chairman Conrad Burns (R-MT). Fitial appears in photographs with Burns and Delay -- enlarged from tiny thumbnails in his hometown paper -- at left. That, it seems -- along with a spate of legislative victories keeping the islands from U.S. jurisdiction -- is the value of $11 million dollars. Fitial, not surprisingly, has not been terribly critical of Abramoff since he pled guilty to myriad criminal charges, including fraud, tax evasion and bribing members of Congress. Six months after his visit to Capitol Hill, Fitial’s family’s companies donated $50,000 to the National Senatorial Campaign Committee. The following month, Abramoff’s firm, at the direction of former press secretary to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) Michael Scanlon, doled out $50,000 to the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee. Fitial was also chaired the islands campaign to raise money for President Bush’s reelection in 2004. Another photo of Fitial and Bush, discovered by Raw StoryAsked about his meeting with Bush, Fitial told his local newspaper the Saipan Tribune, "This was a great opportunity to raise the CNMI's (Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands) concerns to the president directly. Indeed, when the President discussed our military's readiness, I made it clear to him that the people of the CNMI support the military's presence and exercises in the Northern Mariana Islands." “The president,” Fitial added, “said he was very pleased to know that the CNMI is supporting the military's presence in the islands." Fitial also said he was pleased most by the fact that Lott recalled their meeting in a previous year. He said, "I think our efforts in Washington will continue to pay off for the CNMI people.” And pay off they did: The Mariana’s $11.5 million, channeled through Abramoff, crushed numerous attempts to impose minimum wage and labor laws on the island territory. The tropical hotspot where Tom DeLay spent New Years in 1998 playing golf remains a haven for U.S. garment manufacturers—including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Gap—who enjoy the loosely enforced minimum wage of $3.05. But you wouldn't know that from the labels: all products made in the Commonwealth can be stamped Copyright © 2004-06 Raw Story Media, Inc. All rights reserved. | Site map |Privacy policy Site

Has anyone heard about a repug senators wife being removed last night for wearing a pro war shirt?

LOU DOBBS WOULD LOVE THIS STORY Arlingon, Va.- KBR announced today that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) component has awarded KBR an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contingency contract to support ICE facilities in the event of an emergency. KBR is the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL). With a maximum total value of $385 million over a five-year term, consisting of a one-year based period and four one-year options, the competitively awarded contract will be executed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. KBR held the previous ICE contract from 2000 through 2005. "We are especially gratified to be awarded this contract because it builds on our extremely strong track record in the arena of emergency operations support," said Bruce Stanski, executive vice president, KBR Government and Infrastructure. "We look forward to continuing the good work we have been doing to support our customer whenever and wherever we are needed." The contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs. The contingency support contract provides for planning and, if required, initiation of specific engineering, construction and logistics support tasks to establish, operate and maintain one or more expansion facilities. The contract may also provide migrant detention support to other U.S. Government organizations in the event of an immigration emergency, as well as the development of a plan to react to a national emergency, such as a natural disaster. In the event of a natural disaster, the contractor could be tasked with providing housing for ICE personnel performing law enforcement functions in support of relief efforts. ICE is one of three agencies that make up the Border and Transportation Security (BTS) Directorate of the DHS. The mission of the BTS Directorate is to secure the nation's air, land and sea borders. ICE, the largest investigative arm of the DHS, is responsible for identifying and shutting down vulnerabilities in the nation's border, economic, transportation and infrastructure security. KBR is a global engineering, construction, technology and services company. Whether designing an LNG facility, serving as a defense industry contractor, or providing small capital construction, KBR delivers world-class service and performance. KBR employs more than 60,000 people in 43 countries around the world. Halliburton, founded in 1919, is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the petroleum and energy industries. The company serves its customers with a broad range of products and services through its Energy Services Group and KBR. Visit the company's World Wide Web site at www.halliburton.com. ------- Jump to today's TO Features: (In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. t r u t h o u t has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is t r u t h o u t endorsed or sponsored by the originator.) "Go to Original" links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted on TO may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the "Go to Original" links. Print This Story E-mail This Story |

Its The End OF The World And We Know It. Its The End Of The World And We Know It. But I DON'T feel fine.

Dumbing down soes not come easily for me. Even with booze and weed.

The data mining that has been going on int this nation has been around at least 15 years. What do you think those bar codes on products are for???

A collegue and mentor of mine (also happened to be an ardent Mormon) wailed about that years ago. He was apocolyptic about it. The "666" as it were. I was still getting my footing so really didn't pursue the issue. Don't know if it would have done any good to do so.

But he advised then as I do now...Let's get back to an organic lifestyle. Whenever possible stay out of corporate stores, avoid mass produced bling-blings and keep your payments in cash.

Discuss strategy in politics in open, person to person forums frequently and with transparancy.

And if you should be disappeared as a result of warantless wiretaps, have lots of people to ask about you. Keeping frinds and family at your core is the most adaptive action one can have for survial.

Fuck the neocons. FUCK EM. Lets live our lives out loud.

You fucking lefty morons.

Lest you forget; 8 years of lobbing rockets at aspirin factories and ignoring other nation's requests to take Bin Laden and other top terrorists out was what predated 9-11, not 8 months of trying to make up for it.

Clinton, Gore, and (Remeber Waco?)Reno's total dessimation of the intellegnce infrastructure and denegrating and ignoring of Armed Forces' needs due to their hatred of America, combined with their malfeasance and pole-smoking-while-on-the-phone-with-world-leaders cavalier attitude toward protecting our porous borders is what made us weak enough to be attacked.

Isolationism

Dear Cornposters:

I do not favor isolationism but I oppose everything that Bush stands for! I consider him dumb, stupid, and a turkey. I oppose his incessant lies and his bait and switch tactics. When the Coward in Crawford talks about isolationism and the fact that we should not be isolationists, he really is talking about expansionism and endless wars. These are the wars that are fought with the lives of poor and middle class sons and daughters to PROTECT the asses of the sons and daughters from the rich and powerful. I say horseshit to those ideas.

What our Nazi government must do is to talk to other governments about the enhancement of human lives in their countries and while our government is doing that she should enhance the lives of all Nazi Americans and not just the lives of the rich and powerful.

As I awoke this morning in a subconscious state, I thought briefly of the annual SOTU speech and that the day after this speech should be a Pukefest Day so we can puke our guts out with all the bullshit that flies at these SOTU speeches. Please remember the day after the SOTU speech should be our annual Pukefest Day.

Sincerely,

Gerald

#62
Angela baby is in peril. She's not telling Brad the details. Jennifer is determined to have a baby. It's her birthday. It's getting hot and heavy with Vance or Vince.
I got all this information from the covers. Now if we could just juice up the news and put it on the covers of People, Star and In Touch we'd be in business.
"Cheney has artificial heart but does not need it to function."
"George Bush wants daughters to marry into the Robertson family to be 'closer to God'."

Oh, oh, Saladin. Haven't heard about cheney -- but does that mean it's time to put Condi in the co-pilot's seat?

Paul, yes, it was a rep's wife from Florida (C.W. Bill Young or something) -- her t-shirt slogan stated, "Support the Troops - Defending Our Freedom."

What a set-up deal.

#73
Micki,
Republicans hate public transportation. The idea that they would have to sit with the teeming masses is more than they can stand.

Paul, Yes sirreeeee! Just goes to show you, the bushies are fair and balanced, just like Faux News. What a crock.

Wow!

Cindy Sheehan dragged from the "people's house" for wearing a T-shirt with an unpleasent number on it.

The Iranian president is probably lining up the sons and daugters of his land to come here and die for OUR freedoms!!!

-T

#97 Well, jeez Jeanne, they could just send the teeming masses to the back of the bus, couldn't they?

You know, so what if she was wearing that shirt. (WE know that!).

The busheviks just didn't want the TV cameras panning over to her and "embarrassing" them.

Obvious, I know.

I'll take moron for 200 Alex...

answer) ...with their malfeasance and pole-smoking-while-on-the-phone-with-world-leaders...

hmm...who is Jeff Gannon?

answer) ...is what made us weak enough to be attacked.

hmm...what is "I believe the title of the memo was 'Bin Laden Determined To Attack In The U.S."
oh! who is Condaleeza Rice!

For Congress to applaud approvingly at a president's brag that he is brazenly violating the Fourth Amendment is indeed a low point in our history.

The congress looked like an audience of pod people. Maybe they were on tranquilizers. The comic book version was fine for the jugheads I saw in the standing up and applauding.

Clueless, clueless, clueless.

102 Bravo. Well done, sir. Inventive; uniquely witty; concise. Dangerously close to perfection if such a thing exists and is measurable.

Though the author could easily rest on the laurels of that riposte, we look forward to more of the same.

#15 capt, great post! Yes, death in Nazi America means a culture of life for the rich and powerful.

#37 flan, great article by Cindy Sheehan!

#46 capt, Bush is a crook and he belongs in jail and not in the WH.

Juan Cole reveals Bush's total stupidity as a low life amoeba.

#85 Saladin, more hype to keep our focus away from the stupid Bush!

#88 Bob in N.D., switchgrass another money waster by our government and maybe a new wedge issue to win votes.

I cannot comment on all the great posts.

I forgot to mention that it is almost a pity that the victim of said post is clearly too slow, dull witted and vacuous to appreciate the finer points of such well crafted and satiric humor.

Somebody linked this article awhile back. I printed it off and have been reading it.

Palace Revolt

They were loyal conservatives, and Bush appointees. They fought a quiet battle to rein in the president's power in the war on terror. And they paid a price for it. A NEWSWEEK investigation.
--------------
This is a very good article about some of the people who tried to stop the illegal activities and how Addington and Libby and Cheney forced them out.
Forcing people who disagree with you out only works for so long and then it comes back to haunt you. I think it's the witching hour. The people they forced out were career people, they were dedicated to country. They were smart and they know the system.
Many people have been forced out. If I was in this administration, I would be very afraid of all the people Cheney and his people have burned. There are a lot of Richard Clarks out there.

When Paul Wolfowitz was asked about the term 'neo-con' he said, "it's anti-semitic".

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED by Cindy Sheehan

I have just finished another good post from last week.

The long march of Dick Cheney

For his entire career, he sought untrammeled power. The Bush presidency and 9/11 finally gave it to him -- and he's not about to give it up.

Nov. 24, 2005 | The hallmark of the Dick Cheney administration is its illegitimacy. Its essential method is bypassing established lines of authority; its goal is the concentration of unaccountable presidential power. When it matters, the regular operations of the CIA, Defense Department and State Department have been sidelined.
-----------------------
Cheney has been going behind the scenes, taking power for his entire career. He has been moving up the ranks, dealing for more executive power all the while. He figured out he would no be voted in as president so he found a stooge who had the right stuff and who would stand up and say the right things.
And then they cheated their way into office.

I tried to figure out why the people in power tolarated Cheney. He disobeyed orders. He was obviously grabbing power. He was ruthless beyond Washington's terms.
This is what I came up with for a reason why Cheney is where he is today. The Republicans knew they could gain power in all branches with people like him and DeLay. As time went on the Republican party morphed into the monster it is today.

Alan 31, I find that a somewhat curious remark. Are you saying that the march for truth is for some and not others?

Nope, Sal I meant this article was of interest to James, so he could read it if he hadn't seen it yet. We all have our fav topics, and that's his. Yours is that also, but even more, it's economics. I was just direting a friend to something he'd like to see.

*directing

46 - This reports that Cindy Sheehan refused to cover up her t-shirt. This is not true. As she was unzipping her jacket - her shirt was seen and someone shouted -"Protester" and she was immediately taken away. She said that if she was asked to change, she would have, but she wasn't given the opportunity.

Sacrifice Sunday

Dear Cornposters:

This will be my third annual Super Bowl Sunday that I will not watch the game. It is but a small sacrifice for me. Our men and women are in Iraq and Afghanistan and they are in harm's way.

Super Bowl Sunday will be at least four hours of prayers for justice and peace for our country and the world. Prayers will start at the beginning of the game and end after the game.

Would you please join me in this small sacrifice for justice and peace? You will not miss much of the game because there will be highlights of the game in all the sports pages and on the news the next day.

Thank you for your prayers on Super Bowl Sunday for justice and peace! Let us also pray that our soldiers return home from this War of Choice by our dastardly low life ruler.

Sincerely,

Gerald

DeLay's defense fund in red
Congressman raised $590,000 last year but still owes hundreds of thousands more

==========================
This was in today's Houston Chronicle (and obviously now online too). At what point do the idiots quit throwing 'good' money to protect a bad criminal? Tho it goes on to say only a fraction of repug congressmen are still giving to him.
Also, I wanted to point out something that crossed my mind last night. After the speech, did y'all see Doofus hanging around signing autographs for 'the masses'? Cameras were staying with him 'n shyt. I thought immediately of "cover" for any pictures of him with Abramoff that come up. "See, he interacts with tons of Americans, they love him you know, and that proves he doesn't know everybody he gets a picture with. These politically-motivated releases of pictures of him with that crook is just another cheap shot on our president, blah blah blah...".

There is a good segment on Democracy Now concerning the Health Saving Plans.

Critics Warn Bush's Upcoming Policies Will Worsen Health Care Crisis, Hit Most Vulnerable Hardest

In Bush’≥ first term, the number of people without health insurance increased by more than 1 million, bringing the total number of uninsured to more than 45 million in 2004. And according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the cost of a health-insurance plan for a family of four hit over $10,800 last year. This was 70% more than in 2000....

...RON POLLACK: Well, I think the cornerstone of what the President will propose tonight will be an expansion of health savings accounts. Now, what these are, they're tax-preferred investments that people can put away into an account if, but only if, they sign up for a plan that has high deductibles. Now what do I mean by high deductibles? High deductibles mean, for somebody buying insurance for themselves, could be as high as about $5,000; for family coverage, as much as $10,000. What that means is, say you're purchasing coverage for your family. Not only do you pay the premium, which could be thousands of dollars, but then before you get any kind of coverage from your insurance policy, you're going have to pay the first $10,000 out of your own pocket.

Now, what does this mean? It means that for most people with these high deductible policies being pushed by the President, health care, in fact, will be more unaffordable than it is today. Except if you're wealthy, these high deductible policies often mean that people simply can't afford to get the health care that their doctor feels they should receive. Now, what happens is that the wealthy, for whom these deductibles are not a problem for them to pay and who don't have any problems putting money away into one of these health savings accounts, they will get a tax break. And because they're in a high tax bracket, that tax break will be of greater value to them. So, for the wealthy, especially if they are healthy, this is a great deal. But for those people who are moderate income people, those people who have health care problems, especially if you have some chronic disability or health problem, this is a real problem.

Now, one of the real bad effects of this is that when the wealthy, particularly the ҡnd healthy,Ӡgo into these health savings accounts, they leave the rest of us in traditional insurance. And guess what happens. When the traditional insurance pools only include people who have health problems, who have disabilities, the premiums will skyrocket. And so, my belief is that what the President is doing tonight -- he's doing one good thing. He's alerting the public to the health affordability crisis, but then he's going to make that affordability crisis worse, because for the most of us, it's going mean we're going to have higher out-of-pocket costs.

-----------
Medicare issues?
------

We see what the President has proposed with respect to the Medicaid program. Medicaid is the program for children, seniors, people with disabilities, who have lower incomes. The President has proposed increasing the costs for people on that program, higher premiums, higher out-of-pocket cost, and at the same time, reducing benefits. And so, the people who are most vulnerable, who now participate in Medicaid -- there are 53 million people who participate -- they are going to be at greater risk of either becoming uninsured or, even if they remain in Medicaid, it's going be tougher for them to pay for the health services that they need because of these greater out-of-pocket costs.

And, of course, I don't think your listeners and viewers need to be reminded about the fiasco of this implementation of this new Medicare legislation. There are a lot of very low-income people who used to get prescription drug coverage through Medicaid. As of December 31, they lost that coverage in Medicaid, and in order to continue getting coverage, they had to sign up for a private plan, and many people just fell through the cracks. And you're seeing over half the states in the country intervening, because a lot of people who used to have prescription drug coverage are no longer getting it, or they're going the drugstore and the pharmacist is saying you're going have to pay a huge amount of money for the drugs you used to get essentially for free. So, unfortunately, this administration's health care record leaves a lot to be desired.

JUAN GONZALEZ: We're going get into that Medicare issue in a second and talk to one of those people who did fall through the cracks. But I would like to ask you one more question about the issue of preventive care. Obviously, most studies show that the largest share of our health care costs come from a small portion of population who have catastrophic illnesses. What about preventive medicine and efforts to prevent illness in the Bush administration's plans?

RON POLLACK: Well, that's a very important issue, because preventive care and primary care is essential. If you want to avoid having some major illness spread, you want to get care and you want to get diagnosis early. Now, with these health savings accounts, in order to get a health savings account, you have to sign up for a plan that has a high deductible. Now, what does a high deductible do? It actually inhibits you from getting preventive care and from getting primary care. That's the best kind of health care. And so, unfortunately, the President, through these health savings accounts, is actually pushing the country more to a disease-funded system, rather than a prevention-focus system, and a lot of people who could get care on a timely basis if they had preventive care and primary care are going to be discouraged from doing so because of the high deductibles that they will face. So, this is exactly the wrong direction for us to go with our health care system.

----------------
This system is going to take a crisis in the wrong direction. How hard is this to understand? This is another clear example of how the Bush administration does not care.
They don't even care that the people of this nation are outraged by this issue.

Oh, guess why this plan is so consumer unfriendly. Just guess.

A. Drug lobby.

RON POLLACK: Well, it was at the behest of the drug lobby. The drug lobby wanted to make sure there would be absolutely no interference in their ability to price drugs like they want and to continue to have them skyrocket. And it really was at the behest of the drug companies that actually played the biggest role in influencing the development of this legislation.

But they were able to achieve one other thing. They were afraid that at some point Congress might want to reconsider this prohibition that prevents Medicare from bargaining for cheaper prices. So the other thing that they pushed for successfully was to make sure that Medicare would not administer this drug plan, but rather it would be administered by private insurance companies. Now, what that means is in communities all across the country, there are forty to sixty plans for people to choose from, which has caused enormous confusion. But in terms of what the drug companies wanted, it means that none of these companies have a sufficient market share to bargain with the drug companies to get prices down.

And so, as a result, through the drug companies’†success in promoting their agenda in this legislative process, we've got a profusion of confusion with so many different plans, all with different premiums, deductibles, co-pays, so-called donut holes, gaps in coverage, prices in drugs, what drugs are listed that you can get, what drug stores you can go to. And so seniors are absolutely bewildered. But in addition to that, seniors are paying much more out of pocket in premiums, deductibles, and co-pays, because there was no meaningful bargaining, and the taxpayer who is paying about three-quarters of the cost of this drug program is being fleeced. It really is the worst of all worlds.

Bob in North Dakota,

I did a paper as part of my MEM curriculum about the DoD and alternative fuels. In it I talked a little about switchgrass. Since you have more knowledge on it than I maybe you can enlighten me on a few points. First, from my research I understood switchgrass to be relatively easy to grow, and excellent for controlling soil erosion, and it would grow in virtually any environment and require very little maintenance. Is that true? Second, if the above properties are true, then it allows switchgrass to be grown all over the country. That allows refineries to be built near the fields where it is grown and spreads our fuel production capabalities around the country instead of having them all isolated in the Gulf of Mexico where they are subject to natural disasters and terrorism.
It was those properties that made it seem the most appealing biomass crop to me. No doubt corn husks would work, but is there a cost-benefit to using corn over switchgrass that I missed? I didn't dive too deep into learning which biomass is the best as my paper was more concerned with the DoD's interest in fuel cells and syngas.

Women Sue Wal-Mart Over Contraception

David:

Your post today is somewhat disappointing and in lieu of putting my thinking cap on, I will just `second' the Comments of MHJC; with a simple fundamental change of one word.

#16 MHJC

Although I disagree (MHJC said "agree") with most of your opinions, I am still debating whether you are a professional journalist or propaganda producer. In what school of literature would this be acceptable? "Bush and his speechwriters (who went through 30 drafts of this not-so-monumental speech)" -- Purely, simply, completely inappropriate, baseless, intentional degradation without any reasonable explanation; ad-hominem, if you will. It seems the focus of this article is, very simply, to degrade Bush's points at all possible cost. No, not to make logical points, not to present counter-viewpoints where appropriate -- this is, after all, the purpose of a blog, and I'm not arguing the presentation of personal viewpoints. Your article was instead focused on degrading the speech and the man at every possible opportunity, without logical rhyme or reason. The pure, unfettered bias seething through this article makes it intensely painful to read, and, I'm afraid, damages your credibility so badly, that no points within can be taken seriously. If you read this article and thought "Good article", you deserve to go back and re-examine your bias and ability to read and produce rational discussion on a given topic. While I have accused the Right of being hopelessly biased many times, I'm afraid this article falls under the exact same category: "Shameless Political Propaganda".

Posted by: MHJC at February 1, 2006 02:37 AM

Alan 112, Fav topic? Hmmmm. I have to disagree. That isn't really an accurate description, though I understand your meaning and reason for focusing the article on James. The three biggest reasons, to me anyway, for the state of chaos we are facing right now are the three things I harp on the most, not because they are my favorite topic, to the contrary, they are what I find the most troubling, and even more so the people's apathy. Anyone who does not consider the very real probability that our govt. has lied to us about 9/11 to be a top priority, not a favorite subject, has me completely baffled. Anyone here who is still skeptical, would you suddenly find interest if the facts were suddenly all over the MSM? Would it be a priority then? Or just a favorite topic? Sorry Alan, but I am still extremely upset and sensitive where this subject is concerned, even though it's been over a year since I accepted that we have been lied to. Another brick in the wall.

I certainly hope the Democratic non-response to Bush's belligerence in the SOTU over "terror surveillance" (read: illegal warrantless wiretaps)isn't indicative on their overall strategy regarding this subject. In other words, I hope it doesn't mean they are going to roll over and allow Rove and the rest of his toadies in the MSM (Matthews, etc.) frame our national security debate.

I've got my fingers crossed for Senator Feingold in the hearings next week. Somebody has to do the heavy lifting for the Dems and I don't have much confidence in the others on the committee.

Regarding Rep. Young's wife who was allegedly ejected from the chamber, according to The St. Petersburg Times:

Sgt. Kimberly Schneider of the Capitol Police could not provide details about the incident but said, "She was not ejected from the gallery. She did leave on her own."

Young's husband, a Republican who chairs the House appropriations subcommittee on defense, was unaware she was removed until after the speech. He said he was furious about the incident.

"I just called for the chief of police and asked him to get his little tail over here," Rep. Young said late Tuesday. "This is not acceptable."

Beverly Young said, "Wait until the president finds out."

Also on Democracy Now a very good analysis of the oil industry holding the hand of the administration and of congress. Huge campaign contributions.

With Exxon Making a Record $5 Million Per Hour, a Look at Bush's Energy Policies Ahead of His State of the Union

STEVE KRETZMANN: Well, it's just more of the same from the industry that we've seen over the last few years. I mean, these are record profits that have continued to go up and up. It is shocking, and it's really just sort of the latest evolution in the world's most profitable industry at this point. You have Exxon now becoming the most profitable corporation in the history of the United States. Meanwhile, if you actually are to graph the price of gas for all of us at the pump versus the profits for the oil industry, these are two curves that go up completely parallel. So, what we're seeing is the industry is finding new and ever more inventive ways to pass on costs to the consumers while they are pocketing more and more profits and they are investing, particularly in Exxon's case, less and less in any kind of alternative energy that's actually going to solve the problem of oil dependence in a long run. So, it's a huge problem, and the industry really needs to be taken to task.

Tonight, what we're going to see is George Bush trying to do his friends in the oil industry yet another favor, of which he's done many, by deflecting criticism by talking about new alternative energy proposals that he's going to unveil. They're not going to be particularly new. They're not going to be particularly detailed, and they're not going to be particularly effective, but, you know, what we're really seeing here is, you know, the administration that is of, by, and for the oil industry, doing their bidding once again....

...STEVE KRETZMANN: Yeah, I mean, asking George Bush to tackle energy independence is like asking Jack Abramoff to tackle corruption. This is a man who has actually received more campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry over his career than has any other politician operating in the United States today, and it's worth noting that number three on that list is Tom DeLay.

What we really need to see here in order to break from these - you know, this continued dependence on fossil fuels is what we're calling a separation of oil and state. We need politicians to stop being in the pockets of the oil industry. We need to stop seeing big corporate giveaways to the industry. I mean, here we have the most profitable industry in the United States, the most profitable corporation, ExxonMobil, and yet this fall, the Congress, at the urging of the President, just passed the new energy bill which gives away four billion more of our tax dollars to the oil and gas industry. When is this going to stop?

Meanwhile, these guys come up in front of Congress, and we saw them perjure themselves in front of a congressional panel. When is this going to stop? What we really need to see right now is a separation of oil and state, and we need to see real determination to move us away from dependence on this industry and dependence on this source of energy.

*part of a letter from Nick Lampson's campaign manager...

And just Monday, Tom DeLay told Chris Matthews that one of his great accomplishments in Congress was paying down the debt, but in 2005, our foreign debt hit a record high. I wish I could say Tom DeLay was just confused. But, as you know, we are talking about a man with a clear pattern of purposely misleading Americans.

If you need anymore proof of Tom DeLay's dishonesty, he also told Chris Matthews that his luxurious golf outing in Scotland was paid for by a "legitimate conservative organization." Actually, soon to be convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff paid for it on his credit card. Abramoff may be conservative, but, like Tom DeLay, he is anything but legitimate.

Tom DeLay's corruption and dishonesty do not represent the values of law-abiding Texans. That's why every day, more and more people are signing on to help Nick Lampson win this election. They are tired of being embarrassed by their Congressman. They want a change, and change is what Nick Lampson will bring.

Hey Pandemoniac, did Russia, Britain, Egypt, Jordan, France, Germany, Australia, China all LIE TOO since they had intelligence indepedent of the US that indicated Iraq had WMDs?? And don't say "well they didn't take us to war."

Why do progressives say they "support" the troops but then turn around and accuse troops of committing torture and murder of Iraqi and Afghan civillians??? Or when they call the troops "occupiers" not liberators??

If you progressives actually said that in front of soldiers, they'd knock the living hell out of you.

How can you progressives say you support America when you are AGAINST the Afghanistan war, a NECESSARY war to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda??? Or when you claim that the US government was behind the most horrific attack on American soil in history???(9/11)

Just ADMIT it you progressives, you WANT America to lose the Afghanistan and Iraq war because of your hatred for George W. Bush. Just ADMIT it, that you think America is an EVIL country. I'm not talking about you Don.

Thank you for contacting the Republican National Committee. Your comments will be included in the daily report to the Chairman. We appreciate your input.

[

-----Original Message-----
From: Derrick Michael Reid [mailto:w2_5hs_3c_xfers@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2006 10:39 PM
To: GOP USA; President George W. Bush
Cc: Bill OReilly; Jim Pinkerton; Editor Orange County Register; Editor New York Times; Fred Barnes; John Campbell 48th US; Ann Coulter; John MY Word Gibson; Charles Krauthammer; Rush Limbaugh
Subject: Glorious Day for USA

President Bush, Great State of the Union, ATTA BOY!!!

Hey Alito got confirmed, aint that great!!!for us conservatives, I hope We can put another there before Bush is out. Hey, that makes its 5-4 in favor of us good guys!!! Dang, Congress, Court, and President, I think in Canada they call that a HAT-TRICK. Bush: Watch me pull another conversative out of my HAT TRICK!!, and stack it 6-3 soon, I hope. So funny, I died laughing at Teddy Boy today, going off into one of his tyrate rants in the "dignified" senate because he is losing control of allowing the sucking of baby's brains out their heads on their birthday, and rump-ranger allies aint to happy either in further their gay-marriage down our throats, nor his athesists pals wanting anything holy out of the public square, He is certainly not "good" catholic. He is such a joke and a farse, and I just chuckled watching him piss in his pants on the senate floor like the baby and the sore loser he is.

In a letter to Bush, I urged him to use the term "Second Mission Accomplish" re Iraqi voting in constitution and new government, and just stick it to the naysayer, let see.
Morris and Gingrich are on the factor giving the pre-game show giving it Hurrah Hurrah cheerleading before the president's speech. OK, The, State of the Union, and here its come!! I am on the edge of chair waiting for my beloved President, my hero, G. W. Bush!!! I am so excited in anticipation, ok, everyone quite, here comes the boss. shhh, there is lora, graceful and beautiful as ever. Here come the justices, and there is Alito, Roberts, Thomas, Scalia, HURRAH! There is Codi, my fav 08 pick, she is great and on it! Rummie, Snow, Gonzales, and the heliocopter, the gang is all here, its a party!! uuuggggg, hhisss hhissss, there is Pelozie, yuck, how did that snake get in there? Call the sergent of arms, and throw the beeaatch out on her bootie. OK, here is THE MAN!

president calls for civil debate, USA will continue to lead the world, seek the end of tyranny and our future depends on it, we will act boldly in freedom's cause, isolation and protectism leads to dangers and decline, 45 democracies in 1945 and 122 today, and more than 1/2 live in democracies today and the others deserve freedom as well, we will fight to keep our freedom from terrorists, we will deliever the world to peace, there is a difference between responsible criticism and defeatism, oh, look there is Kerry and Feistein sitting next to each other expressionless, what unamerican pukes!, paslestine Hamas must reject terror and work for peach, liberty is the right and hope for all humanity, Iran is held hostage by a few and sponsor terrorism and that must come to an end, Iran is defying the world and must not obtain nuclear weapons, homeland security forces deserve our support and thanks and deserve the tools and ask reauthorization of the patriot act, (there were a couple of low sound boos) but then overwhelmed by applause for the president's wire-tapping program and support and lead the world towards freedom, 4.6M job, more than Japan and EU combined, economy could not function with immigrants, lays out a new agenda: low taxes and make tax cuts permenent, eliminate 140 programs to stay on track to cut deficit 1/2 by 09 and grant line-item veto, reduce entitlements, did not act to cut on SS (Dems appaluded), and then said problem aint going away, and rep appaluded, and its getting worst, put away bipartise politics and solve the problem, open more markets abroad, on level playing field no country can out produce the american worker, strong border protection and a guest worker program, keeping american healty required affordable health care that is transportable between jobs and medical liability reform, american is addicted on oil and seek advance energy research clean-coal, solar, wind, nuclear energy, hybrid and hydrogen cars and ethinal fuels reduce oil import and make dependence of middle east oil a thing of the past, must lead world in education and competitiveness through math and science education to lead the world in innovation for decades to come, make sure children succeed so american succeed in the world, violence abortion welfare drugs teenage-pregnancies all down, judges should not legislate from the bench, human cloning should be prohibited, never betray public trust of public officials, end waiting list for aids medicine, and so we move forward and god bless america.

Man just great, had goose pimples all over, and several times jumped up out of my seat in excitment being moved. ATTA boy W!!!

Man o Man, What a glorious Day for the good old USA. Damn this is a great country!!!

GOP, you may like this as well


Topic: Glorious Day in USA (18 of 18), Read 0 times
Conf: Off Topic
From: Derrick Michael Reid w2_5hs_3c_xfers@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, February 01, 2006 02:30 PM

You all think W is dumb, well in watching him, I think he is a political animal, here is a classic example.

In the state of the Union, he stated:

Social Security Reform was not pass, and the Dems got to their feet and applauded, and Bush gave them that polite "SMILE", you know what I mean, (probably thinking, got-em!)

Then, he says, the social security problem aint going away, the Reps then jumped up and applauded, (The implication here, to anyone who has a brain, is that the Dems are being obstructionist while the Reps want to seriously tackle the problem)

To finish, Bush states we need bipartism support on the issue, as my Dad's two favorites baby boomers want, me and president clinton. (Here Bush is reinforcing to the public that the Reps want bipartisian support to solve the social security problem)

While you lefties can call bush a chimp all you want, I continuously watch bush, make a chump out of the opposition. And he does it with style and class, something definitely foreign to the left, like Teddy's little temper tantrum yesterday in the senate when Alito got voted in.

You lefties and your tyrates, smears and slanders are the best friends we righties ever had, just keep it up, and make my day!!!

Just ADMIT it you progressives, you WANT America to lose the Afghanistan and Iraq war because of your hatred for George W. Bush. Just ADMIT it, that you think America is an EVIL country

you got it all backwards TimL, my hatred for George W. Bush stems from his administration's involvement in 911.

what the devil is a 'progressive'? a slot machine?

I saved THIS e-mail which was sent to me by a woman who is NOW in Iraq SERVING as an Army nurse---

Another day here in Iraq. It's already been devastating for many of us here.
It's difficult because we aren't allowed to speak about what goes on with our
families for fear that someone else may be monitoring everything we say and
write.

Things are ok. I would love some books, the kind you know I like! All we have
here is a whole bunch of cheesy Harlequin romance type stuff. And magazines,
you know how I love magazines. Mama, could you send me a nice pillow? I don't
have one and my neck and shoulders are killing me! We have a luxury here in the
EMT (that's Army speak for ER) a stove! The interpeters bring us things like
eggs from the economy to bake with etc. I could use those flavored creams, no
one here has half and half! I would even love the half and half that doesn't
need to be in the fridge. Anything easy that young people like. A lot of the
soldiers come in from the field and haven't eaten so we would like stuff to be
able to make for them thats easy and reminds them of home. Also, we cut off a lot of soldiers clothes and then they don't have anything else to wear, so we're
asking for Dollar Store/WalMart type packages of underware, socks, tshirts,
shorts, you get the idea.

At http://www.phpbbforfree.com/forums/eminemsrevengea-about235.html I pointed out how U.S. Customs is NOW charging what amounts to a TAX on supporting the troops!!! and while I had forwarded that e-mail to all the brave chickenhawks over @ Fox "news" when i recieved it last September, I have YET to see anyone addressing THIS problem.

"Hindsight alone is not wisdom. And second-guessing is not a strategy"...and I guess "supporting our troops" is just another soundbyte...to paraphrase someone from half a century ago---Mr Bush, have you no sense of decency???

James, then you're hating him for no reason. You're believing something to be true, that is UTTERLY false.

Gosh, TimmyL,

American soldiers have been CONVICTED of torture, murder, etc

Hajji, maybe like 12 soldiers or so out of 150,000!!!

I don't see why the left gets so upset over the torture of TERRORISTS. Terrorists who have valuable information that could save American lives!!

TimL, what about all the points made in that link @ 131? - are those UTTERLY false?

The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right's Plans for the Rest of Us (Hardcover) by James Rudin

"A specter is haunting America," Rudin writes, "and it is not socialism and certainly not communism. It is the specter of Americans kneeling in submission to a particular interpretation of a religion that has become an ideology, and all encompassing way of life. It is the specter of our nation ruled by the extreme Christian right, who would make of the United States a 'Christian Nation' where their version of God's law supersedes all human law -- including the Constitution."

"That more than any other force," Rudin concludes, "in the world today, is the immediate and profound threat to our republic."

Rudin cogently documents how the "Christocrats" want to limit our rights and freedoms, imposing a "Baptized" federal government into every aspect of our lives. Indeed, he has chapters on how the fundamentalist one-party government in America wants to impose their beliefs on us in our bedrooms, newsrooms, board rooms, work places, hospitals, libraries, courtrooms and wherever else they can become the morality police.

The confirmation of Samuel Alito is a testament to how successful the "Christocrats" have become, because they have plotted to control the umpires of the game -- and have basically succeeded. Alito is the triumphant zenith of their growing intrusive, UnConstitutional fundamentalist silent coup.
------------------
The Timmys of the world are fucking stupid.

James ha, you're a FUCKING MORON if you believe that 9/11 was not caused al Qaeda terrorists.

Further more, al Qaeda has been attacking US interest around the world since 1993.

Secondly, ANYBODY, AND I MEAN ANYBODY can put WHATEVER they want on a website, does NOT mean it's true.

that's a lame attempt at justifying torture TimL - and you and your wannabe PNAC pal Derrick Michael Reid should either just admit that you think bushco did a good thing with their 911 operation or you should actually learn the facts about it and see for yourself why it was an obvious inside job.

Secondly, ANYBODY, AND I MEAN ANYBODY can put WHATEVER they want on a website, does NOT mean it's true.

so where did you get YOUR information genius? and watch your FUCKING MORON mouth!

Untimely removal

LAST Wednesday President Bush removed Noel L. Hillman, the chief prosecutor in the Jack Abramoff lobbying and bribery scandal, from the case. Mr. Bush's action came as the media and his critics swarmed around the problem of trying to pry publicly owned photographs of Mr. Bush with Mr. Abramoff from the White House.

The President's means of taking Mr. Hillman, head of the Department of Justice's Office of Public Integrity since 2002, out of the picture was to nominate him for a federal judgeship, in effect, kicking him upstairs.

Although it is likely that the Abramoff prosecution would have shown the lobbyist shoveling money and favors to Democratic as well as Republican members of Congress and other government officials, the focus of the case so far has been Mr. Abramoff's links to former House Leader Tom DeLay (R., Texas), former House Administration Committee Chairman Bob Ney (R., Ohio), and other Republicans involved in the notorious K Street project.

That was an enterprise designed to place Republicans in key lobbying, campaign finance-providing positions in Washington, a project that Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is currently trying to wriggle away from.

Mr. Bush's crude move in peeling Mr. Hillman off the Abramoff case, which he has pursued for two years, could seriously weaken its prosecution.

It is nice for Mr. Hillman to get a promotion, but it is probably also incumbent on the Senate to question him closely in hearings, and perhaps refuse to approve his nomination if they wish to avoid the charge of aiding Mr. Bush's effort to torpedo the case.

The revelation to the American people of what goes on in Washington in a properly prosecuted Abramoff case would have been very educational in a congressional election year.

This example of Mr. Bush's further politicization of the American judicial process does not inspire confidence in his commitment to it.

---------------------
The only thing I disagree with is the statement that the prosecutor would probaby have found that Abramoff has shoveled money to the democratic side too. Maybe the prosecutor was not finding any evidence of that and was going to say so.
From what I'm reading judges and prosecutors are becoming less willing to side with the Bush administration.

#116 Alan, Delay wants sympathy for his evil deeds. His rich friends will give him the money.

#117 Jeanne, everything Bush does will worsen our lives. The beast is truly bestial.

This is to all the people who think the Bush Administration is looking out for your best interests - and you know who you are...

You are delusional. He does not care about anyone but himself and his base and that is his cronies and corporations. This is now the government of the corporation, by the corporation for the corporation. And when you speak out against the corporation you will be arrested. Your children and your children's children and their children will curse you for supporting this administration.

Mark my words.

Tim Russert playing with the poll numbers

Another lame Tim.

Only U.S. Can Secure World Peace

Wrong!!! World peace can only be secured with love and mercy in our hearts and through prayers that God grants us the light and the way for world peace through the conversion of our hearts that we are all brothers and sisters in God. Killing of our brothers and sisters is unacceptable in a world of justice and peace.

Grover Norquist: Bush Broke The Law

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan wants to make the controversy about Bush's warrantless domestic surveillance program a partisan issue. Last week, McClellan issued this statement:

The NSA's terrorist surveillance program is targeted at al Qaeda communications coming into or going out of the United States...Senate Democrats continue to engage in misleading and outlandish charges about this vital tool...It defies common sense for Democrats to now claim the administration is acting outside its authority...
It's not true. Some of the most conservative members of the Senate have said they think Bush broke the law. Now Grover Norquist, one of the most important leaders of the conservative movement, declared the program illegal:

Referring to what some see as a conflict between fighting vicious terrorists and upholding all civil liberties, Norquist said: "It's not either/or. If the president thinks he needs different tools, pass a law to get them. Don't break the existing laws."
How does this work into Karl Rove's 2006 strategy?
--------------------
I think it's one of two things. Either Grover has a plan to get a law passed so that George can spy....

or George and his group have proven to be poison to Grover's little "enterprise" and he wants to wash his hands of them.

#143, flan prophesizes the future accurately! Mark my words!!!

Gerald,
That was just insulting of Bush to make that statement. It was gross. They start an illegal war, kill at least 100,000 citizens, kill and maim 30,000 military, drop DU, pound a country into the stone age...and then they have the nerve to say they are the peacemakers.

Hello!!!!

Citizen X:

Nothing wrong with switchgrass but lots of grasses grow well. In my part of the world, bromegrass is probably easier to establish than switchgrass. In other parts of the country, maybe orchardgrass, or some sort of timothy, fescue, etc., depending on where you are.

I just thought it odd that switchgrass has so captured the imagination of alternative energy types. To convert switchgrass (or any cellulose-based biomass) into ethanol, one would need to find a cheap enzymatic way to convert its cellulose into sugars, which could then be fermented by yeast into alcohol, etc. You would have a lot of fermentation waste left over, with little use. At least with ethanol production with corn, you have a high protein distillers grain that can be fed to livestock.

It would be so much easier, and efficient, to replace part of the coal we burn, by mixing it with biomass (corn cobs, spoiled grain, grain screenings, hay, etc.). In fact, I have advocated for years, that instead of the government paying farmers subsidies, that the government buy excess grain off the open market, and pay coal-fired power plants to mix it 5% with coal, and keep doing it until the price reaches a certain target. As it stands now, the government subsidizes farmers, but the grain still remains on the market, suppressing prices.

Bob

#146 Jeanne, something shady and/or sinister is underway in the Nazi controlled camps.

We must continue to guard against rigged Diebold Voting Machines!!!

#148 Jeanne, you have a clear vision of what's wrong in Nazi America. When we dump tons of DU on human populations, how can we be the peacemakers. DU is prohibited from use by the International Criminal Court and we just thumb our noses at international laws.

Gerald,

Bishop William Ackerman of Covington, KY once told me he was convinced God was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. He was a Stroh's drinker, too! (the Bishop, that is God probably drinks belgians...)

-T

#149
Bob,
It's been really interesting reading what you and Citizen X have written. It sounds to me like the administration is finding another way to waste billions of taxpayers money (robbing the taxpayer I mean) on a technology plan that will never get off the ground. The oil companies would be happy to study the issue as long as the money earmarked for the switchgrass study does not necessarily have to be spent that way.

Tim, James Ha (and others)
Please refrain from hurling crude curse words at each other or anyone else when commenting on this site. Instead, see if you can outwit your opponent by deploying facts, eloquence and sarcasm.
Sincerely,
The Owner

I do believe that flan143 has the right of it -
and here is somewhat of a verification of that::
detention camps for political subversives

and this:: slavery in the new millenium

sorry mr.corn and everyone, for cursing out loud.

Thanks, James. I want to keep this an open comments section. I want to encourage fierce and vigorous debate. But please, everyone, throttle back on the ranting and name-calling.

Tim L

Tim, don't worry about James Ha, he's still pissed that the X-Files aren't on TV anymore. Even his lefty cornnut friends aren't as wacked as him.

Hajji & Jame Ha, was Cindy Sheenans son a murderer, torturer? If so then why does Cindy have any right to protest his death or the 2500 other deaths? Since you guy's believe they are murders or torturers then according to your thinking they got what they deserved.

You Cornnuts are friggin twisted!!

back to this::
Secondly, ANYBODY, AND I MEAN ANYBODY can put WHATEVER they want on a website, does NOT mean it's true.
yes, but that's the beauty of the internet - almost the very instant that something gets put on a website there are great numbers of people making sure that information is true or not - and if said information turns out NOT to be true you can bet that the website proprietors will no doubt hear all about it - especially in the case of something as heinous as 911 and it's subsequent cover-up are concerned -

James

Tell that to Oprah!

Mr. Corn,
I am guilty too. I will refrain.

you're twisting things around there LBH - it's the allowing of torturous policies that are to blame - not any son's of a sheehan. you can't deny that horrible things are going on, in the name of 'protecting our freedumbs' or whatever the reason du jour for the destruction of iraq is.

ha. you get me on oprah and I'll be happy to tell her all kinds of things. and I would provide references and examples.

James ha, you're a FUCKING MORON if you believe that 9/11 was not caused al Qaeda terrorists.

Further more, al Qaeda has been attacking US interest around the world since 1993.

Secondly, ANYBODY, AND I MEAN ANYBODY can put WHATEVER they want on a website, does NOT mean it's true.
-----------
Now James, with THAT preponderance of evidence in his favor, how can you possibly argue? HAHAHAHAHA!!! Guess Prof. Jones is a fucking moron too! I'd LOVE to see timmy in a debate with him. But, he's just a physics professor, WTF does he know? They will never believe unless FAUX Wannabe News pitches it. In the mean time, all you can do is laugh.

That wasn't David Corn posting.

James

That was Tim L's point, it was about 12 people that got caught torturing and they went to jail, end of story!!

I was about to question the Corn post. In my 16 months posting on this blog I have never known David to pop in like that. The attempt to steer the comments is also unlike him. David, is that really you? If so, how can we be sure?

Fitzgerald admits White House may have destroyed some emails relevant to CIA leak case

Raw Story has acquired a letter from CIA leak Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to Vice President Dick Cheney's former Chief of Staff, I. Lewis Libby, who was indicted for allegedly obstructing justice and other charges for his role in the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame.

In the letter, Fitzgerald admits that he has been told some emails from the President and Vice President's offices have been deleted, though he cautions that "no pertinent evidence has been destroyed."

"In an abundance of caution," he writes, "we advise you that we have learned that not all email of the Office of the Vice President and the Executive Office of the President for certain time periods in 2003 was preserved through the normal achiving process on the White House computer system."

The New York Daily News' James Meek reported this morning that "CIA leak prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald collected 10,000 pages of documents - including the most sensitive terrorism memos in the U.S. government - from Vice President Cheney's office, he said in court papers released yesterday.

Libby's lawyers are seeking classified material to aid their defense, which many legal analysts see as an attempt to force the prosecutor's hand in dropping the case or reducing certain charges in the interests of national security.

Meek added: "Fitzgerald, who is fighting Libby's request, said in a letter to Libby's lawyers that many e-mails from Cheney's office at the time of the Plame leak in 2003 have been deleted contrary to White House policy."

Letter in PDF form linked to Raw Story site.

Saladin,
Regardless, it's good advice. I will take it.

sal, it might not be david - his name usually shows up on my buddy list (aol feature) when he and I are on line simultaneously, and this time it did not - but it's just as likely as not that it was him - he's shown up here before - regardless, I apologise to all for repeating TimL's words back to him.

Saladin, I'm sure. I know how to tell but I won't say.

$7,017,309,022,990.02.
That number on the national debt won't get a second look by anybody in Washington, D.C.

2,245
That number on a t-shirt gets you thrown out of the Capital Building and arrested.

I'm not saying Cindy Sheehan has a right to protest at the SOTU because there is a right to protest, although apparently not there and I would never deny her that. But to dismiss one number and be offended at the other is absurd in its' entirety.

Jeanne, I agree it's good advice, several of us have voiced the same thing, you included. But I don't like the idea of someone making requests in David's name, if it's not him.

LBH my point was about the policies not about 12 idiot scapegoats - you're still trying to twist things around. I'm telling you that I won't let you do that.

The day we get censored on this site is the last day I'll ever come here.

Harry will go to danger zone

Prince Harry is to be sent to Iraq next year as a troop commander and is likely to patrol the hazardous border with Iran, defence sources have disclosed.

The third in line to the throne will join the Army's 1st Mechanised Brigade, which will be deployed to Basra in May 2007.

The prince has told colleagues that he is determined to go on operations and be treated as normally as possible - not kept out of the line of fire.

Defence chiefs, in consultation with the Prince of Wales's office, will have to devise a plan that will not put his life or those of his troops in any greater danger. Substantial planning will go into the deployment and the media is likely to be asked for co-operation on security aspects of the mission.
----------------------------
Yeah, that's a real issue. Wouldn't the insurgents love to go after the prince?

One last thing about the SOTU address. Do away with it! It is nothing more than a political free political speech. The origin of the SOTU report by the executive to the legislature came about because the legislature in the early years were rarely in the Capital. Since the executive always remained in the capital, it was up to the executive to report to them, at least once yearly, on the affairs of the state. ANd for those who argue it is not a political speecy, why is there a rebuttal by the other party? If there is to be a report at all, let it be from the executive to the legislative & judicial branch as originally intended. Keep it off television, this does nothing more than make it a show, for either party.

From The Daily Reckoning. How on Earth can we expect the average Joe to know what's going on when the political leaders don't even have a clue? UGH!

Yesterday, January 31 was chock-full of little tidbits of news. Let's
see...President Bush addressed the nation...the controversial Judge Samuel
Alito, Jr. was sworn in as the 110th justice of the U.S. Supreme
Court...and oh yes, Greenspan ended his 18-year run at the Fed, passing
the torch along to Ben Bernanke.

Did that last one sneak by you, dear reader? If so, you're not
alone...Bernanke's nomination slipped under most people's radar -
including two 2008 presidential hopefuls.

According to the IHT, when Senator George Allen was asked his opinion of
the Bernanke nomination yesterday, he replied:

"For what?"

Whoops.

The same question was posed to Senator John McCain...with similar
results.

"McCain said he did not know too much about Bernanke" continues the IHT
report, "but was comforted to know that Greenspan had a high opinion of
him. The senator was asked if he would be surprised to learn that the
hearing were a thing of the past. He paused for a minute, his eyes
widening, before giving the verbal equivalent of a knock on the forehead:

"'You're right, you're right, you're right. Duuuuuh."

*** We find it remarkable that so few people show interest in the fact
that Greenspan - who is referred to time and time again as "the world's
greatest economist" - ended his tenure at the Fed yesterday. To us, it
shows that the average American (and the average politician) have no
concern over the state of our economy...an economy, as Pat Buchanan puts
it, that "appears healthy, a disease is eating [it] away inside, a disease
that Dr. Greenspan has been treating with oxycontin."

Not exactly the ideal economy for Helicopter Ben to takeover.

"While the nation's economic growth was 3.5 percent last year, that was
below the best year of the Bush recovery, 2004, when growth reached 4.2
percent," continues Buchanan.

"More ominously, in the fourth quarter of 2005, U.S. economic growth fell
to 1.2 percent, the worst quarter since 2002, before the recovery began.
If we are approaching the end of boom times on borrowed money, Ben
Bernanke may be left holding the bag."
-----------
There is an odd silence surrounding the confirmation of alito. Why is everyone so quiet? Did I miss something?

if we ever get censored it won't be because david is personally offended

I just heard you speaking on To the Point. I loved your criticsms of the state of the union and your arguments that Bush is lying about al caeda taking over if we leave. An important point I believe that progressives are leaving out is that the insurgency is basically secular and Sunni. If there is any party that once free of american domination that would side with Al Caeda it would be the present winners of democratic power, the shiites. If we hadn't taken sides against them the Sunnis would most likely be our strongest moderate and modernist allies against the forces of militant islam.
If the Sunnis ever were to gain power most informed analysts believe that foriegn insurgents would be kicked out of the country.

Sorry for the typo's. Mark was asleep on my lap and woke up as I began my post.

U.S. troops fire at Canadian envoy's car
Soldiers in Iraq feared attack by suicide bomber
Vito Pilieci, The Ottawa Citizen; with files from Citizen News Services
Published: Wednesday, February 01, 2006

U.S. troops opened fire on a vehicle carrying four Canadians, including a diplomat, in Baghdad yesterday hitting the vehicle's engine block.

None of the passengers in the car or its driver were injured.

The diplomat in the vehicle was John Holmes, the Canadian charge d'affaires in Iraq.

Mr. Holmes is also Canada's ambassador to Jordan, where he is based. He assumed responsibility for Iraq last September.

Pamela Greenwell, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Canada, confirmed last night that the incident occurred and said it is being investigated by U.S. and Canadian authorities.

Ms. Greenwell said the envoy was in Baghdad as part of Canada's "small mission in Baghdad," though she would not provide any more information about what the Canadians were doing in the country.

Reports from Washington, D.C., last night said the Canadian vehicle was fired on in Baghdad's "Green Zone," a region that is heavily fortified and regularly patrolled by U.S. troops.

The reports said the Canadian vehicle was travelling alone while a U.S. convoy was on the road. The Canadian vehicle failed to respond to U.S. troops who had tried to get the driver's attention with hand signals and a warning shot over the vehicle.

More.

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

Another ooopsy moment...

Time out for a humor break!!!

The Bus Ride

A Nazi/Taliban guy got a bus one day and sat in the aisle seat beside an elderly lady. A few minutes later, he couldn't control himself and he let loose a noisy fart.

Embarrassed, he tried to make conversation with the lady and he asked her "Do you by any chance have today's paper?"

The lady looked at him and said, "No, but the next time we pass by a tree I'll grab you a handful of leaves."

Official: Army Has Authority to Spy on Americans
By Jeff Stein, CQ Staff

“Contrary to popular belief, there is no absolute ban on [military] intelligence components collecting U.S. person information,” the U.S.Army’s top intelligence officer said in a 2001 memo that surfaced Tuesday.

Not only that, military intelligence agencies are permitted to “receive” domestic intelligence information, even though they cannot legally “collect” it,” according to the Nov. 5, 2001, memo issued by Lt. Gen. Robert W. Noonan Jr., the deputy chief of staff for intelligence.

“MI [military intelligence] may receive information from anyone, anytime,” Noonan wrote in the memo, obtained by Secrecy News, a newsletter from the non-profit Federation of American Scientists in Washington.

Defense Department and Army regulations “allow collection about U.S. persons reasonably believed to be engaged, or about to engage, in international terrorist activities,” Noonan continued.

“Remember, merely receiving information does not constitute ‘collection’ under AR [Army Regulation] 381-10; collection entails receiving ‘for use,’ ” he added. (Army Regulation 381-10, “U.S. Army Intelligence Activities,” was reissued on Nov. 22, 2005, but had not previously been disclosed publicly.) “Army intelligence may always receive information, if only to determine its intelligence value and whether it can be collected, retained, or disseminated in accordance with governing policy,”

The distinction between “receiving” and “collecting” seems “to offer considerable leeway for domestic surveillance activities under the existing legal framework,” wrote editor Steven Aftergood in Tuesday’s edition of Secrecy News.

“This in turn makes it harder to understand why the NSA domestic surveillance program departed from previous practice.”

Aftergood was alerted to the existence of the memo by another security expert, John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, who thought that “there is enough ambiguity in the language that with a bit of creativity in managing the U.S. persons files there would have been not too much trouble” applying existing rules to the warrantless eavesdropping by the National Security Agency.

TALON Reports
The Pentagon’s Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) was launched in 2002 with the mission of “gathering information and conducting activities to protect DoD and the nation against espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage, assassinations, and terrorist activities,” according to a CIFA brochure. Its TALON program has amassed files on antiwar protesters, according to a Pentagon official.

“More than 5,000 TALON reports” were “received and shared throughout the government” in the program’s first year of operation,” Carol A. Haave, deputy undersecretary of Defense for counterintelligence and security, told the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in May 2004.

“At that rate, about 12,500 Talon reports would have been filed during the approximately 2½ years the program has existed,” The Washington Post concluded Tuesday.

• Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence: “Collecting Information on U.S. Persons” (pdf)

• Edition of AR 381-10 dated July 1, 1984 (in effect until Dec. 22, 2005) (pdf)

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

YES, WE FUCKIN' WELL WILL SPY ON YOUR TRAITOROUS ASSES IF YOU SO MUCH AS THINK A DISSENTING THOUGHT...and we will know what you are thinking...

#183
Thanks Gerald.

#184
Robert,
Not me...no...no...

this is for TimL re: 911::

A group of experts and academicians 'devoted to applying the principles of scientific reasoning to the available evidence, `letting the chips fall where they may,' '' last week accused the government of covering up evidence that the three destroyed New York City buildings were brought down that day by controlled demolition rather than structural failure. The group, called Scholars for 9/11 Truth, has a website, www.st911.org.

The reflexive first reaction is incredulity -- how, one asks, could anyone even contemplate, never mind actually do such a barbaric thing? But before you shut your mind, check the resumés -- these aren't Generation X geeks subsisting on potato chips and PlayStation. Then look at the case they present.

''I am a professional philosopher who has spent 35 years teaching logic, critical thinking and scientific reasoning,'' group co-founder and University of Minnesota professor James H. Fetzer told me. ``When I come to 9/11, it's not hard for me to determine what is going on. This is a scientific question. And it is so elementary that I don't think you can find a single physicist who could disagree with the idea that this was a controlled demolition.''

I'll end todays nine one wizzle with a quote ::

a conspiracy is not a theory, a conspiracy is a crime.

-Det. John Munch, Law & Order

I believe the people on this website are ready for advanced information and an advanced course.

Advanced Farts

Different Types of Nazi/Taliban Farts

Beefy Fart
Sounds loud, and will smell a bit like the rotting offspring of an infected cow and a dog turd.

Brewer Fart
You try to push the Brewer Fart out, but it stays firmly lodged deep within your bowels. You come to the conclusion that it is some form of gaseous landmark.

Bunbuster Fart
Sounds like a Beefy Fart, except much more sudden and much much more powerful. Generally smells eggy or beefy. Leaves your asshole smarting. You really feel these babies.

GNL Fart
Gambled 'n' Lost. You make a gamble that it's going to be a fart and you stay where you are, but realize tragically that this is much more than a fart.

Hydrated Flatulation (aka Wet Fart)
The original Wet Fart, which leaves a mark on your pants, and gives you a cold wet sticky sensation when you walk. You may not like this little bugger, but the Nazi/Taliban feel right at home with it.

Prelude to a Poopie
You feel like you have got a large beefy one, but out comes a tiny squeaker fart, and the head of something massive. You tense your buttocks fast, lest you give birth to the brown equivalent of a zeppelin.

Sphinctal Napalm
Tends to occur a few hours after a hot curry. Never mind the smell, worry about the burning sensation and the nasty stain you know it must have left.

Trouser Ripping Special
Sends seismic ripples to the next city. Rips the back of your pants. This fart genuinely hurts, and you can still feel it 20 minutes later. Anyone sitting nearby at the time will suffer hearing loss.

ACLU seeks Pentagon files on peace groups
RAW STORY
Published: February 1, 2006
Release issued by the American Civil Liberties Union, February 1, 2006.

WASHINGTON -- In the wake of new evidence revealing Pentagon surveillance of peace groups and protest activities, the American Civil Liberties Union and its affiliates across the country today filed multiple Freedom of Information Act requests seeking to uncover who is being spied on by the Pentagon and why.

"The Pentagon's monitoring of anti-war protesters is yet another example of a government agency using its powers to spy on law-abiding Americans who criticize U.S. policies," said ACLU staff attorney Ben Wizner. "How can we believe that the National Security Agency is intercepting only al Qaeda phone calls when we have evidence that the Pentagon is keeping tabs on Quakers in Fort Lauderdale?"

More.

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

Has anyone checked Nixon's grave lately? I gotta feeling the bastard's managed to resurrect his bad self.

"Since when is free speech conditional on whether you agree with the President? Cindy Sheehan, who gave her own flesh and blood for this disastrous war, did not violate any rules of the House of Representatives. She merely wore a shirt that highlighted the human cost of the Iraq war and expressed a view different than that of the President. Free speech and the First Amendment exist to protect dissenting statements like Ms. Sheehan's last night."

"Stifling the truth will not blind Americans to the immorality of sending young Americans to die in an unnecessary war, against a nation that posed no threat to our security. The President's speech last night was yet another attempt to distort history, as he suggested - once again - that the 9/11 terrorists came from Iraq. Everyone knows this is not true. We must not be afraid to say that the emperor has no clothes. It's time to bring our troops home." - Statement of Lynn Woolsey

James, quoting morons again? You really should know better by now, you simply confuse the trolling bushbots with so many facts at once, they can't be expected to keep up! OBL did it, and you are a f**king moron if you don't believe it, case closed, move along now.

I resemble that remark!

- Curly Howard

SOTU,
The thing I find most interesting is that Georgies presentation has improved greatly over the years. Missing was the usual stammering, and hesitation akin to my 7th grade speech class. He actually seems to finaly believe the words that the maistro has penned for him. The problem is that half of the speech was spent defending the rather unpopular policies that he has unleashed on this country and the world over the last half decade. Sort of ironic that he has seemed to surpass the low expectations we all seem to hold him to. By the way I thought it was nice of him to pay tribute to the late Mrs. King before he dealt the 911 fear card. What a guy!

Is Alito the keystone in the Baptizing of America?

#193
He's given the same speech for 5 years now. He has it memorized. Nothing spectacular.

It was also so kind of him to invite the next of kin of a fallen soldier and then pay tribute to the man. *gag* The soldiers are so useful to him even after death.

Carol, Jeanne, Saladin

You are absolutely right to think that David Corn would NOT be revolted by the juvenile vomit omitting from your lips. David has no interest in steering you lefties to a topic of discussion in a civilized manner. David gets his jollies like the rest of you Cornnuts off the insulting, vile, sick behavior of all Cornnuts. So, don't be ashamed, he still supports you meatheads no-matter how stupid you may act!!!!

#194
Hardcover - damn.

#195

Lets be fair now, this speech stood out. I believe it was the first that he didn't threaten a soverign nation with certain destruction. As he bankrupts our military might, he becomes alot more resonable. Give him a chance. He's still got three more years to turn this thing around, i.e. "hopeful society".

WOW, a bushbot offended by the "revolting" comments of us cornuts, yet he continues not only to hang out here but actually READ our posts! LBH, you would be hilarious if you weren't such a pathetic hypocrite. When will you remember that no one has forced you to come here and read anything? I almost never read what bushbots write, with rare exceptions such as your whining comment, nor do I bitch about them when I do. I believe in free speech, even if I disagree with it, can you say the same? Or would you prefer to see us in the gulag? If you support bushco I will assume the answer is yes.

Mmmm, "juvenile vomit omitting from your lips", "topic of discussion in a civilized manner", interesting juxtaposition.

uncledad, have you read the US plan to completely disassemble not only our military, but the entire worlds as well, through the UN? The plan would allow only a UN "peace keeping" force to keep and bear arms and have a fully mobile and operational military force. Don't believe me? I can link the official document.

Omitting? Doesn't that mean to "omit?" How old is this guy anyway?

#198
Uncledad,
You need to 'read between the line'. He's not threatening anyone because the administration hired Pat Robertson to do it for them. It takes the heat off and Pat does it with a smile.

PS LBH, get a dictionary, and learn how to use it!

Saladin,
Hadn't heard that one. Alot of UN bashing going on these days, but sure i'd be interested in reading it, link-away.

Just in case that is too much trouble,

Omit: To leave out or leave unmentioned.

uncledad, here ya go. Warning, it's long. But, it's written by the govt, so that's to be expected.

FREEDOM FROM WAR THE UNITED STATES PROGRAM FOR GENERAL AND COMPLETE DISARMAMENT IN A PEACEFUL WORLD DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 7277

I CAN'T DRIVE 55

Bush's energy comments were actually hilareous to me. Anyone else remember Nixon's "Project Independence" speech? Drilling in Alaska was going to rid our dependence on foreign oil after the Arab Oil Embargo. Well, here we go again.

Everybody with a pulse knows that conservation has to be the cornerstone of any attempt to reduce oil imports, but Carter was the last President to make a feeble attempt towards conservation. Anyone want to sing along with Sammy....I CAN'T DRIVE 55!!! Nothing was as detested as much in western states as the 55 mph speed limit, and the Republicans savaged Carter for being a wussy for wanting to deprive people of their big vehicles. One reason why the Republicans re-took Congress was because of the intense hatred of the 55 mph speed limit in rural states. We need conservation, but it is a political landmine.

Bob

Bush: US would defend Israel against Iran

_________________
"I am concerned about a person that, one, tries to rewrite the history of the Holocaust, and two, has made it clear that his intentions are to destroy Israel," Bush said.

"Israel is a solid ally of the United States, we will rise to Israel's defense if need be. So this kind of menacing talk is disturbing. It's not only disturbing to the United States, it's disturbing for other countries in the world as well," he added.

Asked if he meant the United States would rise to Israel's defense militarily, Bush said: "You bet, we'll defend Israel."
_________________

...even if Isreal fires the first nuke!

sigh...it keeps coming back to those anti-semites who run Isreal, dudn't it?

-T

Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution says: "The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."

Someone said we should get rid of the State of the Union address. I ran across this and thought I would inform those who agreed with that person that it is required under the Constitution.

Police apologized and dropped the charges against Cindy Sheehan. That was quite a spectacle with the repug senator's wife and Cindy getting tossed out. Only one got arrested though. Another sign that there is one set of laws for the elite, and another set for the rest of us.

FREEDOM FROM WAR THE UNITED STATES PROGRAM FOR GENERAL AND COMPLETE DISARMAMENT IN A PEACEFUL WORLD DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 7277. Ahh they were so naive and idealistic back in nineteen hundred and sixty one. Not a completely bad idea, however, I don't see it happening anytime soon (i.e. never). We don't trust anyone, nobody trusts us, and War is alot more profitable than Peace.

From The Progress Report/Amrican Progrss Action Fund...

Alternative Energy

What You Need to Know: For five years, President Bush has consistently steered the nation away from alternative fuels and towards greater dependence on polluting imported fossil fuels.

BUSH HAS INCREASED DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL: Sixty-six percent of oil consumed in the United States comes from foreign sources, up from 58 percent in 2000. Americans now spend $200,000 a minute on foreign oil, and more than $25 billion annually goes to Persian Gulf states for oil imports.

BUSH ENERGY BILL CONTAINED LITTLE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY: The energy bill supported and signed by President Bush dropped a provision that would have required utilities "to generate at least 10 percent of their electricity through renewable fuels by 2020." The proposal, championed by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), was "was a low-cost, market-driven approach to cutting demand for fossil fuels and easing air pollution."

BUSH ENERGY BILL WILL NOT REDUCE RELIANCE ON FOREIGN OIL: The same energy bill failed to take any steps that will substantively reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. Specifically, the final version "rejected a Senate provision that required reduction of oil consumption by one million barrels per day by 2015." Under the bill, "our need for imported oil will continue to grow for as long as models are able to project."
======================================

Again,

To those of you who think that this administration cares about you, your children or the future of this Nation, this World.

They don't give a Sh*t! Your ancestors will be cursing you for supporting these people, while they are gasping for air!

another version, same song, different images
no bravery

*tissue warning

I'm going to look from the bottom up, so I don't don't if this has been posted -- even if it has, here it is again:

Woolsey Statement regarding Cindy Sheehan
By Representative Lynn Woolsey
t r u t h o u t | Statement

Wednesday 01 February 2006

Washington, DC - US Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) today issued the following statement regarding Cindy Sheehan's arrest in the gallery of the House of Representatives before the State of the Union address. Mrs. Sheehan was Rep. Lynn Woolsey's guest to the President's State of the Union address.

"Since when is free speech conditional on whether you agree with the President? Cindy Sheehan, who gave her own flesh and blood for this disastrous war, did not violate any rules of the House of Representatives. She merely wore a shirt that highlighted the human cost of the Iraq war and expressed a view different than that of the President. Free speech and the First Amendment exist to protect dissenting statements like Ms. Sheehan's last night."

"Stifling the truth will not blind Americans to the immorality of sending young Americans to die in an unnecessary war, against a nation that posed no threat to our security. The President's speech last night was yet another attempt to distort history, as he suggested - once again - that the 9/11 terrorists came from Iraq. Everyone knows this is not true. We must not be afraid to say that the emperor has no clothes. It's time to bring our troops home."

From The Progress Report/Amrican Progrss Action Fund...

Warrantless Domestic Spying

What You Need to Know: President Bush's warrantless domestic spying program undermines the fight against terrorists and violates the law.

LAWLESS SPYING THREATENS LEGITIMATE TERRORIST INVESTIGATIONS: When laws are broken, the legal system imposes consequences. Revelations about the National Security Agency wiretapping program throw into doubt a wide range of investigations and prosecutions in the fight against terrorism. In criminal cases that can put terrorists behind bars, judges now have to worry that evidence was based on illegal wiretaps. According to several FISA judges quoted by the Washington Post, there are serious concerns that "legally suspect information" acquired through warrantless surveillance was used to obtain FISA warrants, potentially rendering the warrants illegitimate. More broadly, convicted terrorists will be emboldened to challenge their prosecutions, perhaps giving them the opportunity to operate freely once again. [Washington Post, 12/21/05]

LAWLESS SPYING WASTES VALUABLE INVESTIGATIVE RESOURCES: According to the New York Times, a massive amount of time and resources were devoted to the warrantless domestic spying program but obtained minimal results. The FBI was bombarded with long lists of phone numbers generated by the NSA program. According to a senior prosecutor: "It affected the F.B.I. in the sense that they had to devote so many resources to tracking every single one of these leads, and, in my experience, they were all dry leads." Long after 9/11, "the N.S.A. material continued to be viewed as unproductive, prompting agents to joke that a new bunch of tips meant more calls to Pizza Hut." [New York Times, 1/17/06]

LAWLESS SPYING THREATENS THE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES: The Bush Administration is claiming executive power far beyond our historical understanding. Among recent examples: the administration claims it can wiretap without a warrant in the United States, contrary to federal law (FISA); it can torture, contrary to international law and the recent McCain Anti-Torture Amendment; and it can hold a U.S. citizen in detention forever, with no judicial review, simply because the President labels the citizen an "enemy combatant." These positions constitute a direct attack by the executive branch on the checks and balances designed to protect our nation's democracy.
================================================

Once again,

For those of you who think that this administration has any respect for this constitution and will uphold and protect it, think again. With the confirmation of Alito comes the dismantling of our civil liberties and the Constitution.

#214 no bravery.

The only thing sadder than those images is the fact that our good men and women were sent there to be part of it. What a fuckin waste.

From The Progress Report/Amrican Progrss Action Fund...

Under the Radar

BUDGET -- BUDGET BILL WILL CUT HEALTH CARE FOR MILLIONS OF POOR PEOPLE: Millions of low-income people will have to pay more for health care and many will have to drop out of Medicaid all together because of higher co-payments and premiums in a bill on which the House will vote on Feb. 1, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The Deficit Reduction Act passed the Senate last December with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Cheney. In this bill, about 13 million people -- 20 percent of Medicaid recipients -- will face higher co-payments on doctor's visits and hospital care, and by 2010, approximately 13 million people will have to pay higher costs for prescription drugs. "About one-third of those affected would be children, and almost half would be individuals with income below the poverty level," the report said. Another 1.6 million beneficiaries will see their Medicaid benefits scaled back by 2015. Additionally, penalties will stiffen for wealthy seniors who attempt to defraud the government by transferring money to different accounts to "appear poor." "But critics say many needy seniors may be denied coverage because they gave a modest gift to a child or a charity as much as five years before they applied for Medicaid."

HEALTH CARE -- DRAFTERS OF MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL BENEFIT FROM REVOLVING DOOR: The new Medicare prescription drug program has shown itself to be unnecessarily complicated and costly. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) said the problems have resulted because "the program was turned over to hundreds of private insurers who can charge what they want, cover what drugs they want, and change what they cover at will." Bloomberg reports that the health insurance industry was given such a large role as a result of questionable ethics practices on the part of the drafters of the bill. "Fifteen lawmakers, congressional aides and Bush administration officials who pushed through the costliest Medicare overhaul in history began working for the health-care industry within a year of the measure's passage." Chief among the offenders is former Medicare administrator Thomas Scully, who shepherded the drug bill into law and then subsequently joined Alston & Bird, a law firm that received $1 million between January 2004 and June 2005 from clients to lobby on the implementation of the plan. "Besides Scully, Alston & Bird brought in Timothy Trysla, a former senior policy adviser at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and two former Senate Finance Committee aides, counsel Colin Roskey and health-policy adviser Jennifer Bell. Trysla, Roskey and Bell are also registered to lobby on the Medicare bill, disclosure reports show."

NATIONAL SECURITY -- BUSH ADMINISTRATION SHOWS LESS URGENCY IN DISRUPTING TERRORIST FINANCES: In October 2005, President Bush signed the Homeland Security Appropriations Act for 2006 claiming the Department has had great success in cutting of the flow of terrorist assets. "We disrupted terrorist planning and financing, as a result of the reforms," said Bush. In fact, USA Today reports, "The amount of assets frozen by U.S. anti-terrorism units is declining dramatically each year, prompting a former Bush administration official who helped oversee the program to suggest that a 'lack of urgency' is hurting efforts to block terrorist fundraising." In the 16 weeks after 9/11, 157 suspected terrorism fundraisers were identified and assets valued at $68 million were frozen. In contrast, for the entire year of 2005, 32 suspects or organizations had approximately $4.9 million in assets frozen.

SCIENCE -- BUSH ADMINISTRATION MUZZLES SCIENTISTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE: Throughout his term, President Bush has repeatedly questioned whether climate change exists. But it seems he and his administration have gone a step further -- silencing scientists who speak out on the issue. The Bush administration has tried to stop James E. Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, "from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming." NASA officials ordered reviews of his lectures, papers, and interview requests. George Deutsch, one of the officials appointed to review Hansen's work, rejected a National Public Radio request to interview Hansen, calling it "the most liberal" media outlet in the country and saying that Hansen's job was "to make the president look good." In a weekend Washington Post article where Hansen was quoted on whether or not the world is about to reach a "tipping point" on climate change, the reporter noted that "NASA officials tried to discourage a reporter from interviewing Hansen for this article and later insisted he could speak on the record only if an agency spokeswoman listened in on the conversation."

INTELLIGENCE -- U.S. COVERT PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN IN IRAQ MAY BE VIOLATION: The U.S. military has defended its practice of secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to print favorable stories written by American troops. "The realities of the environment here demand something more ambitious than people might understand," said one officer in Iraq. But a newly declassified Oct. 2003 Information Operations Roadmap, personally approved by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, suggests that this practice may be a violation of Pentagon rules. The Roadmap "appears to prohibit U.S. troops from conducting psychological operations, or psy-ops, targeting the media." "It's clearly a violation based on the language used in the Rumsfeld document," said one Pentagon official.

=============================================

Once more,

For those of you who think this adminstration is looking out for your best instrest. You are delusional. They do not care about you, your children, or anyone but themselves, the corporations that supported their rise to power and about staying in power. They are con artists and you have been swindled, but it's not just you that will pay the price, it will be all of us and generations to come.

Mark my words!

flan,

What I meant by getting rid of the SOTU was what it has become in its' present form. When the Constitution was written, the Legislative Branch of government was rarely in the capital. Therefore, it was a necessary and yes, a check by the legislative branch for the executive branch to update the Congress as to the state of the Union. In its' present form, it is nothing but a partisan speech played to the television audience, not the President updating Congress on the current state of the union. This can be accomplished without television.

flan,

Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution says: "The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."

Soooo, when is George going to "give to congress information of the state of the union"?

#215
Micki,
I think Capt, posted it. It was linked but it was a great article. It's interesting to hear from her what happened. Kind of takes the teeth out of the monster's bite.

You know why you darn liberals don't like the state of the union address. Cause you, you, you just don't like unions! no wait........not....say.

Only one day has passed an you people are already critical of my idea of converting switchgrass and woodchips into a viable method in solving 'Merica's dependance to fossil fuels.

You people will not be laughing anymore when I ween 'Merica off the teat of those A Rabs. How is this possible? I have askes smartie pants in learning places in California and Massachusetts to re-invent the Flux Capacitor.

When a stainless steel vehicle reachs 88 miles /hr by the power of a gasoline engine the flux capacitor will start flashing until it has a steady stream of light and will produce 1.21 jigowatts of power.

The Flux Capacitor will be run solely on wood chips and switchgrass but in the future it will be replaced by a "Mr. Fusion" and run on garbage.

Huh????
Alito Opposes Mo. Execution

WASHINGTON - New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito split with the court's conservatives Wednesday night, refusing to let Missouri execute a death-row inmate contesting lethal injection.

Alito, handling his first case, sided with inmate Michael Taylor, who had won a stay from an appeals court earlier in the evening. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas supported lifting the stay, but Alito joined the remaining five members in turning down Missouri's last-minute request to allow a midnight execution.

Administration backs off Bush's vow to reduce Mideast oil imports
____________________
WASHINGTON - One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally.
____________________

WTF???

-T

I see the makings of a cat fight approaching.
On Hardball after the SOTU address, Matthews was interviewing DIane Feinstein:

Matthews"Cindy Sheehan was taken into custody tonight in the gallery because she was wearing a T-shirt that said, '2,045, how many more?' That's obviously a reference to those Americans killed in Iraq. Do you think getting arrested is a good way to develop a campaign against you for the Democratic nomination next time?"

Diane: I don't think so. But that will stand on its own. (laughs)

Howard Dean, the mad doctor who would overdose on a handfull of placebos and now Sheehan attacking Diane & Hillary! I'll admit the Republicans have problems, especially with the rising deficit, big government and Abramoff, but for those of you who choose to look the other way, a political party is being destroyed. Actually, that could be a good thing, for the both of them.

"Mr. Fusion"

flux capacitor/ switchgrass = 1.21 jigowatts of power. yes now I see. it can happen. in a hopeful society!

#223
Or you could use a skateboard.

Hajji,

I think the expression is "bark but don't bite."
Or, "don't bite the hand that feeds you." Or, "never look a gift horse in the mouth." Or,
"actions speak louder than words." Or, "Not!"

#228
1.21 jigowatts would most certainly damage the skateboard, unless it was properly equipped with the stainless steel optional deflecting shield.

this of course would be an option.

Or you could outfit a DeLorean and hope it holds together.

uncledad, I don't know how naive they were, they had already dealt with a few wars, but I wonder, in spite of the profit in war, what may be gained by disarming the militaries of the world. I do not believe that the end of war is the aim, just the control of the outcome. 1961 was not that long ago, and I see some pretty overt attempts to disarm citizens, which in every case that it has been sucessful turned out to be disastrous, but that hasn't slowed the trend. I watch very closely, but reserve my conclusions. The destruction of our own military, along with shutting down bases reminds me of the goal stated in that 45 year old document.

Alito does the right thing:

?????? The right thing may of been to abstain from voting at all (boy he did forget to recuse himself from that VanGard thing). What other job asks a person to vote, up or down, on someone’s life, less than 24 hrs after accepting the offer. It seems his first vote was "hopeful". Stay tuned, maybe Sammy will do the right thing?

Main Entry: eth·a·nol
noun: a colorless volatile flammable liquid C 2 H 5 OH that is the intoxicating agent in liquors and is also used as a solvent -- called also ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol

Seems I remember reading that this stuff takes more energy to produce than it puts out. A losing formula, but a subsidy to corn farmers.
Bob, you're thoughts?

Hajji, Robert

Never heard this song by Blood, Sweat & Tears but came across it lloking for words to another song.

I Was A Witness To A War

I saw a little boy today, I saw a little boy today who didn't want this fight
The other children laughed at him,It was a frightening thought
And I, I began to cry, Someone asked why
Someone asked what for, 'Cause something inside of me, something inside of me

Something inside of me said I was a witness to a war, I was a witness to what happened
And I hated what I saw, I was a witness to a war, to a war

I saw a woman dressed in black, Her husband isn't coming back, she didn't want him to go
They said he had to do his chores before
Their future could grow
And I, I began to cry, Someone asked why
Someone asked what for 'Cause something inside of me, something inside of me
Something inside of me said I was a witness to a war, I was a witness to the heartbreak
That some soldier's woman bore
I was a witness to a war, to a war

I saw an ugly field today, I saw an ugly field today where only crosses could grow
A monument to modern man, and now There's no place to go
And I, I began to cry, But no-one asked why
No-one asked what for, But something inside of me, something inside of me, Something inside of me said I was a victim of a war
I was a victim of the madness
That we should have stopped before
I was a witness to a war, to a war

If someone knows where to find it, let me know.

try LimeWire
It's a P2P program without all the bullshyt spyware.

Salidin,

I do not believe that the end of war is the aim, just the control of the outcome.

We'll of course that is what makes it so profitable. Don't mistake your shotgun with your security, your gonna need more than that? Nobody's trying to disarm me yet.

1961 was not that long ago, and I see some pretty overt attempts to disarm citizens, which in every case that it has been sucessful turned out to be disastrous, but that hasn't slowed the trend.
See post* We don't trust anyone, nobody trusts us..........

Murtha's letter to the preznit

The destruction of our own military, along with shutting down bases reminds me of the goal stated in that 45 year old document.

In my opinion our military weakness has nothing to do with some "master" plan. The only thing that really weakens a military is when it is exploited. A military is supposed to be led, not followed. In short our current situation has nothing to do with a "peaceful plan". Georgie fucked up the army today, not JFK, LBJ, RMN, JC, RR, GHW, or WJC yesterday.

When I read some of the trolls' posts, I see a whole lot of shit coming out.

The Poopie List

Strange Nazi/Taliban Poopie

Ghost Poopie
The kind where you feel the poopie come out, but there's no poopie in the toilet.

Clean Poopie
The kind where you poopie it out, see it in the toilet, but there's nothing on the toilet paper.

Wet Poopie
The kind where you wipe butt fifty times and it still feels unwiped, so you have to put some toilet paper between your butt and your underwear so you don't runie them with a stain.

Pop-a-Vein-in-your-Forehead-Poopie
The kind where you strain so much to get it out, you practically have a stroke.

Lincoln Log Poopie
The kind of Poopie that is so huge you’≤e afraid to flush without breaking it into little pieces with a plunger.

Drinker Poopie
The kind of Poopie you have the morning after a long night of drinking. It's most noticeable trait is the skid marks on the bottom of the toilet.

Spinal Tap Poopie
The kind that hurts so bad coming out, you swear it was leaving you sideways.

Upper Class Poopie
The kind of Poopie that doesn't smell.

The Surprise Poopie
You are not even at the toilet, because you are sure you are about to fart, but oops it's a Poopie!

Poor Timmie, is this what you have been reduced to? Clinging to David Limbaugh talking points to defend the Preznit?

Timmie asks,
"did Russia, Britain, Egypt, Jordan, France, Germany, Australia, China all LIE TOO since they had intelligence indepedent (sic) of the US that indicated Iraq had WMDs?? And don't say "well they didn't take us to war."
Posted by: Tim L at February 1, 2006 04:44 PM

Strangely tho, by saying those countries "lie too" you are admitting that Bush lied; and you are now looking for confirmation that those countries "lied too." Thanks for finally admitting the truth that Bush lied about WMD.

David Limbaugh asks,
"Most other major nations, including France, Germany, and Russia, also believed Saddam had WMD. And, the 9-11 Commission and the Senate Intelligence Committee, based on hundreds of interviews, concluded, in effect, that Bush did not lie about the intelligence."
"President Bush couldn't possibly have lied about WMD unless he miraculously knew something that neither the CIA nor all the other world's intelligence agencies knew: that Saddam didn't have WMD."

First off, that part about the commissions finding "in effect" that Bush didn't lie -- is a lie. They weren't charged with finding out what Bush knew. We're still waiting on Phase II, right Kathleen?

Also, it doesn't matter even one iota what those countries said. If they all said that that Saddam had a death laser capable of splitting your skull in two from the outer reaches of the stratosphere, it doesn't make the Preznit any less of a liar. The Preznit made statements that even a halfwit like Pags-Happy would know were sheer idiocy. That aside, As thickheaded as you appear to be, such a laser would defy all the known laws of physics.

All this nonsense about China, Russia, France and Germany claiming that Saddam had WMD is a lot of hype as well. Those countries said that Saddam was being actively disarmed. Get the 411, dude:
Blix noted an increase in Iraqi cooperation since January, while ElBaradei reported that no evidence had been found that would support claims that Iraq was reconstructing its nuclear arms program. France, Germany, and Russia cited the report as evidence that the inspection regimes were effective and should be given more time." Look at the timeline.

IT was a stooooopid move according to the Heritage Foundation.

FInally, your bogus definition of lying was something like "saying something that you know is not true. You used to argue that Bush did not know that Iraq had no WMD; so he could not lie about it.

My response to that funny little ditty is to point out that you'd first have to know what King George the Clueless was told about WMD by his minions. Since we'll never know what the Preznit testified to before the 911 commission or any other fact-finding commission (did'ja find the transcript or the tape or the video? Didn't think so) about what any of the intel agencies told him, we can't tell if he's lying. Look at all the cut and paste nonsense that you take from the 911 and Whitewash committee reports. Every other line says, "sentence deleted" or is blacked out.

Until Chimpy gets testicular implants, you will never be able to prove that he was not lying. All we have to go by is the big list of Intel that show that either Chimpy is lying ... or he is the world biggest mushroom (all together now, kept in the dark and fed shit all day, thank you boys and girls). Either way, King George the Clueless doesn't know what the hell he's doing on his excellent Iraqi Crusade. Dumbass.

Let's look at what the he should have known:

In 2001 and before, intelligence agencies noted that Saddam Hussein was effectively contained after the Gulf War. In fact, former weapons inspector David Kay now admits that the previous policy of containment – including the 1998 bombing of Iraq – destroyed any remaining infrastructure of potential WMD programs.

OCTOBER 8, 1997 – IAEA SAYS IRAQ FREE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS: "As reported in detail in the progress report dated 8 October 1997…and based on all credible information available to date, the IAEA's verification activities in Iraq, have resulted in the evolution of a technically coherent picture of Iraq's clandestine nuclear programme. These verification activities have revealed no indications that Iraq had achieved its programme objective of producing nuclear weapons or that Iraq had produced more than a few grams of weapon-usable nuclear material or had clandestinely acquired such material. Furthermore, there are no indications that there remains in Iraq any physical capability for t he production of weapon-usable nuclear material of any practical significance." [Source: IAEA Report, 10/8/98]

FEBRUARY 23 & 24, 2001 – COLIN POWELL SAYS IRAQ IS CONTAINED: "I think we ought to declare [the containment policy] a success. We have kept him contained, kept him in his box." He added Saddam "is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors" and that "he threatens not the United States." [Source: State Department, 2/23/01 and 2/24/01]

SEPTEMBER 16, 2001 – CHENEY ACKNOWLEDGES IRAQ IS CONTAINED: Vice President Dick Cheney said that "Saddam Hussein is bottled up" – a confirmation of the intelligence he had received. [Source: Meet the Press, 9/16/2001]

2002: Intel Agencies Repeatedly Warn White House of Its Weak WMD Case
Throughout 2002, the CIA, DIA, Department of Energy and United Nations all warned the Bush Administration that its selective use of intelligence was painting a weak WMD case. Those warnings were repeatedly ignored.

JANUARY, 2002 – TENET DOES NOT MENTION IRAQ IN NUCLEAR THREAT REPORT: "In CIA Director George Tenet's January 2002 review of global weapons-technology proliferation, he did not even mention a nuclear threat from Iraq, though he did warn of one from North Korea." [Source: The New Republic, 6/30/03]

FEBRUARY 6, 2002 – CIA SAYS IRAQ HAS NOT PROVIDED WMD TO TERRORISTS: "The Central Intelligence Agency has no evidence that Iraq has engaged in terrorist operations against the United States in nearly a decade, and the agency is also convinced that President Saddam Hussein has not provided chemical or biological weapons to Al Qaeda or related terrorist groups, according to several American intelligence officials." [Source: NY Times, 2/6/02]

APRIL 15, 2002 – WOLFOWITZ ANGERED AT CIA FOR NOT UNDERMINING U.N. REPORT: After receiving a CIA report that concluded that Hans Blix had conducted inspections of Iraq's declared nuclear power plants "fully within the parameters he could operate" when Blix was head of the international agency responsible for these inspections prior to the Gulf War, a report indicated that "Wolfowitz ‘hit the ceiling’ because the CIA failed to provide sufficient ammunition to undermine Blix and, by association, the new U.N. weapons inspection program." [Source: W. Post, 4/15/02]

SUMMER, 2002 – CIA WARNINGS TO WHITE HOUSE EXPOSED: "In the late summer of 2002, Sen. Graham had requested from Tenet an analysis of the Iraqi threat. According to knowledgeable sources, he received a 25-page classified response reflecting the balanced view that had prevailed earlier among the intelligence agencies--noting, for example, that evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program or a link to Al Qaeda was inconclusive. Early that September, the committee also received the DIA's classified analysis, which reflected the same cautious assessments. But committee members became worried when, midway through the month, they received a new CIA analysis of the threat that highlighted the Bush administration's claims and consigned skepticism to footnotes." [Source: The New Republic, 6/30/03]

SEPTEMBER, 2002 – DIA TELLS WHITE HOUSE NO EVIDENCE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS: "An unclassified excerpt of a 2002 Defense Intelligence Agency study on Iraq's chemical warfare program in which it stated that there is ‘no reliable information on whether Iraq is producing and stockpiling chemical weapons, or where Iraq has - or will - establish its chemical warfare agent production facilities.’" The report also said, "A substantial amount of Iraq's chemical warfare agents, precursors, munitions, and production equipment were destroyed between 1991 and 1998 as a result of Operation Desert Storm and UNSCOM (United Nations Special Commission) actions." [Source: Carnegie Endowment for Peace, 6/13/03; DIA report, 2002]

SEPTEMBER 20, 2002 – DEPT. OF ENERGY TELLS WHITE HOUSE OF NUKE DOUBTS: "Doubts about the quality of some of the evidence that the United States is using to make its case that Iraq is trying to build a nuclear bomb emerged Thursday. While National Security Adviser Condi Rice stated on 9/8 that imported aluminum tubes ‘are only really suited for nuclear weapons programs, centrifuge programs’ a growing number of experts say that the administration has not presented convincing evidence that the tubes were intended for use in uranium enrichment rather than for artillery rocket tubes or other uses. Former U.N. weapons inspector David Albright said he found significant disagreement among scientists within the Department of Energy and other agencies about the certainty of the evidence." [Source: UPI, 9/20/02]

OCTOBER 2002 – CIA DIRECTLY WARNS WHITE HOUSE: "The CIA sent two memos to the White House in October voicing strong doubts about a claim President Bush made three months later in the State of the Union address that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear materials in Africa." [Source: Washington Post, 7/23/03]

OCTOBER 2002 — STATE DEPT. WARNS WHITE HOUSE ON NUKE CHARGES: The State Department’s Intelligence and Research Department dissented from the conclusion in the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq’s WMD capabilities that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program. "The activities we have detected do not ... add up to a compelling case that Iraq is currently pursuing what INR would consider to be an integrated and comprehensive approach to acquiring nuclear weapons." INR accepted the judgment by Energy Department technical experts that aluminum tubes Iraq was seeking to acquire, which was the central basis for the conclusion that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program, were ill-suited to build centrifuges for enriching uranium. [Source, Declassified Iraq NIE released 7/2003]

OCTOBER 2002 – AIR FORCE WARNS WHITE HOUSE: "The government organization most knowledgeable about the United States' UAV program -- the Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center -- had sharply disputed the notion that Iraq's UAVs were being designed as attack weapons" – a WMD claim President Bush used in his October 7 speech on Iraqi WMD, just three days before the congressional vote authorizing the president to use force. [Source: Washington Post, 9/26/03]

2003: WH Pressures Intel Agencies to Conform; Ignores More Warnings

Instead of listening to the repeated warnings from the intelligence community, intelligence officials say the White House instead pressured them to conform their reports to fit a pre-determined policy. Meanwhile, more evidence from international institutions poured in that the White House’s claims were not well-grounded.

LATE 2002-EARLY 2003 – CHENEY PRESSURES CIA TO CHANGE INTELLIGENCE: "Vice President Dick Cheney's repeated trips to CIA headquarters in the run-up to the war for unusual, face-to-face sessions with intelligence analysts poring over Iraqi data. The pressure on the intelligence community to document the administration's claims that the Iraqi regime had ties to al-Qaida and was pursuing a nuclear weapons capacity was ‘unremitting,’ said former CIA counterterrorism chief Vince Cannistraro, echoing several other intelligence veterans interviewed." Additionally, CIA officials "charged that the hard-liners in the Defense Department and vice president's office had 'pressured' agency analysts to paint a dire picture of Saddam's capabilities and intentions." [Sources: Dallas Morning News, 7/28/03; Newsweek, 7/28/03]

JANUARY, 2003 – STATE DEPT. INTEL BUREAU REITERATE WARNING TO POWELL: "The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), the State Department's in-house analysis unit, and nuclear experts at the Department of Energy are understood to have explicitly warned Secretary of State Colin Powell during the preparation of his speech that the evidence was questionable. The Bureau reiterated to Mr. Powell during the preparation of his February speech that its analysts were not persuaded that the aluminum tubes the Administration was citing could be used in centrifuges to enrich uranium." [Source: Financial Times, 7/30/03]

FEBRUARY 14, 2003 – UN WARNS WHITE HOUSE THAT NO WMD HAVE BEEN FOUND: "In their third progress report since U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441 was passed in November, inspectors told the council they had not found any weapons of mass destruction." Weapons inspector Hans Blix told the U.N. Security Council they had been unable to find any WMD in Iraq and that more time was needed for inspections. [Source: CNN, 2/14/03]

FEBRUARY 15, 2003 – IAEA WARNS WHITE HOUSE NO NUCLEAR EVIDENCE: The head of the IAEA told the U.N. in February that "We have to date found no evidence of ongoing prohibited nuclear or nuclear-related activities in Iraq." The IAEA examined "2,000 pages of documents seized Jan. 16 from an Iraqi scientist's home -- evidence, the Americans said, that the Iraqi regime was hiding government documents in private homes. The documents, including some marked classified, appear to be the scientist's personal files." However, "the documents, which contained information about the use of laser technology to enrich uranium, refer to activities and sites known to the IAEA and do not change the agency's conclusions about Iraq's laser enrichment program." [Source: Wash. Post, 2/15/03]

FEBURARY 24, 2003 – CIA WARNS WHITE HOUSE ‘NO DIRECT EVIDENCE’ OF WMD: "A CIA report on proliferation released this week says the intelligence community has no ‘direct evidence’ that Iraq has succeeded in reconstituting its biological, chemical, nuclear or long-range missile programs in the two years since U.N. weapons inspectors left and U.S. planes bombed Iraqi facilities. ‘We do not have any direct evidence that Iraq has used the period since Desert Fox to reconstitute its Weapons of Mass Destruction programs,’ said the agency in its semi-annual report on proliferation activities." [NBC News, 2/24/03]

MARCH 7, 2003 – IAEA REITERATES TO WHITE HOUSE NO EVIDENCE OF NUKES: IAEA Director Mohamed ElBaradei said nuclear experts have found "no indication" that Iraq has tried to import high-strength aluminum tubes or specialized ring magnets for centrifuge enrichment of uranium. For months, American officials had "cited Iraq's importation of these tubes as evidence that Mr. Hussein's scientists have been seeking to develop a nuclear capability." ElBaradei also noted said "the IAEA has concluded, with the concurrence of outside experts, that documents which formed the basis for the [President Bush’s assertion] of recent uranium transactions between Iraq and Niger are in fact not authentic." When questioned about this on Meet the Press, Vice President Dick Cheney simply said "Mr. ElBaradei is, frankly, wrong." [Source: NY Times, 3/7/03: Meet the Press, 3/16/03]

If Bush wasn't lying, and he had all the information that he needed, why did he send President Cheney to badger the intel folks?

MAY 30, 2003 – INTEL PROFESSIONALS ADMIT THEY WERE PRESSURED: "A growing number of U.S. national security professionals are accusing the Bush administration of slanting the facts and hijacking the $30 billion intelligence apparatus to justify its rush to war in Iraq . A key target is a four-person Pentagon team that reviewed material gathered by other intelligence outfits for any missed bits that might have tied Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to banned weapons or terrorist groups. This team, self-mockingly called the Cabal, 'cherry-picked the intelligence stream' in a bid to portray Iraq as an imminent threat, said Patrick Lang, a official at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The DIA was "exploited and abused and bypassed in the process of making the case for war in Iraq based on the presence of WMD," or weapons of mass destruction, he said. Greg Thielmann, an intelligence official in the State Department, said it appeared to him that intelligence had been shaped 'from the top down.'" [Reuters, 5/30/03 ]

JUNE 6, 2003 – INTELLIGENCE HISTORIAN SAYS INTEL WAS HYPED: "The CIA bowed to Bush administration pressure to hype the threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons programs ahead of the U.S.-led war in Iraq , a leading national security historian concluded in a detailed study of the spy agency's public pronouncements." [Reuters, 6/6/03]

Who hyped the war?

SEPTEMBER 2001 – WHITE HOUSE CREATES OFFICE TO CIRCUMVENT INTEL AGENCIES: The Pentagon creates the Office of Special Plans "in order to find evidence of what Wolfowitz and his boss, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, believed to be true-that Saddam Hussein had close ties to Al Qaeda, and that Iraq had an enormous arsenal of chemical, biological, and possibly even nuclear weapons that threatened the region and, potentially, the United States…The rising influence of the Office of Special Plans was accompanied by a decline in the influence of the C.I.A. and the D.I.A. bringing about a crucial change of direction in the American intelligence community." The office, hand-picked by the Administration, specifically "cherry-picked intelligence that supported its pre-existing position and ignoring all the rest" while officials deliberately "bypassed the government's customary procedures for vetting intelligence." [Sources: New Yorker, 5/12/03; Atlantic Monthly, 1/04; New Yorker, 10/20/03]

Who were Recess Bolton's fixers at WINPAC? They're the ones who fed the lies.

As for Iraq's ties to terror, the 911 Commission and the Senate Whitewash Committee both know that the analysts at WINPAC (Recess' buddies) were playing fast and loose with the facts. They noted:
Due to the lack of unilateral sources on Iraq's links to terrorist groups like al-Qaida DELETED, the Intelligence Community (IC) relied too heavily on foreign government service reporting and sources to whom it did not have direct access to determine the relationship between Iraq and DELETED terrorist groups. While much of this reporting was credible, the IC left itself open to possible manipulation by foreign governments and other parties interested in influencing U.S. policy. The Intelligence Community's collectors must develop and recruit unilateral sources with direct access to terrorist groups to confirm, complement or confront foreign government service reporting on these critical targets.

#225 Hajji - looks like his speechalist got the words all mixed up or sumthin' because they had to get reporters on the horn and 'splain that the president was not actshully talkin' the outright truth, he was jus' being hisself, friendly-like.

Here's the math: 75% of M.E. oil divided by 2025 = tons of switchgrass - (+-) equal equivalents = expected imports of M.E. oil in 2025 (or close).

But no matter what bush read off the TelePrompTer, the bottomline is the U.S. will still be importing M.E. oil in 2025 at the same numbers because that's where the oil is.

As Willie Sutton the bank robber said when asked why he robbed banks, "because that's where the money is."

FBI seeks interview with Times reporters in pro-Israel lobbying, spying probe

Two journalists for The New York Times are being sought for questioning by the FBI regarding stories they wrote about a pro-Israel lobbying group receiving classified information from a former Pentagon official, according to a story slated for Thursday's Times, RAW STORY has learned.

The bureau's actions are part of the "second round of investigation" regarding classified information passed from Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin to Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Franklin worked out of the Office of Special Plans reporting to Douglas Feith

Excerpted from the forthcoming article written by David Johnston:

The FBI is seeking to interview two New York Times reporters about their conversations with a former Pentagon official and representatives of a pro-Israeli lobbying group who have been the focus of federal investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

Ex-cons are given military waivers to join the servive but in Florida ex-cons cannot vote. Very intersting!!! Soon unless you have money, you will not be able to vote! When I say money, I am talking about millionaires.

Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas, our pro-life justices voted for execution. Very interesting!!! I guess pro-life only means in a woman's womb. Once you are out of the womb, you will have to fend for yourself. I want to make it clear that I am a Catholic and the Catholic Church opposes the death penalty. It would appear to me that Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas are cafeteria Catholics. They pick and choose to what is politically expedient. I would say that they are a politician's politician!!! With those three low lifes you can expect the death penalty for our freedoms and rights.

TImmie grasps at his blankie and sucks his thumb:
Why do progressives say they "support" the troops but then turn around and accuse troops of committing torture and murder of Iraqi and Afghan civillians???

You reactionaries don't even pretend to "support" the troops. Why does the Grand ol' Spendin' Party have money to give Tax Breaks to Exxon, but they don't have the money to buy the troops the supplies and arms that they require? How stoopid is that?

We accuse the Cheney Administration of sending our troops out to torture. The 12 dupes just got caught doing what the Preznit wanted. AS for the Afghan, Iraqi and Pakistani civilians caught in the crossfire, some are accidents, collateral damage. Some are clearly not and some of our troops have been dealt with accordingly.

"Or when they call the troops "occupiers" not liberators??"

Guess what TImmie, a majority of Americans AND Iraqis want our troops to come home. It's not just us.

"If you progressives actually said that in front of soldiers, they'd knock the living hell out of you.

Or they'd run for Congress as Democrats (50 or 60 of 'em). See the Band of Brothers, The Fighting Dems and compare that to the Chickhawk Rollcall. How many former vets are running as REds? Maybe 2 or 3?

"Just ADMIT it, that you think America is an EVIL country. I'm not talking about you Don."
Posted by: Tim L at February 1, 2006 04:51 PM

Aaaw. Timmie ‚ô•s Don.

"I don't see why the left gets so upset over the torture of TERRORISTS. Terrorists who have valuable information that could save American lives!!"
Posted by: Tim L at February 1, 2006 05:21 PM

Torture doesn't work. Never has. Never will. Unless you're one of them bedwetting Reds like Timmiee and Pags-Happy or Giving-up-your-Liberty-Dad. Just the threat of torture makes 'em squirt.

I can't say that I missed DMReid. I did miss his (unintended) humor:
"While you lefties can call bush a chimp all you want, I continuously watch bush, make a chump out of the opposition.
Posted by: Derrick Michael Reid at February 1, 2006 05:09 PM

Yeah, like he did on Social Security and Katrina and the Miers debacle and the Schiavo debacle and the arrest and indictment of Libby and his good bud DeLay? I hope Chimpy stays a chump. He is single-handedly, simple-mindedly destroying the Grand Ol' Torturin' Party.

This was the best, though:
"You lefties and your tyrates (sic, snicker, giggle, guffaw, ROFLMAO), smears and slanders are the best friends we righties ever had, just keep it up, and make my day!!!
Posted by: Derrick Michael Reid at February 1, 2006 05:09 PM

"Man o Man, What a glorious Day for the good old USA. Damn this is a great country!!!"
Posted by: Derrick Michael Reid at February 1, 2006 05:08 PM

Failure is Glorious? Bush has failed to help the poor. Bush has failed New Orleans. Bush is a failure when it comes to showing integrity and lacks even an ounce of principle. Bush has failed the Scientific community. Bush failed to support Renewable Energy plans. Bush failed to support Biofuel plans. Bush failed to do anything to ease our dependence on foreign oil. Bush has failed to help strengthen employee benefits. Bush has failed to stop the growth of our Federal Deficit. Bush has failed to remain fair to poor and middle class workers. Bush has failed the economy. Bush has failed the working class. Bush's party has failed to do its best to keep our nation safe. Bush has failed on Homeland defense. Bush has failed to resolve our problems with Iran. Bush has failed our brave American troops. Bush has failed to develop a workable plan for Iraq. Bush has failed to destroy the terrorist base in Afghanistan. Bush has failed to make the world a safer place with his caveman tactics.

Look at all those pretty "Bush has failed" links. What's so glorious about all that failure?

From the Wayne Madsen Report

February 1, 2006 -- Bush administration "Back to the Future" antics in Central America. According to high-level U.S. intelligence sources, the Bush administration is planning a redux of the Contra wars of the 1980s. With polls showing that Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega may become Nicaragua's next President in November 2 elections, the Bush administration has ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to establish a network of small clandestine communications stations along the Honduran and Costa Rican borders with Nicaragua, supplemented by additional support bases in El Salvador. Many of those involved in the covert operations are veterans of the Contra wars of the 1980s.

The hub of U.S. covert activity is centered in the Soto Cano airbase in Honduras. Formerly the Palmerola airbase, the base was active in U.S. support for the contras against the Sandinistas in the 1980s.

U.S. intelligence sources also report that right-wing elements in the CIA and Pentagon also have a nasty surprise in store for Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, if he is, as expected, elected President of Mexico in July's elections. Obrador, a former mayor of Mexico City, a champion of Mexico's poor, and an ally of Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales, is leading in most polls. Intelligence whispers from U.S. covert actors in Latin America indicate that if Obrador is elected and fails to moderate his leftist policies, he will not live to see his inauguration day. Apparently, Obrador has gotten the message from the Bush administration. Last night, he told Mexican television that he would appoint three non-PRD members to his three most important cabinet posts: Treasury, Foreign Affairs, and Interior.

Bush administration right-wingers targeting Daniel Ortega with a second contra war and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador with School of the Americas assassination manual-style "deprivation of human life."

Nazi America is truly an evil empire. Nazi America is the most evil country since the existence of the Universe.

A driver is stuck in a traffic jam on the highway. Nothing is moving. Suddenly a man knocks on the window.

The driver rolls down his window and asks, "What happened?"

"Terrorists have kidnapped Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Cindy Sheehan, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, and their boss George Soros. They are asking for a $10 million ransom. Otherwise they are going to douse them with gasoline and set them on fire. We are going from car to car, taking up a collection."

The driver asks, "How much is everyone giving, on average?"

"About a gallon."

It is my perceptual opinion that when I look into Bush's eyes, I see a soul of the most evil person in the history of the Universe.

#247 Pandemoniac, I believe you are trying to say that Bush is a failure.

I must now go to sleep and leave all the fun to you!

ha ha! everyone should read this one!
The Looniest Of All 911 Conspiracy Theories

It takes me 'bout an hour to get through each post by Pande, and I enjoy every minute of it.

Whatever you say uncledad. You must not live in Australia, Britain, DC, Chicago or San Francisco, did I miss any?
Alan, did you read the Daily Kos I posted just for you? Guess not. Pan, did you?

David,

Very well said. In fact it was far more compelling than the dull as dirt speech Bush gave last night. The man showed little conviction about anything, with the exception of the "make my day" moment you noted in regards to NSA eavesdropping, and at that point he seemed for a brief moment like an insolent child.

It is not a good time for President Bush, and it may be reflected this November in the midterm elections.

Hal Perry

Pentagon trying to censor top US political cartoonist

And why not have the Pentagon try to stifle a free media while supposedly promoting freedom in Iraq? The US government just arrested one of President Bush's top political critics for threatening his life with a t-shirt. So why not now threaten a top political cartoonist for drawing a cartoon that the Pentagon doesn't like? Why not use the power of government to try to censor the media, something that's a direct violation of that pesky and quaint 1st Amendment to the US Constitution - you remember, that document the Bush administration doesn't think is relevant.
===============
There's a link there to the Joint Chiefs' letter to WaPo, and the 'toon they didn't like also.

Sal, which link was it... I've read a ton tonight.

wait, it was the Daily Kos link. I read that one earlier, somebody else linked it, so I dint read it again.

Well, you know if they really thought it was legal, then they wouldn't have anything to hide.

Senate Panel Rebuffed on Documents on U.S. Spying

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — The Bush administration is rebuffing requests from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee for its classified legal opinions on President Bush's domestic spying program, setting up a confrontation in advance of a hearing scheduled for next week, administration and Congressional officials said Wednesday.

and Congress approved the $39.5b cut in the budget, off the backs of students and poor people. Close vote tho, at 216 to 214, with 13 repugs voting with the dems.

more culture of corruption...

Guilty Plea and Wider Scheme Are Seen in Rebuilding of Iraq

here's a snippet..
Mr. Stein used some of his stolen money, the papers say, to buy items as wildly diverse as grenade launchers, machine guns, a Lexus, "an interest in one Porsche," a Cessna airplane, two plots of real estate in Hope Mills, N.C., a Toshiba personal computer, 18 Breitling watches, a 6-carat diamond ring and a collection of silver dollars. The papers say that the ring of corruption was much wider than previously known, drawing at least seven Americans, including Mr. Stein, Mr. Bloom and five Army reserve officers, into what is portrayed as a maelstrom of greed, sex and gun-running at the heart of the American occupation of a conservative Muslim country.

Many ways, no will

LISTENING TO PRESIDENT Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night, you'd think the United States has reached bottom in its addiction to foreign oil and is so desperate to break free that it will take the ultimate step — investing in research — to find a way out. But, by and large, it isn't a lack of technology that keeps the nation so dependent on oil. It's the lack of will to use it.

Engineers have produced a basket of new technologies for making cars burn less gasoline, yet fuel standards for passenger cars in this country haven't changed in more than two decades, and fuel economy has barely budged. Brazil has shown the way to energy independence by powering cars with ethanol made from sugar. This country, meanwhile, continues to pour billions of dollars in subsidies into producing ethanol less efficiently from corn. Advances in solar energy have made it less expensive and more reliable, yet only California is making a significant bid to exploit the power of the sun.

Instead of any decisive action to force or even encourage the adoption of these technologies, the president is proposing a 22% increase in energy-related research funding. Who would argue against more research? We won't, certainly. Neither will industry or consumers, especially if the money comes not from higher gas prices or shareholder pockets but from digging a slightly deeper hole in the federal deficit. There is plenty of room to improve the science of new fuel sources, and the U.S. should lead the way.

The increase, generous though it is, doesn't exactly amount to a Manhattan Project-like commitment to alternative energy sources. Further, such research will take many years to bring results, and nothing is guaranteed.

Finally, Bush's speech evinces a touching but mistaken faith that the automotive, power and building industries will absorb any new findings and immediately put them to work, freeing Americans from concerns about tightening global oil supplies.

Recent history tells us differently. Technologies that could make the U.S. more energy independent sit on the shelf while the automotive industry dithers about raising the price of a car by a couple of thousand dollars (money that could largely be recouped in savings on gasoline) to raise gas mileage by about 20 miles per gallon. Bush also talked about investing in zero-emissions coal plants. Yet, after a former EPA administrator said the technology existed to reduce mercury pollution at coal-fired plants by 90% within a few years, the Bush administration issued far weaker regulations.

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

Of course, the WH does the opposite of what they say. That is the neo-standard.

capt

What isolationism?

In his speech, the president presented a fiction to avoid a debate on tough policy questions.

IN HIS STATE of the Union address on Tuesday, President Bush worked himself into a lather about the dangers of "retreating within our borders." His speech bulged with ominous references to ostensibly resurgent isolationists hankering to "tie our hands" and leave "an assaulted world to fend for itself." Turning inward, the president cautioned, would provide "false comfort" because isolationism inevitably "ends in danger and decline."

But who exactly are these isolationists eager to pull up the drawbridges? What party do they control? What influential journals of opinion do they publish? Who are their leaders? Which foundations bankroll this isolationist cause?

The president provided no such details, and for good reason: They do not exist. Indeed, in present-day American politics, isolationism does not exist. It is a fiction, a fabrication and a smear imported from another era.

Isolationism survives in contemporary American political discourse because it retains utility as a cheap device employed to impose discipline. Think of it as akin to red-baiting — conjuring up bogus fears to enforce conformity in the realm of foreign policy. In that regard, the beleaguered Bush, his standing in public opinion polls tumbling, is by no means the first president to sound the alarm about supposed isolationists subverting American statecraft.

The problem is that scaremongering about nonexistent isolationists preempts a much-needed debate over the principles that ought to inform our behavior as a world power. Call that debate George Washington versus Woodrow Wilson.

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

Another good piece.

capt

Thanks to all for the great links and substantial posts!

I do not see how anybody that reads the articles linked and the commentary does not come away informed or better informed.

Agree or disagree really does not matter, informed is informed and that is always a good thing.

I cannot imagine a mentality that is incurious and resistant to information? Whether I like the facts or not I want to know the facts. How else can a person make an informed decision or objective opinion?

I think it is very cool that so many posts encourage a reaction. Especially when a posts makes the incurious shoot steam from their ears! (love it)

Good stuff!

capt

Translating the Emperor's Speech

Although not quite as slickly eloquent as Willy before him, Dubya, like his predecessor, is proficient and experienced in the art of speaking one thing and meaning another. Just as often, he makes statements more flowery than they have to be, possibly intentionally so as to make what he's saying sound less aggressive than if you were cut away the extraneous poetry to reveal the plain meaning of his words. Below are highlights from his State of the Union speech, translated into clear and candid English.

"Every time I'm invited to this rostrum, I'm humbled by the privilege, and mindful of the history we've seen together. We have gathered under this Capitol dome in moments of national mourning and national achievement. We have served America through one of the most consequential periods of our history –†and it has been my honor to serve with you."

Translation: I'm very important. I rule this great big country at a very important time. I am obviously infinitely more important than you notice that I'm speaking to the entire country but I like to pretend that I believe that it's you who is important.

Read more HERE

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Another good one!

capt

What Really Happened

by Cindy Sheehan

Dear Friends,

As most of you have probably heard, I was arrested before the State of the Union Address tonight.

I am speechless with fury at what happened and with grief over what we have lost in our country.

There have been lies from the police and distortions by the press. (Shocker) So this is what really happened:

This afternoon at the People's State of the Union Address in DC where I was joined by Congresspersons Lynn Woolsey and John Conyers, Ann Wright, Malik Rahim and John Cavanagh, Lynn brought me a ticket to the State of the Union Address. At that time, I was wearing the shirt that said: 2245 Dead. How many more?

After the PSOTU press conference, I was having second thoughts about going to the SOTU at the Capitol. I didn't feel comfortable going. I knew George Bush would say things that would hurt me and anger me and I knew that I couldn't disrupt the address because Lynn had given me the ticket and I didn't want to be disruptive out of respect for her. I, in fact, had given the ticket to John Bruhns who is in Iraq Veterans Against the War. However, Lynn's office had already called the media and everyone knew I was going to be there so I sucked it up and went.

I got the ticket back from John, and I met one of Congresswoman Barbara Lee's staffers in the Longworth Congressional Office building and we went to the Capitol via the underground tunnel. I went through security once, then had to use the rest room and went through security again.

Read the rest HERE

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In her own words.

If our troops are not dying to protect our freedom and rights here, what are they dying for?

capt

Bush running out of energy

WASHINGTON - As with much of the rest of his state of the union address, US President George W Bush's proposals to boost government spending on clean energy technologies received a tepid reaction from analysts on Wednesday, who described the speech as uncharacteristically timid.

While energy and environmental activists applauded his portrayal of the energy problem faced by the US as an "addiction to oil", they said his solution - a 22% increase in clean energy research - falls far short of what is required.

And they were particularly disappointed the president in the hour-long speech to Congress and the nation did not even mention global warming, which most scientists believe is caused in major part by emissions from the combustion of oil and other fossil fuels. The United States, one of only two industrialized countries that have failed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, currently accounts for more than 25% of global emissions.

"When you completely ignore the biggest challenge of all - global warming - your plans will never measure up," said Steve Cochran, a spokesman for Environmental Defense (ED), who accused Bush of "thinking small".

"Last night's remarks were woefully insufficient," the New York Times declared in a scathing lead editorial on Wednesday that was devoted exclusively to Bush's failure to both seriously address global warming and promote major policy reforms, such as stricter fuel-efficiency requirements for cars.

That assessment echoed much of the morning-after commentary on the address, which is used by presidents to set the tone and legislative and policy agendas of their administrations for the coming year.

More HERE

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From a little further in the article:

""This is the first state of the union I can remember where the president ended the evening diminished in stature rather than enhanced," wrote Ryan Lizza, a veteran political analyst for The New Republic."

That is quite a remark.

capt

Nobody responds to me here, which actually makes me feel right at home.

Nonetheless, I still have my opionions, and having read stuff here, I know they are not as out there as many, so I will just keep posting them.

I don't think we need to keep anyone out so much as we need to control and regulate Who comes In.

We need to know who they are, where they are and where they came from, and why, exactly they are here. It shouldn't be such a daunting task.

And doing this should NOT be an open ended cart blanche to the CIA, DIA, NSA, or FBI to wiretap ordinary AMERICANS, BUT .........it is happening.

Look to the press first.

This man who purports to trying to save us all from distruction, instead of doing his best at this within the law proposes changing the law.

Debateable for sure in time of war...........but..........there is this border secrity issue. Pesky, Ill admit. But there it is.

Any American who thinks they are one bit safer due to Bush is dilluding themself. Bush has done nothing to make us safer and EVERYTHING to make us a target.

Our borders could not be more porus......do you really think thats the ONLY tunnel?

Its just one border.

Try times four.

Oue ports are targets with few safeguards, Bush gutted the Coast Guard, about the same time he co opted the National Guard as meat........

Im not young, one thing I have found is that tough talking can get you into untennible situations.

Such is the state of our union.

Sycophantic Lamestream Media Marches to the Newspeak Drumbeat

During ABC News anchor Elizabeth Vargas' introduction of George Stephanopoulos's preview of the 2006 State of the Union address, ABC carried text beneath an onscreen picture (see above) of Bush labeled, "America's Agenda."

The boot-licking lapdogs' attempt to unify Americans behind Bush's mandate before his grandiose yet reality avoiding speech flies in the face of recent polls showing Bush's approval rating in the low 40's and a January 29 ABC News/Washington Post poll showing a majority of the American people disapproving of his performance on nearly every major issue.

In addition, White House spin strategists have embarked on a clear campaign to offset anger over revelations of the NSA illegally spying on American citizens by calling the action a 'terrorist surveillance program' - after all, who's against listening to Osama bin Laden's phone calls right? Let's just not mention the fact that only nine so-called terrorists, out of the thousands detained without trial, including American citizens, have even been charged and none of them charged with terrorist offences. Don't talk about the fact that 70-90% of those taken to internment camps in Iraq were terrorist suspects for the crime of not showing their papers at checkpoints.

By changing the terms of address from 'domestic spying' to 'terrorist surveillance' - the meaning is altered. This is classic Newspeak.

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Nothing surprising here but . . .

capt

tichaba,

Just not many people posting in the small hours of the morning.

I have replied more than once.

capt

The President is a dolt – so how can America be such a success story?

TWO CEREMONIAL events occurred in Washington on Tuesday evening that shone a spotlight on one of the most important but paradoxical features of a modern democratic society.

The more widely reported was President Bush’s State of the Union address, a weak and defensive speech even by his undemanding standards. At the other end of Washington, meanwhile, Alan Greenspan, the retiring chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, was bidding farewell to the institution whose skilful management of US monetary policy made him the dominant figure in the world economy for the past 18 years. What connects these two events is a paradox that has baffled many people, especially in Europe, ever since George W. Bush became President.

For the past five years, America has been led by a president who is clearly not up to the job — a man who is not just inarticulate, but lacking in judgment, intelligence, integrity, charisma or staying power. Yet America as a nation seems to be stronger, more prosperous and self-confident than ever.

As the State of the Union address made clear, President Bush has more or less given up on all the grand goals that were supposed to define his presidency: social security reform, peace in the Middle East, even the axis of evil doctrine, which was supposed to disarm North Korea and Iran. Most embarrassingly, President Bush seems to have given up on capturing Osama bin Laden or bringing to justice the perpetrators of 9/11.

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From across the pond.

capt

As Alan mentioned, while everyone was bitching about Borkito, the Spineless Dems‚Ñ¢ tried to stop the Republican steamrolling effort aimed at the poor and middle class.

As I've said before, Howard Dean will fuck your shit up if you don't watch out (I believe the Rude Pundit said it first, tho).

And I laughed till I cried when I saw this Olbermann video. Satire at its finest.

Titchaba, we may not be responding; but we're reading and nodding our heads. Keep posting (corky too).

Ms. Saladin #59, I saw a different one about 3 days ago that was on the same topic. Actually, if you click on the 911 tag at the bottom of the page you get a list of a whole bunch of stories that are on DKos. With the domestic spying program on the front page every day, maybe Markos has finally realized that the Cheney Administration is apt to try just about anything believing that they can get away with it.

Time to hit the road.

Editorial: Astounding Hypocrisy

Few in the Middle East will have heard George W. Bush’≥ State of the Union address without feeling exasperation and anger that this belligerent president appears to have no idea of how US policy in the region is riddled with double standards. It is now clear that this astonishingly ill-informed administration had not the slightest inkling that Hamas would win the Palestinian elections —†let alone win so decisively.

Coming as it did on the eve of his big set piece speech to the American people, the election was a problem for President Bush. Here was a free and fair democratic election, a model of the political process that he has supposedly committed himself to promoting throughout the region, and it produced winners who were not what Washington would have liked or chosen.

Bush had to square the circle, so he concentrated on Hamas terrorism and its constitutional commitment to the eradication of Israel. America would not deal with the new government chosen by the Palestinian voters until it had disbanded its armed wing, given up violence and acknowledged Israel’≥ right to exist.

In laying down these requirements, the president demonstrated his inability to appreciate that Israel too is guilty of great violence against Palestinians and continues its program of assassinations, the latest being that of Islamic Jihad leader Nidal Abu-Saada on the very day of Bush’≥ speech. Israel has also yet to give concrete acknowledgement of the state of Palestine’≥ right to exist, preferring instead to keep its people huddled in ghettos while Tel Aviv continues to steal their land.

The murders committed by Palestinian suicide bombers who are members of Hamas or who are not members of Hamas are no more acceptable than the murders committed by Israeli security forces. Sending Palestinians to die among innocent Israelis is a terrible act which cannot be justified but can nevertheless be explained; it is the only way that Palestinians can fight back against a clever, strong and hugely manipulative occupying power.

In voting for Hamas, Palestinians were not just rejecting what they saw as the failures of the Fatah years, they were also choosing a government which they hope will stand up more strongly to Israel and produce a just and lasting peace from a position of strength.

In his address, Bush made no attempt to analyze the motives of the majority of Palestinian electors, demonstrated no insight whatsoever into their agonies and frustrations. Instead he made it clear that though they had held a free and fair election, the Palestinians had made the wrong choice and America therefore had no intention of accepting it. Yet in the very same speech, Bush trotted out his hopes for a democratic Iran and a freely elected government with whom Washington would one day be able to work.

Now at least Bush’≥ perverse vision of the democratic process is patently clear. A democratic election must produce a government that is acceptable to the White House. Anything else will be rejected. The democratic voice of the people will be ignored unless it is singing the song that Washington wants to hear. This astounding hypocrisy undermines everything America says it is trying to achieve in the region and everything that America once stood for.

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Freedom to do as Crusader Bunnypants says and democracy as long as the person you vote for is on the pre-approved list. Vote for the wrong guy and we will cut off aid. That passes for diplomacy under Busheney.

capt

Bush won't tread on big oil's toes

EXXONMOBIL'S 2005 earnings of $US36 billion ($47.6 billion) are the highest ever recorded by a US firm, but as energy policy moves to centre stage in US politics, the company is not exactly trying to push its achievement into the limelight.

Despite having no direct responsibility for the 24 per cent rise in US oil prices last year, Exxon and the other oil majors are already in the political crosshairs, with the Senate considering two measures which would impose higher average tax rates on last year's earnings for energy firms.

While the backdoor retroactive tax hikes are unlikely to pass the House, and in any case would probably be vetoed by President George W. Bush, they are indicative of the politically inflamed atmosphere around energy issues at the moment.

Few administrations have been as closely tied to the oil industry as the current one, given the President and Vice-President Dick Cheney both worked in the sector, and this has shown in the approach they have taken to energy policy over the past five years.

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If Bush is not big oil personified - Cheney is. They would have to be stepping on their own toes, quite a trick for someone that cannot stay upright on a mountain bike or on a segway.

capt

Surprising Source of Chronic Pain Discovered

Some types of ongoing, inexplicable pain like arthritis are caused by intact, healthy nerve fibers rather than those that have been damaged, a new study finds.

The discovery surprised researchers. It had not been made before partly because studies of chronic pain have tended to focus on the damaged nerves.

The new understanding, reported in the Jan. 25 issue of the journal Neuroscience, could help scientists develop new types of painkillers.

The evidence so far applies only to ongoing pain associated with nerve injury and inflammation, although it may turn out to be more widely applicable, said Sally Lawson, a professor of physiology at the University of Bristol in the UK.

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Livescience has a few very interesting articles on pain, chronic pain and new understanding of the science of pain.

I read some of the newer discoveries and such and am convinced we are entering a new renaissance in science. Things are moving very fast and the things being discovered or better understood are profound.

capt

titchaba, could it be that the borders are open and the ports remain unprotected because bush isn't worried about terrorist attacks from OUTSIDE the border? Could it be he said, in public, that he isn't really that concerned about OBL, that he doesn't think much about him, because he knows who is really responsible for 9/11 and who will be responsible for the next one as well? The thousands of dots are connected, we just have to follow them.
Pan, I didn't know DKos was posting articles in opposition to the official 9/11 conspiracy theory. I haven't been there since he started censoring posts and babysitting posters. I am glad to hear it though, I know that is a very popular site.

"Most embarrassingly, President Bush seems to have given up on capturing Osama bin Laden or bringing to justice the perpetrators of 9/11."

Capt, that's the LAST thing he wants!!

9/11 ATTACKS
Avoiding the hard questions

ROBERT STEINBACK

Scholars for 9/11 Truth

Saladin, James Ha -- you've probably already seen this, but if not....here it is.

House sends budget cut bill to Bush’s desk
Body approves Congress’s first try in eight years to slow benefit programs

Updated: 5:54 p.m. ET Feb. 1, 2006
WASHINGTON - The House on Wednesday narrowly approved Congress’ first attempt in eight years to slow the growth of benefit programs like Medicaid and student loan subsidies, sending the measure to President Bush.

The bill passed by a vote of 216-214, largely along party lines. Republicans hailed the five-year, $39 billion budget-cutting bill as an important first step to restoring discipline on spending. Democrats attacked the measure as an assault on college students and Medicaid patients and said powerful Washington lobbyists had too much influence on it.

The measure is a leftover item from the GOP fall agenda. Bush is eager to sign it into law.
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They can just send the students to Iraq and Iran and the elderly to Oregon where they can commit suicide. Problems solved! I don't know whether to laugh or gag at the thought of bush practicing disciplined spending. He has already spent more in 5 years than all the presidents put together. And the idiot bushbots call him a conservative?? I guess nowadays that means giving all non-millionaires the shaft and keeping the almighty war machine wheels greased.

Thanks micki, haven't seen the first one, but the second has an impressive list of supporters. I'm excited and afraid at the same time at what the exposing of this news might do. I remember what I went through when I realized what we had been told was all lies, it made the initial grief pale in comparison. What will it do to the rest of the country that has been wrapped in their self-righteous flag?

From:
The Crack Of Doom
By Edgar J. Steele
2-1-6

Once a year, at about this time, the President delivers the State of the Union address. Tomorrow is Groundhog Day. Many people have gotten these two events mixed up in their minds, which is understandable. As someone over at Air America Radio once pointed out: "It is an ironic juxtaposition of events: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication while the other involves a groundhog."
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Happy Groundhog Day everyone!

About #242: Does the "Spinal Tap poopie" come out of a "Big Bottom"? Meanwhile, Pande (El Matador) turns the snark up to 11 again and smacks down the fudds. Viva El Matador! Off to bed now before tonight's work. TTWPTYK!---From the swamps of Arkansas, Ivory Bill Woodpecker

IF you really care about the issue of the NSA spying, why would you allow yourself to be associated with a wanker site like Pajamasmedia?

They acted the Jeff Gannon role with Durbin today. And when Durbin said he had never heard of Pajamasmedia they sniggeringly said "Ask Dan Rather...he knows about it"...
As if they were responsible for his resigning. (Let's forget that they were defending a draft dodger who scrubbed evidence of it).

I like your writing, but you should be careful of who you associate with.

Thanks. Im a night animal, have been since birth, drove my mother batty, or at least that's what she said. I never met my grandmother but I heard how batty she was.........

You get the picture.

One or two of my early posts......were not mine. I think I closed these holes but one is never sure.

One thing I will say with some conviction is that being overt about your political views online attracts...........techno response..........all should be prepared for. Pardon my gramatic errors.

Politics is as cyber germy as porn.

Go there armed, or not at all.

And Do NOT choose auto update. Update on prompt.

Run your own firewalls, do Not trust any server, or windows to do this.

Microsoft has more lawyers than tech help people, they aint going to help you. If They wont, what hope have you that AOhell will? etc.

"Graymail." What does that mean. Can't find it in the dictionary. Thank you.