Sounds like David can't prove Cheney has the authority or not to declassify the material. Still, David tries to lean everyone in the direction that he doesn't. Such slander!!

I thought Hillary was a lesbo?

David can't stand the fact that Karl Rove has outwitted the left once again. The interview was planned to release the info that Cheney did have this authority to set up the defense of Scooter Libby. Brilliant!! And David fell for it.

#1 "Still, David tries to lean everyone..."

"to lean" is a transitive verb?

Poor Jester David

He no longer can keep the masses entertained.

#2 "The interview was planned to release the info that Cheney did have this authority.."

Yes! And the gunshot wound was acceptable collateral damage. Brilliant.

#4 "...no longer can keep the masses entertained"
if not the massess then the asses

Small Penis

Its called taking one for the team. A man with a small penis wouldn't understand such manly values.

You have experience taking a small penis for the team?

Jeez Louise, have teenagers mutinied the Corn blog?

Hmmmm, I see a number of inflammatory statements in the above comments, but little content. Poor David can no longer entertain the masses. What exactly does this mean, and how does it contribute to the discussion? Yes, Mr. Corn does have a political agenda. I have a political agenda. Anyone who says they don't have a political agenda definitely has a political agenda. I wonder, do these comments come from Rove's spin teams, or perhaps from dull, specious reasoners? Is there a difference? Do I care? Nope.

This article is not at all without merit. Should we dismiss his work because he does not reach a conclusion? I say no. Asking questions is a responsible, effective form of inquiry. It is those who are quick with their answers whom I doubt.

The above commentors might consider whether they are towing the line or adding to a discussion. Also, this penis-talk is just juvenile.

Zedmaster 3.75

Division-Zero.Net

Saladin

I'm sorry sally, everytime I try not stoop to the cornnut level, you all seem to drag me back into it.

David, cheney does what he damn well pleases. That's his M.O.

The secrecy cloaking cheney's activities is endemic to his way of doing business. He has his own power center, separate from bush's circle of toadies. He makes his own policies as he goes along. Fuck 'em, if they don't like it, he snarls. He is the de facto president afterall.

cheney's inner circle has, or course, changed in recent months with Scooter Libby's indictment and the departure of his chief communications guy, Steve Schmidt (who left to help out Arnold Schwarzenegger on his reelection plans).

cheney has said he will not run for political office again. That is another fabrication (lie) -- he intends to remain in the Oval Office for as long as his ticker holds out. Come hell or high water, cheney will be the next president.

You All? LBH, leave me out of your lunatic statements. I would never stoop to the juvenile behavior you blame others for dragging you into.

Hugh Hewiit baits Helen Thomas in Radio Interview:
What a Dick. MP3

HT: I worked for United Press International for more than fifty years, and I wrote straight copy. I was never, never accused of bias.
HH: BUT YOU DID...

HT: I did not bow out of the human race. I permitted myself to care, to believe, to think. But I assure you, I assure you that it did not get in my copy. And can you say the same thing?

HH: BUT HELEN, I'M SAYING. YOU DID VOTE ALL THOSE YEARS, DIDN'T YOU?
HT: No, but you're bias has come through. You're not asking legitimate questions.

HH: WHY AM I...
HT: You are baiting people.

HH: WHY IS THIS NOT LEGITIMATE?
HT: Why don't you...why don't you try to find out what is really going on in this world?

HH: WHY ISN'T IT LEGITIMATE TO KNOW WHO YOU VOTE FOR?
HT: (laughing) Pardon me?

HH: WHY ISN'T IT LEGITIMATE TO KNOW WHO A LONG TIME WHITE HOUSE REPORTER HAS VOTED FOR...
HT: It's none of your business, because it has nothing to do with my copy and my work, and you've called me because I'm a journalist.

HH: BUT WOULDN'T IT BE SIGNIFICANT IF YOU WERE IN FACT A CARD-CARRYING, LONG TIME DEMOCRATIC...
HT: No, it would not. I told you that I wrote straight copy for more than fifty years until I became a columnist.

HH: AND...BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT. AND THAT CAN BE PERFECTLY TRUE...

There's a good article by Steve Clemons on Cheney's "power" to declassify information at The Washington Note.

Let's put it bluntly: the powermongers in the Bush administration just make up shit as they go along. In other words, if something is illegal, they will simply say "Psych! We decided it's legal!" and go on about their day. When is Congress going to put an end to their emasculation?

"the dire nuclear threat posed by Iran." Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this EXACTLY the same kind of "mushroom cloud" hype that led up to the war in Iraq? Where is the proof? Do they even have a Curveball to drag out of the closet for display? Is half of this country really OK with nuking a civilian population based on the same scenario that we got last time?

Saladin

So you have a selective memory, that's OK, I'll forgive ya!!

Mr. David Corn,

Good post! King Cheney and his court jester monkey-boy need to be impeached. I know you think that is not the right thing to do but it is.

If given a choice would you prefer non-stop war[sic] or present a challenge to a few GOPhers to join with someone, anyone standing up against these dictator fascists that do not care one lick for the country or the constitution?

You say "concentrate on winning elections" because you think this group of liars and thieves are above stealing elections? (that is just plain silly)

Do you really believe in your heart of hearts that 911 was just a coincidence or part of a larger problem, that the invasion of Iraq was also just a little white lie to start a war to spread peace and freedom?

The gang that cannot shoot straight and are immune to the truth or consequences are even capable of being honest about anything?

Thanks for all of your work and the open forum.

Kirk

LBH: "the fact that Karl Rove has outwitted the left once again . . . the defense of Scooter Libby. Brilliant!! . . ."

It's uncanny how much you busheviks sound like something from N. Korean radio. Will you also weep in the streets when your Great Leaders are jailed?

Hold Bush Accountable: Demand a Special Prosecutor to Investigate the White House

keyboard activism from People For the American Way

Drewp #19

My comment was tongue in cheek to illustrate the complete lunacy of the cornnut thought process. I am sorry you are so slow that you can't get this. You maybe too late for help my friend.

Saladin

France is saying that Iran has nukes, are they making it up to go to war?

Hold Bush Accountable: Demand a Special Prosecutor to Investigate the White House

The Bush Administration’≥ stampede over constitutional checks and balances puts our nation in grave danger. Unless President Bush and his administration are held to account for actions that legal scholars and millions of Americans consider crimes, the governing principles that support our republic will erode like sand.

That is why People For the American Way is launching an ongoing campaign to defend the integrity of our government against President Bush’≥ abuse of power. Over the coming months we will foster public vigilance to demand transparency, accountability and oversight. And it starts with a bang: calling for a special prosecutor to investigate White House wiretapping.

If you want to see a special prosecutor demand answers to questions the public has a right to know, get the ball rolling by signing this petition and spreading it as far and wide as possible. We’¨l even send copies to your members in the House and Senate so they know what kind of pressure is coming from their state.

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

A little assist for #20!

Thanks Alan!

capt

Boyd

Helen Thomas needed to retire when she was at the top of her game like Jerome Bettis did. She could have saved her self respect instead of looking like the crazy old lady that asks stupid questions and why is she still here anyway? Sam Donaldson knew when to quit.

Capt

Who's to pay for all these crazy investigations you keep demanding? I thought you were for deficit reduction?

Has anyone noticed that Chaney even lied in his interview? He says he shot the man on the right side of his body and face, but all reports says he was shot on the left side. Which is it? Wouldn't it be funny that he can't even get an event in which he was the intregal part right? I quess when you are a compulsive liar, you'll lie aboput anything.

Who Will Blow the Whistle Before We Attack Iran?

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Ray McGovern

The question looms large against the backdrop of the hearing on whistle blowing scheduled for the afternoon of Feb. 14 by Christopher Shays, chair of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations. Among those testifying are Russell Tice, one of the sources who exposed illegal eavesdropping by the National Security Agency, and Army Sgt. Sam Provance, who told his superiors of the torture he witnessed at Abu Graib, got no satisfaction, and felt it his duty to go public. It will not be your usual hearing.

I had the privilege of being present at the creation of the international Truth-Telling Coalition on Sept. 9, 2004 and of working with Daniel Ellsberg in drafting the coalition’s Appeal to Current Government Officials to put loyalty to the Constitution above career and to expose dishonesty leading to misadventures like the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. Whether or not encouragement from the Coalition played any role in subsequent disclosures, we are grateful for those responsible for the recent hemorrhaging of important information—from the “Downing Street Minutes” showing that by summer 2002 the Bush administration had decided to “fix” intelligence to “justify” war on Iraq, to disclosures regarding CIA kidnappings, secret prisons, and state-sponsored torture.

As former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, who leads the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, keeps reminding us, “Information is the oxygen of democracy.” And with this administration’s fetish for secrecy and our somnolent Fourth Estate, we would likely all suffocate without patriotic truth-tellers (aka whistleblowers)....

Next Challenge: Iran

Anyone who has been near a TV in recent weeks has heard the drumbeat for war on Iran. The best guess for timing is next month.

Let’s see if we cannot do better this time than we did on Iraq. Patriotic truth tellers, we need you! In an interview last year with US News and World Report, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel said that on Iraq, “The White House is completely disconnected from reality...It’s like they’re just making it up as they go along.”

Ditto for an adventure against Iran. But the juggernaut has begun to roll; the White House/FOX News/Washington Times spin machine is at full tilt. This is where whistleblowers come in.
========================================

Good read, and right on. It's really scary - we are well on our way toward WWIII - Read the whole thing. He is calling out to anyone that is in a position to know to expose the lies before it's too late.

To the Department of Justice:

Due to credible charges of violations of federal law regarding the warrantless electronic surveillance of Americans authorized by the President and carried out by agencies under his control – and because of the inescapable conflicts of interest that would arise in any Justice Department investigation of these activities – I call on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the actions of Executive Branch officials involved in authorizing and carrying out such surveillance.

Possible violations of law have yet to be resolved through independent legal review and prosecution. Only a special prosecutor can independently evaluate the legality of the Executive Branch actions in question, bring criminal charges as appropriate, and uphold the critical principle of government accountability.

Sincerely,

capt

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

Done and done! I LOVE that keyboard activism.

Thanks again Alan,

capt

Here's that page where you can pick which version of the tv show documentary with unreleased Abu Ghraib pictures.

new Abu Ghraib torture photos from Aus. TV report

David,

The claim that Cheney is really the one in charge is supported by his decision not to discuss the shooting with puppet George right away - why should he? Cheney's the real President (King).

Your post today supports that even further...

"Remarkably, the phrase "and, in the performance of executive duties, the Vice President," which dramatically elevates the Vice President's classification authority to that of the President, was added to the executive order in 2003."

That pretty much tells it all.

Scott Ritter the former Iaea inspector, the former Cia analyst Ray McGovern, and Justin Raimando at antiwar.com have been attempting to turn the spotlight on the Bush administrations march towards sanctions or military action against Iran for 3 years.

As Scott Ritter has said the MSM and most of the so called "alternative" press have been "sleepwalking" the nation into the web that the Bush administration has continually spun about Iran ever since the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq. I have not heard one U.s. reporter,not one(and I am a news junkie) ask the Bush administration the simple question "where is the verifiable evidence to support the endless claims that they continually make about Iran's nuclear development?"

Is that such a radical question?

Where is the evidence (the laptop and the documents) that they say indicate AQ Khan's involvement in Iran from a cousin of "Curveball" or are Micheal Ledeens "creative destruction" prints on the documents. Are the "noble lie" folks who "cakwalked" us into Iraq involved with any of this evidence?

At the beginning of March Iaea Mr. El Baradei presents a report about Iran and whether they are in violation of the Iaea agreements. If there is any question at all about Iran even a hint, a loophole (and there will be) for John Bolton to slip through, he will.

From what I have read the neo-cons representative to the UN John Bolton has all ready set up a way to trump the IAEA's procedures and procede with sanctions against Iran if Russia and China do not vote with the U.s.to implement sanctions against Iran.

THE MSM AND MOST IN THE SO CALLED "ALTERNATIVE' PRESS ARE SLEEP WALKING THE NATION INTO TAKING MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN.

DEJA VU....THE REGIME CHANGE AGENDA OF THE PROJECT FOR A NEW AMERICAN CENTURY SEEMS TO BE MOVING FORWARD ALMOST RIGHT ON TIME....

;THE AIPAC CONFERENCE AT THE BEGINNING OF MARCH WILL BE FOCUSED ON IRAN AND WILL PUSH THIS ADMINISTRATION AND OUR NATION HARD ...TOWARDS MILITARY ACTION IN IRAN.

Congress cannot allow the Bush Administration to go to war with Iran. Besides the more common reasons against attacking Iran, here's another to consider...

They cannot be trusted to plan their way out of a paper bag without screwing it up, let alone conducting yet another war that could further erode this coutry's standing as a world leader - and let's not forget the further cost to lives - on both sides.

And who would fight this war? Does anyone feel a draft?

PDA to Help Lead Truth & Accountability Impeachment Charge!

To our Progressive Friends:

PDA grassroots activists from across the country are challenging PDA to step up and help lead the call for the impeachment of George W. Bush. We’ve heard you and we’re taking action!
=============================
K, I'm watching the Abu Ghraib torture tv program now. It took alot longer to DL that it did last night. Guess more ppl are watching it.

I can't believe LBH has the nerve to show up here after that humiliation he took on the saddam tapes.
*shakes head*
That he has no shame doesn't surprise me though.

So far, all this is asking for is contributions. They're going after DINOs. yay!
===================
Dear MoveOn member,

Earlier this week 84% of us agreed we should challenge some right-wing incumbent Democrats in primary elections. Now, we're announcing our first MoveOn-member endorsement in a primary.

Ciro Rodriguez is running for Congress in the 28th District in Texas. Rodriguez opposed the war in Iraq and has championed health care, education and veteran benefits. In the words of Marta from San Antonio, "Rodriguez is a true Democrat and would stand up to the Bush administration in Washington."

But Rodriguez is up against an incumbent—Henry Cuellar—who consistently voted against Democrats on important issues and literally campaigned for Bush in 2000. With a sprint to the March 7th finish we can put Rodriguez over the top with our support.

Blackhawk Gone: Why wasn't Whittington airlifted?

Here's just one more unanswered question about Dick Cheney's shooting of his 78-year-old friend last Saturday.

Numerous news accounts in recent years suggest that the vice president, with his history of four heart attacks, is almost always accompanied by a medical team and by Blackhawk helicopters, even when he is hunting in remote rural locations, as he all too frequently does.

Cheney has apparently never needed that type of medical evacuation. But on Saturday, his hunting pal Harry Whittington did. Indeed, news accounts say that Cheney's full-time medical team was on the scene and aided the seriously wounded man.

But where were the Blackhawks? If they were on the Armstrong Ranch, why were they not used for this type of emergency operation that they had long rehearsed? If the Blackhawks were not there, why not, considering they've reportedly been there for his other trips?

More Here

BUSH PROPOSES ‘NO QUAILS LEFT BEHIND’

New Education Initiative for Hunters Attempts to Defuse Cheney Crisis With Vice President Dick Cheney’s accidental shooting of a fellow bird hunter last Saturday threatening to become a full-blown crisis, President George W. Bush today attempted to defuse the controversy by proposing a new education program for hunters called "No Quails Left Behind."

Speaking at the White House, President Bush said that Mr. Cheney had done the nation "a big favor" by demonstrating that a massive overhaul of the nation’s educational system for hunters was "long overdue."

"We have been sitting idly by while other nations, such as China and Japan, have outpaced us in hunter education," Mr. Bush said. "If it took Dick Cheney to shoot a guy in the face to serve as a wake-up call, we all owe him a debt of thanks."

The vice president himself appeared ready to start repairing the P.R. damage caused by his hunting mishap, telling reporters this afternoon that after obtaining five deferments during the Vietnam War he was finally ready to take up military service for his country.

"I have a gun and I’ve demonstrated that I’m not afraid to use it," Mr. Cheney said. "The President of Iran should watch what he does if he doesn’t want to be peppered with pellets."

Asked about Mr. Cheney’s implied threat, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was "unworried," adding, "If Cheney tried to shoot me he’d probably wind up hitting the President of Iraq."

Elsewhere, actors Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes "have never been more in love and are definitely not splitting up," according to the couple’s official spokesman, James Frey.

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

I knew this was coming.

capt

Idealism v Realism

Dear Cornposters:

I have been trying to cutback on my posts for sometime but idealism seems to always preempt realism. Maybe my posts can make a difference? The truth of the matter is that Nazi America has entered the abyss of hell and there is no escaping the abyss. Hatred is so deep and widespread that only a conversion of the heart can help save Nazi America. Yet, there is the idea in Nazi America that murder is a respectable practice. Murder is not only a respectable practice but it is also a virtue. Nazi Americans who murder are respectable and virtuous persons. In fact murderers are glorified in Nazi America.

Idealism enters the teenage years. Maybe that is why teenagers are so complicated in their behaviors. They are into fairness and idealism not just for themselves but also for their friends and other people. From the teenage years we enter adulthood and that is where realism is to take hold. We are living in a real world and life is not fair or idealistic. I never made the transition from idealism to realism. Hopefully, at age 66 the transition is made but it does not make me happy because I see a failed and evil Nazi America.

Along with the fact that idealism is so difficult to shake from my life is the stress factor. Human beings need less stress in their lives. Posting less would mean less stress for me. Yet, in viewing the world and reading the many articles I am aware of how much work is needed to make Nazi America and the world a better place. But, why should a person beat their head against the brick wall? The deep-rooted hatred that consumes Nazi American lives will never ease or leave in my lifetime.

Another factor that wants me to post less is my energy level. There are days that I make me feel my energy is zapped. Plus, I do not seem to have the same piss and vinegar that I once had. I am also aware that Nazi American elections are rigged and you can never defeat the Nazis in power. How does a person fight so many evil Nazi Americans? The majority of Nazi Americans voted for evil in their lives and they are now bushians. Bushianity is their religion. Bushianity seems to thrive and receive unlimited and renewed energy from hatred, murders, torture, wars corruption, greed, decadence, and lies. The evil and vile Nazi Americans seem to have sucked out all the energy from me.

I will try to post but a renewal in love, faith, worship, prayer, mercy, and inclusion in Nazi America is forever a lost cause and deeds to promote the common good and humanitarian interests will never return to Nazi America.

Sincerely,

Gerald

Why Cheney’≥ Speaking Up Doesn’¥ Clear Things Up

by Tony Peyser

To guarantee no one
Would throw any rocks
Dick made sure to give
His interview to Fox.

And then to add only
More shuck to this jive
He went on TV but
His chat wasn’¥ live.

Dick must think that he's
Rewritten this bad plot
But he's still a punch line
And mocked as bad shot.

k, i'm glad I watched the low-resolution film. I don't care to see some of those bloody scenes in more detail.
I'm sorry if I sound melodramatic, but honestly, seeing what American soldiers did to other human beings makes me ashamed. Noone could do this stuff without approval from above, and that chain goes all the way to the top. Bush's fkn "signing statement" to the McCain torture bill is proof enough, that he wants to continue. Move prisoners to other secret prisons in other contries so as not to be caught this time.
IMPEACH NOW !

Bush Satisfied With Cheney's Account

President Bush Satisfied With Vice President Cheney's Account of Hunting Accident

WASHINGTON Feb 16, 2006 (AP)— President Bush is satisfied with Vice President Dick Cheney's account of his Texas hunting accident, a White House spokesman said Thursday, and Texas authorities said they had closed their investigation into the accident without filing any charges.

The Kenedy County Sheriff's Department released its report from Chief Deputy Gilberto San Miguel Jr., which said he interviewed Cheney the morning after Saturday's accident. Cheney explained that he did not see hunting companion Harry Whittington come up behind him and accidentally sprayed him with birdshot in the face and upper body while aiming at a quail, the report said.

Cheney told the story publicly Wednesday in an interview with Fox News Channel his only public statement on the accident that occurred Saturday on a private Texas ranch.

More HERE

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

Well, done deal then. The only opinion that matters is satisfied. Of course this is the same guy that started a war because me was satisfied that Curveball was a "solid" source of information.

A not so thinly veiled message to the faithful supporters (if there are any left)

capt

France says so eh? Since when does bushco give a shit what France thinks? Are french fries back on the menu at the WH? What a gullible little bushbot, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, I'm a big f**king idiot! LBH

The Puppet Finally Speaks...

What some confuse as "outwitting"...looks like stoooopidity to thinking people...

Bush Says Cheney Handled Issue 'Just Fine'

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer

Thursday, February 16, 2006

(02-16) 13:55 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --

President Bush said Thursday he was satisfied with Vice President Dick Cheney's explanation about his shooting accident in Texas.

"I thought the vice president handled the issue just fine," the president said in his first public comments on Saturday's accident. "I thought his explanation yesterday was a powerful explanation."

Bush said it was "a deeply traumatic moment for him and obviously it was a tragic moment for Harry Whittington." He said that the shooting "profoundly affected the vice president."

Bush said Democrats are drawing "the wrong conclusion about a tragic accident" when they say it depicts the White House as overly secretive.

"Yesterday when he was here in the Oval Office I saw the deep concern he (Cheney) had about a person who he wounded," Bush said. "I thought yesterday's explanation was a very strong and important explanation to make to the American people."

Bush said Whittington, the 78-year-old attorney shot by Cheney in the face, chest and neck, is "a fine man" whom he knew from his days as governor of Texas. "He's been involved in our state's politics for a long period of time. My concern is for Harry and I know the vice president feels the same way."

While some White House officials were unhappy about the vice president's handling of the accident, Bush did not publicly object to Cheney's decision not to make the shooting public until Sunday, the day after it happened. The president also did not express concern about the fact that Cheney did not speak to him about the accident until they saw each other on Monday.

Bush recounted Cheney's explanation of the accident. "He heard a bird flush and he turned and pulled the trigger and saw his friend get wounded," the president said.

Bush, during an Oval Office photo opportunity, seemed upset when pressed about whether he was satisfied that Cheney had disclosed the shooting in a timely way.

"I'm satisfied with the explanation he gave," Bush said tersely.

"I thought his explanation yesterday was a very strong and powerful explanation and I'm satisfied with the explanation he gave," the president said.

QUESTION QUESTION QUESTION

How does "the cabal" intend to extend its control over the Executive Branch (and thus the government, given the castrated state of Congress) into the next Administration???

Or does it all just disappear on 20 January 2009?

A sincere question.

Bob in North Dakota

Here's an unlikely answer.....Hillary is the choice to continue the cabal. Ever notice how chummy she and Bill are getting with Bush, Sr.?? Ever notice how she has been talking more pro-war than most Senate Republicans?? Notice her tough talk on Iran?? If there is truly a secret "cabal" in charge of our government, don't be surprised if they don't have some major tentacles into Hillary's inner circle.

Hillary is a traitor. When will we ever be free of these psychos? That's a sincere question!

Did y'all get the drift that bush is "satisfied with the explanation" -- or do ya think he should have explained his explanation one more time, just so we understood the explanation?

What an idiot!

Media reports that said Whittington was hit on his right side, and now an official report showing him hit on his left. I wish someone would square that with the puplc. In the meantime, I jumped the H-town Chronicle again today for publishing another diagram that made no sense. I'll share wif ya the letter I sent, but I doubt if they will publish it tomorrow or the next day.
=================
Viewpoints,
I have to take issue with your article in today's (Thursday) paper. The illustration given cannot be correct. All reports I've seen state that Mr. Whittington was hit on his right side, not the left as your diagram shows. That's two days in a row where the illustrations in your articles made no sense. In Wednesday's paper, the diagram showed a shaded 'shot cone' spreading out about 30-feet inside of 30 yards in order to 'pepper' Mr. Whittington. That's impossible. To be hit with a hundred or more pellets, it would have to be almost a direct aim at the victim. Indeed, shotguns are tested for their pattern drawn around a 30-inch circle from 30 yards. The great majority of the pellets are in that small circle. Also, a typical 28-gauge shell propells 3/4 of an ounce of shot, and with shot size 7½, that's roughly 262 pellets in each shell (7½ shot has 350 pellets to the ounce). I've seen some reports that said Mr. Whittington had as many as 200 pellet hits, so that's more evidence of a direct hit. I think you do your readers a disservice by publishing 'mistakes' like that. Instead, you should be asking the hard questions, like how Mr. Cheney can decide to who and when he can report when he's shot someone. Can common people delay reporting accidents like that?? No, I don't think so, and neither do you, I'm sure. The sheriff's deputies were denied entrance to the ranch and not allowed to interview the vice-president when the accident happened, which brings to mind his 'condition' at the time. Noone else can pick and choose when is the best time to report a shooting, and this just shows another example of this administration thinking our laws don't apply to them. THAT'S what your articles should be pointing out.
(all emphases were in the original)

Cheney: George, you need to tell the public that you are satisfied with my explaination on how I shot Whittington.

Bush: But you should have told me first Dick. I'm supposed to be the President. I should know what is going on.

Cheney: Just do what say. You wouldn't be the President if it weren't for me.

Bush: OK, Dick. You're right Dick. Whatever you say Dick.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yeah, like it really matters that puppet George is satisfied with Dickhead's explanation. He has to be.

Looking like Syria might be in possesion of WMD.....from Iraq. Hmmm. More here Sneaky weasles indeed! if its true.

Saladin,

I agree. The worst thing that could happen in '08 is for Hilary to get nominated.

Fiengold for President!

But where were the Blackhawks?

I'm catching up on the reading. About this article... sheeee-it, they couldn't use them because word would get out. Has nothing to do with keeping them unused in case Chain-ee had a heart attack because of what he had done... no chance of that, because it didn't bother that nazi a bit. If the vice's medical detail flew the victim, that would be big news... news that doctors/nurses/staff would've known and told the world. This way, it's just another ambulance from who knows where. Just another hurt person in a long list.

If you want the truth from a pathological LIAR the opposite of what they say is true. Like for example Left side vs right side of Wittington. chainy sez Left, well guess what? Chainy sez 30 yards, more like 3 yards. Pants-R-Blazing, nose is growing!

Even Matthews is saying that once again it looks like the Cheney is calling the shots,not Bush (As in 9-11 and Cheney making the decision to shoot down the plane(.

If nothing else, the significance of this whole shooting incident is that it is helping to expose just how much Cheney does control things at the White House.

I say impeach Cheney first.

50 - Alan,

Yeah, that is what I was thinking. It is pretty pathetic. They sent him to this small-time hospital to avoid detection too. That put this guy's life at risk. What if he had died? I say Cheney would have been guilty of reckless manslaughter or something like that.

They would do anything to try to protect their behinds. They already have!

Pants-R-Blazing, nose is growing!

hahaha

They sent him to this small-time hospital to avoid detection too.

Yeah They're still trying to decide how to keep this undercover. "Let's see if this will blow over". Makes you wonder about the consious of the dick's medical team too. Think they are feeling bad about not doing the best they could for this patient? Makes me wonder about all fkn doctors, ya know? What's the most convenient treatment for a patient, not what's the best care. What about your oath, no-doctorin' apologist azz-kisser to Chain-ee mutha fkrz!
I needa schmoke something cause I'm pist!

"Administration's Tin Ear on the Middle East is Making America Less Safe" Opening Statement of Senator Barbara Boxer Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing February 15, 2006................................... Madam Secretary, the President said during his State of the Union address that we are winning in Iraq and he is confident in his plan for victory. Unfortunately, the American people don't share this confidence. A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted January 26th through the 29th shows that a majority of Americans -- 52 percent -- believe the President has failed to give good reasons why the U.S. must keep troops in Iraq. Similarly, 53 percent of Americans are less confident that Iraq will come to a successful conclusion. They don't share this confidence because they see what is happening on the ground. They see brave men like ABC's Bob Woodruff and his cameraman seriously injured while trying to record on, quote, "the good news coming out of Iraq," unquote. They see Jill Carroll of the Christian Science Monitor, a young woman who went to Iraq to tell the story of the Iraqi people, kidnapped and begging for her life -- and we pray for her safe return. And, of course, the deaths and the injuries keep climbing -- up to 19,000 Americans either dead or wounded. This Administration's rosy scenarios like the Vice President's statement that the insurgency was in the last throes, your statement in '05 that the insurgency has been dealt several blows, just don't match realities on the ground. The number of attacks against coalition troops, Iraqi security forces and civilians increased by 29 percent last year. Let me give you specifics: Insurgents launched 34,000 plus attacks in 2005, an increase of 8,000 from 2004. Last year, the number of car bombs more than doubled from 420 to 873. The number of suicide car bombs went from 133 to 411. 67 attackers wore suicide vests last year, up from seven in 2004. Roadside bombs increased from 5,000-plus to 10,000-plus. Last week, a chart appeared in the New York Times depicting the extent of casualties just in one month. And I just want you to see this, because sometimes we don't recognize what's going on there. More than 800 people were killed as a result of the insurgency. And what do the Iraqi people think of all this: 64 percent of Iraqis believe that crime and violent attacks will decrease when the United States redeploys out of Iraq. Perhaps more important, 73 percent of Iraqis believe there will be greater cooperation among Iraq's political factions when the United States redeploys. So I say to you, if we're in Iraq to help the Iraqi people, then we ought to start listening to the Iraqi people and start a redeployment. Now success in Iraq also depends greatly on the ability of our forces to better secure Iraq's oil infrastructure. Paul Wolfowitz told Congress in 2003, "We're dealing with a country that can finance its own reconstruction with oil, and relatively soon." That was another rosy scenario. The reality is Iraq's oil production has dropped from pre-war levels. And I want to show you a headline from the New York Times a little more than a week ago: "Oil graft fuels the insurgency." The Iraqi finance minister has estimated that insurgents receive 40 percent to 50 percent of all oil smuggling profits in the country. So not only is the oil not financing the reconstruction, it is financing the insurgency that is killing American troops. Our main reason for going to Iraq was to get rid of the WMDs, or, as you said, not to wait for the smoking gun to become the mushroom cloud. That was a farce. And the truth is coming out. The CIA intelligence officer in charge of the Middle East intelligence from 2000 to 2005 wrote, quote, "Intelligence was misused publicly to justify decisions already made." Our standing in the world is low according to the Pew Research Center, and the American people know it. Two-thirds of Americans say there is less international respect for the U.S. than in the past. And when asked why, a strong majority, seven in 10 Americans, cite the war in Iraq. The war in Iraq is bringing our standing down in the world. American people are smart. Now you have cited elections in the Middle East as a sign that,"The neighborhood is changing." But is the neighborhood changing for the better? It doesn't appear so. You have admitted to being blindsided by the Hamas victory -- saying, "I've asked why nobody saw it coming. It does say something about us not having a good pulse." And I do appreciate your candor there. But this has become a pattern. This Administration was shocked by Hamas, shocked by the election of the Iranian leader, shocked that Iraqis voted for conservative religious parties with ties to Iran instead of secular candidates like Ahmed Chalabi, whose party got not one single vote in the Iraqi parliament. I remember when he sat behind the First Lady in 2004 at the State of the Union address. This Administration seems to have a tin ear when it comes to the Middle East, and that tin ear is making us less safe...............Long post but at least SOMEONE is trying to make things better

DEN,
You posted the Syria thing again. Are you saying bushco found another "curveball"?
We knew that was coming, right? They've gotten it out of order tho, because we're targeting Iran first. We need a Persian Curveball! Damn Chain-ee, do I have to babysit yer azz and keep you incompetant bastards on the same page?!

From Crooks and Liars.
Cheney didn't even go to the hospital. He went back to the "bunkhouse" and had dinner.

FRANKEN: And you have to ask yourself the following questions. Why didn't he go to the hospital if-he went back to the ranch and had dinner. Now, if you are so worried-he said that he didn't get the story out because he wasn't sure how serious this was.

If you are so concerned about how serious this is, you go to the hospital. He said-when he was asked by Brit Hume in this very softball interview, you know, did you go on - in the ambulance, he went, well, no. There wasn‘¥ enough -it was very crowded, and they didn't need another body.

Well, the-he-there are plenty of vans that he could have gone to the hospital in. So, it begs the question...

SCARBOROUGH: You are making a good point. You are making a good point, that, had I shot somebody, had you shot somebody, we certainly would have rushed to the hospital, even if we were vice president of the United States.

Two interesting stories on FTW, Russia warns US not to threaten Tehran and the one just after it regarding $130/barrel oil prices. Read them here Now waiting for the other shoe...China.

LOOKS LIKE THE DOCS IN LITTLE ALICE TEXAS ARE NOT AMUSED -- DON'T LIKE BEING SLIGHTED IN THE MEDIA REPORTS

Some enterprising reporter should get one of these docs or medical technicians on the horn...they might be in the mood to talk.

Raj Subnani, a surgeon for CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Alice and CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital Kleberg said that about 15 to 20 Kingsville hospital staff members helped care for Whittington that included a CAT scan by a technician. He and the staff were upset that most media reports didn't even mention Whittington's first stop at the Kingsville hospital. Subnani was called from his Alice home to the Kingsville hospital Saturday about 6:15 p.m. He said he rushed to the hospital and arrived about 30 minutes later as the ambulance arrived at the Kingsville hospital from the Armstrong Ranch.

Alan, I posted it because is either a crock of shyt or painfully true. Could put Iran on the back burner. The cabal does not have any love for the Syrians, come to think of it, neither does anyone else. BOMBS AWAY!!

#48 Den ..the Kay/ Duelfer Report confirmed that there were absolutely no WMD's moved to Syria.

Facts do not matter to this administration...they will spin until the public says WMD's WMD's.

The Duelfer Report is quite the read..I made it about a third of the way through when it first came out..TRY IT.

52 Flan..it's true Matthews has devoted his last three nights to this Cheney event. I'm with one of his journalist/ guest the other night I think his name was Tony Blakely, he thinks the media is making a mountain out of a molehill. I think they took the Rove bait. Rove really knows how to take the press where he wants them to go. (he is the one who held onto the information about the accident)

The obsession with the Cheney event by so many in the press,keeps me wanting to know and focused on what they are not reporting.

#61 Den... I bet you are a christian...I bet you go to church on Sunday too. Is it the same church that Bush and Cheney go to?

Your attitude is sick and dangerous.

Den.. Go read the Kay/Duelfer Report and then get back with us.

You might try to base your statements on careful and thoughtful analysis and facts. Try it..you might like it.

Kathleen, everything Ive read regarding the Kay/Duelfer is related to trying to find WMD in Iraq, nobody was looking in Syria for WMDs MOVED FROM Iraq.

Troll in, I'm out!

DEn...the Duelfer Report says that there is absolutely no evidence to support the claims by the Bush administration that WMD's were moved to Syria.

Have you ever gone to the PROJECT FOR A NEW AMERICAN CENTURY or read the document A CLEAN BREAK..A NEW STRATEGY FOR SECURING THE REALM, written by Liv and David Wurmser and Richard Perle for Netanyahu.

If you have not, go check it out. The regime change plan is clearly written out for us to follow. So far this radical agenda seems to be moving forward.

Den I have to ask you when you say "bombs away" do you really lack any feelings for the Iraqi or Iranian people that will be murdered by our military as this radical regime change agenda is implemented?

Do you have children or siblings? Are you unable to walk in their shoes for just a moment?

A great war leaves the country with three armies - an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves. German Proverb

=
Setting a good example is a far better way to spread ideals than through force of arms: Congressman Ron Paul

=

"If these precedents are to stand unimpeached, and to provide sanctions for the continued conduct of America affairs -- the Constitution may be nullified by the President and officers who have taken the oath and are under moral obligation to uphold it..they may substitute personal and arbitrary government -- the first principle of the totalitarian system against which it has been alleged that World War II was waged -- while giving lip service to the principle of constitutional government." : Professor Charles Beard - President Roosevelt and the Coming of the War 1941, 1948.

===

Thanks ICH Newsletter!

Kathleen: what Chris Matthews does on his program IS NOT NEWS; his is NOT a news program!

I have been able to read about a lot of other things this week, in addition to the cheney shooting -- some of the stories of importance today that I've read about:

Iraqi govt condemns Abu Ghraib abuse
New prisoner abuse footage
Homeland Security defends hurricane response
The UN calls for the US to shut down Gitmo
House condemns Iran's Nuke Program
Israel plans sanctions as Hamas nominates a PM
Patriot Act
Internet Companies and their China Stance
Bernake talks about Inflation
Olympic stories
Bush Administration is selling out port security

And that's just a small sample of the important stories being reported...stay away from Matthews, Hannity, et al. and you'd be exposed to more NEWS!

Close this

Here we go...the MSM has let this agenda just roll along the last several years..basically ignoring the stage being set.

Attacking Iran should be an option: Britain's Tories

Wed Feb 15, 7:42 PM ET

;LONDON (AFP) - Military action against

Iran should not be ruled out to deal with its controversial nuclear programme, a newspaper quoted Britain's main opposition Conservative Party as saying.

The Times newspaper said the party's defence spokesman Liam Fox told US Republicans in Washington that British Prime Minister Tony Blair should follow

President George W. Bush's example and leave all options on the table

"Every pressure must be brought," Fox was quoted as saying in a speech to the right-wing Hermitage Foundation Thursday.

"But it was wrong for the European Union's foreign affairs spokesman Xavier Solana to rule out the use of force. It is wrong for Britain's Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, to echo him.

"Frederick the Great once observed that diplomacy without arms was like music without instruments. We must keep all options open if we are to stand any chance of a diplomatic solution to the Iranian crisis."

Blair has made repeated warnings to Tehran that it was making a mistake by ignoring international concern over its nuclear research programme, which Western powers fear is a front for developing atomic weapons.

But he has said that military action is "not on our agenda".

Instead, he hopes the crisis -- which has seen Iran reported to the

;United Nations Security Council -- will be resolved through diplomatic means.

Fox is part of a Conservative Party delegation attempting to heal a rift with senior US Republicans following the Tories' call two years ago for Blair to resign over the Iraq war.

er Hamas Takes Over AP

* U.N. Report Equates Gitmo to Torture AP&
* Iraq probes capture of possible "death squad" team Reuters

;Liam Fox talks to journalists outside the Houses of Parliament in London, October 2005. Military action against Iran should not be ruled out to deal with its controversial nuclear programme, The Times quoted Conservative Party defence spokesman Fox as saying(AFP/File/John D McHugh)

AFP/File Photo: Liam Fox talks to journalists outside the Houses of Parliament in London, October 2005. Military...

#68 Caroline...I am a news junkie. I read from the right left and center. (the nation, Corn, antiwar.com, Atlantic Monthly, National Review, Military Week, Weekly standard..etc. etc.

I watch Matthews at least three times a week to see what they are missing and am at times pleasantly surprised.

He has been open to pressure from the public, I have had a first hand experience with Matthews response to some criticism from a group of addicted media watchers that I am part of.

Matthews now has Amy Goodman and Katrina from the Nation on as guest. Pressure is a good thing, and it can work.

The Syrian CB or WMD's pipline is pure right-wingnut conjecture. The last best hope to try to make right the lies that started this illegal and unwise invasion of Iraq.

Sure, the liars will all be proved right, someday, when we find where the moved the WMD's - no doubt.

I suggest any such misunderstanding of the facts just check what the inspectors said all along. There were none and are none, no stockpiles, no chemical or biological weapons, no drone aircraft, no nuclear programs or even program related activities.

Hans Blix, David Kay, Scott Ritter and the Duelfer Report say there were no stockpiles to move. To find these stockpiles would make Bunnypants right and all of the experts above liars. You can calculate the odds of that happening for yourself.

Enough said.

capt

Kathleen,
What did Amy goodman have to say on Matthews?

influencing public opinion must be the first order of business when planning for war. And make no mistake: war is a business. So when no enemy ships are offshore, no enemy planes are flying overhead and no enemy troops are massing on the border, it is difficult to spread war fever. Therefore, deceit must be used to start offensive wars.

Kay: No evidence Iraq stockpiled WMDs

Former chief U.S. inspector faults intelligence agencies

(CNN) -- Two days after resigning as the Bush administration's top weapons inspector in Iraq, David Kay said Sunday that his group found no evidence Iraq had stockpiled unconventional weapons before the U.S.-led invasion in March.

He said U.S. intelligence services owe President Bush an explanation for having concluded that Iraq had.

"My summary view, based on what I've seen, is we're very unlikely to find large stockpiles of weapons," he said on National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition." "I don't think they exist."

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

The idea that Saddam could move stuff of any kind from Iraq before Bunnypants started his hobby war was being discussed. The possibility is not a new or untested idea. Everyone of the inspectors were charged with finding evidence of production, they found none. Iraq could not move something they did not produce.

capt

war planners must control the media and “manage information” first and foremost if the United State is going to be able to “win” future wars. The recent acceptance by many of domestic spying, domestic psyops and torturing foreigners because it is “needed” in the War on Terror displays a most disturbing trend in public opinion.

Kathleen #70

Thats the kind of touchy feely crap that will never allow a women to be President, even Hillary the lesbo.

The Iraq war's defining weapon

BANGALORE - The threat posed by Iraq's reported possession of weapons of mass destruction was the excuse US President George W Bush gave for his invasion of Iraq in 2003, but it is the simplest of technologies - the roadside bomb - that has emerged as the biggest nightmare for US occupation forces in Iraq.

The improvised explosive device (IED), which is the insurgents' weapon of choice in Iraq, has accounted for more than half of all US injuries and deaths in combat since March 2003 - by far the single greatest cause of death for US service members.

According to Pentagon figures through January 21, IEDs have accounted for at least 894 of the 1,735 US military deaths (51%) by hostile fire and over 9,200 of the more than 16,500 wounded (56%).

It is being described as the defining weapon of the war in Iraq, lethal though low in technological sophistication. The IED is a simple weapon, easy and cheap to build, and easier to hide. This makes it an attractive weapon for insurgents.

An IED is often just some old artillery shells detonated by remote control or by an electric charge through an attached wire. In Iraq, IEDs have been remotely detonated using readily available doorbells, cellular phones, pagers, car alarms, garage-door openers, toy-car remotes and so on. They are hidden alongside roads in potholes, rubbish heaps, discarded cartons, drink cans and animal carcasses.

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

If the Iraqis had CB or WMD’s they would not have to move them, they could have distributed them among Ba’athist and Saddam loyalists. They in turn would have used one/some by now.

capt

The lies that initiated the swell of popular support for the invasion of Iraq are well documented, yet the war planning for the next battle in the Perpetual War upcoming in Iran is following the exact same path. Hey, it worked, didn’t it? My greatest fear is “another catalyzing event like Pearl Harbor ” or 9-11 being planned by our brilliant war planners who thought that Iraq would be a cakewalk. People are starting to turn against occupying the Middle East into perpetuity so they need to be whipped up into another war fever before we invade Iran and perhaps even back the use of nuclear weapons in the process.

Capt

Would you quit using Scott Rider as a source: The creap is a pedophile.

Chris Matthews compares Michael Moore to Osama Bin Laden

On Hardball today, Chris Matthews compared Michael Moore to Osama Bin Laden while discussing the newly released tape with Joe Biden.

Matthews: I mean he sounds like an over the top Michael Moore here, if not a Michael Moore. You think that sells...

Talk about pandering to the right wing let alone an out-right smear in the worst way. Not only is he making a comparison, but he's calling Michael Moore-"Osama." If he compared a conservative figure to Osama what do you think would happen? Chris Matthews owes Michael Moore an apology and fast

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

Chris Matthews makes an fool of himself when he opens his mouth. He is a tool of the rightwingnut propaganda machine and offering him your patronage via viewership is just a way to support him.

He (as all others) plays to the ratings. That is the only reason he conditions his message and tempers his obvious leanings.

capt

Chris Matthews: 2005's Misinformer of the Year

Since our launch in May 2004, Media Matters for America has monitored, analyzed, and corrected conservative misinformation in the media, wherever and whenever we find it. As you may remember, last year our staff conducted an extensive review of all the misinformation we identified and corrected in the early days in order to name the first annual "Misinformer of the Year." We singled out one particularly egregious purveyor of falsehoods and awarded Bill O'Reilly the dubious title. O'Reilly graciously accepted the award on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor.

This year, of all the news anchors, columnists, pundits, and reporters whose work we've critiqued and corrected, one man stands alone as a clear successor to the O'Reilly throne. We are pleased to announce broadcast journalist, former newspaper bureau chief, former presidential speechwriter, and best-selling author Chris Matthews has earned the title of 2005's "Misinformer of the Year." At times, it has even been difficult to tell the difference between 2005's Misinformer of the Year and his predecessor.

For your reading pleasure, we've compiled some highlights of Matthews's most egregious false and misleading claims, as well as his glowing and gushing praise for President Bush.
Without further ado:

More HERE

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

As bad or worse than O'Reily. That is no joke and he does report "news" he misinforms. That is the nature of the MSM, no?

capt

US struggles with a mutating insurgency

WASHINGTON - Despite reports of growing tensions and even occasional clashes between Islamists and nationalists, the predominantly Sunni insurgency in Iraq appears increasingly united and confident of victory, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG).

The 30-page report, based primarily on an analysis of the public communications of insurgent groups, as well as interviews and past studies about the insurgency, also concludes that rebel groups have adapted quickly and effectively to changing US tactics - in both the military and political spheres.

"Over time, the insurgency appears to have become more coordinated, confident, sensitive to its constituents' demands and adept at learning from the enemy's successes and its own failures," said the report, "In Their Own Words: Reading the Iraqi Insurgency".

"The US must take these factors into account if it is to understand the insurgency's resilience and learn how to counter it," it said, stressing that the most effective responses included reining in and disbanding sectarian militias responsible for human-rights abuses and repeatedly making clear that Washington had no designs on Iraq's oil resources or on its territory for military bases.

More HERE

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

Yet we are not making anything clear. We are the reason and the force of chaos. "Mission Accomplished"

capt

Chris Matthews in his own words:
(From Media Matters)

Matthews continued to lead cheers for McCain, awarded him victory in Obama flap Monday, February 13, 2006 3:12PM

Milbank, Matthews falsely suggested that only Democrats and "poor Republicans like Bob Barr" question the legality of NSA program Friday, February 10, 2006 5:25PM

Media accused liberals of politicizing King funeral, ignored conservatives' use of Reagan funeral Thursday, February 9, 2006 4:01PM

Promising viewers "straight talk" from McCain, Matthews instead provided forum to bash Obama Tuesday, February 7, 2006 7:41PM

Matthews falsely claimed that Bush's 2004 comment denying warrantless wiretaps was "pre-9-11" Monday, February 6, 2006 6:31PM

Matthews, responding to assessment that Giulani is "very strong in South Carolina": "Music to my ears. Because I think that too" Monday, February 6, 2006 11:37AM

Matthews on Gergen's reference to Boehner tobacco check incident: "Wow. ... Everybody else ... forgives and forgets, but not Gergen." Friday, February 3, 2006 2:15PM

Wasting little time, Matthews repeated spy program falsehoods immediately after SOTU Wednesday, February 1, 2006 10:25AM

Matthews, Carlson suggested Democrats who don't applaud Bush speech will "look bad," which will be "good for the Republicans" Tuesday, January 31, 2006 3:11PM

Matthews on Sen. Kennedy: "the guy that molested" Martha-Ann Alito Tuesday, January 31, 2006 1:53PM

Matthews: Hard-working Latino immigrants are "natural Republicans" Friday, January 27, 2006 1:32PM

Matthews falsely accused political ad of smearing DeLay Thursday, January 26, 2006 12:02PM

In its boilerplate apology for Brokeback smears, MSNBC omitted mention of Matthews Tuesday, January 24, 2006 5:58PM

Despite media hailing McCain as "untainted" reformer, like many Dems he took money from Abramoff clients Monday, January 23, 2006 4:28PM

Matthews, Gingrich, Hannity, others seize on new bin Laden tape to discredit war critics Friday, January 20, 2006 3:47PM

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

This is just the most recent 15 of 107 entries. All of this are in less than a month.

capt

The thing about Chris Matthews is he seems honest. O'Reilly is a joke. So people watch Matthews and think they're getting real news. You figure the facts are at least honest. This is why I never watch that junk anymore. I don't have time to decipher what's honest and what isn't.

If you haven't eaten supper yet don't hit the link.
Ugh

Bush sometimes "glimmers" with "sunny nobility." On MSNBC's Hardball, during a discussion with Washington Times editorial page editor Tony Blankley of the effects on President Bush and his administration of the investigation into the leak of the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame, Matthews said "[S]ometimes it glimmers with this man, our president, that kind of sunny nobility." [Hardball, 10/24/05]

Anybody that could say such a thing is insane.

Sunny nobility? That is the most blind loyalty expressed.

capt

capt

Comparing Osama to Michael Moore is an insult to Osama!

"King Dick" Thought Johnny Holmes was making a comeback !!!!

Kathleen, you may be a news junkie, but you are getting JUNK from Matthews. I don't care if Amy Goodman and Katrina VandenHuevl(sp?) are on his show -- I can get the straight stuff from Amy and Katrina w/o watching that whore Matthews. (I wish they wouldn't lend their good name to his show either.)

I get really tired of people who profess their beliefs in a fair and unfettered press, then turn their dial to help the ratings of a two-bit opportunist like Matthews.

If you cared more about holding the MSM feet to the fire, you wouldn't give people like Matthews the time of day.

As Caroline said, he isn't a news man anyway.

Matthews reacts to pressure from Kathleen? Is that what you have suggested?

Matthews is a master of the bait and switch. He also comes across as a classic abuser, IMO.

If you think for one minute that he and his producer would respond to pressure demanding fairness, you must not know about the ratings game.

The only pressure they will respond to is pressure from advertisers if the ratings tumble.

when an administration lies so often, this is what happens...people keep speculating because the story isn't plausible...

Alan Dershowitz is speculating like everybody else, but he says it's speculation based on his own experience as a criminal defense lawyer: "It is fairly common for people involved in alcohol-related accidents to delay reporting them until the alcohol has left the body," he says. "There is no hard evidence that this is what happened here, but we are entitled to a better explanation. We should be told whether Vice President Cheney's victim had alcohol in his system when he was taken to the hospital. Was there any alcohol at or near the hunting area? Were any in the hunting party carrying flasks (which is apparently common among hunters)? What was Cheney doing just before he went hunting?"

Dershowitz says that the "burden of proof has now shifted to the vice president to explain why he made this stupid, or very clever, decision." That's not true in the legal sense, but it may be in the world of politics and public relations, at least if Brit Hume's post-interview spin -- no one cares about this incident except the V.P., and he feels just terrible -- isn't allowed to carry the day.

One significant hole in the "Cheney was trying to sober up" theory: After Whittington was shipped off to the hospital Saturday night, Armstrong says, the vice president "fixed himself a cocktail back at the house."

Update: As a couple of War Room readers have noted, Cheney's post-shooting cocktail isn't necessarily a hole in the theory at all: If you want to make it impossible to prove that your blood-alcohol level was elevated before shooting somebody, make sure a witness sees you pouring a stiff drink for yourself afterward. (from salon.com)

I wonder about people who spend day after day reading the comments on this blog just to post contradictory, belligerent and inflammatory insults. What do you make of them? They like negative attention. They fancy themselves as clever. They have time to waste and they're not very interested in policy or politics. Today, the faithful have shown discipline disengaging, not engaging, and not taking the bait. Kudos.

only 32 more shopping days 'til the proposed iranian oil bourse!

Who said: "We don't want the smoking gun to come in the form of a mushroom cloud."

1. Laura Bush
2. Hillary Clinton
3. Pamela Willeford
4. Lynn Cheney
5. Condi Rice

ANSWER

# Caroline and Micki you are wrong about this issue While I will agree Matthews and his program are held captive to ratings...You have obviously never tried to apply pressure on the mainstream in a collective way.

Matthews responded to a petition/letter signed by 615 people who asked for more individuals from the left of center on his program. (including Amy Goodman and Katrina). We sent this petition around 4 years ago. Hardball responded within three months to this request.

Whether you want to accept it or not Caroline and Micki I have had many direct experiences of being part of groups an as and individual applying pressure on the mainstream media and had them respond.( I have shared just a few with Saladin)

You can be sarcastic, you can be demeaning you can keep your head up where the head does not shine..but the mainstream media will actually respond if enough pressure is applied.

Another choice Caroline and Micki is to stay on the Corn site interacting with others who mostly agree on topics, and think you are doing something

Or you can choose to venture out and challenge the mainstream (although I do find Corn fairly mainstream on some issues). Or just stay here and complain.

Kerry calls Bush's proposed pay raise for troops the "lowest in 12 years."

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) led a 10-Senator effort to increase the pay for servicemembers. The President's budget specifies a 2.2% increase - the smallest pay raise for our military since 1994.

"Our troops are sacrificing so much, in every corner of the world. Shortchanging them and the families who love them is a lousy way to say thanks," said Kerry, who authored the letter.

"Our military deserves leadership that matches their service and patriotism. Getting our troops the pay raise they deserve is the very least we can do to show how much we value everything they do for us. I'm going to fight for a fair military pay raise until it becomes a reality, and I thank my colleagues who have joined me in doing so," added Kerry.
-------------------
However, if the servicemen get a payraise, what gets cut? Health care and education? God forbid we raise taxes on the rich.

Ok folks, apparently I erred in my previous post that Kathleen was so upset about. Let me explain why I thought this might have merit, their could be things that go on between the people of the middle east that NO one knows about. Just as their are things in Jersey that happen without general knowledge. Im just saying I am skeptical of a lot of things that take place in our govt. we do not know what is truth and fake. Also I by no meant by the statement "Bombs Away" meant I advocated any bombing or killing, there is NO reason for killing fellow human beings PERIOD. War is the playground for sick minds which has been proven over and over. It was sarcastic to infer that our leaders are trigger happy with the bombs. Hopes this clears up any misunderstanding, nite all!

"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." ~ Unknown

"As long as people will accept crap, it will be financially profitable to dispense it." ~ Dick Cavett (1936 - )

Den, I understood you perfectly and I could see Kathleen didn't get your humor there. Flan didn't get Gerald's humor either about the muzzle. Sometimes our writing isn't clear enough, I guess.

#72 Jeanne...I have seen Amy Goodman on Matthews at least 8 times. You would have to go back through the transcripts to find out exactly what she has said.

Matthews has generally had her on in regard to the war in Iraq. She of course is always clear, and I believe accurate. Amy always gets her points out without being sarcastic or disrespectful.

Matthews really likes her and they actually agree on quite a bit. He has been impatient with Katrina at times. My take on this is that he knows she is smarter than him.
When I go through the Media Matter statements that Capt posted about Matthews, it's rather lop--sided.

While I have heard plenty of comments out of Matthews mouth that are outrageous,sarcastic and dismissive. I have heard him rip this administration on many, many occasions.

I have heard him rip the pre-war intelligence and the radical right wing. I have heard him be really sarcastic with David Frum and Bill Kristol.

I do not listen to him for the widest perspective on the days events...just the mainstream angle on things.

Watching the MSM helped me understand just why over 50% of middle america supported the invasion. When you watched the MSM one could understand it fully. Middle america was just hearing Bush, Wolfowitz, Cheney, Rice and the rest of the radicals repeat the same thing over and over again.

I know there are many of this site that believe that middle america should take more responsibility for being informed. (I have had this argument with I think Saladin or Micki)...but believe it or not some people really do not have the time. They depend on that hour that they can turn on the T.V. for the '"so called news" and they want to believe they are being told the truth

The propaganda we pass off as news around the world

A British government-funded fake TV news service allows mild criticism of the US - all the better to support it

A succession of scandals in the US has revealed widespread government funding of PR agencies to produce "fake news". Actors take the place of journalists and the "news" is broadcast as if it were genuine. The same practice has been adopted in Iraq, where newspapers have been paid to insert copy. These stories have raised the usual eyebrows in the UK about the pitiful quality of US democracy. Things are better here, we imply. We have a prime minister who claimed in 2004 that "the values that drive our actions abroad are the same values of progress and justice that drive us at home". Yet in 2002 the government launched a littleknown television propaganda service that seems to mimic the US government's deceptive approach to fake news.

The British Satellite News website says it is "a free television news and features service". It looks like an ordinary news website, though its lack of copyright protection might raise some questions in alert journalists. Broadcasters can put BSN material "directly into daily news programmes". In fact, BSN is provided by World Television, a company that also makes corporate videos and fake news clips for corporations such as GlaxoSmithKline, BP and Nestl?. It also produced Towards Freedom Television on behalf of the UK government. This was a propaganda programme broadcast in Iraq by US army psychological-operations teams from a specially adapted aircraft in 2003/04.

More HERE

#97 Den... I apologize...I am not always the best at following peoples twist and turns. I am relatively straight up.

So I apologize for my inability to follow your sarcasm.

This may surprise you, at least the source could.

The Little-Noticed Order That Gave Dick Cheney New Power, Have you ever heard of Executive Order 13292?

National Review

America Abandoned

Take a look at New Orleans today. It resembles the burned out blocks of Detroit, not rebuilt since riots decades ago, testifying to a basic truth. America's wealth and power are not directed towards our well-being and security.

Maybe it's easier to grasp this when pondering Sept 11. Our vaunted military did not protect us from low-tech attacks. America has over 800 military bases strung across the globe, but the fact is New York and Washington were not protected.

Doubtful? We were warned about Katrina for years. Newt Gingrich is right when he asks how we can think we're safe when New Orleans was destroyed under our noses. [Fox News, Sept. 6, 2005]

Before continuing, I want to point out an obvious fact. The Bush administration purveys falsehoods as a matter of policy. Those who prove this are disparaged as the "reality community." [Boston Globe, quoting writer Ron Suskind, Nov. 5, 2004]

These obvious falsehoods are directed to the administration’s political base, which either doesn't realize this, or doesn’t care. A few examples of very significant deceptions are in order.

More HERE

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

A good piece.

capt

Anyone on this site willing to contact the Diane Rehm show to ask her to bring Paul Pillar the Former Senior CIA intelligence official on her show. I could not believe that she has not all ready had him on.

Call 202-885-1231 or e-mail drshow@wamu.org. If enough folks make this request the producers will comply.

Hey caroline you could give this a shot and see for yourself.

Remember it was just last week that Paul Pillar came out and accused and testified that the Bush administration had "misused and cherry picked" the pre-war intelligence. ( he has been saying this for quite some time now.)

Somehow his testimony and others who came out last week have somehow been swept out of the spotlight rather quickly by this hunting accident.

If you feel so inclined to call or e-mail Diane Rehm that would be greatly appreciated.

Documents show Maryland held election, primary on uncertified, illegal Diebold voting machines

The Maryland State Board of Elections allowed Diebold Election Systems to operate its touch-screen voting machines during the state's 2002 gubernatorial election and the 2004 presidential primaries before the state agency actually certified the controversial machines, according to recently disclosed documents.

That is a violation of state law, according to Linda Schade, executive director of TrueVoteMD.org, an election integrity group.

....Upsets and unusual outcomes

In November 2002, Lamone, a Democrat, allowed Diebold to operate its machines in four counties for the state gubernatorial election. That was when Ehrlich became the first Republican governor to be elected in 36 years in what had always been known as a solidly Democratic state.

That was also the year when a Republican political newcomer, a self-described "nobody," ousted a veteran Democratic state senator in what The Baltimore Sun described as "one of the most remarkable election upsets in recent Maryland political history."

After serving for several decades, Democratic House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. lost his Allegany County seat to LeRoy E. Myers. Allegany County was one of the four counties where Diebold machines were used that year.

In March 2004, during the presidential primary elections, Maryland became one of only two states in the country to use Diebold voting machines throughout the entire state. A month later, Schade filed her lawsuit in an attempt to prevent Diebold from running the upcoming November 2004 presidential elections, accusing Lamone in the suit of "recklessly certifying" the machines for the primary elections.

But at the time, Schade had no idea that Lamone had not even bothered certifying the machines. In fact, the machines did not get certified until the following month. The machines were finally certified May 20, 2004.

.....Skyrocketing costs and financial incentives

Despite the obvious flaws and election law violations, Lamone still managed to run up a multimillion dollar budget to maintain the Diebold machines, according to the governor's letter.

"The cost of Maryland's Diebold voting machines has skyrocketed as our confidence in the system has plummeted," he said.

"At the time, the General Assembly's fiscal note for House Bill 1457 estimated that the total cost would be $36,890,000. The actual cost, which has been financed by the state by the State Treasurer was $65,564,674 –†an almost 78 percent increase from the original cost estimate.

"However, this misjudgment pales in comparison to the 1000 percent increase for estimates of the annual maintenance costs for the system," the letter states.

Schade, who ran for state legislator in 2002 under the Green Party and has spent the last two years researching the situation, said that Lamone authorized more than $111 million in contracts to Diebold since 2002. She also believes there is a conflict of interest between Lamone and Diebold because for the past two years, Lamone has been president of the National Association of State Election Directors, which approves all voting machines before they are used.
-------------------
How many cases like this are out there in the US? The US needs to do a thorough investigation of the voting in the last two elections. The peole of this nation deserve to know just how much they have been cheated. They deserve to know how much fraud was perpetrated against them. If I was Cheney and Bush I'd be getting a little worried because every story like this that comes out makes the public more angry.

"Hey caroline you could give this a shot and see for yourself."

Hey, yourself. Diane Rhem is NOT Chris Matthews. Diane would probably respond to "suggestions" (not pressure); Matthews would not

If you don't see the difference, so be it.

But, it must be nice to live in a world where one feels that everyone is listening to them and their words of wisdom. If that were the case, we wouldn't be in this mess, no?

#104 Capt. Congressman Barney Franks was on Matthews the other night. He said that what had taken place in New Orleans and was continuing to take place was a type of "ethnic cleansing". That the "new" New Orleans would be "whiter and richer".

He went onto say that Karl Rove and other Republicans were looking at the advantages of 60% of the black population that were displaced by the storm are reporting that they will not be returning to New Orleans.

They see this as an opportunity for the Republican vote.

I am telling you Matthews responded. Diane Rehms has responded many times.

I am not telling you that it will always work. I am asking you to let down your defenses and try.

You can continue to try to be demeaning and all I will tell you is that yes I have had a fair amount of successes and failures in lobbying the media to do particular shows and cover certain topics.

I am not attributing these successes to me..I am attributing these successes to TRYING.TRYING ..NOT JUST BITCHING......MAKING THE EFFORT individually or collectively,

You should try it with the main..mainstream some time you might be surprised.

I wrote Hillary Clinton and asked her to run for President. We'll see...

"...but believe it or not some people really do not have the time. They depend on that hour that they can turn on the T.V. for the '"so called news" and they want to believe they are being told the truth."

Wait just a minute here, Kathleen, you seem to be suggesting that Chris Matthews' version of the "truth" is more palatable to you than say, NBC, ABC, or CBS or who?

If you can cite specific examples of an "untruth" on one of the three major networks' evening newscast, please be my guest and tell us. Maybe they haven't told YOU everything you want to hear, but telling an "untruth" is quite another matter.

Lump me in with Saladin and Micki, because the PEOPLE do have a responsibility. I could go to the "good German" theory to bolster my position but I won't. But "good Americans" DO have a responsibility to become informed and dammit, Kathleen, there is enough information available for every single American to make wise decisions and to say NO to torture, the culture of lying in government, and to the horrible things that are being done in our name.

God! Stop it with the BULLSHIT, "they don't have time." They don't take the time. That hour you mention to tune into their TVs is spent on American Idol or other shit. I don't know if you are a liberal, but you sure are a nanny. And YOU are part of the problem.

Kathleen, it's called the Carousel Effect. Going in circles.

You assume that others are just bitching and not doing anything. Well, get off your high horse. Many of us do a lot of things that we don't constantly brag about. Have you ever thought that you get on the Diane Rehm show so often because it's kind of ineffective, like you're the fifth caller and you WON? Think about it, there are millions of Americans and YOU routinely get your call answered?

Makes me think, it's a big circle jerk. Branch out for godsakes. Do something new! Productive.

I think you two are closer than you think. Kathleen has taken a step: She asks, "Besides informing myself, what else can I do about it?"

Ours is a sad state of affairs. If you take the time to be informed, you're bound to end up being depressed. Give your concerns a voice. Write your rep, your senator, letters to the editor, blog entries. Make sense, be compelling, expand your circle of influence.

Matthews cited Savage's "Bareback Mounting" characterization of Brokeback Mountain; Imus cited producer's "Fudgepack Mountain" remark

Summary: Appearing on MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, Chris Matthews quoted "the wonderful Michael Savage" referring to award-winning film Brokeback Mountain as "Bareback Mounting."

On the January 18 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, Hardball host Chris Matthews cited nationally syndicated radio host Michael Savage's characterization of the award-winning film Brokeback Mountain (Focus Features, 2005), stating: "The wonderful Michael Savage ... what's he call it? 'Bareback Mounting.' That's his name for the movie." Host Don Imus responded: "Of course, Bernard [McGuirk, executive producer] calls it 'Fudgepack Mountain.' "

Imus's and Matthews's comments came during a segment in which Imus asked Matthews: "Have you lost weight?" Matthews responded, "I was at 240 and gaining a couple years ago, and I've been working down. ... I got down to 215 after I ran the other day, so I'm somewhere in the teens still," later adding, "I'm trying to get down to 200." Imus remarked, "You look pretty good. I mean, I'm not working toward a Brokeback Mountain situation here, I'm just saying -- I remarked to Charles -- I said, 'He looks pretty good to me.' "

Savage formerly hosted a television program on MSNBC but was fired after he called a caller a "sodomite" and told him to "get AIDS and die."

More HERE

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

Well I guess as long as he is not a racists just a homophobe?

capt

I always find the time to keep informed. I don't understand why the rest of the country doesn't do it but the miserable fact is, they don't.

That's why Kathleen is right about lobbying for stories to get on certain shows or in the news. If the copped-out-4th-estate would be doing their job the people's attention and then curiosity could be flagged down.

We're all basically on the same page here and don't need to be arguing the finer points. (I confess, I've started watching American Idol this season! Does that make me a bad person?)

I am serious, guys...if we are ruled by an Evil Cabal (Rumsfeld, Cheney, et al.), pulling the strings of a drooling idiot figurehead President...who takes W's place as the brainless Stooge in 2009? How does the Cabal continue?

Bob in North Dakota

Caroline I have had this argument with Micki in the past. But I am telling you that I met hundreds of americans as I knocked on doors during Gore's and Kerry's campaigns collecting registrations. (and dammit I am not tooting my horn).

Now granted this was mostly in small appalachian towns in southeastern Ohio, Glouster, Chaucey, Trimble,Pomeroy. I also spent weeks knocking on doors in the inner cities of Columbus, Cincinnnati in poor black and white neighborhoods.

And I am telling you Caroline there are people really struggling working at Wal-mart, working in mines, cleaning hotels, working at McDonalds some are really struggling to make ends meet ...everyday.

Thirty years ago many of these people would have had unions to join. Most of the older(over 60) people I talked with in these communities had all belonged to unions. They had experienced the power of collective bargaining. In the 60's 35% of the american working force belonged to unions now I think it is around 10%

In these same areas these peoples children have about $4500.00 a year spent on their educations while in the rich areas of Columbus, Cinci, and Dayton $9000.00-$11,ooo a year is spent on these kids education.

Whether you want to believe it or not many of these people do not have the time or the resources to access more information. Seventy Five percent of the working poor can not afford computers and do not have them in their homes.(just where are they supposed to access this other information?). Although innner city libraries are always filled with a lot of these kids who do not have computers at home.

I also believe that it is not unreasonable for people to expect or want to believe the mainstream news "should" be shedding the spotlight on issues in an honest and accurate way.

We know this is not happenning. I do believe that many of these people are really, really stuck with no way out.

I think it is stubborn, arrogant and naive of you to not even consider that there maybe people who really struggle making ends meet and that do not have the time to search for honest and accurate news.

When you say "God stop it with the bullshit" in response to me saying that "they do not have the time". Your response is that "they do not take the time." I will agree that many in middle and upper income america are lazy and comfortable and "do not make the time".

If you are truely unaware of people who do not have the time to search through the news to find the truth (or close to it). Then I would say you have your own "bullshit" to deal with. And you can go ahead and sink into your bullshit and believe that everyone is just choosing to be lazy.

Or you can get out more. Knocking on doors collecting voting registrations is a good way/excuse to get out of your bubble and see the people I am talking about.

Bad, Carol, bad...
My sister is so hooked on that show it's scary. The truth of the matter is not everybody is involved in the political scene. If there was ever a time to be more involved it's now but you can't make people into creatures they are not. Some people run from the political scene like it was a plateful of grubs. The pendulum swings back slowly. It takes every involved person to help the process in every way possible. I appreciate what Kathleen does just as I appreciate what Micki and Caroline does. We all have to do something. That's all.
I went to a tour of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater yesterday. It was really cool. The theater puts on a may day parade every year and every year is a new theme. This in itself is very political but in a more uplifting way. Everyone can become part of the community celebration. They can help make the masks and the puppets. They can be part of the parade.

In The Heart Of The Beast

Glacier Melt Could Signal Faster Rise in Ocean Levels
____________
Greenland's glaciers are melting into the sea twice as fast as previously believed, the result of a warming trend that renders obsolete predictions of how quickly Earth's oceans will rise over the next century, scientists said yesterday.

The new data come from satellite imagery and give fresh urgency to worries about the role of human activity in global warming. The Greenland data are mirrored by findings from Bolivia to the Himalayas, scientists said, noting that rising sea levels threaten widespread flooding and severe storm damage in low-lying areas worldw
_________________

I don't get it... I mean, if you put an ice cube in a glass of water...mark the level of water...the let the cube melt...the level stays the same, doesn't it? Why would I need to leave my beach-side shack if the Ice melts?

Maybe somebody could 'splain it to me...?

My better half watches Idol so I end up watching too. I do not like it but picked the last winner on her first audition. (set of pipes that girl has)

capt

#112 Caroline...whoever you are... you are really angry.

Getting the questions on Diane Rehm that the media are not asking is important to me. Diane and Dorie like reasonable and somewhat informed questions. You should try it sometime yourself.

I would never share with you the things I do in regard to politics because you take everything that I say as bragging instead of suggesstions and actions that have worked.

I hope what ever you do in your life to bring our country back to somewhere near the center or where ever you would like to see it are successful. I completely support your efforts whatever they may be.

I am done trying to dialogue with you.

Capt,
Are you talking about Fantasia? My sister would call me every week and force me to turn it on. Now, over the summer there was the rock version. Jordes was on that show. Man, can she sing. My daughter graduated from high school with her. I used to see her sing when she was part of high school music productions (my daughter went to an arts high school).

Glaciers in Greenland are on land, above sea level... until they melt. The same is true in the Antarctic, Alps, Alaska and Siberia Etc. Even at the North Pole, some of the ice pack is above level.

Hajji,
This is just a guess. The BIG icecube is above the surface melting into the water. Does that sound plausable? I don't know.

Yikes! I'm right.

No, I thought Fantasia was an anomaly - the blond girl the year before? She was kind of country but had the pipes.

Jeanne, I have a good friend up north who is very apolitical. Before the election I badgered her to death with articles, etc., to get her to register to vote. She finally surprised me by both her and her husband registering. Their first time to vote, believe it or not.

They voted, but then I learned that their neighbor was running for sheriff of the county as a republican. THAT'S why they REALLY registered. They were sucking up to the neighbor and NOT me. After she voted she e-mailed me and told me she did her duty and that that was the end of it.

I haven't backed off. I'm not as much of a pit bull as Kathleen, but I still tell my friend what's going on and how I feel, and what's happening to we Americans. I slip something into most letters I write to her. I keep the articles to a minimum because peolple like that don't want to read all the crap we do. It's not that they don't have the time, they're just not interested. I do send the headline links with blurb from Google news and leave it up to her whether she wants to read them or not.

Her reason for not ever voting before, or giving a crap? Because none of it makes any difference, is what she said. Well, I've never felt like that but I do now feel she's on to something. It's looking mighty grim for justice and fairness and anthing changing for the better. It's starting to look like the bad guys will win no matter HOW many Kathleens there are, or people like us on the Corn site.

But November is coming and I'll be badgering her to vote once again. She's not going to be very happy, but there are two possible votes out there that I intend to harvest.

Bo Bice should have won last year. Not that country music chick. I've already picked out my winner for this season. Want to say I have my husband tape it and I watch the show when I have time the next day and whiz thru the commercials. HATE commercials. Would also like to say, I watch very little TV so I don't feel guilty about Idol. Humph.

I recently found out the other day that back twenty some years ago I was playing softball, golfing and spending time in the bars with this really fuuny guy who just so happen to be Chris Matthew's younger brother, Charlie.

Anyway, I actually heard Matthews blast Cheney last night. He was interviewing Sen. Joe Biden and asked when he and the Senate were going to hold Cheney accountable? I also believe Matthews is pissed that NBC/MSNBC didn't get the Cheney interview.

Regarding Iran, I believe this feckless administration will attack which will no doubt send oil prices through the roof and the economy into a frenzy. It'd be crazy to attack Iran.

As long as this mendacious, inane administration is in charge, anything is likely to happen. The sad part is, diplomacy isn't in their vocabulary.

We have Dishnet with a DVR so I record everything before I watch it to get past the commercials.

It is cool, we can record 30 hours so we have five or six shows recorded at any time.

We have a TV droning on most of the time but not too many fluff shows, more movies and history type stuff.

I used to be a news channel junky, it is all tripe and it is an addiction. Hard to get the misinformation off the screen when the possibilities are so vast, the stories so juicy, the misinformation so well managed!

"Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't. " ~ Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

capt

Bo Bice sounded way too much like the singer from BS&T. Did not sound original enough.

For the Love of God

"Did you ever wash Little George's mouth out with soap for lying?"

I am pretty sure that would be a no?

HA!

capt

# Carol I am with you. It sounds great that you stayed on your friend and encouraged her to vote.

I think engaging people whether you agree with them or whether they vote the same way is not so important. It is the dialogue, the debate, the thinking and hearing how others think that open our minds and sometimes our hearts.

When I was registering people or encouraging them to register I let them know I did not care if they were a Martian,Republican,DEmocrat, or an Independent.( I really did but,I actually registered Republicans,,).

What I really want is for people to care enough to respond, to take part, to vote, whatever their political leanings. I met so many folks who were so discouraged so beat down, by this system of illusions. I really wanted them to have some hope.(which is rather difficult these days)

There were many situations where really poor people would just open their door a crack and I would tell them why I was there. Many people would say that it does not matter in their lives who gets in a Democrat or a Republican. (they were basically right), their lives did not change.

People working for minimum or just above minimum wage and often on some type of assistance . They could not be honest with the state about their jobs because they would lose their benefits, and they often needed both means of income.

Really in a trap with not many ways out.

I know I am not describing the middle class or the upper middle class which I believe Caroline was referring to, who I do believe are lazy. And the most frightening thing of all to me is that there are so many who do not care.

No Longer

No Longer Part II

#129 Munich..I really can not figure this Iran thing out. I mean we know what the PNac group wants..regime change.

It sure seems they will stop at nothing.

I have read over and over again that this will piss Turkey, Jordan and many other nations off in the region.

Do the neo-cons want the whole area destabilized..is this the ultimate agenda?

The "creative destruction" theories of Ledeen..what will come out of this...the endless war...defence contracts....what?

February 16, 2006
Senate Panel Decides Against Eavesdropping Inquiry, for Now
By DAVID STOUT
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 —†The Senate Intelligence Committee decided today not to investigate President Bush's domestic surveillance program, at least for the time being.

"I believe that such an investigation is currently unwarranted and would be detrimental to this highly classified program," Senator Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas and chairman of the panel, said this afternoon following a closed session.

While Mr. Roberts's announcement signaled that the administration's eavesdropping program would not be subject to Senate scrutiny, at least for the time being, there was no guarantee that the House would not go ahead with an inquiry of its own.

Mr. Roberts said "an agreement in principle" had been reached with the administration whereby lawmakers would be given more information on the surveillance operation run by the National Security Agency.

"The details of this agreement will take some time to work out," Mr. Roberts said.But the committee's ranking Democrat, John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, was clearly unhappy after the meeting and said it made no sense to pursue legislation when the full details of the surveillance program were not known. Mr. Roberts said Mr. Rockefeller's proposal for an investigation would be reconsidered when the committee reconvenes on March 7.

"If by that time we have reached no detailed accommodation with the administration concerning the committee's oversight role, it is possible that the committee may vote to conduct an inquiry into the program," Mr. Roberts said. He added, "The administration has come a long way in the last month. I am optimistic that we will have an agreement before the committee meets again."

Although Republicans outnumber Democrats, 8 to 7, on the committee, there had been some suspense over whether the panel would vote to investigate the operation. Two committee Republicans, Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, are among lawmakers who have called for Congress to be given more information on the N.S.A.'s operation.

Several Republican senators not on the committee have also expressed a desire for more information from the administration. And Representative Heather A. Wilson, Republican of New Mexico and chairwoman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, said in a recent interview that she had "serious concerns" about the surveillance program.

Earlier today, the Senate handed the administration a victory as it voted, 96 to 3, not to hold up the Patriot Act to incorporate changes urged by Senator Russell D. Feingold, the act's most persistent critic.

Mr. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, said he wants to make the Senate debate several more days on the bill, and under the Senate's rules he can do so. But today's vote signaled that, once Mr. Feingold has exhausted his moves, the act will indeed be renewed by the Senate before its scheduled expiration on March 10.

In explaining his continued resistance, Mr. Feingold borrowed a quote from Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who is head of the Judiciary Committee and is the bill's sponsor: "Sometimes cosmetics will make a beauty out of a beast and provide enough cover for senators to change their vote."

Mr. Feingold, not looking for cover, said, "No amount of cosmetics is going to make this beast look any prettier."

Mr. Feingold was the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act, which broadened government surveillance powers, when it was passed by Congress shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The senator has insisted all along that the act impinges too much on personal liberty in the pursuit of national security.

"We still have not addressed some of the most significant problems with the Patriot Act," Mr. Feingold insisted today.

Joining him in voting "no" were Senators Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, and James M. Jeffords, an independent from Vermont. Mr. Byrd is first in seniority in the Senate and a jealous guardian of what he considers Congressional prerogatives against intrusion by the executive branch.

Mr. Jeffords's contrarian streak was demonstrated several years ago, when he bolted the Republican Party. (Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, did not vote today.)

The White House said it was pleased at the action on the Patriot Act. "There was a good agreement that was reached by members of the Senate," said Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman. "It was reached in a good faith effort. Yet there are still some Senate Democrats that want to continue to engage in obstructionist tactics and prevent this vital legislation from being reauthorized."

The House has already voted to renew the Patriot Act. But the law met stiff resistance from some senators of both parties. Modifications to the statute in recent weeks have satisfied the overwhelming majority of the senators.

But not Mr. Feingold has complained that even as modified the bill would still allow "government fishing expeditions" through the seizure of "sensitive business records of innocent, law-abiding Americans."

Not many weeks ago, Senator John E. Sununu, Republican of New Hampshire, was among the senators sharing Mr. Feingold's concerns. But Mr. Sununu said he was satisfied with changes in the law. "In an effort like this," he said, "no party ever gets everything that they want."

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The Fifteen Foxes

What is great about the computer, I can log onto different websites and focus on some people and their articles. The fifteen foxes for me are Arianna Huffington, Maureen Dowd, Teresa Whitehurst, Karen Kwiatkowski, Eleanor Clift, Molly Ivins, Cindy Sheehan, Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, Naomi Klein, Devvy Kidd, Nora Ephron, Helen Thomas, Linda Schrock Taylor, and Karen Horst Cobb. Not only are these fifteen women pleasant to look at, but they also write exceptional articles.

Here is a brief overview of why these writers are foxes for me.

1. Cindy Sheehan is a mother of a soldier that was killed in Iraq. She wants to know what noble cause killed her son. The chickenhawk, Bush, refuses to answer the question.
2. Eleanor Clift may not write articles like the rest of the women but I enjoy her intelligence in standing up to the bushcos when she appears as a guest on the various talk shows.
3. Molly Ivins is from Texas and she, too, will not take any crap from Bush or his family. Plus, any woman who drinks beer from the bottle is my kind of woman.
4. Arianna Huffington is a Republican but she is an objective person in assessing America's problems. She chooses her country over her party.
5. Karen Kwiatkowski is a retired military colonel with a Ph.D. Her articles are well written and her love for the military is noted but she will not go along with stinking military thinking from the other generals and from that chickenhawk, Bush.
6. Teresa Whitehurst is a Ph.D. clinical psychologist who writes great Christian articles that reveal her discipleship in following Jesus.
7. Maureen Dowd is a columnist with the NYTimes. She, too, writes very good articles that reveal her innate nurturing and sensitivity as a true female. Why this gorgeous woman is not married I do not know.
8. Katrina Vanden Heuvel is new the list of foxes but she is a valuable member. Katrina writes articles for The Nation magazine.
9. Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, can be read on NCRonline.org. Sister Joan is a bit of a maverick for a Catholic nun but she does convey some interesting thoughts.
10. Naomi Klein writes for The Nation and her writings are also published in the Guardian.
11. Devvy Kidd writes for News with Views website. She has several interesting articles to read. You can also type in her name and you can check the articles.
12. Nora Ephron is a writing whom I have come to read her articles on The Huffington Post website. She is an author and has worked on the Hollywood scene.
13. Linda Schrock Taylor has been added to my list of foxes. I have read her articles on LewRockwell.com.
14. Helen Thomas is another woman added to my list of foxes. How could I have missed her? For years she was the first news reporter to ask a question at presidential press conferences. Since Helen had the opportunity to ask the first question, she tried to be fair and impartial. Today, she is more of an honest reporter.
15. Karen Horst Cobb is a freelance writer from New Mexico. She has written two great articles about Christians.

There will probably be other names of foxes that will be added to my list but these fifteen names are a good start.

If folks feel so inclined please contact The Diane Rehm program and ask her to bring Paul on the program

All the Kings Men

The latest ripple of dissent in Washington, D.C. comes from Paul Pillar, former CIA National Intelligence Officer for Near East South Asia from 2000 to 2005. Pillar writes in the forthcoming issue of Foreign Affairs that regarding Iraq,

…©t has become clear that official intelligence analysis was not relied on in making even the most significant national security decisions, that intelligence was misused publicly to justify decisions already made, that damaging ill will developed between policymakers and intelligence officers, and that the intelligence community's own work was politicized.

Damaging ill-will. Intelligence work politicized. Funny, this sounds a lot like what the former assistant to Secretary of State Colin Powell said late last year. Retired Colonel Larry Wilkerson related how Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ҳomehow managed to hijack the intelligence decision making process.ӠWilkerson stated in his October 2005 coming out speech at the New American Foundation,

The case that I saw for four-plus years was a case that I have never seen in my study of aberrations, bastardizations, perturbations, changes to the national security decision-making process. What I saw was a cabal between the vice-president of the United States, Richard Cheney, and the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on critical issues that made decisions that the bureaucracy didn't know were being made.

Actually, itճ not funny at all. Paul Pillar at CIA and Wilkerson at State both echoed observations published in July 2003, when I reported what I had seen while serving in the Pentagon Office of Secretary of Defense Near East and South Agency policy directorate. I spoke then of the functional isolation of career experts, and of operational deference to ill informed and ideologically blind but Ұolitically correctӠBush appointees. I wrote of groupthink and cross-agency neoconservative ңliques.Ӡ The December 2003 issue of The American Conservative ran a detailed three part series that explained exactly how things worked in Pentagon Near East South Asia policy making. Salon.com also ran a shorter version of this report a few months later.

So I was not shocked when Knight Ridder, that last bastion of tough, old-school investigative reporting in America, ran a story last week detailing abusive personnel practices and ҡ political vendetta against career Foreign Service and Civil Service (personnel) by political appointees,Ӡ

Reorganization –†badly needed in many instances in the CIA, State Department and the upper reaches of the Pentagon –†was pursued as a convenient way to eliminate intellectual adversaries who got in the way of the neoconservative agenda. Anyone who dared to speak out became political road kill.

One might ask, what is the neoconservative agenda, and why does it matter? Isn’¥ it as good as any other for this country, especially now? In this very column, the neoconservative policy, in the Middle East at least, has at times been framed as a simple elaboration and extension of the old Carter Doctrine.

Neoconservative-sounding military and economic interventionism cloaked in the goodthink of universal democracy and human values has been called forth by the White House in previous sequences of the American story. The post-Cold War years happen to be only the most recent incarnation of this outward-looking, globally hungry philosophy.

So whatճ wrong with the Commander-in-Chief ensuring his foreign and war-fighting policy makers share his vision, his world view, and do his bidding as he sees it? Is there anything inherently wrong with this Ҵhree bags fullӠapproach to foreign interventions, foreign wars, and global pursuit of Presidential interests?

Sadly, the answer is no, there is not. The will at the pinnacle is dutifully enforced in dictatorships, totalitarian regimes, oligarchies, single party governments as existed in old style Communist countries, or in absolute monarchies. This is what we are experiencing in Washington today. Loyal political operatives—∞olicy wonks driving the governing system expect reward. They expect to be strategically positioned, preferably close to centers of power. Dissenters and naysayers can expect to be ousted, and even punished.

As Thucydides observed, Ҕhe strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must.Ӡ

Of course, constitutional republics –†by definition incapable of empire and reluctant to place excessive power in a single individual –†have never been part of this happy family of dictatorships, single party systems, autocratic states, and monarchies.

Complaints, after-the-fact of political and institutional malfeasance throughout the executive branch in Washington are useful for historical analysis. They produce records that comprise the post-crime scene forensic evidence of an American republic recently deceased.

Here’≥ how it happened historians will say. A great nation’≥ foreign policy was politicized, personalized and rendered trivial through extensive use of apparatchiks and an American-style nomeklatura. The king’≥ opponents were removed, bypassed and eliminated. They suffered personal attacks calling them traitors or worse, home-grown policy terrorists.

Today, the American president drifts inexorably towards a disastrous, illegal and unnecessary military confrontation with Iran, driven by artificial national security machinations. As with the illegal, artfully contrived invasion of Iraq and its subsequent occupation, Bush will once again pursue the kind of ңreative destructionӠassociated with neoconservative theorist (and Karl Rove pal) Michael Ledeen.

Perhaps, in the end, forensic examination of our doomed national foray into absolute executive power will provide historians with a laugh or two. As undeniable evidence of our own national stupidity mounts and becomes increasingly frightening, we read that Vice President Dick Cheney shot and wounded 78-year old Harry Whittington, as he fired his shotgun into a flock of scattering birds.

We hope that both Mr. Whittington and our Republic will survive their encounter with the scatter shot policies of the current regime.

? 2006 Karen Kwiatkowski

Dr. Kwiatkowski can be reached at karen@militaryweek.com.

I am considering going to the 5th Palestinian Solidarity Conference in Washington D.c. this weekend.

If it is anything like last years at Ohio State in Columbus Ohio . There will be radical right wing zionist out front yelling "murderer" to every person who is attending the conference.

Many right wing Jewish groups have tried to shut down the conference at Georgetown just as they did at Ohio State. Not allowed to discuss the conflict in the U.s. from the Palestinian perspective that is not allowed in the U.s. Have you noticed?


Friday, February 17, 2006

The Anti-Semitic Divestment Campaign
By Phyllis Chesler
FrontPageMagazine.com | February 14, 2006

The Palestinianization of reality continues to escalate. Wherever one turns, Israel is being demonized, boycotted and isolated. This is certainly true in the Islamic world which, under Iran's Amadinejad, has turned nuclear, and among Palestinians who have just freely elected a terrorist group to lead them. But it is also true internationally and in the West.

For example, certain kinds of "accidents" keep happening. At the recent World Economic Forum at Davos, Divest-in-Israel literature, penned by Mazem Quimseyeh, was "accidentally" disseminated. The American Association of University Professors who were about to meet at Bellagio, Italy to focus on academic boycotts, also "accidentally" disseminated Nazi-like Holocaust denial literature to their invitees, nearly half of whom were academic-activists in favor of boycotting Israeli academics.

Another example is that of the murderous rioting of Muslim mobs who were well organized and funded by both Iran and Syria, and possibly by Saudi Arabia as well and were mightily offended by the Danish cartoons, whose three most incendiary examples were never published in Denmark but were "accidentally" slipped into the mix by a Muslim mullah. The fact that both Jews and Christians are routinely cartoonized as apes, pigs, lice and blood-drinking fiends in the Islamic media does not seem to count, nor does the fact that Jews and Christians do not go on anti-Muslim rampages when their sensibilities are similarly offended. The Arab world's sleight-of-hand media tricks (fake massacres in Jenin, fake deaths of Palestinian children at Israeli hands) still seem to work. And the Western world, especially its intelligentsia, keep falling for them.

Now, even the British architects want to divest in Israel! And the British Anglican Chuch has just resolved to do so. In addition, Georgetown is proceeding with its decision to host the fifth annual Palestinian Solidarity conference. Perhaps this too is only "accidentally" related to the fact that a Saudi Prince has just donated twenty million dollars to Georgetown as well as to Harvard.

In addition, anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist propaganda continues to permeate professional organizations and campus life in both North America and Europe. Websites, conferences, media coverage and daily life at the United Nations all continue to romanticize and defend Palestine, a country that does not exist, and to focus on only one group of refugees in the world - the Palestinians. Such purposeful non-thinking has infected billions of people in the Islamic world and millions in the West who, in a protest against reason, continue to call for a boycott against Israel.

On February 3rd, in these pages, I published a piece about the U.S. Green Party's resolution 190 to boycott Israel. The resolution was strongly lobbied for by Mohammed Abed of the Wisconsin Green Party, among others. Abed is, either "accidentally" or coincidentally, one of the featured speakers at the upcoming Palestine Solidarity Conference at Georgetown.

Since my piece, some people have begun to fight back.

Two Green Party activists, Lorna Salzman and Gary Acheatel, launched a serious campaign within the Green Party itself against Resolution 190. Acheatel may be reached through his website www.advocatesforisrael.org. As important, the Israeli Green Party issued a "Response." Pe'er Visner, the Israeli Green Party chairman, who is also the deputy mayor of Tel Aviv, "strongly opposed" the resolution. He wrote: "We are disappointed that our sister party in the U.S. did not consult with the Israeli Green Party before passing this resolution" and "hope that this breach in trust will be remedied with an apology and appropriate action." The Israel Green Party statement agrees with Salzman and Acheatel that the "U.S. Green Party has been hijacked by elements of a hidden agenda to undermine the right of Israel to exist." Visner describes the excessive human rights violations perpetrated by Palestinians and the nature of Israeli self defense and concludes that the "US Green Party...is making unfair and unbalanced decisions based on partial information."

I think it is significant that a progressive group in Israel has taken such a sane and "politically incorrect" stand. I am similarly impressed by the recent statement issued by the Anglicans in Israel which "speaks out against the February 6, 2006 decision of the General Synod of the Church of England to divest in Israel. Like the Israeli Green Party, the Anglicans in Israel (Christ Church Jerusalem), are offended that they were not consulted or "allowed to respond." On February 9, 2006, they described the Anglican divestment decision to be "one sided," "anti-Semitic" and "naive." The Anglicans in Israel have been in Jerusalem since the late eighteenth century. They stated that "the decision will do nothing to promote genuine reconciliation between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East."

I congratulate activists of conscience like Lorna Saltzman and Gary Acheatel, as well as the Israeli Green Party and the Anglicans in Israel. I wish them all Godspeed as they resist the Palestinianization of their communities. We need many more like them for it is 1939 all over again and a strong resistance to the alliance of Western Marxists and totalitarian Islamists will prove essential in the war of civilizations that is upon us.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FIFTH ANNUAL NATIONAL STUDENT CONFERENCE OF THE PALESTINE SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT

FEBRUARY 17-19, 2006

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

The Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM) announces that its fifth annual conference will be held February 17th through 19th at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. The annual conference comes to Georgetown’s campus, which possesses a Catholic and Jesuit identity, on the heels of a series of bold initiatives taken by the decision-making bodies of various Christian denominations to consider the use of divestment as a tactic to non-violently influence a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The event will be hosted by Georgetown University’s Students for Justice in Palestine (GU-SJP) on behalf of PSM, a coalition of North American organizations dedicated to implementing divestment and boycott strategies as a component of human rights activism in order to realize both equality and justice for all people residing within Israel/Palestine.

This site had a contest to name the programs bushco will come up with next, like the "Clear Skies Inititive". I liked "PAYDAY" or "Protecting American Youth from Drugs, Alcohol, and other Yearnings"... What it does: Mandatory military conscription for all children aged 14 and up

We're Gonna Name It Like It's 1984 Contest

Kathleen 95, I have been stung by some of the people here for declaring a lack of faith in the dems, though god knows what they have given to have faith in. Do what you feel is right, don't worry about naysayers, you can't please everyone. I will remember these comments when they use them against me for losing the faith. The truth is, my faith is elsewhere, why should I trust the elected leaders who do nothing but let us down time and time again? I get the distinct feeling people are stressed and on edge. As for voting, I used to think it mattered, but if it's rigged, as I believe it is, and our only choices are this war mongerer or that war mongerer, I'm sorry, but count me out, it's no longer a priveledge under those circumstances.

#144 Saladin so what do we do... stay in the belly of the beast, roll over and act like it's not happenning. get involved, or leave the country and give up.

For now I keep plugging away...and I know you do too.

Kathleen, you'd like this one. These two young people infiltrated the CPAC convention and blogged it. This is the 'wrap-up' page with a few pictures of them standing among their 'swag' (repug literature/pins/ect...) they 'confiscated'. She's Annika "Conventionette" Carlson and he's Adam "Conventioneer" DeDent. Way to go kids!

CPAC Wrap-up: the aftermath

This was pretty strong for the NYTimes. Y'all discussed not bothering to watch MSM, and I assume that pertains to the NYT and WaPo, but I scan them both to see what America is seeing and I like to point out the ones that come down on our side. This is one of 'em. An op-ed...

Doing the President's Dirty Work

Is there any aspect of President Bush's miserable record on intelligence that Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is not willing to excuse and help to cover up?
===========
that's the first graf

here's another one from NYT

Bipartisan Support Emerges for Federal Whistle-Blowers

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 — Even as the Bush administration presses an aggressive campaign against leaks, some Congressional Republicans are joining Democrats in supporting government employees who say they have been punished for disclosing sensitive information on reported abuses.

Representative Christopher Shays, Republican of Connecticut, is leading the defense of whistle-blowers who have spoken out about abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, illicit federal wiretapping and other matters. "It's absolutely essential that we have a system that allows people to speak out about abuses, especially in the national security realm," Mr. Shays said in an interview.

He said his conviction that current protections were inadequate was strengthened by testimony on Tuesday at a hearing of his House subcommittee on national security by five self-described whistle-blowers who described retaliation for their disclosures. Mr. Shays's concerns are shared by numerous Democrats and some other Republicans, including Representative Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania, who has denounced what he calls the mistreatment of a military intelligence officer, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, who disclosed the Pentagon's Able Danger data-mining program. Mr. Weldon says he believes that the program identified Mohammed Atta before he became the lead hijacker in the 2001 terrorist attacks, though a Pentagon review found no evidence to support that conclusion.
======
It goes on to talk about Specialist Samuel J. Provance (Abu Ghraib torture) and Russel Tice (NSA spying and another worse program we don't know about yet... is it ADVISE??).

Why give the troops a raise in pay? It just encourages the abuses commited by many of them. Perhaps, if they are insulted enough by this administration, they will go on strike for higher wages and better working conditions. How about decent health care, after inhaling tons of DU (depleted uranium)? Will the government, you and me, pay for the psychological treatment that will keep some of these from going "Postal"? When a killer returns home, what prevents him/her from behaving as trained to behave under stress? If violence is acceptable against a perceived enemy, what is to keep one from perceiving one's own version of the enemy? A Spouse, child, parent, employer, police officer, politician who sent you to kill or be killed? These are the questions that need to be asked. If your enemy had a garage full of weapons and you felt threatened by him, would you not want to do something about defending yourself? Like build or buy your own weapons? That is, if you were prone to violence. What if you could actually talk to him and find out why he felt threatened? No...forget it: just blow him up!

Ok, this is my opinion. I think Specter didn't play ball right, with calling for hearings on NSA spying. I'm betting they threatened him with this... and it looks like he isn't worried and followed through somewhat (tho he wasn't pushing hard at the hearings and he wouldn't allow the 'swearting in of Abu Gonzales)... so it looks like somebody got this started. First part of the article sounds bad, but going into detail later... not so much. If he's included in this 'culture of corruption', then fry his azz too.

Specter Denies Funneling Money for Lobbyist

LOL Doofus as Gilligan and Chain-ee as the Skipper
funny picture

I just heard the Washington press found out there were 265 hunting related accidents so far this new year, and they weren't told about any of them.

The Washington reporters are going crazy with cover up conspiracy theories.

What has this world come to when people don't report their accidents, instantly to the press.

America is doomed.

I'll bet all those accidents were by those Damn Republicans.

God, we are so screwed. America will never be the same. We need to know about these important and life changing accidents ... immediately.

Republicans must think they don't think they owe the American people explanations about their accidents.

What more criminal act could there be than not immediately telling the press when they sprain an ankle or some other devastating American tragedy like a jammed finger or something?

The Plan

Dear Cornposters:

As I lay in a semi-conscious state, I believe that God clarified for me the Nazi American plan. The plan is twofold to control the Middle East oil and to establish four or possibly five permanent nuclear bases with several mini bases in Iraq. The permanent bases will be launch pads to carry out preemptive nuclear strikes anywhere in the Middle East, the Near East, and Asia.

Nazi Americans will feel very secure with these bases to carry out preemptive nuclear strikes. In order to secure the area Iran must be without any nuclear capabilities for the production of nuclear weapons. Both Nazi parties, a.k.a. Democrats and Republicans, are the war parties. What Nazi Americans fail to realize that God's vision for the world does not include wars and man's inhumanity to man.

Nazi Americans will be very secure but the price for our security is the damnation of Nazi American souls. Nazi Americans are being lulled into a feeling of security with more oil, permanent nuclear bases, nuclear weaponry, and bushianity. Bushianity is Nazi America's permanent religion.

Nazi America will do everything possible to prevent an oil pipeline from Iran to China from becoming a reality. The unknown factor is China. Will China standby and permit Nazi America to control the oil and to establish permanent nuclear bases? Time will tell!

Personally, I believe Gordon Thomas is correct in his book, "Seeds of Fire," that there will be a nuclear confrontation between Nazi America and China by 2015. I do not know if the 2015 date is the exact date or an effort to let Nazi Americans know an approximate date for the nuclear holocaust.

Nazi America will have some damage but China will be left in rubble. Many countries around China will be heavily damaged. The price tag will be the damnation of Nazi American souls. The price is much to heavy because the damage will take an eternity of damnation to repair the destruction to God's creation of planet, Earth. The end result for oil and permanent nuclear bases will be a nuclear holocaust.

Nazi America has chosen not to work with all countries to finish God's plan of a heaven on Earth in order to prepare for Jesus' return. Jesus' return will be in the midst of carnage to many, many human beings and not in a beautiful setting that should be the preparation for His return.

Sincerely,

Gerald

The Fuhrer Reigns Supreme

The Human Cost of War

More Money Wasted

#150 Alan...thanks for that link. Any representative or staff personal who may be abusing their postion needs to be investigated. Democrat or Republican. The "conflict of interest" issue is huge.

I believe Senator Diane Feinstein, or any other representative who has a family member in the defense or national security industry (which is the new double speak) for defense...should be questioned.

Another firm owned by Senator Feinstein's husband wins a $600 million army contract
by Tricky Dick Tuesday, Apr. 22, 2003 at 1:01 PM

URS Corp., a San Francisco planning and engineering firm partially owned by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, landed an Army contract Monday worth up to $600 million.

Army contract for Feinstein's husband

Blum is a director of firm that will get up to $600 million

David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 22, 2003

?2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback

URS Corp., a San Francisco planning and engineering firm partially owned by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, landed an Army contract Monday worth up to $600 million.

The award to help with troop mobilization, weapons systems training and anti-terrorism efforts is the latest in a string of plum defense jobs snared by URS. In February, the firm won an army engineering and logistics contract that could bring in $3.1 billion during the next eight years.

Government contracting has come under increasing scrutiny by Congress and citizen groups, with critics decrying the political connections of firms winning lucrative jobs. Richard Blum, Feinstein's husband, serves on the company's board of directors and controls about 24 percent of the firm's stock,

according to Hoover's Inc. research firm.

A Feinstein spokesman Monday declined to comment on the contract.

Blum and several URS representatives could not be reached for comment. A Pentagon spokesman said he was unfamiliar with the contract.

Announced in a company press release Monday, the contract calls for URS Corp.'s EG&G division and partner International Consultants Inc. to help with operations planning, troop mobilization, weapons system training and anti- terrorism assessment. The contract runs for five years.

"We are very pleased with this important win, which further expands our strong relationship with the Army and demonstrates our ability to provide a full spectrum of support services to ensure that our troops remain combat ready and capable of quickly mobilizing to address threats around the world," said George R. Melton, president of the EG&G division, in a press release.

URS boasts some 25,000 employees working in more than 20 countries. Although the firm has a long history of government work, it has focused more on those activities since acquiring EG&G from the Carlyle Group investment firm last year for about $500 million.

EG&G works with the military, NASA, and several federal departments, according to Hoover's. The company's areas of expertise range from designing transportation infrastructure to training people to dismantle weapons of mass destruction.

URS brought in more than $2.4 billion in revenue during 2002.

E-mail David R. Baker at dbaker@sfchronicle.com.

?2003 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback

Kathleen 145, I don't think leaving the country would help, that beast you spoke of encompasses the whole world, how would you get away from it? Maybe if you could find a tiny niche that doesn't have any resources that are coveted by the power elite you might be able to find a peaceful existence. Not sure what you meant about rolling over, that is not what I meant in my comment. If refusing to vote for greedy, bloodthirsty politicians is considered rolling over, so be it, but I will NEVER give my support to that evil cabal again, I don't care what label they wear.

If someone else has posted this, I apologize in advance, but I wonder what our resident bedwetters think about the fact that Bush is trying to sell six U.S. ports to the United Arab Emirates.

From the link:

- The UAE was one of three countries in the world to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

- The UAE has been a key transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Lybia.

- According to the FBI, money was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers through the UAE banking system.

- After 9/11, the Treasury Department reported that the UAE was not cooperating in efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden's bank accounts.

Feel safer yet?

Latest Airline Terror Threat: People Who Read Books
Rocker Rollins reported for thought crime

Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet.com | February 17 2006

The latest example of airline security gone insane is provided by rock star and stand-up comedian Henry Rollins, who was recently reported to the Australian government for reading a book on an aeroplane.

The Australian Daily Telegraph reports,

"US rocker and writer Henry Rollins was reported to the National Security hotline during his recent Australian tour because of a book he was reading on flight to Brisbane."

"A furious Rollins was informed he was "nominated as a possible threat" for reading Jihad: The Rise Of Militant Islam In Central Asia."
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This is the sort of thing I expect to hear happening in Red China. Like I said Kathleen, where could you go to escape such paranoid bullshit?

Kathleen, my point about "stop the bullshit" is that EVERYONE in the United States of America has access to enough information to make informed decisions that could effect their well-being, if they take the time and make the small effort to learn enough to become knowledgeable citizens. I am quite aware that there are impoverished families who cannot make ends meet, who have little time except to keep their heads barely above water. BUT, they must take the time to inform themselves, which can be done with a minimal amount of effort. (They do not have to be activists, but they do have to be informed.)

Every time you, or someone else, declares that they do not have the time to be informed, you are allowing them to not take responsibility for living in a democracy. There are plenty of impoverished people living on the margins of society in South Africa (for example) who take their responsibilities very seriously. Think about what a a powerful voting bloc could be amassed, if the people living at or near minimum wage in the United States got together and decided to inform themselves and make a difference!

By constantly making the excuse that they don't have the time, you are helping promulgate the myth that poverty and lack of participation in the democratic process go hand-in-hand. Instead, maybe you should help organize these millions of marginalized people into a force to be reckoned with.

Yes, I am angry. But, I can focus my anger in constructive ways every day.

Traitorous bitches and bastards

DOUG THOMPSON / Capitol Hill Blue | February 17 2006

Late last year, spurred by anger over Bush's admission that he authorized the warrantless spying on Americans by the National Security Agency, the Patriot Act appeared to face serious opposition when it came up for renewal. Congress twice granted temporary extensions and promised to add new language to protect the civil liberties of Americans.

But, as happens all too often in Washington, those promises vanished into thin air as the Patriot Act this week cleared hurdle after hurdle and heads for permanent renewal when the goons who call themselves our elected representatives return from the President's Day recess.

In the end, the White House "negotiated" a set of meaningless changes with a handful of Republicans and the so-called compromise sailed through the Senate Thursday on a 96-3 vote. Even worse, the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee successfully blocked attempts to open an inquiry in Bush's use of the National Security Agency to spy on Americans.

Not that the Democrats did that much to stop it. Even those who spoke out about Bush's spying on Americans said they supported the concept but only opposed how the President went about it. As long as he got warrants, they said, they didn't really care who the NSA snooped on. And a bunch of Democrats joined with Republicans Thursday to keep the rights-robbing USA Patriot Act the law of the land.

Which means virtually no one - Democratic or Republican, conservative or liberal, left or right - can claim the high road when it comes to destroying freedom in the United States. Only Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., seems to realize the dangers of the act, continuing to fight it and saying the law, even as amended, allows "government fishing expeditions" and an outright assault on the Constitution.

For the most part, the rest of Congress sold out the people who elected them to office, all Americans who depend on Congress to serve as a check and balance on the excesses of the White House and the Constitution of the United States.

Yes, freedom died this week and just about every one of the bitches and bastards who "serve" in Congress should take a long, hard look at the blood on their hands. They stand guilty of high crimes and treason against the United States of America. They are traitors and should be treated as such.
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96-3. Now, who ya gonna call? You really think you can pressure them into anything? They do not answer to the people, they have a much higher calling. We are on our own.

Rep. Ron Paul CLEANS House

wakeupfromyourslumber | February 17 2006

In a stunning speech last night before the House, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) finally gave the US government the formal and thorough thrashing it deserves for wreaking decades of economic destruction at home and abroad through a corrupt and debased fiat DOLLAR backed by a massive military industrial complex.

He detailed everything that's wrong with US economic and foreign policy in a single speech. Here are some highlights:

The truth now is he who prints the money makes the rules . . . [i.e.,] compel foreign countries to produce and subsidize the country with military superiority and control over the monetary printing presses.

[P]rinting paper money is nothing short of counterfeiting. . .

. . . [It's the] perfect system for obtaining perpetual wealth for the country that issues the de facto world currency.

The one problem [is that] such a system destroys the character of the counterfeiting nation's people just as was the case when gold was the currency, and it was obtained by conquering other nations.

[E]lite money managers, with especially strong support from U.S. authorities, struck an agreement with OPEC to price oil in U.S. dollars exclusively for all worldwide transactions.

This . . . in essence backed the dollar with oil. In return, the U.S. promised to protect the various oil-rich kingdoms in the Persian Gulf against threat of invasion or domestic coup. This arrangement helped ignite the radical Islamic movement among those who resented our influence in the region.

The arrangement . . . allowed us to export our monetary inflation by buying oil and other goods at a great discount as dollar influence flourished.

In November 2000 Saddam Hussein demanded Euros for his oil. His arrogance was a threat to the dollar; his lack of any military might was never a threat.

At the first cabinet meeting with the new administration in 2001, as reported by Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, the major topic was how we would get rid of Saddam Hussein-- though there was no evidence whatsoever he posed a threat to us. This deep concern for Saddam Hussein surprised and shocked O'Neill.

In 2001, Venezuela's ambassador to Russia spoke of Venezuela switching to the Euro for all their oil sales. Within a year there was a coup attempt against Chavez, reportedly with assistance from our CIA.

* * *

Now, a new attempt is being made against the petrodollar system. Iran, another member of the Axis of evil, has announced her plans to initiate an oil bourse in March of this year. Guess what, the oil sales will be priced Euros, not dollars.

* * *

Iran, like Iraq, has zero capability to attack us. But that didn't stop us from turning Saddam Hussein into a modern day Hitler ready to take over the world. Now Iran, especially since she's made plans for pricing oil in Euros, has been on the receiving end of a propaganda war not unlike that waged against Iraq before our invasion.

The dollar's importance is obvious, but this does not diminish the influence of the distinct plans laid out years ago by the neo-conservatives to remake the Middle East. Israel's influence, as well as that of the Christian Zionists, likewise played a role in prosecuting this war. Protecting "our" oil supplies has influenced our Middle East policy for decades.

* * *

Everything possible is done to prevent the fraud of the monetary system from being exposed to the masses who suffer from it. If oil markets replace dollars with Euros, it would in time curtail our ability to continue to print, without restraint, the world's reserve currency.
------------
That is the voice of a TRUE conservative. bushco is in no way, shape or form conservative. In fact, they are the polar opposite. I always cringe whenever I here them referred to as republicans, that is so far off the mark. Ron Paul is a republican. Their roots are in extreme left communism, and that is exactly how they behave.

We live for the Almighty Dollar, the relentless pursuit of money. Who among us would not want to win the Lottery? We are conditioned from our youth to aquire money, because to be without it, we are losers. We look to the poor as someone to pity because they have no money, how unfortunate for them. Poor or rich which would you rather be?.....It should be no surprise to anyone that is aware of moneys role in the world today that we are where we are....because of....money. We value money above all else. There are a few that regard life more precious , these are the Mother Theresas of the world, concerned more about the people left to fend for themselves in this world full of greed. One thing however we all share, we will all die, some on a silk covered mattress others in a gutter. It behooves all of us to step back from this relentless pursuit of the Almighty Dollar and turn to our fellow human beings in need and help them up from despair however we can. The Bush family has held wealth and power hundreds of years, do you really believe they will give that up now? They have no mercy or feeling toward the "little people" We do not have a choice whether to accept or not accept what is happening, of course I do not advocate giving up trying to restore compassion in a compassionless world, we must never rest, just be aware what we are up against, a cold merciless world built on a foundation of illgotten gains that many of the powerfull will not relinquish easily.

"Man is not free unless government is limited.As government expands liberty contracts."

Ronald Reagan

It is official. We now live in a dictatorship. I saw a glimmer of hope that the Republicans in congress might actually act like Republicans and stand up for the freedom of the American people.
Wrong. As the media swarms over Dick Cheneys stupid hunting accident, Emporer Bush's assualt on the U.S. Constitution continues unopposed.

How ironic. Dems wishing for the real republicans to come back!

Corky you are SOOOOO right! chimpy has carte-blanche to listen to anybody he wants whenever he wants, dogs in congress rolled over.

Is it time for civil disobedience yet?

Enjoy the blog while you can, it is next on the "Suppress the Opposition" hit list.

Saladin, (160)

I'm thinkin' I'd hate to be the guy to give such news to Henry Rollins. He's supersmart and a really gracious guy, but if you've ever seen him perform, you'll know that there are deamons in there! Opening Pandora's box with him might be a painful thing for all involved!

-T

Hajji

That Henry Rollins guy has really big muscles, too. Do you think he plays tummysticks at all? Not that I want to play tummysticks with him, no, not at all, I'm just curious.

Is this the thesis?

1. If all citizens spent sufficient time learning what the US government was doing with the power we entrust to them THEN all citizens would make well-informed choices at the ballot box. (I.E.Gerald, Saladin, Pando, Saladin, UncleDad, LBH)
2. If all citizens made informed choices at the ballot box THEN the US government would no longer make bad policy decisions or be rife with corruption.

Consider that a fully informed electorate would not necessarily address or resolve the issues that plague us. Even if it did, there are real barriers for adults to become fully informed; a) interest b) access to news and opinion resources c) a modicum of education to interpret and weigh competing claims, d) literacy, e) competing interests. The education must begin earlier, Teach civics in schools. Teach children citizens about government, the constitution, policy, checks and balances, independent judiciary.

While a well-informed electorate is the best defense against bad policy and corruption, it is not a logical result thereof. Don't get stuck on it.

If Bush is killing our freedom, then what are our troops dying to defend?

Even if the electorate WERE well informed, look at the choices that are offered. The RNC and DNC control the options, they have virtually killed any chance of new ideas via third and fourth parties to be given a fair chance. Many bush supporters challenge us to stop whining and come up with some ideas, but what's the point of offering new ideas when we have no reps to stand up for real change? When people like Paul Craig Roberts, Ron Paul, Cynthia Mckinney and John Conyers try to make a difference they are completely bulldozed the the majority, WTF are we supposed to do short of outright revolution?

#173 The dollar based oil economy?

"...I'm just curious."

I'll BET you ARE!

REVOLUTION!!!!!! now yer talking Sal!

The only way to get through to these people is to not vote for them. But there is no way to get everyone not to vote. Some someone will always be elected.

Our choices at the ballot box:

Deeply entrenched Republicans who do not stand by their own party platform of fiscal conservatism and limited federal government. They wave a flag in one hand and rip up the Constitution with the other. Instead of representing the American people they represent only the wealthiest corporations and, of course, their own selfish greed. They substitute competent governing for PR.
They are the iron fist that crushes the hopes and dreams of the struggling and growing under class.

or:

Deeply entrenched Democrats who do not stand by thier party platform of putting work ahaed of wealth. They blow hot air about protecting the American worker and then vote for things that hurt us. They are like a police department that takes bribes from the Mafia. They are complicit by thier inaction. They are equally to blame for the formation of the new American dictatorship.

This guy seems to be fighting to uphold value of individual rights...

Erroneous AP Story LINK
by Senator Russ Feingold
Thu Feb 16, 2006 at 10:51:25 AM PDT
There was an erroneous AP story that many of you may have seen online and in your newspapers this morning that reads: "Feingold gives up Patriot Act effort." Nothing could be further from the truth. As you can see here LINK , I haven't given up anything. The story was wrong and I wanted to be sure everyone knew about it.
I will continue this fight - it's a fight worth having - and it's not over.

Revolution?

The American people are way too busy shopping and working to have a revolution anytime soon. They worship money and that new plastic smell of uneeded Chinese junk from Wal Mart. Last year they spent more money than they made. The American people do not deserve the freedom that thier ancestors fought so hard for.

The real revolution is happening right now. Instead of the people rising up and taking control, the plutocrats are siezing control our country.

David Corn was great on the Rehms show program this morning. Really fired up....

Of course I would think so he brought up Phase 2 of the SSCI and repeated how Senator Pat Roberts continues to stall, block and how he appears to be doing everything in his power to make sure that Phase 2 continues to move slowly.

What a country we live in. Many of the same Republican representatives that voted to investigate lies about a blow job and an extra marital affair, have voted against investigating the NSA WIRETAPPING PROGRAM.

Maybe they do have something on Spector.

#161 Caroline. I agree poverty can be used as an excuse. I also agree that whatever your circumstance taking responsibility for being a better informed citizen is critical. You give a great example of people in South Africa banding together and moving the apartheid system out of control.

What I am sharing is that lightbulbs go off in my head when I interact with people who are economically struggling more than I am , who have not had access to a quality education, who have grown up in an enviroment where hope has been crushed, many of these people sit in front of a T.V. filled with garbage and I believe due to the breakdown of unions these same individuals feel absolutely no power.

Caroline I really appreciate some of your suggesstions, when you said "branch out" with activism. I truely share some of my experiences to confirm what I have found that works. Lobbying, petitions, phone calls, e-mails, protest.

I have to admit that I am not sure how to approach the Appalachian population because I am not from this world. Although I have interacted a fair amount through teaching P.E. in the school system for a while. Registering people, talking to people about participating in the system is one method.

What really became apparent to me during the efforts to register people, was that the older generation (over 50) had a deep awareness of "collective bargaining" how moving in a mass can be so effective. This awareness seems to have been lost, through the breakdown of unions. At least this is my take.

Jessie Jackson comes to this area fairly often focused on poverty, poor wages, and education. Bobby Kennedy was focused on this area back in the 60's with Jackson...the "war on poverty" failed. John Edwards seems to be taking up this issue in a big way and it is sorely needed.

I have often thought about what it would be like to have a "K street" for the disenfranchised. When I have gone to D.C. and lobbied my representatives I have heard them say that they wish more people would lobby in person.

Can you imagine if poorer people had access to a free trip to D.C. to learn about the process of participating, to feel empowered. Can you imagine our representatives being taken out to lunch at McDonalds by some of their constituents that they are not looking out for.

I often wonder what the purpose of coming on this site is?..have only been participating for about a year here. I do appreciate the links, although I do go to most of the sites that the links refer to.

What I sincerely am interested in is what people have found to be effective in their activism.

Do any of these things really change things? In the past I have been convinced they do. (clean air act,civil rights marches, Vietnam etc. in the 70's).

I feel our country has been moving in reverse at a rapid pace under this administration. All of the issues that many worked on for so long seem to be disassembled.. It feels as if the american public have basically been castrated by this administration....

WHAT HAVE FOLKS FOUND TO BE TRUELY EFFECTIVE POLITICALLY? I AM SINCERELY INTERESTED?

Caroline thanks for the things you do, I know you are genuinely concerned about the direction of our country...Me too.

I will not be back on here until later today.

#171 is there a spook (spy) counterfitting dumb posts by thought-abdicating lock-step troll's? Check out the email address.

Feingold can fight all he wants. Until these politicians are willing to start hacking at the very root of this evil, the foundation known as 9/11, they will get nowhere. As long as 9/11 is used as a weapon against us, as long as the lies continue unchallenged by the political leaders, we will suffer the consequences. bushco is using 9/11 as a bludgeon to force us into submission and both the left and the right, except for a small handful of patriots, are allowing it to destroy this country. We cannot progress as a united front as long as everything we believe is based on such a monstrous and evil lie. Any politician that is willing to confront this beast head on will have 100% of my support. The rest are just so much hot air.

Gerald,

I wish you would get off of this "foxes" kick. I find it rather insulting to women. So if one of them wasn't pleasant to look at they wouldn't get on your list?

Sexist!

#182 - A great post and a good question!

What have people have found to be effective in their activism?

All of us here have tried activism. I have written letters, attended marches, listened to speeches, and even donated some of my tiny salary to the Democratic party. For caring about my country, for all of my efforts, I have been ignored by the Democrats, attacked by the Republicans, and labeled some sort of crazed communist terrorist helper by the news.

David,

Mother Jones is reporting that the reason Paul Hackett may have been thrown overboard is because the Democrat leadership found out that he may have been involved in some dubious activity while in Iraq, accompanied by pictures. Might be worth looking into. I can't see the Dems kicking him to the side over dubious information. He did, afterall, almost win in 2004.

#185 Attractive women get me hot under the collar. I find smart women attractive. Enough about me. Let's talk about what floats your boat... Why is Maureen Dowd still single?

The democrats are just silly if they think they will win anything at the ballot box. Do you really think the Neocons will spend all of this time shoring up thier power , only to allow the Democratic party to jump in and reap the benefits of thier work? They will stop at NOTHING to hold power. Whatever it takes, stolen elections, wars, terror attacks, declaring martial law, and using our intelligence ministries to stamp out dissent.

159 -
I wonder what our resident bedwetters think about the fact that Bush is trying to sell six U.S. ports to the United Arab Emirates.

good question! my guess? it probably matters to them about as much as it does that marvin bush' company was involved in the security at the WTC AND at two of the airports involved in 911.

#188 TRH ...interesting. We had both Hackett and Sherrod Brown come to Athens Ohio. They are both remarkable candidates.

After Hackett pulled out I called his campaign office and talked to his people who I had interacted with bringing him to Athens.

They claimed that Hackett was hammered the last two weeks by some of the same people who lobbied him into the race, His people also said that this combined with his three children being under the age of 6 influenced his decision to drop out.

I just wish the folks who pushed him to get into the race would have pressured him earlier (even though I believe Sherrod Brown owes Hackett a serious apology for being so delayed in declaring) so that he would have run against Mean Jean Schmidt...he could have beat her this time without a doubt.

#172
Interesting post. I have three kids, 24, 22, 16. When my older two were in high school part of the civics class requirement was 9 hours of volunteer work outside of church work. You would not believe the yammering that the parents did. The kids didn't have time. The kids couldn't get to the places where they could volunteer. Blah, blah, bhah, blah blah. 9 hours for a sememster. My God, how hard is that? Part of my son's hours were shoveling the neighbors driveway. We have a food shelf in town. We have places the kids could babysit. They can volunteer at the elementary schools. Endless. And yet these parents were bitching because their kid had to volunteer. What does that teach your kid.

To add to this, the kids involved got to try areas of volunteer work that fit their interests. If they were interested in teaching they could volunteer at the school. If they were interested in law their was a teen court. They could volunteer to help with the police.

They ended the program. Incidentally, my youngest, on her own, has logged about 50 hours with the local ACLU helping with office work. I have nothing to do with her activities there. She is an ok kid.

Moral Decline

God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.

We can do no great things; only small things with great love.

What we do is less than a drop in the ocean. But if it were missing, the ocean would lack something.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.

~Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997)

*********

Activism is not winning it is trying.

What can we do?

Everything! Everything you can think of, everything you are capable of doing, everything.

What is the evil in this world doing? Everything it can do, that is why there are so many things that are wrong.

Just a few thoughts.

capt

#194
Gerald,
That was an interesting article. It has always confused me how people can be so Christian and yet allow their president and the leadership to start a war, order weapons that are so horrific they are against Human Rights, lie, cheat, steal and everything else.

Also, I was watching a news program one day on the mega churches. Yikes! It's like wal*mart. They swallow up little churches in an area and they sell shyt by the millions. It's like a dang mall at these churches. The churches themselves are GIGANTIC. How do you feel like your getting anything out of a church when you're one of ten thousand people? It's a con.

capt. you are so right.

white house actually DEFENDS sale of Port Operations to Arab Firm

"Look, we lied when we said Arabs did 9-11. THAT'S why it's okay to sell them the port operations now, okay? Criminy, what IS it with you people?" -- Official White Horse Souse

There are churches nearby that actually run a credit check to admit members.

Capt, unfortunately evil is very well financed! I guess that's why love of money is the root of all evil.

corky 199, HUH???

A well-informed citizenry is a good first defense. It is not the total remedy. But an ill-informed, disinterested citizenry is a death knell for a healthy democracy.

"I guess that's why love of money is the root of all evil."

I personally think money is the root/route of all evil. Loving it cannot be as bad as having it.

Well, that is easy for me to say because I HAVE NO MONEY! HA!

capt

Women

Dear Cornposters:

Although I use Cornposters to address my letter, this letter is directed toward flan from Wisconsin I believe.

If flan would read my letters or notes without a jaundice eye, she would know that I have said that there are no ugly women. I do not know how flan looks and I really do not care because I stick with my premise that there are no ugly women.

There are different types of women. Some men marry a heavy woman and he will say acres and acres and she is all mine. Some men will marry a thin woman and he will say with a thin woman the meat closer to the bone means sweeter the meat.

Sincerely,

Gerald

I do not know what else I can do that I have not already tried. They only thing I regret, however, is giving support to the Democratic party.

A blind man is not handicapped for finding beauty.

Something to think about.

capt

Speaking of Wal*Mart.

Wal-Mart's private message board
leaked to the New York Times. Read as Wal-Mart's CEO suggests that a store manager "Is disloyal and should consider quitting" after he asks why "the largest company on the planet cannot offer some type of medical retirement benefits?"
--------------
I was listening to a show on MPR. The guest has written a book on Wal*Mart. Very cheap company. Some people would think that's ok but it always ends up hurting the other guy. Two examples. When the buyers travel they have to steal pens from the hotels to use in the main office. If you are a company working with Wal*Mart you have to give them an 800 number for them to use or allow collect calls. Now, that sounds great until everybody starts doing it. A little company can't afford to have huge phone bills while wal mart has an $8.50 phone bill. It was an intersting show. BTW, his book is on wal marts on line store. Anything that will make them money. They don't care.

Iraq and the Democratic Empire
by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

The US has already lost the war on Iraq. It should pull out. When? Now. What will happen? I don't know. No one knows. What will people do when you let them out of their cages? What will slaves do when you free them? What happens when you free those who are imprisoned unjustly? I don't know the answer to these questions, and no one does. I will observe that other countries count the day that the US soldiers left as the beginning of a bright future.

I think of Somalia, which, after a Bush Senior invasion, Clinton wisely left in a lurch after violence against American soldiers. Today warlords still compete for control of the capital. The CIA factbook contains a sentence that might have pleased Thomas Jefferson: Somalia has "no permanent national government." But the rest of the country has moved on. It has prospered.

Here is more from the latest CIA factbook:

"Despite the seeming anarchy, Somalia's service sector has managed to survive and grow. Telecommunication firms provide wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest international call rates on the continent. In the absence of a formal banking sector, money exchange services have sprouted throughout the country, handling between $500 million and $1 billion in remittances annually. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate, and militias provide security."

The CIA chooses the word "despite" the seeming anarchy. I would like to replace that with "because" of the seeming anarchy.

If the US leaves Iraq, a big cost will be born by Americans. We have lost freedoms and rights. The military and spying sector has grown enormously. Big government abroad is incompatible with small government at home. To the extent we cheer war, we are cheering domestic socialism and our own eventual destruction as a civilization.

The War on Terror is impossible, not in the sense that it cannot cause immense amounts of bloodshed and destruction and loss of liberty, but in the sense that it cannot finally achieve what it is supposed to achieve, and will only end in creating more of the same conditions that led to its declaration in the first place.

In other words, it is a typical government program, costly and unworkable, like socialism, like the war on poverty, like the war on drugs, like every other attempt by the government to shape reality according to its own designs. You can see the results in the fatality figures. You and I paid for those flags on the caskets of the soldiers. We paid for the war that cost them their lives. We paid for the cheaper coffins of the far more numerous Iraqi dead. We didn't do it voluntarily. The state forced us to do so, just as it is forcing Iraq to endure a dreadful occupation.

What is in the past is gone, a cost that is sunk and never to be regained. But we can control the future. Now is the time to end this ghastly undertaking in Iraq.

In American political culture, which is dominated by the competitive interest groups we call the two main political parties and their ideological compatriots, we are asked to choose between two false alternatives.

In the first, as that offered by the Left and the Democrats, we are asked to think of the state as an expansive Good Samaritan who clothes, feeds, and heals people at home and abroad. They completely fail to notice that this Samaritan ends up not helping people but enslaving its clients and leaving the rest of us like the robbery victim on the street.

In the second, as offered by the Right and the Republicans, we are asked to think of the state as an expansive Solomon with all power to right wrong and bring justice and faith to all peoples at home and abroad. They completely fail to notice that Solomon ends up behaving more like Caesar Augustus and his successors, sending all the world to be counted and taxed and then plotting to kill any competitive source of authority.

Are you independent minded? Reject these two false alternatives. Do you love freedom? Embrace peace. Do you love peace? Embrace private property. Do you love and defend civilization? Defend and protect it against all uses of Power, the evil against which we must proceed ever more boldly.
---------------
This is the kind of thinking that the two-headed serpent known as the RNCDNC has buried. We will never have a free market because free markets encourage independence and competition, they work to the benefit of all, and that will never suit the NWO and their one world socialist ideals.

Saladin,

Yeah Im serious. There is one of those gigantic evangelical churches in Prince Georges County, Maryland actually runs credit checks on prospective members. The new church is all about money. They beleive that thier wealth is justified as a reward for thier faith.

Corky,

So you have to take your new renaissance, your new and better informed self back to the start and do it again, yea yea yea. The new angles will reveal themselves because you will now see more than the last time. It is the nature of things.

"When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
Till I get to the bottom and I see you again
Yeah yeah yeah hey"

Beatles - Helter Skelter

capt

WHY?

Capt, I was just quoting the bible scripture. I don't think having money is the problem. The desire is what leads to evil, the greater the desire, the greater the evil. I think that is what was meant by the quote. Also, money is the means to power, which I think is the true motivating force. Since power corrupts, but gains more money the more corrupt it becomes, you have a never ending circle of greed and lust for both money which buys power, and more power which gains more money, and so on.

believe. I am trying to save the world, but I can't even spell.

My perspective never changes that much. I can't get out from under this giant thumb. All I see is mud. It sucks down here at the bottom of this slide.

Corky,
One of the reasons I write to senators and write on this blog is because I want those who know me to know where I stand. I was one of those people who spoke out against Bush from the start. I was one of those people who spoke out against torture. It may not seem like much but when this country is trying to get its reputation back these kinds of blogs and the letters sent to congress is the evidence that there was decency in America.

PS. My spelling is bad too. I'd write atrocious but that's a hard word. Wow, I checked it on spell check and it was right.

BTW, Corky,
Somewhere up above I posted an article on voter fraud in Maryland. Big TIME. Huge deal. This activist from the Green Party looked into Diebold and found fraud. Activism does pay off.

Saladin,

And I was kidding, I have a couple of dollars.

capt

#211,

Was that Super-freak?

What a trip!

From the great beyond!

capt

Christians

Dear Cornposters:

Although I have addressed my letter to Cornposters, this letter is for Jeanne.

Jeanne, I have a difficult time understanding Christianity. I can understand bushianity in more detail.

Someone predicted that more Christians would be murdered in the twenty-first century than the previous twenty centuries. Today, Christianity claims too many false prophets. Spewing hatred is not a Christian ideal.

I know that there are people who are upset with my posts whenever I mention God but I truly believe that we must turn toward God and not away from Him. We need to view God as perfect love and we must seek His love. God has an abundance of love for all of His children.

As a Christian that is why Jesus' words are so important for me. The way to God, the Father, is through Jesus and His words. God is the Light and the Way for eternal happiness.

Sincerely,

Gerald

Karl Rove has been spending a lot of time and money in Maryland. Maryland will be another Ohio. Which goes back to what I was saying earlier. The GOP are not going to lose any elections. I would expect gains in 2006. Especially if the Democrats keep doing what the did to Paul Hackett. The Neocons will stop at nothing, and nothing is going to stop them.

Jeanne, they found it in 2000, doing something about it is another issue. Activism is great for getting to the bottom of dirty dealings. The question is, what can we do to force change? A long time ago a regular, named Andrea I believe, suggested that people pick an MSM location nearest them and stage a peaceful protest. Carry signs and banners, invite speakers, in general let them know that we are aware of the lies and the complicity and call them on it. I thought that was a great idea, but would it work? I don't know.

"It is also in the interests of a tyrant to keep his people poor, so that they may not be able to afford the cost of protecting themselves by arms and be so occupied with their daily tasks that they have no time for rebellion." - Aristotle

This must be the creed of the NWO!

Corky,

You are correct, they will not steal all of the power just to give it away.

Busheney have a private army now (private contractors) you can expect they will use them no matter the cost.

I think that is what we all mean when we have said "it is going to get worse" - I think the future holds more than a few surprises good and bad.

The trick is to keep a healthy perspective and accept that we are always learning or we will never learn. I think so much of what is going on these days is out of our control. Maybe completely out of control.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 146

capt

Apparent Death Squad Is Linked to Iraqi Ministry

______________
BAGHDAD, Feb. 16 -- U.S. and Iraqi authorities discovered an apparent death squad operating within the country's Interior Ministry last month when Iraqi troops prevented a group of highway patrol officers from killing a Sunni Arab man the officers had arrested, an American military spokesman said Thursday.

The 22 men, dressed in the camouflage uniforms of special police commandos, were stopped by chance at an Iraqi army checkpoint in northern Baghdad, according to Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson, who gave a detailed account of the incident to the Chicago Tribune for an article published Thursday. When the soldiers asked the police what they were doing, they responded bluntly: They were going to execute their captive. Instead, they wound up in jail.

______________

I wonder if their T-shirts say, "John Negreponte Wuz Here!"

-T

While we are on the subject of evil and lying, what about the evil of torture that bush claims he does not engage in? (sorry about that sentence construction!) bush says in one breath "we do not torture" but then threatens to veto a bill because it would limit his "right" to torture. -- then when he signs, he reserves the right to torure.

Mao, Stalin, Hitler all engaged in atrocious activities, but bush has an unprecedented place in history -- bush is the only leader in human history to openly and publicly demand the right to torture.

That's evil. If one defines "evil" as morally reprehensible behavior, then it's also evil that NOT ONE major church, political leader, business leader, or major media outlet has expressed ongoing outrage that bush is LYING when he repeats, "we do not torture."

So, what does that say about us? Are we willing to live with this evil of torture in our name?

Are our children and grandchildren going to remember us with shame? Are they going to remember us as people who were not willing to speak up against the EVIL of the lying, torturing government that is the face of the United States around the world?

Now, there's where we could use some activism!

Bush tortures us all, every day.

capt.

Thank you for the wisdom.

Is it just me who finds the date of March 2003 a little too close for comfort?

I mean, wasn't this around the exact same time Joe Wilson was making lots of noise about the "16 little words" in the SOTU address?

Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.

Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.

The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence.

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.

The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation’s greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us.

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

All ~ John F. Kennedy

What would happen if 40 percent of the U.S. population did not go to work, did not buy any gas or any Chinese junk from Wal Mart, did not use thier credit cards, stopped paying the cable bill, stopped going to the gas station, stopped going to McDonalds, etc. etc.? For just one week.

That would be some activism.

Corky,

I blather stuff that sounds good to me and I often miss my mark. Such are the limits of the written word.

Thanks

capt

Hajji,

#224

"Negroponte trained death squads killed my family and all I got was this tee-shirt" Tee-shirt?

capt

Dear Senator,

I have spent many months doing everything in my power to support the Democratic party. I have written letters, signed petitions, attended rallies, marched, and spent every minute of every day sticking my neck out, even risking my job to speak out against the universal injustice and deceit that has plagued our great country. I have even sent the Democratic party part of my meager earnings (I probably make less money in a year than the average senator spends on clothing). I really regret it now.
I am outraged about the treatment of Paul Hackett by your party ( I say your party because I don't feel like it is my party anymore). You have lost me, not because I have left you, but because you left me behind. I watched in horror as bills go flying through congress that make me poorer and make my life harder. I watched in disbelief as Democrats voted for the confirmation of Justice Alito. I watched Democrats vote for the Bankruptcy bill. I watched Democrats vote to give the President the power to do virtually anything he wants. I was watched as the United States became a dictatorship.
I am very sorry to say that I can no longer support the Democratic party as it exist's today.

Good letter Corky!

Capt #229

You quote Kennedy:

There are risks and cost to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.

This quote sums up the whole reason Bush gave us for going to war. Thanks Capt!

LBH,

If it was not for the fact that invading Iraq has made the effort against violent religious extremist's WORSE not better, your statement might actually make sense.

DEMAND THE TRUTH

I'm demanding that the administration tell the people the truth about illegal government spying on Americans.

The president and others have aggressively defended their spying programs, but they've refused to provide the facts.

The administration owes the people, the Congress and our courts answers to the mounting questions surrounding this program. Were federal laws violated? Were oaths of office broken?

Even the president's own party is up in arms over these reckless and illegal actions. Just this week, New Mexico Republican Congresswoman Heather Wilson called for a full congressional inquiry into the warrantless NSA domestic spying.

Like concerned Americans across the political spectrum, I want the truth about illegal government spying on Americans.

How many Americans have had their phone calls or e-mails monitored by this illegal program? Which laws was President Bush citing when he said the program is "legally right?"

The administration must stop using national security as a blanket reason to keep its illegal activities hidden in the shadows. Effective and public oversight is possible without compromising our security and only a legitimate investigation in Congress can bring the truth to light.

Americans are demanding answers. Because in America, no one is above the law, not even the President.

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

ACLU action alert.

capt

If Osama "hates our freedom" as much as Bush says he does, then he must be very very happy at Bush's actions.

Corky

What freedom did you lose? You can still talk to a terrorist long distance. No one is taking that right away from you.

I dont like religious extremist's. Why would I telephone one? That would be like calling Pat Robertson.

Economic boycott for peace

There have been widespread calls for economic boycott of the U.S. and U.K. over the invasion of Iraq. Such widely targetted boycott hurts average American citizens (more than half of which oppose war) and British citizens (more than 80% of which oppose war), while doing little harm to either Bush or Blair.

A more focused economic boycott concentrates on the corporations that have actively supported Bush and Blair, cutting off their source of campaign funds.

Further, open-ended boycott tends to slowly fizzle and collapse because of lack of clear goals.

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

It is hard to call most people to activism because most people do not want to be bothered. They would have to think and make hard choices. It is not so much apathy as it is non-voters taking a luxury they do not deserve, they did not earn and a luxury paid for by general poor governance.

Even insane increases in the cost of gasoline, heating oil, food, etc. does not drive the non-voters to vote it drives them away from the political process. If the wage earners are too busy making wages they are too busy to do anything but earn wages. If they have no time to listen they will never hear.

capt

Corky

OK, so lets look at that: Why all the religous violence against Belgium? They didn't invade Iraq. Why all the religous violence against France? They were on Saddams side.

Also, Capt was quoting Kennedy and must have given this quote some deep thoughtful reverence before posting it. This meaning is what the war on terror has been about since 9/11, so Kennedy is either right or wrong. If he is wrong then so is Capt.

#202 Agreed! I am usually pessimistic. On the issue of whether we live in a society of ignorant complacent citizens, I see the glass as half full.

I'll be back . . .

Lost freedoms:

We Americans are no longer protected from unreasonable and warrantless search and siezure.

We no longer have any privacy whatsoever.

We no longer have constitutional checks and balances to executive power.

And the Brown Shirts are just getting started.

Corky #240

Exactly, I agree, so you have not lost any freedom according to your own statement.

By the way, Wolverine is my favorite X-Man. He would crush Al-Qaeda with his super-strength, adamantium bones and claws, and his powers of regeneration. Cheney's birdshot would bounce harmlessly off of Wolverine. And I've been told that the guy who plays Wolverine in the movies is very handsome.

WOLVERINE ROOOLZ!

Still not getting any takers...

It is a given in anti-Bush circles that the Administration is controlled by a cabal....evil guys* like Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz, etc. Bush is just a puppet, a stooge, doing mindlessly what the real power-brokers tell him to do.

So....anyone willing to venture a theory...how does this cabal intend to extend its grip beyond January 20, 2009? Having reached unparalleled heights of power, having totally castrated Congress, having shored up the Supreme Court another notch.....certainly this cabal will not be content to slink off to a cave someplace.

Will they be looking for another Stooge to make President, or was George W. Bush a once-in-a-century find?

Or, do they realize that they have f*cked up so bad, that they DO slink off to their caves for a while?

I would really like to hear theories on how this cabal could continue.

Bob

*And I agree...evil to the core, every one of them...

LBH
Iraq has never had anything at all to do with your so called "War on Terror". I prefer to call it what it is: a "War on the United States Constitution". The religious violence worlwide is a direct result of the Neoconservatives bumbling foriegn policy. Invading Iraq was the biggest gift that Al Qaeda could ever ask for. This "war" will go on forever because it is simply a means to an end. The end of freedom and democracy in America.

Bill,

I think Bush will allow another terrorist attack, just like he did on September 11, and will then declare martial law until the end of the endless war on terror.

#193 Good post. Public schools (and our population in general) is confused about the role of Values Education in public education... including values such as the golden rule, helping the needy, visiting the sick, being a tutor or volunteering. If these values are NOT part of your own internatlized values, then having the local school system require that of your kids may be objectional to you. Ther is a growing trrend in the top education programs to practice the public service values. (I have no conclusion, just sharing my thoughts ;-)

Corky

Come on, read the 4th ammendment. You have lost no freedoms. I would be more concerned about this crazy law that makes it a fed crime for not using a valid email address on post boards. Talk about government spying, they just made it a legal spying method and no word from anyone here or from the ACLU. I could care less if someone is using a phoy email or not, who cares!!! Get the government out of my computer!!!

Bob,

How about Jeb? Will Rove run his campaign? Who will try to run to the right of McCain?

It's going to be interesting...providing there isn't a collapse of civilization before then.

LBH,

If Wolverine were available, the Neocons would send him to attack Switzerland over imaginary WMD's.

#252 "I would be more concerned about this crazy law that makes it a fed crime for not using a valid email address on post boards."

You should be more concerned about it. It didn't come out of the blue. You can be sure Robert Byrd and Ted Kennedy didn't sponsor the bill that made it Federal Law.

Corky 249

Doesn't matter if Iraq had anything to do with 9/11 or not according to Kennedy and Capt, taking action now is a better option than no action at all. Now, Iraq may not have had anything to do with 9/11 but they were a threat to the stability of the world that eventually needed to be dealt with. If nothing else the starving of his own people through to corrupt oil for food program was enough to take action, unless it's OK to starve old men, women and children.

LBH,

Under the Patriot Act, the government can break into my house without a warrant, look at my Lbrary records and arrest me for demonstrating outside a designated "free speech zone". The President says he has the power to ignore the law, any law.

I have read both the fourth amendment and the Patriot Act. I am pretty sure you have not.

B Toest #255

I would love to hear what Teddy and R Bird's position and statements are on this matter. Please link a post!

Arguing with a Neocon is like arguing with an eggplant. An eggplant painted red white and blue, but a cucumber just the same.

WOLVERINE ROOLZ!

Corky

Bush didn't write the Patriot act.

I gonna go before the bushbot starts crying about Bill Clinton again.

Later fellas! And remember, if your gonna go huntin', dont get falling down drunk first!

Corky

Was that the 4th amendment and patriot act in Marvel Comics you be referring to?

micki wrote: "Mao, Stalin, Hitler all engaged in atrocious activities, but bush has an unprecedented place in history -- bush is the only leader in human history to openly and publicly demand the right to torture."

I had never thought of it that way, but it is true that we have a government that is so blinded with its power that the only thing it focuses on is expanding their powers through violence, threats, coercion and fear.

Bob in ND, I think they intend to stay in power by counting on Americans to remain fearful and largely indifferent. Gerald thinks there won't be an election in '08; I think there will be one, but it will be totally rigged and I think that Dick Cheney (if he's still ticking) will be the presidential nominee. He will be the nominee, not because he will go through the primary process, but through other means TBA.

What Happened to My Country

Thank God for Protesters

There was a very good piece on Democracy Now on the US use of torture. Professor McCoy from U of W - Madison was on describing our use of torure and how it is systematic and CIA taught. These are not bad apples and the torture light is not torture light but the worst torture imaginable. Mental torture is the worst. It is easy to administer and is being used on everyone. He wrote the book 'A question of torture'.

Professor McCoy Exposes the History of CIA Interrogation, From the Cold War to the War on Terror

Dear MoveOn member,

So the President is breaking the law. What can we do about it? Well, next week, MoveOn members from Orlando, Florida to Seattle, Washington are organizing Constitution Vigils to speak out on this critical issue.

The pressure's mounting. Just yesterday, the Justice Department announced that it's opening an internal review—a major admission that laws may have been broken.1 The administration's front is crumbling. It's time for Congress to do its job, defend the Constitution and fully investigate the president's illegal program. In order for them to do that, they need to hear from us.

Can you attend a Constitution Vigil this coming Wednesday, February 22nd to send a strong message to Congress that we're watching and we expect them to do their job and hold the president accountable?

Check for one in your area, or request help in starting one yourself
=============================
Houston is having one not far from where Cindy Sheehan is gonna be protesting two days earlier. I plan to be at both... that is, if Babs "beautiful minds" Bush don't have us arrested, and I'm still in jail.

Cheney's Crimes

As a side note!
What can you say about a society that says God is dead and Elvis is alive? Irv Kupcinet

Bob in ND, Karl Rove is undoubtedly grooming the "Ideal Candidate" even as I type this. (I think it could be Dick himself.)

If Dick's ticker gives out, they have someone else who they can easily market to the American Sheeple. They are not about to give up the power they have amassed over four decades. Also, they do not believe for a minute that they have f*cked up in any way whatsoever. They intend to continue to expand their autocratic executive powers through whatever means necessary.

And, they will succeed if there isn't a major sea change.

From People For the American Way's email this morning...

Alan!

According to reports in today’s Washington Post, Congress appears ready to abandon its oversight responsibility with regard to the Executive Branch’s NSA spying program. Don’t let them fold!

We wrote you yesterday about our four-point plan to secure our nation’s checks and balances, and one pillar of that plan is oversight. While a special prosecutor (demanded by the petition we launched yesterday) would support two other pillars – transparency and accountability – oversight from Congress is an absolutely essential check on presidential power.

We are asking you to call some unusual targets: Republican Leadership and Committee Chairs. The bottom line is that these men, listed below, will decide whether or not Congress fulfills its constitutional duties. If they choose to duck their responsibility, they must do so with the full knowledge that they are acting against the wishes of the American people.

That’s why you must call. The final pillar of our campaign, after all, is public vigilance.

Whether you call members of Congress regularly or even if you’ve never called a member of Congress before, pick up the phone and dial through this short list of four members – tell them you expect the United States Congress to live up to its oversight responsibilities and conduct a thorough investigation, including in-depth hearings, about the possible illegal activity taking place in the Executive Branch. If you want other talking points, visit http://www.pfaw.org/go/NSATalkingPoints.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Pat Roberts: 202-224-4774

House Intelligence Committee Chair Peter Hoekstra: 202-225-4401

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist: 202-224-3344

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert: 202-225-2976

Please tell us how your calls went by visiting http://pfaw.kintera.org/CallReport; we are curious to hear what these offices are telling the calling public.

-- Your Allies at People For the American Way

I can't tell whether I'm listening to Limbaugh or reading posts on davidcorn.com.

"Doesn't matter if Iraq had anything to do with 9/11"

Oh, it doesn't? It used to be one of the main reasons for invading Iraq. Remember? Saddam was in cahoots with Osama and would sell/give him a nuke.

"Iraq ... a threat to the stability of the world."

Iraq didn't have an ICBM never mind a nuke. They couldn't launch an explosive bomb more than a few hundred miles. Iraq was disarmed and backed into a corner. The threat IRAQ posed was manufactured by the WHIG.

"..starving of his own people through to corrupt oil for food program was enough to take action"

Do you have ANY idea what this program did? The program paid for Iraq oil with food instead of money to try and minimize the impact of economic sanctions on the Iraqi people. The sanctions were to pressure Saddam in foreign policy and human rights practices. By the accounts of people who were in a position to know, sanctions were working.

It occurs to me that LBH is like my 5 year old. He can read a book out loud from cover to cover. His pronunciation is good as is his dramatic emphasis. But if you ask him what he read, he has no idea. The words have no meaning to him. His reading is a trick. He sounds so good, you'd think he knows what it means but he does not. He has no idea.

I'm not here to teach LBH how to read. So that's it LBH. You and I are through. Good bye and good luck.

Bob, whatever they do it will serve the NWO agenda. Since fear seems to be their primary tactic, it works so well on the gullible sheeple who STILL believe saddam was a threat to the biggest nuclear power on the planet, I agree with corky. False flag terrorist attacks accomplish two objectives, trick the sheep into begging for protection from "big brother" and distracting them from what is happening behind the scenes. Now, if they could just eliminate this pesky internet, the rest of us would be ripe for the slaughter. BTW, I don't think it matters if a bush or a clinton is selected, they are mutual cronies and the outcome will be the same.

When men go to war, what they want is to impose on their enemies the victor's will and call it peace. St. Augustine

War is a quarrel between two thieves too cowardly to fight their own battle. Thomas Carlyle

A hospital alone shows what war is. Erich Maria Remarque

Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. George Orwell

Peace hath higher tests of manhood than battle ever knew. John Greenleaf Whittier

We Americans have no commission from God to police the world. Benjamin Harrison

Whenever you drop bombs, you're going to hit civilians. Barry Goldwater

Mankind deserves sacrifice but not of mankind. Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

Don't talk to me about atrocities; all war is an atrocity. Lord Kitchener (Horatio Herbert)

War can cause no economic boom, at least not directly, since an increase in wealth never does result from destruction of goods. Ludwig von Mises

WAR WILL EXIST UNTIL THAT DISTANT DAY WHEN THE CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR ENJOYS THE SAME REPUTATION AND PRESTIGE THAT THE WARRIOR DOES TODAY. John F. Kennedy

As a side note!
I was listening to the Diane Rehm show at 11 am and I can say that if the Muslims start practicing what is in the Koran, they will have many converts because false Christianity is on the rise in Nazi America.

Here is a prediction. With false Christianity on the rise, I can see a back lash against Christianity and a robust age of converts to Islam.

Christianity is dead in Nazi America and bushianity is alive and sick.

The first casualty when war comes is the truth. Sen. Hiram Johnson

I’≠ afraid based on my experiences that fascism will come to America in the name of national security. Jim Garrison

There is no warlike people, just warlike leaders. Ralph Bunche

War creates peace like hate creates love. Daniel L. Wilson

The evils of government are directly proportional to the tolerance of the people. Frank Kent

Old men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die. Herbert C. Hoover

Only the winners decide what were war crimes. Gary Wills

War is just one more big government program. Joseph Sobran

War is a racket. Smedley Butler

The dangerous patriot is a defender of militarism and its ideals of war and glory. Colonel James A. Donovan, Marine Corp

In order to rally the people, governments need enemies. They want us to be afraid, to hate, so we rally behind them. Thich Nhat Nanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk

The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants. Albert Camus

Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. Albert Einstein

B Toest

Are you really trying to make the argument that the Oil for Food program was working? I guess the Sen investigation and the UN investigation that reports all the corruption within the program is something you haven't taken the time to study? If so, then you would know why everyone was saying the sanctions were working, because thay were being paid with blood money from Saddam to keep the sanctions going.

Also, the comment about Iraq not being part of 9/11 is my view. I believed that we should have finished the job in 91 and letting Saddam murder and starve millions of people is not exceptable. Your position is: it's OK to let Saddam kill and starve his own people as long as we keep him contained. Some peacenik you are!!!

G, I like these the best;

The evils of government are directly proportional to the tolerance of the people. Frank Kent

In order to rally the people, governments need enemies. They want us to be afraid, to hate, so we rally behind them. Thich Nhat Nanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk

The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants. Albert Camus

Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. Albert Einstein

spelling alert!! Damn.

"I don't think it matters if a bush or a Clinton is selected, they are mutual cronies and the outcome will be the same."

If you realize that these so-called leaders are just figureheads then it follows that the figurehead does not matter nor does their personal will have any force to change anything.

The planet is being run by multinational oligarchy of mega-corporate interests. Until that changes elections smalections - who we vote for or against has no bearing on what the governments will or will not do.

This administration was given the figurehead position not because they needed to be told what to do, they were given the figurehead position because they didn't have to be told. They serve the oligarchy without being told.

That will be true of the next world leader here, in the UK, in the western "free world"[sic].

You can count on that. Money, money, money.

capt

227

LBH is like my 5 year old. He can read a book out loud from cover to cover. His pronunciation is good as is his dramatic emphasis. But if you ask him what he read, he has no idea. The words have no meaning to him. His reading is a trick. He sounds so good, you'd think he knows what it means but he does not. He has no idea.

I'm not here to teach LBH how to read. So that's it LBH. You and I are through. Good bye and good luck.

Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.

The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.

The individual must not merely wait and criticize, he must defend the cause the best he can. The fate of the world will be such as the world deserves.

A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

All ~ Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

Corky's nightmare scenario to our country....Bush not relinquishing power....is not nearly as far-fetched as it was a couple years ago. They have essentially said that no law in this country applies to them. We are at war, after all.

I predict that someone in the Bush camp will recommend a Cheney-Bush ticket, with the assumption that Dick will resign after Inauguration, giving W a third term. You read it here first.

But maybe George W. Bush was just too much of a gift to the neocons....great name recognition, not a brain in his head, the perfect puppet. I doubt if Rove will be able to find a replacement as ideal as the Chimp.

Bob

Bob in ND, I decided to take a look at wikipedia to see what the scuttlebutt there would be on possible GOPer candidates in '08 -- just for the heckuvit, not that I agree with this list, but this is what they listed. Hmmmm, which one is the "one most likely to carry the omnipotent neo-totalitarian" torch to the finish line?

Actively pursuing or interested in candidacy

• Senator George Allen of Virginia
• Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas
• Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, current Republican leader in the Senate
• Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia
• Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
• Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska
• Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas
• Senator John McCain of Arizona
• Governor George Pataki of New York
• Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts
• Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado

Other potential candidates

• Dick Cheney of Wyoming, Vice President of the United States
• Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina
• Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
• Alan Keyes, Talk Radio Host from Maryland
• Governor Bill Owens of Colorado
• Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota
• Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana
• Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State
• Governor Mike Sanford of South Carolina
• Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania
• Attorney Jack Thompson of Florida
• Tommy Thompson, former governor of Wisconsin and former Secretary of HHS

Secrecy over security

Libby revelation puts things in perspective

When it comes to keeping secrets, the Bush administration has what might be called a two-handed approach.

On one hand, the administration will do and has done all kinds of gymnastics to avoid giving Congress information about intelligence programs. On the other, the administration is willing to reveal classified information selectively when doing so suits its political aims.

Actions here speak louder than words.

Just in case you have forgotten: Last year, a grand jury led by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicted Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, on one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of making false statements and two counts of perjury related to the leaking of the identity of an undercover officer working for the CIA. Libby's trial, originally scheduled to begin Feb. 3, has been postponed until January 2007, after the November elections.

Last week, the National Journal reported that court papers in the case reveal that Libby testified before a federal grand jury that he was "authorized to disclose" - that is, to leak - highly classified intelligence information to the press "by his superiors." The evidence is a Jan. 23 letter from the prosecutor responding to Libby's lawyers, who asked what information the government will make available to the defense.

Congress, which has the duty under our system of government to watch and check the government, gets information in dribs and drabs - or not at all - at the whim of the president. The administration sends people up to Congress who wax eloquently about "inherent" presidential authority. In short, Americans are simply expected to have faith that the president is exercising powers constitutionally, legally and appropriately without accountability to Congress and the courts. Just to make sure of that faith, administration officials also try to scare people by saying that oversight would somehow harm efforts to combat terrorism.

You might think the president would want Congress as a partner in the worldwide struggle against terrorism. Yet this president acts as if he and the executive branch are the only ones who care about protecting Americans - that they alone decide what is in the national interest and that Congress somehow is an impediment. The Libby testimony underlines that. It also reveals in stark terms an administration more concerned with gaining and maintaining power than building common cause to protect national security.

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

Not the only thing that clearly shows their priorities.

capt

Bushes brother Jeb is next in line for prez, keeping a bush in the WH is the Illuminati position for maintaining their control over the US. Vice prez either rummy or the weezle.

Also, Bob, I posted an idea a while back:

The 22nd Amendment says that no person shall be elected the the Presidency more than twice...

Well, bush was "selected" by the Supreme Court once; and theoretically "elected" once...

I'm sure that bush could get Alberto Gonzales to give him a legal reading, that he (bush) qualifies to run again...and SCOTUS would back him up.

Laws 'r us. We make 'em up every day to fit our agenda.

B Toest

Sounds like your 5 year old could teach you a thing or two.

Corn bloggers. LBH is dead to me.

B. Toest, thank goodness.

corky
If it was not for the fact that invading Iraq has made the effort against violent religious extremist's WORSE not better, your statement might actually make sense.

So I guess you are saying that the American homeland has been hit again, just like 911. I hadn't heard about any of the new attacks on American soil.

I didn't think America had been hit again. If I am right and we haven't been hit, that must mean you are lying about terrorism getting worse, and you are lying to mislead on purpose. Maybe not, Maybe you are just stupid

LBH, you are an idiot, I suspect most who read and post here know this. And by now, You must.

Corky, Daddy B always said..........pick your battles..win your wars.

He also said: Never suffer idiots gladly. When you induldge and engage the "bots" you get posers trying to sound like you.

Ignore them.

Capt, keep doing what you do here.

Jeanne, you also.

Saladin, you provide food for thought. Thank you all.

Perspective is often difficult to find online, and it exists here. I value this.

LBH, you are an idiot, I suspect most who read and post here know this. And by now, You must.

Corky, Daddy B always said..........pick your battles..win your wars.

He also said: Never suffer idiots gladly. When you induldge and engage the "bots" you get posers trying to sound like you.

Ignore them.

Capt, keep doing what you do here.

Jeanne, you also.

Saladin, you provide food for thought. Thank you all.

Perspective is often difficult to find online, and it exists here. I value this.

Perspective is often difficult to find online, and it exists here. I value this.

Posted by: titchaba at February 18, 2006 02:56 AM

Tit, Perspectives are everywhere on the net! You need to look at some sites where brighter and successful folks spend more time on (National Review, American Enterprise Institute, WSJ).

Here, lesser number of folks like LBH and I try to counter the perspectives of the `Regulars' who are stuck on one-way ticket to Doom & Gloom, and the only thing they have been really successful at, is finding that Doom and Gloom amid our globally envied (yes, many despises us) dominance and prosperity.

Ive had this nick a long time, only an idiot or a newbie would make the obvious references.

This classifies you for me.

Nuff said.

Really impressive copy paste here.