Once again, leaders are not held accountable. You are absolutely right Mr. Corn. Members of Congress are so afraid of the upcoming elections they sweep everything under the carpet in their attempts to appear hard on terror. Dangerous precedents are being set. Everything just slips on by.

The partianship on the Senate Intelligence Committee is one more example of how our government is broken -- non-functioning almost.

bush came to the WH as a "uniter, not a divider" which, of course, was a lie. bush's version of "uniting" is bullying everyone to fall into line -- behind him and his regime, or else.

If the Senate & House Repugs are so worried about November's elections, why do they keep "negotiating" with bush to the point of rolling over?

More stupid, secret stuff to come...the people and the Constitution be damned!

LOL!!! Their "job" is to keep America terrified and uninformed, and they are absolutely brilliant at it.

"Senator Jay Rockefeller...only would say "it's too...sensitive to talk about." But the public needs to hear more from its representatives than that.
==================================================
David, your "public", a very small part of the American population, WANTS, not necessarily `needs', to hear more about this. Intelligence is most useful when it is obtained covertly, lest we `alert' BOTH external enemies AND internal dissenters. Why don't the Extreme Left get this? Oh, well, keep this up, please, until November!

More:

"The existence of the program ain't no secret now. So there is less justification for the can't-say-anything approach... Their job is not to be secret-keepers but to make sure the secret-keepers are engaged in legal and effective conduct--and to convince the rest of us that they are indeed keeping a close eye on the vast clandestine wing of our government."
=================================================
Wait, you well know that the Exteme Left can NOT be convinced by anything other than indisputable FACTS? I sense irresponsible double-speak here! Weren't you holding up Pillar's comments in that CFR post just a day or two ago, something about "judgements are NOT facts"?

US rights groups ask courts to end domestic spying

DETROIT (Reuters) - Civil liberties groups on Thursday asked federal courts to halt the Bush administration's controversial program of domestic eavesdropping, saying it violated the privacy and free speech rights of U.S. citizens.

The requests for court-ordered injunctions filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Detroit and by the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York were an extension of legal challenges the two groups had filed in January.

Both civil rights groups said their most actions were prompted by indications that Republican senators were working with the White House to draft a law that would allowing eavesdropping on some communications to and from the United States without a warrant.
+++++++++++
Oh, great. Now, we'll see Snotty McClellan, Alberto Gonzales, Pat Roberts, et al. saying, "I won't comment on that while there is legal action...blah blah blah"

Now, they will clam up real tight. More secrets that don't have to be secret...

Sandra Day O'Connor Speaks out and unbelievably says "that it takes a long time to become a dictatorship but better to stop the slide at the beginning than the end."

Gee thanks, that's too little too late, considering the fact that she cast a vote to give us that psycho in 2000.

There is no provision in the Constitution that provides for executive action in diminution to individual rights with disclosure to a Congressional committee. If the wire taps are illegal, those persons who come to know about them, be they members of Congress or otherwise, become accessories after or before the fact to a crime.

Those who make a living at it, projected 210,000 new jobs for Feb.; the number announced today is over 240k! David, Those economists LIED!! And have lied repeatedly! Over the past 6 years, the monthly estimates have been off the mark by an avg. of 82,000 (WSJ, 3/10/06, page C-1)!

In Houston, the (month earlier) estimate of job growth for all of 2005 of 1.8% job growth, has been revised UP to 3.2% (Houston Chronicle, 3/10/06)! The Texas Workforce Commission's `judgement/estimate' were wrong, they flat out LIED!

On the non-partisan issue of Dubai:

I sent a message of apology to the UAE Embassy for the at-times, counter-productiveness of our democracy. It works in the long term, but often looks quite UGLY in the short term.

I hope our leadership, as a united gesture from both parties, will issue some kind of a message to the UAE to express our regrets. This port deal was simply poorly timed!
=================================================
The market is moving along nicely...Here's to hoping it ends the week on an upnote! Dispite much sneerings on the Corn blog, some of you surely have some `skin' in our financial markets? Or, do you just bury your money in the back yards waiting for the Doom & Gloom to gobble all of us up?

Saladin, I read the police state USA article.

is there a link to that? I would read it-

Alan and Jeanne from previous thread:

Some may think that it is "impractical to talk about impeachment" at this point (Bernie Sanders said that), because the Repugs control the House & Senate. However, I like the fact that those Vermont towns voted to impeach bush, even if it is just to send a message and let those who run for office at the national level know what their feelings are -- sort of a "sense of the citizens" movement.

I'd love it if my blue-state, open-minded town did the same thing, knowing full well that it is "impractical" to think that impeachment would actually happen. But, it would send a powerful message if hundreds of cities and towns across the nation acted on the "Impeach bush" movement.

I didn't know this until recently, but bush (and others) could be impeached even after they leave office. Well...that might be a waste of time and energy.

Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction.
~ Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC), The Frog and the Ox

The smaller the mind the greater the conceit.
~ Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC)

When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.
~ Bernard Bailey

Conceit is God's gift to little men.
~ Bruce Barton

For God hates utterly
The bray of bragging tongues.
~ Sophocles (496 BC - 406 BC), Antigone

The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.
~ Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881)

Here it is James.

Police State USA - Part One
Big Brother's Most Cool Tool

Capt

"Deceit"

"Cunning has the effect from the credulity of others, rather from the abilities from those who are cunning. It requires no extraordinary talents to lie and decieve."

Capt

Hypocrisy;Letters;Self-Knowledge;Vanity

"To charge those favourable representations which men give of their own minds with guilt of hypocritical falsehood, would show more severity than knowledge. The writer commonly believes himself. Almost every man's thoughts, while they are general, are right; and most hearts are pure while temptation is away. It is easy to awaken generous sentiments in privacy; to despise death when there is no danger; to glow with benevolence when there is nothing to be given. While such ideas are formed they are felt, and self-love does not suspect the gleam of virtue to be the meteor of fancy."

megalomania
One entry found for megalomania.

Main Entry: meg·a·lo·ma·nia
Pronunciation: "me-g&-lO-'mA-nE-&, -ny&
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin
1 : a mania for great or grandiose performance
2 : a delusional mental disorder that is marked by infantile feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur
- meg·a·lo·ma·ni·ac /-'mA-nE-"ak/ adjective or noun
- meg·a·lo·ma·ni·a·cal /-m&-'nI-&-k&l/ also meg·a·lo·man·ic /-'ma-nik/ adjective
- meg·a·lo·ma·ni·a·cal·ly /-m&-'nI-&-k(&-)lE/ adverb

I'm UNhappy with David Corn's Censor for eradicating my "Happy, Really" post of yesterday. It was not profane. - I simply told Happy, Really that I did not care about his opinion or where his kids do or do not go to school in response to Happy's disparaging of quote un-quote "liberal" institutions like Berkeley.

David held W accountable for the dirty tricks his campaign pulled on McCain in S.Carolina. I hold David accountable for his censor's decision to snuff my post.

I appreciate the support I received from cornbloggters here who said they care about my opinion.

I suggest DavidCorn.com post a link on the site with guidelines to identify the nature of posts which will not be permitted to stand so that we can abide by the rule of guidelines, rather than a capricious rule of man.

Who is this poster that calls them self "setting the Capt straight" and why do they conceal their identity?

"People who are arrogant on account of their wealth are about equal to the Laplanders, who measure a man's worth by the number of his reindeer." ~ Frederika Bremer

O'Reilly, he censored your post? I don't see why, I saw nothing offensive about it. Your opinions are certainly valuable and your insight appreciated. I don't remember David scrubbing posts before.

"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity." ~ Frank Leahy

"Egotism is nature's compensation for mediocrity." ~ L. A. Safian

"Egotism is the anesthetic given by a kindly nature to relieve the pain of being a damned fool." ~ Bellamy Brooks

"Courage is always greatest when blended with meekness; intellectual ability is most admired when it sparkles in the setting of modest self-distrust; and never does the human soul appear so strong as when it foregoes revenge and dares to forgive any injury." ~ Author Unknown

Sal, My post is gone. So is the post by goob that asked me rhetorically "Do you think anyone cares about your opinion?" Still on the thread are other posts from cornbloggers who said they did in fact care about my opinion.

I don't understand the standard here for acceptable content and tone.

"Have the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order to avoid the calamity of being ignorant of everything." ~ Sydney Smith (1771 - 1845)

Has anyone noticed the first 3 letters of congress are CON?

O'Reilly,

I remember reading your post. Was it taken off the thread after the fact? Which thread was it in? Although it's Mr. Corn's blog and he can do what he pleases, I would still frown upon a censored post that wasn't blatantly offensive, especially since I've seen much worse from the trolls.

The best thing we can all probably do as far as Happy is to ignore his blind, moronic proclamations that all is well in Bushworld. (I know; it's hard sometimes!) He'll eventually go away like they all do.

As for "setting Capt straight," well, that's most likely LBH. I can tell from the way he formats his posts and he got into a "quote war" with capt the last time he fouled the forum.

As for this thread's topic, our Congress is made up of cowards. What else is new? Rockefeller should be making a huge stink, but instead he's praising this bullshit sub-committee as a "step forward." Garbage. Currently, as several regulars (including yourself, I believe) have pointed out, Glenn Greenwald is doing the best blogging on the illegal NSA program. As a matter of fact, I'm going over to his place in a moment. Cheers!

"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self." ~ Aldous Huxley (1894 - 1963)

"A fool cannot be protected from his folly. If you attempt to do so, you will not only arouse his animosity but also you will be attempting to deprive him of whatever benefit he is capable of deriving from experience. Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig." ~ Robert A. Heinlein

O'Reilly, in the 17 months I have been here I have seen comments of all sorts, some extremely rude and obnoxious insults passed out, mega bandwidth posts containing porn links, ridiculous and inflamatory accusations against David and tons of general bickering, but NEVER have I known there to be any censoring until now. If that is true I am very disappointed, the most valuable thing to me about this blog has been it's complete openness, an endangered species nowadays. David, can you shed some light please?

"Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives." ~ John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873)

"Sometimes it seems like God is difficult to find and impossibly far away. We get so caught up in our small daily duties and irritations that they become the only things that we can focus on. What we forget is that God's love and beauty are all around us, every day, if only we would take the time to look up and see them." ~ Matthias, Correction Weblog, 11-01-03

"It's not vanity to know your own good points. It would just be stupidity if you didn't; It's only vanity when you get puffed up about them." ~ L. M. Montgomery (1874 - 1942), The Story Girl

A thousand apologies to David Corn and others. My post was NOT snuffed. I thought it was in one thread and it was in another.

thread (link)

I'd like to amend my post where I made the claim but short of that I will post the retraction here.

Again, I am sorry I mistakenly claimed a post of mine was censored when it was NOT.

O'Reilly, no worries :-)

"Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vaccuum tubes and perhaps weigh 1.5 tons." ~ unknown, Popular Mechanics, March 1949

The Conservative Epiphany
Like Dawn over Marblehead

Bruce Bartlett, the author of "Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy," is an angry man. At a recent book forum at the Cato Institute, he declared that the Bush administration is "unconscionable," "irresponsible," "vindictive" and "inept."

It's no wonder, then, that one commentator wrote of Mr. Bartlett that "if he were a cartoon character, he would probably look like Donald Duck during one of his famous tirades, with steam pouring out of his ears."

Oh, wait. That's not what somebody wrote about Mr. Bartlett. It's what Mr. Bartlett wrote about me in September 2003, when I was saying pretty much what he's saying now.

Human nature being what it is, I don't expect Mr. Bartlett to acknowledge his about-face. Nor do I expect any expressions of remorse from Andrew Sullivan, the conservative Time.com blogger who also spoke at the Cato forum. Mr. Sullivan used to specialize in denouncing the patriotism and character of anyone who dared to criticize President Bush, whom he lionized. Now he himself has become a critic, not just of Mr. Bush's policies, but of his personal qualities, too.

Never mind; better late than never. We should welcome the recent epiphanies by conservative commentators who have finally realized that the Bush administration isn't trustworthy. But we should guard against a conventional wisdom that seems to be taking hold in some quarters, which says there's something praiseworthy about having initially been taken in by Mr. Bush's deceptions, even though the administration's mendacity was obvious from the beginning.

According to this view, if you're a former Bush supporter who now says, as Mr. Bartlett did at the Cato event, that "the administration lies about budget numbers," you're a brave truth-teller. But if you've been saying that since the early days of the Bush administration, you were unpleasantly shrill.

Similarly, if you're a former worshipful admirer of George W. Bush who now says, as Mr. Sullivan did at Cato, that "the people in this administration have no principles," you're taking a courageous stand. If you said the same thing back when Mr. Bush had an 80 percent approval rating, you were blinded by Bush-hatred.

And if you're a former hawk who now concedes that the administration exaggerated the threat from Iraq, you're to be applauded for your open-mindedness. But if you warned three years ago that the administration was hyping the case for war, you were a conspiracy theorist.

The truth is that everything the new wave of Bush critics has to say was obvious long ago to any commentator who was willing to look at the facts.

more (subscription) link

The Conservative Epiphany
Like Dawn over Marblehead

Bruce Bartlett, the author of "Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy," is an angry man. At a recent book forum at the Cato Institute, he declared that the Bush administration is "unconscionable," "irresponsible," "vindictive" and "inept."

It's no wonder, then, that one commentator wrote of Mr. Bartlett that "if he were a cartoon character, he would probably look like Donald Duck during one of his famous tirades, with steam pouring out of his ears."

Oh, wait. That's not what somebody wrote about Mr. Bartlett. It's what Mr. Bartlett wrote about me in September 2003, when I was saying pretty much what he's saying now.

Human nature being what it is, I don't expect Mr. Bartlett to acknowledge his about-face. Nor do I expect any expressions of remorse from Andrew Sullivan, the conservative Time.com blogger who also spoke at the Cato forum. Mr. Sullivan used to specialize in denouncing the patriotism and character of anyone who dared to criticize President Bush, whom he lionized. Now he himself has become a critic, not just of Mr. Bush's policies, but of his personal qualities, too.

Never mind; better late than never. We should welcome the recent epiphanies by conservative commentators who have finally realized that the Bush administration isn't trustworthy. But we should guard against a conventional wisdom that seems to be taking hold in some quarters, which says there's something praiseworthy about having initially been taken in by Mr. Bush's deceptions, even though the administration's mendacity was obvious from the beginning.

According to this view, if you're a former Bush supporter who now says, as Mr. Bartlett did at the Cato event, that "the administration lies about budget numbers," you're a brave truth-teller. But if you've been saying that since the early days of the Bush administration, you were unpleasantly shrill.

Similarly, if you're a former worshipful admirer of George W. Bush who now says, as Mr. Sullivan did at Cato, that "the people in this administration have no principles," you're taking a courageous stand. If you said the same thing back when Mr. Bush had an 80 percent approval rating, you were blinded by Bush-hatred.

And if you're a former hawk who now concedes that the administration exaggerated the threat from Iraq, you're to be applauded for your open-mindedness. But if you warned three years ago that the administration was hyping the case for war, you were a conspiracy theorist.

The truth is that everything the new wave of Bush critics has to say was obvious long ago to any commentator who was willing to look at the facts.

more (subscription) link

Can Good Catholics vote Republican?
By Glenn Greenwald

Bush opponents spend a great deal of time analyzing all sorts of political issues when trying to determine how best to campaign for the 2006 Congressional elections. We hear that Republicans are in serious trouble because of issues such as Iraq, the port controversy, corruption problems, Katrina ineptitude, and a general dissatisfaction with the direction of the country.

All of that may be true, but issues like that are only one level on which these elections are fought and decided. Karl Rove has specialized in winning elections by waging battle on an entirely different level that has little to do with substantive issues and everything to do with cultural symbols and religious divisions -- a level which Democrats want to ignore and seem to be afraid of engaging. But those who want to end the one-party rule under which our country is suffocating have no choice but to engage those levels, and there is no reason at all why they should fear doing so.

One of the most reprehensible (and effective) electoral tactics which the GOP used to defeat John Kerry in 2004 -- and, unquestionably, it is a tactic which Republicans are gearing up to exploit even more aggressively for 2006 -- is the increasingly overt claim that adherence to Catholicism compels a vote for Republicans (and precludes voting for Democrats). It is difficult to overstate the potency and efficacy of that tactic. From Reason Magazine:

Hence, the Republican Party's "Catholic Strategy." Bush strategist Karl Rove identified the Catholic vote as central to his long-term plan to convert swathes of traditional Democratic voters, thereby transforming the Republicans into the majority party. Throughout the 2004 campaign, Rove maintained that, if Bush won the Catholic vote, he would be reelected. Rove was right.

more (link)

Ok no wonder the last post was so quiet, had Corky and I talking to each other, I better go get him.

Deja Vu, how to blow a whale......up, hasn't this been tried already? Holy flying blubber Batman! Those Scottsmen are going to try it too!. Better bring the umbrella, Angus.EEEEWWWW!

Here is the non-happy reality of economics USA style. Don't like it? Take it up with the FED. who is responsible for roughly 8% inflation. But in happyland, there is no such thing as inflation!
-------------
Mogambo Guru

...inflation in the stock market has not even been enough to offset the fall in the value of the dollar. "In other words, "on a purchasing power basis, today's Dow is at 79.74% of its purchasing power compared with the 1/14/2000 peak week."

inflation will kill your purchasing power! And inflation is the only way that everybody can put ten bucks into a tin can labeled "stock market" and everybody can come back later and take out twenty bucks! So do you STILL think that your precious 401(k) is going to help you retire? Hahaha! You will find, to your dismay, that you have "invested" a dollar's worth of buying power today to get back seventy cents worth of buying power when you retire, and probably less! Where the hell is the value in THAT? Hahaha! Put money into common stocks over the long term? Hahaha! What do I look like? An idiot?

The Federal Reserve admitted in a press release that "Average incomes after adjusting for inflation actually fell from 2001 to 2004, and the growth in net worth was the weakest in a decade."

"Average family incomes," the report said "after adjusting for inflation, fell to $70,700 in 2004, a drop of 2.3 percent when compared with 2001. That was the weakest showing since a decline of 11.3 percent from 1989 to 1992, a period that also covered a recession."

The Fed admitted that "The gap between the very wealthy and other income groups widened during the period. The top 10 percent of households saw their net worth rise by 6.1 percent to an average of $3.11 million while the bottom 10 percent suffered a decline from a net worth in which their assets equaled their liabilities in 2001 to owing $1,400 more than their total assets in 2004." I am shocked! In short, poor people, who used to have nothing, now have less than nothing? They now have a negative net worth? Yow!
------------

Statement of Robert A. Levy, Ph.D., J.D. Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies Cato Institute Washington, D.C. submitted to Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate Wartime Executive Power and the NSA's Surveillance Authority II................................................To be sure, the FISA statute was drafted to deal with peacetime intelligence. But that does not mean the statute can be ignored when applied to the post-9/11 war on terror. First, the FISA text makes no distinction between wartime and peacetime. To conduct surveillance without statutory authorization, in wartime or peacetime, is a crime, punishable by up to five years in prison.22 Second, in passing FISA, Congress expressly contemplated warrantless surveillance during wartime, but limited it to the first 15 days after war is declared. The statute reads: "Notwithstanding any other law, the President, through the Attorney General, may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order under this title to acquire foreign intelligence information for a period not to exceed fifteen calendar days following a declaration of war by the Congress."23 Third, FISA warrant requirements and electronic surveillance provisions were amended by the USA PATRIOT Act,24 which was passed in response to 9/11 and signed by President Bush. If 9/11 triggered "wartime," as the administration has repeatedly and convincingly argued, then the amended FISA is clearly a wartime statute..........................Very clear anaylsis of the illegality of King Georges snooping. Now the question remains, this administration is STILL THERE? read the rest here

the first meeting of the new panel set up by the Senate intelligence committee to oversee the warrantless wiretapping ordered by Bush was a disappointment.

was it? wow, so was the 911 commission and the phase II commission and the plame investigation and the abramoff investigation and is there even a katrina committee at all?
never fear! there will no doubt be another committee/commission/investigation into something or other that we can look forward to being disappointed in again!

click my name.

We owe and owe so off to work we go, The meaningless working poor. Useless Eaters I think was the words used to describe us non-mega rich folks. Gee makes me wonder about our classroom monitor, Happy. Would he define us as such. I think David could have done better hiring an actual human being to be our monitor instead of a wannabe billionaire.

Ok you read the Cato story about the snooping done "for our protection" now read the documents released by the Justice Dept. I must warn any viewers to have BOOTS and an BARF BAG handy. The real deal here.

DEN, what is it about the forth amendment that they don't understand??

I never thought of rummy as a souvenir kinda guy but every now and then I'm wrong, a bit of the plane? that hit the Pentagon.

Sal, oh wow there is life here besides me! disregard the e-mail then.

Sal, reading the JD memos I have to wonder if these yoyos ever graduated High School or they were just High!

"Any man who is under 30, and is not liberal, has no heart; and any man over 30, who is not conservative, has no brains."

Winston Churchill

Hey Jeanne! I wonder if Red Green knows about this.

Oh yea, thats what we need another friggin CRITIC!

Envy of Happy

"Mediocrity doesn't mean average intelligence, it means an average intelligence that resents and envies it's betters."

Ayn Rand

"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd."

Bertrand Russell

55, that sounds just like a country I know of, one in which the citizens have an irrational fear of harmless people on the other side of the planet and so become convinced that those people must be eliminated.

Happy to see happy has a happy sense of humor. Just how happy are you happy. Does posting trivial crap on this blog make you happy?

"Keep your faers to yourself, but share your inspirations with others."

Robert Louis Stevenson

"The hens they all cackle, the roosters all beg,
But I will not hatch, I will not hatch.
For I hear all the talk of pollution and war
As the people all shout and the airplane roar,
So I'm staying in here where it's safe and it's warm, And I will not hatch."

Shel Silverstein

Setting happy straight: ahppy, hhpya, hypap, paphy. don't look now but your happyhummer is on fire.

Message to God: Please smite these intolerable cornuts they won't stop and it's making me un-Happy.

"Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool,than to speak and remove all doubt."

Abraham Lincoln

"A word to the wise (Happy) ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones (Cornnuts) who need the advice."

Bill Cosby

Happy is rich,Happy has money, to bad Happy is'nt funny.

He that criticizes others, must be willing to be criticized himself. Robert Smith

I thought that jerk Mr. Foulmouth Bill Cosby had better grammar than that.

*what we've all been waiting for... another online poll from AOL inside this article.

Poll Numbers on Bush Hit New Low
Nearly 70 Percent Say Country Headed in Wrong Direction

WASHINGTON (March 10) - More and more Americans, particularly Republicans, disapprove of President George W. Bush's performance, question his character and no longer consider him a strong leader against terrorism, according to an AP-Ipsos poll documenting one of the bleakest points of his presidency.

Nearly four out of five Americans, including 70 percent of Republicans, believe civil war will break out in Iraq - the bloody hot spot upon which Bush has staked his presidency. Nearly 70 percent of people say the U.S. is on the wrong track, a 6-point jump since February.
===============================
haha Happy is one of them 1/3'rs.

How do you rate President Bush on domestic affairs?
Poor 87%
Good 7%
Fair 6%
Total Votes: 32,928

How do rate him on overall foreign policy and terrorism?
Poor 85%
Good 9%
Fair 7%
Total Votes: 33,026

How do you rate him on Iraq?
Poor 90%
Good 6%
Fair 4%
Total Votes: 21,147

How do you rate President Bush's overall performance?
Poor 88%
Good 6%
Fair 6%
Total Votes: 21,504

How do you rate his overall personality and leadership?
Poor 85%
Fair 8%
Good 7%
Total Votes: 20,349

Would you vote for him in 2008 if you could?
No 93%
Yes 7%
Total Votes: 20,632
==========
scratch that 1/3 remark, and correct it to... Happy is one of the 7%'rs. hahaha And he thinks anybody here gives a fk what he thinks.

"A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five."

Groucho Marx

"It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense."

Robert green Ingersoll

David:

My apologies for gettting under the skins of your Lefty Groupies. Today, I seemed to have made some unscheduled appearances and was also referenced a few times; especially by somebody who likes to shoot (you) first! I completely understand & forgive them and I think you do as well.

I also noticed that a `setter' has joined in to share this burden of supporting this blog with some `sense and sensibilities'. My thanks to the Setter!

I hope you have a good weekend as we begin Spring Break; temp. in the 80s', imagine that:-)

"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."

John Wooden

"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit."

Helen Keller

Alan, nobody likes him, everybody hates him, and through it all he remains clueless: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Down in public opinion polls, President George W. Bush said on Friday he realizes he has made some unpopular decisions but that it "comes with the territory" and he will stand by his beliefs. "I know some would like me to change, but you can't be a good decision-maker if you're trying to please people. You've got to stand on what you believe, that's what you've got to do, if you're going to make decisions that are solid and sound," he said.----- More sillyness HERE

"Not to be born is best, but having seen the light, the next best is to go whence one came as soon as may be."

Sophocles

"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit."

*or republican either, cause they wanna go backward

You left out that part.

from People For the American Way...

I want to take a moment to thank you for joining with People For the American Way to address our nation's current constitutional crisis.

Since we launched our campaign, you've sent more than 85,000 petition messages calling for a Special Prosecutor to investigate President Bush's NSA domestic spying program. In the past two days, you've sent 35,000 messages telling Congress that they must not rubber stamp White House lawbreaking. And more than 15,000 of you have taken advantage of FOIArequest.org to file Freedom of Information Act requests in an effort to find out if you've been a target of government surveillance.

Of the four pillars upon which our campaign to restore the Constitution is based -- accountability, transparency, oversight, and public vigilance -- the last of these is critically important. You are playing a crucial role in shedding light on government wrongdoing and letting lawmakers know that you're counting on them to perform their oversight obligations.

Your energy is driving our campaign.

Sincerely,
Ralph G. Neas
President

"Abraham Lincoln did not go to Gettysburg having commissioned a poll to find out what would sell in Gettysburg. There were no people with percentages for him, cautioning him about this group or that group or what they found in exit polls a year ealier. When will we have the courage of Lincoln?"

Robert Coles

#69 Does sucking up to your boss make you a better man? or does it just make you feel better? You should seek psychiatric help for your narcissistic personality disorder. I'd be willing to help at a reduced rate, naw I take that back you're not poor enough to qualify.

petitions at PFAW...

call for a special prosecutor

Congress must not rubber stamp lawbreaking

make a FOIA request

"Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be."

Thomas A Kempis

My mother used to say, "He who angers you, conquers you!" But my mother was a saint.

Elizabeth Kenny

Is Gale Norton resigning from Interior because of her connections to Abramoff or because she hasn't helped the cheney/bush OILIONNAIRES enough on opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling? Or both?

*worf another look --- that movie trailer again

Why We Fight

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Stop with the gd quotes already! I had enough.

"I used to think anyone doing anything weird was weird. Now I know that it is the people that call others weird that are weird."

Paul McCartney

Happy, Im not angry with you, quite possible that you are projecting, it all part of your illness. Please seek help.

Oh I like the Do-Do principle, Do as I say not as I Do. Sen. Frist has no shortage of either, plenty of Do-Do to go around! On the Turning Away(Pink Floyd)

More Texas voting machine goofups, and it wasn't Diebolds this time, Wonder if Tommy boy Delay got the primary this way?

Holy cow! it happened in Florida too, so much for HIGH technology.

With the current record of electronic voting machines and their propensity for errors, I vote we bring pencils and paper back. It worked for many years. Some times the proven methods are best.

More on that Do-Do principle. Do you remember the teacher in CO being chastized for speaking the truth to his students? Well the story isnt over yet, something about another teacher using duct tape to paste one of his students to a chair at the same school. The Red Green approach to teaching is apparently OK but real teaching is not? Bizzaro indeed!

carol 83 -
Stop with the gd quotes already! I had enough.

can I quote you on that?

"I am smarter than anyone who posts here and I find much better quotes than anyone who posts here and my opinion is the most correct opinion here and anyone who disagrees is stupid or at least ignorant and I am happier than anyone here and more successful in terms of my income and the furnishings of my home and the attractiveness of my wife and the intelligence and genetic make-up of my successful and intelligent children.

From the vantage point of me, a superior human, I smite the rest of you for your inferiority in all things

- O'Reilly

Carol,

I apologize for ever posting anything resembling a quote. Never meant to train the troll how to do so.

It is the closest thing to a troll posting something meaningful but alas the troll can misapply even the simple rules of good words, good taste and decorum.

I have always found meaning in the words and phrases, the troll only sees a game. *sigh*

All apologies.

capt

"If a small thing has the power to make you angry, does that not indicate something about your size?"

Sydney J Harris

O'Reilly: Blowing Iran "off the face of the earth ... would be the sane thing to do"

On the March 8 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Bill O'Reilly stated: "You know, in a sane world, every country would unite against Iran and blow it off the face of the earth. That would be the sane thing to do." O'Reilly made the remark during a discussion of Iran's recent threat to cause "harm and pain" to the U.S. if it pursues sanctions against Iran in the U.N. Security Council because of Iran's developing nuclear program.

As Media Matters for America has documented, O'Reilly recently declared that "it's just a matter of time ... before we have to bomb" Iran.
----------
WRH comment:
But President Ahmadinejad is bad for saying the exact same thing about Israel.
--------------
You know, there are some seriously disturbed people in this country. I hope everyone is investing in canned goods, silver and bullets, in that order!

Apparently Texas has a different approach to poverty. Called the meanest city in America, Dallas goes out of its way to discourage poor folks from receiving charity handouts. By eliminating the charity handouts

"Believe you are defeated, believe it long enough, and it is likely to become fact."

Norman Vincent Peale

"Defeat never comes to any man until he admits it."

Josephus Daniels

PRESIDENT OF IRAN IS A ‘TOTAL WHACK JOB,’ SAYS KIM JONG-IL

Recent Comments Make Iranian Seem Like Madman, Madman Says Reacting to recent threats by Iranian President Mahmoud Amadinejad to inflict "harm and pain" on the U.S. in retaliation for clamping down on its nuclear program, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il today called Mr. Amadinejad "a total whack job."

Kim’s comment about President Amadinejad surprised many in the international community, since it is highly unusual for one member of the Axis of Evil to criticize another in public.

But according to the North Korean dictator, "When Mahmoud shoots his mouth off like that he makes us all look like a bunch of nuts."

"It’s the Axis of Evil," Kim added, "not the Axis of Lunatics."

Hours after Kim made his remarks, however, Osama bin Laden appeared in a new videotape to pooh-pooh any speculation about a rift between the North Korean madman and the Iranian madman.

Mr. bin Laden, who replaced Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the Axis of Evil when he was toppled in 2003, said that trash-talking between Kim and Mr. Amadinejad was "nothing out of the ordinary" for the two evildoers.

"That’s how they roll," Mr. bin Laden said, adding that Axis of Evil meetings often descend into insults and "yo mama" jokes.

While the al Qaeda terror mastermind said that his two colleagues were often exasperating, he said he has no plans to leave the Axis of Evil: "Someone around here has to be the voice of reason."

Elsewhere, Vice President Dick Cheney made his case for warrantless wiretaps today, telling reporters, "Everything else we’ve done for the past five years has been completely unwarranted."

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

"Axis of evil" or "Ask us of evil" - they sound the same to me. HA!

capt

Dont be too hard on Happy, he has issues he needs to deal with. He's really NOT that happy, more lonely. I think David hired him because he felt sorry for little guy. Nuff sed. nite all!

I have a perfect quote for that!

But I digress.

(now if anyone can train the troll in the art of moderation, wit, humor, or class - I know - baby steps)

capt

G'nite DEN.

"Setting whomever straight" Why do you hide behind an alias?

For the project, IBM will collaborate with key sub-contractor, Hart InterCivic, an Austin-based company specializing in election management and e-government solutions."With this solution, Texas will lead the country as the state with the most advanced, secure and accurate system for maintaining the highest level of voter integrity," said Roger Williams, Texas' 105th Secretary of State. "We selected IBM for its global leadership in system integration, application development and e-government solutions, and sub-contractor Hart InterCivic for its in-depth elections management expertise.

I'm pretty certain that Harris County (Tom DeLay's stomping grounds) uses the Hart InterCivic voting system. Hart InterCivic was "awarded" a huge voter outreach/voter edducation contract (brazilion dollars!) in Harris County which was promoted as Harris Votes! The Houston office of Hill & Knowlton Public Relations (one of the busheviks' favorite PR firms for their propaganda projects) worked with Hart InterCivic on the project.

There's a saying in Texas, "Vote Early and Vote Often"

oops...my #103 was in response to #87

"I have a fine sense of the ridiculous, but no sense of humor."

Edward Albee

"Wit is the lowest form of humor."

Alexander Pope

"Good taste and humour... are a contradiction in terms, like a chaste whore."

Malcolm Muggeridge

Over the course of a week, I enjoy this site. There is wit, there is dependability; there are LINKS and there are quotes; we have thinkers and we have our trolls. It does not seem possible to be a bush supporter and not be a troll. For oversight to mean cover-up and follow-the-leader to be patriotism is not a defensable(spell) position.HA(as in James)!
I am afraid of posting because it seems that there is a list of anti-Bush Americans.I wish the NSA was keeping track of Bush supporters because our American heritage, our inherent morality,our world standing, and our founders' constitution is under attack by the very people who are watching us. Our only chance is if we can overwhelm them with numbers and restore our constitutional form of America. By the way, The Congress is responsable for oversight!!!!

responsible

All of the bluster and "straightening out" of others is an expression of insecurity. The troll wants acceptance but has never learned how to achieve that end. He makes himself a social pariah to compensate for his lack of social skills and to avoid rejection.

The effort to define himself as our better is a defensive response in anticipation of the abject failure due to a complete lack of social interacrive skills. In other words: he knows he is not going to be embraced by anybody so he sabotages his potential interaction by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that feeds the fake and exaggerated over-inflated ego.

He was the kid that everybody beat up on in grade school. He is still that same annoying little kid. Emotional destruction is always self-imposed and it is clear he is still punishing himself for past failures. He does not trust himself to love so he hates. How very sad.

Somewhere, beneath all of the "better, smarter, etc." bullshit is a very scared little boy that desperately needs recognition. He convinced himself long ago that nobody will ever really like him, let alone love him so he jumps past the risk of trying to be liked and makes sure nobody likes him. That is a safety mechanism from rejection just like the grandiose uber-ego shields the real ego from the realization that he is no better or no worse just lacking any self acceptance.

Somewhere deep inside all of the insults and belittling is a child that badly needs some acceptance and tolerance, two things he does not think he is entitled to. Obviously he thinks we are his better or he would not try to define himself in the terms he uses. There is obviously a fascination with the issues we speak to and by reading what we post he exposes a deeply denied respect for what we post and opine.

We need to start complimenting him on his best efforts. Congratulate him on his evolution as a person, humor his concerted efforts to be hated because he is just confused.

Let us embrace his mendacity, tolerate his inanity, and accept his insults as a message of love. Somewhere behind the lines and meaningless diatribe is someone who wants to be one of us. He always comes back that is a telling compliment indeed.

Then again what do I know? HA! I think I made a monster by using quotations. *sigh*

capt

Little Green Molecules (pdf)

Chemists have invented a new class of catalysts that can destroy some of the worst pollutants before they get into the environment

The fish that live in the Anacostia River, which flows through the heart of Washington, D.C., are not enjoying its waters very much. The Anacostia is contaminated with the molecular remnants of dyes, plastics, asphalt and pesticides. Recent tests have shown that up to 68 percent of the river's brown bullhead catfish suffer from liver cancer. Wildlife officials recommend that anyone who catches the river's fish toss them back uneaten, and swimming has been banned.

The Anacostia is just one of dozens of severely polluted rivers in the U.S. The textile industry alone discharges 53 billion gallons of wastewater--loaded with reactive dyes and other hazardous chemicals--into America's rivers and streams every year. New classes of pollutants are turning up in the nation's drinking water: traces of drugs, pesticides, cosmetics and even birth-control hormones. The amounts are often infinitesimal, measured in parts per billion or trillion (a part per billion is roughly equivalent to one grain of salt dissolved in a swimming pool), but scientists suspect that even tiny quantities of some pollutants can disrupt the developmental biochemistry that determines human behavior, intelligence, immunity and reproduction.

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

Some very interesting stuff. Times they are a changing.

capt

Lying David Corn wrote:
The point of congressional oversight of national security matters is to assure the citizens of the republic that the government, when it engages in classified action, is not violating the law or the Constitution and not doing anything really stupid.

You mean like attacking its own citizens on 9/11, David, you lying scumbag?

You're as bad as Nancy Lying Pelosi, who praises the current regime with faint damns (as in "one of the worst adminstrations ever").



Besides Lying David Corn and Lying Nancy Pelosi and Lying Harry Reid and Lying Corporate Media, HERE'S WHY ELSE THE TRUTH ABOUT 9/11 HASN'T MOVED:

911TRUTH WEB OF DISINFORMATION

#52
Den,
Yaaa....you betcha.

#93
Capt,
The Bush administration learned early on that troll types are easily trained. It's pretty much all that trolls are good at...except making money of course. *cough*

#114
It's refers to the post 93. It is imitating. I have yet to see a troll who uses creative thought.

Ok, this is about as low as pond scum.

Fancy Ford: GOP slams candidate seeking Senate leader's seat

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has launched an unusual assault against the Democratic candidate seeking to succeed Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) in the Senate. Frist has signaled he will retire after this session and is expected to run for president.

The Republicans' website, FancyFord.com, paints Ford as a playboy. "Congressman Harold Ford Jr. likes to live the good life... perhaps a little too much. Lavish hotel stays. Fine dining. Couture suits. Parties with Playboy Playmates... all on his campaign contributor's dime."

....Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, blasted the ad.

"It's hardly surprising that a week after Congressman Ford challenged the White House on its plan to turn our ports over to a country linked to Al Qaeda that the Republicans are resorting to character assassination," Singer said. "They’≤e doing the same thing to Republican Peter King who challenged the White House on the ports deal and suddenly found himself kicked off the plane that was going to take him on a Congressional delegation trip to Iraq."
------------------------
Republicans, the party of the intentionally mean.

Friday Night Surprise: White House Aide Caught In Shoplifting Scheme

When Claude Allen, the former Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, resigned suddenly a few weeks ago, the White House gave its official explanation for the departure:

President Bush’s domestic policy advisor, Claude A. Allen, has resigned to spend more time with his family, the White House said.

Many were skeptical of the White House’s explanation. It turns out the suspicions were justified: Allen was arrested yesterday and charged in a "retail theft scheme." From the police report:

More HERE

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

Lobbying scams, bribes, theft of public funds, lying, exposing covert CIA agents, lying to sitting grand juries - now THIS? I am shocked, I am appalled, I am not surprised as all criminal enterprise is practiced by crimes at every level. Big or little, large or small, these slugs are not able to do anything legal.

capt

"Republicans, the party of the intentionally mean. "

The party that all abused children eventually join.

Poor kids.

capt

Friday Night Surprise: White House Aide Caught In Shoplifting Scheme

When Claude Allen, the former Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, resigned suddenly a few weeks ago, the White House gave its official explanation for the departure:

President Bush's domestic policy advisor, Claude A. Allen, has resigned to spend more time with his family, the White House said.

Many were skeptical of the White House’≥ explanation. It turns out the suspicions were justified: Allen was arrested yesterday and charged in a "retail theft scheme."

...Allen had been receiving refunds in an amount exceeding $5,000 during last year.

...UPDATE: Allen had the highest salary of any employee in the White House, tied with Karl Rove, Andrew Card, and Stephen Hadley, among others. He was earning $161,000 a year.

UPDATE II: Atrios debunks one early right-wing talking point that Allen was some unknown staffer. In fact, he was the top domestic policy adviser and a former Bush Federal Circuit Court nominee. The Washington Post labeled him the embodiment of "conservative values."
----------------
Another great choice for the Bush administration. The expression 'high standards' has no meaning in this administration. No wait, I take that back. If you have high standards you're out.

You did it again Capt. I have to learn to type faster.

Capt,
I always think of the island of fun that Pinocchio goes to. The Bush administration and the Republican party are the grown up version of that story. The funny thing is, in the story they turn into donkeys.

Pentagon's Blank Check May Be Withdrawn

Congressional Unease Mounts
Amid Off-Budget War Spending
And Ballooning Deficits

WASHINGTON -- For nearly five years, defense spending has been on the rise, with little protest in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks and amid the war on terrorism. Now, signs suggest the Pentagon's days of open checkbooks are numbered.

Deficit pressures, scandals involving defense contracts, congressional unease with administration bookkeeping for war costs, and the increased unpopularity of the president and his antiterrorism policies are combining to end defense spending's status as the budget's sacred cow. Expenses for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan will remain favored. But the rest of a defense budget now exceeding a half-trillion dollars a year is in for a squeeze.

"We are at a critical juncture," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg told Pentagon officials at a hearing last week. "Just as we strongly support the war on terrorism, we must also recognize that there is no such thing as an unlimited budget. Difficult choices must be made."

More HERE

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

We spend too much on military stuff that is not necessary, not for the moment. If I were in charge I would shut down all of the expensive research and development and put those guys to work on vests, armor and anti-IED technology.

But what do I know? HA!

capt

Love the same-same posting, like minds and all that!

Love the mixed metaphor!

Of course, I would add, they wish they were able to turn into a donkey. That would be a huge improvement from garden slug. Not to mention the honesty and majesty of the equine class.

capt

#123
I was thinking democrats. (donkey) He He He.

Enough of the D.C. Dems

Mah fellow progressives, now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the party. I don’t know about you, but I have had it with the D.C. Democrats, had it with the DLC Democrats, had it with every calculating, equivocating, triangulating, straddling, hair-splitting son of a bitch up there, and that includes Hillary Rodham Clinton.

I will not be supporting Senator Clinton because: a) she has no clear stand on the war and b) Terri Schiavo and flag-burning are not issues where you reach out to the other side and try to split the difference. You want to talk about lowering abortion rates through cooperation on sex education and contraception, fine, but don’t jack with stuff that is pure rightwing firewater.

I can’t see a damn soul in D.C. except Russ Feingold who is even worth considering for President. The rest of them seem to me so poisonously in hock to this system of legalized bribery they can’t even see straight.

More HERE

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

Chapter and verse!

capt

They can't even win a war of words

Democrats are mired in smallness. How hard can it be to craft a message of passion?

'TOGETHER, America can do better." When you hear that, do you feel inspired?

I didn't think so.

The Democratic Party's current slogan seems to be leaving most people cold. It apparently went down well in focus groups, but that's only because the focus groups probably consisted of the recently embalmed and the alternative slogan was "Together, America can achieve mediocrity."

Watching the Democrats stumbling around in search of a "message" is the only thing more agonizing than watching the Republicans destroy this country. Five years of Republican-controlled government have brought us an unwinnable war, a global reputation in tatters, incomprehensibly irresponsible fiscal policies, shameful neglect of our neediest citizens and a government incapable of coping with either natural disaster or terrorist threats.

Yet somehow the Democratic Party still can't do any better than "America can do better."

"You can do better" is what you say to a dim child whose grades were even worse than expected. Is this really the Democrats' message to the nation: that we don't need to be quite as pathetic as we now are, though excellence is certainly beyond our reach?

More HERE

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

Another good piece speaking to the soft under-belly of the DNC and the legions of DINO’s and lapdog sycophants too spinless or weak to stand up for us.

capt

When Democracy Looks Like Civil War

Recent studies offer a damning assesment of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq. Thanks to US political and military failures, the country could soon become failed state. Experts warn that it's time to implement an emergency plan before civil war breaks out

The verdicts reached by the experts are harsh: "The political system that the United States has helped set up in Iraq ... is a house of cards," writes failed-states expert Marina Ottaway in her recent study "Back from the Brink: A Strategy for Iraq." "Time is running out," warns Kenneth Pollack of the Brookings Institution in a February Atlantic Monthly article. "A six- to 12-month window of opportunity may be all that remains before the spiral toward possible chaos and civil war is beyond control."

More HERE

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

Watch, the MSM will not call it a civil war until after the mid-term election has been stolen. Then they will report about how Iraq has turned into a civil war "almost overnight".

capt

OH MY OHIO: Third Election Official Indicted on Charges of Gaming 2004 Presidential Recount!

All Three Still Allowed to Work at Cuyahoga County Board Even While Under Indictment...
In case you don't know, the ballots from the 2004 Presidential Election in Ohio have never actually been counted. Or even recounted.

The "official" recount, called for by the Green and Libertarian Parties in the state, was gamed and carried out completely against state law by Ohio's Sec. of State (and Bush/Cheney's Re-Election Committee Co-Chair) J. Kenneth Blackwell.

The Green and Libertarian Parties are still challenging that recount in Federal Court. As well, two Cuyahoga County Election Officials were indicted last August for gaming that (non)recount.

And today, AP informs us, a third one has just been nabbed as well...

CLEVELAND (AP) — The third highest ranking employee at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has been indicted on charges of mishandling ballots during the 2004 presidential election recount.

Jacqueline Maiden is the third board worker charged with six counts alleging that Ohio laws were not followed in the selection and review of ballots for the recount.
...
Maiden, now the board's elections coordinator, was the director of the elections division during the recount in December 2004.

Two other board workers, Rosie Grier and Kathleen Dreamer, were indicted in August and scheduled for trial May 8. Dreamer was the manager of the board's ballot department and Grier was an assistant manager.

Amazingly enough -- or perhaps not, since this is Ohio, after all, where the rule of law no longer actually applies -- the story also reports that "All three [indicted] employees continue to work at the board."

"We're in the process of converting to the electronic voting, and we need our best people," board chairman Bob Bennett said. "We've moved them from any responsibility of recount or responsibility of ballots."

Sure you have, Bob. We all feel much better. We guess by "best people" he means the ones who are most indicted.

(Perhaps he should consider hiring the affable Jack Abramoff to answer the phones for them during this busy season?!)
--------------------
Abramoff is looking for a floor sweeping job. Oh and you know, as Jack points out, prison is no place for these people. Maybe they could work for the state of Ohio picking up litter in the ditches for ten years.

Sandia's Z Machine Exceeds Two Billion Degrees Kelvin; Temperatures Hotter Than The Interiors Of Stars

Sandia's Z machine has produced plasmas that exceed temperatures of 2 billion degrees Kelvin -- hotter than the interiors of stars.

The unexpectedly hot output, if its cause were understood and harnessed, could eventually mean that smaller, less costly nuclear fusion plants would produce the same amount of energy as larger plants.

The phenomena also may explain how astrophysical entities like solar flares maintain their extreme temperatures.

The very high radiation output also creates new experimental environments to help validate computer codes responsible for maintaining a reliable nuclear weapons stockpile safely and securely -- the principle mission of the Z facility.

"At first, we were disbelieving," says Sandia project lead Chris Deeney. "We repeated the experiment many times to make sure we had a true result and not an 'Ooops'!"

More HERE

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

From all I read in science publications we are in a scientific renaissance.

capt

Bubbles Get Hotter than the Sun

Just as blowing up a bubble leads to a pop, so can shrinking it. Rapidly collapsing bubbles have long been known to reach astonishing temperatures.

Now scientists have measured just how hot. And they're surprised.

"When bubbles in a liquid get compressed, the insides get hot –†very hot," said Ken Suslick of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "The temperature we measured –†about 20,000 degrees Kelvin [35,540 Fahrenheit] –†is four times hotter than the surface of our Sun."

The bubbles are driven to form and collapse in a process called sonoluminescence, in which a liquid is blasted with high-frequency sound waves between 20 and 40 kilohertz (the highest pitch that humans can hear is about 20 kilohertz).

Inside a collapsing bubble, the temperature rises precipitously. Atoms and molecules collide with high-energy particles to create a fourth state of matter, called plasma. The process emits light.

But the heating is so brief and localized that it cannot be measured directly with a thermometer.

The emitted light, however, can be analyzed to determine the temperature of the imploding gas. Previous measurements of multiple-bubble sonoluminescence have found temperatures of 5,000 Kelvin, or 8,500 degrees Fahrenheit

More HERE

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

"Tiny bubbles" (Don Ho)

Some wild and crazy stuff.

capt

Palmtop Nuclear Fusion Device Invented

The nuclear reaction that powers the Sun has been reproduced in a pocket-sized device, scientists announced today.

Researchers have for years tried to harness nuclear fusion to power the world. But its cousin, nuclear fission -- the breaking apart of atoms -- is the only method so far commercially viable.

The latest invention is not in the same league as efforts to build complex commercial reactors. The new device creates a relatively small number of reactions, and requires more energy to operate than it produces.

But the configuration is so small and simple that its creators think it may inspire unforeseen applications.

"I certainly find it interesting that you can heat a cubic centimeter crystal in your hand, then plunge it in cold water and it will cause nuclear fusion," Seth Putterman from the University of California Los Angeles told LiveScience.

More HERE

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

Pocket sized nuclear reactor. WOW! How about the potential applications?

capt

The "flat-earthers" are scared to death. They cannot wrap thier heads around the technological advances from the last twenty years. How will they deal with the advances tomorrow?

#119 Maybe his $161,000 salary just didn't cut it for his lifestyle. He couldn't keep up with the Big Boys so he had to scam Target for a lousy $5,000.

This is just one more example of how the underlings in the bush regime are an extension of the guy at the top.

No morals. No values.

(But, I guess we should give him the benefit of the doubt that he's innocent until proven guilty...or cops a plea.)

Capt, you have broadband. Can you go back to see the last date that Gerald posted? If he goes out of town he usually says so.

Carol,

He is traveling - He mentioned it to me before he went.

I thanked him because I would have been concerned too. I am sure he will be happy we have missed him.

All is well (as far as I know)

capt

#110 Capt. Capt. you are my Capt. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a trained psychologist, psychiatrist or FBI profiler. Either way hats-off, kudos and tres bien. Now, where's that conservative but interesting and likeable cornposter?

Western Shoshone Victorious at UN; US Found in Violation of Human Rights of Native Americans, Urged to Take Immediate Action

"The Western Shoshone Nation is very thankful to the Committee members for their decision affirming U.S. discrimination and destructive policies do not go on unaccounted for. Truth is what it is -- that can never change. We pray for the healing of our peoples, the land and the harassment and destruction to stop. While others are allowed the freedom of religion, we are kept from the very same right. The Newe (people) use this ancestral land for sacred ceremonies. The federal agencies prevent our access to some of these important areas. Our ancestors' burials are being dug up and placed into local museums' basement storage areas because of surge of gold mines and nuclear developments. This is an outrage to our people." -- Judy Rojo, Western Shoshone.

"This battle has been going on for quite some time, but we've seen a dramatic increase in the federal government and the companies' rush to finalize what they consider a settlement in order to get a hold of our lands for activities that are contaminating our water and our air. Again, we are very pleased that our rights are finally being taken seriously and we look forward to positive actions being taken by the U.S." -- Steven Brady, Western Shoshone.

"We are Shoshone delegates speaking for a Nation threatened by extinction. The mines are polluting our waters, destroying hot springs and exploding sacred mountains-our burials along with them--attempting to erase our signature on the land. We are coerced and threatened by mining and Federal agencies when we seek to continue spiritual prayers for traditional food or medicine on Shoshone land. We have endured murder of our Newe people for centuries, as chronicled in military records, but now we are asked to endure a more painful death from the U.S. governmental agencies -- a separation from land and spiritual renewal. We thank our past leaders for their persistence and courage and the CERD for this monumental step." -- Bernice Lalo, Western Shoshone.

More HERE

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

The way we continue to mistreat Native Americans is inexcusable.

capt

#136,

I'm just a guy with a keyboard.

Thanks

capt

Arizona team develops 'tricorder'

TEMPE, Ariz., March 10 (UPI) -- A University of Arizona researcher is cataloging the spectral fingerprints of all known minerals.

Robert Downs is using a Raman spectrometer and now has 1,500 of the 4,000 minerals in his data base.

A colleague, M. Bonner Denton, is developing a pocket-size spectrometer that can be used on the 2009 Mars Rover to determine the minerals on that planet. The same technology can be used for handheld instruments on earth.

"We're developing a tricorder," Downs said, referring to the instruments the crew of the Starship Enterprise on "Star Trek" used to analyze the chemical composition of the planets they visited.

Denton and Downs will be giving presentations on their work on Sunday at the 57th Annual Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy in Orlando, Fla.

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

For the Star Trek fans!

The tricorder is another step farther into Gene Roddenberry's world. Look at the "communicator" on Star Trek and compare it to a flip phone.

Did you know he was a cop in the LAPD? So was his dad and his brother.

capt

A Brief Biography of Gene Roddenberry

[Excerpt]

Gene joined the Los Angeles Police Department. The decision was a natural. His younger brother Bob had joined when he returned from the war, several high school and college friends were members, and Gene knew a number of command officers from his time as president of the LACC Police Club. Finally, Gene’≥ father, less than ten years retired from the LAPD, still had a lot of friends on the force.

Papa Roddenberry’≥ old sergeant, Bill Parker, had risen in the ranks. Eleven days after Parker was promoted to Deputy Chief, Gene was assigned to the newspaper unit where he became part of the machinery that turned the LAPD into a professional law enforcement organization.

Gene found himself writing on a daily basis: principally, press releases and later speeches for Parker when he became the Chief of Police. Parker and his staff sought to remake the LAPD internally in structure and attitude and externally in its public image.

Parker was short, balding, politically conservative to the core, a devout Catholic, and the "imperial" chief. Gene was a tall, young, good-looking, moderate Democrat, a wet-behind-the-ears policeman with limited street experience, who had, in childhood, rejected belief in the Christian god.

Despite their differences in philosophy, theology, professional rank, and virtually everything else, the two men liked each other. Binding them was Parker’≥ knowledge of Gene as a powerful intellect, a strong respect for each other’≥ minds, shared ethical standards, the ability to argue on an intellectual level, and their mutual desire to see law enforcement become a recognized profession.

It made for some interesting moments. Decades later, LAPD Chief Daryl Gates remembered the first time he saw Gene and Parker "discussing" an issue. "I walked into Parker’≥ office and straight into a very strange situation. Gene was arguing with the Chief...they were having an intellectual argument over the preparation of a particular speech. Parker would pound his fist and Gene would respond with a reasonable argument of his own, delivered just as vigorously. Gene was clearly not afraid of Parker. He was probably the only person on the department who wasn’¥."

Parker had two ways of influencing public opinion: speeches he would give nearly anywhere to any civic group –†speeches usually written by Gene –†and a television program the LAPD supported with all the vigor at its command: Dragnet.

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

A little fun with dinosaurs! HA!

Bill Parker is the guy they named "Parker Center" after.

capt

#116 Jeanne, Good post about our President's method of operation.

When you disagree with or work against his policies, he'll inflict as much personal damage on you as possible.

"W" has no respect for a genuine difference of opinion, whether within the party, with Dems, or with allies. In Bush's twisted mind, difference of opinion is disloyalty and treason.

One of the results of this approach is increasing isolation for the gun-totting Cheney, who shot his friend in the face, and bubble-boy himself.

Does this kind of punative retribution sound familiar to anyone? Remember Ambassador Wilson and Valarie Plame the CIA NOC? Cheney, Libby and the rest of the WHIG went after him to inflict as much damage as possible and in the process, committed a treasonous act outing a covert CIA agent. Only Libby's lies and obstruction stand in the way of justice.

The antidote to this style of governance is to shine as much light on it as possible. Keep looking for these stories - I'm sure there will be many to choose from as the wheels fall off between now and November.

Can Good Catholics vote Republican?

Karl Rove has specialized in winning elections by waging battle on an entirely different level that has little to do with substantive issues and everything to do with cultural symbols and religious divisions -- a level which Democrats want to ignore and seem to be afraid of engaging. But those who want to end the one-party rule under which our country is suffocating have no choice but to engage those levels, and there is no reason at all why they should fear doing so.

more (here)

G'nite Jeanne. G'nite Capt. G'nite DEN. G'nite Hajji. G'nite Sal. G'nite Gerald. G'nite Happy. G'nite micki. G'nite Carey. G'nite Rowland. G'nite James Ha. G'nite Alan. G'nite David. G'nite cornbloggers.

#6 Saladin--greetings. I finally picked up that very important piece of news. It had been buried until it appeared on Keith Olbermann's show. Yes, Ms. O'Conner may have voted for the ass in 2000 (we'll never live down that atrocity to democratic mankind everywhere), but she's still a retired Supreme Court Justice. That carries some weight. The only record of that speech (I believe it was given at Georgetown Law School) is from NPR. I heard that Nina Totenberg said the speech was dripping with sarcasm. While not naming him, she quoted Tom Delay from the period after his Terri Schiavo debacle when he really went off against the courts. She called this kind of activity dangerous and that it put the balance of power in jeopardy. She was also referring to legislators overstepping their bounds in the interpretation of law. I think the speech may have an impa