I was JUST about to go to bed and here's a new thread. Well, catch up with the column tomorrow. Goodnight. (just needed to be first...tsk)

David, it's beginning to look like Bob Novak has been directed to slime anyone who appears to be the enemy. Are you on the hit list?

#263 Micki (last thread). As John Dean states in his latest article at Findlaw the recent use of "Islamofascist" was being used over and over again this last month. I found this fascinating because of the amount of the "Bush administration are Fascist" signs that I saw at the anti-invasion marches.

Does Rove hi-jack the language all ready being used by liberals? In many of the Republican's commercials airing now the word "change" is being used a great deal

If what Chris Matthews said on Hardball tonight that negative statements/claims work. Why not focus on the negative findings of the 9/11 commission and hammer away at that 9/11 took place under the Republican watch.

There are so many choices if the Democrats want to go this route. I really liked the "Culture of Corruption" label, I think this says a great deal.

David, Novak seems to be going out of his way to take the heat off of Libby, Cheney etc. Libby reminded Judy Miller that all those "leakers" roots are connected.

"They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them."

I still hope and pray that Fitzgerald meant what he said "Truth is the engine of our judicial system."

Many of us are clinging to that possibility.

"I can tell that literally thousands of you who come to this site have not run out to bookstores to stock up on copies of Hubris."

David: Here's a `Corny' thought for you: What IF the "thousands of you" are Conservatives like me but more set in their ways (than me) and resist The New Product!

Instead of resorting to begging, why not use some variant of the many successful marketing tactics our fearless leader employed?

I don't know if you or Isikoff wrote the Intro & Product chapters but I like the writing style.....not dense like my last political book (by Bernard Lewis)!

"Truth is the engine of our judicial system."

I sure hope and pray that engine doesn't run on oil.

Perish the thought

capt

This is at breaking news at JTA( Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

"The U.N. Security Council will consider new action on Israeli-Palestinian peace, an Israeli official said."

While I hope and pray for an honest and peaceful agreement between Israeli's and the Palestinians. Can you imagine if John Bolton or anyone else in the Bush administration were able to pretend to broker such a deal before the November elections how that would effect elections.

Swift Boat Leader Responds to Kerry

by John O'Neill
Posted Sep 14, 2006

John Kerry recently volunteered that he was prepared to "kick [the Swift Boat Veterans'] ass from one end of America to the other" and that he would "demolish" us. He ought to take a Christmas cruise to Cambodia to calm down. Maybe he could take a side trip to tour "Genghis Khan" ruins.

It is a little difficult to imagine Kerry ("I voted for it before I voted against it") kicking the most decorated living serviceman, Bud Day, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, or our salty commander, Adm. Roy Hoffman, anywhere. Perhaps Kerry had in mind using a "Rice Fanny Grenade" as he did by mistake on himself shortly before leaving Vietnam. If so, based on the record, he is in far more danger than anyone else.

Kerry and his friends certainly seem to show much greater anger and hatred toward us than toward the murderous al Qaeda terrorists. This is actually a positive thing. Based on his record of switching to adopt the North Vietnamese position in 1971 and (after voting to send our kids to Iraq) proposing to cut and run in Iraq, it is likely that Kerry will be endorsing our positions by 2008 and (in his words) "Swift Boating" himself. If not, it is OK. After living for 34 years with his claim that our comrades, living and dead, were like the army of Genghis Khan, we will always remember and be grateful for the support of the American people in 2004. Nothing he will ever say can demolish that or will speak nearly so loudly.

Ford to offer buyouts to all hourly workers

DETROIT Ford Motor Co. plans to expand buyout and early retirement offers to the company's entire U.S. hourly work force of 75,000 as part of a broader restructuring plan aimed at restoring the troubled No. 2 automaker to profitability.

One day before Ford was to detail the huge restructuring plan, the move was announced today afternoon by the United Auto Workers union. Ford hasn’¥ said how many workers it hopes will take the offers, but it has previously announced plans to cut up to 30,000 hourly jobs by 2012.

The announcement came just after Ford's board of directors, including new Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, wrapped up a two-day meeting to approve the restructuring plan designed to cut costs in light of slumping sales.

But the UAW statement only fueled anxiety in Ford plants and offices across North America as workers braced for the announcement of further cuts scheduled for Friday morning.

Catherine Madden, an auto industry analyst at the consulting company Global Insight Inc., said although not all 75,000 workers will take the packages, the size of the offer illustrates the magnitude of Ford's troubles.

More HERE

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

More rosy employment news.

capt

Robert Novak on C spans Washington Journal tomorrow (friday/Sept15th) at 9a.m.). Great opportunity to call in your questions.

David you could call in, I am sure they would let your right through.

on Diane Rehm friday.

11:00James Fallows: "Blind into Baghdad" (Vintage)
Guest host: Susan Page
A journalist revisits the articles he wrote before and shortly after the start of the war in Iraq, and talks about what has and has not happened since.

Guests
James Fallows, writer for the "Atlantic Monthly"

What was that great question someone posed awhile back?

"When a firing squad is assembled to take out the target, does it matter whose bullet hits first?"

This would be one question for Novak

I bought the book today.

In todays edition of the Washington Post Novak says the following: "I refused to identify Armitage as my leaker untill his admissio0n was forced by "Hubris." a new book by reporters Michael Isikoff and David Corn that absolutely identified him. And,"(Duberstein's phone call was disclosed in the Isikoff Corn book, which used Duberstein as a source. They reported that Duberstein was responsible for arranging my unexpected interview with Armitage.)

Good work.

"When a firing squad is assembled to take out the target, does it matter whose bullet hits first?"

As long as the firing squad is not standing in a circle.

HA!

capt

Security Analysis of the Diebold AccuVote-TS Voting Machine

Ariel J. Feldman, J. Alex Halderman, and Edward W. Felten

Abstract

This paper presents a fully independent security study of a Diebold AccuVote-TS voting machine, including its hardware and software. We obtained the machine from a private party. Analysis of the machine, in light of real election procedures, shows that it is vulnerable to extremely serious attacks. For example, an attacker who gets physical access to a machine or its removable memory card for as little as one minute could install malicious code; malicious code on a machine could steal votes undetectably, modifying all records, logs, and counters to be consistent with the fraudulent vote count it creates. An attacker could also create malicious code that spreads automatically and silently from machine to machine during normal election activities —†a voting-machine virus. We have constructed working demonstrations of these attacks in our lab. Mitigating these threats will require changes to the voting machine's hardware and software and the adoption of more rigorous election procedures.

Full research paper [PDF]

Executive summary

Frequently asked questions

Princeton e-voting studies

Demonstration Video (click on the linked site)

More HERE

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

This evoting issue has not gotten enough play/media/coverage and it is getting worse not better. The more people look into the vote stealing the more possible hacks they find.

The selling of the system is on both parties and even more so for multi-term incumbents. Stealing votes by nefarious and clever methods is as old as voting. The politicians that have sold the system should be in deep trouble but too many people don’¥ even care.

capt

The evoting issue really chaps my hide.

They can make cash registers, ATM machines, etc. and keep them secure with passwords and PIN numbers and for the most part the machines are accurate and in the event of an error resolved quickly and without much effort.

The problems with the evoting machine are not accidental. Does anybody believe Diebold would accidentally make their ATM machines "hackable"?

These problems do not expose just flaws they expose a concerted effort by large corporations to manipulate the vote.

This is likely the biggest threat to democracy America has ever faced and the corporate media are not going to "report" anything about it.

capt

Amen Sistahhh!!!

Awesome short speech! Dial-ups can read the text. Broadbanders can see 'n hear it.

Landrieu Strikes Back

"In light of the rantings that went on for 30 minutes by two colleagues from the other side, I'd like to state for the record that America is not tired of fighting terrorism; America is tired of the wrongheaded and boneheaded leadership of the Republican party that has sent six and a half billion a month to Iraq while the front line was Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.
===================
That's just the beginning.

I still hope and pray that Fitzgerald meant what he said "Truth is the engine of our judicial system." Many of us are clinging to that possibility.
Posted by: kathleen at September 15, 2006 12:05 AM

He meant it and he's pretty darn good finding the truth. It's quite possible he knows the whole truth by now. It's probably also true he's still trying to get enough facts and testimony to prove it in the court of law. Hold on to your hat. If Bush doesn't interfere with justice, Libby will take the bullet but that may not be all - Rove may rat out Cheney.

Ted Kennedy says...

Did you know that I was the first Senator to have a website?
---
---
Net Neutrality ensures that the Internet will continue to be an open forum for free speech. Please watch this important video to learn more about this issue:

Net Neutrality ensures that the Internet will continue to be an open forum for free speech. Please watch this important video to learn more about this issue:
Support Net Neutrality

Afghanistan: A Photo Essay

Alan: Awesome short speech!

Truly. But why is it so DAMN refreshing to see a Democrat show some courage and articulate the obvious? Because it's so DAMN rare.

Even just a little more of that, though, and the Dems will run away with the House in November.

The Bush/Rove political philosophy is that the best defense is a good offense. They obviously think that if they keep the Dems on the defensive, Bush won't have to go on the defensive about all his abject failures. I think pundit-speak for this is "framing the debate" or some such nonsense.

The Dems had better recognize this and just pummel Bush. They must ignore the cons' tired accusations of treason (yawn) and just hammer, hammer, hammer about the Bush failures, failures, failures. They sure have plenty of material to work with.

And when the predictable cons demand to hear the Dems' plans for "making Americans safe" and fixing the problems caused by the cons themselves, the Dems need only play an old campaign stump speech from Howard Dean.

Wake up, Dems. Get that blood pumping. It's time to start speaking clearly, forthrightly, and with passion. A lot of people in this country -- both libs and cons -- are angry. Show them you're with them.

I would like this issue (Net Nutrality) better defined.

I no longer trust anyone.

Thank you Dubya.

I would like this issue (Net Nutrality) better defined.

I no longer trust anyone.

Thank you Dubya.

Hotly-Debated Solar System Object Gets a Name
September 14, 2006

A new name has been bestowed on the "dwarf planet" whose discovery in 2005 rocked the solar system, sparked debate over "What is a planet?" and ultimately led to Pluto's removal from the planetary family. The dwarf planet, formerly known as 2003 UB313, is now called Eris, after the Greek goddess of discord and strife.

The Dems had better recognize this and just pummel Bush.

Fk yeahhh! "Had enough yet?" and "Lie and Die" and "Stay and Lose" are just a few we need to cram down their throats.

David,

in response to a misleading article in last week's Independent here in London, i wrote the following letter of complaint.

Alas, like most of my letters, it didn't get printed, even in part. But here it is. All the best, Alex Higgins.

To the editor,

RE: "Bush officials cleared as Powell's former agent deputy admits unmasking CIA agent", Rupert Cornwell

Rupert Cornwell's farewell to Plamegate (Sat, Sep 9) contains some pretty bewildering omissions. Contrary to your headline, Armitage's admission did not clear White House officials of anything.

Like much of the US media, including the New York Times and the Washington Post which he cites, Cornwell has reported the newly released information that the original leaker of the name Valerie Plame was the State Department's Richard Armitage without crediting the source of this scoop - the Nation's David Corn and Newsweek's Mike Isikoff, who revealed Armitage's role to publicise their new book Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal and the Selling of the Iraq War.

The failure to credit Corn and Isikoff is significant because both reporters went out of their way to put Armitage's role in the leak in context, anticipating those who would use it to proclaim the innocence of Karl Rove, I. Lewis Libby and their superiors.

Alas, Corn and Isikoff appear to have been caught out by the awe-inspiring dishonesty of White House apologists who have nonetheless done precisely that, without scruple or hesitation. Corn and Isikoff's later publicity release contained new information about Valerie Plame's actual role as an undercover agent in the CIA, which has not been circulated with such eagerness by the President's supporters for reasons too obvious to bother mentioning. Cornwell himself passes over her job as a director of espionage and overseer of counter-proliferation efforts with the description of a "glamorous and not-so-secret CIA agent and Vanity Fair cover girl".

Cornwell falsely states that, "It now transpires that the leaker was not Mr Rove or Mr Libby, or any other scheming neocon." Yet the evidence shows clearly that Karl Rove did leak Valerie Plame's name to Matt Cooper at TIME magazine, and former New York Times reporter Judith Miller testified that Libby told her the same. In both cases the information was leaked, intentionally, before Robert Novak published his column with Armitage as his source. Whether a crime was committed in the process is a separate matter.

Cornwell writes that "nowhere will you find the venom so liberally dispensed towards Messrs Libby and Rove. And why? Simply because Mr. Armitage... was one of the "good guys" for the liberal media". Or more plausibly it is because there is no reason to suspect that Armitage acted out of malice, while there is every reason to suspect it of Rove and Libby. Indeed this was a widely not-quoted conclusion of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that "...it is hard to conceive of what evidence there could be that would disprove the existence of White House efforts to 'punish' Wilson," a statement made in full knowledge of Armitage's role. As quoted in Hubris, Rove himself privately told MSNBC TV host Chris Matthews that the Wilsons ҷere trying to screw the White House, so the White House was going to screw them backӠand that Valerie was "fair game".

Cornwell writes that "the Plame affair constitutes a long list of Washington pseudo-scandals" and then draws attention to the plight of Libby - "like many victims of Washington imbroglios, he is burdened with a tainted reputation and colossal legal bills." Well, a reputation can indeed be tainted when you lie under oath more than once before a Grand Jury, but Independent readers can be comforted with the knowledge that Mr Libby is not without wealthy friends who have established a fund to help defend him against those five counts of perjury and obstruction of justice.

The piece ends with the statement - "precisely what he [Libby] obstructed however is more mysterious than ever". Mysterious only if we insist on ignoring the evidence concerning Libby's role in the leak, which apparently we do. In the meanwhile we await the fulfilment of the promise made through its [sic -oops] then spokesman Scott McClellan, that the president would fire any employee involved in the leak.

The Independent often provides very good coverage of US politics, including Cornwell, and it is disappointing to see a piece so bamboozled by Republican talking points. The hard work of David Corn and Michael Isikoff has been used and grossly misrepresented by their colleagues throughout the US media. I hope you will at least extend them courtesy as journalists and credit them as the source the Armitage scoop.

#18 O Reilly I believe Rove started talking long ago. Cheney has been in Fitzgerald's crosshairs since the beginning of the investigation. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Novak is on C-span at 9:00 a.m. Go to C-spans Washington Journal and send in your questions for Mr. Novak or call 202-737-0002 with your guestions. Be calm clear, and concise with your question you will get through

On C-span Novak just called the Plame leak a much exaggerated case. This guy looks really troubled.

50,ooo dead Iraqi people, untold injured, 2,673 American soldiers dead, 19,945 injured, 1,187 Lebanese civilians dead, 3600 wounded, 44 Israeli civilians dead, 1,350 injured.

"Not so clean" is an understatement. Bloody, brutal, criminal is more like it.

September 11, 2006 The American Conservative
Not So Clean Break by Taki

Israel bombed southern Lebanon on July 12 in response to the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah fighters. But the Israelis were said to have planned a military campaign weeks before the soldiers were kidnapped. According to Dr. John Pike, head of the Washington-based think tank Global Strategies, and my friend Arnaud de Borchgrave, editor at large of the Washington Times and UPI, Israel had briefed Washington about its concerns, and the U.S. had given Israel a green light to attack Hezbollah and push its troops into southern Lebanon. There was an agreement between Israel and Uncle Sam that Iranian nuclear plants would eventually have to be bombed. Once this was done, Iran would most likely order Hezbollah to attack Israel. Thus the U.S. and Israel agreed in secret that at some point before the attack on Iran, Hezbollah would have to be disarmed and that as soon as a pretext became available, Israel should use force.

Elementary, my dear Watson. As everyone who does not live in a cave knows, whenever there is a glimmer of stability in the region, the state of Israel orders a targeted assassination. (Just before the Hezbollah kidnapping, there were targeted assassinations in Gaza.) On June 17, the former Israeli prime minister and chief hawk, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Likud Knesset member Natan Sharansky met with Vice President Dick Cheney. Speaking to the London Spectator recently, Netanyahu suggested that President Bush had assured him Iran will be prevented from going nuclear. I take him at his word. Netanyahu seems to be the main mover in Americaճ official adoption of the 1996 white paper ҁ Clean Break,Ӡauthored by him and American fellow neocons, which aimed to aggressively remake the strategic environments of Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. As they say in boxing circles, three down, two to go.

@American conservative

The Bush Administration has been guilty of many irresponsible acts that would most likely come under the heading of "criminal." Most observant Americans have finally become aware of this sad fact after years of ostrich-like denial. The people who are still in denial over this at such a late date just plain aren't going to change. They, like our president, are missing that gene that most of us possess that allows us to say "I was wrong and I need to admit it and move on." Forgive me if I sound like Bill O'Reilly here, but with all due respect, you're whipping a dead horse for an already convinced choir. Yes, I agree that there was undoubtedly a conspiracy here and that it was most likely criminal. I believe that practically everything that Karl Rove has put his fingerprints on throughout his career is criminal in some fashion. But I'm looking at the Plame case now as something merely symptomatic of a much larger disease. Continuing to work on one symptom is not only non-constructive but actually serves to make the doctor look like a fool. You are a most valuable member of the resistance to this administration but I just can't see where you're going to be a able to take this anymore. It's like continuing to point out that Bush's military service was a daddy-donated sham. It's all true but it didn't help the cause 2 years ago and it's a total non-starter now. Much worse, as far as the general American public goes, it's boring.Even the most hidebound Bush-partisans can't help but see on a daily basis what nightmare this horrible little war has become for everyone involved, Iraqi, American and beyond. That they went into it for immoral, self-serving reasons is becoming more apparent the farther it goes. Please, finish up this hors d'oeuvre and let's move on to the main course. A frog-marching Karl Rove is simply something that we probably will never see over this one. You have to get him on something else. All that aside, best of luck with the book. I always wish you well.

Novak is ripping Corn's assertions and Fitzgerald's investigation up.

Novak called Fitzgerald's investigation "blown out of proportion', "much do to about nothing".

John Dean's latest assertion is similar to Karen Kwiatowski's at Military week...that if the American public is thinking there is no way they could believe anything coming out of the Bush administration or their supporters

Why Are We Suddenly At War With "Islamic Fascists"? A Neologism that Signals a Change in Strategy As Elections Near
By JOHN W. DEAN Friday, Sep. 08, 2006
The latest orchestrated war-speak from Bush Administration officials, as they ramp up their oratory for the mid-term election, has recast Islamic militants and terrorists as "Islamic fascists." Thus, as we approach the five-year mark since terrorists attacked Americans on our own soil, the Administration is redefining the enemy - once again.

We have gone from the non sequitur of the "war on terrorism" (A war on "the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce for political purposes"?) to the neologism of the "war on Islamic fascists." Or, depending on the speaker, on "Islamofascism." Why the new rhetoric?

The answer is simple: Pure politics. Republicans, for good reason, are worried about losing control of Congress. (For less than rational reasons, many Americans believe Republicans are more effective than Democrats in fighting terrorists.) Should Republicans lose control of Congress, or either chamber, of course, it will mean the effective end of the Bush/Cheney presidency -- with the remaining two years of the presidency likely to be consumed by investigations into the activities of the prior six.

For these reasons, the Administration needs to create a more fearsome enemy. That new enemy is Islamofascists - whoever these people may be, they sound more frightening and important than the previously-named enemy. The Administration is aware that Americans are not sufficiently afraid, and that clear thinking will be its demise.

John Dean/findlaw

04 Sep 06
The American Legion Speeches -- Preaching, Pondering and Predicting
by Karen Kwiatkowski, Ph.D., Lt. Col. USAF (ret.)

The American Legion Speeches -- Preaching, Pondering and Predicting

Last week, the administration addressed the 88th annual national convention of the American Legion. Rumsfeld spoke on the 29th of August, and Bush swept up on the 31st preaching the gospel of ongoing and future military operations.

The American Legion is a busy organization of three million, with a full-time staff of 300, split between the heartland in Indianapolis and K Street, Washington, D.C. It is a solid Bush organization, and a convention in the capital of the reddest of Red States, should have been guaranteed to be hospitable to Bush. Pay no attention to the large anti-Bush rallies there and

the anti-war speech given by SLC Mayor Rocky Anderson that week.

Several years ago, the American Legion's monthly magazine featured an article entitled “îhe Principled Vice President Cheney.' By 2006, Americans and several billion other people around the world understood very well that Cheney had lied about the planning and motivations for the American invasion of Iraq. Most were also appalled that Cheney's Chief of Staff Scooter Libby was

@ MILITARY WEEK

David B from previous thread, PM means Popular Mechanics, and your assurances that there is much evidence of a truss system, this evidence consisting of computer and scale models from NIST don't hold any water with me. They can build models until hell freezes over and it doesn't prove anything. I've seem many photographs of the actual construction and there is no evidence of flimsy trusses, it is the basic I-beam construction just as #7 was, the only difference with 7 is that the beams were significantly more massive. You can't build a 110 story building with no shear strength and expect it to withstand hurricane force winds. The only proof necessary is the blueprints, but since they won't hand those over the photos will do, that and the builders assurance that those buildings were designed to take multiple airplane hits, NIST can kiss off.

#35 Is that your final word on the matter?

Fingers crossed...

observer, you are free to believe that looney bushco conspiracy theory and scroll past my posts. BTW, uncross your fingers.

Capt. Thanks for the WashPost update. Satan, keep the funny hahas coming. I sleep too much--miss Conan and his hair.

It's an outrage to learn that the very newspaper which symbolized Truth during the Watergate era should employ the very figure who penned "mushroom
cloud" propaganda, marketing the Bush-Cheney war.

Apparently perceptions, if not source-based reporting, no longer have a place at the Post. One reporter with twenty-two years of journalism experience noted, "The Washington Post has crossed a line here. I'm inclined to reconsider my opinion of their legitimacy. Credibility is the life blood of the newspaper and the Post just severed an artery. I just can't believe what I read there anymore."

Liberal media, indeed.

Novak was his usual grumpy disgruntled self on CSPAN today. It is too bad that his demeanor and attitude make him appear so unlikable (to me). However, I was glad to hear him mention the "Corn/Isikoff" book so many times during the interview. His nasty tone when referring to David Corn made me think he felt very threatened by the book and the information uncovered in it is worrisome to him. His obvious obsession and nervousness with Corn and Isikoff's excellent investigative research is probably why he couldn't stop mentioning their names. He made desperate attempts to discredit "Hubris" which may have only peaked the viewers interest in it.

Anyway, sales of the book should soar even more now, thanks to Novak, even though he wasnt flattering toward the book or it's authors, many of CSPAN viewers are interested in finding out the truth about outing of Valerie Plame and will seek out "Hubris".

I have just finished "Hubris" and I highly recommend it to everyone, regardless of your political affiliation. It is clear that the information in the book is based on facts and excellent investigative research.

Democracy Now today:

As President Bush admits the existence of secret overseas CIA prisons, we take a look at the U.S. government's shadowy program of extraordinary rendition with the authors of the new book:

"Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIA's Rendition Flights."

The first book documenting the US government practice of extraordinary rendition has just been released. It's called "Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIA's Rendition Flights." We speak with the book's authors, A.C. Thompson and Trevor Paglen.

* A.C. Thompson, staff writer at the San Francisco Weekly. In 2005 he won a George Polk Award for his investigative reporting.

* Trevor Paglen, an expert on clandestine military installations and is the author of the two-volume study "Secret Bases, Secret Wars."

These two have really done their homework, a very revealing look into the evil doings of the CIA, the book will be released later this week but the program is a definite "must see" for the Tims out there that think there is no torturing going on.

Go here

The Ground Truth

Dear Cornposters:

If you have a chance, please do not miss seeing the film, The Ground Truth with the subtitle After the Killing Ends. The filmmaker is Patricia Foulkrod. She says the film is not political. It is a must see riveting film that is 72 minutes.

This documentary interviews soldiers back from active duty. Their stories are not pretty. Most talk about the dehumanizing treatment they experienced in basic training. Some speak vividly about indiscriminate killing of civilians, who are referred to as "Hajis" by the troops.

"You don't go to war in a country and not go to war with its people," one veteran says, still haunted by his actions. Just as disturbing is the way that U.S. veterans are treated back home, where mental illness and unemployment among veterans mount.

One of the more heartrending testimonials comes from parents who found their soldier son hanging by the noose fashioned from a garden hose.

This film is a must see documentary. When will we show more respect for our soldiers and avoid wars of choice that is said to start in order to satisfy a certifiably crazy person's ego?

Sincerely,

Gerald

Iraq to dig trenches around Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi security forces will dig trenches around Baghdad and set up checkpoints along all roads leading into the city to try to reduce some of the violence plaguing the capital, the Interior Ministry said Friday.

If this is what it takes to secure the city then how are we ever going to secure the whole country?

Eyes,

Three little words...Flaming Canal Borderlines!!!

I mean, they've got all that oil, after all...

-T

#42 - I suppose we could dig trenches around the entire country if we have to - LOL - When I heard President Bush say again that we are making progress today I just about fell on the floor. Even the best and brightest are saying that we're in the middle of a civil war. It was just last week they said we were at the brink of civil war. Now, we are in the middle of one. What is it going to take for our President to wake up and admit that a new course needs to be arranged?

I actually put a clothespin on my nose and watched today's press debacle.

I think Dumby is right on the verge of collapse. His inapropriate anger, Beavisesque hee-hawing, stumbling over attempts to elaborate on his already convoluted recitations of tired rhetorical phrases...

The man couldn't "deciderate" his way through a box of Macaroni and Cheese...even the microwave kind!

-T

Bush certainly wasn't very presidential - whatever that is these days.

I just watched bu$hco's press conference. He said in response to a question about troop withdrawal, that we are adapting our strategy to the enemy’s tactics. What happened to when the Iraqis stand up we will stand down, (US generals are saying Iraqi troop training will be complete by this years end) last time I checked when the enemy defines the war you have already lost. This guy has absolutely no intention of ever leaving Iraq, no matter what happens. He mentioned how dangerous it would be to have unfriendly regime use Iraq’s oil as an economic weapon. This is a new addition to the very long list of excuses for fighting this war, one that many war opponents cited early on as part of the reasons for invading Iraq. So I quess we did invade for oil after all.

Muslims lash out at Pope Benedict's remarks

More feuds to come brought to you by that old time religion?

A song I wrote about the first gulf war way back in 1991. George Bush-1, George bush-2, not muched has changed

Uncle,

I particularly enjoyed his aversion to the hypothetical questions posed by David Gregory, only to begin spewing hypotheticals like you mentioned.

His repeated phrase about "working with Congress" at the insistance of the SCOTUS was a very poor attempt to veil his "If it ain't legal for me...then MAKE it legal!!!"

I'm out to take out my anger on a couple of brush piles...as soon as those lazy secret service guys cut it and bundle it up for me!

Now watch this drive!

-T

Uncle.

an hour d/l time for this dial-up.

Howzabout just the lyrics?

-T

Micki,

Makes me remember...

"...Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. -Steven Weinberg

hey hey good song UncleDad. I liked the short "Star Spangled Banner" riff included too.

Hajji,

Don't have the lyrics written down sorry. You could go to my website and try to stream it, the songs called one-by-one. Yeah his performance was classic (I have no idea what I am saying) bush. I am always amazed how condescending and outright nasty he is to the press. He was particuly childish in his treatment of the NYT reporter. Without a doubt the most unprofessional president I've ever witnessed. But what should I expect from the C-student in chief?

Alan:

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I retired that song years ago but unfortunately it seems relevant again.

Hajji, maybe we can get one of those flaming canals around Washington to keep the riff raff from leaving.

Hajji,
My second thought after how pathetic the trench story is was "drawbridges and alligators to come later".

Smells of America

Dear Cornposters:

I want to say to you in this open letter that I am deeply upset. Yes, I have been critical of my country and from my posts you, too, can sense my criticism but I tell it like I perceive it. What makes me deeply upset are the subtle rumors, probably by non-Americans, that America smells like human arm pits. If people are going to be critical of my country, they need to be honest and truthful in their assessment of the smells of America. I do not believe that America smells like human arm pits!

If people want an honest and truthful assessment of the smells of America, they must take the time and go outside to fill up their nostrils with the smell of napalm in the morning and the smell of burning human flesh in the evening. The smells of America are napalm and burning human flesh. These smells are my olfactory perception of America.

Sincerely,

Gerald

That asshole keeps moving the goal posts.

If the "unity government is working" -- then why don't we leave?

If it's the "ideological war of the 21st century" -- just how the hell does bush define this particular "ideology?"

If so-called progress in Iraq is "measured by the resilience" of the Iraqi people -- how are they going to demonstrate this "resilience" with bush refusing to leave their country?

So now bush says "as long as the public supports the unity government, we'll stay with them" -- oops, there went that goal post, moved again!

bush says to "imagine" an enemy who takes Iraq's oil resources off the world market for economic punishment -- looks to me like bush got caught in another LIE! Gee, this bush war of choice wasn't supposed to be about OIL.

#52 Wow, Hajji! That's quite a quote.

Mikki, I wish more people would see what you see. He changes the script but in an uncanny fashion. He just pretends as if it's all been said before. We are in a civil war over there and until that is recognized there will not be any "progress" - whatever that is these days.

micki,

If the "unity government is working"...

Oh, it's working all right...for Iran.

micki and Joe, I believe that bush sets up his lies in what is called a bait and switch tactic or lie.

Another tactic or lie is the smoke and mirrors game!

Exactly, Gerald. What troubles me is that so many people, some well educated, fall for it.

Did I hear him say we can't go get Bin-laden in Pakistan because we can't just invade a sovereign country? Wasn't Iraq a sovereign country when we invaded it? So bush is saying we can't pursue the man he say's is responsible for the "struggle of the 21st Century" because he happens to be in a sovereign country. What happened to "protect the homeland at all costs"? What a piece of work this guy is. I am starting to believe that bu$hco's tactic is to tell as many lies as is humanly possible, why not the press never calls him on it anyway.

I was blown away by that statement as well. "Sovereign country" my ass.

Wait a minute! it was not that long ago a predator drone blew up "suspected terrorists" in Pakistan was it? It was the CIA I think.

David B,

Saladin said, "I've seem many photographs of the actual construction and there is no evidence of flimsy trusses..."

She obviously has not or simply doesn't know what she's looking at! Of course the WTC 1 & 2 used a relatively light truss structure to support the floors! This is a documented fact. You can SEE it in the construction videos from those days and in numerous photographs.

Now, it has also been proven that the older, flimsier type of insulation that was on these trusses would be blown completely off given the impact, disintegration and fireball of the 767's that penetrated the buildings. Without this insulation, the trusses were then exposed to intense fires that raged for quite some time. They had NO fire rating at all at that point!

Remember that the truss structures supported concrete floors and all the equipment, furniture, etc. on each floor. The NIST studies set up experiments with trusses built exactly per the WTC plans. When subjected to fire they sagged significantly, which put a tremendous strain on the attach points along the outer vertical beams.

It was originally thought that the failure point was at these outer attach points. NIST later concluded through forensic evidence and experimentation that this was NOT the case. The sagging trusses pulled the outer vertical beams inward until they reached the breaking point. When the outer beams failed catastrophically, the collapse was initiated.

It's true that the building was designed to withstand the impact of a jet aircraft AND IT DID, but it could not remain standing if either the interior or exterior support beams became fatally compromised. You have to remember as well that the building was designed to absorb the hit from a much smaller jet aircraft, specifically the Boeing 707 of that era. Go check out the specs for that aircraft, in particular the fuel load.

In conclusion, folks like Saladin will never be convinced because they do not approach the issue with an open mind, but rather from their biases and agendas.

Ah here it is:

Pakistan Condemns Purported CIA Airstrike Attack Reportedly Missed Al Qaeda's Al-Zawahiri

(CBS) DAMADOLA, Pakistan Pakistan on Saturday condemned a purported CIA airstrike on a border village that officials said unsuccessfully targeted al Qaeda's No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri, but did not directly blame the United States for the attack, which left at least 17 people dead.

Pakistani information officials told CBS News that the CIA had acted on false information in launching the attack early Friday in the northwestern village of Damadola, near the Afghan border.

Jan 14 2006 story here

Some differences between the collapse of WTC 1 vs. that of WTC 2:

In my post above I was describing the collapse of WTC 2, the one where the upper floors "tilted" when the outer wall failed.

With respect to WTC 1, the videos show the antenna atop the building moving down just a little before the collapse sequence really gets going. It is possible that this failure sequence was different in some respects from that of WTC 2.

Based upon all the available evidence and the computer models, WTC 1's inner core structure was damaged much more severely than that of WTC 2. Of course, the floor trusses were being subjected to intense fire, but so were the inner core columns. It's possible that the failure sequence for WTC 1 began on the inside, not with the outer vertical beams.

What is certain is that conspiracy theories are unsophisticated, unscientific, and uncritical in their scrutiny of real evidence. They simply cannot explain away the facts of what happened.

Tim, you are playing a tough crowd with that act(9/11) It has been argued to death here already.

NEXT!

Looking into a Mirror

Dear Cornposters:

Pope Benedict XVI in his visit to Germany upset many Muslims by saying that they need to look into the mirror. Personally, I look in the mirror all the time to reflect upon my life. I believe that all persons should look in the mirror and reflect on our lives.

When John Paul II was pope, he apologized to the world for the sins of the Catholic Church. Various denominations and persons should also reflect and make amends wherever and whenever it is possible.

I recently called upon my guardian angel to help me during centering prayer. This quiet time is spent reflecting on a word or a phrase. My centering prayer was on My Book of Life. All persons have a Book of Life. My guardian angel did show me My Book of Life. At this present time My Book of Life has about 1,000 pages. Five pages reveal my positive deeds and 995 pages reveal my negative deeds. Those numbers haunt me daily. In praying and looking into the mirror I believe that my only chance for salvation is for me to pass through the Gate of Mercy. The Gate of Mercy has a merciful God. With a merciful God I may have a chance for salvation.

I do not want to pass through the Gate of Judgment. The Gate of Judgment has a just God. With a just God my chances may not be very good. A ratio of 995 to 5 is not good odds for me. As I look in the mirror and as I pray, I call upon my God to have infinite mercy upon me a sinner. We must all look in the mirror and reflect upon our life of deeds that may reveal good deeds and bad deeds.

A LIFE WITH NO REFLECTION IS A LIFE NOT LIVED AT ALL. Thomas Merton

Sincerely,

Gerald

#70 DEN:

See Pakistan was unhappy, so bu$hco won't try that again. Did you hear him refer to the Pakistani government as " the Paks" today? He is such a diplomat.

Uncledad, doofus sez he did not care about OBL before too.

I get the feeling something is happening in the Admin. that if we knew, would blow the lid off their little charade, it is like they do not really care but are trying to make it sound like they do, all the while they have something up their sinister sleeves.

Why would he say "we will be attacked again", Freudian slip?

General Relativity Survives Gruelling Pulsar Test: Einstein At Least 99.95 Percent Right

An international research team led by Prof. Michael Kramer of the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK, has used three years of observations of the "double pulsar", a unique pair of natural stellar clocks which they discovered in 2003, to prove that Einstein's theory of general relativity - the theory of gravity that displaced Newton's - is correct to within a staggering 0.05%. Their results are published on the14th September in the journal Science and are based on measurements of an effect called the Shapiro Delay.

The double pulsar system, PSR J0737-3039A and B, is 2000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Puppis. It consists of two massive, highly compact neutron stars, each weighing more than our own Sun but only about 20 km across, orbiting each other every 2.4 hours at speeds of a million kilometres per hour. Separated by a distance of just a million kilometres, both neutron stars emit lighthouse-like beams of radio waves that are seen as radio "pulses" every time the beams sweep past the Earth. It is the only known system of two detectable radio pulsars orbiting each other. Due to the large masses of the system, they provide an ideal opportunity to test aspects of General Relativity:

More HERE

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

"When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity." ~ Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

capt

Den,

Well, it doen't seem so tough to me because I have a high degree of clarity with respect to what actually happened.

When I first became aware of the conspiracy theories out there, I became concerned that perhaps they were true! I asked myself if the government could be lying about what really happened.

You know what I did? I dove in and did extensive research on every aspect of the attacks. I examined numerous sources, looked at tons of pictures and watched videos again and again. I read the reports, examined technical documents, reviewed computer simulations, and checked and cross-checked sources. I approached all of this with an open mind!

My conclusions? The attacks were perpetrated by Islamic terrorists who flew jet aircraft into their intended targets (save the one that went down in PA.) Our government had no specific intelligence of this plot they could act upon. To be sure, there were pieces of information available, but the FBI and others failed to "connect the dots." There is absolutely no evidence of our governments involvement in the plot by Al Qaida to carry out this attack! Nothing, zip, nada.

So if folks here want to keep putting forth outlandish, un-substantiated allegations and continue to argue on false premises, I'm more than willing to prove them wrong.

"something up their sinister sleeves"

Um, the neocon/DINO landslide in November as a mandate for military action in Iran/Syria.

I hope I am wrong, of course.

capt

"A man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator the smaller the fraction."
~ Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910)

Americans in Denial about 9/11

Five years after 9/11, the country still hasn't asked what motives the terrorists may have had in their attacks

We did just about everything except honestly ask ourselves what the hell really happened, and why.

That process of self-examination was flawed from the start. We were screwed the moment Fareed Zakaria wrote his infamous "The Politics of Rage: Why Do They Hate Us?" essay for Newsweek a few weeks after the attacks. The question -- why do they hate us? -- was maybe the right question, but that was only if everyone could have agreed on what it meant. For what do we mean by they, and what do we mean by us? I for one am not entirely sure we're clear on these points, even now.

That we couldn't agree on who they were should be obvious by now. To the Bush administration the answers to the they/us questions were, respectively, "Foreigners" and "America." From the outset the Bush crew showed that they were both unwilling and unable to budge from the post-WWII political paradigm they'd all grown up under, and viewed the 9/11 events purely as an attack on the American nation-state by a belligerent foreign power. Their solution to the terrorism problem revolved entirely around a strategy for dealing with those foreign nation-states that were the "sponsors" of terrorism -- Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea. It was characteristic of the fourth-rate minds in this White House that they not only immediately got lost in the wrong political paradigm in response to the bombing, but picked the wrong country, Iraq, to punish for the crime. If we give them another ten years at it they'll probably end up introducing market reform to Antarctica as a backup plan.

More HERE

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

Denial is not just a river in Egypt.

capt

sure you looked into it thoroughly tim!
although you are certainly smart enough to ignore the fact that the only way the top of 110 story towers can only hit the ground in the same length of time (10 seconds!) that a bowling ball dropped from the same height would hit the ground is if the massive support columns were magically removed from the path of resistance.
you are either a moron or a liar! remember, beavis is the smart one!

Depleted Uranium Radioactive Contamination In Iraq: An Overview

basically, the U.S. began using DU munitions in the gulfwar1 and continued using them during the clinton years with the no-fly zones and is now spreading so much of it around that it can only be considered an extermination. unfortunately for the inferiors including the average u.s. soldiers, the powers-that-be have spent the entire time covering up that fact. now the VA has officially determined that "gulfwar syndrome" (a debilitating physical effect resulting from DU contamination) does not exist. way to go powers-that-be! it is comforting to learn that you have such high regard for the average u.s. soldier and his offspring! not to mention the poor inferior arabs!

FUCK YOU bushco! and fuck the rest of you dwarf ostriches as well!

Former skeptics call for action on global warming - bush (surprise, surprise!) is silent

Tracking the bush administration's environmental misdeeds...

#75 DEN "doofus sez he did not care about OBL before too"

Yeah but that was before the new "team". Joshua, and Tony have surely told doofus that that statement didn't poll well. I think what’s up their sleeve's is that they are scared shitless that the GOP may lose the house, senate or both. If that happens (a man can dream can't he) doofus may be spending alot of time before various committees testifying.

Everyone is entitled to be stupid but some abuse the privilege. Unknown

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. Mark Twain (1835-1910)

In battling evil, excess is good; for he who is moderate in announcing the truth is presenting half-truth. He conceals the other half out of fear of the people's wrath. Kahil Gibran

There is only one good, knowledge. and one evil, ignorance. Socrates (469-399B.C.)

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win. Mahatma Gandhi

In such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, not to be on the side of the executioners.
Albert Camus

Can anything be stupider than that a man has the right to kill me because he lives on the other side of a river and his ruler has a quarrel with mine, though I have not quarrelled with him?
Blaise Pascal

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.
Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it –†always.
~ Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love: Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Of all the varieties of virtues, liberalism is the most beloved.
Aristotle

In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
H. L. Mencken

A Conservative Government is an organized hypocrisy.
Benjamin Disraeli

War is a cowardly escape from peace. Thomas Mann (1875-1955)

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.
~ Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.
~ Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)

A man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator the smaller the fraction! Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)

A story largely ignored...

World Oceans in Extreme Danger

Governments deny global warming is happening as they rush to map the ocean floor in the hopes of claiming rights to oil, gas, gold, diamonds, copper, zinc and the planet's last pristine fishing grounds. Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2005 found "the first clear evidence that the world ocean is growing warmer," including the discovery "that the top half-mile of the ocean has warmed dramatically in the past 40 years as the result of human-induced greenhouse gases."

Source: "The Fate of the Ocean," Julia Whitty, Mother Jones, March-April 2006.

Another story not getting the attention it warrants...

Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Information Act

In 2005, the Department of Defense pushed for and was granted exemption from Freedom of Information Act requests, a crucial law that allows journalists and watchdogs access to federal documents. The ruling could hamper the efforts of groups like the ACLU, which relied on FOIA to uncover more than 30,000 documents on the US military's torture of detainees in Afghanistan Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, including the Abu Ghraib torture scandal.

Sources: "Pentagon Seeks Greater Immunity from Freedom of Information," Michelle Chen, New Standard, May 6, 2005; "FOIA Exemption Granted to Federal Agency," Newspaper Association of America Web site, posted December 2005.

In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
H. L. Mencken

Actually, I rejoice in the fact that I am not a Nazi!!!

On the Diane Rehm show today, Tony Blakely says there are less troops in Baghdad than police in New York City.

New York 8 Million.
Baghdad 6 Million.

Dear Tony says that the neocons would be very happy with a large increase in troop strength.

And this would accomplish?

And is he volunteering?

Bush's Bullying, Erratic Behavior, Spurs more GOP Defections

[..]

Graham is also a former military lawyer and a colonel in the Air Force Reserve.

"It's a bridge too far, and it's not necessary," Graham says of Bush's proposals. "It will result in putting us in legal jeopardy and erode our standing in the world community."

Other Republicans object to Bush's strong push to pass his plan quickly with little time for consideration or debate. It reminds them of the headlong rush to pass the USA Patriot Act, a bill that stripped away most of the protections of the Constitution and was rushed into a law by a post-9/11 shell-shocked Congress. Many who voted for the bill admitted later they hadn't even read the legislation.

Graham did take time to read the bill.

"I fell over when I read it," he said.

A growing number of Republicans admit shock at the President's actions.

"The White House has lost its way on a number of important issues," says Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel. Bush's Iraq war, Hagel adds, "is a replay of Vietnam."

Republican Tom Kean Jr., running for Senate in New Jersey, says Bush has been dishonest with the American people about the war in Iraq.

"There have been horrendous mistakes made in the war in Iraq," Kean told the Newark Star-Ledger. "The president should acknowledge that. He needs to level with the American people."

Asked if such a step might bring down the wrath of the President, Kean shrugged his shoulders and added:

"If it means that I'm angering the White House, so be it."

More HERE

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

Bullying? Erratic behavior? Bush not leveling with the American people? He needs to admit the truth? (not going to happen)

SSDD

capt

Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel. Bush's Iraq war, Hagel adds, "is a replay of Vietnam."
Why is it when we say such things it's a bunch of looney lib commie talk? What is with this delay people need to accept things? The posters here on the Cornblog have been saying it all along. The same goes for the not-so-secret CIA prisons and push for war with Iran which we have known about for a significant amount of time but are only now being recognized by the mainstream.

"Remember the Martyrs, Close the SOA!"
Columbus, GA

Talk by John Dear at the Fort Benning Protest

[Over 16,000 people gathered at the gates at Fort Benning, Georgia, to call for the closing of the so-called "School of the Americas." John Dear spoke along with Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon, Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls, and Sr. Helen Prejean before marching pass the gates and leaving crosses to remember the martyrs of Latin America. For further information, see: www.soaw.org]

This week, we remember the Jesuit martyrs killed fifteen years ago in El Salvador. I recall what Fr. Ignacio Ellacuria, the president of the Jesuit University in San Salvador, said to me when I met in May, 1985: "If you want to be for the reign of God, if you want to work for justice and peace, if you want to announce the reign of God, then you have to stand up publicly against the anti-reign, and speak out against the evil institutions of war and injustice, and so as we bless the soldiers and police here, we do what Ellacuria said, and we denounce the evil work of this school of assassins as the anti-reign, and demand that it be shut down immediately.

I also remember that while I was in El Salvador, Ellacuria said that everyone at a Jesuit and Catholic school in the United States which has ROTC is living in mortal sin because we are supporting the forces of death that are killing his people. So today, let's pledge to get rid of ROTC on every Jesuit and Catholic campus in the USA and every college campus.

Today, we denounce the lie of war and say that war is not the path to peace; war is not the answer to our problems; war is not the way to a better world or to deepen the spiritual life; war cannot stop terrorism because war is terrorism; war is never justified; war is not the will of God; war is never blessed by God; war is the ultimate mortal sin. War is not the way to follow the nonviolent Jesus. Peaceful means are the only way to a peaceful future and the God of peace!

Today, we storm heaven and beg the God of peace for a miracle, that the SOA will close down, that we will end the U.S. wars on Iraq and Afghanistan and Palestine and Colombia, that we will dismantle our nuclear weapons, feed the starving masses and commit ourselves to the wisdom of nonviolence, and love our enemies and beat our swords into plowshares and welcome God's gift of peace, a whole new world without war, poverty, injustice or nuclear weapons, and finally become disciples of the nonviolent, troublemaking Jesus. Thank you. God bless you!

#90

Chuck Hagel and John McCain want the Repug nomination for prez. Heck, maybe pipsqueak Graham wants it, too. And toady Colin, who knows?

They'd better put up, or shut up.

I'm sick of these Repugs saying whatever it takes to look good for a soundbite, quote, or photo op, then giving the asshole bush exactly what he wants.

Imagine (My Version)

Imagine there's a Heaven
It's easy if you try
And a hope of no hell below us
Above us the sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And a religion of brotherly love too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can

#93 micki, right on!!!

#90

Also...

Tom Kean Junior is probably just trying to save his ass because his old man isn't such an asset in NJ anymore!

Nice work, if you can get it!

"...Health-insurance provider UnitedHealth Group paid former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean more than $650,000 to serve on its board in 2004. Despite a pay package thatÔøΩs more than four times the average, KeanÔøΩs seat was empty at more than a quarter of UnitedHealth Group board-related meetings last year.

Company filings with the SEC say that Kean missed meetings in 2004 because he served as chair of the 9/11 Commission, a panel that investigated the terror strikes on the U.S. and made suggestions on how to prevent future attacks. But even without those responsibilities, Kean would look overbooked as a board member. In addition to serving as president of Drew University in New Jersey, Kean held at least six other board positions in 2004, according to UnitedHealth corporate filings. He served on the boards of Amerada Hess, CIT Group, Aramark, Pepsi Bottling Group, Franklin Resources and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation...."

++++++

The SEC has been investigating the conduct of United Health's management and directors for the past months.. The IRS and prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York have subpoenaed documents from the UHG...for apparently backdating hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of stock options by UHG management.

Kean sat on the compensation committee -- is he stooooooopid, greedy, corrupt, negligent or what? What will he say under oath?

Eye's,

"Why is it when we say such things it's a bunch of looney lib commie talk?"

Relative values, relative morals and relative facts.

That is why I cannot muster any respect for the trolls, not even relative respect!

"The most annoying trait of Right-Wing Outlaws in general is a lazy incuriosity about the real world. They know their lines, they're sure who the good guys and the bad guys are. Therefore they view the passing world as a kind of animated "Bartlett's Quotations" - that is, as handy source material with which to illustrate, rather than challenge, preconceived views."
~ James Fallows

capt

From Paul Rieckhoff

__________________
It is insulting that the President, who has never served in combat, would dismiss the credible and reasoned advice of men like Senator McCain, a brave combat veteran who endured years of torture as a prisoner of war.

This is an example of the President's questionable commitment to our troops, and his failure to grasp the dynamics on the battlefield. How can the President say to our men and women in uniform that he is willing to risk their safety unnecessarily? Maybe the President would understand the importance of this issue more clearly if he had personally served in combat.

The President repeatedly tells us that this fight is tough, but those of us who have been there know that already, and the President's stand on this issue will only make it tougher.
______________

Shrub kept saying how "decent" and "amurkun" the "professionals" who needed "free rein" to "interview".

I can believe, easy enough, that none of the McMedia present had the stones to ask, "exactly who ARE these "professionals" you're talking about? can we talk to their families about how "decent" they are? Are THEY the kind of people you'd like to have a beer with? and by the way, why the hell should we grant you additional powers when you've abused every bit of power that you've been entrusted with so far?

puh-thetic.

Kudos to David Gregory, for calling the asshat out on his non-answers, at least.

-T

Mattie wrote this letter nine months before Bush invaded Iraq in March, 2003.

Dear Mr. Bush by Mattie Stepanek, June, 2002

You said we are caught
Between terrorism and hopelessness.
You said we cannot
Find peace in this situation.
I caught your words, but
I cannot agree with the conclusion.
Clearly,
We cannot perpetuate terrorism.
But perhaps,
If we choose to accept
Hopelessness with a catch,
We will find peace in all situations.
Hope, or lack of hope,
Is an attitude.
And an attitude is a choice.
In this great country,
We do have a choice.
And so, in conclusion,
We cannot get caught
With a bad attitude,
Or we are not choosing peace.

Bush has a bad attitude!!!

Just a reminder by the end of November, 2006 the Iraq War will match the timeline for WW II!!!

"I'm sick of these Repugs saying whatever it takes to look good for a soundbite, quote, or photo op, then giving the asshole bush exactly what he wants."

My feelings exactly. They blather, they bluster, they talk-talk-talk then roll over for a belly scratch.

UGH!

capt

Hajji,

It just goes to show Bush is leading a notion not an nation.

capt

From IAVA

The following fatalities were identified by the DoD between 9/1 and 9/14:

Sgt. Moises Jazmin, Spc. Qixing Lee, Spc. Shaun A. Novak, Spc. Tristan C. Smith, Lance Cpl. Colin J. Wolfe, Sgt. Joshua R. Hanson, Pfc. Nicholas A. Madaras, Staff Sgt. Michael L. Deason, Staff Sgt. Eugene H.E. Alex, Lance Cpl. Cliff K. Golla, Lance Cpl. Philip A. Johnson, Lance Cpl. Shane P. Harris, Lance Cpl. Eric P. Valdepenas, Pvt. Ryan E. Miller, Cpl. Jared M. Shoemaker, Sgt. Matthew J. Vosbein, Cpl. Shannon L. Squires, Pfc. Hannah L. Gunterman, Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher G. Walsh, Sgt. Ralph N. Porras, Pfc. Justin W. Dreese, Staff Sgt. Angel D. Mercado-Velazquez, Sgt. 1st Class Richard J. Henkes II, Sgt. Germaine L. Debro, Lt. Col. Marshall A. Gutierrez, Pfc. Jeremy R. Shank, Pfc. Vincent M. Frassetto, Sgt. Jason L. Merrill, Pvt. Edwin A. Andino II, Sgt. David W. Gordon, Sgt. Luis A. Montes, Cpl. Johnathan L. Benson, Sgt. Nathaniel B. Lindsey, Sgt. 1st Class Merideth L. Howard, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul, Sgt. John A. Carroll, Pfc. Anthony P. Seig, Spc. Alexander Jordan, Sgt. 1st Class Michael T. Fuga, Sgt. Jeremy E. DePottey, Capt. Matthew C. Mattingly
____________

That's only 2 weeks, folks.

That's what Bushco calls "progress".

Freedom is on the march in empty boots.

puh-thetic.

A nation not AN nation.

My proof reader has the day off.

capt

David,

Be sure to read the Op-Ed in the WSJ today (page A-12), "What a Load of Armitage!", by Victoria Toensing, ex-chief counsel for the Senate Intelligence Comm. & deputy Asst. AG. Not a subscriber to WSJ Online, otherwise, I'd copy/paste here.

While her focus was on Armitage & Fitz, she nailed Wilson for claiming his wife was `outed' (under Intell.ID Protect.Act) when he KNEW she did NOT meet the factual requirements for covert status. She also said something that fits common & Happy sense: covert officers are NOT assigned to Langley!

Toward the end, she mentioned your name 4 times in a paragraph...including "Was Mr. Corn subpoenaed?" Maybe you did deal with this in your book but if NOT,will you join Armitage & Novak and tell us your source(s) as to being the first to claim Plame was "covert"? If you did cover this in HUBRIS, then NEER MIND!

We Won! We're Marching!

In a stunning turn of events, the NYC Police Department has reversed its previous decision to deny us the right to march near the United Nations on Sept. 19th.

When the NYPD told us there would be no marches in the vicinity of the UN that day, we announced that we would march anyway, even if it meant we went to jail. We have just learned that we are being given a permit for a march and rally that morning to call for an end to the war in Iraq.

As President Bush makes his way to the UN for his speech to the General Assembly, we will be gathering at 6th Avenue and 37th Street in Manhattan between 9 and 9:30 a.m. At 9:30 a.m. we will begin our march, heading north on 6th Avenue and then east on 47th Street. We will end at the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on 47th Street between 2nd and 1st Avenue, across from the UN with a rally from 11 a.m. to 12 noon; Bush will be speaking at the UN sometime between 11:30 and 11:45 am.

Let's make this a large and loud call for an immediate end to the war and occupation in Iraq -- all the troops must be brought home, and brought home now!

More HERE

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Anybody want to wager on the MSM coverage of the march?

capt

Plame's Role at the CIA

[..]

Valerie Wilson was no analyst or paper-pusher. She was an operations officer working on a top priority of the Bush Administration. Armitage, Rove and Libby had revealed information about a CIA officer who had searched for proof of the President's case. In doing so, they harmed her career and put at risk operations she had worked on and foreign agents and sources she had handled.

Another issue was whether Valerie Wilson had sent her husband to Niger to check out an intelligence report that Iraq had sought uranium there. Hubris contains new information undermining the charge that she arranged this trip. In an interview with the authors, Douglas Rohn, a State Department officer who wrote a crucial memo related to the trip, acknowledges he may have inadvertently created a misimpression that her involvement was more significant than it had been.

Valerie Plame was recruited into the CIA in 1985, straight out of Pennsylvania State University. After two years of training to be a covert case officer, she served a stint on the Greece desk, according to Fred Rustmann, a former CIA official who supervised her then. Next she was posted to Athens and posed as a State Department employee. Her job was to spot and recruit agents for the agency. In the early 1990s she became what's known as a nonofficial cover officer. NOCs are the most clandestine of the CIA's frontline officers. They do not pretend to work for the US government; they do not have the protection of diplomatic immunity. They might claim to be a businessperson. She told people she was with an energy firm. Her main mission remained the same: to gather agents for the CIA.

More HERE

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Someone has exposed themselves as a rube. They come here to post stupid stuff and never bother reading what David writes. Thank goodness for the scroll button, eh?

I know facts are confusing when beliefs are strong but facts are facts just the same.

capt

#105,Yea capt, 0, zip, zilch, nada.

Let's see:

Gas prices are plummeting.

Stock market up (meaning 401(k)'s and IRA's up, too).

Plame story a bust for libs.

Bush's poll numbers rising.

No attacks on American soil in five years.

Islamofascists being captured because of NSA wiretaps.

Republicans regaining ground in House and Senate races.

DUST OFF THE DIEBOLD VOTING MACHINES!!

kathleen --- IMHO gas prices are declining because the damage done to refineries and off-shore production platforms caused by Katrina/Rita has largely been repaired. More production, lower prices. Alan might know more.

saladin --- I've seen photos of the trusses in various stages of construction and also the remants in the debris piles of World Trade Center.

gerald is the man! @85

I've seen photos of the trusses in various stages of construction and also the remants in the debris piles of World Trade Center.

then you should be well equipped to explain how the top of wtc2 reached the ground thru 110 stories of both extra massive core and regular massive perimeter columns in the same amount of time that it would have taken to fall thru the air alone. (10 seconds!)

so either each floor's columns (both extra massive core and regular massive perimeter) leaped out of the way in terror at the thought of all that powdered concrete above them or it was magic or they were assisted out of the way with explosives.
here's a hint: it wasn't magic.

A google image search for "trusses world trade center" came up with this picture. I have not have time to read the page it is found on well but it seems to have lots of information on the subject of the collapses.

"Alan might know more"

THAT is the most hilarious thing you have ever posted!

ROTFLMAO!

Thanks DB I needed a that!

capt

'spy' --- Ask on the PhysOrgForum 'Off-Topic' thread. Lots of resources there to help you with your confusions.

capt --- Glad you got a laugh, but Alan certainly knows more than I do about many things: elevators, for example. In this case, as Alan lives in Houston the local papers probably can explain gas prices better than I.

eyes_open --- Thanks.

DB,
No problem. I believe in seeking out as much information as possible before passing judgement. The picture of the trusses and claim proper fire resistance tests were not done supports one side but the picture of the crane lifting a red hot piece of metal supports the other. The reason this debate is still going on is the theories on both sides have holes. The only thing I think everyone can agree on is when the government refuses to investigate it gives the impression something is being hidden.

Quit it, you are killing me.

Tears are running down my face!

So because someone lives in Houston that makes him your "go to" guy on oil and gas markets?

You demean yourself, sir.

I really thought you were joking.

Too effin funny for words, what about someone that lives in Austin? San Antonio or maybe Dallas? My go to guy is in Alabama! (lololo)

Maybe they all know more than those in Houston?

WTF does elevtors (or elevator shoes for that matter) have to do with gas and oil prices?

The fact that you were being serious makes it even more funny. I was crediting you with a very dry sense of humor. My mistake.

Thanks

capt

Wait, I get it - elevators AND gas/oil prices go up and down?

lololololo

capt

eyes-open --- Actually, it is a piece of yellow to red hot glass. Look carefully. You'll see various pieces of metal rod stuck in the glass.

And it is called an extractor, not a crane.

NIST is part of the government, did investiggate it, wrote quite a good report. I do not consider the report to be perfect. But with regard to substantively alternate physics, those ideas are completely wrong. Try the Debunking 911 site and the 911 Myths sites for technically correct (but not perfect) information.

But I only do the physics, not what led up to the airplanes impacting the towers...

"But I only do the physics, not what led up to the airplanes impacting the towers"

That would be your "go to" guy on government conspiracies? (Houston too I suppose?)

You are knocking them out of the park today, You are in rare form!

Keep 'em coming.

capt

#110 spy on this, the quotes on #85 are gathered from various posts on this website. I did not invent the wheel. I agree these quotes are great!

DB,
I'll take your opinion that the hot debris was glass into consideration but several alleged witnesses to molten steel are cited. Part of the problem with this online research is that most of the available pictures are so small and fuzzy they leave doubt as to what they actually show. How can I own a high resolution digital camera and but no photographer did?

A Statement of Conscience

No election, whether fair or fraudulent, can legitimize criminal wars on foreign countries, torture, the wholesale violation of human rights, and the end of science and reason.

What is the melting point of glass?

1400-1600 degrees centigrade.

or for you fahrenheit fans, 2552-2912degreeF.

Well, I'm no expert on gas prices, but yeah, I do know why the price is going down. There's the repair of refineries, the nation going back to an easier 'winter blend' of gasoline, and finally, less driving now that the vacation season is over. More supply means less demand, less of a price.