Tuesday Open Thread
What I'm Reading This Morning
- Talk of Pelosi as Speaker Delights Both Parties
- Block the Vote (After you read this, check out what Dems are doing via the National Democratic Lawyers Council and the Voting Rights Institue)
Comments (355) «
Trial Is Expected to Bring New Scrutiny of Lawmaker
Testimony in the trial of a former White House budget aide accused of lying about his contacts with the lobbyist Jack Abramoff is expected to result in new scrutiny of Representative Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican caught up in the influence-peddling scandal centered on Mr. Abramoff.
Impeachment is an option.
Bring the troops home.
one vote - one person
EU court rules airline data deal with US illegal
The European Union acted illegally when it agreed to transfer airline passenger data to the United States as part of U.S. efforts to fight terrorism, the bloc's highest court said on Tuesday.
The United States, the executive European Commission and European airlines said the ruling would have no immediate impact on transatlantic air travel and left time to find an agreed solution to the data transfer issue.
Noam Chomsky: Why it's over for America
An inability to protect its citizens. The belief that it is above the law. A lack of democracy. Three defining characteristics of the 'failed state'. And that, says Noam Chomsky, is exactly what the US is becoming. In an exclusive extract from his devastating new book, America's leading thinker explains how his country lost its way
And I also need to get off my slacker ass and get going with the voter registration work.
Posted by SandyH on May 29, 2006 at 12:54 PM
Posted by SandyH on May 29, 2006 at 12:59 PM
Great to read you, SandyH. It was a busy weekend for me, so I missed the going ons here. (my new fence looks great & I love the privacy!!! gardens to plant galore!!! oh yeah, the "construction guy" isn't too hard to watch work either.)
There's an old saying that goes...."A man works from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done."
{{Butters}}
Did you see Chomsky on CSPAN this weekend? (Was it BookTV? I surfaced from a nap to find him speaking on TV.)
Happy gardening, luv! My little patch has expanded this year. Taters, maters and mustard greens are booming out of the ground; corn and beans are up and the snow peas are running like mad. Cantaloupes and watermelons should be ready in July. (I'm getting ready to make another BA batch of the now-famous green-mater pickles!)
{{{Rev}}}
I've been outside in the yard all weekend. From 7 a.m. til almost midnight all weekend!
No 'taters or corn for me, but beans, peppers, 'maters and a few other green vegggies are for me. The herb garden looks great... the fairy & gnome statues (those concrete kind) are scrubbed and ever watching...I want a gargoyle for the back entrance gate.
Hope all is well with you & yours. I must say, I think I found the man of my dreams! I'll keep you posted as it progresses. (city boy meets simple gal from tiny hamlet! haha)
Good morning, all.
Hi, Esmeralda. Thanks for the book recommendation.
I was asking for summer book ideas this weekend. This one seems to follow the same theme as a lot of others out there.
I'm still looking for one that points me in a new direction and gives me encouragement. Maybe I should have been checking out this man's movie instead.
Al Gore's quote really jumped out at me today. It applies as much to the state of our country as it does to the planet:
"We're running the planet like a company in liquidation," the former US vice-president Al Gore told an audience at the Hay festival, in an impassioned plea to act on climate change before it is too late. "For some reason we have now convinced ourselves, too many of us, that we don't have to care about the future," he said.
"A company in liquidation....we don't have to care about the future." I wasn't raised that way and I don't think many other Americans were either. We need to stop the stupidity on which the Republicans have based their entire agenda.
I'm not ready for a fire sale of our ports and other natural resources to foreign governments. Nor am I ready to accept the current misappropriattion of our funds for unnecessary wars or tax cuts to the wealthy.
The newly elected central committee will be re-organizing this evening. We will also elect the executive board from the membership. I hope to be re-elected as vice chair. (I don't want chairmanship...too busy with the Zack Space for Congress Campaign this year)
Bush to host 'United 93' screening
Good morning Everyone, I can't bring myself to watch this movie. I cannot fathom how family members could sit through this and relive the loss of their loved ones and I surely couldn't sit in a room with GWB and not wonder why in the world he didn't do more to make sure this movie never needed to be made.
E, when God closes one door, He opens annother. Or at least I hope so. Nothing like a new love to get the heart back in gear and racing.
I laid my mother to rest two weeks ago and still am having trouble finding a reason to move on. I need to learn some patience. But could someone tell this pilgrim where the place called morning lies?
Kristen, he probably figures its a tribute to his leadership. If he had half the courage that these people demonstrated on that day, we wouldn't be in Iraq today.
This will be interesting to watch, we may keep this in mind for other states, with new voting machines.
An election reform advocate in Texas is challenging the statement of a top election official that electronic voting systems"
The Texas Secretary of State is being sued for failing to follow a Texas Election Code law that mandates periodic examination of voting systems' software to determine that no changes have been made to the software either in error or by malicious intent.
Sandy,
It rather makes one wonder if we aren't suffering some sort of "national autism", where life and living are "all about ME, what *I* want NOW, damn any consequences, who it hurts or what gets destroyed in the process". The reverse also seems to be true: "if it doesn't affect me directly and immediately, why should I care?"
That's what the pugs know and why they can drive flocks of sheeple to polls when they dangle anti-gay or anti-whatever legislation like baubles. Funny, they Big Payoff at the pug political slot-machine never rewards the "faithful" -- they just get hoodwinked into pi$$ing their own rights, futures and jobs right down the drain.
I really can't decide if as a people, Americans are either somnambulent or so egotistical as not to care about anything that's further out than the next episode of "American Idol". I asked some friends of mine why they invest so much emotional entanglement in game shows when there are so many real life issues before us. I keep telling them, "You aren't winning Big Cash and Fabulous Prizes. Nobody's handing you a record contract or the keys to the shiny new car."
The game-show mentality is killing this country and it seems that only a few are awake and aware enough to care -- fewer still to DO anything about it.
We try to brighten and enlighten our corners as we can. Seems lately that my local papers will print every LTE I'm sending in -- and oh, do they get regular earfuls from me and mine... maybe, just might-maybe, folks are starting to shake it off and reach for some coffee. Law, I hope and pray.
Sandy, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. There is definitely no miracle salve that makes things better, trust that I wish there was.
Some days are just spent breathing and with time things will get a bit easier and eventually the path will brighten and things will change.
I will be keeping you in my thoughts and sending you healing prayers.
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 10:42 AM
Sorry to hear about your mom SandyH
Sandy,
I'm deeply saddened for your loss. All our lives we expect to outlive our parents, but it seems we're never ready for that day. Nothing prepares you for the reality.
Grieve, cry, heal yourself and know that R & I (among your many admirers) are thinking of you and sending you strength. It may take a while, but you will find that place where you can honor her memory in peace and joy. Until that day, hold our outreached hands.
{{Molly}}
If anyone deserves a good'n who will respect and take care of your generous heart, you do.
Details, girl!!! You've got my addy ;-)
Law, I hope and pray.
Posted by RedLetter_Rev on May 30, 2006 at 10:49 AM
Bill, not many people would be familier with your col·lo·qui·al·ism. Have heard my G'ma and G aunts say that many times.
Thank you all for your kind thoughts. Family and friends keep me going.
I guess I've been sort of in shock. Even though I knew for some time that she was going soon, I didn't expect the void to be so big.
In a way it's like a new start. I have the time now to reflect and make some decisions about where I want my life to go. I'm sure she is happy for me. I'm know I'm happy for her.
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 10:42 AM
Prayers of strength to you. Who says you have to move on? Everyone grieves their own time.
I find comfort here: Ecclesiastes 3.
Posted by RedLetter_Rev on May 30, 2006 at 10:49 AM
Red, we all used to laugh when Al Frankin joked about the "Me, Al Frankin Generation". Little did we know how deep that chord ran.
Maybe it's all the bad news we hear everyday or that there really is a lack of true faith in the Almighty. I don't know why, but I still believe in the basic goodness of most Americans. Maybe we don't challenge them enough?
Tain't fair.
Many are called, but few ever serve...over and over again.
U.S. moving 1,500 reserve troops to Iraq
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - U.S. military commanders are moving about 1,500 troops from a reserve force in Kuwait into the volatile Anbar province in western
Iraq to help local authorities establish order there.
The move, announced Tuesday by military commanders, comes as Iraqi officials continue to struggle to set up their government, amid new spikes in violence.
//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060530/ap_on_re_mi_ea/
us_iraq
And this is a Western province where things have been relatively quiet for the last four years?
If Bush thinks this is such a great crusade, why doesn't he call a military draft and ask all Americans to sacrifice for his "common good?"
If Bush thinks this is such a great crusade, why doesn't he call a military draft and ask all Americans to sacrifice for his "common good?"
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 11:28 AM
Work program?
The Note: Not a Snip, Not a Bite
Topics that can be heard discussed among Republican members of the Gang of 500:
Topics that can be heard discussed among Democratic members of the Gang of 500:
sandyh, sorry to hear about your mom. let the mourning and sadness and loss takes it time with you. there are no formula's or patterns that one can apply in these things. be with those who are important to you, lose yourself a bit if you can in their lives but give yourself the gift of patience...there is no hurry and we are not really going anywhere anyway. my best wishes for you in this sad time.
Posted by dumpw on May 29, 2006 at 08:35 PM
Taxed?
Election boards here in OH are run on county money. The state has taken away 20% of local government funding, so the county is short anyway with no new ways to raise revenue.
I have spent more than $35,000 of my requested budget this ytd due to HAVA 2002, and I'm looking forward to maybe 11 state issues that will cost approximately $25,000 in advertising. Bake sale, anyone?
Hey Lets!
LTNS (my fault for not being around that often... life gets like that occasionally :( )
Yep, the oldfolks would say "Law" because it would be like taking the Lord's name in vain, especially in exclamation. I still have the "I swannee!!" habit because "it's a sin to swear"... funny how these odd Suthren conventions persist :-)
this is interesting. what next? will bush and cheney appear wearing woven hemp pin stipped suits? now that the republicans are getting scared about all the disasters they have created as well as the ones they poorly responded to we need to make sure they don't get over on the american public ( a bunch are born every minute ya know) and so we should be hammering cheney's great quotes about conservation over and over and over....as well as their positions on clean air, clean water, acid rain, pollution credits, etc. etc.....
Treasury Secretary Nominee Says Failure To Ratify Kyoto Undermines U.S. Competitiveness
President Bush’s new nominee for Treasury Secretary, Goldman Sachs Chairman Henry M. Paulson Jr., not only endorses the Kyoto Protocol to limit greenhouse emissions, but argues that the United States’ failure to enact Kyoto undermines the competitiveness of U.S. companies. Here’s a statement from the Nature Conservancy, where Paulson serves as chairman of the board:
The Kyoto Protocol is a key first step to help slow the onslaught of global warming and benefit conservation efforts…Until the United States passes its own limits on global warming emissions, innovative companies based here will lose out on opportunities to sell reduced emission credits to companies complying with the Kyoto Protocol overseas. Additionally, without enacting our own emission limits, U.S. companies will lose ground to their competitors in Europe, Canada, Japan, and other countries participating in the Protocol who are developing clean technologies.
Posted by Esmeralda on May 30, 2006 at 11:36 AM
I've thought all along that one of the main reasons he started this war was to keep the unemployment numbers down. How many National Guard and Reservists have been called up who would have otherwise been employed in the workforces?
Here's the latest from the homefront:
Consumer confidence falls in May
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK - Consumer confidence soured in May, as Americans fretted about jobs and the overall economy, a private research group said Tuesday...
While shoppers have remained resilient in the face of higher gasoline prices, which have been hovering around $3 per gallon, Tuesday's report may confirm analysts' fears that consumers have reached a tipping point.
According to a poll of 7,000 consumers conducted for the National Retail Federation by research firm BIGresearch LLC in early May, 76 percent believe fluctuating gas prices have affected their spending habits. That's up from 67.2 percent a year ago...
In a worrisome report issued last week by the
Federal Reserve, core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 2.1 percent in April, the biggest gain in 13 months
That's making economists nervous that high increases in oil prices are now expanding into other areas of the economy. And the Fed, which has been on an interest-hike campaign over the past two years, is being confronted with the challenge of keeping inflation in check without slowing the economy further...
//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060530/ap_on_bi_ge/
economy
Sandy,
I'm so very sorry to hear about your mother. It's always hard to lose a parent, no matter how much preparation you get or how old you are. I've been waiting for several years to get the call about my mother (she's had several strokes) but I know it will be a blow when it does come. Grieve in your own time and keep the faith.
i watched bagdhad er last nite and thinking about bush's confession that he might have gone a tad over the line with his brilliant "bring it on" (to those poor soldiers over there and i'll stay over here)line made me wonder what would be fair pennance for his sin?
pea brained mutha
gregg, it's easy for these guys to appoint people that they don't intend to listen to or give any power to..unless it's their dirty lawyers and spy chief.
It's all about appearances and "legally" abusing power for their own gain.
Thanks to you and everyone else for your kind thoughts. Mom said she felt great till she was 85 and then things sort of slowed down. I should be so lucky.
Gotta go tend the garden before the thunderstorms head in this afternoon. later.
If Bush thinks this is such a great crusade, why doesn't he call a military draft and ask all Americans to sacrifice for his "common good?"
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 11:28 AM
What, and have some poor blueblood like JennaTonic sully their dainty hands with Dumbya's dirtywork? Raaahhhllllly, dahlingk, starting wars is a province of the pseudo-gentry on Cap Hill; fighting wars is for poor folks who have had every other chance of employment taken away by the aforesaid gentry.
It's much more patriotic, dontcha know, to stick a magnet on your 4MPG Hummer. That's how republicans "support the troops". But to have a republican do actual combat, unthinkable!! They don't and won't, for all their flag-wrapping, eagle-flapping big talk.
The pugs are awfully good at "do as I say; just don't do as I do". Two-faced cowards.
:-\
Can we have email from the Post Office instead of corporate companies, who bend too easy to Executive Privilege of unwarranted filtering, mining, and data collection. With the federal government promising US postal guarantees that regular mail used to have, it could then safeguard America from NSA ease dropping abuse. Senators and Congress men and women could send email with Constitutional safeguards, without worrying that the White House domestic spying was seeing everything. It could sign up only documented US patriot citizens. The checks and balances of due process of law requiring a warrant could then be monitored very easily. Other email could be monitored without privacy guarantees from governmental spying by China, US, and other countries, services like hotmail that filters Democracy and Freedom in China.
Also can Senators and Congres men and women get secure cell and line phones that are protected from NSA monitoring. Also that the Supreme Court also be protected from White House abuse.
We have corporate privacy rules that does not seem to apply to the White House domestic unwarranted spying on banks, cell phones, cars, and other public services, which are being monitored “At Will”. Maybe we must now request from them a statement that they are not supplying information without a court ordered warrant. Makke them tell us what information they are supplying the White House, kind of a Truth In Domestic Spying Law.
Bush's "At Will" America, corporate empire of conforming citizen employees.
here is the weather forcast for baghdad. think about it:
May 31 Sunny
113°/84° 0%
Thu
Jun 1 Sunny
115°/85° 0%
Fri
Jun 2 Mostly Sunny
115°/87° 0%
Sat
Jun 3 Mostly Sunny
114°/86° 0%
Sun
Jun 4 Sunny
114°/86° 0%
Mon
Jun 5 Sunny
114°/86° 0%
If the White House demands the right to use supeonas "At Will" then Congress has the the right to reciprocate "At Will".
It can then send in the capitol police to serve there Congressional supeonas. I think that the Supreme Court also needs to be envolved, in case of a White House or Congressional supeona. All three need to formulate a Constitutional way to satisfy all three branches with due process of equality. If a White House can get any special federal judge to side with them with a promise of a Supreme Court appointment and invade Congress "At Will" then we have lost the battle of true Patriotism to an "At Will" corporate presidency.
Posted by RedLetter_Rev on May 30, 2006 at 12:02 PM
Was reading that Prince Harry could find himself serving in Iraq and yet Bush's daughters have yet do their patriotic duty to this country...unless you count supporting the tax revenue from liquor sales.
so pat paulson is the new secretary of the treasury...good choice after all he did run for president once.
How come 95% of Bush's appointments are white conservative corporate like men, is the White House finding a new form of segregation. That one must be a fraternity member to this elite social country club. Why is there not a whitewash backlash? Bush's "At Will" appointments, it reeks of past slavery.
Posted by gregg on May 30, 2006 at 11:58 AM
Greg, I tried to watch Baghdad ER last week. I told my husband that it was important that we watch, as US citizens are too sheltered from the human cost of this war.
I was in tears before the opening credits finished and truthfully couldn't watch even 30 minutes of it. So much for my bravado. I am so angry that our government sent our men and women into harms way without so much as a second glance at Bush's 'evidence'
We as a country have broken our promise to the men and women of the arms services as well as to their families.
Posted by toosmart4cons on May 30, 2006 at 08:56 AM
Wait, wait....didn't they change the ethics laws that delay and few others broke so that they really "weren't above the law"?
...unless you count supporting the tax revenue from liquor sales.
Posted by Kristen on May 30, 2006 at 12:22 PM
(snicker) OOooops!
Posted by Thomas_Paine1776 on May 30, 2006 at 12:42 PM
loved your book...
looks like you are doing a fine job of "talking"
but really, we do need to "talk" with one voice, this has been our theme all Memorial Weekend....there are a bunch of us now calling ourselves the "Dems of the Round Table", care to join?
Kristen,
wonder if you would give me your e-address...a bunch of us over the weekend have decided to become the "Dems of the Round Table". Like ol' Tom Paine above says, we need to speak with one voice.
we are writting a LTE and everyone is contributing to it, when refined, will send it out to all our local papers.
taking a play from the pub handbook, if the masses hear same thing over and over again, eventually it becomes their "truth"...
would like to send you copy and ask for any contributions....
Can we have email from the Post Office instead of corporate companies, who bend too easy to Executive Privilege of unwarranted filtering, mining, and data collection.
Posted by dlesterpoet on May 30, 2006 at 12:03 PM
Good point, dlesterpoet I believe Ben Franklin inserted the U.S. Post Office into the Constitution for exactly that reason. I think you might have found a Constitutional argument that even CJ Roberts would appreciate.
Franklin didn't trust the executive branch to protect our civil liberties...and neither should we. It's obvious that the founding fathers wanted "communications" to be kept private and protected for outside influences...governmental and corporate.
The Post Office is not an old fashion idea; it's the a pillar of our republic. Time we entrusted our new fangled technology to a "old fashioned" Constitutional idea.
Posted by Thomas_Paine1776 on May 30, 2006 at 12:42 PM
Unfortunately, we can't lower interest rates unless we pay off our national debt. The wealthy NEED those tax cuts?
You Englishmen have always been better at living within your means than we slacker ass American colonists. Our fearless leader wants us to shop till we drop with credit cards; not think about fiscal responsilibity.
But I like your priorities and swing state strategy.
Sandy,
please let me add my voice to all the others when they extend their sympathy to you in the loss of your mom.
Posted by gregg on May 30, 2006 at 12:23 PM
Alfred E. Newman could be the next Defense Secretary? Oh, he already is.
excerpt from salon. my, my, my here are some names i hadn't heard before:
By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN Associated Press Writer
May 30,2006 | WASHINGTON -- A former congressional aide and lobbyist described Tuesday how he obtained advice, insider information and help from Bush administration procurement chief David Safavian to advance two projects being promoted by Republican influence peddler Jack Abramoff.
The aide, Neil Volz, who was a partner of Abramoff's at the time, also outlined how they received assistance from several Republican congressmen including, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, and Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio.
Volz is the government's star witness in the trial of Safavian on charges of lying to investigators about his assistance to Abramoff while he was chief of staff to the administrator of the General Services Administration, the agency that oversees property owned by the federal government.
Safavian, who has denied any impropriety in his relations with ex-partner Abramoff, later became the federal government's top procurement official at the Office of Management and Budget before he was indicted.
Volz added flesh and blood details to a series of e-mails the government had introduced earlier showing contact between Abramoff's team and Safavian in the summer of 2002, before several of those involved, including Safavian and Ney, took an expensive weeklong golfing trip to Scotland that Abramoff organized.
Volz testified that the Abramoff team referred to Safavian as a "champion" because he could get inside information on policy developments that was not otherwise available to lobbyists.
He described how Safavian advised Abramoff and his partners to get information on the best way to secretly attach a rider to a bill nearing passage in Congress that would order the GSA to sell the so-called White Oak property in Silver Spring, Md., to a school that Abramoff had established.
Volz also described how Safavian gave advice on how to obtain the letters from key congressmen to the GSA to alter a proposal to redevelop the Old Post Office here in a way that would give one of Abramoff's clients, the Chitimancha Indian tribe, an advantage over other bidders. Abramoff and the tribe wanted to develop the property as a luxury hotel, which would be near restaurants that Abramoff owned on Pennsylvania Ave.
Describing help they requested from Capito's office on the White Oak project, Volz said they wanted to keep her role secret.
"She was up for re-election and this potentially could have put her in harm's way on the campaign trail ... because this project doesn't have anything to do with her district," Volz explained...
Thank you, momo. I had been leaning on my close family and friends. It was time to reach out to my extended family here for support. I appreciate your concern. Maybe I am ready to move on.
Someone asked for something to read.
I just got reading Dan Wakefield Book ‘The Hijacking of Jesus: How the Religious Right Distorts Christianity and Promotes Prejudice and Hate’.
It got me so angry as I read that I had to put it down several times before I could go on. I highly recommend it.
The following comments by Kurt Vennegut will give you flavor of what you will find in it. Don’t be surprised if the smear machine has already been turned against Mr. Wakefield.
"Dan Wakefield has had a long career of fair-minded and important and meticulously researched journalism. And he crowns that career with as complete an account and analysis as one could wish, of the capturing of Jesus Christ as a totem for a few powerful Americans, intent on becoming powerful all over the world, and by violent and corrupt means which are anything but Christ-like. The very last words in this fine book are not by Dan Wakefield but Jesus, his Sermon on the Mount, not what you would want to call Pat Robertson or Dick Cheney stuff."
Posted by Julio on May 30, 2006 at 01:33 PM
Hello, Julio. Pleased to meet you as well.
I've been here from the beginning...with many different names.
US moves diplomat critical of Somali warlord aid
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060530/pl_nm/security_somalia_dc_2
Somali warlord aid?????? more taxpayer dollars at waste?
Alito strikes already:
"By a 5-4 vote, justices said the nation's 20 million public employees do not have carte blanche free speech rights to disclose government's inner-workings."
Supreme Court Makes it Harder for Whistleblowers to Go Public
SandyH
Than Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."
And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the sheered not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink form the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
beginning of....time?
Posted by gregg on May 30, 2006 at 01:58 PM
beginning of DNC Kicking Ass blog...otherwise, only 41 years on this earth. I have no recall of being any where else prior to that.
Supreme Court Makes it Harder for Whistleblowers to Go Public
Posted by dk2 on May 30, 2006 at 02:11 PM
And an iron curtain descended over the land.
Actually, I'm surprised that there are that many public employees left. They haven't outsourced everything to their political contributors?
Esmeralda
What a famous name. The biggest rolling papers on the face of the earth in the late 60's & early 70's.
The biggest rolling papers on the face of the earth in the late 60's & early 70's.
Posted by Bruno on May 30, 2006 at 02:19 PM
Was what was rolled bigger back then? ;p
I have no recall of being any where else prior to that.
Posted by Esmeralda on May 30, 2006 at 02:15 PM
I bet it was someplace where you were cleaning and polishing...carrousel horses? I see you working but playing along the way...reaching for the gold ring and enjoying the ride...giving free rides to children with angel wings.
I really do need to get back to work doing something useful. Maybe I should write that book I've been searching for this summer. Lots of good research material posted here to get me started.
I'm hoping to go back to that place when my time is complete here on earth. And I wish for a garden to tend as well. ;)
Your writings would be a holiday gift for all on my wish list.
Posted by Esmeralda on May 30, 2006 at 02:34 PM
Probably the same thing that is rolled smaller today.
Maybe I should start my job search with an unpaid internship? The new cheapest labor force that fills in the gap of layoffs?
Take This Internship and Shove It
By ANYA KAMENETZ
Published: May 30, 2006
MY younger sister has just arrived in New Orleans for the summer after her freshman year at Yale. She will be consuming daily snowballs, the local icy treat, to ward off the heat, volunteering to help clean up neighborhoods damaged by Hurricane Katrina and working part time, for pay, at both a literary festival and a local restaurant. Meanwhile, most of her friends from college are headed for the new standard summer experience: the unpaid internship....
...In this way, unpaid interns are like illegal immigrants. They create an oversupply of people willing to work for low wages, or in the case of interns, literally nothing. Moreover, a recent survey by Britain's National Union of Journalists found that an influx of unpaid graduates kept wages down and patched up the gaps left by job cuts....
A 1998 survey of nearly 700 employers by the Institute on Education and the Economy at Columbia University's Teachers College found: "Compared to unpaid internships, paid placements are strongest on all measures of internship quality. The quality measures are also higher for those firms who intend to hire their interns." This shouldn't be too surprising — getting hired and getting paid are what work, in the real world, is all about.
Anya Kamenetz, a columnist for The Village Voice, is the author of "Generation Debt."
//www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/opinion/30kamenetz
.html?th&emc=th
My son has just accepted a paid internship. His parents didn't raise any fools.
My son has just accepted a paid internship. His parents didn't raise any fools.
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 02:48 PM
Dancing in her jammies!
then shall you truly dance.
Posted by Bruno on May 30, 2006 at 02:13 PM
Thank you, Bruno. I needed that.
Someone asked for something to read.
I just got reading Dan Wakefield Book ‘The Hijacking of Jesus: How the Religious Right Distorts Christianity and Promotes Prejudice and Hate’.
Posted by Julio on May 30, 2006 at 01:30 PM
Just added it to my list. Thanks for the recommendation.
afternoon all,
just a pass thru until later this evening.
congrats sandy...every paid intern' helps the parents!
on a more somber note and not trying to change the the discussion of the thread:
(msnbc)BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq’s prime minister said on Tuesday his patience was wearing thin with excuses from U.S. troops that they kill civilians by “mistake” and said he would launch an investigation into killings in the town of Haditha last year.
“There is a limit to the acceptable excuses."
this limited (msnbc) soundbyte here, will play over there and elsewhere like a bullhorn. this maybe be the beginning and the end of kingbush who never understood the "pottery rule." or should we say not just breaking, but obliterating. i sure hope he's eventually tried for war-crimes...and not our finest who he put into that ugly situation...uh, another famous quote he doesn't understand, "the buck stops(ped) t(here).
would like to send you copy and ask for any contributions....
Kristen, um, hold that for a moment.
Momo,
I took the time to get you in touch with Dumpw and then you asked for help in editing LTE. To which I responded to you. But you have not sent the draft.
Why is that?
The war criminal responsible for this can be found in the spider hole, commonly known as the White House.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- It actually took me a while to put all the pieces together -- that I know these guys, the U.S. Marines at the heart of the alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians in Haditha.
I don't know why it didn't register with me until now. It was only after scrolling through the tapes that we shot in Haditha last fall, and I found footage of some of the officers that had been relieved of their command, that it hit me.
I know the Marines that were operating in western al Anbar, from Husayba all the way to Haditha. I went on countless operations in 2005 up and down the Euphrates River Valley. I was pinned on rooftops with them in Ubeydi for hours taking incoming fire, and I've seen them not fire a shot back because they did not have positive identification on a target.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/05/30/damon.iraq.btsc/index.html
The war criminal responsible for this can be found in the spider hole, commonly known as the White House.
yep BlueinIdaho,
this war criminal should be charged w/war crimes and then cojoined in baghdad with the other criminal. how accurate this description is ... a spider hole ... with all due respect to spiders, they do spin webs to trap the unsuspecting. sadam and george are two spiders that fit that niche.
SandyH, add me to those who are sorry for your loss. Like others have said, give yourself time. When my mom passed, it took me a couple of years to really adjust (and that's about the most you can do). In retrospect, I did some really irrational things after her death. I think I did them because I wanted to get back to some level of "normal." So, don't push yourself. It will come with time.
My son also has taken on a paid internship this summer. He is working on a campaign to overthrow our current, Republican governor. He's really stoked about it.
Best.
Sandy,
Time will heal. Believe me. And give yourself time. Soon, the memories will make you smile. And as my mother said when my father died "He is in a better place to help you Lizzy, ask him for help when you need it."
He never was one of Them?
Neo-cons question Bush’s democratisation strategy
By Guy Dinmore in Washington
Published: May 29 2006
President George W. Bush has likened the “war on terrorism” to the cold war against communism....
But as the US struggles to assert itself on the international stage, the president’s most radical supporters now dismiss this as mere rhetoric, and traditional conservatives are questioning the wisdom of a democratisation strategy that has brought unpleasant consequences in the Middle East.
Neo-conservative commentators at the American Enterprise Institute wrote last week what amounted to an obituary of the Bush freedom doctrine.
“Bush killed his own doctrine,” they said, describing the final blow as the resumption of diplomatic relations with Libya. This betrayal of Libyan democracy activists, they said, came after the US watched Egypt abrogate elections, ignored the collapse of the “Cedar Revolution” in Lebanon, abandoned imprisoned Chinese dissidents and started considering a peace treaty with Stalinist North Korea.
//news.ft.com/cms/s/1f808bd2-ef54-11da-b435-
0000779e2340.html
So we are back to fighting Communism? I thought Reagan killed that and the Cold War?
as the US struggles to assert itself on the international stage
...isn't nice to know the foreign press see us struggling to asset ourselves?
wrote last week what amounted to an obituary of the Bush freedom doctrine.
...but isn't that the heart of the Republican agenda?
Bush killed his own doctrine...leadership in times of trouble?
He's really stoked about it.
Posted by RoseZ on May 30, 2006 at 03:33 PM
So am I!
Yay, Jacque! Hey, hon, you gotta stop changing your name. I can't keep up, LOL!
Congrats on the new beau.
Thank you, Rose and Lizzy, and everyone else who have been so kind to offer me advice. I was so busy trying to keep her going, I didn't have time to reflect on the good times we were sharing. I look forward to the memories.
"Bush killed his own doctrine...leadership in times of trouble?"
sandyh,
lack of diplomatic leadership is more (politically) correct. not only will he kill his own doctrine, but he's killed enough of our finest and iraqis civilians to qualify as a war criminal.
how many times?.... we fight in tikrit over and over and over again.
congress votes on gay marriage and burning the flag over and over and over again.
didn't we already settled these issues?
quit wasteing taxpayers money and move on!
Change is good!
I'm still the same ole simple gal.
It's been 6 weeks with this guy, we'll see. ;D
Posted by RoseZ on May 30, 2006 at 03:33 PM
That's terrific. I was so proud of my son when he wanted to become a poll worker in the last election.
I know you must take great satisfaction in knowing your son wants to make a difference. Good luck to him and his candidate.
Neo-cons question Bush’s democratisation strategy
President George W. Bush has likened the “war on terrorism” to the cold war against communism.
Fellow dems, the gang and I are headed back to Phoenix in a few minutes. We just received an update from the Kerrville Music Festival, seems like the folk festival went political this year as well as Anti-Bush-War.
When we all argue our points there is on thing we should all remember, Freedom Isn't Free Tonight.
When we all argue our points there is on thing we should all remember, Freedom Isn't Free Tonight.
Posted by Bruno on May 30, 2006 at 04:08 PM
Thank you, Bruno.
Safe travels.
Pentagon ordered to expedite handover of UC spying records
Trying to learn more about reports of military spying at UC Santa Cruz last year, campus group Students Against War scored a victory this week when a federal judge ordered the Department of Defense to expedite a public-records request made by the group.
In January, Students Against War asked the Pentagon to disclose whether it spied on San Francisco Bay Area student organizations, and release any information gathered on the organizations.
congress votes on gay marriage and burning the flag over and over and over again.
didn't we already settled these issues?
quit wasteing taxpayers money and move on!
Posted by wackat on May 30, 2006 at 03:55 PM
Let's hope that's the conclusion that most voters have made.
No agenda? Attack those you've already bullied for the last five years...people won't notice that you haven't solved any real problems?
wackat, I got the feeling their illegal immigration strategy hasn't earned the Republicans a thing but a lot of distrust among all the opposing factions involved. No wonder they're forced to go back to the golden oldies.
So that's why Bush is reaching all the way back to the '80's to revive the that good old Communist cold war threat. It worked for Reagan? Nothing else is working for them anymore.
How much bad news can one country take?
Several states suffer headaches with new voting machines
Counting votes was supposed to be simple this year: Touch a video screen, verify your choice and watch results accumulate seamlessly at the county courthouse when the polls closed.
But in much of Arkansas last week - and in other states using computer gear from a Nebraska company - easy vote-counting was anything but easy. Results in one Arkansas county were delayed into Saturday night, four days after the state's primary election.
Faulty software, equipment delays and a shortage of technicians troubled county clerks despite the state's $15.9 million deal with Election Systems & Software to streamline voting. Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels has ordered an independent review.
Sandy i'd like to send my condolences as well on your loss. My prayers are with you.
Good Afternoon everyone!!:)
Sandy, so sad to hear of your your misfortune of losing your mom.
Esmeralda, you're not the only conspicuous name changer on this here blog. Some have reduced this to an artform. At least you identify, and not use your multiple sign-on's as a strategy :-\
I was so completely shocked that bush compared terrorism to communism. This is what I have told people, from my own personal corner (with much chagrin I might add), about this assinine so-called war on terror. For him to come out now and admit this is like another slap in the face of all Americans; and to West Point Graduates no less, sheesch! Arrogance abounds. If we get oujt of this administration without World War III beginning we'll be fortunate.
"How much bad news can one country take?"
not much more. the markets were way down today. the up price of oil and lack of consumer confidence. the steady drum beat of sour news outa iraq. our finest overstressed and doing in 24 iraqi civilians. now thump iran, well why not rattle that as well...who cares if the rest of the world is starting to question the bush insanity. even iraq met with iran. cuba is dealing with china on oil. oh, and least us not forget, why not divide the country on immigration. bush the divine divider. bush is the boogie man.
"How much bad news can one country take?"
not much more.
Think about it. Why in God's name, or anybody's name for that matter, would he want to start another cold war if it were not to prop up the fledgling defense industry. Grandpappy must be proud of his gtandson. No?
On a bright note, though, what it took republicans 40 years to build up, the burning bush has emasculated 5 years. All we ned now is for someone to give bush a blowjob so we can impeach him.
Hey, how about Chenney? Then we wan get two birds with....aw, nevermind!!
Well, I guess I've said too much again. I must be going. Big important quarterly meeting at work tonight mustg be in an hour early! On a sour note, when bush completes his quest for absolutism where are we going to run to? Let us close our borders to others, so others can close their borders to us and the lockdown will be complete.
Well, I guess I've said too much again. I must be going. Big important quarterly meeting at work tonight mustg be in an hour early! On a sour note, when bush completes his quest for absolutism where are we going to run to? Let us close our borders to others, so others can close their borders to us and the lockdown will be complete.
In the name of ending the repetitious posts, and the suspicion of maliciousness, I will bid farewell to everyone. All have a good evening.
Let us close our borders to others, so others can close their borders to us and the lockdown will be complete.
at the rate it's going, there may be more truth to this then just sayin' ... travel overseas and if they asked how you voted, better say you didn't vote bush...the politically correct answer, "kerry." and that my friend i did experience.
I must be going.
Reminds me of what Winnie the Pooh said after he ate all of Rabbit's honey.
Bye Davidual...looks like this place is a ghost town.
hum are we the ghosts that post...
lizzy, i too am in and out today. later i'll be more. for now the ghost that posts.
shucks wish we had the ghost of christmas to scare the both the hell and the crap outa bush. that miser needs one hell of a wakeup call.
American,
Like the forest fight for sunlight,
that takes root in every tree.
They are pulled up by the magnet,
believing they're free.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
We've got to get in to get out
liz,
in nov, at this rate, we're in. to get out will depend on how the world views us ... and that we cannot change until '08. unless we do what Posted by davidual on May 30, 2006 at 04:50 PM
America,
It just could happen, I remember reading on Media Matters this.
Let us close our borders to others, so others can close their borders to us and the lockdown will be complete.
Posted by davidual on May 30, 2006 at 04:59 PM
We don't have any borders. Bush sold them to UAR and China...at least all the ports. Fox annexed everything north of the Rio Grande and Bush apologized for the Alamo, too. (Some Texan?)
Lord knows what else he's been selling off in the fire sale that is preceding the meltdown....it's all marked "Top Secret" by Gonzales and his partner in Constitutional crime over in the NSA/CIA, General See No Evil But I Hear Everything.
It would be funny if it was my country being ran into the ground this way.
Thanks, davidual and ap215, and everyone else who has been so kind.
liz,
yikes... a large tabloid to spill the beans on the bushes? actually, how could she or any other woman sleep with the boogie man.
If it wasn't my country being run into the ground this way. Need to use that preview more often.
Posted by america1st on May 30, 2006 at 05:32 PM
For Laura's sake, I hope he's good for something in the bedroom. He isn't doing anybody any favors anywhere else in the country.
For Laura's sake, I hope he's good for something in the bedroom. He isn't doing anybody any favors anywhere else in the country.
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 05:39 PM
This statement alone is a fantastic form of birth control. :)
He isn't doing anybody any favors anywhere else in the country.
sandh, and might add anywhere else in the world...except for his cronies
Sandy,
Bush certainly isn't doing the 1,500 or is it 3,500 troops, who are being moved into Iraq from Kuwait any good either.
And to think on the eve of the "Last Throes"
If you've gone back to school lately or have kids in school you probably already knew this:
2 of 3 college grads go into debt
By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Nearly two of every three undergraduate students are going into debt to go to college, owing an average of more than $19,000, most often to the government...
...The biggest change, though, may be in the cost to take out government loans.
A general trend of historically low interest rates is ending, and the new government loans will have a fixed rate of 6.8 percent. If rates keep rising, students with the old variable rate loans could end up paying as much as 8.25 percent...
//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060530/ap_on_go_ot/
student_loans
So on top of all that national debt we are heaping on our kids backs, they will be carrying this around, too?
Why can a small country like Ireland afford to send their kids to college free, but we have to give wealthy people tax cuts that they don't need?
"Last Throes"
liz,
or last "throws." unfortuantely, those "throws" are our kids. and the only throw i'd like to make is throwing a noose around his, cheney's, and rum's necks.
Why can a small country like Ireland afford to send their kids to college free, but we have to give wealthy people tax cuts that they don't need?
sandy,
because bush isn't irish and isn't the irish dictator. no, i'm serious.
Posted by PeppermintLizzy on May 30, 2006 at 05:45 PM
Last Throes?
When you look back at World War II, the toughest battle, at the most difficult battles, both in Europe and in the Pacific, occurred just a few months before the end, the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944 and Okinawa in the spring of 1945. And I see this as a similar situation, where they're going to go all out. V.P. Dick Cheney
Hasn't anyone pointed out to Cheney that this is an occupation not a war? We don't have any battles. Just bad news days full of horror for our troops and the cilivians.
If he wanted battles, Cheney should have invaded a united country with a national army instead of a dictatorship with a SS force...which is apparently still operating freely. Just think of all the millions of weapons still at their disposal because Rumsfeld refused to guard the arms depots our troops found in the first two days of the invasion.
I suppose that's why he wants to go into Iran with nuclear arms. With Rumsfeld's war planning record, we couldn't win with conventional arms...even if our troops weren't so stretched and weakened by this stupid occupation in Iraq. I suppose they still have their radiation suits ready...since many never got any body armour?
The Real Reason for Gonzales Midnight Raid on Congress? Gonzales and Client Bush are Desperate to find a Corrupt Democrat as The Ambramhoff Investigation Leads Closer to the Bush/Cheney White House Every Day!
Gonzales may have gotten a congressman in a sticky situation with his undercover sting operation, but that doesn't change the fact that Bush, Cheney, and Co. have been dirtier than a crack dealer for the last 5 years on the job
Bush and Co. hope that by dragging out the investigation of Rep. Jefferson they will somehow shine the light away from their own acts of corruption
If "Investigating Criminal Acts" is so important to Gonzales and his Republican bosses, then we should ask why they are not investigating fellow republicans indicted on corruption charges?
The Attorney General has an obligation to the American People to represent all of them regardless of political party. We can see from the recent and ongoing actions of this political appointee that he is only interested in abusing the office of Attorney General for partisan political gain
Let the Attorney General answer to this when he is called to testify before Congress.... and this time let it be under oath, my dear representatives!
Thanks for all you do and onward to victory in November!
Posted by america1st on May 30, 2006 at 06:09 PM
american1st, he's looked a little green around the gills lately. Sure he isn't part Irish? How about his dog? No, he's a Scottish Terrier, right?
Attention Long Time DNC KA Readers that remember our Illinois {{DOC}} named Paige:
I've received word from her that she's been away from the blog of late for reasons as her Father has died. :-((
They've been taking care of him for some time now but the end finally came the past week. She wanted to let everyone know that she's missing us and will hopefully be back some time soon.
If any of you wish to send her letters of sympathy and need her email just drop me a note and I'll pass along to her unless you already have her email! Thanks!
:-(
he's looked a little green around the gills lately. Sure he isn't part Irish? How about his dog? No, he's a Scottish Terrier, right?
sandy,
green gills implies he's an imature tadpole, irish nada. no, and his other lap pooch is the english prime-minister-poodle. bush is not irish, and if i had irish in my blood, it'd be boiling about now. anyone gotta a barney-rope with a triple noose?
Posted by DTree on May 30, 2006 at 06:12 PM
I see what you're saying. But most people who vote Republican already have sterotyped all black Congressmen as characitures of cocaine-induced corruption. It wouldn't be big news for the base.
What we all (Democrats and Republicans alike) want to see is a raid on K Street. The hell with the halls of Congress. Remember, the Enron twins!
We want the lobbyists behind bars with Cunninghman and DeLay.... where they can play poker with male prostitutes to their hearts' content. Just make them go away.
Just how much more Gonzales BS can a country take?
Please, Hassert. Give him some more reasons to resign....and take General "I Missed the 9/11 Terrorists Calls" with him.
Sandy,
I haven't caught up but saw something about you losing your mother too???? I'm so sorry! :-(
Not a happy picture those last throes Sandy and America, from the Defense Department to Congress in their report:
In a report assessing the situation in Iraq, required quarterly by Congress, the Pentagon painted a mixed picture on a day when the U.S. military command in Baghdad said 1,500 more combat troops have arrived in the country. The extra troops are part of an intensified effort to wrest control of the provincial capital of Ramadi from insurgents.
The report to Congress offered a relatively dim picture of economic progress, with few gains in improving basic services like electricity, and it provided no promises of U.S. troop reductions anytime soon.
But didn't Bush say:
And we're making good progress. More and more Iraqis are taking the fight to the enemy, and day-by-day, they're assuming more responsibility for their own security. And as the Iraqi security forces gain strength and experience, we can lessen our troop presence in the country without losing our capability to effectively defeat the terrorists. A reduced presence of coalition forces will clearly demonstrate to the Iraqi people that we have no ambitions to occupy their country. As I've often said, we'll stay as long as necessary, but not one day more.
Posted by Dawnie on May 30, 2006 at 06:23 PM
Dawn, thank you for letting us know. I know what she's going through right now. A lot of us have been are taking care of elderly parents. They are such a blessing. I'm sure Paige's family are lending her the comfort she needs and deserves. God bless them all.
I wonder what the other 49 states waste..
Groups Release Pennsylvania Piglet Book; Report Exposes $8 Billion in Government Waste
PAULSON another wonderful BUSH in the pocket appointee!
Ethics Group Criticizes Henry Paulson Nomination for Treasury; Cites Nature Conservancy Conflict of Interest and Fannie Mae Fraud
Paulson's son Merritt is a trustee of a Nature Conservancy-related group that was the recipient of a Goldman Sachs donation in the form of a tract of land totaling 680,000 acres in Chile.
Let's keep it all in the Family!
Did anyone catch CSPAN today? Turley and Fein were spectacular!!
It will be interesting when Senselessbrenner brings A Gonzalez in to explain himself! I hope they don't do it in closed session.
I know GW and his gang think the constitution is just "a GD piece of paper" but hopefully the Congress will take heed from the Jefferson invasion into their OWN personal selves and start OVERSIGHT proceedings!! ya think?
I loved how Fein and Turley kept bringing things like IMPEACHMENT as possible options! hehe! yaaaaaa baby!
Oh it was also interesting watching everyone's mouth drop when the market dropped some 180+ points today with the replacement of Treasury Secretary Snow(e).............
the Euro was up
Yen was down
interesting day
Posted by america1st on May 30, 2006 at 06:24 PM
I forgot about The Poodle. I bet he "regrets" every thing...especially the bombings in London last year. If only he hadn't decided to join Junior and fight the terrorists who weren't over there but were in his own country and ripe for revenge after the unjustified invasion of Iraq.
Posted by dk2 on May 30, 2006 at 06:39 PM
and of course CNN/Wolf had to bring up that Chuckie Schumer is all for this appointment then put his internet champion on to show the guy had donated 1000 bux to Schumers campaign.
Like no wonder he's saying he's all for him.
Then LATER showed how the guy also contributed over 2000 to Grassley's account as well.
I hate that lack of fairness thing.
I hate it.
Let's keep it all in the Family!
dk,
like most us have noticed, that nothing, zero, is done unless it benefits at the expense of us honest taxpayers, king bush and his court of corruption. even the iraqi war as been a boom for his cronies at the expense of our finest's blood and taxpayer dollars. and iran is another boom for bush. except, this time he having no political capital is going to have to beg to use someone else's credit card.
Posted by Oilfieldguy on May 30, 2006 at 06:46 PM
"Free America"?
"Salvage What's Left of America"?
No, I like "Restore America" best. Nice ring to it. We could superimpose it over the Liberty Bell.
Posted by Oilfieldguy on May 30, 2006 at 06:46 PM
just doesn't seem strong enough -
but I don't think there are as many as HOT about what's goin on as there are on the net. If you don't research on line or listen to Air America you have NO CLUE how bad it really is!!!
(shaking my head) maybe there is no ONE slogan that will work for this mess!?
Restore America
How about Restore Integrity to America?
FREE AMERICA!!
LOL yea that's a good one! Might tick off some red staters though.
"Restore America!"
Whaddya think?
oil'
since ya asked...i'd donate my post name?
i picked it because always felt when i started bloggin' here i'd always be mindful that all americans were equal and should be 1st = america1st
PeppermintLizzy on May 30, 2006 at 05:17 PM
Lizzy, are those the lyrics from a song or a poem or what? Did you write it?
Restore America for America's sake!
if we claim first it may sound selfish although I basically agree...... since I live here! lol
Sandy, I am sorry to hear of your loss. When my mother died I was informed by a nameless "ROBO-CALL" at 4 in the morning which said "This is (******) Hospital and this number was listed as a contact person. Please come to (*****) Hospital and expect the worst."
That was it.OFG, How about using the term "Restore America" somewhere in there, or "RECYCLE OUR IDEALS" or something like that?
The "More of the Same", "Stay the Course to Oblivion" talking point of the Pubes ain't gonna fly.
Please don't run for president, Hillary. The time is not right.
"If only he hadn't decided to join Junior and fight the terrorists who weren't over there but were in his own country and ripe for revenge after the unjustified invasion of Iraq."
sandyh,
yep, poodle should have asked photo op bullhorn george standin' on the 911 rubble that goin' after sadam equates to osama who took responsibility?
billions spent, blood flowing, and guess what? where's osama? who cares? kingbush and poodle don't...they're busy spinnin' and divertin' their mistakes.
...was the recipient of a Goldman Sachs donation in the form of a tract of land totaling 680,000 acres in Chile.
Posted by dk2 on May 30, 2006 at 06:39 PM
What!? Where did Goldman Sachs get all that foreign land? Do people actually give other people those kinds of land grants and not expect something in exchange? How much did Jefferson pay Russia for the Louisiana Purchase?
No wonder the socialists are making such strides in South America. That's one area of the planet where no one is going to have anything to do with this new Treasury Secretary.
Besides, how can he be Secretary of the Treasury when we don't have one anymore?
Ah, the marvels of the banana republics.
Tylin,
Those are the lyrics to a song by Genesis.
Here is the whole song.
and here is the You Tube video to listen to it.
And I remember you from way back in 04 after the election, you posted some really good things. (if you are the same tylin)
Yes, thanks, Lizzy, I'm still tylin, but probably not the same. Age, illness, all that jazz. I still care as passionately about what's happening to my country and what's happening to other countries because of my country, but I am less vocal about it.
"America 1st" would play well in the red states as long as it had a Confederate flag beside it...carried by a dark-skinned illegal alien in chains.
I STILL like Newt Gringrich's suggestion for a Dem slogan which he blurted out in a "TIME" magazine interview, "HAD ENOUGH??"
Rescue America, before there is nothing left!
With a picture of the Democratic Candidate in a life boat.
and a caption...Democrats are working to save the American People! Not Corporations.
Posted by SoccerDad on May 30, 2006 at 06:49 PM
A picture with a few in the boat and the masses drowning out in the water yelling rescue me!
Restore America!
I'll tell you why I like it. It evokes the nostalgia of America's Greatness, which has evaporated throughout this entire century. And it encourages activism to aid our country in her time of need; to correct the wayward course she has been placed on due to poor management. People are gently reminded that America is an idea of open government and private citizens where the law is king, where we do not torture and spy on our political enemies.
Restore America.
I like it!
Posted by SoccerDad on May 30, 2006 at 06:49 PM
wrong post line should have been:
Posted by PeppermintLizzy on May 30, 2006 at 07:26 PM
A picture with a few in the boat and the masses drowning out in the water yelling rescue me!
A picture is worth a thousand words!
Sorry, sometimes when I write I think I come off a little preachy.
HAD ENOUGH!!
Sure, I like that too, and it needs to be used often. I still think we need to offer "the vision thing."
Sen. Reid accepted free boxing tickets
By JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, who has criticized Republican ethics, accepted free ringside tickets to three professional boxing matches from Nevada officials who were trying to influence his federal legislation regulating the sport.
Reid, D-Nev., took the free seats for Las Vegas fights between 2003 and 2005 from the Nevada Athletic Commission as he pressed legislation to increase federal oversight of boxing, including the creation of a government commission.
Reid defended the gifts, saying they would never influence his position on the boxing bill and that he was simply trying to learn how his legislation might affect an important home state industry. "Anyone from Nevada would say I'm glad he is there taking care of the state's No. 1 businesses," he told The Associated Press.
"I love the fights anyways, so it wasn't like being punished," added the senator, a former boxer and boxing judge.
//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060530/ap_on_go_co/reid
_ethics
And I love this planted story by Karen Hughs.
Does she really think people are going to get upset about some tickets when the new Treasury Secretary's son ...was the recipient of a Goldman Sachs donation in the form of a tract of land totaling 680,000 acres in Chile.
Who hasn't gotten free tickets to a sporting event from a supplier? But a 680,000 land grant? Give me a break.
I was personally present at a baseball game where Bush threw out the first pitch. Don't tell me that all those Republican politicans arriving in limos paid for their own tickets.
This White House is pathetic. Just pathetic. They just can't get anything right.
Posted by PeppermintLizzy on May 30, 2006 at 03:16 PM
Hi Lizzy,
sorry i didn't see the post where you responded....please repeat....
Momo,
Have you checked your mail lately. I SENT YOU 3 emails.
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 07:37 PM
TPM has a dissection of that phony Pube talking point, and C&L (I think) also rips holes in it. First of all, it is NOT illegal for a STATE ENTITY to provide tickets, SECOND, Reid was a former BOXER, and a FORMER BOXING COMMISSIONER, and in fact he VOTED AGAINST the Bill in question.
Nice try, Pubies.
Hot coals, so MEAT TIME!!!
It evokes the nostalgia of America's Greatness
Posted by Oilfieldguy on May 30, 2006 at 07:34 PM
Now that's a thought a lot of voters might get behind. I think Iraq and Katrina pretty much put us all in a funk. Americans like being on top...and they don't feel that's where we are anymore.
I've been thinking about this Jefferson bribery thing.
Why did Gonzales have to raid his office to make the charge stick? If they already had him on tape and the cold, hard cash in the freezer, why did they need to get into his Capitol office and computer?
Something is not right here. Hassert surprised me. He caught on to it fast and acted immediately.
What Gonzales did was so blantantly arrogant but also so desperate somehow. It reminds me of Nixon and Watergate. Is this administration so paranoid that they think they have to manufacture a Democratic corruption case to keep control of Congress this fall?
I've never liked those police set ups anyway. It's sort of like the authorities are part of the crime. Would the person do it on their own?
I think a jury might wonder the same thing under the unusual circumstances here. But maybe it was the charges not the conviction that was important here....and access to the Capitol computers?
Hi {{{dems}}}
Just getting here...any awesome news I missed today?
I STILL like Newt Gringrich's suggestion for a Dem slogan which he blurted out in a "TIME" magazine interview, "HAD ENOUGH??"
Posted by DPD on May 30, 2006 at 07:21 PM
Enough is ENOUGH
or
STOP THE MADNESS!! lol
(being facetious of course)
AMERICA! The TRUTH!
(for the fundies)
AMERICA BORN AGAIN
Posted by xdebx on May 30, 2006 at 08:10 PM
aw you learned how to do the huggy thing!! {{DEB}}
I am a poet and I want to write a positive poem about president Bush but can only think about his wife being an asset. Can you help, I am serious, I figure there has to be something?
Hi everyone. I'm baaaack.
momo my meeting went well. We are improving the city center with diagonal parking, antique looking streets, landscaping and a gazebo. It should really improve the look of our city. Work starts Monday with 6 ten hour days to start off with. Oh well, I can use the extra money to improve my patio and put in an electric gate opener. I will work on the letter tonight and send you some suggestions.
Randi Rhodes mentioned today that, being that Congress and the chimp screwed us with the bankruptcy law that they will soon be building debtors prisons.
My suggestion is maybe they could expand Guantanamo. Shades of concentration camps. I wonder who will get the contract to build the crematories for the Gestapo?
Hi everyone. I'm baaaack.
momo my meeting went well. We are improving the city center with diagonal parking, antique looking streets, landscaping and a gazebo. It should really improve the look of our city. Work starts Monday with 6 ten hour days to start off with. Oh well, I can use the extra money to improve my patio and put in an electric gate opener. I will work on the letter tonight and send you some suggestions.
Randi Rhodes mentioned today that, being that Congress and the chimp screwed us with the bankruptcy law that they will soon be building debtors prisons.
My suggestion is maybe they could expand Guantanamo. Shades of concentration camps. I wonder who will get the contract to build the crematories for the Gestapo?
Yeah...the Jefferson thing...how is it that every last pug is so corrupt that the tiniest bit of investigation would show it...I mean, they even brag about some of it. But, the Justice dept. has all of the goods on Jefferson and it really looks like they set him up. Yes...Jefferson must go but why don't we start with the ones who are giving billions in no-bid contracts to Halliburton...to GE...and so on.
Just like Martha Stewart...if you're a dem you are getting caught even if the crime is a tiny fraction of what the pugs get away with.
I only pushed the button once, I promise. Maybe the NSA was so shocked with my statement that they burped.
Hey {{{Dawnie}}} The air has cooled off...got my windows open:-)
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 08:02 PM
Rumor has it that there are several more to come, and by using Jefferson, they set a precedence. If this floats watch the FBI become a daily picture in the Congress. I think they will be targeting mostly Democrats. I will be amazed if they treat any Repub office the same way.
Sam Sedar on AA just had a guest that said it's still unsure if ROVE will be indicted along with LIBBY.
RATS!
NOW on AIR AMERICA!
With hosts Janeane Garofalo (not on due to back problems) and Sam Seder
Today's guests on your Majority Report program are:
American Prospect reporter and Founder of Whateveralready.blogspot.com, Murray Waas - stops by to discuss the latest news from Capitol Hill with Sam and Janeane.
Plus, Author of "Crashing The Gate" and Founder of DailyKos, Kos and his buddy, Fighting Dem and Naval Officer, Rich Sexton - tell Janeane and Sam about Rich's race for Congress in the 3rd district of New Jersey.
Never mind...my sweet thang HAS to see the end of a show before we go:(
SandH - I am really sorry for the loss of your mother. I lost mine 18 years ago next month and I know how it hurts.
Deb
Alerts went out a bit ago for Haywood CTY for storms. You are just north right? Be careful.
Still too hot here (literally). A/C remains on!
Have a great night!
Hey Miss Tracy: if you are out there have a good evening, looks like a busy week ahead for you.
Still willing to help with research. Just email.
Posted by dumpw on May 30, 2006 at 08:16 PM
GE is building a microwave oven that seats five thousand.
Please don't tell me my snark is so oblique as to be unrecognizable?
It evokes the nostalgia of America's Greatness, which has evaporated throughout this entire century.
Geddit?
OH oh Deb, good news my daughter is flying in around her B day! w/out the BF! So I am HAPPY!!! Wanted to catch you before you leave.
Posted by dlesterpoet on May 30, 2006 at 08:16 PM
Howza 'bout.....
"There Once was a dealer named "Laura"
Who banged Tommy Franks like a whore-a
She then met a Coker
Who gave her his poker
And now the Country is poor-a.
Posted by Oilfieldguy on May 30, 2006 at 08:26 PM
entirely MILLENIA!! lol got it!
Awesome Dawn...I am REALLY happy for you:)
DPD...you are sooo bad...but talented;)
Posted by DPD on May 30, 2006 at 08:27 PM
I can't see how LAURA is an asset to W. When it was she who agreed to marry him and if she played footsie with Franks it only proves how DISGUSTING her choices truly are! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeuck!
Posted by DPD on May 30, 2006 at 08:27 PM
(tsk,tsk,tsk)
Ha, ha, ha, ha,
There once was a soldier named Frank,
who used to hang out with a skank..
but she left him for chip,
who, being a pimp,
f***ed the world with the gun of a tank..
Whew, just got caught up and Lizzy, went to check my email, still nothing from you....
i'm going to your site and post my address again, although sometimes don't get mail from my daughter....
How About====== RESTORE AMERICA 1ST
Murtha on Haditha: I know there was a Cover Up...
The Chain of Command Tried to Stifle the Story...
Last November, a group of U.S. Marines apparently went on “the worst rampage by U.S. service members in the Iraq war, killing as many as 24 civilians in cold blood.” Today on ABC, Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) said that U.S. officials learned of the alleged massacre in Haditha “a few days” after it happened and organized a cover-up:
Think Progress has the video.
Yea Lizzy Murtha has been all over CNN and MSNBC tonight as well!
MURTHA FOR PRESIDENT!!
FREE AMERICA FIRST!!
Forgive me if it is a repost...haven't read all of the posts today...yet.
Bush's Enron Lies
Restore Democracy at Home!
Build Democracy at Home!
Drag All Pubes behind a slow freight train from Portland OR to Portland ME!
(JUST KEEDING,,.....)
Deb
I knew a guy once who was a pathological liar! He would lie before he'd tell the truth about almost ANY thing!
I think the neurons were so crossed in his grey matter that up was down and left was right cuz I could make MONEY betting that what EVER came out of his mouth was the opposite of FACT and most times make money on it!
BUSH is exactly like that. This guy was also a drunk! (but not a coke head)
Posted by DPD on May 30, 2006 at 08:45 PM
hahaha I'd vote for that one!
BTW, Good Evening Good Dems
DumpW, that sounds like you are going to be busy for a while....right up your alley...
You'll notice they never "bad-mouth" the American companies that hire them.
Immigration debate has led to growth in Hate Groups
With immigration perhaps America's most volatile issue, a troubling backlash has erupted among its most fervent foes. There are, of course, the Minutemen, the self-appointed border vigilantes who operate in several states. And now groups of militiamen, white supremacists and neo-Nazis are using resentment over the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. as a potent rallying cry. "The immigration furor has been critical to the growth we've seen" in hate groups, says Mark Potok, head of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center. The center counts some 800 racist groups operating in the U.S. today, a 5% spurt in the past year and a 33% jump from 2000. "They think they've found an issue with racial overtones and a real resonance with the American public," says Potok, "and they are exploiting it as effectively as they can.
Crooks and Liars
Posted by Oilfieldguy on May 30, 2006 at 07:34 PM
Is this yours? Awesome.
{{{{{{{{{{{{DAWNIEEEEEEE}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
aloha oi!
i am so glad that these people are on our side!
This is what some of the ones comming in here sound like.
Imagine: you are a foot soldier in a paramilitary group whose purpose is to remake America as a Christian theocracy, and establish its worldly vision of the dominion of Christ over all aspects of life. You are issued high-tech military weaponry, and instructed to engage the infidel on the streets of New York City. You are on a mission - both a religious mission and a military mission -- to convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays.
Crooks and Liars
At least you identify, and not use your multiple sign-on's as a strategy :-\
Posted by davidual on May 30, 2006 at 04:32 PM
I said I was the same old simple gal. ;)
Re: LIAR I don't think he has enough sense to even figure out what needs to be said. You know how he's always in Tex on vacation...I think he is being drilled as to what to say as he chops brush and plays golf.
Last night somebody posted:
Reporter to w: What is your opinion of Roe vs Wade?
w: I don't care how they get out of new Orleans.
Told my hubby the joke and after he laughed he paused and said "That IS a joke isn't it?" I mean...it actually wouldn't be past w's intelligence to say that.
Yes Domingo I even bookmarked that map of all the hate groups in the U.S. and was totally shocked!!!
Posted by Esmeralda on May 30, 2006 at 08:57 PM
The analysis behind the slogan is mine, the slogan itself is not. I came across it on a moveon.org email from Joanna P in L.A.
Unfortunately, it was the only useful thing that I saw on their "big positive idea" campaign. I am a Yellow Dog Democrat--Not a Yellow Puddle Democrat.
i finally figured it out a few days back, had been seeing the ((()))around names and thought at first that it was a way for that person to PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT I'M SAYING. Then one day....flashing lightbulb over head....it struck me...yep, yep, i figured it out, yep
Listening to the radio on way home from work and heard story about congress holding meetings on Gonzales and his fbi pal's late nite visit to Congressman Jefferson's office. He actually said, "you know, we have the power to impeach the attorney general"....i almost wrecked the car!
I'll be back in a bit. Nana wants to play some cards!! After reading about Sandy losing her Mom, I think I'll accomodate her and maybe even let her win a few games! hehe!
BBL {{Loveys}}
Peace!
THANKS DAWN. Morris dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center are so amazing in fighting the real fights and working to make the world a better place. I'd totally vote for Dees for prez...if he'd run!
I am a Yellow Dog Democrat--Not a Yellow Puddle Democrat.
Posted by Oilfieldguy on May 30, 2006 at 09:08 PM
thanks for the chuckle.
The most important neo-Nazi group in the U.S. is the National Alliance. Until his death, it was led by William Pierce, the infamous author of the futuristic race-war novel The Turner Diaries, a book believed by some to have served as the blueprint for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Pentagon pressing for new rapid-strike weapon: report
The Pentagon is seeking congressional approval for development of a new weapon able to strike distant targets an hour after they are detected, a newspaper reported on Monday.
The International Herald Tribune said the weapon would be a non-nuclear version of the submarine-launched Trident-2 missile and be part of a president's arsenal when considering a pre-emptive attack.
Dawnie, everything in The Turner Diaries is all the same stuff the "Driftwood boys" keep saying in here.
Here is another American legacy;
The U.S. Marines paid at least $38,000 to the families of Iraqi civilians killed in a November clash in Haditha. The payments were made in December
Maybe the younger soldiers never heard of Lt. Calley and the My Lai incident, but the older guys have...
The squad leader allegedly sought to prove his group was not at fault for the deaths. Of particular concern to the sergeant, investigators say, was the deaths of five Iraqis in a taxi. They were unarmed and killed by Marines shortly after the roadside bomb went off, investigators have found.
Central committee reorganized tonight. I'm still the Vice Chair of the Executive Board. ;)
Time to find some nurishment.
BBL
momo - instead of antique looking streets I meant antique looking street lights.
I emailed you some modifications to the letter.
That incident in Haditha is just like the one in the movie "Platoon" with Charlie Sheen, Tom Beranger and Willem Defoe. It goes on all the time.
Hey Dawnie, give your Nana a big {{{{{hug}}}}} from me too, will ya?
But, not by anybody with half a brain.
Of course not. Only the folks with a "whole brain" are smart enough to "get it". You "half brains" never will.
This seems to illustrate how the chimp admin thinks..
If one loves democracy, the argument runs, one must crush its enemies by no matter what means.
In other words, defending democracy involves destroying all independence of thought.
George Orwell, from the preface to Animal Farm
Posted by Domingo on May 30, 2006 at 09:29 PM
It still isn't right....
I heard a soldier talking the other day, said to stay alive in a war zone, have to be constantly afraid, keep the adrenalin going, stay at peak alert. the problem is, when they get into a situation that they must finally expend this emotion in a real battle, it takes a leader to be able to make them stop.
our problem there as here is no leadership!
Dumpw, just read it, that's goose bump material...i like this venture...you?
It still isn't right....
Of course it isn't right. What happens is, they start saying, "'They' killed one of 'ours', let's kill a bunch of 'theirs'" and then a whole lot of innocents who had nothing to do with it get killed solely for the purpose of revenge. It goes on everyday over there. This Haditha incident is not an isolated case of just "a few" losing control. This is a policy resulting from a lack of leadership from Junior, Cheney or Rumsfailed and it will be why Junior's occupation of Iraq will end in failure when under better leadership it could have been a success.
High Court Tightens Rule on Workplace Speech
A new Supreme Court ruling could make it much more difficult for public employees to bring retaliation claims against their bosses for critical reports they make through the chain of command. By a 5-to-4 vote, the court ruled that public employees have no First Amendment right to make internal reports that their bosses don't like.
in the end, they said this ruling will encourage more people to leak their claims to the press, as that right to free speach is still protected
Posted by ToothOut on May 30, 2006 at 09:46 PM
Sorry you lost your tooth. Or is that a request that you would like someone to pull one of your teeth?
They are mainly 18 to 23 years old. They see their friends get blown to bits and feel the need to retaliate. You can try to control them but you can't control them. Posted by Coconut on May 29, 2006 at 05:40 AM
I rest my case.
Haditha, reminds me of Melei Viet Nam. The foot 1st LT gets prison time.
Cnn did an interview with the children survivors (3 of them). You have to listen carefully until the end when a 9 year old (I think she is 9) they ask her to retell the happenings and she indicates that she say that she was going to school but waited and she new there would be a loud noise. (possibly her family knew about the IED that was to go off). If her family knew, then they were involved somehow. I do not agree with killing innocent people, however in Viet Nam very young children carried explosives all the time into troop areas.
If you want to hear the video it is at CNN :
http://www.cnn.com/video/world/2006/05/30/chilcote.haditha.uncovered.affl/content.htm
Putting panties on their heads or scaring them with dogs is far less objectionable than publishing pictures of the events in order to discredit the military in a time of war. There are lots of pictures depicting far worse actions than Abu Graib from other wars. They weren't published though because the press used to be on our side. "Our" being the United States of America and her citizens. "Political correctness" is a liberal concept meant to limit certain kinds of free speach. Rush et al do not subscribe to that concept. Posted by Coconut on May 29, 2006 at 05:16 AM
A well informed electorate is essential for the safeguarding of our Democracy. And that's why Neo-Nazis like you and Lush are so against it, aint it "Coconut"?
Posted by momoaizo on May 30, 2006 at 09:40 PM
Me too. Do you have any other input?
Posted by momoaizo on May 30, 2006 at 09:39 PM our problem there as here is no leadership!
I think the strategy's flawed myself. Right now we're engaged in a massive social re-engineering program that makes LBJ's war on poverty look like a conservative initiative.
We lived under Articles of Confederation for seven years until we started to go bankrupt. I think we should float the notion that they create a federation of three economically viable, regions under a loose confederation
and we guarentee their international borders - each of their states guarentees it's own borders.
Support the Troops. Bring them Home.
Restore America!
Posted by Oilfieldguy on May 30, 2006 at 10:08 PM
In addition, fire Haliburton and the rest of the war mongers and send them to the ovens at Guantanamo.
(possibly her family knew about the IED that was to go off). If her family knew, then they were involved somehow. Posted by dk2
Are you saying that everybody that "knows" something is "involved" with it somehow?
Library Connection Executive Director and Board of Directors reveal they are “John Doe”—speak about experience as recipients of National Security Letter order demanding library records
(WASHINGTON) Today four Connecticut librarians spoke publicly for the first time about their experience as recipients of a National Security Letter (NSL) demanding library records.
[more]
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 10:42 AM I laid my mother to rest two weeks ago
I'm sorry to read this, Sandy - take care - I lost my mom early and it was devastating.
My Lai Massacre
Some military observers concluded that My Lai showed the need for more and better volunteers to provide stronger leadership among the troops. As the Vietnam combat dragged on, the number of well-educated and experienced career soldiers on the front lines dropped sharply as casualties and combat rotation took their toll. These observers claimed that the absence of the many bright young men who did not participate in the draft due to college attendance or homeland service caused the talent pool for new officers to become very shallow. Many new officers were barely into their twenties, often raw with inexperience.[citation needed] They pointed to Calley, a young, unemployed college dropout, as an example of the raw and inexperienced being rushed through officer training.
[
From the previous story:
Board Vice President Peter Chase said of Justice Department officials’ earlier claims that library records were not being searched under the PATRIOT Act, “I want to know why they weren’t telling the truth.”
{emphasis mine}
We lived under Articles of Confederation for seven years until we started to go bankrupt. I think we should float the notion that they create a federation of three economically viable, regions under a loose confederation
and we guarentee their international borders - each of their states guarentees it's own borders.
Posted by dorsano on May 30, 2006 at 10:15 PM
I was thinking about something like this awhile back. Weren't all these regions part of the Ottoman Empire before WWI? After they lost the war, the League of Nations arbitrarily set up the present day Middle East. I believe the same thing happened in Colonial Africa. Arbitrary boundaries were set up and the people were stuck with different tribes and different religions living within these arbitrary boundaries leading to our present day problems in Africa. No wonder these poeple dislike us.
Hey Coconut, do you get your water from the government or private enterprise? Who would you trust more to keep crap out of your water?
Small Towns Tell a Cautionary Tale About the Private Control of Water
Hey DumpW,
had two other contribute so far, i will send you a finished version along with everyone who contributed....if we could get everyone to send it out to their address book connections and to newspapers at the same time, we may be able to start the campaign of hammering the truth home....
Posted by Domingo on May 30, 2006 at 10:22 PM
Have you ever seen someones brains - I'm not kidding when I ask that, have you ever seen anyones, any human beings brains or flesh spattered all over (if not you should work in an emergency room for awhile)?(much less the best buddie you have, which you have spent the last few months with that has saved you many times over)
Are you saying that everybody that "knows" something is "involved" with it somehow?
I am saying that possibly this girls father or brothers or uncles could have been involved and it would be naive to just assume the troops were completely wrong.
As far as knowing something and not being involved - if you are not helping to correct the wrong then, I guess you are involved or at the least contributing to the crime.
Even the US police seem to be trained to shoot to kill and that is here in America.
Posted by dk2 on May 30, 2006 at 08:20 PM
If they can get into Jefferson's computer, couldn't they get into all the Congressional computers? I thought they caught some Republican staffer doing just that to all the Democrats' computers a year or so ago.
This thing reminds me of Watergate. Only Gonzales thinks he can break in to the building in plain sight and with the permission of the residents.
Posted by Domingo on May 30, 2006 at 10:28 PM
During the Enron/Bush rape of California in 2001, I believe the City owned power plants in Burbank and a few other cities in Southern California were much better off than customers of the private utilities like PG&E. Reagan started all this crap about contracting out every government function. It is just a pack of Repug lies and designed to help corporations rape America.
(possibly her family knew about the IED that was to go off). If her family knew, then they were involved somehow. Posted by dk2
See, what happens is, the insurgents who plant the bombs tell the people living nearby, don't go out today, if you know what's good for you. And if you try to warn the Americans we'll come back here and kill your whole family. We know where you live. What are they going to do? The Americans can't protect them, so they keep their mouths shut.
The Blogfather
Jerome Armstrong introduced Democrats to the Net. But can he sell Mark Warner?
By Michael Scherer
[If you're one of those passionate Hackett backers wondering what happened, this Salon piece will be of interest.]
A well informed electorate is essential for the safeguarding of our Democracy.
Posted by Domingo on May 30, 2006 at 10:11 PM
This quote I have hanging in my office window for all "voters" to see.
The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.
John F. Kennedy, speech at Vanderbilt University, May 18, 1963
35th president of US 1961-1963 (1917 - 1963)
Sandy,
The librarians spoke out today. I posted it above--nobody nibbled.
This is a significant item.
Later y'all.
P.S. They can do whatever they decide to do. Who will stop them?
SandyH:
I don't think its just about his computer with all of the boxes of paper files they took. I am sure they hope to find traces to connect others, where else but by looking at his personal records about meetings with others in the congress.
Hey, Esmerelda.
The Salon piece has a snippet on Ohio...let me know what you think from your birds eye view.
You've all seen the yellow magnets that say "Support our troops", etc. Well, at first glance I thought that's what it was. But on closer inspection, it was like a yellow numeral 8 lying on it's side with this word on it:
Quagmire.
Posted: Tue - July 26, 2005 at 12:42 PM Musings Northwest
SandyH:
I don't think its just about his computer with all of the boxes of paper files they took. I am sure they hope to find traces to connect others, where else but by looking at his personal records about meetings with others in the congress.
Posted by dk2 on May 30, 2006 at 10:43 PM
You guys have never seen the FBI in action. That's exactly what they do. Period. For everyone. I saw them empty out an entire courthouse full of records in a couple hours. EVERYTHING! It's what they do. Check out Josh Marshall, if you doubt me.
dumpw, most of the power in the state was generated by municipal utility companies until Repug Pete Wilson passed a bill requiring them to all be privatized, "because that would be so much better for 'everyone'". Of course, he made sure it didn't take effect until he left office, and as soon as it did take effect, that's when the corporate rape of the consumer started.
evenin' fade - sandyh - domingo - dumpw - dk2 - momoaizo - dorsano - everyone...
had to share this:
stopped at my station yesterday to fill up...then only put in $25. i'll drive less. while looking at the pump, someone out there in a permanent marker scrolled on the pump "f... you bush." i mentioned that to the attendant inside and he said, yep, he's been getting a lot of heat and he has nothing to do with it. nor, did he go out and clean off the pump. says something about the person who wrote it and the attendant...tells me they think the same way.
The f*****g repugs hate government of any kind. Face it. They are always bad mouthing government employees saying they are lazy and they cannot get anything right. That b*****d fatbaugh is the same way. I put up with this crap starting with Ronnie in 1983 and I am not going to take it anymore.
We MUST have a certain level of government for the safety and protection of the public, and it costs money, YES money. Those repugs love money so much that they are too cheap to share. They want to keep it all for themselves and screw everyone else. There also MUST be a certain level of taxation to maintain this government. So there, put that in your repug pipe and smoke it. I wonder how many repugs have tried smoking horses**t. They seem to have plenty of it to spread around.
Posted by Domingo on May 30, 2006 at 10:46 PM
That explains it. Democratic governor Gray Davis and the people of California then took it in the shorts thanks to the repugs.
Yea dumpW, remember the commercials with the grandmother type saying, "I don't want big government in my medicine cabinet!"..........
He actually said, "you know, we have the power to impeach the attorney general"....i almost wrecked the car!
Posted by momoaizo on May 30, 2006 at 09:10 PM
LOL I think I would have had exactly the same response!
Fade, that article was not complete (unless you pay with a visa) so I'm not sure where the part about Hackett comes to play? can you c & p it here? The complete article? Or is that not allowed?
Momo:
It would be a funny commercial to have a simular grandmother type open her Medicine cambinet and Bush's face pops out and scares her and she is saying but you promised there wouldnt be any big business in my medicine cabinet.
Moulitsas told me that both of his posts were, in fact, consistent, and that he had never changed his mind. "One of them spoke from the heart. The other spoke from the brain," he said, explaining that he, reluctantly, concluded Hackett couldn't win the Senate seat. "I would rather have Paul Hackett in the Senate."
Hum, kinda the way I felt too.
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 06:27 PM
Got my vote for a raid on K Street!
Posted by dorsano on May 30, 2006 at 10:15 PM
{{dorssssss}} :-)
Posted by dk2 on May 30, 2006 at 10:43 PM
But the President and Vice President have executive privledge? They can classify and declassify any document?
Why doesn't Congress have the same power?
Or the Supreme Court for that matter? Could Gonzales storm into the SC and take away any of their files if he wanted to frame one of them...like some of those activist left wing judges?
This guy needs to be impeached if he doesn't resign.
Democratic governor Gray Davis and the people of California then took it in the shorts thanks to the repugs.
In addition to all that, the attack on the California consumer started after Darth Cheney's "secret" energy meeting and was initiated by Junior's and Cheney's old business partner Ken Lay, and Kenny boy's company Enron.
he, reluctantly, concluded???
was he the "DECIDER?"
too bad he didn't discuss it with Paul before he "decided" his fate!
let me know what you think from your birds eye view.
Posted by fade2bluz on May 30, 2006 at 10:44 PM
Good article, bluzy. Sounds spot on to me.
Hum, kinda the way I felt too.
Posted by Esmeralda on May 30, 2006 at 11:00 PM
me too! i heard him on the radio and he rubbed me the wrong way. not at all diplomatic. one too many ooo rahs...
did you read the piece with a day pass? Dawnie, if you watch the ad, you can read for free. (i think)
Posted by DTree on May 30, 2006 at 11:01 PM
slamming my pewter mug on the round table
I SECOND THAT!!
"Bring Back the American Dream"
DTree,
good positive slogan for demos...current reality is to rid of this american nitemare.
Posted by fade2bluz on May 30, 2006 at 11:06 PM
no and probably won't now. I admire, no I ADORE passion and truth! I hate pandering! I won't be angered anymore about Paul.
but thanks for the offer
his guy needs to be impeached if he doesn't resign.
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 11:01 PM
All we gotta do is gain a majority. If we don't--i don't think we'll recover. I'm not being melodramatic.
Who would stop them?
But the President and Vice President have executive privledge? They can classify and declassify any document
They must follow the law and go through the process. They can't just say, "By the power invested in me, I declassify you!" like Junior claims he can.
Posted by fade2bluz on May 30, 2006 at 11:06 PM
i think i remember you didn't like Howard for the same reasons FADE
How do you feel now about him?
I think he's done wonders for our party! W/OUT the help of the right leaning lefties, etc! but that's MY opinion only.
How about:
Democracy - used to mean something!
If you care - Restore America.
Vote Democratic for a restoration
like you have never seen before!
Posted by fade2bluz on May 30, 2006 at 10:39 PM
Thanks for posting this, fade.
Mark Warner is a dweeb - Amstrong's thinking in the theoretical fog and not with his gut.
Warner will never get the Democratic Party nomination for president (baring some intensive training in public speaking and a personality transplant)
And if he does, the Democratic Party deserves what it gets.
In my humble opinion :)
They must follow the law and go through the process. They can't just say, "By the power invested in me, I declassify you!" like Junior claims he can.
Posted by Domingo on May 30, 2006 at 11:09 PM
And who will see to it that they do?
Posted by Dawnie on May 30, 2006 at 11:01 PM
Hey {{goddess}} - LTNS - How are things in beautiful NC?
Posted by fade2bluz on May 30, 2006 at 11:11 PM
Laura B. I suppose.
Once Sherrod entered the race, Paul wanted bought out. He knew he couldn't beat Brown in a Primary. He didn't have the "following" at democratic events like Sherrod does...those that are the political machine here in OH.
He would have left gracefully if the price was right.
I brought Hackett into my county, he accepted my invitation as key note speaker at my county dems fall banquet. I would have voted for him if he would have stayed in the race. Paul Hackett decided his own fate. He withdrew from the election. He went wussy.
IMO
dk2, i like...
perhaps?
Democracy - use to mean something!
If you care - let's restore America!!
Vote Democratic = democracy restored!!!
restoration with a meaning!!!!
Posted by dorsano on May 30, 2006 at 11:12 PM
warming up here (running the A/C even) but still BEAUTIFUL! Good to see you back here! :-)
I wonder what he did with all the cash he raised from internet donors? I'm too tired to google his campaign finance reportings.
Time for beauty sleep.
Peaceful rest, everyone.
By Noam Chomsky
05/30/06 "The Independent"
This will take you to an interesting read.
Dawn,
I was a Kerry fan and that was a close call. If truth mattered, he would have been victorious. The Swift-Boat Liars should not have been permitted to LIE, and LIE and LIE. I'm glad he's setting the record straight.
I support Howard Dean as our party chair. He has become much less anti-war than he was earlier in the game, hasn't he?
That's politics. It's a big tent. I hate that part, but it's reality. He was not electable because of that scream and because he did not have the support within the party to continue past that point. Some said it was orchestrated by Dems. I don't know.
I love Russ Feingold. Is he electable? On the blogosphere, he's a winner. With name recognition, he might...depending on how sick and tired of the facism the people become by 2008, he might. He's out there, but then leaders are...
Posted by dorsano on May 30, 2006 at 11:10 PM
I have to ask...do you think Feingold has a better chance?
just asking...I kinda like Warner.
Gotta go! Big day tomorrow!
Late!
Posted by dorsano on May 30, 2006 at 11:10 PM
I think I felt that way about Dukakis.
Posted by Dawnie on May 30, 2006 at 11:16 PM warming up here (running the A/C even) but still BEAUTIFUL!
It's warming up here too - we had gorgeous weather the last two weeks - our two weeks of Spring. Now it's summer
Nice to read you Dawn - (and Ms. Esmeralda who has some interesting things going on her life it seems).
Posted by america1st on May 30, 2006 at 11:15 PM
I think maybe its on the right track. Maybe.
Posted by Esmeralda on May 30, 2006 at 11:18 PM
Goodnight, Butters - I need my beauty sleep too (more than you) - so I better get goin.
cya'll later.
ooo Mike is talking about my newest wish for President
JOHN MURTHAAAAAAA!
Posted by dorsano on May 30, 2006 at 11:24 PM
yea right, you hottie you just keep fibbing!!
lol gnite friend!
dk2, thanks. you keep toying with it and i'm sure it'll ring the votes!
Posted by letshelpdean on May 30, 2006 at 11:18 PM
great post! i've got to get that book...thank you
And who will see to it that they do? Posted by fade2bluz on May 30, 2006 at 11:11 PM
So far, nobody. His fellow Repugs are crooks like he is.
Dawnie,
In 1984, I was a delegate for Gary Hart at the DNC Convention. That didn't fly, and Walter Mondale got the nomination.
I don't like it, but that's the way it goes. That may be why we lose, but then--did we lose?
Did you hear Al Gore on Fresh Air or Mike Malloy? He would have been such a different leader. Kerry too.
me too I am up early tomorrow again
yuck
enjoy your night everyone!
Peace!
Posted by fade2bluz on May 30, 2006 at 10:46 PM
I don't doubt it, fade. I just don't think any Speaker of the House with his/her head screwed on half straight would allow the White House to get away with it...when Congress DOES have the power to stop it.
Hassert might have fallen into one of those Profile in Courage moments and believe it or not is standing up for the Constitution's division of power provisions. Unbelievable.
I'm pretty sure there is plenty of ammunition in Hassert's files to warrant an indictment of some kind. Yet somebody has to stop them before there is nothing left but the executive branch. Old Denny must be mighty scared one way or another.
Even though he may be a hypocrite, I have to admire Hassert for pushing Cheney to a truce. That is the farthest anyone has challenged His power.
The Third-In-Line swings and he hits the ball to deep left field...will it be caught by the Gipper? Can't wait to see what happens in 41 or 42 days. We're moving into some pretty uncharted territory here. Somehow it feels a lot better than the Clinton faux impeachment.
Putin must be feeling pretty smug about now. This could never happen to him. And Cheney was just the other day reprimanding the Russian President for not taking democracy seriously? Ha.
Domingo,
I really wonder how this can be stopped? Will we gain enough seats to do it? I hope so.
The courts, the "co-equal" branch. Gore said that this congress did less than the "do nothing congress" that Truman ran on.
We must get out the vote. And count the damned things, too!
Sounds kindda like Jack Abramoff calling his Indian clients "morons, monkeys, and trogloditys" and claiming he "wants ALL their money"
Enron Traders Caught On Tape
When a forest fire shut down a major transmission line into California, cutting power supplies and raising prices, Enron energy traders celebrated, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports.
"Burn, baby, burn. That's a beautiful thing," a trader sang about the massive fire.
Four years after California's disastrous experiment with energy deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard – on audiotapes obtained by CBS News – gloating and praising each other as they helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis.
"He just f---s California," says one Enron employee. "He steals money from California to the tune of about a million."
"Will you rephrase that?" asks a second employee.
"OK, he, um, he arbitrages the California market to the tune of a million bucks or two a day," replies the first.
The tapes, from Enron's West Coast trading desk, also confirm what CBS reported years ago: that in secret deals with power producers, traders deliberately drove up prices by ordering power plants shut down.
"If you took down the steamer, how long would it take to get it back up?" an Enron worker is heard saying.
"Oh, it's not something you want to just be turning on and off every hour. Let's put it that way," another says.
"Well, why don't you just go ahead and shut her down."
Officials with the Snohomish Public Utility District near Seattle received the tapes from the Justice Department.
"This is the evidence we've all been waiting for. This proves they manipulated the market," said Eric Christensen, a spokesman for the utility.
That utility, like many others, is trying to get its money back from Enron.
"They're f------g taking all the money back from you guys?" complains an Enron employee on the tapes. "All the money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?"
"Yeah, grandma Millie, man"
"Yeah, now she wants her f------g money back for all the power you've charged right up, jammed right up her a------ for f------g $250 a megawatt hour."
And the tapes appear to link top Enron officials Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling to schemes that fueled the crisis.
"Do you know when you started over-scheduling load and making buckets of money on that?
Before the 2000 election, Enron employees pondered the possibilities of a Bush win.
"It'd be great. I'd love to see Ken Lay Secretary of Energy," says one Enron worker.
That didn't happen, but they were sure President Bush would fight any limits on sky-high energy prices.
"When this election comes Bush will f------g whack this s--t, man. He won't play this price-cap b------t."
Crude, but true.
"We will not take any action that makes California's problems worse and that's why I oppose price caps," said Mr. Bush on May 29, 2001.
CBS News
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 11:33 PM
ok I think I read HERE that some of that bribe money of jeffersons had to do with something in Africa that Halliburton /Cheney has something to do with so this to me looks well orchestrated by Hastert FOR Cheney's sake perhaps?
I didn't copy the link dammit!
Jefferson is a pawn and Cheney doesnt want the FBI reading all those files so didn't W put a hold on it (maybe until they can take out anything to do with Africa and Halliburton?)
tin foil hat? well that's what I drew from what I read.....
gnite
Sandy,
I'm such a cynic. I think Denny is doing the Hammertime bidding that his bubba Tom is orchestrating. I don't think it's noble.
And I think the FBI had a right to do what they did. They may have set him up, but he had $90 grand in the freezer. Wrong is wrong. It's not the first time a politician got stung. I saw it when I was a reporter in Texas. Videotape, bribery and bye-bye.
Bush appoints a cartoon adviser.
I'm not kidding.
Posted by Oilfieldguy
oil',
george will need more than a cartoon advisor. he needs a face makeover person. he needs a crystal ball person. he'll need a credit card. his political capital is pocket change. come to think, nothing at this point will help. he's on the downward spin cycle.
"Can you smell money?!?!?!
The scent of money was coming from the Saginaw Chippewa, the owners of the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort -- a $400-million-a-year enterprise in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. Abramoff and his informal business partner, Michael Scanlon, an independent public-relations consultant who had been a spokesman in DeLay's Congressional office, had begun to specialize in representing Indian tribes with casino operations. They hoped for a contract with this tribe.
''Did we win it?'' Scanlon wrote back.
''The [expletive] troglodytes didn't vote on you today,'' Abramoff responded.
''What's a troglodyte?'' Scanlon asked. (In his early 30's, he had much to learn from his master.)
''What am I, a dictionary? :) It's a lower form of existence, basically,'' Abramoff wrote. ''I like these guys,'' he hastened to add, yet then continued: ''They are plain stupid. . . . Morons.'' Ultimately, the lower life forms would pay Abramoff and Scanlon $14 million -- just a fraction of the $66 million the two men's businesses would take in from six different Indian tribes over the next three years.
NY Times
Posted by Esmeralda on May 30, 2006 at 11:19 PM I have to ask...do you think Feingold has a better chance?
Feingold's taking some heat and he's holding up pretty well from what I can see. Except for Madison and few other pockets around the state, WI has a strong red streak and he's playing OK there from what my family and friends tell me.
Warner's a good guy, Esmeralda - and his style probably works just fine in VA
but unless I'm mistaken, my line of attack is exactly what we'll see if he's nominated
They'll make him out to be a used car salesman.
===
Of course - no matter who the Democratic Party nominates we'll see character assination of some sort
But like I said - Feingold's holding up pretty well so far
Any POTUS wannabes would do us all a favor if they stood up right now asked to be trashed.
goodnight, letshelpdean
thanx everyone for some elevated discussion. enjoyed your links and comments.
who will stop them? ahem...that would be us. let's get together, eh? there is no one else who can. Democrats, take back our country!!!
Who would stop them?
Posted by fade2bluz on May 30, 2006 at 11:08 PM
Maybe our Asian creditors? If they stop buying those worthless IOUs, the whole Republican regime is going to be up shite's creek.
I wonder where the tipping point is?
It guess it all comes down to economics....when will China be strong enough to ruin us and not hurt their own chances.
That's providing Bush doesn't blow up the world in the meantime. The Chinese aren't going to be making any major financial decisions while their chief concern in the near future could be dealing with nuclear fallout.
I can't believe the world hasn't been meeting in secret plotting to take them out.
you see whats happening here?
The press backed and supported bush against all logic or reason.
then bush bit the hand that fed him.
he threatened the press directly, over and above having some do time rather than reveal their sources..
he betrayed them.
and now they are connecting the dots, building the story, spinning the scandal where his name will come up more and more.
They are pissed, and they are taking him down.
Just watch....
or maybe not.. i got too excided from reading that enron tape transcript, i didn't notice the date... thats old news, not reopening old wounds...
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 05:48 PM
A general trend of historically low interest rates is ending, and the new government loans will have a fixed rate of 6.8 percent.
The sad thing is - there's a revenue positive way to reduce the student loan rate to 1% above prime that saves tax payers about $20 billion a year.
There's a Republican named Tom Petri over in Wisconsin who's been working the better part of his life to get the U.S. Government back into the direct lending business (like it was under Eisenhower) -
Rather than subsize banks to make student loans "affordable", the U.S. Government would compete side by side with the private sector and offer students loans at 1% above prime and pay regional processing centers a .5% fee to process the loans (the remaining .5% to be resevered for defaults).
But of course - that would make every Democrat and Republican that voted for such an outrageous thing a friggin Socialist
And we sure don't want that in America.
Posted by dorsano on May 31, 2006 at 01:24 AM
all part of the plan... for a properly docile population, they must also be ignorant... ie uneducated. To achieve this goal, one must make the cost of education out of reach for all but the ruling elite.
Ooops - I meant the overnight lending rate - time for bed - I've been up too late.
Posted by SandyH on May 30, 2006 at 05:48 PM
A general trend of historically low interest rates is ending, and the new government loans will have a fixed rate of 6.8 percent.
These aren't government loans - they are loans subsidized and guaranteed by US through tax money that help make banks such good investments for those people that have disposal income to invest.
The article does mention that the loans are guaranteed so the writer isn't entirely brainwashed.
But my god - why does he or she call these "government" loans.
------
I'm sorry - this pisses me off.
Posted by FreedomOfSpeechForProgressiveDemocraticMajority on May 31,However, it is absolutely imperative that we remove the bad apples and we expose them and we don't try to cover them up.
I agree - they work in Washington DC - and they include members of both parties who either were so naive that they thought the best of this adminstration or were so intimitated that they didn't speak up.
Get rid of the whole lot of them.
A Political Path Out of Iraq
...The reality is that only an effective political bargain will bring about order. There needs to be a deal that gives all three communities strong incentives to cooperate rather than be spoilers.
Jump in the middle. That is where most Americans are.
From the Internet to the White House
A group of old Washington hands has launched a campaign to remake Internet politics, taking a forum that until now has been associated with ideologues and angry partisans and using it to start a movement culminating in a bipartisan presidential ticket in 2008.
...
Yet the blogosphere is often dominated by voices from the ideological extremes. Jordan, Rafshoon, Bailey and King are betting that the Internet has room for an activist middle, as long as the process is controlled by the people -- especially the young. Their theory is that most Americans are fed up with both parties, a belief backed by recent polling data, and are eager to shake up the political process if they can find an outlet.
"Yet the blogosphere is often dominated by voices from the ideological extremes."
Posted by Esmeralda on May 31, 2006 at 06:31 AM
Extremes can be found if one searches. However, what I've noted is that anyone disagreeing with the current administrations policies is considered extreme.
What the blogosphere is full of is people who don't believe we should have ever invaded Iraq. Who believe that the administration lied to get approval from US citizens to start the war. Who believe that corporations and pac groups have too much power in this nation. Who believe that our government is more about filling the pockets of politicians than doing the job of taking care of important issues facing average Americans.
This isn't extremism!
Hi {{{FOS}}} How ya been?
Hi Esmerelda...I've seen you here the past couple of days, but the name is new to me. Of course I don't get to blog as much as I wish.
Oh FOS, didn't see ya again until I refreshed. You go girl with those trolls...your're doing a fine job for democracy! Their issues can all be unraveled because there isn't any substance if examined thoroughly. Keep up the good work. I can't stay up too late anymore...but miss blogging with you:-)
Hi Esmerelda...I've seen you here the past couple of days, but the name is new to me. Of course I don't get to blog as much as I wish.
Posted by xdebx on May 31, 2006 at 07:27 AM
The name is new to me too.
good morning,
the immigration thingie is going to be the new "gay marraige" issue to revv up the base. didja hear about the bricks sent to congress?
10,000 sent. what have we done to gain attention? think about it--let's brainstorm. we can do something to communicate in an artistic way. this is an inspiration.
[This is what has Sensenbrenner et al in a tizzy over the FBI search: The 'Speech or Debate' clause. Funny how those Constitutional priveleges that the Patriot eroded didn't matter to them when it was "we the people" that lost. This is weak. Hard drives are fair game. Bring it on!]
The Constitution says House and Senate members "shall not be questioned . . . for any Speech or Debate in either House." Bruce Fein, one of the constitutional lawyers who testified yesterday, said that "when it comes to documents, the only way you can search is to read everything. And when you read everything, you encroach on the 'Speech or Debate' clause."
good morning.from the guardian:
Gore: Bush is 'renegade rightwing extremist'
Oliver Burkeman and Jonathan Freedland
Wednesday May 31, 2006
The Guardian
Al Gore has made his sharpest attack yet on the George Bush presidency, describing the current US administration as "a renegade band of rightwing extremists".
In an interview with the Guardian today, the former vice-president calls himself a "recovering politician", but launches into the political fray more explicitly than he has previously done during his high-profile campaigning on the threat of global warming.
Denying that his politics have shifted to the left since he lost the court battle for the 2000 election, Mr Gore says: "If you have a renegade band of rightwing extremists who get hold of power, the whole thing goes to the right."
uncle al, he's our pal
Ney Votes Against Arming the Fight Against Child Predators
Friday, 26 May 2006
Dover, OH -– Last night, on the floor of the House of Representatives, Congressman Bob Ney made a clear choice in the ongoing fight against child pornography. Congressman Ney voted against adding much needed funds to fight child pornography. Child pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry that puts at risk an alarming and growing number of children. As many as one in five children report having been sexually solicited on the Internet. Ohio children and their families are at risk, and Ney's choice shows that he does not stand for protecting Ohio kids.
Yesterday's vote adds $5 million in much-needed funding for the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to fight sexual predators and child pornography. This is a vital task force, in 2003, ICE launched Operation PREDATOR, which is administered through the Cyber Crimes Center.Since 2003, Operation PREDATOR has arrested more than 7,500 child predators, more than 88% of whom were non-US citizens.
ZACK SPACE FOR CONGRESS
there was a time in the past few years when i thought basra was one of the "calm" parts of iraq. but now according to this article the place is subject to conflict among various shite factions. all of course are heavily armed. for me this raises the question why no one talks about where all the arms that flood iraq came from?? why they came from good capitalists and socialists in the usa and russia and france and china and you name it....all making an "honest" living within international law selling all fashion of death implements to any buyer they could find over the last twenty or thirty or fifty years...just average, god fearing, family folks making a living...
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will on Wednesday declare a state of emergency for a month in oil-rich Basra which is in the grip of a power struggle between Shi'ite factions, a government source said.
"He will announce it soon because of the security situation in Basra," the source told Reuters.
The source said security forces will be deployed in the streets of Basra all day and night, they will also conduct searching operations.
Maliki, who is heading a delegation to Basra to restore security, has vowed to crack down with an "iron fist" on gangs threatening security in the city.
Security has deteriorated sharply in Basra over the past year as rival factions from the Shi'ite Muslim majority tussle for a share of the power handed to Shi'ites by the U.S. overthrow of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated administration.
Basra, whose oil accounts for virtually all of Iraq's state revenues, is a major prize for all parties.
Maliki said he would order his security services to come up with an urgent plan to restore security in Iraq's second city.
Murtha: It's Time to RedeployIn Light of Atrocity Investigation, Rep. Murtha Says U.S. Is Losing the Iraqi People
May 30, 2006— The investigation into whether U.S. Marines killed 24 unarmed civilians — many of them women and children — in the Iraqi city of Haditha last November has broken the heart of a congressman, who wonders whether there was an attempted cover-up.
"Eighty percent of the Iraqis want us out of there," said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated Marine veteran and prominent critic of U.S. policy in Iraq, on "Good Morning America." "Forty-seven percent say it's all right to kill Americans. Yet when we went in, they thought it was wonderful to topple Saddam Hussein. Now we've lost that war, and now it is time to redeploy." Murtha believes the United States can no longer win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.
Abortion ban repeal drive gets 37,846 signatures
FROM STAFF REPORTS
May 30, 2006
The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families announced Tuesday that it had secured more than twice the number of signatures it needed to refer the abortion ban passed by the 2006 Legislature to a vote of the people this fall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let's hope that they can sustain the current momentum to repeal the ban in the November Elections.
guess we're all country now!! think i'll start attending a fundie church in mobile alabama and hand out che guevera posters as the rubes file out after the sermon...
Dixie Chicks New Album, Taking The Long Way, Debuts At #1 On Billboard Top 200
Wednesday May 31, 8:45 am ET
Dixie Chicks Become First Female Group Ever To Have Three Albums Debut In Top Slot
NEW YORK, May 31 PRNewswire -- As Taking The Long Way debuts at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 best-selling albums chart this week, with first week's sales of 525,829, the Dixie Chicks have become the first female group in chart history to have three albums debut at #1, breaking the record the Chicks established in 2002 when the group's last studio album, Home, debuted at #1 and made them the first female group ever to have two albums debut at #1.
House Holds Hearing on FBI's Capitol Raid(Republican) Congressman (Sensenbrenner) Wants to Call Gonzales, Mueller to Hearings on FBI Raid of Capitol Hill Office
By LAURIE KELLMAN
WASHINGTON May 30, 2006 (AP)— House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner said Tuesday he will summon Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller before his panel to explain their decision to raid a lawmaker's office for the first time in history.
"I want to have Attorney General Gonzales and FBI Director Mueller up here to tell us how they reached the conclusion they did," said Sensenbrenner, one of President Bush's most loyal House allies. Sensenbrenner's hearings, which began Tuesday, are examining whether the May 20 raid violated the Constitution.
...........................................
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
FCC declines investigation of NSA phone records controversy
US Federal Communications Commission(FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin has written a letter to US Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) saying that the watchdog agency will not investigate the collection of millions of phone records by the National Security Agency. In the letter, dated Monday, Martin contends that the FCC cannot perform an effective investigation because it does not have access to classified government documents. Martin's comments responded to a letter from Markey urging the agency to launch a probe into the alleged program. Last week, one of the four other FCC commissioners, Michael J. Copps, said the FCC should investigate.
............................................
It seems the republicans are more interested in protecting the constitutional rights of
...indicted and disgraced democratic congressmen
(william jefferson)
...and...
...indicted and disgraced republican congressman
(tom delay
randall 'duke' cunningham
scooter libby
etc., etc., etc.,)
then the constitutional rights of the American people those Congressman are supposed to be serving.
Good morning, everyone.
Posted by gregg on May 31, 2006 at 09:30 AM
I often thought that if we and the Soviets hadn't been fighting over Communism vs Capitalism, Africa would have been spared the fate they face today.
All those guns dropped into a culture that wasn't ready to handle the ideological divide or the firepower. Generations of young men have now grown up thinking that manhood means intimidating their elders with rifles; raping and looting is the ticket to fame and fortune.
I don't know about the Middle East. Militias seem to have been a response to Saddam and the West trying to force an unnatural political situation. But I may be wrong. It just might be an age old tribal thing.
Isn't it horrible knowing we are occupying a country (making decisions about their future) and we haven't even taken the time to study their history and culture?
Why can't we mind our own business?
Why can't we mind our own business?
Posted by SandyH on May 31, 2006 at 10:05 AM
GOOD question Sandy!! Thank Goodness SOME of us can!! I think it may be catching on too!
------
Greg, I was glad to read that about the Chicks being #1
They deserve it for being HONEST and speaking TRUTH to POWER!!! I hope the redpukes actually LISTEN to the words from their music! And maybe take those damn nasty flags off the backs of their gas hogs & suv windows!
Posted by Benji on May 31, 2006 at 09:58 AM
Well, at least it's a step in the right direction no matter how self-serving it might be.
If Gonzales gets by with this, future lawmakers who aren't corrupt, could be intimidated --- those that who could be actively trying to protect our liberties. (The election is in Novemeber after all.) I vote on the side of protecting the Constitutional balance of power provisions.
Remember, this move by the Justice Department is really another power grab by Cheney and the executive branch. (You don't see him giving up that list of energy executives do you?)
Mueller and the FBI have more than enough evidence to convict Jefferson already. If a tape of the transaction and the actual bribe money hid in his freezer isn't enough, what is?
Bush and his minions are out of control. It has to stop somewhere. Lord, Gonzales was the man who wrote that legal opinion giving Bush cover for torturing prisoners and breaking international treaties.
I hope Sensenbrenner uses the rack on him...see how he likes it. After all, Gonzales' "opinions" gives any federal authority the right to turn the screws on any American citizen...he deems dangerous.
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