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...
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?
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!
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 bu