yesterday saint mccain told blitzed they could down many baghdad streets and feel safe...then michael ware of cnn, who has been there for a number of years said:

"Honestly, Wolf, you'll barely last twenty minutes out there. I dont know what part of Neverland Senator McCain is talking about when he says we can go strolling in Baghdad."

this morning we have retired general mccaffrey saying:

...The retired general, who on his latest visit also interviewed a U.S. intelligence official and some Iraqi officers, is especially critical of the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It is "despised" by the Sunnis, he writes, is seen as "untrustworthy and incompetent" by the Kurds, and now enjoys "little credibility among the Shia populations from which it emerged."

The government lacks dominance in every province, he added. One result is that "no Iraqi government official, coalition soldier, diplomat, reporter, foreign NGO [nongovernmental organization], nor contractor can walk the streets of Baghdad, nor Mosul, nor Kirkuk, nor Basra, nor Tikrit, nor Najaf, nor Ramadi, without heavily armed protection."...

which raises the recurrent question for the bush administration---who is zooming who?

welcome to nyc. yeah and f_ _ _ youse and the horse you rode in on....

Wal-Mart Chief Writes Off New York

By MICHAEL BARBARO and STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Published: March 28, 2007

Wal-Mart to New York: fuhgeddaboudit.
Skip to next paragraph

An ad in Wal-Mart’s campaign to open a store in New York City.

Frustrated by a bruising, and so far unsuccessful battle to open its first discount store in the nation’s largest city, Wal-Mart’s chief executive said yesterday, “I don’t care if we are ever here.”

H. Lee Scott Jr., the chief executive of the nation’s largest retailer, said that trying to conduct business in New York was so expensive — and exasperating — that “I don’t think it’s worth the effort.”

Mr. Scott’s remarks, delivered at a meeting with editors and reporters of The New York Times, amounted to a surprising admission of defeat, given the company’s vigorous efforts to crack into urban markets and expand beyond its suburban base in much of the country. In recent years, Wal-Mart has encountered stout resistance to its plans to enter America’s bigger cities, which stand as its last domestic frontier.

as for hope, it turns out that wind power is not a thing of the future but is already supplying germany with 6 percent of its electricity, spain 8 and denmark 20. there is a fight going on in deleware to move to wind power big time.

--here are some excerpts from a very important piece at salon this morning:

Gone with the wind

The rich may be moaning about wind turbines ruining their coastal views on Cape Cod, but in Delaware, citizens are ardently battling politicians -- and the coal industry -- to build the nation's largest offshore wind park.

By Katherine Ellison

March 28, 2007 | MILLSBORO, Del. -- Peter Mandelstam says he can power 130,000 Delaware homes without adding to the greenhouse gas emissions dangerously heating our planet. His proposed 600-megawatt offshore wind park -- the biggest such project yet unveiled in the United States -- could supply that power over 20 years cheaper than coal or gas, he vows.

The tireless founder of Bluewater Wind, a wind energy developer, Mandelstam has been right before, having built a wind farm in Montana that provides power to more than 45,000 homes. And Delaware is no Cape Cod, where an offshore wind plan has stalled amid bitter controversy for the past six years. Polls show that offshore wind is overwhelmingly popular in this state, graded F for air pollution by the American Lung Association, whose coastal residents aren't griping about their ocean views being ruined.

Yet Mandelstam still faces a gale force in persuading Delaware officials, lashed to coal and gas industries, to go along with his plan. "The chief obstacle is the newness of offshore wind," he says enthusiastically. "It's not new in the world, but it's new in this country. So my challenge is simply to educate people."...

..."This is the front line on climate change," says Willett Kempton, an associate professor of marine policy at the University of Delaware and an ardent lobbyist for renewable energy. "This is one thing we can do right now, at large scale, with no CO2 emissions, and at about the same cost as dirty power."...

...Today the most promising, and least known, source of wind power is that generated by offshore wind turbines. A newly released study by Stanford and University of Delaware researchers, including Kempton, says mid-Atlantic offshore wind could power the entire Eastern Seaboard, including transportation, with enough extra energy to meet a 50 percent growth in demand. Rapid advances in energy storage put this dream tantalizingly within reach...

***alas the battle is not with the promise or proven facts of the technology but with our old friends the coal industry and weak kneaded democratic politicians...thats right, sorry to say delaware's governor and senators are democrats and are doing nothing to move wind power forward. you can read the rest of this piece at salon as a day visitor if you don't subscribe.

just yesterday one of our generals straightened us all out, there is no civil war in iraq he said:

Off-duty Iraqi police slay dozens, officials say
At least 45 Sunnis killed in apparent reprisal for bombings in Tal Afar
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 1 hour, 33 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Off-duty Shiite policemen enraged by massive bombings in the northern town of Tal Afar went on a revenge spree against Sunni residents there on Wednesday, killing at least 45 men, police and hospital officials said.

The policemen began roaming the town’s Sunni neighborhoods on foot early in the morning, shooting at Sunni residents and homes.

A senior hospital official in Tal Afar said at least 45 men ages 15 to 60 were killed and four others were wounded.

Police said dozens of Sunnis were killed or wounded, but they had no precise figures. The shooting continued for more than two hours, the officials said.

“I wish you can come and see all the bodies. They are lying in the grounds. We don’t have enough space in the hospital. All of the victims were shot in the head,” a doctor at the main hospital told Reuters by telephone.

“No less than 45 people were killed. I’ve never seen such a thing in my life,” said the doctor, who refused to be named because he said he feared for his life.

Tal Afar, located 260 miles northwest of Baghdad, is in the province of Ninevah, of which Mosul is the capital.

Spike in violence
The attacks follow an upsurge in violence in Baghdad and outside the capital in recent days. U.S. and Iraqi security forces have deployed thousands more soldiers in Baghdad to try to stem a sectarian war threatening to tear the country apart.

In Tuesday’s truck bombings in Tal Afar, one suicide bomber lured victims to buy wheat loaded on his truck in a Shiite neighborhood. A second truck bomb exploded in a used car lot. The attacks killed 63 people and wounded more than 150.

In 2006, President Bush held up Tal Afar as an example of progress being made in Iraq after U.S.-led forces freed it from al-Qaida in an offensive the previous year.

...oh and yesterday: Lieberman claimed the “facts” suggest Iraq is not in a civil war.

...so there you have it folks. no civil war.

good morning, day crew!

from the wall street urinal we have this bit of crap:

The Libby Precedent
Why government officials prefer to take the Fifth.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

If Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy wants to investigate the Bush Administration's dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys, that's certainly his prerogative. But he and other Democrats determined to play up this faux scandal shouldn't be surprised if government officials decide they'd rather not step into this obvious perjury trap.

...funny. investigating the possible interference in federal investigations for political gain is a "faux" scandal and justifies taking the fifth. i wonder what the urinal's position was regarding all the white house folks who were forced to testify about the clinton consensual sex problem?
what a bunch of disingenuous turds!

good morning fade.

Good Morning Gregg and Fade....Fade how is everything going with your Dad?....John Boy....

Jesus!:

Militants attack Iraqi, U.S. forces with chlorine bombs
Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:26AM EDT
FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Insurgents with two chlorine truck bombs attacked a local government building in Falluja in western Iraq on Wednesday, the latest in a string of attacks using the poisonous gas, the U.S. military said.

It said 15 Iraqi and U.S. soldiers were wounded in the blasts and many more suffered chlorine poisoning.

"Numerous Iraqi soldiers and policemen are being treated for symptoms such as labored breathing, nausea, skin irritation and vomiting that are synonymous with chlorine inhalation," a U.S. statement said.

It said no Iraqi or U.S. forces were killed in what it called a "complex attack" using mortars and small arms as well as the truck bombs.

over there

Good morning, everyone. What a beautiful day here in SE OH.

You all have posted great articles and comments about the news events in the world. Here's a little election tidbit.

“Super-Sized” Tuesday 2008 Primary May Cause Super-Sized Headaches

Has anyone else noticed how old, feeble and disoriented John McCain is acting? If I were a Republican, I would be hesitant to vote for him, fearing that he might have brain cancer. All in all, the Republicans look like a party in search of a viable canidate. You reap what you sow and I am enjoying watching the implosion of the Republican crime Co......John Boy.......

Hi Essie,....thanks for the happyt b/d wishes yesterday....I hope all is well with you....John Boy.....

Tonight is the night that the democratic central committee appoint by their vote their choice to fill the vacancy on the County Board of Commissioners. This seat is for the remaining term, which will end Jan. 2, 2009. The person appointed will have to run a countywide campaign in 2008.

I have a doctor's appointment this morning, then will be returning home to prepare for my last presentation to the committee. I do believe cleaning out the herb garden and front lawn gardens, as well as washing my car, will put me in the state of mind that is necessary to focus.

Wish me well. It shall return until you...wish me ill, it shall return until you.

Enjoy the day, everyone.

good morning, John Boy! my dad's getting his radiation and my sister and I will be going to see him in May. he sounds great! thank you for asking.

mcCain is not just losin' it, it's gone.

gregg, great wind power story! salon is well worth the bucks.

essie--can't wait to hear about your sss meeting.

y'all--keep it lit~

morning all good Dems,

gregg, That use of wind in Delaware sounds like a great idea. Of course the coal and oil companies would be against it. They want it all. They have been blocking research for years that would lead to cheap energy. Ever wondered why we don't build more Nuclear power plants. They are no doubt blocking efforts with sham environmental difficulties. bush spoke of "Nucular" power but has been giving it lip service since 2001.

Just the other day he spoke of increasing the production of ethanol. He sees that as a way to increase the price of corn so the large agricultural corporations can make millions. The price of meat will also skyrocket helping his texas rancher friends.

What we really need is to grow sugar cane for ethanol. Hawaii used to grow sugar cane but in recent years the price of sugar has been so low that they now only grow pineapples. We need to put the farmers in Hawaii to work. I understand we can also grow sugar cane in the southeast. I'll bet there are a lot of SMALL farmers in the south who would love to grow something beside cotton and tobacco. I understand that sugar cane can be recycled after the sugar is removed and used as fertilizer, reducing the need for fertilizers. I am sure there are other sources of ethanol like bush himself mentioned using grasses.

What the whole thing boils down to is that bush is trying the get the price of our food up like he has screwed up everything else so his rich friends can go chuckling to the bank. He is also helping oil companies because his answer to ethanol production is so lame that it will take years to affect oil company profits.

Or, maybe bush is just plain stupid. You choose.

gregg, I think there was a post the other day that mentioned tidal power off the coast of Oregon. They would place huge generators under water off shore. This would be a dependable source of power because the tides are forever changing.

Another source of energy mentioned was geothermal. PG&E built a geothermal plant north of San Francisco 40 years ago. This current article was talking about tapping the "Ring of Fire" which skirts the Pacific Rim which is the source of earthquakes and volcanoes around the surrounding the Pacific Ocean. This would be a huge source energy to run generators.

Who is blocking these efforts? The oil cartels.

Why are people moving so slow on these things.

Posted by Johnedwrd on March 28, 2007 at 08:52 AM

JohnBoy,

McCain is acting strangely. Of course, chimp has always acted strangely.

Last night on Letterman was a hoot. They had the usual "presidential speeches" segment. bush really looked like more of an idiot than ever. He was standing at the podium at a press conference and he was going "er, ah, er, ah, er, ah," He is getting worse and worse.

They also had this comedian who was laying it on bush. He asked if bush eats rice. Whoa, can they say that on television.

He asked if bush eats rice. Whoa, can they say that on television.

Johnedwrd on March 28, 2007 at 09:11 AM,

Good morning again, everyone!

Johnedwrd,

LMAO!

How can evangelicals support the Bush Republican Corporate religion?

davidual,

Isn't that great. walmart finally received their comeuppance and have given up on opening a store in NYC. walmart has done so much damage to local mom and pop stores around the nation. In the city in which I lived in the California Central Valley, the city actually paid walmart about $1 Million to build a store. Immediately after it opened, all our mom and pop clothing, shoe and furniture stores closed. It was really sad.

Good morning, all.

Just passing by, but I wanted to comment on this post about Wal-Mart.

Posted by gregg on March 28, 2007 at 08:03 AM

There is a trend in the Midwest, especially in exurbia, to ban Wal-Mart.

A small town in southern Illinois near where I live is fighting to keep them out. The residents not only fear that it will kill the small businesses in town but it will also kill the charm and way of life they cherish.

Get this: They think Wal-Mart is junky and offers low quality products...at higher average prices than other chains like Target.

Gotta go. later.

See y'all later.

Posted by SandyH on March 28, 2007 at 10:00 AM

Sandy, this isn't a trend just in the midwest. Folks around here do everything they can to ban Walmart from their communities.

Pat Tillman: Shoddy treatment

Tillman did what few are willing to do: give up a cushy, lucrative career (in the NFL) to serve in the Army, a risk he felt was worth taking because he had faith in his country's government. His brother, Kevin, a professional baseball player, did the same. After Pat Tillman's death in 2004, neither his family nor the media were told the full story. Instead, Tillman became the square-jawed poster boy for the all-American hero/martyr. His family believes his image and his death were used by the Bush administration to manipulate public opinion, to stir up patriotic feelings in an attempt to shift the focus away from Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison scandal, which was dominating headlines at the time.

not sure I would call having your backside handed to you every Sunday a 'cushy job' but I get what they mean.

Must be getting early
Clocks are running late
Paint by number morning sky
Looks so phony

Posted by Johnedwrd Why are people moving so slow on these things.

In the USA most, if not all, locations of accessable geothermal "hot spots", ones that are close enough to the surface to be utilized practically, are located in national parks.

I don't think the enviromentalists would still quietly by if these areas were investigated for potential.

Envoy nominee hits rough waters over Swift Boat donation

With a vote set Wednesday in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, said Tuesday he opposes the nomination of businessman Sam Fox because Fox "refused to apologize for his behavior" during a confirmation hearing last month.

"U.S. ambassadors need to be both responsible and credible, and Mr. Fox's support for an organization known to have spread falsehoods illustrates neither," said Dodd, who is seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

I see you've got your list out
Say your piece and get out
Yes I get the gist of it
but it's all right

Sorry that you feel that way
The only thing there is to say
Every silver lining's got a

President Bush's Choice

Well that was interesting. I just had my internet connection moved to to the Livingroom/kitchen of this mobile home and was able to listen to Mr. Bush's speech on CNN. Even though I knew full well what he was going to conjure about the supp. Iraq financing Bill it was still totally aggravating to hear him actually say it.
[...}

Shipping powders back and forth
Singing black goes south and white comes north.
In a whole world full of petty wars
Singing I got mine and you got yours.
And the current fashion sets the pace,
Lose your step, fall out of grace.
And the radical, he rant and rage,
Singing someone's got to turn the page.
And the rich man in his summer home,
Singing just leave well enough alone.
But his pants are down, his cover's blown...

g'morning noble dems!
It's been a while since posting here. Been sort of busy getting things growing. Built a nice little greenhouse. And working on a solar electric fence to keep the varmits out. Could use something like that for the trolls around here, eh? Also had a visit from my father. He brought my mom's ashes and we had a little memorial service at the cemetery where we placed them. After spending a few days here he's now on a train somewhere in North Dakota heading back to Seattle. It's not easy having one's family spread all over the country...much less all over the world like some folks have to endure. Anyway, sorry about the rambling. What I really want to throw out for consideration by everyone relates to campaign finance reform. If we were to set up a campaign contribution "clearing house" where monies to be donated would be accepted and forwarded on to the recepient without the recepient knowing from whom the monies came, we could eleminate the possibility of "payback" obligations. What do you think?

Posted by PerendaMonsuto on March 28, 2007 at 11:08 AM

Do a goggle on "dry rock geothermal".

Posted by BoilerMan
Do a goggle on "dry rock geothermal".

Not really practical for the average homeowner who has an average yard and income.

I hope everyone writes a thank you note to Senators Nagel(NE-R) and Smith(OR-R) for voting their conscience, and respecting the desires of their constituents. We complain when they play politics we owe them a thank you when they vote with the people.

I'm out for awhile. Have a good day.

Posted by PerendaMonsuto on March 28, 2007 at 11:41 AM

Neither are National Parks. But if you're talking alternative energy sources, all options should be pursued. BTW, I don't imagine most families could build their own solar panels or wind turbines either.

Hi Boilerman, it's good to see you back. Sorry to hear your mother has passed and I hope your dad has a safe trip back to Seattle. It's beautiful here in Seattle today so he should be coming into nice weather, unless he arrives tomorrow it could be snow by that time. ;)

Hi Kristen, no, he won't get there till tomorrow. But he's a tough ol' nut and I think he'll survive..:) I have a link to the Mt. St. Helens web cam and to a weather service looking out over lake Washington. Yes, it's nice back there. Take care.

Posted by BoilerMan
Neither are National Parks. But if you're talking alternative energy sources, all options should be pursued. BTW, I don't imagine most families could build their own solar panels or wind turbines either.

So, you are OK with putting a huge geo-thermal electrical plant in the middle of a national park?

Gotta go toil in the soil. Think about the "clearing house" thing and pass it around if you think it can fly. Later...

Posted by PerendaMonsuto on March 28, 2007 at 11:59 AM

No. I'm also not OK with arguing for the hell of it. Now I'm gone.

Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) a wolf in sheep clothing...?
Along with Lieberman he voted against the rest of the Senate majority on the War spending bill.
They must both be targeted.

Just stopping in for luch.

Bush: Iraq timeline could be disastrous

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - President Bush accused congressional Democrats Wednesday of meddling in Iraq war policy and setting a deadline for a U.S. pullout that would have disastrous repercussions for both countries.

Well, he's finally figured it out. We intent to meddle all with want with him and his dysfunctional foreign policy...till the end of Bush's term. Get used to it.

And there have been and will continue to be disastrous repercussions from our involvement in another country's internal affairs. He should have thought about that before he went in.

More Americans are worried about the disasterous repercussions of the Patriot Act and Torture Bill on our democracy than what will happen to Iraq's corrupt, incompetent Islamic theocracy when we leave. The Iraqi people will deal with that graft-ridden bunch of political hypocrites, too.

And we are going to leave....hell or high water. We, the American people, are digging in our heels on this. If Bush thinks he's stubborn, he hasn't seen anything yet from voters who are determined to get our way. This is not a generational commitment.

We are Americans. And we want our tax dollars spent in this country creating jobs for American citizens, providing public education and retirement security, developing alternative fuels, delivering affordable health care, protecing our environment from terrorists and corporate polluters, cleaning up the governmental corruption and waste in Washington and stop the voting fraud and abuse.

Why do the Republicans keep acting like they are citizens of some multinational fraternity instead of being Americans? Why haven't they exerted any effort toward protecting our Bill of Rights/Constitution and our American way of life...here at home?

If the GOP wants to waste their money, that's fine...get out and follow Halliburton to Dubai. We won't miss you. See how much you can botch up their country, too. You turned your back on your own people. You're pathetic.

Posted by BoilerMan
Neither are National Parks. But if you're talking alternative energy sources, all options should be pursued. BTW, I don't imagine most families could build their own solar panels or wind turbines either.
No. I'm also not OK with arguing for the hell of it. Now I'm gone.

So you offer this as a possibility then when I ask you to restate it as acceptable you run off? Nice.

The fact is, any of the "alternate" forms of energy production offered are poor choices. When dissected to some degree, none have anywhere near the potential required by the current conditions of this economy.

Posted by BoilerMan on March 28, 2007 at 11:35 AM

All monies should be disclosed.

Please forgive, no linky.

Right-Wing Group Hid Campaign Cash

ProgressOhio Study Reveals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 28, 2007
Contact: Brian Rothenberg, Executive Director

COLUMBUS -- A group that in 2004 advocated for passage of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage appears to have intentionally concealed its campaign donors and expenses, according to a complaint filed earlier today with Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Citizens for Community Values Action raised and spent more than $1.4 million to promote the amendment, known as Issue 1, but filed no campaign finance reports in 2004 or 2005.

CCVA’s only campaign finance report lists spending just $42,286.58, but those expenses are listed in 2006.

In forms filed with the IRS, however, CCVA it "advocated’" for Issue 1’s passage “through newsletters, newspaper ads, radio ads and televisions ads; succeeded in amending the Ohio state constitution."

In separate campaign reports required of corporations, CCVA said it gave more than $1.4 million to the pro-Issue 1 campaign, and that money was spent on television advertising, campaign mailings, polling and other campaign-related activities.

"The timing of the creation of CCVA, and the money it spent to promote Issue 1, suggest it was created to try and end-run campaign disclosure laws,’" said Brian Rothenberg, ProgressOhio’s executive director. Non-profits can give to ballot issues but they still have to follow Ohio’s election laws, he said, and those laws require PACs to detail the sources of their donations and expenditures.

"Transparency in elections is a value that must be enforced,’" Rothenberg said, "and whether this was an oversight or an effort to deceive is something the secretary of state will have to determine."

wow sally is here in the daytime? and again with the bullshit. i guess the fact that denmark produces 15 percent of its electricity with wind power is of no consequence, and that maryland could meet a large amount of its need that way is just fluff? no sally or pemon or whoever this idiot is wants us all to accept the religion of the saudis and peabody coal and just use our albuterol inhalers more....well the world has turned and that thinking isn't even popular among republicans anymore...you better start swimmin or you'll sink like a stone moron...

boy that new conservative majority that was going to rule for decades sure went down the toilet, hahahaha:

New Drive Afoot to Pass Equal Rights Amendment

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 28, 2007; Page A01

Federal and state lawmakers have launched a new drive to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, reviving a feminist goal that faltered a quarter-century ago when the measure did not gain the approval of three-quarters of the state legislatures.

The amendment, which came three states short of enactment in 1982, has been introduced in five state legislatures since January. Yesterday, House and Senate Democrats reintroduced the measure under a new name -- the Women's Equality Amendment -- and vowed to bring it to a vote in both chambers by the end of the session.
The renewed push to pass the ERA, which passed the House and Senate overwhelmingly in 1972 and was ratified by 35 states before skidding to a halt, highlights liberals' renewed sense of power since November's midterm elections. From Capitol Hill to Arkansas, legislators said they are seizing a political opportunity to enshrine women's rights in the Constitution.

"Elections have consequences, and isn't it true those consequences are good right now?" Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) asked a mostly female crowd yesterday at a news conference, as the audience cheered. "We are turning this country around, bit by bit, to put it in a more progressive direction."

poor rush and kkkarl and dobson, here come the feminists, the environmentalists, the socialists, the unionists...to ruin their children's minds with tales of utopia on earth...hahahaha

PerendaMonsuto,

The plant I was referring to in California is in Guyserville. Reno has hot water close to the surface. There was a subdivision in Reno that utilized hot ground water to heat the homes. That was some years ago.

There are some other hot spots in California around Lassen National Park.

Why can't they deep drill along the San Andreas Fault? I see all kinds of opportunity.

pay back is a bitch. and we're just getting started kids:

White House Withdraws Ambassador Nominee

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

By SAM HANANEL Associated Press Writer

March 28,2007 | WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Wednesday withdrew the ambassadorial nomination of businessman Sam Fox after Democrats denounced Fox for giving money to a controversial conservative group that undermined Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

Kerry, D-Mass., had criticized Fox because of a $50,000 contribution that Fox made in 2004 to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

i guess the fact that denmark produces 15 percent of its electricity with wind power is of no consequence.

- Denmark is a small windy country. 15% is just that. How do they generate the remaining 85%???

maryland could meet a large amount of its need that way is just fluff?

- More like wishfull thing. COULD is a helluva word.

wants us all to accept the religion of the saudis and peabody coal

- forget foriegn oil, we have all we need off the gulf coast and in Alaska.
- Coal from out west is cheap and plentiful.

BoilerMan,
"The fact is, any of the "alternate" forms of energy production offered are poor choices. When dissected to some degree, none have anywhere near the potential required by the current conditions of this economy."

Looks like the troll is being paid by the oil cartels to inhabit our blog.

We must use every opportunity for develping alternative energy and its bullshit about not having potential.

*Solar roof panels.
*Geothermal plants.
*Extracting methane from garbage dumps and running a generator rated in Megawatts. (California).
*Burning garbage to generate electricity (Modesto, California.
*Using cow and pig dung to produce Methane from which to generate electricity.
*Generating Methane from human waste as a byproduct of waste treatment.
*Hydropower
*Tidal power
*Wind power
*Nuclear power (Fission)
*Nuclear power (Fusion)

Want some more. Talk about being narrow minded.
I thought bush was the only moron ruining our lives.

Oh. I forgot one.

*Solar power beamed to earth from a huge array of mirrors in space. This is not only practical but is being developed by engineers.

Here's another which is currently in use throughout the world. It reduces the need for large amounts of electricity used in air conditioning.

A series of shallow water wells are drilled on a project site. Water is pumped from these wells and heat is extracted from the groundwater to heat a building. In the summer, the reverse is true. This eliminates the need for expensive air conditioning compressors.

what the stupid shit troll doesn't get is if you cut our oil imports by 5 percent the price per barrel goes thru the floor. immediately. why can't we get better trolls or better troll blocking.

...A newly released study by Stanford and University of Delaware researchers, including Kempton, says mid-Atlantic offshore wind could power the entire Eastern Seaboard, including transportation, with enough extra energy to meet a 50 percent growth in demand...

but then i know i waste my time because trolls don't care about science or facts, they only care about pushing some fool ideological line. and it is making them crazy that the public has awakened to the threat of global warming and climate change and is insisting on action being taken. too bad trolls, time and truth will win out over your lies and fantasies.

How Bush helped the GOP commit suicide.

March 27, 2007 | Democrats should give two cheers for George W. Bush. He and his political mastermind, Karl Rove, dreamed of achieving a permanent Republican majority. Instead, his disastrous presidency has dealt a devastating blow to the GOP, one from which it may not recover for many years.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2007/03/27/pew/

I fear we might blow it anyway...

Posted by Johnedwrd

*Solar roof panels.
- good for some energy offset at but requires conventional power generation for backup so no reduction in existing plants. Conventional plants generate at a set power level and can't ramp up/down on based on daily weather conditions so excess energy will transfer to grid.
- requires large banks of batteries which require environment -destroying nickel and other elements in short supply.

*Geothermal plants.
- impractical on large scale for US as best locations are currently national parks. Small scale homeowner heat capture possible but requires excessively high initial costs and large property area for in-ground system.

*Extracting methane from garbage dumps and running a generator rated in Megawatts. (California).
- possible with many years of development but at best could only offer small amounts locally.

*Burning garbage to generate electricity (Modesto, California.
- if burning coal is considered taboo, how is burning garbage OK? Even with best filters still has some pollution due to much higher levels of impurities. Low-sulfur coal is much cleaner and plentiful.

*Using cow and pig dung to produce Methane from which to generate electricity.
- small scale at best. Possible for a supplemental energy at site only. Very limited applications.

*Generating Methane from human waste as a byproduct of waste treatment.
- possible in limited quantities by requires tremendous infrastructure outlay and is a relatively unknown application.

*Hydropower
- Clean and efficient but requires huge infrastructure costs and his high environmental impact. On a decrease due to interference by environmental groups who value snail darters lifestyle over human lifestyle.

*Tidal power
- Good potential but limited application and requires huge infrastructure investment. Environment impact huge.

*Wind power
- Ugly (like oil derricks), limited locations with reliable winds and on coasts often same flight paths as migratory birds. Very destructive to birds- source of huge split aomng enviromentalists.

* (Fission)
- best choice of all offered and when properly maintained is very cheap. Waste is extremely hazardous and requires underground storage.

*Nuclear power (Fusion)
- mostly theoretical and currently in infant stage of development. In the same league as hydrogen fuels.

Want some more. Talk about being narrow minded.
I thought bush was the only moron ruining our lives.

Sure, why not?

oh yes... this one...

*Solar power beamed to earth from a huge array of mirrors in space. This is not only practical but is being developed by engineers.

Maybe in 100 - 500 years. Nay shift in transfer would result in ray-gun burning through all.

Posted by gregg
what the stupid shit troll doesn't get is...

What you mean is what this stupid person who doesn't agree with you... correct? Not all people who disagree with you are trolls or the world would be quite full of trolls.

Those with small insect-like brains think in that manner.

conservation? increased efficiency? wind power is no good because it is ugly?? but i guess those smoke stacks in the mid west that have accelerated acid rain poisoning of the adirondacks are beautiful as is the smog that causes increased asthma among inner city kids ( read people of color ) is attractive and so on. but this is a troll and determined to prove that this is the best of all possible worlds if we would just burn more coal and drill for more oil and the hell with the overall environment...so will let it go and let dog...after awhile these arguments will seem as quaint as the one's about how heavier than air machines could never stay aloft.

up yours sally. bbl.

We need to have an Patriot Act oversight group made up of three members of the Executive, Legislative and Judial branches, along with two civilians. One civilian a legal and the other a Constitutional scholar. We cannot trust the Constitution to one branch oversight.

Posted by gregg
conservation? [never used that word] increased efficiency? [never used that term] wind power is no good because it is ugly?? [yes, read the reports, many enviromental groups dislike entire valleys filled with it like north of Saltan Sea in CA - I have seen... quite ugly indeed] but i guess those smoke stacks in the mid west [old technology being gradually phased out in favor of much better scubber filtration] that have accelerated acid rain poisoning of the adirondacks are beautiful [might have similar effects from garbage buring plants - your suggestion)] as is the smog that causes increased asthma among inner city kids ( read people of color ) [yes, of course, white kids get KKK issued masks]is attractive and so on.

but this is a troll [again, one who disagress with you MUSt be a troll] and determined to prove that this is the best of all possible worlds if we would just burn more coal and drill for more oil and the hell with the overall environment...[nope, just offering up valaid arguments to offset yours] so will let it go and let dog...[huh?] after awhile these arguments will seem as quaint as the one's about how heavier than air machines could never stay aloft. [stupid comparison]

up yours sally. bbl.
Posted by gregg

Again, when cornered always result to small minded insults. Quite telling.

Just a thought you could have a seperate blog for poetry and Constitutional verse. Place where the Artmosphere of America can have Free Speech. Place where artists can freely express themselves.

If you consider all the costs of trying to piece together a make-shift patch of alternate energy generation and the inherent unreliability if such a "solution" one is far better off improving the two most plentiful and reliable sources of power we have, coal and oil.

There is as much coal energy beneath Wyoming as all the oil in the Mideast and there are vast oil deposits under the Gulf and up along the north slopes of Alaska that is managed properly will last us at least another 300 years.

The United States is the world's largest energy consumer in terms of total use, and ranks 7th on a per-capita basis.[1] The majority of this energy is derived from fossil fuels: in 2005, it was estimated that 40% of the nation's energy came from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 23% from natural gas. The remaining 14% was supplied by nuclear power, hydroelectric dams, and miscellaneous renewable sources.[2]

Transportation = 28% (61%) gasoline
Residential = 21% (32%) space heating
Industrial = 33% (22%) chemical production
Commercial = 17% (25%) lighting

WTF. It ain't rocket science. You either come up with an alternative source of energy to replace the one you are using up or you figure out a way to reduce what you are using.

Since I'm a simple fucker, how about driving 65mph instead of 80 on the freeway?

or

Instead of 75 degrees in the house, ya make it 70 degrees tops?

or

Instead of making 100 million plastic bags a year that wind up coming out some dophins ass, we use recycled paper ones?

and last but not least,

Last one out of the office at night, turn out the fucking light or use fluor bulbs only.

Too simple hey??

Oooops forgot, we'd have to have a government establish an energy policy that worked for us instead of Exxon(effin')Mobil.

If that don't happen in the next 12 months, maybe we as citizens of a global planet take the responsibility and do something like the above.

Ethanol?? give me a break. It'll be twice as expensive as Citgo gas and the same price as a gallon from Exxon.

Google this string of terms: problems alternate energy and read up on the negatives of all the proffered dreams...

one example is: http://egj.lib.uidaho.edu/egj09/youngqu1.html

Posted by gnois
The United States is the world's largest energy consumer in terms of total use,

True, this is do the standard of living we all enjoy (you too lad) as well as the fact we are the largest producer of goods for export. The energy used to maufacture good is included in that figure. This is slowly sliding over towards China who, when they get geared up, will make us look like pikers. Try and tell them to change their ways. Good luck with that!

All your suggestions on reducing our energy consumption are well-founded. I follow that same line of thought.

Ethanol?? give me a break. It'll be twice as expensive as Citgo gas and the same price as a gallon from Exxon.

Wise assumption... ethanol is all a scam.

Posted by PerendaMonsuto on March 28, 2007 at 02:58 PM

The argument for alternative sources is not just the fact that eventually, we are gonna run out of fossil based fuels, but, we are also breathing the shit that burning fossil based fuels creates.

On top of that, there is a pretty good chance that we will create a greenhouse environment that will pretty much wipe out anyone will alergies or a lung condition.

That will be followed by an ice age that an eskimoes balls won't survive.

So it's a pretty good guess that if you are going to promote fossil fuel generated energy sources that you also come up with some way to capture the carbon based emissions? Eh?

And if you are pushing North Slope or Alaskan oil, some way to get the sand out of the shit you suck up and then some place to deposit the sand where it doesn't become radioactive and glow in the dark. It's pretty stinky too. Every been around that crap. Get's right into your naval cavitiy and into every pore in your skin.

Nasty shit.

Posted by PerendaMonsuto on March 28, 2007 at 03:17 PM

ranks 7th on a per-capita basis

I like our per-capita rating. That means there are 6 more countries that use more energy per person than we do.

Probably those coconut eatin' militant Tongians. Naw, probably some upity bloody communist country who keep the lights on all night, drinking vodka.

I don't know too much about coal, except when I was a kid we had a coal furnace, and it was dirty, smelly, cumbersome, etc.

But I DO know that everything I have ever read, said not only will it take a good 10 years to get the oil out of alaska, there is very little there! Here is one of the Many articles on googling "amount of oil in alaska"

It is virtually impossible to get an unbiased assessment of the campaign to open the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. On one hand, the recoverable oil in the refuge, possibly amounting to as much as ten billion barrels, is enough oil to supply the entire needs of the United States for about 18 months.

While that sounds trivial, it isn't - the US consumes about 20 million barrels of oil per day, and at a rate of 1.5 million barrels per day from Alaska, 7.5% of America's oil consumption could be met for over 20 years

Put another way, this much Alaskan oil could reduce American oil imports by about 15%, American imports from the Middle East by over 25%. The effect of Alaskan oil on helping manage oil prices is significant.

But so what? Americans could reduce oil consumption far more than Alaska can produce oil, simply by eliminating the SUV's commercial vehicle exemptions from fuel efficiency standards, and by developing hybrid technologies, and by aggressively raising fuel efficiency requirements.

http://ecoworld.com/Home/Articles2.cfm?TID=360

Anybody see Lou Dobbs last night. He's unhinged. Try to corner that poor prosecutor that nailed those border patrol agents who wasted (15) rounds trying to cap a known drug smuggler and then promptly tried to cover it up.

Dobbs:
What's wrong with you, you let a known drug smuggler free??

Prosecutor:
But the Border Patrol agents lied, destroyed evidence and covered up what they had done.

Dobbs:
What's wrong with that? You had a drug smuggler and let him go?

Prosecutor:
They were tried in front of a jury of their peers.

Dobbs:
That don't matter. They are Border Patrol agents trying to capture a drug smuggler.

Prosecutor:
They tried to kill and unarmed man. They shot at him 15 times.

Dobbs:
So what? They were chasing an illegal mexican known drug smuggler.

Prosecutor:
We can't have our law enforcement lying, making up their own story, destroying evidence. That's not how our laws work and we can't have these kinds of people in our enforcing our laws.

Dobbs:
Who cares. You are wrecking my story. They were Border Patrol agents doing their job protecting our country from these illegal, fence jumping, drug smuggling mexicans that steal our jobs and then use all our hospitals and doctors. And you sir, are doing your best to protect them which makes you an insurgent or a Muslim or a democrat.

Last paragraph my own.

gnois, everything I read about that border agent story, says those agents did not even KNOW there were drugs in the guys's car, when they started shooting him ! Now, to just plain shoot at an unarmed man running to get back to the border when you have no known reason is a criminal act, and i don't care who they are. No one is above the law. ( As we are trying to prove every day with Bush and Cheney!)

Posted by PamB on March 28, 2007 at 03:35 PM

My point precisely and subtly. Look at the above figures on energy consumption and the source and then the highest percentage of use. I'm a proponent of finding ways to reduce energy consumption as opposed to spending a whole bunch of jack drilling or developing additional sources of energy.

Nobody seems to want to push that barrow for some reason. Maybe because there is less bucks in it?

Just sayin'

Posted by DianeD on March 28, 2007 at 03:38 PM

Thanks for jumping in. Forgot about Shell.

It's the old cost analysis thing. Right now, the oil companies are in fat city. they don't spend any money on infrastructure, they refine oil the same way the did, with the same money they spent, 30 years ago.

It's easy and it's cheap and it means bucco bucks in bonuses and shareholder return on investment. They could give two shits whether a barrel of oil is $30.00 or $100.00 cause it just get's passed right on through to the consumer.

Shale oil is going to be there tommorow and will still be there in a 100 years and won't be touched till....every drop is sucked out of the sand in the middle east.

I'm a proponent of finding ways to reduce energy consumption as opposed to spending a whole bunch of jack drilling or developing additional sources of energy.
Nobody seems to want to push that barrow for some reason. Maybe because there is less bucks in it?
Posted by gnois on March 28, 2007 at 03:44 PM

I have not seen that "What happened to the Electric Car' yet, but I hear it is a very clear depiction on HOW these Wealthy Oil companies do not WANT any alternatives. I, too am a proponent of finding new ideas. If the oil industry would back off and let some ideas get created, maybe we would not be held hostage by the Middle East any more.

Look at this one, btw. Looks like SwiftBoaters and their supporters, are getting their payback!!!

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Wednesday withdrew the ambassadorial nomination of businessman Sam Fox after Democrats denounced Fox for giving money to a controversial conservative group that undermined Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070328/ap_on_go_pr_wh/kerry_swift_boat

Posted by PamB on March 28, 2007 at 03:44 PM

Tell Lou Dobbs that. He's not interested in getting the facts out. He got bad information from the get go, ran with this and has spent the last month beating this poor prosecutor up and trying the case on his show.

What an arrogant dipshit. Loved the prosecutor though. He stayed focused, stated the facts and poor Lou look like he was gonna explode. Eyes started to water. Looked like a 12 years old who just got busting playing with his old fellow by his...mom.

He's done. Lost all credibility with this one.

I posted an article early this morning, about how Bush says let's leave it to the Troops as to when and if they come home!! Well, looks like they say "BRING US HOME" !

Opposition to the War Growing Among Troops
By Sarah Olson

Veterans for Peace members say they're not trying to pressure GIs to resist war. They want to educate soldiers about their rights. They know from experience that the military frowns on dissent and doesn't go out of its way to educate soldiers regarding constitutionally protected ways to express their opinions on issues like war and peace. Despite popular opinion to the contrary, soldiers do indeed have rights to express political dissent

Almost everyone responded favorably to Veterans for Peace, with many soldiers leaving the parking lot with videos and brochures, saying they'd look into the Appeal for Redress. While the majority of the media frames the public debate about the Iraq war in terms of supporting the troops vs. opposing the war, the men and women fighting it see things differently. Soldiers are increasingly expressing unabashed opposition to the war.

"I just want people to realize that we don't want to go over there. We're not looking forward to it," she said. "People are over there dying and suffering. Nothing has been accomplished. We've sacrificed a lot of our time, and a lot of people have died for all of this. And for what?"

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/032807B.shtml

Posted by PamB on March 28, 2007 at 03:52 PM

Heard that one earlier on Air America. This is so much fun. It's better than what happens during an election period. Everyday somebody is getting busted.

Dumbya is running out of friends real quick. He can't nominate anyone that isn't dirty.

Bunch of bottom feeders. You know the saying "Throw enough shit and some will stick" ?

With this mob, all of it is sticking.

Looks like holding hands in the Rose Garden is now out of the question.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, opening a summit meeting of Arab leaders here Wednesday, called the U.S military presence in Iraq "illegitimate" and warned that sectarianism could lead to all-out civil war.

"In beloved Iraq, blood flows between brothers in the shadow of illegitimate foreign occupation and hateful sectarianism, threatening a civil war," he said, in unusually strong criticism of the United States from a strong ally.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/28/news/arabs.php

Good afternoon fellow Democrats.

Bush today at the "Where's the Beef Convention"

"If we cannot muster the resolve to defeat this evil in Iraq, America will have lost its moral purpose in the world. And we will endanger our citizens, because if we leave Iraq before the job is done, the enemy will follow us here."

Oooooh no!! And after King Abdullahs comments today, will they come from Saudi Arabia too?

"God, they are everywhere Martha, where in the hell did we put that duck tape and by god woman, make sure there is plent of Campbells soup in the basement, dumbya say's we're gonna need it if we give up fighting these evil insurgents."

The few individuals responsible for selling U.S. night vision technology should be charged with treason. Treason is what we charge spies with when they sell secrets.

The result of the Republican Party playing business politics with National Security Protection now only protects this business from its license being revoked because then people from this business would be more likely to sell secrets.

In the meanwhile, the poor business will get tax breaks so it doesn’t go bankrupt which could sacrifice the economy at the peoples expense and the Republican party will let them send the tax payers pay its diaper expense in exchange for a 2008 contribution.

STATE OF NEW MEXICO SLANDERED AS LAX ON POLITICAL INVESTIGATIONS BY OWN SENATOR

Even though Senator Domenici of New Mexico won his Senatorial Race in 2002, he continued questioning sealed voter fraud investigations against the Democratic Party elect in a direct call on October 27, 2006 with former U.S. Federal Attorney David Iglesias before the 2006 Election. The Senator pursued his complaints against Mr. Iglesias even though the Senator was not up for election in 2006 and when the 2008 Election is one that the Senator may not even enter for a seventh Senatorial win.

As a matter of fact, Senator Domenici contacted Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez three times, as though three times were necessary, to complain that he thought David Iglesias was not doing his job well enough in prosecuting voter fraud in the State of New Mexico. A State that has a 95% success rate in prosecuting political corruption. Once, on September 23, 2005 before the 2006 Election, twice, on January 31, 2006 after the Election the Senator’s position was not up for, and the third time on April 4, 2006.

One might wonder if Senator Domenici’s obsessive worries with the New Mexico’s U.S. Federal Attorney’s abilities might as well had been in setting up the voter fraud against the Democratic elect himself? I mean, calm down Senator Domenici! Do your Republican constituents need to joke with you that maybe they need to ask New Mexico’s new U.S. Attorney, Chuck Rosenburg, to further investigate voter fraud in your 1972, 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996 and 2002 Election wins or what? You won six times already! Didn’t you???

Next thing you know political analysts are going to speculate that Karl Rove suspected that election fraud is why Senator Domenici was pushing for Iglesias dismissal and that in not being for sure, Rove thought he would protect the Republican Party politically just in case and dismiss Iglesias?

I found this on the Findlaw site and it really cracked me up!!!

Lawmakers Prod White House About Rove

WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers prodded the White House Wednesday for a new answer on whether President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, will testify about the firings of federal prosecutors. "We have not heard from you," Patrick Leahy of Vermont and John Conyers of Michigan, the Senate and House Judiciary committees' chairmen, wrote to President Bush's counsel, Fred Fielding.

Anybody else thinking Bushie's having yet another bad day?

Laura

Posted by ElizabethJW on March 28, 2007 at 05:05 PM

Isn't this the fourth of fifth time you have posted this?

Karl Rove thinks he protected his job in this attoney firing by misinforming The President and hid his involvement by involving certain Justice Department officials in the White Houses own resposibility, the dismissal decision process.

Good early evenin all:

Read this in tompaine.com:

After some back and forth between Inhofe and Gore, the new chair of the committee, Barbara Boxer of California, put a hand on Inhofe’s arm and said, “I want to talk to you a minute, please.” After Boxer suggested that Inhofe give Gore the time to answer his questions, Inhofe replied, “Why don’t we do this: at the end, you [Gore] can have as much time as you want to answer all the questions...” Boxer then interrupted: “No, that isn’t the rule. You’re not making the rules. You used to when you did this,” she said, holding up the chair’s gavel. “Elections have consequences. So I make the rules.”

Boxer spoke with a particular kind of authority: not angry, not loud, but unmistakably firm. There was no doubt who was in charge in that room. You could almost see the steam coming out of Inhofe’s ears, not only because he had been deprived of his power, but because he was deprived of it by a woman. She even held up the gavel, the symbol of that power, and practically taunted him with it. Freud couldn’t have scripted it much better.

The response in some quarters was unsurprising. Michael Savage, whose hateful rants are reportedly heard by 8 million radio listeners every day, hit the roof. Referring repeatedly to “foul-mouthed, foul-tempered women in high places bossing men around,” he opined that the image of a woman giving a man orders would lead to more terrorist attacks (or something like that—it was a little hard to follow).

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/03/28/scaring_the_pants_off_men.php

****

Michael Savage is an idiot. But, James Inhofe is absolutely repulsive. He is the sort of Republican that is a slave of the oil industry. He is the sort who doesn't want to do anything any pollution and certainly nothing about global warming simply because Lee Raymond commanded him to stop all actions that may hurt oil company profits. Inhofe is the sort who will keep our children dying in iraq and rip the taxpayer off just so the oil companies can get their PSA agreement and make trillions in iraq over the next thirty years. Inhofe is a slime and enablers such as Savage are slime as well.

Hold America's head up for the beheaded and an American soldier.

Let us not let Bush's veto on the withdrawal of Iraq make us stumble in faith...

In November, 2008, it is going to be over for Republican Party leadership like Armageddon. IT'S OVER FOR YOU BABY! JUST LIKE THE IRAQ WAR! IT'S OVER!

Good afternoon, ALL!

rj, that Pug Slug Inhofe is trying to derail Gore's planned concert on the Mall this July because he doesn't believe in Global Warming.

Inhofe vows to block Live Earth event.

"If we cannot muster the resolve to defeat this evil in Iraq, America will have lost its moral purpose in the world. And we will endanger our citizens, because if we leave Iraq before the job is done, the enemy will follow us here."
****

I find it entertaining that Bush choose the Cattleman;s Convention to make this inane speech.

Why doesn't Bush admit the truth? He is not leaving Iraq because of the oil!

Letter to all members of Congress:

The American people need to be told the truth about Iraq. Ron Suskind in his book about the Bush administration interviewed Paul O'Neill extensively. Mr. O'Neill was at staff meetings with former Secretary Rumsfeld who had a map of Iraq with the names of the corporations that would control the oil fields. This meeting took place before 9/11. Iraq has always been about the oil.

Recently, I learned that the Bush administration is pushing the Maliki government to grant them a PSA. With a PSA, the american oil corporations would get 70% of the profits for the next thirty years. In addition, Bush has been building large permanent bases in proximity of the oil fields.

Billions of taxpayer dollars along with the lives of America's children are being spent to make Exxon-Mobil obscenely wealthy. This is not right.

Please confron the GOP on the PSA. The real reason the GOP refuses to leave Iraq is that
they intend to stay there for the next thirty years protecting the interests of the oil corporations.

Please see these articles:

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/2005/crudedesigns.htm

http://www.organicconsumers.org/politics/iraq120505.cfm

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=40132

As you can see, even industry trade groups are talking about the Iraq PSA.

When the antiwar movement said no more blood for oil, they were laughed at. Who is doing the laughing now? It's the American people that are being played as suckers by the corporations.

****

Where's the beef? It's in oil companies hands and Bush intends to dish it out while America's children die protecting it and the taxpayer pay for it.

rj, that Pug Slug Inhofe is trying to derail Gore's planned concert on the Mall this July because he doesn't believe in Global Warming.
****

I think Inhofe is a bit of mad man. He must be owned locked stock and barrel by the oil companies.

so did the troll finally glue its mouth to a tailpipe so it could appreciate the fumes?

troll if you are lurking,

i mentioned conservation and increased efficiency because they are the fastest ways to reduce usage.

i mentioned the disparate effect pollutants have on inner city children and hence those of color because that is a well established epidemiological fact.

i mention the smokestacks of power plants in the midwest because they have not been subjected to the technological improvements that have been available for many years because of piggish greed on the part of the power companies and THEY ARE STILL SPEWING THE CRAP INTO THE AIR.

wind power is a proven viable way to cut the use of fossil fuels. this is a fact. the aesthetics need to be overcome and will.

you are a good little troll who is supporting the status quo which is destroying the friggin planet...and so yeah...screw yourself.

Speaking of mad man, how about this from McCain:

It's tough. It's dangerous. It's long. It's hard. Many mistakes were made. But I am confident, if given the opportunity, we can have success. And the consequences of failure -- the consequences of failure are catastrophic, because if we come home -- if you read Zarqawi and bin Laden, they want to follow us home.
****

Message to McCain ... Zarqawi is dead. You are in little danger from his ghost. Bin Laden is having a nice spring break in Mussaraf's palace and Bush said he doesn't care about him anyway.

So when are these Puggies going to drop their cover stories? Come on Puggies, man up ... you are all suppose to be tough guys. Admit that Iraq is all about the oil. You got it and you are not going to give it up!

so did the troll finally glue its mouth to a tailpipe so it could appreciate the fumes?
****

gregg, I started a new business. I am selling Pollution In a Can to Republicans. I have a really good package price on Pollution In A can along with Water Laced with Lead, Arsenic and Mercury.

Hey rjsnj!
You wanna start a business selling Pollution in a Can to Republicans?
Come on up to Butte, we have a whole Pit of it here, and it's already got the all the lead, arsenic and mercury in it, plus a few other nasty ingredients!
The Chamber of Commerce will probably want a cut, though.

The Chamber of Commerce will probably want a cut, though.
****

They always do!

I can make a killing on this idea ... well, I don't mean literally. It wouldn't be any fun without the Pug Uglies ...

On the other hand ...

rjsnj, i am so tired of these no nothing right wingers who claim to know everything. they are true conservatives in the sense that they want everything to either stay the same or go backwards. i can imagine them arguing that whale oil is the most economical way to light a home and electricity will never be accepted by civilized people.

Let us sarcastically ask why don’t Democratic Officials just apologize for leaving Iraq too soon right now to make a point?

Because as I have said many times on the blog, the Republican Administration is stalling leaving Iraq until the next Democratic administration so that their party can then blame any further chaos in breaking out in Iraq then on the Democratic Party for leaving Iraq too soon.

Let us beat them to the punch, let us send Hillary and the Women in White over to the White House to deliver the message of apology now and see if the Republican administration and elect take it sincerely?

WE HAVE ALREADY LEFT IRAQ TOO SOON ACCORDING TO THE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATS MUST APOLOGIZE AND TAKE OUR LUMPS NOW.

Because as I have said many times on the blog, the Republican Administration is stalling leaving Iraq until the next Democratic administration so that their party can then blame any further chaos in breaking out in Iraq then on the Democratic Party for leaving Iraq too soon.
*****

ElizabethJW,

Republicans do not intend to ever leave Iraq. I said a long time ago that the surest sign of the GOP goals will be if they build permanent bases near the oil fields. That's exactly what they are doing.

Follow the oil, Find the Grand Oil Party (GOP) ripping us all off once again to benefit their corporate masters.

they are true conservatives in the sense that they want everything to either stay the same or go backwards
****

gregg, they are regressives. They want to eliminate all regulation. They want to bilk the public for every penny they can get. They will gladly have americans die to protect oil corporate profits.

Bush "Administration" Goes Crazy Corrupt: The GSA
by Kagro X
Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 09:42:35 AM PDT

In what's become yet another festering boil of corruption on the "hind end" of the Bush "administration," General Services Administration (GSA) chief Lurita Doan was called on the carpet before the House Government Oversight committee today, where she put on her best "I don't recall" show for the incredulous panel.

Watch the shameless Doan duck and dodge when she's asked to explain what in God's name she thought she was doing when she convened a national teleconference of GSA managers for a briefing from White House political staffers on how they could best use federal government resources to help "our candidates" in 2008 -- a presentation, by the way, that included a list of the Top 20 targeted Democrats for 2008.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/28/122134/409

*****

This is another huge scandal emerging. The GSA absolutely can not be used for political purposes. Yet that's exactly what the WH was doing and they have been caught red handed. This reminds me very much of Bush using the social security administration workers during his "snake oil" privatization tours. It's absolutely against the law. I believe that Frank Lautenberg raised the issue and of course the GOOPERS in the Senate killed the investigation off.

BAGHDAD, Wednesday, March 28 — Hundreds of Iraqis detained in the Baghdad security crackdown have been crammed into two detention centers run by the Defense Ministry that were designed to hold only dozens of people, a government monitoring group said Tuesday.

The numbers suggested that the security plan’s emphasis on aggressive block-by-block sweeps of troubled neighborhoods in the capital had flooded Iraq’s frail detention system, and appeared to confirm the fears of some human rights advocates who have been predicting that the new plan would aggravate already poor conditions. . . . In one of the detention centers, in the town of Mahmudiya, south of Baghdad, 705 people were packed into an area built for 75, according to Maan Zeki Khadum, an official with the monitoring group. The other center, on Muthana Air Base, held 272 people in a space designed to hold about 50, he said, and included two women and four boys who were being held in violation of regulations that require juveniles to be separated from adults and males from females.

Good to know they learned their lesson about planning for the consequences of precipitous military action. That new security plan, otherwise known as escalation, has all the makings of another Abu Ghraib. Congress, tie this President's hands on Iraq policy. Please.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/28/13424/8339

****

Post Abu Ghraib, Iraq turned very violent. It's well on the way once again.

BBL

Good afternoon,

because if we leave Iraq before the job is done, the enemy will follow us here."

I see Bush is back to shilling that strawman argument again.

First, "the job" is not a military mission. The real reason our troops are in Iraq is to protect the Iraqi oil fields for the next 30 years or till the multinational oil companies have milked them dry.

That's a job for Blackwater and the oil companies.

Second, Bush tries to get us to agree that the 9/11 terrorists came from Iraq. A full 73% of American now agree that they came from Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Bush's assertion is ludicris. He wants us to choice one or both of his false statements. We don't have to accept either.

So there really isn't any dilema here. There is no enemy in Iraq...just a bunch of pissed out people who want the invaders to get out of their country so they can put it back together again without any more outside interference.

Bush is full of BS. He's wasting his breath.

If he's afraid that the troops returning home is a bad omen....for him...then he should resign and run off to Paraguay and hide. Because the troops arecoming home...not in 30 years....but soon.

However, I can see why Bush might be concerned. He's made so many enemies in the last four years that someone from the Middle East is going to come after him sooner or later.

That's the Secret Service's problem... not the combined forces of the military, Reserves, and National Guard of the United States.

Why should we keep 165,000 troops in Iraq to protect one dopey doorknob in the White House? Resign you coward. Our troops are coming home sooner not later.

I see your point about the permanent bases near oil fields rjsnj that we are never going to totally leave Iraq now. However there still are separate political interests of the Republican Party around the Iraq as well. Especially during this election period.

What if...

The date is 1APR[insert your early 21st century year here]. It's a nice day outside. You're on your way to work and you're listening to your favorite talk radio show on AM or satellite radio. The next thing you hear is the Emergency Alert System sounding however, this time, it is not a test. A handful of nuclear bombs have gone off in the U.S..

Why this happened, who did it, and where fault lies is irrelevant to the conversation, for now. The EMP generated by the blast in your area has fried every circuit board, including all cars made after about 1985, for a hundred mile radius. The electrical power grid for your region will take months, if not years, to get back online. People will be in shock then, full panic mode.

There will be no open supermarkets, gas stations, schools, or anything else for that matter. Your job is over because your business can't operate without electricity or motor vehicles. You can't go to the local unemployment office because all of their computers are fried. FEMA wasn't equipped to handle Katrina and Rita, do you really think they'll be prepared for this? Most of the Army is still in Iraq and overseas. Odds are, they'll be prearing for retaliation. What about your prescriptions? Of course, you have a two or three month supply on hand. Don't you? How are you going to the drug store if you don't?

We saw how the New Orleans police force partially disintegrated after just a week or two. Will your police force fare better? Do really expect to get assistance from abroad?

What do you do? Are you prepared? What is your catastrophe plan? Do you even have one? Can you survive with what you have on hand for a week? How about a month? How about three months? Groceries, prescriptions, fuel to keep warm or run your generator, or do you have a generator? Security for your home, your town, your state?

Some may think this is all balderdash. Some may think that I am guilty of fear-mongering, supporting the current administration's position on Iraq, which I do not, or some other nefarious motive. Some will say something to the effect of, "I'm not going to live my life any other way otherwise the terrorists win." Some will foolishly say, they won't strike here again.

We all know how this President has severely damaged our reputation and standing around the world. We all know that there are millions, yes millions, of people and a number of states, namely North Korea, Iran, and others, who want to do harm to the U.S. for various reasons some justified, some not. If you do not believe me, watch Al-Jazeera English for a day or two.

So I ask you again, as fellow Americans, are you really ready? If you're not, then why?

So I ask you again, as fellow Americans, are you really ready? If you're not, then why?

Posted by BobVADemHawk on March 28, 2007 at 06:46 PM

jeezus chripes on a bike, bob...i just freakin' got home from work.

ready? f*ckin' eh, boy. ain't no gettin' ready. what the hell is this about? have you lost your ever lovin' mind?

it's simple. just get the plastic sheeting and duct tape. wrap it around your head and think positive thoughts. leave a vent hole like you do when you nuke a dinner in the microwave, and hope some life form can dine on your tasty remains.

Follow the oil, Find the Grand Oil Party (GOP) ripping us all off once again to benefit their corporate masters.

Posted by rjsnj on March 28, 2007 at 06:18 PM

rj, i thought it was the Greedy Oil Pigs --my bad

Gunmen kill dozens in Iraqi town
Gunmen are reported to have killed at least 70 Sunni men in the north-western Iraqi border town of Talafar. Full Story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6502337.stm

Perry: A Baghdad bomb site everyone should see
Story Highlights• CNN's Cal Perry films Baghdad bombing site
• Perry got permission to film from blood-drenched security chief
• Iraq's deputy prime minister seriously wounded in attack; nine killed
By Cal Perry

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/28/btsc.perry.iraq/index.html

Posted by puggles on March 28, 2007 at 05:12 PM

hi laura, that's precious. hope you're doing fine--it's nice to see you.

Posted by BobVADemHawk on March 28, 2007 at 06:46 PM

I don't have to worry, Bob. The Rapture will come and take me away from any Republican nightmare. Gotcha.

Seriously, Bob, what can any of us do? When your time comes, it comes. The clever and fast of foot will survive. The rest of us will perish.

The best way to deal with disasters is to find a way to divert them.

Instead of building more bombs when we already have enough to knock the planet off it's axis, we should be busy building alliance and treaties that stop conflicts from reaching this point.

If you know that polluting the skys and waterways can affect our climate and cause widespread damage, you join with the rest of the world to set policy that will stop it.

The He-man Woman Haters Club tried it their way and it just doesn't work. Nobody is scared of Bush or even takes him seriously. The civilized world is meeting without him and are content to know that he only has another 22 months left in office.

The people who have the skills and talents to solve problems are working on political and scientific problems. And when we get back control of our power structure from these greedy, faith-based incompetents, we will work with the rest of the world to circumvent disasters...and build new ways to cooperate when its necessary to deal with those disasters we can't stop.

We have nothing to fear but our own lack of determination.

Posted by fade2bluz on March 28, 2007 at 06:52 PM

Nice to see you too, Fade. Hope your day went well.

Just to clarify, I wasn't referring to an all-out nuclear exchange between us and the former Soviet Union. In that case, your plastic wrap - vent hole analogy would be spot on.

We agree that the duct tape and plastic wrap scenario is a joke. But what about a limited exchange? Surely your life and the lives of your family warrant some degree of preparedness?

I ask this to try to understand why some people do not prepare or want to prepare for what is, IMHO, a constantly growing threat from enemies abroad, and from here, for that matter.

Posted by SandyH on March 28, 2007 at 07:07 PM

The people who have the skills and talents to solve problems are working on political and scientific problems. And when we get back control of our power structure from these greedy, faith-based incompetents, we will work with the rest of the world to circumvent disasters...and build new ways to cooperate when its necessary to deal with those disasters we can't stop.

We have nothing to fear but our own lack of determination.

Thanks for your insight, Sandy. Well said.

fade,

You need a drink. Share one with Bob, please. How did Pelosi say it today? "Simmer down."

Don't you know we're on the eve of destruction? I believe that was the name of a song back in the 60's. It didn't happen.

Does anyone watch that soap opera "Jericho"? Pure hysteria and comedy with touching moments. I love how Hollywood and the fundies all think people will hunker down in one place after a nuclear war and wait for the outside world to destroy them.

"Tremors" is my favorite disaster film. The "enemy" are big worms with fangs that can be blown up like gophers in their holes...or hit in the head with trash can lids. I love those movies. I think there were two or three of them made.

Gotta get back to work. That vacation I had went entirely too quick. Y'all take care.

Posted by SandyH on March 28, 2007 at 07:19 PM

fade,

You need a drink. Share one with Bob, please. How did Pelosi say it today? "Simmer down."

I'll have a vodka martini, please. Thank you.

Posted by BobVADemHawk on March 28, 2007 at 07:16 PM

I got what you were saying. And these issues must be raised because there are far too many folks in high places won't face reality.

But we are not alone. There's a whole network out of rational, creative thinkers who are keeping the resistance alive.

Written during the Height of Nam, sung by Barry Mc Guire, updated for the Chimp.

Eve Of Destruction Video

"The more things change...."

Hi, DPD.

I missed your link to that Regent University thread over on one of the other progressive blogs....until late late last night. It was great.

These pod people are like the occult. I can't believe Bush put them in positions where they could do so much damage to his administration.

Cheney must be drunk most of the time. I can't see him surrounding himself with such lamebrains. He's no Einstein, but at least he expects some degree of cunning from his flunkies.

Dems:

FYI, I've been watching the news coverage this evening on CNN and MSNBC and I'm concerned that the fact the House and the Senate approved funding for the troops is being lost, due to debate with regard to the timelines.

TO OUR LEADERS, WHEN SPEAKING TO THE MEDIA, PLEASE STRESS THE FACT THAT IF BUSH VETOES THE BILL ONCE IT LEAVES THE JOINT COMMITTEE AND ARRIVES ON HIS DESK, HE IS VETOING FUNDING FOR THE TROOPS.

We need to make sure the media reports this story as accurately as possible. The Democrats in Congress are funding the troops, but they are also sending a signal to Iraq that our commitment there is no permanent. If Bush vetoes the bill, HE is vetoing funding for the troops and attacking the legislature's constitutional role in our government.

Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director, said, “It appears that White House staff members routinely violated the law by using RNC email accounts for official business. The public deserves to know how the White House explains this end-run around the law.” Sloan continued, “Congress passed the PRA to make clear that White House records belong to the American people; this administration is prioritizing legacy over legality.”

CREW’s letter to the White House Office of Administration and supporting documents are available at CREW’s website.

Hi, Sandy. These IDIOTS really believe that God ONLY talks to G.W. Crack-Head. They apparently never learned that the Voice of God is so powerful that merely hearing it would reduce lowly mortals to a pool of quivering flesh, and because of that He communicated with Moses through a burning hash pipe, or something like that; and He had to send an Archangel to relay the message that Mary was knocked up.

Yet THESE glorified brain stems THINK that the alcoholic cocaine abusing child molesting teenager raping MORON was CHOSEN by God to ruin the Earth?

THEY. ARE. INSANE. AND. DANGEROUS!

Watching the news, I realize both the House and the Senate have fully funded the troops, but I am concerned that someone who has not been following the story closely will become confused.
We can't allow that to happen.

We need to tell the media "We've funded the troops and have set a timeline. We offered to negotiate and work with the President, but he refused to speak with us. He has chosen to veto funding for the troops and he has refused to acknowledge that the legislature has a constitutional role to play in this matter."

bbl

Sandy H

your buddy the war hawk, blogging on company time, continues to amaze me. you did not appreciate the humor. i was mocking him.

there is no way to prepare for nuclear attack and he's a hawk. hello, irony? we can thank hawks of any party affiliation for the insanity called "defense" and the sinkhole where all the money goes

but you were so right about the drink.

DPD and Sandy

Melanie Fifth Amendment is a perfect illustration of how dangerous this Regents game really is. Robertson's an old political whiz, setting up a communications (propaganda) system on radio and the college systems are using home schooled kids (after persuading their parents who listen to the radio that the gov't schools hate jesus) to fill positions just like little Melanie's

Sandy, you're very flip and positive about how this will be a challenge. my attitude is much less certain that we will be able to take back the air waves...and stop this planned insanity.

never EVER think this was not deliberate and patiently executed. they've been at this since the sixties...i mean Pat.

THEY. ARE. INSANE. AND. DANGEROUS!

Posted by DPD on March 28, 2007 at 07:43 PM

indeed! Science? nothing but a theory.

Alumni

Sharon Weston Broome: Current Louisiana State Senator

1984 graduate of the School of Communication & the Arts

Monica Goodling: Controversial Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Justice (2001-March 2007)
1999 graduate of Regent University Law School

Lisa Kruska :Current Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor
1988 graduate of the School of Government

Bob McDonnell : Current Attorney General of the State of Virgnia
Graduate of the School of Law and Government

Nevers Mumba Vice President of Zambia in 2003
Former student in the Robertson School of Government

Bush said imposition of a "specific and random date of withdrawal would be disastrous" for U.S. troops in Iraq and he predicted that lawmakers would take the blame if the money ran short.

This idiot can't even insult someone without making an ass of himself. How can you be specific and random at the same time?

Every prediction Bush has made about this war has been wrong. If we are not out of Iraq by January, 2009, he and the Republicans will get the blame...hell, 73% of the American people already blame them.

Kev,

The American people hear loud and clear that Bush and the Republicans want to continue this futile occupation...and we Democrats don't.

That's all that is important from now on. We are doing The Peoples business and the Republicans are rejecting their will.

True, Bush is rejecting funding for the troops. But does that really make any difference from the way he has funded their effort to this point? He's always given them short shift.

The funding isn't going to make the situation in Iraq any less dangerous for our troops. Bush sent our forces over there without the right equipment and a plan to secure the country. He didn't adequately fund the the long-term rehabilitation and care of the wounded.

And now he's re-deploying some of the wounded back into peril unhealed and without the right training. The American public is well aware of all of this now. They are not delusional.

They almost have to assume that he would at some point cut the funding for everything but Halliburton's no-bid contracts.

Whenever things go wrong in Iraq, Bush always takes out his spite on our troops...because they are the most vunerable and helpless to criticize his incompetence. He enjoys bullying the very troops he is responsible to protect as Commander-in-Chief.

Our leadership must stand firm and not worry about funding what will probably go to bribes to members of this new Islamic theocracy and al Sadr's militias.

* * * * *

Does Congress have the time and resources to carefully look over this supplemental budget request -- line by line -- to see where Bush wants to spend this money? You can't assume that it's for Iraq. I wouldn't be surprised if there are hidden items earmarked for an attack on Iran.

If not, dump it on the internet and let the blogosphere go over it with a fine tooth comb. Remember, the proof is in the fine print.

later.

Posted by fade2bluz on March 28, 2007 at 07:49 PM

fade,

I can't keep all the folks straight who come in here infrequently. I can only keep my own sanity by addressing what is written here.

Your irony wasn't lost on me. But what's the point in arguing with the hawks when we can poke holes in their logic so easily.

I see progress being made in Congress now where I didn't a few weeks ago. I'll hold on to that fact and keep on believing that there are others in the world who want us to succeed as much as we do.

You keep on doing it your way and I'll do it mine. Between us, maybe it will come togther.

I have to run some errands and grab a bite of dinner. bbl maybe.

ah, the religious school. what fertile ground

Taliban commanders have warned that they have more than 2,000 suicide bombers ready to be launched ahead of their planned massive spring offensive.

In sunny Khost province, where the governor's guards stand at attention with fresh flowers in their hair, the relatively new phenomenon of suicide bombing has angered residents and altered shopping habits.

One local religious leader refers to the suiciders, who stream in from Pakistan on foot, on bicycle and on motorcycles, as Osama bin Laden's "bastard children". Locals say many of the bombers are war orphans raised in virulently anti-American madrassas, or religious schools.

"They don't have a family, and so al-Qaeda and rogue elements in Pakistan's intelligence agencies nurture them and instill in them wills of steel," said Major Bismullah, a former intelligence official in Khost who now acts a police chief on Khost's newly paved "suicide highway".

As elsewhere in the Islamic world, al-Qaeda is a facilitator of terror, rarely the direct instigator. Bin Laden's experts corral anti-American sentiment within disparate, home-grown Islamic groups and launch young men over the mountains toward martyrdom. At least some of them are being pushed across the border with a blessing from Egyptian Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden's wizened and bespectacled ideological lieutenant, says a senior Afghan intelligence official in Kabul.

In Khost, three major mountain passes link Pashtun tribesmen across the disputed Durand Line that separates Pakistan and Afghanistan. But there are dozens of buzrao, or goat paths, which bombers can navigate unseen by border guards. One lost bomber is known to have stopped to ask a group of small children for directions to downtown Khost. At least two recent bombers arrived at their target on bicycles.

"The other side of the border is heavily populated and there is a concentration of extremist religious schools there," said Khost Governor Arsallah Jamal. "We are an ideal target because they can simply walk into a booming metropolitan area from Pakistan within hours."

Bob, I got one word for you: Paranoia.

I spent my entire youth, ducking under desks or filing into the school gym and putting my head against the walls. We envied those people who were wealthy enough to have bomb shelters. I woke up nights as a kid in a sweat with fear gripping my heart, as I dreamed bad dreams.

I will be DAMNED if I will live the rest of my life out like that! If there are any nukes going off in the US, it will be from our own government's incompetence. In case you don't know the size, there is no way a middle east terrorist can smuggle something like that into this country. and we have aviation tracking systems, etc. Russia is currently pissed at some kind of blocking thing we are building in Europe right now.

No, YOU worry if you want to , and stock up on water and K-rations. I won't

Obama for America Conference Call at 7 central tomorrow night!
1-800-701-9724
Access Code 853505 (it might be 852505) Robo call was hard to understand.

Freedom of Speech--are you organizing a party?

{{{Pam}}}

thank goodness! i've agreed with bob once, that i recall. he's fun to argue with and i expect that's why he pops in. he knows this is a peacenik crowd.

when i got the Pelosi snark given to Bush i wondered if i fell through the looking glass...

Pam, i was so disgusted with that independant AIPAC for Joe loser yesterday i couldn't even blog...

we did go out and celebrate the victory, though. it's quite major really, considering we're looking at just over two months in action!

fade2bluz on March 28, 2007 at 08:35 PM,

How you doin' fade? Shoe's off, kicked back, finished with evening sustenance, double-martini included (of course, I would not know how to make a single martini).

Did the religious leader,of your 8:35 post, seem to think of what these children have lived through? Their parents killed, friends killed, all other relatives killed, bombs perennially exploding all around them, and none of this had any affect on their willingness to strike back?

{{{fade}}}}

Bob rightly names himself as 'hawk' anyways. I would think when he sees no one else here shares his views, that he would confine himself to what he DOES agree with us on. But as we know, some people like to rattle cages, it is their hobbies!

did you see Bush pulled that Swift Boat donator today from consideration for an ambassador? One more slap in his face! hehehe

be right back.

...disgusted with that independant AIPAC for Joe loser yesterday i couldn't even blog...

Posted by fade2bluz on March 28, 2007 at 08:46 PM

Fade,

That is why I sent a thank you message to both Senator Hagel and Senator Smith, and requested (upblog) for others to do the same. We complain when they do not listen, and without their votes we'd be sunk.

Yes, that was sweet Pam! These pesky videotapes and public records are making it hard on them.

The subpoenas are ready for Karly and Harriet, the popcorn is ready to pop. This is going to be good.

We need to investigate, indict, convict, repeat.

Over and over and over. Impeachment requires too many votes. Justice and truth are good enough to get the job done.

PamB,

I hope you gave Lieberman a good email blistering.

I would have, but the last time I emailed him I was met with a reply stating that he was not Senator, and that I should write my concerns to my own Senator.

{{{David}}} i saw that and commend you for your actions and your posts. i followed your advice, as well. it makes me feel good to express my gratitude. sometimes, you even hear back from the staff.

isn't it sickening what they're doing to those children? imagine how many orphans have been created with the Shock & Awe Shucks...

there is a movie coming out on Christmas this year, Charlie Wilson's War. it details the bad old days in the eighties, when the CIA taught the mujahadeen all their dirty tricks, which included Osama bin Laden. then we left them high and dry.

they probably would've turned on us anyway. funny how the Afghan muj think they defeated the Soviet Union, when it was really ronnie raygun, jah!

lurk-bbl

Time for full house!

Not good, not good. The White House Counsel's Office gave explicit sign off to the DOJ's letter falsely claiming Rove and Miers played no role in Tim Griffin's appointment as US Attorney. And the sign off came from Chris Oprison, the guy at the Counsel's office who Sampson had told about Rove's and Miers' role only a couple months earlier.

ouch

SandyH

Good post. I agree Bush has under-funded the toops and short-changed them... especially the wounded troops. I also agree that Bush has failed to keep track of the funds appropriated for the Iraq War. Billions have been wasted and lost.

I don't want the troops to be hung-out to dry due to Bush's stupidity. I'm concerned Bush is so arrogant, he would leave the troops over there regardless of whether they have funding.
Afterall, look how he's allowed wounded veterans to be treated.

It's important to me that either A) the troops are fully funded and B) the troops are brought home within the next 1-2 years. The Democratic House and Senate are trying to implement a combination of the A and B, which, as you said, represents the will of the people. They are trying to ensure the troops are funded, but they also want to ensure that the world knows our commmitment is not unending.

The legislature has the constitutional authority to appropriate moneys and ensure the executive is accountable for the moneys it appropriates. The funding/spending clauses in the Constitution give the legislature this authority.

I saw Pelosi's recent statement to the press and I thought it was brilliant. I wrote my earlier posts because I was worried the media would lose sight of the fact the Democrats funded the troops. We provided the president with every dollar he asked for, but we demanded accountability from the president in the form of benchmarks and a deadline. I thought her statement was terrific.

Hi Kev

i'm confused about what "fully funded" means, and what "victory" is, how it's measured and so on.

but Pelosi is brilliant and your concern that the "media" will turn this against us is spot on.

the so-called press hasn't had much oversight over the last twelve years, either. we need to find a way to compete. Air America, NovaM and some of the other progressive stations are a start, but only a bite

the corporate media will continue to represent their own self-interest. Bush will continue to do what he's been doing for all these years and the press will not likely turn on him. not for a long time.

the last thing the corporate whores want is oversight. their greed made all this possible. we really couldn't have done it without their help. remember all the free press they gave the Swift Boat Liars? i do.

Just a quick popping in, for those who care...for those that don't, use the wheel thingamagig on your mouse.

Hooray! I'm still director of elections!

I did come in second though! And the best part was that my mother was well enough to attend and vote for her daughter. Life is good.

Enjoy the evening, everyone.

It's important to me that either A) the troops are fully funded and B) the troops are brought home within the next 1-2 years. The Democratic House and Senate are trying to implement a combination of the A and B

Kev,

You think like most Americans...and probably in just that order. It's good that you care so much about the welfare of our troops and aren't shy about voicing your concern that they might suffer.

I get caught up in the politics too often.

SandyH,

FYI, I am also disgusted by the no-bid contracts and the fact troops had inadequate equipment to fight a war they never should have had to fight in the first place. Bush's rhetoric with regard to funding the troops or supporting the troops is disgusting when viewed in light of his record.

Beyond that, I think the concept of preemptively attacking a country that even the Bush Administration admitted was not an "imminent threat" is absurd and disgusting.

We can't go around attacking countries for something that could possibly happen ten years into the future. What would happen if people behaved like that in every day social settings? In terms of social settings, the Bush Doctrine is analogous to an individual walking the streets and preemptively stabbing anyone who looked at him in an awkward or threatening manner so as to prevent the possibility of a threat materializing. Ironically, one can imagine the individual’s actions would soon cause him to be mauled by a mob of angry citizens.

The fact Bush manipulated intelligence with regard to the Aluminum Pipes and the Uranium from Niger in order to manufacture a threat from Iraq, and he then verbally attacked anyone who questioned the veracity of his statements, makes the situation all the more disgusting.

After the President started the War, I hoped it would go well. As recently as five months ago, I thought there was a possibility the situation could be stabilized. Now, I don't think the situation will stabilize until we leave and the Iraqi people settle this. I think any stabilization that occurs due to the presence of our troops will be transient. I think the Democrats are trying to bring this disaster to a close within the next year or so, and I think that’s the right policy.

Essie,

Great news indeed, Director! Think paper trail in '08!

Posted by fade2bluz on March 28, 2007 at 09:42 PM

fade,

The MSM is in big trouble. So are the cable guys. The Right hasn't trusted them for decades. Now the Left doesn't trust them. And the Center doesn't have the time or doesn't care about watching the news.

That leaaves them with a shrinking audience who is skepical of anything they say.

I wouldn't worry about the public changing their mind about this occupation. We have always been a pretty isolationist country. Iraq is seen as just one in a long line of disppointing policy disasters that the Republicans tricked us into accepting.

No one is amused. No one is impressed. No one likes losers.

We Americans deserve better and get disgusted pretty fast with those who can't produce. The Republicans have to be some of the biggest underachievers in history.

The last seven years have been tough, but the Republican reign of terror is coming to an end or at least its beginning to die a slow and painful death.

Posted by Esmeralda on March 28, 2007 at 09:49 PM Hooray! I'm still director of elections!

Congrats, Jacque. And thankyou. I'm glad your mom was able to make it out to the polls.

{{{Essie}}}

life is good. so is that day job, sistah! congratulations...let me guess, bubbles?

Fade and SandyH:

Yeah the terms "fully funded" and "victory" are definitely loaded. I think most Americans agree with us right now in that they don't want the troops left high and dry; they want them to have the equipment they need so long as they're stuck over in Iraq, but they want them out of Iraq within the near future. We can't create a stable government and impose it on the Iraqis. That's not what our military is used to doing. Only the Iraqis can create a stable government. Unfortunately, they will probably have to fight with each other in order to do so. It's incredibly sad, but I don't see how it can be avoided. We can't do this for them. Even if we inject a massive number of troops into Iraq so as to create a stable facade, eventually we will have to withdraw those troops. When they are withdrawn, the Iraqis will still have to decide for themselives the kind of government they will have. There will be bloodshed either way.

Sandy,

the right controls the media and has since Raygun. i know you have (gulp) had a conversion, but the myth that the MSM is left is just that.

did you know that the CIA buys newspapers and broadcast networks when they do covert stuff in foreign countries?

well, countries

guys,
i posted a very important piece upstream about the Taliban, the 2,000 kids that are waiting to blow themselves up BEFORE the big offensive and how we are dangerously ignoring Afghanistan.

and Iran

and we are NOT going to be able to get out of the region, no matter what the politics are today...

kabooom! it's coming. predictions are Good Friday is the day Iran gets hit.

we will be reacting. the time for plans is long past.

those plans have been set and i don't see us stopping it.

Yeah the terms "fully funded" and "victory" are definitely loaded

that's your MSM fer ya...locked and loaded. they protect their profits.

check out General Electric and see what this war has done for their bottom line.

well, war--what is it good for?

plenty!!!! just not children and other living things...

keep it lit~

SandyH,

I agree that I think the Republicans may have trouble regaining power. For those who care about fiscal responsibility, Republican reign during the last six years was disastrous. For those who care about effective trade policy, Republican reign was disastrous (trading with countries with no labor standards, no environmental standards, fixed currency exchange rates, etc.). For those who care about foreing policy, DISASTROUS.

For those who care about corruption (Foley, Delay, Frist, Plame, Abramoff, Nye, Duke Cunningham, U.S. Attorneys, Walter Reid, Abu Ghairb, Weldon, Walter Reid, Sherwood, etc.)

congratulations esmeralda and good for mom.

Fade,

I'm not sure the media hasn't been conservative for a much longer period than you suggest. In 1946 during his campaign against Congressman Voorhis, Richard Nixon railed against the "liberal media." In fact, his opponent, Jerry Voorhis couldn't buy political ads in many of the prominent papers circulated in his district. The papers literally refused to sell ad space to Voorhis. Nixon falsely accused Jerry of being a communist and won the election.

Posted by Esmeralda on March 28, 2007 at 09:49 PM

Essie,

What? You won or you came in second? Either way I'm proud of you. I've never run for anything. Was it close? Your mother was there? I want details.

night all

Posted by fade2bluz on March 28, 2007 at 10:15 PM

fade,

The CIA hasn't been too impressive lately.

Posted by fade2bluz on March 28, 2007 at 10:20 PM

Fade,

The Iranians bought themselves some insurance the other day by nabbing that boatload of English sailors.

I don't think Blair would be too keen on Bush putting them as risk with another ill-conceived, pre-emptive attack right before he leaves office in June which would leave the Tories blowing in the wind at a critical time of transition.

And did you see this today:

Abdullah: U.S. occupation 'illegitimate'

By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer
Wed Mar 28

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - King Abdullah denounced the American military presence in Iraq on Wednesday as an "illegitimate foreign occupation" and called on the West to end its financial embargo against the Palestinians.

The Saudi monarch's speech was a strongly worded lecture to Arab leaders that their divisions had helped fuel turmoil across the Middle East, and he urged them to show unity. But in opening the Arab summit, Abdullah also nodded to hardliners by criticizing the U.S. presence in Iraq.

"In beloved Iraq, blood is flowing between brothers, in the shadow of an illegitimate foreign occupation, and abhorrent sectarianism threatens a civil war," said the king, whose country is a U.S. ally that quietly aided the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq...

//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070328/ap_on_re_mi_ea/arab_summit;_ylt=AkK_H2njUNPCzDBf7lozcL1vaA8F

will ferrell does bush:

global warming

Russia 'abused returned suspects'
Seven Russians detained at Guantanamo Bay suffered torture or other abuse after they were repatriated by the US, human rights campaigners say. Almost 400 detainees are still held at Guantanamo Bay. Full Story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6505421.stm

Antarctic Melting May Be Speeding Up - Scientists
By Michael Byrnes

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/032307EC.shtml

hey dpd this meeting with prosecutors gonzales had in chicago is interesting. consider these points from a piece at the new york times:

- WASHINGTON, March 28 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales endured blunt criticism Tuesday from federal prosecutors who questioned the firings of eight United States attorneys, complained that the dismissals had undermined morale and expressed broader grievances about his leadership, according to people briefed on the discussion.

About a half-dozen United States attorneys voiced their concerns at a private meeting with Mr. Gonzales in Chicago.

Several of the prosecutors said the dismissals caused them to wonder about their own standing and distracted their employees, according to one person familiar with the discussions. Others asked Mr. Gonzales about the removal of Daniel C. Bogden, the former United States attorney in Nevada, a respected career prosecutor whose ouster has never been fully explained by the Justice Department....

...On Wednesday, the Justice Department released more than 200 additional pages of e-mail messages and other documents and sent a letter to lawmakers saying that it had given Congress inaccurate information in an earlier letter that asserted that Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, had played no role in the removals....

...Mr. Gonzales attended the Chicago meeting after abruptly cutting short a news conference in which he was asked about the dismissals and his own status...

...Justice Department officials acknowledged that the Chicago meeting was more combative than recent sessions in Cincinnati, Denver, St. Louis and Houston...

...The host of the Chicago meeting was Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney there, who recently successfully prosecuted I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former White House official, on perjury charges. Mr. Fitzgerald’s spokesman declined to comment on the meeting...

----looks to me like the ag went to fitz's house and got some grilling----and in fitz's house the ag needs to keep his tail between his legs because his props are no match for fitzmeister's. i remember fondly the right wing nuts claiming that the libby trial would amount to nothing and now of course they are telling us the current investigations into the justice department's politicization will be no big deal....time will tell just who has fell and whose been left behind...

then of course there is kkkarl. this little balding piggie has become a real albatross around bush's chicken neck but then there are so many fowl and so much foul around bush's neck he looks like the big window in front of a chinese restaurant i know on second avenue....all the birds hanging there are nice a golden from the roasting they got as well.from another times piece:

...In Illinois, Mr. Rove once reprimanded a Republican senator for recommending the appointment of Patrick J. Fitzgerald, a star prosecutor from outside the state, to investigate the state’s then-governor, a Republican. In New Jersey, Mr. Rove helped arrange the nomination of a major Bush campaign fund-raiser who had little prosecutorial experience. In Louisiana, he first supported and then helped scuttle a similar appointment.

In the months before the United States attorneys in New Mexico and Washington State were ousted, Mr. Rove joined a chorus of complaints from state Republicans that the federal prosecutors had failed to press charges in Democratic voter fraud cases. While planning a June 21, 2006, White House session to discuss the prosecutors, for example, a Rove deputy arranged for top Justice Department officials to meet with an important Bush supporter who was critical of New Mexico’s federal prosecutor about voter fraud.

And in Arkansas, newly released Justice Department e-mail messages show, Mr. Rove’s staff repeatedly prodded the department’s staff to install one of his protégés as a United States attorney by ousting a previous Bush appointee who was in good standing...

KKKarl, boy did he look like a friggin asshole at that stupid broadcasters dinner for the minute i watched it. if the attendees don't jump in front of trains tonight on the way home i'll be surprised

After dinosaur demise, mammals late to the party
Wed Mar 28, 2007 7:06PM EDT

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The asteroid that smacked Earth 65 million years ago wiped out the dinosaurs and paved the way for mammals to dominate, but it took another 10 to 15 million years for the ancestors of today's mammals to really take over, scientists said on Wednesday.

While some mammals seized the day and diversified after the asteroid crashed off the Yucatan peninsula, causing a mass extinction, they largely were evolutionary dead-ends, scientists said.

Researchers led by Olaf Bininda-Emonds of Germany's Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena used DNA from some of the 4,500 species of mammals on Earth and fossils of extinct animals to devise a family tree tracing mammalian evolutionary history.

Mammals from the major groups around today arose tens of millions of years before the asteroid struck and survived the calamity. But they remained secondary to now-extinct mammal forms and did not start diversifying and asserting themselves until about 55 to 50 million years ago, the study found.

The dinosaurs ruled the planet from about 225 million years ago until their demise along with the flying reptiles called pterosaurs, the marine reptiles called mosasaurs and a bunch of other animals.

The first mammals appeared roughly 220 million years ago and the first directly related to today's mammals arose about 125 million years ago, scientists said.

But these furry little creatures remained largely an evolutionary afterthought, doing their best to avoid becoming dinosaur lunch, until the fortuitous intervention of the giant space rock.

"The common perception is that the mammals rose to their current status after the dinosaurs went extinct. While it is true that there is an increase in mammal diversity after this time, and the fossil record shows this quite clearly, it is not in the mammals we see around us today," Bininda-Emonds said by e-mail.

"Instead, the mammals that seemed to benefit from the death of the dinosaurs belonged to groups that are wholly extinct these days," said Bininda-Emonds, whose research appeared in the journal Nature.

Some of the mammals that flourished in the time shortly after the dinosaurs died included cat-sized, rodent-like Ptilodus, squirrel-like primate relative Plesiadapis, dog-sized meat eaters called creodonts and the spectacular lion-sized carnivorous Andrewsarchus, known for its fearsome jaws.
Reuters Pictures

Most of the present-day groups of placental mammals arose between 100 and 85 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, the last act of the Age of Dinosaurs, with the peak around 93 million years ago, the researchers said.

Placental mammals give birth to live young and include rodents, carnivores, primates and hoofed mammals. Other types of mammals include marsupials, like kangaroos, and the very rare monotremes like the platypus that lay eggs.

Along with the ancestors of today's marsupials, placental mammals took the asteroid in stride.

"Even with everything dying around them, it was business as usual for the present-day groups (of mammals) and the whole thing didn't seem to have any positive or negative effect on them," Bininda-Emonds said.

Study co-author John Gittleman, director of the University of Georgia's Institute of Ecology, added, "We don't see that there's much of a relationship between the demise of the dinosaurs and the diversification of the modern-day mammals."

Co-author Ross MacPhee of the American Museum of Natural History in New York said the big question is what took the ancestors of modern mammals so long to diversify?

"What was our lot doing? Sitting on their hands as far as I can determine," MacPhee said.

Scientists say Antarctic ice sheet is thinning
Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:57PM EDT

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas-sized piece of the Antarctic ice sheet is thinning, possibly due to global warming, and could cause the world's oceans to rise significantly, polar ice experts said on Wednesday.

They said "surprisingly rapid changes" were occurring in Antarctica's Amundsen Sea Embayment, which faces the southern Pacific Ocean, but that more study was needed to know how fast it was melting and how much it could cause the sea level to rise.

The warning came in a joint statement issued at the end of a conference of U.S. and European polar ice experts at the University of Texas in Austin.

The scientists blamed the melting ice on changing winds around Antarctica that they said were causing warmer waters to flow beneath ice shelves.

The wind change, they said, appeared to be the result of several factors, including global warming, ozone depletion in the atmosphere and natural variability.

The thinning in the two-mile-(3.2-km)- thick ice shelf is being observed mostly from satellites, but it is not known how much ice has been lost because data is difficult to obtain on the remote ice shelves, they said.

Study is focusing on the Amundsen Sea Embayment because it has been melting quickly and holds enough water to raise world sea levels six meters, or close to 20 feet, the scientists said.

"The place where the biggest change is occurring is the Amundsen Sea Embayment," said Donald Blankenship of the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics.

"One, it's changing, and two, it can have a big impact," he said in a Webcast with a number of conference participants.

Other parts of the continent also were losing ice, he said, but generally not as quickly.

Samson was cordially invited and tomorrow is the big date!!!
10 a.m. Eastern, gregg

yes, he'll be UNDER OATH

hey don't forget gonezales's aid gets grilled at 10am on cspan tomorrow. or is it rove's?? hard to keep track there are so many fun shows in town now that the democrats control both houses of congress..opps i bet joey l is gonna flip to the republicans tomorrow now that the senate voted against him and the republicans on funding bush's misadventure....shit if he doesn't flip now he never will....and he won't, and he can then proceed to shut the f_ _ _ up.

hi fade. he has sent in his prepared comments figuring like all the geniuses in the white house, that such cleverness will prevent leahy or any of the other ex-prosecutors on the committee from asking any hard questions....bwahahahahahahaha

its late fade. see you in the morning.

Climate Change is too hot for the Bush Administration to Handle

Today, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) is releasing a comprehensive report detailing the findings of a year-long investigation into political interference at federal climate science agencies. The report demonstrates how policies and practices have increasingly restricted the flow of scientific information emerging from publicly-funded climate change research. This has negatively affected the media's ability to report objectively on scientific issues, public officials' capacity to respond with appropriate policies, and full public understanding of environmental concerns. The report, entitled Redacting the Science of Climate Change, is available on GAP's Web site

========

The resiliency of Democracy never ceases to amaze.

dors! you are an elusive butterfly of dove ice cream bars. but its sleep i need mate, so hope to see you at a more civilized hour down the road.

Howdy, dors & gregg.

Here it is, indisputable proof that Evolution is a failed theory. The wingnuts will be all over this by next week, unless KKKarls fax machine has been replaced by yet another shredder.

but was it skippy peanut butter?

(And to think they actually teach this crapola to the students at Wingnut U., and now over 150 of their graduates are occupying high positions in the Federal government.)

xxxxxx

Posted by HennyPenny March 29,2007 at 3:15 AM.
At 3:15 you choose to respond to a post by Pamb at 8:39 Pm....So you responded almost 7 seven hours after her post...Are you afraid to respond while she's still on line..
What is the meaning of your comment to her that her Senator is a Jew? Are you a Jew hater?, a Nazi? That remark was in very poor, boorish taste and does not reflect on PamB or her Senator as much as it reflects on you.
Then your comment her not needing to "take food from people with a need to live" means what? Do you wish PamB to die of starvation?
I don't know who you are, but from the tone of your comments, I sure know what you are....You have my sympathy, try to get some professional help...

HennyPenny...your response sounds small and petty to me....maybe there is a free group therapy program you could get into...how do you know that Randolph Scott was gay?....from personal knowledge?...Unless you had a personal relationship with him, how can you make such a statement?

HennyPenny...what's the matter?...no resonse?...by the way, wasn't "HennyPenny" the name of the chicken Rocky Balboa chased around the school yard? When he finally cought it, he pulled out all of it's tail feathers...

HennyPenny...I was going to ask you how you know Mr. Blackwell is gay (personal knowledge?) but you seem to have anticipated that question, so, I'll give you a pass on that one....
I have been reading PamB's posts for awhile now and don't recall reading any of her posts that I would say were anti Jewish....She may not agree with the current administrations "Roadmap" but that does not automatically make her anti Jewish...So, just what are you talking about?........

good morning, everyone.

Posted by SandyH on March 28, 2007 at 10:33 PM

I did not get the appointment to the county commissioner job. I came in 2nd out of 5. There was not a clear majority the first vote, so it ended up me vs. the good ole boy.

I told my mom to just stay home, that she need not risk her health. She had my cousin (who is staying with her) drive her in so she could vote for me.

I still have my "day job" in elections. I didn't have to leave my position as director to request to be appointed to an open seat. I would have to quit elections (Ohio Revised Code and all that jazz)to run for elected office otherwise...and I really can't be without a job just so I can run a campaign.

Anyhow, ya just can't beat a decent job with benefits. ;) The commissioner job would pay twice as much though. There is so much more to life than money. It felt great to drive home after a disappointment to someone who loves me. It was a feeling I had never experienced before.

It was a great opportunity, do be given the chance to run for this appointment. In my speech, I stated that at least $10,000 will be needed to be generated to run the campaign. I told the winner I would gladly help him with fundraisers. He's one of those types that looks at women as 2nd class, not worthy of talking to, unless it serves his purpose. I doubt he will ask to hear my ideas.

On a very up and positive note, I got an e-mail from Z. (dancing in her jammies) I know he reads mine and is too busy to answer, so it made my morning to hear from him!

I better go find some news before the blog police get me. hahaha

oh Crud! Maybe money can buy love?

Clinton agrees to help key supporter pay off debt

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to help one-time candidate Tom Vilsack, who endorsed her on Monday, as he seeks to retire a campaign debt of more than $400,000.

Episcopalians in Colorado Plan to Leave Denomination

One of the largest Episcopal parishes in Colorado has decided to leave the Episcopal Church, prompting the diocesan bishop to dissolve the leadership of the congregation and heightening tensions between theological traditionalists and liberals in the denomination.

Yet THESE glorified brain stems THINK that the alcoholic cocaine abusing child molesting teenager raping MORON was CHOSEN by God to ruin the Earth?

THEY. ARE. INSANE. AND. DANGEROUS!

Posted by DPD on March 28, 2007 at 07:43 PM

Insane & dangerous...no doubt about it. As far as being choosen by God... He lets the sun shine on the good and the bad. And He lets the idiots who voted for w suffer the same way we do, they just don't realize it yet.

I better go back to reading news and posting the articles.

Clinton receives NOW's backing

Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton declared Wednesday that if you look up the word "feminist" in a dictionary, you'll find her.

I felt good when I voted for him in the Primary of 2004. I'm tired of the overkill on Clinton & Obama already.

John Edwards Opens Up About Son He Lost

As he tries to explain how he'll cope with the return of his wife's cancer, presidential hopeful John Edwards is opening up about another family struggle _ the death of his teenage son Wade 11 years ago.

His family life suddenly in the spotlight, Edwards has responded by speaking about an experience bound to bring him sympathy, humanize his campaign and focus on perseverance after tragedy.

Good Morning Essie....John Boy...

hiya, Johnboy. Hope you are well.

I have to go get the carpenter up and share some coffee before he heads out the door. BBL

Can Karl Rove really represent the Republican Party better than he can can hip-hop?

One move to hide Bush
One move to hide the GOP

One hand up with his fingers crossed
The other holding up three

On one left foot standing on a masqueraded doubt
He then uses his right foot to kick his own attorneys out

Behind his and America’s back, spinning it on the floor
Singing Bush and the GOP did but didn’t but do both have a part in the Iraq war

Good Morning Good Dem's....It looks like Mr. Bush is almost where he has been trying to go with regard to Iran. With the Iranians holding the Brittish troops and with our resident lunatic holding "military exercises" off the coast of Iran, it won't be long before thier lunatic responds and gives Bush the justification he needs to "counter attack" Iran. Of course, he'll bomb the hell out of their nuke facilities and comunication and airbases,just because he can. I would hate to be a "little country" with Bush in charge, he only knows "gunboat diplomacy" and only talks to people who agree with him before he agrees to talk to them. I hope we survive the balance of "the war president's" term.....John Boy.....

Senate bill to outlaw cockfights put on hold

A popular bipartisan bill that aims to rein in animal fighting is facing a few hurdles as supporters attempt to win Senate passage before Congress begins a spring recess next week.

Objections from the National Rifle Association and a hold put on the bill by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., have slowed action on the measure, called the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act.

The bill would make it a felony punishable by a fine and up to three years in prison to "sponsor or exhibit" animals transported across state lines in fights, or to buy and sell materials, such as gaff blades worn by roosters, that can be used during a fight.

good morning, John Boy, Essie and Elizabeth

On Wednesday, the Pakistani Taliban mobilized hundreds of men in an attempt to seize control of Tank, the NWFP town nearest South Waziristan. Local police were not able to control the situation, and the Pakistan Army and paramilitary troops were called in. They contained the situation and clamped a curfew on the town, although there are still reports of fighting.

Students against vice
On Tuesday, Musharraf addressed a rally in Rawalpindi and called on the masses to stand up against religious extremism. But only a few kilometers away in the federal capital Islamabad, young men and women associated with Lal Masjid's seminaries of Jamia Hafsa (for girls) and Jamia Faridia (for boys) were engaged in a powerful protest against vice.

The students (mostly women) took to the streets to persuade video shops not to sell "vulgar" movies. The campaign took a turn when the students seized a brothel owner in the Aapara area, where both the Taliban-supporting Lal Masjid and the state's Inter-Services Intelligence are situated. They held the woman hostage in their seminary.

Despite complaints, the government has been unable to do anything about the brothels in the area because of the unholy nexus between high-ups and the prostitutes.

good morning friends. i see that sally has added anti-semite to his list of qualities...racist, sexist, homophobe, anti semite....has a nice ring to it.

According to an Iranian political analyst seasoned in "threat analysis", Iran's ability to play hardball with Britain serves the national interest at a time when Western powers manipulate the
Middle East landscape almost at will. "Iran is sending a clear message that the 'buck stops here'," he told the author.

Apparently, the message is not lost on Iran's neighbors, and at the opening ceremony of an Arab summit in Riyadh, Saudi King Abdullah warned "foreign powers" to stop meddling in the affairs of the region, since the days when they could impose their wills on the people of the region had passed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was invited to the Arab summit at the last moment and only after the outbreak of the crisis over the British sailors. In fact, on the eve of the summit, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi declined to attend and sent a message that he would refuse to participate in an "anti-Iran" spectacle aimed at pitting "Sunnis versus Shi'ites". Both Iranian and Arab papers have reported on the recent meeting of US officials with the intelligence chiefs of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Saudi Arabia over forming a new anti-Iran network.

Clearly, Tehran's row with London has had immediate dividends with respect to Iran's regional clout, causing pro-Iran sympathies in the Arab world. Arabs now see in Iran's "heroic" standing up to "Western imperialists" a source of much-needed inspiration and hope, in contrast to their own feckless leadership. "The Arabs of the Persian Gulf are now less inclined to join the US and Israel against Iran than they were a mere week ago," a former Iranian diplomat told the author.

Gregg...you nailed it....HennyPenny from last night has come back to us this am as LarryTheDemocrat

fade2bluz,

One of many good things about having Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House is that it supports respect for people who happen to be female around the world.

One might say that Hillary Clinton as President would command more attention to respect for Women's Rights as well.

yes, gregg

good morning to you. lie-sure suit larry is sally in drag, and these little outbursts are getting more desperate

golly, kyle samson testifying UNDER OATH before the Congress...what's next? KKKarl and Harriet?

abu gonzales won't be around for them to kick around much longer

HELP WANTED: redefiner for the decider on the sinking ship of fools, life boat not included

Voter Fraud? more like minority voter disenfranchisement...from WAPO

Schumer Office: Subpoenas Ready for Rove, Miers
Paperwork authorized; Chuck ‘Can’t believe’ Gonzales will make it. First up: D. Kyle Sampson.
By Jason Horowitz

Senator Charles Schumer finds it “hard to
my senator chuck schumer has a few things to offer about gone-zales:

believe” that embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales can continue in office for much longer.

At the same time, Mr. Schumer believes that the practical consequences for the Republican Party resulting from Mr. Gonzales’ actions—the culling of eight U.S. Attorneys—will be lasting.

“Clearly, it will affect 2008, because the credibility of the President and the people close to him is lower now today than it was a month ago, and that’s going to hurt,” he said.

Certainly, Mr. Schumer—now finally in the majority, and with a gift of a scandal brought before his Senate committee—has no intention of doing anything to ease the pain. He intends to lead an investigation into whether the White House and the Justice Department plotted to fire eight U.S. attorneys for purely political reasons, and whether they lied to cover it up. And as he gains traction, he predicts, more and more Republicans—especially those like John Sununu and Gordon Smith, who are facing tough elections in 2008—will withdraw their support from Mr. Gonzales.

“If they continue to do what they are doing and follow Trent Lott and just march lock, stock and barrel behind the White House, it will hurt them in Congress,” said Mr. Schumer in an interview in his spacious Washington office, as C-SPAN played on mute in the room’s corner. “If, on the other hand, they show independence, it won’t.”

But forcing Mr. Gonzales from office—thereby inflicting another damaging black eye on the Bush administration—is only a short-term goal.

Much will depend on what happens this week, when the Senate Judiciary Committee hears testimony from Mr. Gonzales’ former chief of staff, D. Kyle Sampson, who was forced to resign when details of the firing first surfaced and who is believed to hold sensitive information about whether the impetus for the terminations came from the White House.

Mr. Schumer, naturally, is expecting the interrogation to be of the hostile variety.

“I think Sampson is trying to thread the needle,” Mr. Schumer said. “He is going to both try and save his reputation and not hurt Gonzales. He is a longtime Republican apparatchik.”

Mr. Schumer and his colleagues on the Judiciary Committee have also been engaged in a very public back-and-forth with the White House about their ability to compel other administration officials—most notably Karl Rove—to testify under oath. (The White House has offered to have them testify behind closed doors without a transcript.)

“The terms that they proposed for Rove and Miers were so ridiculous—that’s why they haven’t had any traction,” said Mr. Schumer. “I haven’t seen one Republican who has justified doing it with no transcript.

should be a fun day in the senate

Is it that America is not really stuck in Iraq, it is the Republican political party that is stuck and has the rest of America thinking we are all stuck?

Normally the United States is a peace keeping force when the country gets involved in other countries civil war's. So if America is not effective at keeping the peace in Iraq, why aren't we leaving? Or at least, starting to withdraw troops?

Posted by ElizabethJW on March 29, 2007 at 07:56 AM

said well, Elizabeth. i heard a conversation on "liberal" talk radio--Bill Press--yesterday. he was saying that the Equal Rights Amendment was not necessary.

i sent him an email and he responded with "he didn't have to prove his liberal credentials to anyone"

ha! these men haven't had their reproductive rights assaulted by the KKKristian Taliban, their hard-fought gains eroded by the Self-servatives nor have they ever had to try to break through the "glass ceiling" in whatever endeavor it may be

i think it's the best first step toward equality of opportunity and civil rights for GLBT Americans, too.

feminist, like liberal, has been redefined by these evil liars. there is more to it than "framing", but it's a start. their attacks on the values of equality and liberty have had a very damaging effect. we'll do well with Madam Speaker leading the way, given what she has managed to deliver in 9 weeks.

just gettin' this party started!

i wonder if asshole larry will hang around to live blog about sampson's testimony today? help keep our spirits up and all...hahahahaha

Have a great day...bbl.....John Boy....

interrogation to be of the hostile variety</em

for pete's sake, when Democrats are hostile, nobody is standing on boxes with hoods on their heads, laying on wet mattresses getting electrical shocks, being sexually abused or having other atrocities committed.

wow, will the republics ever win another election?

sorry about the italix...

gregg, it is wonderful to have the little pisser come around to keep our spirits up!

it's so much fun to come home to these choice clips of the day. today's tidbits will be tasty, no doubt. tini time gets better every day!

two from Josh Marshall that you don't want to miss...the ad smear on David Iglasias and on our nation

this old "swiftboat" technique will be as ineffective as interrogation by torture. what delights me is the rapid response, led by Josh Marshall and FDL and Raw Story (etc.), to these attacks in real time. the people have the power, once again. i love the people. and their children.

i love our country

pass the popcorn, y'all--and keep it lit~

Vermin sociopathic loser Larry:

Pam B is a thousand times the human being that you'll ever aspire to. that is why you continue to stalk her. even for you, this is creepy.

get help, freak.

Larry...The'Pubic Party is going downe in flames. Get used to your rightful position...You going after Pamb is like a piss ant going up an elephants leg with rape on it's mind....totally inconsecuential....

Posted by Esmeralda on March 29, 2007 at 05:52 AM

Essie,

Sounds to me like it was more of a draw with the party going with the good ole boy as a default. You've been noticed, Jacque; and I don't think anyone is going to take you for granted from now on.

I'm so happy you took a chance. It doesn't matter that you didn't win it outright. You forced it to a second vote. You now have gained some influence. And you still have a job with benefits till you take the next step.

Abe Lincoln lost two or three local elections before he got himself appointed to a post... village postmaster? Then he started winning everything. You have to put yourself out there for people in power to take notice. It's coming. Space is gaining influence, too.

You did yourself good. Your mother must be so proud and love you bunches. I have a feeling nothing would have stopped her from being there for you.

Next time you do something like this, please have somebody tape it on their cell phone and put it up on U-Tube. It would be great to see the expression on your face when you get the nod.

Gotta run. later.

There is a new Open Thread for Thursday

....but you might want to stay here as Larry moved over there.

later.