Saturday Open Thread
Chat away...
Comments (259) «
OHN EDWARDS FOR PRESIDENT!
Posted by Cyn_NY on December 22, 2007 at 08:52 AM
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Hi Cyn,
I'll second that one! Go John Edwards!
What a sad story! This is why our health care system must change:
On Nataline Sarkysian,visibly angered Edwards, "we're not negotiating..."
by wade norris
Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 12:04:16 AM PST
Today, an insurance company denied a family healthcare. This case of denial of coverage, was so grievous, that a public outcry arose.
Nataline Sarkysian died after she was denied a liver transplant by CIGNA- even after her surgeons requested the transplant. Besides feeling anger and indignation against the insurance company, I felt sorrow for the family. 'Is anyone listening?' I thought to myself.
Turns out, someone is. John Edwards...
* wade norris's diary :: ::
*
John Edwards tonight cited the case of a 17-year-old California girl who died after her insurance company refused coverage on a liver transplant to save her life as a call to action to change the current system of healthcare in America.
Nataline Sarkysian died last night at UCLA Medical Center after complications arose from a bone marrow transplant to treat her leukemia. Her insurance provider, CIGNA Healthcare, first denied the potentially lifesaving transplant, but relented after a loud public protest and outrage. By that time, though, Sarkysian passed away before the procedure could be performed.
"Are you telling me that we're gonna sit at a table and negotiate with those people?" asked a visibly angered Edwards, challenging the health care companies. "We're gonna take their power away and we're not gonna have this kind of problem again."
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/22/24848/660/658/425459
Morning, Morning Crew! Looks like you all slept in this morning. I've been talking to myself on the last thread. :-)
Morning all,
Crisp cold morning here, but no precipitation, thank goodness.
I see the pathetic sick troll is still making his threats. LOL, compared to the file I have on his spawn and crew, he is looking for lots of trouble !
Lots to do today, so I will be in and out.
The Democratic Establishment Can't Stand John Edwards
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/21/15416/155/830/425311
China blasts Obama call for toy ban
Posted by Esmeralda on December 22, 2007 at 08:59 AM
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Esmeralda,
Obama is right on target here. If the Chinese won't clean up their act then their products should be banned.
Posted by Esmeralda on December 22, 2007 at 09:01 AM
Loved it, Esme! And, your political dictionary too.
fyi,
Zogby Poll: Obama Leads Top Republicans
Telephone survey shows fellow Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Edwards would defeat some GOPers, lose to others
UTICA, New York - Illinois Sen. Barack Obama would defeat all five of the top Republicans in prospective general election contests, performing better than either of his two top rivals, a new Zogby telephone poll shows.
His margins of advantage range from a 4 percent edge over Arizona Sen. John McCain and a 5 percent edge over Arkansas’ Mike Huckabee to an 18 percentage point lead over Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, the survey shows. Against New York’s Rudy Giuliani he leads by 9%, and against Fred Thompson of Tennessee he holds a 16 point edge.
Crisp cold morning here, but no precipitation, thank goodness.
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Hi PamB,
Overcast here. Looks like it wants to do something ... probably rain.
I left off a HO in my last post. snicker
Cyn, I've been up since 4 a.m. No sugar means less sleep, means more life to live (or life to lounge)
~~~~~~~~~~~`
High in the 50's the next couple of days, with weather staying in the 30-40's throughout the coming week.
Esme, you had to tell me that as I was eating a chocolate cookie for breakfast....
Loved the photos. Bella is already developing her own personality - I can see it in her smile and her eyes. She will be a force to reckon with, and I wouldn't expect any less with such strong women in her family.
Now if this doesn't show you exactly what this Neo Con Facist Government is up to, nothing will.
(isn't it funny, how the paranoid, 'less government", Repugs don't seem to have any comments on this kind of B-S !)
FBI Prepares Vast Database Of Biometrics
$1 Billion Project to Include Images of Irises and Faces
By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
CLARKSBURG, W. Va. -- The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad.
Digital images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns are already flowing into FBI systems in a climate-controlled, secure basement here. Next month, the FBI intends to award a 10-year contract that would significantly expand the amount and kinds of biometric information it receives. And in the coming years, law enforcement authorities around the world will be able to rely on iris patterns, face-shape data, scars and perhaps even the unique ways people walk and talk, to solve crimes and identify criminals and terrorists. The FBI will also retain, upon request by employers, the fingerprints of employees who have undergone criminal background checks so the employers can be notified if employees have brushes with the law.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/21/AR2007122102544.html?hpid=topnews
Telephone survey shows fellow Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Edwards would defeat some GOPers, lose to others
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PamB,
I truly believe that despite these polls everyone of our candidates will beat everyone of the GOP-PERS. The GOP-PERS have assembled the most incredible pack of goofballs, liars and creeps I ever seen:
Rudy Ghouliani can't get past his corruption.
Mitt the Flip is actually a pathological liar.
McCain stands for nothing and is gaining no ground.
Mike Huckleberry is just plain weird.
Then there is Freddy Cheeseball ... need I say more.
Pam, that Zogby poll is from 30 miles up the road. Since he screwed up on the last election, I don't put a lot of stock in his polls. I don't mean anything again Obama, I just don't trust Zogby polls as a rule.
YUMMY! Cookies for breakfast!
I only made 2 different kinds of cookies and 2 different kinds of breads yesterday, but it still took all afternoon!
I can eat anything sugar-free. So, I made some cookies with spenda. ;) Hershey's Coco has no sugar, but it gives you the chocolate you desire!
From a 12 to a 7 in 3 months. And I've never felt hungry!
Still have the broad shoulders though. ;p
Nightmare Before Christmas
By BOB HERBERT
Christmastime is bonus time on Wall Street, and the Gucci set has been blessed with another record harvest.
Forget the turbulence in the financial markets and the subprime debacle. Forget the dark clouds of a possible recession. Bloomberg News tells us that the top securities firms are handing out nearly $38 billion in seasonal bonuses, the highest total ever.
But there’s a reason to temper the celebration, if only out of respect for an old friend who’s not doing too well. Even as the Wall Streeters are high-fiving and ordering up record shipments of Champagne and caviar, the American dream is on life-support.
I had a conversation the other day with Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union. He mentioned a poll of working families that had shown that their belief in that mythical dream that has sustained so many generations for so long is fading faster than sunlight on a December afternoon.
The poll, conducted by Lake Research Partners for the Change to Win labor federation, found that only 16 percent of respondents believed that their children’s generation would be better off financially than their own. While some respondents believed that the next generation would fare roughly the same as this one, nearly 50 percent held the exceedingly gloomy view that today’s children would be “worse off” when the time comes for them to enter the world of work and raise their own families.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/22/opinion/22herbert.html?_r=2&ref=opinion&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
rj, Read this one, snicker, snicker. People think Romney is really going strong -----but if not for $17.5 of his own money , he would be long out of the game !
"A splashy early show of fundraising strength put Romney, then a little-known former Massachusetts governor, on the list of serious candidates.
But since then, measuring Romney’s strength and appeal has become tricky because of his personal subsidies to his campaign.
In the second and third quarters, which ended in June and September respectively, Romney’s campaign would have ended the period nearly bankrupt had it not been for his own cash infusions.
But the imbalance on Romney’s books may also reflect a disconnect between his apparent financial strength and his real support among Republican primary voters.
Good morning Dems!
It's that time of year when we review the weird and wacky comments made this past year by some of our public figures, prompting the always apt phrase, "Is this a great country or what?"
Cyn, I have seen those pictures of Esme's grandbaby, and she is gorgeous !
Morning, rj. I rec'd a walmart watch email yesterday that said a ton of their toys have been recalled.
But the imbalance on Romney’s books may also reflect a disconnect between his apparent financial strength and his real support among Republican primary voters.
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Hi PamB,
I heard that he was dumping lots of his own money into the campaign. Romney was a loser in Massachusetts. He lied to a frustrated public promising to create jobs ... you know his tax cutting / cost cutting bunk. Massachusetts jobs situation actually got worst under Romney. He would have been toast if he ran as governor. So instead, he threw his millions at a presidential run.
So, what do you all think about his ridiculous lie that he marched with MLK or was associated with MLK? The man is a pathological liar as well.
Bella is already developing her own personality - I can see it in her smile and her eyes. She will be a force to reckon with, and I wouldn't expect any less with such strong women in her family.
Posted by Cyn_NY on December 22, 2007 at 09:13 AM
If I have anything to do with it, she'll be charming and strong willed! And love to dance & sing...in her jammies, of course.
We've decided that I will commute to the big city, and in the next 6 months look at (foreclosures) homes in the capitol for a place for me to stay part time through the week. I've found quite a few on the internet. Sad, but I must find something reasonable due to someone else's hardship. The carpenter can repair anything, so with a little $$$ and hard work, I'm sure I will have a modest, yet comfortable home to accommodate me during the work week. I don't want to leave my home town, or be far from my family....especially Bella.
I'm truly blessed.
Time to walk, power walk! Then it's Bella time!
(This afternoon, I plan on strolling her up and down the street while I gather signatures for my Central Committee petition)
This is a keeper!
1 Corinthians 4:20
For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
Enjoy the day, everyone.
Morning, rj. I rec'd a walmart watch email yesterday that said a ton of their toys have been recalled.
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Morning Cyn. It's about time! It's simply tragic that we went from a nation with relatively high (though certainly not perfect) consumer safety standards to where we are right now.
Just watched a video of Edwards speaking from yet another American town where the last vestige of the manufacturing base is gone. It's hard to imagine a country that doesn't make any products ... except these fraudulent and ultimately worthless financial instruments.
{{Cyn}}
I don't hold much faith in polls either, just post them for the fun of it. If you like a roller coaster ride, then one should click into polls every day. Depending on who is doing them, what questions asked, etc, they can differ greatly.
Inhofe (R-Exxon): Truthiness Gift for Christmas
by A Siegel
Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 05:02:07 AM PST
The Minority on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Commitee (read James Inhofe (R-Exxon)) has just released a "report": 0ver 400 Promient Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming Claims in 2007.
As a taxpayer, to start with, I am outraged that my taxes are used to support such truthiness and distortions.
As a human being, I am outraged that such deniers (Roadblock Republicans) are able to stand in the way toward moving the nation and the Globe toward a more sensible energy future.
And, as an analyst, I am outraged that such mediocrity is allowed to be pedaled as a "report" with the imprimateur of the US government and a US Senate Committee behind it.
A full throated examination of the mediocrity of this collection of misleading climate denier and climate skeptic and delayer material is beyond the ability of one single post.
But, after the fold, this posting provides just a taste of the reviews and examinations of just the first three of the "peer-reviewed studies" cited by James Inhofe and his staff-support for Global Warming Denial.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/22/73147/008/645/425480
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Inhofe (R - Exxon) ! Tee, Hee, Hee ... I like that one. What a blowhard. It must drive him nuts to be a second fiddle on these committees.
Well, dear Dems, I'm off to hit the shower. I have to shop for the last of the groceries for the Christmas dinner.
Have a wonderful day!
California to sue federal EPA over emissions standards
by Chris in Paris · 12/22/2007 12:13:00 AM ET · Link
Discuss this post here: Comments (51) · reddit · FARK ·· Digg It!
Schwarzenegger is right to be furious about the failures of Bush and his backwards EPA. I wish Democrats could show as much emotion on this subject instead of cowering to to the Inhofe-Dingell crowd.
"It's another example of the administration's failure to treat global warming with the seriousness that it actually demands," the governor said at a news conference Thursday.
More on both Bush's "plan" and Schwarzenegger's fury after the jump.
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Chimpy is going to get his head handed to him on this one. So much for the GOP bunk that they don't like to interfere in state policy! The GOP stand for nothing except making their corporate masters wealthy.
morning rj,
Like I said before, If they can't lead, then Get out of the Way on global Warming because the rest of us (the Majority) are going to do this!!
bbl, too.
Good morning, all.
Everybody seems to be off doing holiday stuff and exercising to ward off the goodies that could land around the waist. I'm cleaning house and wrapping presents today. So I'll be stopping by from time to time also.
I found this on YahooNews first thing this morning. It's the second threat issued in a week. Now that the MSM has bought into the White House lie that the war in over, I wonder how they would react if suddenly it all blew up again?
Shiite leaders oppose expansion of U.S.-backed citizens groups
By Leila Fadel, McClatchy Newspapers
Fri Dec 21
BAGHDAD — The leader of Iraq's most powerful Shiite Muslim political party warned Friday that the security organizations that American officials credit with helping to cut violence in Iraq must be brought under control.
Abdulaziz al Hakim , the head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq , became the latest Iraqi leader to raise concerns that the U.S.-financed groups, which are predominantly Sunni Muslim and known as awakening councils or "concerned local citizens," could become a potent army capable of challenging the U.S.-backed Shiite-dominated central government...
news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20071221/wl_mcclatchy/2793055
Apparently, with the Republicans the political majority is never allowed to have their way.
Our troops are being held virtual hostages in a violent, unfriendly country and could feel the wrath of the Iraqi majority at anytime if they feel they are being sold down the river by Gates and Petraeus?
Instead of getting out like the British are doing, Bush will risk our sons and daughters lives till the day he leaves office... just to save his pride. Unbelievable.
To day is another day in the race for get the nomination of the Democratic Party.
But today also is a great day, a day of happiness for many people, millions of people who unjustified was dismissed by the sarcasm and the racism comments of Mr. Lou Dobbs in his CNN’s program.
He uses this network, essentially to promote his perverse intentions of racism hidden by the flags of the nationalism and patriotism.
It’s a beautiful and wonderful Christmas gift for those who thanks his comments and he’s persistent racism commentaries, damage the image our Hispanic community.
Justice some time come later, but always come up!
Percy H Florez
Commentary: It's not over, over thereBy Joe Galloway | McClatchy Newspapers
Thursday, December 20, 2007...But the truth is that much of this reduction in violence is, like the violence itself, entirely homegrown and thus resistant to the analysis and understanding of foreigners.
We don't know why Sadr stood down his murdering militiamen for six months beginning last August or why, this week, he sent signals that he may extend the truce. What we do know is that his militia was, at the height of the killing, responsible for more than 60 percent of American combat deaths in Iraq.
We know that Anbar province almost overnight has ceased to be a killing field for American Marines because the local tribal sheiks had had enough of the jihadists they'd sheltered. When the jihadists began killing the sheikhs themselves and imposing their idea of Islamic law — cutting off the heads of barbers, bootleggers and women not sufficiently subservient — they crossed the line.
It was easy enough for the sheikhs to begin dropping the dime to the American forces on the jihadists.
More important, the sheikhs decided to stop their own Sunni insurgency and stop killing Americans.
They'd balked at participating in the Iraqi central government and army and police, which are almost entirely Shiite. That didn't bode well for the day when the Americans would leave and the night of the Shiite long knives would arrive, so the Sunnis began sending their sons to attempt to join the army and police. When the government turned them away, the sheikhs signed up to fight with the Americans for $300 a month, a rifle and some training.
That model has been applied successfully in once-rebellious towns and communities elsewhere, to the dismay and opposition of the U.S.-backed Shiite central government.
So let's review the bidding. The key decisions that have led to the reduction in the slaughter weren't made by us or by what passes for a national government in Baghdad. They were made by some of the people — both Sunni and Shiite — who were killing American troops just six months ago...
Galloway seems to be suggesting that the White House is holding its breath. They feel that Cheney would be doing cartwheels if this deal was done. In truth, this administration and our military has never been the determining factor over in Iraq.
Even when Bush invaded, fate was ultimately in the hands of the people over there with guns who now seem to be holding a very precarious truce of some sort. The political majority is sending signals that that may change soon.
We need to get our troops out of there before Round Two begins.
bbl.
Good advent of Winter,
California to sue federal EPA over emissions standards
***
Harry and Nancy are saying that the energy bill is progress by raising car emission standards. The energy bill is behind the standards that were to be set by California, and so it was let to pass so that some greenishness could be displayed in DC.
Arnold's fury is feigned, and California's actions are still not enough. He is trying to take control of and direct the energy future as the alternative to oil wars and climate destruction.
Why did we even need an energy bill? Billions for nuclear, billions for oil, billions for alcohol?
That is way out of line for any decent future and should have never been proposed.
Posted by Pflorez on December 22, 2007 at 11:17 AM
I'm confused by your post...did something happen to Dobbs?
To we stay or do we go?
December 22, 2007
Richardson: Clinton has 'flip-flopped' on Iraq
Richardson: Clinton is trying to "duck and weave." AMES, Iowa (CNN) – Bill Richardson is now the latest Democratic presidential candidates to accuse Hillary Clinton of drastically changing her position on Iraq this week. “She’s flip-flopped so many times, I don’t know what her position is. It changes almost every day,” Richardson told CNN Friday.Richardson, who is running a distant fifth among Democrats in Iowa in most polls — with the state's first-in-the-nation caucuses less than two weeks away — has stepped up his attacks on the rest of the presidential field in recent days.
Clinton has long maintained that even after most U.S. troops have been pulled out of Iraq, some troops would have to remain there — and that they could be there for several years.
But at a town hall event in Elkader, Iowa on Wednesday, Clinton told a crowd she had consulted with military advisors on Iraq and that “I think we can bring nearly everybody home, certainly within a year if we keep at it and do it very steadily.”
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards has characterized those comments as a policy shift. On Friday, Richardson agreed, saying that Clinton was trying to "outflank" him. "I’ve got an ad that says ‘are you going to get all the troops out by 2013?’” And so she’s trying to duck and weave.”
“I do know she wants to keep troops beyond one year,” said Richardson, “and I want her to explain her position.”
The Clinton camp disagrees with that assessment, and has responded to the criticism by saying the New York senator has always maintained a need for “small residual force” to remain in Iraq after most U.S. troops have left, and called for a slow but steady pace of withdrawal.
Kristen,
I couldn't find anything on the CNN website about Dobbs. I assume he's just been taking vacation time off for the holidays?
We need to get our troops out of there before Round Two begins.
Posted by SandyH on December 22, 2007 at 11:24 AM
Hey Sandy, saw this yesterday, -stick US soldiers in a nearly impossible situation and hope for what, a miracle?:
***
U.S. Soldiers Stage Mutiny, Refuse Orders in Iraq Fearing They Would Commit Massacre in Revenge for IED Attack
*****
AMY GOODMAN: The refusal of these men to go out, because they were afraid they would commit a massacre. Explain that.
KELLY KENNEDY: Yeah. They’re—I need to say this: they are good guys. I mean, I saw them take care of each other. I saw them take care of Iraqis.
When the IED, the roadside bomb, went off, it was so close to one of the Iraqi police stations that they should have been able to see somebody burying that. It was right in front of somebody’s house, and nobody said anything. Nobody said to these guys, “Listen, there’s a bomb here. We’re worried about you,” even though they had been going out and patrolling and doing what they were supposed to be doing, in their minds. So when that IED went off and killed their five friends, they’re in—you have to understand, they’ve been living together for a year like brothers in the basement of this old palace. And it’s—they’re right on top of each other and going out and taking care of each other on the battlefield, daily firefights. And so, they’re closer probably than anyone could be. And when they lost their five men, they—I think they gave up on the Iraqi people.
If the Iraqi people weren’t willing to fight for them, then what was the point? And they were so angry. They just wanted to go out and take out the whole city. They didn’t understand why they couldn’t finish up what they call the war, and the whole idea of counterinsurgency is that you’re supposed to be building relationships, but they’re trying to build relationships with people who obviously aren’t that concerned about them. So this idea of a massacre was just—they were just so angry, they could barely contain it anymore.
www.democracynow.org/2007/12/21/us_soldiers_stage_mutiny_refuse_orders
Morning all good Dems. I wish I was at home or doing errands to get ready for the holidays. Instead, I'm at work, finishing up some stuff before next week.
Sandy: You said "if it all blows up again" - I think it's more like "WHEN it all blows up again."
TomN: I so agree, we do need envoirnmental leadership from D.C. but, until we elect a Dem. President and hold a majority in both houses of congress, we won't get it. It's just that simple. The rethugs are the party of facists and the Dems are the party of the people.
Congress directs the president, if they call for a CIC, to command legal military action they choose to fund.
Gates should be reprimanded and fired for military criticism of congress. That is forbidden. A press conference from the pentagon? Who called it, politicos?
***
Gates: Congress' Iraq, Afghan War Funding Undermines Military
WASHINGTON (AP)--Paying for the wars in Iraq in Afghanistan in fits and starts undermines U.S. military planning and risks the gains made by U.S. troops over the past year, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.
Congress this week approved $70 billion for combat operations, but that is only half of what the President George W. Bush requested.
"We will again face the risk of running out of money," Gates said at a Pentagon news conference. He said the uncertainly of funding requires the Defense Department to make "short-term plans and short-term decisions."
Hi Sandy, thanks for looking, I didn't see anything about him either.
Hello Mary,
Dems have some problem people, but are the best hope for change and a liveable future. So here's my idea for Dem supermajority and exec in 08. Select Edwards early in the primaries and set Clinton and Obama onto all the GOP candidates possible for takeover. Work together and be less divisive to get the control necessary to get the job done. It is too important a time to be divided, and IMO, Clinton and Obama divide the country and would take away the focus on congress and the senate.
The issue and rallying messaage for the dems and country should be Universal Health Care.
Hi gals, Lou Dobbs is still with CNN, at least his nighttime slot shows Lou Dobbs tonight when Katie is on in his slot. Probably on a vacation. Even Racist xenophobics need a little time off !
Hopefully this wasn't on anyone's wish list this year, but just incase you bought this as a gift...
WASHINGTON -- Four days before Christmas, Planet Toys Inc. wants stores to remove the company's CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit from their shelves after some tests had revealed samples of asbestos included in the kits.The New York toy manufacturer sent a "stop sale" notice Friday, according to a statement on the company's Web site saying an investigation is under way into whether the kits pose a health threat to anyone using them.
Posted by TomN on December 22, 2007 at 12:06 PM
Hi Tom: I agree except I want Sen. Biden as POTUS. As that is unlikely to happen, I would love to see an Edwards/Biden team as I think that Edwards could use some 'schooling' on Foreign Relations and Sen. Biden has the most successful experience in that area.
When I look at who is running on either side I ask out of a nation of 300,000.000,is this is the best we can do?
No room for them at the Paris Hilton Inn?
Tent city in suburbs is cost of home crisisBy Dana Ford Fri Dec 21
ONTARIO, California (Reuters) - Between railroad tracks and beneath the roar of departing planes sits "tent city," a terminus for homeless people. It is not, as might be expected, in a blighted city center, but in the once-booming suburbia of Southern California.
The noisy, dusty camp sprang up in July with 20 residents and now numbers 200 people, including several children, growing as this region east of Los Angeles has been hit by the U.S. housing crisis.
The unraveling of the region known as the Inland Empire reads like a 21st century version of "The Grapes of Wrath," John Steinbeck's novel about families driven from their lands by the Great Depression...
I remember reading a similar article a month ago about similar conditions in Connecticut where middle class families were living together because rental housing was so high.
It's been no secret to food pantries who are seeing more middle class families among the working poor looking for help...the homeless eat at shelters. During the last Bush recession we all learned just how close anybody can be to a marginal existence in this country.
"Homeless" will haunt Bush just as it did Hoover and will be the final nail in the Bush legacy next to Katrina, Abu Graibe/Gitmo, and WMD...among others.
Bush Sr. should count himself lucky that Senator Clinton would even consider him as a roving ambassador for our country when he is a member of THAT family.
I suppose the Bush crime family has done pretty well for themselves with all the war profiteering across generations. If the grandfather could do business with the Third Reich, it's easy to see why Bush Jr. isn't concerned about these tent cities springing up in this country...any more that Grand Dad was about the Jewish ghettoes leading up to concentration camps in WWII.
Suffering is for the little people...and the middle class it now appears.
Journal:
BILL MOYERS: What is it? No one knows or seems to care but as commercials for the thing hit the airwaves, citizens everywhere are seduced into believing they can't live without it, so they descend in droves to buy as many as they can get. Enter: Word Girl!
WORDGIRL: Everyone stop, you're being tricked! The Thing doesn't do anything!
PERSON 1: Yes it does! It does so much stuff!
PERSON 2: The commercial says I needed one for my boat!
WORDGIRL: You don't have a boat!
PERSON 2: Hon, we need a boat for our THING!
WORDGIRL: You don't need a THING!
PERSON 2: But the commercial says !
BILL MOYERS: Watching all this, it seemed a good time to put in a call to Benjamin Barber. Like WordGirl, he's standing athwart history and shouting stop.
You may remember Benjamin Barber from his international best seller, JIHAD VERSUS MCWORLD. Among other things, he's a renowned political theorist and a distinguished senior fellow at Demos — a public policy think tank here in New York City.
His latest book is CONSUMED, about how the global economy produces too many goods we don't need, too few of those we do need, and, to keep the racket going, targets children as consumers in a market where shopping is a twenty-four hour business. Capitalism, he says, "seems quite literally to be consuming itself, leaving democracy in peril and the fate of citizens uncertain." Benjamin Barber answered my call - and he's with me now.
****
BENJAMIN BARBER: Yeah. Well, wherever Milton Friedman is, right now, he's at the soul of the Republican and the Democratic party. And the reality is, here, there is a powerful role for, I'm not gonna say our government, for democratic institutions. For citizens. For participatory institutions. They include our government. They include our townships. They include our PTAs. They include our NGOs and our philanthropies. There's a whole civil society which is a whole lot more than just the government. Where we act not as private consumers, or selfish individuals, but we act as neighbors. We act as citizens. We act as friends to establish the social character of the world we live in. And we keep doing it wrong.
You know, everyone loves Wal-Mart as a consumer. So do I. Lots of goods, cheap prices. But it has social consequences that, as a consumers, we don't think about. We know it means low wages, it means low wages without pensions. It means wage earners who don't have proper healthcare. But, worse than that, it means the destruction of mom and pop stores. The destruction of retail. The destruction of those very little shops you were talking about that are at the heart of America's villages and towns.
BILL MOYERS: But that is the creative destruction isn't it. That's at the heart of capitalism.
BENJAMIN BARBER: But, you know what? Democracy has a simple rule. The social conscience. The citizen trumps the consumer. We, Milton Friedman, with his help, we've inverted that. Now the consumer trumps the citizen. And we're getting a society that manifests the trumping by the consumer of civics. Which means a selfish privatized and, ultimately, corrupt society. And one no one wants their own children to grow up in.
www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/12212007/transcript4.html
What is not offered is the key to this economic mess spreading around the world.
Any one with a conscience is a threat to this system and will be imprisoned and tortured until it is gone. How fun is that? Who needs a conscience with all this great stuff to wallow in?
Posted by TomN on December 22, 2007 at 11:37 AM
Tom,
I read that yesterday, too.
There was another article last week describing another situation where a unit was divided over how to proceed. When a professional, volunteer army begins to question their officers and debates among themselves, you know something is terribly wrong at the top command...and the mission is murky at best.
There have also been stories leaking out that commands are sending out untis and they just pull over to the side of the road till it's time to return to post. The officers are even part of the rebellion.
It's not just the worn out equipment and the constant re-deployments from stretching the troops and the mission too long, it's now the actual miliatry chain of command that is falling apart. This is not a good sign for the future.
The Russian military must feel great about the mistakes being made by this Pentagon. The Chinese see it as an opportunity. They are taking all those interest payment we make them each month on our National Debt and using them to build up their army as well.
What are we going to be left with when this is all said and done?
When I look at who is running on either side I ask out of a nation of 300,000.000,is this is the best we can do?
Posted by freedomforce on December 22, 2007 at 12:53 PM
When you look at the collective strength of our slate of candidates and the quality people they could bring into play to develop policy and run governmental agencies, you see the potential for change and growth.
The other side has only religious fanatics and frat boys running the show. That's worked out real well?
The difference in quality is so startling only a worried Republican or a lobbyist for foreign multinationalist interests would try to compare the two.
Hey, are these the grinches that are stealing Christmas? Take extra gas money charged on the credit card, then charge interest cause they own the debt and bank too. Debtor nation status is limiting our future choices and putting the payments onto the grandchildren.
****
Saudis plan huge sovereign wealth fund
By Henny Sender and David Wighton in New York and Sundeep Tucker in Hong Kong
Published: December 21 2007 09:23 | Last updated: December 21 2007 19:37
Saudi Arabia plans to establish a sovereign wealth fund that is expected to dwarf Abu Dhabi’s $900bn and become the largest in the world.
The new fund will be a formidable rival for other government-owned investment funds in the Middle East and Asia, which are playing an increasingly active role in channelling capital to western companies, particularly financial companies hard hit by the US mortgage meltdown.
******
Until now, SAMA’s investment policy has been conservative and largely limited to investment in bonds, especially US Treasuries, and shares. That contrasts with the mandate of its peers in the Gulf, which is increasingly geared to higher returns for when oil runs out, by investing in alternative assets such as private equity and hedge funds.
That emphasis has lately yielded to a focus on buying major stakes in troubled financial firms on both sides of the Atlantic in the wake of the subprime mortgage meltdown.
I would be happy with ANY of the Dems running !
Not a one of them that won't be FAR better than what we have had for 7 years !
I am eager for the candidate to be chosen, and let the Games begin !
His latest book is CONSUMED, about how the global economy produces too many goods we don't need, too few of those we do need, and, to keep the racket going
TomN,
Thanks for this post.
Isn't it the truth? Why can't this country produce the necessities of life for its citizen any longer?
Health care, housing, reliable energy sources, or even affordable milk and eggs for growing children are out of reach for far too many...and the numbers lacking in these essential goods and services are growing fast.
With the baby boomers about to retire on small incomes and young people not able to find good-paying jobs, the situation is about to come to a head.
Could it be because the GOP isn't even trying and hasn't since the advent of St. Reagan? Bingo.
bbl.
10:02 AM 12/22/07
A few days ago, in a fit of pique after what I consisidered to be a prticularly nasty slap-in-the-face from my Senators, I posted a notice that I was going to write-in the name of my Congressman when voting for the Senator who is running in November. This was a silly idea, and after I cooled down I realized that it would probably get my ballot thrown out entirely if my Congressman's name appeared twice. Since the vultures will be looking for any excuse to throw out Democratic ballots, I've decided to either write-in my own name or go ahead and vote for the Senator, even though will never forgive her. This enrages me, but I have no other choice.
It's not just the worn out equipment and the constant re-deployments from stretching the troops and the mission too long, it's now the actual miliatry chain of command that is falling apart. This is not a good sign for the future.
Posted by SandyH on December 22, 2007 at 01:08 PM
=========================================
Al-Sahhaf is known for his daily press briefings in Baghdad during the 2003 Iraq War. His colorful appearances caused him to be nicknamed Baghdad Bob (in the style of previous propagandists with alliterative aliases such as "Tokyo Rose," "Axis Sally," "Hanoi Hannah," and "Seoul City Sue") by commentators in the United States and Comical Ali (an allusion to Chemical Ali, the nickname of former Iraqi Defence Minister Ali Hassan al-Majid) by commentators in the United Kingdom.
On April 7, 2003, al-Sahhaf claimed that there were no American troops in Baghdad, and that the Americans were committing suicide by the hundreds at the city's gates. At that time, American tanks were patrolling the streets only a few hundred yards from the location where the press conference was held. His last public appearance as Information Minister was on April 8, 2003, when he said that the Americans "are going to surrender or be burned in their tanks. They will surrender, it is they who will surrender".
He gained something of a cult following in the west, appearing on T-shirts, cartoons, and from internet phenomena came satirical websites. One such site featured sound bites of the minister, as well as photoshopped pictures of him on the Star Wars Death Star, at The Battle of Waterloo and at the D-Day landings, in all cases maintaining that "everything is just fine."[2]
=======================================
Did you get your Bagdad Bob T-shirt Sandy.
hey radlib, you think YOU have it bad, I have Lieber-loser for a Senator! Until we get all Democrats in office, THEN we will start weeding out the bad ones, so hang in there, the fight is not over just because the Dems win the WH and the Senate Majority .
Here was my Letter to editor in paper today:
"Well, Well, Well ! So Joe Lieberman is endorsing John McCain for President ! Why aren't I surprised? Could it be because Joe is assured that McCain will keep us stuck in the quagmire of Iraq? That despite there being no Political reconcilliation between the different sects there, the US will stick it out and build permanent bases within the country. That maybe, just maybe Joe can convince McCain to bomb the hell out of Iran?
I am sure that the Republicans within the State of Ct are thrilled at their vote last year and their candidate's choice for President , but for those Democrats who argued that Joe was a Democrat, and for those Independents who felt the same, and pulled the lever for Joe, are you feeling just a bit sheepish and embarassed? Nancy DiNardo? James Amann? All you other Democratic leaders in the state? All the mea culpas in the world will not correct the mistake you made putting this man in office!
Maybe you should have listened to those of us who told you Joe was no Democrat, after all!
Joe is a good man, liberal but not Commie.
Old CT Troll, are you going to call him "JoeBoy", your racist term for "Jewboy"?
Posted by PamB on December 22, 2007 at 09:14 AM
Scares the hell out of me!
One world order, and all that jazz.
You know, everyone loves Wal-Mart as a consumer. So do I. Lots of goods, cheap prices.Posted by TomN on December 22, 2007 at 01:03 PM
Yes we do know this, even PamB can´t stay away(Samsclub).
Since the vultures will be looking for any excuse to throw out Democratic ballots, I've decided to either write-in my own name or go ahead and vote for the Senator, even though will never forgive her. This enrages me, but I have no other choice.
Posted by radlib on December 22, 2007 at 01:35 PM
If you write in a name other than a valid candidate who has submitted their intent to be a write-in candidate, you are allowing election officials to determine your intent, rather than you providing a clear vote.
Optical scanners will kick out your ballot if marked in error.
I recommend voting your ballot as laid out.
I am eager for the candidate to be chosen, and let the Games begin !
Posted by PamB on December 22, 2007 at 01:21 PM
Looks like the Old CT troll is feeling frisky. I wouldn´t want to be in Georgie`s shoes when she puts on her Gladiator suit and cracks the whip.
I wouldn´t want to be in Georgie`s shoes when she puts on her Gladiator suit and cracks the whip.
Posted by Marshall_McBurd on December 22, 2007 at 02:03 PM
I hope the old CT Troll remembers to put the paper bag over her head first so she doesn't scare poor George.
Posted by **___D____Cactus*___ on December 22, 2007 at 02:09 PM
I bet she uses a wallworld bag just to make him feel a little bit better about the whole process.
The bag with the little yellow happy face on it??
Oh ya Mr. cactus, that one!! I wonder if she draws sqirrel teeth on it?
Thanks for your comments.
10:47 AM 12/22/07
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/12/22/immigrants.leave.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
Here is another example of political frustration. We all know that the anti-illegal immigrant movement is based primarily on white-supremacist hatred of mixed races, in this case, Mestizo, rather than on a love of the law, but these illegal workers are all scabs and, indeed, do undercut hard-won organized labor victories in wages and benefits. I want to simply say, "A plague on both their houses!" But that does not solve the problem. The "free market" is at the base of this dilemma. Ungregulated markets give every advantage to the "haves" and none to the "have-nots," who are forced to sell their labor for any pittance offered just to stay alive. This is precisely what "free-market" backers intend to have happen. The "free-market" is right-wing mythology of the worst kind. Even Adam Smith saw through it and warned against it in his later writings, referring to "the conspiricies of the Masters." All of us, all decent people of goodwill, need to get active and put these abuses to an end.
hahahahaha....
No, I think the idea is to cover up her natural beauty.
Posted by radlib on December 22, 2007 at 02:25 PM
you could always move to N.Korea or Cuba, and take pammy with you.
Natural beauty?? Is that what they call it now days?
She should get some beauty tips from Nancy "Botox Queen" Pelosi.
Posted by Marshall_McBurd on December 22, 2007 at 02:34 PM
Yes, but can Nancy crack open a ten pound bag of walnuts in under a minute, like Pammy can??
I doubt it, thats a record that will stand for quite awhile. I wonder if Melody gets any of those nuts?
heah why dont you d cactus and mc turd get real job and leave the sight for the adult
Edwards Proposes New Economic Stimulus Plan to Combat Coming Recession Hotlist
by TomP [Subscribe]
Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 10:15:55 AM PST
Well, we all can see the results of the Republican economic theories: growing inequality and an economy broken and heading to recession.
"Families across the country are working harder than ever, but in the last seven years, the typical family's income actually decreased – at the same time the costs of health care, energy, and housing are skyrocketing," said Edwards.
Put bluntly, hard times are coming. Economists Alan Greenspan, Joseph Stiglitz and Martin Feldstein estimate that there is a 50-50 risk of a recession.
"The truth is our economy is slowing under the weight of stagnant wages, a major housing crisis and a spike in energy costs. And now, leading economists are saying there's a substantial risk we could enter a recession."
Edwards Unveils Stimulus Plan To Strengthen Economy And Create New Jobs
John Edwards believes that we cannot wait to fight the coming recession. Edwards is calling on Congress to pass at least a $25 billion jobs plan in early 2008 and be ready to pass $75 billion more if there are more signs of an economic recession.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/22/113746/68/596/425529
Looks like the Mitt Flipper has a "truthiness" problem:
Romney lied during his "I'm a Christian too" speech, said he watched his father march with Martin Luther King - never hapened
by John Aravosis (DC) · 12/22/2007 02:24:00 PM ET · Link
Discuss this post here: Comments (3) · reddit · FARK ·· Digg It!
Not only did Romney not see his father march with MLK, but Romney's father never marched with MLK. This is one hell of a lie, and Romney's explanation of the lie only makes matters worse. From the Boston Globe:
Mitt Romney acknowledged yesterday that he never saw his father march with Martin Luther King Jr. as he asserted in a nationally televised speech this month, and historical evidence shows that Michigan's Governor George Romney and the civil rights leader never did march together.
Romney said his father had told him he had marched with King and that he had been using the word "saw" in a "figurative sense."
"If you look at the literature, if you look at the dictionary, the term 'saw' includes being aware of in the sense I've described," Romney told reporters in Iowa. "It's a figure of speech and very familiar, and it's very common. And I saw my dad march with Martin Luther King. I did not see it with my own eyes, but I saw him in the sense of being aware of his participation in that great effort."
But historical evidence, including news accounts at the time, shows that George Romney never marched with King, though he supported King's agenda.
Saw in the figurative sense? What sense is that? I was a rhetoric major and never, ever, heard anyone use the word "saw" in a figurative sense. He looked it up in a dictionary? That's his best answer as to why he lied to the American people?
Next up: How Romney invented the Internet. I can see an entire campaign here, if this guy becomes the Romney. How Romney saw Churchill. How Romney saw Shakespeare. How Romney saw Jesus.
And it's not the first time Romney lied about all of this...
Posted by dusty2006 on December 22, 2007 at 02:50 PM
Look Dusty, you have two choices. 1: go back to school, learn to write, then you can come back and play with the big boys. 2: go back to Pong Yang, Timbucktu or where ever it was you came from and stay there.
December 22, 2007
9/11 Panel Study Finds That C.I.A. Withheld Tapes
By MARK MAZZETTI
WASHINGTON — A review of classified documents by former members of the Sept. 11 commission shows that the panel made repeated and detailed requests to the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 and 2004 for documents and other information about the interrogation of operatives of Al Qaeda, and were told by a top C.I.A. official that the agency had “produced or made available for review” everything that had been requested.
The review was conducted earlier this month after the disclosure that in November 2005, the C.I.A. destroyed videotapes documenting the interrogations of two Qaeda operatives.
A seven-page memorandum prepared by Philip D. Zelikow, the panel’s former executive director, concluded that “further investigation is needed” to determine whether the C.I.A.’s withholding of the tapes from the commission violated federal law.
In interviews this week, the two chairmen of the commission, Lee H. Hamilton and Thomas H. Kean, said their reading of the report had convinced them that the agency had made a conscious decision to impede the Sept. 11 commission’s inquiry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/22/washington/22intel.html?_r=1&ex=1356066000&en=527304ecfe527925&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Robert,
If you are going to believe "dailyKOOKS", then you better get you soup bowl and spoon and run down to your nearest food line now!
your not big boy your a trool and go to hell if you think yo cna scare me this place for eveubody bot for trool like you go home your self mc turd
mc turd why does it have to be facist site to beleaveable
“further investigation is needed” to determine whether the C.I.A.’s withholding of the tapes from the commission violated federal law.
Posted by rjsnj on December 22, 2007 at 02:59 PM
Ahhh....Another case for the "Pretend Crimes Unit".
Posted by dusty2006 on December 22, 2007 at 03:05 PM
shoo fly shoo
Posted by **___D____Cactus*___ on December 22, 2007 at 03:06 PM
These geeks will do anything to get attention.
Posted by rjsnj on December 22, 2007 at 02:59 PM
Its funny,
I don't remember them getting so upset, when Sandy Burguler destroyed all those documents to keep the 911 commission from finding out about all Bill Clinton's screw ups.
you should know your a pretend person dumb ass cactus
Posted by dusty2006 on December 22, 2007 at 03:09 PM
Hey Dusty, what happened? All of a sudden we can read your writing???
nc turd and d cactus are the freaks not me iam true democrat this my site not your
Hey Dusty, what happened? All of a sudden we can read your writing???
Posted by Marshall_McBurd on December 22, 2007 at 03:13 PM
That happens when "it" gets upset.
why dont you two go to the republican sight and bug them insteed of us here
i trought a cactus was it iam person that you drean you are
i dont know pamy and ima not it trool iam real person why do you make fun of people does that make you feel important
Posted by dusty2006 on December 22, 2007 at 03:24 PM
I´m impressed.
Unfortunately,
"Cousin it" represents the intelligence of the socialists that post here.
Posted by **___D____Cactus*___ on December 22, 2007 at 03:32 PM
Actually I expected it for some odd reason. Just wait until Uncle fester shows up.
Michael Moore - Perhaps the sorriest excuse for an American citizen, this man has made millions upon millions of dollars with his shmuck productions constantly berating our country and our government. He is about as far left as you could get. Or so we would assume. He has made some small donations to individual campaigns, but has Mr. Moore ever made a single contribution to any national, state, local or district committee of ANY party, not just liberals? Nope. Not a single penny. $0. In his entire life he hasn’t made a single donation to a general party.
##################################################
Looks like another progressive scam artist. yes sir, he did it all for private gain. And again I´m impressed with this progressive crapola.
Good afternoon, all.
Before you go out this weekend and spluge on some last minute shopping items, you might want to consider the charges already on your credit card that you didn't know about:
Obligations Ignored
BY Scott Horton
December 18, 2007
...So here it is, an obscure speech delivered by an obscure person, with a message that no one wants to hear:
For the 11th year in a row, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) was prevented from expressing an opinion on the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government–other than the Statement of Social Insurance–because of serious material weaknesses affecting financial systems, fundamental recordkeeping, and financial reporting.
David M. Walker, the Comptroller General of the United States and head of GAO, did note some progress in this year’s audit...
...Overall, however, Walker was not satisfied. In a speech today at the National Press Club, he said, “If the federal government was a private corporation and the same report came out this morning, our stock would be dropping and there would be talk about whether the company’s management and directors needed a major shake-up.” Walker urged greater transparency and accountability over the federal government’s operations, financial condition, and fiscal outlook.
Despite improvements in financial management since the U.S. government began preparing consolidated financial statements more than a decade ago, three major impediments prevent the U.S. government from obtaining a clean opinion: (1) serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense, (2) the federal government’s inability to adequately account for and reconcile intragovernmental activity and balances between federal agencies, and (3) the federal government’s ineffective process for preparing the consolidated financial statements.
“Until the problems outlined in our audit report are adequately addressed, they will continue to have adverse implications for the federal government and American taxpayers,” Walker said in a letter to the President and Congress. “The federal government’s fiscal exposures totaled approximately $53 trillion as of September 30, 2007, up more than $2 trillion from September 30, 2006, and an increase of more than $32 trillion from about $20 trillion as of September 30, 2000,” Walker said. “This translates into a current burden of about $175,000 per American or approximately $455,000 per American household.”...
www.harpers.org/archive/2007/12/hbc-90001943
Someone in the White House has been cooking the books...and borrowing and spending like crazy.
$455,000 per household! My house wasn't worth that much before the sub-prime mortage defaults and the resulting burst in the housing market bubble.
I think this amount should be taken out of the hide of the person in charge. Impeach him now...and his sidekick.
The Bush crime family and their crooked associates have made that much and more with war profiteering.
FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Dec 22
22 Dec 2007 14:06:09 GMT
Source: Reuters
Dec 22 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1400 GMT on Saturday. * denotes new or updated items
* KIRKUK - Two unidentified gunmen were killed and one was wounded in clashes with Iraqi police in a village near the northern city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. Two policemen were also wounded in the clashes.
KIRKUK - A double roadside bomb attack killed one U.S. soldier and wounded 11 in northern Iraq's Kirkuk province on Friday, the U.S. military said. BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber blew himself up near an Iraqi police and army checkpoint in western Baghdad, killing four people and wounding six, police said. SINJAR - Two roadside bombs killed a policeman and wounded two others in an attack targeting a police patrol in the northern town of Sinjar, near the Syrian border, police said.
MADAEN - A roadside bomb wounded five civilians as they were walking past a hospital in the town of Madaen, 45 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
BAGHDAD - Security forces found three bodies throughout Baghdad on Friday, police said.
ISKANDARIYA - Police said they found the body of a guard who works for the minister of state for national security in the town of Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, on Friday.
=================================================
Yeah, real peaceful there in Iraq. The SPLURGE is a failure. The GOP is a failure. Bush is a failure. The GOP conservative shills are all failures.
Turkish planes bomb Kurds in Iraq again
By C. ONUR ANT, Associated Press Writer 44 minutes ago
ISTANBUL, Turkey - Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Saturday in the third confirmed cross-border offensive by Turkish forces in less than a week, the military said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The U.S. Embassy in Ankara said it was informed before the assault took place, but gave no further information. The United States and Iraq both have urged Turkey to avoid a major operation in the area, fearing it could destabilize what has been the calmest region in Iraq.
The bombing lasted nearly a half-hour on Saturday afternoon, and was followed by shelling from inside Turkish borders, the military said in a statement posted on its Web site. It did not say how deep into Iraqi territory the warplanes penetrated, or which areas were shelled.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071222/ap_on_re_mi_ea/turkey_iraq_kurds
================================================
Yeah, I am just so impressed by how peaceful it is in Iraq. I suppose this is some of that GOP buying into "success / victory".
The splurge is a lie. Nothing has been settled. In some ways, the overall situation now is even worst.
Iraq is the GOP's way of throwing our valuable tax money down the drain. Of course, the GOP war profiteers are making out like bandits.
The Bush crime family and their crooked associates have made that much and more with war profiteering.
Posted by SandyH on December 22, 2007 at 04:18 PM
===================================================
Sandy, I agree completely. The only "success/victory" in Iraq belongs to the crooks and war profiteers. The American people and Iraqi people are all getting a raw deal with this endless occupation that costs 12 billion per month.
Unfortunately,
"Cousin it" represents the intelligence of the socialists that post here.
Posted by **___D____Cactus*___ on December 22, 2007 at 03:32 Pm
ima not cousin it my intellegnece is more then both combined and it has not got anything to do with with what you think a socialists is why dont you both get life and grow up
Friday, December 21, 2007
California's Tent City of the Foreclosed
Here are some excerpts from a speech on boosting home ownership made by the leader of the free world, George W. Bush, in 2002: But I believe owning something is a part of the American Dream, as well. I believe when somebody owns their own home, they're realizing the American Dream. They can say it's my home, it's nobody else's home. And we saw that yesterday in Atlanta, when we went to the new homes of the new homeowners. And I saw with pride firsthand, the man say, welcome to my home. He didn't say, welcome to government's home; he didn't say, welcome to my neighbor's home; he said, welcome to my home. I own the home, and you're welcome to come in the home, and I appreciate it. He was a proud man. He was proud that he owns the property. And I was proud for him. And I want that pride to extend all throughout our country...
The goal is, everybody who wants to own a home has got a shot at doing so. The problem is we have what we call a homeownership gap in America. Three-quarters of Anglos own their homes, and yet less than 50 percent of African Americans and Hispanics own homes. That ownership gap signals that something might be wrong in the land of plenty. And we need to do something about it.
Unfortunately, we now know how everyone who wanted to own a home got a shot at doing so in the wake of the subprime crisis. Several got loans they could not afford as many were granted on a NINJA basis--no income, no jobs or assets while the Bush administration trumpeted rising home ownership rates as an accomplishment. In many ways, this tent city described below is symbolic of what's happened to the (MIA/DOA) American dream under the term of Bush: foreclosed and forced to live out in a tent city. That this is happening not in some hollowed-out urban center but in SoCal's Inland Empire is indicative of the problem's magnitude. I remember one person speaking of the US as one big gated community: Bush and Co. live inside the gated community and the rest, well, live in a tent city by the looks of it. From Reuters:
http://ipezone.blogspot.com/2007/12/californias-tent-city-of-foreclosed.html
=================================================
A tent city of the recently foreclosed! This is the conservatives and their Chimp leader's legacy.
So we have McBurd and Cactus instead of Hannity and Colmes with us this afternon? Luckily, Frosty hasn't finished his shopping or we would have to listen to his Limbaugh ravings.
You guys should send a tape to Faux News. Sean is getting a little stale these days. They may be looking for a replacement. We could give you a great reference.
Please go bake some cookies or try to electrocute yourself setting up the outdoor lights. Merry Christmas, you filthy animals.
We know it's not going to be a happy New Year for you when we boot out your GOP tap dancing squad come November. You might as well enjoy the last merry Christmas you'll have for quite awhile.
I wonder how many of those people lived over their standards by having to have "this" and "that"?
Posted by Marshall_McBurd on December 22, 2007 at 01:54 PM
Looks like you are about $455,000 over your limit. Funny how looking for WMD that never existed and setting up abstinence only classes run by sneaky motivational speakers dressed like ministers runs up the old conservative ticker.
You Republicans need to be scared straight or you'll never stop your fiscal irresponsibility. A Democratic majority in the Capitol and Democratic President in the White House in 2009 should do it.
bbl.
Iraqi gov't pledges to disband SunnisBAGHDAD - Iraq's Shiite-led government declared Saturday that after restive areas are calmed it will disband Sunni groups battling Islamic extremists because it does not want them to become a separate military force.
In Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel targets, the military said, in the third confirmed cross-border offensive by Turkish forces in less than a week.
So the U.S. is building up the Sunni's, like they did Saddam Hussein, and then the Iraq Shiite's militia will disarm them right into another civil war.
With Turkey attacking the PKK with Bush's okay, will they soon have a separate Kurdish militia for the U.S. to support?
How many ways can the U.S. play Russian roulette? The Shiite's will maybe send the U.S. home because they are siding with the Sunni's. How is Bush going to create a miracle in Iraq after so many blunders of supporting different militias?
Why does Bush pay more to support any other country, but when it come to this country, Bush treats them as Katrina victims, where he is this Washington insurance company denying them anything. Bush borrows money to bankrupt our children then sends their parents work overseas. It seems Bush is destroying our economy "At Will" where "We the people" pay in every Republican way of taking our futures away.
Posted by rjsnj on December 22, 2007 at 04:38 PM
rjsnj,
I saw that earlier this morning. Middle class shanty towns...that's the Bush legacy.
Posted by dlesterpoet on December 22, 2007 at 04:41 PM
poet.
Bush seems to be setting up new armies everywhere and supporting them instead of our own?
Go John Edwards
Posted by dlesterpoet on December 22, 2007 at 04:42 PM
===================================================
Hi dlester,
Darn right ... Edwards is the man.
I saw that earlier this morning. Middle class shanty towns...that's the Bush legacy.
Posted by SandyH on December 22, 2007 at 04:44 PM
==================================================
Sandy, it's just like the Depression Era.
UNICEF: War has taken a toll on Iraq's children
By Jamie Gumbrecht | McClatchy Newspapers
BAGHDAD — More than four years after the United States invaded Iraq, the country's children continue to face a litany of problems from disrupted educations to unsafe drinking water, detentions and violence, UNICEF reported Friday.
Violence and displacement often kept Iraqi children out of school this year. The organization estimates that 2 million educations were interrupted, especially among primary-school students.
The report says that only 28 percent of 17-year-olds in Iraq took final exams this summer, and fewer than half passed. However, UNICEF-supported programs to distribute classroom materials, rebuild schools and provide more learning opportunities benefited 4.7 million children, the agency reported.
Health took a hit, too, as children living in remote areas were faced with poor nutrition and diseases such as cholera. Those living in remote areas were often cut off from health services, although a door-to-door immunization campaign protected 4 million from polio and 3 million from measles, mumps and rubella.
The full report, based on statistics from UNICEF, Iraq's government and the U.S. military, will be released in early 2008.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/23552.html
================================================
Of course, I serious doubt this will upset Chimpy very much. After all, he doesn't care about children right here in the USA.
Tony Blair converts to CatholicismBy Michael Holden Sat Dec 22, 11:56 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Former British prime minister Tony Blair has converted from Britain's established church, Anglicanism, to Roman Catholicism, the head of Britain's Catholics said on Saturday.
Speaking as a fallen-away Catholic, this is just what Blair needs for getting involved with Bush...institutionalized guilt.
U.S. Senate Report: Over 400 Prominent Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming Claims in 2007
Senate Report Debunks "Consensus"
Complete U.S. Senate Report Now Available: (LINK)
INTRODUCTION:
Over 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen countries recently voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called "consensus" on man-made global warming. These scientists, many of whom are current and former participants in the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), criticized the climate claims made by the UN IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore.
The new report issued by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s office of the GOP Ranking Member details the views of the scientists, the overwhelming majority of whom spoke out in 2007.
Even some in the establishment media now appear to be taking notice of the growing number of skeptical scientists. In October, the Washington Post Staff Writer Juliet Eilperin conceded the obvious, writing that climate skeptics "appear to be expanding rather than shrinking." Many scientists from around the world have dubbed 2007 as the year man-made global warming fears “bite the dust.” (LINK) In addition, many scientists who are also progressive environmentalists believe climate fear promotion has "co-opted" the green movement. (LINK)
Please go bake some cookies or try to electrocute yourself setting up the outdoor lights. Merry Christmas, you filthy animals.
Posted by SandyH on December 22, 2007 at 04:41 PM
Sandy,
What a terrible thing to say, and I was just telling my wife this morning " you know for a low down commie, that Sandy is a nice person".
I am shocked, and hurt.
Posted by **___D____Cactus*___ on December 22, 2007 at 05:29 PM
Hey Cactus!
I should have warned you. There are no non "troll" nice people here. They are all assholes.
I feel terrible about not warning you.
Hi FROSTY,
I'm afraid your warning is too late, I'm traumatized now.
I would be happy with ANY of the Dems running !
Posted by PamB
Would you be happy with Dennis Kucinich as the official candidate representing the DNC for the 2008 presidential elections?
I know I would.
If elected he would be just the guy to open foreign relations talks with the Martins.
I've decided to either write-in my own name or go ahead and vote for the Senator, even though will never forgive her. This enrages me, but I have no other choice.
Posted by radlib
Elections have rules. If you don't want to follow them then stay home and chew on the carpeting. You can't expect the government to devise machines that will accommodate were possible whim of you commie asshat voters.
Maybe they can have a balloting procedure similar to cowpie bingo. They can print the names of democrat candidates on a big mat and then all the dems can take turns walking around the mat until they decide to vote by pulling down their pants and dropping a big steaming turd on the square with the name of their candidate.
Ahhhh... maybe not. You'd all probably screw that up too and crap your pants before you got them down.
Or Mary Martin? I know she was pretty scary in Peter Pan. All that flying around.
Posted by **___D____Cactus*___ on December 22, 2007 at 05:29 PM
I'm sorry. I only wanted you to help your wife in the kitchen where you have her chained to the stove. You'd have to admit the insurance money she would get if you lit up like a Xnas tree would come in handy during the holidays.
I'm as nice as Hillary's political operatives.
If elected he would be just the guy to open foreign relations talks with the Martins.
Posted by Harpo_thinks_everyone_here_is_a_commie on December 22, 2007 at 05:49 PM
And the Lewis family? I didn't know you were into the telethon.
Posted by Harpo_thinks_everyone_here_is_a_commie on December 22, 2007 at 05:56 PM
That wouldn't be fair Harpo, some caucus goers would have an unfair advantage. There would be some who would not empty their Depends for several days and then place the entire contents on their chosen candidates square.
Hi, Sandy. I see we are blessed with Curly, Larry and Moe tonight. It must be slow at the local 7/11.
It's nice to see you three stooges doing your republican party proud. Your obsessions with defecation is such a sterling quality. Much better than peeking through restroom stalls, trying to "hook up" with your fellow man.
Sandy, I would welcome martini and rossi! Instead, we get 3rd rate trolls. It's unfair I say! We are the DNC! We deserve better!
I'm sorry. I only wanted you to help your wife in the kitchen where you have her chained to the stove.
Posted by SandyH on December 22, 2007 at 05:59 PM
I help her all the time, I've been telling her how to cook for years now, but like most women she's slow to learn, that's why I don't let her be irresponsible and vote.
Harpo, would that be Ricky Martin or Dean Martin?
Posted by Cyn_NY
I'll go with Dean Martin. He liked his cocktails. What does martin have to do with jerry Lewis and the telethon?
Maybe because Jerry likes his cocktails too.
Food pantries are seeing a growing tide of people they've never before had to assist, many of whom work full-time jobs. The poverty in America that this crisis reveals is a national disgrace. Promoted from the diaries with minor edits. -smintheus
From the New York Times, we hear today that food pantries in Connecticut are turning the hungry away:
Amid this holiday season, food pantries in lower Connecticut are reporting a surge in the number of residents seeking a decent meal.
"I have had to turn people away," said Joyce Gumbus, who oversees the 164 Wilson Memorial Food Pantry in Stamford. The pantry is providing groceries for up to 400 people a week, compared with 200 a week last year, Ms. Gumbus said.
For the Food Bank, the clearinghouse for some of the pantries’ food, that translates into some difficult challenges, like providing Thanksgiving turkeys for 6,000 families this year, versus 3,000 in 2006. It means handling about 500 tons of food annually, 161,000 pounds of which were distributed in November alone, Ms. Lombardo said. "The need has doubled in the last year," she said. "And we don’t expect it to get better anytime soon."
And on Long Island, there are fears that donations are not adequately keeping up with the spike in demand:
Long Island Cares / the Harry Chapin Food Bank and Island Harvest, a food rescue group, are reporting a 42 percent increase in demand for food over last year among some of the nearly 800 nonprofit community groups they serve.
Nearly half of emergency food aid recipients on Long Island come from households with at least one employed adult, according to a 2006 study by America's Second Harvest Network. More than half are women.
And donations are not keeping pace with need. Island Harvest is predicting a food shortage of more than 195,000 meals by year's end.
It's not just the New York area. Its the same all over.
Nashville:
More and more people depend on their local food pantry to feed their families and that's putting a strain on places such as the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.
Donations are not down, but this year, more people are asking for help.
"And when you see empty, empty shelves, that means there are empty stomachs in this neighborhood," said Chris Sanders, development director of St. Luke's Community House in West Nashville.
Cleveland:
Christmas is just around the corner and the only thing more barren than the trees outside seemed to be the shelves of food banks.
According to a news release from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, food banks statewide are experiencing shortages. These shortages have left some agencies rationing their food in order to stretch the number of people helped.
To help aid the statewide shortage, eight agriculture groups donated $8,000 to the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks this week. The money will be used to provide hunger relief to soup kitchens, food pantries and other assistance programs all over Ohio.
Chicago:
According to Debra Ocampo, director of the Union Ave. United Methodist Church Pantry, supplies have gone down to about 2/3 of what they were in recent years. These past months have been especially troubling: barely any vegetables or fruit have been donated.
Vicki Escarra of America's Second Harvest estimates that more than 35 million Americans lack access to enough food to stay healthy.
It's not just the homeless who are affected, but 25 million Americans, including individuals who are unable to work to support themselves: 9 million children and 3 million senior citizens are in need of food.
Philadelphia:
The line outside the Catholic Social Services food pantry in Norristown yesterday was longer than usual - 62 people when there are normally 40.
These days, as demand for food increases, most food banks around the nation as well as in the Philadelphia area are coping with diminished supplies - an economic formula for hard times.
"Maybe the worst in 26 years," said Ross Fraser, a spokesman for America's Second Harvest-The Nation's Food Bank Network, a hunger-relief charity to which 85 percent of all U.S. food banks belong.
New Jersey:
Jewish Family Service of Central New Jersey is struggling to keep up with demand as its food pantry faces the largest number of requests for assistance and emergency food packages in its history.
"We're doing our best to maintain the current level of giving, but it's getting very difficult to keep up with the demand," said JFS executive director Tom Beck.
Massachusetts:
If the number of people walking through their doors is any indication, social service workers say 2007-2008 is already shaping up to be the toughest winter in recent memory.
Dramatic price increases in food, gasoline, heating oil and other basics is resulting in a "perfect storm," making this already the worst winter Tom Gifford, executive director of Beverly Bootstraps, has seen in 15 years. People have to cut back on food, making pantries a necessity, he said.
"Those economic factors are really grinding families down," he said.
Martin and Lewis made up when Old Blue Eyes had had enough of the feud. They both appeared on Jerry's telethon before they died. I thought you'd understand...coming from your own Rat Pack of sorts here.
Posted by **___D____Cactus*___ on December 22, 2007 at 06:14 PM
She probably has been voting by mail for years and yor're not the wiser of it.
Posted by Cyn_NY on December 22, 2007 at 06:36 PM
Cyn,
It's a national disgrace...too easy for the corporate media to ignore. But everyone knows a few families who are not going to have it easy this Xmas.
Word-of-mouth is the best and the most credible of communication. The word is out. The GOP has gotten the reputation for being uncaring that they richly deserve for allowing our middle class lifestyle to change so drastically.
Katrina is a symbol that is fast becoming reality for far too many the holiday season.
Sandy, it's up close and personal now, isn't it?
The GOP has really dug its own grave. I heard that Harry Reid gave a great response to the presidunce's weekly radio address. I'll have to try to find it.
To vote republican now, one would have to be living under a rock.
Obama criticizes Edwards' record.
Hmmm, so he's not criticizing Hillary. Wonder what that's all about?
http://news.yahoo.com:80/s/ap/20071222/ap_on_el_pr/obama_edwards_1
And one for Dawnie:
Half of Americans Ready to Back Rodham Clinton
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/half_of_americans_ready_to_back_rodham_clinton/
Off to cook dinner. We New Yawkers eat fashionably late. A few cocktails, great music, yada, yada.
See you on the flip side.
"Polarization" Watch: "Block And Blame"--CAF Highlights GOP Obstructionism
by: Paul Rosenberg
Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 13:08:52 PM EST
On Tuesday, December 18, 2007, conservatives in the U.S. Senate made history. They forced the 62nd cloture vote in this session--just before reaching the half-way point! That's like Barry Bonds hitting 120 home runs in one season. Talk about performance-enhancing steroids! Eat your heart out, Barry!
Maybe Congress should be investigating itself? At the very least, Democrats should be doing some serious soul-searching and ask themselves if their confrontation-avoiding strategy--failing to force the GOP to filibuster--is really working for them, since the GOP strategy is not only working so well, it is redefining what "normal" is, and feeding a narrative in which Democrats shoulder all the blame for "not getting anything done," for being in "disarray," and just generally being wimps.
Which is why this all fits into the category of "Polarization Watch," which is sort of a theme for me just now.
One group that's not fooled is the Campaign for America's Future (CAF), which just issued a report "Block And Blame: The Conservative Strategy of Obstruction in the 110th Congress." that has the lowdown on all the above and more.
For example, the report also notes that, as a second line of obstruction, Bush has vetoed six bills and threatened 84 vetoes. In contrast, while Republicans held the majority, Bush went longer without a veto than any President since Arthur Garfield.
To vote republican now, one would have to be living under a rock.
Posted by Cyn_NY on December 22, 2007 at 06:56 PM
==================================================
I seen a very interesting report yesterday on evangelicals. The evangelicals at the so-called mega-churches are totally ignoring the GOP. They are sick of the Republican party and are angry that their "leaders" won't endorse Huckabee. Many pastors have simply stopped talking about politics. I am not saying many of these people will vote Democrats but they are the GOP field force and looks to me like they are on "strike".
This does not fair well for the GOP in 2008.
Obama criticizes Edwards' record.
Hmmm, so he's not criticizing Hillary. Wonder what that's all about?
Posted by Cyn_NY
He's a minority so he knows the pain of exclusion. He's making sure he's an equal opportunity criticizer.
Bush went longer without a veto than any President since Arthur Garfield.
Posted by rjsnj on December 22, 2007 at 07:09 PM
We have never had a President named Arthur Garfield.
We have never had a President named Arthur Garfield.
Posted by MarvelousFrosty*
Perhaps he meant Arthur Godfrey. My grandmother liked him, he made her laugh.
Until he turned mean and started firing his cast. He became known as a backstabber and his popularity faded quickly. I think he was a democrat too.
good evening dems, just one more question, exactly how are they getting these likeability polls? who is running them? how are they calculated?
it seems to be they could be about unscientific as the election polls. if you don't like a poll number, just wait 15 seconds and another will come out! i have realized the media only broadcasts the ones that give the best story.
i personaly hate the media. it used to be a good thing. we did'nt have 24 hr news that had to keep coming up with things to talk about. of coarse, i imagine big money has gotten to journalists also.
i really believe money is the root of all evil. it most certainly has had a terrible effect on this country in the last 20 years.
the republicans are absolutely the greediest people. they only got on the evangelical kick to brainwash the american people and take over the government.
i don't know how good christian people cannot see thru these idiots. they are so blinded by the abortion issue and gay issue the can't see what the pukes are up to.
i don't know how good christian people cannot see thru these idiots. they are so blinded by the abortion issue and gay issue the can't see what the pukes are up to.
Posted by connfloyd on December 22, 2007 at 08:28 PM
=================================================
connfloyd, it's already happened. The reason there is so little enthusiam in the GOP primaries that the evangelicals just don't care. They like Huckabee as they see him as one of them on social issues and he is an economic populist who wants to do something about jobs, income disparity and health care. The business/libertarian greed Republicans are going absolutely nuts; they can't stand Huckabee. Word has it that the gas bag Limbaugh has been beating on Huckabee all week ...
There is definitely a divide in the party. Many evangelicals particularly in the South are fairly poor and are hurting from the lousy GOP policies that favor wealth.
Later ...
Posted by connfloyd
good evening dems, just one more question, exactly how are they getting these likeability polls? who is running them? how are they calculated?
Howdy asshat. let me see if I can clear this up for you. These polls are conducted with a technique very similar as the democrats employ to increase voter participation on election nights;alcohol. They approach some thirsty looking d-horn in an alley and ask him which candidate he's leaning towards in the race. The answer they get depends on the quality of wine they offer the fine chap.
Hillary's lead in those polls began to fade when her supply of Night Train ran low and Obama's cashe of MD 20/20 started to loosen the lips of potential voters in his favor.
This same technique served the dems well in the last 2 presidential elections when campaign workers for Gore and Kerry drove around in school buses enticing potential voters aboard for a quick trip down to the polling place in exchange for booze and cigarettes.
it seems to be they could be about unscientific as the election polls. if you don't like a poll number, just wait 15 seconds and another will come out!
Very much like the campaign promises the dem candidates will make as they tour the country. If you yell out "I need this or that" they will develop a program on the fly that will ensure that you damn sure get it!
i have realized the media only broadcasts the ones that give the best story. i personaly hate the media. it used to be a good thing. we did'nt have 24 hr news that had to keep coming up with things to talk about. of coarse, i imagine big money has gotten to journalists also.
Big money is a republican phenomenon. Democrats are poor by definition. There is no money of any appreciable amount on their side. No dem candidate every had much $$$ and they run their campaigns on shoe string budgets.
i really believe money is the root of all evil. it most certainly has had a terrible effect on this country in the last 20 years. the republicans are absolutely the greediest people. they only got on the evangelical kick to brainwash the american people and take over the government.
That's a helluva theory there Floyd. I assume you have always been short on cash and just made that up to justify your meager existence. I suggest you bark you take a shotgun to your feet so you can increase your monthly check for the government.
i don't know how good christian people cannot see thru these idiots. they are so blinded by the abortion issue and gay issue the can't see what the pukes are up to.
Hey, don't point your crooked finger at us. It's your people who are sucking up Almer Gantry Gore's line of bullshit like coke heads chasing the dragon at a Hollywood pool party. Abortion and gays are negative issues as far as building up a potential voter base for your party as neither will result in an increase of future potential democrat voters.
Father ‘n Son’s Christmas BlessingWASHINGTON - Former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had a plan to suspend the rules against illegal detention and arrest up to 12,000 Americans he suspected of being disloyal, according to a newly declassified document.
And now Bush has his Patriot Act to arrest anyone without due process and eliminate the Judicial branch using Executive Military Courts, like when the American Indians were given a life sentence on reservations. Bush "At Will" can destroy things that the Legislative and Judicial branch has told them to save, is that not Constitutional heresy and treason. You see he is the Supreme Judge King George VIII Commander and Chief War President, ruler of everything. God can Congress and the Federal Courts hear our patriot prayers.
Bush's FBI want to take a DNA, fingerprints, heritage, biorhythms, medical data, scars, tattoos, blood types, reading habits, upbringing and well just everything to create the perfect American master race data file on its computer where you will be born with a number as a criminal. With FBI generic engineering, it will weeds out those that cannot be perfect Republicans of the Royal Class of Corporate rulers. They will use Bush as there perfect role model of what America has to hire as its Conglomerate CEO White House President. Yes, Washington will be this Hoover vision of the perfect race to rule the world.
Later ...
Posted by rjsnj
I though you had already left. You should adopt a catchy phrase like Dawnie's "peace out" or Pammy's "blog ya later dems". It's sounds snappier than "later". Duty dosen't use a snappy sign off phrase because he he typically ends his evening blooging sessions by passing out onto his keyboard and you can tell this by a long series of a single character much like this: ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
DPD has been known to end his blog sessions with such brilliant quotes as "shumsings notriight emt's on way" or something like that. When he does that he'll typically be gone for a month as it means he's had another heart attack. He has a lot of those and one of these days it's going to explode in his chest and then there will be no more DPD on our blog. When that happens I would appreciate someone posting his death notice so I can send a wreath of plastic flowers to his wake.
Well, later rj. I imagine you're off to the gay bars in Somerset, New Jersey. Don't forget to wear your "Hi, I'm Robert J Scardapane" name tag sticker so you can be identified when they find you in the alley later, face down in a pool of your vomit with your pants around your ankles.
Remember, when a guy says "Hi, can I push in your stool?" he doesn't mean he wants to assist you as you find a place at the bar.
Night Bobby and "be careful out there".
New Orleans police attack residents protesting public housing demolition
By Jeff Lassahn
http://wsws.org/articles/2007/dec2007/newo-d22.shtml
Millions of Iraqi children need help now:
UNICEF report
A United Nations report paints a grim picture of life in Iraq for two million children
Children are also the victims of violence, frequently caught in the crossfire of fighting, said the report, called Little Respite for Iraq's Children in 2007.
Full Story:
Turkey in fresh Iraq air strikes
Turkey has launched fresh air strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, the Turkish military says. Iraq's Kurdish regional government condemned those raids, but Turkey says it has a right to defend itself from PKK attacks on its territory. Read more . . .
Iraq: Four years on
Baghdad: Mapping the violence
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/baghdad_navigator
9/11 Panel Study Finds That CIA Withheld Tapes
By Mark Mazzetti
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/22/washington/22intel.html?hp
Some wonderful ideas of Senator Hillary Clinton as she makes her Christmas list for us.
Watch the short video:
Good evening, everyone.
Posted by dlesterpoet on December 22, 2007 at 09:14 PM
poet,
I don't think the people in charge in Washington now could do half of the stuff the FBI says it wants to do. They certainly couldn't do it right.
Those Regency U grads don't even believe in the scientifc method. Can you see them spearheading this project?
I think the business lobby just wants to compile a bunch of info on consumers, so they can sell more stuff. That, and the bigots in the GOP want to make sure they keep as many minorities in jail as possible.
Why would the Republican leadership want to create a Master Race when they already think they are one...and don't want to share what they've stolen with anybody else?
Then there is the money problem. We're broke; the Treasury is bare. Private contractors, who would be running this Big Brother operation, don't work cheap or on credit.
Posted by DemocratKickingAss on December 22, 2007 at 10:31 PM
DKA,
I have only one item on my Christmas list...bringing home all of our troops from Iraq.
Looks like the Bush crime family is adding Solvent Green to their product line in the future.
$6.3 billion buyout by Carlyle completeBloomberg News
December 22, 2007TOLEDO, Ohio - Manor Care Inc. said Friday that private-equity firm Carlyle Group has completed its $6.3 billion acquisition of the nation's largest chain of nursing homes...
www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sat_3brief_1222dec22,0,6850256.story
Forget about Big Brother. Worry about what the GOP will do to you once you are old and have run out of assets to pay for long-term care.
Harpo puke,
You are apparently an uneducated idiot with no idea what is going on in the world. You just sit back and hurl insultes without ever checking any facts out for yourself. Why don't you go look for the truth before you start writing your idoitic dribble on this website.
VOTE FOR HILLARY!!!!
harpo, if we have a negative cash balance, how's the fact that we are outraising you by leaps and bounds. face it harp, nobodies buying your crap anymore.
i've be researching and i am amazed what i have found out about the dirty tricks of the pukes.
i guess nixon didn't teach them a lesson. maybe when we incarcerate the chimp and sidekick, maybe they'll think twice before lying about the dems again.
we need to impeach and lock-up bush, cheney, rove, and etc. for a long long time.
You are apparently an uneducated idiot with no idea what is going on in the world.
Posted by girldem
You sure seem to think you know a lot about me which is sorta odd seeing how this is the very first time you have ever posted here. Or, at least under that name. Hell, for all I know you are rj coming back online after changing into his new Christmas dress.
VOTE FOR HILLARY!!!!
No thanks, there's not enough MD 20/20 to make me that nuts!!!
Posted by connfloyd
Hey Floyd, try hitting that capital key every so often. Your rants will have a more professional look to them.
Harpo,
This is my first time blogging but this is not my first time to read this blog. I come from a long line of yellow-dog democrates and I am disgusted by the things you post. It could only come from a narrowminded person who has to putdown all other people to make himself feel better. This is a blog to post ideas and share information about the party not to call anyone who posts here commies.
harpo, can't use the cap key. i lost my little fingers in nam.
hey sandy h, i know exactly what they will do.
they will line us all up to be euthanized. just like the Bible says. it's all in revelations.
Posted by girldem
This is my first time blogging but this is not my first time to read this blog.
That's a load of crap. No one comes here to just read the tripe these asshats post. If you did that then you're a real dope and then it's about time you posted and joined the rest of these dopes.
I come from a long line of yellow-dog democrates and I am disgusted by the things you post.
If you find my posts disgusting then you haven't read this blog before otherwise you'd notice that most of the things posted by the regular 8 on here are disgusting. It's probably just that you agree with the disgusting things that say about anyone and everyone on "the other side". You should be ashamed of yourself. I know I am of you.
It could only come from a narrowminded person who has to putdown all other people to make himself feel better.
Awwwww... shucks, you got me blushing here.
This is a blog to post ideas and share information about the party not to call anyone who posts here commies.
Hahahahahaaaaa... post ideas... not call anyone names... damn girl, you're a real friggin' hoot. You ever considered doing standup?
harpo, can't use the cap key. i lost my little fingers in nam.
Posted by connfloyd
Wow, no shit??? Both little fingers??? Damn, those North Vietnamese commie interrogation experts are insidious bastards. I bet it really frosted your cookies when they wouldn't believe your pleas that you were one of them.
That's really too bad but don't feel too bad about it, here is site where you can get new fingers.
Harpo,
Wow!! I am so upset that I have disappointed you. Really I'm crying here truly.
Posted by girldem
Sorry dg, but that's an old commie trick. They come up, hug you and cry on your shoulder then shive ya in the back.
Harpo,
Damn Harpo, Did you fight in WW1 you sure seem to know all these commie tricks. How old are you 101 ????
hey dg, you must have hit a vein there. old harpo must to went to bed. you know how they are, they can't stand to get old. have a good evening, hoping to go to bed soon. i think everyone is going to try and keep me awake though. they seem to be comin' q hr or so. there's not rest for us folk thats on disability.
Rock star does an anti-Bush song/video. Check this out everyone. The Republican trolls will love this one. LOL
Connfloyd,
Yep the sleeping pills must have kicked in. Do you think they tucked him in? Id sure hate it if he fell out of bed it might knock some sense into him!!! Then who would everybody on here laugh at.
VOTE FOR HILLARY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by SandyH on December 22, 2007 at 10:43 PM
Good comment.
So sad that in the future Country Club Royals will segregate US by the data, that even allows corporations into your doctor's office to record personal data into FBI computers.
With Republicans they "At Will" use telecoms without warrants, demand data "At Will" from Google and Yahoo search engines, use Microsoft as a Republican division of the Government that like Putin as Czar makes our King George VIII the Czar of the master race. That excludes civilians upon segregate economic biases that say wealth of religion of green blooded values is the Holy Grail to the Royal Republican Country Club Party and those Democrats so Royal, they fall in fashion and work against the "We the people."
The people are controlled by worldwide power broker, who are taking over Russia and the United States, have control in Pakistan, and India, incorporate Israel, Saudi Arabia and Dubai. They are there to set up a Red Chinese like socialist system worldwide. They are the ones that are controlling the media and the electronic voting machines.
It seems that Republicans do not want Federal Courts to legislate from the bench, yet they approve of Bush's Attorney Generals legislating from the White House. Where the Executive Branch become the whole Constitution of "At Will" Executive Privilege with no checks and balances of Patriot Act absolute control, where a President can put citizens in prison without habeas corpus and due process.
Yes. power like that of Russia's Putin and Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf where they took the Democracy away and denied Freedom and turned their countries into totalitarian dictatorships. Why do you think Bush is only mildly countermanding them? Is it a power grab by those that seek world domination? It makes one wonder with the media we have, that it must side with the White House "At Will" wishes.
Pakistan’s Tyranny Continues
Lahore, Pakistan
THE chief justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, and his family have been detained in their house, barricaded in with barbed wire and surrounded by police officers in riot gear since Nov. 3. Phone lines have been cut and jammers have been installed all around the house to disable cellphones. And the United States doesn’t seem to care about any of that.
The chief justice is not the only person who has been detained. All of his colleagues who, having sworn to protect, uphold and defend the Constitution, refused to take a new oath prescribed by President Pervez Musharraf as chief of the army remain confined to their homes with their family members. The chief justice’s lawyers are also in detention, initially in such medieval conditions that two of them were hospitalized, one with renal failure.
Why is the United States not talking to the exiled Supreme Court leader? Why is the media praying down the elimination of the Constitution where "At Will" King Musharraf VIII uses his Executive Privilege of using his Patriot Act forces? Scary this sounds just like a scenario here.
Peace on Earth...
A hope for today,
A wish for the ages.
All the joys of the Season
To all the good Democrats.
Why is Bush bankrupting US and why is he not borrowing from Citibank and Chase? Why is he supporting the Red China economy over ours, where Iraq Chinese profits buy large chunks of Wall Street? Why are Republicans moving so much money into Dubai and setting up a New York like World Banking Center there, using siphoned money from the misappropriated Blackwater and DynCorp Billions to buy into a Citibank take over? The only one that really is screwed is another Saving and Loan Country where the Bush Family and friends move their interests overseas having given up on the United States. They all have bought land to retire to after the Bush demise, a Country with immunity from prosecution. After bankrupting US awaiting, as the United States goes into a Bush recession and they come back in twenty years from now, as Robber Barons hiring American working slaves with below minimum wage jobs.
Why are we spending money on Mexico, Columbia, Israel, and other countries, when we are broke and only Red China profits? Let have Red China spend some money on the world problems, they pay nothing now and buy our nation bit by bit with our money and we still owe them our children’s lives future. Let Washington give their perks and earmarks to pay Mexico instead. Let US stop Corporate giveaways and have them become fiscal responsible Eisenhower Republicans and JFK Democrats.
I have never seen a President so set on putting US into Bankruptcy. This President will spend billions overseas "At Will" of Creative Accounting, and yet is a Katrina Grinch to American needs. He has outsourced the White House to foreign interests. The First President who has divorced "We the people" in “At Will” policies by divorcing our patriot Constitution and making a Corporate takeover of our government, where “We the people” work for the White House Czar.
Poll of the Day
How would you rate President
Bush's performance in 2007?
http://capitalnews.org
OK, Frostie.
Here's a link for you to decipher as only you can. I can't figure out what this guy is trying to say to the world.
You put him under your conservative microscope and tell me if he's for or against a) Christmas, b) Santa, c) credit cards, d) unconventional cross burnings, or e) traditional outdoor light displays.
Santa on Cross Protests Commercialism Dec 22BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) - Art Conrad has an issue with the commercialism of Christmas, and his protest has gone way beyond just shunning the malls or turning off his television. The Bremerton resident nailed Santa Claus to a 15-foot crucifix in front of his house.
"Santa has been perverted from who he started out to be," Conrad said. "Now he's the person being used by corporations to get us to buy more stuff."
A photo of the crucified Santa adorns his Christmas cards, with the message "Santa died for your MasterCard."
The display is also Conrad's way of poking fun at political correctness. He believes people don't express their feelings because they're afraid of what other people might think.
His neighbors found the will to express their feelings this past week. Some were offended but many were just curious.
Jake Tally walked by on Friday and chuckled, but didn't pretend to understand the message.
"I don't really know what to think. I know it's about God but Santa has nothing to do with it," he told the Kitsap Sun newspaper.
(Bold mine.)
Oh, really?
I think he's just another victim of Bush administration overload. They're cracking up all over the place.
Just look at the Huckabee/Limbaugh feud. Mad as hell, and they aren't going to take it anymore?
And why is everyone's post coming up italics?
He has outsourced the White House to foreign interests.
Posted by dlesterpoet on December 23, 2007 at 01:56 AM
Poet,
I'll agree with that. Bush doesn't consider himself an American anymore. He's King of multinational economics...which is showing every sign of going the way of New Orleans after Katrina.
How many bail outs has the Fed issued in the past two weeks? How much money are they printing and dumping to cover the hole in the sub-prime dike? How much have the Europeans banks had to put out?
I read today that the major banks like Bank of America have refused to fund the multi-billion dollar reserve the Fed proposed. Something is going to give if China and the Arabs don't come to the Feds' aid. You get the idea that they have had enough of our begging.
Bush is one multinational which the multinationals could do without.
I don't know, Sandy. It happened during one of Harpo's scatological posts.
There, I hope this works.
Just finished the last load of laundry.
Good night, everyone.
Good evening morning ((nite owls}}.
I think the harpy broke the thread?
All the best to you and yours for the Holidays.
Here's one for the road and may explain why that guy was crusifying Santa:
Poll: Republican Approval of Bush’s Handling of the Economy PlummetsJon Ponder | Dec. 22, 2007
Republicans’ approval of Pres. Bush’s handling of the economy dropped 20 percentage points in the last month, according to American Research Group:
45 percent of Republicans disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy. In November, 25 percent of Republicans disapproved of Bush’s handling of the economy.
That’s quite a drop in a key indicator. It suggests a wave of financial insecurity among Republican voters and could be a portentous sign of weakness inside Bush’s base.
Among all voters, 71 percent disapprove of Bush’s handling of the economy, while 28 percent approve.
Overall, 32 percent approved of Bush’s job performance versus 66 percent who disapproved.
www.pensitoreview.com/2007/12/22/poll-republican-approval-of-bush-on-economy-plummets/
Merry Christmas, KA-Boom. All the best to you and your's this holiday season, too.
G'Nite, Sandy
(I tried purposely doing this in italics just to see if it will negate the stuck format.)
Well, if they'd flush the troll crap in the morning, maybe that will fix it?
What am I saying? It's the weekend. And a holiday weekend at that. No. such. luck. The threads will be stuck for a while?
{{Season's Greetings}}
And a Happy Humbug. When the timer kicked in today one string of lights on the outside tree went kaput. Now I have to go to the hardware store first thing in the morning for some more and try to put them up in 50 mph winds. That should be fun. I'm sure the stores and roads will be empty (HAH!), but the lights will be around $1.99 so it will even out, I hope.
Greetings Liberal Greaseballs!!!!! Have you all had your meds yet?
President Clinton finishes his time on earth and approaches the Pearly Gates of Heaven.
"And who might you be?" inquires St. Peter.
It's me, Bill Clinton, formerly President of the United States and Leader of the Free World."
"Oh, Mr. President! What may I do for you?" asks St. Peter.
"I'd like to come in," replies Clinton.
"Sure," but first you have to confess your sins. What bad things have you done in your life?"
Clinton bites his lip and answers, "Well, I tried marijuana, but you can't call it "dope-smoking" because I didn't inhale. There were inappropriate extramarital relationships, but you can't call it "adultery" because I didn't achieve full "sexual relations", and I made some statements that were misleading but legally accurate - You can't call it bearing "false witness" because as far as I know, it didn't meet the legal standard of perjury".
With that, St. Peter consults the Book of Life briefly and declares, "OK, here's the deal. We'll send you somewhere hot, but we won't call it "Hell". You'll be there indefinitely, but we won't call it "eternity", and when you enter you don't have to "abandon all hope", just don't hold your breath waiting for it to freeze over."
they will line us all up to be euthanized. just like the Bible says. it's all in revelations.
Posted by connfloyd on December 22, 2007 at 11:38 PM
Hey numbnuts, the progressives are the ones that want abortion.
And a Happy Humbug. When the timer kicked in today one string of lights on the outside tree went kaput. Now I have to go to the hardware store first thing in the morning for some more and try to put them up in 50 mph winds. That should be fun. I'm sure the stores and roads will be empty (HAH!), but the lights will be around $1.99 so it will even out, I hope.
Posted by Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on December 23, 2007 at 03:00 AM
Why is an atheist ass hat such as your self commemorating the birth of Christ?
Posted by MarvelousFrosty* on December 23, 2007 at 03:34 AM
DopeyD is trying to intigrate. He thinks if he can make them believe that he´s a godfearing person, then the welfare office will give him a christmas bonus. But we know differently. Yes DopeyD, we won´t let you get away with it.
It's unfair I say! We are the DNC! We deserve better!
Posted by Cyn_NY on December 22, 2007 at 06:11 PM
Congradulations!!! Of course you deserve better, thats why we have decided you can now have MD20-20, or Ripple!!!! The choice is yours.
When bill clintoon was president he liked to go jogging. As he jogged he passed a working girl just getting off her shift. "How much?" the rapist-in-cheif asked.
"A hundred," the hooker replied.
"I'll pay five bucks," clintoon stated. The hooker flipped him off and went on home.
The same thing happened for the next three days, each time the hooker said $100. and clintoon said $5.
The next morning, hilllary wanted to go with bill. He couldn't say no, but he hoped he wouldn't see the hooker this morning. As luck would have it, they practically ran in to each other. The hooker took one look at hillary and said "See what you get for five bucks?"
I don't suppose that the Gorebot would care to reveal the sources of financing for the "scientists" who are responsible for the AGW mythology, and for the nutcase groups that peddle the crap.
If anyone needs evidence that the AlBore's Church of Gorebull Warming is a pseudoscientific religion, the fact that it preaches dogmata and attempts to brand those who question it as heretics will do very well. And any "science" that labels questioners as "deniers", equating them with Holocaust deniers, is not only incredible but unspeakably contemptible and loathsome.
And here's another rant from Pope Al:
"But when you're reporting on a story like the one you're covering today, where you have people all around the world, you don't take – you don't search out for someone who still believes the Earth is flat and give them equal time. And the reason the IPCC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the thousands of scientists who make up that group, have for almost 20 years now created a very strong scientific consensus that is as strong a consensus as you'll ever see in science, that the climate crisis is real, human beings are responsible for it."
Reality time, you flaming arschloch:
I want to pause here and talk about this notion of consensus, and the rise of what has been called consensus science. I regard consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had.
Let's be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus.
There is no such thing as consensus science. If it's consensus, it isn't science. If it's science, it isn't consensus. Period.
##################################################
Another short note for all you who have been brainwashed by Bubba Gore.
Marshall_McBurds quote of the day:Political correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional liberal minority and by the mainstream media which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.
Posted by Marshall_McBurd on December 23, 2007 at 04:03 AM
What is an arschloch. Is that like an asshole only bigger? I am always eager to learn new words.
Frosty, An "arschloch" means asshole in german. A good example: Pammy is an arschloch. DoPeyD is a stupid arschloch.
Bout time for Esmeralda to wake up and have some M & M's.
Sandy,
What a terrible thing to say, and I was just telling my wife this morning " you know for a low down commie, that Sandy is a nice person".
I am shocked, and hurt.
Posted by **___D____Cactus*___ on December 22, 2007 at 05:29 PM
Hey Cactus!
I should have warned you. There are no non "troll" nice people here. They are all arschlochs.
Posted by MarvelousFrosty* on December 23, 2007 at 04:29 AM
Exactly
I just send all of my friends a christmas mail. To all of the liberal greaseballs I will say: lech mich am arsch.
Bout time for Esmeralda to wake up and have some M & M's.
Posted by MarvelousFrosty* on December 23, 2007 at 04:21 AM
She would be better off by snacking on a few dried prunes.
Hey Cactus!
I should have warned you. There are no non "troll" nice people here. They are all arschlochs, assfiddlers, schwuchtls, hinter laders unt geissfickers.
in other words, the reg 8 is a perverted bunch of arschgeigern.
If it wasn´t for us, this place would have died out about 56.9854 days ago.
It's unfair I say! We are the DNC! We deserve better!
Posted by Cyn_NY on December 22, 2007 at 06:11 PM
Congradulations!!! Of course you deserve better, thats why we have decided you can now have MD20-20, or Ripple!!!! The choice is yours.
Posted by Marshall_McBurd on December 23, 2007 at 03:49 AM
We´ll even expand our offer to include a lifelike riesenschwanz in the color of your choice.
cyn was wrong, these aren't third rate trolls, they don't even rate in the trolls top 100. What a bunch of sad sack losers!
Posted by Alamo on December 23, 2007 at 06:09 AM
Hey, Lady, when are you coming to see me?
Posted by Alamo on December 23, 2007 at 06:16 AM
That's good, email me....Later.....
Maybe they're all serving their country in Iraq...BHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH..snort...BAHANAHAHAHAHAPosted by BlueinIdaho on May 8, 2007 at 12:56 PM
LMAO, Blue.
these chickenhawks talk a good story, but are too yellow to go themselves.
Posted by PamB on May 8, 2007 at 01:54 PM
You still haven´t found the courage to get your own ragged butt down there to do anything.
I read an article today that said all the stuff sent over to Iraq will never be coming back, and that with the over half a TRILLION already spent on this fiasco, the average age of the Air Force fleet is 26 years. They are finding jets with worn out turbines, electric shorts near the fuel tanks etc., and one General said it's only a matter of time until a plane "augers" into a city.
I didn't save the paper, and it's kitty litter day, so I'm not digging in the garbage bag for it, but Here's the Graph
Posted by DPD on May 8, 2007 at 04:21 PM
If you believe everything you see or read, your even dumber than I ever thought you could be.
Something to think about. I am pretty close to being as ultra-liberal as one can get. I am very far from being racist. I am well educated. I am a democrat, born in Florida and living there now. Here is the shocking thing I want you to consider. I am now getting old, but I can remember 40 - 50 years ago in my youth that I was concerned about the leaking Mexican border. My parents (also liberals) did not feel that way, but I did. That is why I remember it. The leak is now a flood. Employers can hire illegals for a little cash - KNOWING they are illegal immigrants - and make tons of money on it. The prevalent trend in employment is to abuse the "contractor" label and avoid p/r taxes, insurance, and everything else. Fedex just got caught - in today's news headlines. Well, illegals are not employees nor contractors; they are paid small amounts of cash under the table and treated like dirt. I am totally for closing the border and I love Lou Dobbs. Also, I am tired of hearing other liberals calling anyone who wants the borders closed a "racist". Could the folks shouting out "Racist" actually be trying to defend the illegal drug traffic coming across the Mexican border?
And - despite having George Bush to run against with candidates Like Gore and Kerry, we have managed to lose the last 2 presidential elections. So - don't be so smug.
Good Sunday morning, Dems. A slow Sunday talk lineup and a heat wave of 37 degrees in NY.
MTP: Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX); CNBC & NYT's John Harwood and NBC News' Chuck Todd on the pres. campaign
FTN: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL); Mike Huckabee (R-AR)
This Week: Rudy Giuliani (R-NY); roundtable of
WaPo's EJ Dionne, ABC's Torie Clarke, Cokie Roberts and George Will; Caroline Kennedy (author, "A Family Christmas")
FNS: Gen. David Petraeus on latest Iraq report; pastor Joel Osteen; Worcester Health president Morrill Worcester
Late Edition: year-end special featuring clips of previous interviews
One for Esme
Electronic Voting Machines May Be History
Colorado Secretary Of State Coffman Decertifies Voting Machines
By George Merritt, Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP) ¯ Colorado's top election official decertified electronic voting machines used in many of the state's largest counties Monday, calling into question equipment used in past elections in a move he said could have national implications.
Electronic voting machines used in Denver, Arapahoe, Pueblo, Mesa and Elbert counties cannot be used in the next election because of problems with accuracy or security, Secretary of State Mike Coffman said.
A number of electronic scanners used to count ballots were also decertified, including a type used by Boulder County as well as more than three dozen small to mid-size counties around the state.
http://cbs4denver.com:80/politics/Voting.Machines.colorado.2.613180.html
Morning {{Cyn}} Yeah, some sort of glitch.
Probably won't get fixed at this rate until hopefully Monday.
Old Man,
I have NEVER heard any liberal saying not to close the borders, nor anyone was a racist who thought we should. I think those borders need to be secured IMMEDIATELY and I am no racist. Where did you hear that, btw?
Also, Dems did not lose the last 2 elections, they were stolen. You live in FL, did you not see that one in 2000 get taken away by the SCOTUS? And read the reports on Ohio in 2004 and all the election fraud, intimidation, machine tampering? I understand that using magnets have now been found to be a way to manipulate machines.
So no one is smug, just Disgusted that we have a party in this country who will win by any means, no matter how far down they have to go to do so.
(I think they call it Republican-Disgustus)
{{Pam}} Good morning to you. Are you having summer weather, too?
Now this is interesting. The Nazi Republicans do not seem to support Giuliani.
That big tough hero of 9/11, and the Facists and Nazis don't like him??
Could it be that he is such a Thug?
Conservative mag depicts Rudy in fascist garb.
The latest cover of the American Conservative depicts Rudy Giuliani in a fascist uniform. Ali Eteraz notes “it’s interesting that paleoconservatives feel this strongly against Rudy.”
Hi Cyn, yes, it is melting out there. I don't want it too warm, I need to use our outside shed for refrigeration of things I am about to start cooking today.
I have lost track of what day it is, I have been really busy. Will be glad when the holiday is all over !
Pam, me, too. I have finally finished the grocery shopping for dinner, presents are wrapped and one more cookie recipe to make for today. I always make cut-out sugar cookies for the little kids to decorate before Christmas dinner. It helps to quiet them down, keeps them busy and they are proud as hell with their creations!
Good morning {{{Pam, Cyn}}}, hope you are both well and ready for Christmas.
I need to run out to exchange one gift first thing this morning (really wish my stepfather would stop buying things for himself in December, it makes it impossible to give him something he doesn't have)
The bookstore is opening early and I going to sneak out before everyone's awake here and enjoy my favorite store in town.
morning {{Kristen}}
this year we cut back on the adult presents, as we get more kids. They are so much more fun to buy for anyways.
Cyn, that sounds like such a good idea to keep the kids busy. Maybe next year when the little ones are a little bigger.
One of the headlines in a local paper said "consumers" are robustly spending. Gee no kidding that's what we "consumers" are supposed to do. We are not citizens anymore we are classified as consumers. Gas over $3 a gallon, food prices way up and gifts to buy for the commercial christmas event. The top 10% are the bosses and citizens while the resat of us are simply "consumers". Kind of hard to save money with an empty tank in the car and an empty fridge in the kitchen but what the hell consume away. It makes it difficult to "invest" in stocks or mutual funds if you have to choose between going without food and gas or buying stock. We "consumers" are only good for corporate profits our opinions aren't welcome in politics. The republicans claim "liberals" are waging class-warfare when the opposite is actually true, the corporate owned republicans are the ones waging class-warfare against "consumers" not "citizens". I'm not sure if I'm stating my case properly since I am just a silly "consumer"
peace
Morning, Kristen - I love bookstores. I could spend hours in one.
Pam, we cut down on presents for the "grown ups", too. The kids are the stars of the show, aren't they?
I hear ya, wldj. Kind of hard to stop consuming when you have to feed the family, keep them warm, buy your meds, etc.
PamB, I haven't heard about the magnets. These republicans are unscrupulous to say the least. How are we going to stop the fraud this go round?
Pam, we switched to buying just for the kiddos last year but both our parents are the exception to that new rule.
good morning kristen, cyn, pam, goodfoe, wldj, old man...looks like you are all leaning over from too much egg nog.
Good morning Greg, baby Nicholas means no Holiday spirits for me.
Costa Rica Reports Record Pot Bust
Dec 22nd, 2007 | SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- Costa Rican agents made the largest marijuana bust in the Central American nation's history, seizing 4.85 tons of the drug found in an abandoned boat, police said Saturday.
The marijuana — enough to roll 17,600 joints, police said — was discovered Friday during a patrol with the U.S. Coast Guard off the country's Pacific coast, Costa Rican police said in a statement.
....but how many bong hits are we talking about??
Morning, gregg. Loved your fortune cookie quote. It's a keeper.
Bout time for Esmeralda to wake up and have some M & M's.
Posted by MarvelousFrosty* on December 23, 2007 at 04:21 AM
silly man!
that's a hoot! Unless that means More & More of the good things in life.
I keep a candy dish filled with those bite sized candy coated chocolates for the carpenter, he needs plumped up. I'm well disciplined. I don't want to be in the shape my parents are in when I'm thier age, so now is the time to change my life. That, and I wanted to be the sexiest grandmother! haha
Walk over, time to cook a big breakfast for my husband, then it's Sunday afternoon consumerism. (for me!!! my business clothes don't fit, so a new wardrobe is needed)
well then kristen i'll have to force myself to consume yours as well!
Here is another casualty in the slumping housing market.
Taxes Are Reassessed in Housing Slump as Prices Drop
LOS ANGELES — Home owners across the nation are looking to county governments to reassess the values of their homes in the face of flattening and falling prices that have befallen scores of markets. Downward assessments, done at the request of homeowners or pre-emptively by government, appear to be most pronounced in areas where the housing market was exploding just a few years ago, or where economic conditions are poorest.
I realize some will cheer, but remember school levies are tied to property taxes, as are emergency service levies.
PamB, I haven't heard about the magnets. These republicans are unscrupulous to say the least. How are we going to stop the fraud this go round?
Posted by connfloyd on December 23, 2007 at 08:40 AM
You mean only repugs have magnets?
How about we educate the voters so that their ballots are cast and counted. Let's not write in names on the paper optical scan ballots so that it's left to the election official to determine your intent. Let's make sure every i is dotted, and every t is crossed when completing your voter application, and your paper ballot.
Leave the magnets at home!
VOTER EDUCATION is what is needed to deter voter fraud.
Enjoy the day, everyone.
here is a real heartbreaker..hahahahah..the pelicans don't know whether to run as rich guys, war mongers, three card monte dealers or the lord's army on earth....why don't they just run as what they are...heirs to the legacy of the worst president to ever hold office?
Splintered GOP Seeks Unifying Presence
Candidates Leave Voters Dissatisfied
By Michael D. Shear and David S. Broder
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, December 23, 2007; Page A01
DES MOINES -- For three decades, the Republican presidential nominating contest has served to unify the national party's coalition of social, economic and foreign policy conservatives in advance of a general election fight with Democrats.
This year, it is ripping that coalition apart.
Is the GOP grounded in the social issues embodied by Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee or the foreign policy experience of former POW John McCain? Do Republicans see their futures in a former CEO such as Mitt Romney, who promises to tackle Washington incompetence, or in a leader such as Rudolph W. Giuliani, who talks tough on terrorism and crime? Should the party embrace anger about immigration or optimism about America's potential?
Proverbs 24:19 Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;
Is the GOP grounded in the social issues embodied by Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee or the foreign policy experience of former POW John McCain? Do Republicans see their futures in a former CEO such as Mitt Romney, who promises to tackle Washington incompetence, or in a leader such as Rudolph W. Giuliani, who talks tough on terrorism and crime? Should the party embrace anger about immigration or optimism about America's potential?
Posted by gregg on December 23, 2007 at 09:02 AM
Morning gregg,
No egg nog here! If I want milk and eggs, I cook it for breakfast, not drink it.
The GOP will split up their choices, i.e the Fundies will all go for the Religious Huckabee, thinking he will save this country from all us immoral Dems, while the fear-ridden, impotent little men will all vote for big talking Rudy to save them from those awful terrorists who are going to show up at their door steps and hurt them!
so pam do you soak your toast in the rum :)
ok time to get to the lumber yard and take advantage of the $20's off a $100 purchase coupon they sent me. bbl.
7 years...... that's all it's taken to basically bankrupt our once great country. Food banks for the poor are running out of not only food but money. I'm off work all next week, unpaid of course. I'm one broken leg from bankrupty since I have no health insurance and can't afford it anyway. But according to our government the economy is stronger than ever. Of course it's not so good for consumers but that's not important because the true citizens are doing very well thank you very much. It's more important to borrow money for the Iraq nightmare than insure poor children because there is not enough profit to be made with a renewable resource such as children, we need more fighter jets and bombs that's real consumption, just replace them with more borrowed money. What the Hell am I missing?????
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