The Justice Department filed papers in court late Monday asking a federal judge to temporarily set aside his own order directing White House officials to testify before Congress about the firings of nine U.S. attorneys.

The filing was in response to a July 31 opinion by U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates that the Bush administration's claims of executive privilege in refusing to allow White House officials to testify about the firings was "unprecedented" and "entirely unsupported by existing case law."

I was disgusted and disturbed by the deliberate (I believe) mischaracterization of Obama's remarks about abortion.  See below: 

Jonah Goldberg, August 19, 2008
Good and evil and Obama
To the Democrat, it's OK to act on a religious conviction if it serves a liberal cause.

At Saddleback, Obama offered the ritualistic support for Roe vs. Wade expected of all Democratic politicians, "not because I'm pro-abortion" but because women "wrestle with these things in profound ways."

Now, this is surely true in a great many instances. But political Obama isn't inclined to explain why "wrestling" with a serious moral question is an adequate substitute for deciding it correctly. People wrestle with all sorts of moral quandaries in "profound ways," but that is not enough. Many slave owners wrestled with whether they should free their slaves, but that did not obviate the need for the Emancipation Proclamation.

They completely ignored and eliminated the most important part of his remark, which was to state that the government had no role in making this kind of private decision (he didn't say it in exactly those words, but his meaning was clear).  This is a deliberate distortion, in my opinion.

Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. -- Harold R. McAlindon

Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

There go the people.  I must follow them for I am their leader. -- Alexandre Ledru-Rollin

The history of the world is but the biography of great men. -- Thomas Carlyle

The real leader has no need to lead -- he is content to point the way. -- Henry Miller

Go to the people. Learn from them. Live with them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. The best of leaders when the job is done, when the task is accomplished, the people will say we have done it ourselves. -- Lao Tzu

Rely on your own strength of body and soul. Take for your star self-reliance, faith, honesty and industry. Don't take too much advice — keep at the helm and steer your own ship, and remember that the great art of commanding is to take a fair share of the work. Fire above the mark you intend to hit. Energy, invincible determination with the right motive, are the levers that move the world. -- Noah Porter

If your actions inspire others to dream more,  learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.  -- John Quincy Adams

He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander. -- Aristotle

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
(from Christian Leadership World)

Any one can hold the helm when the sea is calm. -- Publilius Syrus

A leader is a deal in hope. -- Napoleon Bonaparte

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. -- George Patton  (from Big Dog's Quotes)

Where there is no vision, the people perish. -- Proverbs 29:18

Misfortunes, untoward events, lay open, disclose the skill of a general, while success conceals his weakness, his weak points. -- Horace

In this world a man must either be an anvil or hammer. -- Henry W. Longfellow

I light my candle from their torches. -- Robert Burton

Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise. -- Woodrow Wilson

The greater a man is in power above others, the more he ought to excel them in virtue. None ought to govern who is not better than the governed. -- Publius Syru

A bold onset is half the battle. -- Giuseppe Garibaldi

The power is detested, and miserable the life, of him who wishes to be feared rather than to be loved. -- Cornelius Nepos

To be a great leader and so always master of the situation, one must of necessity have been a great thinker in action. An eagle was never yet hatched from a goose's egg. -- James Thomas

Ill can he rule the great that cannot reach the small. -- Edmund Spenser

He who has learned how to obey will know how to command.  Solon

When I give a minister an order, I leave it to him to find the means to carry it out. -- Napoleon Bonaparte

No man can stand on top because he is put there. -- H. H. Vreeland

It is impossible to imagine anything which better becomes a ruler than mercy. -- Seneca

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent. -- Abraham Lincoln

What you cannot enforce, do not command. -- Sophocles

No general can fight his battles alone. He must depend upon his lieutenants, and his success depends upon his ability to select the right man for the right place. -- Philip Armour

To do great things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult. -- Friedrich Nietzsche

It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself. (Absurdum est ut alios regat, qui seipsum regere nescit.)  -- Latin Proverb

Let he him who would be moved to convince others, be first moved to convince himself. -- Thomas Carlyle

A good general not only sees the way to victory; he also knows when victory is impossible. -- Polybius

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Love and respect do not automatically accompany a position of leadership. They must be earned.  -- Anonymous

Leadership is action, not position. -- Donald McGannon

Remember the difference between a boss and a leader; a boss says "Go!" - a leader says "Let's go!"  -- E.M. Kelly

The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. -- Theodore Roosevelt

The final test of a leader is that he [she] leaves behind in others the conviction and will to carry on. -- Walter Lippman

The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on. . . The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully.   -- Walter Lippmann

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. -- Ralph Nadar

You don't have to hold a position in order to be a leader. -- Anthony J. D'Angelo

There is no such thing as a perfect leader either in the past or present, in China or elsewhere. If there is one, he is only pretending, like a pig inserting scallions into its nose in an effort to look like an elephant. -- Liu Shao-ch'i

This is pre-eminently the leadership quality--the ability to organize all the forces there are in an enterprise and make them serve a common purpose. Men with this ability create a group power rather than express a personal power. -- Mary Parker Follett

To lead the people, walk behind them. -- Lao-Tzu

You can't lead anyone else further than you have gone yourself.  -- Gene Mauch

You do not lead by hitting people over the head. That's assault, not leadership.  -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. -- John C. Maxwell

I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep. -- Charles Maurice De Talleyrand

I learned that a great leader is a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don't want to do and like it. -- Harry S. Truman

Ethics must begin at the top of an organization. It is a leadership issue and the chief executive must set the example. -- Edward Hennessy

There are no office hours for leaders. -- Cardinal J. Gibbons

Those that rule must hear and be deaf, must see and be blind. -- German Proverb

If you lead the people with correctness, who will dare not be correct? -- Confucius

If you have fear of those that command you, spare those that obey you. -- Rabbi Ben Azai

What you cannot enforce, do not command. -- Sophocles

The leadership instinct you are born with is the backbone. You develop the funny bone and the wishbone that go with it. -- Elaine Agather

Skill in the art of communication is crucial to a leader's success. He can accomplish nothing unless he can communicate effectively. -- Norman Allen

Search others for their virtue, and yourself for your vices. --R. Buckminster Fuller

A leader knows what's best to do; a manager knows merely how best to do it. -- Ken Adelman

When the best leader's work is done the people say, ''We did it ourselves.'' -- Lao-Tzu

The chief executive who knows his strengths and weaknesses as a leader is likely to be far more effective than the one who remains blind to them. He also is on the road to humility -- that priceless attitude of openness to life that can help a manager absorb mistakes, failures, or personal shortcomings. -- John Adair

This is not a complete list, so if you or someone you know needs good vibes or prayer, please add them to the list in your comments and update us on their progress.

We still have two wars going on. 

Coalition forces have suffered 4,458 deaths in action in Iraq and 925 deaths in Afghanistan.  The official wounded count for Iraq is 40,229 in Iraq and 2,330 in Afghanistan, but the estimated is actually 23,000 to 100,000.  Wounded in action in Iraq this month as of 08/05/2008:  10 Returned to Duty (RTD) within 72 hours, 16 not RTD.

SPECIAL NOTE:

Mr. Bill has been feeling poorly.  We all miss him very much and hope he feels better soon and returns to us in good spirits.  Mr. Bill, I miss you kitty pics! 

JACOB CLARK, one of our own, is doing well as of last report. He had angioplasty to remove blood clots from his legs.

SPIRITED DONA  reminded me that our friend and fellow Democrat, Morgan Freeman blog was in a serious car accident in Mississippi.  We pray for his speedy and full recovery. 

AnneK's daugther, Emily, had surgery went well.  She had a reaction to her medication, but is doing much better.

This is not a complete list, so if you or someone you know needs good vibes or prayer, please add them to the list in your comments and update us on their progress.

We still have two wars going on. 

Coalition forces have suffered 4,457 deaths in action in Iraq and 907 deaths in Afghanistan.  The official wounded count for Iraq is 40,229 in Iraq and 2,257 in Afghanistan, but the estimated is actually 23,000 to 100,000.  Wounded in action in Iraq this month as of 08/05/2008:  10 Returned to Duty (RTD) within 72 hours, 16 not RTD.

SPECIAL NOTE:

ANNEK's daughter Emily (17 2y/o)  is going in the hospital Monday morning, August 11, 2008, for surgery on her jaw.  We pray for her and Anne and wish Emily a full and speedy recovery. 

SPIRITED DONA  reminded me that our friend and fellow Democrat, Morgan Freeman blog was in a serious car accident in Mississippi.  We pray for his speedy and full recovery. 

AnneK's daugther, Emily, had surgery went well.  She had a reaction to her medication, but is doing much better.

Elephantizing refers to the process of training a baby elephant to stay tied to a stake with a rope. 

When they first do this to the baby elephant, they use a thick, heavy chain.  The baby struggles and struggles, but can't break free.  He finally gives up in exhaustion, convinced he cannot break the chain. 

Over time, they replace the chain with smaller and smaller chains and ropes, until the elephant will stay tied to a stake by a very small rope.  By the time he is an adult, he could easily break the small rope, but, because as a baby he was convinced he could not break free, he accepts his confinement without question.

That is what they call elephantizing.  Convincing someone they are powerless to break free of the chains that bind them.

How does this apply to us today? 

In the 1980s, Reagan and the neocons redefined the word liberal to be a derisive term.  Because the movement had caught hold and we lost the election, Dems showed no political courage and did not stand up for who they were.  In fact, they fought the label and were afraid to use the term "liberal."

We allowed the Republicans to define who we were by intimidation.Likewise since the Viet Nam war.  The Democratic Congress paid a heavy political price for stopping the war.  The Republicans turned this into a picture that the Dems were weak on defense and anti-military.  We cowered with fear of further political reprisal and are still fighting that battle and that label even now.

After 9/11, Bush used this to intimidate the Congress into caving on some legislation very important to the protection of our Constitutional rights-- the Patriot Act, the FISA Amendment, etc.  The Republicans' portrait of Democrats having no core values came from the political cowardice of our politicians, who sat silently by, cowering in fear over being called "liberal" or "weak on defense" or "unpatriotic," etc. 

The Republicans said we lacked core values because, if we had any, we would stand up for them.  And we didn't.  So, to an extent, we cooperated in giving them the unearned label of the "values" party -- put it in a box for them, wrapped it up in pretty paper, tied the ribbon in a nice bow, put it on a silver platter and served it to them with our compliments and well-wishes, so-to-speak.  Then slunk back to our corner and rolled over in submission.

All of this can be traced back to the Dems being elephantized by the Republicans decades ago.  We must find the political courage to stand up for who were are and what we believe once again. 

It's time to take "liberal" back and define it accurately and proudly again.

Republicans love slogans — they’re short and they, therefore, cannot be substantive.

John McCain has resurrected the “liberal” and “tax and spend” slogans in this campaign.  We cannot take this lightly.  These are ingrained in the consciousness of middle Americans — and much of it is our own fault (see my blog entitled “Elephantizing” — http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/SchneiderView/CBtF

Earlier on the website, a blogger was discussing Federalism.  Very interesting article.  If you run across it, please read it.  I would like to discuss political philosophy.

Conservatism, Liberalism, Neo-conservatism, Libertarianism, Liberalism, Progressiveism, et al., are all political philosophies that have some distinct characteristics.  Interestingly enough, most of Americans are Moderates (somewhere in the middle).  But when we speak of conservatives and liberals, we are speaking about a person’s political philosophy, not a political party.  Although there was (I don’t think it is still active) a political party entitled the Conservative Party at one point in time (I think there is one in the UK).

Marie Justeen Mancha was at home alone when she heard strange voices inside the house. As she crept down a hallway to make sure she wasn't hearing things, the voices erupted into shouts.

" 'Police! Illegals!' "

Testifying in a House subcommittee hearing, Mancha recalled the words she said the immigration agents shouted during the September 2006 raid on her home. She was 15 at the time, a Mexican American, born in Texas but living in Reidsville, Ga.

"I walked around the corner from the hallway and saw a tall man reach toward his gun and look straight at me," Mancha, now 17, said in a thick Southern accent. "My heart just dropped."

As the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement compiles a record number of arrests through household and work-site raids seeking illegal immigrants, a growing number of U.S. citizens such as Mancha say they have gotten caught in the net.

Free Inquiry, Spring 2003.  5-11-3

Dr.  Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes.  Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia.  Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected.  Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated.  Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid.  Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives.  Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion.  Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.

Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia.  It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested.  Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws.  The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism.  There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability.  It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham.  Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media.  Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.      

8/16, Editorial, Globe and Mail (Canada), Maher Arar in the U.S.: Facing the accusers

8/16, Editorial, Washington Post, A Home for a Detainee: U.S. government wants to get Huzaifa Parhat out of Guantanamo Bay.

8/16, Spencer H. Hsu and Carrie Johnson, Washington Post, U.S. May Ease Police Spy Rules, More Intelligence Changes Planned

8/16, Benedict Carey, New York Times, Psychologists Clash on Aiding Interrogations

8/16, Eric Lichtblau and David Johnston, New York Times, F.B.I. Will Present Scientific Evidence in Anthrax Case to Counter Doubts

8/16, Darryl Fears, Washington Post, Immigration Is Snaring U.S. Citizens In Its Raids

8/15, Joseph Goldstein, New York Sun, Psychologists Are Split Over Gitmo

8/15, Emma Schwartz, ABC News, Lawsuit Filed Against Gonzales & DOJ Officials

www.bordc.org

Caspian oil reserves estimate revised down
www.asponews.org/ASPO.newsletter.018.php

Mr McKillop sends the following press report confirming that Caspian oil potential has been greatly exaggerated. While the press release is not quite clear about what precisely the 7..8 billion barrels refers to, the thrust of the article to dismiss earlier exaggeration and question the geopolitical strategies to gain control of a possibly empty target is valid. This is further confirmed by another statement from Agip reported in Energy Day of May 30th, stating that the recoverable reserve potential of Kashagan is only 1.2 Gb. In short, it begins to look as if the once glorious Caspian turns out to be a bust, confirming the old adage that distant fields are green.
Boston, 10 April 2002 (RFE/RL) -- A new estimate of Caspian Sea oil resources suggests that the region will see significant growth in production by 2010. But the numbers may also dampen some expectations and serve as a reminder that the area will not assume the strategic importance of the Middle East. One of the largest oil companies in the Caspian Sea region recently sounded a note of reality with a new and more modest estimate of the area's oil reserves. Speaking on 8 April in Almaty at the Eurasian Economic Summit, Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, chairman of Italy's Eni oil company, said the Caspian contains 7.8 billion barrels of oil, the Interfax news agency reported.
The good news for Kazakhstan is that it is believed to hold nearly 70 percent of the Caspian total, Gros-Pietro said. The bad news may be for political analysts, because the numbers are far smaller than those that many have used.
Since the first foreign oil deal in the Caspian was signed in September 1994, analysts have pumped up the region's importance as a strategic issue. Early estimates claimed that the Caspian could hold as much as 200 billion barrels, a figure that was soon trimmed to 115 billion or less.
Over the years, many officials who tried to create a "great game" with various Caspian pipeline strategies also played a numbers game, largely ignoring industry experts who argued that the Caspian would never affect the oil market as much as the Middle East.
Most analysts now agree that future flows of oil from the Caspian will make only a marginal difference to world prices, perhaps ranking in importance with Britain's and Norway's production from the North Sea.
Gros-Pietro seemed to endorse that view in estimating that in 2010, the Caspian region will produce 3.8 million barrels per day, or about 60 percent of North Sea output. While his comments may have been intended to stress the region's importance, they may have underscored the fact that it will not rival Saudi Arabia or Russia, which each produce about 7 million barrels per day.
Political strategists have never made a distinction between possible, probable, and recoverable oil reserves. In a recent report, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that the Caspian may hold up to 233 billion barrels of possible reserves, which means those with a 50 percent probability. But the report said there may be only 17 billion to 33 billion barrels of proven reserves, meaning those with a 90 percent likelihood.

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Below are some maps which may help:

August 16, 2008

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) -- Georgia's Foreign Ministry says Russian-backed separatists from the province of Abkhazia have seized 13 villages in Georgia and a power plant.

A ministry statement says Russian army units and separatist militants shifted the border of breakaway Abkhazia toward the Inguri River. It says they set up temporary administration in 13 villages and put the Inguri hydropower plant under separatist control.

The claim could not immediately be independently confirmed.

Russian-backed Abkhazian fighters forced Georgians out of their last stronghold in the province earlier this week. Fighting between Russian and Georgian forces raged in two breakaway regions - Abkhazia and South Ossetia - over the past week

War shows that Putin is running things in Russia

Saturday, August 16, 2008

TBILISI, Georgia (CNN) -- Georgia accused the Russian army of destroying a key railway bridge Saturday and starting massive fires in the scenic Borjomi Gorge, in violation of a new cease-fire agreement between the two countries.

The Metekhi-Grakali bridge lies in ruins. Georgia accuses the Russian army of destroying it.

A senior Russian military official denied the allegation.

Georgia's Foreign Ministry also said Saturday that Russian-backed militia members have seized control of 13 Georgian villages and a power plant bordering the region.

There was no immediate independent confirmation of the claim.

Fighting that began last week has died down. However, Russian forces remained within 25 miles (40 kilometers) of Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, on Saturday and were on the western front around the breakaway province of Abkhazia, according to CNN's Frederik Pleitgen.

Anyone who knows the history