A drop in the bucket

Any bets on Fredo's replacement? I'm willing to bet it's not Chertoff.

WfC

p.s. the new "captcha" is much more effective, I think.

But here is a link to the Time's "Real Clear Politics" Blog ...

Idaho's Craig Arrested in June at Minnesota Airport

Hardly Anonymous

John Ashcroft.

It can be done. Again!

Sheesh! Come out of the closet already.

Oops. Nevermind.

Lemme guess, the "plainclothes police officer" was black and very intimidating...

Larry Craig resign his Senate seat and be nominated for Attorney General. How about it W? Are you reading my posts?

we'll see someone that will score some points for Bush's flagging poll numbers. Figure that eliminates Chertoff and Ashcroft.

WfC

Cheers, all. Back another day.

WfC

Much like the Rev. Ted story .. might I just say that it is tragic. This country is so fucked up that high profile people who are gay need to hide who they are - at best - or lie to themselves about who they are - at the absolute worst - and usually get outted like this. This is a sad story that just reinforces this horrible fact to me.

Just terribly sad to me...

Here's hoping someday we can all be free to be who we are and everyone will be fine with that.
Hardly Anonymous

Why aren't there any self respecting gay porn magazines publicly offering these cops who turn in these Republican hypocrites? I'm sure they have some story they can tell. Surely there is a market for their image somewhere.

Republicans had so much fun making jokes of Bill for having a "fat chick". We are missing out on a real knee slapping good time by having their images denied to the public.

Washington, D.C. - White House press secretary Tony Snow has done what no other press secretary has ever done. He has singlehandedly broken a polygraph machine, also known as a lie detector.

This unique feat occurred during Snow's regularly scheduled press briefing when some enterprising engineers using remote access technology attempted to test their latest and most advanced lie detector. Snow was unaware that this test was occurring and answered the White House press corps questions according to his normal routine. Within minutes, the machine was belching smoke and flames. Fortunately, firefighters were called and they were able to extinguish the rapidly growing blaze before too much harm was done.

Fred Fitzroy of the American Polygraph Institute said, "I've never seen anything like it. The machine was detecting so many lies at such a rapid pace that it simply overheated and fried all of the circuits. No machine could have withstood the magnitude of this withering onslaught against the truth."

In a related development, President George W. Bush has given the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the White House press corps for their continuing servitude to his administration and the Republican Party.
Assimilated Press
.
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082607B.shtml

That's funny.

When the thugs in this administration resign and Democrats celebrate, I feel as if I am living Chris Rock's O.J. Simpson bit -- his condemnation of black people who celebrated O.J.'s "not guilty" verdict was spot on.

"Where is my prize? I didn't get shit. Ain't nothin' in the mail for me."

The fact is Rumsfeld's resignation, Michael Brown's resignation, Gonzalez's resignation, Rove's resignation don't mean a damn thing because the underlying problem remains- AND it's VERY late in the game

-M the a-c

The Hague, Netherlands - Prosecutors at the International Court in The Hague have released an indictment of Fox News for the role they played in promoting torture and the illegal invasion of Iraq which has led to the deaths of thousands of American soldiers and innocent Iraqis. Named as coconspirators in the complaint are Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes, Brit Hume, Bill O'reilly and Sean Hannity

Chief Judge Werner von Spissel of the War Crimes Tribunal said "We did not come to this decision lightly. However, we could not ignore the despicable actions that Fox News took in promoting blatant propaganda and outright lies that have now led to the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis. Furthermore, their actions in cheerleading the use of torture while slandering all critics of the Iraq policy clearly shows that they are not a news organization but a mouthpiece for the policies and goals of the Republican Party. Remember, it is not only those who directly commit crimes against humanity that are open to prosecution. Those who aid and abet these crimes must also answer for their actions."

There was no immediate response from Fox News to the release of the indictment by the International Court but Rupert Murdoch has called for the invasion of The Netherlands on the basis that the International Court in The Hague represents a clear and present danger to members of the Bush administration, their supporters and Republicans everywhere.
1 more-Assimilated Press
.
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Stop it already.

"The president's domestic spying program is perfectly legal because the president says it is. Oh, and Little Debbie Snack Cakes give me 'the trots'."-Gonzo.
.
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Conservative blogs ‘not sorry’ Gonzales resigned. Raw Story does a review of the conservative blogosphere’s reaction to the Gonzales resignation and finds “there is precious little love lost for the departing AG.” RedState writes, “I am not sorry to see AGAG go.” Andy McCarthy at the National Review writes the “resignation was overdue,” and Captain’s Quarters adds that Gonzales’ attorney scandal “has been a royal embarrassment.”

http://rawstory.com//news/2007/Goodbye_Gonzo_parting_words_from_blogosph...

---Bait's Political News Service---

An Innocent Misunderstanding

Senator Larry Craig has released details of his defense following his arrest by undercover officer Sgt. Dave Karsnia in a Minnesota airport restroom. The Senator spoke publicly immediately after his arraignment in a Minnesota courtroom.

"After I closed and locked my luggage in my hotel room," he explained, "I noticed that I had inadvertently failed to pack one sock." Reporters drew closer to him on the courthouse steps as he continued, "I placed the errant sock into my pants pocket. Later, when I entered the airport restroom, I noticed that a gentleman dropped a few playing cards from the deck he was carrying. He picked them up and entered a stall. I entered the adjacent stall. Again, he dropped a few playing cards and I saw his hand as he picked them up. A third time he dropped a few cards and it was at this time that I remembered the sock in my pocket. I spoke through the stall divider, 'Excuse me sir, can I sock your deck?' It was at this time that the officer presented his identification."

Counsel for Senator Craig, Phibbs Andhowe (of the famous firm), interrupted at this point and advised the gathered throng that there would be no additional statements nor would questions be taken.

Senator Craig adjusted his boa and both he and his attorney entered a waiting limousine before heading south.

Kennedy Switch to GOP May Mean Senate Challenge
After months of speculation about a party switch, Louisiana state Treasurer John Kennedy announced that he will leave the Democratic party run for re-election this fall as a Republican. Kennedy's re-election campaign announced the switch on his web site.

The switch fuels also speculation that Kennedy may run against Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) next year.
Related News

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2007/08/27/kennedy_switch_to_gop_may_m...

Quote of the Day
"People are expecting him to basically come in and be the fifth head on Mount Rushmore."

-- Mike Huckabee, quoted by The Swamp on prospective GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2007/08/27/quote_of_the_day.html

Naughty Boy

I can't stop laughing. From 1999:

MR. RUSSERT: Larry Craig, would you want the last word from the Senate be an acquittal of the president and no censure?

SEN. CRAIG: Well, I don’t know where the Senate’s going to be on that issue of an up or down vote on impeachment, but I will tell you that the Senate certainly can bring about a censure reslution and it’s a slap on the wrist. It’s a, “Bad boy, Bill Clinton. You’re a naughty boy.”

The American people already know that Bill Clinton is a bad boy, a naughtyboy.

I’m going to speak out for the citizens of my state, who in the majority think that Bill Clinton is probably even a nasty, bad, naughty boy.

The question issue now is simply this: Did he lie under oath? Did he perjure himself and did he obstruct justice? And that’s where we’re trying to go now in this truth-seeking process. And I hope we can get there. And then I’m going to have the chance to decide and vote up or down on those articles. After we’re through with this impeachment trial, it’s collapsed, it’s gone, then the Senate will make a decision on if it’s a censure or not.

-Atrios 18:07

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2007_08_26_archive.html#1427813842140321145

For Alice,and Cat lovers..
.
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

That's a really pretty cat! Cute pose too.

Whats with all the CLOSET-ASS-HOMO-HATING-REPUBLICANS.

When is Lindsey Graham
going to get arrested for talking to pipes in the mens room?

Or David Dreier
Or Mehlman
Or Santorum?

Gonzales departure won't end probes
46 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation Monday after months of draining controversy drew expressions of relief from Republicans and a vow from Democrats to pursue their investigation into fired federal prosecutors.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070828/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/gonzales_resigns

How are you doing?Better I hope..Chicago's not floating anymore is it? Hope not! :)
.
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoons/edstein;_ylt=Ap7QuOgPI.4l9bXqqvNtVZxJ_b...

It's been dry a couple of days but we almost got more rain today. It stayed north of us in Wisconsin and they are as water logged as we were if not more.

Tired today because I'm doing alot around the apartment. It's small and I have too much stuff and I have already got rid of a ton of stuff.

I have this week off work so I am trying to get as much done as possible.

--Glory Be!
Submitted by Nicky Rose on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 8:23pm.--

Just don't over do it.. :)
.
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

More Stuff Here

Free Democracy

And an eclipse scheduled.

it's very sad that people cannot just BE GAY without all this hoopla...Oh...I remember..it was Willow...right you are, Wil...imo...

wee!

the ones at the bottom that start with DS are from EB and P from this weekend...Some hot train action for ya.. :)

.
.
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Washington Times

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) offered an explanation for why he chooses a vegan diet today during the LiveStrong presidential candidates forum on cancer.

He explained he has dropped 25 pounds since taking on a no-meat diet. He said his food choices give him tons of energy to use on the campaign trail, and, apparently, in his personal life.

"I'm 60, my wife's 29. You draw your own conclusions," he said, adding as the MSNBC camera panned to wife Elizabeth: "Diet helps."

For some reason the word "Fabulous" ... popped into my head. 8-)

MOO!!

Blackangus!

Alice 8-)

Free Democracy

Submitted by Kevin © on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 10:19pm.

"I'm 60, my wife's 29. You draw your own conclusions," Kucinich said...as the MSNBC camera panned to wife Elizabeth...
----------------
So much for the no-meat diet.

With His Cousin Gary..

.
Congressman Lamar Allen (R-MO) shocked Capitol Hill today by announcing his resignation, cutting short his fifth term representing Missouri's 10th district by sixteen months in order to spend more time with his cousin Gary Marshall of Casper, Wyoming.

Allen, who was reprimanded by the House Ethics Committee for using funds procured from a Jack Abramoff slush fund to finance a solo trip to Euro Disney in 2005, and is currently under investigation for misusing his office to push through an earmark for the expansion of a freeway near a St. Louis male exotic bar owned by a business partner, will join President Bush's Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert as the third noteworthy Republican to abruptly abdicate his post in order to spend more time with his family.
Link-NewsMutiny
.
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

right on...

I mean if it's healthy for him to be so..that's nice...

*

people cannot just BE GAY without all this hoopla///
Submitted by Kevin © on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 10:24pm.
For some reason the word "Fabulous" ... popped into my head. 8-)

You are SO GAY... (lol)

:)

Submitted by Alice on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 10:02pm.

I agree with who ever it was who said that it's very sad that people cannot just BE GAY without all this hoopla...Oh...I remember..it was Willow...right you are, Wil...imo...

____________

True 'nuf.

For one thing, the Republican Party would no longer be the captive home to unhealthy easily manipulated self-hating and/or twisted tortured closet-cases who lie like cross-ties under the train tracks.

Course, we is made some gains as a society.

Fer instance, I'm pur-tee sure warn't never nobody what was willing to admit he thought onto Terry Bradshaw quite like this here.

Sharon condition unchanged after 2 years

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remains comatose and attached to a respirator nearly two years after a devastating stroke, a spokesman for Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv said Sunday.

"There is no change in his condition," hospital spokesman David Weinberg said. Sharon, 79, was transferred to Sheba's long-term respiratory rehabilitation unit in July 2006 from Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, which treated him after his stroke in January of that year.

----

"Everyone in the family believes he will recover," Gissin said.

Free Democracy

what I would give to be able to see that viddy right now...

This Love (accoustic), mp3

Afghan Opium Trade Hits New Height
Washington Post - 1 hour ago
By Colum Lynch and Griff Witte UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 27 -- Opium production in Afghanistan has increased by 34 percent over the past year, and the country is now the source of 93 percent of the heroin, morphine and other opiates on the world market...
-----------
Well...at least we're winning the war on dru---the war against the Talib---the war on terroris---the war in Ira---

Submitted by Alice on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 10:29pm.

You are SO GAY... (lol)

:)

Just because I like "Pink" ... I am labeled.

Free Democracy

--Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remains comatose and attached to a respirator nearly two years--

Oh yes...
[insert the sound of pulling the plug here]
He's like Robo-Sharon nowadays...

-Terry Bradshaw quite like this here.-

Submitted by Alice on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 10:36pm.

what I would give to be able to see that viddy right now...

___________

It's a punny cavalcade of sexual innuendo.

I'm sure you'd disapprove, Alice.

*cough*

--Just because I like "Pink" ... I am labeled.--

Bush to say Iraq is front line against Iran, Al-Qaeda

BELLEVUE, United States (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Tuesday will describe Iraq as the front-line against Shiite extremism championed by Iran and the Sunni extremism of Al-Qaeda, an aide said Monday.

Bush was due to level the charge in a speech to the American Legion veterans group, the second of two presidential addresses meant to bolster support for the war in Iraq ahead of a critical September 15 progress report.

"The president will talk about Sunni extremism and Shia extremism. Neither represents Islam. They represent a brutal and heartless ideology of death and destruction," a senior aide told reporters in a preview of the speech.

"Sunni extremism is embodied by Al Qaeda and its many affiliates. Shia extremism by Iran and its support of Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban and its pursuit of nuclear technology," the official said on condition of anonymity......

dr,

Regarding the Whose/Who's gaffe, here's The Rest Of The Story.

I stared at Whose for several seconds before I hit the Post Comment button. I thought, "That ain't right" then I thought, "Yes it is, Bubba. You're over-thinking again."

I should stop listening to myself stopping me from listening to myself.

You Drop the Bomb on Me, mp3

They're offering Ubuntu 7.04 on some Dell's now...

If straight men thought they could get some by hanging around the women's restroom, many would.

Submitted by Alice on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 10:50pm.
They're offering Ubuntu 7.04 on some Dell's now...
--------------
Wasn't he exiled to France?

Crank, I might suck at apostrophe's* (*like this one, and probably this one too 'Dell's') but the Whose/Who's is one that I think I get..

Who Is

If that doesn't sound right, use the other one (whose)

:)

--If straight men thought they could get some by hanging around the women's restroom, many would.--

They're offering Ubuntu ...

Ubuntu spelled backwards is the Swahili word for "Fabulous"

Free Democracy

If this was me, Pull the plug after 2 hours ...

Submitted by Kevin © on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 10:34pm.

Sharon condition unchanged after 2 years

______________

'Member when Jr. "won" reelection in aught-four? 'N alla strutting peacock talk Jr. made 'bout his "man-dates" 'n what-not?

Then first thing, Rove 'n company cranks up the social security con. That unnerved a lotta peoples.

But I dates the start of the (interminably slow) unraveling of Jr.'s precious 51% "victory" in aught-four from the Terry Schiavo incident in the spring a aught-five.

Suddenly, the Bush administration and ever right-wing harpie in the nation thought they was the Motel 6 of health care: "We'll keep the light on for ya!"

The lights-on brigade turned the lights on for a buncha people -- about whatta buncha deranged fire-breathin' busybody authoritarian assholes were runnin' the country.

That particular Republican-orchestrated freak-show shed the scales from a lotta people's eyes, even, or perhaps especially, the slow kids who just couldn't quite get it in time before aught-four.

And the Tom Delay's and Bill Frist's and Joe Lieberman's of the world best hope there is no kharmic force at work in this world, or they will surely spend their last days in precisely Schiavo's condition with the likes of George "Sure, I'll stop clearin' brush to fly back to Washington to sign a midnight bill of attainder! Why not?" W. Bush's of the world keeping them alive against their will, w/only the Pat Robertson's of the world to keep 'em company and blubber over them so long's they are politically useful.

Submitted by Alice on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 10:57pm.
--If straight men thought they could get some by hanging around the women's restroom, many would.--
-----------
The Sears flannel shirt department doesn't work, either.

LMAO... :)

I forgot..and I think Kev's article said the family believes he will come to..soo..Ok yes..none of my beeswax...if the family can afford it (or not even) and they feel they aren't holding Ariel's spirit to the earth by not allowing him to go if he chooses, then...none of my business...even without those conditions..none of my business...

Thanks for the bomb. I saw Love Tractor cover it once at a club. Great!

You know that the Gap Band was sorta discovered by Leon Russell?

Free Democracy

OOooh yeah...Schiavo..

Submitted by Alice on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 11:05pm.

____________

Didn't read the Sharon link. It just 'minded me of the Schiavo tent-show revival.

Tho' in the hierarchy of health-related interests, the individual's wishes oughtta maintain primacy, imo, then the family's if there's no way to establish same from individual.

The government hadn't oughtta be in the keepin' folks alive a'gin their wishes bidness any more'n they oughtta be in the putting 'em to death bidness.

This is a close up of a detail from a piece of art I made, "Ariel Sharon in the Iron Lung"

It never fails to move me.

isn't ubuntu the word for being human in one of the south african languages?

hey dr, crank, alice, kevin, mmrules...

it's me. jenise.

Free Democracy

Here's the whole piece. The picture has a bit of a glare, sorry.

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z41/georgeleutz/DSC00020.jpg?t=118827...

hello

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 11:18pm.

isn't ubuntu the word for being human in one of the south african languages?

hey dr, crank, alice, kevin, mmrules...

it's me. jenise.

____________

Hmm.

I thought "Ubuntu?" were a young Dominican baseballer's self-conscious confession.

('N a bunt's as good as a line-drive, after all.)

Hi jenise. Good to read you. You in Japan or state-side?

Hey jenise, how's things?

Bill Clinton Praises Bush

Monday, August 27, 2007 9:42 AM Article Font Size

Former President Bill Clinton has offered praise for President Bush and several of the foreign policy steps he has taken in his second administration.

In an interview with Conde Nast Traveler magazine now hitting newsstands, Clinton said Bush “has done three things that I think the world generally approved of: restoring cooperation with the Latin American countries, making a diplomatic agreement with North Korea instead of continuing to have a frigid standoff, and sending Americans to the conference to discuss the future of Iraq with the Iranians and Syrians.

“Those are, all three, things that signify we’re trying to do better in the world.”

This is a pretty good site for eclipse fans. It has a live video link that you can access if the weather is foul in your area (or if your area is, say, Tierra del Fuego).

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070827_eclipse_weather.html

Its essential meaning can be conveyed using the Zulu maxim “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”—meaning, in essence, “a person is a person through other persons.”

I don't know, sounds like some commie propaganda.

gay. Can we dedicate this totally gay thread to the Fabulous Larry?

Alice, you crack me up. MMR, I bet you that Lamar story has legs.

--Alice
Submitted by zeek on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 11:08pm.
You know that the Gap Band was sorta discovered by Leon Russell.--

Interesting...

*
Fron a wfmu post:
Posted by Listener Kliph Nesteroff on April 04, 2007

Dancing Fools

Few rock musicians had more integrity than Frank Zappa. Uncompromising, non-conformist, prolific - FZ may have appeared on an episode of Miami Vice as a drug dealer, but he never sold out. And then suddenly... this footage surfaces!

Yes, ubuntu is a Zulu word meaning "humanness"
Submitted by dada on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 11:29pm.
----------
I was gonna guess that "buntu" means "haul" and their motto is "Adventure in Moving."

Hi! Nice to see ya! :)

"There are very few asses being kicked out of the engine room of spaceship Earth."

**
"Parodies for Peace Movement"
(It's called a protest movement.)
PEACHES (aka "Soft and Fuzzy Anonymous")

A chicken and an egg are lying in bed.

The chicken is leaning against the headboard smoking a cigarette, with a satisfied smile on its face.

The egg, looking a bit pissed off, grabs the sheet, rolls over, and says, "Well, I guess we finally answered THAT question!"

Submitted by Kevin © on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 11:50pm
---------------------
Thanks to the wonders of carbon dating, we can accurately place the origin of that joke in the Pleistocene epoch.

Is WiccanDruid Dancin'?

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪LET‘S DANCE♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

**
"Parodies for Peace Movement"
(It's called a protest movement.)
PEACHES (aka "Soft and Fuzzy Anonymous")

Sheik Yerbouti!

hey, dada, dr, alice.

back state-side at the moment. at my sister's, watching my nephew prepare for the first day of kindergarten. the jitters and brave front bring back memories. the best one being the red dress my mom made me for the first day. still my favorite dress ever.

good to read you all, too. i've been visiting iraq vets i interviewed a year ago. one of them has been in and out of rehab since i left - the effects of debilitating panic attacks. he was a medic, so he saw a lot of the worst....

funny, dada, the chinese character for person has a very similar meaning to ubuntu personhood. but you know those east asians - they're as red as the south africans.

jenise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTjaYaORCKo&feature=bz100

How the heck are you doing?Good I hope :)
.
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Alice, Alice, Alice!

Great clip and a number of points. FZ was in the midst of his spot on satire/parody of the disco era. As always, I think he got a pretty good deal from Mercury Records during that era and walked away with the money and the content. He was always in control.

Interesting side note of recent relevance is that Dance Fever was a Merv Griffin creation and its closeted creator was sued by host Denny Terrio for sexual harassment.

Kevin submits:

Just because I like "Pink" ... I am labeled.

~~~~~~~

I likes yer label!! ; )

‘Member I tolt you that I liked yer pitcher of the pink dolphins!!! : )

**
"Parodies for Peace Movement"
(It's called a protest movement.)
PEACHES (aka "Soft and Fuzzy Anonymous")

sorry, kevin, missed you somehow in spite of the grinning frog. so, hello. hope you're well...

you, too, mmrules. doing okay. as well as to be expected while reading through four years of Vietnam GI Newsletter.

alice, i am close. but only for a day or two and this time it's intensive nephew time. you should meet the 3-year-old. somehow i think you guys would love each other.

8-)

Yes I do remember.

Free Democracy

Vietnam GI Newsletter seems to be available only in hard print, but the Iraq occupation equivalent is online. lots of stuff from soldiers in the field. militaryproject.org

also, traveling soldier

- Contributed by: Duke DeMonde

28 of the grooviest, hippest and most danceable songs from my vinyl collection, with the only exception that they hadn't been released on CD before and, to the best of my knowledge, none of these are. So, sit back and enjoy.

*

Allen Tannenbaums book of photographs entitled New York In The 70s

*

--Interesting side note of recent relevance is that Dance Fever was a Merv Griffin creation and its closeted creator was sued by host Denny Terrio for sexual harassment.--

I didn't know that...I definitely remember Denny.. :)

Moon Magic!!

Submitted by Peaches Pseudonymous on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 11:50pm.

____________

Night, owls.

**
"Parodies for Peace Movement"
(It's called a protest movement.)
PEACHES (aka "Soft and Fuzzy Anonymous")

Dear IVAW Supporter,

I'm sure that, like me, you are angered and saddened by the mounting violence and chaos in Iraq. We watch in frustration as more U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians lose their lives in a misbegotten occupation that is well into its fifth year. We all want this war to end now. To achieve this goal, IVAW has developed a strategy that will directly challenge military support for the war, but we can’t do it alone.

This summer IVAW members toured bases from Georgia to New York hosting BBQs for veterans and active duty service members to spread the word about the organization and its work to end the illegal occupation of Iraq and bring the troops home now. Our members were greeted with “Semper Fi” by active duty Marines at Camp Lejeune’s mess hall in June, helped expand our largest on-base chapter at Fort Drum in New York, and celebrated July 4th with a fundraiser and concert in Philadelphia.

Now it is your turn. We are asking our supporters to host Bring Them Home House Parties to spread the word about IVAW’s strategy to end the war now and to help us raise money to implement this strategy. IVAW plans to more than double our budget in the coming year as we expand our organizing on and near military bases and step into a larger leadership role within the anti-war movement. In order to do this we need to enlarge our base of supporters.

Please consider hosting a house party. You can read more about it and sign up here. We have done our best to make it easy by creating a simple guide, which includes materials for the event and ideas for different kinds of house parties. But ultimately the success of this effort relies on the commitment of supporters like you.

If we have 50 house parties that each raise $500, that would pay for one full-time organizer. If we have 500 house parties it would allow us to hire 10 IVAW members as full-time organizers who would be trained to organize in every region of this country. Our membership could grow from over 500 to more than 5,000 and our capacity to build coalitions and strategic alliances would also grow, enabling us to be far more effective in our efforts to end the war now.

House parties are a great way to support our national strategy to end the war. Please host a Bring Them Home House Party so we will have the resources we need to get the job done.
Sincerely,

Kelly Dougherty
Former Sergeant, Army National Guard
Executive Director
Iraq Veterans Against the War

Funny, I was just about to do something with that. You're quick and inane.

Bravo!

If we sent every Iraqi a Wii?

"How does anyone KNOW that the Dems will not continue on the same course?"

Someone, how many Democratic Party members were on board with that PNAC shit?

alice ... which is why i didn't try to get us together this time. much too short a trip. i thought about you while i was in new york, though. a friend i worked with in cincinnati in 2004 just put this book out. she's a peace studies person and writes about the war that didn't happen in macedonia. i thought of you when we were talking about it...

good night, dr.

fernando, a WII...?

anonymous, are you asking about democratic party members who signed the PNAC statement? or just those who were on board with it? lieberman was a party member while on board...

At least for the couple days you're here when I send you thought vibes they have less distance...thanks for the links..I will check them out more tomorrow...I need to sleep...

~xoxo~!

Was he a signatory to PNAC? Was Zell Miller?
I'm trying to think why the idea exists among a few here that Democratic Party members might be on the same war path as Republicans.

good night, alice. sleep well.

no, as you seem to know, neither lieberman, nor zell miller were signatories. but it also seems pretty obvious that some democratic party members are, at the very least, not too strongly opposed to war. and they can obviously be talked pretty easily into one. PNAC signatories are hardly the only people who support war.

i should say "some democratic party members can..."

i'm diving into all the links upthread that i missed.

good night, everyone. sleep well. (hope you're well, too, mmrules, by the way)

"a friend i worked with in cincinnati in 2004 just put this book out. she's a peace studies person and writes about the war that didn't happen in macedonia."

Submitted by jenise on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 12:30am

Harvey Pekar. Very cool.

in Front of Pelosi's House in San Francisco.

By Cynthia Papermaster

The fast went for two weeks and will continue as a "rolling fast" for another week. Several of us kept trying to mention the CodePink impeachment campaign during the action. Here's a youtube of the press conference and sit-in at the SF Federal Bldg (where Pelosi's office is). Note the large "IMPEACH" banner.

Photos and report from FogCity Journal: LINK.

Report from codepinkalert.org Pelosi Watch campaign: LINK.

One night Nancy came home and growled at the Camp Pelosi camp director, Toby Blome, "I will NEVER meet with you. Get away from my house you nut!"
Link to Links

CODEPINK cofounder Medea Benjamin
Several members of the group, including the hunger strikers, will risk arrest at the Federal Building action.
codepinkalert.org
Pelosiwatch.org

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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

"I'm trying to think why the idea exists among a few here that Democratic Party members might be on the same war path as Republicans."

Not sure what you're referring to, but I thought this was sort of relevant to what you're asking.

---

"Basically, I think Ellen Meiksins Wood is correct: an activist US state is required to maintain a global hierarchy of nation-states, with constant and open-ended forms of military intervention. This set-up, far from being obsolescent as Hardt & Negri claim, works very well, ensuring that the global appropriation of labour continues to be overwhelmingly for the benefit of a distinctly American ruling class. Obviously, the idea of a single coherent capitalist class ideology is a chimera - there will always be sectoral differences which are structured by ideology. However, if there could be a Spirit of Yankee Kapital - a spectral, unified, far-sighted capitalist class mind - it would surely pursue a geopolitical vision not at all dissimilar to that of PNAC: siezing the window of opportunity afforded by the lack of a rival superpower, trying to create a pro-US regime in the Middle East, demonstrating the ability to fight and win wars in multiple theatres, comprehensive military dominance in order to secure and sustain comprehensive political and economic dominance etc."

http://leninology.blogspot.com/2007/08/spectre-of-yanqui-kapital.html

I don't know. I'm trying to get to know.

Google, check it out!

Spin-Mediated Consciousness Theory and Its Experimental Support by Evidence of Biological, Chemical and Physical Non-local Effects

We postulate that consciousness is intrinsically connected to quantum spin since the latter is the origin of quantum effects in both Bohm and Hestenes quantum formulisms and a fundamental quantum process associated with the structure of space-time. Applying these ideas to the particular structures and dynamics of the brain, we have developed a detailed model of quantum consciousness. We have also carried out experiments from the perspective of our theory to test the possibility of quantum-entangling the quantum entities inside the brain with those of an external chemical substance...

http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0208068

There is no coherent view as to what is and causes consciousness. Some neuroscientists would say that it is the connections between the neurons and the coherent firing patterns thereof. Some physicists would propose that it is connected to the measurement problem in quantum theory and thus the solution lies there. A few philosophers would suggest that it is an emergent property of the complex brain or a new kind of properties and laws are required. For sure such disarray has its historical reasons. Ever since Descartes promoted his dualism philosophy in the 17th Century, science has been for the most part steered clear from this subject until very recently.

Philosophically, Searle argues that consciousness is an emergent biological phenomenon thus cannot be reduced to physical states in the brain. Chalmers argues that consciousness cannot be explained through reduction, because mind does not belong to the realm of matter. In order to develop a consciousness theory based on this approach, Chalmers suggests expanding science in a way still compatible with today’s scientific knowledge and outlines a set of fundamental and irreducible properties to be added to space-time, mass, charge, spin etc. and a set of laws to be added to the laws of Nature. Further, he considers that information is the key to link consciousness and the physical world.

The explanation of consciousness in accordance with our spin-mediated theory is
schematically shown at the bottom of Figure 1. The geometry inside the spinning circle
represents conscious experience and is part of a Penrose tiling. It symbolizes that
consciousness emerges from the non-computable collapses of entangled quantum states of the mind-pixels under the influence of spacetime dynamics schematically shown as the spinning circle.

So The unity of consciousness is achieved through quantum entanglement of the mind-pixels.

You got that?

for the anon who is trying to get to know:

PNAC Statement of Principles

signed by:

Elliott Abrams Gary Bauer William J. Bennett Jeb Bush

Dick Cheney Eliot A. Cohen Midge Decter Paula Dobriansky Steve Forbes

Aaron Friedberg Francis Fukuyama Frank Gaffney Fred C. Ikle

Donald Kagan Zalmay Khalilzad I. Lewis Libby Norman Podhoretz

Dan Quayle Peter W. Rodman Stephen P. Rosen Henry S. Rowen

Donald Rumsfeld Vin Weber George Weigel Paul Wolfowitz

good night.

Not sure either but I think you may have helped me toward figuring out a better way to ask. Thank you.

Take a Stand Campaign ~

http://noiraqescalation.org/

The "Take a Stand Campaign" is a nation-wide organizing drive to demand that members of Congress and the Senate take a stand with the vast majority of Americans who want a safe and responsible redeployment of American Forces from Iraq.

Across America, over 100 "Iraq Summer" organizers are working to involve thousands of ordinary Americans in an effort to pressure targeted members of Congress to vote to bring a safe end to the war.

This "Take A Stand Campaign" will culminate with "Take A Stand" town meetings to be held on August 28th.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10286500@N08/

Peace is Patriotic!!

**
"Parodies for Peace Movement"
(It's called a protest movement.)
PEACHES (aka "Soft and Fuzzy Anonymous")

and correctly oriented around the pentacle.

Good job.

I'm just glad something positive has come from all the lurking I do at Lenin's Tomb. You're welcome.

Cheney's next..

Chinese for "kindness" combines characters for "person" and "two"

Can't be truly human without being in harmony with other people.

Yep. those commies and their philosophical tricks.

dada submits:

Those care bears upthread are elementally accurate

and correctly oriented around the pentacle.

Good job.

~~~~~~~~~~

'Preciate positive pentacle praise 'pecially from dada!

I'll allus 'member that dada prefers pentacle dancin' bears ~

over fruit-of-the-loomy-line dancin' fruits!!

I 'member dada sayin' this ~

"If you know me, you know I should get a medal for the restraint I'm showing."

dada's 'pecial medal for restraint! ; )

Peace, dada!

**
"Parodies for Peace Movement"
(It's called a protest movement.)
PEACHES (aka "Soft and Fuzzy Anonymous")

Cutting Off Arms and Legs to Save Itself'

Elizabeth de la Vega Says 'It Won't Work,' Calls Bush Statement 'Shameless'...

Former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega, author of United States v. George W. Bush et al, sends us the following comments on the resignation of Alberto Gonzales...

“With the departures of Karl Rove, and now Alberto Gonzales, the administration is apparently cutting off its arms and legs to save itself. But this approach does not --- and should not --- work when the source of the disease is in the head, a fact that President Bush has vividly demonstrated this morning when he defiantly accused Congress of dragging Gonzales’s ‘good name through the mud.’ Having used Gonzales as the executioner of the administration’s unprecedented and shameful policies with regard to torture, illegal detention, and politicization of the Justice Department, the President now seeks to politicize Gonzales’s flight from the scene of the crime by blaming the Democrats. We can only hope that Congress will not be intimidated by this shameless, and very tiresome, refrain.”
Ditto. A fish rots from the head down.

UPDATE: One additional thought. Gonzales finally resigned once his potential impeachment by the Democrats seemed where all of this might be heading. We might suggest the same outcome --- resignation --- would be likely for George W. Bush and/or Dick Cheney, once they began to see impeachment as likely, giving them both the chance to claim they were being good guys by 'stepping aside for the good of the country.' What say we give them that out? Dems ought to reconsider their Constitutional duty of bringing accountability to the Executive Branch for the many demonstrated acts of High Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Link-Bradblog.com
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

“Leninism and State Capitalism”

Noam Chomsky

http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/other/intellectuals-state.html

**
"Parodies for Peace Movement"
(It's called a protest movement.)
PEACHES (aka "Soft and Fuzzy Anonymous")

;)
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

'American Center for Voting Rights'

Many Questions, Legal and Otherwise, Still Unanswered Concerning the Mysteriously-Funded 'Non-Partisan' GOP Front Group
Blogged by Brad from Kansas (which has nothing the matter with it, btw)...

Last Thursday, Sentido.tv did an excellent job of collecting and collating "our story up until now" of Thor Hearne's vote-suppression GOP front group, "American Center for Voting Rights" (ACVR). Sentido's thorough coverage includes well-sourced references, links, collections of information and historical reporting on the rise and fall of the ACVR scam that has slowly occurred since The BRAD BLOG originally broke the story of Rove's buddy Hearne --- the national general counsel for Bush/Cheney '04 Inc. --- and his mysteriously funded "non-partisan" anti-democracy campaign.

The latest story details the GOP front-group's appearance, the background of their known key players, up through their recent attempts to scrub all references to themselves across the Internets in the wake of their revealed connections to the U.S. Attorney Purge. Here's a few sample grafs which tie the ACVR's disingenuous propaganda efforts to their interest in distracting from real investigations of Ohio 2004 and of the democracy-imperiling dangers of electronic voting...

The irony of the defunct 'voting rights' pressure group is that it appears to have used many of the fraudulent tactics it falsely accused people in poor or underprivileged areas of using: concealing past activities, assuming false identities, providing false information and seeking to manipulate both the electoral process and the laws that govern it.

A telling contradiction in the ACVR's methods is the discrepancy between its apparent institutional obsession with spurious allegations of ballot fraud and its lack of aggressive pursuit of solution to correct the well-documented and openly demonstrable security flaws in electronic voting technologies.
Con't
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

See first-hand the great work Iraq Summer organizers have been doing to turn up the heat on President Bush and right-wing obstructionists in Congress.

Visit the Iraq Summer YouTube Channel here:

http://youtube.com/profile?user=IraqSummer

Peace is Patriotic!!

IraqSummer is a campaign organized by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq and the Campaign to Defend America, designed to turn public opinion against the war in Iraq into political pressure on members of Congress who stand in the way of a responsible end to the war.

Iraq Summer is focused on causing the foundation of Republican support for the President's Iraq strategy to collapse.

To achieve this goal, organizers and Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and military families across the country will create field operations, build coalitions, organize paid and earned media strategies, conduct volunteer events and combine nuts and bolts organizing tactics with cutting edge online organizing techniques to turn up the heat on members of Congress who are blocking a safe end to the Iraq war.

**
"Parodies for Peace Movement"
(It's called a protest movement.)
PEACHES (aka "Soft and Fuzzy Anonymous")

KLSD AM SAN DIEGO IS ABOUT TO GO DARK!

**Action Time** Please Sign Petition to Save KLSD-San Deigo ! Thank you!

Don't let Clearchannel turn San Diego's Only Progressive Radio Station into a Sports channel!We have enough sports radio channels in San Diego,trust me!

Online Petition - everyone should sign, regardless of where you live: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-klsd-am-1360.html

http://www.saveklsd.com/

www.nonstopradio.com
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Thanks to the hundreds of listeners who showed up Monday morning outside the KLSD studios at a rally organized by citizens, Democrat and labor groups to support the Progressive Talk format.

Between 300 and 400 KLSD listeners attended a grass roots organized event in front of the KLSD studios in Murphy Canyon to show their support and to help save the format.

CLICK HERE for the Video of the Rally

CLICK HERE to see pictures from the Support KLSD Rally.

Program Director Cliff Albert and Morning Host Stacy Taylor told the crowd that Clear Channel has been looking into the possibility of changing the format to another talk format, possible sports talk. But that no decision has been made and the show of support by so many listeners was gratifying.

Albert said that while various options are under consideration, they want the Progressive voice to remain heard loud and clear in San Diego.

Please feel free to send us an email at support@1360klsd.com and express your thoughts and opinions.

Thank you for listening and supporting your local Progressive Talk Station.

Online Petition - everyone should sign, regardless of where you live: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-klsd-am-1360.html
Link
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Some of the wealthiest Americans are taking advantage of a tax loophole to avoid paying their fair share of federal taxes. Unless the law is fixed, partners of hedge funds, leveraged buyout firms (also known as private equity) and other partnerships may continue to pay less than half the rate of taxes that working-class Americans must pay--robbing our country of badly needed revenue.

Reps. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced H.R. 2834 in June. The bill will tax as ordinary income the fees--or “carried interest”--that partners of hedge funds, leveraged buyout firms and other partnerships earn.

Please use the form to tell your member of Congress to support H.R. 2834.
Petition- close_millionaire_tax_loophole
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

What a blast from the past -- a vintage Larry Craig denial:

ABC News report from 1982 -- Rep. Larry Craig issues a preemptive denial regarding any involvement in a congressional sex and drug scandal.

What Freepers are saying about Craig:

The GOP needs to clean it's house of perverts and sodomites.

I agree. This looks very bad, indeed. He can use all the excuses that he wants, but I doubt that he will convince many that he was "innocent." I hope that he does the right thing for the GOP and decides not to run again for the senate. He is political toast. Unlike the Dems, Republicans care about sexual ethics.

Craig is not stupid. Expeditious? Expeditious?? The only thing he expedited was his eminent exit from the senate. And the self destruction of the republican reelection effort. These are the long knives. The Republicans need to pull out the long knives and do some exposes' on some of the democrats' sordid misbehavior.

[And my personal favorite --]

I think this is another Democrat setup. Anyone who says anything against gays nowadays is persecuted.

Nah, I think more likely the GOP bigwigs eventually knew about it and figured it will come out any way, dump it today under the flash of the Gonzales stories.

Freepers bleat about Larry Craig
by Pam Spaulding · 8/27/2007 10:55:00 PM ET

You all have been waiting for it...some knuckle-dragging commentary from the swamps of Freeperland about conservative Republican U.S. Senator from Idaho Larry Craig's same-sex bathroom booty call. Enjoy!

Actual Freeper Quotes

Part of the perversion that is homosexuality; sex in public places.

I'm getting to the point where I just don't care about that—my rage at the betrayals overshadows all. Haggard, Foley, this kook. It seems that NO one speaks for us and acts for us.

It will be interesting being that he is a Repub if he will get millions for a book deal, a one hour show on Oprah, and multiple favorable reviews in the New York Times like Gov. Jim McSleezy who put the security of the entire state of New Jersey at risk.

http://www.americablog.com/2007/08/freepers-bleat-about-larry-craig.html

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/08/27/mid-day-open-thread-7/

Federal Reserve Bends the Rules for Citibank and Bank of America

From CNN/Money:

In a clear sign that the credit crunch is still affecting the nation’s largest financial institutions, the Federal Reserve agreed this week to bend key banking regulations to help out Citigroup and Bank of America.

The regulations in question effectively limit a bank’s funding exposure to an affiliate to 10% of the bank’s capital. But the Fed has allowed Citibank and Bank of America to blow through that level. Citigroup and Bank of America are able to lend up to $25 billion apiece under this exemption, according to the Fed. If Citibank used the full amount, “that represents about 30% of Citibank’s total regulatory capital, which is no small exemption,” says Charlie Peabody, banks analyst at Portales Partners.

So, how serious is this rule-bending? Very. One of the central tenets of banking regulation is that banks with federally insured deposits should never be over-exposed to brokerage subsidiaries; indeed, for decades financial institutions were legally required to keep the two units completely separate. This move by the Fed eats away at the principle.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/08/27/federal-reserve-bends-the-rules...

Notice how the Trolls have been quiet the last 1 1/2 days..HaHa!Freepers!
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Woke up to see the Eclipse and it is cloudy here. It was clear earlier and the moon was bright, now it's cloudy! :(

The trolls must be having vapors about now. The news is not what they wanted to hear.

I am still worried about who Bush will appoint as AG. Right now, with that FISA Act congress passed b4 they left, it gives the AG some powers he should not have for six months anyway.

SUN, MOON, EARTH to line up in total eclipse. Best seen in the west.

Pretty foggy where I am so I guess no eclipse for me.

Ah, Barry Lank, Jim Earl's old podna...

Scientists Find Warping Of Space-Time Predicted By Einstein »

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

Space.com | August 27, 2007 09:17 PM

Einstein's predicted warping of space-time has been discovered around neutron stars, the most dense observable matter in the universe.

The warping shows up as smeared lines of iron gas whipping around the stars, University of Michigan and NASA astronomers say. The finding also indicates a size limit for the celestial objects.

http://www.livescience.com/space/scienceastronomy/070827_star_warp.html

No jokes about hot bods, please. All of you warm-blooded folks may have the advantage with this new technology. You may soon be able to power your cell phone, PCs, and other electronics by tapping into your own body heat, and you don't need to be pedaling a stationary bike, walking the treadmill, or otherwise working up a sweat to do it. You can just sit there, couch potato style, and generate enough body heat to keep your gear going.

I stumbled across this tidbit on the Discovery Channel, but the research originates from the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, where they are developing special circuits that use body heat. These could lead to battery-less cell phones and medical monitors that draw energy from their users.

The new circuits utilize the principle of thermoelectric generators (TEG) made from semiconductor elements. According to the scientists, the TEGs extract electrical energy simply from the temperature difference between a hot and a cold environment. Normally, a difference of several tens of degrees would be required in order to generate enough power, but the difference between the body's surface temperature and that of its environment is only a few degrees. To boost the energy, they combined a number of components that store up the energy until there's enough to operate the electronic device.
Link
The photo shows a wireless transmitter being powered by the heat given off by a person's hand via a thermoelectric generator. Can't wait to see if it takes advantage of hot flashes!
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

It's pretty clear here,which is great..The eclipse is only about 1/3 of the way thru..But,still very cool looking!I luv this stuff..I'll cruz back outside in abit. :)
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

So the website for the station (owned by CC I assume) is posting pictures and info about demos against the format switch, in effect protesting their own programming intentions. I find this behavior suspect and have in other similar situations.

What do you think?
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Getting Mooned
Submitted by Crank Bait on Mon, 08/27/2007 - 11:28pm.
This is a pretty good site for eclipse fans. It has a live video link that you can access if the weather is foul in your area (or if your area is, say, Tierra del Fuego).

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070827_eclipse_weather.html

*******Eclipse Link-Live Video..
Man I've been looking all over for this link..I thought it was on last thread.Not!
O'well..Hope this helps! :) bbl
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I don't have access to the ratings but I am guessing it has something to do with boosting numbers and revenues and solidifying their base. I am guessing CC owns several media outlets there. They seem to be all about pumping up the revenues.

The coastal fog just rolled in..Damn!But,got to see total lunar eclipse..Very cool!
:)
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

"Hillary haters" marshal forces for campaign
By Jill Zuckman

Chicago Tribune

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has drawn an army of passionate critics.

"She looks like a winner," said Collins. "She's run a good campaign, very consistent, no mistakes."

But make no mistake: Collins is just one in a vast army of professional "Hillary haters" banking on Clinton becoming the Democratic nominee. Like the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" in the 2004 election who denigrated John Kerry's military service in Vietnam, Collins and others are searching for the thing that will crystallize the way voters think and feel about her.

And not in a good way.

Sharp questions await Gonzales successor By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
Tue Aug 28, 3:26 AM ET

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' replacement — whoever that may be — faces a potentially nasty Senate confirmation and a beleaguered Justice Department badly in need of leadership.

Gonzales' resignation, announced Monday, cheered his critics who for months had demanded the attorney general quit over questions about his credibility.

Filling his job could lead to a new standoff between White House Republicans and the Democratic-led Congress, experts said, even as names of possible successors began to surface.

"Selecting a successor to Gonzales will be a challenge because the Senate is unlikely to confirm anyone as aggressive as Gonzales in the defense of executive power and the practice of secrecy," said Peter Shane, professor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

But the White House is unlikely to let Congress dictate who gets the job.

Someone like former Sen. Jack Danforth, R-Mo., for example, "might be too liberal for the base," said Hunter College political scientist Kenneth Sherrill, referring to Republican conservatives who make up President Bush's core supporters.

A more intriguing pick, Sherrill said, would be Sen. Joe Lieberman, the hawkish Connecticut Democrat whose nomination would allow his state's Republican governor to appoint his replacement — wresting control of the Senate from Democrats to a tie between the two parties.

For now, Solicitor General Paul Clement will head the Justice Department until a replacement is found. Among the possible successors whose names were floated Monday:

_Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, a former assistant attorney general and federal judge who commands the legal expertise that Gonzales lacked. However, Chertoff faced intense criticism and calls for his own resignation after Homeland Security's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

_Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee for a decade before relinquishing that standing in 2005. In April, Hatch said "it would be really tough for me to get confirmed" but that "I would serve this country in any way I could."

_Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, a conservative former U.S. attorney, congressman, Drug Enforcement Administration chief and border security director at the Homeland Security Department. Hutchinson, whom an aide said was on his way to Washington on Monday afternoon, could run afoul of Democrats for his role in the impeachment of former President Clinton.

_Acting Deputy Attorney General Craig Morford, a 20-year federal prosecutor. Morford sent former Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio, to jail and recommended that a federal judge toss out verdicts against two defendants in the nation's first major post-9/11 terrorism case after finding the Justice Department failed to turn over documents to defense lawyers.

_Former Solicitor General Ted Olson, a courtly conservative whose wife, Barbara, was killed in the Sept. 11 flight that crashed into the Pentagon. Olson is now a partner at law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington.

_Former Deputy Attorney General George Terwilliger, who served during the administration of President George H.W. Bush and is now a partner at White & Case in Washington.

• Former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, who held the post during the current President Bush's first two years in office and is now general counsel at Pepsi Co.

• Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, general counsel at Lockheed Martin Co. He is considered a longshot at best after defying the White House's orders to continue a domestic spying program when he was the Justice Department's No. 2 in 2004.

_4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge William Wilkins, a South Carolina jurist who has defended the Bush administration's treatment of enemy combatants and reinstated a libel lawsuit against The New York Times over opinion columns linking a former Army scientist to the 2001 anthrax killings.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070828/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/gonzales_replaceme...

Blackwater Buys Brazilian Bombers
August 27, 2007: Security company Blackwater U.S.A. is buying Super Tucano light combat aircraft from the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. These five ton, single engine, single seat aircraft are built for pilot training, but also perform quite well for counter-insurgency work. Brazil. The Super Tucano is basically a prop driven trainer that is equipped for combat missions. The aircraft can carry up to 1.5 tons of weapons, including 12.7mm machine-guns, bombs and missiles. The aircraft cruises at about 500 kilometers an hour and can stay in the air for about 6.5 hours per sortie. One of the options is a FLIR (infrared radar that produces a photo realistic video image in any weather) and a fire control system for bombing. Colombia is using the Super Tucanos for counter-insurgency work (there are over 20,000 armed rebels and drug gang gunmen in the country). The aircraft is also used for border patrol. The U.S. Air Force is watching that quite closely. The Super Tucano costs $9 million each, and come in one or two seat versions. The bubble canopy provides excellent visibility. This, coupled with its slow speed (versus jets), makes it an excellent ground attack aircraft.

Blackwater already has a force of armed helicopters in Iraq, and apparently wants something a little faster, and more heavily armed, to fulfill its security contracts overseas. Initially, Blackwater is getting one two-seater, for pilot training in the United States.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/articles/20070827.aspx

The Crime? Helping the Poor While Being Wealthy
A. Alexander, August 25th, 2007
It is interesting to observe Republicans and the corporate-owned media as they attack the rare wealthy person who dares attempt to help America's poor and impoverished. According to Republicans, wealthy people that try to help America's poor, even those like John Edwards who came from a working class background, are to be publicly humiliated ... to be treated as though they have committed a crime. What crime? The crime of helping the poor while being wealthy.

Though Republicans and the corporate-owned media might attack the concerned individual, their assault is really against America's poor. After all, when Republicans and the media attack the cost of a haircut for those trying to help the poor, the reason is about more than simply hoping to undermine the person's credibility; ultimately their goal is to undermine the cause.

For the last 40 years in the United States, any person that dared take on the cause of the poor and disenfranchised has been roundly attacked, belittled, marginalized, intimidated into complete surrender, or murdered (i.e. Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King JR etc.). The reason for this is simple: Republican philosophy dictates that any of the hard-earned taxpayer dollars returned to, or used to improve the lives of common citizens is a waste of money. However, giving the taxpayer's revenue to the wealthiest Americans and corporations is money well spent. In other words, welfare for the poorest among American society is bad; welfare for the wealthiest among American society and corporations is good.

And what is best of all? Spending most of working America's tax dollars on building bigger, better, and deadlier bombs!

It might be tempting to consider this analysis as being a bit harsh on Republicans. However, a recent scenario illustrates the point perfectly: Every reputable study and organization has found that there are currently some 9 million American children without health insurance. Congress was seeking to address the issue and determined it would cost about $10 billion dollars per-year to cover 6 million of the uninsured children. Suddenly, the Bush administration released a "study" that concluded, despite all previous evidence and studies, that there are supposedly only 5 million American children without health insurance.

This finding, of course, came from an administration that has literally made it impossible for government researchers to make public information and studies that contradict Republican ideology. However, the moment Congress decided to address the lack of health insurance among America's poorest children, and the Republican administration suddenly produced a study that undermines the need for helping poor children. Better, perhaps, to state that the administration's "study," if taken seriously, would effectively ensure that only half the original funds of $10 billion would be spent on helping America's poorest children gain health insurance.

http://www.progressivedailybeacon.com/more.php?page=opinion&id=1654

Sen Tim Johnson of So. Dakota tonight on ABC.

Johnson still has a problem walking and his speech is still not perfect, but his doctor said his intelligence is still there. And Woodruff is the best person to interview Johnson, having suffered his own brain injury problem.

It will be interesting to hear what the freepers have to say about him.

He's still out there. The hunt for bin Laden.

By Evan Thomas
Newsweek
Sept. 3, 2007 issue - The Americans were getting close. It was early in the winter of 2004-05, and Osama bin Laden and his entourage were holed up in a mountain hideaway along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Suddenly, a sentry, posted several kilometers away, spotted a patrol of U.S. soldiers who seemed to be heading straight for bin Laden's redoubt. The sentry radioed an alert, and word quickly passed among the Qaeda leader's 40-odd bodyguards to prepare to remove "the Sheik," as bin Laden is known to his followers, to a fallback position. As Sheik Said, a senior Egyptian Qaeda operative, later told the story, the anxiety level was so high that the bodyguards were close to using the code word to kill bin Laden and commit suicide. According to Said, bin Laden had decreed that he would never be captured. "If there's a 99 percent risk of the Sheik's being captured, he told his men that they should all die and martyr him as well," Said told Omar Farooqi, a Taliban liaison officer to Al Qaeda who spoke to a NEWSWEEK reporter in Afghanistan.
Con't
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

g'morning all! sorry i missed the party yesterday had to take the kids to the dentist---anyone got a tobacco leaf left over for me to roll up my tea leaves?

Why did Gonzales resign?
Without Karl Rove around to give him his orders, and with the investigations closing in, "Fredo" had nowhere to turn.

By Sidney Blumenthal

When Alberto Gonzales swiftly turned heel on the stage at the Department of Justice without answering questions about his resignation as attorney general he left behind yet another lingering cloud of mystery. What is he not telling about his resignation?

The true story may be something like the denouement of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Purloined Letter," which was in plain sight all along, a solution that can, as Poe wrote, "escape observation by dint of being excessively obvious; and here the physical oversight is precisely analogous with the moral inapprehension by which the intellect suffers to pass unnoticed those considerations which are too obtrusively and too palpably self-evident." To be excessively obvious, Gonzales' resignation, following Karl Rove's exactly by two weeks, is the shadow of the first act.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2007/08/27/gonzales_resignation/...

hope he recalls that he's resigned!!! very funny!

In what officials call “the largest ring of fraud and kickbacks uncovered in” Iraq yet, federal agents are investigating “the purchase and delivery of billions of dollars of weapons, supplies and other matériel to Iraqi and American forces.” One investigation involves a senior American officer who worked closely with Gen. David Petraeus in training and equipping Iraqi forces in 2004 and 2005.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/world/middleeast/28military.html?_r=1&...

Karl Rove was one of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s few defenders at the White House, notes the New York Times. “He was being protected, in large measure by Karl,” said a Republican close to the White House. When Rove left, it “further exposed that the only thing that was standing with him was the president of the United States.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/washington/28resign.html

Michael Moore’s documentary SiCKO has helped start a national discussion on health care reform. A new poll finds that 43 percent of respondents familiar with the movie “said they were more likely to think [there] is a need for health care reform.” Another “45 percent said they discussed the U.S. health system with friends, co-workers, or family as a result of the movie.”

http://www.courant.com/business/hc-sicko0828.artaug28,0,380582.story

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) suggested CIA leak investigator Patrick Fitzgerald and former Deputy Attorney General James Comey as possible replacements for Alberto Gonzales. Durbin acknowledged Fitzgerald would be a ”long shot” for the job.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/530505,durbingon082707.article

“The U.S. military said Monday it regretted any offense it may have caused by giving out a soccer ball with the word Allah written on it as part of a public relations exercise in Afghanistan.”

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=105&sid=1232320

SO YOU LIBBIEBAT MOONPIEFAGS THINK YOU WIN TO MAKE KARL ROVE AND ALBERTO GONZOLEZ GO FROM THE HOUSE OF WHITER AMERICA TO BE IN THE JUNGLE OF IT FROM YOR DIRTY TRIX AND VILE ACCUSINGS BUT GOD AND BABY JESUS WILL PROTECT AND SERVE THE AMERICA OF CHIRSTIANITISM FROM THE GODLESS SATANER WHILES AND WAYS OF THE DARK SOCKMONKEYFETISH PORNS OF LIBBIE SCUMBAGFAGGERS AND THE COMMIECHINKWOP SPICKSLURPING NIGGERWINKIES AND JEWTOWN ASSRASIN KILLER LESBIANS WHO RAPE THE STATUE OF LIBERTIES WITH A BROOM HANDLE OF A WITCH!!! BEWCAUSE OF THE SATANS IN IT THAT SPLINTER AND CUT INTO ALL THE NATION ALL THE TIME FROM IT! LIKE BURNING HEMMEROIDALS FROM SPACE AND SATAN IN THE RAPTURE. OF EVERY ONE. OF THEM!!! ALL! AND G-D THE HOLY KING WILL BRING KARL AND ABERTO BACK TO THE LIFE OF WONDERFUL RULING OF YOU! AND ALL!!! AND POOP UPON THE DIXIE CHICKENS!

EVERY TIME TED KENNEDY PUTS HIS DEAD BLUE JEW PENIS IN A WHITE WOMAN A KITTEN KILLS AN ANGEL AND JESUS WEEPS! ON IT! THERE!

Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors announced that home sales “fell in July to their slowest pace in five years. The glut of homes for sale is at a 16-year high.” The housing market likely won’t recover “until early next year.”

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2007-08-27-existing-home-s...

Having been in Real Estate, I have been through this before. This glut of homes is too much for a recovery by next year and you have to take into consideration the credit problem now and the interest rate and the economy.

This Home Sales problem will last several years. People may have to go back to exchanging homes as they did when the interest rates were double digits.

up late and haven't read the thread yet. But I did catch this on Wapo about Craig-

In each of Craig's last two elections, he faced wealthy Democrats. In 1996, Walt Minnick spent $1 million of his own money to get 40 percent. Six years later Alan Blinken, the former ambassador to Belgium in the Clinton Administration, spent nearly $1 million to get just 32.5 percent.

Craig's seat was considered safe, but not anymore. He's up at '08.

is back!!

YOU ARE THE EVIL THAT CREEPS IN PANTS!
new
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 9:28am.

11 Bushies have resigned since Democrats began investigating

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleven individuals have resigned from the Bush administration amid the furor following last year's firings of nine U.S. attorneys. HinesSight reported on Sunday that Gonzales' resignation was imminent.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/19278.html

is Patrioteerer some sort of software that some sicko wrote that strings together curses or does someone actually sit down and right that stuff.

Edwards wants
law against 'Brownies'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Former Sen. John Edwards said at a Hurricane Katrina conference he would propose what he called "Brownie's Law" requiring that qualified people, not political hacks, lead key federal agencies.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070828/pl_nm/neworleans_candidates_dc;_ylt=...

CNN falsely claimed officials
were caught by surprise

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CNN, the news aggregator that gets most of its leads from AP and other sources and then rewrites, claimed the Gonzales resignation "caught everyone by surprise." Maybe CNN, Drudge Report and HuffPo were surprised but it was the talk of DC over the weekend.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2007/8/24/maybe-trading-...

CBS, Washington Post in
online news deal

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CBS News and The Washington Post have forged an alliance to share news resources for their online outlets — CBSNews.com and WashingtonPost.com — during the 2008 presidential campaign.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070827/ap_on_hi_te/cbs_washington_post;_ylt...

to Countries in Latin America

Laid-off Brazilian factory workers have their jobs back, Nicaraguan farmers are getting low-interest loans and Bolivian mayors can afford new health clinics, all thanks to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Bolstered by windfall oil profits, Chavez's government is now offering more direct state funding to Latin America and the Caribbean than the United States. A tally by The Associated Press shows Venezuela has pledged more than $8.8 billion in aid, financing and energy funding so far this year.

While the most recent figures available from Washington show $3 billion in U.S. grants and loans reached the region in 2005, it isn't known how much of the Venezuelan money has actually been delivered. And Chavez's spending abroad doesn't come close to the overall volume of U.S. private investment and trade in Latin America.

But in terms of direct government funding, the scale of Venezuela's commitments is unprecedented for a Latin American country.

Chavez's largesse tends to benefit left-leaning nations that support his vision of a Latin America with greater independence from the United States. But he denies the two countries are in a competition.

"We don't want to compete with anyone. I wish the United States were 100 times above us," Chavez told the AP in a recent interview. "But no, the U.S. government views the region in a marginal way. What they offer is a pittance sometimes, and with unacceptable pressures that at times countries can't accept."
...

is written by a blog person and is satire.

This time, I think he is posting because of Craig, showing the hypocracy of the republican party.

Gateway computer company sold,
success in '90s was fleeting

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the 1980s, the small South Dakota business selling computers through catalogs was called Gateway 2000. In 1998, the "2000" no longer sounded as futuristic and the now gigantic company was renamed Gateway Inc.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070827/ap_on_hi_te/gateway_history;_ylt=ArS...

It was sold to a Tiwanese Company.

i dont know why dont they just come out and be who they are, instead of hating themselves so much!! poor poor things---

Petraeus 'Softened' National Intel Estimate On Iraq »
Washington Post | Karen DeYoung | August 28, 2007 08:58 AM

The NIE, requested by the White House Iraq coordinator, Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute, in preparation for the testimony, met with resistance from U.S. military officials in Baghdad, according to a senior U.S. military intelligence officer there. Presented with a draft of the conclusions, Petraeus succeeded in having the security judgments softened to reflect improvements in recent months, the official said.
Read entire story here

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR200708...

Michael Moore’s
Submitted by toniD on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 9:25am.

That people familiar with, or especially who have sought out "SICKO"...would support a focus on health care?

Sorry to say, but isn't that like arguing that people who go see "Star Trek" are "influenced" to support the space program? When it's the other way around?

This goes to Chris Wallace, who smacks down liberal-hack-turned-"journalist" Bill Moyers:

WALLACE: Time now for some mail -- actually, one letter from liberal commentator Bill Moyers. You may remember in my interview with Karl Rove last Sunday, I asked him about a Moyers statement that Rove is reportedly an agnostic who manipulated the Christian right for political gain. Well, Rove answered that he's an observant Episcopalian and Moyers, quote, "ought to do a little better research before he does another drive- by slander."
Bill Moyers didn't like that and sent me this letter, which he also posted on his Web site. He quoted four print stories for his contention that Rove is agnostic, none of which offer any proof other than what Rove supposedly told colleagues over the years.

Then Moyers wrote this. "Obviously, Rove wanted to blow smoke because his version of reality is undermined by his own previous statements and by the reporting and analysis of journalists who have done their homework and don't take his every word as gospel, no pun intended."

Well, to save on postage, Bill, here's my response. If you want to find out about someone's religious beliefs, a good first step might be to ask him.

If you had talked to Rove, as I did, you would have found out he reads a devotional every day and the biggest charitable contribution he ever made was to his church. Of course, you never called Rove.

That's reporting 101, but it would have gotten in the way of a tasty story line about a non-believer flim-flamming the Christian right. I guess, Bill, reporting is easier when you don't worry about the facts.

It is, indeed, reporting 101 - and it is, mostly, what our reporters in the MSM simply will not do. All too commonly, MSMers just want to know the angle - how some recent factiod fits in with the MSM's pre-conceived notion of how it should be going, rather than how it is. In the specific case cited, the desire that Rove should be a cruel cynic manipulating Christians was just too good an angle to have any actual facts interfere. Many is the time here on Blogs for Bush where a lefty commenter has tried to sell us on the notion that Rove - and/or the whole GOP leadership - is bamboozling Christians by playing up to our hatreds and fears, but that they have no intention of actually doing what we Christians want. Moyers, sans evidence, believes this, as his letter to Wallace indicates - it is, you see, much better, for a liberal, to think that the other side wins via skullduggery because if it is ideas which causes conservative victories, then the entire liberal/left worldview is invalidated.

Ultimately, that is the source of MSM bias - a demand that reality fit liberal/left ideology; and anything which doesn't fit is to be ignored, and anyone who brings it up is to be mercilessly hammered. Congratulations to Mr. Wallace for showing what a jerk Bill Moyers is, and congratulation to Bill Moyers for being our 100th example of media bias.

http://www.blogsforbush.com/

CM

hey thanks for sharing. you can google for "chris wallace bill moyers" and get a nice list of all the planet bush blogs that are busy cutting and pasting.

talk about the pot calling the kettle black...

You may want to close your eyes about the Health Care problem here, but God help you if you ever need to use it and it consumes your whole life trying to get the help you need.

You can try to reason that it's not a problem, but it is a major problem in this country.

Quit being an appologist for a failed system, CM. This bushie system is collapsing and for good reason.

I seel sorry for you that you can vote against your children's future!

distract you from slapping some people around this morning....but, were kamakazi pilots terrorists? what you think? seriously! how about nelson mandela?

he LOVE being here if he wasn't?

No profit = No talkie

His nic is Iceknife, his shtick is to vent his deep seated mental problems and label it satire. It resonates with others who have a similar disorder.

interesting question.

one part of it is whether soldiers can be terrorists or whether only individuals or non-sanctioned groups of individuals can be terrorists.

the other part is the tactic itself. its not much different than todays suicide bombers. using yourself as a weapon is a concept that i can't rationally grasp. do you think that your unprovable belief in an afterlife of nothingness, eternal salvation, eternal damnation, or reincarnation affects your ability to commit this act?

as an aside, i was watching a history show the other day that was talking about wwii japan and how the citizens of japan had been raised to believe their emperor was descended from god. and to think that was only 70 years ago.

i don't know much african history so i can't comment on nelson mandela. my perception is that he is to south africa what ghandi was to india, but i really don't know.

Notice that World News Daily is calling it "allegations" and not a "conviction."

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/polls/former_poll.asp?POLL_ID=2391

~Nyc W. Alberts
Fox News... We Report... You Deride

CM
Submitted by toniD on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 10:37am.

Merely pointing out that such films typically attract those who ALREADY believe their message and want it confirmed.

No swipe at Mr Moore, a gifted film-maker. Just saying he's not "winning over undecideds"....but preaching to the choir.

If it isn't satire, then he's really a republican. That figures.

that he was a terrorist! no! nelson madela was a freedom fighter! thanks anyway dan!

Former H.W. Bush justice appointee ‘looking very good.’

NBC reports the latest speculation on Gonzales’ successor: “Per a source close to the White House, ex-Deputy Attorney General George J. Terwilliger III is ‘looking very good’ to replace Alberto Gonzales. Former Solicitor General Ted Olson and former appellate judge Laurence Silberman are ‘also in the running.’ And Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and former deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson ‘are unlikely.’” Terwilliger was a leader of President Bush’s legal team during the Florida election recount, and served in the DoJ during the George H.W. Bush administration

i still think he put her name out there for the supreme court to chum the waters, knowing that by the time the feeding frenzy was over he would be in a position to put his real candidate in there without much objection. i think chertoffs name is chum...

Brazil, President Lula and Sugar-Cane Ethanol

...
The United States and Brazil are currently the world’s top producers of ethanol and bio-fuels, accounting for 70 percent of the global supply. Brazil alone produces 4.4 billion gallons of ethanol, due in large part to its ability to rely upon sugarcane methodology for producing ethanol rather than the corn-base process formed in the U.S.
...

Today's Must Read
By Spencer Ackerman - August 28, 2007, 9:55 AM
It looks like Major John Cockerham might have some competition for his title as most-crooked contracting official in Iraq.

The New York Times reports that a plethora of criminal investigations, all part of a new Pentagon anti-corruption push, are open into what exactly happened to "weapons, supplies and other materiel" dispensed in that country as part of over $40 billion in reconstruction aid. And one of the investigations -- though it's maddeningly unclear as to what the charge even is -- centers around a former aide to General David Petraeus, now the commanding general in Iraq.

Contracting fraud in the effort to supply and equip Iraqi security forces, Afghan soldiers and U.S. troops is suspected to be immense. Over 70 cases are currently under investigation in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, according to the paper, for contracts worth more that $5 billion. So far, investigators have uncovered evidence of upwards of $15 million in bribes.

One such case involves Lieutenant Colonel Levonda Joey Selph, a master logistics officer who worked with Petraeus when he commanded the effort to train and equip Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005. Petraeus has already commented that he considered the rapid preparation of Iraqi soldiers and police to be a greater priority than scrupulous bookkeeping. As yet, Petraeus is not suspected of any wrongdoing -- and indeed, even what Selph is suspected of having done is unclear. But here's what is: Selph ran a massive logistics operation, and one that was ripe for abuse.

That operation moved everything from AK-47s, armored vehicles and plastic explosives to boots and Army uniforms, according to officials who were involved in it. Her former colleagues recall Colonel Selph as a courageous officer who was willing to take substantial personal risks to carry out her mission and was unfailingly loyal to General Petraeus and his directives to move quickly in setting up the logistics operation.
“She was kind of like the Pony Express of the Iraqi security forces,” said Victoria Wayne, who was then deputy director of logistics for the overall Iraqi reconstruction program.

Still, Colonel Selph also ran into serious problems with a company she oversaw that failed to live up to a contract it had signed to carry out part of that logistics mission.

It is not clear exactly what Colonel Selph is being investigated for. Colonel Selph, reached by telephone twice on Monday, said she would speak to reporters later but did not answer further messages left for her.

Even outside of Selph's command, the paper reports, there are indications of how corruption nibbled around the edges of a variety of contracts. Iraqis, U.S. contractors, foreign contractors, U.S. military officials, and U.S. civilian workers are under investigation for everything from "conspiracy, bribery, product substitution and bid-rigging or double-billing involving large dollar amounts or more senior contracting officials."

But by far the most alarming charges involve the laxity of controls over the weapons distributed to Iraqi security forces. After government reports indicated serious problems with accounting for the weapons -- raising the possibility that they've gone to the black market and are being used to attack U.S. forces -- the Pentagon's inspector general, Lieutenant General Claude "Mick" Kicklighter, launched an investigation. He's about to leave for an "indefinite" period in Iraq at the helm of an 18-investigator team. That inquiry comes at the behest of Sen. John Warner (R-VA), the former chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and it's most likely only the first salvo of a broader Pentagon anti-corruption effort.

Corruption is a way of life in the new Iraq. Transparency International, an anti-corruption watchdog, labeled the country the second-most-corrupt business environment on the planet in 2005. Just yesterday, McClatchy reported that any Iraqi doing business in Anbar Province -- including Iraqi contractors with the U.S. -- pays an "insurgent tax" to militant groups who partially finance their fight against the U.S. through shakedowns. All that raises doubt about how much good a new anti-corruption effort can accomplish at this point.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004016.php

Ex-Islamist Gul Wins Turkish Presidency

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul becomes President after months of confrontation with secular leaders.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2007/08/islamicrooted_president_wins_i...

Spitzer threatens to sue federal govt over SCHIP. Today in the New York Daily News, Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) sharply criticizes the Bush administration’s cuts, which block the state’s plan to expand coverage “to children whose parents earn up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, from 250 percent currently.” From his op-ed:

There are 400,000 uninsured children in New York. To put this in perspective, if they were to gather in one place, they would form the second-largest city in the state - larger than Rochester, Albany and Binghamton combined.

To deny coverage to these children is not only morally wrong, it is profoundly bad public policy. […]

But then - last Friday - the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, at the behest of President Bush, slammed the door in the face of children and families across our nation.

Not only would CMS prevent states from increasing their income limits to bring more children into the program, CMS has actually proposed reducing the income limits many states already have, forcing children out of the program and into the ranks of the uninsured.

Yesterday, Spitzer also threatened to sue the federal government “on charges that new regulations on children’s health insurance violate an existing program that covers children from lower-income families.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/28/spitzer-threatens-to-sue-federal-gov...

Pilgrims flee Iraqi city amidst violence.

Police ordered a curfew and told “hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to leave the Iraqi city of Kerbala on Tuesday as a battle raged between Iraqi security forces and gunmen near two of Shi’ite Islam’s holiest shrines. A senior security source in Baghdad said 25 people had been killed, mostly policemen.

have you done enough reading (as in i haven't) to know whether ethanol is a better source of energy than petrol based ones, or it just different. ethanol gets a lot of play in ohio and indiana because we grow a lot of corn, yet there's an undercurrent that suggests that when you strip away the subsidy that gov't gives ethanol (i think its around 50 cents a gallon at the pumps) and factor in the cost of diverting water to ethanol production and the cost of hauling all that corn to a processing plant that ethanol is actually more expensive than petrol based products. is the sugar cane version cheaper?

Man Arrested For Impersonating Edwards Aide
Florida man Michael Duga, a career criminal whose record includes selling drugs and car-jacking, has been arrested for making his way into a John Edwards event by falsely telling people he was a former staffer for ex-Senator Max Cleland (D-GA) — as it turns out, Cleland did have a staffer who was also named Michael Duga. The man was found in possession of documents from the Edwards campaign, including: Three sheets of stick-on Edwards campaign badges, an itinerary of Edwards' campaign stops, ten sheets of Edwards' personal stationery and envelopes, and other documents with the names, contact information and hotel assignments for campaign staffers.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/08/28/fla_man_held_after...

"Well, to save on postage, Bill, here's my response. If you want to find out about someone's religious beliefs, a good first step might be to ask him."

That's not what Jesus taught. Jesus taught us to know people by their works and deeds, not their words. Has Wallace determined that he's wiser than Jesus, and that we should ignore what Jesus teaches us?

how true that is, but from the right wing perspective that's just not as satisfying as "jane, you ignorant slut"...

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 11:09am.

------

------

Merely pointing out that such films typically attract those who ALREADY believe their message and want it confirmed.

No swipe at Mr Moore, a gifted film-maker. Just saying he's not "winning over undecideds"....but preaching to the choir.

______________

re: "winning over undecideds"

Have you actually seen SiCKO?

B'lieve a body could quite reasonably make the "preaching to the choir" charge 'bout Fahrenheit 9/11, but the same simply could not be said, imo, about SiCKO.

SiCKO makes one overwhelming thematic point:

As American citizens, we are all -- all of us save possibly the very rich -- akin to orphaned stowaways onna shitty health-care tramp-steamer w/stormy weather comin' on.

Whether we weather the weather, and whether we like it or not.

Ship's broke. Crew's cut-throat. Sky's glowering. Wind's freshening. Hold's sinking.

(Tain't no lifeboats neither, but for the -- you guessed it -- very wealthy.)

At one point in the film, M. Moore axes in voice-over (paraphrase): "Who are we? Who are we that we let this happen?"

It's a good goddamn question.

Despite Announcing His ‘Retirement,’ General Who Oversaw Walter Reed Scandal Still Serving In Army

, the Pentagon announced that Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, who oversaw neglect at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, was resigning, effective immediately. NBC News Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski reported that it was “very likely” Kiley “would be reduced in retirement, at least one rank” and “be forced to retire at that two-star level.”

In order to retire as a three-star general, Kiley would have had to do at least three years of active-duty service in that grade. The higher the grade, the greater the retirement pay and benefits a general receives.

Kiley was appointed Army Surgeon General on Sept. 30, 2004. Therefore, as Miklaszewski noted, he retired before serving out his three-year term at the three-star level.

But ThinkProgress has learned that Kiley is still serving at the Pentagon, despite announcing his “retirement” in March. An official in the Department of the Army Public Affairs told ThinkProgress:

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/28/kiley-retire/

Why?

Guardsmen could get $2,000 to bring in active-duty recruits

By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Aug 28, 2007 7:49:28 EDT

The Army is turning to the part-time National Guard for help recruiting would-be soldiers in towns across America.

Army leaders, struggling to meet recruitment goals in the midst of a long and unpopular war in Iraq, are quietly working out final details of a program that would give bonuses of $2,000 per recruit to any National Guard soldier who brings somebody into the active-duty Army.

Army Secretary Pete Geren called the plan an innovative effort to get broader reach into local communities.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/08/ap_guardrecruiting_070828/

Wallace is foolish

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 11:39am.

"Well, to save on postage, Bill, here's my response. If you want to find out about someone's religious beliefs, a good first step might be to ask him."

That's not what Jesus taught. Jesus taught us to know people by their works and deeds, not their words. Has Wallace determined that he's wiser than Jesus, and that we should ignore what Jesus teaches us?

________________

(Forgive him not, Father, for he knows exactly what he does.)

Chris Wallace is like the vain rooster who thought the sun rose just hear him crow.

Wallace is exulting in that special brand of self-righteous indignation afforded only to persons who are untroubled at being lied to, just so long as their being played for a fool allows them the longed-for opportunity to strut about before others like a peacock in full plumage, cackling about their moral superiority over others from a position built entirely onna lie.

Yes, Chris Wallace, let's just ask Karl Rove if he's religious:

Chris Wallace: "Well, Karl. Are you?"

Karl Rove: "Yes, Chris. I read a devotional every day"

Chris Wallace: "Well, now -- who's got egg on their face now? I guess that settles that!

Idiot.

Do you have auto insurance and home owner insurance?
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 11:53am.
Why?

Can you get insurance with that illness? It's pre-existing, right?

Houses and cars are different.

Study: US preparing 'massive' military attack against Iran

The United States has the capacity for and may be prepared to launch without warning a massive assault on Iranian uranium enrichment facilities, as well as government buildings and infrastructure, using long-range bombers and missiles, according to a new analysis.

http://rawstory.com//news/2007/Study_US_preparing_massive_military_attac...

US attack on Iran 'impossible': Ahmadinejad

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday dismissed the chance of a US attack against Iran as impossible, saying that Washington already had enough trouble in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"There is in no way the possibility of such an attack by the United States. Even if they take such a decision they cannot implement it," he told a news conference. "They have to solve the question of Iraq and Afghanistan."

"Politicians do not deal with imaginary things. They deal with reality and this is propaganda. This (an attack) is not on the agenda of US officials and it cannot be," he said.
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_attack_on_Iran_impossible_Ahmadi_0828200...

i can't really stay, but i'd add a question to the kamikaze/terrorist issue. other than the fact that the pilot dies, what's the difference between a kamikaze pilot and a guided missile? the consequences to the people you're bombing seem essentially the same...

tonid, hey. i missed you last night. are you feeling well these days? heard you had storms - i ended up grounded at the airport for 5 hours because of them...

Judge OKs Noriega extradition to France

U.S. Judge Approves Ex-Panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega's Extradition to France

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega can be extradited to France once he completes his U.S. prison sentence for a 1992 drug trafficking conviction, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Noriega, 73, is due to be released from a Florida prison on Sept. 9.

He wanted U.S. officials to send him back to his home country, but France wants him to face charges of laundering more than $3 million in drug profits through French banks and purchases that included luxurious apartments in Paris. Another federal judge last week rejected a claim that Noriega should be returned to Panama because he was held in the U.S. as a prisoner of war.

sheemz is saying on so on the Thom show?????!!!

There is a human and environmental issue with ethanol production.

...I'm at work..will write more later...

Lula and Bush are scammin' with this ethanol...imo..

At what point did you not insure your house and car?

--poppinjay tool-

l8r...

A beauty pic, Lee!

Submitted by Peaches Pseudonymous on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 12:22am.

Stolen. I've entitled it:

A Liberal Lanquish

KILLER LESBIANS WHO RAPE THE STATUE OF LIBERTIES WITH A BROOM HANDLE OF A WITCH!!!

Oh. My. God. Classic!

How I've missed Patrioterer's rants.

Thank you for making this particular LIBBIE SCUMBAGFAGGER's day. :)

*

i give, where's the 2nd statue at?

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 10:56am.

It resonates with others who have a similar disorder.

//

So, you're a psychologist?

More likely, you recognize the disorder because you've been recently diagnosed yourself. It's okay. Welcome.

We call ourselves "Amusement Anonymous" There is no membership requirement except a desire to connect with our sense of humor; laugh out loud, sometimes at ourselves; and lighten the fuck up every once in a while.

Submitted by dr on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 12:02pm
...SiCKO makes one overwhelming thematic point:
As American citizens, we are all -- all of us save possibly the very rich -- akin to orphaned stowaways onna shitty health-care tramp-steamer w/stormy weather comin' on...
----------------
The battle to win health care hearts and minds (and heal them) is against the "personal responsibility" meme which has been pounded into Conservative brain pans as an 'absolute' in every case, every time, every where, no matter what; case closed.

The book transcript that I am working on (and has been visited upon me like a plague) is actually a very long sales pamphlet for the author who owns an "elderly care" service. He wanders around a diary-like landscape pontificating on God and country and whatever else came to mind on that particular day of scribing his tome.

He strolled smack-dab into the 'personal responsibility' theme by discussing legislation that has been enacted to prevent the elderly from protecting assets by moving them (or gifting them) into sheltered waters prior to incurring the inevitable high cost of repairing hips and being fed strained peas through an I.V. The author abhors the possibility that clever albeit not-very-well-heeled elders could force the cost of their healing onto Medicare by becoming surreptitiously destitute before their time.

Further, he believes that part of our duty during our income-producing time on earth should be amassing money to finance our eventual vegetative states of being...presumably so we can afford to pay his company as needed.

He DID dance dangerously close to the obvious: Only wealthy people will have anything remaining in their estates to pass on to heirs (thereby perpetuating the wealthy class while sending the not-wealthy class back to Go without collecting two-hundred dollars). And he DID allow that health care for the elderly is likely to wipe-out ordinary savings in meager estates. He also seems to accept that health care costs have been and are rising at rates exceeding any other inflation measure.

But...he is not able to put 2 + 2 together for a sum of anything more enlightened than some more of the same, only worse. He has not (yet...I still have another one-hundred pages to endure) connected the cost-of-health-care dots from womb to tomb and from families to businesses and back-and-forth across the four.

The notion that we should work during our lives to save enormous (and yet possibly insufficient) amounts of money to finance our decrepit years in a patriotic effort to save the 'taxpayer' from the burden is absurd. It is citizenry surrender to the health care industry, "I exist only to pump cash into one lucky sector of the economy."

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the Conservative mindset that we are up against.

allright, the doctor is in. well said.

YOU ARE THE EVIL THAT CREEPS IN PANTS!

Submitted by [PATRIOTEERER] on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 9:28am.

SO YOU LIBBIEBAT MOONPIEFAGS THINK YOU WIN TO MAKE KARL ROVE AND ALBERTO GONZOLEZ GO FROM THE HOUSE OF WHITER AMERICA TO BE IN THE JUNGLE OF IT FROM YOR DIRTY TRIX AND VILE ACCUSINGS...

Medicare is health insurance for people age 65 or older.

Part A helps cover your inpatient care in hospitals. This includes
critical access hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (not custodial
or long-term care). It also helps cover hospice care and home health
care.

What is Medicare Part B?
Part B helps cover medical services like doctors’ services, outpatient
care, and other medical services that Part A doesn’t cover. Part B is
optional. Part B helps pay for covered medical services and items
when they are medically necessary

... and "Slime-Snake-Monkey-People" according to Robert Bowie Johnson Jr.'s new book:

"To shock the Darwinists out of their denial of the overwhelming evidence in Greek art for the reality of Genesis events, the author urges Creationists to refer to evolutionists as what they imagine they are—'Slime-Snake-Monkey-People.' Mr. Johnson, who holds a general science degree from West Point, also suggests that since Slime-Snake-Monkey-People insist they evolved over millions of years through a countless series of random mutations, Christians should also refer to them as 'mutants.'"

I guess that's only fair. I call the creationist's "knuckle-draggers" all the time.

ain't deregulation grand. i am always amazed when i read an explanation of benefit how the insurance companies discount the crap out of what the doctors and hospitals charge. there's no way someone without insurance could afford those numbers before they are marked down.

somewhere, somebody is stuffing our health care money in their pants as fast as they can, stealing us all blind. i don't think its the docs that are getting it. i suspect its the hmo's and their private investors. that being said, you wanna bet they've arranged the investment so that its taxed at the much lower rate instead of the one the common joe pays?

well, that sure takes the discussion to a much higher level of discourse.

speaking of which, next time y'all in caintucky, come visit our creation museum. come ride the jesus dinosaur. its a right good time.

Nothing I can blog here can say more than this outstanding video, produced by Campaign for America's Future's Anne Thompson:

LINK

And nothing I say in this post about the un-patriotism of our conservative friends' response to Katrina—their stubborn refusal to understand that belonging to a national community means no one who lives under our flag can ever be left behind in a crisis—is better demonstrated better than their whiny comments in the YouTube thread. Comments like:

yeah, the government didnt help all the people here in south MS a quarter as much! but look, we got just as much devistation, half the relief money, and STILL have done a billion times better. maybe those do nothing bitches in New Orleans should fix their own problems by rebuilding, instead of just waiting for someone else to do it for em and give em free money???

And this:

New Orleans, a city of jerkoffs. I went to NOLA 35 years ago. Guess what they knew they were susceptible to a hurricane disaster then. In the 35 years since then, guess what they accomplished... they named a drink 'the Hurricane' and they legalized gambling.
Now all the got is a plaintive whine that the welfare isn't good enough. This is a classic tale of the ant and the grasshopper. NOLA the city of grasshoppers. In this case I say compassion should be conserved.

Of course the devastation to Mississippi, as tragic as that was, was but a fraction of that dealt to below-sea-level New Orleans, and of their "billion times better" response—well, I'll be dealing with Mississippi's Governor Barbour in my next Katrina post.

totally toss and turn eclipse evening.

feels like i got another kidney stone popping, bad back and RA everywhere this week...

MF!

good stuff upbloggie though! thank you everyone for kicking in the research and writing time.

catching up with you all in the AM is a super treat for me.

Don't have the kidney stone but I'm right there with you on the rest of it.

This weather this year hasn't helped. I'll send you some info on RA though.

Chimpy is speechifying in front of the American Legion right now.

Best time to do other things.

Later

yep. been there. he's got me there.

the only friendly space anymore

Yeehaw!

Sounds 'like a right good time,' dan. :)

eya BB!

American Legion and the VFW

the only friendly space anymore.

(ya, a lotta good ol farts and their fambly's)

got a good vets hall down the block from us, way good people.

From the pissy-ness here today (more so than usual), I guess you guys are still hung over from your "Goodbye Gonzo" parties....LOL!

As for evolution, I WISH some of the Left would evolve. Evolve to the point where they'd just come out as socialists and quit crying "McCarthyism!", deny they're socialists, and then go on to say "What's wrong with socialism anyway?!?" (Like ol' Sammy did)

As for universal health care, the Right blew it back in the 90s. They should have SUPPORTED Hillary-care and let the Fed take over health care.

Then when the pro-lifers took over the White House and Congress....they could stop sending out the checks for abortions and wouldn't even need to overturn Roe v. Wade to end it.

(Never thought of THAT, did you, my libbie friends?)

... after sex sting guilty plea

It just keeps getting better and better. This is just pathetic. Just days after his guilty plea for cruising an undercover officer in the mens room of the Minneapolis airport, Larry Craig wrote a constituent a letter propping up the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.

Steve Ralls at The Frontlines:

In what could be called another of Craig’s "he said/he said situations," the Senator corresponded with a constituent (and SLDN supporter) earlier this month about why he’d never support repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." In the August 17 letter to his constituent, Craig wrote that, "The armed forces exist to wage war. It is unacceptable to risk the lives of American soldiers and sailors merely to accommodate the sexual lifestyles of certain individuals." He also noted that, "I don’t believe the military should be a place for social experimentation."

No, that's what train station and airport loos are for, huh, Larry?

he got hammered in "the Couv":
http://blog.oregonlive.com/politics/2007/08/baird_and_the_morning_after....

Hee Hee... :)

I just bought a refurb. system board for my laptop...any install advice?

I'm going to do it myself by following the directions...but if you know anything that might prevent me from wrecking my computer, I'd sure appreciate it...

tonid,although it hasnt been me railing against SICKO,i do indeed intend to vote for my childrens future...im voting for capitalism,freedom,democracy,baseball and apple pie...woo hoo...im voting against socialism,silencing of free speech,banning of our right to bear arms and the slaughter of innocent defenseless babies....im voting for an American future that our forefathers envisioned...and against an America that Lenin envisioned...have a nice day tonid

"Hello to all our friends and fans in Horticulture class"

CM

btw...myself and my childen have health insurance that i pay for every pay period..so thank me for not making you foot the bills in our lives

The next time you speak w/ an ethanol advocate, ask these questions:

Do you know how much water it takes to produce a gal of ethanol? (Make sure you stress FULL PRODUCTION; that is, growing the biomass, too. The advocates have a tendency to ignore that aspect of production.)

Do you know what the energy ratio is on ethanol production? (The amount of energy expended in FULL PRODUCTION vs. the finished product's potential.)

Do you (the advocate) REALLY want to divert food production to energy production? (Tell a hungry kid he can have an ethanol shake.)

Do you know how much, and what types of, waste/affluent are produced in the full ethanol production cycle? (Hint: One of the byproducts -- amongst the other nasty shit -- is formaldehyde. That should "p"ickle their fancy.)

*

And another related question: Every wonder why plug-in electric vehicles scare the bejesus out of the corporatists?

--Not to step on Alice's response, re: ethanol, but...
Submitted by Liberal-at-large on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 2:02pm.--

I'm not great at translating my thoughts and opinions into conrete statements...so thanks.. :)

*

A complicated word for a monumentally confused person.

Pissy-ness?

Pot, meet Kettle.

~-~-~

im voting against ... silencing of free speech

Perhaps you better brush up on your protest etiquette, bub. For the White House tells us so:

As a last resort, security should remove the demonstrators from the event site. That's free speech for ya. Yesiree.

bbl~

Fed said in minutes to last meeting that further financial deterioration might lead to action by central bank. More soon.

Well thank you very much for taking care of your own business. We need more like you and fewer looking for a freebie. It's been the American way starting at Jamestown.

Do all gays know about this code for soliciting sex in a bathroom? Is this common knowledge in the gay community?

wot i gotta do...

half speed day for dis kid.

love ya all. ignore the screaming.

to hear that SJ.

i was starting to get the shakes without my daily hillary fix.

"I exist only to pump cash into one lucky sector of the economy."

"We need more like you..."

Bush:

Haroon Siddique
Tuesday August 28, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

George Bush stepped up the rhetoric over Iran today as he threatened to confront the hard-line regime "before it's too late".
The US president accused the Tehran government of being not only behind Shia insurgents in Iraq but also of supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Mr Bush said Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadenijad's nuclear programme would cast the Middle East "under a shadow of nuclear holocaust" and said the regime was the "the world's leading supporter of terrorism".

Comey Ally Jack Goldsmith to Testify Before Senate Committee
By Spencer Ackerman - August 28, 2007, 12:22 PM

Get ready for more revelations about the extent of the National Security Agency's post-9/11 warrantless surveillance program. Newsweek's Michael Isikoff reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee is going to hear testimony from Jack Goldsmith, the former head of Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, a key ally in James Comey's efforts as acting attorney general to scale back what they considered an illegal program.

A Senate source confirms to TPMmuckraker that the committee "expects him to testify at a hearing sometime after Congress reconvenes," but no dates have been announced yet. Nor is there word about other witnesses, or if Goldsmith -- who didn't testify along with Comey during his dramatic May 15 hearing -- has been subpoenaed. Isikoff reports that that the hearing will likely occur next month.

Goldsmith's testimony will be interesting on its own merits: a stalwart conservative and current Harvard Law professor, it was largely Goldsmith's legal analysis that convinced Comey the warrantless surveillance program was illegal. But it'll also have political implications, Isikoff explains, now that Gonzales is on his way out and President Bush is shopping around for a new attorney general. Democrats may tether the approval of Bush's forthcoming nominee to a Watergate-style agreement for the creation of a special prosecutor to investigate Gonzales-related scandals about the U.S. attorney firings and the surveillance program. As Isikoff writes, with a fresh account on the record about widespread wrongdoing at the Justice Department, Goldsmith will provide the Democrats with "fresh ammunition in their campaign for a special prosecutor."

Goldsmith's first public disclosures about the surveillance program aren't going to be his last. On September 17, he'll publish his exposé, The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Presidency. It's a fitting date: September 17 is Gonzales' last day in office.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004018.php

Be careful! *snark*

My gut advice is for you to get a tech-geek to do it for ya.

Otherwise, if you insist on doin' it yourself, have someone else be a second set of eyes...the more anal-retentive the better. : )

If I recall, you've got a Dell, eh? Their website has extensive how-to's, complete w/ pics, to do that stuff.

I strongly suggest you not attempt it unless you follow the manufacturer's instructions/manual.

Let me put it to you gently: Unless you know what the fuck you're doing, you're gonna wind up w/ a paperweight.

I'll do attached internal peripherals (kb, drives, memory, fans [not attached to the m/b], etc.), but *I* won't touch laptop/notebook m/b's or the LCD's, and I know what I'm doing!

For that kind of stuff, I send it to a peer who specializes in 'em.

Good luck!

you funny!

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 1:00pm.
--------
Regarding Medicare parts A and B, etc.:

It is far more complicated than a two-paragraph synopsis reveals. "Swing Bed," for instance, is time-limited, full-blown nursing home-type care following a
trauma or other physical insult. My father suffered several "strokes," one of which hospitalized him for two weeks in a neurological ward then planted him in a nursing home for the time limit allowed under "Swing Bed" status. The allowable time computation is complicated and, for all I know, varies for a number of reasons, but he spent a month in a nursing home before the government-funded care cut him loose.

The cost of this one incident would erase the savings of members of half of our population. If a "stroke" of the same severity were visited on a thirty-year-old (it happens...one of the nursing home residents is one of my high school classmates who got zapped when he was twenty-eight), the odds are that he/she wouldn't have a pot to piss in if it wasn't provided by government health care.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submitted by dan on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 1:09pm.
...somewhere, somebody is stuffing our health care money in their pants as fast as they can, stealing us all blind...
------
Again, I believe that it is more complicated than that. Demand is high for health care in all of its forms; so high that even though many people do not seek care when they should, the industry stays busy and makes money. New "products" in the form of advanced equipment, medication and procedures are constantly being introduced (with a premium price, just like new car models).

It is not a sector suited to the trappings of capitalism. I can eat beans instead of steak but I cannot choose between a hangnail and a brain tumor.

If the burden of the cost of health care were placed on society as a group, it would be in society's best interest to encourage people to stay healthy. If a fantasy rework of our health care system were to happen, it might include government-provided gyms and swimming pools for public use under the same roofs as prescribed therapeutic care is housed and provided. Not only would the facilities be doing double-duty, trained personnel would be doing double-duty by advising the healthy along with the sick.

Once the idea of for-profit health care is abandoned, the possibilities for cost-cutting and broader applications of health care resources are endless.

The pay-off would be realized in greater personal wealth (invested, one would assume, in the marketplace), businesses better able to compete in the global marketplace, and the reduction of goofy wastes of money like cost-of-injury claims where "experts" jack-up "necessary" medical care to inflate lawsuits. If society provides the care, its cost cannot be included in the claims. Insurance companies would be forced to lower premiums for the medical care portions of car insurance and home liability.

The effect of universal health care would be very far reaching throughout many areas of our national economy. The mind boggles at the scope of it all.

Of course, Conservatives are certain that the government can never do anything right and they will drive on government roads to drop angry letters having glue wetted by government-provided water into government-run postal facilities to complain to their government-provided Congressmen about it.

Not to step on Alice's response, re: ethanol, but...
Submitted by Liberal-at-large on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 2:02pm.

What's going to power all the new power plants we'll need when we switch to "plug-in electric cars"?

We have to cover Nevada and Colorado in solar cells (which we don't even have) to go solar.

Bobby Kennedy Jr. and Senator Ted killed Cape Wind...so the guys in Boston won't have much wind power.

Gore likes nukes (gets cash from their lobby), maybe if he makes "A Convenient Source of Power" all you ol' anti-nuke guys will change your minds?

LOL----ol' pal Gare

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 1:57pm.
CM
btw...myself and my childen have health insurance that i pay for every pay period..so thank me for not making you foot the bills in our lives
--------------
Tell me what your gross assets are and how much your insurance will cover and I will give you a simple and ordinary automobile accident scenario which would financially wipe you off of the personal responsibility map and would officially place you and yours on the dole.

the refurb part was like 289 - the one tech I spoke to wants to charge like 200 labor to do it...

You think 200 labor is worth it?

I do have all the manuals for doing it from the Dell website...but...if even you won't attempt it, I shouldn't either...sfw is more my specialty - Pierce is a hdw guy..but..still..

US officer found guilty of disobeying Abu Ghraib orders

The only US officer tried over the abuse at Baghdad's infamous Abu Ghraib jail was Tuesday found guilty of disobeying an order, but acquitted on three other charges.

Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jordan, 51, is the only US officer charged in the abuse scandal which emerged in 2004 when photographs of naked Iraqi prisoners being tormented by grinning US troops circulated around the world.

Jordan now faces up to five years in jail for the disobeying an order not to discuss the scandal with other people, when he sent two emails about it to a colleague in the spring of 2004.

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_officer_found_guilty_of_disobeyi_0828200...

The anon is hopeless. I pay for my insurance too, but it would be much more reasonable if all were covered. What the fool refuses to understand is he's paying anyway, but he or she is paying to keep people like toniD out of the health care system.

Sending your advice to such a mental midget is throwing pearls to swine.

Gannon: I’m ‘the most honest’ White House reporter.

Jeff Gannon, the infamous former male escort who for two years gained a White House press pass using a pseudonym, is releasing a book next week, in which he chronicles what he sees as liberal bias in the White House press corps. “In my mind, I was the most honest reporter [in the White House press corps] because I was absolutely transparent with regards to my [conservative] perspective,” Gannon told the Washington Examiner. “My work has never been discredited.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/28/gannon-im-the-most-honest-white-hous...

I understand why I don't care to fully answer your direct question from the other day..I do appreciate direct questions...I think it's because even if by my own nature and understanding I would tend towards what some might call Socialism...(as opposed to Conservatism)...I don't care for being labeled as such...Mostly because the word holds different meanings to all who hear it...And since my thinking isn't going to ALWAYS follow one political ideaology ..I find it best to not label myself as one or another thing...I like being free to pick and choose...Does that make sense?

CREW Files Ethics Complaint against Craig
By Paul Kiel - August 28, 2007, 1:15 PM

The D.C. watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has filed a complaint (pdf) with the Senate ethics committee against Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) for his lewd conduct / restroom-signaling conviction.

The Senate ethics manual warns against "improper conduct which may reflect upon the Senate," and CREW argues in their complaint that Sen. Craig clearly crossed the line. As Melanie Sloan, the group's executive director, put it, "If pleading guilty to charges stemming from an attempt to solicit an undercover officer in a public restroom is not conduct that reflects poorly upon the Senate, what is?"

The group has also filed complaints against Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) (for pressuring a U.S. attorney about a prosecution of a state Democrat) and Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) (for paying for sex). It's unclear what's happening with Domenici, who has reportedly faced a preliminary investigation, and there's been no word on the Vitter complaint. "The ethics committee doesn't do anything about anything," was Sloan's summary of its recent activity.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004021.php

I might fall in to the trap of defending it to "be right"...I don't want to do that.

are you serious Alice? they have no sense at all...empty all around...geez!

i would say anything that supports bush but hey, that's just me.

Miliband: Britain 'will pull troops out of Iraq without US approval'
Last updated at 15:29pm on 28th August 2007

Comments Comments (13)
David Miliband

Foreign Secretary David Miliband insists that decisions in Iraq are to be made regarding the situation in Basra, not Baghdad

Britain's pull-out from Iraq will go ahead regardless of what happens to American troops in Baghdad, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said today.

Mr Miliband refused to put a date on the final exit of British troops, but he made clear that the Government's priority was to return security to the Iraqi army and police.

He hit back at suggestions by some American generals that a UK withdrawal from Basra would cause problems for US troops farther north.

Mr Miliband's remarks came as Gordon Brown gave a warning against setting a timetable for the pull-out in advance.

President Bush is expected to approve a further surge of American troops this year amid claims that an early pull-out would lead to more bloodshed and civil war.

George Bush is to give a speech later today in which he will discuss the implications of the fight in Iraq for the broader Middle East.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_ar...

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 1:57pm.

-------

tonid,although it hasnt been me railing against SICKO,i do indeed intend to vote for my childrens future...im voting for ...

[eds. inclusion: half-baked, insincere, lip-service Republican platitudes, all of which are actively being discredited by actual Republican governance, but which I, CM, resolutely cling to, not b/c they're true, oh, no, but b/c they allow me to feel superior to people who I am inclined to disparage and despise; yes, I am a person utterly incapable of distinguishing betwixt what people say and what they actually do, unless it's liberals, of course, and then I will cherry-pick trivialities and/or foist off bad-faith deceptions 'till the cow's come home!]

... have a nice day tonid

CM

btw...myself and my childen have health insurance that i pay for every pay period..so thank me for not making you foot the bills in our lives

____________

CM:

Wonder how you'd feel if, after having paid your health insurance dutifully like a good little foot-soldier for for-profit medical care, you or your children developed a debillitating illness and the "capitalism" for which you so proudly thought you voted decided to deny you coverage?

Can't even imagine such an eventuality, can you?

No one would fuck over someone who played by the rules so ruthlessly, right?

A SiCKO aside:

One of the recurring sub-themes of M. Moore's film was how people who, like CM, thought they were fully insured, playin' by the rules, doin' alla the things right, good little foot soldiers for for-profit medical care -- just wound up getting fucked over by the insurance industry anyways.

Folks like CM who are fully insured (and let's be frank, a little smug about it) still get screwed over onna regular basis b/c the insurance company simply denies coverage, arbitrarily based on cost. By fiat. W/no redress.

Sorta ironic to "vote for capitalism" and then have what you thought was "capitalism" screw you over.

Even tho' you played by the rules.

Well, you know what they says:

A convert to liberalism ain't aught but a conservative what had the misfortune to get sick.

It's an abiding shame of humanity that you can't never ever learn some people nothin' but thru (personal) pain and loss. And the world is a far poorer place for its dearth of empathy.

p.s. Think digby's gotta innerestin' suggestion for politicoes affecting the public discourse on health care. She makes the point that some people (CM would be representative of this) are unreachable thru logic, common sense, empathy, Christian charity (ironically enough; Jesus's edict to "heal 'n feed the poor" ring any bells, CM?), might just be inspired and/or shamed and goaded into accepting the obvious:

digby sez:

... I really think this is something the Democrats should get into the health care debate. They need to inject a little righteous indignation that we are so lame in this -- appeal to the national pride.

They should say:

"I'm embarrassed that this great country ranks below every developed country but Latvia," -- launch a sort of JFK "man-on-the-moon" competitive thing that challenges the country to have the kind of health care we can be proud of, where we don't have babies dying needlessly because we don't provide their mothers adequate access to health care.

John Edwards brought up some passion on this in one of the debates and it was very effective. He mentioned it again in his speech last week:

--------

A few weeks, ago I met a man named James Lowe in Wise, Virginia. James spent the first fifty years of his life without a voice -- literally without a voice -- because he didn't have health care. All he needed was a simple operation to fix a cleft palate. That a man in the richest country in the world could go unable to speak for 50 years because he couldn't pay for a $3,000 operation is something that should outrage every American. We are better than that. America is better that that.

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

I think that is the correct way to talk about this. It's outrageous. We should all be embarrassed and ashamed that this happens in our country and we should insist that something be done.

But I'd go even further and put this in explicitly patriotic and competitive terms:

If you love your country and believe it is the greatest in the world, you will not let it continue to be anything less than the number one nation in every metric of good health. It's the American way to be the best.

Most of us don't need this kind of argument. And plenty of others can be persuaded by a good plan or by the sense of their own precariousness.

But there are those, I believe [like CM, e.g.], who are temperamentally unable to make the leap to compassion or even, "there-but-for-the-grace-of-God-go-I" self-interest, at least not openly.

They just can't do it.

But this might be a way to give them a path to fundamentally changing the health-care system. It's worth a try.

We really need to get this done.

i know you're right cb, but still after 7 years of bush and unregulated corporate thievery i can't help but think the public is getting fleeced.

Please, Stop Thanking Me For My Service
by: Raf Noboa
Tue Aug 28, 2007 at 11:42:50 AM EDT

( - promoted by Chris Bowers)

Today, people all around the country will come together to demand an end to the Iraq War. It's not the first time, nor will it be the last. People demanded an end to the madness before the war even began, in February of 2003, and the demands have only grown since then.

In the crowd, you may run into a veteran or two. You'll thank them for what they've done, and then you'll both be in your way. That's all to the good; we willingly undertook what was, at best, a difficult task, and pledged to see it through, no matter the cost.

"To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan." Those are the words that are inscribed upon the gates of the Department of Veterans' Affairs in Washington, DC. Indeed, those words make up the entirety of the Department's mission. Those words are what we, as veterans, expect from our nation upon our return. It's what we expect from our elected leaders, the same leaders that make the fateful decision to commit us to war.

It's one thing for an ordinary American to thank me for my service; I appreciate the wishes. It's another thing entirely for the people I helped elect to office to offer those words, and simply leave it at that.

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=FCC93F9BE5E2100899904C93...

Submitted by CM Anonymous on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 2:38pm.
...What's going to power all the new power plants we'll need when we switch to "plug-in electric cars"?...
[[Coal and natural gas and oil burned in scrubbed electricity-generating facilities...until the three (plus nookular) are supplemented with something else.]]

...We have to cover Nevada and Colorado in solar cells (which we don't even have) to go solar...
[[Do some Googling. Solar paint (of poor efficiency compared to traditional photovoltaic cells) has been developed. Solar plastic sheets have also been developed. Solar energy-gathering paint, if it were to become an ordinarily-used paint product, could pump a lot of juice into the national grid.]]
------
You should think BIG, C-man. It could set you free.

It would be in society's best interest to encourage people to stay healthy

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

State by State, Americans Are Growing Fatter

By Neil Osterweil, Senior Associate Editor, MedPage Today
August 28, 2007

Add Your Knowledge™ Additional Weight Management Coverage

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 -- Mississippi has exceeded the 30% obesity rate for adults, the first time any state's population has done so, reported a health advocacy group. But 19 other states with large obese populations are not far behind.

In the report from the Trust for America's Health, adult obesity rates in 31 states increased significantly over the past two years, and no state had a decline.

One-fourth of all adults in 19 states are now obese, and in Mississippi nearly one in three adults has a body mass index higher than 30, reported Jeffrey Levi, Ph.D., and colleagues.

BAGHDAD — Iraq's deadly insurgent groups have financed their war against U.S. troops in part with hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. rebuilding funds that they've extorted from Iraqi contractors in Anbar province.

The payments, in return for the insurgents' allowing supplies to move and construction work to begin, have taken place since the earliest projects in 2003, Iraqi contractors, politicians and interpreters involved with reconstruction efforts said.

A fresh round of rebuilding spurred by the U.S. military's recent alliance with some Anbar tribes — 200 new projects are scheduled — provides another opportunity for militant groups such as al Qaeda in Iraq to siphon off more U.S. money, contractors and politicians warn.

"Now we're back to the same old story in Anbar. The Americans are handing out contracts and jobs to terrorists, bandits and gangsters," said Sheik Ali Hatem Ali Suleiman, the deputy leader of the Dulaim, the largest and most powerful tribe in Anbar. He was involved in several U.S. rebuilding contracts in the early days of the war, but is now a harsh critic of the U.S. presence.

one word - plastics.

you don't think all that fast food, soda, and beer have anything to do with this, do you?

by nyceve

Excerpt:
The American healthcare catastrophe--the national shame and disgrace of our nation has burrowed deep into the middle class.

The crisis is also wreaking havoc on more privileged Americans. Americans you might expect would be immune to the hardships inflicted on the rest of us by the Murder By Spreadsheet for-profit insurance industry.

Americans like Sandra Day O'Connor

BIG NUMBERS, like 45 million uninsured Americans, are hard to grasp. But that number came home to me at a recent conference. The keynote speaker was former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Her topic was our healthcare system, and her message was personal and anguished.

The gist was that even she lives in constant fear of major uninsured health bills. Not her own -- those of her son. He can't afford insurance because his son -- her grandchild -- has a preexisting condition.

More here:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/28/134230/913

I've been pulled in a million directions and keep meaning to thank you for your comments on quantum spin. Oddly, I read that, went to a string theory blog I go to and looked at the finding toniD was blogging about here. It was really strange entanglements for a minute. For a moment I even saw the anon perception space and the distances between us. Particles for example are made of fields overlaying in quark space. One of the fields has no spin but angular momentum. The only common point of reference among us.

Yeah, use a geek.

Offer 'em a flat $150, all-inclusive w/ a warranty.

Shouldn't take more than 3-4 hours to swap in a m/b. That's $40-50/hr & that's good money for a geek nowadays.

Shop around. Ask friends for local references. Ask the house geeks at the library.

*

Sweet jayzeus, gare. You must have the self-esteem of a fucking slug to hang out here, fully knowing you're despised beyond any redemption.

*

Gotta fly, kids. Laters.

Fern..I didn't know you were into that stuff..where is a string theory blog? (or were you kidding?. I'm half reading and working)

Submitted by dan on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 3:01pm.
i know you're right cb, but still after 7 years of bush and unregulated corporate thievery i can't help but think the public is getting fleeced.
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It scares me when someone agrees with me. What do I know?

And, yes, there is a considerable amount of fleecing happening. My dad sold drugs while he was in med school (graduated in '52) and the experience created a life-long hatred in him for pharmaceutical companies. Even 'way back then it was obvious to him that they were printing money.

He kept a small pharmacy within his clinic (which made the local pharmacists hate him) from which he dispensed the commonly-prescribed drugs to his patients. He did it for two reasons: First, he knew that his patient actually had the drug in hand when he walked out of the clinic and, second, he sold the drugs at a small mark-up instead of double or triple their wholesale prices. His reasoning helped to ensure that his patients didn't blow-off obtaining the drug or balk at the price.

On the other hand, my dad was a lousy businessman who never made much money...so there's that to consider.

Did my gmail emails ever make it to you? I sent 2 last week...

and that is why he is as scarce as a chinese policeman?

I think he is looking for work as well as working...must be busy.

i wonder why would they do that---

...he didn't mention being mad to me anyway...

Iraq Veterans Against the War members Liam Madden and Eli Israel speak out in Kennebunkport, Maine.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IH29Ak01.html
This month's issue of National Defense magazine reports that the US Army has quietly introduced a rifle-toting robot into Iraq. An article in the August 18 Guardian noted that we are headed toward a brave new Terminator-like world where robots decide whom, where and when to kill. The US Congress has set a goal of having one-third of ground combat vehicles unmanned by 2015.

This raises complex and frightening issues. Consider that the international Law of Armed Conflict dictates that unmanned systems cannot fire their weapons without a human operator in the loop. But as new generations of armed robots are built and deployed, pressure will inevitably increase to automate the process of selecting - and destroying - targets.

If that sounds alarmist, one should note that in 2002 a new legal interpretation was proposed within the US military to deal with the issue of removing humans from the trigger-end of the killing process.

This legal theory proposed by John S Canning, chief engineer at the US Naval Surface Warfare Center, called for programming all armed robotic vehicles to aim only at weapons, not humans. For example, an autonomous vehicle spots an insurgent with an AK-47. The robotic vehicle is authorized to destroy the AK-47. If the human is killed in the process, that's what's called "collateral damage".
.

Congress to probe domestic spy satellite use
Nick Juliano
Published: Tuesday August 28, 2007

The Department of Homeland Security's top intelligence, privacy and civil rights officials will be called before Congress next week to explain the Bush administration's plan to dramatically expand the domestic use to spy satellites that can see through clouds, buildings and underground bunkers.

The House Homeland Security Committee will examine whether privacy rights will be violated by the DHS's creation of a new office to grant expanded access to spy satellite data to a variety of local and federal agencies, including law enforcement.

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff earlier this month inquiring about the spy program.

Under a program approved by the DHS and Office of the Director of National Intelligence, detailed imagery from powerful satellites will be available to domestic security and emergency preparedness agencies to deal with threats ranging from immigration and terrorism to hurricanes and forest fires, the Washington Post reported.

Access to the data will be controlled by a newly created office within DHS, the National Applications Office.

In his letter, Thompson said Congress was not informed of the new program until its existence was revealed in media reports a few weeks ago. The office is expected to begin granting expanded access to the spy-sattelite data Oct. 1; images from the spy satellites were previously limited to domestic use for environmental and geographic purposes, such as creating topographical maps or monitoring volcano activity.

At a hearing next Thursday, Sept. 6, Homeland Security Committee members will question DHS's chief intelligence officer Charles Allen, chief privacy officer Hugo Teufel and civil liberties officer Dan Sutherland.

"I need you to provide me with an immediate assurance that upon its October 1st roll out, this program will be operating within the confines of the Constitution and all applicable laws and regulations," Thompson wrote to Chertoff.
http://rawstory.com//news/2007/Congress_to_probe_domestic_spy_satellite_...

markets fell far enough today to institute trading collars (these are limits on computer based sells by the large funds). more than one pundit has said, "fear" is creeping back into the market.

by Stephen Lendman

...
In April editions of The American Prospect, the Washington Post and ZNet, Harold Meyerson wrote about "a radical new direction for the globalized economy" in his article titled "Unions Gone Global." He noted the United Steel Workers (USW) here are negotiating a merger with two of Britain's largest unions to create "the first genuinely multinational trade union" that with about three million members will be the world's largest. Meyerson reported the goal, as USW's Gerald Fernandez put it, is "to fight financial globalization (by) fight(ing) it globally....by building a global union (in this case a) federation of metal, mining, and general workers."

The partners in this one stated a commitment to "fund human rights and union rights in parts of Africa and Colombia" where more unionists are killed annually than anywhere else, and the country gets billions in US aid each year to help out. They also plan a global effort "to protect employees' retirement benefits" from corporate predators wanting to end them. For now, there's no way to know if the idea behind the merger will spread, whether workers here and abroad will benefit from it, or even if the USW and their British partners will follow through effectively on their committed aims to help win back what unionized workers have been losing for years.