Recommended RNC Websites

either will beat McCain/Romney.

Ferraro now saying Barack should thank her for pointing out he's black. So it's not enough for him to win the majority vote, twice the states, and more delegates. He won all of that because of an old cranky ghostly woman.

Ferraro believes only women have obstacles.

loser patrol activate!

Crook and Liars

John McCain’s website tells visitors, “Too often the special interest lobbyists with the fattest wallets and best access carry the day.”

It’s become an increasingly amusing line as the senator’s presidential campaign has unfolded. We now know, for example, that McCain’s campaign staff is dominated by corporate lobbyists, and he adds new ones all the time.

The subject came up briefly during McCain’s “60 Minutes” interview.

Pelley: You point your finger at other senators and claim that there is culture of corruption on Capitol Hill. But you take money from lobbyists who have business before your committee, as other senators do. So how is it that you call the system corrupt?

McCain: Well, one of the reasons why I call the system corrupt is because we have members of Congress who are in jail, who are former members of Congress. But it’s not the individuals, it’s the system we have today. I believe that I serve with honorable men and women. And I believe the people who bring their case to government, the overwhelming majority of them are honorable people.

Pelley: The lobbyists?

McCain: Retirees have a lobbyist, firemen have a lobbyist. Your business has a lot of lobbyists, a lot of lobbyists.

So, when McCain blasts the role of lobbyists in the political process, he’s only talking about the bad lobbyists (the ones he doesn’t like); not the good lobbyists (the ones who give him money and run his campaign operation).

As for McCain’s examples, it’s true that there are lobbyists for firemen and senior citizens, but those aren’t the folks running his campaign.

Free Democracy

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha...

If only the 3% where allowed to vote this might be true. But I think the 97% will want to vote as well.

Let us not forget, the 97% elected Bush......Twice!

More ammunition for those looking to blame the tanker contract on John McCain: Associated Press reports that three of McCain’s current campaign advisers lobbied last year for EADS to get the contract over Boeing. Two ended their lobbying when they joined the McCain team. But one, former Texas Rep. Tom Loeffler, lobbied for EADS while serving as McCain’s national finance chairman. McCain’s presidential campaign also has received $14,000 in contributions from EADS employees.

What a sweet old lady REALLY looks like.

mary ann, pass the dutchie!

bob denver, also a noted ganja achiever.

March 11, 2008 -- John McCain says he will bring a "pro-growth economic policy that…creates jobs and grows the economy." But his 26-year record in the U.S. Senate tells a different story. Sen. McCain has been the leading opponent of "Buy American" rules that encourage the Pentagon to buy American-made goods for the American military. He reportedly pressed the Pentagon to ignore the fact that Airbus receives government subsidies that give it an unfair advantage over its U.S. rivals.

He defends the process that awarded one of the largest Pentagon contracts to a group that includes a French-based corporation. And now a new report reveals that the senior lobbyists running John McCain's campaign actually lobbied on behalf of the "European plane maker that beat Boeing." [AP, 3/11/08]

How can John McCain champion American jobs and manufacturing as president when he is willing to tilt the playing field against American companies? No wonder John McCain said that a loss of 63,000 jobs in February was "not terrible."

McCain: 63,000 Lost Jobs "Not Terrible:" At a town hall in Atlanta this morning he said that "Today's unemployment figures are not good. They're not terrible, but they're not good. The unemployment rate did not go up." [McCain Town Hall, Atlanta, 3/7/08]

McCain Defends Boeing Tanker Deal Despite Job Losses. "I think it was a fair and open competition as far as I can tell. I'll be glad to send you the statistics. Almost all of that investment and any aspect of it will be kept inside the United States of America. My job is to have the best quality product at the lowest price to the taxpayer. I'm proud to have saved the taxpayer some $6 billion in what happened last time when they tried to do a tanker deal that was bad for America." [Town Hall Meeting, Waco, TX, 3/8/08: http://blip.tv/file/716522]

McCain "Pressed the Pentagon" to Ignore Airbus Subsidies When Considering Deal. "They say he pressed the Pentagon not to factor into its selection criteria alleged subsidies that Airbus was receiving from European governments, even thought the U.S. had sued the European Union at the World Trade Organization over subsidies provided to Airbus." [The Hill, 3/7/08]

Republican Congressman Says McCain "Flat-Out Wrong." "John McCain will be the nominee and I will support him, but if John McCain believes that Airbus or EADS is the company for our Air Force tanker program he's flat-out wrong -- and I'll tell him that to his face," said Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash. [Associated Press, 3/8/2008]

McCain Received Contributions From EADS "As Campaign Was Foundering." "McCain himself has received support from the EADS North America executive suite. He has received more than $12,000 in campaign donations from some of the company's top U.S. officials, support that continued even as his presidential campaign was foundering in mid- to late 2007." [Seattle Post Intelligencer, 3/7/2008, http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/354300_mccaintanker08.html]

McCain Blames 5-Year-Old Scandal. Referring to a 2003 investigation into conflicts of interest involving Boeing and the Bush Pentagon, McCain said, "In all due respect to the Washington delegation, they vigorously defended the process before -- which turned out to be corrupt -- which would have cost the taxpayers more than $6 billion and ended up with people in federal prison." [Associated Press, 3/8/2008]

McCain Sponsored Amendment that Ended Defense Department's Buy American Requirement. In May 2003, Senate Republicans voted for a McCain amendment that would allow the Defense Department to forego a requirement to purchase American-made equipment if that equipment was manufactured by Australia, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands or Spain. [Senate Vote 191, 5/21/03]

Source: DNC

The 24-point blowout in Mississippi will get explained in the same way as South Carolina, allowing for a more subtle argument at the convention. Team Hillary will note that the racial division in Mississippi threatens the Democrats with marginalization in the general election.

Obama, they will argue, lost the white vote halfway through the primaries and won’t get it back for a general election. Winning the industrial states coming next will provide them ammunition for that argument to the superdelegates. It promises to make Denver a powderkeg, and the Clintons will spend the next six weeks rolling out the fuse.

Hillary gets her own KO 'special comment' 2nite.

belly running a mile a minute joints corrupt...getting even more sicker with the spitzer dick suckers...oh and did i mention i am too watching condi lie her fucking ass off..

morning yourll, jez popping in gotta go get some shut eye..am highly druged am home today!

Call for appointment

FrontPageMagazine.com

The Pentagon has had a dirty little secret for years now: Foreign suppliers are an increasingly important part of the industrial base upon which the U.S. military relies for everything from key components of its weapon systems to the software that runs its logistics. With the Air Force February 29 decision to turn over to a European-led consortium the manufacture and support of its tanker fleet - arguably one of the most important determinants of America's ability to project power around the world - the folly of this self-inflicted vulnerability may finally get the attention it deserves from Congress and the public.

The implications of such dependencies were made clear back in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. In the course of that short but intense operation, American officials had to plead with the government of Japan to intervene with a Japanese manufacturer to obtain replacement parts for equipment then being used to expel Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait.

The obvious lesson of that experience seemingly has been lost on the Pentagon. In the nearly two decades that have followed, it has sought to cut costs and acquisition timelines by increasingly utilizing commercial, off-the-shelf (or COTS) technology. Under the logic of "globalization," COTS often means foreign-supplied, particularly with respect to advanced computer chips and other electronic gear.

Such a posture raises obvious questions about the availability of such equipment should the United States have to wage a war that is unpopular with the government or employees of the supplier. Then there is the problem of built-in defects such as computer code "trap doors" that may not become obvious until the proverbial "balloon goes up" and disabling of U.S. military capabilities becomes a strategic priority to foreign adversaries, or those sympathetic with them.

Even the Pentagon and intelligence community recognized that this sort of train-wreck was in prospect had Huawei, a company with longstanding ties to the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army, been allowed to buy 3Com. The latter's "intrusion prevention" technology is widely used by the U.S. government to provide computer security in the face of relentless cyber attacks from, among others, Communist China.

Now, unfortunately, the Air Force has set in motion what might be called a "plane-wreck." Opposition is intensifying on Capitol Hill, on the presidential hustings and across America to the service's decision to make the European Aerospace, Defense and Space (EADS) consortium the principal supplier of its aerial refueling capabilities for the next fifty years..........

You can find the podcast at this link;

http://www.ktlk.com/cc-common/podcast.html

Obama Win Defined By Race

Broken down, the Mississippi vote had an unmistakable racial descant — and unmistakable limits for Obama. Exit polls revealed once again an emerging racial divide that has opened in the Democratic party between whites who tend by healthy margins to favor Clinton and blacks who overwhelmingly favor Obama.

African Americans comprised nearly half of the Democratic vote in Mississippi — and 90% of those voters, according to exit polls, pulled the lever for Obama, his strongest showing yet among African Americans. But Obama did poorly among whites, winning only 30%, according to exit polls. While this split was visible in Alabama and the border state of Tennessee earlier this year, it was visible in Ohio's primary last week, too.

John Edwards for President.
new
Submitted by rctowns on Tue, 03/11/2008 - 8:10pm.
in '68, in the midst of an unbelieveably chaotic convention in chicago, with mayor daley's stormtroopers beating the crap out of anti-war/anti-nixon protesters... the DNC nominated Hubert Humphrey... how many primaries/delegates had Hubert won in the run to the convention?

Zero.

=====================

I REALLY like this!

But is it likely GORE would be a beneficiary of this scenario first? (And is GORE still DLC? I pray he isn't!))

oh my bad...coz more blacks (non persons) voted for him and less whites--oh but spitzer had his dick sucked...more juicey

Did he fall on his sword for Hil'ry?

What about Obama and Mississippi?

When Wolfwitz MISAPPROPRIATED PUBLIC MONIES to keep his babe-on-the-side around (by giving her jobs and over-paying her with hefty salaries) the media didn't scream about the theft (crime) of that, let alone about Wolfwitz's adultery.

Spitzer did wrong by his wife, and his personal budget, for sure, but at least he didn't steal the taxpayer's money outright in order to feed his habits the way Wolfwitz did.

The Limbaugh effect
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/03/019954.php
It's my view that Republicans shouldn't interfere in Democratic primaries, just as Dems shouldn't interfere in ours. Rush Limbaugh doesn't see it that way, and he encouraged his listeners to vote for Hillary Clinton in Texas.

------
http://tinyurl.com/368mhv
Mr. Limbaugh explained his plan to listeners on Monday, the day before the primary:

The strategy is to continue the chaos in this party. Look, there’s a reason for this. Our side isn’t going to do this. Obama needs to be bloodied up. Look, half the country already hates Hillary. That’s good. But nobody hates Obama yet. Hillary is going to be the one to have to bloody him up politically because our side isn’t going to do it. Mark my words. It’s about winning, folks!

“We’re already screwed: Vote Hillary!” his Web site proclaims.
[..]
---------------
Crossover voting was heavy -- and maybe illegal
Posted by Amanda Garrett March 08, 2008 19:32PM
http://tinyurl.com/26ljat
[...]
Sandy McNair, a Democratic member of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, said Friday that the manipulation of the system was troublesome.

"It's something that concerns me, that I think needs to be looked at further," McNair said. "This is not a structural thing by the Republican Party. If it's a problem at all, it's on an individual level."

Lying on the pledge is a felony, punishable by six to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
[...]
-------
In Texas:
On the local conservative radio stations, many Republicans are calling and complaining about feeling “disenfranchised”.

Apparently, they didn’t realize that by implementing Rush Limbaugh’s strategy of voting for Hillary in the Primaries to prolong the Democrats fist-fight, they would not be allowed to vote for any of the Republicans on the rest of the ballot.
http://tinyurl.com/2fnoj4
----------
http://tinyurl.com/2p8muw
Cross-over voting under Ohio law

Who is that?

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

didn't think this ethanol thing through completely
Submitted by dan on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 10:53am.
...what bugs me is that there is so much misinformation out there about corn based ethanol. what site says its a god send. another says it will deplete our water supply. its clear that farmers are switching to it because thats where the money is. what about alternative fuels. hemp, switchgrass, etc.
----------
I continue to subscribe to the explanation given to me by a feed store manager which could be entitled Competition For Acreage.

Until I read/hear a better argument for the generalized increase in crop costs, his explanation, which I have since read elsewhere, is the most succinct (of course, higher agricultural fuel/fertilizer costs and a lot of other details enter into the picture, so this is the simplified version).

The argument goes like this: When a single type of easily-grown crop becomes valued unusually high (corn), farmers must be paid a premium as an incentive to grow a different crop (say, wheat for instance).

If this argument holds true, then it is possible that hemp or switchgrass or any other easily-grown crop (intended to be feedstock for refining into fuel) might enjoy an unusually high value due to tremendous demand caused by high fossil fuel prices.

I am not convinced that competition for food-producing acreage would end simply because the most popular fuel-feedstock crop ceases to also be a food crop (corn) and becomes a non-food crop (switchgrass, for instance) instead.

The basic discussion concerning the validity of this argument is whether the particular type of crop is the crux of the problem, or if the diverted use of farm acreage for fuel production instead of food production is the crux of the problem.

If, by some miracle of alchemy, farmers could grow gold, we would all starve.

Last night, the House approved significant ethics rules changes, “creating for the first time an independent panel empowered to initiate investigations of alleged misconduct by members.” The six-member bipartisan Office of Congressional Ethics will “refer their findings to the House ethics committee along with a public report.” The Gavel has more coverage.

I hope you feel better soon ! :)

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

summer cold/allergies for me today.

uck!

am very dizzy...hopefully hasta manyana...later

You know, it is perfectly legit to critisixe Hillary on her policies, lack of experience, her sense of entitlement, etc.

But I am really irritated by the sexist attacks on her appearence, her "shrill" manner, her alleged coldness.

I know misogyny is a lot more socially acceptable than racism, but it's ridiculous that so few people acknowledge that that's what's going on.

It's fine to not support her on her policies or tactics, but the sexist aspect is so blatant. Gimme a break.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

Does anyone here remember the recurring character on the Marc Maron Show from LA. Her name was Svetlana and she was played by the comedian Iris Bahr. It was so hilarious. Well, the woman doing the news at the top of the hour on AAR sounds just like her. Makes me smile.

why isnt sam in for hartman today?

Hypocrites R Us=GOP..

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

hope you feel better soon.

What good would it do? He'll just get drunk again and cry on the House floor, and everyone will nudge each other to be quiet and feel sorry for his wife.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

Democrat Primaries are one thing.

50% of the 97% are not voting for Democrats.

November is a 97% race.

You've got to sell the the Middle...

AAR didn't sell to the Middle and went down the drain..

Obama already knows this!

What him shift!

==================

Black or African American alone: 12.4% or 37.1 million

Hispanic or Latino of any race: 14.8% or about 44.3 million

just ask whatsherface ....

Mr. Spitzer is scheduled to speak today at 11:30 a.m. at his Manhattan office, and the resignation is to be effective Monday, aides to the governor said.

Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson would likely be sworn in to replace him at some point after that.

http://www.thesnotgreensea.com/

under the Utube window theres a pull down menu:

"Morning Sedition/Marc Maron Show archives"

drop down to: Svetlana The Russian Prostitute

hit go when the choice is highlighted.

They hate me for my ivory cream complexion.

But she said the same thing about Jesse Jackson in 1988.

Obama Says Ferraro Dividing Democrats
http://tinyurl.com/2sjb8j
By JOAN LOWY – 2 hours ago
[...]
"Part of what I think Geraldine Ferraro is doing, and I respect the fact that she was a trailblazer, is to participate in the kind of slice and dice politics that's about race and about gender and about this and that, and that's what Americans are tired of because they recognize that when we divide ourselves in that way we can't solve problems," Obama said on NBC's "Today" show.

Yes we can.

wasn't she the Russian Prostitute ?

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

I dont think saying "if he wasn't black..."

Its not bad or racialist or whatever.

Its good, It means Americans are actually excited about giving somebody whos different a chance. Americans are excited about diversity, and are embracing diversity for diversity's sake.

Submitted by Meg on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 12:05pm.
You know, it is perfectly legit to critisixe Hillary on her policies, lack of experience, her sense of entitlement, etc.

But I am really irritated by the sexist attacks on her appearence, her "shrill" manner, her alleged coldness...
---------
I agree, sorta, but it ain't always misogyny or sexism.

A friend told me that Hillary's voice, when elevated (as it is frequently during her campaign), affects him like fingernails on a blackboard.

George W. Bush's inability to speak drives me nuts and makes me anxious.

It both cases I believe that it is a matter of some stuff bothering some people more than other people.

Yes, MMRules, Svetlana was the Russian prostitute. Iris Bahr is brilliant!

I hope that news person from Poland is on at the top of the next hour.

1. after listening to bush's gross song on Olbermann last night, could any of that be treated as a legal confession?
2. go Dawn Wells, cool lady and still good looking!
3. how sad is it to see so many Democrats we've admired through the years showing such evil sides of themselves?

I agree with Toni..

Use Hemp !
You Can't get high off it..
What's the Big problem ?
Too Logical for them ?

And,I hear it grows like a weed ! ;)

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

oh yeah, and after listening to the vod~wayne gelman!~he was great~~remember the time they did the sketch where he killed the rest of them in a 'going postal' kind of thing and then said THIS is wayne gelman like he did at the end of the news? good days

I have a list of them ... example.. Condi Rice when she says any word with a "p" in it

I have to read transcripts there are so many people that bug me when they speak.

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

Really I'm more irritated by people commenting on her looks and/or sexuality. As if that were relevant to anything.

The same thing happened woth Janet Reno. Critisize her actions all you want. That' fine and perfectly legit. But the majority of the public discourse on her was "She's ugly" or "She looks like a man!" or "She must be a lesbian"

It's disgusting. And the same thing happens to every single woman in public policy.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

I don't get it .

But ONLY Gilbert Gottfried bugs EVERYBODY when he speaks.

Really I'm more irritated by people commenting on her looks and/or sexuality. As if that were relevant to anything.

===================

This is going to be a great year!!!

FAA says small plane briefly violates Washington restricted air space - Reuters

=George W. Bush's inability to speak drives me nuts=
new
Submitted by Kevin © on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 12:32pm.

always have the luck..It's possibly your hardware configuration. The higher end products work fine.

How scum my Vista works OK?
Submitted by Peter Dragon on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 12:35pm.

I don't get it .

In my town when I was in my old hometown in January. Pees me ovf.

http://www.irisbahr.com/

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

In formally protesting the Air Force's decision to award a tanker contract worth about $35 billion to a team that includes the parent of rival Airbus, The Boeing Co. said the competition was "seriously flawed."

The Air Force has said that it simply picked the plane that better suited its needs.

Meanwhile, The Associated Press reported Tuesday that aides to Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, lobbied last year on behalf of EADS. And Bloomberg News reported that the Loeffler Group, led by Tom Loeffler, now co-chairman of McCain's campaign, received $220,000 from EADS in 2007, according to congressional lobbying records.

**************

MORE-

The US filed a complaint with the WTO alleging that Airbus/EADS unfairly benefited from European subsidies awarded to the company. Airbus/EADS countered by arguing the Boeing receives similar subsidies in the form of tax breaks. The original tanker contract required bidders to explain how the outcome of the WTO dispute might affect their ability to perform under the contract. This requirement was regarded as hurting the Airbus/EADS bid.

McCain wrote a letter to the Air Force in December 2006 complaining about the requirement. Four days later it was removed from the bid specifications.

Dennis Kucinich is on the phone..He wants to talk to you ;)

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

A very special radio show.

Those serial sketches were like old time radio.

Interesting to hear Marc talk about Riley yesterday

As always

http://pjs.sytes.net:8888/listen.pls

endless streaming funny

" Court Holds Navy to Rules Safeguarding Marine Mammals"
Sunday 02 March 2008

Appellate panel backs a lower court decision but allows a 30-day reprieve from the toughest rules so sonar training can go forward.
A federal appeals court has rejected the Bush administration effort to exempt Navy sonar training from key environmental laws, backing up a lower court that imposed extensive safeguards to protect whales and dolphins from harmful sonic blasts.

Even so, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals gave the Navy a 30-day reprieve from the most far-reaching protections - such as shutting down sonar when whales are spotted within 2,200 yards - so it could conduct a pair of training missions this month off Southern California and to give it time to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The Navy is carefully considering additional review, including possible review by the Supreme Court," Lt. Cmdr. Cindy Moore said Saturday. Once the monthlong reprieve ends, the Navy spokeswoman said, the ruling "leaves in place significant restrictions on our ability to train realistically."

The decision, released late Friday night, is the latest in a string of legal defeats for the Navy in Los Angeles and Hawaii as it tries to avoid court-ordered restraints on how it trains sailors to hunt for submarines with a type of sonar that has been linked to the death of whales and dolphins.

The cases pit the interests of national security and troop readiness against the enforcement of environmental laws and the safeguarding of federally protected marine mammals.

The case in Los Angeles has taken on additional overtones of a constitutional struggle between the judicial and administrative branches of government.

After losing repeatedly in court, the Navy persuaded President Bush and the White House to exempt its Southern California training missions from the environmental laws that underlie the case.

Sunday 02 March 2008

Appellate panel backs a lower court decision but allows a 30-day reprieve from the toughest rules so sonar training can go forward.
A federal appeals court has rejected the Bush administration effort to exempt Navy sonar training from key environmental laws, backing up a lower court that imposed extensive safeguards to protect whales and dolphins from harmful sonic blasts.

Even so, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals gave the Navy a 30-day reprieve from the most far-reaching protections - such as shutting down sonar when whales are spotted within 2,200 yards - so it could conduct a pair of training missions this month off Southern California and to give it time to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The Navy is carefully considering additional review, including possible review by the Supreme Court," Lt. Cmdr. Cindy Moore said Saturday. Once the monthlong reprieve ends, the Navy spokeswoman said, the ruling "leaves in place significant restrictions on our ability to train realistically."

The decision, released late Friday night, is the latest in a string of legal defeats for the Navy in Los Angeles and Hawaii as it tries to avoid court-ordered restraints on how it trains sailors to hunt for submarines with a type of sonar that has been linked to the death of whales and dolphins.

The cases pit the interests of national security and troop readiness against the enforcement of environmental laws and the safeguarding of federally protected marine mammals.

The case in Los Angeles has taken on additional overtones of a constitutional struggle between the judicial and administrative branches of government.

After losing repeatedly in court, the Navy persuaded President Bush and the White House to exempt its Southern California training missions from the environmental laws that underlie the case.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030208D.shtml

"The last sentence really say it all - my ass persuaded, they know if they go running to the Monkey Boy he'll do what ever they want. "Please exempt us please"

He was kind of nostalgic yesterday.

I wonder if he would move back to NY if they offered him a show now?

Pelosi Gets Reform Bill While GOPers and Some Dems Kick and Scream

TPM

Last night, the House passed an ethics reform bill, which will create an outside panel to review ethics complaints against lawmakers. It's a noted improvement over the current setup -- which isn't saying much since the House ethics committee has been a punchline for many years.

The outside panel, which will have six members (3 GOPers, 3 Dems), won't have subpoena power. And it will simply forward recommendations to the actual House ethics committee for further action after investigating. That's why some critics like CREW's Melanie Sloan call it a "paper tiger." Other good government types have given their support on the theory that something is better than nothing.

As The Hill reports, the Dem leadership pushed hard for the reform bill despite Republicans and a number of senior Democrats digging in their heels and doing what they could to prevent the vote. As The Washington Post reports, "Even with two House members under indictment, two others sent to prison, and several others under federal investigation, nearly half the House did not want to submit the body to the scrutiny of a panel not under its control." Some of the choicer quotes from last night's debate:

Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS): "If you have a single ounce of self-preservation, you'll vote no."

Mighty reform foe Rep. John Murtha (D-PA): “We have a New York governor in the news right who shows that you can’t legislate ethics. It always comes down to the individual.”

And most quotable of all:

Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, registered his displeasure with the proposal by using a parliamentary tactic to delay the vote. Just after 8 p.m., Abercrombie forced a vote on a motion to adjourn, which only served to delay the vote on the ethics resolution until an hour later. The vote failed 177 to 196, with 14 Democrats voting in favor of it.

Afterward, Abercrombie railed against the proposal to resounding applause on both sides of the aisle.

“With this proposal we are indicting ourselves, yielding and retreating to those who would tear this House down and denigrate us as crooks and knaves and hustlers…we cringe before our critics,” he said. “If we have no respect for ourselves—how to we expect it from anybody else?”.......

Get rid of all the crooks ASAP

UK top cop who led CIA probe found dead

Manchester Police Chief Who Cleared Britain of Helping Secret CIA Flights Is Found Dead

ROB HARRIS
AP News

Mar 11, 2008 13:45 EST

A city police chief who led an investigation into charges that Britain cooperated with secret CIA flights to transport terrorism suspects without formal proceedings has been found dead, his deputy said Tuesday.

Manchester Chief Constable Michael Todd, 50, was found dead in Snowdonia, about 240 miles northwest of London, Deputy Chief Constable Dave Whatton said. He had been missing since going out for a walk Monday during his day off.

Whatton said the body, which was found Tuesday afternoon, had not yet been formally identified but he believed it was Todd.

He said a coroner's inquest would investigate the cause of death and did not give any further details.

Todd was elected vice president of the Association of Chief Police Officers of England and Wales in 2006, according to a biography on his Web site.

The association gave him the task of looking into accusations that Britain allowed the CIA to use the country's airports to fly terrorism suspects to other countries without any extradition hearings, a clandestine procedure known as "extraordinary rendition."

Todd's investigation concluded last June that there was no evidence to back the claim. Last month, however, Britain admitted one of its remote outposts in the Indian Ocean had twice been used by the United States as a refueling stop for the secret transfer of two terrorism suspects.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/UK_top_cop_who_led_CIA_probe_found_...

Environmental Groups Sue Bush Administration to Force Polar Bear Protection -
Faced with overwhelming scientific evidence, government continues delay on Endangered Species Act listing due to global warming.
Washington - Today the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace sued the Bush administration for missing the legal deadline to issue a final decision on whether to list the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act due to global warming.

"The Endangered Species Act is absolutely unambiguous: the Fish and Wildlife Service was required to make a final decision months ago. Now it's up to a federal court to throw this incredible animal a lifeline," said Andrew Wetzler, director of the Endangered Species Project at NRDC. "We need urgent action from this administration, to protect the polar bear and reduce greenhouse gas pollution, not continued delay."

Polar bears live only in the Arctic and are totally dependent on the sea ice for all of their essential needs. The rapid warming of the Arctic and melting of the sea ice pose an overwhelming threat to the polar bear, which could become the first mammal to lose 100 percent of its habitat to global warming.

The groups filed their lawsuit today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit seeks a court order compelling the administration to issue the final decision on polar bear protection immediately.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/031108EA.shtml

"The Bush administration seems intent on slamming shut the narrow window of opportunity we have to save polar bears," said Kassie Siegel, climate program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, and lead author of the 2005 petition seeking the Endangered Species Act listing. "We simply will not sit back and passively allow the administration to condemn polar bears to extinction."

They still sell meat grinders?

http://cocovado.com/villawareonline/meatgrinders.asp

I know it is out there somewhere but is there a roster for that picture?

Just before the Iraq debacle started.

Prescient and brilliant.

http://tinyurl.com/2qujuc

that's Mary Ann's mug shot. Aint she sweet looking? I think she's stoned in that picture.

The Surge is .... oh never mind.

Tuesday 11 March 2008

The United Nations has delivered a grim assessment of the conflict in Afghanistan, reporting that violence increased sharply last year and resulted in the deaths of more than 8,000 people, at least 1,500 of them civilians.

In a report to the security council, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said the number of violent incidents rose from an average of 425 a month in 2006 to 566 each month last year.

The number of suicide attacks rose to 160 in 2007 from 123 in 2006 - with 68 attempts thwarted in 2007 compared with 17 in 2006, he said.

Ban claimed that while the insurgency draws strength from locals, much of the violence is led from abroad. "The support of foreign-based networks in providing leadership, planning, training, funding and equipment clearly remains crucial to its viability," he said.

Current violence in Afghanistan is at its highest level since a US-led invasion in 2001 to oust Taliban rulers.

The focus of the conflict has been in Afghanistan's southern and eastern provinces, but the insurgents are increasingly using Iraq-style tactics, such as roadside bombs, suicide attacks and kidnappings against foreign and Afghan targets around the country.

"Afghanistan remains roughly divided between the generally more stable west and north, where security problems are linked to factionalism and criminality, and the south and east, characterised by an increasingly coordinated insurgency," the secretary general said.

He cited a number of worrying trends, including the gradual emergence of insurgent activity in the previously calm north-west, and the encroachment of insurgents into the two provinces of Logar and Wardak, which border the capital, Kabul.

Ban said the tactics of anti-government elements changed noticeably in 2007 in response to the superiority of Afghan and international security forces in conventional battles.

The opposition groups were forced "to adopt small-scale, asymmetric tactics aimed largely at the Afghan national security forces and, in some cases, civilians: improvised explosive devices, suicide attacks, assassinations and abductions," Ban said.

Ban also expressed concern at the increase in attacks on Afghan and international humanitarian workers. In more than 130 attacks, 40 aid workers were killed and 89 abducted, of whom seven were later killed by their captors, he said.

A committee of MPs found yesterday that the costs of operations by British forces in Afghanistan rose by 122% to £1.6bn.

That's one of the great things about Maron v Seder..
Get a little inside knowledge every once in a while..

Ofcouse I had VOD problems yesterday so I might have missed some of it..
I wish Marc would talk about Jim more..I miss that guy ALOT,too ! :(

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

If I just get over a lazy thing I can just do it with my kitchenaid. Just need to find the parts and set it up. Problem is I may just get into sausage making if I get that far.

Ferraro: Obama should be thanking me for comments
David Edwards and Nick Juliano

Geraldine Ferraro says her comments on Barack Obama's race being the primary reason for his success in the presidential campaign are being "spun" as racist, and she says he should be thanking her for the comments.

Rather than retreat from her seemingly foot-in-mouth comments, the former New York City lawmaker has decided to go on offense. Ferraro has claimed her words were taken out of context and has decried being painted as racist by some.

"The spin on the words has been that somehow I was addressing the his qualifications. I was not," Ferraro said Wednesday on ABC's Good Morning America. "I was celebrating the fact that the black community in this country came out with a pride in a historic candidacy, and has shown itself at the polls. You'd think he'd say, 'Yeah thank you for doing that. ... we want to say thank you to the community.' Instead I'm charged with being a racist."

The latest dust-up over whether Clinton supporters are inappropriately inserting race into the campaign began with Ferraro's comments to a small California newspaper last Friday. In an exchange with a "decidedly bitter edge" Ferraro said, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position." The same day she repeated the sentiment to conservative talk radio host John Gibson but denied she was playing "the race card."

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Ferraro_Obama_spinning_me_as_racist_0312.h...

my god.... so she smokes weed. Big fucking deal.
jesus, the amount of people who are in jail because of weed - its astounding to me.

LETS GET A FUCKING CLUE PEOPLE - WEED IS NOT OUR ENEMY - BUSH IS!

Prostitutes...accusations of sexism and racism...foreshasdows of impending financial collapse...

and after I deal with that stuff, maybe I'll read the news!

that's Mary Ann's mug shot. Aint she sweet looking? I think she's stoned in that picture.

what I don't understand is how she is only 64 centimeters high? Is she really only two feet tall or does that infer she didn't have high quality dope?

http://home.att.net/~oz/thecrew2a.jpg

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

Manchester Police Chief Who Cleared Britain of Helping Secret CIA Flights Is Found Dead

http://www.samsedershow.com/node/2555
[...]
the Taliban government banned opium production in 2000. Opium production subsequently suffered more than a 90% decrease. The opposition Northern Alliance fiercely protected the remaining raw opium marketing and production.
[...]
In late 2001, with extensive assistance from U.S. air support and United States Special Forces, the UIF succeeded in retaking most of Afghanistan from the Taliban.

Wiki: Northern Alliance
The United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (UIF)

The gift that keeps on giving!

thanks for mug shot of Mary Ann. She is so sweet looking...

No wonder they were stranded on the Island, there was NO motivation. Ha

i guessed that the height graph behind mary anne was biased so i typed in "convert 66 inches to centimeters" in google, thinking it would come back with some links to converters and instead it came back with a calculator icon and the line:

66 inches = 167.64 centimeters

ya! )

caught that yesterday.

Marianne was the character she played?

Breaking News: John Daly Would Rather Get Drunk Than Play Golf

by Jeremy Scott (Scribe)

Maybe one of the most shocking pieces of golf news to come out in years has rocked the PGA: John Daly, 300+lb. golfer and winner of two major championships, would rather get drunk than play golf.

I know, I know. It's tough to believe. But we have it straight from a reliable source: Butch Harmon. Harmon is Daly's swing coach. Well, at least he was. He used to be. Recently, though, he quit. His reason? And I quote:

“My whole goal for him was he’s got to show me golf is the most important thing in his life,” Harmon said from his golf school in Las Vegas. “And the most important thing in his life is getting drunk.”
Seems that Daly had a minor bit of a meltdown at the recent PODS Championship this past weekend. During a rain delay, Big John spent a lot of time in the Hooters corporate tent, drinking beer and mingling. Then he went out and shot a 77. He followed that up on Friday with an 80. Listen, I am not lying when I tell you that I could shoot an 80.

So Daly missed the cut. But rather than go out and practice the next day—or heck, even going home to mope—Big John says to himself, "Gee, that Hooters corporate tent is probably still hopping." So he heads back for more beer, signs some autographs (signing one on a woman's pants... classy), and just generally hangs out.

Now, for all I know, it's common practice for golfers who miss the cut to stick around an extra day so they can schmooze and booze in the tent of a beer and chicken wing joint. I'm certainly no professional golfer. But somehow I doubt it.

Let's take that superhuman alien robot we know as Tiger Woods as an example. When was the last time you heard a story about him getting drunk or signing autographs in weird places or anything like that? Yeah... never. Because the one or two times Tiger has missed the cut, I'm quite sure he was up at 4am the next day hitting the driving range.

Tiger—the undisputed "winner" in the PGA—cares more about winning golf tournaments than he does about drinking or socializing. Daly, well... Daly just doesn't seem to care about much at all, eh?

I mean, this is a dude who lights up cigarettes on national television in the middle of a tournament round, for Pete's sake. This is a man who resembles John Goodman, so he's obviously no stranger to cheeseburgers. This is a man with a history of gambling problems, who was married to a woman who got in legal trouble related to a gambling ring.

With Daly it has been scandal after scandal after scandal... all related to one of three things: women, alcohol, or gambling. It's sort of the PGA's equivalent of "sex, drugs, and rock & roll." But does the PGA really need or want a rock star?

JUST LEAVE MARY ANN ALONE!

Like Cats to Water The House
Submitted by toniD on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 12:37pm.
Like Cats to Water
The House last night voted to create an outside panel to review ethics complaints. Let's just say that it passed over very strenuous objections from some quarters.

We've but together some of the best quotes from the debate.

My favorite, from Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS): "If you have a single ounce of self-preservation, you'll vote no."

--David Kurtz

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/pelosi_gets_reform_bil...

Group of Iraqis asks UN to take over

Iraqi Group Appeals to UN to Put Their Nation Under Its Supervision

RYAN LENZ
AP News

Mar 12, 2008 09:37 EST

A group of Iraqi tribal leaders, former politicians and intellectuals appealed Wednesday to the United Nations to take control of Iraq in a move they say would help U.S. troops leave the beleaguered country.

Both the U.S. administration and the Baghdad government are unlikely to endorse the request, which was addressed to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and delivered to the Cairo offices of the organization.

"We believe that the only opportunity left for Iraq to be saved from a dark, but not inevitable future, is to engage the international community represented by the United Nations," the letter said. "Such a step will allow the American troops to leave and the occupation to be brought to its end."

The group's coordinators include Adeeb al-Jadir, Ahmed Al-Haboubi and Nouri Abdel Razak Hussein, politicians overthrown in 1968 when Saddam Hussein's Baath party came to power and long part of the liberal anti-regime opposition prior to the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The U.N. dramatically curtailed its operations in Iraq after an August 2003 suicide attack killed its representative and scores of others. The United States has been pushing for an expanded U.N. role in Iraq but that did not include supervising the country.

The Iraqi group said the world body should supervise a new security plan to restore order during a transitional period and prepare for new elections of a government to replace Nouri al-Maliki's troubled cabinet.

Representatives for the campaign will travel to the U.N. headquarters in New York to seek support from key members, said al-Haboubi, a former government minister.

"We are also ready to discuss our proposals with U.S. officials," he said.

The men said the petition was signed by dozens of Iraqi dignitaries and they had scores of supporters in Iraq who preferred to rename anonymous for know to avoid harassment.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government on Wednesday announced a committee formed to explore ways citizens could sue U.S. forces involved in "unjustified killings," according to the prime minister's office.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/Group_of_Iraqis_asks_UN_to_take_ove...

Run time: 00:25

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjqFCuEI5K0

to discuss the contempt citation after the break!

"The outside panel, which will have six members (3 GOPers, 3 Dems), won't have subpoena power. And it will simply forward recommendations to the actual House ethics committee for further action after investigating. That's why some critics like CREW's Melanie Sloan call it a "paper tiger." Other good government types have given their support on the theory that something is better than nothing."

A new article on CENTCOM commander Adm. William Fallon confirms that his public statements last fall ruling out war against Iran last fall were not coordinated with the White House and landed him in trouble more than once with President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Can you imagine being "in trouble" with those 2.... a 4 star Admiral being in trouble with a guy who can't even talk & the other who's
heart can't even take a simple beat. What a JOKE!

hington - A new article on CENTCOM commander Adm. William Fallon confirms that his public statements last fall ruling out war against Iran last fall were not coordinated with the White House and landed him in trouble more than once with President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

In an admiring article on Fallon in Esquire, former Pentagon official Thomas P.M. Barnett writes that Fallon angered the White House by "brazenly challenging" Bush on his aggressive threat of war against Tehran. Barnett also cites "well-placed observers" as saying Bush may soon replace Fallon with a "more pliable" commander.

Barnett's account, which quotes conversations with Fallon during the CENTCOM commander's trips to the Middle East, shows that Fallon privately justified his statements contradicting the Bush policy of keeping the "option" of an unprovoked attack on Iran "on the table" as necessary to calm the fears of Egypt and other friendly Arab regimes of a US-Iran war.

Barnett recalls that when Fallon was in Cairo in November, the lead story in that day's edition of the English-language daily Egyptian Gazette carried the headline "US Rules Out Strike against Iran" over a picture of Fallon meeting with President Hosni Mubarak.

That story, published Nov. 19 and not picked up by any US news media, reported that Fallon had "ruled out a possible strike against Iran and said Washington was mulling nonmilitary options instead."

Later that day, according to Barnett, Fallon told him during a coffee break in a military meeting, "I'm in hot water again," and then confirmed that his problems were directly with the White House.

That was the second time in less than a week and the third time in seven weeks that Fallon had publicly declared that there would be no war against Iran. In an interview with Al-Jazeera television in September, which Fallon himself had requested, according to a source at Al-Jazeera, he had said, "This constant drum beat of conflict is what strikes me which is not helpful and not useful."

And only a week before the trip to Egypt, in an interview with Financial Times, Fallon had said, a military strike was not "in the offing," adding, "Another war is just not where we want to go."

These statements represented an extraordinary exercise of power by a combat commander, because it contradicted a central feature of the Bush-Cheney strategy on Iran. High-ranking Bush administration officials had been routinely repeating the administration's line that no option had been taken "off the table" since early 2005.

At an Oct. 17 news conference, Bush said he had "told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

Fallon's public statements explicitly ruling out an attack on Iran thus undermined the Bush administration's threat against Iran.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031108R.shtml

Dollar Falls to Record Low on Concern Fed Package Won't Succeed

By Ye Xie and Gavin Finch

March 12 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell to a record below $1.55 per euro as firms from Citigroup Inc. to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the Federal Reserve's plan to inject $200 billion into the banking system may fail to break the freeze in money-market lending.

The U.S. currency erased almost half of yesterday's 1.6 percent rally versus the yen, which came after the Fed said it would lend Treasuries to financial institutions in return for mortgage debt. Traders bet the Fed will cut rates by as much as three quarters of a percentage point next week to avert a recession, while the European Central Bank keeps borrowing costs unchanged at 4 percent.

``It's difficult for the dollar to gain traction,'' said Paresh Upadhyaya, who helps manage $50 billion in currency assets as a senior vice president at Putnam Investments in Boston. ``The Fed is probably running out of options; the market is fixated on interest-rate differentials, which are clearly negative for the dollar.''

The dollar fell to $1.5504 per euro, the weakest since the euro's 1999 debut, and traded at $1.5484 at 1 p.m. in New York, from $1.5338 yesterday. It dropped to 102.36 yen from 103.42, within 1.5 yen of an eight-year low. The euro traded at 158.49 yen from 158.61.

The euro set a record high for the 10th trading day in 12. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said today he's concerned about excessive currency moves, and that it's important to anchor prices. He spoke at a press conference in Mainz, Germany. The euro's 17 percent rally versus the dollar in the past year risks hurting the economy by undermining exports.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=amCKjxCgFR7o&refer=w...

http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/bill_buckley128.html
Bill Buckley’s Strange History Revealed

http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/obama_a_tool127.html
Obama a Tool of Bilderberg?

Senator suggests UN taxes on taxpayers in America not really such a bad idea

:Ex-DEA Admits CIA Imported Cocaine

A clip from “American Drug War: The Last White
http://www.AmericanDrugWar.com

"State senator Bruno, the leader of the Rethug majority is on TV talking about Spitzer. only problem: Bruno is under investigation for financial misdeeds. Rethugs have no shame."

Comment by Sue P

Washington seeks power to ban air travellers - even if they are only flying OVER the U.S.

Citizens for Legitimate Government

http://legitgov.org/

Among the variety of topics is -

DoD to 'augment civilian law' during pandemic or bioterror attack (commentary at above website)
Bill introduced by GOP Reps. Skelton and Hunter last year

http://www.rules.house.gov/110/text/110_hr1585.pdf

...I don't know if it was reported in the newspapers outside of WDC but a small paragraph had appeared in the WaPo regarding bio sensors had registered some activity on the Mall during Peace Rally a year or two ago. It was explained as something that was existent in the soil and was probably stirred up by the rally activity. (yeah)

More on this at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/11/3/111213/556
http://sambario.com/anti05.html

Feared extinct in parts of West Africa, the mysterious pygmy hippopotamus has recently been photographed in the war-ravaged forests of Liberia.

The endangered pint-size hippo was photographed last month by motion- and heat-sensing cameras set up in Sapo National Park in Liberia by a team led by the Zoological Society of London

for the heads up on the new thread.

I was just about to look because the traffic was low.

sorta...

http://citmedia.org/blog/

Center for Citizen Media

oh, probably.

the corporate states definitely run the election machinery.

that they'd love to get rid of most of us is really the issue beyond these cheezy TV election moves.

the people that control the US are the most vicious assholes that have ever existed.

they ain't gonna go down easy. usually they kill off a million or so people whenever we rebel.

Dr. Laura Blames Spitzer's Wife
new
Submitted by Kevin © on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 1:17pm.

...did she happen to blame herself for the misdeeds of her son?

http://rawstory.com/comments/31859.html

dead....

U.S. reports say rising sea levels threaten infrastructure

A rise in sea levels and other changes fueled by global warming threaten roads, rail lines, ports, airports and other important infrastructure in the United States, according to new U.S. government reports, and policy makers and planners should be acting now to avoid or mitigate their effects.

While increased heat and "intense precipitation events" threaten these structures, the greatest and most immediate potential impact is coastal flooding, according to one of the reports, by an expert panel convened by the National Research Council, the research arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

Another study, a multi-agency effort led by the Environmental Protection Agency, sounds a similar warning on coastal infrastructure but adds that natural features like beaches, wetlands and fresh-water supplies are also threatened by encroaching salt water.

The reports are not the first to point out that rising seas, inevitable in a warming world, are a major threat. For example, in a report last September, the Miami-Dade County Climate Change Task Force noted that a rise of two feet, or a little over half a meter, by the year 2100 as predicted by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change "would make life in South Florida very difficult for everyone."

But the new reports offer detailed assessments of vulnerability in the relatively near term. Both note that coastal areas are densely populated, economically important and gaining people and investment by the day, even as scientific knowledge of the risks they face increases. Use of this knowledge by policy makers and planners is "inadequate," the academy panel said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/12/america/coast.php

is mad as hell at the lack of probable cause that brought down Spitzer meanwhile no one is tracking UBL.

Aging Americans unsure they can afford to retire: survey
Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:20am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A third of Americans 50 and over are not confident they will have enough money to retire, and more than two-thirds expect to keep working well into old age, according to a survey published Wednesday.

The report, commissioned by retirement services firm SecurePath by Transamerica, suggests the surge in companies offering defined-contribution 401(k) plans has not displaced Social Security as the ultimate safety net for retirees. Sixty-one percent said the program would provide them with their main source of income in retirement.

"A huge percentage of people say they rely on government because it's the one thing they know is dependable," said Will Prest, chief marketing officer at Transamerica Retirement Management in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Encouragingly, 65 percent of respondents said they feel in control of their life in retirement, and seven in 10 said they were well-equipped to handle the uncertainties associated with big life transitions like leaving the workforce.

Yet this confidence comes at a cost.

"Seven in 10 workers aged 50 and older have already faced a period of financial difficulty that shook their confidence and created stress," the study found.

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1162119020080312?sp=true

that's because he's not a democrat...

"both note that coastal areas are densely populated, economically important and gaining people and investment by the day, even as scientific knowledge of the risks they face increases."

I call it the AAR Dream Team.

http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.c...

oH damn! mY REP AND iM MISSING IT!

Is there a podcast available somewhere?

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

Who is Mary Anne?

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

is Mary Ann from Gilligan's island Meg.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080312/ap_on_en_tv/people_dawn_wells;_ylt=A...

gilligans island actress.

Do you remember Gilligan's Island?

Or are you too young.

She was one of the characters on Gilligan's Island.

u both owe me a beer!

Simulated rise in ocean levels.
http://flood.firetree.net/?ll=43.3251,-101.6015&z=13

"We’re at the moment when Hillary needs Obama more than the world needs Hillary"

In her yonger days.

Dawn Wells

Gilligan, the Skipper and Mary Ann

Should be here

http://green960.com/cc-common/podcast/single_podcast.html?podcast=hartma...

after while.

Southwest grounds 41 jets By DAVID KOENIG, AP Business Writer
35 minutes ago

DALLAS - Southwest Airlines grounded 41 planes overnight — about 8 percent of its fleet — in the wake of its recent admission that it had missed required inspections of some planes for structural cracks.

Southwest shares fell 4 percent in midday trading.

The move announced Wednesday comes as Southwest faces a $10.2 million civil penalty for continuing to fly nearly 50 planes after the airline told regulators that it had missed required inspections of the planes.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which announced the penalty last week, has also come under fire for failing to immediately ground the Southwest jets when it learned they had not been inspected for cracks in the fuselage.

Southwest spokeswoman Christi Day said Wednesday that the move to ground 41 planes resulted in some flights being canceled, although she didn't have a precise figure.

The company said it had 520 Boeing 737 jets at the end of last year. Nearly 200 of them are older models, the Boeing 737-300, that were supposed to undergo extra inspections for cracks in the fuselage.

Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly had said Tuesday he was concerned by findings from an internal investigation into the missed inspections. He announced that the Dallas-based company had placed three employees on paid leave while it investigated the situation.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080312/ap_on_bi_ge/faa_southwest_airlines_6

AFL-CIO targets McCain's economic record By JESSE J. HOLLAND, AP Labor Writer
1 hour, 15 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The AFL-CIO said Wednesday it will have union protesters follow GOP presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain around the country to demand explanations on his positions on economic and labor issues.

The effort is part of a wide-ranging campaign aimed at linking McCain with what union officials call the Bush administration's failed economic policies.

In addition to the protests, the nation's largest labor federation also plans to devote part of its record-setting $53.4 million grass-roots mobilization campaign funds to criticizing McCain through workplace leafletting, volunteer door-knocking, telephone calls, e-mail, direct mailings and an anti-McCain Web site, http://www.mccainrevealed.org.

"Everywhere John McCain goes in the coming months, union activists will be there to confront him on his economic positions and plans and demand that he speak to working families' concerns," said Karen Ackerman, the AFL-CIO's political director.

For example, McCain scheduled a town hall meeting in Exeter, N.H. for Wednesday. "We'll be in Exeter, N.H. when he arrives there today," Ackerman promised.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080312/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_afl_cio_2

Iraq to sue Halabja weapon suppliers

Iraq plans to take legal action against the suppliers of chemicals used in a poison gas attack on the town of Halabja in Iraq's Kurdish north, which killed 5,000 people in 1988.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3F941EEF-18C9-4F87-9041-1455C5BBE...

The provision of chemical precursors from US companies to Iraq was enabled by a Reagan administration policy that removed Iraq from the State Department's list State Sponsors of Terrorism. Leaked portions of Iraq's "Full, Final and Complete" disclosure of the sources for its weapons programs shows that thiodiglycol, a substance needed to manufacture deadly mustard gas, was among the chemical precursors provided to Iraq from U.S.companies such as Alcolac International, Inc and Phillips. Both companies have since undergone reorganization and Phillips, once a subsidiary of Phillips Petroleum and now part of ConocoPhillips, an American oil and energy company while Alcolac Intl. has since dissolved and reformed as Alcolac Inc.[5]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halabja

TeeVee on the TeeVee

High Def Tivo owners will soon be able to pull YouTube videos onto their Tivos and watch them on the TV.

While we aren't quite there yet, it's one more step towards the internet allowing anyone, in a sense, to use it to distribute content to televisions. No need to own a broadcast or cable channel.

(via znf)

-Atrios 14:10

http://investor.tivo.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=298767

Where's Ted Koppel When You Need Him

Shouldn't this be on nightly on, you know, Nightline or something?

BAGHDAD — U.S. authorities in Baghdad have received five severed fingers belonging to four Americans and an Austrian who were taken hostage more than a year ago in Iraq, officials here said today.

The FBI is investigating the grisly development, and the families of the five kidnapped contractors have been notified, American officials said on condition of anonymity because only Washington officials are permitted to publicly discuss the matter.

-Atrios 13:42

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/30129.html

Falling Retail

Retail sales fell in Feb:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retail sales fell at the fastest pace in at least five years and could tip an already fragile economy into recession, according to a private report released on Wednesday.

Retail sales tumbled 1.1 percent last month, compared with a 0.2 percent gain in January, said SpendingPulse, the retail data service of MasterCard Advisors, an arm of MasterCard Worldwide (MA.N: Quote, Profile, Research). The report excludes auto sales.

"It's definitely the biggest drop in our history," said Kamalesh Rao, director of economic research at MasterCard Advisors. SpendingPulse's retail data series started in 2003.

-Atrios 12:38
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressReleasesMolt/idUSNAT00380020080312

What would President Obama do?

Why he would sing a happy song!
Everybody oughta sing a happy song
Be thankful to be a livin'
The good things that you get
Are just interest on your givin'.

And walkin' a mile kind words in a smile
To everyone you meet all along
Can multiply with each passin' by
And we all sing a happy song.

Well, it's a sad ol' world that we're a livin'
A man told me yesterday
Well, he said I didn't have any reason to care
'Cause tomorrow I'd be blown away.

Well, I wondered, was he right and
I wear all night until the new day came along
Then the sun shone bright and the world looked bright
So I sang me a happy song.

Alberta's heavy oil burden

Power drain

Extracting fuel from the oil sands requires massive clear-cutting of forests, strip-mining the land, digging up two tonnes of soil for every barrel of oil produced and then steaming the gooey tar to separate the oil – a process that requires huge amounts of water and power.

Environmental damage can already be seen from the moon according to Diana Gibson from the Parkland Institute environmental advocacy group.

"What we are going to be having is incredible destruction of very, very valuable ecosystems, and permanent pollution," she says

To separate the oil from the sand, great quantities of water are needed – much of which is polluted and lies in vast tailing ponds the size of lakes that combine cover 55 square kilometres.

"There are metals and contaminants in that water that aren't being removed and there is no requirement to clean that water up," Gibson says

The process also requires about one barrel of natural gas for every two barrels of oil retrieved - a procedure that undermines any chance Canada has fulfilling its agreement to reduce global-warming emissions under the Kyoto Treaty

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E14E80D7-D3E0-492D-BD0C-07B27668C...

MOVE TO CHILE INSTEAD:

Chileans to get state pensions

Bachelet, who signed the legislation on her second anniversary as president on Tuesday, called the measure "one of the most important social reforms in decades".

Pinochet established Chile's private pension scheme in 1981 as part of a push to privatise the economy.

The system required salaried workers to deposit at least 10 per cent of their wages into personal accounts managed by private pension funds.

That created a huge pool of capital that spurred investment and helped produce Chile's perceived economic successes.

Many countries introduced similar systems.

But the private system left out about a third of Chile's workforce, including most of the 1.2 million people who work in its informal economy.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3E353DDD-409C-4049-AF1B-4BB086FB1...

President Obama is gonna be the fix-it guy!

is understanding there is a problem.

buck owens has left the building...

this amounts to admitting the problem exists.

I know her! She used to live near my mom. I went to a yard sale at her house once. She was seling a lot of memorobelia. Lots of costumes and stuff from the show. I couldn't afford anything but a little silver ring, which eventually broke. I think this was around the time she moved out to California.

She went to high school there in Nashville.

She is really short, but I think taller than 60 cm.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

add a hundred...

richard belzer called in and said coincident with fallon's resignation, the navy has dispatched a new battle group to the iran area.

Meg.

I'm a shortie also. Learned how to use it to my advantage though.

IPS has learned that Fallon agreed to sit for celebrity photographer Peter Yang at CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa on December 26 for the Esquire spread, despite the near-certainty that it would exacerbate his relations with the White House. That may have been a signal that he already knew that he would not be able to continue to play the game much longer and was ready to bring his stormy tenure at CENTCOM to an end.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JC13Ak01.html

Democrats say the agreement on U.S. forces could lock the United States into a long-term military presence in Iraq. U.S. President George W. Bush's administration says it is a routine measure to govern the legal status of U.S. troops.

The talks were to have begun last month. U.S. and Iraqi officials in Baghdad said they hope to reach an agreement by July, well before the next U.S. president is elected on Nov. 4.

Florida House Says “No” to Primary Re-Vote
By: SilentPatriot @ 9:00 AM - PDT Marc Ambinder has the scoop:

“We are committed to working with the DNC, the Florida State Democratic party, our Democratic leaders in Florida, and our two candidates to reach an expedited solution that ensures our 210 delegates are seated. Our House delegation is opposed to a mail-in campaign or any redo of any kind.”

I thought the mail-in idea was worth considering. Oregon’s similar system is one of the safest and most efficient in the nation. They did have a decade (instead of a few months) to perfect it, though. Dean really needs to start flexing his muscle and enforcing the agreed-upon rules. If the states refuse a re-vote, split them down the middle.

Kos gets it right:

Here’s how you seat them — you cut them in half for breaking the rules, like the GOP did, and then you assign them 50/50 each to Obama and Clinton. Presto! Issue solved.

Would work with Michigan, too.

States and future candidates need to know that the rules will be enforced. If they are not, there’s no way we can enforce a new calendar without New Hampshire and Iowa at the head. They’ll break the rules, and candidates fearful that the results will count will have no choice but to campaign, defeating the purpose of the new calendar.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/12/florida-house-says-no-to-primar...

Man..I retire and the old place goes to crap..

I'll bet you they will find at least one other Airline that
this happened at too..

For years people have been complaining about The FAA looking the other way..
And,that they need More inspectors..
The system has needed some changes for along time..
Unfortunately,with the Aviation industry alot of times things don't change Until a accident happens !

The FAA has 2 functions..
To inspect for safety..
And,to promote the Airline Industry !
A bit of a conflict of interest wouldn't you say ?

That needs to be changed..Folks have tried..But,haven't been successful yet..

Ofcourse I'm biased But,Southwest has been the Safest American Airline for about 30 years..

And,full disclosure:I still have Southwest Stock. :)

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

TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2008
THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY EXPRESS: “I honestly don’t know what to say about this.” Those were Brother Greenwald’s words when he posted the videotape of the press corps’ recent fete at John McCain’s crib in Sedona. For ourselves, we recalled a grander affair, conducted during the 2004 Republican convention in New York. A certain saint threw himself a birthday bash—and darlings, forget about Holly Bailey! When the sanctified solon turned 68, the firmament’s biggest stars were there! To his credit (explanation below), Richard Leiby did the play-by-play for the Washington Post. This is your press corps on creme brulee—French tarts, loin of lamb, lobster salad:

LEIBY (8/31/04): Sen. John McCain tended to his political base Sunday night: the entire national media. The maverick Arizona Republican, once (and future?) presidential aspirant and press secretary's dream hosted a hyper-exclusive 68th birthday party for himself at La Goulue on Madison Avenue, leaving no media icon behind. Guests included NBC's Tom Brokaw and Tim Russert, ABC's Peter Jennings, Barbara Walters, Ted Koppel and George Stephanopoulos, CBS's Mike Wallace, Dan Rather and Bob Schieffer, CBS News President Andrew Heyward, ABC News chief David Westin, Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons, CNN's Judy Woodruff and Jeff Greenfield, MSNBC's Chris Matthews, CNBC's Gloria Borger, PBS's Charlie Rose—pause here to exhale—and U.S. News & World Report publisher Mort Zuckerman, Washington Post Chairman Don Graham, New York Times columnists William Safire and David Brooks, author Michael Lewis and USA Today columnist Walter Shapiro. They and others dined on lobster salad, loin of lamb, assorted wines, creme brulee, lemon souffle and French tarts.

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh031108.shtml

it gives special meaning to "on a wing and a prayer..."

US denies Iran rift, war plans by Olivier Knox
1 hour, 59 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House denied Wednesday that a rift over Iran cost the commander of US forces in the Middle East his job and said no one inside the US government was even suggesting war against Tehran.

But spokeswoman Dana Perino said US President George W. Bush could not rule out using force in the dispute over the Islamic republic's nuclear program because that "helps make diplomacy work and make it more effective."

"It's true that the president has not taken any option off the table, but no Commander-in-Chief would ever do that and be representing America well," she said. "There's no dissenting view when it comes to that."

But "there's no one in the administration that is suggesting anything other than a diplomatic approach to Iran," she told reporters one day after Admiral William Fallon resigned after media reports that he broke with Bush's strategy.

Asked about charges that Fallon's depature after not quite one year at the helm of the US Central Command showed that the president does not brook dissent, Perino replied: "I think that it's nonsense."

"The president welcomes robust and healthy debate," she said. "He has dissenting views on a variety of issues that get worked out through a policy process -- that is usually not played out in the press."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080312/wl_afp/usirannucleardiplomacy_08031...

granted she's cuter than tony snow but she is still a pathological liar.

yea, george bush enjoys healthy dissent, yea, that's the ticket.

Disappearing the Facts
The other night McClatchy broke the news that a huge Pentagon study of Iraqi archives had concluded that there was no Saddam-al Qaeda link. That's been followed by reports in other media on the contours of the report, which was supposed to be released today at a Pentagon press conference.

But not any more.

ABC News reports:

The Bush Administration apparently does not want a U.S. military study that found no direct connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda to get any attention. This morning, the Pentagon cancelled plans to send out a press release announcing the report's release and will no longer make the report available online.
The report was to be posted on the Joint Forces Command website this afternoon, followed by a background briefing with the authors. No more. The report will be made available only to those who ask for it, and it will be sent via U.S. mail from Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia.

It won't be emailed to reporters and it won't be posted online. Read the report's executive summary HERE.

Asked why the report would not be posted online and could not be emailed, the spokesman for Joint Forces Command said: "We're making the report available to anyone who wishes to have it, and we'll send it out via CD in the mail."

Another Pentagon official said initial press reports on the study made it "too politically sensitive."

More soon . . .

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/183094.php

Chris Matthews Admonishes Reporters For 'Gridiron' Laughter

MATTHEWS: That was quite a hoot. All that joking by the President about Brownie, the guy in charge of the New Orleans disaster and, of course, Scooter Libby, the guy involved in the CIA cover-up. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's reporters - the best of them - laughing at events and political acts that warrant anything - I mean, anything - but laughter.

There is nothing, nothing funny about Bush's reference to Brownie, the disastrous appointment followed by the catastrophic handling of the Katrina horror in New Orleans. Nothing funny about a war fought for bad intelligence. And a top aide, Scooter Libby, who committed perjury and obstruction of justice to cover it up. And nothing funny about a President who commuted that sentence to keep the cover-up protected. Otherwise I'm sure it was an enjoyable get-together between journalists and the people they're charged with covering.

Clinton Campaign Manager To Obama Team: Help Get Michigan And Florida Counted
By Eric Kleefeld - March 12, 2008, 8:59AM
Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams has issued an open letter to Obama manager David Plouffe, calling for negotiations on a solution for the Florida and Michigan primaries:

"In Florida and Michigan, nearly 2.5 million Americans made their voices heard and participated in primary elections. We think the results of those primaries were fair and should be honored," the letter says — a condition that the Obama campaign would undoubtedly consider unacceptable.

The letter then offers a small olive branch: "We think there are two options: Either honor the results or hold new primary elections ... We hope that your campaign will join us in our efforts to ensure that these votes are counted."

Meanwhile, Florida's Democratic delegation to the House have announced that they oppose "any redo of any kind."

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/clinton_campaign...

Economists see room to improve lots of numbers tracked by the government, not just GDP. But this overview number has long faced criticism.

Wednesday's hearing, in fact, comes 40 years after Sen. Robert F. Kennedy delivered a speech that, in poetic phrases, called the numbers into question.

"It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country," Senator Kennedy said in 1968. "It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile."

"If the country has natural resources and you cut the forest down, that increases GDP," says Yoram Bauman, who teaches environmental economics at the University of Washington in Seattle. "But it's not clear that the wealth of society has increased, because the value was there all along in the trees."

Living standards, for many people, also include the gratification of a home-cooked meal. Yet unpaid work at home isn't counted as part of GDP, even though it produces real goods and services.
http://www.alternet.org/story/79412/

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Capitol Police have arrested several war protesters who began shouting in the Senate gallery.

The protesters were quickly hustled into a hallway and out of the view of reporters. They had chanted, ``The war is immoral! Stop funding the war!'' - as police officers grabbed them and physically removed them from a visitors gallery overlooking the Senate floor.

The demonstrators wore gauze shrouds over their heads and black shirts that read, ``We will not be silent.'' One member said they represented the ``National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance.''
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7379287

a

How are you doing ?
Good I hope !
I emailed you..
Good to see you back ! :)

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

:)

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

except for being unable to access the net on a daily basis.
I got your email and thought that I sent you a reply, but now that I think about it, maybe it was Annette I sent the letter to. If so, sorry, I meant to write you brother. Expect an email sometime soon.

Move Over Hagee
McCain's new spirtual advisor says America was founded to destroy Islam.

--Josh Marshall

http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-p...

aka "The Grover Norwalk virus"

Just glad to see ya..
I hope things are working out better..

I was about the last blogger here to see your last open mic..
I can be out of the old loop sometimes..

Sounds like The Cruise From Hell !
HeeHee ! Where did you get that ?

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

: )
new
Submitted by Brett on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 3:11pm.

That sounds like fun. Dubai is the newest wildest most futuristic place on the planet. And Singapore would be great too. Maybe a stop in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian food is supposedly the best in Asia.

Bahrain is a big tourist spot. Islands in the sun

Of course the people would make me sick, and I'd kill myself after 1 or 2 days onboard...

but without the neocons..... I'd go.

site I keep forgeting to mention here.

www.ironictimes.com

true. what we really need is a tour that takes those bastards to all the problem spots they have created.

some special activities could include:

- buy rugs at the bazaar
- visit the purple ink factory
- smoke this years harvest in kandahar
- walk the natural gas line across afghanistan
- round up cattle at a ranch in paraguay

well, you got the idea.

we need a catchy title for it, something like:

the end times tour and hate fest

last night..Stewart was kinda nice to him..
I wish he would have run him off the set !

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

For awhile this AM it had dropped. Didn't last long.

Supposedly we have a large reserve. Doesn't show in the price though. They raise the price as soon as the oil on the stock market goes up.

Pretty soon I won't be able to afford my part time job. The gas will cost what I am paid.

Sheriff: Woman Sat on Toilet for 2 Years

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Authorities are considering charges in the bizarre case of a woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two years - so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time the boyfriend finally called police.

Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.

``We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital,'' Whipple said. ``The hospital removed it.''

Whipple said investigators planned to present their report Wednesday to the county attorney, who will determine whether any charges should be filed against the woman's 36-year-old boyfriend.

``She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body,'' Whipple said. ``It is hard to imagine. ... I still have a hard time imagining it myself.''

He told investigators he brought his girlfriend food and water, and asked her every day to come out of the bathroom.

``And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,''' Whipple said. ``According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom.'' http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7379318

BUSH PLEDGES TO HELP McCAIN
Promises at least two terror alerts.

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

All the line crossing cripto-nazi's that where booked and taped are still appearing nightly on Stewart and Colbert.
Yeesh!

Good to see you!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080312/ap_on_re_us/woman_in_bathroom

The Verve-Bittersweet Symphony

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

I love seeing me too!

;p

for the uplifting story ! ;)

Poor lady..Jezz,how sad..

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

Barack Obama in 2003, talking to the AFL/CIO:

“I happen to be a proponent of single-payer universal healthcare coverage.

“That’s what I’d like to see,”

Barack Obama on a nationally televised debate:

“I never said that we should try to go ahead and get single-payer.

Barack pledged to use public funding for his campaign if the Republican candidate did also. McCain has pledged but now Barack is backing out:

After all, when he made the promise, he didn't have a chance of raising more than the public's $85 million stipend. But now that he can raise $300 million, well, what's a little untruth between the waited-for one and his people? Yes, he can.

In a televised debate, Barack raised his hand when asked who would oppose legalizing marijuana. But Barack told another group "I think we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws."
Barack said that he estimated Tony Rezko raised around $50,000 - $60,000 for his campaign's. The fact is:

Obama has collected at least $168,308 from Rezko and his circle. Obama also has taken in an unknown amount of money from people who attended fund-raising events hosted by Rezko since the mid-1990s.

Barack claims to have passed legislation that "require all plant owners to notify state and local authorities immediately of even small leaks." The fact is, it went to committee, was drastically rewritten, had the teeth taken out of it, and still didn't become a law.

These are not simple errors. Barack is answering these questions with statements that just are not true. I don't think it would be too hard to answer a question with, "I don't know. I'll find out." if he is ignorant of something.

Some of these instances, however, show that Barack has one position in front of one crowd, and an opposite position in front of another. That's isn't change. That's typical.

It seems that Barry isn't all that different from other politicians when it comes to facts.

http://purelypolitical.newsvine.com/_news/2008/03/05/1345608-barack-obam...

Obama Receives Endorsement of Flag Officers from Army, Navy and Air Force

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/12/15142/2065/772/475186

segment on the Daily Show.

Go here

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=163846&title=grove...

Olympics clean-up Chinese style:

Inside Beijings shocking death camp for cats

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

Olbermann is taking a risk (0 / 0)
First -- he is an acquaintance of the Clintons and even thanks him in his new book. He risks losing any contact with them now or in the future if she does become president. The Clintons have a long memory

Second -- The HRC campaign has gone on the attack against those who they feel have slighted them. Look at David Shuster and the (now mild) "pimped out" Chelsea comment. They didn't want Shuster to get only a two-week suspension but his firing. Do you think they'll go easy on someone like Olbermann? (BTW -- see my old "Who'll Get Shustered Next" diary on my page...talks about the Olbermann situation if he does speak truth to Hillary).

Third -- Many of Countdown viewers are HRC supporters and other Democrats. He risks losing those viewers. As long as Olbermann is the MSNBC ratings leader, he has a shield. If the numbers fall, he is vulnerable.

Fourth -- I'm sure the more vocal HRC supporters will go after Countdown sponsors and put pressure on GE, MSNBC/NBC corporate owners.

Having said that -- if Olbermann does what is needed in his usual insightful, powerful, literary and intellectual way -- he may have his true Murrow moment.

And he'll be my journalistic god forever!!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/3/12/143548/808/814/475160

New marijuana? Salvia gains steam
By Jessica Gresko | Associated Press writer
10:57 AM CDT, March 12, 2008

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - On Web sites touting the mind-blowing powers of Salvia divinorum, come-ons to buy the hallucinogenic herb are accompanied by warnings: "Time is running out!" and "stock up while you still can."

That's because salvia is being targeted by lawmakers concerned that the inexpensive and easy-to-obtain plant could become the next marijuana. Eight states have already placed restrictions on salvia, and 16 others, including Florida, are considering a ban or have previously.

"As soon as we make one drug illegal, kids start looking around for other drugs they can buy legally. This is just the next one," said Florida state Rep. Mary Brandenburg, who has introduced a bill to make possession of salvia a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Some say legislators are overreacting to a minor problem, but no one disputes that the plant impairs judgment and the ability to drive.

Native to Mexico and still grown there, Salvia divinorum is generally smoked but can also be chewed or made into a tea and drunk.

Called nicknames like Sally-D, Magic Mint and Diviner's Sage, salvia is a hallucinogen that gives users an out-of-body sense of traveling through time and space or merging with inanimate objects. Unlike hallucinogens like LSD or PCP, however, salvia's effects last for a shorter time, generally up to an hour.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-031208-salvia-new-mar...

my 2 right wing Brothers in laws that
Article saying that Obama got endorsements
of Flag Officers from Army, Navy and Air Force..

That should piss them off..
I love them but,not their politics..

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

gotta go plant rose bushes.

:)

O TA ? :)

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

:)

If it ain’t Boeing, I’m not going (to vote for you)
by Goldy, 02/05/2008, 1:17 PM

With the presidential candidates jetting around the nation today putting their final campaign touches on the Super Duper Tuesday, I thought “Jet City” voters might be interested in their transportation choices. Mitt Romney was spotted flying around the south on a Boeing 737-400 yesterday, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have chartered ATA Boeing 737-800s… and then there’s the familiar Ron Paul Blimp.

And what about that great American patriot, John McCain? He’s flying a French-built Airbus A320.

http://www.horsesass.org/wp-trackback.php?p=4238

Submitted by ghettodefender on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 3:35pm.
Sheriff: Woman Sat on Toilet for 2 Years
----------
Slow reader.

Upscale Boca Raton FL on riot alert after it runs out of
housing vouchers for the poor
Boca Raton police broke up a near riot Wednesday morning when the city's housing authority ran out of applications for subsidized homes.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-312vouchers,0,50397...

It's not like I spent 2 years sitting on a toilet.

I just went to see pharmacy for antibiotics and poof.

Housing slump suppresses appetite for electronics By Michelle Kessler, USA TODAY
Mon Mar 10, 7:01 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - The tough real estate market isn't just affecting home sales - it's also prompting consumers to buy fewer TVs, digital cameras and other electronics.

Sacramento, Phoenix, Tampa and Detroit were the four metropolitan areas with the biggest drops in consumer-electronics spending in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with the previous year, says a study out Monday from researcher NPD. The study examined retail sales in the 40 largest urban areas in the USA.

Those four cities were also among the top 10 major markets for declines in housing prices, says the National Association of Realtors. Sacramento posted the biggest drop in both electronics sales and housing prices.

Nearly every area with a decline in electronics sales also had falling home prices, says NPD analyst Stephen Baker. That's a big change. Unlike many other products, electronics sales have weathered all downturns in recent years. U.S. sales rose 72% from 2000 to 2007 - a period that included the dot-com bust, says the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade group.

People began to think of electronics "like plumbing and air conditioning - something you had to have," says Baker. But now signs of weakness are appearing.

"You see a lot more tire-kicking: customers coming in but not really buying," says Leon SooHoo, owner of Paradyme Sound & Vision in Sacramento. Customers "are much more choosy," he says.

http://tinyurl.com/2q9c5y

Hire someone to plant a dime bag of weed on him.

Some cop will nab him within fifteen minutes.

Wanna help America catch bin Laden?
Submitted by Peter Dragon on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 4:27pm.

Hire someone to plant a dime bag of weed on him.

Some cop will nab him within fifteen minutes.

Brigadier General Larry Gillespie
Major General Scott Gration (USAF-Ret)
Admiral Don Guter
Brigadier General David "Dave" McGinnis
General Merrill "Tony" McPeak
Admiral John B. Nathman
Major General Hugh Robinson
Brigadier General James Smith
Admiral Robert "Willie" Williamson (USN-Ret Rear Admiral)
Major General Ralph Wooten

========

That equal 10 more votes for Obama..

He still must seek the votes of the million and million of other veterans.

Ten folk out of the 97% is a good start.

Do you think McCain could make a list of ex-milatary that would go on forever?

Military Officials fear McCain's Temper
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/benen/78890/
even they think he's walnuts.

Run time: 04:54

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUR0MBnl6d4

Your Daily Politics Video Blog: Gerry Ferraro is catching a lot of flak these days. But here at TPM we want to thank her. It's been an exhausting primary season. And we've needed some comic relief in a big way. Saying Barack Obama was lucky to be black may only have been one more 'unfortunate' statement in a string of beauts this election cycle. But going on every show currently on the air to express her outrage at the response to her comments has simply been comedy gold. Check out some of the best moments in today's episode of TPMtv.

House committee chair defends 'bloody hands' protest at Rice hearing

When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testified before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, a contingent from the antiwar group Code Pink was in the back row, holding up bloody hands in protest.

Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) found the silent protest difficult to handle and asked the chair if it was possible to eject the protesters. "I've never seen anything like this before," he complained. "We're trying to hold a hearing. I find all these protesters in here really distracting. Is there any kind of rule or policy? ... I'm all for freedom of speech on the street, but we're trying to listen to the Secretary of State here and people are holding up placards."

Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), who was chairing the hearing, replied, "Dr. Weldon, let me just say I appreciate your comments, but we're here in the United States of America, and as long as they don't disrupt this proceedings, and as long as they're silent, they will be welcome."

"It's a very important hearing but I think it's being turned into a circus," Weldon insisted.

"I respect your views but as long as the protesters are quiet and they sit down and they don't disrupt the hearings, everybody is welcome," Lowey stated again.

After Rice completed her testimony and was leaving the hearing, the protesters began chanting, "The Blood Is on Your Hands" and "Get Us Out of Iraq!"

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Code_Pink_bloody_hands_protest_interrupts_...

CHICAGO (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama expressed frustration Wednesday that racial issues keep rising to the top of his presidential battle with Hillary Rodham Clinton, but he said the great majority of voters will base their decisions on substantive issues.

At a news conference in Chicago, Obama said he feels his primary victories in an array of states have proven he can draw support from all races and regions, and that he is not overly reliant on black support.

"We keep on thinking we've dispelled this," he said. "And it keeps on getting raised once again."

He said critics suggest "maybe he hasn't proven that he can win white blue-collar workers."

"And we won that in Virginia, and we won it in Wisconsin," he said.

In each new primary, he said, "we seem to have to prove this stuff all over." Given his wins, he said, "at this point, we should have put to rest this notion that somehow I am a candidate that's just focused on one demographic.".........

so what'sup with you?

i was hoping your place down south would have a garden growing this year.

Obama Supporters Who Will Not Vote For Clinton in November

lots of people have forgotten that Billary had no problem bombing Iraq wayyyy before this current clusterfuck there happened.

sunny j....

working on main house designs right now... and there's plenty growing right now!!!!!

hope you're doing well.... sorry i'm often not here long enough to converse.... but i extend my blessings all the same.....

that most of the country also agreed with invading Iraq due the heavy mindfuck that was going on at the time.

you down there now?

If I have to,I'll vote for Hillary..

If it's a choice between Hillary & McCain..
Too much riding on this election..

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

how you holding up?

i'm waiting for back pay.

and dinking in the back yard.

Long time no see..

Your right..Hell of a propaganda machine they had/have..

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

i'm in NC currently for another few months.....

A lot of pressure coming from surprising directions but nothing direct enough to keep me from getting to the dinner table.

Watching reality shift across the filter of common knowledge for the umpteenth time in my short life and waiting for the unspinnable reality to sneak up on the mediocrity of the mob mentality.

If your asking the actual method for the holding up, well that's a bit more complicated ;)

the box is red

one man says the box is red.

another man says the box is green.

both men being social creatures and of a democratic and self doubting bend agree that the box is brown and both lose touch with reality.

Error always wins.

dual shell active plenum passive solar bermed dome

not much change there.

keep in mind, they'd just as well kill us off for blowing the whistle on them.

biz as usual so far. can't see that we've forced em to change direction in any substantial way.

we get about 25 more in the house and senate that come from our ranks in this election and we MIGHT be able to change things around a bit.

what i keep in mind is how massive this coallition of greedheads actually is. no longer just national in scope.

greed is wired into the genes of every creature on this planet that needs any resource to live.

watch a forest long enough and you'll see trees commit murder.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former congresswoman and vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro is resigning her fund-raising position with Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign after controversial comments she made about Clinton's rival, Sen. Barack Obama.

FULL ARTICLE

and democracy is the finest example of it.

The thing is being what we are we tend to focus on the details and the individuals when we like the ants behave enmasse more like a super organism.

It's difficult to pin the actions and thus the consequences on a single ant when that ant hill strips it's environment clean an starves itself.

Stop thinking factions of red and green and start understanding the ameobic nature of the whole and then you can understand the beast for what it truly is.

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

ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2008) — A University of Arizona researcher has created a new system to dramatically show American cities their relative level of vulnerability to bioterrorism.

Walter W. Piegorsch, an expert on environmental risk, has placed 132 major cities -- from Albany, N.Y., to Youngstown, Ohio -- on a color-coded map that identifies their level of risk based on factors including critical industries, ports, railroads, population, natural environment and other factors.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304092842.htm

But don't worry: Obama will make bio-terrorists love us!

ummm...

a giant slime mold?

Meat Packer Admits Slaughter of Sick Cows

The president of a slaughterhouse at the heart of the largest-ever meat recall denied under oath on Wednesday, but then grudgingly admitted, that his company had introduced sick cows into the hamburger supply.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — In a tightly contested Democratic race that could come down to the wire, Sen. Hillary Clinton said that she thinks it’s possible that some committed Sen. Barack Obama delegates might switch their votes to her.

Clinton made the remarks during an interview with News 8’s Anne Shannon during a campaign stop in Harrisburg. Clinton was referring to delegates from states that have already been “decided” not super delegates, who are regularly courted for their individual support.

“It is a possibility. Different states have different rules about whether or not a caucus or a primary delegate are obligated and for how long,” Clinton said.

The following exchange then took place between Shannon and Clinton:

Shannon: “So you think it’s possible that some states that have already been decided, so to speak, once they sit back and look at what’s best for the country, they may indeed get to the convention and instead cast their vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton?”

Clinton: “Well that certainly is possible under the rules for a lot of states. Some states, you’re obligated for the first ballot and after that you are free. We haven’t had this for quite awhile so it’s sort of new and people are a little bit curious about it. But that used to be the common way that nominees were selected.”

Clinton said that one reason delegates might switch their votes now is because circumstances have changed. She said she thinks her success in Ohio in Texas indicated that voters thought she matched up better against Republican Sen. John McCain, who by the time of those primaries and caucus had emerged as the Republican nominee.

Why would she lie?

http://www.sweetness-light.com/

Judiciary Committee Members: Administration Has Not Made the Case for Telecom Immunity

Today, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and 19 Members of the Judiciary Committee issued a statement regarding telecommunications immunity, as the House prepares to consider the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Following a review of classified information relating to the warrantless surveillance program and immunity for telecommunications companies, the Members reported their conclusion that the Administration has not established a valid and credible case to justify granting blanket retroactive immunity at this time.

http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1204

lol....yeap

and the petri dish is getting mighty crowded.

US food prices increase sharply

Over the past nine months, global food prices have soared 40 percent, while food reserves are at 30-year lows. The rising cost of food is becoming a major source of global social instability and economic hardship.

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama telephoned Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Tuesday to express his condolences for the terror attack at a Jerusalem Jewish religious seminary last week in which eight Israelis were killed. During the surprise call, Obama backed Israel's right to defend itself. He also expressed his admiration for Israel continuing to pursue negotiations with the Palestinians. Obama reportedly agreed with Livni on the need to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Obama has gone out of his way to ease Israeli and Jewish concerns about his links to Islam and to express his support for Israel. One comment he made recently about Israel's rightwing Likud party - favored some say to win Israel's next elections - raised a few eyebrows here. Obama said, "I think there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel, then you're anti-Israel, and that can't be the measure of our friendship with Israel." The U.S. presidential primaries have received unprecedented media coverage here. A recent poll said that if Israelis were going to choose the next American president, they'd choose Sen. Hillary Clinton.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ThisHour.asp#Obama%20Backs%20Israel's%20Right%20to%20Defend%20Itself

When I write and speak about privacy, I am regularly confronted with the mutual disclosure argument. Explained in books like David Brin's The Transparent Society, the argument goes something like this: In a world of ubiquitous surveillance, you'll know all about me, but I will also know all about you. The government will be watching us, but we'll also be watching the government. This is different than before, but it's not automatically worse. And because I know your secrets, you can't use my secrets as a weapon against me.

This might not be everybody's idea of utopia -- and it certainly doesn't address the inherent value of privacy -- but this theory has a glossy appeal, and could easily be mistaken for a way out of the problem of technology's continuing erosion of privacy. Except it doesn't work, because it ignores the crucial dissimilarity of power.

You cannot evaluate the value of privacy and disclosure unless you account for the relative power levels of the discloser and the disclosee.

More here:
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2008/0...

You need one of these:
http://store.barackobama.com/product_p/ts26946.htm

and drier, with less oxygen.

we need a drink and a breath of fresh air!

why would i wear that shirt,being the avid Hillary supporter that i am?

interesting concept...

I wonder how you evaluate relative power when a virus can take down the largest and most "powerful" of beasts.

I think that "relative power" is only useful when the adherents sit at the same table.

Barack Obama, drafting a strategy against GOP nominee John McCain, plans to recruit leading Republican moderates as members of his Cabinet. Obama has been discussing the inclusion of GOP senators who torpedoed President Bush's conservative agenda during his second term.

http://www.insightmag.com/ME2/Default.asp

we need to accept our symbitotic role as a species in the even larger super organism that encompasses all life.

That everyone should plant a few seeds didn't I?

Macy's Grocery Store: Wheat Shortage is Here

During our department meeting at our local Macey's grocery store, the director gave us a copy of this letter and said that wheat prices will be doubling in the next three weeks and the stores will be limited in what they will be able to get from the warehouse. Wheat bread will be about $4.00 a loaf soon. I have noticed in just a week the price of wheat has gone up $7.00.

Justice Department says legal opinion on Executive orders is classified !

Refuses to provide legal opinions on executive power

The Bush Administration's Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel is refusing to turn over a document providing its analysis of Bush's justification for executive orders.

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Federation of American Scientists, the office said the document was "classified."

Steven Aftergood, who writes the Secrecy News blog for the Federation, requested the legal opinion after a Democratic senator referenced it on the Senate floor.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the freshman senator who ousted Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) in 2006, said he'd reviewed three documents that outlined Justice Department opinions.

"For years, under the Bush administration, the Office of Legal Counsel within the Department of Justice has issued highly classified, secret legal opinions related to surveillance," Whitehouse said in a Dec. 7, 2007 floor statement. "This is an administration that hates answering to an American court, that wants to grade its own exams, and OLC is the inside place the administration goes to get legal support for its spying program."
Con't-Rawstory

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

President Bush vows to veto restrictions on Christian broadcasting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - President Bush has pledged to veto any legislation that would "stifle" Christian broadcasters' freedom to spread their message.

Christian broadcasters fear it would force them to air anti-Christian views. Conservative talk show hosts worry that government-mandated balance would prompt stations to drop their programs.

President Bush said, "We know who these advocates of so-called balance really have in their sights: shows hosted by people like Rush Limbaugh and James Dobson."

Bush told the Christian broadcasters that in today's culture, "You are the balance."

Pentagon blocks report on Saddam-al Qaeda ties. On Monday, McClatchy reported that a “review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents” captured after the U.S. invasion “has found no evidence” that Saddam Hussein “had any operational links” with al Qaeda. But ABC News reports today that the Pentagon apparently doesn’t want the study “to get any attention” as it has canceled “plans to send out a press release announcing the report’s release and will no longer make the report available online.” One Pentagon official “said initial press reports on the study made it ‘too politically sensitive.’”

http://blogs.abcnews.com/rapidreport/2008/03/pentagon-report.html

by Declan McCullagh

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/12/7649/

Pentagon Dismisses KBR Contaminated Water: Troops Should ‘Just Drink Bottled Water’ »
On Sunday, the AP reported that contractor KBR has been providing “unmonitored and potentially unsafe” water to U.S. troops in Iraq. According to a Pentagon Inspector General’s report, dozens of soldiers fell sick, suffering “skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses” after using the “discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry.”

In a press briefing on Monday, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell dismissed KBR’s gross negligence. He responded by joking about how everyone knows the water in Iraq is unsafe, and advised everyone to avoid drinking it:

You know, we’ve all been to Iraq several times. Everywhere you go they make it perfectly clear that you don’t want to drink the water, so I’m a little surprised myself that this is an issue. As I understand it, the bottled water, which is what you’re supposed to be drinking in Iraq, had no issues whatsoever in the testing that was done. Evidently, there was some issue with some of the other water that was, I guess, primarily meant for washing. […]

But I think our encouragement is always — for journalists and warfighters alike is read the signs and just drink the bottled water.

Watch it:

Morrell’s advice is useless. Troops didn’t drink the contaminated water. They used it for bathing and laundry. Does Morrell also propose that troops use bottled water for showering?

KBR has recently faced scrutiny for dodging paying more than $500 million “in federal Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers through shell companies” based in the Cayman Islands. Between 2004 and 2006, KBR — previously a subsidiary of Halliburton — received more than $16 billion in government contracts.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/kbr-water/

Sanchez, Abramoff, law firm named in second superseding indictment

At this time last year KUAM News brought you the in-depth report "The Abramoff Connection: Guam's Paper Trail and the Hiring of Jack Abramoff". In the expose we uncovered a multitude of non-judicial related activities the Superior Court paid for under the guise of a lobbyist contract. And now the Office of the Guam Attorney General has filed new charges not only against a former government official, but the former powerhouse lobbyist and his former law firm.

Despite facing numerous criminal charges, California attorney Howard Hills has been cooperating with local authorities when it comes to his involvement with the Superior Court of Guam. Prosecutor Lewis Littlepage confirmed Hills, "Has been cooperating with us fully, and it's because of his efforts that we've been able to uncover a lot of the information that we have used."

In May 2002 then-Superior Court administrator Tony Sanchez employed Hills and Abramoff to lobby against the Judicial Empowerment Act. But the paper trail showed much more than judicial-related services. In fact, documents obtained by KUAM last year showed billings dating back to 2001, prior to the court's agreement. "A lot of billing that was done for Open Skies, totally unrelated to the agreement that was signed for judicial things," continued Littlepage, "So it appears to us at this point totally improper."

The prosecutor added, "There are some e-mails...that deal with some political issues, yes, and that's beyond the scope of the Judicial Branch."

In a superseding indictment obtained on Tuesday, a Superior Court grand jury not only included additional charges against Sanchez for ordering the more than thirty $9,000 payments totaling $324,000 to circumvent procurement and supplement management policy and procedures of the Judicial Branch, but Abramoff and his former law firm, Greenberg Traurig.

http://www.kuam.com/news/26861.aspx

Our "friendly" corporations seem to be a bigger threat to everyone's health and safety than any bio-terrorist could dream of being.

Attorney general to argue at high court

SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK: Attorney General, Keeping With Custom, to Argue Case at High Court

MARK SHERMAN
AP News

Mar 12, 2008 14:15 EST

Attorney General Michael Mukasey will argue a case before the Supreme Court this month, honoring a custom that his two predecessors ignored.

Mukasey will be the first attorney general since Janet Reno in 1996 to represent the government at the high court. Neither John Ashcroft nor Alberto Gonzales, President Bush's first two attorneys general, argued a case at the court.

Mukasey will ask the justices on March 25 to reinstate the conviction of would-be millennium bomber Ahmed Ressam on a charge that an appeals court threw out, Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said.

The 66-year-old Mukasey is a former federal judge who presided over high-profile terrorism trials in New York.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned just one of the nine counts on which Ressam was convicted for plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport around Jan. 1, 2000. The charge in question is carrying explosives during the commission of another serious crime.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/03/attorney_general_to_argue_at_h...

i do believe we have a volunteer who wants to demonstrate how harmless waterboarding is (now where can we find some water?)

Reuters admits - rally was a fake - Short-covering behind US stock market recent gains

NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) - The dramatic rally on Wall Street this week was caused partly by traders who had been betting on declines moving to cover their short positions, another sign investors may see the credit market problems as far from over.

Financial shares led Tuesday's rally, giving Wall Street its biggest gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 index since October 2002, on hopes that credit strains may ease after the Federal Reserve pumped $200 billion into the financial system.

But Wednesday's lack of follow-through was a signal investors were not quite convinced the worst was over for the market as financial company shares resumed their downward trend. The S&P financial index fell 2.1 percent on Wednesday after gaining 7.4 percent on Tuesday.

Short-covering is when investors scramble to buy stocks that they had bet would decline in light of a turn to positive developments. Short-sellers seek to make money off of declines by selling borrowed stock in the hope of buying the stock back at a lower price to cover the loan, and pocketing the difference.

"seem to be a bigger threat"

is there any doubt? really?

wait till they relocate to china

Iraqis bury 10 after blast U.S. says killed no one

Ahmed Rasheed
Reuters North American News Service

Mar 12, 2008 14:04 EST

BAGHDAD, March 12 (Reuters) - It was an incident that aptly summed up the fog of war in Iraq -- relatives burying nine women and a child they said were victims of a bomb attack on a bus in which the U.S. military said no one died.

In Iraq, acts of violence are almost always accompanied by multiple accounts from witnesses, police, health officials and U.S. forces. But even by Iraqi standards Tuesday's attack on a bus full of mourners was a puzzle.

The U.S. military said in a statement on Wednesday the bus was hit by an explosively formed penetrator, a particularly deadly type of roadside bomb normally used against U.S. armoured vehicles. A nearby U.S. convoy was also caught in the blast.

"Operational reports confirm one U.S. soldier and one civilian were wounded in the convoy," the military said in a statement that came after a day of conflicting casualty reports.

A spokesman for British military forces in the nearby southern city of Basra, Major Tom Holloway, said he was still trying to work out the number of casualties after police initially reported 16 people being killed.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/03/iraqis_bury_10_after_blast_us....

Student suspended for buying Skittles at school

Contraband candy has led to big trouble for an eighth-grade honors student in Connecticut.

Michael Sheridan was stripped of his title as class vice president, barred from attending an honors student dinner and suspended for a day after buying a bag of Skittles from a classmate.

School spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo says the New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a districtwide school wellness policy.

whats interesting about short covering is that it exponentially increases because its based on fear. in other words, the first few shorts cover their bets with a fair price, but because they are buying, the price rises. as the price rises, other shorts who thought they would be okay, panic and they buy. this sends the price up more, which cause more shorts to buy which sends the price even higher. finally everyone catches their breath and realize they just got stampeded and the prices fall.

the question is what happens tomorrow?

EPA Overrules Scientists, Lowers Smog Standard Only Slightly
By Paul Kiel - March 12, 2008, 2:32PM
It's gotten to be almost a dog bites man story. The EPA has overruled its staff once again. From The Washington Post:

The Environmental Protection Agency has decided to lower the allowable amount of smog-forming ozone in the air to 75 parts per billion, a level significantly higher than what the agency's scientific advisers urged for this key component of unhealthy air pollution, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.
The new smog rules -- one of the most important environmental decisions President Bush will make during his final year in office -- will be a major factor in determining the quality of the air Americans will breathe for at least a decade....

Nearly a year ago, the EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee reiterated in writing that its members were "unanimous in recommending" that the agency set the standard no higher than 70 parts per billion and that the agency should consider reducing ozone levels to as low as 60 parts per billion. Public health advocates, including the American Lung Association, have lobbied for a 60-parts-per-billion ozone limit.

Remember that leaders of the union representing EPA staff have already withdrawn from a cooperation agreement with political appointees there out of protest of just this sort of thing.

The EPA was under a court order to produce a decision by tomorrow. The actual announcement of the new standard is expected later today.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/epa_overrules_scientis...

"you can understand the beast for what it truly is"
Submitted by Sunshine Jim on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 5:45pm.
ummm...
a giant slime mold?
----------
Mycelium.

For nine low monthly payments, it can be your celium.

The gift that just keeps on giving !

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

don't drink the water
Submitted by dan on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 6:25pm.
i do believe we have a volunteer who wants to demonstrate how harmless waterboarding is (now where can we find some water?)
------
Screwed is when you survive the waterboarding but die from the waterborne bacterial infection in your lungs.

"is there any doubt? really?"

In my mind? No. I prefer to say it that way to make it easier on the clueless folks who sometimes stumble in here. I try to save the whack upside the head with a rotting halibut for special occasions.

See where the truth lies..

http://www.leadingtowar.com/
Watch it for Free !

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

I know that I am trying to behave.

I'll be over at my Oasis eating my Skittles....

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

Kevorkian planning run for Congress

Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian, who spent eight years in prison for second-degree murder, says he's running for Congress.

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/031208/loc_20080312356.shtml

He's in my congressional district.

Something is wrong with the universe when wholesome, pigtailed, naive, sweet, petit, innocent and harmless Mary Ann has to assume the position, hear her Miranda rights, wear a ziptie and be frisked for a shiv.

Professor: "Don't worry. I can spring you with these palm fronds and a conch shell."

what was i saying?

I love him to death!

i didn't know that. its amazing the power the religious nuts have in this country.

Can't have that!

Bush’s Chamber of Horrors

by Tom Teepen

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/12/7625/

where have you been hiding :)

free mary anne. bring gilligan back from the dead.

Submitted by Cat Chew on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 6:50pm.
Kevorkian planning run for Congress...
...He's in my congressional district.
--------
That's Congressman Death, to you.

(I have some skull-and-crossbones campaign ideas.)

"Add your voice to youth in Asia!"

"Shark is reintroduced to larger shark that tried to eat it"

^ you might assume that based on this headline... but they actually have a few interesting things..

Ferraro resigned, UNC suspect, etc

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

Currently civilization is poised for another cultural upheaval. Recent revisions in science are profoundly revising four flawed “truths” upon which our culture is built. I refer to these old beliefs as the Four Myth-Perceptions of the Apocalypse, misperceptions that are contributing to the demise of our civilization.

Myth-Perception 1 – Biology is controlled by matter-based Newtonian mechanics [Revision- Biology is controlled by invisible Quantum mechanical forces]

Myth-Perception 2 – Genes control life [Revision- The new science of epigenetics reveals that environment controls genes]

Myth-Perception 3 – “Survival of the fittest” drives evolution [Revision- Cooperation drives evolution]

Myth-Perception 4 – Evolution is a Random Process [Revision- Organisms evolve to conform to environment]

When these fundamentally new scientific insights replace our currently limiting cultural myths, the ashes of our current civilization will give rise to a more magnificent version of the human Phoenix. The following brief discussion focuses upon new scientific insights that dispel the myth of genes, the limiting belief that genes control biology.
...

Being petit was her downfall.
Submitted by Peter Dragon on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 6:55pm.
Can't have that!
----------
Freedom sized?

I've kinda lost track if we are supposed to hate the French (see U.S. Congressional stupidness for details), love the French for electing Sarcozy, hate the French because they are having buyer's remorse for electing Sarcozy, or hate the French for being a partner in the bastard European consortium that stole our military-industrial complex air tanker money?

That's three hates to one love, so I assume that we are currently expected to hate the frogs.

Ya Basta!

...
The growing discontent amongst the people with the free trade onslaught on Mexico has led to the emergence of numerous movements that openly resist neo-liberalism, free trade, and capitalism in general. Indeed, recent Mexican history has been marked by localized revolts against the unbearable conditions that free trade and NAFTA have created. One of the most influential and radical movements that have embarked on a full-scale revolt against neo-liberalism and free trade in Mexico has been the Zapatistas.
...

She set foot in Idaho without setting her watch back 100

years.

The TrueMajority.org "IranMobile", a Dr. Strangelovian thermonuclear missle/bomb that rises for launch 20 feet in the air with George W. Bush astride, is coming to Washington, DC. It will be at Busboys and Poets on March 16th, 7:00 pm with CodePink; again at Busboys and Poets on March 17th at 6:00 pm with PDA and Jim Hightower for their launch of the Health Care Not Warfare campaign; at the CodePink House for breakfast on March 18th at 9:00 am; Union Station on March 18th at 5:00 pm and at McPherson Square on March 19th at 7:00 am, staging ground for the UFPJ actions taking place all day.

http://www.notanotherwar.org/

swoops down on a rival. Imperiling us all.
Bringing Down Spitzer: It's the Big Brother Who Should Bother Us

By DAVE LINDORFF

Gov. Spitzer's bust should give pause to those in Congress who are ready to hand President Bush a free pass to continue his six-year campaign of warrantless spying on Americans.

We now know from yesterday's Wall Street Journal article that the spyingBush has been doing through the National Security Agency since early 2001 has included vast computer sweeps of not just internet and phone activity,but also bank and credit card transactions. These are sweeps of ordinary everyday people, with computers looking for odd transactions, or for code words, or for transactions involving specific targeted organizations or addresses.

What nailed Spitzer, we now learn, was a series of bank transactions he had with the bank account of the Emperor's Club VIP call girl operation.

Now reportedly, this particular probe was being conducted by the IRS, which allegedly was investigating the Emperor's Club. Once the IRS discovered it had caught the New York governor in its web, it forwarded thecase to the US Attorney General's Office, where it was pursued by the FBI, apparently on the instructions of AG Michael Mukasey. The investigation moved from monitoring the bank to monitoring phones, and Spitzer was captured talking to the Emperor's Club dispatcher. Bingo. Promising Democratic political career ruined.

Now the monitoring of the Emperor's Club was reportedly done with acourt-ordered warrant. That's fine.

But this case shows us how people can get caught up by this kind ofinvestigation really quickly.
www.counterpunch.org
**Lesbian Chic**

this war is only go to stop when this happens every day every where.

when rachel is on the air but mums the word when sam is subbing. hmmm.

charles@sheehanmiles.net

More than fifteen years ago US Department of Agriculture researcher Jim Moss was conducting research to figure out how to more effectively kill cockroaches. The answer? Expose them to a combination of DEET and pyridostigmine bromide, which had also been given to Gulf War troops in 1990-91. After Moss testified before Congress in 1994, he lost his research position with USDA.
Ironically, this week the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a review of more than 115 studies looking at the interaction between chemical exposure and symptoms related to service in the Gulf. Their findings? Moss was right all along. I can't help but ask, why was it so difficult to get that research done 15 years ago?
It's been several months since I've sent an update, and I wanted to get something out now because this week I finally completed the podcast of Republic: A Novel of America's Future, which you can check out at Podiobooks.com or at my website. The response to the book and the podcast has been wonderful, especially from folks who are deeply concerned about our country's future. The book has been hovering in the top 50 science fiction/alternate history bestsellers on Amazon for more than four months now, which has been wonderful news.
If you haven't read it, I'd like to invite you to download your free copy and check it out. I've been giving the book away for a couple months now, and the response has been fantastic, with more than 25,000 downloads. Here's the link: http://www.sheehanmiles.com/blogid/2970
If' you've read it and haven't posted a review yet, please consider posting one at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0979411424?tag=sheehanmiles-20

Submitted by dan on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 7:25pm.
when rachel is on the air but mums the word when sam is subbing. hmmm.

Sam is a sexist.

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

a joke, by the way

these days "sexist" is thrown around as freely as manure on a farm

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

Conn. student suspended for buying candy
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Contraband candy has led to big trouble for an eighth-grade honors student in Connecticut.

Michael Sheridan was stripped of his title as class vice president, barred from attending an honors student dinner and suspended for a day after buying a bag of Skittles from a classmate.

School spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo says the New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a districtwide school wellness policy.

Michael's suspension has been reduced from three days to one, but he has not been reinstated as class vice president.

Superintendent Reginald Mayo said Wednesday that the principal was just trying to keep students safe, but that he would review the decision to suspend Michael.

Michael says that he didn't realize his candy purchase was against the rules, but he did notice that the student selling the Skittles on Feb. 26 was being secretive.

coincidently and asked for assisted suicide.
That's how tired of coughing I am. Thank goodness I quit smoking last year.

I'll leave that one for Crank. It just sent my ex English

teacher old lady into spasms.

I went to see the doc today
Submitted by Fernando on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 7:32pm.
coincidently and asked for assisted suicide.
That's how tired of coughing I am...
--------
But the abs! My god, man, you are well on your way to a rock-hard six pack!

"The why remains a mystery to us," police Lt. C.L. Williams said. "If you try to apply logic to these incidents, they totally defy any logical explanation."

so...if you don't apply logic the incidents could be logical explained?

much more livelier
Submitted by Peter Dragon on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 7:36pm.
I'll leave that one for Crank. It just sent my ex English
teacher old lady into spasmas.
--------
Yeah, well. Think of it as the most unkindest cut of all.

what did i say? -2 sp, -5 content

would someone please pass the skittles. k.o. will be on soon.

Sheriff: Woman sat on toilet for 2 years
By ROXANA HEGEMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WICHITA, Kan. -- Authorities are considering charges in the bizarre case of a woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two years - so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time the boyfriend finally called police.

Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.

"We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."

Whipple said investigators planned to present their report Wednesday to the county attorney, who will determine whether any charges should be filed against the woman's 36-year-old boyfriend.

"She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body," Whipple said. "It is hard to imagine. ... I still have a hard time imagining it myself."

He told investigators he brought his girlfriend food and water, and asked her every day to come out of the bathroom.

"And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,'" Whipple said. "According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom."

The boyfriend called police on Feb. 27 to report that "there was something wrong with his girlfriend," Whipple said, adding that he never explained why it took him two years to call.

Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to her mid-thigh. She was "somewhat disoriented," and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.

"She said that she didn't need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave," he said.

She was reported in fair condition at a hospital in Wichita, about 150 miles southeast of Ness City. Whipple said she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or law enforcement investigators.

Authorities said they did not know if she was mentally or physically disabled.

Police have declined to release the couple's names, but the house where authorities say the incident happened is listed in public records as the residence of Kory McFarren. No one answered his home phone number.

The case has been the buzz of Ness City, said James Ellis, a neighbor.

"I don't think anybody can make any sense out of it," he said.

Ellis said he had known the woman since she was a child but that he had not seen her for at least six years.

He said she had a tough childhood after her mother died at a young age and apparently was usually kept inside the house as she grew up. At one time the woman worked for a long-term care facility, he said, but he did not know what kind of work she did there.

"It really doesn't surprise me," Ellis said. "What surprises me is somebody wasn't called in a bit earlier."

I get spasmas. This has to be some dyslexic malfunction.

FDA has approved pyridostigmine bromide to increase survival after exposure to the nerve agent Soman. Pyridostigmine bromide is approved only for combat use by U.S. military personnel.

You innocently said "why is rachels assistant much more

livelier?"

That was all it took for an ex English teacher. Ya gotta be

married to one to get my drift. I have my own human spell/

grammar checker sleeping with me.

I forgot to add....we can't say much more livelier, because

it's wrong. Just another set of laws and rules to keep us

down.

Smog rule tightened; 345 counties fail

Smog rule tightened; 345 counties fail
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WASHINGTON -- The air in hundreds of U.S. counties is simply too dirty to breathe, the government said Wednesday, ordering a multibillion-dollar expansion of efforts to clean up smog in cities and towns nationwide.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced it was tightening the amount of ozone, commonly known as smog, that will be allowed in the air. But the lower standard still falls short of what most health experts say is needed to significantly reduce heart and asthma attacks from breathing smog-clogged air.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson called the new smog requirements "the most stringent standards ever," and he said they will require 345 counties - out of more than 700 that are monitored - to make air quality improvements because they now have dirtier air than is healthy.

Johnson said that state and local officials have considerable time to meet the new requirements - as much as 20 years for some that have the most serious pollution problems. EPA estimates that by 2020 the number of counties failing to meet the new health standard will drop to about 28.

About 85 counties fall short of the old standard enacted a decade ago.

Johnson's decision is likely to be met with sharp criticism from health experts and some members of Congress because it goes counter to the recommendations of two of his agency's scientific advisory panels - one on air quality and the other on protection of children.

The new EPA standard will lower the allowable concentration of ozone in the air to no more than 75 parts per billion, compared with the old standard of 80.

and I have Roadrunner. Hate to think what it must be like

for 56K'ers.

include:

1) much livelier

2) much more lively

Charles Sheehan-Miles
Submitted by Sunshine Jim on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 7:26pm
*******
Sent it to my Brother in law..Ex-Marine..

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

"All the Money You Make Will Never Buy Back Your Soul"

By Ron Jacobs

Recently, the Boston Globe reported that the Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) had set up an offshore company to hire close to half of the men and women working for KBR in Iraq as contractors. According to the report, this enables KBR to avoid paying social security, unemployment insurance and other taxes.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19518.htm

In the interest of full disclosure, I have spent $80,000 on high-priced escorts. It happens.

One minute you have eighty grand sitting around doing nothing and the next minute you can pay someone to call you The Big Guy, but it doesn't come cheap.

Well, yeah, it's sorta cheap...but it ain't inexpensive. It's the believable sincerity that costs the big bucks.

9 Hondas stolen in 24 hours in Yakima
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Yakima police took notice when 11 Hondas were stolen in a two-week period. Now they are investigating nine Honda thefts that occurred in a period of about 24 hours. The cars were taken Monday and Tuesday, and police say most were early to mid-1990s models.

Police Capt. Greg B. Copeland says it's unusual to have so many vehicles of one type stolen in such a short period.

Investigators believe at least some may be related to the arrest of a 25-year-old man late Monday. Police say numerous Honda parts were found at a home following the arrest, but two of the latest Honda thefts occurred after he was arrested.

According to police there were an average of 2.3 car thefts a day last year in Yakima, population about 83,000.

That's why it's always good to post Links to Video's. :)

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

is not acceptable! We're on a roll!

you mean!

Not again !Ahhhhhhh!
Lady on toilet seat..

Poor lady..

*******
No.2 Skittles

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

Well, I guess you could use that one. I play the role of

Peter Dragon, you play Chubbs, etc. etc.

BBL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just don't think that being strong or authoritative comes from that behavior. Where as I'd be much more comfortable taking orders from Dawn Wells.

I feel an urge to watch FAUX SNOOZE.

"We’re at the moment when Hillary needs Obama more than the world needs Hillary"
----
One election at a time...

PLEDGED DELEGATES ONLY

REALCLEARPOL.........(OB)1403.......(CL)1240 = +163 OBAMA
CNN..............................(OB)1404.......(CL)1243 = +161 OBAMA
MSNBC.........................(OB)1398.......(CL)1244 = +154 OBAMA
AP..................................(OB)1390.......(CL)1248 = +142 OBAMA
DEMCONWATCH.......(OB)1390.......(CL)1248 = +142 OBAMA
GOOBERGUNCH.........(OB)1360.......(CL)1223 = +137 OBAMA

INCLUDING UN-PLEDGED super-DELEGATES

CNN..............................(OB)1611......(CL)1480 = +131 OBAMA
REALCLEARPOL.........(OB)1614......(CL)1487 = +127 OBAMA
CBSNEWS....................(OB)1594.......(CL)1471 = +123 OBAMA
ABCNEWS....................(OB)1601......(CL)1485 = +116 OBAMA
USA TODAY.................(OB)1596......(CL)1484 = +112 OBAMA
GOOBERGUNCH.........(OB)1577......(CL)1469 = +108 OBAMA
DEMCONWATCH.......(OB)1597......(CL)1492 = +105 OBAMA
AP..................................(OB)1602......(CL)1497 = +105 OBAMA

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

POPULAR VOTE......(OB) 13,278,372...(CL) 12,576,210 = +702,162 OBAMA

30 contests OBAMA
14 contests CLINTON

.

12.19.15.2.15
(3.12.2008)

exceptable answers...
Submitted by Peter Dragon on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 8:05pm.
is not acceptable! We're on a roll!
--------
The Rajah is a savant. The problem is that you never know when his genius or his idiocy is at work.

That's also the beauty of it.
---------
(Can't resist throwing this in for lagniappe, as dr is wont to say):

Judge Wapner attended Hollywood High School and was actress Lana Turner's boyfriend for a short while in high school.

http://www.answers.com/Judge%20Wapner