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::fuzzy and blue --political musings by a proud Democrat::
::Author::  Name::Tina From::United States Married college graduate and parent who lives in the Mid West View my complete 
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Tuesday, January 31, 2006  Says it all, no? 
 Prepare for the blood sacrifices... I'm sure Alito needs them to rise from his coffin every dusk. Pix courtesy of Chicotown. Here is the list of turn-coat Dems that felt they wouldn't dare to think of all of America for 1 Goddamned second before they thought of their own careers (contact info on them here): 1) Akaka, 2) Baucus, 3) Bingaman, 4) Byrd, 5) Cantwell, 6) Carper, 7) Conrad, 8) Dorgan, 9) Inouye, 10) T. Johnson, 11) Kohl, 12) Landrieu, 13) Lieberman, 14) B. Lincoln, 15) Nelson (FL), 16) Nelson (NE), 17) Pryor, 18) Rockefeller, 19) Salazar. After the vote, they released a statement saying they were saving a filibuster for something "really important." Here's something really important: FUCK EACH and EVERY ONE of THEM. If they do not have the balls to be a part of our team, they should at least have the balls to step aside and stay the FUCK OUT of OUR WAY. And when these Dems need money, they can appeal to the Republican voters and ask them for the money. They didn't want to appear as obstructionists to these voters, maybe the Repukes will repay the favor. And maybe they will... after they are done rolling around on the floor laughing at these Dems and tossing aside EVERY last 1 of our civil rights, that is. I am contacting the DNC asap today to inform them that they are not to contact me or my husband in regards to any further donations to the Dems (and it appears others feel the same way). If I am going to be bent over and anally raped, I'm certainly not going to have the person who did it to me ask for a donation while they are zipping up.
I am so pissed off right now while writing this, I'm surprised the keyboard isn't broken. If I hear 1 more Repuke say that Bush honors our troops, I am going to throttle that person and go to jail for assault. TruthOut: "The former commander of Abu Ghraib prison testified that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former senior US military commander in Iraq, gave orders to cover up the cause of death for some US female soldiers serving in Iraq. Last wk, Col. Janis Karpinski told a panel of judges at the Commission of Inquiry for Crimes against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration in NY that several women had died of dehydration because they refused to drink liquids late in the day. They were afraid of being assaulted or even raped by male soldiers if they had to use the women's latrine after dark. The latrine for female soldiers at Camp Victory wasn't located near their barracks, so they had to go outside if they needed to use the bathroom. "There were no lights near any of their facilities, so women were doubly easy targets in the dark of the night," Karpinski told retired US Army Col David Hackworth in a Sept 04 interview. It was there that male soldiers assaulted and raped women soldiers. So the women took matters into their own hands. They didn't drink in the late afternoon so they wouldn't have to urinate at night. They didn't get raped. But some died of dehydration in the desert heat, Karpinski said. Karpinski testified that a surgeon for the coalition's joint task force said in a briefing that "women in fear of getting up in the hrs of darkness to go out to the latrines were not drinking liquids after 3 or 4pm, and in 120 degree heat or warmer, b/c there was no air-conditioning at most of the facilities, they were dying from dehydration in their sleep. Sanchez's attitude was: "The women asked to be here, so now let them take what comes with the territory," Karpinski quoted him as saying." Yes Lt Gen Sanchez... and VAGINAS come w/the terrority when it comes to being female. Oh, but I guess that was the entire problem in the 1st place, huh?
Gee, I wonder if The Almighty Evil One will hint that we're going to go to war w/Iran in his State of the Union Spew? Here is what BushCo agenda whore supreme O'Reilly had to say about Iran on Jan 27th: "Here's the important story of the day that no one will tell you about. The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog program, Mohamed ElBaradei, has told the UN that Iran will begin uranium enrichment work, contradicting previous statements from the mullahs who run Iran. So look, it's just a matter of time, ladies and gentlemen, before we have to bomb that country." Yes, Billy-boy, it is just a matter of time, but maybe we are already at war w/Iran and nobody has the balls to tell us about this impending fiery trainwreck that will turn into yet another BushCo clusterfuck, huh? Iran accuses the US and/or Israel for a recent rash of plane crashes involving Iran's top military leaders, and since Iranian military planes are not equipped w/black boxes, I guess anyone could be blamed for what happened. Convenient, no? Maybe this is why we are currently cutting deals w/the top level insurgents in Iraq... I know, WE don't negotiate w/terrorists... unless we have to wrap things up in Iraq so we can sink our teeth, bullets and blood into Iran.
OMG... I am gonna seriously blow a gasket over this un-fucking-believable news, yet sadly this is just another indication of Bush's America at work: WaPost: "More than 12 states are considering new laws to protect health workers who do not want to provide care that conflicts w/ their personal beliefs, a surge of legislation that reflects the intensifying tension between asserting individual religious values and defending patients' rights. About half of the proposals would shield pharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control & "morning-after" pills because they believe the drugs cause abortions. But many are far broader measures that would shelter a doctor, nurse, aide, technician or other employee who objects to any therapy. That might include in-vitro fertilization, physician-assisted suicide, embryonic stem cells and perhaps even providing treatment to gays and lesbians." Do you think these asshats will say that "God called me to be a physician/ pharmacist so I could refuse medicine to X class of patients"? But get this... it is even worse than we think b/c doctors could refuse to give our babies and children inoculations: "Drs opposed to fetal tissue research, for example, could refuse to give and/or notify parents that their child was due for a chicken pox inoculation because the vaccine was originally produced using fetal tissue cell cultures and that physician would be immunized from medical malpractice claims and state disciplinary action." Hippocratic Oath... ever heard of it Dr. Mengele? Oh that's right. For these freaks, it should be called the Hypocrite's Oath... pro-life my ass.
Didja Know about this MN Law about Judges?  Notice in this pix their hands are red from all the blood they've caused to be spilled? While I continue my absolute push today by faxing and calling our senators urging them to filibuster (and it seems to be working... at least according to this, so get off your duff and call or fax!)-- despite the bogus claim that filibustering is unconstitutional, esp since the GOP has filibustered plenty of times-- an interesting CNN poll shows how Americans really feel about legalized abortion: "A poll conducted after the confirmation hearings shows that 54% of people support Alito's appt. But when asked about their support if they became convinced Alito would overturn Roe, opinions dramatically shifted: from 54% in favor, to 56% against his confirmation." Hmm, so much for everybody who is Christian wants Roe overturned, huh? But didja know that we the people have a right to know when it comes to the confirmation process?: "Sen Specter has defended Alito's refusal to answer specific questions from Dem senators aimed at showing America just how frightening a Justice Alito would be, by declaring that the nominee "has answered questions as far he could go." Alito said it would not be "appropriate" for a judicial nominee to express his views on issues that might come before him if he were appointed to the Crt. Well, it turns out that Alito and Specter are wrong. Who says? The Sup Crt. In '02, in the case GOP of MN vs. White, 536 US 765, it was declared that it is not only proper for a judicial candidate to express his views on disputed legal issues, but the 1st Amend guarantees him the right to do so. In an opinion written by Scalia, and joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy & Thomas, the Crt concluded that a MN canon of judicial conduct which prohibited a candidate for judicial office from announcing his position on abortion rights and other controversial issues violated his right to freedom of speech under the 1st Amend." Who knew? Well... we won't know, b/c nobody is making Alito talk.
Besides the fact that this a WAR CRIME it has to be the most stupid plan on earth for winning over the Iraqis... 1 kidnapped mother at a time. Editor & Publisher: "The US Army has at least twice seized and jailed the wives of suspected insurgents in hopes of "leveraging" their husbands into surrender, US military documents show. In 1 case, a secretive task force locked up the young mother of a nursing baby, a US intelligence officer reported. In the case of a 2nd detainee, one US colonel suggested to another that they catch her husband by tacking a note to the family's door telling him "to come get his wife." Get this... they even took away a mother who was breastfeeding her 6 month old baby and kept her away from her 3 young children for 2 days. I breastfed my daughter, and if I didn't feed her or pump that milk out like clockwork, besides being incredible painful, I then had milk pouring out of me. Can you imagine how embarrassing that was for that mother, and how awful it was to know that her baby had NOTHING to EAT for 2 WHOLE DAYS?? You can't just start feeding a breastfed baby formula. WTF did that poor baby eat? As the mother of a young child, I would DO ANYTHING... ANYTHING to protect my child, so when these mothers fought being taken against their will, this is what the email of a command staff officer says: "These ladies fought back extremely hard during the original detention. They have shown indications of deceit and misinformation." Well no shit Sherlock. You ripped them away from their children and their homes. You're lucky you didn't enter my home. You would have left w/a hole in you that a 9mm would have put there b/c no one would tear me away from my kid. No one.
ABC Anchor Bob Woodruff was badly injured by a roadside bomb on Sunday. I'm not being flip or callous about his injuries, but as this diary & graphic pix so aptly points out, a whole lotta other people have been killed and wounded by this war, too. Most of them are not famous. Most of them are not well compensated for their sacrifice. Most will never the real reason this war was illegally waged. And most of them are not American.
This is soooo shocking: "That study found that supporters of President Bush and other conservatives had stronger self-admitted and implicit biases against blacks than liberals did."
How Quickly Would We be Arrested if We Announced We Wanted to Poison a Wingnut Theocratic Supreme Crt Justice?  I know, I know... we all now need bleach for our eyes after seeing her. So, Ann the Emaciated Hag Coulter announced on Thurs: "We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee. That's just a joke, for you in the media." Oh, so that is a joke for those in the media... but it is not a joke for Justice Stevens? How is her comment not a threat? Especially in light of the fact that in 2005, Judge Rowland Barnes was shot and killed and Judge Joan Lefkow's husband and mother were killed in retaliation for a decision she made from the bench. Death threats were also made to Judge George Greer, who was in charge of the Terry Schiavo fiasco, too. It is a crime to threaten a judge... let alone put a call out (as Coulter clearly did in her statement) for a specific method of assassination of a judge. It is one thing to call all Dems members of the "abortion party" (although I would say that it is too bad that her own mother didn't rip her untimely from the womb... but I digress) but in this vomitous attack, she has clearly crossed the line from Neo-Con/BushCo propaganda spewer to criminal, and she has pissed some people off. In fact, here are specific details on who to email if you feel that Coulter's death threats have crossed the line. And please keep in mind that Coulter is a LAWYER.. She should be disbarred for threatening a judge... ANY judge ... on that basis alone. She can't claim she didn't know this: "Federal criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. §115 (a)(1)(B). The law states: "Whoever threatens to assault…. or murder, a United States judge… with intent to retaliate against such… judge…. on account of the performance of official duties, shall be punished [by up to six years in prison]. If Coulter claims she didn't know threatening a judge was a crime-- and keep in mind her own father is a lawyer, too-- then she must be the worst lawyer in the world. She already wins the prize for worst impression of a human female award.
Has someone at the NY Times stopped drinking the GOP Kool-Aid when it comes to the NSA illegal spying? Check out the editorial "Spies, Lies and Wiretaps". Here are the piece's highlighted collection of BushCo's LIES: 1) Sept. 11 could have been prevented. 2) Only bad guys are spied on. 3) The spying is legal. 4) Just trust us. 5) The rules needed to be changed. 6) War changes everything. 7) Other presidents did it.
Whoa. This is just yet another reason to think of JPII as a kinder, gentler & less conservative man than current Pope Benny: Did Pope John Paul II fear that Bush and his fellow Talibornagains are members of a "Christian blood-lust cult"? I for one would wholeheartedly agree that BushCo and his Neo-Convict /Religious Frighters clearly prefer death over life... but when Pope JPII questions it?... that is major.
BuffaloBeast's 50 Most Loathsome People of 05  Check out the 50 Most Loathsome People of 2005. I won't tell ya what number Satan's Lil Helper in the pix here is.
The UPI headline says it all: "Saudis: US paved way for Hamas victory." Well, ya gotta give that claim a whole lotta weight b/c according to BushCo's claims, the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq was supposed to lead to democracies sweeping across the Middle East like wildfire... but the reality is an Iranian-like Shia Muslim findamentalist govt is all powerful in Iraq, and the Taliban has much control over the tribal warlords and dictates how the show is run in Afghanistan... so why should it shock us that a militant fundamentalist group (that provides humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine by the way--75% of which live BELOW the poverty line) would attract the Palestinians? Maybe if the US spent more time providing humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine, we could win over some hearts and minds, huh? But when our own prez refuses to save our own people from abject poverty and starvation, there is zero chance he's gonna do jack about the Arab world's poor. But let's be clear on this... Israel doesn't have clean hands in this Hamas win, either. Sharon's Likud Party did more to give birth to Hamas than anyone could, and some even go as far to call Hamas the Son of Israel.
This info about cloture from Sen Kennedy's staffer Crystal Patterson is encouraging (and check out the "official senate" info on filibusters & cloture here on PDF and here is info on sustaining the filibuster). Despite the fact that the corporate media whores are declaring an all out victory for their beloved despot Il Duce Bush, here is why some fights, despite the odds being monumentally stacked against you, just have to be fought: And for this, I harken my brain back to my History of England class, taught by Prof Biddle & the Battle of Agincourt: "For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day." Open your history books. Read about the Battle of Agincourt. Henry had no idea how it was gonna turn out. Henry had gone against the recommendations of all his advisors. The English had marched 260 miles in 17 days on low rations. The French were better equipped, better fed and greatly outnumbered the English forces. If the battle had been fought 100 times, the French might have won 99 of those times. However, there is only one chance to fight each battle. We Dems have to take our chance and fight this one.... against all odds.
 Pix courtesy of Dimitri of CafeDA in Amsterdam. So, the WH and Bush are furiously scrubbing all evidence of Abramoff & Bush knowing each other and being seen with one another... but Josh at TPM isn't buying what they're selling.
 We gotta try, b/c we stand to lose everything.
On Thurs I called every single Dem senator on my cell phone, urging them TO VOTE NO ON ALITO and to answer John Kerry's call TO FILIBUSTER. It took over 3 hrs to do so, but I felt I had to do it, just as I called every single Ohio office of Senators DeWine & Voinovich last wk, despite them both being GOPers. I will be faxing every single senator-- Dem and Repub alike-- to implore them to vote no on Alito and for the Dems to filibuster. Here are the numbers for every senator's DC phone number and DC fax. This link here also includes a "cover letter" to send to make it very easy if you fax and/or email. Here is my letter... PLEASE do the same. It certainly can't hurt to at least try. I have to look my kid in the eye and tell her I did everything I could... can you? Dear United States Senator: Judge Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court must be rejected. He respects neither our Constitution, nor the Congress, nor the rule of law. He will expand Presidential power beyond what is appropriate or constitutional. He helped forge the strategy of Presidential 'signing statements' as a way of allowing the President to ignore laws he does not like; he will clearly permit Presidential lawbreaking such as the illegal warrentless NSA eavesdropping, through the use of perverse legal arguments and novel sophistry. Such a mind has no place on the Supreme Court. He will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. A glance at past statements makes this clear. He feels an animosity towards women's sovereignty. As the parent of a 3 year old daughter, this is beyond horrifying to me. He has lied under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee (previously, about committing to recuse himself from Vanguard cases; and now, obviously, about the Concerned Alumni of Princeton). Lying to the Senate should alone disqualify him from consideration to any Judgeship. And, not least, he belonged to an organization committed to keeping blacks and women out of Princeton, and bragged about this as recently as 1985. We cannot accept this nominee on the Court. I need not remind you that the Supreme Court is the last court of resort for the individual citizens of our United States. It is the keystone of our national fairness. Judge Alito is actively unfair, as his record shows. He can damage a great many lives. I implore you to reject his nomination to the Supreme Court, even if it involves invoking the filibuster. Senators -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- need to stand up for principle -- and to be SEEN by the whole country as standing up for principle. Our way of life -- whereby ALL citizens are ruled by laws, not by men -- is worth it. Sincerely, Tina A scared Ohio parent, citizen & registered voter
The 14 Points of Fascism  The truth hurts, huh? Hat tip to Helen at Just Ain't Right for rattling my memory on Laurence Britt's original article, "Fascism Anyone?". I have twice posted the buzzflash clip called 14 Characteristics of Fascism (see here) courtesy of BushFlash, but I have never posted the actual Britt article. Laurence Britt compared the regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Suharto, and Pinochet and identified 14 characteristics common to those fascist regimes. This page relates pts of the Bush presidency to each of the 14 pts of fascism. 1.) Powerful & Continuing Nationalism: Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. 2.) Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights: Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. 3.) Identification of Enemies/ Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause: The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. 4.) Supremacy of the Military: Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of govt funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. 5.) Rampant Sexism: The govts of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy. 6.) Controlled Mass Media: Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the govt, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by govt regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. 7.) Obsession w/Natl Security: Fear is used as a motivational tool by the govt over the masses. 8.) Religion & Govt are Intertwined: Govts in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from govt leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the govt's policies or actions. 9.) Corporate Power is Protected: The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the govt leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/govt relationship and power elite. 10.) Labor Power is Suppressed: Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist govt, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed. 11.) Disdain for Intellectuals & the Arts: Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and govts often refuse to fund the arts. 12.) Obsession w/ Crime & Punishment: Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a natl police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations. 13.) Rampant Cronyism & Corruption: Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to govt positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by govt leaders. 14.) Fraudulent Elections: Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
 Hubby and I just revamped our bed w/ a brand new mattress we picked up Weds, and a memory foam topper we got last wk from Overstock... but besides being eager to sleep in my super comfy bed... I am too tired and too upset to even care about much tonight. I have a boatload of Dem Senators to contact Thurs so I can inform them that they had better filibuster Alito or they can kiss my hard earned donations goodbye (See numbers here). Hubby and I will have to save up our money so we can establish an "abortion fund" for our 3 yr old daughter in case she ever has the misfortune of becoming a victim of rape. We all know that Alito will overturn Roe, and all of the Christo-fascists will bumrush the laws to eliminate abortion in all cases. So, if we ever have to send her to another country to obtain a safe and legal abortion, we had better start saving up, huh? Plus, that fascist asshole Sec of State Blackwell who is running for Gov of OH has already embraced HR Bill 228, a plan to make it illegal for females to cross the OH state line to obtain an abortion in another state. I guess all females will have to piss on a pregnancy test stick at the side of the road in front of a state trooper in order for this plan to be enforced, but could anything be beyond these fascists anymore? Night all.
 This exactly how I feel about America. Here's why: This media blitz is that Asshat Alito -the he-man woman hater- will be breezily confirmed, rumors of soon-to-be "secret police" arresting American citizens when no crimes are committed, millions of dollars are missing from the Iraq Fund, the Army is near the breaking pt, and Abu Ghraib Gonzales joins the WH campaign blitz to weakly justify the illegal NSA spying to Georgetown Law students. I will say that the only ray of sunshine in that Gonzales bit was that many of the students did protest openly while he spoke (you can see the students protest here) but it still is not enough. I'm gonna go do what I always do when I feel such utter despair: Go sit in the rocking chair in our kiddo's bedroom, quietly cry, watch her peacefully sleep, and be horrified for her future.
Lie #5 million from Bush's lips: "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees," Bush said in a television interview on Sept. 1. "Now we're having to deal with it, and will." Well, then how do these internal dept documents (which were forwarded to the WH) contradict statements by Bush and the homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, and show that no one expected the storm protection system in New Orleans to be breached? Oh, that's right... Bush told Lie #5 million and one (via NYT): "A Homeland Security Dept report submitted to the WH at 1:47 a.m. on Aug. 29, hours before the storm hit, said, "Any storm rated Category 4 or greater will likely lead to severe flooding and/or levee breaching." And what does BushCo say about these shocking documents? They do what any dictatorship would do. They refuse to allow any more documents about Katrina see the light of day in the public eye: "The Bush admin, citing the confidentiality of executive branch communications, said Tues that it did not plan to turn over certain documents about Hurricane Katrina or make sr WH officials available for sworn testimony before 2 Congressional committees investigating the storm response."
Uh-oh... we are so fucked w/o a kiss and there is no hope for a complimentary reach around (via Al Jazeera): "Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is expected to sign a series of agreements on energy cooperation and trade during meetings in Beijing as he continues his state visit to China... Abdullah's visit to China is the first ever by a Saudi king. Some observers believe that the Chinese need for new oil supplies could lead to a stand-off with the US over access to Middle Eastern oil. After his talks in Beijing, Abdullah will move on to India, which like China is seeking to secure access to oil supplies to fuel its own economic expansion." How nice... China has bought up all of our deficit debt to float Bush's war and tax cuts, and now the Saudis are cutting oil deals w/China and India... the 2 countries where all of our US jobs are being outsourced to. Hey! I wonder if Cindy Sheehan can put in a good word for us to Chavez and oil-rich Venezuela while she's attending the World Social Forum?
What a shock... NBC cancelled the show after only being the air for 3 wks. And of course, the Focus on the Religious Fright's Family, the Amer Manson Family Assoc and their freaky violence lovin' ilk are claiming a complete victory. What's next? All shows w/ couples will have to show twin beds in the master bedroom? I am so sick and tired of being told what to think, like, want and believe. At least in true dictatorships, the people aren't bamboozled into being told they live in a democracy. Funny, but I don't recall ever reading this commandment: Thou shalt not be entertained by real life characters... especially those homos.
Americablog: "Oh no! Who could believe that DeLay might have been tied up with disgraced Congressman Duke Cunningham and even more funny money? It's nice to see GOP Majority Leader candidate Blunt in the mix as well. Keeping the spirit of DeLay alive for the team. What a guy. Subpoenas were issued last wk to Adams and Max Gelwix, PerfectWave's pres and CEO. The subpoenas sought records of any communications between DeLay, Cunningham, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri and Wilkes over fedrl legislation that may have benefited Adams and his businesses." This is truly shocking. What's next? We'll find out DeLay isn't a REAL honest to goodness Christian, either?
Honestly, is there any good that can possibily come from the utter destruction of Iraq's nation?: "The US occupation and political meddling has left Iraq in a chaotic deadlock, a leading analyst says. Haroun Muhamad, an Iraqi political analyst, says inept and inexperienced leaders have locked Iraq into a political crisis. "The US occupation has created an incurable situation in Iraq, by letting unqualified and sectarian politicians rise to power. With the current amount of unqualified statesmen in Iraq, it is very difficult even for the US to rectify the situation and bring to the limelight some responsible officials." Now I am truly shocked: "... it is very difficult even for the US to rectify the situation..." That. Is. Sooo. Unexpected.
Imagine all this: Bush can illegally wiretap us, but when turn about is fair play, the lying ratprick weasel cries foul (via Register UK): "US prez George Bush has admitted he does not send personal emails to daughters Jenna and Barbara for fear that his "personal stuff" might end up in the public domain. Bush says it's a personal privacy issue: "I don't want you reading my personal stuff," he admitted, adding: "There has got to be a certain sense of privacy. You know, you're entitled to how I make decisions. And you're entitled to ask questions, which I answer (notably w/nothing but LIES). I don't think you're entitled to be able to read my mail between my daughters and me." Well, well, well... I guess the King is the only one who gets to enjoy any privacy though, huh?
Gen Hayden: Bush can Whip it Out, Piss on 4th Amendment, and Ask All of US to Shake It for Him  ... Or he can just simply set the Constitution on fire if the King so desires. Constitution? We don't need no stinking Constitution. Dear God... end my incessant misery please... Or smite all of BushCo a.s.a.p.
Jesus H. Christ tap dancing... did they get to you, too Arlen? How? Did they threaten to w/hold your cancer drugs? Didja wake up to a decapitated horse head on your pillow? WTF? Specter on CNN's Situation Room: "There's no doubt that the president acted in good faith. He may be wrong, but he's not subject to impeachment." Ahem... he broke the law, senator. "But I don't think that there's any call here for a special prosecutor. There's -- there's no showing of mens rea, or criminal intent, or bad faith on the part of the president." Spying on US citizens w/o a warrant? Again... he BROKE the fucking law senator. "We just had a special prosecutor, a very high-profile one in Fitzgerald. And we ended up a NY Times reporter in jail for 85 days. And we still don't know what that investigation was all about." You don't what that was about? It was about someone inside our White House outing the name of an undercover CIA agent. Ya know, Arlen... the very agency that is supposed to gather intelligence and protect us from more 9/11's from happening. Ya know... the very thing the Prez claims he is trying to do only he has to mysteriously break the fucking law while doing it. "I would be very leery about looking for any special prosecutor. But look here, Wolf. We have congressional oversight. I'm chairman of the Judiciary Committee. And we are going to have a hearing. And that's the constitutional way to go about it, without getting involved in special prosecutors, who haven't worked very well in recent times." Haven't worked out very well for whom, Arlen? Karl Rove? Scooter Libby perhaps? And that is just sooo reassuring. You have already said that the Prez breaking the law is not an impeachable crime, so we should trust you to chair this committee investigation WHY EXACTLY? Talk about the fox watching the henhouse... that is what I am fucking leery of.
An op/ed about the historical "Democracy in America" in the NYTimes: "Alexis de Tocqueville warned that the greatest threat the US faces is the tyranny of the majority, a phrase he is credited with coining. Even a thriving democracy like America borders on tyranny. It is a subject that is particularly relevant today, w/ the president claiming he can wiretap ordinary Americans w/o a warrant, insisting on his right to imprison w/o trial anyone he labels an "enemy combatant," and warning critics of the Iraq war against "emboldening" the enemy. It was a very different America that Tocqueville was writing about in the Jacksonian Age, but the concerns he raised still resonate strongly. He worried that the state's power would end up concentrated in a single authority, until its citizens were "reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the govt is the shepherd." He feared the majority would trample on minorities, and he was concerned about tyranny of opinion, saying he knew of no country with "less independence of mind and true freedom of discussion" than the US. Tocqueville pointed to some bulwarks against tyranny. He was a firm supporter of checks and balances. He believed in the power of US law to limit the excesses of the ruler - the exact issue in today's debate over the warrantless wiretapping of US citizens. He had great hopes for the judiciary. "The courts correct the aberrations of democracy," he wrote, and "though they can never stop the movements of the majority, they do succeed in checking and directing them." Oh Tocqueville... that is precisely why we must say no to Alito. He is Bush's yes-man, and there will be no correcting of the aberrations if he is sitting on the Sup Crt.
I weep for our neighbors in the Great North... but maybe their conservatives aren't or won't be as batshit crazy and rabid as our's, huh? 155 seats are needed for majority, and here's the results: Conservatives -124 seats (36.3%) Liberals -103 seats (30.1%) Bloc -51 Seats (10.5%) NDP -29 seats (17.5%)Others - 1 seat (5.6%) Total: 308 (of 308). The whole optimistic part of my brain sums it up like this: The Conservatives have 36% of the vote which means the other 64% DID NOT vote for them. But still... Stephen Harper looks like a weasel with an agenda. And to Paul Martin I say: You should've put that corruption in check immediately if not sooner, and this might never have even happened. Did you learn nothing from watching our Dems in the 90's when they allowed corruption to boil over and lose their majority?
Wash Post ombudsman Deb Howell's tender lil ears couldn't handle bloggers telling her how incorrect she was when she falsely wrote that Jack Abramoff gave money to Dems as well as Repukes, and the WaPo had to shut down the blog. Well, it would appear that she isn't as pure as the driven snow b/c Atrios has the goods on lying Deb... it seems that she can hold her own w/a sailor on shore leave when it comes to cursing.
The findings of a new US study, published in the Proceedings of the Natl Academy of Sciences, solidifes what biologists have long known -- that males are the weaker sex. The study adds to earlier findings that pregnant women are more likely to miscarry male fetuses than females fetuses during times of stress, and that compared to men, women are biological fortresses. This makes perfect sense to me. And I say that in a completely non-sexist manner. Females have to be stronger b/c our fertility is determined by resistance to health catastrophes. We have to be strong enough to conceive, carry to term and then labor a child out of our bodies... and that... I say to you as a woman who endured 28hrs of induced labor... is no easy feat, my male readers. And you would be well advised to remember that on Mother's Day.
Roe vs Wade Reaches 33 Yrs as Settled Law  As Roe vs Wade reaches 33 yrs as settled law, we should do everything in our power to prevent all unwanted pregnancies from ever happening. Prevent a child from ever entering the equation, and everyone benefits... but keep the choice legal and safe, and make sure it is rarely needed to be chosen. And if the GOP is so Pro-Life, why did Tom DeLay kill this bill to stop forced abortions in Saipan during the Clinton admin?
Oh yeah... beyond any shadow of a doubt, we are so fucked in Iraq (via NYT): "Muqtada al-Sadr, the Iraqi cleric who once led 2 uprisings against US forces said said his Mahdi Army was formed to defend Islam: ''If neighboring Islamic countries, including Iran, become the target of attacks, we will support them. The Mahdi Army is beyond the Iraqi army. It was established to defend Islam.''
If these 2 things do not make you realize that the Republican party is a pus-oozing bag of criminals and hypocrites, then I don't know what will: Troops and civilians at a US military base in Iraq were exposed to contaminated water last yr and employees for the responsible contractor, Halliburton, couldn't get their company to inform camp residents, according to interviews and internal company documents. The level of contamination was roughly 2x the normal contamination of untreated water from the Euphrates River." Well, why the hell shouldn't Halliburton knowingly serve contaminated water to our troops in Iraq? The EPA has tested pesticides on poor children against their will, so why should soldiers fighting in a war have any protections and rights, either? But isn't it strange that the military had no problems providing our troops w/contaminate free H2O before Halliburton took that responsibility over? Oh that's right... the military doesn't have a profit margin for providing water to our troops.
Well, I'm sure this will be spun as just another example of the MYTHICAL liberal media crap... and no... this op/ed doesn't make up for the Judith Miller war whoring for BushCo.
Maybe I have been reading the wrong Bible all of these yrs, b/c I simply am unable to find the part where Jesus says we need to hate thy neighbors... especially the gay ones. Wow. I wonder if ABC would be able to get away w/this kind of blatant discrimination if the neighbors were minorities? I guess the show would then have to be called Welcome to the Neighborhood Whitey.
Hell has frozen over... I agree w/ CNN's Jack Cafferty: "This latest audiotape is the 1st time we've heard from Osama bin Laden since right before the 04 presidential election. In light of last wk's airstrikes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border that may have killed several high-ranking members of al Qaeda, it comes as no surprise that they would want to get the word out to the faithful that the bearded creep is alive and still running the show. It's good for morale, you know. The Dept of Homeland Security says there are no plans to raise the nation's threat level, but the thought of this mutant hanging out in a cave somewhere and sending taped threats to the Amer people makes me angry. Why wasn't this guy taken care of before we went wandering off into Iraq? Here's the question. How important is the new Osama bin Laden tape?"
Michael Moore: Hardballs Matthews in the Face  In response to Chris Matthews' vomitous attack on Michael Moore and all people who oppose this questionable war in Iraq, Moore has righteously hardballed Matthews-- right upside his giant vacuous yellow head. See all of the bitchslapping pix here.
Watch cartoonist Mark Fiore's latest buzz clip called "Greater Georgelandia", and then read singer Harry Belafonte's latest bitchslap to Bush, and tell me if the 2 were not separated at birth? I love them both and "Power to the Peephole" indeed!
WashPost: "The Bush admin is spending foreign aid money to increase the popularity of the Palestinian Authority on the eve of crucial elections in which the governing party faces a serious challenge from the radical Islamic group Hamas. The $2 million program is being led by a division of the US Agency for Internatl Development. US and Palestinian officials say they fear the election, scheduled for Weds, will result in a large Hamas presence in the 132-seat legislature. Hamas, formally known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, is at war with Israel and is classified by the US govt as a terrorist org." Wow... could it be that the US is afraid that the radical Muslim rightwingers will win big?... just as THEY DID IN IRAQ? But wouldn't it be truly refreshing... and dare I say it?... truly "Christian" of the Bush admin to spend money on something like this when it comes to meddling in Palestine's affairs? Oh who the fuck am I kidding? If it doesn't involve maiming, chemically poisoning, or putting a bullet into some Middle Easterner's body, BushCo could care less.
Eugene Jarecki has a new documentary film coming out called "Why We Fight" and Jon Stewart interviewed him on TDS. Please watch the interview here, courtesy of Al Rodgers, and ask yourself: If Halliburton, Lockheed Martin and Boeing started losing money on this war in Iraq, how quickly do ya think we'd leave Iraq?
Please read Robert Parry's piece on why we absolutely must filibuster Alito, called "Alito Filibuster: It Only Takes One" courtesy of Consortium News: "Alito's theory of the "unitary executive" holds that Bush can cite his unlimited powers as Commander in Chief to ignore laws he doesn't like, spy on citizens w/o warrants, imprison citizens w/o charges, authorize torture, order assassinations, and invade other countries at his own discretion."
CapitolWeekly: An org calling itself the "Bruin Alumni Association" has published an online list of UCLA professors it deems "radical." The Assoc also posted an online offer to pay students for evidence proving that instructors have been espousing left-wing views in class. The Web site, www.uclaprofs.com, lists 31 current and former professors in disciplines such as Afro-Amer & Chicano studies, education, history and political science. There is also a ratings system in which faculty are rated from 1 to 5 "black power" fists to indicate how radical they are. The Assoc lists an advisory board of UCLA alumni that includes Senator and current Congressional candidate Bill Morrow, R-San Diego, former Rep Jim Rogan, and former Cali GOP head Shawn Steel. The group's founder is Andrew Jones, a 2003 UCLA graduate who has worked as a research assistant to David Horowitz, the right-wing commentator criticizing universities for being too liberal. Well, given that several of the newly "caught" Assoc members have resigned, Horowitz (on his own blog) can't distance himself quick enough & far enough away from Jones... cannibalism... always a Republican trait we can count on.
Finus Shelnut:It is b/c of Freaks like Him that Nagin Wants NOLA to be Chocolate Again  I have openly defended Nagin's statement, saying that it was reassuring to those of us who truly love New Orleans as the city she was. We fear it will become a scary-ass White Wonderland since the exodus of 1000s upon 1000s of minorities. After reading this racist freak's words... I am even more committed to defending what Mayor Nagin said. SanFranGate: "Katrina is the best thing to ever happen to this city," said 53 yr old Finis Shelnutt, who owns a French Quarter restaurant and now spends his day sitting alone at a table outside hoping to sell a cold beer or soda to journalists or rescue workers passing by. Telling of the deep-rooted divide that exists between black and white and rich and poor in this Southern city, Shelnutt said the storm created an opportunity to clean up N.O., which is filled w/ "slums and too many bad areas." He hopes the city builds a golf course or 2 where the poor neighborhoods, home to mostly black people, are still underwater. "Change is good," Shelnutt said, denying it was a race issue. "They will find there is a better world elsewhere, like in Houston or Atlanta." Who exactly is this asshat? Well, he is none other than Gennifer Flowers' husband. Yep. That's right... 'ole Shelnut is double dipping Bill Clinton's hoochy mama. Shelnut also just happens to be 1 of the primary sources that cried wolf to the media that looters were terrorizing the city like a band of zombies and were eating the brains... oops... shooting at cops (and... Bill O'Leilly felt so bad for the poor white guy that Bill lovingly let Shelnut spew his spin on Bill's show). Shelnutt also seems to be... shockingly!... a big Bush fan and has 3 high rollin' FL investors just foaming at the mouth to invest in NOLA. Hmm... friends of Jeb, perhaps? Capt Heartless Racist from LA loves Capt Clueless Racist from TX... shocking!
Well, well, well... however will the freepers spin this when Reagan's own Paul Craig Roberts says this: "The pre-election statement by Diebold's CEO that he would work to deliver the election to Bush was apparently no idle boast. In 5 states where the new "foolproof" electronic voting machines were used, the vote tallies differed substantially from the exit polls. Such a disparity is unusual. The chances of exit polls in 5 states being wrong are no more than 1 in a million... The outcome of the 04 election has always struck me as strange... It seems contrary to American common sense for voters to have re-elected a president who had failed in such a dramatic way." Yeh? Well that sure as hell makes 2 of us who know that something was seriously stolen on that fateful Nov day in '04.
Osama bin Forgotten Surfaces Just in Time to Scare Away Bush's Ample Scandals  I guess if we Americans really want Osama bin Laden captured, we're gonna have to send in Stewie Griffin. VP Chief of Staff Scooter Libby indicted for leaking the name of a CIA operative, Rove still under investigation, WH Procurement Manager David Safavian arrested and led away in hand cuffs, Duke Cunningham pleads guilty to being bribed & wore a wire to implicate others, Bush vacations while FEMA lets Katrina victims die, Tom Delay is under indictment in TX and under investigation in the Abramoff scandal, Bob Ney next likely to fall in Abramoff scandal, Mounting pressure to reveal Bush connections to Abramoff, New Medicare plan is a major disaster, Majority of Americans view Iraq War as folly and want troops home, Revelation that troop body armor is tied to no-bid contract w/another Bush contributor, NSA Domestic spying comes to light, Poll numbers showing majority support for Impeachment... oh yeah... this brand spanking new Osama bin Laden audiotape is soooo shockingly convenient, eh? It also was released coincidentally on the very same day that The Big Dick Cheney was in NYC to spew his War on Terror tactics, demanding support for the Patriot Act, and defending domestic wiretaps. Shocking, no? And why exactly HASN'T this new spooky tape caused our terror alerts to rise? Oh that's right... BushCo put OBL back in his vault and won't pull him out until they deem it necessary again. Or do ya think that maybe someone in the Bin Laden family decided it was time to help out ol' Georgie and called in a favor from OBL? The Bush family has looong standing ties to the bin Laden family, Dubya's business partner was Osama's bro Salem, ya know. And what better way to try to influence the debate over illegal NSA spying than to trot out Boogeyman #1? Not to mention the fact how amazingly quick they can ascertain the authenticity of the tape and how quickly they can translate it. It's magical!
Oh no! Whatever will all of the War Fans, Neo-Convicts, and Religious Frighters say about Bush being America's great big strong protector if Osama's tape is accurate and the US does get attacked again? Hmm... seems to me that Bush is a giant failure, huh? Let's take another look at what Bush has said about bin Laden, shall we? 1.) "The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."- 9/13/01 2.) "I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'"- 9/17/01 3.) "Secondly, he is not escaping us. This is a guy, who, 3 months ago, was in control of a county [sic]. Now he's maybe in control of a cave. He's on the run." 4.) "I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."- 3/13/02 5.) "I am truly not that concerned about him."- G.W. Bush, repsonding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts (The New American, 4/8/02) If this current threat is for real (b/c OBL has issued the exact same threats before & we weren't attacked), this time it will bite him in the ass. Remember, the WH has been too busy in Iraq to worry about Osama. If this is real, Bush is screwed!
You would think that Bill Frist would have better things to do than prohibit senators from speaking about Sammy Alito on the Senate floor since Frist and Tom DeLay have this nasty lil day trader/ insider trading scandal hanging over their heads... linking K Street and Wall Street even closer. Think they'll learn to knit those snazzy ponchos like Martha Stewart did while in the big house?
Oh what I wouldn't give to kick the holier than thou ass of Ohio's Sec of State "J is for Judas" Kenneth Blackwell... especially when he gathers up his psycho Talibornagains so they can call people who dare to want to protect the Constitutional right of separation of Church & State "secular jihadists" and NAZIS while showing pictures of Hitler rounding up Jews on a backdrop screen. No wonder Iraq vet and Dem Senatorial candidate Paul Hackett said this about Ohio's GOP Religious Frighters: "The Republican Party has been hijacked by the religious fanatics that, in my opinion, aren't a whole lot different than Osama bin Laden and a lot of the other religious nuts around the world."
As if enough people haven't died already on Sept 11th, now we have this from the AssocPress: "James Zadroga spent 16 hrs a day toiling in the World Trade Center ruins for a month, breathing in debris-choked air. Timothy Keller said he coughed up bits of gravel from his lungs after the towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001. Felix Hernandez spent days at the site helping to search for victims. All 3 men died in the past 7 months of what their families and colleagues say were persistent respiratory illnesses directly caused by their work at ground zero. Keller coughed up debris so violently he could barely breathe on Sept.11, and later developed emphysema. He died on June 23 of heart disease complicated by bronchitis and emphysema at age 41. Hernandez was diagnosed w/ various respiratory diseases and was told by doctors at 1 pt that he may have cystic fibrosis. He left the job in '04 when he became too weak to climb stairs, and died Oct 23 of respiratory ailments at age 31. Zadroga had contracted black lung disease and had high levels of mercury in his brain, dying on Jan 5 at age 34. Some NYC officials and the Dept of Health, which is tracking the health of 71,000 people exposed to Sept 11 dust and debris, said last wk that it is too soon to say whether any deaths or illnesses among its enrolled members are linked to trade center exposure." Oh yeh, this all just a coincidence and I bet that the GOP tort reform has wiped away any hope for the families of the dead collecting anything. It's so nice to see that in addition to the 1000s who already died that day that we now have how many others who are the walking dead?
WH Refuses to Admit to Bush/Abramoff Meetings  Abramoff-Connections courtesy of Skimble Blog. KnightRidder: For the 2nd straight day, the WH refused Weds to say who among its staffers met with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff or whom the recently convicted felon was representing when he visited the executive mansion (so why is the Dept of Justice investigating?) Scotty the Lying Doughboy, pressed to explain Abramoff's contacts w/ the Bush admin, said, "We're not going to engage in a fishing expedition" in the media, and "I know there's some that want to do that, but I don't see any reason to do so. Well, I think that some people (are) insinuating things based on no evidence whatsoever." Really Scotty? What about this hardcore evidence that clearly shows that Jack Abramoff and Grover Norquist billed clients for face time w/ Bush 4 months after taking office? And when toe-sucker extraordinaire and GOP turned out whore Dick "I'll say anything 'cause I hate Hillary" Morris says that the Abramoff scandal will have Repubs bleeding in the streets, ya know it has to be true.
How convenient! A lil bit of "wagging the dog" to take the heat off the multiple BushCo's crimes, hmm? NYDailyNews: "A special prosecutor's long-delayed report (I'll say! 11 loong yrs delayed!) charges that a coverup at sr levels of the Clinton admin killed a tax fraud case against ex-cabinet member Henry Cisneros, who admitted in '99 that he had made secret payments to a mistress before serving as Clinton's secretary of Housing & Urban Development. David Barrett's 11yr, $23 million probe, which will be released today, states in stinging terms that this Clinton coverup succeeded. Barrett investigated tax fraud charges stemming from those under-the-table payments to the mistress." Dems have played corruption games (although no where near as far reaching as the corruption games today's GOP currently is playing) and the Dems paid dearly by getting ousted from the majority in the Congress in '94 BUT let's compare the Clinton presidency to the Bush presidency, shall we? Please click here. So, this "scandal" pops outta thin air 5 YRS after Clinton leaves the Oval Office?? 1.) If the GOP can smear Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, will the Dems get to challenge the independence of Barrett's prosecutorial zeal and political timing? 2.) It took 11 yrs and $23 million on an investigation that will only fetch a guilty plea to a misdemeanor? I want my hard-earned money back! 3.) If Fitz keeps his investigation open for 11 yrs, will he be able to arrest and jail Bush soon after 2008 for the 100,000+ Iraqi deaths he ordered & the 2,000+ dead US soldiers he is responsible for per his WMD lies, not to mention the illegal NSA spying, and the mammoth Abramoff-complicit RNC money-launderering crimes? Just asking...
I wonder how many secretly spanking it to porn Talibornagains are gonna be shittin kittens over this one: "The Bush admin on Weds asked a fedrl judge to order Google to turn over a broad range of material from its closely guarded databases. The move is part of a govt effort to revive an Internet child protection law struck down 2 yrs ago by the Sup Crt. The law was meant to punish online pornography sites that make their content accessible to minors. The govt contends it needs the Google data to determine how often pornography shows up in online searches."
Uh-oh... how ever will they cry partisan politics now? BostonGlobe: "6 former heads of the Environmental Protection Agency (5Republicans & 1 Democrat) accused the Bush admin of neglecting global warming and other environmental problems. Here's some GOP quotes: "I don't think there's a commitment in this administration." & "We need leadership, and I don't think we're getting it. To sit back and just push it away and say we'll deal with it sometime down the road is dishonest to the people and self-destructive." Ouch! That bitchslap is gonna leave a mark in the morning.
Please read the letter to the editor for Jan 18/05 in Stars & Stripes called "Holding Public Officials Accountable" by Michele Winter in Wurzburg, Germany. Winter righteously nails Bush to the cross. I wonder if she visited GOPDirtyTricks. Blogspot before writing this LTE?
Liar-liar, Christian pants on fire (via TalkingPts Memo): "November Santorum: "The K Street project is purely to make sure we have qualified applicants for positions that are in town. From my perspective, it's a good govt thing." January Santorum: "Well, I don't know what you mean by Senate liaison to the, quote, 'K Street Project.' I'm not aware of any Senate liaison job that I do for the K Street Project." Oh... I guess lies from a modern-day-Pharisee fetus fondler are A-okay, huh?
1.) I agree wholeheartedly w/Hillary that things are run like a plantation under BushCo... in fact, holier than thou GOP serial wife divorcer Newt Gingrich thought that the Dems ran things like a plantation and even said so, as did a whole lotta other GOPers. 2.) I am THRILLED to the umpteenth degree that Mayor Nagin said openly that NOLA will once again be a "chocolate city". Nagin said what people who truly love New Orleans fear most since the exodus of the minority population due to the Katrina debacle: New Orleans will become a scary-ass White Wonderland. Thanks Nagin for reassuring me that NOLA will be the city that she once was, b/c if NOLA is whitened up... it will NOT be NOLA.
Bush Sued Over NSA Spying & Your FOIA May be Denied if You Wonder if You've been Spied On  Yes, Bush is watching us, but what are the chances we'll find out? Pix courtesy of Bronte 17. CNN: Bush has been slapped w/a lawsuit by 2 separate groups over his illegal warrantless wiretapping & spying. The ACLU filed suit in the E. District of MI on behalf of several journalists, authors, scholars and organizations. Separately, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed suit in the S. District of NY on behalf of "clients who fit the criteria described by the Att Gen for targeting" under the program. ACLU Exec Dir Anthony Romero said: "Bush may believe he can authorize spying on Americans w/o judicial or congressional approval, but this program is illegal, and we intend to put a stop to it. Surveillance of Americans is a chilling assertion of presidential power that has not been seen since the days of Richard Nixon." Nixonesque indeed... but what if you filled out an FOIA in order to see if you've spied on? Well, according to this worried citizen, their FOIA request was flat out refused: "B/c of the highly classified nature of the program, we can neither confirm or deny the existence of records responsive to your request. The fact of the existence or the non-existence of responsive records is a currently and properly classified matter in accordance with Exec Order 12958, as amended." Scared yet? If not, you are clearly not paying attention.
NYTimes: "A high-level intelligence assessment by the Bush admin concluded in early 2002 that the sale of uranium from Niger to Iraq was "unlikely" because of a host of economic, diplomatic and logistical obstacles, according to a secret memo that was recently declassified by the State Dept. Among other problems that made such a sale improbable, the assessment by the State Dept's intelligence analysts concluded, was that it would have required Niger to send "25 hard-to-conceal 10-ton tractor-trailers" filled with uranium across 1,000 miles and at least one internatl border. Despite the analysts' doubts which were registered nearly a yr before Bush, gave what became known as the infamous "16 words" in his 2003 State of the Union address, claiming that Saddam had sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Oops... guess this just adds to the looong list of facts that prove that all of BushCo's pre-war claims were completely fabricated and just more Neo-Convict fantasies.
RAWStory: The WH said that Gore exhibited "hypocrisy" in calling for a Special Prosecutor b/c they falsely claimed that the Clinton admin had wiretapped some Americans. Gore responded: "There are 2 problems w/ the Att Gen's effort to focus attention on the past instead of the present Admin's behavior. 1st, as others have thoroughly documented, his charges are factually wrong. Both before and after the FISA was amended in '95, the Clinton/Gore Admin complied fully and completely w/ the terms of the law. 2nd, the Att Gen's attempt to cite a previous admin's activity as precedent for theirs -even though factually wrong- ironically demonstrates another reason why we must be so vigilant about their brazen disregard for the law. If unchecked, their behavior would serve as a precedent to encourage future presidents to claim these same powers, which many legal experts in both parties believe are clearly illegal. The issue, simply put, is that for more than 4 yrs, the exec branch has been wiretapping many 1000s of US citizens w/o warrants in direct contradiction of Amer law. It is clearly wrong and disrespectful to the Amer people to allow a close political associate of the pres to be in charge of reviewing serious charges against him." For the love of God Gore, please run in '08. We need an intelligent and articulate candidate w/a set of brass ones.
Ouch! Having the SCOTUS slap down your so-called Culture of Life crapola when it comes to Big Brother Fedrl Govt stepping on the toes of Lil Brother State rights on assisited suicide had to hurt... but I'm sure if Bush gets fellow good old boy Sammy Alito on the Court, he'll stand a better chance of getting that ultra wingnut agenda achieved. Speaking of uber-wingnuts, what about Chf Justice Roberts and his true feelings on state rights vs the feds? According to Roberts: 1.) States can legislate bans on terminally ill patients' rights to end their lives b/c of state's rights to legislate on this issue... BUT... 2.) States can't legislate allowing certain terminally ill patients ask their doctors for medication to end their lives b/c states do not have rights to legislate medical practices. Translation = State rights to legislate only stand if the state legislatures are Right-wing.
OK, my pt is not to get into any kind of argument about the death penalty (I have made my feelings clear in several previous posts) but please, someone... anyone... explain this to me b/c I am beyond confused (via CNN): "Having suffered a heart attack back in Sept, Cali deathrow inmate and Choctaw Indian Clarence Ray Allen had asked prison authorities to let him die if he went into cardiac arrest before his execution, a request prison officials said they would not honor. "At no point are we not going to value the sanctity of life," said prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon. "We would resuscitate him, then execute him." WTF?? Oh that's right... this the wisdom of the Culture of Life talking.
George Clooney Bitchslaps Jack Abramoff  Notice: Democrats like the oh-so-dreamy George Clooney love and hug puppies... unlike Republicans... who eat live puppies. Monday night at the Golden Globe Awards, Clooney won Best Supporting Actor for Syriana. When he accepted the award, he asked rhetorically, "Who would name their kid, 'Jack' when 'off' ends his last name?" Then he thanked Jack Abramoff: "Why? Just because. I'm the first one up here, I thought I'd get things rolling." Oh George, you are the only George I trust and like now-a-days, and you're one of the only guys who could make me rethink my oh-so-serious wedding vows... hell, even Hubby admits that if he were a chick, he'd do Clooney.
Al Gore bitchslapped BushCo hard Monday and delivered a 1-2 punch by tying together the Bush NSA illegal spying w/the spying that Martin Luther King Jr. had to endure. Oh Al... I mean President Gore... since you did actually win the 2000 election... I so love you and I proudly voted for you in 2000 and I would proudly vote for you again if you run for prez in 08 (which I sure as hell hope you do). Read Gore's speech here.
NYTimes: In the anxious months 9/11, the NSA began sending a steady stream of phone numbers, e-mail addresses and names to the FBI in search of terrorists. The stream soon became a flood, requiring 100s of agents to check out 1000s of tips a month. But virtually all of them led to dead ends or innocent Americans, and the torrent of tips led them to few potential terrorists inside the country they did not know of from other sources and diverted agents from counterterrorism work they viewed as more productive. And as the bureau was running down those leads, its director, Robert Mueller III, raised concerns about the legal rationale for the eavesdropping program, which did not seek court warrants. Mueller asked sr administration officials about "whether the program had a proper legal foundation," but ultimately deferred to Justice Dept legal opinions." So, the illegal NSA spying took up valuable FBI time that could have been spent ACTUALLY protecting us, and the FBI Director (appointed by Bush) says that he thought Bush was acting as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the USA just so he could get to BREAK THE FUCKING LAW... thanks for nothing asshats.
In case some asshat tries to tell ya otherwise, please check out this site which allows you to see campaign contributions made since 1978, as documented by the Federal Election Commission. It allows you see the dollar amount, what campaign it was given to, and when it was given. And when you check out Abramoff's contributions, please make note that not 1 SINGLE DIME was given to Democrats... again... NOT 1 SINGLE DIME.
Despite the knowledge that a whole lotta fatalities could have been avoided if only our troops had proper body armor, an order from the Pentagon is now forbidding our troops from personally buying their own body armor. If they refuse to follow that order and buy their own body armor, and get killed, their beneficiaries might not receive the death benefits from their $400,000 SGLI life insurance policies. Maybe it is odious crap like this that is leading our troops to take a good look around them and question WTF is going on and who TF really cares about them. Just check out these 2 letters to the editor for Jan 15/06 in Stars & Stripes: 1.) A 'robot' soldier? by Air Force Maj. Klaus-D. Paul (retired) in Kaiserslautern, Germany and 2.) Not to be taken lightly by Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Reynolds in Camp Patriot, Kuwait.
WOW... freshman Virginia Del. David Englin (D-45), slams the VA marriage amendment that effectively stops any and all recognition of any type of gay "unions" by asking the question that I as a hetero married wife and mother have asked many times: "I would like to know, how exactly do civil unions and domestic partnerships and other similar arrangements threaten my marriage?" Granted, Englin is a Dem so the chances are much better that he will be open minded, but it takes a set of brass ones to stand up and say that b/c he will be soundly beaten up for this stance and labeled as a "fag-lover". Still, is there a tiny sliver of hope that perhaps hearts and minds can be opened? Maybe... please read what this conservative Christian had to say about Brokeback Mountain after reluctantly seeing the film. It has restored my faith in humanity a wee bit, and now that Brokeback has won big at the Golden Globes (winning Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay & Best Original Song) ya have to wonder what kind of foaming at the mouth aneurysm will the fundies have now, or will they just have to accept that not all of America is as hateful and ignorant as they are.
MLK Jr. April 4, 1967 Speech: "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence"  This is beyond spooky: I swear, you could replace the word Vietnam for Iraq and MLK Jr.'s words ring just as true today as they did in 1967. The Rev King Jr, at the Riverside Chrurch in NYC, outlined the 7 reasons why as a minister focused on civil rights he must now turn his attention to the Vietnam War: "I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. A time comes when silence is betrayal. That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their govt's policy, especially in time of war. Moreover when the issues at hand seem as perplexed, as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on. Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. And we must rejoice as well, for surely this is the first time in our nation's history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history. Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read Vietnam. It can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over. So it is that those of us who are yet determined that America will be are led down the path of protest and dissent, working for the health of our land." Please read the speech in its entirity, and let's never forget the power of MLK Jr.'s words as they still ring so true today... perhaps today more than ever in recent years.
 This animation was passed along to me from my friend Earl in IL via Peace Takes Courage. I just sat and cried while watching it. Please watch this, listen to the words that the Rev King is speaking, and look at the images before you. We must honor the Rev King's words... we must fulfill his many dreams for America, and we must stand up and demand that our troops get out of Iraq now.
Despite the wingnut smear tactics against Congressman Murtha that are clearly taken from the United Chickenhawks of America's playbook (just as they did w/John Kerry, they now claim Murtha didn't earn and/or deserve his military medals) please check out what Murtha had to say at CBSNews: Murtha says in his interview to 60 Mins that mounting pressure from constituents in this election yr will force Congress to pass his withdrawal plan, or something similar to bring troops home. And how does he think he will get that plan through the Congress and impose a withdrawal plan on Bush? "I think the political people who give him advice will say to him, 'You don’t want a Democratic congress. You want to keep the GOP majority. And the only way you’re gonna keep it, is by reducing substantially the troops in Iraq,'” Murtha explains. "That December election in Iraq of course is being trumpeted as being so important to democracy. When I came back from Vietnam in 1967, they had an election. It was supposed to set the stage. It was supposed to legitimize the govt, if you remember. And we lost 38,000 people after that. Now, I don’t say that this has the same intensity and that we’re gonna lose 38,000 people. But I’m just saying there’s a lot more things have to be done if you’re going to have a democratic govt," says Murtha. Please read the entire interview... Murtha is right, Murtha echoes exactly what my Marine friend who just got back from Iraq says, and Murtha knows that we are not going to "win" in Iraq b/c there has never been any actual plans laid out for victory (well, there is this plan to slaughter) and we have committed far too many mistakes to even achieve any semblance of victory now. This is what he says the troops tell him about the Iraqis we have spilled our blood to "liberate": "'In the daytime, they wave at us. At nighttime, they throw hand grenades." I guess the welcome mat has worn thin, eh?... and now 89 yr old Walter Cronkite sees that we are well past our time to exit out of Iraq and speaks up about it.
OpEdNews: "A poll conducted by Zogby Internatl, the highly-regarded non-partisan polling company, interviewed 1,216 US adults from January 9-12. The poll found that 52% agreed with the statement: "If Pres Bush wiretapped American citizens without the approval of a judge, do you agree or disagree that Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment."
Oh yeh, we are soooo winning the hearts and minds of the Muslim world... not to mention putting Pakistan's Pres Musharraf in an even more dangerous position: NYTimes: "Pakistan's govt on condemned a deadly US airstrike on a village in the NW tribal region, and a sr Pakistani security official said he was confident that Ayman al-Zawahiri, the # 2 leader of al Qaeda and the target of the strike, had not been in the village when it was hit. 18 civilians had been killed in the attack, including 6 children. But the sr Pakistani official who spoke of Zawahiri suggested that the death toll was higher, and he said that at least 11 militants had been killed in the attack. 7 of the dead were Arab fighters, and another 4 were Pakistani militants. 1000s of tribesmen, led by a local parliamentarian, protested the killings, chanting anti-US and anti-govt slogans." Good to see we just keep on handing al Qaeda 1000s of new recruits, eh?
Tag... I'm It I've been tagged by Dimitri Alexander at CafeDA... 7 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE: 1.) See the Hagia Sophia in Turkey. 2.) Vacation in Mexico. 3.) Have another child... maybe? 4.) See that lovely city that I so love--New Orleans-- back to the way it was when I left. 5.) See the reproductive rights women currently have in this nation remain legal and accessible. 6.) See all anti-gay legislation, anti-gay hatred & intolerance stopped immediately. 7.) See our beautiful BabyGirl happy, healthy, productive, and free from tyranny. 7 THINGS I CAN'T DO: 1.) Juggle. 2.) Whistle loudly. 3.) Write my name while peeing. 4.) Stop my mother-in-law from hating me for being a Catholic & a Democrat. 5.) Make my in-laws want to speak to, touch, hold, or hug, and/or be a part of their only grandchild's life (i.e. my daughter's life.) 6.) Stop being cynical about Republicans. 7.) Stop being cynical about Religious Frighters. 7 THINGS THAT ATTRACT ME TO BLOGGING: 1.) Having an outlet to rant and vent. 2.) Having an audience to rant and vent to. 3.) Meeting like minded people around the world. 4.) Allows me to do "big people" business since I am with pre-schoolers all day. 5.) Keeps me completely up to date on news and world events. 6.) Having a window into other people's lives that I would otherwise not have. 7.) I get to document all of BushCo's ceaseless mistakes and crimes. 7 THINGS I SAY MOST OFTEN: 1.) Oh c'mon! 2.) You have got to be kidding me. 3.) Oh Jesus, Joseph and Mary! 4.) Damn 5.) Fuck 6.) For the love of God. 7.) I love you 7 BOOKS I LOVED IN 2005: 1.) "The Politics of Jesus" by John Yoder. 2.) "Not in Your Lifetime" by Anthony Summers. 3.) "Year of the Hyenas: A Novel of Murder in Ancient Egypt" by Brad Geagley. 4.) "Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction" by Sue Townsend. 5.) "The Truth (with jokes)" by Al Franken. 6.) "The Secret Magdalene" by Ki Longfellow. 7.) "Jesus and the Lost Goddess : The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians" by Freke & Gandy 7 MOVIES I'VE WATCHED MORE THAN ONCE: 1.) Godfather I, II, & III. 2.) The Big Lebowski. 3.) Some Like It Hot. 4.) Pulp Fiction. 5.) Friday. 6.) Adam's Rib. 7.) The Shining.
Jose Padilla's Written Application to Join al Qaeda  Pix courtesy of SharonJumper. Oh, this is CONVENIENT. This can't be for real. Seriously.... one has to fill out an application in order to join al Qaeda?? Yet, this Miami Herald article claims this: "After the US military invaded Afghanistan to oust its Taliban rulers, authorities found a locker full of applications to join al Qaeda's holy war overseas." What kind of skills are they looking for to enhance al Qaeda? Do you have to be a "people person"... willing to blow up other people? Sharp dresser... in black ski masks and AK-47s? Be willing to relocate... to the realm of the dead? I'm dead serious here... an APPLICATION to join al Qaeda? Do they check references? Where are the interviews held? How does one dress for the interview? Will you be able to take a paid lunch and vacation? Is there a 401K option or does the chance to live out your days blissfully with 72 virgins make up for that?
As if we needed yet another reason to impeach this fucking joke of a President, we have this from Truthout Org: "The NSA's vast data-mining activities began shortly after Bush was sworn in as president and the document contradicts his assertion that the 9/11 attacks prompted him to take the unprecedented step of signing a secret executive order authorizing the NSA to monitor a select number of American citizens thought to have ties to terrorist groups." Imagine all that, will ya?... Il Duce Bush was a dictator before he became an official dictator.
Un-fucking-believable: Alito, pressed on Bush's controversial domestic spying policy, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that a prez has the constitutional authority on "very rare" occasions to violate fedrl law. "The president, like everybody else, is bound by statutes that are enacted by Congress," Alito said. But he said a president could violate a statute "if statutes are unconstitutional because the Constitution takes precedence over a statute." So this would apply to Clinton when he lied about a consensual AND LEGAL extramarital affair, correct? B/c let's face it, Clinton denied having actual sexual intercourse w/Monica (which in fact he did not, but he did have oral sex w/her) and then like any other married person caught cheating, denied doing it to protect his marriage, his child, and his ass. Oh that's right... this law breaking of fedrl laws only applies to Bush when he lies and cooks intelligence to launch an illegal war & spies on US citizens w/out warrants.
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