merry christmas, here's your present

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20081227_John_P__Pryor__42__surgeon_and_soldier.html

happy holidays

the company we keep

http://crooksandliars.com/cernig/right-food

or, not

something old and something older

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Marks 60th Anniversary
http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2008-12-09-voa49.cfm
David Barnes - Download (MP3)
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

Here on Earth / Wisconsin Public Radio / Al America
http://www.wpr.org/hereonearth/archive_081210k.cfm
Jonathan Curiel - Download (MP3)
http://www.thenewpress.com/index.php?option=com_title&task=view_title&metaproductid=1724

Ben Bernanke, Please Send Me Some Green!



from http://anglachelg.blogspot.com/2008/11/monster-crash.html

this song should never have been written

Description (as provided by the original submitter)

The is a letter from the head of the department of Veterans Affairs, effectively shutting down four offices (Atlanta, Buffalo, Muskogee, and St. Louis) to outsource the new work to a private contractor. Instead of bringing the proposed $80 million dollar project to the offices already established, he is contracting it out to the lowest bidder. Before becoming the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, he was a member on the board of directors for QTC Management, a government outsourcing contractor. The current Executive Chairman for QTC is a former Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/US_Vetrans_Affairs_head_James_B._Peake_privatization_letter_2008

political calculus [updated]

there's an election coming up on tuesday, with multiple choices for many different offices. i have one hard and fast rule:

never vote for a republican for federal office

but every rule has exception. just as every office has different roles, the rules and exceptions are just as varied, and you have to make each decision with varying weights and qualifications

start with the house, one-person-of-435 for a two year term. i need to take my hard and fast rule and take a hard and slow look at my incumbents voting record. in 1994 i had the choice of voting (again) for dan rostenkowski or a republican, but given his actions in congress, i voted for his challenger, as rep. rostenkowski did not deserve reelection. in no way am i saying that rep. bean is corrupt or involved in any scandal, but her votes on the patriot act, the fisa bill, habeas corpus protections, various free-trade pacts, the iraq war, the bankruptcy bill, the wall street bailout, etc, are deal killers, i cannot endorse, and i cannot vote for her. she does not deserve reelection, i will be voting for her challenger [this will be only the second time in my life voting for a republican for a federal office, but as i am not running as a write-in this election, i cannot vote for myself as i did two years ago]

next to the senate, one-person-of-100 for a six year term. sen. durbin's voting record leaves a bit to be desired [see here], but do not outweigh the need of a democrat in that position, i will endorse, and i will vote for him

and now for president, one-person-of-1 for a four year term. never vote for a republican for federal office is 95% of the reasoning here, i cannot, will not, vote for mccain, ever, under any circumstances. but that other 5% is weighs heavy. obama was not my first or second choice in the primary, too corporate, too triangulating, and as i stated before his VP choice was made, if there is even a one-degree separation with yale university, i will note for him. he chose biden, who fails that one-degree rule. if i were in a 'red' or a 'battleground' state, i may have waived that last 5%, but as i live in illinois, and obama is expected to win by 20 points, i can go third party, and will be voting for cynthia mckinney

however you end up voting, i could only hope that it is a free and fair vote, i have not done early voting, as the early voting here in illinois is done by touch-screen (last i heard). i will be voting on tuesday, as my precinct uses paper ballots that you need to mark with a black pen, but then that gets fed into a digital scanning computer.....

snark_ defined

http://lefarkins.blogspot.com/2008/10/time-has-come-to-ask-what-might-happen.html

"the liberal meadea"

http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/category/y-2009/

if that statement was true, the above link would be empty of content

epic bail updated, again, and again


(Getty | Chip Somodevilla | Used Without Permission)

anything that comes out of the meatgrinder that is congress will be as worthless to remedy the problem as the credit derivative contracts themselves

i'd vote no on anything that comes out, it will cost more than you can imagine, won't fix the problem at hand, and cause more issues that will only need to be fixed later (see 9/11, iraq, katrina, etc)

and more on the bailout figure

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/09/27/john-amato-interviews-naomi-klein-about-the-next-shock-doctrine-the-wall-street-bailout-giveaway/

they pulled the $700,000,000,000 number out of their ass, it has no meaning

“It’s not based on any particular data point, we just wanted to choose a really large number.”

and more on the bailout in general

http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2008/09/fucking-you-to-death-blackmail-5.html

for those with issues of the post title linked above, his words are less obscene than their actions, understand the difference of the two, and which affects you more

arthur's link from here:

http://www.chris-floyd.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1610&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=1

update

bean voted for it [and the 2nd time also]

i will be submitting my write-in declaration for IL-08 hopefully sometime this week

updated again

the ultimate deal killer from the bill:

Section 122. Increase in the Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.
Raises the debt ceiling from $10 trillion to $11.3 trillion.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/financialsvcs_dem/eesabill_section-by-section.pdf

and again

Two weeks after persuading Congress to let it spend $700 billion to buy distressed securities tied to mortgages, the Bush administration has put that idea aside in favor of a new approach that would have the government inject capital directly into the nation’s banks — in effect, partially nationalizing the industry.

As recently as Sept. 23, senior officials had publicly derided proposals by Democrats to have the government take ownership stakes in banks.

The Treasury Department’s surprising turnaround on the issue of buying stock in banks, which has now become its primary focus, has raised questions about whether the administration squandered valuable time in trying to sell Congress on a plan that officials had failed to think through in advance.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/business/12imf.html?hp

and yet again

Audit: Bailout Oversight Woefully Lacking
GAO Report Says There's No Way Of Knowing How Bailed Out Banks Are Spending Taxpayer Money
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2008

no real need to read further

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/02/national/main4643882.shtml

just sit back and watch

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Clusterf#@k to the Poor House - Bean on a Plate Edition

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

the poetry of d.h.rumsfeld

to adapt a phrase from an earlier little ditty

"It is unknowable how long the withdrawal will last. It could be decided on in six days, the logistics planned out in six weeks. I doubt we'll have troop in theatre after six months."

more here:

http://empireburlesquenow.blogspot.com/2008/07/disorderly-conduct-subverting.html

about this:

http://www.williampfaff.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=326

thru the wonders of the innnertubes (both of them), comes the 1st presidential debate, before it even happens even updated



from Richard

(to know who be whom, notice which candidate says "my friends")

and again, from Richard

"no politics, issues confuse people"



update

mccain, who wanted to cancel the debate, declared himself the winner before he even had it

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/09/mccain_wins_debate.html

karl rove on vice presidential picks

With all due respect again to Governor Palin, she’s been a governor for less than two years, she’s been able but undistinguished. I don’t think people could really name a big, important thing that she’s done. She was mayor of the approximatley 3000th largest city in America. And again, with all due respect to Wasilla, Alaska, it’s smaller than Chatham; River Grove; Barrington or Lyons; Sauk Village or Worth. It’s not a big town. So if he were to pick Governor Palin, it would be an intensely political choice where he said, `You know what? I’m really not, first and foremost, concerned with, is this person capable of being president of the United States?

slightly edited text from cbs' "Face The Nation"

did some concrete repair work today

muddling thru



2001 - 1 u.s. casualty every 7.1 days
2003 - 1 u.s. casualty every 6.4 days
2005 - 1 u.s. casualty every 2.8 days
2007 - 1 u.s. casualty every 1.5 days
2008 - 1 u.s. casualty every 1.2 days

also, can "I'll follow bin Laden to the Gates Of Hell" be resolved with "Larry, I’m not going to go there and here’s why, because Pakistan is a sovereign nation…. But I want to assure you I will get Osama bin Laden as president of the United States and I will bring him to justice no matter what it takes." ?? just wonderin'

also

We all agreed long ago that it was a good and just war and then stopped bothering to think about what the long term purpose is.

teh funny

Thursday, August 21, 2008
Again?
If the "awesome" surge is so "awesome" why are visits still a "surprise"?

"Surprise Visits" to Iraq, a Bush Administration tradition since 2003. It's like Santa Claus, only with more 'splosions.

Bloviatings (6) | Trackback (0)
posted by Attaturk at 4:16 AM

hope you stay to the end



and remember, obama's the elitist

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/08/mccains_bought_second_beach_ho.php

and the fork in the road up ahead, take a hard right turn for the low one

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/21/mccain_spokesmans_retort_obama.html

and when you lie about your children, make sure you invoke mother teresa when you do so

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2008/08/20/watchdogs-make-it-harder-for-politicians-to-stretch-the-truth/

and when you fulfil one of the american dreams of home ownership, make sure you don't pay your taxes

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/28/mccains-failed-to-pay-tax_n_109785.html

all of the above from John

430 things to worry about


Latest Poll Reveals 430 New Demographics That Will Decide Election

and one more

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Dogs_of_War_Blackwater_as_Wal-Mart_999.html

way more like this

http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/rachel-maddow-to-replace-dan-abrams-on-msnbc/

if only they kept dan and got rid of 'softball with he who has leg shivvers'...heh

more wonderful news on the war on a transative adverb

http://cabdrollery.blogspot.com/2008/08/new-low.html

this could be resolved by putting up a picture of Prisoner No. 650 and Dr. Aafia Siddiqui

more on bagram:

http://www.experiencefestival.com/bagram_torture_and_prisoner_abuse
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/03/03_2005_Bazelon.html
http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?hr_people_who_have_been_detained=hr_dilawar&timeline=torture,_rendition,_and_other_abuses_against_captives_in_iraq,_afghanistan,_and_elsewhere
http://rummysdiaries.blogspot.com/2002/12/incident-dilawar-tortured-to-death.html
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA11/005/2006/en/dom-ASA110052006en.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/jun/23/usa.afghanistan
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/04/26/taxi-to-the-dark-side/

(via Mr. Black's site)

Trust us, because we don't trust you* [updated] [again]

regarding this from the below post

more from accross the pond, http://sideshow.me.uk/saug08.htm#08091305

reminds me of how much this administration is so unlike reagan's "trust, but verify"; they expect the people to trust them, but will never let the people's representatives verify anything

and another thing, how can removing civil liberty protections protect our freedoms ?? just wonderin'

and remember, stuff for me, but not for thee

* title came from sideshow post

[update]

alberto g. was a perfect example of the fox guarding the hen house, but his successor (approved by a democratically controlled senate), is tyring his best to be even more of a partisan hack

when the justice department itself finds evidence of wrongdoing, when the attorney general himself says that things have gone wrong, his response is "not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime.", and refuses to prosecute

with friends like these, who needs enemies

[again]

another example of the bush administration justice department not prosecuting bush administration officials:

http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/008020.html

if someone says the republicans are for the rule of law, laugh in their face and walk away

more like this, too [updated]

America's Bush faces impeachment
By RINUM DAMHA – 1 day ago

WASHINGTON, DC, (AP) — America's ruling coalition said Thursday it would seek the impeachment of President George UU. Bush, alleging the Pakistani-backed former alcoholic had "eroded the trust of the nation" and increasing pressure on him to resign.

Despite his unpopularity in America, Bush has so far resisted calls to step down and insisted he will serve out his current four-year term after he was elected in a contentious activist court vote in 2000 and with massive voter supression in 2004. Impeaching a President requires a simple majority in the house and removing him from office requires a two-thirds majority support of lawmakers in the Senate.

Bush dominated America for eight years and became...

slightly edited text from the AP

update

for some reason, musharraf stepped down instead

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSP18183720080818?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

it was seven years ago today...

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/06/flashback-seven-years-ago-today-bush-receives-bin-laden-determined-to-strike-in-us-memo/

this is the reason i ran as a write-in in 2006 and tried to get on the ballot in 2008

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/07/29/democracy/index.html

more like this

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011736439

from aBlog

one of these is worse than the others [repeatedly updated]

http://www.military.com/news/article/petraeus-says-13-electrocuted-in-iraq.html

http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1565/135/

http://rawstory.com//news/2008/Cybersecurity_expert_raises_allegations_of_2004_0717.html

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2008/7/20/122218/037

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=10928

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/for_sampson_hiring_at_doj.php

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/taser-atrocity-of-day-by-digby-heres.html

http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_31/b4094000643943.htm?campaign_id=rss_null

http://www.stlamerican.com/articles/2008/06/04/news/local_news/localnews03.txt

http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/007805.html

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/08/04/so-much-for-our-retail-based-economy/

http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/final-filings-in-medellin-case/

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/05/army-offering-six-figure-bonuses-for-arabic-speakers-after-kicking-out-dozens-under-dadt/

http://www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/archives/002469.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/washington/09inquire.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1218258066-FsCm21sbBcPh1bxOgSd5Hg&oref=slogin

what has been done about any of them

the title does speak for itself

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07387.pdf (.pdf)

from here

another example

http://www.rumproast.com/index.php/site/comments/hillraiser_lady_lynn_forester_de_rothschild_calls_obama_an_elitist_on_cnn/

from here

and another

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=10840

michael medved said the other day on his radio 'show' that india's democracy has come a long way

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chandigarh/Verse_for_classmate_gets_Dalit_boy_death/articleshow/3199090.cms

indeedy

(from as/tdd/ta)

more like this

The chief prosecutor of the Internationals Criminal Court will seek an arrest warrant Tuesday for American President George UU. Bush and President of Vice Richard "such a Dick" Cheney, charging them with genocide and crimes against humanity in the orchestration of a campaign of violence that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians in the world's Middle-East region during the past six years, according to U.N. officials and diplomats.

The action by the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo of Argentina, will mark the second time that the tribunal in The Hague charges a sitting head of state with such crimes, and represents a major step by the court to implicate the highest levels of the American government for the atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

slightly edited text from the washington post

completely (un)related:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/12/international-committee-of-red-cross-says-bush-administration-guilty-of-war-crimes/

http://www.theagitator.com/2008/07/12/war-crimes/

one might think to want to get rid of the present representation with number like this

http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/congressional_performance/congressional_performance

the reason habeas corpus was invented

more than six years in detention
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iMGYLFEpaIYdDKnblerG5_TNg-_gD91FRE6O2

rep. bean, with a majority of republicans, voted for this unconstitutional embarrassment, parts of which that were recently struck down

two things

if you want to uphold the constituition, voting to violate it is the wrong way to go about it

(the republicans voted 188-1 for it, the majority of democrats voted against it, bean joined the republicans)

if you want to end the occupation and theft of the treasury on a grand scale, voting to continue it is the wrong way to go about it

[ed. corrected post]

just saying

while msgop is doing it's 24 hour canonization
of a 'journalist' whose standard was "whatever you tell me is off the record unless you say otherwise"

here's the news they didn't tell you about

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/14/various_items/index.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/06/AR2008060603152.html
http://www.cnas.org/en/cms/?2311
http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/007513.html
http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/007515.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/08/AR2008060801819.html
http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/007520.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5033256&page=1
http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/007525.html
http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/007527.html
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/lawyers-nukes-1.html
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/12/video-two-straight-days-of-gop-obstructionism/
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5049461&page=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/us/politics/15vote.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/technology/15cable.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
http://www.propublica.org/article/pol-investigation-wrap-up/
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/inteldump/2008/06/army_shows_its_colors.html
http://www.themodernword.com/eco/eco_blackshirt.html

almost all from http://www.warandpiece.com/

just what ??

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=10603

(see previous thread)

A Resolution

http://chun.afterdowningstreet.org/amomentoftruth.pdf (pdf)
http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=93581 (html)

it is what the label is all about

what they want

Iraqi Parliamentarian: 70 Percent Of Iraqis Want Withdrawal, Huge U.S. Embassy Not A ‘Positive Signal’

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/04/iraq-parliament/

what they get

The US military has awarded an $80 million contract to a prominent Saudi financier who has been indicted by the US Justice Department. The contract to supply jet fuel to American bases in Afghanistan was awarded to the Attock Refinery Ltd, a Pakistani-based refinery owned by Gaith Pharaon. Pharaon is wanted in connection with his alleged role at the failed Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), and the CenTrust savings and loan scandal, which cost US tax payers $1.7 billion.

The Saudi businessman was also named in a 2002 French parliamentary report as having links to informal money transfer networks called hawala, known to be used by traders and terrorists, including Al Qaeda.

Interestingly, Pharaon was also an investor in President George W. Bush’s first business venture, Arbusto Energy.

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=10564

the war occupation must continue, not enough people have died, not enough of the nations treasury has been stolen

what leah said

http://www.correntewire.com/an_exercise_for_memorial_day_read_bill_moyers_message_to_west_point

kucinich, conyers, and paul

whenever i see legislation voted on in the house, i always look at kucinich, conyers, and paul

if two or more voted one way, you can bet, bean, the lap dogs, and most republicans voted the other way

almost everyone voted the other way on this
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2008-300

from: http://www.ohmproject.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=1
and here: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/20/21950/7576/933/518756

all from
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/05/our_data_oursel.html

they write letters

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/05/the-torture-mem.html

from

http://thepoorman.net/2008/05/07/they-write-letters/

and others have visitors

http://torture.stanford.edu/2007/09/rumsfeld_joins_stanfords_hoove.html

and things you won't see on the teevee
(or, more appropriately, things you do see on the teevee and why you shouldn't)

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/05/09/cnn_abc/index.html

understand the difference

voter fraud

http://www.firedupmissouri.com/squelching_the_nun_vote

election fraud

http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/

the first is hardly an issue (except in chicago, vote early, vote often)
the second is pervasive, think florida 2000, ohio 2004

the remedy for the first, stops people from voting
the lack of investigation of the second, gives us the worst president in history

The 50 most influential US political pundits

yes, this is almost 3 months days old, but i just saw chris matthews talk about it

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/1904702/The-50-most-influential-US-political-pundits.html

redoing the list a bit, taking into accout a trustworthyness and respect factor (should they be so influential ??)

the fact that the majority of these people are conservative white males shows what a falsehood that is the lie of the 'liberal meadea'

here is the list redone (1st number mine, 2nd number from the telegraph, 3rd number weighted ranking)

1, 50. RACHEL MADDOW, 2.1420
2, 19. DONNA BRAZILE, 1.7895
3, 26. ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, 1.1423
4, 37. EUGENE ROBINSON, 0.7189
5, 8. JON STEWART, 0.1125
6, 11. STEPHEN COLBERT, 0.1091
7, 13. KEITH OLBERMANN, 0.1077
8, 15. BILL MAHER, 0.1067
9, 41. MARK SHIELDS, 0.1024
10, 43. PAUL BEGALA, 0.1023
11, 48. PAUL KRUGMAN, 0.1021

12, 33. ROLAND MARTIN, -0.3091
13, 39. DEE DEE MYERS, -2.1538
14, 35. JOE TRIPPI, -2.1600
15, 29. RON FOURNIER, -2.1724
16, 28. JAMES CARVILLE, -2.1750
17, 31. JUAN WILLIAMS, -2.5806
18, 30. PEGGY NOONAN, -2.6867
19, 24. LAURA INGRAHAM, -2.7083
20, 20. JOE KLEIN, -2.7300
21, 14. CHUCK TODD, -2.7857
22, 2. CHRIS MATTHEWS, -3.1500
23, 46. MARK LEVIN, -3.1674
24, 45. FRED BARNES, -3.1689
25, 44. JEFFREY TOOBIN, -3.1705
26, 38. MICHAEL BARONE, -3.1816
27, 34. HOWARD KURTZ, -3.1912
28, 27. PAT BUCHANAN, -3.2148
29, 25. MICHAEL SAVAGE, -3.2240
30, 23. MIKE ALLEN, -3.2348
31, 18. FRANK LUNTZ, -3.2722
32, 17. ANDREW SULLIVAN, -3.2824
33, 16. GLENN BECK, -3.2938
34, 12. BILL O'REILLY, -3.3583
35, 10. MARK HALPERIN, -3.4100
36, 9. DAVID BROOKS, -3.4444
37, 7. TIM RUSSERT, -3.5429
38, 47. JC WATTS, -3.5745
39, 6. MATT DRUDGE, -3.6167
40, 5. JOHN HARRIS AND JIM VANDEHEI, -3.7200
41, 49. MARY MATALIN, -4.1837
42, 42. BILL BENNETT, -4.1976
43, 40. TONY SNOW, -4.2025
44, 36. NEWT GINGRICH, -4.2139
45, 32. WILLIAM KRISTOL, -4.2281
46, 22. DICK MORRIS, -4.2864
47, 21. DAVID GERGEN, -4.2952
48, 4. RUSH LIMBAUGH, -5.1250
49, 3. SEAN HANNITY, -5.4667
50, 1. KARL ROVE, -8.2000

i don't know why chuck todd is so low and joe klein is so high, the fact is that bad reports can be pulled from good data, which reminds me, why is it that i am so against computerized voting agian ??

the worst of the worst

no charges, no trial, released after six years

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/us/nationalspecial3/02gitmo.html?_r=3&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

or - gitmo is a sham and cases there are for political reasons only

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/washington/29gitmo.html?sq=&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&scp=5&adxnnlx=1209769285-zCESTfJK2Rn6sk5oDUt5tA

more of this

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05/01/ilwu-shuts-down-west-coast-ports-in-war-protest/

less of this

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/04/30/williams/index.html

you don't have to agree, you don't have to appreciate, but you have to understand, that when someone says 'god damn america', they could mean the people running the show, at the point in time when that phrase is said, and not the country, or it's peoples

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-04-30-watchlist_N.htm

supreme in justice



http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/04/26/boston-legal-takes-apart-the-supreme-court/

bleeding is supplemental

Blackwater's contract was just renewed by the State Department. The supplemental appropriation that's about to be brought up before the House includes ongoing funding for Blackwater's activities in Iraq. If we're going to fight this, we need to fight it now.

http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5270

By month's end, House Democrats plan to produce a major supplemental spending bill - totaling as much as $170 billion - to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into the next presidency, channel more federal money to the ailing domestic economy, and set policies they hope will begin to move US troops out of the Middle East.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/04/21/war_funding_bill_will_test_pelosis_strength/

more
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080428/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_reconstruction;_ylt=Aq8HHpOZuHmo9AjDrfs1J0Os0NUE

way more
http://www.sigir.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/default.aspx

fox news, it's hosts, it's producers, it's contributors, it's advertisers, and it's supporters, can go fuck themselves [updated]



http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5909

**** updated

from crooks
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/06/08/fox-news-producer-ambushes-bill-moyers-gets-taste-of-his-own-medicine/

political discourse

we had last nights abc news philly debate
(no link will be given, if you watched it, you'll understand, if you didn't watch it, the 1st real question was given 52 minutes into it)

compare/contrast to this

http://www.ar-d.com/player/player.cfm?video_id=5108¤t_zone=139&video_zone=139
(especially #3)

and this

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879

108 counts of capital murder

Scott Horton

The exact circumstances surrounding the dealings between Haynes and Yoo that led to the development of this memorandum are unclear. However, it is clear that Haynes had previously authorized the use of the torture techniques, and had secured an order from Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld authorizing them.

Following the implementation of these techniques, more than 108 detainees died in detention. In a large number of these cases, the deaths have been ruled a homicide and connected to torture. These homicides were a forseeable consequence of the advice that Haynes and Yoo gave.

gratuitously stolen from atrios

more

"... A system that punishes and shames Matthew Diaz, yet obstructs any investigation into the misconduct of John Yoo and Jim Haynes, and particularly their focal rule in the introduction of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, is corrupt. Indeed, it persecutes the innocent and rewards the guilty. A bar association that disbars Matthew Diaz and leaves Yoo and Haynes free to practice is fundamentally corrupt. In essence, this choice reflects a legal profession that puts upholding the will of the Executive, even when it commands the most egregious and unlawful conduct, over the Rule of Law. It reflects the abnegation of the bedrock principles of the profession and the principles of the American Constitution and the Revolution which gave rise to it. ..."

just so we're clear

By rendering prisoners to Jordan, the United States specifically violated its obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Convention against Torture), which it ratified in 1994.64 The Convention against Torture defines torture as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession” and when “inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.”65 States violate the Convention against Torture not only by directly inflicting torture, like Jordan, but also, under article 3, when they “expel, return (‘refouler’) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”66

Double Jeopardy CIA Renditions to Jordan

http://hrw.org/reports/2008/jordan0408/6.htm#_Toc194401803

more by digby about horton's article

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/heroes-by-digby-there-have-been-lot-of.html

now, with video

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/04/10/they-knew/

and mr. floyd's contribution

http://www.chris-floyd.com/content/view/1480/135/

as with any topic, one always needs origional source documents to back up your charge

here's two

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB127/02.02.07.pdf
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB127/02.12.02.pdf
(both from http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB127/)

and more on the topic at hand

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/10/95033/2181/104/493151

revolution



fr: SINGING_TROLL

every thursday in west palm beach they have a free concert of various musical forms in a town square

today was my mom's birthday, she and my dad went to dinner, then a concert

tonight it was vince neil

she's 72, my dad'll be 82, it was their first, and last, rock concert for the both

words/actions

We fight for freedom, and we stand for freedom, and we won't relent until we defend freedom at its core. (Applause.) And that's why the budget I sent up there has got a significant increase in defense spending, because we owe it to the defenders of freedom to give them the best equipment, the best housing, the best training, and another pay raise. (Applause.)

Bush Promises "Steady and Relentless" War on Terrorism
--Bush remarks at Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia
4 February 2002

http://www.fas.org/news/usa/2002/bush020102.html

read the entire fucking thing and DO something

http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2008/03/thus-you-lose-world-what-fuck-is-wrong.html

remember, the experienced adults are in charge

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=9944

Older White House computer hard drives have been destroyed, the White House disclosed to a federal court Friday in a controversy over millions of possibly missing e-mails from 2003 to 2005.

The White House revealed new information about how it handles its computers in an effort to persuade a federal magistrate it would be fruitless to undertake an e-mail recovery plan that the court proposed.

“When workstations are at the end of their lifecycle and retired … the hard drives are generally sent offsite to another government entity for physical destruction,” the White House said in a sworn declaration filed with U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola.

It has been the goal of a White House Office of Administration “refresh program” to replace one-third of its workstations every year in the Executive Office of the President, according to the declaration.

Some, but not necessarily all, of the data on old hard drives is moved to new computer hard drives, the declaration added.

comment by dennis from link

Dennis - SGMM Says:

Not to worry; the Republicans will discover the danger of the Unitary Executive next January. They will also rediscover the other two branches of government and the importance of Congressional oversight. Any invocation of executive privilege or use of signing statements will be Viewed With Alarm. Presidential appointees will require super majorities to be confirmed.
It will take less than eight months for the Democrats to Let Victory in Iraq Slip From Our Grasp.
More financial institutions will require bailouts – not because of over leveraging or mismanagement but because they are demoralized at the specter of a Democratic administration. The punditocracy will speak with one voice in demanding that taxes be cut further and regulations loosened to end the Pelosi Recession.
This is too easy.

March 22nd, 2008 at 8:59 am

your liberal meadea/priorities [updated] [again] [and again] [and yet again]

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=9930

just because they say it over and over and over again doesn't mean it's true
(the post title, not the link)

curious, on 'morning joe' (on msgop in the am) they have on a teevee, the upcoming guests, it's usually made up of white people (just like the hosts) and invariably men (full disclosure, i'm a white male), and if they do have someone of color on, it's usually to discuss a topic regarding race, when will they have someone of any ethnicity to discuss a non-race related topic, just asking

**** update

yesterday they had on tiki (ex-fox news co-host) barber as a guest host
...talking about
...obama

**** again

then they get sara (what oath to the constitution ??) taylor, are they trying to drive away viewers ??

**** and again

An Op-Ed Need for Diverse Voices
By Deborah Howell
Sunday, May 25, 2008; Page B06

The Post's op-ed page is too male and too white. And there aren't a lot of youthful opinions, either.

I have nothing against older white men; I'm married to one. And the nation's power structure, often represented in Post op-eds, is white, male and at least middle-aged. But a 21st-century op-ed page needs more diversity...

The 2008 numbers as of Wednesday: 654 op-ed pieces -- 575 by men, 79 by women and about 80 by minorities...

Of 19 weekly or biweekly columnists, 17 are men...

Of the four monthly columnists, three are white men...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/23/AR2008052302308.html

be sure to read about 'The 50 most influential US political pundits' here:
http://tofubo.blogspot.com/2008/05/50-most-influential-us-political.html

**** and yet again

more on the subjet here: http://www.eschatonblog.com/2008_06_08_archive.html and here: http://mediamatters.org/items/200705140001?f=h_top

can we stop having these ??

http://www.chicagoanswer.net/March%2019.htm

i guess not

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/14/the-purpose-of-war-is-peace/

the best republican a democrat could want ??

[updated, again]

http://www.themiddleclass.org/files/2007_scorecard_layout_final%20(2).pdf

2007 congressional scorecard on middle class issues, illinois delegation:

(D) Costello, Jerry IL 100% A+
(D) Davis, Danny IL 100% A+
(D) Gutierrez, Luis IL 100% A+
(D) Hare, Phil IL 100% A+
(D) Jackson, Jesse IL 100% A+
(D) Lipinski, Daniel IL 100% A+
(D) Rush, Bobby IL 100% A+
(D) Schakowsky, Janice IL 100% A+
(D) Emanuel, Rahm IL 90% A

(D) Bean, Melissa IL 78% C
(R) LaHood, Ray IL 75% C
(R) Johnson, Timothy IL 56% C
(R) Kirk, Mark IL 56% C
(R) Biggert, Judy IL 30% F
(R) Shimkus, John IL 33% F
(R) Weller, Gerald IL 33% F
(R) Roskam, Peter IL 10% F
(R) Manzullo, Donald IL 0% F
(R) Hastert, J. Dennis IL INC INC

this, in addition to her atrocious voting record on civil liberties and the support of the war, i'm dismayed she won the primary, to say the least

**** update, credit where credit is due:

regarding this vote:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll141.xml

i actually commend her for voting against (with 15 other democrats and every single republican) the 3 trillion dollar budget just passed by the house

**** again, debit where debit is due:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll143.xml

i am reminded why i would like to see her replaced, here she joins 8 other democrats and all the republicans (save one) to vote against updating fisa, she knows that "immunity for the telecoms" is a red herring, its immunity for the president who ordered the illegal wiretapping in the first place

The Iraq Follies

Commentary: Eighteen things you've already forgotten about the media's flawed coverage of Iraq.

By Greg Mitchell

March 11, 2008

http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2008/03/the-iraq-follies.html

has anything changed ??

the people who were wrong before are still wrong now
[for the most part, a few have awoken]
the troops and iraqis that have died and been injured before will be followed by more
the debt that has grown, will continue
the companies that have made billions, will continue to do so

the administration members that were not in jail before are still not in jail now

congress can stop this, but instead, look for ways to work 'bipartisanly' with the worst fucking president ever and most corrupt political party in recent history, such is life

congratulations and condolences aside, "Again, my name is Jonathan Farnick, Write-In candidate for the 8th Congressional District of Illinois for the election coming up this November 7th, 2006November 4th, 2008. Thank you for your time."

psa

january 8th is the last day to register to vote for the february 5th primary, if you've moved in the last few years, verify your status

i will not be on the ballot

there hasn't been anything new posted as of late, i would like to say it's because of solidarity with the writers during their strike, but i've been busy working and tried to rest over the holidays

i have not changed my opposition to ms bean, there will be another person to vote for in the primary next month