Who Shot Johnny

Facebook to become a pay site?

2009-08-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

Talking is buzzing that the popular social site Facebook will be become a pay site. There even groups being formed within Facebook to fight the move.

My reaction? Big old yawn. Who freaking cares?

Probably most of the 200 million people who are members.

Well, boo-freaking-hoo.

Get a life.

Russian Soccer Fans Told to Drink Whiskey

2009-08-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

As if they needed a reason to drink, the head of the Russian soccer supporter association (VOB) is encouraging fans to drink whiskey to ward off effects of the H1N1 virus if the travel to Wales for the September World Cup qualifier.

Alexander Shprygin reportedly told Reuters, "We urge our fans to drink a lot of Welsh whiskey as a form of disinfection. That should cure all symptoms of the disease."

His comments follow a warning from the Russian Health Ministry about traveling to the United Kingdom because of concerns about the virus.

Published reports carry this statement:

"Health officials say this virus is very dangerous but being a fan myself I can tell you that for a real fan nothing is more important than the well-being of the team," said Shprygin, who also sits on the executive board of the Russian FA.

"Russian fans don't fear anything or anybody so this virus will not stand in our way of supporting our team."

About 200 Russian fans are expected to attend the matches. No word if Welsh authorities will mobilized riot police.

Dis Big Oil, Lose Your Job

2009-07-31T13:00:00.001-07:00

The head of Iraq's state-owned oil company lost his job after making critical remarks about the government's decision to auction the country's oil and gas fields to foreign companies.

Fayadh Hassan Nima was replaced as SOC's chief executive by the head of the company's department of oil fields, Dia Jaafar, ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said.

"The oil ministry and the government are always looking for ways to improve administration of the oil sector," Jihad said, referring to the reasons Nima was dismissed.

Nima had loudly protested the public auction for six giant oil fields and two major gas fields, arguing that the SOC should be given the task of exploiting the fields in southern Iraq with only technical assistance from foreign companies.

Palin: Star or Fading Quitter

2009-07-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

Not even the Republicans can agree if Sarah Palin, who quit as Alaska's governor on Sunday, July 26, if she is still a star of the GOP or will go down in history as the country's most famous quitter.

CBS News reports:

If a three-way discussion among Republican pundits on "The Early Show Saturday Edition" is any indication, more of the same -- she'll remain as controversial and passion-provoking rod as ever.

Author and right-wing firebrand Ann Coulter, GOP strategist Bay Buchanan, and NewMajority.com founder and former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum had at it over the question of whether Palin could be a viable presidential candidate at some point.

It got so heated the three were talking over each other, prompting co-anchor Erica Hill, who moderated, to interrupt them herself several times.

Palin was right about one thing: leaving the governor's office has done more for Alaska.

Susan Boyle Homesick, Anxious

2009-06-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

This year's entertainment sensation, Susan Boyle, has checked into a London clinic for exhaustion. Reports the BBC:

The Scottish singing sensation is said to be drained after losing out to dance group Diversity on the ITV1 show.
Her brother, Gerry, told the BBC that Susan was "fine" but feeling homesick and "showing signs of anxiety".
Prime Minister Gordon Brown wished the star well. "I hope Susan Boyle is okay because she is a really, really nice person," he told GMTV.

Her 15 minutes finally caught up with her.

Catholics Vs. Obama

2009-03-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

A lot of Catholics are up in arms because President Obama is scheduled to give the commencement address at Notre Dame.

Many Catholics are angered by Obama's planned appearance at the May 17 ceremony because of his decisions to provide federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and international family planning groups that provide abortions or educate about the procedure.

Bishop John D'Arcy of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese, which includes Notre Dame, went so far as to say he will not attend the ceremony because of the president's policies.

Now, that's really following the teaching's of Jesus. But then again, the Catholic Church hardly has a history of tolerance. Think Spanish Inquisition.

Setting Free the 'Roos

2009-03-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

Kangaroos Set Loose in France

TOULOUSE, France (AFP) – Vandals set loose 15 kangaroos from an Australian theme park in southern France, sparking a major search operation, with three marsupials still on the loose.

"When we arrived on Saturday morning, five pens had been broken open, their padlocks were smashed and the perimeter fence was torn in several places," said Carole Masson, owner of the nature reserve in southwestern Carcassonne.

"We had 15 missing kangaroos -- it was complete panic," she told AFP.

Firefighters, police and gendarmes were mobilised to track down the animals as they bounded through the woods.

Someone must have been reading John Irving.

All Georgians Must Be Allowed To Vote

2008-10-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

Finally some sanity in the Georgia voting mess:

The state of Georgia must allow persons whose citizenship has been questioned in a new voter verification system the opportunity to cast a ballot in the Nov. 4 elections, a three-judge court ruled Monday.

The court also ordered Secretary of State Karen Handel to “make diligent and immediate efforts to notify, in a uniform manner, every person whose voter registration presently remains flagged.” Those voters must be told that they can vote by a “challenged ballot,” if necessary, and that there is a discrepancy in the voters’ registration information, the court said.

Help the homeowners

2008-10-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

I am not a homeowner. I spent so much of my life moving around and was never in one spot long enough to put down any kind of roots. But that doesn't mean I don't have sympathy for those who have found themselves at the brink of losing it all.

When the big mortgage/credit/greed crisis slapped the American public in the face what did the White House and Congress do? Borrowed a butt load of money to bail out the bastards that got us in this mess in the first place.

How about help for the mortgage owners? It ain't happening, as Mike Colpitts points out in this interview posted at QuickCashForProperties.co.uk:

The federal government is absolutely not doing enough to help homeowners. So far more than 3 million families have lost their homes and our research indicates that 2011 another 3.4 million will also lose theirs.

This guy should know. He is a long-time real estate agent and editor of HousingPredictor.com. He adds this:

The federal government needs to so something to halt the huge surge of foreclosures. A good beginning is to freeze foreclosures to give them time to work out mortgages that are viable for homeowners.

Good common sense, but when did that ever matter in Washington?

No joy in Mudville

2008-09-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

Last night was the finale for our beloved Yankee Stadium.

I stayed until several of the estimated 2,000 security guards not-so-politely told me to leave. ("Get the fuck out, man!" was what they said.)

There is no joy in Mudville. The Mighty Stadium has struck out.

Sarah Palin to raise funds, avoid media

2008-09-06T04:06:00.000-07:00

John McCain plans to use his vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, to raise money for the Republican Party.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will appear at around 30 fund-raising events in the next two months leading up to Election Day – about one every two days on average, officials with Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign said today.

“She is proving as much in demand as Sen. McCain,” said former Commerce Department Secretary Bob Mosbacher, general chairman of the McCain campaign and a top fundraiser.

But Palin will not be allowed to talk to the media.

According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don't care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace -- in an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough's show -- the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads.

Why do you think that is?

They ARE watching you

2008-07-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

Think the new FISA law is bad for privacy? You ain't seen nothing yet.

Read this report from TPMMuckraker for the whole story.

With all the talk about the new wiretapping law the Senate is expected to approve this week, there are many federal surveillance programs that are going largely unmentioned -- and unmonitored.

A story from the Baltimore Sun points out how limited the proposed FISA legislation is when considered against the whole alphabet soup of surveillance programs run by the federal government.

Vito Bows Out

2008-05-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

Rep. Vito Fossella, who got caught driving drunk and then admitted (presumably while still drunk) to fathering a baby with someone not his wife, will not seek reelection.

"This choice was an extremely difficult one, balanced between my dedication to service to our great nation and the need to concentrate on healing the wounds that I have caused to my wife and family," Rep. Vito Fossella, a six-term Republican, said in a written statement.

Well, at least his wife had the good sense not to appear with him as he made his announcement.

Bye, bye, Vito.

George the Buffoon

2008-03-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

Gail Collins sums up President Bush nicely in this op-ed from The NY Times:

The president squinched his face and bit his lip and seemed too antsy to stand still. As he searched for the name of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (“the king, uh, the king of Saudi”) and made guy-fun of one of the questioners (“Who picked Gigot?”), you had to wonder what the international financial community makes of a country whose president could show up to talk economics in the middle of a liquidity crisis and kind of flop around the stage as if he was emcee at the Iowa Republican Pig Roast.
We’re really past expecting anything much, but in times of crisis you would like to at least believe your leader has the capacity to pretend he’s in control. Suddenly, I recalled a day long ago when my husband worked for a struggling paper full of worried employees and the publisher walked into the newsroom wearing a gorilla suit.

Tiny Hippos Shot

2008-03-10T05:19:00.000-07:00

Rare pygmy hippos have been photographed in Liberia.

Two civil wars, illegal logging and poaching - it was thought this was more than enough to wipe out Liberia's population of pygmy hippos.

But this rare and endangered species has survived against the odds and there are photographs to prove it.

A team led by the Zoological Society of London travelled to the West African country.

It was delighted to discover that, despite their fears, the hippo population had not been wiped out.

Just three days after setting up hidden cameras in the Liberian forest, the team of zoologists were amazed to capture the pygmy hippos on film.

Ben Collen of the London Zoological Society said he remained highly concerned about the survival of the little hippos because they still face the threat of deforestation and bushmeat hunters.

Obesity in the News

2008-03-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

Seems that last week obesity was the topic of choice at many news sites. Here's a sampling:

Bacteria Mix in Guts of Babies Predicts Obesity HealthDay - Fri Mar 7, 11:47 PM ET
FRIDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- The mix of bacteria in a baby's gut may predict whether that infant will become overweight or obese later in life, a new study suggests.
Some experts doubt obesity epidemic AP - Tue Mar 4, 5:15 PM ET
LONDON - Go on, have another doughnut. According to some experts whose views are public health heresy, the jury is still out on how dangerous it is to be fat. "The obesity epidemic has absolutely been exaggerated," said Dr. Vincent Marks, emeritus professor of clinical biochemistry at the University of Surrey.
Obese Children Face More Complications During Surgery HealthDay - Mon Mar 3, 11:47 PM ET
MONDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) -- Obese children are much more likely than normal-weight children to have breathing-related problems during surgery, says a University of Michigan Health System study.
Device helps fat kids cut TV time Reuters - Mon Mar 3, 6:38 PM ET
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A monitoring device that cut TV and computer time in half helped young, overweight children eat less and lose weight, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Have Your Baby In Portland, OR

2008-01-22T07:20:00.000-08:00

We are well past the age of having offspring - and with what we know about how this world really operates wouldn't bring a new life into it anyway - but Portland, Oregon, seems to be the place to have a baby.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — FitPregnancy Magazine has listed Portland as the top city in the nation for having a baby.

The magazine cites Oregon's low infant and maternal mortality rates and says babies in Portland are 34% less likely than the national average to be born below normal birth weight and 21% less likely to be born premature.

Portland gets high marks for breast feeding, with the magazine concluding that 88% of the city's mothers try it against a national average of 75%.

The magazine praised Oregon laws allowing breast feeding in public.

It said 19.9% of Portland's mothers breast feed exclusively for six months or longer, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The average for the cities surveyed was 12%.

TV Preachers Under Investigation

2007-11-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

It's about time someone took these fools to task.

Iowa Republican Sen. Charles E. Grassley is leading an investigation into the spending practices of the major televangelists in the country. All we can say is that it's about time. For too long have some of these so-called Christians enjoyed lifestyles of the ultra-rich on the backs of their supporters.
Joyce Meyer claims her bounty stems from gifts of God. Yeah, right.

Thousands of Italians March For Peace

2007-10-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

ASSISI, Italy - About 200,000 people marched from Perugia to Assisi Sunday calling for “all human rights for all” and the end of wars.

The 24km “peace march” between the two towns in central Italy concluded a “peace week” featuring some 400 initiatives on peace and human rights. These included the 7th assembly of the United Nations of the People in Perugia Oct. 5-6.”Peace and justice walk together” and “Water for all” were among some of the banners at the march. Many carried the famous “peace flags” that marked Italian protest against the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Participants also joined the “Stand Up!” action in line with the United Nations’ “No Excuse” campaign to promote the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight goals agreed in 2000 to cut poverty and to improve health and education. People in the rally sat and then stood up to urge the Italian government to allocate the 0.7 percent of gross national income (GNI) to foreign aid.

The march, the 17th such, was started by peace activist Aldo Capitini in 1961. It is organised by Peace Roundtable, a coalition of Italian NGOs, unions, church groups and local administrations working for peace and solidarity.

Chaos Hawks Evolve Over Iraq Failure

2007-09-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

From The Washington Monthly:

Having admitted, however, that the odds of a military success in Iraq are almost impossibly long, Chaos Hawks nonetheless insist that the U.S. military needs to stay in Iraq for the foreseeable future. Why? Because if we leave the entire Middle East will become a bloodbath. Sunni and Shiite will engage in mutual genocide, oil fields will go up in flames, fundamentalist parties will take over, and al-Qaeda will have a safe haven bigger than the entire continent of Europe.

Needless to say, this is nonsense. Israel has fought war after war in the Middle East. Result: no regional conflagration. Iran and Iraq fought one of the bloodiest wars of the second half the 20th century. Result: no regional conflagration. The Soviets fought in Afghanistan and then withdrew. No regional conflagration. The U.S. fought the Gulf War and then left. No regional conflagration. Algeria fought an internal civil war for a decade. No regional conflagration.

So where does this bogeyman come from? Hard to say. Probably a deep-seated unwillingness to confront the fact that the United States can't really influence a course of events we originally set in motion. But Iraq is already fighting a civil war, and that civil war will continue whether we stay or go. If we go it will likely become more intense, but also shorter lived. The eventual result, however, will almost certainly be the same: a de facto independent Kurdistan in the north and a Shiite theocracy in the south. The rest of the Middle East will, as usual, watch events unfold without doing much of anything about them, and will accept the inevitable results. The U.S., for its part, will remain in the north to protect Kurdistan, in the east in Afghanistan, in the west in the Mediterranean, and in the south in its bases in the Gulf. We'll hardly be absent from the region.

Dental Work in Calgary

2007-08-31T11:51:00.001-07:00

We don't often get out of the Big Apple, but earlier this summer on the way back from a meeting I'm not authorized to discuss, I had the need for the services of a Calgary dentist.

I won't bore you with the details, but it involved my good friend Johnny Walker and a lavatory. Use your imagination.

Anyway, I found myself sitting in a dental chair surrounded by the most high tech-looking equipment I've seen outside of Langley. Now, I'm not admitting I've ever been to Langley, you understand.

Not only did Dr. Andrew Wasik fix my problem (a broken crown, by the way), it was painless and all done in one visit. I didn't believe that part when I first called his office, but it's true - a new crown in one day.

If it wasn't so damn far to Calgary from New York, I'd make him my regular dentist. Hell, who knows, I might just do it anyway.

Biden Says Bush Suffers From 'Katrina Complex'

2007-08-28T16:11:00.000-07:00

Sen. Joe Biden, a Democratic long-shot for president, says George Bush is suffering from 'Katrina complex.' Biden made the comment on the campaign trail in Iowa in which he compared the president's Iraq strategy to the Hurricane Katrina response two years ago.

"The president continues to suffer from what I refer to as the Katrina complex," he said. "The Katrina complex is, ignore all the warnings, bad things happen, continue to follow the same bad, failed policy and things get worse and worse. That's exactly what this policy is doing to us."

Biden said a series of reports have refuted the claim that Iraq was somehow related to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"That should put to rest once and for all the false refrain that President Bush keeps repeating and repeated today," he said.

Fixing the image at the Justice Department

2007-07-29T06:46:00.000-07:00

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says he's is going to stick around because he's knows he can fix the image of the Justice Department.

Actually, Al, the only thing that will fix the department's image is if you don't stay.

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says he's staying at the Justice Department to try to repair its broken image, telling Congress in a statement released Monday he's troubled that politics may have played a part in hiring career federal prosecutors.
Senators already skeptical of Gonzales' ability to lead the department were preparing to hammer him about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys and conflicts between his earlier statements and the testimony of a former aide.

Bush Says He's Sorry

2007-07-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

Not really, but if he did it might sound something like what Maureen Dowd wrote in The New York Times:

The people trusted me with an important position. I didn't live up to expectations. I let Dick supersize the executive branch and cast Democrats as whiners and traitors. Why did I not suspect that Dick might be power-hungry when he appointed himself vice president? Why did I let him take over my presidency and fill it up with warmongers' I was so afraid to be called a wimp, as my father once was, I allowed Dick and Rummy to turn me into a wimp. I should never have allowed Dick to conspire with energy lobbyists and steer contracts to Halliburton. A tip-off should have been when Dick kept giving himself all the same powers that I had. Or when he outed that pretty lady spy.

If only I had kept my promise to go after the thugs who attacked us on 9/11, because now I?ve made Osama and Al Qaeda stronger. I know my false claim about Al Qaeda's ties with Iraq led to Iraq's being tied down by Al Qaeda. I see now that my bungled war on terror has created more terror, empowered Iran and made America less secure. Oh, yeah, and I'm sorry I broke the military.

Mother, Child Get the Boot

2007-07-13T12:54:00.001-07:00

A woman and her child were thrown off an airplane because a flight attendant was annoyed.

From the AP:

Kate Penland, of suburban Atlanta, said she and her 19-month-old son, Garren, were flying from Atlanta to Oklahoma last month on a Continental Express flight that made a stop in Houston.

As the plane was taxiing in Houston en route to Oklahoma, "he started saying 'Bye, bye plane,' Penland told WSB-TV in Atlanta. The flight attendant objected, she said.

"At the end of her speech, she leaned over the gentleman beside me and said, 'It's not funny anymore. You need to shut your baby up,'" Penland told WSB-TV in Atlanta.

When Penland asked the woman if she was joking, she said the stewardess replied, "You know, it's called baby Benadryl."

"And I said, 'Well, I'm not going to drug my child so you have a pleasant flight,'" Penland told the TV station.

Penland said other passengers began speaking up on her behalf, and the flight attendant announced they were turning around and that Penland and Garren were going to be taken off the plane.

Penland and her son were let off the plane and did not complete the trip to Oklahoma, said Kristy Nicholas, spokeswoman for Express Jet Airlines, which flies as Continental Express on behalf of Continental Airlines.

Do-nothing House to increase salary

2007-06-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

U.S. House members will receive a pay raise of about $4,400 in spite of a record of non-accomplishment. Don't you wish we all could get raises for not doing our jobs?

From the AP:

The cost-of-living raise endorsed Wednesday evening gets lawmakers back on track for automatic pay raises after a fight between the parties last year and again in January killed the pay increase due this year. That was the first interruption of the annual congressional pay boost in seven years.

The blowup came after Democrats last year fulfilled a campaign promise to deny themselves more pay until Congress raised the minimum wage. Delays in the minimum wage bill cost every lawmaker about $3,100 this year.

On a 244-181 vote Wednesday, Democrats and Republicans alike killed a bid by Reps. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Lee Terry, R-Neb., to get a direct vote to block the COLA, which is automatically awarded unless lawmakers vote to block it. The Senate has not indicated when it will deal with a similar measure.

Tell us something we didn't know about Bush

2007-06-19T09:30:00.001-07:00

The Government Accounting Office says in a report that President Bush is playing fast and loose with his signing statements. Doesn't take a report for most of us to know that.

From Capitol Hill Blue:

President George W. Bush breaks the law by failing to follow provisions of legislation passed by Congress and illegally modifies those bills through the use of "signing statements" that add his own interpretations or limitations.

That's the conclusion of an investigation by the General Accounting Office, an independent investigatory arm of Congress.

Administration critics say the report is another indication of how the Bush Administration ignores the law of the land.

Diplomat Accuses Iran of Armin Taliban

2007-06-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

When a diplomat says things like this, it's a trial balloon. We need to shoot that sucker down NOW!

PARIS - A senior U.S. diplomat accused
Iran on Tuesday of transferring weapons to Taliban insurgents in
Afghanistan — the most direct comments yet on the issue by a ranking American official.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, speaking to reporters in Paris, said Iran was funding insurrections across the Middle East — and "Iran is now even transferring arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan."

"It's a country that's trying to flex its muscles, but in a way that's injurious to the interests of just about everybody else in the world," he said. "I think it's a major miscalculation."

GOP ganging up on Bush

2007-06-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

Uh oh. Cracks are showing the GOP as Republican presidential candidates take pot shots at George Bush.

Oh, the horror.

Could have told you torture doesn't work

2007-05-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

If one of our past lives we found that torturing a prisoner always produced bad intel.

Now we have expert proof:

The "aggressive" interrogation techniques that the Bush administration advocates for use on terror suspects is coming under fire from experts who call the practice "outmoded, amateurish and unreliable."

Even members of the Bush administration, including Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, have begun to question the use of torture to gain information from suspects.

But President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney continue to push use of such techniques, calling them a "valuable tool" in the so-called war on terror.

Disgusted

2007-05-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

I tried listening the George Bush's news conference this morning, but through my headphones down in disgust.

The man is a liar, and not a very good one at that.

How in the world did we allow him to get in office and to stay there?

Are Dems Shooting Themselves in the Foot

2007-05-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

The American people want the war in Iraq to end, but the Democrats are caving in to the bluster of the worst president in history.

It would be nice to be able to say, "We never saw this coming," but that would be a lie. Deep down inside everyone knew that the Democrats would eventually cower before Bush's Iraq war belligerence. These Democrats are after all, more or less, the same spineless crew that rolled over and voted for Mister Bush to invade Iraq in the first place. And don't let them rewrite history...Democrats knew the basis for the Iraq war was a pack of lies, they just didn't have the courage to stand and be counted.

Mr. Alexander, we couldn't agree more.

Cheney still spinning Iraq situation

2007-05-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

Dr. Death just won't quit spinning the truth:

SHANNON, Ireland - Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that he generally got good responses from Arab allies in his appeal for more help in stabilizing Iraq. He also said he recognizes that advancing the Israel-Palestinian peace process is a related issue that also must be addressed.
"You don't get to pick and choose," the vice president told reporters aboard his plane as he returned from a weeklong tour of the Middle East, including an unannounced two-day visit to Iraq and stops in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.
Of his meetings with rank-and-file U.S. troops in Iraq, Cheney said, "I thought they were amazingly positive. They believed in what they were doing."

Why is he still in office?

Plot Against Soldiers

2007-05-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

The FBI is reporting that it has stopped a plot to kill soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

FORT DIX, N.J. — Six Islamic militants from Yugoslavia and the Middle East were arrested on charges of plotting to attack the Fort Dix Army post and "kill as many soldiers as possible," authorities said Tuesday.

In conversations secretly recorded by an FBI informant over the past year, the men talked about killing in the name of Allah and attacking U.S. warships that might dock in Philadelphia, according an FBI criminal complaint.

Funny, we didn't know there was an election coming up.

Cost of Iraq war: $500 Billion

2007-05-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

The real costs associated with the war in Iraq is not seen to be a half a trillion dollars.

From McClatchy Newspapers via Capitol Hill Blue:

The bitter fight over the latest Iraq spending bill has all but obscured a sobering fact: The war will soon cost more than $500 billion.

That's about ten times more than the Bush administration anticipated before the war started four years ago, and no one can predict how high the tab will go. The $124 billion spending bill that President Bush plans to veto this week includes about $78 billion for Iraq, with the rest earmarked for the war in Afghanistan, veterans' health care and other government programs.

Congressional Democrats and Bush agree that they cannot let their dispute over a withdrawal timetable block the latest cash installment for Iraq. Once that political fight is resolved, Congress can focus on the president's request for $116 billion more for the war in the fiscal year that starts on Sept. 1.

John McCain's Lastest Screw Up

2007-04-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

Sen. John McCain seems to be going out of his way to sink his presidential campaign.

Now he's making jokes - bad ones at that - about wanting to put an Improvised Explosive Device under the desk of The Daily Show's Jon Stewart. And you catch the comment about wanting to kick the dog?

Who is McCain's consultant, Attila the Hun?

Is Obama the One?

2007-04-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

With his plain speaking and well-thought out ideas, Barak Obama may be the one person to restore America to its greatness.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said Monday that President Bush has fallen short in his role as leader of the free world, and the 2008 election is a chance to change that.

"This president may occupy the White House, but for the last six years the position of leader of the free world has remained open. And it is time to fill that role once more," Obama said in a speech to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Making Money

2007-04-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

We're too old and set in our ways sometimes, but we took a chance with the affiliate program offered by Team Link Network, and boy are we glad we did.

Those guys pay twenty-five percent commissions on a weekly basis. That's right - weekly.

All we did was put up their banner (you see it over there to the right) and we were in business.

What a deal. You gotta check it out because you've got nothing to lose.

Does America Need Rudy?

2007-04-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Rudy says he has the experience to be a war president.

Sorry, dude, but we don't think so. You weren't that great of a mayor.

Not all joy in the House

2007-03-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Dennis Kucinich is not a happy camper over the House version of the military funding bill.

From Ravel Babel:

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is not at all happy with the Military Funding Bill passed by the House last week, calling it "a disaster for America."

Kucinich made the comments in an exclusive telephone interview with the editors at truthdig.com, and he didn't hide his displeasure with the Democratic party.

"The Democrats should have been voting—or come up with a plan to get out of Iraq," Kucinich said. "Not one that’s going to keep us there a year or two. It’s the same kind of thinking that led us into Iraq—that we didn’t have any alternatives."

He said the Democrats should be listening to the American people and taking steps to immediately end the war and bring the troops home.

" ... that means to set in motion a plan to end the occupation, close the bases, bring the troops home using money that’s already in the pipeline to do so. At the same time there’s a parallel process of bringing in international security and peacekeeping forces to stabilize Iraq. And we can get that help once we end the occupation."

Gonzo who?

2007-03-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Almost time to say goodnight to Gonzo:

Three key Republican senators sharply questioned his truthfulness over the firings last fall of eight federal prosecutors. Two more Democrats on Sunday joined the list of lawmakers calling for Gonzales' ouster.

Several Republicans also urged President Bush to allow sworn testimony from his top aides about their role in dismissing the U.S. attorneys — a standoff threatening to result in Capitol Hill subpoenas of White House officials.

Gonzales faces the toughest test of his two-year tenure at the Justice Department with the release of documents suggesting he was more involved with the firings than he indicated earlier.

Our Hearts Go Out to the Edwards

2007-03-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Having been there and done that, we know what John and Elizabeth Edwards are going through with the spread of her cancer.

Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Real Americans love you guys!

Danger, Will Robinson!

2007-03-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

We're getting pretty sick and tired of the government trying to scare us into submission. Now we have to worry about who's driving our kids to school!

We'll we're on to you now, so knock it the hell off. Go peddle you papers somewhere else.

How to counter Coulter

2007-03-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

By Marc McDonald

Are you fed up with Ann Coulter's vile, disgusting hate speech? If so, you're not alone. Thousands of Americans are now taking action against Coulter, who regular poisons our nation's political discourse with her bigoted outbursts.

As is usual in cases like this, if you want to make your voice heard when it comes to the corporate media, you've gotta hit them where it hurts: their wallets. The sort of media outlets that would give the time of day to a disgusting hate spewer like Coulter can only understand one thing: the financial bottom line.

If you want to make these corporate entities see the light, you're wasting your time if you try to appeal to their sense of human decency. On the other hand, if you hit them in the pocketbook, you just might catch their attention, if only for a moment.

As it turns out, Coulter's latest unhinged outburst (referring to Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards as a "faggot") has already cost Coulter some sponsors. CNN has reported that at least three major companies have sought to have their ads pulled from Coulter's Web site: Verizon, Sallie Mae and Georgia-based NetBank.

Liberal Web site DailyKos.com pointed out recently that the only remaining major advertiser on Coulter's Web site is Amazon.com. If you'd like to let Amazon.com know how you feel about their sponsorship of Coulter's site, the email address for Amazon.com's Investor Relations is: ir@amazon.com.

MORE>>>>>

Sooner Thought Provides Insight

2007-03-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

Was only in Oklahoma once, a training mission I'm not allowed to talk about, so when I ran across a link for a podcast called Sooner Thought I was curious and tuned in.

Surprisingly, it was insightful, thougtful, and interesting. Not what I expected Oklahomans to be. But then again, Alex claims to be an ex-pat Okie, so it may not count.

He even had an reasonably intelligent guest on - a guy named Jake from a place called Ravel Babel.

Interesting. Check both sites out.

Trampling the Constitution

2007-03-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

This editorial from the Denver Post says a lot about the Bush Administration:

Despite the best efforts of the White House, the inevitable truth has emerged about the eviction of three local residents from a 2005 public forum with President Bush in Denver.

Notwithstanding the evasions and denials, it turns out it was a White House decision to remove three critics from a public appearance by President Bush even though they were there lawfully and hadn't caused any trouble.

This wanton trampling of free speech rights is a reprehensible example of a White House that will go to almost any length to blot out dissent. What's worse is that for almost two years, administration officials would not tell the truth on this matter.

Even after two of the victims, Leslie Weise and Alex Young, filed a federal lawsuit, officials equivocated, blaming local volunteers for the ejections.

Last week, a federal appeals court denied a motion to block depositions of those involved in the ouster. One of the local volunteers then said under oath that two then-White House staffers - Steve Atkiss and Jamie O'Keefe - ordered the removals.

Weise and Young arrived in a car whose anti-war bumper sticker said, "No More Blood for Oil." An aide to Sen. Wayne Allard felt this marked them as possible troublemakers at the event, in which President Bush discussed his Social Security proposals. The three were escorted to the door.

One of the administration officials involved in the ouster told The Post it was White House policy to exclude potentially disruptive guests from presidential appearances. Atkiss, who now works for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection agency, said: "If it became obvious and apparent somebody is there to create a fuss, there was an effort made to ensure that didn't happen."

It's one thing to eject hecklers who try to shout down speakers they disagree with, infringing on the rights of others who came to hear the message. It's another thing entirely to profile residents based on their bumper stickers or what others suspect about their politics. Assuredly, the so-called "Denver Three" disagreed with the president on many fronts. Describing themselves as progressives, they wore T-shirts under their jackets that said "No More Lies."

This incident is a measure of the arrogance of an administration that acknowledges almost no limits to its power or any accountability for its conduct. It's unacceptable in our democracy that people can be ousted from a public event without cause. The White House owes them an apology at the very least.

Validating the al-Qaeda strategy

2007-03-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

What is Dick Cheney's role in this?

Here is how Consortium News figures it:

Vice President Dick Cheney says he stands by his accusation that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq would “validate the al-Qaeda strategy.” And he apparently thinks he got the better of this latest war of words.

However, if Pelosi ever goes beyond complaining that Cheney is impugning her “patriotism” – while Cheney counters that he is only questioning her “judgment” – she might point out that it is the Bush administration that has “validated” al-Qaeda’s 9/11 strategy over the past five years.

Food for thought.

Who will lead the Christian Soldiers Onward?

2007-02-25T09:45:00.000-08:00

The Times is reporting that the far-right, evangelical Christian movement who took credit for the appointment of George W. Bush as president, is having a hard time deciding who they will support in 2008.

Bush is such a hard act to follow.

Exerpt:

The conservative concern may also be an ominous sign for the Republican Party about the morale of a core element of its political base. Conservatives warn that the 2008 election could shape up like 1996, when conservatives faced a lesser-of-two evils choice between a Republican they distrusted, former Senator Bob Dole, and a Democrat they disdained, President Bill Clinton. Dr. Dobson of Focus on the Family later said in a speech to the council that he voted for a conservative third-party candidate that year rather than pull a lever for Mr. Dole.

Jeter: No Feud

2007-02-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

God, I'm glad there's nothing to the story about a feud between Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

Now maybe I can get a good night's rest.

From the Times:

“I don’t have a rift with Alex,” Jeter said. “We go out there, we work together. This is our fourth year together. It’s annoying to hear about it all the time. Everyone assumes they know what our relationship is. They see us on the field. If one person gives another one a look, it’s a story. If we’re at opposite ends of the bench, people say it’s a story.”

More crap for obsessed new parents

2007-02-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

My daughter and her husband are exercise freaks to the point of obsession. They are always measuring their pulse, calculating distances and being generally obnoxious about their physical workouts. It's enough to make a guy puke.

When they recently had their first child (yeah, I'm now a grandpa) I thought they would tone it down a bit, but no.

Yesterday they jogged over to my place (five miles, for god's sake)pushing the baby in a stoller and had to show off their new Strollometer.

You clip it to the handle of any stroller, including the racing stroller my kid has, and it helps them calculate time, distance, and speed.

Speed?! It's a stroller! Why are they worried about speed when they're supposed to be on a stroll.

Slow down and smell the damn flowers!

Not the place to live just now

2007-02-12T06:23:00.000-08:00

Northeastern New York is not the place to be right now.

REDFIELD, N.Y. — A historic snowfall of more than 11 feet is nothing to get excited about in this hardy upstate New York village that thrives on snowmobilers and cross-country skiers.

"It's snow. We get a lot of it. So what?" said Allan Babcock, a lifelong resident who owns Shar's Country Diner, a popular eatery in this village of 650 people.

"It's nice to have all the attention — it's certainly good for business," echoed Patti Patterson, who runs the Redfield Hotel. "Really, though, what's the fuss. Six feet of snow here is nothing."

But this isn't six feet.

Unofficially, there's 11 feet, 4 inches left behind by intense lake-effect squalls that pounded communities along eastern Lake Ontario for nine straight days, before finally winding down Sunday. Gov. Eliot Spitzer declared a state disaster emergency in Oswego County because of the heavy snow.

Is Anna Nicole the only thing happening in the world?

2007-02-09T11:32:00.000-08:00

Based on coverage by the talking basic cable news heads last night the only story worth talking about was the sudden death of an aging ex-stripper from small-town Texas.

While a sad story, it doesn't rate the amount of coverage given to it. And it continues today.

Lost dollars meant for Iraqis

2007-02-07T05:42:00.000-08:00

The billions of lost U.S. dollars (in cash) that went missing in Iraq was meant to pay Iraqis who were running the new United States Middle East empire.

CNN reports:

L. Paul Bremer, who as the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority ran Iraq after initial combat operations ended, said the enormous shipments were done at the request of the Iraqi minister of finance.

"He said, 'I am concerned that I will not have the money to support the Iraqi government expenses for the first couple of months after we are sovereign. We won't have the mechanisms in place, I won't know how to get the money here,"' Bremer said.

"So these shipments were made at the explicit request of the Iraqi minister of finance to forward fund government expenses, a perfectly, seems to me, legitimate use of his money," Bremer told lawmakers.

Democrats led by Waxman also questioned whether the lack of oversight of $12 billion in Iraqi money that was disbursed by Bremer and the CPA somehow enabled insurgents to get their hands on the funds, possibly through falsifying names on the government payroll.

Wonder if any wound up in the Bush reelection campaign fund?

Boston can't take a joke

2007-02-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

Geez. What's the matter? Can't Boston take a joke?

Did city officials all get ahold of bad clams, or were they just trying out their terror response system and it got out of hand.

To my way of thinking, they way overreacted and should say so and get on with looking for real terrorists.

Who was that naked man?

2007-01-30T08:30:00.000-08:00

An 18-year-old high school student is in serious trouble for greasing his naked body and running around in the school cafeteria.

Police had to zap him twice with a stun gun to subdue him.

No word if hot dogs were taken off the cafeteria menu after the incident.

Acai helping fight the cold

2007-01-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

Damn, I haven't been this cold since my gulag days, but that's another story.

One thing that's helping me through this cold snap (it's supposed to be above freezing tomorrow) is drinking Acai Plus, a nutritional supplement with antioxidants, protein, fiber, trace minerals, and cancer fighting xanthones.

Don't know about the cancer thing, but my bursitis hasn't been acting up as much lately. I'm also in the process of setting up separate web site so I can take advantage of online money making opportunities. That pension doesn't stretch as far anymore.

More on this later.

American Military Unprepared for another conflict

2007-01-25T07:32:00.000-08:00

While the U.S. military is developing "the best counterinsurgency force in the world" they are not prepared to fight a large-scale conventional war, generals told Congress.

We have to temper that with the knowledge that the military brass was seeking billions of dollars in increased funding at the time.

The truth is probably not as dire as they made out, but they are counting on the fear factor.

If we truly made an effort to get rid of the waste in the Pentagon, we could afford a buildup without more appropriations. But that makes too much sense.

Smiley go too far?

2007-01-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

Just caught this from The Huffington Post: Not Only the Worst President, but the Worst Possible President

Sounds a little too much on the face of it, but read the post with an open mind.

Exerpt:

At the same time, Little George has a hard time with bad news, so he was never going be told the truth--he can't take the truth, as Jack Nicholson might say--this is evident in the famous 9/11 film of Bush reading about his pet goat when he gets news of the WTC. Talk about dumbstruck and unprepared and feckless and doltish! No, I don't think Little George planned the Trade Center attacks. If he had, he would have practiced a smarmy fake reaction, and he didn't.

Well, what do you think?

Is Bush Too Dumb to Get It

2007-01-10T10:50:00.000-08:00

Just about anyone with half a brain knows George Bush's war is Iraq is a lost cause and has been since before it began.

Donald Kaul sums it up nicely in his opinion piece at The Daily Chronicle Online.

Exerpt:

For those of you who haven't noticed---and where have you been living, Dick Cheney's cave?---the wheels have come off Mr. Bush's War. Not one wheel, not two, all four wheels - and the Bush administration is skidding on its belly toward disaster at the next curve in the road.

Say what?

2007-01-06T09:08:00.000-08:00

I’m pleased that Democrat leaders agree with Republicans that earmark reform is a critical issue.--U.S. Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio.

This from a man whose party tripled the amount of money used for earmarked projects--to greater than $64 billion a year.

You have to assume that everything we have done is subject to a revisit. We support the speaker and her drive to get things done within 100 hours. These things are not locked in cement.--U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-New York, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, concerning the new earmarking rule.

Sounds like Charlie's trying to cover his ass.

Police going private

2007-01-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

From The Washington Post:

Private firms with outright police powers have been proliferating in some places -- and trying to expand their terrain. The "company police agencies," as businesses such as Capitol Special Police are called here, are lobbying the state legislature to broaden their jurisdiction, currently limited to the private property of those who hire them, to adjacent streets. Elsewhere -- including wealthy gated communities in South Florida and the Tri-Rail commuter trains between Miami and West Palm Beach -- private security patrols without police authority carry weapons, sometimes dress like SWAT teams and make citizen's arrests.

Private security guards have outnumbered police officers since the 1980s, predating the heightened concern about security brought on by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. What is new is that police forces, including the Durham Police Department here in North Carolina's Research Triangle, are increasingly turning to private companies for help. Moreover, private-sector security is expanding into spheres -- complex criminal investigations and patrols of downtown districts and residential neighborhoods -- that used to be the province of law enforcement agencies alone.

More>>>

The sky is falling

2006-12-30T05:31:00.000-08:00

Bushes Sheltered In Armored Vehicle During TX Tornado Watch

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush were moved to an armored vehicle on their ranch Friday when a tornado warning was issued in central Texas, the White House said.

The vehicle was driven to a tornado shelter on the ranch at 1:30 p.m. CST, and the president, Mrs. Bush and their two Scottish terriers, Barney and Miss Beazley, sat inside until the weather cleared, deputy White House press secretary Scott Stanzel said. They were never moved into the shelter, he said. The shelter is a few hundred yards away from the president's house on the ranch.

Was Saddam a CIA Asset

2006-12-29T05:17:00.000-08:00

According to Wayne Madsen, writing in OpEdNews, Saddam Hussein's execution is being carried out swiftly because of information he had regarding the complicity of the U.S. in his use of chemical weapons supplied by the American government.

Oh yeah, Madsen also claims Saddam was an asset used by the CIA from his student days.

Frankly, I'm always a little skeptical of conspiracy theories, but for this administration, I'll make an exception. However, I did find the headline of the article a bit edgy: Why the Bush Crime Family Wants Saddam Iced

Shame on the GOP

2006-12-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

Says Capitol Hill Blue:

Gridlock was good to Congress under the Republicans. With Democrat Bill Clinton in the White House, it produced such landmarks as the welfare reform act of 1996 and a string of budget surpluses.

But with a Republican president in the White House discipline began breaking down. The surpluses vanished, spending soared, traditional courtesies to the minority party were ignored and a series of ethics scandals culminated in the resignation of four Republican House members this year.

In November, the voters ended the Republicans control of Congress and maybe just in time. In 12 years of GOP control of the House and 10 of the Senate, the 109th that just adjourned was the worst yet.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., called it "the most useless Congress in modern times." That might be dismissed as partisan excess except that many Republicans share his assessment.

How can these bozos stand to look at themselves in the mirror?

Headline News Pandering to Lowest Common Denominator

2006-12-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

We don't watch CNN's Headline News in the evening anymore because it's not news, it the basest form of entertainment.

From the shrill ravings of Nancy Grace,to the racist diatribes of Glenn Beck, CNN is searching for ratings and advertising dollars by appealing to sickest in our society.

Is it working for them? Yes, which just shows how far this country has fallen in morality since the the new century began.

Shame on CNN. And shame on us.

Is this war civil?

2006-11-28T05:27:00.000-08:00

I don't often agree with Doug Thompson at Capitol Hill Blue but his rant about the main stream media and the civil war in Iraq is pretty much on the money.

Exerpt:

Amazing. Two staunch members of the Legion of Mainstream Media (otherwise known as the LMSM) have declared the debacle in Iraq to be just what it is: a civil war.

NBC Monday announced that from that point forward it would describe the Iraq conflict as "a civil war."

To announce this radical change in policy, NBC didn't send out serious Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. Nah, this story is too big for Brian. Give it to the prince of fluff, Today's Matt Lauer.

"For the most part news organizations like NBC hesitated to characterize it as such," Lauer told the Monday morning audience. "After careful consideration, NBC News has decided the change in terminology is warranted and what is going on in Iraq can now be characterized as civil war."

Interesting that as the reports of daily slaughter increase in Iraq, NBC chooses to announce its decision on the show where news is an afterthought. I'm surprised Lauer had time to report it amid all the stories about Christmas shopping, winter fashions and the latest antics of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

Keith Olberman gave it more serious treatment Monday night on his MSNBC Countdown show but that came after a full day of White House spin claiming the trouble in Iraq as all al-Qaida's fault and how dare a news organization call a civil war a civil war. But that's the White House, where truth is treated as an enemy combatant.

More>>>

Repubs pick minority leaders

2006-11-16T13:20:00.000-08:00

For the first time in 12 years, the Republican members of the Senate chose their leaders for the minority party.

In Sen. Trent Lott, the picked a fallen leader, for the No. 2 position.

Maybe they'll stay No. 2 until the country is back on track.

Molly's on target again

2006-11-10T07:33:00.000-08:00

Molly Ivins never ceases to amaze us with her keen, down-home insight to the political situation.

Exerpt:

The sheer pleasure of getting lessons in etiquette from Karl Rove and the right-wing media passeth all understanding. Ever since 1994, the Republican Party has gone after Democrats with the frenzy of a foaming mad dog. There was the impeachment of Bill Clinton, not to mention the trashing of both Clinton and his wife -- accused of everything from selling drugs to murder -- all orchestrated by that paragon of manners, Tom DeLay.

Media Matters collected some gems of fairness. For instance, Monica Crowley with MSNBC, in the wake of John Kerry's botched program, astutely observed "how lucky we are that he was not elected president. ... The Republicans remain the grown-ups, the responsible ones on national security."

How many dead Americans has this grown-up war resulted in?

So long Donnie ...

2006-11-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

Sorry we ever knew ye!

Donald Rumsfeld Resigns as Minister of War

Bush seen as threat to peace

2006-11-06T08:21:00.000-08:00

Does it really take a poll to show that George W. Bush is a major threat to world peace?

How to build a bomb

2006-11-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

The stupidity of federal bureaucrats never ceases to amaze us. Check this out from the Times:

Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who had said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.

But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.

Blaming the Military for Bush's Failures

2006-11-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

House Majority Leader Boehner Blames Military For Problems In Iraq.

House Majority Leader John Boehner: Wolf, I understand that, but let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld.

Wolf Blitzer: But he's in charge of the military.

House Majority Leader John Boehner: But the fact is the generals on the ground are in charge and he works closely with them and the president. [CNN, 11/1/06]

Interior caves to Big Oil

2006-10-31T09:48:00.000-08:00

Once again the Bush administration offers America's rear end to Big Oil.

Are we winning?

2006-10-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Il Duce said this yesterday about the war in Iraq: ''We're winning and we will win, unless we leave before the job is done.''

He may be right if you only count the number of dead.

No truer words

2006-10-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder writing in his book Decisions: My Life in Politics:

We rightly criticize that in most Islamic states, the role of religion for society and the character of the rule of law are not clearly separated. But we fail to recognize that in the USA, the Christian fundamentalists and their interpretation of the Bible have similar tendencies.

Times needs to pull its head out

2006-10-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

An editorial in the Times claims American citizens are immune from Bush's military tribunals.

According to Robert Parry they need to pull their heads out of their asses. My words,not his.

'A mockery of the rule of law'

2006-10-18T03:24:00.000-07:00

Former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, co-author of the special prosecutor law during the administration of another criminal president, has this to say about the current occupier of the Oval Office and the recently signed Military Tribunals law:

Today will go down in the annals of infamy. By signing the military tribunals bill into law, President Bush has taken this country down a long dark road of shame.

The bill countenances abuse of detainees in defiance of the Geneva Conventions and the country's past moral values and it suspends habeas corpus in defiance of the constitution. As bad as these features is the bill's grant of a pardon to President Bush and his top Cabinet officials for any crimes they may have committed under the War Crimes Act of 1996.

When a president violates the country's criminal laws and then gets a secret grant of immunity for those crimes, he makes a mockery of the rule of law. Then all lawlessness is permissible.

This provision in the bill creates a culture of impunity for torture and abuse of detainees. It was slipped into the bill in secret, without hearings or debate. Most members of Congress, most reporters and most Americans have no idea that this has happened.

By doing this the President has stuck a horrific blow at our basic democratic values and our constitutional system.

Instead of pardoning himself with the complicity of Congress, the President should be making public what acts of prisoner abuse he authorized the CIA to undertake or what acts of theirs he ratified.

Cheney's secret energy policy

2006-10-17T04:01:00.000-07:00

Remember when Vice President Dick "Dead-Eye" Cheney gathered all the oil company execs to formulate the Bush administration's energy policy?

Well, here it is.

More dirty tricks

2006-10-13T08:53:00.000-07:00

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that nearly 200,000 letters were sent out to Georgia voters telling them they do not have a valid driver's license or state-issue photo I.D. after the voter I.D. law was declared unconstitutional.

Guess which party was behind the mailing.

A must-see documentary

2006-10-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

The recent ruling of the Supreme Court that WR Grace is responsible for clean up of asbestos in Libby, MT, is another win for the people.

To get a full understanding of the issue, this documentary is a must see.

If you need them, check out these Pennsylvania Mesothelioma lawyers. They're the best.

Hart on the October Surprise

2006-10-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Gary Hart seems to think the "October Surprise" may well be an assault on Iran.

Let's hope he's wrong.

Okie Embarrassment

2006-09-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

I have served with many fine people from the great state of Oklahoma. Too bad they are represented by this caveman who has no redeeming social value.

Habeas corpus takes hit

2006-09-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

Capitol Hill Blue reports:

The compromise between President Bush and Senate Republicans on detainee treatment has one gaping flaw. It carves out an open-ended exception to the great legal principle of habeas corpus.

Habeas corpus has its roots deep _ it is said to predate the 1215 Magna Carta _ in English common law, from which we derive our own legal system, and, on issuance of a writ, it requires a prisoner to be brought before a court to determine whether he is being lawfully held and, if not, released.

It is a principal safeguard of civil liberty, essential toward making the government obey the law.

Habeas corpus is specifically mentioned in Article One of the Constitution, which mentions only two exceptions for its suspension, "Rebellion or Invasion," mercifully, neither of which prevails today.

On Ann Coulter

2006-09-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

Brainless

Brainless: The Lies and Lunacy of Ann Coulter is an unbridled look at a woman who twists the truth, misleads, plays loose with facts and allusions, and has been accused of plagiarism in hammering home her logic-defying arguments.

Brainless illustrates the dangers, ironies, and hypocrisies of the Mistress of Malice. She spews her venom generously across the spectrum. Democrats and Liberals are just the beginning. If you're a woman (you shouldn't vote), gay (you're going to hell), a 9/11 widow (dancing on your murdered husband's grave) or Bill Clinton (slurs and charges too numerous to mention here), you will find yourself the object of her ire.

Congress Approves New Torture Plan

2006-09-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

Un-freakin-believable:

HUMAN RIGHTS -- DETAINEE AGREEMENT ALLOWS 'SCENIC ROUTE' TO TORTURE:

"We're all winners," Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said about the recent agreement on detainee legislation, "because we've been able to come to an agreement through a process of negotiations and consensus."

"But the details - not to mention crowing from the White House - indicate that the administration is walking off with a major victory while allowing the Senate to save face."

The White House agreed "not to reinterpret the Geneva Conventions," but the legislation "would give the president explicit authority to interpret 'the meaning and application' of the relevant provisions in Common Article 3."

The War Crimes Act will now include a list of "grave breaches" of the conventions, while the president "could decide on his own what actions might be a lesser breach...and what interrogation techniques he considered permissible."

The legislation "would permit CIA interrogators to use harsh techniques critics call torture."

"In effect, the agreement means that U.S. violations of international human rights law can continue as long as Mr. Bush is president, with Congress's tacit assent."

The administration admitted it had gotten exactly what it wanted from the Senate.

"We proposed a more direct approach to bringing clarification," Dan Bartlett said. "This one is more of the scenic route, but it gets us there."

Torture is un-American

2006-09-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

President Bush wants to legitimize "alternative" interrogation techniques.

This is not the American way, and should never even be considered!

It's past time to get these bastards out of office and into prison where they belong!

California's Three-Strikes Law

2006-09-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting article about the severity of Calilfornia's three-strikes law. Makes me glad to be from the East.

Exerpt:

California has the toughest "three strikes" law in the nation. And under the terms of the law, everyone convicted of a third felony -- no matter what kind -- serves a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life. According to the group Families to Amend California's Three Strikes (FACTS), 4,500 California prisoners are currently serving life sentences for crimes as minor as stealing a slice of pizza.

Stop the madness

2006-09-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

As someone with firsthand knowledge of interrogation techniques, I know what works and what doesn't.

The proposals before Congress which would legalize some of the techniques condoned by the Bush administration are bogus. You can not get reliable intel through torture.

human rights first has a campaign designed to lobby Congress.

Join the real fight for freedom!

How's that?

2006-09-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

From House Majority Leader John Boehner, on Democrats:

I wonder if they're more interested in protecting the terrorists than protecting the American people. They certainly don't want to take the terrorists on and defeat them.

Let's see, the Democrats were in power and let bin Laden escape, then invaded Iraq and created a training ground for terrorists.

No, wait, that was the Republicans.

My bad.

Bush fearful of war crimes?

2006-09-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

According Alternet: Bush Fears War Crimes Prosecution and ImpeachmentExerpt:

As the election season rolls around, Bush is doing everything he can to avoid a Dem sweep in the House of Congress - or else he might be impeached.

With great fanfare, George W. Bush announced to a group of carefully selected 9/11 families yesterday that he had finally decided to send Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and 13 other alleged terrorists to Guantánamo Bay, where they will be tried in military commissions. After nearly five years of interrogating these men, why did Bush choose this moment to bring them to "justice"?

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What a novel idea. Holding a president accountable for his criminal actions.

Is ABC really run by morons?

2006-09-09T06:02:00.000-07:00

Read this about ABC's The Path to 9/11, then decide.

Teetering on the edge

2006-09-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

Seems like our president has seen more stable days. Some say his own father is thinking he's nuts.

Read this: Has Bush gone over the edge?

Exerpt:

His mental pulse needs to be taken, not just his physical one. I think that what prevents his doctors from doing so is their fear of what they'd find. Without such an examination, we are left with no medical terms to describe his mental functioning, his private global war on terror which extends to attacks on his own capacity to perceive reality. I have not examined the President, so it is not proper for me to offer a diagnosis. However, my observations lead me to believe that he is psychotic.

Lieberman's True Color

2006-08-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

All doubts about Joe Lieberman's true party affiliation should now be put to rest.

Democrats are deserting him in droves.

Republicans are flocking to him like flies to sh*t.

Gravity Theory Disputed

2006-08-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

If you're not a regular reader of The Onion, you are really missing out.

Example:

Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory

KANSAS CITY, KS—As the debate over the teaching of evolution in public schools continues, a new controversy over the science curriculum arose Monday in this embattled Midwestern state. Scientists from the Evangelical Center For Faith-Based Reasoning are now asserting that the long-held "theory of gravity" is flawed, and they have responded to it with a new theory of Intelligent Falling.

"Things fall not because they are acted upon by some gravitational force, but because a higher intelligence, 'God' if you will, is pushing them down," said Gabriel Burdett, who holds degrees in education, applied Scripture, and physics from Oral Roberts University.

See what I mean?

Danger! That Soda May Pop

2006-08-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

According to reports by the BBC, The latest terrorist scare involves the breakup by the British of "A plot to blow up planes in flight from the UK to the US and commit 'mass murder on an unimaginable scale' has been disrupted, Scotland Yard has said."

MSNBC has reported:

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said there was no indication of plotting in the United States but said officials cannot assume that the terror operation in Britain had been completely thwarted.

The administration raised the threat level for flights from Britain to “red,” designating a severe risk of terrorist attacks. All other flights, including all domestic flights in the United States, were put under an “orange,” alert — one step below the highest level.

Chertoff also said the alleged plot was “suggestive of an al-Qaida plot.”

Supposedly, the plot involved liquids brought on planes that could be mixed to cause explosions.

While we applaud the work of everyone trying to keep us safe, we've got to wonder what additional rights the current administration will take away from the American people.

Why are they not in prison?

2006-08-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

According Rep. John Conyers Jr. and his report, as published this in Mother Jones, the Bush Administration, aided and abetted by the GOP-controlled Congress, have broken so many laws and violated the Constitution so many times, they should all be in prison.

Why aren't they?

Nation of hypocrites

2006-08-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

This nation is like all the others that have been spewed upon the earth -- ready to shout for any cause that will tickle its vanity or fill its pocket. What a hell of a heaven it will be when they get all these hypocrites assembled there!
- Mark Twain in a letter to J. H. Twichell, 29 January 1901

Whiney Joe

2006-08-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

Did you catch this whine from Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman?

I think you can try too hard to be cool and the coolness can come back to hit you in the face.

That's what old Looserman had to say about Ned Lamont's visit to Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.

Hey, Joe. Did anone ever tell you how uncool it is to be kissed by a President for the opposite party?

New 'Smart' Cancer Drug

2006-07-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

AFP news service reports:

LONDON (AFP) - A new "smart" cancer drug that fights tumours on two fronts is to be launched in Britain, according to a newspaper report.

Sutent, produced by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, has been licensed to treat kidney cancer, which affects about 6,600 people in Britain every year, and gastrointestinal stromal tumours, diagnosed in about 900 people here every year.

Early trials also suggest that the drug may be effective against breast, lung and pancreatic cancers, the Times reported on Monday.

The new drug is not cheap, however, costing about 2,400 pounds (3,500 euros, 4,500 dollars) per patient per month, and cost pressures in Britain's National Health Service (NHS) may limit its use, the Times said.

Sutent inhibits a critical enzyme that signals cells to multiply and is overactive in some cancers, and also starves tumours of nutrients necessary for their expansion by preventing the growth of blood vessels.

It is the first drug that combines both methods, the Times said.

The drug caused tumours to shrink in 40 percent of patients with advanced kidney cancer who were not responding to other treatments, and stabilised their size in a further 28 percent of cases, according to the paper.

Perhaps if the drug companies did not spend so much on needless public advertising the costs of the drugs would be low enough so those who really need them could get them.

Lawsuits Dropped, Filmmaker Spins

2006-07-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

From Capitol Hill Blue:

Three Vietnam War veterans who sued over a documentary about Sen. John Kerry's anti-war activities have dropped their lawsuits, leaving just one court fight pending over the 2004 film.

Filmmaker Carlton Sherwood says the withdrawal of the lawsuits shows they were frivolous complaints filed by Kerry operatives to try to block the film's release in the final weeks of the presidential race.

"We've always believed that Kerry controlled these lawsuits," Sherwood said Monday.

The 42-minute film, "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," charges that Kerry's actions as an anti-war activist after his tour in Vietnam harmed American POWs. It also questions the veracity of reports by some veterans about U.S. atrocities.

Sherwood continues to press his defamation suit against Kerry and campaign aide John Podesta, which charges they conspired to block the film's release by labeling him a "disgraced journalist" and "Bush hack." The Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. canceled plans to air the full documentary on its stations before the November 2004 election.

Nice spin job by Sherwood.

Of course if you read further into the short article you see one of the litigants dropped the suit due to the toll it was taking on his family.

Anyone who has ever been involved in a lawsuit can attest that it does take a toll. Just because a suit is dropped does not mean it has no merit. It only means that the resources, monetary or emotional, are no longer available.