The New Iraq?

And lets always carry with us the DOWNING STREET MEMO's and the terrible terrible war plan where NOBODY has been held accountable for the numerous mistakes!

$100 dollars from 1 million Democrats and Progressives creates the funding for a privately held Cable TV Network to take on CNN, MSNBC and FOX.

We can do this.

There is a threatened veto of stem cell research by the administration because they believe stem cell research results in death. All the while, this same administration asks for billions and billions of dollars for war, which results in death. The stem cell research will result in progress while the war will most certainly end in disaster. Let the taxpayers decide where our money is spent.

abq john--I'm with you. We have to straighten these people out! When the truth is laid out (sometime after the people liberate the MSM), voters will know what to do.

My heart goes out to the Iraqi people. A very sad time for America, a shameful time.

When the truth is laid out (sometime after the people liberate the MSM), voters will know what to do.
Posted by: Karen at May 24, 2005 07:27 PM

Karen, don't hold your breath. Most people don't even know the MSM needs liberating, let alone have plans to liberate it. How will we get that message out to them? ESP?

Posted on Kos:

Republicans get immediate confirmation of a judge Democrats have successfully fought for years to prevent, and Democrats get the chance to call Republicans lying cheating hypocrites sometime in the future. Stupendous.

by BCF on Tue May 24th, 2005 at 15:40:35 PD

This does seem to sum things up, doesn't it?

It may be worse than that, Amy, if all three judges get confirmed and then Frist calls for the rule change over Myers and the Republicans screw the Democrats.

Please, if there are any optimists still out there, don't tell me this couldn't happen. It can, and we both know it.

This does seem to sum things up, doesn't it?

Not really. The Democrats sucessfully blocked her because they had the numbers to block her in committee, which they do not now, nor in cloture.

And the Democrats have always had the right to call the Republicans that--ever since Bush lifted his hand from the Bible and wasn't struck down by lightening.

This does seem to sum things up, doesn't it?

I think what the comment sums up is the way some people are feeling right now.

The thing is, that this is all far from over. And having stopped over at the Freeper site, I can tell you that they are thinking battle is ended, which is why Frist is telling the Compromise Republicans to go screw themselves.

This isn't the Democrats "live to fight another day". This is a different, "Live to fight a better fight". This was the BEST opportunity Frist had to kill the filibuster, because most people do know or care one whit about Circuit Court judges. But trying and kill the filibuster over a SCOTUS nominee--bar much higher, much higher.

Sooooo, I am gearing up for the fight to continue Amy, and I know you are too. First, we rest. And then, back in the armor.

I'm in this for the long haul.

Hey, we're having trouble logging onto the IRC chat--anything anyone can do to help? Thanks!

whew! thought is was just me!

The irc is definitely FUBAR'd. Calling the doc now...

Progressives need National Strategy. This piecemeal approach does nothing but waste energy and talent. We have good people, is there something holding them up? whats the problem?

We need to embolden leaders, support and let them know people stand behind them, we have their their back. That fillibuster at the Mall was great, brought attention and forced comments from our leaders. Now we need to keep at it with similar protests and actions. Never stop, never give up.

If we see Senator frist try to squash minority rights, we must stand taller and give him a Bigger target.
Create ads and commercials until he has nowhere to hide; The atomic Frist, Radioactive majority leader, Bring gieger counters to work buttons, Senator Critical mass, Doctor Strangelove (or how i learned to love the nuclear Option), Senator Meltdown, the Frist Syndrome...etc
He needs to pay a price for even attempting to strip away Senatorial rules that have governed the actions of elected representatives for 199 years. Dispicable Action made worse by allegiance to religous fanatics.

The same goes for the Dobsonian sect of the Extreme Religious Right. The Nation is close to having enough of the Puratanical grabs for Political Power. This is not the crusades, this is not a holy war, this is a simple lust for power.

It should be talked about without being afraid of lightning striking. Their lust has come full circle, they do not hide their intentions, they do not hide their threats.
There are openly made threats against democratically elected leaders of this Nation for refusing to destroy the rules of the Senate, and by extension the Constitution. There is no longer Pretense, they feel strong and secure enough to openly decide the fate of this Government, and this Nation.

Progressives and Moderates are all thats left standing in their way. We need to understand this is Political Battle of Historic size and importance. We must prepare and be ready, because it starts now.

Just spoke with the doc and it looks like winbeta servers are down.

Updates to follow...

Toolmaker--you are exactly right--we need aggregation and coordination.

In that direction, I am getting together with the small team of enthusiasts who were going to oversee the DC filibuster today. My goal is to get us ready to get everyone elese ready for the right moment to go into the streets, as necessary.

Bolton, Iraq, the Media, voting issues, social security, the environment, NCLB, the theocracy takeover, judges, the filibuster redux--who can say what we will need to do? The important thing is to be READY and connected.

Please go to the Tool Kit discussion and we can all get on the same page there.

Here's what I know: Owens may not be a shoe-in. After Owens they're moving to "the DESTROYER" Bolton. Then Frist is saying he's going to put out a vote for closure on Thursday when Meyers is filibustered.

Clearly, the town is rearing for action and Dobson and the dark side is moving in for another attack.

Will Luke Skywalker be able to save us from the dark forces of evil?

Tune in Thursday, when we go for the dc wars 2--coming to a theatre near you!

irc reopen

Posted by: Toolmaker at May 24, 2005 09:55 PM

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and did I say YES!!!!!

Admittedly partisan report of day 2 of Rossi/Gregoire WA Governor trial (as reported by State Dem Chair Paul Behrendt):

Today on the second day of the trial, it is clear that Dino Rossi is up to his old tricks by drawing attention only to errors that benefited him and ignoring those that cost Gregoire votes. 

Ø      Dino Rossi once again showed that he is willing to do anything to get himself into the Governor’s mansion – including hiding the truth from Washingtonians.  Today, Dino Rossi and his lawyers continued to cherry pick the information he is providing to the judge and the public – all the while ignoring facts that would benefit Christine Gregoire. 

Ø      By focusing exclusively on King County, Dino Rossi is trying to hide errors across the state that would have helped Christine Gregoire increase her margin of victory.  Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed testified that there were significant problems in 20 counties. 

Ø      Dino Rossi is also trying to hide errors in King County that would have benefited Christine Gregoire.  Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed testified that, of all the errors in King County, he was not aware of any that hurt Dino Rossi. 

Ø      Dino Rossi has once again concealed information that would show that Christine Gregoire won this election.  Today, Rossi’s lawyers made allegations of errors and repeated sweeping accusations of fraud.  However, they made no effort to gather evidence to support these claims, because that evidence would have reinforced the fact that Christine Gregoire won this election.  

* Dino Rossi made allegations regarding absentee ballots but did not count the absentee ballot envelopes – which were easily obtainable and the best evidence that is available. 

* Dino Rossi focused exclusively on one possibility for those errors, despite the fact that their own witness, the Chelan County Auditor, testified to numerous possibilities for those types of accounting errors.

Ø      It is time for Dino Rossi to call an end to his desperate attempts to steal this election from Governor Gregoire and the voters of Washington.  It is time for Dino Rossi to drop this lawsuit.

-- Should I send money or take a wait and see approach? The trial will probably drag on almost as long as Jacko's.

Report on Rochester NY Social Security Rally

Subject: Social Security rally

You know how in a stupid sit-com, someone takes pictures and they turn out really bad? Well, I did it. Attached are ALL my pictures from the Social Security rally that was held at the Unitarian church in downtown Rochester today. At first I forgot my camera and had to go home for it. The rally had been moved because of the weather - or some other sinister reason. I got to the church, and people were milling around outside and on the sidewalk along Clinton Av. (major street taking traffic into the city). No one knew what was going on - a typical Democratic event. After about 15 minutes, we realized that the real rally was INSIDE the church, but it was so packed we couldn't get in. There were speakers I couldn't identify, and people stomping on the floor and the balconies. Well, I saw ER last week and I know what happens when lots of people are on balconies! So I got the heck out of there! I did make it back in later to take some pictures, but, well, you'll see...

Rick

(I can't reproduce the pictures here but they're like blurred or of people's feet & so on, then finally the last & final one is really good - apparently he got inside.)

Rick, that's pretty funny. Or... DiAnne.... or...
Anyway, it's funny.

Casey, I'm suddenly the other optimist. Why, you may ask? Well, I've had a sign. You see, today the new fawns appeared. Yes, that's right, we have three does living on our property and they have each had a new fawn today. And each of them came by the yard this afternoon to show off their pride and joy. If that's not a reason to be hopeful, I don't know what is.

In wake of deal, power struggle looms for GOP
Senate compromise left Frist, McCain on opposite sides of divide

By Dan Balz
The Washington Post
Updated: 2:37 a.m. ET May 25, 2005

WASHINGTON - The fallout from the Senate compromise that averted a showdown over judicial filibusters fell most heavily on the Republican Party yesterday, signaling intraparty warfare that is likely to shape the battle for the party's 2008 presidential nomination and further strain the unity the GOP has enjoyed under President Bush.

Monday's surprise deal left two of the party's most prominent potential 2008 candidates, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), on opposite sides of an ideological and strategic divide that is likely to widen as the party begins in earnest to hunt for a successor to Bush. Perhaps mindful of the power of social and religious conservatives, other GOP senators with presidential aspirations, including George Allen (Va.) and Chuck Hagel (Neb.), condemned the deal.

Read more... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7969581/

A food fight in the Big GOP Tent
The week conservative Republicanism lost some traction

By Howard Fineman
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 5:43 p.m. ET May 24, 2005

WASHINGTON - I’m wondering if we haven’t just witnessed a turning point in politics. Years from now, when we look back on the “Gang of 14” deal, will we see it as the moment when the tide of conservative Republicanism crested?

American public life moves in cycles. A generation ago, Lyndon Johnson trounced Barry Goldwater. But Goldwater’s 1964 crusade unleashed energy and ideas that inspired the New Right-Republican movement, which eventually reached its zenith in George W. Bush. He unified the libertarian, religious and corporate cadres of conservatism under his GOP banner.

Is the wheel turning again with another bold Texan in power? Hard to know, of course, and the Democrats won’t rise in some mere hydraulic fashion. They need to find vision, ideas and charismatic leaders, and none of them seem to be in great supply. But the line of products – call them “Bush Right” – suddenly is looking like what marketers call a “mature brand.” There are signs of age, strain and overreach, internally and externally.

A generation ago, voters turned against the Democrats for the excesses of their welfare-state, big-government thinking. Washington WASN’T the answer to everything.

But, voters may conclude, the Bible isn't either. They could turn against the GOP if they think the party is sacrificing the American tradition of pragmatism and respect for scientific progress – on, say, stem-cell research – in favor of religious fundamentalism, however sincere. Take a look at some of the key supporters of stem-cell research: Nancy Reagan, to name one – not to mention corporate executives who don’t want to see research money and energy drift away to other countries. Two religions are in collision, one of them secular and scientific, the other Biblical.

Read more... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7967628/

Posted by: mOnKeY at May 25, 2005 06:45 AM

MOnKeY,

That's what I've been saying all along--well, after the first 5 minutes of "oh no...they wimped out." But then I realized IN FIGHTING!

This is going to derail and slow down a lot of this CONservative crap going through. MODERATES are going to really need our phone calls to prod them and support them each step of the way.

I truly believe these 14 will be known as the saviors after all is said and done. It's not just about the supreme court. IT's about DEMOCRACY and one party rule.

McCain--I just wish you would have stood up like this 10 months ago! (or better yet, in 2000!)

On McCain:
I like to see the Republican party have a schizm between its Libertarian & social conservative elements & it's good that McCain, Warner etc. are in a different camp than Frist etc, but McCain is a hawk too. & that Senator Allen will run against McCain & Frist in 2008, I'll bet, & could prevail. He's frightening and as far right as Frist.

Amnesty International Takes Aim at U.S.

LONDON (AP) - Amnesty International branded the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a human rights failure Wednesday, releasing a 308-page report that offers stinging criticism of the United States and its detention centers around the world.

``Guantanamo has become the gulag of our time,'' Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan said as the London-based group launched its annual report. Amnesty International called for the camp to be closed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5030365,00.html

Morals & Values, my Aunt Fanny...

Amnesty's human rights report blasts U.S.
Group criticizes 'attempts to dilute the absolute ban on torture'

The Associated Press
Updated: 7:32 a.m. ET May 25, 2005

LONDON - Amnesty International branded the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay a human rights failure Wednesday, releasing a 308-page report that offers stinging criticism of the United States and its detention centers around the world.

As a superpower, the United States has shirked its responsibility to set the bar for human rights protections and has instead created a new lexicon for abuse and torture, Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan said for the London-based group’s annual report launch.

“The United States ... sets the tone for governmental behavior worldwide,” Khan said.

“Attempts to dilute the absolute ban on torture through new policies and quasi-management speak, such as ’environmental manipulation, stress positions and sensory manipulation,’ was one of the most damaging assaults on global values.”

Some 540 prisoners from about 40 countries are currently being held at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. More than 200 others have been released, though some are now jailed in their countries; many have been held for three years without charge.

'Tortured or ill-treated'
The U.S. government says it continues to be a leader in human rights, treating detainees humanely and investigating all claims of abuse, according to Navy Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, a spokesman for the Department of Defense. He had not seen the report and declined comment on it.

At least 10 cases of abuse or mistreatment have been documented and investigated at Guantanamo. There are several other cases that are pending.

“During the year, released detainees alleged that they had been tortured or ill-treated while in U.S. custody in Afghanistan and Guantanamo. Evidence also emerged that others, including Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and the International Committee of the Red Cross, had found that such abuses had been committed against detainees,” the report said.

The Geneva-based ICRC is the only independent group to have access to the Guantanamo detainees. Amnesty has been refused access to the prison camp, although it was allowed to watch the pretrial hearings for the military commissions. The commissions, which could try 15 prisoners facing charges, were stalled by a U.S. court’s decision that is under appeal.

“There’s a myth going around that there’s some kind of rule of law being applied,” said Rob Freer, an Amnesty official who specializes in detention issues.

Amnesty acknowledged the human rights deficiencies came with a rash of terrorist actions, including the televised beheadings of captives in Iraq.

Forgotten victims
Still, the group said, governments forgot many victims in the fight against terrorism.

The Sudanese government generated a human rights catastrophe while the international community did too little too late to address the crisis, Amnesty said. The group also pointed to Haiti, where human rights violators were allowed to regain positions of power after armed rebels and former soldiers ousted former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide last year.

Amnesty said in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there was no effective response to the systematic rape of tens of thousands of women and children, and in Afghanistan, a downward spiral of lawlessness and instability had shaken the country once again.

While criticizing the U.S. detention mission at Guantanamo, Amnesty said one sign of hope was the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June that allowed prisoners to challenge the basis of their detention. It also said it was encouraging that Britain’s high court lords ruled on the indefinite detention without charge or trial of “terrorist suspects.”

“The challenge for the human rights movement is to harness the power of civil society and push governments to deliver on their human rights promises,” said Khan.

DiAnne and I must be on the same wavelength this morning!

Jinx to you, my friend!

Huge Pipeline opening - cutting across all the countries W has encouraged to buck Russia - and the pipeline bypasses Russia.

http://www.newratings.com/analyst_news/article_841578.html

Posted by: not my president at May 25, 2005 08:43 AM

For Bush all his international decisions come down to oil. Iraq had nothing to do with WMD or the "suffering Iraqis" Our invasion of Iraq was because they are sitting on the world's second largest oil reserves. I honestly believe if there were a chance oil could be developed from stem cell research, GW would be pushing for it as hard as Nancy Regan.

No Oil Left Behind

Dark Air, Texas Crude

I honestly believe if there were a chance oil could be developed from stem cell research, GW would be pushing for it as hard as Nancy Regan.

Posted by: oncall at May 25, 2005 08:51 AM

If there were oil in it, he'd be drilling Nancy Reagan... so to speak.

Native-Indy anyone in Texas.Today's Houston Chronicle printed a letter to the editor calling Texas Democrats Socialists. I urge all locals to email editor Ms. Mankieu at viewponts@chron.com and let them know that this is way over the top an an apology or retraction should be printed. I just called everyone I could find at the Chronicle 713-362-7491 and sent my responsive letter to them but its very difficult to get them to print anything that doesn't start out saying Dems are socialist, communist etc. I've had enough of their diatribe and especially knowing that this garbage goes out to 4.5 million Texans. Any help would be much appreciated.

Dear Mr. Gibbons:

I firmly believe that some of your letters to the editor are promoting Hate Speech which violates our Texas Penal Code and needs to come to a stop. Ms. Mankieu in my conversations thinks that such letters are cute and appropriate to your newspaper. I find such comments to be offensive and bordering on Hate Speech.

I ask that they please stop.

5-25-05

Apparently under the guise of the first amendment this paper and its staff continues to print letters, as it did in today’s letters to the editor, calling Democrats socialist. As a native Houstonian and Democrat I cannot begin to tell you how totally offensive and inflammatory such ridiculous comments are to my values. Please tell me, as a native Houstonian, Ms. Menchieu, what you think that such outrageous comments do to promote intelligent discourse or service to this community. At a time this country is at war it would seem that this newspaper would prefer promoting civility rather than such divisiveness. Ms. Minchieu and the staff of the Houston Chronicle owe your readers an apology and a letter of resignation for allowing such garbage/acrimony to be printed in your newspaper. The fact that I continuously read such hate filled language from some of your letters writers from the Republican aisle indicates to me, as a reader, that your newspapers encourages such over the top comments and their circulation to your readers. It appears to me that Democrats in this community are not welcome to read your newspaper.

I urge all Texans to send their complaints to james.gibbons@chron.com General Editor of the Opinion Page of the Houston Chronicle and to
james.cambell@chron.com reader expressions, complaints. Ms. Mankieu is the Letter Writer Editor who is known around here for her right wing slant. I hope they get an earful b/c the Chronicle is so influential in Texas political circles.

Sorry. Apparently Chafee had the common sense to vote against Owens. Innouye took a pass and Mary Landrieu, Snowe and Collins voted for her. Mary, Mary, Mary where did you go wrong. What party do you think you belong to? Wasn't opening up Anwr not enough for us to stomach? Susan Collins when are you up for re-election?

Wasn't opening up Anwr enough for us to stomach Mary Landrieu?