More than One Way to Skin a Cat

There may be more than one way to skin a cat, but the cat is still not gonna like it.

More OT, it's nice to see the Plame story split wide open once more.

On the topic of multiple ways to skin cats but off topic on the Plame affair and onto the topic of the absolute chaos in the Middle East...

This article is quite interesting and informative about how leaders throughout history have lied to their people to justify entering wars. For example, it presents a theory about how FDR provoked Japan so that the US could justify entering WWII, rather than just supporting the war via the Lend-Lease program. Some may call this a conspiracy theory, but the more I learn about the political machinations of governments, the more I think some of these theories have validity. In any case, the article is especially relevant, given what's happening between Israel & Lebanon right now...

(I found this on tribe.com, but the original essay was posted at whatreallyhappened.com.)

Dubya Dubya Three

In his work, "The Art of War", Sun Tzu observed that all wars are based on deception.

Simply put, this means that those leaders who wish to start a war must lie to convince their people that war is necessary, as the vast majority of people do not want war, do not wish to risk their life and limb in war, and in general avoid the unpleasantness that war is. Throughout history, wars have usually been started by a ruler playing a dirty trick on his people; a dirty trick that fools them into thinking that they themselves have been, or are about to be attacked.

original posting: http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/dubyadubyathree.php

tribe.com posting with comments:
http://uspolitics.tribe.net/thread/e32ea58d-b0ed-47c9-88c2-b01008bfb87f

madame,

My favorite:

"In war, truth is the first casualty." Aeschylus

Another thing...

If you read the article dwahzon posted from the London Times about how bad things are in Baghdad now ( http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2268585_1,00.html ), you can see that there is a breakdown of order in Iraq, even though this administration won't admit it.

It would not surprise me if they are using the conflict between Israel & Lebanon to distract us & divert our attention from Iraq &to use this as an excuse to leave Iraq for Iran.

We know Iran is playing a large (behind the scenes) role in Iraqi insurgency in the hopes of creating a Shi'ite-dominated client state there. That increases Iran's clout & influence and gives them the freedom & confidence to push Hezbollah into fighting Israel...and to develop its nuclear program...

This just in:

CODE PINK:

We’ve just heard that the Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Malaki will be meeting at the White House with Bush on July 25! Cindy Sheehan will be back in town, and we will have an international day of solidarity with the fasters, including Canadian members of Parliament who are coming to join the fast!!! So it will be an exciting week to join us at the White House!

Posted by: karen at July 14, 2006 11:27 AM

Karen,

Though at first I wasn't sure about the fast and how much usefullness it would have locally. Now, I'm more convinced that when you take it out to the people, they recognise that you're staking a ethical and moral decision.

I checked out the search button on the www.troopshomefast.org and was extremely surprised to see the number of fasters in my state who reside in extremely 'red' areas. Why is that? Could it be that this issue transcends party and that the fast proves it?

So now more than ever, I'm glad I'm doing it. Even though, I would have killed for chocolate the a couple of days ago.

Today, I'm going to make a new sign, in honor of the icecream for homeless and will take it to a new town. I feel so much more energized and empowered by showing people that there are people who care and are taking a stand. I know some people I've spoken to have even said they'll sign up.

CNN Breaking: Israeli military sources say they believe the longer-range missiles fired yesterday at Haifa, Israel, were made in Iran.

Here we go...

Posted by: monkey at July 14, 2006 11:41 AM

Oh booy! Election year politics to get Republicans elected? Why the sudden escalation in 'terror alerts' and mideast violence and Iran and North Korea, et al? Is this colusion somehow?

I just don't know what to think anymore and I bet you that's just how they want it.

Posted by: madame defarge at July 14, 2006 11:11 AM

From that story:
"A neurologist, who was heading to Jordan with his wife, said that he would seek work abroad and hoped that he would never have to return. “We were so happy on April 9, 2003 when the Americans came. But I’ve given up. Iraq isn’t ready for democracy,” he said, sitting in a chair with a view of the airport runway."

Heartbreaking, just heartbreaking.

Posted by: monkey at July 14, 2006 10:01 AM

Yeh, I think about Rev. Indy's words myself often. And like you said, when we have our neighborhood cleanups, we don't discuss politics or religion.

But if you keep in contact with Indy, I hope you let him know we're hoping things are going well for him and for the people in NOLA. It's a great thing he's doing there.

Posted by: monkey at July 14, 2006 11:41 AM

Of course they were made in Iran...This just confirms my thoughts on how they're doing anything to justify war against Iran.

The drums of another war are banging louder & louder by the minute.

CNN: Israeli rescue services report a large barrage of rockets hitting northern Israel. Also, three explosions have been heard in Beirut.

Oh booy! Election year politics to get Republicans elected?
Posted by: Suz at July 14, 2006 11:43 AM

AP Poll: Republicans in danger of losing Congress

Friday, July 14, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans are in jeopardy of losing their grip on Congress in November.

With less than four months to the midterm elections, the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that Americans by an almost 3-to-1 margin hold the GOP-controlled Congress in low regard and profess a desire to see Democrats wrest control after a dozen years of Republican rule.

Further complicating the GOP outlook to turn things around is a solid percentage of liberals, moderates and even conservatives who say they'll vote Democratic. The party out of power also holds the edge among persuadable voters, a prospect that doesn't bode well for the Republicans.

-snip-

"They used to say there's nothing worse than a tax-and-spend liberal Democrat," said Gary Wilson, 51, a self-described liberal from Gaithersburg, Maryland. "There is something worse: It's a borrow-and-spend Republican. This is going to come back to haunt us."

One bright spot for the GOP is that Republicans hold an advantage over Democrats on issues such as foreign policy and fighting terrorism -- 43 percent to 33 percent -- and a smaller edge on handling Iraq -- 36 percent to 32 percent.

The AP-Ipsos poll was conducted after the divisive Democratic debate in the Senate over setting a timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq. Potential voters were paying attention to the GOP complaint that Democrats want to "cut and run."

"It seems like the Democrats want to pull out or start to pull out, and I don't think that's the correct thing to do," said Eric Bean, 24, a college minister in Fort Worth, Texas. "I'd much rather see a Congress that would support our president. I think George Bush is doing the best he can. I think Republicans will support him."

John Dendahl, the Republican candidate for governor in New Mexico, said Democrats, with the help of some Republicans, have been successful at obstructing legislation in Congress while heaping the blame on the GOP.

Tom Courtney, a Democratic state senator in Iowa, said U.S. voters are ready to trust his party to lead.

"I honestly think it's ours to lose," Courtney said. "My experience, we're not above that. Americans are ready for change."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/14/republicans.appoll.ap/index.html

Check out this post from Eric Boehlert on Huffpo about CNN's coverage of the events in Israel and Lebanon:

CNN's Lebanon Problem

I was surprised yesterday afternoon when a Reuters article popped onto my computer screen reporting that 53 Lebanese civilians had been killed by Israeli forces, part of the suddenly chaotic two-front battle Israel's military is fighting in the Middle East. Surprised, because I had been monitoring the day's events on CNN and hadn't heard much about that kind of swelling Lebanese death toll.

Thanks to CNN, I'd learned that Israeli forces had bombed Beirut International Airport and a blockade was in place to cut off Lebanon's ports, that president Bush announced Israel had the right to defend herself, that Hezbollah had fired missiles into the seaside city of Haifa, and that an Israeli woman in Nahariya had been killed amidst the cross-border violence. But I hadn't learned many details about the more than four dozen civilians in Lebanon being killed, a fact that struck me as central to the unfolding story.

Baffled, I made a point of watching CNN's afternoon "Situation Room" with the network's high-profile anchor Wolf Blitzer, who gravely intoned about the "fear of all-out war" in the Middle East. [...] Yet during the first 40 minutes of "The Situation Room," which devoted itself almost exclusively to the escalating Mideast chaos, there was no reference to the fact the Israeli military had killed more than 50 Lebanese civilians. (It wasn't until halfway through the second hour of "The Situation Room" that Blitzer finally clued viewers in.)

Later, I went back and checked CNN's reporting, via TVeyes.com, and discovered that throughout the day CNN repeatedly reported on the lone Israeli civilian causality without making any mention of the more than 50 Lebanese civilian casualties. To be exact, CNN did that at 10:31 a.m., 11:02, 12:09 p.m., 12:19, 1:00, 1:30, 1:52, 2:00, 2:17, 2:30, 2:50, and 4:04.

Note that at 12:05 p.m. CNN did report that "at least 45 Lebanese civilians have been killed in this offensive," but that's because the news channel was airing a feed from CNN International...

He concludes with:

And if you don't think there's a difference on how the U.S. media cover the warring sides, then try to imagine what the press coverage would have looked like yesterday if 50 Israeli citizens had been killed by the missiles that hit Haifa.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-boehlert/cnns-lebanon-problem_b_25031.html

Ex-CIA agent: Cheney, Rove 'betrayed' trust
Plame and husband explain lawsuit against vice president and Bush aide

Updated: 7 minutes ago

(AP)WASHINGTON - Former CIA officer Valerie Plame and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, said Friday they decided to sue Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential adviser Karl Rove because they engaged in a "whispering campaign" to destroy her career.

Followed in and out of the National Press Club like Hollywood celebrities - by a swarm of cameras and reporters - Plame said, "Joe and I have filed action with heavy hearts," adding, "I and my former colleagues trusted the government to protect us in our jobs" and said it "betrayed that trust. I'd much rather be continuing my career as a public servant than as a plaintiff in a lawsuit."

Said Wilson: "We are under no illusions about how tough this fight will be. But we believe the time has come to hold those who use their official positions to exact personal revenge accountable and responsible for their actions."

In the suit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, Plame and her husband said that Cheney, Rove and Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, leaked her CIA status to reporters to punish Wilson for criticizing the Bush administration's motives in Iraq.

Plame's identity as a CIA officer was revealed in a July 14, 2003, article by syndicated columnist Robert Novak. At the time, Plame's job as an operations officer was classified information. Novak's column appeared eight days after Wilson alleged in an opinion piece in The New York Times that the Bush administration had twisted prewar intelligence on Iraq to justify going to war.

The lawsuit accuses Cheney, Libby, Rove and 10 unnamed administration officials or political operatives of putting the Wilsons and their children's lives at risk by exposing Plame...

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13859197/from/RS.4/

Even though this is a local action alert, I'm posting it here because it shows an overall walmart strategy.

WAL-MART BRINGS THEIR MONEY TO THE LOCAL RECALL EFFORT

In many towns across America, Wal-Mart has prominent residents set up Political Action Committees right before an election as a means to donate money to a campaign. Pittsfield Township is possibly the newest recipient of Wal-Mart campaign dollars.

On July 5th, a new Political Action Committee* named "Friends of Pittsfield" was formed. A Detroit resident and lawyer with no known ties to Pittsfield has set up a committee to fight the recall effort.

This may be Wal-Mart's way of influencing the voters to keep in office the Township Governemnt that has worked so hard for them. Wal-Mart spent $300,000 in Flagstaff, Arizona to influence a vote for their store.

Please remember who is behind the ads you see coming up in the newspaper and the signs you see supporting Walter, Lirones and Meyer. Remember that they are being financed by none other than the least Democratic corporation in America.

Our community has been in a true "David and Goliath" battle for almost 2 years now, and we are winning. The people really can make a difference.

Please visit www.anewpittsfield.org today to learn the truth about the recall in Pittsfield Township. It is much more than a Wal-Mart issue, but Wal-Mart wants the people to fail.

ACTION: Get informed about the issues, tell a freind and Vote YES on August 8th to Recall Township Supervisor, Treasurer and Clerk

LET WAL-MART KNOW THE TAX-PAYING RESIDENTS ARE STILL IN CHARGE OF OUR TOWNSHIP.

Here's the video of the Wilson/Plame press conference.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Video_Valerie_Plame_speaks_about_suit_0714.html

The Plames are not just embarking on this suit for themselves, they are doing it for America's honor. I wish this were a class action suit.

Reading on the go....

Thanks for all the posts, really helps.

Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Wilson for Christmas in July.

Naw. They WOULDN'T be going to do THAT right before the '06 elections, would they? A while back the "buzz" was that it would be sometime this fall, remember?

Will somebody please just wake me up?

It's unfortunate Libby's trial is not til Feb. 2007.

It's interesting the Senate voted overwhelmingly to build a bunch of fence along the Mexican border & now have voted against funding for it!
(American Progress Report)

Noted discussion r/t Israel (on lunch so have to be quick) but so far, I'd suggest some coverage such as Australian - it provides a quite different view from what was described on CNN.
I don't know how much foreign tv can be gotten via satellite - I know my friend in Mpls gets tv from Phillipines & via that sees Al-Jazeera tv.
He says it's quite different (he watches CNN & Fox for contrast).

I wonder how many people are thinking Biblical prophesies are being played out now for the "end times" etc?! Also wondering if the Israel v Lebanon war will trigger general "Jihad" w/ some sympathizers in many countries? Also US may be seen as helping or sympathizing w/Israel (by some others in the world) even more than we actually do, or as standing by too much. (Am already reading much of that type of criticism)

Seems it makes our between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place worse. If only we had listened to the world and never gone into Iraq .. again.

Bush won't pressure Israel for cease-fire
By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 14

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - President Bush rejected Lebanon's calls for a cease-fire in escalating Mideast violence on Friday, saying only that Israel should try to limit civilian casualties as it steps up attacks on its neighbor.

"The president is not going to make military decisions for Israel," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

Lebanon's prime minister asked Bush, during a phone call Friday, to pressure Israel for a cease-fire. But Bush told Prime Minister Fuad Saniora that Israelis have a right to protect themselves.

"We think it's important that, in doing that, they try to limit as much as possible the so-called collateral damage, not only on civilians but also on human lives," Snow said.

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060714/ap_on_re_eu/g8_bush

Fromhttp://www.bradblog.com

Contact the DNC, tell them this is a great first step, and thank them by giving them some money. Tell them they must continue to fight to get these machines out of our election and to verify every vote.
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington DC 20003
http://www.democrats.org/
Thanks for listening,
Elizabeth

BREAKING: DNC'S VOTING RIGHTS INSTITUTE ISSUES STATEMENT CALLING FOR 'MANUAL COUNT' OF ALL BALLOTS IN BUSBY/BILBRAY ELECTION!

hypocrisy

Bush firm on Russian freedoms
(CBC)
RAISING one of the most sensitive issues in US relations with Russia on the eve of a four-day visit, President George Bush says he is concerned about the state of basic democratic freedoms there.

Bush Will Allow Court to Review NSA Wiretaps
(Guardian)
After months of resistance, the White House agreed Thursday to allow a secret intelligence court to review the legality of the National Security Agency’s program to conduct wiretaps without warrants on Americans

Israeli history. Awesome summary here.

http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10309

Hezbollah Leader Says He's Ready for War
Friday, July 14, 2006 3:10 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By ZEINA KARAM

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Hezbollah's leader said Friday that his group is ready for "open war" with Israel, and as his words were broadcast, guerrillas attacked an Israeli warship that had been firing missiles into southern Beirut.

Speaking defiantly in an audiotape on Hezbollah's Al-Manar television less than an hour after missiles struck his headquarters and home, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah addressed himself to Israelis and said they must take responsibility for their actions.

http://www.midco.net/news/read.php?ps=1012&id=14234740&_LT=HOME_LARSDCCLM_UNEWS

Dwahzon,

This is the companion piece to what you've posted this morning. (Back when my eyes were propped open.)

http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=24250

It's quite scary what is happening.

How's that democracy and freedom in the Middle East experiment working out these days, PNAC? Fundies?

Vatican condemns Israel for attacks on Lebanon

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican on Friday strongly deplored Israel's strikes on Lebanon, saying they were "an attack" on a sovereign and free nation.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano said Pope Benedict and his aides were very worried that the developments in the Middle East risked degenerating into "a conflict with international repercussions."

"In particular, the Holy See deplores right now the attack on Lebanon, a free and sovereign nation, and assures its closeness to these people who already have suffered so much to defend their independence," he told Vatican Radio.

Israel struck Beirut airport again on Friday and bombed Lebanese roads, power supplies and communication networks in a widening campaign after Hizbollah guerrillas seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight.

Sodano said the Vatican condemned both "terroristic attacks" and military reprisals.

Hizbollah, which wants to trade its captives for prisoners held in Israel, has showered rockets across the frontier in its fiercest bombardment since 1996 when Israel launched a 17-day blitz against southern Lebanon and Hizbollah.

But Sodano reserved his harshest words for Israel.

"The right of defence on the part of a state does not exempt it from its responsibility to respect international law, particularly regarding the safeguarding of civilian populations," he said.

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060714/3/2n5ti.html

Re: last paragraph.... Oh, Really?

"conservative foreign policy has set the mideast on fire"

- that's how the Taylor Marsh piece ends.

Israel-Lebanon on-line debate
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5180694.stm

Wish the politicians and generals would do this instead of bombing

Plame: 'Cheney and Rove Plotted to Destroy My Career'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071406S.shtml
In the suit filed Thursday in US District Court, Plame and her husband said that Cheney, Rove and Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, leaked her CIA status to reporters to punish Wilson for criticizing the Bush administration's
motives in Iraq.

John W. Dean | Triumph of the Authoritarians
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071406T.shtml
"For more than 40 years I have considered myself a 'Goldwater conservative,' and am thoroughly familiar with the movement's canon. But I can find nothing conservative about the Bush/Cheney White House, which has created a Nixon 'imperial presidency' on steroids, while acting as if being tutored by the best and brightest of the Cosa Nostra," writes John Dean, former Nixon White House counsel.

Robert Fisk has covered the middle east for around 30 years and for most of that time has lived in Lebanon. He still does.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13978.htm

Dahr Jamail | "This Is a Big Disaster for the Lebanese."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071406A.shtml
"A reported 15,000 people crossed the Lebanese border into Syria on Thursday, seeking refuge from widespread bombings in Beirut, carried out by Israeli F-16 warplanes. Today, the situation continued, with reports of bombed petrol stations, police stations, and a hospital. Interviewing people at the border who had fled the bombs in Beirut, I felt like I was back in Iraq ..." writes Dahr Jamail.

Baghdad Starts to Collapse as Its People Flee a Life of Death
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071406B.shtml
"I returned to Baghdad on Monday after a break of several months, during which I too was guilty of glazing over every time I read another story of Iraqi violence," reports James Hider. "But two nights on the telephone, listening to my lost and frightened Iraqi staff facing death at any moment, persuaded me that Baghdad is now verging on total collapse."

TAKE BACK THE HOUSE & SENATE IN 2006
Republican pollster here has my chosen candidate up by 4% but pollster I trust (Ellway) had her 20 points ahead in April. Also, she has over 6 million bucks & he only has 1.something even though he was a corporate CEO too. Yet I can't relax one second. Will be marching in parade tomorrow.
EVERYBODY DO SOMETHING!!

Gingrich is being flown in here to raise $$
but so is Bill Clinton.

I apologize if this is a repeat. But it's still a good read.

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=63028

In an interview with MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, former Nixon counsel John Dean explained a largely unknown 50 year academic study. The data shows that conservatives are much more likely to follow authoritarian leaders.

Dean discovered the ongoing study while researching his new book, "Conservative Without Conscience."

Dean believes that the study helps to explain why the Republican party has been driven further right.

-snip-

DEAN: I ran into a massive study that has really been going on 50 years now by academics. They've never really shared this with the general public. It's a remarkable analysis of the authoritarian personality. Both those who are inclined to follow leaders and those who jump in front and want to be the leaders. It was not the opinion of social scientists. It was information they drew by questioning large numbers of people -- hundreds of thousands of people -- in anonymous testing where [the subjects] conceded their innermost feelings and reactions to things. And it came out that most of these people were pre-qualified to be conservatives and this, did indeed, fit with the authoritarian personality.

-snip-

OLBERMANN: There is an extraordinary amount of academic work that you quote in the book. A lot of it is very unsettling. It deals with psychological principles that are frightening and may have faced other nations at other times. In German and Italy in the 30's, come into mind in particular. But, how does it apply now? To what degree should it scare us and to what degree is it something that might be forestalled?

DEAN: To me, it was something of an epiphany to run into this information. First, I'd never read about it before. I sort of worked my way into it until I found it. It's not generally known out there, what's going on. I think, from the best we can tell, these people -- the followers -- a few of them will change their ways when the realize that they are doing -- not even aware of what they are doing. The leaders, those inclined to dominate, they're not going to change for a second. They're going to be what they are. So, by and large, the reason I write about this is, I think we need to understand it. We need to realize that when you take a certain step of vote a certain way, heading in a certain direction, where this can end up. So, it's sort of a cautionary note. It's a warning as to where this can go. Other countries have gone there.

more...
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Video_50_year_study_says_conservatives_0711.html

Posted by: monkey at July 14, 2006 09:20 PM

Dean was also on Daily Show the other night talking about his book. You can watch it here ==>
http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/videos/most_recent/index.jhtml

He says that he's a Goldwater Republican, which these days is left of center, in comparison to the current generation of conservatives.

BTW, if you want to expert information & opinion about the Middle East situation, I highly recommend Juan Cole's Informed Comment site. He's a professor of history at University of Michigan who specializes in the Mideast & South Asia, with particular interest in religious studies.

http://juancole.com/

You'll find very up-to-date info about Israel & Lebanon.

Posted by: monkey at July 14, 2006 09:20 PM

He was on Randi Rhodes today as well. A great interview. I'm really impressed with his ability to survive the Nixon White House as he did and then to be such a vocal advocate to help us overcome this fascism now.

Posted by: monkey at July 14, 2006 09:20 PM

I have heard the old saying "Everybody's looking for a leader".

This might be the answer to my question of "Where are our leaders?" It has shown in polls that people who are left-leaning politically tend to be better educated, more traveled, and inclined to be more independent. I wonder if we have trouble taking the lead because we are so conscious of letting everyone's opinion matter "equally".

That leads me to wonder if "conservatives" were given a fair chance to hear a good moral leader from the left to center tell them that they have been wronged by their own leaders, and vowing to responsibly lead them, would they listen? Or are they so lost to themselves and to their own voices that they prefer the authoritarian style, even while being confronted with the truth of betrayal?

Deja boo.

Madame defarge

I very much agree with the recommendation about Juan Cole's site. He has such perspective.

I've decided to fast after hearing Erin Watada speak.

It has shown in polls that people who are left-leaning politically tend to be better educated, more traveled, and inclined to be more independent.

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at July 14, 2006 10:25 PM

It is also the intellectually stimulating atmosphere of university campuses that also foster liberal thinking. There is a reason why college towns, even in red states, are liberal hotbeds.

And yes, travel definitely helps. I would still be a hardcore conservative today, if it weren't for my European travels.

By contrast, the military, where America's working class ends up, discourages independent thinking and demands following orders. Conservatism is the rule there, especially with Fox News being constantly piped into every public space available. And all military travel tends to be into red states/areas (if domestic) or puppets of neocon foreign policy (if overseas).

Common wisdom says that rightists are supposed to be richer than leftists. The truth is often the opposite, thanks to the influence of education on the rich, and the military on the poor. The poorer conservatives tend to dismiss the richer liberals of college campuses as overspoiled brats - an attitude W himself carried with pride.

Posted by dickbell at July 14, 2006 10:24 AM

Thanks for this thread header! :-)

I've always believed they were given a raw deal, and I'm ecstatically happy that Ambassador Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame Wilson have filed a law suit against the lead characters and other unnamed characters who have so dismally disrupted our government since 2000. What has happened to the Wilsons could happen to any one of us who don't have a high public profile, and if they succeed as well as I hope they will, then that will bode well as precedent for Jane & John Average Citizens succeeding in similar law suits against the criminials currently occupying in *our* White House.

May Joe and Valerie succeed beyond our wildest dreams for them! :-)

P.S. I note Turd Blossom's lawyer in the TO link has already spoken about the law suit in dismissive tones without even having read it yet, which, to me, only speaks to his ignorance - how can he so casually dismiss something he hasn't even read yet? Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Too bad the war news overshadows this very significant law suit....

Activists Sue to Block Electronic Voting
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071406Z.shtml
Computerized voting was supposed to be the cure for ballot fiascos like the 2000 presidential election, but activist groups say it has only worsened the problem, and they've gone to court across the country to ban the new machines. Lawsuits have been filed in at least nine states, alleging that the machines are wide open to computer hackers and prone to temperamental fits of technology that have assigned votes to the wrong candidate.

US 'could be going bankrupt':
The United States is heading for bankruptcy, according to an extraordinary paper published by one of the key members of the country's central bank
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/07/14/cnusa14.xml

A republic, if we can keep it:
The War of Independence isn’t over by a long shot. In fact, the latest edition of U.S. fascism has slipped into the mainstream of the United States largely undetected.
http://www.vermontguardian.com/commentary/072006/ARepublic.shtml