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All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
What a wonderful outpouring of love and affection for Ann Richards in the previous post. Whenever someone starts into the "all politicians are scum" routine, just remember how deeply a really good politician can touch peoples' hearts.
And speaking of hearts, and other bodily organs, sometimes an ad can say more about the state of the world than the most eloquent editorial.
Take today's Washington Post, on page A13 of the print version, which is dominated by a 5-column, 3/4ths page ad with the enticing headline:
"Is it decadent to offer a VIP physical? Not if it actually makes you get a physical."
For the ever-expanding number of Americans with no health insurance, there's not going to be any physical at all, much less a VIP physical.
So what do you get for your $3,500 VIP physical at Virginia Hospital Center?
We'll start you off in a private VIP lounge, with telephone, television and internet access, newspapers and magazines, and a full day's supply of peace and quiet as needed. Meals will be made to order. Snacks available as you need them. We can even arrange for a soothing massage--any style. (What about a Bloomberg ticker to keep up with the market--is this a real VIP physical or a cheap-o knockoff?)
Wow, that sounds exactly like the set up for my last physical--how about you?
And for those of you who are so important that the simple fact that you were even thinking about your health might shake the foundations of the stock market:
For the sake of your privacy, arrival by special entrance can be arranged. You can even be brought here by private town car if you wish.
(I have to say that I think the ad guy lost his composure in this last graph: of course your VIP would be arriving in a town car--what idiot VIP drives his (or her) own car.)
Well slap me upside the head and call me Bubba, but if you want a reminder of just how fast inequality in America is growing, think about yourself, getting a hot stone massage while a staffer pops grapes into your mouth, while your "personal escort [who] will deftly move you through the hospital halls" hovers in the wings, waiting to take you to your next specialist. Your insurance doesn't pay for this kind of service? And your stock options don't vest until next year? Damn. Get used to it. This is George Bush's America.
Which Way To America?
by Living Colour
I look at the T.V.
Your America's doing well
I look out the window
My America's catching hell
I just want to know, which way do I go, to get to your America?
I just want to know, which way do I go, to get to your America?
I change the channel
Your America's doing fine
I read the headlines
My America's doing time
I just want to know, which way do I go, to get to your America?
I just want to know, which way do I go, to get to your America?
Go west, go west young man
Don't want to crossover
But how do I keep from going under?
Where is my picket fence?
My long, tall glass of lemonade?
Where is my VCR, my stereo, my T.V. show?
I look at the T.V.
I don't see your America
I look out the window
I don't see your America
I want to know how to get to your America
I want to know how to get to your America
America?
There is a lot I can say about that type of thing, but one word that comes to mind is, obscene.
Posted by: oncall at September 18, 2006 09:34 AM
Criminal.
And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful
Wife
And you may ask yourself -- well... how did I get here?
Letting the days go by / let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by / water flowing underground
Into the blue again / after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime / water flowing underground.
And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!
Letting the days go by / let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by / water flowing underground
Into the blue again / after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime / water flowing underground.
Same as it ever was... same as it ever was... same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was... same as it ever was... same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was... same as it ever was...
Water dissolving... and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Carry the water at the bottom of the ocean
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!
Letting the days go by / let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by / water flowing underground
Into the blue again / in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones / there is water underground.
Letting the days go by / let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by / water flowing underground
Into the blue again / after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime / water flowing underground.
And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right?... am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
My god!... what have I done?
Letting the days go by / let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by / water flowing underground
Into the blue again / in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones / there is water underground.
Letting the days go by / let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by / water flowing underground
Into the blue again / after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime / water flowing underground.
Same as it ever was... same as it ever was... same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was... same as it ever was... same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was... same as it ever was...
(Talking Heads, "Once in a Lifetime")
neglegent
Ok folks, it is past time for the revolution.
What is it going to take?
I am in Utah, at Snowbird, where the privileged are sheltered from all knowledge of the real America. It is beautiful here. I can get a massage, or hot stones, anytime I want. Back on the ground, children cannot get health care at all.
I am relaxed and focused, as opposed to the shaking mess of anger I was when I arrived here, wearing my "We Will Not Be Silent" t-shirt. But even though I am relaxed privileged to be here, I will not be silent.
Talking Points Memo has something really obscene & scary from Time Magazine...
An October surprise? From Time:
The first message was routine enough: A "Prepare to Deploy" order sent through naval communications channels to a submarine, an Aegis-class cruiser, two minesweepers and two mine hunters. The orders didn't actually command the ships out of port; they just said to be ready to move by Oct. 1. But inside the Navy those messages generated more buzz than usual last week when a second request, from the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), asked for fresh eyes on long-standing U.S. plans to blockade two Iranian oil ports on the Persian Gulf. The CNO had asked for a rundown on how a blockade of those strategic targets might work. When he didn't like the analysis he received, he ordered his troops to work the lash up once again.
What's going on? The two orders offered tantalizing clues. There are only a few places in the world where minesweepers top the list of U.S. naval requirements. And every sailor, petroleum engineer and hedge-fund manager knows the name of the most important: the Strait of Hormuz, the 20-mile-wide bottleneck in the Persian Gulf through which roughly 40% of the world's oil needs to pass each day. Coupled with the CNO's request for a blockade review, a deployment of minesweepers to the west coast of Iran would seem to suggest that a much discussed—but until now largely theoretical—prospect has become real: that the U.S. may be preparing for war with Iran.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/009834.php
Another great piece, Dick--thanks.
I just had an annual physical that lasted 15 minutes, and the doctor not only gave me a very cursory exam-- she barely LOOKED at me, Given my health insurance rates, they really should throw in a massage and town care, or at least some grapes. Though, as it is, I'd settle for a doctor that paid attention.So your piece struck a chord.
But thanks especially for this: "Whenever someone starts into the "all politicians are scum" routine, just remember how deeply a really good politician can touch peoples' hearts."
Offtopic, Personal plea...
Good people, pls send good vibes, karma, something positive down Palm Beach way around 1:30est... we'll be in court hopefully resolving the guardianship issue of my 2 yr old great-nephew who's been with us since early August.
No need to reply here, just send the good stuff to Chadville, onschedule.
Baby Got Back
Sending... sending... sending...
will keep sending
dw
Here's a very interesting diary about a meeting/rally on electronic voting in CA. The author does a wonderful job of describing what happened and providing excerpts from the various speakers.
And the topic itself is certainly important.
But what's of value to us is some of the specific things that are recounted that occurred during the meeting.
The live phone call to the Fox News Assignment desk with Maxine Waters on the other end which everyone could hear and which was videotaped and will be put up on youtube per the diary author.
Which was followed by this:
Michael Jay then took the podium again and drew our attention to flyers that had been placed on all of our seats. They included phone numbers to members of the media and we took 5 minutes to make phone calls to the numbers on the sheet to inform them of what we were doing there and the importance of securing the integrity of our elections. It was such an ingenious grassroots thing to spring on us. In a flash, people were on their phones calling the media without even blinking. Offline grassroots activism at its purest.
~snip~
The lineup of speakers was inspirational, to say the least, including Debra Bowen, Maxine Waters, Brad Friedman and last but not least, Gore Vidal.
Go have a good read and take away the ideas that you can use...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/9/18/12342/0940
Posted by: dwahzon at September 18, 2006 12:59 PM
Very good & timely. I'm going to an election reform lecture in a couple of weeks & I'll pass this on to the local organizers. Thanks.
Monkey go get em hun,
Thinking of you and yours with lots of love good thoughts and prayers.
From the NYTimes magazine, an article about satire and its place in our political discussions. It has some very interesting points on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, et al.
It's long but interesting...
http://tinyurl.com/zsowy
"Twelve Traps to Avoid" By George Lakoff and the Rockridge Institute
For progressives to succeed in taking back this country, we need to stay true to our values and communicate them effectively. To accomplish this mission, we need to be aware of the traps that have often tripped up progressives in the past.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/9/18/112339/632
Monkey,
Lots of prayers headed your way.
Dick:
Was just thinking this morning how in the developing and Third World, the basics for those societies to thrive are food, running water, power and waste treatment. This is what would help "equalize" as it were, standards of living for all.
In America, given hopefully that we have power, water, and waste treatment, that public education, a living wage, and healthcare are at the core of what WE need to be a functioning society.
Its really not much, given the astonishing array of technology and skill resources we have to address health needs for everyone. The shame of it is, it appears that the market forces of society do not want to "equalize" for all of society's benefit. They want to kill off the poor.
Welcome to the War on the Impoverished.
There are some countries in the Third World that will provide better healthcare by scale than what the US is doing now.
We are becoming the Nation of the Gated Community.
Well, I had a terrible thought on my flight to Washington DC. (I guess brace yourself for one of 'my stories'!)
I was seated in row 9, which was about 5 rows back from first class. I admit I felt a little cabin sickness and really didn't want to upchuck in front of the world, so I was dealing with it as best as I could. Then from the first class section I heard the unmistakable sound of...well...(there's no polite way to say this) someone upchucking.
That's when it occurred to me. First class or coach class...airplanes are the great equalizer. Air sickness hits whoever without looking in a person's wallet first. (And I won't go into the rest of the ways it equalizes all of us.)
irc anyone?
OMG...Olbermann keeps getting better & better with every "special comment" he makes.
Here's the transcript from tonight's special comment, "Bush owes us an apology." To pull anything out of context does the piece an injustice. You must read the whole thing & watch the video when it's available.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240
Posted by: madame defarge at September 18, 2006 08:52 PM
Excellent comments by him once again! So when do the people from the International Hague step in?
Yeah, what she said.
I just watched his essay from top to bottom, and I was totally swept away by it. Wowzers!
It seems that our Mr. Olbermann has finally decided that it was time for him to cease vacillating, stop playing softball, quit being wishy-washy, take the gloves off, climb down from the fence, come out of the closet, and actually take a public stand on how possibly misguided he suspects our Mr. Shrubya just might potentially be about certain things.
Not only that, but he did it in a literate, intelligent way... and in the process, stood up for the proven value of people actually *thinking* about stuff like global politics 'n' such.
W00T!!
If you failed to catch it, be sure check out the replay on tonight's later edition of 'Countdown' and/or download the inevitable video files that will be and/or already are up there on the internets for the asking.
Better yet, download it, burn the file to CDs, and play it for every voter on the planet. You'll be glad you did.
Oh, yeah -- and don't forget to write to our Mr. Olbermann and give him some serious props for his forceful speeches on behalf of life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity asap.
Do that early & often, in fact. He & MSNBC need the strokes, and it's always a welcome diversion to be able to say something *nice* to a mediot for a change...
otter gives it two paws up,
M. Loutre
Posted by: sparrow at September 18, 2006 09:02 PM
One thing at a time, sparrow.
I know we're all sick & tired of the crap, but we have to help others get to the same point we're at. Keith is helping a great deal, as are others now. Even the fact that Powell spoke out is powerful; it doesn't excuse his prior kow-towing to his commander in chief, but his statement helps feed the wave of doubt, concern, & acknowledgement that our government has failed Americans.
The timing of all of this is to our advantage. Just keep the faith & work hard for the November elections.
Yeah, what she said again.
Posted by: Otter at September 18, 2006 09:12 PM
Show your approval of Keith's Countdown show and commentary:
1. viewerservices@msnbc.com
2. letters@msnbc.com
3. countdown@msnbc.com
4. KOlbermann@msnbc.com
5. dabrams@msnbc.com (Dan Abrams is now MSNBC's general manager)
Here's the video link:
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Olbermann-SpecialComment-BushRoseGarden.wmv
FYI, video footage of KO's Special Comment from tonight is already available on his Bloggermann web page, right next to the text transcript. And the impassioned face-to-face delivery is even more powerful than the words are in print.
Go. Do.
The URL again is:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240
keith olbermann is the new tom paine,
Otter
Test 1 2 Check 1 2
Well, here's to Ann Richards, Texas Democrat (like me I suppose now).
Chuck in Houston
Posted by: madame defarge at September 18, 2006 09:13 PM
Yes, you're right. Also, your statement reminded me of Ray McGovern's statement that Powell, O'neil, Clarke (etc) all KNEW about their plans to invade Iraq with cooked up evidence yet they didn't speak up until a year after the war started.
Nonetheless...they are speaking up. And as he said, "We have a short window of opportunity to change the direction of this country. So we have to fight for it every day...from now until after elections are over."
That in itself is quite scary...just a small window of opportunity.
I've got my precinct list and will probably have a second precinct by next Saturday. I guess I have to stop feeling exhausted and really put my boots to the ground.
Anyway, here from Texas, thought I'd share a few things. One, I bought a house and we moved. Same ZIP code. So I was going through my wallet today and found my Texas voter's registration and realized that even though I changed the address on my driver's license, and I registered through that, still my voter's registration didn't update. So I called the 1-800 number on the card, and got a constructgion company in Florida. So I asked, "Is this 1-800 [etc.]?" and the man said "yes." I said, "I'm sorry, I was trying to update my TX voter's registration." He said: "Yeah, we get a lot of those calls." You be the judge.
Chuck in Houston
Anyway, so then I went on the website, and they had all these requirements to change my address (note that I am not changing counties or US Congressional Representative districts -- heck, I am still in the same elementary school district). Stuff from my driver's license and social security and my current registration card. Wouldn't accept it....
Chuck in Houston
Geez Chuck! Proof positive! The harder it is to vote the happier they are!
Anyway, so then I googled the local Harris County office and placed a local call, and was given instructions. I wanted to double-check as to where on the old card I had to put my address, so I asked "You mean where it says something in Vietnamese?" The nice lady said "Yes, exactly." And she added, "also, and this is new, but you have to add your driver's license information somewhere on the other side -- it's a new thing."
I said "OK." What else could I say?
So I guess if you don't have a driver's license n Texas it's real hard to vote.
Give us strength, Ann Richards, wherever you are.
Chuck in Houston
Chuck in Houston for Sparrow:
Dang straight, what you said.
Chuck in Houston
Could be worse, Chuck. You could be living in Milwaukee instead. I mean, look what happened *there* last week...
don't buy a single vote more than necessary,
Otter
Otter:
What happened in "Old Milwaukie?"
Chuck in Houston
*** Wowee! Alert ***
Brand-new 'Daily Show' just started -- and Bill Clinton is the guest tonight! Woo and/or hoo!
(Don't worry, if you miss it tonight you can catch the reruns at 2 and 8 pm EST tomorrow.)
jon stewart is the new jon stewart,
Otter
Chuck -- No biggie. Just that thousands more votes were tallied for the Repo candidates in the Milwaukee municipal elections last week than people who actually voted in the election itself. Just a minor glitch is all. Not to worry. They'll fix it before the next Presidential election for sure. Just like they fixed it after the last Presidential election for sure. Honest. No kidding. They really mean it this time.
on wisconsin,
Otter
Otter:
What? Me? Worry?
Chuck in Houston
No reason to, Chuck. After all, only three of Mother Jones magazine's "11 of America's Worst Places To Cast A Ballot (Or Try)" are actually located in Texas...
ride 'em cowboys,
Otter
I smell fear and panic in the air....
Channel surfing ... heard someone on ABC (Nightline, I think?) say they doing a live broadcast of Dumbya's speech from the UN tomorrow, 10:30 a.m. Eastern time....
Aside from the lead-up to the Iraq war when Powell's speech was aired live... when did it become a national media event for the notoriously pro-Bu$h propaganda folks at Mickey Mouse's network to air a presidential speech? The clearly out-of-control temper tantrum at the rose garden party last week was enough, wasn't it?
Diplomatic gaffes aside, what kind of harm will he do to the US's reputation abroad? Or will he just do something stupid like declare war on the whole world?
I'm torn between thinking we don't need to see or hear any more of DimWit's temper... and thinking it might be a good thing to have the UN speech broadcast so the sheeple who are trying to wean themselves from the kool-aid can hear what a braying @$$ he really is... and wondering how the propagandistic spinmeisters will "interpret" the speech. If the speech alone were broadcast without the spin afterwards... Hmmmm....
Still, the fact that the speech will be aired live tells me the administration is getting desperate....
Alas, NonnyO, not everyone seems to agree with your (and our) assessments of such things... of course, one must always consider the sample base as well as the source...
---------------
Bush Approval Rating Rebounds in New Poll
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's approval rating has rebounded to 44 percent, the highest level in a year, in the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Bush's approval rating jumped five points from 39 percent in the previous poll conducted earlier this month.
The bounce comes with seven weeks before elections to decide control of Congress amid falling gas prices and a renewed campaign by Bush to boost support for the Iraq war and to portray Republicans as more competent than Democrats on security, the newspaper said.
Bush's approval rating edged up largely on the strength of Republicans coming back to the fold with 86 percent saying they support him now, compared to 70 percent in May, USA Today said.
For the first time since December 2005, a majority of people polled did not say the war in Iraq was a mistake. The respondents were evenly split at 49 percent to 49 percent, the report said.
However, the poll finds that the Iraq war continues to be a problem for Bush. Sixty percent said he does not have a clear plan for handling Iraq and 75 percent said Iraq is in a civil war, USA Today said.
The telephone poll of 1,003 people was conducted September 15-17, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
---------------
hangin' from the gallows poll,
Otter
Posted by: Otter at September 19, 2006 03:13 AM
"Alas!" indeed....
I fail to see how all DimWit's tough talk and his attempts to bully and blackmail Congress into accepting and legalizing torture can jump-start his poll ratings.
I'm stuck in a dadaist painting and can't seem to find my way out....
Paul Krugman: King of Pain :
Why is Mr. Bush so determined to engage in torture?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15017.htm
What if they gave a War?
By Charles Sullivan
We must think beyond geopolitical borders, beyond political parties; past the familiar labels of liberal and conservative. Working class conservatives and working class liberals alike are exploited by those in power. We must set aside the petty differences that keep us apart and seek common ground to defeat our common enemy—corporate Plutocracy.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15016.htm
When the truth is a stranger to fiction :
Did Monica Lewinsky cause the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States? Anyone who watched The Path to 9/11, the ABC two-parter about the events leading up to September 11, might be forgiven for thinking so. http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1874584,00.html
The 13 most corrupt members of Congress
In the following report, CREW documents the unethical activities of thirteen Members of Congress: 10 House Members and three Senators.
http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2006/09/17/the-13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/
Excerpt:
* Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
* Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-CA)
* Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)
* Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)
* Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)
* Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH)
* Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA)
* Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
* Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC)
* Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
* Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT)
* Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN)
* Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)
This is not intended to be a definitive list of all of the Members of Congress facing ethics issues. For example, other members, such as Senator David Vitter (R-LA), Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) and Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), have connections to now-indicted Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff that are worth exploring should either the Senate Select Committee on Ethics or the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct ever decide to initiate an investigation into the range of Mr. Abramoff's influence on the Congress.
Ending the Dollar's Tyranny
By Mike Whitney
The dominance of the greenback has created a global empire which is controlled by a small group of corporatists and autocrats who depend on bullying and brute force to maintain their supremacy. The only way to restore the republic is to topple the empire, dislodge the dollar from its lofty perch, and even the playing field with the other currencies.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15014.htm
Excerpt:
America is now engaged in a transition that has never before been attempted. It has hollowed out its manufacturing sector (more than 3 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since Bush took office) looted its treasury, and plunged the country into irreversible debt. Its major corporations and banks have disconnected from the mainland and operate as sovereign islands protected by the US military and international trade law. They have no allegiance to America and are unaccountable to anyone except their own shareholders.
Dollar-hegemony is critical to their ongoing success as it keeps the basic unit of exchange; paper money, in the control of fellow-elites at Federal Reserve. Absent that power, American plutocrats would be unable to perpetuate the system of trading debt (US dollars) for resources and manufactured goods. If Bush succeeds in his global resource war, then countries will be forced to use the dollar regardless of how much debt it has accumulated.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060919/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush
Bush to promote Mideast strategy at U.N.
{{{Errr.... WHAT "strategy?"}}}
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060919/ap_on_go_pr_wh/congress_terrorism
White House to revise terror proposal
{{{Okay. So here's what I don't get. How can they "revise" their torture proposals...? It's ludicrous and insane to even talk about legalizing torture! The only "compromise" that they could come up with at this time to pretend to "compromise" is the actual aim behind the proposed legislation, which would be to retroactively make Bu$hCo and all others who condoned or committed torture immune from war crimes prosecution.... That, IMHO, is the real aim of the bill, and that proposal is just as ludicrously insane as even talking seriously about legalizing torture. I also see it as a way to deal with journalists and bloggers and anyone else who writes articles against the current administration, as well as a way to deal with legislators and others who are perceived as a "threat" to the current (paranoid and megalomaniacal) administration.... The whole thing could boomerang and bite us ALL in the ass.... We all know DimWit's "justification" for his ordering the unconstitutional and illegal invasion of Iraq was incorrectly perceived as something "legal" when he was authorized after 9/11 to go after OBL (who still remains free, of course) - he just added on to what he misperceived as "authority" to do so. He would seize on this kind of legislation to take extra measures to silence anyone who is against his administration's policies, and we all know it. Those new "detention centers" Halliburton is building on US soil will remain empty and unprofitable if they don't have prisoners to fill them, and now that the "threat" of the 'influx of illegal immigrants' has died down, who else better to fill their new prisons than US citizens who are perceived as a "threat" to national security...??? Hmmmm....?!?!????? We all know he will stop at nothing to become the world's dictator per PNAC objectives. Why give him the sham "legal authority" to do so...??? I see many slippery slopes ahead....}}}
What is Maxine Waters accused of doing?
Posted by: sparrow at September 19, 2006 07:17 AM
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991, representing the 35th district of California. Her ethical problems arise from her exercise of this power to financially benefit her daughter, husband and son.
sparrow - if you go to the original link, click on Maxine Waters' name, besides that little intro above there are longer paragraphs on each of her relatives. (Each name on that list of 13 is a link to pages with more detailed info in each case.)
I know. I don't like to see a Dem name connected with ethical scandals either....
Posted by: NonnyO at September 19, 2006 07:37 AM
Thanks.
Yeh, I looked. It's not so much that I don't like seeing a Democrat but it's more that I don't like how it's someone who usually speaks so loudly and clearly about progressive causes who is involved.
I'm not trying to make excuses for her--because what she did is wrong--but is that scheme still "legal but quasi immoral" or is it one of those confusing rules surrounding pacs and donations. Either way...I'm disappointed a progressive would do this.
Arrgh, ye maties...arise & post like a pirate today. Yar...tis talk like a pirate day a'gin.
'n ta start yer day off, this'll shiver yer timbers...
My sister was seeing a pirate with a wooden leg, but she broke it off.
Uh oh! We MUST get to work. According to RawStory the senate looks like it might be an even split with Darth casting deciding votes.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Rasmussen_Postelection_Senate_balance_of_power_0918.html
And even though that would be a huge pickup to get the numbers more evenly divided, we know that Mr. Torturer Cheney will invoke all sorts of torture upon us if he casts deciding votes.
Robert Parry | Bush's Way or the Highway
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091806R.shtml
"George W. Bush's September 15 outburst - threatening to stop interrogating terror suspects if Congress doesn't let him revise the Geneva Conventions to permit coercive techniques - is part of a pattern of petulance that dates back to even before the 9/11 attacks but has resurfaced as Bush faces new challenges to his authority," according to Robert Parry.
Jerry Avorn | The Sting of Ignorance
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091806HB.shtml
Jerry Avorn, a professor at Harvard Medical School, writes about the information gap in health care, and the most useful medicines he knows: "aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol) and the Internet."
Warming Expert: Only Decade Left to Act in Time
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091806EA.shtml
Leading US climate researcher says the world has a 10-year window of opportunity to take decisive action on global warming and avert catastrophe.
World Bank Says Illegal Logging Costing Nations Billions
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/091806EB.shtml
Illegal logging is threatening the livelihoods of millions of the world's poor, robbing governments of billions of dollars in revenue and undermining legitimate logging businesses, the World Bank said.
{{{Question: Concrete is about the strongest building commodity known. The Coliseum in Rome has stood for thousands of years; ditto the aqueducts built by the Romans, and ancient piers/pillars in the oceans built with concrete hundreds and/or thousands of years ago. Why aren't more houses in known tornado and hurricane areas built of concrete? True, inner rooms and walls inside could still be lined or made with some type of wood, but at least it wouldn't be sucked up by a tornado or blown away in a hurricane. And, wood wouldn't have to be stripped away from rainforests at an alarming rate. I've wondered that before, and since a 10-year-old girl was just killed in the latest tornado that ripped through the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities a couple of days ago, I have to wonder if she might still be alive if at least the walls of the house had been built of concrete, which is stronger than wood, of course. Silly question, I suppose, but it still seems to me that concrete would be the better substance to use for outer walls of houses in tornado- prone and hurricane-prone areas....}}}
Posted by: madame wench at September 19, 2006 08:17 AM
I can barely talk yet alone talk like a pirate. So I'll carry my (hubby's) sword(s) and go find some voters instead.
Posted by: sparrow at September 19, 2006 08:14 AM
Agree... extreme disappointment.
I expect it of neoCons. Contrarily, I expect progressives and Dems to know better than to so severely disappoint people.
The ethics rules for our Congress Critters need revising. What the Senate and the House members expect of ordinary citizens they should also expect of themselves. Otherwise how can we be a nation of laws...? Right now ethical standards do not apply to anyone who considers themselves elite (and rich) in this country, and that doesn't bode well when ordinary mortals who never seek public office technically have higher ethical and moral standards for themselves in their daily lives....
Posted by: sparrow at September 19, 2006 08:18 AM
I do have to wonder if the poll is skewed.
Too many 'official polls' near election day have numbers suddenly too close together, making for the elections "too close to call."
I do have to wonder if corporations who do polling also work hand-in-glove with corporations who make e-voting machines....
The one polls that used to be statistically accurate were the exit polls on election day. Conveniently, for the 2000 and '04 races, all of a sudden the only reliable poll there was in existence suddenly ... wasn't reliable...?
Hmmmmmmmm......
The AP has really taken the gloves off. I had seen a reference to this in a discussion which mentioned that an AP employee is being held by the US military and that they've been unable to contact him or to find out anything from the US military about what's going on with him. At first, they kept quiet about it, thinking that it would be better to approach diplomatically under the radar.
Evidently they've decided that has done no good and now it's out in the open.
Check this story out...
U.S. war prisons legal vacuum for 14,000
By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer
Mon Sep 18, 7:13 AM ET
In the few short years since the first shackled Afghan shuffled off to Guantanamo, the U.S. military has created a global network of overseas prisons, its islands of high security keeping 14,000 detainees beyond the reach of established law.
Disclosures of torture and long-term arbitrary detentions have won rebuke from leading voices including the U.N. secretary-general and the U.S. Supreme Court. But the bitterest words come from inside the system, the size of several major U.S. penitentiaries.
read the rest here...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060918/ap_on_re_mi_ea/in_american_hands_16&printer=1
I see the typo fairy is dancing on my keyboard this morning... that last paragraph in my last entry should read:
The only polls that used to be statistically accurate were the exit polls on election day. Conveniently, for the 2000 and '04 races, all of a sudden the only reliable poll there was in existence (since it relied on people reporting how they had voted, not how they might vote) suddenly ... wasn't reliable...?
Duh, Matey!
Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell said yesterday that he decided to publicly oppose the Bush administration's proposed rules for the treatment of terrorism suspects in part because the plan would add to growing doubts about whether the United States adheres to its own moral code.
"If you just look at how we are perceived in the world and the kind of criticism we have taken over Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and renditions," Powell said in an interview, "whether we believe it or not, people are now starting to question whether we're following our own high standards."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14897312/
People are NOW starting to question...?????
Walk the plank, Pokey.
I understand the typo fairy is totally full of shid.
Posted by: dwahzon at September 19, 2006 08:40 AM
This sentence stood out:
"As with others, Karim's confinement may simply have strengthened support for the anti-U.S. resistance. "I will hate Americans for the rest of my life," he said."
Thank you, Supreme Monster, George W. Bush...!
I wonder if it would be worth the time and effort to write to Lamestream Media outlets and ask them to report on this story...? This kind of horror NEEDS to be aired so that sheeple will not make the same mistake again and elect people who condone this sort of cruelty....
Rawstory has had this headline up for awhile but I just followed the link and read the story. This is a rawstory exclusive so I make no claims for credibility but I'd sure like to see some coverage / investigation of this particular point in the article. If what he says is true, then Homeland Security has gone way overboard again with a security measure that doesn't really secure anything.
British Army expert casts doubt on 'liquid explosives' threat -- Terror plot scenario "untenable"
~snip~
According to security sources, the terror suspects were planning to board up to ten civilian airliners and detonate highly volatile liquid explosives on the planes in a spectacular terrorist operation. The liquid explosives -- either TATP (Triacetone Triperoxide), DADP (diacetone diperoxide) or the less sensitive HMTD (hexamethylene triperoxide diamine) -- were reportedly to be made on board the planes by mixing sports drinks with a peroxide-based household gel and then be detonated using an MP3 player or mobile phone.
But Lt. Col. Wylde, who was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his command of the Belfast Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit in 1974, described this scenario as a "fiction." Creating liquid explosives is a "highly dangerous and sophisticated task," he states, one that requires not only significant chemical expertise but also appropriate equipment.
Terror plot scenario "untenable"
"The idea that these people could sit in the plane toilet and simply mix together these normal household fluids to create a high explosive capable of blowing up the entire aircraft is untenable," said Lt. Col. Wylde, who was trained as an ammunition technical officer responsible for terrorist bomb disposal at the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in Sandhurst.
After working as a bomb defuser in Northern Ireland, Lt. Col. Wylde became a senior officer in British Army Intelligence in 1977. During the Cold War, he collected intelligence as part of an undercover East German "liaison unit," then went on to work in the Ministry of Defense to review its communications systems.
"So who came up with the idea that a bomb could be made on board? Not Al Qaeda for sure. It would not work. Bin Laden is interested in success not deterrence by failure," Wylde stated.
"This story has been blown out of all proportion. The liquids would need to be carefully distilled at freezing temperatures to extract the required chemicals, which are very difficult to obtain in the purities needed."
Once the fluids have been extracted, the process of mixing them produces significant amounts of heat and vile fumes. "The resulting liquid then needs some hours at room temperature for the white crystals that are the explosive to develop." The whole process, which can take between 12 and 36 hours, is "very dangerous, even in a lab, and can lead to premature detonation," said Lt. Col. Wylde.
If there was a conspiracy, he added, "it did not involve manufacturing the explosives in the loo," as this simply "could not have worked." The process would be quickly and easily detected. The fumes of the chemicals in the toilet "would be smelt by anybody in the area." They would also inevitably "cause the alarms in the toilet and in the air change system in the aircraft to be triggered. The pilot has the ability to dump all the air from an aircraft as a fire-fighting measure, leaving people to use oxygen masks. All this means the planned attack would be detected long before the queues outside the loo had grown to enormous lengths."
Government silent on detonators
Even if it was possible for the explosive to have been made on the aircraft, a detonator, probably made from TATP, would be needed to set it off. "It is very dangerous and risky to the individual," Wylde said. "As the quantity involved would be small this would injure the would-be suicide bomber but not endanger the aircraft, thus defeating the object of bringing down an aircraft."
Despite the implausibility of this scenario, it has been used to justify wide-ranging new security measures that threaten to permanently curtail civil liberties and to suspend sections of the United Kingdom's Human Rights Act of 1998. "Why were the public delicately informed of an alleged conspiracy which the authorities knew, or should have known, could not have worked?" asked Lt. Col. Wylde.
"This is not a new problem," he added, noting that 'shoe-bomber' Richard Reid had attempted to use this type of explosive on a plane in December 2001. "If this threat is real, what has been done to develop explosive test kits capable of detecting peroxide based explosives?" asked Wylde. "These are the real issues about protecting the public that have not been publicised. Instead we are going to get demands for more internment without trial."
~snip~
Read the entire article here...
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Sources_August_Terror_Plot_Fiction_Underscoring_0918.html
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2006 08:48 AM
.....growing doubts about whether the United States adheres to its own moral code.
"If you just look at how we are perceived in the world and the kind of criticism we have taken over Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and renditions," Powell said in an interview, "whether we believe it or not, people are now starting to question whether we're following our own high standards."
YA THINK....!?!?!?!?!?!?!?????
Hmmmm.... I wonder if Powell has read any objective web sites or 'newspapers' since 2001. The ONLY people on the PLANET who have KNOWN the USA has NOT been living up to its previous high standards (which even then were sometimes questionable, but at least did not include public approval of torture) have been the Cretin, the Vice Cretin, the Criminal Cabal, and damn near every Congress Critter inside the Beltway Bubble...!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Al-Qaeda, Taliban prisoners
Powell strenuously objected to Bush's February 2002 decision that the United States was not obliged to adhere to Geneva Conventions rules in its treatment of captured al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners. Subsequent scandals over military treatment of prisoners at the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, and over the CIA's establishment of secret prisons abroad, further cemented his views that the decision was unnecessary in terms of prisoner interrogation and is harmful to the armed forces.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FOUR YEARS later and we're only NOW hearing about this......??????????
Live Poll:
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell publicly opposed the Bush administration's proposed rules for the treatment of terrorism suspects, saying that "people are starting to question whether we're following our own high standards." What do you think?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14904368/
(Right now the poll is running at 82% "I agree.")
Technically, I question Powell's sanity, his patriotism, and sense of loyalty, and he's a few days late imparting his "wisdom" (maybe dollars richer for having kept his mouth shut?)......
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2006 08:49 AM
The typo fairy done got his learnin' from da same teecher what learned the presidunce of these here yoonited states....
Posted by: NonnyO at September 19, 2006 09:28 AM
Say what you will about Powell, but at least he's speaking out now. Better than staying silent forever. I'm not defending his prior actions, but I suspect he did what he did because he has always been a good soldier & lived by the military's honor code to follow his commander in chief.
At least he has now realized how wrong that was. And he has to live with that the rest of his life -- knowing that he could have helped prevent the war.
So he may be a few days -- years -- late, but at least key people like him are starting to speak out against this regime.
Posted by: madame defarge at September 19, 2006 09:36 AM
I'll drunk to dat.
Posted by: dwahzon at September 19, 2006 09:16 AM
I did wonder if/when we'd find out it was 'much ado about nothing....'
Posted by: madame defarge at September 19, 2006 09:36 AM
True... BUT if he had been a truly "good American" he would have spoken up before now... I only give him half a point for at least speaking up - too much harm has been done to too many people because of his silence. If he has a guilty conscience, so be it - and he deserves it. At one time I respected him, but no longer, not after the lies he told to the UN (I knew he told a pack of lies at the time, and that's the instant I lost all respect for him).
Lying to the UN, and lying to the American people is disloyalty to the US in what amounts to treason for not speaking the truth, and thousands upon thousands of people have died for his lies on behalf of, and loyalty to one man, not his country. I will not forgive him.
Bush to ask world to support Mideast democracy
President Bush will challenge world leaders to do more to build democracy in the Middle East, when he speaks at the United Nations today. He will ask U.N. members for help in "encouraging the forces of moderation in this struggle against extremism" in the Middle East, national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.
Bush: ‘The world must stand up for peace’
The president planned to describe how every nation in the civilized world has a stake in the region, but especially the Muslim countries.
“The world must stand up for peace,” Bush said in remarks prepared for delivery.
Bush also planned to address the issue of Sudan, where three years of fighting in the African nation’s Darfur region has killed more than 200,000 people. The president was scheduled to announce that Andrew Natsios, the former head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, will become Bush’s special envoy for Sudan to help end the fighting.
Bush was speaking in the same cavernous room where four years and one week ago he made another plea for action in the Middle East. On that day, Bush said Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of deadly chemical and biological agents that the United Nations must confront.
Rebuilding credibility
He was wrong, but still forged ahead with war against Iraq without the support of many other nations. And he is still trying to rebuild credibility with the body, experts say.
“The sense outside of the U.S. is that the United States is responsible for many of the failures in Iraq, first by going in mostly alone and then by incompetent administration,” said Jon Alterman, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
“The problem with the way he’s talked about democracy in the Middle East is not that people see it as undesirable,” Alterman said, “it’s that people see it as naive. He needs to persuade cynical people that not only is he sincere, but it’s achievable, and here’s what they need to do to make it so.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14888490/
POWELL STANDS UP TO BUSH ON TORTURE
Arianna Huffington, HuffingtonPost.com
Is the Bush administration's top salesman for the Iraq war finally done peddling fear?
http://www.alternet.org/story/41818/
{People writing in the Comment section aren't too enthusiastic about Powell either. One person suggested it will end in a big reconciliation and warm-fuzzy photo-op of DimWit and Powell just before election day (words to that effect)....}
CBS censors Bill Maher
When Bill Maher wanted to discuss religion on a CBS News segment ironically titled 'Free Speech,' they said it was a "deal-breaker" and they would send over a list of "acceptable topics."
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/41811/
{Well, so much for "free speech" in a censored media....}
“The problem with the way he’s talked about democracy in the Middle East is not that people see it as undesirable,” Alterman said, “it’s that people see it as naive. He needs to persuade cynical people that not only is he sincere, but it’s achievable, and here’s what they need to do to make it so.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14888490/
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2006 10:20 AM
In other words, he's gonna blow smoke out his ears, froth at the mouth, and repeat the same litany of 'fear, 'ter-ra' and war's good to keep the peace and for spreading democracy - and don't forget the boogey man is hiding under your bed - boo!' that he's tried to brainwash us with for the last six years....?
Intersting opinion piece from the American Prospect republished here on how the "Politics of Terror Desensitizes Public":
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/18/opinion/main2017757.shtml
Meanwhile, it sounds as though today is the day we're supposed to keelhaul all them squiffy blackhearts occupyin' the White Fo'csle, and plankwalk all them scurvy bilgerats slinkin' around the poopdecks of Congress too.
Yarrrr!
And from the Otterworld Quoted Without Comment Department:
"I know Iraq is a mess and we have screwed up seven ways from Sunday. We underestimated how hard it would be. But the fundamental idea behind Iraq is still correct."
-- Senator Lindsay Graham, at College of Charleston, September 10, 2006
Posted by: Otter at September 19, 2006 12:06 PM
Bleeding is fundemental.
Red Rum
My TV is still standing - barely....
I listened to that mockery of a "speech" before the UN.... I couldn't bear to watch his ugly little squinty-eyed, tight-lipped demeanor and LYING body language with all it's cocky king-of-the-hill bully-swagger, so only opened my eyes briefly, maybe half a dozen times.
This is what I heard (in brief): DimWit opened with "9/11... extremism, extremism, Islamic militants, extremism, extremism, "work with us" (that's his code for "Do it my way - or else..."), extremism, "MY country", extremism, 'freedom can't be imposed but it MUST be chosen' (do it MY way), extremism, militants, "nook-kle-er" (Dumb*u*kWit still can't pronounce nuclear after all these years, and he repeated the word three times - I was counting - when he addressed what he sees as problems with Iran and its leaders), 'I will send' - (pronoun I was used at least two times - doesn't he realize he alone can't act without Congressional approval?) - more extremism, enemies of freedom, extremists, militants, something about Darfur, more stuff about various countries in the Mideast: Lebanon, etc., more extremism, extremists, militants, "work with us"...." [The end.]
My impression: He was talking like everything he was saying is a done deal, he expects everyone to fall in line with his 'vision' for 'freedom and democracy' in the Mideast and around the world (as long as they "work with" him and his evil minions and do everything his way).... sounded exactly like the world dictator he aspires to be...! I lost count of the word "extremism" after using up my ten fingers, so I don't know how many times he used the words 'extremism' and 'extremists' or 'militant extremists.'
Iran's leader did not attend the General Assembly today. I suspect DimWit's tight-lipped demeanor was because he was offended that Iran's leader did not attend, so DimWit couldn't do his bullying indirectly in person, even though he's already said he 'won't' meet with Iran's leader (Ha! Iran's leader one-upped him by shunning his company! Ha! Good!). A couple of times when I opened my eyes DimWit was looking at someone (couldn't see who) and he got half a sly smile on his face, looked like he was going to wink (was he looking at BoltHead and/or CondiSleazy who were sitting next to each other?) Iran's leader will speak later this afternoon. Wish we could hear THAT speech live...! Alas, we are only 'privileged' enough to hear the propaganda meant for people in this country to hear.... I didn't stick around to listen to the spinmeisters' "interpretation".... I had to get out of the room before I threw something at my TV.
George Soros ...
“Clearly,” he said, “using the subpoena power to bring to light the misdeeds by the administration would have to be, I think, a top priority.”
Asked whether he’s given thought to supporting moderate Republicans, he said he believed the party couldn’t be “recaptured from extremists” without the right wing of the caucus suffering defeats.
“I don't think it can be done without a defeat that will lead the Republicans to regroup, when the extremists are distracted,” he said. “Right now the extremists are still ridding themselves of the moderates in the Republican Party.”
“But I don't yet see moderates knocking out Republicans,” he added. “There are many radical or extremist challengers to moderates within the Republican Party, and very few -- if any -- to the extremists from moderates.”
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Billionaire_speculator_Soros_says_Democrats_should_0918.html
extremist
extremist
extremist
extremist
extremist