Torture, Cameras, Action...

what karen said. plus a bit of a propos poetry...

i sing of Olaf glad and big
whose warmest heart recoiled at war:
a conscientious object-or

his wellbelove'd colonel(trig
westpointer most succinctly bred)
took erring Olaf soon in hand;
but--though an host of overjoyed
noncoms(first knocking on the head
him)do through icy waters roll
that helplessness which others stroke
with brushes recently employed
anent this muddy toiletbowl,
while kindred intellects evoke
allegiance per blunt instruments--
Olaf(being to all intents
a corpse and wanting any rag
upon what God unto him gave)
responds, without getting annoyed
"I will not kiss your fucking flag"

straightway the silver bird looked grave
(departing hurriedly to shave)

but--though all kinds of officers
(a yearning nation's blueeyed pride)
their passive prey did kick and curse
until for wear their clarion
voices and boots were much the worse,
and egged the firstclassprivates on
his rectum wickedly to tease
by means of skilfully applied
bayonets roasted hot with heat--
Olaf(upon what were once knees)
does almost ceaslessly repeat
"there is some shit I will not eat"

our president,being of which
assertions duly notified
threw the yellowsonofabitch
into a dungeon,where he died

Christ(of His mercy infinite)
i pray to see;and Olaf,too

preponderatingly because
unless statistics lie he was
more brave than me:more blond than you.

e. e. cummings

September 25, 2006
Broken Bench
In Tiny Courts of New York, Abuses of Law and Power
By WILLIAM GLABERSON

Some of the courtrooms are not even courtrooms: tiny offices or basement rooms without a judge’s bench or jury box. Sometimes the public is not admitted, witnesses are not sworn to tell the truth, and there is no word-for-word record of the proceedings.

Nearly three-quarters of the judges are not lawyers, and many — truck drivers, sewer workers or laborers — have scant grasp of the most basic legal principles. Some never got through high school, and at least one went no further than grade school.

But serious things happen in these little rooms all over New York State. People have been sent to jail without a guilty plea or a trial, or tossed from their homes without a proper proceeding. In violation of the law, defendants have been refused lawyers, or sentenced to weeks in jail because they cannot pay a fine. Frightened women have been denied protection from abuse.

These are New York’s town and village courts, or justice courts, as the 1,250 of them are widely known. In the public imagination, they are quaint holdovers from a bygone era, handling nothing weightier than traffic tickets and small claims. They get a roll of the eyes from lawyers who amuse one another with tales of incompetent small-town justices.

A woman in Malone, N.Y., was not amused. A mother of four, she went to court in that North Country village seeking an order of protection against her husband, who the police said had choked her, kicked her in the stomach and threatened to kill her. The justice, Donald R. Roberts, a former state trooper with a high school diploma, not only refused, according to state officials, but later told the court clerk, “Every woman needs a good pounding every now and then.”

A black soldier charged in a bar fight near Fort Drum became alarmed when his accuser described him in court as “that colored man.” But the village justice, Charles A. Pennington, a boat hauler and a high school graduate, denied his objections and later convicted him. “You know,” the justice said, “I could understand if he would have called you a Negro, or he had called you a nigger.”

And several people in the small town of Dannemora were intimidated by their longtime justice, Thomas R. Buckley, a phone-company repairman who cursed at defendants and jailed them without bail or a trial, state disciplinary officials found. Feuding with a neighbor over her dog’s running loose, he threatened to jail her and ordered the dog killed.

- more -

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/nyregion/25courts.html

Atrios has the particulars on who is going to be testifying, who is on the committee, and will be, I think, linking and showing it over there.

He has entitled the lakc of media coverage, "Operation Ignore Democrats". Well said.

Interesting sidenote, I was going to write about this very hearing this morning, I got here to write a post, and here you are!! Thanks!

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/9/25/94243/4687

liveblogging here and there

itting behind us is Gary Isaac (0 / 0)

a lawyer who has defended GITMO detainees. He is here with Admiral John Hudson. They are hopeful that Congress will do the right thing and delete from any military commission legislation the awful provision stripping the federal courts of jusrisdiction over the heabeas cases brought by the Guantanamo detainees. "Many of these cases have been pending several years. All they ask is that the detainees get their "day in court" and have a fair chance to challenge their detention, as the SCOTUS said they have a right to do almost two-and-a half years ago. Congress should let the courts do their job."

The crowd is growing, and the mood is upbeat. The staffers have arrived and they all look 12.

Please help over at Kos. This may be the only real coverage.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/9/25/94243/4687

Karen, also, there wil be coverage of this at this site: http://democrats.senate.gov/

For those that don't know how to do this, you just paste the web addy, http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/ in to your adress bar and hit enter.

Karen - my heart is with you.... My mind is screaming NO on everything connected with torture, on everything connected with giving Bush a free pass on this idiocy.

I called my Dem senator's office. Allegedly he disapproves of one bill, but approves of the McCain-Warner bill, but he wants habeas corpus reinstated.

Makes no sense whatsoever. I went off on his poor staffer and said if either version is passed that the US can't call itself a civilized nation if we approve of torture, break the US constitution, the Geneva Conventions, US law forbidding war crimes... and that if they give Bush a free pass on this issue, that America becomes an official dictatorship. I asked her to pass on the message that I don't want him to vote in favor of either bill, since she indicated there are two versions.

Meanwhile... I'm looking for live coverage of this hearing before I switch over to the DKos blog. Can anyone else help me?

I've looked for C-Span coverage on this hearing... I got nothing

Where on the other links do I have to click to get live coverage? Or haven't microphones and cameras been turned on yet?

From the previous thread:

Posted by: DiAnne in SF at September 24, 2006 10:08 PM

DiAnne, of course, when I asked the question on immigrants first, I knew what the answer would be. San Fran is more about coexistence. It's a place where I can walk into a Korean restaurant without having to stare at fundie church sermon tapes or other morally condescending garbage (try that in Los Angeles - it ain't happening). And as you know, conservative immigrants have a way of really upsetting me; every time anyone talks about Amsterdam, I still only think of the Surinamese thugs.

Glad to hear good stuff from you on San Fran. I left the place in 2000, hoping to eventually return to Los Angeles; that was because of the conservatism in SF's Financial District and the perceived liberalism in the entertainment industry in LA. I was badly mistaken - the entertainment industry in LA is at least as conservative as the finance in SF, if not more so.

I still remember what Fe told me last Memorial Day. I hope to heed her advice one day and expand into the Bay Area, if not move outright.

Posted by Karen at September 25, 2006 09:09 AM

I am writing to my Senators - Feinstein and Boxer - as I speak. Won't be able to call, as I am working and any calls to DC would be considered suspicious.

Here is my letter sent to the Senators:

Dear Senator,

I've just been informed of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and am deeply disturbed.

This lowers the standards of the United States of America to those of the "barbaric" enemies we fight so hard to eliminate, by condoning and encouraging torture, by giving the President a blank check on the interpretation of the Geneva Convention, and by pardoning war criminals within our government.

President Bush can keep on repeating that our enemies hate us for our freedoms and values. But taking those freedoms and values away from Americans, by instituting a police/torture state, is not the way to make our enemies hate us less. And co-opting the same values, such as torture and death, of our terrorist enemies does not translate into a victory in the War on Terror.

Some may argue that the Geneva Convention is an international treaty, and because of that, does not apply when it conflicts with US law. But they forgot that as long as the Geneva Convention is a treaty ratified by the US Senate and signed by the President, it is as good as any US law, and the US is bound to respect and obey it. Besides, it's this exceptionism - "the US is above international law because it's a Judeo-Christian country that is always on the side of justice" - that causes so many in the world, not just Muslims but even our allies, to hate us.

The Bush Administration has destroyed what respect we once commanded in the world, and what sympathy we had gathered after 9/11. This is the latest attempt to "stay the course" on this dangerous path. Please vote NO on Military Commissions Act of 2006.

Thank you.

Posted by: Rachel at September 25, 2006 12:08 PM

Awesome response, and would make a heckuva LTE. Bravo.

Crazy Dream
by Los Lonely Boys

I tried to find myself
For a very long time
Somewhere I lost myself
Its so hard to find my way back home
My body's roaming all day long

Feels like a real bad dream
I try so hard to break free
And even though I try
Something else has got a hold on me
Will I ever be in control of me?

When will I wake up
Escape from this crazy dream
Maybe tomorrow
I'll find a better dream for me

The shiver in my soul
Whoa I think I'm gonna go
But in the depth of my mind
There's a place that only I have seen
Will it ever be reality?

So, When will I wake up
Escape from this crazy dream
Maybe tomorrow
I'll find a better dream for me

And no matter how hard I try
Well I just can't seem to open up my eyes

So...
When will I wake up
Escape from this crazy dream
Maybe tomorrow
I'll find a better dream for me

Thanks for being there, Karen

MR. WALLACE: And the White House, the Republicans want to make the American people afraid?

PRESIDENT CLINTON: Of course they do. Of course they do. They want us to be -- they want another homeland security deal. And they want to make it about, not about Iraq, but about some other security issue where, if we disagree with them, we are, by definition, imperiling the security of the country. And it's a big load of hooey. We've got nine Iraq war veterans running for the House seats. We've got President Reagan's secretary of the Navy as the Democratic candidate for the Senate in Virginia. A three-star admiral who was on my National Security Council staff, who also fought terror, by the way, is running for the seat of Curt Weldon in Pennsylvania.

We've got a huge military presence here in this campaign, and we just can't let them have some rhetorical device that puts us in a box we don't belong in. That's their job. Their job is to beat us. I like that about Rove. But our job is not to let him get away with it. And if they don't we will do fine.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Clinton_blasts_Fox_host_Nice_little_0925.html

I've sent this to my Dem senator (plus I called his office), and I've sent it to the Dems on the Judiciary Committee, as well as Arlen Specter. (The neoCon senator from MN has his lips surgically attached to Bush's Butt, so he's useless.)

Re: Torture, Habeas Corpus, War Crimes

Senator:

Please vote NO to torture of any kind whatsoever. Vote NO to suspending due process and fair and public trials for prisoners held illegally under US jurisdiction.

Please vote NO to retroactively excusing Bush and his administration to being exempt from prosecution for torture and war crimes.

Vote NO to dismantling the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, US law, and the Geneva Conventions. If you make the grave error of voting yes to any portion of either version of the torture bills or excusing Bush and his administration from being held accountable for the war crimes they've already committed or will commit in the future, the United States of America will cease to exist as a civilized nation of laws, and Bush becomes the official dictator and legal and moral arbiter of this nation. Do we really want to go down that road?

Bush was given authorization to go after Bin Laden with AUMF. Instead, he started an illegal, unjust, immoral, unethical and dishonorable war in Iraq. The Iraq war is unconstitutional (he took war powers out of the hands of Congress), and the war in Iraq is illegal under the Geneva Conventions, and torture is illegal and a war crime under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and illegal under Title 18, Part I, Chapter 118: 2441, the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution. How much more of your Constitutional powers are you willing to give up to further destroy the balance of powers granted to you by the Founding Fathers?

If the United States of America stoops to sanctioning torture of any kind and illegally holding prisoners indefinitely without due process, then we become what we have condemned in other nations with secret jails, secret trials, and countries ruled by dictators. Shame on you all for even considering visiting such horrors on the United States of America! This legislation, in any and every version, should have been sent to the nearest paper shredder and you know it. It is completely unpatriotic, uncivilized, and immoral to even discuss degrees of torture, suspending due process, or excusing the people who sanction torture! Where are your moral and ethical values?

If Congress gives Bush authority to commit torture of any kind anywhere in the world, or to illegally hold innocent people in prisons anywhere in the world without due process or fair and public trials of any kind, or if he and his administration are excused for the war crimes and illegal actions already committed, and if you pass either version of the bills that will be under debate, the United States of America will cease to exist as a lawful, civilized nation, and we will be an official dictatorship that sanctions illegal and immoral and unethical behavior in our leaders and in our citizens.

After six years, at least you should have figured out by now that if you give Bush a smidgen of an inch in anything, he will always go ten steps further to committing more outrages and illegal actions in our names! Haven't we had quite enough of Bush atrocities and his illegal and immoral actions?!?

If you have a conscience, you will vote NO to anything pertaining to either version of the bills proposing legalizing torture or anything resembling torture, and vote NO to illegally detaining people without due process, and vote NO to excusing the people who authorized or have committed torture in our names. We need to go back to being a nation of moral people who follow established laws and do not allow atrocities of any kind committed in our names!

Vote NO!!!

Sincerely,

Hit refresh and check out the AP pic of Karen in the thread update! She's the fifth one from the left.

Thanks, Fe!

I am the letter "T" today.

The word "NO" is is the back of Col. Ann Wright.

The first "T" is my friend Linda Wiener, who worked her ass off for Camp Democracy and who deserves much thanks.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060925/480/7660e66710c84fbc8b13784eedf05746
is a closeup of me and the woman holding my hand is a minister. She has MS and a spirit one can drink in deeply. She shakes but the shaking stops when she gets as focused as she was this morning.

Several went off to Cornyn's office to share their feelings. Not sure what happened then. But she would not give up or back down.

And thank you to everyone who called or sent emails. We absolutely MUST keep this up.

ONLY an outpouring--a HUGE outpouring--will stop these people from ending democracy.

Lots going on in the Senate today. . just caught the very end of the Dorgan hearings (today's session? or is this all of it?) . It was live-streamed on cspan 3, but hopefully will be archived. Three retired military tearing the Administration apart, limb from limb, on the Iraq fiasco, and more . . moving concluding statement by Sen. Dorgan, thanking the witnesses for their bravery. We are not alone.

Newsweek features 'Losing Afghanistan' on cover of international editions, celebrity photographer in U.S.

Muriel Kane - Raw Story research director
Published: Monday September 25, 2006

The United States edition of the October 2, 2006 issue of Newsweek features a radically different cover story from its International counterparts, RAW STORY has learned.

The cover of International editions, aimed at Europe, Asia, and Latin America, displays in large letters the title "LOSING AFGHANISTAN," along with an arresting photograph of an armed jihadi.

The cover of the United States edition, in contrast, is dedicated to celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz and is demurely captioned "My Life in Pictures."

more...
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Newsweek_features_Losing_Afghanistan_in_international_0925.html

And this just in, from the Otterworld Give Credit Where Credit is Due Department (aka "Thank Goddess, not *all* Repugs are Rethugs"):

---------------

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading Republican senator on Monday said he will fight to give detainees the right to challenge their imprisonment, creating a new potential obstacle for legislation President George W. Bush wants in order to try terrorism suspects.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said he would join Democrats working to amend a bill setting up trial procedures for foreign terrorism suspects that Republican leaders are trying to push through Congress this week.

As it now stands, the bill, which the White House was forced to negotiate with a group of Senate Republicans, would bar inmates held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from using habeas corpus petitions to challenge the legality of their detentions.

"I believe it is unconstitutional to take away habeas corpus," Specter of Pennsylvania told reporters after a hearing with a panel of experts who were divided on the issue.

"I think if it goes back to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court will teach Congress another lesson which they do with some frequency," Specter said.

------------------

not every spectral presence is a scary thing,
Otter

Karen, if you happen to see Col. Wright again between now and then, please let her know to keep her eye out for a hmbl otr crspndnt when she's here in town next Monday. :0)

Posted by: karen at September 25, 2006 03:14 PM

Awesome.

MSNBC.com — REUTERS reported that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter will fight for Heabeas Corpus rights.

"Spector to Press Detainees' Hebeas Corpus Rights"

WASHINGTON | SEPT. 25, 2006 — A leading Republican senator Monday said he will fight to give detainees the right to challenge their imprisonment, creating a new potential obstacle for legislation President Bush wants in order to try terrorism suspects.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said he would join Democrats working to amend a bill setting up trial procedures for foreign terrorism suspects that Republican leaders are trying to push through Congress this week.

As it now stands, the bill, which the White House was forced to negotiate with a group of Senate Republicans, would bar inmates held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from using habeas corpus petitions to challenge the legality of their detentions.

“I believe it is unconstitutional to take away habeas corpus,” Specter of Pennsylvania told reporters after a hearing with a panel of experts who were divided on the issue.

“I think if it goes back to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court will teach Congress another lesson which they do with some frequency,” Specter said.

Jinx!

great minds think alike and apparently ours do too,
Otter

oops. I am in too much of a hurry, otter!

sorry...

---------------------

Retired Generals Accuse Defense Secretary Of Bungling War In Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Retired military officers on Monday bluntly accused Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld of bungling the war in Iraq, saying U.S. troops were sent to fight without the best equipment and that critical facts were hidden from the public.

"I believe that Secretary Rumsfeld and others in the administration did not tell the American people the truth for fear of losing support for the war in Iraq," retired Maj. Gen. John R. S. Batiste said in remarks prepared for a forum conducted by Senate Democrats.

A second military leader, retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, assessed Rumsfeld as "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically ...."

"Mr. Rumsfeld and his immediate team must be replaced or we will see two more years of extraordinarily bad decision-making," he added at the policy forum, held six weeks before the Nov. 7 midterm elections in which the war is a central issue.

[snip]

--------------------

sounds like it's time for another medal of freedom ceremony,
Otter

Hosting a screening of Iraq For Sale is a great opportunity to build the number of peace voters in your area. By hosting a screening
during October 8-14th, you can also join Robert Greenwald on a national conference call. You will get a toll free number to access that call as well as bumper stickers, posters and an Action Guide which gives substantial ideas for political action. You can download the
Action Guide at . Iraq
For Sale can help trigger a vital debate on our country's priorities in Iraq just a few weeks before America votes. Don't miss this opportunity to engage your friends, family, neighbors and business associates in an important political dialogue!

The DVD is available for pre-order now (it ships late September) and you can order a copy whether you are hosting a screening or not. When you pre-order it for only $12.95 at , $5 from each DVD sold will be donated to VotersForPeace!

Even if you're unable to host a screening, you can search for screenings in your area. You can watch the trailer and learn more about the film here:
http://iraqforsale.org/?track=voterspeace

Karen's T stands for Testify.

Thanks for being there for all of us today.

Called my congress members, sent emails to encourage others to call/write their congress members. Thanks for being there, Karen et al.

On another note, check out this letter that Nancy Pelosi wrote to Dennis the Menace... Who says Dems don't have guts & spunk???

Democratic Leadership Urges Congress to Act on Five Key Issues Before Adjourning

Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Whip Steny Hoyer, Caucus Chairman James Clyburn, and Caucus Vice-Chairman John Larson sent the following letter to Speaker Hastert today urging him to bring to the floor this week, before the House adjourns, legislation that addresses key issues facing the American people.

The leaders wrote: “Based on the concerns of all Americans, Congress must act on five key issues that have an immediate impact on the lives of the American people before adjourning for the November election. As Majority Leader Boehner continues to say that Congress will adjourn by Friday, September 29th, this leaves less than one week in which to act. We reject assertions that the people’s business can wait until after the November election, and therefore, unless you address the following issues, Democrats will actively resist adjournment.”

Below is the link to the text of the letter; it's a must-read...
http://democraticleader.house.gov/press/releases.cfm?pressReleaseID=1823

Posted by: karen at September 25, 2006 03:14 PM

Karen,

I look at the picture of you with the committee in the back ground and I feel such shame and disbelief that we have arrived at this place.

How could they even be considering this? Thank you for being there and speaking for us. I know my Senators Kerry and Kennedy are on the good side of this issue.

How the hell did we get HERE?

Video up on Raw Story! go Karen go

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Video_Protesters_interrupt_Senate_Gitmo_heaing_0925.html

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060925/480/7660e66710c84fbc8b13784eedf05746
Posted by: karen at September 25, 2006 03:14 PM

Excerpt from article:
While Specter said he would try to amend the bill, he said he would not use procedural tools to block it and he would decide later how he would vote on it.
~~~~~~~~~~

That's where it gets sticky. Specter won't block a vote on it. Specter will cave and vote in favor of this bill, with or without amending the bill. There will be no habeas corpus for innocent prisoners of the illegal war, Bush gets a free pass, he'll be exempt from being tried for war crimes.

Not good enough. They need to block the bill entirely. Period.

Under no circumstances must Bush and his administration be given immunity from being charged with war crimes for authorizing or committing torture.

Not that I feel strongly about the issues of torture or habeas corpus or giving Bush more excuses to become a dictator-in-fact, you understand [snark].... but like Molly Ivins, somewhere in my brain is the high pitched scream that maybe only dogs can hear: "Are they insane?!?" [BTW, there's a DKos diary about Molly Ivins - she just found out that the breast cancer she had is back, so she's once again fighting breast cancer, too.]

Wondering if the entire US Congress is insane... and the repeated refrain in my head: "How did we get to a point in our history that the Congress of the United States of America is actually talking about making torture - TORTURE!!! - legal...?!? What drugs are they taking, what funny cigarettes are they smoking, what kind of kool-aid are they drinking, that they can *seriously* talk about making torture legal?!?

What's the story with Bob Shrum? I just heard him on Hardball defending Chris Wallace, and claiming he's a straight shooter. I guess Shrum hasn't heard Wallace when appearing as a guest on conservative talk radio here in NY, spouting GOP talking points.

Stories relevant to this thread:

Bob Herbert | Due Process, Bulldozed
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092506L.shtml
Bob Herbert writes, "Bilal Hussein was part of a team of Associated Press photographers who had won a Pulitzer Prize for photos documenting the fighting and carnage in Iraq. Now he's a prisoner, having been seized by the US government. You might ask: What's he been charged with? The answer: Nothing."

Why Retired Military Brass Don't Want Torture
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092506N.shtml
Firsthand combat experiences compel old guard to attack Bush's "alternative interrogation." For all 43 retired generals and admirals, it was a combination of moral outrage and deep disgust over President Bush's proposed legislation on interrogating terrorist suspects that propelled them into unfamiliar territory. "None of us feels comfortable speaking out publicly," said Rear Adm. John D. Hutson (retired).

A Detainee's Story: The Man Who Has Been to America
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092506P.shtml
Why should Geneva Convention protections be applied to Guantanamo detainees? One innocent man's journey through the legal black hole of the war on terror - four prisons, three countries, two years - may be the best argument yet.

Army Warns Rumsfeld It's Billions Short
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092506J.shtml
The Army's top officer withheld a required 2008 budget plan from Pentagon leaders last month after protesting to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that the service could not maintain its current level of activity in Iraq plus its other global commitments without billions in additional funding.

Study of Iraq War and Terror Stirs Strong Political Response

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092506K.shtml
Democratic lawmakers, responding to an intelligence report that found that the Iraq war has invigorated Islamic radicalism and worsened the global terrorist threat, said the assessment by American spy agencies demonstrated that the Bush administration needed to devise a new strategy for its handling of the war.
{Two articles on this link.}

Halliburton Employees, Subcontractors Allege More Abuses
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092506M.shtml
One of the most notorious government contractors in Iraq, Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root, was under scrutiny again this week for allegedly overcharging US taxpayers and risking the lives of civilians.
Excerpt:
Senator Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), who chairs the DPC, said this is the tenth hearing on contracting practices in Iraq. Though the committee is more than 60 years old, created under the Truman administration to conduct research and publish reports on Democratic policy issues, Dorgan and Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) recently expanded its mission to include oversight investigations and public hearings.
{{{Hmmmm.... If we need others to write to, Dorgan and Reid might listen to reason...???}}}

Gary Hart: The October Surprise
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092506Z.shtml
Gary Hart: "It should come as no surprise if the Bush administration undertakes a preemptive war against Iran sometime before the November election. Were these more normal times, this would be a stunning possibility, quickly dismissed by thoughtful people as dangerous, unprovoked, and out of keeping with our national character. But we do not live in normal times."
{{{Does DimWit think that starting yet another illegal war, this time in Iran, would be a good thing to do just before this fall's election? Doesn't seem reasonable to me, given the budget shortfall for the illegal war in Iraq and Rummy's mismanagement of it.... Oh... wait, I'm losing my memory... that's right... the dictator doesn't care.... And if Congress gives DimWit a free pass to continue torturing people (illegal under current US laws and treaties and the Bill of Rights and the Constitution) and makes him immune from prosecution for war crimes, this is just the kind of lame-brained stunt he would pull....}}}

Asia al-Qaida leader reportedly killed in Iraq
Omar al-Farouq had earlier escaped from U.S. brig in Afghanistan

Updated: 2 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - British forces said they killed a top terrorist leader Monday, identified by Iraqi officials as an al-Qaida leader who had escaped from a U.S. prison in Afghanistan and returned to Iraq.

Omar al-Farouq was killed in a pre-dawn raid by 250 British troops from the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment on his home in Basra, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, British forces spokesman Maj. Charlie Burbridge said.

Al-Farouq was killed after he opened fire on British soldiers entering his home, Burbridge said.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15002934/

Hmmmmmmmmmm...

Monkey -

Apparently every single member of al-Qaida is a top terrorist leader.

At least a number two.

If you know what I mean.

More dumbing down of America from Newsweek:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/25/newsweeks-latest-cover-by-geographical-region/

Posted by: Carol at September 25, 2006 07:23 PM

It all smells like #2 to me, or at least like 43.

Stenchman.

Posted by: Carol at September 25, 2006 07:39 PM

Digusting, absolutely digusting.

Wowzers! Olbermann's 'Special Comment' ought to be a real tallywhacker this evening. He just promo'd it at the top of his evening broadcast by noting that as of tonight President Bush's free pass is over -- like Olbermann's been giving him one so far?!

soudns like must-see teevee to me,
Otter

defarge,karen I have a few Cleveland photos I would like to share where do I send for you to review?

Posted by: monkey at September 25, 2006 07:45 PM

Actually it just smells like 43. A whole heap of manure in a barnyard smells better than that. At least barnyard smells go away in time and it can be used as fertilizer, so it serves some useful purpose.

GWB serves no useful purpose, he sucks up all our oxygen, and destroys life as we know it....

Karen, Dick, Anyone....

Are there going to be more hearings on this barbaric nonsense regarding Torture, Habeas Corpus, and War Crimes?

Or was the hearing today the only one they are holding on it...?

Olbermann: "Our worst presidency since James Buchanan".

At least U.S. Grant was drunk through most of his presidency, and had done something meaningful to preserve the union.

He just used the cowardice word.

Olbermann ON FIRE tonight!

Go keith go!

Man....as soon as he got to the Lewinsky part, he just tore it up.

When it get's posted watch it in full!

Or was the hearing today the only one they are holding on it...?

Posted by: NonnyO at September 25, 2006 08:43 PM

As far as we know, that was it.

Frist is trying to get them to vote on it by Friday.

Karen,

Did you feel like anything constructive came from the hearings? Not on your part, but the actual dialogue? Did you come away with any hope?

You, by the way, are making history, lady!

Keith Olbermann *rocks*.

Here's the transcript (and eventually the video link -- as always, his impassioned delivery really makes his language even more effective) for Mr. Olbermann's 'Special Comment' tonight, entitled "A Textbook Definition of Cowardice":

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15004160/

Once again, in this segment Keith Olbermann not only agitates, but educates. He doesn't just opine; he also defines the terms, quotes the historical precedents, explains the background, and generally makes a very solid case for his increasingly anti-administration editorializing. Would that other pundits would do the same.

Is Mr. Olbermann going past the point of actual newscasting when delivering his own personal opinions on current events in these 'Special Comment' segments? Of course he is. But he makes no bones about the fact that he is editorializing when he does so. It's never oblique snarkiness disguised as 'reporting,' as presented by so many other talking heads on the tube these days.

Now, don't get me wrong. I still miss the hell out of 'NewsNight with Aaron Brown,' because Mr. Brown was a master at presenting complete stories on complicated subjects with professional objectivity while still including a certain amount of personality in his reports. Mr. Brown was the Walter Cronkite of the 21st century, until CNN bumped him off the air that is, and he is still much missed.

But I am very impressed with Mr. Olbermann's charismatic coverage of the news of the day as well. He has the personality to draw the viewers' attention while still maintaining the professionalism to do so with honor and dignity. If any newscaster could be said to be telling truth to power on a nightly basis, Mr. Olbermann certainly is. He is rapidly becoming the Edward R. Murrow of the 21st century. If only there were more like him.

In a perfect world, Mr. Brown would still be on CNN and Mr. Olbermann would be on MSNBC and their signature shows wouldn't be scheduled against each other in the same time slots. That way, the public might actually be able to turn on their television sets in the evening and enter a *real* no-spin zone for a change.

But one out of two ain't entirely bad, not when the remaining one is Mr. Olbermann. Otter gives his 'Special Comment' segments three paws up.

good thing otters can balance on one leg and a tail,
Otter

RE: Olbermann

Wow. Absolutely every word of that speech was priceless.

For those who did not see it, most definitely read the transcript that otter posted. But if you get a chance, you must watch it.

Ira -

You can send me the photos. You have the email address, right?

The video loop for tonight's 'Special Comments' will be posted there on the MSNBC site when it becomes available. And no doubt a quick g-search will find that someone has already posted multiple copies of it on YouTube, etc. for your dining and dancing pleasure.

BTW, I just emailed a copy of what I wrote in my previous post to Mr. Olbermann and MSNBC. I hope y'all will continue to fill their inboxes with messages of appreciation for what he's doing with these 'Special Segments' -- I'm convinced that receiving such kudos from the citizenry is what's emboldening the network brass to continue airing them.

go go gittem gittem,
Otter

For those of us with Macs who can't get msnbc video,

here is Olbermann's clip just up on Crooks and Liars

Must See TV, as Otter said:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/09/25/olbermanns-special-comment-are-yours-the-actions-of-a-true-american/

BTW, for the younger set who doesn't remember watching Edward R. Murrow on television (which includes, ahem, myself), here's an informative article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on the recent resurgence of the kind of 'advocacy journalism' that Murrow was known for:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=366183

shrubiana delenda est,
Otter

Ooops - retraction on that mac comment. They've added Firefox.

so you can watch it at msnbc when they put it up, or at the C&L link above!

Posted by: Carol at September 25, 2006 09:40 PM

Thanks for this, Carol! That Outlook Explorer constraint drives me nuts.

defarge I clicked on your name and emailed the photos and the email was bounced.

Yeah, well, who do you think put the "MS" in "MSNBC"?

[/snark>

Seriously, the fact that even MSNBC had to make their video feeds Firefox-compatible is a sign of just how successfully this particular David from Mozilla is taking on the Goliath of Redmond.

Firefox's market share is already large and growing larger by the day. Micro$loth was clearly forced play catchup with Firefox's existing features in their new Internyet Exploder 7 browser release (and with Opera's as well).

And this is, imho, a Good Thing. I'd rather have Bill Gates giving tons of money to charities I believe in than, say, Dick Cheney; but at least here on Planet Otter, MS's arrogant and unethical dominance of the PC OS market is every bit as welcome as the RNC's is in Washingtoon.

[/geekspeek>

beware of geeks bearing .gifs,
Otter

Karen,

Did you feel like anything constructive came from the hearings? Not on your part, but the actual dialogue? Did you come away with any hope?

You, by the way, are making history, lady!

Posted by: Carol at September 25, 2006 09:12 PM

I think the hearings were useful--and the testimony we heard was vital. But it is only as good as it informs people to call their Members. We need a groundswell of action. Otherwise I fear they will believe we do not care.

Wes Clark echoing Clinton's words:

Bush derelict in his duties:

snip -

Speaking to a gathering at the Kentucky Democratic Party's second annual "family day" event in Frankfort, Clark said former President Bill Clinton warned Bush personally during the presidential transition about Osama bin Laden.

"For eight months, Bush did nothing -- nothing. No plan. No action. No diplomacy. No intelligence. No meetings," Clark said.

Clark also said Bush has mismanaged Iraq and blocked efforts to impose accountability.

"The truth is, the Republicans have got us stuck in a mess and they don't have a way out," Clark said.

-snip

full story here

http://tinyurl.com/mxz34

Hmm.

Tomorrow night's guest on 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' will be ...

... General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan.

Seriously.

I kid you not.

well after all he does have a new book coming out you know,
Otter

From the confines of being in this dadaist Dali painting that incorporates Edvard Munch's "The Scream"....

If the Rubber-Stamp Congress Critters actually pass that piece of garbage this week... {shudder - and I think they will, since they always give DimWit Spoiled Brat what he wants}... I'm wondering if the October Surprise will be martial law and cancelling the '06 elections instead of waiting until '08....

home again

Karen Thanks for the reminder about the screenings.
I have the info somewhere here & wlll look into that.

Well, we knew this would happen, didn't we...?

http://mediamatters.org/items/200609260002?src=item200609260002
Fox News rallies behind Wallace, attacks Clinton
Summary: Fox News dedicated its coverage of an interview of President Clinton by Chris Wallace to portraying Wallace as the victim, while depicting Clinton as having a "complete meltdown," an "angry explosion," a "volcanic reaction," and as going on a "tirade" during the interview.

President Hologram and the Triumph of Public Relations
By Mike Whitney
All tyrannies are similar in one respect; they require a steady flow of propaganda to promote the interests of the state. That same rule applies to dictators, whose “strongman image” is vital to the maintenance of autocratic government and must be supported by a “cult of the personality.” This is particularly true of George Bush, who has been the centerpiece of the most prodigious public relations campaign in American history.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15103.htm

Bush's 'Dirty War' Amnesty Law
By Robert Parry
The United States is following the lead of “dirty war” nations, such as Argentina and Chile, in enacting what amounts to an amnesty law protecting U.S. government operatives, apparently up to and including President George W. Bush, who have committed or are responsible for human rights crimes.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15104.htm

Say No To Torture!
A Must Watch 2 Minute Video
Torture is immoral, ineffective, and makes a mockery of civilization. The United States Congress is currently trying to write a law that would legalize torture and put those who commit such crimes, and the law that justifies them beyond the reach of any court.
Click to view
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15106.htm

US Army Extends Iraq Duty for 4,000
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092506S.shtml
The Army is stretched so thin by the war in Iraq that it is again extending the combat tours of thousands of soldiers beyond the promised 12 months - the second such move since August.

U.S. excited (and suspicious) about gas prices
42 percent of Americans say Bush administration manipulated gas prices

Sept 25, 2006

There is no mystery or manipulation behind the recent fall in gasoline prices, analysts say. Try telling that to many U.S. motorists.

Almost half of all Americans believe the November elections have more influence than market forces. For them, the plunge at the pump is about politics, not economics.

Retired farmer Jim Mohr of Lexington, Ill., rattled off a tankful of reasons why pump prices may be falling, including the end of the summer travel season and the fact that no major hurricanes have disrupted Gulf of Mexico output.

“But I think the big important reason is Republicans want to get elected,” Mohr, 66, said while filling up for $2.17 a gallon. “They think getting the prices down is going to help get some more incumbents re-elected.”

According to a new Gallup poll, 42 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that the Bush administration “deliberately manipulated the price of gasoline so that it would decrease before this fall’s elections.” Fifty-three percent of those surveyed did not believe in this conspiracy theory, while 5 percent said they had no opinion.

Almost two-thirds of those who suspect President Bush intervened to bring down energy prices before Election Day are registered Democrats, according to Gallup.

White House spokesman Tony Snow addressed the issue Monday, telling reporters that “the one thing I have been amused by is the attempt by some people to say that the president has been rigging gas prices, which would give him the kind of magisterial clout unknown to any other human being.”

“It also raises the question, if we’re dropping gas prices now, why on earth did we raise them to $3.50 before?” Snow said.

moreon...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15004503/

Beware False Profits

Negroponte: Iraq spawning new terror leaders
Intel chief denies U.S. is at greater risk, responds to classified report furor

Updated: 10:18 p.m. ET Sept 25, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) - National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said Monday the jihad in Iraq is shaping a new generation of terrorist operatives, but rejected assertions, stemming from a leaked intelligence estimate, that the United States is at a greater risk of attack than it was in 2001.

"We are certainly more vigilant. We are better prepared," Negroponte said. "We are safer."

Negroponte's words came at a dinner at Washington's Woodrow Wilson Center after the weekend disclosure of a high-level National Intelligence Estimate. The document gave new fervor to an election-year debate about how the Iraq war has affected national security threats.

The report, Negroponte said, broadly addressed the global terrorist threat, not just the impact of Iraq.

He told the audience that radicalism is being fueled by entrenched grievances in the Arab world, the slow pace of social and political reforms there and anti-U.S. sentiment.

In addition, he said, "The Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives."

Lawmakers want intel report declassified
The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee urged the Bush administration Monday to declassify the intelligence assessment.

Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said the American people should be able to see a public version of the report and draw their own conclusions about its contents. So far, he said, the public discussion has given the "false impression" that the National Intelligence Estimate focuses exclusively on Iraq and terrorism.

"That is not true," Roberts said, noting that the committee has had the report since April. "This NIE examines global terrorism in its totality."

In a letter to National Intelligence Director John Negroponte, West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the committee's top Democrat, said declassifying the report's conclusions would provide a complete picture of the report and "contribute greatly to the public debate" on counterterrorism policies.

Negroponte said he would consider the proposal in the next several days, given the interest in the document.

The report distills the thinking of senior U.S. intelligence analysts working throughout the nation's 16 spy agencies. Its conclusions are considered to be the voice of the U.S. intelligence community.

Conclusions at odds with Bush’s assertions
The New York Times first reported Saturday that the highly classified assessment finds that the U.S. invasion of Iraq has helped fuel a new generation of extremists and that the overall terror threat has grown since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — a conclusion at odds with President Bush's assertions that the nation is safer.

But Bush administration officials including Negroponte are contesting the media accounts, saying they describe only a portion of the conclusions and therefore distort the analysts' findings on trends in global terrorism.

As the November election approaches, the report has touched off an intense political debate about the impact of Iraq on U.S. security and the Bush administration's ability to go after terrorists.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Osama bin Laden and other Sept. 11 planners have not yet been brought to justice and Bush should read the intelligence carefully "before giving another misleading speech about progress in the war on terrorism." She and 10 other Democratic leaders asked House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., to hold hearings on the document's findings.

MORE ON>>>
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15004211/

Two retired generals blast Rumsfeld on Iraq
Republicans dismiss as politics a forum held by Senate Democrats

Updated: 10:10 p.m. ET Sept 25, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP)- Retired military officers on Monday bluntly accused Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of bungling the war in Iraq, saying U.S. troops were sent to fight without the best equipment and that critical facts were hidden from the public.

“I believe that Secretary Rumsfeld and others in the administration did not tell the American people the truth for fear of losing support for the war in Iraq,” retired Maj. Gen. John R.S. Batiste said in remarks prepared for a forum conducted by Senate Democrats.

A second military leader, retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, assessed Rumsfeld as “incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically.”

"Mr. Rumsfeld and his immediate team must be replaced or we will see two more years of extraordinarily bad decision-making,” Eaton added in a statement prepared for the policy forum, held six weeks before the Nov. 7 midterm elections, in which the war is a central issue.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a member of the Armed Services Committee, dismissed the Democratic-sponsored event as “an election-year smoke screen aimed at obscuring the Democrats’ dismal record on national security.”

“Today’s stunt may rile up the liberal base, but it won’t kill a single terrorist or prevent a single attack,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement. He called Rumsfeld an “excellent secretary of defense.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, speaking Monday at the National Press Club, said election-season politics may be what’s standing in the way of finding a solution to the insurgency in Iraq.

“My instinct is, once the election is over, there will be a lot more hard thinking about what to do about Iraq and a lot more candid observations about it,” said Specter, R-Pa.

And Senate Republicans circulated a statement by four retired generals that said, “(W)e do not believe that it is appropriate for active duty, or retired, senior military officers to publicly criticize U.S. civilian leadership during war.” The group included two three-star generals, John Crosby and Thomas McInerny, and a pair of two-star generals, Burton Moore and Paul Vallely.

Republican lawmaker joins forum
The conflict, now in its fourth year, has claimed the lives of more than 2,600 American troops and cost more than $300 billion.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., the committee chairman, told reporters last week that he hoped the hearing would shed light on the planning and conduct of the war. He said majority Republicans had failed to conduct hearings on the issue, adding, “if they won’t ... we will.”

Since he spoke, a government-produced National Intelligence Estimate became public that concluded the war has helped create a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Along with several members of the Senate Democratic leadership, one Republican, Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina, participated. “The American people have a right to know any time that we make a decision to send Americans to die for this country,” said Jones, a conservative whose district includes Camp Lejeune Marine base.

MOTHERFOKKERS...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15003903/

Photo of Karen's group in New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/26/us/politics/26detain.html

Alines case has become a monster. This crap is so surreal.

We have a witness that was at my grandparents house when the cops brought a purse recovered after a supposedly 'false' confession from Henry Lee Lucas.

That was when my grandmother collapsed and could not walk for 4 days after. She believed they were Alines clothes.

BUT, this witness claims the sheriff, Buddy Huckaby, not only told my grandparents that the purse was Alines, they told my grandparents they had recovered her 'REMAINS'!!!

Yes, she said a body was recovered with the clothes and purse!!

Then, according to this witness my grandfather demanded to see the body and Huckaby refused to let him, my grandmother went wobbly and within no time the cops were back saying it was a FALSE CONFESSION.

Oh. My. God. My poor grandparents.

For those of you keeping up, this sheriff huckaby was the one that took office 4 months after Aline disappeared and came to the house and told my grandpa he had found Alines open murder file in the trunk of a police car and it had been purged of everything except a missing persons report.

My grandpa helped get him elected so he could find Aline.

He got elected on the promise of solving the murder of Wanda Hudson who was butchered 2 months before he was elected.

He used her murder to get into office, then covered it up too. He betrayed my grandfather.

Damn these people to hell, I thought I was nervous, but now I am just mad again.

The damn site the 'remains' and purse and found in is a Civil War battlefield. The battle of Mansfield.

That is one clever body dump site.

And huckaby better start explaining something soon cause my whole family is pissed now. This is unbelievable.

I just realized something...

It is no wonder I grew up to be a cynic.

Nurture and nature really did not have much to do with any of it.

CALL SENATORS TODAY

NO TO TORTURE! SAVE HABEUS CORPUS!

Action Alert from Center for Constitutional Rights

Dear Friend of CCR,

The fight over the military commissions bills today isn’t about politics, it’s about lives, and it’s not over. Please take a minute from your busy day to help, even if you acted last week.

The debate around these bills misses the point: both versions strip away the fundamental right to habeas corpus, the right to challenge your detention in a court of law, not to be locked up under the President’s say-so, guilty or innocent, never to be heard from again.

An amendment in play could take out this dangerous measure – please use our site to fax your senators and tell them to support the Specter-Levin Amendment on habeas corpus when it gets introduced. The bills are S.3901, The Military Commissions Act of 2006, sponsored by Senator Warner and S.3861, The Bringing Terrorists to Justice Act of 2006, sponsored by Senator Frist. Please call your Senators at (202) 224-3121 IMMEDIATELY, especially if they are among the 26 we’ve identified below as critical in this fight.

Anyone in U.S. custody, at home or abroad, must have the right to challenge their detention in court. Nothing is more fundamental to our democracy than this right. Tell your Senator TODAY that they must vote to save habeas corpus.

The rights of victims of rape and sexual assault are also under attack in this legislation, an injustice that is completely under the radar: both bills would change the definition of rape and other torture and cut back on hard-fought victories of victims of sexual violence. Tell your Senators they must uphold the Geneva Conventions and allow survivors of sexual violence to hold their perpetrators accountable.

This is an EMERGENCY—please forward this alert to as many people as you can.

The votes of the following Senators will be critical:

Kent Conrad (ND) (202) 224-2043
Joe Lieberman (CT) (202) 224-4041
Ben Nelson (NE) (202) 224-6551
James Jeffords (VT) (202) 224-5141
Lincoln Chafee (RI) (202) 224-2921
Richard Lugar (IN) (202) 224-4814
Craig Thomas (WY) (202) 224-6441
Chuck Hagel (NE) (202) 224-4224
Lisa Murkowski (AK) (202) 224-6665
John Sununu (NH) (202) 224-2841
Peter Dominici (NM) (202) 224-6621
Gordon Smith (OR) (202) 224-3753
Arlen Specter (PA) (202) 224-4254
Daniel Inouye (HI) (202) 224-3934
Mary Landrieu (LA) (202) 224-5824
Ron Wyden (OR) (202) 224-5244
Olympia Snowe (ME) (202) 224-5344
Susan Collins (ME) (202) 224-2523
Carl Levin (MI) (202) 224-6221
Hillary Clinton (NY) (202) 224-4451
Richard Durbin (IL) (202) 224-2152
Harry Reid (NV) (202) 224-3542
John Kerry (MA) (202) 224-2742
Lindsey Graham (SC) (202) 224-5972
John Warner (VA) (202) 224-2023
John McCain (AZ) (202) 224-2235

Could someone please explain the significance of the number 65 to Republicans. It seems more than a coincidence that day after day I was bombarded by Blackwell commercials promoting his 65% sollution, what a joke, for Ohio schools. I come back to Texas and low and behold Rick Perry's commercials are promoting his plan to spend 65% of new tax revenues on guess what, public schools. In Blackwell's case he wants to outsource school bus drivers, counselors, nurses etc to eventually privitize all of Ohio schools. Here its supposedly directed to teacher pay but that 65 number is repeated as in Ohio. Seems earily similar. Must have some religious significance or all Republican governors are campaigning off the same Rove/Mehlman campaign book.

Ira,

I have no idea the significance of the number 65. Some at my house think the more appropiate number would be 666. Given the OCD nature of Republican politics, they likely field tested that number and it came out as having some special power of demoralizing an opponent.

Also, if you want to write something to go with the pix and send it to karen@democracycellproject.net, I will ask her to look out for it and we can post it here on the blog.

65 was considered the standard, default age for retirement in corporate America for decades... 65% it also represents the test score averages of Dubya throughout his academic and professional career.

D Mine Us