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Another Country Heard From
(Last week an old friend I hadn't talked to in years popped up in my ICQ window. We spent a little while playing catch-up about various aspects of our lives -- she'd moved to Tasmania from the Australian mainland, among other things -- and when she asked me what I was up to these days I gave her links to several online communities I'm involved with, including this one. She's a grandmother from the other side of the planet, with plenty of things to keep her attention focused on there at home; but like most citizens of the world, she's fully aware of what's going on over here as well. Her reply is reproduced below, because it's always educational for us to see how America the Beautiful is perceived outside its own broad borders.)
Hello from below!
I've read some, not all, of the threads, blogs, sites and links you told me about, and I don't know whether I'm more depressed to have my opinions and fears confirmed, or whether I'm more hopeful that the masses will stir slowly and rise up eventually - hopefully before he's gone. I remember the smirking little weasel being asked how he thought history would judge him and he smirked some me and said, "It won't matter - I'll be dead."
I dislike him so much and I haven't heard him say one believable thing, that I have to hold the remote so that I don't have to hear him - or see him. I feel exactly the same about his Australian mongrel puppy, salivating all around him. Like Monkey said in one of the threads, how does he KNOW what the "terrorists" think and feel and believe and do??? It takes one to judge one!! He has killed more young Americans than died on 9/11.
I remember writing to a newspaper before the invasion began - "Go and bomb the crap out of a country and then force them to be a democracy! What a notion. It'll never work!" I don't think it was printed. I've stopped caring about that - as long as someone reads it to make the decision not to print. And how do GDubya and his aussie mongrel pup and the idiot in the UK know what "terrorists" think? Have they sought any out to talk with lately?
At least there are some good movies around now that aren't mainstream but are worth looking at. Kind of underground stuff really I suppose. My cousin said to me one day, "Wendy, these new sedition laws will see you arrested and jailed." I said, that's ok - I won't have to pay rent, and because I have bad health I should get it pretty easy - 3 meals a day. Vistors every week - health costs - I'd cost the law-maker-breakers more than I cost me.
Thanks for directing me to these posts, I'll read more tomorrow. Did you know that one of the ring leaders of terrorists arrested in Afghanistan is 5 foot 4" baby-faced young Australian David Hicks. Our government says, "Well, no. We can't try him here. He has committed some terrible crimes." How do they know that? Answers from the tortured! Major Michael Mori is defending him and has travelled the world doing so.
David's in solitary confinement. Has been there for 3 of the almost 5 years. His letters have ALL comforting words like "love" blacked out! Our govt is as guilty as your leading terrorist for this affront to justice, morality and intellect. Mori has been outspoken in his criticism of the military commission that will decide his fate. David Hicks doesn't have much formal education. He is such an EASY scapegoat to hold up - or kill.
I think Major Mori might have to look elsewhere for work - he's doing too good a job exposing David's plight to the world. Five years!! I have 2 sons his age. It makes me cry to think of him over there in that hole for so long and not allowed the word "love" in a letter. It goes on and on. Thanks to people like you making your views heard. I'll read more tomorrow. There's a lot to digest.
Wow! I wish you would write a book. I intend to buy the book I read about - the woman, the lawyer who exposed some of the lies - I plead brain damage here - my memory drops out every now and then. I'll find it again. ["The Canary in the Coalmine: Blowing the Whistle in the Case of 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh (A Memoir By Jesselyn Radack)", published with the invaluable assistance of the DCP's Suz Krueger -- more info at http://www.patriotictruthteller.net ]
Thanks, Rix - Monkey - Suz - Nonny - and all who dwell within. You need to write a book too. Make it fiction. Everyone will know what it's about. There was a documentary on tv last night making comparisons between the Roman Empire when on the brink of 'falling' and the US of today. Your own writer, Gore Vidal made similar comparisons.
I need to go and walk this stuff out of me. It is such a great place to be and walk - Tasmania. I'm in an inner suburb of Launceston (bigger than Hobart - which doesn't mean it's big) and I look out my ceiling to floor glass doors and I see a cherry-plum tree, an apricot tree, other bushes and about 1/4 sq. metre of a rusted corrugated iron wall of a shed next door. Out the window to my right I see more bush than houses and roof-tops.
People's eyes glaze over here if I happen to shudder at the mere mention of GDubya's name. The checkout woman down at the supermarket launched into a tirade when I mentioned something about our PM. I was rapt. She said, "I hate him! I do! I really hate him! With a passion!" Good! I'm glad. She suddenly realised where she was. I laughed.
till next time,
Wendy From Oz
Hey, monkey --
CNN say Coral Gables is da bomb.
arbusto: mentiroso, mentiroso, pantalones en el fuego,
Otter
re: CNN & da bomb
Takes one to blow one.... tanks, but no tanks.
Caption Contest...
http://tinyurl.com/yglyst
This is a representation of how ugly we should expect desperate Republicans to be in the next two weeks:
“I think Claire McCaskill is a liar. … Claire McCaskill will do whatever it takes to get elected. She’ll lie and she’ll cheat.”
It looks like these tactics may be backfiring as ABC Note reports undecided Missouri voters are rejecting these personal attacks. Just a warning in your campaigns where progressives may be tied or are leading not to start making dumb personal attacks about the other side. It also has the unexpected effect of energizing your opponent's base, which in this election we don't want to do. When the stars are lining up for a tsunami in a few weeks we need not blow it by making dumb personal attacks. Just let them self destruct..
Welcome back to Wendy! :-)
It confirms what we already know. It's Bu$h & the crooks in his administration who are universally hated by people in other countries. People in other countries don't hate us ordinary Americans (well, those of us who haven't drunk the kool-aid, anyway), just the idiots "leading" this country into total chaos and ruin after two stolen "elections"....
The only other world "leaders" who are not respected to about the same degree are Blair and maybe Howard from down under who have so slavishly followed Bu$hCo's lead. It will be interesting to see if historians in the future will discover how much Bu$hCo paid them to follow their dubious "lead." It's still a matter of "follow the money" - I believe - to find out who has been corrupted to what degree.....
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/43269/
Two testify that Hastert knew about Foley
Time to call Diebold...
The above is a short story and reasonably interesting (no speculation we haven't already figured out). However... the more interesting part was in the comments section referencing the Bu$hite land purchase in Paraguay and the paragraph following that, under this blogger's name (the stories on the links are quite intresting!):
Bush Makes Massive Land Purchase In Paraguay
Posted by: Don on Oct 22, 2006 12:30 AM
Russian Intelligence Analysts are reporting today that the American President’s daughter, Jenna Bush, has secured on behalf of her father, the American President, and the Bush Family, the purchase of nearly 100,000 acres of land in the South American Nation of Paraguay, and which is also confirmed by the Latin American News Service.
http://arizona.indymedia.org/news/2006/10/51221.php
Five hundred U.S. troops arrived in Paraguay with planes, weapons, and ammunition in July 2005, shortly after the Paraguayan Senate granted U.S. troops immunity from national and International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction. Neighboring countries and human rights organizations are concerned that the massive air base at Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay is potential real estate for the U.S. military.
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/431/44/
What was really striking about the reply from Oz I posted at the top of this thread is that I had not the slightest inkling beforehand that Wendy was politically aware or involved. We had never discussed politics in the past, nor was it a component of the online community in which we originally got to know each other.
So when I gave Wendy the link to the DCP site as one example of what I've been doing with my time lately, I was not anticipating such an extended and intensive reply.
I do hope that she continues to come back and join in the online dialogue here, though, because the larger perspective of other world citizens like her is a valuable thing for Americans to be more aware of these days.
Oh Great Pawed One... Gonna catch Clapton & Friends tonite in dowtown MyJammy (and how he got in there, I'll never know)... gonna do some pre-gig voter reg...
I Shock Musharraf
Particularly nice tagline there, simi-san.
Pelosi: Impeachment 'off the table'
RAW STORY
Published: Monday October 23, 2006
In an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) pledged that impeachment of President George W. Bush was off the table should Democrats gain a majority next month.
Pelosi speculated that Republicans would "just love" the "waste of time" such proceedings would be. "Making them lame ducks," she concluded, "is good enough for me."
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Pelosi_Impeachment_off_table_1023.html
Posted by: monkey at October 23, 2006 02:12 PM
Makes me wonder just how much Pelosi's husband is making off of the Torturer-in-Chief's war in Iraq if she can take impeachment off the table...?
If I lived in her district, I suspect I would be voting against her....
Or, on the other paw, Pelosi may just be making the kind of knowledgeable, pragmatic assessment of political cost-benefit ratios that she's always proven to be so good at defining and capitalizing on, Nonny.
just be cause you're paranoid doesn't mean they *are* out to get you either,
Otter
Posted by: Otter at October 23, 2006 02:49 PM
It would NOT be a "waste of time" to impeach the dictator-torturer-in-chief and his stooges. We already KNOW they've committed war crimes.
I'm just hoping her words were a political ploy (lie, if you will), said to throw the neoCons off - if the two head honchos were indicted, she would become president, after all, if she makes Speaker....
Anyway, I'm not sure she has the final word about impeachment. Other powers that be might have more to say about that....
... and just to be clear, impeachment from my standpoint ain't got nuttin to do with revenge, vengeance or the like... it's more about the man who put his hand on the book he claims to so revere and subsequentlly went on to savage the laws and constitution he swore to uphold.
I fought the law and the law lost.
Oh, and just got my new homeowners insurance bill in Floriduh... $1200 annual increase.
Working harder, keepin less... tout that in your economic dog & phony show, Mr. Butch.
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling sentenced to 24 years in prison
Back on topic... read this gem, and send CNN some flaming bags of crap...
Bennett: Most around world still believe in America
(CNN) -- Responding to queries from CNN.com readers, conservative commentator and former Cabinet secretary William Bennett expressed faith in the U.S. government's global standing and doubts about the mainstream media's objectivity and the viability of a strong third political party.
Host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show, "Bill Bennett's Morning in America," the CNN political analyst and Republican strategist touched on several controversial topics raised by readers as part of CNN's "Broken Government" series.
Why has the rest of the world pretty much lost faith in our democracy and government?
Joaquin Garweg, Houston, Texas
BENNETT: I don't think the rest of the world has lost faith in our democracy and government.
It is fashionable in some precincts to condemn the United States. We have not been popular in the Middle East for many years, and the university class (in Europe, especially) has a "sophisticated" view that is aped by academia in much of the U.S. professoriate.
But many millions of people around the world love America, Americans and the things America represents. If [people] virtually anywhere in the world ... saw a group of soldiers coming over the hill and could pick which flag they were carrying, the American flag would still be the choice of many.
How do we as citizens stop our representatives from disregarding the will of the people?
April Garlow, Franklinville, New York
BENNETT: Edmund Burke had this answer many years ago: "Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion."
The Founders believed there was a distinction between the "representativeness" between the members of the House and the Senate. The former should more directly represent the wishes of their constituents, the latter are supposed to filter those wishes and view them through a national prism. But the short answer: Vote 'em in or out of office as you see fit.
Why is everyone so afraid of talking about a national draft to solve some of the problems our military is facing?
Andy Sturdivant, Mount Dora, Florida
BENNETT: Political leadership is afraid it will be very unpopular with the middle class, and very few candidates want to face that opposition. Second, though, the military does not want a draft: They prefer the commitment of the professional army.
But there is a moral case to be made for national service in which military service would be an option. Everyone in this country, whatever their skills, should do something -- they should be doing something for the republic.
Is there a bias in the mainstream media against the Republican Party?
Mike Malloy, Paradise, California
BENNETT: Yes. And it is demonstrable. Survey after survey of powerhouse journalists -- on television, in newspapers and magazines -- show a clear liberal predisposition.
Why is it a teacher has to take tests to prove their knowledge of subjects, yet someone elected to Congress does not?
Richard Sturrock, Wimberly, Texas
BENNETT: Literally, because people have a right to elect whomever they want, but no teacher has a right to be dumb. Presumably members of Congress demonstrate what they know during a campaign or debates or service itself. The Constitution does not speak of IQ or literacy thresholds for elected service.
That said, I actually believe the threshold for teachers is set pretty low.
The president and many members of Congress keep repeating that if the Democrats are elected to Congress, that our taxes will be raised. ... My question is: If that occurred, couldn't the president veto it?
Joseph Filutz, Ammon, Idaho
BENNETT: The short answer is yes, the president could veto it. But remember, the tax cuts in force at present have to be renewed by an affirmative vote, which is unlikely to happen if the Democrats take control.
A bill to extend tax cuts will, in that case, never make it to the president. This, in effect, would be a tax increase. Remember, too, all tax legislation originates in the House.
Isn't it time there is a strong third party?
Keith Berkner, Macon, Georgia
BENNETT: No, I don't think so. The history of third parties in America is not distinguished. They don't win, but often spoil. And they tend more to be eccentric than serious.
People can always try, of course. And it's funny and odd, but instructive, that the story of third parties in America doesn't come to much.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/23/cnna.bennett/
Fear of Skewed Elections Due to Electronic Voting on the Rise
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102306B.shtml
Computer experts and government officials have voiced serious concerns that if electronic voting machines malfunction, no paper record will exist for a recount. Even worse is the fear that an election could be hacked. Princeton University researchers using an Accuvote TS - a touch screen version of the Diebold machine - showed how easy it would be to deploy a virus that would, in seconds, flip the vote of any election.
CBS: Corrupt Arms Deals Cost Iraq $800 Million
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102306D.shtml
Iraq's former finance minister alleged in a US television report aired Sunday that up to $800 million meant to equip the Iraqi army had been stolen from the government by former officials through fraudulent arms deals. The former minister, Ali Allawi, told CBS's "60 Minutes" that the arms fraud is "one of the biggest thefts in history" and that corrupt former Iraqi officials are now "running around the world hiding and scurrying around."
McCaskill and Ford Jr. Pick Up Key Endorsements
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102306G.shtml
Newspapers in Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri, have endorsed the Democratic Party candidates for the US Senate. These two races could spell an end to Republican control of the Senate.
Posted by: monkey at October 23, 2006 04:12 PM
I just hafta wonder what planet and what country these neoCons are living on/in when they can come up with some of this rose-colored-glasses-kool-aid-delusional things they say....
Posted by: NonnyO at October 23, 2006 05:02 PM
The same planet where they believe their good christian president/savior has their best interests at heart.
Neverneverlamb.
Posted by: monkey at October 23, 2006 03:25 PM
Z'aktly.... Them thar vows sworn to uphold the Constitution and the Laws wuz, after all, made by those who had ethical and moral standards, an' if'n crooks can lie and start illegal wars without impunity, then more crooks will run for the same political offices and keep bitch-slappin' the very people who allegedly voted for 'em (e-voting machines excepted, of course).
Though, to be quite truthful, I wouldn't mind being voyeuristically pleased to see dastardly things happen to the crooks who SO deserve to be tried and convicted before our own courts and before the courts at The Hague for the war crimes and domestic crimes they've committed, and their estates confiscated to pay back the treasury they've so robbed.... I DO want legal revenge exacted....
IMHO, it would be the height of hypocrisy if they are not tried for their crimes. It's not enough just to get them out of office; they can still wreak havoc if they're only out of office. They deserve nothing less than jail for the rest of their lives for the crimes they've committed.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/10/23/too_conservative_for_america.php
Too Conservative For America
The election is still two weeks off but the recriminations have already begun. Former Republican Majority Leader Dick Armey, a free-market ideologue, trashes James Dobson and the Christian Right as “thugs.” Dobson warns Republicans that the religious right may not turn out, dismayed by the Foley scandals and the lack of progress on their social agenda. Richard Viguerie, the mass mail guru of the far right, suggests that it might be a good thing for these “Big Government Republicans” to lose control and learn once more the power of the movement right.
Democrats tend to be giddy these days, but already signs of preemptive dissatisfaction are murmured on the left, as progressives bemoan the absence of any visible agenda, any big ideas or any bold leader. And Senate leaders are already lining up to chastise progressives for demanding too much, for challenging Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and pushing too hard on the war, on health care, on cleaning up Congress.
The campaigns have turned into a foul din. Incumbents have defended themselves by raising fears about their rivals. The White House mantra—"taxes and terror”—is echoed in ad buys. Negative ads drive a race to the bottom, a campaign distemper that reflects the foul mood of voters.
Is there any theme to this stew? No matter what voters decide, the campaigns on both sides suggest a sea change in America. For years, Republicans have charged their opponents with being “too liberal for (fill in the state).” This year, the ads of both parties suggest that candidates may suffer more for being “too conservative for America."
{Click on link for more.}
http://60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/11/andy_rooney
Even Andy Rooney is sounding like Cindy Sheehan...! Video Clip....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061022/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_losing_congress_2
GOP losses could spark partisan warfare
WASHINGTON - The White House is bracing for guerrilla warfare on the homefront politically if Republicans lose control of the House, the Senate or both -- and with it, the president's ability to shape and dominate the national agenda. Republicans are battling to keep control of Congress. But polls and analysts in both parties increasingly suggest Democrats will capture the House and possibly the Senate on Election Day Nov. 7.
Excerpt:
Bush has been quoted by journalist Bob Woodward as saying, "I'll stay in Iraq even if the only support I have left is from my wife and my dog." A Democratic takeover and Republican defections could make that day seem closer.
{{{Er.... "Guerilla warfare...?!?" That's pretty strong and inflammatory language.... Click on link for more.}}}
Totally off topic...
Saw "Man of the Year" this weekend. What a great send-up of politics. Don't we all wish presidential debates could be like that? Time for candidates to hire comedy writers on their speechwriting staffs.
Nonny posted earlier an article about election fraud. that's what's really got me concerned now, with all the happy smiling Bushites saying they are so conffident they'll win in November.
here are some more articles, via Rawstory:
Chicago Voter Database Hacked
Civic Group Claims It Could Have Tampered With Voter Roles
Analysis Two Weeks to Go: Can Republicans Change Momentum?
By JAKE TAPPER and REBECCA ABRAHAM
Oct. 23, 2006 — As if there weren't enough concerns about the integrity of the vote, a non-partisan civic organization today claimed it had hacked into the voter database for the 1.35 million voters in the city of Chicago.
more
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2601085&page=1
= = =
Electronic Voting Machines Could Skew Elections
Researchers, Candidates Have Little Confidence in Machines Designed to Make Elections Easier to Call
By JAKE TAPPER, REBECCA ABRAHAMS and EDUARDO SUNOL
Oct. 22, 2006 — Cheryl Kagan, a former Maryland Democratic legislator, was shocked when she opened her mail Wednesday morning.
Inside, she discovered three computer discs. With them was an anonymous letter saying the discs contained the secret source code for vote-counting that could be used to alter the votes cast through Maryland's new electronic voting machines.
"My understanding is that with these disks a malicious person could skew the outcome of an election," Kagan said.
more
http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/Technology/story?id=2596705&page=1
The Limits of Liberty: We're All Suspects Now
By Henry Porter
Identity cards. Number-plate surveillance. CCTV. Control orders. The list of ways in which the Government has sought to manipulate and define the limits of our liberty grows ever longer. Ten years ago, the novelist and polemicist Henry Porter would have felt silly speaking out about human rights in Britain. But that was before the most fundamental assault on personal freedom ever undertaken. Now, he argues, it's time we woke up to reality.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15378.htm
{{{This is creepy because the author's a Brit, and he's writing about what's been happening there for the last couple of years under Blair... it mirrors the encroachment of losses of rights and liberties in the US....}}}
Active-Duty Troops Launch Campaign to End U.S. Occupation of Iraq:
For the first time since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, active- duty members of the military are asking Members of Congress to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq and bring American soldiers home.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=74796
Halliburton's 3Q Income Rises 22 Percent :
The Houston-based oilfield services conglomerate Sunday posted $611 million, or 58 cents per share, in net income for the June-September quarter, including a $4 million charge from discontinued operations.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4279402.html
William Fisher | Bush's Strategic Change
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102306R.shtml
William Fisher says that, "... this president has presided over arguably the most secretive government in US history," and finds it interesting that just before the mid-term elections, Bush praised open government at a signing ceremony for the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, which will establish a searchable online database of federal grants and contracts.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061023/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq
GOP senator says Iraq is near chaos
WASHINGTON - Under election-year pressure to change course in Iraq, the Bush administration said Monday there are no plans for dramatic shifts in policy or for ultimatums to Baghdad to force progress.
~~~~~
"We're on the verge of chaos, and the current plan is not working," Sen. Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record), R-S.C., said in an Associated Press interview. U.S. and Iraqi officials should be held accountable for the lack of progress, said Graham, a Republican who is a frequent critic of the administration's policies.
Asked who in particular should be held accountable — Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, perhaps, or the generals leading the war — Graham said: "All of them. It's their job to come up with a game plan" to end the violence
{More on link.}
Not surprisingly, Olbermann is cheerily carving Shrub a new earhole again tonight. There'll be a new 'Special Comment' at the end, this one addressing RoveCo's deshpickable "vote for a Dem and OBL will kill your mother" ads.
more must-see teevee,
Otter
Posted by: Carol at October 23, 2006 07:41 PM
I just read something on that same story again today (think I posted a link to it on the previous thread when I read it yesterday).
I keep seeing "polls say" Dems "could" win big on Nov. 7, "could" maybe even take back both houses of Congress.....
And then I remember the e-voting machines....
And I lose whatever faint hope I've had about Dems winning anything in Nov.
And I keep remembering the politicians who gave in too soon in previous rigged appointments and "elections" - especially in states where there are e-voting machines that can be hacked into. I saw a comment on one of the AlterNet stories posted where a person said she had a video on MySpace showing how few minutes it takes to actually hack into one of the e-voting machines and change totals.
Then there's the story (Wow! It actually made ABC evening snooze?!?) about the person who got the three discs, how some news organization verified them, and a computer expert checked them out, said the discs weren't even encrypted, which made liars out of Diebold.....
So, I am hoping the "polls" are correct. I don't worry much about MN - we have optical scanners, yes (in larger towns and cities), but we vote on paper ballots and if any results are contested, the paper ballots can be recounted. We also have easy-peasy voter registration, and (with proof of residency) people can even register at the polling locations on election day itself.
It's all the other states that have either e-voting machines and/or really weird laws (or proposed laws) regarding voter registration, etc., that I worry most about.
Posted by: Otter at October 23, 2006 08:08 PM
Thanks for the paws up!!! :-) I'll be sure to look for the online video.... :-)
So here's a personal account of security in the air:
Yesterday the TSA appropriated my toothpaste because it was labelled at more than three ounces, despite the fact that there was hardly any left AND it was in a regulation plastic bag, sealed.
Now I don't care about the toothpaste, but I DO care that "security" is defined as following ridiculous "rules". I do not understand how small amounts of liquids and creams (I was not aware of "pastes" as being on that list, but apparently, at least in Long Beach, they are) are safer if they are placed in plastic bags than they otherwise would be. A friend had her hand lotion removed, even though she carried it out there from NYC without being challenged on it.
We had to remove shoes in Long Beach, but no longer in DC.
HEY TERRORISTS! If you want to really get back at us, while we're distracted on hand creams and toothpaste, the shoelace attack is now available again!
And, as far as I can tell, no one is looking at the UNDERWEAR attack--the exploding bra might be useful.
I was also allowed to carry on, with no challenge whatsoever, dangerous nail clippers, pens, and, perhaps the most overlooked source of danger, personal notebooks full of NEW THOUGHTS.
Posted by: karen at October 23, 2006 08:26 PM
NEW THOUGHTS....now that's scary.
Gotta watch out for those. They might actually cause something to change.
21st Century Democrats is an organization that working to catalyze a new movement by seeking out, training and supporting extraordinary, visionary leaders who are courageous risk-takers and who inspire Americans to take action. They're running a 2006 People's Choice Challenge with 5 candidates; the winner will receive $5000 towards their campaign.
Please go to their website & vote. You only need to enter your name, email address, & zip code.
Dan Seals, who is running for Congress in my district (IL-10), is in 1st place to get the $5000 contribution to his campaign. (His opponent, the incumbent Mark Kirk has voted with Bush (and Tom Delay) 92% of the time.)
Please consider voting for Dan Seals in this online poll, unless there's another candidate on the list who is from your district or state. Dan is really gaining in the polls (Majority Watch has us neck & neck with Kirk), and every bit of $$ we can get counts and will be used for media ads. We know we can win if we can get the message out about Dan. And to get the message out, we need more $$ for ads... Merci bien.
http://www.21stcenturydems.org/candidates/endorsement
FYI, yr hmbl otr crspndnt did go there and do that. Dan Seals is one of five candidates in the running for that critical bit of extra funds... well, critical for folks like Dan. Patrick Murphy's another one of the five, but he's getting much more money from the DNCC and via good friends in high places like a certain senator from Massachusetts.
So while I do like Murphy a lot, and he is running for office in a state in which I currently reside, I cast my 21st Century Dems vote today for Dan Seals because that's where the extra money will make the most difference in two weeks. I encourage all of you to do the same -- and do it right away, because the voting window for this award ends tomorrow.
so put their money where your mouse is,
Otter
At library using their computer, as mine isn't reconnected yet after my trip back up 'Nawth.
Despite the voter fraud I am optimistic that we may be able to win back both the House and the Senate. If they steal this one it will have to be by a hair because the polls are so OBVIOUS.
The exact ads the farming people here are hearing are: "We can make ethanol out of our corn (picture of Senator with corn field as background), thanks to my help passing the energy bill", and "Hi, I'm your Representative to Congress, and I voted for the internet bill that keeps our children from internet predators. Because here, we believe in keeping our children safe." Both running are long term Dems, so luckily they should remain in office. But, isn't it scarey the way they advertise to these folks?
Otter,
Who is ahead at the 21stcenturydems? I voted the other day and don't know how to check on current standings since you can only vote once. I voted for Mary Jo Kilroy. Her opponent is Debra Pryce the 4th ranking congressional Repub. Would love to see her defeated. Christine Jennings went to high school with me and her younger sister was one of my best friends so I won't be disappointed if she wins either. I like Dan Seals too. The money will be well spent by any of the candidates.
As of 6 pm today, the 21st Century Dems rankings stood at:
Seals, 43%
Jennings, 30%
Kilroy, 17%
Madrid, 7%
Murphy, 3%
but who's counting,
Otter
Thanks, Otter. When I voted days ago Kilroy had 54% and Jennings and Seals were tied at 11%. My how times have changed!
I just voted - Seals now at 44%.
And for those of you who missed Olbermann, or want to see it again, it was excellent, and spot on, as usual:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/10/23/olbermanns-special-comment-on-gop-fearmongering/
Perhaps my favorite section from Olbermann's commentary:
-snip -
The dictionary definition of the word “terrorize” is simple and not open to misinterpretation:
“To fill or overpower with terror; terrify. To coerce by intimidation or fear.”
Note please, that the words “violence” and “death” are missing from that definition.
The key to terror, the key to terrorism, is not the act—but the fear of the act.
That is why bin Laden and his deputies and his imitators are forever putting together videotaped statements and releasing virtual infomercials with dire threats and heart-stopping warnings.
But why is the Republican Party imitating them?
Bin Laden puts out what amounts to a commercial of fear; The Republicans put out what is unmistakable as a commercial of fear.
The Republicans are paying to have the messages of bin Laden and the others broadcast into your home.
-snip-
Full transcript here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15392701/
Followed by this line:
"You have adopted bin Laden and Zawahiri as spokesmen for the Republican National Committee!"
Don't forget to thank Keith and msnbc here:
countdown@msnbc.com
I {heart} Keith Olberman...! :-)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061024/ap_on_el_se/connecticut_senate
Lieberman blasted on all sides at debate
HARTFORD, Conn. - Sen. Joe Lieberman sat between his Democratic and Republican rivals in Monday's final Connecticut Senate debate — and got it from both sides as well as from hecklers.
{Click on link for more....}
Thanks everyone for voting at 21st Century Democrats, whoever you voted for. It seems like a great organization & I'm sure whoever wins will use the money wisely.
BTW, if anyone here watches tv during the day, Dan Seals -- and other candidates, I'm sure -- will be live on MSNBC Hardball Decision 2006 Special on Tuesday, October 24! Dan's segment will air between 11:30AM and 12:30PM CST. Check your local listings for MSNBC station.
(He also met Big Dawg yesterday. I'd say he's having quite a good week!)
Posted by: karen at October 23, 2006 08:26 PM
Karen, the part in Man of the Year where Robin Williams rips the candidates a new one during the debate about "border security" where old ladies in wheelchairs are being strip-searched while thousands of illegal immigrants stream across our borders with "dinettes and bedroom sets" or something to that effect...was priceless. The whole audience down here in red-state AL was laughing uproariously and clapping.
Hmm.
---------------
CHICAGO (AP) - The city is investigating a security glitch in its elections Web site that hackers could have used to swipe Social Security numbers and the personal information of about 1.3 million voters, officials said.
It wasn't immediately clear if anyone actually stole or misused any of the information, Chicago Board of Elections spokesman Tom Leach said.
He said the problem had been fixed and a forensic computer expert would be brought in to examine the site's logs for any signs of illegal access.
"Obviously, we are very concerned," Leach said Monday. "We have no reason to believe there was (theft), but we want to be able to assure people there wasn't."
A watchdog group, the Illinois Ballot Integrity Project, exposed the vulnerability and alerted officials last week, Leach said.
"This was a very serious vulnerability," project member Peter Zelchenko said.
A malevolent hacker could have tampered with voter registration data, such as inactivating certain voters' registration or changing their polling places in the online database, as well as accessed Social Security numbers, names, birth dates and addresses, the group said.
The Web site is designed to enable Chicago residents to register to vote online. It also explains how and where to cast ballots. About 1.3 million former and current registered voters have personal information on the site, which includes about 780,000 Social Security numbers, Leach said.
Leach said the site cannot be used to access the city's electronic vote-counting systems.
"Everyone can be assured their votes will be counted and counted accurately," he said.
---
Board of Elections: http://www.chicagoelections.com/
----------------
hack to where they once belonged,
Otter
October 24, 2006
Editorial
Trying to Contain the Iraq Disaster
No matter what President Bush says, the question is not whether America can win in Iraq. The only question is whether the United States can extricate itself without leaving behind an unending civil war that will spread more chaos and suffering throughout the Middle East, while spawning terrorism across the globe.
The prospect of what happens after an American pullout haunts the debate on Iraq. The administration, for all its hints about new strategies and timetables, is obviously hoping to slog along for two more years and dump the problem on Mr. Bush’s successor. This fall’s election debates have educated very few voters because neither side is prepared to be honest about the terrible consequences of military withdrawal and the very long odds against success if American troops remain.
This page opposed a needlessly hurried and unilateral invasion, even before it became apparent that the Bush administration was unprepared to do the job properly. But after it happened, we believed that America should stay and try to clean up the mess it had made — as long as there was any conceivable road to success.
That road is vanishing. Today we want to describe a strategy for containing the disaster as much as humanly possible. It is hardly a recipe for triumph. Americans can only look back in wonder on the days when the Bush administration believed that success would turn Iraq into a stable, wealthy democracy — a model to strike fear into the region’s autocrats while inspiring a new generation of democrats. Even last fall, the White House was dividing its strategy into a series of victorious outcomes, with the short-term goal of an Iraq “making steady progress in fighting terrorists.” The medium term had Iraq taking the lead in “providing its own security” and “on its way to achieving its economic potential,” with the ultimate outcome being a “peaceful, united, stable and secure” nation.
- more -
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/24/opinion/24tues1.html
U.S. soldier missing in Baghdad
Military official says translator may have been abducted
Updated: 1 hour, 42 minutes ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. soldier in Baghdad was reported missing late Monday, and residents said American forces sealed the central Karadah district and were conducting door-to-door searches. Other reports claimed he was an Army translator of Iraqi descent and was abducted.
A military official in Washington said the missing service member was a translator and that the initial report was he may have been abducted. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not cleared for release.
An employee at Baghdad’s al-Furat TV, which was raided by American forces earlier Monday, said the U.S. forces conducting the search told him they were looking for an abducted American officer of Iraqi descent.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15395225/
Now, let's see how the torture factor plays into this ... it was only a matter of time.
God help you, George W. Bush... God help you.
Praying for peace.
I am here asking for favors again.
My family is hosting a fundraiser that will benefit Texas Equusearch.
It also will raise money to start them looking for Alines body. We need $3,500 for the basic expenses of bringing their team here.
I am sure you all remember what they did in the Natlie Holloway case. No she was not recovered but her families money did help them keep going on others.
They work ONLY from donations and do not turn away any search for The Missing as long as they have the funds.
Basically the way we will be doing it is selling candles, we are setting up the site now it should be ready by tommorrow. Half of all proceeds covers the cost of the candles the other half goes to Texas Equusearch for Aline.
Anything we get beyond what we need will go to them to help fund other searches.
So, the favor I will be asking for is to buy a candle. If not for Aline then for anyone who never made it home again, and may still be out there.
I will be back once the site is up with the link, if you can I am begging you to help.
I love you guys.
I'll be back. With candles.
Will spread the word to all my lists, C... stay tuned for the cavalry.
Back from Colorado via Arizona.
Picture me in a red state, standing in front of an airport tv screen & Tony Snow claims the White House knew weeks ago that Bush would have a strategy meeting about possibly changing course in Iraq.
"Yeah right" I say, then when Bush himself comes on, loudly "Boo!"
Didn't get any negative response either. People just stood in front of the tube like zombies, as usual. I did notice the Phoenix and Colorado Springs airports had CNN on instead of Fox this time.
My brother doesn't get cable anymore, so I was spared a lot. I was staying in a Dem blue-collar / artist (often same people) enclave at the foot of Pike's Peak, but still in the reddest county in a purple state.
Manitou (near Old Colo Springs) had signs up for Dem candidates and initiatives for civil unions, medical marijuana etc. Unforunately, like any beautiful scenic natural paradise, it's infested with conservative developers who are at constant war with environmentalists.
The environmentalists did at least hold a public raffle and raised enough money to buy up a smaller version of "Garden of the Gods" and prevent it from being converted into a golf course and resort, though I did see that the developers are building a housing development on top of a toxic waste site. Smart.
Then there is Dobson with "Focus on the Family" nearby, the fanatically Christian Air Force Academy and a huge Army base that is expanding, so lots of "Protect Your Family .. Vote GOP" stickers and "Pray for the Troops At Christmas" (jumping the gun a little there) signs.
My brother's friend referenced Palast. My 4 and 6 year old nephew and niece played a TV game show pretend fantasy where they had some dolls lined up with a George Bush cartoon that I'd drawn with horns. "Who is Abraham Lincoln? Ok Bush, you're wrong." I didn't put any ideas into their little heads.
I spent alot of time with my brother, photographing endangered motor inns from the '50s and '60s. They're quickly being converted into larger, characterless, convention-friendly and generic motor inns. To hell with history - that's the developers and of course they are from the Grand Oil Party.
Security went well at the airports. Spent alot of time flying - more time than on the ground, but I had a voucher to use up. So now up at 6 AM and back to work. Did read the NY Times on the way home & checking the news now. Ready to spend the next two weekends canvassing & phone banking & hope many of you are also.
I also wanted to say that I called Michelle, the one who made the scrapbook for the Kerrys. She has recently moved with her family from Mississippi to Colorado Springs. We would have gotten together, given more time.
Bush: ‘We’ve Never Been Stay The Course’
During an interview on ABC’s This Week, President Bush tried to distance himself from what has been his core strategy in Iraq for the last three years. George Stephanopoulos asked about James Baker’s plan to develop a strategy for Iraq that is “between ’stay the course’ and ‘cut and run.’”
Bush responded, "We’ve never been stay the course, George!"
Really?
BUSH: "We will stay the course" [8/30/06]
BUSH: "We will stay the course, we will complete the job in Iraq" [8/4/05]
BUSH: "We will stay the course until the job is done, Steve. And the temptation is to try to get the President or somebody to put a timetable on the definition of getting the job done. We’re just going to stay the course" [12/15/03]
BUSH: "And my message today to those in Iraq is: We’ll stay the course" [4/13/04]
BUSH: "And that’s why we’re going to stay the course in Iraq. And that’s why when we say something in Iraq, we’re going to do it" [4/16/04]
BUSH: "And so we’ve got tough action in Iraq. But we will stay the course" [4/5/04]
http://tinyurl.com/y6d48x
Oh looky, a timetable, with a bullcrap tablecloth...
U.S.: Iraqi security can take control in 12-18 months
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq said Tuesday that it will take another 12 to 18 months or so for Iraqi security forces to be ready to take over in the country.
"We will continue to adjust our tactics to meet and stay ahead of conditions on the ground," Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said.
Casey's remarks came at a news conference with Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador in Iraq, as the United States reassesses its tactics and strategy in Iraq, where sectarian and insurgent violence persists.
Casey, who called the situation "difficult and complex," said al Qaeda in Iraq has "an active strategy of fomenting sectarian violence."
He said "death squads" and "illegal armed groups" are causing security problems. The commander also called the "resistance" a problem and described Iran and Syria as "decidedly unhelpful."
He also said 90 percent of the sectarian violence takes place in a 30-mile radius around Baghdad, adding that "this is not a country that is awash in sectarian violence."
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/10/24/iraq.main/index.html
We've got your back, Christy. Just let us know.
United Nations Day today, and world peace is as elusive as ever.
Why We Fight, Part XXIV:
---------------
CUBIN TELLS CHALLENGER, "I'D SLAP YOU"
By Tom Morton
Casper Star-Tribune Staff Writer
Monday, October 23, 2006
The verbal sparring between two candidates for Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat didn't end when the televised debate ended Sunday evening.
Immediately after the lights and cameras shut down, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin walked to Libertarian candidate Thomas Rankin, who had criticized her for receiving contributions from former House Speaker Tom Delay, R-Texas.
"'If you weren't sitting in that chair, I'd slap you across the face,'" Cubin told Rankin, he said Monday.
Rankin had not moved yet after the debate, which included Democrat challenger Gary Trauner and was sponsored by Wyoming Public Television, Wyoming Public Radio and KTWO-TV.
He is disabled with multiple sclerosis and uses an electric wheelchair, he said.
The Cubin campaign did not deny the exchange on Monday.
"He misrepresented her and insulted her integrity during the debate," Cubin spokesman Eric Cullen said, reading from a prepared statement.
----------------
rethuggery in action from the state that brought you dick cheney,
Otter
"In analyzing the Bush Administration's about face on its Iraq rhetoric, Peter Baker of the Washington Post writes that the White House is "cutting and running" from "stay the course."
"A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to run. "
-- Elbert Hubbard
Never mind another country heard from -- how about *this* one?
Go here, watch the trailer, then see the movie when it comes out next month:
http://www.myspace.com/shutupandsing
the speech is free but the freedom is priceless,
Otter
Hmm.
---------------
Stay the course. We never said 'stay the course'. Our Iraq policy is stupid. No, sorry, I didn't mean that. I don't know what I was thinking. As we watch what, in the Star Trek universe, they might refer to as the 'synaptic breakdown' of the president's Iraq policy, it's worth remembering why President Bush, short of being forced kicking and screaming, will never and can never withdraw American forces from Iraq.
Fundamentally, it doesn't have to do with military strategy or ideology. It has to do with coming to grips with the monumental failure he has wrought, which of course he can never do.
Setting aside the vast costs in human life, national treasure and regional stability, I see President Bush's adventure as a failed business venture, a start-up that went bad -- an analogy that, come to think of it, he could probably relate to.
A failed company can lose money for a very long time before it makes money and becomes a success. It only really fails when the investors decide that the problems aren't transient but terminal. They decide to stop throwing good money after bad. And then that's it.
[snip]
Think of the president as a failed or deadbeat entrepreneur (again, not such a stretch) who's already lost his investors a ton of money. He goes back to them and says, 'Okay, fine. You think I'm a moron and a screw-up who lost you guys a ton of money. Fine. But do you really want to finally, totally, conclusively kiss that $300 billion goodbye. You wanna just totally call it quits? Admit it's a total loss? What about giving me just another $10 billion and maybe somehow I'll actually pull this off? Or, since that's just not gonna happen, a mere $10 billion to put off for six months having to write the whole thing off as a loss, having to come to grips once and for all with the fact that all the money's gone and the whole thing's a bust?'
That's really what this is about. And I think we all know it pretty much across the political spectrum. In this way, paradoxically, the very magnitude of the president's failure has become his tacit ally. It's just such a big thing to come to grips with. And reinvesting in the president's folly, even after any hope of recouping the money is gone, carries the critical fringe benefit of sustaining our own collective and increasingly threadbare denial.
[snip]
Whole Josh Marshall blogpost is here: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/010512.php
----------------
time to pay the piper shrubya,
Otter
Hi Everyone. It's Wendy from Oz - having a spot of technical bother here. I registered and am required to respond to the email I've been sent. It hasn't arrived and I'm getting several - Error pages when I click on links - like "New Posts." Can anyone advise me on this please?
How do I get to see the latest posts - or are they censored by your mob in govt. Late on Wednesday nights on our *public tv station* is a comedy/news program called the Glass House. It's repeated even later on Saturdays. Last Wednesday, the anchor Wil Anderson said, about a recent news article from ??? who knows - that the president of the US is wanting to get articles and news items from other countries televised in the US so "we'll know what others think of us". Wil laughed, "They need TV for that?" The message was clear. We don't think much of your president at all. And haven't done since he cheated his way into the top spot in the world while the eyes of the world were upon him. A while back one of the guests was an American comedian (I think it was Arge someone - sorry Arge or the person involved in this exchange), said when John Howard was receiving the regular barrage of insults, ridicule and laughter, the American comedian said, "Yeah well, You Voted For Him And You Got Him!" To which, Dave Hughes replied, "Yeah Well, You Didn't Vote For Bush And You Got Him!"
And maybe that is the answer to my questions: why doesn't the media ever ask why some democratically elected governments are totally unacceptable - like Hamas in Palestine? And why the incessant bombing raids on civilians in that tiny place, is a legitimate thing to do." Could someone please define Democracy. It seems that I don't understand it at all. Like the English woman on a PrisonPlanet.com video said, "I'm prepared to give up my liberty for freedom!" Hmmm. I think I need a new dictionary.