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Looking For Atonement
A little less than a year ago, on November 16, 2005, the world became aware of Bob Woodward's duplicity in the White House's treasonous leaking of Valerie Plame's name to the press. The journalist most widely known for fighting corruption in the Nixon White House began his wild free fall in the public's eyes as they understood exactly how he had abused the trust we gave him. Arianna at Huffington Post had a summary of what the blogs were saying that day in "Woodward: From Watergate Hero to Plamegate Goat"
And I had asked at the time, "So...now that Bob Woodward has fallen, who will step up and save ethical journalism?"
Apparently Bob Woodward wants to.
He spent the last nine months writing a book that he believes will atone for his lack of integrity and credibility over the past five years.
Today is ironically the beginning of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur- the day that Jews atone for their sins. Today, Bob Woodward is making the Sunday talking head circuit about his new book State of Denial" in which he discusses a myriad of the Bush administration failures that he witnessed over the last six years.
The right wing media is bellowing out, "'State of Denial' a Hatchet job?"
Is it a hatchet job? Or is it whistle blowing and truth telling?
Hatchet job or whistle blowing...good question.
When I ask myself those questions I can't help but remember what Karen Kwiatowski and Ray McGovern said about whistle blowing when I was at Camp Democracy--the session was called Whistleblowing 101.
According to Karen Kwiatowski,
"Whistleblowing is truth telling. A good government and a good corporation don't have whistle blowers. They have truth tellers and they work together to right the wrongs and build a better government and corporation. When you have truth tellers, you don't have leaks and you don't have to destroy the lives of your employees who tell the truth."
Karen should know...her life was one that was destroyed because she was a truth teller.
Her words definitely live on in my mind. But so do Ray McGovern's.
Here's a portion of what Ray McGovern said. But I recommend that you click on this link and listen to all of it for yourself.
"We're going to be talking about truth telling here and truth tellers. We formed a whistle blowers coalition two years ago. And actually it seemed to catch on because immediately we had patriotic truth tellers coming to the ... The administration calls them leakers. But we call them 'Patriotic truth tellers'...
...How I look at the truth telling. This country started an unprovoked war in which it was totally predictable that we would kill thousands and thousands of people.
Lots of people knew about that. And lots of people wrote books about that..after it started. I refer to Paul O'Neil. Great book!!! But he knew all that stuff before the war! Why the hell didn't he say something about it? I mean...I can't believe Paul O'Neil needs the money. You know? I can't believe that his publishers said, "No, no, no...don't come out with it yet. Wait until we're ready to publish it."
What's wrong with these people?
Richard Clarke...he knew about this stuff. He was with the President the night after 9-11. And it's very clear that the President took Richard Clarke and a couple others in a side room and said, "Was it Saddam? Was it Saddam?"
And Richard Clarke was nonplussed and said, "Well I told you yesterday, Sir, that Saddam didn't have anything to do with it. It was Al Qaeda."
"Well...you look into it again....Make sure you uncover... every little snippet I want to know..." It was clear what was going on there, crystal clear. You don't need to be a rocket scientist or even an analyst to know that. Yet he kept his peace, kept his peace, until after the war was started.
Even Larry Wilkerson, for whom I have great sympathy, sure he was devoted to Colin Powell but he knew what was going on. He should have spoken out before the war.
Colin Powell. His behavior is the biggest disappointment in my career. I mean I had a measure of respect for him. He ought to fess up now. He ought to say, "Look...I lied and I knew it was a lie." Because that's the case.
And there are others... Paul Pillar Tyler Drumheller Both of them wish in their heart of hearts that they'd have spoken out.
That was the fall of 2002. But if Tyler, some of the others--George Tenet is sort of beyond repair--had come out and said, "Hey this is what is going on folks. There are no weapons of mass destruction. This is all a cockamamie story..."
So...that brings us back to Woodward. From what Woodward has written in his book we know that he's been aware of this information the whole time as well. The idea of Woodward doing a hatchet job on this administration at this point in time is ridiculous. He had these facts for many years. He's been allowed to be the eyes and the ears in the White House for years. He's been allowed to be the mouth piece as well. So, Why the hell didn't he say something about it. I mean...I can't believe Paul O'Neil Bob Woodward needs the money. You know? I can't believe that his publishers said, "No, no, no...don't come out with it yet. Wait until we're ready to publish it."
So I ask the same thing Ray McGovern asked.
What's wrong with these people?
And these words of Ray McGovern's speak so clearly about this point:
I'd like to tell you about Albrecht Haushofer.... at the University of Berlin... He had it made... He was pretty quiet before the war and he didn't really speak out. When the war started, he saw what Hitler was doing and his conscience got to him. And he said, I've got to speak out. And he did. He got quite a following around them. Of course he was wrapped up and thrown in a Berlin jail and condemned to be shot. The Germans of course were very meticulous and they wouldn't shoot you or hang you without making sure you confessed with a written confession. He wouldn't do it. He just refused to do it. So they shot him anyway. As they picked him up off the floor out came a paper from his pocket. It was his confession. It was written in the form of a sonnet.
Ray translated one phrase at a time.
Schuld
...schuldig bin ich
Anders als Ihr denkt.
Ich musste früher meine Pflicht erkennen;
Ich musste schärfer Unheil Unheil nennen;
Mein Urteil habe ich zu lang gelenkt...
Ich habe gewarnt,
Aber nicht genug, und klar;
Und heute weiß ich, was ich schuldig war.
Guilt
I am guilty,
But not in the way you think.
I should have earlier recognized my duty;
I should have more sharply called evil evil;
I reined in my judgment too long.
I did warn,
But not enough, and clear;
And today I know what I was guilty of.
Ray McGovern's words seem especially fitting for Bob Woodward's book today. The right wing says it's a hatchet job. But Bob Woodward spent the last six years having it made in spades. So maybe Bob Woodward wants atonement now. Yet he failed to recognise his duty earlier. He lost his judgement for too long. He did not warn, certainly not enough and not clearly. He is guilty too.
But what about us? We have a short window left before the election. Are we speaking loudly and clearly? Are we doing all we can in these last few weeks we have left?
I don't want to think about that sonnet November 8, 2006 and know I had not done enough.
Do you?
For those of you who were interested in the DeWine/ Brown debate, but did not want to watch it, I found this site which gives a nonpartisan review of it:
http://www.debatescoop.org/
This site gives a narrow win to Brown. I will say he did have better manners than DeWine.
The latest Cleveland Plain dealer poll gives Brown a 45% 43% lead over DeWine. DeWine has higher unfavorable recognition than Brown and undecideds are breaking in favor of Brown.
Good piece. Even sadder than these from "within the system" waiting so long to blow the whistle is the fact that the books & tv coverage appear to blow over soon anyway. You could probably pick a bunch of random individuals on the street and they could not tell you who O'Neill, Clarke or Woodward are but would know all the tv celebrities.
I think sometimes people can get fed up on the inside. We saw an exodus from the Bush camp from the time he came into office (eg. Rand Beers types). These people are hesitant to leave their positions of power or to threaten what they've built, and I doubt ethics comes first. They have to come to a breaking point, or sadly, maybe even do it for ethics or publicity.
Good thread header, very good.
Wonderful piece, Suz. As i was reading the comments in the last thread (including from Wild Salmon), I was recalling where we all were in our thinking back in 2004. We were certainly not as sophisticated or strategic as we are now.
But neither have we been complacent or blase. Our friend Harriett just sent us something I wanted to share a part of:
Dear friends,
We've finally broken the sound barrier of mainstream media coverage of election fraud with front page stories in the Washington Post and New York Times about how vulnerable the voting machines are to being hacked. It was the recent release of the Princeton Report that generated the flurry of publicity and the Congressional hearings in the House Administration Committee in which Professor Ed Felten of Princeton demonstrated on a Diebold machine how easy it is to insert a malicious virus into a machine and change the tally of the votes to control the outcome of an election.http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3480
The machine Felten used (Diebold AccuVote TouchScreen) was the one [someone] went down to Florida to pick up and bring back to Washington to deliver to Princeton. It was the first one that we had been able to get our hands on because Diebold claimed they were private property and wouldn't let anyone inspect them. ...[The whistleblower}...His identity was made public in Bobby Kennedy's second article in the Rolling Stone. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- Will The Next Election Be Hacked? Most of the material for this article was from him and our other whistleblowers provided by Brad Friedman.
I feel tremendously relieved that what I've had to be secretive about for the last year is now public information. Chris came up to Washington and we sat together at the Congressional hearings on Thursday and then he did an interview with ABC which we hear is going to be aired this Sunday. He is getting so much publicity now that I think he is going to be safe.
It's been exciting working with Velvet Revolution and seeing how Brett and Brad (of bradblog.com) have instigated many of the breakthroughs on election integrity that we are seeing now. Brett has been working closely with Rep. Rush Holt's office garnering support for HR 550 and today Holt announced at our press conference with the Princeton folks that he'd just gotten a majority of the House (218 cosponsors) on his HR 550 requiring voter verified paper ballots and audits so recounts can be done.
Just last week Brett and Brad discussed the need for emergency paper ballots by November to mitigate a train wreck if voting machines should crash, or if recounts were necessary. Brad drafted the language, Brett took it to our friend in Holt's office calling it the Let America Vote Act and now it has become the Confidence in Voting Act. Senators Boxer, Dodd, Feingold and Kerry are sponsoring it in the Senate (S. 3943), while Holt and Van Hollen are sponsoring the same bill in the House (HR 6187) . Friday is the last day before Congress adjourns for the elections so it won't get passed. But we're doing the right thing and setting a template that States can enact.
Unless we get this election system working properly, it's not going to matter how many people vote for Democrats, we'll still lose both Houses, if they manage to hack the next election.
Warmly, Harriett
PS. Following is a letter from Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to Brad Friedman. She was the first to answer our urgent plea last week to immediately introduce Federal legislation in Congress for Emergency Paper Ballots to be made available at polling places this November. She requests people send email via her PAC website to their members of Congress.
Dear Brad & the entire BradBlog community,
I’d just like to thank all of you so much for all of your hard work in fighting for safe, secure, and reliable elections in our country. When I saw the mess in some primary states due to touch screen voter machines, I knew I had to do something. As a result of your advocacy work on this issue for a long time now, I was motivated to get a simple, straightforward paper ballot bill out there. So thank you for being on this issue for so long and for pressing for action.
The bill I introduced on Tuesday, the "Confidence in Voting Act," would encourage local jurisdictions to make paper ballots available at every polling place to any voter who wants one. But now we’ve got to get it passed! I encourage people to join my online advocacy campaign and contact their Members of Congress, urging them to pass the "Confidence in Voting Act" before Congress adjourns this week: http://ga4.org/campaign/confidence_in_voting?source=bradblog
Thanks to Brad and to all of you for speaking out on this issue, and for your passion in fighting for election integrity across America. -- Barbara Boxer
The good Senator has been there for us (you'll recall, she was the only Senator to stand up and challenge the clearly gamed 2004 Ohio Presidential Election results on Jan. 6th 2005: Back before it was fashionable to point out what virtually everyone now recognizes!) so let's be there for her!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/14/AR2006091401614.html?nav=hcmodulemmv
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/business/yourmoney/24digi.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/us/politics/24voting.html?ei=5094&en=298fa45bfb12e669&hp=&ex=1159070400&partner=homepage&pagewanted=all
NYT Sept. 24, 2006 (The Big Gamble on Electronic Voting)http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/business/yourmoney/24digi.html?_r=1&th&emc&oref=slogin)
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06272/726096-84.stm http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2506240&page=1 http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/oct06/4663 http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=a2224c963e1745749d237916bc62098b
Check out 'VIDEO - RFK Jr. on 'MSNBC Hardball' Says Hacking an Election on E-Voting Machines 'Easy', Endorses Emergency Paper Ballot Legislation at: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3540
****
Whistleblowing is a tough lifestyle choice, as is all forms of truthtelling. We cannot for one minute believe that our work is completed; last week shows us how vigilant we must continue to be. And yet, the truth seeps out there, and seeds grow.
Everyone, what we do does matter. Keep it up.
Couldn't have said it any better Suz:
But what about us? We have a short window left before the election. Are we speaking loudly and clearly? Are we doing all we can in these last few weeks we have left?
I don't want to think about that sonnet November 8, 2006 and know I had not done enough.
Do you?
Its time to be engaged these last 37 days; the clock is ticking.
Karen
Thanks! I'm going to send the Harriett piece to Elizabeth post-haste.
Bombshells in my email .. attachments I don't know how to post, links I can't find, things that don't forward properly.
Anyway..Raw Story should have a video that reports Colin Powell was fired by Bush then told to say he resigned.
& some damning Abramoff emails.
So it's 12 hours old, Washington Post, apparently.
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20060930_bush_fired_colin_powell/
Washington Post:
“The president would like to make a change,” Card said, using a time-honored formulation that avoided the words “resign” or “fire.” He noted briskly that there had been some discussion of having Powell remain until after Iraqi elections scheduled for the end of January, but that the president had decided to take care of all Cabinet changes sooner rather than later. Bush wanted Powell’s resignation letter dated two days hence, on Friday, November 12, Card said, although the White House expected him to stay at the State Department until his successor was confirmed by the Senate.
After four long years, Powell had anticipated the end of his service and sometimes even longed for it. He had never directly told the president but thought he had made clear to him during the summer of 2004 that he did not intend to stay into a second term.
There had been public speculation as the election drew near that the president might ask the secretary of state to reenlist, at least temporarily. Powell was still the most popular member of Bush’s team, far more popular with the public than the president himself. Senior Powell aides were convinced that the secretary anticipated an invitation to stay, and they were equally certain that he intended to accept. The approaching elections in Iraq, hints of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the rumored departure of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a principal Powell nemesis, made the next six months look like a rare period of promise for diplomacy.
Ok, well, I'm back from my local campaigning. We had a nice showing for our candidate and we settled on a plan of action.
Ralph, if you read the blog, if you can get someone there to organize a house party in your neck of the woods, I think this candidate will be a pleasant surprise for you.
Posted by: kay at October 1, 2006 01:29 PM
Hi Kay.
I'm determined to make it to Ohio to help on a weekend. So....pm me, and maybe we can hit the streets somewhere in the middle.
Last Wednesday, Diane Rehm did a program titled Christian Voters, which included both progressive & conservative Christians, as well as polling info from the Pew Forum on Religions and Public Life. Apparently the fundamentalist/conservatives feel shafted by BushCo & Congress, despite what we have seen. Support from these voters in 2006 elections has been seen as soft.
The program was done before the Foley story broke. I get the idea that the Repug handling of Foley take the air out of their tires as they consider going to the polls...
Link to the page w/ program audio:
http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/06/09/27.php#11398
Check out Brit Hume "balancing" Foley's behavior with Democrats.
It is truly unbelievable what these talking heads wont try to get away with.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/10/01/hume-is-wankerific-on-foley/
Also, on Crooks and liars check out their damage control on Woodward's book.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/10/01/dan-bartlett-attempts-damage-control-for-woodards-book/
As Oncall said...it's truly unbelievable what 'they' will try to get away with.
What's unbelievable to me is how willing people are to buy into thier bull pucky, letting them actually get away with the things they try to get away with >P
Washington, DC--Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid today released the following statement on the developing scandal involving Congressman Mark Foley and the House Republican Leadership.
"The American people have a right to feel confident that their Congressional leaders are committed not just to the best interest of the nation as a whole, but also to the safety of the young people who every year travel to Washington to work on Capitol Hill. The allegations against Congressman Foley are repugnant, but equally as bad is the possibility that Republican leaders in the House of Representatives knew there was a problem and ignored it to preserve a Congressional seat this election year.
"Under laws that Congressman Foley helped write, soliciting sex from a minor online is a federal crime. The American people expect and deserve a full accounting for this despicable episode. The alleged crimes here are far outside the scope of any Congressional Committee, and the Attorney General should open a full-scale investigation immediately. We have a responsibility to the long-term safety of every child who will work in Congress that must not be sacrificed to the short-term interest of any one political Party."
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/10/1/164528/706
Suz -
Great thread topic. I'm just so appalled at everything right now I don't know what to say.
I'm disgusted.
Lets stop insulting used car salemen. Enough already.
Murtha said the House ethics committee should conclude its work on the Foley case before the November elections, so that voters can "hold people accountable." Doing so, he said, might help restore public confidence, since already "the reputation of Congress under the Republican leadership is lower than used car salesmen."
Question:
If the Republicans can't protect underage House pages from predatory Congressmen, how can America expect Republicans to protect us from the "terrrists"?
Ok this is what my uncle who took me to the Republican convention once says now (after receiving a NYT article about Foley & other past scandals):
thanks, this is really great! I can't believe how many times the Republicans have shot themselves in the foot lately......Cheney and Rumsfeld are the villians but Bush and the others are culpable because they didn't blow the whistle......
It just keeps coming!
Ohio Justices' Campaign Cash Under Scrutiny
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100106A.shtml
In the weeks before the 2004 election, Justice O'Donnell's campaign accepted thousands of dollars from the political action committees of three companies that were defendants in the suits. Two of the cases dealt with defective cars, and one involved a toxic substance. Weeks after winning his race, Justice
O'Donnell joined majorities that handed the three companies significant victories. Justice O'Donnell's conduct was unexceptional.
THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT PEOPLE.
Richard Clarke | Blinded by Hindsight
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100106B.shtml
"If we are going to defeat the enemy, we must reject the use of fear and terrorism to divide America for political advantage. And we must not let ourselves get trapped in pointless, partisan debates that result only in having the past obscure the future," concludes Richard Clarke.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
"Not a Graceful Exit" for GOP-Led Congress
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100106C.shtml
Republicans scored significant legislative victories in the closing hours: They pushed through the bill for detainee trials after weeks of internal squabbling; they won approval for 698 miles of border fencing to show that they are serious about cracking down on illegal immigration; they passed spending bills for
defense and domestic security; and they enacted new port-security initiatives. But the finale did not go according to script.
THAT'S FOR SURE.
Frank Rich | So You Call This Breaking News?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100106D.shtml
Frank Rich suggests: "If your head hurts from listening to the Washington furor over the latest National Intelligence Estimate, by all means tune it out. The entire debate is meaningless except as a damning election-year indicator of just how madly our leaders are fiddling while Iraq burns."
NOT TO MENTION AFGHANISTAN
Israel Withdraws Last Troops From Lebanon
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100106E.shtml
Israeli military officials said the army withdrew the last of its troops from Lebanon early Sunday, fulfilling a key condition of the cease-fire that ended a month-long war with the radical Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.
LEST WE FORGET
Powell Tried to Warn Bush on Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100106F.shtml
Colin L. Powell, in his last face-to-face meeting with President Bush before stepping down as secretary of state in January 2005, tried to impress upon him one last time the dangers he saw the United States facing in Iraq.
HE QUESTIONED AUTHORITY, SO WAS OUT THE DOOR.
Stung by Criticism, Bush Calls for Offensive "Across the World"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100106G.shtml
Bush called for fighting America's enemies "across the world" as he stepped up his counter-offensive following charges that his policies were breeding a new generation of Islamic terrorists.
"ACROSS THE WORLD" - DOES HE THINK IT IS FLAT?!!!!
At 8 pm I'm going to jump into the irc. So if you're gung-ho on chatting and chilling in the lounge after this weekend's work, then join me in there. (Warning: I'm leaving by 9 or whenever I collapse. Whatever happens first!)
Also...if anyone wants to resume the 9pm 'serious' chats, flag me down. I know from the emails that I have a few takers on some serious conversation in the dcp channel.
Posted by: Bubba at October 1, 2006 06:28 PM
Hi Bubba.
Posted by: Carol at October 1, 2006 06:26 PM
Thanks Carol. I'm with you on the disgusted thing. And you're right. If they can't protect pages from their own leaders than how can they secure our country against terrorists or anyone.
Besides, the ultimate issue is about trust and coverups. They're clearly incapable of being trust worthy and they're clearly all too capable of coverups!
Oops...that was oncall who mentioned the terrorists. (Ok..I admit it...I've been up most of last night and today.)
The Foley scandal was known about ages ago. Foley needs to sit in prison for the rest of his life, and the reps who covered his ass need to be brought up on ethics charges and resign from office for their complicity.
However, the Foley story was released in time to divert Lamestream Media attention away from talking about the passage of the torture bill... the same bill, which, incidentally gives DimWit full dictatorial powers. That, I believe, hasn't yet sunk in with people. DimWit has full authority, full say-so, on how to interpret laws, and choice on whether or not he will interpret any laws. (I suspect there will still be another signing statement if he feels any of his 'powers' might be infringed on, even though the bill, as is, gives him dictatorial powers.)
Yes, the Foley story needs to be aired. Under the banner of 'you are what your friends are' it just shows that the cover-up was extensive, that for all the laws passed to keep children safe from predators, a law Foley helped write (the bloody hypocrite!), it means Foley's protectors are just as bad as he is.
However.... Lamestream Media failed us again in not talking about the torture bill, at length, in gory detail, about what this means for this country. Out of any ten minutes of blather that "should" be discussed, two minutes to Foley, and eight minutes to the torture bill, before breaking for the next commercial....
Shame on Lamestream Media!!!
As for absolution for Woodward... Why give him the benefit of the doubt with 'better late than never?' If he knew this before the '04 election cycle, why didn't he say something, anything, THEN? This comes out in the same week DimWit was granted his dictatorial powers. Too little, too late....
The only way it could help this country now is if his revelations actually help Dems get elected, help Dems get a majority in both houses of Congress, and help get impeachment proceedings started. I don't forsee that happening with so many states having e-voting machines that can be rigged in favor of neoCons. I think Dems will cave and say it's useless to start impeachment proceedings and have Congress tied up in that scandal for two years before the presidential elections, and many will consider it a waste of time and say 'he'll ONLY be in office for two more years.' Problem is, that's two years of dictatorial rule, more war, and maybe other wars started that he has no business starting, more staggering debts, more domestic issues not taken care of, but all under the rule of a dictator who acts more like a spoiled brat every day, and all they'd be doing is indulging the child who would be king, just exactly what they've been doing since he was put in office....
Bush calls for 'world offensive'
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article15175.htm
{{{Er... "world offensive"?!?!? Doesn't anyone ever confront this bastard with the truth? Other people in the world hate him (him personally, not the 2/3 of the American people who know he's an idiot), and they would never follow his dictates, nor his official dictator status when he officially signs that blasted torture bill this week. Hint: If enlistment quotas are down, that means young people are not willing to sacrifice themselves for a stupid war based on lies, nor for any 'world offensive' on a gang of criminals who have no country, do not represent any country, which is why this whole 'war on terror' is bogus. They may not be able to deconstruct the incessant and nearly incomprehensible Bu$h!te that comes out of his mouth, but they certainly know when not to stand in line at military enlistment offices....}}}
Secret Reports Dispute White House Optimism
By Bob Woodward
Instead of a "long retreat," the report forecast a more violent 2007: "Insurgents and terrorists retain the resources and capabilities to sustain and even increase current level of violence through the next year."
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article15162.htm
A Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy?
By Mike Whitney
Next week, President Bush will sign the “Military Commissions Act of 2006” into law. - The law will allow Bush to imprison anyone he chooses and abuse them as he sees fit. It places Bush above the law, our first American monarch.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article15169.htm
US Congress gives green light to human rights violations in the 'war on terror' :
By passing the Military Commissions Act, the US Congress has given its stamp of approval to human rights violations committed by the USA in the "war on terror", and has turned bad executive policy into bad domestic law.
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/stoptorture-060930-features-eng
US violated world's privacy with secret SWIFT checks:
The US Treasury's Terrorist Finance Tracking programme had violated the privacy of up to 7,800 international financial institutions in its secret trawl through financial records held by the Belgian firm SWIFT.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/28/swift_us_privacy_violation/
Attack On Iran Inevitable - Nuke Use In White House Plan
Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner (ret.) says U.S. forces will assassinate Iran's leadership.
A Must Watch Interview
Retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner on the probability of air strikes on Iran and the likely consequences. Click here to view. Real video and windows media.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article15170.htm
Posted by: NonnyO at October 1, 2006 07:29 PM
I don't think MSM was diverted from the torture story. I was under no illusions that MSM would even discuss the torture story. And especially when they have a sex scandal to talk about. You know what sells.
I think you still have way too much faith in a dead & irrelevent media source.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061001/ap_on_re_us/canada_war_deserters
Decorated Army deserter returns to U.S.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - A decorated soldier who deserted from the U.S. Army to avoid a second tour of duty in Iraq has crossed back into the United States after fleeing to Canada almost two years ago.
~~~~~
Anderson, who was wounded and received the Purple Heart while serving in Iraq in 2004 with the 1st Armored Division, fled to Canada in early 2005, hoping to avoid another tour in a war he no longer supported. He has been living in the Toronto area, becoming a highly visible war critic and spokesman for Canadian peace groups. But when Anderson's application for Canadian refugee status was filed too late, he could not get a government work permit. Unsure of his future in Canada, he decided to return to Kentucky and accept whatever punishment the Army imposes.
{{{I suspect provisions in the new torture bill will come in handy for DimWit now....}}}
Posted by: madame defarge at October 1, 2006 07:36 PM
I have NO faith in Lamestream Media. They went with the story that sells.... Sex sells, but they still went in the direction pointed by the Turd Blossom Slime machine. They always do.
Excellent story about Fox News here, NonnyO and madame.
Shep started off calling this administration's policies horrifying and repulsive and it went downhill from there. By the end of the segment, Shep was holding Bush responsible for any deaths that occur in Iraq between now and the mid-term elections! In so many words! On FOX NEWS! This is Must See TV. Transcripts and links to this "come to Jesus" talk are below the fold.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/1/101415/471
Just another little Republican coverup to the 9-11 commission.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/30/911-meeting/
dead & irrelevent media source.
Posted by: madame defarge at October 1, 2006 07:36 PM
Yes I would call it that - sometimes it seems as though there is a vast conspiracy of government & media & everything is orchestrated. They do try to do that, but they are also inept & monolithic & bureaucratic & bungling & blind.
Then there is the attention span of the mainstream media consumer, which is said to be about 3 days max. I think the best hope is still in people starting to connect the dots, and yes, it often has to be something they could relate to personally.
Too many think the only others could be imprisoned or tortured, but they probably are on some level that their own kids could be dead soldiers or harassed/molested pages/interns. Then there is always the gas pump (& some think OPEC/SaudiArabia/Bandar/Bush are in collusion before the midterm elections) & the housing market. Very short term stuff though & I doubt people completely forget about Hurricane Katrina and Iraq, even those who maybe don't pay much attention to the Abramhofs and Foleys of the world.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/uclickcomics/20061001/cx_crwiz_uc/crwiz20061001
Wizard of Id
{{{I relate entirely to the punch line...}}}
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/uclickcomics/20061001/cx_nq_uc/nq20061001
Non Sequitur
Bush calls for 'world offensive'
Posted by: NonnyO at October 1, 2006 07:31 PM
I think the world calls Bush 'offensive'
Evening all,
I am at the irc if anyone else wants to chat for a bit.
Just here noting the level of disgust...
aiaiaiaiaiaiai.
Wierd stories.
On my server website there is one about a video of 9/11 terrorists laughing. This should be popular on FOX, as it's a six year old tape and will get everyone going "9/11, 9/11, 9/11" again before voting.
Then there is one about possible ties between Al Quaida and the Cosa Nostra, Asian tongs & Russian Mafia - the FBI can't rule anything out. What a perfect opportunity to expand the definition of who could be abetting terrorists. If you look middle eastern, Asian, Russian or Italian - look out!
SLUMPING FOX News to Mark it's 10th Year
http://www.comcast.net/news/index.jsp?cat=GENERAL&fn=/2006/10/01/489392.html
Fox News Channel will mark its 10th anniversary this week in an unusual position: knocked back on its heels.
The network is in the midst of its first-ever ratings slump. Cable news' most stable lineup is being juggled. And the blow-up over President Clinton's interview with Chris Wallace suggests that Democrats are attacking Fox because they perceive the same vulnerability in the network as they do in the Bush administration.
(snip)
Ailes (honcho) can still remember a reporter's laughter during the news conference to introduce the network. He had the last laugh: Fox News beat by a year his plan for overtaking CNN and grew to more than double its rivals in viewership. It made stars of Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity and put "fair and balanced" into news history textbooks.
Opinionated talk is now a staple on the TV dial, with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, Lou Dobbs on CNN and Nancy Grace on CNN Headline News.
(snip)
Ailes, a former Republican political operative, said simply presenting different points of view made Fox seem like a contrast to left-leaning news coverage elsewhere. Before Fox, many in the media scoffed at the notion of a liberal bias and figured only a handful of people really believed that, said Erik Sorenson, former MSNBC president.
(snip)
Fox's critics consider "fair and balanced" camouflage for an agenda. Whatever the truth, news-watching became increasingly partisan: more Democrats watched CNN, more Republicans watched Fox, according to a 2004 study by the Pew Research Center for the People in the Press.
(snip)
But the years of explosive growth have ended at Fox. Viewership over the first eight months of the year was down 5 percent compared to 2005, with a steeper 13 percent decline in prime-time, according to Nielsen Media Research. For 12 straight months, Fox's prime-time audience has been smaller than the year before. Meanwhile, CNN viewership inched up 5 percent this year through August. On a typical day this year, Fox's audience is 845,000 while CNN's is 466,000.
(snip)
The timing is inopportune, since Fox is about to negotiate new fees with cable and satellite providers to replace contracts agreed to when the network first started. As a startup, Fox accepted low fees from cable providers and believes its success made those deals a bargain. Now Fox wants them to pay up, and in some cases is asking providers to quadruple their payments.
Theories abound on the ratings decline, and include simple rules of gravity: Ratings can't go up forever.
Some believe there's a correlation to the declining popularity of President Bush and concern about the Iraq war. "The rah-rah enthusiasm that was there in 2002, four years later has dissipated," Sorenson said.
Some of the bigger stories of the past year, such as Hurricane Katrina and the wars in the Middle East, played better to the newsgathering strengths of CNN, Heyward said.
Olbermann's growing popularity _ and growing partisanship _ along with the response to Clinton's "Fox News Sunday" interview also indicate that Fox's foes have less fear about taking the network on.
(snip)
Despite the slump, Ailes is quick to point out that Fox News still consistently beats all competitors throughout the day and evening.
(snip)
-- I have admittedly edited this to make them look as bad and losing as possible so if you want the "fair and balanced" AP version, click on the link. You know FOX knews completely sucks.
Posted by: DiAnne at October 1, 2006 08:38 PM
They always drag out those old "ter-ririst" tapes just before election to reinforce the fear factor for the sheeple....
Nothing new....
"ACROSS THE WORLD" - DOES HE THINK IT IS FLAT?!!!!
Posted by: DiAnne at October 1, 2006 07:12 PM
Reminds me of when he said that the "coalition" consisted of countries from every continent...
er, what's Antarctica
FBI To Examine Foley's Email Messages
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6119017,00.html
Wait Ends for Father and Son Exiled by F.B.I. Terror Inquiry
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/02/us/02terror.html?hp&ex=1159761600&en=23a0ed65aad26857&ei=5094&partner=homepage
“I never imagined that the country I was born in would stop me from coming home for five months and separate me from my family, especially when I was not charged with a crime,” Jaber Ismail said in a statement released through the A.C.L.U.
Polls: Key Senate Races Very Competitive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100100261.html
It would be awesome if we took Frist's seat :)
Memo Fueled Deep Rift in Administration on Detainees
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100106Y.shtml
A previously undisclosed nine-page memorandum drafted in June 2005 by Defense and State Department officials urged the Bush administration to seek Congressional approval for its detention policies. The memo so angered Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that his aides gathered up copies of the document and had at least some of them shredded.
Foley says he's in treatment for alcoholism
Former Congressman Mark Foley, who resigned amid allegations he sent inappropriate e-mails to teenage congressional pages, told a Florida television station that he has entered a facility for treatment of alcoholism. Foley said in a letter faxed to the station he accepts "full responsibility for the harm that I have caused."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/02/foley.quits/index.html
Okay, so now Foley's people have announced this morning that he has entered rehab for an alcohol problem, as though that explains why he lived what CNN commentators referred to as "an unconventional lifestyle.". Bob Ney's people previously announced that he was entering rehab for alcoholism, as though that explains why he so egregiously corrupt in office. Et cetera, et cetera.
Cheese on rice, people, is *anybody* sober in Washingtoon anymore??
although if nobody is then that does explain a lot,
Otter
Posted by: monkey at October 2, 2006 09:33 AM
Accepting full responsibility for alcoholism is the least of HIS problems. He's a selfish arrogant man who abused minors who used his power in office to continue breaking the law.
As a parent of a minor, I'm offended. AND accepting responsibility AFTER the fact is like telling the cop you're sorry after the fact.
I'm too angry to even type anymore.
My fundie in-laws always refer to Foley as "my guy" when talkin' name dropping politics... I cannot WAIT to ask them how they think "their guy" is doin' now.
Rip Van Tinkle
Sounds like Hush Money to Me, but we forgive you Mr. Reynolds:
"Today's Los Angeles Times Notes that Foley's campaign committee gave $100,000 to the NRCC on Aug. 7: "after Reynolds had acknowledged having learned about the Louisiana page's complaint."
Ye goddesses and gator-baiters, people! At least Monica was a consenting adult of the opposite sex.
so where's that pesky starr chamber now that we need it,
Otter
Karen/Suz:
This is the dispicable story I referenced last night on the irc about Kean using an imprisoned felon to push a bugus charge.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--njsenate0930sep30,0,547494.story
Foley asserts the Phil Crane defense. What is with these right wingers and alcoholism?
hthttp://uspolitics.einnews.com/news/phil-
cranetp://www.morerevealed.com/crane.jsp
Bubba L.:
Ann Richards is doing the horizontal gyroscope thing about this even as we type.
they're all lawyers, they're supposed to know how to *pass* the bar,
Otter
Diane Rehm today:
- Supreme Court Preview
- Elizabeth Edwards
10:00 Supreme Court Preview
A look at the cases the court will decide in its new term, and the influence of its newest members.
Guests_________________________
David Savage, reporter, "Los Angeles Times"
Joan Biskupic, reporter, "USA Today;" author, "Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court Became Its Most Influential Justice"
Bruce Fein, former associate deputy attorney general, Republican counsel during the Iran-contra hearings, and founding partner with the Lichfield Group
~ ~ ~
11:00 Elizabeth Edwards: "Saving Graces" (Doubleday)
Elizabeth Edwards talks about the joys and sorrows of her public and private lives - from hitting the campaign trail with her husband, to dealing with the death of her teenage son and her own diagnosis with breast cancer.
Guests_________________________
Elizabeth Edwards, lawyer, mother, and wife of former vice presidential candidate John Edwards.
___________
"Show archives will be available approximately one hour after the program ends."
Link to page w/ streaming audio:
http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/
I have heard Bruce Fein before. He is articulate and intelligent in exposing the deceits and tactics of the BushCo regime.
Charles Barkley, a former N.B.A. star who used to be mentioned as a possible future Republican candidate, recently declared,
"I was a Republican until they lost their minds."
From Krugman's NY Times column today.
Somebody who was a 'recovering alcoholic' (she'd been sober for many years at that point) once told me that people use booze as an excuse to do or say what they want to do or say when they are sober but don't have the courage to do until they have something to drink. Booze is false courage.
That made sense. When I was younger, a lot of times I'd hear the excuse 'well, I'd had one too many' - followed by the predictable 'wink, wink' gesture or a nervous laugh, and they treated their bad behavior under the influence like a big joke. Like that excused their bad behavior! It was only later that people started doing rehab or working 12 step programs and talked about it, but at one time alcoholism and drug addictions were shameful states that were rarely talked about.
Foley can NOT use the excuse 'well, I was too drunk to know the difference, and it impaired my judgment' - not in this day and age of mass communication where it's so easy to find information if one really wants to; not in this day and age where he helped get juvenile protection laws through Congress. He knows right from wrong, yet he chose to act wrongly. It's his nature to be a predator, a pedophile.... and no excuse can cover that behavior, and he must not be given a free pass for his unconscionable actions. Drunk or sober, he's still a scumbag sexual predator.
I also don't quite buy the rehab thing in Foley's case; it's too public, too contrived. He had to be somewhat functional and sober to get to be a rep, so he wasn't always drunk or someone would have used that against him in a campaign at some point or other. Too many people are excused for their bad deeds just because they go into rehab for booze or drug problems. Rehab an 'easy out' for those who are scumbags by nature, and he may not even have a booze or drug problem in reality, but checking himself into rehab makes him look good, like he's 'seeking help for his problem.' (e.g. Rushie McLimpDick - he's a scumbag, too, drunk or sober. I am always amazed that people still actually listen to him or take him seriously.)
Still, there's no amount of counseling or alcohol/drug rehab that can "cure" what ails sexual predators like Foley, and most everyone knows it if they've ever read up on the mental aberration. All they have to do is Google DSM-IV and they can read it for themselves, or read any number of psychological books on the subject. The best parents can hope for is that they can keep their kids away from pedophiles and sexual predators, that their children and teenagers have good judgment.
The one thing that got my goat was when people referred to the pages as "children" in the news stories about this. Not quite so fast..! A 16-yr.-old is not quite a "child" - and under other circumstances they're called "young adults" in most cases. Legally, they're under the age of consent, yes; but still, to be a page requires some degree of maturity, some degree of ability in undertaking adult responsibility to be away from their parents and carry out duties (even if only 'go-fer' duties) or they wouldn't be able to be pages. Most (or all?) states give people a driver's license at the age of 16. In most states if a teenager commits murder he or she can be charged as an adult (it just happened with the 15-yr.old who killed the principal in WI). In most states, it's legal to let a mature 12-yr.-old baby-sit younger children. In some states a teenage girl of 16 can marry without her parent's consent. By the age of 18 we trust people to vote, be in the military (and kill people while in the military), assume all responsible adult behaviors across the board, from having credit cards, to holding down jobs (if not in college, and then some do have jobs while going to school), to being parents, to getting insurance for cars and making car payments... you name it (and by 18, most people are biological adults). At 16, most teens can hold jobs, even if it is only flipping burgers, but they have to be mature enough to handle adult responsibilities to hold down a job (show up on time, do their best to accomplish tasks well, etc.). By the age of 16, a teenager who has been raised properly can do everything an 18-yr.-old can do; they just don't have legal permission to do so yet. Mostly, traditionally, ages 13-18 are a transition time from childhood to adulthood, and teens are given more and more responsibility as they mature, so that by the time they're 18 they can assume adult responsibility under the law. That's why teens are often referred to as 'young adults' - not 'children.' (I know there are exceptions to the rule; I'm talking about averages in a generalized way, since most people fall into that category.)
So far, it sounds like even with all the advances Foley has done to these young adults, he's been rejected, the kids were smart enough to stay out of his clutches, and they have not become his victims. That tells me the teens had enough maturity to know something was not right, so that shows some measure of adult judgment on the part of the young adults. They made adult decisions to stay out of the clutches of a sexual predator. I give the credit for that kind of mature judgment to the young adults and to the parents who raised them to be responsible people, even before the age of consent.
You have to be a paid subscriber to TimesSelect to read the Paul Krugman column that DiAnne referred to above, "Things Fall Apart," on the NYTimes site. You can, however, read it at no charge here: http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/
WWJDD: what would james dobson do,
Otter
Posted by: Bubba at October 2, 2006 11:23 AM
They must remember that the Fundies were big fans of Prohibition.
Cyrano- yes, but as a former fundie myself, I can testify to the fact that alcoholism is a minor sin compared to child molestation in that church. Foley blaming his problems on alcoholism is no surprise- especially since the fundies have already embraced W so strongly and he's admitted that he had a previous "drinking problem." The child pornography charges aren't acceptable though, since the major fundamentalist churches in this country have been so agressive in their condemnation of the Catholic Church for the last few years. Even the fundies could recognize their own hypocrisy if they rationalized away child molestation or pornography at this point, but alcoholism is something their own God, George W Bush could have "fallen into himself" had he not "Found the Lord."
I almost gagged when I wrote that last sentence, by the way. And notice, Foley also hasn't admitted to homosexuality. The Repugs couldn't accept that one either. But alcoholism is another thing. Foley is spinning this one well with the church folk. Let's just see what happens.
And BTW- I used the word molestation in that last paragraph because I have no doubt whatsoever that that has occurred at some point in Foley's life. The e-mails are the tip of the iceburg. He does have an illness, yes, but it isn't alcoholism. And it's a disease that is universally accepted by psychologists as being incurable. Even the fundies know that.
Alcoholism is such a nice little problem to have in comparison.
9/11 Panel Not Told That Tenet Warned Rice in July
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100206Z.shtml
Members of the September 11 commission said today that they were alarmed that they were told nothing about a White House meeting in July 2001 at which George J. Tenet, then the director of the CIA, is reported to have warned Condoleezza Rice, then the national security adviser, about an imminent al Qaeda attack and failed to persuade her to take action.
Excerpt:
He is quoted as saying, "The only thing we didn't do was pull the trigger to the gun we were holding to her head." Mr. Black did not return calls left at the security firm Blackwater, which he joined last year.
~~~~
The disclosures took members of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission by surprise last week. Some questioned whether information about the July 10 meeting was intentionally withheld from the panel.
~~~~~
Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on "Face the Nation" on CBS that there had been "rumors" of such an encounter between Mr. Tenet and Ms. Rice in the summer of 2001.
Mr. Woodward's book, he said, raised the question of "why didn't Condi Rice and George Tenet tell the 9/11 commission about that? They were obliged to do that and they didn't."
~~~~~
Ya THINK the info was "intentionally withheld"?!? If Biden was aware of "rumors" why didn't he pursue the 'rumors' to find out the truth?!? WHY didn't Rice, Tenet, or Black mention any of this to the 9/11 Commission???
Okay.... Aside from the FACT that 9/11 is still the most fortunate day in the life of George W. Bu$h (the second most fortunate day will be when he signs the bill that makes him dictator in fact, after Congress lost their minds and passed the torture bill), and that the 9/11 Commission had no knowledge about the Tenet-Black meeting with Rice (how convenient of her to "forget")... that little paragraph that says Black is now with Blackwater (one of the corporations that hires mercenaries and benefits so much from taxpayer dollars) made the marbles in my head spin crazily....
IMHO, Rice's brush-off of accurate intelligence gained by legal means (no laws had to be changed to get the info!) makes her just as culpable as the Torturer-in-Chief for 9/11.... They ALLOWED 9/11 to happen...!
We're only one month away from what may well turn out be the most watershed national elections of modern times.
Today we are at the height of -- and with luck and hard work, at the tail end of -- what Maureen Dowd recently referred to as "this chilling time when the Bush administration has Photoshopped the Constitution, portrayed critics as traitors, and spurred terrorism with a misconceived and mismanaged war in Iraq."
The presidential elections of 2008 are still far in the future. But the mid-term elections of 2006 are right around the corner. And this year's mid-term elections are, in many ways, far more significant than those that are still two years away.
What happens in a few short weeks will determine the makeup of Congress for years, even decades to come. What happens in a few short weeks will strongly influence what happens in the presidential elections of 2008. What happens in a few short weeks will make a major difference in your life, my life, and the lives of everyone around us.
What happens in a few short weeks matters, y'all. It matters a *lot*. In fact, it will probably matter more than anything like it in our lifetimes.
This is a watershed election year. So if you've been sitting back at your keyboard up to now, then it's not to late for you get up out of your chair and go put your boots on the ground where you live.
If you know people who are doing nothing, who are thinking nothing, who are planning to blow off these midterm elections this year(because after all no votes really matter except during presidential election years and even then they don't count anyway), then it's up to you to educate them and convince them otherwise.
If you know pro-war people who are having their strings pulled, their knees jerked, and are responding blindly to the bogus mind-control tactics of the professional spinmeisters on the reich-wing side, then it's up to you to make them wake up and smell the coffins.
If you know people who are still clinging desperately to old single-issue voting patterns, then it's up to you to make them see the big picture this time. If you know people who are paying no attention to what's going on around them, then it's up to you to make them understand that attention *must* be paid.
If you know that every vote counts and every opinion matters -- and since you're here reading this on the DCP website, then it's safe to assume that you are -- then it's up to you to reach out to those around you and make sure that their votes count, too.
We're only one month away from what may well turn out be the most watershed national elections of modern times.
And what happens next month up to you. And me. And all of us.
So don't just go out and vote next month -- get out the vote, every day from now till then.
Get out the vote as though your very lives depend on it this year.
Because, ultimately, they do.
and it's still not too late to take our country back,
Otter
Whenever the Republicans bring up Lewinsky as an example, they should quote what Foley had to say about Clinton.
"It's vile," said Rep. Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach. "It's more sad than anything else, to see someone with such potential throw it all down the drain because of a sexual addiction."
http://www.sptimes.com/Worldandnation/91298/Congress_sees_through.html
(hmmm...I guess adult concentual sex is vial to a person who uses his power to abuses minors.)
NonnyO- I have to disagree with you to a degree about the pages being "young adults." I'm assuming that most of these pages were assistants to Republicans in Congress, which tells me, to begin with, that they've already been brainwashed at some point in their lives by the adults around them. They've signed on, without doing any serious thinking about their own personal rights or worth, to the dogma of the Republican party. They want to please the adults around them, and they look on that as the way to success in the future. They are, to put it bluntly, the perfect targets for a powerful Republican's perversion. Foley's mental illness is one of control- he seeks out the weakest people in society to proposition. Children are the main focus, but the pages who are so eager to please are also perfect targets. He may not even be a homosexual- a lot of child pornographers and molesters are equal opportunity perverts. In fact, one of the most unfair slurs to homosexuals in our society is when priests and people like Foley are thought of as homosexuals. Normally homosexuality isn't about control- it's about mutual attraction. Foley is not just about soliciting pages- any study of the illness will tell you that. He's done worse and just hasn't been caught at it. And he will do more in the future. He needs to be locked away somewhere on an island with all the other incurable child perverts out there. And last night the media spin was all about how his "friends were sticking by him." It pretty much disgusts me, because like almost everyone else in our society, I've had personal knowledge of someone like him. And those who stick by them no matter what they do are enablers, and just as guilty as they are. The Republicans who covered up for Foley are as responsible for his actions as he is. I just hope the electorate will remember that in 5 weeks.
Posted by: Linda Enterkin at October 2, 2006 12:20 PM
Right!
[Editotter's Note: when the Tennessee Guerilla Women posted this on their blogsite back in June of '05, they noted only that it was "found on a progressive Yahoo group;" so proper attribtution to the original author can not be made here at this time. But even 15 months later it's still a real corker. And it's even on-topic for some of our running conversations, so imho it bears re-posting here...]
---------------
Dear Red States,
We're ticked off at the way you've treated California, and we've decided we're leaving.
We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.
In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast.
We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.
To sum up briefly:
You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.
We get stem cell research and the best beaches.
We get Elliot Spitzer. You get Ken Lay.
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get WalMart.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue. You get to make the red states pay their fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals.
They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their childrens ' caskets coming home.
We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMD's turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.
We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.
Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals than we lefties.
By the way, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.
Sincerely,
Author Unknown
---------------
and pennsylvania is a blue state too,
Otter
So think about it, I live in the same city as Ground Zero Theft 2000 HQ ... the same city where Rush Limpdick got arrested for gettin' his rocks off with illegal medical assistance... the same city where Man Culter says she lives in some house that she doesn't live in and votes illegaly in the wrong precinct... the same city where Mark Foley keeps his bottom drawers.
Rosy Palm Beach
(we gotta get out of this place, if it's the last thing we ever do...)
really good discussion about what is a "predator" "pedophile" "kid" etc. on this site
http://thepremise.com/
How the hell did this slip through???
From Daily Kos:
Republicans Pass Mandatory Child Strip Search Bill? WTF!
Republicans managed to sneak a bill through recently, and from the looks of it, not many noticed. The MSM didn't seem to notice, and I haven't been able to find mention of it here. It doesn't surprise me though, the bill passed quietly with a 'Voice Vote.'
Read more & the bill text here:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/2/133711/534
That does it.
I'm sending the info on the "strip search bill" to a big list I belong to (mostly DJs, music promoters but big free speech and legal rights advocates). They constantly have to deal with repressive laws that impinge on perfectly legal and positive events. This is the last straw.
We contribute $100/year to ACLU. Am going to see if they are doing anything about this. Am going to send the link from dailykos to my Kossack friends who follow that blog alot more closely than I do & see if they saw it, & to a bunch of other people besides.
Strip searches at schools. 50-28 = 22 states that still allow corporal punishment and one boy came home with "blood oranges" on his butt (in a recent article I read). What kind of facism is this? Thinking of how many sex scandals & cases of alcoholism in our government - just the tip of the iceberg - no matter they never get anything done - all while moralizing.
I swear plenty of principals, teachers, priests, politicians GET OFF SEXUALLY on victimizing those younger & weaker than themselves. This society has indeed degraded & it doesn't have much to do with religion or lack thereof. It has purely to do with unbridled & unchecked sadism. No wonder Abu Graib happened & Guantanamo exists as it is.
It is strange to feel morally outraged but I do, for completely different reasons than the hypocritical do-gooders at the top.
Lucky for me, my current rubber-stamp republican incumbent representative was a co-sponsor on the "Strip Search Students" bill.
I'm also on the parent/teacher board at school & have many contacts with the school board. Guess what topic I'll be bringing up in our Friday meeting full of republican parents who support this rubber-stamper... I can't wait for heads to spin!
For months I have posted of the urgency of this election and the response I have gotten is a yawn.
We should be concerned about the perpetual war in Iraq, the US Constitution, and guess what else, yes the US Supreme Ct. Justice Stevens just turned 86 and hopefully he will be around for a very long time and into '09. But what if he doesn't make it and Bush gets to appoint the truly swing vote on the US Supreme Ct. within the next two years or what if things don't work out and McCain gets to make that selection. Do you think that will make a difference in the policies of this country for the next 40 years or longer? Does anyone here believe that Bush would appoint a 40 year old judge like Sandra Day O'Conner or another Clarence Thomas, Scalia, or Alito? And who do you want as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee? Orin Hatch or Pat Leahy? It takes hard work and sacrifice to win elections and volunterring to do things that might not be easy or convenient. But what choice do we have? To come here November 8, complain and criticize progressive candidates who lost by 1% point pointing the finger at them, or at ourselves for not doing enough. There are 36 days left and lots of opportunities to help make a difference in Nov. I won't lecture you on who to support, I will just tell you that failure this time around is not an option and not something I wish to be a part of, not this year, not this time. For those not interested in helping with my project that is fine. I just implore each and every political activist who comes here, to wake up every morning for the next 36 days and look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you did everything within your schedule to make a difference today and each of the next 35 days, and make sure that Bush has no further opportunities to shred the constitution and pack the US Supreme Ct. with ideologues. It starts with the US Senate but your tireless work in Congressional and local legislative races is just as important. Just realize that for those of us who refuse to act or volunteer this time, you are giving Bush, Hastert and Frist another 2 more years of your lives to screw with. Is that what you want?
Happy New Years.