Voting For Dollars

Today I heard the beginning of a speech by Abraham Lincoln on slavery. It applies today if torture is substituted for slavery as the subject...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speech at Peoria, Illinois
October 16, 1854

I can not but hate [the declared indifference for slavery's spread]. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world -- enables the enemies of free institutions, with plausibility, to taunt us as hypocrites -- causes the real friends of freedom to doubt our sincerity, and especially because it forces so many really good men amongst ourselves into an open war with the very fundamental principles of civil liberty -- criticising [sic] the Declaration of Independence, and insisting that there is no right principle of action but self-interest.
[more...]

http://academic.udayton.edu/race/02rights/slave07.htm

Vote for your local alderman? Good for you. Take $2 off your local property tax bill. Vote for your state governor? Good for you. Take $5 off your state income tax bill. Vote for your Congressman and or Senator? Good for you. Take $10 off your federal tax bill. Vote for your President? Good for you. Take another $10 off your federal tax bill.

Institute a new poll tax.

Posted by Rick Albertson at December 8, 2006 08:20 PM

Er.... I'd change the wording. Not to voting 'for' the individuals who hold those offices, but voting in those particular political races....

And if they didn't vote in those partcular elections, they most certainly are not entitled to complain (or even grumble softly), and they can pay the taxes that they didn't vote for or against.

Here in Oz we call that poll-tax, a fine. Sadly, those who ALWAYS turn up are those who stand to profit by the outcome. The down-trodden believe they can't make a difference anyway.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/12/08/sam-seder-with-keith-olbermann/
Sam Seder with Keith Olbermann
Sam made an appearance on Countdown to talk about Mary Cheney's new baby

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/12/08/the-daily-show-snowing-the-isg/
The Daily Show: Snowing the ISG

Caveat: Splutter factor; don't be drinking or eating anything while watching this video! :-)

I've talked to those who think their ballots are thrown out, who don't believe in the electoral college system, and who can't really decipher the ballot. Then many don't pay taxes any way because their income is too low, other than proportionately too much in sales tax on basic items. The system depends on the disenfranchisement of many. Then there are all those in prison for relatively petty offenses, in the grand scheme of things, where a few doses of prevention (education, maternal health care, drug addiction and alcohol addiction reduction programs etc) could have kept them out of prison in the first place.

BREAKING | McKinney Introduces Bill to Impeach Bush
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120806Z.shtml
In what was likely her final legislative act in Congress, outgoing Georgia representative Cynthia McKinney announced a bill Friday to impeach President Bush.

oh to have been a mouse in the corner ..

There are basically 2 stories on "it" - one makes C McKinney sound like a nut, the other says the legislation has no chance.

Anyway, the accompanying photo is so gorgeous and embodies the potential for happiness & freedom. It makes a great desktop.

BREAKING | McKinney Introduces Bill to Impeach Bush

Posted by: DiAnne at December 8, 2006 11:46 PM

What a shame the good ones have to go! I feel like Dr Doolittle's Pushmepullyu - except that I DO see doom and gloom ahead of us as well as doom and gloom behind us.

I just wonder what your voting friends think now. Those who were counting on an end to the madness and no one being beyond the law.

woz - The thing those of us who favor impeachment don't understand is that Conyers (who was temporarily a hero to many when he advocated impeachment) has taken impeachment off the table, and Pelosi has been adamant about no impeachment. Pelosi's attitude is perhaps even more surprising because one of the things people in Pelosi's district alone voted on in November was in favor of impeachment by 60%. Us ordinary schmucks WANT the criminals impeached!!! I'm wondering if those same reps will be re-elected in their districts in the next years to come when they are up for re-election, since they are obviously letting the people they represent down by not pressing for impeachment. They could easily lose the next elections, which would only give the neoCons a majority again. If I lived in their districts, I certainly wouldn't vote for them again if they refuse to do what the majority of their voters want...!

The representatives are clearly not listening to their constituents, not pushing for the impeachment voters want. The Dems, of all people, are letting the installed administration get by with high crimes and misdemeanors and war crimes and more lies than we are able to tally.

Not impeaching is immoral and unethical. Allowing the criminals to continue committing crimes (at the cost of too many lives and more money than we even know about yet for mounting debts) only reflects badly on ordinary citizens who most definitely want the criminals impeached. We know right from wrong, even if our elected representatives don't seem to have a clue. We are not what our "elected" representatives are when they refuse to impeach on our behalf. That's what's so hard to swallow. What DimWit and his corporate criminal cabal represent is most definitely not what most of the people of this country are like. Most of us are just plain law-abiding people who want to live in peace with the people of the rest of the world, and provide for our own families to the best of our ability. We just want ordinary lives as free from want as humanly possible.

I'm quite sure many people around the globe don't quite realize the ordinary citizens of this country are NOT like our "leaders" and we most assuredly have higher moral and ethical standards than the "elected" representatives who are failing us so badly... thanks to Lamestream Media who fail to do more than spout official neoCon party lines and fail to report about the lies and criminal activities of some of our politicians. Everything since election day 2000 has been a tragedy and a travesty....

True, DiAnne. The second article on that link says more. The impeachment legislation doesn't stand a chance as long as the Dem majority (and neoCon minority) refuses to listen to their constituents. McKinney did the right thing for the right reasons. It's the ones who will be taking the oath of office on Jan. 3 who are missing the message entirely. When the Dem majority was elected, it was to get rid of the criminals currently in office, to impeach, to hold the criminals accountable for their crimes, not excuse the current administration and fail to prosecute them for their crimes....

The Constitution is the Constitution and the law is the law. *Technically* our Reps and Senators and We The People - IF we believe in the concepts and laws as laid down by our Founding Fathers in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and Amendments - don't get to pick and choose which laws we do or do not follow. IF we are law-abiding citizens of this nation, we are legally, morally, and ethically obliged to impeach the currently installed administration. If they can't be arrested and charged while in office, then certainly they must be charged after they are out of office and tried for their crimes. Bush, Cheney, et al., broke the law, and they repeatedly lied to us. [Reminder: There's precedent for impeaching a president for lying, albeit Clinton's lying didn't cost anyone their lives or endanger national security, just damaged his own personal life and marriage, technically.]

If we do not impeach the criminals "leading" this nation for their lies, war crimes, and high crimes and misdemeanors, we do not have the right or the privilege of calling ourselves 'law abiding citizens' of these United States of America.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/09/world/middleeast/09oil.html
Iraqis Near Deal on Distribution of Oil Revenues
By EDWARD WONG
The oil law would give the central government the power to distribute oil revenues to the provinces based on their population.
{Click on link for more.}

A Young Marine Speaks Out
By Philip Martin
I'm sick and tired of this patriotic, nationalistic and fascist crap. I stood through a memorial service today for a young Marine that was killed in Iraq back in April. During this memorial a number of people spoke about the guy and about his sacrifice for the country. How do you justify 'sacrificing' your life for a war which is not only illegal, but is being prosecuted to the extent where the only thing keeping us there is one man's power, and his ego.
http://tinyurl.com/yywt9g

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usindia9dec09,0,7653153.story
Congress OKs nuclear pact with India
The deal, a major policy shift, provides access to American technology.
WASHINGTON — Reversing three decades of U.S. policies intended to halt the spread of nuclear weapons, Congress early today approved a long-stalled agreement giving India access to American nuclear technology with limited safeguards to discourage possible proliferation.

The House of Representatives passed the measure, 330 to 59, Friday night, and senators voted unanimously in favor of the deal shortly before 3 a.m. President Bush, who finalized the terms of the agreement during a visit to India in March, is expected to sign it quickly.
~~~~~
Under the agreement passed by Congress, India would be allowed to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal, but for the first time it would allow international inspections of its civilian reactors. However, inspectors would have access only to 14 of 22 reactors. The others, at military installations, would remain off-limits.

At the heart of the debate was the impact the deal would have on the nonproliferation treaty, a cornerstone of U.S. nuclear weapons policy since 1970. The treaty, aimed at preventing nonnuclear nations from acquiring atomic arms, has been signed by more than 180 countries.
{Click on link for more.}

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-insurgency9dec09,0,2649427.story
Afghanistan war nears 'tipping point'
KABUL, Afghanistan - Government support is flagging, NATO is split on strategy, and Taliban fighters are revitalized.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-recess09dec09,0,2267665.story
Editorial:
Ignore and appoint
Recess appointments rob the Senate of its advice-and-consent role and violate the spirit of the Constitution.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/12/08/new-apipsos-poll/
Excerpt:
The latest AP-Ipsos poll, taken as a bipartisan commission was releasing its recommendations for a new course in Iraq, found that just 27 percent of Americans approved of Bush's handling of Iraq, down from his previous low of 31 percent in November.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/12/08/bush-at-30/
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1217
Bush Job Approval: 30%
President slips to all-time low in the Zogby Poll as key demographic groups jump ship

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/09/opinion/09sat2.html
Back to the Moon, Permanently
{{{Er... since things are such a mess down here on earth, can anyone tell me why we should go deeper into debt to put a permanent base on the moon...? Don't we need to fix stuff here on earth first?}}}

Thanks for all of that information NonnyO.

Here's hoping Phillip Martin sticks with his point of view and becomes a conscientious objector when they try to send him back to iraq. He's 21 years old and he's been there and knows how obscene this is. We all have to support young people who say no more! He makes such a great case, does this ever get out to people. This is far more important and intelligent than anything Bush et al might say. That poor young man - what a terrible time to discover that your President is the greatest traitor in the country.

I will start to pass that on to various ones after I get some sleep. Perhaps we can encourage more and more and more to speak out. The world needs to hear these views.

... what a terrible time to discover that your President is the greatest traitor in the country.

Posted by: woz at December 9, 2006 08:23 AM

There are many who have argued, and quite convincingly, that the current resident of the White House has consistently been a traitor to this country for decades.

bin-a Dick Arnold

I'm keeping McKinney on the desk top. She looks like a star.

This country has been sold out repeatedly - there is no surprise.

Eisenhower warned of the military-industrial complex but if you read below the fold on the article I wrote recently, in his original draft, he called it the milutary-industrial-congressional coomplex.

My husband is a cynic this morning. He said "I think Democrats are planted by Republicans, to trick us into thinking we have a choice."

& then what's the option? Certainly not Nader, who is afraid of cats & dogs & rode in Catherine Harris' limo.

It is obvious that the elite dems are either caught up in being bought off or blackmailed.

After all that has happened, there is simply no other explanation for what they are doing.

I do not care how much affection we want to give these people, the simple fact is they are constantly betraying WE The People.

Kerry, Pelosi, Ried, Conyers, every single one of these people have stood there and LET HIM do this to Us. They are so damn SCARED to open their mouths and nail him on crimes he ALREADY committed while he commits more right in their faces.

It is disgusting, it is horrifying and it is OBVIOUS that they are no longer working for OUR nation.

Yeah yeah, I am sick and damn tired of the elite dems ho somehow keep finding thmselves furthering the agenda of none other than george w. bush.

I know there are some here that would like to tell me to 'relax, I've met so and so, and it will all be ok"

NO IT WILL NOT BE OK.

Pelosi and Reid and Conyers have all made it VERY CLEAR that they will continue to LET HIM get away with it.

These people are not worried about freeing the slaves because they are too busy positioning themselves to be the next slave master.

Lets' be honest, not one damn elite dem will make ANY serious effort to make our voter system secure because if they did then they can not come back and steal it for themselves.

I am sick of it.

"Yes he has committed impeachable offenses but we just can not be bothered to IMPEACH HIM'

Yeah cause that would actually require them to DO THEIR JOBS.

If any of the elite dems are on here reading this, I sincerely have a message for you from the bottom of my heart...

GO F*CK YOURSELVES AND TRY NOT TO BETRAY OUR NATION AGAIN TODAY!

Smucks.

I will NEVER EVER EVER regain my faith in this nation.

Never.

Christy
Remember when we were talking about racism and poorly integrated schools and how ingrained it is?

These problems go back many years. We'll be more likely to get a change in minimum wage or more widespread healthcare under the Democrats and so on.

But nothing fundamental is going to change until this country is less corporate and capitalistic. The needs of the CEOs and business are paramount. When wars serve their economic interests, casualties can just be "written off" as an expense and what counts is the bottom line.

Under Reagan, and again under Bush, the disparity between haves and have nots has grown.

I think we once again have to push to get rid of the electronic machines, fight like hell against disenfranchisement of voters, register more and get them in there. I don't even know that we'll have a good candidate to represent us in 2008 as far as REAL FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE.

We have taken a small incremental step forward away from the right but way too little, too late. That's why it's frustrating. We can't stop trying. We can't give up on the political system.

For one thing, we need to think about the implications for the whole planet - our environmental policy, our monetary policy, our foreign policy. We have the potential to cause massive suffring all over the globe. We also have the potential to cause even more distrust and hatred that can "blowback" on us in the form of kidnapping, extortion and terror attacks.

I am not one to have trust or faith in the first place, but also not one to give up. The political system seems very weak right now but I would maintain that we have other powers, fragile though they be.

Every choice we make is political. For my family, for instance, we are having as little to do with the military and religious establishments as possible. We are buying only when we know the source of materials and how they were made.

We can put some pressure on our local authorities.

It may be "symbolic" that McKinney introduced an impeachment bill because she has no real support. I was getting Christmas cards in 2003 that said "Bush Lied, People Died." He hadn't even been re-elected yet. The first time I saw an "Impeach Bush" sign was before the war even started, so 2001 or 2002. It's been in the same window ever since.

Yet I was never much under the illusion that the conventional political "leaders" would take it seriously, even after what happened to Clinton. That really does hurt. If someone has broken the law, they should pay the consequences, according to the law.

The other thing that was hurtful and shocking - I still don't know how in the world we got the electronic machines in place when there was a partisan conflict of interest involving their makers. I don't know how our media was allowed to consolidate to the extent it was and no one questioned the effect on democracy. I still don't know how two elections were stolen and nothing ws done.

I guess these things happen in other countries - it will truly be hard to regain faith in this nation but I think I lost alot of that way back in my teens. I worked against the Vietnam war, and for Democrats McCarthy, McGovern, Hart. Then turned toward decreasing the nuclear arsenal. The Berlin Wall fell. The Soviet Union broke apart and the nuclear stockpiles seemed to diminish somewhat.

Then all hell broke lose. It's not like it's a surprise though. Why did Iran Contra happen? Why did we help Saddam and Bin Laden and only label them outlaws when they got out of control? Why did we not do something about real tragedies like East Timor and Rwanda and Darfur? Why do not our leaders speak out about the hundreds of millions of refugees all over the world? Why don't they try to recover land mines instead of placing more?

If you had faith in this nation in the first place, then I can't say I did. But we still have to live here and the political process is one of our many broken processes we have to fix. & I don't think we should labor under the illusion we can even do it in our lifetime.

I am collecting statistics on the "baby boomer" generation because we are a pretty good bunch of people and we have a resonsibility now. There will be even more of us by 2008. We need to figure out what in the hell we are going to do.

Posted by: Christy at December 9, 2006 11:50 AM

Hate to dampen a good rant, but I believe the term is "shmucks" ;-)

Dubya Heerectus

Um, FWIW... please don't sanctify Cynthia McKinney. I know her from as far back as her early roots in Atlanta politics. She is right sometimes, yes; but even a broken clock is right twice a day. She is also a loose cannon with some widely inconsistent opinions and some even more wildly inconsistent actions on her resume. She is controversial even in her own home district for this and other problems with the way she represents her nominal constituency, and she is not respected among her colleagues in Washington either. The impeachment bill she introduced is quixotic at best and a negative distraction at worst, because coming from her it tends to trivialize the validity of impeachment proceedings in the eyes of many people who might otherwise be willing to consider it as a viable option.

just my $.02 of course,
Otter

Christy

Re reading: You have said:

"These people are not worried about freeing the slaves because they are too busy positioning themselves to be the next slave master."

That is a really heavy duty statement and I think there is very much truth to it. I don't think they are necessarily even that aware of it but power corrupts.

On NPR, I heard a former official from India speak - he had stepped down and now wants to work against government corruption, as he has seen it first hand. He used the words "power" and "greed" many times. He said that India is the largest and most corrupt democracy. (I truly think we are trying to compete!)

We need Campaign Finance Reform - it'll never happen. We need a system where candidates don't literally buy their way in. There are problems in each country but since I love to follow foreign elections and talk to people from other countries about how they do things, I have learned:

- in some countries, "the people" work the elections. It's like jury duty.

- in order to get people to vote, everyone has the day off. It is a national holiday.

- voting can be mandatory

- In Norway, there are certain things to vote on where people have to take a course first, to prove they aren't ignorant on the subject. An example is - to be able to vote on laws about how to incorporate those with mental or learning problems into our society.

- In Britain the political ads are on signs, not in the media.

- In France, candidates have equal time on the air and on informational signs in the town square, regardless of how small their party. That's for the primaries. & there is equal opportunity defacement of their photos too (such as addition of Hitler mustache for the "family values" homophobe woman).

- Jimmy Carter has monitored over 200 elections & has 4 criteria for unfair elections. He said that we meet all four.

Then there is the issue of - are we truly represented by our leaders. Well the first campaign I worked on, I was 15. It was a very good man - Eugene McCarthy. But we were given our scripts - one for the farmers, one for the teachers & so on. & I noticed that they were kind of contradictory and slanted. I caught on to the idea of promises and propaganda. It looked to me like the system was rigged so that the candidate would tell the people what they wanted to hear, then do what he or she wanted later. So much for trust.

How many lobby groups on K Street? How much pork out there?
Why did Maria Cantwell have to help Ted Stevens build a Bridge to Nowhere in order to get him to help clean up Puget Sound?

Think of John McCain the so-called "straight talker." Right now he's positioning himself to the far right, being a hardliner on the war, really macho, and hanging with Falwell. He figures that'll help him take the nomination. Then he'll slide on over to center and try to pick up the Independents and hope they have a short memory.

Bush and Cheney did the same thing. They made promises, promises to the Ted Haggards of the world. Then they got into office and it's been a year but surprise - no Defense of Marriage Act, no repealing of Roe v Wade. Yet at mid-terms they didn't appeal to the Independents either. They had painted themselves into a niche which was too small.

The Democrats certainly aren't immune from strategy that an astute watcher can see through. Kerry was quite liberal historically in his voting pattern, over 90 percent agreement with Kennedy, which is why I supported him (in addition to the fact that he had both foreign and domestic expertise while the others had one or the other). However, he differed on trade issues, being more of an "entrepreneurial Democrat" like Clinton and Gore. Being hip to the nature of globalization and all the cruel displacements it brings about, I was very frustrated with this. Enter potential running mates - Edwards or Gephart - who were more "protectionist" and pro-labor, concerned about outsourcing. The position shifted.

Or Israel. No once since Carter, in my not so humble opinion, has really tried to deal with this thorny issue. I heard a guy on NPR yesterday who is writing a book about Arabs who took in Jews during WW2 but now it's not cool to admit it, since the position in the middle east has become anti-Zionist to outright anti-Semitic. Why did this happen? I believe the Holocaust certainly did happen and that Israel was a place for the Jews to have a land. However, it was not necessary to annex and annex and arm and arm. No one dealt even-handedly since JFK tried to make sure there was a nuclear-free middle east and failed. All the next Presidents, Democrat and Republican, just kind of dropped the ball. & the potential for extreme violence built and we're seeing it today.

I don't remember a single candidate who dealt with the issue of Israel and Palestine. Howard Dean accepted support from AIPAC. Talk to people who live or have lived in the middle east. The Palestinians are seen as a symbol of oppression and although US and Israel traditionally are allies, the US is blamed for everything Israel does now, whether we are involved or not. Who allowed it to get to this point where it is absolutely dangerous to all? Yet no one mentioned it, really.

About impeachment, I believe Ramsey Clark, former Attorney General, had collected enough for a case several years ago. Nothing has happened and nothing probably will happen. So it really does underline our powerlessness and I think we have the right to question whether all these politicians are indeed afraid and if so, what are they afraid of. When someone does speak up, the shit hits the fan.

I am reminded of Jim Hightower, who said we can't expect the Republicans or Democrats to do everything for us - we have to do it ourselves. & some days I don't know if we can do much more than hang banners over the freeway.

By the way, check out the Freeway Bloggers Impeachment project. I have not thought impeachment would happen, just because of general pessimism and experience with the way things work in this country - but have taken to writing "Impeach" on the back of t-shirts and on my checks. I didn't weigh in much in the discussion on this blog because I knew damn well it was pretty much hopeless.

http://www.freewayblogger.com/impeachment_project2.htm

Subject: Al Gore

Gore is asking for a million people to sign an electronic card which he will deliver personally to Congress regarding our demand that they address global warming immediately.

http://www.algore.com/cards.html

It's Still About Oil in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120906Y.shtml
Page 1, Chapter 1 of the Iraq Study Group report lays out Iraq's importance to its region, the US and the world with this reminder: "It has the world's second-largest known oil reserves."

--Is there any money left in the Social Security Trust Fund?

Dianne,

I respect what you say, but I would like to clarify something.

I am not giving up. I have simply lost faith and I will tell you why as clearly as I can.

I BELIEVE in the US Constitution, it is ..more perfect than any other single document I have ever read including the document it was based on The Rights of Man.

I BELIEVE in the Bill of Rights, the Federalist papers and all of the dreams and visions Our Founding Fathers laid out so long ago.

I BELIEVE in those things that created this nation. However, since each no longer applies...

I do not believe this nation exists any more.

I was once a patriot that loved my countrymen. But, since we no longer have a country, we are no longer 'countrymen'.

We are simply a bunch of disillusioned suckers who are sitting here hoping and praying the end will not be as horrific as we know it will be.

There is no longer a Bill Of Rights.

Why should I teach my children to not KILL...?

Why should I teach my son not to rape and pillage..? Georgie does all that and is rewarded with the single most powerful position on earth.

Why should I teach my kids to respect the US Constitution..or to follow it by ANY measure..?

WHY should me and you or any of our kids sit around and PRETEND that our nation still exists because it DOES NOT.

No Constitution, NO USA. The elite on both sides have MADE SURE that it is a piece of trash they will use as toilet paper any time they please.

They are truly whores who sold out so often they are only left with the option of pimping all of us out so they will not be alone in their whoredom.

This is no longer a nation.

Until the US Constitution can be applied and upheld, then this nation DOES NOT EXIST.

Except in our hearts.

I have lost faith but I have not 'given up'. I do however have a new goal.

To make sure that THEY WHO DESTROYED IT go down with us.

If it is going to BURN... then By God, on my patriot heart I will make sure they are PERSONALLY escorted into the flames.

Christy
Yes I understand. They've made a farce of the intentions of the Founding Fathers.

Dianne and Christy,

I agree. It is hard to keep the faith in our nation when we have politicians more worried about re-election than about doing the right thing.

I think all of us are experiencing something that not many of us can even describe or name.

As a people, We are in mourning for the nation we have lost.

In so many ways it is like losing the love of our lives and denial is a big part of it.

Just like had we lost an adored lover, here we are left looking at the things they left behind, as if they never left us in the first place.

Everything still LOOKS the same but we know in our souls that all has been lost.

The papers are still there with all the titles and catch phrases written on them. The place we all lived in joy, the actual structure still remains but no one lives there anymore.

We do not dare return because it is haunted by a hostile spirits that scream out for justice we can not give them.

We still talk about our beloved as if they are right here and we forget for a moment we are not expecting them.

In that moment when we are caught up in talking about it, for just a minute we totally forget there is no hope because we can still FEEL IT so clearly. The longer we go on, the clearer the memory of it becomes and for a perfect moment we forget we are all alone and afraid.

For that moment we can PRETEND that we did not lose what we have lost.

So the democrats took the house and senate eh? Well that would be wonderful, except the US Constitution no longer applies in any way what so ever. So all that leaves is just us, you and me and even THEM TOO.... Just sitting here pretending we have not lost everything we ever believed in.

Every day that passes that perfect memory of what we were before gets more and more distant, and soon we will no longer even be left with the good memories.

When in doubt, go sappy...

The Way We Were
by Barbara Streisand

Mem'ries,
Light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time re-written every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me, would we? Could we?
Mem'ries, may be beautiful and yet
What's too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget
So it's the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember...
The way we were...
The way we were...

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Dont let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

Remember the good times that we had?
I let them slip away from us when things got bad
How clearly I first saw you smilin in the sun
Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Dont let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

Im so tired but I cant sleep
Standin on the edge of something much too deep
Its funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word
We are screaming inside, but we cant be heard

But I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Dont let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

Im so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose
Clinging to a past that doesnt let me choose
Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Dont let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Dont let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Weep not for the memories

Sarah Maclachlan

I Will Remember You

Sorry cut if off in a bad copy paste.

The down-trodden believe they can't make a difference anyway.

Posted by: woz at December 8, 2006 09:22 PM

And that's where WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, I believe.

We could ACTUALLY call people all year round and encourage them to take part in their government by being sure to vote. We could also encourage them to read and think about what they've read. Sadly, we only do this at election time.

I bet if we got a phone bank started year around, we could change the shape of this country big time. And I think it could happen within a time frame of the next two years.

I myself just got a new fandangled phone that gives me UNLIMITED minutes, any time of day or night, and includes "free" long distance in my monthly (much reduced I might add) fee.

We can't afford to mail like the right does by having rich interest groups and religious groups do their mailings. I doubt that we could speak from the pulpit the way Rove manipulated the clergy to do, (although I'm not opposed to it),
but we could sure organize and supervise phone banks on a mega scale, like we did during the '04 campaign.

We wouldn't want to be excessive in our calling, because that would have an adverse affect, but you'd be surprised how many people there are in this country that just might give you 5 to 60 minutes of their time. I know when I was part of the '04 call bank I got into some very interesting conversations with people that lasted quite a while sometimes.

I just saw the headline:

"Bush: Iraq Study Group Agrees With Me" - fine. Let him think it's his idea. I work with children professionally and we do that all the time.

Well, I hate to sound all Pollyanna, but I remember someone saying on this blog that the political pendulum swings back and forth, and like everything else in life it has a rythm, an ebb and flow.

I still believe in the good in mankind, and I believe that the pendulum will swing back to the side of honest people trying to make a difference and succeeding. I know it sucks to finally see a politician you think will do the right thing once he/she gets in office, only to see them get in and go the way of the others - being bought off and ending up jabbering scripts and treating us like mushrooms. But there ARE good men and women out there who care and who would do the best for the people of this land if they were elected.

Like DiAnne says, we can't depend on ANY of them. We the people have to make our voice heard. We did it on Iraq, and in spite of all the lies and nonsense they are trying to spoon feed us over the MSM, people KNOW and are waking up to even more truth.

Someone also posted once that when a people are oppressed they ALWAYS end up revolting.

All is not lost. Not permanently. Nor will it ever be.

IMHO.

P.S., and believe me, Christy, I know what you are talking about. Anyone who was in the IRC that night I freaked out big time and had my meltdown after watching Georgie lie once again giving his SOTU address can tell you that once I realized what was really going on in this country I was heartsick. Grieve? You bet! For over a year!

But you know what my son always tells me? "It is what it is." I saw the reality of it, I grieved it, I went in and out of denial, but I realize it sucks. BUT.....I still believe in the goodness of man, and in the fact that history shows that it can be reversed.

I don't grieve it any more. Not the way I did when I first found out, that is. It is what it is, but I still believe there is hope.

Truth, I never said there was not hope.

I believe in this nation.

I also believe in the REVOLUTION it took to birth it.

I have an idea for Ms. Pelosi.

She does not want to impeach george w. bush...?

Well, fine. Then lets IMPEACH PELOSI.

Two questions Mz. Pelosi.

Did george w. bush actually commit impeachable offenses or crimes...?

If yes, what did you DO ABOUT IT...?

She best pick her course very carefully lest we IMPEACH PELOSI for refusing to protect the US Constitution and upholding laws both international and domestic.

If we can not get him it is time to get the ones protecting him.

She had best pick a side and get on it, cause it is hard to stop what is coming.

A little Revolution is a good thing now and then.

It inspires hope.

We don't need congress, we NEED HOPE.

Once we realize there is none, this nation is going to lose its' freaking mind.

I believe in this nation.

I just do not have any faith that it will end well.

You know what...?

There is your way to gain MAXIMUM exposure AND apply pressure DIRECTLY to Pelosi.

IMPEACH PELOSI.

Oh, won't the networks just love giving airtime to show how the dems are 'fracturing'...?

And we should be most eager to tell them ALL ABOUT how willing we are to IMPEACH PELOSI if she does not...

Impeach George W. Bush

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!

HAH AHHHH HAHAHA!!!!!!!!

Damn I amuse me.

Christy
What would be the plan once impeaching Bush, or Pelosi?
Who would then be the President?

I think I'm going to go wrap presents.

If Pelosi impeaches george w. bush and his little dog dick too...

Then Pelosi would be President ofcourse.

She is third in line, and as long as she is not implicated, she will become Madame President.

Not for long, but long enough to start 'fixing the broken things'.

Long enough to change the world.

Any serious investigation of bush will automatically lead to indictments against Dick Cheney.

Impeaching bush takes them both down.

Christy,

I see your logic, however.......I am not about to speak against any Democrat (unless he is blatently immoral in ways that hurt the people of this country) after what we've been through these last six years. No way. And remember, six years ago I considered myself a Republican.

I believe the Democratic party is the party that cares about the average working person, and has been historically (as my Dad always told me). And I believe because of that fact, and because they are not stuck up rich or religious hypocrits that if it walks like a Dem, talks like a Dem, and votes like a Dem I will protect it like a lion. The one exception to that rule is Joe Leiberman.

And Christy.....

Bide your time, girl. The fat lady hasn't sung yet.

Now wait Truth, I understand your reluctance BUT...

That is exactly how republicans got into trouble by refusing to speak against their own. Their inability to get their own to stand up and do the RIGHT THING.

I am not talking about a plan that results in the impeachment of Pelosi.

I am talking about one that results in ASCENDING TO THE PRESIDENCY HERSELF.

AND upholding the US Constitution to do it with.

She took impeachment off the table, then lets just abruptly put it back onto the table for her.

None of us can argue he has NOT committed those offenses.

Ok fine hes a criminal... NOW... Whos job is it to stop him...?

Why...It is hers wether she wants too or not.

AND it just so happens she has an almost error proof path straight to the most powerful office on earth.

The very Constitution itself is on HER SIDE.

They STOLE the presidency eh...?

Ok, lets steal it back and do it by the most basic LEGAL means there is. There is no way george or cheney can politically survive it.

Yes, the democrats ARE the ones willing to take care of its people.

We also are the ones that need to DO SOMETHING to make sure george w. bush can not kill anymore people.

All that bitching and moaning about how republicans never hold their own to higher standards is meanigless unless we ACTUALLY hold our own to a higher standard.

Boy, I knew I was gonna get it for that one.

I said I would speak against them if they were doing something immoral that hurt the people of this country. Like base a war on false intelligence. Like lie about a war hero and make fun of him to win. Like rob the poor and fatten the rich. You know the rest of it.

I do hold the Dems to the same high standard the neocons never measured up to.

But the vile behavior I have seen from this administration is more than I ever imagined would happen in this country.

I was just thinking earlier today how they impeached Clinton for lying about a b.j., and I DO happen to agree that I think we should hold these guys accountable.

Let's just say that I would throw out the red velvet carpet for any Dem ('cept Joe) to walk on after what we've been put through by the neocons.

See, this is what I don't get.

No one argues when historians say, 'George W. Bush is the worst president in American history"

We all know its a fact.

And as someone pointed out, Pelosis own home district voted to impeach him overwhelmingly.

There is no doubt he is a war criminal that has ordered up mass murder and torture. No one left to dispute that one either.

Even here in the deep south they are saying he should be impeached. We all whisper and snicker about it and feel helpless.

WHAT in the hell is Pelosi waiting for...?

A time when it is 'convienant'...? These things take time you say..?

Well they sure can get themselves a payraise quick as anything. Funny how the things that make them rich and richer sure can be done POST HASTE but applying the US Constitution to the presidency of george w. bush is what...?

Don't think 'hard work'.

It is unacceptable that we are in this situation, and until the ones we elected step up and do their JOBS...we are not even a nation.

Did Pelosi swear to uphold the Constitution or not..? Against all enemies both foriegn AND DOMESTIC..?

What did she THINK that oath meant..?

It is way past time to find out.

If she can not uphold that oath and protect the Constitution from the 'worst president in US history' then she should be FIRED.

There is no excuse to allow him to get away with it for even one single more day.

We are ALL out of excuses. Us and Them.

Christy
Pelosi's home district doesn't represent the US, unfortunately.

I am working on a photo project having to the with the Republic of Fremont, which has not only seceded from the United States for lack of spine (& creative solutions) but from Seattle itself!

There impeachment would have been a foregone conclusion years ago, in fact, Bush would not be in office. So they live as thoug he isn't, while working to get him out. It's amazing, but don't know how to spread the vibe.

I actually don't know why Impeachment was taken off the table, as polls in 2005 and 2006 show it more popular than I ever suspected (I just checked) - reputable polls.

I have stocked up on popcorn, to watch the show. I agree that the fat lady has not sung yet.

There are two ways to go - demand, deny. There is a third way, since the first two are not going to work, and the trick is to identify it.

I came across a conspiracy theory that Republicans allowed Dems a victory to avoid impeachment. That would support my husband's theory that we are given an illusion of choice.

Conspiracy theories are "what if" journalism though. I will not believe them without evidence, facts.

You know, when I hear - why didn't Gore fight harder, why did Kerry concede, why don't we know the truth about 9-11, how did we end up in Iraq, why did the Democrats vote for the IWR and the Patriot Act, why is impeachment off the table - I remember the assassinations of JFK, RFK, MLK, poisonings and silencings.

What we know about those in power may be the tip of the iceberg. If some of us think we're heading toward police state or could end up in BRK camps, imagine if we actually had some power. It might not be all greed - there might be a level of intimidation and blackmail we can only dream of.

I would not attack lead Dems til I knew more - much more.
I can see what should be done, morally speaking, and what should never have been done. What I cannot see if how and why we got into this fix and what we can do besides work through the system.

It's always possible to protest, revolt, boycott, whatever - it takes courage and organization not to just end up pissing into the wind.

This is from last May.

Pelosi said a Democratic-controlled House would launch investigations of the administration on energy policy and other matters. She said impeachment would not be a goal of the investigations, but she added: "You never know where it leads to."

GOP activists seized on the remarks to warn potential donors of Bush's possible peril if Democrats pick up the 15 net House seats they need to become the majority.

--Impeachment is not, in my mind, off the table. So the Democrats didn't overtly campaign using impeachment as an issue. How could they have gotten all those Republicans and Independents if they had? There is pretty widespread support for throwing the bums out, literally, but from what I'm reading, not in that group - many of whom voted Republican in 2004.

I have spent the day maligning political pragmatism but I also realize it is the way Washington operates and has for decades.

Newspapers That Once Called Upon Clinton To Resign Are Silent On Bush

http://www.beggarscanbechoosers.com/2006/12/newspapers-that-once-called-upon.html

We can freeway blog and sign petitions til we're blue in the face but we ought to simultaneously be organizing and learning the case for impeachment and getting ready to support Waxman in the investigations. I am starting to think there is a glimpse of the third way. People don't like third ways, but they have a power because despite their dilution, they escape some of the cancelling out effect that the ends of the spectrum tend to have on each other's solutions.

Christy
I agree with some of the commenters. Those mainstream media are no help - they don't care about real morality, just paper-selling pseudo morality such as who had a blowjob.

I don't think the internet used to have the power that it's getting to have and it's still growing. The internet made the Swift Boat jerks possible but it also took down Foley which according to MSM itself took down the Republican Legislative branches in turn in 2006.

This means the internet was instrumental in convincing people who voted for conservatives in 2002 and 2004 to change their pattern in 2006. This is unprecedented and it happened even in the face of electronic cheating and voter intimidation.

Can you imagine - that when Katherine Harris was campaigning in Florida - after helping disenfranchise thousands of blacks from voting in 2000 - that her strategists had the audacity to compare her to .. Joan of Arc, Mother Teresa and .. Rosa Parks!
(heard that on "This American Life" today)

On Monday, gathering in a conference room in Washington D.C., Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and her advisors worked on a draft copy of the articles of impeachment against President Bush.

At the heart of the charges contained in McKinney’s articles of impeachment, is the allegation that President Bush has not upheld the oath of presidential office and is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.

Article I states that President Bush has failed to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Specifically cited in this article is the charge that Bush has manipulated intelligence and lied to justify war: “George Walker Bush … in preparing the invasion of Iraq, did withhold intelligence from the Congress, by refusing to provide Congress with the full intelligence picture that he was being given, by redacting information … and actively manipulating the intelligence on Iraq’s alleged weapons programs by pressuring the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies.”

This manipulation of intelligence was done, the charge continues, “with the intent to misinform the people and their representatives in Congress in order to gain their support for invading Iraq, denying both the people and their representatives in Congress the right to make an informed choice.”

Article II, “Abuse of office and of executive privilege,” states that President Bush has disregarded his oath of office by “obstructing and hindering the work of Congressional investigative bodies and by seeking to expand the scope of the powers of his office.” The President has “failed to take responsibility for, investigate or discipline those responsible for an ongoing pattern of negligence, incompetence and malfeasance to the detriment of the American people.”

This article continues by indicting Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in their actions to manipulate or “fix” intelligence and mislead the public about Iraq’s weapons programs. Ultimately, this article calls not only for Bush’s impeachment and removal from office but also asks the same actions to be taken against Cheney and Rice.

Article III states that President Bush has failed to “ensure the laws are faithfully executed” and that he has “violated the letter and spirit of laws and rules of criminal procedure used by civilian and military courts, and has violated or ignored regulatory codes and practices that carry out the law.”

Specifically, McKinney cites illegal domestic spying as a result of failing to obtain warrants thereby subverting congress and the judiciary in the process: “… by circumventing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act courts established by Congress, whose express purpose is to check such abuses of executive power, provoking the presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to file a complaint and another judge to resign in protest, the said program having been subsequently ruled illegal; he has also concealed the existence of this unlawful program of spying on American citizens from the people and all but a few of their representatives in Congress, even resorting to outright public deceit.”

The article continues by citing public statements Bush has made that were blatantly contradictory to his policy and actions regarding domestic spying.

While the staff was editing the document, one advisor told me, “As we sat down and worked on this, a pattern became very clear … a pattern to specifically undermine the constitution and establish a unitary presidency.”

The charges addressed in McKinney’s resolution are nothing revelatory or new. Rather, they are issues which have been in the public eye for quite some time and have increasingly been covered in the media over the last year.

Despite winning the congressional majority, the Democrats have yet to put forth a plan to investigate what have become somewhat ubiquitous allegations.

Speaker-elect, Representative Pelosi, dismissed any possibility of impeachment, saying it is “off the table” and that it is “a waste of time … making them lameducks is good enough for me.” Although, in the November election, 60% of the voters in her own district cast ballots in favor of Proposition J, a measure calling for the impeachment of President Bush.

In 2005 Representative John Conyers sponsored a resolution, HR 365, to create a special committee to investigate allegations against the Bush Administration – a move that would likely lead to the discovery of impeachable offenses. This resolution was passed to the House Committee on Rules and was never brought up for a vote.

At that time it was widely believed that if the Democrats took control of congress, Conyers would reintroduce the resolution as would have subpoena power if selected as leader of the House Judiciary Committee.

A few days after the Democrats won control Conyers echoed Pelosi’s statement saying, “I am in total agreement with her on this issue … impeachment is off the table.” Last week a spokesperson from Conyers office said that the resolution would not be reintroduced and that the Representative had no intention to pursue the matter.

Will other members of congress support the action Congresswoman McKinney has brought forth?

At the table in what could be considered her impeachment “war room” the question is brought up a number of times.

Mike, an advisor to McKinney, mentions, “Conyers was supposed to have investigations. They were chomping at the bit 6 months ago to do subpoenas.”

McKinney quietly replies, “Now they say they aren’t even going to issue subpoenas.”

Looking up from her papers she takes a deep breath, “I’m going in alone on this one because now it is all about them playing majority politics.”

This is McKinney’s last week as a member of congress and this act, to impeach the president, is the final resolution she will enter into the Congressional record.

For those who know anything about Cynthia McKinney it may come as no surprise that she would file this resolution as her parting gift to Congress.

McKinney is no stranger to being attacked by the media and has been isolated from her own party.

From her inquiries into election fraud in 2000 to her calls for a transparent and thorough investigation into 9-11, not to mention the widely covered run-in she had with the Capitol Hill Police, the congresswoman is aware that this resolution will likely be ignored and that she will be ruthlessly attacked upon its filing.

“What do you think they are going to do to me this time?” she asks her staff. Everyone uncomfortably shifts in their seats and after no answer comes McKinney explains, “We have to do this because this is simply the right thing to do. The American people do want to hold this man and his office accountable for the crimes they have committed and if no member of congress is willing to do it, than I will.”

It is questionable as to how effective this move could be in gaining support because of her reputation as a firebrand congresswoman and because, ultimately, she is on her way out of office.

The Congresswoman and her staff realize this but hope that by filing the articles of impeachment it will, at the very least, open up a discussion on whether or not President Bush and key members of his administration have committed impeachable offenses and whether our officials should be held to account.

“My duty as a member of Congress is merely to uphold and preserve the constitution and to represent the will of my constituency. Ultimately, it isn’t up to me or any other member of congress – it is up to the American people to decide.”

http://www.mattpascarella.blogspot.com/

I was polled by Zogby just now and the first question concerned impeachment.

This contains Congresswoman McKinney's remarks. Someone called her a "loose cannon" but my friend Bert has heard her speak and called her a "true progressive" but felt she is too far left for as right as this country presently is. For the record, I haven't read this yet but am headed to it. It has always seemed to me that the Black Caucus of Congress is pretty much ignored by the mainstream. It's as though most people don't give a damn about Haiti and I wouldn't be surprised. Some Christians, eh?!

A Closing Call for Impeachment
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120906A.shtml
"President George W. Bush has failed to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States; he has failed to ensure that senior members of his administration do the same; and he has betrayed the trust of the American people," Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney explained in remarks prepared to accompany her submission on Friday of articles of impeachment against Bush, Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. McKinney, in her last legislative act before leaving the House at the end of her current term, represented not merely a final thrust by the Georgia Democrat against the Bush administration that she has so consistently opposed but a challenge to the new House Democratic leadership to pay more than lip service to its Constitutionally-mandated duty to check and balance the executive branch. Read the full text of McKinney's remarks.

Well I hope Congresswoman McKinney is right and this at least opens up the discussion. & what is wrong with being a "firebrand" and what is wrong with being a "woman"?!!

There are two ways to go - demand, deny. There is a third way, since the first two are not going to work, and the trick is to identify it.

Posted by: DiAnne at December 9, 2006 07:13 PM

Of course I don't know for certain, but it would seem logical that the third way would be for those who have the facts and the power to bring it about by a thoroughly organized effort. Discretion might be used during the planning stage, and a sane presentation would be mandatory. Those things take time, and are not usually broadcast from the rooftops. I am hoping.

Christy. I have to say that I am with you 100% on the impeachment issue. Many dems in the mid-term were elected for that very purpose. Boy - did voters get it wrong!

My 11 year old granddaughter was raped by a 27 year old man, who got bashed up a few days later. My son was arrested and although bailed he was on some pretty serious charges. This has gone on for almost a year - expense, court, charges dropped, expense, court, can't visit family, got to go to court. I don't know if he did it. I don't ask. The pacifist in me could probably do some mighty serious damage to the rapist.

Now..... this ordinary young father, is going through all of this with no money to pay legal bills as well as support his family. Well, hey - fair enough - you do the crime, you do the time.

The crimes that George Bush has committed, he will never have to say - I'm sorry - OR - I was wrong. But in this instance, from most of you I'm getting. Well, hey - he did the crimes - but that's what you can do in his position - so no - he doesn't have to do the time. Hmm Life times a few hundred thousand equals, a lot of TIME.

I was energised with your election results. Now, I despair. No one wants change. The status quo will do. And the next lot will have a different name, but same status quo.

Christy, the Australian moronic two-party government/opposition needs you! You thought about emigrating?

Yes Woz, I have.

I have seriously considered it, but this is my home and I will be damned if I leave it to the vultures.

There are things here I must stay and fight for. Even if it is a losing battle.

Oh CRAP!

This is bad. Oh man.

CIA is undermining British war effort, say military chiefs

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2062489.ece

Truth
I am hoping for the third way also. We can do the lst two but we can't accomplish what they can.

One thing Zogby asked me about (after impeachment) was emigrating.

Interesting - I have found that this computer in the basement works (I'm down here wrapping presents).

It occurs to me that we don't know if the Democrats will be more effective once in position, which can't happen til they come back into session after the first of the year.

They can't just DO things. They have to follow their own procedures. The problem with Bush is that he changed Executive powers and did things like not join World Court.

Kissinger is still running free, after all, and Ariel Sharon was never made to account for what he allowed to go on in Lebanese camps. He didn't actually do the atrocities but neither did Charlie Manson.

Carter is now telling some truths, but people will criticize him rather than listen. I think he's one of the best presidents we ever had & deserved a 2nd term. Can't imagine how advanced we'd be if we'd never had Reagan 2 terms or the Bush dynasty.

I guess 2nd guessing the past is as impossible as proving whether conspiracy theories are true.

Secret American talks with insurgents break down

Hala Jaber, Amman

SECRET talks in which senior American officials came face-to-face with some of their most bitter enemies in the Iraqi insurgency broke down after two months of meetings, rebel commanders have disclosed.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2496369,00.html

OMG.

US bugged Diana's phone on night of death crash

Mark Townsend and Peter Allen in Paris
Sunday December 10, 2006
The Observer

The American secret service was bugging Princess Diana's telephone conversations without the approval of the British security services on the night she died, according to the most comprehensive report on her death, to be published this week.

Among extraordinary details due to emerge in the report by former Metropolitan police commissioner Lord Stevens is the revelation that the US security service was bugging her calls in the hours before she was killed in a car crash in Paris.

In a move that raises fresh questions over transatlantic agreements on intelligence-sharing, the surveillance arm of the US has admitted listening to her conversations as she stayed at the Ritz hotel, but failed to notify MI6. Stevens is understood to have been assured that the 39 classified documents detailing Diana's final conversations did not reveal anything sinister or contain material that might help explain her death.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1968664,00.html

"By prescribing such placebos, the Iraq Study Group isn’t plotting a way forward but delaying the recognition of our defeat. Its real aim is to enact a charade of progress to pacify the public while Washington waits, no doubt in vain, for Mr. Bush to return to the real world."

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003495325

Pentagon: Rumsfeld Is in Iraq
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2713572

Check this out, this is one very interesting article.

How I Know Bush is in Trouble

by BooMan
Sat Dec 9th, 2006 at 06:08:46 PM EST

It is becoming increasingly clear to moderate, realist, reality-based Republicans of the sane variety that, if the President doesn't quickly do a 180 on Iraq, he and his Vice-President will have to be removed from office. How do I know? This is how I know.

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2006/12/9/18846/1139

Christy

"it won't be the Dems that are the leading force behind impeachment...it will his own father's people. " - from Boomam

That would suggest a power struggle between the greybeards and the neocons.

Wow

I always thought it might be more powerful if they took themselves down.

"Only in Washington could an unelected panel of retirees pass for public-policy Viagra."

-- from Editor & Publisher

family face saving til embarrassing & out-of-control Jr. can be gotten out of the way?!

How I Know Bush is in Trouble

by BooMan
Sat Dec 9th, 2006 at 06:08:46 PM EST

Posted by: Christy at December 9, 2006 10:55 PM

Interesting article, yes Christy, but I'm afraid I didn't understand how BooMan could be so definite about the Republican backlash against The Prez. What information/leaks/whispers are the evidence of this about to happen?

"The Harrods tycoon believes that Paul's blood samples were swapped to portray him as a drunk in an elaborate cover-up by the establishment to stop Diana marrying Dodi, a Muslim."

= from Observer article Christy posted re Diana & interception by US CIA, French driver being Intelligence too & his blood sample possibly being swapped to look him look more drunk than he was

If there is any truth to this, it would lend some credence to those sorts of conspiracy theories involving the Bilderbergs and desire for global power. I never believed any of it til I finally saw paparazzi photos of them meeting at Versailles a few years ago. Alot of the faces were very recognizable, such as Richard Perle with Spanish royalty. They always meet a week before the G8.
In 2004, they invited John Edwards because I don't think they wanted Bush II to be President, but I don't think they had enough influence to stop Rove, Blackwell, Diebold coup.

It is simple Woz

As it stands right now, bush is a LIABILITY to any and every republican.

The article is basically saying they will have to take bush out to save their own asses.

You know I always predicted a major fracture between the busheviks and the real republicans. I have always wondered if this would happen and they would go gunning for him themselves.

I think now the obvious answer is YES, they don't have a choice. The real republicans must break away from him or else they too will go down with him.

Woz, I know it may seem obscure, but actually there was always more of a chance his own would take him out than the sell out dems. The republicans are the ones that will be blamed for all of it.

Even though it does seem obscure and subtle, THIS is a shift that should give us pause. It is signaling a MORTAL FRACTURE of republicans breaking away from the neocons and busheviks.

Diane, I didn't believe any of it until I saw the last video of Jean Paul leaving the Ritz that night. He bent down to pick up something. I've lived around drinkers and drunks most of my life and that definitely wasn't a drunk person. Now that it seems the CIA was listening to Diana's phone conversations it just makes me cringe. Nothing even slightly dangerous - so what were the CIA getting off on???? The CIA ought to be shut down - they criticised the KGB for their illegal and diabolical practices. It seems that it takes one (many) to know one (many). They are sick!

Let me know if this creeps you out.

For example, look who were some of the attendees at 2006 Bilderberg this summer in Ottawa:

The highly secretive Bilderberg conferences are arguably the most powerful political and economic gatherings on earth. The world's press are never informed that the conference is happening until the last black Mercedes leaves. If the press do find out it is happening they are kept away by secret police and security guards.

Conspiracy theorists say the conference is a conspiracy meeting, reporting its about nothing less than the power of the world. An observer, who had arrived from Spain, to report especially just the conference, said "the participants want to create a world government. They lead the world's elite and want to control all natural ressources of the world".

The Ottawa Citizen reported that this years conference themes like the oil market, security problems with Iran, terrorism and imigration to have been on this year's secret agenda. Former US-security advisor Richard Perle said on his arrival, that the Bilderberg Group will not talk about 'public order' during the 3-day-meeting. Drivers who pick up the illustrious guests from the airport, held a sign in their hands with a simple "B" on it.

This years participants also included the deputy chief of Iraqi government Ahmed Tschalabi, the CEO's of Coca-Cola, Crédit Suisse, Royal Dutch Shell and the Royal Bank of Canada, members of the government from Greece and Spain, and also some media moguls.

The Bilderberg-Conference met for the first time in 1954 in the "Hotel De Bilderberg" in Osterbeek, The Netherlands. It always ends without a finishing statement, there were no conclusions in writting, and not a word of the discussions are allowed out.

One reporter said that he might have seen Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands according to the Ottawa Citizen. The Citizen mentions her, David Rockefeller, Frank McKenna, Jorma Ollila, Egil Myklebust, Richard Perle, James Wolfenson. They also report that "attendees will also include New York Governor George Pataki, deputy prime minister of Iraq Ahmad Chalabi, the heads of Coca-Cola, Credit Suisse, the Royal Bank of Canada, a number of media moguls, and cabinet ministers from Spain and Greece."

At the hotel there were only black sedans and, Brookstreet hotel vans which came through the barricades. One sedan had someone in the back seat who ducked down and only came up once he had cleared our sight. Other sedans came and went however, one of which had diplomatic plates and others had members who were rushed inside while their luggage was unpacked from the trunks. Some members came outside to smoke.

http://ottawa.indymedia.org/en/2006/06/2669.shtml (with pictures)

http://sparkoffreedom.blogspot.com/2006/06/ottawa-bilderbergs-at-brookstreet.html

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2006/06/09/1621811-sun.html

I doubt seriously, that the New York Times, Washington Post, the Sultsbergers or the Grahams would have the slightest desire to betray the Rothschild, Warburgs and Kissingers, Rockefeller cabal who sit in the catbird seat at these meetings of heads of Europe's aristocracy, members of their governments and state departments in mufti who plan and synchronize with the Royal Institute on International Affairs and its Councils on Foreighn Relations to do their bidding, especially within the highest levels of our U.S. government, in our congress and in Great Britain, Australian, Canadian and the European Union of governments. (from Ottawa Sun)

Ok. Thanks Christy. And I agree that it would be much better to have the Republicans clean it all up. Wouldn't that be spectacular? Perhaps the real republicans were hoping that the democrats would do it for them. Understanding more each day.

Holy Crap Dianne.

WTF have you stumbled onto there..?

Where there is smoke there is fire.

BTW, do you know who the number one stockholder of Royal Dutch Shell is..?

Why none other than Elizabeth the Second, Queen of England, and last year she made about 3 billion from those shares alone.

It just makes you wonder WHY the queen has let blair betray her own people with Iraq.

She could have had him removed or stopped at any time, but I doubt there would have been that much money in it.

Woz
It's like we have several parties - the Christian Fanatic Republicans who believe the earth is only 5000 years old, the World Global Dominion Neocons who want to "spread freedom" everywhere there is oil, the get-rich-quick and don't-pay-taxes yuppie crowd and then the traditional isolationist fiscal conservative paleocon. Then there are the Independents who lean right (might vote for McCain) or very slighly more center (might vote for Lieberman). Then the conservative Democrats, the moderate Democrats, the liberal Democrats, the Progressive Democrats and then the Greens, Socialists and Libertarians. Then there are rightwing Libertarians and also Constitution Party, Natural Law Party etc. It's crazy! But in America, we try to somehow fit them all into two parties, or even one!

Christy
Yes it turns out both the left and right have their own interpretation of what's going on with the Bilderbergs. The rightwingers think that there will be a one world government headed by the UN and this type worries about Masons, Jews etc. Then, the leftwingers think it'll be a CEO-driven pro-globalizationist thing where there is cheap labor and a few profit, controlling all the resources. I'm in that camp.

I really didn't believe in it til I discovered you could see all over the world via IndyMedia (which started here during the WTO protests in 1999) and like I say, actually recognized people going into hotels.

Christy,
With your description of the queen, I think you have put your finger on why no one stops them. They are profitting.

When Bush ran in 2000, I went to Center of Public Integrity and was shocked to see what his Cabinet members would own, if he won. Condi was the poorest, yet had a Chevron tanker named after her. They all had massive stocks in munitions and petrol.

Check out what Bush's dad's people are doing:

November 27, 2006

The Carlyle Group Establishes Middle East Investment Operation; Industry Veteran Walid Musallam to Lead Team

Washington, DC – Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group today announced it has established a team to conduct private equity investments in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). The team is headed by Managing Director Walid Musallam, former Chief Executive Officer of the Abu Dhabi Investment Company. Mr. Musallam begins his duties immediately.

David M. Rubenstein, Carlyle Co-founder and Managing Director, said, “Walid brings significant experience and stature to this new position. His knowledge of the MENA region and investment experience will quickly establish Carlyle as a serious and credible presence in this important, growing region of the world.”

Mr. Musallam said, “I am excited about this unique opportunity to lead Carlyle’s investment activities in a new and fascinating region. Carlyle’s global network and industry expertise are great differentiators that will benefit growing Middle Eastern and North African companies.”

http://www.thecarlylegroup.com/eng/news/l5-news3658.html

Read all about them in Greg Palast's "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy"

Kills me how these people can't do diplomacy but they can spread their investment and planning tentacles all over the world.

Global Vision
Carlyle has more than 350 investment professionals working in offices in 16 countries pursuing investment opportunities in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.

There are almost as many contractors in Iraq as there are soldiers. So we know what they're protecting. Now more troops are being sent to Bagdad and in fact, Rumsfeld is in Iraq visiting the troops. ????

Dianne, you forgot to list the busheviks in that run down.

A bushevik is neither a republican nor a neocon, nor are they conservatives.

They are the ones that have fixated on georgie in particular and will attack ANYONE who threatens their power.

I do not think I have ever seen another group like them in this nation.

It is almost a cult like mentality and they really do appear to be brainwashed.

bush himself is their entire ideology.

You know there is only one other group that I can compare the busheviks too without any conflicts.

The Nazis. I'm not kidding.

The bushevik tactics almost perfectly mimic adolf hitlers followers and even use almost the exact same rhetoric, logic and phrasing.

There is no doubt where georgie learned the intricate art of machine propoganda and how the Nazis and their friends enacted it.

He would have learned it at his own family dinner table. From a Nazi banker.

You know Dianne, I KNOW I have heard that name before. "Bilderbergs"

I know I have come across it in research, but for the life of me I can not access that mental roladex. I have no idea where I know that name from.

Man that is driving me crazy now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Group
Scroll down for links to conference attendees, but mention is made of Rummy and Wolfowitz being members of the Bilderberg Group, too. As usual with Wikipedia info, numerous links are embedded in the text, so you can explore whatever you wish via links, too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3773019.stm
June 3, 2004 article about them.

There are a great many conspiracy theories surrounding Bilderberg, and the group seems to be tied into the Skull and Bones people (of which so many of our government officials are members from college days).

I've been in the process of re-reading Orwell's 1984. See Part 2, Chapter IX where Winston sits down and starts reading a book and the chapter quoted that he's reading is entitled 'War is Peace.' Feels like he's describing events from the last 40 years, especially the last six years, the elites who control the world's monetary resources, why the artificial construct for wars... et cetera. The entire book is online, but this is the chapter I am currently on:
http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/17/
http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/

IMHO, what's going on today for propaganda, what we know has been going on for the last six years in particular, we only have to read what lead to Hitler's rise to power, how propaganda was used then compared to how it's still being used now, and to see that mirrored in Orwell's 1984.

http://www.online-literature.com/
Home page of the above web site where I found the Orwell chapter.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/6220424.stm
Papers battle online news sites

"All the news that's fit to print" was once the newspaper man's slogan. Now, with news-junkies turning increasingly to the net for their daily fix of world events, papers are beginning to feel the pinch.

Not since the internet began has there been so much free quality newspaper content on the web.
~~~~~
A fully functioning media needs more than fast reacting rolling news, it also needs newspapers which spend more time chewing over what the news actually means.

There is a problem with free: it often comes unpackaged and without the know-how to understand it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have a "problem" with that last b