Code Blue Alert -- Americans' Health Systems in Crisis

Yes Captain Sparrow
My two brothers and their families are uninsured. One has a prostrate so large he can hardly pee and a pain in his side. We belong to an HMO and so does my Mom. Deluxe insurance where you get sent to specialists or see the same Dr. all the time is beyond our means. We usually see a PA or ARNP, not that they're not good. We have a CoPay rather than a deductible. It's a hassle in either case.

Under Bush's plan, my brothers might get a tax deduction if they bought their own health insurance. The problem is, I don't think they pay enough taxes for that to matter and I don't think it would leave enough over for insurance. & as for my husband and I, we might be some of those who could no longer have our employer pay our benefits pre-tax. So the government would get tax revenue from us which would probably go into their coffers and not get used for the purpose it was intended - a free gift to them, for the war(s), probably.

My son was in the same situation as your daughter (he's 25 and a recent college graduate). Group Health stopped for him and he did get a job at a bakery with insurance, but a lot of the kids "opt out" so as to get the extra money in their check rather than having it go for insurance. At that age, they assume they'll live forever. They're hardly thinking about next week, let alone ill health or accidents. That said, he already had a garage door come down on his eye at work and has a blowout on a busy road at night - both recently. So I help him pay his premium, so he'll be insured. I am glad to do so, but it's mostly because the amount taken out of his check really is quite alot for someone that age, trying to live on their own.

Everyone has some sort of story about insurance. We used to get the HMO for free because my husband works for the state. Over the years, it's gone up and up (and the "real" insurance is higher). I don't even want to look.

I work in health care. It's a constant struggle to find and figure out funding for the children who need our services. As I work more years, there is more paperwork, higher productivity requirement, we have to work harder and work smarter, services are cut, and on and on.

Dianne,

Yes, that's the problem. They don't earn enough to pay the premium unless the business offers it.

The situation with insurance is critical for more than 1/3 of Americans. Bush's plan is a bandaid and an excuse for businesses to offer even less.

I get my insurance through a state program, Healthy NY. It's relatively affordable as insurance goes (about $260 a month), and it offers decent coverage using any numbers of different companies. The rates vary depending on the specific insurer. But so long as an individual's income falls below a certain baseline, someone has to pick you up.

I don't if other States offer this kind of program but they probably should. The cost is not insignificant, but the cost of a sudden surgery due to an accident or emerging condition is a lot greater.

I've heard that Bush's healthcare proposal was actually taken from a Democratic think tank. The issues seems to boil down to universal government sponsored healthcare or private healthcare which is making American Companies less competitive. Logically Progressives should be aligning themselves with fortune 500 companies who are being stranggled by out of control costs. I have said this here before, we need to stress that offering universal care is pro business,which would actually help American business profits and something that JK proposed but got little consideration.Seems to me that large corporations should be pushing universal healthcare. What I hear is that we need to begin by covering children first b/c they are the cheapest. Selfishly I believe there are millions of boomers caught between jobs and Medicare and retirement who would love to be able to buy into Medicare. Personally when we were unemployed and Cobra had ended I was forced into the state pool b/c of allergies and high collesterol. Apparently those health conditions which I would guess a majority of Americans have made me uninsurable. That seems nuts, and an excuse to charge higher premiums. I am with you DiAnne about Richardson it just seems like he doesn't have the name id, money or campaign structure to compete. EJ Dionne was saying last night on Hardball that Democrats are unforgiving to their candidates. My question is why Progressives seem so prone to want to turn on their own.

I lost health insurance as soon as I finished college in 1998, and never got it back. So-called "pre-existing conditions" are keeping me from ever being insured again.

California has a mandatory insurance law in the works, however, so it may help me when it passes, but it will make insurance expensive/unaffordable for many.

Honestly, health insurance needs to work like workers compensation - mandatory coverage, with the government insurer kicking in where the private sector refuses to go. My family business carries a state government workers compensation policy, because private sector turned us all down.

The fact that I can easily insure my car (in fact, have to insure it by law), but cannot insure myself, just shows the American society's priority on money and property over humans. You can learn a lot about a society by how it spends its money.

Needless to say, this is one subject that really upsets me.

Posted by: Bubba at January 25, 2007 11:01 AM

You mentioned entering a state pool in a previous thread as well, when I brought up my healthcare situation.

In California though, the only way for someone like me to get insured is through Medi-Cal program. However, I need to be disabled and/or very poor. If I make over $1,000/month, basically I am too rich. $1,000/month doesn't even cover rent in Los Angeles!

I've checked all my options with my social workers, and was told that I had no option but to pay out of pocket.

I've been told that the Governator wants to enact a mandatory insurance law though. I wonder what the State Legislature thinks.

And as for universal healthcare being good for business - it's already been proven for companies operating in Canada. I heard on NPR a long time ago that businesses in Canada appreciate not having to administer healthcare plans for their employees, because it's a government responsibility.

There is a reason why the Japanese automakers, for example, like to set up their shops in the province of Ontario, just as much as they like to set up shops in so-called "pro-business" slave wage states of the South.

Here in the US, it's healthcare that's killing our businesses - especially acute in the automotive and airline sectors. Even the union members working for these companies are well aware that shifting the healthcare burden to the government will improve the financial standings of their employers.

Our state pool which I thought applied throughout the country fills in where an applicant has been rejected by a private carrier and the state pool in Texas must take you regardless of medical history. I did not have a 63 day gap in previous coverage and therefore they could not exclude me for pre existing conditions. Since then I have my wife's insurance but if we were to retire I would be forced into our state pool after 18 months and my premiums would skyrocket, maybe that is what you are referring to as Medi Cal,but in Texas they must take you regradless of medical history, premiums there that is another question. Also in Texas workers comp is mandatory. What we are talking about here is part of the problem. A patchwork of healthcare state policies. I can't imagine the problems if we were to transfer to California, Mass. etc the kinds of problems millions must face who actually do move. Its part of the Republican philosophy of states rights, to make everything from abortion to healthcare change at the state border. Seems like we are breaking up as a nation into 50 separate and not necessarily equal universes.

We are fortunate because I work for the State of Maryland and get coverage for the whole family. But that coverage has been greatly reduced over the past four years. We have lost more every year.

Our situation is difficult because fewer and fewer competent doctors in the District are willing to work with the insurance companies at all. The divide between boutique medical practices and those who are willing to take on new patients inside a plan is increasing, not narrowing.

I have developed osteoporosis and this is the wrong time to develop something chronic and treatable, I can tell you!

As for the kids, we are encouraging Canadian colleges. Our oldest is doing just fine in Montreal, where they actually seem to take care of people.

correction: Also in Texas Workers Comp is NOT mandatory. We are one of only 10 states that has that public policy.

Its part of the Republican philosophy of states rights, to make everything from abortion to healthcare change at the state border. Seems like we are breaking up as a nation into 50 separate and not necessarily equal universes.

Posted by: Bubba at January 25, 2007 11:22 AM

Not just healthcare, but even basic civil rights in general.

At least on paper, it's illegal to discriminate against the likes of me in employment, housing, and public accommodations in California. But the moment I step into Arizona, it's perfectly legal.

Posted by: Bubba at January 25, 2007 11:01 AM

Large corporations are pro-universal healthcare. One big reason is that it is hard for them to compete with companies doing business in countries where healthcare costs are borne by the government rather than by businesses.

One interesting after-effect of spiraling healthcare costs is that many businesses, large and small, are investing heavily in "preventive care" - i.e. health club memberships or on-site gyms, healthier food options for on-site restaurants/cafeterias/fast food outlets, time during the workday to work out, free cholesterol screenings, etc. In addition to reducing corporate health care costs, this also has the effect of reducing absenteeism and sick days, and increasing employee morale and loyalty.

We do have to ask serious questions about standard of care, however, and what it is worth to us as a society. People used to die a lot younger and a lot more simply (or violently). Now we have eliminated or reduced many of the "cheaper" causes of death, so that most people succumb eventually to some form of cancer, a long and expensive killer. Treatments such as combinations of multiple medications, life support, proton beams, gene therapy, and stem-cell research have (or have the potential to) greatly extend our lives and reduce suffering, but what cost are we willing to pay? Are these expensive treatments only for those who can afford them? If not, who should foot the bill, and who decides how much each party should pay? It is naive to think that we can foist this problem off on someone else..."the rich", "the government", "the corporations", "the individual", "the medical industry", etc. - we will all have to pay, in one way or another, if we decide that we want these expensive life-prolonging treatments to become commonplace.

This I think is the difficult question that both parties are side-stepping by seeking to displace the healthcare costs onto some other cause or somebody else's bank account. Yes, there are incremental rising costs that have worked their way into the system (the costs of obesity, for example, or the cultural shift between caring for aging elders at home vice in a nursing home), but these are not the big reasons for rising health care - people living longer and thus succumbing to more expensive, long-lived diseases (in addition to needing more medical care over the course of their longer life, including more years of care while an older person); and the expensive treatments we have developed and wish to become commonplace in our treatments of the diseases and conditions facing us. We need to face these questions maturely and decide how we are going to handle them as a society rather than just shifting costs and blame.

OT...here's an update on this CNN poll that monkey posted yesterday...

Do you believe that perceived blunders have hurt the Bush administration's credibility on Iraq?

Yes 92% 105094 votes
No 8% 9761 votes

Total: 114855 votes

Posted by: madame defarge at January 25, 2007 01:10 PM

What, like 92% is some sort of mandate or something?

Cheney gargles with hogwash.

Posted by: monkey at January 25, 2007 01:47 PM

"It won’t stop us."
VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY, on CNN, discussing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s approval of a resolution opposing President Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq.

it speaks volumes about Bush's escalation policy in Iraq when Mr. Conservative, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, is sponsoring a resolution opposing this escalation. I have often found fault with Senator Nelson, but in this instance I am sending his office my thanks.

I LOVE my senator!

Durbin calls Cheney 'delusional'

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney is "delusional" about what's happening in Iraq, the Democrats' top Senate vote-counter said Thursday.

That harsh assessment by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., two days after President Bush sought bipartisan comity in his State of the Union address, underscores how difficult achieving that may be.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/16544658.htm

Let's give JK's effort to get us out of Iraq a boost. Please go recommend this diary at dailykos

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/1/25/123054/129

so it hits the Recommended List and spreads the word from the dailykos platform.

Posted by: monkey at January 25, 2007 01:47 PM

C'mon now, monkey, you quit bein' mean to them hogs!

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has decided to extend the combat tour of 3,200 soldiers from a 10th Mountain Division brigade in Afghanistan for four months in hopes of quelling the violence.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16806454/

They hate us for our free dumbs.

The Core
By Eric Clapton and Marcy Levy

Every morning when I wake, a feeling soon begins to overtake me.
Ringing in my ears resounds through my brain; it finally surrounds me.
There is fire, there is life, there is passion, fever and fury.
There is love and there is hate, there is longing, anger and worry.

Oh, I am a flame; feel it touch my heart.
And down at my core is the hottest part.
I can run without fear.

If it should become too cold, I know I can endure the frostbite.
Oh, a blanket then Ill wrap around me; I keep myself so close to my sight.
No one then can cause me harm, just as the river runs into the sea.
'cause every day, a fire alarm is deafening the silence all around me.

Oh, I am a flame; feel it touch my heart.
And down at my core is the hottest part.
I can run without fear.

It is burning.
It is burning.

You can trust me; we can laugh. together we can share our sorrow.
I will give you secrets too, an attitude that you may borrow.
Gypsy woman said to me, one thing you must bear in your mind:
You are young and you are free, but damned if you're deceased in your own lifetime.

Oh, you have a flame; feel it in your heart.
And down at the core is the hottest part.
We can run without fear.

It is burning.
It is burning.

Rumsfeld 'transition' office in Pentagon raising eyebrows

by John Byrne
Published: Thursday January 25, 2007

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has left the Pentagon but not the Defense Department, reports Thursday's edition of the Washington Times, in a story which reveals that Bush's onetime Defense chief is now an unpaid consultant -- with classified access.

"On Jan. 4, Mr. Rumsfeld opened a government-provided transition office in Arlington and has seven Pentagon-paid staffers working for him," a Pentagon official told the paper.

The Times reported that the Pentagon lists Mr. Rumsfeld as a "nonpaid consultant," a classification needed to review secret and top-secret documents.

"Mr. Rumsfeld and his aides, who include close adviser Stephen Cambone, are sifting through the thousands of pages of documents generated during his tenure," the Times wrote. "The Pentagon official said former secretaries are entitled to a transition office to sort papers, some of which can be taken with them for a library, for archives or to write a book."

"The transition office has raised some eyebrows inside the Pentagon," the Times continues. "Some question the size of the staff, which includes two military officers and two enlisted men. They also ask why the sorting could not have been done from the time Mr. Rumsfeld resigned Nov. 8 to when he left the building Dec. 18."

http://tinyurl.com/259wam

Testimony against Libby coming fast and furious:

"A high-ranking former CIA official testified today that he told I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in June 2003 that the wife of former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV worked for the CIA. He became the second witness to say he had disclosed information about CIA officer Plame to Libby weeks before Libby claims he learned her identity from a journalist"

While we're on the subject...

Rockefeller: Cheney applied "constant" pressure to stall investigation on flawed Iraq intelligence

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney put "constant" pressure on the Republican former head of the Senate Intelligence Committee to stall an investigation into the Bush administration’s use of flawed intelligence on Iraq, the panel’s Democratic chairman charged Thursday.

In an interview with McClatchy Newspapers, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia said it was "not hearsay" that Cheney, a leading proponent of invading Iraq, pushed Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., to drag out the probe.
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16546019.htm

Drip, drip, drip...

John Howard responded to criticism that whatever GW tells him to do, he does. He said that he didn't agree with GW on everything. "Look at Health Care in America, and look at ours. Ours is better." He's right about that. Even though our health care is in disarray and waiting lists for operations are for years in many cases. The federal and state governments blame each other for the disgraceful state of our health care. We call this disgraceful and then we hear about yours. There is no comparison. You certainly out-disgrace us in Health Care.

The last time I travelled overseas I tried to get travel insurance to travel in the US. I changed my mind and went to the UK and Ireland where we have reciprocal agreements between us. You look after ours and we'll look after yours. And I did have major health issues when in Scotland - not a problem. No cost at all.

When I hear or read stories like those you tell here, I heave a sigh of relief. If a tiny little nation of 20,000,000 people can manage Medicare - which desperately needs improvement - surely America can. I am no longer insured.

WHAT IS (Autralian) MEDICARE?

Medicare is Australia's universal system for financing public hospitals and services provided by private doctors and some additional health costs.

It was introduced by the Federal Government in 1984 to ensure all Australians had access to medical and hospital care when they needed it. Before Medicare, most Australians had to buy private health insurance, use hospitals as public patients or pay their own bills.

Cont ........
http://www.drs.org.au/new_doctor/75/fact_sheet_1.html

Posted by: madame defarge at January 25, 2007 06:37 PM

... and Sen. Roberts, aka Sen. Spineless, just went along with it, for the good of the country, of course.

Stall Wart

He must be worried to be making this statement...

IAEA chief says attack on Iran would be catastrophe
Reuters http://tinyurl.com/2pu9om

Posted by: madame defarge at January 25, 2007 02:31 PM

LOL

They hate us for our free dumbs.

Posted by: monkey at January 25, 2007 03:43 PM

That made my day!!

Kayakbiker told me the Black Hawk Down in Iraq the other day had these among their flight list:

2 Colonels
1 Lieutenant Colonel
1 Major
1 Captain
2 Command Sergeant Majors
1 First Sergeant
1 Sergeant First Class
2 Staff Sergeants
1 Corporal

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070126/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq
No compromise seen on Iraq resolutions

Excerpt:
Sen. John Warner (news, bio, voting record), R-Va., former chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he won't negotiate with Democrats to develop a single proposal on Iraq. His comments _ along with the emergence of other resolutions the Senate might consider _ underscored how a Congress largely against Bush's proposal to send more troops to Iraq remained divided over what to do about it.

Warner's decision bolsters chances that his resolution will be the one to win final Senate approval. Democrats are expected to vote for his proposal if their measure fails, and several Republicans said they prefer Warner's approach because it is less divisive.

His decision to avoid bargaining also decreases the odds that a single resolution would emerge that would garner a strong, bipartisan vote reproaching Bush's plan, which the White House hopes to avoid.

{{{"Bipartisanship" and "reaching across the aisle" are phrases only employed by the neoCons who want Dems to do things their way or no way - I notice they ignore any Dems who actually try to gain a bipartisanship consensus on anything..... It's a "wording strategy" that has worked effectively for the dictator for six years, and they're doing it again on this non-binding resolution. It's non-binding. Who the heck cares what it says?}}}

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070125/pl_nm/bush_investigations_dc
White House will cooperate with investigations
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration will cooperate with investigations by the new Democratic Congress on issues such as Iraq and the treatment of detainees, but hopes the hearings do not turn into "witch hunts," a top White House official said on Thursday.
~~~~~
"Of course, we will cooperate with any investigations that the Congress wants to pursue. We believe in vigorous and legitimate oversight by the Congress," White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten said in an interview on National Public Radio.

But he added, "I don't think political witch hunts are going to be particularly productive or well received here in Washington."

{{{The political witch hunts may not be particularly productive in Washington but they will go over well for the people who have wanted to know facts and details for lo these many years.... And we all know the dictator's regime will stall and stall and stall.... Facts about this administration, lies we don't even know about yet, may not be known about for many decades to come, unless DimWit's Executive Order sealing presidential papers and putting the approval for release of same in the hands of family members is repealed by a president in the future....}}}

Pelosi Hits Bush for Failing to Consult on Iraq Plan
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012507T.shtml
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that President George W. Bush did not consult her before announcing his new strategy for the war in Iraq - a sign that, despite the cozy rhetoric, the relationship between Washington's two powerhouses has already had its share of friction.
Excerpts:
In an interview, Pelosi also said she was puzzled by what she considered the president's minimalist explanation for his confidence in the new surge of 21,500 U.S. troops that he has presented as the crux of a new "way forward" for U.S. forces in Iraq.

"He's tried this two times - it's failed twice," the California Democrat said. "I asked him at the White House, 'Mr. President, why do you think this time it's going to work?' And he said, 'Because I told them it had to.'"

Asked if the president had elaborated, she added that he simply said, "'I told them that they had to.' That was the end of it. That's the way it is."
~~~~~
In all, she left no doubt that Democrats who now run the House and Senate intend to control the agenda. And, on domestic policy, Pelosi - not Bush - is now arguably the nation's most powerful force.

In Bush's speech on Iraq more than two weeks ago, he said he had "consulted members of Congress from both parties," as well as overseas allies and distinguished outside experts. And the president and his top aides had a swirl of meetings with lawmakers from both parties. But Pelosi said she was not satisfied, particularly recalling a White House meeting the afternoon of the speech.

"He brought us in to tell us what he was going to say in a matter of hours," she said. "It wasn't a consultation - it was a notification. And a late-minute one at that."

Pelosi made it clear the issue was the essential backdrop in Washington for the foreseeable future, however much Bush wants to talk about domestic issues. "We have an 800-pound gorilla in the room and it's called Iraq," she said. "That, to me, is the primary issue facing the Congress and the president in terms of some place that we have to work together."

Agreed NonnyO. A war on words continues.

Matt Renner | "Perfect Storm" for Peace Movement
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012507R.shtml
On the heels of the president's State of the Union address, Judith LeBlanc, co-chair for the United for Peace and Justice coalition, described the situation as a "Perfect Storm" for the peace movement. This Saturday, peace movement organizers have planned what they call a "Peace Surge," a massive rally to be held in Washington, DC, to pressure Congress to end the war.

Laura MacCleery | Big Oil Gets to Keep Its Loot
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012507EA.shtml
Without Congressional action, a billion-dollar handout will soon begin flowing to the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America, a 501(c)(3) formed in 2002 by the Gas Technology Institute. The consortium includes publicly traded companies that reaped $100 billion in profits
in 2005.

The New York Times | Energy Rhetoric, and Reality
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012507EC.shtml
"For six years, off and on, President Bush has been talking about the need for alternative fuels and conservation to make the country less beholden to unreliable sources of foreign oil. Yet, all he has to show for it is a growing dependence on foreign oil, a growing climate problem and an increasingly cynical public," critiques the New York Times.

Effort to Move on Minimum-Wage Bill Falters in Senate
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012507LA.shtml
Senate Republicans rejected an effort by Democrats to pass minimum-wage legislation without breaks for small businesses on Wednesday, setting the stage for a potential impasse with the House, where lawmakers are demanding a "clean" bill.

Were all these "high value targets" flying to meet Gates?
& why was it know, so one RPG could take them down?!

Top US Surgeon in Iraq Killed When Helicopter Shot Down
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012507B.shtml
The top US surgeon in Iraq was among the 12 soldiers killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Baghdad, the Pentagon confirmed this week. Colonel Brian D. Allgood, whose father and two uncles served in Vietnam, had spent more than
20 years in the military.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/25/the-daily-show-on-sotu-2007/
The Daily Show on SoTU 2007

The usual Caveat for a Jon Stewart video... don't be eating or drinking anything while watching.... ;-)

He Is the Nightmare
Dominique Dhombres
Le Monde

George Bush perseveres. At this point, it's no longer willfulness, but rabid frenzy. Because of the time difference, the State of the Union speech the American president delivered in Washington was broadcast live in Europe in the middle of the night - more precisely on Wednesday, January 24th, starting at 3 a.m. You could see the scene on CNN. It began with the pomp intended by the founding fathers of American democracy. Everyone gets together in the capital for this ritual exercise during the course of which, the president, head of the executive branch, has the right - it's the only time in the course of the year - to enter the legislative Holy of Holies. All his cabinet is also there to congratulate him. People hug; they pat one another's backs.

The CNN camera rested for a moment on the faces of senators Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton. The president's wife, Laura Bush, wore a dress that shone blazing red. And then the liturgy began, immutable.

The person at issue presented himself to Congress, introduced by the traditional phrase deafeningly broadcast by the sergeant-at-arms: "The president of the United States!" But this time the shriek was addressed to "Madam Speaker." For, in fact, the first time in the history of the United States, a woman presides over the House of Representatives: Nancy Pelosi. She is a Democrat, smiling and determined. George Bush paid her assiduous tribute, insisting on the unprecedented character of the occasion and wishing for the best possible cooperation with the lady. She played her role marvelously, standing to applaud the president every time she agreed with him, but remaining stubbornly seated as soon as he addressed, in the second half of his speech, the subject that makes people angry: Iraq.

I can understand her. It was quite simply scary. The president, somewhat spontaneously, picked up the tone and the voice of the televangelists who crack down on American television screens at night. Or, if you prefer, he furiously resembled Philippulus the Prophet, who announced the end of the world to Tintin in "L'Etoile mystérieuse" ["The Mysterious Star": Tintin is a famous French comic book character]. He became apocalyptic. Should I quote? If the American Army withdrew from Iraq, the government in place "would be overrun" immediately. What a confession! What followed could make your hair stand on end. "We could expect an epic battle between Shia extremists backed by Iran and Sunni extremists aided by al-Qaeda and supporters of the old regime. A contagion of violence could spill out across the country - and in time, the entire region could be drawn into the conflict. For America, this is a nightmare scenario." He is the nightmare.

Posted by: woz at January 26, 2007 12:39 AM

If the resolution were binding, maybe there would be quibble room for some wording. The non-binding resolution just expresses displeasure at DimWit's escalation in Iraq. Since it's not a matter of law, it doesn't really matter what it says.

The neoCons are just trying to make Dems look like tha bad guys (again!), and they always pick the most trivial things possible to quibble about. (NeoCons, I might add, who are up for election in '08 and are only looking out for their political careers - like one of the senators from my state. If he doesn't come out against the war, he's toast in '08.)

The few neoCons who do agree the escalation is a bad idea should be working with Dems on how to stop the stupid illegal and unconstitutional war, not bicker over the wording on a piece of legislation that is toothless....

For any future legislation to have any force, Congress will have to repeal the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and repeal the Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF only authorized going after Osama Bin Laden, not start a war).

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/25/mcclellan-talks-libby-leak-on-the-daily-show/
McClellan Talks Libby Leak on The Daily Show

Nightline did a segment last night about how the Obama smear went public, even visiting the school in Indonesia that he attended - and demonstrating in pretty graphic fashion that is it ANYTHING BUT a factory for Islamic extremism.

The original story began with Insight magazine (which is a good publication to have around just in case you run out of toilet paper), and how the clowns who host Fox and Friends spread the smear, with John Gibson repeating it later that day (but adding Obama's statement denying the charge).

AMC broadcast "All the President's Men" yesterday, and after watching it again, and it's easy to associate this kind of dirty trick with the "Canuck" letter and other such niceties of the Nixon era.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. I'm waiting for McCain to announce his secret plan to win the war in Iraq...

Posted by: Cyrano at January 26, 2007 08:02 AM

Actually, I'm waiting for McCain to announce his engagement to Dubya, although rumor has it Liebermann has the inside track.

They can register at Target.

Report: Bush authorizes targeting Iranians in Iraq

January 26, 2007

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- President Bush has authorized the U.S. military to kill or capture Iranian agents active inside Iraq, The Washington Post reported on Friday, citing government and counterterrorism officials with direct knowledge of the plan.

The move, approved last fall, is aimed at weakening Iran's influence in the region and forcing Tehran to abandon its nuclear program that the West believes is for nuclear weapons and not energy, the newspaper said, citing the unidentified officials.

For more than a year, U.S. forces have at times held dozens of Iranians for a few days, taking DNA samples from some as well as photographs and fingerprints from all those captured, the report said.

more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/26/us.iran.reut/index.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Iran has converted a 30-ton ballistic missile into a launch vehicle that will be used to send a satellite into space soon, Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine reported on its Web site on Thursday.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, spoke about the upcoming launch to religious students and clerics in Qom, the industry trade publication said.

The launcher is a version of the Shahab 3 missile that has a range of 800 to 1,000 miles, the magazine said, citing unidentified U.S. agencies. A missile of its kind could reach Saudi Arabia and as far west as Turkey, the report said.

Additionally, improvements in space launches could help Iran build an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of almost 2,500 miles, according to the magazine.

A satellite launch by Iran would likely increase concern by the United States and Europe about its strategic capabilities and intentions, the magazine said.

more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/01/26/iran.missile.reut/index.html

In case you missed it, here's where you can sign Kerry's petition to set a deadline & stop this f#*@$ing war...

http://www.setadeadline.com/

Posted by: madame defarge at January 26, 2007 09:02 AM

What kinda war?

Posted by: monkey at January 26, 2007 09:06 AM

Sheesh, do I have to spell everything out for you?

b
u
c
k
f
u
s
h

Good diary RE: George's SOTU request for "bipartisanship" & NPR's (lame) attempt to "bridge the divide"...

W, the Black Knight, and NPR's "Bridging the Divide"

There's a reason this country is divided like it is. It wasn't an accident and it didn't just happen. It has been an intentional driving apart of this nation for the political gain of the Republican Party. Congress was intentionally poisoned by Newt Gingerich as a strategic move to grab power and because of people like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, and Pat Robertson, the general population has been bifurcated as well. This plan has been openly in effect for twenty years now. The idea is simple. If you eliminate the middle and completely split the country, the Republicans believed that their half would turn out in bigger numbers on election day. If you capture the Evangelical and Conservative Catholic churches, you could increase the number of non-voting voters in the GOP's column whereas those who are more natural constituents for the Democratic Party are much less likely to turn out. We are divided for cynical self-interested reasons.

Don't get me wrong, this is a bad thing and needs to be fixed. But why is it now that we suddenly are asking about reconciliation?

Isn't it strange that this conversation never happened when we were actually in the process of being divided?

--snip--
Where were the calls for reconciliation after the 2000 election? the 2004 election? Why is it only after those who caused the damage were unequivocally rebuked and swept out of power in the Congress and Bush makes a lame duck look like Gene Kelly that we are being asked to compromise and let them back to the table so they can have joint custody of the child they abused?

--snip--
So they lost power. Yesterday at lunch, a friend coined a phrase that perfectly captured the lack of a State of the Union Address -- what we saw was a bully without a pulpit. The schoolyard bully no longer has the power to take our milk money and now, instead of being held to account for all the bully has done, now we are supposed to forgive and forget. Now we are supposed to have a big group hug with him and his gangster friends and reconcile. The vapid conversations on NPR this week have reminded me of the scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail in which the Black Knight is left by his bridge with nothing but bloody stumps where his extremities were, calling out to his foe who is riding off, "Alright, it's a draw."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/1/26/82627/5918

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Bush administration plans to ask Congress for $10.6 billion for Afghanistan, a major increase aimed at rebuilding the country and strengthening government security forces still fighting the Taliban five years after the U.S.-led invasion.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said all but $2 billion of the money is for security needs. She detailed the plan as she prepared to attend a NATO gathering meant to plan for an expected Taliban military offensive in the spring.

Among other issues Rice was to raise Friday with her NATO colleagues were the divisions within the alliance on sharing the burden in Afghanistan. Some NATO countries have shown a greater willingness than others to send troops to areas of conflict.

“We’re looking to others to step up their effort with us, step up across the board,” Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, told reporters Thursday.

‘Redouble our efforts’
The Bush administration funding proposal follows a year in which Taliban forces launched surprisingly fierce attacks across the country, poppy production expanded and relations worsened between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a key ally in the fight against global terrorism.

“The challenges of the last several months have demonstrated that we want to and we should redouble our efforts,” Rice told reporters flying with her to Brussels for the NATO sessions.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16810940/

Catch that line again from Conned Me...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has traveled to Iraq for a quick fact-finding visit that will include a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The congressional delegation traveling with the Democratic speaker from San Francisco includes Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who more than a year ago urged President Bush to withdraw American forces from Iraq and is chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that oversees the military budget.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/26/MNGVLNPHIH1.DTL&feed=rss.news

If only women ruled the world...

Posted by: madame defarge at January 26, 2007 09:32 AM

Clarification: smart women a la Pelosi, not a la Conned Me

Good site for protest signs, t-shirts, etc.

http://deadelephant.cf.huffingtonpost.com/

Some of my favorites:

"We've never been about 'stay the course'..."

"We torture so you don't have to"

"Facism: the elephant in the room"

JAZZ FEST ANNOUNCES 2007 TALENT LINEUP
FOR NEW ORLEANS’ PREMIER MUSIC EVENT, APRIL 27-29 AND MAY 4-6
TICKETS ON SALE TODAY
THOUSANDS OF MUSICIANS AND FANS TO FILL CITY WITH CELEBRATION
Harry Connick Jr. To Close Festival On Sunday, May 6
Louisiana Legend Jerry Lee Lewis & Rebirth Brass Band Leader Featured On Two Official Posters

“Jazz Fest is an invitation to move your body and your soul,” said Quint Davis, producer/director of the event. “New Orleans is the best place in the world to listen to music and to sing and dance in an open and loving atmosphere, and this year we’re presenting more music than ever. As always Jazz Fest is going to give Festivalgoers the best opportunity to participate in this city’s powerful and joyful integration of culture and community.”

Annually drawing tens of thousands of fans each of its six days of activities, the Festival will again be held at the Fair Grounds Race Course and run from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Ten stages of simultaneous music programming are complemented by an important, unparalleled Food Fair offering more than 100 varieties of authentic Louisiana cuisine and a stunning array of one-of-a-kind crafts available around the grounds in the Festival’s juried crafts areas.

An extended weekend-by-weekend list of performers is available under music schedule...

http://www.nojazzfest.com/

(JazzFessed: Easily my favorite musical/cultural event on planet Earth)

An email that came to me last night (tonight). Those who can't make it to the Peace Rallies this weekend may like to sign a petition circling the globe right now ......

From avaaz.org
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 10:28 PM
Subject: Thank you for taking action!

Dear friend,

Thank you for joining the global peace march.

Please take a moment right now to invite your friends and family to take action as well. We need as many people as possible to join the virtual march before Saturday - the numbers will be shown on placards at the Washington demonstration. You can just forward the sample letter below.

Spreading the word is critical, but please only pass this message along to those who know you -- spam hurts our campaign.

Thank you for taking action,

Ricken, Paul, Tom, Rachel, Galit, Lee-Sean and the rest of the Avaaz.org Team

____________________________________________

Dear friends,

I just joined a global virtual peace march demanding that the new US Congress stop President Bush's escalation in Iraq and demand a real peace plan, and I thought you might be interested. Please see the email below.

Subject: Join the global peace march before Saturday 27 January

This Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Americans will march on Washington DC to demand peace and justice in Iraq and the Middle East. We can be there too, raising a global voice of solidarity -- through our own worldwide virtual march. Time is short, so add your voice and join the march today!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/global_peace_march/

Avaaz supporters in Washington have offered to carry real banners and placards at the US demonstration - showing how many internet marchers from all round the world are joining in. We will carry the flag of each country that generates more than 500 internet marchers, so tell your friends!

With American opposition to this war mounting, 45,000 of us from over 100 countries have already joined the call to oppose Bush's military escalation and demand a real plan to end this war.

Can we get 75,000 - even 100,000 people from round the world to join the march before Saturday? Click here to join the march –

http://www.avaaz.org/en/global_peace_march/

This could signal the rebirth of the US peace movement. We need to show them the world is on their side. Let's bring our call for peace to the streets of power in Washington. Join the global peace march and tell your friends today!

With hope,

Ricken, Paul, Tom, Rachel, Galit, Lee-Sean and the rest of the Ceasefire Campaign (now Avaaz.org! ) Team

RE: Scooter news you probably won't see in US news

Libby trial witness leaves White House reeling

President Bush's administration was today preparing for damaging repercussions from testimony by one of its own officials in the perjury trial of Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, the former chief of staff to the US vice-president Dick Cheney.

Cathie Martin, Mr Cheney's former spokeswoman, yesterday told a court that she clearly remembered telling Mr Libby the identity of a CIA operative, Valerie Plame, whose husband, Joseph Wilson, had attacked the Bush administration's case for war against Iraq.

--snip--
A staunch Republican, Ms Martin was recruited to work for Mr Cheney by Mary Matalin, a close friend of Mr Libby and Mr Cheney. She is married to Kevin Martin, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and is currently the deputy director of communications for policy and planning for Mr Bush.

Her account of events backed up the prosecution's case that Mr Libby found out Ms Plame's identity from administration officials rather than from reporters, as he told investigators.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1999552,00.html

No-show Iraqi MPs force parliament to stand still
Damien Cave, Baghdad
January 26, 2007

MAHMOUD al-Mashhadani, the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, read a rollcall of the 275 elected members with the intention of shaming the no-shows.

Iyad Allawi, the former prime minister? Absent, living in Amman and London. Adnan Pachachi, the octogenarian statesman? Also gone, in Abu Dhabi.

Cont ....
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/noshow-iraqi-mps-force-parliament-to-stand-still/2007/01/25/1169594432273.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012502199.html
Troops Authorized to Kill Iranian Operatives in Iraq
Administration Strategy Stirs Concern Among Some Officials
{{{Oh, good one, Georgie. Irritate Amadinidjad (sp?) who's as full of hot air as you and acts just as childish, and you will have the chaotic conflagration you've been aiming for in the Mideast all along - and then tell us how the heck you'll fight a war with a lack of troop numbers, since people are not lining up to enlist in your war based on lies for oil....}}}

Posted by: NonnyO at January 26, 2007 10:45 AM

As Stuart Smalley once said, "It's easier to put on slippers than to try and carpet the whole world."

We Need To Step On It

Bush: 'I'm the decision-maker' on Iraq troop levels

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush, on a collision course with Congress over Iraq, said Friday "I'm the decision-maker" about sending more troops to the war. He challenged skeptical lawmakers not to prematurely condemn his buildup.

"I've picked the plan that I think is most likely to succeed," Bush said in an Oval Office meeting with senior military advisers.

The president had strong words for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are lining up to support resolutions opposing his decision to send 21,500 troops to Iraq. He challenged them to put up their own ideas.

"I know there is skepticism and pessimism and that some are condemning a plan before it's even had a chance to work," the president said. "They have an obligation and a serious responsibility therefore to put up their own plan as to what would work."

Despite doubts in Congress and among the public about his strategy, Bush said lawmakers agree that failure in Iraq would be a disaster and that he chose a strategy that he and his advisers thought would help turn the tide in Iraq.

The president met with Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, newly confirmed by the Senate to command U.S. troops in Iraq.

"My instruction to him was `Get over to the zone as quickly as possible, and implement a plan that will achieve our goals,"' Bush said.

"You're going into an important battle in the war on terror," he told Petraeus.

During a photo opportunity, Bush was asked about stepped-up activities in Iraq against Iranian activities thought to be fueling the violence.

Bush defended the policy, but said it is no indication that the United States intends to expand the confrontation beyond Iraq's borders.

"That's a presumption that's simply not accurate," Bush said.

But added: "Our policy is going to be to protect our troops. It makes sense."

moron...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/26/bush.ap/index.html

"Our policy is going to be to protect our troops. It makes sense."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/26/bush.ap/index.html
Posted by: monkey at January 26, 2007 01:33 PM

Moron, indeed!

HOW, pray tell, is sending our young people to their potential deaths or dismemberment or grave injury for the sake of lies for oil in an illegal war crime "protecting" them...?

I noticed his sentences begin with the personal pronoun I a lot.... he's most definitely acting like a dictator more and more every day. I've noticed the excessive use of "I" when he's "decided" what he thinks is the right path for his war more and more over the last few months (especially since MCA '06). Irritating....

He MUST be stopped before he brings more harm to the people of this nation. He's already been the cause of hundreds of thousands of deaths....

The World Agrees: Stop Bush Before He Kills Again
By Robert Scheer
Stop him before he kills again. That is the judgment of the American people, and indeed of the entire world, as to the performance of our president, and no State of the Union address can erase that dismal verdict.
http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/111/2/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070126/ap_on_re_eu/us_afghanistan
White House seeks $10.6B for Afghanistan
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Bush administration plans to ask Congress for $10.6 billion for Afghanistan, a major increase aimed at rebuilding the country and strengthening government security forces still fighting the Taliban five years after the U.S.-led invasion.

{{{The money will be for other things besides supplying the troops with equipment.... Things that make a reader go hmmmm....}}}

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012501384.html
Looking at the Surge From the Other Side
{{{Highly Recommended Reading.}}}

Congress' unanimous vote to nuke Iran
By Jorge Hirsch
What is going on in America today is equivalent to the following fictitious news story: Jan. 31, 2007: By unanimous vote, the two Houses of Congress passed today a joint "sense of Congress" resolution directing President Bush to "launch nuclear strikes against any non-nuclear-weapon state that undertakes military programs or operations that threaten US interests or those of allies and friends".
http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/104/2/

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.6198:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.06198:
There are 4 versions of Bill Number H.R.6198 for the 109th Congress
1 . Iran Freedom Support Act (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by House)[H.R.6198.EH]
2 . Iran Freedom Support Act (Introduced in House)[H.R.6198.IH]
3 . Iran Freedom Support Act (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate)[H.R.6198.ENR]
4 . Iran Freedom Support Act (Received in Senate from House)[H.R.6198.RDS]
{Second link above indicates this resolution passed. I wonder how long it will take for this country's citizens to demand Congress repeal all the unethical, immoral, illegal, and dishonorable laws and legislation and resolutions passed since 2000?}

The Coming War Against Iran
By Daan de Wit
Given the presence of four American submarines off the coast of Iran, Eduard Baltin, former commander of the Russian fleet, reasons that the U.S. is planning to attack Iran.
http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/108/2/

More Deception from the War Criminal
By Paul Craig Roberts
Bush’s state of the union address did not describe the deplorable state of the union. The speech’s importance consists of Bush’s plea to Congress to please let him fool them one more time in order that he can attack Iran and start a bigger war that Congress will have to support in order to support Israel.
http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/112/2/

Jim Webb's Barnburner
By Mike Whitney
Nothing scares the “powers that be” more than a straight-shooting populist who can rally people against government policy. And, yet, that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday night in the Democratic response to the State of the Union Speech (S.O.T.U.). In just 9 minutes, freshman Senator, Jim Webb took a sledgehammer to Bush’s policy in Iraq and left 45 million Americans cheering for more.
http://www.ichblog.eu/content/view/109/1/

{{{Interesting comment section, too.}}}

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012502086.html
Hagel Ponders White House Run As War Criticism Raises His Profile
Excerpt:
Hagel's sharp criticism of the war has placed him squarely in the mainstream of public opinion on Iraq and revived long-dormant speculation about his presidential ambitions. Hagel has been eclipsed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a leading contender for his party's presidential nomination who has vigorously endorsed the president's war policies.

But with McCain appearing increasingly isolated on the issue as public opinion has turned overwhelmingly against the war, Hagel is acting like a politician who believes his stock is climbing. In other words, he is considering a White House run.

Hagel said in a wide-ranging interview this week that he is discussing his options with his family and other confidants and will make a decision in the next six weeks.

He said one possibility is forming a presidential exploratory committee and -- despite his outcast position within his party -- seeking the Republican nomination. Or he may seek a third Senate term. Then again, he might take a more creative path.

~~~~~

Like McCain, his close friend and potential 2008 GOP rival, Hagel is a decorated Vietnam War veteran, but his assessment of the Iraq conflict is radically different. McCain has asserted that despite serious mistakes by the Bush administration, victory remains possible. Hagel believes that U.S. troops are being thrown into a civil war that cannot be won and calls the conflict "the most divisive issue in this country since Vietnam."

~~~~~

Hagel warned against military action long before the Iraq invasion, but despite his trepidations, he supported a Senate resolution authorizing the war. He has since renounced his vote and has been trying to atone for it ever since. When Bush announced a plan earlier this month to deploy additional troops, Hagel co-sponsored, with two prominent Democrats, a new Senate resolution opposing the plan. Though nonbinding, the measure has triggered the first significant confrontation between the White House and Congress over Iraq since the war began.

Hagel vainly implored his Republican colleagues to join him in supporting the resolution, which was approved 12 to 9 during a session of the Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. "If you wanted a safe job, go sell shoes," he said. "This is a tough business."

~~~~~

"Politics and politicians must become relevant to the times . . . or they become irrelevant," Hagel said. "And when you become irrelevant, something is going to fill that void."

{{{More on link.... If Hagel were the 'Publican prez candidate running in '08, he'd likely get the whole country behind him since the vast majority of Americans want the illegal and unconstitutional war stopped, especially since NO current Dem candidates have been as forceful as Hagel in speaking out against the war ... IF Hagel keeps up his anti-war rhetoric and could get our troops out of both Iraq and Afghanistan, and stop this needless illegal war. For the life of me, I can't figure out where he gets his good common sense and ability to speak clearly and concisely against Bu$h's war. McCain and the other neoCons are spouting the same old georgie-porgie pablum party line about 'winning' and 'victory' (like a war crime can result in winning anything), but, IMHO, if Hagel were selected as the 'Publican candidate, his ability to speak well could garner a groundswell of support in the absence of any current Dem prez candidate speaking out as clearly and concisely as Hagel. After what Webb said on Tue. night, he is the only one who comes closest to what I'm looking for in a Dem candidate (although I noticed Webb didn't demand immediate withdrawal, which is what so many people are demanding), but with Webb's lack of experience in Congress, he probably doesn't stand a chance for being a prez candidate. In any case, Hagel bears watching as a viable 'Publican candidate. IMHO, of course. Your opinions at this too-early stage of the prez race may vary - and I reserve the right to change my mind about Hagel as the months and years progress with no end in sight for war, war, and more illegal wars....}}}

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012501766.html

GOP Senators Wrestle With Iraq War Resolution

The two resolutions come to similar conclusions, opposing the introduction of an additional 21,500 troops, calling for more diplomacy and a regional peace effort, and demanding that U.S. troops be deployed away from urban sectarian hotbeds to guard Iraq's borders, hunt down terrorists and train Iraqi security forces.

But Warner's version starts with deferential language accepting Bush's constitutional powers as commander in chief, leaves rhetorical room for some additional troop deployments and treats the fight with Sunni extremists in Anbar province as a matter separate from the sectarian violence in Baghdad.

While the lawmakers negotiate, antiwar groups are launching a public relations blitz to sway Congress. A march on Washington is planned for the weekend. And a coalition of labor unions, liberal activists and Iraq war veterans, called Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, will barnstorm through Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Virginia next week to pressure wavering Republican senators.

In each state, television advertising will show six ex-soldiers intoning: "When it comes to Iraq, America is divided. On the one hand, you've got two-thirds of the American people, a bipartisan majority in Congress, the Iraq Study Group and veterans like us, all opposed to the escalation."

Then, one of the veterans, who is missing an arm, concludes: "On the other hand, there's George Bush, who supports escalation. If you support escalation, you don't support the troops."

{{{More on link. Has anyone seen the TV ad referred to? I haven't. Or is the ad only going to be shown this weekend, and if so, with what TV shows (I refuse to watch sports stuff just to see what sounds like a great ad). Hopefully someone will have it up on a web video by or before this weekend. It sounds like a brilliant ad. I think it would be good for people to see that ad, for infotainment anchors to discuss it.... But that's wishful thinking on my part, I think. Lamestream Media is still 100% behind Georgie's war, even if they have occasionally mentioned the anti-war people and protesters in passing on occasion. For the anti-war poll message to finally get through, Lamestream Media snooze anchors need to mention it daily. And... why can't the Dems employ the same strategy as the neoCons? Table Warner's resolution, don't let it get to the floor for a vote, but let the other bill co-supported by two Dems and Hagel come to the floor for a vote....? Turnabout's fair play, IMHO.}}}

Tens of Thousands Head to Capital to Step Up Anti-War Drive
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012607L.shtml
Tens of thousands of demonstrators are set to arrive in the capital this weekend for a major anti-war march, staging the first of several protests intended to persuade the new Democratic-controlled Congress to do more than simply speak against President Bush's Iraq policy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012501434.html
Dismissal of Lawsuit Against Warrantless Wiretaps Sought
Secrecy Is at Issue in Suits Opposing Spy Program

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012607K.shtml
The Bush administration has employed extraordinary secrecy in defending the National Security Agency's highly classified domestic surveillance program from civil lawsuits. Plaintiffs and judges' clerks cannot see its secret filings. Judges have to make appointments to review them and are not allowed to keep copies. Judges have even been instructed to use computers provided by the Justice Department to compose their decisions. But now the procedures have started to meet resistance.
Excerpt:
Some cases challenging the program, which monitored international communications of people in the United States without court approval, have also involved atypical maneuvering. Soon after one suit challenging the program was filed last year in Oregon, Justice Department lawyers threatened to seize an exhibit from the court file.

This month, in the same case, the department sought to inspect and delete files from the computers on which lawyers for the plaintiffs had prepared their legal filings.

The tactics, said a lawyer in the Oregon case, Jon B. Eisenberg, prompted him to conduct unusual research.

"Sometime during all of this," Mr. Eisenberg said, "I went on Amazon and ordered a copy of Kafka's 'The Trial,' because I needed a refresher course in bizarre legal procedures."

A federal district judge in the case, Garr M. King, invoked another book after a government lawyer refused to disclose whether he had a certain security clearance, saying information about the clearance was itself classified.

"Frankly, your response," Judge King said, "is kind of an Alice in Wonderland response."

Sheila Samples | No Way In - No Way Out
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012607M.shtml
Sheila Samples writes, "Americans who cherish freedom would do well to stop stumbling around in the trees and forests of the illegal-immigration debate and see that the Bush administration is well on its way to closing the borders of the entire nation, not only to people trying to get in, but to citizens trying to get out."
Excerpt:
Those who have no problem with [requiring passports] for air travelers should know that as early as January 2008, they're coming back for the rest of us. According to just the basics, "All persons - including U.S. citizens - traveling between the US and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security."

Americans who cherish freedom would do well to stop stumbling around in the trees and forests of the illegal-immigration debate and see that the Bush administration is well on its way to closing the borders of the entire nation, not only to people trying to get in, but to citizens trying to get out. For the millions who don't travel, it's probably no big deal - they long for the tranquility of servitude and do not recognize shouts coming from the rest of us as a desperate rattling of chains.

Unfortunately, securing the homeland is a two-edged sword that the Bush administration and military establishment profiteers are holding firmly over our heads. It's time Americans realized that we are in danger of being herded into a national detention camp in which there are no pardons, and from which there is no escape.

"If large numbers of people believe in freedom of speech, there will be freedom of speech even if the law forbids it. But if public opinion is sluggish, inconvenient minorities will be persecuted, even if laws exist to protect them."
~ George Orwell - [Eric Arthur Blair] (1903-1950) British author
{Quote found in the ICH e-newsletter.}

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/25/a-rumor-is-a-rumor-is-a-rumor/
A Rumor Is A Rumor Is A Rumor…

{{{So, what do you think of this rumor (and it is only a rumor)...?}}}

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/25/cheney-was-obsessed-with-hardballs-coverage/
Cheney was obsessed with Hardball’s coverage–Updated

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012500171.html
Ex-Aide Says Cheney Led Rebuttal Effort

OT

I am sure most of you remember my story of how Medicare and my parent's primary insurance co. treated them when my mom was critically ill; how she and my father were "treated and streeted" because she had previously been treated for the same condition within 60 days so she couldn't be admitted to the hospital for that same condition (heart failure - lungs filling with fluid). My 89 year old father had to take her to and from the emergency room in her wheel chair while she was hooked up to oxygen, where they waited one time for many, many hours until she was finally seen at 4:00 a.m. that next morning.

My father had been a judge and had what was once considered a premium insurance policy, and took that coverage with him when he retired, and it covered both him and my mother.

You also know my mother passed away September 25th of 2006. What I didn't tell you was that:

My mother died in the emergency room.

William Rivers Pitt | A Cornered Animal
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012607A.shtml
Wariness over a potential American attack on Iran has been on the rise for months. This wariness became outright fear in certain circles as last November's midterms approached. Concerns rose again over the last several weeks after Bush's poorly-received speech justifying the "surge" of US troops into Iraq. A centerpiece of that speech was his blunt threat to the government in Tehran about any meddling with the situation in Baghdad. Astute observers of the Iraq situation found this threat both odd and disturbing.

Thomas D. Williams | Why Did the White House Reverse Course on Domestic Spying?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012607B.shtml
Several leading Democratic congressmen Thursday called on US Department of Justice Inspector General Glen Fine to expand the IG's investigation of the warrantless government surveillance program aimed at alleged domestic and foreign terrorist suspects.

Elizabeth de la Vega | Lying and Spying
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012607H.shtml
Elizabeth de la Vega writes: "Neither Congress nor the public knew anything more at the end of the Senate hearings in 2006 than they had known when the hearings began. The administration slithered off without being held to account for, or required even to superficially reveal, its activities. And Congress itself simply slip-slided away."

We Need To Step On It

Posted by: monkey at January 26, 2007 11:03 AM

Monster Mash

words and music by Bobby Pickett and Lenny Capizzi

I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise

He did the mash
He did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
He did the mash
It caught on in a flash
He did the mash
He did the monster mash

From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes

They did the mash
They did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They did the mash
It caught on in a flash
They did the mash
They did the monster mash

The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf Man
Dracula and his son

The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"

They played the mash
They played the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They played the mash
It caught on in a flash
They played the mash
They played the monster mash

Out from his coffin, Drac's (DICK'S?) voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist
And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"

It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash
The monster mash
And it's a graveyard smash
It's now the mash
It's caught on in a flash
It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash

Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my monster mash is the hit of the land
For you, the living, this mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you

Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash
The monster mash
And do my graveyard smash
Then you can mash
You'll catch on in a flash
Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash

http://www.thebards.net/music/lyrics/Monster_Mash.shtml

I can't watch this from work (blocked) but supposed to be Ted Kennedy going off about Republicans and minimum wage, calling them greedy. People who sent this link & also YouTube one are watching it multiple times.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/26/ted-kennedy-lashes-out-against-the-gops
-opposition-to-increasing-the-minimum-wage/

Hope not redundant.

Ted Kennedy transcript

http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2007/01/kennedy-to-republicans-what-is-it-about.html

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/26/ted-kennedy-lashes-out-against-the-gops-opposition-to-increasing-the-minimum-wage/
{This link should work if it doesn't split again. The second link on Bob Geiger's web site also has this video, and since YouTube is imprinted on it, I'm assuming that web site also has this video.}

Kennedy gets very emotional and passionate about this subject! Oh, what I wouldn't give to see the best parts of this video aired in Lamestream Media, especially when he asks "What is the price?!?" When does the greed stop?!?" - and then he itemizes how corporations have benefited, lists the various billions of dollars, but the neoCons keep blocking this whole thing with delays and amendments. And he proceeds:

"Do you have such disdain for hard-working Americans that you want to pile all your amendments on this? Why don’t you just hold your amendments until other pieces of legislation? Why this volume of amendments on just the issue to try and raise the minimum wage? What is it about it that drives you Republicans crazy? What is it? Something. Something! What is the price that the workers have to pay to get an increase? What is it about working men and women that you find so offensive?"

And....

"We don’t want to hear any more from that side for the rest of this session about permitting or not permitting votes in here when you're denying it on the most simple concept of an increase in the minimum wage," said Kennedy. "We don’t want to hear any more about that."

"This is filibuster by delay and amendments. I've been around here long enough to know it when I see it and smell it, and that's what it looks like, that's what it is, make no mistake about it. Make no mistake about it."

GO TEDDY!!!!! :-)

http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/releases/07/01/20070125hearing.html
Press Release
FEINGOLD TO CHAIR JUDICIARY HEARING ON CONGRESS’S POWER TO END A WAR
Wednesday, January 30, 10 a.m. ET.
http://feingold.senate.gov/%7Efeingold/statements/07/01/20070124.htm
Remarks of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (written transcript - there's audio, but audio is only partial)
At the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Meeting on Iraq
{from Jan. 24 - Feingold wants some teeth put into a definitive timeline....}

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/26/flashback-pre-war-intelligence-report-coverup/
FLASHBACK: Pre-War Intelligence Report Coverup
{Carl Levin's speech on the Senate floor.}

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/Iran_The_Road_to_Confrontation_0123.html
Escalation of US Iran military planning part of six-year Administration push
Excerpt:
While Iran was named a part of President George W. Bush’s “axis of evil” in 2002, efforts to ignite a confrontation with Iran date back long before the post-9/11 war on terror. Presently, the Administration is trumpeting claims that Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than the CIA’s own analysis shows and positing Iranian influence in Iraq’s insurgency, but efforts to destabilize Iran have been conducted covertly for years, often using members of Congress or non-government actors in a way reminiscent of the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal.

The motivations for an Iran strike were laid out as far back as 1992. In classified defense planning guidance – written for then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney by then-Pentagon staffers I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, World Bank Chief Paul Wolfowitz, and ambassador-nominee to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad – Cheney’s aides called for the United States to assume the position of lone superpower and act preemptively to prevent the emergence of even regional competitors. The draft document was leaked to the New York Times and the Washington Post and caused an uproar among Democrats and many in George H. W. Bush’s Administration.

In September 2000, the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) issued a report titled “Rebuilding America's Defenses,” which espoused similar positions to the 1992 draft and became the basis for the Bush-Cheney Administration's foreign policy. Libby and Wolfowitz were among the participants in this new report; Cheney, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other prominent figures in the Bush administration were PNAC members.

“The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security,” the report read. “While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein. . . . We cannot allow North Korea, Iran, Iraq or similar states to undermine American leadership, intimidate American allies or threaten the American homeland itself.”
~~~~~
Almost immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Iran became a focal point of discussion among senior Administration officials. As early as December 2001, then-Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and the leadership of the Defense Department, including Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, allegedly authorized a series of meetings between Defense Department officials and Iranian agents abroad.
~~~~~
While the Iraq war was publicly founded upon questionable sources, much of the buildup to Iran has been entirely covert, using non-government assets and foreign instruments of influence to conduct disinformation campaigns, plant intelligence and commit acts of violence via proxy groups.

{Click on link for more.}

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/01/26/jon-stewart-tries-to-relate-to-cheney/
Jon Stewart Tries to Relate to Cheney

{Just too, too funny!!!}

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070126/pl_nm/usa_congress_republicans_dc

Bush accepts Republican House resolution on Iraq

CAMBRIDGE, Maryland (Reuters) - President George W. Bush met privately with House Republicans on Friday and agreed to an alternative resolution to set "benchmarks" for progress in his plan to send more troops to Iraq, party officials said.
~~~~~
"He deferred to the leadership," Rep. Eric Cantor (news, bio, voting record) of Virginia said after a closed-door, question-and-answer session with Bush, who has denounced other congressional efforts to oppose his plan to send 21,500 more troops into Iraq.

"He said, 'I have faith in the leaders to craft a proposal, because I know in their hearts they want this country to succeed,"' said Cantor, House Republican chief deputy whip.
~~~~~
The House Republican resolution, which may be offered as early as next week, calls for the creation of military, political and social "benchmarks" to monitor the success of an increase in U.S. troops, and hold Bush and Iraqi government accountable.

It also calls for creation of a bipartisan congressional panel to monitor implementation of the benchmarks.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), the new Democratic leader of the House, opposes the proposal.

{{{More on link. WHAT planet is Cantor living on?!? Herr Boosh defers to no one, least of all a Senatorial non-binding resolution that has no consequences, from Congress members for whom he has no respect since they constantly give him everything he wants without any limitations as they appease his megalomania.... Duh. The egomaniacal little dictator is still going to do exactly as he damn well pleases, and that will result in lots more dead people because of lies for oil.... And exactly what in the heck are "benchmarks" in this context...? (WHY do the neoCons have to twist and contort every familiar word in our language to mean something other than dictionary definitions?!?) It still means nothing for the simple reason Herr Boosh doesn't feel he needs to explain his actions to anyone or give an accounting of his actions, 'cuz he's the presidunce and he can do whatever he wants (he believes). I remember him saying almost those exact words in an interview a couple of years ago.}}}

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070126/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/military_giveaways
AP: Military gives police free equipment

....if Hagel were selected as the 'Publican candidate, his ability to speak well could garner a groundswell of support in the absence of any current Dem prez candidate speaking out as clearly and concisely as Hagel....

Posted by: NonnyO at January 26, 2007 02:36 PM

Sadly, NonnyO I believe you may be right. The whole world had such hope in the Dems control of both houses. It's a ridiculous system that allows ONE maniac to make decisions for the masses without one individual being able to stop him.

Not only does ONE maniac make the most important decisions for all of you, but he spends ALL of your money in doing so. And those voted into their positions to stop him are powerless?

I'd say cut funding! Sorry, but there will be fewer deaths than there will be if he gets troops AND funding. Apparently you can't stop him funding his own ideas. I want to know what the hell you have done! You've set up a system in which there is no accountability and no need to ask permission of anyone to do the most unforgiveable things.

Why are the billions of dollars being spent on having representatives in government if they can't make a difference?

What a nonsense democracy is in America. Those poor people out in the cold on the streets demonstrating to let you know how they feel are simply trodden into the mud like vermin.

Everyone, on both sides of your government, is saying the identical thing "To lose would be disastrous!" There are different kinds of victory. Admitting the thousand terrible errors of judgement that plummeted a nation into ruin; apologising for the death and environmental toll; offering financial assistance to make up for a tiny part of the destruction you've done; and then leaving to let the local population put their own home back together.

I'm an Iraqi citizen. I live in my home with 8 other people. The military comes in and blasts gunfire all around. They kill my grandfather and my 3 children. They leave. They must think I am dead. Do you really think that I want those soldiers to send their friends and their money to rebuild my home? I want nothing of those people. Nothing. Except for their absence. (fiction but could be fact)

America caused their pain. America cannot fix it by staying or paying. If Iraq was to be America's stronghold in the Middle East you've already failed. Abysmally.

Actually I'm more concerned by the Christian bible predicting the end in 2012. I think your very own maniac of Christian extremism sees himself in the role of the end-maker - he's certainly escalating the need for nuclear weaponry and star wars capabilities.

Posted by: madame defarge at January 26, 2007 10:36 AM

:-D

I think your very own maniac of Christian extremism sees himself in the role of the end-maker -

Posted by: woz at January 26, 2007 06:52 PM

Actually, Woz, I don't think he EVER said that he thinks or feels that God has put him in power. In fact, I saw an interview where he was asked if he thought God put him in power in the U.S. and he said NO.

I don't know how much of a Christian extremist he is, really. I don't think he's actually got a grip on who he is or what his real values are. It's kind of like his growth process got thwarted somewhere along the line, you know?

As for the Christian bible predicting the end in 2012, I know for a fact that it doesn't predict the end at any given specific time. I have read and studied it, and I can assure you that it doesn't say 2012. It does say that no man knows the day nor the hour.

Does it look like it could be near? You be the judge - we are each responsible for our own selves in that regard.

I do appreciate your thoughts and comments, and am glad you join us here. I am Christian, there are a few of us at this site, but some agnostics, athiests, Budhists, and other religions. This is not about religion, although discussing humanity related issues does bring in religion from time to time. We are a teeny tiny melting pot of our own here, who get along famously focussing on all good honest true and moral things that make mankind worth fighting for. Welcome and thanks for all your thoughts and input.

And, also, WOZ, I get (and I am owning this now) so frustrated and discouraged when people in other countries like yourself get on our case and ask us "what have you done to yourselves?" Actually, we have tried to follow our constitution. I don't own what has been done to us by big money corporations and machines. Facism has been around a long time, and as my son said the other night, it is such an interesting and contradictory concept that democracy and capitalism can exist together at all in government. It's a real stretch of the imagination to think that it can be done easily, or, maybe even accomplished at all.

We the people haven't done this to ourselves. It has been done to us by slick manipulators and very rich powerful people.

We have a responsiblity to try to turn the direction of the boat. And so try we will, as hard as we can. So far, in America, times like this have been handled to the betterment of the American citizens in the long run, but nothing happens overnight. Much blood may be shed before we see some real change again.

Thank you for your concern for our country.

How is yours doing?

I'm sorry Truth, I knew when I posted that I'd overstepped my bounds. I love America and hate what the power of a single nation can do to the world.

My country's not too well right now. We have a PM who has refused to agree that the world is in deep trouble, but thankfully he is out within months - certainly this year - and a change of government is imminent. But actually we have already sacked a whole government here. I think it will be a while before it happens again though.

Again, my apologies for personal offence. It is a religious offence this battle we are waging against a religious extreme. Never the two will agree. Give them their space and lets return to our space. There's room for all of us.

No problem, Woz. And thanks.

I think at times we the people feel powerless, and people from other countries tend to blame the citizens of our country.

We were lied to alot in the media, as I am sure you are aware. Good men were smeared and cut off at the knees. Crooked people do unthinkable things.

The site here keeps us hopeful, and Karen's the ringmaster as she does fourteen things at once on any given day.

We have to fight and to keep our goal real. The alternative is unspeakable. It is by taking action that we feel empowered.

And, I wasn't taking you to task as much as I was trying to let you know that we didn't do this, it was done to us. We are trying to correct it now before America is completely destroyed.

Sincerely,

Woz
I don't take offence. The military-industrial complex is in control, as far as I know, and not just of America. American CEOs and Generals and Politicians have friends all over the world in the form of foreign CEOs and Generals and Polititians, plus Sheiks, Dictators and Princes. That's excluding the ones who hate them. As for regular people, we are becoming one of the most feudal among developed countries, but with globalization, others will follow.

I just spoke with some very bright kids who are 13 and 15. They told me that a "nonbinding resolution" is an "oxymoron"!! Smarter than most adults!!

Posted by: not my president at January 26, 2007 09:57 PM

All that too, and more.