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The Embodiment of Hope and Action
A series of remarkable events:
Saturday morning: Oprah Winfrey spoke at the Howard University graduation; she was inspiring, compelling, and full of integrity. But the graduation itself was a total unadulterated joy. I sat in front of the divinity students and that was a heart-and-soul-filled experience, as they wept and gave witness, and hugged each other, grateful for the journeys they had taken together. It was a commencement and we all felt it.
As I have said before, there is Washington and there is DC. This morning was all DC. We all sang "Lift Every Voice" (Oprah sang too) and she spoke directly to the students graduating, telling them "As we climb, we must also lift."
Oprah wept when she received the accolades of the Howard community and turned to face the crowd, so proud of her, so much in awe of her, and so ready to hear from her. This was family, and I was touched to be present.
Today's Washington Post carries my impressions of her nonverbal style but I will give you a preview: I was transported.
And then it was off to the Code Pink House, where there are more women, from more places, and more anticipation than I would have predicted.
Desiree cooks for the peace troops
A sampling of comments:
Midge: "OK, I'm inspired by all the women who have come from across the country and I feel we have won the battle already. We're a snowball, rolling downhill and there's no stopping the energy of the mothers!"
Barb Cummings from San Diego: "It's been a rough week but on the other hand, there are some new people coming out. We met with the MoveOn folks in California and told them they have to start with impeachment. We gave them the message that WE are moving on and in the direction of being more relevant. They got the message."
Lori, who spent Thursday night in the DC jail for looking like she was about to unfurl a banner after a hearing had ended: "Though it's been a tough week personally, I look at all of these people here and all of the new people I've met and it reminds that the grassroots are growing and that makes me hopeful. I'm not the only Hoosier here anymore, for one thing! And the young girls here are so right on with their messages--why they want to end this wear. I'm inspired by Diane Wilson and Faith Flippinger. There is so much power in solidarity."
Diane Wilson: "I know I never get too far ahead of myself. Because I'm a fisherwoman and I've been on the water all my life, I have a faith in things unseen. The energy of the universe is an ally, and then when I do something I have a total faith that all I have to do is have a commitment and a faith and it will work. Things are going to happen. People can just create action. And that's why I'm hopeful. If I had only rational mind I'd have given up a long time ago."
Today, it's off to the White House for speakers (Gloria Steinem is one) and an intertwining of pink roses into the White House fence. Lest you think, or it seems, that Code Pink is about empty actions, let me assure you that, of all the groups I work with (and each one has its strengths), these women are fierce and embodied and intend to STOP this war.
Tomorrow, Monday, Cindy Sheehan is leading something at the Capitol. Since the police seem to have advanced notice of even the most spontaneous of actions, no more can be said here. But hope reigns, and determination feeds.
Happy Mother's Day to all the fierce moms who are fighting for the future of our children, and, to all who support them, gratitude.
Inspiration from deep breaths, and action from powerful expressivity and congruity between them: nothing will stop us. As Howard Zinn reminds us:
An optimist isn't necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places--and there are so many--where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory. Howard Zinn
Karen,
Nice article about Oprah.
She is very expressive in her movements. I've noticed that. Of course my analysis is so unprofessional but honest in it being just a sense of how I feel when I watch her.
Here it is:
Fat or thin, she doesn't seem afraid to utilize everything, like her eyes, hands, chest, (diaphram), shoulders, ...just like her whole body is involved.
She stands ...I don't want to say big or larger than life, but it's like she fills the room with her "glory"
I think that's why there is no other talk show host/hostess who compares to her. Just my .02
Overall, it was a very good article. I think she could win President. I wish she'd run.
People feel they can trust her.
Moving to comment about Code Pink right now.
Thanks for sharing the comments and picturers of those fierce, loving, peace-warriers at Code Pink. I wish I could be there to join them.
I'm never a great eloquent writer, but I am going to look for Madame Defarge's comment about Cindy Sheehan and the women at Camp Casey in Texas a sweltering hot August a few summers back.
I think Madame's comment is so appropriate about peace loving mothers and women this Mother's Day.
Here's the thread:
http://www.democracycellproject.net/blog/archives/2005/08/war_poetry.html
It's great to go back and read Indy and Madame's first hand comments.
But here's the specific ones I was remembering:
Comments heard around Camp Casey 2 today...
"How many people do we have to kill before they [the world] stop hating us?"
"What difference will it make if we get out of Iraq today, or in one month, in 1 year, in 5 years..."
"She's [Cindy] is every soldier's mother." - an Iraqi Veteran for Peace
"Religious right...eat your hearts out!" - Joan Baez (who is absolutely an amazingly beautiful soul, singer, peace activist, human, woman...)
From Cindy:
"I know that the Camp Casey movement is going to end the war in Iraq."
In regards to the smear campaign from Faux et al: "Smear away, because we're not going away!"
"How many more are you willing to sacrifice before you say enough is enough? NOT ONE MORE!"
"For every one of you, there are 1000 more saying 'Not one more!'"
"Thank you for drinking the smart kool-aid."
"Why are we allowing them to continue [with the war]... This is America and we've had enough!"
"When is America going to care? Thank you for caring!"
Posted by: madame defarge in wacko, texas at August 27, 2005 11:54 PM
And...
Randi Rhodes was at the Peace House all day, and then went out to Camp Casey 2 (just as the storm blew in). She's supposed to be back there tomorrow.
Brad from Bradblog has been broadcasting all day from the Peace House along with Laura Flanders. We sat in on the last 45 minutes of the show tonight.
BTW, I cannot say enough about the well this community of caring humans worked together today to achieve whatever needed doing...
From the moment you arrived, you were greeted with a smile and a friendly welcome. Everyone chipped in to do whatever needed doing --
handing out water/wet bandanas to those in the sun, unloading ice from trucks (a coveted job in this heat!), holding banners alongside the road, cooking/serving food, picking up trash, batoning down the hatches as the storm rolled in... I could go on and on. All these jobs were graciously done by people who just wanted to do their part. And not once did I hear a voice raised in anger. This is what a peaceful society looks like.
Posted by: madame defarge in wacko, texas at August 28, 2005 12:22 AM
http://www.democracycellproject.net/blog/archives/2005/08/vote_with_convi.html
Going down memory lane a little bit...Casey also posted this to do list for moms as we struggle to deal with our government and the effect on our kids. (It was right after Katrina but is still relevent in my opinion.)
http://www.democracycellproject.net/blog/archives/2005/09/a_mothers_medit.html
A Mother's Meditation
One of the biggest changes I have noticed since becoming a mother is that I no longer have the luxury of being furious when I want to. It scares and confuses my child. It is impossible to explain why or put into context the level of rage about our government's third world response I feel when I look at another woman trying to get her child food and water in Louisiana, United States. Four-year olds don't get it.
In better moments, I tell myself that maybe now people in the United States will be able to understand the problems in Africa and other poor nations of the world. In darker moments, I go in the shower and cry and quietly rage about a government of people I despise, ruining a country that I love. I rage about a government I hate killing the people it deems as disposable--troops, Iraqis, poor people in the Gulf Coast, the list is growing. I love my country, but it is getting less recognizable to me as time goes along.
I know I am not alone here. I know there are other parents with children of varying ages to which different levels of explanation and understanding are appropriate. So what can a parent do when you are filled with rage but must seethe silently in the presence of young ones? You know that if you don't do something, they will pick up on it anyway, so you better do something and quick.
So I have begun making a list and I am going to e-mail it around to my parents' group and ask people to add to it and send it back around.
Here's my list:
1. Leave the house and go for a walk. Pick my head up and look around and be thankful.
2. Pray. For patience, strength, understanding, forgiveness and most of all, I pray for the endurance necessary to fight this incompetent and corrupt government until their collective asses are on a moving truck out of town. The last part may not be found in the Common Book of Prayer, but we each pray in our own way.
3. Do something constructive to help the relief effort and get my child involved. Last night we packed up towels and sheets to send to Houston. Today, we are packing up baby clothes and shoes. Tomorrow it will be something else.
4. Scour the paper for community events to participate in for hurricane relief such as concerts, etc.
5. Organize my own event. Set up in front of the library or grocery store to collect donations. Talk to the manager and ask for permission and any help they can provide. Luckily, our stores are really nice here and ready to help. It's still hot here, so we are selling lemonade and my young one loves mixing and pouring the lemonade. Also, his other buddies will be coming by to help throughout the day.
6. Cry and rage silently in the shower. It helps me and it doesn't hurt anyone.
7. Call every damn government official I can think of and ask what they are doing to control gas prices and gouging. This is yet another form of poverty tax.
8. Call your members of Congress and tell them they had better get on board with either repealing or delaying the implementation date of the bankruptcy laws. Call the White House and tell the President to come out in favor of postponing implementation of the law.
9. Don't take no for an answer. Every single solitary politician across America should be doing something and it's perfectly appropriate to call them and ask them exactly WHAT they are doing.
10. Enjoy the all too brief and infrequent engagement of our members of the media who are clearly pissed off and actually doing their job of holding government accountable for the job they are supposed to be doing but quite clearly are not. It was an encouraging to see Anderson Cooper lose it with Mary Landrieu as she was thanking the very people who are complicit in destroying her state with their ineptitude and incompetence. Or Joe Scarborough lambasting the federal government for any number of things, all of which they are guilty of. Or Paula Zahn's complete disbelief as the head of FEMA, Michael Brown, says that people at the Convention Center hadn't gotten food and water because the federal governement didn't know they were there. Maybe it's not entirely Mr. Brown's fault. After all, how much do the disaster preparedness skills learned as an estate planning attorney, who was fired from his job as lawyer for the International Arabian Horse Association Legal Department, help you at times like these? Note to President Bush--let's try hiring some competent people instead of campaign cronies next time, huh?
So, this is my list for trying to get my rage under control while dealing with a small child. It's been working pretty well until this morning.
HEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO out there!!!!
Happy Mother's Day! I Liked the Zinn on "Optimists" - helpful.
Posted by: sparrow at May 13, 2007 08:27 AM
Posted by: sparrow at May 13, 2007 09:17 AM
Yep, Lamestream Media bobbleheads wouldn't show Hillary any respect with her proper title if she were elected prez (altho I don't think she has a chance unless she changes her tactics about the current illegal war and the torture and prison camps). Actually, when the next prez takes office (assuming the worst doesn't happen), I don't expect the fawning subservient body language from snooze anchors as they announce the name of the "leader" of this country. That seems only to happen when bobbleheads and snooze anchors talk about the current pretzelnitwit and for neoCon's favorite senile snoozer pretzelnitwit who lost his mind while in office. (Was I the only one who could compare his blank looks and diversionary talking points when he had no idea what anyone was asking about with my grandfather's same kind of reactions, since he was going senile at the same time?) I never did like Reagan who was a third-rate actor, in and out of office, and I loathe the current pair of crackpot crooks all the more so because our Congress Critters do nothing about exposing their lies or getting the war criminals impeached. There's something very wrong with this country when "men" who are so obviously war criminals are left in office to "lead" this country.
Hope everyone has a great day - mothers and those who do the same kind of caretaking as the women who are also mothers....
Karen and Sparrow. Thanks for all of this. I can't think of better ways for mothers to spend Mother's Day. After all, there are many, many mother's in the world today who will never see their children again. And tomorrow mothers will lose their children in the wars of the world.
All day I've been thinking of Iraqi mothers as well as mothers of American military casualties and others who have lost their children. The fathers too. We put everything we can into raising our children. What a wicked thing for powerful men to do to them - to send them away to be killed or worse.
Mothers in large groups - a mighty powerful force. There is nothing so strong as a mother's passion for the safety of her children, no matter how old they are.
So - Happy Mother's Day everyone - the day is almost over here in Australia - 20 minutes left. Karen, I am always amazed at the clarity and speed with which you record the spoken words of the people who attend your functions. Through you I feel that I'd recognise them in the street. Well, the pink outfits might give them away a bit. Hello to the Code Pink women and thanks for working so hard for peace.
woz,
Happy what's-left-of-mother's-day!
And when the Code Pink women come down under, you WILL recognize them--and they will know you too!
Woz,
You're welcome. ALthough I did nothing but post Madame's words from long ago.
Happy Belated Mother's Day.
It's only 9 AM in Seattle so alot of mothers aren't even up. I had a nice fruit plate of strawberries, orange and melon. I could subsist on nothing but fruit!
Thank you sparrow, for bringing my memories & words back to life. I'm truly honored. I couldn't even begin to highlight the many powerful words of inspiration you have contributed to the betterment of all of us.
Happy, happy Mother's Day of Peace to all.
And a special shout-out & thank you to my beautiful daughter, without whom I would not be who I am today.
A shout out to madame's daughter too! And to my son, and step-daughters, and everyone's kids, because, in the end, they are why WE are here too.
On a side note, the WaPo article has a huge typo in the online version. I called it in at 1:15. Let's see how long it takes them to fix it...
(It's in the headline: Oprah spoke at HOWARD, not Harvard!)
OK, it's 1:40 and the WaPo site (which is linking to this thread header, btw, so be nice everyone), has yet to correct.
We are off to the White House, and I am wearing pink...
At the White House--what a beautiful day! A sea of pink and lots and lots of families making signs and crowns and drums. Free pink lemonade and chocolate chip cookies. A choir of feisty women singing "Time to end the war right now."
ANd the middle of all this energy, y 18-year old son drifts off to sleep, dreaming, no doubt of proms, and new pathways, and peace.
from the Freeway Blogger:
Hello everyone,
As you all know, April 28 was a historic day of impeachment events
[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=svti94bab.0.q7p6u6bab.owp697bab.4313&ts=S0254&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.a28.org%2F]
around the country. Freewaybloggers rose to the occasion and you can now see an awesome
gallery of signs
[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=svti94bab.0.84mol4bab.owp697bab.4313&ts=S0254&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freewayblogger.com%2FfreewaybloggerA28.htm]
that went up on US freeways & highways from April
18th - 28th at:
http://www.freewayblogger.com/freewaybloggerA28.htm
[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=svti94bab.0.84mol4bab.owp697bab.4313&ts=S0254&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freewayblogger.com%2FfreewaybloggerA28.htm]
Remember, when you put a sign up in public, people are going to read it until somebody takes it down, (and if you do it by a freeway, that can be a LOT of people.) For those of you who've been meaning to this and putting it off, please read this letter from Atlanta from somebody who finally took the plunge
[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=svti94bab.0.eckj94bab.owp697bab.4313&ts=S0254&p=http%3A%2F%2Ffreewayblogger.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Fletter-from-atlanta.html]:
http://freewayblogger.blogspot.com/2007/05/letter-from-atlanta.html
[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=svti94bab.0.eckj94bab.owp697bab.4313&ts=S0254&p=http%3A%2F%2Ffreewayblogger.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Fletter-from-atlanta.html]
Finally, you can check out this cool interview that Buzzflash did with me, Freeway
Blogger: Keeping the 1st Amendment Alive
[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=svti94bab.0.hckj94bab.owp697bab.4313&ts=S0254&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzflash.com%2Farticles%2Finterview%2F061]
at http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/interview/061
Cardboard, paint and something to say... that's all it takes.
Yours, Scarlet P.
Posted by: madame defarge at May 13, 2007 12:36 PM
Awwwwww shucks, *shuffle, shuffle*
Actually, I thought you said something about a mom thinking of hand sanitizer too, but I couldn't locate that comment.
Either way, while you and Indy were in Wacko Texas our hearts were with you. (Or at least mine was!) And your words that day reminded me of the beautiful power of moms fighting for those they love.
It seemed fitting on this Mother's day to unhide your words and remind people of peace and a loving nurturing mom.
Howard? Harvard? WaPo did that! That's hilarious! Doesn't anyone proofreed anymore? No, it's done by computers. Maybe they had some voice recognition device to mishear it over the phone too. Soon humans won't be needed at all and drones can fight wars and mess up robots.
I've been scarce for the last couple or three days, have a lot of comments to catch up on here, but wanted to pop in long enough to say boy howdy and happy mama's day y'all.
Oh, yeah, and BTW this is why I was out of town: http://tinyurl.com/3akyj7
It were funs an eddikayshunal all the same time an everthang. Yee, haw.
give yer moms a hug for me,
Otter
Spending Mother's Day working on plumbing but at least we should have a workable bathroom sink. It's a 2 or 3 person job & gross.
Looks like Condi is going to meet with the Russians and there could be US/Iran talks of some kind. Let's hope some of this works but it will probably always be too little, too late. What else can we hope for at this point?
Good to hear about the assemblage of Pink at the WH and all the freeway blogging.
I am the Airman.
I am the Commander guy.
I am The Decider.
I am The Conductor.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070513/ap_on_go_pr_wh/conductor_bush;_ylt=AvhrFtA5KvG6DU0oco73A9fMWM0F
Near U.S. Media Blackout of Afghan Parliament
by LithiumCola [Subscribe]
Sun May 13, 2007 at 05:57:13 AM PDT
This diary would have been titled "Total U.S. Media Blackout of Afghan Parliament", except that I can find one paragraph in the New York Times, half-way through a three-page story; and I can find one sentence in a story from "All Headline News" out of Las Vegas.
Nothing in the Washington Post. Nothing in the LA Times. Nothing on CNN.
The Afghan parliament, over the past few days, has been passing bills to kick out US-NATO forces, offer amnesty to insurgents, and to reconcile their warring parties. They are trying to end the war.
[Update 5/13/07 9:58 am EST by LithiumCola]: brainwave found another US media outlet, Reuters, with a story on this. (brainwave has since reminded me that Reuters is primarily a British outlet.)
LithiumCola's diary :: ::
Compared to this, it's been easy finding information in the U.S. media about the Iraqi parliament's efforts to set a timeline for ending the U.S. occupation. But the Afghan parliament is trying, too, with some hints of support from President Karzai.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/13/82935/2759
(It's in the headline: Oprah spoke at HOWARD, not Harvard!)
Posted by: karen at May 13, 2007 01:24 PM
Drat! For a moment I thought she'd spoken AT our PM! I was pleased. I thought she would certainly set the little yapper straight.
Posted by: madame defarge at May 13, 2007 12:36 PM
I missed all the details of your camp-out at Camp Casey. :(
But for you to be there with Cindy Sheehan was a wonderful thing!
Well - I guess I'll catch up with the details on Memorial Day weekend. Check your inbox in a few minutes for the update on my Chicago visit.
Posted by: not my president at May 13, 2007 08:40 PM
The US media's information control is absolutely insulting to the American people's right to know.
Good thing there is the Internet to allow us to tap into the foreign media. Let's enjoy this freedom, before the W regime starts controlling Internet access, like his Chinese buddies.
Governors Say War Has Gutted Guard
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051307Y.shtml
As wildfires, floods and tornadoes batter the nation, the readiness of the National Guard to deal with those disasters, as well as potential terrorist assaults, is so depleted by deployments to foreign wars and equipment shortfalls that Congress is considering moves to curtail the president's powers over the Guard and require the Defense Department to analyze how prepared the country is for domestic emergencies.
Excerpt:
It seems everyone fears the same thing: the kind of massive disaster that might cross state boundaries and demand a full-scale emergency response that would dwarf what was required this month in Kansas.
"This isn't just a week when a little town in Kansas was torn apart," said Thompson, the military analyst. "It is also a week when there were wildfires across Georgia and Florida, a week when the Missouri River flooded. We have natural disasters every week in this country, and that's why the National Guard needs to be ready to respond every week. It's not."
{{{There is a forest fire in the "Arrowhead" region of Minnesota (north-northeast of Duluth, by the Canadian border, and part of the fire is in Canada now) in a heavily forested area. Quite a few buildings have burned, but so far no loss of human life. In many respects, there is nothing to do because it's a very, very remote region of the state, access is not easy. It's an area noted for people who go camping and fishing. In ancient times on up to a couple of hundred years ago, the prairie and forest fires were ecologically "good" because it removed what was not essential for good new growth every year, but now that even remote areas have people living in them, fires are seen as very bad (MN has both forested areas and prairie areas). We're in the third or fourth year of a drought because of the lack of winter snows and the fire danger in most of the state is very, very high. There is one town in the southwest of the state that did flood a month or two ago, but that was a freakish incident. They got blizzards for two weeks in a row in mid-late March, followed by high temps each time in between that melted the snow very fast. The ground underneath was still frozen so when the snow melted there was nowhere for it to go except to the river, which promptly overflowed and flooded one town entirely. The ground itself, of course, is still dry now because none of the melting snow soaked into the ground. In any case, thanks to the unwise voting of the 109th Congress that gave authority of the guard troops to DimWit, the state governors will face problems as each new disaster from tornados and hurricanes and fires will strain the guard resources to the breaking point. I shudder to think what would happen if there were a major earthquake in CA. I hope the 110th Congress will vote to restore authority over each state's guard troops back to the governors.}}}
The late Kurt Vonnegut wrote to Buzzell praising the book and US blogging queen Arianna Huffington, a Blooker judge, called it "an unfiltered, often ferocious expression of his boots-on-the-ground view of the Iraq war".
[.... Wow! Praise from Vonnegut. I need to read this book ....]
In the eight weeks before the US army stopped him from blogging, book agents started emailing him. His book has since been published by Penguin and translated in seven languages.
[.... What an excellent thing for the US army to do. They gave voice to someone they intended to silence. Poetic justice here. ....]
http://www.theage.com.au/news/web/soldier-blogger-wins-prize/2007/05/14/1178995040941.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/bill-maher-frank-luntz-_b_48378.html
Bill Maher, Frank Luntz, and the Limitations of Reframing Reality
Excerpt:
After years of successful spinning, Frank Luntz and the Republican Party are suddenly coming face to face with the limits of reframing: Our safety and security have been severely undermined by the war in Iraq (Tony Snow's "stuff" not withstanding); and it's getting harder and harder to reframe Democrats as ineffectual eunuchs when a ballsy woman is leading the charge in Congress.
Angry? You bet. Bush and company have turned America into a collection of Howard Beales: we're mad as hell and we're not going to allow reality to be reframed anymore.
I cannot believe this actually happened. For teachers to do this tells me that they didn't receive proper training to be teachers.
US teachers stage fake gun attack
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
May 14, 2007 - 11:16AM
Staff members of a Tennessee primary school staged a fictitious gun attack on students during a class trip, telling them it was not a drill as the children cried and hid under tables.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/us-teachers-stage-fake-gun-attack/2007/05/14/1178995041309.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6651295.stm
US seeks G8 climate text changes
The US is trying to block sections of a draft agreement on climate change prepared for next month's G8 summit, according to documents seen by the BBC.
Washington objects to the draft's targets to keep the global temperature rise below 2C this century and halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The draft, prepared by the German G8 presidency, said action was imperative.
With UN talks struggling to extend the current Kyoto targets, the G8 summit is seen as a vital way to regain momentum.
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has made climate a priority for the organisation, with backing from other leaders including Tony Blair.
But the US's proposed revisions, obtained by BBC News, mark a fundamentally different stance.
A clause saying "climate change is speeding up and will seriously damage our common natural environment and severely weaken (the) global economy... resolute action is urgently needed in order to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions" is struck out.
So are a statement that "we are deeply concerned about the latest findings confirmed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)", and a commitment to send a "clear message" on international efforts to combat global warming at the next round of UN climate talks in December.
US negotiators also want to remove from the draft firm targets for improving energy efficiency in buildings and transport, and a call for the establishment of a global carbon market.
{{{More on link. This begs the rhetorical question: Just exactly how stupid can "leaders" of this country get?!?}}}
NonnyO
And ours! Counting down the months for change now!
Not that we're really worried about McBush winning the republic party nomination (although it would be easy to beat him), here's an interesting diary that shows how complicit he was in covering up the Abramoff scandal.
The McCain/Bush Corruption Cover-Up
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/14/13220/6198
Posted by: madame defarge at May 14, 2007 09:50 AM
McCain & Enable
After Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' claimed that the response to the Greensburg tornado was hampered because so many National Guardsmen and their equipment are in Iraq, Tony Snow took umbrage, saying: "There's a lot of stuff available."
Stuff? Was he suggesting his brother-in-law had a tractor he was willing to loan the governor? Or maybe Snow got two power saws last Christmas, so Kansas could have one that had never been used and was still in the box.
(interesting article on "framing" at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/bill-maher-frank-luntz-_b_48378.html)
JAMESTOWN, Virginia (AP) -- Fond of promoting the endurance of freedom, President Bush on Sunday hailed the nation's humble beginnings as a reminder that new democracies require huge sacrifice.
"From our own history, we know the path to democracy is long and it's hard," Bush said in a ceremony honoring the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, America's first permanent English colony.
"There are many challenges, and there are setbacks along the way," Bush said. "Yet we can have confidence in the outcome because we've seen freedom's power to transform societies." (Watch Bush vow that democracy will spread )
On his first visit to Jamestown as president, Bush soaked in the scene like a tourist -- first watching a dig for artifacts, then climbing aboard a replica of a majestic ship.
He even grabbed a baton and playfully led the 400-piece orchestra before heading back home.
In his speech, Bush said the United States must stand with those struggling to gain their freedom. He spoke from the place where the country's roots began centuries ago in a swampland.
"Today, Democratic institutions are taking root in places in places where liberty was unimaginable not long ago," the president said.
He specifically cited Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The advance of freedom is the great story of our time, and new chapters are being written every day," he added.
Virginia has thrown major Jamestown celebrations every 50 years, but this one has given more recognition to three cultures -- English, African and Indian -- to tell a fuller story. Indians lost their land during the settlement, and Africans were eventually forced into slavery.
"Their story is a part of the story of Jamestown," Bush said. "It reminds us that the work of American democracy is to constantly renew and to extend the blessings of liberty."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/13/jamestown.ap/index.html
Posted by: madame defarge at May 14, 2007 09:50 AM
Mr. Straight Talk?
Any morning birds around to flock in the irc?
(I've got a little time and a connection if you can join me.)
"Their story is a part of the story of Jamestown," Bush said. "It reminds us that the work of American democracy is to constantly renew and to extend the blessings of liberty."
Posted by: monkey at May 14, 2007 10:07 AM
Oh....Is that what Abu Ghraib and Gitmo, NSA illegal wiretaps, and election thefts were about?
Blessings?
RichardBelldc is liveblogging Mike Gravel's press conference on Kos.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/14/9309/91047
I highly recommend you listen to Sen. Boxer as she stops Graham from lying.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/05/13/graham-says-reid-called-troops-losers-boxer-smacks-him-down/
So how's that surge workin' out anyway?
Iraqi insurgents warn: Stop search for U.S. troops
POSTED: 10:59 a.m. EDT, May 14, 2007
Story Highlights
• Group says soldiers' safety will be jeopardized if search continues
• 4,000 soldiers look for missing troops after 5 killed in attack on U.S. patrol
• Insurgent attacks in Baghdad kill nine, wound 21
• Two vehicle bombs in Iraq -- one in a small market, the other outside a mayoral office -- killed at least 65 people Sunday, government sources said.
• The Iraqi parliament will likely cut short its planned two-month summer break, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said Sunday. U.S. politicians had criticized the break, contending that the parliament could not afford to take an extended break given the violence and unrest in the country, among other issues. Salih said the recess will probably be shortened to a month or two weeks.
• Baghdad police found 22 unidentified bodies dumped across the Iraqi capital Sunday, an Interior Ministry official said. The bodies bring the number of corpses found across Baghdad this month to 275, according to the official.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/14/iraq.main/index.html
Posted by: sparrow at May 14, 2007 10:22 AM
Wow! Liveblogging! Way past my bedtime but reading Richard's blogging is incredible. Thanks sparrow. I'm sure it will go on for a while but I'll catch up with the rest tomorrow. Sounds like a real uprising of the people is coming soon. It will be an uprising like we've never seen before.
Kayakbiker reports on a Youth Encampment against the war in the Twin Cities - some great photos.
http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com
Woz
Not sure if you're up but I saw a film yesterday about the Spiniflex people and how they make their art, what it means - amazing. Just went and read about how the different indiginous groups in Australia and it's very interesting - some parallels with the situation in US, especially decimation and poverty.
Military Bans YouTube, MySpace and other sites
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/004378.html
Consider the age of many of the military and the mental health problems many are coming back with. Surely keeping in touch with one's culture and being able to network would help.
We hear they are fighting for democracy in the middle east (which is debatable anyway) and they are not given freedom of speech or right to find out what is going on themselves!
Some would argue it's a job and the employer has the right to limit expression and reception of information, or that it is using too much bandwidth or limiting productivity.
That doesn't explain restrictions during leisure time. Even the military can't work 24/7. & Limbaugh is allowed on military bases, whereas access to Michael Moore or Jon Stewart is denied.
Other arguments - maybe they might come across things that undermine their morale. I would argue that removal of their access to information and social networking would undermine their morale to a greater degree.
Maybe security is somehow compromised. An astute internet sleuth can already find all sorts of military information and there are plenty of brochures and books available in regular bookstores that have sensitive information, in the right hands.
Maybe censorship is the aim, as I also was told today that civilian deaths and suicide bombings will now be off-limits to the Iraqi press. The "surge" has to appear to be working by the end of the summer, and explosions in marketplaces resulting in bloody babies lying around in parts won't look good.
Got this earlier today:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/14/pentagon-blocks-myspace-and-youtube/
Journalists in Iraq are no longer permitted to report suicide bombings and the government in Iraq stopped reporting casualties from these bombings.I guess that means they don't exist.
Maybe censorship is the aim, as I also was told today that civilian deaths and suicide bombings will now be off-limits to the Iraqi press. The "surge" has to appear to be working by the end of the summer, and explosions in marketplaces resulting in bloody babies lying around in parts won't look good.
Posted by: non ma presidente at May 14, 2007 03:14 PM
It's censorship, plain and simple.
The goal is to turn the US military into a compliant bunch of lemmings/Crusaders. And any news source other than Fox News goes against that.
Saw a yellow magnetic ribbon that said
SUPPORT THE MAGNETIC RIBBON INDUSTRY
A bit of trivia. So the bulging muscles of Rocky (not Bullwinkle's co-star) are fake and aging, of course. He's in trouble in Australia.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/people/stallone-pleads-guilty/2007/05/15/1178995116966.html
Stallone pleads 'guilty'
Leonie Lamont
May 15, 2007 - 10:30AM
Sylvester Stallone has pleaded guilty to importing human growth hormone into Australia.
Posted by: non ma presidente at May 14, 2007 03:14 PM
It's censorship, plain and simple.
Posted by: Ally McRepuke at May 14, 2007 05:00 PM
In-state 10 pm snooze aired a segment on this story. Video shown (from a local woman) was of kids sending love messages to a soldier in Iraq, other family news. Perfectly harmless, and I can see where it would be a morale booster to have video conferencing and video clips of loved ones on either end.
Mentioned in that and in a couple of stories I've read online is bandwith costs and the like. That's bu!!$h!te that stinks of more lies than I care to review. Bandwith/Smadnwith. If the government can give all that money to Halliburton and DynCorp and KBR and Blackwater (and their ilk), then they can certainly afford to finance the costs involved with keeping in touch with family and friends back home. If they want to "support the troops" and keep morale high, then the Bushistas are shooting themselves in the feet to censor communication with family and friends. Isn't "freedom of speech" one of the things they are allegedly 'fighting for?' [Yes, I know; they're really in Iraq for the oil, but the propaganda is that they are 'protecting our freedoms' and all that rot, which includes freedom of speech.]
This may be a story to keep tabs on. If nothing else turns the remaining 29% who still approve of Bush's war against it, censorship of family communication might do it....
There is no firewall against Limbaugh - at least not in Germany.
Posted by: woz at May 14, 2007 03:30 AM
NMP, Ally, NonnyO
This censorship stunned me too when I read about this soldier's book. I thought that to be able to write out the day's events would have been very therapeutic and should be encouraged. Not one person serving in the line of fire day in, day out with no possibility for a moment's trust in safety, will be immune to PTSD.
And they know their tours are likely to be extended. Tour-of-duty?? What sort of oxyMoron is that term? Prevented from using the internet to blog, communicate and release the thoughts and nightmares of the latest 24 hours, can only result in some sadly mind-broken people coming home to you in the end. For the Military to prevent this outlet, it has placed its own forces in serious danger.
The added burden of secrecy on these already tired, fearful and weary minds is, in fact, the President and the military colluding to torture its own young combatants. They are in fact sentencing their own forces to a lifetime of serious mental illness.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/05/14/brit-judge-puts-gag-order-on-al-jazeera-story-already-made-public/
Brit Judge Puts Gag Order On al-Jazeera Story Already Made Public
Excerpt:
We can also report, since it was said in open court, that the Guardian's counsel, Anthony Hudson, argued that it would be inappropriate to restrain publication of the allegation already in the public domain claiming that President Bush suggested that the Arabic TV station al-Jazeera should be bombed.
{{{Gads. This current US censorship movement is corrupting the freedom of the press on the other side of the pond, too.... The Bushistas will stop at nothing to try to "prove" that their surge will work, that the war is just hunky-dory (no info about anything going badly if they censor family communications along with everything else), that everything will be okay if we only follow their lead, no matter how illegal or unethical or immoral they are....}}}
Cheney Says Wolfowitz Should Remain at the World Bank
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070514.wcheaney0513/BNStory/International/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20070514.wcheaney0513
Of course he does. An American at the World bank, a European pal at the IMF and they've got the global economy all tied up.
Gonzalez' Deputy is Resigning
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=75258 Now we're talking!
Iran Vows Severe Response if Attacked
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2007/May/theuae_May437.xml§ion=theuae&col=
"They claim that lack of security is the reason for their presence (but) the problem is the intervention of foreign powers.”
(Ahmadinejad)
Reading the news is actually very frustrating. It's really impossible to know what is going on. Yes we have these reports and this speculation, but we are only getting the tip of the iceberg.
Posted by: woz at May 15, 2007 12:39 AM
The thing of it is, in the family exchanges there's nothing about PTSD or complaining to get rid of frustration. The things shown on local TV were kids being cute, blowing kisses at the camera, telling their father they love him, etc., and generaly hamming it up in front of a camera, and a soldier on the other end sending a message of love home. Stuff parents (and spouses and grandparents, and aunts and uncles, and assorted other relatives and friends) find so endearing and appealing. Who doesn't like to hear the love messages and see the faces of loved ones?
During the winter holidays there were veterans organizations that set up at TV studios to take phone calls from people donating money for phone cards to send to the military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. While nice to get phone calls (and I'm sure people with no computers and internet access appreciated them), I also see the tremendous appeal for live video-conferencing or the like on internet web sites. It looks to me like it would be very comforting to have those live messages.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070515/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fired_prosecutors_resignation
McNulty, Justice Dept. No. 2, resigning
Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said Monday he will resign, becoming the highest-ranking Bush administration casualty in the furor over the firing of U.S. attorneys.
~~~~~
McNulty also irked Gonzales by testifying in February that at least one of the fired prosecutors was ordered to make way for a protege of Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser. Gonzales, who has resisted lawmakers' calls to resign, maintains the firings were proper, and rooted in the prosecutors' lackluster performances.
Two other former Justice Department officials — Gonzales chief of staff Kyle Sampson and White House liaison Monica Goodling — have resigned in the past two months over the U.S. attorney firings.
"It seems ironic that Paul McNulty, who at least tried to level with the committee, goes while Gonzales, who stonewalled the committee, is still in charge," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/05/14/family-guy-lois-griffin-adopts-republican-talking-points/
Family Guy: Lois Griffin Adopts Republican Talking Points
[Incredibly sad satire about how the sheeple have been taken in with scare tactics. This video isn't as funny as it's supposed to be.]
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/05/14/were-all-suspects-in-the-war-on-terror/
“We’re all suspects in the War on Terror”
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/05/14/maybe-all-roads-really-do-lead-back-to-rove/
Maybe all roads really do lead back to Rove
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/05/14/hitchens-vs-hannity-on-religion-and-god/
Hitchens vs. Hannity on Religion and God
NonnyO
Of course that's useful. But the young guy who ended up with a book translated into 7 languages and winning a world-sought award, is another thing altogether. His blog was shut down after 8 weeks. Too late. The book was in the hands of Penguin. This young man's book is out and that's excellent. I imagine that he'll still be able to keep a journal. If he wants to. If he needs to. One book done. There will be so many books and movies about the utter disaster that is Iraq. Bush is going to be exposed - badly. The shame of it is that he will never have to account personally to anyone and he will still be wealthier than most of us.
I take that back. Bush will never be wealthier than me. I have honesty, truth, compassion, friends, family, safety, love and a mountain of *real* wealth. Real wealth will never be GWB's, no matter how he strives for it.
Will this merger between Thomson and Reuters make a difference to your MSM? Good? Bad? Otherwise?
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/thomson-buys-reuters-for-207bn/2007/05/15/1178995145672.html
This article has no surprises really. The only person unaware of the flaws of a *fear-hate-campaign* that became the US troops training before going to Afghanistan and Iraq was their Commander In Chief. Remember Rumsfeld and Bush had troops, interrogators and prison officers trained to think of nothing except - torture is right - they all deserve death - torture and kill-torture- kill - kill.
If a little bit of this article is true, then every single member of the lower ranks of US Military deserve massive compensation payments on their return. If they return. Until world leaders are dealt with at a huge cost to their personal wealth (treated just like I'd be treated), nothing will change. Compensation from GWB's personal funds. Even impeachment means nothing. He'll resign a few months early and draw a monstrous pension/superannuation paid for by taxpayers. I could be wrong about this last bit - I just made a wild leap into the abyss of reason and logic that is my mind these days.
When you have someone as short on intellect as GWB, how on earth can he be CIC? It makes absolutely no sense. What on earth does he know about combat? Where's his experience? It's absolutely no wonder his combatants are dying at a great rate.
Australia 'has cultural edge' over US
May 15, 2007 - 5:29PM
Australia has an advantage over the United States in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts because of an affinity with foreign cultures, a US strategic analyst says.
Max Boot, a senior fellow in national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, also said US military skills were becoming outdated in those battlefields.
[ .... ]
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Australia-has-cultural-edge-over-US/2007/05/15/1178995148844.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070515/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq
Search for U.S. troops continue in Iraq
{{{Okay. Call me suspicious, even paranoid, about propaganda... but remember when Jessica Lynch went missing? Her name was plastered all over the airwaves, her family and friends were interviewed for months on end and there was massive TV coverage with media crews going to her home town and all that. Have I missed something? Does anyone know the names of these allegedly missing or captured three individuals? Usually when something like this happens names are released, family members and friends are interviewed, communities turn out to "support the troops" and signs are posted, etc. There's been none of that this time. What are their names and where are each of them from? Is this one of those "terrorist" scare tactics and there's really no one missing at all??? Is this going to be a "Whoops, no one was missing after all" kind of things with no further explanation (other than the scare tactics over a "terrorist" organization that Bushistas think they need an army to go after when it's really only a few criminals)? Something about this story is all awry and doesn't quite sound right.}}}
Or, worse yet, is all this brouhaha over missing mercenaries....?
Wolfowitz rejects World Bank ethics ruling
Bank committee determines that president violated ethics standards over his girlfriend's promotion; Wolfowitz calls findings 'unbalanced' and 'flawed.'
May 15 2007: 7:37 AM EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A World Bank committee found bank President Paul Wolfowitz violated ethics rules in his handling of a promotion and generous pay rise for his girlfriend and that his involvement represented a conflict of interest.
Wolfowitz rejected the critical report Monday, and the United States showed no sign of yielding in its steadfast support for the former U.S. deputy defense secretary, saying the findings were no grounds to dismiss him.
"Mr. Wolfowitz's contract requiring that he adhere to the Code of Conduct for board officials and that he avoid any conflict of interest, real or apparent, were violated," the panel said of Wolfowitz's handling of a pay and promotion deal for World Bank Middle East expert Shaha Riza in 2005.
"The salary increase Ms. Riza received at Mr. Wolfowitz's direction was in excess of the range established by Rule 6.01," the panel said.
In documents released late Monday, Wolfowitz called the findings "unbalanced and flawed" and argued that the panel had omitted statements and documents that support his position.
The panel said Wolfowitz believes the blame lies with others and not with him.
It said he did not accept the bank's policy on conflict of interest and tried to bypass rules that he believed did not apply to him.
"The ad hoc group concludes that in actuality, Mr Wolfowitz from the outset cast himself in opposition to the established rules of the institution," it found.
more...
http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/15/news/newsmakers/wolfowitz.reut/index.htm?postversion=2007051507
We don't need no stinkin rules!
We don't need no stinkin rules!
Posted by: monkey at May 15, 2007 08:56 AM
But don'tcha know? Rules are made to be broken. And rules are for sheeple to follow, most definitely not neoCons who make up rules as they go along because they are always the exceptions to the rule....
Snark.
Another person who, following the example of W and Wolfowitz, is placing the blame with others, never admitting mistakes.
Interview: U.S. soldier blames reporter in Italian death
By Michelle Nichols
NEW YORK, May 14 (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier being tried in absentia in Rome for killing an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq said on Monday that he did nothing wrong and blamed the death on an Italian reporter who was rescued by the agent.
Washington has refused to hand over Mario Lozano, from the U.S. National Guard in New York, so he is on trial in absentia for killing Nicola Calipari as the intelligence agent escorted a newly freed Italian hostage out of the country in 2005.
Lozano was a gunner at a checkpoint on the road to Baghdad airport. He said he opened fire on the car carrying Calipari and the freed hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, after its driver ignored warning shots and refused to stop.
Lozano said he blames Sgrena for the intelligence agent's death because she put herself in a situation that allowed her to be targeted by kidnappers. She was abducted as she conducted interviews outside Baghdad University and held for a month.
"Because of her I caused another family grief. It's her fault, I didn't set out to hurt this man; I was just doing my job," Lozano, who had been in Iraq for around six months at the time, told Reuters in an interview.
Read more: http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N14321746.html
Now this is funny...
http://www.dudehisattva.com/gopranos.htm
Look at Richard Perle, all pissed off because US is even talking to Iran or Syria. He's probably terrified someone might listen to HW Bush friends like Baker instead of neocons like Kagan. He's probably writing from his nest in the south of France. Bet he's happy about their election. Probably in on it. Grrrrrr.
Source: NY Sun
The Bush administration is beginning to appease rather than confront America's enemies, a former chairman of the Defense Policy Board and leading neoconservative thinker said yesterday, describing the president as "a failure" who is proving powerless to impose his views on his administration.
Richard Perle offered a withering assessment of the president's impotence at a meeting of the Hudson Institute in New York, saying American foreign policy is being applied by an out-of-control State Department.
Although Mr. Perle said he no longer has access to the president, he said his conversations with those close to the White House led him to a pessimistic view of how foreign policy is currently conducted, with a profound disconnect between President Bush's wishes and how the administration carries out policies in his name.
"We have already seen a change in policy towards Iran," he said. "It is now firmly back in the hands of the Department of State." Mr. Perle's assessment is recognized by an expert on defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute, Thomas Donnelly, who said Mr. Bush is routinely frustrated by "establishment" thinking within Washington and that the failure to respond to the president's more radical thinking has harmed American policy in Iraq.
Read more: http://www.nysun.com/article/54448
Now this is funny...
Posted by: madame defarge at May 15, 2007 09:14 AM
I'm fairly certain that my coffee did not go in through my nose, so thanks for the new exit strategy ;-)
God Bless Caffeine & the US Nasal Acadamadame
Maybe Perle doesn't like it that Rice and Putin are going to meet and "publicly tone down their rhetoric"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6656671.stm
Some neocons seemed to be gloating at talk of the Cold War heating up. Paranoia sells weapons.
Posted by: monkey at May 15, 2007 09:42 AM
Can you and madame go teach Bush some new exit strategies?
Posted by: monkey at May 15, 2007 09:42 AM
ROTFLMAO. I want to be on what you're on, whatever it is...
More retaliation against Jesselyn Radack.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/15/62234/2582
That's what you get for having ethics when the Sopranos is in charge.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6656369.stm
{{{BBC's take on the Wolfie wiffle....}}}
http://www.americanprogress.org/cartoons/2007/05/051507_environment.html
Can you and madame go teach Bush some new exit strategies?
Posted by: sparrow at May 15, 2007 09:58 AM
They've been right there under his nose all along.
Linus
Posted by: monkey at May 15, 2007 10:10 AM
Lines under his nose?
Republicans Unnerved by Paralyzed Presidency
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051507P.shtml
Private conversations with Republicans throughout America reveal doom and gloom about a politically paralyzed presidency and party. The on-the-record observations are almost as bleak. "The country doesn't believe George W. Bush, it doesn't trust him, and with 19 months to go, it's only going to get worse," predicts Ed Rollins, a Republican strategist who ran Ronald Reagan's 1984 presidential campaign.
Cindy Sheehan and 32 Antiwar Protesters Arrested
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051507L.shtml
After rallying in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House, more than 250 antiwar advocates marched through Washington, DC to Capitol Hill. As the demonstrators marched up Independence Avenue, they chanted, "Stop the Funding, Stop the War – Mothers Say, Not One More." At the Department of Justice, the crowd stopped, with Cindy Sheehan making an impromptu speech pointing out the crimes of the Bush administration. As 33 were arrested, the crowd chanted, "Arrest George Bush" and "Stop the Funding, Stop the Killing."
Posted by: monkey at May 15, 2007 10:10 AM
Posted by: sparrow at May 15, 2007 10:12 AM
What if he had crooked seams on his hose...?
{{{Er... is anyone on this list old enough to remember when women worried about crooked seams in their hose...?}}}
Posted by: NonnyO at May 15, 2007 10:54 AM
Should I worry about crooked seams in my hose?
Cheney, Wolfie, Gonzo -
In all 3 cases, a "fall guy" is hitting the sword rather than the true perpetrator, so apparently the White House is still capable of protecting them.
Posted by: monkey at May 15, 2007 11:05 AM
No, just protect your cute little prehensile tail.... ;-)
CNN: The Rev. Jerry Falwell was found unconscious in his office Tuesday and taken to a hospital, a Liberty University executive told a newspaper
Give me Liberty, or give me....
Three U.S. soldiers, one Marine and one U.S. airman were killed Monday in Iraq in three incidents, the U.S. military said. The soldiers' deaths bring to 49 the number of U.S. troops killed this month in Iraq; 3,400 U.S. military personnel have been killed since the war began more than four years ago. Seven civilian contractors also have died.
-snip-
Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers -- backed by everything from air support to dog teams -- are searching for the missing troops.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said 11 people have been detained, and four of them are considered high-value targets.
As of Monday, 460 people have been questioned since the search was launched, Garver said, and the military has received more than 50 tips from people.
The slain and missing U.S. soldiers were from Fort Drum in New York, and all have been identified as members of the 10th Mountain Division's Second Brigade.
So far, three families have been notified that their relatives were killed in action.
Two of the slain have been identified by family members.
They are Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya, 19, of Vermontville, Michigan, and Sgt. 1st Class James D. Connell Jr., 40, of Lake City, Tennessee.
"I'm proud of my dad," said Connell's daughter Courtney. "He didn't really fight for himself, he fought for the country."
Courneya's mother said her son dreamed of being a soldier since he was 3 years old. (Watch Courneya's mom describe his dream of being a soldier )
Four other soldiers -- three missing and one of the dead -- remain listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown."
The military can't yet sort out precisely who was kidnapped because one of the four bodies is so badly burned that it can't be immediately identified.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/15/iraq.main/index.html
Televangelist Jerry Falwell is being given CPR after being found unconcious and taken to a Virginia hospital, Falwell assistant Ron Godwin says
The Rev. Jerry Falwell has died at age 73, The Associated Press reports.
McCain must be devestated.
Yeah and I tell people and they say, "Who?"
It's amazing ..
"If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being. "
"The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country. "
"I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them. What a happy day that will be!"
"Textbooks are Soviet propaganda."
See , I come here with news and everyone is already ALL OVER IT.
Buh-bye Jerry....farewell to ignorance glorified.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/15/AR2007051500981.html
Buh-bye Jerry....farewell to ignorance glorified.
Posted by: karen at May 15, 2007 02:27 PM
Please allow me to introduce myself
Im a man of wealth and taste
Ive been around for a long, long year
Stole many a mans soul and faith
And I was round when jesus christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
I stuck around st. petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a generals rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made
I shouted out,
Who killed the kennedys?
When after all
It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself
Im a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me lucifer
cause Im in need of some restraint
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or Ill lay your soul to waste, um yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um mean it, get down
Woo, who
Oh yeah, get on down
Oh yeah
Oh yeah!
Tell me baby, whats my name
Tell me honey, can ya guess my name
Tell me baby, whats my name
I tell you one time, youre to blame
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah
Whats me name
Tell me, baby, whats my name
Tell me, sweetie, whats my name
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah
Falwell credited his Moral Majority with getting millions of conservative voters registered, electing Ronald Reagan and giving Republicans Senatecontrol in 1980.
"I shudder to think where the country would be right now if the religious right had not evolved," Falwell said when he stepped down as Moral Majority president in 1987.
Yeah - the world might have been a vastly different place!
Remember - Falwell said God smote Sharon.
White House diluting its support for Wolfowitz.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/15/woolf215.xml
Make my day.
Posted by: not my president at May 15, 2007 03:00 PM
Makin flippy floppy.
Is the noose tightening on Gonzales?
http://news.google.com/nwshp?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wn&q=
asks conservative Time Magazine
Falwell delivered the benediction at the Republican National Convention in 1996.
In 1999, he claimed that a "Teletubby" cartoon character was transsexual, warning parents to keep their children from watching the TV show. He also told fellow ministers that the Antichrist was a Jewish male living in the world today.
Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Falwell said he held gays and feminists among those partially responsible. He later apologized.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18679412/
I wonder how Falwell's passing will affect the Fox News Republican debates? McCain and Romney have issued statements aligning with him so as to place themselves in a more opportune position with the religious right, but nothing yet from Rudy.
Here are some relevant scripture passages.
Matthew 6
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
...
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
...
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Matthew 7
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
...
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done
many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey Tuesday disclosed new information Tuesday concerning attempts by the White House to get Justice Department approval for the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program.
Comey also said he had considered resigning after disagreements about the surveillance program.
Calling it "the most difficult time in my period of life," Comey discussed publicly for the first time a hospital visit then-White House chief of staff Andrew Card and then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales made to Attorney General John Ashcroft on March 10, 2004.
Ashcroft had become sick the week before, and Comey had been designated the acting attorney general.
Comey refused to say publicly that the White House officials came to the hospital to discuss the NSA program. However, government officials previously confirmed to CNN that Comey had "vigorously opposed" aspects of the surveillance program and refused to sign off on its continued use, prompting Card and Gonzales to make the hospital visit.
Comey's revelations came before the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation into the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year.
In his testimony Tuesday, Comey recounted Ashcroft's wife calling a Justice Department official that night informing her Card and Gonzales were on their way to see him. She had banned all outside phone calls and visitors, Comey said.
He immediately headed to the hospital and soon after he got there, the White House officials entered. He said Ashcroft, who had been weak from gall bladder surgery, "very strongly expressed himself" regarding his objections to a classified program, but added that his views didn't matter because he was, temporarily, not the attorney general.
'An effort to take advantage of a very sick man'
Comey said Card and Gonzales then left the hospital room without acknowledging him.
"I was very upset. I was angry. I thought I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man who did not have the powers of the attorney general because they had been transferred to me. I thought he had conducted himself -- and I said to the attorney general -- in a way that demonstrated a strength that I had never seen before, but still I thought it was improper," Comey told the committee.
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/15/ashcroft.nsa/index.html
Such morally upright people.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday he relied on his outgoing deputy to determine which federal prosecutors should be fired last year.
Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, the No. 2 official at the Justice Department, submitted his resignation to Gonzales on Monday, the department announced.
"The recommendations reflected the views of the deputy attorney general. He signed off on the names," Gonzales said while responding to questions at a forum on the Justice Department's Safer Communities Initiative.
"The deputy attorney general would know best about the qualifications and the experiences of the United States attorneys' community, and he signed off on the names," Gonzales said.
Gonzales repeated his admission that he should have known more about the decision-making process that he placed in the hands of his then chief of staff Kyle Sampson, and again said as attorney general he accepts "full responsibility" for the decisions that were made.
Gonzales aides said he was not attempting to be critical of the Justice Department's departing No. 2 official.
However, one of the attorney general's strongest critics responded immediately to Gonzales' comments.
"I heard today that Attorney General Gonzales was trying to assign blame to Paul McNulty for the firings of U.S. attorneys, saying he relied on McNulty's advice," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York. "That's ironic because Paul McNulty came clean with this committee and gave us some valuable information while the attorney general stonewalled."
McNulty had testified before Congress that he was not involved in the selection of the U.S. attorneys to be fired, but approved the list once it was presented to him.
McNulty told U.S. attorneys at a conference in San Antonio that he would be leaving his post for personal financial reasons this summer.
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/15/fired.prosecutors/index.html
Posted by: monkey at May 15, 2007 04:04 PM
Funny how all those jumping ship are the ones who Gonzo blames for this mess. I'm sure it's no coinky-dink.
Posted by: monkey at May 15, 2007 03:49 PM
Under the law, Gonzalez' wife (Power of Attornery) should have had the right to ban phone calls and visitors. Staff should not even have had to acknowledge whether he was there or in what room. I wonder why this was not followed? Was it not in effect yet?
This is the law:
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/
I meant Ashcroft's wife
** gnu thread **