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Fixing A Broken System: Healthcare - Part II
Paul Krugman has written in the New York Times of the medical-industrial complex and how its political allies have used scare tactics to prevent Americans from supporting and seeking universal healthcare coverage for all. File under "I knew this would happen" his report of a Fox "talking head" trying to link universal healthcare with terrorism.
Excerpts from Krugman's article:
These days terrorism is the first refuge of scoundrels. So when British authorities announced that a ring of Muslim doctors working for the National Health Service was behind the recent failed bomb plot, we should have known what was coming.
“National healthcare: Breeding ground for terror?” read the on-screen headline, as the Fox News host Neil Cavuto and the commentator Jerry Bowyer solemnly discussed how universal health care promotes terrorism.
While this was crass even by the standards of Bush-era political discourse, Fox was following in a long tradition. For more than 60 years, the medical-industrial complex and its political allies have used scare tactics to prevent America from following its conscience and making access to health care a right for all its citizens.
I say conscience, because the health care issue is, most of all, about morality.
That’s what we learn from the overwhelming response to Michael Moore’s “Sicko.” Health care reformers should, by all means, address the anxieties of middle-class Americans, their ... fear of finding themselves uninsured or ... den[ied] coverage when they need it most. But reformers shouldn’t focus only on self-interest. They should also appeal to Americans’ sense of decency and humanity.
What outrages people who see “Sicko” is the sheer cruelty and injustice of the American health care system — sick people who can’t pay their hospital bills literally dumped on the sidewalk, a child who dies because an emergency room that isn’t a participant in her mother’s health plan won’t treat her, hard-working Americans driven into humiliating poverty by medical bills.
“Sicko” is a powerful call to action — but ... defenders of the status quo ...[are] very good at fending off reform by finding new ways to scare us.
These scare tactics have often included over-the-top claims about the dangers of government insurance. “Sicko” plays part of a recording Ronald Reagan once made for the American Medical Association, warning that .... the program now known as Medicare ... would lead to totalitarianism...
Mainly, though, the big-money interests with a stake in the present system want you to believe that universal health care would lead to a crushing tax burden and lousy medical care.
Now, every wealthy country except the United States already has some form of universal care. Citizens ... pay extra taxes as a result — but they make up for that through savings on insurance premiums and out-of-pocket medical costs. The overall cost of health care ... is much lower...
Meanwhile, every available indicator says that in terms of quality, access to needed care and health outcomes, the U.S. health care system does worse, not better, than other advanced countries. ...
All of which raises the question Mr. Moore asks at the beginning of “Sicko”: who are we?
“We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics.” So declared F.D.R. in 1937, in words that apply perfectly to health care today. This isn’t one of those cases where we face painful tradeoffs — here, doing the right thing is also cost-efficient. Universal health care would save thousands of American lives each year, while actually saving money.
So this is a test. The only things standing in the way of universal health care are the fear-mongering and influence-buying of interest groups. If we can’t overcome those forces here, there’s not much hope for America’s future.
*****
So what can we take from this?
The lesson of 'Fixing A Broken System: Healthcare - Part I':
-- Know the different types of healthcare provided by various countries in the industrialized world.
The lesson of 'Fixing A Broken System: Healthcare - Part II':
-- Beware the propaganda machine's alliance with the healthcare-industrial complex.
Great follow on DiAnne. Advertising dollars are powerful dollars. We have both here - private and national. I got exactly the same care with insurance that I get now with no insurance - even my own specialist. Yes. Individuals pay less. Some individuals choose to pay more by taking out private insurance as well as contributing to the national system.
Keeping people healthier and less stressed is certainly an economic efficiency. If health comes down to economics. And I guess it does in America right now.
And guess who else benefits? Employers. No more offering health care with employment. Each employee pays his/her own %age with their tax before collecting weekly/fortnightly salary.
offtopic...
Official: Report will say none of Iraq’s goals met
Draft, coming out this week, expected to accelerate debate on withdrawal
BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
July 9, 2007
WASHINGTON - A progress report on Iraq will conclude that the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad has not met any of its targets for political, economic and other reform, speeding up the Bush administration's reckoning on what to do next, a U.S. official said Monday.
One likely result of the report will be a vastly accelerated debate among President Bush's top aides on withdrawing troops and scaling back the U.S. presence in Iraq.
The "pivot point" for addressing the matter will no longer be Sept. 15, as initially envisioned, when a full report on Bush's so-called "surge" plan is due, but instead will come this week when the interim mid-July assessment is released, the official said.
"The facts are not in question," the official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the draft is still under discussion. "The real question is how the White House proceeds with a post-surge strategy in light of the report."
The report, required by law, is expected to be delivered to Capitol Hill by Thursday or Friday, as the Senate takes up a $649 billion defense policy bill and votes on a Democratic amendment ordering troop withdrawals to begin in 120 days.
Also being drafted are several Republican-backed proposals that would force a new course in Iraq, including one by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Ben Nelson, D-Neb., that would require U.S. troops to abandon combat missions. Collins and Nelson say their binding amendment would order the U.S. mission to focus on training the Iraqi security forces, targeting al-Qaida members and protecting Iraq's borders.
"My goal is to redefine the mission and set the stage for a significant but gradual drawdown of our troops next year," said Collins.
more slow learners here...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19684595/
Someone posted Michael Moore on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvg-U6uKo6g
These Republicans have left the fold (of "surge" support) at 1-2 per day:
1) Luger
2) Voinovich
3) Dominici
4) Gregg
5) Alexander
6) Collins
7) Snowe
Warner may be next!
I guess Fox commentators have smoke coming out of their ears.
This might be like the Soviets and Afghanistan then Chechnya.
Their wars against Muslim tribal people reduced them to a minor power because of the high cost. The Russian generals warned us about Afghanistan and the British should have been able to warn us about Iraq, not join in!
I just got the 40th anniversary issue of Rolling Stone and the whole thing is about 1967. I was 15 years old and radicalized by what I saw, heard and experienced. My dad was a garbage man (he quit teaching because of severe post-traumatic stress) and brought home a box that a friend of mine was shipped home in. My boyfriend, age 17, was a Marine.
Anyway, that year the antiwar movement really went into full swing yet the war lasted about eight more years. Yet in 1967, 11,000 plus Americans had been killed and that was the year that there were twice as many killed as the year before, and many more than in the 11 years the war went on before that. So considering the French involvement before us, it was a 20 year war or so.
Last time I heard Congressman McDermott, he pointed out that when McGovern ran, no one liked his plan and he took only one state (Massachusetts). His plan was for Congress to only appropriate enough money to bring everyone home. A few years later, people realized he was right. It was a quagmire but we couldn't fix it.
Those motorcycle riders that come on Memorial Day to DC and support Bush? They are called Rolling Thunder and that's the same name they gave for this monstrous bombing attack on the North Vietnamese. We were always told that if the North Vietnamese weren't wiped out, the whole region would become Communist and gradually the whole world. Rolling Thunder.
Why always these elaborate heavy metal names? They try to lend a bizarre romantic twist to these unspeakable war games that are real.
We are trying not to focus on the negative but if we don't remember, who will? NPR is having a special on Morning Edition about how much sacrifice Americans are willing to make. I hated the sound clip because it didn't seem balanced and the clip they played was a guy who said that supporting the troops without supporing the war was "patriotism lite" - the assumption seems to be that we should sacrifice for a war we didn't support in the first place and worked hard to stop before it started.
I've stated my opinion about health insurance in this country before, so I won't repeat my rant about their legalized scams for profit.
Totally OT, but relevant to what could happen in DC if our Congress Critters had any courage:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/9/20378/62042
Impeachment by Frog-Marching Congressional Oversight
Someone posted Michael Moore on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvg-U6uKo6g
Posted by: sparrow at July 10, 2007 12:08 AM
Excellent. Thanks sparrow.
Ahh nmp - to focus on the negative trips us up, I think. BUT to ignore the lessons will bring us to greater harm. Before the Iraq invasion had ever begun, I was arguing that we would never do it. The population wouldn't allow it. Not after Vietnam. Boy, did I end up with egg on my face.
Most Australians were against our complicity with Bush's mania. And most lost the battle at home. Mr Huff-n-Puff knows more than we do about terrorists and what they think and what they do. He needs to go not just to the other side of the world, but onto a different hemisphere.
How many lessons do we need to never let morons lead our countries? Or bludgeon us into an invasion where we have no business being.
The lessons must be learned.
It's true. I thought someone was BS'ing me from The Onion.
US and Canada have disputed territory (NW Passage) and Canada is increasing its troop strength there.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070709/canada-arctic-sovereignty/
Global warming is exposing more under-sea treasures and both want them. Oil.
And guess who else benefits? Employers. No more offering health care with employment.
Posted by: woz at July 9, 2007 11:22 PM
Absolutely! Whether it's a small employer like me, or gigantic ones like GM and United Airlines, not having to administer healthcare will be a huge relief - and a huge boost to our competitiveness.
Well, if there's all that oil to get out of there, so we can really fk the planet; we'd better get to work. And while you wrestle that one up there, we are battling down here every summer when the Japanese whaling fleet comes for the annual slaughter of our humpback and minke whales.
From the southern-most point of Tasmania we can almost see them. Talk about slow learners! Will we ever, ever let other people and other species have their share of the bounty of this planet.
The end is near. I hope.
Bush aides push for Iraq retreat
David Sanger, New York, and Brendan Nicholson, Canberra
July 10, 2007
SENIOR US officials are debating whether President George Bush should announce a gradual withdrawal of US troops from Iraqi cities following the defection of several key Republicans over the Administration's war strategy.
About half a dozen Republican senators have recently announced they can no longer support Mr Bush's Iraq strategy and have demanded change.
As a result, some aides are now telling Mr Bush that if he wants to avoid more defections, he should announce plans for a far more narrowly defined mission that would allow for a staged pullback — including withdrawal of American troops from high-casualty neighbourhoods of Baghdad and elsewhere.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/bush-aides-push-for-iraq-retreat/2007/07/09/1183833431577.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070710/ap_on_re_as/china_tainted_products
China executes ex-food and drug chief
Reservist Sues Army Over Fifth War Call-Up
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/070907T.shtml
Amy Driscoll of The Miami Herald reports on Erik Botta, an Army reservist, who is challenging his fifth order to deploy in eight years.
NonnyO, I just read that. It's appalling. If you get killed for bribing, what do you get for murder?
Good morning Woz.
Why am I up this early?!!!
Anyways, Michael Moore has posted his rebuttal to CNN.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10017
Could this be the straw that finally shakes up the media to stop doing the corporations' bidding?
Michael Moore did a great job of educating CNN. Each claim was rebutted by a nonparisan-noncorporate source. The WTO or US-HHS. There was one source when it talks about customer satisfaction that was from a magazine.
But check this out at the bottom:
"CNN: "But no matter how much Moore fudged the facts, and he did fudge some facts…"
This is libel. There is not a single fact that is "fudged" in the film. No one has proven a single fact in the film wrong. We expect CNN to correct their mistakes on the air and to apologize to their viewers."
CNN better be making corrections OFTEN and not just once. I know how they hype up for their shows. So they spent many times hinting before they showed the actual show.
(OK..I have no proof that they actually smeared more first. But I bet ya they said something about Gupta having the goods on Sicko.)
Too bad this is only a Dailykos survey instead of a msn one:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/7/9/175344/8323
Poll
Was CNN complicit in deceiving the American public into support for the War?
Yes
98% 4135 votes
No
1% 55 votes
| 4190 votes
Since I've got the floor.... ha ha ha.... Let me add that when my brother tried to point to CNN's war coverage and being on the tanks rolling in as PROOF of LIBERAL BIAS, I would have to say it was easier than taking candy from a baby to respond to that lame claim.
Simply pointing out that the LEFT was (and is) ANTI WAR so how does going all John Wayne Does Iraq HELP the LIBERALS?
Watching him blush at that was almost worth the price of admission!
~~~
OH and now that I"m talking to myself here, I wonder if movable type/invision can handle emoticons. I want some emoticons!
DAVID VITTER!
THE WHOREMONGER!
HAHAHAHAHA! AHHHH HAHAHAHA!
I have been waiting for something like this to happen ever since we got a letter from him saying how drilling in ANWR would not REALLY hurt the migration of animals, no, no, not at all, in fact it would HELP them.
My man told him he had obviously never actually worked om an oil rig before.
HAHAHA!!!
Could this be the straw that finally shakes up the media to stop doing the corporations' bidding?
Posted by: sparrow at July 10, 2007 06:36 AM
At last. We need people like Michael Moore to make more noise about the MSMs despicable reporting.
Posted by: sparrow at July 10, 2007 06:55 AM
Oh wow! Amazing poll results!
Posted by: woz at July 10, 2007 07:26 AM
Sadly woz...it's only Dailykos.
Dailykos=mostly the choir.
If it were on msgop then it might be different.
Maybe we can stick a poll like that in Free Republic and see what they have to say. (ha ha ha)
I do want to point out this link on Michael Moore's site. Please consider doing this if at all possible.
". Sign this petition urging your congresspeople to pass H.R. 676 so that all individuals residing in the United States can receive high quality, affordable health care services. If you live in California, tell your legislature to pass S.B. 840, which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger last year.
3. Post a YouTube video of your health care horror story (Clayton Redfield did and Look What Happened!). Don't forget to mention the name of your insurance company. We'll post some more of them on the website.
. Send your health care horror story to your member of congress (be sure to CC michael@michaelmoore.com) or pay them a house call to let them know how you feel.
5. Band together with organizations to bring down private, for-profit health insurance companies."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/what-can-i-do/
Click on the link to see the story of a family who got Aetna to pay the $65,000 they were demanding from a guy for a so called 'pre-existing condition.'
Also...I want to point out that many months ago, I invited people to join the PDA for Healthcare reform. We were talking about holding healthcare hearings similar to what Michael Moore is doing.
Please join.
Also, please do what Michael Moore suggests...no matter who you're supporting in 08, please ask that person to give details on their healthcare proposal.
Gonzales was told of FBI violations
After getting report, attorney general said he knew of no wrongdoing
By John Solomon
washingtonpost.com
Updated: 29 minutes ago
As he sought to renew the USA Patriot Act two years ago, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales assured lawmakers that the FBI had not abused its potent new terrorism-fighting powers. "There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse," Gonzales told senators on April 27, 2005.
Six days earlier, the FBI sent Gonzales a copy of a report that said its agents had obtained personal information that they were not entitled to have. It was one of at least half a dozen reports of legal or procedural violations that Gonzales received in the three months before he made his statement to the Senate intelligence committee, according to internal FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The acts recounted in the FBI reports included unauthorized surveillance, an illegal property search and a case in which an Internet firm improperly turned over a compact disc with data that the FBI was not entitled to collect, the documents show. Gonzales was copied on each report that said administrative rules or laws protecting civil liberties and privacy had been violated.
more lawlessness and lies...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19685278/
Democrats eyeing universal health care
'08 candidates embrace pragmatic steps, not a complete overhaul
By Perry Bacon Jr.
washingtonpost.com
July 10, 2007
In a conference call in January, the health-care debate within the Democratic Party played out before former senator John Edwards of North Carolina, who was in search of policy advice for his presidential campaign, and his wife, Elizabeth.
On one side was Ezekiel Emanuel, a doctor and bioethics expert and the brother of Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), arguing that the American health-care system is so riddled with inefficiencies that it needs to be blown up and replaced by a plan in which people can buy coverage themselves with a voucher.
On the other side was an economist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has become possibly the party's most influential health-care expert and a voice of realism in its internal debates.
"Far be it for me to lecture you on politics, Senator Edwards," Jonathan Gruber recalled saying, and then he did just that. He told Edwards that whatever the merits of Emanuel's idea, it just would not be politically viable. Instead, Gruber argued for a more incremental approach, like the one in Massachusetts he helped write. Its central elements would be providing subsidies to people who are unable to pay for health care, increasing the number of those who are enrolled in public programs such as Medicaid and creating a public agency to help anyone ineligible for the programs buy health insurance.
A month later, when Edwards announced his health-care plan, he almost completely sided with Gruber. And he is not alone. For the first time since President Bill Clinton's plan for health-care reform, overseen by his wife, collapsed in 1994, the leading Democratic presidential candidates are campaigning in favor of universal health care. But in developing their specific plans, they are embracing the pragmatic steps advocated by the MIT professor and a group of similar-minded policy experts, many of whose ideas were shaped by their first exposure to the perils of health-care politics 13 years ago.
"Plans which minimize the disruption to the existing system are more likely to succeed than plans that rip up the existing system and start over," said Gruber, who has consulted with the three leading Democratic campaigns about their health plans. "It doesn't take a genius to see that. That's not to say that plans ripping it up wouldn't be better -- I just think they're political non-starters."
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19686903/
Posted by: sparrow at July 10, 2007 07:32 AM
Then I'm surprised it wasn't 100%
Would anyone else like to join me today?
I will be calling the whoremongers offices to ask when he will be resigning!!!
David Vitter (R-La.)
Contact My Office
Acadiana
800 Lafayette St.,
Suite 1200
Lafayette, LA 70501
Phone: (337) 262-6898
Fax: (337) 262-6373
Baton Rouge/River Parishes
858 Convention St.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Phone: (225) 383-0331
Fax: (225) 383-0952
Central Louisiana
2230 S. MacArthur Dr.,
Suite 4
Alexandria, LA 71301
Phone: (318) 448-0169
Fax: (318) 448-0189
Northeast Louisiana
1217 N. 19th St.
Monroe, LA 71201
Phone: (318) 325-8120
Fax: (318) 325-9165
Northwest Louisiana
920 Pierremont Road, Suite 113
Shreveport, LA 71106
Phone: (318) 861-0437
Fax: (318) 861-4865
Southeast Louisiana
2800 Veterans Blvd.,
Suite 201
Metairie, LA 70002
Phone: (504) 589-2753
Fax: (504) 589-2607
Southwest Louisiana
3221 Ryan St., Suite E
Lake Charles, LA 70601
Phone: (337) 436-0453
Fax: (337) 436-3163
Washington, D.C.
516 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4623
Fax: (202) 228-5061
Posted by: monkey at July 10, 2007 07:46 AM
I disagree with that dude, Jonathan Gruber, about starting with plans that don't rip up the current policies.
First, the pharma and HMO's are already powerful lobbies. They will never allow an incremental plan. OR rather the only type of thing they will allow is similar to what other states who offer pools do.
1. They allow insurance companies to more easily turn down applicants to throw them in the state pool.
2. They then allow the same insurance companies who already TURNED DOWN THE APPLICANT to then PICK UP THAT APPLICANT at a HIGHER RATE with LESS COVERAGE!
You talk about having your cake and eating it too. They've got it!
And he thinks we should start with that?
I say, break up the healthcare monopolies, give everyone coverage, and allow for-profit healthcare coverage for anything cosmetic. And I say cosmetic care should be covered in a universal healthcare for victims of diseases who require reconstructive surgery; but for anyone getting a liposuction or something like that, then let the free market rule.
Posted by: Christy at July 10, 2007 07:54 AM
At least he wasn't in office to participate in the Clinton impeachment.
Though I'm sure we'll be seeing Democratic people on her list eventually.
But now I'm wondering...perhaps the Clinton impeachment wasn't so much about the rule of law. Perhaps it was just a deep seeded jealousy that they need to buy their s*x (or do it with minors) whereas Clinton got his for free.
And to think of all the effort (and success) they had framing it as if the liberals were nothing but deviant sex maniacs.
If any dem senators from Louisiana are on that list, I will be calling them to resign as well.
Vitter may have just very well ensured Louisiana will go bonnie blue.
Down here in the buckle of the bible belt, having a prostitute at your beck and call will not be going over very well with the faithful.
And we all know how many faithful there is down here. There are more churches here than stores and schools combined.
Posted by: Christy at July 10, 2007 08:08 AM
Sounds like my county from where we use to live. I think I read somewhere that it had more churches in that county than any other in the state. I'm not sure I believe it but I do know that in the other sleepy town there were at least 5 churches all within the village limits.
Christy,
Is he a Senator or a Rep?
The World in 7 Pictures
http://www.tocforme.com/quotes/worldinonly.html
US and Canada have disputed territory (NW Passage) and Canada is increasing its troop strength there.
Posted by: not my president at July 10, 2007 01:07 AM
I am *so* ready to do an icebreaker tour...now maybe it will be an icebreaker/law enforcement/living marine resources (fisheries)/environmental protection/homeland security tour!
Great pictures, Monkey.
I will have nightmares about the Thailand and India ones though! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECK
Posted by: V at July 10, 2007 08:15 AM
I was about to remind you that it's cold there. Then I remembered...Mobile, Alabama.
'nuff said!
Vitter is a SENATOR.
HAHAHAHA!! HAHAHA!!
HEHEHEHEHE!
Morning folks...grab your coffee or juice and run to the irc...while the blue light special lasts.
Posted by: sparrow at July 10, 2007 08:19 AM
Can I grab something else????
Posted by: monkey at July 10, 2007 08:23 AM
Only if it won't make me blush.
(And I have a low tolerance at the blushing level.)
So, guess who is Rudy's campaign chair for the South?
Sen. Vitter.
Kind of makes sense though...
Your kidding?
HAHAHAHA!! HAHA!!
Oh Vitter has got to go down now.
See what he said how it is between him his wife and GOD?!!! Hahaha!
Him, his wife, God, the prostitute and his voters is what he should have said.
HAHAHA!! OMG too delicious.
Posted by: madame defarge at July 10, 2007 08:43 AM
Maybe they can talk about Mistresses?
Seriously, I am glad to see the curtains being opened on Republicans' sexual hypocricy.
My morning cuppa in the irc is done. Sorry I missed other early birds.
Posted by: sparrow at July 10, 2007 08:47 AM
Bang a Gong
by T-Rex
Well you're dirty and sweet, clad in black
Don't look back and I love you
You're dirty and sweet, oh yeah
Well you're slim and you're weak
You've got the teeth of a hydra upon you
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl.
Get it on, bang the gong , get it on
Get it on, bang the gong, get it on
You're built like a car, you've got a hub cap diamond star halo
You're built like a car, oh yeah
You're an untamed youth that's the truth with your cloak full of eagles
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl.
Get it on, bang the gong , get it on
Get it on, bang the gong, get it on
You're windy and wild, you've got the blues in your shoes and your
stockings
You're windy and wild, oh yeah
You're built like a car, you've got a hub cap diamond star halo
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl.
Get it on, bang the gong , get it on
Get it on, bang the gong, get it on
You're dirty and sweet, clad in black, don't look back
And I love you
You're dirty and sweet, oh yeah
You dance when you walk so let's dance, take a chance, understand me
You're dirty sweet and you're my girl.
Get it on, bang the gong , get it on
Get it on, bang the gong, get it on
umm, that was intended for Sen Vitter et al, not you sparrow!
The Phew!
Posted by: monkey at July 10, 2007 09:08 AM
um hmmmm I believe you!!
Bush’s press secretary defends Iraq war policy
Administration attempts to bolster support for war ahead of new report
NBC News and news services
Updated: 38 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - A report citing a lack of progress by the Baghdad government is only “a look at the starting line” of the U.S. troop surge and shouldn’t be used by critics to demand withdrawal, President Bush’s spokesman said Tuesday.
“What Congress will get this week is a snapshot of the beginning of the retooling of the mission in Iraq,” said Tony Snow, who defended the administration’s war policy and argued that it’s too soon to be talking about end-game strategies.
“Some of the benchmarks have been made, some of them haven’t,” said Snow, confirming comments that a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made to The Associated Press earlier. He described news accounts of the new report as too gloomy.
“Benchmarks are not a way to figure out how to get out of Iraq,” Snow said on CNN. “They’re a device for figuring out how to succeed in Iraq.”
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19691238/from/RS.1/
Karen.
I am about to beg, I am begging you.
Please Please reach out and make sure these two recieve a warm welcome when they do make it. Please.
I will pray to God they make it there ok.
Peace marchers of the loneliest kind
Teens' 3,000-mile trek to D.C. is a rally of 2
By Colleen Mastony
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 9, 2007
LOVELAND, Colo. -- Against the majestic backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, in the far eastern corner of Colorado where the land begins to flatten into a vast golden prairie, two teenagers trudge along the weed-bitten edge of an isolated highway. Blistered and sunburned, they endure wind, rain and searing heat. But still, they slog forward in what has become a quixotic journey across the country in an effort to end the Iraq war.
Ashley Casale, 19, and Michael Israel, 18, are walking 3,000 miles from San Francisco to Washington in a trek they once had hoped would rally the nation and lead thousands to join them in their epic March for Peace. But, nearly halfway through their trip, the teens remain alone, wandering the vast landscape of America, where few have paid them any attention.
"It seems like the country is asleep," said Israel, a rail-thin young man with deep-set blue eyes, walking the roadside on a recent morning, his voice sometimes drowned out by the roar of huge trucks zooming past. "A lot of people we meet are against the war. But it doesn't seem like many people are doing anything about it."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-peace_march_mastony_09jul09,1,867362.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Don't know about yall, but they are a cause I can believe in.
Coulter sold my name to Novak as well as Gingrich. I'm going to keep the mailings, and also belong to NewsMax. It will be confusing when my email is intercepted, in with Code Pink, Michael Moore etc.
"...the chirping of crickets their only encouragement."
Not sure why, but I am bawling like a big baby.
God help us all.
Dwight Eisenhower was the first president to actually use the term "executive privilege," asserting it more than 40 times -- the all-time record -- in refusing demands from Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the communist hunter, who sought the testimony of White House aides.
A document in the Eisenhower library discloses that the president once told his staff, "Any man who testifies as to the advice he gave me won't be working for me that night. I will not allow people around me to be subpoenaed and you might just as well know it now."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19682945/from/RS.5/
Under pressure, White House touts 'retooled' Iraq mission
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Facing calls by lawmakers in President Bush's own party to change Iraq war strategy, the White House announced Tuesday it is "beginning a retooled mission in Iraq" after a disappointing interim report on Iraqi benchmarks.
Although senior administration officials said Monday that the administration plans no major strategy changes in light of the unreleased report, White House spokesman Tony Snow said Tuesday that "what Congress is going to get this week is a snapshot at the beginning of a retooled mission in Iraq. Everybody says, 'We want to do it a new way.' We agree. It's now started."
According to White House spokesman Snow, Bush "wants to pull troops out when the commanders on the on the ground think it's appropriate to do so. You pull out of there quickly, you empower al Qaeda and you make the whole world more dangerous including things right here at home for us in the United States."
more crap...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/10/us.iraq/index.html
"Join the March for Peace! Even if you can only do one day!
If you are interested in joining the march anywhere along the route, please CALL 845-264-3912 to coordinate with the marchers on the road. Also, please fill out the electronic form below. "
http://www.marchforpeace.info/getinvolved.html
I am not sure how, but I think I have just found a reason to leave my 20 mile buffer zone.
Don't know about yall, but they are a cause I can believe in.
Posted by: Christy at July 10, 2007 09:40 AM
Christy: The DCP and Code Pink Overflow house awaits all activists. We have a hunger-striker here now. She just left for her first day, dressed in black, sitting in the Senate Gallery.
And yes, please join the march, if you can!
Micheal Moore is going round two with Blitzer today AND with guppity on Larry King tonight!
Oh my what fun!
Did not have a hand in impeaching him, but was otherwise saying...
Vitter Flashback: Clinton should resign.
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) first got his start in Congress after replacing former Rep. Bob Livingston (R-LA), who “abruptly resigned after disclosures of numerous affairs” in 1998. At the time, Vitter argued that an extramarital affair was grounds for resignation:
“I think Livingston’s stepping down makes a very powerful argument that Clinton should resign as well and move beyond this mess,” he said. [Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 12/20/98]
Christy--It is finds like that quote that make for good muckraking! Is there a LA -centric blog associated with a mainstream media outlet you can post that on?
I am sorry. My bad.
Think Progress.
www.thinkprogress.org is where the Vitter vs Clinton thing came from.
Sorry I forgot the link.
Officials: McCain shakes up top leadership
Presidential candidate’s campaign manager, chief strategist leave posts
WASHINGTON - John McCain’s campaign manager and chief strategist are gone from their leadership roles, according to two officials with knowledge of the staff changes.
One official said Terry Nelson resigned as campaign manager for the Republican presidential candidate and John Weaver stepped down from his post of chief strategist on Tuesday. But another official said Nelson was fired.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19694088/
Here's another Vitter gem, this time from his wife...
"Vitter, 46, then became Louisiana’s first Republican senator since the end of Reconstruction, and has built a reputation as a solid conservative, opposing abortion rights, same-sex marriage and gun control. Last month, he took a leading role in efforts to kill the comprehensive immigration overhaul bill.
In 2000, Vitter was included in a Newhouse News Service story about the strain of congressional careers on families.
His wife, Wendy, was asked by the Newhouse News reporter: If her husband was as unfaithful as former President Bill Clinton, would she be as forgiving as Hillary Clinton?
“I’m a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary,” Wendy Vitter told Newhouse News. “If he does something like that, I’m walking away with one thing, and it’s not alimony, trust me.”
“I think fear is a very good motivating factor in a marriage,” she added. “Don’t put fear down.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0707/4850.html
So I'm wondering what little bronzed trophy (or trophies) Mrs. Vitter has hanging from her rearview mirror...
Go on Mrs. Vitter and cut the bastard.
I would too if I caught my man with a PROSTITUTE.
I just got off the phone with his office and his little guy answering the phones seemed surprised when I asked when it is we can expect Vitters resignation.
He tried reffering me back to 'comments made by the Sanator already' and I told him the quote back and said it is also now between the prostitute and his voters as well.
He asked could he get my name and address... I asked 'What for?'
He says 'So, we can, ummm contact you.'
I told him I do not need to be contacted, just resign.
He seemed kinda shook up when we hung up. Poor man, they probably pay their prostitutes better than their liars.
Posted by: Christy at July 10, 2007 11:45 AM
Of course they do. I already saw the Madame's (not our madame)rate was $260 for 90 minutes. So imagine how excited the staffer would be if Vitter would have compensated him that same $260 dollars.
AND..this is a guy who gets our tax dollars to pay for his healthcare. Hope he gets vd and aids checks.
Posted by: not my president at July 10, 2007 09:42 AM
Coulter REALLY is a "tranny whore," as Randi Rhodes likes to call him/her...
Posted by: madame defarge at July 10, 2007 11:29 AM
Another stupid Republican who killed the goose that lay the golden egg (conservatives AND immigrants, with a lot of overlap).
So, guess who is Rudy's campaign chair for the South?
Sen. Vitter.
Posted by: madame defarge at July 10, 2007 08:43 AM
Proof that all the talk about Rudy being pro-choice/pro-gay is all HOGWASH at best.
Posted by: Ally McRepuke at July 10, 2007 12:10 PM
Or proof that he's trying to butter both sides of the bread.
Tony Snow.
Tony Snow mocking the intelligence of the American public.
DOOCEY: Is the president going to be changing his message?
SNOW: No. And in point of fact, you know, what you find is that, for instance, there’s been some reporting that the White House is going to do a new way. No. What we’re really trying to report on is the new way that started about six months ago.
Also Think progress, with video
Posted by: sparrow at July 10, 2007 12:11 PM
Several years ago, Rudy (then the HERO of 9/11) was also the spokesman for California's Republican gubernatorial candidate, Bill Simon, founder of PAX TV network, the darling of Colorado-based theocratic organizations. Simon himself was the darling of the Reagan Country conservatives in the south and the inland areas of the state.
Democrat Gray Davis, unpopular already, barely defeated Simon in 2002, due to Simon's extreme positions - only to be recalled and replaced by the Governator the following year.
Of course, I lived in NYC in the Rudy years, and his apparent pandering to the LGBs - while encouraging Jamaican cab drivers and McDonald's managers to murder T's - was way too evident. I will never forgive that murderer.
Holy Crap look whats out of Denver.
This guy is a US Attorney NOW and he goes the hell OFF on the dick and cheney freak show.
Says he fears reprisals from 'ruthless people' but look what he said...
"Officials who have brought into disrepute both the Department of Justice and the administration of justice as a whole should finally have to answer for it - and the misdeeds at issue involve not merely garden-variety misconduct, but multiple "high crimes and misdemeanors," including war crimes and crimes against humanity. "
Oh hell yes.
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_6308408
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070710/ap_on_re_eu/pope_other_christians
Pope: Other Christians not true churches
{{{Oh, goody; just what we need from a reich-wing 'Christian' church; a return to the days of the Inquisition and the Catholic vs. Protestant controversies that led to religious wars and torture and burning at the stake for 'heretics' [snark]. More religious in-fighting on the horizon for Lamestream Media to blather on about endlessly, another distraction from the illegal, unethical, immoral, and dishonorable policies and war crimes of Georgie and Dickie... and to keep political bobbleheads and/or sheeple from mentioning IMPEACHMENT or the 26% "approval" rating for Georgie or the 46% who favor IMPEACHMENT of Georgie and the 58% who favor IMPEACHING Dickie, et cetera and so on and so forth....}}}
[...pounding head on keyboard...]
Sparrow: Watch the Allstar game tonight. There is a srprise banner being flown from a plane that should put a smile on your face, although since Fox is sponsoring the game it will be interesting whether they show it.
Posted by: Bubba at July 10, 2007 01:10 PM
Fox will prob show the banner that says "Jesus Loves You"... and splice applause audio over it.
High & Inside
Bush seeks parade from stampede
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- When you're facing a stampede, you try to jump ahead of the mob and call it a parade. That's what President Bush will be trying to do at a town hall-style meeting Tuesday in Cleveland -- putting the best face on Republican defections over Iraq.
As an increasing number of Republican senators break with the president on the war and say they want large numbers of U.S. troops to start coming home, he will essentially say, "I'm for that too!"
Senior officials expect the president to repeat what he's said before, which is that of course he would like to get to a point where the U.S. can soon start troop withdrawals -- but with major caveats. The president contends there first needs to be more progress in Iraq on two fronts, security on the ground and political reconciliation within the Iraqi government.
So this is not really a new policy or strategy, it's more like a new-and-improved way of framing the same message of patience.
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/10/otsc.henry/index.html
Posted by: NonnyO at July 10, 2007 01:09 PM
Pope Adolph the Worst, Not Z
Posted by: Bubba at July 10, 2007 01:10 PM
Thanks for the info. I'm probably at work at that point so unless it's posted online, I may not see it.
Or maybe as monkey said, Fox will show something else instead like their plane with "Have a" and the tail end of the other one, "peach"...
(followed by overpriced markedup peaches in the stands.)
Bubba
I heard about the banner.
I will keep quiet.
You know, speaking of prostitutes, or .. ahem .. escorts - you know the guy who "serviced" (massaged, did meth with, whatever) that megachurch guy in Colorado? That escort was interviewed (and massaged the reporter) in one of Portland's weeklies (someone sent me the newspaper clipping & I don't have it here - probably last week's "Portland Mercury").
Anyway, the escort claimed that the preacher paid him over $200/time in all ones and fives. Now where would a preacher get one dollar bills and five dollar bills, without his wife knowing, without having credit card trackbackability?
Why, from the collection plate at church!
The guy did time things nicely for the 2006 elections, right after the Foley scandal.
NonnyO
If the Pope says other churches aren't true Christians, there are plenty of fundamentalist Protestants who don't consider Catholics true Christians. They may stipulate that one has to be "born again" (with adult baptism) and that Catholics practice a form a idolatry, with their saints and emphasis on Mary rather than just Jesus. & the Catholics don't let others take Communion there, whereas the liberal Protestant church I grew up in would have no problem with a Catholic taking communion, & being born and baptised once as an infant was sufficient.
SO much for tolerance.
I like the "peace church" near my house, which right now posted on their marquee, "There is a time for benchmarks" and in 2003 had "Who would Jesus bomb?"
(CNN ) — Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani called Senator David Vitter’s apparent connection to the D.C. Madam “a personal issue”, but admitted that “some people disappoint you.”
Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, has endorsed Giuliani and serves as his southern regional chair. The two appeared together two weeks ago in New Orleans. Vitter admitted in a statement that his phone number was in the records of an escort service run by Deborah Jeane Palfrey.
Giuliani was asked about the admission after a town hall meeting in Concord, New Hampshire on Tuesday morning. He noted he had not spoken to Vitter and that “it’s too early to tell” if he will leave the campaign position. ”I believe it’s a personal issue,” he said. “We’ll have to hear from Senator Vitter.”
Last month, Giuliani’s South Carolina chairman resigned after he was indicted on drug charges. Giuliani insists he should not be judged based on the behavior of certain individuals associated with his campaign or mayoral administration.
“If you look at all the people I’ve appointed, a thousand or so, sure, some of them have problems,“ he said. “The vast majority were outstanding. You couldn’t accomplish the things I’ve accomplished without outstanding people. Some people are flawed, but the percentage is no greater than other people would have encountered. People look at this in the big picture.”
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/10/giuliani-on-vitter-some-people-disappoint-you/
CNN just reran a major portion of what Micheal Moore said last night, followed up by guppity on tape 'admitting' he had basically lied about a number (It was a TRANSCRIPTION mistake, ummhmmm)..
And then the thing calling herself a woman and a news caster says that we can catch part two of Micheal Moore 'ranting and raving'... if we can 'stomach it'.
She makes me gag like I'm sicko or sumthin.
...political reconciliation within the Iraqi government.
So this is not really a new policy or strategy, it's more like a new-and-improved way of framing the same message of patience.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/10/otsc.henry/index.html
Posted by: monkey at July 10, 2007 01:22 PM
The only "political reconciliation" Georgie and Dickie want is for the Iraqi government to vote in favor of their dictated Iraqi constitution that hands over the control of Iraqi oil fields to US oil corporations....
"Patience," my arse...! I wanna see some perp walks and impeachment proceedings result from these "investigative" committee hearings... and SOON...! I'm not gettin' any younger and I'd like to live long enough to see genuine justice done in *our* names....
Posted by: not my president at July 10, 2007 02:59 PM
I "only" want religion to go back to what it used to be: a personal choice, practiced in people's personal lives, if they so choose... and a return to absolute "separation of church and state" like the Founding Fathers intended (and the department of religion, aka 'faith based charities' DE-funded, and the executive order that created it nullified and/or repealed - there is NO reason for ANY religious institution to get US taxpayer dollars for ANY reason whatsoever).
Dean Baker | Fixing Health Care: Not Government vs. Market
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071007L.shtml
Dean Baker writes for Truthout: "With 'SiCKO' rallying popular support for universal health care coverage, defenders of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries are shifting into high gear with their scare tactics. The key to their efforts is to frighten people about the prospect of the government managing their health care."
Gonzales Was Told of FBI Violations
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071007J.shtml
John Solomon of the Washington Post reports: "As he sought to renew the USA Patriot Act two years ago, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales assured lawmakers that the FBI had not abused its potent new terrorism-fighting powers. 'There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse,' Gonzales told senators on April 27, 2005. Six days earlier, the FBI sent Gonzales a copy of a report that said its agents had obtained personal information that they were not entitled to have. It was one of at least half a dozen reports of legal or procedural violations that Gonzales received in the three months before he made his statement to the Senate intelligence committee, according to internal FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act."
HAHAHAHAHA!!! HAHAHA!!
I knew it.
Senator David Vitter caught with a hooker, for a SECOND time
You probably heard about Louisiana Senator and local hardcore rightwinger David Vitter's phone number showing up in the call log of a supposed DC madam yesterday. He admitted (through a spokesman) that he had 'sinned' and had been forgiven by his wife and hoped to be forgiven by Christ. What the articles on this are neglecting to mention is... this is not the first time he has been found out as not the family candidate. Hypocrite Vitter was accused of an extramarital affair in 1999 with a New Orleans prostitute, Wendy Cortez. Wendy Cortez contacted former Governor Treen's office during the 2002 campaign for governor that year, because she was unhappy he was claiming to be a family values candidate and cheating on his wife with her.
http://www.bloggingneworleans.com/2007/07/09/senator-vitter-caught-with-a-hooker-for-a-second-time/
I knew I had heard his name mentioned with hers I just couldn't remember where.
Posted by: Bubba at July 10, 2007 01:10 PM
If you watch this event, will you please post what the banner says or a link to a picture of the banner...?
I don't do sports in person or on TeeVee, so I'll miss it if it's relevant to any political topics that have set blogland ablaze with comments for the last few weeks.
Thanx...! :-)
Posted by: Christy at July 10, 2007 03:59 PM
BWAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAA...!
A SECOND time, eh?
I'm surprised his wife hasn't Bobbitized him by now....!
BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAAAAAAAA......!
HOLY CRAP!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
As the Sen. David Vitter news has made huge waves today, Big Head DC is again hearing from reliable sources that Vice President Dick Cheney used the escort Pamela Martin & Associates escort service while married to Mrs. Lynne Cheney. We can confirm that phone numbers from Halliburton, his former employer, are showing up in the records released by “DC Madam” Jeane Palfrey. Sources are also saying that his exploits may have been quite “kinky” in nature.
http://bigheaddc.com/2007/07/10/dick-jeane-plot-thickens/
OMG IM VOMITING AND GIGGLING!!!!!!!!!!
HEHEHE ICK! GAG! NASTY!
What kind of NASTY SKANK do you have to be to willingly have kinky sex with Dick Freaking Cheney???!!
There is not enough money on this earth and personally my opinion of hookers has been lowered just thinking about it.
(CNN ) — Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani called Senator David Vitter’s apparent connection to the D.C. Madam “a personal issue”, but admitted that “some people disappoint you.”
...
“If you look at all the people I’ve appointed, a thousand or so, sure, some of them have problems,“ he said. “The vast majority were outstanding. You couldn’t accomplish the things I’ve accomplished without outstanding people. Some people are flawed, but the percentage is no greater than other people would have encountered. People look at this in the big picture.”
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/10/giuliani-on-vitter-some-people-disappoint-you/
Posted by: monkey at July 10, 2007 03:19 PM
THIS from the man who moved into the Mayor's house with his GIRLFRIEND after telling his WIFE he was divorcing her on the friggin' NEWS?????????????????/
Ohh never mind....
Off to finish laundry....
muttering, fuming, shaking in rage, breathing to calm down.................
What kind of NASTY SKANK do you have to be to willingly have kinky sex with Dick Freaking Cheney???!!
Posted by: Christy at July 10, 2007 04:18 PM
The Lynne Cheney type, silly.
Live Free or Die Hard
Posted by: NonnyO at July 10, 2007 03:55 PM
Thank you. Faith-based initiatives must end.
This is why I've been ranting so much against the Roberts Supreme Court, and its corporate sponsor Toyota.
HEHEHE ICK! GAG! NASTY!
Posted by: Christy at July 10, 2007 04:06 PM
Posted by: Christy at July 10, 2007 04:18 PM
OMFG!!! I had to get a barf bucket to my computer desk just thinking about that!!!
~~~~~~~~~~
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani called Senator David Vitter’s apparent connection to the D.C. Madam “a personal issue”, but admitted that “some people disappoint you.”
muttering, fuming, shaking in rage, breathing to calm down.................
Posted by: karen at July 10, 2007 04:39 PM
There is an echo chamber in my head... Clinton's BJ was a "personal affair," too... but the neoCons spent millions (or was it billions?) of dollars prosecuting him and trying to impeach him for lying to Congress about his "personal affair" that insulted and offended no one but his wife and daughter...! If turnabout is fair play, then Dickie should be able to be impeached for being a lying adulterer, too, but worse: he paid for sex (but who on earth would disrespect and hate herself so much she'd have sex with a creepy greaseball goon like Dickie?)... eh?
Long, deep cleansing breaths... mutter, mutter, mutter.....
Aaaaaarrgh!!!!!!!!!!
Lynne Cheney reminds me of one of those crude biker chicks that revels in the status of being their 'lady', living up to their standards.
Yet what she never fails to grasp is the widespread acknowledgement of the low standards of bikers.
Another aircraft carrier headed over toward Iran
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/10/africa/ME-GEN-Gulf-US-Navy.php
I think back in the early days, Lynne Cheney must have had to do quite alot of research for the novel she wrote.
http://www.whitehouse.org/administration/sisters.asp
Panel moves to cut off funds to Cheney
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/10/ap3900916.html
It's closin' time - cut off the supply. Time for our "leaders" to join the tabloid trash.
Firing Back
Bush: ‘Military people’ will decide troop levels
President refuses to succumb to call for pullout from politicians, citizens
Updated: 33 minutes ago
AP
CLEVELAND - President Bush, facing new pressure to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq, said Tuesday he won’t consider it until hearing a fresh assessment from his top commander there this fall.
“That’s what the American people expect. They expect for military people to come back and tell us how the military operations are going,” Bush said. “And that’s the way I’m going to play it as commander in chief.”
‘We just started’
Bush, though, said he won’t be swayed.
“We just started. We got all the troops there a couple of weeks ago,” Bush told the Greater Cleveland Partnership, a coalition of Northeast Ohio companies.
Bush’s comments came as the White House scrambled to respond to growing opposition to the war.
“I wouldn’t ask a mother or a dad — I wouldn’t put their son in harm’s way if I didn’t believe this was necessary for the security of the United States and the peace of the world,” Bush said. “I strongly believe it, and I strongly believe we’ll prevail.”
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19691238/
No comment
“I wouldn’t ask a mother or a dad — I wouldn’t put their son in harm’s way if I didn’t believe this was necessary for the security of the United States and the peace of the world,” Bush said. “I strongly believe it, and I strongly believe we’ll prevail.”
Posted by: monkey at July 10, 2007 06:19 PM
Except he still refuses to answer Cindy Sheehan's question, "For what noble cause did my son die?"
Posted by: sparrow at July 10, 2007 06:23 PM
That tard couldn't answer a question if he wanted to.
Oh, I'm sorry, was that negative Bush-bashing?
Tough noogies.
I am an expert on matters of U.S. health care, medicine, and policy, and am also a patient. SICKO, while perhaps not the most scientific of analyses, makes a compelling argument for change. But implementing a universal plan would no doubt entail limits on costs/pricing to industry, that they will fight tooth and nail. It would also reshape the operations of payors (insurance), contracting, utilization, and record keeping. Many physician groups and hospitals would welcome the change, while many mfrs would not. Our current system is harmed by fraud, QA failures, and denial of care. I do not see how universal care would address QA failures in the near term.
As a consumer, I have extraordinary experiences as a patient - 5 brain surgeries for CNS shunt from 1992 to present, author of FDA petitions, advisory documents, pioneer of AI technologies, research, and now public speaker. I directed my 1998 surgery when the best in America couldn't figure it out, with technology I invented.
It we put our hearts and minds to it, I believe there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
Stephen
“I wouldn’t ask a mother or a dad — I wouldn’t put their son in harm’s way if I didn’t believe this was necessary for the security of the United States and the peace of the world,” Bush said. “I strongly believe it, and I strongly believe we’ll prevail.”
Posted by: monkey at July 10, 2007 06:19 PM
Except he still refuses to answer Cindy Sheehan's question, "For what noble cause did my son die?"
Posted by: sparrow at July 10, 2007 06:23 PM
...Might I add...
He hasn't asked his own children, his own nieces and nephews, friends children to sacrifice their lives for our security.
That's how you know it's bunk.
Former surgeon general says he was muzzled
Claims Bush administration kept him from speaking on controversial issues
WASHINGTON - The first U.S. surgeon general appointed by President George W. Bush accused the administration on Tuesday of political interference and muzzling him on key issues like embryonic stem cell research.
"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation's top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee.
"The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds. The job of surgeon general is to be the doctor of the nation, not the doctor of a political party," Carmona added.
Carmona said Bush administration political appointees censored his speeches and kept him from talking out publicly about certain issues, including the science on embryonic stem cell research, contraceptives and his misgivings about the administration's embrace of "abstinence-only" sex education.
Carmona's replacement
Carmona's comments came two days before a Senate committee is due to hold a hearing on Bush's nomination of Dr. James Holsinger as his successor. The administration allowed Carmona to finish his term as surgeon general last year without a replacement in place.
Gay rights activists and several leading Democrats have criticized Holsinger for what they see as "anti-gay" writings, but the White House has defended him as well qualified.
U.S. surgeons general in the past have issued influential reports on subjects including smoking, AIDS and mental health.
"Political interference with the work of the surgeon general appears to have reached a new level in this administration," said Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to which Carmona testified.
"The public expects that a surgeon general will be immune from political pressure and be allowed to express his or her professional views based on the best available science," he said.
Carmona said he was politically naive when he took the job, but became astounded at the partisanship and manipulation he witnessed as administration political appointees hemmed him in.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19697182/from/RS.5/
Can we kill these bastards yet?
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
by The Beatles
She's not a girl who misses much
Do do do do do do do do, oh yeah
She's well acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand
Like a lizard on a window pane
The man in the crowd with the multicoloured mirrors
On his hobnail boots
Lying with his eyes while his hands are busy
Working overtime
A soap impression of his wife which he ate
And donated to the National Trust
Down
I need a fix cos I'm going down
Down to the bits that I left uptown
I need a fix cos I'm going down
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Mother Superior jump the gun
Happiness is a warm gun (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot)
Happiness is a warm gun, mama (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot)
When I hold you in my arms (Oo-oo oh yeah)
And I feel my finger on your trigger (Oo-oo oh yeah)
I know no one can do me no harm (Oo-oo oh yeah)
Because happiness is a warm gun, mama (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot)
Happiness is a warm gun, yes it is (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot)
Happiness is a warm, yes it is, gun (Happiness bang, bang, shoot, shoot)
Well, don't you know happiness is a warm gun, mama? (Happiness is a warm gun, yeah)
Get this!!! Dick just got screwed! That's MY Senator who helped screw him!!!
Senate panel cuts off funds for Cheney’s office.
A Senate appropriations panel chaired by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., refused to fund $4.8 million in the vice president’s budget until Cheney’s office complies with parts of an executive order governing its handling of classified information.
At issue is a requirement that executive branch offices provide data on how much material they classify and declassify. That information is to be provided to the Information Security Oversight Office at The National Archives.
Cheney’s office, with backing from the White House, argues that the offices of the president and vice president are exempt from the order because they are not executive branch ”agencies.”
The funding cut came as the appropriations panel approved 5-4 along party lines a measure funding White House operations, the Treasury Department and many smaller agencies.
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/07/10/senate-panel-cuts-off-funds-for-cheneys-office
And then there's this one...
Bush performs brain surgery
President Bush made a 20-minute stop at the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Center, where he performed a simulated brain surgery.
Standing before a rubber replica of a human brain, the president moved a hand-control that helps teach doctors how to implant deep brain stimulation devices. He did so under the watchful eye of neurosurgeon Ali Rezai.
The president was briefly interrupted by laughter induced by top-advisor Karl Rove, who was entertaining several reporters and White House officials nearby.
Check here for the DU snarky (& very funny) comments about this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2911997
Cheney impeachment bill gains yet another co-sponsor
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Cheney_impeachment_bill_gains_another_cosponsor_0710.html
OMG I just had to laugh on this one
BATON ROUGE – In the wake of U.S. Sen. David Vitter’s apology after his phone number turned up in an escort service's call list, a member of the Republican State Central Committee called for him to resign.
Vincent Bruno of Kenner said today that Vitter should resign “for his own good, the good of the party and the good of his family.” If he doesn’t resign, Vitter should “join the Democratic Party where they think that kind of behavior is OK.”
Bruno said Vitter’s actions violate the Republican Party’s “Family Values” stance but he doesn’t expect the party leadership to do anything about it. “We had David Duke and couldn’t do anything about it.”
http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070710/NEWS01/70710005
From that same link...
“They think more of the party than the right thing to do,” he said. “If they’re not going to enforce family values, they ought to take it out of the vocabulary.
“We’re the party of hypocrites,” he said. “Vote for us and we’ll lie to you, we’ll engage prostitutes and we’ll cheat on our wives.”
Bruno said he puts little stock in Vitter’s apology.
“It’s baloney,” he said. “He only fessed up to it when he got caught.”
“He needs to resign,” Bruno said. “There’s more there; I know so.”
Hey, I like this Bruno fella even if he has no clue what morals democrats do adhere too.
If he doesn’t resign, Vitter should “join the Democratic Party where they think that kind of behavior is OK.”
http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070710/NEWS01/70710005
Oh go f*ck yourself.
Seriously.
U.S. warns of increased risk of summer attacks
No specific terror threat, officials say, but al-Qaida may be 'rebuilding'
WASHINGTON - U.S. counterterror officials are warning of an increased risk of an attack this summer, given al-Qaida's apparent interest in summertime strikes and increased al-Qaida training in the Afghan-Pakistani border region.
On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the editorial board of The Chicago Tribune that he had a "gut feeling" about a new period of increased risk.
He based his assessment on earlier patterns of terrorists in Europe and intelligence he would not disclose.
"Summertime seems to be appealing to them," Chertoff said in his discussion with the newspaper about terrorists. "We worry that they are rebuilding their activities."
Other U.S. counterterrorism officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, shared Chertoff's concern and said that al-Qaida and like-minded groups have been able to plot and train more freely in the tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border in recent months. Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, are believed to be hiding in the rugged region.
"The threat coming out of there is very real, even if there aren't a lot of specifics attached to it," one of the officials said.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19700127/
"There are some who feel like -- that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is, bring 'em on." - George W. Bush, Jul. 02, 2003
Hey Monkey....
Do you need a hug...?
To hell with what they think.
Seriously.
I'll never refuse a hug...
Bring it on.
Posted by: monkey at July 10, 2007 07:58 PM
Or a beer... ;-)
Dedicated to Vitter (yeah, I know the "house" was in DC, but when I found out where Vitter was from, the lyrics to this song just would not leave my brain, drat it...):
The Animals - House Of The Rising Sun
There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one
My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new bluejeans
My father was a gamblin' man
Down in New Orleans
Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and trunk
And the only time he's satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk
------ organ solo ------
Oh mother tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House of the Rising Sun
Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I'm goin' back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain
Well, there is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one