The Group Hug: An Allegory

What a LOVELY story for Monday morning! Thank you, slugbug!

I think there is a lesson here about civility, which is not the same thing as making nice or pretending to be good. Civility is an instinct for the Golden Rule--do unto others and all that.

I certainly wish that that party had been witnessed by other neighbors--especially a few of the Republican operatives who live between our house and that of Mr. Rabdau's friend. Lessons appear all over, don't they?

A great story, slugbug. If anyone is thinking of a group hug for GW though, I'm glad I'm far away.

There is a weekly program on ABC TV called Compass. It's a program dealing with religion and faith. The woman who introduces the program chooses incredible stories. Last night was Part 1 of the Quiet Revolution. You may have seen it.

COMPASS: THE QUIET REVOLUTION: Episode 1 - New Prophets
July 15

Did 9/11 mark the end of religious tolerance? Globalisation has fuelled the fire of fundamentalism in all faiths. But is this the only response ... or the only one we're being told about? In this groundbreaking three-part series Compass reveals a big untold story in world religion: a new form of 'religiousness' emerging alongside globalisation and cultural pluralism. We journey across the world to meet the radical religious thinkers and their networks, pioneering new ways of believing in the new millennium. Behind the clamour of fundamentalism ... a quiet revolution.

In Episode 1, New Prophets, we meet four 'quiet revolutionaries'. Their religious credentials are beyond question yet they are turning traditional modes of belief upside down. Former Catholic priest Paul Knitter, Christian-Buddhist Professor Chung Hyun Kyung, renowned religious scholar Raimon Panikkar and one of the world's new Interfaith ministers Stephanie Dowrick. They argue the turmoil of our era could be the stimulus for a new beginning in religious thinking.

"If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, and the fulfillment of your fall." - Author Unknown

Bwah, Hug Bug!

http://tinyurl.com/2wpwm9

http://www.chimpanzoo.org/african_notecards/chapter_13.html

During times of relaxation, a chimpanzee may often be found grooming another chimpanzee or its own hair. The most obvious function is the removal of pieces of debris from soil, vegetation, and dried skin from hair. The chimpanzee uses one hand to hold the hair back while the other hand, lips, or teeth are used to pick out and remove the small pieces of debris.

Grooming is also used to relax tension from threats and aggression. It helps to maintain friendly ties among family and community members and to lessen the stress of infants during weaning. A chimpanzee may request or solicit grooming by approaching another chimpanzee and getting their attention by presenting a part of its body for grooming. It may scratch itself or start to groom itself. Grooming is a very important social and skin care behavior. A grooming session may include several individuals of varying ages and continue for a few seconds, minutes, or hours.

Mothers groom fussy temperamental infants being weaned from nursing against their wishes. Females relaxing outside on a hot day find a shady spot to spend long periods of time grooming. On occasion, it appears the entire social group is engaged in a friendly, comforting social encounter grooming each other.

Please help me if you can... If you're a Kossack, could you please recommend this diary:

Urgent Request in IL: Our Waukegan Hispanic Neighbors Need Our Help
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/16/81756/0697

Better yet, if you're in the Chicago area -- or know someone who is -- please come to the rally to support our Hispanic neighbors.

Thanks.

Posted by: karen at July 16, 2007 08:47 AM

hence, monkeyball ;-)

aka 'here comes the groom'

Q. -- Why do monkeys have such small balls?

A. -- Because so few monkeys know how to waltz.

And, while we're in the neighborhood (ahem)...

http://antimonkeybutt.com/

Monkey - here in Launceston, Tasmania where I live, there's a big park that has everything a park needs, huge old trees, beautiful grassy areas. Picnic spots, gardens..... and a monkey enclosure for macaque monkeys. It's great to stop by and watch the antics.

A monkey's birth has delighted staff at the Launceston City Council.

The council secured a monkey called Stitches from interstate 12 months ago to breed with female macaque monkeys in the City Park enclosure.

The aim was to prevent genetic deformities caused by in-breeding.

Tests will soon reveal whether Stitches can take credit for a baby born at the enclosure two weeks ago.

Up to three other monkeys are believed to be pregnant.

However, the city council's manager of parks and recreation, Andrew Smith, says some of the females have given Stitches a hard time.

"We put two or three females in with him at a time, not too many because if we put too many in they'll gang up on him, but while there's two or three at a time he rules the roost," he said.

"He's grown, he's only been here a few months but already he's grown 50 per cent in size from an improved diet I guess.

"He seems to be doing his job as far as we can tell."

I was catching up, reading comments at the end of the last thread. I read about Ralpheh and Christy jumping in at local newspaper talkboards full of idiots (not just conservative but too ignorant to defend their positions with logic). They gave the justification for their time there by saying they would serve as an example for those silently lurking.

I guess that is a good point, if they can stomach it. & we certainly did some of that before the last election with "trolls" and lurkers. Also, I used to live in such a place, where the Koolaid drinkers completely dominated and weren't stopped by the newspaper. Here, some arguments ensue but the liberals are in the majority. Also, the Editor would step in if people started just posting to flood the boards or writing things completely lacking in substance.

Your Editors have relinquished their journalistic duty. & speaking of those who, in this case, are at the FEDERAL level and paid with our taxes and relinguish their duties, I received this when I opened my email:

Bush's Intelligence Watchdog Didn't Report for 5-1/2 Years

Source: SF Chronicle/WP

(07-15) 04:00 PDT Washington -- An independent oversight board created to identify intelligence abuses after the CIA scandals of the 1970s did not send any reports to the attorney general of legal violations during the first 5 1/2 years of the Bush administration's counterterrorism effort, the Justice Department has told Congress.

Although the FBI told the board of a few hundred legal or rules violations by its own agents after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the board did not identify which of them were indeed legal violations. This spring, it forwarded reports of violations in 2006, officials said.

The President's Intelligence Oversight Board -- the principal civilian watchdog of the intelligence community -- is obligated under a 26-year-old executive order to tell the attorney general and the president about any intelligence activities it believes "may be unlawful." The board was vacant for the first two years of the Bush administration.

The FBI sent copies of its violation reports directly to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. But the board's mandate was to provide independent oversight, so the absence of such communications has led critics to question whether the board was doing its job.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronic...

better link:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/15/MNG1HR0SVI1.DTL&feed=rss.news

"Wonder if W was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?"

And that proves right there that any subject can be made funny.

NMP, do you know what I see alot when I confront them? I see a lot of others show up who WANT to confront them, but do not know how.

They do not have the right words, or know when to say them.

See, that is what I was saying the other day about DCP teaching people how.

These busheviks have a whole game plan for obliterating dissent. Their tactics literally cover almost any constingency. But there is one approach they can not simply scream their way out of and that is deliberate and systematic confrontation.

Woz had it right when she said how they would lie, then spin, then switch to abusive mode. As long as you can sit there and stomach the abuse without losing your own principles or dropping your own standards then they will completely become unhinged.

They will expose themselves.

Christy
I agree and we are gradually teaching ourselves how to better teach them. It's like a learning laboratory for comparing what works in different situations. There is no college for this!

Here is the funniest thing about my local board.

None of them know I am a poet.

They have no idea what I COULD do to them with words if I wanted too.

Instead I focus on making them eat their own words. I caught one of them plagiarizing and I swear I had more fun flaying him to the bone then I coulda had at Disney world.

He attacked my kids the very first time I posted there. I knew right off I was gonna catch him at something.

When I caught him plagiarizing against the local history teacher, I made an example out of him.

I made sure it went on, and on, and on.

That is one bushevik that would rather claw his own eyeballs out than to cross my path.

I was going to make a point using a Sacha Baron Cohen interview, about how people "expose themselves" when they respond to his fake characters. But "due to legal restraints," we can't hear it now.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6723074
I wish I had archived this.

Christy
Yes - set them up to expose themselves. That's what Cohen does with his comedy. He remains in character - it's like the old Candid Camera. People are embarrassed because they are caught being their obnoxious selves. Some people think it's wrong or rude but we are living in an age when the most toxic are the most secretive. The secrets needed to be "outed." So I admire Cohen very much and can't wait for his Bruno movie. Michael Moore is criticized for essentially the same thing - exposing people who do not want to be SEEN being themselves. Yet their nasty selves adversely affect many people and we need to know about them so we can avoid them or get rid of them.

Celebrities who exhibit stupid or tacky behavior and then get caught on camera should also realize that part of being a celebrity is losing privacy. Paris Hilton recently revealed on Larry King that she votes for President - every year!!

I am discovering how much I value openness and integrity.

Cheney Pushes Bush to Act on Iran
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2127115,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

"..am discovering how much I value openness and integrity.

Posted by: not my president

I like what Karen said about civility

"I think there is a lesson here about civility, which is not the same thing as making nice or pretending to be good."

That is so true.

I would rather someone hate me for telling the truth, than love me for a lie.

This one of those just plain ol' must-read dkos diaries for DCPers of all stripes and flavors, no matter where you're coming from:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/12/23955/3448

Good diary. When we went to DNC 2004, there were protesters and I met some on the plane. Talking to them and talking to delegates, I saw very little difference in their positions. Alot of it was in their minds. Also, many of the Dem delegates and bloggers were more progressive than the candidates, with huge overlap with the protesters, but didn't realize this. Then there was the divide between the bloggers, the campaign people and the grassroots people who make calls and knock on doors. There was much more potential overlap both for people who straddled these divisions with their work or certainly with their ideas. We end up with a bunch of false divisions that could be bridged by communication, if people thought and listened. There must be ways to facilitate this process.

Speaking of the power of words and those who try to stifle dissent....

Congress members rule: No calling Bush a liar

Michael Roston

A Congressional Democrat has been reined in for calling President George W. Bush a 'liar' during a Thursday hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, according to the Monday edition of the newspaper Roll Call.

"Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) offered a lengthy criticism of Bush’s record toward the end of Thursday’s hearing, which included a statement that Bush lied about the reasons for going to war with Iraq in 2003," writes Susan Davis. "Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah) offered an objection on the grounds that Watt’s words were 'unparliamentary' and violated House rules on debate and decorum that forbid personal attacks on Members, the president or vice president."

The exchange occurred just before the end of the hearing that expected to receive testimony from former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, who failed to appear. She cited the White House's exercise of 'executive privilege.'

Davis notes that a problem then occurred.

"Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee Chairwoman Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) countered that the words were not 'unparliamentary,' which parliamentarians and leadership aides on both sides of the aisle later agreed was the wrong procedural call," she writes.

Cannon and his fellow Republicans then failed in a vote that attempted to 'take down' Watt's words. But because Rep. Sánchez's ruling was said to interfere with House precedent on the question, Rep. Cannon threatened "to take it to the House floor in a privileged resolution."

The two sides subsequently negotiated a compromise in which Sánchez agreed to vacate her decision that the words were not 'unparliamentary' in a subsequent hearing.

Cannon is not a stranger to controversy of his own over strong statements. He recently called former US Attorney for New Mexico David Iglesias an 'idiot' in a Fox News broadcast.

The full Roll Call article can be read by subscribers at this link.

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Congress_members_agree_No_calling_Bush_0716.html

We must not allow them to control our words any longer.

They are not just trying to stifle dissent, they are literally trying to change REALITY ITSELF by declaring certain words offlimits.

As long as no one CALLS him a liar, he must be honest then. As long as no one SAYS impeach, he can not be impeached.

Imagine that.

The most murderous liar any of us has ever seen, and the group suppossedly looking out for us will not even CALL HIM A LIAR.

Therein lies the root of the problem.

"Sounds like" the criminal who invaded the back yard cook-out was a person who resorted to learned criminal behavior out of desperation. The refusal of the guest to accept being a victim of criminal behavior was a stroke of genius. It's what led to an amicable resolution.

What would have happened if Congress had laughed their butts off and refused to take Georgie seriously the first time he mentioned illegally invading Iraq? All of Georgie's and Dickie's "justifications" for the war crime (illegal invasion) were easily refuted with LOGICAL questions, LOGICAL thinking processes. I didn't have a computer or internet access way back then, but even in Lamestream Media the "other side" of any of those arguments 'for' the illegal war in Iraq were mentioned - true, briefly mentioned only in passing, but they were mentioned and if one was a news junkie, one could hear the logical sentences uttered that refuted the reasons for the illegal invasion.

I was utterly confounded by the time the actual illegal invasion went forward. I just couldn't believe it was actually happening!

Now, let's suppose a very different kind of criminal had invaded the backyard cook-out... someone with Georgie's personality defect: a psychopath, a person born without a conscience. Rather than accept the invitation to have some wine and cheese and the resolution in a group hug, the entire day would have ended tragically and no one would have figured out why.

When confronted with absolute inborn evil ('bad seed evil'), the first reaction is denial. No one can believe evil exists on its own without an external cause. Anyone who has encountered absolute evil frantically runs around looking for cause and effect. If the parents and neighbors and teachers are all good people who never taught the evil person his/her abnormal behavior, the person seeking a cause and effect ends up mystified, because it's proven over and over that the evil person was taught wrong from right, but the evil person consistently chooses to do evil things, no matter what, because the evil actions result in power and control over others. That's where Congress was all those years ago, I believe. They didn't know how to cope in the face of evil that manipulated them into giving him what he wanted, the spoiled brat syndrome - give him whatever he wants and hope that's enough, because we were embarrassed that he was throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the supermarket; he bullied Congress into passing the most unethical and unconstitutional legislation to validate his actions, to make his illegal and unethical actions "legal." Enabling a spoiled brat to get by with unconscionable behavior is what has led us to this impasse all these years later.

NO ONE wants to accept the FACT that Georgie is an evil 60-year-old spoiled brat who has been indulged by Congress Critters who have been put in the untenable position of acting like his parents or grandparents who must deal with his temper tantrums, enabling this spoiled brat to have this much power and control over them. True, Dickie is in the background manipulating Georgie, likely stroking his ego which only makes Georgie more confident about his ability to terrorize millions of people with his words, but Georgie is the face who tells Congress to "do things his way - or else."

No one in Congress is saying "Or else what?" They all just give him whatever the hell he wants, no strings attached, no consequences when the world falls apart and people continue to die for lies. No one is willing to stand up to the pure evil that is involved with the co-dependent duo of the appointed president and vice-president.

That is what is so mystifying to people who can think logically (which means all of us except the 26% religious reichwingnuttia base who are just as mentally deficient, who will never accept the FACT that the "leaders" we currently have are as evil as they really are because so much of what they do is done in secret, behind closed doors, and they do not want their papers released to investigators who want to know on our behalf). Those of us who can think logically are totally flabbergasted that our "elected representatives" continue to give Georgie and Dickie everything they've ever wanted, who have enabled them to seize dictatorial control of this country, to the detriment of all of us.

Nancy Pelosi has said 'You don't know the half of it.' Well, Madame Speaker, you'd better start talking...! If our republic is truly a government that is as transparent as the Founding Fathers made it per their written words in our Constitution, it's your DUTY to start telling us what we don't know and take steps to remedy the situation!

We are not at a backyard cook-out, this will not end up in a group hug because of a kind word to a misguided criminal who learned his behavior from people more evil than he ever thought of being on his own.

We are in the middle of a constitutional crisis and we are confronting the pure evil of those who CHOOSE to lie and manipulate billions through propaganda, the pure evil of those who coerce others into committing war crimes for them so they may gain power and control over world resources in order to enrich themselves, which makes our military personnel accessories to their war crimes... and it appears on the surface that we are condoning the actions of the evil people who were given their offices by the SCOTUS decision of December 2000.

So, Madame Speaker and all members of the House and the Senate... What are you going to do about it? The vast majority of your constituents see things clearly. Do you? Are you ready to abide by your oaths of office to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic?' For, indeed, your constituents know that Georgie and Dickie are domestic enemies of this country, and they do deserve to be removed from office. True, if you do abide by your oaths of office and remove them, nothing you do will make them feel guilty for their actions. Psychopaths are incapable of feeling guilty for 'doing bad things to good people.' That's the nature of a psychopath: the inability to feel guilty for committing crimes. They feel justified in whatever they do. Whether you choose to punish them or not, they will never feel guilty for the crimes they have committed... crimes committed in our names, no less, and we do not wish to be associated with the evil they have wrought.

So, if not now, WHEN will Congress have the courage to rid this country of the evil "leaders" who never should have been put in office in the first place, the evil "leaders" who should have been laughed at the moment they mentioned an illegal war...?

We're waiting....

The most murderous liar any of us has ever seen, and the group suppossedly looking out for us will not even CALL HIM A LIAR.

Therein lies the root of the problem.
Posted by: Christy at July 16, 2007 11:39 AM

Yes, Christy... you are right. It started by the combination of Congress Critters and Lamestream Media very gently saying they had been "mislead by the administration" - which is pure bulls**t. No one then (and mostly not even now, all these years later) is willing to call Georgie or Dickie LIARS. They just can't bring themselves to accept FACTS.

They can't call evil by it's name because they are in DENIAL. They need to tell themselves that no one who is so purely evil can exist as the "leader" of this country. To acknowledge the horror of having such an evil being as our "leader" would force them to accept their own culpability, their own part in enabling the evil to continue.... Congress Critters have, after all, passed such horrors as the Patriot Acts, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, offered to "work with" Georgie and Dickie in relaxing the FISA laws, gave him limited military authority to declare war with AUMF (and allowed him to re-direct the military from the original target in Afghanistan to the illegal war crime of invading Iraq), and they've allowed him to commit torture in our names and keep prisoners at Gitmo for no just cause, et cetera and so on and so forth, all in keeping with the 'unitary executive' theory which gives dictatorial power to the one who is demanding absolute authority.

Our Congress Critters are incapable of accepting their own roles in allowing Georgie and Dickie to continue their dictatorial criminal spree without stopping them. Quite the contrary, they've enabled him every step of the way. Now they're in a bind. Do nothing and let the evil continue, which could include yet another war, this time in Iran; and it could spark a war that brings it to this continent, too, when other countries get pissed off enough to pre-emptively invade the US because they know, even if our Congress Critters don't, that the world's most dangerous terrorists are Georgie and Dickie and their criminal cabal who support, protect, defend and enrich the corporate fascists, not the people of this country.

What's the worst that can happen if Congress Critters find their spines and their balls and FINALLY speak truth to the evil powers, FINALLY call liars LIARS? Georgie and Dickie and their criminal cabal will call them names and Lamestream Media will repeat those bad names endlessly, even though doing what's best for this country and her people would be to remove the top criminals from office, per the US Constitution that they swore to uphold. They're afraid of the maniacal and crazy 25%-ers who do not have logic on their side (even if they do control the formerly-free airwaves of our Lamestream Media).

And, of course, they'll have to apologize for enabling the spoiled brat to have so much power. That's okay. Everyone loves a repentant sinner.... (/snark... I don't forgive the apologists so quickly; first I expect them to prove they mean it - in this case, the only way Congress Critters could redeem themselves in my eyes is if they repented by repealing the bad laws they've passed in just as short a time as Georgie and Dickie demanded they pass the laws with little or no debate. If they want forgiveness, they must earn it.)

But to deny that a liar has lied to us is just plain ridiculous! I saw that part of the hearing when Cannon threw a hissy fit over calling Georgie a liar and I thought he was ridiculous for interrupting Watt. Cannon just doesn't want to hear the truth....

Christy, NonnyO
I heard excerpts from that Congressional incident on NPR last Friday. I was shocked that it would be unparliamentary to call and "liar" a "liar." Isn't a "liar" just "one who has told a lie"? Strong language, maybe, but nothing compared to Cheney.

By the way, I was just waited on by a young, inexperienced, nervous waitress and it brought back memories.

I am sure I waited on a young Dick Cheney who was duck hunting in South Dakota and that he was rude, obnoxious and didn't tip.

Here is how he looked (on the left but wearing duck hunting clothes):

http://tinypic.com/i78ivb.jpg

Suppose Iran is mostly Shiite, as is the held-down majority in Iraq.

Suppose Saudi Arabia is mostly Sunni, as is the minority Sunni group controlling Iraq, that is then knocked out by the Americans.

Wouldn't you expect that Iranian Shiites would band with Iraqi Shiites and Saudi Sunnis would band with Iraqi Sunnis and then they would aid the two sides of the civil war?

Consider that Saddam had 25 guarded entry points and when the Americans came in, we ended up with 2. Anyone could come in.

Saudis Make Up Half of Iraq's "Foreign Fighters"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/071607B.shtml
Ned Parker, reporting for the Los Angeles Times writes, "Sunni extremists from Saudi Arabia make up half the foreign fighters in Iraq, many suicide bombers."

We can't fight Iranians and Saudis as they are on opposite sides, plus those helping the factions in Iraq do not necessarily support their own governments. We would end up arming civil war factions in those countries or hitting both sides.

Lose-lose scenario.

http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2007/07/some-democratic-senators-still-not.html
Some Democratic Senators Still Not Cosponsoring Habeas Corpus Restoration

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/16/133049/958
The Question of Impeachment
by Senator Russ Feingold

Reid just dared the republic party senators to filibuster the Levin/Reed troop redeployment bill tomorrow.

Now this is more like it!

http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2007/07/reid-to-force-senate-into-all-night.html

Congress members rule: No calling Bush a liar

Michael Roston

A Congressional Democrat has been reined in for calling President George W. Bush a 'liar' during a Thursday hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, according to the Monday edition of the newspaper Roll Call.

"Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) offered a lengthy criticism of Bush’s record toward the end of Thursday’s hearing, which included a statement that Bush lied about the reasons for going to war with Iraq in 2003," writes Susan Davis. "Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah) offered an objection on the grounds that Watt’s words were 'unparliamentary' and violated House rules on debate and decorum that forbid personal attacks on Members, the president or vice president."

The exchange occurred just before the end of the hearing that expected to receive testimony from former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, who failed to appear. She cited the White House's exercise of 'executive privilege.'

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Didn't the Republicans, regularly, call Clinton a liar??? or a perjurer???

How about Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld?? are they too protected from the liar label?

A friend in Seattle asked me to pass this on

Just got off the phone with Pelosi's office (202-225-4965). Young intern was well aware of the Bill Moyers' Journal's "Case for Impeachment". She said her lines have been full all day with people telling Rep Pelosi to put impeachment back on the table. Then she asked if I was in favor of impeachment or against it.

Please take the time to make your voice heard with the Speaker. She did not ask for my name or any information, just if I was for or against.

I am quite depressed today. I just spoke with an old friend (nice thing) but the bad thing is that she's now on the board of my 'favorite' party. (Sarcasm on favorite...)

I can't believe this smart and compassionate woman is part of the 27%.

Leaves me feeling somewhat hopeless.

s

Your friend's party is being outraised by double digits. One of their favorite sons is lying on his stomach face down with a fork in him. The golfers from her party are stuck inside tonight and had better have brought alot of phone books along to read.

Senator seeks to rebuild trust after sex scandal
Vitter’s wife said she has forgiven husband’s role with escort service

METAIRIE, La. - Sen. David Vitter on Monday denied having relationships with New Orleans prostitutes, a week after admitting links to a Washington escort service that federal prosecutors allege was a prostitution ring.

Vitter, emerging from a week of seclusion by appearing at a news conference in suburban Metairie with his wife, Wendy, at his side, denied the prostitution allegations and offered no indication that he would resign. He said he planned to fly Monday night to Washington to resume work in the Senate.

“I want to again offer my deep, sincere apologies to all those I have let down and disappointed with actions from my past,” Vitter said. “I am completely responsible and I am so very, very sorry.”

On July 9, Vitter apologized for committing a “very serious sin in my past,” acknowledging that his Washington phone number was among those called several years ago by an escort service that prosecutors say was a prostitution operation.

Telephone records show that the service called Vitter’s number five times from 1999 to 2001, while he was a U.S. representative.

The first-term Republican said he has worked hard on his marriage and on living by the values he has long espoused as a politician.

“I believe I received forgiveness from God. I know I did from Wendy,” he said. “Unfortunately, my admission has incurred some longtime political enemies and those hoping to profit from this situation.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19795296/

I would rather someone hate me for telling the truth, than love me for a lie.

Posted by: Christy at July 16, 2007 11:12 AM

Yes, Christy. It's about respect. In order to get respect, first you must be respectful. The liars have no respect for those who pay their way. Only the truth is respectful. And ALL the truth, not just a few classified documents released from the 1920s. They shouldn't classify documents that expose their lies.

So, Vitter is very, very sorry and his wife has forgiven him. For getting caught and exposed? Exposed for what? Well, being a liar for starters. Clinton's consensual sexual activities were the basis for impeachment. Vitter goes even further and pays for it. And he actually committed a crime if prostitution is illegal. He wouldn't have confessed, or apologised, if he hadn't been exposed.

These holier than thou politicians should be called what they are. Liars. Maybe liar is not the language of Congress. And impeachment is very *iffy*. The Bush lies have cost a lot of lives.

Must read this diary:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/16/212340/869

Cannabis v Diebold

So, Vitter is very, very sorry and his wife has forgiven him. For getting caught and exposed? Exposed for what? Well, being a liar for starters. Clinton's consensual sexual activities were the basis for impeachment. Vitter goes even further and pays for it. And he actually committed a crime if prostitution is illegal. He wouldn't have confessed, or apologised, if he hadn't been exposed.

@@@@@

Can we speak to Mrs. Vitter directly on this matter???

Vitter won't be reformed because he has a fetish he can't forget about.

Can we speak to Mrs. Vitter directly on this matter???

Posted by: Ralpheh at July 16, 2007 10:57 PM

Vitter's wife, Wendy, told reporters she had forgiven her husband when she learned about the escort service several years ago.

"I made the decision to love him and to recommit to our marriage. To forgive is not always the easy choice, but it was, and is, the right choice for me," she said. "I am proud to be Wendy Vitter."

She also made a plea "as a mother" to the media to give her family some privacy, noting that reporters have been staking out their home and church.

"I would just ask you very respectfully to let us continue our summer, and our lives, as we had planned," she said.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/16/vitter/index.html

She also made a plea "as a mother" to the media to give her family some privacy, noting that reporters have been staking out their home and church.

"I would just ask you very respectfully to let us continue our summer, and our lives, as we had planned," she said.

Posted by: monkey at July 17, 2007 07:04 AM

Someone call the waaaaaaaaahhhmbulance for her.

And maybe she can think about how her husband and his party is refusing to let soldiers get their summer vacations at home. And even proper rest time before being sent back to a warzone.

"...and please allow us to get our freak on any way we choose, our soldiers are dying for our freedom..."

Monkey
Yeah someone sent me the video. Maybe it will just be cheaper for her if she buys some Depends and caters to his whims.

We still have alot to fight.

Rupert "Fox" Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal.

Newt Gingrich is speaking in DC about how we should privatize more services and companies.

Bill Kristol just published a delusional article about why Bush is right and great.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/bill-kristol-on-the-tra_b_56394.html

Don't miss this nugget (link above):

The latest is "precipitous withdrawal." It's the new "cut and run." It's actually not all that new: back in January 1969, Richard Nixon used it again and again in his famous "Silent Majority" speech: "The precipitate withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam would be a disaster not only for South Vietnam but for the United States and for the cause of peace." Again and again throughout the speech, Nixon used the phrase to paint the nightmarish consequences of a "precipitate withdrawal" from Vietnam. Almost forty years later, George Bush is using the slightly tweaked "precipitous withdrawal" to paint his own nightmarish scenario of what will happen if American forces leave Iraq.

I'm sure someone will have a double entendre.

Nonny, I think congress has a much more...practical reason... for not calling bush a liar.

It is very simple.

If they call him a liar, then they are obligated to do something about his LIES.

Let us not forget there are dem turncoats at the highest level eating off the same plate of war profits as georgie.

In many ways it is like reasoning with children.

They can not see his lies, because they have their eyes closed.

If I called YOU or anyone a 'liar', we all know what happens next. You deny it then I prove it. And those watching will also be morally obligated to ask you why you lied.

It is not that they are scared to call bush a liar. They are scared of having to do something about it.

PS and BTW...

Why would robotic republican plants be monitoring local message boards?

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Nowhere_to_go_but_up_Pentagon_0717.html

Speaking of war profits and turncoat dems...

"An internal investigation that the House Intelligence Committee has refused to make public portrays the panel as embarrassingly entangled in the Randy “Duke” Cunningham bribery scandal.

The report, a declassified version of which was obtained by the Los Angeles Times, describes the committee as a dysfunctional entity that served as a crossroads for almost every major figure in the ongoing criminal probe by the Justice Department.

The document describes breakdowns in leadership and controls that it says allowed Cunningham — the former congressman (R-Rancho Santa Fe) who began an eight-year prison term last year for taking bribes and evading taxes — to use his House position to steer millions of dollars to corrupt contractors.

When the committee’s investigation was completed last year, the Republican-controlled panel would not release the results; now that the committee is controlled by Democrats, it still will not release the findings."

I just got off the phone with Pelosis office.

I asked about the rule of not calling georgie a liar and does that rule actually exist?

The girl said 'I don't know like 3 times, put me on hold, came back and said 'I don't know'.

Hmmmmmmmmm.

Maybe I should call Conyers office and ask him about it.

Posted by: Christy at July 17, 2007 09:51 AM

Please do so.

BUT...when you call Christy, ask for the Press Secretary and tell them you want an offical response. AND tell them you will be publishing their response. (You can identify yourself as a blogger from DCP or wherever you like.) Also, give them a deadline and let them know you will be going to press with or without their answer.

Take notes: names, dates, times. Then spread the word liberally...

Too late to put conditions on it I already caled.

Conyers guy basically reiterated there was a 'parlimentary scuffle' and that was all about.

I told him it seems very very odd this man can lie us into war, and even as people are dying, no one seems to be able to call him on it.

He agreed, but I have a feeling he was not a newbie intern. Close to the vest.

Anyways I told him I just wanted him to know if they had made up such a rule, then it should be IGNORED.

He chuckled at me and we hung up.

I think I just got spun, but cool, because obviously he has already taken a lot of calls asking the same thing.

WASHINGTON - The terrorist network Al-Qaida will likely leverage its contacts and capabilities in Iraq to mount an attack on U.S. soil, according to a new National Intelligence Estimate on threats to the United States.

The declassified key findings, to be released publicly on Tuesday, were obtained in advance by The Associated Press.

The report lays out a range of dangers — from al-Qaida to Lebanese Hezbollah to non-Muslim radical groups — that pose a “persistent and evolving threat” to the country over the next three years. As expected, however, the findings focus most of their attention on the gravest terror problem: Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network.

The report makes clear that al-Qaida in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could become a problem here.

“Of note,” the analysts said, “we assess that al-Qaida will probably seek to leverage the contacts and capabilities of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI), its most visible and capable affiliate and the only one known to have expressed a desire to attack the homeland.”

The analysts also found that al-Qaida’s association with its Iraqi affiliate helps the group to energize the broader Sunni Muslim extremist community, raise resources and recruit and indoctrinate operatives — “including for homeland attacks.”

The White House has used the reports as evidence that the country must continue to go after al-Qaida in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. But critics say the evolving threat is evidence of a policy gone wrong.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13435571/

Anyone recall a big al-Qaida problem in Iraq before the LIAR invaded illegally and broke all the Pottery Barn stuff?

I thought the Pottery Barn thing was something I had just imagined must have happened.

Wanna have some fun and help out Louisiana?

Call Senator Vitter's office:
Washington, D.C.
516 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4623
Fax: (202) 228-5061

Ask when he will be resignng.

You know, it kinda makes you wonder WHERE all the people got her number from. I can just see it carved onto the wall of the Congressional Cloak Room.

"For a good time call 123-4567 and leave a message. Fetishes cost extra."

I asked about the rule of not calling georgie a liar and does that rule actually exist?

The girl said 'I don't know like 3 times, put me on hold, came back and said 'I don't know'.

@@@@@@

The young folk answering the phones generally don't know specifics and won't give out information - they just take messages.

You can try calling the press office for the Speaker:

Contact:
Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami
202-226-7616

But they will try to get rid of your call as well. The first question they will ask you is, "And what media organization are you with?"

This ones for Ally...

Monkey steals tourist's glasses in India
South Korean files complaint in order to claim damages on travel insuranceLUCKNOW, India - A South Korean tourist has filed a formal complaint against a monkey he says stole his reading glasses during his visit to the Hindu holy city of Varanasi in northern India.

Kim Dang Hoon says he opened his hotel room window for fresh air when the monkey made his move.

"He headed straight to the table where my glasses were kept and took it away," Kim said in the statement.

Part of the frame later was recovered by hotel staff and Kim said he filed the report so he can make a damages claim on his travel insurance.

Thousands of wild monkeys roam Varanasi, dotting the trees on the banks of the Ganges River and scampering through the city's many temples, where they are venerated as manifestations of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman.

On Tuesday, police combed Varanasi's alleys searching for the monkey.

"It is difficult to trace the monkey but I am trying my best to locate the rogue," investigating officer Inspector Govind Singh said from Varanasi, some 185 miles southeast of Lucknow.

Problems with monkeys harassing tourists in the city are common, Singh said.

"But we can't do anything. We cannot shoot them or beat them as Hindus worship monkeys," he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19806344/

See No Evil... Wait! Now I DO!

Posted by: Christy at July 17, 2007 10:34 AM

You crack me up!

Posted by: monkey at July 17, 2007 10:43 AM

No problem. Just call them a terra-rist and put them in Gitmo or send them to unknown countries and dungeons for rendition.

They know EXACTLY what they are doing.

"The truth-shattering piece appeared yesterday on the front page of the Washington Post Outlook section. It is entitled "Why Bush Will Be A Winner."

I had a preview of this deluded triumphalist drivel a couple of days earlier -- on Thursday afternoon specifically. Even more specifically, I was on the 4:00 pm Amtrak Acela from New York to Washington.

Kristol was sitting a row behind me, talking on his cell phone with someone who apparently shared his optimism. "'Precipitous withdrawal' really worked," I overheard him say, clearly referring to the president's use of the term in that morning's press conference. "How many times did he use it? Three? Four?" he asked his interlocutor, and the conversation continued with a round of metaphorical back-slapping for the clever phrase they had "come up with."

I, of course, have no idea who was on the other end. Tony Snow, perhaps? After all, he and Kristol were colleagues before Snow left Fox. But whoever it was, the emphasis during their conversation on the significance of the "clever" phrase has been emblematic of the White House prepping of the president.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/bill-kristol-on-the-tra_b_56394.html

How Bush Uses His Generals

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Monday, July 16, 2007; 2:00 PM

President Bush says that he should be trusted on military issues because he listens to his commanders. But he has a tendency to celebrate his generals when they're providing him political cover -- then stick a knife in their backs when they're no longer of any use to him.

Last week, Bush rejected any blame for the chaos that ensued in Iraq after the March 2003 invasion. So whose fault was it? Bush pointed the finger at Gen. Tommy Franks, the Central Command chief at the time. "My primary question to General Franks was, do you have what it takes to succeed? And do you have what it takes to succeed after you succeed in removing Saddam Hussein? And his answer was, yes," Bush said.

That's the same Tommy Franks to whom Bush awarded a Medal of Freedom in 2004.

And when virtually all of Bush military line of command, including the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff, opposed his "surge" proposal late last year, Bush responded not by listening, but by removing the top two commanders responsible for Iraq and replacing them with more amenable leaders, including Army Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus.

Petraeus, as it happens, wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post just five weeks before the 2004 election describing what he called "reasons for optimism" in Iraq. Now Petraeus is Bush's "main man." Maybe he should be watching his back.

Continues...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/07/16/BL2007071600891.html

HAHAHAHA!! HAHAHA!!

On calling Bush a liar:

From Richard:

There IS a rule, but it is not that specific. It's about maintaining decorum. He'll look it up.

** gnu thread **

Also, I am TOTALLY amused that Arianna, like me, listens in on cellphone calls on the Amtrak. I don't hear nearly as fascinating a conversation as she did, but man, oh man, it is fun! I often find out about merges and acquisitions, and, since I am often in costume, with props, no one seems to hide what they are talking about.

Yeah Yeah 'decorum'.

I am so sick of this pretend politeness we are all suppossed to just keep embracing in the name of a murderous lying WAR CRIMINAL.

The days of politically correct conditioning ARE OVER.

Decorum, parlimentary, it does not matter.

THE TRUTH should matter no matter what stupid reasoning they make to suppress it.

You know what Karen, eve since you put this post up I have been thinking about the usage of language in all of this and how VITAL it is to focus on the very words we are using.

Language issues will always draw a lot of attention because everyone has something to say about it no matter what dialect they speak in.

If we do not take back the conversation from them then nothing will change.

Here are free tips from a poet...

1) Do not talk in phrases about IF georgie should be impeached but WHEN. Do not argue if he SHOULD BE, ask when he will be.

2) Use impeachment in every damn sentence you can and do not dare back away from it no matter what. Repeat it until it is real.

3) Be willing to call a liar, a liar. And to prove it.

4) When confronted by the koolaid drinkers, hold your ground and go on the offensive, and demand they justify their own words.

5) Use simple words and simple terms and do not be afraid to use words they are trying to smear or suppress, like liberal or impeachment. Do not allow them to change the very DEFINITION of the word... Like terror.

6) Do not be afraid to be called names or be attacked with irrational words from irrational people. Sticks and stones. Stay focused no matter how much they try to divert the issue into something else.