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The House of Wisdom
First this:
Now this:
The U.S. military has introduced "religious enlightenment" and other education programs for Iraqi detainees, some of whom are as young as 11, Marine Maj. Gen. Douglas M. Stone, the commander of U.S. detention facilities in Iraq, said yesterday.
Stone said such efforts, aimed mainly at Iraqis who have been held for more than a year, are intended to "bend them back to our will" and are part of waging war in what he called "the battlefield of the mind." Most of the younger detainees are held in a facility that the military calls the "House of Wisdom."
The religious courses are led by Muslim clerics who "teach out of a moderate doctrine," Stone said, according to the transcript of a conference call he held from Baghdad with a group of defense bloggers. Such schooling "tears apart" the arguments of al-Qaeda, such as "Let's kill innocents," and helps to "bring some of the edge off" the detainees, he said.
[...]
Stone said his staff conducts polygraph tests for detainees who promise to change after undergoing the religious training program. "We were trying to figure out if they're messing with us. . . . You're not talking about radicals going to choirboys." But he also added that they're succeeding in countering extremists in the facilities. "We're busting them down, we're making whole moderate compounds that didn't exist before."
Stone described a sort of religious insurgency that occurred at one detention facility on Sept. 2. "We had a compound of moderates for the first time overtake . . . extremists. It's never happened before. Found them, identified them, threw them up against the fence and shaved their frickin' beards off of them. . . . I mean, that is historic."
I see some people paid attention in Spanish History class.
I'm sure this will all work out really, really well this time.
That's odd, cuz...
From Sojourners:
Bureau of Prisons censoring prison libraries
Religion section stripped of any book not on government-approved list
Imagine walking into your local library, planning to read a theologian such as Reinhold Niebuhr or Karl Barth, or a popular inspirational work, such as Rick Warren's Purpose-Driven Life or Harold Kushner's When Bad Things Happen to Good People.
But instead of finding such important and popular titles, you discover that the religion section has been decimated – stripped of any book that did not appear on a government-approved list.
That's exactly what's happening right now to inmates in federal prisons under a Bush administration policy. As The New York Times put it, "chaplains have been quietly carrying out a systematic purge of religious books and materials that were once available to prisoners in chapel libraries."
The news reports seem implausible. The idea of government bureaucrats drafting a list of approved books on religion seems like something out of Soviet-era Russia, not the United States of America, where freedom of religion – even for those behind prison walls – is something we treasure.
But the reports are true. All of the books and authors named above have been removed from prison libraries. In some instances, according to the Times, chaplains have been forced to dismantle "libraries that had thousands of texts collected over decades, bought by the prisons, or donated by churches and religious groups."
To make matters worse, the contents of the "approved" list are extremely capricious. For example, "80 of the 120 titles on the list for Judaism are from the same Orthodox publishing house," and the list for Christianity "lack[s] materials from early church fathers, liberal theologians and major Protestant denominations."
The Bureau of Prisons says they merely want to ensure prisons are not recruiting grounds for terrorists and other militant groups. So why are they removing the vast majority of materials on faith and religion? And if prisoners are not free to pursue their own faith journeys, what cause for hope should they have?
http://go.sojo.net/campaign/prisonlibraries/wigg63s4pkb3bb3?
"Converting" beliefs will probably work about as well as trying to change people's sexual orientation.
Speaking of wierd, someone sent me this link and I thought at first this entry had to be a joke.
It's the politician recently in trouble for soliciting a five year old. (Is that what you'd call it?) Just beyond belief.
http://www.republicansexoffenders.com/
Atchison suggested the mother tell her daughter that "you found her a sweet boyfriend who will bring her presents." The undercover detective
expressed concern about physical injury to the 5-year-old girl as a result of the sexual activity. Detectives said Atchison responded, " I
am always gentle and loving; not to worry, no damage ever, no rough stuff ever. I only like it soft and nice." The undercover detective asked how Atchison can be certain of no injury. He responded, "Just gotta go slow and very easy. I've done it plenty,"
Posted by: not my president at September 19, 2007 10:52 AM
Hell is not worthy of someone like that...
Just reading comments on the last thread before digging into work and came across this nugget from Ally, which I'm sure she can substantiate, and I was shocked:
1/3 of the members have never been overseas and have no intention of ever going,
Is it true? Can they read and write? No foreign languages, I take it.
Glad my Representative has been to over 200 countries, alot of it at his own expense and to do medical volunteering, such as with AIDS and depleted uranium.
War’s impact at home falls hard on relative few
-snip-
While military families’ views of the war vary, many feel that too few are being asked to sacrifice too much — a prominent theme among those who shared their thoughts with msnbc.com.
“If this "War on Terror" is the "War of this Generation" and Washington is not going to change that mission, then … Washington needs to mobilize this nation through national service (conscription),” wrote a Gut Check America reader in Baton Rouge, La., who asked that his name be withheld because of concern that his remarks might cause trouble for his son, now in his second deployment to Iraq. “To have 1 percent of this nation's citizens bear 100 percent of that burden is morally reprehensible. ‘Support the Troops’ needs to be more than words to the other 99 percent of this nation's citizens.”
“Our experience is that it’s two different worlds — the one for everybody else, and the one for military families and service people,” agreed Laura Stranlund of Amherst, Mass., whose son, Army Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Miller, is on his third deployment since 2001. “Unless you’ve got skin in the game or know someone who does, it just doesn’t seem to matter. America is at the mall.”
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20822561/
Yes, that's the great leadership of the "war president"... from the beginning, even when he had millions duped, there were no fireside chats, no weekly updates, no attempt to ration supplies or do ANYTHING resembling rallying the citizens around the effort... for a former cheerleader, he stinks!
I ask you, WHO REALLY supports the troops?
This is good news not only as a stand against the war but from a political perspective. The more nuanced position that was proposed was hopeful that it might attract enough cowardly Republicans to help override a veto.I still support the Webb proposal but it still would never reach 67 votes. It takes 60 votes for cloture and 67 votes to override which would mean it would take 11 and 18 Republican votes to suceed and make this bill sucessful. That is never going to happen and it would merely enable the cowardly Republicans, and I emphasize the word "Cowardly Republicans" since it seems so fashionable to beat up on Democrats and give Republican so called moderates a free pass. What that other legislation would have provided is cover for Gordon Smith, Susan Collins,Norm Coleman and John Sanunu to put in their commercials, see I supported ending the war its not my fault the other Republicans weren't as wise, knowing full well that there would never be another 14 votes to override a certain veto. I am not in to providing political cover(enabling) endangered Repulican Senators, and I am thrilled that Harry Reid finally figured this out.
Per ABC's Jake Tapper, "Senate Democrats announced Tuesday afternoon that they were forgoing any softer language in their bills and would introduce Iraq-related legislation as aggressive as that in previous bills -- including two that called for withdrawing U.S. combat troops."
This story leaped out at me this morning from the front pages of the Washington Post, and I had already read it to a house guest (who is in DC to participate in the many antiwar protests going on the rest of this month)before catching it on DCP.
Could my wife have slipped some hallucinatory drug into my coffee this morning? Was someone playing an elaborate Onion-like practical joke by replacing the outside page of my paper with a seemingly realistic fake page? Had I just gone insane during the middle of the night and hadn't figured it out yet?
Because someone should be diagnosed as clinically insane here, either me (and a majority of the rest of adult Americans), or Marine Maj. Gen. Douglas M. Stone, the commander of U.S. detention facilities in Iraq, together with everyone else in the chain of command, civilian and military, who were involved in creating or signing off on this program.
And I'm pretty sure it's not me and the rest of my fellow citizens.
There should be an ambulance pulling up right now in front of General Stone's HQ, with some orderlies and a nice white straight-jacket for the General. Or a helicopter, if that would get him to a good psychiatric hospital first for observation and evaluation. My BA in Psychology may not legally entitle me to make a diagnosis, but I would suggest that the General appears to be suffering from a psychosis, irrational delusions of grandeur.
Look at his words, his metaphors: only someone profoundly out of touch with reality. This man needs a doctor. But there aren't enough doctors on the planet to cure the madness which George Bush has unleashed.
Posted by: richardbell at September 19, 2007 11:20 AM
Dick, and the Busheviks would rather put *us* behind the bars of a mental hospital instead.
They've done that sh*t in Ohio and to me in Arizona.
Posted by: richardbell at September 19, 2007 11:20 AM
Everbody must get Stone.
Posted by: not my president at September 19, 2007 10:59 AM
Those 1/3 are the ones without passports. And as you know, from now on, no passport = no go.
You are very fortunate to have McDermott as your rep.
Pirate glossary:
http://homepage.mac.com/crabola/PirateGlossary/Menu22.html
Click on my name to see Johny Depp
General Stone's thinking will certainly not decrease likelihood of another terrorist attack.
I too would have guessed The Onion.
Expert: Military went to war; country didn't
Yawning gulf seen between perspectives of military families, general pub
By Sandra Lilley
NBC News
Updated: 6:36 a.m. ET Sept 19, 2007
David R. Segal is a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland and the director of the Center for Research on Military Organization, which conducts research related to the military, war and peace. In a recent interview, he shared his thoughts on how the Iraq war differs from previous U.S. military conflicts.
Question: It seems that even though we’re at war, most of us go about our daily lives as if it is not happening. Is the “disconnect” between military families and the general population as extreme as it appears?
Answer: Yes. The big difference is the American military has gone to war and the country has not. In past wars everyone was asked to sacrifice, whether it was through taxes, bonds, rationing — even bringing in peach pits and rendering fat — and most importantly, sacrificing sons through conscription. Now, the sacrifice has been placed solely on military families.
Q: How has this affected the public perception of the war?
A: If you think back to Vietnam, there was a tendency to be against the military. But that is no longer happening. In a way, the public is more sophisticated now. The public knows the Army does not decide what wars to fight. Americans have not abandoned their people in uniform.
Q: In your research, have you found that men and women in uniform feel they have support, or do they feel like they are on their own?
A: They feel alone to some degree. … I’m afraid they feel victimized by the American government. The feeling is well placed. The government has abandoned our veterans.
Q: How so?
A: The men and women in uniform swear to support the Constitution and they take an oath to do what the government sends them to do without making judgments of rightness or wrongness. What is first and foremost on the military’s mind is keeping alive.
However, the men and women in uniform feel their contract with the government should require that they get what they need to prosecute the war it sends them to fight and help them when they come home.
When soldiers got to Iraq, many felt they weren’t given what they needed and asked their own families to do what they could. There wasn’t enough body armor. Soldiers were writing home to their wives and asking for flak jackets. Families shouldn’t have to do that.
Take all the IED attacks on Humvees that were not built to withstand this. IEDs are not new. The Vietcong used IEDs in Vietnam; they have been around for decades. They are made from unexploded ordnance. We should have anticipated that (they) would be used against us and we should have had vehicles that were equipped for them.
Q: It seems the American public as a whole is pretty quiet about this war. Is that an accurate perception?
A: Yes, and quite frankly, an interesting aspect of this war is that there is not a huge anti-war movement among the general public. During Vietnam, for example, there were huge protests in college campuses. Now, there is no draft and college students are not at risk. ... The families that are risking the most are the families of servicemen. And the anti-war Web sites are now military families’ Web sites.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20742327/from/RS.4/
Q: Are there any lessons the American public has learned from this war?
A: I kind of suspect it will be a long time before anyone says preemptive war again.
Karen or Dick,
Does DCP actually have a street addy? A mailing address?
If so can I have it please?
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2007 12:42 PM
Thanks for sharing.
The real shame is that W has insulated the powerful from the war efforts, by giving them WARTIME TAX CUTS - unheard of in anyone's history, ever, until now.
Something's gotta give, and that would be the domestic programs and the infrastructure improvements, yet the rich don't seem to be impacted all that much - it's the middle class and the working class that suffer.
But Reagan had done such a good job of "government = evil" brainwashing that the average masses don't care.
Even W's puppet pope is fed up with the W regime, and refuses to meet Condi Rice:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7002988.stm
Christy -
I have the DCP street address in DC, but won't give it out in public without Karen or Dick's permission.
I could email it to you, however...
GOP identification drops
Party identification — or affiliation, as it’s also called — measures whether people consider themselves to be Republican, Democratic or independent. In 2004, according to the firm’s merged polling data (think of it as one huge data set compiled over the course of a year), Republicans were at rough parity with Democrats in party ID, trailing them by three percentage points.
At this point in 2007, they trail Democrats by seven. Other, nonpartisan national surveys show a similar disinclination to identify with the GOP.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/5889.html
Now if he hadn't been on holidays, and refused to meet her, that might have impressed me more.
Pope Refuses to Meet with Condi Rice
Pope Benedict XVI refused to meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in August, saying he was on holiday, an Italian newspaper reported Wednesday.
Rice "made it known to the Vatican that she absolutely had to meet the pope" to boost her diplomatic "credit" ahead of a trip to the Middle East, the Corriere della Sera daily reported without citing its sources.
She was hoping to meet the pontiff at his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo at the beginning of August, it said.
"'The pope is on holiday' was the official response," the paper said.
It said the reply "illustrated the divergence of view" between the Vatican and the White House about the "initiatives of the Bush administration in the Middle East."
The newspaper said the pope had rejected all meetings with political representatives during August.
The Vatican press office refused to confirm the report.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070919165838.f0y81otc&show_article=1
Thompson won't rule out Everglades drilling
Refuses to take anything off the table in terms of energy situation
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson seemed taken by surprise when asked Tuesday about oil drilling in the Everglades, apparently unaware it's been a major Florida issue.
Before answering, he laughed at the question.
"Gosh, no one has told me that there's any major reserves in the Everglades, but maybe that's one of the things I need to learn while I'm down here," Thompson said after talking over state issues with Gov. Charlie Crist.
Energy considerations
Thompson, who has called for seeking U.S. oil resources wherever they exist, was asked by an Associated Press reporter whether that included drilling in the Everglades.
"I'm not going to start out by taking this, that or the other off the table in terms of our overall energy situation," he said.
In 2002, when Thompson was a Tennessee senator, President Bush announced plans to spend $120 million to buy oil and gas rights on 390,396 acres of federally protected land in the Everglades to safeguard them from drilling.
The decision came as the president's brother, then-Gov. Jeb Bush, was seeking re-election and amid plans for a major expansion of drilling operations on the western edge of the Everglades. President Bush's action was viewed by many as a move to help his brother's political prospects.
moron...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20868028/
Posted by: rossiann at September 19, 2007 01:26 PM
Gee, His Popeness was on holiday, just like what His Dopeness always seems to be... on.
Senate refuses to expand detainee rights
Leahy to continue effort to get enemy combatants habeas corpus rights
WASHINGTON - The Senate narrowly rejected legislation on Wednesday that would have given military detainees the right to protest their detention in federal court.
The 56-43 vote against the bill, by Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., fell four votes shy of the 60 needed to cut off debate. It was a blow for human rights groups that say a current ban on habeas corpus petitions could lead to the indefinite detention of individuals wrongfully suspected of terrorism.
President Bush and conservative Republicans counter that the ban, enacted last year, was necessary to stem the tide of legal protests flooding civilian courts.
Leahy said he would try again to repeal it, although he was not sure when he would get another chance.
"The truth is that casting aside the time-honored protection of habeas corpus makes us more vulnerable as a nation because it leads us away from our core American values," Leahy said. "It calls into question our historic roll as a defender of human rights around the world."
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20871093/from/RS.1/
Paulson urges Congress to raise debt ceiling
Treasury Secretary says action is need amid credit-market turmoil
WASHINGTON - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress on Wednesday that the federal government will hit the current debt ceiling on Oct. 1.
He urged quick action to increase the limit, saying it was essential to protect the "full faith and credit" of the country, especially at a time of financial market turmoil.
The current debt limit is $8.965 trillion. Unless Congress votes to raise that ceiling, the country would be unable to borrow more money to keep the government operating and to pay debt obligations coming due. The United States has never defaulted on a debt payment but the decision on whether to raise the debt ceiling often sparks a prolonged political battle in Congress.
In his letter to congressional leaders, Paulson said that according to data now available, the Treasury expects to hit the current debt ceiling on Oct. 1 — the first day of the new federal budget year. However, that projection does not take into account maneuvers the government often has to employ of withdrawing investments from certain trust funds to create room for extra borrowing until Congress finally approves a debt increase.
"The full faith and credit of the United States, to which we all remain committed, is a national asset and a cornerstone of the global financial system," Paulson said in his letter. "In light of current developments in financial markets, which would be exacerbated by uncertainty in the Treasuries market, I urge the Senate to pass the legislation reported by the Finance Committee to increase the debt limit as soon as possible."
The Senate Finance Committee earlier this month approved increasing the limit on the national debt to $9.82 trillion. That boost of $850 billion would be the fifth increase in the government's borrowing limit since President Bush took office in 2001.
The national debt is the total accumulation of annual budget deficits, which must be financed with borrowed money.
Democrats blame Bush's tax cuts and the war in Iraq for pushing the debt to record levels. Republicans defend the tax cuts, saying the deficit is now on a downward trajectory in part because of the economic stimulus provided by the tax cuts.
moron...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20870163/from/RS.1/
Posted by: richardbell at September 19, 2007 11:20 AM
Nobody ever expects the Spanish Inquisition.
We're all Torquemada now.
My question was - Why did the Senate reject "Habeus Corpus" again?
I got that idea from the title of an article at "Carpetbagger Report" and it wouldn't open.
I then went to the Washington Post and it appears the answer was:
"Republican filibuster"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/19/AR2007091900873.html?hpid=topnews
The Republic party ought to be reframed as the hate-the-poor, pro-torture, big-spending, healthcare-depriving, anti-living wage, war-mongering, civil rights choppers that they are.
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2007 01:28 PM
Of course they will drill in the Everglades. That's why Govern Jeb let the Everglades be taken off the World Heritage sites as a protected place - because it's being "developed."
NPR had a story on that this morning. I had to come inside and didn't hear the end, but you just posted it, I think.
U.S. Spy Chief: 9/11 'Could Have Been Prevented'
Director of National Intelligence Says U.S.
Didn't Connect Available Information
Six years after the deadliest attack on U.S. soil, the head of U.S. spy operations admitted to lawmakers that "9/11 should have and could have been prevented."
Director of National Intelligence, Michael McConnell, told members of the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday that "it was an issue of connecting information that was available."
McConnell, explaining that the intelligence community was, at the time, very focused on foreign threats, said the community allowed itself "to be separated from anything that was potentially domestic," and that domestic threats were "not something we supposed to be concerned with."
"Yeah, that translates to negligence," charged committee chairman John Conyers, D-Mich.
"Or interpretation of the law of how the culture had evolved," McConnell countered.
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3621517&page=1
Gee, His Popeness was on holiday, just like what His Dopeness always seems to be... on.
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2007 01:32 PM
Sad but true monkey
Nobel Peace Prize could go to climate campaigner
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL1874415020070918
Posted by: rossiann at September 19, 2007 02:11 PM
Can't wait to tell one of my ultra-right wing fundie friends who claims "global warming is a myth".
O'Reilly told her so.
Democrats' plans for Iraq troop withdrawal set back
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Efforts of Senate Democrats to get U.S. combat troops out of Iraq were damaged Wednesday when Virginia Republican Sen. John Warner said he would not back a plan to mandate stateside leave time.
"I agree with the principles [in the amendment], but I regret to say I've been convinced by those in the professional uniform that they cannot do it and do it in a way that wouldn't invoke further unfairness to other soldiers now serving in Iraq," Warner said on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon.
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/19/senate.iraq/index.html
Apologies for the long post, but this is worth reading... in OUR NAME, people, in OUR NAME...
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- It was last Sunday in western Baghdad. Helicopters circled overhead while armed guards, privately hired by the U.S. government, were conducting an ordinary mission to protect U.S. State Department employees.
But within minutes there was an explosion, a hail of gunfire, and bodies in the streets.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry says at least 10 Iraqis were killed and 10 wounded. Another government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told CNN that at least 20 people died, with 35 wounded.
So what happened on that day on a square in the Mansour district of Baghdad?
It depends on who you ask.
Blackwater USA, the private security firm at the center of the controversy, says its employees simply defended themselves against armed attackers.
Two men hospitalized with gunshot wounds disagree. They say the guards fired on people for no reason.
Hasan Jaber Salman lies in Yarmouk Hospital, bandages covering gunshot wounds in his back.
Salman says he is a lawyer who was headed from a courthouse to the Ministry of Justice when he found his route blocked by four armored Blackwater SUVs.
The roadblock soon caused a traffic snarl, so armed Blackwater guards began waving at the drivers, telling them to turn around and leave the area.
"So we turned back, and as we turned back they opened fire at all cars from behind," Salman said. "All my injuries, the bullets are in my back.
"Within two minutes the security force arrived in planes -- part of the security company Blackwater. They started firing randomly at all citizens."
Blackwater, in a statement issued after the incident, denied that gunfire came from aircraft. "The helicopters providing aerial support never fired weapons," it said.
The firm also said its employees "acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack."
But Salman claims the attack was unprovoked.
"No one fired at them, they were not attacked by gunmen, they were not targeted by an explosion," he said. Watch the survivors describe what happened »
The firing continued until Salman's car crashed into a police checkpoint and flipped over, he said, adding that eight bullets struck his car and four struck him.
"My left shoulder is broken ... and my arm is broken. I had a surgery. ... They opened up my stomach," he said. "I swear to God no one did anything to them at all."
The lawyer said he intends to sue Blackwater, which he already did in 2005 after his son was involved in a similar incident outside al-Muthana Air Base near Baghdad's international airport. That lawsuit has not yet been resolved, he said.
Laborer Abul-Raheem Amir said he was on his way to a job when the minibus he was in got caught in a traffic jam caused by an explosion.
"A security company called Blackwater, they got out and kept on firing randomly at people, starting with the people walking or working the street -- even the traffic policeman, even the people who work in the area," Amir said.
"People at first thought we were safe in the minibus, but when they realized they were not, they started getting out and went to other places to save themselves," he recounted. "Unfortunately that did not work. As they got out, people were shot and killed."
He said he tried to make a run for it after the driver and two women next to him on the minibus were shot.
"I ran about 50 meters [about 55 yards] and then was shot, the first bullet. Still I kept running, but the second bullet dropped me to the ground. ... It broke my bones, and the third one made me start crawling."
Some people helped get him off the street and away from the carnage. The shooting lasted for about a half-hour, and there were some 30 bodies in the street, he said.
"I remember people strewn on the streets, children, elderly, young men, elderly women. ... The street turned into the street of the dead, a graveyard," he said.
"There was nothing I could do. Every man was for himself."
Amir wonders what the Blackwater employees were thinking.
"Is this some kind of a show of force for them to flex their muscles?" he said. "Are they doing this to us, the victims, so they can advertise and promote their abilities through the Western media? ... Is their mission to protect one person by killing 10 unarmed people? And if they are protecting two people, then they shoot 100 unarmed people. ... Is this Vietnam? ...
"Enough, enough," he said. "Enough of all that's happening. God's fury is coming. Enough of this. Enough."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/19/iraq.fateful.day/index.html
Humpday Rant...
Honestly, I can't believe I am living through this period of history... it's absolutely astonishing... I remember like 10 years ago, feeling like a new foundation had been built for the future of our country... I really did feel that way... my kids were just born, and I felt pretty decent about their future... never in a million years did I dream that we could be living through such a horrendously protracted period of utter incompetence with the stakes being off-the-chart for our here & now, not to mention the future.
I'm just blown away that this whole trainwreck of a nightmare is REALLY happening, and I sense it's just the tip of the rapidly melting Icebergs (the jews will always get the blame)
A Bitter Pill To Swallow
monkey,
I too am horrifyingly aware of what our children are facing.
I cannot do enough to make it right for them and that hurts my heart.
But I CAN speak up, and out.
I don't know what else to do...
O'Reilly told her so.
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2007 02:32 PM
Ask her if she's interested in a low-mileage, mint condition BMW. I could get rid of mine, and she'd be proud to drive the product of O'Reilly's biggest corporate sponsor.
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2007 02:59 PM
No, it was done in the name of hate-filled, death-loving "God" that Blackwater USA believes in.
Good for him, about time someone took them on
Rather Sues CBS For 70 Million: Network Made Me "A Scapegoat"..."To Pacify The White House"
By JACQUES STEINBERG
Published: September 20, 2007
Dan Rather, whose career at CBS News ground to an inglorious end 15 months ago over his role in an unsubstantiated report questioning President Bush’s Vietnam-era National Guard service, filed a $70 million lawsuit this afternoon against the network, its corporate parent and three of his former superiors.
Mr. Rather, 75, asserts that the network violated his contract by giving him insufficient airtime on “60 Minutes” after forcing him to step down as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” in March 2005. He also contends that the network committed fraud by commissioning a “biased” and incomplete investigation of the flawed Guard broadcast and, in the process, “seriously damaged his reputation.” As plaintiffs, the suit names CBS and its chief executive, Leslie Moonves; Viacom and its executive chairman, Sumner Redstone; and Andrew Heyward, the former president of CBS News.
In the suit, filed this afternoon in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Mr. Rather charges that CBS and its executives made him “a scapegoat” in an attempt “to pacify the White House,” though the formal complaint presents virtually no direct evidence to that effect. To buttress this claim, Mr. Rather quotes the executive who oversaw his regular segment on CBS Radio, telling Mr. Rather in November 2004 that he was losing that slot, effective immediately, because of “pressure from ‘the right wing.’ ”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/20/business/media/19cnd-rather.html?_r=2&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1190231310-2Ipf7ldG70R4hP8dx4viUA&oref=slogin
Posted by: karen at September 19, 2007 03:47 PM
I just don't like the way this country has been wrecked. Especially at the hands of my former "countrymen."
My solution is to NOT have kids in this country, period.
Moreover, plenty of Asian immigrants are coming into the US "for better education for their kids." They are sadly mistaken.
Not feeling too fabulous about this.
It is time for the folks who love God, no not knuckleheads on the religious right, who go to NASCAR and shop at wal mart and buy sappy records about seeing Jesus in heaven after they all "go home", I am talking to you folks, the ones who really love God and what this country really stands for,to start talking out loud about Who God really is. We are lions not sheep. You know more about God than they do. Believe it.
I think I am feeling a little more fabulous now.
Posted by: feeling fabulous at September 19, 2007 04:11 PM
And we better be sure that this God is certainly NOT the "God" that Blackwater believes in.
Totally OT, sort of, but for all you parents of youngsters out there, this will lighten your heart! Volume required.
http://erickerickson.org/blog/?p=4726
Posted by: feeling fabulous at September 19, 2007 04:11 PM
Right on.
Innocence in the Time of Cholera
Gabriele Zamparini, The Cat's Dream
And finally cholera broke out in Baghdad. Nothing to worry about of course! The New York Times won’t ruin your breakfast and the BBC will respect your supper. Too much violence on TV already; better protect the child within our sophisticated intellect from these unnecessary details. Nobody needs to know those 1.2 million Iraqi deaths as a result of the illegal war of aggression in 2003. Numbers don’t count, do they? What a formidable instrument is our brain. We can’t deal with the responsibility of genocide so denial becomes a self-defense instinct, at least for those still in good faith. But are we really innocent? Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. is the president of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, a research and educational center of classical liberalism, libertarian political theory, and the Austrian School of economics. He recently wrote: "The US has unleashed bloodshed in Iraq that is rarely known even in countries we think of as violent and torn by civil strife. It is amazing to think that this has occurred in what was only recently a liberal and civilized country by the region’s standards. This was a country that had a problem with immigration, particularly among the well-educated and talented classes. They went to Iraq because it was the closest Arab proxy to Western-style society that one could find in the area. It was the US that turned this country into a killing field. Why won’t we face this? Why won't we take responsibility?" Rockwell titles his denounce, None Dare Call It Genocide. Maybe the time has come for all of us to put aside our worn out ideological uniforms and to make alliances with all those willing to take responsibility for this abomination unleashed in our name, with our money, from leaders we elected and re-elected....
http://www.thecatsdream.com/blog/2007/09/innocence-in-time-of-cholera.htm
How about this:
Dan Rather sueing CBS for $70 mil.
(Maybe that's how we get them in line: we could start a class action law suit against the news networks for .... breach of the national trust, or something.)
NYT article here: hat tip HuffPo.
http://tinyurl.com/3a9n89
A Relic...
Layla Anwar, An Arab Woman Blues - Reflections in a sealed bottle...
September 18, 2007
There is a warm desert wind blowing...
From where I am seated, I can see a full crescent moon and next to it, a bright shining star...There are a few palm trees swinging in the hot breeze...so are the Ramadan lanterns, giving off a steady, quiet, golden glow.
Not too far, I hear a fountain and in between the trunks of the palm trees, I see more light reflected in the water...
For a few instants, I was totally lost in this idyllic moment, where everything was a perfect as can be...I only wished I could stretch it all the way to Iraq and beyond ...So they too, can embrace this quietude, these seeming temporary moments of peace.
Since yesterday's post, I have not stopped crying.
I cried myself to sleep and when I woke up and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I burst out in tears again...
During the day, I tried distracting myself with "things"...but every now and then , I would catch a few ones rolling down one cheek. I would discreetly wipe them away, pretending I had a grain of sand or some dust in my eyes...
I guess you can understand by now, that the fleeting peacefulness of this evening, is something of a present, a wondrous gift I have just received...
I was reflecting during this time, why all those tears, suddenly gushing forth like this fountain not too far from me.
Of course, there are many "objective" reasons, but Iraqis are known to be quite stoic or at least pretend to be...Besides I have been doing nothing but grieve since " our freedom ", so why those tears ? They definitely had a different taste to them.
Something about the last piece of writing maybe ? Something about the Past or from the Past ? A memory relic ?
It is all coming back now...
During " Desert Storm ", sorry I meant during " Operation Freedom ", when bombs were raining down on Baghdad like millions of fire drops...
When families were huddled together in one room, either hugging each other and saying their final goodbyes or praying in unison for safety from this air raid or the following one or the one after...
I had only one obsession, one fixed wish, actually two, that kept assailing my mind.
I know you will find what I am about to tell you very strange in view of the circumstances then. But if you think about it again, you will find that it is not that strange after all...
My first obsession was the Iraqi Museum and the Ancient Sites. And my second was an orphanage I knew.
I kept repeating it : " Please God, don't let them..."
Don't let them attack the museum, don't let them destroy the ancient sites...
And my second obsession was : " Please God, protect this orphanage, You and I know why..."
Needless to remind you that God did not listen to my obsessive prayer. I guess I was the only one making this kind of a prayer...everyone else was busy praying for survival...But so was I.
I ardently wanted the History of Iraq - Uruk to survive. I wanted its past to live on and remain the manifested symbol of the " cradle of civilization " and to remind the barbarians that they had none...
And I also desperately wanted the orphanage and the orphans inside of it to survive and live on, because I had secretly hoped that the " crucified boy " I had seen in my dream was an orphan and that he would become the Messiah of Iraq, the Savior of Uruk...
The ancient sites and the museum are devastated today and the orphanage was bombed and is in ruins, releasing a few hundred kids into the wilderness of the streets...
Some of them were kidnapped and trafficked as sex slave commodities and the others joined the ever growing bulk of Iraqi orphaned children.
Little did I know then, that the few hundreds of orphans would be multiplied by one million...
As I delved further into my thoughts and beyond 2003, I realized there was more to it...
At some period of my life, I was going through a very rough patch, not that it has dramatically changed since...
I remember a doctor friend of mine who was also an avid archeologist. We would occasionally meet and talk. One day, sensing my state, he brought a picture of an old Sumerian statuette. He said to me : " Look at her well, look at her eyes, look at her body, look closely..." And I did.
He added : " This is where you came from Layla...You two look alike. You know your roots, look how far back they go...Keep this picture with you and everytime you go through turmoil, look at it and remember how immemorial she is and how transient your state is..." And I did.
That statuette disappeared like so many others...And all I have is a photocopy of a picture. And a faint memory of the feeling that surged inside of me when he uttered those words to me.
And as I kept reflecting, more memories flooded me and my inexplicable tears started making sense.
I remember when I was a little girl, my parents would take me to those ancient sites and to the museum. They called it " educational expeditions "...And when we travelled abroad, they made it a point to take me to other ancient sites and I loved those " educational expeditions. "
I remember sitting by the ruins for hours and touching them...caressing them and in my little girl's mind, I used to imagine what it was like living there during these ancient distant eras...
My mother would tell me : " Layla are you done with caressing those ruins or not yet ? Yalla we have to go now..." and I would beg for more time, hoping that they would give away their secrets to me like a key to some mysterious door and that I would be the only one to possess the secret knowledge that they imparted me with and no one else. Just a little girl's flight into fantasy, Harry Potter - Iraqi version.
And as I was tying all those memory threads from 2003 and back...and everything was falling into meaning, finally giving my " emotional state " some sense, a young boy not older than 13, came towards me and placed a replica of an ancient relic, some ancient city, on the table where I was seated.
He looked straight into my eyes, which were glistening with tears and with the memories and said:
" This is for you. "
I was stunned. I blurted, totally dazed : " Are you selling this ? "
" No, this is a present from me to you. " And he turned his back and walked away...
Painting : Iraqi artist, Rafa Al-Nasiri.
http://arabwomanblues.blogspot.com/2007/09/relic.html
Crude spills into Tigris after Iraq bomb
By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer
Tue Sep 18, 10:57 AM ET
BAGHDAD - A bomb exploded under an oil pipeline near the northern city of Beiji on Tuesday, causing huge quantities of crude oil to spill into the Tigris River, a police official said. The U.S. military blamed al-Qaida insurgents.
The Iraqi police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the bomb went off before dawn, delaying the firefighters' arrival at the scene to extinguish the blaze. Because of the danger across the country, Iraqis avoid going outside before daylight.
Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, is the home to Iraq's largest oil refinery.
The U.S. military said in a statement that the part of the pipeline that was hit was some 7 feet underground and covered with a slab of concrete.
"This act of terrorism is barbaric and demented. This demonstrates al-Qaida does not care about the Iraqi people or the environment," U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly told The Associated Press.
Donnelly said workers from Iraq's Northern Oil Company were trying to prevent the spill from endangering the river, crops and livestock dependent on river water.
Later the in the day, the spill reached the central city of Tikrit, more than 60 miles to the south, residents and local officials said. Water stations closed in both cities, Tikrit and Beiji.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070918/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_pipeline_explosion;_ylt=AqF4TsgEjj3OBR75JRO.T2pvaA8F
Who God really is. We are lions not sheep. You know more about God than they do. Believe it.
I think I am feeling a little more fabulous now.
Posted by: feeling fabulous at September 19, 2007 04:11 PM
Amen
(Maybe that's how we get them in line: we could start a class action law suit against the news networks for .... breach of the national trust, or something.)
NYT article here: hat tip HuffPo.
http://tinyurl.com/3a9n89
Posted by: Carol at September 19, 2007 04:46 PM
Now that is an excellent suggestion. Bravo
I hope Dan Rather wins his lawsuit. It may be the only kind of thing MSM understands.
http://www.comcast.net/entertainment/index.jsp?cat=ENTERTAINMENT&fn=/2007/09/19/767595.html&cvqh=itn_rather
Every morning I wonder what the new thread will be. Casey, all the photos from Abu Graib were distressing, but this one is particularly sadistic. I think it's appalling that the most guilty are immune from prosecution and punishment.
Karen, from the last thread
Carlos sustained bloody cuts on his shins. He also reported bruises all over his torso and head where he was kicked...
Posted by: karen at September 19, 2007 08:12 AM
Yes. More proof that we didn't need. Violence begets Violence. Most of us know this. Why can't we get some action to stop it. I agree with the plan that all nations have governments made up of mothers and men against war and violence. But how do we get there? I hope there were lots of images captured of the White Supremacists who attacked Carlos.
Look at his words, his metaphors: only someone profoundly out of touch with reality. This man needs a doctor. But there aren't enough doctors on the planet to cure the madness which George Bush has unleashed.
Posted by: richardbell at September 19, 2007 11:20 AM
Richard, I agree. This is truly sinister. It's the stuff of fictional psycho dramas.
A: I kind of suspect it will be a long time before anyone says preemptive war again.
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2007 12:51 PM
Until the French Foreign Affairs minister started blathering away to the media about needing to make a preemptive strike against Iran. After everything else has been tried of course. And as GeorgeW now has a friend in France, that makes two.
Posted by: woz at September 19, 2007 06:37 PM
In 2003, one of the most popular bumper stickers here in Red California was "Boycott France," because the French were against our preemptive invasion of Iraq then.
Maybe I need one of those "Boycott France" bumper stickers now, given the actions of the Sarko government. I won't really boycott the French people, however, as their trademark "rudeness" has never really materialized to me.
Posted by: Ally McRepuke at September 19, 2007 06:59 PM
Republicans aren't sure who to hate anymore...
Equipment shortfalls hamper National Guard
Top Guard general says some units have less than half the gear they need
WASHINGTON - (AP) After six years at war, some Army National Guard units are still struggling with less than half the equipment they need to do their jobs at home, the top Guard general said Wednesday. He said it will take an extra $13 billion over the next five years to get them 90 percent of the gear they need.
Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard, said that while Guard units heading to Iraq and Afghanistan have all the necessary equipment, all units at home are short at least 30 percent of the equipment they need. The low end is 33 percent, and 50 percent is the average, he said.
Blum also joined other military leaders in criticizing congressional efforts to legislate the length of troop deployments or rest times. While the thought is well-intentioned, he said, it would be “unhelpful,” and the unintended effects could make things worse rather than better.
'Bidding war' for soldiers
In a wide-ranging discussion, Blum also said the Guard often finds itself in a “bidding war” to keep special operations soldiers from leaving to join the more lucrative security firms, such as Blackwater USA.
The Guard has two special forces units — including about 5,000 soldiers headquartered in Alabama and Utah — and Blum said they are “constantly being recruited” by security companies. Blackwater, the main provider of security escorts for U.S. government workers and other business contractors in Iraq, was banned from working in Iraq after an incident this week in which as many as 11 Iraqi civilians were killed.
The Guard and the U.S. Army have offered special forces soldiers large bonuses to stay in the military, in an effort to keep their specialized skills.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20877478/
Casey,
Good thread header and an accurate comparison to the Spanish Inquisition. Of course it's not the only time people converted to save their own life or lives of their family members.
It hasn't worked each time. Instead, they just change the rules again.
On today, when the Republicans stymie another effort to bring back Habeas Corpus, it's also ironic that the news of Christian dominism and torture intersects. Isn't that what always happens?
~~
Feeling fabulous...Welcome back!!! It's good that your inner faith has left you believing that we will overcome.
Keep pushing all of us to be lions instead of sheep. (Bah) I certainly know there are days when I wish I was a (bah) sheep again!
Posted by: sparrow at September 19, 2007 08:04 PM
Thx for inspiring this one from the depths of my twisted brain ;-)
2112
by Rush
I - Overture
.... And the meek shall inherit the Earth.
II - The Temples of Syrinx
We've taken care of everything
The words you read
The songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure
To your eye
It's one for all and all for one
We work together
Common son
Never need to wonder
How or why
We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers
Fill the hallowed halls
We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life
Are held within our walls
Look around this world we've made
Equality
Our stock in trade
Come and join the Brotherhood
Of Man
What a nice contented world
Let the banners
Be unfurled
Hold the Red Star proudly
High in hand
We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
Our great computers
Fill the hallowed halls
We are the priests
Of the Temples of Syrinx
All the gifts of life
Are held within our walls
III - Discovery
What can this strange device be?
When I touch it, it
gives forth a sound
It's got wires that
vibrate, and give music
What can this thing be
that I've found?
See how it sings like a sad heart
And joyously screams out its pain
Sounds that build high like a mountain
Or notes that fall gently, like rain
I can't wait to share this new wonder
The people will all see its light
Let them all make their own music
The priests praise my
name on this night
IV - Presentation
I know it's most unusual
To come before you so
But I've found an ancient miracle
I thought that you should know
Listen to my music
And hear what it can do
There's something here
as strong as life
I know that it will reach you
Yes we know
It's nothing new
It's just a waste of time
We have no need for ancient ways
Our world is doing fine
Another toy
That helped destroy
The elder race of man
Forget about your silly whim
It doesn't fit the plan
I can't believe your saying
These things just can't be true
Our world could use this beauty
Just think what we might do
Listen to my music
And hear what it can do
There's something here
that's as strong as life
I know that it will reach you
Don't annoy us further
We have our work to do
Just think about the average
What use have they for you?
Another toy
That helped destroy
The elder race of man
Forget about your silly whim
It doesn't fit the plan
V - Oracle: The Dream
I wandered home through silent streets
And fell into a fitful sleep
Escape to realms beyond the night
Dream -- can't you show my light
I stand atop a spiral stair
An oracle confronts me there
He leads me on, light years away
Through astral nights, galactic days
I see the works of gifted hands
That grace this strange
and wondrous land
I see the hand of man arise
With hungry mind and open eyes
They left our planets long ago
The elder race still learn and grow
Their power grows with purpose strong
To claim the home, where they belong
Home to tear the Temples down
Home to change --
VI - Soliloquy
The sleep is still in my eyes
The dream is still in my head
I heave a sigh, and sadly smile
And lie awhile in bed
I wish that it might come to pass
Not fade like all my dreams
Just think of what my life might be
In a world like I have seen
I don't think I can carry on
Carry on this cold and empty life
My spirits are low, in the
depths of despair
My lifeblood
Spills over....
VII - Grand Finale
(Instrumental)
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2007 08:48 PM
Should I say thank you?
That's beautiful but sad. I didn't realize Rush wrote stuff like that.
All I know is that we are all sad and feeling despairing. We're trying to be lions but are becoming tired of roaring without anyone else listening to us.
Sheep are cute and fuzzy. Everyone loves a good sheep right? That's why they count them at night. ;)
At any rate, I've been trying to not post my feelings so much on the blog because I don't want to bring others' down. But it sure seems like this lioness is roaring in the middle of a jungle with nobody around.
If you roar into a jungle and nobody hears you, are you still wrong? (Just kidding there...)
PS. Anyone familiar with my area...Shakey Jake--he has passed away. His memorial is this weekend.
Nobody roars like you do, Sparrow!
Fabulous, nice to see you back in town.
Cheer up, Sparrow, and everybody!
Go to http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com and see the very interesting protest sign that Kayakbiker caught! It relates to politicians with their pants down. It relates to some of the disgusting perversion that we were discussing this morning, the hypocrisy - & young people are certainly noticing! They get all those warnings about pedophiles etc. on MySpace & then to find out people in our own government are as bad or worse ..
Then Nyc from NYC has posted something from his friend's art site and if you click on the link & go to that site & then click on the little buttons at the top, you will see some of the coolest cartoons you have ever seen in your life! If you like these (and I LOVE them and am impressed), do as he says & tell your friends and relatives. We want to help out the guy who did the work.
I reminded people it was Talk Like a Pirate Day, thanks to the great reminder I got on this website this morning, and I put up a sign at work too, with my hero, Johny Depp! Talk about inspiration!
Now I'm in a pretty good mood, and I'm sure that will dissipate as soon as I start catching up on the "news." I did hear Greenspan on the way home again (business news) and also Dan Rather. Kind of like listening to the wisdom of these older "seasoned" guys.
US Caused More Death in Iraq Than Saddam, says Tribunal
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/19/3938/
Senate blocks Democrats' bid to give U.S. troops more time at home
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/v-print/story/19836.html
Yes Ally, please do email it to me.
I was beginning to think DCP only existed in my mind.
Fears of dollar collapse as Saudis take fright
Saudi Arabia has refused to cut interest rates in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve for the first time, signalling that the oil-rich Gulf kingdom is preparing to break the dollar currency peg in a move that risks setting off a stampede out of the dollar across the Middle East.
China threatens `nuclear option' of dollar sales
Ben Bernanke has placed the dollar in a dangerous situation, say analysts
"This is a very dangerous situation for the dollar," said Hans Redeker, currency chief at BNP Paribas.
"Saudi Arabia has $800bn (£400bn) in their future generation fund, and the entire region has $3,500bn under management. They face an inflationary threat and do not want to import an interest rate policy set for the recessionary conditions in the United States," he said.
The Saudi central bank said today that it would take "appropriate measures" to halt huge capital inflows into the country, but analysts say this policy is unsustainable and will inevitably lead to the collapse of the dollar peg.
As a close ally of the US, Riyadh has so far tried to stick to the peg, but the link is now destabilising its own economy.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/09/19/bcnsaudi119.xml
I'm sorry, you said what?
Controversial Osprey aircraft deployed to Iraq
Oh. Ok.Ummmhmmm. That is what I thought it said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20070919/wl_mcclatchy/20070919bcusiraqosprey_attn_national_foreign_editors_ytop
Hello Rossi my darlin.
You can't sell your house. Tell them to take their million and shove it.
Ok, I may be suffering from sleep deprivation.
Ex-Soldier Charged In 3-Month-Old Infant Rape, Beating
http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-22/1186668357307540.xml&coll=3
Ok, I may be suffering from sleep deprivation.
Posted by: Christy at September 20, 2007 12:33 AM
If they go that high Cristy I will have to think about it, but I dont think I will sell even then, the kids don't want me to, and I never imagined myself leaving.We had a good talk about it today
Darn the prices are going crazy in my neighbourhood.
Getting back to tasering.
Cops Taser and Kill Woman in Wheelchair
Source: http://www.local6.com
Officers said they arrived to find Delafield in a wheelchair, armed with two knives and a hammer. Police said the woman was swinging the weapons at family members and police.
Within an hour of her call to 911, Delafield, a wheelchair-bound woman documented to have mental illness, was dead.
Family attorney Rick Alexander said Delafield's death could have been prevented and that there are four things that jump out at him about the case.
"One, she's in a wheelchair. Two, she's schizophrenic. Three, they're using a Taser on a person that's in a wheelchair, and then four is that they tasered her 10 times for a period of like two minutes," Alexander said.
According to a police report, one of the officers used her Taser gun nine times for a total of 160 seconds and the other officer discharged his Taser gun once for a total of no more than five seconds.
A medical examiner found Delafield died from hypertensive heart disease and cited the Taser gun shock as a contributing factor, the report said. On her death certificate, the medical examiner ruled Delafield's death a homicide.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/wkmg/20070919/lo_wkmg/14147512
PRESS RELEASE
FRONTLINE'S SEASON PREMIERE INVESTIGATES CHENEY'S EFFORTS TO EXPAND THE POWER OF THE PRESIDENCY
FRONTLINE presents
CHENEY'S LAW
Tuesday, October 16, 2007, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS
For three decades Vice President Dick Cheney conducted a secretive, behind-closed-doors campaign to give the president virtually unlimited wartime power. Finally, in the aftermath of 9/11, the Justice Department and the White House made a number of controversial legal decisions. Orchestrated by Cheney and his lawyer David Addington, the department interpreted executive power in an expansive and extraordinary way, granting President George W. Bush the power to detain, interrogate, torture, wiretap and spy -- without congressional approval or judicial review.
Now, as the White House appears ready to ignore subpoenas in the wiretapping and U.S. attorneys' cases, FRONTLINE's season premiere, Cheney's Law, airing Oct. 16, 2007, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings), examines the battle over the power of the presidency and Cheney's way of looking at the Constitution.
"The vice president believes that Congress has very few powers to actually constrain the president and the executive branch," former Justice Department attorney Marty Lederman tells FRONTLINE. "He believes the president should have the final word, indeed the only word on all matters within the executive branch."
After Sept. 11, Cheney and Addington were determined to implement their vision -- in secret. The vice president and his counsel found an ally in John Yoo, a lawyer at the Justice Department's extraordinarily powerful Office of Legal Counsel. In concert with Addington, Yoo wrote memoranda authorizing the president to act with unparalleled authority. >>>cont
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/cheney/
But there aren't enough doctors on the planet to cure the madness which George Bush has unleashed.
Posted by: richardbell at September 19, 2007 11:20 AM
A Bitter Pill To Swallow
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2007 03:19 PM
William Rivers Pitt | I May Have Gone Insane
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091907R.shtml
William Rivers Pitt explains why his reality has gone sideways: "I do not discount the very real possibility that I have, finally and for all time, gone insane because of all this. My theory is not proven beyond doubt, my suspicions grow stronger by the hour, but I could simply be this barking madman no longer able to recognize reality even when it is staring me in the eye."
Army Testing Soldiers’ Brains Before Deployment as Baseline for Future Injuries
Results may help doctors treat returning vets with traumatic brain injuries
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20778796/from/id/20876109/
US Guard Chief: Billions More Needed for Equipment
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19259213.htm
US Military Sued Over Religious Freedom
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,149846,00.html
Army Wants 10,000 New Armored Vehicles
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2007-09-18-mrap_N.htm
Australia 'cracked US codes'
FORMER defence minister Kim Beazley has told how Australia cracked top-secret American combat aircraft codes to enable the shooting down of enemy aircraft.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22451478-2,00.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070919/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_eavesdropping
Bush calls for expansion of spy law
We knew this would come down the pike, didn't we?
I'll bet a whole penny that Congress Critters do not have the ability to "just say NO" to the sonofabitch and the puppetmaster who want to set up a dictatorship - or, at the very least, a serial dictatorship - in this country. All those unitary executive privileges and questionable executive orders and signing statements in that little red cherrywood box Nichols alluded to during the Moyers show on impeachment will be used and abused by whoever takes over the office (if the unthinkable doesn't happen), be they 'PubliCONS or Dems.
http://erickerickson.org/blog/?p=4726
Posted by: Carol at September 19, 2007 04:31 PM
Carol, thanks. That is just wonderful. Yes, we all need to lighten our hearts more often. And I hope that those in Iraq fighting desperately to stay alive, have some light moments too - really soon.
How Senate voted on combat tours
By The Associated Press
Wed Sep 19, 8:04 PM ET
The 56-44 roll call by which the Senate refused to consider an amendment that would have required troops spend as much time at home training with their units as they spend deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
ADVERTISEMENT
On this vote, a "yes" vote was a vote in favor of an amendment and a "no" vote was a vote against it. Supporters fell four votes shy of the 60 they needed to bring the amendment up as part of a defense bill.
Voting "yes" were 49 Democrats, 6 Republicans and 1 independent.
Voting "no" were 0 Democrats, 43 Republicans and 1 independent.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070920/ap_on_go_co/senate_rollcall_us_iraq
Posted by: NonnyO at September 20, 2007 03:09 AM
Hey NonnyO, how are you going, did you see the link about the viking ship
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Merseyside | Viking ship 'buried beneath ...A 1000-year-old Viking longship is thought to have been discovered under a pub car park on Merseyside. The vessel is believed to lie beneath 6-10ft (2-3m) ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6986986.stm
I was stunned. I blurted, totally dazed : " Are you selling this ? "
" No, this is a present from me to you. " And he turned his back and walked away...
Painting : Iraqi artist, Rafa Al-Nasiri.
http://arabwomanblues.blogspot.com/2007/09/relic.html
Posted by: rossiann at September 19, 2007 05:10 PM
Thanks for this link rossi. This woman's writing is so powerful. And important.
I hope Dan Rather wins his lawsuit. It may be the only kind of thing MSM understands.
Posted by: not my president at September 19, 2007 06:12 PM
It's the only thing that will change things. When it affects their profits.
Maybe I need one of those "Boycott France" bumper stickers now, given the actions of the Sarko government. I won't really boycott the French people, however, as their trademark "rudeness" has never really materialized to me.
Posted by: Ally McRepuke at September 19, 2007 06:59 PM
Ally, we've had a boycott going with France (not Howard & Co; just us sane Australians) ever since France tested its nuclear weaponry in the Pacific Ocean, causing havoc in island communities who relied on those pristine waters for their livelihoods and food. It took years to make them stop.
The current French administration is simply a replica of Chirac's leadership. Pre empt everywhere. Pollute anywhere that's not near France. Poison anyplace far away from France.
Posted by: monkey at September 19, 2007 08:48 PM
Truly beautiful.
US Caused More Death in Iraq Than Saddam, says Tribunal
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/19/3938/
Posted by: not my president at September 19, 2007 10:39 PM
Is anyone surprised? Depressed yes. Surprised no.
Thanks for this link rossi. This woman's writing is so powerful. And important.
Posted by: woz at September 20, 2007 03:43 AM
I think so to, she is the only one I follow now that River is not blogging, I hope River and her family got to where ever they where travelling to, I think of them often, look every couple of days to see if she has posted.
Posted by: NonnyO at September 20, 2007 03:01 AM
Hey NonnyO. Good to see you. Have been wondering where you were. :)
This thing about the Jena 6 is starting to creep me out.
Other lefties are talking about it as if it is the only example of racisim they can find.
We all live in Jena down here, every damn day.
Don't get me wrong, they deserve the attention. But it is just wierd to see so many focused on it calling it the new Selma.
This ain't Mississippi. And this ain't Alabama. This crap happens all the time, EVERY DAY.
In a way, I am glad it happened if for no other reason than NOW the democrats have to remember why they should not have abandoned us in the first place.
It is all just wierd.
Speaking of democrats abandoning the Deep South...
To those still pressing the line about party loyalty, perhaps you should consider who it is you are asking to be loyal and exactly what you expect us all to be loyal too+.
On this very blog I have watched the same conversation as on all other political sites. "We should just write off and ignore the south because they won't help us win elections."
"We should ignore the south, because there is no glory in it."
And yet LOYALTY is expected...?
Ahhhhh HAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHA! HAHA!
Now that is funny.
Of topic, but trust is a fragile thing.
Girl, 12, has babysitter's child
September 20, 2007 - 3:26PM
A 12-year-old schoolgirl gave birth to her babysitter's child, a court has heard.
Matthew James Vernon, 29, of Ballarat East, had sex with the girl at least twice while babysitting at her home.
He was charged after the girl named him as the father following a home pregnancy test.
Her mother and teachers had already noticed changes to her body shape.
Vernon yesterday pleaded guilty at the County Court in Ballarat to four counts of sexual penetration of a child under 16 - a crime punishable by up to 15 years behind bars.
Outside court, the girl's devastated mother expressed relief the legal process was drawing to an end.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/girl-12-has-babysitters-child/2007/09/20/1189881664247.html
Posted by: Christy at September 20, 2007 07:43 AM
You know Christy. I often think that on the night of a Federal Election. Western Australia is 3 hours behind. So, the result is often known before W.A. polling booths have closed.
We vote on a Saturday - when people don't go to work. Well, most people don't go to work.
Another delay in returning Iraq to local control
Pentagon report highlights difficulties in developing Iraq police forces
WASHINGTON - (AP) In another sign of U.S. struggles in Iraq, the target date for putting Iraqi authorities in charge of security in all 18 provinces has slipped yet again, to at least July.
The delay, noted in a Pentagon report to Congress on progress and problems in Iraq, highlights the difficulties in developing Iraqi police forces and the slow pace of economic and political progress in some areas.
It is the second time this year the target date for completing what is known as “Provincial Iraqi Control” has been pushed back. The Pentagon report submitted to Congress on Monday hinted at the possibility of further delays.
The intent is to give the provincial governments control over security in their area as a step toward lessening — and eventually ending — the U.S. security role.
18 provinces
Thus far seven of the 18 provinces have reverted to Iraqi control.
The process has gained relatively little attention in the broader debate in Washington about when and how to get the Iraqis ready to provide their own security so that U.S. forces can begin to leave. That may be in part because some details of the provincial transition process are classified secret.
An independent commission that examined the issue of provincial Iraqi control this summer concluded in a report to Congress on Sept. 4 that the process is too convoluted and an impediment to the overall U.S. goals of speeding the transition to Iraqi control and supporting sovereignty.
“Our current policy of determining when a province may or may not be controlled by its own government reinforces the popular perception of the (U.S.-led) coalition as an occupation force,” according to the commission, headed by retired Marine Gen. James Jones. “This may contribute to increased violence and instability.”
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20883940/
Al Qaeda to declare war on Musharraf
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Osama bin Laden will release a new message soon declaring war on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, al Qaeda announced Thursday.
The announcement of the upcoming message came as al Qaeda released a new video in which bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, boasted that the United States was being defeated in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places.
Officials in Pakistan confirmed Thursday that Musharraf, who also is Pakistan's military chief, would seek a second five-year term as president.
Speakers in the video promised more fighting in Afghanistan, North Africa and Sudan's Darfur region.
The messages are part of a stepped-up propaganda campaign by al Qaeda around the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Earlier this month, bin Laden released two messages -- including his first new appearance in a video in nearly three years.
A banner posted on an Islamic militant Web site on Thursday advertised that another message would be released, though it did not say whether bin Laden would appear in video or speak in an audiotape.
"Urgent, al Qaeda declares war on the tyrant Pervez Musharraf and his apostate army, in the words of Osama bin Laden," it read.
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/09/20/alqaeda.pakistan.ap/index.html
You know Woz, I am proud to be a democrat, but to be honest, I was once proud to be a republican as well.
I guess there comes that moment in everyones political life where something happens that turns them cynical.
Of all the things that has happened in the last 7 years, Katrina is the b*tch that changed everything.
Or, more correctly, she did not change it, she just tore away the facade to reveal what was lyi