Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

speaking of the pattern....

Bush to tout Iraq progress, official says

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush is expected to emphasize what his administration calls "bottom-up" political progress in Iraq in a major address to the nation Thursday night, a senior administration official said.

Amid Democratic criticism and Republican concerns that the so-called troop surge has failed to produce national reconciliation at the top levels in Baghdad, the official said the president is expected to argue that grass-roots efforts by Iraqis are "laying the groundwork for national reconciliation" but there is a "long haul and tough work ahead."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/13/bush.speech/index.html

Iraq war critic Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, will deliver the Democratic response after Bush's speech.

President Bush is expected to emphasize what his administration calls "bottom-up" political progress in Iraq ...

Gee, that would be him talking out his ass again, what a shocker.

America gave away keys to the store to a proven loser.

Astounding to this very day.

Posted by: monkey at September 13, 2007 09:28 AM

That above all else monkey, blows my mind, that the majority of the people kept their heads in the sand for 8 years, now the untold damage to the majority of those people, will give them a lifetime to reflect those decisions.

Rossian
Alot of people were worshipful of Reagan, yet he made the rich richer and poor poorer & won by good margins twice. Never underestimate the political naivete of alot of people in this country. It's mind boggling. Maybe for alot of them, the government they have is what they want. Bush's popularity ratings have actually started going up again. There are a solid 3 in 10 people who I wouldn't want to be alone in a dark alley with & those are his supporters.

Casey,

Ivory is actually a good choice, too. I should have listed it but was thinking in more solid colors. Ivory is very nice.

As you guys may have heard by now, Boehner made an astoundingly callous (albeit not entirely uncommon amongst his ilk) comment on Wolf Blitzer's show last evening, saying that our losses in Iraq are a "small price to pay" as an investment in America's future.

Bloggers are up in arms about it in some quarters, of course -- go to http://technorati.com and search for "Boehner" and "small price" to see some examples -- and hopefully the MSM will pick up on the outrage as well.

Conspicuously absent, though, are anything like the kind of coordinated rapid-response reactions the rethugs do in such cases from politicians on our side of the aisle. WTF is wrong with these people, dammit? The only one who's said anything about it at all is The Tall Guy, who put up an angry diary on HuffPo about it this morning.

Oh, yeah, and a friend of ours wrote about it here as well: http://tinyurl.com/25x869

tar & feather boehner dammit,
Otter

Poll: Lamont Would Beat Lieberman In Rematch »

Daily Kos commissioned the following poll from independent pollster Research 2000:

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 9/10-12. Likely voters. MoE 4% (No trend lines)

For whom did you vote for in the 2006 race for U.S. Senate, Ned Lamont, the Democrat, Alan Schlesinger, the Republican, or Joe Lieberman, an Independent?

Lieberman Lamont Schlesinger
All 49 42 9
Dem 34 62 4
Rep 67 10 23
Ind 53 41 6

If you could vote again for U.S. Senate, would you vote for Ned...

LAMONT LIEBERMAN SCHLESINGER
ALL 48% 40% 10%
MEN 44% 43% 12%
WOMEN 52% 37% 8%
DEMS 72% 25% 3%
REPUB 7% 69% 24%
INDEP 49% 38% 9%
18-29 63% 31% 5%
30-44 54% 34% 11%
45-59 42% 47% 10%
60+ 37% 48% 12%

Now that really pisses me off. Like all the elections from 2000, a little to late for that realization.
Liebermans seat does'nt come up again for another 3 years does it.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/9/13/124925/928

I tend to think we are overlooking on a regular basis that what is happening around us has far surpassed propaganda, and has on so many levels literally turned into a mass brainwashing.

People, as individuals are usually smart creatures. But how can you be smart when everything in your entire life is based on or geared to a reality that does not exist, but is repeatedly presented as real?

In a way, asking our people to be 'aware' is equal to throwing me behind the controls of a 737 and telling me I have to fly it. How can we know to do what we were never taught to do?

I agree we appear to be ignorant morons with our heads stuck in the sand, but I think it goes much deeper than that. I don't think we are asleep, we are under hypnosis.

Because of a lot of things Rossi helped me see, my greatest fear is that they are literally using brainwashing techniques on us.

Not just propaganda, not lulling them to sleep, but straight out skull-f*cking us on a major scale.

When we look at what happened in Nazi Germany, we know that just propaganda could not have made them do what they did. It does not explain the animals they turned into.

Ofcourse, most people forget that Adolf Hitler was literally trained by a hypnotist. It seems an obscure fact, but it is probably the most important to understanding HOW it happened.

Most people forget it, but those trying to imitate him certainly learned the lesson. Like Fox news.

To mezmerize people, you have to butcher their minds. Even a perfectly normal and sane person will succumb to the Stockholm Syndrome in 6 hours or less.

6 hours is all it takes to completely break the mind of a strong person, a weak mind can be broken within MINUTES.

Our people are not asleep, and they are not stupid either. Even if it does appear that both are true, it is stranger than that.

52% of Americans are favorably impressed, but a writer at the Nation calls Petraeus "the Paris Hilton of Generals."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/AR2007091202679.html?hpid=topnews

Christy
I do not doubt you. I have a strong mind but I turned off the tv in 1991 for the reason you cite. & I will sacrifice alot to do some reality testing now & then (travel), but it's getting to be almost impossible because through all the layers of official denial, it's easy to see that our economy is headed into a tailspin.

Death of anti-war soldier questioned

Mother wants answers; Iraq op-ed author killed in unclear circumstances.

TEXAS CITY, Texas (AP) - The mother of a soldier who died in a Baghdad vehicle accident weeks after co-writing a New York Times op-ed piece -- wants the Army to explain his death.

The August 19th editorial co-written by 28-year-old Sergeant Omar Mora was critical of the Pentagon's positive assessment of the Iraq war.

Mora, who grew up in Texas City, enlisted after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Olga Capetillo says she wants to know details of how her son died Monday.

Capetillo said that in the weeks since writing the piece with six other active duty soldiers, Mora had seemed depressed and withdrawn.

Mora and co-authors Sergeant Yance Gray of Ismay, Montana, died in the vehicle accident -- along with five other U.S. soldiers and two detainees.

The single-vehicle accident also wounded eleven other soldiers and one detainee.

The military did not mention hostile fire when referring to the accident.

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=9fb98653-abb4-4618-860a-3b741782808a

Another Pat Tillman? WHAT CAUSE DID THEY DIE FOR?
To fill Georgie and his Administrations Coffers

NMP, when I turned off my tv, pretty much completely a few years ago, something very strange happened to me. It was the first time in my life I really did turn it off completely.

Rossi was a distant witness to what I can only describe as a total mental meltdown.

All the sudden, I realized I had this whole head full of thoughts and ideas that did not belong to me. It was like, realizing that little voice inside your head, was not your own voice, nor did it originate anywhere inside of me.

What I remember most clearly is just being stunned at how obvious it was, that I could suddenly see large portions of my belief structure and my very reality had been formed by something alien. All the sudden I realized some of my memories were not my actual memories.

I mean, I remembered what they told me to remember, instead of what I actually witnessed. Like with flight 800.

Once the tv went quiet, I really did think I was losing my mind. It felt like a rape.

To this day the only word I can think of to use for those days and weeks is...deprogramming.

I've seen cult members deprogrammed, and all I know is something close to what happened to them, happened to me.

I will never forget that experience as long as I live.

NMP and Christy,

Nice to hear about your experience turning your TV off.

I still watch TV - but it's limited to the Weather Channel (only because I'm shallow enough to care if tomorrow is too cold for my mini). :) That, and travelogues from the likes of Rick Steves and Rudy Maxa.

I refuse to watch any news channels, even the PBS ones. It's just too much propaganda. I would rather get BBC News off the Internet - while not completely fair, it's tolerable.

Rev. Lennox Yearwood discusses his arrest

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/09/13/rev-lennox-yearwood-discusses-his-arrest/

Wow, totally CREEPY.

"We tried in 20 minutes to untangle the latest GOP gay scandal involving Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC10) and a cast of characters involved in a bizarre Florida murder-suicide. It's a murky, pretty depraved mess that is crying for mainstream media to pick up.

Have fun listening.

Audio here

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=D6F88210BAB0548448BD8811209D800D?diaryId=2953

Our people are not asleep, and they are not stupid either. Even if it does appear that both are true, it is stranger than that.

Posted by: Christy at September 13, 2007 03:45 PM

Christy, The world is awakening to George Bushs America, I see it in my family and friends, They used to think that I was crazy for being so involved in the 2000 election that Bush stole, they talk to me now about it, where they were to busy with their own lives before, it blew my mind that the Suprememe Court, the highest court in the land, could put a President into the White House against the vote of the people, and the country was not up in arms about it, it was just another day for most of the American population.

I listen to them talking now there is intense dislike from them all now, They are taking notice of what is happening, and realising just how his policies will and are affecting them and the world in general. But it took an illegal war and occupation and so much mass death, to bring them to the reality that an evil man resides in the White House.

Your people are not asleep and not stupid either, But your people are taught to be so patriotic, it is what you grow up with it is pounded into your heads from the time you are babes PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN, but your people are not patriotic enough to go out and vote for the Leader of the Free World, the one making the policies for the Free World.

It always amazes me that the Iraqi people who are defending themselves against invaders and occupiers of their land, are called terrorists and insurgents, why not resisters, the French were resistance fighters in ww2 defending themelves against the german occupation. the Iraqi people had nothing to do with 9/11, so why, to the majority of the American people arn't the Iraqi people just as patriotic about their own Nation, just as I am patriotic of my own Nation, I would never class myself as a terrorist if I was protecting my Country, not my Homeland as Georgie is so happy to repeat time and time again, another of Hitlers little word bites.

If the people of America want to perceive themselves as an Empire, they have to be patriotic and responsible enough, to go out and vote for a leader of the free world, deserving of that responsibility. I think that is what has stunned the world, that the people of America did not take on the responsiblity, that goes with claiming to the world that they are an Empire.

Just my reflections.

State of his thoughts Posted: Thursday, September 13, 2007 4:57 PM

by Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor

A number of television journalists gathered for lunch with the president at the White House today -- a practice becoming more and more common when this president has a major speech to deliver. The following is a review of my notes, and is offered here under the ground rules established by the assembled White House senior aides. Vice President Cheney attended but did not speak.

As we now know, the speech tonight will amount to a full embrace of General Petraeus' recommendations. President Bush strongly insisted there was no White House guidance given to the General before he made his findings known. The president will announce the first of the troop withdrawals starting immediately (just over 2,000 Marines) though as a practical matter such things take time.

He will say the Iraqis are asking the United States to enter into discussions about its long-term presence in Iraq, and the president is known to favor a presence modeled -- at far fewer numbers of troops -- on that of U.S. forces in South Korea. He believes an American presence in Iraq is part of an overall Middle East policy and is aware of the view that many Americans have turned isolationist.

The president indicated, rather forcefully, that he is against a draft and doesn't feel pressure to draw down military forces based on the end of tours of duty coming due. He further indicated that if more troops were needed in Iraq (or anywhere else, for that matter), the Guard and Reserve numbers could be increased. The president is known to be following enlistment figures closely -- more important to him is RE-enlistment, based on his contention that it is a barometer of discontent in the military ranks.

The president was angered by the MoveOn.org advertisement questioning General Petraeus. He believes the ad was uncalled for and he used harsh language to describe his reaction. His emotion was fueled by his respect for the hard work, intellect and sacrifice of General Petraeus, and he indicated that while visiting Iraq recently, he warned Petraeus about the coming media glare and the importance being attached to his report in the United States.

He described the General in very glowing terms as a charismatic figure, but the president indicated the General's name shouldn't be attached to the plan because he, as commander-in-chief, takes responsibility for it. As he insisted today, any blame for failure goes to the president.

Notably, when asked about Robert Draper's new book, "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush" -- a portion of which deals with the disbanding of the Iraqi Army -- the president (who indicated he has not read the book) insisted there was no Iraqi Army left to re-constitute back at that time, saying most of Saddam's former fighters had been driven to the north where they fled and dispersed. I pointed out that this seemed like a new response; for four and a half years, the disbanding of the Army has been seen as one of the chief failings of the Iraq war. The president seemed un-bothered by that perception.

On Iran, the president indicated that future military action remains an option, and enumerated the incentives in existence to try to force a change in Iran's behavior. He further ran through the aspects of Iran's public behavior that the administration finds threatening and counterproductive.

On the management of the war, the president, as he has in the past, cited the travails of some of his predecessors in office. Today he talked about President Lincoln's struggles. He also indicated that he was very aware of how President Johnson (and Defense Secretary McNamara) conducted the war in Vietnam, including the minutiae of target selections in the same Oval Office President Bush now uses each day. He indicated more than once his distaste for public opinion polls. He admitted to being out-smarted by the enemy at several stages of the Iraq war, and spoke glowingly about the sacrifices of the military and of military families.

On the topic of Osama bin Laden, while the president indicated he was un-bothered by the latest video releases, he expects bin Laden to be found and killed by American hands.

Today's session with the president lasted close to one hour and 45 minutes. He made an informal opening statement which was followed by free-form questioning by the journalists in attendance.

I'm right now trying to insert the appropriate reporting of the above information into tonight's broadcast. Tim Russert, who was at the lunch, will join me tonight to assist in that effort.

http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/09/13/360717.aspx

Here is exactly what I am talking about Rossi...

"...could put a President into the White House against the vote of the people, and the country was not up in arms about it"

On October 18th of 2000, literally days before the 2000 election, I had my 5th c-section, a newborn baby, and instant complications that had me back in emergency surgery within 2 weeks and again 2 months later.

Somewhere in there I remember watching Florida go way off the rez. and all these 'problems' were not being thouroughly explained. And then the SCOTUS handed it to him, and I watched Inaguration Day, in a fog of pain pills, and I kept switching back and forth between CNN and Fox news cause I could not believe it was quite happening.

Both stations kept talking about the exact same thing and the exact same phrase...'Peaceful. Transition. Of. Power."

"Cause that is how WE do it. Cause that is what WE are known for. SEEE LOOOK! No Trouble To Been seen at All, No Siree Bob!"

And all was calm throughout the land.There were no single images of protest, at all. They kept saying how people 'STAYED HOME' because peaceful transition of power was what it was all about. Well, we said, I think we worked it out.

Now fast forward to about 8 months after Micheal Moores F911 was released. We are talking some 4 years later. Maybe longer.

I am sitting in my chair at my computer, so excited to FINALLY FINALLY see what all the damn fuss was about.

BAM! Right off the bat I was seeing footage that I had never even knew existed of Gore basically helping to overthrow himself in front of congress when not one senator would stand up.

He could have started a civil war right then, he chose to back away. I almost regret he did that.

I knew then this movie was going to be a bumpy ride, and it cut right into something else I never saw. The streets of DC on inaguration day. All those people, crying, screaming, protesting. Just there.

I literally almost fell out of my chair and onto the floor, my whole body went limp. All those people. SCREAMING!

Like everyone else in this country not in DC, I had never once seen or even heard of those images, and I was THERE, watching it on tv, yet never once seen anything even remotely resembling that. Until years later.

My point is, the ones that knew, were up in arms about it. They TRIED to make a stand. But the press blackout made it as useful as screaming at the walls of an empty closet.

Every time WE try to make a stand, the constant blackouts have crippled us at every joint.

Most of the country have snapped out of it, (on their own time and terms), but, like the 30% that totally believes Foe News and keeps georgie in business, they look just like everyone else, and trying to seperate them from the greater body politic is almost impossble.

It is true Rossi, from birth they teach us we are 'proud to be American. So what do we do when everything we were so proud of is being deliberately destroyed, and no one knows about it until it is already over...?

Now when I see all these rallies in DC, I guess it does make me feel better, but.. it is also frustrating as hell, because they are aiming for the wrong target.

At this point, We, as a people, should not dare make a move against georgie, because he will use our own soldiers to kill and detain us. Indeed we should not be aiming at the government at all.

They have already proven they are deaf, blind, and nothing we say will make them put their own asses on the line, even if we say it by the millions.

But I promise you if all mass movement were suddenly redirected at the press, the media... It would INSTANTLY have an effect in the favor of We.

If you can not knock georgie down, then kick the soapbox he is standing on right out from under him, and let gravity take over.

It is the only way to stop this without resorting to civil war.

We were not taught to be 'patriotic' Rossi. We were taught to be nationalistic autotrons, capable and conditioned to commit any atrocity in the name of our nation.

And not one single US Citizen I know actually WANTS US to be an empire. It is actually quite pronounced how we have been taught to shun the notion of 'empire'.

The last time people were talking about making us into an 'empire' they were wearing red coats and talking with funny accents.

And we kicked their ass and sent them back to England for it.

I have never met a patriot of this nation that was comfortable with being an empire.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Dear Karen,

For over a decade in the House of Representatives, I have worked to pass a bill called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, known as GINA.

GINA Protects Americans from Discrimination Based on their Genetic Profile.
http://votelouise.com/GINA

GINA will make it illegal for health insurers to discriminate against an individual because of a genetic predisposition to develop a disease in the future. It also bars employers from using genetic information for hiring, firing, or other decisions.

This April my hopes were raised when the House of Representatives passed GINA by a vote of 420 to 3. With GINA successfully passed through the House, it was expected to pass the Senate as it had before and head to the President's desk where it would be signed into law.

Unfortunately, Senator Coburn from Oklahoma has Decided Otherwise.
http://votelouise.com/GINA

Through an unusual rule in the U.S. Senate, Senator Coburn has placed a hold on GINA, effectively preventing its consideration and passage.

Just imagine -- one man has the ability and audacity to prevent the passage of an important law even though nearly every single Member of the House and Senate, not to mention the President of the United States, supports it!

What's more, Senator Coburn is blocking GINA even though he supported the bill last Congress! And this is not Senator Coburn's only unfair hold on a piece of legislation -- we've learned that he has secretly placed holds on 85 other bills -- an unprecedented number.

I'm Asking You To Join Me in Standing Against Senator Coburn and Genetic Discrimination!
http://votelouise.com/GINA

Friends, the importance of this legislation can not be taken lightly. We all must remember that there is not a single person on this planet that carries with them perfect genes -- every one of us carries a predisposition to illnesses, and therefore we are all vulnerable to genetic discrimination.

Sign the Petition and Tell Senator Coburn that You Won't Stand for Genetic Discrimination!
http://votelouise.com/GINA

In Solidarity,

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter

P.S. Please be certain to help spread the word about this important issue by forwarding this email on to your friends, family and co-workers.

Posted by: Christy at September 13, 2007 07:29 PM

ROCK ON!!!! What a great post...

I 2nd that emo-shunnnnn

HILLARY'S FUNDRAISING SCANDAL HITS MSM MEDIA:

NPR's All Things Considered had a segment on the tale of HillRaiser/fugitive/con-man, Hsu, who was arrested in Colorado:

@@@@@@

The mysterious political donor Norman Hsu was being held in a Colorado jail Thursday afternoon after being released Wednesday from a hospital in Grand Junction, Colo.

Hsu turned up at the hospital last week after jumping bail on a 15-year-old grand theft charge in California.

Hsu has been a major Democratic fundraiser in recent years, although the source of his wealth is still unclear.

An attorney for Hsu said he plans to waive extradition so he can get back to California as soon as possible and face sentencing for the grand theft charge. Hsu was supposed to face that charge last week, but he failed to show up for a court hearing, thereby forfeiting $2 million in bail.

Hsu reportedly sent copies of a suicide note to several people last Wednesday, then boarded an Amtrak train headed east. Fellow passenger Joanne Segale said Hsu remained locked in his cabin for hours. She finally noticed him wedged in a narrow space next to the door and summoned train personnel for assistance.

"He was very ill, very incoherent," Segale said. "But when they picked him up, he said, 'Am I in jail? Am I in jail?' And they said, 'No, you're not in jail. You're in Colorado.'"

Segale said train crews later found a bottle of prescription medicine and pills scattered around the rail car. Hsu's attorney declined to comment, except to say the hospital had done a "marvelous job" caring for his client at a difficult time.

Hsu's discovery in Grand Junction is the latest bizarre twist in the story of the fugitive financier, who is one of the biggest fundraisers for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

The campaign has promised to return some $850,000 from donors who were solicited by Hsu. Clinton told reporters Wednesday that it would have been difficult to make any other decision.

In addition to the old California charges, Hsu also faces new questions in New York. Investors there worry that tens of millions of dollars given to Hsu for a clothing venture seems to have disappeared.

Related NPR Stories
Sep. 11, 2007
Following the Money Trail on Hsu
Sep. 11, 2007
Clinton to Return Funds from Fundraiser Hsu
Sep. 7, 2007
Former Democratic Fundraiser Hsu Arrested

Bombers assassinate key US ally
September 14, 2007 - 6:39AM

A Sunni Arab tribal leader instrumental in driving al Qaeda out of Iraq's Anbar province has been killed by a bomb attack less than two weeks after meeting US President George Bush in the desert region.

The killing of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha brought condemnation from the White House. Abu Risha was the leader of an alliance of Sunni Arab tribes that joined US troops to push al Qaeda from much of the western area hailed by Mr Bush as a success story in Iraq. His death came as Mr Bush prepared to deliver a evening televised address about his war strategy.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/bombers-assassinate-key-us-ally/2007/09/14/1189276933644.html

ROCK ON!!!! What a great post...

I 2nd that emo-shunnnnn

Posted by: monkey at September 13, 2007 07:47 PM

Why Thank You Monkey. Flattery will get you invited to dinner.

I made one momma slapper of a meatloaf, rice and brown gravy, with some...wait for it... Jiffy cornbread muffins.

Good googly ga-ga.

One Last Breath

Creed

Please come now I think Im falling
Im holding on to all I think is safe
It seems I found the road to nowhere
And Im trying to escape
I yelled back when I heard thunder
But Im down to one last breath
And with it let me say
Let me say

Hold me now
Im six feet from the edge and Im thinking
That maybe six feet
Aint so far down

Im looking down now that its over
Reflecting on all of my mistakes
I thought I found the road to somewhere
Somewhere in His grace
I cried out 'Heaven save me!'
But Im down to one last breath
And with it let me say
Let me say

Hold me now
Im six feet from the edge and Im thinking
That maybe six feet
Aint so far down

Sad eyes follow me
But I still believe theres something left for me
So please come stay with me
cause I still believe theres something left for you and me
For you and me
For you and me

Hold me now
Im six feet from the edge and Im thinking

Posted by: Christy at September 13, 2007 07:29 PM

Christy,

I remember that time clearly. I think it was before my life fell apart. It's like when Reagan was shot, I remember what I was doing. When 9-11 happened, I remember what I was doing then too. It's like a movie.

I can say that I remember them talking about a "peaceful transition" too, but rather than wondering wtf, instead, I was thinking, "Well, I don't agree with the Supreme Court but how much damage can this guy do in 4 years."

I guess I felt like Cindy Sheehan. (She use to talk about that too.)

Anyways, I didn't know that the media was corrupt then. I didn't know I was brain washed. I didn't know that voters in Florida had been purged. I didn't know that the 'mob scene' in Florida was actually staged by Republicans who would get rewarded by being appointed by their king. I didn't know about a lot of things.

So like many of us, I felt pride that we could smoothly go to the next president even if we didn't agree with a decision.

Posted by: Christy at September 13, 2007 03:27 PM

Casey and Christy,

when you say Ivory, I pictured something like "French Vanilla". You know how it looks creamy and just slightly eggy colored.

Did someone say Jiffy cornbread muffins?

I thought all Monkeys were in bed by now. Pilfering corn bread muffins?

*****

Kudos, Suz, I am SO glad they voted against the Mexican truckers being allowed to bring their trucks in past the 25 mile mark and drive them all over the country. My dad said tonight as I saw on the blog yesterday, that my Senator, Senator Dorgan (D.) of North Dakota was instrumental in that block. He deserves some thank you letters, don't you think?

TSP,

Me too. My bro. told me that Indiana, MI, Ohio, and IL (the states where auto factories are) are going to be doing a ton more inspections for the next few weeks. The thing is, those auto plants would love to get cheaper labor to ship parts, but as it is right now, their prices are already dirt cheap.

I listened to the President on the way home and found my mind wandering because I knew he was simply reading the words of some neocon. He still did not have a plan but went on about "winning" and this on top of the fact that the "surge" has not bought time for Iraqi leaders to get their act together, its ostensible purpose. Afghanistan was ignored, even though that's where Al Quaida & the Taleban originally worked together, and Bush repeatedly linked Al Quaida & Iraq, completely ignoring the fact that we created a vacuum into which they might be sucked but Al Quaida were not there before.

Once again, he is creating new reasons, just as he did for going into "his" war, and then predicting that we will still be at war after he leaves office. & General Petraeus didn't know if we are safer in the US now because of our involvement in Iraq, yet conservative commentators are saying that they do know. Never mind that he is a General & has a PhD from Princeton. Mitch McConnell of course knows all the answers as usual (sarcasm intended).

God, I almost didn't listen to this. It was so predictable. Heard a guy from the Pew Research Group that said it was in about fall of 2005 that US popular opinion began to switch against the war. So one year before, when we were electing a President, more people didn't want to "switch horses midstream" in the middle of a war, never mind that we should never have gone to war in Iraq. This guy didn't predict that many Americans would be swayed by Bush's speak, since so much is "murky" and unclear, just more of the same.

Bush implied that troops are coming out of Iraq because we are having some success in Iraq. He tried to tie the leaving of some troops to this implied success but in fact, we cannot sustain the troop levels. We don't have enough people. We are not winning and we are not doing much better than a year ago. He didn't explain what success would be or what winning would mean. He just went on about "free Iraq."

What a crock of shit. He'll say anything to keep the war going and dump the problem on the next President.

Christy

Maddie 'killed with sleeping pills'

FORENSIC tests show Madeleine McCann died of an overdose of sleeping pills following analysis of body fluids in the boot of a car hired by her parents after she went missing, say media reports.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22416728-2,00.html

But I promise you if all mass movement were suddenly redirected at the press, the media... It would INSTANTLY have an effect in the favor of We.

If you can not knock georgie down, then kick the soapbox he is standing on right out from under him, and let gravity take over.

You are RIGHT ON there Christy, we have chatted long and hard over that subject for a couple of years it seem to me, I remember you wanted to protest outside the Fuax News Building you and my flag, only one way to solve that problem, Don't friking watch them, complete blackout of their programmes, like most people here on dcp have.

Kerry: Bush Iraq Policy Still Wrong After All These Years

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. John Kerry issued the following statement this evening, in response to the remarks by President Bush.

"Only President Bush could applaud a race back to the starting line when the finish line should be in sight. This is proof positive that the Bush escalation has been a failure. President Bush should acknowledge that the Iraqis have squabbled while American troops fought, squandering the political opportunity our brave soldiers died to create," said Senator John Kerry. "This is more of the same flawed strategy in the face of overwhelming evidence that there is no military solution to Iraq’s civil war. We must change this disastrous Bush policy, and we must change it now."

Rossian
I am going on 17 years of not watching American television news.
Television is very popular here. Check out our obesity epidemic & the sales of high-definition ultrathin liquid crystal screens, or whatever they are, on credit. The opiate of the people.

President Bush addresses the nation Thursday night to discuss recent reports on the situation in Iraq. We want to hear what you think of the speech. Send your comments by typing them in below, or put them on video to be part of CNN’s post-address analysis coverage.

http://www.cnn.com/exchange/ireports/topics/forms/2007/09/bush.speech.html

Karen: HIPPA(Health Insurance Protection and Portability Act) already clearly states that healthcare providers cannot descriminate on the basis of genetic information they have. This new bill is noble, but I believe redundant. I will reread the Act this weekend and post its exact language. You might email Congresswoman Slaughter and ask her why she does not believe that privacy right is already covered by HIPPA.

Oh dear. Christy this is for you. I had thought this might be a possibility because the parents, both doctors left her in a hotel room, which is NOT ON!

Maddie overdosed on sleeping tablets: reports
September 14, 2007 - 9:29AM

Newspapers are reporting that toxicological tests on liquid found in the boot of the Kate and Gerry McCann's hire car found Madeleine had consumed a "significant" dose of sleeping tablets.

Sorry. Forgot the link.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/maddie-overdosed-on-sleeping-tablets-reports/2007/09/14/1189276944509.html

And sorry rossi. I posted before I finished reading the thread.

http://www.cnn.com/exchange/ireports/topics/forms/2007/09/bush.speech.html

Posted by: monkey at September 13, 2007 10:45 PM

Thanks for the link. It's so good to being able to write my opinion of American Mainstream Lazy Journalism.

John Edwards Responds to President Bush

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/link.php?id=41916

Posted by: Bubba at September 13, 2007 10:53 PM

Bubba,

I had been in the unfortunate position of looking for new insurance for the daughter and for the family (just in case), and let me tell you that the insurance companies ASK AND DEMAND AN HONEST ANSWER at the risk of being charged with fraud very invasive questions about your medical history, your parents' medical history, and your current illnesses.

No, you can not say "I don't know" because the insurance company can view your records and then they can claim that you lied to them. Once that happens they can kick you off the insurance (for up to five years) and make it so that you can not get other insurance.

HIPPA may say one thing, but insurance companies do another.

sparrow, it's only when Universal Health Care is in place, that the Insurance Companies will have to actually battle FOR customers and operate fairer terms.

Right now, your government is simply ensuring that insurers can hold you to ransom and keep both your money and your security.

Thursday, September 13, 2007
Keith Olbermann's Top 9/11 Story:
4 Minute Video
The Promotion Of Failure In Bush Administration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be0uIjz68KA

Olbermann: the beginning of the end of America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqxmPjB0WSs

Did someone say Jiffy cornbread muffins?

not recently monkey.

I think Christy had to go out for ingredients.

man, the list of things that will keep a monkey up just keeps growin'...

g o o d f r i d a y t o y o u

CNN Quick Vote

What do you think of the plan to cut the number of troops in Iraq by 5,700 by the end of the year?

About right 18% 4671
Too few 73% 18703
Too many 9% 2305

Total Votes: 25679

Troops who spoke against war are killed
Suzanne Goldenberg and David Stout Washington
September 14, 2007

TWO US soldiers who helped write an article from the front saying America had "failed on every promise" in the Iraq war have been killed in Baghdad.

Staff Sergeant Yance Gray, 26, and Sergeant Omar Mora, 28, were among a group of seven soldiers serving in Iraq who wrote a piece excoriating America's conduct of the war, published in The New York Times last month.

"Engaging in the banalities of life has become a death-defying act," the soldiers wrote.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/troops-who-spoke-against-war-are-killed/2007/09/13/1189276900589.html

Posted by: not my president at September 13, 2007 10:32 PM

Thank you, Senator Kerry. Nothing nuanced about that, and I am glad you can get some media to pick up your voice now that you are not running for President. You would have had to deal with undoing this mess.....if it's even possible.

Posted by: sparrow at September 13, 2007 09:46 PM

Well, maybe that's what they want, for any self respecting ex middle class person to move to another country, then they can bring in people from India and Mexico and wherever else they outsource what should be OUR labor to.

What gets to me is how really bad it is getting. I am seeing an even bigger picture of it now, and I don't think they put value on human life unless it is one with a huge bank account, or one that will labor for peanuts. It's all about greed. The picture just gets bigger and bigger.

Monkey,

Hell yeah I said Jiffy cornbread muffins. I won't feed my family any other kind.

Sorry, had to duck out early cause some oilfield workers heard about the meatloaf and invaded my house.

Sparrow...

I swear darlin you made me get all teary again,

"Anyways, I didn't know that the media was corrupt then. I didn't know I was brain washed. I didn't know that voters in Florida had been purged. I didn't know that the 'mob scene' in Florida was actually staged by Republicans who would get rewarded by being appointed by their king. I didn't know about a lot of things."

Me, too, I just did not know. I knew I was dying from a problem I was trying to hide from everyone around me, I kept thinking, 'I will get better, I will be ok.' The surgeon took one look at me and said 'In 30 years of being a surgeon I have never seen anything like that.'

I knew I was in trouble, but he was a good doctor, a good man. By election day I was in terrible shape.

I will be honest, I did not vote in 2000, because by election day I had two intestinal catheters hanging out of me. I was taking care of a newborn and a two year old by myself like that and by election day I could not even hold my new baby to feed her.

I wish I would have known, understood. I think of those days, seeing it all happen, but it was like a painfull pill induced fog.

Now, asfor the news about Madeleine.

Sleeping pills does not make sense. If she was accidently or even purposely overdosed, then how did she wind up getting her blood in the hotel room?

I mean, obviously I am not trying to dispute the results, and it is damn interesting. But, it does not explain the blood.

And again, it does not make any sense.

If they know she was given a lethal dose, AND they know her decomposing body was moved in that car...

Then why in the hell are her parents still walking around free as birds...?

From the L.A. Times

(Funny how each one of these people never saw the risk ahead, isn't it? It's probably just a coincidence....)

Ex-Fed chief was slow to see credit risk

Alan Greenspan, who engineered a low-rate policy, says he didn't foresee effects of the sub-prime loan boom.
From the Associated Press
September 14, 2007

WASHINGTON -- -- Even the maestro didn't see it coming.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has acknowledged that he failed to recognize early on that an explosion of sub-prime mortgages to people with questionable credit histories or low incomes could pose a danger to the economy.

In an interview, Greenspan said he was aware of lending practices in which home buyers got very low initial rates only to see them jacked up later, causing payment shock in some cases. But he said he didn't initially realize the harm they could do.

http://tinyurl.com/376r8b

Heckuva job, Alan. He didn't see it coming? For crying out loud!!! I saw it coming when I was laid off in the recession in '01 and they were at my house begging me to give up my decent unemployment benefits to go get a low paying job so I could qualify for a low interest variable loan and refinance my home. I mean, come on, Alan. I could see it coming then, and didn't go for the bait and switch. The second largest corporation in the WORLD was knocking on people's doors in a time of serious recession getting them to refinance their homes for a quick fix to the economy. Now it's time to pay the piper, and I thought at the time, what are they going to do with all those homes they get when they go into foreclosure? Heckuvajob Alan Greenspan from the "federal" "reserve" might not have "seen" it, but little old out of work me at the time "saw it coming." What are the ex middle class working folks going to do when this next recession hits and they have already lost their house, ruined their credit, and lost their jobs and healthcare? Oh, I know......go get a shopping cart and a cardboard box and join the rest of the homeless. Maybe Patch Adams will give them free medical care 'round their camp fire.

Christy,

They did not find blood in the rental car, they found bodily fluids that had decomposed, but could still show up in testing whether or not she had been drugged. It just can't tell at that stage of decomposition how much she was drugged, or overdrugged.

Then too, my sister ate a bottle of aspirin when she was little, maybe there was a prescription bottle there and little Maddy got in to it and ate the pills.

If the DNA evidence in that rentacar is indeed Maddy's decomposing bodily fluids, those parents are in a world of hurt by now.

Hard to believe.

Yeah, I know they reclassified what they found in the car as 'body fluids', but with the amount of her hair there too, it is hard to see how any of that got there without a decomposing body.

The hotel room though, they are still reffering to that as 'blood'.

Doctors left their kids in a situation where they could accidently OD. Ok I don't really buy it, but ok.

It still does not explain how she was bleeding in the hotel room.

Sleeping pills do not cause a bleed, even in large amounts.

Maybe it was a mercy killing.

Seriously.

Them being doctors, they would know if she had a condition, or accident, that could not be survived.

It is the only reason I can think of a bleeding child would be given a lethal dose.

I remember when the main objectives of this site were to promote fair elections & free media. I guess we all have our own ways of highjacking the comments section.

If you want to see the latest viral video about the "crazed Britney Spears" fan, accompanied by my photocommentary from 2003, which involved a coincidence, go to:

http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com

Posted by: TSP at September 14, 2007 07:47 AM

The new thing is "reverse outsourcing." George now has one in four inhabitants employed by a foreign company! The government is simply begging foreign companies to locate there, because of the cheap labor force & land (compared to the rest of US). A company from India is coming in & hiring 600 computer people & there are lots more.

I just sent my camera to Sony & it went to Texas (Laredo), one of their only plants that isn't foreign, and they are, of course, a Japanese company.

We also have states that are letting foreign countries operate toll roads here, in order to pay for infrastructure the feds won't cover. Spain is a big player.

The US dollar is lowest in 15 years, which was the time when Emperor Bushus I was in power.

~new thread~

Sparrow: I am not defending insurance companies, however they are legally allowed to charge different rates according to the risk(even though I personally know they are unreasonably call allergies and high collesterol medications as a risk) and can turn you down for coverage as long as your state has a state pool. They can ask for medical records and your medical history, ie do you have cancer, leukemia etc.They can make it very expensive for their health insurance which they do they just can't make it where you can't get coverage. There is no law that says they must charge a 75 year old with cancer the same rate as a healthy 25 year old. National healthcare would fix that risk factor where one carrier might otherwise be stuck with primarily sick insureds and go under. And it is my understanding that they cannot demand or use DNA testing to deny coverage or up premiums. All of my doctors, local hospitals, and my mom's nursing home carry HIPPA to its ridiculous extremes about sharing info even when you ask about family members. And I believe the bill Congresswoman Slaughter proposes does the same thing. That doesn't mean that they can't demand that you give them your medical history and medical records, it just means your medical providers can not share that information without you first signing a very specifically worded HIPPA medical release. Texas even has medical privacy laws that exceed HIPPA and can be a real pain when you as the patient or on behalf of a family member legitimately need that info. The healthcare crisis is primarily about costs and availability not about privacy. At least that is the way I see it.

With all the garbage about moveon's ad, why is the media not holding Guiliana and Romney to the same standards when it comes to asking them to condemn Coulter's remarks? Its all nonsense, a distraction to allow them not to answer the question as to how many years they would expect to keep troops in Iraq in their perpetual war.

Gingrich would be even worse than Bush.

A college history professor, conservative political leader, and prolific author, Gingrich twice ran unsuccessfully for the House before first winning a seat in November 1978. He was re-elected 10 times, and his activism as a member of the House's Republican minority eventually enabled him to succeed Dick Cheney as House Minority Whip in 1989. As a co-author of the 1994 Contract with America, Gingrich was in the forefront of the Republican Party's dramatic success in the 1994 Congressional elections and subsequently was elected Speaker. Gingrich's leadership in Congress was marked by opposition to many of the policies of the Clinton Administration, culminating in the impeachment of President Clinton shortly after Gingrich resigned as Speaker. Shortly after the 1998 elections, where Republicans lost 5 seats in the House, Gingrich announced his resignation as Speaker.

After resigning his seat, Gingrich has maintained a career as a political analyst and consultant and continues to write works related to government and other subjects, such as historical fiction. He has expressed interest in being a candidate for the 2008 Republican nomination for the Presidency.

(Wikipedia)