Tuesday, March 27, 2007
TUESDAY: The First Sign of the Apocalypse
You know things are really coming down when the GOP's OWN talking point is that Alberto Gonzales is just incompetent, not a lying crook. When they're trotting out Robert Novak to write this, you know they're staring down the barrel of eternal damnation. Fortunately, your own personal spirit guide, Sam Seder, is here to lead you unharmed through this morass. Today we'll have Air America's own David Bender, law professor Erwin Chemerinsky, and Markos from Daily Kos. Bon Appetit.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
441 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 441 Newer› Newest»Press conference today. Mostly about Tony Snow's cancer but also a statement by the president which I want to get the direct wording b4 I post.
Consumer confidence drops in March By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer
2 hours, 27 minutes ago
Consumer confidence dropped more than expected in March, sending the widely watched index to its lowest level since November, as shoppers became anxious about a run-up in gasoline prices and stock market turbulence.
The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 107.2, down from the revised 111.2 in February. Analysts had expected a reading of 109. The March index was the lowest since November 2006 when the reading was 105.3.
In a statement, Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said that despite diminished expectations, consumers' assessment of the economy was steady and the report does not "suggest a weakening in economic conditions."
"The recent turmoil in financial markets coupled with the run-up in gasoline prices may have contributed to consumers' heightened sense of uncertainty and concern. The direction of both components over the next few months bears watching to determine whether this decline is just a bump in the road or something more substantial," Franco said.
Economists closely monitor consumer confidence because consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of all U.S. economic activity.
The Present Situation Index, which measures how shoppers feel now about economic conditions, increased slightly to 137.6 from 137.1 in February. The Expectations Index, which measures consumers' outlook in the next six months, declined to 86.9 from 93.8.
The report was a bit sobering for retailers and other businesses that rely on consumer spending.
LINK
Truck bombs kill at least 30 in northern Iraq
Scores hurt in market blasts in Tal Afar; 14 die in earlier attacks elsewhere
BAGHDAD - Two truck bombs simultaneously struck markets in Tal Afar on Tuesday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens in the second attack on the city in four days.
The attacks occurred about 4 p.m. at popular markets in the northern and central parts of the city, 260 miles northwest of Baghdad. At least 30 people were killed and 50 wounded, city and police officials said, although they could not provide a breakdown of the casualty toll.
On Saturday, a man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up outside a pastry shop in the central market area in Tal Afar, killing at least 10 people and wounding three, just over a year after President Bush declared that city was an example of progress made in bringing security to Iraq.
LINK
Everywhere I go I have a big smile on my face.
People always look at me like I'm up to something.
America the weird.
The act of invoking a form of wide spread Stockholm Syndrome is an ongoing and never ending task that governments undertake on a regular basis, either consciously or not, however during times of specific unrest or when major issues arise there is generally a marked increase in activity by the aggressors. This often includes the use of vague and confusing language or messages intended to induce a form of blind loyalty.
The press conference today focused on how Tony Snow will fight his cancer. Not one mention of Eliabeth Edwards and how she intends to fight hers.
Even the press in the room, with a logical question comparing the two, asked no questions about this.
how's your tummy today, shell
told ya not to eat that whole bowl of snails
[she'll crack under interogation]
(didn't i)
(didn't i)
"did not"
oh, go ahead & plead the 5th
toniD said...
Consumer confidence drops in March
its so frustrating having president custer missing in action. the economy is going down the crapper really really fast.
from "trade with form":
from today’s edition of the London based Daily Telegraph.
"America’s housing slump is more serious than widely believed and risks setting off a full-scale global crisis, Morgan Stanley has warned in a note to clients. The US bank said the sudden deterioration in the sub-prime sector knocked away the "cornerstone" of US household consumption and threatened contagion to a broader nexus of complex derivatives.
"US sub-prime has the potential to turn into a real financial crisis. We do not make this assertion lightly," said Teun Draaisma and Graham Secker, the bank’s two chief equity strategists for Europe.
It is not common to find a large investment bank issuing such a stark warning.
add to this the daily body count in iraq, the fact that the marines, once the elite branch of the military, are calling up ready reservers because nobody is enlisting anymore, and the constant drumbeat of incompetence and corruption of this administration and things have never looked bleaker.
the real question is whether january 2009 will be too late to get back to a better life.
go to bed -- boring
get up -- boring
watch cricket -- boring
go to the supermarket -- boring
come to the blog -- exciting!
: )
It still hurts, a/o, thanks for asking....not as much as yesterday...I miss Janeane...you didn't care much for her though, did you?
(didn't i)
(didn't i)
"did not"
oh, go ahead & plead the 5th
:)
CB's address:
Kirk Bower 302414
R4 - D13
Washington Corrections Center.
Box 900 Shelton Wa. 98584.
i did'nt put the 302414 on the last letter and they bounced it back at me!
sigh! LESSON RE LEARNED!
just getting back into 'dot the i' mode again...
The Common Denominator
//reputable scientists from diverse fields cite human overpopulation as a root cause of many seemingly disparate, catastrophic problems that our planet, currently, faces//
well, derr
time to put on the ritz
i respond best under torture at the hands of beautiful women
and you're exploiting that
(aren't you)
//i did'nt put the 302414 on the last letter and they bounced it//
now i got an excuse
(woo-hoo)
I'M FREE OF GUILT
Is Tony Snow a dead man walking?
The liver is probably the third-most vital organ.
blah blah blah said...
toniD said...
Consumer confidence drops in March
its so frustrating having president custer missing in action. the economy is going down the crapper really really fast.
from "trade with form":
from today’s edition of the London based Daily Telegraph.
I know blah 3. I've been preaching this on the blog since I started blogging here. I could see the signs and when I did post the trolls called me chicken little.
Had we done something sooner, this would not be as bad as it is. The problem was the stock market was doing well and the gov't padded the figures so people would think we were doing well. Example, unemployment figures.
Maybe we're not supposed to be talking about stuff like that so I'll take it out.
What did he do-- rob a donut shop?
"No, I don't want the money. I want everything BEHIND YOU!!"
Blah 3, could you post the link to the Telegraph article, I want to send it to my brother. We've been discussing this recently.
Ha!
see! theres always
some good unintended consequences.
poor CB! he called yesterday and got cut off after a minute or so.
i'm remembering what a total disconnect doing time is.
Time.com's Cox latest to attack Sen. Clinton on her voice
http://mediamatters.org/items/200703270002
**********
For the last few weeks this has been the way to attack Clinton: on her voice?!
What is this SHIT??!!
It's the tried and true "She's a woman, so she's a bitch, shrew, whatever..."
You know, though .... this is only going to backfire ... I was not a Hillary fan, because of her policy [oh imagine that! I care about her legislative skills and policy!!!], BUT NOW I am thinking I am going to back her all the way, simply because she's a woman. Remember: We are the majority here on this planet! And we DO vote, and we are the ones in this country making the overwhelming majority of the purchasing decisions for our families.
CAREFUL!
reputable bloggers from diverse fields cite human greed as a root cause of many seemingly disparate, catastrophic problems that our planet currently faces.
Rare, Tiny Owl Spotted in Wild
An extremely rare species of tiny owl has been seen in the wild for the first time, the American Bird Conservancy said Thursday. The long-whiskered owlet, one of the world's smallest owls, was discovered in 1976. Researchers have caught a few specimens in nets after dark but had not seen it in nature.
It was spotted in the wild in February by researchers monitoring a private conservation area in Peru's northern jungle.
The conservancy said in a news release that investigators encountered the owlet three times during daylight hours and recorded its calls frequently at night. The group said the sighting "is considered a holy grail of South American ornithology."
The owl is so distinct that it has been named in its own genus, "Xenoglaux," meaning "strange owl," due to the long wispy feathers around its reddish-orange eyes.
I hope I didn't put a turd in the punchbowl, with my question about CB.
Women now own nearly 30% of all businesses in the U.S. Women make 80% of all family purchasing decisions and control $7 trillion in purchasing power. ...
www.thinkownership.com/html/womens-ownership-movement.aspx
Kiss my ass!
it gives me great satisfaction realising that the "Boyz" are up aginst 4 or 5 generations of tough confident women.
they ignored it. they're gonna eat it.
Buahahahahahahaahaaa!
Viva La Femmes!
eya Reefer Jello!
what question? was it addressed generally? or to me?
what would ya like to know?
Bernanke had better be right - or he could face impeachment
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Last Updated: 2:20am GMT 06/03/2007
After 17 years as the First Lord of world finance, Alan Greenspan must have known what he would unleash by mumbling his few words about a "possible" US recession this year.
It was a none too-subtle message to successor Ben Bernanke that the time had come to ditch ideology and slash interest rates before a grave policy error is committed. Indeed, it may already have been committed after 17 rate rises in two years.
Mr Greenspan's comments flashed across trading screens at a delicate moment, as markets were fretting over the collapse of the ABX index of low-grade mortgage securities following the bankruptcy of 27 sub-prime lenders in the US this year.
advertisementIf they still had any doubts, the 7.8pc plunge in US durable goods orders in January settled the argument. World markets were not "priced" for this upset to the Goldilocks thesis.
The week before, risk appetite had reached record extremes as measured by the VIX index, or by the willingness of investors to accept spreads on junk bonds of a sliver over LIBOR, or by their kamikaze urge to squeeze the last few drops of profit out of the "carry trade" by pushing the Japanese yen to the lunatic zone of yen160 to the euro (it was 90 in 2001).
It took five trading sessions for the elastic to snap back. The yen rose 4pc against the euro, enough to do damage in a world where outstanding derivative contracts have reached $370 trillion - and which may or may not add up.
We'll find out soon where the cadavers lie in hedge fund land. Exuberant bourses from Sao Paolo to Istanbul and Bombay have had a 8pc haircut.
"We believe the 'great unwind' has now started," said the bears at Dresdner Kleinwort. They have been waiting a long time for this moment. "Extremely high levels of risk appetite have begun to shift. The 'markets-buoyed-by-ample-liquidity' arguments will now be shown to be the total and utter tosh they are," they said.
LINK
that's right Jim!
Thank you!
Now, speaking of women owned businesses, I have to go tend to mine.
By the way, I keep getting those Republican Congressional calls to be "honored" [i.e. give them money] as a business owner.
Stop calling me. You're wasting your dime. Actually, go ahead .. waste away....
I heard I joke that if Hillary were president it would be better because we could pay her less.
(*snark*) :/
Alice said...
I heard I joke that if Hillary were president it would be better because we could pay her less.
(*snark*) :/
March 27, 2007 10:38 AM
****
I just had to say Ha!
Good one.
Jim...I asked you if they have shock probation out there and is CB eligible?
if Hillary were president it would be better because we could pay her less.
60 cents on tha dollah, bay-bay!
Monica Goodling looks like a Southern Baptist sorority girl who doesn't put out.
Jim? Where'd you go?
bibimimi troll'p said...
Monica Goodling looks like a Southern Baptist sorority girl who doesn't put out.
Here's the proof...
Monica Goodling a graduate of Pat Robertson U. McClatchy reports on Goodling, the top aide to Alberto Gonzales who is taking the Fifth Amendment:
Goodling, 33, is a 1995 graduate Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., an institution that describes itself as “committed to embracing an evangelical spirit.”
She received her law degree at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. Regent, founded by Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson, says its mission is “to produce Christian leaders who will make a difference, who will change the world.”
E-mails show that Goodling was involved in planning the dismissals and in later efforts to limit the negative reaction. As the Justice Department’s liaison to the White House, she could shed light on the extent of White House involvement in the dismissals.
LINK
shelly, i asked you a question
//(aren't you)//
hmmm...
my carly simon interrogation technique isn't all that it's cracked up to be
book her dano
she probably thinks this post is about her
"well it is"
shut up, dano
"my name isn't dano"
:|
How Bush helped the GOP commit suicide
---------------------------------------------
A new study shows that unless the Democrats self-destruct, they could walk into the White House in '08 -- and might hold it for years.
By Gary Kamiya
March 27, 2007 | Democrats should give two cheers for George W. Bush. He and his political mastermind, Karl Rove, dreamed of achieving a permanent Republican majority. Instead, his disastrous presidency has dealt a devastating blow to the GOP, one from which it may not recover for many years.
That's the inescapable import of a major study of American voters' values and attitudes by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, released March 22. The study finds that voters have turned dramatically away from the GOP since Bush took office. Iraq, of course, is the single biggest reason for this. (A separate Pew poll, released on March 26, shows that 59 percent of Americans want their congressional representatives to support a bill calling for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq by August 2008, with only 33 percent opposed.) But even more troubling for Republican strategists is the fact that underlying attitudes and beliefs are trending against them. The study's implication is that the GOP, especially in its current far-right incarnation, was facing serious structural, long-term problems anyway, and that Bush delivered the coup de grâce.
To Democrats and left-leaning independents who were preparing to either commit suicide or move to Provence after the 2004 elections: Put down the gun and back away from the baguette. America may not be the Bush League, after all.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2007/03/27/pew/
Gonzales and Fitzgerald, face to face.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is likely to face questions about the allegedly mediocre status of U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald when he arrives here Tuesday for a scheduled round table discussion and press conference. …
Gonzales is to appear for a round table discussion of the [”Project Safe Childhood” campaign] with Fitzgerald… The mediocre rating has been the subject of much joking among prosecutors, federal agents, defense lawyers and the press in the city, and especially at the building where Fitzgerald has earned accolades for sweeping public corruption investigations.
LINK
oh, you think you're so clever with your fancy rare, tiny owl
(don't you)
Federal Hoedown: In Court with Four Attorneys, Three Mayors, One Cop, and a Bad Judge
Throughout the last two decades, the Santa Cruz City Council has struggled mightily to ignore its police department's policies of citing, arresting, and expelling homeless people from the City. With shelter space for less than 5% of those outside most of the year (and 10% in winter), the city nonetheless maintains an unusual and cruel ban on the act of sleeping at night (11 PM to 8:30 AM) as well as a ban on covering up with blankets during the same period (MC 6.36.010b).
Robert Norse, an activist with HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) has repeatedly raised this issue at the City Council. For the last seven years, he has been unable to get the issue on the Council agenda, though hundreds of homeless people have received $90 citations during that period and thousands more harassed. The assault rate for homeless people outside is 4 to 10 times that of those indoors. The death rate is also significantly higher.
Norse is suing City Council for two specific instances of arbitrary and selective repression: a false arrest in March 2002 because he raised his arm in a silent fleeting mock-Nazi salute after the council shut down another speaker before the usual Oral Communications time had ended, and a second in January 2004 for "walking in a parade", "whispering", and "talking back" to the Mayor.
p.s. (don't you)
air-ono said...
oh, you think you're so clever with your fancy rare, tiny owl
(don't you)
March 27, 2007 11:17 AM
Ha! :) That made husbot laugh...
air ozone
hmmm...
is that you EB
I doubt that's EB...He's been into model train building lately...
it was a hunch
he generally posts salon articles
rain has stopped play in the cricket
eh!
(goodnight)
toniD said...
Monica Goodling a graduate of Pat Robertson U. McClatchy reports on Goodling, the top aide to Alberto Gonzales who is taking the Fifth Amendment:
could ya die?? it might as well be tatooed on her pink b'hind!
Black, Woman, Sick ?
We must find a white, healthy, male and we will win in 08. Hillary is going to fuck things up for us. I am still looking.
^^^
Fifty percent of adults would not vote for Clinton
By Kelly McCormack
March 27, 2007
Half of voting-age Americans say they would not vote for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) if she became the Democratic nominee for president in 2008, according to a Harris Interactive poll released Tuesday.
More than one in five Democrats that participated in the survey said they would not vote for Clinton. Overall, 36 percent say they would vote for the former first lady and 11 percent are unsure of their top choice.
air-ono said...
he generally posts salon articles
March 27, 2007 11:34 AM
You make a fine point, cricket boy.
Have a good rest...
eya Reefer Jello.
lot's going on here.
i bounce in when i can.
"if they have shock probation out there and is CB eligible"
don't know bud, he's hoping for work realease in september or before.
"I am still looking."
Dude, we're right up your alley...
You can stop looking!
Do you think a black man or woman can persuade the majority of Americans to vote for them? Not in 2008 they won't. It is too big a leap to make in one election. Got to have that VP slot first. Sorry if this might piss you off, but it is true. Let's try to win this time.
Poll backs subpoenas
of Bush aides
Americans overwhelmingly support a congressional investigation into White House involvement in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, and they say President Bush and his aides should answer questions about it without invoking executive privilege.
LINK
And so, as another day ends....
blah blah blah said...
lets hope war with iran doesn't start at 5:45 tonight...
seriously, i would expect gonzo to be gone by the end of the day.
March 20, 2007 1:00 PM
toniD said...
Blah 3, could you post the link to the Telegraph article, I want to send it to my brother. We've been discussing this recently.
i got in an email so i went looking and found it at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/03/27/cnmorgan27.xml
Anonymous said...
And so, as another day ends....
blah blah blah said...
lets hope war with iran doesn't start at 5:45 tonight...
seriously, i would expect gonzo to be gone by the end of the day.
March 20, 2007 1:00 PM
March 27, 2007 12:34 PM
SO??????? We can assume that YOUR point is is that you are hoping that we WILL have war with Iran and that having an attorney general who is mistrusted by all except Bush is somehow good for the country?
Anonymous said...
And so, as another day ends....
o god, is bush doing another press conference? just goes to show that with these chimps in charge you need to count every day as a blessing.
Truck bombs kill 65+ in
Iraqi city of Tal Afar
Two truck bombs Tuesday killed at least 65 people in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar. The explosions targeted markets in the northern and central parts of the city, the mayor said.
LINK
But US commander says
there's no civil war in Iraq
Iraq isn't engulfed in a civil war, and there are signs of hope outside strife-torn Baghdad, the new leader of U.S. Central Command says.
LINK
Thanks Blah 3.
We go down monetarily and the whole world follows. Just look back at the "29" crash. And the prez sits with his finger up his nose saying over and over again...
"I'm the decider"!
Shades of the 60's...
War protesters disrupt
presidential forum
A presidential forum in the nation's capital was disrupted Tuesday by anti-war protesters, in what is becoming a common tactic being used by opponents of the Iraq war on the 2008 campaign trail
LINK
One of the most bizarre weather patterns in the solar system has been photographed on Saturn, where astronomers have spotted a huge, six-sided feature circling the north pole.
Rather than the normally sinuous cloud structures seen on all planets that have atmospheres, this thing is a hexagon.
The honeycomb feature has been seen before. NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft imaged it more than two decades ago. Now, having spotted it with the Cassini spacecraft, scientists conclude it is a long-lasting oddity.
"This is a very strange feature, lying in a precise geometric fashion with six nearly equally straight sides," Kevin Baines, atmospheric expert and member of Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said Tuesday in an image advisory. "We've never seen anything like this on any other planet. Indeed, Saturn's thick atmosphere, where circularly shaped waves and convective cells dominate, is perhaps the last place you'd expect to see such a six-sided geometric figure, yet there it is."
MEANWHILE...on Saturn....Top scientist fired and his experiment to give the cosmos a hexagon shaped symbol that life existed there has been scrapped!
toniD said:
Iraq isn't engulfed in a civil war, the new leader of U.S. Central Command says.
I guess they need to be wearing blue and grey uniforms and shooting muskets to have a civil fucking war.
reminds me of the scene in the wizard of oz where the cowardly lion is wishing that everything is going to be okay.
Russia warns US against
using military force in Iran
Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday criticized the United States for what it called over-reliance on force and warned Washington against military action against Iran.
LINK
Economist: Biofuel
may raise food prices
Increased production of biofuels such as ethanol might help farmers' bottom lines and address climate-change concerns, but it could inflate food prices worldwide, warns a former White House economist.
LINK
How Bush helped the
GOP commit suicide
His disastrous presidency has dealt a devastating blow to the GOP, one from which it may not recover for many years.
LINK
how nice of the russians to advise us. meanwhile blair is starting to ratchet up the pressure on iran saying the time may soon be over for diplomatic solutions.
Link
Those rumors about the
Bush-Nazi connection
Rumors of a link between America's first family and the Nazi war machine have circulated for decades. George Bush's grandfather, the late Sen. Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany.
LINK
CNN's Cafferty's question this hour:
4 p.m.: How should Britain go about trying to win the release of its captured sailors and marines from Iran?
I sent an email saying:
Do the same thing Reagan did, offer guns for sailors!
Edwards praises Snow's 'courage and determination'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards called White House Press Secretary Tony Snow an "incredible example for people living with cancer and cancer survivors," in a statement released Tuesday after it was learned that cancer was found in Snow's liver.
"He lives every day to the fullest and faces every challenge with courage and determination," Edwards said in the statement.
"We want to thank Tony again for his kind words following our announcement that Elizabeth's cancer had returned," he added. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Tony and his family during this difficult time. We wish him the best in his upcoming battle and are praying for a full and speedy recovery."
-- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
LINK
Blair Warns Iran Of "Different Phase" If Diplomatic Efforts Don't Secure Marines
LINK
From the article I posted Gare!!
Rumors of a link between America's first family and the Nazi war machine have circulated for decades. George Bush's grandfather, the late Sen. Prescott Bush, was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of Nazi Germany.
Newly discovered files at the National Archives reveal that a firm of which Prescott Bush was a director was a close associate of the financial architects of Nazism. His business dealings, which continued until his company's assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act, have led more than 60 years later to a civil action for damages brought in Germany against the Bush family by two former slave laborers at Auschwitz.
The new documents, many of which were declassified only three years ago, show that even after America had entered the war and when there was already significant information about the Nazis' plans and policies, Prescott Bush worked for and profited from companies closely involved with the very German businesses that hoisted Hitler to power.
While there is no suggestion that Prescott Bush was sympathetic to the Nazi cause (nor is there any proof to the contrary), the documents reveal that the firm he worked for, Brown Brothers Harriman acted as a U.S. base for Fritz Thyssen, the German industrialist who financed Hitler in the 1930s. Evidence shows Bush was the director of the New York-based Union Banking Corp. that represented Thyssen's U.S. interests and he continued to work for the bank well after America entered the war.
Bush was also on the board of at least one of the companies that formed part of a multinational network of front companies to allow Thyssen to move assets around the world.
Papers also show that Prescott Bush was a director and shareholder of a number of companies involved with Thyssen, Germany's most powerful industrial family, and with I.G. Farben, which was prosecuted for war crimes, and is best known as the producer of Zyklon B, a lethal poison widely used at the Auschwitz and Majdanek death camps.
Two Holocaust survivors sued the U.S. government and the Bush family in 2001 for a total of $40 billion, claiming that both materially benefited from Auschwitz slave labor during World War II. The case was thrown out on the clever grounds that the government cannot be held liable under the principle of "state sovereignty."
President Bush cannot be blamed for what his grandfather did any more than can Jack Kennedy be blamed for what his father did - buy Nazi stocks. What is significant and daunting is the cover-up. How could it have gone on so successfully for half a century, and what implications does that have for America today?
"War is a racket," said plain-spoken Gen. Smedley Butler, "the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious, one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes."
snip
Meanwhile, the Bush administration continues to preach the importance of virtues from which it considers itself exempt and, cynically, it does nothing to belie the widespread conviction that, for some people, war is a very profitable business.
When corporations and government become one, I call it fascism. Nausea cannot begin to describe my feelings at this time.
Crank Bait said...
...stuff about carter's failed rescue mission....
don't know why but i was sitting here reading this and all of a sudden wondered if carter was setup. remember how reagan managed to conduct negotiations with the iranians before he was president?
Most who see Jimmy as weak come to that conclusion from his failure to free anyone. One attempt then total capitulation.
We have, on the other hand, the British. How many days has it been? Does anyone think this will last for years? Why not? What is different with the Brits that was not true of Jimmy?
It's your assumtion and your question, you answer it!
Senate Votes To Remove Timetables From Supplemental
By Jane Hamsher @ 12:08 pm
The Senate is now debating the amendment to strip the timelines out of the supplemental bill on C-SPAN 2. It should be interesting to see how Gordon Smith votes, considering he's up for re-election in 2008, and he is the only Republican to break with Bush and call for dealines for troop withdrawal. As Kos noted yesterday, Smith is running behind Democratic Congresssman Pete DeFazio in the polls, even though DeFazio has said he would not run against Smith (although MyDD is reporting a rumor that the DSCC has offered DeFazio a $5 million bounty to do so). DeFazio is a member of both the Progressive Caucus and the Out of Iraq Caucus, so Smith would be running head-to-head against a strong anti-war candidate.
Bowers:
The vote this afternoon is on an amendment to the supplemental that seeks to strip all language regarding timetables and withdrawal from the supplemental. In order to defeat this amendment, and assuming that Gordon Smith and Ben Nelson are on board (which are not terrible assumptions, but are assumptions none the less), right now Democrats need one more vote.
This is dangerous territory for Democrats. No matter how many good opportunities we have in 2008, A defeat like this could prevent us from nationalizing the 2008 elections. While individual Democrats will still be able to argue that individual Republicans continue to support an extremely unpopular and destructive war, unless Democrats refuse to allow Bush to get away with a blank check, we won't be able to campaign like that as an entire party. If we lose this vote, and if the Senate leadership buckles as a result, the nightmare scenario on the Iraq supplemental begins to become a real possibility (not to mention a sizable left-wing abandonment of activism on behalf of Democrats in the 2008 elections). On the other hand, if we win this vote, and as a result we are able to send a solid conference report to Bush, then Democrats will have begun the process of going to the mat and we can prepare for a huge showdown as a united party.
LINK
over on randi rhodes site someone posted an article claiming to be written by the russians that details an attack on iran that is scheduled to begin april 6th at 4am.
i went looking for the original and found several hits including:
http://www.rense.com/general75/bite.htm
i generally consider rense to be pure tin foil hat territory, but still....
Anyone who is holding Brits by force only needs to check out the Falklands response back in March 1982. Jimmy was off to the farm by then.
This isn't Jimmy, and Iran knows it.
WASHINGTON -
FBI Director Robert Mueller struggled Tuesday to convince skeptical senators that — despite recent abuses — the FBI should retain Patriot Act authority to gather telephone, e-mail and financial records without a judge's approval.
"The statute did not cause the errors. The FBI's implementation did," the FBI chief told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Bjorn Sez:
Exactly, Mr Mueller. That is why we had FEISA to begin with. We realize that it is necessary to spy on people. Jusges needed to have oversight in order to keep FBI accountable and not abuse the system. Now it has been shown that you could not be trusted.
Remind us again why we should enact this "just trust me us we won't do nuthin bad" law again?
Vote is 48/50 Republicans lost the vote. Dems won the vote to keep pullout time tables.
Cnn reporting Chuck Hagel voted with the Dems and Ben Nelson the Dem from Neb. voted, this time, with the Dems.
Anonymous said...
Anyone who is holding Brits by force only needs to check out the Falklands response back in March 1982. Jimmy was off to the farm by then.
This isn't Jimmy, and Iran knows it.
And you can say the same thing...Iran isn't Argentina!
Damn has anyone heard of that Secret Book(unbelievably naive in many ways!). People use that Secret method by not wanting to pay attention to the downers in our country and world(many rather watch American Idol then give a real damn about REALITY since reality is so negative sighh so these people just wear their rose colored glasses and are so unplugged etc to the wrongs which is beyond ridiculous and keeps perpetuating the wrongs!). I mean that doesnt help the huge problems in our world. I heard some of that book on c.d. and i agreed that our minds are powerful and we should attract positive energy like saying we want world peace to attract world peace and not to have signs saying NO WAr cause it's a negative and will attract negative energy. that if we keep feeding the fire with being upset it'll just cause more negatitivity. i guess so but not really. Anger moves things in positive ways which that book does not recognize and i think wants to see the world as tangerine dreams and marshmallow skys. Do we need a popular book to make people even more unplugged to the world around us?! Do we need people to be even more delusional? This new age stuff can make sense but it can be so way out there ridiculous at the same time!
bond, james bond...
Crooks’R'Us
By Jane Hamsher @ 11:26 am
There just doesn't seem to be any good way to spin this, but I'm sure they'll try:
Susan B. Ralston, while she was executive assistant to Rove, similarly used "georgewbush.com" and "rnchq.org" e-mail accounts to confer in 2001 and 2003 with Abramoff, her former boss, about matters of interest to Abramoff's clients.
In a related e-mail, an Abramoff aide said Ralston had warned that "it is better to not put this stuff in writing in [the White House] . . . email system because it might actually limit what they can do to help us, especially since there could be lawsuits, etc."
Abramoff's response, according to a copy of his e-mail, was: "Dammit. It was sent to Susan on her rnc pager and was not supposed to go into the WH system."
Waxman said the exchange indicated that in some instances, White House officials were using nongovernmental accounts "specifically to avoid creating a record of communications" that are nonetheless subject to the committee's jurisdiction.
Why do all roads seem to lead back to Casino Jack? Steve Soto adds this interesting bit on the Abramoff bodies being rapidly buried:
What is also true is that DOJ has run the Abramoff case not from a regional office under a United States Attorney, but rather from headquarters using a revolving door of prosecutors and section chiefs, allowing one constant person to maintain control of the case through this turnover: Criminal Division head Alice Fisher, who has already been accused by Democrats of being an under experienced partisan hack….Fisher is now in a position through this turmoil and turnover beneath her to sink the Abramoff case and shut off the Griles problem for the White House while the Democrats are focused on the misdeeds at the district office level.
Can Henry Waxman stay one step ahead of the Bush Administration and the hacks no doubt operating their virtual paper shredders? The tendency of Republicans to be Luddites might actually work in or favor for once.
LINK
This is not the first time Iran has pulled this stunt with the Brits. Three years ago Iran captured then release British sailors. Released is the key word. Jimmy allowed Iran 444 days. Jimmy is the guy you want to play poker with, not the Brits.
---
Blair warns Iran on held 15
David Stringer
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Britain hopes that diplomacy will win the release of 15 sailors and marines detained by Iran but is prepared to move to a "different phase," Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Tuesday.
Britain has said the Royal Navy crew were seized Friday just after they completed a search of a cargo vessel in the Iraqi part of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, where the border with Iran is disputed.
"I hope we manage to get [the Iranian government] to realize they have to release them," Blair said in an interview with GMTV. "If not, then this will move into a different phase."
Asked what that meant, Blair said: "Well, we will just have to see ..."
Pentagon conducting research into adverse effects of anthrax vaccine while maintaining it is safe Julie Weisberg
Published: Tuesday March 27, 2007
Volunteers for study to be questioned for eight years
The Pentagon resumed its controversial mandatory anthrax vaccinations program for selected troops last week despite the fact that its own doctors are quietly conducting research into adverse effects of the vaccine, a RAW STORY investigation has found.
While the Defense Department maintains that the anthrax vaccine is safe and poses no long-term risks to recipients, a little-known program at Walter Reed – the National Vaccine Healthcare Center – seems to contradict the military’s assertions.
Documents obtained by RAW STORY, including a participant’s agreement, case history and government documents, show that military medical personnel have known since at least 1998 that there are genetic triggers between illnesses and some required immunizations, including the anthrax vaccine. They also reveal the military knew and did not implement routine pre-screening which could help reduce vaccine-related illnesses.
A flyer posted by the Vaccine Healthcare Center shows that Walter Reed is soliciting servicemembers who have suffered as a result of the vaccine. The flyer asserts that “adverse effects may include redness or swelling where the shot was given (larger than the bottom of a soda can) and/or more than 24 hours of headaches, muscle/joint pains, and/or fatigue (tiredness) that interfered with your daily activities.”
LINK
same old fools...hiya libbies
same old fools...hiya libbies
Anon, you still don't get it do you!
Iran is way different than the Faulklands.
There has to be diplomacy now or we will be in another war via the UK and we don't have the troops to fight it right now. Bush thinks it's going to be a naval/air battle. But you start with Iran and the Muslims will get real nervous.
Your posts seem to make you a cheerleader for another war!
One post was enough C-Man!
How'r ethe kids? What's new with you?
time to go cook dinner. have a good one.
Supreme Court rules against Rocky Flats whistle-blower
By MARK SHERMAN, The Associated Press
Mar 27, 2007 4:05 PM (2 hrs 2 mins ago)
Current rank: # 74 of 18,552
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court left an 81-year-old retired engineer without a penny to show for his role in exposing fraud at the a former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in a ruling that makes it harder for whistle-blowers to claim cash rewards.
James Stone stood to collect up to $1 million from a lawsuit he filed in 1989 against Rockwell International, now part of aerospace giant Boeing Co., over problems with environmental cleanup at the now-closed Rocky Flats plant northwest of Denver.
A court eventually ordered Rockwell to pay the government nearly $4.2 million for false claims the company submitted. Stone could have received up to a quarter of Rockwell's payment, under the False Claims Act.
But Justice Antonin Scalia, writing in the 6-2 ruling Tuesday, said Stone was not entitled to recover any money because he lacked "direct and independent knowledge of the information upon which his allegations were based." Scalia said Stone had little connection to the jury's ultimate verdict against Rockwell.
The company must pay the entire penalty anyway. The only question before the court was whether Stone would get a cut.
The outcome was cheered by business groups that wanted the court to limit whistle-blowers in false claims lawsuits. Since Congress reinvigorated the Civil War-era law in 1986, those suits have returned $11 billion to the government. Recent high-profile cases include settlements with leading pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Robin Conrad, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce National Chamber Litigation Center, said the decision "is a very important victory for every government contractor."
The decision will cause whistle-blowers, or relators, to think twice before they file false claims lawsuits, said Peter B. Hutt II, an expert in false claims lawsuits in Washington.
"The principal thing the court did is essentially try to preclude relators from engaging in fishing expeditions," said Hutt, a lawyer at the Miller and Chevalier firm.
snip
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a leading congressional supporter of whistle-blower claims, said lawmakers should consider changes to the False Claims Act to make sure people are rewarded when they uncover wrongdoing.
"The Supreme Court has made it even more difficult to get to the bottom of waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer money," Grassley said.
The Bush administration sided with Stone, arguing that it was in the government's interest to encourage whistle-blowers, even though the government keeps more money now that Stone has lost.
Hartley Alley, a Colorado-based lawyer who represented Stone, said the decision fails to recognize the importance of Stone's actions at Rocky Flats, now a Superfund cleanup site. "He is the one primarily responsible for exposing the criminal activities of Rockwell International at Rocky Flats," Alley said.
In nearly four decades, some 70,000 plutonium triggers for nuclear bombs were made at Rocky Flats. Production was halted in 1989 because of chronic safety problems, prompting a raid by FBI agents. The Cold War ended before production could resume.
The company pleaded guilty in 1992 to violating federal environmental laws.
LINK
Zogby: Iran Poses Greatest Danger
A majority of Americans (59 percent) view Iran as a threat to the United States, and 41 percent believe it is the nation that poses the single greatest danger, a new UPI/Zogby Interactive poll shows.
Many of the Americans polled identify Iran as the greatest threat to the U.S. compared with North Korea (14 percent), Iraq (4 percent) and Afghanistan (4 percent).
With the Iraq war beginning its fifth year this month, nearly three in four (73 percent) believe that Iran is providing military assistance to Iraqi insurgents, and more than half (56 percent) believe Iran is directly involved in attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq.
Iran Crisis: We are really heading into things quickly
Folks, this is getting very bad and very quickly. Apparently the Iranian response, noted yesterday, was not what the US/UK have been looking for. So here are the latest developments in what is increasingly becoming a serious crisis:
"March 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair warned of a ``different phase'' of efforts to release 15 British sailors and Marines seized by Iran if negotiations fail.
The U.K. is using diplomatic channels to make the Iranian government understand that the eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines ``have to be released,'' Blair said today in an interview with the U.K. television show GMTV.
``I hope we manage to get them to realize they have to release them. If not, then this will move into a different phase,'' Blair said. ``We cannot have a situation where our servicemen and women are seized.'' Asked what he meant by a different phase, Blair didn't elaborate. ``We'll just have to see,'' he said.
The group was captured at gunpoint in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which divides Iran and Iraq, on March 23. The U.K. says they were in Iraqi waters conducting routine inspections of merchant shipping. Iran says they were in Iranian waters."
So what does the U.S do at a time like this? Diplomacy? No, the U.S. shows reckless disregard for the safety of our troops in the region, the safety of our allies around the world, and behaves in a way completely antithetical to U.S. interests:
"ABOARD THE USS JOHN C. STENNIS - American warplanes screamed off two aircraft carriers Tuesday as the U.S. Navy staged its largest show of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, launching a mammoth exercise meant as a message to the Iranians.
The maneuvers with 15 warships and more than 100 aircraft were sure to heighten tensions with Iran, which has frequently condemned the U.S. military presence off its coast and is in a faceoff with the West over its nuclear program and its capture of a British naval team.
While they would not say when the war games were planned, U.S. commanders insisted the exercises were not a direct response to Friday's seizure of the 15 British sailors and marines, but they also made clear that the flexing of the Navy's military might was intended as a warning.
More Here
Breaking: Senate votes 48-50 to defeat an amendment that would have removed the withdrawal timetable from the Iraq funding bill.
UPDATE: Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) joined Republicans voting against the time line. Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) joined Democrats in supporting a withdrawal time line. Sens. Sens. Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Tim Johnson (D-SD) did not vote.
Gonzales ‘dashed out’ of Fitzgerald presser. The Chicago Tribune reports:
LINK
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales dashed out of a Chicago news conference this afternoon in just two and a half minutes, ducking questions about how his office gave U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald a subpar rating.
Gonzales, who increasingly faces calls for his resignation, was here to promote a new ad campaign and had planned a 15-minute press availability. He left after taking just three questions over a firing scandal consuming his administration.
Before leaving, Gonzales said he wanted to “reassure the American people that nothing improper happened here.”
UPDATE: At yesterday’s appearance in Denver, reporters were barred from asking any questions.
LINK
Sen. Webb’s important news. It’s not about a gun. From his press conference today:
We do have an amendment on Iran coming up over the next couple of days. It’s something that I have worked on for a good bit of time. I hope in all of the attention that’s been given to the situation with my staff, we don’t lose sight of the importance of that legislation. And secondly, the other piece of legislation that I have been working on with Senator Hagel, which will come to a vote over the next two days. Those are both important pieces of legislation, and please, let’s not forget that.
Webb’s Iran bill would prevent President Bush from launching a war without explicit congressional approval. His Iraq bill with Hagel focuses on “redeployment, training and equipment.” He’s right, those are important bills.
LINK
Bush Administration’s Secret Plan To ‘Gut’ Endangered Species Act Revealed
A 117-page document obtained by Salon.com highlights a “secretive plan” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to “gut” the Endangered Species Act.
The law, which is credited with saving the American Bald Eagle from extinction,” would be changed to limit the number of species that can be protected,” curtail preserved acres of wildlife habitat, and “dilute legal barriers that protect habitat from sprawl, logging or mining.”
These proposed changes are the latest in the Bush administration’s attempts to weaken the Endangered Species Act in favor of special interests:
– Scientists pressured to alter findings. FWS scientists had been “forced to alter or withhold findings that would have led to greater protections for endangered species,” according to a 2005 survey.
– Political appointees overruled scientists’ findings in favor of industry positions. Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie MacDonald consistently “rejected staff scientists’ recommendations to protect imperiled animals and plants under the Endangered Species Act.” She called scientific studies “opinion” and told employees to treat them “as we would treat an industry publication.”
– FWS lists fewer endangered species under Bush. Since January 2000, President Bush has listed only 57 species as endangered — “fewer than any other administration in history.” George H. W. Bush listed 234 and Bill Clinton listed 512.
The proposed changes are also “littered with language lifted directly” from former Rep. Richard Pombo’s (R-CA) failed attempt in the 109th Congress to cripple the Endangered Species Act, and mirrors legislation that current Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthrorne — who oversees the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — attempted (and failed) to pass while in the Senate in 1998.
LINK
Do you think a republican actor can be elected President of the United States?
HHHHHMMMMM!!!!
Gare and Celticman show up today...right out of the blue!
What an amazin' coincidence!
I have the smooth presentation of Obama.
I have the Hollywood charm of Hillary.
I have the legislative background of Edwards.
CNN: Military Sources Respond To McCain’s Escalation Remark With ‘Laughter Down The Line’ »
Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told radio host Bill Bennett that President Bush’s escalation is working. “There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today,” he said. Today, when CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked McCain why Americans still aren’t able to safely leave the Green Zone in Iraq, the senator replied that Blitzer was giving three-month-old talking points:
General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed humvee. I think you oughta catch up. You are giving the old line of three months ago. I understand it. We certainly don’t get it through the filter of some of the media.
But according to CNN reporter Michael Ware, who has been in Iraq for four years, McCain is “way off base.” He stated, “To suggest that there’s any neighborhood in this city where an American can walk freely is beyond ludicrous. I’d love Sen. McCain to tell me where that neighborhood is and he and I can go for a stroll.”
Ware also rebutted McCain’s assertion that Petaeus travels in an unarmed humvee: “[I]n the hour since Sen. McCain’s said this, I’ve spoken to military sources and there was laughter down the line. I mean, certainly the general travels in a humvee. There’s multiple humvees around it, heavily armed.” Watch it:
LINK
I'm doing a HECKUVVA JOB!
What a Happie Doggie Day..!!
I got an Email from "The Office" today that there was a meeting here today..
What's up with THIS place..???
Did Sam not pay the Real Blog rent?
Where is everybody..????
This happen every time I go on vacation...
Ya'll screw up the blog and everything goes nuts..
So why the Roll-call...???
Is Sam in trouble...???
Are they going to fire him..???
feeling the heat: gonzo runs away after stuttering out gibberish
-conbo
This place just came to its crashing conclusion, two minutes ago.
Oh God, and I just ate!!!
What did you do WD send out your scouts b4 you posted?
This is looking suspicious now!
What a crappy blog this is...
Is this the real blog now..??
This is like camping out in a tent next to the motor-home..
Why aren't we in the Real Blog..???
Are we in Boot Camp..??
Did Sam give us the Boot...???
nice graphic, wardog
it only took you two months to figure out where everyone went
i was betting on six months
-conbo
I am on fire!!!
OH, I just missed Connie..!!!
She ran off with her hands over her ears...!!!
Ha ha ha ha...
That's not good!
This place can't afford to lose any more folks..
A quick scan indicated a low turnout..!!!!
A quick scan indicated a low turnout..!!!!
March 27, 2007 4:34 PM
which is soon to be exacerbated by your return!
Did ya'll piss Sam off or something..??
This is like the kids table at Thanksgiving..???
I read Chubby is on vacation himself...
Not good.. I thought he had all that worked out..
How long well he be resting..???
I bet Crank loves this format...
A 35 character margin...!!
Works fine for me though..
Short and sweet, that's the ticket..
I guess I will have to back and read some the blog and see why we have to sit in the corner...
All good things must end. The doggie free blog was sweet...even over here on the side blog.
Now, the endless fucking scrolling starts all over again.
hey war dog.
how's it hanging
All the trolls figured out how to use Blogger on the same day? What are the odds ;)
That Hillary is really kickin some ass...
Ya gotta love that..!!
Obama is having some troubles..
New guy has to learn the ropes..
All Hillary has to do is ask Bill..!!
We heard something big is about to pop over here..!!!
Has Sam made any announcements..??
fucking a, just turned on cnbc fast money and they say we are in a shooting war with iran. crude has jumped to 68.
does anybody have a confirmation?
Hey, did you read about Iran taking hostages..???
Now that is just the kind of thing that can lead to a trigger..!!
It is gettin time for Iran to submit..
Read the War Dog Plan again and you will know why...
It is Prophecy..!!!!
war dog, stop sniffing butts and get up to date. supposedly iran fired on one of our ships about an hour ago.
right now dod is denying it, but the financial markets are going nuts.
Well, today is Tuesday:The First Sign of the Apocalypse
-conbo
Robert Novak turned on Bush today.
I was already taking for granted the easy flow of the blog without war dog here.
The biggest downer on the blog has returned.
How fitting that WarDog and the war with Iran 'began' today too.
so much for impeachment
-conbo
Maybe Iran is what all the Red Flag are about...
But it don't sound right..
It's gonna happen one day..
But I don't think today is the day..
Oil Futures Briefly Surge on Rumors of Iranian Naval Clash
By CNBC.com | 27 Mar 2007 | 05:47 PMFont size: Nymex crude oil futures briefly shot up more than $5 to trade above $68 a barrel on rumors about Iran, traders said.
Prices pulled back to give back the majority of those gains before 6 pm New York time.
The U.S. Navy on Tuesday said it had no information to substantiate a market rumor that Iran had fired at a U.S. naval vessel in the Gulf.
"Navy has nothing to substantiate that report right now," a Navy official said. "At this juncture, there is no validity to it."
"We have no information at this time that indicates any incident taking place," said White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
Late Tuesday Reversal
Oil regained its footing late in Nymex trading Tuesday after hovering below open most of the day, finishing marginally higher and gaining ground for the sixth straight session.
The late rally came as traders closely watch ongoing threats to stability within the Persian Gulf region that have analysts foreseeing little chance of any deep falls in oil's price.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/17803850
Can someone get this new to McCain? He's in denial!
Truck bombs kill dozens at Iraqi markets By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
41 minutes ago
Two truck bombs shattered markets in Tal Afar on Tuesday, killing at least 63 people and wounding dozens in the second assault in four days on a predominantly Shiite Muslim city hit by a resurgence in violence a year after it was held up as a symbol of U.S. success.
After the bombings, suspected Sunni insurgents tried to ambush ambulances carrying the injured out of the northwestern city but were driven off by police gunfire, Iraqi authorities said.
The carnage was the worst bloodshed in a day of attacks across Iraq.
A major Sunni Arab insurgent group reported its military leader was slain outside Baghdad, an assault likely to deepen an increasingly bloody rift between al-Qaida in Iraq and opponents of the terror group in Sunni communities west of the capital.
In Baghdad, a U.S. soldier and an American working as a U.S. government contractor were killed by a rocket attack on the heavily guarded Green Zone, U.S. officials said. Another contract worker suffered serious wounds and three were slightly wounded. A soldier also was wounded.
A U.S. Marine died during combat operations in Anbar province, a hotbed of Sunni Arab insurgents west of Baghdad, the military said in a statement.
U.S. soldiers, meanwhile, foiled two suicide truck bombers trying to attack their base in a small town 50 miles west of Baghdad and killed as many as 15 attackers, the military said. It said eight soldiers suffered wounds, all but one of them slight, during the firefight in Karmah.
LINK
dogger calls in from vacation
sniffing the shituation.
he ignores the responses
to his silly nonsense
of spouting figments of his imagination.
Hi Jimmy..!!
Did you miss me..???
What did I ignore..???
What did you do with Chubby..???
I thought he had all that under control..
Army officer: Long-term morale a concern By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer
49 minutes ago
The Army's new acting surgeon general said Tuesday she is concerned about long-term morale because the military lacks money to hire enough nurses and mental health specialists to treat thousands of troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"When the original plans were made, we did not take into consideration we could be in a long war," said Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock. She became surgeon general earlier this month after Kevin Kiley was forced to resign in a scandal over poor treatment of war-wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
"We have not been able to do the hiring," Pollock told a House Armed Services subcommittee.
She testified at the first of two congressional hearings Tuesday on veterans care during which lawmakers expressed impatience with the Bush administration's efforts. They said years of communication gaps between the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments have yet to be fixed.
Testimony from officials from the two departments highlighted the difficulties that lie ahead for the Bush administration in fixing problems following reports of shoddy outpatient treatment and bureaucratic delays at Walter Reed, one of the Army's premier facilities for treating the injured.
Since the disclosures last month, three high-level Pentagon officials have been forced to step down. Some Democrats also have questioned whether VA Secretary Jim Nicholson, a former Republican National Committee chairman, is up to the job of revitalizing the veterans care system.
Bush has appointed a presidential task force to study the problems and a slew of reviews are under way by the Pentagon, VA and several congressional committees. But troops and veterans say many of the issues are well known and have long been in need of response.
LINK
Hey! I have two scripts!
Is anyone missing a script?
toniD, tanks for the update. just watching obermann interview pat tillmans mother. she's is pissed and looking for answers. sounds like dod knew what happened from the moment it happened but chose to exploit tillmans death as a patriotic event.
//"When the original plans were made, we did not take into consideration we could be in a long war," said Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock.//
hahahaha
It is the war on Terror! It is not only going to be a long war, but a forever war.
Terror knows no borders or nationalities. It also will not wait for the Army to hire more pyschologists.
-conbo
FBI Director Suggests Goodling’s Fifth Amendment Decision Unprecedented »
FBI Director Robert Mueller testified today before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the FBI’s improper use of National Security Letters. At one point, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asked Mueller about the decision by Monica Goodling, counsel to Alberto Gonzales, to invoke her Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination.
Mueller said that while he has not been “focused on thinking back to circumstances where it may have happened in the past,” he could not ever remember a time when a Justice Department official had taken the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying.
Watch it:
As the Justice Department’s White House liaison, Goodling appears to be “squarely in the middle of what appears to have been improper directions from the White House to politicize the hiring and firing of United States attorneys.” As the New York Times wrote today, her refusal to testify takes the scandal to a “new level” and compounds need for Mr. Gonzales to testify “without delay in full public view.”
– Ryan Powers
LINK
extra said...
Hey! I have two scripts!
yeah, that would be susan underhills. she's back in the closet if you know what i mean.
Green zone attack kills 2 Americans. “Two Americans, a contractor and a soldier, were killed in a rocket attack on the heavily guarded Green Zone on Tuesday, according to statements from the U.S. Embassy and the military. Five other people were wounded, one contractor who was seriously hurt and three with slight wounds. A second soldier also was wounded in the attack, but the military did not give a condition.”
LINK
nick danger said...
extra said...
Hey! I have two scripts!
yeah, that would be susan underhills. she's back in the closet if you know what i mean.
March 27, 2007 5:45 PM
Lt. Bradshaw said...
Susan Underhill is a lesbian???
Holy shit!
Wait 'til the guys down at the station hear about this!
March 27, 2007 5:47 PM
She doesn't have to worry!
They won't know who you're talking about.
Everyone knew her as Nancy!
Is there anyone out there who now doubts my Hillary predictions..??
Ha ha ha... Ain't it sweet..
Now on my schedule Hillary would lead the Battle of Iran...
Can't you just see her now..
Rows and Rows of flags behind her as she stands at the podium..
She bites her lower lip, looks up into the camera and tell the American people we attack at dawn..
Damn, she will be an historic figure...!!!
Dick Cheney and the mysterious $140,000 contract
by John Aravosis (DC) · 3/27/2007 08:13:00 PM ET
TPM has more information on Dick Cheney's odd ties to the corrupt GOP lobbyist who bought off Randy "Duke" Cunningham. How did this guy, out of nowhere, get the contract to screen the president's mail, presumably for Anthrax? The guy was a nobody. Had never had a federal contract before. His company had never even had any revenue. And suddenly, in walks Dick Cheney and the guy is getting federal contracts, and ultimately buying off at least one GOP congressman.
Read Josh's update - there's more to this story that the White House isn't telling us.
LINK
Judge dismisses lawsuit against Rumsfeld By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
20 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld cannot be tried on allegations of torture in overseas military prisons, a federal judge said Tuesday in a case he described as "lamentable."
U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan threw out a lawsuit brought on behalf of nine former prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said Rumsfeld cannot be held personally responsible for actions taken in connection with his government job.
The lawsuit contends the prisoners were beaten, suspended upside down from the ceiling by chains, urinated on, shocked, sexually humiliated, burned, locked inside boxes and subjected to mock executions.
LINK
I'm so full of BS!
You should know that by now.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!
I guess you guys heard Fred Thompson is drawing poll numbers and has not even announced..!!
Got that Ron Reagan thing going...
Actor/Politician..
Ducked all the heat over Iraq and all..
Got kind of a clean slate..
Hillary will be watching these developments...
Senate Signals Support For Iraq Timeline
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON - The Democratic-controlled Senate narrowly signaled support Tuesday for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by next March, triggering an instant veto threat from the White House in a deepening dispute between Congress and commander in chief.
Republican attempts to scuttle the nonbinding timeline failed, 50-48, largely along party lines.
The vote marked the Senate's most forceful challenge to date of the administration's handling of a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,200 U.S. troops. It came days after the House approved a binding withdrawal deadline of Sept. 1, 2008, and increased the likelihood of a veto confrontation this spring.
After weeks of setbacks on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) said the moment was at hand to "send a message to President Bush that the time has come to find a new way forward in this intractable war."
"It is a choice between staying the course in Iraq or changing the course in Iraq," he said...
---
Click on my name for the rest of the story.
---
It is no wonder that I so love being complete up fat Fred Thompsons ass. I stand for nothing and I deep brown nose every incompedent right wing bloviator.
That is the War Dog way!
Wado!
I forgot that War Dog was privy to Hillary's thoughts.
What is Hillary doing right now?
-conbo
I have my Hillary blowup doll because I never get any from the wife.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!
Honestly, I think War Dog dresses up in Hillary Drag.
I think he sits in a pin striped pant suit, pink high heels, and a string of pearls.
And then he blogs.
-conbo
Connie, you shouldn't be jealous of Hillary...
Sure Hillary has Power and Money and Bill...
But you have that hot photo and someone told me your phone number is somewhere on this blog...
Pretty bold move..
How long ago did you post it..???
Tonid,
you missed this one:
Attorney General Gonzales Implicated In Cover-Up Of New Pedophile Scandal
from
newsvine.com
story sources:
here
and
here
who thinks this will make it to mainstream?
.
Your wig is crooked War Dog.
I can see it from here.
also, you have lipstick in your beard.
(might want to consider shaving)
-conbo
John McCain’s MySpace
just got jacked up"
It didn't last but
it was sweet while it did.
Gilbert, Conbo posted that about two days ago. From a Texas Newspaper.
I was waiting to see if the wires would pick it up.
So I did see the story but not to the degree that your link has reported.
from McCain's MySpace:
Davidson decided to play a small prank on the campaign this morning as retribution. Since he’s in control of some of the images on the site, he replaced one that shows contact information with a statement:
Today I anounce that I have reversed my position and come out in full support of gay mariage…particularly marriage between two passionate females.
Oh, that’s so good.
hahaha
-conbo
Tonid, Conbo,
sorry! ;-)
I wonder if Leahy and Conyers already knows about this.
(As if they'd do anything about it unless forced to.)
.
What do you think, Gilbert? Should I put it on my blog?
Gilbert said...
Tonid, Conbo,
sorry! ;-)
I wonder if Leahy and Conyers already knows about this.
(As if they'd do anything about it unless forced to.)
sorry? for what?
i don't know if anything can be done about that now. it's just interesting to know Gonzales' background. Also, I've read some things to the effect that conservatives are so sick of Bush and Gonzo that they planted the story. Not made it up, but made it more mainstream. Anyway. Very interesting.
-conbo
toniD said...
What do you think, Gilbert? Should I put it on my blog?
Yes. The youth in that facility need our help!
.
wait a minute. this is still CURRENTLY going on?
wtf?
-conbo
Geez ... we've been set back again! I'm amazed to hear Sam's comment about Snow's woman replacement ... I can't believe after calling her "Ms." he self-edited by saying, "Well, I don't know ... maybe she's a Mrs."
No No No ... that's so wrong. Ms. should always be the title for a woman. It is the female equivalent of Mr. It should have always been that way because until a woman deems it appropriate (her criteria) it's no one's business if she is married or not.
That has been a terrible downfall -- largely due to the Phyllis Schaffleys of the world -- of women standing tall in their own fight for rights. In the formal or business/politics repectful sense, it should be Mr. Smith or Ms. Jones. The issue is not a womans marital status -- none of our business -- but a means of extending any woman the same respect as a man.
When Mr. Smith is introduced as such, no one knows HIS marital status! It should be as neutral for women.
//Geez ... we've been set back again! I'm amazed to hear Sam's comment about Snow's woman replacement ... I can't believe after calling her "Ms." he self-edited by saying, "Well, I don't know ... maybe she's a Mrs."//
What was the name of Snow's replacement besides woman? Do you remember?
-conbo
i'm going to go post that newest story about Gonzo over at the kos
not going to make a diary of it, because I don't know what to say
-conbo
Dana Perino was her name. Not sure on the spelling.
hi Cicero
:)
-conbo
Hiya, #.
Lurking here and at kos right now. Can't believe the dust up over Snow's cancer re: the "I care!" vs. the "I don't care!" crowd.
Get him healthy, then try him for his part in planning and waging an aggressive war. Simple.
Okay, gilbert, here it is...
http://abramoffjournal.blogspot.com/2007/03/this-really-hasnt-made-main-stream.html
Connie, check my blog b4 you post at kos, might give you some ideas.
//Lurking here and at kos right now. Can't believe the dust up over Snow's cancer re: the "I care!" vs. the "I don't care!" crowd.//
Thats a waste of time...and that other diary about limbaugh's penis
yeah
whatever
-conbo
:)
Evening WFC. Was just over at Wil's blog. Kevin posts therealmost more than his own blog.
thanks ToniD
-conbo
Yep. Some good stuff up about the email servers at the WH.
Haven't been at the BabAcad in a couple of days. Thanks for the reminder, toniD. Before I was assimilated by the kollective, I read a lot more blogs. Have to remember to go check other spots now.
Tonid,
you're quick. I like the title of your blog. ;-)
'nite all. 2007.03.27 23:36 EST
.
Rise of a Very 'Loyal Bushie'
By Richard L. Fricker
March 28, 2007
If you want to know what the career path of a “loyal Bushie” looks like, let me introduce you to J. Timothy Griffin, a Karl Rove protégé who was slipped into the post of U.S. Attorney in Little Rock, Arkansas, and now is at the center of the controversy over whether the Bush administration has sought to politicize federal prosecutions.
You have to read this one
from ToniD article:
//Why, given the political risks, did the administration remove the well-regarded U.S. Attorney H.E. “Bud” Cummins III to make way for Griffin? Though a staunch Republican, Cummins may not have been staunch enough.
When I checked on Cummins’s reputation in the legal circles of Arkansas, I found that he was praised by both Republicans and Democrats as a by-the-book prosecutor. One Democratic defense lawyer told me that Cummins was a prosecutor who “dealt from the top of the deck.”//
this was the person who's letter of recommendation I read from the document dump.
-conbo
excuse me, letter of resignation
big difference
hahaha
-conbo
US Attorney fired for not following through on voter-fraud cases. But FBI Director says there were no not-followed-through cases to his knowledge
by John Aravosis (DC) · 3/27/2007 11:44:00 PM ET
Gee, another lie. From Reuters:
Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, noted that among the shifting reasons given for firing prosecutors was failure to energetically pursue voter-fraud investigations.
Schumer asked Mueller if he was aware of any FBI voter-fraud probe that should have resulted in an indictment but did not.
"Not to my knowledge," the FBI director replied.
LINK
Lifetime, Lacunae
Vera Lynn, We'll Meet Again...
Fern...
My Cherry tree...
Blue...
South Bound Suarez...
Night all
Later
Night T!
Sweet Dreams!
I did so miss my little confused Crank Bait...
I see you have been thinkin of me..
Ha ha ha ha ha...
I like that...
Check this thread..
Sunny Jim posted Chubby's new resort address at 10:04 this morning..
Connies photo is 4 months old on the Real blog..
And I saw her phone number scanning this blog..
I read Connie..
I read you too..!!!
Ha ha ha ha ha...
Fitzmas..!!!!!
What a bright shiny thing it was...!!!
I probabley won't go back and read this whole thing..
But I glad to see you missed me..
How do you like my little photo???
"Anger moves things in positive ways which that book does not recognize and i think wants to see the world as tangerine dreams and marshmallow skys. Do we need a popular book to make people even more unplugged to the world around us?!"
+++++++++
I agree with this. Someimes I go so far as to think that the reason why this power of positive thinking stuff is so old, is because it's been used as a diversion for as long as people have bought into it. I mean, there's nothing wrong with using a crutch for a while if you must, but like Dumbo and his magic feather, you don't really need anything extraneous to fly.
Try an experiment, think as negatively as you can, and see if it really prevents what you want from happening. I don't think it will.
Reminds me of a story... Niels Bohr had a horse shoe hanging over his door. People were always shocked, surely he didn't buy into that good luck nonsense. Niels would say, No, but, they say it works whether you believe it or not.
They say it works whether you believe in it or not. Well, I don't belive it.
roccy rococo said...
nick danger said...
extra said...
Hey! I have two scripts!
yeah, that would be susan underhills. she's back in the closet if you know what i mean.
March 27, 2007 5:45 PM
Lt. Bradshaw said...
Susan Underhill is a lesbian???
Holy shit!
Wait 'til the guys down at the station hear about this!
March 27, 2007 5:47 PM
She doesn't have to worry!
They won't know who you're talking about.
Everyone knew her as Nancy!
++++++++++++
Yes yes, Nick Danger, Susan Underhill, everyone knew her as Nancy.
I googled it weeks ago. But the 'anybody seen my script' and the 'I'm still handsome' are still a mystery to me. Must be some inside joke, far, far inside, and anyway, I really don't care.
I'm still handsome, I'm getting good wood, GW eats shit pass it on, Anyone seen my script, Say hello to my uncle
I can't explain it, I'm sure you mean well, but I can't stand this stuff. If you wanted to drive me from ever posting here again, you couldn't do a better job than you've done. It bothers me more than trolls parroting the daily rightwing talking points. It bothers me more than the trolls saying "Liberals suck, no one blogs here, etc etc."
What can I say.
Howdy dog. Learn any new tricks?
Can you catch a nuke like a frisbee?
Hagel warns of impeachment of president.
Can't keep doing what you want anymore on this one. The majority of Americans aren't having it, Congress is working together on it, and your own party is sick to death of you and your administrations misuse of executive privilege.
If I were president, I'd think twice about veto-ing anything right now.
Although, if I did veto something, I'm sure the press would back me up. Stupid press.
Well, good seeing you all...
eya Dada!
it's always good to read ya!
The Porn Plot Against Prosecutors, by Max Blumenthal
To support Ward's task force, Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller diverted ten FBI agents, four prosecutors and a postal inspector. Ward soon secured his biggest score, the successful prosecution of the Girls Gone Wild series producer Joseph Francis for knowingly including footage of two young women without receiving legible documentation, on paper, of their ages. Francis's company, Mantra Films, Inc., was slapped with a $500,000 fine--a drop in the bucket for an operation that rakes in at least $40 million a year.
Many veterans of the FBI consider Ward's efforts a burden on their ability to fulfill serious departmental priorities. "I guess this means we've won the war on terror," an anonymous FBI agent sarcastically remarked to the Washington Post about agents diverted to Ward's task force. "We must not need any more resources for espionage."
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070402/blumenthal
Bush's Shadow Army
-conbo
"Do you realize, that the whole purpose of civilization is to take the surprises out of life, so one can be bored to death?
That a culture in which nothing unexpected ever happens is in what is called its 'golden age'?
That when nobody can even imagine anything happening unexpectedly, that they later fondly refer to that period as the 'good old days'?"
CPAC: The Unauthorized Documentary
-conbo
GOP 'Catch the Immigrant' Game Catches Flak
-conbo
And here is one for WarDog:
Military Hillary:
According to the New York Times, Hillary Clinton "has been practicing her salute. As a senator and now as a presidential candidate, she has cultivated relationships with generals and admirals, prepped herself on wartime needs and strategy, and traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan."
Hobnobbing with the brass, says the newspaper, is part of her effort to "shed the image some voters hold of her as an antimilitary liberal, defined by her opposition to the Vietnam War and, now, by her criticism of the Bush administration's conduct of the war in Iraq."
Her criticism of the Iraq war seems to have come a bit late and and bit reluctantly, but the important element is that Hillary knows when the winds are changing direction and to adjust sail accordingly.
Maybe its OK for a politician of a certain age to undergo image change. Goodbye, "antimilitary liberal." Hello, what? Everybody knows who Hillary used to be but nobody knows who she is now.
What do we know about today's Hillary? We do know, if the paper is right, she has a lot of admiral and general friends, we do definitely know she has a lot of rich people friends and we do know the woman has a lot of ‘tude.
Military Hillary
-conbo
Every time you see Hillary she is bristling with attitude. There she is, brisk, commanding, strong, firm of stride, strut of jaw. Ten-HUT!
Mil Hil!
i was hoping for a What Now Toons Illustration.
Her Power Costume!
Rumsfeld torture suit dismissed
A US court has dismissed a lawsuit against former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld over claims prisoners were tortured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6501499.stm
Post a Comment