basically that nbc was over the edge airing the video as news. he doesn't see any reason, and i personally agree, for letting this stuff see the light of day.
on the other hand, he points out that the sensationalism of it all drove up their ratings and draw.
I do agree that the video shouldn't have been shown. At least not right away. These people are still grieving.
I am more interested in gun control. If you are going to cary a gun there should be background checks and the amount of ammo should be limited for hand guns especially. And there should be a class you take first. Like when you get your driver's license.
Buying the amount of ammo this kid bought should have raised alarms right away. Especially with the type gun he bought.
Bush ‘a little sensitive’ to Vietnam-Iraq comparison. Greg Sargent reports that at yesterday’s meeting between congressional leaders and President Bush on the Iraq war, “Bush bristled and was taken aback when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid compared the current situation to Vietnam.” According to a source familiar with the meeting, “The analogy to Vietnam appeared to touch a nerve with the President. He appeared a little sensitive to it. And he clearly didn’t like to hear people in the room say that the war couldn’t be won militarily.”
UPDATE: New York Times: “Members of the group, which included four senators and six representatives, all spoke, including Mr. Reid, who compared the Iraq war to the Vietnam War and suggested to Mr. Bush that he should not continue with the war simply to protect his legacy. The president was visibly angered by the comment, according to aides, but he did not respond directly
Iraqis ‘Curse’ U.S. Security Plan Following Deadliest Day Since Escalation Began
Yesterday was the deadliest day since the escalation strategy began, resulting in the deaths of over 200 people. A car bomb killed 140 in a single blast at the Sadriyah marketplace, making it the deadliest single such car bomb attack since the US-led invasion four years ago. Many Iraqis today are expressing their outrage over the impact that escalation is having on their lives:
“The security plan has big shortcomings. Since such incidents reoccurred, security should have been tightened. There is negligence,” said Naseer al-Ani, a Sunni Arab MP from the Iraqi Islamic Party.
“After two months of the security plan in the hot areas of the city, the attacks have moved to the cold, quiet areas to make them hot, while the hot areas burn,” said [Iraqi parliament member] Nasar al-Rubaie.
Aljazeera.net reported that locals “cursed at the security plan of the prime pinister” in the scene of the bombings. The website added that when Iraqi Army units appeared on the scene, outraged locals hurled insults at the soldiers and chased them out of the area. A US Army patrol entered the district shortly afterwards, only to be received by stones and slugs thrown by the residents. The American force withdrew from the scene as well.
“Where is the government? Where is the security plan?” [65-year-old Abu Adnan] raged, while bystanders crowded to see the three metre (yard) wide and two metre deep hole ripped out of the black tarmac by the force of the car bomb.
“How could anyone bring a car bomb to this place? What were those innocents guilty of?” [28-year-old Imad Basim] demanded. “Where is the government and its security plan?”
“The government is talking about the security plan but dozens of people are dying every day. No one is protecting us,” Sabah Haider, 42, told Reuters as he stood beside a dozen incinerated minibuses.
Rahim Ali, also in Sadriya, said: “The Americans say they are here to protect the Iraqi people but they are doing nothing.”
The increasing presence of the U.S. occupation is fueling a bloody cycle of violence: it motivates terrorists to carry out attacks; the locals blame the attacks on the U.S.; the terrorists then find a new recruiting pool willing to carry out new attacks.
Goodman: All-male governing the womb May I also remind you of the day President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban into law. The photo op had him surrounded by an all-male chorus line of legislators. These men were proudly governing something they never had: a womb
toniD said... May I also remind you of the day President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban into law. The photo op had him surrounded by an all-male chorus line of legislators. These men were proudly governing something they never had: a womb
hmmm. good point. i used to support naral but stopped after i got tired of getting mail trumpeting abortion rights. my bigger concern i think is woman's rights and their ability to define their own destiny. what do you think about supporting planned parenthood as an alternative to naral?
World Bank Wolfowitz is now a pawn in a larger game of geopolitics. His departure will signal a much needed opening to diplomatic solutions, and if he remains Bush will have signalled that he is still "the decider" and has no intention of placating an angry Europe which now includes the UK.
This Little McCain Won't Be Going to This Market "Well I guess those Baghdad markets aren't as safe as Senator John McCain thought," writes Juan Cole on Informed Comment. Wednesday's suicide attack on a Shiite market killed 140 and injured at least as many. "The thing about reality and politics," writes Cole, "is that sooner or later, reality outstrips rhetoric, and then the politics is revealed for the lie it is."
Turkish General: 'Cross-border operation is a must' Diary Entry by rossini
Get ready for all hell to break loose should this come to be.
The last thing this world needs is another war. Not that the PKK and the Turkish Army haven't been at one another's throats for quite some time. No, it's not a new confrontation. Actually, this one has been going on a lot longer than the Americans have been in the middle east. We know so little about Kurdistan. Let me just say this ; if the US allows the Turks to lash out at the PKK over the border in either direction....you can count on a good portion of the Kurds turning on the US any chance they can get. It's a rub me the right way and I'll rub you the right way kind of situation. I hope the asswipes on the hill don't screw this one up.
Doesn't that just give you loads and loads of hope ? Come off it now....we can trust our Government to do the right thing.
(not)
Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, which began staging several "large-scale" attacks on terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in the country's southeast, asked the government Thursday for approval to launch a cross-border incursion into northern Iraq.
Buyukanit, at a press conference in General Staff headquarters yesterday, referred to the statements of Kurdistan regional administration leader Massoud Barzani and the actions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, saying that it is not possible for the military to accept these statements
"An operation into Iraq is necessary but requires a political decision" Buyukanit said, pushing for permission to raid northern Iraq to fight Kurdish terrorists despite strong opposition from the United States and Iraq against such unilateral action.
"Should we stage an operation against Iraq? There are two elements to this question. First of all, from the military perspective, yes it should be done. Secondly, a political decision should be made in order to stage an operation," stated Buyukanit
Buyukanit noted that Parliament is the only body that could decide for such a military action. "If they give us this power, we will do it and we will be successful," said Buyukanit.
Gun store dealer to Va. Tech killer shows little remorse
Andrew Buncombe in Roanoke and Jerome Taylor, from the Independent:
If Cho Seung-Hui wanted to start a war, he could not have gone to a better place than Roanoke Firearms.
Five weeks ago, the 23-year-old foreign student entered the shop and paid $570 with a credit card for a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a box of 50 cartridges. He provided three different forms of identification and passed an additional security check carried out by the state police. The checks threw up no red flags. The entire transaction took no more than 20 minutes.
"I don't know anything about him. I just sold him the gun," the store's owner, John Markell, told The Independent, standing behind one of the store's glass display cases packed full of matt-black weapons. "He had a Virginia driving licence, a cheque book and a green card. Everything was legit - he checked out completely."
Yesterday, as this part of southern Virginia and the rest of the US was struggling to come to terms with the bloody carnage that took place on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, 40 miles away, on the outskirts of Roanoke, the shop that sold Cho one of the two semi-automatic weapons he used with such devastating effect was open and doing swift business.
Mr Markell, 58, said that officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) visited the store on the afternoon of the shooting - the receipt for the handgun had later been found on Cho - but they had not troubled him further. There had been no suggestion the shop should be closed or that business should be suspended.
Mr Markell said that because Cho was a foreign national, he was required to have three forms of identification with him rather than the normal two. "We also rang up the state police. They ran it through the FBI computer," Mr Markell added. "He was here on a student visa."
CBS News: Violence suggests Iraq 'surge' is failing David Edwards Published: Thursday April 19, 2007
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A CBS News report suggests that President Bush's 'surge' strategy in Iraq is now failing due to a resurgence in bombings and sectarian killings in the capital city of Baghdad.
"At first it worked," reported CBS News's Martin Seemungal. "Many militia men left the city or went underground, there were fewer bombings in central Baghdad, life was returning to the streets. Now sectarian killings are on the rise and the bombers are back in the capital with a vengeance."
Seemungal continued, "Sunni extremists are thought to be behind most of the recent attacks which targeted heavily Shiite areas. The plan everyone here knows is simple: to ignite the all out civil war the surge was designed to stop."
The lastest Associated Press report on Iraq notes, "A suicide bomber breached Baghdad's heavy security presence again Thursday, killing a dozen people in a mostly Shiite district a day after more than 230 people died in one of the war's deadliest episodes of violence."
Top military commander implies 'deal with the devil' 04/19/2007 @ 8:40 am Filed by Michael Roston
The Navy admiral overseeing United States Central Command, the military structure that is carrying out the war in Iraq and other military operations in its vicinity, appeared to imply in congressional testimony yesterday that the United States had made a "deal with the devil."
Advertisement Adm. William Fallon, who assumed command of US Central Command in March, appeared before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday.
In the course of Wednesday's hearing, Adm. Fallon was asked by Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MA), the committee's chairman, about reports that Ethiopia had received a shipment of weapons from the North Korean government in January.
Before answering the question, Fallon first defended Ethiopia's cooperation in the U.S. war on terrorism.
"Of all the countries in the Horn of Africa, the Ethiopians at least appear to be playing the best shot at a constructive role in helping to deal with the instabilities in their region, particularly with Somalia," he said.
But while acknowledging that Ethiopia received the arms shipment, Fallon then suggested that there had been "deals with the devil."
"The extent to which they have received help from others is one that I'll be interested in. I suspect that there are probably deals with the devil here that -- that I need to check on and see exactly what's going on," the admiral noted.
It was unclear if Fallon was referring to the Ethiopians and North Koreans alone, or whether the US was a party to the "deal." However, the top military commander ultimately admitted he didn't have much information about the Ethiopian-North Korean trade.
"I don't have that information. I'll look at it," he said.
This time it wasn't Clinton's fault...it was Bin Laden's fault!!
Rove: ‘I Wish The Iraq War Never Existed,’ It Was ‘Osama Bin Laden’s Idea’ On a visit to Ohio yesterday, White House senior political adviser Karl Rove claimed he never wanted the war in Iraq:
“I wish the war were over,” Rove said. “I wish the war never existed... History has given us a challenge.”
History shows Rove was exceptionally eager in 2002 for the upcoming Iraq war, anxious to reap what he viewed would be the political gains for conservatives leading another military conflict:
In January 2002, Rove told conservatives, “Americans trust the Republicans to do a better job of keeping our communities and our families safe…We can also go to the country on this issue because they trust the Republican Party to do a better job of protecting and strengthening America’s military might and thereby protecting America.”
In June 2002, Rove was giving PowerPoint presentations candidates advising them to “focus on the war” in their fall campaigns.
In August 2002, Rove was chairing the White House Iraq Group, whose mission was to “develop a strategy for publicizing the White House’s assertion that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the United States.”
In September 2002, Time reported that when friends asked whether Bush planned to invade Iraq, Rove was been known to reply, “Let me put it this way: If you want to see Baghdad, you’d better visit soon.”
Former White House counterterrorism director Richard Clarke later wrote that the Iraq “crisis was manufactured, and Bush political adviser Karl Rove was telling Republicans to ‘run on the war.’”
Rove also claimed yesterday that it was bin Laden, not President Bush, who decided to launch the Iraq war:
In a question-and-answer period after his speech, Rove was asked whose idea it was to start a pre-emptive war in Iraq.
“I think it was Osama bin Laden’s,” Rove replied.
Rove’s comments are part of re-emerging tactic by the Bush administration to associate the ongoing war in Iraq with 9/11. Rove and company appear to have forgotten that President Bush said 9/11 had “nothing” to do with the war in Iraq.
Hi Sam-I did something today that I never thought that I woul;d do: I turned off my XM Radio between 9a and 12n. I am devastated and still shocked by the management decio cancel your show. Then, to add insult to injury, they put that jerk on from Wisconsin with his inane comments and his phony, grating laugh. On this past Monday, XMRadio was playing your promos during The Young Turks and I actually thought and hoped that your cancellation was just a hoax, something done for publicity. Then I returned to reality and recalled reading that they had hired some guy named Lionel.
Sam, I just want to thank you for the hours of listening enjoyment that you provided for all of us. I really liked your passion, your quick wit and your sense of humour.Because of you, I travelled from NYC to Hartford to be present when Ned Lamont threw his hat in the race and volunteered for him, riding the Metro-North RR twice a week up to Connecticut. Your three hours literally flew by and last year, when you would pinch-hit for other AAR hosts, it was a real treat to have you on the air twice a day.
Quite frankly, I began to worry when I had read that the new management had hired some supposed programming wiz. Paying $15 million to Katie Couric has really done wonders for the CBS Evening News. Just think of the high-priced consultants, marketers and programming executives that made that brilliant decision, and we all know how it has turned out.
Anyway, I have never written a fan letter before but I am really pissed off.
I do admire how professional and gentlemanly you were in dealing with being stabbed in the back by the new owners. Good Luck and I hope that you will be back on the airwaves soon.
Dollar holds close to record euro low Published: Thursday April 19, 2007
The dollar steadied near a record low against the euro on Thursday as dealers fretted over rising interest rates in Europe and the prospect of lower borrowing costs in the United States.
Rising European interest rates are luring foreign investors to make short-term deposits in euros and pounds, increasing the currencies' values on the foreign exchange market.
Elsewhere, gold prices shed four dollars in European trading amid concerns that strong growth in China could force the Asian tiger to increase interest rates to curb strong growth, in turn denting its demand for metals.
The European single currency had surged past 1.36 dollars for the first time since December 2004 on Wednesday and sterling hit a near 26-year high against the against the US currency.
Dealers will focus later on Thursday on the Philadelphia Fed's survey of manufacturing activity.
"Since the market looks to be moving sideways after heady dollar losses, today's US data ... may be of moderate support for the dollar ahead of the weekend," said Commerzbank analyst Gavin Friend.
"A breather for the dollar is welcome ... but we expect consolidation to be short-lived and limited to 1.3480 dollars.
"Next week we would expect euro/dollar to re-test its 2004 lifetime high at 1.3665."
The euro had hit the all-time peak on December 30, 2004.
In early European trading on Thursday, the euro eased to 1.3589 dollars, from 1.3607 dollars in New York late on Wednesday.
The dollar stood at 117.81 yen, compared with 118.66 previously.
The greenback is under intense pressure because dealers are worried about an apparent economic slowdown in the United States -- while European economies are showing signs of strengthening.
As a result, the market continues to focus on prospects for further interest rate rises in Britain, the eurozone and Japan, where they stand currently at 5.25 percent, 3.75 percent and 0.50 percent respectively.
At the same time, many market watchers believe the US Federal Reserve will cut its interest rates later this year from the current level of 5.25 percent.
The European Central Bank said on Thursday that inflation was still a threat to the eurozone economy, hinting that it might have to raise interest rates further.
Doolittle Resigns Appropriations Panel Seat By Paul Kiel - April 19, 2007, 2:25 PM From the AP:
Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., has decided to temporarily give up his seat on the House Appropriations Committee after FBI agents searched his house as part of a congressional influence-peddling investigation. Doolittle's decision, to be announced Thursday, was confirmed by a Republican congressional staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity because the news was not yet public.
That would be the same appropriations seat which he used to help steer $37 million to Brent Wilkes (who's accused of bribing Duke Cunningham), and another $400,000 to Jack Abramoff's client, the government of the Marianas Islands.
Update: More from Roll Call:
While Doolittle is expected to voluntarily take himself off the panel while the investigation continues, knowledgeable House sources said that Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and members of the Republican Steering Committee -- which determines committee assignments -- were prepared to remove him from his post if he would not do so himself.
Gonzales: Criticism Damages DoJ Employees By Paul Kiel - April 19, 2007, 1:24 PM Under questioning from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Gonzales cautioned against criticizing the good employees of the Justice Department: "when there are attacks against the department, you're attacking the career professionals."
Sen. Durbin blew up, comparing it to those who say that criticizing the president is equivalent to criticizing the troops.
Gonzales finally backed off, and both Durbin and Gonzales agreed that Gonzales was the one on the line. "Attack me," Gonzales said. I don't think he needs to ask twice.
Schumer Tears into Gonzales By Paul Kiel - April 19, 2007, 1:05 PM Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Alberto Gonzales went back and forth in the most heated exchange of the hearing so far.
Schumer began on the question of whether U.S. Attorney for San Diego Carol Lam had been told that there was a problem with her immigration enforcement numbers. That supposedly was the main reason for her firing.
There's more and there's video and this was the hard questions I was looking for!
Gonzales: I Only Work Here By Paul Kiel - April 19, 2007, 12:55 PM Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) had the best line of questioning of the day so far.
Under persistent questioning, Gonzales admitted that he did not know the reasons that the U.S. attorneys were on the list. Gonzales could only say that he relied on the judgment of the department’s senior leadership – he added that he had not been surprised to see five of the names on the list (he didn’t say which two surprised him).
When Feingold pressed about Gonzales’ assertion that the U.S. attorneys had “lost his confidence” in a USA Today op-ed, Gonzales said, “I regret the use of those words.”
And Feingold pressed on Gonzales’ statement that he had “no basis” on which to say to that there had not been improper reasons behind the firings. How could he know that? Gonzales answered “I know the basis on which I made my decision.”
Coburn: You Should Resign By Paul Kiel - April 19, 2007, 3:06 PM During his questioning, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) told Alberto Gonzales that he should resign.
There "has to be consequences" for the management and leadership failure under Gonzales' watch. It's "generous to say that there were misstatements" by Gonzales and others, Coburn said. "I believe that you ought to suffer the consequences," he said, adding that Gonzales ought to be judged by the same standards with which he judged the U.S. attorneys.
"The best way to put this behind us is your resignation."
I miss Sammy yet the new guy subsituting is good in his own right. KInda like Sammy but mellow. I forget his name right now but he is from Wisconsin and does the show out of Wisconsin. He's right on it like Seder. I'm not looking forward to this Lionel guy(i havent heard one good thing about the 'libertarian'). I'm sick of all of the craziness in the world. That mass killing at Virginia Tech was unbelievable. That mass killing could have been avoided if people/the system could have helped that troubled young man who was severely mentally ill. Also it woudnt have happened if it wasnt so damn easy to buy a gun in Virginia(and all states really...).The world is horrified at how easy it is to obtain guns in this country which is a constant problem of so much shootings. And that violence which happens in Iraq god knows how many times a day every day...which so many here seem immune to. The new abortion ban is extremely wrong. Why would the government want women to die needlessly? Why would they want to jeopardise a womans' health? Why would a bunch of men decide such nonsense? Hopefully most people will take action on that issue soon. And the lack of respect for people and the environment is dumbfounding. We know better in this country yet out leaders choose to be selfish morons. I mean what the fuck? We live in a world of insanity on so many levels. What is wrong with mankind? We always have to continually fight for the good to stop these madmen. As the Chinese proverb says We are living in interesting time(the original proverb says may you live in interesting times). I guess we gotta do what the prophet John Lennon preached "power to the people!" We gotta take action in these times we dont have the luxury to be indifferent.
Evolution Solutions, a young, New Haven, Connecticut-based Internet start-up, is stepping into the breach to help bridge the chasm by organizing and circulating the enormous untapped wealth via a peer-to-peer gifts and wishes pool called GiveGet Nation. The non-profit social enterprise has launched its beta 1.0 application and its founders are welcoming the public to take the system for a test drive
Mass Immigrant Rights Rally Planned for May Day 2007 One Year After Record Day of Protest
... AMY GOODMAN: What difference has it made that Democrats are now in power in Congress?
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ: Very little, at this time. Very little. Yes, last year the Congress was controlled by the extreme right. We were able to participate in the overall electorate that defeated, especially the antiwar sentiment. And now, we have, let's say -- the first proposal came from the Democrats, the Gutierrez-Flake bill, but it's essentially corporate-designed. It is designed to make a worker who has been here seven years, fourteen years, even up to thirty-eight years, which is my mechanic -- the project -- the proposal calls for a wait of approximately fourteen years to be able to get your green card, besides having a guest worker program, besides having a totally enforcement, let's say, section very similar to the Sensenbrenner bill. ...
toniD said... There's another school lockdown in Yuba CA. after a threat. Per MSNBC
April 19, 2007 3:08 PM
from Wikipedia- listing: "Old Dominion University" in Virginia:
Threats Two days after the Virginia Tech massacre, a threat was made against the students at Old Dominion, and an advisory[1] was posted on the main website.
CAMPUS SECURITY UPDATE Campus police continue to work with Norfolk police to trace and identify the individual who made the threatening call to campus yesterday. University officials will keep the campus informed and let you know when additional information becomes available. In the meantime, please be mindful of the following security issues (link)
Protester at Gonzo's hearing was holding up Numbers everytime Gozo said"I don't recall".At the end of hearing she yelled"74 I don't recalls!!74 times I don't recalls!!And then added"How did he ever get through Law School??Amen.......
Augusta County Public Schools in Virginia, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours from Virginia Tech has had 3 bomb threats today. Administrators and staff are on full alert and don't expect tomorrow to be any better. "Living for the weekend" has taken on a whole new meaning.
marcmaronrules: 74 times I don't recalls!!And then added"How did he ever get through Law School?? April 19, 2007 6:20 PM --------------------------------- Rebecca: "Hun-neeee. Time to get up." Alberto: "Up?" Rebecca: "Your alarm clock is blaring." Alberto: "Alarm clock?" Rebecca: "Time for work." Alberto: "Work?" ----------------------------------- For what it is worth, Alberto's bio states that he won an award in 1997 from the Texas Bar for addressing the needs of the indigent.
It's time to promote him from Attorney General of the United States to Indigent Attorney General, where his true talents lie and his lying talents don't.
President Bush was pleased with the Attorney General's testimony today. After hours of testimony in which he answered all of the Senators' questions and provided thousands of pages of documents, he again showed that nothing improper occurred.
Didja ever wonder how an average-sized state (Arkansas) with a population roughly that of Chicago manages to continually insinuate itself into national politics?
(How are ya gonna keep them in Chicago when they've corrupted the Natural State?)
Note to youthful readers: The above is a really, really obscure reference to WWII European Theater dough-boys and Paris and farm life back home.
Note to toniD: Your Chicago lock on national machine politics is passe.
Washington, D.C. - Antonin Scalia and his four fellow male justices went to Hooters yesterday to celebrate the first big step in accomplishing their long held dream of overturning the right of women to make their own medical decisions in consultation with their doctors. Said Scalia after his fourth rusty nail, "It's a scientific fact that women have a much smaller brain than men. They are simply incapable of making such an important decision. You wouldn't let a dog off of its leash if you thought it might run into the street. Well, my colleagues and I are not going to let women casually sin against the Bible...I mean, we are not going to let them violate the Constitution as we see it."
The usually silent Clarence Thomas jubilantly chimed in, "When we stopped the votes of Black people from being counted in Florida and appointed Bush president, this is what we had in mind. Once we found out we could get away with that we knew we could get away with anything."
The court's newest member Justice Alito then remarked with a mischievous grin, "Today, it's one medical procedure. Next year it will be ten. The year after that it will be all of them. Then, we will stop the evil of contraceptives, end heresy and throw evolution out of the schools so we can put prayer back in. America, get ready. The Republican Party, George W. Bush, and we five mighty men of the Supreme Court are just getting started."
Problem: If the U.S. removes itself from Iraq, chaos and death are likely to ensue for years if not decades.
Causes: The ideological/political confusion within Islam, the global oil market and the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Options: If the U.S. removes its military presence from Iraq, the ideological/political confusion within Islam and the prevailing oil market remain intact.
If the U.S. continues its military presence in Iraq, the ideological/political confusion within Islam and the prevailing oil market remain intact.
Conclusion: The U.S. military presence in Iraq has no bearing on a solution. Any possible route to a solution does not include U.S. military occupation of Iraq.
Summation: Richard Perle has never had his ass blown to smithereens whilst shopping for groceries.
Washington, D.C. - White House spokesperson Dana Perino announced today that, due to a innocent misunderstanding, the Constitution of the United States was deleted along with all of the White House e-mails hosted on Republican Party servers. This apparently included every document that was requested by the Congressional committees investigating the US Attorney purge.
Said Perino, "It seems the Constitution somehow got caught up in all of the deletions and all copies seem to have been lost along with e-mails belonging to Karl Rove and the entire White House staff. However, I want to assure the American people that Alberto Gonzales and Karl Rove are putting together a new Constitution written by the best legal minds from Regent University. This new improved Constitution will immediately replace the old deleted one which had become outdated and quaint."
Here is a possible solution to the Iraq conundrum...
Remove the U.S. military. Air drop food. Lots of it. Continuously. Scatter it. Drop it in different locations every day.
Will Iraqis who gather the food be killed by anti-U.S. groups? Yes.
Will the food be booby trapped by anti-U.S. groups? Yes.
Can anti-U.S. groups cover all of the territory that the food drops cover? No.
At this point, after multiple Bush administration errors, Iraq and Islam is a hearts-and-minds battle.
Food is not Capitalist Commercialism. It is not Christianity. It is not Democracy.
It is food.
See post-war Germany for references.
I am unable to imagine a more elegant and effective option. The Neocons fucked it up. U.S. and other farmers can make it better in conjunction with the delivery expertise of U.S. military aircraft specialists.
At worst, fewer Iraqis would hate the U.S.
In the aftermath, the Iraqi food economy would be devastated. Therein lies problem #2.
I am rattling my brain to try to find a way to remove the U.S. military from Iraq while not conceding to death-dealing chaos.
I don't believe that the U.S. should have instigated the invasion in the first place, but what's done is done.
And I don't believe that the U.S. military presence in Iraq is solving anything. I believe that it is making the problems worse.
And I believe that a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces opens the door to chaos and more death.
But what is done is done. What to do now? I feel that I have an obligation as a U.S. taxpayer who funded this travesty to try to imagine a solution.
I am a Hearts And Minds believer. I don't know of any more effective Hearts And Minds method than food. It is merely a starting point, but it is the most universal one.
From the U.S. economic viewpoint, can feeding Iraqis cost more than unsuccessfully occupying their country?
I doubt it. Whether "thinking out of the box" is the way to go for U.S./Iraq policy hardly seems to matter. What we gots now sucks.
Im not sure if there are a lot of Iraqie's left there, cranky
everyone who was able to leave left long ago
-conbo
I think a good plan would be to pay for the remaining Iraqi's to leave. Fund their departure and pay for the individual families until they get established somewhere else. Iraq is the new Afghanistan thanks to the US
It's a good thing this blog is on the internet, no other technology could support the movement! -conbo April 19, 2007 10:16 PM --------------------------------- You underestimate us.
It's a good thing this blog is on the internet, no other technology could support the movement! -conbo April 19, 2007 10:16 PM --------------------------------- You underestimate us.
it's not the posters I was referring to...
we have had the same thread for what a month? feels like -conbo
everyone who was able to leave left long ago -conbo --------------------------------- Unfortunately, it is the unfortunate who remain.
The last figures I read cited 2 million out-of-country refugees, 2-million in-country/displaced refugees and an expected additional 2-million out-of-country refugees in the next year.
This, from a starting population of roughly 26 million.
If 6 million in-and-out-of-country refugees is accurate, it represents nearly 25% of the population. Dead Iraqis are not included in the stats.
I ask you; of the people you know in the U.S., are one in four smart cookies? Or wealthy? Or tough?
Iraq is now overloaded with ordinary, everyday, average people.
...like you and me.
(Okay...I hate to leave straight lines behind to be ravaged. Maybe you aren't so ordinary. I am.)
I am not saying they are not worth it, I am saying it would be cheaper to just move the remaining Iraqi's to a safer place of their choosing than to actually rebuild Iraq.
I am not suggesting that be done, I am just being ironical
toniD said... Rove: ‘I Wish The Iraq War Never Existed,’ It Was ‘Osama Bin Laden’s Idea’ On a visit to Ohio yesterday, White House senior political adviser Karl Rove claimed he never wanted the war in Iraq:
Rove also claimed yesterday that it was bin Laden, not President Bush, who decided to launch the Iraq war:
In a question-and-answer period after his speech, Rove was asked whose idea it was to start a pre-emptive war in Iraq.
“I think it was Osama bin Laden’s,” Rove replied.
April 19, 2007 2:33 PM
With this admission, and the US troop pull out of Saudi Arabia in conformance with bin Laden's directives, as documented on videotape, shouldn't charges of treason be drawn up NOW?!!!!
But perhaps, the grand experiment has been sold...Our nation is now the property of the bin Laden family and Saudi Arabia. Do I have to remind you of who holds Bush's hand and who summons Cheney?
Breaking: FBI Raids Rep. Renzi’s Family Business Roll call reports:
In a second blow to House Republicans this week, the FBI raided a business tied to the family of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) Thursday afternoon as part of an ongoing investigation into the three-term lawmaker.
Details of the raid on Patriot Insurance Agency in Sonoita, Ariz., were not immediately available. Renzi’s most recent financial disclosure form lists the business as an asset belonging to his wife, Roberta, and valued at $1 million to $5 million.
Little is known about the inquiries into Renzi’s activities, but according to media reports the Justice Department has been running a two-track investigation into Renzi regarding a land deal, as well as a piece of legislation he helped steer that may have improperly benefited a major campaign contributor. It was not immediately clear which investigation the raid pertained to, and neither his attorney nor his spokesman could be immediately reached for comment.
As a result of the raid, Renzi is stepping down from his seat on the House Intelligence Committee, according to a statement from his office obtained Thursday evening by Roll Call.
“Today, the FBI came to my family’s business to obtain documents related to their investigation,” Renzi said. “I view these actions as the first step in bringing out the truth. Until this matter is resolved, I will take a leave of absence from the House Intelligence Committee. I intend to fully cooperate with this investigation.”
Americans: Withdrawal is not “surrender.” From a new Fox News poll:
One Senator recently claimed that setting a date for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq is more accurately described as a date for surrender — do you think it is accurate to compare withdrawal with surrender?
The "joke" in the case of Imus or Limbaugh (at the end of his second short-lived television career) is not the joke that I use.
The salient joke is the instance of the joke and who uttered it.
I would not think to refer to successful, female, college, basketball athletes as "ho's", but you can be damned-well certain that I'm gonna joke about the shock-peddler and his comment.
Thus, "nappy-headed ho's" is funny because it was misapplied by a millionaire who believed himself immune to scrutiny en route to another paycheck.
Note: I am not a believer in "political correctness". I believe in the separation of humor and hate...in the separation of satire and pretended frankness...and in not sarcastically denigrating those who have done nothing to deserve it.
Crank Bait said... I am a word geek and a student of coincidence. As such, I note the following; Imus was vilified for a 'ho' comment, Don Ho died and Cho shot people.
April 19, 2007 7:11 PM
Twilight Zone - Outer Limits stuff...if it really does run in threes, it's done.
Cee Cee: "Twilight Zone - Outer Limits stuff...if it really does run in threes, it's done." April 19, 2007 11:22 PM --------------------------------- One can only hope.
I'm sure yo've all heard this by now, but... just in case...
Congressman resigns key post after FBI searches home POSTED: 6:40 p.m. EDT, April 19, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. John Doolittle, whose house was searched by the FBI in an influence-peddling investigation, said Thursday he will step down temporarily from the House Appropriations Committee.
The announcement by the nine-term California Republican came one day after the disclosure that agents had raided his home in Oakton, Virginia. In the search last Friday, the FBI had a warrant for information connected with a fundraising business run by Doolittle's wife, Julie, that had done work for convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
"I understand how the most recent circumstances may lead some to question my tenure on the Appropriations Committee," Doolittle wrote House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.
"Therefore, I feel it may be in the best interest of the House that I take a temporary leave with seniority from this committee until this matter can be resolved."
Doolittle's ties to Abramoff have come under scrutiny in the corruption investigation that has sent one former Republican congressman, Bob Ney of Ohio, to prison on a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy and making false statements, and produced convictions against two senior Bush administration officials and several congressional aides.
Congressional Republicans have worked to repair their party's image in the wake of November's election losses that followed Democratic criticism of a GOP "culture of corruption." Boehner made clear to Doolittle Thursday morning that he must resign the committee, according to a Republican aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.
"John recognizes that if we are to succeed in restoring trust between the American people and their elected leaders, this action is necessary, and I commend him for having the courage to do the right thing," Boehner said in a statement.
Last week's search of Doolittle's home took place on the same day that Kevin Ring, a former Doolittle aide who went on to work for Abramoff, resigned from a law firm without explanation.
Doolittle, a conservative from Roseville in northern California, is an ally of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Doolittle called Abramoff a friend and the two had numerous connections. Doolittle accepted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign cash from Abramoff and interceded on behalf of the lobbyist's American Indian clients.
On MSNBC, Michael Graham joined blame-the-victims chorus: A "story of people just freezing"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200704190009
On the April 19 edition of MSNBC Live, Boston radio host Michael Graham told NBC News chief White House correspondent David Gregory that "the entire story" of the mass shooting at Virginia Tech "is a story of people just freezing, of just letting him [the gunman] have their way, except for that one brave professor who put himself in between the gunman and his students."
Kucinich to launch Cheney impeachment push on April 25 Michael Roston Published: Thursday April 19, 2007
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), the former mayor of Cleveland who is seeking the 2008 Democratic nomination for president for the second time, has selected a date to introduce articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney.
A source who asked to remain anonymous told RAW STORY that the articles of impeachment would be introduced next week.
"The Congressman plans to introduce the articles on Wednesday, April 25th," the source told RAW STORY.
The Congressman's office responded in an e-mail Thursday afternoon to RAW STORY by saying "No comment" when asked if the report was true.
Mary Ann Akers reported at her blog, The Sleuth, on Monday that the Congressman had sent a "dear colleague" letter to fellow Members of Congress informing them of his plan to introduce the articles of impeachment against the Vice President. However, he had postponed the plan in the wake of the killing of 32 students, faculty, and staff at Virginia Tech on Monday.
Multiple congressional offices confirmed to RAW STORY that they had received the letter, but none had been apprised of the impeachable offenses with which the Ohio Democrat would charge the Vice President.
Additionally, a spokesman for the House Judiciary Committee, which would receive and consider Kucinich's charges against the Vice President once they are filed, was not yet aware of them.
Vice President Cheney's office would not comment to the Cleveland Plain Dealer on the reports about the charges because they had not yet seen the articles.
Wolfowitz A No-Show As World Debates His Fate Reuters | April 19, 2007 10:49 PM
The 24-nation board is trying to determine how to proceed given the unprecedented nature of the situation, board sources said.
They said there appeared to be divisions among the board members, with the United States leading a bloc of countries, including some from Asia, who supported Wolfowitz in the face of calls for his resignation.
Bush In Bizarre Appearance: "If You've Got A Chicken Factory," "Polls Just Go Poof," "Remember The Rug..." Associated Press | April 19, 2007 06:27 PM
Strange things sometimes come out of President Bush's mouth. "Polls just go poof." "Remember the rug?"
When Bush went to Ohio on Thursday to talk about terrorism, he ended up musing about marriage and chicken-plucking plants, the agony of death and his Oval Office rug, which resembles a sunburst
Joe Trippi Joins Edwards' Campaign As Senior Advisor Tech President | April 19, 2007 03:20 PM
Former Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi has signed on as Senior Advisor to the John Edwards campaign. Here's the complete text of his announcement from Edwards' site:
I really thought that the 2004 presidential campaign would be the last I would be involved in. I have always wanted to make a difference, but for me I thought those days were over.
A few weeks ago, John and Elizabeth Edwards made their decision to continue, not just John Edwards' campaign for President, but their work together to make a difference for their country.
Not only did the World Bank president find his companion Shaha Ali Riza a cushy job in the State Department, but she received a security clearance — unprecedented for a foreign national. [..]
(I)n 2006 Wolfowitz made a series of calls to his friends that landed her a job at a new think tank called Foundation for the Future that is funded by the State Department. She was the sole employee, at least in the beginning. The World Bank continued to pay her salary, which was raised from $60,000 to $193,590 annually, more than the $183,500 paid to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and all of it tax-free. Moreover, Wolfowitz got the State Department to agree that the ratings of her performance would automatically be "outstanding." Wolfowitz insisted on these terms himself and then misled the World Bank board about what he had done.
Exactly how this deal was made and with whom remains something of a mystery. The person who did work with Riza in her new position was Elizabeth Cheney, then the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. And Riza's assignment fell under the purview of Karen Hughes, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. But these facts raise more questions than they answer.
Ah, but Bush has nothing but "full confidence" in the job Wolfowitz is doing. In any other reality, this guy would be out on the sidewalk filing for unemployment. But in BushWorld, this level of corruption is a good thing.
An insider's perspective on mental illness and perhaps Cho I've seen some of the video clips. Make no mistake about it, Cho was suffering from psychosis. I know that because I used to suffer from psychosis and I used to sound exactly like Cho did in those tapes. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x701336
I HOPE IT'S YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS THAT DIE" - US Representative Dana Rohrabacker By US Army Reserves Colonel (Retired) Ann Wright, AfterDowningStreet.org
Rohrabacher said if European countries did not cooperate with the United States and go along with whatever the Bush administration wanted, they were condemning their countrymen to death by not using extralegal methods to imprison terrorist suspects. When citizens attending the hearing, including members of Codepink Women for Peace and Veterans for Peaceard Rohrabacher's statement, they collectively groaned. Then, much to the shock and disbelief of everyone in the hearing room, Rorhbacker said to those who had expressed displeasure at his statements:
"I hope it's your family members that die when terrorists strike."
At that point, I had had enough of Rohrabacher. I stood up and said "I did not serve 29 years in the US military and 16 years in the US diplomatic corps to see demise of the rule of law and violation of our own laws. Rohrback's statements are outrageous. No wonder the world hates us!"
Chairman Delahunt gaveled for me to stop speaking and I was escorted by the police out of the committee room. I was not arrested.
Remarkably, I do agree with one thing Rohrabacker said. "They hate us."
Rohrabacker finished his sentence with "They hate us because they hate our way of life." Unfortunately, many people do hate us, but it's not for our way of life.
Its for exactly the talk and actions that Rohrabacker and the Bush administration represent: illegal and unlawful actions, an arrogant attitude that America is always right and everyone else is wrong, that the world's resources are for the exclusive use of the United States and we have the right to invade and occupy any country."
Until we change the manner in which Presidential administrations and the Congress operate and the way we approach our membership in the community of nations, the world will continue to question what America stands for.
About the Author: Ann Wright retired as a Colonel after serving 13 years on active duty and 16 years in the US Army Reserves. After 16 years in the US diplomatic corps, she resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. She had been assigned in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia and Mongolia. She helped reopen the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan in December, 2001. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x705276
Exactly how this deal was made and with whom remains something of a mystery. The person who did work with Riza in her new position was Elizabeth Cheney, then the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. And Riza's assignment fell under the purview of Karen Hughes, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. But these facts raise more questions than they answer.
Ah, but Bush has nothing but "full confidence" in the job Wolfowitz is doing. In any other reality, this guy would be out on the sidewalk filing for unemployment. But in BushWorld, this level of corruption is a good thing.
LINK
April 20, 2007 12:12 AM
Wow. Now that the details are coming to light, this is even worse than I thought. Good. He needs to go down big time.
If you have any doubt about how far this country has fallen from greatness under seven years of neocon rule or how divided and fractionated this country has become, consider the following from this mornings Media Matters:
Limbaugh said Virginia Tech shooter "had to be a liberal" On the April 19 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Rush Limbaugh declared that the perpetrator of the April 16 Virginia Tech shootings "had to be a liberal," adding: "You start railing against the rich, and all this other -- this guy's a liberal. He was turned into a liberal somewhere along the line. So it's a liberal that committed this act." Limbaugh then complained, in a possible reference to Media Matters for America, that "Now the drive-bys will read on a website that I'm attacking liberalism by comparing this guy to them. That's exactly what they do every day, ladies and gentlemen. I'm just pointing out a fact. I am making no extrapolation." Limbaugh regularly describes mainstream media sources as "the drive-by media."
one of my favorite movies is groundhogs day with bill murray. for those that don't recall, its the one consisting of 5 minute vignettes where a guy wakes up and lives the same day over and over.
lately i've been wondering if we aren't all caught in a groundhogs day loop with this evil administration. it seems we wake up each day and nothing has really changed. remember katrina and the outrage. nothing changed. remember the incessant war on terror. it never goes away. remember alberto gonzales. he's still there (and no, war didn't start at 5:45 last night with iran :)).
what has to happen to bring change to this country and take us back to that happy place that we had when clinton was president? will it ever happen?
Can someone start a web site about the comment all of the Right Wing wacko's have said about the VT tradegy? PLEASE!
I live in Virginia, I am a liberal and I am outraged that he said that. How dare him - that is it really really who are his sponsers? He his now relating a fuc&*ng lunatic as a liberal? What is his problem?
PS - If Sammy and / or Al would have been on today - this would have been broadcast across the airwaves.
Bush tells Pelosi Syria attacks were State Dept.’s fault. “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told colleagues yesterday that she was incredulous after President Bush pulled her aside at the end of a meeting Wednesday and told her he did not criticize her recent trip to Syria. After all, Bush and other senior administration officials and top Republicans had slammed the speaker publicly for meeting in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But in a private meeting with Democratic lawmakers yesterday, Pelosi said Bush told her in an unsolicited comment that it was actually the State Department that criticized her"
As Iraqis stand up, we’ll stand down. “Military planners have abandoned the idea that standing up Iraqi troops will enable American soldiers to start coming home soon and now believe that U.S. troops will have to defeat the insurgents and secure control of troubled provinces. Training Iraqi troops, which had been the cornerstone of the Bush administration’s Iraq policy since 2005, has dropped in priority, officials in Baghdad and Washington said. … Pentagon officials said they know of no new training resources that have been included in U.S. plans to dispatch 28,000 additional troops to Iraq.”
Washington, D.C. - At the behest of Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John Roberts has scheduled a meeting of the five most conservative justices for early next week in which they will select the next president of the United States.
Sources inside the Supreme Court have told Assimilated Press that the decision will surprise the public as none of the currently announced candidates are held in high esteem by the justices. Rudy Giuliani is seen as not being sufficiently anti-choice although Clarence Thomas did say that the former mayor of New York is better looking than Ann Coulter when dressed in drag and that he wouldn't toss him out of bed on a lonely night. For his part, John McCain is considered by the justices to be a politician without any core principles who couldn't even sell manure to barn full of hungry flies. And, it is a strongly held view that Mitt Romney simply can't be trusted because he doesn't believe in the same Jesus as the five most conservative members of the court.
Of course, all of the Democratic candidates are out of the question as the majority of the court has already made it clear in their Bush versus Gore decision that America is a Republican nation that relies on the literal interpretation of biblical law for guidance. As Justice Antonin Scalia is found of saying, "When I speak of the concept of Original Intent, I do not refer to the original intent of the Founding Fathers but rather the original intent of God as written in the Bible and interpreted by us five holy men in robes."
So, don't be shocked, when early next week, Justices Roberts, Scalia, Alito, Thomas and Kennedy select their favorite Republican, Dick Cheney, as the next President of the United States. In following recent precedent, Cheney will take the oath of office after the next presidential election but before all of the votes are counted
posted by Virt at 12:29 AM
3 Comments: HaroldX said... You'd think that Scalia and the rest of his collaborators would be embarrassed by Bush but these people have no shame.
11:33 AM pinko said... Entertainment News, April 23, 2007
Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and the various members of The Supremes have sued John Roberts, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas for declaring Dick Cheney President of the United States. "They said that the "Supremes" have decided this. Well, there is only one The Supremes, and we're it and they're not", Ms. Wilson's explained.
Cindy Birdsong, a former member of The Supremes added, "The people don't love Dick Cheney. And, you know, you can't hurry love. If he wants to be president he'll just have to wait. Until the votes are counted."
Otis Williams, of The Temptations, agreed with the suit against the judges. "They gotta reach out. Cheney says he's gonna make me love him, but nobody's gonna make me do anything. If he wants to be president he can't be too proud to beg. Let him win in a fair election."
Asked if he thought there was a strong likelihood of a fair election in 2008, Mr. Williams said, "No. It's just my imagination, running away with me."
1:40 PM Anonymous said... OK, so you got wind of the Supreme Court meeting and what it's about. Big Deal!
Yes, they will meet to choose the next President. Yes, they will choose Fred Thompson.
No, your vote doesn;t matter. We dont; care what you think or want. We run this country, not you. Since we're the ones with all the money and power, that's the way things are going to stay in America.
You are not "free." We run your life. Either accept it or leave. AssimilatedPress.
Friday Morning Open Thread by Joe Sudbay (DC) · 4/20/2007 07:15:00 AM ET
Yesterday was interesting and instructive. Harry Reid told the truth about Iraq and got pummeled by the loyal Bushies. Meanwhile Alberto Gonzales, the ultimate loyal Bushie, lied about the U.S. Attorneys scandal and got high praise from the his boss. In the bizarro world of George Bush, telling the truth is unacceptable in every situation. Now, again, the question is why the traditional media puts up with that.
US soldiers are building a three-mile wall to separate one of Baghdad's Sunni enclaves from surrounding Shia neighbourhoods, it emerged today.
The move is part of a contentious security plan that has fuelled fears of the Iraqi capital's Balkanisation.
When the barrier is finished, the minority Sunni community of Adamiya, on the eastern side of the River Tigris, will be completely gated. Traffic control points manned by Iraqi soldiers will provide the only access, the US military said.
"Shias are coming in and hitting Sunnis, and Sunnis are retaliating across the street," Captain Scott McLearn, of the US 407th brigade support battalion, told the Associated Press.
The project, which began on April 10, is being worked on almost nightly, with cranes swinging enormous concrete barriers into place.
It's 9a.m. EDT and I am keenly aware of what I'm missing. [sigh] Have a good thread, and tease SEDER for me when he gets around to changing the sheets. Later...
Interesting that the absolutely outrageous call by Mccain to bomb iran is buried in the last paragraph as if theres an equivalence between a haircut and the death and destruction of a soverign nation (i will grant you that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a kook who threatens the world but there ought to be other ways to get rid of him)
593 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 593 of 593Cat Chew said...
Ann Coulter still seems immune from prosecution
"NEWS CONSUMER" said...
Hormones!
http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan3_rm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS3
streaming cspan 3
gonzo live
HA! Double Live Gonzo!
ag
"I believe.."
"I think..."
==
Conversions w/ Rove?
I don't recall conversations "about Miss Lam in connection with this process..."
what about other conversations w/ Rove about Lam?
basically that nbc was over the edge airing the video as news. he doesn't see any reason, and i personally agree, for letting this stuff see the light of day.
on the other hand, he points out that the sensationalism of it all drove up their ratings and draw.
protest voices from the gallery
Schumer
"we got too many people to kick out :)"
reporter
..counted 53 times he said "I don't recall"
Schumer
"I think that's an improvement :)"
I do agree that the video shouldn't have been shown. At least not right away. These people are still grieving.
I am more interested in gun control. If you are going to cary a gun there should be background checks and the amount of ammo should be limited for hand guns especially. And there should be a class you take first. Like when you get your driver's license.
Buying the amount of ammo this kid bought should have raised alarms right away. Especially with the type gun he bought.
Bush ‘a little sensitive’ to Vietnam-Iraq comparison. Greg Sargent reports that at yesterday’s meeting between congressional leaders and President Bush on the Iraq war, “Bush bristled and was taken aback when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid compared the current situation to Vietnam.” According to a source familiar with the meeting, “The analogy to Vietnam appeared to touch a nerve with the President. He appeared a little sensitive to it. And he clearly didn’t like to hear people in the room say that the war couldn’t be won militarily.”
UPDATE: New York Times: “Members of the group, which included four senators and six representatives, all spoke, including Mr. Reid, who compared the Iraq war to the Vietnam War and suggested to Mr. Bush that he should not continue with the war simply to protect his legacy. The president was visibly angered by the comment, according to aides, but he did not respond directly
LINK
Iraqis ‘Curse’ U.S. Security Plan Following Deadliest Day Since Escalation Began
Yesterday was the deadliest day since the escalation strategy began, resulting in the deaths of over 200 people. A car bomb killed 140 in a single blast at the Sadriyah marketplace, making it the deadliest single such car bomb attack since the US-led invasion four years ago. Many Iraqis today are expressing their outrage over the impact that escalation is having on their lives:
“The security plan has big shortcomings. Since such incidents reoccurred, security should have been tightened. There is negligence,” said Naseer al-Ani, a Sunni Arab MP from the Iraqi Islamic Party.
“After two months of the security plan in the hot areas of the city, the attacks have moved to the cold, quiet areas to make them hot, while the hot areas burn,” said [Iraqi parliament member] Nasar al-Rubaie.
Aljazeera.net reported that locals “cursed at the security plan of the prime pinister” in the scene of the bombings. The website added that when Iraqi Army units appeared on the scene, outraged locals hurled insults at the soldiers and chased them out of the area. A US Army patrol entered the district shortly afterwards, only to be received by stones and slugs thrown by the residents. The American force withdrew from the scene as well.
“Where is the government? Where is the security plan?” [65-year-old Abu Adnan] raged, while bystanders crowded to see the three metre (yard) wide and two metre deep hole ripped out of the black tarmac by the force of the car bomb.
“How could anyone bring a car bomb to this place? What were those innocents guilty of?” [28-year-old Imad Basim] demanded. “Where is the government and its security plan?”
“The government is talking about the security plan but dozens of people are dying every day. No one is protecting us,” Sabah Haider, 42, told Reuters as he stood beside a dozen incinerated minibuses.
Rahim Ali, also in Sadriya, said: “The Americans say they are here to protect the Iraqi people but they are doing nothing.”
The increasing presence of the U.S. occupation is fueling a bloody cycle of violence: it motivates terrorists to carry out attacks; the locals blame the attacks on the U.S.; the terrorists then find a new recruiting pool willing to carry out new attacks.
LINK
Goodman: All-male
governing the womb
May I also remind you of the day President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban into law. The photo op had him surrounded by an all-male chorus line of legislators. These men were proudly governing something they never had: a womb
LINK
Gates, today, told Iraqis that US help is not open-ended. Per CNN
toniD said...
May I also remind you of the day President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban into law. The photo op had him surrounded by an all-male chorus line of legislators. These men were proudly governing something they never had: a womb
hmmm. good point. i used to support naral but stopped after i got tired of getting mail trumpeting abortion rights. my bigger concern i think is woman's rights and their ability to define their own destiny. what do you think about supporting planned parenthood as an alternative to naral?
World Bank Wolfowitz is now a pawn in a larger game of geopolitics. His departure will signal a much needed opening to diplomatic solutions, and if he remains Bush will have signalled that he is still "the decider" and has no intention of placating an angry Europe which now includes the UK.
LINK
Planned parenthood is good. We need that for educating people.
This Little McCain Won't Be Going to This Market "Well I guess those Baghdad markets aren't as safe as Senator John McCain thought," writes Juan Cole on Informed Comment. Wednesday's suicide attack on a Shiite market killed 140 and injured at least as many. "The thing about reality and politics," writes Cole, "is that sooner or later, reality outstrips rhetoric, and then the politics is revealed for the lie it is."
LINK
Sam, I want you back on the air daily. In fact I've created a blog specifically to spread the word. http://wewantsamseder.blogspot.com/.
Turkish General: 'Cross-border operation is a must'
Diary Entry by rossini
Get ready for all hell to break loose should this come to be.
The last thing this world needs is another war. Not that the PKK and the Turkish Army haven't been at one another's throats for quite some time. No, it's not a new confrontation. Actually, this one has been going on a lot longer than the Americans have been in the middle east. We know so little about Kurdistan. Let me just say this ; if the US allows the Turks to lash out at the PKK over the border in either direction....you can count on a good portion of the Kurds turning on the US any chance they can get. It's a rub me the right way and I'll rub you the right way kind of situation. I hope the asswipes on the hill don't screw this one up.
Doesn't that just give you loads and loads of hope ? Come off it now....we can trust our Government to do the right thing.
(not)
Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, which began staging several "large-scale" attacks on terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in the country's southeast, asked the government Thursday for approval to launch a cross-border incursion into northern Iraq.
Buyukanit, at a press conference in General Staff headquarters yesterday, referred to the statements of Kurdistan regional administration leader Massoud Barzani and the actions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, saying that it is not possible for the military to accept these statements
"An operation into Iraq is necessary but requires a political decision" Buyukanit said, pushing for permission to raid northern Iraq to fight Kurdish terrorists despite strong opposition from the United States and Iraq against such unilateral action.
"Should we stage an operation against Iraq? There are two elements to this question. First of all, from the military perspective, yes it should be done. Secondly, a political decision should be made in order to stage an operation," stated Buyukanit
Buyukanit noted that Parliament is the only body that could decide for such a military action.
"If they give us this power, we will do it and we will be successful," said Buyukanit.
LINK
read more here
Hairy problems that wont go away ...
While listening to Mr. Gonzales on Cspan
found out on Tv scrolling by the following: John Edwards had two haircuts for $ 400 each - he will pay back the campaign money
My question to Mr. Edwards:
one - who is your hairdresser?
two - what did he do to your hair?
three - where did the beauty treatment take place? On the moon?
Duh, "I just sold him the gun"
Posted by Jan Frel at 9:19 AM on April 18, 2007.
Gun store dealer to Va. Tech killer shows little remorse
Andrew Buncombe in Roanoke and Jerome Taylor, from the Independent:
If Cho Seung-Hui wanted to start a war, he could not have gone to a better place than Roanoke Firearms.
Five weeks ago, the 23-year-old foreign student entered the shop and paid $570 with a credit card for a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a box of 50 cartridges. He provided three different forms of identification and passed an additional security check carried out by the state police. The checks threw up no red flags. The entire transaction took no more than 20 minutes.
"I don't know anything about him. I just sold him the gun," the store's owner, John Markell, told The Independent, standing behind one of the store's glass display cases packed full of matt-black weapons. "He had a Virginia driving licence, a cheque book and a green card. Everything was legit - he checked out completely."
Yesterday, as this part of southern Virginia and the rest of the US was struggling to come to terms with the bloody carnage that took place on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, 40 miles away, on the outskirts of Roanoke, the shop that sold Cho one of the two semi-automatic weapons he used with such devastating effect was open and doing swift business.
Mr Markell, 58, said that officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) visited the store on the afternoon of the shooting - the receipt for the handgun had later been found on Cho - but they had not troubled him further. There had been no suggestion the shop should be closed or that business should be suspended.
Mr Markell said that because Cho was a foreign national, he was required to have three forms of identification with him rather than the normal two. "We also rang up the state police. They ran it through the FBI computer," Mr Markell added. "He was here on a student visa."
More Here
Meat in the can!!!
Lunch is over, Gonzales back on c-span.
time change re the Gonzales break
its now 2.30 PM East
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/04/19/alberto-gonzales-testimony-part-v/#more-8495
CBS News: Violence suggests Iraq 'surge' is failing David Edwards
Published: Thursday April 19, 2007
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A CBS News report suggests that President Bush's 'surge' strategy in Iraq is now failing due to a resurgence in bombings and sectarian killings in the capital city of Baghdad.
"At first it worked," reported CBS News's Martin Seemungal. "Many militia men left the city or went underground, there were fewer bombings in central Baghdad, life was returning to the streets. Now sectarian killings are on the rise and the bombers are back in the capital with a vengeance."
Seemungal continued, "Sunni extremists are thought to be behind most of the recent attacks which targeted heavily Shiite areas. The plan everyone here knows is simple: to ignite the all out civil war the surge was designed to stop."
The lastest Associated Press report on Iraq notes, "A suicide bomber breached Baghdad's heavy security presence again Thursday, killing a dozen people in a mostly Shiite district a day after more than 230 people died in one of the war's deadliest episodes of violence."
Video here
tonid,
I think its a repeat of the morning session w. Specter right now
I know its v. confusing - was checking back and forth myself until I found the notice at the lake
Top military commander implies 'deal with the devil'
04/19/2007 @ 8:40 am
Filed by Michael Roston
The Navy admiral overseeing United States Central Command, the military structure that is carrying out the war in Iraq and other military operations in its vicinity, appeared to imply in congressional testimony yesterday that the United States had made a "deal with the devil."
Advertisement
Adm. William Fallon, who assumed command of US Central Command in March, appeared before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday.
In the course of Wednesday's hearing, Adm. Fallon was asked by Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MA), the committee's chairman, about reports that Ethiopia had received a shipment of weapons from the North Korean government in January.
Before answering the question, Fallon first defended Ethiopia's cooperation in the U.S. war on terrorism.
"Of all the countries in the Horn of Africa, the Ethiopians at least appear to be playing the best shot at a constructive role in helping to deal with the instabilities in their region, particularly with Somalia," he said.
But while acknowledging that Ethiopia received the arms shipment, Fallon then suggested that there had been "deals with the devil."
"The extent to which they have received help from others is one that I'll be interested in. I suspect that there are probably deals with the devil here that -- that I need to check on and see exactly what's going on," the admiral noted.
It was unclear if Fallon was referring to the Ethiopians and North Koreans alone, or whether the US was a party to the "deal." However, the top military commander ultimately admitted he didn't have much information about the Ethiopian-North Korean trade.
"I don't have that information. I'll look at it," he said.
More here
You're right bridge. It is a repeat of this AM.
It's almost 2:30 anyway. It'll be on soon.
I have to get ready for work in an hour so I'll catch the rest when I get home tonight.
63 percent: Number of Americans who think Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is lying about the Bush administration’s prosecutor purge
LINK
Memories of Ronald Reagan ....
listening to Alberto Gonzales:
I now understand (I have been told) that I was present at the meeting .... that I was Pres of US of A ...
;-)
This time it wasn't Clinton's fault...it was Bin Laden's fault!!
Rove: ‘I Wish The Iraq War Never Existed,’ It Was ‘Osama Bin Laden’s Idea’
On a visit to Ohio yesterday, White House senior political adviser Karl Rove claimed he never wanted the war in Iraq:
“I wish the war were over,” Rove said. “I wish the war never existed... History has given us a challenge.”
History shows Rove was exceptionally eager in 2002 for the upcoming Iraq war, anxious to reap what he viewed would be the political gains for conservatives leading another military conflict:
In January 2002, Rove told conservatives, “Americans trust the Republicans to do a better job of keeping our communities and our families safe…We can also go to the country on this issue because they trust the Republican Party to do a better job of protecting and strengthening America’s military might and thereby protecting America.”
In June 2002, Rove was giving PowerPoint presentations candidates advising them to “focus on the war” in their fall campaigns.
In August 2002, Rove was chairing the White House Iraq Group, whose mission was to “develop a strategy for publicizing the White House’s assertion that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the United States.”
In September 2002, Time reported that when friends asked whether Bush planned to invade Iraq, Rove was been known to reply, “Let me put it this way: If you want to see Baghdad, you’d better visit soon.”
Former White House counterterrorism director Richard Clarke later wrote that the Iraq “crisis was manufactured, and Bush political adviser Karl Rove was telling Republicans to ‘run on the war.’”
Rove also claimed yesterday that it was bin Laden, not President Bush, who decided to launch the Iraq war:
In a question-and-answer period after his speech, Rove was asked whose idea it was to start a pre-emptive war in Iraq.
“I think it was Osama bin Laden’s,” Rove replied.
Rove’s comments are part of re-emerging tactic by the Bush administration to associate the ongoing war in Iraq with 9/11. Rove and company appear to have forgotten that President Bush said 9/11 had “nothing” to do with the war in Iraq.
LINK
It's hard to post and laugh at the same time!!
Hi Sam-I did something today that I never thought that I woul;d do: I turned off my XM Radio between 9a and 12n. I am devastated and still shocked by the management decio cancel your show. Then, to add insult to injury, they put that jerk on from Wisconsin with his inane comments and his phony, grating laugh. On this past Monday, XMRadio was playing your promos during The Young Turks and I actually thought and hoped that your cancellation was just a hoax, something done for publicity. Then I returned to reality and recalled reading that they had hired some guy named Lionel.
Sam, I just want to thank you for the hours of listening enjoyment that you provided for all of us. I really liked your passion, your quick wit and your sense of humour.Because of you, I travelled from NYC to Hartford to be present when Ned Lamont threw his hat in the race and volunteered for him, riding the Metro-North RR twice a week up to Connecticut. Your three hours literally flew by and last year, when you would pinch-hit for other AAR hosts, it was a real treat to have you on the air twice a day.
Quite frankly, I began to worry when I had read that the new management had hired some supposed programming wiz. Paying $15 million to Katie Couric has really done wonders for the CBS Evening News. Just think of the high-priced consultants, marketers and programming executives that made that brilliant decision, and we all know how it has turned out.
Anyway, I have never written a fan letter before but I am really pissed off.
I do admire how professional and gentlemanly you were in dealing with being stabbed in the back by the new owners. Good Luck and I hope that you will be back on the airwaves soon.
Can anyone tell me why they DON'T think this admin is insane?
Dollar holds close to record euro low
Published: Thursday April 19, 2007
The dollar steadied near a record low against the euro on Thursday as dealers fretted over rising interest rates in Europe and the prospect of lower borrowing costs in the United States.
Rising European interest rates are luring foreign investors to make short-term deposits in euros and pounds, increasing the currencies' values on the foreign exchange market.
Elsewhere, gold prices shed four dollars in European trading amid concerns that strong growth in China could force the Asian tiger to increase interest rates to curb strong growth, in turn denting its demand for metals.
The European single currency had surged past 1.36 dollars for the first time since December 2004 on Wednesday and sterling hit a near 26-year high against the against the US currency.
Dealers will focus later on Thursday on the Philadelphia Fed's survey of manufacturing activity.
"Since the market looks to be moving sideways after heady dollar losses, today's US data ... may be of moderate support for the dollar ahead of the weekend," said Commerzbank analyst Gavin Friend.
"A breather for the dollar is welcome ... but we expect consolidation to be short-lived and limited to 1.3480 dollars.
"Next week we would expect euro/dollar to re-test its 2004 lifetime high at 1.3665."
The euro had hit the all-time peak on December 30, 2004.
In early European trading on Thursday, the euro eased to 1.3589 dollars, from 1.3607 dollars in New York late on Wednesday.
The dollar stood at 117.81 yen, compared with 118.66 previously.
The greenback is under intense pressure because dealers are worried about an apparent economic slowdown in the United States -- while European economies are showing signs of strengthening.
As a result, the market continues to focus on prospects for further interest rate rises in Britain, the eurozone and Japan, where they stand currently at 5.25 percent, 3.75 percent and 0.50 percent respectively.
At the same time, many market watchers believe the US Federal Reserve will cut its interest rates later this year from the current level of 5.25 percent.
The European Central Bank said on Thursday that inflation was still a threat to the eurozone economy, hinting that it might have to raise interest rates further.
LINK
Anon, send what you just wrote about Sam to his email. He may read it faster there than here.
samsedershow@gmail.com
Doolittle Resigns Appropriations Panel Seat
By Paul Kiel - April 19, 2007, 2:25 PM
From the AP:
Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., has decided to temporarily give up his seat on the House Appropriations Committee after FBI agents searched his house as part of a congressional influence-peddling investigation.
Doolittle's decision, to be announced Thursday, was confirmed by a Republican congressional staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity because the news was not yet public.
That would be the same appropriations seat which he used to help steer $37 million to Brent Wilkes (who's accused of bribing Duke Cunningham), and another $400,000 to Jack Abramoff's client, the government of the Marianas Islands.
Update: More from Roll Call:
While Doolittle is expected to voluntarily take himself off the panel while the investigation continues, knowledgeable House sources said that Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and members of the Republican Steering Committee -- which determines committee assignments -- were prepared to remove him from his post if he would not do so himself.
LINK
xm is running soundbites of gonzo and it sounds like he is stumbling and bumbling. does he have big wet circles under his arms yet?
Gonzales: Criticism Damages DoJ Employees
By Paul Kiel - April 19, 2007, 1:24 PM
Under questioning from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Gonzales cautioned against criticizing the good employees of the Justice Department: "when there are attacks against the department, you're attacking the career professionals."
Sen. Durbin blew up, comparing it to those who say that criticizing the president is equivalent to criticizing the troops.
Gonzales finally backed off, and both Durbin and Gonzales agreed that Gonzales was the one on the line. "Attack me," Gonzales said. I don't think he needs to ask twice.
video here
Schumer Tears into Gonzales
By Paul Kiel - April 19, 2007, 1:05 PM
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Alberto Gonzales went back and forth in the most heated exchange of the hearing so far.
Schumer began on the question of whether U.S. Attorney for San Diego Carol Lam had been told that there was a problem with her immigration enforcement numbers. That supposedly was the main reason for her firing.
There's more and there's video and this was the hard questions I was looking for!
Schumer tears him a new one
Gonzales: I Only Work Here
By Paul Kiel - April 19, 2007, 12:55 PM
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) had the best line of questioning of the day so far.
Under persistent questioning, Gonzales admitted that he did not know the reasons that the U.S. attorneys were on the list. Gonzales could only say that he relied on the judgment of the department’s senior leadership – he added that he had not been surprised to see five of the names on the list (he didn’t say which two surprised him).
When Feingold pressed about Gonzales’ assertion that the U.S. attorneys had “lost his confidence” in a USA Today op-ed, Gonzales said, “I regret the use of those words.”
And Feingold pressed on Gonzales’ statement that he had “no basis” on which to say to that there had not been improper reasons behind the firings. How could he know that? Gonzales answered “I know the basis on which I made my decision.”
And video
toniD said...
Can anyone tell me why they DON'T think this admin is insane?
Well, legal insanity is a defense
and I think this admin is indefensible.
------------------------
Millions of Bees Die - Are Electromagnetic Signals To Blame?
* * *
T-Mobile "Bury" ECOLOG 2000 Report
re American Idol adorable little Sanjaya
who to my chagrin had to leave the show - fun guy he was IMHO
Good luck, Sunjaya, and ITA with the following:
--
"Most commendably, Malakar never for a moment looked as though he ever took any of the Idol"-minting process remotely seriously.
Check that out, dogg."
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-idolbanter19apr19,0,4825905.story?coll=la-home-entertainment
There's another school lockdown in Yuba CA. after a threat. Per MSNBC
P.S. goals in the net: Sanjaya/Simon 1:0
Coburn: You Should Resign
By Paul Kiel - April 19, 2007, 3:06 PM
During his questioning, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) told Alberto Gonzales that he should resign.
There "has to be consequences" for the management and leadership failure under Gonzales' watch. It's "generous to say that there were misstatements" by Gonzales and others, Coburn said. "I believe that you ought to suffer the consequences," he said, adding that Gonzales ought to be judged by the same standards with which he judged the U.S. attorneys.
"The best way to put this behind us is your resignation."
LINK
I miss Sammy yet the new guy subsituting is good in his own right. KInda like Sammy but mellow. I forget his name right now but he is from Wisconsin and does the show out of Wisconsin. He's right on it like Seder. I'm not looking forward to this Lionel guy(i havent heard one good thing about the 'libertarian'). I'm sick of all of the craziness in the world. That mass killing at Virginia Tech was unbelievable. That mass killing could have been avoided if people/the system could have helped that troubled young man who was severely mentally ill. Also it woudnt have happened if it wasnt so damn easy to buy a gun in Virginia(and all states really...).The world is horrified at how easy it is to obtain guns in this country which is a constant problem of so much shootings. And that violence which happens in Iraq god knows how many times a day every day...which so many here seem immune to. The new abortion ban is extremely wrong. Why would the government want women to die needlessly? Why would they want to jeopardise a womans' health? Why would a bunch of men decide such nonsense? Hopefully most people will take action on that issue soon. And the lack of respect for people and the environment is dumbfounding. We know better in this country yet out leaders choose to be selfish morons. I mean what the fuck? We live in a world of insanity on so many levels. What is wrong with mankind? We always have to continually fight for the good to stop these madmen. As the Chinese proverb says We are living in interesting time(the original proverb says may you live in interesting times). I guess we gotta do what the prophet John Lennon preached "power to the people!" We gotta take action in these times we dont have the luxury to be indifferent.
Today is the 12 year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.
LINK
Iraqi oil reserves could be twice as large, report says
AG live
kyle using his position for personal gain.
"will you help me set up a meeting next week [on something I am pushing?]
Kyle what a boob
[he's one of my Senators]
ag says even if it's an RNC account it's still protected....
House approves bill giving D.C. a vote
anon .. sammy's sub this week has been Lee Rayburn, and he's ok ... certainly better than what's coming in May.
james, am i wrong, but isn't it illegal to use the RNC account for govt. business, BECAUSE of the Hatch Act??
http://www.givegetnation.net/
Evolution Solutions, a young, New Haven, Connecticut-based Internet start-up, is stepping into the breach to help bridge the chasm by organizing and circulating the enormous untapped wealth via a peer-to-peer gifts and wishes pool called GiveGet Nation. The non-profit social enterprise has launched its beta 1.0 application and its founders are welcoming the public to take the system for a test drive
Mass Immigrant Rights Rally Planned for May Day 2007 One Year After Record Day of Protest
...
AMY GOODMAN: What difference has it made that Democrats are now in power in Congress?
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ: Very little, at this time. Very little. Yes, last year the Congress was controlled by the extreme right. We were able to participate in the overall electorate that defeated, especially the antiwar sentiment. And now, we have, let's say -- the first proposal came from the Democrats, the Gutierrez-Flake bill, but it's essentially corporate-designed. It is designed to make a worker who has been here seven years, fourteen years, even up to thirty-eight years, which is my mechanic -- the project -- the proposal calls for a wait of approximately fourteen years to be able to get your green card, besides having a guest worker program, besides having a totally enforcement, let's say, section very similar to the Sensenbrenner bill.
...
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/19/1349225
The wingnut media meltdown
(at Liberal Talk Radio blog)
Off to work. Later
You'll have to catch me up on Gonzales, but, from what I am hearing, I think he's gone.
"The best way to put this behind us is your resignation."
---
Ouch!
toniD said...
There's another school lockdown in Yuba CA. after a threat. Per MSNBC
April 19, 2007 3:08 PM
from Wikipedia- listing: "Old Dominion University" in Virginia:
Threats
Two days after the Virginia Tech massacre, a threat was made against the students at Old Dominion, and an advisory[1] was posted on the main website.
_________
The nuts are out in force
"NEWS CONSUMER" said...
Lost baby whale dies in Brooklyn bay
from Old Dominion's homepage:
CAMPUS SECURITY UPDATE
Campus police continue to work with Norfolk police to trace and identify the individual who made the threatening call to campus yesterday. University officials will keep the campus informed and let you know when additional information becomes available. In the meantime, please be mindful of the following security issues (link)
mia_nj said...
illegal to use the RNC account for govt. business, BECAUSE of the Hatch Act??
==
one would think so.
==
riveting theater , the ag live...
but I felt it kind of fizzle
after lunch
"I don't know" worked very well for the ag.
He's just a poor puppy hapless victum
'let me get back to protecting your children'
he sniffed in a down-turned way, his tail between his legs as he hobbled from the room.
'My house in the bushes is magic and protected, I don't have to leave ever if I don't want to :('
said aka jbenet
Peter B. Collins is on air again.
http://www.peterbcollins.com/listen
I read this, "cat chew said...Millions of bees die..." followed by this, "bridge said..." prompting this:
---Bait Blog Headlines---
Bridge Forced To Change Name To Ridge
-----
(I know. It's a strange sickness. At least I don't shoot anyone.)
Protester at Gonzo's hearing was holding up Numbers everytime Gozo said"I don't recall".At the end of hearing she yelled"74 I don't recalls!!74 times I don't recalls!!And then added"How did he ever get through Law School??Amen.......
Alberto Gonzales, Alberto Gonzales, Alberto Gonzales
;-O ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZ
Augusta County Public Schools in Virginia, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours from Virginia Tech has had 3 bomb threats today. Administrators and staff are on full alert and don't expect tomorrow to be any better. "Living for the weekend" has taken on a whole new meaning.
M the a-c said;Albert Gonzales O ZZZZZZZ.......No GONE is hopefully the word!
marcmaronrules: 74 times I don't recalls!!And then added"How did he ever get through Law School??
April 19, 2007 6:20 PM
---------------------------------
Rebecca: "Hun-neeee. Time to get up."
Alberto: "Up?"
Rebecca: "Your alarm clock is blaring."
Alberto: "Alarm clock?"
Rebecca: "Time for work."
Alberto: "Work?"
-----------------------------------
For what it is worth, Alberto's bio states that he won an award in 1997 from the Texas Bar for addressing the needs of the indigent.
It's time to promote him from Attorney General of the United States to Indigent Attorney General, where his true talents lie and his lying talents don't.
good one cb
...where his true talents lie and his lying talents don't.
Amen-cb
I am a word geek and a student of coincidence. As such, I note the following; Imus was vilified for a 'ho' comment, Don Ho died and Cho shot people.
If it's got "ho" in it, don't buy it, rent it, hang with it, listen to it or make it your roomie...at least not until a few weeks have passed.
(Gardeners are on their own.)
Liquid meat is the future!!!
---Bait's Twisted Marketing Idea---
Don Imus, wearing his cowboy hat, should sponsor and MC a nationally-televised hoedown.
I have yet to figure out where the proceeds should go. There are too many punny and deserving choices.
I Ho that cb!
(via dKos:)
President Bush Pleased with Attorney General's Testimony
White House News
President Bush was pleased with the Attorney General's testimony today. After hours of testimony in which he answered all of the Senators' questions and provided thousands of pages of documents, he again showed that nothing improper occurred.
http://www.uspto.gov/go/kids/soundex/75821499.mp3
Cat Chew said, "George Bush, some willful ignorance...some more willful ignorance."
I can't refer to the film Guide For The Married Man (1967) often enough (though many think otherwise).
Deny, deny, deny.
Thought you might be interested in this article from The BRAD BLOG!
Check out 'A Direct, As Yet Unreported Connection in the U.S. Attorney Purge Scandal Leading Straight to the White House' at:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4429
Say hello to Armageddon!!!
Hey,Sammy.Is it time for a New Thread yet??I'm getting Grey hairs while I wait to scroll down to the bottom of this thread.Thanks.Love ya.
A box of baking soda in each pocket will help to eliminate those pesky body odors.
I Ho that again!
marcmaronrules,
Didja ever wonder how an average-sized state (Arkansas) with a population roughly that of Chicago manages to continually insinuate itself into national politics?
(How are ya gonna keep them in Chicago when they've corrupted the Natural State?)
Note to youthful readers: The above is a really, really obscure reference to WWII European Theater dough-boys and Paris and farm life back home.
Note to toniD: Your Chicago lock on national machine politics is passe.
Note to self: Reconsider the efficacy of prayer.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Scalia Says To American Women "Your Womb Is Mine"
Washington, D.C. - Antonin Scalia and his four fellow male justices went to Hooters yesterday to celebrate the first big step in accomplishing their long held dream of overturning the right of women to make their own medical decisions in consultation with their doctors. Said Scalia after his fourth rusty nail, "It's a scientific fact that women have a much smaller brain than men. They are simply incapable of making such an important decision. You wouldn't let a dog off of its leash if you thought it might run into the street. Well, my colleagues and I are not going to let women casually sin against the Bible...I mean, we are not going to let them violate the Constitution as we see it."
The usually silent Clarence Thomas jubilantly chimed in, "When we stopped the votes of Black people from being counted in Florida and appointed Bush president, this is what we had in mind. Once we found out we could get away with that we knew we could get away with anything."
The court's newest member Justice Alito then remarked with a mischievous grin, "Today, it's one medical procedure. Next year it will be ten. The year after that it will be all of them. Then, we will stop the evil of contraceptives, end heresy and throw evolution out of the schools so we can put prayer back in. America, get ready. The Republican Party, George W. Bush, and we five mighty men of the Supreme Court are just getting started."
Assimilated Press
enigma or conundrum
Crank Bait said... Note to youthful readers:
The above is a really, really obscure reference...
At last, something I'm too young to get ;)
Problem: If the U.S. removes itself from Iraq, chaos and death are likely to ensue for years if not decades.
Causes: The ideological/political confusion within Islam, the global oil market and the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Options: If the U.S. removes its military presence from Iraq, the ideological/political confusion within Islam and the prevailing oil market remain intact.
If the U.S. continues its military presence in Iraq, the ideological/political confusion within Islam and the prevailing oil market remain intact.
Conclusion: The U.S. military presence in Iraq has no bearing on a solution. Any possible route to a solution does not include U.S. military occupation of Iraq.
Summation: Richard Perle has never had his ass blown to smithereens whilst shopping for groceries.
Cat Chew,
On second thought, you did.
Too bad for me that I am not a modern day politician. I would deny, deny, deny.
"Someone stole my name. I mistyped. The dog ate my blogwork."
was just talking to my brother about the dificulties of being a comedian on LA.
he figures jokes about goverment don't work because no one knows what your talking about.
i laughed.
i told him he needs to find a different audience.
Didn't want to go there, Cranky.
Besides, you wrote dough-boy, so I reckoned it a typo.
-------------
More Assimilated Press (Thanks CatSea!)
Oops! White House Accidentally Deletes Constitution
Washington, D.C. - White House spokesperson Dana Perino announced today that, due to a innocent misunderstanding, the Constitution of the United States was deleted along with all of the White House e-mails hosted on Republican Party servers. This apparently included every document that was requested by the Congressional committees investigating the US Attorney purge.
Said Perino, "It seems the Constitution somehow got caught up in all of the deletions and all copies seem to have been lost along with e-mails belonging to Karl Rove and the entire White House staff. However, I want to assure the American people that Alberto Gonzales and Karl Rove are putting together a new Constitution written by the best legal minds from Regent University. This new improved Constitution will immediately replace the old deleted one which had become outdated and quaint."
Cat Chew: "Besides, you wrote dough-boy, so I reckoned it a typo."
----
Yeah, that's what it was; a typo.
(Sometimes credibility is incredible.)
Here is a possible solution to the Iraq conundrum...
Remove the U.S. military. Air drop food. Lots of it. Continuously. Scatter it. Drop it in different locations every day.
Will Iraqis who gather the food be killed by anti-U.S. groups? Yes.
Will the food be booby trapped by anti-U.S. groups? Yes.
Can anti-U.S. groups cover all of the territory that the food drops cover? No.
At this point, after multiple Bush administration errors, Iraq and Islam is a hearts-and-minds battle.
Food is not Capitalist Commercialism. It is not Christianity. It is not Democracy.
It is food.
See post-war Germany for references.
I am unable to imagine a more elegant and effective option. The Neocons fucked it up. U.S. and other farmers can make it better in conjunction with the delivery expertise of U.S. military aircraft specialists.
At worst, fewer Iraqis would hate the U.S.
In the aftermath, the Iraqi food economy would be devastated. Therein lies problem #2.
It beats problem #1 all to hell.
tonid,lilith,cat chew:Thanks for the links.......assimilatedpress.com is great:)
Sam,
Gonzo is gonezo? What do u think?
mary from peoria
still the same thread?
c'mon
-conbo
moving at the speed of syrup!
woot!
It's a good thing this blog is on the internet, no other technology could support the movement!
-conbo
Public Service Announcement:
I have drank so much coffee today that I have entered another dimension
It is very strange here
-conbo
I am rattling my brain to try to find a way to remove the U.S. military from Iraq while not conceding to death-dealing chaos.
I don't believe that the U.S. should have instigated the invasion in the first place, but what's done is done.
And I don't believe that the U.S. military presence in Iraq is solving anything. I believe that it is making the problems worse.
And I believe that a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces opens the door to chaos and more death.
But what is done is done. What to do now? I feel that I have an obligation as a U.S. taxpayer who funded this travesty to try to imagine a solution.
I am a Hearts And Minds believer. I don't know of any more effective Hearts And Minds method than food. It is merely a starting point, but it is the most universal one.
From the U.S. economic viewpoint, can feeding Iraqis cost more than unsuccessfully occupying their country?
I doubt it. Whether "thinking out of the box" is the way to go for U.S./Iraq policy hardly seems to matter. What we gots now sucks.
Im not sure if there are a lot of Iraqie's left there, cranky
everyone who was able to leave left long ago
-conbo
I think a good plan would be to pay for the remaining Iraqi's to leave. Fund their departure and pay for the individual families until they get established somewhere else. Iraq is the new Afghanistan thanks to the US
It's a good thing this blog is on the internet, no other technology could support the movement!
-conbo
April 19, 2007 10:16 PM
---------------------------------
You underestimate us.
Whoops! We've fired our Public Relations specialist.
Kihler should be Kohler (and I should be wearing my glasses).
No, thank you, marcmaronrules.
So much is going on, I hadn't thought to read BradBlog in a while.
Good catch!
G'night, good folk.
bridge said...
Hairy problems that wont go away ...
April 19, 2007 1:59 PM
Is this Deja vu all over again?
Wasn't this an issue in a past election?
Kihler Company said...
It's a good thing this blog is on the internet, no other technology could support the movement!
-conbo
April 19, 2007 10:16 PM
---------------------------------
You underestimate us.
it's not the posters I was referring to...
we have had the same thread for what a month? feels like
-conbo
This blog would be just as timely if Sam created a little newsletter and have everyone write little notes on it.
Even using snail mail.
istg
-conbo
I have an idea for a new name for the blog:
Sam's Timely Posts
eh?
-conbo
Malloy show is a good one,tonight.
conbo:Then Sam's Timely Post it is!I Ho that!
everyone who was able to leave left long ago
-conbo
---------------------------------
Unfortunately, it is the unfortunate who remain.
The last figures I read cited 2 million out-of-country refugees, 2-million in-country/displaced refugees and an expected additional 2-million out-of-country refugees in the next year.
This, from a starting population of roughly 26 million.
If 6 million in-and-out-of-country refugees is accurate, it represents nearly 25% of the population. Dead Iraqis are not included in the stats.
I ask you; of the people you know in the U.S., are one in four smart cookies? Or wealthy? Or tough?
Iraq is now overloaded with ordinary, everyday, average people.
...like you and me.
(Okay...I hate to leave straight lines behind to be ravaged. Maybe you aren't so ordinary. I am.)
marcmaronrules,
I like the way you think. The "ho" joke has no bounds and you know no shame.
We could meet over a cocktail and be thrown out of the bar together.
You miss my point
I am not saying they are not worth it, I am saying it would be cheaper to just move the remaining Iraqi's to a safer place of their choosing than to actually rebuild Iraq.
I am not suggesting that be done, I am just being ironical
-conbo
well see you next year when thread will be changed
later
-conbo
cb:It's my New Catch Phrase!!I love it.And,it's gonna take awhile to get rid of it!Drinks on me!
toniD said...
Rove: ‘I Wish The Iraq War Never Existed,’ It Was ‘Osama Bin Laden’s Idea’
On a visit to Ohio yesterday, White House senior political adviser Karl Rove claimed he never wanted the war in Iraq:
Rove also claimed yesterday that it was bin Laden, not President Bush, who decided to launch the Iraq war:
In a question-and-answer period after his speech, Rove was asked whose idea it was to start a pre-emptive war in Iraq.
“I think it was Osama bin Laden’s,” Rove replied.
April 19, 2007 2:33 PM
With this admission, and the US troop pull out of Saudi Arabia in conformance with bin Laden's directives, as documented on videotape, shouldn't charges of treason be drawn up NOW?!!!!
But perhaps, the grand experiment has been sold...Our nation is now the property of the bin Laden family and Saudi Arabia. Do I have to remind you of who holds Bush's hand and who summons Cheney?
It's their world, we just live in it.
Evening all!
Daily show is on and he has the author of the "Blackwater" book tonight.
Breaking: FBI Raids Rep. Renzi’s Family Business
Roll call reports:
In a second blow to House Republicans this week, the FBI raided a business tied to the family of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) Thursday afternoon as part of an ongoing investigation into the three-term lawmaker.
Details of the raid on Patriot Insurance Agency in Sonoita, Ariz., were not immediately available. Renzi’s most recent financial disclosure form lists the business as an asset belonging to his wife, Roberta, and valued at $1 million to $5 million.
Little is known about the inquiries into Renzi’s activities, but according to media reports the Justice Department has been running a two-track investigation into Renzi regarding a land deal, as well as a piece of legislation he helped steer that may have improperly benefited a major campaign contributor. It was not immediately clear which investigation the raid pertained to, and neither his attorney nor his spokesman could be immediately reached for comment.
As a result of the raid, Renzi is stepping down from his seat on the House Intelligence Committee, according to a statement from his office obtained Thursday evening by Roll Call.
“Today, the FBI came to my family’s business to obtain documents related to their investigation,” Renzi said. “I view these actions as the first step in bringing out the truth. Until this matter is resolved, I will take a leave of absence from the House Intelligence Committee. I intend to fully cooperate with this investigation.”
More details soon.
LINK
Jon Stewart just said "alberto doesn't recall, but what he doesn't recall was handled just fine".
http://www.synchronizm.com/blog/index.php/2007/03/29/the-bees-who-flew-too-high/
conbo,
Go ahead. Be ironical. Think.
Gawd knows that we have no viable solutions for the mess that the Neocons have made of Iraq.
Send Them Food is not any more absurd than Send In Bekins.
With my plan we can feed them while your plan packs their belongings.
Americans: Withdrawal is not “surrender.” From a new Fox News poll:
One Senator recently claimed that setting a date for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq is more accurately described as a date for surrender — do you think it is accurate to compare withdrawal with surrender?
Yes: 33 percent
No: 61 percent
Now who could that one Senator be?
LINK
Fox news poll?
cd:I forgot to say Thank you for my new catch-phrase.But,I hope people don't think I'm Imus.......
---Bait's Clarification---
The "joke" in the case of Imus or Limbaugh (at the end of his second short-lived television career) is not the joke that I use.
The salient joke is the instance of the joke and who uttered it.
I would not think to refer to successful, female, college, basketball athletes as "ho's", but you can be damned-well certain that I'm gonna joke about the shock-peddler and his comment.
Thus, "nappy-headed ho's" is funny because it was misapplied by a millionaire who believed himself immune to scrutiny en route to another paycheck.
Note: I am not a believer in "political correctness". I believe in the separation of humor and hate...in the separation of satire and pretended frankness...and in not sarcastically denigrating those who have done nothing to deserve it.
Take my wife...
*cb
Cb:I Ho that.......I was just kidding about old leather faced Imus..
crank bait
go ahead 'send them food'
that will help
if a it gets to them
and b they don't get shot while eating it
they need outa there more than they need food sent to them
ok really gone
-conbo
marcmaronrules,
Christmas is gonna be a rough patch for you.
(I imagine "Ho, cubed" in your future.)
Crank Bait said...
I am a word geek and a student of coincidence. As such, I note the following; Imus was vilified for a 'ho' comment, Don Ho died and Cho shot people.
April 19, 2007 7:11 PM
Twilight Zone - Outer Limits stuff...if it really does run in threes, it's done.
So be it.
Cee Cee: "Twilight Zone - Outer Limits stuff...if it really does run in threes, it's done."
April 19, 2007 11:22 PM
---------------------------------
One can only hope.
(Sometimes I shame myself.)
marcmaronrules: "Damn! I wish I'd thought of that."
I'm sure yo've all heard this by now, but... just in case...
Congressman resigns key post after FBI searches home
POSTED: 6:40 p.m. EDT, April 19, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. John Doolittle, whose house was searched by the FBI in an influence-peddling investigation, said Thursday he will step down temporarily from the House Appropriations Committee.
The announcement by the nine-term California Republican came one day after the disclosure that agents had raided his home in Oakton, Virginia. In the search last Friday, the FBI had a warrant for information connected with a fundraising business run by Doolittle's wife, Julie, that had done work for convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
"I understand how the most recent circumstances may lead some to question my tenure on the Appropriations Committee," Doolittle wrote House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.
"Therefore, I feel it may be in the best interest of the House that I take a temporary leave with seniority from this committee until this matter can be resolved."
Doolittle's ties to Abramoff have come under scrutiny in the corruption investigation that has sent one former Republican congressman, Bob Ney of Ohio, to prison on a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy and making false statements, and produced convictions against two senior Bush administration officials and several congressional aides.
Congressional Republicans have worked to repair their party's image in the wake of November's election losses that followed Democratic criticism of a GOP "culture of corruption." Boehner made clear to Doolittle Thursday morning that he must resign the committee, according to a Republican aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.
"John recognizes that if we are to succeed in restoring trust between the American people and their elected leaders, this action is necessary, and I commend him for having the courage to do the right thing," Boehner said in a statement.
Last week's search of Doolittle's home took place on the same day that Kevin Ring, a former Doolittle aide who went on to work for Abramoff, resigned from a law firm without explanation.
Doolittle, a conservative from Roseville in northern California, is an ally of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Doolittle called Abramoff a friend and the two had numerous connections. Doolittle accepted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign cash from Abramoff and interceded on behalf of the lobbyist's American Indian clients.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/04/19/doolittle.abramoff.ap/index.html
Doolittle.
...and people say I make cheap jokes.
On MSNBC, Michael Graham joined blame-the-victims chorus: A "story of people just freezing"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200704190009
On the April 19 edition of MSNBC Live, Boston radio host Michael Graham told NBC News chief White House correspondent David Gregory that "the entire story" of the mass shooting at Virginia Tech "is a story of people just freezing, of just letting him [the gunman] have their way, except for that one brave professor who put himself in between the gunman and his students."
Crank Bait said...
Doolittle.
...and people say I make cheap jokes.
April 19, 2007 11:34 PM
****
It's just too easy sometimes....
cb:Your the man! Where's my damn drink?Oh waitress,a round of Grog for my friends!
Kucinich to launch Cheney impeachment push on April 25 Michael Roston
Published: Thursday April 19, 2007
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), the former mayor of Cleveland who is seeking the 2008 Democratic nomination for president for the second time, has selected a date to introduce articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney.
A source who asked to remain anonymous told RAW STORY that the articles of impeachment would be introduced next week.
"The Congressman plans to introduce the articles on Wednesday, April 25th," the source told RAW STORY.
The Congressman's office responded in an e-mail Thursday afternoon to RAW STORY by saying "No comment" when asked if the report was true.
Mary Ann Akers reported at her blog, The Sleuth, on Monday that the Congressman had sent a "dear colleague" letter to fellow Members of Congress informing them of his plan to introduce the articles of impeachment against the Vice President. However, he had postponed the plan in the wake of the killing of 32 students, faculty, and staff at Virginia Tech on Monday.
Multiple congressional offices confirmed to RAW STORY that they had received the letter, but none had been apprised of the impeachable offenses with which the Ohio Democrat would charge the Vice President.
Additionally, a spokesman for the House Judiciary Committee, which would receive and consider Kucinich's charges against the Vice President once they are filed, was not yet aware of them.
Vice President Cheney's office would not comment to the Cleveland Plain Dealer on the reports about the charges because they had not yet seen the articles.
LINK
Catharine,
I'm loading a clip for you.
No! Wait! Not that kind of clip!
Oh, shit. There's a knock at the door.
(Rajah, make up a spare bunk for me.)
Catharine said...
I'm sure yo've all heard this by now, but... just in case...
Congressman resigns key post after FBI searches home
POSTED: 6:40 p.m. EDT, April 19, 2007
I guess we don't have to wait for an election to clean House.
blog grog: Three parts rum, six parts cash, insult air-ono before you leave.
hotel: (Let's just say that your wife finds out and leave it at that.)
I'm still wondering how come Boehner is still there. Isn't it odd that Doolittle handed his letter of temporary resignation to Boehner?
Wolfowitz A No-Show As World Debates His Fate
Reuters | April 19, 2007 10:49 PM
The 24-nation board is trying to determine how to proceed given the unprecedented nature of the situation, board sources said.
They said there appeared to be divisions among the board members, with the United States leading a bloc of countries, including some from Asia, who supported Wolfowitz in the face of calls for his resignation.
LINK
Bush In Bizarre Appearance: "If You've Got A Chicken Factory," "Polls Just Go Poof," "Remember The Rug..."
Associated Press | April 19, 2007 06:27 PM
Strange things sometimes come out of President Bush's mouth. "Polls just go poof." "Remember the rug?"
When Bush went to Ohio on Thursday to talk about terrorism, he ended up musing about marriage and chicken-plucking plants, the agony of death and his Oval Office rug, which resembles a sunburst
LINK
Joe Trippi Joins Edwards' Campaign As Senior Advisor
Tech President | April 19, 2007 03:20 PM
Former Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi has signed on as Senior Advisor to the John Edwards campaign. Here's the complete text of his announcement from Edwards' site:
I really thought that the 2004 presidential campaign would be the last I would be involved in. I have always wanted to make a difference, but for me I thought those days were over.
A few weeks ago, John and Elizabeth Edwards made their decision to continue, not just John Edwards' campaign for President, but their work together to make a difference for their country.
LINK
Wolfowitz’s New Girlfriend Scandal
Salon: (watch short ad for day pass)
Not only did the World Bank president find his companion Shaha Ali Riza a cushy job in the State Department, but she received a security clearance — unprecedented for a foreign national. [..]
(I)n 2006 Wolfowitz made a series of calls to his friends that landed her a job at a new think tank called Foundation for the Future that is funded by the State Department. She was the sole employee, at least in the beginning. The World Bank continued to pay her salary, which was raised from $60,000 to $193,590 annually, more than the $183,500 paid to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and all of it tax-free. Moreover, Wolfowitz got the State Department to agree that the ratings of her performance would automatically be "outstanding." Wolfowitz insisted on these terms himself and then misled the World Bank board about what he had done.
Exactly how this deal was made and with whom remains something of a mystery. The person who did work with Riza in her new position was Elizabeth Cheney, then the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. And Riza's assignment fell under the purview of Karen Hughes, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. But these facts raise more questions than they answer.
Ah, but Bush has nothing but "full confidence" in the job Wolfowitz is doing. In any other reality, this guy would be out on the sidewalk filing for unemployment. But in BushWorld, this level of corruption is a good thing.
LINK
Wolf-ho-witz. Add that one to the newsworthy ho conflagration.
I Ho that!
An insider's perspective on mental illness and perhaps Cho
I've seen some of the video clips. Make no mistake about it, Cho was suffering from psychosis. I know that because I used to suffer from psychosis and I used to sound exactly like Cho did in those tapes.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x701336
And Albert-ho Gonzales.
When the planets are aligned, all you can do is stand back and watch the show.
I HOPE IT'S YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS THAT DIE" - US Representative Dana Rohrabacker
By US Army Reserves Colonel (Retired) Ann Wright, AfterDowningStreet.org
Rohrabacher said if European countries did not cooperate with the United States and go along with whatever the Bush administration wanted, they were condemning their countrymen to death by not using extralegal methods to imprison terrorist suspects. When citizens attending the hearing, including members of Codepink Women for Peace and Veterans for Peaceard Rohrabacher's statement, they collectively groaned. Then, much to the shock and disbelief of everyone in the hearing room, Rorhbacker said to those who had expressed displeasure at his statements:
"I hope it's your family members that die when terrorists strike."
At that point, I had had enough of Rohrabacher. I stood up and said "I did not serve 29 years in the US military and 16 years in the US diplomatic corps to see demise of the rule of law and violation of our own laws. Rohrback's statements are outrageous. No wonder the world hates us!"
Chairman Delahunt gaveled for me to stop speaking and I was escorted by the police out of the committee room. I was not arrested.
Remarkably, I do agree with one thing Rohrabacker said. "They hate us."
Rohrabacker finished his sentence with "They hate us because they hate our way of life." Unfortunately, many people do hate us, but it's not for our way of life.
Its for exactly the talk and actions that Rohrabacker and the Bush administration represent: illegal and unlawful actions, an arrogant attitude that America is always right and everyone else is wrong, that the world's resources are for the exclusive use of the United States and we have the right to invade and occupy any country."
Until we change the manner in which Presidential administrations and the Congress operate and the way we approach our membership in the community of nations, the world will continue to question what America stands for.
About the Author: Ann Wright retired as a Colonel after serving 13 years on active duty and 16 years in the US Army Reserves. After 16 years in the US diplomatic corps, she resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. She had been assigned in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Micronesia and Mongolia. She helped reopen the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan in December, 2001.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x705276
http://fc01.deviantart.com/images/store/bt/9/98de59108a3562f0.jpg
Exactly how this deal was made and with whom remains something of a mystery. The person who did work with Riza in her new position was Elizabeth Cheney, then the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. And Riza's assignment fell under the purview of Karen Hughes, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. But these facts raise more questions than they answer.
Ah, but Bush has nothing but "full confidence" in the job Wolfowitz is doing. In any other reality, this guy would be out on the sidewalk filing for unemployment. But in BushWorld, this level of corruption is a good thing.
LINK
April 20, 2007 12:12 AM
Wow. Now that the details are coming to light, this is even worse than I thought. Good. He needs to go down big time.
Stop Baroody!-Fox in the Henhouse.Nominated by Bushy.
Check this out http://www.stopbaroody.com/
Cool Vid on Wolfie and Girlfriend. http://cliffschecter.blogspot.com/2007/04/fire-paul-wolfowitz-philip-de-vellis.html
Hello.......Anybody there?
I Ho That??
I hear nothing,I see nothing!Oops,I can't use that line.That's Gonzo's line.
Oh Gonzo....
Alberto and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...
Because I miss the show
Finding Out True Love Is Blind, Louis XIV
Hot Topic, Le Tigre
Going Underground, The Jam
Jerk It Out, Caesars
Peaches, The Stranglers
Runnin', Pharcyde
Take The Skinheads Bowling (Live), Camper Van Beethoven
Message Of Love, The Pretenders
Swamp Thing, The Chameleons
Uncertain Smile, The The
Blister In The Sun, Violent Femmes
Punk Rock Girl, Dead Milkmen
Running Up That Hill, Kate Bush
Maps, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Girl U Want, Devo
Mirror In The Bathroom, The English Beat
Sabotage, The Beastie Boys
Ana Ng, They Might Be Giants
American Idiot, Green Day
Pressure Drop, The Clash (poor quality, sounds like when SEDER plays it)
All You Fascists, Billy Bragg and Wilco
---
I know I missed a few, but that's a good start.
Hurry back, Sam.
If you have any doubt about how far this country has fallen from greatness under seven years of neocon rule or how divided and fractionated this country has become, consider the following from this mornings Media Matters:
Limbaugh said Virginia Tech shooter "had to be a liberal"
On the April 19 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Rush Limbaugh declared that the perpetrator of the April 16 Virginia Tech shootings "had to be a liberal," adding: "You start railing against the rich, and all this other -- this guy's a liberal. He was turned into a liberal somewhere along the line. So it's a liberal that committed this act." Limbaugh then complained, in a possible reference to Media Matters for America, that "Now the drive-bys will read on a website that I'm attacking liberalism by comparing this guy to them. That's exactly what they do every day, ladies and gentlemen. I'm just pointing out a fact. I am making no extrapolation." Limbaugh regularly describes mainstream media sources as "the drive-by media."
one of my favorite movies is groundhogs day with bill murray. for those that don't recall, its the one consisting of 5 minute vignettes where a guy wakes up and lives the same day over and over.
lately i've been wondering if we aren't all caught in a groundhogs day loop with this evil administration. it seems we wake up each day and nothing has really changed. remember katrina and the outrage. nothing changed. remember the incessant war on terror. it never goes away. remember alberto gonzales. he's still there (and no, war didn't start at 5:45 last night with iran :)).
what has to happen to bring change to this country and take us back to that happy place that we had when clinton was president? will it ever happen?
Yes!!Just keep bangin those letters to your Congressman/women,and Senator!And,pray that they will Wake Up and Impeach those Assholes.I Ho that!!
tyt has a new name for gonzo, or at least it was new to me.
they're calling him "fredo" and suggesting that its time for bush to put him in a small boat and send him fishing.
I miss you Sam...
W F C:Thanks for the Tunes.
Morning all!
blah 3, Bush calls him "fredo". He Got that from the "Godfather" movie.
Remember "fredo" was the third brother that wa kinda wimpy.
G'morning!
List of nicknames used by George W. Bush (Wikipedia)
...and according to WhiteHouse.Org's page for Kids
Cat Chew:What's our nickname for Bushy?I'll start.-Moron!
I have to pick just one?
No.The More the merrier.......
Bunnypants
Incurious George
Bogus POTUS
Bubble Boy
Dim Son
Little Lord Smirkleroy
Ann Richards:Born with a Silver Foot in His Mouth.
(via dKos:)
President Bush Pleased with Attorney General's Testimony
Hmmm, I think "Bubble Boy" has an edge today.
I also remember Born with a silver spoon up his nose.
I wonder where are negligent blogmother has been.
SEDER, why have you forsaken us? :(
Can someone start a web site about the comment all of the Right Wing wacko's have said about the VT tradegy? PLEASE!
I live in Virginia, I am a liberal and I am outraged that he said that. How dare him - that is it really really who are his sponsers? He his now relating a fuc&*ng lunatic as a liberal? What is his problem?
PS - If Sammy and / or Al would have been on today - this would have been broadcast across the airwaves.
Use a mixture of one part glycerol to two parts water.
Place the mixture in a flat pan, and totally submerge the leaves in a single layer in the liquid.
You'll have to weigh them down to keep them submerged.
In two to six days, they should have absorbed the liquid and be soft and pliable.
Remove them from the pan and wipe off all the liquid with a soft cloth.
Done correctly, the leaves will remain soft and pliable indefinitely.
==
and also
http://www.dow.com/glycerine/faq_1.htm
Sam - we are dying here - Can you please get on someones show today - Call in to Malloy or something and talk about this - what limbaugh said.
oh and by the way! I have switch my live stream to NovaM this morning!
Totallynext:I presume you are talking about Oxycodone Boy and His Butt Buddies.
Bush tells Pelosi Syria attacks were State Dept.’s fault. “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told colleagues yesterday that she was incredulous after President Bush pulled her aside at the end of a meeting Wednesday and told her he did not criticize her recent trip to Syria. After all, Bush and other senior administration officials and top Republicans had slammed the speaker publicly for meeting in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But in a private meeting with Democratic lawmakers yesterday, Pelosi said Bush told her in an unsolicited comment that it was actually the State Department that criticized her"
LINK
As Iraqis stand up, we’ll stand down. “Military planners have abandoned the idea that standing up Iraqi troops will enable American soldiers to start coming home soon and now believe that U.S. troops will have to defeat the insurgents and secure control of troubled provinces. Training Iraqi troops, which had been the cornerstone of the Bush administration’s Iraq policy since 2005, has dropped in priority, officials in Baghdad and Washington said. … Pentagon officials said they know of no new training resources that have been included in U.S. plans to dispatch 28,000 additional troops to Iraq.”
LINK
tonid:Typical.It's never Bushy's fault!
Bush seems to allow into his administration, people who rise to the level of their own incompetence!
Maybe it makes Bush feel smart.
Supreme Court To Put Another Dick In White House
Washington, D.C. - At the behest of Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John Roberts has scheduled a meeting of the five most conservative justices for early next week in which they will select the next president of the United States.
Sources inside the Supreme Court have told Assimilated Press that the decision will surprise the public as none of the currently announced candidates are held in high esteem by the justices. Rudy Giuliani is seen as not being sufficiently anti-choice although Clarence Thomas did say that the former mayor of New York is better looking than Ann Coulter when dressed in drag and that he wouldn't toss him out of bed on a lonely night. For his part, John McCain is considered by the justices to be a politician without any core principles who couldn't even sell manure to barn full of hungry flies. And, it is a strongly held view that Mitt Romney simply can't be trusted because he doesn't believe in the same Jesus as the five most conservative members of the court.
Of course, all of the Democratic candidates are out of the question as the majority of the court has already made it clear in their Bush versus Gore decision that America is a Republican nation that relies on the literal interpretation of biblical law for guidance. As Justice Antonin Scalia is found of saying, "When I speak of the concept of Original Intent, I do not refer to the original intent of the Founding Fathers but rather the original intent of God as written in the Bible and interpreted by us five holy men in robes."
So, don't be shocked, when early next week, Justices Roberts, Scalia, Alito, Thomas and Kennedy select their favorite Republican, Dick Cheney, as the next President of the United States. In following recent precedent, Cheney will take the oath of office after the next presidential election but before all of the votes are counted
posted by Virt at 12:29 AM
3 Comments:
HaroldX said...
You'd think that Scalia and the rest of his collaborators would be embarrassed by Bush but these people have no shame.
11:33 AM
pinko said...
Entertainment News, April 23, 2007
Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and the various members of The Supremes have sued John Roberts, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas for declaring Dick Cheney President of the United States. "They said that the "Supremes" have decided this. Well, there is only one The Supremes, and we're it and they're not", Ms. Wilson's explained.
Cindy Birdsong, a former member of The Supremes added, "The people don't love Dick Cheney. And, you know, you can't hurry love. If he wants to be president he'll just have to wait. Until the votes are counted."
Otis Williams, of The Temptations, agreed with the suit against the judges. "They gotta reach out. Cheney says he's gonna make me love him, but nobody's gonna make me do anything. If he wants to be president he can't be too proud to beg. Let him win in a fair election."
Asked if he thought there was a strong likelihood of a fair election in 2008, Mr. Williams said, "No. It's just my imagination, running away with me."
1:40 PM
Anonymous said...
OK, so you got wind of the Supreme Court meeting and what it's about. Big Deal!
Yes, they will meet to choose the next President. Yes, they will choose Fred Thompson.
No, your vote doesn;t matter. We dont; care what you think or want. We run this country, not you. Since we're the ones with all the money and power, that's the way things are going to stay in America.
You are not "free." We run your life. Either accept it or leave.
AssimilatedPress.
Friday Morning Open Thread
by Joe Sudbay (DC) · 4/20/2007 07:15:00 AM ET
Yesterday was interesting and instructive. Harry Reid told the truth about Iraq and got pummeled by the loyal Bushies. Meanwhile Alberto Gonzales, the ultimate loyal Bushie, lied about the U.S. Attorneys scandal and got high praise from the his boss. In the bizarro world of George Bush, telling the truth is unacceptable in every situation. Now, again, the question is why the traditional media puts up with that.
From americablog
US builds Baghdad wall to keep Sunnis and Shias apart
Mark Tran - Guardian
Friday April 20, 2007
US soldiers are building a three-mile wall to separate one of Baghdad's Sunni enclaves from surrounding Shia neighbourhoods, it emerged today.
The move is part of a contentious security plan that has fuelled fears of the Iraqi capital's Balkanisation.
When the barrier is finished, the minority Sunni community of Adamiya, on the eastern side of the River Tigris, will be completely gated. Traffic control points manned by Iraqi soldiers will provide the only access, the US military said.
"Shias are coming in and hitting Sunnis, and Sunnis are retaliating across the street," Captain Scott McLearn, of the US 407th brigade support battalion, told the Associated Press.
The project, which began on April 10, is being worked on almost nightly, with cranes swinging enormous concrete barriers into place.
More here
"Bush fires those who are disloyal. Those who are subservient and loyal are never fired, no matter their level of incompetence or corruption."
Glenn Greenwald (at Salon.com yesterday)
It's 9a.m. EDT
and I am keenly aware of what I'm missing.
[sigh]
Have a good thread, and tease SEDER for me when he gets around to changing the sheets.
Later...
Hey Sam, as I read that disgusting Adam Nagourney trash in the Times today I wished you were on air today.
There's a New Thread!Yea!
here's the link to the times trash:
Adam Nagourney Trashing Edwards
Interesting that the absolutely outrageous call by Mccain to bomb iran is buried in the last paragraph as if theres an equivalence between a haircut and the death and destruction of a soverign nation (i will grant you that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a kook who threatens the world but there ought to be other ways to get rid of him)
i really miss you sam
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