Friday, April 30, 2004
Baghdad Burning on the Iraqi Prisoner Abuse
There can be nothing more powerful than this from a blogger based in Baghdad:
...Seeing those naked, helpless, hooded men was like being slapped in the face with an ice cold hand. I felt ashamed looking at them- like I was seeing something I shouldn’t be seeing and all I could think was, “I might know one of those faceless men...” I might have passed him in the street or worked with him. I might have bought groceries from one of them or sat through a lecture they gave in college... any of them might be a teacher, gas station attendant or engineer... any one of them might be a father or grandfather... each and every one of them is a son and possibly a brother. And people wonder at what happened in Falloojeh a few weeks ago when those Americans were killed and dragged through the streets...
(...)
I want something done about it and I want it done publicly. I want those horrible soldiers who were responsible for this to be publicly punished and humiliated. I want them to be condemned and identified as the horrible people they are. I want their children and their children’s children to carry on the story of what was done for a long time- as long as those prisoners will carry along with them the humiliation and pain of what was done and as long as the memory of those pictures remains in Iraqi hearts and minds.
I can't possibly imagine being an Iraqi today. First, they're attacked by the U.S. "Coalition" without provocation. Then, after sacking Baghdad, the U.S. appoints a Governing Council that is so crooked and rife with corruption even OUR government has had enough. And now their "liberators" are abusing them with the pictures being front page news all over the world (except in the country that is responsible.)
We are fucking broken.
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There can be nothing more powerful than this from a blogger based in Baghdad:
...Seeing those naked, helpless, hooded men was like being slapped in the face with an ice cold hand. I felt ashamed looking at them- like I was seeing something I shouldn’t be seeing and all I could think was, “I might know one of those faceless men...” I might have passed him in the street or worked with him. I might have bought groceries from one of them or sat through a lecture they gave in college... any of them might be a teacher, gas station attendant or engineer... any one of them might be a father or grandfather... each and every one of them is a son and possibly a brother. And people wonder at what happened in Falloojeh a few weeks ago when those Americans were killed and dragged through the streets...
(...)
I want something done about it and I want it done publicly. I want those horrible soldiers who were responsible for this to be publicly punished and humiliated. I want them to be condemned and identified as the horrible people they are. I want their children and their children’s children to carry on the story of what was done for a long time- as long as those prisoners will carry along with them the humiliation and pain of what was done and as long as the memory of those pictures remains in Iraqi hearts and minds.
I can't possibly imagine being an Iraqi today. First, they're attacked by the U.S. "Coalition" without provocation. Then, after sacking Baghdad, the U.S. appoints a Governing Council that is so crooked and rife with corruption even OUR government has had enough. And now their "liberators" are abusing them with the pictures being front page news all over the world (except in the country that is responsible.)
We are fucking broken.
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Why Flag Draped Coffins?
A column by NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr from the Christian Science Monitor:
WASHINGTON - Occasionally an issue arises that causes me to lose my commentator's cool. Such is the controversy that has bubbled up in recent days over whether the flag-draped coffins arriving from Iraq and Afghanistan may be shown by the news media.
"No," says the White House, it's a matter of "privacy" and "sensitivity." No issue of privacy or sensitivity arose when a Bush campaign commercial showed a flag-draped firefighter being carried from ground zero in New York.
The Stars and Stripes occupies a unique role in American life, a symbol of national unity for a republic without a crowned head. The symbol is embodied in our national anthem, which found reassurance in the fact that after a night-long battle during the War of 1812, "our flag was still there."
The millions of flags that sprouted from lapels and car fenders after the 9/11 assault were tokens of unity in adversity. But the flag has also been used for commercial and political purposes, and few are the candidates whose stump speeches are not set against a huge flag.
So now the matter of the flag-draped coffins and whether showing them is a solemn tribute or a violation of privacy.
The Pentagon has reinforced its ban after several hundred pictures escaped to someone who had filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act. And a cargo handler has been fired by a military contractor for furnishing pictures to a newspaper.
Considering that no individual identification is visible in the pictures, it is hard to understand the justification for clamping the secrecy lid on the solemn procession of flag-draped coffins being carried off the cargo planes. I cannot avoid the suspicion that President Bush - who has yet to attend a funeral service for any of the honored dead that he sent to war - has no interest in calling attention to the mounting number of casualties in a battle that was far from over last May 1, when the president declared "major combat operations" in Iraq had ended.
I can see no other reason to screen from public view the daily arrival of the remains of those who have made the supreme sacrifice.
Unfortunately, the answer is a recurring theme in Bush's presidency. He and is administration will not tolerate anything that casts a negative light or make them seem as if they are anything except in complete control. This is why...
-You won't here the President admit he made a mistake.
-You will always see the administration attack a dissenting voice
-You won't see the President attend a soldier's funeral.
-You won't see the administration ask for international help unless the situation is seriously FUBAR and then they will try to spin it in their favor.
-You will always see Scott McClellan answer the questions he wants to.
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A column by NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr from the Christian Science Monitor:
WASHINGTON - Occasionally an issue arises that causes me to lose my commentator's cool. Such is the controversy that has bubbled up in recent days over whether the flag-draped coffins arriving from Iraq and Afghanistan may be shown by the news media.
"No," says the White House, it's a matter of "privacy" and "sensitivity." No issue of privacy or sensitivity arose when a Bush campaign commercial showed a flag-draped firefighter being carried from ground zero in New York.
The Stars and Stripes occupies a unique role in American life, a symbol of national unity for a republic without a crowned head. The symbol is embodied in our national anthem, which found reassurance in the fact that after a night-long battle during the War of 1812, "our flag was still there."
The millions of flags that sprouted from lapels and car fenders after the 9/11 assault were tokens of unity in adversity. But the flag has also been used for commercial and political purposes, and few are the candidates whose stump speeches are not set against a huge flag.
So now the matter of the flag-draped coffins and whether showing them is a solemn tribute or a violation of privacy.
The Pentagon has reinforced its ban after several hundred pictures escaped to someone who had filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act. And a cargo handler has been fired by a military contractor for furnishing pictures to a newspaper.
Considering that no individual identification is visible in the pictures, it is hard to understand the justification for clamping the secrecy lid on the solemn procession of flag-draped coffins being carried off the cargo planes. I cannot avoid the suspicion that President Bush - who has yet to attend a funeral service for any of the honored dead that he sent to war - has no interest in calling attention to the mounting number of casualties in a battle that was far from over last May 1, when the president declared "major combat operations" in Iraq had ended.
I can see no other reason to screen from public view the daily arrival of the remains of those who have made the supreme sacrifice.
Unfortunately, the answer is a recurring theme in Bush's presidency. He and is administration will not tolerate anything that casts a negative light or make them seem as if they are anything except in complete control. This is why...
-You won't here the President admit he made a mistake.
-You will always see the administration attack a dissenting voice
-You won't see the President attend a soldier's funeral.
-You won't see the administration ask for international help unless the situation is seriously FUBAR and then they will try to spin it in their favor.
-You will always see Scott McClellan answer the questions he wants to.
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Bush, One Year After 'Mission Accomplished'
Appearing today with Canadian PM Paul Martin the President defended his aircraft carrier speech from a year ago:
...As to the carrier speech, Bush said, "A year ago I did give the speech from the carrier saying we had achieved an important objective, accomplished a mission, which was the removal of Saddam Hussein."
"And as a result, there are no longer torture chambers or rape rooms or mass graves in Iraq. As a result, a friend of terror has been removed and now sits in a jail," the president said...
Emphasis added because of recently discovered prisoner abuse in Iraq by American soldiers:
"This is the straw that broke the camel's back for America," said Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the Arab newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi. "The liberators are worse than the dictators."
"...They have not just lost the hearts and minds of Iraqis but all the Third World and the Arab countries," he told Reuters.
The CBS News program "60 Minutes II" on Wednesday broadcast photos taken at the Abu Ghraib prison late last year showing American troops abusing some Iraqis held at what was once a notorious center of torture and executions under toppled President Saddam Hussein.
The pictures showed U.S. troops smiling, posing, laughing or giving the thumbs-up sign as naked, male Iraqi prisoners were stacked in a pyramid or positioned to simulate sex acts with one another...
Pictures of the abuse here. Not for the faint of heart.
It's actions like this that will make an already arduous task in Iraq nearly impossible.
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Appearing today with Canadian PM Paul Martin the President defended his aircraft carrier speech from a year ago:
...As to the carrier speech, Bush said, "A year ago I did give the speech from the carrier saying we had achieved an important objective, accomplished a mission, which was the removal of Saddam Hussein."
"And as a result, there are no longer torture chambers or rape rooms or mass graves in Iraq. As a result, a friend of terror has been removed and now sits in a jail," the president said...
Emphasis added because of recently discovered prisoner abuse in Iraq by American soldiers:
"This is the straw that broke the camel's back for America," said Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the Arab newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi. "The liberators are worse than the dictators."
"...They have not just lost the hearts and minds of Iraqis but all the Third World and the Arab countries," he told Reuters.
The CBS News program "60 Minutes II" on Wednesday broadcast photos taken at the Abu Ghraib prison late last year showing American troops abusing some Iraqis held at what was once a notorious center of torture and executions under toppled President Saddam Hussein.
The pictures showed U.S. troops smiling, posing, laughing or giving the thumbs-up sign as naked, male Iraqi prisoners were stacked in a pyramid or positioned to simulate sex acts with one another...
Pictures of the abuse here. Not for the faint of heart.
It's actions like this that will make an already arduous task in Iraq nearly impossible.
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Friday USA Today
Props to USA Today for the front page pictures of all the soldiers killed in Iraq this month. This total has risen to 128 after two more soldiers were killed today near Fallujah.
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Props to USA Today for the front page pictures of all the soldiers killed in Iraq this month. This total has risen to 128 after two more soldiers were killed today near Fallujah.
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Distortion Database
The Center for American Progress has a very cool database that dispels some of the lies shared by the Bush Administration and their purveyors of disinformation. The lies are sorted by topic(39) and speaker(45). As an example I chose the topic 'Education' and George Bush. I received nine prevarications in return. Here is the one from 1/5/04:
Quote/Claim:
“Teacher training money is up. We've increased the teacher training and recruitment budget significantly."
Fact:
In his most recent budget, Bush proposed to freeze Teacher Quality State Grants - cutting off training opportunities for about 30,000 teachers, and leaving 92,000 less teachers trained than called for in his own No Child Left Behind bill. - House Appropriations Committee Report, 2004
There is also a place to submit your own lies. Enjoy.
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The Center for American Progress has a very cool database that dispels some of the lies shared by the Bush Administration and their purveyors of disinformation. The lies are sorted by topic(39) and speaker(45). As an example I chose the topic 'Education' and George Bush. I received nine prevarications in return. Here is the one from 1/5/04:
Quote/Claim:
“Teacher training money is up. We've increased the teacher training and recruitment budget significantly."
Fact:
In his most recent budget, Bush proposed to freeze Teacher Quality State Grants - cutting off training opportunities for about 30,000 teachers, and leaving 92,000 less teachers trained than called for in his own No Child Left Behind bill. - House Appropriations Committee Report, 2004
There is also a place to submit your own lies. Enjoy.
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Thursday, April 29, 2004
Pataki Passing the Plate for...Laura Bush?
At a "prayer breakfast" no less:
A just-released invitation to a special May 11 "prayer breakfast" with Gov. Pataki - featuring an appearance by First Lady Laura Bush - offers would-be participants the chance to buy 10 places at a "Blue Seating" table for $1,000, or 10 places at a "Gold Seating" table for $500.
Individual "unreserved" seats for the event at the state-owned Empire State Plaza are also available for $30 each.
Everyone purchasing tickets, besides being given a chance to pray with the First Lady, will be able to use a "complimentary coffee bar."
The invitation, which contains a quote declaring that "God governs in the affairs of men" - says checks should be written to "The Governor's Prayer Breakfast Trust Fund," which underwrites the cost of the event.
Longtime observers said the prayer breakfasts, which the governor and his wife, Libby, have sponsored for the past 10 years, have never before been so expensive.
A "Complimentary Coffee Bar"? That'll be free but I'm sure a packet of sugar and two cremes will be $450.
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At a "prayer breakfast" no less:
A just-released invitation to a special May 11 "prayer breakfast" with Gov. Pataki - featuring an appearance by First Lady Laura Bush - offers would-be participants the chance to buy 10 places at a "Blue Seating" table for $1,000, or 10 places at a "Gold Seating" table for $500.
Individual "unreserved" seats for the event at the state-owned Empire State Plaza are also available for $30 each.
Everyone purchasing tickets, besides being given a chance to pray with the First Lady, will be able to use a "complimentary coffee bar."
The invitation, which contains a quote declaring that "God governs in the affairs of men" - says checks should be written to "The Governor's Prayer Breakfast Trust Fund," which underwrites the cost of the event.
Longtime observers said the prayer breakfasts, which the governor and his wife, Libby, have sponsored for the past 10 years, have never before been so expensive.
A "Complimentary Coffee Bar"? That'll be free but I'm sure a packet of sugar and two cremes will be $450.
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Sinclair Broadcast Group to preempt Friday Nightline
Yes, this is the same program that will be reading the names of all the American combat deaths in Iraq.
Upon further review, Berry's World has found that the reason for this decision is a little partisan.
Call and tell them the death of our soldiers is not a partisan issue!
The main phone number for the Sinclair Broadcast Group is 410-568-1500.
Get to work.
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Yes, this is the same program that will be reading the names of all the American combat deaths in Iraq.
Upon further review, Berry's World has found that the reason for this decision is a little partisan.
Call and tell them the death of our soldiers is not a partisan issue!
The main phone number for the Sinclair Broadcast Group is 410-568-1500.
Get to work.
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Roanoke Ballet
I heard the arts were dragging a little, but things must be really bad in Virginia:
Joined by the Roanoke Symphony playing the theme from the Dukes of Hazard.
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I heard the arts were dragging a little, but things must be really bad in Virginia:
Joined by the Roanoke Symphony playing the theme from the Dukes of Hazard.
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Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Not a PEEP About This in the Northern Hemisphere
If Australia went to war in Iraq under false pretenses and suppressed intelligence reports then how would you describe the involvement of the United States?:
Over the past two weeks, the government of Prime Minister John Howard has faced a virtual revolt from within the Australian military and intelligence establishment, involving the leaking of damaging secret documents. Long-simmering opposition to the government’s manipulation and suppression of intelligence reports for its own political purposes has erupted, following the collapse of all the lies used to justify Australian participation in the invasion of Iraq.
One word: Fraudulent.
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If Australia went to war in Iraq under false pretenses and suppressed intelligence reports then how would you describe the involvement of the United States?:
Over the past two weeks, the government of Prime Minister John Howard has faced a virtual revolt from within the Australian military and intelligence establishment, involving the leaking of damaging secret documents. Long-simmering opposition to the government’s manipulation and suppression of intelligence reports for its own political purposes has erupted, following the collapse of all the lies used to justify Australian participation in the invasion of Iraq.
One word: Fraudulent.
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Video of the President
Follow this link to a video of the President during a commercial break when he was a guest on Letterman. He's wiping his glasses on a staffer's shirt while the person is talking to Dave. Amusing if he wasn't so arrogant. (Windows and Quicktime supported.)
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Follow this link to a video of the President during a commercial break when he was a guest on Letterman. He's wiping his glasses on a staffer's shirt while the person is talking to Dave. Amusing if he wasn't so arrogant. (Windows and Quicktime supported.)
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Al Gore Doing His Part
Al Gore will be donating $6 million to democratic groups to try and fight the GOP's "outrageous and misleading" smear campaign against John Kerry.
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Al Gore will be donating $6 million to democratic groups to try and fight the GOP's "outrageous and misleading" smear campaign against John Kerry.
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Wes Clark takes on the GOP Slimers
A thoughtful opinion piece in the New York Times:
...John Kerry was awarded three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star for his service in Vietnam. In April 1971, as part of a protest against the war, he threw some ribbons over the fence of the United States Capitol.
Republicans have tried to use this event to question his patriotism and his truthfulness, claiming he has been inconsistent in saying whether he threw away his medals or ribbons. This is no more than a political smear. After risking his life in Vietnam to save others, John Kerry earned the right to speak out against a war he believed was wrong. Make no mistake: it is that bravery these Republicans are now attacking.
Although President Bush has not engaged personally in such accusations, he has done nothing to stop others from making them. I believe those who didn't serve, or didn't show up for service, should have the decency to respect those who did serve — often under the most dangerous conditions, with bravery and, yes, with undeniable patriotism.
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A thoughtful opinion piece in the New York Times:
...John Kerry was awarded three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star for his service in Vietnam. In April 1971, as part of a protest against the war, he threw some ribbons over the fence of the United States Capitol.
Republicans have tried to use this event to question his patriotism and his truthfulness, claiming he has been inconsistent in saying whether he threw away his medals or ribbons. This is no more than a political smear. After risking his life in Vietnam to save others, John Kerry earned the right to speak out against a war he believed was wrong. Make no mistake: it is that bravery these Republicans are now attacking.
Although President Bush has not engaged personally in such accusations, he has done nothing to stop others from making them. I believe those who didn't serve, or didn't show up for service, should have the decency to respect those who did serve — often under the most dangerous conditions, with bravery and, yes, with undeniable patriotism.
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Cheney's Energy Task Force Documents had Maps of Iraqi Oil Fields
Does this mean that "Kenny Boy" Lay helped plan the war in Iraq? If so, that explains a great deal.
Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, said today that documents turned over by the Commerce Department, under court order as a result of Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit concerning the activities of the Cheney Energy Task Force, contain a map of Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries and terminals, as well as 2 charts detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects, and “Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts.”
Released by Judicial Watch 7/17/03.
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Does this mean that "Kenny Boy" Lay helped plan the war in Iraq? If so, that explains a great deal.
Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, said today that documents turned over by the Commerce Department, under court order as a result of Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit concerning the activities of the Cheney Energy Task Force, contain a map of Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries and terminals, as well as 2 charts detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects, and “Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts.”
Released by Judicial Watch 7/17/03.
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No Recording of BushCheney 9/11 Testimony
The 9/11 Commission is allowed a note taker but not a recording device:
WASHINGTON — The White House said on Tuesday that there would be no recording or formal transcription of the historic joint interview of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney by the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The interview, to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday at the White House, will be recorded by two note takers, one from the White House. Under a pact with the White House that allowed all its 10 members in the interview, the commission is permitted to take a note taker, but not a recording device. The panel said it did not press for a formal transcription of the session, letting the White House decide.
The White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, told reporters that the session would not be officially transcribed because the White House considered it a "private meeting" that would include highly classified information.
"Let's keep in mind that it is extraordinary for a sitting president of the United States to sit down with a legislatively created commission," Mr. McClellan said...
Mr. McClellan, it's also extraordinary that the President has spent 40% of his time in office on vacation.
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The 9/11 Commission is allowed a note taker but not a recording device:
WASHINGTON — The White House said on Tuesday that there would be no recording or formal transcription of the historic joint interview of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney by the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The interview, to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday at the White House, will be recorded by two note takers, one from the White House. Under a pact with the White House that allowed all its 10 members in the interview, the commission is permitted to take a note taker, but not a recording device. The panel said it did not press for a formal transcription of the session, letting the White House decide.
The White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, told reporters that the session would not be officially transcribed because the White House considered it a "private meeting" that would include highly classified information.
"Let's keep in mind that it is extraordinary for a sitting president of the United States to sit down with a legislatively created commission," Mr. McClellan said...
Mr. McClellan, it's also extraordinary that the President has spent 40% of his time in office on vacation.
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Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Nightline on Friday
Ted Koppel will read the names of all of our soldiers killed in combat in Iraq. As Keith Berry says, I wonder if thirty minutes will be enough time.
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Ted Koppel will read the names of all of our soldiers killed in combat in Iraq. As Keith Berry says, I wonder if thirty minutes will be enough time.
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Blogs May Come Under Scrutiny from U.S. Intelligence
Nothing to see here. Move along:
People in black trench coats might soon be chasing blogs.
Blogs, short for Web logs, are personal online journals. Individuals post them on Web sites to report or comment on news especially, but also on their personal lives or most any subject.
Some blogs are whimsical and deal with 'soft' subjects. Others, though, are cutting edge in delivering information and opinion.
As a result, some analysts say U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials might be starting to track blogs for important bits of information. This interest is a sign of how far Web media such as blogs have come in reshaping the data-collection habits of intelligence professionals and others, even with the knowledge that the accuracy of what's reported in some blogs is questionable.
Perhaps we can change the format here to something that might be a little less controversial.
Some ideas:
A picture library of the berets that Rerun wore on What's Happening.
Lyrics to the entire Kajagoogoo library.
A collection of commencement speeches given by Bobcat Goldthwaite.
All of the different line-ups the Phillies have used this season. (Bad idea, not enough bandwidth.)
Other suggestions welcomed...
UPDATE: The link above is no longer good. In fact it's disappeared completely from the destinaion site, investor.com. Conspiracy!
UPDATE2: Saved! It was posted on Yahoo! News
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Nothing to see here. Move along:
People in black trench coats might soon be chasing blogs.
Blogs, short for Web logs, are personal online journals. Individuals post them on Web sites to report or comment on news especially, but also on their personal lives or most any subject.
Some blogs are whimsical and deal with 'soft' subjects. Others, though, are cutting edge in delivering information and opinion.
As a result, some analysts say U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials might be starting to track blogs for important bits of information. This interest is a sign of how far Web media such as blogs have come in reshaping the data-collection habits of intelligence professionals and others, even with the knowledge that the accuracy of what's reported in some blogs is questionable.
Perhaps we can change the format here to something that might be a little less controversial.
Some ideas:
A picture library of the berets that Rerun wore on What's Happening.
Lyrics to the entire Kajagoogoo library.
A collection of commencement speeches given by Bobcat Goldthwaite.
All of the different line-ups the Phillies have used this season. (Bad idea, not enough bandwidth.)
Other suggestions welcomed...
UPDATE: The link above is no longer good. In fact it's disappeared completely from the destinaion site, investor.com. Conspiracy!
UPDATE2: Saved! It was posted on Yahoo! News
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Sovereignty Has Many Meanings
In the worst kept secret of the year; perhaps Iraq won't be ready for a June 30th power shift after all:
The US has warned that the new government due to take power in Iraq on 1 July will have to delegate some of its powers to the coalition. Secretary of State Colin Powell said it was important that coalition troops continued to operate under US command.
(...)
The US has insisted it is sticking to the planned timetable of transferring power to an interim Iraqi government after 30 June despite the upsurge of violence in Iraq.
But in an interview with Reuters news agency, Mr Powell said that while the new government would take full sovereignty over the country, it would have to give some of it back to the Americans so that the US would still be in command of its own troops.
'I hope they will understand that in order for this government to get up and running - to be effective - some of its sovereignty will have to be given back, if I can put it that way, or limited by them,' Mr Powell said...
June 30th might still work. In 2005.
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In the worst kept secret of the year; perhaps Iraq won't be ready for a June 30th power shift after all:
The US has warned that the new government due to take power in Iraq on 1 July will have to delegate some of its powers to the coalition. Secretary of State Colin Powell said it was important that coalition troops continued to operate under US command.
(...)
The US has insisted it is sticking to the planned timetable of transferring power to an interim Iraqi government after 30 June despite the upsurge of violence in Iraq.
But in an interview with Reuters news agency, Mr Powell said that while the new government would take full sovereignty over the country, it would have to give some of it back to the Americans so that the US would still be in command of its own troops.
'I hope they will understand that in order for this government to get up and running - to be effective - some of its sovereignty will have to be given back, if I can put it that way, or limited by them,' Mr Powell said...
June 30th might still work. In 2005.
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Dad, What's a Terrorist?
Good question:
Dad ... what's a terrorist?
Well, according to the Oxford dictionary a terrorist is 'a person who uses violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims'. Which means that terrorists are very bad men and women who frighten ordinary people like us, and sometimes even kill them.
Why do they kill them?
Because they hate them or their country. It's hard to explain ... it's just the way things are. For many different reasons a lot of people in our world are full of hate.
Like the ones in Iraq who are capturing people and saying that they'll kill them if all the soldiers don't leave?
Exactly! That's an evil thing called 'blackmail'. Those innocent people are hostages, and the terrorists are saying that if governments don't do what they want the hostages will be killed.
So was it blackmail when we said we'd attack Iraq and kill innocent people unless they told us where all their weapons were?
No! Well ... yes, I suppose. In a way. But that was an 'ultimatum' ... call it 'good blackmail."
Good blackmail? What's that?
That's when it's done for good reasons. Those weapons were very dangerous and could have hurt a lot of people all over the world. It was very important to find them and destroy them.
From our Coalition partners in Australia.
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Good question:
Dad ... what's a terrorist?
Well, according to the Oxford dictionary a terrorist is 'a person who uses violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims'. Which means that terrorists are very bad men and women who frighten ordinary people like us, and sometimes even kill them.
Why do they kill them?
Because they hate them or their country. It's hard to explain ... it's just the way things are. For many different reasons a lot of people in our world are full of hate.
Like the ones in Iraq who are capturing people and saying that they'll kill them if all the soldiers don't leave?
Exactly! That's an evil thing called 'blackmail'. Those innocent people are hostages, and the terrorists are saying that if governments don't do what they want the hostages will be killed.
So was it blackmail when we said we'd attack Iraq and kill innocent people unless they told us where all their weapons were?
No! Well ... yes, I suppose. In a way. But that was an 'ultimatum' ... call it 'good blackmail."
Good blackmail? What's that?
That's when it's done for good reasons. Those weapons were very dangerous and could have hurt a lot of people all over the world. It was very important to find them and destroy them.
From our Coalition partners in Australia.
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Note to self: Don't get pulled over in Tennessee
A little overkill, don't you think?:
CHATTANOOGA — Tennessee state troopers will soon carry Bushmaster semiautomatic AR-15-type assault rifles on patrol, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.
The THP is buying 1,000 of the weapons to give troopers ''the ability, if they have to, to resort to deadly means of force that is also an accurate means of force,'' Lt. Rex Prince, supervisor of the patrol's ordnance division, said Friday.
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A little overkill, don't you think?:
CHATTANOOGA — Tennessee state troopers will soon carry Bushmaster semiautomatic AR-15-type assault rifles on patrol, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.
The THP is buying 1,000 of the weapons to give troopers ''the ability, if they have to, to resort to deadly means of force that is also an accurate means of force,'' Lt. Rex Prince, supervisor of the patrol's ordnance division, said Friday.
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New Questions About Bush's Military Service
...and his family's relationship with a man named James Bath:
Last month, before the 9/11 commission began its public hearings and Iraq exploded in renewed warfare, the White House tried to quell a gathering storm regarding President Bush's military service, releasing hundreds of documents about Bush's tenure in the Texas Air National Guard some 30 years ago. A close examination of the documents reveals that they not only fail to answer lingering questions about Bush's service but prompt a crucial new area of inquiry that could play a role in the presidential campaign -- a long and lucrative, but low-profile, relationship between Saudis and the Bush family that goes back 30 years.
The document that raises that question is dated Sept. 29, 1972, and notes that 1st Lt. George W. Bush was suspended from flying because of his 'failure to accomplish [his] annual medical examination.' Since he had just received hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of training as a jet fighter pilot, the fact that Bush let his medical certification lapse raises a troubling matter. Why did he allow himself to become ineligible to fly when he still had two years of service left? Given that random drug testing by the military had just started, some have suggested that Bush had not yet given up his partying ways and may have begged off because he had a substance abuse problem.
The records released by the White House last month fail to answer that question, but they do add one compelling fact to the story -- namely, that Bush was not the only man in his unit to be suspended for failing to take the physical, and that someone else at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston was suspended for exactly the same reason at almost the same time.
The link above is to a subsription service, please use the free day pass to read the full article.
This story is also covered in more detail over at Eschaton.
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...and his family's relationship with a man named James Bath:
Last month, before the 9/11 commission began its public hearings and Iraq exploded in renewed warfare, the White House tried to quell a gathering storm regarding President Bush's military service, releasing hundreds of documents about Bush's tenure in the Texas Air National Guard some 30 years ago. A close examination of the documents reveals that they not only fail to answer lingering questions about Bush's service but prompt a crucial new area of inquiry that could play a role in the presidential campaign -- a long and lucrative, but low-profile, relationship between Saudis and the Bush family that goes back 30 years.
The document that raises that question is dated Sept. 29, 1972, and notes that 1st Lt. George W. Bush was suspended from flying because of his 'failure to accomplish [his] annual medical examination.' Since he had just received hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of training as a jet fighter pilot, the fact that Bush let his medical certification lapse raises a troubling matter. Why did he allow himself to become ineligible to fly when he still had two years of service left? Given that random drug testing by the military had just started, some have suggested that Bush had not yet given up his partying ways and may have begged off because he had a substance abuse problem.
The records released by the White House last month fail to answer that question, but they do add one compelling fact to the story -- namely, that Bush was not the only man in his unit to be suspended for failing to take the physical, and that someone else at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston was suspended for exactly the same reason at almost the same time.
The link above is to a subsription service, please use the free day pass to read the full article.
This story is also covered in more detail over at Eschaton.
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Monday, April 26, 2004
Iraq Gets a New Flag
US-picked Iraq leaders declare new Iraqi flag.
Disrespectful. The thing might as well have a picture of Bremer on it.
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US-picked Iraq leaders declare new Iraqi flag.
Disrespectful. The thing might as well have a picture of Bremer on it.
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They need to up Scotty's dosage
Keith over at Berry's World uncovered this from today's gaggle. Incredible chutzpah.
This whole administration is starting to remind me of a one armed juggler trying to keep four chainsaws, three machetes, two torches and a watermelon in the air at once. The crash will be spectacular.
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Keith over at Berry's World uncovered this from today's gaggle. Incredible chutzpah.
This whole administration is starting to remind me of a one armed juggler trying to keep four chainsaws, three machetes, two torches and a watermelon in the air at once. The crash will be spectacular.
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Go Big John Go
John Kerry did say he would fight:
WHEELING, W.Va. - John Kerry, a decorated Navy veteran criticized by Republicans for his anti-war activities during the Vietnam era, lashed out at President Bush on Monday for failing to prove whether he fulfilled his commitment to the National Guard during the same period.
Conservative critics have questioned whether Kerry deserved all three of his Purple Hearts for battle wounds, an issue the Democratic presidential candidate sought to put to rest last week by releasing his military records. On Sunday, a top Bush adviser criticized Kerry for leading anti-war protests after he returned from the battlefield.
"This comes from a president who can't even show or prove that he showed up for duty in the National Guard," Kerry said Monday during an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America." "And I'm not going to stand for it."
Kerry's direct criticism of Bush's Guard record reflected an aggressive strategy to challenge the president. During the primaries, Kerry often deflected questions about Bush's military service although when asked in February whether Bush had fulfilled his Vietnam-era commitment, the Democrat said, "Just because you get an honorable discharge does not in fact answer that question."...
Our postscript courtesy of Mr. Tom Petty:
Well I won't back down
No I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down
No I'll stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin me down
gonna stand my ground
... and I won't back down
Give 'em hell John.
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John Kerry did say he would fight:
WHEELING, W.Va. - John Kerry, a decorated Navy veteran criticized by Republicans for his anti-war activities during the Vietnam era, lashed out at President Bush on Monday for failing to prove whether he fulfilled his commitment to the National Guard during the same period.
Conservative critics have questioned whether Kerry deserved all three of his Purple Hearts for battle wounds, an issue the Democratic presidential candidate sought to put to rest last week by releasing his military records. On Sunday, a top Bush adviser criticized Kerry for leading anti-war protests after he returned from the battlefield.
"This comes from a president who can't even show or prove that he showed up for duty in the National Guard," Kerry said Monday during an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America." "And I'm not going to stand for it."
Kerry's direct criticism of Bush's Guard record reflected an aggressive strategy to challenge the president. During the primaries, Kerry often deflected questions about Bush's military service although when asked in February whether Bush had fulfilled his Vietnam-era commitment, the Democrat said, "Just because you get an honorable discharge does not in fact answer that question."...
Our postscript courtesy of Mr. Tom Petty:
Well I won't back down
No I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down
No I'll stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin me down
gonna stand my ground
... and I won't back down
Give 'em hell John.
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Boozy
Former AK Governor Tony Knowles is a fraternity brother of the President. Oh, the stories he could tell:
...``I had kind of a checkerboard career; I'm sure your researchers will figure it out,'' Mr. Knowles said, explaining that he started at Yale before Mr. Bush, was kicked out (he did not state a reason) and then returned to graduate alongside the future president. ``I knew him,'' Mr. Knowles said, offering a simple ``mmm-hmmm,'' when asked if they were friends.
He did not elaborate, but given DKE's reputation, the next question was obvious: Did they party together?
``Well, yeah,'' Mr. Knowles said, dragging out a long, uncomfortable pause. ``There were, uh, social activities.''
And with that, the taciturn former governor of Alaska tilted his head back, curled his right hand into a fist and lifted it to his lips, in a gesture that anyone, Democrat or Republican, who has ever attended a fraternity keg party would understand.
Inside Edition should be all over this guy with $even figures.
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Former AK Governor Tony Knowles is a fraternity brother of the President. Oh, the stories he could tell:
...``I had kind of a checkerboard career; I'm sure your researchers will figure it out,'' Mr. Knowles said, explaining that he started at Yale before Mr. Bush, was kicked out (he did not state a reason) and then returned to graduate alongside the future president. ``I knew him,'' Mr. Knowles said, offering a simple ``mmm-hmmm,'' when asked if they were friends.
He did not elaborate, but given DKE's reputation, the next question was obvious: Did they party together?
``Well, yeah,'' Mr. Knowles said, dragging out a long, uncomfortable pause. ``There were, uh, social activities.''
And with that, the taciturn former governor of Alaska tilted his head back, curled his right hand into a fist and lifted it to his lips, in a gesture that anyone, Democrat or Republican, who has ever attended a fraternity keg party would understand.
Inside Edition should be all over this guy with $even figures.
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More Athletes Named in Steroid Case
The names of track & field stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery have been added to the list of athletes who've allegedly received steroids. Previously named athletes included Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield & Jason Giambi.
There's a name that hasn't been mentioned yet and I pray it never is. Big Tex.
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The names of track & field stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery have been added to the list of athletes who've allegedly received steroids. Previously named athletes included Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield & Jason Giambi.
There's a name that hasn't been mentioned yet and I pray it never is. Big Tex.
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Four Iraqi Children Killed
When will this end?
BAGHDAD—ONE day after a wave of attacks that left at least 40 dead, four Iraqi children died after being shot by U.S. soldiers in Baghdad. According to hospital sources quoted by news agencies in the capital, the children were shot after the U.S. troops whose vehicle had been hit by a grenade opened fire.
The deaths of the four children come in addition to the deaths of another two Iraqis who lost their lives when missiles from an unknown source attacked the city of Mosul, in northern Iraq, leaving another 10 people injured. The two killed were officials in the city’s hospital. A total of three missiles hit the hospital – the main one in the city – the Ashur Hotel and the local radio and television building.
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When will this end?
BAGHDAD—ONE day after a wave of attacks that left at least 40 dead, four Iraqi children died after being shot by U.S. soldiers in Baghdad. According to hospital sources quoted by news agencies in the capital, the children were shot after the U.S. troops whose vehicle had been hit by a grenade opened fire.
The deaths of the four children come in addition to the deaths of another two Iraqis who lost their lives when missiles from an unknown source attacked the city of Mosul, in northern Iraq, leaving another 10 people injured. The two killed were officials in the city’s hospital. A total of three missiles hit the hospital – the main one in the city – the Ashur Hotel and the local radio and television building.
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Definition
Fas•cism: A political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.
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Fas•cism: A political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.
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Tony Blair in Deep Trouble
OfficialPoll: 79% say Blair should go now:
LONDON, ENGLAND -- 04/26/04 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing growing skepticism over his ability to lead his country. Clearly he has lost considerable political capital following his government's reversal over the EU referendum, and the manner in which that policy change was handled. Many within his own party and scores of British voters are beginning to question Blair's ability to lead the party and country going forward.
According to a former Labour Party leader, Neil Kinnock, Blair may quit the UK's top job after holding a referendum on the European constitution.
Speaking to the BBC, Kinnock is the first senior party official to speculate about the PM's long-term political future...
Amazing what can happen when the people are informed.
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OfficialPoll: 79% say Blair should go now:
LONDON, ENGLAND -- 04/26/04 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing growing skepticism over his ability to lead his country. Clearly he has lost considerable political capital following his government's reversal over the EU referendum, and the manner in which that policy change was handled. Many within his own party and scores of British voters are beginning to question Blair's ability to lead the party and country going forward.
According to a former Labour Party leader, Neil Kinnock, Blair may quit the UK's top job after holding a referendum on the European constitution.
Speaking to the BBC, Kinnock is the first senior party official to speculate about the PM's long-term political future...
Amazing what can happen when the people are informed.
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Scott Ritter Delivers the Truth
In a speech this past Wednesday the former chief weapons inspector had some unflattering things to say about the War in Iraq:
Former chief weapons inspector to Iraq Scott Ritter said Wednesday that President Bush created an extremely turbulent situation in Iraq.
“President Bush poses the greatest threat to America that we have seen in modern history,” Ritter told an audience in the University Union's Potomac Lounge.
Though his accusations were extreme, Ritter— an unabashedly conservative Republican—argued they are not unfounded.
Ritter, a former intelligence officer for the US Marine Corps who served as the UN's Chief Weapons Inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, said the U.S. government “brought us into this war on false pretenses.”
Although the Bush administration says it is looking for weapons of mass destruction, Ritter explained, the government has a hidden agenda.
“Our real policy has been regime change,” Ritter said. “Our plan was to dethrone Saddam, not to find weapons of mass destruction.”...
I guess the question now is who isn't saying these things? (BushCo excluded)
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In a speech this past Wednesday the former chief weapons inspector had some unflattering things to say about the War in Iraq:
Former chief weapons inspector to Iraq Scott Ritter said Wednesday that President Bush created an extremely turbulent situation in Iraq.
“President Bush poses the greatest threat to America that we have seen in modern history,” Ritter told an audience in the University Union's Potomac Lounge.
Though his accusations were extreme, Ritter— an unabashedly conservative Republican—argued they are not unfounded.
Ritter, a former intelligence officer for the US Marine Corps who served as the UN's Chief Weapons Inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, said the U.S. government “brought us into this war on false pretenses.”
Although the Bush administration says it is looking for weapons of mass destruction, Ritter explained, the government has a hidden agenda.
“Our real policy has been regime change,” Ritter said. “Our plan was to dethrone Saddam, not to find weapons of mass destruction.”...
I guess the question now is who isn't saying these things? (BushCo excluded)
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Sunday, April 25, 2004
The March
I was at the store a little earlier and saw a couple of women wearing pins from the March for Reproductive Rights in Washington, DC. I asked how many people were there and they heard the number was 1.1 Million. They called it, "The Largest March in the History of the United States."
Regardless of what the media says, that's good enough for me.
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I was at the store a little earlier and saw a couple of women wearing pins from the March for Reproductive Rights in Washington, DC. I asked how many people were there and they heard the number was 1.1 Million. They called it, "The Largest March in the History of the United States."
Regardless of what the media says, that's good enough for me.
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FUBAR has a website!
I didn't realize the Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority had a website.
From the homepage:
"You could take the path which leads to a new Iraq, a peaceful, democratic Iraq, an Iraq of political freedom and economic opportunity, an Iraq where the majority is not Sunni, Shia, Arab, Kurd or Turcoman, but Iraqi. This is the path to a bright and hopeful future. Or you could take the path which leads to the dark Iraq of the past where violence and fear rule, where power comes from a gun, and where only the powerful and ruthless are secure."
With these words, Amb. Paul Bremer offered the Iraqi people the essential choice. In a speech delivered on April 23rd, he told the people of Iraq that the choice was theirs to make. On June 30th, Iraqis will be fully sovereign over their nation and the choice will be theirs to make.
Propaganda extraordinaire.
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I didn't realize the Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority had a website.
From the homepage:
"You could take the path which leads to a new Iraq, a peaceful, democratic Iraq, an Iraq of political freedom and economic opportunity, an Iraq where the majority is not Sunni, Shia, Arab, Kurd or Turcoman, but Iraqi. This is the path to a bright and hopeful future. Or you could take the path which leads to the dark Iraq of the past where violence and fear rule, where power comes from a gun, and where only the powerful and ruthless are secure."
With these words, Amb. Paul Bremer offered the Iraqi people the essential choice. In a speech delivered on April 23rd, he told the people of Iraq that the choice was theirs to make. On June 30th, Iraqis will be fully sovereign over their nation and the choice will be theirs to make.
Propaganda extraordinaire.
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Karen Hughes Equates Abortion Rights and Terrorsism
This lady is a piece of work:
..."'I think that after September 11, the American people are valuing life more and we need policies to value the dignity and worth of every life,' she said. 'President Bush has worked to say, let's be reasonable, let's work to value life, let's reduce the number of abortions, let's increase adoptions. And I think those are the kinds of policies the American people can support, particularly at a time when we're facing an enemy and, really, the fundamental issue between us and the terror network we fight is that we value every life.'"
Go to Amazon and write a "review" of her book.
Thanks to Kos for the heads up.
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This lady is a piece of work:
..."'I think that after September 11, the American people are valuing life more and we need policies to value the dignity and worth of every life,' she said. 'President Bush has worked to say, let's be reasonable, let's work to value life, let's reduce the number of abortions, let's increase adoptions. And I think those are the kinds of policies the American people can support, particularly at a time when we're facing an enemy and, really, the fundamental issue between us and the terror network we fight is that we value every life.'"
Go to Amazon and write a "review" of her book.
Thanks to Kos for the heads up.
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Saturday, April 24, 2004
Encouraging Sign
Voting panel recommending that CA do the right thing and not use Diebold touch-screen voting machines:
SACRAMENTO — California should ban the use of 15,000 touch-screen voting machines made by Diebold Election Systems from the Nov. 2 general election, an advisory panel to Secretary of State Kevin Shelley recommended Thursday.
By an 8-0 vote, the state's Voting Systems and Procedures Panel recommended that Shelley cease the use of the machines, saying that Texas-based Diebold has performed poorly in California and its machines malfunctioned in the state's March 2 primary election, turning away many voters in San Diego County
(...)
Panel member Marc Carrel, an assistant secretary of state, said he was "disgusted" by Diebold, which has "been jerking us around." The company, he said, has disenfranchised voters in California and undermined confidence in the new and developing technology of touch-screen voting...
(...)
The secretary of state's investigative report of the March 2 elections found that 573 of 1,038 polling places in San Diego County failed to open on time because Diebold voting machines malfunctioned. Voters were told to come back later or try voting at the county's elections headquarters.
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Voting panel recommending that CA do the right thing and not use Diebold touch-screen voting machines:
SACRAMENTO — California should ban the use of 15,000 touch-screen voting machines made by Diebold Election Systems from the Nov. 2 general election, an advisory panel to Secretary of State Kevin Shelley recommended Thursday.
By an 8-0 vote, the state's Voting Systems and Procedures Panel recommended that Shelley cease the use of the machines, saying that Texas-based Diebold has performed poorly in California and its machines malfunctioned in the state's March 2 primary election, turning away many voters in San Diego County
(...)
Panel member Marc Carrel, an assistant secretary of state, said he was "disgusted" by Diebold, which has "been jerking us around." The company, he said, has disenfranchised voters in California and undermined confidence in the new and developing technology of touch-screen voting...
(...)
The secretary of state's investigative report of the March 2 elections found that 573 of 1,038 polling places in San Diego County failed to open on time because Diebold voting machines malfunctioned. Voters were told to come back later or try voting at the county's elections headquarters.
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Our Heroes
We know how the Bush Administration feels about publishing the photos of our returning fallen soldiers:
..."'America knows full well that our men and women are serving and serving brilliantly both in Iraq and around the world. ... America is aware this is a war against terrorism,' Bush spokesman Trent Duffy said. But, he said, 'The message is, the sensitivity and privacy of families of the fallen must be the first priority.'"...
But it isn't their children being shipped home in flag-draped boxes.
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We know how the Bush Administration feels about publishing the photos of our returning fallen soldiers:
..."'America knows full well that our men and women are serving and serving brilliantly both in Iraq and around the world. ... America is aware this is a war against terrorism,' Bush spokesman Trent Duffy said. But, he said, 'The message is, the sensitivity and privacy of families of the fallen must be the first priority.'"...
But it isn't their children being shipped home in flag-draped boxes.
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Friday, April 23, 2004
Pat Tillman
I remember reading this 1997 article in Sports Illustrated. I'm happy they reposted it:
"As a senior safety-tailback-kick returner at Leland High in San Jose, Tillman so detested leaving the field that once, after his coach pulled the starters at halftime of a first-round playoff romp, he took the field for the second-half kickoff and ran it back for a touchdown. The coach, Terry Hardtke, confiscated Tillman's helmet and shoulder pads and put them under a bench lest Tillman get the urge to score again. One month later, on his recruiting visit to Arizona State, one of three Division I-A schools willing to risk a scholarship on a 5'11', 195-pounder classified by many college coaches as a too-slow, too-small tweener, Tillman was asked by Sun Devils coach Bruce Snyder what he thought of the recruiting process. 'It stinks,' Tillman shot back. 'Nobody tells the truth.'
Taken aback, Snyder filed the comment away. He remembered it the following August when he sat Tillman down to discuss--as he does with all freshmen -- the concept of redshirting. 'I'm not redshirting,' Tillman said. 'I've got things to do with my life. You can do whatever you want with me, but in four years, I'm gone.' Snyder thought, This kid is different."
Pat Tillman was always a man. He died at the age of 27.
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I remember reading this 1997 article in Sports Illustrated. I'm happy they reposted it:
"As a senior safety-tailback-kick returner at Leland High in San Jose, Tillman so detested leaving the field that once, after his coach pulled the starters at halftime of a first-round playoff romp, he took the field for the second-half kickoff and ran it back for a touchdown. The coach, Terry Hardtke, confiscated Tillman's helmet and shoulder pads and put them under a bench lest Tillman get the urge to score again. One month later, on his recruiting visit to Arizona State, one of three Division I-A schools willing to risk a scholarship on a 5'11', 195-pounder classified by many college coaches as a too-slow, too-small tweener, Tillman was asked by Sun Devils coach Bruce Snyder what he thought of the recruiting process. 'It stinks,' Tillman shot back. 'Nobody tells the truth.'
Taken aback, Snyder filed the comment away. He remembered it the following August when he sat Tillman down to discuss--as he does with all freshmen -- the concept of redshirting. 'I'm not redshirting,' Tillman said. 'I've got things to do with my life. You can do whatever you want with me, but in four years, I'm gone.' Snyder thought, This kid is different."
Pat Tillman was always a man. He died at the age of 27.
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Pat Tillman Killed
Former NFL player Pat Tillman was just killed in Afghanistan. Tillman turned down a multi-million dollar contract last year to represent his country. Voluntarily.
A true patriot. More soon.
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Former NFL player Pat Tillman was just killed in Afghanistan. Tillman turned down a multi-million dollar contract last year to represent his country. Voluntarily.
A true patriot. More soon.
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Krugman
Must read.
..."More important, the 'Marketplace' report confirms what is being widely reported: that the common view in Iraq is that members of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council are using their positions to enrich themselves, and that U.S. companies are doing the same. President Bush's idealistic language may be persuasive to Americans, but many Iraqis see U.S. forces as there to back a corrupt regime, not democracy"
Now what? There's a growing sense of foreboding, even panic, about Iraq among national security experts. "This is an extremely uncertain struggle," says Mr. Cordesman, who, to his credit, also says the unsayable: we may not be able to "stay the course." But yesterday Condoleezza Rice gave Republican lawmakers what Senator Rick Santorum called "a very upbeat report."
That's very bad news. The mess in Iraq was created by officials who believed what they wanted to believe, and ignored awkward facts. It seems they have learned nothing.
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Must read.
..."More important, the 'Marketplace' report confirms what is being widely reported: that the common view in Iraq is that members of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council are using their positions to enrich themselves, and that U.S. companies are doing the same. President Bush's idealistic language may be persuasive to Americans, but many Iraqis see U.S. forces as there to back a corrupt regime, not democracy"
Now what? There's a growing sense of foreboding, even panic, about Iraq among national security experts. "This is an extremely uncertain struggle," says Mr. Cordesman, who, to his credit, also says the unsayable: we may not be able to "stay the course." But yesterday Condoleezza Rice gave Republican lawmakers what Senator Rick Santorum called "a very upbeat report."
That's very bad news. The mess in Iraq was created by officials who believed what they wanted to believe, and ignored awkward facts. It seems they have learned nothing.
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Thursday, April 22, 2004
GOP Congessmen angry at WH
It turns out the White House is playing politics with (much needed) funding for Iraq. This is my favorite quote:
Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., said the Army had told his subcommittee that it had nearly $6 billion in unfunded budget requests. "I think the budget request that is provided to us is short-sighted and, in the case of the Army, I think it is outrageous," Weldon said.
And that's a Republican speaking.
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It turns out the White House is playing politics with (much needed) funding for Iraq. This is my favorite quote:
Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., said the Army had told his subcommittee that it had nearly $6 billion in unfunded budget requests. "I think the budget request that is provided to us is short-sighted and, in the case of the Army, I think it is outrageous," Weldon said.
And that's a Republican speaking.
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Voting Problems Still Unsolved
The problems of the 2000 Presidential election are far from being solved according to a new study from the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights. Some details:
...The commission's criticisms focused on the failure to implement President George Bush's Help America Vote Act (Hava), passed in October 2002, which promised $4bn (£2.3bn) to help states overhaul antiquated voting machinery - notably the notorious punchcard devices that caused so much trouble in Florida - and sought to set up a nationwide system of provisional voting for people who believe they have a right to vote but find themselves omitted from the official list.
(...)
Almost half of the states have requested exemptions from updating their voting equipment, and 41 out of 50 have requested extensions until 2006 to consolidate voter registration lists at state level so they can more easily be checked for accuracy. "It will be difficult if not impossible for states to build the necessary election infrastructure by November," it concluded.
The commission report can only heighten the anxieties of an electorate already alarmed by a growing controversy over touchscreen voting machines being introduced - with Hava money - in many parts of the South and West. The machines make meaningful recounts impossible and rely on software developed by companies with strong ties to President Bush and his Republican Party. California is expected to decide this week whether to decertify its touchscreen machines.
The debate over the health of America's electoral procedures is turning into a partisan fight, with Republicans dismissing the concerns as Democratic politicking unworthy of serious examination. When the Commission on Civil Rights convened an expert panel in Washington this month to discuss its report, the Republican Party delegation walked out before the proceedings began, one panel participant, Rebecca Mercuri, a Harvard University voting machinery expert, said.
Perhaps I'm just wasting my breath here, going on about the direction our country is headed. What if the "electoral process" is a sham and Diebold has voting machines in States that will swing the election to Bush, regardless of actual ballot counts? I keep telling myself that there is no conspiracy that big. And then I read this and feel helpless again.
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The problems of the 2000 Presidential election are far from being solved according to a new study from the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights. Some details:
...The commission's criticisms focused on the failure to implement President George Bush's Help America Vote Act (Hava), passed in October 2002, which promised $4bn (£2.3bn) to help states overhaul antiquated voting machinery - notably the notorious punchcard devices that caused so much trouble in Florida - and sought to set up a nationwide system of provisional voting for people who believe they have a right to vote but find themselves omitted from the official list.
(...)
Almost half of the states have requested exemptions from updating their voting equipment, and 41 out of 50 have requested extensions until 2006 to consolidate voter registration lists at state level so they can more easily be checked for accuracy. "It will be difficult if not impossible for states to build the necessary election infrastructure by November," it concluded.
The commission report can only heighten the anxieties of an electorate already alarmed by a growing controversy over touchscreen voting machines being introduced - with Hava money - in many parts of the South and West. The machines make meaningful recounts impossible and rely on software developed by companies with strong ties to President Bush and his Republican Party. California is expected to decide this week whether to decertify its touchscreen machines.
The debate over the health of America's electoral procedures is turning into a partisan fight, with Republicans dismissing the concerns as Democratic politicking unworthy of serious examination. When the Commission on Civil Rights convened an expert panel in Washington this month to discuss its report, the Republican Party delegation walked out before the proceedings began, one panel participant, Rebecca Mercuri, a Harvard University voting machinery expert, said.
Perhaps I'm just wasting my breath here, going on about the direction our country is headed. What if the "electoral process" is a sham and Diebold has voting machines in States that will swing the election to Bush, regardless of actual ballot counts? I keep telling myself that there is no conspiracy that big. And then I read this and feel helpless again.
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Bush: Iran Will be Dealt With
From today's WaPo:
"President Bush told newspaper editors in Washington yesterday that Iran 'will be dealt with, starting through the United Nations' if it does not stop developing nuclear weapons and begin total cooperation with international inspectors.
Bush said he will encourage allies to insist to the Iranians that they live up to commitments to cooperate with U.N. inspectors and end any enriching and reprocessing of uranium.
'The Iranians need to feel the pressure from the world that any nuclear weapons program will be uniformly condemned -- it's essential that they hear that message,' he said. 'The development of a nuclear weapon in Iran is intolerable, and a program is intolerable. . . . Otherwise, they will be dealt with, starting through the United Nations.' "...
"Nucular" weapons. Check.
Cooperation with inspectors. Check.
Outside pressure. Check.
Sound familiar? When I read stuff like this I want to print and save it. It would be nice to refer to it after we go to war with Iran and we find that their weapons cache is as fortified as Iraq's.
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From today's WaPo:
"President Bush told newspaper editors in Washington yesterday that Iran 'will be dealt with, starting through the United Nations' if it does not stop developing nuclear weapons and begin total cooperation with international inspectors.
Bush said he will encourage allies to insist to the Iranians that they live up to commitments to cooperate with U.N. inspectors and end any enriching and reprocessing of uranium.
'The Iranians need to feel the pressure from the world that any nuclear weapons program will be uniformly condemned -- it's essential that they hear that message,' he said. 'The development of a nuclear weapon in Iran is intolerable, and a program is intolerable. . . . Otherwise, they will be dealt with, starting through the United Nations.' "...
"Nucular" weapons. Check.
Cooperation with inspectors. Check.
Outside pressure. Check.
Sound familiar? When I read stuff like this I want to print and save it. It would be nice to refer to it after we go to war with Iran and we find that their weapons cache is as fortified as Iraq's.
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Earth Day
Our President has a habit of bowing to big business at the expense of the environment and our natural resources. Here's a list of his 2004 "accomplishments", to date. Courtesy of the National Resources Defense Council:
April
Bush budget cuts lead poisoning prevention funding (04/11/04)
White House altered scientific findings on mercury threat (04/07/04)
Pentagon again seeking immunity from environmental laws (04/06/04)
Investigator resigns in protest over Interior's cheating Native Americans out of energy royalties (04/06/04)
Mining company gets price break on federal land (04/02/04)
March
Court orders Energy Department to release more Cheney task force records (03/31/04)
EPA chief Leavitt failing to lay down the law (03/31/04)
Yellowstone bison slaughtered to please ranchers (03/31/04)
EPA letting Clean Water Act violators off the hook (03/30/04)
EPA uses utility company memos to craft controversial mercury policy (03/30/04)
Interior Dept. defends loosening of ESA import ban (03/29/04)
Montreal Protocol shirked for U.S. pesticide interests (03/26/04)
Army Corps bends to pressure on Missouri River (03/26/04)
February
More drilling slated for Padre Island (02/27/04)
DOE holds nuke cleanup funds hostage (02/26/04)
More industry materials borrowed by EPA for its mercury rule (02/26/04)
Missouri River management plan ignores fish protections (02/26/04)
Fish and Wildlife Service gives sucker fish a break (02/25/04)
Bush cuts funding for endangered species (02/25/04)
Federal mining whistleblower silenced, demoted (02/24/04)
Get the lead out: EPA fails to protect D.C. drinking water (02/23/04)
January
EPA's mercury pollution plan mirrors industry's recommendations (01/30/04)
Bush administration leaves nuclear plant safety up to contractors (01/29/04)
Energy Department promoting carbon sequestration (01/27/04)
White House wants to let EPA ignore pesticide consultations (01/27/04)
EPA touts new, cleaner cars (01/26/04)
White House offers small funding boost for Northwest salmon recovery (01/26/04)
Forest Service to boost logging in Appalachian forests (01/23/04)
Forest Service drops "survey and manage" rule for loggers (01/23/04)
Links for all of these atrocities at the NRDC web site.
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Our President has a habit of bowing to big business at the expense of the environment and our natural resources. Here's a list of his 2004 "accomplishments", to date. Courtesy of the National Resources Defense Council:
April
Bush budget cuts lead poisoning prevention funding (04/11/04)
White House altered scientific findings on mercury threat (04/07/04)
Pentagon again seeking immunity from environmental laws (04/06/04)
Investigator resigns in protest over Interior's cheating Native Americans out of energy royalties (04/06/04)
Mining company gets price break on federal land (04/02/04)
March
Court orders Energy Department to release more Cheney task force records (03/31/04)
EPA chief Leavitt failing to lay down the law (03/31/04)
Yellowstone bison slaughtered to please ranchers (03/31/04)
EPA letting Clean Water Act violators off the hook (03/30/04)
EPA uses utility company memos to craft controversial mercury policy (03/30/04)
Interior Dept. defends loosening of ESA import ban (03/29/04)
Montreal Protocol shirked for U.S. pesticide interests (03/26/04)
Army Corps bends to pressure on Missouri River (03/26/04)
February
More drilling slated for Padre Island (02/27/04)
DOE holds nuke cleanup funds hostage (02/26/04)
More industry materials borrowed by EPA for its mercury rule (02/26/04)
Missouri River management plan ignores fish protections (02/26/04)
Fish and Wildlife Service gives sucker fish a break (02/25/04)
Bush cuts funding for endangered species (02/25/04)
Federal mining whistleblower silenced, demoted (02/24/04)
Get the lead out: EPA fails to protect D.C. drinking water (02/23/04)
January
EPA's mercury pollution plan mirrors industry's recommendations (01/30/04)
Bush administration leaves nuclear plant safety up to contractors (01/29/04)
Energy Department promoting carbon sequestration (01/27/04)
White House wants to let EPA ignore pesticide consultations (01/27/04)
EPA touts new, cleaner cars (01/26/04)
White House offers small funding boost for Northwest salmon recovery (01/26/04)
Forest Service to boost logging in Appalachian forests (01/23/04)
Forest Service drops "survey and manage" rule for loggers (01/23/04)
Links for all of these atrocities at the NRDC web site.
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Pentagon Deleted Rumsfeld Comment on Web Site
From today's Washington Post. Page A-1:
The Pentagon deleted from a public transcript a statement Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld made to author Bob Woodward suggesting that the administration gave Saudi Arabia a two-month heads-up that President Bush had decided to invade Iraq.
At issue was a passage in Woodward's "Plan of Attack," an account published this week of Bush's decision making about the war, quoting Rumsfeld as telling Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, in January 2003 that he could "take that to the bank" that the invasion would happen.
The comment came in a key moment in the run-up to the war, when Rumsfeld and other officials were briefing Bandar on a military plan to attack and invade Iraq, and pointing to a top-secret map that showed how the war plan would unfold. The book reports that the meeting with Bandar was held on Jan. 11, 2003, in Vice President Cheney's West Wing office. Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also attended.
I think someone may be trying to hide the truth.
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From today's Washington Post. Page A-1:
The Pentagon deleted from a public transcript a statement Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld made to author Bob Woodward suggesting that the administration gave Saudi Arabia a two-month heads-up that President Bush had decided to invade Iraq.
At issue was a passage in Woodward's "Plan of Attack," an account published this week of Bush's decision making about the war, quoting Rumsfeld as telling Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, in January 2003 that he could "take that to the bank" that the invasion would happen.
The comment came in a key moment in the run-up to the war, when Rumsfeld and other officials were briefing Bandar on a military plan to attack and invade Iraq, and pointing to a top-secret map that showed how the war plan would unfold. The book reports that the meeting with Bandar was held on Jan. 11, 2003, in Vice President Cheney's West Wing office. Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also attended.
I think someone may be trying to hide the truth.
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Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Krugman on Air America Radio
A nice quote from Scoobie Davis Online:
I heard the Paul Krugman interview on Air America’s Morning Sedition last week. A caller asked Krugman why Clinton was investigated from the begining of his presidency to the end and George W. Bush has received little scrutiny. Krugman summed it up succinctly:
The short answer is “Yes Virginia, there is a vast right wing conspiracy.”
[Laughter from hosts]
The Clinton scandals--none of them, except for Monica—was there anything to it. And it was this constant era of scandal that was fomented by a network of think tanks, publications—of which were funded by a handful of angry and personally dysfunctional billionaires. And that’s basically what happened and the media fell for it and continue to circulate it. . . So that’s what happened to Clinton and the same machinery is now turned not against the man in the White House but against anyone who criticizes the man in the White House and that’s the big difference between the two."
Doesn't that make you feel better? Me neither.
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A nice quote from Scoobie Davis Online:
I heard the Paul Krugman interview on Air America’s Morning Sedition last week. A caller asked Krugman why Clinton was investigated from the begining of his presidency to the end and George W. Bush has received little scrutiny. Krugman summed it up succinctly:
The short answer is “Yes Virginia, there is a vast right wing conspiracy.”
[Laughter from hosts]
The Clinton scandals--none of them, except for Monica—was there anything to it. And it was this constant era of scandal that was fomented by a network of think tanks, publications—of which were funded by a handful of angry and personally dysfunctional billionaires. And that’s basically what happened and the media fell for it and continue to circulate it. . . So that’s what happened to Clinton and the same machinery is now turned not against the man in the White House but against anyone who criticizes the man in the White House and that’s the big difference between the two."
Doesn't that make you feel better? Me neither.
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Military Record: Kerry vs. Bush
And the GOP wants to raise this issue? Excellent comparison by Kos.
I think we haven't heard the last of W's military "career".
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And the GOP wants to raise this issue? Excellent comparison by Kos.
I think we haven't heard the last of W's military "career".
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Bush Speech
Through the power of the internet, you can now do your own Bush TV address at this web site. Fun for the whole family.
Until the RNC shuts it down.
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Through the power of the internet, you can now do your own Bush TV address at this web site. Fun for the whole family.
Until the RNC shuts it down.
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Poland is Next
Spain, Honduras and the Dominican Republic have signalled they will withdraw their troops from Iraq within the coming month. Next is Poland:
A senior adviser to the Polish government confirmed to The Irish Times that Warsaw's decision had been influenced by the Spanish move. "Given the circumstances [in Iraq], we will probably diminish significantly the forces at the end of 2004," said Prof Tadeusz Iwinski, secretary of state for international affairs in the office of the prime minister.
I don't think we'll be seeing Polish President, Mr Aleksander Kwasniewski in Crawford anytime soon.
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Spain, Honduras and the Dominican Republic have signalled they will withdraw their troops from Iraq within the coming month. Next is Poland:
A senior adviser to the Polish government confirmed to The Irish Times that Warsaw's decision had been influenced by the Spanish move. "Given the circumstances [in Iraq], we will probably diminish significantly the forces at the end of 2004," said Prof Tadeusz Iwinski, secretary of state for international affairs in the office of the prime minister.
I don't think we'll be seeing Polish President, Mr Aleksander Kwasniewski in Crawford anytime soon.
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Nancy Pelosi Goes on the Offensive
Hopefully we have more than just a Minority Leader here:
“The Bush administration has gone about the transfer of sovereignty precisely backward. Instead of fostering a legitimate government and choosing a date to transfer sovereignty, the administration picked a date off the calendar without any idea who the new government would be,” according to an advance copy of the speech.
Elsewhere, her indictment will be more explicit in its criticism of Bush.
“It is ironic that in a nation obsessed with reality television, we have a president who is increasingly divorced from reality. The president’s resolve may be firm, but his lack of an effective plan for Iraq’s security and stability has been fatal,” Pelosi will say.
Pelosi’s concerns seemed to be widespread in the caucus, and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) also stepped up his criticism in response to the April casualties.
“There were 87 deaths in the first 15 days of the month, which as of April 20 is 101,” Hoyer told reporters.
He added, “As someone who supported the mission, and still believes the mission is a positive one, I have been very disappointed with the management by this administration of this effort from the fall, when General Shinseki indicated he needed to maintain at least 200,000 troops. There is no doubt that he was correct.”
Is anyone listening?
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Hopefully we have more than just a Minority Leader here:
“The Bush administration has gone about the transfer of sovereignty precisely backward. Instead of fostering a legitimate government and choosing a date to transfer sovereignty, the administration picked a date off the calendar without any idea who the new government would be,” according to an advance copy of the speech.
Elsewhere, her indictment will be more explicit in its criticism of Bush.
“It is ironic that in a nation obsessed with reality television, we have a president who is increasingly divorced from reality. The president’s resolve may be firm, but his lack of an effective plan for Iraq’s security and stability has been fatal,” Pelosi will say.
Pelosi’s concerns seemed to be widespread in the caucus, and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) also stepped up his criticism in response to the April casualties.
“There were 87 deaths in the first 15 days of the month, which as of April 20 is 101,” Hoyer told reporters.
He added, “As someone who supported the mission, and still believes the mission is a positive one, I have been very disappointed with the management by this administration of this effort from the fall, when General Shinseki indicated he needed to maintain at least 200,000 troops. There is no doubt that he was correct.”
Is anyone listening?
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Tuesday, April 20, 2004
One Way to Clear a Room
What turned out to be the last question at today's Gaggle:
Question: Scott, Senator McCain is calling for congressional hearings on the $700 million that Woodward alleges was diverted from Afghanistan to Iraq. What's your position on hearings?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think the Department of Defense briefed on that yesterday, and pointed out that that simply was not the case. Congress was kept informed and the funding, the emergency funding from the -- the emergency funding gave the Pentagon broad discretion in how funds were used. And they also pointed out that the funding specifically for Iraq came after the resolution that Congress passed. And Congress was kept fully informed of the funding.
We've got to go. Thanks.
Hold that thought. We'll evade it tomorrow.
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What turned out to be the last question at today's Gaggle:
Question: Scott, Senator McCain is calling for congressional hearings on the $700 million that Woodward alleges was diverted from Afghanistan to Iraq. What's your position on hearings?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think the Department of Defense briefed on that yesterday, and pointed out that that simply was not the case. Congress was kept informed and the funding, the emergency funding from the -- the emergency funding gave the Pentagon broad discretion in how funds were used. And they also pointed out that the funding specifically for Iraq came after the resolution that Congress passed. And Congress was kept fully informed of the funding.
We've got to go. Thanks.
Hold that thought. We'll evade it tomorrow.
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April is the Bloodiest Month
We suffered April's 100th U.S. Combat Death today.
That's an average of five a day if you're scoring at home.
From the President's Prime Time Press Conference:
Question: After 9/11, what would your biggest mistake be, would you say, and what lessons have you learned from it?
President Bush: I wish you would have given me this written question ahead of time, so I could plan for it. (Laughter.) John, I'm sure historians will look back and say, gosh, he could have done it better this way, or that way. You know, I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn't yet.
I would have gone into Afghanistan the way we went into Afghanistan. Even knowing what I know today about the stockpiles of weapons, I still would have called upon the world to deal with Saddam Hussein. See, I happen to believe that we'll find out the truth on the weapons. That's why we've sent up the independent commission. I look forward to hearing the truth, exactly where they are. They could still be there. They could be hidden, like the 50 tons of mustard gas in a turkey farm.
I think we should try to vote the President out of office.
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We suffered April's 100th U.S. Combat Death today.
That's an average of five a day if you're scoring at home.
From the President's Prime Time Press Conference:
Question: After 9/11, what would your biggest mistake be, would you say, and what lessons have you learned from it?
President Bush: I wish you would have given me this written question ahead of time, so I could plan for it. (Laughter.) John, I'm sure historians will look back and say, gosh, he could have done it better this way, or that way. You know, I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn't yet.
I would have gone into Afghanistan the way we went into Afghanistan. Even knowing what I know today about the stockpiles of weapons, I still would have called upon the world to deal with Saddam Hussein. See, I happen to believe that we'll find out the truth on the weapons. That's why we've sent up the independent commission. I look forward to hearing the truth, exactly where they are. They could still be there. They could be hidden, like the 50 tons of mustard gas in a turkey farm.
I think we should try to vote the President out of office.
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Ominous
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak speaks plainly::
..."Today there is hatred of the Americans like never before in the region," he said in an interview given during a stay in France, where he met President Jacques Chirac Monday.
He blamed the hostility partly on U.S. support for Israel, which assassinated Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi in a missile strike in the Gaza Strip Saturday weeks after killing his predecessor, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
"At the start some considered the Americans were helping them. There was no hatred of the Americans. After what has happened in Iraq, there is unprecedented hatred and the Americans know it," Mubarak said.
"People have a feeling of injustice. What's more, they see (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon acting as he pleases, without the Americans saying anything. He assassinates people who don't have the planes and helicopters that he has."
Should we be surprised?
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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak speaks plainly::
..."Today there is hatred of the Americans like never before in the region," he said in an interview given during a stay in France, where he met President Jacques Chirac Monday.
He blamed the hostility partly on U.S. support for Israel, which assassinated Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi in a missile strike in the Gaza Strip Saturday weeks after killing his predecessor, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
"At the start some considered the Americans were helping them. There was no hatred of the Americans. After what has happened in Iraq, there is unprecedented hatred and the Americans know it," Mubarak said.
"People have a feeling of injustice. What's more, they see (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon acting as he pleases, without the Americans saying anything. He assassinates people who don't have the planes and helicopters that he has."
Should we be surprised?
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Irony
It's funny how our foreign policies are uniting people who've hated each other for thousands of years while at the same time dividing the citizens here.
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It's funny how our foreign policies are uniting people who've hated each other for thousands of years while at the same time dividing the citizens here.
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Worst Song Ever
As determined by Blender magazine:
We Built This City by Starship
I don't know about the worst song, but it definitely gets stuck in your head if you sing a few bars.
Give it a try.
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As determined by Blender magazine:
We Built This City by Starship
I don't know about the worst song, but it definitely gets stuck in your head if you sing a few bars.
Give it a try.
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Big Series for the Phils
The World Champion Florida Marlins come to town tonight for a key early season match-up. The Phillies have lost 15 of the last 17 to the Fish and are hoping to increase their four game winning streak. Dontrelle Willis (2-0, 0.00) goes for Florida tonight, batting 1.000 for the season (6-6) against Vicente Padilla (0-1 4.91) for the Phillies. Philadelphia needs at least two from them to erase the bad memories of the stretch run last season and to avoid letting them get further into our heads. After this three-game set we don't play them again until late-July.
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The World Champion Florida Marlins come to town tonight for a key early season match-up. The Phillies have lost 15 of the last 17 to the Fish and are hoping to increase their four game winning streak. Dontrelle Willis (2-0, 0.00) goes for Florida tonight, batting 1.000 for the season (6-6) against Vicente Padilla (0-1 4.91) for the Phillies. Philadelphia needs at least two from them to erase the bad memories of the stretch run last season and to avoid letting them get further into our heads. After this three-game set we don't play them again until late-July.
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Fables of the Reconstruction
This article by Jason Vest details a memo circulated to CPA officials that is damning of the work we're now doing in Iraq.
The first two grafs:
As the situation in Iraq grows ever more tenuous, the Bush administration continues to spin the ominous news with matter-of-fact optimism. According to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Iraqi uprisings in half a dozen cities, accompanied by the deaths of more than 100 soldiers in the month of April alone, is something to be viewed in the context of "good days and bad days," merely "a moment in Iraq's path towards a free and democratic system." More recently, the president himself asserted, "Our coalition is standing with responsible Iraqi leaders as they establish growing authority in their country."
But according to a closely held Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) memo written in early March, the reality isn't so rosy. Iraq's chances of seeing democracy succeed, according to the memo's author—a U.S. government official detailed to the CPA, who wrote this summation of observations he'd made in the field for a senior CPA director—have been severely imperiled by a year's worth of serious errors on the part of the Pentagon and the CPA, the U.S.-led multinational agency administering Iraq. Far from facilitating democracy and security, the memo's author fears, U.S. efforts have created an environment rife with corruption and sectarianism likely to result in civil war.
Read the whole thing. It sounds like Civil War could be on the horizon.
UPDATE: From Kos; Rumor has it that the author is Michael Rubin, card-carryng neoconservative and "scholar" at the American Enterprise Institute. Working out of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, he is a staff adviser for Iran and Iraq and a member of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He is also an Iraq adviser for the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans.
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This article by Jason Vest details a memo circulated to CPA officials that is damning of the work we're now doing in Iraq.
The first two grafs:
As the situation in Iraq grows ever more tenuous, the Bush administration continues to spin the ominous news with matter-of-fact optimism. According to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Iraqi uprisings in half a dozen cities, accompanied by the deaths of more than 100 soldiers in the month of April alone, is something to be viewed in the context of "good days and bad days," merely "a moment in Iraq's path towards a free and democratic system." More recently, the president himself asserted, "Our coalition is standing with responsible Iraqi leaders as they establish growing authority in their country."
But according to a closely held Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) memo written in early March, the reality isn't so rosy. Iraq's chances of seeing democracy succeed, according to the memo's author—a U.S. government official detailed to the CPA, who wrote this summation of observations he'd made in the field for a senior CPA director—have been severely imperiled by a year's worth of serious errors on the part of the Pentagon and the CPA, the U.S.-led multinational agency administering Iraq. Far from facilitating democracy and security, the memo's author fears, U.S. efforts have created an environment rife with corruption and sectarianism likely to result in civil war.
Read the whole thing. It sounds like Civil War could be on the horizon.
UPDATE: From Kos; Rumor has it that the author is Michael Rubin, card-carryng neoconservative and "scholar" at the American Enterprise Institute. Working out of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, he is a staff adviser for Iran and Iraq and a member of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He is also an Iraq adviser for the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans.
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Cut 'n Run Nader
Toolbox.
"WASHINGTON - Ralph Nader, the independent presidential hopeful, called Monday for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq in six months.
Nader, who has sounded an anti-war theme since announcing his candidacy in February, laid out a three-point plan for withdrawal. He said he would:
• Create an international peacekeeping force under United Nations auspices.
• Promote Iraqi self-rule through independent elections.
• Provide humanitarian aid to stabilize the country.
``How do you separate the mainstream Iraqis from the insurgents when the mainstream Iraqis now are increasingly opposed to our presence there and increasingly, quietly or otherwise, supporting the insurgents?'' Nader asked.
``The way you do it is you declare you are getting out,'' he said."
Hey everyone! Pay attention to me! I'm running for President!
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Toolbox.
"WASHINGTON - Ralph Nader, the independent presidential hopeful, called Monday for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq in six months.
Nader, who has sounded an anti-war theme since announcing his candidacy in February, laid out a three-point plan for withdrawal. He said he would:
• Create an international peacekeeping force under United Nations auspices.
• Promote Iraqi self-rule through independent elections.
• Provide humanitarian aid to stabilize the country.
``How do you separate the mainstream Iraqis from the insurgents when the mainstream Iraqis now are increasingly opposed to our presence there and increasingly, quietly or otherwise, supporting the insurgents?'' Nader asked.
``The way you do it is you declare you are getting out,'' he said."
Hey everyone! Pay attention to me! I'm running for President!
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Shocker Coming?
From Editor and Publisher
"NEW YORK In an unusual move for the organization, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) will release what it promises will be a bombshell article related to the Iraq conflict at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday. It will be made available free of charge for publication on all AAN-member Web sites, as well as for print, and more than 60 members papers have expressed interest in using it, according to Executive Director Richard Karpel."
I'll post excerpts upon release.
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From Editor and Publisher
"NEW YORK In an unusual move for the organization, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) will release what it promises will be a bombshell article related to the Iraq conflict at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday. It will be made available free of charge for publication on all AAN-member Web sites, as well as for print, and more than 60 members papers have expressed interest in using it, according to Executive Director Richard Karpel."
I'll post excerpts upon release.
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Monday, April 19, 2004
Fantastic Combination
Dry wit and politics. Sweet!
The following is an example of art as crafted by Tom Burka at his site; Opinions You Should Have
I suspect we will.
"American Idol Viewers Vote President Off Show
Fans of the Fox television show 'American Idol' tuned in last night and voted immediately and resoundingly to bounce the President from the show.
'It was a one-note performance,' said Terry Ackerly of Dented Fender, New Mexico.
Bush performed 'Stay the Course,' but, according to some fans, was only capable of repeating the same tired phrases in a jerky, halting manner.
'Sometimes it looked like he had totally forgotten the words,' said Ackerly.
Simon Cowell was particularly harsh. 'I don't know why you think you have a chance in this business,' he told Bush, and called it 'perhaps the worst performance of Elton John I have ever witnessed.'
Randy Jackson said that he was 'disappointed' but that 'the vocals weren't there,' and added that the President 'didn't connect with him.' Paula Abdul told the President that 'she really liked his tie,' but that sometimes he was 'awfully smirky and a little pitchy.'
'You could be fresher and more sincere,' said Abdul."
Go take a look and concentrate on not horking your beverage all over your keyboard.
Thanks to tbogg for pointing us in this direction.
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Dry wit and politics. Sweet!
The following is an example of art as crafted by Tom Burka at his site; Opinions You Should Have
I suspect we will.
"American Idol Viewers Vote President Off Show
Fans of the Fox television show 'American Idol' tuned in last night and voted immediately and resoundingly to bounce the President from the show.
'It was a one-note performance,' said Terry Ackerly of Dented Fender, New Mexico.
Bush performed 'Stay the Course,' but, according to some fans, was only capable of repeating the same tired phrases in a jerky, halting manner.
'Sometimes it looked like he had totally forgotten the words,' said Ackerly.
Simon Cowell was particularly harsh. 'I don't know why you think you have a chance in this business,' he told Bush, and called it 'perhaps the worst performance of Elton John I have ever witnessed.'
Randy Jackson said that he was 'disappointed' but that 'the vocals weren't there,' and added that the President 'didn't connect with him.' Paula Abdul told the President that 'she really liked his tie,' but that sometimes he was 'awfully smirky and a little pitchy.'
'You could be fresher and more sincere,' said Abdul."
Go take a look and concentrate on not horking your beverage all over your keyboard.
Thanks to tbogg for pointing us in this direction.
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Blair's Not Toeing the Company Line
If he's not careful, he won't get any more trips to Crawford:
"Tony Blair distanced himself from Washington yesterday by pointedly condemning the Israeli assassination of the Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantissi, at the weekend.
George Bush's administration refused to criticise the killing and said Israel had a right of self-defence.
Mr Blair told parliament: 'We condemn the targeted assassination of Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al Rantissi just as we condemn all terrorism including that perpetrated by Hamas.' While Mr Blair in the past has been quick to condemn Palestinian suicide bombings against Israel, he has been less ready to criticise action against Palestinians.
What makes Mr Blair's intervention even more stark is that it is made on behalf of the leader of an organisation that has launched hundreds of suicide attacks against Israel over the last four years."
Mr Blair could easily have opted, as he has done in the past, to have left the criticism to the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, who at the weekend condemned the assassination.
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If he's not careful, he won't get any more trips to Crawford:
"Tony Blair distanced himself from Washington yesterday by pointedly condemning the Israeli assassination of the Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantissi, at the weekend.
George Bush's administration refused to criticise the killing and said Israel had a right of self-defence.
Mr Blair told parliament: 'We condemn the targeted assassination of Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al Rantissi just as we condemn all terrorism including that perpetrated by Hamas.' While Mr Blair in the past has been quick to condemn Palestinian suicide bombings against Israel, he has been less ready to criticise action against Palestinians.
What makes Mr Blair's intervention even more stark is that it is made on behalf of the leader of an organisation that has launched hundreds of suicide attacks against Israel over the last four years."
Mr Blair could easily have opted, as he has done in the past, to have left the criticism to the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, who at the weekend condemned the assassination.
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When Did They Plan for War?
Josh Marshall's got himself a source:
"When Centcom planners were tasked with preparing to seize Iraq's southern oilfields they took the existing plan for an all-out invasion and essentially whittled it down, since conquering southern Iraq was a smaller version of what would be needed to conquer the entire country.
The chatter around Centcom at the time was this gambit was being pushed by Wolfowitz and was not necessarily done on the say-so of the White House.
How do I know this? From a highly credible source with first-hand knowledge."
Read the entire post, and the one previous to it regarding Saudi Arabia (via the Scotty Shuffle.)
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Josh Marshall's got himself a source:
"When Centcom planners were tasked with preparing to seize Iraq's southern oilfields they took the existing plan for an all-out invasion and essentially whittled it down, since conquering southern Iraq was a smaller version of what would be needed to conquer the entire country.
The chatter around Centcom at the time was this gambit was being pushed by Wolfowitz and was not necessarily done on the say-so of the White House.
How do I know this? From a highly credible source with first-hand knowledge."
Read the entire post, and the one previous to it regarding Saudi Arabia (via the Scotty Shuffle.)
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Australia's Possible Next PM is "Hip"
Labor Party Leader Mark Latham is looking to unseat Bush ally John Howard by appealing to Australia's younger folks:
"Youth of Australia, Labor's policy is bling-bling," Mark Latham, Labor Party leader, said in a radio station interview last week, according to the London Daily Telegraph. The 42-year-old left-wing politician then declared: "Bling-bling is the best policy I have had so far."
(...)
He mocked Howard's staid image, saying the 64-year-old premier, a staunch ally of George W. Bush who sent Australian troops to Iraq, had eyebrows nearly long enough for a comb-over.
(...)
After his interview, the radio station gave Latham a baseball cap and T-shirt and played a rap song that called him "Lath Daddy."
Well.....he's.....um.....possibly.....er....surely.....he's.....trying too hard.
(Sorry for the Fox News link. Unavoidable.)
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Labor Party Leader Mark Latham is looking to unseat Bush ally John Howard by appealing to Australia's younger folks:
"Youth of Australia, Labor's policy is bling-bling," Mark Latham, Labor Party leader, said in a radio station interview last week, according to the London Daily Telegraph. The 42-year-old left-wing politician then declared: "Bling-bling is the best policy I have had so far."
(...)
He mocked Howard's staid image, saying the 64-year-old premier, a staunch ally of George W. Bush who sent Australian troops to Iraq, had eyebrows nearly long enough for a comb-over.
(...)
After his interview, the radio station gave Latham a baseball cap and T-shirt and played a rap song that called him "Lath Daddy."
Well.....he's.....um.....possibly.....er....surely.....he's.....trying too hard.
(Sorry for the Fox News link. Unavoidable.)
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Duke Eliminates 8am Classes
It would seem to me the $25,000 tuition would make the parents sleep deprived:
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke University is eliminating 8 a.m. classes and trying to come up with other ways help its sleep-deprived students, who too often are struggling to survive on a mix of caffeine, adrenaline and ambition.
The school is also considering new orientation programs this fall that would help freshmen understand the importance of sleep.
"Generally, the people I know, we don't see sleep as that important compared to what school and the curriculum have to offer," said Marcel Yang, a Duke freshman from Chapel Hill."...
I think Duke student/spokesperson Yang is a subscriber to the theory that, "We'll get all the sleep we need when we're dead. Or if we're waiting for basketball tickets."
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It would seem to me the $25,000 tuition would make the parents sleep deprived:
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke University is eliminating 8 a.m. classes and trying to come up with other ways help its sleep-deprived students, who too often are struggling to survive on a mix of caffeine, adrenaline and ambition.
The school is also considering new orientation programs this fall that would help freshmen understand the importance of sleep.
"Generally, the people I know, we don't see sleep as that important compared to what school and the curriculum have to offer," said Marcel Yang, a Duke freshman from Chapel Hill."...
I think Duke student/spokesperson Yang is a subscriber to the theory that, "We'll get all the sleep we need when we're dead. Or if we're waiting for basketball tickets."
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Paging Dr. Freud! Please report to the West Wing!
Condi Condi Condi:
...Rice was reportedly overheard saying, “As I was telling my husb—” and then stopping herself abruptly, before saying, “As I was telling President Bush.” Jaws dropped, but a guest says the slip by the unmarried politician, who spends weekends with the president and his wife, seemed more psychologically telling than incriminating. Nobody thinks Bush and Rice are actually an item. A National Security Council spokesman laughed and said, “No comment...”
No column inches used up in the National Enquirer on this. Yet.
UPDATE: Atrios posted on this too and one of the comments was: Ploy for the "swing" voters? Heh.
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Condi Condi Condi:
...Rice was reportedly overheard saying, “As I was telling my husb—” and then stopping herself abruptly, before saying, “As I was telling President Bush.” Jaws dropped, but a guest says the slip by the unmarried politician, who spends weekends with the president and his wife, seemed more psychologically telling than incriminating. Nobody thinks Bush and Rice are actually an item. A National Security Council spokesman laughed and said, “No comment...”
No column inches used up in the National Enquirer on this. Yet.
UPDATE: Atrios posted on this too and one of the comments was: Ploy for the "swing" voters? Heh.
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Sunday, April 18, 2004
Woodward on 60 Minutes
No big surprises, even this wasn't a huge shocker:
”Saturday, Jan. 11, with the president's permission, Cheney and Rumsfeld call Bandar to Cheney's West Wing office, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Myers, is there with a top-secret map of the war plan. And it says, ‘Top secret. No foreign.’ No foreign means no foreigners are supposed to see this,” says Woodward.
“They describe in detail the war plan for Bandar. And so Bandar, who's skeptical because he knows in the first Gulf War we didn't get Saddam out, so he says to Cheney and Rumsfeld, ‘So Saddam this time is gonna be out, period?’ And Cheney who has said nothing says the following: ‘Prince Bandar, once we start, Saddam is toast.’'
After Bandar left, according to Woodward, Cheney said, “I wanted him to know that this is for real. We're really doing it.'
But this wasn’t enough for Prince Bandar, who Woodward says wanted confirmation from the president. “Then, two days later, Bandar is called to meet with the president and the president says, ‘Their message is my message,’” says Woodward.
Prince Bandar enjoys easy access to the Oval Office. His family and the Bush family are close. And Woodward told 60 Minutes that Bandar has promised the president that Saudi Arabia will lower oil prices in the months before the election -- to ensure the U.S. economy is strong on election day.
Woodward says that Bandar understood that economic conditions were key before a presidential election: “They’re [oil prices] high. And they could go down very quickly. That's the Saudi pledge. Certainly over the summer, or as we get closer to the election, they could increase production several million barrels a day and the price would drop significantly."
Criminals.
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No big surprises, even this wasn't a huge shocker:
”Saturday, Jan. 11, with the president's permission, Cheney and Rumsfeld call Bandar to Cheney's West Wing office, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Myers, is there with a top-secret map of the war plan. And it says, ‘Top secret. No foreign.’ No foreign means no foreigners are supposed to see this,” says Woodward.
“They describe in detail the war plan for Bandar. And so Bandar, who's skeptical because he knows in the first Gulf War we didn't get Saddam out, so he says to Cheney and Rumsfeld, ‘So Saddam this time is gonna be out, period?’ And Cheney who has said nothing says the following: ‘Prince Bandar, once we start, Saddam is toast.’'
After Bandar left, according to Woodward, Cheney said, “I wanted him to know that this is for real. We're really doing it.'
But this wasn’t enough for Prince Bandar, who Woodward says wanted confirmation from the president. “Then, two days later, Bandar is called to meet with the president and the president says, ‘Their message is my message,’” says Woodward.
Prince Bandar enjoys easy access to the Oval Office. His family and the Bush family are close. And Woodward told 60 Minutes that Bandar has promised the president that Saudi Arabia will lower oil prices in the months before the election -- to ensure the U.S. economy is strong on election day.
Woodward says that Bandar understood that economic conditions were key before a presidential election: “They’re [oil prices] high. And they could go down very quickly. That's the Saudi pledge. Certainly over the summer, or as we get closer to the election, they could increase production several million barrels a day and the price would drop significantly."
Criminals.
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ExxonMobil Awarded Bid for Iraqi Oil
Not surprising:
BAGHDAD - Four European firms and one from the United States were awarded bids for the purchase of six million barrels of oil from Iraq (news - web sites)'s northern fields, a spokesman for the Iraqi oil ministry said.
Assem Jihad said US major ExxonMobil had acquired a third of the offer in its second purchase in a month of oil from the Kirkuk fields.
The others, which each took up one million barrels, were named as Spain's Repsol YPF and Cepsa, Hellenic Petroleum from Greece and Tupras of Turkey.
Of course ExxonMobil has put themselves into an excellent position to receive these contracts:
Since 1992, ExxonMobil has donated at least six times as much as Enron to lobbying government officials, over $41 million. In the 2000 election cycle, the company and its employees donated more than $1.22 million to Bush. They still donated to other candidates, aggregately $150,000. ExxonMobil donates money to make its political friends happy, and in return they receive help from government organizations and access to otherwise restricted lands. They give more money to lobbyists than any other competitor and came in second to campaign contributions next to Enron. In return, they have received over $5 billion in taxpayer subsidies over the last ten years. They have received money from the US Export-Import Bank and the World Bank for a total of $1.17 billion for oil field development in Western Siberia, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, from which they received $116 million for oil field development on Russia’s Sakhalin Island. They have received other forms of help from the Bush/Cheney administration such as having a National Energy Strategy drafted, which increased the US reliance on oil and the head of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change changed.
As if this payola wasn't enough, ExxonMobil have been accused of human rights abuses in Indonesia.
How greedy can these people get? Actually, don't answer that...
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Not surprising:
BAGHDAD - Four European firms and one from the United States were awarded bids for the purchase of six million barrels of oil from Iraq (news - web sites)'s northern fields, a spokesman for the Iraqi oil ministry said.
Assem Jihad said US major ExxonMobil had acquired a third of the offer in its second purchase in a month of oil from the Kirkuk fields.
The others, which each took up one million barrels, were named as Spain's Repsol YPF and Cepsa, Hellenic Petroleum from Greece and Tupras of Turkey.
Of course ExxonMobil has put themselves into an excellent position to receive these contracts:
Since 1992, ExxonMobil has donated at least six times as much as Enron to lobbying government officials, over $41 million. In the 2000 election cycle, the company and its employees donated more than $1.22 million to Bush. They still donated to other candidates, aggregately $150,000. ExxonMobil donates money to make its political friends happy, and in return they receive help from government organizations and access to otherwise restricted lands. They give more money to lobbyists than any other competitor and came in second to campaign contributions next to Enron. In return, they have received over $5 billion in taxpayer subsidies over the last ten years. They have received money from the US Export-Import Bank and the World Bank for a total of $1.17 billion for oil field development in Western Siberia, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, from which they received $116 million for oil field development on Russia’s Sakhalin Island. They have received other forms of help from the Bush/Cheney administration such as having a National Energy Strategy drafted, which increased the US reliance on oil and the head of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change changed.
As if this payola wasn't enough, ExxonMobil have been accused of human rights abuses in Indonesia.
How greedy can these people get? Actually, don't answer that...
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Spain to Withdraw Troops 'ASAP'
From bad to worse:
April 18 (Bloomberg) -- Spain's new Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez ordered the country's soldiers home from Iraq, saying there seemed little likelihood that the United Nations will assume control of the occupation in that country.
Zapatero, who was sworn in yesterday after winning the election March 14, said the troops would return to Spain ``in the least time and with the most security possible,'' in a meeting with the media in Madrid, according to government spokesman Manuel Roca.
There is grumbling about more CPA troops to follow. Soon.
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From bad to worse:
April 18 (Bloomberg) -- Spain's new Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez ordered the country's soldiers home from Iraq, saying there seemed little likelihood that the United Nations will assume control of the occupation in that country.
Zapatero, who was sworn in yesterday after winning the election March 14, said the troops would return to Spain ``in the least time and with the most security possible,'' in a meeting with the media in Madrid, according to government spokesman Manuel Roca.
There is grumbling about more CPA troops to follow. Soon.
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PA GOP Sen. Primary Shows Party Differences
Pat Toomey and Arlen Specter will face off on 4/27 in the Republican primary. The winner will face Joe Hoeffel in November. This Los Angeles Times article details some fundamental GOP problems in this race:
The party's philosophic tensions have been obscured by the absence of a primary challenge to Bush. But the president has been unable to paper over fault lines opened by his vast expansion of Medicare, the growth of government spending and other policies that have angered many conservatives.
The Specter-Toomey fight is a cautionary tale for Bush, a reminder of the balancing act he has to perfect to win reelection. He needs to generate enthusiasm among the kind of conservatives represented by Toomey. But in a swing state such as Pennsylvania — where Democrats narrowly outnumber Republicans — Bush cannot afford to alienate the centrist Republicans and Democrats attracted to Specter. That's why some analysts argue that Bush was wise to endorse Specter and would have a harder time winning Pennsylvania if Toomey was on the ticket.
"Bush and Specter are joined at the hip," said G. Terry Madonna, a political scientist at Millersville University, near Lancaster, Pa. And as Republicans strive to maintain or expand their 51 seats in the 100-member Senate, this is an unwelcome fight. A Toomey victory in the primary, some analysts say, should boost the general-election prospects of the expected Democratic Senate nominee, Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel.
"The truth is, if Toomey wins this nomination, this seat is a lot more difficult for Republicans to hold," said Jennifer Duffy, an analyst with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
Still, for conservative activists concerned about the party's direction, the primary fight is about something even bigger than control of the Senate: It is about the soul of the party.
Specter has infuriated more conservative Republicans over the years by blocking President Reagan's nomination of Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court, refusing to vote for the impeachment of President Clinton and joining with other centrists in efforts to scale back Bush's tax cuts. Backing Toomey is a phalanx of conservative heavyweights who include Bork, former GOP presidential candidate Steve Forbes and commentator Paul Weyrich.
Toomey also is a marquee candidate for the Club for Growth, an anti-tax political group that finances primary challenges to Republicans it considers insufficiently conservative. The group hopes that by spending $1 million for anti-Specter ads — and urging its members to contribute to Toomey — it will at least intimidate other centrist Republicans into moving to the right.
Some people say that Hoeffel would have a better chance against Toomey, but the thought of Toomey & Santorum representing PA makes me shudder. Bush will be in Pittsburgh Monday raising money for Specter.
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Pat Toomey and Arlen Specter will face off on 4/27 in the Republican primary. The winner will face Joe Hoeffel in November. This Los Angeles Times article details some fundamental GOP problems in this race:
The party's philosophic tensions have been obscured by the absence of a primary challenge to Bush. But the president has been unable to paper over fault lines opened by his vast expansion of Medicare, the growth of government spending and other policies that have angered many conservatives.
The Specter-Toomey fight is a cautionary tale for Bush, a reminder of the balancing act he has to perfect to win reelection. He needs to generate enthusiasm among the kind of conservatives represented by Toomey. But in a swing state such as Pennsylvania — where Democrats narrowly outnumber Republicans — Bush cannot afford to alienate the centrist Republicans and Democrats attracted to Specter. That's why some analysts argue that Bush was wise to endorse Specter and would have a harder time winning Pennsylvania if Toomey was on the ticket.
"Bush and Specter are joined at the hip," said G. Terry Madonna, a political scientist at Millersville University, near Lancaster, Pa. And as Republicans strive to maintain or expand their 51 seats in the 100-member Senate, this is an unwelcome fight. A Toomey victory in the primary, some analysts say, should boost the general-election prospects of the expected Democratic Senate nominee, Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel.
"The truth is, if Toomey wins this nomination, this seat is a lot more difficult for Republicans to hold," said Jennifer Duffy, an analyst with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
Still, for conservative activists concerned about the party's direction, the primary fight is about something even bigger than control of the Senate: It is about the soul of the party.
Specter has infuriated more conservative Republicans over the years by blocking President Reagan's nomination of Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court, refusing to vote for the impeachment of President Clinton and joining with other centrists in efforts to scale back Bush's tax cuts. Backing Toomey is a phalanx of conservative heavyweights who include Bork, former GOP presidential candidate Steve Forbes and commentator Paul Weyrich.
Toomey also is a marquee candidate for the Club for Growth, an anti-tax political group that finances primary challenges to Republicans it considers insufficiently conservative. The group hopes that by spending $1 million for anti-Specter ads — and urging its members to contribute to Toomey — it will at least intimidate other centrist Republicans into moving to the right.
Some people say that Hoeffel would have a better chance against Toomey, but the thought of Toomey & Santorum representing PA makes me shudder. Bush will be in Pittsburgh Monday raising money for Specter.
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Bush Denies College Newspaper Admittance to Event
This sounds more like Justics Scalia than our esteemed leader:
Reporters and photographers from two college newspapers said Thursday White House officials denied them access to President Bush's appearance in Des Moines.
Student newspapers at Des Moines Area Community College and Iowa State University were turned away from the noon event at the Marriott hotel in downtown Des Moines after submitting requests for media credentials on time, they said.
Reporters and photographers for the DMACC Chronicle and Iowa State Daily said their organizations were not on the list of approved media when they arrived, despite faxing their request for credentials ahead of the 2 p.m. Wednesday deadline.
Chronicle reporter Mike Allsup said White House advance staff told him his time would be better spent in school. "It really is not fair that we represent 14,000 students at my college and I'm disregarded and sent away," said Allsup, of Des Moines.
A news crew from WQAD television in Moline, Ill., was not on the approved media list but was allowed into the event, Iowa State Daily photography editor Eric Rowley said.
White House officials did not immediately reply to repeated requests for comment.
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This sounds more like Justics Scalia than our esteemed leader:
Reporters and photographers from two college newspapers said Thursday White House officials denied them access to President Bush's appearance in Des Moines.
Student newspapers at Des Moines Area Community College and Iowa State University were turned away from the noon event at the Marriott hotel in downtown Des Moines after submitting requests for media credentials on time, they said.
Reporters and photographers for the DMACC Chronicle and Iowa State Daily said their organizations were not on the list of approved media when they arrived, despite faxing their request for credentials ahead of the 2 p.m. Wednesday deadline.
Chronicle reporter Mike Allsup said White House advance staff told him his time would be better spent in school. "It really is not fair that we represent 14,000 students at my college and I'm disregarded and sent away," said Allsup, of Des Moines.
A news crew from WQAD television in Moline, Ill., was not on the approved media list but was allowed into the event, Iowa State Daily photography editor Eric Rowley said.
White House officials did not immediately reply to repeated requests for comment.
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Saturday, April 17, 2004
Atrios Turns Two - Enjoys Solid Food*
Congratulations to Atrios on reaching his 2nd anniversary. Go visit him and drop some coin on Joe Hoeffel, the Dem Challenger to Senator Specter.
You remember Arlen Specter, don't you? He was the defense attorney who got convicted murderer Ira "Unicorn" Einhorn freed on bail, who then fled the country for twenty years. Read more on the Unicorn here.
*Joke. I don't know the mystery man/radio star, but it stands to reason that he likes solid food.
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Congratulations to Atrios on reaching his 2nd anniversary. Go visit him and drop some coin on Joe Hoeffel, the Dem Challenger to Senator Specter.
You remember Arlen Specter, don't you? He was the defense attorney who got convicted murderer Ira "Unicorn" Einhorn freed on bail, who then fled the country for twenty years. Read more on the Unicorn here.
*Joke. I don't know the mystery man/radio star, but it stands to reason that he likes solid food.
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Baseball Season
Please notice the addition of some Phillies Blogs recently entered on my b-roll. These are the ones I look at frequently and will undoubtedly add more as the season progresses. Feel free to leave a Phillies or baseball blog suggestion below.
Now all we need is a lead-off hitter to show his face...
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Please notice the addition of some Phillies Blogs recently entered on my b-roll. These are the ones I look at frequently and will undoubtedly add more as the season progresses. Feel free to leave a Phillies or baseball blog suggestion below.
Now all we need is a lead-off hitter to show his face...
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Friday, April 16, 2004
Plan of Attack: The Beginning of Something Big?
It looks as though Bob Woodward's new book is going to have all kinds of interesting revelations:
WASHINGTON, April 16 — Two months before the invasion of Iraq, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell warned President Bush about the potential negative consequences of a war, citing what Mr. Powell privately called the "you break it, you own it" rule of military action, according to a new book.
"You're sure?" Mr. Powell is quoted as asking Mr. Bush in the Oval Office on Jan. 13, 2003, as the president told him he had made the decision to go forward. "You understand the consequences," he is said to have stated in a half-question. "You know you're going to be owning this place?"
(...)
Mr. Powell is described as having clashed in particular with Vice President Dick Cheney, whom Mr. Woodward describes as a "powerful, steamrolling force" advocating the war who was preoccupied with reports of links between Saddam Hussein and the Qaeda terrorist network. Mr. Powell regarded Mr. Cheney's intense focus on Mr. Hussein and Al Qaeda as a "fever," the book says, and he believed that the vice president misread and exaggerated intelligence about the Iraq threat and supposed terrorist ties.
Mr. Woodward's account quickly provoked speculation in Washington that Mr. Powell might have cooperated with Mr. Woodward as the book was being prepared in an effort to distance himself from the Iraq war.
It looks like Colin Powell has a chance to do the right thing. Will he follow through?
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It looks as though Bob Woodward's new book is going to have all kinds of interesting revelations:
WASHINGTON, April 16 — Two months before the invasion of Iraq, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell warned President Bush about the potential negative consequences of a war, citing what Mr. Powell privately called the "you break it, you own it" rule of military action, according to a new book.
"You're sure?" Mr. Powell is quoted as asking Mr. Bush in the Oval Office on Jan. 13, 2003, as the president told him he had made the decision to go forward. "You understand the consequences," he is said to have stated in a half-question. "You know you're going to be owning this place?"
(...)
Mr. Powell is described as having clashed in particular with Vice President Dick Cheney, whom Mr. Woodward describes as a "powerful, steamrolling force" advocating the war who was preoccupied with reports of links between Saddam Hussein and the Qaeda terrorist network. Mr. Powell regarded Mr. Cheney's intense focus on Mr. Hussein and Al Qaeda as a "fever," the book says, and he believed that the vice president misread and exaggerated intelligence about the Iraq threat and supposed terrorist ties.
Mr. Woodward's account quickly provoked speculation in Washington that Mr. Powell might have cooperated with Mr. Woodward as the book was being prepared in an effort to distance himself from the Iraq war.
It looks like Colin Powell has a chance to do the right thing. Will he follow through?
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This Could Get Dicey for our President
"Mr. President, is it true you funded Iraq war planning with money appropriated for the War in Afghanistan? Isn't it written into the Constitution that no money can be taken from the Treasury without Congressional approval?"
That's what I thought.
Thanks to Atrios for the link.
UPDATE: It looks as though the press is latching onto the planning aspect of the Iraq war, which isn't bad because it just confirms everything Snow/Suskind and Dick Clarke have said. They haven't grabbed the misappropriation of funding, yet.
From Friday's Gaggle:
Q Scott, the President said he couldn't recall whether it was in November, 2001 when he asked Secretary Rumsfeld to draw up war plans for Iraq, and he said he was going to check and try to refresh his memory. Do you know whether it was -- that's the correct date, November?
MR. McCLELLAN: First of all, I think what he was referring to was the September time period in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks, and when he was meeting with his national security team. And at that point in September, all our focus was on Afghanistan and removing the Taliban regime from power and taking away the safe harbor for al Qaeda that existed in Afghanistan.
Certainly, late November it was becoming increasingly clear what direction things were headed in Afghanistan. It was clear that the Taliban was no longer going to have a hold on Afghanistan. We began combat operations in Afghanistan in the earlier period of October, and by November and early December things were winding down. And the President did talk to Secretary Rumsfeld about Iraq. But there is a difference between planning and making a decision. Emph. Added
Here's a link to an All Things Considered story from Friday's program, including a good, "I don't recall the date" quote from Bush. (Third audio link down: Woodward Book Details...) Don Gonyea, fresh off his stymying of Bush at the Presser, tries to get us some answers.
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"Mr. President, is it true you funded Iraq war planning with money appropriated for the War in Afghanistan? Isn't it written into the Constitution that no money can be taken from the Treasury without Congressional approval?"
That's what I thought.
Thanks to Atrios for the link.
UPDATE: It looks as though the press is latching onto the planning aspect of the Iraq war, which isn't bad because it just confirms everything Snow/Suskind and Dick Clarke have said. They haven't grabbed the misappropriation of funding, yet.
From Friday's Gaggle:
Q Scott, the President said he couldn't recall whether it was in November, 2001 when he asked Secretary Rumsfeld to draw up war plans for Iraq, and he said he was going to check and try to refresh his memory. Do you know whether it was -- that's the correct date, November?
MR. McCLELLAN: First of all, I think what he was referring to was the September time period in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks, and when he was meeting with his national security team. And at that point in September, all our focus was on Afghanistan and removing the Taliban regime from power and taking away the safe harbor for al Qaeda that existed in Afghanistan.
Certainly, late November it was becoming increasingly clear what direction things were headed in Afghanistan. It was clear that the Taliban was no longer going to have a hold on Afghanistan. We began combat operations in Afghanistan in the earlier period of October, and by November and early December things were winding down. And the President did talk to Secretary Rumsfeld about Iraq. But there is a difference between planning and making a decision. Emph. Added
Here's a link to an All Things Considered story from Friday's program, including a good, "I don't recall the date" quote from Bush. (Third audio link down: Woodward Book Details...) Don Gonyea, fresh off his stymying of Bush at the Presser, tries to get us some answers.
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Iraq: From The Inside
For those unfamiliar with Baghdad Burning, it is written by a woman who lives in Baghdad. She gives a perspective to the war in Iraq that most Americans will never see. I had kind of forgotten about her site in the past couple of months and am thankful to my friend (and future blogger) Steve who pointed me in the direction of this post from Wednesday. The post began with the media coverage of Iraq and morphed into something more:
...What I'm trying to say is that we don't need news networks to make us angry or frustrated. All you need to do is talk to one of the Falloojeh refugees making their way tentatively into Baghdad; look at the tear-stained faces, the eyes glazed over with something like shock. In our neighborhood alone there are at least 4 families from Falloojeh who have come to stay with family and friends in Baghdad. The stories they tell are terrible and grim and it's hard to believe that they've gone through so much.
I think western news networks are far too tame. They show the Hollywood version of war- strong troops in uniform, hostile Iraqis being captured and made to face "justice" and the White House turkey posing with the Thanksgiving turkey... which is just fine. But what about the destruction that comes with war and occupation? What about the death? I don't mean just the images of dead Iraqis scattered all over, but dead Americans too. People should *have* to see those images. Why is it not ok to show dead Iraqis and American troops in Iraq, but it's fine to show the catastrophe of September 11 over and over again? I wish every person who emails me supporting the war, safe behind their computer, secure in their narrow mind and fixed views, could actually come and experience the war live. I wish they could spend just 24 hours in Baghdad today and hear Mark Kimmett talk about the death of 700 "insurgents" like it was a proud day for Americans everywhere...
Still, when I hear talk about "anti-Americanism" it angers me. Why does American identify itself with its military and government? Why is does being anti-Bush and anti-occupation have to mean that a person is anti-American? We watch American movies, listen to everything from Britney Spears to Nirvana and refer to every single brown, fizzy drink as "Pepsi".
I hate American foreign policy and its constant meddling in the region... I hate American tanks in Baghdad and American soldiers on our streets and in our homes on occasion... why does that mean that I hate America and Americans? Are tanks, troops and violence the only face of America? If the Pentagon, Department of Defense and Condi are "America", then yes- I hate America.
After you read the entire post, read the archives as well. Then think about ABCNNBC.
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For those unfamiliar with Baghdad Burning, it is written by a woman who lives in Baghdad. She gives a perspective to the war in Iraq that most Americans will never see. I had kind of forgotten about her site in the past couple of months and am thankful to my friend (and future blogger) Steve who pointed me in the direction of this post from Wednesday. The post began with the media coverage of Iraq and morphed into something more:
...What I'm trying to say is that we don't need news networks to make us angry or frustrated. All you need to do is talk to one of the Falloojeh refugees making their way tentatively into Baghdad; look at the tear-stained faces, the eyes glazed over with something like shock. In our neighborhood alone there are at least 4 families from Falloojeh who have come to stay with family and friends in Baghdad. The stories they tell are terrible and grim and it's hard to believe that they've gone through so much.
I think western news networks are far too tame. They show the Hollywood version of war- strong troops in uniform, hostile Iraqis being captured and made to face "justice" and the White House turkey posing with the Thanksgiving turkey... which is just fine. But what about the destruction that comes with war and occupation? What about the death? I don't mean just the images of dead Iraqis scattered all over, but dead Americans too. People should *have* to see those images. Why is it not ok to show dead Iraqis and American troops in Iraq, but it's fine to show the catastrophe of September 11 over and over again? I wish every person who emails me supporting the war, safe behind their computer, secure in their narrow mind and fixed views, could actually come and experience the war live. I wish they could spend just 24 hours in Baghdad today and hear Mark Kimmett talk about the death of 700 "insurgents" like it was a proud day for Americans everywhere...
Still, when I hear talk about "anti-Americanism" it angers me. Why does American identify itself with its military and government? Why is does being anti-Bush and anti-occupation have to mean that a person is anti-American? We watch American movies, listen to everything from Britney Spears to Nirvana and refer to every single brown, fizzy drink as "Pepsi".
I hate American foreign policy and its constant meddling in the region... I hate American tanks in Baghdad and American soldiers on our streets and in our homes on occasion... why does that mean that I hate America and Americans? Are tanks, troops and violence the only face of America? If the Pentagon, Department of Defense and Condi are "America", then yes- I hate America.
After you read the entire post, read the archives as well. Then think about ABCNNBC.
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Cheney Demands Pay Raise for Providing Bush's Voice
Veep marches with outraged Simpsons voiceover artists.
From Borowitz report.com:
Vice President Dick Cheney today joined the cast of the animated series “The Simpsons” on the picket line, demanding a substantial pay raise for doing the voice of President George W. Bush.
“Vice President Cheney has been providing the voice of President Bush since January of 2001,” a spokesman for the Vice President told reporters. “All he wants is a salary that reflects that contribution.”
While it is not known what precise dollar figure the Vice President is seeking, his spokesman said he was looking for “a salary in line with other performers who provide voices for cartoon characters.”
The administration certainly seems like a cartoon a lot of the time.
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Veep marches with outraged Simpsons voiceover artists.
From Borowitz report.com:
Vice President Dick Cheney today joined the cast of the animated series “The Simpsons” on the picket line, demanding a substantial pay raise for doing the voice of President George W. Bush.
“Vice President Cheney has been providing the voice of President Bush since January of 2001,” a spokesman for the Vice President told reporters. “All he wants is a salary that reflects that contribution.”
While it is not known what precise dollar figure the Vice President is seeking, his spokesman said he was looking for “a salary in line with other performers who provide voices for cartoon characters.”
The administration certainly seems like a cartoon a lot of the time.
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Thursday, April 15, 2004
The Fightin' Phils
Light blogging for the rest of the afternoon as I make my second trip to "The Bank" to see if Jim Thome can collect his first RBI of the season. The wind is blowing so we should get a good idea of how the ball will fly in Philadelphia's new ballpark. I'm sure Ken Griffey Jr. will be the one hitting it.
The Phillies have scored only 16 runs in seven games. For those keeping track that's good for a .220 average. Yech.
UPDATE: Phils win! Powered by homers from David Bell and Mike Lieberthal the Phils overcame a 4-0 deficit to win their first game at the new ballpark.
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Light blogging for the rest of the afternoon as I make my second trip to "The Bank" to see if Jim Thome can collect his first RBI of the season. The wind is blowing so we should get a good idea of how the ball will fly in Philadelphia's new ballpark. I'm sure Ken Griffey Jr. will be the one hitting it.
The Phillies have scored only 16 runs in seven games. For those keeping track that's good for a .220 average. Yech.
UPDATE: Phils win! Powered by homers from David Bell and Mike Lieberthal the Phils overcame a 4-0 deficit to win their first game at the new ballpark.
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Stupidity/Hypocrisy Alert
Some good ones in here:
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
- George W. Bush, discussing Kosovo, Houston Chronicle, 04-09-99
"I don't understand how poor people think."
- George W. Bush, confiding in the Rev. Jim Wallis, New York Times, 08-26-03
"The White House has bombed its way around the globe. International respect and trust for America has diminished every time we casually let the bombs fly."
"...no one wants us to be there" and that the president's effort "has harmed [our] standing in the world."
- Both quotes from Tom Delay in 1999 in regards to Kosovo
And more here:
Unless Clinton finds "a way to get the bombing stopped" and to "get Milosevic to pull back his troops" voluntarily, NATO faces "a quagmire ... a long, protracted, bloody war," warned Lott. Clinton "only has two choices," said DeLay--to "occupy Yugoslavia and take Milosevic out" or "to negotiate some sort of diplomatic end, diplomatic agreement in order to end this failed policy."
"Once the bombing commenced, I think then [Slobodan] Milosevic unleashed his forces, and then that's when the slaughtering and the massive ethnic cleansing really started," Nickles said at a news conference after appearing on Meet the Press. "The administration's campaign has been a disaster. ... [It] escalated a guerrilla warfare into a real war, and the real losers are the Kosovars and innocent civilians."
And my favorite, from House Republicans in 1995:
"The runaway national debt has much the same impact on our nation's financial condition as termites do on the structure of a house."
The same could be said for present day.
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Some good ones in here:
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
- George W. Bush, discussing Kosovo, Houston Chronicle, 04-09-99
"I don't understand how poor people think."
- George W. Bush, confiding in the Rev. Jim Wallis, New York Times, 08-26-03
"The White House has bombed its way around the globe. International respect and trust for America has diminished every time we casually let the bombs fly."
"...no one wants us to be there" and that the president's effort "has harmed [our] standing in the world."
- Both quotes from Tom Delay in 1999 in regards to Kosovo
And more here:
Unless Clinton finds "a way to get the bombing stopped" and to "get Milosevic to pull back his troops" voluntarily, NATO faces "a quagmire ... a long, protracted, bloody war," warned Lott. Clinton "only has two choices," said DeLay--to "occupy Yugoslavia and take Milosevic out" or "to negotiate some sort of diplomatic end, diplomatic agreement in order to end this failed policy."
"Once the bombing commenced, I think then [Slobodan] Milosevic unleashed his forces, and then that's when the slaughtering and the massive ethnic cleansing really started," Nickles said at a news conference after appearing on Meet the Press. "The administration's campaign has been a disaster. ... [It] escalated a guerrilla warfare into a real war, and the real losers are the Kosovars and innocent civilians."
And my favorite, from House Republicans in 1995:
"The runaway national debt has much the same impact on our nation's financial condition as termites do on the structure of a house."
The same could be said for present day.
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1996 - Memories of Blocked Terrorism Legislation
Always informative to take a look back.
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Always informative to take a look back.
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One Man in the Water: Two Souvenirs
This is amazing:
Larry Ellison paddled out to McCovey Cove, not bothering to wear his Arnold Schwarzenegger disguise for his second straight catch of a milestone home run by Barry Bonds.
Ellison, a 53-year-old sales director for a computer company, retrieved both of the balls hit by Bonds this week. The first was on Monday when the slugger tied godfather Willie Mays for third on the career list; the next came 29112 hours later when Bonds passed Mays with another sensational shot into the water.
Ellison usually dresses in a Schwarzenegger mask and T-shirt of the California governor and former movie star. But on Tuesday, Ellison jumped from his blue kayak into San Francisco Bay with the mask, which could be seen splashing in the murky waters along with his cooler, according to an Associated Press story.
Ellison returned No. 660 to Bonds after Monday's game, but wasn't about to hand back No. 661. Bonds wanted him to have it anyway.
"We're Giants fans, and I thought this would be important for Barry and Willie to have that ball,"
Ellison said. "It's important to them. I wasn't interested in selling it to the highest bidder."
Anyone trying to reach Ellison yesterday was having a hard time.
"My cell phone is dead since it got wet in McCovey Cove last night and got soaked with salt water," his phone message said.
There was no mention of Bonds giving the man a signed BALCO affidavit in return for the first ball.
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This is amazing:
Larry Ellison paddled out to McCovey Cove, not bothering to wear his Arnold Schwarzenegger disguise for his second straight catch of a milestone home run by Barry Bonds.
Ellison, a 53-year-old sales director for a computer company, retrieved both of the balls hit by Bonds this week. The first was on Monday when the slugger tied godfather Willie Mays for third on the career list; the next came 29112 hours later when Bonds passed Mays with another sensational shot into the water.
Ellison usually dresses in a Schwarzenegger mask and T-shirt of the California governor and former movie star. But on Tuesday, Ellison jumped from his blue kayak into San Francisco Bay with the mask, which could be seen splashing in the murky waters along with his cooler, according to an Associated Press story.
Ellison returned No. 660 to Bonds after Monday's game, but wasn't about to hand back No. 661. Bonds wanted him to have it anyway.
"We're Giants fans, and I thought this would be important for Barry and Willie to have that ball,"
Ellison said. "It's important to them. I wasn't interested in selling it to the highest bidder."
Anyone trying to reach Ellison yesterday was having a hard time.
"My cell phone is dead since it got wet in McCovey Cove last night and got soaked with salt water," his phone message said.
There was no mention of Bonds giving the man a signed BALCO affidavit in return for the first ball.
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Planting WMDs in Iraq?
I've covered this topic here before and it looks like there is more evidence that it's still happening:
An Iraqi source close to the Basra Governor’s Office told the MNA that new information shows that a large part of the WMD, which was secretly brought to southern and western Iraq over the past month, are in containers falsely labeled as containers of the Maeresk shipping company and some consignments bearing the labels of organizations such as the Red Cross or the USAID in order to disguise them as relief shipments.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that Iraqi officials including forces loyal to the Iraqi Governing Council stationed in southern Iraq have been forbidden from inspecting or supervising the transportation of these consignments. He went on to say that the occupation forces have ordered Iraqi officials to forward any questions on the issue to the coalition forces. Even the officials of the international relief organizations have informed the Iraqi officials that they would only accept responsibility for relief shipments which have been registered and managed by their organizations.
The Iraqi source also confirmed the report about suspicious trucks with fake Saudi and Jordanian license plates entering Iraq at night last week, stressing that the Saudi and Jordanian border guards did not attempt to inspect the trucks but simply delivered them to the U.S. and British forces stationed on Iraq’s borders.
I received a bulk email from Michael Moore today saying he has a camera crew on the ground in Iraq surreptitiously filming for an upcoming movie. I sure hope he's on top of this.
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I've covered this topic here before and it looks like there is more evidence that it's still happening:
An Iraqi source close to the Basra Governor’s Office told the MNA that new information shows that a large part of the WMD, which was secretly brought to southern and western Iraq over the past month, are in containers falsely labeled as containers of the Maeresk shipping company and some consignments bearing the labels of organizations such as the Red Cross or the USAID in order to disguise them as relief shipments.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that Iraqi officials including forces loyal to the Iraqi Governing Council stationed in southern Iraq have been forbidden from inspecting or supervising the transportation of these consignments. He went on to say that the occupation forces have ordered Iraqi officials to forward any questions on the issue to the coalition forces. Even the officials of the international relief organizations have informed the Iraqi officials that they would only accept responsibility for relief shipments which have been registered and managed by their organizations.
The Iraqi source also confirmed the report about suspicious trucks with fake Saudi and Jordanian license plates entering Iraq at night last week, stressing that the Saudi and Jordanian border guards did not attempt to inspect the trucks but simply delivered them to the U.S. and British forces stationed on Iraq’s borders.
I received a bulk email from Michael Moore today saying he has a camera crew on the ground in Iraq surreptitiously filming for an upcoming movie. I sure hope he's on top of this.
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Wednesday, April 14, 2004
PRESSER: NYT Op-Ed
Pretty straightforward:
Mr. Bush was grave and impressive while reading his opening remarks, which focused on the horrors of terrorism and the great good that could come from establishing a free and democratic Iraq. No one in the country could disagree with either thought. But his responses to questions were distressingly rambling and unfocused. He promised that Iraq would move from the violence and disarray of today to full democracy by the end of 2005, but the description of how to get there was mainly a list of dates when good things are supposed to happen.
There was still no clear description of exactly who will accept the sovereignty of Iraq from the coalition on June 30. "We'll find out that soon," the president said, adding that U.N. officials are "figuring out the nature of the entity we'll be handing sovereignty over" to. In Mr. Bush's mind, whatever happens next now appears to be the responsibility of the United Nations. That must have come as a surprise to the U.N. negotiators and their bosses, who have not agreed to accept that responsibility and do not believe that they have been given the authority to make those decisions.
Mr. Bush did concede that the Iraqi security forces had not performed well during the violence and that more American troops would probably be needed. But his rhetoric, including the repetition of the phrase "stay the course," did not seem to indicate any fresh or clear thinking about Iraq, despite the many disturbing events of recent weeks.
Was there anything good about it? No questions about domestic policy. If there were Bush's head would've exploded.
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Pretty straightforward:
Mr. Bush was grave and impressive while reading his opening remarks, which focused on the horrors of terrorism and the great good that could come from establishing a free and democratic Iraq. No one in the country could disagree with either thought. But his responses to questions were distressingly rambling and unfocused. He promised that Iraq would move from the violence and disarray of today to full democracy by the end of 2005, but the description of how to get there was mainly a list of dates when good things are supposed to happen.
There was still no clear description of exactly who will accept the sovereignty of Iraq from the coalition on June 30. "We'll find out that soon," the president said, adding that U.N. officials are "figuring out the nature of the entity we'll be handing sovereignty over" to. In Mr. Bush's mind, whatever happens next now appears to be the responsibility of the United Nations. That must have come as a surprise to the U.N. negotiators and their bosses, who have not agreed to accept that responsibility and do not believe that they have been given the authority to make those decisions.
Mr. Bush did concede that the Iraqi security forces had not performed well during the violence and that more American troops would probably be needed. But his rhetoric, including the repetition of the phrase "stay the course," did not seem to indicate any fresh or clear thinking about Iraq, despite the many disturbing events of recent weeks.
Was there anything good about it? No questions about domestic policy. If there were Bush's head would've exploded.
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Lil' Kim could go up the Lil' River
Lil' Kim was indicted today for lying to a grand jury investigating a shoot-out in New York City:
Lil' Kim, 28, whose real name is Kimberly Jones, was among four people named in the indictment unsealed on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. She is expected to be arraigned later in the day.
She is charged with one count of conspiracy, three counts of perjury, three counts of making false statements and one count of obstruction. The obstruction count carries a possible maximum prison term of 10 years and all the other charges carry possible five-year terms.
This could boost record sales and spur the marketing of the inevitable "Free Lil' Kim" t-shirts.
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Lil' Kim was indicted today for lying to a grand jury investigating a shoot-out in New York City:
Lil' Kim, 28, whose real name is Kimberly Jones, was among four people named in the indictment unsealed on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. She is expected to be arraigned later in the day.
She is charged with one count of conspiracy, three counts of perjury, three counts of making false statements and one count of obstruction. The obstruction count carries a possible maximum prison term of 10 years and all the other charges carry possible five-year terms.
This could boost record sales and spur the marketing of the inevitable "Free Lil' Kim" t-shirts.
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PRESSER: Iraqi Natural Resource
Was it me or did it look like the President was just short of breaking into a wide grin when he said, "...the oil revenues are higher than we expected."
We'd like to thank Cheney's boys Kellogg Brown & Root and parent company Halliburton for making this post possible.
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Was it me or did it look like the President was just short of breaking into a wide grin when he said, "...the oil revenues are higher than we expected."
We'd like to thank Cheney's boys Kellogg Brown & Root and parent company Halliburton for making this post possible.
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Bush's Presser: Same Old
William Saleton over at Slate has done us a service by pointing out that Bush didn't say anything new last night. In fact, he repeated the same old rhetoric: Stay the course, Freedom makes the World a better place and Saddam was a threat to the world while giving aid to terrorists.
A portion of his closing statement:
One thing is for certain, though, about me, and the world has learned this: When I say something, I mean it. And the credibility of the United States is incredibly important for keeping world peace and freedom.
The credibility of the U.S. in the world today is far from what it once was. And if Bush does not come up with a plan for transfer of power in Iraq within 78 days his credibility will be shot too.
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William Saleton over at Slate has done us a service by pointing out that Bush didn't say anything new last night. In fact, he repeated the same old rhetoric: Stay the course, Freedom makes the World a better place and Saddam was a threat to the world while giving aid to terrorists.
A portion of his closing statement:
One thing is for certain, though, about me, and the world has learned this: When I say something, I mean it. And the credibility of the United States is incredibly important for keeping world peace and freedom.
The credibility of the U.S. in the world today is far from what it once was. And if Bush does not come up with a plan for transfer of power in Iraq within 78 days his credibility will be shot too.
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Tuesday, April 13, 2004
US Military Families on Food Stamps
God Bless America:
Market forces ensure that a volunteer army will necessarily be an army of the poor. The trouble is, enlistment does not do a whole lot to brighten one's economic outlook. Frontline battle troops, most of whom have been in the military for about a year, earn less than $16,000 a year--which puts them at about the level of theater ushers and Wal-Mart clerks. Even second lieutenants, at a starting salary of $26,000 a year, earn less than pest control workers and shoe repairers. So when the Bush Administration, in its frenzied rush to transfer more wealth to the already wealthy, hurts the working poor, you can count the troops among them. The 2003 Bush tax cut for the rich, for example, failed to extend a child tax credit to nearly 200,000 military personnel.
Well, they get all kinds of special benefits, don't they, like free housing and medical care? Yes, and that's a powerful attraction to the young men and women of America's working poor. But no one should confuse the U.S. military with a Swedish-style welfare state. The mother of a Marine reports that her son had to charge nearly $1,000 on her Visa card for items not issued by the military, like camouflage paint and socks. In 2003, Defense Department overseas schools for the children of military personnel closed a week early due to a lack of funds.
You might imagine that our "war President," as he styles himself, would be in a rush to enrich the frontline troops, but last August his Administration proposed to cut the combat pay bonus of $150 a month. Somebody must have pointed out that an election year was just around the corner, because this little trial balloon was quietly punctured. In fact, the 2005 budget offers to double the military death benefit received by families of the fallen from $6,000 to $12,000.
Sounds good. In fact, it may make death financially preferable to surviving in a damaged state. Bizarrely enough, veterans' disability benefits are deducted from their military retirement pay, giving the wounded a powerful incentive to die while they're young. The sorry condition of VA health services seems designed to accomplish the same thing, and those services are about to get a lot more inaccessible. In his 2005 budget, Bush proposes to raise veterans' health care costs--through increased drug co-payments and a new "enrollment fee"--thus driving an estimated 200,000 vets out of the system and discouraging another million from enrolling.
Read every word of this article then vote.
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God Bless America:
Market forces ensure that a volunteer army will necessarily be an army of the poor. The trouble is, enlistment does not do a whole lot to brighten one's economic outlook. Frontline battle troops, most of whom have been in the military for about a year, earn less than $16,000 a year--which puts them at about the level of theater ushers and Wal-Mart clerks. Even second lieutenants, at a starting salary of $26,000 a year, earn less than pest control workers and shoe repairers. So when the Bush Administration, in its frenzied rush to transfer more wealth to the already wealthy, hurts the working poor, you can count the troops among them. The 2003 Bush tax cut for the rich, for example, failed to extend a child tax credit to nearly 200,000 military personnel.
Well, they get all kinds of special benefits, don't they, like free housing and medical care? Yes, and that's a powerful attraction to the young men and women of America's working poor. But no one should confuse the U.S. military with a Swedish-style welfare state. The mother of a Marine reports that her son had to charge nearly $1,000 on her Visa card for items not issued by the military, like camouflage paint and socks. In 2003, Defense Department overseas schools for the children of military personnel closed a week early due to a lack of funds.
You might imagine that our "war President," as he styles himself, would be in a rush to enrich the frontline troops, but last August his Administration proposed to cut the combat pay bonus of $150 a month. Somebody must have pointed out that an election year was just around the corner, because this little trial balloon was quietly punctured. In fact, the 2005 budget offers to double the military death benefit received by families of the fallen from $6,000 to $12,000.
Sounds good. In fact, it may make death financially preferable to surviving in a damaged state. Bizarrely enough, veterans' disability benefits are deducted from their military retirement pay, giving the wounded a powerful incentive to die while they're young. The sorry condition of VA health services seems designed to accomplish the same thing, and those services are about to get a lot more inaccessible. In his 2005 budget, Bush proposes to raise veterans' health care costs--through increased drug co-payments and a new "enrollment fee"--thus driving an estimated 200,000 vets out of the system and discouraging another million from enrolling.
Read every word of this article then vote.
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Bush Presser
George Bush is going in front of reporters tonight for a press conference. Here's hoping the questions aren't scripted and the press isn't intimidated this time.
And that Helen Thomas gets to sit in the same room.
It's sad when a press conference is actually a news event in itself.
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George Bush is going in front of reporters tonight for a press conference. Here's hoping the questions aren't scripted and the press isn't intimidated this time.
And that Helen Thomas gets to sit in the same room.
It's sad when a press conference is actually a news event in itself.
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The Science of Peeps
As my friend Mark says, "If I were still in college, this would be the best class ever! But now, I look at it and think, $972 per credit, a 4 credit class and a 1 credit lab. Man, for about $10 at CVS I could've done the same study."
The power of peeps.
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As my friend Mark says, "If I were still in college, this would be the best class ever! But now, I look at it and think, $972 per credit, a 4 credit class and a 1 credit lab. Man, for about $10 at CVS I could've done the same study."
The power of peeps.
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The Masters Final Round: Day After TIVO Edition
It's Monday night and I've read all about Phil Mickelson winning The Masters while shedding the title, "Best Player Never To Win A Major." The only thing I haven't done is seen the final round and through the power of TIVO I'm going to "suspend disbelief" and see it now. And, with full props to Bill Simmons (TAFKATBSG) I'm going to do a running commentary of the final nine holes.
Kind of neat piece by Dick Enberg on Amen Corner with some good highlights including Larry Mize's spike into Greg Norman's bid for a Green Jacket. I never weary of seeing Mize's dance.
You can always tell what player is ready to win on the final day at Augusta by the color of their shirt. Jack in '86 with yellow. Tiger is always Christmas after a Masters win(this Sunday too). Bernhard Langer looks like he is more ready for a St. Tropez vacation than another green jacket with a little tangerine number. Phil in Terminator Black.
Sergio Garcia teasing us with an Eagle & Birdie to -2. 10 groups ahead of the final pair. ....and another waggle. (It looks like he's wearing a St. Louis Gray's cap from Mitchell & Ness.)
Lanny Wadkins on Langer's putting stroke, "He threw pretty out the window a long time ago." Or as my wife just said, "Homely as a mud fence." She's from Texas.
Phil goes out in 38. One back.
Now the tournament starts. Lanny said it, "Here we go."
Phil into the left rough from the tee on 10. DiMarco crushes his tee shot. And a Roar...
KJ Choi jars a 220 five iron for eagle. 3rd Eagle ever at the par 4 11th hole.
Great up and down for Phil at 10 from a pine cone out of the gunk. Els misses a birdie putt at 12.
Another great stat: Els has eagled or birdied the 13th hole in 22/41 Masters rounds. Meal ticket!
Ernie drains the Eagle! Three shot lead over Phil...
(Kind of anticlimactic when you know who wins, but I'm not a good enough typist to do this in real time. Call me two-fingers.)
Paul Casey is imploding but I think we'll be seeing him at the Ryder Cup.
Casey Wittenburg the 19 year old from Oklahoma State finished as low amateur. I hope he uses that to his advantage when he returns to school.
Phil knows Ernie landed the eagle and drains a birdie on top at 12. HUGE. Two stroke spread. Par 5 13th is next.
DiMarco and the claw are fading(though CBS hasn't stopped ignoring him...yet.) Ernie in jail at 14 hooks a shot level with the hole. Tough up & down coming.
Another Roar......Harrington with the Ace at 16, finishes even. I've heard some say he's taken Phil's title as, "The Best Player..." ( Padraig is my oldest son's middle name too, no relation)
Phil with 20 feet left for his Eagle at 13 (his birdie/eagle percentage is better than Els' here. I'm too lazy to rewind it. Trust me. Meal Ticket 2!) Misses the Eagle but makes the birdie. One back.
I think I read somewhere once that CBS pipes in the singing birds during their Masters telecasts. Seriously.
Another roar. Triplett and his bucket hat get a hole-in-one at 16. That's two aces in 10 minutes at 16. Seven in it's history before Sunday.
Bangbang: Ernie gets birdie at 14 to lead by two, Feherty says he has "one hand on the Green jacket" Phil follows up, almost holing his 2nd. Has a kick-in for birdie (three in a row), down by one. Amy must be getting nervous.
Do you think Gary McCord will ever return to Augusta as a broadcaster? Is their a statute of limitations on '"Body bag" or "Bikini wax" comments?
Ernie missed his first putt badly at 16 but atones with center cut for par. Phil in trouble at 15, punches out, to 75 yards. Needs up & down for bird. I hope he makes it. He didn't and, surprisingly, made par at this 5-par all week.
Phil's off to 16...He's dancin' 20 feet for birdie....Ernie blew it at 17....They're still talking like Choi has a shot......Ernie drives into the sand at 18........Phil drains the putt at full steam...No doubt....And with that we say good-bye to Verne Lundquist doing golf for another year (We want McCord)....
Ernie looks a little un-Easy getting ready for his bunker shot.....Picked it to about 18 feet....Gets the par as Phil pars 17....
It's go time.
The tee shot on 18 at Augusta National is difficult. Made even more so when they recently lengthened it. I couldn't imagine driving it up that chute with the Masters on the line. Of course I have trouble with the windmill (Though I just signed up for the ESPN one-day golf school. Free Cleveland Driver, Wedge & Voodoo putter. I promise this will be a future post.)
MONEY. Fairway.
You have to understand I've been picking Phil to win a major for five years. I used to like his go-for-brokestupidity style but it wore on me in the recent past, so when he scaled it back recently (See: Sawgrass Sat 18th hole shot 2) I was elated and realized his time was nigh. It also helped he shored up his irons and went back to the old putter.
18 footer left,...DiMarco leaves it in the bunker......His second lands just behind Phil's ball and will give him the read....I'd be smiling if I had that read too...DiMarco with a 76, he'll be back with the spooky claw.
Bottom! (through the side door)
TIVO or not...
31 on the back
that putt with the crowd reactions
Jim Nantz's eloquence
Phil high fiving the fans walking toward the scorers cabin
picking up his daughter and asking her,"Do you believe it? Daddy won!"
The Masters version of One Shining Moment with tributes to Bruce Edwards & Arnie (if you don't get goosebumps there...)
the Green Jacket ceremony
Tournaments like that reinforce my love for the game and Tiger didn't even figure in the outcome.
UPDATE: The Tigerless finish at Augusta negatively impacted TV ratings. The household rating was down 22% from last year and the Sat-Sun ratings were the lowest since 1993.
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It's Monday night and I've read all about Phil Mickelson winning The Masters while shedding the title, "Best Player Never To Win A Major." The only thing I haven't done is seen the final round and through the power of TIVO I'm going to "suspend disbelief" and see it now. And, with full props to Bill Simmons (TAFKATBSG) I'm going to do a running commentary of the final nine holes.
Kind of neat piece by Dick Enberg on Amen Corner with some good highlights including Larry Mize's spike into Greg Norman's bid for a Green Jacket. I never weary of seeing Mize's dance.
You can always tell what player is ready to win on the final day at Augusta by the color of their shirt. Jack in '86 with yellow. Tiger is always Christmas after a Masters win(this Sunday too). Bernhard Langer looks like he is more ready for a St. Tropez vacation than another green jacket with a little tangerine number. Phil in Terminator Black.
Sergio Garcia teasing us with an Eagle & Birdie to -2. 10 groups ahead of the final pair. ....and another waggle. (It looks like he's wearing a St. Louis Gray's cap from Mitchell & Ness.)
Lanny Wadkins on Langer's putting stroke, "He threw pretty out the window a long time ago." Or as my wife just said, "Homely as a mud fence." She's from Texas.
Phil goes out in 38. One back.
Now the tournament starts. Lanny said it, "Here we go."
Phil into the left rough from the tee on 10. DiMarco crushes his tee shot. And a Roar...
KJ Choi jars a 220 five iron for eagle. 3rd Eagle ever at the par 4 11th hole.
Great up and down for Phil at 10 from a pine cone out of the gunk. Els misses a birdie putt at 12.
Another great stat: Els has eagled or birdied the 13th hole in 22/41 Masters rounds. Meal ticket!
Ernie drains the Eagle! Three shot lead over Phil...
(Kind of anticlimactic when you know who wins, but I'm not a good enough typist to do this in real time. Call me two-fingers.)
Paul Casey is imploding but I think we'll be seeing him at the Ryder Cup.
Casey Wittenburg the 19 year old from Oklahoma State finished as low amateur. I hope he uses that to his advantage when he returns to school.
Phil knows Ernie landed the eagle and drains a birdie on top at 12. HUGE. Two stroke spread. Par 5 13th is next.
DiMarco and the claw are fading(though CBS hasn't stopped ignoring him...yet.) Ernie in jail at 14 hooks a shot level with the hole. Tough up & down coming.
Another Roar......Harrington with the Ace at 16, finishes even. I've heard some say he's taken Phil's title as, "The Best Player..." ( Padraig is my oldest son's middle name too, no relation)
Phil with 20 feet left for his Eagle at 13 (his birdie/eagle percentage is better than Els' here. I'm too lazy to rewind it. Trust me. Meal Ticket 2!) Misses the Eagle but makes the birdie. One back.
I think I read somewhere once that CBS pipes in the singing birds during their Masters telecasts. Seriously.
Another roar. Triplett and his bucket hat get a hole-in-one at 16. That's two aces in 10 minutes at 16. Seven in it's history before Sunday.
Bangbang: Ernie gets birdie at 14 to lead by two, Feherty says he has "one hand on the Green jacket" Phil follows up, almost holing his 2nd. Has a kick-in for birdie (three in a row), down by one. Amy must be getting nervous.
Do you think Gary McCord will ever return to Augusta as a broadcaster? Is their a statute of limitations on '"Body bag" or "Bikini wax" comments?
Ernie missed his first putt badly at 16 but atones with center cut for par. Phil in trouble at 15, punches out, to 75 yards. Needs up & down for bird. I hope he makes it. He didn't and, surprisingly, made par at this 5-par all week.
Phil's off to 16...He's dancin' 20 feet for birdie....Ernie blew it at 17....They're still talking like Choi has a shot......Ernie drives into the sand at 18........Phil drains the putt at full steam...No doubt....And with that we say good-bye to Verne Lundquist doing golf for another year (We want McCord)....
Ernie looks a little un-Easy getting ready for his bunker shot.....Picked it to about 18 feet....Gets the par as Phil pars 17....
It's go time.
The tee shot on 18 at Augusta National is difficult. Made even more so when they recently lengthened it. I couldn't imagine driving it up that chute with the Masters on the line. Of course I have trouble with the windmill (Though I just signed up for the ESPN one-day golf school. Free Cleveland Driver, Wedge & Voodoo putter. I promise this will be a future post.)
MONEY. Fairway.
You have to understand I've been picking Phil to win a major for five years. I used to like his go-for-broke
18 footer left,...DiMarco leaves it in the bunker......His second lands just behind Phil's ball and will give him the read....I'd be smiling if I had that read too...DiMarco with a 76, he'll be back with the spooky claw.
Bottom! (through the side door)
TIVO or not...
31 on the back
that putt with the crowd reactions
Phil high fiving the fans walking toward the scorers cabin
picking up his daughter and asking her,"Do you believe it? Daddy won!"
The Masters version of One Shining Moment with tributes to Bruce Edwards & Arnie (if you don't get goosebumps there...)
the Green Jacket ceremony
Tournaments like that reinforce my love for the game and Tiger didn't even figure in the outcome.
UPDATE: The Tigerless finish at Augusta negatively impacted TV ratings. The household rating was down 22% from last year and the Sat-Sun ratings were the lowest since 1993.
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Monday, April 12, 2004
PDB - Reader Participation
One of our regular readers posted the following comment under the PDB post below:
What the media is failing to mention, as it always does, is that every week, since Dubya's father was in office, the President would receive multiple PDBs like this with possible threats from terrorist nations. This one was no different than the 36,000 other PDB threats that came across the President's desk. How could ANYONE have known that something like 9/11 was going to happen when, where and how it did.
It's like Pearl Harbor, in hind-sight, all the indicators are there. But in that moment, when our nation was peacefully going about our day-to-day, NO ONE could have predicted! Let the dead rest!
I agree. It's difficult to prepare for something of this magnitude without specific information. What we could have hoped for would have been for the intelligence community to put together the terrorist "chatter", the arrest of Zacharias Moussaoui on 8/16/01 and the contents of the much discussed PDB. But that didn't happen.
So what we have now is making politics with our nation's worst disaster. What I've read is so much more partisan than finding out what happened and what it will take to be sure it doesn't happen again. I'm as guilty of this partisanship as anyone, but our President has made this bed. He opposed the formation of an independent 9/11 commission. He only relented after a political firestorm fueled by the Four Moms and pols in his own party. And then after he handpicked a commission he withheld documents from the very same commission. There are many other instances of untoward activities by the White House during the entire process. Which shouldn't be a surprise if you frequent this site.
This is why you won't see him get a free ride. His entire administration is KGB secretive and the only way to get something released is through pressure from all sides. If he admits they could have done more and accept SOME responsibility you would see much pressure alleviated. But all he (and his minions) say is, "...we were only in office for 233 days." Putting the blame at Clinton's doorstep. This is a nasty habit and could cost him the election or worse, could keep us from preventing another terrorist attack on our shores.
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One of our regular readers posted the following comment under the PDB post below:
What the media is failing to mention, as it always does, is that every week, since Dubya's father was in office, the President would receive multiple PDBs like this with possible threats from terrorist nations. This one was no different than the 36,000 other PDB threats that came across the President's desk. How could ANYONE have known that something like 9/11 was going to happen when, where and how it did.
It's like Pearl Harbor, in hind-sight, all the indicators are there. But in that moment, when our nation was peacefully going about our day-to-day, NO ONE could have predicted! Let the dead rest!
I agree. It's difficult to prepare for something of this magnitude without specific information. What we could have hoped for would have been for the intelligence community to put together the terrorist "chatter", the arrest of Zacharias Moussaoui on 8/16/01 and the contents of the much discussed PDB. But that didn't happen.
So what we have now is making politics with our nation's worst disaster. What I've read is so much more partisan than finding out what happened and what it will take to be sure it doesn't happen again. I'm as guilty of this partisanship as anyone, but our President has made this bed. He opposed the formation of an independent 9/11 commission. He only relented after a political firestorm fueled by the Four Moms and pols in his own party. And then after he handpicked a commission he withheld documents from the very same commission. There are many other instances of untoward activities by the White House during the entire process. Which shouldn't be a surprise if you frequent this site.
This is why you won't see him get a free ride. His entire administration is KGB secretive and the only way to get something released is through pressure from all sides. If he admits they could have done more and accept SOME responsibility you would see much pressure alleviated. But all he (and his minions) say is, "...we were only in office for 233 days." Putting the blame at Clinton's doorstep. This is a nasty habit and could cost him the election or worse, could keep us from preventing another terrorist attack on our shores.
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What do they have to hide?
According to the 9/24/01 issue of Newsweek there was enough intelligence for some Pentagon officials to cancel flights for the morning of 9/11/01:
"In late June the CIA warned of possible terrorist action against U.S. targets, including those in the United States, for the Fourth of July. Nothing happened, but then in July the agency again warned about possible attacks overseas. The threat seemed grave enough to force U.S. ships in Middle Eastern ports to head for sea. Three weeks ago there was another warning that a terrorist strike might be imminent. But there was no mention of where. On Sept. 10, NEWSWEEK has learned, a group of top Pentagon officials suddenly canceled travel plans for the next morning, apparently because of security concerns." Emph. added.
We continue to wonder where the truth lies.
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According to the 9/24/01 issue of Newsweek there was enough intelligence for some Pentagon officials to cancel flights for the morning of 9/11/01:
"In late June the CIA warned of possible terrorist action against U.S. targets, including those in the United States, for the Fourth of July. Nothing happened, but then in July the agency again warned about possible attacks overseas. The threat seemed grave enough to force U.S. ships in Middle Eastern ports to head for sea. Three weeks ago there was another warning that a terrorist strike might be imminent. But there was no mention of where. On Sept. 10, NEWSWEEK has learned, a group of top Pentagon officials suddenly canceled travel plans for the next morning, apparently because of security concerns." Emph. added.
We continue to wonder where the truth lies.
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Scalia the Patriot
I hope this gets more play:
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a hypocrite. There's no nice way to say it. For a man who, just last March received the Citadel of Free Speech Award, he has shown himself to be afraid, even contemptuous, of the same Constitution he claims to revere.
Scalia's contempt was on full display last week at a pair of speeches he gave in Hattiesburg, Miss. While speaking at Presbyterian Christian High School on - ironically - the importance of protecting constitutional rights, a federal marshal confiscated a digital recording from an Associated Press reporter and erased it. The marshal did the same with a cassette from a local Hattiesburg reporter.
This is outrageous. Claims by the federal marshal service that this was a routine matter of providing security for Scalia don't hold water. It wasn't as if the justice were speaking on a matter of great sensitivity, say a matter of national security. Nor was he speaking on a specific subject, something that might come before the Court later.
Scalia was speaking on a very generalized topic - protecting constitutional rights. That's the same Constitution that includes the right to free speech, and the right to a free press.
Quack quack.
UPDATE: Scalia apologized
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I hope this gets more play:
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a hypocrite. There's no nice way to say it. For a man who, just last March received the Citadel of Free Speech Award, he has shown himself to be afraid, even contemptuous, of the same Constitution he claims to revere.
Scalia's contempt was on full display last week at a pair of speeches he gave in Hattiesburg, Miss. While speaking at Presbyterian Christian High School on - ironically - the importance of protecting constitutional rights, a federal marshal confiscated a digital recording from an Associated Press reporter and erased it. The marshal did the same with a cassette from a local Hattiesburg reporter.
This is outrageous. Claims by the federal marshal service that this was a routine matter of providing security for Scalia don't hold water. It wasn't as if the justice were speaking on a matter of great sensitivity, say a matter of national security. Nor was he speaking on a specific subject, something that might come before the Court later.
Scalia was speaking on a very generalized topic - protecting constitutional rights. That's the same Constitution that includes the right to free speech, and the right to a free press.
Quack quack.
UPDATE: Scalia apologized
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Bush's Day
I posted on the total amount of time he's been in the office before. But I didn't realize what kind of hours he kept:
Regardless of what is going on in the world Mr Bush is usually in bed by 10pm and wakes at 6am. As governor of Texas he would be in work by 8.30am and out by 5.30pm. In between was a 90-minute to two-hour break for exercise or a nap.
A two hour break. That's nice.
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I posted on the total amount of time he's been in the office before. But I didn't realize what kind of hours he kept:
Regardless of what is going on in the world Mr Bush is usually in bed by 10pm and wakes at 6am. As governor of Texas he would be in work by 8.30am and out by 5.30pm. In between was a 90-minute to two-hour break for exercise or a nap.
A two hour break. That's nice.
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Saturday, April 10, 2004
A Second Term for W: BAD IDEA
Detailed below are key points excerpted from Robert Reich's article, W.'s Second Term: If you Think the First is Bad...:
"Musings about a second Bush term typically assume another four years of the same right-wing policies we've had to date. But it'd likely be far worse. So far, the Bush administration has had to govern with the expectation of facing American voters again in 2004. But suppose George W. Bush wins a second term. The constraint of a re-election contest will be gone. Knowing that voters can no longer turn them out, and that this will be their last shot at remaking America, the radical conservatives will be unleashed.
If Bush is re-elected, '[Dick] Cheney and [Donald] Rumsfeld are out of the box,' he said. 'They'll take Bush's re-election as a mandate to wage the 'war on terror' everywhere and anywhere.'
...Domestic policy will swing further right. A re-election would strengthen the White House's hand on issues that even many congressional Republicans have a hard time accepting, such as the assault on civil liberties. Bush will seek to push 'Patriot II' through Congress, giving the Justice Department and the FBI powers to inspect mail, eavesdrop on phone conversations and e-mail, and examine personal medical records, insurance claims, and bank accounts.
Economic policy, meanwhile, will be tilted even more brazenly toward the rich. Republican strategist Grover Norquist smugly predicts larger tax benefits for high earners in a second Bush administration. The goal will be to eliminate all taxes on capital gains, dividends, and other forms of unearned income and move toward a 'flat tax.'
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will surely step down from the Supreme Court, possibly joined by at least one other jurist, opening the way for the White House to nominate a series of right-wing justices, a list that could easily include Charles Pickering Sr. and William Pryor Jr. After Chief Justice William Rehnquist resigns, Bush may well nominate Antonin Scalia for the top slot -- opening the way for Scalia and Clarence Thomas to dominate the Court. Such a court will curtail abortion rights, whittle down the Fourth and Fifth amendments, end all affirmative action, and eliminate much of what's left of the barrier between church and state.
Automated voting machines will be easily rigged, with no paper trails to document abuses. Changes in campaign-finance laws will permit larger 'hard money' donations by corporate executives and federal contractors who have benefited by Republican policies.
Finally, the Federal Communications Commission will allow three or four giant media empires -- all tightly connected to the Republican Party -- to consolidate their ownership over all television and radio broadcasting.
Nothing is more dangerous to a republic than fanatics unconstrained by democratic politics. Yet in a second term of this administration, that's exactly what we'll have."
So that's all we need to worry about. Got it?
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Detailed below are key points excerpted from Robert Reich's article, W.'s Second Term: If you Think the First is Bad...:
"Musings about a second Bush term typically assume another four years of the same right-wing policies we've had to date. But it'd likely be far worse. So far, the Bush administration has had to govern with the expectation of facing American voters again in 2004. But suppose George W. Bush wins a second term. The constraint of a re-election contest will be gone. Knowing that voters can no longer turn them out, and that this will be their last shot at remaking America, the radical conservatives will be unleashed.
If Bush is re-elected, '[Dick] Cheney and [Donald] Rumsfeld are out of the box,' he said. 'They'll take Bush's re-election as a mandate to wage the 'war on terror' everywhere and anywhere.'
...Domestic policy will swing further right. A re-election would strengthen the White House's hand on issues that even many congressional Republicans have a hard time accepting, such as the assault on civil liberties. Bush will seek to push 'Patriot II' through Congress, giving the Justice Department and the FBI powers to inspect mail, eavesdrop on phone conversations and e-mail, and examine personal medical records, insurance claims, and bank accounts.
Economic policy, meanwhile, will be tilted even more brazenly toward the rich. Republican strategist Grover Norquist smugly predicts larger tax benefits for high earners in a second Bush administration. The goal will be to eliminate all taxes on capital gains, dividends, and other forms of unearned income and move toward a 'flat tax.'
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will surely step down from the Supreme Court, possibly joined by at least one other jurist, opening the way for the White House to nominate a series of right-wing justices, a list that could easily include Charles Pickering Sr. and William Pryor Jr. After Chief Justice William Rehnquist resigns, Bush may well nominate Antonin Scalia for the top slot -- opening the way for Scalia and Clarence Thomas to dominate the Court. Such a court will curtail abortion rights, whittle down the Fourth and Fifth amendments, end all affirmative action, and eliminate much of what's left of the barrier between church and state.
Automated voting machines will be easily rigged, with no paper trails to document abuses. Changes in campaign-finance laws will permit larger 'hard money' donations by corporate executives and federal contractors who have benefited by Republican policies.
Finally, the Federal Communications Commission will allow three or four giant media empires -- all tightly connected to the Republican Party -- to consolidate their ownership over all television and radio broadcasting.
Nothing is more dangerous to a republic than fanatics unconstrained by democratic politics. Yet in a second term of this administration, that's exactly what we'll have."
So that's all we need to worry about. Got it?
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8/6/01 PDB Released to Public
Bowing to political pressures, the White House released the Presidential Daily Bulletin today. This document contains information about threats facing the U.S. and was delivered to the President a day before he left for a month's vacation in Crawford and just over 30 days before the 9/11 disasters.. It was titled Bin Laden determined to attack inside the United States.
It's not surprising that this info was released on a Saturday afternoon. But the weekend release will have no effect on the uproar it will cause.
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Bowing to political pressures, the White House released the Presidential Daily Bulletin today. This document contains information about threats facing the U.S. and was delivered to the President a day before he left for a month's vacation in Crawford and just over 30 days before the 9/11 disasters.. It was titled Bin Laden determined to attack inside the United States.
It's not surprising that this info was released on a Saturday afternoon. But the weekend release will have no effect on the uproar it will cause.
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Your new Secretary of the Army!
Keith Berry, in this voluminous tome, makes the case for his own appointment to this vacant position.
This move will make it easier for Keith to see the Flashes of Kent State play football this season.
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Keith Berry, in this voluminous tome, makes the case for his own appointment to this vacant position.
This move will make it easier for Keith to see the Flashes of Kent State play football this season.
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Bush's Low Profile Questioned as Violence Flares in Iraq
The Washington Post has this article today on the problems facing the CPA in Iraq and why the President has decided to stay in Crawford when Americans are being killed or kidnapped in Fallujah and Baghdad:
..."If it were I in charge over there, I would have him out early next week to explain this whole thing," said a Republican strategist close to the Bush team who demanded anonymity as a condition of speaking freely about the administration. "He should restate what we're doing over there. He needs to provide a bigger picture to give voters more confidence that we know where we're going."...
I suggest that Bush is still in Crawford because he only knows what he's told and any forays into "indepedent thought" have to be vetted by RoveCardHughes. I would be very surprised if the president could speak for more than a minute or two on the subject without being given a script and an hour to study it. So the idea of the President being in a position to, "...restate what we're doing over there..." is laughable.
After all, when was the last time he had a press conference (without scripted questions)? Of course this might change if he picked up just one newspaper a day.
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The Washington Post has this article today on the problems facing the CPA in Iraq and why the President has decided to stay in Crawford when Americans are being killed or kidnapped in Fallujah and Baghdad:
..."If it were I in charge over there, I would have him out early next week to explain this whole thing," said a Republican strategist close to the Bush team who demanded anonymity as a condition of speaking freely about the administration. "He should restate what we're doing over there. He needs to provide a bigger picture to give voters more confidence that we know where we're going."...
I suggest that Bush is still in Crawford because he only knows what he's told and any forays into "indepedent thought" have to be vetted by RoveCardHughes. I would be very surprised if the president could speak for more than a minute or two on the subject without being given a script and an hour to study it. So the idea of the President being in a position to, "...restate what we're doing over there..." is laughable.
After all, when was the last time he had a press conference (without scripted questions)? Of course this might change if he picked up just one newspaper a day.
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Friday, April 09, 2004
Life is Good
I just received my first application for Penn State football season tickets. No more paying for tickets through someone else's Nittany Lion Club membership. Now Joepa has to let new offensive coordinator Galen Hall open up the offense.
We are. Penn State.
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I just received my first application for Penn State football season tickets. No more paying for tickets through someone else's Nittany Lion Club membership. Now Joepa has to let new offensive coordinator Galen Hall open up the offense.
We are. Penn State.
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And I'm complaining I can't take a week off
Buried in today's Washington Post:
...This is Bush's 33rd visit to his ranch since becoming president. He has spent all or part of 233 days on his Texas ranch since taking office, according to a tally by CBS News. Adding his 78 visits to Camp David and his five visits to Kennebunkport, Maine, Bush has spent all or part of 500 days in office at one of his three retreats, or more than 40 percent of his presidency...
Does it matter?
Unelected officials are running the country anyway.
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Buried in today's Washington Post:
...This is Bush's 33rd visit to his ranch since becoming president. He has spent all or part of 233 days on his Texas ranch since taking office, according to a tally by CBS News. Adding his 78 visits to Camp David and his five visits to Kennebunkport, Maine, Bush has spent all or part of 500 days in office at one of his three retreats, or more than 40 percent of his presidency...
Does it matter?
Unelected officials are running the country anyway.
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Kaye Grogan is at it again!
You'll remember a week ago that I critiqued an article by right wing zealot Grogan. She responded to my original post with more blather.
She has just posted another article. This one; Rupert Murdoch Leaves Liberal News Media Outfoxed crashes through the wall of foolishness into the anteroom of ignorance. Please try and force yourself to read the entire thing.
Here are selected portions of her article with more questions for Ms. Grogan:
News media mogul Rupert Murdoch has made a wise decision to back President Bush’s re-election. Democrats Senator Zell Miller of Georgia and former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, have also come out in support of the president and are joining forces with the Bush camp. President Bush has shown he has what it takes to stay the course in Iraq. No one likes war, but there will be wars and rumors of war, until the world ends, and nobody has the power to stop the inevitable.
Mr. Murdoch’s Fox News channel has given the American people a reprieve from biased,liberal news channels: CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, by introducing the "fair and balanced" approach. He struck oil when he realized the majority of the American people were sick of the one-sided "in your face" attitude of the aforementioned news entities. And they wonder why their ratings have toppled? Still and yet, they keep right on trying to "brainwash" what few viewers they have left...
Murdoch endorsed Bush? I sure hope so, because he's given the RNC $2 million through his various holdings under News Corp. since 2000. Of course this is a one-hand-washes-the-other relationship as FOX News is the mouthpiece for the Administration and this, in turn, gives News Corp. regulatory advantages in Washington D.C. The approval of the DirecTV deal is a perfect example of money buying influence. FCC Chairman Michael Powell is in Murdoch's pocket.
FOX News "fair and balanced." By this do you mean having viewers who are completely misinformed? That's what happens when you push only ONE SIDE of the story. You get ignorant people.
The fact that FOX has any ratings at all is an ominous sign for the future of our country.
Please Kaye, tell me what makes CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS & NBC liberal.
...Poor Bob Novak of CNN’s Capital Gang, looks like the lone ranger on most of the shows, when Kate O’Beirne the only other regular conservative is not present....
Poor Bob Novak? Do you feel sorry for Bob Novak for revealing the name of an undercover CIA agent? How about insinuating Richard Clarke was a racist after serving for 30 years under Reagan, Bush & Bush?
...I agree with Mr. Murdoch, 9/11 forever changed the course of America. We must continue to seek out the terrorists who wish to harm the citizens of our country. One can’t help but wonder what happened to the terrorists and their whereabouts, who were lucky enough to receive full pardons from prison, for their horrendous crimes of terrorism, by President Bill Clinton before he left office. What kind of message did this perhaps send to other criminals? How about. . . sometimes it does pay off to commit crimes? Sure did in this particular case.
What particular case? Kaye, you are asserting that Clinton released terrorists before he left office. I anxiously await your proof of that assertion (it has nothing to do with Clinton's penis.) After you comb the archives of Big Pharma let me know what you find.
Kaye, what about your boy? Let's hope the Bush Administration releases the necessary records so that the only person arrested in conncetion with 9/11 doesn't go free, again.
Again, the title of the story has nothing to do with the content. I'm sensing a theme here...
I'll contact her again and see if she responds.
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You'll remember a week ago that I critiqued an article by right wing zealot Grogan. She responded to my original post with more blather.
She has just posted another article. This one; Rupert Murdoch Leaves Liberal News Media Outfoxed crashes through the wall of foolishness into the anteroom of ignorance. Please try and force yourself to read the entire thing.
Here are selected portions of her article with more questions for Ms. Grogan:
News media mogul Rupert Murdoch has made a wise decision to back President Bush’s re-election. Democrats Senator Zell Miller of Georgia and former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, have also come out in support of the president and are joining forces with the Bush camp. President Bush has shown he has what it takes to stay the course in Iraq. No one likes war, but there will be wars and rumors of war, until the world ends, and nobody has the power to stop the inevitable.
Mr. Murdoch’s Fox News channel has given the American people a reprieve from biased,liberal news channels: CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, by introducing the "fair and balanced" approach. He struck oil when he realized the majority of the American people were sick of the one-sided "in your face" attitude of the aforementioned news entities. And they wonder why their ratings have toppled? Still and yet, they keep right on trying to "brainwash" what few viewers they have left...
Murdoch endorsed Bush? I sure hope so, because he's given the RNC $2 million through his various holdings under News Corp. since 2000. Of course this is a one-hand-washes-the-other relationship as FOX News is the mouthpiece for the Administration and this, in turn, gives News Corp. regulatory advantages in Washington D.C. The approval of the DirecTV deal is a perfect example of money buying influence. FCC Chairman Michael Powell is in Murdoch's pocket.
FOX News "fair and balanced." By this do you mean having viewers who are completely misinformed? That's what happens when you push only ONE SIDE of the story. You get ignorant people.
The fact that FOX has any ratings at all is an ominous sign for the future of our country.
Please Kaye, tell me what makes CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS & NBC liberal.
...Poor Bob Novak of CNN’s Capital Gang, looks like the lone ranger on most of the shows, when Kate O’Beirne the only other regular conservative is not present....
Poor Bob Novak? Do you feel sorry for Bob Novak for revealing the name of an undercover CIA agent? How about insinuating Richard Clarke was a racist after serving for 30 years under Reagan, Bush & Bush?
...I agree with Mr. Murdoch, 9/11 forever changed the course of America. We must continue to seek out the terrorists who wish to harm the citizens of our country. One can’t help but wonder what happened to the terrorists and their whereabouts, who were lucky enough to receive full pardons from prison, for their horrendous crimes of terrorism, by President Bill Clinton before he left office. What kind of message did this perhaps send to other criminals? How about. . . sometimes it does pay off to commit crimes? Sure did in this particular case.
What particular case? Kaye, you are asserting that Clinton released terrorists before he left office. I anxiously await your proof of that assertion (it has nothing to do with Clinton's penis.) After you comb the archives of Big Pharma let me know what you find.
Kaye, what about your boy? Let's hope the Bush Administration releases the necessary records so that the only person arrested in conncetion with 9/11 doesn't go free, again.
Again, the title of the story has nothing to do with the content. I'm sensing a theme here...
I'll contact her again and see if she responds.
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Technologically Gifted
My wife and I both work so we need to send our 11 month old son to daycare everyday, it is actually a friend of the family that watches kids at her home. She let us know about a situation that occurred yesterday and I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not. Her family recent got digital cable with all of the pay channels that comes with a remote that is straight from NASA (I know, we have one.) My son loves to play with the remote and cordless phone at home and our friend knows this. So when he started playing with the remote yesterday afternoon she didn't think much of it. Until she left the room for a moment and heard some strange (but slightly familiar) music coming from the TV room. It turns out that out of the 275 channels that my son could have chosen, he picked porn.
Moving forward, we'll be monitoring his media usage closely.
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My wife and I both work so we need to send our 11 month old son to daycare everyday, it is actually a friend of the family that watches kids at her home. She let us know about a situation that occurred yesterday and I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not. Her family recent got digital cable with all of the pay channels that comes with a remote that is straight from NASA (I know, we have one.) My son loves to play with the remote and cordless phone at home and our friend knows this. So when he started playing with the remote yesterday afternoon she didn't think much of it. Until she left the room for a moment and heard some strange (but slightly familiar) music coming from the TV room. It turns out that out of the 275 channels that my son could have chosen, he picked porn.
Moving forward, we'll be monitoring his media usage closely.
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Thursday, April 08, 2004
Perjury
From the Center for American Progress:
CLAIM:
"There really was nothing that looked like it was going to happen inside the United States...There was nothing demonstrating or showing that something was coming in the United States."
Source: - Condoleezza Rice, 4/8/04
FACT:
Page 204 of the Joint Congressional Inquiry into 9/11 noted that "In May 2001, the intelligence community obtained a report that Bin Laden supporters were planning to infiltrate the United States" to "carry out a terrorist operation using high explosives." The report "was included in an intelligence report for senior government officials in August [2001]." In the same month, the Pentagon "acquired and shared with other elements of the Intelligence Community information suggesting that seven persons associated with Bin Laden had departed various locations for Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States."
- Joint Congressional 9/11 Inquiry, 12/02
Unbelievable.
Thanks to InstaPundit for the picture (via Google.)
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From the Center for American Progress:
CLAIM:
"There really was nothing that looked like it was going to happen inside the United States...There was nothing demonstrating or showing that something was coming in the United States."
Source: - Condoleezza Rice, 4/8/04
FACT:
Page 204 of the Joint Congressional Inquiry into 9/11 noted that "In May 2001, the intelligence community obtained a report that Bin Laden supporters were planning to infiltrate the United States" to "carry out a terrorist operation using high explosives." The report "was included in an intelligence report for senior government officials in August [2001]." In the same month, the Pentagon "acquired and shared with other elements of the Intelligence Community information suggesting that seven persons associated with Bin Laden had departed various locations for Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States."
- Joint Congressional 9/11 Inquiry, 12/02
Unbelievable.
Thanks to InstaPundit for the picture (via Google.)
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Clear Channel gets Their Comeuppance
Clear Channel could be fined up to $495,000 for programming aired by Howard Stern deemed indecent by the FCC:
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission could fine radio station company Clear Channel Communications as much as $495,000 for indecency by radio personality Howard Stern, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday.
The fine will be for a Stern radio show that spawned a listener complaint and was aired on Clear Channel stations last year, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Sometimes called a "shock jock," Howard Stern is known for his raunchy radio and television show and has been fined for indecency on the radio before.
In the past month Stern was fined $27,000, the Journal said.
The fine's particulars had not been finalized by late yesterday, the Journal said.
Clear Channel is the radio giant who recently pulled Howard Stern from their stations in five U.S. markets. A drop in the bucket for them, but I'm sure Howard is gloating today.
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Clear Channel could be fined up to $495,000 for programming aired by Howard Stern deemed indecent by the FCC:
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission could fine radio station company Clear Channel Communications as much as $495,000 for indecency by radio personality Howard Stern, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday.
The fine will be for a Stern radio show that spawned a listener complaint and was aired on Clear Channel stations last year, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Sometimes called a "shock jock," Howard Stern is known for his raunchy radio and television show and has been fined for indecency on the radio before.
In the past month Stern was fined $27,000, the Journal said.
The fine's particulars had not been finalized by late yesterday, the Journal said.
Clear Channel is the radio giant who recently pulled Howard Stern from their stations in five U.S. markets. A drop in the bucket for them, but I'm sure Howard is gloating today.
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Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
While Condi is facing the heat, Bush is hosting the hunting lobby in Crawford. Including the NRA.
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While Condi is facing the heat, Bush is hosting the hunting lobby in Crawford. Including the NRA.
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Condi's Opening Statement
Lies exposed.
Details here.
All sourced.
Full marks to the Center for American Progress who must've been burning up the Lexis wires late this morning.
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Lies exposed.
Details here.
All sourced.
Full marks to the Center for American Progress who must've been burning up the Lexis wires late this morning.
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Investment Idea
Got a little money to invest? Forget about the stock market. This will make you millions.
Look for the IPO listed on the NYSE as: BGB
(Baby Got Back)
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Got a little money to invest? Forget about the stock market. This will make you millions.
Look for the IPO listed on the NYSE as: BGB
(Baby Got Back)
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Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Bloody Wednesday
UPDATE: 34 Americans dead since Sunday. Condi?
UPDATE 2: Even O'Reilly, Gingrich and Buchanan are piling on.
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UPDATE: 34 Americans dead since Sunday. Condi?
UPDATE 2: Even O'Reilly, Gingrich and Buchanan are piling on.
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Hannity's flip-flop lies on Kerry debunked
This post on the blog from the O'Franken Factor rebuts beautifully the lies spewed by hack radio talk show host Sean Hannity. If you read Hannity's claims carefully you'll notice that it sounds like a Bush campaign commercial. Wait a minute, it already is.
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This post on the blog from the O'Franken Factor rebuts beautifully the lies spewed by hack radio talk show host Sean Hannity. If you read Hannity's claims carefully you'll notice that it sounds like a Bush campaign commercial. Wait a minute, it already is.
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Phils Win!
We probably won't be posting after every Phils win because after I get to 105 posts Keith, proprietor of Berry's World might start to get perturbed. But we'll enjoy the first win of the season for now. It didn't come without a "Mesa moment" as new closer Billy Wagner gave up a lead-off gapper to Raul Mondesi who, inexplicably, tried to stretch it into a triple. Only a perfect relay throw from Jimmy Rollins (via Pat Burrell) was able to get Mondesi at third. Little trouble for Wagner after that as he hitt 99 on the radar three times en route to his first Phillies save. Hopefully, the first of many.
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We probably won't be posting after every Phils win because after I get to 105 posts Keith, proprietor of Berry's World might start to get perturbed. But we'll enjoy the first win of the season for now. It didn't come without a "Mesa moment" as new closer Billy Wagner gave up a lead-off gapper to Raul Mondesi who, inexplicably, tried to stretch it into a triple. Only a perfect relay throw from Jimmy Rollins (via Pat Burrell) was able to get Mondesi at third. Little trouble for Wagner after that as he hitt 99 on the radar three times en route to his first Phillies save. Hopefully, the first of many.
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Condi's Big Lie Day
Tomorrow Condoleeza Rice will testify in front of the 9/11 commission as to what steps the Bush Administration took to prevent our greatest disaster. The Center for American Progress has questions that should be asked but probably won't:
Why was it in our national interests for the Administration to facilitate the evacuation of Bin Laden family members and other prominent Saudis from the United States in the days immediately following 9/11?
Knowing that Afghanistan was a hotbed of terrorism, why didn't the Administration do more prior to 9/11 to increase security or plan to remove the Taliban?
If we have more questions in the course of our investigation, would you be willing to come testify under oath again?
We know the answer to the last one.
UPDATE: More Condi questions here from Peter Bergen on the NYT Op-Ed page.
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Tomorrow Condoleeza Rice will testify in front of the 9/11 commission as to what steps the Bush Administration took to prevent our greatest disaster. The Center for American Progress has questions that should be asked but probably won't:
Why was it in our national interests for the Administration to facilitate the evacuation of Bin Laden family members and other prominent Saudis from the United States in the days immediately following 9/11?
Knowing that Afghanistan was a hotbed of terrorism, why didn't the Administration do more prior to 9/11 to increase security or plan to remove the Taliban?
If we have more questions in the course of our investigation, would you be willing to come testify under oath again?
We know the answer to the last one.
UPDATE: More Condi questions here from Peter Bergen on the NYT Op-Ed page.
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"Harmless" VX gas to be dumped into the Delaware River
Fred Clark over at Slacktivist has a shocking story about our efforts to pare down our stockpiles of VX Gas. Unfortunately, this includes decontaminating it and dumping it into the Delaware River.
Contaminated or not I can't imagine this could be good for the ecosystem. Scary.
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Fred Clark over at Slacktivist has a shocking story about our efforts to pare down our stockpiles of VX Gas. Unfortunately, this includes decontaminating it and dumping it into the Delaware River.
Contaminated or not I can't imagine this could be good for the ecosystem. Scary.
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Right Eye Guy
In a hilarious take off on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy this web site promotes a Planned Parenthood march for reproductive rights. The event takes place in Washington DC on April 25th. Even if you can't attend the event be sure to watch this animated short starring Rush Limbaugh & Pat Robertson along with other right wing hacks.
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In a hilarious take off on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy this web site promotes a Planned Parenthood march for reproductive rights. The event takes place in Washington DC on April 25th. Even if you can't attend the event be sure to watch this animated short starring Rush Limbaugh & Pat Robertson along with other right wing hacks.
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This is bad
Coalition forces in Iraq have just bombed a mosque in Fallujah. 40 Iraqis dead.
Things will get much worse before they get better. The June 30th deadline should be a memory.
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Coalition forces in Iraq have just bombed a mosque in Fallujah. 40 Iraqis dead.
Things will get much worse before they get better. The June 30th deadline should be a memory.
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Arsenal Hoping for one Trophy
I was thrilled to get a TIVO from my wife a couple of weeks ago knowing that ESPN2 would be broadcasting Champions League Soccer, featuring the Arsenal-Chelsea quarterfinal. Readers here know one of my passions is the Arsenal Football Club so I was excited to go home after work yesterday and watch the TIVO replay of the 2nd leg against the Blues. My hopes for advancement in Europe were crushed as the Gunners lost the game 2-1 and 3-2 on aggregate. And after their FA Cup exit, Arsenal only have a chance for one trophy this season which they'll receive if the win the Premiership. Even that's in doubt as they have a four point lead on Chelsea with a game in hand. If Chelsea win two in a row and we draw three in a row we'll be tied atop the table. This is a long way from the treble talk of just a few weeks ago. Amazingly, Arsenal have only lost one match in domestic competitions this season and none in the Premiership proper. Manager Arsene Wenger will have much work to do in rebuilding the confidence of his team. And their supporters.
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I was thrilled to get a TIVO from my wife a couple of weeks ago knowing that ESPN2 would be broadcasting Champions League Soccer, featuring the Arsenal-Chelsea quarterfinal. Readers here know one of my passions is the Arsenal Football Club so I was excited to go home after work yesterday and watch the TIVO replay of the 2nd leg against the Blues. My hopes for advancement in Europe were crushed as the Gunners lost the game 2-1 and 3-2 on aggregate. And after their FA Cup exit, Arsenal only have a chance for one trophy this season which they'll receive if the win the Premiership. Even that's in doubt as they have a four point lead on Chelsea with a game in hand. If Chelsea win two in a row and we draw three in a row we'll be tied atop the table. This is a long way from the treble talk of just a few weeks ago. Amazingly, Arsenal have only lost one match in domestic competitions this season and none in the Premiership proper. Manager Arsene Wenger will have much work to do in rebuilding the confidence of his team. And their supporters.
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Tuesday, April 06, 2004
At Least it's Official Now
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. will be setting up shop in the U.S. which makes sense because this is where 75% of his revenue comes from.
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Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. will be setting up shop in the U.S. which makes sense because this is where 75% of his revenue comes from.
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NPR Adrift?
Two weeks ago National Public Radio demoted long-time Morning Edition host Bob Edwards to Senior Correspondent. You'd think that NPR would have a solid plan for moving forward after the change becomes permanent on May first. Apparently not:
...If there is a grand plan for bettering NPR, the network is not revealing it to its listeners.
Further, and perhaps more troubling, NPR is not revealing it to its affiliates.
Certainly, as first explained, Edward's ouster seemed to signal some new direction within the organization.
But what that may be is no clearer these weeks later, and some must now suspect that rather than a bold new direction for NPR, all crafted out, there is in its place but a vague notion of a need to change.
All this leaves affiliates asking, Who are we, what are we? What the hell is going on?
And they are asking these questions at precisely the time when they most need answers: Their pledge periods.
While NPR may have the hefty $200 million donation from Ray Kroc’s widow to fall back on, the affiliates aren’t as lucky. They earn their money the hard way, by pitching viewers for smaller sums.
“I don’t understand the thinking behind moving Edwards off the show, and many of my listeners don’t either,” says Gerry Weston, president of the Public Radio Partnership in Louisville, KY....
And then there's this:
...Edwards has hosted “Morning Edition” since it began in 1979. NPR says over the last five years the network’s overall audience has grown more than 60 percent. Listenership for “Morning Edition” alone is up over 40 percent during the same period. Some 13 million people a week tune in for a taste of Edwards on their radios...
If you feel strongly about the presence of Bob Edwards on Morning Edition, you can sign a petition here. At this site you can also link to hear what Mr. Edwards thinks about the move.
It makes me wonder what my pledge dollars are doing.
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Two weeks ago National Public Radio demoted long-time Morning Edition host Bob Edwards to Senior Correspondent. You'd think that NPR would have a solid plan for moving forward after the change becomes permanent on May first. Apparently not:
...If there is a grand plan for bettering NPR, the network is not revealing it to its listeners.
Further, and perhaps more troubling, NPR is not revealing it to its affiliates.
Certainly, as first explained, Edward's ouster seemed to signal some new direction within the organization.
But what that may be is no clearer these weeks later, and some must now suspect that rather than a bold new direction for NPR, all crafted out, there is in its place but a vague notion of a need to change.
All this leaves affiliates asking, Who are we, what are we? What the hell is going on?
And they are asking these questions at precisely the time when they most need answers: Their pledge periods.
While NPR may have the hefty $200 million donation from Ray Kroc’s widow to fall back on, the affiliates aren’t as lucky. They earn their money the hard way, by pitching viewers for smaller sums.
“I don’t understand the thinking behind moving Edwards off the show, and many of my listeners don’t either,” says Gerry Weston, president of the Public Radio Partnership in Louisville, KY....
And then there's this:
...Edwards has hosted “Morning Edition” since it began in 1979. NPR says over the last five years the network’s overall audience has grown more than 60 percent. Listenership for “Morning Edition” alone is up over 40 percent during the same period. Some 13 million people a week tune in for a taste of Edwards on their radios...
If you feel strongly about the presence of Bob Edwards on Morning Edition, you can sign a petition here. At this site you can also link to hear what Mr. Edwards thinks about the move.
It makes me wonder what my pledge dollars are doing.
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Karl Rove Will Stop at Nothing to get Bush Re-elected
This article by Nicholas Lemann from the 5/12/03 issue of the New Yorker provides some background on the Senior White House Advisor:
...Other Republican consultants in Texas often found themselves in conflict with Rove. An oft-told story involved Rove and a Republican consultant named John Weaver. At one time, Rove and Weaver were so close that they planned to go into business together. Then the plans were dropped, and shortly afterward Rove called Weaver in and accused him of a personal misdeed. Lots of people in Texas heard the story-thanks to Rove, it seemed. The bitterness between the Bush and the John McCain campaigns during the 2000 Republican primary season was in part a continuation of that feud, since Weaver played the same role in McCain's campaign that Rove played in Bush´s. After Bush had been badly beaten by McCain in the New Hampshire primary and his campaign moved on to South Carolina, its back against the wall, the McCain people thought they were seeing the Mark of Rove when scurrilous material started circulating-dark suggestions that McCain had committed treason while a prisoner of war, and had fathered a child by a black prostitute. But there were no fingerprints, Bush won the primary, and that was the end of the McCain campaign...
It's a long article, but if you didn't see it last year, it's worth the effort.
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This article by Nicholas Lemann from the 5/12/03 issue of the New Yorker provides some background on the Senior White House Advisor:
...Other Republican consultants in Texas often found themselves in conflict with Rove. An oft-told story involved Rove and a Republican consultant named John Weaver. At one time, Rove and Weaver were so close that they planned to go into business together. Then the plans were dropped, and shortly afterward Rove called Weaver in and accused him of a personal misdeed. Lots of people in Texas heard the story-thanks to Rove, it seemed. The bitterness between the Bush and the John McCain campaigns during the 2000 Republican primary season was in part a continuation of that feud, since Weaver played the same role in McCain's campaign that Rove played in Bush´s. After Bush had been badly beaten by McCain in the New Hampshire primary and his campaign moved on to South Carolina, its back against the wall, the McCain people thought they were seeing the Mark of Rove when scurrilous material started circulating-dark suggestions that McCain had committed treason while a prisoner of war, and had fathered a child by a black prostitute. But there were no fingerprints, Bush won the primary, and that was the end of the McCain campaign...
It's a long article, but if you didn't see it last year, it's worth the effort.
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Monday, April 05, 2004
Then and Now
A couple of weeks ago I posted my goodbye to Veteran's Stadium(crater, above left.) This past Saturday I had an opportunity to attend the first game at Citizen's Bank Park(oasis, above right) just across the street from where the Vet used to stand.
I prattled on about the Vet previously, but I wanted to share one other thing. They imploded it on a Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago. The following morning on WXPN-FM they went on and on about the demise of the Vet (as was everyone in Philly) and then, with no introduction, they played Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell. If you know the song, then yes, you could consider it sappy and cliched. If you don't, check out the lyrics and you'll understand what they're doing with the crater. And what the Vet meant to a generation of Philadelphia sports fans.
Onto the new park, this past Saturday... My seats were in the second deck toward the left field corner (under the overhang), so I was unable to see (along with probably 15% of the total fans) the big video scoreboard beyond the left fiels wall. Another frustrating thing was that none of the other auxiliary scoreboards were working, so you couldn't see the batter, ball count or the score. It was an exhibition game, but still, I like to know the game situation and its difficult to keep track all the time when you have to keep buying beer. In defense of the Phils, they announced that things weren't quite finished as workers were up the entire previous night trying to get the Park ready.
Those are the only bad things I can say. The sightlines are amazing, even from the concession stands on the lower level, where you can get a pint of Yards while watching Placido Polanco work another 12 pitch at-bat. The field is what you'd expect from a regenerated old-school ballpark, the "angle" in the outfield will be good for at least three inside the park HRs this year and the out-of-town scoreboards over the RF wall also give a classic feel.
And, oh yes, the grass field. I can't tell you what the 2004 Phillies will accomplish, but I can tell you they probably won't do it with the stolen base. It's still nice to know we can tailor the field to our strengths. If we play all year with this line-up, we'll keep the grass short. But if Marlon Byrd and Polanco start to run a little we can grow the grass to slow the ball down and let our guys run wild. (The same will work in a post-season series.) It's nice to have options.
I don't know if this park will give us any special home-field advantage in a playoff series because of the open areas in CF and down the LF line, but I really hope we can find out soon. We have a new park to show off.
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A couple of weeks ago I posted my goodbye to Veteran's Stadium(crater, above left.) This past Saturday I had an opportunity to attend the first game at Citizen's Bank Park(oasis, above right) just across the street from where the Vet used to stand.
I prattled on about the Vet previously, but I wanted to share one other thing. They imploded it on a Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago. The following morning on WXPN-FM they went on and on about the demise of the Vet (as was everyone in Philly) and then, with no introduction, they played Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell. If you know the song, then yes, you could consider it sappy and cliched. If you don't, check out the lyrics and you'll understand what they're doing with the crater. And what the Vet meant to a generation of Philadelphia sports fans.
Onto the new park, this past Saturday... My seats were in the second deck toward the left field corner (under the overhang), so I was unable to see (along with probably 15% of the total fans) the big video scoreboard beyond the left fiels wall. Another frustrating thing was that none of the other auxiliary scoreboards were working, so you couldn't see the batter, ball count or the score. It was an exhibition game, but still, I like to know the game situation and its difficult to keep track all the time when you have to keep buying beer. In defense of the Phils, they announced that things weren't quite finished as workers were up the entire previous night trying to get the Park ready.
Those are the only bad things I can say. The sightlines are amazing, even from the concession stands on the lower level, where you can get a pint of Yards while watching Placido Polanco work another 12 pitch at-bat. The field is what you'd expect from a regenerated old-school ballpark, the "angle" in the outfield will be good for at least three inside the park HRs this year and the out-of-town scoreboards over the RF wall also give a classic feel.
And, oh yes, the grass field. I can't tell you what the 2004 Phillies will accomplish, but I can tell you they probably won't do it with the stolen base. It's still nice to know we can tailor the field to our strengths. If we play all year with this line-up, we'll keep the grass short. But if Marlon Byrd and Polanco start to run a little we can grow the grass to slow the ball down and let our guys run wild. (The same will work in a post-season series.) It's nice to have options.
I don't know if this park will give us any special home-field advantage in a playoff series because of the open areas in CF and down the LF line, but I really hope we can find out soon. We have a new park to show off.
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What happens if Kerry wins?
What will become of the current President? I bet he hits the lecture circuit for thousands of these.
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What will become of the current President? I bet he hits the lecture circuit for thousands of these.
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That'll Leave a Mark
According to poll data from Pew the President now has a 43% approval rating for job performance (47% disapprove.) People still believe going into Iraq was the right decision, as they support Bush 57-35.
I wonder who Rove will attack over this... The Cookie Monster? Martha Stewart? Barry Bonds? Idi Amin?
Thanks to Atrios for the link.
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According to poll data from Pew the President now has a 43% approval rating for job performance (47% disapprove.) People still believe going into Iraq was the right decision, as they support Bush 57-35.
I wonder who Rove will attack over this... The Cookie Monster? Martha Stewart? Barry Bonds? Idi Amin?
Thanks to Atrios for the link.
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9/11 Findings may not be out until After election day
Because the White House will need to go over the entire final report, it may not be released until after election day.
I'm sure this is a card Rove and the boys have been holding for a while and it's just become known. Commission Chair Kean was, "surprised" at this revelation but, "sees now way around it." They "vetted" Clarke's new book for three months, so I imagine we'll be seeing the 9/11 report a year from now.
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Because the White House will need to go over the entire final report, it may not be released until after election day.
I'm sure this is a card Rove and the boys have been holding for a while and it's just become known. Commission Chair Kean was, "surprised" at this revelation but, "sees now way around it." They "vetted" Clarke's new book for three months, so I imagine we'll be seeing the 9/11 report a year from now.
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Sunday, April 04, 2004
Seven Soldiers Dead, 24 Injured Sunday
April has begun the way March ended, with more American blood shed. The clash occurred in a Shiite neighborhood in eastern Baghdad.
Bush lied and our soldiers died.
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April has begun the way March ended, with more American blood shed. The clash occurred in a Shiite neighborhood in eastern Baghdad.
Bush lied and our soldiers died.
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The Response
For those just joining us: On Friday I found a column entitled False Accusations Against the President Should be a Felony written by Kaye Grogan of Virginia. The link to the entire article and some questions I asked her are directly below this post.
It was surprising to find a response email from Ms. Grogan less than three hours after I sent it. Here it is:
First of all Brad, (if I may address you by your first name), President
Clinton admitted to the shall we say...unpresidential
conduct in the Oval office in the White House. Plus, there are records and
sanctions to prove this to be the case. There is no concrete proof
President Bush went AWOL from the National Guard service during his tenure.
There is no proof. . . the president knew in advance of a 9/11 attack, by
the al-Qaida terrorists, before the fact. Taking rumors and slinging them
on the wall, to see if any might stick, is totally destructive to our
society. It could even be considered childlike if the practice weren't so
dangerous to our democracy.
As for Al Gore winning the popular vote in 2000. . . this could be debated
alone for years. When you take away the reported dead people, pets, and
illegal voters who probably voted, this number would and could drop
dramatically.
We are all in this together. Whether one is a liberal, conservative,
Democrat, Republican or something else, does not matter to terrorists. When
those two planes crashed into the World Trade Center Towers and into the
Pentagon, there were people of all nationalities, religions, and party
affiliations. My point? It doesn't matter to terrorists who they kill.
I appreciate your taking the time to read my article. And whether I agree
or disagree with your comments. . . I believe you have the right to express
your opinion.
Wholly disappointing. This woman is what the right wing press is all about. All bluster and no substance. I like the way we she says I believe you have the right to express your opinion and yet her article is completely opposite of that point of view. And no, I don't think she's mentally challeged.
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For those just joining us: On Friday I found a column entitled False Accusations Against the President Should be a Felony written by Kaye Grogan of Virginia. The link to the entire article and some questions I asked her are directly below this post.
It was surprising to find a response email from Ms. Grogan less than three hours after I sent it. Here it is:
First of all Brad, (if I may address you by your first name), President
Clinton admitted to the shall we say...unpresidential
conduct in the Oval office in the White House. Plus, there are records and
sanctions to prove this to be the case. There is no concrete proof
President Bush went AWOL from the National Guard service during his tenure.
There is no proof. . . the president knew in advance of a 9/11 attack, by
the al-Qaida terrorists, before the fact. Taking rumors and slinging them
on the wall, to see if any might stick, is totally destructive to our
society. It could even be considered childlike if the practice weren't so
dangerous to our democracy.
As for Al Gore winning the popular vote in 2000. . . this could be debated
alone for years. When you take away the reported dead people, pets, and
illegal voters who probably voted, this number would and could drop
dramatically.
We are all in this together. Whether one is a liberal, conservative,
Democrat, Republican or something else, does not matter to terrorists. When
those two planes crashed into the World Trade Center Towers and into the
Pentagon, there were people of all nationalities, religions, and party
affiliations. My point? It doesn't matter to terrorists who they kill.
I appreciate your taking the time to read my article. And whether I agree
or disagree with your comments. . . I believe you have the right to express
your opinion.
Wholly disappointing. This woman is what the right wing press is all about. All bluster and no substance. I like the way we she says I believe you have the right to express your opinion and yet her article is completely opposite of that point of view. And no, I don't think she's mentally challeged.
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Friday, April 02, 2004
Accusations Against the President should be a Felony
I just came across this article by a woman named Kaye Grogan. Here is the first graf, but I encourage you to read the whole thing:
There needs to be a law passed where any person who disrespects the "Office of the Presidency" by making false accusations and spreading deliberate rumors about the president, should be charged with a felony or at the very least a high misdemeanor. President Bush has been falsely accused (with nothing concrete to back the accusations up), from being negligent in stopping the 9/11 attacks, to making up fraudulent reasons to go to war in Iraq.
This article raises several questions and yes, these are directed to the author...
How about all of the allegations made against President Clinton? Weren't those "false"? Where were you six years ago?
I think the reasons for going to war in Iraq were all fraudulent. How can you say their is nothing factual to back up this fraudulent claim?
Your abortion assertion is debatable, but didn't the pro-life President lose the popular vote in 2000? If he is successful in overturning Roe vs. Wade do you know what we'll have to look forward to?
I do agree with your assertions that people do not want their elected officials in bed with big business nor do we feel that politicians can police themselves.
Why do you write about supporting someone who participates in political hatred when you oppose it?
This article is worthy of being called Coulteresque and I'm wondering if Ms. Grogan will take that as a compliment or if she'll even take the time to respond, as I've asked her to do. Please check back as we might have ourselves some good old-fashioned political discourse.
Thanks to Orcinus for posting this article.
UPDATE: Ms. Grogan responded. I'll post her rebuttal on Saturday.
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I just came across this article by a woman named Kaye Grogan. Here is the first graf, but I encourage you to read the whole thing:
There needs to be a law passed where any person who disrespects the "Office of the Presidency" by making false accusations and spreading deliberate rumors about the president, should be charged with a felony or at the very least a high misdemeanor. President Bush has been falsely accused (with nothing concrete to back the accusations up), from being negligent in stopping the 9/11 attacks, to making up fraudulent reasons to go to war in Iraq.
This article raises several questions and yes, these are directed to the author...
How about all of the allegations made against President Clinton? Weren't those "false"? Where were you six years ago?
I think the reasons for going to war in Iraq were all fraudulent. How can you say their is nothing factual to back up this fraudulent claim?
Your abortion assertion is debatable, but didn't the pro-life President lose the popular vote in 2000? If he is successful in overturning Roe vs. Wade do you know what we'll have to look forward to?
I do agree with your assertions that people do not want their elected officials in bed with big business nor do we feel that politicians can police themselves.
Why do you write about supporting someone who participates in political hatred when you oppose it?
This article is worthy of being called Coulteresque and I'm wondering if Ms. Grogan will take that as a compliment or if she'll even take the time to respond, as I've asked her to do. Please check back as we might have ourselves some good old-fashioned political discourse.
Thanks to Orcinus for posting this article.
UPDATE: Ms. Grogan responded. I'll post her rebuttal on Saturday.
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DEBATES: Kerry vs. Bush & Adult
Bad Attitudes has come up with an interesting idea for the Presidential debates, in light of the recent demand to the 9/11 Commission. I think it has legs and Big John would wipe the floor with them.
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Bad Attitudes has come up with an interesting idea for the Presidential debates, in light of the recent demand to the 9/11 Commission. I think it has legs and Big John would wipe the floor with them.
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CNN's Ethical Standards or Lack Thereof
Paul Krugman's column today details the junk CNN has been spewing this week. One event was linked to the David Letterman show:
On Monday, Mr. Letterman ran a video clip of a boy yawning and fidgeting during a speech by George Bush. It was harmless stuff; a White House that thinks it's cute to have Mr. Bush make jokes about missing W.M.D. should be able to handle a little ribbing about boring speeches.
CNN ran the Letterman clip on Tuesday, just before a commercial. Then the CNN anchor Daryn Kagan came back to inform viewers that the clip was a fake: "We're being told by the White House that the kid, as funny as he was, was edited into that video." Later in the day, another anchor amended that: the boy was at the rally, but not where he was shown in the video.
On his Tuesday night show, Mr. Letterman was not amused: "That is an out and out 100 percent absolute lie. The kid absolutely was there, and he absolutely was doing everything we pictured via the videotape."
But here's the really interesting part: CNN backed down, but it told Mr. Letterman that Ms. Kagan "misspoke," that the White House was not the source of the false claim. (So who was? And if the claim didn't come from the White House, why did CNN run with it without checking?)
Do you think we'll ever get the answer to that question? I don't think Dave will become a complete Bush-bashing Howard Stern acolyte, but if I'm Bush, I'm looking for friends right now and not more people to rip me. It's probably too late as the writers for Dave have enough material to skewer Bush and CNN for years.
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Paul Krugman's column today details the junk CNN has been spewing this week. One event was linked to the David Letterman show:
On Monday, Mr. Letterman ran a video clip of a boy yawning and fidgeting during a speech by George Bush. It was harmless stuff; a White House that thinks it's cute to have Mr. Bush make jokes about missing W.M.D. should be able to handle a little ribbing about boring speeches.
CNN ran the Letterman clip on Tuesday, just before a commercial. Then the CNN anchor Daryn Kagan came back to inform viewers that the clip was a fake: "We're being told by the White House that the kid, as funny as he was, was edited into that video." Later in the day, another anchor amended that: the boy was at the rally, but not where he was shown in the video.
On his Tuesday night show, Mr. Letterman was not amused: "That is an out and out 100 percent absolute lie. The kid absolutely was there, and he absolutely was doing everything we pictured via the videotape."
But here's the really interesting part: CNN backed down, but it told Mr. Letterman that Ms. Kagan "misspoke," that the White House was not the source of the false claim. (So who was? And if the claim didn't come from the White House, why did CNN run with it without checking?)
Do you think we'll ever get the answer to that question? I don't think Dave will become a complete Bush-bashing Howard Stern acolyte, but if I'm Bush, I'm looking for friends right now and not more people to rip me. It's probably too late as the writers for Dave have enough material to skewer Bush and CNN for years.
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Unfocus Your Eyes...
...and take a look at this.
The technical name is light propagation in binary space.
Or, just plain cool. Thanks to Presurfer.
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...and take a look at this.
The technical name is light propagation in binary space.
Or, just plain cool. Thanks to Presurfer.
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Plame Investigation Expanding
In what has already been an awful couple of months for the Bush Administration, it looks as though things could get even worse.
In the investigation into the outing of CIA agent, Valerie Plame, apparently there are inconsistencies between what internal White House documents say and information given by WH staffers.
Thanks to budding Air America radio star Atrios for pointing this out.
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In what has already been an awful couple of months for the Bush Administration, it looks as though things could get even worse.
In the investigation into the outing of CIA agent, Valerie Plame, apparently there are inconsistencies between what internal White House documents say and information given by WH staffers.
Thanks to budding Air America radio star Atrios for pointing this out.
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Sixty Minutes: Prelude to Smear
It looks as though there will be another person on Sixty Minutes this week slamming the Bush Administration shortcomings. This Week's topic isWMD pre-war intelligence an environmental coverup.
Friend of Uncle Horn Head, Keith Berry (who is currently searching for his own blogosphere detente) has the preview of the interview with Jack Spadaro that will get the White House slime machine working overtime again. It's only been a week, I bet they still remember how to smear.
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It looks as though there will be another person on Sixty Minutes this week slamming the Bush Administration shortcomings. This Week's topic is
Friend of Uncle Horn Head, Keith Berry (who is currently searching for his own blogosphere detente) has the preview of the interview with Jack Spadaro that will get the White House slime machine working overtime again. It's only been a week, I bet they still remember how to smear.
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Thursday, April 01, 2004
Worth Revisiting, from 12/8/03 - James Baker's Swindle
Courtesy of Greg Palast is this gem about how James Baker III is lining his pockets, W's pockets and Saudi pockets while restructuring Iraq's sovereign debt:
...But our President is not going to let something as trivial as international law stand in the way of a quick buck for Mr. Baker. To get around the wee issue that Bush has no legal authority to mess with Iraq's debt, the White House has crafted a neat little subterfuge. The official press release says the President has not appointed Mr. Baker. Rather Mr. Bush is "responding to a request from the Iraqi Governing Council." That is, Bush is acting on the authority of the puppet government he imposed on Iraqis at gunpoint.
I will grant the Iraqi "government" has some knowledge of international finance; its key member, Ahmed Chalabi, is a convicted bank swindler.
The Bush team must see the other advantage in having the rump rulers of Iraq pretend to choose Mr. Baker; the US Senate will not have to review or confirm the appointment. If you remember, Henry Kissinger ran away from the September 11 commission with his consulting firm tucked between his legs after the Senate demanded he reveal his client list. In the case of Jim Baker, who will be acting as a de facto US Treasury secretary for international affairs, our elected Congress will have no chance to ask him who is paying his firm.… nor even require him to get off conflicting payrolls...
And then of course there was the 2000 election, from the same article.
Why is our President so concerned with the wishes of Mr. Baker's clientele? What does Bush owe Baker? Let me count the ways, beginning with the 2000 election.
Just last week Baker said, "I fixed the election in Florida for George Bush." That was the substance of his remarks to an audience of Russian big wigs as reported to me by my somewhat astonished colleagues at BBC television.
It was Baker, as consiglieri to the Bush family, who came up with the strategy of maneuvering the 2000 Florida vote count into a Supreme Court packed with politicos.
Baker's claim to have fixed the election was not a confession; it was a boast. He meant to dazzle current and potential clients about his Big In with the Big Boy in the White House. Baker's firm is already a top player in the Great Game of seizing Caspian Sea oil. (An executive of Exxon-Mobil, one of Baker Botts's clients, has been charged with evading taxes on bribes paid in Kazakhstan.)
This is just a taste of what you can find at Greg Palast's web site. For those unfamiliar with Mr. Palast, he was one of the first journalists to break the story of the purged FL voter rolls in 2000. His book, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy is excellent.
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Courtesy of Greg Palast is this gem about how James Baker III is lining his pockets, W's pockets and Saudi pockets while restructuring Iraq's sovereign debt:
...But our President is not going to let something as trivial as international law stand in the way of a quick buck for Mr. Baker. To get around the wee issue that Bush has no legal authority to mess with Iraq's debt, the White House has crafted a neat little subterfuge. The official press release says the President has not appointed Mr. Baker. Rather Mr. Bush is "responding to a request from the Iraqi Governing Council." That is, Bush is acting on the authority of the puppet government he imposed on Iraqis at gunpoint.
I will grant the Iraqi "government" has some knowledge of international finance; its key member, Ahmed Chalabi, is a convicted bank swindler.
The Bush team must see the other advantage in having the rump rulers of Iraq pretend to choose Mr. Baker; the US Senate will not have to review or confirm the appointment. If you remember, Henry Kissinger ran away from the September 11 commission with his consulting firm tucked between his legs after the Senate demanded he reveal his client list. In the case of Jim Baker, who will be acting as a de facto US Treasury secretary for international affairs, our elected Congress will have no chance to ask him who is paying his firm.… nor even require him to get off conflicting payrolls...
And then of course there was the 2000 election, from the same article.
Why is our President so concerned with the wishes of Mr. Baker's clientele? What does Bush owe Baker? Let me count the ways, beginning with the 2000 election.
Just last week Baker said, "I fixed the election in Florida for George Bush." That was the substance of his remarks to an audience of Russian big wigs as reported to me by my somewhat astonished colleagues at BBC television.
It was Baker, as consiglieri to the Bush family, who came up with the strategy of maneuvering the 2000 Florida vote count into a Supreme Court packed with politicos.
Baker's claim to have fixed the election was not a confession; it was a boast. He meant to dazzle current and potential clients about his Big In with the Big Boy in the White House. Baker's firm is already a top player in the Great Game of seizing Caspian Sea oil. (An executive of Exxon-Mobil, one of Baker Botts's clients, has been charged with evading taxes on bribes paid in Kazakhstan.)
This is just a taste of what you can find at Greg Palast's web site. For those unfamiliar with Mr. Palast, he was one of the first journalists to break the story of the purged FL voter rolls in 2000. His book, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy is excellent.
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Stop Picking on my Son! (Thanks for the donation)
Former President Bush (41 - One Term) is upset at the way "elites and intellectuals on the campaign trail" have been ridiculing his son on his foreign policy, most notably Iraq. Bush made his comments on Tuesday in a speech at the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association annual convention.
This is a joke right? Why draw attention to yourself at this event when you and your son are constantly being raked over the coals for being in bed with big business (SEE: Tax Cuts for the Rich, Exorbitant) ?
I guess that's a rhetorical question.
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Former President Bush (41 - One Term) is upset at the way "elites and intellectuals on the campaign trail" have been ridiculing his son on his foreign policy, most notably Iraq. Bush made his comments on Tuesday in a speech at the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association annual convention.
This is a joke right? Why draw attention to yourself at this event when you and your son are constantly being raked over the coals for being in bed with big business (SEE: Tax Cuts for the Rich, Exorbitant) ?
I guess that's a rhetorical question.
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