earth2you2

Howard Dean Stands up for Public Option

2009-08-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

After it appears the Obama administration is backtracking from the public option provision of health care reform, Howard Dean is standing tall and calling for real reform.

"You really can't do health reform" without allowing the government to compete with private insurers, said Howard Dean, a former Democratic Party chairman. "Let's not say we're doing health reform without a public option," he added in a slap at the administration's latest move.

Get 'em, Howard.

History of Republicans' Systematic Lying

2009-08-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

If you think the blatant lies fostered by the Republican Party against President Obama's health care plan is new, you have to read Robert Parry's essay, Palin's 'Death Panel' and GOP Lying.

Parry traces the tactic back to the start of the Reagan administration:

It was during the early Reagan administration that it hit me that falsifying reality was no longer an aberration for Republicans – something done by a politician caught in a tight spot or a debater spinning a losing argument – but had become part and parcel of GOP strategy.

Not that Democrats and other politicians don’t lie or dissemble, too. As a reporter for the Associated Press, I had encountered devious politicians of various stripes while covering Rhode Island politics and Washington’s Capitol Hill in the mid-to-late 1970s.

But something new was afoot in the early 1980s. Republicans were adopting a conscious approach to deception that was qualitatively different from what was common in politics. With the aid of a growing right-wing media, the GOP covered up ghastly crimes by its allies and enflamed public opinion against its adversaries, regardless of the facts.

I first confronted this pattern while covering Reagan’s hard-line policies toward Central America. The lies started just weeks after Reagan’s 1980 election, when four American churchwomen were raped and murdered by government security forces in rightist-ruled El Salvador.

Fascinating.

Criminalizing Being Poor

2009-08-10T02:32:00.000-07:00

Barbara Ehrenreich's latest op-ed in The New York Times - Is It Now a Crime to Be Poor? - illustrates many cities' efforts to make being poor a crime.

In defiance of all reason and compassion, the criminalization of poverty has actually been intensifying as the recession generates ever more poverty. So concludes a new study from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, which found that the number of ordinances against the publicly poor has been rising since 2006, along with ticketing and arrests for more “neutral” infractions like jaywalking, littering or carrying an open container of alcohol.

She writes of Al Szekely, a wheel chair-bound disabled Vietnam vet who was "dragged out of [of a homeless] shelter and put in jail" because he failed to appear in court for a charge of sleeping on a sidewalk in a suburban Washington, DC, town. As Eric Sheptock, a homeless advocate, put it, "They arrested a homeless man in a shelter for being homeless."

To rid their cities of the homeless, many municipalities are passing ordinances against the sharing of food. Teenagers are being targeted with outrageously high fines for truancy - $250 in Los Angeles and up to $500 in Dallas.

Writes Ehrenreich:

The pattern is to curtail financing for services that might help the poor while ramping up law enforcement: starve school and public transportation budgets, then make truancy illegal. Shut down public housing, then make it a crime to be homeless. Be sure to harass street vendors when there are few other opportunities for employment. The experience of the poor, and especially poor minorities, comes to resemble that of a rat in a cage scrambling to avoid erratically administered electric shocks.

What I don't understand is how this can happen in a supposedly Christian nation. How those who claim to believe in the teachings of their Christ can be so cruel and heartless. After all, Jesus is to have said, "What you do to the least among you, you also do to me."

So, by attacking the plight of the poor, they are also attacking their own religious icon.

WTF? $90 Pizza

2009-08-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

Word has it that pizza in one of the luxury suites at the all new Dallas Cowboys Stadium will set you back $90.

So let me get this straight, a company pays $800,000 for the suite, plus the price of tickets for each game, and they still have to pay 90 bucks for a freaking pizza?! Oh yeah, it's $66 for a 12-pack of domestic beer, probably that chilled down panther piss called Lone Star Beer.

Astronaut Wears Same Underware for a Month

2009-07-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

Another advancement from the space program:

According to astronaut Koichi Wakata, who is returning to earth from months at the International Space Station, he’s been sporting a brand new pair of J-Ware briefs. For the last few weeks. Straight. Without changing.
But don’t worry. These aren’t any ol’ normal kind of underwear. These are high-tech briefs, designed by a team in Japan to be odor-free.

But still, a month?

Wizard Pigged Out

2009-07-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

Bad news for the fans of Harry Potter - the boy wizard dethroned by a herd of (sorta) talking guinea pigs.

The Associated Press reports:

The 3-D "G-Force" was the top movie at the box office this weekend, opening with $32.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Walt Disney release from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, with its mixture of live action and computer-generated animation, is a "Mission: Impossible"-style adventure. It features voiceover work from Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Tracy Morgan and Penelope Cruz as resourceful rodents.

Last week's No. 1 film, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," came in a close second with an estimated $30 million. That's a whopping 61-percent drop from its huge opening last weekend of $79.5 million.

Has the magic of Harry Potter finally run its course?

Stray in Dubai, Go to Prison

2009-06-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

If you are having an extramarital affair, better stay out of Dubai or you could go to prison.

A British couple was sentenced to two months in prison after being found guilty of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

No, the sex police of Dubai were not conducting an undercover investigation. The woman's husband tipped them off.

Drug Testing For All

2009-03-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

The Associated Press has an article about states that are considering drug testing for anyone receiving public assistance including food stamps, unemployment benefits or welfare. Proponents, mostly Republican politicians it seems, claim a concern for the health of the recipients and, according to the article, "ability to put themselves on more solid financial footing once the economy rebounds." Oh yeah, and the message that there ain't so such thing as a free lunch.

Buzz Flash asks,"Shouldn't Wall Street Execs Take Mandatory Drug Tests Since They are On Welfare? States consider drug tests for welfare recipients. But aren't Wall Street bankers and insurance guys also welfare recipients? Shouldn't they have to pee in a cup or something else humiliating?"

Yes, they should, but I would go one step further. From the article:

"Nobody's being forced into these assistance programs," said Craig Blair, a Republican in the West Virginia Legislature who has created a Web site — notwithmytaxdollars.com — that bears a bobble-headed likeness of himself advocating this position. "If so many jobs require random drug tests these days, why not these benefits?"

Since state legislators receive money from the government why not add them to the list of those facing drug testing? How many elected officials so hell bent to force this on others are willing to submit to drug testing?

Close to zero, I bet.

Bruce Willis' Wedding Includes Moore, Krutcher

2009-03-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Actor Bruce Willis recently got married in what is described as "a small, private ceremony at his home in Parrot Cay in the Turks & Caicos Islands."

Guests included ex-wife and everyone's favorite cougar Demi Moore and her husband Ashton Krutcher along with the Willis' three daughters from his marriage to Moore.

Anyone taking bets on how long it will be before Krutcher makes a move on the new Mrs. Willis, 30-year-old Emma Heming?

Another reason to avoid CNN

2008-11-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

Besides three hours of Wolf Blitzer, here is another reason to avoid CNN.

From Think Progress:

MEDIA -- CNN HIRES SADDAM-AL QAEDA 'CONNECTION' FABRICATOR: Yesterday, TimeWarner announced that "frequent CNN guest, Stephen F. Hayes, has made it official by signing on with the network as a political contributor." Sam Feist, CNN's political director, said, "As part of the 'Best Political Team on Television,' Steve will help CNN in its commitment to go beyond political spin and present viewers with the most in-depth and bipartisan insights." However, for the last eight years Hayes has done little more than spin for the Bush administration's "war on terror." Hayes was one of the foremost peddlers of the false claim that Saddam Hussein was in league with al Qaeda. Blogger Spencer Ackerman wrote in the Huffington Post that Hayes "has made a career out of pretending Saddam and al Qaeda were in league to attack the United States." Vice President Dick Cheney praised Hayes's work, telling Fox News, "I think Steve Hayes has done an effective job in his article of laying out a lot of those connections." Hayes also penned a biography of Cheney that columnist Michael Corcoran called "a wet kiss…filled with glowing praise from cover to cover."

Yet Another Bush We Can't Trust

2008-10-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

My new favorite bumper sticker from CafePress.

Palin Goes Rogue

2008-10-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry, John McCain, it is way too late for do-overs.

WaPo's Dana Milbank writes:

John McCain thought he was being clever picking a fellow maverick to be his running mate. The problem with mavericks, however, is that they don't follow instructions. Pretty soon they go rogue and before you know it you've got a full-fledged diva on your hands.

When Sarah Palin, looking sharp in a black suit that could have come from Neiman Marcus, took the stage at a campaign rally in Leesburg yesterday, it didn't take long for roguish elements to creep into her speech.

Hope for Georgia Voters

2008-10-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

Law Watch reports that a federal court has ruled the State of Georgia must allow "flagged" voters in that state to vote.

There may be hope for a fair election after all.

Homeowners Still Left Out

2008-10-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

As suspected, homeowners on the brink of foreclosure are not getting the help they need.

Mike Colpitts, editor of HousingPredictor.com, said in a recent interview the the federal government is not doing enough to help them.

So far more than 3 million families have lost their homes and our research indicates that 2011 another 3.4 million will also lose theirs.

This crisis began with deregulation during the Clinton administration and has continued with with the White House being pushed by special interest. What we have seen is fraud on a massive scale by mortgage brokers and direct lenders.

We are a nation of laws and without some form of regulation and enforcement of our laws we have seen the violation of the capitalistic structure. The federal government needs to so something to halt the the huge surge of foreclosures.

A good beginning is to freeze foreclosures to them time to work out mortgages that are viable for homeowners.

Words of wisdom. Keep up the good work, Mike.

$700 Billion Bailout Figures Made Up

2008-10-01T08:49:00.001-07:00

Ever since we first heard that $700 billion was needed to bail out the greedy bastards on Wall Street, we wondered how Treasury Secretary Henry "Hank the Skank" Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben "Bonzai Bozo" Bernanke arrived at that figure.

An article at forbes.com - Bad News for the Bailout - tells us:

In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.

"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

That's right, folks, they pulled it out of their asses.

U.S. Enters Third World

2008-09-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

The wit and intelligence of Rosa Brooks shines through in this op-ed piece titled: "Hey U.S., welcome to the Third World!"

It starts this way:

Dear United States, Welcome to the Third World!

It's not every day that a superpower makes a bid to transform itself into a Third World nation, and we here at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund want to be among the first to welcome you to the community of states in desperate need of international economic assistance. As you spiral into a catastrophic financial meltdown, we are delighted to respond to your Treasury Department's request that we undertake a joint stability assessment of your financial sector. In these turbulent times, we can provide services ranging from subsidized loans to expert advisors willing to perform an emergency overhaul of your entire government.

Let's hope it's not too late and Washington wakes the hell up!

Republican Man Love

2008-09-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

This photo says it all.

McCain-Bush Man Love.

Stonewalling Sarah Palin

2008-09-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

When an investigation into allegations that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin - now the Republican vice presidential nominee - tried to have her state trooper ex-brother-in-law, Palin said she welcomed the investigation.

Now, even the Anchorage Daily News is accusing Palin of stonewalling the investigators.

In July, when legislators started talking about conducting an investigation, Palin denied any wrongdoing and said she welcomed an investigation.

"Hold me accountable," she said.

The Legislature took her up on that offer. But this week, she basically told the Legislature, "Never mind."
Palin's lawyer has asked the Legislature to drop its investigation. He had the governor file an ethics complaint against herself, in a bid to turn the entire matter over to the state Personnel Board, which would hire an independent investigator.
This is not an open and transparent attempt to establish Gov. Palin's accountability. It is an attempt to drag out the investigation until after voters decide the fate of her vice-presidential bid.

Instead, Gov. Palin should honor her pledge to cooperate with the Legislature's investigation, conducted by former state prosecutor Steve Branchflower.

This is just not an Alaska issue, it is now an American issue, and the American people deserve to know the truth.

The Real Sarah Palin

2008-09-06T03:19:00.000-07:00

Copies of an email about the real Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, are circulating the Internet faster than California wildfire.

The email was written by a self-proclaimed housewife from Wasilla, Alaska, who has known Palin for more than 16 years, and paints a damning portrait. The email is authentic.

Excerpt:

Claim vs. Fact
"Hockey mom": True for a few years
"PTA mom": True years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since
"NRA supporter": Absolutely true
Social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, but vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
Pro-creationism: Mixed. Supports it, but did nothing as governor to promote it.
"Pro-life": Mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby but declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation.
"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
Political maverick: Not at all.
Gutsy: Absolutely!
Open and transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
Has a developed philosophy of public policy: No.
"A Greenie": No. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
Fiscal conservative: Not by my definition!
Pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
Pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
Pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.
Pro-labor/pro-union: No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

Shocking news from Homeland Security

2008-07-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

A senior Homeland Security official is interested in a device that will deliver a disabling shock to all wearers.

Is this for suspected terrorists? Nope. This guy wants the bracelet to replace the boarding pass for all air travelers.

According to a letter from DHS official, Paul S. Ruwaldt of the Science and Technology Directorate, office of Research and Development, to the inventor whom he had previously met with, he wrote, “To make it clear, we [the federal government] are interested in…the immobilizing security bracelet, and look forward to receiving a written proposal.” The letterhead, in case you were wondering, came from the DHS office at the William J. Hughes Technical Center at the Atlantic City International Airport, or the Federal Aviation Administration headquarters.

What idiots we have in positions of authority in this country!

Rest in Peace George Carlin

2008-06-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

George Carlin on The American Dream

Will Bush Attack Iran or Not?

2008-05-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

The Bush Administration flatly denies it plans to attack Iran before the end of George Bush's reign of terror. The attack allegation was reported in the Jerusalem Post.

The White House on Tuesday flatly denied an Army Radio report that claimed US President George W. Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term. It said that while the military option had not been taken off the table, the Administration preferred to resolve concerns about Iran's push for a nuclear weapon "through peaceful diplomatic means."

Okay, since when did anyone in this administration ever believe in peaceful, diplomatic means?

Oh, wait, there's this:

The official reportedly went on to say that "the hesitancy of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" was preventing the administration from deciding to launch such an attack on the Islamic Republic for the time being.

Okay, it makes sense now. They are waiting for the right time. After all the diplomatic talk with Iranian officials.

What's that? They're not talking with Iran?

Oh, geez. We're in deep shit now.

Using Bad Real Estate News to Her Advantage

2008-04-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

We have a friend - let's call her Carol, primarily because that's her name - who decided a couple of years ago to quit her teaching career to go into the lucrative business of selling homes. She has one son in college, another finishing high school and two more younger children, so you can understand why she made the change in professions.

Following her training and subsequent licensing she went to work for a broker and did fairly well - earning about what she made in the classroom while having enough time to attend to her family.

The came the bad real estate news. The subprime mortgage industry was going belly-up, foreclosures were rising and the market was being flooded with unsold homes.

Suddenly, her decision to become a real estate agent didn't look so promising. But she didn't panic or throw her ands up in despair everytime she turned on the news channels.

She changed her focus and began finding homes that were on the verge of foreclosure and paired the owners with investors she had cultivated over the years through her social and school contacts.

Today, the news for our intrepid real estate friend is rosier than it's been in some time.

She told us recently that not only is she making a decent living from her real estate business, but she gets some satisfaction from helping people who have found themselves in a tight spot.

Carol has even been able to fully fund her oldest son's college expenses and save enough to assist her other cildren when they are ready to leave the nest.

Now that's really good news.

These Folks Call Themselves Christians?

2008-04-07T08:05:00.000-07:00

Picture this: an elementary school in Wisconsin has a tradition called Wacky Week where the students dress up in costumes all week. One day the students can opt to dress up as an older person or a member of the opposite sex - boy could dress as girls, or girls could dress as boys.

Just some good clean fun, right?

Wrong. At least in the eyes of a group called the Voice of Christian Youth America. It Seems these wackos fit right in with Wacky Week.

Here's what they had to say:

"We believe it's the wrong message to send to elementary students," said Jim Schneider, the network's program director. "Our station is one that promotes traditional family values. It concerns us when a school district strikes at the heart and core of the Biblical values. To promote this to elementary-school students is a great error."

Can someone please explain to us what "traditional family value" says elementary school kids can't dress up for fun? And what alleged Biblical value is being violated?

Hell, what are Biblical values, anyway?

Oh, and get this:

"We became aware of this from constituents in your area. Anything that concerns the populace is important enough to talk about," Eliason said. "This is tax-funded� This is not a dress-up party in somebody's house. There are parents, taxpayers who do not appreciate the imposition of a particular lifestyle being portrayed as a normal lifestyle for the kids."

What lifestyle are they talking about? Do they imagine there is a secret cabal of cross-dressing school administrators in Reedsburg, WI, trying to warp children's minds?

We bet the kids had no idea what a cross-dresser was until the meddling Christians got their panties in a wad.

Media Love Affair with McCain Continues

2008-03-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

He's a United States Senator running for president. He has a house paid for by his wife's money. He's a Vietnam Vet now worth millions of dollars. He was against the Bush Tax cuts.

He's John McCain.

Surprised? Well, why wouldn't you be when the media refuses to treat the Republican running for the presidency with the same microscope the use on the Democratic candidates.

Here's what Jamison Foser at Media Matters for America has to say:

In 2001, John McCain voted against President Bush's tax cuts, noting that they were skewed toward the wealthy. In a Senate floor statement, McCain explained that he could not "in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief."

But now, John McCain supports making the Bush tax cuts permanent rather than allowing them to expire, as they are scheduled to do under current law. Now, John McCain runs around saying things like, "The Democrats have already ... told us they will increase our taxes."

Who do you think McCain means when he says "our"?

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both made clear that they would roll back the Bush tax cuts only for the super-wealthy; Obama has said only "the top 1 percent" would be affected, and Clinton has said she would roll back the tax cuts only for "people making more than $250,000 a year."

So, for the overwhelming majority of Americans -- those making less than about $250,000 per year -- Clinton and Obama would not roll back the Bush tax cuts.

Indeed, McCain himself has previously acknowledged that the Bush tax cuts unfairly benefited the wealthy. So, when he says the Democrats would "increase our taxes," maybe that's who he is referring to. Indeed, Money magazine estimates John McCain's net worth at $40 million.

If you are not afraid of being totally disgusted, read Foser's entire piece, Media ignore McCain's finances after obsessing over Dems'

Justin Timberlake với vai trò mới

2008-03-10T05:33:00.000-07:00

Công ty sản xuất Reveille Studios cho hay ca sĩ Justin Timberlake mới kiếm được công việc là nhà sản xuất cho một chương trình truyền hình thử nghiệm tại Mỹ có tên là ‘My Problem with Women’ hay ‘Vấn đề của tôi với Phụ nữ’.

Chương trình truyền hình này dựa vào nguyên mẫu từ một chương trình hài kịch trên TV của Peru, nói về một anh chàng độc thân muốn tìm hiểu những thất bại về chuyện tình cảm bằng cách tham gia các liệu pháp.

Timberlake, năm nay 27 tuổi, bắt đầu sự nghiệp ca hát với ban nhạc N’Sync và ra mắt album hát riêng đầu tay vào năm 2002.

Anh cũng tham gia diễn xuất trong một số phim, trong đó có phim ‘Alpha Dog’.

Gần đây, Timberlake còn đóng chung với Samuel L Jackson và Christina Ricci trong phim ‘Black Snake Moan’. Năm ngoái, anh tham gia lồng tiếng cho phim hoạt hình Shrek tập ba.

Ngôi sao từng đoạt giải Grammy này năm ngoái còn tung ra một nhãn đĩa thu thanh và đứng ra đồng sáng lập nhãn hiệu thời trang William Rast với người bạn là Trace Ayala.

Letter From Robert Wexler, American Hero

2008-03-09T07:51:00.001-07:00

Received this letter from Congressman Robert Wexler who is trying to hold the Bush administration responsible for its criminal behavior.

Two weeks ago, the House took a bold step demanding accountability for the Bush/Cheney Administration by holding former White House Council Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten in Contempt of Congress for blatantly ignoring congressional subpoenas for over 8 months.

Though it was not a surprise, Attorney General Michael Mukasey, wrote a letter to the House of Representatives stating that he refuses to call a Grand Jury to enforce those contempt citations.

The Attorney General's letter, effectively claiming that members of the executive branch are immune from congressional subpoenas, calls for quick action.

Click HERE to watch my latest video discussing Mukasey's outrageous response.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Judiciary Chairman Conyers have smartly decided to pursue a civil lawsuit to force Bolton and Miers to appear before Congress. We should pursue a lawsuit – but I think we can do even more.

While a court may order – months from now –that Miers and Bolten must appear before Congress, by then George Bush and Dick Cheney will have largely accomplished their goal of running out the clock on the investigation into this Administration's politicization of the Justice Department. Even a successful outcome in federal court might only mandate that they appear, at which time the witnesses are likely simply to continue their obfuscation by claiming executive privilege of the 5th Amendment in person.

The House of Representatives must re-establish its legitimate rights as a co-equal branch of government. Congress cannot allow its power to be summarily ignored and justice delayed.

The House was correct to hold these renegade White House officials in contempt, and much credit should be given to Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Conyers for pushing for that outcome. Now, we must go further: The House must immediately consider taking the following actions:

- Initiating impeachment hearings that would likely break through the reckless claims of executive privilege made by the Bush Administration.

- Approve a resolution that calls for an inherent contempt citation which would give the House Sergeant at Arms the power to bring Miers and Bolton before Congress.
As you may know, 17 of my colleagues, including four of my fellow members of the Judiciary Committee have joined my call for impeachment hearings.

This is not an issue between Democrats and Republicans. As members of Congress, we have an absolute duty to enforce the checks and balances prescribed by our Constitution.

We have ceded too much for too long, enabling George W. Bush to assume a unitary imperial Presidency. It is long past time to secure accountability for those who have, by all appearances, committed significant breaches of our laws and trust.

Mukasey's claims are simply the latest in a long line of outlandish legal arguments ranging from the idea that we can selectively cherry-pick from torture laws to the concept that the Vice President is no longer part of the Executive Branch (except, of course, when he needs to claim Executive Privilege).

Over the past months, I have received tens of thousands of emails and letters from you expressing your great support for my efforts. Your encouragement and activism on these causes are much appreciated. I continue to work hard on your behalf and hope you feel these updates are valuable.

With kind regards,

Congressman Robert Wexler
www.WexlerForCongress.com

Participatory Journalists: Use a Grammar Checker

2008-03-06T07:31:00.000-08:00

We are all for the new "participatory journalism."

We like the idea of the Average Joe out there writing about current events, putting their own personal spin on things, keeping public servants honest.

But, good grief, would it hurt them to take advantage of a grammar checker so they don't look like complete morons? Seems that some of them relish the idea of bad grammar - subject-verb disagreement, improper pronoun reference, bad verb tense choices, and modifier out of place.

They may think they are avant-garde, but all they are really doing is showing their ignorance. No wonder some of the "citizen journalists" are upset because they feel their messages are being ignored.

Well, listen up, bad grammar is not cool.

Do yourselves, and your readers (if you have any) a favor and write in such a way that makes sense.

Or shut the hell up!

Making Life Easier with Requirements Management Software

2008-03-04T07:17:00.000-08:00

Human nature being what it is, we all seem to be looking for shortcuts, anything to make our jobs easier and to make us more efficient.

Now, if you are a product manager responsible for gathering and managing requirements and feature requests for the products and services you oversee, a company called Accompa has just the thing for you.?

Managing these requirements eats up a lot of your time and resources, and on a daily basis you face a lot of
problems not only managing the requirements, but also in sharing the progress with other teams, not to mention making sure they are implemented and meet the needs of your customers.

Accompa's Requirements Management Software will make your professional life easier by freeing up your time. And because it is web-based, any member of your team can access the project from any available computer.

You will no longer be dependent on emails, Post-It notes and chance encounters in the hallway to get the information to track the progress, your team members can enter it themselves and with a click or two of the mouse you can make sure the requirements are complete and on time.

The program is also fully customizable so adding fields, such as priority or dependencies, doing so is simple.

If you are a try-it-before-you-buy-it kind of guy, Accompa offers a 30-day free trial period. So you have nothing to lose and a lot of time to gain.

Kiefer Sutherland Walks Out of Jail

2008-01-22T06:20:00.001-08:00

Kiefer Sutherland, star of the right-wing favorite pro-torture TV series 24, walked out of jail after completing his sentence on drunk driving charges hours before the media thought he would. Consequently, no paparazzi were there to document his further humiliation.

Don't you just feel sorry for the camera-laden vultures?

We don't either.

A Sweet Candy Wedding

2007-12-06T09:22:00.000-08:00

My daughter got married last week, and she is in no means a traditionalist, which is why she decided to offer candy wedding favors to all her guests. I've been to a lot of weddings in my time, but never have I received a box of candy mints.

She had a hard time deciding on what to order. Should she offer Mint to Be Bride and Groom Mints, personalized "Lovesavers," or how about foil wrapped Jordan almonds. One of her good friends is named Jordan, so she was leaning toward them. In the end, she opted for the Mint to Be mints because she could have them personalized with their name and date of the wedding.

As the father, I was more than a little concerned about the cost, but when I saw their prices, I was amazed. How they can provide such a service for what they charge and still make a profit is beyond me. But, I'm not complaining.

We got the order in plenty of time (faster than expected, in fact), and everything was spelled right. That may not be a problem if your name is Smith or Jones, but if you have a Slavic surname with few vowels like we have, then you really appreciate it.

If you are looking for something a little bit different as favors for you wedding guests, go ahead and order some candy. It will make the ceremony that much sweeter.

What's the status of the Cheney impeachment resolution?

2007-11-08T10:08:00.000-08:00

The resolution called for impeachment hearings on Vice President Dick Cheney has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee where it is expected to die a slow death. But will it?

Vice President Dick Cheney: the most subversive political villain of our time was let off the hook yesterday and the Democrats did all of the heavy lifting to make it happen. Dick Cheney: a man who has proudly committed innumerable high crimes, among them a trillion dollar fraud perpetrated upon the American people and the world -- a fraud which has resulted in nearly 30,000 American casualties and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi casualties. And now he's trying it again with Iran.

And there's this:

But wouldn't it be nice if the whole thing backfired -- if millions of people let their lawmakers know that they support impeaching Darth Cheney and the Repubs' whole procedural game backfired. After all, the only thing that makes the move to impeach a marginal idea is the fact that the traditional media keeps telling us it is. If the notion that lying about a blow-job was a grave offense worthy of impeaching a duly-elected president of the United States could gain traction, surely the idea that lying the country into a disastrous and illegal war can't wouldn't be that hard to sell.

Today, Kucinich's resolution, and the millions of Americans who support impeachment, are being marginalized from all sides. CBS is running a column today lumping impeachment in with a belief that UFOs are frequent visitors -- 'it's crazy,' they say -- and the Huffington Post features a piece by Gold Star Mother Rosemary Palmer accusing Kucinich of gamesmanship and chiding him for seeking "vengeance" (an argument one never hears for letting lesser crimes go unpunished).

Keep your fingers crossed.

Promote Your Product With Affiliate Elite

2007-10-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

We got a tip on an upcoming software program that allows people to find profitable ways to promote their products through affiliates and want to pass it along.

It's called Affiliate Elite and is the latest in the "Elite" products developed by Brad Callen. Shawn Pringle, no slouch when it comes to making money on the 'Net, has reviewed the software and offers four sneak-peak videos on major features.

Don't have a product of your own? Affiliate Elite will show you all the profitable affiliate products available to help you in your decision on what to sell.

The software also offers a reverse Google search so you can find the Adwords listings and keywords from an individual web site which is useful to see what your competition is doing; all the Adwords used to promote a particular keyword; and to find the most profitable affiliate site, those who have the most success in affiliate marketing.

Like Pringle says, this is powerful information to have on hand.

On top of the the video reviews of the features offered by Pringle, if you preorder the software through his site, you will receive a transcript of a chat between Pringle and Callen featuring tips and tricks in using the software not available to regular purchasers.

Now, some may see the to-be-determined monthly fee as a downside, but the software pulls its reports from several different sources and the fee is to help offset the bandwidth charges. For the serious marketer, this should be no problem, but the get-rich-quick crowd may balk.

If you are wanting to make some serious money promoting products online, this is the software for you.

Brits Cutting Iraq Force

2007-10-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is bringing home half his country's troops in Iraq. The U.S. has no such plans. Too much money left to be stolen.

Mr. Brown said the reductions down from the current 5,000 British soldiers were possible because of the progress made in training Iraq security forces. He described the situation in Basra in southern Iraq, where the British troops are based, as “calmer.”

In his formal statement to the Parliament, Mr. Brown said that a decision would be made in the spring as to how long that reduced force of 2,500 would remain in Iraq.

At a briefing at the Foreign Office after Mr. Brown’s statement a senior British official said of the 2,500 troops that “there was no guarantee they will be there beyond the end of 2008.”

The Bush administration has made clear that the bulk of American troops will remain in Iraq at least until the end of President Bush’s term, and Mr. Bush has spoken of a military commitment extending beyond his administration.

Virtual Reality Benefiting Real Estate Sales

2007-09-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Since the early 1990s real estate agents have looked at the Internet as a marketing tool. At first their Web sites were no more than static catalogs of their listings, the more tech-savvy agents and brokers soon discovered the benefits of virtual reality to their real estate sales.

The first attempts were crude by today's standards, no more than panoramic static photos of the homes for sale. Motion was added to the photos with scripts written just for that purpose. Some real estate sites added music and titles, and some even offer audio voice overs to give a more you-are-there feel to their attempt at virtual reality.

The latest in the area of real estate sales on the Internet is the use of video. Talk about virtual reality! When done correctly, you can imagine actually being in the home with the agent guiding you on a tour.

Some of the benefits to using video virtual reality tours on a real estate site include the fact that visitors stay at the site with video nearly 80 percent longer than sites that have no video. In addition, almost 90 percent of visitors will watch the on-site video. Hard to argue with numbers like that.

Real estate sites offering virtual tours of their listed properties also enjoy more benefits.

It's estimated that 50 percent of online visitors that participate in the virtual tour will visit will visit homes they've seen at the site. The agents report the tours stimulate decisions to buy and traffic to their listed homes is greatly increased.

We can hardly wait to see what happens next with virtual reality technology.

We lost the war on terror

2007-09-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

Doug Thompson at Capitol Hill Blue makes a chilling case on how and why the United States has lost the war on terror.

Osama and his buddies wanted to destroy the American way of life.

They succeeded.

Six years after the attacks, America is a paranoid, corrupt, rotting shell of itself: A country divided by political extremes, economically devastated by a war based on lies.

Gone are the freedoms we used to cherish and take for granted: Buried not under the rubble of the twin towers of the World Trade Center but by a callous Presidential administration that considers the Constitution an “outdated document” and individual rights a disposable commodity.

The Department of Homeland Security, created in the aftermath of 9/11 and now the largest federal bureaucracy in history, decides who can or cannot board a commercial airliner in this country, who can or cannot obtain a passport and who can or cannot even criticize their government.

In a non-descript building on Fairfax Drive in Arlington, Virginia, a giant government computer developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) monitors everyday financial transactions and tracks day-to-day travel of millions of Americans. If either fits a pre-determined “profile” an investigative file is opened on those Americans.

FBI agents, armed with thousands of “National Security Letters” swoop in on banks, employers and Internet service providers to secretly obtain records on Americans. A federal judge recently found such tactics unconstitutional but stayed an order banning the practice so the government can appeal.

On street corners in many large cities, cameras scan the faces of people just going about their business and feed the images into “facial recognition” software programs, looking for those “suspected” of terrorist involvement. Americans who fall into the web of “suspected” involvement are grabbed off the streets and whisked away to secret detention centers out of the country where “enhanced interrogation techniques” are used to try and obtain confessions.

Idaho Senator Says He is 'not gay'

2007-08-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig says he is not gay, following his plea of guilty to a lesser charge after being arrested at the Minneapolis airport earlier this summer.

Craig, a three-term lawmaker, who has voted against gay marriage, was caught in an undercover sting operation.

The airport incident occurred June 11. Craig signed his plea papers on Aug. 1, and word of the events surfaced Monday. The senator issued a statement Monday night that said, "In hindsight, I should have pled not guilty."

He repeated that assertion at the Idaho news conference. "In June, I overreacted and made a poor decision," he said. "I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away."

Craig was at times defiant, at others apologetic on Tuesday.

"Please let me apologize to my family, friends and staff and fellow Idahoans for the cloud placed over Idaho," he said. "I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport. I did nothing wrong, and I regret the decision to plead guilty and the sadness that decision has brought on my wife, on my family, friends, staff and fellow Idahoans."

The conservative three-term senator, who has represented Idaho in Congress for more than a quarter-century, is up for re-election next year. He said he would announce next month whether he would run again and suggested he still considers himself a politician with a future.

"Over the years, I have accomplished a lot for Idaho, and I hope Idahoans will allow me to continue to do that. There are still goals I would like to accomplish. And I believe I can still be an effective leader for our state," he said.

Craig, who has voted against gay marriage, finds his political future in doubt because of the case, which has drawn national attention.

Calgary Dentist Restores Smile

2007-08-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

We've known Johnny since grammar school. All the time we were growing up together he had the most infectious smile and people flocked to him like moths to a flame.

Flash ahead 20 years.

We ran into Johnny at a conference in Canada and the first thing we noticed was that his smile had changed. No longer was it the wide, happy-to-see-you look that we remembered. Don't get us wrong, he was just as friendly as we remembered, just didn't smile as much. We did notice as we talked to him that his teeth didn't seem to be as bright as they once were.

Three years later - at the same conference - we saw Johnny again and his full smile was back and his teeth looked as white as when he was younger.

When we commented on it he said he had found a Calagary dentist that was unlike any he had ever known.

Dr. Wasik, Johnny said, not only whitened his teeth, but the dentist's OneBody Denistry approach helped him alleviate the headaches he had been having lately. The dentist had recognized that Johnny's teeth were a bit misaligned and his muscles were working harder to correct it which was causing his headaches.

Once Johnny's teeth were properly straighten, his jaw muscles relaxed and his headaches went away. Learn something new everyday, it seems.

We were just glad the old Johnny smile was back.

Outsourcing Web Services

2007-08-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

Ordinarily we are not big fans of outsourcing. We know too many people who have lost their jobs overseas. We even know of a hospital that has all its radiology needs handled by physicians in Pakistan for pete's sake.

However, there is one company providing Web services, including SEO Outsourcing, at a fraction of the cost in the West.

We know what you're going to say, so don't even try. There is plenty of Web business to go around so no one is going to be hurt if you have design work, scripting, ad creation, etc., done at a fraction of the cost.

This can be a lifesaver for many small web business owners who can't afford the big boys. They quality is just as good and the results are remarkable.

They also have different levels of service to fit whatever your needs are.

We don't know how the came up with the name techndu.com, but they do deliver on time and on budget. Guaranteed.

A Cornered Bush is a Dangerous Bush

2007-07-29T06:20:00.000-07:00

Pretty much by now, all intelligent people know how out of touch with reality George W. Bush is. Now using applied psycho analysis, we know how dangerous Bush can be when he becomes cornered.

Things are going to hell in a hand basket for this administration, and Bush/Cheney have shown a willingness to act in extra-Constitutional ways, as they see fit.
While Bush and his advisers make a fetish of it, he is nonetheless commander in chief of the armed forces and the question becomes how he might feel justified in using them and is there still any restraining force—any checks on the increasing power of the executive in our three-branch government.
We have a president whose psychological makeup inclines him to do as he pleases. Because Congress has been cowed, and the judiciary stacked with loyalists, he has gotten away with it—so far.

Bush Broadens Executive Privilege

2007-07-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

The administration of George W. Bush continues to make up laws as they go along. This time broadening the definition of executive privilege to mean anything the president says it does.

From The Washington Post:

But administration officials argued yesterday that Congress has no power to force a U.S. attorney to pursue contempt charges in cases, such as the prosecutor firings, in which the president has declared that testimony or documents are protected from release by executive privilege. Officials pointed to a Justice Department legal opinion during the Reagan administration, which made the same argument in a case that was never resolved by the courts.
"A U.S. attorney would not be permitted to bring contempt charges or convene a grand jury in an executive privilege case," said a senior official, who said his remarks reflect a consensus within the administration. "And a U.S. attorney wouldn't be permitted to argue against the reasoned legal opinion that the Justice Department provided. No one should expect that to happen."

- - -

Mark J. Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University who has written a book on executive-privilege issues, called the administration's stance "astonishing."

"That's a breathtakingly broad view of the president's role in this system of separation of powers," Rozell said. "What this statement is saying is the president's claim of executive privilege trumps all."

Bush Under Fire From GOP on Iraq

2007-07-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON - Two prominent Senate Republicans have drafted legislation that would require President Bush by mid-October to come up with a plan to dramatically narrow the mission of U.S. troops in Iraq.

he legislation, which represents a sharp challenge to Bush, was put forward Friday by Sens. John Warner and Richard Lugar and it came as the Pentagon acknowledged that a decreasing number of Iraqi army battalions are able to operate independently of U.S. troops.

"Given continuing high levels of violence in Iraq and few manifestations of political compromise among Iraq's factions, the optimal outcome in Iraq of a unified, pluralist, democratic government that is able to police itself, protect its borders, and achieve economic development is not likely to be achieved in the near future," the Warner-Lugar proposal said.

Bush has asked Congress to hold off on demanding a change in the course of the war until September, when the top U.S. commander, Gen. David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, delivers a fresh assessment of its progress.

Warner, R-Va., and Lugar, R-Ind., are well regarded within Congress on defense issues. Warner was the longtime chairman of the Armed Services Committee before stepping down last year, while Lugar is the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee.

The Warner-Lugar proposal states that "American military and diplomatic strategy in Iraq must adjust to the reality that sectarian factionalism is not likely to abate anytime soon and probably cannot be controlled from the top."

Bush Thumbs Nose at Congress

2007-06-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

President Bush thumbed his nose at the two congressional committees trying to get to the bottom of the Justice Department firing of U.S. attorneys. No surprise from a man who thinks he is above the law.

From AP:

WASHINGTON - President Bush, moving toward a constitutional showdown with Congress, asserted executive privilege Thursday and rejected lawmakers' demands for documents that could shed light on the firings of federal prosecutors.

Bush's attorney told Congress the White House would not turn over subpoenaed documents from former presidential counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor. Congressional panels want the documents for their investigations of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' stewardship of the Justice Department, including complaints of undue political influence.

The Democratic chairmen of the two committees seeking the documents accused Bush of stonewalling and disdain for the law, and said they would press forward with enforcing the subpoenas.

"With respect, it is with much regret that we are forced down this unfortunate path which we sought to avoid by finding grounds for mutual accommodation," White House counsel Fred Fielding said in a letter to the chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. "We had hoped this matter could conclude with your committees receiving information in lieu of having to invoke executive privilege. Instead, we are at this conclusion."

Thursday was the deadline for surrendering the documents. The White House also made clear that Miers and Taylor would not testify next month, as directed by the subpoenas, which were issued June 13. The stalemate could end up with House and Senate contempt citations and a battle in federal court over separation of powers.

Facts not necessary for conservative web site

2007-06-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Unhappy with the world as it is, Andy Schlafly is creating "a conservative encyclopedia you can trust."

The problem is, it's tainted with a literal interpretation of biblical scripture.

Example from a LA Times report:

Take the Pleistocene Epoch. Most scientists know it as the ice age and date it back at least 1.6 million years. But Conservapedia calls it "a theorized period of time" — a theory contradicted, according to the entry, by "multiple lines of evidence" indicating that the Earth is less than 10,000 years old, as described in the Book of Genesis.

The future of America?

Is War With Iran Closer?

2007-06-12T11:31:00.001-07:00

A Bush administration diplomat tells reporters that Iran is supplying weapons to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Are the Bushies getting closer to war?

PARIS - A senior U.S. diplomat accused
Iran on Tuesday of transferring weapons to Taliban insurgents in
Afghanistan — the most direct comments yet on the issue by a ranking American official.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, speaking to reporters in Paris, said Iran was funding insurrections across the Middle East — and "Iran is now even transferring arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan."

"It's a country that's trying to flex its muscles, but in a way that's injurious to the interests of just about everybody else in the world," he said. "I think it's a major miscalculation."

In Afghanistan last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Iranian weapons were falling into the hands of Taliban fighters, but stopped short of blaming the government itself.

Iran's possible role in aiding insurgents in
Iraq has long been hotly debated, and last month some Western and Persian Gulf governments charged that the Islamic government in Tehran is also secretly bolstering Taliban fighters.

Poor George

2007-06-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

Poor little old George Bush feels so terrible for Scooter Libby's family. And why shouldn't he. The man still claims he's innocent and that mean old prosecutor just made up all those facts about Scooter.

Wah. Wah. Wah.

We're sure Mr. Libby would be willing to trade places with Mr. Bush.

Experts: Torture Does Not Work

2007-05-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

Finally some sense out of the whole torture debate: it doesn't work.

From Capitol Hill Blue:

The "aggressive" interrogation techniques that the Bush administration advocates for use on terror suspects is coming under fire from experts who call the practice "outmoded, amateurish and unreliable."

Even members of the Bush administration, including Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, have begun to question the use of torture to gain information from suspects.

But President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney continue to push use of such techniques, calling them a "valuable tool" in the so-called war on terror.

But support for use of torture, once a given on Capitol Hill, is beginning to wane.

Alternatives to Expensive Ink Cartridges

2007-05-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

While the cost of printer has dropped steadily, the price of name brand ink cartridges continues to rise in many areas. What alternatives do cost-conscious consumer have?

Many major office supply retailer will offer their own store-branded in cartridges for an average of $12-$14 cheaper than name brands. For many businesses this is a viable alternative.

Other brands of compatible ink cartridges are available from online stores. These outlets offer a quality product at about half he cost of the brand-name cartridges. Many will provide free delivery of ink cartridges when bought in quantity.

Another, less-desirable after-market alternative is to buy from refillers or remanufacturers. These companies buy used cartridges and refill them with ink for a fraction of the cost of a brand name cartridge. However, the quality of ink used is not as high as with the brands or compatibles, and their failure rate is also higher.

When deciding on which type of cartridge to purchase, consumers should look at the "big picture." Money saved initially may be wasted by a higher failure rate and a lower output of pages printed.

Bottom line: the consumer must choose which option is best for them when purchasing ink cartridges.

Betrayal of America

2007-05-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

Keith Olbermann in his special comment, "The entire government has failed us on Iraq", points out that Democrats in Congress have betrayed the American people.

He's the only one speaking truth to power.

The coward label is too mild

2007-05-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

We can think of any number of things to say about the legislative leadership in Congress, but we're too polite.

The Progressive Daily Beacon says it best: COWARDS!

Excerpt:

Now, right on cue, after months of bobbing and weaving and huffing and puffing and fronting and punking --- the Democrats caved and have decided to write a blank check for Mister Cheney and Bush's Iraq War. Everything Bush demanded the Democrats will deliver - including NO TIMELINE for withdrawal.

Cowards!

Google and Linking Strategies

2007-05-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

We're going to take a step back from our usual ranting about the current political mess in the world and talk about web sites and this article on linking strategies involving Google.

Many of our readers also run their own site and know the value of links when it comes to placement in the search engines, especially Google. The more people that find our sites, the better for us, and let's face it, they will be better off reading our witty posts.

Back to the article: we don't know the author, Jake Lowrey, but he has published other articles throughout the web. We were very impressed at the information he found in the Google patent application, and how he writes about it so we can all understand it.

If you are a webmaster, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

BTW: we were not paid for this post, we just want to share the information.

And don't worry we'll be back soon to skewer the evildoers.

Getting rid of Gonzo

2007-05-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

Hal Brown at Capitol Hill Blue thinks Congress should impeach Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Excerpt:

Bush has done more to dismantle the Constitution than any other American president. Congressional Republicans who are marching lockstep under his leadership aren't about to call for his impeachment.

But they ought to at least do what they can easily do. They should join Democrats in impeaching the attorney who has done more to corrupt the Constitution than any other attorney general.

Deadly Disease

2007-05-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours called last night in tears because her mother had just been diagnosed with a fatal disease called mesothelioma. The doctors has given her less than a year because there is no known cure for this type of cancer which is only caused by exposure to asbestos.

Her mother never worked outside the home, but as a little girl she would climb up in her father's lap when he got finished working in the local shipyards. Apparently asbestos was used a lot in shipbuilding. The doctor said that is how she was exposed and told her the disease can take anywhere from 2o to 50 years to manifest itself.

Sometimes life can be so unfair.

Caught in the al-Qaeda trap

2007-05-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Robert Parry at Consortium News points out the illogic of George W. Bush's claim that we must stay in Iraq; it's just what al-Qaeda wants.

Exerpt:

Like much of what Bush has said about the Iraq War, this presidential homespun wisdom always has had more emotional appeal than actual logic. But a newly released videotape from al-Qaeda’s second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri demonstrates why Bush’s argument has never made sense.

In the videotape, Zawahiri expressed al-Qaeda’s regret that Congress might force an American military withdrawal and thus “deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in an historic trap.”

Zawahiri added, "We ask Allah that they only get out after losing 200,000-300,000 killed, so that we give the blood spillers in Washington and Europe an unforgettable lesson to motivate them to review their entire doctrinal and moral system."

Bush: My way or highway

2007-05-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

From the pages of Capitol Hill Blue:

President Bush said Monday he wants to work with Democrats on compromise legislation to pay for the Iraq war but will carry through on his threat to veto any spending bill that sets a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal.

"I'm optimistic we can get something done in a positive way," Bush said in a Rose Garden news conference with leaders of the European Union.

The bill, which Bush has long threatened to veto, was expected to reach his desk on Tuesday. The House and Senate voted last week to approve the $124.2 billion measure, which also calls for troops to begin being pulled out in October.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., urged the president to reconsider his veto.

"If the president wonders why the American people have lost patience, it is because the news out of Iraq grows worse by the day," Reid said. "When we send the supplemental conference report to President Bush tomorrow, we ask that he take some time to reflect on that somber fact."

Bush said that once he vetoes the bill, he's ready to work with Democrats on a new version that provides funds without strings attached.

"There are a lot of Democrats who understand we need to get the money to the troops," he said.

John McCain Wants to Blow Up Jon Stewart

2007-04-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

It you don't believe us, watch the video.

Telling the Truth

2007-04-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

Say what you will about the lack of experience of Barak Obama, but you can't say it doesn't tell the truth.

From Capitol Hill Blue:

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said Monday that President Bush has fallen short in his role as leader of the free world, and the 2008 election is a chance to change that.

"This president may occupy the White House, but for the last six years the position of leader of the free world has remained open. And it is time to fill that role once more," Obama said in a speech to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The Illinois senator was in his hometown to deliver a foreign policy address that was rescheduled last week after the shootings at Virginia Tech.

Obama said the world is disappointed in the United States, but it would be a mistake to "cede our claim of leadership in world affairs" because Americans might be tempted to turn inward in the face of negative world opinion.

Easy Money

2007-04-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

If you have a blog or any other web site Team Link Network is looking for you.

When you sign up as an affiliate you will make a flat 25 percent commission on each sale made through your site and the best part is you can be paid weekly.

Check this out:

TLN’s payment schedule is rare in the affiliate marketplace. Many affiliate programs make you wait for up to 90 days, then you must have a set minimum before they will pay out.

TLN pays commissions every Friday on all new sales collected from the week before, regardless of the amount. They use PayPal when possible or USPS. However, keep in mind if you want a check mailed to you and the amount is less than $25, TLN does charge mailing expenses and any bank fees.

They do pay any and all fees for mailing a check for any amount over $25 in a calendar week. Your best bet is to use PayPal.

The TLN philosophy is the Internet is about people, and webmasters deserve to be adequately compensated, quickly and fairly, for their work.

Another great feature is the TLN Alert Tool, a desktop application that alerts webmasters when they have money waiting for them.

If you have any kind of online presence, including a blog, you can start to earn real money with little effort by becoming a TLN affiliate

Why wait? We're making money for doing nothing but what we love to do. You can too!

State turning down federal sex ed funds

2007-04-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

Looks like a few states are getting wise to the Bush administration and the strings imposed on some federal funds.

Exerpt from Ravel Babel:

This article from The Los Angeles Times illustrates a major problem with many federally funded programs promoted by the Bush White House - they are more focused on a political agenda than actually helping people, even to the point of providing false or misleading information. Last October the Government Accountability Office issued a report after examining 10 abstinence programs that concluded they were not proven to work and often contained inaccuracies about condoms and AIDS. It's only taken six years, but the American people are finally waking up to the truth about about this administration.

Kucinich Pissed

2007-03-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Found at Ravel Babel:

Kucinich is right on this score. The Democrats not only dropped the ball on this one, it is business as usual at the Capitol. To get the votes on the bill, they packed it with pork. If Congress had a pair, they would be on record as saying the invasion and occupation of Iraq was not only a major mistake, it is illegal. Surely they know the difference between right and wrong.-Jake

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is not at all happy with the Military Funding Bill passed by the House last week, calling it "a disaster for America."

Kucinich made the comments in an exclusive telephone interview with the editors at truthdig.com, and he didn't hide his displeasure with the Democratic party.

"The Democrats should have been voting—or come up with a plan to get out of Iraq," Kucinich said. "Not one that’s going to keep us there a year or two. It’s the same kind of thinking that led us into Iraq—that we didn’t have any alternatives."

He said the Democrats should be listening to the American people and taking steps to immediately end the war and bring the troops home.

Read the Rest

Removal of Bush

2007-03-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

As usual, Doug Thompson pulls no punches in calling for the removal of President George Bush:

Bush has made it clear he has no intention of honoring the will of the overwhelming majority of people who want America out of Iraq. He has no intention of obeying the law, upholding the Constitution or even displaying an ounce of simple human decency.

Bush is an out-of-control madman, a crazed zealot driven by a lust for power and an insane belief that he is serving the "will of God" as he leads a once-great nation into the abyss. He is more dangerous to the security of this nation than any Islam-spouting terrorist or Middle-Eastern dictator.

The President who talks of defeating the "axis of Evil" is himself the embodiment of evil. The Muslim extremists who call the United States "the Great Satan" aren't all that wrong. We are a nation currently led by a Political Satan, a devil with a drawl, a satanic cowboy who has taken this country into hell.

Elizabeth's Cancer Spreads

2007-03-22T11:56:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth Edwards' cancer has spread to her rib. It is treatable, but not curable.

From CNN:

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (CNN) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday his wife's cancer has returned but his bid for the White House will continue.

"The campaign goes on," the former senator from North Carolina said at a news conference, contradicting earlier media reports to the contrary.

John Edwards said tests this week had shown his wife, Elizabeth, had cancer in a rib on her right side. He said the cancer is treatable but not curable.

"We are very optimistic about this," he said, noting that the tumor is small in size and has a "relatively minimal presence."

Elizabeth Edwards said she was "incredibly optimistic" and said her expectations about the future were unchanged.

"I expect to do next week all the things I did last week. And the week after that, and next year at the same time," she said.

And she wanted her husband to continue his run for the presidency.

Putting The Hammer Down

2007-03-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

Russert gave Tom Delay a platform, and Doug Thompson takes him to task:

I'm trying, and failing, to understand why Meet the Press gave an indicted former member of Congress, a corrupt politician who resigned in disgrace, a forum upon which to espouse hate and division Sunday as President George W. Bush's illegal and immoral Iraq war enters its fifth year.

Is Tim Russert so desperate for controversy that he has to book Tom DeLay, easily one of the most criminal political hacks in Washington, on the top-rated Sunday news talk show and let him call war protestors unpatriotic and claim that anyone who wants to end the Iraq war is "aiding and abetting the enemy?"

DeLay is political vermin, one step away from a jail cell for influence peddling and taking bribes and, yet, there he was on Meet the Press being treated with deference by lap-dog Russert.

Stop FBI Abuse

2007-03-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

From the San Jose Mercury News:

Critics predicted it: Without tight supervision, the federal government would ignore limits of the law to invade people's privacy.

Friday, the inspector general of the FBI reported that the agency had abused its authority, under the USA Patriot Act, to get the financial, Internet and telephone records of thousands of Americans. Now that the predictions proved true, Congress must take back the unchecked authority it gave the Justice Department in 2001.

Before Sept. 11, the federal government had very limited power to obtain personal records without a court order of suspects in espionage and foreign terrorism cases. In the Patriot Act, Congress greatly lowered the threshold to cover anyone deemed relevant to an investigation.

The federal government had ample tools to investigate terrorism. The report documented why eliminating a court order was a bad idea. In 2005 alone, the FBI issued 19,000 requests to Internet providers, banks and phone companies for records of Web sites visited, calls made and checks cashed. In hundreds of cases, the FBI agents didn't go through the formality of seeking administrative subpoenas with supervisory approvals. The FBI cited emergency circumstances but then didn't provide documentation after the fact.

The agency sharply underreported to Congress how often it used its authority, and it failed to monitor and protect the privacy of the records.

The rest

Don't Miss SoonerThought Podcast

2007-03-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

If you miss the SoonerThought Podcast, you're missing one of the best.

Check it out for yourself and see if we're right.

Go ahead. We dare you.

Three lessons from the Libby conviction

2007-03-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

Michael Tomasky writing in The Guardian points to three things to be learned from the conviction of Lewis "Scooter" Libby:

So what does this mean? At least three important things. First, the verdict means that it's now been officially established in a court of law that the administration was engaged in a campaign to discredit an undercover officer and a diplomat, Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson. Libby's defense - that he learned about Plame's identity from journalists - paralleled the administration's public arguments that it made no effort to try to expose Plame and Wilson to criticism. The jury didn't buy that.

Second, the verdict vindicates the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald. Mountains of calumny have been heaped on him by the right since he brought the indictment against Libby. Conservatives were waiting for an acquittal to pounce on Fitzgerald, on Wilson, on Plame - and on Democrats and liberals generally for having made a federal case out of nothing. They would have used an acquittal to shut down all the talk about the manipulation of pre-war intelligence, which was Joe Wilson's initial accusation. And not only conservatives - a lot of the paragons of Washington morality (yes, an oxymoron) were waiting, too. Bob Woodward, who used to be a great investigative reporter, once called Fitzgerald a "junkyard dog prosecutor". Can't be said now.

Third and most important, the guilty verdict means that pre-war intelligence manipulation will continue to be a political issue. When it was in Republican hands, the United States Senate summarily shut down an inquiry into the matter. Now that Democrats are in charge, they will pursue it. The trial was focused on Libby, but questions remain about how directly Cheney and chief presidential aide Karl Rove were involved in all this. The verdict gives Democrats, who by dint of their majority control can now subpoena administration officials, added momentum to turn over the rocks. A juror said that Libby, though guilty, was just a "fall guy". Congress now has to look higher than Libby's level, especially at Cheney.

Mickey D Bites Back at Prince Charlie

2007-03-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

Mickey D does not think Prince Charles has all his facts straight.

Speaking at the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre in Abu Dhabi, the Bonnie Prince said to a nutritionist, “Have you got anywhere with McDonald’s? Have you tried getting it banned? That’s the key.”

Nick Hindle, a spokesman for McDonald’s UK business, had this to say in an email to MSNBC: “The comment made by the Prince of Wales appears to be an off-the-cuff remark that, in our opinion, does not reflect either our menu or where we are at as a business.”

Chuckles is into organic food and must figure McDonald's is fair game.

Iran 2008

2007-02-25T08:57:00.000-08:00

William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, said on Fox News Sunday today that if things go well in Iraq, President Bush could build political support "for being much tougher on Iran at the beginning of 2008."

Are these nutcases trying to get us into another shooting war?

View Kristol's comments at Think Progress.

Canes coming back

2007-02-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

How do you help someone look sophisticated for a minimum of cost? How about a walking cane as a gift idea.

It seems that walking canes are making a comeback. Canes not only for dress-up occasions, but for outdoor sporting events with a built-in seat. Or a special hiking cane for those intrepid hikers. Folding canes for storage while on the subway or bus. Antique canes. Wooden handled canes. Just about every kind of cane is available.

Two that I haven't been able to find are the one with a solid silver handle used by Larry Talbot to fight out the werewolf, and one with a hidden sword found in old murder mystery stories.

I'm still looking.

War with Iran?

2007-02-12T06:03:00.000-08:00

The world seems to think that the U.S. government, or at least the Bush Administration, is gearing up for war with Iran.

Exerpt:

The United States is moving closer to war with Iran by accusing the "highest levels" of the Iranian government of supplying sophisticated roadside bombs that have killed 170 US troops and wounded 620.

The allegations against Iran are similar in tone and credibility to those made four years ago by the US government about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction in order to justify the invasion of 2003.

Senior US defence officials in Baghdad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they believed the bombs were manufactured in Iran and smuggled across the border to Shia militants in Iraq. The weapons, identified as "explosively formed penetrators" (EFPs) are said to be capable of destroying an Abrams tank.

Will the U.S. Congress let history repeat itself? We hope not.

Fixing Stupid

2007-02-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

This magnet from BuzzFlash says it all:

Crawford, Texas falls on hard times

2007-02-07T03:21:00.000-08:00

It seems the good folks in Crawford, Texas, site of President Bush's brush clearing, has seen a downturn in the souvenir business, CNN reports.

Exerpt:

... Crawford, the 700-person town where President Bush's ranch is located, has its trinket stores, and they have fallen on hard times, in what some say reflects the president's sinking popularity over the war in Iraq and a daunting influx of anti-war protesters.

Norma Nelson Crow closed her Crawford Country Style store three months ago.

"I feel so strongly about the president that I wanted to continue to support him any way I could," she said. "But I'm distressed about the poll numbers and think it was a combination of things: that and the protesters."

Those damn protesters. Too bad they couldn't have started earlier.

Pants on Fire

2007-02-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Capitol Hill Blue's Doug Thompson nails the bastard again.

One word will define forever the sad and despicable legacy of George W. Bush.

Liar.

Most politicians lie. They call it “spin” or “positioning” or “situation analysis” but evasion of truth becomes part of political life.

Yet lying is so ingrained into the Bush Administration that it now is impossible to accept, on face value, anything the President or his appointees say.

Bush, Chavez. Any differences?

2007-01-30T07:27:00.000-08:00

Chavez:

Hugo Chavez has just about everything a president could want: popular support, a marginalized opposition, congress firmly on his side and a booming economy as he starts his new six-year term.

Now, he's about to become even more powerful — the all-Chavista National Assembly is poised to approve a "mother law" as early as Wednesday enabling him to remake society by presidential decree. In its latest draft, the law would allow Chavez to dictate measures for 18 months in 11 broad areas, from the "economic and social sphere" to the "transformation of state institutions."

Bush:

President Bush has signed a directive that gives the White House much greater control over the rules and policy statements that the government develops to protect public health, safety, the environment, civil rights and privacy.

In an executive order published last week in the Federal Register, Mr. Bush said that each agency must have a regulatory policy office run by a political appointee, to supervise the development of rules and documents providing guidance to regulated industries. The White House will thus have a gatekeeper in each agency to analyze the costs and the benefits of new rules and to make sure the agencies carry out the president’s priorities.

No wonder they don't get along. They are just alike.

Helping a friend

2007-01-26T13:29:00.000-08:00

Our good friend Roxanne has a new web site offering a wonderful online money making opportunity, with a twist.

They are giving away a free bottle of Acai Plus, a nutritional supplement with loads of antioxidants and lots of other good stuff like protein, fiber, etc. We don't know much about all that stuff, but it sure makes us feel a lot better.

So, if you have a web site and want to earn a bit of money, this would be the way to go. Let us know and we might even write a testimonial for you. It's really a good deal.

Revenge of the dead

2007-01-25T06:51:00.000-08:00

If you're a vandal you'd better be careful where you practice your craft.

A 24-year-old Georgia man was arrested for vandalism after police found him trapped under a tombstone in Lilburn, GA. Police were responding to reports of moaning and shouting.

Wonder what the officers were thinking when they pulled up to the cemetary.

Is Bush really the worst ever?

2007-01-16T10:29:00.000-08:00

Jane Smiley hits it right when she made this post: Not Only the Worst President, but the Worst Possible President

Exerpt:

It's pretty clear that Little George requires a constant stream of flattery and cajolery to keep him going, and this was to be supplied by Harriet Miers, Karen Hughes, and Condi Rice. At the same time, his words (and ideas) were going to be supplied by Michael Gerson, who was his favorite speech writer for five or six years, a man who hides his unscrupulous neocon soul beneath a holier-than-thou, falsely modest self presentation. Christian soldier in every sense of the word, and someone who has largely escaped the contempt he deserves for the mess we are in. At the same time, Little George has a hard time with bad news, so he was never going be told the truth--he can't take the truth, as Jack Nicholson might say--this is evident in the famous 9/11 film of Bush reading about his pet goat when he gets news of the WTC. Talk about dumbstruck and unprepared and feckless and doltish! No, I don't think Little George planned the Trade Center attacks. If he had, he would have practiced a smarmy fake reaction, and he didn't.

Meet a family trying to live on minimum wage

2007-01-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

The Christian Science Monitor has a feature about a family in Oklahoma trying to make it on minimum wage.

It should be required reading for everyone.

Exerpt:

At work all day, John Hosier has been resting on the living-room couch. Tina, his wife, has had her hands full taking care of their two young children. Yet, here they are, rolling 18-month-old Rose in a stroller with 5-year-old Donald tagging along, on a half-mile walk to the Salvation Army Church in Muskogee, Okla.

It's not just a place of worship and fellowship. The Salvation Army's affiliated store offers discounted goods and employs Mr. Hosier full time. The $6-an-hour job is the family's sole paycheck, which amounts to barely $200 a week. Even with government aid, such as food stamps, the family is on poverty's doorstep. "If it wasn't for the Salvation Army, I don't know where I'd be," Hosier says.

2007-01-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

While sliding a fresh piece of newspaper into the bird's cage, a photograph from the op-ed page caught my eye. It was this mug shot of Extreme Right-Wing Columnist Robert D(uh). Novak:

Now I must admit I didn't recognize who it was until I saw the name under the photo. The reason for my lack of recognition is understandable because this is what Novak really looks like:

Oh, the vanity!

Why did Saddam really have to die?

2007-01-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

Robert Scheer claims Saddam knew too much to live.

Exerpt from Alternet:

It is a very frightening precedent that the United States can invade a country on false pretenses, depose its leader and summarily execute him without an international trial or appeals process. This is about vengeance, not justice, for if it were the latter the existing international norms would have been observed. The trial should have been overseen by the World Court, in a country that could have guaranteed the safety of defense lawyers, who, in this case, were killed or otherwise intimidated.

The irony here is that the crimes for which Saddam Hussein was convicted occurred before the United States, in the form of Donald Rumsfeld, embraced him. Those crimes were well known to have occurred 15 months before Rumsfeld visited Iraq to usher in an alliance between the United States and Saddam to defeat Iran.

The fact is that Saddam Hussein knew a great deal about the United States' role in Iraq, including deals made with Bush's father. This rush to execute him had the feel of a gangster silencing the key witness to a crime.

Ford Spawns Bush

2006-12-30T04:59:00.000-08:00

From consortiumnews.com:

To many Americans, Gerald Ford represented the antithesis of the imperial presidency that Richard Nixon had brought to historic heights. After succeeding Nixon in 1974, Ford downplayed the trappings of power and treated Congress with greater respect.
But, in retrospect, Ford's two-plus years in office could be viewed as the start of the imperial presidency's comeback, which under George W. Bush has exceeded anything Nixon dreamed of. And, ironically, by silencing his own doubts about Bush's Iraq War, Ford may have had a hand in that, too.

For the full story of how Ford's White House became an incubator for the rebirth of the imperial presidency, go to Consortiumnews.com at http://www.consortiumnews.com .

Fair and balanced

2006-12-28T06:25:00.000-08:00

AlterNet points out these fair and balanced captions used by Fox during 2006:

"All-Out Civil War in Iraq: Could It Be a Good Thing?" [2/23/06]
"Attacking Capitalism: Have Dems Declared War on America?" [2/18/06]
"Dems Helping the Enemy?" [5/22/06]
"A Lamont Win, Bad News for Democracy in Mideast?"
"Have the Democrats Forgotten the Lessons of 9/11?"
"Is the Democratic Party Soft on Terror?" [8/8/06]
"The #1 President on Mideast Matters: George W Bush?" [8/14/06]
"Is the Liberal Media Helping to Fuel Terror?" [8/16/06]

The GOP Legacy

2006-12-12T06:59:00.000-08:00

From Capitol Hill Blue:

Gridlock was good to Congress under the Republicans. With Democrat Bill Clinton in the White House, it produced such landmarks as the welfare reform act of 1996 and a string of budget surpluses.

But with a Republican president in the White House discipline began breaking down. The surpluses vanished, spending soared, traditional courtesies to the minority party were ignored and a series of ethics scandals culminated in the resignation of four Republican House members this year.

In November, the voters ended the Republicans control of Congress and maybe just in time. In 12 years of GOP control of the House and 10 of the Senate, the 109th that just adjourned was the worst yet.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., called it "the most useless Congress in modern times." That might be dismissed as partisan excess except that many Republicans share his assessment.

More>>>

Do we even have to ask if Bush is nuts?

2006-12-04T04:07:00.000-08:00

Paul Craig Roberts writing at InformationClearingHouse asks this question: Is President Bush Insane?

Of course it's a rhetorical question, but sometimes even rhetorical questions need a thoughtful answer. The answer is a resounding, "YES!"

And sometimes rhetorical questions must be answered with another: why do you ask?

You say tomato, we say 'civil war'

2006-11-28T02:34:00.000-08:00

Is Iraq in the middle of a civil war? The experts can't agree, but more of the media are defining the conflict that way.

From The Washington Post:

NEW YORK -- NBC News on Monday began referring to the Iraq conflict as a civil war, adopting a phrase that President Bush and many other news organizations have avoided.

Matt Lauer said on the "Today" show that "after careful consideration, NBC News has decided that a change in terminology is warranted, that the situation in Iraq with armed militarized factions fighting for their own political agendas can now be characterized as civil war."

The network's cable news outlet, MSNBC, drummed the point home repeatedly by using the phrase "Iraq: The Civil War" on the screen.

McCain: 'no defeat is permanent'

2006-11-16T13:11:00.000-08:00

Sen. John McCain, the Republican wannbe leader, vowed to lead his party back to power and said "no defeat is permanent."

He's right. The Democrats proved that last week.

Wal-Mart caves to regligious right

2006-11-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

In a reversal from last year, Wal-Mart announced "60% more of its merchandise will be labeled 'Christmas' compared with last year," according to an article in The Los Angeles Times.

What's next, checking religious affiliation, and preventing non-Christians from buying "Christmas" merchandise?

Nah, they're too freaking greedy to go that route.

Don't Fall for Bush's Act

2006-11-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

Writing at Capitol Hill Blue, Doug Thompson has this to say about Bush's comments following the Republican electoral rout:

Bush's disregard for the truth is just one of his many ethical problems and moral lapses. He lives in a delusional world of his own making, a political allegory that mocks morality, ethics and the law. In his warped mind, all is fair in politics. He and his party proved that over and over in this past election season, using fear, racism, bigotry, homophobia and outright lies to try and hold on to power.

Now that he's lost, he wants to make nice and demands that the opposition forgive and forget.

A recommendation for incoming Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid: Don't fall for Dubya's act. He's a venomous political snake who will turn and bite at the first opportunity because that's what snakes do.

Don't turn your backs on him, don't trust him for a nanosecond and don't believe for an instant that he serves any interest but his own.

Thanks, Doug, they need to hear that.

So long, Rummy, you murdering bastard

2006-11-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

Rumsfeld out!

It's about damn time. Can we start the war crimes trial now?

Post-Election E-Mail From Howard Dean

2006-11-08T14:20:00.000-08:00

Got a post-election e-mail from Gov. Howard Dean, leader of the Dems, entitled,"How did this happen?"

Howie, if you don't know, who does? Thought you were in charge.

Of course it was a letter detailing the grassroots efforts of a lot of people in various states that led the Dems to victory. Oh yeah, he was also asking for money. Like any of the real, grassroots people have anything left after six years of Bushmania.

US seen as threat to world peace

2006-11-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

From the who's-surprised-by-this file:

America is now seen as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbours and allies, according to an international survey of public opinion published today that reveals just how far the country's reputation has fallen among former supporters since the invasion of Iraq.

Carried out as US voters prepare to go to the polls next week in an election dominated by the war, the research also shows that British voters see George Bush as a greater danger to world peace than either the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, or the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both countries were once cited by the US president as part of an "axis of evil", but it is Mr Bush who now alarms voters in countries with traditionally strong links to the US.

Read the article

US seen as threat to world peace

2006-11-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

From the who's-surprised-by-this file:

America is now seen as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbours and allies, according to an international survey of public opinion published today that reveals just how far the country's reputation has fallen among former supporters since the invasion of Iraq.

Carried out as US voters prepare to go to the polls next week in an election dominated by the war, the research also shows that British voters see George Bush as a greater danger to world peace than either the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, or the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both countries were once cited by the US president as part of an "axis of evil", but it is Mr Bush who now alarms voters in countries with traditionally strong links to the US.

Read the article

White House Under Investigation About Supressing Climate Research

2006-11-03T06:42:00.000-08:00

From the "It's About Time Files:"

WASHINGTON — Two federal agencies are investigating whether the Bush administration tried to block government scientists from speaking freely about global warming and censor their research, a senator said Wednesday.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said he was informed that the inspectors general for the Commerce Department and NASA had begun "coordinated, sweeping investigations of the Bush administration's censorship and suppression" of federal research into global warming.

"These investigations are critical because the Republicans in Congress have ignored this serious problem," Lautenberg said.

He said the investigations "will uncover internal documents and agency correspondence that may expose widespread misconduct." He added, "Taxpayers do not fund scientific research so the Bush White House can alter it."

Messages left Wednesday at the offices of the inspectors general, which serve as the agencies' internal watchdogs, were not immediately returned.

Kristen Hellmer, a spokeswoman for the White House Council for Environmental Quality, said Wednesday night that the administration has supported the scientific process in its approach to studying climate change.

"We have in place the most transparent system of science reporting, and claims that the administration interfered with scientists are false," Hellmer said. "Our focus is on taking action and making real progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The nearly $2 billion worth of climate science we publish annually leads the world and speaks for itself."

The Answer is 'YES'

2006-11-02T06:45:00.000-08:00

Found this comment by Bill C. Davis writing about the Kerry flap over at CommonDreams:

But to say the war itself was misbegotten and criminal would invite the question - are you saying the soldiers who died, died for nothing? Are dying for nothing? The question is as impossible as the answer that one dreads giving.

Sorry, Bill, you may dread giving the answer, but we're not.

The answer is a resounding, "Yes!" And the sooner all of us realize that sooner someone will come up with an exit strategy.

Bush the Homo - phobe

2006-10-31T09:21:00.000-08:00

What a sleeze bag:

President George W. Bush, faces a humiliating defeat in a mid-term election that is a referendum on him and his policies, has turned away from the issues of taxes and terrorism and now hopes to churn up Republican enthusiasm with homophobia.

"For decades, activist judges have tried to redefine America by court order," Bush said Monday. "Just this last week in New Jersey, another activist court issued a ruling that raises doubt about the institution of marriage. We believe marriage is a union between a man and a woman, and should be defended."

The line earned Bush by far his most sustained applause at a rally of 5,000 people aimed at boosting former GOP Rep. Max Burns' effort to unseat a Democratic incumbent. In this conservative rural corner of eastern Georgia, even children jumped to their feet alongside their parents to cheer and clap for nearly 30 seconds — a near-eternity in political speechmaking.

But while gay bashing may work in the backwoods of Georgia, it is a strategy that can backfire on Republicans in the national election arena. But that won't stop Bush from turning up the homophobic heat.

Fence, but no money

2006-10-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

President Bush is set to sign today the legislation authorizing the building of a 700 mile fence along the Mexican border.

However, in their constant lack of wisdom, Congress has yet to fund the project.

Those bozos know nothing about real security, but they sure know how to play politics with the safety of all Americans.

Rove lashes out

2006-10-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

From The Washington Post:

Appearing in support of embattled GOP Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), Karl Rove offered biting jibes against House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), took a shot at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and asserted that Democratic policies would leave the country weaker.

Sorry, Karl, this tired old crap won't cut it anymore with voters that have half a brain. Oh, but wait, that's your base.

Pack your bags, you're heading for Gitmo

2006-10-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

What next from our government?

Who Is 'Any Person' in Tribunal Law?

Exerpt:

The New York Times lead editorial gives false comfort to American citizens by assuring them that they will not be victims of George W. Bush’s new draconian system for prosecuting enemies of the U.S. government in military tribunals outside constitutional protections.

A new Day of Infamy

2006-10-18T03:04:00.000-07:00

Statement by Elizabeth Holtzman:

"Today will go down in the annals of infamy. By signing the military tribunals bill into law, President Bush has taken this country down a long dark road of shame.

The bill countenances abuse of detainees in defiance of the Geneva Conventions and the country's past moral values and it suspends habeas corpus in defiance of the constitution. As bad as these features is the bill's grant of a pardon to President Bush and his top Cabinet officials for any crimes they may have committed under the War Crimes Act of 1996.

When a president violates the country's criminal laws and then gets a secret grant of immunity for those crimes, he makes a mockery of the rule of law. Then all lawlessness is permissible.

This provision in the bill creates a culture of impunity for torture and abuse of detainees. It was slipped into the bill in secret, without hearings or debate. Most members of Congress, most reporters and most Americans have no idea that this has happened.

By doing this the President has stuck a horrific blow at our basic democratic values and our constitutional system.

Instead of pardoning himself with the complicity of Congress, the President should be making public what acts of prisoner abuse he authorized the CIA to undertake or what acts of theirs he ratified.

Holtzman is a former four-term Congresswoman from New York who served on the House Judiciary Committee during Nixon's impeachment. She co-authored the 1973 special prosecutor statute, and has co-written a new book (with Cynthia L. Cooper) analyzing illegal, unconstitutional and/or impeachable actions of the current administration, "The Impeachment of George W. Bush".

Wal-Mart invading China

2006-10-17T03:07:00.000-07:00

What happens when the world's largest retailer begins to face opposition at home to its plan to take over the entire country? It invades another.

Great. Another reason for the largest country in the world to hate us.