The Question Never Asked

Why was America attacked on 9/11?

A professor at the University of Colorado has attempted to answer the question, and has come under attack from all sides for doing so.

In his treatise "Some People Push Back", Ward Churchill states what should be painfully obvious to any informed American. The sad thing is that most Americans are far from informed. So when faced with the truth, they deny it. They make excuses, and they blame the messenger.

Perhaps the most contrversial segment of "Some People Push Back" deals with the supposid innocense of the people who died on 9/11:

There is simply no argument to be made that the Pentagon personnel killed on September 11 fill that bill. The building and those inside comprised military targets, pure and simple. As to those in the World Trade Center . . .

Well, really. Let's get a grip here, shall we? True enough, they were civilians of a sort. But innocent? Gimme a break. They formed a technocratic corps at the very heart of America's global financial empire – the "mighty engine of profit" to which the military dimension of U.S. policy has always been enslaved – and they did so both willingly and knowingly. Recourse to "ignorance" – a derivative, after all, of the word "ignore" – counts as less than an excuse among this relatively well-educated elite. To the extent that any of them were unaware of the costs and consequences to others of what they were involved in – and in many cases excelling at – it was because of their absolute refusal to see.

More likely, it was because they were too busy braying, incessantly and self-importantly, into their cell phones, arranging power lunches and stock transactions, each of which translated, conveniently out of sight, mind and smelling distance, into the starved and rotting flesh of infants. If there was a better, more effective, or in fact any other way of visiting some penalty befitting their participation upon the little Eichmanns inhabiting the sterile sanctuary of the twin towers, I'd really be interested in hearing about it.


I agree that it's harsh, but then I've always been a fan of harsh. What's more important is that it's true.

A lot of money has been made over the years by exploiting the Iraqi people. It hasn't stopped. It just looks different now.

george w. bush has just abused the Iraqis to the tune of 100,000 dead and rising. He'll pay off the survivors, who will in turn abuse the next generation. In the end it's all about money. Power over those who would be equal.

The Middle East isn't like the West where we've learned to just lie down, and take it.

Maybe that's why they didn't want a discussion about why 9/11 happened. Maybe they were afraid that Americans would realise that bush is just anther dictator. He tells us we are free, but we really aren't. Money controlls us all from the minute we're born, and the doctor slaps us with the bill.


9/11 occured because some people really are willing to fight for their freedom.

A concept that today's American just can't accept.


.

Michael Chertoff Conspired To Commit Torture

The New York Times

Mr. Chertoff's previously undisclosed involvement in evaluating how far interrogators could go took place in 2002-3 when he headed the Justice Department's criminal division. The advice came in the form of responses to agency inquiries asking whether C.I.A. employees risked being charged with crimes if particular interrogation techniques were used on specific detainees.

[...]

One current and two former senior officials with firsthand knowledge of the interaction between the C.I.A. and the Justice Department said that while the criminal division did not explicitly approve any requests by the agency, it did discuss what conditions could protect agency personnel from prosecution.


How is it not a illegal to advise someone, who you know is going to commit a crime, on how to avoid prosecution?

This is the piece of shit bush picked to be the head of homeland security?!?!?!

What the hell was he thinkin?!?!?

Breaking A Few Eggs

At least 44 people died in Iraq yesterday. There were at least 9 suicide bombings. Maybe 13.


...but in our media, the general consensus was that the elections went off without a hitch, and that there were no major terrorist attacks.

Maybe that's because, there are not now, nor have there ever been, any "terrorists" in Iraq. At least not any worth overthrowing a country for.

junior knows the difference:

President Bush called the Iraqi election a resounding success and promised that the United States will help Iraqis fight continuing insurgency as they build a democratic government.

[...]


"The world is hearing the voice of freedom from the center of the Middle East," Bush said. "In great numbers, and under great risk, Iraqis have shown their commitment to democracy."


Insurgents... Voting "under great risk"...

...sounds like a bush success to me.


"We will build a statue for Bush," "He is the symbol of freedom."
said Ali Fadel, the former provincial council chairman.(and future mayor of Baghdad)

Just trading in one dictator for another.

The Bought-Off Right: Part 3

Michael McManus

from Salon

Michael McManus, conservative author of the syndicated column "Ethics & Religion," received $10,000 to promote a marriage initiative.

One day after President Bush ordered his Cabinet secretaries to stop hiring commentators to help promote administration initiatives, and one day after the second high-profile conservative pundit was found to be on the federal payroll, a third embarrassing hire has emerged. Salon has confirmed that Michael McManus, a marriage advocate whose syndicated column, "Ethics & Religion," appears in 50 newspapers, was hired as a subcontractor by the Department of Health and Human Services to foster a Bush-approved marriage initiative. McManus championed the plan in his columns without disclosing to readers he was being paid to help it succeed.


If the DNC cannot punish bush for this (impeachment would be nice), THEN IT'S TIME TO REPLACE THE DNC.



Ya just gotta laugh

from the BBC

A devout Baptist couple who bought a Doris Day DVD from a supermarket were shocked to find a sex film instead.

[...]

"My wife and I were very shocked but we watched it until the end because we couldn't believe what we were seeing.

"The film became progressively more graphic, there was no plot to it, it was just sex."


O'Reilly Apologizes

This is what makes Media Matters so great, they actually listen to Bill O'Reilly's shitty show. I know I, for one, can't stand to listen to him for more then 3 minutes.

On January 26, a week after labeling Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) "a nut" and a day after denying he had done so, FOX News host Bill O'Reilly admitted that his denial was false. On his radio show, O'Reilly apologized to Boxer directly, though on TV he omitted the apology, admitting only that his denial a day earlier was erroneous.


...well ain't that nice.

In the same spirit, I would like to apologize for denying that I ever called Bill O'Reilly a freak that terrorizes women for sexual pleasure.

I now remember saying it...

...my bad.

Reporter Plagiarizes GOP Talking Points And Calls It "News"

from Media Matters for America

Talon News Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent Jeff Gannon, who accused his colleagues in the press corps of "work[ing] off of the talking points" provided by Democrats, has used Bush administration and Republican National Committee (RNC) documents and releases in his Talon "news reports" verbatim and without attribution. In at least two of his articles, Gannon lifted more than half of the text directly from GOP "fact sheets."



I wonder if he was paid to do it...

Everything you ever wanted to know...

About paid-off commentator Maggie Gallagher

Just follow the (link)

Stop Government Propaganda Act?

from a shitty site that always crashes my browser.

In response to continued revelations of government-funded "journalism" -- ranging from the purported video news releases put out by the drug czar's office and the Department of Health and Human Services to the recently uncovered payments to columnists Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher,who flacked administration programs -- Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) will introduce a bill, The Stop Government Propaganda Act, in the Senate next week.

"It's just not enough to say, 'Please don't do it anymore,'" Alex Formuzis, Lautenberg's spokesman, told E&P. "Legislation sometimes is required and we believe it is in this case."


Propagana is already illegal.

We don't need new laws, we simply need to enforce the ones we already have.

Christy Todd Whitman Is A Coward

I just watched her backpedal from remarks in her book on Hannity & Colmes... Pathetic.

First I'd just like to express my willingness to appear on Hannity & Colmes. If ever I were to appear, I would first stick a finger into one of Hannity's eyesockets. I would then push through, jabbing my finger as deeply as I could, digging out pieces of brain with sadistic glee. Please Sean! Please Invite Me ON Your Show!!!

...and since LeAnn Rimes was on there too, someone needs to organize a boycott as punishment. Sad bimbo peaked at 15. Her looks have been going down the toilet ever since...

But back to Christy. If you don't have enough spine to stand up to the likes of Sean Hannity (or better yet, kill him), then get out of the way. No one wants to read a book written by a coward.

Colmes wanted to make her a Democrat... Like the DNC doesn't have enough cowards in it already.

The Butcher's Bill

AP

President Bush pleaded for Americans' patience Wednesday on what he conceded was "a very discouraging day" of death and violence for U.S. troops in Iraq. He urged Iraqis to defy terrorist threats and vote in Sunday's elections.

[...]

"The enemy would like nothing more than the United States to precipitously pull out and withdraw before the Iraqis are prepared to defend themselves."


Is it just me, or does junior pay more attention to what the "enemy" wants, than what Americans want...

from the Guardian Unlimited...


Quoting Lt Gen James Helmly, chief of the US Army Reserve:

These "dysfunctional" policies are producing a crisis "more acute and hurtful", as the Reserve's ability to mobilise troops is "eroding daily".

The US force in Iraq of about 150,000 troops is composed of a "volunteer" army that came into being with the end of military conscription during the Vietnam war. More than 40% are National Guard and Reserves, most having completed second tours of duty and being sent out again.

The force level has been maintained by the Pentagon only by "stop-loss" orders that coerce soldiers to remain in service after their contractual enlistment expires - a back-door draft.



The truth is bush has exploited our military. He cites Vietnam as an example of when Americans failed their troops, He's wrong. Vietnam, and Iraq, are examples of how American Presidents fail our troops.

Stretched too thin, tired and wanting to come home, the soldiers in Vietnam broke, both mentally and physically, under the stress of war. Many came home as empty shells of what they once were.

...and george w. bush is a poor student of history.

When the soldiers come home from Iraq, they won't be the same as before. War changes a person for the worst, and these soldiers have spent too much time in combat.

Even worse the programs that would be used to reintegrate them into society have had their budgets cut too.

The only question left is; How much more will goerge bush want before it's all over?

bush Encourages His Cabinet to Stop Illegal Activity

AP

President Bush ordered his Cabinet secretaries Wednesday not to hire columnists to promote administration agendas after disclosure that a second writer had been paid to assist an agency.

"All our Cabinet secretaries must realize that we will not be paying commentators to advance our agenda," Bush said at a news conference. "Our agenda ought to be able to stand on its own two feet."


yeah... it ought to.

What else is an over-paid CEO to do?

When it turns out that you, and your gigantic oil corporation, are responsible for most of the damage that has been done to the climate and ozone. And, Lo and Behold!, it's twice as catastrophic as everyone thought. And it looks like you very may well be responsible for the end of life on planet earth!

What else could you do but...


Start an Ad Campaign!

Bob May, president of the Royal Society, says that "a lobby of professional sceptics who opposed action to tackle climate change" is turning its attention to Britain because of its high profile in the debate.


As good Christians I believe that it is our duty to pray to the Lord Our God in hopes that Bob May dies a horrible death.

The Bought-Off Right: Part 2


Maggie Gallagher

From the Seattle Times

In 2002, syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher repeatedly defended President Bush's push for a $300 million initiative encouraging marriage as a way of strengthening families.

"The Bush marriage initiative would emphasize the importance of marriage to poor couples" and "educate teens on the value of delaying childbearing until marriage," she wrote in National Review Online, for example, adding that this could "carry big payoffs down the road for taxpayers and children."

But Gallagher failed to mention that she had a $21,500 contract with the Department of Health and Human Services to help promote the president's proposal.


[...]
Gallagher received an additional $20,000 from the Bush administration in 2002 and 2003 for writing a report titled "Can Government Strengthen Marriage?" for a private organization called the National Fatherhood Initiative. That report, published last year, was funded by a Justice Department grant, said NFI spokesman Vincent DiCaro. Gallagher said she was "aware vaguely" that her work was federally funded.


You can read Gallagher's sad attempt to spin her way out of this here (Yahoo)

and if you subscribe to the post...

Don Imus; Republican Tool

I was listening to Imus this morning, and was left in shock. I really mean it, I was shocked, 'cause it sounded to me like Don Imus was challenging Rush Limbaugh for the republicans "Top Tool" award.

Yesterday Senators Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd led the charge against Condoleezza Rice's nomination for secretary of state. The AP credits them as saying:

"Dr. Rice is responsible for some of the most overblown rhetoric that the administration used to scare the American people into believing that there was an imminent threat from Iraq," Byrd said.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts charged that Rice, as Bush's national security adviser, provided Congress with "false reasons" for going to war. Had she not, Kennedy said in a speech, "it might have changed the course of history."


Now this is where Don Imus comes in. This morning on his show [between jokes about a (I assume blacks? I was only half listening) sticking a Frisbee in their mouth to make their lower lip stick out, and Mike Barnicle saying the he hopes Imus get a face like a Ukrainian (?!?)] Imus unleashes the theory that Byrd really opposes Condoleezza Rice because she's black. As proof of this he points to the fact that, 60 years ago, Byrd was a member of the Ku Klux Klan...

...and I guess for Don Imus that's enough. Too bad he has no sense of history. 60 years ago the Klan was little more than a frat, a club, a union... it was a lot like today's Moose or Elks club, or dare I say VFW. The Klan it's self didn't start of as racist, but at a time when 80% of Americans were racist, it seeped in, and over time the Klan became what we know it to be today.

So is Byrd a racist? I dunno... it's hard to tell what's in the man's heart. But for 50+ years Senator Byrd has been a part of the democratic party. He has become a champion of civil rights, and has earned the right to the benefit of the doubt when in situations like this.

What does all of this have to do with black woman succeeding a black man?

Not A God Damn Thing!!

The black woman in this case is nothing more than rubber stamp for junior's failed policies. When asked to defend the filthy lies she told to the American people, this weak excuse for a human being proclaimed "Barbara Boxer is picking on me!".

Republican's can see the writing on the wall. The black population is growing at a far faster pace than the rich white man population. Desperate to stay in power, they're hoping to rub a little bit of their well earned reputation as racists onto the democrats.

Too bad for them no one's buying it. For 50 years Robert Byrd voted for equality, and every time he did the republicans were there voting against him.

It's too bad that media personalities like Don Imus can't see the difference.

...or maybe he's on bush's commentator payroll too.

Rest in Peace, Johnny Carson

A breif history of Johnny's life can be found here.

...and the news of his death is here.


from Lynn Elber
His "Tonight Show" monologues, celebrity banter and the corny but winning skits all had the Carson touch of heartland charm and humor that remained on the polite side of risque.

When he died Sunday, his quiet retirement of nearly 13 years hadn't dimmed the memory of his three decades as king of late-night or the admiration of entertainers and others.

"All of us who came after are pretenders. We will not see the likes of him again," said David Letterman, host of CBS' "Late Show."




23 October 1925 - 23 January 2005

Incase you're wondering...

Today is the most depressing day of the year.

The Countdown to Global Catastrophe

The Independent

The global warming danger threshold for the world is clearly marked for the first time in an international report to be published tomorrow - and the bad news is, the world has nearly reached it already.

The countdown to climate-change catastrophe is spelt out by a task force of senior politicians, business leaders and academics from around the world - and it is remarkably brief. In as little as 10 years, or even less, their report indicates, the point of no return with global warming may have been reached.

The report, Meeting The Climate Challenge, is aimed at policymakers in every country, from national leaders down.


...it's official, the planet is dying.

Blogging on Bloggers

On C-Span over the weekend they had Wonkette, Andrew Sullivan, and someone I've already forgotten on to talk about the importance of bloggers....

I hate when reporters interview bloggers. They always end up looking jealous. *Gasp! Bloggers Don't Even Have Editors! Gasp!* No shit moron they're not reporters. And in this case they weren't even good bloggers.

Well, Wonkette is ok if you're into that whole gossip thing. The problem is that most of the time her gossip is well... petty.

And Andrew Sullivan should be announced as the "self hating homosexual" everytime he's a guest on anything. Not because he's gay, but because he's a republican. I mean... How does that happen?

Blacks don't join the clan. Whites don't join the Black Panthers. Jews aren't lining up to form the new nazi party. So how the hell can Andrew Sullivan be a republican?

...and the same goes for Drudge.

...freak.

My biggest problem with these people representing bloggers everywhere is that, for the most part, Sullivan, and to a lesser extent Wonkette, are just stupid. A few months ago when Sullivan was on "Real Time with Bill Maher" he made a total ass out of himself. And as I looked over his blog today, I see that he was duped into believing that a VW ad, where a VW survived being used as a car bomb, was real. What the hell did he think? That VW's new slogan was "Our Cars Don't Blow"?


O-Well... could've been worse. Could've been KOS again.

Peggy Noonan: Right Wing, Martha Stewart Wanna-be

I hate this bitch.

Not because she's a right wing hack, but because she's so much worse than that.

I was reading her column today, because someone pointed out that she went after bush in it. That's news because it's totally out of character for her. Here are a couple of highlights;

The inaugural address itself was startling. It left me with a bad feeling, and reluctant dislike...

[and]

The president's speech seemed rather heavenish. It was a God-drenched speech. This president, who has been accused of giving too much attention to religious imagery and religious thought, has not let the criticism enter him. God was invoked relentlessly. "The Author of Liberty." "God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind . . . the longing of the soul."


This mild mannered criticism, hidden after a lavish description of everything but the drapes, was described to me as harsh... What is truly harsh is being tricked into reading what must be Peggy's job resume to the world, submitted in the hopes of becoming the next Joan Rivers of politics.

...but this gets to the heart of my hate for Peggy Noonan. She's more concerned about how something is said, than the context of what is being said. Chris Matthews is guilty of this shit too, so it's no surprise that Nooner's often a "guest" on his show. Either that or he's just trying to get some... I'd bet nickels to dimes that no one would have ever heard of Ann Coulter, if it wasn't for the fact that Chris Matthews wanted to stick his dick in her.

but that's neither here nor there...

The next time you find yourself listening to Chris Matthews praise Ronald Reagan, pay attention to just what he's saying. Matthews rarely talks about Reagan's actual policies (Trickle Down, Iran Contra, Ketchup is a vegetable, Aids? Never heard of it), instead he goes on and on blubbering about how Reagan sold his policies.

He likes to use phases like "Reagan on taxes; How powerfully the man spoke", completely leaving out the fact that Reagan's actual tax policy was a disaster.

...and since Noonan wrote Reagan's speeches. Matthews has her on MSNBC every time there's some big political brewhaha. Sounding a lot like the evil Martha Stewart of politics.

It's a damn shame that, in today's political world, actual policy plays second fiddle to the opinions of a former speech coach.

Social Security Reality

Ameican Prospect Online

For all the fanfare that surrounds the Bush administration’s efforts to present a bold new idea on pension reform, the truth is that it is not new at all. In fact, the proposal looks suspiciously like the plan set in train during Thatcher’s first term in 1979 and which has since led Britain to the brink of a crisis.

Since then, the nation’s basic pension, which is paid for out of tax receipts, has shrunk dramatically. The United Kingdom has the stingiest state pension program of any G8 nation, and there is growing consensus -- even among British conservatives -- that reform is needed. And ironically enough, considering that America is on the verge of copying Britain’s mistake, most experts seek reform in the direction of a more generous, and simpler, basic state pension -- one similar in design, in words, to America’s Social Security program.


I get so burned out...

Is it just me, or after a while, do all these "outrages" just mash together, and make you just wanna give up?


Our media was so shocked as the death count rose from the tsunami. They said stuff like "it's hard to comprehend the magnitude of the loss". Why don't they try to comprehend that bush killed just as many people in Iraq. 100,000 estimated as of last October.

...but our media would never point that out. They know not to bite the hand that feeds 'em. 1, 2, 3 times the bush administration has been caught faking the news. Maybe he's a student of Hitler, or maybe just Hitler's Minister of Enlightenment;

"Propaganda is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. If the means achieves the end then the means is good.........the new Ministry has no other aim than to unite the nation behind the ideal of the national revolution." -Goebbels


Faced with three instances of proved propaganda produced by the America government our media thought it was more important to talk about Dan Rather.

...and since no one seems to care, bush decides to "enlightening" the public with regards to Social Security, and even though 5 out of 6 Social Security workers oppose bush, the Social Security Administration is about to publicly support him, in what will probably turn out to be propaganda campaign number 4.

Random Thoughts on The Bought Off Right

I just watched Mr. (I paid Mackris off) Oreilly interview Armstrong Williams... err... maybe I should say he lectured to Armstrong Williams. He even took two seconds to look up Section 507(&508) of the Communications Act, and then quote it's example almost verbatim without telling his audience where the example came from. (Is that plagiarism?)

...but Mr. O'what'a pervert! didn't seem to want to blame bush, and he let Armstrong off pretty easy. Could it have had anything to do with the fact that a lot of people are wondering just how much money bush has floated to the commentators at FOX...

I mean come-on, Armstrong Williams was a nobody. A token black for republicans... but that was about it. So if they gave a nobody 240,000 tax payer dollars, just how much have they been giving better known commentators?

Commentators like:

Robert Novak

Tucker Carlson

Ann "Da Man" Coulter

Rush Limbaugh

Michael Savage

Michelle Malkin


...and lets keep in mind that this isn't the first time that bush has produced Hitler-esque propaganda with the tax payers money. Remember the fake medicare news segments? The Government Accounting Office said bush's "video news releases" violated a statute that forbids the use of federal money for propaganda, as well as the Antideficiency Act, which covers the unauthorized use of federal funds.

Remember when the woman ask bush during the debates if he had made any mistakes? He didn't remember any... Looks like he hasn't learned from any either.

...and let me ask all the republican trolls out there something. How do you know that the right wing mouthpiece that you listen to day in and day out isn't just telling you what the administration told 'em to tell you?

How do you know they believe in anything they're telling you?

The Bought Off Right *update*


The Chicago Tribune has dropped Armstrong Williams as a collumnist...

...I don't see why I mean Hey, he was good enough for bush to hire.




bush Caught Bribing Commentators

USA Today

Seeking to build support among black families for its education reform law, the Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same.

The campaign, part of an effort to promote No Child Left Behind (NCLB), required commentator Armstrong Williams "to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts," and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during the show in 2004.


Williams said Thursday he understands that critics could find the arrangement unethical, but "I wanted to do it because it's something I believe in."

The top Democrat on the House Education Committee, Rep. George Miller of California, called the contract "a very questionable use of taxpayers' money" that is "probably illegal." He said he will ask his Republican counterpart to join him in requesting an investigation.

The contract, detailed in documents obtained by USA TODAY through a Freedom of Information Act request, also shows that the Education Department, through the Ketchum public relations firm, arranged with Williams to use contacts with America's Black Forum, a group of black broadcast journalists, "to encourage the producers to periodically address" NCLB. He persuaded radio and TV personality Steve Harvey to invite Paige onto his show twice. Harvey's manager, Rushion McDonald, confirmed the appearances.


[...]


The contract may be illegal "because Congress has prohibited propaganda," or any sort of lobbying for programs funded by the government, said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "And it's propaganda."

[...]


Williams' contract was part of a $1 million deal with Ketchum that produced "video news releases" designed to look like news reports. The Bush administration used similar releases last year to promote its Medicare prescription drug plan, prompting a scolding from the Government Accountability Office, which called them an illegal use of taxpayers' dollars.

Williams, 45, a former aide to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is one of the top black conservative voices in the nation. He hosts The Right Side on TV and radio, and writes op-ed pieces for newspapers, including USA TODAY, while running a public relations firm, Graham Williams Group.



UnFuckingBelievable!!!!!

This is what impeachment laws are for!


.

The devil quotes the Bible

Transcripts take forever at MSNBC, but the other day, on one of their shows that nobody watches, the devil said this:

PAT ROBERTSON:  Joe, the day after this thing took place, I just opened my Bible to the Gospel of Luke, and it’s the 17th chapter.  And Jesus said, as the days of Noah was, so will be the day of the coming of the son of man.  People were marrying, giving in marriage, having parties and banquets, and then, all of a sudden, a flood came and washed them all away. 

Same thing was true with Sodom and Gomorrah.  They were building.  They were planting.  It was business as usual, until Lot left Sodom, and all of a sudden, fire came and consumed them all.  It was sudden.  It was dramatic.  And when the lord comes back, that’s the way it’s going to be.  So I think perhaps this is a warning for people of how transitory our life is. 


The devil, who is quite adept at choosing his words, never actually says that the people killed by the tsunami were evil... but he clearly is hoping that you will be left with that impression.


Not wanting to be confronted (I assume), the devil promptly ran away, but he left one of his minions to spread his word;

JENNIFER GIROUX, DIRECTOR, WOMEN INFLUENCING THE NATION:
And historically speaking, in the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, when Moses led the Jews away from slavery, there’s always been times where God has allowed natural disasters and plagues in order to further his will. So this is not to blame God. God has given us free will to love him, but the flip side of that is the free will to sin against him.

And who knows. As part of this discussion, who knows if all of the heinous things that went on over there in Thailand could have opened the door to what happened. And I know this is a very, very delicate subject here, because it’s not to say the poor people, the good people that died and suffered over there along with those that were not so good do not deserve that any more than you or I do.

But the fact of the matter is, eight of 11 of those countries hit over there were listed among the top 50 that persecute Christians around the world.
 


But the Lord was not alone in this battle;

RABBI SHMULEY BOTEACH, AUTHOR, “FACE YOUR FEAR”:
Is this as good as it gets, Joe, that the only message from modern religion in the face of such a cataclysm and catastrophe is fear tactics, that if you don’t shape up and repent, man, it’s going to get worse. Now there’s molten rock that’s going to pour into the seas and finish you off completely. Fear tactics?



Sums it up rater nicely I think. The devil doesn't want you to love God, he wants you to fear God...


...and send him money. Lots and lots of money.

Disturbing

CNN

"Do you approve of torture?" asked Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican.

"Absolutely not," Gonzales answered.

Gonzales has been criticized for a Justice Department memo on Afghanistan detainees that was addressed to him. In the August 2002 memo, then-Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee wrote, "We conclude that torture as defined ... covers only extreme acts."

According to Bybee, U.S. law defined "severe" pain as that "equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function or even death."

Asked by Leahy if he agreed with that position at the time, Gonzales answered: "I don't recall today whether or not I was in agreement with all of the analysis. But I don't have a disagreement with the conclusions then reached by the department."

He said that the Justice Department was responsible for interpreting the law.
[What?!?]



Something new, and very nice at CNN is the full story link. Where they link you to more indepth coverage of an issue. Blogs have always done this, but bloggers don't have CNN's resources so it's nice to see them start to do it too.

Must be part of their new "more info, less opinion" policy.

Anyway, they tossed in a timeline showing just how far bush has gone in his War against The Geneva Conventions.


Remember how angry people got when a couple of US soldiers showed up on tv with a few bruises? Well when the first video of a US soldier being "waterboarded" is released, tell them not to get angry with the people doing the waterboarding, get angry with bush, because he's the one that threw the Geneva Conventions out the window.

...and lets not forget that bush's administration has sided with those doing the torturing, and argued against compensating tortured American POW's and even survivors of the Holocaust.

Crossfire Canceled, Carlson Fired

From the NYTimes

CNN has ended its relationship with the conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and will shortly cancel its long-running daily political discussion program, "Crossfire," the new president of CNN, Jonathan Klein, said last night.

Mr. Carlson said he had actually quit "Crossfire" last April and had agreed to stay on until his contract expired. He said he had a deal in place for a job as the host of a 9 p.m. nightly talk program on MSNBC, CNN's rival.

[...]

Mr. Klein specifically cited the criticism that the comedian Jon Stewart leveled at "Crossfire" when he was a guest on the program during the presidential campaign. Mr. Stewart said that ranting partisan political shows on cable were "hurting America."

Mr. Klein said last night, "I agree wholeheartedly with Jon Stewart's overall premise." He said he believed that especially after the terror attacks on 9/11, viewers are interested in information, not opinion.



Good Riddence...

Crossfire had become nothing more than a political game of gotcha. Paul Begala was starting to turn into another Alan Colmes. Carlson was was annoying as hell in his role as Mr. "let me give the democrats some advice" guy, and Novak was an inch from anouncing his new membership as a white supremacist with the shit that was comming out of his mouth.

Crossfire's only saving grace was the possibility that James Carville would completly lose control, and beat the piss out of Novak. Something I'm sure we all would have liked to have seen.

...but how 'bout that Jon Stewart eh? Talk about kickin ass, and taking names.

Click Here to see what started it all.


Bush argues for limits on malpractice awards

MSNBC

What I'm here to do is say as clearly as I can [nice start]— the United States Congress needs to pass real medical liability reform this year," Bush said, standing on stage in front of dozens of doctors in white lab coats.


Yes... because protecting Doctors Guilty of Malpractice is clearly a core principle for all Americans.

So if you've got a tendency to cut off the wrong leg, fear not. junior bush will always be there for you. Making sure that you don't pay a lot for doctor insurance.

...just like the Geico Gecko, but evil.


Speaking of bad music...

Druuuawge is crowing about this

Guy Hovis, a vocalist from Tupelo, Miss., who performed on the Lawrence Welk show, will sing, "Let the Eagles Soar," [at bush's inauguration] a song written by Attorney General John Ashcroft.


Let Thee EEEEagles Soooar...


30 million dollars for bush's inauguration....

...with that kind of money they could have splurged for William Hung.



The Spiteful Little Trolls at VH1...

Are sucking the life out of my music listening experience.

Their "40 Most Awesomely Bad #1 Songs" proves that not only do they have no taste in music, but that they have no sense of history, 'cause if it wasn't for the songs they are ridiculing there wouldn't even be a VH1.

...besides come on, who didn't like Nelson?

Absurd

AP

A man charged with temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot of an airplane with a laser beam claims he was simply using the device to look at stars with his 7-year-old daughter.

Federal authorities on Tuesday used the Patriot Act to charge David Banach, 38, with interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI...

If convicted, Banach could be sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined $500,000.


The Patriot Act; Not Just for Terrorists Anymore!

The Social Security Changes in a Nutshell

A few people sent me email either asking me to explain what the hell the new changes will mean for Social Security in the long run. A few people told me what they thought the changes meant, and they really weren't getting it.

So this is my breakdown of the new changes in a nutshell:


1) The new method of calculating Social Security benefits serves two purposes. The first is to confuse and distract people from the second, which is to lower the over-all amount of Social Security benefits.

*Do not focus on the new formula, it only serves to distract you from the real issue. Benefits will be cut by one third*


2) By putting some of the money invested into Social Security into the stock market, young people are being sold on a chance to recover some of the benefits that have been cut.

"The Social Security Stock Market Lottery" would be an appropriate name for the "chance to recover lost benefits" that is being offered to young people.


...and one more thing.

If for 4 months out of the year someone took your mothers Social Security check, and gave her a lottery ticket, wouldn't you be pissed.

...this is just bush's way of destroying a social program he never believed in, in the first place.

Gonzales' Torture Rules Written by Cheney's Lawyer?

Yahoo/WashingtonPost

White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales chaired the meetings on the [what is torture?] issue, which included detailed descriptions of interrogation techniques such as "waterboarding," a tactic intended to make detainees feel as if they are drowning. He raised no objections and, without consulting military and State Department experts in the laws of torture and war, approved an August 2002 memo that gave CIA interrogators the legal blessings they sought.

[...]

But one of the mysteries that surround Gonzales is the extent to which these new legal approaches are his own handiwork rather than the work of others, particularly Vice President Cheney's influential legal counsel, David S. Addington.

Gonzales's involvement in the crafting of the torture memo, and his work on two presidential orders on detainee policy that provoked controversy or judicial censure during Bush's first term, is expected to take center stage at Senate Judiciary Committee hearings tomorrow on Gonzales's nomination to become attorney general.
The outlines of Gonzales's actions are known, but new details emerged in interviews with colleagues and other officials, some of whom spoke only on the condition of anonymity because they were involved in confidential government policy deliberations.

[...]

Conceding that such ghostwriting might seem irregular, even though Gonzales was aware of it, one former White House official said it was simply "evidence of the closeness of the relationship" between the two men. But another official familiar with the administration's legal policymaking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because such deliberations are supposed to be confidential, said that Gonzales often acquiesced in policymaking by others.


Our next "top cop" is nothing more than a torture approving puppet.



Choosing his words carefully

from Dawkins who was watching C-Span's coverage of the 109th Congressional Prayer Service. (why I'll never know)

24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.


28. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29. For he taught them as [one] having authority, and not as the scribes."

(Emphasis DeLay's.)





just Tom DeLay's way of adding insult to injury...

and another perfect example of red state values....

bush To Cut Social Security Benifits by A Third

from MSNBC

The Bush administration has signaled that it will propose changing the formula that sets initial Social Security benefit levels, cutting promised benefits by nearly a third in the coming decades, according to several Republicans close to the White House.



speaks for itself





House GOP Reverses Course on Ethics Rules

from the AP

When Republicans began their closed-door meeting Monday night, leaders were considering a rules change that would have made it tougher to rebuke a House member for misconduct. The proposal would have required a more specific finding of ethical violations.

Republicans gave no indication before the meeting that the indictment rule would be changed. Even more surprising was DeLay's decision to make the proposal himself.



So being indicted is still a reason for Tom Delay to step down?

...I guess the GOP fears Court TV.

Christy Todd Whitman's Book Raises a few Eyebrows

Here's a preview

Why had the Democrats become so bitterly distrustful and battle ready?

Part of the answer is that more than perhaps ever before in modern times, the Republican party at the national level is controlled by extreme conservatives I call social fundamentalists who have no inclination to seek bipartisan consensus on anything. I remember a group of western Republican congressmen telling me early in my tenure at EPA that if they ever read a favorable editorial in The New York Times about the Bush administration's environmental policy, We might as well still have a Democrat president.


Here in the reality based community we hold these truths to be self-evident...

...but let a republican say it, and it's suddenly news.

Some fight in 'em after all

The GOP wants to declare it unconstitutional to block bush's judge nominations with a filibuster. Even though democrats have only blocked 10 of junior's judicial nominees while confirming more than 200 of 'em.


So the democrats have adopted a new strategy just in time for the Gonzales hearings; one of full disclosure.

Break out the video tapes folks, Alberto Gonzales signed off on torture at the Abu Ghraib prison, so there isn't any reason to show him any mercy. The dems have finally grown a backbone, and this is something they can really sink their teeth into.

I myself would like to ask him how forcing hooded prisoners to masturbate makes America safer.

Dave Barry's Calling it Quits

My favorite "guilty pleasure" collumnist quits on a monday... no big surprise there.

I guess all those stories about his kid were getting kinda old.

bush Succumbs to Pressure from the Left

First he offered 15 Million

...so the UN Undersecratary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief called him "stingy"

So junior threw Colin Powell to the dogs with claims that America is not "stingy"

...so the NY Times did an Op-Ed pointing out that Europe gives about twice as much money as America does to developing nations.

So then junior decided to "go it alone", and form a "Coalition of the Stingy", at which point many people, like myself, were moved to use 4-letter-words.

And then today, junior caved in, and coughed up 350 Million for the Earthquake/Tsunami Victims.


...so in other words, We Kicked His Stingy Ass!