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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
G.W.B. + G.O.P. = F.A.I.L. posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:36 PM US report says al-Qaida gaining strength in Afghanistan Al-Qaida has rebuilt some of its pre-Sept. 11 capabilities from remote hiding places in Pakistan, and terrorist attacks in neighboring Afghanistan increased 16 percent last year, the Bush administration said Wednesday. The State Department's annual terrorism report says that attacks in Iraq dipped slightly between 2006 and 2007, but they still accounted for 60 percent of worldwide terrorism fatalities. More than 22,000 people were killed by terrorists around the world in 2007, 8 percent more than in 2006, although the overall number of attacks fell, the report says. About 13,600 noncombatants were killed in 2007 in Iraq, the report says, adding the high number could be attributed to a 50 percent increase in the number of suicide bombings. Suicide car bombings were up 40 percent and suicide bombings outside of vehicles climbed 90 percent over 2006, it says. "The ability of these attackers to penetrate large concentrations of people and then detonate their explosives may account for the increase in lethality of bombings in 2007," the report says. 9/11 Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

McSame wants 100 years posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:33 PM U.S. deaths in Iraq at seven-month high in April The death toll for U.S. troops in Iraq reached a seven month high in April, with the reported deaths of three more soldiers on Wednesday bringing the monthly toll to 47, the highest since last September. U.S. and Iraqi forces have been engaged in intense fighting over the past month with Shi'ite militia fighters in Baghdad's tightly-packed Sadr City slum. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who launched a crackdown against the Mehdi Army militia a month ago in the southern city of Basra, said on Wednesday the government would disarm the fighters by force if they refuse to lay down their weapons. Two hospitals in Sadr City, the Shi'ite slum that has been the focus of fighting in the capital, said they had received the bodies of 421 Iraqis killed and treated more than 2,400 wounded there since late March. Government spokesman Tahseen al-Sheikhly said the toll there was higher, with more than 900 killed. Many of the dead and wounded have been civilians, caught in the crossfire in the crowded slum. Meat grinder Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

What a tool posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:09 AM Bush Blames Democrats for Sliding Economy President Bush today blamed Congress for many of the nation's economic woes, charging that lawmakers have blocked his proposals for dealing with problems ranging from soaring gasoline prices to the increasing cost of food. In a news conference at the White House, Bush declined to characterize the economic troubles as a recession, saying he would not get into a debate about "words" and would let economists decide the terminology. He also was noncommittal on a proposal -- backed by two presidential candidates -- to suspend federal taxes on fuel in order to provide some relief to motorists and truckers who pay an average of $3.60 a gallon for gasoline and $4.24 a gallon for diesel nationwide. On foreign policy issues, Bush insisted that "we're making progress" against a "very resilient enemy" in Afghanistan, said he was "perplexed" by the House's decision to block a free trade agreement with Colombia and expressed confidence that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would succeed him as president and carry on his global war on terrorism. The main theme of the news conference, however, was the economy, and Bush wasted no time ripping the Democratic-controlled Congress on a range of issues. Dumbazz Permalink :: 4 comments :: Post a Comment

Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Is there any one of them willing to take some of the blame? posted by Clyde 10:17 AM U.S. Was 'Clueless' on Counterinsurgency Paul Wolfowitz, in his first public remarks on the Iraq war in years, said the American government was "pretty much clueless on counterinsurgency" in the first year of the war. The former deputy secretary of defense said yesterday that the force sent to Iraq was adequate for fighting Saddam Hussein's military, citing the speed with which American troops toppled the regime. But Mr. Wolfowitz said no one in the Bush administration anticipated that Saddam would order his security services to wage an insurgency after their formal defeat on the battlefield. Mr. Wolfowitz's remarks came at a forum for a new book, "War and Decision," by the former no. 3 official at the Pentagon, Douglas Feith. In the book, Mr. Feith argues that America's greatest mistake in the war was establishing a coalition provisional authority instead of installing a group of Iraqi exiles in an interim government until elections could be held. Mr. Wolfowitz said he agreed with his old colleague. But his remarks yesterday have special relevance, because in the run-up to the war, the deputy secretary of defense downplayed testimony from a retired Army chief of staff, General Eric Shinseki, who told Congress that postwar stabilization operations would require several hundred thousand troops. (Link) Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

No volunteers? Go figure! posted by Clyde 10:15 AM US short of diplomats for Iraq, Afghanistan reconstruction The State Department is short of staff to meet the Pentagon's need to reinforce the provincial reconstruction teams (PRT) in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior US official said Monday. To press his point, Eliot Cohen, counselor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, noted that the Defense Department employs more musicians than the State Department has diplomats. According to government data, the State Department employs 12,000 people, 5,500 of whom are diplomats deployed in Washington and abroad. "When I tell the 5,500 figure, the generals are usually shocked," Cohen told reporters after commenting that at the Defense Department "the appetite is unlimited" for diplomats to join the understaffed PRTs. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Balls as big as church bells! posted by Clyde 10:12 AM Cheney lawyer claims Congress has no authority over vice-president The lawyer for US vice-president Dick Cheney claimed today that the Congress lacks any authority to examine his behaviour on the job. The exception claimed by Cheney's counsel came in response to requests from congressional Democrats that David Addington, the vice-president's chief of staff, testify about his involvement in the approval of interrogation tactics used at Guantanamo Bay. Ruling out voluntary cooperation by Addington, Cheney lawyer Kathryn Wheelbarger said Cheney's conduct is "not within the [congressional] committee's power of inquiry". "Congress lacks the constitutional power to regulate by law what a vice-president communicates in the performance of the vice president's official duties, or what a vice president recommends that a president communicate," Wheelbarger wrote to senior aides on Capitol Hill. (Link) Permalink :: 3 comments :: Post a Comment

Monday, April 28, 2008
Like US flags.... posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:47 PM 'Free Tibet' flags made in China Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say. The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning. But then some of them saw TV images of protesters holding the emblem and they alerted the authorities, according to Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper. The factory owner reportedly told police the emblems had been ordered from outside China, and he did not know that they stood for an independent Tibet. Shop Wal-Mart Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Bush's War ---> Democrat's War posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:44 PM House Democrats work to extend war funding for another year House Democratic leaders are putting together the largest Iraq war spending bill yet, a measure that is expected to fund the war through the end of the Bush presidency and for nearly six months into the next president's term. The bill, which could be unveiled as early as this week, signals that Democrats are resigned to the fact they can't change course in Iraq in the final months of President Bush's term. Instead, the party is pinning its hopes of ending the war on winning the White House in November. ..... The bill is expected to provide $108 billion that the White House has requested for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lawmakers who are drafting it say it also will include a so-called bridge fund of $70 billion to give the new president several months of breathing room before having to ask Congress for more money. Just peachy Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

2008 already stolen posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:58 AM Top court upholds photo ID voting law The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld a tough state law requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot, a decision critics say could keep some blacks and poor people from voting in the November 2008 elections. Stepping into a partisan political battle, the nation's high court voted 6-3 to reject a challenge to Indiana's toughest-in-the-nation voter identification law. Democrats and other opponents had argued that the law is unconstitutional because it makes it too difficult for some people to vote, especially minorities, the poor, the disabled and the elderly. Those groups are most likely not to have government identification and also tend to vote for Democrats. Supporters, mainly Republicans, defended the law as necessary to prevent voter fraud and to heighten public confidence in the integrity of elections. The Bush administration supported the law. When will it stop? Permalink :: 3 comments :: Post a Comment

Just in time for your tax rebates to arrive posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:38 AM OPEC knows you're going to use it for at least one fillup. North Sea pipeline closure drives oil close to $120 US Oil prices hit an all-time high near $120 US a barrel Monday after a weekend refinery strike closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain's North Sea oil to refineries in the U.K. The shutdown comes amid other supply outages in Nigeria that have helped to support oil against a strengthening dollar. "We've got a confluence of a number of events that have really disrupted crude oil supply," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "That's what's driving oil to a new record even though the U.S. dollar actually strengthened a bit." Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose to a record $119.93 US a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract eased back to trade at $119.26 US a barrel, up 73 cents from Friday's regular trading session closing price. Raped Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Sunday, April 27, 2008
From a grateful nation? posted by Clyde 7:11 AM Military muffles Marine's funeral At final tribute to slain serviceman, Pentagon obstructs what the family wanted you to see Lt. Col. Billy Hall, one of the most senior officers to be killed in the Iraq war, was laid to rest last week at Arlington National Cemetery. It's hard to escape the conclusion that the Pentagon doesn't want the public to know that. The family of 38-year-old Hall, who leaves behind two young daughters and two stepsons, gave their permission for the media to cover his Arlington burial-a decision many grieving families make so that the nation will learn about their loved ones' sacrifice. But the military had other ideas, and they arranged the Marine's burial Wednesday so that no sound, and few images, would make it into the public domain. Hall's story is a moving reminder that the war in Iraq, forgotten by much of the nation, remains real and present for some. Among those unlikely to forget the war: 6-year-old Gladys and 3-year-old Tatianna. The rest of the nation, if it remembers Hall at all, will remember him as the 4,011th American service member to die in Iraq, give or take, and the 419th to be buried at Arlington. Gladys and Tatianna will remember him as Dad. The two girls were there in Section 60 on Wednesday beside grave 8,672-or at least it appeared that they were from a distance. Journalists were held 50 yards from the service, separated from the mourning party by six or seven rows of graves and penned in by a yellow rope. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

But isn't God a Republican? posted by Clyde 6:11 AM Pray-in at S.F. gas station asks God to lower prices Rocky Twyman has a radical solution for surging gasoline prices: prayer. Twyman - a community organizer, church choir director and public relations consultant from the Washington, D.C., suburbs - staged a pray-in at a San Francisco Chevron station on Friday, asking God for cheaper gas. He did the same thing in the nation's Capitol on Wednesday, with volunteers from a soup kitchen joining in. Today he will lead members of an Oakland church in prayer. Yes, it's come to that. "God is the only one we can turn to at this point," said Twyman, 59. "Our leaders don't seem to be able to do anything about it. The prices keep soaring and soaring." (Ramen) Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Saturday, April 26, 2008
Your vote only counts when they say it counts! posted by Clyde 3:24 AM GOP objects to bill allowing recounts Voting rights activists who hoped the federal government would help local governments pay for paper trails and audits for electronic voting machines have gone from elation to frustration as they watched Republicans who supported such a proposal in committee vote against bringing it to the House floor. The result: The elections in November will likely be marred by the same accusations of fraud and error involving voting machines that arose in the aftermath of the 2004 presidential race. When New Jersey Democratic Rep. Rush Holt's Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act came up for a vote in the House Administration Committee on April 2, the Republicans on the committee gave it their unanimous support. But two weeks later, those same Republican members voted against moving the bill to the House floor. It would have taken a two-thirds vote to push the bill to the floor; with most House Republicans opposed, the bill didn't make it that far. Larry Norden, director of the voting technology project at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's law school, called the vote "a sad statement on how little Congress has done on the issue of making sure elections are as secure and reliable as possible." (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Now what reason do they have to be upset, really? posted by Clyde 3:14 AM Iraqis see red as U.S. opens world's biggest embassy For the average American who will never see it, the new US Embassy in Baghdad may be little more than the Big Dig of the Tigris. Like the infamous Boston highway project, the embassy is a mammoth development that is overbudget, overdue, and casts a whiff of corruption. For many Iraqis, though, the sand-and-ochre-colored compound peering out across the city from a reedy stretch of riverfront within the fortified Green Zone is an unsettling symbol both of what they have become in the five years since the fall of Saddam Hussein, and of what they have yet to achieve. "It is a symbol of occupation for the Iraqi people, that is all," says Anouar, a Baghdad graduate student who thought it was risk enough to give her first name. "We see the size of this embassy and we think we will be part of the American plan for our country and our region for many, many years." (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Friday, April 25, 2008
Here we go posted by Dookie The Webmaster 10:53 AM Joint Chiefs Chairman Says U.S. Preparing Military Options Against Iran The nation's top military officer said today that the Pentagon is planning for "potential military courses of action" against Iran, criticizing what he called the Tehran government's "increasingly lethal and malign influence" in Iraq. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a conflict with Iran would be "extremely stressing" but not impossible for U.S. forces, pointing specifically to reserve capabilities in the Navy and Air Force. "It would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability," he said at a Pentagon news conference. Still, Mullen made clear that he prefers a diplomatic solution to the tensions with Iran and does not foresee any imminent military action. "I have no expectations that we're going to get into a conflict with Iran in the immediate future," he said. Impeach Permalink :: 3 comments :: Post a Comment

Let them eat cake posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:23 AM McCain sharply critical of Bush response to Katrina Republican U.S. presidential candidate John McCain on Thursday sharply criticized the Bush administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina and vowed, "Never again." McCain, putting some distance between himself and fellow Republican President George W. Bush, said if he had been president during the 2005 catastrophe he would have immediately visited New Orleans during the initial shock aftermath of the killer storm. "I'm just saying I would've landed my airplane at the nearest Air Force base and come over personally," he said. Two days after the hurricane made landfall in August 2005, when immediate recovery efforts were chaotic, Bush surveyed the damage during a fly-over in Air Force One while returning from a trip to the West Coast. Picture taken during Katrina Update: Here's the list of his votes against aid to Katrina victims. Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

R.A.T.S. posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:16 AM Roberts.Alito.Thomas.Scalia Scalia On Bush v. Gore: Get Over It People who believe the U.S. Supreme Court's decision giving the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush was politically motivated should just get over it, says Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia denies that the controversial decision was political and discusses other aspects of his public and private life in a remarkably candid interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl, this Sunday, April 27, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. "I say nonsense," Scalia responds to Stahl's observation that people say the Supreme Court's decision in Gore v. Bush was based on politics and not justice. "Get over it. It's so old by now. The principal issue in the case, whether the scheme that the Florida Supreme Court had put together violated the federal Constitution, that wasn't even close. The vote was seven to two," he says, referring to the Supreme Court's decision that the Supreme Court of Florida's method for recounting ballots was unconstitutional. Furthermore, says the outspoken conservative justice, it was Al Gore who ultimately put the issue into the courts. "It was Al Gore who made it a judicial question.... We didn't go looking for trouble. It was he who said, 'I want this to be decided by the courts,'" says Scalia. "What are we supposed to say -- 'Not important enough?'" he jokes. Bullshit. It wasn't Gore V. Bush Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Thursday, April 24, 2008
We need oil more than they need guns posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:10 AM US Sen Dems To Threaten Arms Deals Unless OPEC Boosts Output U.S. Senate Democrats are taking a tough line with OPEC as oil prices surge to record highs, and plan on Thursday to threaten to hold up arms deals with Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations unless the oil-producing countries agree to increase oil production. Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., plan to call on President George W. Bush and his administration to "use its leverage" with OPEC nations or "risk Congress holding up multi-million dollar arms deals." The strategy will be unveiled at a press conference on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. EDT. Earlier this year, the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ignored Bush's request to increase production in order to bring down U.S. gasoline prices. Most recently, Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, over the weekend said it had no plans to increase production capacity beyond the amount it is already pursuing for several years until it gets clearer signs about future consumption. Not gonna work. Nice try though Permalink :: 3 comments :: Post a Comment

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Like voting Republican?? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:29 PM Why You Make the Same Mistake Twice We sure do learn from our mistakes, but what we learn is how to make more mistakes, new research shows. This seemingly counterintuitive idea comes from a study of a phenomenon called tip of the tongue (TOT), detailed in the most recent issue of the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. A tip-of-the-tongue state occurs when your brain has accessed the correct word, but for some reason can't retrieve the sound information for it. While the word-glitch can happen regardless of your vocabulary aptitude, researchers have found TOT happens more for bilinguals (they have more words to sift through), older people and individuals with brain damage. "This can be incredibly frustrating - you know you know the word, but you just can't quite get it," said researcher Karin Humphreys of McMaster University in Ontario. "And once you have it, it is such a relief that you can't imagine ever forgetting it again. But then you do." Insanity maybe? Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

What the hell it's only money! posted by Clyde 10:35 AM Feds Scrap $20 Million 'Virtual Fence' In Ariz. The government is scrapping a $20 million prototype of its highly touted "virtual fence" on the Arizona-Mexico border because the system is failing to adequately alert border patrol agents to illegal crossings, officials said. The move comes just two months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced his approval of the fence built by The Boeing Co. The fence consists of nine electronic surveillance towers along a 28-mile section of border southwest of Tucson. Boeing is to replace the so-called Project 28 prototype with a series of towers equipped with communications systems, new cameras and new radar capability, officials said. Less than a week after Chertoff accepted Project 28 on Feb. 22, the Government Accountability Office told Congress it "did not fully meet user needs and the project's design will not be used as the basis for future" developments. (Link) Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Hillary must win the 80% of the remaining states posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:30 AM Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

From the New York Times... posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:24 AM who endorsed Clinton: The Low Road to Victory The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it. Voters are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election. If nothing else, self interest should push her in that direction. Mrs. Clinton did not get the big win in Pennsylvania that she needed to challenge the calculus of the Democratic race. It is true that Senator Barack Obama outspent her 2-to-1. But Mrs. Clinton and her advisers should mainly blame themselves, because, as the political operatives say, they went heavily negative and ended up squandering a good part of what was once a 20-point lead. ..... It is getting to be time for the superdelegates to do what the Democrats had in mind when they created superdelegates: settle a bloody race that cannot be won at the ballot box. Mrs. Clinton once had a big lead among the party elders, but has been steadily losing it, in large part because of her negative campaign. If she is ever to have a hope of persuading these most loyal of Democrats to come back to her side, let alone win over the larger body of voters, she has to call off the dogs. Free pass for McSame in the meantime Permalink :: 4 comments :: Post a Comment

And so it continues... posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:14 AM Bruising will go on for Democratic Party For better or worse - and many Democrats fear it is for worse - the race goes on. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton defeated Senator Barack Obama in Pennsylvania on Tuesday by enough of a margin to continue a battle that Democrats increasingly believe is undermining their effort to unify the party and prepare for the general election against Senator John McCain. Despite a huge investment of time and money by Mr. Obama and pressure on Mrs. Clinton by the party establishment to consider folding her campaign, she won her third big state in a row. Mrs. Clinton showed again that she is a tenacious campaigner with an ability to connect with the blue-collar voters Mr. Obama has found elusive and who could be critical to a Democratic victory in November. Mrs. Clinton's margin was probably not sufficient to fundamentally alter the dynamics of the race, which continued to favor an eventual victory for Mr. Obama. But it made clear that the contest will go on at least a few weeks, if not more. And it served to underline the concerns about Mr. Obama's strengths as a general election candidate. Exit polls again highlighted the racial, economic, sex and values divisions within the party. To take one example, only 60 percent of Democratic Catholic voters said they would vote for Mr. Obama in a general election; 21 percent said they would vote for Mr. McCain, exit polls show. Traitors in bold Permalink :: 5 comments :: Post a Comment

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Nope. Still not popular.... posted by Dookie The Webmaster 1:57 PM Coincidence? See our eariler thread: "Bush's disapproval rating worst of any president in 70 years" Low ratings for Bush visit on 'No Deal' President Bush's guest appearance in support of an Iraq War veteran on Monday night's "Deal or No Deal" didn't bring much luck to the contestant -- or the show. The NBC game show matched its lowest Monday rating ever despite the much-publicized visit by the commander-in-chief. The two-hour "Deal" was seen by 10 million viewers and earned a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49 and a 7 share, down 27% from its prior season average. Bush=28% Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

No relief in sight for those who foot the bill posted by Clyde 10:13 AM Fed auctions another $50 billion to banks, bringing total to $360 billion since December Battling to relieve stressed credit markets, the Federal Reserve has provided a total of $360 billion in short-term loans to squeezed banks since December to help them overcome credit problems. The central bank on Tuesday announced the results of its most recent auction - the 10th since the program started in December, where commercial banks bid to get a slice of another $50 billion in the short-term loans. It's part of an ongoing effort by the Fed to help ease the credit crunch, which erupted last August, intensified in December and January and took another turn for the worst in March with the sudden crash of Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth-largest investment house. The mighty blows of the housing, credit and financial crises threaten to push the country into a deep recession. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

The "Legacy" posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:48 AM Bush's disapproval rating worst of any president in 70 years President Bush has set a record he'd presumably prefer to avoid: the highest disapproval rating of any president in the 70-year history of the Gallup Poll. In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, 28% of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing; 69% disapprove. The approval rating matches the low point of his presidency, and the disapproval sets a new high for any president since Franklin Roosevelt. The previous record of 67% was reached by Harry Truman in January 1952, when the United States was enmeshed in the Korean War. ... Views of Bush divide sharply along party lines. Among Republicans, 66% approve and 32% disapprove. Disapproval is nearly universal - 91% - among Democrats. Of independents, 23% approve, 72% disapprove of the job he's doing. Who are the 9% Dems I can kick in the balls? Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Today's high oil price excuse: posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:33 AM Oil Rises to Record Above $118 on U.K. Strike, Nigeria Supply Crude oil rose to a record above $118 a barrel on concern that a labor dispute in the U.K. and disruptions in Nigeria may crimp oil supply. Oil rose to $118.05 a barrel in New York as unions planned to strike at a Scottish refinery in Grangemouth that receives shipments of a benchmark crude oil from the North Sea. Royal Dutch Shell Plc said yesterday 169,000 barrels of daily production were suspended because of attacks last week in Africa's largest producer. Wait. I thought this had nothing to do with supply. Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

The longest 6 weeks in politics posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:10 AM Is over. Democrats make final pushes for votes in Pa. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton scoured Pennsylvania for votes Monday amid signs Democrats are increasingly ready for the bitter presidential nomination race to end. On the eve of their first contest in six weeks, the two Democratic rivals angled to manage expectations. Obama insisted he wasn't expecting a Keystone State win, while a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll showed him with a lead nationwide over Clinton, 50%-40%, among Democrats and independents who lean Democratic. The sample of 552 adults has a margin of error of +/-5 percentage points. In Pennsylvania, a rash of last-minute state polls showed Clinton anywhere from 10 points ahead to three points behind - with most giving her single-digit leads. "I'm not predicting a win," Obama told Pittsburgh radio station KDKA. "I'm predicting it's going to be close and that we are going to do a lot better than people expect." The poll also found that Democrats and Democratic leaners are evenly split 48%-48% on whether the long, heated nomination contest is hurting the party and party leaders should unite behind a candidate. A Rasmussen Reports poll last month found 62% of Democrats wanted the race to go on. Will someone please win Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Monday, April 21, 2008
Amish? White? Wha....? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 1:39 PM Clinton: I'm one of you On the eve of tomorrow's make-or-break Pennsylvania primary, Hillary Clinton came to her ancestral home of Scranton this morning armed not with a stump speech, but with a simple declaration: I understand you, because I'm one of you. As she tries to maintain her Keystone State edge over Barack Obama, Clinton, whose father's family is from here, is making every effort to show she hails from small-town, middle-American stock. Recalling childhoods spent in the area, she said she learned "the kind of common-sense values that matter here in Pennsylvania and across America." "We cared about our families, we cared about our faith," said Clinton, who was interrupted several times by chants like "Hillary! Hillary!" and "Madam President! Madam President!" "We believed in working hard. And we had an abiding faith in our country, an abiding faith that never ever quit." She never mentioned Obama by name, but in this and other aspects of her speech -- more like an address to a pep rally -- Clinton tried to portray her rival as out-of-touch with America. (Obama's recent comments about "bitter" small-town voters hung in the air like humidity.) Whamish? Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Oil or Food? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 12:12 PM Wage erosion cuts deeper in U.S. Whatever Senator Barack Obama meant by his less than artful remarks about small-town Pennsylvanians being "bitter" over lost jobs, he certainly turned a lot of attention last week to the decline of the American worker, bitter or not. The talk most often has been of shuttered factories, layoffs, outsourcing and other effects of globalization, especially in a state like Pennsylvania, which has lost tens of thousands of industrial jobs. But there is another way to look at blue-collar workers or their counterparts in the service sector. The $20 hourly wage, introduced on a huge scale in the middle of the last century, allowed masses of Americans with no more than a high school education to rise to the middle class. It was a marker, of sorts, but it is becoming extinct. Americans greeted the loss with anger and protest when it first began to happen in big numbers in the late 1970s, particularly in the steel industry in western Pennsylvania. But as layoffs persisted, in Pennsylvania and across the country, through the '80s and '90s and right up to today, the protests subsided and acquiescence set in. .... "The most important model that rolled off the Detroit assembly lines in the 20th century," said Harley Shaiken, a labor economist at the University of California at Berkeley, "was the middle class for blue-collar workers." Soup line forms here ----> Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

posted by Dookie The Webmaster 11:59 AM McCain exits campaign money race John McCain is abandoning any hope of catching the Democrats in fundraising. Based on new financial disclosure reports released Sunday, and interviews with his finance team, the Republican Party's presumptive nominee will instead accept taxpayer money to finance his general election and share other costs with the Republican National Committee. The strategy will allow McCain to stretch his campaign dollars by splitting the cost of television advertising and other campaign activity with the RNC. But the decision also puts the Arizona senator at risk of being badly outspent - even with RNC help - by a Democratic nominee who will be allowed to spend as much as he or she can raise on the November race. McSame Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

*Supply vs. Demand: Bullsht posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:07 AM So does this mean we'll never see another headline like "Oil price rise on news of supply concerns."? I wonder how many times they've used that one before? So let's see: People are cutting back because the prices are at an all time high. Doesn't that mean less demand? Shouldn't the prices be going down? OPEC chief: Oil prices would go higher regardless of supply** OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah el al-Badri said Sunday oil prices would likely go higher and that the group was ready to raise production if the price pressure was due to a shortage of supply - something he doubted. "Oil prices, there is a common understanding that has nothing to do with supply and demand," al-Badri said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Rome. Oil prices reached a new high Friday at $117 a barrel. A host of supply and demand concerns in the U.S. and abroad, along with the dollar's weakness, have served to support prices, even as record retail gasoline prices in the U.S. appear to be dampening demand. Crude prices have risen as much as 4 percent last week. The OPEC chief said the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries "will not hesitate" to increase production if the group thought the higher prices were due to shortages. But he said more oil will not solve the high prices. OPEC's production levels were just one of many factors, he said. "But how much higher it will go, of course it depends on a number of things: the political situation, whether there is a natural catastrophe, whether there are speculations in the market, whether there are strikes in certain producing countries. So there are many other factors other than OPEC production," al-Badri said. $4 = monopoly Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Sunday, April 20, 2008
Powder Keg Meet Match? posted by Clyde 4:44 AM Mosques blare call to arms after Sadr threat of open war in Iraq Loudspeakers at mosques in Baghdad's Shiite bastion Sadr City blared out a call to arms soon after radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr warned of a new uprising by his militia, residents said on Sunday. Iraqi security and medical officials, meanwhile, reported another eight people killed overnight in clashes between militiamen and US and Iraqi forces in the embattled township, where fighting has raged since late March. "Fight the occupiers -- get them out of your homes," the late-night loudspeaker messages said, according to residents. "They (US) are calling for division. We demand that the siege of Sadr City be lifted." The messages also urged the Iraqi army "not to fight your brothers." (So much for the surge) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Catapulting the Propaganda posted by Clyde 4:36 AM Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon's Hidden Hand In the summer of 2005, the Bush administration confronted a fresh wave of criticism over Guantanamo Bay. The detention center had just been branded "the gulag of our times" by Amnesty International, there were new allegations of abuse from United Nations human rights experts and calls were mounting for its closure. The administration's communications experts responded swiftly. Early one Friday morning, they put a group of retired military officers on one of the jets normally used by Vice President Dick Cheney and flew them to Cuba for a carefully orchestrated tour of Guantánamo. To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as "military analysts" whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world. Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration's wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Saturday, April 19, 2008
RAH RAH - USA is #3 - USA is #3 posted by Clyde 5:43 AM China passes US as second-biggest exporter Global trade growth is expected to slow to a six-year low of 4.5 per cent this year but China has overtaken the US as the world's second-biggest exporter, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said yesterday. Heavily influenced by the turmoil in financial markets and the sharp economic slowdown in leading western economies, global merchandise trade is forecast to rise by 4.5 per cent this year, against last year's 5.5 per cent. But the WTO gave warning that a stronger slowdown in global economic growth "could cut trade much more sharply, to significantly less" than the projected level of 4.5 per cent. Dr Patrick Low, WTO chief economist, said that in view of the downside risks, the agency will probably have to revise its projections in the third or fourth quarter of this year. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Time to give the C.E.O. a bonus! posted by Clyde 5:35 AM Citigroup posts $5.11 bln loss, to cut 9,000 jobs Citigroup Inc posted its second straight quarterly loss on Friday, hurt by more than $16 billion of write-downs and costs related to credit losses, and said it will cut another 9,000 jobs. Though the $5.11 billion first-quarter loss was larger than expected, analysts and investors expressed optimism that the largest U.S. bank and its new chief executive, Vikram Pandit, were taking necessary steps to move past credit problems and drive down costs. Citigroup shares rose $2.22, or 9.2 percent, to $26.25 in premarket electronic trading. "It's a cathartic quarter," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co in Boston. "Vikram Pandit is coming in and making pretty big changes." Citigroup's net loss totaled $1.02 per share, and compared with a year-earlier profit of $5.01 billion, or $1.01 per share. Revenue fell 48 percent to $13.22 billion. Analysts, on average, expected a loss of 96 cents per share on revenue of $14.35 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Friday, April 18, 2008
Un-American posted by Dookie The Webmaster 2:01 PM Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Spreading democracy posted by Dookie The Webmaster 1:58 PM Since 2001, a huge increase in suicide bombings Out of 658 attacks worldwide last year, 542 were in U.S.-occupied countries Suicide bombers conducted 658 attacks around the world last year, including 542 in U.S.-occupied Afghanistan and Iraq, according to data compiled by U.S. government experts. The large number of attacks -- more than double the number in any of the past 25 years -- reflects a trend that has surprised and worried U.S. intelligence and military analysts. More than four-fifths of the suicide bombings over that period have occurred in the past seven years, the data show. The bombings have spread to dozens of countries on five continents, killed more than 21,350 people and injured about 50,000 since 1983, when a landmark attack blew up the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran." ~McSame Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Bout time posted by Dookie The Webmaster 1:54 PM Bill would boost U.S. power to prosecute war fraud The U.S. government would have greater power to prosecute cases of fraud in contracts for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan under a measure introduced in Congress on Friday. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, and Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said the bipartisan legislation would update a World War Two-era law against contracting fraud to ensure that it applies to U.S. military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The lawmakers said billions of dollars have been awarded to contractors who have delivered defective products to U.S. troops in the two countries. Congress approved resolutions that allowed President George W. Bush to use military force in those countries, but never officially declared war against them. Leahy and Grassley said that as a result, the 66-year-old law addressing U.S. statutes of limitations on contract fraud during times of war does not apply to Iraq and Afghanistan. Hang em Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

How come no one predicted this? posted by Clyde 11:29 AM Iraq bombings target US-allied, anti-Al Qaeda groups A series of bombings this week in Sunni areas of Iraq - in some cases targeting the Awakening Councils, or sahwas, that have resisted the spread of militant Islamist extremism - is raising concerns that Al Qaeda in Iraq may be regrouping following recent defeats. On Thursday, a suicide bomber struck a funeral for two brothers - killed the day before -who had joined the Awakening Council in Albu Mohammed, 90 miles north of Baghdad. The blast killed at least 50 mourners, many of them thought to be sympathizers of anti-Al Qaeda groups. On Tuesday in Ramadi, Anbar Province's capital, a man walked into a restaurant, screamed "God is Great," and blew himself up, killing at least 10 people. On the same day, a car bomb in Baquba, capital of Diyala Province, killed 50. New violence in Sunni areas follows a period of calm that had allowed US and Iraqi officials to venture that Al Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni extremist groups were on the run. It also comes as the US has trained its sights on the Shiite militias threatening the Iraqi government's authority. (Who'd a Thunk It?) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

And now for the important stuff.... posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:23 AM Congress acts on bill to decriminalize marijuana Congressman Bill Frank's Personal Use of Marijuana Act hits the House floor April 17, 2008 Today Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced legislation to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The bill, dubbed the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008, marks the first time in decades that Congress has considered removing criminal penalties for marijuana. Congressman Frank's legislation would decriminalize the possession of up to 100 grams of marijuana (3ozs) and the not-for-profit transfer of one ounce of marijuana. It would not affect laws prohibiting drug sales or the cultivation of marijuana, and it would not affect state or local laws regulating marijuana possession. "It's time for the politicians to catch up with the public on this ," Congressman Frank said. "The notion that you lock people up for smoking marijuana is pretty silly." The bill incorporates the basic recommendation of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse (also known as the Shafer Commission). The commission, which was administered by the White House and published its findings in 1972, recommended that then-president Richard Nixon decriminalize possession of marijuana in amounts that constituted "simple possession." Thirty-six years later, Rep. Frank will try to do just that. Munchies Permalink :: 3 comments :: Post a Comment

I agree. End it now. posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:21 AM Dean: I need a decision 'now' An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they're for - and "I need them to say who they're for starting now." "We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time," the Democratic National Committee Chairman told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "We've got to know who our nominee is." After facing criticism for a mostly hands-off leadership style during much of the primary season, Dean has been steadily raising the rhetorical pressure on superdelegates. He said Thursday that roughly 65 percent of them have made their preference plain, but that more than 300 have yet to make up their minds. Arrrgh! Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Thursday, April 17, 2008
This election's most important issue? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 7:14 AM The economy? Health care? The war in Iraq? Energy costs? The environment? Civil liberties? Nope. This: ABC seems to think so. Feel free to tee off on them here. Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Time to take a stand posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:22 AM US needs more war funds by June-Bush budget chief The White House on Wednesday warned that the U.S. Congress must approve additional money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by the end of May or risk the start of Defense Department layoff notices. "Congress needs to fund our troops by Memorial Day," White House Budget Director Jim Nussle told the Senate Appropriations Committee. "Failure to act quickly could result in an unfortunate replay of last December, when furlough warnings were issued" by the Pentagon, Nussle added. The Republican budget director was referring to layoff warnings for some noncombat personnel at the end of 2007, just before Congress finished work on $70 billion in additional money for the wars. That $70 billion was a portion of about $172 billion requested early last year by President George W. Bush for combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reid/Pelosi will cave Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
I'm Dookie and I approve this message: posted by Dookie The Webmaster 11:57 AM Clinton's offended Pa. voter - Not! Barack Obama can take some solace out of Hillary Clinton's new television ad in Pennsylvania. At least one of her supporters featured in the spot hammering Obama for his small town comments isn't registered to vote in Pennsylvania. Clyde Thomas, who sports a goatee in the ad and says, "the good people of Pennsylvania deserve a lot better than what Barack Obama said," is actually registered in New Jersey. He voted there for Clinton Feb. 5. He only recently moved to Bethlehem, Pa. "It shouldn't be a big deal. I explained it to the campaign," Thomas said in an interview. "I see Pennsylvanians for what they are. I grew up with the values of Pennsylvanians." ..... Thomas said he was born in Scranton, but has lived his entire life in Somerville, N.J. He is a 46-year-old unemployed environmental engineer. Carpet~~bagger~~ actor Permalink :: 23 comments :: Post a Comment

Strip him of his committee appointments posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:12 AM Lieberman willing to star at Republican convention Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the Democratic Party's 2000 vice presidential nominee, is leaving open the possibility of giving a keynote address on behalf of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) at the Republican National Convention in September. ..... Appearing before the Republican convention carries some risk for Lieberman. His Democratic colleagues could seek retribution by taking away his gavel on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee next Congress. Lieberman has had a long leash this Congress because his decision to caucus with Democrats - despite losing Connecticut's 2006 Democratic primary - allows them to hold their narrow 51-49 majority. If Democrats pick up more seats as expected in November, and Lieberman angers Democrats along the campaign trail, some privately expect there might be an attempt to deny him his bid to retain his chairmanship. One Democratic leadership aide said losing his chairmanship could happen in that scenario, but "the bar would have to be very high." That's because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has a close relationship with Lieberman. Come ON Harry! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Emeril would like to have a word with you... posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:15 AM McCain "Family Recipes" Lifted from the Food Network What will they call it? Farfallegate? Rosemary Chicken Dome Scandal? Perhaps something with the ubiquitous Rachael Ray in it. It seems that Cindy McCain, John McCain's perfect, blonde beer-baroness wife is about to find herself painted as the latest example of plagiarism on the campaign trail. This past Sunday, Lauren Handel, an eagle-eyed attorney from New York, was searching for a specific recipe from Giada DeLaurentis, a chef on the Food Network. Yet whenever she Googled the different ingredients in the recipe, the oddest thing happened: not only did the Food Network's site come up, as expected, but so did John McCain's campaign site. On a section of McCain's site called "Cindy's Recipes," you can find seven recipes attributed to Cindy McCain, each with the heading "McCain Family Recipe." Ms. Handel quickly realized that some of the "McCain Family Recipes," were in fact, word-for-word copies of recipes on the Food Network site. See Cindy's recipes at this link: BAM! Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Flatline posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:05 AM Bush Defeats Truman At 39 months in the doghouse, George W. Bush has surpassed Harry Truman's record as the postwar president to linger longest without majority public approval. Bush hasn't received majority approval for his work in office in ABC News/Washington Post polls since Jan. 16, 2005 - three years and three months ago. The previous record was Truman's during his last 38 months in office. Truman's problems included both economic recession and the war in Korea, which, in October 1952, 56 percent of Americans said was not worth fighting. Bush's approval, likewise, has suffered overwhelmingly because of the unpopular war in Iraq; his job rating correlates almost perfectly with views of the war. In the latest ABC/Post poll, just 33 percent of Americans approve of Bush's work, a point from his career-low 32 percent earlier this year. Sixty-four percent disapprove, with those who "strongly" disapprove outnumbering strong approvers by a 3-1 margin. Worst prez ever Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Hungry? Grab a ........nevermind. posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:22 AM Food Prices Rising at Fastest Rate in 17 Years U.S. food prices rose 4 percent in 2007, compared with an average 2.5 percent annual rise for the last 15 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And the agency says 2008 could be worse, with a rise of as much as 4.5 percent. Higher prices for food and energy are again expected to play a leading role in pushing the government's consumer price index higher for March. Analysts are forecasting that Wednesday's Department of Labor report will show the Consumer Price Index rose at a 4 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, up from last year's overall rise of 2.8 percent. For just .25 cents a day... Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Sniper shots posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:21 AM I bet born again Bush is jealous: Permalink :: 3 comments :: Post a Comment

Monday, April 14, 2008
When will it end? posted by Clyde 10:25 AM Military Releases High Casualty Figures Department Of Defense's Latest Numbers: 31,590 Troops Wounded On Battle Field The Department of Defense has released its latest American military casualty numbers for those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the figures reveal non-fatal casualties that go well beyond the more than 4,000 U.S. troops who have died so far. As of April 5, a total of 36,082 members of the U.S. military have been wounded in action and killed in Iraq, since the beginning of the war in March 2003, and in Afghanistan, where the war there began in October 2001. The 36,082 number breaks down to 4,492 deaths and 31,590 wounded. According to the same DoD "casualty" counts, an additional 38,631 U.S. military personnel have also been removed from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan for "non-hostile-related medical air transports." "That's a tremendous number," said Paul Sullivan, the president of the advocate group Veterans for Common Sense, who believes these latest figures paint a more realistic picture of the true cost of the Iraq and Afghan wars. He is concerned troop casualties, including those who have been wounded, killed and medically transported, is now nearing 75,000. Defense Department spokesperson Cynthia Smith, however, told CBS News the numbers must be carefully interpreted. Smith said the 38,631 "non-hostile-related medical air transports" are not causalities of war even though they are listed in the DoD's "casualty" documents because, she says, they were for "injuries not related to service, they were unrelated to combat." (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:13 AM There's Truth In Obama's Words About the Middle Class It seems Barack Obama got into some trouble over some unseemly remarks about the fears and attitudes of some of the middle class. Although his comments did not sound nasty or belittling to my ears, more like a concerned man trying to make sense of other people's frustrations, noone claims he wouldn't take the words back if he could, or that his supporters would deter him. Still you'd think by the all the hoopla this story has received, he'd raised his glass to Hitler. Hillary Clinton, staunch defender of the middle class she's recently lost steady ground to in Pennsylvania, will take any opportunity to kick Obama hard whenever he "slips" (which is rarely). Still- for a woman worth $100+ million dollars, who resides in a large, gated home in tony Chappaqua, New York, and has openly courted the American elite over the years, renting out the Lincoln Bedroom like The Four Seasons Hotel, assuming the mantle of the middle class is both transparent and an act of desperation. She calls Obama "elitist" and "out of touch", and his comments "demeaning". This is ludicrous bunk, and pure political opportunism on Hillary's part. No doubt about it- she knows how to fight dirty when she's down. But I'm hoping and praying that enough Americans will see right through her. Now here's a sobering question: is there not some truth in what Obama said? Read More Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Sunday, April 13, 2008
No big deal, it's only your safety posted by Clyde 6:31 AM Behind Air Chaos, an F.A.A. Pendulum Swing For all the headaches of flying in the United States, the domestic airlines were until recently considered a logistical marvel, moving two million people a day with remarkably few accidents. Now they are in chaos, with airlines grounding more than 500 planes and thousands of flights so far because they may not meet safety requirements. Travelers have seen this before but only rarely, when all planes were grounded after the Sept. 11 attacks and when the government grounded all DC-10s after an engine fell off one of them in 1979, killing 273 people. But there is a big difference this time: there has been no crash. What happened? (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Some things are just too good to be true! posted by Clyde 6:11 AM In Job Search, Gonzales Sees No Takers Alberto R. Gonzales, like many others recently unemployed, has discovered how difficult it can be to find a new job. Mr. Gonzales, the former attorney general, who was forced to resign last year, has been unable to interest law firms in adding his name to their roster, Washington lawyers and his associates said in recent interviews. He has, through friends, put out inquiries, they said, and has not found any takers. What makes Mr. Gonzales's case extraordinary is that former attorneys general, the government's chief lawyer, are typically highly sought. A longtime loyalist to George W. Bush dating to their years together in Texas, Mr. Gonzales was once widely viewed as a strong candidate to be the first Hispanic-American nominated one day to the Supreme Court. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he carried an impressive personal story as the child of poor Mexican immigrants. Despite those credentials, he left office last August with a frayed reputation over his role in the dismissal of several federal prosecutors and the truthfulness of his testimony about a secret eavesdropping program. He has had no full-time job since his resignation, and his principal income has come from giving a handful of talks at colleges and before private business groups. (Link) Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Saturday, April 12, 2008
Can you say: High Crimes and Misdemeanors? posted by Clyde 7:10 AM Bush Aware of Advisers' Interrogation Talks President Says He Knew His Senior Advisers Discussed Tough Interrogation Methods President Bush says he knew his top national security advisers discussed and approved specific details about how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to an exclusive interview with ABC News Friday. "Well, we started to connect the dots in order to protect the American people." Bush told ABC News White House correspondent Martha Raddatz. "And yes, I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved." As first reported by ABC News Wednesday, the most senior Bush administration officials repeatedly discussed and approved specific details of exactly how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the CIA. The high-level discussions about these "enhanced interrogation techniques" were so detailed, these sources said, some of the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed -- down to the number of times CIA agents could use a specific tactic. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Up is down, black is white, and right is wrong posted by Clyde 6:45 AM Petraeus plan would 'thin' troops Opponents voice worry about 'reversible' progress The top commander in Iraq hopes to recommend as early as this fall plans to reduce the number of U.S. troops below 120,000. Army Gen. David Petraeus told Military Times editors and reporters that his overall plan is to "thin" the number of troops without necessarily reducing the number of places they are located as part of a steady move toward making Iraq forces take charge of their own security. The number of U.S. forces in Iraq is expected to fall to about 120,000 at the end of July, with the full return of the 30,000 troops who were rushed to the war zone in early 2007 to quell a spike in insurgent violence. That will begin a 45-day period for evaluation, in which Petraeus and his staff will look for plans to further trim troops. While not providing specifics, Petraeus said he already has in mind four or five places where troop reductions might be recommended. "We are fairly riveted to some of these locations," he said. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Time to bid a fond farewell to your freedom posted by Clyde 6:33 AM Administration Set to Use New Spy Program in U.S. Congressional Critics Want More Assurances of Legality The Bush administration said yesterday that it plans to start using the nation's most advanced spy technology for domestic purposes soon, rebuffing challenges by House Democrats over the idea's legal authority. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said his department will activate his department's new domestic satellite surveillance office in stages, starting as soon as possible with traditional scientific and homeland security activities -- such as tracking hurricane damage, monitoring climate change and creating terrain maps. Sophisticated overhead sensor data will be used for law enforcement once privacy and civil rights concerns are resolved, he said. The department has previously said the program will not intercept communications. "There is no basis to suggest that this process is in any way insufficient to protect the privacy and civil liberties of Americans," Chertoff wrote to Reps. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) and Jane Harman (D-Calif.), chairmen of the House Homeland Security Committee and its intelligence subcommittee, respectively, in letters released yesterday. (Link) Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Friday, April 11, 2008
Gas up 18% too? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 8:21 AM Exxon CEO pay up nearly 18 percent in 2007 Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) Chief Executive Rex Tillerson's compensation rose nearly 18 percent to $21.7 million in 2007, when the oil company pulled in the largest profit ever for a U.S. company. Tillerson, chief executive of the world's largest publicly traded company, took home a pay package that included $1.75 million in salary, a $3.36 million bonus, and $16.1 million of stock and option awards, according to a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He also received nearly $430,000 of other compensation, including $229,331 for personal security and $41,122 for use of the company aircraft. Exxon Mobil earned $40.61 billion in 2007, up 3 percent from the previous year. The company's shares rose 22 percent during that period. Still, Tillerson's 2007 pay was not even the highest mark for the U.S. oil and gas industry. Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N) CEO Ray Irani made $33.6 million and Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC.N) chief James Hackett took in $26.7 million over the same period. In addition to his pay package, Tillerson, 56, received more than $7.6 million from exercising options and stock awards during the year. Bend over Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

It's always someone else's fault with this crowd! posted by Clyde 6:05 AM Mukasey Distances Himself From a Memo on Searches Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey tried Thursday to distance himself from a Justice Department memorandum written weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks that suggested the Constitution's protections against unreasonable searches did not apply to the military when it operated on American soil. "The Fourth Amendment applies across the board, whether we're in wartime or peacetime," Mr. Mukasey told the Senate Appropriations Committee when asked about the October 2001 memorandum, which is still classified. Still, the attorney general did not repudiate the entire document. He also did not say if its findings had been formally withdrawn or when it might be turned over to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has requested a copy. The memorandum's existence was revealed last week when the Bush administration released a copy of a separate Justice Department document from 2003 that referred to the October 2001 memorandum in a footnote. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

When Soros speaks, people had better listen! posted by Clyde 6:01 AM Soros sounds the alarm again on world economy George Soros will not go quietly. At the age of 77, Soros, one the world's most successful investors and richest men, leapt out of retirement last summer to safeguard his fortune and legacy. Alarmed by the unfolding crisis in the financial markets, he once again began trading for his giant hedge fund - and won big while so many others lost. Soros has always been a controversial figure. But he is becoming more so with a new, dire forecast for the world economy. Last week he rushed out a book, his 10th, warning that the financial pain has only just begun. "I consider this the biggest financial crisis of my lifetime," Soros said during an interview Monday in his office overlooking Central Park. A "superbubble" that has been swelling for a quarter of a century is finally bursting, he said. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Thursday, April 10, 2008
Oversight - we don't need no stinking oversight! posted by Clyde 10:52 AM No Congress approval for Iraq troop deal: official A senior State Department official Thursday ruled out fresh demands from top Democrats for any deal with Iraq on future US troop operations to be submitted to Congress for approval. David Satterfield, US coordinator for Iraq, testified to a Senate committee after top Democrats, including White House hopeful Hillary Clinton, expressed fears the proposed deal would tie the hands of the next president. Iraq and the United States are set to negotiate a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to legitimize US operations in Iraq beyond the end of the year, when the United Nations resolution governing their presence expires. "In keeping with past practice, our intent is to conclude the SOFA as an executive agreement, rather than a treaty subject to Senate approval," Satterfield said in prepared testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations panel. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Quackmire posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:32 AM More importantly in this headline: US airstrikes in Iraq target militants A U.S. airstrike targeted a building in Baghdad's Sadr City on Thursday, hours after American soldiers clashed with Shiite militants in fighting that left 15 people dead, police and the U.S. military said. The renewed violence coincided with the Congressional testimony of the Bush administration's top two officials in Iraq - Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Petraeus recommended a pause in drawing down U.S. troops in Iraq while the security situation remains unstable and President Bush is expected to follow his recommendation. But Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki disagreed with Petraeus' proposal to delay further U.S. troop withdrawals, citing the growing capabilities of Iraq's own security forces. Petraeus wants the U.S. to complete by the end of July the withdrawal of the 20,000 troops that were sent to Iraq last year, leaving about 140,000 in the country. Beyond that, the general proposed a 45-day evaluation period to be followed by an indefinite period of assessment before any further pullouts. Al-Maliki, however, has said he disagrees with that decision. The prime minister told Bush during a 20-minute telephone conversation on Wednesday that Iraqi security forces are capable of carrying out their duties and U.S. troops should be pulled out as the situation permits, according to a senior government adviser who sat in on the phone conversation. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the confidential details. Bring them home! Now! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Fight in Iraq & Lose your job posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:17 AM While reservists serve, their jobs don't always wait Washington - Steve Duarte worked in human resources for the same company for 19 years. But within months of returning from Iraq with his Marine Reserve unit in 2003 - his second military deployment in two years - he was told his job was ending in a week. "There was that initial shock - and then the shock of 'What am I going to do?' " recalls Mr. Duarte of Littleton, Colo., whose expenses at the time included tuition for his son at the University of Denver. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan grind on, tensions are mounting between the military's civilian volunteers, trying to step back into their professions, and employers, straining at times to cope with a growing cadre of workers who are away at war for months then expect to regain their former jobs. A 1994 law - the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) - gives workers that right, along with promotions or other benefits they would have earned had they not been deployed. But with more than 600,000 reservists and guardsmen mobilized since 9/11, thousands have found their jobs gone or positions diminished when they returned. Bush f*cks up everything. Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Wednesday, April 9, 2008
When will Washington recognize reality? posted by Clyde 10:22 AM IMF sees US falling into recession The world economy will slow sharply this year, according to an International Monetary Fund forecast, with the United States sliding into a recession amid housing, credit and financial slumps. The International Monetary Fund, in a World Economic Outlook released Wednesday, slashed growth projections for the United States - the epicenter of the woes - and the global economy as a whole. Economic growth in the United States is expected to slow to a crawl of just 0.5 percent this year, which would mark the worst pace in 17 years, when the country last suffered through a recession, the global finance body said. The United States won't fare much better next year; the IMF projected the U.S. economy will grow by a feeble 0.6 percent in 2009, when measured by an annual average. "The U.S. economy will tip into a mild recession in 2008 as the result of mutually reinforcing cycles in the housing and financial markets," the IMF said. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Oh Sure, He Says That Now! posted by Clyde 10:17 AM Petraeus: New troop buildup unlikely The top U.S. military commander in Iraq said Wednesday that he is unlikely to call for another troop buildup in Iraq, even if security deteriorates after the extra American soldiers return home this summer. Gen. David Petraeus told a House panel that such a move would be considered the last resort, in part because of the strain it would place on the Army. First, the military could try to reallocate existing troops to respond to any hotspots. It also would rely more on Iraqi forces, which are improving in capability, he said. "That would be a pretty remote thought in my mind," he said of reinstating last year's influx of troops. Petraeus has recommended to President Bush that the U.S. complete, by the end of July, the withdrawal of the 20,000 troops that were sent to Iraq last year to calm the violence there. Beyond that, the general proposed a 45-day evaluation period, to be followed by an indefinite period of assessment before he would recommend any further pullouts. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Tuesday, April 8, 2008
GOP Senate - Protecting Telecoms is more important than protecting you! posted by Clyde 10:18 AM GOP blocks surveillance extension Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic attempt to revive a controversial wiretapping law for 30 days on Monday night, leading to a mini-squabble on the chamber floor over the Bush administration's program. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had asked for unanimous consent for the month-long extension to allow more time for House-Senate negotiations. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) objected, saying the temporary fix was inadequate. The objection essentially blocks Reid's extension request. The legislation updating the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Surge! posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:20 AM Top US Officials in Iraq to Testify Before Congress The top U.S. general and diplomat in Iraq will appear before Congress Tuesday to provide their assessment of the war. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus are expected to discuss how well the "surge" of U.S. troops is working, and whether the United States can begin withdrawing some forces. Crocker and Petraeus will be testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee. They are likely to face questions from all three presidential candidates - Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and Republican John McCain. If elected, Clinton and Obama say they will start withdrawing troops from Iraq. McCain has pledged to maintain troop levels until Iraq is secure. Betray Us Permalink :: 3 comments :: Post a Comment

Time to come home posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:16 AM Surprising Political Endorsements By U.S. Troops ABC's Martha Raddatz asked American soldiers in Iraq what issues are most important to them when looking at the presidential candidates. Though the military is not supposed to engage in partisan political activity, these soldiers spoke out about their personal endorsements, and their opinions are likely to matter. In 2004, 73 percent of the US military voted for a presidential candidate, and officials believe it may be even higher this time around. PFC Jeremy Slate said he supported Barack Obama because of his stated intention to pull out of Iraq right away. "That would be nice," Slate said, "I'd like to be home, yea." SFC Patricia Keller also expressed support for Obama, citing his representation for change. Specialist Patrick Nicholls from Eggawam, Mass., pointed out that many soldiers on the frontlines are frequently thinking about their families back at home. 1 more year guys How we plan to bring them home: How Bush/McSame plan to bring them home: Permalink :: 3 comments :: Post a Comment

Monday, April 7, 2008
Hillary's "Rove" Quits posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:12 AM Mark Penn is Out Sen. Hillary Clinton's chief presidential campaign strategist is quitting his post amid criticism of his public relations firm's contacts with the Colombian government over a pending free-trade deal, Clinton's campaign announced. Mark Penn and his political consulting firm will continue to advise the New York senator's Democratic presidential bid, but Penn will give up his job as chief strategist, campaign manager Maggie Williams said. "After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as chief strategist of the Clinton campaign," Williams said. Jabba Clinton did not answer reporters' questions about Penn's exit during a campaign stop in New Mexico on Sunday. Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Caption This posted by Wally 12:03 AM Use the "Post a Comment" link to submit your caption of Dubya and Condi at the NATO summit. Permalink :: 6 comments :: Post a Comment

Sunday, April 6, 2008
If you're wondering if your Homeland Security tax dollars are being spent wisely... posted by Wally 8:31 AM ...here's a big clue. They're not. If you harbor any remaining doubts about the vast ineptitude of Bush's behemoth creation of a government bureaucracy (so much for "small government"), this should eliminate them. After "four years of work and a series of mathematical formulas", the Department of Homeland Security has come to the conclusion that "the Western U.S. city most vulnerable to a terrorist attack" is..... go ahead, take a guess. You're wrong. It's Boise. A new study funded largely by the Department of Homeland Security ranked 132 American cities according to vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Boise was the only city in the western half of the country to make the top 10. "To be honest, we're a little bit surprised," said Adam Park, a spokesman for Boise, a landlocked city of 200,000 where the big event this weekend is a Professional Bull Riders invitational. The rest of the top 10 -- led by New Orleans and including New York and Washington, D.C. -- were largely East Coast cities. Los Angeles was No. 41, followed by San Francisco at 66 and Seattle at 87. "Is this a typo or what?" asked Bobbie Patterson, executive director of the Boise Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Where in the world did this information come from?" I'm sure Bush thinks they're doing a heck of a job. Boise? Permalink :: 3 comments :: Post a Comment

It only took the Army 5 years to figure this out? Regular Einsteins aren't they? posted by Clyde 6:14 AM Army Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours to Iraq Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq for this year and beyond. Among combat troops sent to Iraq for the third or fourth time, more than one in four show signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress, according to an official Army survey of soldiers' mental health. The stress of long and multiple deployments to Iraq is just one of the concerns being voiced by senior military officers in Washington as Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior Iraq commander, prepares to tell Congress this week that he is not ready to endorse any drawdowns beyond those already scheduled through July. President Bush has signaled that he will endorse General Petraeus's recommendation, a decision that will leave close to 140,000 American troops in Iraq at least through the summer. But in a meeting with Mr. Bush late last month in advance of General Petraeus's testimony, the Joint Chiefs of Staff expressed deep concern about stress on the force, senior Defense Department and military officials said. (Link) Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Bush prefers his suckass! posted by Clyde 6:04 AM Bush Listens Closely To His Man in Iraq In White House Deliberations on War, Gen. Petraeus Has a Privileged Voice For months, a debate raged at the top levels of the Bush administration over how quickly to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. But the discussion shut down soon after President Bush flew to Camp Arifjan, a dusty Army base near the Iraqi border in Kuwait, in January for a face-to-face meeting with the man whose counsel on the war he values most: Gen. David H. Petraeus. During an 80-minute session, the president questioned his top commander in Iraq on whether further troop reductions, beyond those planned through July, would compromise security gains. According to officials familiar with the exchange, Petraeus said he wanted to wait until the summer to evaluate conditions -- and Bush made it clear he would support him and take any political heat. "My attitude is, if he didn't want to continue the drawdown, that's fine with me," Bush said before television cameras later, with Petraeus standing by his side. "I said to the general: 'If you want to slow her down, fine; it's up to you.' " In the waning months of his administration, Bush has hitched his fortunes to those of his bookish four-star general, bypassing several levels of the military chain of command to give Petraeus a privileged voice in White House deliberations over Iraq, according to current and former administration officials and retired officers. In so doing, Bush's working relationship with his field commander has taken on an intensity that is rare in the history of the nation's wartime presidents. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Saturday, April 5, 2008
Recession - What recession? posted by Clyde 5:22 AM Bigger Drop in March Jobs Is Latest Sign of Recession US employers cut payrolls by a bigger-than-expected 80,000 in March, adding more evidence that a housing downturn and credit crisis have pushed the economy into a recession. It was the third monthly decline in a row and the biggest in five years, according to the Labor Department. Adding to the bleak picture, the department revised the first two months of the year's job losses to a total of 152,000 from a previous estimate of 85,000. The March unemployment rate jumped to 5.1 percent from 4.8 percent, the highest since a matching rate in September 2005. (Link) Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Showing more love for the troops posted by Clyde 5:15 AM Pentagon's Debt Collectors Accused of Ripping Off Soldiers U.S. soldiers and veterans have been illegally hit up by Pentagon debt collectors for millions of dollars in payments over military credit card debt, according to the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. "It is shocking that a U.S. government agency would illegally take this money from veterans who have served our country well," said Deepak Gupta of Public Citizen. Public Citizen and consumer lawyers have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Army and Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES), which issues credit cards to U.S. service members to buy goods at military stores. The suit alleges that AAFES improperly took money from military credit card users for expired debt and inflated penalties and fees. Unlike civilian debt collectors who use phone calls and letters to try to collect payment, the military simply deducted the money from service members' government benefits or tax refunds, the suit contends. "To take away these benefits because of old debt incurred during military service to buy things like uniforms and equipment is outrageous," said Gupta. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Friday, April 4, 2008
Taking his ball and going home! posted by Clyde 3:31 AM Bush Bolts Last NATO Meeting It had been a long day at the NATO summit. And it wasn't over, with a cultural performance and a gala dinner ahead. So, needing a break, President Bush bolted. He left Thursday's last NATO session early-and so quickly that he left a portion of his motorcade, including some aides, in the dust. The meeting was a leaders' gathering with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Bush got up before it was over, stranding some staff and the entire White House press corps travel pool at the summit site. (Link) Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Turdblossom unplugged posted by Clyde 3:30 AM Rove disputes claims about Ala. governor Karl Rove says a one-time Republican campaign worker who has accused him of dirty tricks against a former Alabama governor is a "complete lunatic," and he calls CBS a "shoddy operation" for airing her allegations. In an interview with GQ magazine, President Bush's former political guru says he has never met Jill Simpson, an Alabama attorney and GOP campaign volunteer who has claimed that Rove tried to sabotage Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman's career. "She's a complete lunatic," Rove is quoted as saying. "This woman was not involved in any campaign in which I was involved. I have yet to find anybody who knows her." Asked why CBS aired her allegations, he said, "Because CBS is a shoddy operation." It aired the story to get good ratings, he said. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Caption This posted by Wally 3:20 AM Use the "post a comment" link to submit your caption of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and George "backrub bandit" Bush. Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

"It's just a goddamned peice of paper" posted by Wally 3:03 AM That's what Dubya said about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and goddammit he meant it. Fourth Amendment not applicable to domestic military terror ops: 2001 DOJ memo The US Justice Department advised the Bush administration in October 2001 that the protection against unreasonable searches and seizures enshrined in the Fourth Amendment [text] to the US Constitution did not apply to "domestic military operations" conducted in pursuit of terrorism suspects after the Sept. 11 attacks [JURIST news archive]. The October 23, 2001 memo, authored by former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, was referenced in a footnote of a 2003 memorandum [PDF format] on military interrogations, which was made public by the American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday. The Justice Department expressly disavowed the 2001 memo on Wednesday, saying that the department's Office of Legal Counsel has since endorsed a different interpretation. The 2001 memo remains classified and has not been publicly released. Some federal documents indicate that the 2001 memo related to the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive], but the Bush administration said Wednesday that the memo was not the legal foundation for that program. The DOJ would not reveal when it internally overturned the 2001 opinion, but indicated that a January 2006 white paper released shortly after the New York Times revealed [JURIST report] the domestic surveillance program made clear that the DOJ does not back the opinion that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to domestic military activities. The ACLU said Wednesday that it will seek disclosure of the 2001 memo. AP has more. Whatever happened to the ... "...Land of the Free" Permalink :: 2 comments :: Post a Comment

Thursday, April 3, 2008
Clinton & Obama supporters posted by Dookie The Webmaster 10:32 AM Read this op-ed from Dan Payne: So, you want to be a McCain Democrat? AN ALARMING number of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton supporters are telling pollsters they won't support the Democratic ticket if their candidate doesn't win the party's nomination. This, my friends, could mean four more years of Bushist backwardness. Look before you jump. Democrats thinking of voting for John McCain should ask themselves if they want a hot-tempered, right-wing Republican in the White House - keeping his foot on the gas in Iraq, sentencing women to illegal abortions, and pouring cement around President Bush's tax cuts for the rich. A Republican in Republican's clothing. McCain is, my friends, a Republican, a self-described "foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution." He voted against expanding the children's health insurance program and against an assault rifle ban. Stiff the little guy, save the big boys. He's against the federal government helping thousands of people who lost homes in the subprime mortgage debacle. But he's OK with the Federal Reserve lending $30 billion to salvage Bear Stearns. He's the eighth-most conservative senator in Congress, after being the second-most conservative senator the preceding session. The Washington Post found that he has voted with a majority of his Republican colleagues 88 percent of the time this session. Some maverick. Can't tell Shi'ite from Shinola. Our foreign policy expert, while in Iraq, said over and over that Iran was training Al Qaeda in Iraq. No such thing is happening. Iran, a Shi'ite country, has been training and financing Shi'ite extremists, not Al Qaeda, who are Sunni insurgents. No wonder McCain says we'll have to be in Iraq for 100 years. He doesn't know who's fighting whom. Roll over, Darwin. On teaching "intelligent design," he said: "I think that there has to be all points of view presented. . . . There's nothing wrong with teaching different schools of thought." John Hagee, McCain's cross to bear. If Obama has to answer for the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., McCain should have to answer for John Hagee. Last month, McCain said: "I was pleased to have the endorsement of Pastor John Hagee," who runs a 19,000-member church in Texas. Catholic League president Bill Donohue said: "Hagee has waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church. For example, he likes calling it 'The Great Whore,' an 'apostate church,' the 'anti-Christ,' and a 'false cult system.' " Hagee has preached that God is going to use Muslim terrorists to create "bloodbaths" to punish us for our sinful policies toward Israel. He felt that New Orleans had it coming when Hurricane Katrina struck. "New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God." How would he know? Et tu, Hillary? Clinton has been active in The Fellowship, a secretive, conservative Bible study and prayer group on Capitol Hill, Mother Jones reported last year. This explains her working with right-wing zealots like Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas and former senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. OK, I have now officially had it up to here with religion and politics. Can I get an amen? The Supremes. The day the next president takes office, five of the nine Supreme Court justices will be over 70. John Paul Stevens will be 88; Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75; Anthony Kennedy, 71; Stephen Breyer, 70; and, I smile as I write this, Antonin Scalia is 72. The next president will probably pick one or two of their replacements; maybe more, if he or she is reelected. McCain, who favors the repeal of Roe v. Wade, promises conservative audiences, "We're going to have justices like [John] Roberts and [Samuel] Alito." Mini-me and the turncoat. Would President McCain put his Senate pals on the Supreme Court, his mini-me, Lindsey Graham, or Joe Lieberman? They would sail through the Senate; senators like to confirm fellow senators. Throwing lobbyists into the bus. McCain chairs the Senate committee that oversees the telecommunications industry. Charlie Black, McCain's lead strategist, admits to lobbying on his cellphone for his telecommunications clients on McCain's so-called Straight Talk Express bus. Campaign manager Rick Davis also on the bus, founded a lobbying firm that carries water for major telecommunications clients. At last count, a whopping 59 lobbyists are raising money for McCain. Favorite sing-along on the bus: "99 bottles of Dom Perignon on the wall." Now read it again! Permalink :: 3 comments :: Post a Comment

Of OUR money. posted by Dookie The Webmaster 9:51 AM Hard working people like you and I. People are still excited about him: Obama Raises $40 Million in March Sen. Barack Obama has raised more than $40 million in March with the help of more than 218,000 new donors. The amount is less than the record $55 million he raised in February, but still a sizable amount that sustains his place as the fundraising leader among all presidential candidates. Clinton is expected to have raised about $20 million in March, but her campaign has not announced any totals. Details of their March fundraising will be made public in official reports filed with the Federal Election Commission April 20. The Obama campaign reported having nearly 1.3 million donors overall - a vast network of contributors that the campaign can tap for additional funds in the weeks and months to come War chest Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Ya think! posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:11 AM Republicans lead "pork" spending lists: report Republicans in the U.S. Congress, trying to appear tightfisted with taxpayer dollars this election year, found on Wednesday that some in their own ranks led a list of "pork" spenders in a watchdog group's analysis of government waste. The annual survey by Citizens Against Government Waste claims that 11,610 special-interest projects were stuffed into spending bills approved by the Democratic-led Congress last year at a $17.2 billion cost to taxpayers. But according to the survey, it was individual Republicans who pushed the most "pork" last year. In addition, the three House of Representative Republicans sponsoring legislation calling for a moratorium all engaged in the practice, the report said. ...... But according to the report, two House Republicans bested Murtha: Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who recently became a U.S. senator, and Rep. Bill Young of Florida. The two scored $176.3 million and $169.5 million in earmarks respectively, beating Murtha's $159.1 million. In the Senate, the top three big spenders were Republicans, who together scored about $1.8 billion in home-state projects. Those senators are: Thad Cochran, the senior Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Richard Shelby of Alabama, and Ted Stevens of Alaska, who was roundly criticized a few years back for winning approval of a "bridge to nowhere," and has been reported to be the target of a federal corruption probe. Iraq Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Dead elephants posted by Dookie The Webmaster 8:11 AM A Case of the Blues The Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole is 58 years old, but he has never been famous before, and after this year, he will most likely never be famous again. Even this kind of fame, brief and slight, is uncomfortable on him. Cole is a party man, a lifelong Republican consultant, campaign worker and politician whose career, like that of a typical European Social Democrat, has recognized only a fluid and fungible line between political operative and elected official. It sometimes seems an accident he's in Congress at all. He is tall and slightly formal, and slightly awkward; people who meet him casually describe him as cordial or gentlemanly. The Republican Party, in its current uncertainty, might have chosen an ideologue to fill Cole's post or, as is its habit, a money man. Its choice of Cole, an operative, was the establishment insisting that its own learned habits were enough to save itself. "Right now, with where we are," Ken Mehlman, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, told me, "Tom Cole is the perfect leader." Cole is a year into his term as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the group charged with managing the party's simultaneous campaigns for 435 seats in Congress, and this role has made him responsible for rebuilding the Republican Party from the ground up, and for mounting a defense of the political map. All campaign operatives are, to some extent, geographers, and the map of the United States, endlessly studied, is the object of their pieties and contains their own compulsions. Every operative has his own map, weighted by income, by ethnicity, by the practiced habits of ideology, but each believes his map is determinative and that elections do not contain surprises but more precise revelations of the map, of tendencies buried deep. ..... Going into the 2008 elections, Cole faces a daunting list of challenges. To date, 29 of his party's representatives in Congress have retired, an unusually large number, leaving open politically marginal seats that incumbents might have held but which will be more difficult for challengers to defend - Deborah Pryce's seat in Columbus, Ohio; Mike Ferguson's in central New Jersey; Heather Wilson's around Albuquerque; Thomas M. Reynolds's in Buffalo. Reynolds, Cole's predecessor at the N.R.C.C., just narrowly held his seat in 2006. Rick Renzi, a Republican congressman from Arizona, was indicted last month on federal corruption charges, putting what was another safe Republican seat in play. These vacancies mean that in a year when, by historical standards, his party would be expected to win back seats, Cole will have to defend many more seats than he will be able to attack (only six Democratic incumbents have announced they are leaving office). His committee has approximately $5 million on hand, roughly one-eighth the amount of cash on hand as its Democratic counterpart, which at latest count had $38 million. Worse still, the National Republican Congressional Committee recently discovered, during an internal audit, accounting fraud so extensive that it had to call in the F.B.I., which is now investigating embezzlement by the committee's former treasurer. Many conservative activists have become so dissatisfied with the party's heresies, particularly on immigration and government spending, that as Cole's staff took over, the committee's fund-raising pleas were being ignored and, on at least one occasion, returned in an envelope stuffed with feces. After 2006, most observers thought that those results suggested a onetime event, a so-called wave election, and predicted that come 2008, Republicans would reclaim some of those seats, the usual correction after a wave like this passes. But now, seven months before the 2008 election, that does not seem likely. The influential, independent Cook Political Report recently concluded that 12 of the 14 districts most vulnerable to change parties in this election will belong to Republicans, suggesting that Cole's party is likely to end up in an even deeper hole. G.O.P. - R.I.P. Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

American political economics in one picture posted by Dookie The Webmaster 8:02 AM The rich get richer and the poor get poorer during Republican administrations: Look at the figure below, and then look at it again, and again, and again. It is the most telling picture about the U.S. political economy I have ever seen. It comes from Princeton political scientist Larry Bartels' new book, soon to be released. What it shows is the difference that the President's party affiliation makes to the distribution of income during the four years of the president's term. (The distributional outcomes are shown with one year's lag.) When a Republican president is in power, people at the top of the income distribution experience much larger real income gains than those at the bottom--a difference of 1.5 percent per year going from the bottom to the top quintile in the income distribution. The situation is reversed when a Democrat is in power: those who benefit the most are the lower income groups. If you are in the bottom quintile, the difference between having a Democratic or a Republican president in office is an income gain (or loss) of more than 2 percent per year! Strikingly, compared to Republicans, Democratic presidents generate higher income gains for all income groups (although the difference is statistically significant only for lower income groups). Bartels shows in his book that this difference is not a statistical artifact or a fluke. It is not the result of Democrats coming to power during better economic times, or of Republicans reining in the unsustainable excesses of Democratic administrations they replace. (It turns out that the same pattern prevails even when a Republican president is succeeded by another Republican.) These numbers are real and they are the outcome of partisan differences in policy. So if you are one of those who have bought the story that income distribution is the result of pure market forces and technological changes, with politics playing no role--think again. Bartels' findings raise an important puzzle: if Democrats produce better income results for everyone, and particularly for the more numerous lower-income groups, why do they not always win? Bartels offers a rather complicated, but well-supported answer to this question having to do with voter myopia and psychology. (You will have to wait to read his book to get the full story). But Bartels does demolish two of the standard arguments regarding Republican advantages at the polls: the idea that poor Americans vote Republican for cultural reasons, or that Americans do not care about inequality. It's the economy, stupid! Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

What legacy? posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:12 AM Bush tries to salvage legacy on world stage President George W. Bush sought to salvage his legacy on the world stage on Wednesday by defending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and appealing to Russia to drop opposition to a U.S. missile defense shield. Laying out his agenda for his farewell NATO summit, Bush also pressed the defense alliance to put Ukraine and Georgia on the path to membership despite French and German qualms that it could further strain Moscow's relations with the West. Bush's keynote speech at a pre-summit conference in Bucharest read like a laundry list of his foreign policy woes as he struggles to stay relevant abroad in the twilight of his second and final term. But with Bush even more unpopular overseas than at home, he could have a hard time swaying world leaders as they look to whomever will succeed him as president in January 2009. Uniter-in-Chief Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Credit to Keith Olbermann for hammering Wally World posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:08 AM Wal-Mart Drops Lawsuit Over Health-Care Reimbursement Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is dropping a controversial effort to collect over $400,000 in health-care reimbursement from a former employee who is confined to a southeast Missouri nursing home since she suffered brain damage in a traffic accident. The world's largest retailer said Tuesday in a letter to the family of Deborah Shank it will not seek to collect money the Shanks won in an injury lawsuit against a trucking company for the accident. Wal-Mart's top executive for human resources, Pat Curran, wrote that Ms. Shank's extraordinary situation had made the company re-examine its stance. Wal-Mart has been roundly criticized in newspaper editorials, on cable news shows and by its union foes for its claim to the funds, which it made in a lawsuit upheld by a federal appeals court. Insurance experts say it is increasingly common for health plans to seek reimbursement for the medical expenses they paid for someone's treatment if the person also collects damages in an injury suit. The practice, called "subrogation," has increased since a 2006 Supreme Court ruling that eased it. Always! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Tuesday, April 1, 2008
April Fools posted by Dookie The Webmaster 2:28 PM Clinton challenges Obama to bowl-off Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton walked somberly into a press conference Tuesday and stood before microphones. Reporters tensed, sensing something big might was afoot. "This has been a very hard fought race," she said. "We clearly need to do something so that our party and our people can make the right decision. So, I have a proposal." The tension grew. Reporters shifted in their seats. Was she dropping out of the race? Offering to join rival Barack Obama as his running mate? April Fools! "Today, I am challenging Senator Obama to a bowl-off," Clinton said, provoking relieved laughs from the assembled scribes. Clinton carried on, making reference to Obama's disastrous outing at a Pennsylvania bowling alley Saturday. "A bowling night. Right here in Pennsylvania. The winner take all," she went on. "I'll even spot him two frames." LOL Permalink :: 0 comments :: Post a Comment

Let's talk success of the "Surge" again posted by Clyde 10:33 AM Iraqi casualties at highest level since August Fighting between security forces and Shi'ite militiamen last month has driven civilian deaths in Iraq to their highest level in more than six months, government figures showed on Tuesday. Britain responded to renewed violence in the southern city of Basra by delaying plans to bring home 1,500 of its 4,000 troops in Iraq. A total of 923 civilians were killed in March, up 31 percent from February and the deadliest month since August 2007, according to data compiled by Iraq's interior, defense and health ministries and obtained by Reuters. The figures are a blow to the Iraqi government and the United States, which have pointed to reduced overall levels of violence in recent months as evidence that a major security offensive has made significant progress. (Link) Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment

Try and spin this freepers.. posted by Dookie The Webmaster 6:05 AM US doctors support universal health care - survey More than half of U.S. doctors now favor switching to a national health care plan and fewer than a third oppose the idea, according to a survey published on Monday. The survey suggests that opinions have changed substantially since the last survey in 2002 and as the country debates serious changes to the health care system. Of more than 2,000 doctors surveyed, 59 percent said they support legislation to establish a national health insurance program, while 32 percent said they opposed it, researchers reported in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. The 2002 survey found that 49 percent of physicians supported national health insurance and 40 percent opposed it. "Many claim to speak for physicians and represent their views. We asked doctors directly and found that, contrary to conventional wisdom, most doctors support national health insurance," said Dr. Aaron Carroll of the Indiana University School of Medicine, who led the study. Sweet! Permalink :: 1 comments :: Post a Comment