Stop the Escalation!!!

The Jig is up, Mr. Cheney...You've drunk enough blood!!!

RESIGN, DICK CHENEY, IT'S TIME TO TAKE YOUR TOYS AND GO HOME!!!

Things are looking pretty bad when you make Wolf Blitzer look pretty good!

IT IS TIME FOR IMPEACHMENT...OF ALL OF THEM...GET OUT OF OUR WHITE HOUSE AND GIVE US OUR CONSTITUTION BACK!!!

AND THAT GOES FOR YOU, TOO, LIEBERMAN!!!

PATRICK FITZGERALD? YOU, SIR, ARE CHARGED WITH OPENING THE DOOR TO LETTING US TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK...AND....

"May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you In the palm of His hand." - Traditional Irish Blessing

MAY THE UNRAVELING BEGIN!

The Unknown

As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

Donald Rumsfeld

—Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing source

IMPEACH, IMPEACH, IMPEACH!!!
It is the ONLY right and Holy thing to do.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Amendment IV to the Lost Constitution of the former United States of America

"THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN GANGRENE OF THE SOUL"
MIKE MALLOY - 1/20/05




NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.

The above solely represents the opinions of the author who is happily watching Plamegate, the "phoenix arise."

Lou Doub's Offering to Us All

Required Reading

I believe there are two historical documents that should provide a frame of reference for every American. The Declaration of Independence and our Constitution are too often ignored or poorly understood by our elected officials from City Hall to the White House. We're providing these two documents on our Web site for your convenience, and I hope you will join me by reading them often and regularly.

All the best,
Lou Dobbs

• Read the Declaration of Independence

• Read the Constitution


REMEMBER KATRINA -- REMEMBER NEW ORLEANS




NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this email without warning, warrant, or notice. They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.

Thank you, my friend.

Farewell...

In an aside, I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of our 38th President of the United States, Gerald R. Ford in their time of great sorrow and grief.


Mr. President, thank you for your service to our country and may you rest in peace.

So Dance, dance, dance...dedicated with love to Joann who is.

This entry is a first for me; I've never "re-run" one of my own blogs before which is actually a rerun and a rerun and a rerun of a rerun throughout time...God, Allah, Goddess, Lord and Lady, Buddha, Whatever, Attacker Moon...I already told you in my last blurb that I couldn't find my voice and that hasn't changed because I'm borrowing someone else's once again. Behold what we wreak upon us all...I can only not FIND my words, but today, I am utterly beyond words. So from a sickbed, (and were I not already ill, I'd have surely been MADE ill by my feverish, delusional observations of today),my soul stirs to frame the horror of it ALL with this:

Crucifixion Lyrics
Artist: Phil Ochs

And the night comes again to the circle studded sky
The stars settle slowly, in lonliness they lie
'Till the universe expodes as a falling star is raised
Planets are paralyzed, mountains are amazed
But they all glow brighter from the briliance of the blaze
With the speed of insanity, then he dies.

In the green fields a turnin', a baby is born
His cries crease the wind and mingle with the morn
An assault upon the order, the changing of the guard
Chosen for a challenge that is hopelessly hard
And the only single sound is the sighing of the stars
But to the silence and distance they are sworn

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Images of innocence charge him go on
But the decadence of destiny is looking for a pawn
To a nightmare of knowledge he opens up the gate
And a blinding revelation is laid upon his plate
That beneath the greatest love is a hurricane of hate
And God help the critic of the dawn.

So he stands on the sea and shouts to the shore,
But the louder that he screams the longer he's ignored
For the wine of oblivion is drunk to the dregs
And the merchants of the masses almost have to be begged
'Till the giant is aware, someone's pulling at his leg,
And someone is tapping at the door.

To dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Then his message gathers meaning and it spreads accross the land
The rewarding of his pain is the following of the man
But ignorance is everywhere and people have their way
Success is an enemy to the losers of the day
In the shadows of the churches, who knows what they pray
For blood is the language of the band.

The Spanish bulls are beaten; the crowd is soon beguiled,
The matador is beautiful, a symphony of style
Excitement is estatic, passion places bets
Gracefully he bows to ovations that he gets
But the hands that are applauding are slippery with sweat
And saliva is falling from their smiles

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Then this overflow of life is crushed into a liar
The gentle soul is ripped apart and tossed into the fire.
First a smile of rejection at the nearness of the night
Truth becomes a tragedy limping from the light
All the heavens are horrified, they stagger from the sight
As the cross is trembling with desire.

They say they can't believe it, it's a sacreligious shame
Now, who would want to hurt such a hero of the game?
But you know I predicted it; I knew he had to fall
How did it happen? I hope his suffering was small.
Tell me every detail, for I've got to know it all,
And do you have a picture of the pain?

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

Time takes her toll and the memory fades
but his glory is broken, in the magic that he made.
Reality is ruined; it's the freeing from the fear
The drama is distorted, to what they want to hear
Swimming in their sorrow, in the twisting of a tear
As they wait for the new thrill parade.

Yes, the eyes of the rebel have been branded by the blind
To the safety of sterility, the threat has been refined
The child was created to the slaughterhouse he's led
So good to be alive when the eulogy is read
The climax of emotion, the worship of the dead
And the cycle of sacrifice unwinds.

So dance dance dance
Teach us to be true
Come dance dance dance
'Cause we love you

And the night comes again to the circle studded sky
The stars settle slowly, in lonliness they lie
'Till the universe expodes as a falling star is raised
Planets are paralyzed, mountains are amazed
But they all glow brighter from the briliance of the blaze
With the speed of insanity, then he died.

*All credits given to Phil Ochs, author, whom I think would approve.

Crawford in hiding....how much Viagra I wonder has been consumed this day?

One more remark then I return to feverish sleep which is a good place to be...

MR. pRESIDENT?? Can you tell me? Where is Osama bin "Layden" (in Rummyspeak) Huh??



This blog represents the views and opinions of the author and full credit given to the work of the above-mentioned artist.

And so "this is Christmas".....

Let's see...where did I leave off? Ah, yes...we won the House and Senate...and, I simply must leave it at that as I still haven't found my voice. It's a complex matter whenever one is caught between a time that ought to be joyful yet smacks of sorrow because I don't know about you but it seems to me we didn't quite get the head of the hydra. I've refrained from comment quite deliberately because my mind is having a great deal of trouble making sense of most of what's happened SINCE we won the House and Senate. And I'm quite befuddled because:

*I thought We the People sent out a resounding chorus of "I ain' gonna study war no more" yet, he wants to deploy more troops and looks like he'll probably get his way...

*We stood for the sacredness of the Constitution but but but "impeachment is off the table."

*Some of those in power who agreed with us and wished to get OUT of Iraq are planning to vote for spending yet MORE dineros to FINANCE this war they no longer believe in. Is it me?

*The Iraq Study Group - what a MARVELOUS job they did studying bush's war plan...change a word here, substitute a phrase there, re-entitle a few things and VOILA! They made nothing out of nothing and looks like no one should be firing up the engines carting our "brave freedom fighters" or the "liberators" who've discovered a whole new level of war sport out there in what once was the holiest of all lands.

*Einstein said (here's where you should leave, neo-cons - genuises are not generally your forte) that the definition of INSANITY is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Though insanity is an overall theme in this administration, the insanity I'm speaking of here is the kind of insanity that swarms over supposedly sane, elected leaders and supposedly sane, American electorate who can sit down in front of their daily dose of Big Brother's Ministry of Truth and view a president stand before the world in front of a lectern and deliver an address that makes him look and sound totally batshit crazy and say NOTHING!!!

I may be a psychiatric nurse and possess a wee bit more knowledge than the average lay person but trust me - a two year old has the ability to identify that the cowboy engaged in war crim...oops, war GAMES, gets a free pass from EVERYONE...some might call it the "elephant" in the room but in my heart of hearts, I'd wish it to be a cow or a horse. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG HERE??? WE HAVE AN AMENDMENT TO TAKE CARE OF AN INDISPOSED PRESIDENT! HE'S CRAZY! MEDICATED! DON'T YOU SEE IT YET??? WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE FOR YOU TO DO SO??? Are you REALLY waiting for Santa to drop through the chimney? Beliefs held by children are not so different from those who can sit back and watch this poor, demented man, the spokesman for our NATION stand up in front of the world and babble and slur his speech like someone who just got out of an ECT treatment! Until his insanity is addressed, this country is going nowhere except to the line that marks sanity and the abyss. I've seen it for 6 years now and still, when I turn on C-Spam or the so-called network news, I don't see anyone announcing that the President of the United States of America has been placed in 4 point restraint, removed from the White House on a stretcher and involuntarily admitted to the psychiatric unit at Walter Reed Army Hospital. THAT'S my Christmas wish, my weekly wish, my daily wish, my every single moment it doesn't happen wish.

But alas, I told you from the start I was a dreamer...except now, I seem to be living a nightmare. Will anyone come by and wake me up??? Will it be you, Dennis? John? C'mon, John...I met you in New Haven...my Lord what a specimen...Obama, no, not you...but enjoy your ride...if you just weren't so DLC-ish, I could abide you...Dodd? Biden? Vilsack? Oh, please, sit down and stop waving your hands. Who, WHO is it going to be who leads me and those of you who share my values out of our collective nightmare? Santa? Maybe it will be you after all.

So, Merry Christmas and a HO! HO! HO!

Deliverance and Penitence May We All Know.

"Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with Me,"

Let us truly remember what it means to be free.

My Fellow Americans...

"There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me."

*We Are The World - Michael Jackson

Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus!!! WE TOOK OUR COUNTRY BACK!!! WE DID IT...W - E..WE - You and me together!

I just learned that indeed, Democracy DOES WORK and that the American people CAN be trusted to know and to do the right thing. From the brink of disaster, we saved ourselves and suddenly, the colors have returned. This day will forever go down in history as the day we said:

NO!

NO MORE!

FREEDOM FROM TYRANNY IS ON THE MARCH!

GOOD DOES INDEED CONQUER EVIL AND IT'S LOVE THAT LIGHTS THE WAY.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, TO ALL OF YOU WHO FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT AND WON...AND THANK YOU TO THE NEOCONS FOR HELPING US UNDERSTAND THE POWER WE HAVE AND FOR SHOWING US JUST HOW MUCH THE REST OF US TREASURE AND LOVE OUR COUNTRY - WITHOUT YOU, WE'D HAVE NEVER BEEN PUT TO THE TEST.

Kick Lieberman OUT!!!

CT Voters - We have been spotlighted across the entire nation who's watching to see if CT will maintain the integrity, frustration and the commitment we made on Aug.8th when we sent a resounding message to the elderly Joe Lieberman that 18 years is INDEED enough of a chance to work for us and support our needs, not only as a state but as individual voters.

Lieberman is Karl Rove's dessert and I can hear him licking his perverted lips in anticipation of one more meal on Tuesday and if we show the world that CT chooses the likes of Joezell Millieberman over the integrity and shining values and principles of the youthful Ned Lamont, who was willing to stand up to this whiny, dimiminutive, megalomaniac and entitled charlatan who suffers from extreme bloodlust and thirst for war, understand that not only have we let the country down, but we will have cast upon our children and grandchildren the most heinous of legacies by saying we agree with George bush's "favorite" senator and their despicable policies. Who cares whether Joe has the "experience?" - he didn't have it 18 years ago when he started and from the looks of the mess he's made, it doesn't look like he's benefited at all from that "experience." I know his pocketbook book has but that's another matter.

If you love war, if you love bush, if you love Cheney and if you love fascism, then Joe Lieberman's your man.

If you want to rescue our country from the most insidious forces I've ever seen invade the essential character of this once most great land, then vote Ned Lamont. We already know what doesn't work. Now let's make the change that's necessary to discover what will.

If you are a real Democrat, VOTE NED LAMONT on Nov. 7. Otherwise, you deserve what you get and have lost all rights to complain from here on. Dick Cheney and Karl Rove have no place in CT...AND, no place running our country. It is time to get rid of the vipers.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Amendment IV to the Lost Constitution of the former United States of America"THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN GANGRENE OF THE SOUL"MIKE MALLOY - 1/20/05Click here: Ned Lamont for Senate

"Who Are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?"

Now, please explain to me again, Senator Stick Your Finger in The Wind to See Which Way It's Blowing, just WHO is it you imagine yourself to be caucusing with should you manage to steal this election? (Yeah, yeah, yeah, I KNOW that's Rove's job!) The Democrats is it you say? Beware, Republicans, of this wolf in sheep's clothing...remember the dastardly label "flip-flopper?" You'd best think twice when you consider voting for the sainted Senator Lieberman. His knife cuts both ways.

Republican Donors Spend To Push Lieberman Closer To The GOP

October 2, 2006 4:27 p.m. EST

Matthew Borghese - All Headline News Staff Writer

Washington, D.C. (AHN)

Republican political donors are raising funds for U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman as he runs as an Independent *after his loss to Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary.

A luncheon, hosted by President Bush's college roommate, Tom Kuhn, cost $1,000 a plate for the former Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, an an effort to push the candidate closer to the GOP if he should indeed win reelection in Connecticut.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute, raised more than $100,000 for Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns.

Also among the Lieberman event's sponsors was Rick Shelby, a longtime Republican operative who is executive vice president of the American Gas Association.

And how's Mel Sembler coming along?

With all thanks and acknowledgment to "All Headline News" folks.

*For clarification purposes, understand that Lieberman is not running on the Independent Party line...that is a separate entity altogether. He is running independent-LY in the party he created, the "Connecticut for Lieberman Party." That's a big mislead on his part.

*The snotty commentary represents the thoughts and opinions of this writer alone.

"Show me who your friends are and I'll show you who YOU are."

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Amendment IV to the Lost Constitution of the former United States of America

"THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN GANGRENE OF THE SOUL"MIKE MALLOY - 1/20/05

Click here: Ned Lamont for Senate

Forgive but Never Forget

Uh, Mayor Picard and Representative Amann,

You know, you still have time to restore your honor with the Democratic Party and reverse your support for the Do-Nothing for 18 Years Senator Lieberman.

You can simply say the truth - you've done your research and discovered new reasons why you simply can't back this warmongering, chickenhawk, backstabber who has done us here in CT so very, very wrong.

Look to John Edwards, a former vice-presidential DEMOCRATIC candidate who so gracefully and humbly explained his poor choice in voting for this despicable war based on LIES that the NIE PROVES. If he can do it, you can do it. Too bad you missed him in New Haven. You'd have seen a fine example of a REAL Democrat. I guess you were busy.

Now come on here...we KNOW the truth now...maybe you're just a little slower in getting there...after all, you're both busy men trying to represent DEMOCRATS, right?

We can forgive you. We really can. But not if you're going to align yourselves with an immoral man who pretends he's the opposite and does more and more each day to harm our beloved country. Do you really get what you've done here? Do you understand that what you're saying is that despite the facts that are now known about Joe's deadly and duplicitous betrayal of our country for his own personal gain that you are standing with him because of EXPERIENCE???? Experience is not synonymous with excellence, ethics or expertise. Experience means having a record to run on, a history of working FOR your constituency and NOT what's best for what you believe is an office you are ENTITLED to. The only experience you're supporting is that of a man who has time and time again stabbed us in the back. Are you REALLY sure this is what you want us to know about both of you? That you condone:

His behavior re Teri Schiavo
His vote for torture
His vote for Alito AND NO, DON'T TELL ME HE DIDN'T...DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT CLOTURE IS???
His alliances to Big Pharma (and his wife's)
His allegiance to BIG corporate lobbyists
His spitting on women in need of sexual trauma aftercare
His surgical attachment to bush the Betrayer - oh, give me some tongue, baby
His allowing RNC and BIG Republican fundraisers INCLUDING Mr. Penis Pump
HIS negative campaign tactics custom designed by Rove
His history with the DLC
His admonishment to those of us who exercise our 1st Amendment soon to be taken away right to criticize the government courtesy of the New York Times....

and so much more but reading my own writing here is beginning to make me sick. I think if you've now done your research, you know the real Joe Lieberman and I'm sure you've seen your mistake. But, as I said, that's ok. We will forgive you. Just do the right thing, the ONLY thing that will save your own hides when you contemplate your next run for office.

Fix it. Do it now. I'll even write your press releases for you.

We will forgive you now for your "mistake," BUT...

If you do not correct it, WE will NEVER forget!



*The opinions and thoughts above are expressly those of this writer

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Amendment IV to the Lost Constitution of the former United States of America

"THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN GANGRENE OF THE SOUL"MIKE MALLOY - 1/20/05

Death Throes of Democracy: Of Thee I Weep

I couldn't possibly express my own sentiments and thoughts any better than this so thanks to William Pitts for this insightful, accurate presentation and interpretation of where all of us engaged in protecting our democracy stand.

Never, in a million years, would I have thought I would live to see this day. The reality is that I have. So have you and so have those who don't know it yet. The only words I have in my mind upon reading this at the moment are from Dylan Thomas: "Do not go gentle into that good night....rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Though I fully comprehend Pitt's premise, I feel compelled to add my own summation. I shall NEVER, EVER stand fearful before those who wish to take from me that which was given to me by virtue of my birth. There's no need to further expound on my own philosophies or theories because one has gone before us who spoke what for me is a non-sequitor: "Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry - March 23, 1775 - http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/henry-liberty.html

Thanks and all credits given to William Pitt - Truthout.org.

In Case I Disappear
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t Perspective
Friday 29 September 2006

I have been told a thousand times at least, in the years I have spent reporting on the astonishing and repugnant abuses, lies and failures of the Bush administration, to watch my back. "Be careful," people always tell me. "These people are capable of anything. Stay off small planes, make sure you aren't being followed." A running joke between my mother and me is that she has a "safe room" set up for me in her cabin in the woods, in the event I have to flee because of something I wrote or said.

I always laughed and shook my head whenever I heard this stuff. Extreme paranoia wrapped in the tinfoil of conspiracy, I thought. This is still America, and these Bush fools will soon pass into history, I thought. I am a citizen, and the First Amendment hasn't yet been red-lined, I thought.

Matters are different now.

It seems, perhaps, that the people who warned me were not so paranoid. It seems, perhaps, that I was not paranoid enough. Legislation passed by the Republican House and Senate, legislation now marching up to the Republican White House for signature, has shattered a number of bedrock legal protections for suspects, prisoners, and pretty much anyone else George W. Bush deems to be an enemy.

So much of this legislation is wretched on the surface. Habeas corpus has been suspended for detainees suspected of terrorism or of aiding terrorism, so the Magna Carta-era rule that a person can face his accusers is now gone. Once a suspect has been thrown into prison, he does not have the right to a trial by his peers. Suspects cannot even stand in representation of themselves, another ancient protection, but must accept a military lawyer as their defender.

Illegally-obtained evidence can be used against suspects, whether that illegal evidence was gathered abroad or right here at home. To my way of thinking, this pretty much eradicates our security in persons, houses, papers, and effects, as stated in the Fourth Amendment, against illegal searches and seizures.

Speaking of collecting evidence, the torture of suspects and detainees has been broadly protected by this new legislation. While it tries to delineate what is and is not acceptable treatment of detainees, in the end, it gives George W. Bush the final word on what constitutes torture. US officials who use cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment to extract information from detainees are now shielded from prosecution.

It was two Supreme Court decisions, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, that compelled the creation of this legislation. The Hamdi decision held that a prisoner has the right of habeas corpus, and can challenge his detention before an impartial judge. The Hamdan decision held that the military commissions set up to try detainees violated both the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Conventions.

In short, the Supreme Court wiped out virtually every legal argument the Bush administration put forth to defend its extraordinary and dangerous behavior. The passage of this legislation came after a scramble by Republicans to paper over the torture and murder of a number of detainees. As columnist Molly Ivins wrote on Wednesday, "Of the over 700 prisoners sent to Gitmo, only 10 have ever been formally charged with anything. Among other things, this bill is a CYA for torture of the innocent that has already taken place."

It seems almost certain that, at some point, the Supreme Court will hear a case to challenge the legality of this legislation, but even this is questionable. If a detainee is not allowed access to a fair trial or to the evidence against him, how can he bring a legal challenge to a court? The legislation, in anticipation of court challenges like Hamdi and Hamdan, even includes severe restrictions on judicial review over the legislation itself.

The Republicans in Congress have managed, at the behest of Mr. Bush, to draft a bill that all but erases the judicial branch of the government. Time will tell whether this aspect, along with all the others, will withstand legal challenges. If such a challenge comes, it will take time, and meanwhile there is this bill. All of the above is deplorable on its face, indefensible in a nation that prides itself on Constitutional rights, protections and the rule of law.

Underneath all this, however, is where the paranoia sets in.

Underneath all this is the definition of "enemy combatant" that has been established by this legislation. An "enemy combatant" is now no longer just someone captured "during an armed conflict" against our forces. Thanks to this legislation, George W. Bush is now able to designate as an "enemy combatant" anyone who has "purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States."

Consider that language a moment. "Purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States" is in the eye of the beholder, and this administration has proven itself to be astonishingly impatient with criticism of any kind. The broad powers given to Bush by this legislation allow him to capture, indefinitely detain, and refuse a hearing to any American citizen who speaks out against Iraq or any other part of the so-called "War on Terror."

If you write a letter to the editor attacking Bush, you could be deemed as purposefully and materially supporting hostilities against the United States. If you organize or join a public demonstration against Iraq, or against the administration, the same designation could befall you. One dark-comedy aspect of the legislation is that senators or House members who publicly disagree with Bush, criticize him, or organize investigations into his dealings could be placed under the same designation. In effect, Congress just gave Bush the power to lock them up.

By writing this essay, I could be deemed an "enemy combatant." It's that simple, and very soon, it will be the law. I always laughed when people told me to be careful. I'm not laughing anymore.

In case I disappear, remember this. America is an idea, a dream, and that is all. We have borders and armies and citizens and commerce and industry, but all this merely makes us like every other nation on this Earth. What separates us is the idea, the simple idea, that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are our organizing principles. We can think as we please, speak as we please, write as we please, worship as we please, go where we please. We are protected from the kinds of tyranny that inspired our creation as a nation in the first place.

That was the idea. That was the dream. It may all be over now, but once upon a time, it existed. No good idea ever truly dies. The dream was here, and so was I, and so were you.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

William Rivers Pitt is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of two books: War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know and The Greatest Sedition Is Silence. His newest book, House of Ill Repute: Reflections on War, Lies, and America's Ravaged Reputation, will be available this winter from PoliPointPress.

*The commentary above reflects the opinions and thoughts of this writer alone.

"Vast Right Wing Consiracy" gets kicked in the butt!

And Keith Olbermann sums it up nicely - more than nicely - brilliantly in fact. Finally, someone stood up to the liars and media whores at Fox News - at the hands no less of a particularly loathsome entertainer, Chris Wallace who is such a paragon of virture that he publicly renounced his own father, the legendary Mike Wallace, indicting him for his age and his difference in politics and professionalism. Shame on him for general purposes and shame on him for his despicable behavior when interviewing President Clinton after Fox invited him onto their network under false pretenses. And where are our Democrats to voice their support of the President who can be factually shown as having done all he could in trying to capture BBogeyman Bin??? Once again, Keith Olbermann carries those truths out to the viewers, one of whom I hope you are as he nightly calls this criminal administration to account. And if you aren't, you ought to be. If there's ONE thing you do, I hope it's watching his broadcast at 8p EST and then repeated at 12 midnight, EST. It's the very least you can do for your country. Arm yourselves with truth and take that truth to your voting booth.

Keith Olbermann

MSNBC Special Commentary

September 25, 2006

The headlines about them are, of course, entirely wrong.

It is not essential that a past president, bullied and sandbagged by a monkey posing as a newscaster, finally lashed back.

It is not important that the current President's portable public chorus has described his predecessor's tone as "crazed."

Our tone should be crazed. The nation's freedoms are under assault by an administration whose policies can do us as much damage as al Qaida; the nation's marketplace of ideas is being poisoned by a propaganda company so blatant that Tokyo Rose would've quit.

Nonetheless. The headline is this:

Bill Clinton did what almost none of us have done in five years.

He has spoken the truth about 9/11, and the current presidential administration.

"At least I tried," he said of his own efforts to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. "That's the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now. They had eight months to try; they did not try. I tried."

Thus in his supposed emeritus years has Mr. Clinton taken forceful and triumphant action for honesty, and for us; action as vital and as courageous as any of his presidency; action as startling and as liberating, as any, by any one, in these last five long years.

The Bush Administration did not try to get Osama bin Laden before 9/11.

The Bush Administration ignored all the evidence gathered by its predecessors.

The Bush Administration did not understand the Daily Briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S."

The Bush Administration did not try.

Moreover, for the last five years one month and two weeks, the current administration, and in particular the President, has been given the greatest "pass" for incompetence and malfeasance in American history!

President Roosevelt was rightly blamed for ignoring the warning signs - some of them, 17 years old - before Pearl Harbor.

President Hoover was correctly blamed for - if not the Great Depression itself - then the disastrous economic steps he took in the immediate aftermath of the Stock Market Crash.

Even President Lincoln assumed some measure of responsibility for the Civil War - though talk of Southern secession had begun as early as 1832.

But not this president.

To hear him bleat and whine and bully at nearly every opportunity, one would think someone else had been president on September 11th, 2001 -- or the nearly eight months that preceded it.

That hardly reflects the honesty nor manliness we expect of the executive.

But if his own fitness to serve is of no true concern to him, perhaps we should simply sigh and keep our fingers crossed, until a grown-up takes the job three Januarys from now.

Except for this.

After five years of skirting even the most inarguable of facts - that he was president on 9/11 and he must bear some responsibility for his, and our, unreadiness, Mr. Bush has now moved, unmistakably and without conscience or shame, towards re-writing history, and attempting to make the responsibility, entirely Mr. Clinton's.

Of course he is not honest enough to do that directly.

As with all the other nefariousness and slime of this, our worst presidency since James Buchanan, he is having it done for him, by proxy.

Thus, the sandbag effort by Fox News Friday afternoon.

Consider the timing: the very weekend the National Intelligence Estimate would be released and show the Iraq war to be the fraudulent failure it is - not a check on terror, but fertilizer for it.

The kind of proof of incompetence, for which the administration and its hyenas at Fox need to find a diversion, in a scapegoat.

It was the kind of cheap trick which would get a journalist fired - but a propagandist, promoted:

Promise to talk of charity and generosity; but instead launch into the lies and distortions with which the Authoritarians among us attack the virtuous and reward the useless.

And don't even be professional enough to assume the responsibility for the slanders yourself; blame your audience for "e-mailing" you the question.

Mr. Clinton responded as you have seen.

He told the great truth untold about this administration's negligence, perhaps criminal negligence, about bin Laden.

He was brave.

Then again, Chris Wallace might be braver still. Had I in one moment surrendered all my credibility as a journalist, and been irredeemably humiliated, as was he, I would have gone home and started a new career selling seeds by mail.

The smearing by proxy, of course, did not begin Friday afternoon.

Disney was first to sell-out its corporate reputation, with "The Path to 9/11." Of that company's crimes against truth one needs to say little. Simply put: someone there enabled an Authoritarian zealot to belch out Mr. Bush's new and improved history.

The basic plot-line was this: because he was distracted by the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Bill Clinton failed to prevent 9/11.

The most curious and in some ways the most infuriating aspect of this slapdash theory, is that the Right Wingers who have advocated it - who try to sneak it into our collective consciousness through entertainment, or who sandbag Mr. Clinton with it at news interviews - have simply skipped past its most glaring flaw.

Had it been true that Clinton had been distracted from the hunt for bin Laden in 1998 because of the Monica Lewinsky nonsense, why did these same people not applaud him for having bombed bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan and Sudan on Aug. 20, of that year? For mentioning bin Laden by name as he did so?

That day, Republican Senator Grams of Minnesota invoked the movie "Wag The Dog."

Republican Senator Coats of Indiana questioned Mr. Clinton's judgment.

Republican Senator Ashcroft of Missouri - the future attorney general - echoed Coats.

Even Republican Senator Arlen Specter questioned the timing.

And of course, were it true Clinton had been "distracted" by the Lewinsky witch-hunt, who on earth conducted the Lewinsky witch-hunt?

Who turned the political discourse of this nation on its head for two years?

Who corrupted the political media?

Who made it impossible for us to even bring back on the air, the counter-terrorism analysts like Dr. Richard Haass, and James Dunegan, who had warned, at this very hour, on this very network, in early 1998, of cells from the Middle East who sought to attack us, here?

Who preempted them in order to strangle us with the trivia that was, "All Monica All The Time"?

Who distracted whom?

This is, of course, where - as is inevitable - Mr. Bush and his henchmen prove not quite as smart as they think they are.

The full responsibility for 9/11 is obviously shared by three administrations, possibly four.

But, Mr. Bush, if you are now trying to convince us by proxy that it's all about the distractions of 1998 and 1999, then you will have to face a startling fact that your minions may have hidden from you.

The distractions of 1998 and 1999, Mr. Bush, were carefully manufactured, and lovingly executed, not by Bill Clinton, but by the same people who got you elected President.

Thus, instead of some commendable acknowledgment that you were even in office on 9/11 and the lost months before it, we have your sleazy and sloppy rewriting of history, designed by somebody who evidently read the Orwell playbook too quickly.

Thus, instead of some explanation for the inertia of your first eight months in office, we are told that you have kept us "safe" ever since - a statement that might range anywhere from zero, to 100 percent, true.

We have nothing but your word, and your word has long since ceased to mean anything.

And, of course, the one time you have ever given us specifics about what you have kept us safe from, Mr. Bush, you got the name of the supposedly targeted Tower in Los Angeles wrong.

Thus was it left for the previous president to say what so many of us have felt; what so many of us have given you a pass for in the months and even the years after the attack:

You did not try.

You ignored the evidence gathered by your predecessor.

You ignored the evidence gathered by your own people.

Then, you blamed your predecessor.

That would be a textbook definition, Mr. Bush, of cowardice.

To enforce the lies of the present, it is necessary to erase the truths of the past.

That was one of the great mechanical realities Eric Blair - writing as George Orwell - gave us in the book "1984."

The great philosophical reality he gave us, Mr. Bush, may sound as familiar to you, as it has lately begun to sound familiar to me.

"The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power...

"Power is not a means; it is an end.

"One does not establish a dictatorship to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.

"The object of persecution, is persecution. The object of torture, is torture. The object of power… is power."

Earlier last Friday afternoon, before the Fox ambush, speaking in the far different context of the closing session of his remarkable Global Initiative, Mr. Clinton quoted Abraham Lincoln's State of the Union address from 1862.

"We must disenthrall ourselves."

Mr. Clinton did not quote the rest of Mr. Lincoln's sentence.

He might well have.

"We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country."

And so has Mr. Clinton helped us to disenthrall ourselves, and perhaps enabled us, even at this late and bleak date, to save our country.

The "free pass" has been withdrawn, Mr. Bush.

You did not act to prevent 9/11.

We do not know what you have done to prevent another 9/11.

You have failed us - then leveraged that failure, to justify a purposeless war in Iraq which will have, all too soon, claimed more American lives than did 9/11.

You have failed us anew in Afghanistan.

And you have now tried to hide your failures, by blaming your predecessor.

And now you exploit your failure, to rationalize brazen torture which doesn't work anyway; which only condemns our soldiers to water-boarding; which only humiliates our country further in the world; and which no true American would ever condone, let alone advocate.

And there it is, Mr. Bush:

Are yours the actions of a true American?




"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Amendment IV to the Lost Constitution of the former United States of America

"THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN GANGRENE OF THE SOUL"
MIKE MALLOY - 1/20/05

Click here: Ned Lamont for Senate

ALL PUMPED UP FOR LIEBERMAN!!!

Well, well, well, looky who's resurfaced again...I was wondering what this old goon was doing these days and lo and behold, where is he found but wurkin' hard for yup, you guessed it, our favorite absentee bi-se..oops, bi-partisan Senator No Show Lieberman and what is he doing? Why, raising $$ for him but of course! For anyone needing memory refreshment, the link below is pretty comprehensive but if not to your taste, simply do a google search on Mr. Former Ambassador Pumpgate Embassy Named For Him Mel Sembler himself!


http://www.thestraights.com/index.htm


What good taste you have, Senator Holy. Who's next on your Friends, VIPS and Crooks for Hire list? Let's see...have you thought about contacting Reverend Moon yet? Or, how about the Gambino Family? Maybe you can even get Tony Soprano to do a little campaigning for you, wouldn't that be oh, so progressive and culturally diverse?

You know what, Joe? I've come to the conclusion that you have totally lost your mind - but, in all fairness to you, I haven't ruled out dementia either since you still seem to have some trouble finding your way back to Capitol Hill - a little voting would be nice on your part - DEMOCRATIC voting, remember the Democrats? You've really outdone yourself with this one, sir. Have you NO morals left at all?

I encourage anyone of sound mind and body to explore the world of Mel Sembler and then picture him and Joe sharing a glass of wine or two discussing the merits of inflatable "ahem" airbags vs. handheld pumps. Should be pretty interesting.


"And you shall be known by the company you keep."

Go, Ned Lamont! Restore values and morality to Congress!



"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Amendment IV to the Lost Constitution of the former United States of America

*The thoughts and opinions expressed in the above reflect the author's alone.

How much lower, Joe, are you going to go?

He'll "get by with a little help from 'his' friends," huh, Joe....uh, WHAT party is it you say you would caucus with should you win your INDEPENDENT campaign? Dems you say? Hmmm, seems to me you have an a w f u l lot of payback on your table, eh? And we haven't even GOTTEN to Mayor Bloomberg yet!

Joe..please...you look like an ass and I don't mean that of a donkey...just a plain weak, pathetic, begging, morally bankrupt ass as you pander to your true Republican buddies. You are an embarrassment to members of either party when you really think about it...but the joke's ultimately going to be on you because have no doubt - your friend Karl is going to drop you like a hot potato once you are done doing his bidding..That's ok though...I guess you can still learn things at 64, right?

With credit and thanks to the Journal Inquirer, good people of CT, behold the following:

Florida Republican, friend to Bushes and defender of Lewis Libby, raises money for Lieberman
By Don Michak, Journal Inquirer
09/21/2006


U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman on Wednesday attended a fundraiser in Florida organized by a former finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, a top aide to the senator confirmed.



Lieberman's communications director, Dan Gerstein, said the reception held at Mel Sembler's St. Petersburg offices - where guests were asked to contribute a minimum of $1,000 to the three-term incumbent's battle against Greenwich Democrat Ned Lamont - went like "gangbusters."


About 100 people attended the event, according to Reuters news service, which reported that it was closed to reporters.

Sembler headed the RNC's finance committee from 1994 to 2000. President Bush named him as ambassador to Italy in 2001, a post he held until last year.

Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush, had named Sembler as ambassador to Australia.

Sembler is chairman of the board of the Sembler Co., a developer of shopping centers in Florida and nearby states.
He serves on the boards of directors of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation and the Republican Jewish Coalition and is chairman of the Libby Legal Defense Trust.

The defense trust is a Washington, D.C.-based organization established to help Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, defray legal expenses following his federal indictment last year on charges of obstruction of justice, perjury, and making false statements.

The charges were levied in connection with a special prosecutor's probe of the leaking of the name of a former CIA agent, Valerie Plame, to reporters.

Ned Lamont's campaign spokeswoman, Liz Dupont-Diehl, said today the Sembler fundraiser "sounds like more Washington special interests trying to help Joe cling to his job."

"This is a kind of incumbency protection racket that makes Ned's candidacy so appealing to so many people," she said, adding that Lamont had refused to accept contributions from political action committees and other special interests.

Minutes after losing the Democratic primary to Lamont last month, Lieberman vowed to continue his bid for re-election as an independent and appealed to out-of-state voters of all political stripes for campaign contributions.

Gerstein said today that he did not immediately know of other prominent Republicans who have offered to help Lieberman raise campaign cash, with the exception of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg has agreed to host a fundraiser for Lieberman at the mayor's upper East Side townhouse Nov. 1, as well as to headline another fundraising event slated for Oct. 25 in Chicago.

Meanwhile, the Lieberman and Lamont camps were continuing discussions today in a bid to schedule a debate between the candidates within the next few weeks.

Both sides already have committed to a debate in New London on Oct. 23. That event is slated to be moderated by ABC News correspondent and former President Bill Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos.



©Journal Inquirer 2006

*The opinions expressed are that of the author alone.
**But they're mine and I'm stickin' to 'em.

LIEBERMAN EMPLOYS CRIMINALS TO POLL?

Well, well, Senator Joe, that's not very good vetting now, is it? Can any old "joe schmoe" hook up with you without even a background check? Now this is something that might make me mistrust ALL the polls your campaign releases because it seems to me you'd think even your Mr. President Hi-Tech Spy On Citizens NSA guy would have caught this dude's unsuitability. Well, then again...

Or, *wink *wink *nudge *nudge was there something both you fellas knew about him?

Thanks and all credit to WTNH for some good sleuthing!

Polling company employee pleads guilty to fraud

(New Haven-AP, Sept. 19, 2006 5:05 PM) An employee of a company that conducted campaign polls for President Bush, Senator Joe Lieberman and other candidates for office pleaded guilty today to making up poll results.

Darryl Hylton of Hamden pleaded guilty in federal court in Bridgeport to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Guilford-based company, Data-U-S-A, is now known as Viewpoint U-S-A.

Hylton admitted that he conspired to falsify survey and polling results to meet deadlines or other requirements that Data-U-S-A otherwise could not meet. He also admitted that he directed other Data-U-S-A employees to falsify results in a variety of ways, including changing demographic information, such as gender, to satisfy client requirements.

Hylton faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 250 thousand dollars when he is sentenced on December Eleventh.

***The commentary reflects solely the opinion of this writer.

*****The rest is a FACTUAL report from WTNH.

Keith Olbermann: Our Edward R. Murrow

Bush owes us an apology.

The President of the United States owes this country an apology.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240 /

Sept. 18, 2006 8:24 p.m. ET

It will not be offered, of course.He does not realize its necessity.There are now none around him who would tell him or could.The last of them, it appears, was the very man whose letter provoked the President into the conduct, for which the apology is essential. An apology is this President's only hope of regaining the slightest measure of confidence, of what has been, for nearly two years, a clear majority of his people.Not "confidence" in his policies nor in his designs nor even in something as narrowly focused as which vision of torture shall prevail -- his, or that of the man who has sent him into apoplexy, Colin Powell.

In a larger sense, the President needs to regain our confidence, that he has some basic understanding of what this country represents -- of what it must maintain if we are to defeat not only terrorists, but if we are also to defeat what is ever more increasingly apparent, as an attempt to re-define the way we live here, and what we mean, when we say the word "freedom."Because it is evident now that, if not its architect, this President intends to be the contractor, for this narrowing of the definition of freedom.

The President revealed this last Friday, as he fairly spat through his teeth, words of unrestrained fury directed at the man who was once the very symbol of his administration, who was once an ambassador from this administration to its critics, as he had once been an ambassador from the military to its critics.The former Secretary of State, Mr. Powell, had written, simply and candidly and without anger, that "the world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism."This President's response included not merely what is apparently the Presidential equivalent of threatening to hold one's breath, but within it contained one particularly chilling phrase.

REPORTER: Mr. President, former Secretary of State Colin Powell says the world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism. If a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former secretary of state feels this way, don't you think that Americans and the rest of the world are beginning to wonder whether you're following a flawed strategy?

MR. BUSH: “If there's any comparison between the compassion and decency of the American people and the terrorist tactics of extremists, it's flawed logic,” Bush said. “It's just -- I simply can't accept that. It's unacceptable to think that there's any kind of comparison between the behavior of the United States of America and the action of Islamic extremists who kill innocent women and children to achieve an objective.

Of course it's acceptable to think that there's "any kind of comparison."And in this particular debate, it is not only acceptable, it is obviously necessary.Even if Mr. Powell never made the comparison in his letter.

Some will think that our actions at Abu Ghraib, or in Guantanamo, or in secret prisons in Eastern Europe, are all too comparable to the actions of the extremists.Some will think that there is no similarity, or, if there is one, it is to the slightest and most unavoidable of degrees.What all of us will agree on, is that we have the right -- we have the duty -- to think about the comparison.And, most importantly, that the other guy, whose opinion about this we cannot fathom, has exactly the same right as we do: to think -- and say -- what his mind and his heart and his conscience tell him, is right.All of us agree about that.

Except, it seems, this President.With increasing rage, he and his administration have begun to tell us, we are not permitted to disagree with them, that we cannot be right. That Colin Powell cannot be right.

And then there was that one, most awful phrase.In four simple words last Friday, the President brought into sharp focus what has been only vaguely clear these past five-and-a-half years - the way the terrain at night is perceptible only during an angry flash of lightning, and then, a second later, all again is dark.“It's unacceptable to think," he said.

It is never unacceptable to think.And when a President says thinking is unacceptable, even on one topic, even in the heat of the moment, even in the turning of a phrase extracted from its context, he takes us toward a new and fearful path -- one heretofore the realm of science fiction authors and apocalyptic visionaries.That flash of lightning freezes at the distant horizon, and we can just make out a world in which authority can actually suggest it has become unacceptable to think.

Thus the lightning flash reveals not merely a President we have already seen, the one who believes he has a monopoly on current truth. It now shows us a President who has decided that of all our commanders-in-chief, ever, he alone has had the knowledge necessary to alter and re-shape our inalienable rights.This is a frightening, and a dangerous, delusion, Mr. President.If Mr. Powell's letter -- cautionary, concerned, predominantly supportive -- can induce from you such wrath and such intolerance, what would you say were this statement to be shouted to you by a reporter, or written to you by a colleague?

"Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government.”Those incendiary thoughts came, of course, from a prior holder of your job, Mr. Bush.They were the words of Thomas Jefferson.He put them in the Declaration of Independence.Mr. Bush, what would you say to something that anti-thetical to the status quo just now?Would you call it "unacceptable" for Jefferson to think such things, or to write them?Between your confidence in your infallibility, sir, and your demonizing of dissent, and now these rages better suited to a thwarted three-year old, you have left the unnerving sense of a White House coming unglued - a chilling suspicion that perhaps we have not seen the peak of the anger; that we can no longer forecast what next will be said to, or about, anyone who disagrees.Or what will next be done to them.

On this newscast last Friday night, Constitiutional law Professor Jonathan Turley of George Washington University, suggested that at some point in the near future some of the "detainees" transferred from secret CIA cells to Guantanamo, will finally get to tell the Red Cross that they have indeed been tortured.Thus the debate over the Geneva Conventions, is in fact not about further interrogations of detainees, but about those already conducted, and the possible liability of the administration, for them.That, certainly, could explain Mr. Bush's fury.That, at this point, is speculative.But at least it provides an alternative possibility as to why the President's words were at such variance from the entire history of this country.

For, there needs to be some other explanation, Mr. Bush, than that you truly believe we should live in a United States of America in which a thought is unacceptable.There needs to be a delegation of responsible leaders -- Republicans or otherwise -- who can sit you down as Barry Goldwater and Hugh Scott once sat Richard Nixon down - and explain the reality of the situation you have created.There needs to be an apology from the President of the United States.And more than one.

But, Mr. Bush, the others -- for warnings unheeded five years ago, for war unjustified four years ago, for battle unprepared three years ago -- they are not weighted with the urgency and necessity of this one.We must know that, to you, thought with which you disagree -- and even voice with which you disagree and even action with which you disagree -- are still sacrosanct to you.The philosopher Voltaire once insisted to another author, "I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write." Since the nation's birth, Mr. Bush, we have misquoted and even embellished that statement, but we have served ourselves well, by subscribing to its essence.Oddly, there are other words of Voltaire's that are more pertinent still, just now."Think for yourselves," he wrote, "and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too."

Apologize, sir, for even hinting at an America where a few have that privilege to think and the rest of us get yelled at by the President.

Anything else, Mr. Bush, is truly unacceptable.=======================

Rare, medium or well-done?

No, NOT your steak...YOU!

Official Touts Non-lethal Weapons for Use: New York Times

Associated Press : Published: September 12, 2006

Filed at 7:42 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Non-lethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before they are used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday.

Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions in the international community over any possible safety concerns, said Secretary Michael Wynne.

''If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation,'' said Wynne. ''(Because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press.''

The Air Force has funded research into nonlethal weapons, but he said the service isn't likely to spend more money on development until injury issues are reviewed by medical experts and resolved.

Nonlethal weapons generally can weaken people if they are hit with the beam. Some of the weapons can emit short, intense energy pulses that also can be effective in disabling some electronic devices.

On another subject, Wynne said he expects to pick a new contractor for the next generation of aerial refueling tankers by next summer. He said a draft request for bids will be put out next month, and there are two qualified bidders: The Boeing Co. and a team of Northrop Grumman Corp. and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., the majority owner of European jet maker Airbus SAS.

The contract is expected to be worth at least $20 billion.

Chicago-based Boeing lost the tanker deal in 2004 amid revelations that it had hired a top Air Force acquisitions official who had given the company preferential treatment.
Wynne also said the Air Force, which is already chopping 40,000 active duty, civilian and reserves jobs, is now struggling to find new ways to slash about $1.8 billion from its budget to cover costs from the latest round of base closings.
He said he can't cut more people, and it would not be wise to take funding from military programs that are needed to protect the country. But, he said he also encounters resistance when he tries to save money on operations and maintenance by retiring aging aircraft.

''We're finding out that those are, unfortunately, prized possessions of some congressional districts,'' said Wynne, adding that the Air Force will have to ''take some appetite suppressant pills.'' He said he has asked employees to look for efficiencies in their offices.

The base closings initially were expected to create savings by reducing Air Force infrastructure by 24 percent.
------

Keith Olbermann: Our Ed Murrow and Hero

While the mainstream media has been on sabbatical since September 11, 2001, one true newscaster has stood alone in truth, courage and commitment to bringing the truth to those he serves, the American people. Tonight, during a commemorative show at Ground Zero, hallowed ground that has been usurped by the unforgivable politicization by the Governor of the United States, Keith Olbermann broadcast the follow words. If these words resonate with you as they did for me, bringing me to tears, I ask you to write to KOlbermann@msnbc.com and thank this true patriot for finally, finally, laying it out for the American people to see. And a note to his superiors at viewerservices@msnbc.com would greatly be appreciated to offset the screaming rightwingers who will undoubtedly flood MSNBC with irate calls. We must protect this nobleman because in this climate, it is not unrealistic to think he could be removed from his job. This cannot happen. We NEED him. Our lives are dependent on the truth he is courageous enough to report. Thank you all. His words follow below:

FINALLY MAINSTREAM....NOW, AMERICA, PLEASE WAKE UP!!!

Keith's words:



Half a lifetime ago, I worked in this now-empty space. And for 40 days after the attacks, I worked here again, trying to make sense of what happened, and was yet to happen, as a reporter.

All the time, I knew that the very air I breathed contained the remains of thousands of people, including four of my friends, two in the planes and -- as I discovered from those "missing posters" seared still into my soul -- two more in the Towers.

And I knew too, that this was the pyre for hundreds of New York policemen and firemen, of whom my family can claim half a dozen or more, as our ancestors.

I belabor this to emphasize that, for me this was, and is, and always shall be, personal.

And anyone who claims that I and others like me are "soft,"or have "forgotten" the lessons of what happened here is at best a grasping, opportunistic, dilettante and at worst, an idiot whether he is a commentator, or a Vice President, or a President.

However, of all the things those of us who were here five years ago could have forecast -- of all the nightmares that unfolded before our eyes, and the others that unfolded only in our minds -- none of us could have predicted this.

Five years later this space is still empty.

Five years later there is no memorial to the dead.

Five years later there is no building rising to show with proud defiance that we would not have our America wrung from us, by cowards and criminals.

Five years later this country's wound is still open.

Five years later this country's mass grave is still unmarked.

Five years later this is still just a background for a photo-op.

It is beyond shameful.



At the dedication of the Gettysburg Memorial -- barely four months after the last soldier staggered from another Pennsylvania field -- Mr. Lincoln said, "we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract."

Lincoln used those words to immortalize their sacrifice.

Today our leaders could use those same words to rationalize their reprehensible inaction. "We cannot dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground." So we won't.

Instead they bicker and buck pass. They thwart private efforts, and jostle to claim credit for initiatives that go nowhere. They spend the money on irrelevant wars, and elaborate self-congratulations, and buying off columnists to write how good a job they're doing instead of doing any job at all.

Five years later, Mr. Bush, we are still fighting the terrorists on these streets. And look carefully, sir, on these 16 empty acres. The terrorists are clearly, still winning.

And, in a crime against every victim here and every patriotic sentiment you mouthed but did not enact, you have done nothing about it.

And there is something worse still than this vast gaping hole in this city, and in the fabric of our nation. There is its symbolism of the promise unfulfilled, the urgent oath, reduced to lazy execution.

The only positive on 9/11 and the days and weeks that so slowly and painfully followed it was the unanimous humanity, here, and throughout the country. The government, the President in particular, was given every possible measure of support.

Those who did not belong to his party -- tabled that.

Those who doubted the mechanics of his election -- ignored that.

Those who wondered of his qualifications -- forgot that.

History teaches us that nearly unanimous support of a government cannot be taken away from that government by its critics. It can only be squandered by those who use it not to heal a nation's wounds, but to take political advantage.

Terrorists did not come and steal our newly-regained sense of being American first, and political, fiftieth. Nor did the Democrats. Nor did the media. Nor did the people.

The President -- and those around him -- did that.

They promised bi-partisanship, and then showed that to them, "bi-partisanship" meant that their party would rule and the rest would have to follow, or be branded, with ever-escalating hysteria, as morally or intellectually confused, as appeasers, as those who, in the Vice President's words yesterday, "validate the strategy of the terrorists."

They promised protection, and then showed that to them "protection" meant going to war against a despot whose hand they had once shaken, a despot who we now learn from our own Senate Intelligence Committee, hated al-Qaida as much as we did.

The polite phrase for how so many of us were duped into supporting a war, on the false premise that it had 'something to do' with 9/11 is "lying by implication."

The impolite phrase is "impeachable offense."

Not once in now five years has this President ever offered to assume responsibility for the failures that led to this empty space, and to this, the current, curdled, version of our beloved country.

Still, there is a last snapping flame from a final candle of respect and fairness: even his most virulent critics have never suggested he alone bears the full brunt of the blame for 9/11.

Half the time, in fact, this President has been so gently treated, that he has seemed not even to be the man most responsible for anything in his own administration.

Yet what is happening this very night?

A mini-series, created, influenced -- possibly financed by -- the most radical and cold of domestic political Machiavellis, continues to be televised into our homes.

The documented truths of the last fifteen years are replaced by bald-faced lies; the talking points of the current regime parroted; the whole sorry story blurred, by spin, to make the party out of office seem vacillating and impotent, and the party in office, seem like the only option.

How dare you, Mr. President, after taking cynical advantage of the unanimity and love, and transmuting it into fraudulent war and needless death, after monstrously transforming it into fear and suspicion and turning that fear into the campaign slogan of three elections? How dare you -- or those around you -- ever "spin" 9/11?

Just as the terrorists have succeeded -- are still succeeding -- as long as there is no memorial and no construction here at Ground Zero.

So, too, have they succeeded, and are still succeeding as long as this government uses 9/11 as a wedge to pit Americans against Americans.

This is an odd point to cite a television program, especially one from March of 1960. But as Disney's continuing sell-out of the truth (and this country) suggests, even television programs can be powerful things.

And long ago, a series called "The Twilight Zone" broadcast a riveting episode entitled "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street."

In brief: a meteor sparks rumors of an invasion by extra-terrestrials disguised as humans. The electricity goes out. A neighbor pleads for calm. Suddenly his car -- and only his car -- starts. Someone suggests he must be the alien. Then another man's lights go on. As charges and suspicion and panic overtake the street, guns are inevitably produced. An "alien" is shot -- but he turns out to be just another neighbor, returning from going for help. The camera pulls back to a near-by hill, where two extra-terrestrials are seen manipulating a small device that can jam electricity. The veteran tells his novice that there's no need to actually attack, that you just turn off a few of the human machines and then, "they pick the most dangerous enemy they can find, and it's themselves."

And then, in perhaps his finest piece of writing, Rod Serling sums it up with words of remarkable prescience, given where we find ourselves tonight: "The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices, to be found only in the minds of men.

"For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own -- for the children, and the children yet unborn."

When those who dissent are told time and time again -- as we will be, if not tonight by the President, then tomorrow by his portable public chorus -- that he is preserving our freedom, but that if we use any of it, we are somehow un-American...When we are scolded, that if we merely question, we have "forgotten the lessons of 9/11"... look into this empty space behind me and the bi-partisanship upon which this administration also did not build, and tell me:

Who has left this hole in the ground?

We have not forgotten, Mr. President.

You have.

May this country forgive you.

Sept. 11, 2006 3:19 p.m. ET







"THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN GANGRENE OF THE SOUL"
MIKE MALLOY - 1/20/05

Click here: Ned Lamont for Senate



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There Are No Words

by Kitty Donohoe: www.kittydonohoe.com

As many of you know, the original version of “There Are No Words” was written on 9-11-2001 as my own, personal response to the horror of that day. Upon singing it publicly a few nights later I was urged by the audience to record it - which I did, as a single CD, since my album “This Road Tonight” was already mastered at that point.

It subsequently was sent by others around the US and to some European countries where it seemed to hit a nerve with many who heard it. The song also recieved a Michigan Emmy in 2002 when the Detroit NBC affilitate (WDIV) used it in a piece they put together on the attacks. My own aim with this song has been pretty modest - it came out the way it came out and I never had an agenda with it other than to present it.

As we now face the 5th anniversary of that awful day I find myself hearing from folks about the song and am putting a (slightly) new version of it here. Songs have a way of evolving over time and there are two changes that I’ve made in the lyrics since the original.

When Paul Stookey was performing it he sang “there is no earthly balm” in the chorus (instead of “there is no balm”) because he found solace in his religion at that time, as did others I heard from. So my change is to “is there a balm”, leaving a space for personal interpretation. And in the second verse I changed “all the brothers, all the lovers” to “all the brothers, sisters and lovers” to acknowledge both genders of victims and to make it seem less male-oriented.

This new “There Are No Words” was produced again by my friend David Mosher and we think it sounds pretty good. Please feel free to download it, record it, and send it around...

Download “There Are No Words” from here or from the opening link:

There Are No Words - new full length version (2006)

There Are No Words - new short version (2006)

There Are No Words - original version (2001)

Five Years Beyond the New Pearl Harbor

Somewhere over the last few days, I ran across the words: "celebrate 9/11." My first reaction was "hmmm." Something hit me about it and not sure what, I began to toss about the word "celebrate" in my mind.

Celebrate. My association to that word is party. Taking it farther, I thought of other meanings attached to that word. I thought of the Catholic term, "celebrate Mass." Ok, I thought - that seems closer. Adds the thought of solemnity. Ritual. Intention. I didn't want to go much deeper than that so I thought I'd get right to the point in my mind and went to the dictionary. Here's what I found according to Webster:

Main Entry: cel·e·brate
Function: verb
Pronunciation: 'se-l&-"brAt
Inflected Form(s): -brat·ed ; -brat·ing
Etymology: Latin celebratus, past participle of celebrare to frequent, celebrate, from celebr-, celeber much frequented, famous; perhaps akin to Latin celer
transitive senses
1 : to perform (a sacrament or solemn ceremony) publicly and with appropriate rites
2 a : to honor (as a holiday) by solemn ceremonies or by refraining from ordinary business b : to mark (as an anniversary) by festivities or other deviation from routine
3 : to hold up or play up for public notice
intransitive senses
1 : to observe a holiday, perform a religious ceremony, or take part in a festival
2 : to observe a notable occasion with festivities
synonym see KEEP
- cel·e·bra·tion/"se-l&-'brA-sh&n/ noun
- cel·e·bra·tor/'se-l&-"brA-t&r/ noun
- cel·e·bra·to·ry/-br&-"tOr-e, -"to r-; "se-l&-'brA-t&-re/ adjective

I don't think anyone could really argue that the above does not accurately describes what will occur on September 11, 2006.

Where were you that day? I mean the question for you is to really stop a moment and revisit in your mind where you were that day when you heard.

From then till now, where are you in terms of understanding the truth of it all?

I'd really love for you to share your story in the comments section. It's a good thing for all of us as Americans to talk about it. Healthy for healing, which we still haven't done.

That day united us. There are those who've done nothing but polarize us. Leaders lead. Deciders decide and dictators divide.

As then and now, my heart and soul bleeds for all those in pain still suffering from 9/11. The day of year is no harder to contemplate now than it was September 11th. My fellow Americans, we must unite again and grieve as one.

Once again, we must go through it. Together. But this time will be different. This time, the politicization of it will be clear. We are no longer in shock. We're certainly out of denial and definitely no longer bargaining.

We are stuck. Stuck. Stuck. Stuck. Together as a people we are stuck at the acceptance stage of the grieving process. Here's why. We're stuck there, unable to accept what happened to us that terrible, shock and awe day because we do not know the truth. We do not know the truth because we have been lied to...all along the way. By most of our elected (and un-elected) leaders.

Until we know the truth as a people, which we can hear and process now because we are no longer in shock, we will not be able to accept the truth of September 11th and come to terms with all we must do now for us to survive.

"Truth and Justice - the American way."

Let that be so. Let it be true. Let none of us ever again accept blindly as truth anything that comes from the mouths of current career politicians invested in their personal power. Look to Lieberman as an example as that.

After five years of following daily that which is associated with seeking the truth of 9/11, I have come to only this. The truth has not been told. Not Republican truth. Not Democratic Truth. The Truth. "The whole truth and nothing but the truth."

I do not claim to know the real Truth of September 11th but I do know some of the lies. And they're whoppers. Most of you know that, too, those of you who arrive at this blog. And ya, that includes you Lieberlurkers. You know it too.

Let us celebrate five years since We, the American People, had one of the worst perpetrations of a crime committed against us. Let us commit to one another that beginning the very anniversary of that day, we will seek the truth and not stop until we find it. Then, we will hold those accountable in a way that Justice is served, so fragile right now since the Supreme Court was hijacked with people like Joe Lieberman's encouragement and backing. All those involved must be revealed, "Sir" Patrick Fitzgerald. Don't let us down. Truth and Justice, right? The American way, right, sir?

I have no answers. I do have ideas. So do you. Among us, with civil discourse, we can find the answers. I have Faith in us. We, the People.

"Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted."

The thoughts and opinions of the above express the author's point of view only.