Mike Gravel is first!!!

The fact that our Constitution gives a single person (Bush) the right to veto the will of 66% of the American people, and because less than that percentage of those in Congress are likely to vote to override it, that it will likely stand...points out that our Constitution does not really provide the "checks and balances" it was designed to.  It is far from balanced, and far from democratic when one person can overrule the will of the people.  That is called dictatorship.  For all our Constitution's good intentions, this neo-con cabal has found a way to squeeze through the loopholes in it.  This is not the first instance of that.  We have been living in a near-dictatorship for almost six years, and our dictator is starting to argue that our military shoyuld not be controlled by the civilian legislative assembly!!!  The time has come to give power to the people.  We need Constitutional amendments that will transform this country from an oligarchy masking itself as a republic into a constitutional democracy, with built-in protections for minority interests and individuals against majority tyranny, but with better protection against fascism and autocracy. 

Anyone interested in seeing some specific proposals on how we might democratize our nation can check out http://realdemocracy.wordpress.com.   Feel free to comment, suggest amendments or revisions, or entirely new proposals, etc.  You can also go to http:groups.yahoo.com/group/real-democracy, join and participate in the discussion there.  

There are provision for minority rights, it's just that when Dems were in the majority they dropped the ball.

Also, the public can be irrational sometimes, look how high support for war was in 2002 versus now. When a pres or a party goes against public opinion they lose elections, which rethugs will for the next two cycles. Question is what kind of Dems will we get?

~D

ooops, Dems dropped ball while in minority.

Howard be first here...but Gravel is very Howardly

We the People have to hold the Congress accountable, especially the Dems.  The Dems get in and debate rather than legislate. 

Democracy requires a lot of work by the citizens and Ronald Reagans wisdom :Trust but verify!

We should not be giving money to Dems that vote like Repubs.  Repubs know who their base is. Dems don't care about their base. This has got to stop.  The Dem base needs to discipline the Dems.

I suggest no money to Dems who vote to continue the Iraq Occupation.

118.

Fred, saw your post about Gravel not caring about the Iraq people...what are you talking about? There are certain arguments re: Gravel and the policies he wishes to implement that are poignant...to question his humanitarianism is ridiculous.

======================

Have no idea what you are talking about?  Who is Gravel? A reference to my alleged statement might help

re: Fred, saw your post about Gravel not caring about the Iraq people...what are you talking about?
-------------------

I've come to the conclusion that Fred just likes to throw out bombs with little fact to back them up

=========================

If it is my opinion, I don't necessarily need "facts" to back it up - If I state a fact I provide a reference, more than many "well-liked" blowhards on this blog.

Was JFK plot buried with Hunt? http://www.infowars.com/articles/us/jfk_was_jfk_plot_buried_with_hunt.htm

135.
Jo*in*Vermont
Wed, 05/02/07
8:58 pm

==============

Again, I ask "who the hell is Gravel and what did I say about him unbeknownst to me?

Loose Change 2 to be In-Flight Movie for Virgin Atlantic

Reed, yes, I believe you're right, definitely will be worth staying up for....if you can. :)

135.
Jo*in*Vermont
Wed, 05/02/07
8:58 pm135.
====================== 

167.
former
Wed, 05/02/07
3:14 pm


What to investigate..., lol?

As Gravel said to him during debate (may not be precise quote):
"Joe you do have certain arrogance to tell Iraqis what they should do!"

========================

Gravel apparently doesn' t care what the Iraqi people think, or how many will die.  Obviously, I don't expect that Biden would deploy any plan without the full consent and cooperation of the Iraqi people

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

I found this and now see what you mean -

I SAID "APPARENTLY" .....  I did not see the debate, I was only defending Biden and criticizing this guy that he does not care about the Iraqi people if he thinks Biden's proposal is a product of arrogance.  I know nothing about Gravel or what his attitudes or opinions are.

He should not have personally attacked Biden with implying Biden's plan was motivated by arrogance and not compassion - I was making a logical deduction based on what  was given to me.

And you should not be attacking me personally by quoting a statement out of context, and gossiping about it on the blog.

Shame on you.

Fred,

Former Senator Gravel from Alaska is a presidential candidate.  He is famous for reading the secret Pentagon papers on the floor of the Senate and affirming in court the our legislators are immune from prosecution for what they say in their chamber.  He's proposing that we do away with the income tax and substitute a national sales tax.  Reed has videotaped some conversations with him. 

apparent...1. readily seen; open to view; visible 2. Readily understood or perceived; plain or obvious

Shame on you for saying Gravel apparently doesn't care when you know nothing of the man

....Sen. Joe Biden, too, distinguished himself with his wit and humor. His one-word answer --"Yes" -- when asked whether he could be trusted to represent America on the world stage was the highlight of the night.

Former Sen. Mike Gravel was downright mean, repeatedly attacking his fellow candidates; he even referred to Biden as "arrogant" at one point. He made Kucinich seem like a teddy bear by comparison.....

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/04/democrats_focused_their_fire_o.html

Shame on you for saying Gravel apparently doesn't care when you know nothing of the man

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

There is nothing wrong with drawing negative conclusions about  someone who bad-mouthed someone I support and respect.  I don't need to know him.

Gravel's website could not handle the flood of hits after the debate, they said. Bloggers complained that they were ready to donate money but were unable to get into the website .

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articl...

Where's my umbrella hat?

FACTS TO PONDER :
 
(A) The number of physicians in the U.S. is 700,000.

(B) Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year are 120,000.

 (Calculation) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171

Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept of Health Human Services.
 
Now think about this:
Guns:
(A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000.(Yes, that's 80 million..)

(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500.

(Calculation) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .000188
Statistics courtesy of FBI
 
So, statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than
gun owners.
 
Remember, "Guns don't kill people, doctors do."
 
FACT: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT
LEAST ONE DOCTOR.
 
Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors
before this gets completely out of hand!!!!!
 
 
Out of concern for the public at large, I withheld the statistics on lawyers
for fear the shock would cause people to panic and seek medical attention
 

The fact that our Constitution gives a single person (Bush) the right to veto the will of 66% of the American people, and because less than that percentage of those in Congress are likely to vote to override it, that it will likely stand...points out that our Constitution does not really provide the "checks and balances" it was designed to.

It needs to be remembered (or in most cases learned) that the Constitution was written and ratified by a bunch of rich guys who were terrified of the people. And despite some populist changes such as the direct election of senators the government is still designed to be as remote as possible from those it should represent.

Anyone know if Gravel had any new ideas for how to get out of Iraq peacefully - or does he gain his notoriety by criticizing other's creative ideas and attacking their character?

Reed, that's great.

Because of the heated debate with me posting an article pointing out all the money from Corporations to B O by Josh Frank, and Tom being the watch dog and posting one trashing Al Gore that Josh Frank wrote last year. I went to his website and saw that that he declared Senator Gravel the winner of the debate. LOL

Hopefully he won't attempt to smear Gravel because that must be wrong if Frank said so. :)

20. high boots :-)

There is nothing wrong with drawing negative conclusions about  someone who bad-mouthed someone I support and respect.  I don't need to know him.

The difference in you and Gravel is he knows all about who he badmouths. 

The difference in you and Gravel is he knows all about who he badmouths

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

Like you Sitka, right?

Anyone know if Gravel had any new ideas for how to get out of Iraq peacefully

Like you Sitka, right?

I guess I'm comparable to Gravel in that regard. 

I've only heard of three ideas that might get us out of Iraq...impeachment so these a$$holes can be put under oath, Phil's paygo the supplemental by rescinding the tax cuts and Gravel's make it unlawful to stay/filibuster...any better suggestions?

Gravel's website could not handle the flood of hits after the debate, they said.

This about when Dean started to take off back in 04. 

Fred, do you want to see the video of Gravel highlights of the debate that will help answer your questions? Instead of taking our word?

He said "you pass a law...a LAW, making it a felony to continue the war.....(and more"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gMlHv2lD...

Gravel's make it unlawful to stay.

That's what Rep. David Obey says he wants to do. 

listener, yes, that happened some time ago, unfortunately. Oh, yes, wouldn't be surprised, NBC is VERY NeoCon pro Bush.

But I though I saw it again recently when I was doing a search on Youtube, I will have to go check.

LISTENER...I ALREADY FOUND IT!!!! WOOOHOOOO

ON YOU TUBE ...and you don't have to download like Crooks and Liars...here ya' go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gMlHv2lD...

I'm grateful for you checking, Linda.  XOXOXXX

my pleasure listener...only it is different... spanish subtitles along the bottom. But hay, more the merrier to enjoy, right?

I can watch that appearance nonstop, so I'm happy you brought it up for me to find it. Thank you.

34.
I hadn't heard that Sitka...when did Obey say that?

Linda*in*SFNM
Wed, 05/02/07
9:48 pm

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

Thanks, Linda, I'll watch it after The News Hour.

wOOt, Linda!   THAT'S THE ONE!   Bloggers RULE!  LOL!

Linda 38.    I am still holding out hope that Gore will enter the race. 

                     It's my favourite SNL clip ever~!! 

42.
Is that the clip where he's president...the link doesn't work for me

I hadn't heard that Sitka...when did Obey say that?

Oddly enough, when he was attacking anti-war Democrats...

listener, me too. I am hopeful that he will decide to. The signs are good. The support is overwhelming. Remain hopeful.


Reed yes, that one. Here try again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4Y9M1ztx...

listener...do you want some buttons?

Thanks, linda, for that link. I had only heard truncated clips of Gravel's comments. The more I see, the more i like.

The First Refugees of Global Warming
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/050207EA.shtml
Bangladesh, which has 140 million people packed into an area a little smaller than Illinois, is one of the most vulnerable places as climate changes. As the sea level slowly rises, this nation, which is little more than a series of low-lying delta islands amid some of Asia's mightiest rivers, is seeing saltwater creep into its coastal soils and drinking water. Scientists say that in many ways it represents climate change's "perfect storm" of challenges because the country is extremely poor, extremely populated and extremely susceptible.

Al Gore, dammit! 

Does Gravel's age bother anyone?  He looks and acts young but I still find it a bit troubling.  He certainly needs to be high profile in any dem regime but I don't see the so-called leaders calling on him.

That's a straw argument. Iraq can't be gotten out of peacefully.

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

You make it sound like a scientific priniciple.  With Bush, maybe not, but for you to make such a statement with such certainty reveals how sophomoric you are.  I listen to the people who live there and study the situation and they would be hard pressed to state such a fact without reservation.

There will never be 100% peace.  We don't even have that here, but there is a minimal level for which  we can seek and strive

If the bees go, can we be far behind?  This story has dropped off the news..

Deserted Beehives, Starving Young Stun Scientists
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/050207EC.shtml
"The bees were gone," David Hackenberg says. "The honey was still there. There are young brood (eggs) still in the hive. Bees just don't do that." On that November night last year in the Florida field where he wintered his bees, Hackenberg found 400 hives empty. Another 30 hives were "disappearing, dwindling or whatever you want to call it," and their bees were "full of a fungus nobody's ever seen before."

I listen to the people who live there and study the situation.......

LOL. All you listen to and study (and then regurgitate) are NeoCon talking points.

But I must admit to mispeaking Iraq can be gotten out of peacefully in one of two ways -- winning or telling everyone in Iraq when we'll leave. Trouble is, the former can never happen and the latter won't with Bush.

Does Gravel's age bother anyone?

I don't know his age nor do I care. I'll take one smart and honest old man over a dozen stupid and corrupt young ones -- or Hillary.

There will never be 100% peace.

Just an "acceptable level of violence"? 

49.
Sea,
Age is a number...aging is contingent with each person...I know 50 yr. olds in a nursing home and the 93 yr. old that I care take for is home alone recovering from a broken hip, still heating with wood, smoking cigarettes, drinking scotch and reads books rather than watches tv because nothing good is ever on.

There will never be 100% peace.  We don't even have that here

Now where have I heard that before?

"...there is an acceptable level of violence in all societies. Even our own"

There will never be 100% peace.

Just an "acceptable level of violence"?

============

sounds like you think any level of violence is acceptable, as long as we can get the hell out ASAP

Fred, do you want to see the video of Gravel highlights of the debate that will help answer your questions? Instead of taking our word?

==========================

Well I was not really impressed - but I can see why some here are ga-ga for the guy.  He made a big splash scolding Obama, Hillary, etc for the tough words on Iraq, but he can across like a guy in a bar who just had an argument with his teenage son.

Thankful - e-mail me. Diane has the gift in that you asked her to order.

And, as always, it is so very good to be here among friends.

49.

seashell

I remember hearing him the first time. He said, "people worried about my age, don't, I'll get a young VP".

Reed...Scotch...what kind? You all have Tamnavulin! Yum. Got to know it in Seattle, couldn't get it in Cinci,....but New Hampshire and Vermont.....in Grocery Stores even...and on sale! :)

Linda 46.  Just saw your note.

listener...do you want some buttons?

Gore buttons?  Sure!  

We might need to wait until he announces...?

Fred  55.  Can't remember if it was ABC or CBS news tonight that said Bush is very concerned about leaving before working out protection for the oil.  Something tells me that has nothing to do with the natives.

Oops...I meant Fred 58.

59
"he can across like a guy in a bar who just had an argument with his teenage son".
Do you have a teenage son Fred?

Thanks David!

sounds like you think any level of violence is acceptable, as long as we can get the hell out ASAP

As I pointed out to you earlier, the only level of violence that's certain is the current and growing one under Bush's occupation.

Is the RNC faxing you your talking points these days? 

47 Sitka, you're welcome.

___________

Fred, to each his own, but here, take a look at these. Alot of work put in by Reed on personal interview with his speaking not being hampered at all that he broke up in to segments.

I made a post with the first 4 segments here.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/30/...

Gravel accused Biden of being arrogant for "telling the Iraqi people how to run their own country"

How many trips to Iraq has Gravel made and talked to Journalists who see the carnage on a daily basis?

Has anyone told him that nobody is really running the country but many are conducting a civil war?  That nobody can run the country until there is law and order and people can agree on civil procedures and laws without being interrupted by continuous car bombings?

There needs to be change in Iraq and we do have to plan an exit strategy, but Gravel talks like he lives on another planet.

Is the RNC faxing you your talking points these days? 

==================

one more jerk-off-the-wall remark by Sitka

60.
She likes Johnny Walker red...and you know me...Molson : )

BBL

69.
Fred, you seem to be on another planet...jmo and to quote you..."18...There is nothing wrong with drawing negative conclusions about someone who bad-mouthed someone I support and respect."

later listener ♥

Linda, Edwin turned me on to Balvenie, yum. haven't heard of Tamnavulin but will check it out one of these days.

I love the quote about getting a young VP.

I like him.  He's not polished or studied and he speaks his mind.  The CMW discount him much too easily but w/o press, can he move forward?  Even with grass seeds behind him?  Look what the press did to Howard and that's why I still think the fix is in for Clinton/Obama.

Still in love with Dean and waiting for Gore.

anyone else hear the NPR report on suicide bombers today?

Iraq had never had a single one til we got there.

There has never been a Shia suicide bomber yet.

listener...you have dfa link.

________________________________

Reed...ouch Johny Walker Red...ouch...bold. I remember ...years ago, when I used to travel to the Caribbean alot, back then in the 80's booze was so cheap, before it became "a market". You could buy name brand Ameretto Di Sorono, Stoli's, Tanqueraay, Johnny Walker...all of that for only 2 -3 bucks a bottle. I was never a heavy drinker, but though it was fun to be able to buy that stuff for so cheap. OH, I remember how excited I was to try Johnny Walker when I got home. I screamed OMG, this is what everyone raves about? LOL That was rough.

Thankful, I'll have to keep and eye out for that. Neil said he hasn't seen it either. But we keep moving to areas that limit what is broght in. We kinda' understood Cinci, because Kentucky was right over the river and Neil used to drive by Jim Beam Factory daily to go to work, but here?????

I tried ordering it and they won't bring it in. Can't even get Cardhu....Neil is REALLY not happy 'bout that.

But do try it. Any one we've turned on to it, have totally enjoyed and bought it themselves. It is smooth and spicy...quite unusual. I guess it's similar to the aged Glenmorangie .

69.
Fred, you seem to be on another planet...

=============================

I live on a planet where one country destroys another country into civil chaos and hell, and then leaves a mess without doing anything to help them return to civil law and order - saying , I didn't do that to you - it was the other party and they're  not in power any more.

What planet do you live on?

Wild Turkey is in season.

www.wildturkeybourbon.com/ 

An Evening With
Mahatma Gandhi

On Becoming Worthy of Peace in Our World

In support of Santa Fe’s World Peace Conference in May,
a performance of

“An Evening with Mahatma Gandhi”

will be held on
Saturday, May 19th, at 7pm in the Unitarian Church of Santa Fe

Mr. Gandhi, portrayed by Don McAvinchey, will begin with a meditation/prayer;
we will feature live meditative music on Indian instruments; an address:
“On Becoming Worthy of Peace”;
Satsang with questions and answers;
and a final meditation.

Suggested donation of $5-$10 Info: Don McAvinchey, 955-1847
A Soul Theater Production CoachDon@DonMcAvinchey.com

80.

Phil Specht

That seems to be a favorite here.

31.
Linda*in*SFNM
Wed, 05/02/07
9:48 pm

================

well I wonder what  Gravel  is smoking?  His "national initiative" is nonsense.  If you think we have special interests controlling the country now, wait until corporate America starts writing initiatives and clogging the airwaves with sophisticated brainwash to get people to vote for them.

75. I'll be surprised if he hats as far as Dean, but time will tell.

78. gotta love a woman who knows her scotch!

80. LOL

Phil, but of course, I'm not in Bourbon land anymore.

I was a fan of Bookers.

Daniel Rooney wins the thread -- I like the post about Loose Change (this is that movie about 9/11 being an inside job made by students nicely presented) being shown on Virgin Atlantic. Not sure I want to see planes flying into buildings when I'm flying tho.

Also, really humorous about physicians vs guns. Actually I think it's our food killing us (and our furry family) these days.

Hoping for beddie bye soon. One final to give tomorrow at 8:30 then I'm done till July yea!

I have a little dilemma. This being FL and the warm weather and all, the house is wide open. As a result there is a large spider living on the one end of the house, so I vacated to the other end. Then today I found one of of the cat's tailless geckos in the other end. SOOOO where do I sleep? I think I'll stick with the gecko.

I know I'm rambling, but at least it's not about the WGLB :~) I'll leave you to ponder that one.

Nite all.

going next door (cable tv not on me side of the house) to watch the Colbert report then zzzville. I will check out the Tamnavulin but as a gift...fire water is not good for me I've learned through trial and error.

Fred...get real...the longer we stay the worse it gets. The only reason we're there is for oil...you be an easy fish to catch with Republican bait.

Umbrella hat is coming off...done with pissing contest.

It's just that you keep parroting Bush and the NeoCons. 

Reed, did you receive the email about Gravel on Colbert?

I'm looking at the TV, but it doesn't list him as a guest?


"Senator Gravel On The Colbert Report Update
Democratic Presidential Candidate Mike Gravel will appear on the Colbert Report tomorrow evening, Wednesday May 2.

The Colbert Report airs on Comedy Central at 11:30pm EST - 10:30pm CST"


I'm so confused.

local news carried more pictures of the police riot from yesterday

Nite Annilow

OK online says Senator Gravel.

MIke Gravel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Gravel

Phil, did you see the video I posted of it?
http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/pages/Home/...

OK, time for Colbert.

It's just that you keep parroting Bush and the NeoCons

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

AND YOU KEEP SLANDERING ME WITH YOUR STUPID SHIT

Ms Merkel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~could be worse Fred 

Fred...get real...the longer we stay the worse it gets.

==================

You really are dense, arent you?  I never beat my wife - and that's that.

facts: end the war=end the violence=end the deaths=something better than the present.

take your projected plans for peace and make them real.

where does it stop?

biden is a fool.

mprov
Wed, 05/02/07
11:37 pm

=================

You are a fool if you can sit back in your cushy American living room and think we can walk away from this horrible civil war that we created, and wash our hand (that will never happen) and keep our integrity as a great country of high moral integrity.

Biden carries that weight with him and it shows

You can cheap shot what I say, as right wing support, but that is bullshit - everyone who has ever been to Iraq, right or left, knows the gravity of which I speak . It has nothing to do with the right wing. They are going in the wrong direction.

Fred...get real...the longer we stay the worse it gets. The only reason we're there is for oil...you be an easy fish to catch with Republican bait.

===============

You are so blind with self-righteousness that you don't see that not only are you totally wrong in you perception of me, but that your rhetoric is what give the right wing's rhetoric so much validity in many people's eyes because it is so blindsided.

I am being attacked on this blog for my concern of what we do before leaving - NOT how long we stay - that is your assinine assumption you have no right to project upon me

Slander is when one speaks. Libel is when one writes. I've done neither -- just pointed out the consistencies between your words and Bush's with regard to Iraq.

If you can't do the time, don't parrot the line. 

oops. Rotten veggies flying....  Getting the heck outta here til it calms down a bit.

87.
Reed in VT
Wed, 05/02/07
11:18 pm

The only reason we're there is for oil...

===========================

no shit Sherlock - I was against the invasion from the start. 

I was even against Afghanistan - we didn't need a war to catch BinLadin, just intelligence.

98.
Personal attacks usually happen in the throes of a losing argument. I'm glad you never beat your wife, for whatever reason you said it?

==========

All you can do is name-call and call those who disagree with you, a Neocon - it really sucks Sitka and you do it - like clockwork - you are such a predictable ass.

Reed in VT
Thu, 05/03/07
12:07 am

================

a reference to the "Are you still beating your wife?" below the belt shot

I *stumbled* up on this and it's glorious.

Just down the road from the Fair Hill Training Center, at Prizzio's grocery and deli, horsemen gather for bowls of steaming crab soup. Last week, the owners took down the collage of press clippings. They know Michael Matz, the trainer, is coming back from Florida soon, and they want him to eat lunch without staring at the biggest loss of his racing life. They want to help him move on. Indeed, since the Jan. 29 death of Barbaro, all of the horse's connections, the men and women who saw him every day, are beginning to move on. It's time.

"It's not a parable," says Dr. Dean Richardson, who led the eight-month fight to save Barbaro. "It's a real story to me."

The fans aren't there yet. The obsession that made them easy targets of bloggers and lampooners has, improbably, grown. They formed a circle, and even with the horse no longer in the middle, the circle remains. His death only binds this community tighter. They've become apostles in the church of Barbaro.

So far, they've raised more than $250,000 and saved more than 580 horses from slaughter. They've turned their sights on federal horse slaughter laws, burning up the phone lines. Their fervor can be mistaken for the handiwork of professional political operatives. One congressional aide, after yet another call, finally asked: Who is funding you? Who is organizing you? Who are you people?

much more...to bring tears to your eyes

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=derby 

Just had to duck a rotten rutabaga!  Out again...to look up the spelling of rutabaggie rootabagai rutabagiue

Hey, I was right....rutabaga!   (ouch) 

Nuclear Storm Gathers as Climate Change Experts Meet

Scientists Protest New Reading of Endangered Species Act

Just when we think putz couldn't be a worse embarrassment, he is.

6:15 PM ET
From 'The Decider' to 'Commander Guy' to 'Veto Man'?

By E&P Staff

Published: May 02, 2007

Just when the press had pretty much exhausted every joking play on President Bush's self-proclaimed nickname "The Decider" he handed them another on a platter today: "The Commander Guy."

In a speech to the Associated General Contractors of America, a construction industry trade group, today in Washington, he discussed his current tussle with Congress over troop levels and funding for Iraq.
“The question is, ‘Who ought to make that decision, the Congress or the commanders?,’’ Bush said. “As you know, my position is clear – I’m the commander guy.” So he vetoed the congressional initiative in this area.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003580057 

seashell
Thu, 05/03/07
12:21 am

==============

sorry seashell but when suffer the slings of bullshit and the arrows of nonsense, I get carried away and my Newark, New Jersey personality emerges.

Well, we could always start referring to putz as

KISS  ...   Killing is super strategic.

Nah, there must be something better.  

KAL  ...  Killer at Large ?

DWOB...Drunk without Booze?

Actually, Putz is fairly good for the *commander guy."  He's about what now, 12, 13? 

Deep breaths, Fred.  We're all on the same team, even tho we have differences. :-)

| STORE

seashell
Thu, 05/03/07
12:34 am

==============

but some people cannot see beyond the sound bite or the bumper sticker and - in lieu of thinking in broader terms - tend to put anything that doesn't agree with their narrow framework - into the category of opposing their sound bite or bumper sticker.

I find it discouraging that we have such rigid time limits on our *debates.*  But then, I spose that'a a reflection of this surface rigid society and controlled press.  At least the French are getting that right.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6614709.stm 

SecState Condi Rice.  Gives me a nice warm secure feeling!  Yuk.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version

Two days of talks will bring together diplomats from wealthy nations and regional powers in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Delegates are to endorse a five-year International Compact for Iraq (ICI), giving support in exchange for reforms.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has not ruled out side talks with the Iranian and Syrian foreign ministers.

The two meetings - the international conference, which will be held on Friday, and the ICI meeting - will be "parallel but independent", Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said last month.

Representatives of Iraq's neighbours, including Iran and Syria, as well as of the G8 and EU are due to attend.

'Honest dialogue'

The presence of high-level diplomats from the US, Iran and Syria has sparked speculation of possible talks between them on the sidelines.

I think I can handle any question that is asked of me
Condoleezza Rice
US secretary of state
Q&A: Sharm el-Sheikh conferences Tough issues in Egypt Ms Rice said she would not avoid an exchange with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki should it happen.

"I think I can handle any question that is asked of me," she said.

People should leave sound bites and bumper stickers to the pundits, and spend more time thinking about what bigger picture is.

Kadima lawmakers met in special session after Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called on Mr Olmert to quit over his handling of last year's Lebanon war.

The results of an inquiry into the government's handling of the conflict were highly critical of Mr Olmert.

Israel's parliament will debate the findings in a special session.

Mr Olmert has said he will not quit but will implement the changes recommended by the report.

After a six-month investigation led by retired judge Eliahu Winograd, Mr Olmert was accused of "serious failure in exercising judgement, responsibility and prudence".

The BBC's Tim Franks, in Jerusalem, says that for the time being the prime minister is fighting back.

I am in a personally uncomfortable position
Ehud Olmert
Israeli prime minister
Olmert's support fades away However, despite a dearth of popular replacements within the coalition it is hard to see Mr Olmert surviving in the long term, he adds.

Recent opinion polls have suggested that a majority of Israelis want Mr Olmert to stand down.

And thousands of people are expected to express their dissatisfaction at a protest rally in Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6617747.stm 

Gen Sir Michael Rose also told the BBC's Newsnight programme that the US and the UK must "admit defeat" and stop fighting "a hopeless war" in Iraq.

Iraqi insurgents would not give in, he said. "I don't excuse them for some of the terrible things they do, but I do understand why they are resisting."

The total number of UK troops killed in operations in Iraq stands at 147.

'Admit defeat'

Sir Michael has written a book drawing similarities between the tactics of insurgents and George Washington's men in America's War of Independence.

He told Newsnight: "As Lord Chatham said, when he was speaking on the British presence in North America, he said 'if I was an American, as I am an Englishman, as long as one Englishman remained on American native soil, I would never, never, never lay down my arms'.

It is the soldiers who have been telling me from the frontline that the war they have been fighting is a hopeless war
Gen Sir Michael Rose

"The Iraqi insurgents feel exactly the same way."

He said it was time to bring troops home.

"It is the soldiers who have been telling me from the frontline that the war they have been fighting is a hopeless war, that they cannot possibly win it and the sooner we start talking politics and not military solutions, the sooner they will come home and their lives will be preserved."

This meant the UK government would have to admit defeat, he added.

Gen Sir Michael Rose also told the BBC's Newsnight programme that the US and the UK must "admit defeat" and stop fighting "a hopeless war" in Iraq.

Iraqi insurgents would not give in, he said. "I don't excuse them for some of the terrible things they do, but I do understand why they are resisting."

The total number of UK troops killed in operations in Iraq stands at 147.

'Admit defeat'

Sir Michael has written a book drawing similarities between the tactics of insurgents and George Washington's men in America's War of Independence.

He told Newsnight: "As Lord Chatham said, when he was speaking on the British presence in North America, he said 'if I was an American, as I am an Englishman, as long as one Englishman remained on American native soil, I would never, never, never lay down my arms'.

It is the soldiers who have been telling me from the frontline that the war they have been fighting is a hopeless war
Gen Sir Michael Rose

"The Iraqi insurgents feel exactly the same way."

He said it was time to bring troops home.

"It is the soldiers who have been telling me from the frontline that the war they have been fighting is a hopeless war, that they cannot possibly win it and the sooner we start talking politics and not military solutions, the sooner they will come home and their lives will be preserved."

This meant the UK government would have to admit defeat, he added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6618075.stm 

Alcoholics, whether wet or dry, have one huge common problem.  They can't admit defeat.  Sound familiar?

Altho I wouldn't wish diabetes on anyone, this could have a silver lining in slowing population growth.

Tests showed DNA in sperm from diabetic men had more signs of damage than in men without the condition.

Defective sperm DNA is one cause of male infertility, pregnancy failure and miscarriage but the implications for sperm affected by diabetes is unknown.

Writing in Human Reproduction, the team said the findings were worrying given rapidly rising rates of diabetes and more research was needed.

The study of 56 sperm samples is the first to compare the quality of DNA in sperm from men with and without diabetes.

Although there is no significant evidence that men with diabetes are less fertile, or their children less healthy, it is of some concern that more of their sperm DNA may be damaged
Dr Allan Pacey, Sheffield University

Around 52% of the DNA in the sperm cells was fragmented in diabetic men compared with 32% in men without the condition.

The study also found a higher rate of deletions of DNA in the mitochondria - tiny, energy-generating compartments found within cells.

Semen volume was significantly less in diabetic men, but there were no significant differences in sperm concentration, structure of the sperm or their ability to move.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6615261.stm 

Studies have shown that severe calorie restriction markedly extends lifespan in mice and many other species - but the reasons for this remained elusive.

But now US research on nematode worms, published in Nature, has uncovered a gene linked to this unusual effect.

In the future, the find could lead to drugs that mimic the consequences of calorie restriction but negate the need for severe fasting regimes.

 Sweet-spot

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6612411.stm 

Well,  we all needed that long double post, didn't we?  LOL

Done for now.  Love one another.

By George - we've got him!   Bush on winning in Iraq:   “’Just an acceptable level of violence”.   Try to think that one through, we know he didn't.  Just what DID our great Democrats say to him (threaten him with) in their meeting today????

With all the corruption going on in Iraq – who’s keeping track of the oil?

NO ONE.   The oil metering system that is supposed to monitor how much crude flows out- has not worked since the March 2003  U.S. invasion of Iraq. hmmmmmmm.   The meters don't work or they're missing or turned off - nobody's quite sure.  The two U.S. companies hired to repair the meters; Halliburton  and Parsons say the four year delay is due to ‘security problems’.  http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/51218/

So no one knows how much oil is coming out of Iraq or where it's going  or who is really profiting from it.  Obviously - not the Iraqi people.  The Iraqi people say it's being stolen....... Anybody investigating this?   

You just need to be careful about whose words you borrow. I realize that just because you talk like a NeoCon you aren't necessarily one. And a lot of Democrats make the same mistake as you. 

You creeped me out a bit with that one. Diabetes can be deadly.

As for me, finding out I'm hyperglycemic was the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. It motivated me to change my stupid eating habits and get my blood sugar down to normal levels. I've lost 50 pounds in the past 65 days and feel like i'm 25 again. I'm determined to lose 50 more and get to my ideal wieight.

I realize diabetes can be deadly.  So can over-population.

Again, I wouldn't wish any illness on anyone.

Sitka, congrats on losing all that weight and I'm happy you're feeling so good.

At the beginning of the war, I heard a snippet only once and then it disappeared...that the oil was going to Israel.  Does that make sense?  Are there pipelines?  I haven't a clue but I heard something about protecting the Israeli pipeline.

I'm prolly not remembering this correctly. 

How come Gravel isn't on Colbert?

I realize diabetes can be deadly.  So can over-population.

I'd rather have condoms than diabetes. 

Sitka, agreed.  But with these clowns in office, and if others like them get into office, even condoms will eventually be illegal.   Our negative preoccupation with *safe* sex is astonishing.  I'll take my chastity belt in fuchia, please.

So instead of having fun, happy lustful sex, let's bottle it up and invade countries and kill people and abuse our pets.  Oh, and buy more guns.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz 

Or at the very least, at least be paid not to have sex.  LOL

mike gravel is a joke.  i saw the debate.  he said america doesn't have any real enemies.   he will get 1% in the polls less than dennis the menace kucinich.  hahaha what a loser. 

well i was having some insomnia and thought i would surf the net on the pc.  i read some of the entries on this blog, they are pretty funny.  yall are a hoot.  anyway i have a job to go to tomorrow (im not on welfare) so I best go back to catching my zs.

goodnight

Good morning, everybody

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Rich text in Opera, that is. Yesterday it did fine. Then I come back this morning and don't even get a cursor. Weird.

Anyway, we had our Link meeting and met one of our Senate candidates. Attendance is still sort of thin, in part because so many of our members are in the legislature and otherwise busy little bees.

132.

Sea, there's an old pipeline route traversing parts of Jordan, Lebanon and going to the sea at Haifa, I think.

Jeeze no one can play nice tonight, blog or real world. heh.

I saw a girl fall off my bar and get a pour spout impaled in her eye tonight. Wow.

Nothing on what our boy and girls see every day in Iraq, but damn..

~D

Fred

you have been opposing the partition of Palestine for weeks, are you going to spend weeks extolling the virtue of the partition of Iraq? Don't you see the contradiction? It's your right of course. Contradict yourself if you please.

another thread filled with Fred's animosity - I'm curious, Fred whether you've even read the Iraq funding bill passed by Congress. apparently not. you appear to think that it says we're just leaving the country outright, complains we aren't fixing it. I'd like to see us be a party to repairing the damage we've caused, but here we are, billions of $$$$ worth of failed projects later - just how much more SHOULD we pump into the country until they get a handle on things? read the bill Fred, then come back and we'll see if you can continue to spin it like the republicans are doing - that is one of the biggest reasons you sound like a neocon, Fred - you've bought their spin - hook, line and sinker.

and I find it laughable that you are complaining about 'personal attacks' here - you throw them out every time you're on the blog - even when you have a simple disagreement with a post where no attack upon you is present. your own comments create your experience here, Fred.

we all get on jags here once in a while

I'm sure everyone is aware of my drumbeat to support Rangel's proposal to "adjust the tax rates" to paygo the supplemental.

Send Bush a clean bill like that and the war will be over in a blink of the eye.

as for your comment, Fred, that the enemy wants us to leave Iraq - bullshit.

every day we're there more Americans die

every day we're there more Americans are divided

every day we're there more people in the middle east hate us

every day we're there our military is further strained and diminished - creating REAL security problems

every day we're there the Haliburtons and the oil barons of the world grow stronger, ensuring the corporatists and the industrial military complex has a stronger hold on our world

every day we're there our treasure is spent for little if any gain

every day we're there our standing on the world stage sinks lower and lower.

to me that sounds like a winning strategy for the enemy. Osama, indeed all enemies of the United States, must be gleeful in our ignorance.

Andrew Cooper
Thu, 05/03/07
6:03 am

>

I think it was a full moon yesterday?  

~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~

Had a nice visit and vittles with Thankful yesterday (full moon was not a factor as all was good). 

Scrappy overnight!

http://www.counterpunch.org/block05022007.html

Wake up and smell the sex! It's late Spring on the Potomac, and once again that unmistakable odeur erotique is in the air. So let's dance around the Maypole, Brothers and Sisters, Lovers and Sinners: It's time for Hookergate: Part II!

Those of us who enjoy the incriminating aroma of illicit sex between powerful political animals and well-heeled, high-priced call-girls might recall the sizzling bouquet of Hookergate: Part I, when about a year ago in this same Springy season, currently incarcerated Republican Congressman and former House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Randall "The Duke" Cunningham, as well as former CIA Director Porter Goss and his aptly named protégé Kyle "Dusty" Foggo of Foggy Bottom, all got caught with their proverbial pants down and their wieners frying on the barbie of the defense contractor-financed Poker 'n' Prostitutes parties at the notorious old Watergate Hotel.

Every good sexcapade deserves a sequel, and so this Spring, we roll out another randy Republican Randall Scandal. This episode stars United States Deputy Secretary of State Randall L. Tobias, the 65-year-old married former CEO of Eli Lily (when its stock rose 440% thanks to Prozac sales). Last Friday, Randall II resigned, shortly after confirming to ABC's Brian Ross that he had indeed patronized the Pamela Martin escort service, owned by the notorious "DC Madame," a.k.a. Miz Julia, a.k.a., Deborah Jean Palfrey, former law student and entrepreneur. Palfrey describes her company as "a high-end adult fantasy firm which offered legal sexual and erotic services across the spectrum of adult sexual behavior." The Feds say it was a call-girl service that dispatched college-educated hotties to Beltway clients paying some $300 per hour.

Of course, some Repugs are happy that, after the gay humiliations of Congressman Mark Foley, the Reverend Ted Haggard and rumors of Jeff Gannon/Jim Guckert's multiple White House sleepovers, this scandal involves some adult women. Nevertheless, opponents of the Bush regime should also rejoice to see such prototypical hypocrites and warmongers go down in the scarlet flames of a call-girl scandal.

http://www.counterpunch.org/blank05022007.html

 Worst U.S. Massacre?

The mass media coverage of how 32 students and faculty members were fatally shot and at least 15 injured on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va., is punctuated by phrases such as, "the worst massacre in U.S. history," or, as the New York Times put it, the "Worst U.S. Gun Rampage." CNN called it the "Deadliest Shooting Rampage in U.S. history."

There were much bloodier massacres before Blacksburg:

-- In 1860, Bret Harte, a well-known California writer, had just begun his writing career, working as a newspaper reporter in Arcata (known then as Union). Harte was expelled from Humboldt County because he recorded the Gunther Island Massacre of Wiyot Indians, committed on Feb. 26, 1860, when a small group of white men murdered between 60 and 200 Wiyot men, women and children. The massacre was encouraged by a local newspaper. Extermination was once the official policy of the California government toward Native Americans, as Gov. Peter H. Burnett stated in 1851: "That a war of extermination will continue to be waged between the two races until the Indian race becomes extinct, must be expected..."

-- On April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow, near Memphis, Tenn., Confederate troops under Gen. Nathan Forrest massacred 227 black and white Union troops with such ferocity that an eyewitness Confederate soldier said, "blood, human blood, stood about in pools and brains could have been gathered up in any quantity...Gen. Forrest ordered them shot down like dogs and the carnage continued. Finally our men became sick of blood and the firing ceased."

-- On April 13, 1873, 350 miles northwest of New Orleans in Colfax, Grand Parish, La., 280 blacks were victims of a group of armed white men that included members of the White League and the Ku Klux Klan. Known as the Colfax Massacre, it was said to be sparked by contested local elections, although more generally its cause was white opposition to Reconstruction, which in 1875 resulted in a legal ruling, United States vs. Cruikshank, an important basis of future gun-control legislation, because it allows that "the federal government had no power to protect citizens against private action (not committed by federal or state government authorities) that deprived them of their constitutional rights under the 14th Amendment."

-- In 1913, during another nationally publicized action known as the Ludlow Massacre, more than 66 people were killed, including 11 children, and two women who were burned alive. Sparked by a strike against the Rockefeller family-owned Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation by the mostly foreign born Serb, Greek and Italian coal miners after one of their union organizers was murdered, it eventually involved the Colorado National Guard, imported strikebreakers and sympathetic walkouts by union miners throughout the state. The union never was recognized by the company, and a U.S. congressional committee investigation failed to result in indictments of any militiaman or mine guard.

-- In 1921, a year when 64 lynchings were reported, the African American Greenwood business district of Tulsa, Okla., was the site of shooting deaths of at least 40 people, most of whom were black, although the undocumented death toll is said to be closer to 300. This site was then known as the "Negro's Wall Street," and was home to 15,000 people and 191 businesses. The rampage took the form of a riot, and was caused by economic tensions, particularly sparked by an article in the Tulsa Tribune regarding an alleged rape incident between a black shoe shiner and a white elevator operator. Because of this riot, Tulsa became the first U.S. city to be bombed from the air, when police dropped dynamite from private planes to break it up. Whites took possession of most of the land, and the site has become part of Oklahoma State University's Tulsa campus.

it's hard to believe after all these years that this administration can still surprise me with their foolishness, but here's another one. it is astounding the range of people they are afraid of:

NYTimes Editorial, May 3, 2007

Unwanted Folk

Joan Baez sang at Woodstock. If you recognize either name, you probably already knew that. If you don’t, go to Google, then come back and help us puzzle something out.

Why would the Army be afraid of her?

Last Friday, John Mellencamp gave a concert for injured soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Ms. Baez, a friend who’d been invited by Mr. Mellencamp, did not. She was barred by Army brass, supposedly because of the lateness of the invitation, although Mr. Mellencamp’s camp suggested it was because she was considered objectionable.

Objectionable for what? To whom?

Mr. Mellencamp and Ms. Baez are both politically outspoken. Both have denounced the Iraq war. Yet Mr. Mellencamp’s activism is the kind the Army could more easily overlook. He wears a T-shirt and jeans and sings songs so down-home, so red, white and blue, that you could use them to sell Chevy trucks, which Mr. Mellencamp has actually done. “Let’s forget about any problems we might have and let’s just have a good time,” Mr. Mellencamp told his audience in what The Washington Post reported was a rousing and apolitical show.

Although Ms. Baez is as much of an activist as ever — she camped in a tree last year to stop the bulldozing of an urban farm — she would probably have shown similar tact. In a letter in The Post yesterday, she said she regretted not having given soldiers a better welcome home from Vietnam, and would have loved to sing at Walter Reed.

What is astounding is that somebody apparently could not get past the image of willowy Joan singing “Blowin’ in the Wind” nearly 40 years ago and thought troops so young they wouldn’t know Mimi Fariña from Cream of Wheat couldn’t or wouldn’t abide her presence.

They say generals are always fighting the last war. But Vietnam was two wars ago, three if you count the war on terror.

============

impeach now.

Gore/Dean in 08!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/world/...

Iraqi Blocs Opposed to Draft Oil Bill

By EDWARD WONG and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: May 3, 2007

In Iraq, the Kurds have taken issue with a new provision that was quietly packaged with the draft oil law by the Shiite-led Oil Ministry last month. The measure would essentially cede control of the management of nearly all known oil fields and related contracts to a state-run oil company to be established after passage of the law, said a spokesman for the Kurdish regional government.

---------

Stuck in a rut and looking stupid.

We invaded a country. We said it was to rid WMD. There was none. Then it became to "free oppressed people". That was done years ago.

But our Government wanted to stay. So they came up with reason 3, 4, 5 when we said it was time to leave. Everyday becomes worse, because we are still there, occupying a country, trying to take the oil they claimed they weren't taking us to war for. Then came a little honesty with reason 6, FOR OIL. That doesn't give us any right, that makes it that much more vile that KIC (Killer in Charge)took us to war, an agressive attack, illegal and massive destruction and still occupying another country. They damn well want us out, just as we do. It's the only plan since our invasion that makes sense.

Out of Iraq Now.

Amazing stuff, huh, Huron (didn't want to call you John after reading that article) :)

This goes way beyond hypocrisy.

We now have plenty of proof of their constant projection. What ever they blame others for, is what they do and what ever they swear to oppose or protect from, is really because they do it and in many cases, probably WRONG.

Yes, again, the one who freaks and starts irrationally name calling and attacking is usually the guilty person projecting.

I cannot believe the Army wouldn't let Joan Baez perform for the wounded soldiers, but let John Mellancamp.

Politics out of care for our soldiers? If it isn't her politics, was it because she was a woman, not a man as Mellancamp.......ewwww. We can't even claim it was her politics, I don't know what her politics are. I do know she was opposed to this war. OMG would the Military actually stop her from performing just because she was opposed to this war? Hmmm, Mellancamp is opposed to this war. ....???? (sic)

Behold, a new thread.