Howard is first and I'm out the door. 

Good article from the Seattle PI about Yearly Kos....Dean mentioned as well.  

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1415

"In 2004, early, fiery opposition to the Iraq war helped the Web-fueled campaign of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean raise a phenomenal $41 million.

The "Deaniac" was back here Thursday night in his new capacity as Democratic national chairman and was greeted by the liberal bloggers with an ovation that would have sent Barbra Streisand to bed happy."

Also another good blog article...

 http://www.scrutinyhooligans.us:80/?p=3750

2. Auh, ha, ha....floridagal, thank you.   "greeted by the liberal bloggers with an ovations that would have sent Barbara Stresand to bed happy".

LOVE IT!

Here's the Roll Call for the FISA vote.

Wow, so Bush knew that Tillman's death was by friendly fire from the get-go. Why am I not surprised?

Time for that 28% to wake up and smell the coffee - this man is a bloody dangerous fake!

Trying again

I'm not into conspiracies but I wonder just how Pat Tillman really died.

Do you think immigrants take jobs away from Americans that nobody wants or..?

Take jobs nobody wants – 56%    Take jobs from Americans 27%

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

There are two questions there: 

High tech jobs take jobs away from Americans - absolutely - this is harvesting the exceptional genius brain power from poor countries that desperately need such people to teach and develop basic needs in those countries - simply to fatten the profits of American companies and their shareholders, and reduces their training costs.  It effects American white collar workers all the way down the food chain.  Stealing human resources is the 21st century version of rich countries stealing natural resources from poor countries.

Labor jobs?  These are jobs most Americans don't want - at least for the wages that immigrants will work for.

Fred -  Just a poll question on what most Americans believe, as compared to what Lou Dobbs tells us we believe. : )   Let's face it - it's imported slave labor.  I still call them 'refugees'.

Say Fred, do you know where -- 110,000 AK-47 assault rifles, 80,000 pistols, 135,000 items of body armour and 115,000 helmets are?   Neither does the military!  (somewhere in Iraq....)  BAGHDAD (AFP) According to the July 31 report, the Government Accountability Office, the military "cannot fully account for these items.   They've like - discappeared. : )  And we're blaming the Iranians for supplying the insurgents with weapons?   It' us!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070801/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestusweapons_070801145020

I am going to sort of brag again.  I posted it very late the other evening.   But it is so special. 

I heard from an historian in Florida that he has found a series of articles my great great grandfather wrote in 1871 in a newspaper..     He is going to reprint them and share them with our family.  In exchange I am sharing some family history with him.

I have looked for his diaires or journals all over Florida, but had no luck.  Then out of the blue comes this email.   Can you imagine how it will feel to read the words of my ancestor whom I have researched so long?  It will be a thrill.   He was such an impressive figure, but so real and so down to earth.  I could tell all that from my research. 

I am so happy about this.

Thanks (d)emocrat like Senators.  I'm what was that Feinstein said?  You think he wants too much power and once you give it,it's harder to take away?  NICE GOING IN VOTING FOR IT !

Congrats on the good news, floridagal. I saw your post about that really early this morning, and by the time I was officially "up" for the day, I'd forgotten that I meant to comment about it. That's very cool.

Spy Bill - Leaving aside the grave Constitutional issues involved...even if you were inclined to trash the Bill of Rights and give the Executive even more power than he already has, wouldn't the track record of said Executive give you at least some pause? Given the complete inability of Bush to do anything intelligent, constructive or behave in a forthright manner about anything over the past seven years, you'd think that the Senate would be pushing for more oversight, not less.

Protect us from terrorists? Hell, Bush hasn't even been able to protect us from telemarketers.

This bill is a disgrace.  Shame on the Democrats who voted yes.

Fred, yes.  So many folks think when they say immigrant work, they are talking only about Mexicans and that it's manual labor, that our government keeps telling them are jobs they won't do.

Immigrants do all kinds of jobs, and that's why it's harder to get paid and find a job.

  Roofing, Wood work, electrical, carpentry, plumbers, sales, cooks, programming, 

engineering, 

A study was also done that showed an employer would give a job to an immigrant

worker instead of an American worker to save an estimated $13,000 salary. 

On tech jobs, a study was just done and released in Computer World 

that had been tracking h1b's and companies filling them.  They would post 

fake jobs, keep them up for 10 days, claim no one applied for them and apply

for an immigrant worker.  

That is probably because they got called out for not posting 50,000

 jobs the year before last .

This is when our government will pay attention to polls, because the result 

will be what they want. 

YES!

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The District of Columbia has agreed to pay $1 million to about 120 protesters who were improperly rounded up by police during demonstrations against the invasion of Iraq (in your face, George)

13. Ted...YES!

15. Sam...EXCELLENT

 Floridagal, saw your great news.  Very exciting.

OK, night all.  

And may the guards of Democracy-you know, BLOGGERS, have a 

good night.

And may those sell outs sleep like he!!

You should all catch this evening's (12 a.m. that is here) show of Charlie Rose.

... Obama's campaign advisor is there. sheeeez

... Steve Coll from The New Yorker, what an idiot, thinks the U.S. can make Pakistan like Turkey with a new Constitution. (Yeah folks coz see how good a job we did in Iraq with that.)
AS IF!!

... Also Vali Nasr from The Council on Foreign Relations, an actual person of the region and with a brain cell or two.

THEN, and get this ROBERT NOVAK (excusing his and Armitages' treason in destroying the CIA's covert op and Ms. Plame) with his book. The Prince of Darkness

... very apt name.

I'll discuss this tomorrow or Sunday, but i want all of you to see it or read the transcript, esp Obama lovers.

... till then.

Interesting Video of Interview with Biden on MSNBC on several issues, mostly Iraq. (time 8:05 with 0:31 second commercial before.

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=b62f3f48-0539-4c8f-a864-b128945f203c&f=00&fg=copy

 ....For a year, Bongiorni and her young family tried to go without buying anything produced in China.

But the one area that posed an unexpected challenge was grocery shopping. She says it's almost impossible to tell which foods have ingredients from China. Watch grocery shopping with Bongiorni » (time 2:11)

In June, the United States banned five types of fish and shrimp from China because inspectors found traces of cancer-causing chemicals and antibiotics in the products.   See products that have been affected »....The following are among the top food products from China brought into the United States:

• Apple juice
• Mandarin oranges
• Confections/candy
• Dried garlic
• Cocoa butter
• Hog guts, bladders, stomachs for sausage casings
• Dry berries 

The United States requires labels on seafood to mark where it came from. However, that's the exception. With most foods, companies are not required to label where ingredients come from, only where the food was packaged or processed.

That means it is possible a frozen dinner, for example, could have 20 different ingredients from 20 different countries, food analysts say.

Michael Doyle, the director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, says the pet food recall earlier this year from a tainted Chinese ingredient, followed by the seafood ban, has brought renewed attention to "our potential issues with our food safety regarding Chinese imported foods." Watch strapped FDA only inspects 1 percent of incoming goods

"The Chinese have a long way to go to bring their standards up to ours," he says.

Doyle says it's incumbent upon food companies in the United States that bring food from China to be more vigilant about inspecting the products they bring in to "ensure that their foods are safe."

Some of the food products that come from China may surprise you. Take an American staple like apple juice. The USDA says 50 percent of the apple juice imported in the United States today comes from China. That's an estimated 161,000 tons of apple juice compared to the 110,000 tons produced in the United States, according to the USDA.

Garlic and pine nuts are also big exports. So are instant coffee and dried berries like the ones found in breakfast cereal. Test your knowledge on Chinese goods in the U.S. »

So, can you avoid eating foods with products from China? 

Experts say that is pretty much impossible. You can lower your chances of eating foods with Chinese products by staying away from all processed foods and eating fresh "whole foods," such as fruits and vegetables. Many grocery stores are beginning to label where their fruits and vegetables are grown.

Eden Foods, a provider of organic food in the United States, says the number of calls from customers asking for country of origin information has doubled in the past few months. Tonya Martin, a spokeswoman for Eden Foods, says the company foresees a day when it will change labels to indicate where each ingredient in a product comes from.

As for the Bongiorni household, there no longer is apple juice in the refrigerator, but she does buy cereal with freeze-dried strawberries -- potentially from China -- for her children...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/07/26/china.products/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

On Barack Obama’s comment about going into Pakistan:

“… in order to look tough, he’s undermined his ability to be tough, were he president. Because if you’re going to go into Pakistan you need actionable intelligence from moderates within Pakistan working with you. Now if you’re going to say, “I’m going to disregard whatever the country thinks and invade,” the likelihood you’re getting the cooperation you need evaporates. It’s a well intended notion he has, but it’s a very naïve way of figuring out how you’re going to conduct foreign policy.”

http://blog.joebiden.com/?cat=21

I have been awed by Howard Dean time and time again, but  this is one of the best political speeches in the history of civilization, and I don't say that lightly. BTW, I'm a pol junkie who's pushin' 40. This is a better speech, even, than the "What I wanna know" speech was. (or at least as good).

http://ustream.tv/channel/yearlykos-convention-2007

In fact, I refreshed this video 50 times over the course of an hour because it has global significance. I don't understand why it was so techno difficult, to watch this, but I persisted, and you should do. Don't give up. Keep refreshing.

 If you're on dial up, beg someone for a transcript.  I had to refresh 50 times, just to watch it on high speed.

 Howard is so brilliant in this speech....he has proven to be breath-takingly brilliant in the past, but he was soul-takingly brilliant as the keynote speech at YearlyKos.

I challange anyone to present a more relevant political speech that speaks not only to our collective future, but our collective soul in the last twenty years, or 120 years. I don't say this as  sycophant, but as someone, like you, who is on the same page and vision as Howard.

If it wasn't for the fact that I just shot my mouth off, I would say that I'm speechless! 

http://ustream.tv/channel/yearlykos-convention-2007

sycophant does not equal one who agrees with. It means one who doesn't agree with anything, until someone else tells them too.

I just got home from dancing and looked at the roll call.  I'm dumbstruck.  Just what expanded powers does he now have after having the power to peek into our mail, our checkbooks, our phone conversations, our health records?  I wanna know just what expanded powers he's been given by the sell-outs, dems and repugs, of our country and our Constitution. 

And why were so many dems not voting?  

The only thing that makes any sense is that putz has something big on many dems - something that would take them down.  Or.....they are planning on using all that power with a dem prez elected on 08.  I think, the way they're going, they will be very surprised.  

If I see no difference in foreign policy from the horrific war crimes now being perpetuated, I'll not vote for a dem prez.  Nopey nope!   Nor for a looney tune repug.

If Gore doesn't jump in, perhaps we could start a massive write in campaign for him.  If the dem nominee knows that many grassroots are jumping ship, ...oh I'm so tired on these people, so dreadfully tired of them.

The 20 or 30 odd percent that still back putz will not change.  They are religiously insane, thought-challenged and incapable of self-referral; meaning they can't distinguish themselves from putz.  ˇThey also, like him and Cheney,  are sociopaths unable to walk in another's shoes.

I grieve for our country that was.

I could only get snippets of Dean's speech and he's impassioned.   How will he back Hillary or Obomba?

Gore/Dean 

OMG!  Wake up Iowans!!!!  And the rest of you voters!

It is a testament to the triumph of positioning politics over common sense and sound national security strategy that Hillary Clinton has now raised the possibility of a nuclear strike.

Let us be blunt: It would be a profound and catastrophic disaster for America to launch a nuclear attack, as Hillary Clinton suggests may be proper. When he rules out a nuclear attack, Barack Obama is 100 percent right -- and when Hillary says she might do it, she is 100 percent wrong and for 100 percent the wrong reasons: her endless maneuvering and positioning.

Let's be clear: If there is actionable intelligence about Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan or Pakistan it would be proper to kill him through attacks via missiles or air power.

..and she also voted to give cheney more peeking power.  I hope Californians replace her.  Out out, Feinstein.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) tries too hard to appear moderate or centrist. In her apparent fear of being labeled with the "L-word", she often crosses over into dangerous territory.

She did it again yesterday, when she voted in favor of Judge Leslie H. Southwick, a known racist and homophobe, for a seat on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Mississippi.

There is a powerful metaphor somewhere in the wreckage of the 35W bridge in Minneapolis, that while crews were working to fix the bridge's surface, the whole damned thing crumbled and fell into the river. You can use the metaphor to describe the country as a whole, or just the cultural emaciation at work here, or just the current president's foreign policy, or, what the hell, maybe it's just a bridge collapse and a very sad day.

Initial reports were quick to reassure that the collapse was unrelated to terrorism. Well. Perhaps terrorists didn't do it. But it isn't unrelated to terrorism.

This country has been heading downhill for a long time and we only have ourselves to blame. When the attacks on the USS Cole happened, we were outraged. Blackhawk Down was a movie that hurt American Pride. When the attacks on the World Trade Center happened, nobody asked the right questions, we were all too mesmerized by the constant repetition of those planes hitting the towers over and over again. The American people wanted someone to pin it on, and the Bush Administration, after they finally had the guts to come back to Washington, gave us the perpetrators.

How quickly they had all 19 terrorists identified and their recent histories ready for publication. It didn’t seem odd to anyone that while Bush was flying around in Air Force One, the only other airplanes that were in the air were members of Bin Laden family and members of the Saudi Royal Family. I was always told to be careful of the company you keep. It didn’t surprise anyone that most of the members of the gang that supposedly did the hijackings were mostly Saudi citizens?

The word tyranny here needs to be replaced with fascism.  Come on, folks, SAY IT. 

Forget "Big Brother."  Come on, folks, SAY IT... fascism!

Welcome to another creeping slide towards the big brother state.  On August 2, 2007 over two dozen agents of the TSA setup two checkpoints at bus stops in Indianapolis Indiana and searched passengers who wanted to ride on city buses.  Federal agents, including Air Marshals were present and patted people down, looked in bags, and performed "behavior" tests for the stated purpose of finding weapons and people who were a threat to public safety.

Before you think I am joking, let me refer to both the Indianapolis Star report TSA checks IndyGo bus passengers as well as posted first person reports of what happened yesterday and why it effects us all.

UPDATE: Thanks to DailyKos readers, this has been found to be a part of an 18 month old Federal Operation, read more below!

• BlueDotRedField's diary :: ::
• 
  

The first reports I heard of something going on yesterday seemed like a bloggin hoax:

Anybody know what's going on? There are TSA stations with about 20 agents each set up in at least two spots in downtown Indy, 1 is near Capitol and Market, the other is near the federal building. They're stopping and searching people getting on and off city busses and travelling on the street. This is going a little too far. Where exactly did this authority come from?

(reference: Feds searching people in Indy )

It's truly frightening to see the headlong dive into overt racism, sexism, misogyny (sp) and fascism.  We are truly lost now that the dems are behind a fascist *leader.*

Ohio: Led by Rep. John Adams, a group of state legislators have submitted a bill that would give fathers of unborn children a final say in whether or not an abortion can take place. Can the mothers have a say on whether or not to abort the father? 8/3

I'm leaning heavily on my dem critter and hope ya'll are doing the same.

Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Donald Payne (D-NJ) now make it 17 for Cheney impeachment bill 8/3

Good morning, BFA!

Renee: thanks so much for posting the roll-call for the warrantless surveillance vote. Not only was I horrified to hear that Dems had collaborated with Rethugs to pass it, but also to see that one of my own Senators, whose heart is usually in the right place, was one of the collaborators.

Here is the letter that I have just dashed off to her. I encourage all here to do the same to their Senators who caved, regardless of whether they were Rethugs (who are all craven cowards, IMHO) or their Dem enablers ... none of whom will ever get one lick of support from me again unless they change their ways very fast.

The less said about Lieberschmuck, the better.

===============
Dear Senator Mikulski:

To say that I am disappointed in your *Yes* vote to allow This Excuse for a President yet MORE authority, when he has not demonstrated the slightest responsibility or accountability to the American people he is supposed to serve would be a GROSS understatement.

He has done nothing but trample on and shred the Constitution from the moment he took office.

Have you too now drunk the Kool Aid? You, who generally have been one of our true bastions of liberty and individual rights!

Every one of the Dem Presidential candidates *gets* it. Even the junior Senator from MD *got* it.

What on earth happened? have you taken leave of your sense altogether ... you and Diane Feinstein too? Haven't you learned that when you give these thugs an inch, they take a mile? *Reasonability* and *compromise* do not exist in their genetic make-up.

If not, it is time to find someone who does *get* it the next time that your Senate seat is up for grabs.

Sincerely,

Let us please get this one added to the impeachment counts against AGAG and his bosses.

===================
Gonzales Now Says Top Aides Got Political Briefings
By Dan Eggen and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer and washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Saturday, August 4, 2007; A05

Justice Department officials attended at least a dozen political briefings at the White House since 2001, including some meetings led by Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, and others that were focused on election trends prior to the 2006 midterm contest, according to documents released yesterday.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that he did not believe that senior Justice Department officials had attended such briefings. But he clarified his testimony yesterday in a letter to Congress, emphasizing that the briefings were not held at the agency's offices.

Internal guidelines forbid partisan meetings at the Justice Department and sharply restrict the ability of employees to participate directly in election campaigns or other political activities, a Justice official said yesterday. But the official, who declined to be identified publicly discussing the issue, said But the official, who declined to be identified publicly discussing the issue, said the type of meetings held at the White House did not appear to run afoul of department policy.

A list of briefings for Justice officials was included with a letter sent yesterday from Gonzales to Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which sought to clarify and correct parts of his testimony before the panel on July 24. The list was sent to House oversight committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) in June, but it had not been released publicly before yesterday.

[...]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

Oh My God ... putz has completely flipped whatever noodle he has left.

Please mull this one while I get caught up on the back threads ... sheesh.

==================
Bush's Optimists Club
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Friday, August 3, 2007; 12:14 PM

Facing a public that has lost confidence in him and his war in Iraq, President Bush has embarked on a personal quest to convey an important message. But it's a message that is remarkably free of substance -- and that may lead even more people to conclude that he's lost touch with reality.

Bush's message, in a nutshell: I'm a sunny guy.

The latest group ushered into the Oval Office to experience Bush's optimism first-hand -- and off the record -- consisted of 10 fawning right-wing talk-show hosts who visited the White House on Wednesday.

I mentioned this in yesterday's column, quoting two of the invitees: Hugh Hewitt and Glenn Beck. Beck told his CNN viewers: "Above all, I can tell you that the president has incredible passion and resolve. I have not seen this George W. Bush since he had a fire truck behind him and a bull horn in his hand. He was so clear-minded; he was focused. This is not the guy you see on television."

I've since found write-ups from a few more of the participants. Michael Medved writes: "I can officially reveal that he seemed energized, optimistic, focused, articulate, comfortable and totally in command. Anyone who doubts that this chief executive enjoys the Presidency and its demands has never seen him in the White House. As the President unequivocally declared (and as I think I'm permitted to quote): 'I like the atmosphere in the Oval Office.'"

Scott Hennen's detailed description of the visit was the most revealing.

How did Bush set the tone for his chat? By telling the story of the rug.

[...]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

Why the dems will likely lose in  08 and what to do now to make sure they win.  Yeah, right.  It's not too late, but will be very soon as the window is closing.  Look what they have to do to win and then remember the vote today to give cheney more power.  Notice this first sentence and then shudder.  We haven't a prayer if the voters really do obey the CMWs which it's sounding like they do.  Grrrrrrrr

************************* 

".....Those Democrats who vote in primaries are very obedient to the media's dictates. But general election voters are not voting as strategists and pundits. They're voting as citizens. And the biggest determining factor is whether they stay home or are motivated to go and vote.

Democrats could win in 2008 by taking the following steps:

Requiring paper ballots in every election, and election oversight by non-partisan officials.

Impeaching and removing Alberto Gonzales, and establishing strict oversight of the Justice Department.

Taking strong and swift action on Iraq and impeachment. Over three-quarters of Democrats want Cheney impeached, and the demand for Cheney and Bush's impeachments will only grow over the coming year and a half if not answered. When the Democrats moved to impeach Nixon they then won the biggest victories in recent history. When they took the impeachment of Reagan off the table, they lost. 230 years of impeachment efforts tells the story. It always benefits a political party to push for impeachment, successfully or otherwise. The only exception is the Clinton impeachment, which was unique in terms of the public's opposition to it, which was apparent from the start. Even so, the Republicans held onto both houses of Congress and the White House. And Al Gore was so put on the defensive that he chose Lieberman as a running mate and campaigned as if he'd never met Bill Clinton.

The Democratic leadership in Congress should announce immediately that because all useful bills are vetoed, they are going to solve our nation's problems by other means:

First, they should announce that there will be no more bills to fund the occupation of Iraq. Then, unless Bush chooses to fund the occupation illegally, he will need to bring all troops and mercenaries and contractors home. He already has much more than enough funding to do that.

Second, Congressional leaders should announce the immediate opening of hearings investigating the grounds for impeaching Bush and Cheney. *

Third, they should pick a viable candidate to run for president, which means quite obviously someone who has never supported the invasion or occupation of Iraq, and someone who favors ending the occupation completely and immediately.

These steps would boost Congress's approval rating dramatically. No, not among Republicans. But if Democrats don't start focusing soon on winning the votes of Democrats, they are going to find out yet again that elections are determined by turnout, not by turncoats.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3424398

G'nite.  I can't take anymore of this fascist behavior.

Hey, Judy, you're late and I'm off.  Carry on! 

Dems roll over for Bush again.

 What a pathetic bunch!

I get where Pelosi is coming from; holding impeachment in reserve. She wants to get bills passed, and if Bush starts vetoing them she can then wield it as a club. He will have started the confrontation, Right now if he signs a bill with the Webb Amendment intact the direction of the war will by necessity change and we will have accomplished what must be that first step in Pentagon planning. I see that as the battle line. The oversight hearings will push the glacier in that direction.

My position is that the damage to the Constitution and intent of our Founding Fathers is so great as to not impeach is precendence and acquiessence, but Gonzales is at the center of that so Impeachment of him puts all of the Constitutional questions to the test with a unsympathetic character so might be a good first step.

there is no pardon from impeachment

The Stevens corruption might lead to other Senators who kept pushing for more drilling in the Artic. We might get to our 60 yet. dig internet dig

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

line of thunderstoms headed in so by the time I get back from chores I might be off for the day

hope you are enjoying your first taste of retirement Judy

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version

A 3km protection zone has been put in place around the premises.

Very few human cases of foot-and-mouth disease have ever been recorded. The last human case reported in the UK occurred in 1966.

In accordance with legislation, all cattle on the Surrey premises will be culled and incinerated, UK Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds said.

Ms Reynolds confirmed the outbreak after samples were taken from the farm.

She said: "We are trying to form a picture of where the infection may have come from but at the moment it's very early stages.

"It is the absolute priority at the moment to prevent further spread, and piece together information about how it might have got there in the first place."

Even the words 'foot-and-mouth' will send a chill through the spine of every farmer in the country
Tim Bonner, Countryside Alliance

.

Ms Reynolds advised farmers across the UK to examine their animals carefully and immediately report anything suspicious.

As well as the 3km protection zone, there is also a 10km surveillance zone where nearby animals are monitored.

The outbreak in 2001 led to between 6.5 million and 10 million animals being destroyed and cost as much as £8.5bn. Many farms and other rural businesses were ruined, and the UK's tourist industry was severely hit.
~~~~~~~~~

the most serious bio-terrorism threat is foot and mouth, but it occurs naturally

Hey, Phil ... I'm still around, just in and out. I went to listen to Howard's speech at the Kos convention that ProgA posted earlier ... what a pleasure to hear someone who can actually speak coherently, and passionately, and who says what needs to be said in a way that is understandable to all.

If only ... sigh.

I am enjoying retirement so far, I think, but it's actually been pretty busy. First, just tying up the last loose ends at work, which always take much more time than one thinks they will, in spite of the advance planning and preparations, and secondly, making it through one set of admin hurdles (I'm no longer *illegal* and now have this nice card on it saying *Retired* that basically now allows me access to a variety of places without challenge). But next week, we begin with the next set of admin hurdles in earnest. I had to get the first set in order before I could seriously move on to the second. Things are falling quite nicely into place, however, and I also must be patient and remember that we are still in the full throes of *les grandes vacances* around here, when nearly everyone takes holidays at the same time.

Yesterday afternoon, we were over at the new apartment, taking measurements for things like bookcases and closets that we'll probably just get from Ikea. For such items, I believe that one gets pretty good value for money there ... and even those of us who are carpentry-challenged (my spouse is not challenged in that way) can follow the directions. Otherwise, we'll just live with what we have for awhile and get an idea of how we really would like the place to look as it grows on us. It's quite contemporary looking, not traditional or quaint (a bit of a loss there), but still it fits right in where it is. It also has a lovely *feel* to it. It's not quite ready yet and the purchase date is still 2+ weeks away, but the construction site chief let us in to measure. There are some things that I wish that I had done differently, but for the most part, I am very happy with how it has turned out.

It was a challenge because rather than giving us an overview from the beginning, we had to make our decisions with a series of separate subcontractors and kept having to run around with samples, etc., which required as lot of backing and forthing. For most decisions, we made good choices. For others, well, in a way, it is like those Muslims rugweaver who deliberately build in a defect so as not even to imply that their work could be perfect. Having something just a bit less than perfect allows one to relax a bit, LOL.

Good morning, everybody

Got sidetracked by KOS and other stuff.  I am really irked that my piece on Hillary's health care proposal is so dense.  The verbiage her campaign puts out ("wonkish" is her word) is so convoluted that it stymies a logical response.  What to do when you've got an eight page speech every line of which is objectionable?

I absolutely refuse to read even a critique of the Bush slush.

What exactly did we expect of a government that considers it's functions to be simply a matter of public relations?   

More and more skulduggery about how Iraq came to be illegally invaded and occupied.

====================
The calamity of disregard
It is now chillingly clear: MI6's pre-Iraq warnings were swept aside by an obsessed White House
Richard Norton-Taylor
Saturday August 4, 2007
The Guardian

In the run-up to war, senior British security and intelligence officials as well as diplomats made it clear that they were strongly opposed to the invasion of Iraq - though not clear enough. Why now, why Iraq, they asked; it would merely increase the terrorist threat, as the joint intelligence committee warned ministers less than a month before British troops and bombers joined the US attack on the country. Concern in Whitehall was shared by some perspicacious Americans, including General Tony Zinni, the former head of US central command, which is responsible for operations throughout the Middle East. He called it the wrong war, fought in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Now comes fresh evidence that senior British officials tried to persuade the Bush administration to keep off Iraq and concentrate on Afghanistan, the real source of terrorist violence inspired by al-Qaida. On the Brink, the newly published memoirs of Tyler Drumheller - the CIA's chief of clandestine operations in Europe until 2005 - tells of a meeting on September 12 2001. The day after al-Qaida's attacks on America, George Tenet, then CIA director, met three British guests - Sir David Manning, then Tony Blair's foreign policy adviser; Richard Dearlove, then head of MI6; and Eliza Manningham-Buller, then head of MI5. "I hope we can all agree that we should concentrate on Afghanistan and not be tempted to launch any attacks on Iraq," Drumheller quotes the leader of the British delegation as telling Tenet.

In a recent article in the New York Review of Books on Tenet's autobiography, At the Center of the Storm, Thomas Powers points out that Tenet names his British guests but omits what was said at the meeting - while Drumheller reports what was said but was prevented by the CIA (which did not want to upset the British) from identifying who said it.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/...

Not making any friends here, Barack ... or with any nation that values its territorial sovereignty.

And all do. There's the rub.

Imagine how we would react if the pronouncement had been made by a politician in any other country about us.

======================
Pakistan criticises Obama after warning on military strikes
Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Saturday August 4, 2007
Guardian

Pakistan criticised the Democratic election contender Barack Obama yesterday over his warning that as president he might order military strikes against al-Qaida targets in the country's border areas.

As protesters burned the US flag in Karachi, Khusheed Kasuri, Pakistan's foreign minister, said: "It's a very irresponsible statement, that's all I can say. As the election campaign in America is heating up, we would not like American candidates to fight their elections and contest elections at our expense."

The response from Pakistan was mirrored in criticism from Hillary Clinton and other Democratic rivals.

Mr Obama, in a speech on Wednesday, said President George Bush had chosen the wrong battlefield in Iraq and should have concentrated on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He said he would not hesitate to use force to destroy those who posed a threat to the United States, and if the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf, would not act, he would.

That speech may have played well with Democratic activists and the public at large. But before any poll could be held to test reaction, Mr Obama showed uncertainty on Thursday in an interview with the Associated Press.

He appeared to be caught off guard when he was asked if he would use nuclear weapons against al-Qaida in Pakistan.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,33033...

Rethugs certainly have short memories ... or none at all ... about their own Congressional misdeeds whey they were the majority party.

What a waste of taxpayer money. And Steny Hoyer is not a profile in courage. Good for Nancy for standing her ground.

=======================
A "stolen" vote in Congress? Democrats OK investigation
By Jonathan Weisman and Elizabeth Williamson

WASHINGTON — The House late Friday unanimously agreed to create a special select committee, with subpoena powers, to investigate Republican allegations that Democratic leaders had "stolen" a victory on a parliamentary vote.

The move capped a remarkable day: Republicans marching out of the House in protest near midnight Thursday, and partisan bickering dashed Democratic hopes for a final legislative rush. A temporary blackout of the chamber's vote-tally board led to accusations of skulduggery.

While Democratic leaders hoped to leave for their August recess on a wave of legislative successes, the House instead slowed to an acrimonious crawl that threatened to stretch the legislative session into next week.

The agreement to form a special committee was extraordinary. Such powerful investigative committees usually are reserved for issues such as the Watergate scandal and the funneling of profits from Iranian weapons sales to the Nicaraguan contras in the 1980s.

"I don't know when something like this has happened before," said House deputy historian Fred Beuttler. He called the decision "incredible."

[...]
The select committee, to consist of three Democrats and three Republicans, will deliver an interim report by Sept. 30, with the final report due by Sept. 15, 2008.

[...]
Hoyer conceded that the gavel had fallen too quickly, but he said it had been an error. When he put the issue to a new vote, Republicans boycotted, demanding that their victorious tally stand.

Pelosi was unsympathetic. "There was no mistake made last night," she said. "Apologies were made for the early announcement of the vote," but the early announcement would not have changed the outcome, she added.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/na...

Shame. Shame . Shame.  Some Dems need a recess forever      

Somehow, this news does not leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

===================
77,000 US bridges in need of urgent repair
· Billions required to fix ageing structures
· Five dead and 8 missing after Minnesota collapse
Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Saturday August 4, 2007
Guardian

About 77,000 bridges across the US share the same "structurally deficient" rating as the one that collapsed over the Mississippi in Minnesota, it emerged yesterday.

Transport specialists said billions of dollars would be needed to replace the bridges, many of which were built 40 to 50 years ago and were coming to the end of their life.

The Minnesota governor, Tim Pawlenty, said: "I think anybody who looks at the national picture, the national statistics, and says that we don't have a problem would be naive ... We have a major problem."

But the federal government and the public over the last few decades have proved unwilling to pay for the upkeep through substantial rises in petrol tax or more road and bridge tolls.

The bridge collapsed on Wednesday during the evening rush hour, claiming five lives. The police said yesterday that eight people were missing, reducing earlier estimates of 20-30.

There are 756 other bridges in the US with a near-identical design to the Minnesota one. But engineers insisted yesterday that the relatively low death toll vindicated the bridge design.

[...]
Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate, said that domestic programmes, such as replacing ageing infrastructure, had been short-changed because of the billions being spent on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Since 9/11 we have taken our eye off the ball," he said.

The Democrats had proposed spending $631m (£309m) more on federal highway safety than Mr Bush budgeted for but he had threatened to veto the proposal.

William Wilkins, of Trip, a transport thinktank, estimated that $65bn would be needed to replace the ageing bridges.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,33033...

There are lots of unrighted wrongs in the world, I am very sorry to say.

======================
Robert Fisk: Bravery, tears and broken dreams
Mount Ararat, towering symbol of Armenia, is an awful reminder of wrongs unrighted
Published: 04 August 2007

There is nothing so infinitely sad - so pitiful and yet so courageous - as a people who yearn to return to a land for ever denied them; the Poles to Brest Litovsk, the Germans to Silesia, the Palestinians to that part of Palestine that is now Israel. When a people claim to have settled again in their ancestral lands - the Israelis, for example, at the cost of "cleansing" 750,000 Arabs who had perfectly legitimate rights to their homes - the world becomes misty eyed. But could any nation be more miserably bereft than one which sees, each day, the towering symbol of its own land in the hands of another?

Mount Ararat will never return to Armenia - not to the rump state which the Soviets created in 1920 after the Turkish genocide of one and a half million Armenians - and its presence to the west of the capital, Yerevan, is a desperate, awful, permanent reminder of wrongs unrighted, of atrocities unacknowledged, of dreams never to be fulfilled. I watched it all last week, cloud-shuffled in the morning, blue-hazed through the afternoon, ominous, oppressive, inspiring, magnificent, ludicrous in a way - for the freedom which it encourages can never be used to snatch it back from the Turks - capable of inspiring the loftiest verse and the most execrable commercialism.

There is a long-established Ararat cognac factory in Yerevan, Ararat gift shops - largely tatty affairs of ghastly local art and far too many models of Armenian churches - and even the Marriott Ararat Hotel, which is more than a rung up from the old Armenia Two Hotel wherein Fisk stayed 15 years ago, an ex-Soviet Intourist joint whose chief properties included the all-night rustling of cockroach armies between the plaster and the wallpaper beside my pillow.

[...]
http://news.independent.co.uk/fisk/artic...

Just a quick pop-in, very busy day ahead as tens of thousands descend upon our little village for Old Home Days (culminating tonight with possibly the best fireworks display in Vermont). 

Wanted to share this youtube clip first...

The last for now ... from DU ... and yes, perhaps if Sibel were allowed to tell what she knows ...

==================
I've put together a quick 5 minute highlight reel of a recent speech by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds from the American Library Association conference

The intro is:

"I had taken the oath to protect my new country, against all enemies, and this was my chance to serve my country. I assumed the enemy was foreign... within a few months, i came across some serious issues. Wrongdoing. Some of those would be considered criminal, within the FBI. Some of those involved security breaches, 911 related cover-ups, and sabotaged intelligence operations. In one case, due to the pressure of the State Dept and Pentagon, the FBI was prevented from criminally investigating certain US officials who were engaged in actions against our national security, having loyalties to other governments."


The video isn't supposed to be representative of Sibel's entire speech (which you can see here) but rather I've just captured a few snippets about the efforts that Sibel has gone to in the past 6 years to get some accountability.

The FBI repeatedly investigated Sibel's claims (Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)) and found them to be valid ("Confirmed all, denied none") therefore the Executive Branch simply gagged her.

Sibel then went to Congress which also investigated her case. They found all her claims to be valid, supported by FBI agents and documents, therefore the Executive Branch gagged Congress.

The senators who had investigated, and confirmed, Sibel's case were outraged, and then complied with the gag order.

Sibel then went to the courts. Sibel and her attorneys were kicked out of court so the government could argue it's case in secrecy - where they were free to tell the most outrageous of lies if they so chose. Sibel and her legal team presume that is exactly what happened. The judge said:

"I know this is draconian, but who am I to argue with the government on matters related to national security?"


But as I wrote last week:

"In a recent speech, Sibel again emphasized that the reason that she has been gagged is not for reasons of national security, but rather to cover-up criminality, treason, by high level US officials.

As evidence for this claim, Sibel explained that for the three months prior to Ashcroft blanket-gagging her case, the FBI was conducting unclassified briefings for Congress on the case.

In other words, from the beginning, neither Congress, nor the FBI, even considered that this information might be classified, let alone a 'national security' issue."


It's now August, 2007, folks. Sibel was the canary in the coalmine. 70% of the population now, finally, understand that the Justice Department is corrupt from top to bottom, thanks to Alberto Gonzales' latest shenanigans. 70% now understand that 'national security' is a fraud. 70% now realize, thanks to Pat Tillman and other cases, that 'Executive Privilege' means 'This stuff is too embarrassing.' 70% will soon realize that there is little difference between 'Executive Privilege' and 'State Secrets Privilege.' Sibel has been saying for years that her case has been gagged to cover up criminal wrong-doing and that it has nothing to do with national security.

[...]
http://www.democraticunderground.com/dis...

In that phrase "having loyalties to other countries" my own guess is that country should have been in the singular.

But that is, I caveat, just a guess.

Three guesses as to which *country* it was and the first two guesses do not count.

***********
The last for now ... again from DU. This is from a fellow Marylander who is clearly someone after my own heart.

====================
Dear
Senator Cardin:
Senator Mikulski:
Representative Van Hollen:
Speaker Pelosi:

It is way past time to re-establish respect for the rule of law in our nation.

The Bush administration’s assertion that it has no responsibility to comply with Congressional requests for information, along with its ordering of our Justice Department not to prosecute contempt charges, continues its long established record of utter contempt for the United States Congress and the American people.

Its violation of our Fourth Amendment rights by its warrantless spying program; our Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights through its arbitrary and indefinite imprisonment of hundreds or thousands of human beings while depriving them of their rights to a fair trial or to challenge their imprisonment; and our Eight Amendment rights against the imposition of cruel and unusual punishment by our government, shows that it has no respect at all for our Constitution.

Its use of nearly a thousand “signing statements” to avoid complying with laws enacted by Congress shows that it has no respect for the separation of powers required in our Constitution or for the rule of law in our country.

And its repeated violations of the Geneva Conventions by arbitrarily depriving its prisoners of all human rights required by those treaties shows its utter disdain for international law and thereby establishes the United States of America as a pariah nation and risks pushing us into World War III.

I have heard many in the U.S. Congress say that it has priorities that are more important than the pursuance of impeachment. I don’t understand what higher priority there could be than to re-establish democracy in our nation, nor do I see how other priorities can reasonably be pursued when our Executive Branch is pushing us towards dictatorship and world-wide conflagration.

I applaud the efforts of some Congresspersons to initiate the impeachment of Alberto Gonzales. However, impeaching him will not be enough. It is quite clear that Gonzales is nothing but a stooge for George Bush and Dick Cheney. Impeaching him while leaving the others in place would be like trying to get rid of weeds by ripping out their tops and leaving the roots in place.

I beg you to do all you can to advocate for the impeachment of Gonzales, Bush and Cheney. Doing all three individually would be fine, though doing them together would be preferable.

Sincerely,

http://www.democraticunderground.com/dis...

Good morning,

Spy Bill:  Thinking about Bush's pattern of constantly asking for expanded powers in this and other areas...it's not about actually doing something, it's about rendering himself legally and politically judgment proof. The Senate is signing a Hold Harmless waiver under the guise of 'getting tough on terrorism.'

Impeach (even though Kos does not want to hear it)

Spy bill. If the Dems cave in , it is time to plan a protest at the Dem convention. Chicago revisited. The whole world is watching.

Morning, folks.

Fred, that is the most articulate and appropriate criticism of Obama's Pakistan remarks that I have seen yet.  Thanks for posting it.

Floridagal---neat story about your great grand-dad.  What a great find.  I'm an amateur genealogist myself:)

Reed, Great video, thank you.

 ...only the end statement is cut off and hard to make out what it is saying.

be well. 

Deaniac wrote:.. Steve Coll from The New Yorker, what an idiot, thinks the U.S. can make Pakistan like Turkey with a new Constitution.

--->>>Auh yes.  Like I said, it's shaping up to looking like a "W's World part deux", I'd rather it just a movie than the real world.  

"We're promoting Western Democracy" and "Freedom is on the March".

AL, PLEASE.......be our President! 

NEW THREAD IS UP

Renee in Ohio
Sat, 08/04/07
12:14 am

It's probably too late for you too see this, if ever, but it's great to see you here.

LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!