As usual and always: HOWARD DEAN IS STILL FIRSTEST!

HOWARD!   YES!!!!!!!!

STEP by Step the Democrats are Pushing the Uncaring, Unpatriotic Republicans into the Wall!

The money would be enough to keep the wars afloat for a few more months, providing only about a quarter of the $196 billion requested by President Bush.

paygo the war funding by rescinding the tax cuts and watch it end

I just learned that Sen. Leahey's term ends in 2010. Here's to hoping he steps down and Vermont gets a new and better one (nod, wink).

paygo the war funding by rescinding the tax cuts and watch it end

And which party would ever do it?

The tax cuts are set to expire on their own. I have my doubts that DCDems will display the honesty or courage to even let that happen.

69.

Sam Ross wrote:

Sealed with a KISS OF DEATH!  Pat Robertson endorsing Giuliani. 

Exactly my thought watching this disgusting display. Two wrongs do not a right make!

~~~

Perhaps this op-ed was published at just the right time in our paper regarding the "S" (secular) word as the writer refers to it as:

. . . Our nation was founded based on two documents; its premise for being (The Declaration of Independence) and its guiding light for more than 200 years (the Constitution). Our Founding Fathers had firm ideas about the unacceptability of many entrenched governing practices. They reached the point where the rule of god-blessed kings and princes with absolute power was no longer acceptable. They wanted nothing to do with oppressive governments where the people did not have a voice in how they were ruled.

A force that was equally as strong in their minds was their repulsion of theocracies, that bond between religion and government that had for ages been an instrument to repress people and keep them submissive. . .

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/opnOPN68110707.htm

The tax cuts are set to expire on their own. I have my doubts that DCDems will display the honesty or courage to even let that happen.

We have to have hope. Hope and the Dean brothers are what is keeping our party alive right now.

Bloggie clockie has a ghost in it.

We have to have hope.

It's all that keeps me engaged. 

Sitka wrote “Obama didn't vote for the invasion, but he leaves me with impression that he would have if he'd been in DC at the time instead of the IL statehouse.”

Here’s an excerpt of his remarks on 10/26/02 at the Chicago anti-war rally. What would give you the impression that it’s any more likely he would have voted in favor of the invasion than Gore or Dean?

"I don't oppose all wars.  And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism.  What I am opposed to is a dumb war.  What I am opposed to is a rash war.  What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

"What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income - to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.

"That's what I'm opposed to.  A dumb war.  A rash war.  A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.

" . . . .

"I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.  I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.

"I am not opposed to all wars.  I'm opposed to dumb wars."

NEW film view trailers here: http://www.prezflick.com/

President: Aristocracy is On The March

President is an examination of Presidential politics in the early 21st century. It is takes a hard, yet comically charged, look the current condition of American democracy. Has the power of the individual vote been lost through the possibility of vast mechanical fraud? Is paper-trail/voting-integrity legislation a must? What steps can ensure the power of the average American’s vote? Who is John Edwards’ dentist? These questions are asked in the middle of a rip roarin’ comedy with tons of animation and raw video from the wild, new frontier of home produced media.

Host screenings of President yourself: http://president.bravenewtheaters.com/

Offical website and view trailers here: http://www.prezflick.com/

FEATURED PLAYERS

Christopher Hitchens
Peter Applebome
Cory Booker
Flo Lunn
Bill Gardniner
Olivia Maxwell
James Carville
Michael Panes
Steve Buscemi
Natan Sharansky
Patch Adams
Bret Easton Ellis
Shmuley Boteach

Obama has triangulated to the center so much since 10/26/02  that I have no confidence in his sincerity at that time.

The anwer to the "I" question.

Israel/AIPAC

Not all Jews, just a few who are running too much of the show. 

Mukasey will make sure the wars continue and bush is protected from war crimes.  Israel must be protected, even if it means that the US goes down the tubes. To protect Israel, we must stay and expand in the ME, creating havoc, mayhem, death and pillaging.

As I suspected, this is not only about torture...

IMO 

Sitka wrote "Obama has triangulated to the center so much since 10/26/02  that I have no confidence in his sincerity at that time."

Some examples would help to decide whether your contention has merit, but I was specifically responding to your statement on the issue of the war.  What convinces you he would vote contrary to the views he expressed?

Back in 2004 during the Dean/Nader debate, Dean was arguing that the State initiative process has been a disaster, and Nader favored it. I didn’t quite understand Dean’s position until I learned more about it and have seen its ill effects for myself

Here in AZ initiatives have given us many good laws (like public campaign financing), while many I thought bad have been rejected.

I've been disappointed at outcomes a few times, but I'm always amazed at how often my votes on intiatives are with the majority.

We the People are not only quite capable of governing ourselves, but better and more honest at it than politicians who take bribes and look after themselves first.

What convinces you he would vote contrary to the views he expressed?

I'm not going to google up examples since I don't care if you're convinced or not. I base my opinion on my collective memory of Obama since he came to prominence.

Impeach Cheney, now, then Bush!(tho he'd resign first)

Out of Iraq now!

Negotiate PEACE with Iran now!

Kucinich/Feingold '08!!

Tom Bearse
Wed, 11/07/07
4:59 pm

... he's running for pRez after promising not to. DUH

Deaniac wrote "... he's running for pRez after promising not to. DUH"

That's not triangulating to the center. 

Here's a controversial  post by a blogger, which may be taking things a little too far...but who really knows? The caving of Schumer and Feinstein is suspicious.

********************************* 

from the blogger....not mine 

"In my humble opinion, Michael Mukasey is a very powerful neocon from
the extreme right of the Israeli-American Lobby, a staunch pro-
Netanyahu supporter and a strong advocate of a pre-emtive attack on
IRAN, as he was on the attack against Iraq which he supported
strongly, so clearly with Mukasey running the Justice Dpt, AIPAC would
be in total control of the Judiciary,FBI,National Security,US
Attorney's, etc.,a total clampdown for the elections , this means
Giuliani and Schumer with Emanuel and
Lantos,Harman,Feinstein,Bloomberg as well as Kristol and Murdoch in
the Oval Office ,for the christian community in the USA, this
confirmation would mean the start of a new order,the USA would be run
by the Israeli-American lobby,advancing the interests of Israel ahead
of the Interests of the USA and its christian mayority,80% of the
Taxpayers in the USA are christian , but the power would be in the
hands of the neocon israeli-american minority,in an amazing twist,just
like Saddam and his minority sunni controlling all the other factions
in Iraq,amazing ! but for the christian mayority, this confirmation is
a total loss of power,its the end of an era,and the start of a new
period with America as a satellite of Israel,a new colony, but
hey !,most americans wont say a thing,as long as they got their
baseball and hot dogs, they wont complain of their new masters... i
mean leaders....

this is a total success for the neocons of AIPAC,and they will have
Bush,Cheney and Rice against the wall, in a lock, so  they will blame
Iraq exclusively on Bush and Cheny,letting
Wolfowitz,Schumer,Emanuel,Feith,Perle,Abrams,Wurmser,Libby,Cohen,Kissinger,Kristol,Sulzberger,Safire,Murdoch,etc.,off
the hook, all the neocons that pushed for ther Iraq invasion in 2002
and 2003 every day on TV,Radio and Newspapers would get a free pass
like they never said a word in favor of the Invasion of Iraq, amazing !

http://groups.google.com/group/misc.legal/browse_thread/thread/7d27b4bce76bdab4 

The more is dig around, the more interesting Mukasey gets.

Tom wrote: Sitka wrote "Obama has triangulated to the center so much since 10/26/02 that I have no confidence in his sincerity at that time."

Some examples would help to decide whether your contention has merit, but I was specifically responding to your statement on the issue of the war. What convinces you he would vote contrary to the views he expressed?

_____________________

Because his two main campaign topics for his US Senate was "The (dumb)Iraq War, and the injustices of the Patriot Act".

...in the 2 years he was in the US Senate, he didn't write, co sponsor or even vote to end our occupation in Iraq, AND, he also turned around and voted for the Patriot Act 2.

Here's a controversial  post by a blogger, which may be taking things a little too far...but who really knows?

Not I. But from what I've seen over the past 7 years, The Neos could stage a coup and only a handful in Congress would stand against it (before being taken into detention). 

Tom's going to wish he had let my little comment pass unnoticed.

Well, well, in a nutshell if we're to believe all this.  And it was Schumer and Libermann who wanted Mukasey.

It looks like Michael Mukasey, the man who is currently undergoing a Senate confirmation process to be the nation's next attorney general will get the job afterall.

Democrats could have blocked his committee nomination, but two of them, Chuck Schumer of New York and Diane Feinstein of California just announced that they would support him anyway in spite of reservations. What do Schumer, Feinstein and Mukasey have in common? All three are pro-Israel Zionists and are strongly supported by AIPAC.

Earlier last month Mukasey stated on the record that he does not know if the medieval practice of water-boarding constitutes "torture." This appalled many Americans and caused his nomination to be opposed by Human Rights First. However his performance, as his entire candidacy was widely interpreted as problematic but "much better than expected." This judgement widely relies on the fact that Mukasey was an early favorite of Chuck Schumer himself. The Democratic Senator had forwarded his name to the White House. Later on, Mukasey received the stamp of approval from the nations most powerful lobby, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Mukasey may be far removed from the kind of cronyism that plagued the Alberto Gonzalez administration, but ideologically he is very much in tune with Bush and the war on terror. An Orthodox Jewish immigrant from Belarus, Mukasey's judicial history is tied to terrorism. He prosecuted the case against the first world trade center bombings and he was involved in a case related to 9/11 attacks. His ambiguous statement on torture, is thus not a coincidence. There's a good chance he has classified information about toture being used in America, possibly against Americans.

But perhaps the most important reason to shove Mukasey through the process and put pressure on someone like Feinstein to go out on a limb in favor of someone who plays games with water boarding, is something else altogether. A federal trial against two AIPAC agents who are facing charges of espionage is set to start early next year. The case is strong and if it succeeds, it would be very very embarrassing for the Bush Administration, Israel and AIPAC. White House officials are even set to testify. The Attorney General of the United States would be instrumental in the outcome of that case. Mukasey could block the more embarrassing probes for evidence. The case and the scandal revolves around secret information being passed to Israel about - you guessed it - Iran.

Bernard Kennetz said it best:

The Gonzales replacement, Michael Mukasey, another pro-Israeli Zionist, is now needed to suppress the investigations of AIPAC and members of the Bush administration, and to drop the charges against the spies for Israel, Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman.

http://www.iranian.com/main/node/10136 

AND, after those two years, he annouces he will seek the Presidency of the US and then advises us again, we need to end the Iraq occupation.

AND, he publicly disagrees with using any funds to end our occupation and brings in other Senator as back up for not believing this method should be used. BUT, realizing that stance isn't good for an election of the Democrats, decides to vote for the measure.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, is trying to impeach Vice President Cheney for what he describes as “high crimes and misdemeanors” before the invasion of Iraq.

Right after the proposal was read on the House floor this afternoon, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer stepped forwarded and tried to convince lawmakers to table the bill.

“Impeachment is not on our agenda. We have some major priorities. We need to focus on those,” Hoyer told Fox News.

Update at 3:39 p.m. ET: We thought that the vote to table was over — the clock said 0:00 — but lawmakers are still switching things around and Kucinich is within a few votes of getting his bill to come up for a vote.

Update at 3:43 p.m. ET: At least 149 Republicans have voted in favor of considering the impeachment resolution. Hoyer’s motion, which would have blocked a vote, looks like its going to fail by at least 31 votes.

Update at 3:53 p.m. ET: The 15-minute vote began at 2:53 p.m. ET. It’s been an hour, and they’re still voting. The tally stands at 170-242 right now. Hoyer needed 218 votes to push the bill off the agenda. He’s 72 votes short.

Update at 4:02 p.m. ET: Hoyer’s motion failed 251-162. (Roll Call) The House is now voting on whether to vote on whether the resolution should be sent to the Judiciary Committee.

Update at 4:25 p.m. ET: The vote to decide to vote (yes, you read that correctly) just ended. By a 218-194 margin, the House has to vote on whether to send the resolution to the Judiciary Committee. That’s happening right now.

Update at 4:30 p.m. ET: Perhaps we should pause to explain. When most Republicans unexpectedly — and on orders of GOP leadership, the AP is reporting — switched sides and voted against tabling the measure, they essentially forced Democrats to keep talking about it on the floor. Tabling the measure would have killed it.

Debate over Cheney’s impeachment is in direct opposition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s wishes. She has repeatedly said an impeachment of Cheney or President Bush is off the table. Thus, failing to table this measure is a essentially a jab in Pelosi’s ribs.

“We’re going to help them out, to explain themselves,” Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, told the AP of the impeachment’s supporters. “We’re going to give them their day in court.”

Update at 4:32 p.m. ET: The House just voted, 218-194, to send the resolution to the Judiciary Committee. That should end today’s debate — but it does keep the resolution at least technically alive.

Linda wrote "...in the 2 years he was in the US Senate, he didn't write, co sponsor or even vote to end our occupation in Iraq."

Perhaps it's not, as yet, common knowledge that he introduced a bill in January to remove all combat brigades by 3/31/08, in compliance with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group.

Linda wrote "AND, he publicly disagrees with using any funds to end our occupation and brings in other Senator as back up for not believing this method should be used."

This is exactly what prompted my question to Sitka.  What is the source, if any, of any idea you harbor that had they been in the same position, either Gore or Dean would have done anything different?

Obviously the Mukasey nomination disturbs me.

Marc Ash | Chuck's Senate
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110707J.shtml
Truthout's Executive Director Marc Ash writes: "On the day that Senator Charles Schumer used his vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee to all but assure that George W. Bush's latest pick, Michael B. Mukasey for attorney general, would be confirmed, The New York Times obliged him by publishing - in a featured Op-Ed - his reasons for doing so. The Times did not see fit to publicize any other senator's thoughts on the matter. That is fitting, because the only voice that mattered in the end was Chuck Schumer's."

 Sebastian Kunz Reports: Smashing Diebold Voting Machines at San Francisco City

30.

"Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." —Communist Tyrant and mass murderer Josef Stalin

http://www.votefraud.org/

http://www.votefraud.org/josef_stalin_vo...

as the ice at the poles melts it will indeed pile up as water at the equator and the land masses there are closer to the sun

spin long enough and you will get that way too Fox

Bridget M. Kuehn

The chemical, bisphenol-A (BPA), is used to produce polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins and is found in such products as water bottles, baby bottles, food containers, compact discs, and dental sealants. Humans are exposed to this high-production–volume chemical when it leaches into foods or possibly through inhalation or other routes. In fact, tests by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the chemical in the urine of 95% of 394 individuals in a reference sample of US adults (Calafat AM et al. Environ Health Perspect. 2005;113[4]:391-395). BPA is an estrogen mimic and may interact with estrogen receptors.

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/298/13/1499?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=bisphenol&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

36. Fox Mulder

============
I think what Phil means is that, if the accumulation of water that's been locked up over the ages is no longer locked up, it will be spread all over the earth equally and that there is more surface at the equator than other areas, so the equatorial surface of the earth will have more mass.

And we really don't know what the effect will be.

I don't know who you are, but your sarcastic sophomoric disposition really sucks.

This is the amendment to the Homeland Security Act that Obama voted for. I didn't realize it was called Patriot Act 2. I don't see anything wrong with the amendment.

Vote 284: H R 1: This amendment to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 was made in order to implement the recommendations made by the 9/11 commission. Different versions of the bill were passed in the House on Jan. 9 and in the Senate on July 9. A modified version of the bill, with conference report changes, was revisited on July 27 and passed by a vote of 85-8. The bill requires the inspection of all cargo traveling on passenger aircrafts and establishes the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. This panel, suggested by the 9/11 commission, is responsible for advising the president and senior White House officials maintaining respect for privacy laws and civil liberties. Other provisions of the bill include grants to states, urban areas, regions, or directly eligible tribes to be used to improve the ability for first responders to react to and prevent terrorist attacks, according to the Congressional Research Service. The bill also outlined details regarding the detention and treatment of captured terrorists. The bill was signed into law by President Bush on August 3.

 Hope and the Dean brothers are what is keeping our party alive right now.

Plus some pretty heavy denial

This is what gets me.  It's Edwards redux.  Do the politically expedient thing while in office and do the splits, waving your pom poms on the sideline after you leave, demanding that others, who will feel the heat, do what you wouldn't do and never did. 

It may be fashionable or personally edifying to simply presume Gore and Dean feel and would act different than Obama on funding or whatever other legislation affects the war, but what supports this presumption?  Gore told John Harris that war opponents have a "moral obligation to see the complexity of the dilemma our country is in" trying to bring troops home, "so pursuing those twin objectives is not easy under any circumstances, but it's not an act of cowardice or a lack of will on the part of Democrats in the Congress who see the complexity of this dilemma," adding:  

"I would urge Democrats who want our troops out yesterday to show some understanding of the difficult hand the Democratic leaders have to play and give them the benefit of the doubt in expecting that they are going to continue to push the mandate they received from the voters last fall to change the course of this war."

THE WISDOM OF PAT BUCHANAN

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=45188

The euro, worth 83 cents in the early George W. Bush years, is at $1.45.

The British pound is back up over $2, the highest level since the Carter era. The Canadian dollar, which used to be worth 65 cents, is worth more than the U.S. dollar for the first time in half a century.

Oil is over $90 a barrel. Gold, down to $260 an ounce not so long ago, has hit $800.

Have gold, silver, oil, the euro, the pound and the Canadian dollar all suddenly soared in value in just a few years?

Nope. The dollar has plummeted in value, more so in Bush's term than during any comparable period of U.S. history. Indeed, Bush is presiding over a worldwide abandonment of the American dollar.

Is it all Bush's fault? Nope.

The dollar is plunging because America has been living beyond her means, borrowing $2 billion a day from foreign nations to maintain her standard of living and to sustain the American Imperium.

The prime suspect in the death of the dollar is the massive trade deficits America has run up, some $5 trillion in total since the passage of NAFTA and the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1994.

In 2006, that U.S. trade deficit hit $764 billion. The current account deficit, which includes the trade deficit, plus the net outflow of interest, dividends, capital gains and foreign aid, hit $857 billion, 6.5 percent of GDP. As some of us have been writing for years, such deficits are unsustainable and must lead to a decline of the dollar.

A sinking dollar means a poorer nation, and a sinking currency has historically been the mark of a sinking country. And a superpower with a sinking currency is a contradiction in terms.

What does this mean for America and Americans?

As nations realize that the dollars they are being paid for their products cannot buy in the world markets what they once did, they will demand more dollars for those goods. This will mean rising prices for the imports on which America has become more dependent than we have been since before the Civil War.

U.S. tourists traveling to the countries whence their ancestors came will find that the money they saved up does not go as far as they thought.

U.S. soldiers stationed overseas will find the cost of rent, gasoline, food, clothing and dining out takes larger and larger bites out of their paychecks. The people those U.S. soldiers defend will be demanding more and more of their money.

U.S. diplomats stationed overseas, students and businessmen are already facing tougher times.

Asians understand that what is important is not who consumes the apples, but who owns the orchard.

Other nations that have kept cash reserves in U.S. Treasury bonds and T-bills are watching the value of these assets sink. Not fools, they will begin, as many already have, to divest and diversify, taking in fewer dollars and more euros and yen. As more nations abandon the dollar, its decline will continue.

The oil-producing and exporting nations, with trade surpluses, like China, have also begun to take the stash of dollars they have and stuff them into sovereign wealth funds, and use these immense and growing funds to buy up real assets in the United States -- investment banks and American companies.

Nor is there any end in sight to the sinking of the dollar. For, as foreigners demand more dollars for the oil and goods they sell us, the trade deficit will not fall. And as the U.S. government prints more and more dollars to cover the budget deficits that stretch out -- with the coming retirement of the baby boomers -- all the way to the horizon, the value of the dollar will fall. And as Ben Bernanke at the Fed tries to keep interest rates low, to keep the U.S. economy from sputtering out in the credit crunch, the value of the dollar will fall.

The chickens of free trade are coming home to roost.

BUCHANAN IS A RW NUTJOB, BUT HE CERTAINLY UNDERSTANDS WHAT'S HAPPENING.

Dow took a 2.6% bath today--more bush/bernanke chickens joining the roost

John wrote "BUCHANAN IS A RW NUTJOB, BUT HE CERTAINLY UNDERSTANDS WHAT'S HAPPENING."

Throw him in with Ron Paul and the other Antiwar.com conservative isolationists who get a platform at this site. 

Gore( as quoted by Tom):

"I would urge Democrats who want our troops out yesterday to show some understanding of the difficult hand the Democratic leaders have to play and give them the benefit of the doubt in expecting that they are going to continue to push the mandate they received from the voters last fall to change the course of this war."

 That's Hillaryspeak. I won't buy that kind of claptrap, nor will the Democratic base. It's long past time to withdraw unconditionally.

39

My mistake this amendment has nothing to do with patriot act. I have looked up Patriot Act 2 on web - I am confused, was it passed or not?

44. Tom's still drawing a bead on the messenger and ignoring the message.

Apparently, since the Kucinich "Impeachment of Cheney vote" was sanctioned by the GOP leadership,  the Republicans see their help in the impeachment as a means of deflating Republican corruption and  making Republicans appear better than the duopolistic DLC Democrats in the upcoming election, after all, ONLY Democrats took impeachment off the table, Republicans have been for impeachment all along, but impeachment has been OFF the table.  We know better,  but that will be their NEW talking point.  That is all it gets down to as far as Republicans are concerned. It's only political talking points to lead constituents of the 70% majority common population against their best interest.  After all politics is leadership of constituents in their best interest and nonconstituents against their best interest, and NO MEMBER of the common population is a constituent of the RIGHT WING REPUBLICAN PARTY.  Never the less, I thank God that the Republicans saw fit to get the impeachment of Cheney past the DLC  to the Judiciary.  Now let's see what the Judiciary does.

John wrote "Tom's still drawing a bead on the messenger and ignoring the message."

Take my word for it.  It's Buchanan and Paul's meesage that bothers me.  By the way, didn't you just refer to Buchanan as a "right wing nut job"? Aren't you being a little harsh on the messenger?

43.

Huron John
Wed, 11/07/07
6:13 pm


The market was really awful today and has been going down hill for several months. Gold is at all time high. Folks are loosing thier homes in record numbers everywhere. China is talking about going to the Euro dollar. Bush is a disaster.

The blog count is off again 44 s/b 51.

See, Gore's using Hillaryspeak.  John is the voice of the true radical.  He's calling out Gore, like he has Dean and like he has Obama.  The whole litany of saints are said to have feet of clay here.

IF YOU WONDERING WERE.........

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_dave_lin_071107_double_standards_at_.htm

The New York Times, which claims to draw a clear distinction between its news articles and its commentary articles, dropped any pretense of such a distinction in its minimalist "coverage" of yesterday's dramatic effort by Rep. Dennis Kucinich to force the House to consider the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney.

In a small 230-word piece on Kucinich's privilege motion, and the subsequent vote to send his H Res. 333, now called H. Res. 799, to the House Judiciary Committee, after it has been consigned to limbo for over 6 months by the House leadership, the Times succeeded in dissing both Kucinich and the notion of impeaching the vice president.

As the anonymous Times reporter wrote in the lead of this hit piece:

It is hard to know which effort has longer odds, the bid by Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, Democrat of Ohio, to become president of the United State, or his bid to unseat Vice President Dick Cheney by impeaching him.

The rest of the article, which made no attempt to lay out Kucinich's blistering expose of the vice president's criminal role in presenting false evidence to the Congress and American people to justify an invasion of Iraq, and his condemnation of the vice president for the international crime of threatening war against Iran, is spent describing how House Democratic leaders and Republicans sparred over Kucinich's bill, with Republicans helping to defeat a Democratic effort to table it, and with Democrats then pushing it off the floor and over to the Judiciary Committee.

The Times has clearly decided that despite its editorial positions blasting the criminal actions and blatant abuses of power of this administration, there should be no impeachment hearings on either Bush or Cheney. That might be okay as an editorial position, but the nation's leading newspaper, at least by reputation, has also decided it will buttress that position by either ignoring the growing nationwide impeachment movement, which it has been doing now for two years, or by using its news pages to undermine and ridicule impeachment efforts. That is not okay for a publication that hypocritically pretends that its news articles are fair and balanced.

Susan Rowe

Watched your Naomi Wolf streaming video almost to the end, before I got sidetracked. It is scary and fascinating that political opponents of the neocons are showing up on terrorist watch lists.

Shouldn't there be some kind of massive protest by liberals in Congress and/or a lawsuit of some kind about that?

See, Gore's using Hillaryspeak.  John is the voice of the true radical.  He's calling out Gore, like he has Dean and like he has Obama.  The whole litany of saints are said to have feet of clay here.  

There are no saints in the Democratic Party. I admire both Dean and Gore greatly. But they're fallible.

Al's call to cut Democratic leaders some slack ignores their cowardice and incompetence.

Impatience Hell! they've been rolling over for Bush like the snivelling cowards they are.

I am reading a book about how Palestinians "Arabs" are treated as citizens and non citizens, in Israel. The same thing has happened there for years, but with much more severity, and with a lot more contempt in more different areas of life, like real estate, jobs, and civil rights.

We've been subsidizing it for years with foreign aid and politics, and It is coming back to us, and biting us in the ass.

John wrote "I admire both Dean and Gore greatly. But they're fallible."

This can't possibly be a controversial view.  Now you understand my attitude towards Obama. 

Sitka wrote "Tom's going to wish he had let my little comment pass unnoticed."

I don't understand the reason for this observation.  

We in Florida have always known this to be the case, but finally some action. We shall see if they are really serious about the investigation or just appeasing the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington group.

Inquiry Set Into Purchases From Bush Brother's Firm
    By Marilyn W. Thompson
    The New York Times

    Wednesday 07 November 2007

    Washington - The inspector general of the Department of Education has said he will examine whether federal money was inappropriately used by three states to buy educational products from a company owned by Neil Bush, the president's brother.

    John P. Higgins Jr., the inspector general, said he would review the matter after a group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, detailed at least $1 million in spending from the No Child Left Behind program by school districts in Texas, Florida and Nevada to buy products made by Mr. Bush's company, Ignite Learning of Austin, Tex. Mr. Higgins stated his plans in a letter to the group sent last week.

    Members of the group and other critics in Texas contend that school districts are buying Ignite's signature product, the Curriculum on Wheels, because of political considerations. The product, they said, does not meet standards for financing under the No Child Left Behind Act, which allocates federal money to help students raise their achievement levels, particularly in elementary school reading.

    Ignite, founded by Neil Bush in 1999, includes as investors his parents, former President George H. W. Bush and his wife, Barbara. Company officials say that about 100 school districts use the Curriculum on Wheels, known as the Cow, which is a portable classroom with software to teach middle-school social studies, science and math. The units cost about $3,800 each and require about $1,000 a year in maintenance.

continued at: 

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/printer_110707E.shtml

Dear Rockridge Community,

Through our health policy campaign, Rockridge is contributing to the national debate and helping advance real health care reform -- meaning real health care for all Americans.

Our initiative is fostering new relationships with people and groups playing key roles in national health policy and raised raising own visibility.

Invitations to present, discuss and meet are flying into our inboxes. From the California Nurses to the AFL-CIO to individual veterans, academics and organizers, there is a lot of appreciation for The Logic of the Health Care Debate and our growing portfolio of amplifying articles, op-eds and blog pieces.

Your support -- one-time or recurring -- keeps us mobilized, focused and productive as we reframe the political debate. We need your help. Contribute now.

While - thanks to your help - we are speaking to people through a group of influential news and opinion sites, to keep it simple, we'll continue to link to all articles from our own health care campaign page.

http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub...

Since last week, we've published We Owe Our Veterans Health Care

http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub...

and In Health Care, the Market Mindset Is Hard to Break,

http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub...

both by Eric Haas.

Outside of our health care campaign, we have also published:

Slippery Scribes Shaft Striking Screenwriters
http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub...
by Glenn W. Smith

Ask Rockridge: Preserving Our Shared Responsibility
http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub...
by Joe Brewer

Warren Buffett's CEO Challenge
http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub...
by Evan Frisch
Use that nifty comment feature on Rockridge Nation

http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub...

to share your thoughts on these or other postings.

The response to "The Logic of the Health Care Debate" inspires us and we hope you are similarly encouraged. Today, 85 of you are making recurring gifts to Rockridge. Whatever the amount, recurring gifts are an important part of keeping us going. Will you help us reach 100 this month?

Your support -- one-time or recurring -- keeps us mobilized, focused and productive as we reframe the political debate. Contribute now.

Senior Fellow Eric Haas is heading to DC at the invitation of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub...

These good folks are dedicated to protecting the religious liberties guaranteed by the First Amendment. Watch for his post after he returns on Tuesday of next week.

The Other George. This Wednesday, our George will participate in a conference marking the release of What Orwell Didn't Know: Propaganda and the New Face of American Politics,

http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub...

an anthology featuring twenty prominent writers and thinkers. Including George, who joins a group of historians, linguists, cognitive experts, journalists, government officials, and political consultants to assess the current state of public discourse -- and journalism's response to it. They will consider the past, present, and future of deceptive political speech, and assess what can be done to bring more realism and honesty into the conduct of America's public affairs.

The conference takes place at the New York Public Library. Learn more at the conference's website. Not in NYC? Catch the webcast.

http://ent.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub...

How is a think tank a gift that keeps on giving?

Sherry Reson
Dir. of External Relations
Rockridge Institute

A progressive political think tank whose mission is to reclaim the political debate, the Rockridge Institute depends upon support from the progressive community.


Our postal address is
2105 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
First Floor
Berkeley, California 94704
United States

I don't know, but can anything featuring Christopher Hitchens be any good? I hope it succeds in spite of Hitch.

Fox still doesn't get it does he?. The earth isn't round. the endless spinning has created a bulge at the equator the speed of the spin is the length of the day, day length variation is fact .

the ice at the poles it pretty much stuck there but as water it will move and like a spinning skater putting out their arms will slow (slightly) due to the effect I describe (sea level in the Pacific is not sea level in the Atlantic BTW)

this movement of water caused by the spinning is effected by the air pressure above it interacting with the surface temperature of the ocean most wind is the earth moving under the sky some is circulation and the air trying to find equilibrium between the high and low pressure as the air sinks and lifts (weather)

most of the global warming so far is stuck in the deep water circulation of the South Pacific

pretty intricate machinery when you throw in the tidal effect of the moon

An Iowa activist group with deep roots in the peace movement has endorsed New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for president.

STAR*PAC, an acronym for Stop the Arms Race Political Action Committee, said today its central committee voted to support Richardson for many reasons, particularly the Democrat's promises to pull all U.S. forces out of Iraq within six months to one year.

"His message is the same wherever he speaks — to a military audience in Georgetown,a New Hampshire town meeting, in a rural Iowa community or at STAR*PAC's candidate forum with the governor in August," said Harold Wells, Iowa's STAR*PAC chair.

Wells noted that in a Sept. 27 debate in New Hampshire, other major Democratic contenders declined to promise to bring all American troops home from Iraq before January 2013, which would be the end of the next president's first term.

STAR*PAC was founded in 1980 by Iowans who wanted a statewide organization dedicated to political action against the weapons race and militarism.

The organization invited candidates of both parties to participate in candidate forums and to respond to questionnaires. Richardson, along with Sens. Barack Obama and Christopher Dodd and former Sen. John Edwards, participated in individual candidate forums or meetings hosted by STAR*PAC. The group had questionnaires returned by Richardson, Obama, Edwards and Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

Sorry for the long post....  I should have just posted the link:

 http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/NEWS/71107035/1001

Now you understand my attitude towards Obama. 

No, I don't

 http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/NEWS/71107035/1001

33.

Tom Bearse
Wed, 11/07/07
5:22 pm



Linda wrote "...in the 2 years he was in the US Senate, he didn't write, co sponsor or even vote to end our occupation in Iraq."

Perhaps it's not, as yet, common knowledge that he introduced a bill in January to remove all combat brigades by 3/31/08, in compliance with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group.

----Tom, apprarantly you want to ignore the rest. Not in the 2 years he was in the Senate...on the Bills brought up by Feingold, Kerry or one that wasn't brought up becuase he didn't write one...........in the 2 years BEFORE HE ANNOUNCED HIS PRESIDENCY. Jan 2007 is after he announced his Campaign for Presidency.


Tom Bearse
Wed, 11/07/07
5:25 pm




Linda wrote "AND, he publicly disagrees with using any funds to end our occupation and brings in other Senator as back up for not believing this method should be used."

This is exactly what prompted my question to Sitka. What is the source, if any, of any idea you harbor that had they been in the same position, either Gore or Dean would have done anything different?


AGAIN....And we are talking Obama's in action or talk with no action, we are not talking Gore, Dean, Feingold RFK, Boxer, Feingstin or anybody else. But, this is what you usually do when you are losing the argument.

And Tom loves posting pieces of a conversation to try to invoke another meaning.

But, having said that, he posted a response to a question about the compromised Bill in the summer for Iraq when Mr. Gore stated the obvious, but also elaborated, "I was really directing it at people like me who want to see our troops out immediately but understand that it's not that easy." And he then added, "having said that, I would have voted no".

And John, you should have expected that.


Well, my break is over. Back to tiling.

this clock is something else

did it drive paine nuts or is he still nursing the hangover from celebrating the Series win?

my CST is 6:26

Kevin I settled for half speed DSL instead of true high speed like you

Tom asks, "What would give you the impression that it’s any more likely he would have voted in favor of the invasion than Gore or Dean?"

My asnwer would be that he voted for multiple funding bills to keep the war going. Or am I mistaken?

Also,

Voting YEA on this amendment would establish a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Voting NAY would keep the current situation without a timetable. The amendment states:

1. The President shall redeploy, commencing in 2006, US forces from Iraq by July 1, 2007, leaving only the minimal number of forces that are critical to completing the mission of standing up Iraqi security forces and conducting specialized counterterrorism operations.
2. The President should maintain an over-the-horizon troop presence to prosecute the war on terror and protect regional security interests.
3. Within 30 days, the administration shall submit to Congress a report that sets forth the strategy for the redeployment of US forces from Iraq by July 1, 2007.

 And what do you make of Obama calling Bush "sincere"? Sounds like Obama is pulling his punches on calling Bush the lying decieving  madman that he is. Anyone who says "this administration is sincere, but I think it's misguided" doesn't have much logic or judgement behind him.  Who is doing the "misguiding" if they are sincere? God? Come on, Bush is not misguided nor is he lost and wandering in the desert; he is going exactly where he intends to go.

If Obama didn't have good judgemenet in 2004 when it was obvious to anyone with sense that Bush was not misguided but nuts, then I can't have much conficende in Obama today. He hasn't offered any explanation that show he has improved his basic judgement skills since 2004.  His saying in the debates that he wouldn't commit to removing troops before 2013 is another example of lack of judgement.

Obama's and Edwards' different troop withdrawal speeds are just over the start time and whether done by Congressional action of after next falls election and a new President, pretty similar

the difference, Obama can act right now to defund the war 

Isn't anybody going to notice that Dennis Kucinich got impeachment of Cheney on the table, against Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer strong objection, won the impeachment vote in the House and got the  impeachment of Cheney off the House's table and onto the Judiciary's table?  That is pretty great, if you ask me.   How could Dennis Kucinich have done any better?  Dennis Kucinich will make a great president because Dennis Kucinich can get done what needs to be done.  Now, through Cheney's impeachment, hopefully Bush will get impeached as well.

Did anyone see Boxer on Matthews?  She skated around the impeachment issue and maintained that this regime must be accountable.  So giving him what he wants is accountable?

The repugs will look very good being so behind a discussion of impeachment of cheney while the dems, following a weak Speaker, look even more foolish and cowardly than ever. 

It's amazing what a few bullies can do to spineless critters..or even one or two bullies.

Boxer also said that they're getting a lot done.

....we're heading for an Argentina disaster. 

Phil, you're right something funky is going on with your posts.  When I refreshed your post showed up where it hadn't been before......

 I don't have the fastest satellite connection that I could get, I just have what I need to upload/download the reports I use without having to wait too long.  It would probably take me hours with the way my dial up used to be.

Tom wrote: "Perhaps it's not, as yet, common knowledge that he introduced a bill in January to remove all combat brigades by 3/31/08, in compliance with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group."

 That shows my main peeve about Obama on this issue. Why say "combat" troops? Because he has not come out in favor of removing the permanent military bases.  If he combat brigades are removed then who will be in the military bases? See it is not really what it says. It looks to me that the combat troops will be pulled into the bases but not removed from Iraq.  And why did his comments in the debate sound like he was backtracking and waffling on the 2008 deadline. It didn't soulnd like he wouldt even commit to removing troops by 2013, did it?

And Obama's Jan 2007 proposal was flawed.  The report says, "It would leave a limited number of troops in place to conduct counterterrorism activities and train Iraqi forces. And the withdrawal could be temporarily suspended if the Iraqi government meets a series of benchmarks laid out by the Bush administration."  Conducting "coungterterrorism and troop training is what we did in Vietnam that suckered us into the war.  Also, he said he would keep troops there if the Bush "benchmarks" were met, and Bush's benchmarks are all about privitizing the Iraq oil for American transnational corporations.Why would Obama be supporting the Benchmarks if he didn't support the war? It doesn't compute.   It seems Obama's plan was a show piece without real guts..

I also admire Kucinich.  What he did today was deserving of a

HOWARDLY! 

Is Gore still  scheduled to be somewhere tomorrow night?

Dennis Miller played Keith Olbermann’s Monday rant about torture and found it to be a source of mirth and had quite a few laughs.

Miller, on his radio program heard in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, was gleeful that President Bush could cause Olbermann so much displeasure. He added the comment that Bush would soon be on his way to retirement in Crawford and that his critics “never laid a glove on him.”

Miller is blissfully unaware of the old military maxim: Shit rolls downhill.

Hitler was never tried for war crimes, but members of his staff were.

Laughing Boy might want to obtain a copy of G. M. Gilbert’s book Nuremberg Diary. Could Miller be so crass that he could use it as a humor anthology?

Martha, I love your enthusiasm for Kucinich and I share it, but please be realistic about the impeachment chances.

Kucinich had put HR333 into "the hopper" and it was routinely sent to the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) where Pelosi ordered Conyers to kill it or have his chairmanship taken away. So Conyers carried Pelosi's water for her.

So Kucinich had to tae the alternate route of entering it as a question of constitutional privilege. Thans to the Republicans the Democrats couldn't kill it by tabling it, and had to send it back to the committee.

The question now is whehter Conyers can use the same parliamentary trick to kill it in committee again, or whether since it was sent to committee by the floor it now has to be returned to the floor from the committee with a recommendation. I think that it must now be returned to the floor, but I'm not certain if there is another way for Pelosi and Hoyer to get it killed.

Be hopeful, but be smart. It won't hurt to send messages to Conyers.

What is this all about? I thought this candidate already had DFA's National endorsement. I was never asked this question.

Link found a the DFA-List page: http://www.democracyforamerica.com/suppo...

Help decide: Should Rick Noriega be endorsed?

If we reach 5,000 grassroots supporters by midnight November 3rd, DFA will take action.


Local DFA groups have endorsed Rick Noriega for Senate. Texas DFA members are providing boots on the ground. Now, Rick has the chance to get the national DFA endorsement, but it won't happen without your support.

----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Dean, Democracy for America
To: Susan Rowe
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 2:19 PM
Subject: Stamp Out Bush


Dear Susan,

The race for progressive control of the U.S. Senate begins today.

Rick Noriega is the first 2008 DFA-List endorsed candidate for Senate and our fight to make Congress progressive has never been better.

Rick is taking on Bush Republican John Cornyn. Cornyn has been one of President Bush's biggest cheerleaders for years. He recently proved it again by voting with Bush against expanding health care coverage to 10 million kids.

We have the power to stamp out Bush policies and make the U.S. Senate progressive, but it will take your action to make it happen. Please contribute $20.08 right now and support Rick's campaign:

http://www.DemocracyforAmerica.com/Suppo...

The Bush administration has led us in the wrong direction and John Cornyn has done everything in his power to help them do it.

We need someone who will fight to bring our troops home from Iraq. We need someone who will fight for health care for our veterans and our children, for the environment, for education. And we need someone who will fight for all of us, not just for President Bush and Dick Cheney. America needs Rick Noriega.

For rubberstamping the Bush-Cheney Administration's policies, Cornyn gets rewarded with two invite-only big money fundraisers from President Bush on Thursday.

We can counter it with our people-powered campaign. Let's stamp out Bush and his big money interests with the power of small contributions from the entire nation. Support Rick's campaign with a $20.08 today.

http://www.DemocracyforAmerica.com/Suppo...

In the Texas Legislature, Rick led bipartisan efforts to raise teacher pay and countered Republican Governor Rick Perry's attempts to play politics with Texas' Homeland Security Department. A distinguished veteran who served 14 months in Afghanistan, Rick was appointed to coordinate Houston's massive disaster relief plan in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina once he returned. But don't let me tell you why you should support Rick. Listen to what DFA members on the ground are saying:

"I'm going to knock on every door in my quarter of Arlington to ask people to vote for Rick."
-JoAnn Duman

I went to see and hear him at a DFT Meetup in Austin TX. He has my vote."
-Jerry Landers

"As an Iraqi Vet, I want to say I support Rick Noriega. Thanks."
-Nathan Jeffries

Rick is a longtime progressive hero in Texas. Chip in $20.08 today to stamp out Bush and support Rick Noriega.

http://www.DemocracyforAmerica.com/Suppo...

You have the power to take back Texas. Let's do it together.

Thank you for everything you do,

-Jim

Jim Dean
Chair

Reminder that Al Gore will be guest appearing on 30 Rock Thursday evening,
Then
Jay Leno later on same night.

Don't forget to watch!

Rick Noriega’s Democracy For Texas Questionnaire Response
http://democracyfortexas.org/wp/?page_id...

Just got a call from a very nice young feller reading his script on how I should support the DSCC.  I should have asked him if he was being paid to make this calls or if he was a volunteer.  He merely read his script until I politely interuped him to say that I was up to date on what the DSCC was doing and that I was unlikely to send them any cash.  I would consider sending some cash to individual candidates because the DSCC rarely supported progressives.

Poor thing.  His talking points didn't cover any of my arguments.  He just thanked me for my time and went on to his next rejection.  I wonder if he knew anything beyond his spiel. 

Now that I think of it, I shoulda sent him over here!

83.

donna in evanston
Wed, 11/07/07
8:12 pm


They all get a paid for those types of calls. They use telemarketers who normally get a percentage of the funds that are raised. Political funding raising marketing and telemaketing companies make big bucks. Those emails you get from the DSCC and DCCC sometimes pay those people to make an ask too. I just got one Paul Begala today. He doesn't offer his services for free.

funding s/b fund

61.
Phil...I must say a great job of simply and logically explaining a complex set of variables which effect life as we know it on planet earth. Of course the scientists agree but who are they compared to the pundits of the CM ?...lol

That's all from me tonight...still haven't got me internal clock reset from this weekend.

Barack was against the war from the get go.

Senate gave Bush approval to attack Iraq 11 Oct 2002.

Barack spoke out against Iraq war Oct 2002.

http://usliberals.about.com/od/extraordinaryspeeches/a/Obama2002War.htm

84.

donna in evanston
Wed, 11/07/07
8:12 pm


For the most part the DSCC and DCCC only support incumbents. And most of the time not even all of them. It would be rare if they decided to support someone running for the first time in any district or someone running against one of the Democratic incumbents in a primary. But times they are a changing.

Al Gore,
Visionary and Experience

1.Health care is a right
Our current system doesn't work and is way too expensive.

2.Americans deserve more protection
Congress has failed to exercise its responsibility to make sure the Executive Branch is doing what it's supposed to.

3.Get the troops homeThe longer we stay, the more we're a magnet for violence.

http://current.com/people/algore

79 Why would Obama be supporting the Benchmarks if he didn't support the war? It doesn't compute. It seems Obama's plan was a show piece without real guts.

Perhaps because he wants a safe and sane withdrawl. Believe you me Barack is no show piece without guts. Is that what bothers you he gets alot of attention?

80. Gregory Wonderwheel:

Thanks for answering.  Atleast impeachment is in judicial committee which puts impeachment square on the table.   Time will tell as to how this impeachment will go, but impeachment is now on the table for certain, with DLC Republican Lite Democrats definitely trying to table it, even though impeachment of Bush and Cheney is a priority to American people.  Republicans could have kept it tabled, but they didn't.   Surely Conyers will get some backbone, even if he loses his Chairmanship, what good is his Chairmanship if he has to toe the Pelosi mark.  Surely, Congressman John Conyers must realize that his judicial Chairmanship isn't worth anything if he has to be a Nancy Pelosi puppet.  Nancy Pelosi should be fired for not allowing impeachment to be put on the table in the first place, and hopefully the people of her district in California will be able to take care of that unfortunate problem in the upcoming 2008 Election.  No matter what happens, Dennis Kucinich has made impeachment of Cheney a matter of record, which even if Cheney and Bush doesn't get impeached, it is known for posterity's sake,  that Cheney and Bush would have been impeached if it had not have been for the DLC continuum of sorts  in the Congress threatening to destroy people who really stand for peace, truth and justice.

Reminder that Al Gore will be guest appearing on 30 Rock Thursday evening,
Then
Jay Leno later on same night.

Don't forget to watch!

I thought Leno was doing reruns because of the scriptwriters strike?

I don't know about 30 Rock. 

79. The purpose of the combat troops is to protect the supply lines and the perimeter areas of the mega bases. The 100,000 on the bases are not combat or support for combat. They're engineers and technicians manning the radar and missile installations and doing communications intercept functions. It's an espionage and missile defense operation.
If the Iraqis were happy with our presence, the combat forces wouldn't be needed because they'd leave the bases in peace.

Tomorrow morning the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin marking up FISA reform legislation. What we don't yet know is what changes they will make to the bill passed out of the Senate Intelligence Committee. That's why we have to keep calling and make sure all of the Judiciary Committee members know that retroactive immunity needs to be stripped from the bill.

So far, four senators have said they will oppose retroactive immunity. We need six more to ensure that we'll win this fight. Coincidentally, there are still six Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee that have not said how they will vote on retroactive immunity.

The good news is that we've just launched a new function in the Citizen Generated Whip Count that makes calling the Senate much, much easier for you.

We've built a direct calling feature on our Whip Count tool that connects users to Senate offices over the internet. It allows you to enter your phone number in our widget, we then call you while simultaneously connecting you to the Senate office you're trying to reach. Your phone will ring, the Senate office phone will ring, then you ask them to oppose retroactive immunity. Nice and easy.

Oh, and the Dodd campaign is footing the bill for your calls if you're calling from a land line.

To start calling, visit http://chrisdodd.com/immunity.

How can Al be on if Leno is in re-runs?

He can't be on. So if he is planning any kind of announcement -- either to run or an endorsement -- he will have to do it another way, like on the news.

-- volney

----- Original Message -----
From: Eden James, Courage Campaign
To: Susan Rowe
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 2:53 PM
Subject: Susan: Have you had enough of Dianne Feinstein?


Dear Susan,

"You are leaving this country -- and all of us -- to the waterboards, symbolic and otherwise, of George W. Bush."

That's what MSNBC's Keith Olbermann said to Senator Dianne Feinstein Monday night about her pivotal Judiciary Committee vote to approve Judge Michael Mukasey -- the U.S. Attorney General nominee who refuses to admit that "waterboarding" is torture.

Olbermann's "Special Comment" highlighted the heroic actions of Daniel Levin, President Bush's former Acting Assistant Attorney General, an astonishingly patriotic man who subjected himself to waterboarding to personally determine if it was, indeed, torture -- and then was fired for concluding the obvious.

As Olbermann says, instead of standing up for fundamental human rights and civil liberties that Americans used to take for granted, Dianne Feinstein is allowing George W. Bush to waterboard America and the world.

Click here to watch this amazing must-see "Special Comment" by Keith Olbermann and then take action to hold Dianne Feinstein accountable:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/feinstein...

Have you had enough?

From waterboarding and wiretapping to Iraq and Iran, we've had enough. Enough caving. Enough capitulation. Enough Republican-lite triangulation.

Unfortunately, condoning torture is just the ugly tip of a very dangerous iceberg. Judge Mukasey also is willing to grant George W. Bush executive power carte blanche to ignore the law. And now, with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act up for review by the Judiciary Committee Thursday morning, Senator Feinstein stands at the precipice of history again.


If you care about protecting the Fourth Amendment and stopping warrantless wiretapping, call Senator Feinstein about FISA right now at 202-224-3841.

Of course, just like us, you've probably tried everything in your power to reach her before. Phone calls. Emails. Faxes. Petitions. Protests. Smoke signals. And nothing seems to work. It seems that Dianne Feinstein, much like George W. Bush, is walled off from the rest of us in a Fox News-warped world in which torture is acceptable and the rule of law is ignored.

So, here's the big question: In the wake of her vote to condone torture, what will it take to get Feinstein's attention? We need your brainpower and creativity. Can you take a few seconds to click here and send us your best ideas on how to make Dianne Feinstein accountable to Californians?:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/feinstein...

As your comments come in, we'll take direct action as soon as possible on at least one idea brainstormed by the Courage Campaign community.

What was Senator Feinstein's spin for why she failed to stand up for core American values? "First and foremost, Michael Mukasey is not Alberto Gonzales."

Well, Senator Feinstein, you are no Daniel Levin. Or Russ Feingold. Or even John McCain, for that matter. As Senator McCain, someone who understands the brutality of torture, has said: Waterboarding is "a horrible torture technique... How can we condone this sort of stuff?"

On some of the most important issues of our lifetime, Senator Feinstein is giving political cover to regressive politicians like Rudolph Giuliani -- even though she represents a blue state. A blue state that does not support torture. Or wiretapping Americans without a warrant. Or funding an endless war in Iraq. Or giving aid and comfort to George W. Bush as he seeks to provoke a new war with Iran.

It's time to blow up the box of political expediency -- to hold blue-state "Democrats" like Feinstein accountable. Right now, you can tell us what the Courage Campaign should do -- what you would do -- to trigger the conscience of Senator Feinstein:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/feinstein...

If you send us your thoughts right now, we will take direct action ASAP on at least one idea from our people-powered community.

In email after email, we are witnessing the deep disappointment of grassroots and netroots supporters -- a rising tide of frustration with Dianne Feinstein, her actions, and her lack of accountability.


If Senator Feinstein cares about nothing else, she cares about her legacy. At this moment, whether she knows it or not, Senator Feinstein's place in history has been soiled by a decision that she will likely later regret, if only because it is catalyzing a movement to hold her accountable.

You are at ground zero in this movement. While this people-powered project may not create the desired outcome, we won't know unless we try something new. Something different. Something from you.

As the always eloquent Keith Olbermann says in signing off his broadcast and channeling the ghost of Edward R. Murrow,... "Good night, and good luck."

Eden James
Managing Director

P.S. With the unprecedented support you just gave us on ActBlue, the Courage Campaign continues to build a movement to stop the Republicans from stealing the White House, block Blackwater's base on the California border, and hold Senator Feinstein accountable.

Last week, we asked the Courage Campaign community to help us meet a mission-critical goal within one week -- 1,000 "No Dirty Tricks" donors on ActBlue -- a goal you blew past in less than 48 hours. And now, unbelievably, we're at 1,243 "No Dirty Tricks" donors on ActBlue and counting.


We need to keep up the momentum. Can you help the Courage Campaign reach 1,500 donors ASAP so we can lead a grassroots and netroots-driven movement to make politics in California people-powered and progressive?

http://www.couragecampaign.org/actblue

---
Paid for by the Courage Campaign Issues Committee

100% OT

All you closet Barry fans here's your chance for a FREE download. Actually, it's pretty cool. It's the closest I've ever seen him come to a religious Christmas song but he's changed a lot of the words and made It Came Upon a Midnight Clear into an anti-war song. You have to sign up to his mailing list to get it I think.

Glad Fred checked in. Now where's ole Paine.

98. Sorry I forgot the link:

http://76.12.17.68/bonustrack/

A spokeswoman for the House Judiciary did not rule out the committee's consideration of the measure. "We were surprised that the minority was so ready to move forward with consideration of a matter of such complexity as impeaching the Vice President," she said. "The Chairman will discuss today's vote with the Committee members but it would seem evident that the committee staff should continue to consider, as a preliminary matter, the many abuses of this Administration, including the Vice President."

http://www.airamerica.com/node/5794 

the senate in virginia is blue. did i say blue.

true blue.

so thanks dfa for the help.

18.

seashell :-)
Wed, 11/07/07
4:57 pm

Here's a controversial post by a blogger, which may be taking things a little too far...but who really knows? The caving of Schumer and Feinstein is suspicious.

**********

from the blogger....not mine
---------

Yours too, Sea..., yours too...., otherwise you wouldn't be in doubts: "...who really knows?". It's easy to find scapegoat as usual.

Germany beginning of 1920-th also had its own Schumers and Feinsteins..., a little later it has also got its own Fuhrer.
The problem then was only one: it were just hundreds or maybe even thousands of Schumers and Feinsteins..., but millions of non-Shumers and non-Feinshteins but Feingolds have payed back.

Do you think the bloger you quoted couldn't became such a Fuhrer here in America? I have no doubts he could.

Please don't help him.

Howdy folks. Well, I don't know about Leno now. Maybe I can stay up to see if anything is new tonight. I know they said the Talk Shows will have to air reruns, but of course, they do have some shows that were taped before the strike and I thought Mr. Gore was one of them. I wasn't expecting an announcement, so maybe that's why I thought it was taped.

???

John wrote " No, I don't [understand your attitude towards Obama now.]

Well try.  You explained it in precise terms with regard to your own feelings about Gore and Dean.

91, Martha Miller,

Oh I agree with you 100%.  When ucinich introduced HR 333 in April it was by the routine method called "the hopper" and was routinely sent to the House Judiciary Committee where Conyers killed it on Pelosi's orders. If he didn't he would have had his chairmanship removed by Pelosi.  Now Kucinich has reintroduced impeachment as HR 799 using the "Constitutional Privilege"  so the committee can't kill it like before.

What we have to watch for now is some other parliamentary loophole that Pelosi will come up with to delay or prevent the committee from beginning the inquiry hearings. 

95.

30 Rock's episode this week has already been taped so it can run as scheduled..

Jay Leno's program is live so the writers can't write what he is supposed to say and reruns will be aired.

Are you expecting Gore to come on Leno to announce his candidacy? 

101 HJC statement

I thought the HJC statement is hilarious political speak.  The spokeswoman says, "We were surprised that the minority was so ready to move forward with consideration of a matter of such complexity as impeaching the Vice President,"   She is admitting that the majority, i.e., the Democrats, wanted to kill the impeachment bill even when over 70% of Democrats in the nation want the impeachment, and they were surprized the Republicans didn't want to kill the impeachment bill like the Democratic "leadership" did.    

The Republicans, God bless their delusional minds, thought it would be a good idea to show how "leftist" the Democrats are if they support impeachment. They too don't admit and realize that over 50% of voters of all persuasions want impeachment.  

 The denial of the Beltway Representatives in Congress is astounding.

Linda wrote “Tom, apparently you want to ignore the rest. Not in the 2 years he was in the Senate...on the Bills brought up by Feingold, Kerry or one that wasn't brought up because he didn't write one...........in the 2 years BEFORE HE ANNOUNCED HIS PRESIDENCY. Jan 2007 is after he announced his Campaign for Presidency.”

I admire your characteristic persistence. He’s still in the Senate. Your meaning is “the first two years he was in the Senate.”

This is a very old discussion. Each time you resurrect it, I have to reproduce the same rejoinder. As a senator, you don’t have to 1) be in favor of defunding, 2) mandate a deadline for withdrawal, or 3) introduce some kind of bill to 1) oppose the war or 2) demonstrate that you would not have authorized the invasion had you had a vote at the time the bill was introduced.

I’m sorry, but it’s simply the case. You see, voting for the authorization, yes, that’s right, authorizing an invasion, is what gets you into the war. That starts the killing machine. That’s what’s to be avoided if you, in fact, oppose such an invasion. That was the failure in this instance.

After the vote, you have a different problem. Beginning hostilities is not nearly the problem as ending them, because simply flipping off the commander in chief, chopping off the money hose to soldiers in theater, leaving a security void in a whirling vortex of violence in your helicopter with refugees clinging to the landing gear, have their own implications. These are important policy differences, with constitutional ramifications that could affect other administrations and other conflicts, and with the lives of thousands suspended in the balance. The arm chair pacifists do the same disservice as the arm chair generals. They decide the fate of others while pushing pieces around the game board, and watch what happens from a safe distance.

The denial of the Beltway Representatives in Congress is astounding.

It's right out of Bizarro World that the Reeps sided with the majority of Americans who want Cheney impeached (because they think it will hurt Dems), while Dems fought against it tooth and nail (because they're afraid to side with the majority). 

Welcome to the upside down, staight jacket insanity, of Washington DC. 

new thread

http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/22881...


Thank you Howard Dean!

new thread

Beginning hostilities is not nearly the problem as ending them, because simply flipping off the commander in chief, chopping off the money hose to soldiers in theater, leaving a security void in a whirling vortex of violence in your helicopter with refugees clinging to the landing gear, have their own implications.

Using rovian propaganda to justify the inaction of Democrats doesn't cut it around here because we all know such scenarios are utter BS.

Also, please take advantage of Linda's links to current tv to hear Gore's remarks concerning the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.  He states, to the best of my dictation abilities, that the stupidity of invading the country is, by now, obvious:

'But the question of how we get out of Iraq and under what circumstances is significantly more difficult,' and 'we need to withdraw as quickly as possible, while keeping an eye on the obligation we have not to make an alreay terrible situation even worse in the manner of our leaving.'

OK, SOLVED, my bad.

Al Gore was scheduled to be on Thursday, but it wasn't pretaped, so he will NOT be on :(

ReRun from October 7

Jay Leno: Ben Affleck, Jim Norton, the Shins (R 10/8/07)

Sitka wrote "Using rovian propaganda to justify the inaction of Democrats doesn't cut it around here because we all know such scenarios are utter BS."

I find this a low rent charge to make against Vice President Gore.

Tom, LOL, YES PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEOS,

"...Yet, the longer we stay, it appears we are a magnet feeding this Civil War that has emerged inside Iraq. So, I do think our Primay goal should be to get our troops home as quickly as possible".

Linda quoted Al Gore: "So, I do think our Primay goal should be to get our troops home as quickly as possible."

Good, we're watching the same thing.  Now do you understand?  Our primary goal should be to get our troops home as quickly as possible while keeping an eye on the obligation we have not to make an already terrible situation even worse in the manner of our leaving.

No one's arguing even momentarily that the troops should be withdrawn at the earliest possible time, tomorrow if it can be done without making the situation worse.  The debate regards the best strategy and the best timing for the best results.

A Conversation with Al Gore

Even war opponents, Gore said, have a "moral obligation to see the complexity of the dilemma our country is in," trying to bring troops home while not leaving Iraq in even more dangerous turmoil. "So pursuing those twin objectives is not easy under any circumstances, but it's not an act of cowardice or a lack of will on the part of Democrats in the Congress who see the complexity of this dilemma," Gore argued.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/4255.html

I have no idea why my posts are all lumped into one paragraph. I certainly don't type them that way.

If you reverse what you just posted to what Al Gore actually said then yes.

Keep in mind.........PRIMARY GOAL IS TO GET OUR TROOPS HOME AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE.

Many others have a different primary goal and that is the problem, Tom.


I'm off.....all play well. I accidentally hammered a finger while tamping the tile....it's really starting to hurt now.

Linda wrote "If you reverse what you just posted to what Al Gore actually said then yes."

Meaning what?  It's a video.

Linda wrote "Many others have a different primary goal and that is the problem, Tom."

Wait, don't go.  My exact point is that others do not have a different primary goal.  That's what's getting lost in the rhetoric.  Disagreeing about methods is not disagreeing about the objective. 

I've done that with a hammer, laying a brick walk.  I ended up in the emergency room.