Welcome to DCP 2.0 & the Open Thread

Source: BRAD BLOG, LA TimesBREAKING: GOP's CA Electoral College Initiative/Scam Dead,
Says LA TimesLA Times is reporting tonight that the good guys may have won one for a change...

BREAKING NEWS:
Electoral initiative backers give up
Plagued by a lack of money, supporters of a statewide initiative drive to change the way California's 55 electoral votes are apportioned, first revealed here by Top of the Ticket in July, are pulling the plug on that effort.
In an exclusive report to appear on this website late tonight and in Friday's print editions, The Times' Dan Morain reports that the proposal to change the winner-take-all electoral vote allocation to one by congressional district is virtually dead with the resignation of key supporters, internal disputes and a lack of funds.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5110

Pentagon Gives Blackwater New Contract

by Ali Gharib
A U.S.-based private security firm received a contract worth up to 92 million dollars from the Department of Defense amid hard questions about its involvement in two separate violent incidents in Iraq.
"Blackwater has been a contractor in the past with the department and could certainly be in the future," said the U.S.’s top-ranking military officer, General Peter Pace, at an afternoon press conference here.
The future arrived just two hours later when the Pentagon released a new list of contracts – Presidential Airways, the aviation unit of parent company Blackwater, was awarded the contract to fly Department of Defense passengers and cargo between locations around central Asia.
The announcement comes as a cloud of suspicion is gathering around the "professional military" firm for its actions as a State Department security contractor in Iraq in which at least eight Iraqis and possibly as many as 28 were killed, including a woman and child.
Last week, the Iraqi government announced that it had revoked Blackwater's license to operate in the country.
http://www.antiwar.com/ips/gharib.php?articleid=11690

Keith Olbermann: Is Bill O'Reilly mentally ill?

Hell Yeah, You Betcha, out of this world, 'SICK WANKER'

Nick Langewis and Mike AivazPublished: Friday September 28, 2007
"These people aren't gonna get away with this. I'm gonna go right where they live. Every corrupt media person in this country is on notice right now. I'm coming after you. I'm gonna hunt you down. And I mean it. Smear stops here. You're all on notice out there. I'm comin' for ya."--Bill O'Reilly, The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly
"Tonight," opens MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, "as in the past few days, Bill O'Reilly has devoted large sections of his shows to defending himself against critics who pointed out the racism in his surprise that people in a black-owned restaurant know how to order iced tea without cursing about somebody's mother."
Though "an argument can be made" for a parallel between racism and mental deficiency, says Olbermann, he seeks to take a serious look into the possibility of real psychological problems plaguing the host of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor in light of recent remarks, construed racist, following a visit to a predominantly black restaurant.
O'Reilly, says Olbermann, is showing signs of paranoia stemming from a disconnect between the outside world "and his own head."
"Americans should be very skeptical of the news media. No longer can it be trusted." --Bill O'Reilly
"We haven't trusted you in ten years," quips Olbermann.

VIDEO LINK http://rawstory.com//news/2007/Keith_Olbermann_ask_is_Bill_OReilly_0928.h

CBS: Sy Hersh To Report U.S. Planning Iran Military Action

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/09/28/cbs-sy-hersh-to-report-u_n_66408.html

Certain Americans
Posted 28 September 2007
C ertain Americans chose a president no smarter than themselves, an illiterate who, in the seventh year of his presidency, still mangles the English language with such sentences as "Childrens do learn." Far worse, however, certain Americans chose a president who then lied to them about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and ties to al Qaeda, in order to send their sons and daughters (along with our sons and daughters) to kill Iraqis and, perhaps, die in an illegal, immoral invasion - now considered the worst strategic disaster in US history.

Even so, certain Americans either shrugged their shoulders or rationalized away the evil behavior of their president when, for example, on the eve of announcing the invasion of Iraq, he "pumped his fist as though instead of initiating a war he had kicked a winning field goal or hit a home run. 'Feels good,' he said." [Paul Waldman, Fraud, p. 8]

Certain Americans cheered him when he proclaimed "Mission Accomplished," more than four years and thousands of lives ago. Certain Americans basked in his phony bravado, when, from the safety of his White House, their coward-in-chief said "Bring 'em on" to the Iraqis just beginning to develop their deadly insurgency. And certain Americans raised few questions when, in 2007, their president falsely told Australia's deputy prime minister that "We're kicking ass" in Iraq.

We know roughly who these certain Americans are. Many are Southern whites, "62 percent of whom voted Republican in House races." [Paul Krugman, "Politics in Black and White," New York Times, Sept. 24, 2007] Many are poorly educated and possess a stupidity fueled by racism. And that explains why the main G.O.P. candidates for president have refused to participate in "a long-scheduled, national debate focusing on issues important to minorities." [Bob Herbert, The Ugly Side of the GOP, New York Times, Sept. 25, 2007] They can't get themselves elected without the electoral support of certain stupid racist white Southern Americans.

Certain Americans love Bill O'Reilly and don't understand the outrage sparked by his observations about dining at Sylvia's in Harlem. O'Reilly reported that he "couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship…There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.' "

Certain Americans seem incapable of understanding how ridiculous Rush Limbaugh sounded when he asserted that service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq are "phony soldiers." They never thought to ask: "How could he possibly know? He's never served in the US military."

Certain Americans found themselves more outraged by MoveOn.org's ad about General Betray Us than by the illegal, immoral, murderous war that renders our country less secure and earns all Americans the well-deserved hatred of much of the world. Unfortunately, feckless congressional Democrats - put into office, in order to end the war - have found it easier to pander to the moral turpitude of certain Americans than achieve the goal for which they were elected. Moreover, when it comes to dealing thoughtfully with Iran, these feckless Democrats proved themselves no more judicious than certain xenophobic Americans.

I saw certain Americans during my jury duty two days ago. It wasn't pretty. Yet, I took great delight in listening to Judge Defino call them to account for their sorry-ass lives. >>>CONT
http://www.walter-c-uhler.com/Reviews/oceania.html

Blackwater Review to Focus on Five Fatal Cases

Anne Gearan of The Associated Press says, "Five cases this year in which private Blackwater USA security guards killed Iraqi civilians are at the core of a US review of how the hired protection forces guard diplomats in Iraq, officials said Friday."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092907C.shtml

I haven't put it in here yet but please bear in mind that it is NOT legal to copy entire articles into the blog. Excerpting for purposes of commenting or drawing attention to them is permitted.

Please help the DCP stay out of trouble by limiting the amount that you quote from any given article.

And I'll take out a couple of the long ones from the other blog thread... and thanks Kangaroo. (Are you sure you don't want rossi? My fingers keep wanting to type that.)

Democratic Frontrunners Offer No Guarantees to Withdraw Troops

Beth Fouhy, of The Associated Press, reports: "the leading Democratic White House hopefuls conceded Wednesday night they cannot guarantee to pull all US combat troops from Iraq by the end of the next presidential term in 2013. 'I think it's hard to project four years from now,' said Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in the opening moments of a campaign debate in the nation's first primary state. 'It is very difficult to know what we're going to be inheriting,' added Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. 'I cannot make that commitment,' said former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092707M.shtml

September 30, 2007 6:41 AM
dwahzon said:

Gotcha

Matt Renner | Bush Administration, DOJ Blocking Iraq Fraud Suits

Matt Renner reports for Truthout, "Peter Keisler, the acting US attorney general, covered up evidence of alleged widespread contracting fraud in Iraq by preventing whistleblowers' complaints from being investigated, according to a prominent fraud attorney."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/092607J.shtml

Dwahzon,

Thank you for all your effort setting up the newer sleeker DCP. It's sort of like switching from driving an old van to driving a shiny new corvette!

Love the new corvette!

You deserve a bottle of wine and some rich Belgium chocolate to help you heal from all the frustrating hours setting up the new site.

Well...it finally decided to let me in.

Great work, Violet, on the new site. The open thread idea will hopefully keep the more themematic threads on track - and make them more sensible to visitors or newcomers.

The old DCP style supported much more of a watercooler orientation - which is great for established members wanting to connect, share notes, or simply vent, but problematic for visitors wanted to understand the work being done here.

Just want to share:

While digging up those picture links, I discovered a different van.

It says, "Let's get um Mr. President"

Microsoft registers this as a possible Phishing site on their Microsoft® Phishing Filter. For now, I reported that "I didn't think this was..." but they have a more in-depth link for official representatives of the site to fill out.

Thanks sparrow and Matt. The registration problem showed up about 11 pm last night. Sorry for the difficulty.

As for the Microsoft phishing thing, I've already reported to their "phishing" authorities that we're a legitimate organization just asking for people to sign in to use the blog and that we've been around since 2004. Supposedly, they'll review and remove us. I don't know how long it will take.

As you can tell, you can use lots of html in the comments and you can also link directly to a specific comment which should make responding to comments easier.

I love being able to embedd links and add pictures. Wouldn't mind having an avitar.

hey Kangaroo ...

Should we call you Kang, Roo, or Rossi?

Dwahzon,

Thanks for the information.

So...where is it we send the wine, the candy, and maybe a few tranquilizers to again?

Or maybe you'd just prefer a sledge hammer.

Hi all --

For anyone having difficulty with the sign-in / registration, I just want to let you know you're not alone. It's a little bump in the road.

The sign-in and the register links on the bottom of this thread should work.

If you had admin privileges on the old DCP MT, then check your email.

I'm in the DCP Lounge in the IRC as usual. That doesn't require registration so pop in and say hi and let me know if you're still having difficulty.

And isn't it nice to be able to post pictures, sparrow?

I think I'm going to like this.

As for right now, I'll take a latte and a little breakfast.

September 30, 2007 10:02 AM
Matthew Carnicelli said:
Well...it finally decided to let me in.

Hahahahaha I feel your pain, and then I did it all wrong.

Thank you so much for all your hard work, DCP staff. I love the new blog configuration.

Dawhzon: latte there be peace on earth, let it begin with thee...

all we are saying is give pizza chance,
Otter

hey Kangaroo ...

Should we call you Kang, Roo, or Rossi?

All of the above will do, sparrow

Yes, sparrow, Yahoo News does count as MSM in this context, since all it does is aggregate articles from actual MSM sources for you (such as the article from 'The Nation' you linked to upthread).

Lookin' Good, Dwahzon!!! :-)

I do notice with posting pictures that you need to save them to your computer, first. Then make them a smaller size in a program like Paint and resave the picture.

Then upload the picture to a hosting site like photobucket. But if you try to just take the picture from the original site and post them here they will be too large and will muck up the side bars.

(Don't forget now that we have the picture capability you have to use the hosting site anyways.)

John Nichols | Congress Quietly Approves Billions More for Iraq War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/093007C.shtml
Writing for The Nation, John Nichols says, "The Senate agreed on Thursday to increase the federal debt limit by $850 billion - from $8.965 trillion to $9.815 trillion - and then proceeded to approve a stop-gap spending bill that gives the Bush White House at least $9 billion in new funding for its war in Iraq."

{{{This lists the presidential candidates in both the House and the Senate who did not vote, or who voted against this insanity, as well as the others who voted nay (I won't copy-paste here because the paragraphs would exceed 'fair use' policies). Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul voted against this idiocy. Remind me again why they are considered "unelectable"...??? The vast majority of Americans want OUT of Iraq, ASAP, and they are the only two who are advocating getting out, have promised that if they were elected they'd order the troops home immediately. And neither one is getting acclaim in Lamestream Media. If there were two gray cells to rub together by the corporate media moguls, they'd pit Kucinich and Paul against each other as the two who would get us out of Iraq, and give them the most media attention, not the politicians they've made into celebrities with excessive face/name recognition all these years.}}}

Hey dwahzon,
This looks great! Thanks for all the hard work - I'm sure it was nightmarish at times!

Good work!

If you missed Saturday Night Live's season opener last night, you have to see this:

Love song to Ahmadinijad:

Iran So Far Away....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhBQxbxAcLg

Funny stuff!

That is funny stuff, Carol.

Here's one that my husband found. Talk about knowing your way around the world. Just imagine what this little girl will do.

Also it's a good excuse to show off something else we can now do in comments on DCP 2.0.

dw,

Amazing girl! Put's me to shame.

Are there instructions somewhere on posting that way? Cuz I'm a little uneducated about how to do it!

Actually, I decided to test it too, Carol. And I found this link at Youtube. Our dear Karen probably was there to hear her in person and I can only imagine how everyone in the room must have broken down and cried. I know I would have. It was difficult enough to see this Iraqis woman doctor speak and show slides at Camp Democracy last year.

It's actually quite easy to post this. If you see a link you like from another site, such as Youtube or Crooks and Liars, if they have an "embedded link" then copy/paste that here. That's all you have to do.

We still have Camp Democracy videos available that may have that woman doctor on it. It's still available through Jesselyn's Patriotic Truth Teller site.

Thanks, sparrow. I'll try it next time!

Excellent rejuvenation of the DCP site Dwahzon. Otter, I feel certain that you were also giving Dwahzon some cheer whilst she was getting more and more frustrated with the teething problems that always thwart the greatest of efforts. This technology is brilliant. Provided it all works. And if it doesn't work, I go out. I can't mess anything up that way.

You've breathed new life into this Dwahzon. And to me also. I can't wait until I can really investigate thoroughly. When you are all asleep, I'll prowl through the alleyways and side streets off the beaten path.

And thanks sparrow for advising me on how to get the main door to open in the first place. I did it, as you can see!

DOWD: NEARLY 40% have never lived outside a Bush/Clinton presidency.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/opinion/30dowd.html

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/09/30/what-every-good-democrat-should-have-on-their-christmas-list/
What Every Good Democrat Should Have On Their Christmas List

Orange Impeachment Bracelets!

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/bracelet

:-)

Nice to see that Tom finally gets it. He even admits his own guilt in helping create our current mess.

September 30, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
9/11 Is Over
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Not long ago, the satirical newspaper The Onion ran a fake news story that began like this:

“At a well-attended rally in front of his new ground zero headquarters Monday, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani officially announced his plan to run for president of 9/11. ‘My fellow citizens of 9/11, today I will make you a promise,’ said Giuliani during his 18-minute announcement speech in front of a charred and torn American flag. ‘As president of 9/11, I will usher in a bold new 9/11 for all.’ If elected, Giuliani would inherit the duties of current 9/11 President George W. Bush, including making grim facial expressions, seeing the world’s conflicts in terms of good and evil, and carrying a bullhorn at all state functions.”

Like all good satire, the story made me both laugh and cry, because it reflected something so true — how much, since 9/11, we’ve become “The United States of Fighting Terrorism.” Times columnists are not allowed to endorse candidates, but there’s no rule against saying who will not get my vote: I will not vote for any candidate running on 9/11. We don’t need another president of 9/11. We need a president for 9/12. I will only vote for the 9/12 candidate.

What does that mean? This: 9/11 has made us stupid. I honor, and weep for, all those murdered on that day. But our reaction to 9/11 — mine included — has knocked America completely out of balance, and it is time to get things right again.

- more -

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/opinion/30friedman.html

123

Burma: Thousands dead in massacre of the monks dumped in the jBurma: Thousands dead in massacre of the monks dumped in the jungle

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=484903

May God be with the ones left behind in that hellhole.

From that link

The most senior official to defect so far, Hla Win, said: "Many more people have been killed in recent days than you've heard about. The bodies can be counted in several thousand."

Mr Win, who spoke out as a Swedish diplomat predicted that the revolt has failed, said he fled when he was ordered to take part in a massacre of holy men. He has now reached the border with Thailand.

Oh man. This is very very bad.

Christy, that's unspeakably horrific.

It goes along with another note that I saw in a diary on dailykos which pointed toward a blog which recounted a phone call in which people who worked at a crematorium were crying while they called friends and told them that injured protesters had been taken to the crematorium by the soldiers and been thrown in.

The diarist listed a whole bunch of news stories which he's also keeping track on his blog to which cross-posted a link.

Housekeeping note:

For those of you who are just joining the new DCP 2.0, things have been moved around slightly.

The Open Thread blog is where we'll put the random news items and miscellaneous observations. And we're going to try to keep the DCP blog focused on discussion relating to the blog post itself.

If you have any trouble registering or whatever, I'm in the IRC as usual.

DW,

That is so horrible, I do not even know what to say.

God help our sorry species.

Christy said:
God help our sorry species.
October 1, 2007 11:20 AM

God helps those who help themselves, so it's said... we better start helping ourselves really soon, or we'll all be dead.

Open Thread Dread

Deaths among U.S. forces, Iraqi civilians drop
Numbers fell to lowest levels last month in more than a year, U.S., Iraq say

BAGHDAD - Deaths among American forces and Iraqi civilians fell dramatically last month to their lowest levels in more than a year, according to figures compiled by the U.S. military, the Iraqi government and The Associated Press.

The decline signaled a U.S. success in bringing down violence in Baghdad and surrounding regions since Washington completed its infusion of 30,000 more troops on June 15.

A total of 64 American forces died in September — the lowest monthly toll since July 2006.

The decline in Iraqi civilian deaths was even more dramatic, falling from 1,975 in August to 922 last month, a decline of 53.3 percent. The breakdown in September was 844 civilians and 78 police and Iraqi soldiers, according to Iraq’s ministries of Health, Interior and Defense.

In August, AP figures showed 1,809 civilians and 155 police and Iraqi soldiers were killed in sectarian violence.

The civilian death toll has not been so low since June 2006, when 847 Iraqis died.

In a joint statement, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and U.S. Commander Gen. David Petraeus commended Iraqi’s security forces and its citizens for the decrease in violence.

“We are confident that you and your fellow citizens will continue to display determination, that Iraqi Security Forces will remain vigilant and that additional Iraqis will join our combined effort,” said the statement released Monday.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21080939/

The shame of it is that the track record of how this administration choreographs, packages, markets and delivers events leads the cynic in me to believe these reports to be less than accurate, but a very nice follow-up to Gen. Petraeus September performance on Capitol Hill, slipped in nicely on the day Gen. Pace retires.

But what do I know, I'm just one of the lowly 68 per cent.

October 1, 2007 1:25 PM
monkey said:
Deaths among U.S. forces, Iraqi civilians drop
Numbers fell to lowest levels last month in more than a year, U.S., Iraq say

*******

Petraeus Now Admits to Rise in Iraq Violence

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/093007Z.shtml

See also: A Message From The "Iraq Resistance" :
"We are simple people who chose principles over fear."
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7468.htm

Sentence cuts for Bali bombers
TERRORISTS involved in the 2005 Bali bombings are likely to get sentence cuts
to celebrate the end of holy Ramadan, it was revealed in Indonesia yesterday.
Announcement made on bombing second anniversary
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22514834-2,00.html

Democracy Georgies Style

Israel frees jailed Palestinians to boost Abbas

ISRAEL sent 57 jailed Palestinians home to the West Bank to try to bolster Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas, but the release of 29 other prisoners who live in Hamas-controlled Gaza was delayed.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22517210-23109,00.html

Experts Proclaim Religious Right Powerless In '08 Primaries

The religious right's political power ebbs

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/20062.html

Gotbaum kin's plea before dying: I'm not a terrorist!

The daughter-in-law of one of New York's top officials screamed, "I'm not a terrorist!" and fought with security officials in the Phoenix airport before being wrestled to the ground and handcuffed, witnesses told the Daily News yesterday.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/10/01/2007-10-01_gotbaum_kins_plea_before_dying_im_not_a_.html?ref=rss

Roadside Bomb Attacks in Iraq Top 81,000

IEDs have made U.S. troops wary; technology hasn't eliminated threat

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/world/5175388.html

Monday: 1 GI, 36 Iraqis Killed; 17 Iraqis Wounded
Sunday: 2 GIs, 118 Iraqis Killed; 19 Iraqis Wounded
Saturday: 2 GIs, 50 Iraqis Killed; 82 Iraqis Wounded
Friday: 78 Iraqis Killed, 54 Wounded
Thursday: 40 Iraqis Killed; 21 Wounded
Wednesday: 1 GI, 182 Iraqis Killed; 136 Iraqis Wounded
Tuesday: 1 GI, 49 Iraqis Killed; 71 Iraqis Wounded
Monday: 1 GI, 105 Iraqis killed; 118 Iraqis Wounded
http://antiwar.com/updates/

Highest-ranking soldier convicted of Abu Ghraib abuse is paroled

Former Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick Jr. served about three years of an eight-year sentence for actions that included placing wires in a detainee's hands and telling him he would be electrocuted if he fell off a box.

Frederick is among 12 U.S. soldiers convicted in the scandal that erupted in April 2004 with the release of pictures of grinning U.S. soldiers posing with detainees, some naked, being held on leashes or in painful and sexually humiliating positions.

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=2866&type=UTTM

Blackwater Fired 122 Employees

Monday October 1, 2007 7:16 PM
By RICHARD LARDNER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP)- Private security contractor Blackwater USA has had to fire 122 people over the past three years for problems ranging from misusing weapons, alcohol and drug violations, inappropriate conduct, and violent behavior, according to a report released Monday by a congressional committee.

That total is roughly one-seventh of the work force that Blackwater has in Iraq, a ratio that raises questions about the quality of the people working for the company.

The report, prepared by the majority staff of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, also says Blackwater has been involved in 195 shooting incidents since 2005, or roughly 1.4 per week.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,,-6962947,00.html

Stand with the Burmese Protesters

Sign the Petition

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/t.php

Karen you'll be glad to hear this. The DC court has dismissed the charges against Rev. Yearwood. I'm not sure if I met him at Camp Democracy, but I know when I saw the video of them attacking him, I was just sick and disgusted.

A man of peace taken down for no reason.

I hope this opens the door for him to file charges against their police brutality.

Raise your hand if you think there is a country left on the planet that thinks the United States is synonymous w/ fairness, compassion or reason?

W:orst Ever

Raise your hand...with a drink in it if you believe there isn't a country left on the planet that thinks the United States is synonymous w/fairness, compassion or reason.

W:tf else can W do to F*** up this world?

http://www.monkeykrewe.org/

Oooo a paaaaaaaarty!!!

So hey. I thought you were going to be on the Love Boat next winter with the Radiators.

This is a lovely story to come from Afghanistan, with photo of the women. However, whilst they look a little freer, they look terribly, terribly sad.

I'd put the photo in if I could work out how to do it.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/01/1191091027816.html

Afghan beauty emerges from beneath the burqa
Jon Hemming, Mazar-e-Sharif
October 2, 2007

A MODEL strutting the catwalk is hardly revolutionary in most countries, but Afghan television's answer to America's Next Top Model is breaking boundaries and revealing the beauty beneath the burqa.

Nearly six years after the overthrow of the strict Islamist Taliban government, almost all women in deeply conservative Afghanistan still only appear in public wafting past in the burqa's pale blue, their dark eyes only occasionally visible behind the bars of its grille.

October 1, 2007 9:12 AM
Matthew Carnicelli said:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/opinion/30friedman.html

Friedman's best sentence in the article:
"We can’t afford to keep being this stupid!"

And isn't that precisely what we have been lamenting and complaining about for what seems like forever now? Well, for the years of the Bu$hCo administration, at any rate.

It started with a stupid man (as in uncurious, unintelligent, unintelligible, moron), and that stupid man has been excused and pardoned at EVERY turn like he's a spoiled brat who's hopelessly cute (and he isn't even cute; his eyes are too close together in his head and he's quite an ugly little bastard, quite frankly, so he certainly was not 'elected' for his looks, and we all know it most certainly was not because he has an IQ higher than his little shoe size).

Lamestream Media and Congress Critters have played indulgent parents to the 'poor misunderstood, misunderestimated widdle boy' who throws regular temper tantrums, excusing him at every turn, letting him run amok with our treasury and our military and giving him every extra power he's demanded and not spanking him for extra powers he's claimed (executive orders, signing statements), and what he's claimed may be illegal if not 'only' unethical and immoral.

True. Some few (too few) in Lamestream Media have awakened to the dawn of reality. Only the blogosphere is aware of them, it seems.

What's taking our Congress Critters so long to wake up from this long stupor...?

Blackwater Out Of Control And Indifferent To Civilian Toll: Report

Blackwater has earned more than $1 billion from federal contracts since 2001, when it had less than $1 million in government work.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20071001/blackwater-iraq/

Non Sequitur

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/uclickcomics/20071001/cx_nq_uc/nq20071001

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/uclickcomics/20071002/cx_nq_uc/nq20071002

Rev. Yearwood speaks re: Police Brutality against him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bibOz2WkNg

ING Direct steps in as US bank collapses
By Ben White in New York

Published: September 28 2007 21:06 | Last updated: September 29 2007 00:09

ING Direct, a subsidiary of the Dutch financial group, is to take over the customers and insured deposits of NetBank, an online lender with $2.5bn (£1.2bn) in assets that was shut down on Friday by the US government following losses on subprime mortgages and other loans.

The closure marks the largest US bank failure since the end of the savings and loan crisis in the early 1990s.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b58d03ee-6dfc-11dc-b8ab-...

It's all going so well, isn't it?

Hey Rossi.

You are going to love this one.

Your canvas is wrapped and ready laying on my table.

Why is it still here? Cause I looked on a box you sent me before, and no return addy. So then I got to thinking, where did I write down her addy at, which file? It was on my computer that melted.

So, currently I have no mailing addy for you. But if you email it to me, I promise there will be no further delays.

I know, I'm a wanker, but only a little wanker, not a big one like Howard, or georgie.

BTW, yall know the resolution to condemn MoveOn, then rush limpball insults soldiers as 'phony soldiers'..?

Well, Rep. Kingston, a repellican, has introduced a resolution TO COMMEND limpball.

I am so not freaking kidding.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/01/kingston-limbaugh-reid/

Hey, they might as well, it is not like either damn side is actually doing ANYTHING USEFUL AT ALL for our nation except meaningless resolutions about tv ads and pill poppers on the radio.

I mean, it is not like anyone is dying or anything while they ACT STUPID.

Oh, man, I feel a Pelosi moment coming.

(Insert rabid screaming here.)

OMG.

"We saw on BBC world, saying that 200 monks were arrested. The true picture is far worse!!!!!!!!!

For one instance, the monastery at an obscure neighborhood of Yangon, called Ngwe Kyar Yan (on Wei-za-yan-tar Road, Yangon) had been raided early this morning.

A troop of lone-tein (riot police comprised of paid thugs) protected by the military trucks, raided the monastery with 200 studying monks. They systematically ordered all the monks to line up and banged and crushed each one’s head against the brick wall of the monastery. One by one, the peaceful, non resisting monks, fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Then, they tore off the red robes and threw them all in the military trucks (like rice bags) and took the bodies away.

The head monk of the monastery, was tied up in the middle of the monastery, tortured , bludgeoned, and later died the same day, today. Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the monastery, warded off by troops with bayoneted rifles, unable to help their helpless monks being slaughtered inside the monastery. Their every try to forge ahead was met with the bayonets.

When all is done, only 10 out of 200 remained alive, hiding in the monastery. Blood stained everywhere on the walls and floors of the monastery.

Please tell your audience of the full extent of the fate of the monks please please !!!!!!!!!!!!

‘Arrested’ is not enough expression. They have been bludgeoned to death !!!!!!

http://www.crooksandliars.com/

sparrow said:
Oooo a paaaaaaaarty!!!

So hey. I thought you were going to be on the Love Boat next winter with the Radiators.

October 1, 2007 9:00 PM

We are doin 2 nights of land lubbin pre-krewes pawteein' before the ship leaves on Sunday...

Rock das boot, don't rock das boot baby...

new thread...