10questions.com launches

The House has failed to override President Bush's veto of a bill expanding a children's health insurance program.

Monkey

I assume this is a demonstration of the famous Family Values.

Mukasey leaves door open for waterboarding
U.S. attorney general nominee declines to declare procedure torture

WASHINGTON - In an intense exchange Thursday with three Democrats, President Bush's nominee for attorney general left the door open for allowing a terrorism-era interrogation technique that simulates drowning.

Michael Mukasey, a retired federal judge, issued highly-conditioned statements that so-called waterboarding violates the Constitution only if it is defined as torture.

The answer is unclear.

In an executive order this summer, Bush allowed the use of some harsh interrogation techniques but his administration refused to say whether waterboarding was among them. Congress has banned waterboarding as part of a detainee treatment law.

Torture or not?
During Thursday's proceedings, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin probed for Mukasey's opinion.

"I'm hoping that you can at least look at this one technique and say: that clearly constitutes torture, it should not be the policy of the United States to engage in waterboarding," said the Illinois Democrat.

"It is not constitutional for the United States to engage in torture in any form, be it waterboarding or anything else," Mukasey replied.

Under subsequent questioning by Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Mukasey said the practice of waterboarding, if defined as torture, can't be permitted by the president.

"If it is torture as defined by the Constitution, or defined by constitutional standards, it can't be authorized," Mukasey said.

Judiciary Committee members, most lawyers themselves, have little tolerance for parsing after earlier hearings in which then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on dozens of occasions either did not answer questions or blamed a faulty memory for not answering them.

"Is waterboarding constitutional?" pressed Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. "It either is or it isn't."

Mukasey again demurred, saying he doesn't know what's involved in the technique.

"If it amounts to torture, it is not constitutional," the nominee replied.

"I'm very disappointed in that answer," Whitehouse said. "I think it's purely semantics."

Mukasey uninformed?
The president himself has repeatedly said "We don't torture" and argued that intense interrogations are sometimes necessary to elicit information about terrorist plots.

The White House suggested Thursday that Mukasey's answers were vague because he does not know the specifics of the program.

"Judge Mukasey is not in a position to discuss interrogation techniques which are necessarily classified," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. "He would only be read-in to classified programs after being confirmed."

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21364435/

I am at the Rayburn building, feeling ill after listening to Dana Rohrbacher spin torture and rendition as something akin to medical malpractice:

"Mistakes will happen."

Live blog here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/18/142256/04

Background info:

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/02/14/050214fa_fact6

US Army Advertises For Recruits On Gay Website
By Andrea Stone, USA TODAY
The Army, Navy and Air Force unwittingly advertised for recruits on a website for gays, who are barred from military service if they are open about their sexual orientation.
When informed Tuesday by USA TODAY that they were advertising on GLEE.com, a networking website for gay professionals, recruiters expressed surprise and said they would remove the job listings.

"This is the first I've heard about it," said Maj. Michael Baptista, advertising branch chief for the Army National Guard, which will spend $6.5 million on Internet recruiting this year. "We didn't knowingly advertise on that particular website," which he said does not "meet the moral standards" of the military.

Capt. Jack Hanzlik, a Navy recruiting spokesman, said his service ordered more than 8,000 ads taken off GLEE, which stands for Gay, Lesbian & Everyone Else. By late Wednesday, most were gone.

Marine Corps ads on GLEE were only for two civilian jobs not covered by the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which allows gays to serve in uniform only if they keep quiet about their sexual orientation.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-17-gayads_N.htm

Karen... Dana Rohrabacher makes me physically ill every time I look at him, and wehen he opens his pie-hole, I toss my cookies.

He's everything that's wrong with America, but what do I know, everything I said would happen since 2000 actually has, and worse.

Global warming
Rohrabacher does not believe that the current global warming is manmade. During a congressional hearing on climate change on February 8, 2007, Rohrabacher joked that previous warming cycles may have been caused by carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by "dinosaur flatulence."

War in Iraq
Rohrabacher has taken a strong pro-war stance.

No Military Service
Rohrabacher was of draft age during Vietnam but avoided service. To help him earn a deferment he brought an X-ray of a hip he injured in high school football to his draft physical. Yet his own Website boasts of his continued surfing, when his crippled hip apparently gives him no trouble.

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

from http://www.americanprogress.org

HEALTH CARE
The Anti-Family Planning Czar
On Monday, President Bush appointed Susan Orr Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a position that gives her oversight of federal family planning programs. Orr, who is currently directing HHS child welfare programs, was touted by the administration as "highly qualified." Before joining HHS, Orr served as senior director for marriage and family care at the conservative Family Research Council, which opposes family planning, and was an adjunct professor at Pat Robertson's Regent University. In her new role, Orr, who considers contraceptives part of the "culture of death," will be responsible for "HHS's $283 million reproductive-health program, a $30 million program that encourages abstinence among teenagers, and HHS's Office of Population Affairs, which funds birth control, pregnancy tests, counseling, and screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV." Given Orr's record of opposition to comprehensive family planning services, women's rights and reproductive health advocates are speaking out strongly against her appointment. "We are appalled," said Mary Jane Gallagher, president of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. "While her resume suggests a commitment to child welfare and children, her professional credentials fail to demonstrate a commitment to comprehensive family planning services for all men and women in need." Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) called her appointment "absurd." Referring to her as "a virulently anti-family planning radical," Planned Parenthood has circulated a petition opposing Orr. Unfortunately, though, appointing Orr as an "acting" secretary allows the administration to sidestep the need for Senate confirmation.

A RECORD AGAINST FAMILY PLANNING: In 2001, Orr embraced a Bush administration proposal to "stop requiring all health insurance plans for federal employees" to cover a broad range of birth control. "We're quite pleased, because fertility is not a disease," said Orr. At the 2001 Conservative Political Action Conference, Orr cheered Bush's endorsement of former President Ronald Reagan's "Mexico City Policy," which required NGOs receiving federal funds to "neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations." In a 2000 Weekly Standard article, Orr railed against requiring health insurance plans to cover contraceptives. "It's not about choice," said Orr. "It's not about health care. It's about making everyone collaborators with the culture of death." In 2000, she authored a paper titled, "Real Women Stay Married." In it, she wrote that women should "think about focusing our eyes, not upon ourselves, but upon the families we form through marriage." In 1999, Orr referred to child protection as "the most intrusive arm of social services." Her former employer, the Family Research Council, which championed her appointment yesterday, equates contraception with abortion.

BUSH'S PATTERN OF RADICAL APPOINTMENTS: Orr is the latest in a long line of Bush administration appointments promoting "a conservative political agenda" that often "runs counter to well-established science." In 2002, Bush appointed W. David Hager, an obstetrician-gynecologist considered "a leading conservative Christian voice on women's health and sexuality," to the Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In his position, Hager "played a key role" in convincing the FDA to overrule the advisory committee's recommendations and to initially reject allowing emergency contraception, known as Plan B, from being made available over the counter. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists called that decision a "dark stain on the reputation of an evidence-based agency like the FDA." In Nov. 2006, Bush appointed Eric Keroack to the same position Orr plans to fill. Before the appointment, Keroack was the medical director at A Woman's Concern, a Christian pregnancy counseling group that "supports sexual abstinence until marriage, opposes contraception and does not distribute information promoting birth control at its six centers in eastern Massachusetts." In March 2007, Keroack resigned from the position to defend himself from accusations of medical fraud.

CONSERVATIVE ASSAULT ON FAMILY PLANNING: These appointments are merely part of a larger conservative assault on family planning. In January, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) introduced the Title X Family Planning Act, a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act, prohibiting family planning grants from being awarded to an entity that performs abortions, despite the fact that federal law already prohibits clinics from spending Title X money on abortion services. A similar restriction was attached to the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending bill, but the measure was soundly defeated. The House bill did include, however, an additional $28 million federal funding for abstinence-only education, which dictates discussing contraceptives only in terms of failure rates while often exaggerating them. The Bush administration recently launched a national ad campaign promoting abstinence-only education, despite a recent federal report concluded that such programs have had "no impacts on rates of sexual abstinence." In March, a new federal law "eliminated price breaks for many university student health centers, driving the cost of some birth-control products from less than $10 a month to $50 or more."

MORE FASCISM: Ann Wright and Medea Benjamin refused entry into Canada/ they are on the FBI watch list.

(BTW sadly, it looks like Ann Goodman, the interviewer, has had a stroke - the right side of her face is not moving)

Why does Senator Clinton have to laugh at very serious questions??

I left off the copyright / fair use reminder when I redid the website but perhaps I should put it back.

We put the DCP at risk when complete articles are posted in violation of fair use/copyright laws. Please summarize in your own words, select an excerpt that supports your point and include a link to the complete article.

Thanks

Sorry, Hill,

Here is another very well made video tracking your flip-flopping, triangulating, ever-shifting, changing and adapting positions (and also, BTW, completely ludicrous and indefensible ) on the war in Iraq to suit the current conditions in the American electorate. How any candidate with such an incoherent record and history could be the leading candidate and the odds on favorite to be the next president is truly shocking and almost unbelievable. The only explanation I have is your last name, "CLINTON".

Re: Dana Rohrbacher

He represents EVERYTHING that is wrong with Southern California values - especially the reactionary Orange County values.

Unfortunately, Orange is the second largest county in the state, by population. The Dems ignore Orange County at their own peril.

And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I will emphasize that Orange County is reactionary, not DESPITE the large presence of Third World immigrants, but BECAUSE of them.

Lou Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition, based in Anaheim, is heavily dependent on Latino homophobes.

The Orange County Republican Party is heavily dependent on Korean and Vietnamese immigrants.

And note the pathetic nationalities that still think George W. Bush's America is the greatest country on earth...

And just like Rohrbacher, we Californicators continue to buy Hummers en masse - and make sure to put any leftover "VIVA BUSH" bumper stickers and "NOT OF THIS WORLD" window decals on them.

You just have to love this reactionary filth of a half-state.

And don't EVEN tell me to support the troops when the branches of the military are so anti-LGBT.

You can accuse me of being anti-troops now. And I'm damn proud of it.

Privatizing Terror, Outsourcing Diplomacy

By Wajahat Ali

"Isn't it interesting that the same government individual, who has been reported by one investigative committee to have made the initial decision for Blackwater to get its first contract, is the brother of the current State Department Inspector General, who was found, by the same committee, to have intervened in preventing an investigation into Blackwater's illegal activity?"

http://www.counterpunch.org/ali10132007.html

Ralph
Thanks for the video on Ann Wright and Medea Benjamin being on an FBI list of convicted criminals. This is appalling. But the good thing is that these two women are far more gutsy and intelligence than the entire White House Administration, and the FBI itself. The more your government does this to people, the more people there are to mistrust and hate the current crop of High Profile Criminals hiding in the WH.

Ralph, can I also say that the videos with questions are mostly less than a minute long. Many less than 30 seconds. This is what they should be. Your 9+ minutes of Hillary in several videos, don't really belong there I didn't think. In fact, to get to the questions I skipped those ones completely.

I did enjoy, most of the videos with the questions. On the whole, very good questions. Hopefully the candidates will actually answer them.

Did Amy Goodman of "Democracy Now" have some kind of stroke? I was truly saddened to see this hard-working journalist have this very disfiguring problem. I noticed that her right eye did not blink and the lips on the right side of her mouth did not seem to be working.

With regard to questions of the candidates - Biden, Dodd, Hillary all have records in the Senate to judge their suitability to be the nominee. Kucinich has his record in the House - which is quite good, but, of course, too liberal....

Amy Goodman DID NOT have a stroke:

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
On October 2, 2007, Goodman said on air that she had Bell's palsy, a temporary paralysis of the face.

* 6 days ago

Karen:

I think the torture question is the key question. It is the one question that puts the entire meaning of "the last best hope" right on the table -- face up. My position is that torture is wrong - period. Even if it saves lives. It's a matter of live free or die" as they used to say on New Hampshire license plates (as an aside, I always used to wonders if prisoners used to have to stamp those out). If some people, even me, get kiled because we refuse to torture, I say that is the price of liberty. That is what my ancestors fought and died for and that is what I would not forfeit. This is where moral values transcend the calculus of risk. It is a good place to make a stand.

It is non-partisan.

I hope that makes sense.

Chuck in Houston

Hey Ralpheh:

Thank's for the Hillary footage. I never get much of a chance to watch TV so on the DCP your videos give me a window into what I am missing. Boy, Senator Clinton is great! The more I see of her the more I like her. I used to be a bit ambivalent but thanks to people like you I am becoming a true believer. All my GOP friends at work have already resigned themselves to the fact that she may win, which I find very heartening.

Thanks and keep up the good work,

Chuck in Houston

Ralpheh:

I especially enjoy the laugh videos. I hope this is OK from the PC police POV, but, speaking as a heterosexual male (or however you spell that), I find smart women with a hearty laugh to be very sexy.
(Dear moderators -- I apologize if that remark is out of line -- it is intended as a atatement of fact witouht malice.)

Chuck in Houston

And without spell check

Bell's Palsy - it disfigured my face in Feb 2006, and hasn't completely gone away even now.

Chuck: DCP is much more tolerant of controversial remarks than, say, DU or Kos. DU and Kos won't even have my immigrant community truths, because it's not PC.

Chuck
There are alot of things I like about Bill and Hillary.

Chuck,

The Republicans in my immediate social circles do firmly believe that Hillary will win. The Republican candidate lot is not all that pretty, even to them.

Between an aging Cold War relic, a Mormon, and a womanizer, the choice isn't too appetizing.

HEY CHUCK,

Is Hillary a Democrat, or a Republican disguised as a Democrat...???

You got a bad case of HIllary LUV.. and many in this forum had a bad case of Kerry LUV.. and you no what happened there...

Couple more stories on military high schools:
http://silencedmajority.blogs.com/silenced_majority_portal/2007/10/addendumupdate-.html

Nyc rocks for putting up the Clash video!!

This may help, for the election:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Hey Chuck,

I think laughing and cackling about war with Iran is really a breath of fresh air. NONE of the other candidates can cackle at the prospect of war Iran like Hillary - and do it so convincingly. And her cackling and laughing must re-assure the people in our military, the Iranians and the world generally that we, the USA, are mulling over the possibility of yet another military engagement. Her ability to laugh and cackle during national debates and interviews, by itself, makes her THE CHOICE for the oval office in 2009.

Ralph in Rustbelt

Hey Ralpheh:

Senator Clinton is a moderate democrat, same as me, as far as I can tell. And, truth be told, a moderate Republican, like, say, Chuck Hagel or Joe Biden, would not be too objectionable to me, if only because it meant that the core of the GOP apparatus was OK with reasonable compromise.

On the Kerry thing, I am sorry, but I drew a blank -- what do you mean "what happened there"? Do you mean why JK lost? If that is what you meant, do you mean that we should reject our principles in order to win? If that is not the case, which principles of John Kerry do you think caused our loss?

Chuck in Houston

Ralph:

Roger that. The whole concept of Iran confronting us is laughable. Russia is a different matter but we have a lot of experience with that one.

Chuck in Houston

Ralph, can I also say that the videos with questions are mostly less than a minute long. Many less than 30 seconds. This is what they should be. Your 9+ minutes of Hillary in several videos, don't really belong there I didn't think. In fact, to get to the questions I skipped those ones completely.

@@@@@@

At this point, I really don't care if they ask my question. I already know that Hillary is misleading and lying about her record. Nothing that she will say, can alter or change her vote in 2002, her support of Bush on Iraq in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005. The die has been cast by Hillary; and Hillary has failed the test of leadership....

Furthermore, Hillary will do her best to avoid answering questions on Iraq.

Just as George Bush does his utmost to avoid defining torture.

With my long videos, I am kind of like the kid who got tasered in Florida for asking 3 long questions.. LOL

Actually, belay that thought ... the situation is more nuanced than that in my opinion. I need to smoke on that and dad gum it I quit about a month ago. Bad on me.

Chuck in Houston

I hate not smoking

Chuck
Congrats on not smoking. My husband quit for awhile and started again in France because he got a sciatica attack and was in pain plus there were smokers everywhere. They can no longer smoke in the workplace but the thing about not smoking in cafes and bars hasn't hit yet. When he came home he went back on the patch and the sciatica is getting better. I know it's hard though - supposed to be harder than heroin or cocaine.

Ralpheh
I'll be seeing Hillary next Monday. Let me know if there is anything ou want me to ask for her but don't make it too long as I don't really relish getting tasered!

Ralpheh:

"Hillary will do her best to avoid answering questions on Iraq" -- well, whoop-dee-doo- where is the friggin' answer you want among the alternatives? And which one is giving it? And don't tell me "none-of-the-above" because there will be one-of-the-above. I can Gah-Ruhn-Tee you that, as they say in LA.

Chuck in Houston
(expat Oregonian)

Senator Clinton is a moderate democrat, same as me, as far as I can tell. And, truth be told, a moderate Republican, like, say, Chuck Hagel or Joe Biden, would not be too objectionable to me, if only because it meant that the core of the GOP apparatus was OK with reasonable compromise.

@@@@@@@@@@@@

I find her to be a moderate Republican, who will support a stupid war based lies.

In essence, she has aided and abetted George Bush in murder and war crimes.

She has no courage, principles or foresight!!!! JUST THE RIGHT CANDIDATE!!

NMP:

As Mark Twain said, there is nothig easier than quiting smoking. I've done it so many times I've lost count (or words to that effect).

Ralpheh:

I do not know the woman. I have learned to never judge anything categorically that I do not know from personal experience. I have learned that the hard way. From all I have seen, Senator Clinton, as Senator Kerry, as President Clinton, represent the direction I would like to see my country go in. I do not judge the personality of people I do not know from first hand experience. I have found that to be a good rule in life.

Chuck in Houston

Ralpheh
I'll be seeing Hillary next Monday. Let me know if there is anything ou want me to ask for her but don't make it too long as I don't really relish getting tasered!
October 19, 2007 12:47 AM

@@@@

Well isn't that special. You can do some observation work:

1) see how many times Hillary laughs inappropriately and artificially

2) see if Code Pink does a protest and how roughly and quickly Hillary's goons take them away

3) see how many lurking and positioning Republicans are in the audience, getting in with the "winner"

4) and wouldn't it be great if Bill made a surprise appearence.. wow... the ex-president and the future president, in the same room,
thrilling....

have fun... and pray for the troops - according to Hill, they will be there in Iraq until 2013

Chuck I agree totally on the torture question. To my mind, torture no matter what it's termed as, makes the torturers nation as bad as the enemy we are supposed to oppose. We can only stand up against true evil if we ourselves are beyond reproach.

Amnesty International has almost as many complaints against the US these days as they have against brutal regimes such as in Myanmar. And when Bush voices concern about the way civilians are treated elsewhere it would be laughable if he were truly serious. He has no regard whatsoever to the rights of the individual. Americans do not have democracy now. Nor do you have freedom. When people like Medea and Ann are prevented from entering a country and treated like convicted criminals, there is NO FREEDOM in the US.

Ralpheh:

I am sorry to be blunt, but everything you just posted above is irresponsible speculation. You cannot back up a single aspersion that you cast. Do you hate anyone but Senator Clinton in this life? I am just curious. I'd like to see some examples.

Chuck in Houton

Ralpheh:

Oh, excuse me, I forgot. You hate Senator Kerry too. And President Clinton.

Dukaksis?

Mondale?

I mean, I am a yellow-dog Democrat, so I wil never condemn someone for being partisan, but at least I admit it. That is called honesty where I come from.

Chuck in Houston

Woz:

Freedom is so just like another word for nothing left to loose. The USA is a very powerful country. The USA is more than that: it is the most powerful country in the world by several levels of magnitude. For exactly that reason we all need to take heed of what Lincoln said about the last best hope. All our asses are in this together, to be blunt. I do not see the way out. Everything I have seen leads me to be skeptical of any claim that the way out is clear. I am actually depressed, but I think that may be a consequence of the factr that I quit smoking.

Chuck in Houston

Tobacco that is

This here's a story 'bout a man named Jed
Poor country boy tryin' to keep his family fed
One day Jed was out shootin' at some food
When up came came a well of bubbling crude

Oil, that is

Texas Tea

Black Gold

Next thing you know now Jed's a millionaire
His kin-folk said "Jed -- move away from here.
"California is the place you ought to be."
So he packed up his kit and he moved to Beverly

Hills, that is...

I love Flatt and Scruggs

Criminal Probe Underway Into US Embassy Construction In Baghdad

WASHINGTON — A mortar shell smashed into the hulking new U.S. Embassy that's under construction in Baghdad last May, damaging a wall and causing minor injuries to people inside the building. It also exposed enormous problems in the management of what's become a $592 million government construction project.

The State Department contractor in charge of the project, James L. Golden, attempted to alter the scene of the blast, according to government officials familiar with the incident. The State Department inspector general prevented Department officials from investigating the incident, according to interviews and documents.

A congressional committee is examining whether the walls of the still-unfinished embassy complex, which are supposed to be blast-resistant, performed as they should have during the mortar attack.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/20676.html

Chuck
I identify with Mark Twain re quitting smoking being easy. I've had many hospitalisations (nothing to do with smoking). In one year I went to hospital 16 times for a week each time. I quit smoking when I went in and took it up again when I came home.

And finally it priced itself right out of my budget and that made it much easier. It simply wasn't an option any more. I've been off them since August 2002 and I rarely think of it now. However, around people who smoke, I could easily ask for one. But I don't.

Most fake bombs missed by screeners
Airport Screeners At LAX Missed 75 Percent Of Fake Bombs
By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Security screeners at two of the nation's busiest airports failed to find fake bombs hidden on undercover agents posing as passengers in more than 60% of tests last year, according to a classified report obtained by USA TODAY.
Screeners at Los Angeles International Airport missed about 75% of simulated explosives and bomb parts that Transportation Security Administration testers hid under their clothes or in carry-on bags at checkpoints, the TSA report shows.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-17-airport-security_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

rossi - I had a friend come down to Tassie from Brisbane a week ago. She booked her flight on the net and got her boarding pass. When she went to the airport she didn't have luggage so she just went straight through to board the plane. There are dogs and things down here at the airport. They don't care what you take out of Tasmania - they just don't want you to bring fruit and other things.

Security at Brisbane was pretty slack it seemed.

http://www.americanprogress.org/cartoons/2007/10/101807_football.html

I SO wish this didn't smack of reality.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/washington/19nsa.html
Panel Approves Eavesdropping Compromise
Excerpts:

House Democrats said Thursday that, unlike their counterparts on the Senate Intelligence Committee, they still had not been given access to classified internal documents related to the origins and framework of the N.S.A. program after months of requests. House officials made it clear in interviews that without access to those documents they would be unwilling even to consider immunity for the telecommunications companies.
~~~~~
Mr. Feingold, who had a staff member review the classified documents at a secure location earlier in the week, came away with a different impression. Mr. Feingold said, “The documents made available by the White House for the first time this week only further demonstrate that the program was illegal and that there is no basis for granting retroactive immunity to those who allegedly cooperated.”

Mr. Feingold and other Democrats said they would oppose any efforts to give immunity to the telecommunications companies. Mr. Dodd, announcing his hold on the proposed legislation, described the immunity proposal as “amnesty for telecommunications companies that enabled the president’s assault on the Constitution by providing personal information on their customers without judicial authorization.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

{{{The simplest thing possible is to allow the current (illegal) FISA fix expire in February and do nothing. Too simple a solution for our Congress Critters, I presume. They need to take a lesson from ol' Nancy RayGun when it comes to spoiled frat brat Georgie and his puppetmaster, Dickie: "Just say 'No!'"}}}

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/washington/19mukasey.html

Senators Clash With Nominee About Torture

Though Michael B. Mukasey had a rocky day Thursday, his confirmation was called probable.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 — President Bush’s nominee for attorney general, Michael B. Mukasey, declined Thursday to say if he considered harsh interrogation techniques like waterboarding, which simulates drowning, to constitute torture or to be illegal if used on terrorism suspects.

On the second day of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Mukasey went further than he had the day before in arguing that the White House had constitutional authority to act beyond the limits of laws enacted by Congress, especially when it came to national defense.

He suggested that both the administration’s program of eavesdropping without warrants and its use of “enhanced” interrogation techniques for terrorism suspects, including waterboarding, might be acceptable under the Constitution even if they went beyond what the law technically allowed. Mr. Mukasey said the president’s authority as commander in chief might allow him to supersede laws written by Congress.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

{{{More, and worse, on link. WHY is this jerk's confirmation "probable" if he doesn't outright declare torture illegal or agree to abide by the Geneva Conventions and our own Constitution, and, worse, imply "the" president (meaning Georgie, of course) has dictatorial powers that go against the Constitution...? WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY?!? We all know full well that neither he nor any other AG nominee would say the same regarding any other person who was president... just this particular egocentric, dictatorial, psychopathic nincompoop who has all but declared himself the official dictator of this country (and dictator of the world wannabe) is allowed all these extralegal and unconstitutional "powers." WHY?!?}}}

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/19/6739/6897
Brits to investigate possible complicity in U.S. war crimes

The Kos diary refers to this Guardian story.....
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,,2194798,00.html
Claims of secret CIA jail for terror suspects on British island to be investigated

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

CNN Quick Vote Poll

Congressman Pete Stark accused Republicans of sending troops to Iraq to "get their heads blown off for the president's amusement." Should he apologize?

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/american.morning/index.html

Yes 11% 414
No 89% 3314
Total Votes: 3728

Just think about the some of the terms being used these days when referencing the United States...

U.S. war crimes
torture
waterboarding
American invasion
eavesdropping
etc etc etc

Can you IMAGINE?

I love my country, but not this version. Sadly, I think we're tainted forever.

Monkey
I woke up, sat up in bed and said "curse the neocons who are emptying our treasury."

Ralpheh
Bill Clinton did a benefit for Jim McDermott's lawsuit by Boehner.
Backbone Campaign was outside and I hugged their leader.

I went to see Kerry and Cantwell and I knew some of the protesters and some hugged me.

I worked to have Kerry elected and one thing I did was sue Ralph Nader because we caught him pretending 10 days of streetside signature gathering was one "convention."

I also belonged to "One Voice for Change" which got Greens and other progressive to vote pragmatically Democrat. The main person I worked with was a Socialist who believed this country now has to come back from the right in small incremental steps or never will.

I spent many Sundays with Vets for Peace and others at Green Lake holding vigil against the war BEFORE the war and I even protested in the street going into Afghanistan, not just Iraq!

Yet I worked pragmatically for Democrats who are moderate (in running not always in record) and would/will do it again, because American is a right-leaning, polarized country where my youthful idealism is still latent but alone will NOT bring change.

I donate to the ACLU, NARAL even Greenpeace but also help some entities they do not fully agree with on all issues.

Life is complex. As Einstein said, "Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler."

I also gave money to Kucinich and I like it that he and Gravel are running, Ron Paul on the other side too (though flat tax is dumb).

Am I schizophrenic? No, my sister is though, and healthcare is an important issue.

I have also had Deaniacs a) spit in my face, b) call me a Zombie, c) slam the door on my hand. Yet I like Howard Dean and have shook his hand a couple of times. I knew that he was a symbolic healthcare candidate (he admitted it in US News and World Report) convinced by Trippi to run and try to use the nascent internet (which didn't work and still doesn't, though it helps). Now Trippi has a new "talent." We'll see - he's the populist in the race (the leading one) but the number of unions is going down (also in Europe), and in general, with globalization. A Democrat will have to use business to win, and that is the unfortunate truth.

At YearlyKos, one Deaniac went into the Clinton talk because he couldn't stand her but she was from his home state. He came out a believer and convinced, and that didn't even happen to me. I went in with an open mind and came out with an open mind.

My mind is so open maybe my brain will fall out. That would be nice.

This has been said before but I think it is time to repeat it again.

One of the unwritten rules here is that we all agree to disagree respectfully and with courtesy. We know that the people who post and simply read the DCP blog and participate in the community come from a broad range of viewpoints. That's one of the things that allows us to educate ourselves and expand our understanding.

If a particular person is not comfortable with that approach, they are welcome to find another community that more suits their approach. This one will remain one that accepts disagreements on specifics with graciousness and courtesy.

I will add that repeatedly failing to observe this guideline is grounds for banning from the community.
 

Please consider reading and commenting on todays' front page header and if you want to, rec and comment on the same story, here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/19/101722/35

Thank you for amplifying the message that democracy is a good thing, but better when we actually work it.

Chuck said:

Ralpheh:

Oh, excuse me, I forgot. You hate Senator Kerry too. And President Clinton.

Dukaksis?

@@@@

When Democratic candidates take the same lousy, immoral positions on war that the Republicans take, I tend not to like them or support them.

My position on Hillary and JK - they make great and wonderful SENATORS!!!!

Hi yall. Did you miss me?

HAHA!

NMP, So far Rossi has one of the best galleries of my work so far.

Here

http://rossiannsretreat.blogspot.com/2007/10/christy-doing-what-she-loves-to-do-good.html

And here

http://rossiannsretreat.blogspot.com/2007/10/beautiful-mystery-and-sunshine-christys.html

Thank you Rossi. I have no idea what I would do without you. I'll be on messenger later darlin. I'm car sick right now though.

Her funeral procession was almost two miles long.

I have to go fix this commission before the post office lady flips out. I suck this week, but next week should be ok.

Hey Woz, is she looking directly at you right now?

HAHAHA!

Wow. Just in a few days the news just seems to get worser and worser.

KARACHI, Pakistan — Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, her return from exile shattered by a suicide attack that killed up to 136 people, blamed militants Friday for trying to kill her and said she would not "surrender our great nation" to them.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20071019/pakistan/

Hey Christy...

It's not the same art that you produce, but finishing up the poster for the next monkeyball... should make a good poster/tshirt, whatcha think?

http://tinyurl.com/2fv9tr

The American inquisition?
From Where I Stand by Joan Chittister, OSB

There are some things that being born in the United States simply does not prepare a person to imagine. One of them is a headline on the front page of a local newspaper reporting a "debate" going on in Congress on the use of torture as a part of U.S. military policy. A debate? What's to debate about it? Unless, of course you, were working for the court of Philip IV in 14th century France.

But, no, it's here now. In the United States. In our generation. In fact, they're now making movies about it.

This column, be assured, is not a film review. Others closer to the industry will do that very well once the film is released Oct. 19. But film quality is not the issue at hand. Content is the problem.

"Rendition" is a film dealing with the newly refined U.S. practice of outsourcing U.S. military prisoners to other countries for incarceration and "questioning." (I use the word loosely.) "Enhanced questioning," the President calls it. "Torture," the rest of the world is calling it.

That such a thing can happen here, by us, with little public response to it, is almost impossible to believe if you grew up bathed in the honor, integrity and high moral ground of this country. In fact, to say otherwise -- to say almost anything about maintaining traditional national standards -- is to be accused of "blaming America first." So much for "removing the speck in your neighbor's eye and ignoring the log in your own." Let alone "freedom and justice for all." But what a log it is. And what an injustice it can create. Which makes you wonder who are the real conservatives here.

http://ncrcafe.org/node/1385

Darn I blew it

[edited: Actually you were close. Here's what you had.

<img src="http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/rossitheaussi/swithorag.jpgalt="picture title" width="300" border="0" style="float: right; padding: 5px 0 5px 9px;" />

Here's what you needed:   a quote mark and a space after the .jpg and before the alt

<img src="http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/rossitheaussi/swithorag.jpg" alt="picture title" width="300" border="0" style="float: right; padding: 5px 0 5px 9px;" />

You'll have it next time. Use the preview feature. It will let you see the comment before iit's actually posted so you can catch a typo like that. dw ]

Good one monkey

NYC Rejects Listing Worker as 9/11 Death
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/101907N.shtml
The Associated Press reports: "James Zadroga, the 34-year-old retired police detective who died of respiratory failure after working hundreds of hours at the World Trade Center site, was often cited by those advocates as a 'sentinel case' -- the first health-related casualty linked to ground zero, suggesting there would be more to follow. The city's medical examiner stunned that community this week in a letter declaring that Zadroga's death had nothing to do with the toxic air he breathed while working at ground zero."

Dwah you are a living doll, thank you, much appreciated, that is what the finished article was supposed to look like.

"The Moment Has Come to Get Rid of Saddam": Bush's Faith Run Over by History

The only thing that worries me about you is your optimism.
- Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar to President Bush, from the Crawford Transcript of February 22, 2003

Mark Danner, writing for TomDispatch.com, says, "Surely one of the agonizing attributes of our post-September 11 age is the unending need to reaffirm realities that have been proved, and proved again, but just as doggedly denied by those in power, forcing us to live trapped between two narratives of present history, the one gaining life and color and vigor as more facts become known, the other growing ever paler, brittler, more desiccated, barely sustained by the life support of official power."
http://www.truthout.org:80/docs_2006/101807C.shtml

Watch and pass along, please.

Especially to those in Congress:

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/65513/

Report: Blackwater Took Iraqi Military Planes, Refused To Give Them Back
AP Richard Lardner October 19, 2007 05:06 PM
Blackwater USA tried to take at least two Iraqi military aircraft out of Iraq two years ago and refused to give the planes back when Iraqi officials sought to reclaim them, according to a congressional committee investigating the private security contractor.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wants the company to provide all documents related to the attempted shipment and to explain where the aircraft are now
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20071019/blackwater-iraq/

CNN Poll: 88% say Rep. Stark should not apologize
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/CNN_Poll_88_say_Rep._Stark_1019.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsGaNR9dVPM

NMP said

I also belonged to "One Voice for Change" which got Greens and other progressive to vote pragmatically Democrat. The main person I worked with was a Socialist who believed this country now has to come back from the right in small incremental steps or never will.

@@@@@@@@@@@

Wow, you have nice Greens where you live. In Michigan whenever I encounter a Green person and tell them I am a Democrat, they get this ugly look on their face and they look like they are going to spit on me. They call me I am sell-out; a collaborator with Bush and Cheney; that the Democrats didn't do enough to stop the war; they tell me there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties; that I am perpetuater of the corrupt two party system etc..

Rep. PETE STARK:

He used the words "lie" and "lies" in conjunction with George Bush - this is a violation of Pelosi's prohibition against using the word "lie" in conjuntion with the President (or I assume with the Vice President or the Secretary of State or the Former Attorney General Gonzales).

From Christy:
Hey Woz, is she looking directly at you right now?

HAHAHA!

>>>>>>

Yes she is - And I'm looking between the computer and the monitor at her. She is actually facing the wall to my left but is still looking at me!

Ahhh dwahzon - good advice.

"Use the preview feature. It will let you see the comment before iit's actually posted so you can catch a typo like that. dw"

Thankyou.

Clinton Rakes in Cash From the Arms Industry

Clinton bucks the trend and rakes in cash from the US weapons industry
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article3075691.ece

Ron Paul, Barack Obama Lead in Military Contributions

Paul leads in donations from military voters, with Obama next
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/5223477.html

Friday: 2 GIs, 22 Iraqis Killed; 15 Iraqis Wounded
Thursday: 1 GI, 39 Iraqis Killed; 58 Iraqis Wounded
Wednesday: 1 GI, 37 Iraqis Killed, 28 Wounded
Tuesday: 56 Iraqis Killed, 144 Wounded
Monday: 2 GIs, 46 Iraqis Killed; 76 Iraqis Wounded
Sunday: 2 GIs, 69 Iraqis Killed; 74 Iraqis Wounded
Saturday: 4 GIs, 58 Iraqis Killed; 22 Iraqis Wounded
Friday: 1 GI, 1 Georgian, 16 Iraqis Killed; 38 Iraqis Wounded

Hell Yeah, I previewed Dwah. thanks again.

The Syrian ‘Nuke’ Hoax

http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2007/10/19/the-syrian-nuke-hoax/

A Soldiers Battle
Lt. Ehren Watada: ‘Experience Makes You Stronger’
http://www.asianweek.com/2007/10/12/lt-ehren-watada-experience-makes-you-stronger/

I am posting an e-mail (without the addresses) with hopes that some of you may pass this important information on to others:

Subject: Who said a "naughty" word?.......This is no joke

I am editing what those cliche e-mails tell you with hopes that you might read this IMPORTANT e-mail. Imagine your right to private communications on your cell phone being monitored by corporate communications giants. Verizon and ATT want to control what people write via their cell phones.

Unless we speak out to our members of Congress they could move to allow large telephone and cable companies to control what you do, where you go and what you watch online.

Visit the URL below to check out what's at stake and send a loud message directly to the Congress:

www.savetheinternet.com

oncall said:
I am posting an e-mail (without the addresses) with hopes that some of you may pass this important information on to others:
*******
Posted Oncall
Save the Internet!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWt0XUocViE

Sign the Petition -- Don't Let Congress Ruin the Internet
http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet/step1

Way to go Valerie!!!

Ex-spy takes aim in new memoir
Anne Davies, Washington
October 20, 2007

IT'S the spy scandal that continues to dog the White House even though many of its key players are already fading into history.

Four years after her CIA cover was blown in a newspaper column — allegedly at the behest of the White House — Valerie Plame, America's "Jane Bond", is about to get even.

On Monday her memoir will be released and the White House can expect to be in the firing line. She takes aim at staffers — notably President George Bush's former political adviser Karl Rove, and Vice-President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff Scooter Libby, as well as the journalists involved in leaking her name into the public domain.

The title says it all: Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House. Like other book releases, there's been a leak or two.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/exspy-takes-aim-in-new-memoir/2007/10/19/1192301044189.html

I just read Karen's header on the DCP page again, but I think my questions belong here.

I'm wondering why there are so many people being paid in all levels of government in the US, when only one opinion is actually needed. It seems that nothing that is passed will ever see light of day. All of the people who are receiving payment of salaries from the people who employ them, shouldn't be. If the president vetoes every single decision that's made, why go through the sham of discussion, argument and killing time unil the veto.

That's not earning a healthy salary in my book. That's bludging off the people.

of course there are many who are actually working their hearts out trying to make the difference that needs to be made. But others let these great people down, day after damn day.

On Micheal Moores site, he has a big pic of georgie and pelosi standing together with one giant word for the header. It says

"TOOL"

Glad to know we are not the only ones that noticed.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

To all those still left who just love pelosi so much you equate loyalty to her with loyalty to our entire party, I would like to know...

Now that georgie has all the money he needs for war, immunity for spying, and dumped 7 million kids from health care... When exactly will you fall out of love with Mz. Pelosi?

Please do feel free to do so now. And do hurry before she takes the ENTIRE US Constitution off the table.

Christy

Speaker of the House represents the whole party not just San Francisco. Dems got control in 2006 partly on the backs of the moderate and conservative Dems. That's the only explanation I know.

She was the most liberal when she represented her district only. My representative was and is the second most liberal (McDermott). I doubt he would ever be Speaker, in fact Boehner's suit would love to evict him.
I do contribute to his legal case.

Funny things are turning out about how I expected with the House. I have lived in this country a loooooong time. When Clinton was in office there was a Republican majority. It provides some balance.

The only time I really panicked was when the Republicans had control of all three branches of government, which they almost still do. The only chance we have is to get the lame duck out and replaced and to get a bigger hold on Congress and Senate.

Then it's still not going to make alot of progressive Dems happy because it'll still be kind of a moderate, bipartisan, small-baby-steps back-to-center scenario and we will probably still be at war in the middle east and globalizing the planet, on Chinese credit.

So yes I do feel outraged sometimes but never really surprised, and I certainly don't feel empowered as I am not a multinational corporation. Those who say the two parties aren't that different are neither completely correct nor completely wrong.

I have liked Michael Moore since his first movie and he is a good critic. I don't see an alternative political party making it in this country and the leading contender right now is high up in the DLC. Iowa could make a dent in that but not a mortal wound.

If labor were stronger in this country, it would help the labor candidates more. Michael Moore is a strong advocate of the worker and the common man (job security, decent living wage, health care) but with globalization, the work force isn't even IN the United States anymore, other than the service and high tech sectors and even alot of that has been outsourced or mechanized.

None of that presents a solution.

Christy,
I enjoyed seeing the painting on Rossi's site, which I couldn't see from work due to the firewall. I'd like to put some up on my site before long, with a little bio and maybe some poetry, thoughts. Thanks!

NewsMax sez Jeb Bush's son will be the South Florida Chair for the Young Republicans for Giuliani. Isn't that special?!

Well, depressing editorial, "With Democrats Like These.." - nothing you haven't heard. The one-party system continues.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/20/opinion/20sat1.html?ref=opinion

I read another article that maintained that the only group more demoralized than the Democrats are the Republicans.

I'm wondering why there are so many people being paid in all levels of government in the US, when only one opinion is actually needed. It seems that nothing that is passed will ever see light of day. All of the people who are receiving payment of salaries from the people who employ them, shouldn't be. If the president vetoes every single decision that's made, why go through the sham of discussion, argument and killing time unil the veto.

@@@@@

If Dubya vetoes everything thing that the Democratic Congress passes, then what is the risk in beginning an impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives particularly in regard to the WMD lies, the outing of Plame, the planning of the Iraq war etc...???

It pretty much looks like there will be gridlock between Congress and Dubya until Jan. 2009