Columbus Day--Open Thread

Totally inspiring:

http://www.maniacworld.com/Phone-Salesman-Amazes-Crowd.html

Wow Karen, that was really cool....

p.s. I can burp the alphabet in C minor ;-)

Part 2

Part 3

Sorry about not being able to post all of it at one time. Hope the bleeps didn't bleep in here.

Monkey,

But can you play the water glasses?

Just want to add that I already tried to call sleeping beauty, Nancy Pelosi, and that's how I discovered that it's their day off for Columbus Day.

WHAT A SPEECH!!!

A torrent of truth, sarcasm and lethal criticism.

I feel like cheering Colbert at every punchline and phrase.

To me, his speech marked, symbolically, the turningpoint in the public's support of the Bush administration. By this time, it was painfully clear to anyone who had been paying attention that the Bushies were liars and bumbling incompetents wreaking havoc in Washington and the world.

I have started to follow the primaries, in my own way, which is to read polls, speculation and notice fake issues (like flag lapel button).

I am watching Iowa now. It looks like Giuliani could be knocked out by Romney, and Clinton could be knocked out by Edwards or Obama.

It's very early in the game. The media obviously goes by national early results, which are misleading, and by fund-raising totals, which can be blown through quickly with bad decisions.

I notice that Wesley Clark and George McGovern have both endorsed Hillary Cinton, but that she is, as they say, a polarizing figure on the left and the right.

That said, she appears to be taking a wise strategy of appealing to blue collar and older woman voters, as it appears to be paying off.

I am still hoping Bill Richardson or Christopher Dodd surge, to liven up the mix a bit.

Am very glad Newt Gingrich decided not to run, and I doubt that Gore will jump in either.

It might be interesting if the arch-conservatives really do form a third party, as it might create a "Nader" for them and mess up their ranks.

We'll see. I might go back into my turtle shell and ignore it all for awhile, and then pop out later for another look - say in another month. Or I may become a poll-watcher but if I do, I will become a trend-watcher as well and it will become a time vacuum.

This time, even if I support a candidate, I'm going to let "market forces" have their way and just ride the wave.

There is no John Kerry running this time, though they all have their attributes.

I, along with my friend Paula, pledge not to watch any campaign commercials from either party, nor to contribute to them. We would rather donate time or money to the poor or to peace projects.

I also pledge not to engage in Dem-bashing on-line, as I do still think the Republic party pays interns to look for ideas, and primary in-fighting ideas generally work pretty well in the general - when employed by the other party. I would rather study weaknesses (or perhaps strengths to attack in an inverted-Rove fashion) among the other party.

I would like to ignore politics but it's in my blood, since I got involved in high school. I always had to keep kind of two lines of thought, as meshing peace activities with party politics never has seemed to work.

I believe it's because of "the money" thing and that's another thing I am a little obsessed with - "the buying of the President" thing. So I will be researching that "in my spare time" now.

Heart-breakingly beautiful, our friend Jose made this:

You want talent???? well...

I took this montage of photos of scenes in Iraq and put the theme music to "The Deer Hunter", which is so lovely and tranquil. Watch your back Colbert!!!

Karen,

That was really cool how he blacked out the faces of the soldiers. It really is so true on how they are just faceless figures to the administration.

Ralph,

People like K.O., Colbert, Stewart are safer than people like Jesselyn, you or I or other whistle blowers of my acquaintance.

Duck, Random Neurons Ahead...

If Columbus had landed today, he woulda been deported, if he didn't turn away in disgust first.

Then again, if Lincoln had stayed home and watched tv instead of going to the theatre, he'd still be president today and we wouldn't have this mess.

No Trial Raft Behind

Federal Aviation Administration officials said a dozen planes violated a temporary airspace restriction yesterday in Emmitsburg while President Bush was speaking at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial and could face sanctions.

The FAA is considering disciplinary action against the pilots, officials said. All the pilots are expected to be interviewed and could face license suspensions, said Holly Baker, a spokeswoman for the FAA.

All the planes drifted within 30 miles of where the president was speaking, a no-fly zone that also included Camp David. Four of the planes were escorted out of the area by F-16s.

parrow Author Profile Page said:

Ralph,

People like K.O., Colbert, Stewart are safer than people like Jesselyn, you or I or other whistle blowers of my acquaintance.
October 8, 2007 11:03 AM

@@@@@@@

I didn't mean to say that Colbert was in physical danger!! But, he will, forever, be marked as an dangerous anti-Bush, anti-American "liberal" and won't get invited to big shindigs like the correspondents dinner.

BTW: I am going to repeat my "brilliant idea" for the Democratic convention in 2008 -

HAVE THE DIXIE CHICKS SING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM OPENING THE CONVENTION!!

Would that be kuhl or what??? (The Dems are probably too wimpy to do such a thing..)

I hope the dems invite the Dixie Chicks and Colbert as well as John Stewart, Maher, and anyone else who has been telling the truth.

Here's to the Dixie Chicks!!!!

NOT READY TO MAKE NICE:

Yall have gone video posting crazy.

That is a very cool new toy, ain't it though?

BTW, Good Job DW.

Watch Romney. what a jerk.

Romney turns back on patient who asks about medical marijuana

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Romney_would_jail_MS_patient_for_1008.html

Secret Service shot at car of agent said protecting Ahmadinejad

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Secret_Service_shot_at_car_of_1008.html

Circulate widely!!

http://www.imaginepeace.com/
*What is IMAGINE PEACE?*
The biggest online peace event.

On October 9th 2007, John Lennon's birthday.
IMAGINE PEACE as Yoko Ono unveils
the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER.

Send a wish for their capsules ASAP to
imaginepeacetower@mac.com

http://whatwouldgandhido.net
http://radicalbuttons.com

What did anyone think of the torture shampoo video?
There are only two comments.

Is it over the top?
Is it justified humor?
Does it matter that it's a corporation?

Where does one draw the line?
Are we becoming too desensitized?
Or being too sensitive?

It's on the Main page.

Also, there don't seem to be as many people.
Are they having trouble re-registering? (I did)
Are they confused about the format?

Just wondering.

Christy
You'd have an idea on this.

Just reading the Observer and I want to know why our government would be spying on Princess Diana and also an Ambassador's wife that she was friends with.

Why is nothing settled ten years after her death and the jurors are being taken over to France from England, to the scene of the crime and the hospital?

Why was her father-in-law shown some of the documents relating to her bugged phone lines but they were so heavily doctored as to be meaningless?

She had to have been off'd.

I have no idea why we would spy on Diana. Honestly, I don't.

The only reason I can think of I would spy on her if I were president, would be simply because she is a high value target placed in a very interesting position.

In other words, I would only spy on her to check up on other people. Her hubby the future king and Elizabeth. Keep tabs on her son.

It does seem way freaky that we were bugging her, not just monitoring her movements, but catching every word, watching every move. It is very odd.

Strange but the Diana Conspiracy is the one conspiracy I can not get a feel for. I have no idea what happened in that tunnel.

And the idea that it was a horrible accident, wether he just lost control or got slammed, is actually very plausible. We have all seen the video of that night, she was being absolutely harrassed by a large pack of vultures going all over like crazy people.

And if the blood tests are true, add a drugged/drunk driver and you get exactly what did happen. It happens all the time.

The only thing that gives me pause suppossedly comes from Diana herself. The letter saying she would be killed written right before she was killed. If that really is her handwriting something is very wrong. People do not write letters like that out of some tweeker paranoia. It casts all her behavior in a different light than what her detractors say about her.

But the whole case, the blood tests, the handwriting, the alledged proposal, the pregnancy rumors, the paint tests, all of it is proven, then disproven then erased then proven again then discounted as rumor.

At this point, I believe we will never know what happened inside that tunnel that night. Our government probably does though.

All I know is the last thing she ever saw on this earth was a sick little bastard in her face taking her photo as she died. Her last words were begging him to stop.

She was a hero of mine, in a way, it is almost fitting that her, named for the Goddess of the Hunt, would be hunted to her very last breath.

If it was not an accident, the only reason I could think anyone would go that far, would be to kill an unborn half muslim child she may have been carrying.

There is no way in hell a child like that would have been allowed to be half brother to the future Protector of the Church of England.

No way in hell.

I don't know what happened. Either way, we lost one of the most incredible women the world has ever seen.

October 8, 2007 11:00 AM
sparrow said:

People like K.O., Colbert, Stewart are safer than people like Jesselyn, you or I or other whistle blowers of my acquaintance.

---

Sparrow, you have a valid point. I do lots of DoD construction contracting, and if/when these bastards connect the dots and find that I have connections to Code Pink and DCP, I could lose my livelihood too.

The only good thing coming out of this will be that I will no longer be able to afford products from such Republican-leaning companies as Dell, BMW, and Samsung.

Iraq leaders pull back from US surge
Joshua Partlow, Baghdad
October 9, 2007

SEVERAL Iraqi leaders say they have lost faith in the US military strategy that has sought to reduce violence so politicians could realise national reconciliation.

Iraqi leaders believe sectarian animosity is entrenched in the structure of their Government, and instead of reconciliation, they now stress alternative goals: streamlining bureaucracy, putting seasoned technocrats in positions of authority and improving the dismal record of providing basic services.

"I don't think there is something called reconciliation, and there will be no reconciliation as such," said Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih, a Kurd. "To me, it is a very inaccurate term. This is a struggle about power."

Prominent Shiite cleric and parliament member Humam Hamoudi said reconciliation would emerge naturally from an efficient, fair government, not through political engineering among Sunnis and Shiites.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/iraq-leaders-pull-back-from-us-surge/2007/10/08/1191695820973.html

Christy,

Remember that Diana was an outspoken advocate for banning land mines worldwide.

The US refuses to endorse the land mine ban, because it still wants to use land mines in Korea.

And since the US owns the British royals and the British government, telling them to get rid of Diana would've been simple, if that were the case.

Connections? Maybe. I'm not hinting at anything, but I won't rule out anything either.

sparrow
That phone salesman is absolutely tremendous. And he seemed to be so tearing up so by the time it was over I was in tears. Wow!

sparrow, I don't understand how he and his minders allowed Colbert to make a speech without reading it before and giving him the time. I figured that it had to be fake. That it was a speech made to a fictional president. That's possible. Him to be there and say these things are - surely - impossible. If not - wow!

Activists Stop GOP Election System Changes in CA
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100807F.shtml
Carla Marinucci reports for The San Francisco Chronicle: "They called themselves 'The Lincoln Brigade.' Even as Democrats feared having to spend as much as $40 million for a bruising, bloody fight expected to drag on for months, this makeshift group of California Democratic operatives needed just weeks to pummel a Republican-funded push for a ballot measure that threatened to change the outcome of the 2008 presidential election."

I have been gone for awhile, but have to say that I really am impressed with how the site evolved to accommodate those of us who had a particularly difficult time staying on topic. I would recommend that DCP trademark the OT logo (think of all those other blog symbols that have been popping up all over the internet[s]). Who knows..it may just help the site financially sustain itself.

Click on my name to watch a video about the Kerry/Edwards campaign.

I want to share a note I wrote to my Congressman, Peter Roskam. I sent this via one of those prepared e-mails that we have all seen; however, I changed the subject and the body of what what the site sponsors had written. He supports Bush's decision to veto SCHIP. Roskam also has a brother and sister who are both medical doctors. Unfortunately, Roskam will be running unopposed in the next election. You can thank Rahm Emmanuel for that. So here is my note (Subject: Live up to your calling):

Dear Representative Mr. Roskam,

I live in your district. Your siblings have devoted themselves to use
their talents to help their fellow citizens. They have sworn a solemn oath to guide them in their daily decisions.

You too have taken an oath just as solemn as theirs. Both oaths are
ultimately focused upon our value to one another and how we will care for our fellow beings.

Health care is a pivotal issue for you and your siblings. As my
Representative, I hope that you use the opportunity to provide health care to children, the most vulnerable among us, as a calling to live up to the ideals of the oath that you took.

Sincerely,

Michael Kahn, MD

Karen thanks for the peace wishes. I had a lot of wishes and emailed them all.

WOW
China's Richest Person Is 26 Year-Old Woman
By Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer
BEIJING — A 26-year-old Ohio State University graduate worth $16.2 billion is mainland China's richest person, the business magazine Forbes said Monday, topping a list of tycoons whose wealth has soared amid a boom in stock and property prices.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2007-10-08-china-rich_N.htm

October 8, 2007 4:55 PM
Karen said:
Circulate widely!!
*****

I posted the site Karen, thanks

Oncall, having healthcare here, I'm alarmed every time I hear any reminder that health care is not available to all Americans. That's because the Insurance Companies buoy up the politicians with some power to wield on their behalf.

Until political donations from Insurance Companies are banned, your children will always go uncared for.

Health care for all, will not hurt Insurance Companies. Not a tiny little bit. We have health insurance companies here in Australia, even though we have national health care. There are those people who don't want to be treated with the masses and want the private suite and all the rigmarole that goes with it. They aren't going to vanish. They'll still want their private everything and luxury whilst in hospital. The will continue to pay their health insurer.

These are the same people who can fly every other day in 1st class. Or on their own kitted out private jets. I have no problem with them doing that. Excellent. It keeps both worlds happy. Your president and your government seems to think that by establishing universal healthcare, the insurers will fold. Not so. They'll be needed more than ever, in fact.

Once everyone is able to get treatment, the elite will be clamouring to pay more for insurance so that they don't have to breath the air of the poor, the disabled or the abled. They can have their private room on their private floor in their private hospital.

Being a regular resident of hospital and being uninsured, I'm in shared wards, which is great for a writer. I meet some amazing people there. And at bus stops.

Click on my name to watch a video about the Kerry/Edwards campaign.

*****

That video just makes me more sad today thinking of what might have been, Oncall

I posted it at Rebelle, with the link below from the Brad Blog, The Stolen Election of 2004

VIDEO INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE: Steve Freeman, Author Of 'Was The 2004 Presidential Election Stolen?' Says Explanations of the Exit Polls Still Fail to Support Contention That Bush Won in Either Ohio or the Rest of America
University of Penn. Professor on Electronic Voting: 'If you haven't looked into this, it is worse than you can possibly imagine'...
The video clips, and text snippets of his answers to our questions, all follow below...

Who won the 2004 presidential election? - Freeman's short answer: John Kerry. He explains that while the official vote count gave George W. Bush a narrow margin of victory in Ohio of 120,000 votes and a slim electoral win, exit poll data indicates that Kerry actually won Ohio by 500,000 votes and won the national vote by a 6 million vote margin.
http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=43473

Kangaroo,

I have absolutely no doubts that John Kerry did get more votes that George Bush.

In my county, as I have posted many times on DCP (off topic, of course), our election commission is run by a bunch of Republicans who sole purpose is to maintain the Republican majority that they have cultivated. There have been some here who openly and effectively have challenged them to the point that the Commission has hired a "non partisan" consultant who is supposed to educate the county voters that their Commission works on their behalf. I have included a link to a blog site this "non partisan" used to run. Notice who posted there as well.
http://www.reversespin.com/?p=108

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/10/08/another-toe-tapping-republican-caught-in-sting-ends-senate-bid/
Another Toe-Tapping Republican Caught In Sting - Ends Senate Bid

Any of the Republic morons who have been caught in various sex scandals don't quite seem to get the same massive over-publicity Clinton's lying about a blow job did. If these freaks were Democrats, they'd make the top of the news every single solitary day, plus afternoon news teasers, plus evening teasers for the late night news. A Democrat lying about adultery is not okay and subject to impeachment proceedings. A Republic being a sex pervert is just hunky dory, and some continue to serve in Congress even after they've been convicted of their unlawful acts....

Sigh....

Will the hypocrisy ever at least be toned down? It'll never end, but there's certainly no balance when it comes to the reichwingnuttia moralistic kool-aid drinkers....

Now I wouldn't hold my breath waiting,, would you?
Iraqi Authorities Seek Blackwater Ouster
STEVEN R. HURST and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA October 8, 2007 11:10 PM EST Compare
BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months. They also want the firm to pay $8 million in compensation to families of each of the 17 people killed when its guards sprayed a traffic circle with heavy machine gun fire last month.
The demands _ part of an Iraqi government report examined by The Associated Press _ also called on U.S. authorities to hand over the Blackwater security agents involved in the Sept. 16 shootings to face possible trial in Iraqi courts.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20071008/iraq-blackwater-report/

Can anybody tell me if this is truth
or fiction?

Bush Awards Congressional Medal to IBC Czar
E.B. Patton, Dissident Voice
October 8, 2007

WASHINGTON (AEP) – President Bush announced today he was awarding Iraq Body Count (IBC) co-founder John Sloboda the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Bush said, "It’s very important to every person in America that we continue to minimize the true costs of the Iraq War. Mr. Sloboda has done important work in this regard, by giving us tolerable Iraqi casualty figures to promote, instead of the Godless crap you see in the Lancet or Opinion Business Research. Every single one of the American people owes Mr. Sloboda a debt of gratitude, which is why I’m awarding him this medal."

In October 2004, the British medical journal Lancet published a study in which lead author Les Roberts estimated 100,000 excess civilian deaths in Iraq as a result of the Western military presence there. In October 2006, Roberts and the Lancet updated the estimate to 655,000.

In September 2007, Opinion Research Business (ORB), an independent polling agency based in London, estimated 1.2 million excess Iraqi deaths. This estimate was based on a random survey of around 1500 Iraqi adults, who were asked how many in their household had died as a result of violence instead of natural causes.

By comparison, in September 2004, IBC estimated around 13,000 Iraqi deaths. In October 2006, IBC estimated around 48,000 deaths. As of August 2007, IBC’s estimate was around 74,000 deaths. IBC collects their data by counting the number of Iraqi civilian deaths reported by media outlets.

Said Bush, "The biggest fear big people like myself have is that the U.S. public will successfully organize a movement capable of overthrowing capitalism – the system that sustains and enriches suits like myself. Now, us important people never know what’s going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Will it be health care? New Orleans? Global warming? Or maybe Iraq?

"But thanks to God-fearing, freedom-loving Americans like John Sloboda, we can make Iraq seem like nothing more than a family spat."

John Sloboda is British.

Leading Democrats were completely livid upon hearing today’s announcement by Bush. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said, "This is totally outrageous. Who does Bush think he is? He can’t award a Congressional Medal of Honor to someone who’s never served in the U.S. military. God I hope the House impeaches Bush!"

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, "Up to now, I’ve told [House Judiciary Committee Chairman] John Conyers to back off Bush – it would be bad politics to impeach Bush now when we’re so close to getting Hillary in the White House. But this latest move by Bush has me very concerned. Therefore, beginning immediately, I am going to instruct Chairman Conyers to form a committee to take Bush’s impeachment under advisement.

"If that doesn’t scare Bush," Pelosi added, "nothing will."

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) said, "This almost makes me mad enough to leave the Democratic party. But hell, if I haven’t left by now, then by God, I’m never going to."

Sloboda was grateful upon hearing news of the award: "Frankly, anything that keeps the spotlight on me and off of those gutter trolls over at Media Lens is a good thing. I’m happy to do my part to help the Western war effort – the Nuremberg Principles and the Geneva Conventions be damned! Hell, who’s going to hang any of us?"
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m37011&hd=&size=1&l=e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N80BsEX4auI
Kucinich Campaign update 10-08-07

Australia's dollar = .90centsUS

It hasn't been this high for at least 6 years! Five years ago American's were coming down under for holidays - you doubled your money at that time.

Hey Ally,

Me, too, I was thinking about her work on landmines too. But, me too, no idea and not suggesting, but she would certainly have made some very powerful enemies because of it.

Funny, but the 'most beautiful woman in the world', the most photographed person ever, and that is the exact first image of her that always pops into my mind, her in some crappy kevlar trudging through a field of landmines.

She had real guts, fo sho.

And Rossi,

I don't know if that is real, that guy would be the last person georgie would want to hand a medal.

That story does sound like a hoax. A very bad joke.

Democrats Seem Ready to Extend Wiretap Powers

By ERIC LICHTBLAU and CARL HULSE

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 — Two months after insisting that they would roll back broad eavesdropping powers won by the Bush administration, Democrats in Congress appear ready to make concessions that could extend some crucial powers given to the National Security Agency.

Administration officials say they are confident they will win approval of the broadened authority that they secured temporarily in August as Congress rushed toward recess. Some Democratic officials concede that they may not come up with enough votes to stop approval.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/washington/09nsa.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1191902869-9HeMdZEQ7MbvVRYEkfHkdQ&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

I feel like they gave me Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Woz and Rossi.

I just sent packages for each of you. (For your little ballerina Rossi).

And as I stood there in line, a woman commissioned me to do a portrait of her preacher.

Wow. I like my new life.

The #1 diary on the rec list at dailykos at the moment discusses the NYT article that Christy posted about above:

Stop the FISA Hysteria -- House FISA Bill is a Good Bill

I think this comment from Buffalo Girl should probably be an action alert for the day.

I Can't Take It No More.
by John Fogerty.

I can't take it no more
I can't take it no more
Sick and tired of your dirty little war
I can't take it no more

You know you lied about the casualties
you know you lied about the WMD's
you know you lied about the detainees
All over the world

Stop talkin bout stayin the course
You keep-a-beatin that same old dead horse
You know you lied about how we went to war
I can't take it no more

I bet you never saw the ol' school yard
I bet you never saw the national guard
Your daddy wrote a check and there you are
Another fortunate son

I can't take it no more
I can't take it no more
Sick and tired of your dirty little war
I can't take it no more

STEPHEN COLBERT HAS A BOOK!!!

A BOOK!!!!

BUY AND READ,

HIS BOOK!

Colbert was on NPR for an "exclusive" interview (with Robert Siegel) talking about how great his first book is.....

New thread for the Australian chicks.