Remember Pearl Harbor!

Where's John John when we need him?

I was just thinking that today, as I signed my timesheet at work. Today is Pearl Harbor day. And the Japanese are our allies today.

For chuck:

irc - open - come on in and chat, people!

You know, my dad volunteeed the day after Pearl Harbor. So did his brother. They ended up not speaking years later, but back then in Chicago, their serial numbers were digits apart, which tells me they stood together in the same line. I don't know if that means anything, but that's my Pearl Harbor memory.

Chuck in Houston

Carol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64_303eHaTM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNjLUPqckWY&feature=related

And rock-a-bye-Sweet-Baby-James:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EoNd_maBbY&feature=related

Pump it up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fbhIzN9-p0&feature=related

Listen to the Muzak thinkin' 'bout this and that

This is prety cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLesCQvXVUw&feature=related

This is prety cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLesCQvXVUw&feature=related

So, where are the strong? And who are the trusted? And where is that harmony, sweet harmony? Because each time I feel it slipping away, just makes me want to cry -- what's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJkOyc_phy4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE3_QFu7epQ&feature=related

I like ths song, but I am not sure about the overall production here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnDrbagYm24

On the other hand, this is pure pipsqueak stir-it-up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlk9Sj4Ns2k

Concrete Jungle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlk9Sj4Ns2k

U.S. steadily losing its ‘willing’ allies in Iraq
Troops from countries still there toil in relative obscurity

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22157866/

Lawmakers seek probe of CIA tape destruction
White House: Bush does not recall being told about agency’s actions

WASHINGTON (AP) - Angry congressional Democrats demanded Friday that the Justice Department investigate why the CIA destroyed videotapes of the interrogation of two terrorism suspects.

The Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, called on Attorney General Michael Mukasey to find out "whether CIA officials who destroyed these videotapes and withheld information about their existence from official proceedings violated the law."

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., accused the CIA of a cover-up. "We haven't seen anything like this since the 18 1/2-minute gap in the tapes of President Richard Nixon," he said in a Senate floor speech.

And Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., told reporters the CIA's explanation that the tapes were destroyed to protect agents' identities is "a pathetic excuse," adding: "You'd have to burn every document at the CIA that has the identity of an agent on it under that theory."

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee sent letters to CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden and Mukasey asking whether the Justice Department gave legal advice to the CIA on the destruction of the tapes, and whether it was planning an obstruction-of-justice investigation.

Spokeswoman: Bush doesn't recall
White House press secretary Dana Perino said Friday that President Bush did not recall being told about the tapes or their destruction. But she could not rule out White House involvement in the decision to destroy the tapes, saying she had only asked the president about it, not others.

Perino refused to say whether the destruction could have been an obstruction of justice or a threat to cases against terrorism suspects. If the attorney general decides to investigate, "of course the White House would support that," she said.

In a daily press briefing dedicated almost solely to the topic of the CIA tapes, Perino responded 19 times that she didn't know or couldn't comment.

At least one White House official, then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers, knew about the CIA's planned destruction of videotapes in 2005 that documented the interrogation of two al-Qaida operatives, ABC news reported Friday. Three officials told ABC News that Miers urged the CIA not to destroy the tapes. White House officials declined to comment on the report.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22157386/

Can we impeach yet?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. President George W. Bush "has no recollection" of videotapes of CIA interrogations of some al Qaeda suspects or of plans to destroy the tapes, a White House spokeswoman said.

Bush and Vice President Cheney learned about videotaped interrogations of some al Qaeda suspects on Thursday, when CIA Director Michael Hayden briefed them about the existence of the tapes and their subsequent destruction, administration officials said Friday.

The interrogations -- using newly approved "alternative" interrogation techniques -- of two al Qaeda suspects were recorded in 2002, Hayden said Thursday in a letter to CIA employees. They were destroyed three years later when the agency determined they had no intelligence value and could pose a security risk, he said.

"I spoke to the president this morning about this," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. "He has no recollection of being made aware of the tapes or their destruction before yesterday. He was briefed by General Hayden yesterday morning."

The vice president learned about the tapes and their destruction at the same time, another administration official told CNN.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, said that was "stretching credulity."

"There's something going on here," Dodd, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, said on CNN's "The Situation Room. "We're not getting the full story, hence the reason why there should be an investigation. It goes to the heart of our national security, our protection, our safety, our isolation in the world. That's why this is so important."

more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/07/cia.videotapes/index.html

So this week, we have the NIE which says Iran wasn't building nukes, which the president says he got some info on in August but kept talking smack, now we have videotapes that were destroyed and WH counsel knew about it in 2005, but the POTUS and his sidekick didn't know about them til this week?

IMPEACH!

a photo I took downtown

It's ridiculous that we haven't even begun impeachment hearings. And they want us to just focus on 08...wft?!!!

TEHRAN (AFP) — Major crude producer Iran has completely stopped carrying out its oil transactions in dollars, Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said on Saturday, labelling the greenback an "unreliable" currency.

"At the moment, selling oil in dollars has been completely halted, in line with the policy of selling crude in non-dollar currencies," Nozari was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

The world's fourth largest oil exporter, Iran has massively reduced its dependence on the dollar over the past year in the face of US pressures on its financial system and the fall in the dollar.

Nozari did not specify in which currencies Iran was now being paid. In the past, officials have said most oil income was in euros, with a significant percentage in yen.

Japan, which purchases 20 percent of Iran's crude oil, has recently agreed to pay for the crude oil in yen, officials have said. The UAE dirham has also been mooted as a possible payment currency.

Read more: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jGC7KSKjsKYUTGAF1oR...

monkey said:

Lawmakers seek probe of CIA tape destruction
White House: Bush does not recall being told about agency’s actions

WASHINGTON (AP) - Angry congressional Democrats demanded Friday that the Justice Department investigate why the CIA destroyed videotapes of the interrogation of two terrorism suspects.

The Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, called on Attorney General Michael Mukasey to find out "whether CIA officials who destroyed these videotapes and withheld information about their existence from official proceedings violated the law."

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., accused the CIA of a cover-up. "We haven't seen anything like this since the 18 1/2-minute gap in the tapes of President Richard Nixon," he said in a Senate floor speech.

@@@@@@

FORGET THE FRICKIN' INVESTIGATIONS...

IMPEACH ALREADY

(btw: I called Biden's office this week about the NIE fiasco and, without prompting, the secretary asked me "Are you suggesting impeachment?" and I said, mockingly, "No, No, impeachment is off the table,,, How about censure?")

Ralph,

I don't think they 'get' sarcasm. Maybe you should have suggested that they call the Hague since they seem quite incapable of doing their jobs. And that's not sarcasm!

Apparently the California electoral initiative can't get on the primary ballot, but the Republicons are undeterred. They will go to any lengths to cheat, since they can't win honestly. They have proven this time and time again. With the electoral initiative, the California electors would be split so some went to them no matter what, and the Democrats would have to win more states to compensate.

According to my friend Glenda, now they hope to have it on the November 2008 ballot. I found the article she is talking about and here is the link:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-electoral7dec07,0,5337231.story?coll=la-home-center

If it passes they will be willing to take it to the Supreme Ct to assure it will be implemented for the 2008 election. It appears Rudy Giuliani's rich backers are funding this effort. The fight isn't over...

Gilliard said proponents held out hope that the measure could appear on the November ballot, with the presidential contest. But he said that was a dicey scenario: Even if it were on that ballot and won voter approval, it might not affect the 2008 election.

The initiative might not kick in until 2012, Gilliard said - adding that courts likely would decide the question.

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had expressed skepticism about the measure. And Democrats had mounted an aggressive effort to block it, filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that backers of Republican candidate Rudolph W. Giuliani violated federal regulations by supporting the proposal.

New York hedge fund owner Paul E. Singer, one of Giuliani's largest fundraisers, had seeded the initiative with the original $175,000 donation.

Re the CIA tape destruction, I heard old 90 something Daniel Shorrs say something very sensible on NPR this morning. If the CIA was afraid that the identity of the agents would be compromised, they could have blacked out their faces in the videos.

Also, if they are so concerned about agents' identity being compromised, how was the White House allowed to leak the identity of Valerie Plame and why didn't they fight harder for her? It's a complete double standard.

I made that same argument this morning, about outing Plame vs. not identifying the interrogators on the video.

Geezus, I can't believe I'm using the term interrogators about Americans in "wartime".

We actually have become what we fought against in WWII, and it's apparently ok with the American people.

This country is either scared shitless of it's own shadow or the boogeyman or whatever, or it wouldn't put up with this behavior in our name for a goddam second.

So is this still the home of the brave, or what?

Dear Not My President

Client ID: CA-******

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Remember the other day how I pointed out the "religion requires freedom, freedom requires religion" statement by Mitthead?
Read on, Mitt Gets Mad...

Golly Gosh, My Oh My: Romney Locks Horns With Reporters in Iowa

At first glance, Mitt Romney had good reason to be pleased with the turnout at today's "Strengthening America's Military" event in Des Moines. The small room was packed to the proverbial rafters. A closer look, however, revealed a slightly less comforting reality: most of the audience--about 50 of the 80 in attendance--was of the journalistic persuasion.

Needless to say, the St. Petersburg Times' Adam Smith, Newsweek's Richard Wolffe, the New Yorker's Jeffrey Toobin and the Washington Post's David Broder and Dana Milbank don't just stumble upon tiny Romney events in Iowa.

Why the gargantuan gaggle? Simply put, hacks like me flew out from Washington and New York or trekked up from College Station, Texas hoping for a chance to hound, harass and/or harangue the former Massachusetts governor about the more controversial aspects of yesterday's "Faith in America" address. Strengthening America's military? Um, not so much.

In the end, we got our opportunity to hear Romney clarify "The Speech" (and even address new reports about the continued use of illegal immigrants to tend his lawn). But Romney made us--and the good people of Iowa--suffer for it. First, he was late. A half-hour late. No big deal, usually. Typical, in fact. But with today's unfavorable citizen-scribe ratio--not to mention all the pent-up reportorial passion--waiting quickly gave way to an absurdist round-robin tournament of man-on-the-street interviews. "I must be a celebrity by now," said one Iowan after his third consecutive quote-a-thon. "I should've worn a nicer suit." "It's okay," his interviewer shot back. "We'll notify your press secretary next time." Romney's actual address--summary: Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan, the Greatest Generation, Ronald Reagan--was less ridiculous. And also less entertaining.

The post-show press availability, however, was a different story. Held in a smaller side room, it kicked off cordially enough. "Things get exciting toward the end, don't they," said Romney, a dozen cameras clacking. "Gosh, look at this. It's good to see you all. Good day today. Thrilled to be in Des Moines with snow on the ground. With that..."

Insert shouting here. Then more shouting. Finally, above the fray, a question:

"I'm wondering why you didn't mention non-religious people in your speech yesterday, number one, and also what you meant by 'freedom requires religion'?" asked a reporter.

An important point--but Romney deflected. "I'm paraphrasing something that's been said both by John Adams and George Washington," he said. "Which is that, in their view, for a nation like ours to be great and to thrive... that our Constitution was written for a people of faith and religion. It's a very extraordinary element and foundation for our nation. I believe that's the case."

Unsatisfied, another reporter pounced. "Do you think an atheist or non-believer or non-spiritual person can't therefore be a free person?" he asked.

"Of course not," Romney responded. "That's not what I said."

"But you said 'freedom requires religion'?"

"I'm talking about the nation," Romney snapped. Next question.

more...
http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2007/12/07/golly-gosh-my-oh-my-looks-like-mitt-can-get-mad.aspx

This country is either scared shitless of it's own shadow or the boogeyman or whatever, or it wouldn't put up with this behavior in our name for a goddam second.

So is this still the home of the brave, or what?

Got to say Amen to that Monkey.

But I think that the majority are totally indifferent. Shamefull isn't it, when you think that the Leader of the free world, is elected with such indifference.

Carol, I was told I should ask you something, can you email me please?

simpson1962@bellsouth.net

Rossi, has that baby been born yet? We want pics when she is. We demand it.

BREAKING NEWS

Probe begins over destroyed interrogation tapes
CIA, Justice Department to determine if full investigation is warranted

NBC News and news services
updated 49 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The CIA announced Saturday that the Justice Department and the CIA's internal watchdog have "initiated a preliminary inquiry" into the destruction of interrogation videos of two al-Qaida operatives.

The preliminary inquiry will be used to to gather initial facts needed to determine if a full investigation is warranted, CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said in an e-mailed statement.

"I welcome this inquiry and the CIA will cooperate fully," CIA Director Mike Hayden said in a statement. "I welcome it as an opportunity to address questions that have arisen over the destruction back in 2005 of videotapes."

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22160746/

Ok, so the CIA and Justice is gonna do an inquiry of ITSELF to see if a full investigation is needed...

Whew! I feel better, don't you?

It was 27 years ago today...

Salute to John Lennon
by Martin Lewis

Paul McCartney's instantly-notorious first public comment on John Lennon's murder in December 1980 - "it's a drag" - was at the time held up as an example of gross insensitivity by an estranged friend. In reality it was the understatement of devastation. There's a telling line in Sidney Lumet's 1983 film "Daniel" - a fictionalized account of the struggles of the two children of executed "spies" Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. "Why don't you console her?" asks someone about the suicidally-distraught daughter at one point. The answer is chilling in its intensity. "Did it ever occur to you that she might be inconsolable?"

The world has had to come to terms with the senseless murder of John Lennon nearly three decades ago. But for the millions around the world who were deeply enthralled and touched by Lennon's gifts - the ache remains.

Early and tragic death of a hero, a leader or a cultural icon always produces reactions of greater intensity than the sad passing-on of a revered figure at a grand old age. Our loss is not just the pang of regret that a much cherished person has finally shuffled off the mortal coil. It is also the burning pain of what might have been.

It is certainly true that when John Lennon was shot he was immediately eulogized, mythologized and indeed canonized. And if you weren't a follower - or were too young to experience the Lennon impact in 'real time' - you could be forgiven for reacting suspiciously to all the hoopla on every anniversary of his death. "I mean he was just a pop singer right? Married to that kooky Japanese woman. I'm sorry he died - but why the fuss?"

Did we over-react to Lennon's death in 1980? Are we pining for a mythological cipher now?

Those are healthy questions. I don't begrudge them. The weight of 27 years of soliloquies hangs heavy on the uninitiated. So let the answers be given.

John Lennon was not God. But he earned the love and admiration of his generation by creating a huge body of work that inspired and led rather than simply following. The appreciation for him deepened because he then instinctively decided to use his celebrity as a bully pulpit for causes greater than his own enrichment or self-aggrandizement.

For several key years in the late 60s and early 70s - he and Yoko Ono consciously turned their lives into a virtual "Truman Show" to promote the issues they believed in.

One of Lennon's many gifts was his humor. He knew - but accepted that many people were laughing at them. He didn't care. He cared that the message was being heard. If disbelievers were going to ridicule his peace protests that was at least preferable to them being engaged in violence. One of the secrets of Lennon (and indeed all four Beatles) was that he took his work seriously. But he never took HIMSELF too seriously.

more...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martin-lewis/salute-to-john-lennon_b_75923.html

I miss him today as much as I ever have...

After recent news of the CIA illegalities I thought this was an interesting Opinion piece this morning.

Secret, but no service
Jason Koutsoukis
December 9, 2007

Like the CIA, Australia's spy agencies are incompetent money-guzzlers and should be abolished.

KEVIN RUDD has talked up the idea of taking a meat axe to the public service. He might start by ridding taxpayers of the bloated network of "intelligence" agencies that suck up hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Why anyone takes the business of spying seriously remains a mystery. To quote a former Central Intelligence Agency counterintelligence officer, Aldrich Ames, who is serving a life sentence for passing on secrets to the Soviet Union, the espionage racket was basically just an expensive sideshow.

"A self-serving sham carried out by careerist bureaucrats who managed to deceive policy-makers and the public about the necessity and value of their work," said Ames.

A reminder of just how incompetent the CIA is came last week when the agency admitted that Iran was not stockpiling an arsenal of nuclear weapons.

More: http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/secret-but-no-service/2007/12/08/1196813079446.html

It was 27 years ago today...

Salute to John Lennon

Monkey just posted at Rebelle for his IMAGINE PEACE LINK if you are interested.

Christy, no news yet, due a couple of days ago.

Christy posted your art at http://rossiannsretreat.blogspot.com/

Just click on my name if anyone wants the Imagine Peace Link

Tell Congress: Stop FCC Chairman Martin & Big Media

Speak Out Now, Stop Big Media

http://action.freepress.net:80/campaign/ownership/876negn4p6ibd85?

Ask Your Senators to Co-Sponsor the Media Ownership Act

Henry Kravis is a billionaire, the 57th richest person in America. He acquired this wealth by purchasing public companies with borrowed money. To pay off the debt, he cuts benefits at the company, sells its assets, and lays off employees.

This get-rich-quick scheme made him $450 million last year. Meanwhile, his tax rate is lower than teachers, firemen, nurses, even his own cleaning staff!

Yet everyday we hear another story, we live another experience, we see another example of the horrific economic pain our country is being devastated by.

It's time all of us started a WAR ON GREED.

Watch the video: http://warongreed.org/?utm_source=rgemail

"It is certainly true that when John Lennon was shot he was immediately eulogized, mythologized and indeed canonized."

Not at my house.

John Lennon was the reason I started paying attention to news. I was 6.

I asked my father, 'Why do they keep saying that mans name over and over ?' My father looked at me so oddly. To this day I can still see his face so clearly. And he said real slowly. "because he was a very famous man. And he was murdered by a crazy man.'

Then he started ranting about how John Lennon believed he was 'bigger than Jesus' and how he was 'just a hippi' who probably deserved what he got for his insult to Jesus.

That was the first time I ever remember watching the news. I was hooked. By the time I was 8 I was reading newspapers front to back. Every word, even the ads. All thanks to John Lennon being gunned down.

I was a wierd kid.

Wow Rossi! Thank you.

Very cool.

Henry Kravis makes $51,369 PER HOUR. You pay more taxes.

PROTEST AT HILLARY'S OFFICE, MONDAY

Monday, Dec 10: Monday December 10th
(International Human Right's Day)
12 noon to 1:30 PM

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
780 Third Ave @ 48th Street
New York, NY 10017

Demand she Stop HR 1955 & S.1959
"The Violent Radicalization and
Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act"

Monkey had to fix link on my site for Imagine Peace http://www.imaginepeace.com:80/

My latest Vid - The Unemployed Bushies

NMP

Are you serious about the Canadian immigration visa email? Seriously, if it is real, then you do have a good chance with your education and work.

Ralpheh

I wouldn't count on Hillary, or ANY Democrat for that matter, to stop it. And no need to reiterate my position on political parties that betray and sell out their base (as opposed to those that pander to the base).

Your father and everybody else who made those kind of comments about John lennon can kindly go f*ck themselves, and I am so not kidding.

Those shallow pricks can go back and read what he said, and listen to his own words, if they could be so bothered to pull their heads from their asses, and maybe try and understand the point he was trying to make.

Then they can go f*ck themselves again.

My father is dead now Monkey.

But if he were alive again, John Lennon would be the least he had to answer for.

My father was no different than anyone else who gets their information from a filter they do not even know is there.

My biggest regret in this whole life was the last words I spoke to him. Yet I can still see his face so clearly telling me John Lennon was dead.

I will go away now.

Ralpheh

I wouldn't count on Hillary, or ANY Democrat for that matter, to stop it. And no need to reiterate my position on political parties that betray and sell out their base (as opposed to those that pander to the base).
December 8, 20

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

Hillary's stance on the war is why she doesn't have the whole thing wrapped up already. Hillary keeps coming in last in the Democrat party activist straw polls; Kucinich wins (probably based on his opposition to the war_

Ron Paul is kicking ass and totally stirring up the Republican party primary. This is, as well, due to his opposition to the war in Iraq. I think the party elites are worried. Paul is receiving not only a huge amount of media attention but now he is starting to raise some serious money - $10 million. I think he could get up to 10% support in New Hampshire soon if he hasn't already...

I had another RP video that was quite popular and scored some good ratings...

it is lovely to see...

I apologize for my last post, it's not exactly in the spirit of John Lennons message of PEACE, now is it?

I just get so incredibly upset by the two-faced hypocrites who claim to know whether Jesus is or was "insulted", while at the same time talking down and passing judgement on a person they never met and know little to nothing about...

Not exactly in the spirit of The Prince of Peaces' message either, now is it?

Don't go away, Christy...

Peace, sister, peace.

Penn endorses Kucinich, challenges 'conventional wisdom' on electability

by Jason Rhyne
Friday December 7, 2007

Actor Sean Penn endorsed dark horse Democratic presidential contender Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) in what was billed as a "major political address" given by the actor Friday in San Francisco.

Lambasting Democrats in Congress for their refusal to pursue the impeachment of President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other members of the current administration, Penn praised Kucinich for his "moral courage," according to an advance copy of the speech provided to RAW STORY.

"[O]ur cowardly Democratically dominated House and Senate can barely find one voice willing to propose so much as an impeachment. That one voice of a true American," said the actor. "That one voice of Congressman Dennis Kucinich."

Penn went on to say that the former Cleveland mayor's record and vision outweighed "conventional wisdom" about Kucinich's long-shot chances of winning the presidency.

"I'm torn between the conventional wisdom of what we all keep being told is electability and the idealism that perhaps alone can live up to the challenges of our generation," said Penn. "Of the Democrats running for President, only Congressman Dennis Kucinich's candidacy is backed by a voting record of moral courage and a history of service to our country that has fully earned our support and our gratitude."

Added Penn, "So, here's the question. We got Iowa coming up, we got New Hampshire right on its ass. Do we sell it for electability? If Hitler were the only candidate, would voting for him be most American?"

Electability, he said, was in the eye of the beholder. "It is for us to determine what is electable. And here's how simple it is: If we, those of us who truly believe in the Constitution of the United States of America, all of us, vote for Dennis Kucinich, he will be elected. Could we call him electable then?"

Earlier, Penn excoriated the Bush administration for what he called treason, adding that although he wasn't a proponent of the death penalty, "existing law provides that the likes of Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld and Rice, if found guilty, could have hoods thrown over their heads, their hands bound, facing a 12-man rifle corps executing death by firing squad."

more...
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Penn_endorses_Kucinich_challenges_conventional_wisdom_1207.html

Huckabee wanted to isolate AIDS patients

AP Exclusive: Huckabee Once Advocated Isolation of AIDS Patients

ANDREW DeMILLO
AP News

Dec 08, 2007 17:13 EST

Mike Huckabee once advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general public, opposed increased federal funding in the search for a cure and said homosexuality could "pose a dangerous public health risk."

As a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in 1992, Huckabee answered 229 questions submitted to him by The Associated Press. Besides a quarantine, Huckabee suggested that Hollywood celebrities fund AIDS research from their own pockets, rather than federal health agencies.

Huckabee said Saturday that his comments came at a time when the public was still learning about HIV and AIDS and promised to do "everything possible to transform the promise of a vaccine and a cure into reality."

In 1992, Huckabee wrote, "If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague."

"It is difficult to understand the public policy towards AIDS. It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents."

more...
http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/Huckabee_wanted_to_isolate_AIDS_pat_12082007.html

What a Wonderful World

Monkey - I don't know when I registered at this site, but it was nice to get the invitation to remember and continue towards peace.

Dear Friends This December 8th is the 27th anniversary of John Lennon's passing. You are welcome to  visit www.IMAGINEPEACE.com at any time on Dec 8th for a special message & video.

WAR IS OVER! artwork is now available for download at:
http://www.imaginepeace.com/downloads/WarIsOver.jpg
Print & display in your window, workplace, school, street, car, computer & elsewhere over the holiday season.

On December 8th, 11.15pm (your local time) remember John  by taking a moment of quiet reflection. If you would like to play or sing the song "Imagine" and imagine a world of peace, just know that we are all together at that moment in every time zone, as IMAGINE PEACE makes its way around the world - every hour for 24 hours.

Send in stories & photos of what you did on December 8th to stories@imaginepeace.com for us, the family of Peace and Love, to tell us and tell us of your experiences. That would be lovely!

With deepest love
Yoko Ono Lennon

I must make a decision to read first and post later.

I'm Beatle-ing and Lennon-ing all evening...

Enter:

from the same friend who updated me today about the California electoral initiative:

This is must-see viewing about the upcoming 2008 election. A former federal Justice Department official David Becker alleges widespread voter suppression. How safe is your right to vote? Our government is now a part of the problem working to undermine our very democracy.

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/348/video.html

I forgave my parents for changing their minds about letting me go to see the Beatles when they came to Melbourne, but I certainly never let them forget it. It took me about 20 years to forgive. And I always let them know about concerts that my sons went to in the city, so they'd realise that the "when you have children you'll understand" was crap. I understood the situation from my kids point of view. However, it was a different time and our parents had never seen anything quite like the reactions to the Beatles.

We were simple country farming folks and our school was taking a bus load of us to the city - a 6 hour return trip, for the concert, plus several hours performance time. I was 14 years old. Once the Beatles arrived in Melbourne, tv pictures of the crowds and hysteria in the city outside the hotel they were staying in scared my parents witless and they reneged on the deal. It was the only time in all our lives that they did that. The other 6 kids ganged up on my side till they got scared too and switched loyalties.

My parents were both music teachers in South Dakota and they immediately realized that the Beatles were very talented. So I had no problems in that area. My 6th grade teacher bought us Beatle books, with photos of our heroes. The first single I ever bought was "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and the first album I ever bought was "Rubber Soul."

When my son was little, I didn't have enough children's records so I bought him a little Fisher-Price cassette player and recorded Sargeant Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour and the White album for him. To this day, he has made six albums, and is a song-writing ASCAP-registered pop musician influenced by the Beatles, Beach Boys, Hollies, and local bands SuperDeluxe, The Posies and others who were influenced by Brit Pop.

The tragedy of John Lennon's murder is not that he was taken from us too soon. To me, the tragedy is that we have not learned from his message nor given his hopes a chance. Will the day ever come that his pleas will be fulfilled? Judging by today's response to our lying government, a murderous occupation of a country that did us no harm, and the economic inequalities in this obscenely rich nation, I have to say there is no chance of realizing Lennon's hopes and dreams. But that doesn't mean we should not keep trying. And maybe it is the pursuit of correcting these problems, and many others, which are the hopeful elements of his death.

I was in Champaign, Illinois in my bed listening to the radio when I heard John Lennon was murdered. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Hey Carol,

I have something for you, but it may not be what you want, since I could not put all your colors in it.

I will leave it up for you to decide if I should send it or start another. If you do not want him, don't be shy, because I already know someone else lurking, waiting to snatch it up. Musical themes seem to be very popular.

Did I say him? Hehe. I did.

http://christysartblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart.html

Now. It is 3 am and I am going to try to get some sleep.

Just let me know.

Here we go again...

A Pastor’s True Calling
Huckabee's success is due, in part, to right-time, right-place luck. But he says it comes from above.

For the Rev. Mike Huckabee, the podium is never far from the pulpit. Last month, just as the former Republican governor of Arkansas was unexpectedly rising in the Iowa polls, he was invited to deliver a Sunday-morning sermon at the DFW New Beginnings Church. An evangelical Christian congregation in the suburbs of Dallas (a three-hour drive from the Texarkana, Ark., church Huckabee led in the 1980s), New Beginnings is different from other megachurches in the South. It calls itself a "multicultural" ministry that upholds the Judeo-Christian tradition. The pulpit is adorned with a crucifix inside a star of David. A scattering of "messianic Jews" in the congregation wear yarmulkes. Its message is a blend of theology and self-help. God, the church Web site says, "wants to release the inner winner in you."

As it happens, that is a theme now very much on Huckabee's mind. All his life, he told the congregation as he casually paced the thick red carpet, God has found ways to point him to where he is today. An ordained Baptist minister, Huckabee immediately won over the crowd with a typically self-deprecating joke. "Are you one of those Baptists who think only Baptists go to heaven?" he said a woman once asked him. "No, ma'am," Huckabee said. "I don't think all the Baptists are going to make it myself."

Huckabee, who gave his first sermon as a teenager and got his start as an assistant to a televangelist, wasn't just playing at preaching in Dallas. He didn't take on that awkward way politicians have of speaking in church—drawl artificially deepening, voice dramatically quavering. He was entirely at ease. Huckabee never uses notes when he speaks, yet he covered a lot of Biblical ground in his talk, which centered on God's way of creating opportunity from adversity. He started out with the Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers; touched on his own Everyman roots as a once poor kid "one generation away from dirt floors and outdoor toilets"; dipped into Romans 8:28 ("For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God …"), and gave "personal testimony" about how adversity in his own life has made his faith stronger. "You don't know that Jesus is all you need," he said, "until Jesus is all you've got." When he was done, the congregation gave him a standing ovation.

more...
http://www.newsweek.com/id/74469

A New American Holy War

The speech was written, the stagecraft set. Last Wednesday evening, about 12 hours before he was to speak on faith and public life as the guest of George H.W. Bush in College Station, Texas, Mitt Romney was musing aloud about the task before him. The former Massachusetts governor was happy with the text, which had taken him nearly a week to write and polish: it was rife with allusions to the Founding Fathers and to what Romney called "our grand tradition of religious tolerance and liberty." He was thrilled, too, that the 41st president was going to introduce him; Romney would not have chosen the Bush library as the venue if the senior President Bush had declined to be there. (Bush 41 offered no endorsement, but tacit benediction—and, before the morning speech, cold cereal, which Romney declined, leaving the former president to have a bowl by himself while the governor drank a caffeine-free Diet Coke.) "My view is that when a person of faith is running for office—particularly a person of a faith you may not be familiar with—there are some questions that are legitimate," Romney said from the road in Houston. Would the authorities of a president's church exert influence on White House decisions? Would a president of a given faith put his country's traditions and laws above those of his church's? "Those are real issues, and people have a right to hear a candidate address them," Romney said. But there had to be a line drawn somewhere: "There are some particular doctrines, some theological concepts, that we don't need to go into, no matter what faith it is."

Or so Romney hopes—and, given the poll numbers in Iowa, which votes in three weeks, perhaps prays. At almost exactly the same hour on Wednesday, Mike Huckabee was spending a rare night at home in Little Rock, packing for a campaign trip to South Carolina. In a telephone interview with NEWSWEEK'S Holly Bailey, Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, declined to say whether he agreed with evangelical Christians who believe Mormonism is a heretical cult. "First of all, I don't think it's appropriate for me to start evaluating other religions," Huckabee said. "The more I answer these questions, the more people want to say, 'Ah, you describe yourself as a theologian,' or 'Oh, you're the one who is setting yourself up as a judge of religions.' I am damned if I do; I am damned if I don't."

Then he did. Asked if he thought Scriptural revelations from God ended when the Bible was completed, Huckabee said: "I don't have any evidence or indication that he's handed us a new book to add to the ones, the 66, that were canonized in 325 A.D. … It was a careful process that adopted those books. That was something I did study in college and seminary … the process by which we ended up with those books. I don't know that there's any other books."

more...
http://www.newsweek.com/id/74472

... and yet, we ridicule those in the Middle East who follow religious leaders, uh, "religiously", and call them fanatics and extemists. Can someone tell me what the hell the difference is?

Ah, how I long for the day when a persons faith or lack thereof was his or her own damned business.

Oh, good morning everyone.

In a shift, NBC to run ad thanking troops
Network had rejected spot from conservative group, citing 'controversy'

Sun., Dec. 9, 2007

WASHINGTON - NBC reversed course Saturday and decided to air a conservative group's television ad thanking U.S. troops.

The ad, by the group Freedom's Watch, asks viewers to remember the troops during the holiday season. NBC had refused to air the ad because it guides viewers to the Freedom's Watch Web site, which NBC said was too political.

But in a statement issued Saturday evening, NBC said:

"We have reviewed and changed our ad standards guidelines and made the decision that our policy will apply to content only and not to a referenced Web site. Based on these amended standards the Freedom's Watch ad will begin to run as early as Sunday."

(Msnbc.com is a joint-venture of NBC Universal and Microsoft.)

NBC's head of standards and practices, Alan Wurtzel, notified Freedom's Watch's media consultant Saturday by e-mail, writing: "This will confirm that the Freedom's Watch spot is approved for air."

Freedom's Watch President Bradley A. Blakeman welcomed the decision. "We're actually very happy that NBC has agreed to change its position because it will only help the troops be properly thanked," he said.

NBC initially said that airing the spot would violate the network's prohibition on controversial issue ads. Wurtzel, in an interview Friday with The Associated Press, said NBC found nothing wrong with the ad's content, but rather objected to the link to http://www.FreedomsWatch.org, viewing the Web site as too political.

"I think they had an agenda," Blakeman said. "They didn't like our Web site and didn't like what we stood for."

The group's home page is critical of liberals and has a link to a page urging lawmakers not to "cut and run" from the war in Iraq. The home page also links to another Freedom's Watch page dedicated to ways to assist the troops and provides links to organizations that send care packages to soldiers.

News of NBC's initial rejection caused an angry reaction on the Internet. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, appearing on the Fox News Channel on Friday, called for a boycott of NBC.

Freedom's Watch, a group backed by wealthy Republican fundraisers, has emerged as one of the best-financed conservative groups. It seeks to be a vocal advocate of President Bush's current policy in Iraq.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22165025/

... and yet, we ridicule those in the Middle East who follow religious leaders, uh, "religiously", and call them fanatics and extemists. Can someone tell me what the hell the difference is?

I'm thinking your question was rhetorical but I will answer it anyways.

The difference is that we are now into the second Crusade. The first one occurred in the years of 1095-1291. They were military attacks waged by the European Christians and sanctioned by the Pope. The purpose was to spread Christianity and to capture the Holy Lands. Caught in this net, were the anti-semetic and anti-muslum rhetoric that made these attacks against civilians acceptable in the eyes of those Christians.

So fast forward to this decade...

Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab sentiment didn't just pop up after 9-11. It was there before it. I remember one lady who was the township accountant who was bitterly complaining to me about how the 'Arabs were buying up the land and houses...' This lady was a Christian and went to church weekly.

Yet, on a national level, we also have many instances of anti-Arab sentiments. Remember when the Murrah Building was bombed? Who was the first suspect? It sure wasn't a Timothy McVeigh look-alike who was the suspect. It was some "Arab nation..." and even the media was saying this. And think of our movies, remember the era when all you needed for a bad guy was a Russian or an Arab nation and you could have immediate spy, action, torture movies--and the hero was always some American who would overcome that 'evil.'

9-11 was a national nightmare, but it also allowed that simmering religious hate to surface under the excuse of protecting your loved ones.

The problem as I see it is that these people are using a false pretext to go against every.single.one. of Jesus' teaching.

How can anyone who loves Jesus, the Prince of Peace, the God of Love and Forgivness, (He that recommended turn the other cheek), and a pacifist now decide that it's ok to turture, to commit wars on other nations, and to spread hate like wildfires against Arabs, liberals, non-Christians, Democrats, and so on.

Someone once said, via email, that Christians are forwarned to be prepared for the hate against them "Because they are Christians." But I don't get it myself. Given the historical and current events, how can the current filter in the Christian Republicans be what it currently is.

The way I see it--their meme is different from Jesus's teachings. And suddenly the second crusade is ok to them.

I just don't get it.

Regarding Monkey's link to the new add...another example of the right wing spreading hate.

If they truly wanted to support the troops, why would freedom's watch link to anti-dem websites?

I would be much more impressed if they linked to sites such as these:

Soldiers Angels"

Operation Helmet

Any Soldier

Or even they could link to sites that would buy a calling card for a soldier etc. (Of course, I doubt they would cross the political line and link to the fundraisers John Kerry has done for the soldiers. But as far as I'm concerned talking care of the troops means supporting all sides of the political spectrum who are having fundraisers to help a soldier.)

Bingo, sparrow.

Jesus loves you, especially if you do as WE say and look and talk like US! Love thy nieghbor, yeah, right.

I'm a big fan of the Prince of Peace, but those who claim to "know Him" best and have a "personal relationship" seem to not understand Him at all.

They put the Fist in Pacifist.

I'll say this for the Rightwingers, they've put a bunch of hate in me that wasn't there before...

Way to spread the Gospel, douchebags.

I'm a big fan of the Prince of Peace, but those who claim to "know Him" best and have a "personal relationship" seem to not understand Him at all.

They put the Fist in Pacifist.

December 9, 2007 10:43 AM
monkey said:
I'll say this for the Rightwingers, they've put a bunch of hate in me that wasn't there before...

I believe God is up there crying as hard as we are.

I remember reading a book where the line, "A sparrow weeps" was used in reference to a pastor who was in a concentration camp with the Jews. (He was captured for trying to save Jewish peoples' lives.) As he, and all of them starved to death, and became weaker by the day, the sparrow (representing God and the Bible) watched over them and wept as she saw what was happening.

That's what I believe is happening now. God, Jesus, Allah-- whoever you believe in--is weeping now for the deeds being done in his/her name.

What a beautiful description of YOU, sparrow.

That's how I think of you, often--as our conscience.

NPR looks like it's tacking back to the center on the war in Iraq:

WAR ISN'T SO BAD -

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16981183

All Things Considered, December 6, 2007 · Commentator Ken Harbaugh makes the case that not all soldiers coming back from the war are messed up physically or emotionally. He argues that most soldiers who come back from the war lead incredibly rich, productive lives.

A BLOG RESPONSE TO HARBAUGH'S NPR PIECE:

Email response to a story heard on NPR:

Commentator Ken Harbaugh's "Most Soldiers Return from War Just Fine" (NPR, All Things Considered, 12/6/07) misses the point and comes dangerously close to glorifying war.

As a psychiatrist who spent several years in the VA system treating veterans from every conflict from World War II to the Iraq, I can assure Mr. Harbaugh that the idea of a generation of traumatized veterans is no myth. The fact that none of his friends seem traumatized by war is anecdotal and misleading. Comprehensive studies conducted by the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs have shown that about a third of those exposed to heavy combat suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. Many are ashamed of their symptoms, so may not confide them even to close friends, and others do not develop the disorder until years after the trauma.

War, particularly in its industrialized, high intensity, mass casualty modern form, is toxic to the human central nervous system. No one claims that 100% of soldiers are permanently traumatized by their experiences. In small doses, with proper support, training, and rotation, combat will not permanently traumatize most of those exposed, but repeated tours in a hostile foreign land with no clear front lines or rear areas is a recipe for a psychiatric public health disaster.

The fact that someone is proud of their service says nothing about whether they were traumatized. In fact, survivor guilt is more often the rule than the exception.

Mr. Harbaugh engages in some well-intentioned stereotyping of his own, when he implies that a veteran suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder could not be employed, out of jail, or grateful for having served.

As a West Point graduate, I am deeply appreciative of many aspects of military service, but let us never forget the words of President Carter that war, although sometimes a necessary evil, is always evil. I agree that caring for the traumatized veteran is a high moral imperative, but not starting unnecessary wars in the first place is an even higher one.

Posted by Mark Vakkur, MD at 7:20 PM

ANOTHER YEAR OF WAR...

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer Sat Dec 8, 11:22 AM ET

WASHINGTON - After weeks of tough talk, Democrats appear resigned to back down again on providing money for the Iraq war.
ADVERTISEMENT

What happened?

"Republicans, Republicans, Republicans," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "The real problem here is the president and his Republican backers" who have "staked out an increasingly hard-lined position."

Indeed, with Democrats holding a razor-thin majority in the Senate and with 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles, Senate Republicans were in a plum negotiating spot this month.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., insisted that if Democrats want legislation paying for government operations this year, they will have to include money for the Iraq war.

Karen said: What a beautiful description of YOU, sparrow. That's how I think of you, often--as our conscience.

Karen,

That's how I think of everyone here. We would have to all change our names to represent the strong conscienceness and goodness we all have here.

Imagine our nicks:
Karen-sparrow
Monkey-sparrow
Christy-sparrow
Richard-sparrow
Veritas-sparrow (V-sparrow?)
Woz-sparrow
Chuck-sparrow
alley-sparrow
dw-sparrow
nmp-sparrow
casey-sparrow
Fe-sparrow
Kangaroo-sparrow
Oncall-sparrow
Vic-sparrow
Vics grandma-sparrow
Otter-sparrow
Carol-sparrow
abqjohn-sparrow
Ira-sparrow
Ralph- huge cajones strong_spine-sparrow **(of course Ralph gets the extra label for having the guts to call the White House and different departments in it to complain or to ask questions--and for confronting his Representative to his face--other things too.)

Very good diary at Kos by Scout Finch on Christmas and gifts and celebrations with his grandparents. What a belated gift to them!!!

We always thought our grandmother was a little kooky. Having lived through The Great Depression as a child, she and my grandfather never relinquished their frugal ways. I can even remember helping my grandma clean clothes in a washtub in the basement. I was fascinated with the ringer and eager to help. That was in the late 70’s or early 80’s, long after washers and dryers were commonplace. During the holidays, we would all roll our eyes as grandma ran around collecting all of the wrapping paper, bows, and ribbon. She would later re-use every scrap. Grandpa would sit by the fireplace with a "log roller" and feed newspaper into it to be re-used as fire starting logs. We would decorate the tree, not with contrived, expensive, plastic, imported, store bought ornaments, but with gingerbread men, Christmas trees, snowmen and more. All handmade from felt, Elmer’s glue, and whatever else we could find. Of course, the tree was complimented with strands of popcorn and construction paper chains that we tirelessly strung ourselves. And much of the food on the table came from the jars of fresh vegetables in the basement, remnants of their enormous summer garden. Leftover scraps were held aside for the compost bin.

Some of the gifts were handmade too. I recall my favorite gift from the grandparents were the matching handmade sleeping bags that all the grandkids received one year. It wasn’t so much the bag, but knowing that we would be using those sleeping bags on a camping trip with grandma and grandpa. For many years, they took each grandchild separately for several days on a camping trip. We loved those trips. Catching fish with grandpa and cooking it over a fire. Walking along the shores of a creek or small river with grandma, searching for fresh watercress for our salads. I can’t even remember what else I got for Christmas in those years (except for that Grease album.) But, I remember that handmade sleeping bag and the promise of adventure. And if I close my eyes, I can almost smell that homemade pie in the oven. I can see grandma scampering around the homemade ornament covered tree, collecting all that paper to make sure that none of it went to waste. What a warm feeling I get from these memories now.

Were my grandparents environmentalists ahead of their time? Maybe. But, I think it has more to do with us going astray as a whole. Somehow we lost our collective heads in the commercial madness. It’s now up to us to fix it.

So, this year my family is moving forward by going back. Getting back to the basics and teaching the next generation all of the wonderful things our grandparents taught us. Showing them that new is not always better and that a gift doesn't have to be wrapped in impenetrable plastic to have real, lasting value.

I believe God is up there crying as hard as we are.

This is for Monkey

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/8/165522/694

Excerpt:

"I am he," is an expression widely understood in the East – it is in a sense the essence of the East. The classic explanation in the Hindu is that a person alone in the world at some point finds an enlightenment within herself or himself; a celestial inner god, the Atman. And if that person continues on the path, which in the East would be considered the Path of God, then at the top of the mountain she or he might find wholeness with all the others and wholeness with the universe. For the first the journeyer could think and say, "I am the Atman." Then at the peak s/he would say, "I am the Brahman." Lennon played on these phrases in classical Liverpool humor. He followed the Hindu phrase I am he (I am no longer who I was when I started, but I have become something else which is within him and the others and everyone, everything, everywhere . . .) not with "I am the Atman, I am the Brahman," but instead with: I am the Eggman, I am the Walrus.

Listening to Senators, Governors, Presidents and outright louts and war criminals these past few years and this week again talk about their religious "convictions" – these men of faith and the religious burghers who joyfully in the name of the Prince of Peace endorse torture, "50 more years of war," and barbaric practices unheard of among the English-speaking people since the 12th century, I began to think of how entirely screwed I would feel today if I was a young man, just beginning on life's journey, hearing these speeches given in the Manhattan penthouses of Wall St. financiers and their lobbyists and ex-Presidents and in the parlors of Texas oil men. And what a joy and a pleasure it was to hear instead these charmed and encouraging words by John Lennon, when I was a young man, even hearing them for the first time in a war zone in South East Asia.

This is the Wanker, that the GOP would nominate to be Leader of the Free World. Go Figure

Giuliani: If I Have A Presidential Mistress, She'll Get Security Too

Video http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/09/giuliani-if-i-have-a-pre_n_75979.html

Just adding...

Lots of former DCP'rs should be on that list too who I didn't mention by name--people like Truth, indy, april, feeling fabulous, china tool, pcdoc and sunflower, nonnyo, and more than my brain can remember!

Thanks so much for that, nmp...

Coo coo ca choo.

An American original gets his voice back

NEW YORK (AP) -- The voice is raspy but recognizable, reminiscent of a time when he played with a band so amazingly good they were simply known as The Band.

That was more than three decades ago, before the throat cancer and the surgery and the radiation left Levon Helm with no voice at all. The singer on classics like "Up On Cripple Creek" and "Rag Mama Rag" was resigned to resuming his musical life as strictly a sideman -- a little drums, or strumming the mandolin.

"My dream was to have (daughter) Amy make an album, and I'd play some drums and still get to ride on the tour bus," Helms says by phone from his home in Woodstock. "And then it finally got so I could sing harmony parts here and there, if the key was right, and the melody would accommodate it."

It wasn't until eight years after his cancer surgery, and after 28 radiation treatments, that Helm considered the possibility of singing on his own album. "Dirt Farmer" features his familiar voice on tracks like Steve Earle's "The Mountain" and a variety of traditional tunes first heard on his boyhood back porch in Arkansas.

"My folks used to sing those songs to each other when they were kids," Helm said of songs like "The Girl I Left Behind" and "The Blind Child." The songs were passed down to the next generation, and Helm passed them along to his daughter, Amy.

The result, beginning with recording sessions that started in spring 2005, was Helm's first solo studio album in 25 years. He dedicated "Dirt Farmer" to his parents, and started making the record as a collection of duets with his daughter.

At the same time, Helm was hosting his monthly "Midnight Ramble Sessions," a concert series that brought in musical friends Donald Fagen, Elvis Costello, Allen Toussaint and Emmylou Harris to the barn on his property.

The shows helped pay his medical bills and cover reconstruction costs for his home studio, which was destroyed in a fire. Helm had built the studio and settled in Woodstock in 1975.

"The 'Rambles' started out mainly as a rent party kind of a deal," Helm says. "All my friends getting together, playing a show, and paying the rent for me. But the 'Rambles' quickly turned into the best way in the world to try and get some chops back."

more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/07/music.levon.helm.ap/index.html

I just realized Linda Blair taught us how to deal with georgie.

Every time you see his face or likeness, scream at it...

MAY THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELL YOU! MAY THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELL YOU!

We have tried everything else, might as well.

Come One, Come All, anyone spare 20 Bucks, well worth the advertising.

You Decide

HuffPost's "The Bush Years" Posters: A Powerful Political Stocking Stuffer

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/huffposts-the-bush-year_b_75722.html

You know what I wonder?

Why in Gods name would ANYONE video tape themselves torturing someone? Especially the CIA... Have you ever heard of our CIA taping ANYTHING that could be used against them?

I mean, think about it. Isn't that not the same thing as a pedophile taping himself raping a baby?

You know why I think they recorded it? For the viewing pleasure of none other than george w bush.

And dick cheney.

They recored it because someone higher up on the foodchain wanted to SEE IT.

And get off on it.

Irreverent Reverend Indy's words of hope and loss on the new thread. (All from 2004, but expressed so much better than I ever could!)

You know why I think they recorded it? For the viewing pleasure of none other than george w bush.

And dick cheney.

They recored it because someone higher up on the foodchain wanted to SEE IT.

And get off on it.

======

Sure as hell right on there.