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Where are we now?
Chuck was reminiscing about Mark from Iowa in the last Open Thread, so I thought I'd start this one with some updates. We saw Mark over the summer and he is splitting his time between Iowa and Rhode Island, he is writing, and thinking about what to do next.
The friendships many of us were lucky to make in the last election have continued to provide many blessings, even though we do not see a place, like the Kerry blog, where everyone hangs out. But we learned so much from each other and learning never goes away.
Occasionally folks show up here and post a comment or two and then head back to busy lives, many post on Kos or DU, and some have started their own sites. It's all good.
When we talk about the Kerry blog (which I did to several anthropologists studying online communities on the Internet last weekend), I point out that it was, truly, a teaching and learning community. It was that aspect that we wanted to foster with the DCP. It was a huge conversation, one that changed many hearts and minds, and one that, I still believe, could have made a difference in many more ways, had the party and the campaign understood it.
This morning we have snow, reminiscent of December 2003, when the bloggers got together and bought pizza for the snowbound JK internet team, and the staff finally understood that REAL people out in web-land cared. It was a profound moment, and even though it did not make the longterm impact on their consciousness, it made an impact.
I am so interested to see where some of those staffers wound up too. Many went to John Edwards and Barack Obama, some to Dodd and Biden, one or two to Hillary Clinton (but that is unusual--her campaign was fully staffed before the ink was dry on George Bush's 2nd inaugural address), and several to the DNC, DSCC, and DCCC. Some learned, some did not.
As we head into the frenzy of the primaries, just a reminder that DCP is a nonprofit, not affiliated with any political party or candidate, and all opinions ought to be backed up by actual facts whenever possible. Aside from that, let the teaching and learning continue.
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Is the Iran NIE a Trojan Horse?
by Russ Wellen
The Iran NIE has elicited a range of emotions in those opposed to the Bush administration's policies from gloating to discreet celebration. In the minds of many, it's like V-Day: Let the church bells peal, kiss a girl in Times Square. Others, particularly Iranian commentators located in the US, are considerably less sanguine.
They fear, as Farideh Farhi writes at Juan Cole's spin-off, Informed Comment: Global Affairs, that the NIE can "easily become an instrument in support of the Bush Administration's current policy."
In fact, according to Kaveh Afrasiabi at Asia Times Online, "The temporary freeze on the military option [resulting from] the new intelligence report has nested within it its exact opposite." In other words, a Trojan horse.
Even though, he maintains, the nuclear programs that Iran halted in 2004-2005 were not weapons, the NIE and the administration painted them as such. If a follow-up report were to indicate that Iran planned to resurrect said weapons program, that would provide "ample justification for Washington's planned 'pre-emptive strikes' on Iran, not to mention added sanctions."
Thus leaving "the pendulum capable of swinging in wildly different directions almost at will."
Meanwhile, at CASMII (Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Action Against Iran), Daniel Pourkesali writes, "Forgive this writer for being a spoiler." But he too finds that the resurrection theme is like a ticking time bomb embedded in the NIE.
He mentions the "assertions on page 7 paragraph D [of the NIE] that 'Iranian entities are continuing to develop a range of technical capabilities that could be applied to produce nuclear weapons if a decision is made to do so.'"
They leave "the door wide open for administration hawks like Mr. Cheney to abruptly accuse Iran of resurrecting its 'nuclear weapons program much as he did back in 2002, claiming that Saddam Hussein had 'resumed his effort to acquire nuclear weapons.'" In other words, the hawks are fixated on another bird, the phoenix.
At NIAC (National Iranian-American Council), Trita Parsi explains how the administration further unrolls the rock before the resurrection justification. "Rather than adjusting policy on Iran in accordance to the reality-check provided by the NIE, the President moved the goal post on Iran.
"As the NIE declared that Iran likely doesn't have a weapons program, the President shifted the red line from weaponization to the mere knowledge of enriching uranium [which, of course] is not of a military nature and is permitted by the Non-Proliferation Treaty."
more...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russ-wellen/is-the-iran-nie-a-trojan-_b_75465.html
Special to Christy
Here is an article with Bush, Lying, Lying and Lie in the title.
Hi to Mark from Iowa/Rhode Island, if you ever lurk.
the link about lying
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/president-bush-was-lying_b_75398.html
Anyone into Astrology?
Had this in my mail.
This long, extended stay of Pluto in Capricorn (2008 - 2023) will completely revise the power issues and issues of authority. The last time Pluto was in Capricorn was from 1762 to 1779, which included the founding of our country to gain the freedom against the oppression from the King of England. Now our power issues will once again reveal similar issues that were addressed with "taxation without representation", the War of Regulation from 1764 to 1771 against corrupt colonial officials, The Stamp and Sugar Act which tried violators in Admirally court where the defendants were considered guilty until they could prove their innocence. The Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Articles of the Constitution built from the Magna Carta written to set the parameters and rules of freedom and independence. We will find ourselves in the same boat of addressing the oppressive and corrupt power issues that have been used against people and to revolutionize the checks and balances required for the rightful use of power.
More on "Bush" "Lied"
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/6/71134/2306/489/418525
This is what I noticed last night - the WaPo today has FOUR Op-Eds by right wingnuts. It must be a push to contradict that Iran report and go to war as planned. Spring is the best climate for doing it.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/6/9051/18121/454/418552
More on the so-called "liberal press"
On July 30, as the debate over the Bush administration’s "surge" in Iraq was heating up, The New York Times ran an op-ed article that enthusiastically endorsed it. Titled A WAR WE MIGHT JUST WIN, it was written by Michael O’Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack, both of the Brookings Institution.
A War We Just Might Win - New York Times
We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms (is what it says in the Google entry)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/opinion/30pollack.html - Similar pages
US refuses to back down on emissions talks (Bali)
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/06/asia/climate.php
Just think, JK and THK were there & then went on to Africa.
This country is screwed.
Back to the grindstone.
Called the White House Comment Line (up and running this morning) 202-456-1111: I told them Bush was a disgrace, like an unrulely child who refuses to do his chores and homework.
Call my Congressman (Walberg) and my Senator (Levin) and asked for an investigation of the Iran intelligence fiasco.
If I have the stomach I will call Pelosi's office 202-225-0100
Paulson's bailout may boost GOP's prospects
Free-market Republicans may not like the fact that he's meddling with the economy, but his efforts may serve them well come November '08
WASHINGTON D.C (Fortune) -- Among those free-marketers inside the administration and out, who unapologetically label themselves ideologues, Hank Paulson has a nickname: "Mr. Fixit."
This is not a compliment. Staunch free-marketers harbor a special brand of disdain for government officials like the Treasury Secretary, who combines an instinct for action with a corporate chieftain's confidence that he can untie even the most gnarly financial knot.
As Paulson today unveils a plan he brokered to freeze rates on some 2 million troubled mortgages, economic conservatives are issuing a new round of warnings about the unintended consequences of his well-intentioned tinkering in the housing market.
Economically, their warnings could be right, but so is this political truth: With a heated presidential contest moving into full-swing, an activist Paulson is in the Republican Party's best interest.
Economy tops voter agendas
As the Iraq war leaves the front pages of newspapers, and fears of a terrorist attack recede, the economy is moving to the top of most voters' agendas in the 2008 presidential election. And opinion polls suggest the public increasingly trusts the Democrats to take care of it.
If rounds of bankruptcies continue, if families losing homes top the nightly news, if the economy stalls, the GOP - the party most associated with free-market policies - suffers in next November's general election. That spells danger for Republicans.
We've seen this act before. In 2002, with a sick economy and facing his first midterm congressional election, President Bush threw his free trade rhetoric to the wind and signed "temporary safeguards" for the steel industry, bolstering the party's position in key swing states Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
more manipulation here...
http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/06/news/economy/easton_1206.fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes
Crucial test for Romney in speech on religion
Talk at George Bush library meant to confront suspicions about his faith
By Michael Luo
The New York Times
Mitt Romney’s planned speech today at the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas to confront suspicions about his Mormon faith is being viewed as the biggest moment of his presidential campaign.
With surveys showing many Americans less likely to vote for a Mormon presidential candidate, the address has drawn comparisons to John F. Kennedy’s call for religious tolerance when, as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1960, he sought to defuse hostility about his Roman Catholic faith before Southern Baptist ministers in Houston.
more mon...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22122576/
Romney: No religious test for president
Say `moral convictions', not his Mormon faith, binds him to Americans
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Republican Mitt Romney, confronting voters' skepticism about his Mormon faith, declared Thursday that as president he would "serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause," and said calls for him to explain and justify his religious beliefs go against the profound wishes of the nation's founders.
At the same time, he decried those who would remove from public life "any acknowledgment of God," and he said that "during the holiday season, nativity scenes and menorahs should be welcome in our public places."
In a speech delivered at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum less than a month before the first nomination primaries, Romney said he shares "moral convictions" with Americans of all faiths, though surveys suggest up to half of likely voters have qualms about electing the first Mormon president.
"There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and explain his church's distinctive doctrines," Romney said. "To do so would enable the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution. No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith. For if he becomes president, he will need the prayers of the people of all faiths."
"When I place my hand on the Bible and take the oath of office, that oath becomes my highest promise to God"
"If I am fortunate to become your president, I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause and no one interest," Romney said. "A president must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States."
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22129738/
Really? You won't serve "any single group" or "any single cause"? Promise?
It is almost 11 am and I need a drink.
Reading the news just makes me want to throw up.
Something awful is happening to Us. Something we haven't seen the depth of yet. It smells like dead people. Like torture.
I thought seeing the headlines actually saying 'Liar Liar!' would make me feel better. But I just want to throw up. And drink.
And put people in prison.
Christy...
You have a chronic case of conscience.
Take 2 terms of Bush and call us "In The Mourning".
Letter from Reid about Iran:
Dear R. E.,
We've all heard their heated rhetoric on Iran.
George Bush, Dick Cheney, other administration officials, and right wing pundits using phrases such as "imminent threat" and talking about the potential for World War III. Now we know these are just the latest in a long line of inaccurate and misleading comments -- the same type of misinformation that got us into the Iraq war.
All 16 of our nation's intelligence agencies have concluded that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program four years ago. This finding, contained in the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that was released yesterday, further diminished the credibility of the President, who has a dangerous record of overstating threats.
Of course, instead of announcing a new diplomatic offensive, George Bush's response was to state, "the NIE doesn't do anything to change my opinion about the danger Iran poses to the world." Well, maybe his opinion hasn't changed, but the facts have. The President is the only person that I know who can receive a report like the NIE and believe that it's a warning signal.
I have no doubt that those cheerleading for a war with Iran will continue to do so. That's why I need your help to get the word out in your community about this development. If we can send 10,000 letters to the editor by Monday, I know it will make a real difference.
Help make sure that George Bush and his allies don't spread misinformation leading to war with Iran.
Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
Instead of stubbornly insisting the NIE did not "change his opinion", George Bush should announce a new diplomatic surge.
George Bush used this playbook in the build-up to the war in Iraq -- and now he is trying to lay the same foundation for us to go to war in Iran. For the last seven years, we've seen this kind of misinformation coming from the White House. Our nation deserves better.
Help make sure that George Bush and his allies don't spread misinformation leading to war with Iran:
Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
Thank you,
http://giveemhellharry.com/page/speakout/Iran
December 5, 2007
Seven Days in December?
By MAUREEN DOWD
At the White House news conference yesterday, The Chicago Tribune’s Mark Silva gingerly snuck up on a state-of-mind question.
“I can’t help but read your body language this morning, Mr. President,” he said. “You seem somehow dispirited, somewhat dispirited.”
W. did look like a kid who’d just had his toys taken away. But he acted humorously exasperated, as he always does when the talk turns introspective.
“This is like, all of a sudden, it’s like Psychology 101, you know?” he said, as reporters laughed.
The reporters pressed on about whether the president was troubled about a possible “credibility gap” with the American people, given that the facts had failed him on Iraq and Iran and that Harry Reid had charged that “the president is not leveling with the American people” on war spending.
Even though Norman Podhoretz is conjuring up a “Seven Days in December” spy thriller scenario in which the intelligence agencies colluded to sabotage the president and prevent him from the noble mission of air strikes on Iran, W. insisted he felt “pretty good about life.”
He said that the breathtaking and embarrassing reversal in the National Intelligence Estimate about Iran’s nuclear capability — from “high confidence” in 2005 that the mullahs were developing a nuke to “high confidence” that they stopped the program in 2003 — somehow made it clear that he was right.
If W. can shape the intelligence to match his faith-based beliefs, as with Iraq, then he will believe the intelligence — no matter how incredible it is.
If he can’t shape it to match his beliefs, as with Iran, then he will disregard the intelligence — no matter how credible it is.
-snip-
Just because the facts on which he based his white-hot rhetoric about Iran possibly sparking World War III have been debunked, W. said with his usual twisted logic, why should his policy change?
-snip-
The president, who has shut out reality for seven years, justified continuing in his world of ideological illusion by saying that he would not be “blinded” to the realities of the world. You can’t get more Orwellian than that.
“And so,” W. concluded triumphantly, and nonsensically, “kind of Psychology 101 ain’t working.”
W. loves to act as though psychology is voodoo even though his whole misbegotten foreign policy has been conducted from his gut, by checking the body language of his inner circle and looking into the hearts and souls of dictatorial leaders.
If I were looking at the latest fiasco from a Psych 101 point of view, I’d say it was another daddy issue for W.
Poppy Bush, who was once C.I.A. director, loved the agency and liked to sign notes: “Head Spook.” The C.I.A. headquarters bear his name.
W., by contrast, has voiced contempt for the intelligence community. In 2004, he dismissed a pessimistic National Intelligence Estimate that didn’t match his sunny vision of the Iraq occupation, saying that the analysts were “just guessing as to what the conditions might be like.”
When W.’s history is written, he will be seen as the rebellious teenager crashing the family station wagon into his father’s three most cherished spots — diplomacy, intelligence and the Gulf.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/opinion/05dowd.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin
By the way, as far as the thread header reminging us to ..prove it.
On what I sad about georgie on the last thread, the lawsuits filed against him, accusing him of rape can be found on the Sugarland court house archives. They were filed Dec. 12, 2002. She was dead by October of 03. They were eventually dropped...because she is dead. Most sincerely..dead.
I do not have the direct link at the moment, but I am certain Rossi does.
For now, a quicky google of Margie Schoedinger will give you a quick rundown into...hell. Good luck with that.
Funny how the truth is never what you expect it should be, yet it makes perfect sense anyway.
Sorry, my fingers are frozen again.
I had two terms of bush, Monkey, that is what is wrong with me.
That and another Monkey that kinda looked like you turned me into a total pessimist recently. The damn little primate broke my heart then went on, to happier days, and I just am still here thinking I need a drink. At 11 am.
It is a miserable, cold world Monkey.
But the cold part is Sparrows fault. Voodoo hippi kabuki stuff. I bet she learned it from Harry Potter.
Tell me that wasn't me that did that to ya, C.
LOOK AT THIS NEO-CON AGENDA AT THE SAN FRANCISCO REPUBLICAN PARTY ENDORSED EVENT:
AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Dangerous times in a Dangerous Neighborhood
Where: Congregatoin Emanu-El at 2 Lake Street San Francisco 94118
When: Sunday, December 9, 2007, 7:00 PM
ADMISSION IS FREE BUT SEATING IS LIMITED. RSVP IS REQUIRED.
Please respond to 1-800-748-3992 (toll free) or email info@jewishpolicycenter.org
Refreshments will be served after the program
Distinguished Panelists:
Mona Charen, Syndicated columnist & political analyst
John Podhoretz, New York Post columnist, Fox News Commentator & contributing editor to the Weekly Standard
Dennis Prager, Author & syndicated radio talk show host
Michael Medved, Host, Syndicated radio talk show host and author
Gee Ralpheh, that's like a who's who of my ultra rightwing evangelical in-laws favorite people.
Shocking, they like Huckabee, btw.
WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans today chose Lamar Alexander of Tennessee to be their third-ranking leader, turning aside North Carolina Senator Richard Burr.
Alexander was elected chairman of the Republican Conference in a secret ballot vote in a closed meeting.
He replaces Arizona Senator Jon Kyle, who was unopposed in moving up to the second highest post of Republican whip. Kyl replaces Mississippi Senator Trent Lott, who is resigning from the Senate.
Burr is considered more conservative than Alexander.
Alexander was elected to the Senate in 2002 after two terms as Tennessee governor and a stint as U.S. secretary of education.
Burr was elected in 2004, after 10 years in the House.
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell remains the Senate Republican leader.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22131525
"Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone" - Mitt Romney, 12/6/07
Anyone?
monkey
That's proof that Romney's freedom is slavery.
Freedom includes freedom of AND from religion.
Ally, Isn't that quote just amazing?
I read it like 5 times, hoping I wasn't actually reading what I was reading, and sure enough, I actually WAS reading what I was reading. (Hey, I just constructed a sentence just like a Dubya press conference moment.)
I mean, if freedom requires religion, then how come we have to bring freedom to the Middle East when they already have religion... or is it the wrong one?
Thankfully for the candidate, this country remains just dense enough to buy that pantload of Mitt.
oy. that is all i can say.
put that quote EVERYWHERE.
Yeah that's a sick quote.
He's appeasing the religious fundamentalists of Iowa, of which there are a hell of a lot.
Romney sucks. It's all a whitewash anyway.
He wants power, just like the rest of them.
I personally don't care what religion they are. It should have nothing to do with how they govern.
The things they should be doing right would be done by a moral person of any religion or a moral person without religion.
I had a psychology professor who believed it's possible to be a moral person without religion.
Of course it is but you have to believe that it's ok to have free will.
Harr Reid statement on the NIE fiasco (no call for action on the part of the Senate, However(:
@@@@@@@@
Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today, calling on the President and Vice President to explain their incendiary Iran rhetoric even after the intelligence community had informed them that it believes Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003:
“I am growing increasingly concerned about the White House’s inconsistent explanations of when the President was told about important new intelligence information regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions. It appears the President and Vice President were briefed in August on this information, before both the President and Vice President began to ratchet up their increasingly-heated rhetoric on the threat of Iran.
“I urge the White House to fully and accurately explain what the President and Vice President knew and when they knew it, and why the Administration’s rhetoric was not adjusted when presented with new data this summer. I find it surprising the Administration did not learn the lessons of Iraq; it was exactly this type of misleading rhetoric that led us into a misguided, unilateral war.
“I also again urge the Administration to announce a top-to-bottom review of its Iran policy, including new steps to launch a major diplomatic surge to address the challenge of Iran.”
Intelligence: Iran's nuclear program still is a threat
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The deputy intelligence chief tried Thursday to squash any suggestion that the newly released assessment on Iran's nuclear weapons program indicates Iran is less of a threat.
At a hearing before a House intelligence subcommittee, Donald Kerr defended the conclusions of the National Intelligence Estimate -- which said Iran stopped work on a nuclear weapon in 2003 -- but at the same time insisted that the NIE "did not in any way suggest that Iran was benign for the future."
He said Iranians continue work on what he called the "most important component" of any future program, a civilian uranium enrichment plant. Both intelligence officials and nuclear weapons experts have said producing fissile material such as highly enriched uranium is the most difficult aspect of creating a nuclear weapon.
Kerr also said Iran continues to develop a medium ballistic missile, which could be used as the delivery system for nuclear weapons.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kansas, expressing concern about the Iranian threat to the United States, questioned Kerr about whether the intelligence community has a "clear signal" of what Iran is up to.
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/06/iran.nie/index.html
Report: CIA tapes of terror suspects destroyed
The CIA videotaped its interrogations of terror suspects in 2002 and destroyed the tapes three years later out of fear they would leak to the public and compromise the identities of U.S. questioners, the director of the agency told employees Thursday.
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/06/cia.videotapes.ap/index.html
Oh yeah. That's it. They would compromise the identity of the questioners, he typed with a thick sarcastic inflection.
Interesting, CNN says the tapes showed "nothing illegal"... here's MSNBC's take...
CIA destroyed al-Qaida interrogation video
Tapes included waterboarding of Abu Zubaydah, who was captured in ’02
-snip-
The video, meant to instruct other agency personnel — as well as serve as an "internal check," included video of Zubaydah being subjected to waterboarding, the interrogation technique that simulates drowning and is the most controversial of the many techniques used on high-value al-Qaida detainees.
In a statement to agency employees released Thursday, CIA Director Mike Hayden revealed that the agency destroyed all copies of the video in 2005. While the official agency statement does not mention waterboarding, officials tell NBC News the videos included the waterboarding of Abu Zubaydah, the leader in charge of al-Qaida's training camps. He was known as al-Qaida's "dean of students" and had an encyclopedic knowledge of al-Qaida operatives worldwide. He is now awaiting trial at the U.S. prison at the Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"The press has learned that back in 2002, during the initial stage of our terrorist detention program, CIA videotaped interrogations, and destroyed the tapes in 2005," wrote Hayden, who took over the director's job in 2006. "I understand that the Agency did so only after it was determined they were no longer of intelligence value and not relevant to any internal, legislative, or judicial inquiries — including the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui.
"The decision to destroy the tapes was made within CIA itself. The leaders of our oversight committees in Congress were informed of the videos years ago and of the Agency's intention to dispose of the material. Our oversight committees also have been told that the videos were, in fact, destroyed."
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22134870/
Hey, let's hear it, 3 jeers for a transparent democracy.
My Video on the Straw Poll Cancellation in San Francisco
Rice wins support from 2 key allies on Iran
France, Germany back pressure on nation, believe nukes still pose a threat
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22130194/
President, critics agree proposal isn’t perfect
Advocates say far fewer than estimated 1.2 million homeowners will qualify
ANALYSIS
By JEANNINE AVERSA
WASHINGTON - President Bush acknowledges it’s “no perfect solution.” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says it’s “no silver bullet.”
The plan negotiated by the Bush administration to freeze the low introductory rates on subprime home loans appears likely to help only a fraction of the homeowners who face huge jumps in their mortgage payments.
After that, they could be in the same position again.
Homeowners dialing up their mortgage company to get their current rate frozen could be disappointed. The White House plan doesn’t force mortgage companies to give eligible homeowners a break. It is voluntary.
President Bush, announcing the initiative Thursday, said 1.2 million homeowners could be eligible for relief, which includes the rate freeze and helping people refinance into more affordable mortgages. The Center for Responsible Lending, a group that promotes homeownership and works to curb predatory lending, estimates that only 145,000 households will qualify for the rate freeze. The criteria is too strict, it says.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22136965/
I'm sure all those compassionate conservatives out there will be thrilled at this crappy stunt, since this will force tons of people to "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps" instead of a "getting a government handout" as I heard repeated over and over today from Repub callers on CSPAN.
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Harried homeowners seeking mortgage relief from a new Bush administration hotline Thursday had to contend with a bit of temporary misdirection from the president himself.
As he announced his plan to ease the mortgage crisis for consumers, President Bush accidentally gave out the wrong phone number for the new “Hope Now Hotline” set up by his administration.
Anyone who dialed 1-800-995-HOPE did not reach the mortgage hotline but instead contacted the Freedom Christian Academy — a Texas-based group that provides Christian education home schooling material.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/06/bush-gives-out-wrong-hotline-number/
Ironic, ain't it?
monkey, that's sick.
All the more proof that this is no longer my religion, no longer my government, no longer my country.
monkey
1. Seriously, the homeowners who took advantage of unsustainably low interest rates and unsustainably rapid rise in home prices, have ONLY themselves to blame. I have no sympathy. The Republican callers are right.
Of course, W had to keep the low interests/high prices going as long as possible, and bring in millions of extra immigrants to jack up housing demand, to make his plans work - until now.
2. And as much as this is NOT my country, it looks like I'll be stuck. Given my tainted background, no sane country will want to admit me as a prospective immigrant. Any country that does is probably suspect at best.
Ally...
I don't think those factors were quite as unsustainable as you make them out to be, but given how the middle and lower class has had the ever-loving-shit squeezed out of them on virtually every economic level under this regime, I can't fault anyone for trying to lower their monthly living expenses so they could do things like, oh, I dunno, buy food, gas for their car, be able to heat their home, maybe pay medical bills...
Big business reaps the benefits no matter what, the Average Joe/Josephine gets reamed.
When the economy hinges on the housing market as it has the last 6 years, and everything else has gone to hell, damn straight I think the government should do something to help it's citizens and keep the lid from blowing off into a full blown recession.
Just my 2 cents, which is now worth half a cent.
monkey
There were warnings everywhere. The rapid rise in housing prices couldn't last, and neither could the historically low rates.
The homeowners should've disciplined themselves and gone for a fixed rate loan, instead of the adjustable rate mortgage that's causing all sorts of problems now. ARM is always a risky business, and the homeowners should've been well aware of that.
In any case, W's economics has been based on borrowing, spending, and high housing prices - not very good stuff. Bill Clinton may have been far from ideal, but he knew his economics, and I do miss his economics.
But then, again, I stand by my statement - because we're talking about a nation and a population that keeps falling into the lies of the media and the regime. You get what you voted for. As you like to say, the f*ck-up is severe and irreversible.
When I couldn't sell my house in Palm Beach, I refi-ed into an interest only loan so that I could rent the house out, keep my monthly payments low, and make a small monthly profit, hopeful that the market may come back within a few years.
Granted, I've owned the house for 14 yrs and have real decent equity in it, but still, I'm concerned about what the next few years hold, and if we made the right decision or not.
Having said that, I am happy as hell to be out of Florida!
$1B In Military Equipment Missing In Iraq
Report Shows Vehicles, Machine Guns And More Meant For Iraqi Forces Unaccounted For
Tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, crates of machine guns and rocket propelled grenades are just a sampling of more than $1 billion in unaccounted for military equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces, according to a new report issued today by the Pentagon Inspector General and obtained exclusively by the CBS News investigative unit. Auditors for the Inspector General reviewed equipment contracts totaling $643 million but could only find an audit trail for $83 million.
The report details a massive failure in government procurement revealing little accountability for the billions of dollars spent purchasing military hardware for the Iraqi security forces. For example, according to the report, the military could not account for 12,712 out of 13,508 weapons, including pistols, assault rifles, rocket propelled grenade launchers and machine guns.
more on...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/06/iraq/main3584247.shtml
My video is quite popular with the RP crowd!!
Tags: Ron Paul Neocons Republican straw poll grassroots outreach
Views: 239
Comments: 6
Rating:
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Added: December 06, 2007, 12:24 PM
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SF Straw Poll Cancelled
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Ralpheh
Republicans are scared of Ron Paul.
Monkey
I heard that story (about missing $$$ in Iraq) on the drive home.
I was wondering if all such stories we've come across were listed in one place and then the words were strung out end to end - how many times would the text circle the earth?
Ally
One comment on the housing market.
Buyer Beware yes but also "predatory lending" - when we bought our house we had to sign 35 different pieces of paper. Alot of the problems now are not even people getting into their first house - subprime market only covered 10% of those. 90% of those mortgages went to people borrowing against original mortgages. When the rates went down alot of people got greedy and many also took cash along with their refinancing. People did act like their equity was cash money and their primary asset (which was ignorant) but also, there was alot of fraud and swindling among the lenders. Also, mortgages were sold for profit, so the original lending agency did not care if the thing was ever paid back.
Seems like each night I listen to this stuff and learn more than I ever wanted to know. Our mortgage market is pulling down banks in the UK and EU because apparently people there were stupid enough to try to profit from the greed of all the predatory lenders and partying refinancers.
Kieth Ob - Worst Person.......
I am soooooooooooooooo happy that Amy Winehouse is going to rehab and that she's getting six grammies. She is young enough to be my daughter and I've sort of adopted her from afar for awhile. I would seriously hate to have seen her go to way of Joplin, Morrison, Hendrix, Cobain etc. and not live to 30. Let's hope she and her massive talent can be salvaged. She may not be everyone's cup of tea but this makes my day.
Me, too, I like Winehouse. I really hope she can get right.
I never cared a fig for Britney Spears either, until I watched the girl shave her head in public. I know why she did it, I did it once myself.
Her, too, I really hope she makes it through ok. But I do not think the vultures following her will be happy though until they get a pic up her dress after she hangs herself from the rafters.
No one can possibly look flawless under a microscope.
What is happening in New Orleans is SO WRONG. What a crappy christmas already.
Protesters angry about the pending demolition of more than 4,000 public housing units stormed a City Council meeting Thursday in a confrontation that ended with a prominent civil rights lawyer being hauled off in handcuffs.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/N_O_fracas_over_plans_to_raze_housi_12062007.html
Bush loses ground with military families
WASHINGTON -- Families with ties to the military, long a reliable source of support for wartime presidents, disapprove of President Bush and his handling of the war in Iraq, with a majority concluding the invasion was not worth it, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found.
The views of the military community, which includes active-duty service members, veterans and their family members, mirror those of the overall adult population, a sign that the strong military endorsement that the administration often pointed to has dwindled in the war's fifth year.
Nearly six out of every 10 military families disapprove of Bush's job performance
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/timespoll/la-na-militpoll7dec07,0,4843202.story?coll=la-home-center
Where are the Aussies at?
Yes, I know, Australia,..! Yall know what I mean!
It is too quiet from Down Under. Kinda eerie.
OMFG that is BEAUTIFUL!
Smush Bush Stress Reliever
Stressed by an unending war and the death of Habeas Corpus? Take it out on our tiny Bush stress-reliever. It may not repeal the Patriot Act, but it will lower your blood pressure."
Works better than a voodoo doll to work off that feeling of "Am I nuts or do we have a moron in the White House?"
Perfectly for discrete stress relaxation while taking the bus or watching a movie in a theater.
Not recommended for playing fetch with your dog, though.
But good for bouncing off the wall.
http://www.buzzflash.com/store/items/875
No more Photo Ops, for Georgie with the Military Hmmmmm?
TIMES/BLOOMBERG POLL
Bush loses ground with military families
A majority disapprove of the president's handling of the war in Iraq and come closer in line with the views of the general public.
By Faye Fiore, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
4:00 PM PST, December 6, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Families with ties to the military, long a reliable source of support for wartime presidents, disapprove of President Bush and his handling of the war in Iraq, with a majority concluding the invasion was not worth it, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found.
The views of the military community, which includes active-duty service members, veterans and their family members, mirror those of the overall adult population, a sign that the strong military endorsement that the administration often pointed to has dwindled in the war's fifth year.
Nearly six out of every 10 military families disapprove of Bush's job performance and the way he has run the war, rating him only slightly better than the general population does.
And among those families with soldiers, sailors and Marines who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, 60% say that the war in Iraq was not worth the cost, the same result as all adults surveyed.
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/timespoll/la-na-militpoll7dec07,0,4843202.story?coll=la-home-center
Questions have also been raised about whether President Bush was aware of the change in assessment before his comment in October suggesting Iran still had an active weapons program.
At a news conference Tuesday, Bush said McConnell told him in August that there was new information on Iran, but didn't tell him what it was. The president said he was briefed last week on the key judgments of the completed NIE.
But White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Wednesday that McConnell told Bush during the summer that Iran "may have suspended" its nuclear weapons program, but that analysts needed more time to study new data before they came to a conclusion.
The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, said Tuesday that both he and the committee's vice chairman, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Missouri, were given information on Iran several months ago but were not told of any final conclusions.
"I have to believe that [Bush] knew what was going on before Vice Chairman Bond and I did," Rockefeller told PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/06/iran.intelligence/index.html
Curious George, when told by McConnell in AUGUST that there was new information on Iran, but "didn't tell him what it was", didn't bother to ASK any questions on what it might be? Then continues to sabre rattle and make threats, putting the world on the edge of its seat once again at the prospect of WWIII?
That's like my kids saying they were given an assignment for school that's due Monday but "the teacher didn't tell us what it was".
The president of the you knighted states is a liar, a bully, and his god ate his homework.
... and Rockefeller and Bond, even if they believe Bush had to know "before they did", when they heard the Fuhrer making threats et al, WTF! Don't they have an obligation to say something! Pointing the finger now and saying "he knew first!" is also about as childish and irresponsible as it gets, while still not holding the douchebag in the WH responsible for ANYTHING!
People of Earth, I implore you, GET RID OF THE SCUMBAGS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, COME HELL OR HIGH WATER!
The surge is a sideshow. Only total US pullout can succeed
When resistance leaders are given an assurance that the Iraq occupation will end completely, real negotiations can begin
Jonathan Steele
Friday December 7, 2007
The Guardian
If the gladdest tidings of this pre-Christmas season have been the US intelligence community's brilliant move to undermine a Bush attack on Iran by revealing there is no Iranian nuclear weapons programme, the worst news concerns US policy on Iraq. And it is not just the US announcement of plans to get the Iraqi government to agree to permanent US military bases and an open-ended occupation, thereby confirming what most analysts had long assumed was the Republicans' intention.
More alarming was the Democratic party's reaction and indeed that of the US media. The revelation produced no burst of headlines or commentaries, even though it rides roughshod over most Americans' wishes. A Pew Research poll two weeks ago found 54% wanted the troops home "as soon as possible".
Yet the Democratic contenders for the presidency barely murmured. The passion for a clear timetable of an early US troop pullout that was raging in large sections of the Democratic party last spring, in the weeks after it regained control of the House and Senate, has fizzled out.
Whatever effect Bush's "surge" of extra troops has had in Iraq, it has clearly worked in Washington. The Democrats are in retreat, and the Bush strategy of entrenching the Iraq occupation still further and handing the mess to his successor is proceeding virtually unopposed.
more...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2223472,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
SAN FRANCISCO DEMS STRAW POLL - HILLARY COMES IN LAST; RON PAUL PLACES SECOND; KUCINICH WINS
LOL
In todays shallow world, if Kucinich had a different last name that was easier to pronounce and didn't look like the Keebler elf, he'd be ahead of the pack based on his positions on the actual issues.
I sure don't expect the issues to get in the way during the '08 Beauty Contest.
Monkey,
Although... John Edwards is kind of pretty, and he's in the right place on most of the issues.
You CAN have looks AND brains, sometimes!
That said - just for fun:
monkey
Kucinich does have ONE real strike against him - the bankrupting of Cleveland as its mayor.
More On the Courage Campaign in California and their attempts to censure Sen. Feinstein:
BUT:
Dennis Kucinich's wife is hot!!! Just ask the Red State boys...
I know, Kucinichs' wife is quite easy on the irisssss... go figger.
Edwards is actually at the top of my list right now, and I am a huge fan of Elizabeth as well... hmmm, and I now live in the same town as he does...
It is too quiet from Down Under. Kinda eerie.
Just catching up on posts, to tired last night, been down to the coast for a couple of days relaxing away from Georgie, no sleep.
To sad but we do have to come back to reality at some time don't we.
U.S. defense chief to warn gulf allies about Iran
Gates to speak at regional conference; Tehran pulls out
MANAMA, Bahrain - Persian Gulf countries must work together to counter Iranian threats and terrorist behavior that destabilize the region, Defense Secretary Robert Gates will tell leaders Saturday at a security conference.
U.S. officials said Friday that Gates planned to urge the Gulf nations to communicate and cooperate more so they better can handle threats from Iran, including as nuclear and ballistic missile dangers.
"Their behavior has really been a problem, and to the extent that it destabilizes the region, which it does, then it becomes a problem for us," said Adm. William Fallon, chief of U.S. Central Command, which includes the Persian Gulf area.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22149499/
A problem for "us"?
Ok, pop quiz.
Whose behavior has destabilized the region the most in the past 4 years?
monkey
I'd vote for Edwards myself. But I'd have to re-register as a Democrat first.
I was dead-set on doing that, but now I am not so sure.
Aww Ally, you ol' softie...
Christy, photo taken from the balcony, total relaxation, when and if you finially ever come over here, we will go down for a couple of weeks.
I've only got a minute right now - will try and readup-catchup later today or tomorrow. However, I just read this article and thought - yeah, right, you bastards! Of course it was a matter of national security. People who torture are neither owed, nor deserve, protection from retaliation! Mongrels-all who are guilty of perpetrating these international crimes and those who destroyed the evidence. Together with those who designed and ordered and encouraged the use of such techniques. imho, of course.
CIA destroyed interrogation tapes
December 8, 2007 - 6:04AM
The CIA has admitted destroying videotapes of interrogations of terrorism suspects that used techniques critics have denounced as torture.
Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden told employees in a letter that the videotapes were made in 2002 as part of a secret detention and interrogation program that began with the arrest of suspected al-Qaeda lieutenant Abu Zubaydah.
The taping was discontinued later that year and the tapes were destroyed in 2005, Hayden said.
"The tapes posed a serious security risk. Were they ever to leak, they would permit identification of your CIA colleagues who had served in the program, exposing them and their families to retaliation from al-Qaeda and its sympathisers," Hayden said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
He said he was discussing the program because of pending news reports on it. The New York Times published a story on the tapes on its Web site on Thursday.
The disclosure follows a separate instance last month involving a belated CIA acknowledgment that it possessed interrogation tapes sought in the trial of accused Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.
More: http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/CIA-destroyed-interrogation-tapes/2007/12/08/1196813054038.html
Blackwater Mercenaries Invade Event Honoring U.S. Veterans
Friday, December 07, 2007
Blackwater Mercenaries Invade Event Honoring U.S. Veterans
If there is one issue that unites Left and Right in the United States today, it's respect for those who serve in the Armed Forces. Blackwater's mercenaries, on the other hand, pull down six-figure incomes and serve only their self-interest.
Our soldiers perform their duty with courage and discipline. But Blackwater's employees act like the Wild Bunch did when William Holden wasn't around. They endanger American troops with behavior that inflames local hostility toward the occupying forces. They claim exemption from military and civilian law, shoot Iraqi civilians, and run cars off the road without provocation.
Most importantly, Blackwater mercenaries aren't American soldiers. So what are they doing participating in Fleet Week Celebrations intended "to honor the men and women serving in the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps"?
Lucas O'Connor reports on San Diego State's Fleet Week Football Classic in Calitics:
For at least the second year in a row (probably all three), the halftime show included an American flag being parachuted onto the field by members of a nation parachutist team...who happen to work for Blackwater and use parachutes emblazoned with the Blackwater logo.
Our citizen-based military is an essential part of who we are as a republic and a people. But this Administration uses mercenaries in unprecedented ways: to skirt military and civilian law, and to help its supporters and donors to get rich at public (and soldiers') expense. And while this Administration has cut corners on soldiers' health, safety, and pay, it has no problem letting Blackwater and other companies pocket fat profit margins from the same military budget.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/blackwater-mercenaries-in_b_75724.html
monkey
me = softie? Far from it. As NMP likes to say, I drive a hard bargain.
In fact, I am boycotting the CodePink organic coffee, because it's sourced in barbaric Nicaragua, where murdering LGBTs is fair game. I can never patronize a country where the entire population supports such barbarism.
Monkey,
Speaking of the hot Ms. Kucinich...
Check out this video of info/left-wing/super-babe Sunsara Taylor. I gotta go and take a cold shower now...
Well Ally, whatever you do, don't boycott the Smush Bush Doll.
Cause I am going to buy one myself and try my best to rip the little f*ckers head off.
Rossi, I may just wind up on that beach yet. One day.
"Political analysts say that the NIE report on Iran should prompt Congress to start impeachment process against the Bush administration.
"With the recent NIE report on Iran, it is ever clearer that the administration's deceptions have only grown in scope. If after this Congress still does not take up the call for impeachment, it is itself open to charges of collusion in high crimes against the Republic," said Niranjan Ramakrishnan, a political analyst.
Ramakrishnan criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for pledging 'to keep impeachment off the table' in an October interview, describing the pledge as 'ridiculous' and 'criminal'.
"To leave unchallenged the deliberate misleading of the country to war, (and the effort to do the same a second time), makes her party a knowing accessory to the same misdeeds," he said.
He stressed that Congress has an equal duty to protect the Constitution as the President and called on Democrats to 'seize the cry of impeachment'.
"To paraphrase Lincoln's famous letter to General McClellan, it is time to tell Nancy Pelosi, if you won't impeach Bush and Cheney, can we at least impeach you?" he concluded.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/29190
Amen!
Ralpheh
Thanks for the video... though I continue to disagree with The World Can't Wait portraying immigrants as passive victims. They are part of the problem. Most Muslims voted for W in 2000 - nuff said.
Christy
Where's the Smush Bush Doll made?
Some of my thoughts on how out-of-touch white American liberalism can be with reality, especially in the nonwhite world:
http://rachelkso.blogspot.com/2007/12/white-american-liberals-perception.html
Anyone up for one of our 'like old times' chat sessions later this evening? I took a nap today and can probably stay up past my bedtime.
FYI, went to Duke University cardiology today, they say my recovery is going really well... can start bangin' the drums again!
I don't care where it is made Ally.
I will reduce myself to the selfish nationalistic impulsive child of empire that I am just to have one.
Little camel jockeys with no shoes make them in Guatamuala...? Fine! That figures, I will take two of them then!
One to rip the head off of, one to stomp on.
Won't we get banished off DCP completely if we try to have a 'like old times' conversation...?
Better stick to politics Ally, lest Nancy mistakes you for a homeless loiterer.
OOOPs I must be trippin.
I mean Monkey, not Ally.
Congrats monkey!
I could log on around 7-8PM Pacific time. No guarantees though!
Christy
I might just go squat at Pelosi's place - I am headed for San Francisco in two weeks. (Though I'll more likely be going to San Francisco's main library to do research work for my transgender lesbian novel.)
Oh God Ally, PLEASE DO go camp out on her doorstep. The more the merrier I say.
Hi all.
It's been a long week for me. I will see if I can get my java to let me into the irc. Time?
Christy, I'm soooo happy that my kabuchi-hippi-whatcamacallit-dance made you get as freakin' cold as I am! (Fair is fair!!!)
You think so Sparrow?
Cry all you like, my natural and complicated witchcraft has repelled your vile hippi influence. Global warming has made your mission futile.
It was so warm at daybreak this morning I didn't even need the heater as I sat with the kids at the busstop.
I've been barefoot all day.
Nah Nah Nah Nahhhhhh HAHAHA!
Ralpheh
Thanks for the video... though I continue to disagree with The World Can't Wait portraying immigrants as passive victims. They are part of the problem. Most Muslims voted for W in 2000 - nuff said.
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This is no longer the case - in 2004 I was working with the Arab American Caucus in the Democratic party. The harassment and demonization of Arabs by the Bushies has pushed them into the Democratic camp. They were quite interested in "how to" win the presidency for the Democrats. They wanted to know about the electoral college and how they could help etc...
Similary with the Latinos. The demonization of "illegals" by the righting media and rightwing, white Republicans has, frankly, shocked the Latinos, at least in Michigan.
I am not that concerned with the Latinos or the Arabs voting Republicans. I am concerned with the Wacko NeoCon Jews who control, completely, American foreign policy. Take a look at this program this weekend at a San Francisco Synagogue
(LOOK AT THIS NEO-CON AGENDA AT THE SAN FRANCISCO REPUBLICAN PARTY ENDORSED EVENT)
AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Dangerous times in a Dangerous Neighborhood
Where: Congregatoin Emanu-El at 2 Lake Street San Francisco 94118
When: Sunday, December 9, 2007, 7:00 PM
ADMISSION IS FREE BUT SEATING IS LIMITED. RSVP IS REQUIRED.
Please respond to 1-800-748-3992 (toll free) or email info@jewishpolicycenter.org
Refreshments will be served after the program
Distinguished Panelists:
Mona Charen, Syndicated columnist & political analyst
John Podhoretz, New York Post columnist, Fox News Commentator & contributing editor to the Weekly Standard
Dennis Prager, Author & syndicated radio talk show host
Michael Medved, Host, Syndicated radio talk show host and author
December 6, 2007 1:16 PM
HAHAHA!
It is so pitch black outside the moon itself is barely visable.
AND.... it is 72 degrees. HAHAHA!
Don't take my word for it....
http://www.climaton.com/forecast/LA/Minden.php
Damn I am a good witch. Try again hippi!
Or we could just run away together and join the war against Christmas instead?
W.A.C.
It was 28 last night, but over the weekend, its gonna be in the 70's.
Must be all those Hannukah candles heating things up.
Mazel Tough
Don't get me started on the BS war on xmas crap, it's the most ass-backwards argument I may have ever heard in my life.
Come on Monkey! You, too, can be a soldier in the War Against Christmas!
We can dress up like elves and infiltrate Clause Nation from Bill O'Liellys base camp just south of the North Pole. And if we see that clown Santa we can shoot him and revoke his rights of Habeus Corpus and send him to Syria to be waterboarded!
Ouch! Ouch! That damn elf just shot me with a cheap ray gun made in China! I'm not gonna make it Monkey! I've got lead poisioning!
But you go on, now that you are healthy and AVENGE ME!
Did I mention if you say no, baby Jesus will cry and set your hair on fire?
Bring it on, Mary Josephson!
I'm in the irc chat right now.
I had to download Mirc from here.
Then I had to follow the instructions and here.
Then I had to guess a few things like this: (no space inbetween the / and the join enter /join #dcp.lounge
and voila...a half hour later I was waving at Otter.
Inspector General quits at State Department
No departure details given for man accused of impeding Blackwater probe
WASHINGTON - The embattled State Department Inspector General, who has been accused of impeding a Justice Department investigation of Blackwater Worldwide, announced his resignation Friday to colleagues.
Howard Krongard revealed his departure to co-workers at the department on Friday, said Gonzalo Gallegos, a department spokesman.
Gallegos offered no other details, including when Krongard's departure takes effect. "We thank him for his service," Gallegos said.
Blackwater Worldwide -- a private contractor that protects U.S. diplomats in Iraq -- is alleged to have smuggled weapons into the country. In November, Krongard was forced to recuse himself from any inquiries into Blackwater after it was disclosed that his brother had joined the company's advisory board.
In addition to recusing himself from matters related to Blackwater, Krongard also said he is no longer involved in corruption investigations related to the flawed construction of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, a $600 million project that is beset by logistical delays and security concerns.
Howard Krongard's brother, Alvin, quit as an adviser to Blackwater two days after the relationship with the security contractor was sharply criticized by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22150299/
Ok..irc is officially in business again. Get your carcus in there...
Ohhhhh man that's telling it like it is isn't?
Olbermann indicts an 'unhinged, irrational Chicken Little of a president'
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Keith_Olbermann_Special_Comment_%5BM.A._VIDEO%5D_1206.html
Jeffrey Ray Nielsen—the well-connected Orange County conservative activist who claimed the so-called liberal media, specifically the Weekly, was out to get him by publishing a series of exposés on his pedophile activities—finally admitted on Dec. 5 that he used two boys for sex since the early 1990s.
In open court, a somber Nielsen, who has extensive personal ties to Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Orange County Republican Party boss Scott Baugh, gave Superior Court Judge David Thompson signed guilty pleas acknowledging two felonies: committing lewd acts on a 12-year-old Virginia boy and 14-year-old Orange County boy.
Snip
When police arrested Nielsen, a prominent GOP activist at the time, The Orange County Register failed to tell its readers. In fact, the paper—some of whose staffers enjoy cozy relationships with local GOP leaders, including Rohrabacher and Baugh—waited more than three years to mention Nielsen’s arrest. Worse, while Nielsen awaited trial for molesting the Westminster boy, the Register’s Richard Chang helped to bolster the accused pedophile’s reputation in the community. In an article, Chang didn’t mention the charges, but rather praised Nielsen for volunteering to help homeless puppies from the Katrina disaster in New Orleans.
http://www.ocweekly.com/news/news/nielsens-plea-deal/28158/
Oh that 'liberal media'. There for dogs, not kids.
irc? me n sparrow sittin in a tree...
Ok. Now I am totallt freaked out.
http://www.thegossipfix.com/wp-content/uploads/presbushdance2.gif
Olbermann -Countdown "You, Mr. Bush, are a bald-faced liar."
FDR and the new deal on the new thread.