Happy Thanksgiving!

- rob 2:54 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Very cool

Paper ballots draw praise in comeback

‘‘I was quite struck by how empowering it was to be voting on paper, and I felt very good about watching the transparency of the vote-counting process,” said Linda Schade, co-founder of TrueVoteMD, a group advocating for verifiable paper audits in elections using electronic voting terminals. ‘‘There we all were — the public, the candidates, the press — and it was a completely open and observable process.”

Earlier this year, when the City Council approved the use of paper ballots for last week’s election, they had three goals, primary among them to protest the lack of a ‘‘paper trail” on the electronic machines used across the state.

Council members also hoped to save as much as $2,500 by foregoing the rental of the voting machines and the accompanying security while promoting civic involvement in the tallying process. By all accounts, using paper ballots was a success.

Good old fashioned honest voting (and it saves tax payer money too).

- rob 2:54 PM - [PermaLink] -

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"They saw the same intelligence" does not mean all, in fact it means "only the intelligence that supported our viewpoint and not all the other intelligence that point out that our viewpoint is full of crap."

Key Bush Intelligence Briefing Kept From Hill Panel

Ten days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush was told in a highly classified briefing that the U.S. intelligence community had no evidence linking the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein to the attacks and that there was scant credible evidence that Iraq had any significant collaborative ties with Al Qaeda, according to government records and current and former officials with firsthand knowledge of the matter.
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One of the more intriguing things that Bush was told during the briefing was that the few credible reports of contacts between Iraq and Al Qaeda involved attempts by Saddam Hussein to monitor the terrorist group. Saddam viewed Al Qaeda as well as other theocratic radical Islamist organizations as a potential threat to his secular regime. At one point, analysts believed, Saddam considered infiltrating the ranks of Al Qaeda with Iraqi nationals or even Iraqi intelligence operatives to learn more about its inner workings, according to records and sources.

The September 21, 2001, briefing was prepared at the request of the president, who was eager in the days following the terrorist attacks to learn all that he could about any possible connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda.

- rob 2:49 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Sounds like a time table for me

3 Brigades May Be Cut in Iraq Early in 2006

Barring any major surprises in Iraq, the Pentagon tentatively plans to reduce the number of U.S. forces there early next year by as many as three combat brigades, from 18 now, but to keep at least one brigade "on call" in Kuwait in case more troops are needed quickly, several senior military officers said.

Pentagon authorities also have set a series of "decision points" during 2006 to consider further force cuts that, under a "moderately optimistic" scenario, would drop the total number of troops from more than 150,000 now to fewer than 100,000, including 10 combat brigades, by the end of the year, the officers said.

A bit slow though.

- rob 2:01 PM - [PermaLink] -

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You know the explaination that this war was about oil is the only explaination that holds up under review - its also the one explaination the Bush people deny.

Iraq's oil: The spoils of war

- rob 1:59 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Who ya goin' call?
Big Brother!

I *STILL* KNOW WHO YOU CALLED LAST MONTH

our cell phone bills are there for the taking, for about $100 a month. Dozens of Web sites offer this service –- one month, or one year. Every call, every phone number. However scary that sounds, it won’t really hit you until you see it for yourself -- so click here for an example of what's out there.  Then hit "back" in your browser, and let me explain.

Who your friends are. How to contact them. Even where you were. All those crumbs are on sale. Right now.

- rob 1:57 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Wow - Bush is a loon

Bombing al-Jazeera because you don't like its stories? That'll win hearts and minds

Bush claim revives al-Jazeera bombing fears

Claims that George Bush planned to bomb the Arabic TV news station al-Jazeera have fuelled concerns that an attack on the broadcaster's Baghdad offices during the war on Iraq was deliberate.

An international journalists group today demanded "complete disclosure" from the British and American governments over reports that the US considered attacking the al-Jazeera HQ in the Qatar capital, Doha.
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"Reports that George Bush and Tony Blair discussed a plan to bomb al-Jazeera reinforce concerns that the US attack in Baghdad on April 8 [2003] was deliberate targeting of the media," said Aidan White, the general secretary of the IFJ.

"If that is the case then the US is guilty of a gross violation of international humanitarian law and on the face of it the murder of an innocent journalist.

- rob 1:53 PM - [PermaLink] -

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The messaging being that they are assholes

Anti-abortion group seeks aerial advertising over Honolulu

HONOLULU (AP) - The attorney for an anti-abortion group told federal appeals court judges Monday that Honolulu's ban on aerial advertising illegally censors the group's most effective way to spread its message _ flying pictures of aborted fetuses over crowded beaches.

That'll be good for tourism.

- rob 1:21 PM - [PermaLink] -

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New item at the TCS store (okay old item, but now in black, let's face it this store is pretty neglected).


Black T-Shirt - Orange Alert > ThisCenturySucks.com Store

- rob 10:10 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Bush Buddy in charge of Amtrak

What is that I see ahead?



Ouch. A derailment


The chairman of Amtrak: Savior or undertaker?

WASHINGTON -- As chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission under then-Gov. George W. Bush in the late 1990s, David Laney was credited with significantly increasing highway funding and boosting development of toll roads.
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Now as chairman of the board of Amtrak, Laney has come under a withering attack from members of Congress who accuse him of leading a Bush administration effort to dismantle the national passenger railroad and turn it over to private interests.

- rob 3:38 PM - [PermaLink] -

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The Iraqis don't want us there

In fact killing US troops is "understandable" accouding to these officials.

Why are we there?

Iraq's factions urge a schedule for troop pullout / 100 Sunni, Shiite, Kurdish leaders reach agreement at end of Arab League meeting

Cairo -- For the first time, Iraq's political factions collectively called for a timetable for withdrawal of foreign forces Monday as the Bush administration battled pressure at home to commit to a pullout schedule.

The announcement, at the conclusion of a reconciliation conference here backed by the Arab League, was a public reaching-out by Shiites, who now dominate Iraq's government, to Sunni Arabs on the eve of parliamentary elections that have been put on shaky ground by weeks of sectarian violence.
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In Cairo, about 100 Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish leaders, many of whom will run in the election on Dec. 15, signed a closing memorandum that "demands a withdrawal of foreign troops on a specified timetable, dependent on an immediate national program for rebuilding the security forces."
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The statement, while condemning the wave of terrorism that has engulfed Iraq, also broadly acknowledged a general right to resist foreign occupation.
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The wording was a partial victory for Iraq's Sunni politicians, who have long demanded that the United States commit to a scheduled pullout.

While the wording stopped short of condoning armed resistance to the occupation, it broadly acknowledged that "national resistance is a legitimate right of all nations."

We said that Iraq is very and independent. They want us to leave - let's leave already.

- rob 3:35 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Intelligent Design is not science - They say it is God in the Gaps, where evolution still has 'holes" is where the acts of God lies.

It is the modern equivalent of the ancient mapmakers marking areas of the world "here there be monsters" when they didn't know anything of that geography.

It is kind of like why Monty Python was writing Life of Brian and they couldn't figure out how to get the character out of one situation so they wrote in the script "Terry Gilliam's bit" and then started the next scene, and so in a movie that takes place in 32 A.D. viewers ended up with this:



Meanwhile:
Vatican official: 'Intelligent design doesn't belong in science class

Vatican City - The Vatican's chief astronomer said today that 'intelligent design' isn't science and doesn't belong in science classrooms, the latest high-ranking Roman Catholic official to enter the evolution debate in the United States.

The Rev. George Coyne, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said placing intelligent design theory alongside that of evolution in school programs was "wrong" and was akin to mixing apples with oranges.

- rob 3:20 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Ney Ney Ney

Corruption guilty plea raises heat for Ney

Washington - A political consultant who has been cooperating in a federal corruption probe admitted Monday his role in a bribery scheme that targeted Licking County Republican Rep. Bob Ney.

Documents released as part of Michael Scanlon's plea agreement in U.S. District Court revealed new details of trips, tickets to concerts and sporting events and campaign contributions that were allegedly provided to Ney and his staffers "in exchange for a series of official acts and influence."

This is all part of the Jack Abramoff scandal that will grow and grow and take lots of representatives down. Representatives of both sites - and good. I don't care what side they are on, they aren't on our side (you know the citizens of America that the representatives Work for. You know as in they represent us and not the lobbies?). Oh and Bush administration this is going to hit you too... just another big wave in your political perfect storm.

- rob 9:11 AM - [PermaLink] -

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This cartoon is perfect for today:



Bush at the Tipping Point
A hawkish Democrat calls for an Iraq withdrawal, setting off a bitter fight in Washington over how, and when, the troops should come home.

- rob 4:41 PM - [PermaLink] -

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It was the cool car he had
The nice threds
He just had this way of talking
He always had the prettiest girlfriends

We just thought if we listened to him we could be as cool as he was.

How U.S. Fell Under the Spell of 'Curveball' - Los Angeles Times

- rob 4:35 PM - [PermaLink] -

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You need the permission of parents to teach the kids (you know, like where babies come from) but you can "whoop" them all you want.

Mother wants answers after paddling

Schauer claims that the paddling was so hard that Jacob still aches with pain. A doctor even prescribed the teen muscle relaxers so that he can sleep.
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"I said, 'Don't hit and whoop him' and he said 'We don't need your permission. That's just a courtesy,'" said Schauer. "Then why send it [a form denying teacher the right to paddle] home if it's a courtesy?"

In a statement released by Cleveland ISD, officials deny any wrongdoing. The statement read:

"We did not violate any law, and as a courtesy to parents, we do ask them, but we don't, by state law, need their permission."

"They cannot whoop our children," said Schauer. That is a parent's job. We gave birth to those children. We created those kids. It's our job to discipline them that way, not anyone else's."

I don't know what this says about me, but I'm almost disturbed about the constant use of the word "whoop" then I am in the "whooping" that took place.

- rob 4:29 PM - [PermaLink] -

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What I knew before the invasion:

I knew America would never torture
I knew America would never use chemical weapons
I knew America stood for something

I thought I knew a lot before the invasion.

So did former Senator Bob Graham: What I Knew Before the Invasion

As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence during the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, and the run-up to the Iraq war, I probably had as much access to the intelligence on which the war was predicated as any other member of Congress.

I, too, presumed the president was being truthful -- until a series of events undercut that confidence.

In February 2002, after a briefing on the status of the war in Afghanistan, the commanding officer, Gen. Tommy Franks, told me the war was being compromised as specialized personnel and equipment were being shifted from Afghanistan to prepare for the war in Iraq -- a war more than a year away. Even at this early date, the White House was signaling that the threat posed by Saddam Hussein was of such urgency that it had priority over the crushing of al Qaeda.

- rob 4:18 PM - [PermaLink] -

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FEMA Not Using Rent-Free Units

WASHINGTON (AP) - One of the nation's largest home lenders offered 1,500 housing units for Hurricane Katrina evacuees, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency has so far failed to put families into any of them, a Democratic congressman said Friday.
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Though the units could house only a small fraction of Katrina victims in need of long-term housing, the accusations come as FEMA prepares to stop paying hotel bills of an estimated 53,000 families who lost their homes in the Aug. 29 storm.

- rob 4:15 PM - [PermaLink] -

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This is a small story, but the more people learn about it the more they will realize how far America has been taken from them.

ACLU suing over ouster from event

All three had tickets to the public event, which was sponsored by the White House and paid for by taxpayers.

The man who forced them to leave was wearing a radio earpiece and a lapel pin that functioned as a security badge. The three say he was identified to them as working for the Secret Service.
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The three say they were told by the Secret Service later that the man admitted ejecting them because they arrived in a car with a bumper sticker that read, "No more blood for oil."

- rob 4:13 PM - [PermaLink] -

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You know how big Business screams and runs about the village square saying "the sky will fall, the sky will fall" whenever one mentions raising the minimum wage?

Of course they are only concerned because they don't want America to lose any jobs. A lot of waitress jobs could be outsourced to China if the going rate goes up a buck I guess.

Well, the minimum wage went up a dollar an hour in Florida - and all hell broke loose. Well, the hell was from the hurricanes so the connection with the minimum wage is pretty thin. In truth the wage increase had: Minimum Effect

TAMPA -- Before last year's elections, a political action committee backed by the likes of Publix Super Markets and Outback Steakhouse had some hair-raising predictions about the effect of bumping up the minimum wage.

Thousands of jobs would be lost if voters increased the state's rock-bottom wage to $6.15 from $5.15, said one e-mail sent out by the Coalition to Save Florida Jobs.

Jobs would be outsourced overseas, the e-mail said. Even companies that paid above the minimum wage would be forced to raise pay for everyone, said retailers and restaurants that opposed the amendment.

Today, though, it's hard to find much wreckage in the Florida retailing and restaurant industries, the two groups that bankrolled the Coalition to Save Florida Jobs.

Seventy-one percent of Florida voters passed the increase, and since the new minimum wage was implemented in May, retail stores and restaurants have added tens of thousands of employees.

Some of the biggest contributors to the Coalition to Save Florida Jobs have had stellar financial performances since May, including Publix Super Markets of Lakeland and Darden Restaurants of Orlando (owner of Red Lobster and Olive Garden).

Opponents say it's too soon to gauge the amendment's effect, and having it repealed or altered through another amendment is a high priority.

Putting more money in a low paid worker's pocket is instant money to the local economy. They have so little money that they won't invest it, hide it in a tax haven, or spend it on their European vacation. This money instantly is back in the hands of the local business, who with the increased monies may hire more or may invest more in their local business. Or if their a Bush contributor have the money go directly to "corporate HQ" in the Bahamas.

This is why trickle down is stupid economics, or to quote Georgie's dad "voodoo economics." Tax cuts for the rich do not stimulate the economy - they are great for long term stability in the economy, but the don't stimulate the economy at all. Suddenly millions are freed up for investment, but during the recession companies aren't spending monies for expansion because they don't have customers. Investment isn't the issue.

If you give tax cuts to the working poor and lower middle class you have minimized the effect on the budget and have dramatically stimulated the economy. That money is instantly moving about the local economy. Then and only then is investment going to help.

- rob 4:09 PM - [PermaLink] -

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New places for bin Laden's ilk keep popping up.

Meanwhile we're stuck in Iraq unable to do anything.

Kyrgyzstan on verge of anarchy

- rob 3:42 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Such a concentration of loathsome politicians in one place may create a black hole in which decency and integrity may never escape.

Cheney to raise funds for DeLay

- rob 3:40 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Another Bush Success

Stem cell scientists headed toSingapore to continue research

Selling our future to get uneducated votes today.

Copeland and Jenkins are famous for discovering a way to accelerate the identification of cancer-causing genes in mice. Scientists hope to advance this discovery by using embryonic stem-cell cultures to build models of leukemia, lymphoma and other cancers. If researchers can learn which genes are mutated in cancer, they could possibly develop drugs to block mutations.

At Singapore's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, any of the couple's discoveries would first be patented and used in Singapore.

- rob 1:51 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Flashback, November 3rd Doonesburry:



Wha? You don't remember that strip?

Maybe because it never ran.

Never Mind: Mier's Strips

Harriet, we hardly knew ye. The following week of daily strips on the planned confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers were intended for publication beginning Monday, October 31st, with a Miers Sunday strip to follow on November 13th. Rendered obsolete by the announcement of her withdrawal from consideration on Thursday the 27th, they are nonetheless presented below for your reading pleasure.

- rob 1:47 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Ah - the beginning of another holiday season in the Bush era:

General Motors to Close 12 North American Locations

GM will close assembly plants in Doraville, Georgia; Lansing, Michigan; Oklahoma City; Spring Hill, Tennessee, and a car plant in Oshawa, Ontario. The automaker will shut down engine plants in St. Catharines, Ontario, and Flint, Michigan. GM will also reduce shifts at plants in Moraine, Ohio, and a second car plant in Oshawa.

The majority of the closings and shift reductions will be complete by next year. The Georgia and Oshawa closings will come by the end of 2008. The plan to cut 30,000 jobs is the biggest since 74,000 were eliminated during the early 1990s.

Here's a bit of irony: if GM hadn't fought against fuel standards they'd have more fuel efficient cars which would sell more. No one wants to buy their gas guzzlers.

Check out: Hummer Overfloweth

- rob 1:41 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Bush puts a face on America's international diplomacy

Unfortunately it is his face

Locked doors thwart Bush's bid to duck question

When the reporter asked for "a very quick follow-up", Bush cut him off by thanking the press corps and telling the reporter "No you may not," as he strode towards a set of double doors leading out of the room.

The only problem was that they were locked.

"I was trying to escape. Obviously, it didn't work," Bush quipped, facing reporters again until an aide rescued him by pointing to him towards the correct door.

- rob 1:25 PM - [PermaLink] -

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"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American people."
- Teddy Roosevelt



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 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt



"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions, but laws must and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."
- Thomas Jefferson



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"All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree."
- James Madison



"I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, in the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, the faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith. For liberalism is not so much a party creed or set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves."
- John F. Kennedy



"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are [a] few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

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"There's nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed by what's right with America." - Bill Clinton.