In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Your government at work: Local News: Couple orders IRS booklet, gets 24,000 copies of wrong versionCHIMACUM, Jeffereson County — Brian Lawson, a self-employed market analyst, and his wife Jackie got both more and less than they expected when they ordered an Internal Revenue Service instruction booklet by telephone.
What the Lawsons wanted was a single copy of the Form 1040 instructions for 2003 to help fix them a numerical error on their returns that has resulted in them having to pay $300 a month in back taxes since they filed their return for that year.
What they got on Wednesday evening, three weeks after their call, was a UPS Inc. delivery of 12 boxes containing 2,000 copies each — 24,000 booklets in all — of the Form 1040 instructions for 2005.
The wrong booklets were sent from Bloomington, Ill., and arrived at the right place despite being addressed to Chimacum, D.C., instead of Chimacum, Wash.
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Bush doesn't even need Alito
He already thinks he has the right to tell the Supreme Court what it should and should not review.
The Bush Administration believes the Executive Office is allowed to interpret law as well as enforce it (oh and we also found out this month that Bush believes he can legislate too... that 3 for 3)
U.S. Seeks to Avoid Detainee RulingThe Bush administration took the unusual step yesterday of asking the Supreme Court to call off a landmark confrontation over the legality of military trials for terrorism suspects, arguing that a law enacted last month eliminates the court's ability to consider the issue.
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Umm... See Bush had a new 2001 calendar given to him as a gift when he became President, and looking through it he noticed that there was the date 9/11 on the calendar. So, as he knew the date 9/11 was coming Bush started spying on Americans.
Bush Authorized Domestic Spying Before 9/11
If this is picked up and investigated by more mainstream media sources this whole story is going to get a hell of a lot bigger (though it should already be a lot bigger then it is).
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Give 'em Hell Harry
If we can beat mob, we can fight DeLay-style politicsIn 1977, I was appointed chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. It was a difficult time for the gaming industry and Las Vegas, which were being overrun by organized crime. To that point in my life, I had served in the Nevada Assembly and even as lieutenant governor, but nothing prepared me for my fight with the mob.Emphasis added.
Over the next few years, there would be threats on my life, bribes, FBI stings and even a car bomb placed in my family's station wagon. It was a terrifying experience, but at the end of the day, we cleaned up Las Vegas and ushered in a new era of responsibility.
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It is not quite the mafia of Las Vegas in the 1970s, but what is happening today in Washington is every bit as corrupt and the consequences for our country have been severe.
Our nation's capital has been overrun by organized crime — Tom DeLay-style.
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Another Bush sycophant excuse blows up (not that that will effect their talking points
Clinton says he didn't use warrantless wiretapsFormer President Clinton said Thursday that he never ordered wiretaps of American citizens without obtaining a court order, as President Bush has acknowledged he has done.
Clinton, in an interview broadcast Thursday on the ABC News program ''Nightline,'' said his administration either received court approval before authorizing a wiretap or went to court within three days after to get permission, as required by law.
''We either went there and asked for the approval or, if there was an emergency and we had to do it beforehand, then we filed within three days afterward and gave them a chance to second guess it,'' Clinton told ABC.
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''I felt that the court and the setup was more than enough to do what we needed to do.''
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'Bandage Bandit' sentenced to 6 yearsNEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) _ A former Wall Street trading clerk who became a serial bank robber was sentenced to more than six years in prison Wednesday for robbing or trying to rob 15 banks in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey in 2004.Why did Jason go from being a trading clerk to bank robber?
Jason Battista, 28, of Valhalla, N.Y., became known as the "Bandage Bandit" for the white medical tape he placed over his face.
9/11
Sure that sounds ridiculous. But its worked for Bush.Does robbing banks because of 9/11 seem any more ridiculous.
- 9/11 is the excuse for ballooning the budget deficit, though much of the increase is unrelated to defense or security.
- 9/11 is the excuse for the long recovery from the 2001 recession (which was bad before 9/11)
- 9/11 is the excuse for Orwellian "free speech zones"
- 9/11 is the excuse for a war in Iraq though they had nothing to do with 9/11
- 9/11 is the excuse for allowing the FBI know what books you read, how much you withdrawal from the bank, who you writing checks to and never tell you that is what they're doing
- 9/11 is the excuse for putting aside our hard earned international reputation
- 9/11 is the excuse for torture
- 9/11 is the excuse for putting people in prison (including Americans) without ever saying why and without a trial
- 9/11 is the excuse for the looting of the Iraqi treasury. (2.4 billion dollar cash withdrawal much of it placed in duffel bags).
- 9/11 is the excuse for the constant message from the executive office that Americans have to watch what they're saying.
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I remember Bush the elder's reign described as the "era of lowered expectations." People learned not to expect much from the government (though its deficit increased and its taxes increased) or America. People complained less and were resigned to the status quo.- Thursday, January 12, 2006 -
For all Clinton's fault he got American's to desire and expect more from both America and its government. If we expect more while reality probably won't meet our expectations it will improve.
No one expects anything of Bush the lesser, and he can't even meet that expectation.
The Lawbreaker in the Oval OfficeThe country has set the bar so low for the performance of George W. Bush as president that it is effectively on the ground.
No one expects very much from Mr. Bush. He's currently breaking the law by spying on Americans in America without getting warrants, but for a lot of people that's just George being George.
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As the president put it, "If somebody from Al Qaeda is calling you, we'd like to know why."
Well, that's true, Mr. President. But Congress and the Constitution have spoken as clearly as a bright sun on a cloudless afternoon about these matters: if you're going to eavesdrop on Americans in the U.S., you'd better run out and get a warrant.
You have to act fast? O.K., do what you have to do - but you then have to apply for a warrant within 72 hours. If, after three days, you can't explain to a court - a secret court, at that - why you need to be spying on somebody, then you need to stop that spying.
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The Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan arm of Congress, also took issue with the administration's defense of the warrantless eavesdropping. Its analysts searched diligently but apparently in vain for a legal justification of the spying authorized by the president. Their detailed report on the constitutional and statutory issues raised by the program said, "It appears unlikely that a court would hold that Congress has expressly or impliedly authorized the N.S.A. electronic-surveillance operations here under discussion."
The administration's attempt to justify the program, the analysts said, "does not seem to be as well grounded" as the administration seems to believe.
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A hero - Gone
He fought for this country. He broke his back for this country. And in the midst of a horrible war he understood what this country stood for.
My Lai massacre hero buriedLAFAYETTE, United States (AFP) - Hugh Thompson, the US army helicopter pilot who rescued Vietnamese civilians from American troops during the My Lai massacre, was buried with full military honors.
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Up to 504 Vietnamese civilians were killed by US troops at My Lai including as many as 210 children aged 12 or younger, according to historians.
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The trio then flew to another part of the village where Thompson encountered a lieutenant preparing to blow up a bunker filled with wounded Vietnamese.
Although outranked, Thompson ordered the lieutenant and his men to stand down.
"Thompson put his guns on the Americans and said he would shoot them if they shot another Vietnamese," said William Eckhardt, the chief prosecutor at the My Lai courtmartial.
A furious Thompson reported the massacre in progress to army superiors who ordered a ceasefire. Thompson also ordered two other helicopters to evacuate about a dozen wounded villagers to hospital for treatment.
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As a combat pilot Thompson was shot down four times in Vietnam. He suffered a broken back in his last crash and received a Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
Thompson retired from the army in 1983 as a first lieutenant after 20 years of service.
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I'm not happy our troops are over there, but as they are they damn well better be protected.
Sign the petition: Take Action: Demand body armor for our troops in Iraq
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Judge Alito, in His Own WordsThis guy is bad news for the court.
- EVIDENCE OF EXTREMISM...Judge Alito's membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton - a group whose offensive views about women, minorities and AIDS victims were discussed in greater detail at yesterday's hearing - is also deeply troubling, as is his unconvincing claim not to remember joining it.
- OPPOSITION TO ROE V. WADE In 1985, Judge Alito made it clear that he believed the Constitution does not protect abortion rights.
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As Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, noted in particularly pointed questioning, since Judge Alito was willing to say that other doctrines, like one person one vote, are settled law, his unwillingness to say the same about Roe strongly suggests that he still believes what he believed in 1985.- SUPPORT FOR AN IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY
- INSENSITIVITY TO ORDINARY AMERICANS' RIGHTS Time and again, as a lawyer and a judge, the nominee has taken the side of big corporations against the "little guy," supported employers against employees, and routinely rejected the claims of women, racial minorities and the disabled.
- DOUBTS ABOUT THE NOMINEE'S HONESTY Judge Alito's explanation of his involvement with Concerned Alumni of Princeton is hard to believe. In a 1985 job application, he proudly pointed to his membership in the organization. Now he says he remembers nothing of it - except why he joined, which he insists had nothing to do with the group's core concerns. His explanation for why he broke his promise to Congress to recuse himself in any case involving Vanguard companies is also unpersuasive. As for his repeated claims that his past statements on subjects like abortion and Judge Bork never represented his personal views or were intended to impress prospective employers - all that did was make us wonder why we should give any credence to what he says now.
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I can just see pro-life groups threatening this judge's life
Judge: Baby on board is no excusePHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- Fetuses do not count as passengers when it comes to determining who may drive in the carpool lane, a judge has ruled.
Candace Dickinson was fined $367 for improper use of a carpool lane, but contended her unborn child qualified to use the lane. Motorists who use the lanes normally must carry at least one passenger during weekday rush hours.
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I mean its not like Caribou vote or anything, much less donate to political campaigns.
New area in Alaska arctic opened to drillingThe Interior Department on Wednesday said it would allow oil development in virtually all of the wetlands surrounding Lake Teshekpuk in the northeast corner of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The lake region includes one of the most important molting areas in the Arctic for wild geese and areas sought out by caribou herds for calving.Now maybe if a Caribou burger company was a big campaign donor....
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Greensboro police chief had secret police division that tracked the African American police officers.- Wednesday, January 11, 2006 -
Greensboro, North Carolina: Wray hid 'black book'Part of the cover-up included the hiding of a “black book” that contained photos of at least 19 African American officers, officials said late Tuesday. The book was eventually recovered by investigators probing allegations of misconduct within the Greensboro Police Department.
And a black lieutenant whose claims of racism triggered seven months of controversy in the department returns to work today , his record cleared of unfounded criminal charges.
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Johnson described the “black book” as a police lineup used by Special Intelligence, but he provided few details about its exact use by the five-officer squad.
“The activities of this unit and its continued pursuit of unproven, previously investigated and unsubstantiated charges against certain African American officers created an atmosphere of fear, distrust and suspicion, which undermined the department’s morale and efficiency,” he said.
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The Republican attempt to Blunt criticism by appointing a new House majority leader may backfire. (har har har)
Blunt, DeLay Share Abramoff ConnectionsWASHINGTON - Rep. Roy Blunt (news, bio, voting record) and the man he wants to succeed as House majority leader, Tom DeLay, shared similar connections to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and to corporate lobbyists.Yep - its time for more of: You don't know Jack!
Blunt, R-Mo., wrote at least three letters helpful to Abramoff clients while collecting money from them. He swapped donations between his and DeLay's political groups, ultimately enriching the Missouri political campaign of his son Matt.
And Blunt's wife and another son, Andrew, lobby for many of the same companies that donate to the lawmaker's political efforts.
Abramoff Scandal Threatens to Derail Reed's Political Ambitions Now I don't believe in much of what the religious right believes, there are many who honestly believe they are doing what God wants and actually due care for their fellow man. These are the people Reed considers those people to be suckers.Disclosures that Reed once ran an anti-gambling campaign that was secretly financed by casino-owning clients of his friend Abramoff have damaged his ability to raise funds for a bid to become Georgia's next lieutenant governor, other Republicans say.But Reed did all of that because he wanted to make America a more righteous Christian country, where every red blooded young man could run for office and begin "humping in corporate accounts."
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``I need to start humping in corporate accounts,'' Reed wrote to Abramoff in 1998. ``I'm counting on you to help me with some contacts.''
In 2001 alone, he received more than $2.5 million from entities connected with Abramoff and partner Michael Scanlon, according to documents released by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Abramoff and Scanlon used the organizations so Reed wouldn't be paid directly by their clients, who wanted to block new gambling competition. The e-mails show that Reed knew casino-owning tribes were the ultimate clients, though he says he wasn't paid with gambling proceeds.
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Reed also depended on Abramoff to help his political campaigns. In one e-mail exchange in 2001, he asked Abramoff to contribute to his successful bid to become state Republican chairman in Georgia. When Abramoff asked where to send the donation, Reed joked, ``The actual committee is `The Reed Family Retirement and Educational Foundation.' The address is 200 Bay Drive, Grand Cayman, BCI, R59876.''
DeLay Tried, Failed to Aid Abramoff ClientWASHINGTON - Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay tried to pressure the Bush administration into shutting down an Indian-owned casino that lobbyist Jack Abramoff wanted closed — shortly after a tribal client of Abramoff's donated to a DeLay political action committee, The Associated Press has learned.
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Unfortunately it is a word that sums up the world (and the media) we have today
Linguists vote 'truthiness' word of 2005ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A panel of linguists has decided the word that best reflects 2005 is "truthiness," defined as the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts.
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Michael Adams, a professor at North Carolina State University who specializes in lexicology, said "truthiness" means "truthy, not facty."
"The national argument right now is, one, who's got the truth and, two, who's got the facts," he said. "Until we can manage to get the two of them back together again, we're not going make much progress."
Truthiness is a truth larger than the facts that would comprise it -- if you cared about facts, which you don't, if you care about truthiness.
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I don't trust books, they're all fact, no heart. And that's exactly what's pulling our country apart today. 'Cause face it folks, we're a divided nation. Not between Democrats and Republicans, or conservatives and liberals, or tops and bottoms. No. We are divided between those who think with their head, and those who know with their heart.
- Stephen Colbert
Colbert's first piece about Truthiness (quicktime)
and his response to Truthiness being the word of the year. (quicktime)
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Are we free yet?
ABC's SCOOP: "MILLIONS" OF AMERICANS' PHONE CALLS TAPPED BY N.S.A. (with video)
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In the sixties, seventies, and eighties nuclear holocaust was a real possibility.
The threat of a nuclear war was reported every day, from false alarms because of flying Geese or from Matthew Broderick trying to play a computer game. (in fact we came much closer* then we ever imagined). I never thought I'd live as to see the year 2006; if I did I'd have brushed my teeth more.
But American's lived with that. We debated it, we protested to disarm, and we continued to live life like normal. And now because some nut jobs with bombs are finally getting press (news flash - there were terrorists before 9/11 and they were doing some pretty scary things, and trying to do even worse things) Americans are running around with their heads cut off and are willing to burn the constitution if daddy Bush promises them that he'll keep the night light on.
Differing Views on TerrorismAmericans overwhelmingly support aggressive government pursuit of terrorist threats, even if it may infringe on personal privacy, but they divide sharply along partisan lines over the legitimacy of President Bush's program of domestic eavesdropping without court authorization, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.When did the party of state's rights and limited government love big intrusive government?
Nearly two in three Americans surveyed said they believe that federal agencies involved in anti-terrorism activities are intruding on the personal privacy of their fellow citizens, but fewer than a third said such intrusions are unjustified.Republicans offer far greater support for actions directly attributed to the Bush administration in the campaign against terrorism than do Democrats, who worry that the president will go too far and ignore civil liberties.
When Ben Franklin said:
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety
- Benjamin Franklin
He was mocking people who'd want a government to spy on them in the hope it'd make them safer. He was calling them wimps and, frankly, unamerican.
So many supporting Bush's "war on terrorism" often say "freedom isn't free." No duh! But the cost is not only occasionally the lives of our soldiers, the cost is that we can not be 100% safe. We cannot be 100% protected. 100% safety is solitary confinement.
The cost of freedom isn't our freedom.
The cost of freedom is people will say things you or I don't like. People will say things that could offend me or you, even hurt me or you. People will wear things that you or I don't like. People will print things you or I don't like. The cost of freedom that unlike in a solitary jail cell, people might conspire to kill, destroy or steal.
We need intelligence, we need an army, we need the FBI; we need to stop these terrorist attacks from happening. But we do not need a king.
Look just doing what is legal well is just as effective as breaking the law like Bush is doing now. Come on. Wire tapping isn't going to help when you don't have enough translators to go through the back log (having fired the gay translators). Finger printing incoming foreigners isn't going to help if the TSA fingerprint database doesn't sync up with the FBI's. Pathetic.
One of the flight school's used by the terrorists was also often used by the CIA. Another one of the terrorists once had an FBI informant as his roommate. Memos were written by FBI field agents about these guys taking flight lessons. If FBI agents waving big flags saying "over here - terrorist over here," (which they figured out by good old fashioned legal investigation) doesn't get the big wigs to respond then why should an illegal wire tap? Realize there are enemies. Stay alert. Hire competent people, not political cronies. That keeps America save and free.
What's mind boggling is that Bush is allowed to spy on Americans suspected of terrorist ties via FISA. But it requires a check on power. A warrant is required by a court. That's easy. In fact you can get a warrant 72 hours AFTER the fact. So speed isn't even an issue. But Bush would rather not have any checks on his power. His laziness in following the law bespeaks his contempt for the whole concept of checks and balances. He was elected King, and as King he'll determine who is free.
* Global Disaster Averted by a Forgotten Hero of Our TimeIn an interview with the English newspaper Daily Mail, Colonel Petrov recalls that fateful night when alarms went off and the early warning computer screens were showing a nuclear attack launched by the United States. "I felt as if I'd been punched in my nervous system. There was a huge map of the States with a U.S. base lit up, showing that the missiles had been launched."
For several minutes Petrov held a phone in one hand and an intercom in the other as alarms continued blaring, red lights blinking, and the computers reporting that U.S. missiles were on their way. In the midst of this horrific chaos and terror, the prospect of the end of civilization itself, Petrov made an historic decision not to alert higher authorities, believing in his gut and hoping with all that is sacred, that contrary to what all the sophisticated equipment was reporting, this alarm was an error.
"I didn't want to make a mistake," Petrov said, "I made a decision and that was it." The Daily Mail wrote, "Had Petrov cracked and triggered a response, Soviet missiles would have rained down on U.S. cities. In turn, that would have brought a devastating response from the Pentagon."
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Insane, sad, and pathetic- Tuesday, January 10, 2006 -
Flag painted on street splits townDULUTH, Ga., Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A Georgia town that claims to be the most patriotic in the country has been split by the painting of a flag on a quiet dead-end street.I think it is great that the kid's express their love for a country by painting a flag; I think it is pathetic that others worship an idol (the flag) rather than appreciate what it stands for.
The Vietnam veteran who organized the flag-painting in Duluth and the children who carried it out thought they were showing their patriotism. But members of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter say that they had, with the best intentions, committed a terrible breach of flag etiquette, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
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And now it will almost certainly be removed. Rachel Renbarger, a 9-year-old who helped with the painting, tearfully promised to do it -- and was reassured by those at the meeting that she had done nothing wrong.
"I am so sorry," Rachel said. "We will do whatever it takes to remove it -- me and my sister. I am so sorry."
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Every man, woman and child in America could see 500 movies (full price - not a matinee) with popcorn and a coke. Instead thousands died... and are still dying.
Iraq war may cost US trillions
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Judging Samuel AlitoJudicial nominations are not always motivated by ideology, but the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito certainly was. President Bush's previous choice to fill Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's seat on the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers, was hounded into withdrawing by the far right, primarily because she appeared to hold moderate views on a variety of legal issues. President Bush placated Ms. Miers's conservative critics by nominating Judge Alito, who has long been one of their favorites.
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In a new Harris poll, just 34 percent of those surveyed said they thought he should be confirmed, while 31 percent said he should not, and 34 percent were unsure. Nearly 70 percent said they would oppose Judge Alito's nomination if they thought he would vote to make abortion illegal - which it appears he might well do.
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PRESIDENTIAL POWER The continuing domestic wiretapping scandal shows that the Bush administration has a dangerous view of its own powers, and the Supreme Court is the most important check on such excesses. But Judge Alito has some disturbing views about handing the president even more power. He has argued that courts interpreting statutes should consider the president's intent when he signed the law to be just as important as Congress's intent in writing and passing the law. It is a radical suggestion that indicates he has an imperial view of presidential power.
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Look maybe the only way to get some politicians to take the environment seriously is to point out to these "real guys" that pollution could make them grow breasts.
Independent Online Edition >Toxic waste creates hermaphrodite Arctic polar bears
As if melting the polar cap and making them drown wasn't enough.
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ahh... to read letters from international pen pals
Homeland Security opening private mailWASHINGTON - In the 50 years that Grant Goodman has known and corresponded with a colleague in the Philippines he never had any reason to suspect that their friendship was anything but spectacularly ordinary.
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Last month Goodman, an 81-year-old retired University of Kansas history professor, received a letter from his friend in the Philippines that had been opened and resealed with a strip of dark green tape bearing the words “by Border Protection” and carrying the official Homeland Security seal.
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The National REview admits:
The Abramoff Scandal (R., Beltway)Republicans are looking for "their" John McCain. The popular Arizona maverick is already a Republican, of course. But the GOP needs a McCain in the "Keating Five" sense. Back in 1990, Senate Democrats roped McCain into the scandal over savings and loan kingpin Charles Keating on tenuous grounds, just so not all the senators involved would be Democrats.
The GOP now craves such bipartisan cover in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Republicans trumpet every Democratic connection to Abramoff in the hope that something resonates. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), took more than $60,000 from Abramoff clients! North Dakota Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan used Abramoff's skybox! It is true that any Washington influence peddler is going to spread cash and favors as widely as possible, and 210 members of Congress have received Abramoff-connected dollars. But this is, in its essence, a Republican scandal, and any attempt to portray it otherwise is a misdirection.
Abramoff is a Republican who worked closely with two of the country's most prominent conservative activists, Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed. Top aides to the most important Republican in Congress, Tom DeLay (R., Tex.) were party to his sleazy schemes. The only people referred to directly in Abramoff's recent plea agreement are a Republican congressmen and two former Republican congressional aides. The GOP members can make a case that the scandal reflects more the way Washington works than the unique perfidy of their party, but even this is self-defeating, since Republicans run Washington.
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3rd rate crooks- Monday, January 09, 2006 -
A Washington Tidal WaveIn 2003, Ney went to London to meet the operator of a Cyprus-based airplane firm, FN Aviation, which was seeking Ney's help in getting permission to sell U.S.-made airplane spare parts to Iran. The owner of the company, Nigel Winfield, a thrice-convicted felon who once went to prison for trying to fleece Elvis Presley, wanted a "humanitarian" exception to a ban on the sale of U.S. high tech to Iran (Iran's aging Boeings had begun crashing). Ney, his lawyers acknowledge, did talk to the State Department, though nothing came of it. (Winfield did not respond to calls from NEWSWEEK.) But on another trip to London, Ney called up Winfield's Syrian-born business partner, Fouad Al-Zayat, known in London casinos as The Fat Man, and suggested they go gambling together. Putting down a $100 bet, Ney ended the evening $34,000 richer, according to his financial reports. Ney says nothing improper took place; he just got lucky. It may also be a coincidence that a year earlier Ney acknowledged at least $30,000 in credit-card debts which he paid off after his gambling windfall.
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Why the hell didn't we hear about this before.
500 Times!
Bush using a little-noticed strategy to alter the balance of powerWASHINGTON - President Bush agreed with great fanfare last month to accept a ban on torture, but he later quietly reserved the right to ignore it, even as he signed it into law.
Acting from the seclusion of his Texas ranch at the start of New Year's weekend, Bush said he would interpret the new law in keeping with his expansive view of presidential power. He did it by issuing a bill-signing statement - a little-noticed device that has become a favorite tool of presidential power in the Bush White House.
In fact, Bush has used signing statements to reject, revise or put his spin on more than 500 legislative provisions. Experts say he has been far more aggressive than any previous president in using the statements to claim sweeping executive power - and not just on national security issues.
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Signing statements don't have the force of law, but they can influence judicial interpretations of a statute. They also send a powerful signal to executive branch agencies on how the White House wants them to implement new federal laws.
In some cases, Bush bluntly informs Congress that he has no intention of carrying out provisions that he considers an unconstitutional encroachment on his authority.
"They don't like some of the things Congress has done so they assert the power to ignore it," said Martin Lederman, a visiting professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. "The categorical nature of their opposition is unprecedented and alarming."
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In honor of MacWorld San Francisco happening tomorrow I'd like to note that in the 1997-1998 election cycle Apple Computer gave $15,250 to Dems and $3,250 to the GOP. Meanwhile Microsoft gave $98,498 to Dems and $198,471 to the GOP.
Perhaps we also should mention that Al Gore is on the Apple board. We always knew he was a geek.
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Genius: Let's Spy on THEM!
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The late Spaulding Grey once theorized that the cathartic need that mankind seems to have to make war could be solved by simply shooting big war movies... so I guess in a way this article is a good start?
Amputees have star roles in war gamesThe United States government has hired a bunch of poor souls who lost their arms and legs in accidents and has rigged them up with bags of fake blood so they can play wounded civilians in war games down at Fort Polk, La.I was a "cultural role player" back in my dungeons and dragons days.
Not only that but Cubic, the defense contractor that produces these games, has also hired 250 Arabic-speaking immigrants at $220 a day (all figures U.S.) as "Cultural Role Players" in the war games."The military spends an average of $9 million staging each 3 1/2-week mission rehearsal exercise," writes Wells Tower, author of this jaw-droppingly bizarre article. That works out to about $117 million a year, he writes.And I'm sure the military brass are just as helpful as the hollywood brass. "put some more blood on that guy, and splat so more against the wall... I want graphic realism folks that's what the kids go for these days."
That doesn't include the $49 million spent constructing the state-of-the-art fake city of Suliyah, which contains 29 buildings, each one equipped with remote-controlled, smoke-making machines and an intercom system that pipes in "recordings of screaming women, crying babies, barking dogs and other sound effects throughout the whole city.''
Plus there are 900 video cameras so the brass can watch the games in real time while sitting in high-back, black-leather chairs in Suliyah's control centre.
Maybe they could spend the money on making sure all our vehicles and personnel have the armor and other equipment they need?
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Never a Texas Two-StepWhen legal and ethical questions began spinning around House majority leader Tom DeLay last year, President George W. Bush was publicly supportive. Privately, though, he questioned his fellow Texan's mojo. Bush had scored 10 points higher than DeLay in the Representative's district in 2004, and that was only after Bush had recorded a telephone message to help rally local Republicans. "I can't believe I had to do robocalls for him," the President said bitingly to an Oval Office visitor.Generally Bush leaves the robocalls to Cheney who has a more natural inclaination to all things robotic. Speaking of Cheney, he had some kind of software conflict that had to be taken care of: Vice President Hospitalized, Then ReleasedCheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said Cheney was taken to the hospital at 3 a.m. He was released about 7:30 a.m. Doctors found his EKG, or electrocardiogram, unchanged and determined he was retaining fluid because of medication he was taking for a foot problem.Anyway, back to the earlier article:But with the possibility that DeLay could be indicted in the Abramoff case, the Administration fears that the scandal could tarnish all Republicans and even hand the House to the Democrats. "They're worried about the Congress," an adviser said after talking to White House aides, "and they're worried about themselves." Although DeLay's forfeiture of his leadership post makes things easier for the White House, the Abramoff saga will continue to be a problem. Bracing for the worst, Administration officials obtained from the Secret Service a list of all the times Abramoff entered the White House complex, and they scrambled to determine the reason for each visit. Bush aides are also trying to identify all the photos that may exist of the two men together. Abramoff attended Hanukkah and holiday events at the White House, according to an aide who has seen the list. Press secretary Scott McClellan said Abramoff might have attended large gatherings with Bush but added, "The President does not know him, nor does the President recall ever meeting him."Oh dang, remember the time he came over for that surprise party? And then that time he came over to deliver some chocolates... oh an how ever are we going to explain the BBQ?
- rob 2:54 PM - [PermaLink] -
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Wow - 21st Century America really freaks me out
Ministers Say They Blessed Seats Ahead of Alito HearingWASHINGTON -- Insisting that God "certainly needs to be involved" in the Supreme Court confirmation process, three Christian ministers today blessed the doors of the hearing room where Senate Judiciary Committee members will begin considering the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito on Monday.And before you say "at least they aren't sacrificing animals," consider for a moment all the scapegoats that will be sacrificed in the coming weeks.
Capitol Hill police barred them from entering the room to continue what they called a consecration service. But in a bit of one-upsmanship, the three announced that they had let themselves in a day earlier, touching holy oil to the seats where Judge Alito, the senators, witnesses, Senate staffers and the press will sit, and praying for each of the 13 committee members by name.
- rob 2:46 PM - [PermaLink] -
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Another reason not to move to Salt Lake City
(the first being those crazy sea gulls vomiting up locust everywhere)
Brokeback has Mormon mountain to climbHaving waited quite some time, the world is obviously now finally ready for cowboys whose showdowns involve the unsheathing of a little more than just guns. Most of the world, that is, but the residents of Salt Lake City may well have to wait a little longer yet, as the owner of one of the city's largest cinema complexes has pulled Ang Lee's tender tale of spur-crossed lovers, Brokeback Mountain, from the schedules, writes Guy Dammann.Well it seems Larry has no problem with animal cruelty (King Kong), murder and torture (Hostel), robbery (Fun with Dick and Jane), Child Abuse (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Witchcraft (ibid), and prostitution (Memoirs of a Geisha), because that is what his theater is showing right now (and don't tell him the Family Stone has a gay couple in it either or that movie will be yanked too). Unbelievably stupid, ignorant, and bigoted. Their popcorn probably costs too much too.
Although the move was not accompanied by any official comment on the part of the cinemaÂ?s management, there seems to be little doubt that the multiplex owner, Larry H Miller, a prominent member of the Mormon church - which is against homosexuality - was responsible for the decision.
- rob 2:38 PM - [PermaLink] -
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I once ripped tickets at a movie theater, so I guess that qualifies me to head up only a modest department on 10,000 and a billion dollar budget?
Democrats Criticize Appointment at Immigration AgencyWASHINGTON, Jan. 7 - Senate Democrats this week sharply criticized President Bush's decision to install Julie L. Myers, a White House official, as head of the nation's immigration enforcement agency despite concerns on the part of some about her qualifications for the job.And when it is discovered that Customs didn't seize the explosives used to flatten a major american city the words "Heck of a job Julie" will ring in our ears.
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Ms. Myers, a 36-year-old lawyer, will be sworn in on Monday. She currently serves as the president's special assistant for personnel and previously worked as an assistant secretary at the Department of Commerce. She has never managed a large department or dealt extensively with immigration issues
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Some critics said they feared that her political connections, rather than her qualifications, had driven the decision to select her to lead the bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has 15,000 employees and a budget of about $4 billion.
- rob 2:23 PM - [PermaLink] -
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Bush's top secret plan to fund the Iraq War
2cent stamps hard to come buyThe price of a first-class stamp rises to 39 cents from 37 cents today - but all the vending machines at Manhattan's main post office were out of 2-cent add-ons yesterday.
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The vending machines were stocked with 39-cent stamps, but that wasn't much help for those who were stuck with rolls of 37-centers as the deadline approached.
"What they want us to do is buy another 39-cent stamp now and put it on top of the 37-cents we've already got," groused a cynical Andrew Campbell, 42.
Postal officials in Washington had no comment.
- rob 1:04 PM - [PermaLink] -
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Just to let you know Rob isn't my real name.
But as I don't want to be breaking the law, if you find me annoying my real name is Tiresias and yes I'm blind and have been both a man and a woman, and the only real sage advice I can give is to stay away from mating snakes.
Create an e-annoyance, go to jailAnnoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime.I find almost everything and everyone annoying - so consider that a warning.
It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.
In other words, it's OK to flame someone on a mailing list or in a blog as long as you do it under your real name. Thank Congress for small favors, I guess.
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"The use of the word 'annoy' is particularly problematic," says Marv Johnson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "What's annoying to one person may not be annoying to someone else."
- rob 12:51 PM - [PermaLink] -
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"To announce that there must be no criticism of the
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- Teddy Roosevelt
"Government has a final responsibility for the well-being of
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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."
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"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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