post show post

%%%

....

it's so quiet now

...

looking forward to the Krugman interview. Wonder if it's already been done. Hope not so Sam can ask about the stuff on the blog yesterday coming from Obama's camp.

...takes a lot of energy to keep up with everything.

Ward opens up about child porn charges
By Brad Kava, CONTRIBUTOR
IF the news media covered everyone the way they cover their own employees, they would have a lot more friends.
There would also be very few exposes, investigative journalism or critical insights.
Witness the case of liberal KGO-AM (810) radio talk-show host Bernie Ward, who was indicted last week by a San Francisco grand jury on three counts of possessing, downloading and sending child pornography.
Most everyone in the Bay Area was talking about the case — except for KGO, the No. 1 talk station. Although the news department covered it, talk hosts kept a cone of silence around the shocking and prurient story.
Other stations were all over it. KNEW-AM's (910) Michael Savage, a Ward antagonist, discussed it almost judiciously for two days, but then put on his Web site a sleazy headline: "Left Wing Bigmouth Bernie 'Whored' of KGO ('The Lyin' of the Left') Indicted on Kiddie Porn."
KCBS-AM (740) posted interviews with Ward's attorney, Doron Weinberg, on its Web site (which Savage appropriated on his competing station). KGO-TV got hold of the indictment and printed it on its Web site.
But KGO radio hosts discussed Mitt Romney's religion and the CIA cover-up of torture tapes, which sounded anemic compared to the questions that were really on the minds of KGO fans: Did he do it? What exactly did he do? Was this a government frame-up?
One could argue that this silence is the fairest way to cover someone accused of a crime where the charges are sealed.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/bayarealiving/ci_7720756

does things a little differently than a P.C.
Thanks toniD for the instructions on posting...

anyone out there who can let me know how to post a comic or photo on this blog
from someone else's blog - that has an IMac????
It can't be that different from a P.C. can it??

maggiesboy. Keeping warm???

...from chugging, er sipping on some cab. sav.

How 'bout you smcgee43?

posting is basically the same regardless of your platform.

Cobell: Accounting fiasco result of government myth-weaving
Posted: December 14, 2007
by: Elouise Cobell

Something dramatic and important has happened in the class action lawsuit I filed 11 years ago over the government's admitted mismanagement of the Indian Trust.

It should trouble everyone in Indian country because it signals a 180-degree turn in the way the Interior Department plans its long-promised accounting.

Gone are the government's initial, frank admissions of bungling the trust. In their place are new and troubling claims that the trust was actually well-managed. What losses the government says it can find are relatively small, perhaps several million dollars, since the trust was imposed in 1887.

Only the most unsuspecting rube could listen to such an about-face without skepticism. Thankfully, in Washington and in Indian country, there are not many left. And, for the few that remain, they need only examine the government's bountiful record of lies, misrepresentations, fraud, thievery and outright villainy in all matters involving Indian people.

www.indiancountry.com

<-- -->

I don't know how the above will look or if this post will work. For some reason when I preview I get the spam message. I'm listing the basic img tag for posting a pic.

right click on the item that you want to post
go on down to the properties (where is that & how do you get it??)
click on properties
highlight the url address

thanks - I appreciate your help and patience.

I get that silly ? mark for its all in the tag.

I'm getting that warm rosy glow..
Submitted by maggiesboy on Sun, 12/16/2007 - 7:30pm.

I WISH I WERE GETTING A WARM ROSY GLOW.

Right click on the photo, you'll get a pop up menu. Select "Copy Image Address".

Once you have that in your clipboard you just need to past it in the img tag which starts with a < which is then followed by img scr= then you paste your address in between 2 quotes and end it with a /> tag.

...like you I've been feeling like crap for the past two weeks. I need this just to break the seemingly endless state of malaise.

Madison.com

U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and two other senior members of the House Judiciary Committee have called for the immediate opening of impeachment hearings for Vice President Richard Cheney.

Baldwin and fellow Democrats Robert Wexler of Florida and Luis Gutierrez of Illinois on Friday distributed a statement, "A Case for Hearings," that declares, "The issues at hand are too serious to ignore, including credible allegations of abuse of power that if proven may well constitute high crimes and misdemeanors under our Constitution. The charges against Vice President Cheney relate to his deceptive actions leading up to the Iraq war, the revelation of the identity of a covert agent for political retaliation, and the illegal wiretapping of American citizens."

In particular, the Judiciary Committee members cite the recent revelation by former White House press secretary Scott McClellan that the vice president and his staff purposefully gave him false information about the outing of Valerie Plame Wilson as a covert agent as part of a White House campaign to discredit her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson.

On the basis of McClellan's statements, Baldwin, Wexler and Gutierrez say, "it is even more important for Congress to investigate what may have been an intentional obstruction of justice." The three House members argue that "Congress should call Mr. McClellan to testify about what he described as being asked to 'unknowingly (pass) along false information.' "

Adding to the sense of urgency, the members argue that "recent revelations have shown that the administration including Vice President Cheney may have again manipulated and exaggerated evidence about weapons of mass destruction -- this time about Iran's nuclear capabilities."

Although Baldwin, Wexler and Gutierrez are close to Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers, getting the Michigan Democrat to open hearings on impeachment will not necessarily be easy. Though Conyers was a leader in suggesting during the last Congress that both President Bush and Vice President Cheney had committed impeachable offenses, he has been under pressure from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to keep constitutional remedies for executive excesses "off the table" in this Congress........

Free Democracy

http://www.cnbc.com/id/22261460

It's shaping up to be a blue bonus season for employees at Merrill Lynch.

Probable, continued massive writedowns at the investment bank are weighing on company profits, an effect that will be felt in the investment bank's traditional annual bonuses, CNBC has learned.

Fixed-income traders will be hit the hardest, with bonuses in that department likely to drop 40 percent on average and in some cases as much as 70 to 80 percent, sources.

The cutbacks stem primarily from additional subprime writedowns the firm is facing. Sources said the total could run an additional $3 billion to $6 billion -- which would be on top of the $8.4 billion in writedowns that Merrill already has seen.

..I usually copy the image, not the image address, save it to my desktop, ftp it to my website and use that address. That way I never have problems connecting to the picuture.

Now you know how they could afford an hour length commercial for their underwear.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-tasini/victorias-secret-slave-_b_...

"...Victoria Secret exposes the exact fallacy of so-called "free trade."

My friends at the National Labor Committee have just released a report on some appalling conditions at Victoria Secret production facilities in Jordan:

D.K. Garments is a subcontract factory with 150 foreign guest workers (135 from Bangladesh and 15 from Sri Lanka), which has been producing Victoria's Secret garments for the last year. None of the workers have been provided their necessary residency permits, without which they cannot venture outside the industrial park without fear of being stopped by the police and perhaps imprisoned for lack of proper documents.

That was displayed because it's essentially and empty tag. I thought I could trick the blog app by placing it inside the html <-- --> comment tags. This really is not my forte, I was big into writing database apps and only picked up enough html to get into trouble.

When Marc said "My wife left 6 months ago" and Sam countered with the ukulele remark, cracked me up.

maggiesboy - Im gonna try it... it will probably take me a little while but Im determined. Thanks again

Hey Kev - how are you?? I love the little dude that runs around on fire.
Hope things are well with you & yours.

That's all I used when I was in Winders. Now that I use an iMac I don't use it as much as Safari (the apple browser) works pretty good.

I did try out Opera during the show to use the Sammy Cam/blog feature and loved it that you could refresh the two frames independently. You can't do that in Safari and I use two windows so I don't have to refresh the SammyCam every time I refresh the blog.

I may start using Opera just for SoS as it's a lot less stressful having everything in one window.

..when you launch the player it should download a .pls file and automatically start the show in iTunes. Let me know if it doesn't.

I'm uploading 54MG audio file to MediaFire right now,
should be available in a half hour.
40kbps/24khz stereo
Includes post show bumpers.
: )

you sound like you know what the hell is going on maggiesboy.
I need all the help I can get...

...in reality I'm a box 'o rocks. I only know stuff cuz I've made every possible stoopid compter goof that can be made.

I'm d/l'ing Brett's mp3 (of the last Maron v Seder)--it wants to take about 1-3/4 hours. After that, I'll d/l itunes so I can deal w/.pls files. After that, I'll d/l Opera. LOL. I'll be busy!

I use something on my iMac called Audio Hijack Pro that does a nice job get the audio and then I slice and dice with another app from the same company called Fusion.

The oceans are already 30 percent more acidic than they were at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, as they absorb 22 tons of carbon dioxide a day. By the end of the century, they could be 150 percent more acidic.
Originally, scientists thought the oceans could be one of the solutions to the buildup of greenhouse gases, as they absorb about one-third of the carbon dioxide that's emitted worldwide. But they now know that the fundamental chemistry of the oceans has changed, and the possible impacts seem to grow more nightmarish as research accelerates.

"It seems like it is a one-way street, and that is alarming," said Steven Emerson, a professor of oceanography at the University of Washington. "The pH of the oceans could be lowered permanently."
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/23138.html

There is now a 6.1 that can record the video too.
I should upgrade sometime.

: )

The plus of d/ling is you can control when and where you want to hear it.

The plus of streaming, as on BlueRoots, is up to 500 peeps can listen to the same thing at the same time w/o the lag of downloading the big file.

If you download and install iTunes first, you can listen to stream while you're downloading the mp3.

The con of streaming is you're reliant on the broadcaster's schedule which in my case means you could just ask to hear something and I can play it. I rarely have more than 1 or 2 listeners at any one time.

Oh shit, I just checked. It's a new world record! 6 listeners, counting me.

Break out the champagne!

I used Radio Replay and recorded the first year from March thru Dec, Morning Sedition, UnFiltered, Majority Report, ROF and Laura Flanders.

It's amazing how the technology has progressed. Seems like yesterday I was banging on bulletin boards and paying my CompuServe subscription. ;-)

It's good of you to step up and offer the service. Makes a lot of peeps happy.

That helps a lot! I tried to stream RoF and the mp3 d/l immediately said it would take 4 hours! So, I'm listening to NPR. Looks like BlueRoots will be the way to go in the future. It's a shame I'm so puter illiterate these days.

Back when Sam first started the Seder v Maron, I was able to get both the video and sound. No more. DSL should fix that right up!

Thanks again maggiesboy and Brett!

Cindy Sheehan: Impeach Pelosi for collaboration with Bush administration on torture

by Abdus-Sattar Ghazali Page 1 of 1 page(s)

http://www.opednews.com

Newark, CA: Peace activist, Cindy Sheehan says that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi collaborated with the Bush administration in condoning torture because Pelosi knew about water boarding torture since 2002. “Even before becoming Speaker of the House of Representative, she said that impeachment of Bush is out of question.” She should be impeached for knowing about torture which dehumanize us all, she added.

Washington Post reported last week that in September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrat Rep. Jane Harman, was given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.

can have limits. I post songs from a free service that has file size limits, so I don't use it for the show recordings. That other service allows listening whilst downloading. MediaFire is free, but you gotta grab the whole thing before listening.

Money's tight for me right now, otherwise I'd pay the fee to remove limits on file size. You know how it goes.

:)

Missing the first 15 seconds, sorry, otherwise nearly flawless, yet unedited.
Here: http://www.mediafire.com/?4is1aqjdjce

'I would not have a pink house'

by PageOneQ

GOP Presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney made sure the American people knew something important about the color of his house.

This is what a Mormon asshole sounds like!

www.rawstory.com

I kinda got tricked into my deal. I thought I was in a month to month situation and didn't read the fine print. I have a year long contract but here's what I get:

200 Mb storage
Ability to do live broadcasts
Hands free programming
Free software for uploading
Free software for doing live stuff (like that's gonna happen)
...other stuff I can't remember.

I also have a website for the radio station with lots of storage space. If you want, go to BRR website and send me an email though that link. Mabye I can hook you up with some free storage space for you mp3's.

Thanks MB, got it. I'll email you in a bit. It's supper time here.

:)

Dodd, FISA and the Filibuster — How It’s Going To Go Down and What You Can Do
By: Jane Hamsher Sunday December 16, 2007 12:03 pm

The latest word from the Dodd camp regarding what will happen on the FISA bill is that tomorrow, Dodd will take the floor and not yield.

He can take "questions" from other senators during the filibuster, which can be no more than 20 minutes. We understand that Kennedy and Feingold so far have agreed to do this.

They're asking for people to express their thoughts on the subject and leave them in the comments below. Dodd is going to have plenty of time to read, so if you'd like to have your feelings on the matter read on the Senate floor you can leave your them in the comments below.

Go Dodd.

http://firedoglake.com/2007/12/16/dodd-fisa-and-the-filibuster-how-its-g...

The 401(k) Myth

Posted on Dec 12, 2007

By Marie Cocco

WASHINGTON—The great 401(k) bonanza may well turn out to be a bust for most workers. This is not news to millions who know their account balances, or to low-income workers whose employers rarely offer them the chance to open an account.

In the 1980s and, especially, the go-go 1990s, the 401(k) was the wondrous new invention that was supposed to make assembly-line workers capable of becoming rich, in retirement, through their own industriousness and, lest we forget, the magic of the stock market. The myth began to fade amid Wall Street’s uncertainty during the past decade. It should be buried—deeply—with the latest Government Accountability Office report on the savings plans that have become the primary form of pensions available to that half of the private work force that has any pension at all.

Projecting retirement savings based on those currently participating in 401(k)-style plans, the GAO found that the youngest workers—those who’ve been told from the start that their jobs would provide no traditional, fixed-benefit pensions of the sort that their grandparents or parents might rely on—face the prospect of paltry incomes in old age. More than a third of those born in 1990 could be predicted to have no savings at all in retirement, the GAO found. Among the lowest-income workers, 63 percent would have no savings in their plans when they retire.

What about more diligent savers? Overall, the GAO found that as a group these retirees would have an average income of about $18,784 a year, or just over $1,500 a month. Among the highest-income workers, a fund balance that is used exclusively for monthly income—not for extravagant extras—would be $50,098 a year.

“Some will have very little, some will have almost nothing, and some will have nothing when they retire,” says Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., who chairs the House subcommittee on health, employment, labor and pensions.

Flaws in the very structure of 401(k) plans are at the root of why they don’t work well. No employer is required to offer a 401(k), let alone provide one for every worker. The GAO found that only a quarter of the lowest-income workers were offered any type of retirement plan. Among low-wage workers who could save through a 401(k), only 8 percent chose to participate. Making enrollment automatic, rather than optional, would particularly help those working for low wages, the report suggested.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20071212_the_401k_myth/

Just wanted to say thanks for doin' much of my leg work this week. I "liberated" several of your links this week to fill time on my lil' show.

Much appreciated!

I'd pay you but the budget for research is $0. As are the budgets for programming, insurance, rent, supplies.....

Thanks to you and Alice. Haven't seen her about today.

RAW STORY

Nearly 1,300 words into Sunday's New York Times article revealing new details of the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program, the lawyer for an AT&T engineer alleges that "within two weeks of taking office, the Bush administration was planning a comprehensive effort of spying on Americans’ phone usage.”

In a New Jersey federal court case, the engineer claims that AT&T sought to create a phone center that would give the NSA access to "all the global phone and e-mail traffic that ran through" a New Jersey network hub.

The former AT&T employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Times said he took part in several discussions with agency officials about the plan.

"The officials, he said, discussed ways to duplicate the Bedminster system in Maryland so the agency “could listen in” with unfettered access to communications that it believed had intelligence value and store them for later review," Times reporters Eric Lichtblau, James Risen and Scott Shane wrote. "There was no discussion of limiting the monitoring to international communications, he said."

“At some point,” he told the paper, “I started feeling something isn’t right.”.....

Link to NYT article

Mexico peyote site suffers onslaught of tourists, mining “Pity the peyote, the legendary cactus whose hallucinogenic powers inspired gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson and an entire generation of hippies. This ground-hugging native of Mexico’s northern desert is in danger of disappearing, a victim of psychedelic tourism, silver mining and greenhouse tomatoes. … Consuming peyote is legal in San Luis Potosi, a curious loophole that for decades has drawn thousands of druggies to the desert. As long as no one tries to take the cactus home that would be trafficking and could lead to 10 years or more in prison they’re free to make as many psychedelic trips as they want. Copley News Service (12/9/07)

www.guerrillanews.com

– From Latin America to Iraq “Like rendition, disappearances can’t be carried out without a synchronized, sophisticated, and increasingly transnational infrastructure, which, back in the 1960s and 1970s, the United States was instrumental in creating. In fact, it was in Latin America that the CIA and U.S. military intelligence agents, working closely with local allies, first helped put into place the unholy trinity of government-sponsored terrorism now on display in Iraq and elsewhere: death squads, disappearances, and torture.” TomDispatch.com (12/11/07)

www.guerrillanews.com

maggiesboy.

We have to no what is going on.

Now here's a cause worth fighting for! ;-)

..makes cats look like amateurs.

The author, Ben Wallace-Wells, is a guest on the week’s This is Hell, he writes, “At the headquarters of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in Washington, staffers tacked up a poster with photographs of sixteen of its most wanted men, cartel leaders from across the Andes. Solemnly, ceremoniously, a staffer took a red magic marker and drew an X over Escobar’s portrait. ‘We felt like it was one down, fifteen to go,’ recalls John Carnevale, the longtime budget director of the drug-control office. ‘There was this feeling that if we got all sixteen, it’s not like the whole thing would be over, but that was a big part of how we would go about winning the War on Drugs.’ … This is the story of how that momentary success turned into one of the most sustained and costly defeats the United States has ever suffered. It is the story of how the most powerful country on Earth, sensing a piñata, swung to hit it and missed.”

www.guerrillanews.com

Fleischer attacks Huckabee for criticizing Bush. President Bush’s former spokesman Ari Fleischer today called Mike Huckabee’s Foreign Affairs comments “unwarranted and unwise“:

There is much to like about Mike Huckabee. But he will serve Republican primary voters, and our nation, better if he focused his criticisms on the Democrats who will run against our eventual nominee and not on the President who has kept us safe.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/16/huckabee-%e2%80%98i-don%...

Yesterday, Mitt Romney also said that Huckabee “ought to be saying thank you to the president for keeping us safe these last six years.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/12/15/politics/fromtheroad/entry362213...

...first win the war on poverty.

We don't need another prison...

We need economic justice.

Quote of the Day
"He seems like a nice charming guy... doesn’t believe in evolution and has some nutty views about what it is we should do about ending violence in our inner city — we should make sure all of our young people are armed. Republicans scare me."

-- Elizabeth Edwards, quoted by ABC News, describing GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

Bush Seeks Control Over Promotion of Military Lawyers
By Jeralyn, Section Law Related
Posted on Sun Dec 16, 2007 at 01:28:41 PM EST

In another outrageous attempt at grabbing power that does not belong to it, the Bush Administration is now seeking to control which military lawyers get promotions:

The Bush administration is pushing to take control of the promotions of military lawyers, escalating a conflict over the independence of uniformed attorneys who have repeatedly raised objections to the White House's policies toward prisoners in the war on terrorism.

The administration has proposed a regulation requiring "coordination" with politically appointed Pentagon lawyers before any member of the Judge Advocate General corps - the military's 4,000-member uniformed legal force - can be promoted.

In a nutshell,

Under the current system, boards of military officers pick who will join the JAG corps and who will be promoted, while the general counsels' role is limited to reviewing whether the boards followed correct procedures. The proposed rule would impose a new requirement of "coordination" with the general counsels of the services and the Pentagon during the JAG appointment and promotion process.

It's our unitary executive at work again. [More...]

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/12/16/142841/71

..gotta love it!

I'm a simple man originally from a small town in Kansas. I try to keep up with all this news but I know in my heart of hearts, what goes around, comes around. The R's can make all their "own reality" they want, but you will reap what you sow and I'd so hate to be one of you right now.

The pendulum swings both ways. It's knowing what to do when it swings your way is what really matters.

Keep 'em comin t-, you're making my evening!

Lieberman's New Kiss of Death

The Nation

Senator Joe Lieberman will finally come clean on Monday, unleashing his inner-Republican to endorse the struggling campaign of Senator John McCain, according to several news reports. It is a bittersweet alliance for both men. Lieberman's move confirms his critics' longtime argument that he is a "Democrat in Name Only," while McCain looks desperate by leaning on backers beyond the G.O.P. base in the homestretch of a partisan primary........

...that post about the military lawyers makes perfect sense.

I smell Rove all over this. It's just another cheap-shot/dirty-trick designed to win at any cost. They've realized that if you control the courts and prosecutors you can freely steal at will.

Am I right?

Congress will defy Justice Dept. on destroyed CIA tapes; Harman: 'We're in Constitutional crisis'
Mike Sheehan and David Edwards
Published: Sunday December 16, 2007

Despite the Justice Department's objections, a Congressional panel will press ahead with its investigation into destroyed CIA interrogation tapes, according to a key Republican on the panel.

"I think we will issue subpoenas," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), the House Intelligence Committee's ranking Republican, on Fox News Sunday (video below). "And once these witness appear in front of the committee, then I think we'll have to make the decision as to whether we're going to provide them with immunity or not. But our investigation should move forward."

As RAW STORY reported earlier, the Justice Department has refused outright to hand over any information about interrogation tapes destroyed by the CIA two years ago.

"The CIA did not tell us about the existence of these tapes," Hoekstra argued. "They did not tell us that they were going to be destroyed. ... [T]here's a Constitutional responsibility for them to keep Congress informed and they have not and we need to hold them accountable."

Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), a top Democrat on the panel, says, "I am worried. It smells like the cover-up of the cover-up. ... Congress does absolutely need to exercise its Constitutional responsibility. We're an independent branch of government and we can do this very well."

Of White House stonewalling on the investigation, Harman says, "We have a system of checks and balances and it's broken. We're in Constitutional crisis because of the arrogant view of some in this administration that they can decide what the policy is, write the legal opinions to justify that policy and be accountable to no one."

A transcript of the Congressmemebers' appearance on Fox News Sunday follows the video.

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Harman_sees_Constitutional_crisis_over_CIA...

What a ticket: McCain/Lieberman

Man, you coulda fooled me. I haven't seen any real checking and/or balancing since the R's broke it in the early 90's under Newt.

Now the question is do you have the knowledge and will to exercise your checks and balances?

I honestly think you don't.

Prove me wrong.

Amicus Filed in Federal - NY State Lawsuit Over Voting Machines The suit seeks to avert the possible Department of Justice takeover of NY's '08 federal election and their mandating the purchase of electronic equipment shown to be error- and manipulation-prone.The brief argues that NY's currently-used mechanical lever voting machines are legal under the federal HAVA,if supplemented by accessible ballot-marking equipment for voters with special needs.Also that hand-counting 2 federal races

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_press_re_071215_amicus_brief_fil...

Why is Reid not skeptical of Bush's demand for telecom immunity?

Front paged at Booman Tribune and ePluribus Media

I’ll start right at the outset of this by pointing out that when Tom Daschle lost his election, Chris Dodd lost to Harry Reid by one vote to become the Senate Minority Leader. Both drational and booman have excellent posts up about Reid screwing over Dodd and the rest of the country on the FISA bill with respect to telecom immunity. With this, instead of asking what could have been if Dodd had one more vote, let’s use this to push for what will be (if Dodd doesn’t win the Presidency, of course).

While their diaries are excellent, I want to take a different angle here, and I have action items directly from Dodd himself at the bottom of this post. What I want to know is, if Bush is pushing so hard for retroactive immunity for the telecom companies in their illegal acts, then why is Reid (and Sen. Jay Rockefeller) so hell bent on going against his own party, including many of the Presidential candidates in order to accommodate this?

Some say that it is because they received money from the telecom companies. While that may be a contributing factor, there are many other ways to not have the telecom companies be completely and totally liable for their illegal actions. There are also a number of ways to do this without also accommodating Mister Bush’s demands with no compromise from him.

Back in August, the Washington Post had an article titled, NSA Spying Part of Broader Effort, which confirmed a number of things that were pretty damning to Bush (emphasis mine):

The Bush administration's chief intelligence official said yesterday that President Bush authorized a series of secret surveillance activities under a single executive order in late 2001. The disclosure makes clear that a controversial National Security Agency program was part of a much broader operation than the president previously described.

The disclosure by Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, appears to be the first time that the administration has publicly acknowledged that Bush's order included undisclosed activities beyond the warrantless surveillance of e-mails and phone calls that Bush confirmed in December 2005.

---snip---

News reports over the past 20 months have detailed a range of activities linked to the program, including the use of data mining to identify surveillance targets and the participation of telecommunication companies in turning over millions of phone records. The administration has not publicly confirmed such reports.

We know from this, as well as other articles that were released and written about since then that the NSA was collecting data and phone records using the help of the telecom companies as well as Bush’s involvement in this and that this was pretty much unprecedented.

On his website, Senator Feingold has a copy of the letter sent to Reid about adopting a version of the FISA bill that does not include retroactive immunity. And a few months back, a number of articles indicated that the White House “cut a deal with the Senate Intelligence Committee for it to review documents not available to anyone else in exchange for providing retroactive immunity:

Senate Judiciary Committee members yesterday angrily accused the White House of allowing the Senate Intelligence Committee to review documents on its warrantless surveillance program in return for agreeing that telecommunications companies should get immunity from lawsuits.

http://www.political-nexus.blogspot.com/

Fascism

I'll be back for this one. Thanks toniD.

Off to crash for the night..

maggiesboy.

Leaving soon myself.

how to be home every day this week for Randi's show. Sam gets a whole different audience with Randi and Malloy. They are usually fun shows.

Submitted by Brett on Sun, 12/16/2007 - 7:57pm.
thank you. Hey I have a bit of space. If you want to ever send me a file to put up for you.

t. That's wonderful. I saw a pic of him on NYT front page today, looked like something from Nightmare before Xmas.

Guilliani: Mirror, Mirror, on the wall. Why do women love me so?

Mirror: It's not you they love.

Can you set that one up at your site in an on-site player?
I did it to help people with dial-up get sammy cam audio, but downloading 54mg's can take forever for those folks.
what ya think?

:}

Seder on Sunday 12-16-07 mp3
Submitted by Brett on Sun, 12/16/2007 - 8:27pm.

Missing the first 15 seconds, sorry, otherwise nearly flawless, yet unedited.
Here: http://www.mediafire.com/?4is1aqjdjce

Yo Pete - re: the recipe. Tried it, me and the fam loved it. Thanks!

I am passing out tired right now. Can I get it done in the AM if I pass out?

In honor of Crank Bait - my favorite atheist.

The story is told of the Atheist who accosted a preacher. "Do you believe in eternal life?" The preacher has no time to reply. "Well its a load of rubbish!" shouted the Atheist. "I believe in science, evolution, survival of the fittest, and when we die, that's it! No eternal life, no great judgement, and no God!" The Atheist continues repetitiously and tirelessly. "Eternal life! Eternal life! Ha! "Its all pie in the sky when you die." When I die that's it, the end, no eternal life, no nothing." He continues, until he reaches his climax, "I will be buried six feet under when I die and that's it! Nothing! Caput! When I die I am utterly convinced that that will be the end of me!"

"Well thank God for that!" replies the preacher...

Heh.

'night!

Thank god I'm an atheist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjjeU5AXMBY

Hello, Alice

The d/l took about 4 hrs, then I listened (it seemed to be abt 52 minutes long)--from your first link, not the latest one. Now I'm d/l'ing itunes, scheduled to take abt 3 hrs so I'm going to bed. Then I'll get Opera. Whew. Hope my puter guy gets back to me soon abt DSL.

Lots of errands tomorrow but I'm very excited abt Sammy on Randi and will try to be back here for the live event--normally I stream from NovaM--is that live? I dunno. Too pooped to think straight. This whole world is getting me down some days. Bits of sanity like this place really, really help!

Nighters all :) and thanks to everyone for the help, links, advice, articles, recipe!

http://www.freedomadvocates.org/snippets/196/penn-and-teller-impressiona...

Penn is such an ass, isn't he.

heh

'It's the Cheshire Cat: now I shall have somebody to talk to.'

'How are you getting on?'...
lately, dada?

What's new(s)?

Peace is not a proper objective. Jews moved into Israel to fulfill religious and nationalist objectives. If peace and security are the utmost objectives, Israelis should move to Canada.

http://samsonblinded.org/blog/we-need-a-respite-from-peace.htm

Since you won't listen to your common sense, I'm trying hypnosis.

Playing music, moved out of my art studio, working alot, lurking on the Rigorous Intuition blog, hanging out with my brother...

http://www.hermetic.com/spare/anathema.html

I, who enjoy my body with unweary tread, would rather pack with wolves than enter your pest-houses.

*shrugs shoulders*

Does the person who runs that site blog here? Or used to?

Years ago there was a really beautiful photo of a woman on the front of that site...good site I remember...

*

http://insurgelicious.blogspot.com/2007/12/philosophy-of-funk.html
-by Marco Hewitt

...
It's like the dichotomy in our lives between clock/calendar time (a priori and external) and time as it is lived. When lived time and external (transcendentalist) clock/calendar time wholly align, that is when we get the "dead time" of capitalism, that the Situationists wrote about.

Ideally, the two times should slip in and out of each other, in a kind of dynamical system... In funk, this is exactly what happens. A kind of aural dynamical system is formed between order and chaos: two contradicting metres, which play off against each other, but which, in every bar, come together on the "one". The "one" becomes the "attractor point" (as per chaos theory) of the dynamical system! Without this attractor, we would only have cacophany and discordance. In chaos theory, the border-region between order and chaos is called "the edge of chaos"; or what I have been referring to in my work as "the horizon". Funk, like Jazz, then, is perhaps a perfect metaphor.
...

The Johnson Family is a cooperative structure. There isn't any boss man. People know what they are supposed to do and they do it. We're all actors and we change roles. Today's millionaire may be tomorrow's busboy. There's none of that ruling-class old school tie.... "Hey boy, manicure my toenails and look sharp about it ... and you, boy, don't slack at the ceiling fan, I'm sweating my bloody balls off ... saddle my horse, nigger....

We are showing that an organization and a very effective organization can run without boss-man dog-eat-dog fear.

After such knowledge, what forgiveness?

-The Place of Dead Roads

Based on the looks of Huckabee's kid...
Submitted by drshatterhand on Sun, 12/16/2007 - 6:16pm.
Did he cook and eat the dog after he killed it?
----------------------------
---Based On King Bait's Bible: Translation #461, Edition #572, Expurgations At Random---

From The Book Of Iata (pronounced "I Ate A"), Chapter "Dinnertime", Verse "Satiated":

For he then ate of the canine, and he was happy, and he was pure, for he only chewed using the dentures therein his mouth as those blessed as "canines," and he knew that it was good. For the lamb of Fido was medium rare (hereafter known as "dog"), and properly and justly grilled just so, as to provide a Godly caramelized crust thereon a succulent juicily meaty substance.

And he said, "It is good." And the chef concurred that the dog was just so. And the tip was generous. And the waitron pocketed her gratuity in earnest. Earnest (the waitron's unemployed gratuity who drummereth so), pocketed her gratuity en route to the liquor store. And he knew that it was good.

And subsequent patrons, upon hearing of the goodness of the medium rare-nous of the dogsteak said, "We humble ourselves to the Lord, and his succulent creations, even unto man's best friend." And they asked that the waitrons might fetch more. And they did. And it was good, albeit not as warm as it couldeth have been.

And so the largest of them commanded, "Having more than we can fest, we demand of you the Doggy Bags!"

The Maitre d' flated several consonants down the alphabet in shame, but still, he fondle-eth his comically large key in pride.

Nonplussed, but not none so, he added, "Wish thou bags for unbitten bow-wows, or pooper-scooper placements for post-repast promenade particles?"

The crowd grew angry at his petulance. They demanded of him his allegiance to the Lamb of the Lord, without his barking on the heels thereof. And, fearing for his tip, he recounted, and then recounted again use-ething an abacus.

"I am right with the left-overs!" he exclaimed. "And I say unto you, 'Rejoice' and 'Rejoice again', that I may pay my rent."

And they did pay his rent, even as he filled their doggy bags, but not with pooper-scooperisms, but with grilled poodle and the occasional lamb chop, just to even things out.

And even as was the Maitre d' lighted, so were the diners of the Lord. And it was so. Or, at least, so-so. As it was written.

VISIONARY FUTURES: GUIDED COGNITIVE IMAGERY IN TEACHING AND LEARNING ABOUT THE FUTURE Mentions Dr.Caroline Myss & Jane Roberts

Very expensive real estate there.

same money and is at the same 'level'... everyone could focus on the tasks they enjoy....what a rosey picture...

I heard the most amazing music today, someone had put three tennis balls and a towel in a laundry dryer.

Ha...! :)

*

This guy was on coasttocoast last week...

The Hermetic Arts

*

Hi Crank!

*

Sam's show today (I think) splashcast

...sorry. I was temporarily possessed by Woody Allen.

It happens now and again.

I am commanded, why I know not, by him that speaketh. Were it thou, thou little fool, I would tear thee limb from limb. I would bite off thine ears and nose before I began with thee. I would take thy guts for fiddle- strings at the Black Sabbath.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSnj8X1zAZI

It kept changing, but it was just great.
It was chaotic, but it had that pulse. I forget the word that means "the mind interpreting pattern out of chaos," but that was happening.

dada,

I threw this part in for your enjoyment:

And he said, "It is good." And the chef concurred that the dog was just so. And the tip was generous. And the waitron pocketed her gratuity in earnest. Earnest (the waitron's unemployed gratuity who drummereth so), pocketed her gratuity en route to the liquor store. And he knew that it was good.

Thank you, Crank

And I knew that it was good.

Singer Dan Fogelberg dies of cancer at 56

...
Fogelberg urged other men to get tested annually for prostate cancer.

"The medical community suggests this for men over 50, but men with a family history of prostate cancer should start getting tested at age 40," he said.

Nite nite, dada, Crank, Blog...
xo

December 17, 2007 - Do They Know It's War On Christmas Time At All? Edition

It's the last Top 10 of 2007, and what a week it's been. The Bush Administration (1) can't remember when they didn't know about the CIA destroying torture tapes, but it's okay because the Justice Department is on the case. Meanwhile skeletons are leaping out of Mike Huckabee's (2) closet, Dana Perino (8) could use a history lesson, and we take one last look at the Republican Presidential Candidates (10) in another Top 10 Debate Recap. Enjoy, and don't forget the War On Christmas!

check out the market futures. europe is in a nosedive.

Saudi King Abdullah has pardoned a rape victim who had been sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison in a case that sparked international attention, a Saudi newspaper reported.

"Hi. I'm Lee Rayburn, and I am filling in for The Young Turks this week."

Excuse me? "This week?" Meanwhile, the Young Turks' video feed went completely dark at 6 A.M. EST/ 3 Pacific.

Is that show over? AAR at least owes an explanation to us.

-M the a-c

good question. cenk implys that they are negotiating a deal somewhere but can't disclose any details. maybe we will start to see the ascendancy of novam...

it could have been lionel. lee rayburn ain't the turks but he's not bad.

Show Tomorrow at 3PM ET
posted by Cenk 12/16/2007 07:22:00 PM EST

If you like this story, digg it!
Tomorrow morning (Monday morning), Air America has a fill-in host for us on the radio in the morning. Don't panic. Everything is fine.
We are going to do a web based show right here on this website for just tomorrow at 3PM ET, 12Noon PT. We will explain everything then.

Thanks for your patience.

Permalink/Read More (8 comments)

We Hear You
posted by Cenk 12/15/2007 03:59:34 PM EST

If you like this story, digg it!
Guys, we clearly hear you. It's not like we're not checking our own website (I've read everything you guys have written and been amused and impressed by some of the speculation). And I completely understand and more than empathize with your frustration about the lack of news on the show.
Would we tell you exactly what's going on if we could? Of cooouuursssee!!!!

Let me put down two rumors real quick though. This has nothing to do with content or a suspension.

******Finally (for now), we will definitely do a show on Monday.***** Check back into the website to see when and where. Again, We're totally sorry about the confusion and the lack of information.

We just a need little patience and faith that we're looking out for you and that we can't wait to do more shows as soon as possible. Thanks and we love you.

Permalink/Read More (31 comments)

_______________

**** = obviously he was mistaken... HE doesn't even seem to know for certain.. they will explain it later today

-M.

Mr Bubble contradicts himself, again
by Chris in Paris · 12/17/2007 04:07:00 AM ET · Link
Discuss this post here: Comments (5) · reddit · FARK ·· Digg It!

Um, if you pump more money into the subprime crisis, you are artificially inflating prices for everyone else. That would be meddling. That is part of the current problem, so why drag out the misery any longer? It's no wonder this guy became the all time bubble king.
Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, suggested Sunday that a tax break or other government financial help for homeowners facing the mortgage crunch would be the best political fix for the economy.

He cautioned against meddling with home prices or interest rates to address the housing problem.

Greenspan did not specifically call for a tax cut. Instead, he called for the government to apply money to the severe housing market slump. Such a cash infusion would typically come through a tax break or a new government spending program.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071216/ap_on_go_ot/greenspan_economy;_ylt=A...

Bush backs off Bali agreement hours after signing
by Chris in Paris · 12/17/2007 04:20:00 AM ET · Link
Discuss this post here: Comments (13) · reddit · FARK ·· Digg It!

No surprises here except to the rest of the world that actually thought Bush was being sincere when he agreed to nothing and pushed this out for the next president. Same old, same old. Even a signed document with this administration isn't worth the paper it is written on and Congress is too afraid to ever call him out.

Between the Democrats in Congress and the Europeans, I'm not sure who is more gullible. Bush gets a headline, appearing to meet in the middle and no sooner is the ink dry, he's right back to where he was the day before. If anyone out there thinks that Bush will ever stop protecting his wealthy special interests, they're crazy.

(After the jump, the laundry list of excuses why Bali was worthless, according to Perino.)

In a statement, Perino said that aspects the U.S. particularly welcomes include a recognition of the importance of technology in the solution and the role of industry agreements.

But, she said, "the United States does have serious concerns" because the U.N.-sponsored talks have "not yet fully given effect to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities."

Specifically, commitments for emissions cuts cannot be required from developed countries alone, as that would be insufficient to reduce global warming and would be unfair. "Major developing economies must likewise act," Perino said.

Also, requirements of developing countries must be set to reflect factors such as the size of a nation's economy or its emissions level, she said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071216/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_climate;_ylt=Ahq...

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Decline; Fannie Mae, Goldman, Adobe Systems Fall U.S. stock-index futures dropped after an Australian owner of 700 U.S. shopping malls said it's struggling to pay debt and Swiss weekly Sonntag reported UBS AG expects further writedowns on subprime investments.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=agtjVOs2WKIU&refer=n...

"Check back into the website to see when and where."

Sorry. I didn't read this sentence. I just skimmed the paragraphs.

I'm eager to listen to the explanation.

-M.

Russia makes 1st nuke shipment to Iran By JIM HEINTZ, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 8 minutes ago

MOSCOW - Russia has made its first shipment of nuclear fuel to Iran's Bushehr plant, which is at the center of the international tensions over Tehran's nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.

Iran contends the nuclear power plant operation in Bushehr is strictly for civilian purposes, but many critics suspect Tehran intends to use the plant as part of an alleged effort to develop nuclear weapons.

Construction at Bushehr had been frequently delayed. Officials said the delays were due to payment disputes, but many observers suggested Russia also was unhappy with Iran's resistance to international pressure to make its nuclear program more open and to assure the international community that it was not developing nuclear arms.

"All fuel that will be delivered will be under the control and guarantees of the International Atomic Energy Agency for the whole time it stays on Iranian territory," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Moreover, the Iranian side gave additional written guarantees that the fuel will be used only for the Bushehr nuclear power plant."

Russia announced last week that its construction disputes with Iran had been resolved and said fuel deliveries would begin about a half year before Bushehr was expected to go into service.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_on_re_eu/russia_iran_8

CREW to FEC: No campaign funds to pay legal fees of Domenici staff; 'Today, CREW sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) asking that the agency not permit Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) to use his campaign funds to pay for some of his staff’s legal fees incurred as a result of a Senate Ethics Committee investigation. The letter can be found here.'

http://www.citizensforethics.com/node/30598

The Nation: During his 2006 reelection campaign, Lieberman emphasized that he would support Democratic candidates in 2008. "I want Democrats to be back in the majority in Washington and elect a Democratic president in 2008," he said during a televised debate in July. Lieberman promptly backtracked after his reelection, announcing this January that he was "open" to supporting a Republican or Democrat for president, depending "on a whole range of issues." By not even waiting to see who the Democrats nominate, now Lieberman is revealing that the issues aren't important to him, either.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20071217/cm_thenation/45260480

The Permanent Republican Majority - Update...
Folks, I apologize for the delay in getting part III of the Permanent Republican Majority out, but look for it tomorrow at RS. Click on Part I to read the first installment, The Political Prisoner. Click on Part II for my interview with Governor Siegelman's daughter Dana. Also, check out the time-line here.

On Background (not really):

I cannot get into specifics as to why we are delayed a bit, but suffice it to say that people talking to us are feeling a great deal of heat.

In addition, I am hearing from multiple sources that the whistle-blower in the case, Dana Jill Simpson is now under investigation by US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, Alice Martin and that Ms. Martin is having Ms. Simpson tailed. Unfortunately I don't have enough specifics to have included this in my upcoming article, but perhaps if Congress is interested they can call Ms. Martin for an explanation.

One other thing I heard a great deal about recently is that despite the valiant efforts of the journalists and producers who put 60 Minutes together, Governor Bob Riley is bragging to have squashed the expose via corporate channels. This would not be the first time the corporate owners of 60 Minutes caved to the pressures of big money and political pressure. I am, hoping, however that if the public remains aware of what is going on, CBS corporate will air the story. It is up to you to keep the pressure on.

Let me put it another way and for the benefit of the CBS executives who are standing between solid journalism and the right of the public to know the truth:

By the time part V of our series runs, CBS will either have aired the story or killed it quietly hoping no one would notice. But just so we are all clear, I know what CBS is sitting on and although I am not investigating that angle, I will not hesitate to scoop their story if they don't stand by their promise to give their sources the protection of public exposure. I will not hesitate for a moment to also include CBS corporate as part of my story either.

Again, I am not addressing the fine work of the producers and journalists working for 60 Minutes. I am specifically addressing CBS corporate, the executives I am hearing about and if the allegations are true, then they are effectively planning to censor the work of their investigative team. Either way the truth will come out.

http://www.atlargely.com/2007/12/the-permanent-r.html

Raw Story has the posts and will update there.

By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY
More people are requesting emergency food aid and more homeless families with children are seeking shelter, concludes a 23-city survey released Monday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Four of five cities say requests for food aid rose an average of 12% from the previous year, according to the survey for the period covering November 2006 through October 2007. Most cities had reported a jump in such requests the prior year as well.

Ten of 14 cities with data on homeless families say more families with children sought emergency shelter and transitional housing. About half of the cities say their overall homeless problem increased. Collectively, the cities report giving shelter to 193,183 people.

"We're heading in the wrong direction because of poverty, unemployment and housing costs," says Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer, president of the mayors conference. He added that the full effects of record mortgage foreclosures have yet to be seen. The report does cite some progress. Of 11 cities with data on homeless adults seeking shelter, five — Louisville; Nashville; Philadelphia; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle — report a decline. Also, the length of stays in shelters and transitional housing for single adults and families shortened.

Last month, the federal government reported a 12% decline in the number of chronically homeless adults who live on the streets or in emergency shelters. The number fell to 155,623 in January 2006 from 175,914 in January 2005, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson says the numbers "show remarkable progress is being made." He attributed the decline to better reporting and more local and federal resources for permanent housing, health care and other services.

Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie takes little comfort in HUD's numbers.

He says chronically homeless adults account for only 10% of all homeless people. "There are still more people needing help."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-16-mayor-report_N.htm?csp=34

An Item That We Just Couldn't Hold Back: Connie Mack and Mary Bono Tie The Knot In Asheville, NC. What Was Their Wedding Song? You Got Me Babe?

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Connie_Mack_and_Mary_Bono_Tie_The_Knot_In...

The Investigations of the Destruction of CIA Torture Tapes: How An ACLU Lawsuit Might Force the Bush Administration To Reveal What Actually Happened
By JOHN W. DEAN

By my count, there appear to be no less than ten preliminary investigations underway, following the revelation that the CIA destroyed at least two sets of videotapes (containing hundreds of hours of footage) of "advanced interrogation" techniques being employed in terrorism investigations. In fact, every branch of government is now involved.

Within the Executive Branch, according to news reports, the CIA's General Counsel and Inspector General are investigating. The Department of Justice is investigating. On Capitol Hill, both the Senate and House Intelligence Committees are investigating. In addition, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is inquiring as to whether the Federal Records Act has been violated. And Senator Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, has made preliminary inquiries as well.

The Bush Administration has shown that it is not very good at investigating itself, so no one should hold their breath for the outcome of either the CIA or Justice Department investigation. And Attorney General Mukasey has dismissed an independent special counsel inquiry as very premature. The Democratic-controlled Congress could get to the bottom of all this, but one should bear in mind that our elected representatives have yet to get to the bottom of the political firing of U.S. Attorneys (although, to be fair, they did get former Attorney General Gonzales to resign). Today, Congress suffers from a degenerative spinal malady, and while they can bark, they appear unable to bite.

There are three court orders that may have been violated, but one in particular strikes me as a very serious problem for the CIA. Accordingly, we may well be in the unique situation in which a pending civil lawsuit might flush out some answers, and the federal judiciary might thus embarrass the other branches into actually taking meaningful action. I say "might" because the Bush Administration thinks nothing of stiffing federal court judges who seek information, and they probably figure they can tap-dance for the federal judiciary - along with all the other inquiries -- until they are out of Washington on January 20, 2009.

More here:

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20071214.html

"The few, the powerful, the well-financed, they now control the government," John Edwards told a tight crowd of about 350 last week. "They've taken over your democracy. And it affects everything that happens in this country." "Everything," he emphasized.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-edwards_bddec16,1,282...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The leader of a megachurch where a gunman opened fire a week earlier, killing two teenage sisters and wounding three other people, said Sunday that the congregation's trials of the past couple of years were nothing more than tests.

"Last weekend was a test ... but we are passing the test," said the Rev. Brady Boyd, New Life Church senior pastor, on a bright, sunny day when snow-capped Pikes Peak could be seen from the church grounds.

========

while i think this shows how silly religion can be, it does beg the question:

what would jesus pack?

December 17, 2007
For Recipients of Medicare, the Hard Sell
By ROBERT PEAR
COLUMBUS, Miss. — Dorothy K. Barksdale, a 70-year-old seamstress, vividly remembers the day an insurance agent visited her home and signed her up for a private Medicare health plan.

“He put his foot inside my door and kept talking,” Ms. Barksdale said. “I told him that I don’t need any kind of insurance. He pushed his way into my apartment, sat down, asked me questions and started writing papers.”

Such experiences help explain why Ms. Barksdale and some of her neighbors here in eastern Mississippi are wary of the sales pitches they are now receiving again. Many said they had been tricked into enrolling in private Medicare plans, sometimes without realizing it.

The Bush administration, responding to earlier reports of deceptive marketing, has tried to crack down on such practices. Federal officials told insurers to monitor their agents more closely, several companies have been fined, and the government sends “secret shoppers” to some advertised sales events to check the accuracy of agents’ statements.

“There are substantially fewer violations, and those violations are of substantially lower severity than in previous marketing periods,” said Kerry N. Weems, the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The government does not have statistics, but interviews by The New York Times in eastern Mississippi and neighboring Alabama suggest that problems persist.

The chief justice of Alabama, Sue Bell Cobb, said that her 83-year-old mother, Thera R. Bell, had been “duped into signing up” for a private Medicare plan.

“The salesman absolutely misrepresented the coverage by Advantra Freedom,” Chief Justice Cobb said in an interview. “He said the plan was a supplement to Medicare and would provide dental care, but he failed to tell her that she would lose her regular Medicare coverage and that her family physician was not a provider.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/us/17medicare.html?ei=5089&en=853f4f30...

from marketwatch:

Another downbeat session looms following Friday's drubbing. Former Fed chief Greenspan warns of rising prices and cooling economy, while Moody's says ratings of bond insurers may get lowered.

WHO KNEW?....Over at Newsweek, the saga of the destroyed CIA interrogation video continues. Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball report that intelligence director John Negroponte provided direction about the tapes to CIA director Porter Goss in a 2005 memo...

...which records that Negroponte strongly advised against destroying the tapes, according to two people close to the investigation, who asked for anonymity when discussing a sensitive matter. The memo is so far the only known documentation that a senior intel official warned that the tapes should not be destroyed.

Later in the piece, they report that Goss was "dismayed" to learn that the tapes had been destroyed, thus perpetuating the story that Jose Rodriguez Jr., then chief of the CIA's National Clandestine Service, destroyed them entirely on his own despite contrary advice from virtually every other person involved in this. And maybe that's true. But Rodriguez is sure looking more and more like a classic fall guy every day, isn't he?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2007_12/012716.php

Rhythmic 5 (6-0.0.0.5)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

white electric mirror ~ kin 198

ACTIVATE in order to REFLECT,
BONDING ORDER
seal the MATRIX of ENDLESSNESS
with the ELECTRIC tone of SERVICE.
guided by the power of SPIRIT.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
◄ 12.19.14.16.9 ≈ uac muluc ►

a cream puff...

his bowl?

that phrase isn't used on the campaign trail much, huh????

will have a web only show today. Starts same time as Sam subs for Rachael. I picked up a TYT membership so I could get their feed directly and will report back if updates don't get out.

I won't speculate because that's just senseless but I hate losing Kent Jones last week and we heard from Sam that cost cutting is on the mind.

As an avid listener of the left, I have to admit that AAR does nothing to make me feel confident. Their line up has been shifting around and in chaos for years. So much is left for us to cover on this end as what ever decisions on that end force.

Clearly, the black listing of progressives by market monopolies has taken its toll and it is time for a better strategy.

Shows need to be sold to individuals, as well as markets.

And one more thing:
http://kiva.org is one of the gift ideas Sam spoke of yesterday.

For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence, on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on gorillas by night instead of armies by day.

I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people.

John F Kennedy on 27 April 1961

Good post..TYT thing is weird..Kent Jones,another Smart,Funny person bites the
dust at Mush For Brains AAR ! Very Sad !

How ya doing ?

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

The Senate is set to begin debate today on a FISA bill that would overhaul the rules for electronic surveillance. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has elected to bring legislation to the Senate floor that would provide retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in the Bush’s administration’s illegal spying efforts. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) will reportedly filibuster the bill. FDL has more.

http://firedoglake.com/2007/12/16/dodd-fisa-and-the-filibuster-how-its-g...

Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) writes of “the case for impeachment hearings.” Along with fellow House Judiciary Committee members Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Wexler is calling for the commencement of impeachment hearings against Vice President Cheney

http://wexlerwantshearings.com/

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, yesterday promised that he will push forward with “a probe into the destruction of CIA videotapes of detainee interrogations, despite a Justice Department request that congressional inquiries be suspended.”

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/17/cia.tapes/

The House-Senate conference report on the FY 2008 intelligence authorization bill “is heavily focused on the use of private contractors by intelligence agencies,” stating that the intelligence community lacks clear definitions of functions to be performed by contractors and whether contractors are performing tasks “that shouldd be performed by government employees.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/16/AR200712...

After much protesting, Progressive Talk was restored in Ohio. While driving home yesterday, I was listening to Seder on Sunday. Of course Sam always delivers. This is what continues to infuriate me.

Why or why is Lionel ( The man that sounds like Sylvester the Cat) on and Sam is not?

S.D. moves to protect sacred butte By CHET BROKAW, Associated Press Writer
Mon Dec 17, 4:08 AM ET

PIERRE, S.D. - For centuries, members of the Lakota, Cheyenne and other American Indian tribes have been climbing Bear Butte to fast and hold religious ceremonies.

Colorful prayer cloths hanging from trees line the path to the top of the mountain, which rises about 1,300 feet above the surrounding plain.

But often, and especially in August, the serenity of the site is disturbed by a deafening roar, caused by thousands of motorcycles.

Indians have sought for years to block development of land around the butte into campgrounds, bars and other sites that could interfere with their religious use of the mountain. Now they have an ally in the governor.

Gov. Mike Rounds wants to spend more than $1 million to prevent developers from putting biker bars and other noisy businesses on ranch land near the mountain on the northern edge of the Black Hills.

Saying he wants to protect the beauty and peace of the religious site, Rounds has proposed using state, federal and private money to buy a perpetual easement that would prevent commercial and residential development of some land on the western side of Bear Butte.

Indians working to protect Bear Butte praise the Republican governor's plan.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_on_re_us/sacred_mountain_2

must be god is testing us. while i used to listen to lionel when he was on at nights, so far i'm failing the test because i can't stand to hear him when it could be sam in the mornings.

Glad to see you on the blog!

Polls show Edwards has best chance to beat any Republican

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two polls released last week say much about that exquisite mixture of issue-free fluff and mind-numbing stupidity we call the presidential primaries.

http://www.alternet.org/story/70781/

Only one thing unites
Iraqis: Hatred for the US

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Americans will discover, as the British learned to their cost in Basra, that they have few permanent allies.

http://www.alternet.org/story/70656/

The FISA Debate Begins
By Senator Russ Feingold | bio
This morning, the Senate starts debating legislation to expand the government's surveillance powers.

Unfortunately, the bill we are going to be considering is the one reported out by the Senate Intelligence Committee in October, S. 2248. It did not have to be this way. Thirteen Senators joined me last week in asking the Majority Leader to instead bring up a bill that includes the changes approved by the Judiciary Committee last month. That bill, while not perfect by any means, was the product of an open process and heeded the advice of many experts and advocates to provide greater protection for the international communications of innocent Americans. And, unlike the Intelligence Committee bill, the Judiciary bill does not provide automatic, retroactive immunity for companies alleged to have cooperated with the administration's illegal warrantless wiretapping program.

By choosing the Intelligence Committee bill over the Judiciary product, Senator Reid has made things much tougher for those of us who think the courts -- not Congress -- should decide whether the companies deserve immunity. He's also made it an uphill struggle of those of us who want more court oversight of the broad new surveillance powers included in the bill.

The first vote will come around noon, on the motion to invoke cloture (or limit debate) on the motion to proceed to (or consider) S. 2248. I expect to speak against the motion before the vote, and will post a link to my remarks after I make them.

We have a big fight on our hands, and unfortunately, the deck is now stacked against us. Instead of being able to defend improvements that were made in the Judiciary Committee, we are going to have to start all over again to try to salvage the good work that was done to improve the bill. This includes adding tougher court oversight and greater protection for the privacy of innocent Americans, and by stripping out the retroactive immunity provision. A vote on the amendment to strike immunity, which Senator Dodd and I will offer, could come fairly soon. We will be pointing out that under current law, companies already get immunity for cooperating with government requests for information -- as long as the requests follow requirements that are clearly laid out in the law. If companies didn't follow this law, and cooperated with illegitimate requests for sensitive information, then we should not hand them a "get out of jail free" card after the fact. Judges should be the ones to make this determination -- and to rule on the legality of the warrantless program.

It's now up to the Senate to stand up for the rule of law and against the misinformation and fear tactics that the administration always rolls out on the surveillance issue. That means Democrats will have to finally stand up to the administration on national security issues. Strong votes in favor of our efforts to improve the bill, even if they don’t succeed, will strengthen our hand as a final bill is negotiated with the House, which passed a much better bill than S. 2248 last month.

http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/specialguests/2007/dec/17/the_fisa_debate_be...

Iowa First Lady Backing Edwards
By Eric Kleefeld - December 16, 2007, 11:01PM
John Edwards is set to pick up a major endorsement in Iowa tomorrow, with the support of Iowa First Lady Mari Culver. It'll be a huge help for Edwards to have Culver on the campaign trail over the next couple weeks.

Gov. Chet Culver is staying officially neutral, but his wife's endorsement could be taken as a not-too-subtle hint of who he's with, much as Tom Vilsack stayed neutral in 2004 while his wife endorsed John Kerry, and New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch's wife is backing Hillary Clinton.

http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/12/iowa_first_lady_backing_edwards.ph...

just askin.

on c-span - they're praying now

I didn't now they pray every time my god! we're further ahead than i thought in our way to theocracy

Don't know. Why'd they vote for Bush?

not in itself but the fact that it's happening

at the destruction of the tapes

dismay my ass - this is an extreme case of cya - these two snakes have no credibility with me

might be wrong but i think they've always done it. what has happened is that the fundies did a double redouble after someone had the (i think) hindu's do a prayer so that it has become a lot more fascistic.

"On all the issues, you're never going to do anything about them unless you have a leader who can break through the partisan gridlock," Lieberman said.

He has Joementum. :P

sorry i haven't been on. having mac problems. i'm off to visit the wise mac geniuses tomorrow. hopefully the disc drive is just out of place and they can pop it back in, or there's dust on the optical lens, or something simple like that.

...but that was before I found out about him, I guess. I thought I knew him then. But I guess I didn't.

NYT:
By ERIC LICHTBLAU, JAMES RISEN and SCOTT SHANE
WASHINGTON — For months, the Bush administration has waged a high-profile campaign, including personal lobbying by President Bush and closed-door briefings by top officials, to persuade Congress to pass legislation protecting companies from lawsuits for aiding the National Security Agency’s warrantless eavesdropping program.

But the battle is really about something much bigger. At stake is the federal government’s extensive but uneasy partnership with industry to conduct a wide range of secret surveillance operations in fighting terrorism and crime.

The N.S.A.’s reliance on telecommunications companies is broader and deeper than ever before, according to government and industry officials, yet that alliance is strained by legal worries and the fear of public exposure.

To detect narcotics trafficking, for example, the government has been collecting the phone records of thousands of Americans and others inside the United States who call people in Latin America, according to several government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the program remains classified. But in 2004, one major phone carrier balked at turning over its customers’ records. Worried about possible privacy violations or public relations problems, company executives declined to help the operation, which has not been previously disclosed.

Con't

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

to hear your show for the first time in about 3 months.

You need to get away from Air America. You're better than that.

during a senate hearing. kit bond is lying thru his teeth claiming that we were unable to gather foreign intelligence because of fisa

unites the blog.

Hatred of everyone who posts anon.

sorry I missed you MMR. I get so distracted.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x76706

This is infuriating!

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

9:50 my time

on c-span

immunity from Fisa! Just saw that on C-Span.

It Looks like Another depressing day !

Dump the Democratic Leadership ! Impeaches ! Accountability !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

AT&T engineer says Bush Administration sought to implement domestic spying within two weeks of taking office

funny that C-Span says Leahy stripped the immunity at the same time that Dodd takes the floor of the Senate.

Paper tigers everywhere.

how anyone can believe anything that comes out of the white house anymore escapes me. everything they say is a lie.

I wish I were recording this.

reid is vermin, i hate all the people in nevada that put this despicable ass in the senate, i hate anyone responsible for making him the maj leader, i hate and seethe - this is so qualitatively different at the rage and hate i feel for the republicans, the outrage at the betraying dems is much wider and deeper so deep i almost fear it could cause me some internal organic damage

bastards

An Agency Which Destroys People, With Impunity
Don't Reform the CIA, Abolish It

By JACOB HORNBERGER

The latest CIA scandal will once again teach Americans a valuable lesson: It is the CIA, not the Congress, that is the ultimate governing authority in this nation. No one messes with the CIA, and the CIA knows it. That's why it knew that it could destroy CIA's torture tapes without asking anyone's permission. And, after all, as Richard Nixon's advisers told him, better to take a bit of heat for destroying the tapes than to take the heat for what the tapes contained.

While there undoubtedly will be a big hub-hub over the destruction of the tapes and possibly some minor slapping of wrists, the CIA knows that no one is going to be sent to jail or severely punished for torture, obstruction of justice, murder, kidnapping, or any other crime. The uncomfortable fact is - the fact that all too many Americans just don't want to face, just as many Germans didn't want to face the truth about the Gestapo - is not that the CIA is above the law but rather that the CIA is the law. It can do whatever it wants with impunity.

The CIA is at the rot at the center of the U.S. Empire. It does the dirty work - the torture, the murders, the assassinations, the regime changes, the coups, the secret prison camps. The secrecy of its operations is guaranteed. No one dares to jack with the CIA. Other federal departments and agencies, as well as Congress, essentially operate in a support role.

Don't forget that this isn't the first time that the CIA has destroyed tapes. Recall that the CIA destroyed its tapes regarding Lee Harvey Oswald's trip to Mexico City prior to the Kennedy assassination.

Con't)

http://www.counterpunch.org/hornberger12132007.html

dodd said leahy stripped the immunity - so that makes him one of the good guys - what's still not clear to me is what happened afterwards and why are we here still fighting the same old fight - what is clear is that reid is the main villain here today

Hi 'nando! MMR! :-)

Sam SEDER has started a new thread

Well,today we are going to probably see if this country is Still a Democracy or,Not !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."