Scottie's not the first nor last

says Sam!

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/05/obama_latin_america_speech_in.ht...

But thanks.
Christie Whitman Sampler, Ari (Eqivocator) Fleischermann, and now Scott (Civil War general?) McClellan?
Who's next? Dana Purino Dog Chow?

http://www.bartcop.com/wb-uncle-sam.jpg

“The collapse of the administration’s rationales for war, which became apparent months after our invasion, should never have come as such a surprise. … In this case, the ‘liberal media’ didn’t live up to its reputation. If it had, the country would have been better served.”

-"Scottie" Mac

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

Online Hate Activity Rises, Extremists Using Web 2.0 Technologies

A report by the Simon Wiesenthal Center highlights how extremists have turned to YouTube, Facebook, online games, and Second Life to recruit new members.

By K.C. Jones
InformationWeek
May 27, 2008 01:23 PM

The Internet has recently experienced the largest increase in online hate activity in 10 years, according to a report released by a Jewish human-rights organization.
"The Simon Wiesenthal Center has been monitoring digital hate for nearly two decades," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center. "As we begin our second decade, we find that as the Internet continues its historic expansion, extremists are keeping pace in the scope in technological sophistication of their efforts. In this election year, the Internet continues to be used to demean and threaten African Americans, Jews, immigrants, gays and virtually every religious denomination."

http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/cybercrime/showArticle.jhtm...

Submitted by Annette on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 1:24am.

They just can't distinguish between Zionists and Jews.

That's all... that's all.

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

He wasn't happy when I left on time this evening after he told me to stay.

But oh well. I had girlscouts/boyscouts.

Could these perhaps be considered sleep aids, Annette? Maybe (prolly not) they'd come in handy just now at an eastcoast hour when there are wide-awake exigencies like, um, five or so hours from now? Can't wait'll we live in that stay-up-late timezone.

Heh..

http://tuxboard1.free.fr/images/christophe-gilbert/1_o_023.jpg

But I make them with real chocolate chips!

Huckabee makes joke about Obama ducking gunfire.

Huckabee jokes about Obama ducking a gunman
Posted: 08:28 PM ET

From CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand

Seriously, what is wrong with these PEOPLE???

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/16/huckabee-jokes-about-oba...

Dincha ever check out Alice B. Toklas's recipe?

Below I noted MSNBC's story tonight about how fmr. Sen. Phil Gramm (McCain's economics advisor) was advising him on his subprime mortgage bailout policy while Gramm was also a registered lobbyist for the Swiss bank UBS.

Now, it's clear from the report that UBS had some exposure on the subprime front. But I wasn't aware of the true extent of it. TPM Reader KB sends in articles Businessweek and Forbes that show just how big a player UBS was. Forbes says that UBS is among the banks worst hit by the global credit crisis, particularly in their direct exposure to the US subprime market. According to Forbes, UBS has some $37 billion in write-downs on assets tied to bad US mortgages. In other words, the bank's very life appears to be on the line in how the US government chooses to handle the matter.

As MSNBC reported, UBS deregistered Gramm as a lobbyist for the company on April 18th, though he continues to serve as a vice chairman of the bank. But that was fully a month after McCain's speech outlining his own approach to the crisis.

Many of the lobbying connections the press has dug up on McCain have been embarassing. But I'm not sure any have really had teeth until this one. After all, how much does the average voter care that Charlie Black represented a lot of foreign dictators? A stench, yes? But finding out that McCain had a major subprime lender bank lobbyist whispering in his ear when McCain told the public that it was basically tough luck if they lost their houses?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/197233.php

ya know?

For now it's beddye bye. But thanks for the scoop, ellwort!

And yeah, mys, you're right. The more I read foreign newspapers, the more uncomfortable I feel here.

Way past witching hour. And this kitty on my lap is fed up with jealousy at this laptop occupying her space on my lap. Happily, the human who is my lover is sending up bubbles of slumber-snores right where we (kitty and I) can touch her and breathe easy.
Let's solve the rest of the world's problems tomorrow.
Good night.
- A

excellent shooting too!

just listened to a clip of Rove's reaction
He said, "It doesn't sound like the Scott I knew at all. He sounds like a left wing blogger."

bwahahahaaa

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

"Marc Maron guest-hosts on "American Afternoon" tomorrow through Friday on Air America, heard locally on WWRL (1600 AM)"

Submitted by Sunshine Jim on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 2:25am.

From his Myspace bulletin:

Hey, Maron here-

Dont know if or how you get it or if you want to but I will be hosting American Afternoons on Air America Radio out of the NYC studios this weds thurs and fri May 28, 29, 30 from 3-6Pm ET.

Listen if you can.

Maron

http://airamerica. com/

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

AArgh getting weirder by the month.

Cant get the AAR webpage to load for some reason?

...but luckily he's overstretched and has underestimated the job of keeping track of us all

By Phil Hendren

27/05/08 "The Times" -- 22/05/08 - -The Government is planning to introduce a giant database that will hold the details of every phone call we have made, every e-mail we have sent and every webpage we have visited in the past 12 months. This is needed to fight crime and terrorism, the Government claims.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19989.htm

John McCain wants to create a new alliance to circumvent the UN. We mustn't let this idea gain consensus in Washington

By Shashi Tharoor

27/05/08 "Guardian"

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19992.htm

By Declan McCullagh

26/05/08 "CNET

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19990.htm

By Stephen Lendman

27/05/08 "Global Research," --

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19998.htm

By Shamus Cooke

27/05/08 -ICH - - As Barack Obama’s anti-war rhetoric is blasted around the US in his attempt to seal the Democratic nomination, his real position on US militarism is being revealed discreetly to his political, military, and corporate colleagues.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19995.htm

A Critique of Stephen Behnke's Letter to the ACLU

By Stephen Soldz

27/05/08 "ICH" --

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19994.htm

By Maria Armoudian and Ankine Aghassian, AlterNet. Posted May 15, 2008.

The world renown activist reminds people that corporation-friendly economic schemes got us into this mess in the first place

http://www.alternet.org/environment/85433/

By Geoffrey Lean, The Independent. Posted May 27, 2008.

The Iraq War means oil costs three times more than it should. How are our lives going to change with oil heading toward $200 a barrel?

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/86515/

Makes a Man Healthy Wealthy and Wise. :)

wtf, get up you loonie lefties

He needs an intellectual spanking, but not in a good way :D

There goes my plans of yardwork. Damn. No biggie though. Guess Illl just hang around, blog and so forth, read stories etc.

Either way I reckon its gonna be a good day as usual. :)

I have a beautiful rabbit that lives in my yard.

BUT, I have a coon or two on my roof.

any tips to get rid of them, there are alot of kids around and those coons are vicious.

Posted : Tue, 27 May 2008 20:41:00 GMT
Author : DPA

Baghdad - Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr Tuesday called on followers to hold weekly protests against a long-term security deal that the Iraqi and US governments are negotiating. A statement from al-Sadr said Iraqis should hold demonstrations every week after Friday prayers in every part of the country "until further notice or until the agreement is cancelled."

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/208332,extra-al-sadr-calls-for-p...

A CENTURY OF CRIMES AGAINST THE FILIPINO PEOPLE

Presentation by Atty. Romeo T. Capulong
Public Interest Law Center
World Tribunal for Iraq
Trial in New York City on August 25, 2004
Distinguished colleagues and friends:
More than a century before the United States invaded and occupied Iraq, the Philippines
had been America’s first victim of aggression in Asia, first, as an object of colonization and,
second, because of the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the Filipino
people. The year was 1898. The Philippine Revolution - launched two years earlier by the
Katipunan led by a worker, Andres Bonifacio - was about to end nearly four centuries of
Spanish colonial rule when the United States intervened on the pretext of helping the
revolutionaries. The invasion by the more barbaric colonial power would be justified by U.S.
President William McKinley as an act of “civilizing” the Filipinos and teaching them
democracy and self-rule.
The Philippines was of course subjugated by the United States not only because of its raw
materials and its potential market for U.S. surplus products but also as a staging point for U.S.
imperialist expansion and interventionism in Asia particularly in China. It was the period when
the United States, as articulated by Theodore Roosevelt, would become a “Pacific power.”
Since then, therefore, the Philippines has served not only as part of America’s global economic
interests but, especially today, as the hub of U.S. military power projection not only in
Southeast Asia but also throughout Asia and beyond.
It is in this context that, for the next century, war crimes would be committed by the United
States against the Filipino people. By extension, the Philippines also served as America’s
staging base in pursuit of its policy of aggression against many countries, first, on the pretext of
containing “communism” and, later, of fighting “terrorism.” Based on U.S. colonial and neocolonial
policies, the Philippines – through the puppet governments propped up by the United
States – became America’s “unwilling” accomplice in committing war crimes and crimes
against humanity in many countries, in violating these countries’ independence, selfdetermination
and territorial integrity. I am going to discuss this later.

http://www.tallarmeniantale.com/Philippines.pdf

1-57951-001-9
184 pp
$14.95

http://www.docpotter.com/heamag.html

Dr. Beverly Potter
Dan Joy

It's the high that heals! The Healing Magic of Cannabis unveils the secret at the heart of marijuana's medicinal power. Getting high engages the healing power of the mind, furthering health, vitality and recovery.

The Healing High:
Feels good, promoting wellness.

Relaxes you, restoring equilibrium.

Makes you laugh, refreshing perspective.

Stimulates appetite, encouraging eating.

Uplifts mood, encouraging optimism.

Inspires faith that will heal.

The Healing Magic of Cannabis describes how to use cannabis, including preparation and hazards of smoking, along with recipes. Also covered are methods for making tinctures and topical applicaitons, including the advantages and disadvantages of each.

The Healing Magic of Cannabis explains how cannabis alleviates pain, soothes discomfort, and can interfere with the biological progression of certain diseases. It provides clear, information on cannabis' use for fifteen medical conditions and common aliments, from menstrual cramps, back pain, arthritis, and insomnia to epilepsy, AIDS, and withdrawal from addictive drugs.

Cannabis food preparation instructions from Bill Drake, author of MARIJUANA FOOD

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_meditation

:D

By Ibrahim Turner

27/05/08 "ICH"

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19993.htm

morning yourll

see you in a few

I know how you Women can be.

A one billion dollar lawsuit against YouTube threatens internet freedom, according to its owner Google.

Google's claim follows Viacom's move to sue the video sharing service for its inability to keep copyrighted material off its site.

Viacom says it has identified 150,000 unauthorised clips on YouTube.
[...]
Google's vice president of content partnerships David Eun has said: "We're going all the way to the Supreme Court. We've been very clear about it."

After the legal action was first started, YouTube launched an anti-piracy tool that checks uploaded videos against the original content in an effort to flag piracy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7420955.stm

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LnlAHrPUD2c

Jump record fails to take flight

A French skydiver's attempt to break the world free fall record failed to get off the ground when his balloon lifted off without him on board.

Michel Fournier, 64, hoped to break four world records by free falling 40,000m (25 miles) from a balloon in Saskatchewan, western Canada.

He hoped to bring back data vital for astronauts and those at high altitudes.

But his helium balloon detached from its capsule as it was being inflated, and drifted away into the sky.
[...]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7421435.stm

(Mike's Guardian Angel at work)

I guess since the administration turned their back on him he is out to make money anyway he can. I wonder what the publishers advance was for flipping on Bush, Cheney and Rove?

It is a shame a man that clearly knew he was lying is making a profit on those lies and with a Congress with Nancy Pelosi and Wasserman-Schults in it we don't have to worry about any action being taken on the information.

Send Cindy Sheehan money and replace Pelosi. Don't reward a political hack with another term.

Clinton's Grim Scenario
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, May 27, 2008; Page A13
Washington Post
[...]
It could be that any presidential campaign requires a measure of blind faith. But there's a difference between having faith in a dream and being lost in a delusion. The former suggests inner strength; the latter, an inner meltdown.

What Clinton's evocation of RFK suggests isn't that she had some tactical reason for speaking the unspeakable but that she and her closest advisers can't stop running and rerunning through their minds the most far-fetched scenarios, no matter how absurd or even obscene. She gives the impression of having spent long nights convincing herself that the stars really might still align for her -- that something can still happen to make the Democratic Party realize how foolish it has been.

Clinton campaigns as if she knows she will leave some Democrats with bad feelings. That's the Clinton way: Ask forgiveness, not permission. But every day, as more superdelegates trickle to Obama's side, it becomes a surer bet that she will not win. She and her family enjoy good health and fabulous wealth. They'll be fine -- unless, while losing this race for the nomination, Hillary Clinton also loses her soul.

Choices at the cookout
Justin Webb
24 May 08, 13:20 GMT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/justinwebb/
[...]
...why a barbecue in the gorgeous red rock setting of Sedona, Arizona is causing much interest this weekend - the cookout is at John McCain's home, and among the guests are three men who are being talked of as vice-presidential candidates: Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and former Massachusetts Governor and presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
[...]

McClellan off blanket GWB pardon list
Former White House spokesman Scott McClellan has said US President George W Bush was not "open and forthright" on Iraq and rushed to an unnecessary war.
'Manipulating opinion'
Mr Rove, speaking on Fox News, where he is now a political commentator, said Mr McClellan should have spoken out sooner if he had concerns about White House policies.

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

Kathleen Bennett Betteridge 19500416 - 20080527

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

2.39! you believe that shit. Its like two shots in one though. Seems pretty good.

Caribou cafe, Iced coffee plus Expresso

Free Speech TV

Google it.

I get it on satellite

DIsh Network is the only carrier.

They accept no advertisements

Like they have the new Laura Flanders show, Jeremy Scahill was on the first one, it was really good IMHO.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7423008.stm
Indonesia has said it will quit the oil producers' body Opec as it is no longer a net exporter of the commodity.

Energy minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro confirmed the move, which had been anticipated for some time.
[...]
Indonesia is currently producing about 860,000 barrels of oil a day but growth in demand is expected to continue to outstrip output, increasing the need for imports over time.

The bulk of its imports come from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Indonesia's exit will not affect the amount of oil it produces or imports, but the country's growing dependence on imports is proving increasingly expensive as global prices soar.

The Indonesian government reduced direct fuel subsidies over the weekend, immediately sending prices up 30%.
[...]

Yes and no, Cause she represents old money and establishment. And Therefore she feels she ordained. Priveledged.

But the overwhelming support for Obama has overid this ol money corporate etc.

Because after all, these delegates many run for office. And they recognize change is what America wants. Therefere they in turn help themselves.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7420042.stm
Crude oil prices rose after reports of attacks on a pipeline in Nigeria stoked fresh supply concerns.

US light, sweet crude gained $1.27 cents to reach $133.46, while London Brent added $1.23 to $132.80.

It has been a volatile few sessions for US crude, which peaked at $135.09 on Thursday before falling back to $130.81 in a rush of profit-taking.
[...]
Oil prices have doubled in the past year, lifted by supply fears, a weak US dollar and speculators.

Supply fears have been exacerbated by claims from a Nigerian anti-government group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, said it had sabotaged a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline.

Shell said it was investigating the claims.

Nigeria is the world's eighth largest oil exporter and the largest in Africa, but since 2006 militants have targeted the country's oil infrastructure and oil production has been cut by a quarter.

Sensitive market

Oil's record-busting run has also been supported by the stagnating US economy and a weak US dollar that has seen investors sell the currency for oil, which they consider to be a more attractive investment.

"It's very much the US currency at play," said Mark Pervan, an analyst at the Australia & New Zealand Bank.

?

Wisam Mohammed
Reuters North American News Service

May 27, 2008 18:56 EST

BAGHDAD, May 28 (Reuters)

http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=186738

good reads
: )

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

Our Lapdog Media
By The Editors

This article appeared in the May 19, 2008 edition of The Nation.
May 1, 2008

Stung by a New York Times exposé, the Defense Department has temporarily suspended a program of spoon-feeding war propaganda to retired military officers, who then regurgitate the swill on broadcast and cable TV. That's good news. But not good enough. The Times scoop gives new meaning to the term "late-breaking news." More than five years into a war that was spun into being and that continues to be spun as a surging success, top journalists are shocked, shocked to learn that there is spinning going on. And while the Pentagon may change its PR practices--prodded by House Armed Services Committee chair Ike Skelton's complaint that it is "basically using [retired officers] as pawns to spout the Administration's talking points of the day"--the American people are still stuck with "please lie to me" mass media that invite manipulation by government and well-connected private interests.

There are always honorable exceptions, but the tendency of the corporate press is to serve as stenographer for the powerful rather than the muscular check and balance intended by the country's founders. Rapid consolidation has brought us dumbed-down media, with broadcast and cable networks that rarely challenge the status quo, even as they maintain their monopolistic stranglehold on the airwaves. What do the people get in return? A diet of "news" and commentary with retired generals telling us quagmire wars are going well, former CEOs telling us a sputtering economy is "basically sound" and former political aides telling us presidential campaigns are about lapel pins and made-up scandals.

It is no great leap to go from a former general defending Administration strategies for Iraq to former White House counselor George Stephanopoulos turning an ABC News "debate" into a rehash of Jeremiah Wright sound bites, "ties" to 1960s radicals, a Bosnian airstrip or whatever else steers the discourse away from crucial matters like war, recession, skyrocketing gas prices and healthcare costs, and the global food crisis. (Soon after the ABC moderators were roundly criticized for trivializing that forum, the TV pundits were back at it again, resurrecting the Reverend Wright "controversy" after the pastor made a series of public appearances.) The constant is a major media system that, with all too few exceptions, sacrifices real journalism for access and abandons debate on real issues for manufactured controversy

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080519/editors

has a book out

morning Michele, now up the hill i go

Wake UP , Smoke a doob, eat a pill, DO whatever you gotta do to be HAPPY :)

Hell, maybe he is.

Ahmadinejad rival takes powerful post in Iran

----

"Come gather 'round people where ever you roam..."

Spectral 27 (11-6.7.7.7)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

yellow solar sun ~ kin 100

PULSE in order to ENLIGHTEN,
REALIZING LIFE
seal the MATRIX of UNIVERSAL FIRE
with the SOLAR tone of INTENTION.
guided by the power of INTELLIGENCE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
◄ 12.19.15.6.12 ≈ oxlahun eb ►

My condolences.

Perils and Alternatives in the Post 9-11 World

May 24, 2008
By Noam Chomsky
and Gabriel Matthew Schivone

Source: Monthly Review

Noam Chomsky's ZSpace Page

Join ZSpace

Based on an interview with Noam Chomsky conducted by Gabriel Matthew Schivone via telephone and e-mail at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, November 27, 2007 through February 11, 2008. Parts of the text have been expanded by the author.

http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/17721

For the past forty years Noam Chomsky's writings on politics and language have established him as a preeminent public intellectual and as one of the most original and wide-ranging political and social critics of our time. Among the seminal figures in linguistic theory over the past century, since the 1960s Chomsky has also secured a place as perhaps the leading dissident voice in the United States.

Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor emeritus of linguistics at MIT and the author of numerous books including Chomsky vs. Foucault: A Debate on Human Nature, On Language, Objectivity and Liberal Scholarship, and Towards a New Cold War (all published by The New Press). He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

This event took place on April 22, 2008 at the Google Cambridge office, as a part of the Authors@Google series.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rnLWSC5p1XE

Do you know?

After WWII, three areas took in the most ex-Nazi's.
1) USA..Operation Paperclip--we took the Nazi scientists.
2) South America, (Boys from Brazil)

and what other area?

3)

(Spssst, say Middle East)

This guy looks like he could be a US politician...
new
Submitted by cent on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 7:50am.

Was that your sister? So sorry.

Bob, with respect to the green herb, it uplifts mood if you are in a good place but if not it increases that too. Not so good when depressed....Crank always uplifts mood though..

Good morning, thanks for all your great posts this morning....

toniD how are you feeling today, did not sound to good yesterday

Morning Bob! You sounded lonely. Now you have lots of company :D

***poof***

I have clients who use this stuff as half a speed ball with alchohol.

Health researchers have identified a surprising new predictor for risky behavior among teenagers and young adults: the energy drink.

Super-caffeinated energy drinks, with names like Red Bull, Monster, Full Throttle and Amp, have surged in popularity in the past decade. About a third of 12- to 24-year-olds say they regularly down energy drinks, which account for more than $3 billion in annual sales in the United States.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/27/energy-drinks-linked-to-r_n_103...

Exclusive: McClellan whacks Bush, White House

Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan writes in a surprisingly scathing memoir to be published next week that President Bush “veered terribly off course,” was not “open and forthright on Iraq,” and took a “permanent campaign approach” to governing at the expense of candor and competence.

Among the most explosive revelations in the 341-page book, titled “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception” (Public Affairs, $27.95):

• McClellan charges that Bush relied on “propaganda” to sell the war.

• He says the White House press corps was too easy on the administration during the run-up to the war.

• He admits that some of his own assertions from the briefing room podium turned out to be “badly misguided.”

• The longtime Bush loyalist also suggests that two top aides held a secret West Wing meeting to get their story straight about the CIA leak case at a time when federal prosecutors were after them — and McClellan was continuing to defend them despite mounting evidence they had not given him all the facts.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10649.html

But I am taking more pain pills and I hate taking pills. Thanks for asking!

what is a dutchie?

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Noam+Chomsky&hl=en&sitesearch=#

Memo: Party rules require that FL and MI lose at least half of their delegates
by John Aravosis (DC) · 5/27/2008 11:44:00 PM ET · Link
Discuss this post here: Make a comment · reddit · FARK · Digg It!

And let's stop playing games. Florida and Michigan knew what they were getting into. And in Florida, at least, practically every single Democrat voted in favor of the decision that ultimately led to them losing their delegates. And they knew it, but they didn't care. So let's stop pretending like they're children, even though they clearly acted like children, knew the rules, broke the rules, and now are paying for it. In any case, how much you want to bet Hillary is now considering appealing this Saturday's upcoming decision so she can drag this out another 4 weeks, when the appeal would be heard. Bet ya. But I have a feeling that next week the entire party is going to come down on her head like a ton of bricks if she doesn't concede. (Though, watch her postpone her race, or some other cute term, rather than concede, just in case, well, you know.)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080528/ap_on_el_pr/primary_scramble;_ylt=At...

Barry Nolan: The Story Behind My O’Reilly Protest»
Our guest blogger is Barry Nolan, a veteran TV journalist who was recently fired by Comcast Cable’s CN8 channel in Boston for protesting an award honoring Bill O’Reilly.

So, I’m that TV guy who got fired by Comcast over Bill O’Reilly. I protested the fact that O’Reilly was chosen to receive the Governors Award at this year’s Emmy Awards ceremony. That’s the highest honor that they hand out. The important word here is: honor.

Now granted – you won’t find a lot of Albert Schweitzers or Mother Teresas working in television, but at least the people who had been honored in the past had pretty much followed the part of the Hippocratic oath that says, “First, do no harm.”

O’Reilly was an appalling choice, not because of his political views, but because he simply gets the facts wrong, abuses his guests and the powerless in general, is delusional, and, well, you might want to Google: Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Plus there was that whole sexual harassment thing – the lawsuit he settled for an estimated $10 million. Not the kind of guy you normally think of when it comes time to pass out honors.

I found that most of my colleagues felt the same way. So, on May 10th at the Emmy Awards dinner, I quietly passed out a document that contained – not my opinion – but O’Reilly’s own words and quotes from his sexual harassment lawsuit. And that is what got me fired. I got fired from my job on a news and information network for reporting demonstrably true things in a room full of news people.

Normally, in the great scheme of things – this should be a total non-story. “Overpaid White Guy Gets Fired from Cushy Job for Shooting Mouth Off.” Yawn. But these are not normal times. After the word got out that I was fired – I started hearing from people from all over the country who were outraged. A guy in Texas who had once worked with O’Reilly and had seen a meltdown like the one on Youtube – a weather anchor in Arizona – a woman in China no less.

And it all got me to thinking about the myth of free speech. In today’s America, speech is only “free” when you are talking down to someone less powerful that you. Speak “up” – and look out.

In your work life, they can fire you, as I found out, for quietly saying something that is widely known to be true. Put a lid on it.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/27/barry-nolan/

African nations call out "free trade" spin
by Chris in Paris · 5/28/2008 03:29:00 AM ET · Link
Discuss this post here: Make a comment · reddit · FARK · Digg It!

The term "free trade" has to be one of the most abused names currently being used. It paints a picture that is at best only half true. The US, especially with Republicans, always rolls out this line when there happens to be one special interest group or another who wants to crush a world market. Under the banner of "free trade" they wipe out a market, such as the cotton market in Africa, and then march forward with one less competitor. Isn't capitalism great and aren't those poor countries freeloaders?

Using the example of cotton, thanks to taxpayer sponsored welfare for millionaire farmers in the US, they can sell well below the cost that local African producers can offer so it's impossible to make money. Out go jobs and money, forcing people to reach out for financial aid from foreign governments. In the US when China or other countries do this in steel, for example, we call it "dumping" and it's considered very bad if not illegal. Countries like the US or Europe have much deeper pockets and can afford to take legal action. The incoming millions and billions never quite trickles down as various people grab a piece. Is that bad? Of course, but let's not kid ourselves into thinking this doesn't happen in the US. Even when the US government is supposed to be monitoring US taxpayer money in Iraq, we end up with billions missing.

Our model for assisting countries (and people) in need is never going to be perfect and will always change. At the moment, it's increasingly obvious that the current model is in desperate need of change. It is possible to help poor countries without always throwing cash and expecting results. The problem now is that the West still wants to preach "free trade" rubbish instead of instituting fair trade policies.

http://www.americablog.com/2008/05/african-nations-call-out-free-trade.h...

spliff

I got my meds. But I need them, they make me feel happy.

I am suprised you dont like painkillers. Usually they provide a little opoid relaxtion and pleasant feelings.

Will subprime crisis take down Citigroup?
by Chris in Paris · 5/28/2008 04:30:00 AM ET · Link
Discuss this post here: Make a comment · reddit · FARK · Digg It!

Who could have even imagined Citi being bought out a year ago? They were one of the high flying winners on Wall Street and rated as the largest company in the world only last year. Thanks to their drunken-sailor gambling on shoddy subprime loans, the CEO Charles Prince walked away with a princely fortune but the company itself is now a prime target by European banks. Part of what makes this possible (besides the enormous subprime losses) is the feeble US dollar. Yes, it's the same dollar that is contributing to the record high oil prices. In short, the weak dollar policies of the Bush administration are coming home to roost. (Third term, anyone?)

So should this takeover happen, what does it mean to US consumers? For starters it means one less bank out there so this would be continuing the trend since Reagan of consolidation in the US banking industry. Some may be impressed by the idea of Sovietesque mega banks but besides the high rollers - who got us into this headache in the first place - I don't see how a 200,000 person bank is really good. For mega deals, sure, but for the rest of us, I just don't see it.

Also, we need to step back and look at the Bear Stearns collapse and bailout. Is it in the best interest of consumers, taxpayers or the government to create another situation where failure is not an option? Bear Stearns was a small company with only 14,000 people employed. What are the consequences of a mega bank failure? Even today we have yet to see any serious talk in Congress - Democrats or Republicans - about that bailout. It's as if it was a non-issue yet in reality, that was big. We have not seen any signs of change on Wall Street in terms of healthy pay despite record failure so there is no reason why we should allow ourselves to be set up for the next bailout.

http://www.americablog.com/2008/05/will-subprime-crisis-take-down.html

Warren Jeffs Kissing And Cuddling Underage Brides Pictures Introduced As Evidence (PHOTOS)

SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Shocking new photographs show polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs holding and kissing two different young girls in wedding-like photos. [scroll for more]

The images, dated July 2006 and January 2005, were entered into evidence last Friday by the defense in the custody battle over a 1-week-old baby, the Deseret News reported. The case was sparked by an April 3 raid of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound in Eldorado, Texas.

In one set of photos Jeffs appears with a girl named girl named Loretta under the label of "First Anniversary" with a date of Jan. 26, 2005. The second set show him and a girl named Merrianne and are dated July 27, 2006.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/27/warren-jeffs-kissing-and_n_1038...

This changing weather doesn't help either. ~~~~~~healing vibes~~~~~

I feel it in my back, and knees.

Energy drinks linked to risky behavior among teenagers

Health researchers have identified a surprising new predictor for risky behavior among teenagers and young adults: the energy drink.

Super-caffeinated energy drinks, with names like Red Bull, Monster, Full Throttle and Amp, have surged in popularity in the past decade. About a third of 12- to 24-year-olds say they regularly down energy drinks, which account for more than $3 billion in annual sales in the United States.

The trend has been the source of growing concern among health researchers and school officials. Around the country, the drinks have been linked with reports of nausea, abnormal heart rhythms and emergency room visits.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/27/healthscience/27well.php

Today, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE MEMBERS, Democrats Robert Wexler of Florida, Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin distributed “A Case For Hearings”. They have called for the immediate opening of IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS for Vice President Richard Cheney

http://wexlerwantshearings.com/

advil maybe once every 2 years and that too gives me bad side effects

some nights i cannot get to sleep, but cannot take the ambien the doctor gave me i cannot stand the feeling, my mother could not sleep too at night when she was about my age, guess i am my mothers child

Coming from the 60's drug culture era, I never smoked weed and never did drugs. The only habit I had was smoking. I didn't even drink alot. But all my friends did everything.

I never liked the feeling of being out of control. Oddity that I am. So I always made sure everyone else was okay. I guess I've always been the caretaker.

The hydrocodone I am taking is low dose, just takes the edge off the pain. A feeling of well being? Not really. Not that I've noticed anyway.

I guess drugs effect people in different ways.

pelosi does not give a damn

drugs do effect people in different ways. Ambien works great for me but my friend took it and awoke to her bed full of what looked like streaks of dried blood...She remembered nothing and upon further investigation she discovered that it was dried chocolate ice creme. She had a binge and slept walked the whole thing....watch out for driving while asleep too...very dangerous

Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August'
By Muhammad Cohen

NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently.

Two key US senators briefed on the attack planned to go public with their opposition to the move, according to the source, but their projected New York Times op-ed piece has yet to appear.

The source, a retired US career diplomat and former assistant secretary of state still active in the foreign affairs community, speaking anonymously, said last week that the US plans anair strike against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The air strike would target the headquarters of the IRGC's elite Quds force. With an estimated strength of up to 90,000 fighters, the Quds' stated mission is to spread Iran's revolution of 1979 throughout the region.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JE28Ak01.html

Any lawyers out there want to do some pro bono work, I want my tax dollars to help all the people, not supporting Bushco.

Tonight, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will hold a private fundraiser in Phoenix with President Bush, an event McCain has desperately tried to hide from the public. CNN’s Ed Henry reports that the White House has scheduled another event during the trip to Arizona, resulting in American taxpayers paying for Bush to raise money for McCain:

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/27/taxpayers-pay-for-mccain-bus

Dem lawyers: Fla., Mich. can't be fully restored By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 20 minutes ago

A Democratic Party rules committee has the authority to seat some delegates from Michigan and Florida but not fully restore the two states as Hillary Rodham Clinton wants, according to party lawyers.

Democratic National Committee rules require that the two states lose at least half of their convention delegates for holding elections too early, the party's legal experts wrote in a 38-page memo.

The memo was sent late Tuesday to the 30 members of the party's Rules and Bylaws Committee, which plans to meet Saturday at a Washington hotel. The committee is considering ways to include the two important general election battlegrounds at the nominating convention in August, and the staff analysis says seating half the delegates is "as far as it legally can" go.

Saturday's meeting is expected to draw a large crowd, with Clinton supporters among those encouraging a protest outside demanding that all the states' delegates be seated. Proponents of full reseating have mailed committee members Florida oranges and pairs of shoes to get their attention.

DNC officials are concerned about a potentially large turnout at the "Count Every Vote" rally outside the event and have asked the hotel staff to increase security to keep everyone safe. The DNC says the roughly 500 seats available to the public inside were taken within three or four minutes of becoming available online Tuesday.

The DNC analysis does not make recommendations for how the Rules and Bylaws Committee should vote, but gives context from the party's charter and bylaws for the committee to consider.

It underscores a prickly problem: If the Rules and Bylaws Committee decides to restore any of the states' delegates, there is not a simple way to divide them between Clinton and Barack Obama.

That's especially true in Michigan, where Obama had his name pulled from the ballot. He didn't have the option of removing his name in Florida, but all the candidates signed a pledge not to campaign in either state.

Clinton won the majority of the vote in Florida and Michigan and has been arguing that the delegates should be fully restored according to the results of the January primaries. But even if they were, it would not be enough for her to overtake Obama's delegate lead.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080528/ap_on_el_pr/primary_scramble_5&print...

*

May 27, 2008 9:57 AM
A chance for real health care reform in Connecticutt

There's quite a battle brewing in Connecticut over the fate of a watershed health care reform bill that is currently awaiting the Governor's signature.

The bill, called the Connecticut Healthcare Parntership, is a simple approach to cutting health care costs. It would allow municipalities, small businesses, and non-profits to buy into the group health insurance plan already being offered to state employees. The logic behind the plan is simple: the bigger the pool, the bigger the incentive for insurance companies to either offer decent rates or lose business to someone else who will.

If this notion sounds familiar, it's because private-public pooling forms the backbone of the health care platforms of both candidates in the current Democratic nominating contest. With states like Kansas, Delaware, Washington, and Wisconsin also considering similar pooling measures, passage of the Connecticut bill would lend major momentum to a national state-level push for comprehensive health care reform, proving once again that states can beat the feds to the punch on the most pressing national issues.

The bad news is that Connecticut's Republican Governor, Jodi Rell has indicated she intends to veto the bill, citing claims from health insurance companies that they will insist on renegotiating the state employee group plan at higher rates if the bill is passed.

Fortunately, at least some in the press see through this act of political blackmail, noting that there is no evidence that insurance companies would have either the right or the financial incentive to renegotiate the plans. Just today, the Connecticut Attorney General issued a legal opinion maintaining that such a unilateral renegotiation would be unlawful.

Meanwhile, in a spate of media events and netroots actions over the past week, a powerful alliance of small business owners, city officials, and unions has stepped up to the plate calling on Rell to put the interests of big insurance aside and pass the bill.

http://action.credomobile.com/sirota/2008/05/health_care_in_connnecticut...

walking, so grover and the kids used to take turns at night watching me...so i quit

i used to sleep walk when i was little too, no pills taken than...stopped on its own when i turned 12years old

yup i am the weirdest person you could ever want to come across

BLITZER: Ed, who pays when the President goes to a fundraiser like this for John McCain? The McCain campaign or the American taxpayer?

HENRY: They both pay, Wolf. The bottom line is the President is trying to mix in a little official business today. He’s going to speak at cable company…short remarks. That justifies for the White House charging the taxpayers for some of this trip, and the McCain camp picks up the rest, Wolf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2xmhFWz1oI

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/27/taxpayers-pay-for-mccain-bush-fundra...

I love that Wexler is running with this while Kucinich is fighting for re-election.
http://wexler.house.gov/
I think his Colbert Report interview was the best thing that ever happened to him. It gave him the courage to boldly go where no Dick(Cheney)-whipped Pelosi would.

Obama Says No To Baghdad Stroll With McCain
By Greg Sargent - May 27, 2008, 5:15PM
Barack Obama has decided that he has no interest in joining John McCain on his next "Baghdad Stroll."

McCain, in an interview yesterday, suggested that Obama take a trip to Iraq, and even agreed to a joint trip for the two candidates.

I asked the Obama camp for a response, and here it is, from Obama spokesperson Bill Burton:

"John McCain's proposal is nothing more than a political stunt, and we don't need any more 'Mission Accomplished' banners or walks through Baghdad markets to know that Iraq's leaders have not made the political progress that was the stated purpose of the surge. The American people don't want any more false promises of progress, they deserve a real debate about a war that has overstretched our military, and cost us thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars without making us safer."
Obama hasn't visited since 2006, and McCain had tendered his invitation by saying, with characteristic civility: "He really has no experience or knowledge or judgment about the issue of Iraq and he has wanted to surrender for a long time."

Not the best way to persuade someone that you'd make a fun travel companion, obviously.

American Says Olmert Took Envelopes of Cash

JERUSALEM, May 27 -- An American businessman at the center of a corruption probe targeting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert testified Tuesday that he had repeatedly given Olmert cash-stuffed envelopes and that he believed some of the money was used to fund Olmert's taste for lavish living.

Morris Talansky, 75, said he had turned over to Olmert approximately $150,000 during a 15-year period. That sum included both political contributions as well as unpaid loans used to fund, among other things, an Italian vacation and a $4,700, three-night stay at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, Talansky said.

Despite the large quantities of money flowing from Talansky to Olmert, the businessman insisted Tuesday that he had not received any benefit.

"I had a very close relationship with him. But I wish to add at this time that the relationship of 15 years was purely of admiration," he said. "I never expected anything personally. I never had any personal benefits from this relationship whatsoever."

Talansky's testimony could prove crucial in determining the outcome of the investigation, which political and legal commentators in Israel have said could topple the prime minister. Olmert has been investigated before, and has escaped legally unscathed each time, but most analysts believe this case to be the most serious yet.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR200805...

could you post yesterday buddist clip that you suggested i read...my mind is much more calmer today, and i want to read it...please

Blackwater Grand Jury Hears Iraqi Witnesses
In Interviews With ABC News Before Leaving Baghdad, the Men All Said the Blackwater Shootings Were Unprovoked

The FBI has brought four Iraqi witnesses, including the father of a dead 9-year-old boy, to testify before a federal grand jury investigating Blackwater security guards accused of killing 17 innocent civilians last year at a Baghdad traffic square.

The men were brought in over the weekend and seen today at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., where the Blackwater grand jury has been sitting since last November.

In interviews with ABC News before leaving Baghdad, the men all said the Blackwater shootings were unprovoked.

"It was a true massacre, a slaughter," said Mohammed Abdul Razak, whose son Ali was killed in the shootings.

Razak said he saw the guards first fire at one car and then open fire on other cars, including his.

When the shooting stopped he saw his son in the back seat. "He looked asleep, but after I opened the door, his brain fell right between my feet," he said. "I started shouting, 'They killed my son,' but who is listening?"
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4941052&page=1

and I am an old woman who has brain freeze...I have no idea what that is...do you remember any part of it?

Iran's housing prices
turn many into millionaires

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Negar Ehteshami just paid the equivalent of $6 million in rials in cash for a luxurious apartment. But it is not in New York or London. It is in the capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080528/lf_nm/iran_housing_dc;_ylt=AlCtxKw6t...

ok i will go find it its ok..thought you remembered yesterday morning, you said it was a great read...i'll get it thought you had it on hand

You ever listen to any Chomsky Lectures , I posted a few good ones. He is brilliant.

Studies link lead to
adult crime, brain damage

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exposure to lead in early childhood or in the womb can cause permanent brain damage that may even cause criminal behavior, researchers reported on Tuesday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080528/sc_nm/lead_crime_dc;_ylt=AkPkC2mD.t....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV1sxq8mqvA

"Senator Obama's family is proud of the service of his grandfather and uncles in World War II – especially the fact that his great uncle was a part of liberating one of the concentration camps at Buchenwald. Yesterday he mistakenly referred to Auschwitz instead of Buchenwald in telling of his personal experience of a soldier in his family who served heroically," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

who's name is Willie Waffle. Here's one for you Crank!

called Chomsky the Ayatollah of anti American hate.

ROFLMYFAO!!!!!!!!!! LOL

Israeli Defense Minister Calls for Olmert to Step Aside

JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister called on Wednesday for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to remove himself from his post pending the outcome of a high-profile corruption investigation in which Mr. Olmert is deeply embroiled.

“The prime minister must disconnect himself from the daily running of the government,” the defense minister, Ehud Barak, said at a lunchtime news conference broadcast live from the Parliament building.

Mr. Barak’s statement came a day after a Long Island businessman at the center of the corruption case testified in court here that he gave about $150,000, mostly in cash stuffed into envelopes, to Mr. Olmert over the course of 13 years. He said the money was for campaign funding and personal expenses. Mr. Olmert has denied any wrongdoing in the corruption investigation but has pledged to step down if charged.

It was unclear what effect the declaration by Mr. Barak, a former prime minister, would have. Many here are wary of writing Mr. Olmert off, and in the past he has proven to be a savvy survivor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/world/middleeast/29olmert.html?_r=1&hp...

Did I ever tell you how much I dislike Bill Press? If Mark Green had his Shiite together an Air America host would be in the 6 to 9 slot. As a matter of fact, Air America would occupy the 9 to 12 slot as well. Instead we have this corporate shill that isn't progressive, but plays one on tee vee.

Bill Press had to cancel his book tour in Ohio. Why? Well, poor ticket sales. Looky here folks! In spite of being surrounded by Midwestern apathy and ignorance, there is a strong progressive base here. We know a fake lib when we see one.

he knocked off Massadegh too. The Iranians still haven't forgiven us for "Operation Ajax". We do tend to f#ck things up, don't we....

The noise Ahmed-demon-jihad has been making recently points to a regression back into stronger Theocratic Rule in Iran. Check a snippet from the article I linked earlier:

"We should abandon the capitalist economics, which is applied in the capitalist world, and focus on national and Islamic economic theories to run the economy of our beloved country," Ahmadinejad told lawmakers at an inaugural session Tuesday.

To me this is a sign the Clerics are starting to get nervous. Hopefully the progressives in government will continue to grow in power and get enough popular support to shut the theocrats up for a while until the cooler heads can steer Iran through this nuke thing.

That is, if we cando our part and keep the NeoCons from having their way and leveling the place.

He used to be on the span alot. Not so much recently. And Democracy Now had him on as well. I don't get Link TV or Free Speach TV anymore. Comcast seems not to carry those stations. At least here they don't.

I hate Comcast but there are no other choices. I face the wrong direction for the satelite so I'm stuck with the very expensive comcast.

is he really? i dont know anything about him..but caught him on the span once, and he seemed to make sense, and like i said that was just once....

yeah, thats what i like, the smell of dlc disgust early in the morning. did i mention that bill press takes every opportunity to promote hillary as the only viable candidate?

That Phil flunked the third, fifth and ninth grade.

Now who really is a product of Affirmitave Action?

Is a centrist. Don't really like him. He seems to get on some news shows though, just because he's a talk show host.

http://whiterosesociety.org/Kincaid.html
Scroll down to: Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

Bob Kincaid to interview former Alabama Governor Don Seigleman on Tuesday Night May 27th

Join Bob for what will no doubt be the most in-depth interview of the Governor politically imprisoned by KKKarl Rove and his minions for being a Democrat.

European leaders struggle
to defuse oil price anger

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
European leaders are struggling to defuse growing anger over soaring fuel prices, as fisherman and truck drivers staged protests in several countries, with more strikes planned in coming days.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080528/ts_afp/europeenergyprotest;_ylt=AhG...

Fuel prices' toll on US economy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obviously, the sharp rise in the price of oil – $80 a barrel higher than a year ago – has major, negative consequences for the economy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/ahurting;_ylt=AmtigWRaPTcI4lo5QdemjY8Jr7sF

Landowners getting
trampled in gas rights rush

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Unsuspecting property owners around the country are getting trampled in an old-fashioned land rush by natural gas companies and speculators trying to lock up long-ignored drilling rights quickly and cheaply.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080528/ap_on_bi_ge/land_rush;_ylt=AvLJdPxBw...

Study: Public Schools Just
As Good as Private Schools

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Students in public schools have math scores that are just as good if not better than those of students in private schools, according to a new national study.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080527/sc_livescience/studypublics...

Court Finds Dell
Guilty of Fraud

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dell was found guilty on Tuesday of fraud, false advertising, deceptive business practices and abusive debt collection practices in a case brought by the New York attorney general.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20080528/tc_pcworld/146371;_ylt=AjA.WYW7...

he was promoting hillary back than too

Apparently one of our local ISPs changed their business IP blocks again, this time without telling anyone and now everybodies vpns are down.

Should make for a long day and lots of service calls. bbl.

Did your sister pass away ?

I'm sorry..

Hang in there man..

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

http://unfilterednewsnetwork.com/

Unreported News Radio
Under reported news = Unreported News. Listen to the Unreported News Radio Show on Nova M Radio on Sundays beginning at 11 A.M. Eastern, 10 A.M. Central and 8 A.M. Arizona and Pacific time. The show will focus on Hurricane Katrina recovery stories and other topics that are often ignored by the media. - Sarge

You can listen to the show live on Nova M Radio and 1480 KPHX Progressive Talk Phoenix. The Unreported News.Net Radio Show also airs on, WQRZ-FM 103.5 in Waveland, Mississippi.
http://unfilterednewsnetwork.com/index.php?ind=blog&op=home&idu=69

is great reading about Buddhism Lu'...the Places that Scare You is really good...She has her own gonpa in Nova Scotia...

Also all of the Dalai Lama's books are simple and very readable..Tibetan Buddhism can get pretty complex...lots of numbered lists....

St. Louis worries it
may lose Anheuser-Busch

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST. LOUIS - Residents here have grown accustomed to seeing local corporations gobbled up by larger outside firms. But losing Anheuser-Busch Cos. could be the cruelest cut of all.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080528/ap_on_bi_ge/anheuser_busch_future;_y...

US on track to break
record for tornadoes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another week, another rumbling train of tornadoes that obliterates entire city blocks, smashing homes to their foundations and killing people even as they cower in their basements.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080528/ap_on_re_us/tornadoes;_ylt=AlFPmNH1B...

Submitted by dan on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 9:06am.
------------

Jeff Cohen was to be the liberal host on CNN’s Crossfire in 1998. He is the founder of Fair and Accuracy In Media. The activist community had lobbied heavily for Cohen. Bill Moyers, Phil Donahue, Jesse Jackson, Jim Hightower, and Ralph Nader were Cohen’s strongest advocates. Instead, CNN selects Bill Press. Jim Hightower is dismayed.

From the book
Cable News Confidential
Jeff Cohen

Page 48

While rankled Hightower is that Press-“California Democratic Party chairman at that time totally dedicated to big money corporations politics that dominates the party.”-made a pledge to defend the “Clinton agenda” on Crossfire every night:

In case you are not clear on what that agenda might be, Press explained to the Los Angeles Times that Clinton represents a new Democratic effort to reposition the party away from the defender of have-nots and into a party for the haves: “ We have to reshape our agenda and stress the issues that appeal to haves, like welfare reform and maybe some marginal kind of health reform, but no big, global thing,” said Crossfire’s latest liberal hope.

South Africa is to set up seven refugee camps around the country for foreign migrant workers who have fled a recent wave of anti-immigrant violence.

The holding camps will take up to 70,000 people from the increasingly unsanitary conditions at temporary shelters put up around state buildings.

The government decision comes despite strong advice from respected international aid agencies.

They say South Africa does not have the expertise necessary to run the camps.

Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), the medical charity, says conditions for people seeking refuge in the existing shelters are worsening.

Meanwhile, Nigeria says it will press for compensation from the South African government for its citizens who were victims of the violence.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe told AFP news agency that no Nigerian was killed in the attacks, but many have lost their properties and others have had their shops looted.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7422887.stm

Sorry to hear you might
have to get your knee replaced..

That sucks..
But,if it relieves the pain,it's worth it right..

With my nerve damage,I was telling any Doctor
that woud listen to cut the damn nerve out !
This thing is killing me..
But,they woud just say no can do..

And,I would tell them,Hell Maggiesboy says we can put a Parking Meter on Mars(I still think it's the 7th hole flag)
why can't we cut out the Friggin damaged nerve ? !

Right about then,they would Sedate me ! .......

;)

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

http://www.johnmccain.com/mccainfinancial/

“Pentagon figures show 40,000 U.S. troops have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder since 2003.” The number diagnosed “jumped nearly 50 percent in 2007 over the previous year, as more of them served lengthy and repeated combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR200805...

“The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index declined for a fifth-consecutive month, to 57.2 from 62.8 in April,” the “lowest reading since October 1992.”

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-05-27-confidence_N.htm

the whole of beautiful South Africa now looks like a squatter camp. they take over any empty lot and build tin shanty's...guess that is not enough now refugee camps are being set up..and i think my life is complicated

I might sneak by on that last one..Hee.. ;)

Probably not..
"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

ExxonMobil has “admitted that its support for” climate change denier groups “may have hindered action to tackle global warming,” and it the company announced it will cut funds to many of these groups. The move comes as shareholders, meeting in Dallas today, are expected to “urge ExxonMobil to take the problem of climate change more seriously.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/28/climatechange.fossilfu...

Ali Larijani, a prominent conservative and a “powerful rival” to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “became speaker of Iran’s parliament today, clearing the way for a potential challenge against the hard-line head of state ahead of 2009 presidential elections.”

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran29-2008may29,0,6...

Hey JIMMER, if you ever roll out of bed , get some brekkers in ya, gimme a ring bud. Whatdya say?

how was it?

Bolivia: If we want to survive

May 28, 2008
By Andrés Soliz Rada
Source: Rebelión

Andrés Soliz Rada's ZSpace Page

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/17756

I need to sit back and read now.

Even if you don't read the whole article, these little news blurbs give you an idea of what's happening in the world.

I am listening to my chomsky :)

Thanks Toni :)

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

I am listening to my chomsky :)

Hidden Nuclear Handout Seen in Climate Bill

Major environmental groups are up in arms against attempts in the U.S. Senate to pass a bill that they believe includes a thinly-veiled attempt to promote the interests of the nuclear industry under the guise of climate protection. “This is a covert attempt to bolster a failing nuclear power industry in the name of addressing climate change,” said Brent Blackwelder, president of Friends of the Earth, an environmental group opposed to the use of nuclear energy.

The climate change bill, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. John Warner (R-VA), is likely to be discussed by the Senate in the next few weeks. In a statement, Blackwelder and leaders of five other environmental organizations and public interest groups described the Lieberman-Warner bill as “the biggest federal handout in the history of the nuclear industry over the past 50 years.”

They fear that, if approved, the bill would cost billions of dollars to U.S. taxpayers in subsidies for the nuclear industry. “The bill contains nearly half a trillion dollars that can be accessed by the nuclear energy industry under a vaguely entitled category for ‘zero and low carbon energy technologies,’” according to FoE.

“It’s significant that the authors of the bill tried to conceal the nuclear funding under ambiguous language,” said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, a Washington, DC-based advocacy group. “Why are they hiding? Because the environmental movement in this country is serious about addressing climate change and will not tolerate a reversion to dangerous, dirty, and expensive nuclear energy.”

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/27/9206/

Bolivia: Indigenous People and Mestizos

April 18, 2008
By Andrés Soliz Rada
Source: Rebelión

Andrés Soliz Rada's ZSpace Page

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/17185

Bolivia and Brazil, Hydrocarbons in 2008

January 24, 2008
By Andrés Soliz Rada
Source: Rebelion

Andrés Soliz Rada's ZSpace Page

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/16292

How interested is Florida Governor Charlie Crist in being John McCain's VP runningmate? So much so that veteran GOP dirty trickster Roger Stone -- who coordinated a few dirty stunts in support of Crist during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign -- is quietly peddling a so-called "Charlie Crist sex tape." That's what Stone called it during a telephone conversation. And no, it is not a tape of Crist having sex with a guy. In fact, it isn't even X-rated. The video was seemingly staged to kill the rumors that Crist is gay. Stone claims the tape -- which he discussed recently with Politics1, but didn't show to us ("I'm saving it for the national shows") -- "shows Charlie fooling around in a hotel elevator with his girlfriend ... They're making out." Adds Stone: "It was captured on a security camera in the elevator" last month. And Stone just conveniently happens to have a copy of the hotel's elevator surveillance tape, just when Crist's name is in play for the VP spot. Hmm. As for Crist's purported girlfriend -- presuming it is the same one he took as his date to the White House Correspondents Dinner in DC a few weeks ago -- she's still married (and not to Crist). Disclaimer: Always be skeptical of anything from Stone.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/28/report-crist-circulating_n_1038...

Racial Profiling on Tennessee Voter Reg Cards

The state of Tennessee places a box on its voter registration form for “RACE” — this is marked “optional”, but on some county Web sites, like Tipton County, http://tiptonco.com/dept_election.htm
they add pressure to complete every item by printing, and highlighting, the words “omitting information produces rejected application” right under the form.

That statement would not be a problem if the “race” box was not on the card, and if the felony indicator blank was correctly designed.

Here’s a copy of the Tennessee voter registration card as of this posting:

See the rest at:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_bev_harr_080527_racial_profiling...

Hollywood Is Becoming the Pentagon's Mouthpiece for Propaganda

May 22, 2008

by Nick Turse,

In the new film Iron Man, the people cast as terrorists take the fall for what the U.S. has done in the real world.

"Liberal Hollywood" is a favorite whipping-boy of right-wingers who suppose the town and its signature industry are ever-at-work undermining the U.S. military. In reality, the military has been deeply involved with the film industry since the Silent Era. Today, however, the ad hoc arrangements of the past have been replaced by a full-scale one-stop shop, occupying a floor of a Los Angeles office building. There, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and the Department of Defense itself have established entertainment liaison offices to help ensure that Hollywood makes movies the military way.

What they have to trade, especially when it comes to blockbuster films, is access to high-tech, tax-payer funded, otherwise unavailable gear. What they get in return is usually the right to alter or shape scripts to suit their needs. If you want to see the fruits of this relationship in action, all you need to do is head down to your local multiplex. Chances are that Iron Man — the latest military-entertainment masterpiece — is playing on a couple of screens.

For the past three weeks, Iron Man --a film produced by its comic-book parent Marvel and distributed by Paramount Pictures — has cleaned up at the box office, taking in a staggering $222.5 million in the U.S. and $428.5 million worldwide. The movie, which opened with "the tenth biggest weekend box office performance of all time" and the second biggest for a non-sequel, has the added distinction of being the "best-reviewed movie of 2008 so far." For instance, in the New York Times, movie reviewer A.O. Scott called Iron Man "an unusually good superhero picture," while Roger Ebert wrote: "The world needs another comic book movie like it needs another Bush administration... but if we must have one more... 'Iron Man' is a swell one to have." There has even been nascent Oscar buzz

Robert Downey Jr. has been nearly universally praised for a winning performance as playboy-billionaire-merchant-of-death-genius-inventor Tony Stark, head of Stark Industries, a fictional version of Lockheed or Boeing. In the film, Stark travels to Afghanistan to showcase a new weapon of massive destruction to American military commanders occupying that country. On a Humvee journey through the Afghan backlands, his military convoy is caught up in a deadly ambush by al-Qaeda stand-ins, who capture him and promptly subject him to what Vice President Dick Cheney once dubbed "a dunk in the water," but used to be known as "the Water Torture." The object is to force him to build his Jericho weapons system, one of his "masterpieces of death," in their Tora Bora-like mountain cave complex.

Cont'
http://www.tbrnews.org/Archives/a2844.htm#005

VIDEO

American Foreign Policy in Latin America 1/2

March, 11 2008
By Noam Chomsky
Source: The Global Current

Noam Chomsky's ZSpace Page

====================

This video is the first half of an interview with Professor Noam Chomsky on American Foreign Policy in Latin America, and Latin American integration. In the interview, Noam Chomsky addresses the traditional relationship between the United States and Latin America, the impact of neoliberal economic policies, and Latin America's "turn to the left."

From April 2007

http://www.zmag.org/zvideo/2570

American Foreign Policy in Latin America

March, 12 2008
By Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky's ZSpace Page

US in Latin America 2/2

This video is the second half of an interview with Professor Noam Chomsky on American Foreign Policy in Latin America, and Latin American integration. In the interview, Noam Chomsky addresses the traditional relationship between the United States and Latin America, the impact of neoliberal economic policies, and Latin America's "turn to the left."

http://www.zmag.org/zvideo/2573

Discussion with Libertarian Socialists

December, 20 2007
By Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky's ZSpace Page

Discussion with Libertarian Socialists

http://www.zmag.org/zvideo/62

Democrats have now polled ahead or within the margin of error in 11 Republican-held seats, as polls conducted in recent weeks show openings in second-tier targets including Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas. - TheHill

Hopefully, Democrats will find it in their hearts to send Lieberman to a deep bunker. A veto-proof Congress means it won't matter who is the President.

Former White House spokesman: Bush used 'propaganda' to sell war

Update: Bush 'didn't remember' whether he'd tried cocaine, McClellan writes

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Former_White_House_spokesman_Bush_used_052...

CARRIE DASHOW dropped a large dollop of lemon sorbet into a glass of Guinness, stirred, drank and proclaimed that it tasted like a “chocolate shake.”

Joe Fornabaio for The New York Times

HOW’S IT DO THAT? Franz Aliquo, who calls himself Supreme Commander, right, supplied miracle berries grown by Curtis Mozie, left, to party-goers in Long Island City, Queens, last weekend.
Joe Fornabaio for The New York Times

Those who attended sampled the red berries then tasted foods, including cheese, beer and brussels sprouts, finding the flavors transformed. Beer can taste like chocolate, lemons like candy. Mr. Aliquo says he holds the parties to “turn on a bunch of people’s taste buds.”
Enlarge This Image
Joe Fornabaio for The New York Times

Enlarge This Image
Joe Fornabaio for The New York Times

Nearby, Yuka Yoneda tilted her head back as her boyfriend, Albert Yuen, drizzled Tabasco sauce onto her tongue. She swallowed and considered the flavor: “Doughnut glaze, hot doughnut glaze!”

They were among 40 or so people who were tasting under the influence of a small red berry called miracle fruit at a rooftop party in Long Island City, Queens, last Friday night. The berry rewires the way the palate perceives sour flavors for an hour or so, rendering lemons as sweet as candy.

The host was Franz Aliquo, 32, a lawyer who styles himself Supreme Commander (Supreme for short) when he’s presiding over what he calls “flavor tripping parties.” Mr. Aliquo greeted new arrivals and took their $15 entrance fees. In return, he handed each one a single berry from his jacket pocket.

“You pop it in your mouth and scrape the pulp off the seed, swirl it around and hold it in your mouth for about a minute,” he said. “Then you’re ready to go.” He ushered his guests to a table piled with citrus wedges, cheeses, Brussels sprouts, mustard, vinegars, pickles, dark beers, strawberries and cheap tequila, which Mr. Aliquo promised would now taste like top-shelf Patrón.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/dining/28flavor.html?_r=2&ref=dining&o...

Noam Chomsky is just way too quite here today

Evan Solomon talks with Noam Chomsky about his book "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for..

CBC 9-11 Interview 1/2

October, 23 2007
By Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky's ZSpace Page

CBC 9-11 Interview 1/2

http://www.zmag.org/zvideo/59

=========================

CBC 9-11 Interview 2/2

October, 23 2007
By Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky's ZSpace Page

CBC 9-11 Interview 2/2

http://www.zmag.org/zvideo/60

-

McClellan On Bush's Version of the Truth: From Cocaine Rumors to Destructive Partisan Warfare

May 28, 2008 8:34 AM

Scott McClellan's new memoir on his White House days is harsh.

The decision to invade Iraq "goes to an important question that critics have raised about the president: Is Bush intellectually incurious or, as some assert, actually stupid?" the former White House press secretary writes. "Bush is plenty smart enough to be president. But as I've noted his leadership style is based more on instinct than deep intellectual debate."

In 1999, at a hotel suite "somewhere in the Midwest," McClellan recalls the Bush mind when dealing with rumors that the then-Texas governor had used cocaine.

Writes McClellan: "'The media won't let go of these ridiculous cocaine rumors,' I heard Bush say. 'You know, the truth is I honestly don't remember whether I tried it or not. We had some pretty wild parties back in the day, and I just don't remember.'

"I remember thinking to myself, How can that be? How can someone simply not remember whether or not they used an illegal substance like cocaine? It didn't make a lot of sense."

And yet, McClellan concludes, "I think he meant what he said in that conversation about cocaine. It's the first time when I felt I was witnessing Bush convincing himself to believe something that probably was not true, and that, deep down, he knew was not true. And his reason for doing so is fairly obvious — political convenience…"

Bush "has a way of falling back on the hazy memory to protect himself from potential political embarrassment. In other words, being evasive is not the same as lying in Bush's mind...It would not be the last time Bush mishandled potential controversy. But the cases to come would involve the public trust, and the failure to deal with them early, directly and head-on would lead to far greater suspicion and far more destructive partisan warfare."

- jpt

May 28, 2008 |

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/05/mcclellan-on-bu.html

The Political System in the USA

October, 23 2007
By Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky's ZSpace Page

U.S. Political System

http://www.zmag.org/zvideo/61

John Bolton to be target of citizen's arrest at Hay Festival
By Stephen Adams, Arts Correspondent

George Monbiot, the journalist and activist, is planning the action because he believes Mr Bolton is a "war criminal".

He said he was surprised that Mr Bolton would be allowed to "swim through the politest of polite soirees – which is of course Hay."

Mr Bolton, who was the American ambassador to the UN from August 2005 to January 2006, is due to talk at the Hay-on-Wye literary festival at 6.30pm on international relations.

Mr Monbiot, a columnist for The Guardian newspaper, plans to detain him as he steps off stage at the end of his talk. He said he was prepared to jump on stage and perform the citizen's arrest there if necessary.

He claimed Mr Bolton was "instrumental in preparing and initiating the Iraq war by disseminating false claims through the State Department" while he was under-secretary of state for arms control.

Mr Monbiot, who took part in a debate at Hay on Saturday entitled "Defeat: Why They Lost Iraq", has been a fierce critic of the decision to launch the 2003 invasion.

He said he had formally notified police of his intention of performing a citizen's arrest.

Mr Monbiot said: "This is the one opportunity we have, because he is mingling with the public, which doesn't happen very often."

He added: "I can't think of another case where someone who has been instrumental in planning the war has been exposed to the public, so I'm taking the opportunity.

"John Bolton was pushing for the Iraq war long before he became part of the administration."

Explaining his motivation for carrying out what will be a purely symbolic gesture, Mr Monbiot said: "Many people accept that the launching of the Iraq war was an international crime, but no one has yet been prepared to act on it by arresting one of the perpetrators."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/2041908/John-...

But Barr has yet to decide whether he will run as as a hybrid Republican-Libertarian or as a genuine "pox-on-both-their-houses" Libertarian. The uncertainty about whether the former Republican had really made "the switch" troubled many committed Libertarians -- especially those who describe themselves as both "big-L" and "small-l" adherents of the party's traditional views regarding government.

Barr has softened somewhat on drug-policy issues, for instance, but he was once one of the most over-the-top advocates in Congress for big-government interventions to tell Americans what drugs they can consume recreationally or medicinally (an ardent advocate for militarizing the "War on Drugs" as recently as 2002, he was a a member during his days in the House of the Speaker's Task Force for a Drug-Free America), what medical treatments they could utilize (he was one of the most ardently anti-choice members of the House), who they could marry (he authored and sponsored the Defense of Marriage Act) and how they could worship (he once proposed that the Pentagon bar the practice of Wicca in the military).

When Barr was booted from Congress in 2002, Libertarians actually ran television ads condemning him as the worst sort of authoritarian.

Now, he's their candidate.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/324012/which_bob_barr_is_running_...

By James R. Healey, USA TODAY
The average price of gasoline took a big jump the past week, but it might have been the last gasp of the recent, unrelenting stream of fuel price records.
The nationwide weekly average for a gallon of regular was $3.937, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Tuesday. That was up 14.6 cents since the report on May 19, and 72.8 cents more than a year ago.

Diesel, the fuel of shippers and a key component in the price of goods and the health of the economy, rocketed to a U.S. average $4.723, up 22.6 cents, the EIA reported. That's $1.906 more than it was a year ago.

However, a separate study tracking daily prices shows most of the jump came late last week, petered out over the Memorial Day weekend and was barely alive Tuesday.

"History is on the side of those looking for a respite," says Tom Kloza, oil analyst at consultant Oil Price Information Service. It collects price data from 85,000 stations daily, and travel group AAA publishes it at www.fuelgaugereport.com.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-05-27-oil-gas-tues_...

Former anti-terror czar Clarke: Staying in Iraq 'helps Al-Qaeda'

Maintaining US combat troops in Iraq "helps Al-Qaeda" and Washington should pull them from the ravaged country if it wants to see progress in the war on terror, former US anti-terror czar Richard Clarke said Tuesday.

"I think the best thing that we could do to hit Al-Qaeda's attractiveness to the Muslim world was in fact to get out of Iraq in an orderly way over the course of the next two or three years," Clarke said on CNN.

"Our being in Iraq helps Al-Qaeda," he added.

"We have to beat them in the ideological struggle. Getting out of Iraq will help that."

The US presence in Iraq has become a flashpoint issue in the 2008 presidential race. Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both said they will withdraw troops if elected, while Republican John McCain supports the war in Iraq but recently said he envisioned most troops could be home by 2013.

Clarke said that wasn't soon enough.

The security and counter-terrorism advisor to three US presidents who resigned in the first term of President George W. Bush's administration, also said Washington should reassure Muslim nations that the "war on terror" launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks is not a war on Islam.

"We're not fighting Islam," he said.

"And it's not terrorism we're fighting, it's the fundamentalist Islamic movements that use terrorism as part of their overall approach."

In 2006 Clarke said US security can easily be beaten and the country remained vulnerable to attack -- an assessment he reiterated Tuesday by warning that despite "hundreds of billions of dollars" spent on securing US borders, "no significant vulnerability in homeland security has been removed."

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Former_anti_terror_czar_Clarke_Stay_0527200...

Voter Repression

Friday 02 May 2008

»

by: Winston-Salem Journal

The U.S. Supreme Court has effectively reinstated the poll tax that once kept minorities and the poor from voting, and it did so for no justifiable reason.

The high court upheld an Indiana state law that requires a form of government-issued photo identification card for anyone to vote. Indiana lawmakers approved the bill on the grounds of fighting voter fraud.

But even in upholding the law on Monday, the court said there is no evidence of voter fraud. The court traded away the ability of many poor Americans to vote out of deference to conservative fears that someone might cheat.

This is fractured logic. The state is now permitted to deny access to the polls to hundreds of voters - documented cases of such were entered into evidence - to prevent some potential, as yet undefined, bad guy from slipping into the booth and voting twice. So much for the concept of voting as the most sacred right in a democracy.

The photo-identification ruse is nothing short of voter suppression, enacted by Indiana's Republican legislature to keep down the vote of traditionally Democratic-leaning minorities and senior citizens. It is those people who will have the most trouble getting state-approved photo-identification cards and who will likely miss the vote.

The poll tax long had its supporters in the Old South. It cost only a couple of dollars to vote, its apologists said. That wasn't much of a sacrifice for the sacred right.

But the poll tax wasn't charged to most whites. That's because people whose ancestors had voted before minorities won the right to vote after the Civil War were grandfathered in. The whole idea of a poll tax, as with the identification card, is to suppress the vote of the poor.

The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution banned poll taxes in 1964, but six justices effectively reinstated it this week with this decision.

How difficult can it be for someone to get a photo-identification card? A lot harder than many of us think.

Testimony before the court centered on the poor who do not own vehicles and who, therefore, do not have driver's licenses. They can file for other forms of identification, but those cards require personal trips to government offices, which can be expensive, difficult or impossible for the infirm. Many citizens also don't have access to their birth certificates, a key document needed in getting the proper identification in Indiana.

Just as those who supported the poll tax denied that it was an impediment to voting, those who support this identification requirement say it is not a big deal. But it is a big deal for the poor, and that's why the Indiana legislature enacted this law. They know they implemented a new tactic in our nation's sorry history of denying the vote to our poor and minority populations.

http://www.truthout.org/article/voter-repression

this week is way too long for me

"As I've stated in the past, Thom Hartmann is a delusional, Reagan-obsessed, extremely erroneous radio host."

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

WASHINGTON — Over a frantic weekend in mid-March, Ben S. Bernanke rewrote the rule book as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Like a military commander applying overwhelming force, he took steps then and over the next two months that some at the central bank are now calling the Bernanke Doctrine.

Today, Mr. Bernanke appears to have quieted many critics, especially on Wall Street, who earlier said he was overly academic and slow to react to market conditions.

But at the same time, new criticisms have surfaced that Mr. Bernanke has fanned inflation and contributed to the decline of the dollar by aggressively cutting interest rates. Some say he has put at risk billions in public funds by accepting devalued assets like mortgages and auto loans as collateral for loans to financial institutions. And by thrusting the Fed into new realms of intervention and regulation, he has raised questions about whether he is threatening the Fed’s independence.

“It has been a really head-spinning range of unprecedented and bold actions,” said Charles W. Calomiris, professor of finance and economics at Columbia Business School, referring to the Fed’s lending activities. “That is exactly as it should be. But I’m not saying that it’s without some cost and without some risk.”

Timothy F. Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and a close Bernanke ally, defines the Fed chief’s “doctrine” as the overpowering use of monetary policies and lending to avert an economic collapse. “Ben has, in very consequential ways, altered the framework for how central banks operate in crises,” he said. “Some will criticize it and some will praise it, and it will certainly be examined for decades.”

Mr. Bernanke’s actions have transformed his image as a self-effacing former economics professor.
more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/business/28bernanke.html?partner=rssya...

Submitted by mhappenow on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 8:31am.
...watch out for driving while asleep too...very dangerous
--------
Bait considers whether to regard this as friendly advice or to issue an award for Greatest Overstatement Of The Obvious?
-------------------------
jbenet--Please accept my condolences. According to your past descriptions it was a lousy turn of events all the way around. Beware of beating up yourself about it. It won't help anything or anybody.
-------------------------
toniD--I don't have anything to add to Willie Waffle except, maybe, a question mark for the interminably slow joke getters. Willie Waffle?
---
The bad news/good news of daily hydrocodone therapy:

Bad news: Chronic constipation.
Good news: You don't care.

Dem lawyers: Fla., Mich. can't be fully restored

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 25 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - A Democratic Party rules committee has the authority to seat some delegates from Michigan and Florida but not fully restore the two states as Hillary Rodham Clinton wants, according to party lawyers.
ADVERTISEMENT

Democratic National Committee rules require that the two states lose at least half of their convention delegates for holding elections too early, the party's legal experts wrote in a 38-page memo.

The memo was sent late Tuesday to the 30 members of the party's Rules and Bylaws Committee, which plans to meet Saturday at a Washington hotel. The committee is considering ways to include the two important general election battlegrounds at the nominating convention in August, and the staff analysis says seating half the delegates is "as far as it legally can" go.

Saturday's meeting is expected to draw a large crowd, with Clinton supporters among those encouraging a protest outside demanding that all the states' delegates be seated. Proponents of full reseating have mailed committee members Florida oranges and pairs of shoes to get their attention.

DNC officials are concerned about a potentially large turnout at the "Count Every Vote" rally outside the event and have asked the hotel staff to increase security to keep everyone safe. The DNC says the roughly 500 seats available to the public inside were taken within three or four minutes of becoming available online Tuesday.

The DNC analysis does not make recommendations for how the Rules and Bylaws Committee should vote, but gives context from the party's charter and bylaws for the committee to consider.

It underscores a prickly problem: If the Rules and Bylaws Committee decides to restore any of the states' delegates, there is not a simple way to divide them between Clinton and Barack Obama.

That's especially true in Michigan, where Obama had his name pulled from the ballot. He didn't have the option of removing his name in Florida, but all the candidates signed a pledge not to campaign in either state.

Clinton won the majority of the vote in Florida and Michigan and has been arguing that the delegates should be fully restored according to the results of the January primaries. But even if they were, it would not be enough for her to overtake Obama's delegate lead.

As it becomes clear that Obama likely will win the nomination, he has been working to win over voters in the two states with visits in recent days. He plans to return to Michigan on Monday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080528/ap_on_el_pr/primary_scramble_6

I choose this because it makes me seem funnier and smarter....

The other day, in the assignment desk thread, Jason asked:

I'd like to see some analysis of these so called Reagan [Democrats]. It seems odd that there has been so much discussion of this demographic group that existed over 20 years ago, with out any one really looking to see if they still exist.

Since 1980 the republicans have controlled the White house for 20 of the last 28 years, and the House of Representatives for 12 of the last 14 years. Do the "Reagan Democrats" still identify as democrats, or have most of them long since changed their party identification to Republican?

I thought that was an interesting question, but I didn't know the answer. So I sent the query to pollster Ruy Teixeira and asked what he thought happened to the "Reagan Democrats." He replied:

What indeed? And who are they? Do we literally mean folks with a Democratic party ID who voted Reagan? Or people from certain demogrphic groups (e.g., the white working class) who voted for Reagan in which case it's a far larger group. At any rate it would be hard to track the exact voters who identified Dem and voted for Reagan and find out what happened to them as they got older. Certainly it would appear that voters today who look demographically like the voters who voted for Reagan are more likely to have a Rep party ID than they did back in the day....so that presumably means many of them are Rs now.

Recent political history often seems startlingly immediate, its effects rippling easily into the present (as evidence, I'm spending the week reading a history of Nixon's election.) But it's worth remembering that Reagan was elected almost three decades ago. He won California, New York, Massachusetts, and even Vermont. Reagan Democrats were hardly the problem. It was Reagan Country. The sort of vote he put together was unique to that moment, that candidate, and those circumstances.

The electorate, its composition and universe of possible winning coalitions, is quite different now. Many, many Democratic pundits and strategists connect their party's decline to Reagan's win, so a tremendous amount of mental energy is expended theorizing how they can take back what he wrested from them, and which candidates can win back "the Reagan Democrats." But the battle isn't to reconstruct the coalition that was dominant in the 1980s. It's to envision and form the majority that will endure for the next ten years.

Posted by Ezra Klein on May 25, 2008 11:11 AM | Permalink

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=05&year=2008&...

An earlier event today, originally set to be held at the Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City, has been moved to a private home in the exclusive Arlington Hills neighborhood above the Avenues belonging to Sam and Diane Stewart.

~-~-~

Smirky's comin' to town today. You know what that means. Traffic will be a fucking nightmare.

Morning everyone. :)

Breaking News at MSNBC: McClellan "disgruntled about his experience"

Hey, Scottie, we welcome you to our fold with open arms, kid.

They will paint you as a "disgruntled former employee with an agenda." We know better.

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

thank you

I just listened to Sunday's book show last night. Sam sure does great interviews and he found some interesting guests that have not already done the progressive circuit.

oh how i cannot wait..

are they going to make you the boss now Lu'?

"Reagan democrats"
Submitted by mhappenow on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 10:36am.
...Certainly it would appear that voters today who look demographically like the voters who voted for Reagan are more likely to have a Rep party ID than they did back in the day....so that presumably means many of them are Rs now...
--------
The above pretty much summates the opinion that I have held since shortly after "Reagan Democrats" became commonly-used shorthand for demographics that never existed.

It is terminology designed as political propaganda. Most of the Democrats who voted for Reagan were not Democrats, at least not at heart. They were Independents. The were Moderates. And most of them were Republicans...which is unremarkable and the reason for creating a propaganda phrase that implies party defection.

sum·mate (s-mt)
v. sum·ma·ted, sum·ma·ting, sum·mates
v.tr.
To sum up: summate a legal argument.
v.intr.
To form or constitute a cumulative effect.

Isn't it ok to say politicizing rather than politicization? oh sage one!

Non Sequitur

“On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes -- and I see many of them in the audience here today -- our sense of patriotism is particularly strong.” – Barack Obama

“I had a uncle who was one of the, who was part of the first American troops to go into Auschwitz and liberate the concentration camps" – Barack Obama

http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/pow/miracle_berry.htm
A truly unusual plant, the Miracle Berry Plant (Synsepalum dulcificum) can be an interesting addition to a houseplant collection. A sunny windowsill is all you need to grow this plant that will amaze your friends.
[...]
Several mail order nurseries sell the Miracle Berry Plant. It also propagates readily from cuttings.

A Sweet Conspiracy? or The Bitter Truth?
"The Sugar Association, the trade body representing "Big Sugar" in the US, declined to be interviewed on the subject but flatly denied that the industry had exerted any influence over the FDA.

The Calorie Control Council, which represents artificial sweetener manufacturers in the US, has failed to respond to questions on the issue.

The Food and Drugs Administration also refused to be interviewed and has indicated that a Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation request to look at the relevant FDA files will not be considered for a year. Robert Harvey had requested the same files over 30 years ago.

"We got back the most redacted information I've ever seen from FOI. Everything was blacked out. There would have been material in the file that would have embarrassed the FDA, I believe."

Faced with this silence, it's virtually impossible to assess what actually happened to prevent the miracle berry's progress to a sugar-free market."

(But I can take a wild guess. Follow the money-- Enter Donald Rumsfeld and Aspartame.)

The Miracle Berry

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7367548.stm
By Adam Fowler

Imagine an extract from a berry that would make sour things taste sweet and help you lose weight. Then imagine not being allowed to take it.
(--)
"You can eat a berry and then bite into a lemon," says Harvey. "It becomes not only sweeter, but it will be the best lemon you've tasted in your life."

More importantly, this "miracle" can be used to manufacture sweet tasting foods without sugar or sweeteners, which have always been plagued by an after-taste.
(--)
"In market testing, diabetics thought our product, as the name implies, was a miracle."

But Harvey's sweet dream of making the world healthier came to an abrupt end. On the eve of the launch in 1974, the US Food and Drugs Administration unexpectedly turned against the product.
(--)
"If we had got beyond the diabetic market we could have been a multi-billion dollar company. We'd have displaced maybe millions of tons of sugar and lots of artificial sweeteners as well."

A few weeks later, things turned sour. A car was spotted driving back and forwards past Miralin's offices, slowing down as someone took photographs of the building. Then, late one night, Harvey was followed as he drove home.
(--)
More at link.

----------------
http://www.toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/plant_wk/synsepalum.htm
Featured plant - a special for your collection
(Order on line)
Synsepalum dulcificum: Everyday Miracle - Grow the Dream!
Scientific names: Synsepalum dulcificum, Synsepalum subcordatum
Family: Sapotaceae
Common name: Miracle Fruit
Origin: Ghana (Tropical West Africa)

...It is one of the strangest tropical fruits. The most unusual thing about it is the effect it has on one's taste after this miraculous berry has been consumed. The “miracle” is that if lemon or other sour food is eaten after the miracle fruit, the sour tastes sweet, as if sugar has been added.
(--)
This small, evergreen shrub grows very slowly to a height of 4-6 ft in container, and 10-15 ft in natural habitat. Eventual size depends on where the plant is grown; a 10 years old plant might be easily only 4-5 feet tall. It forms an oval to pyramidal shaped bush or small tree.

Inconspicuous brown-and-white 1/2 inch flowers are followed by bright scarlet, 1 inch footbal-shaped fruit, sweet and pleasant tasting. Most of the fruit is taken up by a single large seed, but the pulp around it can be nibbled off and then for the next hour or so, anything one eats that is sour has a sweet flavor. The plant starts fruiting when only 1 ft tall. It produces fruit practically year around.

-------------------
A Sweet Conspiracy? or The Bitter Truth?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8N0z8stino
Say thanks to Rumsfeld for Aspartame - in the 1970's

http://www.newswithviews.com/NWVexclusive/exclusive15.htm
(--)
Since its discovery in 1965, controversy has raged over the health risks associated with the sugar substitute. From laboratory testing of the chemical on rats, researchers have discovered that the drug induces brain tumors. On Sept 30, 1980 the Board of Inquiry of the FDA concurred and denied the petition for approval.

In 1981, the newly appointed FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes, ignored the negative ruling and approved aspartame for dry goods. As recorded in the Congressional Record of 1985, then CEO of Searle Laboratories Donald Rumsfeld said that he would "call in his markers" to get aspartame approved. Rumsfeld was on President Reagan's transition team and a day after taking office appointed Hayes. No FDA Commissioner in the previous sixteen years had allowed aspartame on the market.
(--)
More at link.

looking to see if they still exist.

Well there is HRC.

These are the first ones I've heard.......or at least recall.

I've heard tons from Hillary

Our idea is to show respect for all -- far too often interpreted, Miss Manners acknowledges, as showing respect for none. So she does not mean to discourage you from being careful about how you treat others. - Buffalo News

"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them." - Babs

How's this for a flat out prediction....not one of them will ever pay in any way for their crimes! Nothing! Nada! No prison sentences. No swinging from the ends of ropes in the Hague. No punishment, whatsoever. What will happen is that all of them...particularly the top dogs will walk away from their crimes and their mess, made wealthy beyond belief. For the cream on their desserts they will write books and make speeches that will add to their wealth.

so the fruit must be great right? I use stevia and have stopped aspertame because my son and hubby are convinced I will get a brain tumor...Stevia is only good with fruit, otherwise it taste to much like licorice to me...

I’ve chronicled some really dumb moves by the Shin Bet. But their decision in arresting and deporting Norman Finkelstein from the country really takes the cake:

Finkelstein said he was asked whether he had met with Al Qaida operatives, whether he had been sent to Israel by Hezbollah and how he intended to finance his stay in Israel.

“I was kept in a holding cell at the airport for approximately 24 hours…” Finkelstein said.

The Shin Bet apparently doesn’t understand the difference between Al Qaeda and Hezbollah. Or perhaps it pretends it doesn’t know the difference in order to smear people like Finkelstein. But actually, such questions only show the utter stupidity of the agent who asked them. And since he was following a scenario sketched out for him by his superiors, I presume we can blame the entire agency for this line of questioning.

The idea that Norman Finkelstein was imprisoned by the Shin Bet is an outrage. Even if you disagree with Finkelstein’s views on Hezbollah and think that Finkelstein is an intellectual provocateur, he is a respected academic with a large international audience. In banning him, Israel has made itself look petty, small and mean.

In an exchange of e-mails with fellow progressives I was shocked to discover that several people I thought would respond positively on this issue essentially said: “Finkelstein can go to hell for all I care.” I can understand why they don’t like Finkelstein. He is prickly person who tends to argue his case in extreme terms. In the passion of his argument, he gets carried away and overstates his case.

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/linkframe.php?linkid=60371

Submitted by mhappenow on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 11:08am.
Isn't it ok to say politicizing rather than politicization?
--------
You are talkin' verbs and nouns having the same definition.

politicize: v., -cized, -ciz·ing, -ciz·es.

v.intr.
To engage in or discuss politics.

v.tr.
To make political

politicization po·lit'i·ci·za'tion (-sĭ-zā'shən) n.

time will tell rk....I think it will happen withing 10 years or so

and there is also karma...even if they don't have conscience they will suffer...

Look how OJ has suffered even though he was "innocent"...he is less than a nobody now....the best punishment for a "hero"

Yea, sad to agree. My affection for Thom is over, even though he told me air his parents were buried in the MI town I live in. I never thought I'd be glad the anti-intellectual Mr. Ed was on instead of Thom on XM.
(For those interested, Lionel kept up his assault on KO this morning. Roger Ailes, at this point, should just buy AAR.

Submitted by mhappenow on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 10:36am.
The other day, in the assignment desk thread, Jason asked:

I'd like to see some analysis of these so called Reagan [Democrats]. It seems odd that there has been so much discussion of this demographic group that existed over 20 years ago, with out any one really looking to see if they still exist.

--------------

The conservative movement is nothing but a fraud perpetrated by a few rich men on a ignorant populist. How clever of them. They've convinced America that that government is the problem. Never mind, that the government is the American people. If you analyze the so-called ideology, it is shear nonsense. However, the only way they can continue to attain power is through fear. The tactic is to terrorize into submission. This of course enables them to rob the treasury and smash democracy, which is the the real objective of conservatism. It has certainly worked on we the stupid.! We don't think we deserve universal health care. No indeed, we don't need no stinking heath care. Let those 18,000 sick Americans die each year. Besides, those welfare moms and Mexicans might get it.

Unfortunately, fascist don't usually go voluntarily. When failing they usual turn on the populist. I have no doubt that they will attempt to destroy everything before leaving office. They've already destroyed the military. The injured soldiers have been kicked to the curb. Now Americans are being kicked out of their houses.

I blame the Democrats for being such cowards.

Why am I going on with this post? I'm not saying anything that you don't already know. But I need to rant. Now i going to take a pill.

If I had $40.00 spare dollars, I would have a plant right now.

with my looney tunes self...maybe!

Is Lionel quitting?

mhappenow,

"Summate" is a handy pun for an after-dinner speech. (Don't worry about being too corny. All after-dinner speeches have horribly corny jokes in them.)

sad but true, however the articles alice posted yesterday about (i think) argentina prosecuting people for war crimes committed in the 70's gives one hope.

as you say, they will all retire wealthy beyond their dreams, having plundered and stolen without recourse. the worst part of that, is that wealth is used to maintain and enhance their power and influence.

Maron is okay but I need Sam. Where is Sam?

i just flew in from the coast and boy are my arms tired...

Clinton's brief departure from the campaign trail up to Capitol Hill last week was a jarring reminder of what awaits her if, as most expect, she fails to win the Democratic nomination. As she weighs her return to the Senate, Clinton is in the uncomfortable position of being the focus of even more scrutiny and speculation than when she entered the chamber in 2001. - Yahoo

When is he on today?

Noon? (PST)

haha..that is too funny

Thom Hartman, has he really gotten that bad? I am trying to work with Ed Schultz, but um.....hey i said im trying

Click to give!

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

The Animal Rescue Site focuses the power of the Internet on a specific need — providing food for some of the 27 million unwanted animals given to shelters in the U.S. every year. Over 10 million animals are put to death every year in the U.S. alone because they are abandoned and unwanted.

http://www.thejokeyard.com/dumb_jokes/index.html

comes on live (well not the whole show)

Appointees Flee Bush Administration
"With eight months left in President Bush's term, scores of senior officials already are heading for the exits, leaving nearly half the administration's top political positions vacant or filled by temporary appointees," the Washington Post reports.

Further complicating matters: "More than 200 pending nominations are languishing on Capitol Hill, bogged down in political fights between Democrats and the White House."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR200805...

Bush, McCain Appearance Lasts One Minute
Sen. John McCain and President Bush "avoided any meaningful public appearance together" despite both attending a private fundraiser for the Arizona senator's presidential campaign last night, the New York Times reports.

They had "just the briefest of photo opportunities at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in the evening. Mr. McCain and Mr. Bush emerged from opposite sides of their limousine at the airport. They shook hands and waved, and Mr. Bush got on his plane without making a public statement. The joint appearance lasted less than a minute."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/us/politics/28bush.html?_r=1&ref=polit...

Obama Urges No Protests at DNC Meeting
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign "is urging its supporters not to demonstrate at Saturday's highly anticipated Democratic National Committee (DNC) meeting on how to handle the delegates of Florida and Michigan."

"In an internal campaign e-mail obtained by The Hill, the Obama campaign states, 'We look forward to the meeting proceeding smoothly -- and we're asking our supporters not to show up to demonstrate, passionately as they feel about this campaign.'"

http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/obama-urges-supporters-not-to-demonstra...

Give me a break.

You can find things on a daily if not hourly rate on which to disagree with Big Ed, though he's slowly swung to the left over the years.

Thom is still one of the most extreme lefties I know; yet he has one different opinion on a subject and you're ready to dump him?

C'mon! How many books has Ed written (with help) ...1 ?

Thom's got him by 29 books, if you count everything.

If Sam caught you favoring Ed over Thom, I dunno what he'd say.

He'd be bewildered, that's for sure.

that the last segment refers to only the last fifteen minutes of the show. Hopefully it will be on SammyCam.

Why Does Obama Make So Many Gaffes?
Submitted by supernova on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 11:11am.
----------

I wasn't aware he made so many. Why don't you stop hiding behind that new nic and tell us?

have money for the vending machine and i so fucking thirsty dam

I think Sam and Marc had to put it off this week because Marc is on American Afternoons. Remember AAR told Sam no Sammy Cam last time Marc was on!?!

maybe its the pressure from landing in a combat zone and dodging sniper fire. i know that would rattle me.

New York Dems could have spared us the HRC primary:

An Antiwar Challenge to Hillary Clinton
posted by John Nichols
Former National Writers Union president Jonathan Tasini, one of the most outspoken progressive activists in the U.S. labor movement, is expected this week to launch a Democratic primary challenge to New York Senator Hillary Clinton on a progressive platform that features a call for bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq.

I can't stand Big eddie, self-proclaimed best talk show host in America. Blow-hard. I think he tries to sound like limbaugh. Sam is so much more informed clever and witty. Sam has lots of good contacts. I can't figure it out. Is Air America turning into the Republican wing of the Democratic party?

May 28, 2008
And Another
Guam Senator and Democrat National Committeeman Ben C. Pangelinan endorsed Barack Obama today.

Pangelinan is Obama's third Super D endorsement of the day.

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2008/05/and_another.html

Colorado, Oregon chairs for Obama

A superdelegate used to get the requisite 15 minutes of fame for an endorsement, but I think it's down to about three minutes and 27 seconds at this point for Colorado Democratic Party Chairwoman Pat Waak.

ALSO: Oregon Chairwoman Meredith Wood Smith gets on board, swayed by her state's vote and by Obama's Dean-like commitment to contesting 50 states.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/Colorado_chair_for_Obama.htm...

(based on the leaked excerpts:

Bush relies on instinct rather than intellect, is an ideologue of the worst order and often lies to himself and other people as a matter of political convenience.
Yet he is a smart, honest, genuine man who I continue to like.

wtf?
Am I missing something?

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

I doubt any, since he hasn't read any. Nevertheless, I'd still rather listen to Ed than Thom's excuses for Hillary. Moreover, I suspect Ann Coulter is up to double digits for books written.

If Sam caught you favoring Ed over Thom, I dunno what he'd say.

Well, I don't actually answer to Sam-- only Air Ono.

Can't Make This Stuff Up
For months, John McCain has been bragging on the fact that he's got fmr. Sen. Phil Gramm as his key economics advisor. That's scary enough as it is, if you're familiar with Gramm's policy predilections and legislative history. But now it turns out that Gramm, who advised McCain on his mortgage relief policy and speech, was also a registered lobbyist for the Swiss bank UBS, which is obviously heavily concerned with the mortgage crisis. According to MSNBC, which has just broken the story, UBS only deregistered Gramm on April 18th of this year, which I'm pretty certain was after McCain rolled out the policy that Gramm had a hand in crafting.

--Josh Marshall

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/197229.php

Today's Must Read
By Andrew Tilghman - May 28, 2008, 11:37AM
Criticisms leveled in former White House spokesman Scott McClellan's new memoir are sure to get a lot of attention over the next few days.

What separates McClellan's account from other tell-all books from former Bush Administration officials is the personal tone. McClellan followed Bush from Texas and left the White House on good terms. But he's obviously not pleased with some decisions that were made -- and the way he was treated at times.

To some degree, McClellan's book tells us a lot of things we already know.

From today's Washington Post:

Bush is depicted as an out-of-touch leader, operating in a political bubble, who has stubbornly refused to admit mistakes.
But he also takes a swipe at the Bush public persona that exudes confidence.

"A more self-confident executive would be willing to acknowledge failure, to trust people's ability to forgive those who seek redemption for mistakes and show a readiness to change," he writes.
Among the most interesting stories McClellan recounts is his role in the CIA leak investigation that led to Scotter Libby's conviction for obstruction of justice last year. Here is where McClellan seems to get personal.

"I could feel something fall out of me into the abyss as each reporter took a turn whacking me," he writes of the withering criticism he received as the story played out. "It was my reputation crumbling away, bit by bit."
Intriguingly, he recounts his suspicions about a previously undisclosed West Wing meeting between Rove and Libby:

"There is only one moment during the leak episode that I am reluctant to discuss," he writes. "It was in 2005, during a time when attention was focusing on Rove and Libby, and it sticks vividly in my mind. ... Following [a meeting in Chief of Staff Andy Card's office], ... Scooter Libby was walking to the entryway as he prepared to depart when Karl turned to get his attention. 'You have time to visit?' Karl asked. 'Yeah,' replied Libby.
"I have no idea what they discussed, but it seemed suspicious for these two, whom I had never noticed spending any one-on-one time together, to go behind closed doors and visit privately. ... At least one of them, Rove, it was publicly known at the time, had at best misled me by not sharing relevant information, and credible rumors were spreading that the other, Libby, had done at least as much. ...

"The confidential meeting also occurred at a moment when I was being battered by the press for publicly vouching for the two by claiming they were not involved in leaking Plame's identity, when recently revealed information was now indicating otherwise. ... I don't know what they discussed, but what would any knowledgeable person reasonably and logically conclude was the topic? Like the whole truth of people's involvement, we will likely never know with any degree of confidence."

McClellan writes in a way suggesting he really didn't see this at the time. Really?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/the_harsh_tone_of_form...

Michael stay here and play

First post.... pop,

Yes I've been listening to Randi... I prefer Sammy(& L, ugottaluvthecam) but it'll be Maron today if I'm near a computer.

Been reading this blog since Randi's suspension, I was "watching" that week and the show was awesome. There's something about a contract running out that brings out the best in people. Been reading ever since and now I'm a member... because I read Olivia Judson this morning, was moved and wanted to share the link:
http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/musings-inspired-by-a-quagga/...

edna ellen,

Reagan D3m0cr4ts, it's hard to write that oxymoron, ain't Democrats, they're independents who swing elections. I vote democratic but know folks who watch fixnews and will most assuredly vote for McCain and don't have a good reason why they voted for Hillary in open primaries.

On Democrats as cowards: maybe the foe is reminiscent of the one Joseph Conrad painted in Heart of Darkness, the pile of vaccinated [ya'knowS]. IOW, maybe they're doing a better job than we think, just the adversary isn't playing with the same mental approach to life. Only time will tell.

Don't take a pill, go for a walk if you can.

Thanks folks
-cp.

Bush, McCain Appearance
Submitted by toniD on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 11:50am.
...The joint appearance lasted less than a minute.
-----
A thread or two back, I posted a similar article and added a picture of a guy wearing a suit and a Mexican wrestler's mask with the caption, "Bush Attends McCain Fundraiser" (or something similar).

I thought it was an hysterical joke but I laughed alone. Oh, well. There's no accounting for taste, especially mine.

McCain has a serious conundrum to overcome: How to utilize a president's clout for attracting campaign contributions without losing one Bush-hating voter for every dollar collected. Photographs depicting McCain and Bush in the same frame are far more damaging than the words that are spoken.

Maybe McCain should wear a T-shirt printed with an arrow and "I'm Not With Stupid."

Someone in the McCain campaign should seriously consider having Bush wear a wrestler's mask when photographers are in the vicinity.

Long-running investigations of Muck All-Stars Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens, both Alaskan Republicans, may unfold before this fall's election, resulting in indictments of the two politicians. Those two of three Alaskan congressional seats are already highly contentious, as both Stevens and Young have been scrutinized for their connections to disgraced Veco CEO Bill Allen; Young also faces allegations of misconduct regarding a shady earmark in Florida and the ongoing Jack Abramoff probes. (Anchorage Daily News)

http://www.adn.com/fbi/story/418890.html

New Ad In Puerto Rico: "Soy Barack Obama"
By Greg Sargent - May 28, 2008, 10:55AM
In this new ad that just started airing in Puerto Rico, Obama shows off his not-too-bad Spanish speaking skills...

Late Update: The translation is after the jump. In the ad, he seeks to bond with Puerto Ricans by saying: "I was born on an island, and I understand that food, gas, and everything costs more."

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/new_ad_in_puerto...

Like I said; one disagreement on a political strategy and you're fickle enough to dump Thom.

I haven't listened lately, but unless Ed has come about, about 170 degrees, he still can't hold a candle to Thom Hartmann.

Not even close.

Schultz is an ethanol supporter. A hunter. He comes down on the regressive side on other issues, too. Not to mention slamming on all the AAR hosts/listeners numerous times.

According to you; Thom's biggest fault is explaining Clinton's right to carry this thing out as long as she wants; even though that echoes Obama's argument.

But who wants to listen to Obama's opinions? He's only gonna be the next President.

It is her fucking negative shit and lies that drive me crazy...

When it comes to Hillary, Thom is doing what we Progressives can't stand, triangulating the truth. You would expect better from a man as smart as Thom. However, with all of his knowledge, he often lacks courage. A prime example of this- hanging up on the caller who wanted to talk about Israel.

Perhaps he gets his marching orders from wifey or Boss Green. Nevertheless, Ed Schultz has definitely been more honest about the Hillzilla campaign. But he is still dumb as a sack of rocks.

Submitted by toniD on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 12:16pm.
----

Oh that would be too wonderful, ToniD. Do you think will here it through the tubes?

I was trying to say, do you think we will hear it through the tubes?

Yours truly,

Ms.Edna "Bad-grammar-misspells-a-lot" Poe