gotta get rid of that pic

..but break a leg anyway or whatever the appropriate showbiz wish is these days.

..now about Sunday night.....hint, hint.

WIN!

"this machine kills fascists"

He was born to moderate that show.

It will be hard, however, to see Sam occupy the "center" position. ;-)

"leadership is the art of expanding the possible. Leadership without politics is futile. But politics without leadership is blind."

I have never been a big Brookings guy...but they got it right this time.....

I heard that DeMint want to impose a constitutional amendment for congress to have term limits and the 3 co-signers are all leaving office after their terms.

toniD's Ya Think?

Douchebag !

**

Rosario Dawson = OWW ! :)

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

MMRules

driving home from work, I noticed that the dashboard bright lights light was on. The driver's side headlight was out. I took it to Jiffy Lube to replace the bulb, but the light still didn't work. The fuses were tested and they were okay.

So I went to my mechanic. He said it could be an electrical problem and went into his shop to get a tool. I was leaning on the side of the car looking into the motor area and happened to look down at the wires closest to the wall of the engine area and saw some frayed copper wiring. When my mechanic came back I asked could that be the problem and he said yes that would do it. He said some critter was chomping on the wires. So I have to take my car in on Friday to get it fixed.

My mechanic said he was glad I found it because it saved him time looking for the problem.

toniD's Ya Think?

Space rock buzzes past Earth
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 1:55 PM by Alan Boyle
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/11/11/2124702.aspx

Asteroid-watchers say a space rock about as big as a garage came within 9,000 miles (14,000 kilometers) of Earth last Friday, just 15 hours after it was detected.

Experts quickly determined that the asteroid 2009 VA would miss us - and even if it came directly at us, it wouldn't have caused a catastrophe. Nevertheless, the close encounter serves as a reminder that someday a much bigger rock may well hit us and that it's best to be prepared.
~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

You didn't get mad when VP Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy Policy.

You didn't get mad when a covert CIA Operative was revealed.

You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act was passed.

You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded Iraq looking for WMD'S that didn't exist.

You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 Billion dollars(and counting) on Iraq War.

You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.

You didn't get mad when Bush was illegally wiretapping us at home and work.

You didn't get mad when Bush borrowed money to give to the oil companies.

You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.

You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible Conditions at Walter Reed.

You didn't get mad when we let New Orleans drown.

You didn't get mad when Bush got 4,500 soldiers killed.

You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.

You finally got mad when---- The government decided that people in America
deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick.

Illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, giving your tax dollars to super-rich, are all OK with you?
But helping other Americans is the last straw?

Seven presidents have tried to pass a Health Care Plan of some sort and
have failed. None have had the "hate filled" opposition of this president.

THE WORLD IS WATCHING AMERICA.

"Can you hear me?"

"Obama took our America - We want it back!"

www.bartcop.com

**

*Well,a Majority of us here,got mad..
And,continue to be mad.. :)

**

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

MMRules

is your mechanic gonna try to find this out, at least, since he didn't need to do much second (or first) guessing on your car problem

Breaking News: U.S. ambassador dissents on Afghan troop increase

Source: Washington Post

Strongly worded cables urge a pause until Kabul government shifts course

By Greg Jaffe, Scott Wilson and Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, November 11, 2009; 6:11 PM

The U.S. ambassador in Kabul sent two classified cables to Washington in the last week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government demonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the Taliban's rise, said senior U.S. officials.

Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry's memos were sent in the days leading up to a critical meeting Wednesday between President Obama and his national security team to consider several options prepared by military planners for how to proceed in Afghanistan. The proposals, which mark the last stage of a months-long strategy review, all call for between 20,000 to 40,000 more troops and a far broader American involvement of the war.

The last-minute dissent by Eikenberry, who commanded U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, has rankled his former colleagues in the Pentagon -- as well as Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, said defense officials. McChrystal has bluntly stated that without an increase of tens of thousands of troops in Afghanistan in the next year, the mission there "will likely result in failure."

Eikenberry retired from the military in April 2009 as a senior general in NATO and was sworn in as ambassador the next day. His position as a former commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is likely to give added weight to his concerns. It will also likely fan growing doubts about U.S. prospects for Afghanistan among an increasingly pessimistic public.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR200911...

toniD's Ya Think?

imo, that's the main course, the meat of the show; the rest is entertainment, slanted to the left but entertainment; the fox news and conservative media bashing is de riguer and i am not saying i do not enjoy it if it's well done, but it's starting to get repetitive the way keith carries it out

best persons, worst persons, let's play hardball, i could certainly do without all these fillers, not to mention the constant commercial interruptions

rachel on the other hand has been getting better and better; her show is at least 75% worthy, i'd say

..and put a mouse trap under your hood tD.

Obama Helping Lobbyists Weaken Offshore Tax Crackdown Dems Passed in 2002 over GOP Opposition
by David Sirota

.... now-Democratic Congress seven years later, with deficits exploding and the government clearly needing to strengthen any and all incentives for corporations to pay their taxes, I was more than disheartened to read this story in the Hill newspaper this week:

Multinational corporations are fighting to preserve language in a spending bill that would weaken a ban on federal contracts.

The provision, inserted in the Senate version of the bill at the request of the Obama administration, would weaken a ban on federal contracts for inverted companies...

Before the ban began in 2002, four of the 100 largest federal contractors were inverted, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

In 2001, those four companies received $2.7 billion in federal contracts, but they have unable to win the contracts since the ban was put into place.

The Obama administration is justifying its push on the grounds that the ban may - at some point in the undetermined future - conflict with our trade agreements. It's a charge North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan (D) rightly calls "absurd."
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/11-9

Afghan future threatened by ex-warlords in gov't

By TODD PITMAN (AP) – 43 minutes ago

KABUL — Warlords helped drive the Russians from Afghanistan, then shelled Kabul into ruins in a bloody civil war after the Soviets left. Now they are back in positions of power, in part because the U.S. relied on them in 2001 to help oust the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks.

President Hamid Karzai later reached out to them to shore up his own power base as America turned its attention to Iraq after the Taliban's rout.

With the Taliban resurging, the entrenched power of the warlords is complicating Karzai's promises to rid his new government of corruption and cronies, steps seen as critical to building support among Afghans against the insurgents.

"You can't build a new political system with old politicians accused of war crimes," said lawmaker Ramazan Bashardost, who finished third in the country's fraud-marred August election. "You can't have peace with warlords in control."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jdV5OHzHWb7EK80DZWzhsn...

toniD's Ya Think?

LFTLC: http://www.green960.com/pages/angie.html

Creditors fight "wicked" plan for bankrupt Freedom (30 daily newspapers + 8 tv stations)

Source: Reuters

WILMINGTON, Del., Nov 11 (Reuters) - Creditors of bankrupt Freedom Communications Holdings Inc have launched a fight against an "immoral and wicked" reorganization plan that would turn over the Orange County Register owner to JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and other banks.

A court-appointed committee of creditors asked the judge overseeing the bankruptcy to direct Freedom, which owns 30 daily papers and eight TV stations, to give it confidential financial information so it could draft an alternative plan.

Freedom's proposed bankruptcy plan would give secured bank lenders almost all of the reorganized company's equity and $325 million in new notes. In return, secured lenders including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), SunTrust Banks Inc (STI.N) and Union Bank of California would forgive $770 million in debt. Union Bank is a unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (8306.T).

Under the same proposal, unsecured creditors with claims of $300 million were to split only $5 million. The unsecured creditors receive nothing if they voted against the plan.

"I think it's immoral and wicked that we didn't get more consideration than $5 million divided among all the unsecured creditors," said Alan Bell, a former Freedom chief executive and now a member of the creditor committee.

The family of R.C. Hoiles and private equity firms Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) and Providence Equity Partners, as present owners of the company, would get stock and warrants representing 12 percent of the new company under the proposed plan.

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1137027620091111

I hope the judge refuses this.

toniD's Ya Think?

Really?

Tire Iron to the Head: That's What They Do If You Look A Little Weird

A new Rasmussen poll has 57% of people concerned the Fort Hood shootings will prompt a backlash against Muslims. Good thing: The insanity has started. Approached by a bearded man in a robe, Florida Marine reservist and apparent beefcake Jasen Bruce attacked him with a tire iron, chased and pinned him, and told 911 he'd captured a terrorist - who was a Greek Orthodox priest asking for directions. Bruce said the guy yelled "Allahu Akbar"; clearly he should have yelled, "You are a racist idiot!"

"That's what they tell you right before they blow you up," Bruce told police.
http://www.commondreams.org/further/2009/11/11-0

If that's the format, I'd think Sammy's got a winner..
new
Submitted by maggiesboy on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 8:16pm.
He was born to moderate that show.

------
Douchenozzle!!

we worked out a deal so I will continue to be on the radio. They are also willing to give me a show of my own if I can get a sponsor! I will be paying but it is fair and a tax deduction as well. :) THis would be a weekend show....

I am happy about it.

Where is the love?

You didn't get mad...
Submitted by ghettodefender on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 9:00pm.
Really?
*******

I'm just a slow editor.. :)

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

MMRules

If that's the format, I'd think Sammy's got a winner..
Submitted by maggiesboy on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 8:16pm.
--------
"Say the secret douchbag and win a hunnerd dollar."

Looks like one..

Or,has Fernando gone rouge ? ;)

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

MMRules

Says he will announce his decision after his Asia trip

Now on Rachel's show, from the AP.

Glad he's thinking this out.

toniD's Ya Think?

KBR improperly billed ($103 million) for security guards, senator says Updated at 3:46 PM

Source: Houston Chron/Bloomberg

KBR, the largest contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan, improperly billed the Pentagon and was paid about $103 million for armed security guard services, a U.S. senator says.

In a Nov. 6 letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who chairs a contracting oversight panel, wrote that the Pentagon has recovered $42 million of the payments.

McCaskill said she was concerned the Defense Department "is not moving quickly enough to recover the remaining $61 million” and asked Gates for a status report by Dec. 1.

KBR officials have not seen the McCaskill letter but “the assertion KBR has engaged in 'improper' billings is false,” said company spokeswoman Heather Browne in an e-mail. “KBR has previously addressed billing issues and worked with the government to answer questions raised,” she said.

The billings were part of the Houston-based company's $34 billion contract to provide housing, food, laundry, mail delivery and fuel. The Defense Contract Audit Agency first identified the billings in August 2007. McCaskill said the failure to recover all the money by now “raises questions about the sufficiency” of Pentagon efforts “to recover disapproved costs on other contracts.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6715420.html

toniD's Ya Think?

Still Waiting for Health Care
by Ralph Nader

The House of Representatives debate on the health insurance "reform" is over with the Democrats failing the people and the Republicans disgracing themselves as having left their minds back in the third grade (with apologies to third graders).

House Democrats were determined to pass any bill with a nice sounding name, such as "The Affordable Health Care for America Act". Single payer, full Medicare for all was never on the table even though a majority of citizens, physicians and nurses support that far more efficient, free choice of health care professionals, system.

There are no effective cost containment or prevention measures in the bill. The public option is so weak it will be a receptacle for the sickest of patients among the meager number of people who qualify for its coverage. There are no provisions to reduce the number of people (100,000) who die annually from medical malpractice in hospitals.

Nor is there a major program to reduce the tens of billions of dollars that is stolen yearly out of Medicare from criminals inside and outside the medical profession....

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/11-12

How the US Funds the Taliban
By Aram Roston

On October 29, 2001, while the Taliban's rule over Afghanistan was under assault, the regime's ambassador in Islamabad gave a chaotic press conference in front of several dozen reporters sitting on the grass. On the Taliban diplomat's right sat his interpreter, Ahmad Rateb Popal, a man with an imposing presence. Like the ambassador, Popal wore a black turban, and he had a huge bushy beard. He had a black patch over his right eye socket, a prosthetic left arm and a deformed right hand, the result of injuries from an explosives mishap during an old operation against the Soviets in Kabul.

But Popal was more than just a former mujahedeen. In 1988, a year before the Soviets fled Afghanistan, Popal had been charged in the United States with conspiring to import more than a kilo of heroin. Court records show he was released from prison in 1997.

Flash forward to 2009, and Afghanistan is ruled by Popal's cousin President Hamid Karzai. Popal has cut his huge beard down to a neatly trimmed one and has become an immensely wealthy businessman, along with his brother Rashid Popal, who in a separate case pleaded guilty to a heroin charge in 1996 in Brooklyn. The Popal brothers control the huge Watan Group in Afghanistan, a consortium engaged in telecommunications, logistics and, most important, security. Watan Risk Management, the Popals' private military arm, is one of the few dozen private security companies in Afghanistan. One of Watan's enterprises, key to the war effort, is protecting convoys of Afghan trucks heading from Kabul to Kandahar, carrying American supplies.

Welcome to the wartime contracting bazaar in Afghanistan. It is a virtual carnival of improbable characters and shady connections, with former CIA officials and ex-military officers joining hands with former Taliban and mujahedeen to collect US government funds in the name of the war effort.

In this grotesque carnival, the US military's contractors are forced to pay suspected insurgents to protect American supply routes. It is an accepted fact of the military logistics operation in Afghanistan that the US government funds the very forces American troops are fighting. And it is a deadly irony, because these funds add up to a huge amount of money for the Taliban. "It's a big part of their income," one of the top Afghan government security officials told The Nation in an interview. In fact, US military officials in Kabul estimate that a minimum of 10 percent of the Pentagon's logistics contracts--hundreds of millions of dollars--consists of payments to insurgents.
more...

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091130/roston

toniD's Ya Think?

toniD: "My headlight won't work."

Mechanic: "I'll get my tester."

toniD: "What's this frayed wire?"

Mechanic: "Hey, do I tell you how to run the Park Department?"

toniD: "No. Sorry."

Mechanic: "You should be! Okay, here's the problem."

toniD: "What is it?"

Mechanic: "A frayed wire."

I don't think it is fair to call progressives and liberals out and say they are not angry and just sitting on their hands. Since 2004, people have been mobilizing and getting people to vote and do legislative sorts of activities, like petitions and letters. We read of such things on this very blog. As for the effectiveness, that is open to debate.

A Warrior on a Mission in Rush Limbaugh's Home District

Democrats who may be worried about the 2010 congressional races have a long shot hero this Veterans' Day in a most unlikely place: Rush Limbaugh's home congressional district, the 8th District of Missouri.

The southeast corner of Missouri reared Rush, but it may be about to redeem itself. This reddest of districts has a realistic chance of turning blue, and the reason is former Green Beret Tommy Sowers.

Sowers, who recently left active duty in the Army, has a gold-plated pedigree. Major Sowers earned two Bronze Stars in two deployments in Iraq. Mr. Limbaugh, the churlish champion of the chickenhawks, avoided duty in Vietnam because, reportedly, he had a boil on his ass. Some boil. Some ass.

Sowers has deep roots in the area. He was born and raised in Rolla, the town that gave us the Carnahan family, the Kennedys of Missouri. Sowers' grandfather founded the town's local newspaper during World War Two. Sowers led the Army ROTC at Duke, earned a Master's at the London School of Economics and taught at West Point. I first met him there, and have followed him with interest since. Now that he's left the Army he's been recruited once more. This time to run for Congress.

I must say I tried to talk him out of it. The district, I said, is too Republican, and the election cycle too challenging. Tommy would have none of it. This is his home, he said, and this is his duty.

While the district is undeniably Republican-leaning, Sowers is at home there in a way the incumbent, Jo Ann Emerson, is perhaps not. Emerson's husband, Bill, represented the area until his death in 1996, and Jo Ann Emerson succeeded him. She has won by overwhelming margins ever since. But her background is more K Street than Cape Girardeau. A former Washington lobbyist, Emerson has over the years been a darling of Washington PACs. In fact, 56.9% of the money she has raised in her career has been from PACs. She risks being seen as of Washington special interests, by Washington special interests and for Washington special interests.

Sowers' mission will be to ride what could be an anti-incumbent wave all the way to Congress. And he won't do it on a wing and a prayer. Fueled by his fellow veterans, Sowers raised $204,000 in just the first three weeks of his campaign. That's more than Emerson's last five Democratic challengers combined. Emerson will not be able to coast to victory on the 25-to-1 fundraising advantage she has held in the past. more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-begala/a-warrior-on-a-mission-in_b_35...

toniD's Ya Think?

We've been railing against all those infractions while, er whilst, they sat on their hands.

How freaky is that? I have a friend who was a '75 West Point grad. I'm gonna have to try to look him up. Maybe we can have an anonymous source of our own on brr.

Oh look at the time.
We'll have to leave it at that.
Some people say stuff and we report it.

10 States Face Looming Budget Disasters: Pew Report

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In Arizona, the budget has grown so gloomy that lawmakers are considering mortgaging Capitol buildings. In Michigan, state officials dealing with the nation's highest unemployment rate are slashing spending on schools and health care.

Drastic financial remedies are no longer limited to California, where a historic budget crisis earlier this year grew so bad that state agencies issued IOUs to pay bills.

A study released Wednesday warned that at least nine other big states are also barreling toward economic disaster, raising the likelihood of higher taxes, more government layoffs and deep cuts in services.

The report by the Pew Center on the States found that Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin are also at grave risk, although Wisconsin officials disputed the findings. Double-digit budget gaps, rising unemployment, high foreclosure rates and built-in budget constraints are the key reasons.

"While California often takes the spotlight, other states are facing hardships just as daunting," said Susan Urahn, managing director of the Washington, D.C.-based center. "Decisions these states make as they try to navigate the recession will play a role in how quickly the entire nation recovers."

The analysis, "Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril," urged lawmakers and governors in those states to take quick action to head off a wider catastrophe. The 10 states account for more than one-third of the nation's population and economic output, according to the report.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/11/10-states-face-looming-bu_n_354...

toniD's Ya Think?

Now the boys upstairs at BlueRoots need to see you next Tuesday. Bring a flashlight and pack a lunch. It's gonna be a long brutal meeting.

Mad
new
Submitted by Leah on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 9:19pm.
*******
I was slow to edit it..Forgot pic that goes with it..

True..Bartcop is talking about Teabaggers .I forgot the pic at the end..
I'm talking about the apolitical general masses,teabaggers, and Congress..
Although,I give the masses alot of slack because most of them are just trying to survive in this economy..
Congress ? That's another matter..
A good list of things to be mad about,though..

Sorry,sometime I post before I think.. :)

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

MMRules

What good is money if you have to sell your soul for it -
Submitted by CeeCee on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 2:20pm.
CNBC: We’re Not Pro-Slavery, Except on Camera
On business TV, lower prices justify almost anything.
By James Ledbetter
Posted Monday, November 9, 2009 - 2:25pm

I’ll give Wal-Mart (WMT) credit for this much: Its new ad campaign has certainly got people talking. Some of the ads have a saccharine story line with people kissing on buses and such, but here’s a stripped-down version that highlights the central claim: Wal-Mart saves the average American family $3,100 a year. If, like me, you live nowhere near a Wal-Mart, you might let such figures wash over you, but the company insists that it’s true no matter where you shop.
===========================

What good are Lower Prices if you have no job and no money?

Hel-lo-o!

Has to be, Toni! remember, they ate my AC wiring this summer!

That's interesting about Obama rejecting all of the Afghan options...last night/this morning they were saying that he had been given four options and all of them involved troop increases including the "Gates option" of 30,000.

"this machine kills fascists"

Submitted by maggiesboy on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 9:33pm.
Now the boys upstairs at BlueRoots need to see you next Tuesday.
---------
Call her agent.

Oh. I should have figured that. Lefties (like me) have been known to post such appeals to liberals. But we know that already. Anyway, there are some on the progressive side who say that the teabag rank and file, if given the opportunity, can come to support the progressive side. Hartmann was saying such on his show today. Recently, I heard Chomsky remark that the teabaggers have good reason to protest, as they have been getting smashed for 30 years. But right now, it is the right that has been mobilizing them. Here is an opportunity for the left. (It has been done before.)

Congrats on the good news and a possible show. I knew it would be good news.

Why did they want to charge you for Corey's show? Did he say?

toniD's Ya Think?

Creepy geezer Larry King asks creepy evangelical stepford cupcake Carrie Prejean if she had disclosed to pageant officials that she made a home masturbation video at 17.

Asks if she'll release it!

*Click*

"this machine kills fascists"

early...

bed...

later.

Submitted by 60th Street on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 9:47pm.
...home masturbation video...
--------
Ringing the doorbell?

Entering through the back door?

Jiggling the handle?

Official: Obama won't take any current war options

Edited on Wed Nov-11-09 08:45 PM by TomCADem
Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

Obama is still close to announcing his revamped war strategy — most likely shortly after he returns from a trip to Asia that ends on Nov. 19.

But the president raised questions at a war council meeting Wednesday that could alter the dynamic of both how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and what the timeline would be for their presence in the war zone, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Obama's thinking.

The president is considering options that include adding 30,000 or more U.S. forces to take on the Taliban in key areas of Afghanistan, and to buy time for the Afghan government's small and ill-equipped fighting forces to take over. The other three options on the table are ranges of troop increases, from a relatively small addition of forces to the roughly 40,000 that the top U.S. general in Afghanistan prefers, according to military and other officials.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_us_afghanistan

Sec. Clinton is with the Pentagon on this issue. Obama's not sure about Karzai. If we leave Afghanistan, I don't think Karzai will make it, unless he makes a deal with the Taliban, but then he may be outed by another faction.

toniD's Ya Think?

I will be paying but frankly I can use the tax deduction...

he even asked me if I could do a political show! I referred him to "ya think"..

you don't have to tell me, dude!

"this machine kills fascists"

Squirrels!
Submitted by 60th Street on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 9:38pm.

Has to be, Toni! remember, they ate my AC wiring this summer!
______________

Hadda buddy who had sumpin' in the hold gnawin' on his cohos for a spell this summer. Too hongry to be a rat.

Pullt into Port Alexander on the southern tip a Baranof just round of Cape Ominous (Ommaney) to wait out a blow. We was visitin' on his aft deck when up pops a marten.

He warn't scared, just sorta wrinkled his whiskers 'n eyed us both w/a measure a scornful disdain, and off the bulwarks he plops onto the dock, just as lazy as you please, does a graceful swing into the water and on his merry way he went.

So my buddy sez: "You know yer a low-liner when you ain't even meetin' a marten's minimum daily requirements."

Fernando, I hear that you got the new Droid?

A while back I remember you'd use your blackberry as a modem for your laptop. Can you use the Droid as a modem, too?

I'm thinking of getting one...I've never much wireless web stuff, I'm wondering what kind of megs I'd use up?
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

*

-

This is very interesting, and no doubt is taking place not only in San Francisco Bay but also in many other places on America's coasts...

http://www.savebay.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=318

[excerpt]

July 2009: The U.S. Coast Guard issued a positive Letter of Recommendation for the Weaver’s Cove LNG (liquified natural gas) proposed “offshore berth” near Spar Island in Mount Hope Bay - the berth would dock LNG tankers and have a gas pipeline running beneath the Bay to a storage facility in Fall River. This proposal will require extensive new dredging and the project’s footprint will permanently destroy critical fish habitat and render much of the Bay off-limits to the public.

Now that we’ve finally begun to restore Mount Hope Bay from decades of abuse from sewage and power plants, Hess, the project developer, wants to take it away from the public and pollute it with a massive LNG platform. Read Jonathan Stone's letter regarding this news.

[end excerpt]

WASHINGTON, Nov.11, 2009
Can a Donation Buy Legislation?
Lots of Cash Has been Raised for Rep. Stephen Buyer's Scholarship Foundation, but So Far No Scholarships Have been Awarded
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/11/cbsnews_investigates/main56165...

When nobody from the Frontier Foundation returned our calls, we went to the address listed on their tax forms in Monticello, Indiana and found an empty office.

So we visited Buyer's local Congressional office and staffers there said the Foundation and campaign had just relocated next door.

We knocked on that door, but couldn't get the woman inside to answer.

Buyer told us the Foundation no longer has a physical address.

"I was so focused on making sure that we were legal, that I probably didn't pay as close attention as I should have on, quote, appearances," Buyer said.

Part of that "appearance" problem has to do with the nature of the Foundation's donors.

Attkisson: From what I can tell, all of the donors have interests before committees that you sit on in Congress.

Buyer: Well, the committees in which were, uh, the committees, the corporations in which provided support, like I said, were those original companies. Please do not assume that if a company contributes to the foundation that that's somehow some type of influence upon what I'm about to do.

But that's exactly what Buyer's critics suggest. Consider that he sits on Committees that oversee drugs, tobacco and telecommunications. All of his Foundation donors are from those industries.

After his Foundation received hundreds of thousands of dollars from pharmaceutical interests, Buyer took up a number of pharmaceutical industry priorities and sponsored bills they supported.

After tobacco interests gave generously, Buyer opposed a bill giving the FDA authority to regulate tobacco.

Attkisson: You instead sponsored an RJ Reynolds supported alternative. And RJ Reynolds is a donor to your foundation.

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Submitted by 60th Street on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 9:47pm.

Creepy geezer Larry King asks creepy evangelical stepford cupcake Carrie Prejean if she had disclosed to pageant officials that she made a home masturbation video at 17.

______________

I was under the impression this was the Prejean talent act that won her the pageant.

How Dick Cheney's Liquified Natural Gas destroys the coastline

Submitted by nora on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 10:35pm.

________________

Coastline?

You should thank yer lucky stars you ain't gotta warsh his shorts.

1ʇɐɔǝɥǝ
Submitted by 1ǝʇɐnbǝzʇɐnb on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 9:05pm.

just wondering

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

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

MMRules

Uh-oh: Jon Stewart catches Fox News’ creative editing

"Does Hannity fact-check his show like Beck does? I don’t think so! Dumb move Fox."

"this machine kills fascists"

Got your message though.

Hope all is well with you.

How's the weather up there? So far we've had a very mild fall. It was in the 60s here today. And I noticed from the weather map that even up in Canada it's been a mild fall.

What's a Martin?

toniD's Ya Think?

Study links BPA in plastics to erectile dysfunction
By Ray Hainer, Health.com
November 11, 2009 3:17 p.m. EST
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/11/bpa.erectile.dysfunction/

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Are you someone who is more likely to get swine flu because you got a flu vaccine? This article also has a link to the study that is causing reevaluation/change in vaccine programs...

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/11/10/Canadian-P...

[excerpt]

Why is Canada Changing Its Flu Vaccine Policy?
Posted by: Dr. Mercola
November 10 2009 | 145,427 views

Many countries are pouring millions into orders for swine flu vaccine from pharmaceutical companies. But one country is taking a different approach.

The Irish Independent reports that the some Canadian provinces have suspended the 'normal' seasonal flu shots for anyone under 65 in response to a recent study there. However, the vaccine suspensions do not apply for people over 65.

The study suggests that people vaccinated against seasonal flu are actually twice as likely to catch swine flu.

But plans vary across the provinces of Canada. Last month, British Columbia announced it is suspending seasonal flu shots for anyone under 65 years old, joining Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia in halting the immunizations.

Quebec's Health Ministry announced it would postpone vaccinations until January, clearing the autumn months for health professionals to focus on vaccinating against H1N1, which is expected to the more severe influenza strain this season.

"By the time the H1N1 wave is over, there will be ample time to vaccinate for seasonal flu," said Dr. Ethan Rubinstein, head of adult infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba.

Other provinces, including Manitoba, are still pondering a response to the research. New Brunswick, one of the lone holdouts, made an announcement in September that it would forge ahead with seasonal flu shots for all residents in October, as originally planned.

...

An international panel is currently scrutinising the controversial study's data. Dr Ethan Rubinstein, who has read the study, said it appeared sound.

"There are a large number of authors, all of them excellent and credible researchers," he said. "The sample size is very large, at 12 or 13 million people."

[end excerpt]

Although I am procra...I mean "inspired."

Hi dr. Missed you the other night.

Submitted by toniD on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 10:58pm.

Got your message though.

Hope all is well with you.

How's the weather up there? So far we've had a very mild fall. It was in the 60s here today. And I noticed from the weather map that even up in Canada it's been a mild fall.

What's a Martin?

_______________

Hi toni.

A marten's a well-heeled Doc, a-course.

Far's weather, we get a lotta gales and some storms this time of year. (Death, taxes 'n equinoctial storms is the constants here in SE AK.)

One of my two dogs did something I didn't think was possible here recent: W/the wind blowin' 45 knots and gusting in the 60s, my catahoula got sea-sick whilst tied up @ the dock. (Some boat dog he is.)

Headin' back to Mich. inna coupla weeks to (finally) replace my 35-y/o furnace in my hunnerd y/o house. Then off to Panama for some tarpon 'n snook 'n New Year revelryness. Got a major jones for somewheres warm 'n cheap 'n new.

Been a hard year up here. Hadda a buddy whose boat was stove to splinters on the rocks (his son was negligent: sitting inna hot-tub -- lotta natural springs up here -- whilst anchored up inna notorious snaggletooth blowhole w/a known nasty forecast in the works). Nuther fella I know foundered onna rock negotiating a tight pass (hurricane-force gust heeled him over at the worst possible moment) but he was able (w/a lotta help) to float his boat back to Sitka for repairs. Nuther guy drug anchor inna 20-foot swell and sunk his boat, again smasht onna rock offa St. Lazaria Island (magnificent bird rookery); he didn't get fished out of the soup by the rescue 'copter for a spell and got medivacced to Anchorage to be treated for hypothermia. Nuther guy I met but didn't know died when he fell outta the boat and couldn't get back in whilst fishin' up near Schultze Cove (fishin' by himself). Also met a young fella onna seiner that went down this summer (the old sayin' "you don't step offa boat at sea 'less yer steppin' into a liferaft, immersion suit or offa the mast light" was operative for one of the crew but this young fella made it into the skiff ahead of that, fortunate for him).

I drug anchor my own self when I anchored inna position to accommodate the forecast direction of a blow and the wind come round from an unexpected direction. Checked my position @ 2 am and it were OK. Peered out my porthole window at first light 'n seen tree branches. Bein' the not-so-bright fellow I am, thinks I, "hey, that ain't right," 'n jumps up to check my position. Large rocks 30 feet offa the stern and port quarter.

W/alla the misfortunes that's befell so many this year, felt lucky just to get lucky.

malloy story about a case of mistaken identity when a dickhead thought a greek priest was an arab, so he cracked the priest with a tire iron

in fairness to the dickead...
he did the right thing but for the wrong reason

then malloy went to a break with...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm7ddqkgzFw

(ok, off to buy a black shirt for my uncle spiro's funeral tomorrow)

(fyi, a martin is a boot that dr wears on one of his foots)
dr in the morning
"now which dr martin to put on first & on which foot?"
: )

So I was channel surfing this afternoon. Though I'm not an Oprah fan, her show caught my eye. Her guest was the woman that was viciously attacked last February by a chimpanzee. I must admit that I thought she had died. But she was indeed, very much alive. Oprah showed pictures of her before the accident. She was an attractive woman of 56 years. But today, covered by a hat and a veil, she about to reveal her disfigured face.

When she removed her hat and veil, it was horrific. The chimpanzee had literally ripped her face off. Her eyes had been removed. She had no nose- and not really a mouth. She said they had to create a partial tongue. She could not breath nor eat without a tube- which reminds me why I am not an Oprah fan.

Oprah, who is shallow and self-absorbed, actually said to this women, "AT LEAST YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT YOUR WEIGHT."

was a work day today, been here since 9a. Will get back to you re olympics.

~`ordinary's just not good enough today - olp`~
Jamesbenet

Submitted by air-ono on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 11:26pm.

malloy story about a case of mistaken identity when a dickhead thought a greek priest was an arab, so he cracked the priest with a tire iron

_________

Greeks: Beware of rednecks bearing tire irons.

typical hannity swapping a fake clip of the bachmann rally

here's the authentic footage...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilXVkgmJk2E

ok, now i'm off

and i'll be packing a tire iron at the funeral, in case there's a greek priest

eh, can't stick around
ciao

yes

Digby commits heresy:

I have a moral objection to paying for any kind of erectile dysfunction medicine in the new health reform bill and I think men who want to use it should just pay for it out of pocket. After all, I won't ever need such a pill. And anyway, it's no biggie. Just because most of them can get it under their insurance today doesn't mean they shouldn't have it stripped from their coverage in the future because of my moral objections. (I don't think there's even been a Supreme Court ruling making wood a constitutional right. I might be wrong about that.)

Free Democracy

Joette Lookabaugh
Fremont County (ID) Prosecutor

Dear Mrs. Lookabaugh,

Thank you for retaining GOP National Committeeman Blake Hall as your county civil attorney. You could have taken the easy route, like Bonneville County did, and fired him after he was convicted of throwing used condoms onto his ex-girlfriend's lawn on ten different days.

But you didn't. You understood that his conviction and subsequent resignation from the Republican National Committee was punishment enough. But even more importantly, I suspect you saw his used condom deposits as the heroic acts of love they were.

I can imagine how it all came about. He was in a funk after losing the woman he loved. It wasn't his fault. She just began to hate him more and more as she got to know him better. It's the kind of thing that happens to true American men like him and me. It's the patriot's curse.

My guess is he began devising schemes to get her back, eventually landing on the idea that they might grow close again if they shared the responsibility of caring for another being. Maybe he picked up a dog and waited in his car outside her house to give it to her. Perhaps, he was playing his radio and a Charlie Daniels song came on. As a not-man, you might not be familiar with how a Charlie Daniels song like "Stroker's Theme" affects a man. It gives us a hankering, a mighty hankering, to liberate our seed.

Not wanting to murder defenseless Spermatazoan-Americans, he'd have used a condom to temporarily house the little squirters until he could take them home to his cellar full of Mason jars. He'd put it on and then start yanking furiously in time to Daniel's fiddling until he filled its reservoir tip to the bursting point with his teams of huddled gametes yearning to swim free . Once finished, he'd carefully remove it and place it on the seat next to him as he zipped up his pants.

Of course, the dog would immediately eat it. That's the nature of dogs. They hate America, but they love the taste of our tiniest citizens (or so I'm told--don't believe a god damned word Cletus tells you, and, anyway, what a man does with his own damned peanut butter is his own damned business).

Witnessing that kind of wanton murder is bound to make a man think, and I suspect that's what Blake did. I figure he decided to modify his plan and give his ex his seed rather than some cryptocomunistofascist Spermatazoan-American-eating dog. They could raise the little buggers in Mason jars together, as a couple.

It was a good plan, and one that might have worked had he kept at it for longer than ten days. I don't think there's anything more romantic than when a suitor lovingly lobs his seed onto his true love's lawn. She'd have given in eventually. What woman wouldn't?

Heterosexually yours in a chaste, biblical, and non-seed-based-wooing kind of way,

Gen. JC Christian, patriot

A helmet tip to Geov Parrish.

Submitted by air-ono on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 11:45pm.

and i'll be packing a tire iron at the funeral, in case there's a greek priest

_______________

Two priests are taking a piss in a urinal and one glances down and sees a nicotine patch on the other priest's bishop. He says, "Hey, isnt that supposed to be on your arm?"

The other priest sez, "Nah, it's working just fine. I'm down to two butts a day."

*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

He'll miss his shout out...

>>Submitted by gloryoski on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 12:04am.

oh, god...that is one of th MOST PAINFUL things I've ever had to endure!

I thought my Fit's Dance Contest videos were bad, but SHEESH!
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

Before WWII's terrible atrocities branded necessary by the militarists on all sides -- like the Siege of Leningrad, the Nazi/Corporatist slave labor economy and extermination camps, atrocities against the peoples subjugated by Japan's expansion, the firebombings of Dresden and Japan by the Allies/USA, and the USA's TWO atomic bomb drops on Japan -- did peoples' faces look different?

I've been watching some old newsreels, silent films and movies of the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s. I think the faces of the earlier generations of Americans before WWII look different. VERY different. They look like they are living in the moment, involved in what they are doing, whether learning, or building bridges and digging ditches, or acting up for worker rights, or enjoying dressing up, and dancing, dancing, dancing.

What's different now? It looks to me like after WWII folks started looking armored in their faces and bodies, enveloping themselves in a growing active, fervent escapism revolving around the props supplied by consumerism and the jingles and jingoism of the media. Peoples' faces after WWII don't look as present, don't look as awake as the faces before WWII; there's some kind of constant defenseiveness and distractedness on faces after WWII; engagement with the world seems replaced by an attention that hardly gets past the individual's self-absorption and singular personal desires. I guess it is not a new observation, but now in these old films it's just LEAPING out at me.

If people now feel unengaged, incapable of having an impact on their reality, no wonder they gave enthusiastic support for a presidential candidate who indicated HE was capable of acting in that direction.

So NOW what?

via Kos

"this machine kills fascists"

I'm CACKLING.

The..bear-call...goes..."Woof!"

hahahahahahahahahhahahahhahah!!!

>>I've been watching some old newsreels, silent films and movies of the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, and I think the faces of the earlier generations of Americans before WWII look different. They look like they are living in the moment, involved in what they are doing, whether learning, or building bridges and digging ditches, or acting up for worker rights, or enjoying dressing up, and dancing, dancing, dancing. What's different now? It looks to me like after WWII folks started looking armored in their faces and bodies, enveloping themselves in a growing active, fervent escapism revolving around the props supplied by consumerism and the jingles and jingoism of the media.

once in a while I make the mistake of trying to read your inane nonsense.

Once again, you don't disappoint. You string together some "facts" of your choosing and viola a new conspiracy-thing that remarkably fits your world view!

You make me yearn for the intellectual honesty of a Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh.
*************************

Really...looking at faces in old movies sets up your latest conspiracy rant? are you fucking kidding me?

Recently I've been gazing at my navel and contemplating the world through my own very limited perspective.

After my programming turned into an endless loop of feedback and then subsided, I was able to realize that the world is EXACTLY as I (and ONLY I) see it.
*************************

thank you and now I will answer any questions, even though no one will ever be capable to understand things with the clarity I do...

Watching what people were like before

Submitted by nora on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 12:16am.

Before WWII's terrible atrocities branded OKAY by the militarists on all sides -- like the Siege of Leningrad, the Nazi/Corporatist slave labor economy and extermination camps, atrocities against the peoples subjugated by Japan's expansion, the firebombings of Dresden and Japan by the Allies/USA, and the USA's TWO atomic bomb drops on Japan -- did peoples' faces look different? ...

________________

Evidently no circumstantial evidence is ever too slender to build an unsubstantiated assertion.

>>Evidently no circumstantial evidence is ever too slender to build an unsubstantiated assertion.

I think if Nora have presented her observation without the heavy-handed certainty and obligatory oligarchy stuff, I might have been more receptive to it.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

any time ya can float er to the dock is a good trip.

i woke up one morning after drifting all night and looked at this huge raven on the beach thinking 'that's one big ass raven' til i realised i was in to the one fathom line!

i started drifting 35 miles off shore.

An Offer or a Threat?

Condi Rice (Secretary of State) and Stephen Hadley (National Security Advisor) team up to create a RiceHadley Group LLC to provide Bush-era foreign policy know-how and "strategic consulting" for a fee.

--Josh Marshall

________________

Yes, the woman who should have resigned (at minimum) for abdicating her post on 9/11 (she was, at least notionally, the "National Security Advisor" on 9/11, wasn't she?) when she hid in the bedwetter-bunker w/Dick and Lynn Cheney and ceded total authority to Dick Clarke, is once again attempting to fail upward.

Stay classy, Condi.

>>i started drifting 35 miles off shore.

which is pretty good, by Oregon drifters standards.

Most Oregon drifters only get as far as the closest I-5 rest area before they set up camp and make signs that say:

Out of Gas
Please help
God Bless

*************************

But, it seems that eventually will end up in Eugene

Submitted by Sunshine Jim on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 12:46am.

any time ya can float er to the dock is a good trip.

i woke up one morning after drifting all night and looked at this huge raven on the beach thinking 'that's one big ass raven' til i realised i was in to the one fathom line!

i started drifting 35 miles off shore.

________________

Didn't reazalize that raven was packin' a tractor-beam, didja?

CNN Host Had Been Living Illegally In Country Since 1961

WANTAGE, NJ—Acting on anonymous tips from within the Hispanic-American community, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on Wednesday deported Luis Miguel Salvador Aguila Dominguez, who has been living illegally in the United States under the name Lou Dobbs for 48 years.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, federal agents stormed the undocumented immigrant’s home in an evening raid just hours after the 64-year-old newscaster suddenly announced that he was resigning from CNN, and immediately placed him on an Aeromexico flight departing from Newark Liberty Airport.
The Onion will continue to report on this breaking news.

Free Democracy

Submitted by Chubby Bubba on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 12:55am.

>>i started drifting 35 miles off shore.

which is pretty good, by Oregon drifters standards.

Most Oregon drifters only get as far as the closest I-5 rest area before they set up camp and make signs that say:

Out of Gas
Please help
God Bless

________________

Only to be met by the typically hard-hearted reply:

"Ass, grass er cash. Nobody rides fer free."

*

>>You'd have to see it to believe it...

I was dipping into my pockets the first couple times I saw them, but as the summer wore on, it occurred to me how improbable it was that they ALL ran out of gas.

not to mention how wide-spread and long-lasting the phenomenon was...I was tempted to write the Oregon legislature about what I suspected the problem to be -- wide-spread fuel gauge failures in their state.

But, eventually my thinking changed to, "screw them if these people can't plan for their trips."
*************************

the tipping point was that 75% of them looked like winos

them ravens are tricksters!

ask any Haida.

Buzz would take dogfood crunchers out of my hand. Yolanda would'nt. she'd wait til Buzz flew off and stashed em and than take a nibble.

Buzz and i would play hockey with em. i would score if i could roll em past him off the edge of my concrete pad in front of the shop. he was a superb goalie, not many got past him even if i gave em a bit of spin.

One time I offered to give the one guy a couple gallons from my jerry-can. He awkwardly explained he didn't have his car with him.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

WOW Sunshine Jim - you had a RAVEN ... wow so jealous(kewl jealous ;)} I always say Nevermore when they come around ... :D awwww

{BTW when I chanced upon him on the a late night show (a bit earlier)... ... ... Kenneth Bragnaugh looks quite handsome {or whatever that grand "classical" actor's spelling of his name is... {he's dear, but not worth me looking up ATT...;)}
charming just charming :D

bird seed} but I have always loved Ravens. They would teach my cats "with attitude" a lesson ... hahaha

{Cardinal Fire Sign.} I have listen to him since he began here in CA.
;)

that to me appear just common sense

what is it that i am not getting? or maybe i am getting?

that the look on american faces in the old movies reveal some innocence that has since disappeared should be obvious to everyone

hollywood is and has always been "fake", granted, but it also has been a reflection of an idealized image of american society at a certain point in time

there are college courses that precisely address this "cinema and society" etc

not only here but in italy as well

you could look at neo-realism of post war period and it will tell you something about italian society of the period

will need to be extrapolated a little but it is there

you can look at movies like 12 angry men, or any movie with gregory peck, then turn around and look at tarantino's latest or earliest, at no country for old men etc

you can't tell me that this has no significance, because it does

times have changed and not for the best

at least in the collective conscience (how the country sees itself)

everyday reality may be different and possibly things aren't that different, but even everyday reality is lived in a certain context and that context HAS changed

now i know it's too early for the sam seder bloggists to get into this type of reflection so early in the morning

and i've got to get dressed and try to look good for a picture taking on my driver's license which i will have to look at every day for the next 10 years, so i'd better make the right decision about what earrings to wear today!

going to the DMV for my change of address!

Ezra Klein says putting $900bn ceiling on health care reform was a big mistake
by John Aravosis (DC) on 11/12/2009 12:10:00 AM
From Ezra Klein:

But once that number [$900bn] entered the process, it began guiding the process. Sources on the Hill aren't really clear how the sum transformed from an estimate of the president's plan to a hard limit for their plan. Few recall that the original language included the qualifier "around." Even so, the number stuck. It strengthened the hand of moderates in both chambers and allowed them to create a ceiling. It also seemed clear that if the White House was comfortable with $900 billion, then it wasn't going to fight to protect the spending in any bill that exceeded that cap, so there was no point in the liberals bothering to push the issue.

The problem is that the number, which was chosen at a point of political weakness for health-care reform and the Obama administration, is too low. Most experts think you need closer to $1.1 trillion for a truly affordable plan. Limiting yourself to $900 billion ensures that the subsidies won't be quite where you need them to be, and means that virtually every spare dollar has to be spent strengthening them. If you want to add $30 billion to the bill creating coordinated care teams across the country -- a project that could transform chronic care in this country and eventually save many times its start-up cost -- there's little budgetary flexibility even if you could find the revenue, because each dollar is in a zero-sum competition with each other dollar so the entire plan comes in under the limit.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/11/the_900_billion_mist...

toniD's Ya Think?

Submitted by mire on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 7:40am

======
I think the energy on the planet has changed since the advent of nukes

=====
I suggest looking very conservative in your driver's license picture. You know who you are ,do you really want the "authorities" to read you so easily?

or are you already there?

I hate the moving process. Moved more times in my life than I care to think about.

In any case, I wish you luck in your new home and hope you get settled quickly.

toniD's Ya Think?

you mean the steve martin "i'm one wild and crazy guy/gal" isn't a good approach to your drivers license?

my drivers license picture has looked like a America's Most Wanted picture..

And,I wasn't going for that look,that's for sure..

Getting old sucks..Duh.. ;)

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

MMRules

Nov. 12, 2009—
http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=9057650

Using new methodology, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are revising their estimate of the total number of deaths caused by swine flu. The new figures will result in a tripling of the number deaths from H1N1overnight.

While the official estimates have not yet been released, it appears that the tally of deaths from the novel form of influenza will rise to around 4,000, up from 1,200, as first reported on Wednesday by The New York Times.

The changes reflect new surveillance methods thought to be more accurate, but also shows that figuring out the death toll from influenza is not a precise science.

"We don't really know how many cases of H1N1 there have been, truly," said Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

The problem is the difficulty of testing every patient to confirm a diagnosis, which is outweighed by the benefits of immediately treating patients for flu-like symptoms.

"Seasonal flu numbers are very soft, based on excess deaths more than diagnoses," explained John Barry, author of "The Great Influenza." "Many, if not most, of the deaths attributed to influenza in seasonal flu are quite indirect."

"Each case of influenza is not reported either with seasonal flu or in a pandemic [like H1n1] and therefore the subsequent deaths are not always immediately traceable to a specific cause of death," said Dr. Frank James, a health officer in San Juan County, Wash., and clinical associate professor at the University of Washington.

Ultimately, James explained, the estimates are redone when officials have a better sense of the disease's infection and mortality rates.

He added, "The public will struggle with this change and some will take it to mean that the government does not know what it is talking about while those that think more clearly will understand the process and outcome and reasons for the difference."

Glen Nowak, a spokesman for the CDC, explained that some of the agency's previous estimates had limitations -- for example, people with pneumonia unrelated to H1N1 may have been included -- and the agency plans to release its estimate of the death toll today, if all goes as planned.

But doctors stressed that the revision in death toll was not a cause for worry.

"I don't really think the public should be more worried as the revised estimate does not reflect a change in the virulence of, or severity of infection due to the virus," said Dr. Christopher Ohl, an associate professor of medicine in the section on infectious diseases at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

The death toll from H1N1 may alarm many, but it is the population affected, rather than sheer numbers of deaths, that has had more impact.

"I'm not sure how closely the public has been following the numbers -- 4,000 seems a small fraction of the 36,000 estimated to die of seasonal influenza each year, but these deaths are in younger people so it may raise consciousness further," said Dr. George Rutherford, director of the University of California, San Francisco, Institute for Global Health. "Just because you haven't gotten to 36,000 doesn't mean it's not bad."

A new study published in the journal Lancet looking at the toll of H1N1 deaths in Mexico shows that while the virus afflicts the young more often, and it also seems to have killed a higher percentage of elderly patients there.

However, doctors questioned whether swine flu would have the same effect in the U.S. Horvitz noted that reporting methods for influenza in Mexico are different than those here. Rutherford, meanwhile, noted that the more rural nature of the country means that older people living in more remote areas would not have gained the immunity that older Americans gained from previous strains of the virus that spread.

Cut Off Earlier

The number of younger people affected has been one of the driving forces behind concerns about swine flu.

"It's a very different calculation if any illness is killing people 80 years old instead of 8 years old," said Laurie Garrett, a Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

She explained that even if the death toll is lower than that of other years, the number of years of life lost may be much higher.

But others said H1N1 needs to be compared to other hazards of daily life.

"While 4,000 deaths seem like a lot more than 1,200, and each death is a tragedy, it still appears that the effects of H1N1, although widespread are quite mild," said Dr. Gabe Kelen, director of the department of emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins.

He said that most of the deaths in younger people, while upsetting, were in those who had underlying conditions -- a similar pattern to deaths in the elderly during annual flu seasons.

"We also need to put the deaths in perspective," said Kelen. "Society seems to accept deaths from drunk drivers, and shootings without the type of alarm that H1N1 engenders. Dying from H1N1 is less likely than being hit by a drunk driver or being shot in many parts of the country." However, he concluded, "Unfortunately there's no vaccine to protect against impaired drivers or for acute lead poisoning."

But because a vaccine exists -- although it remains unavailable for many -- some frustration stems from the notion that these deaths are preventable, particularly since younger adults have a more robust immune response to vaccines than the elderly afflicted by seasonal flu.
"If I had my vaccine I'd be vaccinating them right now," said Horovitz, saying he does not know why some hospitals were able to get their supplies of swine flu vaccine sooner, calling it "a mystery to me."

"I'd just like everyone who has high risk patients to have their vaccine, and certainly the seasonal flu vaccine is a good idea for everyone now, if there's any left," he said.

Despite protective effects of seasonal flu vaccine, it remains unclear if it has any effect in protecting people from H1N1, because the strains are so different.

Ultimately, however, swine flu may have a lower death toll because of the attention it has brought to the ways flu spreads.

"I suspect that the death rate will be lower than the seasonal influenza rate," said James. "Every effort is being made both socially and medically to limit the spread of the disease and those actions have been effective. We have never fielded such a response to influenza with vaccine, antivirals and social interventions such as covering your cough, washing your hands, staying home if you are sick so effectively."

=================
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5A52FU20091112

By Kate Kelland - Analysis

LONDON (Reuters) - European scientists and health authorities are facing angry questions about why H1N1 flu has not caused death and destruction on the scale first feared, and they need to respond deftly to ensure public support.

Accusations are flying in British and French media that the pandemic has been "hyped" by medical researchers to further their own cause, boost research grants and line the pockets of drug companies.

Britain's Independent newspaper this week asked "Pandemic? What Pandemic?."

In their response, scientists are walking a fine line.

They say that although the virus is mild, it can still kill, and that the relatively low fatalities in Europe are in part the result of official response to their advice.

On suggestions of "hyping" the threat to boost research funding, they point out that while we know enough to start to protect the vulnerable, we need to know a lot more to conquer the virus, and funding for new research and drugs is vital to be equipped for future pandemics.

H1N1 is hitting a younger population -- adults in their 20s and 30s and children -- and the global death count so far is more than 6,000, according to the WHO.

While seasonal flu attacks about 20 percent of the population in an average year, experts estimate that even in Britain -- the worst-hit country in Europe so far -- fewer than 10 percent of people have had H1N1 swine flu.

Fred Hayden, influenza research co-ordinator at the Wellcome Trust and a former World Health Organization (WHO) expert, said early planning is paying off, but added:

"I wouldn't characterize this as a "mild" pandemic at all. We are seeing some very unfortunate loss of life. I think it a bit early to make that judgment."

Yet the word "mild" is used so often to describe H1N1's impact in most people that it is prompting skeptical publics to ask what all the fuss is about. Why they should care? And why take a vaccine?

France's Le Parisien newspaper ran the headline: "Swine flu: why the French distrust the vaccine" and noted a gap between the predicted impact of H1N1 and the less dramatic reality.

"Although some 30-odd people have died....the disease is not really frightening," it said. "Dangerous liaisons between certain experts, the labs and the government, the obscurity of the contracts between the state and the pharma firms have added to the doubt."

SCENARIO REVISED DOWN

In Britain, health authorities' original worst-case scenario -- which said as many as 65,000 could die from H1N1 -- has twice been revised down and the prediction is now for around 1,000 deaths, way below the average annual toll of 4,000 to 8,000 deaths from seasonal winter flu.

A group of eminent scientists who called a media briefing in London this week to announce 7.5 million pounds ($12.4 million) of new funding for British research into H1N1 found their plans hijacked by reporters asking why the pandemic was so weak.

Scientists say the truth is they can't win.

The WHO has been urging countries to prepare for a flu pandemic since 1997, when H5N1 avian flu infected 18 people in Hong Kong and was stopped only after a mass slaughter of birds. The re-emergence of H5N1 in China and South Korea in 2003 fueled the urgency to get ready.

Now that it has arrived, the apparently low impact of the H1N1 pandemic so far may show that the planning is paying off, the Wellcome Trust's Hayden said.

British officials repeatedly said the nation was well-prepared for a flu pandemic. It had high stocks of antivirals and orders for enough vaccines to cover its population in place very early.

Hayden said comparisons with earlier flu pandemics like the one in 1918, which killed an estimated 230,000 people in Britain and up to 50 million worldwide, were skewed by the fact that there were so few effective treatments at that time.

"We didn't have antivirals then, and we didn't have antibiotics for the high frequency of bacterial complications," he said. "We have these kinds of interventions now and they are making a difference."

At the funding briefing, Peter Openshaw, director of the center for respiratory infection at Imperial College London, dismissed suggestions that scientists were enjoying the fruits of a pandemic in the form of big grants to keep them in work.

"This is not something that we are licking our lips and welcoming," he said. "But there is certainly an enormous outbreak of scientific information that has greatly enriched our understanding of flu."

(h/t to randi rhodes)

buh bye to lou dobbs. i have trouble believing the talk that dobbs is going to run for president. would people really vote for him?

dobbs / palin 2012

Submitted by MMRules on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 9:40pm.

but I couldn't tell if it was true or made up.

True?

I really don't want to look for vid to see if true. Shit. I thought for sure that woman had died too--I thought it was reported so...

Made up?

had me for a pet more like.

one that supplied them with these fairly tasty food chunks.

the fun thing about Buzz is he would bring me shiny stuff, string and cedar strip as trade/gift items.

i've got some stashed around here somewhere, next time i run across it i'll take a pic and show it to you.

they hung out with me and Odie because we did'nt hassle them. Buzz would often walk within a few inches of Odie and keep me company when i sat outside.

they had kids a year after they showed up so it was fun watching the whole family.

Tancredo Mulls Run for Governor
Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) said he "was hit with an avalanche of interest" in his possible run for governor in Colorado, the Denver Post reports.

Tancredo had been a strong supporter of Josh Penry (R), who recently dropped out of the race.

Said Tancredo: "I had said that if Josh Penry wasn't in the race, I would be. I know if I got into this thing, most of the party elite would not be happy."

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_13751820

toniD's Ya Think?

are bussing with bee's...A Bountiful Buzz

Meet the White House honeybee.

Numbering more than 65,000 at one point, the bees produced a bumper crop of honey this year, the first time honey has ever been made on White House grounds. The hive, located on the South Lawn, is a key part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s organic kitchen garden project.
Audio Slide Show
The Sweet Smell of Honey

75 ThumbnailBasswood and cherry trees helped create a unique taste for White House honey.

The total haul was 134 pounds of honey, or roughly 11 gallons. Charlie Brandts, the White House beekeeper, couldn’t be more pleased. “I figured they would make 30 or so pounds of honey,” he said. “They surprised me.”
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/white-house-abuzz-with-fir...

http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/?p=3975

Revised House Schedule Could Keep Members Voting Christmas Week

In a move underscoring the Democratic push to pass a health care overhaul this year, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer issued a revised legislative calendar Wednesday scheduling possible roll call votes almost to Christmas Eve.

Hoyer, D-Md., said in a notice to members that the House will be in session the weeks of Nov. 16, Nov. 30, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14.

He also told members that votes are possible the week of Christmas, on Monday Dec. 21 and Tuesday, Dec. 22.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=cqmidday-000003247039

toniD's Ya Think?

....cropdusting was still done many times a week in the early mornings by these immaculate, strange yellow biplanes from another time. I loved watching them make their sweeping loops. I always mused about how regular a part of my life they were. They dusted the farmers' fields adjacent to ours and the airstrip was less than a half a mile away, yet, I was somehow completely disconnected from them. I had never met a biplane pilot, never touched the planes and wondered where the hell they went afterwards. They seemed innocent enough, but the clouds and clouds of stuff that came out of them, day after day, well, let's just say I always knew it couldn't be good for me, so I would hold my breath. I still loved watching the planes, though.

"I've been watching some old newsreels, silent films and movies of the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s. I think the faces of the earlier generations of Americans before WWII look different. VERY different.

The scope of your anecdotal statement was pretty sweeping (1925ish to 1965ish?), but it seemed to imply that you're actually speaking of the tells in facal expressions post 1970 to now, compared with those between 1925ish and 1965ish.

If not, and you wish to remain within that time period, I have to ask: Do the faces in the 20 years before 1945 really look very different compared with the faces in the 20 years after 1945?

Regarding silent movies, the faces are usually covered up by so much bizarre white makeup, (as if people weren't white enough),I can't really say I'd even recognize those people if they were walking around in broad daylight, unless they were wearing that same makeup.

Personally, I find the early decades of film actors to be heavy on facade. And many of the actresses from that time wore entirely too much makeup well into their golden years, so growing up in the 70s and 80s, I was pretty much aghast whenever I saw them. I just could not reconcile young Elizabeth Taylor with old Elizabeth Taylor...still can't.

What the hell are they hiding with all of that makeup?!

Probably the skeletons of some bygone fascist agenda!

I have always had an aversion to makeup. Now I know why.

thanks nora!

"this machine kills fascists"

An international law professor at Zagazig University, Nabil Himli, believed it showed the system was not "biased against Islam or Arabs and that the German authorities are fair".
=======

In Egypt, where most women wear the Islamic headscarf, Marwa Sherbini has become known as "the veil martyr".

There were alerts on state television as news broke that her murderer had been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of an early release.

The Egyptian ambassador in Berlin, Ramzi Izz Al-Din, told Channel One that Alexander Wiens had received "the harshest ruling possible".

He said he did not expect the ruling to be reduced if an appeal was filed.

Foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki welcomed the verdict, saying it "served justice" and was "a warning to those motivated by hate".

Wiens, 28, stabbed Ms Sherbini at least 16 times in a courtroom in Dresden in July, when she was giving evidence against him in a defamation case.

He had called her a "terrorist" and "Islamist" in a children's playground because she covered her hair.

She had asked him to make room for her three-year old son to play on the swings.

Ms Sherbini, a 31-year-old pharmacist, was pregnant when she was killed. Her son was in the courtroom at the time and her husband was stabbed and accidentally shot by a German guard when he tried to intervene.

High security

Details of the case shocked Egyptians and there was outrage at what was seen as the slow response of the German authorities to offer condolences and deal with claims of Islamophobia.

A week after the killing, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her sympathies to Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, but she did not comment publicly.

Meanwhile, thousands of people turned out for the funeral of Ms Sherbini in her home city, Alexandria. Many held banners demanding retribution.

There were also small but angry protests outside the German embassy and in the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo.

Demonstrators described Germany as "a civilisation of tyrants" and shouted: "What happened to human rights? Where is justice?"

Wiens's trial was extensively covered in the Egyptian media, with particular attention given to the extra security measures taken in court.

Egyptian lawyers also travelled to Dresden and were allowed to present legal arguments.

Giving his response to the verdict, the head of the Egyptian Bar Association, Hamdi Khalifah, said it proved the German judiciary was "neutral".

An international law professor at Zagazig University, Nabil Himli, believed it showed the system was not "biased against Islam or Arabs and that the German authorities are fair".

'Bad image'

Still, many Egyptians have expressed the wish that Germany had a death sentence to use in this case.

"She died, but he's still alive," Badr Shorbagy, a neighbour of Ms Sherbini from Alexandria, complained to the Associated Press news agency.

Ms Sherbini's husband, Olwi Akaz, gave testimony in the trial, telling how his son, who now lives with family in Egypt, misses his mother.

Mr Akaz had moved to Germany to carry out doctoral research in molecular biology but has said he does not think he will continue to live in Dresden.

Tarek Sherbini, the brother of the dead woman, said "the image of the German people is very bad" following the attack and claimed it showed hatred of Muslims.

There was a recent sign of a continuing strain in relations when the Dresden orchestra postponed planned performances in Egypt.

Officials say they hope tensions will now ease.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/8355921.stm

A good place to pick up the first thread is with a small firm awarded a US military logistics contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars: NCL Holdings. Like the Popals' Watan Risk, NCL is a licensed security company in Afghanistan.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091130/roston

-This is a long, and very well written article-

heh!

the reason for the white makeup was so that they would show up on that old film with early lighting.

as film improved the makeup changed. during the silent film era it was fashionable, like it is now, for people to copy what film 'stars' looked like.

for me as an artist makeup has always been interesting in what it reveals about the user.

"Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) said he 'was hit with an avalanche of interest' in his possible run for governor in Colorado..."

I hope that's not the line he expects to use in order to connect with main street Colorado in this economy.

Then again, I hope it is.

"this machine kills fascists"

Jim! :)

I'm amazed at how overused makeup still is. I dated a younger girl (26) this past summer who always wore it when we went out, although it was completely obvious that she didn't like it, wasn't too good at applying it and probably rarely wore it otherwise.

It hid the natural beauty she has, but I never got to know her well enough to breach the subject into our dialogues. And, it always bummed me out a little that I couldn't.

Thank goodness that's over!

"this machine kills fascists"

Weird news: Southerners love their health insurance

12:00 pm November 11, 2009, by ctucker

I love my native South, but I don’t always understand it. A new poll from Winthrop University highlights one of those areas that I find odd: Most Southerners say that are satisfied with their health insurance, including its costs. Huh?

First off, the South is the region in which people are least likely to have health insurance. In Georgia, for example, 25 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 64 don’t have insurance. Even more Georgians would be uninsured if it weren’t for two government programs: Medicare, that monument to “socialism,” and the low-cost, government-subsidized PeachCare, which could be considered a “government option.”

Second, what kind of insurance do those with coverage have? How did they get plans they are so great?Are most of them exempt from the soaring costs of premiums? Have few of them ever been rejected because of pre-existing conditions? Have few ever had their coverage ended because they got sick?

As for me, my insurance coverage is pretty good. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is self-insured (through Cox) and the plan is managed by Aetna. That at least leaves out the profit motive. But costs are still soaring and the bureaucracy is stultifying.
If the coverage that Southerners have is so great, I have a suggestion for the Obama administration: Find out what insurers Southerners are using and make them available to the rest of the country.

From the poll: How satisfied are you with the COST of healthcare available to you and your family? Would you say you are very satisfied, satisfied, dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied?

All
Very Satisfied 17.7%

Satisfied 34.8%

Dissatisfied 24.7%

Very Dissatisfied 20.4%

Not Sure 2.3%

Refused .1%

http://blogs.ajc.com/cynthia-tucker/2009/11/11/weird-news-southerners-lo...

toniD's Ya Think?

{I've had for many a Moon hahaha now I know where to post - hahaha}

BTW

Tea Cheers Greetings
To You AND {that special} "Yours"
gotta "fly" ;) *poof*

Stupak's Flaccid Amendment Needs No Viagra
Shannyn Moore

Americans Against Chafing (A.A.C.) Unite!

Oh, yes, it's time. With the House passing a health care bill with the Stupak Amendment, we really need to start talking about this. The political cross-dressers, also known as "Blue Dogs" not only authored, but voted for the Uterus Police.

The Stupak Amendment insures that no federal funds, or federally-funded insurance companies, would be used for abortions.

On Saturday night, 21 of the 39 Democrats who voted for Stupak then proceeded to vote against the Health Care bill. One-hundred seventy-five Republicans voted for the amendment but against the bill. How about this: If your vote attaches an amendment to a bill you won't vote for, that nullifies your amendment vote. I know, it's the rules...but it feels like someone just ordered an entrée for me from a restaurant I don't like and now, not only am I forced to eat it-I'm stuck with the bill! Thanks, but no thanks...it's making me bulimic.

Hallelujah, the bill is out of the House.

Moving right along, I need a Senator to step up for the Americans Against Chaffing (AAC) Amendment. (If you've ever been chafed, you'll understand the acronym.) Since Congress has decided to balloon government to exert rule over the uteruses of its citizens, maybe they need to think about where all those precious feti are coming from. What's good for the womb is good for the wiener. Do you hear the sweet, lilting strains of "Every Sperm is Sacred" yet?

You may have seen the ads on TV. America has worked hard to overcome its withering epidemic of erectile dysfunction. Apparently, a blue pill and side-by-side bathtubs help. Every pregnancy, wanted or unwanted, is a direct result of a man rising to the occasion and saluting his power over gravity. My God, think about how many federally-funded doctors' appointments are needed when "an erection lasts for more than four hours"! How many unwanted pregnancies could be prevented?

Here lies the problem and need for "reform". The government pays for E.D. medicines and treatments. There is a chance their "cure" will result in an unwanted pregnancy, and we just can't take that chance! Federal money to stiffen the manly morale, but no funding to pay for an abortion if the woman so chooses? We have to nip this in the pud! The same members of Congress who voted against the financial stimulus package would be hard pressed to vote against the stimulating more local packages.

The suggestion coming out of Washington is for women to buy supplemental insurance to cover an unwanted pregnancy. Really? Should the other gender do the same? Should the American people pay for personal erector sets? Shouldn't E.D. medications be considered an out of pocket expense? To use their language, erections have consequences.

While the US Senate is massaging the AAC Amendment, the great State of Oklahoma should take notes. You see, Senator Todd Lamb penned a spiffy little bill
requiring abortion providers fill out a 10-page questionnaire for each procedure, and then post details of abortions on a public website.

Hmmm...Maybe pharmacists and doctors ought to post E.D. prescription recipients and the coathangerreasons for required doses? After all, I understand abstinence education may confuse some people; it takes two to create an unwanted or wanted pregnancy.

I'm sure the E.D. challenges we hear about more often than swine flu are serious, personal and deserve treatment with or without federal funds. Why are the rights of women different? If it was "Christian" (read X-ian) values that prodded you to vote for the Stupak amendment and not the health care bill...I'd like to remind you, none of the messages of Christ were about abortion, but most of the miracles were about HEALING THE SICK!

As for Congressman Stupak and your "C Street Family Fraternity"; some advice: if you don't have a vagina, perhaps you ought not to write or vote for such an invasive and offensive amendment. You're from the wrong district.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shannyn-moore/stupaks-flaccid-amendment_b_...

toniD's Ya Think?

Then they started filming porn in digital hi-def and the days of caked on make up became fresh again.

Bart Stupak: "There Will Be Hell To Pay" If My Amendment Is Removed

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) is warning fellow Democrats not to mess with his restrictive anti-abortion amendment.

Pro-choice outrage was sparked by the inclusion of a provision in the House health care bill making it harder for private insurers to cover abortion. President Obama himself suggested that the language disrupted the status quo and should be taken out of the final legislation. Abortion rights supporters in Congress requested a meeting with the president next week to discuss the issue.

Now Stupak is saying he won't go easily.

"We won because [the Democrats] need us," Stupak said. "If they are going to summarily dismiss us by taking the pen to that language, there will be hell to pay. I don't say it as a threat, but if they double-cross us, there will be 40 people who won't vote with them the next time they need us -- and that could be the final version of this bill."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/bart-stupak-there-will-be_n_355...

May he have a chronic case of erectile dysfunction!!!

toniD's Ya Think?

Check your email please. "Time sensitive" offer. ("Our gift to you"--that is, if you don't have it already.) ;)

somebody tell me to fuck off if you see me here again today.

GIVE ME A WAY OUT
Obama Refuses To Commit To Afghan Plans Without Exit Strategy, Handover Details

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

That stance comes in the midst of forceful reservations about a possible troop buildup from the U.S. ambassador in Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, according to a second top administration official.

In strongly worded classified cables to Washington, Eikenberry said he had misgivings about sending in new troops while there are still so many questions about the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Obama is still close to announcing his revamped war strategy – most likely shortly after he returns from a trip to Asia that ends on Nov. 19.

But the president raised questions at a war council meeting Wednesday that could alter the dynamic of both how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and what the timeline would be for their presence in the war zone, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Obama's thinking.

Military officials said Obama has asked for a rewrite before and resisted what one official called a one-way highway toward war commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal's recommendations for more troops. The sense that he was being rushed and railroaded has stiffened Obama's resolve to seek information and options beyond military planning, officials said, though a substantial troop increase is still likely.

The president was considering options that include adding 30,000 or more U.S. forces to take on the Taliban in key areas of Afghanistan and to buy time for the Afghan government's small and ill-equipped fighting forces to take over. The other three options on the table Wednesday were ranges of troop increases, from a relatively small addition of forces to the roughly 40,000 that the top U.S. general in Afghanistan prefers, according to military and other officials.

The key sticking points appear to be timelines and mounting questions about the credibility of the Afghan government.
Story continues below

Administration officials said Wednesday that Obama wants to make it clear that the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan is not open-ended. The war is now in its ninth year and is claiming U.S. lives at a record pace as military leaders say the Taliban has the upper hand in many parts of the country.

Eikenberry, the top U.S. envoy to Kabul, is a prominent voice among those advising Obama, and his sharp dissent is sure to affect the equation. He retired from the Army this year to become one of the few generals in American history to switch directly from soldier to diplomat, and he himself is a recent, former commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Eikenberry's cables raise deep concern about the viability of the Karzai government, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with them who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the classified documents. Other administration officials raised the same misgivings in describing Obama's hesitancy to accept any of the options before him in their current form.

The options presented to Obama by his war council will now be amended. more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/11/official-obama-does-not-a_n_354...

toniD's Ya Think?

I realize that many people disagree with my moral objections to men getting erections which God clearly doesn't want them to get, but my principles on this are more important to me than theirs are to them. So too bad. If you want a boner, pay for it yourself.

And I think those noxious advertisements for the drugs should be banned as well, if only for aesthetic reasons. Having to watch my baby boomer fellows wail "Viva Viagra" is offensive to anyone who has any taste in music.

That was excellent. :)

~-~-~
I'd slap you silly, but there's too much stupid in the way.

John King To Replace Lou Dobbs On CNN At 7PM

John King will replace Lou Dobbs as the host of the 7PM hour on CNN, the network announced Thursday.

King will anchor a nightly political program in addition to his Sunday show, "State of the Union," beginning early next year, the network said.

"The program will reflect what CNN is all about: straight facts from our anchors and the widest range of opinions from across the political spectrum," CNN/US President Jon Klein said in a statement. "John has enthralled CNN viewers with his vast political knowledge, and he has spent the past year reporting from beyond the Beltway on pressing policy issues and the real people they impact. Every night, he'll share his passion and his insights about what is really going on in Washington and across America."

"I'm thrilled to have the opportunity, at this busy and consequential time, to have a platform to discuss and explore the big issues of our time," King said. "There is a lot of noise and conflict in our political discourse, which is fun to cover, but I'm convinced from my travels that people also thirst for more details as well as insight and context. I'm looking forward to combining those conversations with top newsmakers, smart reporting and expert analysis."

Developing...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/john-king-to-replace-lou_n_3551...

toniD's Ya Think?

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration, under pressure to show it is serious about tackling the budget deficit, is seizing on an unusual target to showcase fiscal responsibility: the $700 billion financial rescue.

The administration wants to keep some of the unspent funds available for emergencies, but is considering setting aside a chunk for debt reduction, according to people familiar with the matter. It is also expected to lower the projected long-term cost of the program -- the amount it expects to lose -- to as little as $200 billion from $341 billion estimated in August.

The idea is still a matter of debate within the administration and it is unclear how much impact it would have on the nation's mounting deficit levels. Still, the potential move illustrates how the Obama administration is trying to find any way it can to bring down the deficit, which is turning into a political as well as an economic liability.

The White House is in the early stages of considering what bigger moves it might make for next year's budget. The Office of Management and Budget has asked all cabinet agencies, except defense and veterans affairs, to prepare two budget proposals for fiscal 2011, which begins Oct 1, 2010. One would freeze spending at current levels. The other would cut spending by 5%.

OMB is also reviewing a host of tax changes. The President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board will submit tax-policy options by Dec. 5, including simplifying the tax code and revamping the corporate tax code.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is pressing for substantial spending cuts to go with any tax increases to try to avoid the "tax and spend" label that has bedeviled Democrats, according to administration and congressional officials.

~-~-~
I'd slap you silly, but there's too much stupid in the way.

Veterans Get Lip Service, Bankers Get Billions
Dylan Ratigan

One thing about doing a two hour show that heavily covers both the financial crisis and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is that you notice on a daily basis the shocking juxtaposition between the lucky Wall Streeters and the unlucky soldiers.

We all know at this point that our banking system is being used as an unregulated bonus-seeking mechanism for bankers, now underwritten by taxpayers with $23.7 trillion worth of national wealth.

Bankers lent pretend money to home buyers to award themselves actual money in bonuses -- making home prices balloon and, in the process, bankrupting America's treasury, currency, the states, and many of its citizens.

To simply let the housing market rapidly correct itself (or more likely over-correct) would result in massive societal disruption, possible violence and unnecessary suffering.

So while we slowly attempt to close the taxpayer-funded bank casinos and try to restore the basic rules of investment and lending in our economy, we have difficult decisions to make. Unfortunately, our only choice for a less jarring social transition so far has been to artificially adjust the real prices of our homes via government guarantees to banks (for bad mortgages and losing gambling bets) -- or relatively arbitrary handouts to home buyers.

What did these people do to deserve the handout?

How do you feel about a Wall Street Banker who has been renting an apartment here in New York and this year combined the bonus money he made on bundling new taxpayer-sponsored Fannie Mae CDS with a first-time home buyers tax credit gift from the taxpayers to buy the penthouse in his building?

Meanwhile, we have already been at war for 8 years with no end in sight. World War II was 5 years. We are fighting these wars with the fewest number of soldiers in modern U.S. History. To avoid incorporating a politically unpopular draft, we deploy the same soldiers five or six times with comparatively minuscule breaks in between.

However, the dire state of the economy has been a boon to military recruitment, but I am not sure if we will ever see the Wall Street bank scammers claim their rightful credit for that.

So instead of using these bad- (Wall Street) to- arbitrary (first time home buyers) ways to pump money into rescuing our housing market, let's give it to those who are truly deserving of handouts: our servicemen and women.

I propose that we immediately enact the following:

* Give every single man and woman that is fighting for us a housing credit of 50,000, with the caveat that the credit must be used by someone within two years.
* Make it so that the credits are completely fungible, meaning that if the veteran doesn't wish to buy a house, he or she can sell the credit to someone who does -- and keep the money. If the reselling of gift cards on Ebay is any indication, I am sure there will be a thriving market where soldiers could probably get pretty close to 90 cents on the dollar for their credit.

Considering the roughly 2 million veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan so far, this would give a much needed $100 billion boost to the housing market. Just as a template for comparison, Goldman Sachs (albeit it doing "God's work") and the other complicit banks like JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley will pay $29.4 billion in personal bonuses this year.

In reporting on this financial crisis, I have been most surprised by the blatant disregard that our politicians and even some journalists have shown for the most fundamental American notion of fairness. I don't think handing taxpayer trillions to some of the least worthy individuals is something that our country will stand for, regardless of what the current incumbents think.

If we must resort to handouts to save our country, let's at least put them in the hands of the most deserving.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dylan-ratigan/veterans-get-lip-service_b_3...

toniD's Ya Think?

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

Under the bill, headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians.

...

The church's influence seems limited. In separate interviews Wednesday, council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) referred to the church as "somewhat childish." Another council member, David A. Catania (I-At Large), said he would rather end the city's relationship with the church than give in to its demands.

"They don't represent, in my mind, an indispensable component of our social services infrastructure," said Catania, the sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill and the chairman of the Health Committee.

We'll stop helping the poor and the needy because that's what Jesus would do!

~-~-~
I'd slap you silly, but there's too much stupid in the way.

and Financials!?! The profits from the financials should be taxed to support our military.

And a Tax for schools so we can get more bright people to create more businesses and innovations.

I think that's a fair tax, don't you?

toniD's Ya Think?

I don't know if anyone else has seen this yet, but in VA the DMV is telling people to make expressionless faces for photos on the new TSA compliant Driver's License.

Apparently, smiling screws up the accuracy of the DHS facial recognition software....

scary times....

Exactly! You Got It! A sadly brilliant analogy...
(see below)

Nora: What is it with the Chinese male and his sex object's feet?! First he dreams up foot binding and tortures women for centuries; now another twisted and cruel expression of sick minds. Unacceptable.

(Nora, :( I SENT yesterday, but it "flew" away somewhere {eye-roll 2 me} then I just found again...)
;)

Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Seven Wall Street lobbyists trooped to Capitol Hill on Nov. 9, hoping to convince Representative Paul Kanjorski’s staff that his plan to dismantle large financial firms was a bad idea.

They walked out with a sobering conclusion, according to the accounts of two attendees who requested anonymity because the meeting was private. Not only was Kanjorski serious, he planned to offer the legislation as early as next week -- and it just might pass.

Today marks a decade to the day that President Bill Clinton signed the repeal of the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act that split investment-banking from lending and deposit-taking. The repeal allowed the creation of Citigroup Inc., the financial colossus now propped up by $45 billion in taxpayer rescue funds. Financial firms are scrambling to prevent Congress from re- imposing the act.

“We’re playing with live ammo,” said Sam Geduldig, a lobbyist at Clark Lytle & Geduldig who represents financial- services firms and wasn’t at the Nov. 9 meeting. “The banking community is rightfully concerned.”

The Financial Services Forum, which represents chief executive officers of 18 of the largest financial firms and whose lobbyists organized the visit to Kanjorski’s office, has scheduled or met about a dozen lawmakers or aides with the House Financial Services Committee in the last week. The U.S. needs big financial firms to compete globally, said Rob Nichols, the group’s president.

‘Vocal and Persistent’ Presence

“Boeing and IBM can’t bank at the Silver Spring Community Bank,” Nichols said. He said he’ll be “vocal and persistent in the halls of Congress.”

Lawmakers are considering breakup proposals after public outcry over the $700 billion rescue of firms including Citigroup, Bank of America Corp. and American International Group Inc. Congress passed Glass-Steagall in 1933 after speculative activities by many banks brought the system close to collapse. One result: Morgan Stanley, the investment bank split off from what is now JPMorgan Chase & Co.

“You don’t ever want to be in the situation again where something is too big to fail,” Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The Connecticut Democrat, who unveiled a regulatory overhaul proposal this week, said the government should have the power to break apart large institutions “as a very last resort.”

Edward Yingling, president of the American Bankers Association, which represents banks of all sizes in their dealings with the U.S. government, declined to comment on efforts to turn back pending legislation.

Frank Supports Both
more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=az7AcisnxsCA&pos=6

toniD's Ya Think?

this is precisely why "Faith Based Initiatives" are a totally bullshit way to provide government financed community services....Are we learning yet Mr. President...?

A game show that pits liberal vs. teabagger!
Submitted by
;)

Intel Will Pay Rival Chipmaker AMD $1.25 Billion to Settle All Legal Disputes

The giant chipmaker Intel agreed on Thursday to pay its rival
Advanced Micro Devices $1.25 billion to settle antitrust and
patent disputes between the companies. Intel said it had also
agreed to abide by a set of "business practice provisions."
In return, A.M.D. is dropping suits in the United States and
Japan, and withdrawing complaints to antitrust regulators
worldwide. The two companies announced the agreement in a
joint statement.

http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na

toniD's Ya Think?

Catholic Church gives D.C. ultimatum
new
Submitted by cent on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 10:31am.
this is precisely why "Faith Based Initiatives" are a totally bullshit way to provide government financed community services....Are we learning yet Mr. President...?

*******
And,the separation between Church & State is just a bad joke..
Who/What/Where separation/Tax exemption ?

Revocation of tax-exempt status from churches engaging in political action - Facebook

*

Hope you send it here..

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

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

MMRules

And they wonder why people are leaving religion and it's hard to find people who even want to be priests lately. All they are getting are the degenerates that seem to like little boys and girls.

Are they in a position to threaten?

toniD's Ya Think?

Attacker's lawyer actually tries for a Muslim, gay harassment defense

Jason Bruce, a Marine reservist in Tampa, Fla., attacked an innocent Greek Orthodox priest with a tire iron. Bruce has initiated a shameful legal defense: the priest grabbed his crotch.

The actual story is quite different.

...

Furthermore, Bruce's conflicting explanations suggest that the defense is a complete fabrication. Nevertheless, his lawyer, Jeff Brown, is running with it. According to Brown the following series of events took place:

The bearded man wearing a robe and sandals was clearly trespassing in the garage. In a sudden move, the stranger made a verbal sexual advance and grabbed Bruce's genitals. The Marine defended himself. And immediately, he called 911 as he chased him.

Brown is actually trying to peddle a gay Islamic Arab rapist terrorist defense. Brown's argument is a gross example of shameful lawyering.

~-~-~
I'd slap you silly, but there's too much stupid in the way.

and hello sederbloggerbuds

Sen. David Vitter (R-Formaldehyde)
— By Andy Kroll | Thu November 12, 2009 3:59 AM PST

In May, President Obama nominated a renowned scientist known as the "father of green chemistry" to head the EPA's Office of Research and Development. For an administration that supports ambitious climate change legislation and stresses the importance of sustainability, the nomination of Paul Anastas, director of Yale's Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering and a former White House environment director, was very much in keeping with its broader agenda. Anastas' nomination was unanimously approved in committee in July, and his confirmation seemed all but assured. Yet six months later Anastas still isn't confirmed. Standing in his way is Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), whose block on Anastas' nomination raises questions about Vitter's close ties to the formaldehyde industry.

Today, the future of the formaldehyde industry is very much in jeopardy. A few years back, the International Agency for Research on Cancer definitively announced that the chemical, used in building materials and household products, causes cancer in humans. The EPA, which has studied formaldehyde's risks for more than a decade, doesn't go quite so far, saying it's a "probable human carcinogen." But that could soon change. The EPA has recently signaled that it plans to definitively assess formaldehyde's health effects. "This is not the time for more delay," an EPA spokeswoman told the New Orleans Times-Picayune in September. As the agency's research director, Anastas would surely have a role in this assessment. Given that one of Anastas' specialties is researching "the design of safer chemicals and chemical processes to replace hazardous substances," the formaldehyde industry is predictably concerned about his nomination.

Here's where Vitter comes in. Instead of the EPA ruling on formaldehyde now, Vitter wants the agency to let the National Academy of Sciences review formaldehyde's risk, a process that could take a year or more and that might favor industry supporters, environmentalists say, because the NAS review would use industry-based reports. Likewise, blocking Anastas' nomination is another way of slowing the EPA's movement on formaldehyde. (An EPA official told Mother Jones that agency head Lisa Jackson met with Vitter to ask him to let the nomination go through, which didn't happen.) And though a Vitter spokesman's recent comments that the FEMA-trailer debacle, which exposed thousands of displaced Gulf Coast victims living in government-issued trailers to high formaldehyde levels, demonstrated the need "to get absolutely reliable information to the public about formaldehyde risk as soon as possible," Vitter's position ensures the EPA won't be rolling out formaldehyde guidelines anytime soon. more...

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/11/sen-vitter-formaldehyde-shill

toniD's Ya Think?

mine looks more like "least wanted"

jeezus how's that possible? after so much thought and consideration given to trying to look pretty, jeez, they must have some evil fairy in that DMV photo machines! this is worse than the previous and I didn't think it would ever be possible to match that "drunk, on drugs, dead beat, trashed out look!"

oh well, I'll have to live with it!

At least they didn't charge me

There's no charge for change of address and this is good for the next five years

this weekend I will have a garage sale (come, all!) and next weekend the move to new house, Nov 21st Which means I will spend the thanksgiving break unpacking boxes and hopefully starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, that's the plan

yes indeed, except i am stuck with it in my wallet for years to come

at the Halloween party! sitting next to that devil of my friend Susanna

and yes, I was slightly drunk

yawn

Last month Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced a merged Senate health care bill -- a bill that includes a public option. And last weekend, the House of Representatives passed an historic health care reform bill that included a robust public option as well.

The question is no longer if we will have some sort of public option in the final health care reform bill, but instead what form it will take.

There are several interpretations of what a public option should look like, and I just shared my preferences with Senator Dick Durbin through his online public option poll at:

http://www.DickDurbin.com/PublicOptionPoll

Please click this link to voice your preferences for the public option included in the final health care reform bill:

http://www.DickDurbin.com/PublicOptionPoll

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

MMRules

May he have a chronic case of erectile dysfunction!

Toni, you don't think he may already have? that's the least of what he probably has; eunuch is my most likely guess

(with my apologies to all eunuchs anywhere)

means it's time for me to get back to work

awwrighteee

Stupak's Flaccid Amendment Needs No Viagra
Shannyn Moore

"Stupak thinks of himself as a doctor and feels comfortable inserting himself in between millions of women
and their physicians. Not since Dr. Frist’s remote diagnosis of Terri Schiavo have we seen such arrogance.
I’m sick of the C-Street panty-sniffers like Stupak. Why is it always helmet-haired old white guys who are
such busybodies when it comes to a piece of anatomy they don’t have?"

-- John Cole, Link

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

MMRules

Submitted by gloryoski on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 8:47am.
but I couldn't tell if it was true or made up.

True?

I really don't want to look for vid to see if true. Shit. I thought for sure that woman had died too--I thought it was reported so...

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

Oh Yes Glo. It's true. She's alive. It's was just awful. The chimp chewed off her fingers as well. Though there were numerous articles about her appearance, none were accoumpanied by a picture. I was not going to post it on the blog-just the link. But! Someone posted a video on You Tube. Unfortunately, audio has been replaced by a Nine Inch Nails song. Nevertheless, if you are brave, here it is. And yes, Oprah did make that stupid remark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpY2PHl1-aE

interesting take on the military industrial system today on grit tv

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

MMRules

edna! pleeeeaze!!!!! remove the chimp-bitten woman or i'll post my dmv photo

I posted it on facebook!

Not a peep on last night's email from our Antrim County Dem office about Stupid Stu. Not a peep. Just the usual begging for money.

Stupak? Whodat?

It's Time To Hold Murdoch Accountable For Race Baiting On Fox News

Reported by Ellen - November 11, 2009 - 31 comments

As we previously reported, Rupert Murdoch is trying to backpedal from his statement that Glenn Beck was "right" to call President Obama a racist. The folks at Color of Change, who have worked so hard to hold Beck accountable for his awful accusation, are now asking that we demand the same of Murdoch. It's time for him to have a public conversation about race baiting on Fox. Color of Change has launched a petition demanding that either Murdoch stand by his support for Beck or tell us why not and what he's going to do about it. I urge you to sign it.

http://www.newshounds.us/2009/11/11/its_time_to_hold_murdoch_accountable...

http://www.colorofchange.org/

FLASHBACK -- Dobbs: "It's just killing the left wing in this country that they can't force CNN to fire me"

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200911120015

It's Time To Hold Murdoch Accountable For Race Baiting On Fox
new
Submitted by edna ellen poe on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 12:59pm.
It's Time To Hold Murdoch Accountable For Race Baiting On Fox News

*******
:)

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

MMRules

"John has enthralled CNN viewers with his vast political knowledge? -

The only one enthralling anyone is Rachel Maddow.

and I'm not trying to be a prick but..... Colts by 1.

New warning on 'perfect vaginas'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8352711.stm

Women are undergoing surgery to create perfect genitalia amid a "shocking" lack of information on the potential risks of the procedure, a report says.

Research published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology also questions the very notion of aesthetically pleasing genitals.

Operations to improve the appearance of the sex organs for both psychological and physical reasons are on the rise.

But surgeons said the report overplayed the risks of an established procedure.

Researchers from University College London reviewed all the existing studies on cosmetic labial surgery - which generally involves reducing the amount of tissue that protrudes from the lips which cover the vagina. They found there had been little work to document any longer-term side effects.

Labioplasty, as it is known, costs about £3,000 privately and is offered for a variety of reasons: some women complain that wearing tight clothes or riding a bike is uncomfortable, while others say they are embarrassed in front of a sexual partner.
*************************

"The Once and Future Rajah of Bhong."

better learn how to run the ball again..

Just saying.. :)

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

MMRules

She lost her job and is now selling Avon so she dropped off a few books for me to put in the building lounge.

She's trying to make some sales while she's looking for a job.

so I've been away from the computer for awhile.

But here's some news....

# New Rules Would Restrict Overdraft Fees on Debit Cards "- 49 minutes ago"

The Federal Reserve will prohibit issuers of debit cards from charging overdraft fees in many instances without the cardholder’s permission.

LINK

toniD's Ya Think?

toniD's Ya Think?

Run time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnbhMlGnB9I

Posted on YouTube:
By YouTube Member:
Views on YouTube:

Posted on DU: November 11, 2009
By DU Member: JohnyCanuck
Views on DU: 403

The petition that Americans are being asked to sign by Rethink Afghanistan:

An Afghanistan War veteran will travel to D.C. to deliver this message to the White House. Make sure your voice is heard.

Dear President Obama,

News reports indicate that you plan to send between 34,000 and 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

We urge you to reconsider this decision.

Expanding the war in Afghanistan will make Americans less safe, not more so.

Less than 100 members of Al Qaeda remain in Afghanistan. The Karzai government we once supported is controlled by warlords and is riddled with corruption. Pakistan’s stability will be gravely imperiled by an expansion of the war. Hundreds if not thousands of troops will be killed, along with countless civilians. Anti-American sentiment throughout the Muslim world will be inflamed by civilian bloodshed, facilitating recruitment by terrorist organizations.

The war will cost billions of dollars when we can least afford it, and will stymie your domestic agenda.

The cost of sustaining a military force in Afghanistan is $1 million per soldier per year – that’s close to $100 billion dollars annually with the troop increase. With the economy in shambles, the deficits generated by these enormous costs will compromise your domestic legislative agenda both fiscally and politically.

The United States has no vital interest in Afghanistan. If you choose to further escalate troop levels in Afghanistan, you will be making the biggest mistake of your presidency.

Please reject General McChrystal’s troop requests and begin the process of exiting U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

http://rethinkafghanistan.com/?utm_source=rgemail#petition

toniD's Ya Think?

but last year procedures on the NHS increased by 70% on the previous year to 1,118.

so, in the UK this is done under the public health system coverage

i wonder what stupak would have to say about that

i also wonder whether it's time for another episode of the vagina monologues

Submitted by Fernando on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 1:34pm.
"John has enthralled CNN viewers with his vast political knowledge? -
--------

Indeed Fernando, King is an idiot. In March of 2009, he actually held up and quoted a Human Events newspaper. He then ask Cheney, "Is the president of the United States trying to brazenly deceive the American people?" And no, he wasn't talking about GWB.

Here are more of King's gems:

CNN's King reads Kissinger statement without noting accusation against Obama is false
September 27, 2008 12:56 am ET filed under Research

CNN's King, Blitzer selectively cited poll showing less support for Obama among Clinton backers
August 24, 2008 7:12 pm ET filed under Research

CNN claims "Chicago-style politics" in Obama's signature challenges in state Senate race -- while ignoring McCain's Arizona-style politics
August 21, 2008 5:24 pm ET filed under Research

CNN's Todd claimed Dem contributions from securities and investment industry "dwarf" McCain's -- but a greater proportion of McCain's donations came from Wall Street
March 24, 2008 7:21 pm ET filed under Research

CNN's John King ignored McCain's "pander" on immigration
February 29, 2008 3:57 pm ET filed under Research

CNN's John King again failed to note that Cunningham has a history of referring to Obama as "Barack Hussein Obama"

February 28, 2008 5:43 pm ET filed under Research
Media uncritically report McCain surprised by Cunningham's remarks despite Cunningham's history of using Obama's middle name

February 27, 2008 8:50 pm ET filed under Research
During CNN debate, John King falsely claimed Obama "refused" to disclose earmarks

February 22, 2008 6:37 pm ET filed under Research
Echoing GOP talking points, CNN's King falsely suggested Obama would "leave" Afghanistan "now"

February 13, 2008 12:52 pm ET filed under Research
Media outlets uncritically reported McCain's dubious defense of vote against Bush tax cuts

January 23, 2008 7:57 pm ET filed under Research
CNN's Blitzer, Cafferty, and King rewrite history to claim that Giuliani skipped Iowa and New Hampshire

January 22, 2008 4:58 pm ET filed under Research
CNN's King falsely suggested McCain opposed flying of Confederate flag during 2000 SC primary

January 17, 2008 3:07 pm ET filed under Research
CNN's John King repeated McCain's dubious explanation of vote against Bush tax cuts

January 10, 2008 7:48 pm ET filed under Research

http://mediamatters.org/search/index?qstring=CNN&from=2008&to=2009&tags=...

- Peckars?

Obama announces forum -- a brainstorming session on job creation

Source: L.A. Times

Reporting from Washington - With economic and political concerns rising as the unemployment rate has broken double digits, President Obama today announced he will hold a high-level forum at the White House next month to try to find new ways to reverse the job loss.

"Even though we've slowed the loss of jobs ...the economic growth that we've seen has not yet led to the job growth that we desperately need," Obama said.

"Given the magnitude of the economic turmoil that we've experienced, employers are reluctant to hire," he continued. "Meanwhile, millions of Americans -- our friends, our neighbors, our family members, are desperately searching for jobs. This is one of the great challenges that remain in our economy, a challenge that my administration is absolutely determined to meet."

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-obama-jobs13-2009nov13,0,1759115.s...

toniD's Ya Think?

and robert reich? forum shmorum, maybe just "dithering"

China sets plan to let currency move higher

Source: The Globe and Mail

China signalled it will allow its currency to appreciate against the U.S. dollar, bowing to international pressure days ahead of a visit from U.S. President Barack Obama.

The move to allow the yuan to rise against the greenback would provide much-needed relief to countries trying to compete against China's mighty export machine and put further downward pressure on an already battered U.S. dollar.

China's latest quarterly monetary policy report said its foreign exchangepolicy will now consider “capital flows and changes in major currencies,” indicating China will carefully expose the yuan's value to fluctuations in global markets.

... But others see more sinister motives in the Chinese move. By resuming a yuan peg to a basket of international currencies, the biggest winner is likely to be the euro, not the dollar, said Peter Morici, former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission. “That makes it more difficult for the Americans to complain, and the Europeans less likely to help lobby the Chinese,” he said.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/china-sets-plan-to-let...

toniD's Ya Think?

- you put a halt to free trade. make companies pay a tariff for going outside to use cheap labor.

- use the threat of busting up the banks to force them to loan money at reasonable rates to small businesses and others so that people can spend money again.

- pass real healthcare reform with a public system for everyone so that businesses aren't burdened with the cost of healthcare.

'I Agree' That Use Of Holocaust Images At Capitol Tea Party 'Wholly Inappropriate'

"Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) had said in a YouTube last week: 'I can't believe that Congresswoman Bachmann would stand where she stood, and see those images, and not have the common decency to say, "I disagree with the use of those images." I think that she owes the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust an apology. She owes us all an apology. And I'm waiting. We're all waiting.'"

Okay, hold it right there! That's enough! Yer showin' just a little too much spine there, Israel!

You got Michelle Bachmann to back down?? Batshit Bachmann??!!

And your name is Israel?!

Now, I'm not going to be able to enjoy myself if all of you Democrats start sproutin' sacks at once and mowing down conservatives. I need to be eased into it. Throw me something on the order of a Harry Reid-Lieberman love fest or a Ben Nelson filibuster threat to help me through this!

"this machine kills fascists"

Lou Dobbs Returns to His Planet; ‘My Work Here is Done’

Bids Earth Farewell, Boards Rocket

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) - Controversial CNN host Lou Dobbs bade the people of Earth farewell today as he embarked on a long voyage back to his planet of origin.

Standing on a launching pad with his rocket ship at the ready, Mr. Dobbs addressed a crowd of dozens who came to wish him a safe trip and godspeed.

"People of Earth, farewell," he said. "My work here is done."

In his farewell speech, Mr. Dobbs acknowledged the irony of his being an alien but insisted that he had been on Earth legally.

toniD's Ya Think?

http://www.samsedershow.com/node/5479

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

MMRules

Obama orders review of files on Fort Hood shooting suspect

(AFP) – 2 hours ago

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has ordered a review of how intelligence agencies handled information they had gathered on an army psychiatrist ahead of his alleged shooting rampage at Fort Hood, the White House said Thursday.

"I directed an immediate review be initiated to determine how any such intelligence was handled, shared, and acted upon within individual departments and agencies and what intelligence was shared with others," Obama said in a statement.

Preliminary results will be provided by November 30 to John Brennan, Obama's assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism.

The order to conduct an "immediate inventory" of all intelligence in US government files was issued on November 6, a day after the massacre which left 13 people dead and 42 wounded.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i6jRIPy4SRbfWfI3PgZCE...

toniD's Ya Think?

you aren't going to get job creation until
new
Submitted by dan on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 2:35pm.

Here, here! I agree - but that/this will never
happen - we r run by corporatist who do not
give a god damn about us. We have to send a
message to these rat bas-turds. Money is their
blood -

Very cogent arguments!

http://ccrjustice.org/acorn-v-usa

[excerpt]

Case Overview
On November 12, 2009, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed a case challenging Congress’s unconstitutional defunding of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). The case charges Congress with violating the Bill of Attainder provision in the U.S. Constitution, violating the Fifth Amendment right to due process, and infringing on the First Amendment right to freedom of association by targeting affiliated and allied organizations, as well. CCR attorneys say members of Congress violated the Constitution by declaring an organization guilty of a crime and punishing it and its members without benefit of a trial.

The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to prevent the government from reallocating funds designated for the organization and its affiliates and a preliminary injunction to stop Congress from singling out a single organization for punishment without proper investigation or due process. The plaintiffs are ACORN, the ACORN Institute, and the New York ACORN Housing Company. The suit is ACORN v. USA and was filed in federal court in the Eastern District of New York.

[end excerpt]

Their press release on the case:

http://ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/ccr-charges-congress-viola...

(Acorn)
No doubt Faux news (noise) will spin and twist
this to give the sheeple the idea that this
is a bad thing.