Murmur, Instigate, CLAMOR!!
I suppose we'll be hearing blather galore about this particular bimboette, to no effect whatsoever. Remember the months of kerfluffle about timelines in Iraq?
As Ralph Nader said, all these Democrats are good for is getting the worst Republicans in the history of the nation elected and re-elected. That they do well. That's why they make the money they are rolling in.
Cleaning out the DoJ will be a herculean task; the one I have in mind is the Augean Stables.
Yeah, there's a lot of horseshit here, for sure.
Dear Ellie Inc:
Please move from DC. I am going to ask Hercules to redirect the Potomac and clean the joint out.
Wow Gregory, "all these Democrats" sounds too much like "all them" jews, blacks or gays.
While I share most of your frustrations with the current office holders, I think it is a bit naive to think that the 'country' is ready for sweeping change. Most of the country wants change because of their specific circumstances. If the economy was humming along without problems, the majority of ignorant hicks in the country wouldn't bother to vote, let alone vote for change.
And then there are the Democrats who do not support FISA, such as Boxer.
What does Ms Boxer have to say about the collusion of Ms Pelosi (for but one example). She won't be rocking the boat.
There is a tiny smattering of decent Democrats. Tiny tiny tiny.
By the way, Gary, my next trip to Oakland is for Lotte's birthday on August 16. Maybe we could have a queenly luncheon round about then?
There were only 15 Senators who tried to block cloture on FISA. 15.
Wierdly, DiFi was on that list.
5 didn't vote. One was Kennedy who I'll exonerate since he's recovering from surgery still. But Obama and Clinton very busy doing something else instead of upholding their oath to defend the Constitution.
A pox on both their houses.
Gregory - I agree that Pelosi AND Reid are both barriers to change. And quite frankly, I have issues with Nader, not so much over his impact upon the 2000 election (which was stolen), but that same comparison of Democrats and Republicans in the 2000 election was not apt. I don't know anyone who thinks that we would have attacked Iraq if Gore - a Democrat - was the president. And to think that I held my nose and voted for Gore. My issue is that he was too much of a hawk.
Regarding lunch, I'd even meet you for a picnic on Pelosi's lawn, if that suits you. I'll mark my calendar.
I object to the whole idea of calling this the FISA bill. It's really an extension of the USA PATRIOT act's provisions to castrate the original FISA - a bill that made something that was already unconstitutional (spying on Americans in defiance of the 4th amendment) also CRIMINAL. It's also clear that crimes against the FISA statutes were committed by the Bush administration, and presumably the telcoms, BEFORE the passage of USA PATRIOT.
This is all about making America 'safer' by castrating the watchdog, slitting his vocal cords so he can't bark, pulling out his teeth and then locking him in a cage.
Did anyone read my post about Mary Beth Buchanan? I thought it was pretty good.
SadButTrue | Homepage | 06.26.08 - 12:33 pm
Yes I did. And it's a darn good post.
SBT, yes I read it. It is outrageous what these scumbags have been able to get away with, all the while, presenting the 'moral high road.'
I think that the underlying issues may be too complex for Joe six-pack.
Off to run errands. Later folks.
More on the corruption at DOJ (again with a connection to the now infamous Monica Goodling) From Jonathan Turley:
Faith-Based Favors
Synopsis:
- " Michele DeKonty, who served as chief of staff at the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), has been fired after invoking the Fifth Amendment and refusing to answer congressional questions over granting favors to certain organizations in federal grants.
-The organizations receiving the favors were invariably faith-based.
-Ms. DeKonty is a graduate of Goodling's alma mater, Regent University.
'nuff said.
"....having NOT been made under oath, but in a private interview,...."
Sort of smaks of the buhs/cheney testimonies before the 911 Whitewash Commission.
"...The organizations receiving the favors were invariably faith-based...."
Pandering to religion is a hallmark of this administration because religions helps to keep the rabble in the dark and believing in fairy tales.
Ignorance is not just bliss, it's control.
Why is that all of the bush women have that vacant, xanax stare?
and this quote from the thread "to pressure them on politically charged cases, even though doing so seems unethical and possibly illegal" reminds me of a conversation I overheard last night, in an elevator of a building on K Street. Two obviously neocon-ites ( can only spot their neocon-ishness, I can't determine their political party) were talking, and this is out of context, I know, but one of them said, "Fortunately, it's not like it was in the past, where we had to worry about ethics or anything like that..."
I have no idea to what they were referring, as I only caught that snippet of the conversation. Still, it seems such an apropo statement to make in an elevator on K Street in Washington, DC.
There were only 15 Senators who tried to block cloture on FISA. 15.
Unconventional Conventionist - 12:26 pm
I think even those 15 are meaningless - "kabuki for the rubes" as FireDogLake puts it. They aren't attempting to LEAD their fellow Dems to join them. They are just sent out on stage to make an appearance so that we think there is an opposition party.
As Indigo said in the thread below: "there's a bigger issue, turning back the tide of coporatism that FISA enables. I'm not sure it can be turned back."
Speaking of Corporatism... have you been watching the market? Lotta good it did trading freedom and justice and constitutional rights for corporate greed ! We've lost our freedoms AND our economy.
More good news [not!] at The Automatic Earth and Depletion and Abundance
Some aspriring Louis Pasteur or Jonas Salk needs to develop a vaccine for viral amnesia. There are plenty of folks in DC who would be excellent candidates for the clinical trials.
They don't need to worry about ethics and they don't need to worry about political opposition either. Maybe that's one and the same thing.
And they sure don't need to worry about the rule of law.
I'm sure some other Regent University grad is doing this:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06...american-court/
Un-frikking-believable.
Pandering to religion is a hallmark of this administration because religions helps to keep the rabble in the dark and believing in fairy tales. Ignorance is not just bliss, it's control.
Amerikagulag - 1:25 pm
I think it's also a "black budget" source of MONEY. How did those mega-churches suddenly spring up? How is it that we have a bazillion christian radio stations always positioned to overpower NPR stations? Where does that money come from? I have a feeling that so-called right wing "faith based" organizations and mega churches and christian broadcast companies are serving as money laundering and campaign funding for the corporatocracy. Pull some taxpayer dollars into some "faith-based" organization as seed money. Start bringing in tax free donations which seem to be poorly regulated if at all. Maybe those "donations" also hide/launder money from all sorts of illegal operations. I have no proof of course, but something is slimy there. Especially when most "mainline" churches are in decline.
"...Especially when most "mainline" churches are in decline...."
Radio-god is the wave of the future. As long as people "think" a certain way, it's not important that they 'attend' any services of any sort. Catapult the propaganda as bush would say. It saves money on upkeep and electricity and building costs.
on an interesting note:
The Patriot Act makes it a felony to disseminate or provide false information about 'terrorism'. The Bush administration is built around the lies Bush tells about 'terrorism'. All are felonies under Bush's own Patriot Act!
http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/c.../blogs/
indx.php
OT - a memorial to Bush - The George W. Bush Sewage Plant ...you can contribute to his memorial from your bathroom.
Only problem I see is that it is a "prize-winning water-treatment plant" and we know that George W. Bush has never TREATED shit... he only creates it. So a better memorial would be a string of CAFOs across the nation. Just as every large community has something named after Washington, Lincoln, MLK... shouldn't the country's massive stinking shit-ponds be named after #43?
Radio-god is the wave of the future.
I'm not sure anyone is LISTENING. I was in radio-wasteland on a drive a while back, so decided to listen to the only station I could receive, which was one of these Christian stations. Came in loud and clear. Someone was reading - in a monotone - from Leviticus. I got to my meeting. A couple of hours later, on the return drive, he was STILL reading Leviticus. Stuff about how you treat your slaves and different types of sacrifices. Not discussion. Not how does this relate to todays issues. Just monotone reading. Who listens to this? Who PAYS to have it on, and makes sure it is broadcast from a high power tower to interfere with any public radio station in the area? Surely not any of the local churches in the area. I KNOW they are struggling. Where does the money come from?
[-Linda | 06.26.08 - 2:04 pm -]
Whoever hits the liberal marketplace with urinal cakes with Bush's face on them is going to make a fortune.
SBT - maybe they could re-do the overstocked OBL cakes this guy couldn't sell.
I'm fine with them operating under sharia law, as long as it's across the board. So all Blackwater mercenaries and their bosses get to be included.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Co...05/
276vsdtv.asp
Piss On Bush Stickers
The piss stickers, specially made to be used in urinals, can be seen these days in the public toilets of Belgian schools, youth clubs, and pubs. They were designed by Laurent Winnock, president of the Young Socialists, the youth branch of Vande Lanotte's Socialist party. Winnock did his creative work during his office hours, which would not be worth mentioning if Winnock did not work in the offices of Vice Prime Minister Vande Lanotte, as one of his press spokesmen.
I thought we wanted urinal cakes of Ann Coulter.
US border agents are copying and seizing the contents of laptops, cell phones and digital cameras from US and foreign travelers entering the United States, witnesses told a Senate subcommittee Wednesday.
http://www.truthout.org/article/...avelers-
laptops
Federal agents have raided Blackwater Worldwide this week as part of an investigation into a deal that allowed a local sheriff's office to store high-powered assault rifles at the company's armory.
http://
tpmmuckraker.talkingpoint...er_compound.php
How about a urinal cake that changes to worse and worse faces as you piss on it? You start off with OBL, for instance. Piss on it enough, it changes to Bush. Then maybe Ann Coulter or Bill OReilly. Then Satan. Finally, Dick Cheney.
You'd sell them to the bar owners on the premise that guys would buy more beer, a lot more beer, in order to piss through to the next, more hated target. The cross hairs would go all the way through the cake, or course.
I can't think of any way you could market a similar product for the ladies' room. Prince Charles tampons came to mind, but I don't really think women find the jug-eared heir to the throne to be at all attractive. You'd end up with a warehouse full of the damned things. 
[I can't think of any way you could market a similar product for the ladies' room.]
Geez, get a clue: GWB sanitary napkin receptacles. Also diaper receptacles. Hinged jaw, so the stuff goes into the mouth.
So how much dodging is that fucking asshole John Yoo doing? He should be an actual receptacle himself, for dirty diapers.
Law Professor Confused by SAT Word
Ellison: The memo was implemented at some point. Is that right?
Yoo: What do you mean by implemented sir?
http://
tpmmuckraker.talkingpoint...used_by_sat.php
Where's Jump been? Is she still napping?
ICANN, the international body that governs the internet has decided to open up the list of top-level domain names (that 2 or three letter bit of a URL after the last dot.) Story from CBC.ca.
" Currently, top-level domain names are limited to a few suffixes, such as .com (commerce), .org (organization) or country names, like .ca (Canada), .fr (France) or .uk (United Kingdom).
Organizations have fought hard to get around the restrictions. Television companies, for example, have been paying the Polynesian island nation of Tuvalu to use its rights to the .tv address.
[...]
The new guidelines could allow for domain names that have been requested, and denied by ICANN, for years, such as .xxx for adult websites and .post for postal service websites. "
.xxx for porn sites? I would have thought .cum would have been more in demand.
SbT - you'll probably be interested in this story Tbogg has:
http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/200...al-intercourse/
It's about where Esther Slater McDonald went to school. Far worse than Regent University.
As for Mary Beth, her alma mater is Cal U. Which makes her a "Vulcan"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Cal...ifornia_Vulcans
Hah!
And speeking of porn, SBT did you read about Buchanan's obsecnity case? She is a TOTAL and utter bitch. This is unwarranted prosecution too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/2...gewanted=1&
_r=1
I found a link last night about where McDonald went to school.
Basically, the college, which is unaccredited, thinks that Bob Jones U is a homohippie cesspool of bong-sucking orgies.
chronicle.com/free/v52/i29/29a04001.htm
Try this: http://chronicle.com/free/v52/i2...29/
29a04001.htm
One student told of how a group of men and a group of women from the college happened to meet at a McDonald's last spring. Both groups were returning from the beach (they had gone to separate beaches; men and women are not allowed to be at the beach together). The administration found out, and all 15 students were expelled.
Even couples who are not talking or touching can be reprimanded. Sabrina Poirier, a student at Pensacola who withdrew in 1997, was disciplined for what is known on the campus as "optical intercourse" — staring too intently into the eyes of a member of the opposite sex. This is also referred to as "making eye babies."
[-Unconventional Conventionist | Homepage | 06.26.08 - 3:15 pm-]
That's from the comments at the TPM article I referenced on the front page. It had lots of stuff about Pensacola Christian College, all showing the place to be like a Christianized prison more than an institution of higher learning. Deserving of much ridicule, they are.
I want to know if PCC allows guns on campus, and if not, why not?
SBT - your swing in the blogosphere zeitgeist! And I had this bizarre exoerience a moment ago; Digby had a piece up about this school; called it "Eye Babies" because of that whole "optical fornication" thing.
But I guess she and dday posted at the same time, and digby pulled hers back., cause it aint there right now.
[-Unconventional Conventionist | Homepage | 06.26.08 - 3:19 pm-]
Yeah, I read that and also about the case of Daniel Zehr, the Old Order Amish man who inadvertently 'self-deported' because he wouldn't allow himself to be photographed for a visa. He fought the ruling too, which put him in danger of self-excommunication from Amish society as well. I guess not allowing yourself to be kicked around by a beeyotch is in violation of their belief in non-resistance.
It's all there in the Wikipedia article that I linked in the post, and clicking the title takes you there too.
Total and utter B-H is right. I went from never having heard her name to wanting her face on a urinal cake in a matter of minutes just running a search on who hired Monica Goodling.
OT again... distracted by the plunging numbers.
The Lie of Generalized Investing "$1000 invested in January 1967 would have taken until sometime in mid-1995 to even recover its base value after adjusting for inflation. Second, note that the unadjusted chart implies that new highs have been reached in the last few years, yet after adjustment we see that we have not yet regained the high point of January 2000. The third thing to note is that the only real growth in the DJIA over 41+ years was the five year period from 1995 to 2000."
meanwhile...
Low- and middle-income families have reaped few gains since the late 1990s, despite the recent years of economic prosperity. Average incomes actually fell by 2.5% for those in the bottom fifth of the income scale and rose by just 1.3% for those in the middle fifth. Meanwhile, incomes climbed 9% for those in the top fifth. ...Within the top fifth, the lion’s share of the income growth of the past two decades went to those at the very top. ... the incomes of the top 5 percent of families rose by more than $90,000 on average.
I hope Obama comes back toward the center a bit. Some of the things he'sw been saying sound more like the Bush/McCain world view to me. It's getting harder and harder to support him in November. If the Supreme Court wasn't so important, I would really consider staying home for the first time ever. FOR FISA, FOR allowing states to execute rapists, but it's this trying to out Jesus Bush that really disgusts me. I'm having a hrd time telling if he is sincere about it even. He can be sincere and keep his faith to himself like Carter but unlike lapel pins, he's always worn his religion out in the open. Somebody needs to point out that there is a difference between the "center" and trying to run right of McCain.
Buchanan's actions are not only targeted at political figures. She has a history of pushing show trials that link up to the current issues of the day. When the issue of the purple hearts in the movie Wedding crashers was raised, buchanan went after two vets for lying about their service records.
The most malicious case though is what she did to Dr. Bernard Rottschaefer. During the Oxycontin scare, Buchanan targeted this physician. Since she could not prove the physician benefited financially from the alleged crime, Buchanan played up accusations that the doctor was trading sex for drugs. When this argument fell apart on the appeals process, Buchanan argued that she never had to prove sex and sex was not an eleminent of the crime. She argued she only needed to prove in her opinion the patients did not need the medication. Buchanan won the appeal on this argument.
In the second appeal, the doctor provided evidence showing the patients were independently diagnosed with the same ailments that he alleged he was treating, that they were getting the same medical treatments although in stronger dosages form other physicians at the time of the doctor's trial, and that this evidence was withheld from him and his lawyers, Buchanan went back to the sex argument. Buchanan won the appeal on this argument and the court refused to address its contradiction within its prior ruling on the case in the previous appeal.
Here are the links to the case. It is a travesty.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/
ful...752C0A9609C8B63
http://www.reason.com/news/show/...how/
122263.html
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.w...oid=oid%
3A28537
Margaret - I make a distinction between left-right-center talk and faith talk. If Obama's faith talk is more progressive and inclusive [including being inclusive of non-Christians and non-believers] and references social justice issues, then it helps to counter the impression that Bush has a lock on what being a Christian is all about. From my point of view, the Neo-Cons have twisted and cherry-picked religion to suit their corporate ends, and silence doesn't counter that, it enables it. So I don't mind that he is comfortable with "faith talk". I think we need to hear that religion isn't just about being anti-gay, pro-blastocyst, and pro-war.
But he scares the heck out of me when he doesn't push back against the FISA bill and when all options are on the table with regard to Iran. Of course all the other Dems who aren't pushing back also freak me out.
[-James | 06.26.08 - 6:01 pm-]
Thanks for the links, and welcome to the unruly mob!
I'm telling you James, It took me less than 5 minutes to find out that this Buchanan woman was the spawn of the devil. She's in that very rarified group that deserve even more contempt than George W. Bush. You know, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Coulter, Malkin...
Total and utter nightmare.
Holy Crap! I just checked out that first link from James, and it's to an article in the New York Times, which I consider to be a credible source. It details very solid evidence that at least one witness in the Rottshaefer case was encouraged to perjure herself by the prosecution side.
" She explained to her boyfriend that she was committing perjury because she faced drug charges that could have sent her to prison for six years. ''They're saying he was bribing patients with sex for pills,'' she wrote, referring to the doctor, ''but it never happened to me. D.E.A. said they will cut my time for good testimony. I don't want to be a snitch but what should I do?'' After she cooperated, she received probation instead of prison time for the drug charges. "
The NYT article does not however mention Mary Beth Buchanan by name. I'll look at the other links James gave me now.
OK, the second link makes clear that Buchanan launched this case against Dr. Rottshaefer. The woman should be behind bars! At the very least she should be disbarred. Did I mention she was a Bush appointee? She makes 'heckuvajob' Brownie look like a frickin' saint.
BTW, doesn't this tie in nicely with the pass that was given to Bush radio shill Rush Limbaugh? We're up against pure, unadulterated evil here folks.
I get wheree you're coming from Linda but as an atheist and a student of history, I'm wary of anybody of faith getting into leadership and politics. They are much too likely to decide what to do based on their interpretation of their particular belief structure rather than what is best for the nation.
SadButTrue | Homepage | 06.26.08 - 6:48 pm
Since she's an appointee, she'll go away with the administration. BUT - there will be these lowlevel land mines just like her scatttered throught all of the executive branch.
They won''t all go away
Margaret - I certainly agree with the wariness. We have few examples of the mix of religion and politics, of faith and money and power, doing anything good for WE THE PEOPLE.
I think we're all on "Obama Watch" - for many reasons.
That said... it is ALWAYS a concern what people's belief systems are, and how they will play out in the public sphere - whether they are people of faith or not.
There's nothing that a belief that there is nothing to believe in - spiritually - does to necessarily make one better at deciding for the public good. Free Market "bottom line" corporatists are quite likely to not be spiritual [even if they hide under that "fig leaf"], and a belief that either science or "the market" can solve all our problems is just as problematic as a faith-based approach.
I just noticed that in the picture I put of her, the potted plant behind her blends in with her hairdo somewhat, making her look like Medusa. Kind of fitting, seeing as she is a monster.
You're right UC, it isn't the major players that will last, but the minions hired by Monica Goodling, Michael Elston, and Esther Slater McDonald who will continue in their civil service jobs until their incompetence removes them. A commenter elsewhere, TPM I believe, opined that that would happen sooner rather than later for most of them, given that they were unqualified to begin with.
Glenn Greenwald slammed KO today for his defending of Obama's FISA position and Olberman just made reference to his own opposition to immunity and said that Obama "kicked the Left in the teeth". Though I too am upset with Olberman not taking Obama more to task over it, to his credit, he brought it up. That's one thing a right wing bloviator never would have done. The O'Reillys and Hannitys of the world would have just shouted and lied about it, IF they mentioned it at all.
The right marches in lockstep, like a platoon of battle droids. They very rarely criticize one another, therefor their mistakes are seldom corrected by feedback. They are all, in a sense, out of the loop.
House Democrats who flipped their votes to support retroactive immunity for telecom companies in last week’s FISA bill took thousands of dollars more from phone companies than Democrats who consistently voted against legislation with an immunity provision, according to an analysis by MAPLight.org. http://www.crooksandliars.com/20...pays-dividends/
Yeah, they don't even bother to conceal it anymore. Your civil rights for sale! I notice how they always exempt themselves from the laws that abridge our rights...
I've watched two clips of David Addington from C-Span at C&L this evening. Until now I didn't even know what he looked like, he was just a name that kept cropping up on the blogs (never in the Lamestream media) from time to time, described as 'Cheney's Cheney.'
What an extraordinarily loathsome, arrogant man! Totally insufferable.
On a different matter. . .
Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris has fenced off a famous tomb to prevent lewd acts being performed on a statue.
The effigy of 19th Century journalist known as Victor Noir has long been popular with women visitors.
...
Officials concerned about damage to the icon's groin area have erected a fence around the grave, and a sign prohibiting indecent rubbing.
...
The statue shows Noir in a frock coat and trousers lying flat on his back, with a distinct enlargement in the groin.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europ...ope/
3975607.stm
Republican candidate John McCain, chuckling, tells the Las Vegas Sun he “stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago.” http://slog.thestranger.com/
2008...o_make_when_you
"The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs, and explosions, and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, ideas, predjudices, to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, predjudices can kill and suspicion can destroy. A thoughtless, freightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all it's own for the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is, is that these things can not be confined to the Twighlight Zone."
Rod Serling
"The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street".
Ed!!
NSted!!!
I've averaged less than five hours sleep since Sunday. . .
The thieves have thrown it into high gear.
Senate Overwhelming Approves to Fund Iraq War Until Mid-2009
The Senate overwhelmingly passed a $162 billion emergency spending bill late Thursday to continue funding the occupation of Iraq and the war in Afghanistan well into 2009.
The bill, approved 92-6 and engineered by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, brings the total cost for the conflicts to about $650 billion—more than $400 billion for Iraq alone.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.or....org/node/
34386
Nazi Pelosi knows her days are numbered. So does Hoya.
Nazi Pelosi can rest well her pillaging is being well spent.
FAMILY IS WIPED OUT BY US
By Gulf Daily News
BAGHDAD: Six members of a family were killed yesterday when a US jet destroyed their house in Iraq.Four children, aged between four and 11, were among the dead in the attack near the northern town of Tikrit, Iraqi police said. However, the US military made no mention of the civilian deaths and said the house was attacked after troops took small arms fire.
I've been whining literally for years that America has moved so far to the right that the middle and even the left are further right than the right has EVER been in the country's history.
This Post puts a nice frame around that idea.
" If he were a candidate in the 2008 presidential election, Richard M. Nixon would be more progressive than either the Republican or Democratic nominees. "
I would also add that Tricky Dicky would also be less crooked than any Republican and 80% of the Democrats now in office.Less than 40 years ago he was the worst of the worst.
If Nixon were a candidate for the 2008 presidential election, he'd need a hell of a make-up artist.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I'm finding it increasingly difficult to support Obama and of course, McSame is out of the question. Could this be the year I vote for Nader? I'll consult the magic 8 ball....
Good morning 
SBT, I watched the judiciary hearing and am in agreement that he is a bombastic ass. Pretty much the same for his associate who kept claiming privilege.
How the heck did Yoo get a job at UC Berkley?
Nader as an alternative?
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader accused Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic Party nominee, of downplaying poverty issues, trying to "talk white" and appealing to "white guilt" during his run for the White House....
...I haven't heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What's keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn't want to appear like Jesse Jackson?...
..."I mean, first of all, the number one thing that a black American politician aspiring to the presidency should be is to candidly describe the plight of the poor, especially in the inner cities and the rural areas, and have a very detailed platform about how the poor is going to be defended by the law, is going to be protected by the law, and is going to be liberated by the law," Nader said. "Haven't heard a thing."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com...-to-talk-white/
Yes, the economy is crumbling, the war in Iraq is out of control, global warming may be responsible for killing all the bees, which can cause famine on a scale never seen and Nader takes a cheap, racist shot at Obama over Payday loans.
Ralph "gay rights = genital politics'" Nader is a first class asshole.
Good morning. I can tell you that the residents of D.C. are outraged by the Supreme Court Ruling against the gun ban. The root of the outrage is that we have no (zero, zilch, nada Congressional representation and yet Congress and the Court and the President have no qualms about dictating to us about matters that are very personal. (personal safety is a huge issue for those of us who live and work here in the working class neighborhoods).
The gun ban (right or wrong) was symbolic to this city-- an act of self determination and an exercise in local democracy. This court decision is yet another smack down to the lowly citizens of the Capital city, reminding us that we do not matter.
Nader's anti-corporate message has its appeal, but I've never noticed him giving much attention to race-specific issues before. In other words, I think he himself has always run as a "white" candidate.
And I didn't know about the "genital politics" remark.
f you enter or leave the United States carrying a laptop, flash drive or cell phone, the government can collect and store a massive amount of personal information without first obtaining a warrant, having probable cause or even suspecting you of anything. http://www.crooksandliars.com/20...rport-seizures/
Ellie, get yer gun! You may need it.
Good morning. I can tell you that the residents of D.C. are outraged by the Supreme Court Ruling against the gun ban. The root of the outrage is that we have no (zero, zilch, nada Congressional representation and yet Congress and the Court and the President have no qualms about dictating to us about matters that are very personal.
Ellie - 9:48 am
Do residents of D.C. pay Federal Income Tax?
If so... WHY?
SadButTrue,
Here is an oped that ran in the local Pittsburgh paper. It was written by a former colleague of Mary Beth Buchanan who served with her as an Assistant US Attorney.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/0.../770820-
109.stm
f you enter or leave the United States ... the government can collect and store a massive amount of personal information without first obtaining a warrant, having probable cause or even suspecting you of anything.
tireiron chef - 9:59 am
They can do that if you stay home too.
SadButTrue,
You should read up more on the Rottschaefer case. The third article from Reason Magazine was also published in Fox News. I know most of fox news is not credible, but this article is. It encapsulates a lot of the local coverage in the case.
Basically, all five prosecution witnesses testified under oath in civil proceedings that they lied against Dr. Rottschaefer by falsely accusing him. Of course, Buchanan won't give the doctor a new trial since it would impact her conviction record.
[-tireiron chef | Homepage | 06.27.08 - 9:59 am]
[-Amerikagulag | 06.27.08 - 10:16 am-]
It's sick that the government now wishes to exert more control over your use of a cell phone or notebook computer than over an automatic weapon.
~~~~
~~~~
Something just occurred to me.
-Yesterday SCOTUS active-ist-ly extended the right to bear arms (although they would spin it as merely affirming rights that have existed since 1789.)
-Nearly simultaneously the ATF raided a Blackwater armory as "part of an investigation into a deal that allowed a local sheriff's office to store high-powered assault rifles at the company's armory at its headquarters in Moyock." (From Raw Story)
-The Bush government has always bent over backwards to protect the interests of Blackwater, KBR, and similar for-hire thugs.
So WTF is going on? Clearly Blackwater is in a better position to defend against any criminal or civil actions now than before the SCOTUS 2nd amendment decision.
There is (we hope) an election coming up that could put a serious crimp in the current regime's ability to hide the details of some SERIOUS wrongdoing. Who knows, with control over Senate, House and White House, the Democrats could even grow a spine. Stranger things have happened.
Could this raid be a set-up for some kind of test case, which the Repukes expect to turn into a redefiniton of the thug class as 'a well-regulated militia'?
(*adjusts ALUMINUM-foil hat*)
James, I've read all three of the articles that you posted yesterday, and will read anything you bring in. Believe me, you're preaching to the choir here. As I previously said, it took no time at all for me to recognize USA Bushanan as a major capa in the Bush Crime Syndicate. Her career stinks to high heaven. As I tagged this post, she is clearly the Queen of the Loyal Bushies.
SadButTrue,
Word in Pittsburgh is that Buchanan wants to be appointed to a federal judgeship. That is the overall concern with what has happened in the DOJ. Through pushing political hacks into every level of the DOJ, the white house basically skews the judgeships going forward to the right wing.
With the best will in the world I can't see this creature as "the queen of the loyal Bushies". The "perfect drudge of the loyal Bushies" perhaps.
As "Duchess of the loyal Bushies" I nominate Speaker Pelosi.
In the musical mode, you could say she's my "idee fixe".
Louisianans are going to get stupider fast.
Jindal ignored those calling for a veto and this week signed the law that will allow local school boards to approve supplemental materials for public school science classes as they discuss evolution, cloning and global warming.
...
Critics call it a back-door attempt to replay old battles about including biblical creationism or intelligent design in science curricula. . .
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/fro...7670.xml&
coll=1
Arthur Landy, who taught Jindal when the future governor was studying a pre-med curriculum at Brown, released a statement through the Louisiana Coalition for Science, itself a group that wanted a veto. "Gov. Jindal was a good student in my class when he was thinking about becoming a doctor, and I hope he doesn't do anything that would hold back the next generation of Louisiana's doctors," Landy said.
And John Derbyshire, a conservative columnist for the National Review Web site, wrote as he lobbied for a veto, "Any Louisianian who wants his kids to have a religious education can send them to parochial schools."
Opening Statement to the House Judiciary Committee Regarding the Articles of Impeachment
By Elizabeth de la Vega, The Public Record
http://www.afterdowningstreet.or....org/node/
34400
tireiron chef | Homepage | 06.27.08 - 11:50 am | #
get stupider faster!
it's all a long-term strategy of the right wing.
toobin alludes to it in The Nine.
getting all these right-wing (loyal bushies now) into early positions so they can advance and take over the judiciary.
and now kennedy is the swing vote on the supreme court.
gagh.
I just found out from that article what the Discovery Institute is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Dis...overy_Institute
I walk by their office regularly and have wondered who they are.
Gregory:
Obsession doesn't lead to clear thinking, IMO. Focusing on Nazi P. Lousy to the exclusion of everything else, or totally overestimating the influence of AIPAC, or misunderstanding the physics of how gravity effects a collapsing building - all these things affect your judgment negatively. Though to be truthful I don't see the Democratic Party being part of the solution, which means they really are part of the problem.
James: They have made no secret of their goal: a permanent Republican majority. OR Republican control even through periods of time that the Democraps have a putative majority. If they retain control of SCOTUS and DOJ they can do a lot of harm.
Louisiana Dept. of Ed. Mission statement?
Get stupider faster!
I think they should study mixing clay with spit and rubbing it into the eyes as a cure for blindness. Who needs medicine when you've got clay and spit?
I think they should discuss the loaves and fishes feeding of the multitudes in their ag classes. ADM and Monsanto can't beat that.
And for their government classes? Stoning wayward teenagers in the public square until they are dead. My personal favorite part of the Old Testament.
What's next? Teaching Aramaic as a language course?
Poor Lousiana - Jindal is a joke, and signed a castration bill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e...h?
v=e6M9dBsUhyo
An most lovely, both he and Romeny are being considered as top picks for McCain's VP.
Though to be truthful I don't see the Democratic Party being part of the solution, which means they really are part of the problem.
They ARE the problem. Turley put it well when [paraphrased] he stated that the Founders were SURE that some asshole would come along and try to arrogate all sorts of power to himself.
They did not imagine this happening unopposed.
The mechanisms in the Constitution for dealing with this are totally ignored by the Dems (except a very small handful) and that is the only way for this lawlessness to continue.
The only redress now is the vote, and the citizens actually doing something.
Well, don't forget that Jindal believes he is an exorcist.
That's enough for me.
Ciao
[Do residents of D.C. pay Federal Income Tax?]
Damn straight we do! There are only about a 1/2 million of us, yet we are saddled with a war bill alone of $2.2 billion so far. Not to mention that $6 million of our police budget goes to escorting these fat white pigs (both of the political sort and the corporate sort) around town.
Why do we do it? Because the IRS goons would be all too happy to destroy our lives, seize all of our property and throw our unruly asses in jail.
The Last Fourth of July
http://mwcnews.net/content/view/.../view/23517/26/
While our homeless Vets sleep in our streets....
US Congress approves Israel aid increase
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/
US_...c_06272008.html
Syria planned to supply Iran with nuclear fuel, Israel says
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/...n/25/
syria.iran
so... you should go kill them for us.... after Iran.
Roberts court continues to dismantle campaign finance reform
http://www.scholarsandrogues.com...finance-reform/
Expect the average net worth of a member of Congress — now about $1.5 million — to take another leap upward. That’s because five members of the Supreme Court decided that wealth, as speech, cannot be regulated. In doing so, the Roberts court continued to dismantle the “fairness” logic of past congressional attempts at campaign finance reform by labeling such reforms as censorship.
It's really all about money, not representation.
"...The mechanisms in the Constitution for dealing with this are totally ignored by the Dems (except a very small handful) and that is the only way for this lawlessness to continue.
The only redress now is the vote, and the citizens actually doing something......"
Unconventional Conventionist
doing "something"???
...again, we're at that "something" stage. Protest? Stop paying taxes? Boycott? Strikes? Jump up and down? Scream? Stomp our feet? "something"?
But it looks as though you might be saying that actively supporting that 'very small handful' in their fight against "tyranny" (since it's no longer just Fascism) is one, if not the only, way to stop this lawlessness??? Or, are you saying that voting is the solution and just hoping that the 'very small handful' are able to reign in the lawlessness (perhaps with the help of those we vote in?? (provided they are not bought off in the interim)
I'm a little muddled.
j/k UC
I share your anger dude. I just have to return to the "H" word (helpless) when folks scream about the destruction of our nation. Until I see leadership on the part of "someone", ANYONE, I'll have to remind us of the sad fact that there is little if any hope of reversing the current trend toward totalitarianism. They work 24/7 to get us there. We work part time to keep us out of it.
I've long abandoned the notion of the US being a beacon of anything except imperialism and death. I certainly won't fly a flag on the 4th. It's lost its meaning.
The shit I post goes under the heading of "Be Informed", nothing more.
Off to job 2
later unrulies
[While our homeless Vets sleep in our streets....
US Congress approves Israel aid increase]
According to Bread for the World, the 10 Top Recipients of U.S. Aid are NOT the poorest:
For example, Israel is tops at $2,495.3 billion while Rwanda gets a paltry $95.3 million.
Ellie. Sounds like Tea Party time.
I would like to see the residents of DC and all those felons who have been disenfranchised, not have to pay any more taxes.
Of course "no taxation without representation" pretty much takes in all of us now doesn't it? Unless you have your own lobbyist.
I've long abandoned the notion of the US being a beacon of anything
Amerikagulag - 4:51 pm
What we thought was a beacon, turned out to be a flame thrower.
SBT - Conyers issued a subpoena today to the DOJ, and specifically asks for items in the Wecht case.
Here's the pdf
http://judiciary.house.gov/
Media...nyers080627.pdf
"To produce the things... ...and you are not to depart without leave of said committee or subcommittee."
May I assume that this is what's meant by inherent contempt, and by using this phrasing the committe is invoking it? The language sounds to me almost like they're putting him under some kind of voluntary arrest. Also the earlier phrase, "you are commanded to appear.."
IANAL, but the language seems peremptory to me.
Hmph! Do you really expect Conyers or any of them to start doing their jobs? They've issued subpoena after subpoena and not done squat to enforce them. I hope you're right but I'm not holding my breath
I may not hold my breath.... but drinking a toast to John Conyers on a Friday evening, I might do.
Linda | 06.27.08 - 7:47 pm
************************************************
I'll toast with you....and perhaps a visit to the porch.
jindal: exorcist. amer-indian. repub.
"...you are commanded to appear.."
IANAL, but the language seems peremptory to me.
SadButTrue | Homepage | 06.27.08 - 7:25 pm
Because that's the nature of a subpoena. And there are 2 types, so small legal lesson re: discovery ensues.
subpoena = literally, "under pain." It was old Roman law that slaves must be tortured for any evidence they might offer regarding their master/owner. Theory was that the slave would lie either because they LOVED their master, or HATED their master, and the only elucidating factor would be torture. Gruesome, no?
Anyhow, a "regular" subpoena is "You are commanded to appear." I haven't seen a testimony subpoena that does not have that language from any state or fed court.
There is also another type of subpoena; subpoena duces tecum "under pain, thou shalt produce [with you, the following] , whereby what the discovery process is really after documents, any sort of written evidence.
Congressional subpoenas are fun because the "duces tecum" part is pretty much part and parcel of what Congress is after. No hiding allowed, testimony or documents.
And, btw, Inherent Contempt is a charge, seperate from subpoena.
See once a subpoena is ignored, also known as not perfected or imperfected, the target of the subpoena is literally in contempt, and Congress can exercise their right at anytime after the date and time for appearance has passed.
But Congress, particularly the House has to assert their right. And it's a kind of "use it or lose it" deal, which I why I am so pissed at them not using their rights.
This goes directly to Executive rights. Let me find that SCOTUS case about that. BRB
Dang, I can't remember the exact case name off hand, so I am trying to find it tangetially.
The upshot of the principle is, is that if Congress never or doesn't challenge a power claimed by the Executive, then, poof, the Executive has that power, since it was unopposed by the reps of the people.
In those cases, only a court can overturn.
Well it sure will be interesting to see Mukasey try to defy this subpoena in any case. Jonathan Turley put up this post a few days ago: Faith-Based Favors: Justice Department Official Fired After Invoking the Fifth Amendment in Congressional Investigation.
And I just happened to be looking at Monica Goodling's Wikipedia entry from which I got this: " On March 23, 2007, she took an indefinite leave of absence. On March 26, 2007, Goodling cancelled her upcoming appearance at a Congressional hearing, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. In its history, no Department of Justice employee has ever exercised his/her Fifth Amendment rights with respect to official conduct, and remained an employee. On April 6, 2007, Goodling announced her resignation from the Department of Justice, writing to Gonzales, “May God bless you richly as you continue your service to America.” "
I mean it should go without saying that someone who is given the power and authority to execute laws should be held to a higher standard of conduct. It was totally just for instance that Scooter Libby was disbarred after having been convicted of perjury, commutation of sentence notwithstanding.
Which is why I am shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, to see the utterly slimy behavior of people like US Attorney Bushanan, Gonzo, Mukasey, Elston, McNulty, etc., who as lawyers should damn well know better. - All of those individuals except Bushanan have been forced to resign by the way. In fact there are a number of positions at DOJ that have had two or more successive officeholders forced to resign during the Bush administration. That has to be unprecedented.
Found it.
Here is the analysis version, about limiting Presidential powers, and the layout:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/sc...l=343&
invol=579
The actual case is YOUNGSTOWN CO. v. SAWYER, 343 U.S. 579 (1952).
It's weighty reading, but the rub is as I've indicated, and it's found in the dissenting opinions
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/sc...l=343&
invol=579
See, Truman did something, Congress did NOTHING, resulting in SCOTUS getting involved.
So the pertinent part of the SCOTUS opinion reads:
The President's order does not direct that a congressional policy be executed in a manner prescribed by Congress - it directs that a presidential policy be executed in a manner prescribed by the President. The preamble of the order itself, like that of many statutes, sets out reasons why the President believes certain policies should be adopted, proclaims these policies as rules of conduct to be followed, and again, like a statute, authorizes a government official to promulgate additional rules and regulations consistent with the policy proclaimed and needed to carry that policy into execution. The power of Congress to adopt such public policies as those proclaimed by the order is beyond question. It can authorize the taking of private property for public use. It can make laws regulating the relationships between employers and employees, prescribing rules designed to settle labor disputes, and fixing wages and working conditions in certain fields of our economy. The Constitution does not subject this lawmaking power of Congress to presidential or military supervision or control.
It is said that other Presidents without congressional authority have taken possession of private business enterprises in order to settle labor disputes. But even if this be true, Congress has not thereby lost its exclusive constitutional authority to make laws necessary and proper to carry out the powers vested by the Constitution [343 U.S. 579, 589] "in the Government of the United States, or any Department or Officer thereof."
The Founders of this Nation entrusted the lawmaking power to the Congress alone in both good and bad times. It would do no good to recall the historical events, the fears of power and the hopes for freedom that lay behind their choice. Such a review would but confirm our holding that this seizure order cannot stand.
The judgment of the District Court is
Affirmed. [emphasis mine]
In other words, Congress better get with it. The exec will try to get aaway with murder, so you better frikking legislate, or forget it, we, SCOTUS, gotta deal with the Constitutionality.
[-Unconventional Conventionist | Homepage | 06.27.08 - 9:00 pm-]
I remember during the Watergate scandal having to school myself on just what the powers of the presidency are. They fall into three categories:
-Constitutional powers, assigned by Article II
-Statutory powers, set out by the legislature.
-Inherent powers
Inherent powers are obviously the fuzziest of the three, and aren't really powers at all, just things such as you describe, where the president has made an assertion of power that has gone unchallenged long enough to be considered 'traditional' in some sense. It would seem to me a simple matter to take any such (signing statements are an example) away from the president under the plain language of the Tenth Amendment:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
And that's utter BULLSHIT to write "cancelled her appearance."
She Failed To Show For Her Subpoena = Lawbreaking.
Show Up For The Subpoena And Then Invoke The 5th. = Legal.
It's that simple and this is what infuriates me.
Out, gotta get some din-din.
Another thing that's utter BULLSHIT and infuriating is the idea of the administration simultaneously invoking executive privilege while denying having any involvement in __________, as they have done a number of times, including WRT the prosecutors' purge, the outing of Valerie Plame, and the persecution of Don Siegelman.
What's even more infuriating is that the Lamestream Media invariably fails to see the blatant contradiction of this behavior, if they even mention it.
It being Friday night it's only fitting to add a little bit of music into the thread. I recently picked up an excellent CD by Bruce Cockburn called Speechless. It's a compilation of just his instrumentals, with a few never-before released cuts and a couple more that were previously available only in Japan. Really great original jazz guitar from a Canadian treasure.
Unfortunately the only thing I could find on YouTube from Speechless was this clip, End of All Rivers but it ends before the song is over. Still...
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou...h?
v=OuURu4GUkdo
So I recommend this clip, with a young Cockburn jammin' on Django Reinhardt's Nuages, a classic jazz guitar number.
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=E-...h?v=E-
Y_2iTZNKY
i do not want the current scotus to deal with any more constitutionality.
bughum.
It seems our current crop in Congress is suffering from hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.
Is Pelosi's thump that large?
Laugh My Frickin' Ass Off!!
" Sens. Larry Craig and David Vitter have co-sponsored the re-introduced Marriage Protection Amendment, according to a report from PageOneQ. If the bill makes it through, it would amend the U.S. Constitution to say that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
(Story in SOVO blog)
C'mon - Larry 'Wide Stance' Craig and David 'Pamper me Elmo' Vitter? In these guys' case it would be more appropriate to amend the Constitution to say that marriage is only between a man in a public washroom stall who propositions a man in a diaper. And then only if the ceremony is performed by Ted Haggard, while all parties are high on meth. (Sorry John Cornyn, couldn't find a way to fit a box turtle reference in there.)
(It's not the SEX - it's the damned HYPOCRISY!!)
Sad, that's hysterical. You can't make this shit up!
No, you can't.
I think Mary Beth escaped when the other horses left the barn. Good luck on "hoping against hope"...
i want big bad john to co-sponsor that bill.
SadButTrue,
You should read these publications by Mary Beth Buchanan from the Federalist Society. The first one is her viewpoint on the Patriot Act.
http://www.fed-soc.org/doclib/
20...SerBuchanan.pdf
http://www.fed-soc.org/doclib/
20...Terwilliger.pdf
SadButTrue,
Buchanan also oversaw the Erie Pizza man collar bomb case. After four years of nothing, Buchanan held a press conference in which she informed the public she indicted someone already in jail on the charges based off of the testimony of jail house snitches.
What was alarming in the press conference was what had occurred in relation to the victim, Brian Wells. Buchanan insinuated that Wells was not a victim, but a co-conspirator. Her argument was that since Wells rob the bank, he was guilty.
Wells' family was outraged. They called Buchanan a liar and forced Buchanan to flee the room. Because Buchanan insinuated that Wells was involved in the crime, Wells' family could not successfully sue the state police for Wells' death. The state police had initially not believed Wells and failed to call the bomb squad. As a result, Wells died.
Here are links to the articles:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/
2...410_page2.shtml
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/0...3/801167-
85.stm
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs....6060400/-1/
NEWS
Buchanan is refusing to honor the election of Obama and render her resignation.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/0...9/932615-
85.stm
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