Musings From Abroad

Have not been able to post for the last few days as I am in Germany for two weeks of business travel. The weather right now is rather hit or miss – one day cold, another rainy, the next sunny. While not my first trip to this country, I am once again amazed at the wonderful German people with their very warm personalities and love of eating, drinking, and discussing most anything.

My friends here were quite eager to ask about 'George Bush', but their eagerness was also tempered by some hesitancy. Unsure of my feelings, they gently probed, trying to discern where I stood. For my part, I was relying on teachings from my father – never talk about politics or religion, so I initially held back from the discussion.

It became apparent that they were very concerned for what is happening in the US right now and wanted to hear from an American what was going on. George Bush is viewed as inflicting huge shame upon America, a very dangerous man, one with a tiny intellect, but possessing great power. America is thought of quite highly, as a place of limitless potential and vitality, but – how could America have elected this stupid man, what is wrong?

My friends are very afraid for America and by extension themselves - as we have the capacity to embroil Europe in the miasma of our creation. Remembering their own history, they hope someone will emerge to lead America from the darkness before it is too late.
Posted on The Human Stain

Same Old Song – Stupidity and Fear

Chimpie loves terrorism – he must. Why else does he keep going over and over – ad nauseum, to the terror playing card? He believes this is his trump card, it once worked magnificently for him and he hopes the magic is still there. Seemingly possessing a fascination with terror, his track is deeply rutted – or he is just incapable of wrapping that little squirrel brain around another subject. His protestations are getting more shrill and his speeches more desperate – 'you must think about terror because I need you to.' Fortunately, America has wised up to his scare game and increasingly tunes him out. Not to be deterred, he stubbornly soldiers on, carrying the the only torch he knows – and the one his 'advisers' tell him to.

His standard "scare America" speech:

President Bush on Friday provided a preview of his two-front strategy for protecting the Republican congressional majority in an ominous political climate: hammer Democrats on national security and the economy, and raise millions of dollars for embattled GOP candidates such as Rep. Michael E. Sodrel (Ind.).

At a luncheon fundraiser here, Bush repeatedly called Sodrel an indispensable ally in fighting terrorism, and emphasized his support for the military and a robust U.S. foreign policy. Sodrel, he said, "understands this is a nation at war" against terrorists intent on striking America again. It is imperative that voters elect candidates who know that "there is an enemy which hates those of us who embrace freedom and would like to strike us again." He warned the crowd that Democrats will raise taxes and harm the economy if they are elected. It is imperative that voters elect candidates who know that "there is an enemy which hates those of us who embrace freedom and would like to strike us again."

How much safer is America? Port security – no. Chemical, nuclear plants – no. Transportation – no. Did Chimpie protect America when he had the chance – no. So what really has been done? Government invasion of privacy – yes. Loss of freedoms – yes. Invasions of your sex life and reproductive rights – yes. Religio-fascism on the rise – yes. Muzzling of the press – yes.

So who is America safer for? For those currently in power.
Posted on The Human Stain

Don't Let It Happen

Big Corporations want more control. Seems like an oxymoron - and it truly is. The problem is not just restricted to their efforts to control markets – now they want to control your minds by controlling the information you can access. Freedom is what they want to decide it is.

FCC Chief Kevin Martin yesterday gave his support to AT&T and other telcos who want to be able to limit bandwidth to sites like Google, unless those sites pay extortion fees. Martin made it clear in a speech yesterday that he supports such a a "tiered" Internet.

Martin told attendees at the TelecomNext show that telcos should be allowed to charge web sites whatever they want if those sites want adequate bandwidth.

.....By siding with telcos who want to be able to offer adequate bandwidth to sites that pay up, and to limit bandwidth to sites that don't, he'll help kill off new sites that can't afford to fork over the money.

Rely on blogs for your information? Kiss them goodbye. Does anyone really think that the incestuous relationship between extremist government and big business now being witnessed will continue to allow voices that dissent? Small truth-tellers need not apply. Big media toes the line now, with this proposal they will control the line. Write to FCC to stop this idea.
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Breaking the Law again

Pleading with America, with Congress, with anyone who would listen, Bush argued earlier this year that the Patriot Act was vital to America's security. He urged passage, belittled concerns, and decried efforts to stop renewal of the law as dangerous - even traitorous.

Congress had many concerns with the law, not the least of which was one that would make sure the FBI did not abuse the special terrorism-related powers to search homes and secretly seize papers. Congress demanded that the Justice Department carefully track usage of the powers by the FBI and regularly report to Congress in accordance with a specific timetable.

Chimpie signed the law, extolling the law as a “a piece of legislation that's vital to win the war on terror and to protect the American people.” Never mind that the law should not have been passed anyways, but as soon as the cameras left, Chimpie secretly issued a 'signing statement' that allows him to declare how he interprets the law. So how did the great protector of America 'interpret' the law?

Well lets see. Bush wrote “The executive branch shall construe the provisions . . . that call for furnishing information to entities outside the executive branch . . . in a manner consistent with the president's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch and to withhold information . . .” In essence he states he will not report to Congress the information the law requires, if he determines that the disclosure of this information would “impair foreign relations, national security, the deliberative process of the executive, or the performance of the executive's constitutional duties”. He just will disobey the law.

So, we have laws against spying on Americans – the frat boy breaks them, we have laws against torturing detainees – the frat boy breaks them, we have laws against giving contracts to foreign companies that may imperil security – the frat boy breaks them. The US Constitution gives Congress the responsibility to write laws and the executive branch the duty to ''faithfully execute" them – not bypass them. Such lawbreaking and disrespect for America should be expected from the dimwitted man who views the Constitution as “just a godammed piece of paper!”

Contrary to Chimpie's beliefs, America is not a monarchy. We don't have kings, queens, princes..... Could a seeming love for royalty be why Bush and British PM Tony Blair seem to get along so well? Maybe Georgie wants to wear a crown and carry a bejeweled scepter while sitting in the oval office - er, throne room. Well, this is America George – we fought to escape the king and we're not going back.

More here.
Posted on The Human Stain

Take His Advice

This is a wonderful post that appeared on Alternet that reveals Chimpie recently had a Freudian slip, telling America that the mass media is controlled by his administration and that if people want to read the 'truth' then they should get on the Internet and read blogs.

I bet you guys didn't really listen to President Bush this week. Too bad, because for once he told the truth. I listened, heard the truth and checked it out. And, as he promised, it was a real eye-opener.

It happened at one of Bush's fake "town hall meetings" this week. An Army wife asked Bush why the mainstream media only focuses on "the bad news" from Iraq and never reports "the good news." Bush furrowed his brow and nodded in agreement. Earlier in the week the administration launched a Vietnam-era-style "blame the media" campaign to explain plummeting public support for both the war and Bush himself.

The woman's question offered Bush an opportunity for another anti-media riff on that theme. He sympathized with her distress and suggested (pay attention -- here comes the truth part) that she should turn to alternative sources for news, "like the internet."

Now we all know that Georgie doesn't read the news, never bothers with polls, and proudly proclaims that he isn't bothered by what is in the media. Could he be a closet blog junkie? Could he actually be more in tune with the world than America gives him credit for?

Nah, what a silly idea.
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Senate Sanctions Rape

As reported by the Washington Post today:

“The Bush administration could continue its policy of spying on targeted Americans without obtaining warrants, but only if it justifies the action to a small group of lawmakers, under legislation introduced yesterday by key Republican senators.” Huh? Talk about swallowing one for Georgie.

This isn't oversight by Congress, it's a smokescreen designed by Bush bedwetters to cover continued illegalities. It's as if the Senate just declared rape legal – as if it had proposed that rapists be allowed to continue their crimes. Rapists would be freely allowed to continue violating women for a specified period of time – let's say 45 days, at which point the rapes would be reviewed against three options. The rapists could be forced to stop, or they could continue - if able to convince others that the rapes are justified, or they could try to convince a small group of inattentive and uninformed people that although there is insufficient reason to commit the rapes, continued raping "is necessary to protect women."

How would that work?
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They're in Charge?

How dumb is this guy? Sen. Judd Gregg, from NH is the Rethuglican Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. Let me say that again – the Senate Budget Committee. This committee is responsible for drafting Congress' annual budget plan and monitoring action on the budget for the Federal Government. Wouldn't it be natural for the members of this group to actually have some idea about money? Numbers? Debits or credits? You'll be disappointed...

"It's hard to understand what a trillion is. I don't know what it is," confessed Senate Budget Committee Chairman Gregg, this week when debating the government's staggering fiscal obligations. America's debt limit has recently been raised in Congress by $780,000,000,000. It is now $9,000,000,000,000. The Republicans, a self styled party of fiscal restraint, have now raised the debt limit ~$3 trillion - four times since 2002.

Senators – note:
Anyone know what a billion is??? One billion is 1,000,000,000. One trillion is 1,000,000,000,000.

As rumored to have been said by the late Sen. Everett Dirksen, “A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money.”

Posted on The Human Stain

Bush Breaks the Law Again

Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) has alleged Bush signed a version of the Budget Reconciliation Act that never passed the House of Representatives. According to Waxman, Speaker Dennis Hastert called Georgie, telling him that the bill being signed was different than the one that had passed in the US House. Georgie signed it anyways and is in violation of the US Constitution.

Why is this important? The Constitution mandates that the President cannot sign into law any bill that has not passed in both Houses of Congress. When Chimpie was sworn into office, he – like any other President, swears to ''preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Knowingly signing the Reconciliation Act which did not pass in Congress means Georgie thinks he is once again above the law.

Of course, this is not the first time the frat boy has dissed the Constitution and given the finger to America. It is well known that he considers the Constitution a nuisance – nothing more than “a goddamned piece of paper.”
Posted on The Human Stain

Message to Dem's

Better pack your bags. The Feingold Censure Train is starting to move. Inching away from the depot, it will soon be a juggernaut. Those not on board will be headed for home.
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Election Surprise

Sure – it will come. Inexorably inching upwards, the drumming for action, the desired war against Iran will reach a crescendo later this year. Chimpie will replay the Iraq game, planning for a resounding crescendo just before the elections – say September. How better to remind everyone of the dreaded terrorists, the dangers we face, the need for Daddy to take care of us. Georgie, Shotgun Dickie, Dodging Donnie, Smarmy Condi – remember America - you need all of us. We will protect you.

By the way, this attack has absolutely nothing to do with politics or our desperate attempts to retain political power. Sacrificing innocent lives for nothing? Well, we always try to limit the collateral damage – trust us.
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The Brave Step Forward

If anyone needs any more evidence of why the so-called Democratic leadership is a disgrace to the country and the party, look no further than how they ran at top speed from the principled and needed stand by Sen. Russ Feingold to censure Bush for his lawbreaking. Georgie has admitted to breaking the law, he revels in it, he dares anyone to do something about it. Only one person had the balls to stand up and say enough is enough. The majority of Democrats – and all of the 'leadership' has run away to hide, just like the scared little mice they maddeningly prove to be – time and time again.

Consider these profiles in courage:

"I haven't read it," demurred Barack Obama (Ill.).

"I really can't right now," John Kerry (Mass.) said as he hurried past a knot of reporters -- an excuse that fell apart when Kerry was forced into an awkward wait as Capitol Police stopped an aide at the magnetometer.

Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) brushed past the press pack, shaking her head and waving her hand over her shoulder. When an errant food cart blocked her entrance to the meeting room, she tried to hide from reporters behind the 4-foot-11 Barbara Mikulski (Md.). "Ask her after lunch," offered Clinton's spokesman, Philippe Reines. But Clinton, with most of her colleagues, fled the lunch out a back door as if escaping a fire.

Outside the Democrats' lunch downstairs, the senators were similarly agile. The number two Democratic leader, Richard Durbin (Ill.), darted out of an elevator and into lunch when he thought nobody was looking.

So nonplussed were Democrats that even Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), known for his near-daily news conferences, made history by declaring, "I'm not going to comment." Would he have a comment later? "I dunno," the suddenly shy senator said. Schumer, leaving the lunch, still hadn't found his voice. " He's gonna talk about it," Schumer said, pointing to Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (Nev.).

Reporters, as instructed, asked Reid where he stood. "It's a question that's been asked 33 times in the last few hours," he said. "And so, for the 34th time, I'm going to say the same thing: I'm going to wait .

What is the reason we want to vote for them? They have a very, very small window of opportunity to show some spine – or their base support will get really furious.
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Right Wing Nutcases

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she and former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor have been the targets of death threats from the "irrational fringe" of society, people apparently spurred by Republican criticism of the high court.

More from AP:

Ginsburg revealed in a speech in South Africa last month that she and O'Connor were threatened a year ago by someone who called on the Internet for the immediate "patriotic" killing of the justices.

Security concerns among judges have been growing.

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter joked earlier this year that Justice John Paul Stevens should be poisoned. Over the past few months O'Connor has complained that criticism, mainly by Republicans, has threatened judicial independence to deal with difficult issues like gay marriage.

Worry is not limited to the Supreme Court. Three quarters of the nation's 2,200 federal judges have asked for government-paid home security systems, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said this week.

Ginsburg said the Web threat was apparently prompted by legislation in Congress, filed by Republicans, that would bar judges from relying on foreign laws or court decisions.

"It is disquieting that they have attracted sizable support. And one not-so-small concern - they fuel the irrational fringe," she said in a speech posted online by the court earlier this month and first reported Wednesday by LegalTimes.com.

According to Ginsburg, someone in a Web site chat room wrote: "Okay commandoes, here is your first patriotic assignment ... an easy one. Supreme Court Justices Ginsburg and O'Connor have publicly stated that they use (foreign) laws and rulings to decide how to rule on American cases. This is a huge threat to our Republic and Constitutional freedom. ... If you are what you say you are, and NOT armchair patriots, then those two justices will not live another week."

Oh, but don't worry. Georgie says he is a “uniter - not a divider.” Anyone know of anything he has said – even once, to dissuade this type of behavior? He and his cult are in control, this is what they really believe. They are dangerous zealots.
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It's all About Oil

Pulling back the veil of dirty conspiracies just a little further is a newly released report from the BBC show, Newsnight. Their investigation has added more weight to the theory, believed by many, that the Bush cult, pushed by their neo-con masters had plans to invade Iraq from the first day Chimpie was appointed to office. Why Iraq? It's the oil, stupid. Frat boy and his goons actually had two plans:

The Bush administration made plans for war and for Iraq's oil before the 9/11 attacks, sparking a policy battle between neo-cons and Big Oil, BBC's Newsnight has revealed. Insiders told Newsnight that planning began "within weeks" of Bush's first taking office in 2001, long before the September 11th attack on the US.

In fact there were two conflicting plans, setting off a hidden policy war between neo-conservatives at the Pentagon, on one side, versus a combination of "Big Oil" executives and US State Department "pragmatists".

An Iraqi-born oil industry consultant, Falah Aljibury, says he took part in the secret meetings in California, Washington and the Middle East. He described a State Department plan for a forced coup d'etat. Mr Aljibury himself told Newsnight that he interviewed potential successors to Saddam Hussein on behalf of the Bush administration.

Mr Aljibury, once Ronald Reagan's "back-channel" to Saddam, claims that plans to sell off Iraq's oil, pushed by the US-installed Governing Council in 2003, helped instigate the insurgency and attacks on US and British occupying forces.

While the efforts of Sen. Russ Feingold to censure Georgie are to be commended – loudly, he is off the mark. The frat boy should be in jail serving a life term.

Watch part of the BBC report here (.ram format).

More on oil as the real reason for invading Iraq here.
Posted on The Human Stain

Questions of Conscience

'Molly Saves the Day' is creating quite a buzz lately. Molly's is a blog that describes itself as one dedicated to discussing 'Feminist issues, liberal talk, and news analysis by former journalist turned phone sex operator.' Well written and provocative, it has generated some controversy with discussions relating to the abortion debate in this country. In response to the ill-advised actions of South Dakota to ban nearly all abortions, Molly's has published a post titled 'For the Women of South Dakota' that describes how to self abort a pregnancy. The site has also generated some questions for the self proclaimed 'Pro-Life', 'Abortion is Murder' crowd that force some introspection. Spouting slogans is one thing but having to grapple with the real consequences of one's actions or 'beliefs' is something vastly different. A truly honest, thoughtful appraisal of the 'murder' position, along with reasoned answers would reveal that most vociferous abortion ban advocates are utilizing flawed logic. Molly has some questions for the pro-life crowd. If abortion is 'murder', then:

1) Should women who abort get life sentences in prison and/or the death penalty?
2) If a woman's husband knows she is aborting, should he be charged as an accessory to murder?
3) How about her friends who know?
4) Should abortion doctors receive life sentences in prison and/or the death penalty?
5) If a woman smokes during her pregnancy and the fetus dies as a result, should she be charged with murder?
6) If her husband knew she was a smoker and could kill the fetus, is he criminally negligent?
7) If a woman eats unhealthily during pregnancy and the fetus dies, should she be charged with negligent homicide?
8) If the husband knew, should he, too, be charged?
9) If a woman has a serious medical condition that would almost always lead to the death of a fetus, but gets pregnant anyway, should she be criminally liable if the fetus dies?
10) If her husband knew of this condition, should he, too, be criminally liable?
11) If a company manufactures a product which lights a fire in a fertility clinic, destroying 1500 frozen embryos, should they be liable for mass murder?
12) If an electric company has a power failure which cuts power to a fertility clinic, thawing embryos and rendering them unusable, should they be liable for mass murder?
13) If a pregnant woman reports to her doctor that she is smoking during her pregnancy, should her doctor be mandated to report it to the appropriate agency for dealing with child abuse?
14) If a woman has cancer and her chemotherapy kills a fetus, should she be given a life sentence and/or sentenced to die?
15) If her doctor was aware of her pregnancy, should he be charged as an accessory to murder?
16) Should children who are disabled be allowed to sue a parent for any negligent conduct during pregnancy that may have caused their disability -- for instance, smoking or consuming alcoholic beverages?
17) Should a person with 15 frozen embryos in storage be required to carry each embryo as soon as possible?
18) If I had 15 embryos in storage, should I be able to claim them as dependents on my tax paperwork?
19) If a government agency determined that a woman was being neglectful to her fetus during her pregnancy, should she be forced by the Department of Children and Families to care for the child and/or have it forcefully removed?
20) Should one in three American women be imprisoned or sentenced to death?

How many 'YES' answers? How many NO's? Do the true believers from the 'Abortion is Murder' clan have to answer every question in the affirmative? Can that clan morally answer any of the questions with a NO? Does any NO answer mean that the fetus does not have the same rights as a person from the moment of conception? Seems the answer to that question is yes.
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This is Lunacy

Just two days ago, the discovery of a case of Mad Cow Disease in Alabama exploded across the news wires. Today we hear that the buried cow is going to be dug up for analysis to determine its age. The age of the cow is extremely important as Mad Cow Disease, or BSE, is usually caught by calves eating contaminated feed. There was a case last year, kept pretty quiet, where a cow from Texas was verified to have been 12 years old. If the Alabama cow is determined to be ten plus years old, then further evidence exists to say BSE has been in the beef food chain for nearly a decade - or more. With this backdrop, it's good to know that Chimpie has shucked his loyalties to industry and is finally doing something to protect Americans:

The Agriculture Department is drawing plans to scale down its mad cow surveillance program that found two of the three U.S. cases of the disease, including one this week, two USDA officials said on Wednesday.

In addition, they said USDA would rely on private-sector incentives to inspire producers to join a separate cattle tracking system to track down suspect animals in future outbreaks of livestock diseases.

Always keeping America's safety first – just don't get in the way of Georgie and his friends making a buck.

More info here and here on the real risk to consumers.
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Said With a Straight Face

We can always count on Rethuglicans to provide a great show. Like synchronized swimmers, they move in a smooth, exacting unison – first towards and then away from the feeding trough. With a beautiful precision the bloated pol's glide effortlessly to and fro, gracefully sucking money into their mouths. With nary a sound, without any lost motion, and without the slightest indication of conscience, huge volumes of greenbacks disappear as each passes. Belching with satisfaction, they eventually depart, only to return when parched anew.

Stung by scandal, House Republican leaders announced plans Wednesday to impose at least a temporary ban on privately funded travel by lawmakers, along with a requirement for lobbyists to disclose the gifts they bestow on House members.

The recommendations will "sustain the integrity of the Congress as we move forward," House Speaker Dennis Hastert said at a news conference.

"We need to bring about bold, strong reform," added Rep. David Dreier, the California Republican involved in assembling a set of proposals generally designed to limit the influence of lobbyists.

Posted on The Human Stain

Grand Illusions of Omnipotence

Miserable as it is, Frat Boy and his minions are the current inhabitants of the Executive branch. The danger they present to our country is their total lack in recognizing that they have ANY responsibilities of stewardship towards Americans. Living in a secure and artificial world, inhabited by cronies, crooks, whites, and the rich, they look with disdain and disgust upon the 'little' people – ordinary Americans. Bush and his privileged, usurious pals, view Americans as assets – there to serve them and their corporatist friends in the furtherance of financial gain. They view themselves as invincible, unassailable, and unindictable. A typical expression of this attitude was displayed today by Bush's beard - Press Secretary, Scott McClellan.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said he was "tired of some of the questions" about whether Bush is going to replace some senior advisers. "The president has a great team and he appreciates the job that they're doing," .....

"The president has a smart, capable and experienced team that is fully committed to helping him advance his agenda and get things done for the American people,"......

McClellan bristled at questions about a shake-up.

They turn a deaf ear to the concerns of America, Congress, and anyone who 'questions' their actions. As a governing administration, they suck...... as a cult they're great. Deprogramming of our nation starts in the fall of 2006. Vote.
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Phony Empathy

The leadoff line in this news item tells the whole story perfectly:

Senate Republicans are trying to show their support for politically sensitive programs like education and veterans' benefits, further distancing themselves from President Bush's budget in an election year.

The hypocrisy of their actions is both delicious and distasteful. 'They are TRYING to show their support'....... Don't hurt yourself fellas!!
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Weak and Wimpy

It's really quite depressing. There is a yearning in this country. It's in the air, it tingles, it's even palpable. People want change, they are desperate for a new direction, desperate for a new feeling of pride in America, desperate for a new image of ourselves as proud inheritors of the America our forefathers fought for. We are tired of having our reputations sullied by corrupt, incompetent, amoral, and unthinking leadership. To say that Bush has been a disaster for the country would be to minimize his harm.

Knowing that, this is a two party political system and there is supposed to be an alternative. Having been shut out of power for years, the Democrats are waiting in the wings. Problem is - that's all they are doing – waiting. Not normally one to agree with Rev Jesse Jackson, it cannot be denied that his recent remarks on the state of the Democratic party are irrefutable.

Americans are calling for a new direction in large numbers. They are looking for bold leadership -- and bold new policies to deal with the challenges we face.....Faced with the epic catastrophe wrought by this administration and this Congress' policies, Democrats have yet to lay out any compelling alternative.

....With America in desperate need of bold leadership and a new direction, their slogan for the 2006 election is, hilariously, "We can do better." ..... They seem unable to offer a coherent alternative to the president's ruinous tax-cut policies..... They have railed against the "culture of corruption" but failed to put out a comprehensive reform agenda, blocked by their own money-driven incumbents.....

Some of this is the fate of a party that is completely locked out of power..... But a lot of this is simple cowardice -- the belief that Bush and the Republican Congress have fallen so low and failed so completely, that Democrats can inherit power without ever committing to anything. That is bad politics and bad policy. Democrats who want to run for president are about to learn from core supporters that dancing between raindrops on issues of vital national importance won't get them there.

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Refusal to Face Reality

Just the other Georgie was telling us how he's confident things will go well in Iraq. A few days before that, Chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, said the following in response to a question:

Q: If you were to be asked whether things in Iraq are going well or badly, what would you say? How would you answer?

PACE: I’d say they’re going well. I wouldn’t put a great big smiley face on it, but I would say they’re going very, very well from everything you look at....

So today we find out the Gen. George Casey asked for more troops because of a “convergence of events, and danger, surrounding the third anniversary of the American invasion.”

Insisting it is a small number of troops and they will “only be staying a month,” the Pentagon is trying to minimize the contradiction of a needed troop increase when Georgie and Gen. Pace say things are going so well. Seems like an obvious reality is staring them in face and they just won't recognize it.
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Mad Cow is Here

Reports of the discovery of a third case of Mad Cow Disease (BSE) in Alabama today have meat industry economists and analysts falling all over each other in an effort to 'assure' US consumers that they should keep grilling steaks, eating hamburgers and other forms of beef just as they always have done. Why there is nothing to worry about at all. Trust us! Sound familiar?

"I think the reaction on the consumer side will be relatively mild," said Chris Hurt, a Purdue University agricultural economist.

"The bottom line for consumers remains the same: Your beef is safe," the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said in a statement.

It is really quite comforting to have an economist and a representative of the Beef Association assuring America that all is well with their food supply. These guys must have minored in biology or medicine when they went to school – whew, was getting a little nervous.

Now, with all the pooh poohing going on, one would think that there might be something shady going on. No, it can't be. Why, representatives of industry and the Bush administration would never lie to American citizens – would they?? Just have one nagging concern. Why haven't they mentioned this:

Mad Cow Disease has a human form called Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD). Scientists believe people can contract vCJD by eating material from infected cattle.

In the preceding week, two more variant cases had been neuropathologically confirmed, and a report on the entire group of 10 cases concluded that an unrecognized variant of CJD occurring only in persons less than 45 years of age was probably due to exposure to BSE. This link has now been convincingly established in laboratory studies showing identical, distinctive biological and molecular biological features of the pathologic agent isolated from BSE-infected cattle and human cases of vCJD. The source of contamination appears to have been beef.

During the Mad Cow outbreak in Britain during the 1980's and 90's, it was found that human cases of vCJD did not really occur until nearly a decade AFTER the outbreak of Mad Cow. This is because the disease has an incubation period that can vary from 10 to 15 years.

So, lets see now. There appears to be the possibility of a 'shhh' let's keep it quiet campaign, being conducted by the government and meat industry - with American consumers as the guinea pigs. Suppose the American safeguards are not working, and that is known by government/industry. Since the incubation period is at least 10 years, there is time to 'fix' the system. Is a 'risk analysis' being performed right now in the government with meat industry assistance? Does anyone not think that the industry may be weighing how many people could get infected in that time and how much it would cost for their legal defenses 10 years from now? No it can't be. America knows that industry and the Bush administration can be relied upon. They would never lie - right???

Just to be safe though – maybe pork/poultry is a better choice.
Posted on The Human Stain

Collateral Damage

This is the face of 'collateral damage.'

Looking at this face, one hopes it makes the neo-cons proud. With their blase statements about the war in Iraq, their talk about making 'efforts' to minimize civilian injuries, their obstinate denial of the brutality created by this conflict, this face represents the carnage unleashed by an unjust war - one based on lies.
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No Clue

The frat boy is very 'concerned' about the message being sent to our allies and friends in the Middle East due to the scrapping of the Dubai Ports World deal. As a result, the US and the United Arab Emirates have had to delay their next scheduled round of free-trade talks, additional time is needed to prepare for the fifth round of discussions. Georgie equates the success of free-trade with the 'War on Terror,' saying “In order to win the war on terror, we have got to strengthen our relationships and friendships with moderate Arab countries in the Middle East,” adding (the UAE have become) “a valued and strategic partner” in the war on terror.

Maybe, instead of being so concerned about the message being sent to our allies and friends, a little more thought should have been given to the message sent to the world when he deliberately fabricated the perception of an "imminent threat" of WMD and used that perception as a justification to invade Iraq. Or, how about the message sent to the world when Chimpie elected to unilaterally discard the Geneva Conventions on prisoner treatment? Or, how about the message we sent to the world when he and the other neocon chicken-hawks decided it was acceptable to torture people?

Apparently destruction, mayhem, and death are okay to lie about. The frat boy wanted to be a cowboy, a war president. If he had to lie about it and if people got killed for his little adventure, oh well. "Que sera, sera" – whatever will be, will be.

It's sad, but for Georgie, he only seems to get concerned when some associates and friends can't make a buck.
Posted on The Human Stain

They Must Be Desperate

Episode #1
From the 'Who Cares' Files – Bush's nephew?

Episode #2
From the 'Trying to Scare People Again' Files – pulling the tired old terrorism bunny out of the hat.

Posted on The Human Stain

Disgusting Scumbag

Rush Limbaugh, the fat blowhard icon for the unthinking acolytes of Bushism, had this to say when four members from Christian Peacemaker Teams, a Christian group that promotes peace and humanity were abducted by a group called the 'Swords of Righteousness Brigade' in Iraq on Nov26, 2005:

Yeah, all right. Now, let's take this at face value just for a moment. This could all be BS. I mean, we've never heard of the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. This could all be a stunt, but let's take it -- well, let's take it both ways. We'll take it face value at first, then we'll look at it as a stunt second. I said at the conclusion of previous hours -- part of me that likes this. And some of you might say, "Rush, that's horrible. Peace activists taken hostage." Well, here's why I like it. I like any time a bunch of leftist feel-good hand-wringers are shown reality. So here we have these peace activists over there. I don't care if they're Christian or not. They're over there, and as peace activists, they've got one purpose. They're over there trying to stop the violence.......

Fine, they get kidnapped. They get kidnapped at gunpoint. If that version of this is true, then -- OK, you've met the bad guys, and you tried your technique on them, and now you're blindfolded in a room with guns pointed at you and knives at your throat. I don't like that. But any time a bunch of people that walk around with the head in the sand practicing a bunch of irresponsible, idiotic theory confront reality, I'm kind of happy about it, because I'm eager for people to see reality, change their minds if necessary, and have things sized up.

I mean, these people are liberals, they're warped. Well, I mean, that's why there's -- I'm telling you, folks, there's a part of me that likes this. Probably, even with this, though, you know, they're not going to see the light of day. They're not going to -- I know, let them take me out of context. I don't care anymore.

The news coming out of Iraq now is:

Tom Fox, the kidnapped American peace worker whose body was found this week, had apparently been tortured by his captors before being shot multiple times in the head and dumped on a trash heap next to a railway line in western Baghdad, an official at the Iraqi Interior Ministry said Saturday.

The body was discovered Thursday afternoon dressed in a gray track suit and stuffed in a large plastic bag, the official said, adding that Mr. Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Va., had been bound at the wrists and ankles.

So Rush, how do you feel now now? Got a woodie? Feeling pretty happy with yourself I'll bet, with that warm feeling just spreading all over you.
Posted on The Human Stain

We All Feel Better

Georgie says not to worry about Iraq. Everything will be fine – just like he planned all along. It must be true, he's never been mistaken before.

President Bush said Saturday he is confident a unified Iraqi government will settle sectarian feuds that Iraqi leaders fear could lead to civil war.

"I'm optimistic that the leadership recognizes that sectarian violence will undermine the capacity for them to self-govern," Bush said after a defense briefing at the White House. "I believe we'll have a unity government in place that will help move the process forward."

"Amid the daily news of car bombs and kidnappings and brutal killings, I can understand why many of our fellow citizens are now wondering if the entire mission was worth it," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

Ooops, wait a minute, this just came in - News Item: 'Bush is wrong all the time.'
Posted on The Human Stain

Good Riddance

With the news that the 'Butcher of the Balkans', former Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic has died in his jail cell, the world should be quite happy the murderous animal is gone for good. Nothing more than a racist thug, he cruelly ordered the slaughter of hundreds of thousands, and millions were forced to leave their homes. After the fall of Communism in Yugoslavia, the murderous dog took advantage of age old ethnic and religious tensions in that area, attempting to force all non-Serbian civilians from the country. Those who resisted were killed , really executed by the armed fascists he commanded. The term 'Ethnic Cleansing' was coined as a result of Milosevic's actions and is synonymous with carnage directed towards the systematic eradication of a particular group of people.

The strangely interesting thing however are the reactions to his death. While it may be understandable the butcher's family would side with him, what is it about the term 'depraved murderer' that some of these other people don't understand?

Widow Mirjana Milosevic: "The tribunal has killed my husband."

Serbian President Boris Tadic: Tadic expressed his condolences to the Milosevic's family and to the Socialist Party, according to RTS (Radio TV of Serbia).

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy: "With the death of Milosevic, one of the main actors, if not the the main actor in the Balkan wars of the late 20th century, has left the scene. "I would like to spare a thought for all those who suffered so much from ethnic cleansing -- tens of thousands of men, women and children -- (the cleansing) Milosevic conceived and planned."

Ivica Dacic, senior official of Milosevic's Socialist Party: "It's a big loss for Serbia and for the Socialist party. He was being systematically killed in the Hague and finally he died."

Croatian President Stjepan Mesic: "It's a pity that Milosevic did not live through the trial and get his deserved sentence."

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Richard Holbrooke, chief architect of the Dayton Peace accords: "This man, this monster, this war criminal who wrecked Southeastern Europe in the latter part of the 20th century is gone from the scene once and for all, but his mark is enduring ... and it isn't very good. "Milosevic is over, but the problem is that there's still two terrible war criminals out there." [Ratko Mladic, leader of the Bosnian Serb army, and former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic, both at large and wanted on war crimes charges.]

Haris Silajdzic, former prime minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina: Milosevic's death will not have a great impact, he said. "The world has moved on."

Posted on The Human Stain

It Will Happen II

Hearing anyone extol the virtues of the American healthcare system, one has to wonder about the vacant realty between their ears. We have the most expensive medical care in the world, with a huge proportion of the costs directly related to 'administrative functions'.

Perversely, our extra spending doesn't seem to buy us better medical care. According to virtually every meaningful statistic, from simple measures like infant mortality to more carefully constructed data like "potential years of life lost," Americans are no healthier (and are frequently unhealthier) than the citizens of countries with universal health care. Nor do Americans always get "more" medical care, as is commonly assumed.

The citizens of Japan, for example, have more CT scanners and MRI machines than we do. And the French, whose system the World Health Organization recently declared the planet's best, have more hospital beds. They get more doctor visits, too, perhaps because their access to physicians is nearly unfettered — a privilege even most middle-class Americans surrendered with the spread of managed care. In fact, aside from cost, the measure on which the United States most conspicuously stands out from other advanced nations may be public opinion: In a series of polls a few years ago, just 40 percent of us said we were "fairly or very" satisfied with our health care system, fourth worst of the 17 nations surveyed.

People are getting sick and tired of the parasites, lining their pockets while America's citizens are being denied needed care. Wake up Dem's. This is something to fight for and to win with. This is what government exists for and this is the right time.

Is America a truly great nation if we neglect our own citizens?
More here.
Posted on The Human Stain

We Didn't Mean It

Yah, sure. The lies keep on coming from this crowd in a never ending cascade. Think your rights under the Constitution are being protected? Secret surveillance, illegal spying, use of an intrusive data collection program (TALON) that Congress instructed the Pentagon to scrap (they lied and kept it), Bush's neocon's thugs are still a nightmare America must survive.

The way to endure is to vote Republicans out.
Posted on The Human Stain

Blinded Lovers of Death

If anyone needs evidence of just how depraved and amoral the religio-fascist neanderthals in our midst are, they need only to read this.

Q: The opposition to science seems to have a number of strains, many religious. You write about how the Administration is vehemently opposed to “any drug, vaccine, or initiative that could be interpreted as lessening the risks associated with premarital sex.” Do policymakers have some other rationale, or is this more of a straightforward agenda?

A: Well, the Bush Administration is squarely on the record in favor of abstinence as the main approach to issues such as H.I.V. and abortion. Few groups, by the way, oppose abstinence as an approach, and many see it as an excellent first line of defense. Unfortunately, however, it doesn’t always work, and, when it does, it rarely works for long. Nonetheless, the Administration—and many of its allies among conservatives and the religious right—places far more emphasis on abstinence than on teaching children other methods of birth control and protection against sexually transmitted diseases.

From the article in The New Yorker and The Daily Dish:

"Religious conservatives are unapologetic; not only do they believe that mass use of an HPV vaccine or the availability of emergency contraception will encourage adolescents to engage in unacceptable sexual behavior; some have even stated that they would feel similarly about an H.I.V. vaccine, if one became available. 'We would have to look at that closely,' Reginald Finger, an evangelical Christian and a former medical adviser to the conservative political organization Focus on the Family, said. 'With any vaccine for H.I.V., disinhibition' - a medical term for the absence of fear - 'would certainly be a factor, and it is something we will have to pay attention to with a great deal of care.' Finger sits on the Centers for Disease Control's Immunization Committee, which makes those recommendations."

Not happy enough hurting themselves with their own stupidity, the Bush nutcases actually prefer that all people contract diseases and even die. Why is it that the religious right = idiots? They could do a lot better with some basic education in humanity.
Posted on The Human Stain

Healthy Gums

Not sure how valid this study is – we know how the French love wine, any tie-ins to the wine industry financing of the study? But, hey, if you like wine keep drinking.

Raising a glass to a new weapon against periodontal disease, researchers say red wine may help keep gums healthy and strong.

"Our findings demonstrate that red wine polyphenols have potent antioxidant properties," conclude researchers led by Dr. Fatiah Chandad from the Universite Laval in Quebec City. Her team presented its findings Friday at the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) annual meeting, in Orlando.

Posted on The Human Stain

Rewriting History for Rummy

Excerpts from a wonderful post that discusses how Sec. Def. Donald Rumsfeld propagandizes and then creates new realities when facts become inconvenient, histories of actual events disappear and official transcripts on Department of Defense website pages vanish.

Earlier this week, I blogged about the Bush administration's increasingly absurd efforts to spin the war in Iraq, including Don Rumsfeld's attempt to lay the blame for the White House's Iraq troubles at the feet of America's history teachers:

"I think the biggest problem we've got in the country is people don't study history anymore. People who go to school in high schools and colleges, they tend to study current events and call it history... There are just too darn few people in our country who study history enough."

Then, like a gruff professor, he rattled off some quick backup for his claim: Revolutionary War? "George Washington was almost fired." Civil War? "The Civil War was the ugliest thing -- carnage. 10,000, 15,000 people killed in a battle." What about World War II? "Same thing in World War II... Franklin Roosevelt was one of the most hated people in the country and he was President of the United States. He was Commander-in-Chief. He did a terrific job."

Only trouble is, it's completely bogus history. A brief fact check reveals that public support for WW II never slipped below 75 percent, even though more than 200,000 Americans had been killed by mid-1945. As for the public's "hatred" of FDR, the facts tell a very different story: Roosevelt's approval rating during the war never fell below 66%, and his disapproval rating never climbed above 25%.......

.......Soon after I posted about Rummy's "biggest problem" quote and linked to the DoD website, the entire interview suddenly vanished from the site. It's disappeared from the list of recent transcripts, and the page where the interview once was is now completely blank.

In Rummy's world, facts are just not to be tolerated.
Posted on The Human Stain

Big Brother Upon Us

Do you do your banking at a federally insured institution? Nice to have security against loss, but how does it feel to know you're being constantly watched?

The revised Patriot Act just passed by Congress has provisions that might bring your banking practices under scrutiny. The checks you write and the deposits you make are all are under a microscope as a way to try to keep America safe from terrorists.

"We're automatically at high risk,” said Empire Bank vice president Cindy Harding, a fraud investigator. Banking with a federally insured bank means you're now being monitored under the Patriot Act.

Each and every customer will be classified based on his or her perceived risk threat: low, medium or high risk. "The feds look at us,” said Harding. “They’re monitoring everyone's activity."

Thanks to the traitors in the US Congress. When will they start working for America?
Posted on The Human Stain

Do the Dem's Want to Win?

The next presidential election in 2008 is dawning very quickly upon us. Howard Dean is right in stating that the Democrats need to wage a 'national campaign'. “Instead of each candidate running on local issues within his or her district, Dean said, all Democrats should stress such issues as “honesty and openness in government.”

Rather than exhibiting the usual fractiousness and discord that has become commonplace, the party must unite, it truly needs to shed well worn ways and faces. An honest appraisal of what is needed to win the next election will be excruciatingly painful for the current crop of party leaders, but it will clearly present the ultimate test of whether the Democrats can live up to their words of doing what “is best for America.” Will the egos and self gratifying aspirations for glory and power cause another loss, or can they make the necessary personal sacrifices that they ask of others?

There is a lot of tiredness in the party, we continually view the same old faces, same old behind the scene power brokers, same old consultants. No one denies their depths of commitment and good intentions, but they reliably provide the same old result – they lose. Bob Schrum, Donna Brazille, John Kerry, Joe Biden, Al From, Susan Estrich, James Carville, Harry Reid, members of the disastrous Democratic Leadership Council...... the needs of America have passed them by - it's time to fade into history.

Hillary Clinton is a wonderful person, well respected, and she seems to truly care for the welfare of her constituents and America. The problem is she cannot win the election, she carries far too much baggage, and is an embarrassingly easy target for Rethuglican slime. Her greatest value to America would be in using her formidable organizing and cajoling skills to cement the chances for those candidates who can offer Americans new faces, ideas, and hopes that they desperately need. She needs to give up her quest for making history as our first female president - the time is not right.

Russ Feingold, Barack O'Bama, Wesley Clark, Eliot Spitzer. These are some of the new faces needed if the democrats want to win. Will the old, tired guard give way? Will they honor their high minded, noble words about serving the greater good, about taking back America for Americans? Or, will the needs of their countrymen be sacrificed to fulfilling petty personal insecurities? Time will tell.
Posted on The Human Stain

Another Member in Rummy's World?

Ah, the rose colored glasses were being fully utilized this past Sunday. Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff appeared on Meet The Press and made some amazing statements:

RUSSERT: If you were to be asked whether things in Iraq are going well or badly, what would you say? How would you answer?

PACE: I’d say they’re going well. I wouldn’t put a great big smiley face on it, but I would say they’re going very, very well from everything you look at....

MR. RUSSERT: The American people were asked that exact same question, how things are going in Iraq, and here’s how they responded: Well, 36; badly, 62. Why do you think there’s such a disconnect from your view and that of the American people?

GEN. PACE: I don’t think we’re getting the goodness out to the American people the way we should..... People don’t get a chance to see or hear about all the good things that are happening.

MR. RUSSERT: But we have been told the insurgency was just a small group of dead-enders, that it was in its last throes. That just isn’t correct, is it?

GEN. PACE: I think what is correct is that the number of individuals who will participate in insurgent-like activities is going to be dependent on not only military power, but more importantly economic and political power that’s taking place in the country.

MR. RUSSERT: Knight-Ridder reported this week that U.S. intelligence agency more than two years ago said that the insurgency “had deep local roots, was likely to worsen, and could lead to civil war.” And that was just ignored by political and military leadership because they wanted to believe their own rosy scenario.

GEN. PACE: I do not believe it has deep roots. I do not believe that they’re on the verge of civil war. I do believe that there are a small number, relatively small number, of individuals who are ideologically committed to the terrorist ideology and are going to do whatever they need to do to try to bring those citizens back under tyrannical rule.

Hopefully Gen. Pace just had a bad hair day and really doesn't believe his own statements last Sunday. He can't be like his boss, because Donald Rumsfeld just doesn't believe anything that will not fit neatly into “Rummy's World”. Say the troops don't have enough body armor – you're told no, they do. Say there aren't enough troops in Iraq – you're told no, there are. Say that abuses are occurring in detention camps – you're told no, there are not. According to Rummy, the current situation in Iraq is an "exaggeration". Rummy once told America - 'you don't go to war with the troops you want – but with the troops you have.' We know the Secretary of Defense we have is not the one we want, let's hope the General doesn't fall into Rummy's trance.
Posted on The Human Stain

Short Term Thinking

Most people would assume that the oil companies have some long range goals and faithfully engage in scenario planning to help them envision life after the black gold runs out. Development of alternative energy forms is truly in their best long term interests, with last year's record profits - what better time than now to invest in the future? Common sense says many severe political problems currently gripping the world could be eased by the enabling of American energy independence. If equitably done, the technologies created could engender a new age of growth and development unparalleled in history. Well, apparently, forethought is not something Exxon Oil can be labeled with.

The U.S. government is doing a disservice to the American public by suggesting that the country can become energy-independent, especially since the country has oil and gas resources that are off-limits to development, Exxon Mobil Corp.'s top executive said Tuesday.

America imports 10 million barrels of oil a day while it sits on an abundance of potential, according to Chairman and Chief Executive Rex Tillerson.... Tillerson called it "irresponsible" for the government to withhold U.S. resources from its own people.

Thinking the United States could become completely independent of foreign sources of fuel "is flawed policy." "The notion of energy independence is unrealistic," he said, adding that energy interdependence would be better long-term for energy security.

Wasn't the 'private sector' supposed to be smarter and more efficient than government? Exxon is giving that notion it's comeuppance.
Posted on The Human Stain

Brightening Sky?

With Georgie and the Rethuglicans continuing to self immolate, Democrats view the fall elections with increasingly favorable hopes for victory:

In the most recent Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll, Americans by a margin of 46 percent to 37 percent said they plan to vote Democratic for Congress this year.

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said the key to victory in November will be to “nationalize'' the election. Instead of each candidate running on local issues within his or her district, Dean said, all Democrats should stress such issues as “honesty and openness in government'' and “a strong national defense that depends on truth and adequately equipping our soldiers.”

“I am not ready to say we will take back the House and Senate,” Dean said in an interview. “But we will take back the House and probably the Senate if we run a national campaign.” If Democrats do gain control, he said, Republicans should expect to be investigated: “If we get subpoena power” in congressional committees, “the corruption will come out on America's TV screens, and that scares the daylights out of the Republicans.” he said.

Huge amounts of needed preparation for victory remain – such as ensuring that voting machines are not rigged .
Posted on The Human Stain

Pleasing Daddy

It's getting pretty crowded near George Bush these days. The small area the Bush acolytes occupy is getting pretty congested with all the frenzied subservience and genuflecting going on. Who really loves Bush's scrotum being firmly pressed firmly against their chin more - Sen. Bill Frist or Sen. Pat Roberts? Jockeying for position, they seem equally adept at getting to the front of the line, right now it's neck and neck. While there are others in the kneepad pecking order, Roberts and Frist tower above their rivals in succoring praise from the mighty one.
Posted on The Human Stain

Fraud and Deceit – Enron's Criminals

Facing 25 years in jail, Enron's former chief executive officer, Jeffrey Skilling, and former Chairman Kenneth Lay sat in court today listening to their former Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Fastow, describe how they were totally complicit in Enron's financial deceptions and collapse, ultimately costing investors $25B and 5,000 employees the loss of their jobs. Thinking they were above the law, untouchable, and near omnipotent, these slimy friends of Bush manipulated markets and defrauded electricity consumers with billions of dollars in overcharges and the intentional creation of false power shortages. These phony crisis's rippled through the economy causing unnecessary cost increases as companies had to invest in electrical power safeguards such as emergency power supplies and protection devices that would allow them to 'weather the shortages'.

Fastow testified today that his boss, Jeffrey Skilling, told him to use off-the-books partnerships to ``give me all the juice you can'' on earnings.

Fastow said the Enron board approved his creation of the partnerships, called LJM1 and LJM2, and that his participation in them had to be approved by Lay, 63, and Skilling, 52, under the company's code of conduct. The official purposes of the partnerships were to do quick transactions and avoid investment banking fees, Fastow said before the trial. Fastow admitted using the partnerships to hide billions of dollars in Enron debt.

``The whole purpose of the partnership was to make Enron's numbers look the way they wanted them to look,'' Fastow testified about one of the entities. ``Skilling made it clear that he wanted someone to run this partnership that would work with Enron in the future in a cooperative way.''

Prosecutors told jurors in opening arguments of the trial that Lay and Skilling manipulated earnings through deals with Fastow's partnerships and deceived investors about the finances of Enron, once the seventh-largest U.S. company by sales. In January 2004, Fastow admitted engaging in securities fraud and agreed to forfeit $29 million in cash and assets.

Posted on The Human Stain

Women Have the Power

In South Dakota, the religio-nuts are running roughshod over the rights of law abiding women throughout the state. Seeking to impose their fascist dogma of control as the ruling manifesto that bars women from controlling inherent reproductive rights, these right wing nutcases have passed a law that would prohibit all abortions except those necessary to save a mother's life. If you are raped by anyone – tough luck. If your desired pregnancy reveals severe birth defects during a pre-natal screening – tough luck. If your a desired pregnancy reveals an untenable multiple birth – tough luck.

Backers of the law want the guaranteed challenges and court appeals that will follow. The intention is to send the law to the Supreme Court where presumed 'friendly justices' will hopefully overrule Roe v. Wade.

It's about time that women start utilize their total power over men. Ladies of South Dakota – keep sex unavailable for your men until the government stays out of your vaginas.
Posted on The Human Stain

Thick Headed

The Roman Catholic hierarchy has proved once again how far removed they are from the realities of modern life in America. Wishing for a return to the good old days when people obediently followed the path that the church laid out for them is like hoping that sex abuse scandals will disappear from America's consciousness. The church just doesn't seem to get it. Forever banging into the concrete wall of reality in front of them, they seem to be incapable of making adjustments to an extremely rigid and ancient mode of thinking. Humanity is changing and the marching evolution of lifestyles, living arrangements, and relationships will never be stopped. American society is becoming more accepting of gay relationships and marriages every day and continued denial of that reality will eventually doom Catholicism (and other religious holdouts) to the dustbin of failed religions. The Archdiocese of Boston is currently embroiled in a controversy that may not be of their making, rather it may be one forced upon them due to the Vatican's ban on gay adoptions.

The decision by the state's Catholic bishops to seek to exclude gays and lesbians from adopting through Catholic social service agencies could imperil millions of dollars in donations from corporations and philanthropies that have their own nondiscrimination policies to abide by.

''It's definitely a concern," said Jeff Bellows, a spokesman for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, which was the largest private donor to Catholic Charities of Boston last year with a gift of $1.2 million. ''We have an antidiscrimination policy in accordance with the law and to protect the freedom of all citizens, especially the most vulnerable."

If the bishops halt gay adoptions by Catholic Charities, the United Way board will seriously review continued funding, said Bellows. Like many of today's philanthropic groups, United Way requires affiliated agencies to sign pacts that they will be open to accepting everyone regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, among other factors.

Eight board members of the 42-member board of Catholic Charities, including some of the city's top business and media leaders, resigned last week to protest the bishops' plans. They were among those who voted unanimously last December to continue gay adoptions, saying many gays and lesbians have proven to be exemplary parents who took in some of the toughest foster children.

Dr. Albert Bundy, 54, a Boston radiologist who calls himself a practicing Catholic, said he has decided to halt his contributions to Catholic Charities, which totaled a few thousand dollars in the last few decades. He said he had believed Catholic Charities was an independent agency helping the needy, but the latest decision demonstrated to him that the agency is controlled by the archdiocese, which he described as ''out of touch" with the realities of today's complex society. Gay people, he said, have shown themselves to be good parents, particularly to some of the neediest children.

''Everyone agrees that it's best to be raised by a mother and father. But many children already are not raised by both parents," he said. ''The ideal situation does not always exist," he said.

Posted on The Human Stain

Ignorant Americans?

One would think that experienced, knowledgeable hands in the US State Department would have had a handle on the protocol for this type of situation. If we didn't – why not? If we did – why was it allowed to occur? Seems like a 'Stupid, Insensitive, Ugly American' episode that America can do without.

Hindu priests who look after the memorial of Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi conducted a purification ceremony at the shrine after a visit from President Bush. But it wasn't the president who offended them, it was the sniffer-dogs who scoured the area ahead of his visit. The dogs, flown in from the U.S., were part of the intense security surrounding the president, but the Hindu priests believe they tainted the site.

Letting dogs into the memorial also drew sharp protest from Hindu politicians and Gandhi's great grandson, Tushar Gandhi, who called the incident a "national shame," the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Posted on The Human Stain

File Under Duh!

From The New York Times:

Debate remains over the role of sweetened drinks like soda in the growing obesity problem among children. But a study released yesterday suggests that they could be an important factor.

Writing in Pediatrics, researchers reported on what happened when they asked a group of teenagers to stop drinking sweetened beverages for 25 weeks — and had nonsweetened drinks delivered to the teenagers' homes to encourage them to stick to their commitment.

The researchers, led by Cara B. Ebbeling of Children's Hospital Boston, found that the teenagers' consumption of the high-calorie drinks went down by about 80 percent during the study and that the teenagers who had been the most overweight had significant reductions in their body mass indexes at the end of the 25 weeks.

Posted on The Human Stain

Never Accountable

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is extremely consistent. Haughty and extremely irritated by valid criticism, her preference is to rule by decree, unquestioned by American citizens and unconcerned by pedestrian issues like truth, honor, integrity, and the erosion of our standing in the world community. Not willing to admit that she and the other Bushies have caused such huge damage to our reputation that it will take decades to repair, she also is unable to stop reinforcing her reputation for evasiveness and an inability to tell the truth.

A poll conducted for the State Department days before January's Palestinian elections warned policymakers that the militant Islamic group Hamas was in a position to win. Nevertheless, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after the election that her department had no advance indication of a major Hamas triumph.

Steven Aftergood, the director of the Project on Government Secrecy, said that while the poll didn't predict Hamas' big win, it clearly showed a trend toward victory for the Islamic militants. ''Either Secretary Rice was being disingenuous or else her department has a serious information-sharing problem, because INR could not have done a much better job of assessing the Palestinian election than they did,'' said Aftergood. ``To profess surprise of the outcome is incomprehensible.''

''This is secrecy squared,'' he continued. ``It's one thing to keep secrets from the public. But when the bureaucracy is keeping secrets from itself, policy is compromised.''

Seeming to revel in the pomp, ceremony, and allure that comes with power – it appears that she views her world to be disconnected from reality, one of fairy tales, pretty clothes, and assorted galas in exotic lands. Wouldn't it be nice to see some more acceptance of the world we inhabit – with the very nasty consequences that lies and incompetence on the world stage create?
Posted on The Human Stain