John Conyers, Jr. -- ConyersBlog

Replies: 90 Comments

Comment #1: feline said on 3/3/06 @ 9:22pm ET...

Congressman Conyers,
Thank you for your dedication to the Truth, and for the inspirational and optimistic update. I look forward to hearing it on C-SPAN, and I look forward to future opportunities to co-create Democracy and Justice. I agree that "Together we can do this."

Comment #2: sara swati said on 3/3/06 @ 9:33pm ET...

Congressman Conyers, Ditto from me what feline wrote.

I read the Salon piece and she doesn't sound enthusiastic. We NEED a change in WH - NOW. We can't wait until the idiot-in-office destroys our democracy.

What about the lies that killed and continues to kill our "troops"? That alone should make him impeachable. I get so discouraged but at the same time I have hopes that with his feet-to-the-fire, his execution of these hair-brained plans will slow down.

I'm in it with you for the long run. Keep the faith.

Comment #3: feline said on 3/3/06 @ 9:42pm ET...

This link was posted at #45 by bill o carolina, discussed by Reed and Rusty #50, #51 on previous thread. Thanks to all 3 for bringing this to our attentions.

Please sign petition to Congress to hear Sibel Edmonds' testimony

I'm reposting it here because I think this is important in getting out the truth.

Comment #4: Reed31463 said on 3/3/06 @ 9:57pm ET...

feline..............

Thank You!

I'm glad you have my back 'cause I'm certainly plunging forward headlong with little or no regard for what I hit, how hard I hit, or where I land for that matter.

But one thing I do know, is that I'm not planting any gardens right now! Because Sibel Edmonds is the key eyewitness who had the backstage pass access the administrations whole gig!

DO IT, PEOPLE!

THIS WILL BE CHECKMATE!

SPREAD THE WORD!

The internet maybe shutdown tomorrow so do not hesitate. Demcracy is depending upon your swift action tonight!

Comment #5: tahoebasha1 said on 3/3/06 @ 10:19pm ET...

Reed, Feline,

Done it!

Comment #6: Happy said on 3/3/06 @ 11:14pm ET...

I hope that last night's event was not only a milestone, but also a watershed moment in the buildup to a real roundhouse of changes to the makeup of legislative and executive political influence.

Comment #7: Rusty said on 3/3/06 @ 11:44pm ET...

Great work in NYC, Congressman Conyers! Everyone who took part and attended has my heartfelt gratitude.

You're doing a terrific job, Reed. I just contacted Moveon.org and asked them to urge their members to sign Sibel Edmunds' petition. I hope everyone spreads the word with unprecedented intensity, especially with all of the activist organizations they are in touch with.

If we can get Moveon and PFAW and ImpeachBush.org and CodePINK et al to unite behind this and rally their members, we could make some serious noise.

Comment #8: ljm said on 3/4/06 @ 12:23am ET...

Thanks, Mr. Conyers and may what you say come to pass. I hope to see the conference on C-SPAN this weekend. It sounds very interesting and I too pay close attention to what John Dean has to say.

Comment #9: Frosted Flake said on 3/4/06 @ 12:45am ET...

Thank you Congressman. Yet another example of your fine work. I think the use of Nixons' Ghost wise. He faced much less serious charges, and this point needs no mention, as it is well known to all. I hope to hear MUCH more about impeachment this fall. Events such as this one help bring that about.

In other news, I am curious as to how those who work in other Countries Capitols will view it, should the U.S. unilaterally abrogate its' commitments to them under the non-proliferation treaty in favor of India. I am also curious as to what it is that we are supposed to be getting out of the deal. On the face it would seem we gain nothing, so we are justified in looking under the plate (if I may put it so quaintly). I speculate : Is this a bribe to induce India to be quiet while we violently overthrow the democraticly elected government next door?

And also, I am hoping, in light of Harry Whittington and in light of the lack of lights on Air Force One on arrival Islamamabd along with assorted other bits of vile and cowardly (and multi-facetedly embarrassing) sneaking and hiding and hoping to surviving on his way to see our vital ally in the war on terra, General-Presidenti Perez Musharraff, Strongman of Pakistan, I am hoping that in future poses and bluster from these two will have less effect. Trust them? To protect me? What? Do I look like a dimwit? Well then, I better get a haircut.

I appreciate this forum.
Frosted Flake

Comment #10: The Forest said on 3/4/06 @ 12:59am ET...

"I Do Not Wish To Be Associated With Torture"

"...We Americans have become accustomed to letting our institutions do our sinning for us. I abhor the corruption of the CIA in the past several years, believe it to be beyond repair, and do not want my name on any medallion associated with it. Please destroy this [Intelligence Commendation Award medallion given me for 'especially commendable service' during my 27-year career in CIA]."

-- Said Ray McGovern in a letter hand-delivered with his commendation medallion to the odious Rep. Pete Hoekstra, Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, March 2, 2006. [The full letter is available at truthout.org -- click above.]

I-N-T-E-G-R-I-T-Y.

Standing side by side with Ray McGovern are 10 American Senators who know the meaning of an oath of office, and acted accordingly, also on March 2, 2006.

Voting NO! on the extension of the "Police State Law" (aka the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act) were:

Daniel Akaka, HI
Jeff Bingaman, NM
Robert Byrd, WV
Russ Feingold, WI
Tom Harkin, IA
Jim Jeffords, VT
Pat Leahy, VT
Carl Levin, MI
Patty Murray, WA
Ron Wyden, OR

A roll call of HONOR. Ten American Senators nobly upholding, without fear or favor, the highest ideals of our Founders and our Nation.

Hawaii, New Mexico, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Vermont, Michigan, Washington, Oregon. Nine states keeping the embers glowing in our national hearth, for the day when our Legislative Branch regains its sanity, and its moorings. I'll hitch my boat to theirs any time they want, in such a cause. I note that their number also happens to include some of the best, most competent Senators in the Senate.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid -- hear me well. I will not be blackmailed and held hostage by a demand for a vote (or money) for "your side" this November as trade-off for your promise to finally get around to doing your duty to this country, in the absence of clear, principled, and united Democratic action in defense of our Constitution now. You have ten members of the Senate, Harry Reid, who are prepared now to lead us back into the light. Nancy Pelosi, you have the shining example of John Conyers to follow. Heed them, and join them. And don't say you weren't warned, should you fail to emerge from your hiding places in polling-consultant land to do your duty to the nation.

If there are any journalists reading who wish to help with our cause, please do: Ask WHY each Democratic Senator who filibustered this Act in December, decided to STOP filibustering in February, despite only three superficial, GOP-coined "cosmetic" changes in the interim (and with further egregious details about Executive Branch lying about eavesdropping on Americans emerging). PIN THEM DOWN. They simply can't justify this vote, without betraying their true motives and lack of principle. So please ask them. We can't - the people are carefully kept at arm's length from the D.C. Elite.

I have yet to locate the profound, profound comments that I heard Russ Feingold give to an interviewer after the filibuster failed earlier in the week. But Feingold's words ought to be reverberating around this country. They come from someone who knows what is going on behind the scenes - he doesn't have to guess. Russ Feingold told the media that, with the failure of this second filibuster, he is forced to question whether HIS OWN PARTY has the right to be trusted to govern this land. Coming from Senator Feingold, that ought to make every Democratic Senator, besides those listed above, take a long, long look into the mirror. If you see a Republican sell-out looking back, Senators, do your country a favor: change parties, and drop the corrupt, duplicitous facade. The ten patriots above don't deserve to have your cowardly, unprincipled, destructive behavior sullying their good names.

Comment #11: Truth_in_action said on 3/4/06 @ 1:54am ET...

Thank you, Congressman Conyers, for setting an example that is like a beacon of light in these very dark times. I acknowledge the courage of everyone who takes that step into the light as well.

Greatly looking forward to the hearing on C-SPAN.

And now on the topic of protecting our freedoms, are units of the National Guard being used to spy on Americans nationwide?

A senator thinks so...

Comment #12: Truth_in_action said on 3/4/06 @ 1:57am ET...

Thank you, Congressman Conyers, for setting an example that is like a beacon of light in these very dark times. I acknowledge the courage of everyone who takes that step into the light as well.

Greatly looking forward to the hearing on C-SPAN.

On the topic of protecting our freedoms, are units of the National Guard being used to spy on Americans nationwide?

A senator thinks so...

Comment #13: Truth_in_action said on 3/4/06 @ 1:59am ET...

Sorry for the double post! I checked and didn't see it so uploaded this again.

Oh well, double the pleasure.

Comment #14: Reed31463 said on 3/4/06 @ 4:46am ET...

Thank You!!!!

The Forest,

W O W!! Every Congressman and woman, every State Congressman and woman, every Governor, and every Mayor should start asking themselves that question...we the people are watching.

One if by land and two if by sea
And I on the opposite side will be
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every middle-sex
Village and town!

We shall ride through the night
Straight until day
Nary shall we waiver
Though hell shall bar the way!

We shall organize and band
To shout out the Truth
Let everyone know we
Do this for serenity and
For the future of the world's youth!

I truly appreciate this forum! It forms a nexus of sanity!

Comment #15: wallen said on 3/4/06 @ 7:34am ET...

JC:

More on Dubai Ports: If they are running our ports, couldn’t the U.A.E. simply shut them down at their discretion if they disagree with some aspect of U.S. policy? There is no real profit motive behind the purchase, so it must be political. I don’t even want to think about what they could do if they are producing critical precision components for our military aircraft and tanks.

It makes me wonder what would have occurred in say the early 1800’s if Thomas Jefferson all of the sudden sold running the ports to a company run by the British government. What would have happened a few years later in 1812?

Did Bush really call the Pakistanis “Arabs”?

Don’t call me liberal, just call me right.

Comment #16: Nolip said on 3/4/06 @ 7:41am ET...

More from the BushCo poetry corner...

Georgie Bushie, caught in a lie,
Tortured and killed and made folks cry.
When the polls went south to stay,
Georgie Bushie ran away.

with apologies to Georgie Porgie...

http://www.zelo.com/Family/Nursery/georgie.asp

Comment #17: Nolip said on 3/4/06 @ 7:48am ET...

About a crooked ballot counter...the only reason this woman wears a dress is to hide her huge cajones...

Katherine Harris Caught Up in Bribery Scandal
"TAMPA, Fla. (March 3) - U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris said Thursday she did not knowingly do anything wrong in her associations with a defense contractor who prosecutors say illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign in 2004.

Questions about the donations have arisen as Harris, the former Florida secretary of state who oversaw the 2000 presidential election recount, tries to unseat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

The donations were described in a plea agreement last Friday, when Mitchell Wade, the former president of MZM Inc., pleaded guilty to bribing U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham in exchange for assistance in getting $150 million in Defense Department contracts for his company.

He also admitted making illegal campaign contributions in the names of MZM employees and their spouses to Harris and Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va. Prosecutors said Harris got $32,000 from employees who were reimbursed by Wade. Harris said she recently donated the money to charity, and didn't know the donations would be reimbursed.

In the plea agreement, Wade acknowledged dining with Harris at a Washington restaurant in 2005 to discuss a possible fundraiser for her and obtaining funding for a Navy counterintelligence program involving his company. She requested the funding, but Wade didn't get it."

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060303035709990014

Comment #18: A Concerned Citizen said on 3/4/06 @ 9:57am ET...

Sounds like an excellent night. Now all those people can take the truth back to the streets and help wake up/inform the remaining 34% of our population who apparently still rely solely on MSN.

The more these townhall meetings are held around the nation, the quicker the real news will spread. Thank you again for your efforts, Mr. Conyers, and everyone there.

Comment #19: sanitysojourner said on 3/4/06 @ 11:22am ET...

Bradblog's Edmonds petition signed with a kiss last night.

Unfortunately, the harassment continues. Our tax dollars continue to be used for noxious government activities that place us all at risk.

Here's the story of a VA nurse exercising her Constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech. The result: she's investigated by the FBI for sedition.

Sigh.

Comment #20: Patriot said on 3/4/06 @ 2:33pm ET...

Impeachment... hmmm...?

Sounds like a plan! Keep it up, JC, we're all behind you and will do whatever it takes to help in the effort!

CA69, too.

Comment #21: koryannder said on 3/4/06 @ 2:41pm ET...

If anyone has a true reading on what the rats gnawing at the foundations of our Republic are up to, it's a VA Nurse, who daily gets to see the human wreckage washed up on the shore by the Administration Hurricane. But that's Okay - the Admin. is taking steps to conceal their criminal malfeasance and nonfeasance; they are cutting VA funds so that the wreckage gets even less care than before. Remember the truth of the matter; EVERYTHING they say is a lie. They have neither compassion for anyone, nor conservatism in anything. So - when they catch someone acting like a patriot, they immediately yell "Sedition" or "Terrorist" or some such garbage, thus making certain, for the (at present) 66% of us who see through their flimsy smokescreen, that they have not as yet "Changed their spots." What I want to see done, as a matter of "Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander," is for computer savvy Democrats in "Safe" Republican Districts to make certain that the Diebold and ES&S machines turn in 100% Democratic results, (as the Rethuglicans did to the Democrats in Ohio: ZERO Democratic votes in a number of precincts? A total impossibility - yet it was swallowed without a word, thanks to total corruption in the SecState's office) to prove that the machines which the companies claim are honest, are anything but. Karl Rove and company are threatening to steal the vote in Democratic precincts to retain their stranglehold on Comgress. so if the Democrats steal the majority, there will be a hellraising hullabaloo that won't quit, and a demand for paper trails from the very people who want to deny us these saving virtues now. Actually, if we just got rid of Senselessbrenner and Hatchetman the Congress would be much improved. I think jolly old Delayer is out on his kiester anyway, if there are no Diebold, ES&S or Sequoia machine to be hacked in his favor, but there probably are - and anyone who votes for DeLay should visit a psychiatrist. I will admit that hacking election results is both illegal and evil - but if we allow the Repugs to do it without fighting back any way we can, we absolutely deserve what we get! If we let - or even encourage (California?) the thieves to steal, we live up to the adage - "People deserve the government they get -" well, maybe - but no one will convince me that we deserved to have two Presidential elections, several Senatorial elections (I say 'several-' I KNOW of two) and God only knows how many Congressional elections stolen by cynical use of corrupt voting machines. I say it again; the only useful purpose for the machines as presently constituted is as boat anchors.

Comment #22: point of order said on 3/4/06 @ 3:31pm ET...

response to comment # 21

Comment #21: koryannder said on 3/4/06 @ 2:41pm ET...

"What I want to see done, as a matter of "Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander," is for computer savvy Democrats in "Safe" Republican Districts to make certain that the Diebold and ES&S machines turn in 100% Democratic results"
-----------------------------------
WOW!!! and on a US Congressman's blog! WOW!!

Comment #23: Fatlady said on 3/4/06 @ 6:51pm ET...

Well done Congressman! Where are your colleagues?

To the rest of us-- it's time to go out into the trenches and do what we can to shine the light on the Impeachment movement.

I strongly suggest everyone go view www.freewayblogger.com for some good grassroots tips on how to get the message out.

He's made it easy to copy his moves and increase the PR on the Impeachment movement 10,000 fold! If moms with elementary school kids are doing this-- you can too!

Let's ROLL!

Comment #24: Neerav Trivedi said on 3/4/06 @ 7:07pm ET...

Comment #22: point of order said on 3/4/06 @ 3:31pm ET...

response to comment # 21

Comment #21: koryannder said on 3/4/06 @ 2:41pm ET...

"What I want to see done, as a matter of "Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander," is for computer savvy Democrats in "Safe" Republican Districts to make certain that the Diebold and ES&S machines turn in 100% Democratic results"
-----------------------------------
WOW!!! and on a US Congressman's blog! WOW!!
-----------------------------------
Pointless Disorder:

Go back to your hole and drink your kool-aid and worship you idiot dictator!!!

Comment #25: Alma said on 3/4/06 @ 9:17pm ET...

Wise words Neerav.

Comment #26: gimama said on 3/4/06 @ 10:00pm ET...

Sir, my Yahoo is giving me fits, so it may be a problem on my end,but when I've emailed the campaign@johnconyers.com to "IMPEACH'EM,already!" my emails keep bouncing back to me. Here is what I need to say:
Dear Sir, I am writing to enCourage YOU,to take whatever legal steps necessary to
IMPEACH BUSH & CHENEY,NOW.
We,as a Nation,can no longer allow these awful people,with their dreadful WMD policies,to continue their path of needless suffering,death,& destruction.
Katrina,& the recovery-DISASTER,are the limit. I am joining with Veterans for PEACE,Young Vets & Military FAMILIES against this war,as WE march in Solidarity with the Storms SURVIVORS(14-19 March'06).
Please see
http://vetgulfmarch.org for details,Walkin' to New Orleans!..from Mobile,Ala!
WE the PEOPLE,have had enough,as New Orleans looks as bad as Baghdad. Truly, I see this as 'planned chaos'& the ultimate crime against HUMANITY by this admin. I will NEVER forgive babies 'evacuated' away from mothers & dads. I will never forget. Sir,kbr was in there before fema or red cross. WE KNOW what's up,& we must stop these criminals,now.
Many of us who will Walk the GulfCoast are disabled &/or Elders,but "NO ONE will be left behind",because that is the AMERICAN WAY. Please see the site, WALK with us,or pray FOR US, as we also PRAY for YOU. :)
BLESS YOU,JC!!! ~===] Now,IMPEACH'EM,already!

Comment #27: Sylv said on 3/4/06 @ 10:34pm ET...

Re: feline #3
This link was easier for me:
Petition to Congress to hear Sibel Edmonds Testimony

Comment #28: Fatlady said on 3/4/06 @ 11:07pm ET...

I can't send my petition because it keeps bouncing me out. Any alternative petition sites?

Comment #29: St Louis said on 3/4/06 @ 11:46pm ET...

Petition signed. Thanks for everything, JC. Am very proud of Senator Levin. They all know we are talking about Impeachment. No one on the Hill wants to be the first to say the word....but the country is turning. America is weary of daily bad news. Even the old die hard Bushies in my Republican county are wondering what is taking Dem leadership so long. Note to Dem Leadership: Stop shooting down antiwar candidates and catch up with the country, you cowards. Somebody, anybody...get on some Sunday am show and say out loud that you support Congressman Conyers' H.Res for Censure.

Comment #30: feline said on 3/5/06 @ 12:18am ET...

#27, Sylv, thank you, that link is more direct and easy to use.

#28, Fatlady, did you try the link that Sylv posted? I think it could work for you, hope everyone has success with this one.

I am unable to find the Harper's Magazine impeachment forum on the C-SPAN website, has anyone seen anything on that? I would really like to see/hear the action.

Comment #31: Alma said on 3/5/06 @ 1:18am ET...

Thanks Sylv, Looks like you are going to be an asset to the blog. Welcome!

Comment #32: Genghis Khan said on 3/5/06 @ 2:28am ET...

Wow POObreath. That was weak even for you.

How much did you bill Karl for that?

(and you assclowns give "trial lawyers" a bad time...)

Comment #33: Rusty said on 3/5/06 @ 6:12am ET...

In order to temporarily relieve some of the frustration of recent posters with impressive but weary XX chromosomes, an emergency massage from the past, updated for the occasion, appears to be in order:

"Four score and seven GOP hunting accidents ago, John Conyers brought forth upon the Internets a new blog: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that shooting other posters in the face is not appropriate.

Now we are engaged in a great national security debate . . . testing whether the UAE port scheme, or any other harebrained Bush scheme . . . can long endure. Some of us are going ballistic on a smoking battlethread of that debate.

Others of us have calmed down enough to dedicate a portion of this thread as a final resting place for Harry Whittington's face, which finally reentered the atmosphere after 378 orbits of the earth. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate . . . we cannot consecrate . . . we cannot hallow American democracy until JC is Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He dispenses wisdom far beyond our poor power to add or detract. The Internets will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, especially some of us, but they will always enshrine what JC posts here.

It is for us the frustrated, to dedicate ourselves to the unfinished work JC has so nobly advanced. It is for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. . .that despite our frustration, we take increased devotion to that cause for which JC has devoted forty years of public service . . . that we here highly resolve that JC shall not have served in vain. . . that the House of Representatives shall have a new birth of freedom . . . and that a Judiciary Committee of the people . . . by the people . . . for the people. . . shall have a real Chairman and real hearings.

Based on Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, originally delivered by Abraham Lincoln to a crowd of actual Americans.

I am not Abraham Lincoln. My opinions expressed here do not represent the official views of
Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, Tad Lincoln, Willie Lincoln, or the Gettysburg Chamber of Commerce.

1) This product is meant for educational purposes only. Reading it does not require the express written consent of Bill O'Reilly, FOX Security, or your local police department.

2) Any resemblance to real persons living, dead, or shot in the face by drunk vice presidents is purely coincidental.

3) Void where prohibited, except in UAE controlled ports, where only security is prohibited.

4) Some assembly required. If you need assistance, call 1-800-FEMA and ask for Buffy. She's kind of busy because everyone else is on vacation, but she'll call somebody.

5) Batteries not included. Contents may settle during shipment and become radioactive.

6) Use only as directed. If you encounter problems, go to church.

7) No other warranty expressed or implied. In fact, the warranty expired on January 20, 2001. Go figure.

8) Do not read while operating a motor vehicle within 5,000 miles of Washington D.C. Don't even think about reading this while operating heavy equipment, or while landing on an aircraft carrier.

9) This is not an offer to sell Diebold stock.

10) May be too intense for Stoufi.

11) For recreational use only. If read at work, the author is not liable for lost wages ensuing from suspension or termination.

12) All readers must have IQ's higher than 35. For members of Congress and the Bush Administration, a special waiver is available.

13) If annoyance persists, consult a doctor. If annoyance develops into irreversible brain damage, call Dr. Frist.

14) Like our Constitution, these dislaimers are subject to change without notice.

15) No postage necessary if copies are mailed to New Orleans. That zipcode is no longer in the USPS system.

16) I am not affiliated with the American Red Cross, and neither is any other reputable charitable organization.

17) According to my carefully selected and frequently promoted legal counsel, I am not only the best blogger ever, I am not responsible in any way for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from calculated deceit, bonehead mistakes, illegal conduct, treason, or relentless obstruction of justice. Just ask her.

18) Avoid contact with my counsel's eye shadow.

19) Sanitized for your protection, except in Texas.

20) Beware of drunk hunting dog.

21) Limited time offer, call the National Guard, a proud subsidiary of Dubai Ports World, to ensure prompt delivery. No questions asked if you have an Arabic accent and a fake ID.

22) No additional purchase necessary unless you are currently serving in Iraq or Afghanistan and read this on a DoD computer.

23) Read only in a well-ventilated area. If hyperventilation occurs, see #6.

24) Approved for deceased veterans and their bankrupt families.

25) Poster does not carry cash, but neither does any other middle class American.

26) Please remain seated until this thread has come to a complete stop, or until Scalito kisses Dobson's ass again, whichever comes first.

27) If you write below this line, JC will walk out of the SOTU next year.

Comment #34: koryannder said on 3/5/06 @ 11:25am ET...

WOW! I am flattered. Our official troll deigned to take note of my modest suggestion. Actually, if it even began to LOOK like Democrats might take advantage of the egregious holes in the Diebold and ES&S machines, how long do you think it'd take for the Urosevich Bros. to make damn' sure that those holes were plugged? After all, they are there under their orders, and the crooked programmers who put them there know where they are. It would not take much reprogramming to remove them and make the machines really safe - - - and, as a fillip, it would only cost about $25.00 per machine to give us an honest paper trail. (Maybe a little more if a retrofit were required, but not much - - -) and I think the Brothers "U" would rather have actual honest elections than some jail time if any of the Attorneys General got their thumbs out of their - noses - and started the legal proceedings which are glaringly needed. At least, insofar as I know vote theft and alteration of voting records SHOULD be illegal in every state of the Union, and if it not, what are the Legislatures waiting for?

Comment #35: Sylv said on 3/5/06 @ 11:36am ET...

Thank you to Alma #31 and others who welcomed me in a previous thread. I don't have as much time for politics and the internet as I once did due to Grandma duties so I appreciate sites like this that can point me to things that I need to keep abreast of.

I will try to contribute when I can, but will be lurking and learning regardless.

Comment #36: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/5/06 @ 11:47am ET...

Petition signed.
Comment #34: koryannder - it would entail the cost of a printer, a cable, and lot's of paper for each machine plus about 10 minutes each to set up and configure. Now this certainly would cost more than $25. But diebold thinks that each printer should cost the states about $2500 or whatever they consider to be 'out the ying yang'.

Mr. Point of order forgets that these machines are supposedly locked down tight as a drum. What you're proposing is supposed to be impossible. Mr. POO is, in fact, not making any claim whatsoever in his post. 'Wow' is not a claim, but an exclamation of his own mental/emotional state. I could convey a greater quantity of information if I simply wrote "Stercus delenda est".

Comment #37: point of order said on 3/5/06 @ 12:54pm ET...

response to comments # 34 and 36

My wow was a reaction to the astonishment I feel for the lack of respect you have showm to Congressman Conyers and the battle he is waging to end corrupt voting tactics, whoever perpetrates them. To suggest that anyone should engage in these kind of practices is irresponsible and disrespectful. Whether you have the ability to carry out these acts is irrelevant, the fact that you have admitted that you would if you could is interesting to say the least.

Comment #38: Genghis Khan said on 3/5/06 @ 3:29pm ET...

Well POOhead..

take your little "scandal" public and we'll see if it grows legs.

It should put your billing back on Karl's radar.

Comment #39: Nolip said on 3/5/06 @ 3:41pm ET...

Bush hates terrorists so much that he's made Americans drink the poison kool aid to proove it...

"Guest blogged by David Edwards of Veredictum.com

Ex-CIA Officer Paul Pillar was in charge of providing intelligence about Iraq to the White House prior to the beginning of the war.

In a recently released paper, Pillar wrote,

... intelligence was misused to justify decisions already made...

In short, the Bush team misrepresented, misused, mislead and completely lied to the American people about the reasons for going to war in Iraq. Pillar provides more evidence of what most of us already know..."

http://www.bradblog.com/

Comment #40: Nolip said on 3/5/06 @ 3:43pm ET...

About the only thing Diebold voting machines can't do is count votes legally...

"The state of Florida has decided that just maybe they need to do something about security and the Diebold machines. They issued a technical advisory that tends to vindicate Ion Sancho. In New York advocacy groups, individuals and civil rights groups have filed to intervene in the DoJ suit against the state. And it appears that Burlington, Vermont will be the first US city to elect it's mayor using "instant run-off voting"...."

http://www.bradblog.com/

Comment #41: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/5/06 @ 5:11pm ET...

Comment #37: point of order
The official story is that changing the vote remotely or otherwise is impossible. You also forget the first amendment applies to this blog rather liberally. You cannot flame people, but you can say things otherwise contravertial (just be prepared to back it up with logic and reason). Someone suggesting people try hacking into a perfectly secure system is not a reflection on JC himself - except that it shows his laudible tolerance towards dissenting opinions. I'm not one of his close advisors, so I cannot be absolutely certain, but I think he assumes we are all adults and can act accordingly - even when our opinions are in the minority. The admin here seems to act only when someone endeavors to prove that assumption disappointingly false. Abundant evidence illustrates that conservatives, conservative blogs, and conservative forums are generally not known for this virtue. As such, I can understand your shock to find a controvertial or dissenting opinion here.
We tend to draw the line with personal attacks without at least something to back it up. With that in mind, I'm sorry Mr Khan, I think POOhead is a bit inappropriate - regardless of what you actually think of him.

Mr. POO, you also seem to confuse me with someone else. With whom are you arguing when you use the term 'you'?

So Mr. POO, since you are so shocked by a common citizen suggesting an attempt at voter fraud in order to prove that it can be done, after reading Chuck Herrin's article, what do you personally think of Diebold and election fraud? What do you think should be done and what do you think about what has happened with the investigations? Do you think there should be an investigation (siding with the liberals) or do you think there is nothing to investigate (side with the conservatives).
So which is it, or do you have a third option to offer?

Comment #42: bill_o_carolina said on 3/5/06 @ 5:49pm ET...

Infrared remote data manipulation devices in our voting machines! They can actually change data on the machines without even touching them? This is unbelievable! Why doesn't the MSM report this? Why don't people demand attention to this?
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002458.htm#More

Comment #43: Rusty said on 3/5/06 @ 6:36pm ET...

WOW!!! Pointless Disorder is suddenly interested in exposing electoral fraud. And on the ConyersBlog instead of in Ohio and Florida, no less! WOW!!!

WOW!!! Pointless Disorder is astonished that some progressives want to fight fire with fire. And during GOP-rigged elections, no less! WOW!!!

WOW!!! Pointless Disorder can guzzle GOP Kool Aid and type at the same time! WOW!!!

WOW!!! Pointless Disorder is lecturing us about being irresponsible and disrespectful! While defending Bush's reckless, racist, criminal regime that has no respect for the Constitution or our human rights, no less! WOW!!!

WOW!!! Pointless Disorder thinks progressive fury is interesting. And while detention camps are being planned for us, no less! WOW!!!

WOW!!! Pointless Disorder is a reeking hypocrite! WOW!!!

Comment #44: Rusty said on 3/5/06 @ 6:47pm ET...

Comment #45: Genghis Khan said on 3/5/06 @ 7:30pm ET...

OK Jay. I'm merely mirroring the respect level POO deserves.

If you'd rather I not call him "POOhead", can I call him "shitball" (my offline nickname for him)?

POO, do you charge by the hour, word, or letter? How does Karl pay? Is there a stratum for varying amounts of talking points in each message, or does it break down by the attempted meme insertion?

If it's by meme-insertion, I submit that you are being exploited. If you whisper-clowns unionize, collective bargaining might get you better treatment from your political overlords.

Just a thought. Happy to help.

Comment #46: point of order said on 3/5/06 @ 7:59pm ET...

resoponse to comment # 45

Just don't call me late for dinner.

response to comment # 41

I'm still trying to figure out who is profitting most from these so called revelations. I mean the good folks on the DU and Randi Rhodes are still awaiting an accounting of where all the money they donated and raised for Black box voting went to.

response to Comment # 43

you are blinded by hate and I only feel pity for you.

Comment #47: Reed31463 said on 3/5/06 @ 8:28pm ET...

The Respectful Sensitive President

NOT!

Indian anger at Bush's petal tribute to Gandhi

Before signing a historic nuclear deal yesterday, Mr Bush, a believer in the doctrine of military pre-emption, sprinkled rose petals over the memorial to the philosopher of non-violence.

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?" asked Gandhi.

Comment #48: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/5/06 @ 8:40pm ET...

Point Of Order
I don't care about Randi Rhodes, I'm still awaiting your response.

So do you think the evidence warrants an investigation or not? Who benefits the most is obviously the republicans who have been the beneficiaries of counting errors 100% of the time. How would the Dems benefit from that trend? Your statement makes no sense.

So what is your opinion on this matter?

Comment #49: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/5/06 @ 9:06pm ET...

POO
Are you concerned by what you now know? If several red states suddenly became blue states with 100%+ voter turnout, would you be concerned then?

What's the difference between Korryander's statement and the CEO of Diebold pledging that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president". Besides the fact that the CEO of Diebold is in a far better position to make his statement come true than Korryander.

Are you evading my questions?

Comment #50: sanitysojourner said on 3/5/06 @ 10:24pm ET...

Excuse me, but isn't this discussion taking place over somebody's fantasy????

It occurs to me occasionally that it would be fun to have certain folks spend some time in Gitmo. But the reality is that, of course, I don't want that to happen. I just want all of this insanity to stop. I don't want anyone to spend time in Gitmo. Ever.

I don't want my voting machines rigged -- by anybody. Neither does koryannder, I wager. I took what he said as a complete fantasy.

The good thing about liberals is that they know the difference between fantasy and reality. The neocons don't.

Comment #51: The Forest said on 3/5/06 @ 11:00pm ET...

"Twilight's Last Gleaming
By John Cory
t r u t h o u t Perspective
Sunday 05 March 2006

Who are these people? These people who line their pockets with the lives of our loved ones? These gray men who lurk in shadows and kill the sunshine of democracy? These people who wear morality like a cheap suit pilfered from the collection plate of decency? Who are these people who have turned America into their own personal ATM machine? These are the people of the lie - Republicans.

Who are these people? These people who sit in spineless silence unable to speak in defense of America? These people who mime the words of our founders, afraid to act with independence? Who utter the words 'We concede,' instead of 'We the People?' These are the people who lie down - Democrats...

...Democrats, you want my vote? Earn it! Get up off your ass and take a stand! Take back America. Stop whimpering. Throw out your Republican-lite Bush lickspittles and suit up for battle. We the people will support you if you speak up for the America we live in and want to preserve. You cannot claim victory simply because you kept the GOP from burying the Constitution while you let them drive it underground.

This is twilight's last gleaming. Who will speak up for America?"

Thanks John Cory, and thanks very much for posting that, Rusty. It helps.

Especially in the face of yet another anonymous Washington Post hit-piece today on Howard Dean, courtesy of his fellow "Democrats" Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. [Who seem to be demanding that Dean go against his every word and action since running for DNC Chair, by foregoing his 50-state-project in order to funnel more money to their invitation-only, incumbent-protection-fund, status quo racket in Congress.] The diary about this at DailyKos today covered most of the many angles of the corrupt, bankrupt motives lurking behind Pelosi's and Reid's strong-arming and attempted bullying of Dean.

I wanted to emphasize a point someone made in a comment (I don't recall where) that was very insightful and, I believe, very true. The money Pelosi and Reid are lusting after is made all the more necessary by their own tactics and lack of principled action. Not only by repeatedly yielding "victory" [AP's word for the Senate-passed and to-be-permanent Police State Act] after victory to Bush, but also by trying to sell America what it doesn't want to buy.

By that I mean Tammy Duckworth, instead of Christine Cegelis. Or Sherrod Brown, instead of Paul Hackett. Or Bob Casey, Jr., instead of Chuck Pennacchio. Etc., etc., all around the country. As the commenter noted, it takes a lot of money to sell people something that they don't want to buy. It takes a lot LESS to help promote a candidate like Christine Cegelis who already has core support and local volunteers working their hearts out for her. That is the passion of informed and involved American citizens that Pelosi and Reid and their minions are doing their damnedest to stifle. "Pouring Herbicides on the Grassroots" as a diary at BoomanTribune.com put it well. [Or "Cegelis vs. The Machine," as Cindy Sheehan's recent excellent DailyKos diary put it.]

The credibility of Pelosi and Reid is fading fast. Reid can barely show himself in public these days after taking down Hackett, and after passage of the Police State Act that he is now actually trying to sell us as "improved." [Journalists -- Russ Feingold did ALL the homework on this -- if you want to get educated, and help educate our Senators, please visit his website for every detail you could ask for about that Act, and what was and wasn't changed.]

I'm with John Cory. The Congressional Democratic Leaders won't get my support by default. They earn it, or they don't. At this point, with the disingenuous misinformation campaign that they are peddling, it's getting to be a matter of basic self-respect to distance myself from these Congressional masters of folly.

And all the while the country continues to beg the powers-that-be to act:

Who will speak up for America?

Comment #52: Nolip said on 3/5/06 @ 11:35pm ET...

Monday frontpager in the Times: 'Democrats lack unified voice in Congress'

"From Arizona to Pennsylvania, from Colorado to Connecticut, Democratic candidates for Congress are reading from a stack of different scripts these days, the NEW YORK TIMES blazes on Monday page ones, in another critical article on Democrats in Congress.

Excerpts from the Adam Nagourney article:

#
This scattershot of messages reflects what officials in both parties say are multiple vulnerabilities among Republicans on Capitol Hill...but also reflects splits within the party about what it means to be a Democrat -- and what a winning Democratic formula will be -- after years in which conservative ideas have dominated the national policy debate and helped win elections."

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Monday_frontpager_in_Times_Democrats_lack_0305.html

Comment #53: Reed31463 said on 3/6/06 @ 2:01am ET...

Truth or Consequences?

General Nash tells the Truth.

General Pace denies the Truth.

What will be the consequences?

More Death and failed policy, leading to excuses for not (never) withdrawing the troops (our kids)!

Comment #54: Rusty said on 3/6/06 @ 4:57am ET...

Pointless Disorder,

Thanks for the diagnosis.

But if it's all the same to you, I'll keep despising Bush and his fascist GOP cronies until they're all prosecuted and locked up for their crimes.

They're totalitarian, partisan freaks, so blinded by THEIR HATRED of "liberals" that they've plunged the country I LOVE into an Orwellian nightmare, where truth and justice are trampled and those of us who LOVE truth and justice are "pitied" by assholes like you for defending them.

Our LOVE for America compels us to speak out on this blog and to bear witness to the crimes of this immoral government. Our LOVE for the innocent victims of Bush's orgy of deceit sustains us and gives us strength to stand up for them when it all seems hopeless.

LOVE is all that keeps us going. What you slander as "hatred" is the righteous anger of Americans who are not going to bow down to that pompous village idiot you call a president.

So take your concocted moralizing and false pity somewhere else, Pointless Disorder. If you want to see people blinded by hatred and peddling false pity, visit the White House or Republican National Committee.

Comment #55: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/6/06 @ 5:00am ET...

Comment #50: sanitysojourner
It's actually not about a fantasy at all, it's about ethics; his own.

Comment #56: Alma said on 3/6/06 @ 10:03am ET...

Rusty, You've had many wonderful posts on this thread. Great ideas to spur us on, and get all the groups to work together on the same page, humorous posts to keep us laughing, and truer words were never said than this line of yours:
Our LOVE for America compels us to speak out on this blog and to bear witness to the crimes of this immoral government. Our LOVE for the innocent victims of Bush's orgy of deceit sustains us and gives us strength to stand up for them when it all seems hopeless.
Thanks to you and all the posters here for sharing their ideas, information, humor, and feelings.

Comment #57: Ohiodem1 said on 3/6/06 @ 10:14am ET...

Sanitysojourner #50 - Remember when a WH staffer told Ron Suskind that folks like us are part of the "reality-based community" and then after more questioning said "we create our own reality".

So it ain't fantasy, it is the alternate reality caused by pre-emptive war, incompetent disaster response and planning, general incompetence, general greed, corruption, pay to play, paying off contributors with huge tax giveaways, destruction of the environment, destruciton of the Social Contract, replacing it with the Contract on America, and it goes on.

That is the reality they have created. Ain't it grand?

Comment #58: wallen said on 3/6/06 @ 10:32am ET...

Shocking... Grover and Karl even more treacherous than previously thought...

Dubai port deal is nothing compared to Ptech
By Devlin Buckley
Online Journal Contributing Writer

Mar 6, 2006, 00:49

While Congress and the media focus on the potential dangers of a UAE-owned company running American port operations, any possible threat is dwarfed by the current insecurity of the US government’s computer infrastructure, which has been compromised by a company with alleged multiple connections to terrorist financing.

The company, once known as Ptech (now GoAgile), has been contracted to provide sophisticated computer software to several government agencies, including the Army, the Air Force, Naval Air Command, Congress, the Department of Energy, the Department of Justice, Customs, the FAA, the IRS, NATO, the FBI, the Secret Service, and the White House.

Shortly after 9/11, the company’s primary investor, Yassin al-Qadi (al-Kadi), was identified by the US government as a specially designated global terrorist. Officials describe al-Qadi as one of Osama bin Laden’s "chief money launderers," and allege he transferred as much as $3 billion to al-Qaeda during the 1990s.

Al-Qadi is a wealthy Saudi with connections to banking, diamonds, chemicals, construction, transportation, and real estate. He once headed Muwafaq, an Islamic charity the US Treasury Department described as an “al Qaeda front that receives funding from wealthy Saudi businessmen.”

Al-Qadi also maintained an unusually close relationship with notable US politicians. While attempting to defend Ptech, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee of Massachusetts (ADCMA) revealed the fact that al-Qadi “was prominent in Washington circles and even showed President Jimmy Carter and Dick Cheney around during their visits to Saudi Arabia.”

Al-Qadi told an Arab newspaper in October of 2001 that he “spoke to [Dick Cheney] at length” and they “even became friends.” Similarly, while speaking with Computer World Magazine, Ptech cofounder Oussama Ziade said that al-Qadi “talked very highly of his relationship with [former President] Jimmy Carter and [Vice President] Dick Cheney."

Ptech, under al-Qadi’s ownership, supplied the US government with what is known as enterprise architecture. According to Glenn Watt of Backbone Security, "Enterprise architecture is really the design, the layout, the blueprint if you will for the computer networks and computer systems that are going to go into an organization." In regard to Ptech, he said, “The software they put on your system could be collecting every key stroke that you type while you are on the computer. It could be establishing a connection to the outside terrorist organization through all of your security measures."

John Zachman, who is considered the “father” of enterprise architecture, said, "You would know where the access points are, you'd know how to get in, you would know where the weaknesses are, you'd know how to destroy it."

Former FBI counterterrorism analyst Matthew Levitt has said, “For someone like [al-Qadi] to be involved in a capacity in an organization, a company that has access to classified information, that has access to government open or classified computer systems would be of grave concern.”

While trying to play down such fears, Ptech cofounder Oussama Ziade, along with Ptech’s vice president of professional services, Joseph Johnson, have claimed many times to the press that al-Qadi had little to do with the company and did not give any money to Ptech after 1994.

Other Ptech employees, however, told the FBI that al-Qadi was introduced to them as “the owner” of the company.

Confirming this, Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, who is described by the conservative Front Page Magazine as “the world’s leading expert on Narco-Terrorism and a noteworthy authority on international terrorism, political corruption, money laundering, drug trafficking, and organized crime,” reported that al-Qadi made a $14 million investment in Ptech in 1998, making him the company’s major investor.

In total, according to Ehrenfeld, al-Qadi “invested at least $18 million directly in Ptech, $5 million through the Isle of Man, and $9 million indirectly through BMI, a now-defunct New Jersey-based Islamic investment firm with connections to other members on Ptech’s management and investors. . . . Al-Kadi also transferred $2 million USD to Ptech from Switzerland between 1997 and 2000, according to Swiss investigators.”

Adding further concerns, al-Qadi was only one of many Ptech investors and managers with alleged connections to terrorist financing.

Former Ptech board member Soliman Biheiri, who was recently convicted of lying to investigators regarding his affiliations with known terrorists, was in charge of the above-mentioned New Jersey investment bank, BMI, which according to court documents was used as a financial conduit for al-Qaeda and Hamas supporters. The FBI discovered the true principals behind BMI were actually Yassin al-Qadi and Hamas leader Musa abu Marzook.

Investigators also accuse Ptech’s Biheiri of using BMI to funnel $3.7 million from an Islamic charity, entitled the SAAR Foundation, to Islamist terrorists. The president and CEO of the SAAR Foundation was Yakub Mirza, who was also on Ptech’s board of directors, and who is said to have contacts high within the FBI.

Furthermore, Ptech’s vice president and chief scientist, Hussein Ibrahim, was the founder and president of the aforementioned BMI. In fact, Ptech, al-Qadi, Biheiri, Ibrahim, BMI, Mirza, and SAAR, all maintained financial connections with one another, as well as with other organizations and fronts allegedly connected to money laundering and terrorist financing, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Taqwa, the Safa Foundation, the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), and others.

Ptech’s chief architect, Suheil Laher, headed yet another Islamic charity entitled Care International, which the FBI and IRS claim was “engaged in the solicitation and expenditure of funds to support the mujahideen and promote jihad.”

Top Ptech investor and manager, Muhamed Mubayyid, served as Care’s treasurer, and has since been indicted for lying on tax returns and concealing the charity’s true activities. Mubayyid also donated money to the Alkifah Refugees Center, which maintained the same corporate office as Care, and from where the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was launched.

Also part of this financial nexus was Ptech founder Abdurahman Muhammad Alamoudi, who, according to the US Treasury Department, “had a close relationship with al Qaida and had raised money for al Qaida in the United States.” He has since been sentenced to a maximum of 23-years in prison for illegal dealings with Libya, including his admitted involvement in a plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.

Alamoudi also founded a US Army chaplain program for which he served as a consultant for over a decade. A former Justice Department official has described the program as a “spy service for al-Qaeda."

Like al-Qadi, Alamoudi was also influential in elite Washington circles. According to The Washington Post, as head of the American Muslim Council, Alamoudi “met with senior Clinton and Bush administration officials in his efforts to bolster Muslim political prominence.”

In February 2003, Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby wrote:

“[In 2000] Alamoudi was one of several Muslims invited to meet with candidate [George W.] Bush in Austin, Texas. Alamoudi is certainly influential -- but he is also an open backer of terrorism. In October 2000, he was cheered at a pro-Palestinian rally in Washington, DC, when he declared: "We are all supporters of Hamas. . . . I am also a supporter of Hezbollah." Three months later he was in Beirut for a terrorist summit, along with leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and Al Qaeda.”

Amazingly, Alamoudi -- who allegedly has direct connections to the 9/11 conspirators -- was invited to a prayer service with President Bush three days after the 9/11 attacks.

There are indications that al-Qadi, Alamoudi, and other suspected terrorists were protected from prosecution by high-ranking US officials, effectively preventing the FBI from stopping 9/11.

FBI Agent Robert Wright, who was in charge of pursuing al-Qadi and his associates during the 1990s, said the FBI "intentionally and repeatedly thwarted and obstructed" his attempts to arrest terrorists, seize assets, and expand his investigation into the financial network of which al-Qadi allegedly was a part.

After his investigation into al-Qadi was shut down entirely in 1999, Wright completed a manuscript, entitled "Fatal Betrayals of the Intelligence Mission," which, he said, "outlines, in very specific detail, what I believe allowed September 11th to happen." The government has banned the manuscript from being released.

Approximately three months prior to the 9/11 attacks, agent Wright wrote a memo warning that American citizens would die as a result of the FBI’s incompetence. He said there was “virtually no effort on the part of the FBI's International Terrorism Unit to neutralize known and suspected international terrorists living in the United States."

According to former Justice Department prosecutor John Loftus, even after 9/11 “people in the intelligence community came and said-guys like Alamoudi . . . and other terrorists weren’t being touched because they’d been ordered not to investigate the cases, not to prosecute them, because they were being funded by the Saudis and a political decision was being made at the highest levels, don’t do anything that would embarrass the Saudi government." He went on to say:

“[W]ho was it that fixed the cases? How could these guys operate for more than a decade immune from prosecution? And, the answer is coming out in a very strange place. What Alamoudi and al-Arian have in common is a guy named Grover Norquist. He’s the super lobbyist. . .

Grover Norquist’s best friend is Karl Rove, the White House chief of staff, and apparently Norquist was able to fix things.”

Shortly after 9/11, several Ptech employees -- upon hearing reports of Yassin al-Qadi’s connections to terrorist financing – began pleading with the FBI to investigate the company. However, as reported by the National Review Online, “the bureau did nothing, despite knowing that Qadi was a primary financier of Ptech. . . . Frighteningly, when an employee told the President of Ptech he felt he had to contact the FBI regarding Qadi's involvement in the company, the president allegedly told him not to worry because [Ptech board member] Yaqub Mirza . . . had contacts high within the FBI. . . . After months of the FBI refusing to do anything substantive, it took the efforts of U.S. Customs, now a part of Homeland Security, to raid the business in December 2002 and jumpstart the investigation into the alleged terrorist financial network.”

Despite the raid, no charges were ever brought against Ptech.

Company cofounder Ziade, who has gone to great lengths to profess Ptech’s innocence, said all the “innuendo” made it impossible to attract new clients, forcing Ptech to become a “virtual company” and market its software through an unidentified third party.

According to The Patriot Ledger of Boston, despite the forced transition, “most of the company's clients, including several federal agencies, did not drop Ptech as a vendor.” In May of 2004, Ziade told The Ledger, ‘‘We still have government agencies as customers, including the White House.”

Copyright © 1998-2006 Online Journal
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http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_570.shtml

Comment #59: tahoebasha1 said on 3/6/06 @ 2:28pm ET...

#54 - Rusty

Couldn't have been better said. LOVE for our country "is all that keeps us going."

Also, thanks for posting "Twilight's Last Gleaming," by John Cory. That's one of the best summaries of our circumstances in this country that I've seen -- it is poignant!!

(Almost thought you had written it, Rusty, when I first started reading it.)

Comment #60: The Forest said on 3/6/06 @ 5:45pm ET...

From a new diary at DailyKos by 'edgery':

The Harper's panel discussion will be broadcast on the little watched but publicly funded CSPAN2 tonight at 9:30 pm.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/3/6/16220/51854

Comment #61: Reed31463 said on 3/6/06 @ 5:57pm ET...

I cannot express the urgency to reign in the Bush and Oilmen Tyranny any better than these facts.

Peak oil occurred in 2005. I said it occurred in August 2005 (see comment #84 and comment # 7, next thread). A few hurricanes later, the experts say it was December 16, 2005.

When Ghawar in Saudi Arabia crashes, Iraq will be the richest oil nation in the world. Reports coming from Ghawar place the water production rate at 30% to 55% that of oil.

The Deffeyes Date

"In the January 2004 Current Events on this web site, I predicted that world oil production would peak on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2005. In hindsight, that prediction was in error by three weeks. An update using the 2005 data shows that we passed the peak on December 16, 2005.

There are some interesting additional bits in the end-of-year statistics. Compared to 2004, world oil production was up 0.8 percent in 2005, nowhere near enough to compensate for a demand rise of roughly 3 percent. The high prices did not bring much additional oil out of the ground. Most oil-producing countries are in decline. The rise in production was largely from Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Angola. The Saudi production for 2005 was 9.155 million barrels per day. On March 6, 2003 Saudi Aramco and the government of Saudi Arabia announced by way of the Dow Jones news wire that they were maxed out at 9.2 barrels per day. In retrospect, that statement seems to be accurate. Further details are in Matthew Simmons' book Twilight in the Desert."

ASPO: Colin Campbell

On page 2 of the newsletter, notice the "huge impact" that Arctic and Deep Sea oil will have in the overall scenario.

Let there be no doubt why our troops are in Iraq and will continue to stay in Iraq.

Since we have passed the peak without initiating major corrective measures, we now have to rely primarily on methods that we have already engineered. Long-term research and development projects, no matter how noble their objectives, have to take a back seat while we deal with the short-term problems. Long-term examples in the proposed 2007 US budget (Feb. 9, 2006 New York Times page A-18) include a 65 percent increase in the programs to produce ethanol from corn, a 25.8 percent increase for developing hydrogen fuel cell cars, and a 78.5 percent increase in spending on solar energy research. The Times reports that solar energy today supplies one percent of US electricity; the hope is to double that to 2 percent by the year 2025. By 2025, we're going to be back in the Stone Age.

The years to develop commercial alternatives are over. The oilmen have secured themselves an ever increasingly rare product dependency. The only currently viable alternative sources for massive amounts of energy to power industrial needs are nuclear and coal.

Iran passed peak oil in the 1980's. Why do you think they signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and want to develop nuclear energy? The signing of the treaty provides them the right to develop nuclear energy.

The oilmen want exclusive rights to any developed technology. By having Iran show the rest of the Middle East, and the world, how they can become energy self-sufficient from their own resources, without using oil, presents a problem to oilmen who want to keep the world addicted.

Time is short. The next few months will determine how humans will live in the upcoming millennium, whether that is under an energy dictatorship run by Godless psychopathic idiots, bent on enslaving humanity to serve their whims, wants, and needs, creating chaos and war by dividing people through class, race, religion, ideology, and fear. Or in free peaceful society, where the benefits the total accumulation of science, technology, and knowledge from the past two millennia, but especially from the past century, are put to benevolent uses.

This is their best shot. They must be defeated before chaos erupts. Knowledge of the impending global situation must spread far and wide. Choices by a global community MUST be made. America SHOULD be leading the way. Instead, our choices are being made for us by the oilmen and their corporate whores.

The choice is simple. Do nothing and choose Tyranny and oppression for your children, and your children's children, for generation upon generation. Or choose to fight for freedom, liberty, equal rights, and the Constitution for your children, and your children's children, for generation upon generation.

The choice is yours TODAY. Choose wisely.

Comment #62: Reed31463 said on 3/6/06 @ 6:12pm ET...

The Deffeyes Date

Correction to link above

Sorry for any inconvenience. Haste make waste.

Comment #63: Reed31463 said on 3/6/06 @ 9:21pm ET...

Our mission is not complete. The Wall Street Journal has heard our voices...but the picture is still muddy.

WSJ: Tony Trupiano

If Democratic candidate Tony Trupiano wins a Michigan House seat this fall, he pledges that one of his first acts will be to introduce articles of impeachment against President Bush.

*snip*

But Mr. Trupiano's pledge hasn't much impressed Democratic Party leaders, who are keeping their distance from impeachment talk.......

*snip*

The movement can point to some small successes. Radio celebrity Garrison Keillor posted an article for the online magazine Salon calling for Mr. Bush's impeachment. Three California cities -- San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Arcata -- have passed resolutions backing impeachment, and municipalities in North Carolina and Vermont are considering such steps.

But the Democratic National Committee, chaired by 2004 campaign firebrand Howard Dean has declined to chime in. A House resolution offered by Rep. John Conyers of Michigan seeking an initial impeachment inquiry has attracted support from just 26 of 201 House Democrats. Even Mr. Conyers, the ranking Judiciary Committee Democrat, allows, "This isn't something we have to do right away."

*snip*

"At most, they could show a mistake in judgment, it seems to me," says the Rev. Robert F. Drinan of the Georgetown University Law Center, a former Democratic House member who backed seeking the impeachment of Richard Nixon in 1974 over Watergate. Michael Gerhardt, an impeachment expert at the University of North Carolina law school, says there could be a "credible basis for an inquiry," but additional facts would have to be established before anyone could "demonstrate an impeachable offense occurred."

Democratic leaders should be AFRAID from political backlash if they DON"T support Conyers' Resolution and Articles of Impeachment. The Bill Clinton analogy is completely offbase and inappropriate in establishing a possible outcome. The reasons and the popularity of each impeachment scenario are completely different.

The point should be, "There is enough credible evidence for an inquiry and Articles of Impeachment would establish an investigation into high crimes and misdemeanors. Whether or not there is enough evidence for a CONVICTION of impeachment, additional facts would have to be established. Democrats that want to keep their office should honor their oaths. Let them know you will accept no other platform. Honor your oath or go away!

Comment #64: Rusty said on 3/6/06 @ 9:42pm ET...

Thank you, Alma and Tahoe.

Our love for America is our ultimate motivation. The Rovians, their flag-waving robot mercenaries, wingnut bootlickers, and pointless apologists have no idea what loving America really means.

GOP fascism is fueled by hatred, intolerance, racism, and corporate greed. Progressive activism is powered by love.

Because love is stronger than hate, Bush and his GOP fascists are going to find themselves lying charred and bleeding in the smoldering wreckage of the Republican Party, and America will once again be a shining beacon of truth and justice in the world.

On that day, somewhere, in some better place than this, unsung fallen heroes like Maja will be redeemed. Her unconditional love, endearing innocence, and warm companionship were too good for this fallen world, but maybe someday, the human race will finally learn that love, innocence, and companionship are sacred gifts from God, not weaknesses to manipulate in an endless, degrading struggle for power.

As far as I'm concerned, if a bunch of penguins deserve to have an Academy Award winning movie made about them, Maja deserves at least a tribute on ConyersBlog.

Because of her supportive love for one of our ConyersBlog friends, she did more to defend American democracy than any wandering penguins ever did. If this tribute to Maja bothers any penguins, they can just take another long hike or eat some snow or whatever it is they do.

Comment #65: Reed31463 said on 3/6/06 @ 9:53pm ET...

I nominate Maja for Best Supporting Actress in a real life documentary.

Comment #66: tahoebasha1 said on 3/6/06 @ 10:21pm ET...

RR - Reed,

It's not often that the "scientific" facts and "reality(ies)" are brought to fore on this blog, if ever -- and it's all so important. I say "important" because understanding certain origins "clues" us on to the present circumstances.

To say that there have been few attempts at "alternative" resources is almost an understatement. Like you, I have long thought that there was "absolute" resolution on the part of "oilmen" to "veto" any "developmental "alternative(s)" measures to the oil situation was and is merely to sustain their own "power" and advantageous positions in this world -- without regard to "humanity" as a whole. Why do you suppose Bush & Co. have for so long held out against joining the Kyoto effort? All of "humanity" needs to "wake up" before it's, indeed, too late! We are playing with "fire." And, "nature" will ultimately call the "shots."

I sincerely hope that "The years to develop commercial alternatives are over." is NOT the case.

Thank you for a most informative post, RR!

Comment #67: Reed31463 said on 3/6/06 @ 10:30pm ET...

We must continue to submit stories like this to the MSM. Otherwise we will all end up like Cindy Sheehan. Only next time we will not be released. ENDGAME is coming to a detention center near you and you have a $385 million pre-paid ticket. Built by Halliburton.

OnlineJournal: A US Gestapo?

Excerpts from the article

The information I was looking for is overlooked behind the media hype about NSA's wiretapping of US citizens and is buried in legislative legalese. House Report 109-33 USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 Section 605 refers to an "improvement" in the USA PATRIOT Act, section 3056A, which is to be inserted into title 18 United States Code, chapter 203, following section 3056, and appears to repeal title 3 U.S.C., chapter 3. Trying to sort it all out made me dizzy. See comment #12 for help sorting this out

Then, when I was at my dizziest, I finally ran across a news item that read, "A new provision tucked into the Patriot Act bill now before Congress would allow authorities to haul demonstrators at any 'special event of national significance' away to jail on felony charges if they are caught breaching a security perimeter."(3)

It was under such an authority that Cindy Sheehan was arrested at a "special event of national significance" -- Bush's State of the Union sales pitch -- for wearing a T-shirt that gave the number of US fatalities in Iraq, including her own son. Despite misleading reports designed to discredit her, Sheehan did not make a spectacle of either herself or her T-shirt. And she was an invited guest (though not by the Bush cabal). Another example of a "special event of national significance" was the Super Bowl even though no top administration officials, who are guarded by the Secret Service, were expected to attend.(4)

According to the new bill, officers of the Secret Service Uniform Division will "carry firearms" (sec. 3056A (b)(1)(A)) and be authorized to "make arrests without warrant for any offense against the United States committed in their presence, or for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such felony" (sec. 3056A (b)(1)(B)).

Comment #68: tahoebasha1 said on 3/6/06 @ 10:43pm ET...

Thanks to you all for pointing out the "signficance" of Maja's life and all of her "kind." She will be "long remembered" by all of us! And should we but follow in kind!

Comment #69: Reed31463 said on 3/6/06 @ 11:04pm ET...

The State of California cares about it's citizens right's. Does your State?

California isn't the only state to pass a resolution appealing for a better Patriot Act. Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana and Vermont have done so as well. But as welcome as these efforts are, they cannot supersede or alter the Patriot Act. For that to happen, cowardice will have to be supplanted by courage in Congress.

Comment #70: feline said on 3/7/06 @ 2:30am ET...

Thank you all for your kind words regarding my angel, Maja, who inspires with pure Love. I have been at a loss for words, thus the delay in my posting an appreciative response that fully expresses the complex emotions that She and my Friends here have evoked in me. Maja kept it simple, so I will follow her lead, and remember that Love - Agape, the active verb form - gives our voice a unified strength. My sincerest blessings to you all!
=:>)

Comment #71: koryannder said on 3/7/06 @ 11:56am ET...

POO #37 I have a LOT of respect for Congressman Conyers. I have ZERO respect for you, or anyone else who defends the theft of elections in 2000, 2002, 2004, and the intended sweeping theft in 2006. If fighting fire with fire is the only way to go (and I don't think it is, but it might become necessary), I'd love to supply the matches. I have no knowledge of how to hack the Urosevich machines, but I know it CAN be done, because it HAS been done. An HONEST Republican would be out there demanding security and verifiable recounts. I don't see any, which may give you a hint about the overall honesty of Republicans in general. (I specifically exclude Rep. Paul. I think he is honest as the day is long - unfortunately he is in the minority - an actual PATRIOTIC Republican!)

Comment #72: point of order said on 3/7/06 @ 5:19pm ET...

response to comment #71

Can you site where I have ever defended the theft of any election? The only one here calling for and condoning cheating in an election is you.
By the way, can you make it to Chicago, they need some monitoring there I've heard, and then stop off at Detroit, they also seem to have a little hanky panky taking place.

Comment #73: point of order said on 3/7/06 @ 5:42pm ET...

DETROIT -- Fred Douglas Henley would have been 75 years old when the city of Detroit says he walked into a polling precinct and voted on Nov. 8. Henley, however, died the day before the election, and his voting address long has been vacant and boarded up.

Blanche Credit died in 2003. But she's recorded as voting in November, too.

Then there's Michael Hollingsworth, whom the Detroit Department of Elections says voted at his precinct despite serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. And Jennifer Pinkerton is recorded as voting, but she lives in Westland.

It's impossible to say whether Henley, Credit, Hollingsworth and Pinkerton are names used by someone to cast fraudulent votes or whether they simply represent clerical errors. But a Detroit News review of voter and registration files, criminal and death records shows that Detroit's election records are so plagued with mistakes and inconsistencies -- including voter registry rolls packed with as many as 20,000 dead people and roughly 100,000 wrong addresses -- that the overall integrity of Detroit elections is in question

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060226/METRO/602260301/1003

Comment #74: Rusty said on 3/7/06 @ 9:50pm ET...

Endlessly Pointless Disorder,

Your relentless hypocrisy is sickening. You're like an idiot sitting in a restaurant, complaining about koryander smoking in a no-smoking section while GOP arsonists are burning the whole town down.

You are either incredibly stupid, a mindless hypocrite, a wingnut troll, or all three.

Comment #75: point of order said on 3/8/06 @ 9:40am ET...

response to comment # 74

it's all relative darlin'

Comment #76: Rusty said on 3/8/06 @ 6:23pm ET...

A) Incredibly stupid
B) Mindless hypocrite
C) Wingnut troll
D) All of the above

Thanks for confirming that D is the relatively correct answer, Pointless Disorder.

Comment #77: point of order said on 3/8/06 @ 7:40pm ET...

when all else fails resort to name calling and hatefulness.

Comment #78: Rusty said on 3/9/06 @ 5:15am ET...

Pointless Disorder Having a Hissy Fit,

In your case, it's not name calling, it's accuracy in labeling. I'm simply complying with FTC and FCC regulations so people won't buy any of the defective products you're peddling here.

None of my posts regarding you have failed. Neither have anyone anyone else's posts. You are what you've revealed yourself to be--a pedantic hypocrite and a disgrace to American democracy.

Comment #79: point of order said on 3/9/06 @ 6:36am ET...

No hissy fit here, just utter amazement.The only hypocrisy here is the calling for and the condoning of voter fraud by one of the posters as long as the voter fraud is perpetrated by his party of choice.

Comment #80: Rusty said on 3/9/06 @ 6:50am ET...

Pointless Disorder Rowing Down De Nile on a Leaking Barge,

If you want to keep drowning in utterly amazing hypocrisy, just keep whining about the hypothetical condoning of electoral fraud here while refusing to criticize the actual and massive electoral fraud perpetrated by your criminal president and his criminal party in 2000, 2002, and 2004.

Keep buzzing around here like a demented fly and I'll keep swatting you.

Comment #81: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/9/06 @ 12:24pm ET...

Mr. Point of Order
I am still awaiting a response to #41. Are you so hypocritical that you would accuse someone else of having poor ethics while you refuse to have any of your own? Your accusation is not an answer to the question, it's merely another attempt at redirection. Are you really so depraved that you would toss your own ethics aside for something as small as a published opinion when it does not follow your party's official line? Have you absolutely no sense of justice at all?

If calling for an investigation into Mr. JC's district is your only answer, then you've already lost. You can call for an investigation in Mr. Conyers voting district all you want, he wins with such majority that a few votes either way is insignificant. Mr. JC has no need to resort to corrupting the process to win - he has no motive. People love him here. If you want an investigatin, bring it on - Mr. JC has nothing to hide.

I am fully willing to support an investigation into Mr. JC's district only if you will publish your support for a full investigation into the allegations of republican voter fraud.

Quit sitting on your ethics and put them where your mouth is.

Comment #82: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/9/06 @ 2:15pm ET...

Michigan
In Warren County, where election officers declared a homeland security emergency on Election Day, and barred reporters and others from watching the vote count, it now has been revealed that county employees were told the previous Thursday they should prepare for the Election Day lockdown. That disclosure suggests the lockdown was a political decision, not a true security risk. Moreover, statements also describe how ballots were left unguarded and unprotected in a warehouse on Election Day, and they were hastily moved after county officials received complaints.
Ohio
- In Franklin County, where Columbus is located, the election director, Matt Damschroder, misinformed a federal court on Election Day when he testified the county had no additional voting machines – in response to a Voting Rights Act lawsuit brought by the state Democratic Party that minority precincts were intentionally deprived of machines. It now appears as many as 81 voting machines were being held back, out of 2,866 available, according to recent statements by Damschroder and Bill Anthony, the chairman of the Franklin County Board of Elections. The shortage of machines in Democratic-leaning districts lead to long lines and thousands of people leaving in frustration and not voting. Damschroder's contradictory statements raise the possibility of perjury.

- Also in Franklin County, a worker at the Holiday Inn observed a team of 25 people who called themselves the "Texas Strike Force" using payphones to make intimidating calls to likely voters, targeting people recently in the prison system. The "Texas Strike Force" members paid their way to Ohio, but their hotel accommodations were paid for by the Ohio Republican Party, whose headquarters is across the street. The hotel worker heard one caller threaten a likely voter with being reported to the FBI and returning to jail if he voted. Another hotel worker called the police, who came but did nothing.

- In Knox County, students at Kenyon College, a liberal arts school, stood in line for up to 11 hours, because only one voting machine was in use. However, at nearby Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, there were ample voting machines and no lines. This suggests the GOP shorting of voting machines was a more widespread tactic than just targeting inner-city neighborhoods.

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/985

Comment #83: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/9/06 @ 2:23pm ET...

POO,
If you have any ethics at all, then get thee behind JC. Show your support for election fraud investigations everywhere.

Elections Objections

Comment #84: point of order said on 3/9/06 @ 3:20pm ET...

Won't work Mr. Lechnyr, I have never said that I am against investigating ANY election fraud.On the other hand, no where on this blog have I read where ANYONE is calling for the investigation of the voting improprieties that are rampant in democratic strongholds across this country, even in the very district of the esteemed Cogressman Conyers. Therein lies the hypocrisy.

Comment #85: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/9/06 @ 6:56pm ET...

Check and Mate Mr. Point of order, read again #81. Therein, I called on you to join me in calling for a full investigation of all forms of voter fraud regardless of precinct.

On the other hand, although you have called for the investigations of voter fraud in Democratic precincts, you still have not called for investigating any voting improprieties in republican precincts anywhere in this country.

I gave you the opportunity to do so on a silver platter. Despite this, you still did not published even a desire to end voter fraud unless it be on the Democrats side.

Therein lies your own hypocrisy.

Must I lead you by the nose?

Comment #86: point of order said on 3/9/06 @ 8:36pm ET...

having reread comment # 81 I would say your declaration of "check and mate" is a bit premature.

Comment #87: Jay Lechnyr said on 3/9/06 @ 9:10pm ET...

And you still have not made a declaration. What do you fear? Why is it so hard for you to make a clear and plainly spoken statement about republican corruption?

As far as investigations into voter fraud in democratic districts, bring it on! I think it a good idea if Mr. JC himself asked for an investigation into all allegations within his own district. Then he can challenge everyone else to do the same from a proven ethical high ground. Perhaps there should be an opposition appointed voter fraud investigator in every district in America. Leaving it to the FBI is not good enough for me since they have other important duties. No, I want a dedicated investigator who is guaranteed to do a full and thorough investigation in each and every district. Let the FBI investigate these investigators, if any should try some shennanigans.

Now let's see if you have any backbone. I've spoken with honest candor and applied my ethics evenly between all parties, why won't you?

Comment #88: point of order said on 3/9/06 @ 10:25pm ET...

I couldn't agree with you more. I would totally support that proposal.

Comment #89: Thel said on 3/12/06 @ 3:29pm ET...

Dear Congressman Conyers:

First, I want to thank you for introducing House Resolutions 635, 636, and 637. Excellent first steps toward saving our constitutional, democratic republic!

Please do not hesitate to call for impeachment immediately, however. The Articles have been written. (Please see the book ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST GEORGE W. BUSH, by the Center for Constitutional Rights, Melville House Publishing, which was just released - http://www.mhpbooks.com/aoiReferral.)

When House Republicans impeached President Clinton, they stressed that impeachment is merely the equivalent of an indictment, a determination that there is sufficient evidence to charge a suspect with a crime. Impeachment, like an indictment, leads to a trial in which a jury - in this case the Senate - will determine whether the evidence is sufficient for conviction.

The evidence we have in hand in the book mentioned above, as well as your thorough report on the Iraq War lies, The Constitution in Crisis, should be far more than is needed for an indictment. (The House is under no obligation to do the work of the Senate in weighing the evidence.) I certainly understand if you deem it wiser to wait until after the election in November, in hopes that Democrats will gain more seats and, therefore, be able to take a stronger stand; however, I genuinely fear that those now abusing their power will feel even more threatened as evidence continues to come to light, and that there may well be some type of "emergency" which they will use as an excuse to declare martial law and cancel the election altogether. (It will be an uphill, at any rate, considering the shenanigans of Diebold et al.)

PLEASE act as quickly as possible. There are millions of us standing solidly with you!

Thank-you for all that you have done, are doing, and will continue to do in dedicated service to our country and for We The People. It is eternally appreciated!

Comment #90: yesiamwds said on 3/20/06 @ 7:41pm ET...

I was present at Town Hall that evening. While Congressman Conyers has a slow and deliberate presentation, you cannot help but hang on every intelligent and coherent word. You don't feel yourself jumping forward in thought and contemplation of the conclusion of his ideas, they are his, and he finishes them with eloquence. I am very proud that he represents the American people in Congress.

This panel represented the intelligencia of Constitutional concepts and history behind the support for investigating and impeaching a President. I cannot say that I have ever learned more about our Constitution and government in a mere 2 hours.

Congressman Conyers made it clear that he is not petitioning his party and fellow legislators to write articles of impeachment now. Rather, he is asking for the formation of a committee to investigate that possibility, in the same manner that the Irving Commission was formed to investigate the Watergate coverup. Only then can we know for sure whether "high crimes and misdemeanors" have been committed by the President and a sufficient legal reason can be established to proceed with articles of impeachment.

To have been 40 years as a congressman, and being part of a possible 3rd President being impeached in that time, must be historic in itself. Be glad that Mr. Conyers has been our public servant and represents the best in being a guardian of our Constitution and Democracy.

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