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Blogged by JC on 10.17.06 @ 09:48 AM ET

Campaigning in Michigan


I just wanted to give everyone an update on the campaign work we have been doing in Michigan.

Senator Barack Obama came through Detroit last week to join Governor Jennifer Granholm, Senator Debbie Stabenow, and me to oppose Michigan's Initiative No. 2. For those who haven't been following this issue, Ward Connerly has been waging a deceptive campaign against affirmative action here in Michigan. This is the same Ward Connerly who explained, when defending Trent Lott's support of Strom Thurmond's segregationist presidential race, that "segregation need not be racist." This is also the same Ward Connerly who has been paid over $1 million, in dubious financing, for his efforts in this campaign.

I also want to highlight the campaign of a Congressional candidate who would be a great Member of Congress for Michigan. Jim Marcinkowski, running in Michigan's 8th District, has just received DCCC support as an emerging race on our list of potential Democratic gains in this election.

Jim is a friend of mine. He served in the CIA with distinction for over 20 years and publicly drew attention to the agency's role in deceiving the American public with inaccurate "intelligence" supporting George Bush's rush to war against Iraq. Jim testified at a hearing for the Democratic Policy Committee on Iraq intelligence earlier this year and was one of the leading voices in drawing public and media attention to these shortcomings.

Jim Marcinkowski is just the type of leader that we need in Washington and I hope that you will consider lending him your support in this crucial campaign.

Replies: 101 Comments


Comment #1: Citizen J said on 10/17/06 @ 10:54am ET...

America, the bell tolls for thee.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6058970.stm

"President George W Bush has signed into law a bill that sets standards for the interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects held by the US.

This follows a Supreme Court ruling in June that military tribunals set up to prosecute detainees at Guantanamo Bay violated US and international law.

The new law protects defendants from blatant abuse but still restricts their right to challenge their detention.

A US spokesman said preparations would now begin to try Guantanamo suspects.

At a ceremony in Washington, Mr Bush said it was a rare occasion when a president signed a law that he knew would save American lives.

"It is one of the most important pieces of legislations in the war on terror," he said."

RIP America.



Comment #2: Citizen J said on 10/17/06 @ 12:31pm ET...

Blackwell gets to decide whether Strickland (who's WINNING, btw) is eligible?

W T F! What's the inside scoop, OD1?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/10/17/112822/73

"The latest news from the state's governor's race is that the Republican nominee, Kenneth Blackwell, who is also the Ohio secretary of state, could rule that his opponent is ineligible to run because of a technicality. We'd like to think that his office would not ultimately do that, or that if it did, such a ruling would not be allowed to stand. But the mere fact that an elected official and political candidate has the authority to toss his opponent out of a race is further evidence of a serious flaw in our democracy."



Comment #3: MAX 1 said on 10/17/06 @ 12:36pm ET...

America, home of those that are deemed to be free. Land of those brave enough to not stand up to the Imperial Executive Decider, King George.

America...

It's not torture when Bush says it's not...
It's not rendition when Bush says it's not...
It's only Enemy Combatant when Bush says it is...
It's not indefinite detention when Bush makes it so...
It's not Habeas Corpus because Bush says so...
It's only pre-emptive war, and it's good because Bush said it is...
It's only wire taps, Bush says it's no biggie, and so it's not...
It's not war crimes because Bush has ordered up exemptions, and so it is...
It's only an out of date Treaty, and so Bush disregards it, such it is...
It's not a disregard for the rule of law, when Bush's signing statements makes himself exempt from that rule of law...
It's not environmental destruction because Bush says it's the Clean Air Act...
It's not about punishing schools when Bush calls it No Child Left Behind...
It's not about private energy legislation when Bush says it's about alternate energy...
It's not about private drug legislation when Bush calls it Prescription Reform...

I mean come on people...

It's not Fascism when we do it, no???
It's not terrorism when we do it???
It's not illegal when we do it???



Comment #4: koryannder said on 10/17/06 @ 12:55pm ET...

And we continue with some somewhat radical moves necessary to save the Nation . . .

10. The electrical power grid in this country has been allowed to fall into tragic disrepair. Additional generating capacity and reclamation of power supply nationwide must be a priority. Total blackouts as we are experiencing recently are ruinously expensive. Power lines must be taken down and replaced with new, larger capacity lines. The superannuated lines, which have corroded, oxidized, and/or work-hardened over the decades, must be reclaimed, resmelted, and remanufactured. Nuclear power plants using the new technology must be allowed to be built and furnish the backbone of our power needs, as fossil fuel will be increasingly scarce in coming years. Development of alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind, and water must be vigorously expedited. Fossil fuels, in general, must be largely eliminated, mainly because they are a valuable resource of chemical products; in point of fact, they are too valuable to waste in merely being burned for energy.

11. Public transportation must make a comeback. The destruction of the “Trolley car system” was one of the greatest crimes ever perpetrated upon the urban citizenry. Its replacement by “Buses” has become a drain on the economy, especially with the newly exorbitant price of fuel, and has caused a massive reduction in air quality, since many people now use private automobiles instead of relying on what has become an unreliable transportation source.

12. The utterly wasteful “War on Drugs” must be terminated, and the victims of its draconian operation, especially those who were innocently in the company of a person carrying prohibited substances rehabilitated without prejudice. Education and treatment is far less expensive than incarceration, and total losers who are hopelessly addicted should be allowed to drug themselves to death, thus removing themselves from societal concern. Allowing all drugs to be available on prescription, with penalties similar to those imposed on alcohol (which is also a drug) is quite sufficient. Most States have DWI laws that would take care of the fools who insist on being dangerous to others. It is the nature of some human beings to escape from intolerable conditions by medication. They should be allowed to medicate, as cheaply as possible, so that they would not need to resort to violent crime to obtain their medicament of choice.



Comment #5: MAX 1 said on 10/17/06 @ 12:56pm ET...

"With the bill I'm about to sign, the men our intelligence officials believe orchestrated the murder of nearly 3,000 innocent people will face justice," Bush said.

Congressman Conyers,

Is this why the Military Commissions Act was needed? To prosecute those that committed 9/11???

Is this why NO ONE has been charged with the crimes of 9/11???



Comment #6: Frosted Flake said on 10/17/06 @ 1:17pm ET...

Thanks Max, meant to bring that up and ask again if the 11 day delay in presenting the bill to the President was legal and proper. I mean, "Pocket Veto". Right?

Hell, I don't know, that's why I'm asking. While I'm at it, got another.

It sounds almost as if North Korea just declared war. Suppose we will get clarification on this?

Thanks.
Frosted Flake



Comment #7: unspun said on 10/17/06 @ 2:04pm ET...

C-Span has the following program on Live (1:00 ET): ACLU Panel Discussion on Executive Branch Power. Speakers--John Dean, Katrina VandenHeuvul (The Nation), Alberto Mora (former Navy General Counsel), NPR Panelist & ACLU Panelist. Good discussion of erosion of civil liberties, Bush Admin, torture, terrorism, Geneva Convention, etc.

ACLU representative just stated in refrence to another speakers's mention of a book; "the book we're focused on is 'Crime and Punishment'".



Comment #8: Ohiodem1 said on 10/17/06 @ 2:41pm ET...

Citizen J #2 - It started off as a challenge to Strickland's place of voting since he has two residences in Ohio. Under that challenge, he could be prevented from voting in the election if the challenge to his residency is upheld.

Most jurisdictions in Ohio only require a resident to stay at an address only very occasionally to make it a legal residence. It is unlikely that Strickland does not meet this test, although I do not know exactly what the rule is at his voting residence.

From what I gather, and I am no attorney, Strickland meets the criteria to become a VOTER in Ohio, that is, he is an Ohio Citizen/Resident, he has a home in Ohio, he is at least 18 years old, and he has no prohibitions on voting like being incarcerated.

Blackwell's office may rule against Strickland on the narrow issue of where he lives re: voting location, and because the voter registration deadline has passed, he may not be able to vote, but I can see no way he can be prohibited from appearing on the ballot. He is legal to be a Congressman, which he is, and he is legal to be our next governor, which he will be.

Blackwell attempted to swiftboat Strickland at the final debate last night, and Strickland had the opportuntiy to debunk and he did so effectively. An article in the Dispatch which was covering a debate party where 150 people were watching the debate indicated that a Blackwell leaning voter said, after the exchange "He cannot be governor" and words to the effect that he showed a side she did not know existed. Nearly every poll shows Strickland with a 20% or better lead, and one article I saw indicated that he was up by 28% in another poll.

Ted Strickland has developed long coattails, which will move some other races into the Democratic column, and is putting formerly safe Republican seats into the in play column.

It is looking to me like a Democratic Tsunami in Ohio. Another poll result I saw indicates that over 80% of voters are now saying that they are turned off by negative campaign ads, and that a similar percentage indicates that negative ads will not sway their votes.

Ohio, being a bellwether state, is pointing the way to a Democratic victory in 2008. Democrats have a chance to gain five congressional seats here. Zach Space in place of Bob Ney. Mary Jo Kilroy in place of Deborah Pryce, who is in the Republican leadership. If Space and Kilroy win, Bob Shamansky will most likely win the seat held by Pat Tiberi, making a clean sweep in Central Ohio. Tiberi's seat is sandwiched between Ney's and Pryce's. A couple of seats in Southwest Ohio may change hands as well.

No Democratic held seats appear to be in play. Five of six statewide executive offices (Gov, Lt. Gov, SecState, Auditor, Treasurer, AG) are leaning to strongly Democratic. The Republican AG candidate, who is currently Auditor, and who has been AG before, will probably stay Republican.

That is the report from Ohio, now I am going back to helping Democrats win. OD1



Comment #9: unspun said on 10/17/06 @ 2:44pm ET...

Congressman Conyers,

I second your endorsement of Jim Marcinkowski. I don't live in District 8, but mistakenly received a letter from Rep. Rogers talking about how he supported HR 4844. I didn't write him--I wrote my rep asking him to support the Emergency Paper Ballot Bill.

After reading his letter, I did a little research on Rogers. He is a Bush Rubber Stamp Republican. I urge anyone who can support Marcinkowski to do so.



Comment #10: Jay Lechnyr said on 10/17/06 @ 2:45pm ET...

Some people just don't get it. While restoring the traditional checks and balances to the Executive Brance may seem like a noble idea, it's timing could not be worse. It would take congress years of concerted effort to dismantle the institutionalized corruption that this administration has put into place. But it would only take a couple of years for another administration to dismantle it all - assuming that administration is wielding the same nearly unlimited war powers. The current architects of corruption know this and are counting on you to play the 'convenient fools'. They are betting on you to defang the office of the president before you get a chance to wield that power yourselves. And if you do not cooperate, you can expect a surge of support from conservative commmentators to 'help' you along in this decision. You will be doing exactly what Rove, Delay, Hastert, and their ilk are counting on you to do for them.

I'm not saying we should never restore the balance our constitution describes. I'm saying that doing it now is a sure fire way of making sure the institutions of corruption endure for years longer than neccessary. Once a democrat with some guts and a conscience gets into the white house, he can dismantle everything the repugs have built. Once they see all their institutions of corruption removed and their architects of corruption imprisoned, the repugs will be more than happy to help you restore executive powers back to their original levels - maybe even end the 'pseudowar on terror' to take away the executive's 'wartime' powers.

Everything has it's time. You need to be patient and pick your fights carefully. We're going to need those wartime executive powers. Attacking them now will only make matters more difficult for you later. Ladies and gentlemen, try to see this in a more pragmatic way. Which do you abhor more; the powers the executive branch currently wields, or what they did with it? First things first.



Comment #11: Nolip said on 10/17/06 @ 2:51pm ET...

"Lewis Lapham, essayist extraordinaire and editor of Harper's magazine, asked Congressman John Conyers what he thought the point was of publishing a lengthy report laying out evidence of Bush's impeachable offenses. Conyers' response was: "to take away the excuse that we didn't know."

But Lapham still wanted to know what the hurry was: why not wait until the Democrats had a large majority, or more investigations were done, or the public demanded Bush's ouster? Conyers replied:

"I don't think enough people know how much damage this administration can do to their civil liberties in a very short time. What would you have me do? Grumble and complain? Make cynical jokes? Throw up my hands and say that under the circumstances nothing can be done? At least I can muster the facts, establish a record, tell the story that ought to be front-page news."

We know of this exchange because Lapham wrote about it in an essay called "The Case for Impeachment: Why We Can No Longer Afford George W. Bush," which Lapham published as a cover story in Harper's, and which now constitutes Chapter 29 in a 29-chapter collection of Lapham's essays called "Pretensions to Empire." Lapham's article focuses on Conyers' report and draws the obvious conclusion.

"Before reading the report," he writes, "I wouldn't have expected to find myself thinking that such a course of action was either likely or possible; after reading the report, I don't know why we would run the risk of not impeaching the man."

Bush as Brat: Pretensions to Empire



Comment #12: Ohiodem1 said on 10/17/06 @ 3:02pm ET...

Followup to #8 above. In the debate last night, a desperate Ken Blackwell played the gay and child predator card very hard, bringing up old charges against Strickland concerning a person who was on his congressional staff at one time.

Strickland effectively refuted the attack. Here is a link to a comment thread by the Columbus Dispatch. With 96 replies at the time I am writing this, the "vote" is 75-25 against Blackwell. The comments are telling.

Columbus Dispatch blog re: Blackwell's swiftboat attack on Strickland



Comment #13: MAX 1 said on 10/17/06 @ 3:38pm ET...

Comment #10: Jay Lechnyr,

I'm not sure I follow you on this. Please explain. Are you saying that it is a good time to do nothing? That now is the time to not act? Because haulting this egregious power grab now will catipult it farther?

I'm confused....



Comment #14: Ron said on 10/17/06 @ 3:58pm ET...

OFF TOPIC ?????


Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens for Legitimate Government

17 October 2006

www.legitgov.org

All links to articles as summarized below are available here:
breaking_news



"A combination of hatred and technical skills in things like bomb-making is a dangerous combination."
Web could be terror training camp in U.S., politician says 16 Oct 2006

Disaffected people living in the United States may develop radical ideologies [*Yes*] and potentially violent skills over the Internet and that could present the next major U.S. security threat, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Monday.

"We now have a capability of someone to radicalize themselves over the Internet," Chertoff said on the sidelines of a meeting of International Association of the Chiefs of Police. "Those are the kind of terrorists that we may not be able to detect with spies and satellites," Chertoff said. [That's right - they can't.]



Comment #15: Citizen J said on 10/17/06 @ 5:15pm ET...

Thanks for the updates and links OD1- good to hear. Blackwell needs to be indicted and prosecuted with the rest of 'em forthwith. The sooner the better.

#14- That sounds like a thinly-veiled threat, Mr. Chertoff. Gots to get control of them there internets tubes.



Comment #16: cali said on 10/17/06 @ 5:17pm ET...

The BRAD BLOG has obtained an EXCLUSIVE partial transcript from a recent, unaired interview by a major broadcast network with former U.S. Elections Assistance Commission (EAC) chair Rev. DeForest Soaries.

Soaries was appointed by George W. Bush as the first chair of the commission created by the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in the wake of the 2000 Presidential Election Debacle. In the interview, available here for the first time, Soaries excoriates both Congress and the White House, referring to their dedication to reforming American election issues as "a charade" and "a travesty," and says the system now in place is "ripe for stealing elections and for fraud."

http://www.bradblog.com/



Comment #17: Frosted Flake said on 10/18/06 @ 12:25am ET...

Marcinkowski

I thought I remembered the name. I am very pleased to become aware that he is running. Off hand, cannot name one I would like better. Something about hiding a light under a bushel basket, but hey, so long as it is off.



Comment #18: Truth_in_action said on 10/18/06 @ 7:53am ET...

So now with the passage of this new bill, bloggers will be under the microscope. Get this Administrations' minions out of Congress and the Senate NOW!

Tell all your friends and family that if they value voicing an opinion and enjoying the rights to free speech, they'd better vote Democrat in November so we can turn this nonsense around.

Government Targets American Bloggers As Enemy Propagandists
Military, Homeland Security, Bush White House strategy sharpen knives against anyone critical of the "war on terror"

I was thinking there would be a signing statement to this bill, but from what I understand there is none. Supposedly Bush is happy with how the bill is written and it needs no signing statement. I'm suspicious of that and think it's buried somewhere...



Comment #19: Nolip said on 10/18/06 @ 12:31pm ET...

There's one man, one leader, responsible for this and it's not Hussein, it's Bush...the world's greatest terrorist...

Violence puts Iraqis on run



Comment #20: tahoebasha1 said on 10/18/06 @ 1:36pm ET...

Well, TIA, how neatly everything seems to fall into place. The Patriot Act, the NSA spying on Americans creating a humongous databank thereby, now the Military Commissions Act, legally allowing detention of so-called "enemy combattants" for an endless period of time and without recourse of counsel, and allowing torture so long as it is not a "blatant abuse" (the definitions of which we are still awaiting). Also allowing the ability to declare bloggers, journalists and online activists who dissent against the "war on terror" as possible enemy combattants. And, just by coincidence, FEMA has over 800 detention camps set up across the United States, with railroads and roads leading to them. Each camp can hold approximately 20,000 prisoners.

"Friday, October 6th, 2006
FEMA CONCENTRATION CAMPS: Locations and Executive Orders
Sianews

There over 800 prison camps in the United States, all fully operational and ready to receive prisoners. They are all staffed and even surrounded by full-time guards, but they are all empty. These camps are to be operated by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) should Martial Law need to be implemented in the United States and all it would take is a presidential signature on a proclamation and the attorney general’s signature on a warrant to which a list of names is attached. Ask yourself if you really want to be on Ashcroft’s list. . . . "

Camps

Let me ask a stupid question -- what does all of this remind you of????



Comment #21: tahoebasha1 said on 10/18/06 @ 2:03pm ET...

Oh, and BTW, you can't imagine who might have built the newest camps, now can you? Of course, none other than KBR, a branch of Halliburton.

"Kellogg Brown & Root, a Halliburton subsidiary, is constructing a huge facility at an undisclosed location to hold tens of thousands of Bush's 'unlawful enemy combatants.' Americans are certain to be among them. . . ."

Yet, another camp.

"American Prison Camps Are on the Way

By Marjorie Cohn, AlterNet. Posted October 9, 2006.

The Military Commissions Act of 2006 governing the treatment of detainees is the culmination of relentless fear-mongering by the Bush administration since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Because the bill was adopted with lightning speed, barely anyone noticed that it empowers Bush to declare not just aliens, but also U.S. citizens, 'unlawful enemy combatants.'

Bush & Co. has portrayed the bill as a tough way to deal with aliens to protect us against terrorism. Frightened they might lose their majority in Congress in the November elections, the Republicans rammed the bill through Congress with little substantive debate.

Anyone who donates money to a charity that turns up on Bush's list of 'terrorist' organizations, or who speaks out against the government's policies could be declared an 'unlawful enemy combatant' and imprisoned indefinitely. That includes American citizens. . . . . "

More on Camps



Comment #22: Ron said on 10/18/06 @ 2:56pm ET...

A statement!
What are we guilty of?
Being Americans?
Believing in OUR Constitution?
Speaking out against Oppression?
Speaking out against a Fascist Government?
Repeating the truth as we believe it? As we see it?
Seeing with our own eyes the injustices, that a few Degenerates, perpetrate against the many?

So now:::::::::::::

What is that that I hear in the distance? PoP.............. Pop.................. PoP
Could it be the eye,s of the non believers popping open as they start to realize that the government that they have been so blindly supporting, is in truth, a Fascist Corporation ?
And what about that ungodly howling?
Are those sounds not coming from the dog,s of war roaming in American streets?
The lamb shall be slaughtered because it will ,or cannot protect itself.
Decision time is here folks,Are you Lambs? Or Lions?

Viva la Republick



Comment #23: Jay Lechnyr said on 10/18/06 @ 4:47pm ET...

Comment #13: MAX 1 said on 10/17/06 @ 3:38pm ET...

Because halting this egregious power grab now will catapult it farther?

Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. Consider this. Let's say that some party gets a supermajority in the house, senate and the presidency. They then pass a constitutional amendment that outlaws all other political parties. They then proceed to use every nasty trick in the book to get the states to ratify it.

People are so upset by this that once the political winds change, the first thing the new congress does is to rescind article five so such a power grab cannot ever happen again.

But wait, once article five is gone, there is no legal means of changing the constitution. The one party rule amendment cannot be revoked, revised, or repealed.

Even after power is abused egregiously, the fault lies not in the power, but in the wielders. And as is usually the case, the powers that were abused are the very powers most neccesary to right the wrongs.

We saw the conservative strategy at work with Ken Starr and the powers of the independant council. Clearly, he took his powers to the limit and arguably crossed the line into abuse against a liberal president. But then when it came to renew the independant council legislation, he actually argued before congress that his own actions were reason to let the legislation sunset.

The consequence of that legislation sunset is that only congress itself has enough authority to investigate the office of the president without any political ties getting in the way. The FBI can't do it. The GAO can't do it either. No entity has enough authority unless congress itself does the job. Like Nixon, Bush can fire anyone who tries to start an investigation that he, himself, does not want. Only Congress can do it and only in an official capacity. Congress cannot conduct business and perform the two or so dozen investigations neccessary to set things right. There's just not enough time. Congress needs to be able to appoint as many investigators as neccessary to do it all in a timely manner. And those investigators need to be completely unbeholden to all the powers of the executive branch. That's what the position was for, and congress deliberately let it sunset because of the abuses of one man. Now we have noone to blame for our own investigative shortfalls.

And so we have a president who thinks he can do things that make Watergate seems like a sunday picnic with impunity. By the time the winds change enough to get all the investigations moving, all the documentation will likely have been shredded and all their collective memories lost. I'm already hearing from old friends about old documents disappearing; it's not a prediction when it's already happening. Refrences to previous documents are starting to lead to missing documents. I'm sure the referring documents will also start disappearing soon.

You see, Max1? We will need all the powers of the executive branch to dig out all the corruption that has been implemented. If you don't use executive powers to do it, it will likely take years longer and will probably miss a lot. Perhaps that is exactly what the neocons are hoping we will do.

And let's face it, we have a boatload to fix. We have politically positioned appointees all across the board from the FDA, and NAS to the FBI, CIA, to NASA and DoE, DoA, etc.. We have second and third tier appointments who are also ideologically placed. We will practically have to hollow out the government like a giant gourd and start all over. Literally tens of thousands of ideologically motivated political appointments need to be summarily fired and replaced. The disruption will be massive. But only then can we expect full cooperation for two or so dozen simultaneous investigations that we need to conduct. Those same investigations will require what police call "medium pressure" interrogation techniques in order to extract the information out of these uncooperative ideologues who have a similar fervor for thwarting what they will inevitably see as "democrat controlled witch hunts" as any religious cultists we've seen.

I'm already hearing long time neocons who for years wanted Bush, a fellow neocon, to have full authority to detain, torture and kill anyone, anytime, anywhere change their "opinions". They now want a complete ban on all future detentions and torture solely on the basis of keeping that authority out of the hands of liberals. Forget right or wrong, they're only thinking in terms of themselves Vs. us.

As the presidency changes hands from the conservatives to liberals, you can expect to find Rush and the other neocon talking heads all suddenly argue that the war on terror should end as quickly as possible. Their reasoning is not ours; it's not a moral or ethical question; it's not logic or reason that will motivate them to make this argument. They will want it to end so they can strip wartime powers from the liberal president. They know those powers can be used to dismantle their institutions of corruption. It's the one thing they fear most. Arguing alongside them only makes one the "convenient fool" they so hope to continue making of Americans.

So that is why I argue to keep the power consolidated in the hands of the president because we already know this president is hanging himself and taking his own party to the gallows with him. We already know it's a matter of time before we once again have a liberal president. To defang the office before a liberal president even gets the chance to make a difference, to my mind, is what sounds illogical. And that is exactly what the neocons want us to do.

Just my opinion. And like armpits, we all have one and about half of them stink.



Comment #24: koryannder said on 10/18/06 @ 5:18pm ET...

The "Military Commissions Act" is, on the face of it, blatantly unconstitutional, stamping all over the First Amendment, as it does. Actually, the neo-cons who promulgated it shot themselves in the foot - one of the safety valves which keeps protests from becoming violent is the right to bitch. Take that away, and all hell could break loose! Any reasonable SCOTUS would instantly declare it to be unconstitutional, and strike it - but this one? Maybe. Hamdan gave hope, but it was swiftly screwed over by Specter's lapdogs, and maybe the court will object - anyway, the October Surprise may be the secretive jailing of a bunch of bloggers - They've got room for a million or so secret prisoners - gee! a MILLION Enemy combatants? It's a wonder the Country hasn't already fallen! (Or has it? Fascism is more deadly than Wahhabism!)



Comment #25: alizaryn said on 10/18/06 @ 5:24pm ET...

I got my book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Congressman Conyers! It is an incredible picture of history, thank you for your hard work!



Comment #26: tahoebasha1 said on 10/18/06 @ 6:02pm ET...

In my #20 above, you will note that Ashcroft is mentioned. Just to be clear about things -- I had checked out the original source of the article (recently posted on AlterNet), which is Sianews -- the article, itself, had no date showing, however, bloggers who commented, commented on a range of dates, one including October 23 (but no year), which has to have been in a year or years previous -- just to explain the Ashcroft name being mentioned.



Comment #27: MAX 1 said on 10/18/06 @ 6:02pm ET...

Comment #23: Jay Lechnyr

And like armpits, we all have one and about half of them stink. ROFLMAO

I understand your concerns. I too have considered this as a result, aka backlash, to a radical shift in power. The order of the day needs to be focused on 'restoration' to the rule of law and having a true 'representation' of a Republic.

IMHO, the halting needs to be made clear with the Executive Branch first. Clean the people's house. Once completed, then shift to the Congress and establish that no one party shall ever control all branches of Government. That is how we got to this point, no? How to accomplish this is yet to be determined.

But that's just my two arm pits. :)



Comment #28: MAX 1 said on 10/18/06 @ 6:17pm ET...

Comment #18: Truth_in_action,

In honest concern for all of us here along with Congressman Conyers, our right to own an opinion and speak out on that opinion concerning this Administration is being challenged indirectly. Although the MCA doesn't explicitly state that out spoken American's are to be considered a threat, the language in and of itself is vague enough to be interpreted in such a manner that American's can be subject to enemy status. For what? Expressing dissent?

Q U E S T I O N:
What forms of government take the position that it's own people may be the enemy; May be an aide to the enemy; May aide the enemy by purely expressing their frustration and discontent of the governing bodies within the government?



Comment #29: MAX 1 said on 10/18/06 @ 6:48pm ET...

While Cheney fiddles and Bushie mumbles and the GOP diddles with the pages, Iraq stil burns:

For the last few months, top Bush administration officials have refused to admit that Iraq is currently in a civil war — disagreeing with many of Iraq’s leaders, U.S. troops in Iraq, and seven in ten Americans.

Recent estimates of Iraqis killed over the last three and a half years have ranged from 40,000 to more than half a million.

The simple fact of the matter is the situation in Iraq is worse than civil war — the world is witnessing at least four major internal conflicts in Iraq:

1) A Shiite-Sunni civil war in Baghdad and the central part of Iraq. For much of the last year, a vicious campaign of sectarian cleansing has been taking place in the neighborhoods of Baghdad and the surrounding central regions, with Shiite militias targeting Sunni Iraqis and Sunni insurgent groups bombing Shiite sites.

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that the latest killings this week in the central part of the country may be directly related to the lack of progress on the national reconciliation front. U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq have argued that the political solution, and not more boots on the ground, is the key to stopping the conflict: “you fix the government, you fix the problem.”

2) Intra-Shiite conflict in the south. Less noticed in the American media have been some battles between Iraqi Shiites in the streets of southern cities such as Diwaniya and Basra. In these clashes, intra-Shiite political disputes have being played out in violence in the streets — and in some cases U.S. forces have supported one faction versus another.

3) Sunni Arab insurgency in the West. The Sunni Arab insurgency continues to undermine security in the Western part of Iraq. The chief of intelligence for the Marine Corps in Iraq filed a report last month saying that the Al Qaeda in Iraq insurgent group has filled a political vacuum there.

4) Arab-Kurdish violence in the North. Violence and tensions have increased in northern Iraq between Arabs and Kurds, particularly in the disputed city of Kirkuk.

The Bush administration still does not have the right diplomatic, political or military strategy to deal with each of these multiple conflicts — all of which add up to a situation that is worse than civil war.

The United States needs to call for an immediate internal peace conference to put a stop to Iraq’s civil war, as the Center for American Progress proposes in its Strategic Redeployment plan.



Comment #30: MAX 1 said on 10/18/06 @ 10:52pm ET...

Let it be known:

If I'm arrested for being an enemy of the state, it is not because I fought to preserve and protect the elements that our Founders put into place and titled it The Constitution of the United States of America. It is not because I took to the streets to defend my Rights, as granted to me by those brave men, the freedom of expression and speech, the due process of the law, the protection against self incrimination, etc. No, it did not happen because I stood up. It happened because you stood down.

A time of shame

National yawn as our rights evaporate’

By Keith Olbermann - Anchor, 'Countdown'



Congressman Conyers,
PLEASE KEEP STANDING.



Comment #31: koryannder said on 10/19/06 @ 4:34am ET...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

— The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Will someone tell me why the MCA does not violate this vital part of the Constitution? Maybe, like the Geneva Convention it is "Quaint," but this Court is supposed to be a "Strict Constructionalist" one, and the language could not be plainer - NO specific set of circumstances gives anyone the right to change the basic law of the land without going through the prescribed process. Now, if the MCA were phrased as a Constitutional Amendment, duly promulgated by the Congress, and ratified by the states, there could be no argument - but getting ratification means that we'd have to have a monstrous number of States whose legislators had the pants scared off of them by a chicken hawk - nevva happen! So - we have another unconstitutional law shoved down our throats by people who agree with the Chief that the Constitution is "Just a Goddamned piece of paper!" It looks to me like one of the first things for the new Congress to do (IF sanity prevails, the criminal element is defeated, and the Democrats take control), is REPEAL this piece of junk, and return the first amendment to its pride of place. Otherwise the America I have loved all my life is dead.



Comment #32: wallen said on 10/19/06 @ 5:15am ET...

It may not matter...

ACTION ALERT: Blackwell purged Ohio Voter Rolls Oct 1st.- Vote Early.
by KStreetProjector
Wed Oct 18, 2006 at 05:59:14 AM PDT

A friend, in a position to be present at lunches of GOP insiders here in DC called me on Thursday, they know of my ongoing efforts to make hackable voting end.

My friend was present as a group of Moderate GOP members with Ohio ties lamented how far the party had strayed. There was consensus at the table there was no way they should retain control. The table conversation began with the assumption they party would lose control in this election. The moderates started planning how to take back control of the GOP from the extremists.

Then, one insider, probably an extremist, but certainly very close to Mr. Ken Mehlman abruptly stopped the conversation. He told table that it was impossible they would lose either house. He also predicts an Ohio GOP sweep.
more here



Comment #33: Rusty said on 10/19/06 @ 6:54am ET...

Watching the video of the Shithead-in-Chief celebrating the signing of the Mangled Constitution Act indicated to me that some of the Administration and Pentagon bootlickers conspicuously lined up behind Bush were less than enthusiastic about their presence at the scene of the crime.

They had good reason to feel that way. Gang-raping the Constitution
is not something one wants to do in front of TV cameras.

General Hayden looked nervous. In fact, he looked like someone who had just looked in the mirror to find Lavrenti Beria staring back at him. That's a nice 5-Year Plan for an American GuLag he's got going there at the NKVD, it'd be a shame if anything happened to it on November 7.

Chairstooge of the Joint Stooges of Staff Peter Pace sure did blink a lot. Perhaps he's developed the subconscious habit of blinking every time Bush lies, or maybe it was just a signal to his wife watching at home that his promotion to Generalissimo of the Homeland had been assured by his loyal participation.

This gang-rape of the Constitution didn't bother Dick Cheney of course, he looked as Satanic as ever as he hovered at Bush's side, anticipating the deaths of 600,000 Iranians by Halloween. Trick or Treat, Ayatollahs!

Attorney Corporal Alberto Gonzalez didn't seem to have a clue what was going on, but that's his job at the Department of Injustice. It's not easy filling the shoes of legendary felons like John Mitchell and Ed Meese, but Alberto is filling up his rap sheet like there's no tomorrow, so his predecessors may just be commas in the history books of Republican crimes by the time Alberto peddles his last lie.

Apparently demoted until his replacement, the Con Artist Formerly Known as Connecticut for Lieberman arrives, Don Rumsfeld was propped up off to the side next to a potted plant. He looked a little pale, but if you had lost two wars in five years you'd probably look a little pale yourself.

So. Here we are, America. If you turn down Dancing With the Stars for a few seconds you can hear funeral bells ringing for the Constitution. Congress finally finished strangling it two weeks ago, Bush buried it yesterday, and Keith Olbermann delivered the eulogy.

They say it's always darkest before the dawn.

I hope they're right.



Comment #34: wallen said on 10/19/06 @ 6:59am ET...

Bush says he may ignore new war-funding law

By William Matthews
Staff report

Congress said it wants next year’s defense budget to include funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but President Bush has indicated he may ignore that request.

In a “signing statement” released when he signed the 2007 Defense Authorization Act on Oct. 17, the president listed two dozen provisions in the act that he indicated he may or may not abide by.

Among the provisions is Section 1008 of the Authorization Act, which requires the president to submit defense budgets for 2008 and beyond that include funding for the wars and contain “a detailed justification of the funds requested.”

The Bush administration has frequently ignored requirements that it does not like by proclaiming exclusions from the law in signing statements, which are written statements about how the president plans to interpret the law. Since he became president, Bush has issued statements carving out exceptions to more than 750 laws — a rate far higher than any previous president.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2295747.php



Comment #35: Citizen J said on 10/19/06 @ 10:56am ET...

Rusty and all, here's KO addressing the SIC (shoot, I guess that makes me an "enemy combatant", doesn't it) re the End of America Act. The man can speak for me ANYTIME. All week long, twice on Sundays.


Your words are LIES, Sir

"And lastly, as promised, a Special Comment tonight on the signing of the Military Commissions Act and the loss of Habeas Corpus.

We have lived as if in a trance.

We have lived… as people in fear.

And now — our rights and our freedoms in peril — we slowly awake to learn that we have been afraid… of the wrong thing.

Therefore, tonight, have we truly become, the inheritors of our American legacy.

For, on this first full day that the Military Commissions Act is in force, we now face what our ancestors faced, at other times of exaggerated crisis and melodramatic fear-mongering:

A government more dangerous to our liberty, than is the enemy it claims to protect us from.

We have been here before — and we have been here before led here — by men better and wiser and nobler than George W. Bush."



Comment #36: Ohiodem1 said on 10/19/06 @ 1:02pm ET...

Reflecting on Citizen J's #2 and my two responses, I have developed a couple of other thoughts re: the challenge to Ted Strickland's right to vote.

This points to the sheer audacity of the Republicans and their ongoing efforts to suppress voters who may disagree with them.

What we have here is an attempt by Republican political operatives to prevent a sitting United States Congressman, and candidate for Governor of Ohio, the seventh or eighth largest state in the union from exercising his right to vote.

My personal belief is that this will not come to pass, but there is serious talk that it may happen. Think about that for a minute, which is what I did. If those who would supress voters were successful in supressing a sitting Congressman's right to vote, pray tell, who is safe from having their own right to vote torn asunder?

It is my belief that no other right is more important than our right to elect the members of our representative government, because the ability to cause our government to exercise the will of the governed is only ensured by the free ability of the governed to select those to whom we delegate those powers.

The tenth amendment makes a clear statement of where political power resides, and it is with the people. The people must have the untrammeled ability to elect our leaders, and the people we have put in power to do our will, not the other way around, must not interfere with our ability to redirect the direction our nation and states are taking from time to time.

This is one of those times in which the people of this nation must exercise their absolute right to change the direction of our nation because those whose hands are on the levers of power are not exercising their delegated powers in a manner consistent with the will of the people. It is time for the people to assert that right, and the politicians who choose to interfere with that right must be thrown from office.

OD1



Comment #37: Alma said on 10/19/06 @ 1:15pm ET...

This could be interesting:

Judge Orders Cheney Visitor Logs Opened
Oct 19 12:53 PM US/Eastern

By MATT APUZZO
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON



A federal judge has ordered the Bush administration to release information about who visited Vice President Dick Cheney's office and personal residence, an order that could spark a late election season debate over lobbyists' White House access.

Judge Orders Cheney Visitor Logs Opened



Comment #38: Citizen J said on 10/19/06 @ 2:41pm ET...

Alma, I'm betting that they will just ignore the judge's order. "Nope, not gonna do it. Whatcha gonna do bout it, huh??"

Like they've ignored the judge's order to release the additional Abu Gharaib stuff. STILL haven't seen that, have we.

Just like they ignore every OTHER law or federal mandate.



Comment #39: MAX 1 said on 10/19/06 @ 3:12pm ET...

How's everyone's "National Character Counts Week" going?



Comment #40: Alma said on 10/19/06 @ 3:14pm ET...

I bet that too Cit. J, but it will be one more thing against them when the time comes for them to pay for their crimes.



Comment #41: Ohiodem1 said on 10/19/06 @ 3:56pm ET...

Max1 #39 - Character counts except when the character is a corrupt Republcian.



Comment #42: MAX 1 said on 10/19/06 @ 4:02pm ET...

So, I CAN be a convicted criminal and a Congressman and get paid for it. All endorsed by the GOP none the less.

You would think that the GOP would have purged themselves of Ney already, but I guess charecter counts differently for the GOP, NO?



Comment #43: Frosted Flake said on 10/19/06 @ 4:06pm ET...

#36 Ohiodem1 : Glad you are on that.

#38 Citizen J : I think we did see that, though I have no link.

Here is Kaplan on Jonah Goldbergs conversion. (comedy/tragedy)

Dust continues to be kicked here in Bandon. Latest rumor is, the cops are going to shut down the weakly protest, due to alleged concern over the possibility of a traffic accident. There are traffic accidents at intersections all the time, of course there is a possibility. But. There has been none at this intersection, in over a year, and I mean at all, not simply during protests. So what does that tell you?

I'd be clearer, had I not given my word I would not tell that story here, without permission. Should I be arrested, you will be notified by my absence. Should I thereafter return, it will be my story then, and I won't need permission from the principuls.

I'm just saying.
Frosted Flake



Comment #44: MAX 1 said on 10/19/06 @ 4:13pm ET...

A GOP Senator standing for GOP principles, jokingly threatens suicide if the Dem's win. A new type of FEAR MONGERING raises it's ugly head. Now that's character.



Comment #45: MAX 1 said on 10/19/06 @ 4:19pm ET...

Maher Arar was honoured with an international human rights award tonight but, in the latest indignity he's suffered, the U.S. government would not let him travel to the U.S. capital to accept his award in person.
Arar, who now lives in Kamloops, B.C., remains on the U.S. “no-fly list’’ even after he was exonerated in a Canadian judicial inquiry headed by Mr. Justice Dennis O’Connor.

...snip...

Arar was honoured by the IPS, a Washington-based think tank, for his work to try to eradicate torture in the world.

He broke down in tears during a videotaped acceptance speech at the National Press Club, when he was describing his imprisonment and the beatings he endured during 10 months spent mostly in a filthy “grave” in Syria.

Talk about character.



Comment #46: MAX 1 said on 10/19/06 @ 4:40pm ET...

When character counts, priorities matter.

President Bush is campaigning for two GOP lawmakers today, as Republicans struggle to maintain their grip on Congress.

The president's speaking at a fund-raiser for Virginia Senator George Allen in Richmond, and one for Pennsylvania Congressman Don Sherwood at Keystone College.
Yep, support for racists and mistress abusers ranks up there with pedophiles.



Comment #47: MAX 1 said on 10/19/06 @ 4:54pm ET...

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15096.htm

Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers

The story of what happens to everyday Americans when corporations go to war.

Acclaimed director Robert Greenwald (Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed and Uncovered) takes you inside the lives of soldiers, truck drivers, widows and children who have been changed forever as a result of profiteering in the reconstruction of Iraq. Iraq for Sale uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq and the decision makers who allow them to do so.

Brave New Films are both funded and distributed completely outside corporate America. Over 3000 people donated to make Iraq for Sale, and it is up to you to distribute it. Give copies to co-workers and organize a screening in your neighborhood. Get involved →

09/25/06 Runtime 75 Minutes - Click here to watch this video in Windows Media



Comment #48: Frosted Flake said on 10/19/06 @ 5:58pm ET...

Highly recommend "Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers"

Saw it last Sunday. Explians why some folks want a war that lasts forever. Explains without intending to.

I admit I may have been predisposed to make this observation. Saturday I saw a film about The Vietnam Friendship Village Project. In it, the General (whose name eludes me at present) who kicked us out of that Country made what amounts to the same observation. He was asked to explain the extraordinary acceptance Vietnam Vertans experience when they visit. He pointed out it had always been well and generally understood the overwhelming majority of Americans were, like those of any nationality, decent, kind and trustworthy, and that it is but a tiny minority that profits by war.

The Vietnam Frendship Village Project is a worthy one, which you don't need my eyes to see, nor my voice to hear the virtue of, so I will let it speak for itself.
Frosted Flake



Comment #49: Truth_in_action said on 10/19/06 @ 10:41pm ET...

So here you have it at last.

Terrorism as an election media tool, no holds barred.

The Republican party should pull these ads immediately and post a public apology.

"WASHINGTON - The Republican Party will begin airing a hard-hitting ad this weekend that warns of more cataclysmic terror attacks against the U.S. homeland.

The ad portrays Osama bin Laden and quotes his threats against America dating to February 1998. "These are the stakes," the ad concludes. "Vote November 7."

Brian Jones, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said the ad would run on national cable beginning Sunday, but he declined to discuss specifics of the buy.

The commercial tracks with Republican Party strategy to make the war on terrorism a central theme of this election. It will air as recent polls show Republicans losing ground as the party best able to combat terrorism.

Last month, President Bush made the war against terrorism a recurrent topic in public appearances. But his message was drowned out by the e-mail sex scandal involving former Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida and by increasing fatalities in Iraq.

The ad displays an array of quotes from bin Laden and his top lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahri, that include bin Laden's Dec. 26, 2001 vow that "what is yet to come will be even greater."

The ad also cites al-Zawahri's claim to have obtained "some suitcase bombs," followed by a scene that appears to show a nuclear explosion.

Despite al-Zawahri's claim, portable nuclear devices are believed to be particularly difficult to produce and elusive to rogue regimes and terror groups.

The ad is also featured on the RNC's Web site. The party said the ad, called "The Stakes," will be e-mailed to millions of GOP supporters, activists and the state parties."

Read the rest at the link below:

GOP to Air Ad Warning of Terror Attacks

Hideous and disgusting. There are no lows too low for the Republicans to stoop to.



Comment #50: Truth_in_action said on 10/19/06 @ 10:51pm ET...

So #20 Tahoe and #28 MAX 1, regarding my post #18, what do you think of THIS development???

More information keeps coming out, thanks to the ACLU, about the Bush Administration's equation of protest with terrorism -- and the snooping it then engages in.

Homeland Security is monitoring peace groups and even peering at their e-mails. "This information is being provided only to alert commanders and staff to potential terrorist activity or apprise them of other force protection issues."

It then shares that information with Joint Terrorism Task Forces, which include the FBI and state and local law enforcement, as well as with the Pentagon's notorious Talon (Threat and Local Observation Notice) program.

For instance, an April 12, 2005, Talon document, just released by the ACLU, shows that the Pentagon was concerned about "suspicious activity" at an upcoming event sponsored by the Broward Anti-War Coalition in Florida.

This peace group, according to the document, was planning -- hold your breath here -- "guerrilla theater and other forms of subversive propaganda" at the Fort Lauderdale Air and Sea Show.

The source of the information was the Miami-Dade Police Department, and members of Army Recruiting and the Miami Joint Terrorism Task Force were briefed on it, the document states.

Another Talon document, dated March 1, 2005, released by the ACLU, reveals that Homeland Security agents are monitoring e-mails of such scary groups as the Quakers.

"The source received an e-mail on 25 Feb 05, subject: upcoming peace/anti-war events. The e-mail was from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in Northeast Ohio," the document states. And that source is identified as "a special agent of the Federal Protective Service, US Department of Homeland Security." The document adds, "Source is reliable."

The Joint Terrorism Task Force of Dayton, Ohio, was briefed on this one.

The planned activity of the Quakers that so concerned the Pentagon, Homeland Security, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force was this: "On 19 Mar 05, there will be a 'Stop the War NOW!' rally in commemoration of the second anniversary of the U.S. Invasion/Occupation of Iraq. The Akron rally will have a march and reading of names of war dead. ... The Akron march begins at noon and goes past a local military recruiting station and the FBI office. The march will end at the Federal Building in Akron, for a rally, followed by reading of names of U.S. and Iraqi war dead."

A third Talon document, dated March 7, 2005, also relies on an e-mail from the Quakers. "Source received an e-mail from the American Friends Service Committee" about "actions at military recruitment offices with the goals to include: raising awareness, education, visibility." The source is again identified as "a special agent of the Federal Protective Service, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Source is reliable."

All three Talon documents state at the top: "This information is being provided only to alert commanders and staff to potential terrorist activity or apprise them of other force protection issues."

"Potential terrorist activity." Isn't that delightful?

Word to the wise: If you're a peace activist, the government may be watching you and reading your e-mails.

Something just to keep in mind.


The article can be read here:

Pentagon Monitoring Peace Activists' E-Mails



Comment #51: Ohiodem1 said on 10/19/06 @ 10:55pm ET...

A race for a county prosecutor in a rural county outside Columbus, Ohio is running a Willie Horton racist ad. The ad juxtaposes a photo of a black man accused of a rape-murder of a child, next to the photo of the incumbent county prosecutor and calls the prosecutorial decision to go for life in prison instead of capital punishment a "plan" to free the alleged felon.

It is a fact that small counties in Ohio will frequently choose to go for life imprisonment because the cost to the county to litigate a death penalty case will break the budget of the small county's prosecutor. Thus, where you commit your crime has a direct impact on whether the prosecutors will go for death or a life sentencce.

This is an appeal just as repugnant as the terrorism fear mongering in TIA's post #49.

Does anyone else have an egregious over the top immoral ad?



Comment #52: MAX 1 said on 10/19/06 @ 11:08pm ET...

TIA,

Just remember, all good Fascist organizations need a good boogie man to drag out of the closet for the good 'ole "fear the enemy" card. Too bad Foley beat-em to it this election cycle.

But this is to expected, NO? What will be interesting is how well the public and their growing animosity at the GOP will tolerate the added stress OF fear. I mean, really. The GOP prefers to keep their party safe but not the Pages; prefer to escalate overseas tensions by not engaging in dialog; prefer to perpetrate a war of terror rather concede and apologize to America for making Her less safe - not more, YET; prefer to disregard the rule of law in favor of unconstitutional provisions that grant the President Authoritarian Dictatorial rule of America.



Comment #53: MAX 1 said on 10/19/06 @ 11:18pm ET...

OD1,

Do you mean character like this?

Orange County Republican leaders on Thursday called for the withdrawal of a GOP congressional candidate they believe sent a letter threatening Hispanic immigrant voters with arrest.

...snip...

State and federal officials were investigating the letter, which was written in Spanish and mailed to an estimated 14,000 Democratic voters in central Orange County. It warns, "You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time."

Immigrants who are adult naturalized citizens are eligible to vote.



Comment #54: Truth_in_action said on 10/19/06 @ 11:20pm ET...

#51, Ohiodem1, the lack of morals as the race's end becomes closer is just astounding, isn't it! So horribly shameful.

Congressman Conyers, this is an opening, if EVER there was one, to SLAM the Republicans for their fear mongering and misuse of terror against the citizens of this country! Every strong tactic possible should be used to show the public how low this Republican party has stooped to! Do not take this lying down, sir!

Switching gears but on the topic of mean-spirited pre-election tactics, Sean Hannity does his Man on the Street skit on his radio show on Thursdays, where he sends someone out to question the young and clueless about politics.

Today Hannity's person on the street found a young gentleman of voting age who did not recognize photos of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid that Hannity was asking him about, among others. Hannity then told the young man not to vote since he was ignorant about politics. The gentleman informed Hannity he was a Democrat and he intended to vote. Hannity then authoritarianly told him especially not to vote since he was a Democrat.

The young man agreed to make Hannity happy and said he would not vote.

Hannity then got nervous, afraid he'd be slammed with influencing Democrats not to vote and tried to get a message through to the guy to go ahead and vote but the woman asking questions went on to the next clueless person she had lined up.

So, Hannity, how low can you go??? Guilt got the best of you on this one, didn't it! You big jerk.

I have been enjoying the desperation evidenced in Rush and Hannity's shows of late. Hannity, who uses a lot of "religious" lingo and tone, has become very preacher-like.

I wonder if Bush's private conference with Republican Radio Talk Show Hosts has given Hannity the desperate talking points I'm hearing on the air these days? I understand Rush didn't attend this meeting. He probably has a "direct line" to our unitarian Authority.



Comment #55: Reed31463 said on 10/19/06 @ 11:21pm ET...

This caught my eye. These troops are not trained in the Military Police's 3rd general mission: Enemy Prisoner of War Operations.

I have said this over and over again. There are two units in the ENTIRE MILITARY command structure that are/were staffed, trained, and equiped for EPW, Civilian Internee, and Detainee OPS as a primary mission. They are the 800th MP BDE in New York and the 300th MP CMD in Michigan. As a matter of fact, the 300th is headquartered in non other than John Conyers Jr's district.

Why are these troops doing this guard duty at all? This is NOT their primary mission.

Moreover though, I am an American. I have fought long and hard against the abuses of these war criminals and the fascist coup that has stolen America from me. This war is not without it's toll for I am a bloodied warrior.

Those Constant describes here are not Americans. Instead Constant is describing war criminals and their stooges. By lumping these fascists and fascist enablers in with True American Patriots and calling all Americans dishonors my works.

    Americans cannot be trusted to do what they promise. They'll start one way, then change; then blame those who dare to notice that the change is not consistent with the original agreement. if you complain, you are abused; if you are silent, they use your change as an excuse to say, "Look, they couldn't do it."

    Don't bother wasting your time with Americans. You'll have to do it yourself. Find someone else you can trust.
You are right Constant. As an American, I should just stop fighting. After all, that's what is expected from me and all Americans anyway, right? I guess everything I have suffered in this fight are just self-inflicted pathetic meaningless losses. I'll go tell the kids I put them through all of this for naught.



Comment #56: Truth_in_action said on 10/19/06 @ 11:27pm ET...

#52, MAX 1, I'm just hoping that the 100th monkey effect is begining to become prevalent, with nearly 90 percent of the people doubting that this Administration was truthful about 911.

I actually heard Paula Zahn on CNN's Paula Zahn Live state questioningly (and I'm paraphrasing here from memory), so WHY, if it was unconfirmed, did Homeland Security give out the warning over the NFL stadiums???

Just keep pushing forward everyone. I'm looking forward to my "human billboard" vote Democrat tee-shirts arriving in the mail any day now.

GET OUT THE VOTE.



Comment #57: Truth_in_action said on 10/19/06 @ 11:33pm ET...

#55 Reed, have you seen the TV show about a special black ops police force directed solely by the President?

Whose idea is it to put such true to life shows on TV, now that such a group exists under Homeland Security? I caught the show changing channels and was too disgusted to keep watching to find out more about it.

Is Homeland Security behind this show, putting it into the nation's line of thinking, to make its enactment that much more "acceptable" to the masses of sheeple?



Comment #58: Reed31463 said on 10/19/06 @ 11:59pm ET...

Straight from the Patriot Act TIA. See Comment #12.

Remember, the DHS was a newly formed department under this administration. So with that being the case, everyone working for the DHS are all hand picked stooges of Bush and Cheney.

Additional info:
This DHS page used to be public, but now is unavailable.

Never fear, it can be found here (PDF) or here (HTML). At least until I posted it. I will expect the HTML google cache disappears shortly hereafter.



Comment #59: Truth_in_action said on 10/20/06 @ 12:33am ET...

Horrors, Reed - that "official" document is entitled "Endgame."

Makes one want to run screaming into the night, doesn't it.

Here is an interesting article on the suppression of our media and why - FCC Revelations Have Deep Implications for Democracy

You know - the FCC authorized report that they decided to shred - except someone got a copy to Nancy Pelosi. In the nick of time...

The reasons for wanting to take back our democracy are nearly impossible to number, there are so many.



Comment #60: Reed31463 said on 10/20/06 @ 12:52am ET...

Sorry TIA,

I have spent the entire week perusing the CB Archives and I still have yet to run across the FCC article you mentioned.



Comment #61: Reed31463 said on 10/20/06 @ 1:04am ET...

Speaking of which, I have yet to finish my post from earlier.

So here goes:

He most certainly was telling the truth. But the timing for such offensive rhetoric only served to discredit Democrats and paint the progressives in a poor light at a time when it was still necessary to garner support. There was still a lot of work to accomplish and the proper foundation needed to be built: many necessary facts were still in doubt and many Americans were still asleep.
(See comment #39). Therefore, I and several others felt it was more prudent to rationally spread the truth rationally and appeal to middle ground congressmen before rushing headlong into attacks of unharnessed rage.

In December after the President admitted to warrantless surveillance, (which when looked back upon really amounts to treason (See comment #36)), the grassroots progressive activists (now self-dubbed netroots movement) began our meager operations. In January, the netroots called for the filibuster of Judge Alito. Originally, the Senate dems did not even consider a filibuster feasible, but after considerable pressure from calls and faxes, the Senate was forced to take a vote on a filibuster of Alito. Though the vote fell short for a filibuster, the netroots movement demonstrated it's ability to influence politics.

February brought us calls for congressional investigations into the NSA warrantless wiretapping programs, calls for investigations into impeachable offenses, the release of all Abu Ghraib pictures, a drunken Cheney shooting people in the face, the acceleration in the divisive Battle for Conyersblog (See comments #60 & 61), and tahoebasha1 releasing EMD's (emails of mass distraction).

Apparently, the netroots near success on the Alito filibuster caught the attention of the criminals in the Senate because in March, we were suddenly confronted with an unexpected vote for the renewal of the Patriot Act (See comment #21 & 32). The date that that vote was to occur was carefully kept secret. March also saw the culmination in the Battle for Conyersblog (See comments between Rusty and POA, especially comments 10-14), the beginning of the public smearing attempts on Congressman Conyers, Bush fleeing the US from sagging poll numbers, the truth exposed about the administrations response to Hurricane Katrina, the calls for impeachment and State Resolutions for impeachment gain traction, the facade that members of House and Senate are not NOT involved in facilitating the executive grab for power began to peel away.



Comment #62: Reed31463 said on 10/20/06 @ 1:06am ET...

Previous post was split because my six hyperlinks were greater then the 10 allowed by the filter.

61 continued:

The ensuing months of summer brought more evidence of the crime being committed in America. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Constitution in Hamdi v Rumsfeld and Hamdan v Rumsfeld: the netroots first true victories. Another victory came later in US District Court ACLU v NSA, where Judge Taylor ruled that NSA warrantless wiretaps were both unconstitutional and illegal. Media has begun to awake to the crime being perpetrated, Keith Olbermann taking the lead, followed by Lou Dobbs and a few others.

Well folks, here comes the irony (See comment #64). What was a wrong tactic then, is what now must occur.

    You use your methods, I'll use mine. Eventually, you'll be using mine too. Thats where we are headed. I only hope my anger is contagious, because it is only a united and ANGRY citizenry that is going to turn this around.
With the Constitution in Crisis now in hardcopy, the eleventh hour has come. Now is the time to stop waiting for the Democrats and the Democratic leadership to gain their moral courage. It is time for the netroots movement to flex it's muscle a little. We need to make the Democrats understand that they need to regain their spines and start acting like the representatives we hired them for. We need to get angry and send a message.

Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi et. al., need to understand where this started. It was the netroots movement that will eventually make them the majority leaders of the House and Senate(?). They need to understand what we expect: leadership. If they have a problem leading, then they should step aside in order to allow someone more capable of strong leadership. John Kerry demonstrated strong leadership at a fundraiser. President Clinton demonstrated strong leadership on FOX. We expect moral courage, personal accountability, and more than anything else, we expect justice.

Keith Olbermann's special commentaries demonstrate that the people want and need to hear the truth from public figures. His ratings and viewership are sky high. Those politician in the Democratic Party, who upon occasion, have found the courage within themselves to speak out, find their popularity also go sky high. But afterwards, when the inevitable attack comes from the paid GOP media attack dogs, the person just "goes away". The problem is no one else is speaking out too. Imagine 300 Democrat politicians calling Bush, Cheney, Specter, Hastert, Rumsfeld, Addington and Gonzales for what they truly are: liars, fascists, traitors, and war criminals. How would they spin this? How could they run away from the bright light of truth?

Right now, I get the feeling that Nancy Pelosi and others in the Democratic Party do not favor HR 635, 636, and/or 637. If Pelosi thinks that all we care about is universal health care, education, and the poor, she has another thing coming. I want every one of these MFers placed before The Hague and tried for war crimes. They perpetrated these crimes under the flag of my country America and committed these crimes in mine and your names.

I want America fully redeemed and the only way to do so is to bring those responsible to justice. And the only way to bring them to justice is through a leadership interested in accountability. So listen up Nancy and Harry! If you wont or cant handle the job then we need to find someone who will. Leadership is supposed to instill confidence in others about the direction and mission and right now I am not feeling too confident about your direction, moral courage, or leadership. Shoot or get off the pot witch!



Comment #63: Reed31463 said on 10/20/06 @ 1:12am ET...

Thanks for mentioning Nancy Pelosi, TIA. It was a great segway for me. Mindmelding and aura alignment perhaps?



Comment #64: MAX 1 said on 10/20/06 @ 2:51am ET...

Comment #56: Truth_in_action,

You mean the 101 monkey effect, don't you? I mean it will be that one extra monkey that finally gets it. You know. Not the fact that liquids were restricted AFTER they uncovered the plot and not before. We were lucky about that. But I mean who was authorized to be handling all that "potential" explosive liquids in a crowded airport terminal anyway? There certainly isn't that many ATF agents dispersed across the nation, are there? After all, it would be the ATF that would know, recognize and respond to such threats, NO?

Comment #57: Truth_in_action,
I saw it. I saw the premiere episode and merely lost it. Quick review for ya: Islamic terrorists on a plane attempt a hijacking. Guess who wins this episode? That was the last time I bothered to watch propaganda.



Comment #65: Frosted Flake said on 10/20/06 @ 3:01am ET...

Reed #55 Constant is right. Americans ARE a bunch of ignorant good for nothings who want the World handed them on a silver platter. That is why they have been goose-stepping after Der Furher. They want what they want, want it now, and believe the disire alone entitles them. They don't have to be right, or bright, to be useful to one low enough to play them like a fiddle. And this is what has happened.

The only reason you don't like it, Reed, is because you are not stupid. You look at what is put on your plate, and say "What the hell?" You think things through and precieve the future. Most folks say "thank you!" and scarf down every last stinking morsel. Some even ask for more. And get it.

These are the times that try mens souls. Not in the Thomas Paine vien, but because, having feasted upon festering garbage, the bellis of the stupid are swelling painfully. One by one, two by two, by the dozen, by the score, the hundrerd and lately by thousands, the stupid have been realizing what they have been swallowing with delight and clamoring for is not less than thier own slavery.

And they really are quite pissed about this, but not so pissed as at you, for figuring out what they just did, but long, long ago. And not just for this, but mostly because you told them so, attempting to save them from themselves. And now that they know you are/were right, the hate in thier hearts for you is greater, not less. They do not hate thier oppressor, because he is wrong. They don't feel threatened by that. They do hate you, because you are right.

Do you see what I am saying, Reed? In thier book, you are a (fillintheblank)ing BASTARD because you are right AND NOW THEY HAVE TO ADMIT IT in order to have once again what you told them not to throw away. What you did is unforgivable, and will not be forgiven, ever. This is because stupid people are stupid. So they don't like you.

This is (I think) what is bothering Constant. My advice to both, Get used to it.

If it helps you feel better about it, you might consider what they think of Congressman Conyers, who has gone so far as to publish the map showing us all the way back home.

( Got the book, enjoyed showing it around. Called it evidence. That change is just about to happen. Folk seemed to like that. )

Key point, they don't have to like us to work with us, we don't have to like them to work with them. And we do have work to do, and need all willing hands to do it. It would be nice to be appreciated for what we have done and tried to do. But that is secondary. Primary is the work. And it is almost done.

Lets try to wait three weeks before telling our stupid brethern what we think of thier attitude, in the interest of finishing the work.

Now I will climb off my high white horse Souse, if someone will bring me a ladder.
Frosted Flake
Now Reed has gone and posted AGAIN, dammit. I'll have to read that, to see if this post has been shot to bits. Hope not.



Comment #66: Frosted Flake said on 10/20/06 @ 3:17am ET...

Yup.
Shot full o' holes.

Forget everything I said.

Well, maybe not everything. I still think quite a bit of the idea of giving stool pigeons the terms of Amendment 14, Section 3, and giving Halliburton the terms of 14/4.

Hi, Rainbow Sally!
Frosted Flake



Comment #67: MAX 1 said on 10/20/06 @ 3:40am ET...

More on The Unconstitutionality of the Military Commissions

Beyond repealing habeas corpus, another grotesque violation of the Constitution is implicated in that legislation. The Constitution specifically forbids the passage of a “bill of attainder.” In the old days, when kings and others were not certain they get a judge or jury to convict someone of a crime, they would simply declare them guilty (attainted) and imprison, torture and/or execute them. When Parliaments did this they passed a “bill of attainder” declaring the person guilty of a crime. What this recent piece of legislation has done is to declare a whole class of persons, “unlawful enemy combatants,” to be criminals, subject to punishment -- imprisonment without trial and torture -- at the discretion of the president. By the way, this does not exclude American citizens.

The Constitution also prohibits “corruption of the blood” which was another old tyrant’s trick in which the families of the attainted were also declared guilty of the crimes because they were related to the criminal. This provided a sort of pseudo-legal sanction for wiping out the families of political enemies, especially those who might succeed to titles of nobility – and seek revenge. By declaring the whole bloodline criminal, you get to kill women and small children whose murders would otherwise be distasteful. It is expressly forbidden in the Constitution. Nevertheless, punishment of relatives of the accused has also become United States policy.

...snip...

It is interesting that the current administration and Congress are descending into barbarities so ancient and so grotesque that most Americans have never heard of them. They reside banned in obscure corners of the Constitution because the Founding Fathers knew them well enough to forbid them. Nevertheless, they are there, and as Casey Stengel liked to say: You could look it up.

By the way, the administration is also on thin Constitutional ice in sending mercenaries to wage war in Iraq (more than 600 have been killed). Private persons waging war has a familiar name to it – piracy. And for all the sentimentality about “Pirates of the Caribbean” international law was practically invented to check piracy, and then extended to other matters.



Comment #68: koryannder said on 10/20/06 @ 3:41am ET...

It is only going to intensify from now until the first week of November, folks. The fix is in. Mark Crispin Miller, writing in The Washington Spectator, makes it plain that Karl Rove and the GOP filth machine intends to use every tactic in the book to steal the election; all the ones that have worked in the past (The "Vote-flipping machines, the lying letters, the list-purging, etc.,) coupled with totally new lies about how the country will be less "Safe" under the Democrats. (Translate; the Democrats might hold the Republicans' feet to the fire concerning the damage they have done to the nation.) Disenfranchisemeent of Democrats is the order of the day. About the only thing that can save us is for enough Real Republicans to rise up and vote for Democrats!

The main idea is for the Republican spin machine to raise so much dust that the criminal manipulation of the voting rolls and the vote-switching inside the machines will go unnoticed. The only answer I can think of is hard-copy exit polls. Two stacks of paper 110 feet from the polls, one of which says "DEM" and the other "REP". Explain to people going in that the machines cannot be trusted to give an honest count, and the Congressional seat too important to leave to wayward electronics. Implore people to pick up one of the slips of paper and drop it into the (padlocked) box showing how they voted. Open the box in the presence of witnesses and tally. Then when the count of this simplistic check varies radically from the announced results (and 'errors' coincidentally will always be in favor of the GOP), Hell can be raised with some chance of exposing the criminals for what they are. Better yet, if the check is announced publicly BEFORE the election, we might even scare the SOB party into allowing an HONEST election! (Oh, yes - and find some DEMOCRATIC cops to stand guard over the effort; we KNOW what the fascist sonsabitches can and will do to anyone they think might upset the apple cart.)

Well, it's an idea, anyway.



Comment #69: koryannder said on 10/20/06 @ 3:47am ET...

Note: see

www.washingtonspectator.com



Comment #70: MAX 1 said on 10/20/06 @ 3:47am ET...

Oops, an addendum to #67,

What with all the Piracy, plundering, and pillaging, one would think that America found swashbuckling fashionable again.

Why, just give me a big fat feather and let me stick it in my hat, and we can all just call it macaroni.



Comment #71: Frosted Flake said on 10/20/06 @ 4:01am ET...

#67 Max gets a Cigar.

Glaringly obvious once you think of it. Bill of attainder. Sound of one hand clapping. On my head, of course.

New angle Congressman And about that amicus brief...

Thanks Max.
Frosted Flake



Comment #72: MAX 1 said on 10/20/06 @ 4:20am ET...

Frosted,
Thanks. I prefer cheese with that macaroni. ;)



Comment #73: Truth_in_action said on 10/20/06 @ 7:59am ET...

#64, MAX 1, I'll be chuckling all day. Why, think of all that hand cream and lotion running around in the terminals BEFORE one goes through baggage! Lip gloss too!

By the way, they might just label those shows proudly "From the Pentagon Department of Propaganda" for all the notice so many mush-minded Americans (maybe make that Rush-minded) take notice.

Sorry, #60 Reed, got cocky and didn't test the link. Apologize for that! The previous faulty link to the archives made undue mind-melding (more than usual) necessary, I'm afraid.

Here is my post #59 rePOSTED with a working link:

========

Here is an interesting article on the suppression of our media and why - FCC Revelations Have Deep Implications for Democracy.

You know - the FCC authorized report that they decided to shred - except someone got a copy to Nancy Pelosi. In the nick of time...

The reasons for wanting to take back our democracy are nearly impossible to number, there are so many.



Comment #74: Truth_in_action said on 10/20/06 @ 8:26am ET...

If you're accused of corruption and you're in charge of the investigators of that corruption, well, by gum, just fire the investigators!

CQ: Facing Fed Probe, House GOP Spending Chief Axes Investigative Staff

Congressman Conyers, another GREAT talking point for you! Nail them on this! Talk about hubris.



Comment #75: Reed31463 said on 10/20/06 @ 9:31am ET...

Just like the old west TIA. If you don't want law and order in town just remove the sheriff so you can do as you please.



Comment #76: Nolip said on 10/20/06 @ 9:56am ET...

"So it has come to this: Nineteen days before the midterm elections, President Bush flew here to champion the reelection of a congressman who last year settled a $5.5 million lawsuit alleging that he beat his mistress during a five-year affair."

During National Character Counts Week, Bush Stumps for Philanderer



Comment #77: Nolip said on 10/20/06 @ 9:57am ET...

Bush reaps what he sowed...

NY Times: As Iraq strategy falters, Bush left with 'ugly choices'



Comment #78: Nolip said on 10/20/06 @ 10:00am ET...

"With congressional elections less than three weeks away, the Republican party's approval ratings are at an all-time low, with approval of the Republican-led Congress at its lowest point in 14 years, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Wednesday.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said they were less in favor of keeping Republicans in control of Congress, compared to 14 percent who were more in favor of maintaining the current congressional makeup, according to the poll."

Approval of Republicans at Record Low



Comment #79: Nolip said on 10/20/06 @ 10:03am ET...

"This was buried in the earlier piece concerning Lou Dobb's coverage of Electronic Voting in which his report alleges that these machines and the private company's that now control our vote are a "threat to democracy". But the later CNN segment with Jack Cafferty deserves to be front and center.

Said Cafferty yesterday (complete must-read transcript of the segment is below!):

"The arguments against the machines include these: they're vulnerable to software tampering, they don't keep an easily recountable printed record, and they may miscount, switch or not record votes at all. Other than that, they're great.

Defenders of these machines say that most of the problems occur because of hasty setup or poor training of poll workers. What's the message there, that it's OK as long as it's one of those two reasons?"

CNN's Jack Cafferty Derides Electronic Voting Machines!



Comment #80: Nolip said on 10/20/06 @ 10:05am ET...


Should e-voting machines be outlawed?



Comment #81: Reed31463 said on 10/20/06 @ 10:08am ET...

What I am saying Frosty is that I am an American. Those Constant are describing are part of the fascist coup or stooges. They are not Americans. They are Fascist AmeiKaners.

I refuse to be lumped into this group.

By placing me in this group, it dishonors and belittles my works.

If the distinction is not drawn between those with honor and those criminals perpetrating this take over of America, then my work is completely meaningless and renders needless the wounds that my family and I have suffered.

Meanwhile, I find it wholly appropriate that these words by Neil Young be played far and wide because RIGHT NOW we need to be Looking For A Leader.

Lookin' for a Leader
To bring our country home
Re-unite the red white and blue
Before it turns to stone

Lookin' for somebody
Young enough to take it on
Clean up the corruption
And make the country strong

Walkin' among our people
There's someone who's straight and strong
To lead us from desolation
And a broken world gone wrong

Someone walks among us
And I hope he hears the call
And maybe it's a woman
Or a black man after all

Yeah maybe it's Obama
But he thinks that he's too young
Maybe it's Colin Powell
To right what he's done wrong

America has a leader
But he's not in the house
He's waling here among us
And we've got to seek him out

Yeah we've got our election
But corruption has a chance
We got to have a clean win
To regain confidence

America is beautiful
But she has an ugly side
We're lookin' for a leader
In this country far and wide

We're lookin' for a leader
With the great spirit on his side
We're lookin' for a leader
With the great spirit on his side

Someone walks among us
And I hope he hears the call
And maybe it's a woman
Or a black man after all



Comment #82: Reed31463 said on 10/20/06 @ 12:40pm ET...

Old News, but I can't remember it being covered here. More leadership from a former president: Clinton makes inferences to a small right-wing cabal controlling the country.

Bill in Iowa Last Saturday



Comment #83: Nolip said on 10/20/06 @ 2:56pm ET...

As I see it, the government has two choices...either pay the boys who put their lives on the line over there a better than living wage or put uniforms on the Halliburton people who outnumber our troops three to one...and make 3xs more in income...


Debt holds U.S. troops back from overseas duty
Thousands are so mired they're considered at risk for bribery, espionage



Comment #84: MAX 1 said on 10/20/06 @ 6:28pm ET...

WHAT THE HELL!!!

JUDGE ~ JURY ~ EXECUTIONER TORTURER

This President is now telling the courts what cases they are privileged to to hear.

Hail to the Chief King.

Administration Tell Court It Lacks Power in Detainee Cases

Moving quickly to implement the bill signed by President Bush this week that authorizes military trials of enemy combatants, the administration has formally notified the U.S. District Court here that it no longer has jurisdiction to consider hundreds of habeas corpus petitions filed by inmates at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

In a notice dated Wednesday, the Justice Department listed 196 pending habeas cases, some of which cover groups of detainees. The new Military Commissions Act (MCA), it said, provides that "no court, justice, or judge" can consider those petitions or other actions related to treatment or imprisonment filed by anyone designated as an enemy combatant, now or in the future.

Beyond those already imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere, the law applies to all non-U.S. citizens, including permanent U.S. residents.

The new law already has been challenged as unconstitutional by lawyers representing the petitioners. The issue of detainee rights is likely to reach the Supreme Court for a third time.

Two years ago, in Rasul v. Bush, which gave Guantanamo detainees the right to challenge their detention before a U.S. court, and in this year's Hamdan v. Rumsfeld , the Supreme Court appeared to settle the issue in favor of the detainees. But the new legislation approved by Congress last month, which gives Bush the authority to try detainees before military commissions, included a provision removing judicial review for all habeas claims.



Comment #85: Genghis Khan said on 10/20/06 @ 6:44pm ET...

Courts traditionally take a dim view of parties telling them they have no authority...

Expect this to end up in SCOTUS with another rebuke for the Eunachary Executive.



Comment #86: MAX 1 said on 10/20/06 @ 6:45pm ET...

Comment #83: Nolip

I second that idea. A living and dyeing wage for the soldiers would be great.



Comment #87: koryannder said on 10/20/06 @ 9:24pm ET...

I fail to understand how even THIS supine Congress can pass a "Law" that it KNOWS is blatantly unconstitutional, and will be thrown out by any HONEST Supreme Court. But is this Court HONEST? Time will tell.

Meanwhile, I am reminded of the character who portrayed John Adams in the movie 2776. His first lines were

"One useless man is a disgrace; two are a law firm, and when three or more useless men get together they call themselves a CONGRESS!"

Of course, there are some few who do not meet the criteria, and hopefully at least fifteen more of them after the first of the year. What bothers me at the moment is the mischief a lame-duck Congress can get into if the Democrats do take the election. I think filibuster time may be absolutely in order!



Comment #88: MAX 1 said on 10/20/06 @ 11:06pm ET...

Rounding out the week where Character Counted as per proclamation by King George Bush (K.G.B.), today it has been confirmed that there IS another touchy-feely child predator in the midst.

SO, WHO'S CHARACTER ARE THEY PROTECTING???

Weller not prepared to reveal the lawmakers identity.

When, pre-tell will we know? Nov. 8???



Comment #89: wallen said on 10/21/06 @ 9:07am ET...

got to keep an eye on these guys...

Survivor!
The GOP Victory
By JIM MCTAGUE

JUBILANT DEMOCRATS SHOULD RECONSIDER their order for confetti and noisemakers. The Democrats, as widely reported, are expecting GOP-weary voters to flock to the polls in two weeks and hand them control of the House for the first time in 12 years -- and perhaps the Senate, as well. Even some Republicans privately confess that they are anticipating the election-day equivalent of Little Big Horn. Pardon our hubris, but we just don't see it.
Our analysis -- based on a race-by-race examination of campaign-finance data -- suggests that the GOP will hang on to both chambers, at least nominally. We expect the Republican majority in the House to fall by eight seats, to 224 of the chamber's 435. At the very worst, our analysis suggests, the party's loss could be as large as 14 seats, leaving a one-seat majority. But that is still a far cry from the 20-seat loss some are predicting. In the Senate, with 100 seats, we see the GOP winding up with 52, down three.
Barrons



Comment #90: Frosted Flake said on 10/21/06 @ 2:34pm ET...

All quiet on the western front. No cops, no DOT, plenty good music afterwards. And here I was all ready to get arrested. I'd like to pout about it, but the smile gets in the way.



Comment #91: Frosted Flake said on 10/21/06 @ 2:43pm ET...



Comment #92: koryannder said on 10/21/06 @ 4:05pm ET...

RE: Wallen #89. We can hope they are wrong, but as I said, the fix is in, and Rove and Co. intend to steal the election again. If they succeed, and they probably will, the next job is to find just the right number of Republicans who are disgusted with what "Their" party is doing, and switch to the Democratic side so that some honesty can be brought to bear during the next two years. Meanwhile, of course, legal challenges must continue where there is evidence of illegalities on the part of the Rove-r boys. If enough Republicans can be persuaded to change sides in both houses, we may be able to restore sanity to government. Remind them that even if the switch costs them re-election (doubtful, if honesty in voting can be achieved in two years), doing something right instead of politically expedient will not cost them their pension! And many of the Republicans, I feel sure, will accept retirement rather than continue to be known as a member of the CORRUPT Party!



Comment #93: wallen said on 10/21/06 @ 9:52pm ET...

Undernews: Bush Purchases 99000 Acres In Paraguay?
Friday, 20 October 2006, 11:05 am
Opinion: Undernews
Undernews Extract: Bush Purchases 99,000 Acres In Paraguay?

Compiled By Prorev.com Editor Sam Smith

PAGE ONE MUST

BUSH REPORTED TO HAVE PURCHASED 99,000 ACRES IN PARAGUAY

Why might the president and his family need a 98,840-acre ranch in Paraguay protected by a semi-secret U.S. military base manned by American troops who have been exempted from war-crimes prosecution by the Paraguayan government? - Wonkette

PRENSA LATINA - The land grab project of US President George W. Bush in Chaco, Paraguay, has generated considerable discomfort both politically and environmentally. The news circulating the continent about plans to buy 98,840 acres of land in Chaco, Paraguay, near the Triple Frontier (Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay) is the talk of the town in these countries.

Although official sources have not confirmed the information that is already public, the land is reportedly located in Paso de Patria, near Bolivian gas reserves and the Guarani indigenous water region, within the Triple Border. . .

Concern increased last week with the arrival of Bush" daughter, Jenna, and a source from the Physical Planning Department saying that most of the Chaco region belongs to private companies.
click here



Comment #94: Rusty said on 10/21/06 @ 11:36pm ET...

Hi wallen,

Barron's analysis is "based on a race-by-race examination of campaign-finance data."

By that standard, the fact that Bush has financed his Iraq war to the tune of $400 billion must mean WE'RE WINNING!

Hurray!

Those savvy analysts at Barron's deserve a nice martini lunch and a hefty bonus for temporarily boosting the spirits of so many Dead Man Walking RePug candidates.

But the pupils of some RePug candidates aren't quite fixed and dilated yet, and they are still wandering around loose defecating all over the place, so we need to work harder than ever between now and November 7.

We will and we are. We are going to drive a stake through the heart of this GOP monster and bury it in a landfill somewhere in Utah.



Comment #95: Frosted Flake said on 10/22/06 @ 2:06am ET...

Shhh, Rusty! No one is supposed to know where it gets buried. So it doesn't get dug up and cloned in fifty years or so. I still think the Croc Farm is a better idea. Would have got my way too, if not for those damn PETA bastards crying for the poor Gators. I thought they were joking, untill just too late. Dam, Dam, and Dam twice more.

Next topic, Barack is talking upbeat.

Barack Obama: 9/11 fever has broken By Keith Olbermann
Obama says Democrats are ready to challenge the White House.

Third topic : Alien and Sedition Act.

From: Peter van Erp Sent: Thu 10/19/2006 11:14 AM To: Juan Cole Subject: Your lettre de cachet is coming...

Dear Professor Cole,

I just noted an error in your post yesterday regarding the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

(Snip)

When the Senate version originally passed, the version published in Thomas as “Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by Senate” ( http://thomas.loc.gov/) included that language. That has lead to most of the media stating, as you did, that the Military Commissions Act does not apply to American citizens.

In the past two weeks since the Senate passed S 3930, the published version has been changed to align with the House.

I can only speculate that the language in the published version of S 3930 was not changed immediately after passage in order to mislead the media. The other possibility is that the Senate passed the bill as originally written, and persons unknown changed the published version in order to avoid the need for a reconciliation vote where the import of the bill could be revisited. In any case, the various efforts of the ACLU and others to correct the public perception are lost in the general furor, and the media keep repeating that the bill only applies to them. We have met the enemy and he is us.

See you in Gitmo! I’ll be the un-named guy in the un-numbered cell. '

Peter Van Erp

This is probably why it took 11 days to reach the Presidents desk. The illegal we do immediatly, the unconstitutional takes a little longer.

17 days.
Frosted Flake



Comment #96: Frosted Flake said on 10/22/06 @ 2:43am ET...

Electionprojection

Keeping in mind this is the work of a rightwinger.



Comment #97: koryannder said on 10/22/06 @ 5:46am ET...

Wallen #93. You DO come up with the most INTERESTING items! Okay - I would check out whether the US has any extradition treaties with Paraguay. I suspect not. Bu$h is comfortable in Espanish, so the billion or two he will steal from somewhere to build the fence and the hacienda and hire the mercenary army for guards should be no problem. Then, just before the end of his term, when the 2008 election (thanks to his utterly discrediting the Party) has led to a Democratic President and heavy Dem. majorities in BOTH houses of Congress, he'll pardon all the Abramoff slime, hop into Air Force 1 and take a one-way trip to Paraguay, where he'll live happily ever after, safe from prosecution for his myriad war crimes and his other felonies. Besides, Bolivia, right next door, is the source of the purest cocaine in the world - - -



Comment #98: Reed31463 said on 10/22/06 @ 7:59am ET...

#97 koryannder,

That would be great except for a couple of overlooked items.

There is no statute of limitations on impeachment or war crimes.
Living in Paraguay will not protect them from ever being legally captured and tried.

Impeachment will prevent pardons and these morons from being cloned. For god's sake Frosty, please have pity on those alligators and crocs.

Impeachment of this cabal for the Iran-Contra Affair may well have prevented our situation today. This is a lesson we must heed.

I want America to fully redeemer herself. The only way for that to happen is for Congress to re-assert its role and perform accountability for the host of injustices. Accountability will never happen unless leaders step forward and assume that role.



Comment #99: wallen said on 10/22/06 @ 8:58am ET...

In a pathetic and desperate attempt to shore up the base,…

Rove Road-Tests Tougher Attack on Democrats
wapo

Rove: "You can't say I want to win the war but not be willing to fight the war,"… "And if leading Democrats have their way, our nation will be weaker and the enemies of our nation will be stronger. And that's a stark fact, and it's the reason that this fall election will turn very heavily on national security."

The stark fact Karl, is that this country is weaker and our enemies are getting stronger because America is mired in a war you and your republican enablers started and never had a plan to fight and win. It was and continues to be a costly error in judgment, and American blood and treasure is the price being paid by us all.

Now, of course, Boy Blunder and his cohorts are depending on Poppy’s friends to bail him out. Hey, just like old times, or was that every time?

Rove: "You need to have the ability to try these people without worrying about the ACLU showing up saying, 'Wait a minute, did you Mirandize them when you found them on the battlefield,' " ... "With all due respect, I don't happen to remember that in World War II, that when we captured Nazis and Japanese and took them to camps, that the first thing we did was provide them legal aid."

Isn’t just like the republicans to take a chance that the Supreme Court will find this wretched “law” unconstitutional, thus making ALL of those captured and being held eligible to have their cases thrown out of court and released?

Who is making America safer Karl, you who would let the terrorists walk on a technicality, or the Democrats who would like to see the rule of law followed ensuring that the guilty are prosecuted and sentenced to the full extent of the law and the innocent allowed to return to their homes? Taking a chance like that, all for political gain, is reason enough to vote out this bunch.



Comment #100: koryannder said on 10/22/06 @ 11:30am ET...

To round out the century - - - Rove is not the least bit interested in seeing that the guilty are punished - after all, that would mean punishment for Georgie-porgie, Dicky-wicky, Rummy-dummy, and Karly-warly. What he wants is sovereign immunity for the perps and condign punishment for anyone who sees them for what they are. He wants the Rethugs to rule for at least the next two years, after which he and the rest of the gang can retire to a place like Paraguay, which has already forgiven them for all their trespasses. Apparently Bu$h and Rove's God wears a sombrero. Rove and gang could not conceivably care less about safety for the American Public, not even that pseudo-religious bunch which constitutes their "Base." All they give a damn for is the sanctity of their own hides. And, Reed - true, there is no Statute of limitations for war crimes, but if the gang goes into exile in a safe haven like Paraguay (which has already granted them sovereign immunity from prosecution), and doesn't go, for instance, to Spain, they can live happily ever after. After all, you don't expect the Mossad to pull a commando raid to kidnap and extradite Bu$h for war crimes, do you? That would be expecting a bit much, even for that efficient organization. I would expect to see the whole guilty bunch end up in a large compound in the Chaco, where they can hash over what they did to their natal nation to their hearts' content, between quaffs of wormy Mezcal or Cachaça and snorts of Mother of Pearl. After all, they have over a hundred fifty square miles to rattle around in! That's almost twice the size of San Francisco, so they would not exactly be crowded. Of course, as ranches go, it's not all that great shakes - it's less than an eighth as big as the King Ranch, but then Georgie is "All hat and no cattle" anyway, as they say in Crawford. I reckon they'd all be safe enough, and at least they'd be out of the States, so we wouldn't have to listen to their prattle any more.



Comment #101: Frosted Flake said on 10/24/06 @ 3:40pm ET...

Caught this mornings song and dance featuring the NeoCon Ambassodor and the commanding general. Wished for one of those counters you click with your thumb. I think the General was much the better of the Ambassodor. He could read and regurgitate whole sentances. The NeoCon Ambassodor had to look to his notes every two to three words.

I don't suppose either had much notice, or input, regarding what was said. Wonder about others impressions. Noticed odd way of putting things, example ; 90% of the violence is in five provinces. Oh, Good! Which, do you suppose? Perhaps the five with 90% of the population? Well, lets just not be clear about that. Probably just an accident.

Or, ...Not. As Rove put it (thanks Wallen), "You can't want to win the war("THE" war) without wanting to fight the war." The similarity is, fighting THE war in Iraq amounts to barking up the wrong tree, even assuming you believe the war on terror to be anything more than a propaganda ploy.

Repetition sometimes works, so I'll say it again.

Fighting THE WAR ON TERROR in Iraq is barking up the wrong tree.

I'd like to hear that said, so I can hear Rove try to spin it, so I can hear him told, "That dog don't hunt."

Bill Clinton did pretty well aginst Poppy with stuff like that. Bill was battleing a very differant Bush, it's true, but with Rove moving the Pres' lips you've got inarticulate smart, just like before.

That's my take.
Frosted Flake

#100 Korryander. Don't suppose they would all go, just those who have to.


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