Clearly the American people don't give two shits about what goes on in their own country and with its leadership. The story of the waste and fraud occurring during the is illegal, immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq has been tantamount to the biggest boondoggle in American history, yet is barely glanced upon in the mainstream media, and virtually ignored by congress.
Watch this little funny, Cat Herders, and then tune into an interesting debate between TruthDig's Robert Scheer and Ralph Nader. I like Nader's position on most things but did feel he was a spoiler in the 2000 election. I also agree with most of Scheer's points of compromise, but find him to be a bit of a apologist for the shortcomings of democrats. The interesting thing about the debate is how clearly both speakers highlight the in-fighting the dems are constantly accused of.
San Francisco, my hometown, was just names by a Conde Nast magazine reader's poll, Best Destination in the world. Just like I've been saying. Sheesh.Why Go?
The view—those fabled hills guarantee stunning vistas from almost every vantage point
America's best food (locals claim), from burritos to haute-organic California cuisine
Neighborhoods that span the spectrum from funky (Upper Haight) to industrial chic (SoMa) to posh (Pacific Heights)
It's no surprise that San Francisco is a perennial favorite among travelers both foreign and domestic. Often described as almost European in ambience, the City by the Bay packs a panoply of vibes into its surprisingly small 50-odd square miles at the tip of its namesake peninsula. Golden Gate Park, a masterpiece of nineteenth-century urban planning, combines the natural beauty of its gardens with the culture of its museums. The city's Chinatown, the largest in the western United States, serves tastes of the East, and the ever-gentrifying Mission district has some of the nation's best taco shops. Haight-Ashbury clings to traces of its hippie past, while well-heeled hoods such as Pacific Heights claim some of the priciest real estate on the planet.When are you going? Drop me a line, I'll go with.
Please take a look-see at our own Lotus on her new blog folo--Bee-u-tee-ful! She describes it as such:THE NAME 'FOLO'
To name this news-following blog, I’ve borrowed a term (rhyming with hollow, not polo) which journos use for “a follow-up to or expansion of the original story.” I’m not doing reporters’ work here, so I hope they forgive me for bumming their wonderful word.
If any show up, it might also stand for “friends of lotus online.”
We have also testified before Congress and met individually with lawmakers. Overall, we are buoyed by the strong bipartisan support being given to the proposals.DKOS has more on this story.
Despite this support, however, it is clear that our recommendations are being swept up in a decades-long battle to reform the entire disability system for all service members. It is important to remember that our commission was tasked with improving care and benefits for those returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While we hope that our recommendations will help many others, our mission was to make the system work better for this new generation of veterans.
As Army captains who served in Baghdad and beyond, we've seen the corruption and the sectarian division. We understand what it's like to be stretched too thin. And we know when it's time to get out.Read the rest...
America, it has been five years. It's time to make a choice.
Frank Rich swats another one out of the park with his essay 'The Good Germans'. How much longer will it take Americans to figure out how dangerously close we find our selves to being 'Good Americans'?By any legal standards except those rubber-stamped by Alberto Gonzales, we are practicing torture, and we have known we are doing so ever since photographic proof emerged from Abu Ghraib more than three years ago. As Andrew Sullivan, once a Bush cheerleader, observed last weekend in The Sunday Times of London, America’s “enhanced interrogation” techniques have a grotesque provenance: “Verschärfte Vernehmung, enhanced or intensified interrogation, was the exact term innovated by the Gestapo to describe what became known as the ‘third degree.’ It left no marks. It included hypothermia, stress positions and long-time sleep deprivation.”Read the rest... [links within quote are mine...]
Still, the drill remains the same. The administration gives its alibi (Abu Ghraib was just a few bad apples). A few members of Congress squawk. The debate is labeled “politics.” We turn the page.
The top concern for Gonzales, and now Terwilliger, is the expanding investigation by Glenn Fine, the Justice Department’s fiercely independent inspector general, according to three legal sources familiar with the matter who declined to speak publicly about ongoing investigations. Originally, Fine's internal Justice probe—conducted in conjunction with lawyers from the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility—focused on the mass dismissal of U.S. attorneys late last year. The investigation has since broadened to include, among other matters, charges that Gonzales lied to Congress about the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program and the circumstances surrounding his late-night March 10, 2004, visit to the hospital room of then attorney general John Ashcroft. At the same time, Congress is continuing to pursue more documents on harsh CIA interrogation techniques approved by Gonzales.We can only pray something comes to fruition in the hunt for Fredo's October surprise.
Dr. Roselle Hoffmaster, Captain, US Army, Godspeed and Rest in Peace. Roselle was the 90th military female to die. DailyKOS has a nice write-up about Roselle. Also there is a guestbook for her friends and family at Legacy.com. Dr. Roselle Hoffmaster, Captain, US Army, Godspeed and Rest in Peace. DailyKOS has a nice write-up about Roselle. Also there is a guestbook for her friends and family at Legacy.com. 
Think Progress writes up Gen. Casey's report to the Senate Armed Services committee:Army ‘Out Of Balance,’ ‘Current Demand’ On Troops ‘Exceeds The Sustainable Supply’ According to “Pentagon insiders” who spoke to the Boston Globe, “Casey’s apparent alarm about the Army heightened when he returned from nearly three years of duty in Iraq.” Casey also said that “Army support systems…are straining under the pressures from six years of war.”See the video.
has begun to settle into my consciousness not unlike the early morning autumn chilliness. As each day becomes shorter, the likelihood of BushCo getting away with murder waxes profoundly. I listened to The Best of the Left podcast this weekend which produced an excellent round-up of the left's commentary on the Betray-us "report". The soundbites range from pointing out the obvious misdirection of the success of the "surge" to the daunting concept that we may be in Iraq for decades. While not good news, it correctly reframes all the bush shit arguments about the false flag mission of the Bush crime family. From Mike Malloy: "It's about time for us to face a very hard truth, We are not going to pull out of Iraq. It's not going to happen this year or next year,or probably not even five years from now. This is a permanent situation."Give it a listen.
The ongoing hand-wringing in Congress by the newly empowered Democrats over what to do about the war in Iraq speaks volumes about the level of concern (or lack thereof) these “representatives of the people” have toward the men and women who honor us all by serving in the armed forces of the United States of America. The inability to reach consensus concerning the level of funding required or how to exercise effective oversight of the war, both constitutionally mandated responsibilities, is more a reflection of congressional cowardice and impotence than a byproduct of any heartfelt introspection over troop welfare and national security.Read the rest.
Being an Air force Veteran myself and being married to an active duty USAF member, I have to wish the USAF a happy 60th anniversary. For nostagia's sake, an old picture of my crew from my days on the flight line. Life not during wartime. I miss those times.
CENTCOM commander William Fallon spoke in front of the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco this week upon his return from Iraq. His talk is full of what we've already heard from much of the administration, but it contains a few surprises as well. Give it a listen.
Fallon told Petraeus [in March] that he considered him to be “an ass-kissing little chickensh*t” and added, “I hate people like that”, the sources say. That remark reportedly came after Petraeus began the meeting by making remarks that Fallon interpreted as trying to ingratiate himself with a superior.Think Progress has the story.
Professional researcher Paul Thompson has painstakingly assembled, through various media accounts and FOI documents, a thorough timeline of the events on September 11, 2001. This work is extraordinary in "connecting the dots" and pointing out the lies and inconsistencies of the 9/11 (C)Ommission Report and the lies repeated by the administration regarding the events of 9/11.(9:26 a.m.): Cheney Given Updates on Unidentified Flight 77 Heading toward Washington; Says ‘Orders Still Stand’
According to some accounts, Vice President Cheney is in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) below the White House by this time, along with Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and National Security Adviser Rice. Mineta says that, while a suspicious plane is heading toward Washington, an unidentified young man comes in and says to Cheney, “The plane is 50 miles out.” Mineta confers with Acting FAA Deputy Administrator Monte Belger, who is at the FAA’s Washington headquarters. Belger says to him, “We’re watching this target on the radar, but the transponder’s been turned off. So we have no identification.” According to Mineta, the young man continues updating the vice president, saying, “The plane is 30 miles out,” and when he gets down to “The plane is 10 miles out,” asks, “Do the orders still stand?” In response, Cheney “whipped his neck around and said, ‘Of course the orders still stand. Have you heard anything to the contrary?’” Mineta says that “just by the nature of all the events going on,” he infers that the order being referred to is a shoot-down order. Nevertheless, Flight 77 continues on and hits the Pentagon. [BBC, 9/1/2002; ABC News, 9/11/2002; 9/11 Commission, 5/23/2003; St. Petersburg Times, 7/4/2004] However, the 9/11 Commission will later claim the plane heading toward Washington is only discovered by the Dulles Airport air traffic control tower at 9:32 a.m. (see 9:32 a.m. September 11, 2001). But earlier accounts, including statements made by the FAA and NORAD, will claim that the FAA notified the military about the suspected hijacking of Flight 77 at 9:24 a.m., if not before (see (9:24 a.m.) September 11, 2001). The FBI’s Washington Field Office was also reportedly notified that Flight 77 had been hijacked at about 9:20 a.m. (see (9:20 a.m.) September 11, 2001). The 9/11 Commission will further contradict Mineta’s account saying that, despite the “conflicting evidence as to when the Vice President arrived in the shelter conference room [i.e., the PEOC],” it has concluded that he only arrived there at 9:58 a.m. It also claims that Condoleezza Rice only entered the PEOC shortly after Cheney did. [9/11 Commission, 6/17/2004] According to the Washington Post, the discussion between Cheney and the young aide over whether “the orders” still stand occurs later than claimed by Mineta, and is in response to Flight 93 heading toward Washington, not Flight 77. [Washington Post, 1/27/2002]
In March 2007, a pair of truck bombs tore through the Shiite marketplace in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar, killing more than 150 people. [ ]Read the rest...
An Internet posting by the terrorist group known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) took credit for the destruction.[ ] A week later, Iraqi security forces raided a home outside Tal Afar andarrested two men suspected of orchestrating the bombing. Yet when the U.S. military issued a press release about the arrests, there was no mention of an al-Qaeda connection.
Rothschild: What Fourth Amendment rights to privacy do we have if the NSA, the National Security Agency, can spy on us without a warrant when the law says they need to have a warrant to spy on us? What First Amendment rights do we have to protest if we can’t protest in front of the president or the vice president, but if we have to go to some free-speech zone a half-mile or a mile or a mile and a half away where they can’t even see us?Read the rest...
If there’s anything we understand about the occupants of the White House, it is that worst-case scenarios are, if not dead certain, to use the phrase of the day, worth taking seriously.
But here’s the point of this post: Forget what Ollie North means by passivity. There’s a genuine passivity to fear. The Democrats have to stand up this week, loud, clear, and demonstrative, and declare that they will not get hustled into supporting a mindless, counterproductive attack on Iran. They will not appropriate funds for it. Half of them in the Senate got hustled at the equivalent moment in 2002 and now regret it, even if are only willing to use the euphemism “if I knew then what I know now.”
One thing they all must know now is who they are dealing with in the White House. The mania of George Bush and Dick Cheney is not the sum of all dangers today but it is, after all, a known quantity.
This time, for sure, post-facto regret won’t do.
Yet another gooper gets caught in, dare I say it, ratfuckery, so to speak. Larry Craig (Idaho-R) tried to get his groove on with an undercover cop in an airport bathroom. WTF is wrong with conservative rethuglicans? Being Gay is fine but being hypocritical and making laws against Gays and basic civil rights is totally uncool. What a dick. And by the way, he has "Gay eyes". Don't ask."...I wonder if the GOP's burgeoning "bathroom problem" isn't reflective of something larger than just a bunch of conservative dudes who couldn't come out of the closet. There's something palpably sad to me about what happened to Allen and Craig too, something oddly touching about their misplaced faith in the fading world of secret, anonymous gay sex. That world--once found in bathrooms, parks, piers and adult bookstores; the furtive refuges of adventuresome queers, married men, the curious--has been swept away by so many police raids, privatization schemes, quality of life campaigns and internet dating services. But mostly, it's fallen away as gays have become increasingly integrated into the mainstream, and also, paradoxically, more marked than ever."
Palau over at Progressive Gold has posted a terrific piece on more GOP malfeasance:A NY state Republican politicalThe title of the article has also given me a terrific new tag for gooper wingnuttery:Modern Mobsterism, or Republican Ratfuckery or “Nice Family You Got there. Shame If Anything Happened to It…” Ratfuckery, indeed.thug‘consultant’, Roger J. Stone Jr., is alleged to have been harassing the 83 year old father of the Democratic attorney general, Elliot Spitzer, with threatening late night phone calls - traceable directly back to aforesaidthug“consultant”.
More and more frequently these days, I hear talk and genuine fear regarding the possibility of Chimpy imposing martial law. It is expected he will suspend the '08 election, and essentially complete the power grab that has been politically engineered from day one of his illegal presidency. The martial law coup d'etat is presumably preceded by another 9/11 style terrorist attack somewhere in the U.S., wherein BushCo then acts out on NSPD-51.
No, Mr. Atkinson, the central problem with your proposal is not that it goes too far. Simply that it does not go far enough. I strongly suggest you lend your support to our Nuclear Die-Off Proposal (NDOP). Your talents of persuasion would be most welcomed, and I think you'll find an inviting and stimulating home for a classically minded intellect. Won't you join us?Read Adored by Hordes and if so inclined, send your own response to this nutbag.
This story has since been removed from the Family Security Matters website. I want to know what wingnit Laura Ingram (she's on the board) has to say...The Newsvine posts the story.If President Bush copied Julius Caesar by ordering his army to empty Iraq of Arabs and repopulate the country with Americans, he would achieve immediate results: popularity with his military; enrichment of America by converting an Arabian Iraq into an American Iraq (therefore turning it from a liability to an asset); and boost American prestiege while terrifying American enemies.
The American Psychological Association, the world's largest professional organization of psychologists, is poised to issue a formal condemnation of a raft of notorious interrogation tactics employed by U.S. authorities against detainees during the so-called war on terror, from simulated drowning to sensory deprivation. The move is expected during the APA's annual convention in San Francisco this weekend.Read the rest.
"If the muggles are upset, tell them we're fighting them over there so...we can do whatever the hell we want over here."
"The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail...so, far it's working for us. The Democrats are taking the blame for not getting anything done."For more info go to: The Campaign for America's Future. Go check out where your Senator stands in regards to being "obstructionist".
-Trent Lott in Roll Call, April 7, 2007
PsyOps, you know, the psychological warfare the military uses to mess with the head; has it been unleashed on the American public? Sure would explain the narcoleptic quality to the American response in losing our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and the rampant criminal activities of BushCo.
Last week a disturbing new video surfaced featuring high-ranking Air Force and Army officers in uniform and on active duty, evangelizing for Jesus. This behavior is expressly prohibited by military ethics regulations and the UCMJ. 
I speak of the democratic leadership, 41 house members and 16 senators giving carte blanche to the criminal enterprise in the white house, in its ability to wiretap without a warrant, ANYBODY, American, foreign or domestic. They gave the chimp-in-charge the ability to undermine the 4th amendment to the constitution, to whit: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.This 'new' law is unconstitutional, but it will survive in spite of that fact. It will unless we DEMAND that our representatives rescind this new law. They will not unless we hound them. If we choose to rely on the "sunsetting" of this law in six months, recall the "Patriot Act" which has the sunset provision built in. Not only did the patriot act survive, but had more restrictions of our freedoms built into the new version.
The war in Iraq passed a significant but little remarked anniversary this summer. The conflict that President George Bush announced was in effect over on 1 May 2003 has now gone on longer than the First World War.read the rest
[ ]
Like that great conflict almost a century ago, the Iraqi war has been marked by repeated claims that progress is being made and that a final breakthrough is in the offing.The surge is now joining a host of discredited formulae for success and fake turning-points that the US (with the UK tripping along behind) has promoted in Iraq over the past 52 months.
[ ]
Six months after the surge was actually launched, in mid- February, it has failed as dismally as so many First World War offensives. The US Defense Department says that, this June, the average number of attacks on US and Iraqi forces, civilian forces and infrastructure peaked at 177.8 per day, higher than in any month since the end of May 2003.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq — The sign taped to the men's latrine is just five lines:"US MILITARY CONTRACTORS CIVILIANS ONLY!!!!!"It needed only one: "NO IRAQIS." Remind you of anything?
The Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005, report shows. The United States has spent $19.2 billion trying to develop Iraqi security forces since 2003, the GAO said, including at least $2.8 billion to buy and deliver equipment. But the GAO said weapons distribution was haphazard and rushed and failed to follow established procedures, particularly from 2004 to 2005, when security training was led by Gen. David H. Petraeus, who now commands all U.S. forces in Iraq.Of course we know Betray-us is now LEADING the US troops as CenCom commander. Petraeus wrote the book , literally, on how to defend against an insurgency and has thrown out that manual in favor of whatever little Georgie says.
As most people who are not dependent upon the MSM know, Yearly KOS is happening in Chicago this weekend. YKOS has provided a free live stream and I encourage everyone to tune in at some point this weekend to find strategies, ideas, hope and information about wht YOU can do to help end the criminal BushCo and root out the evil in DC. Currently (10 AM Central) Jon Soltz of Vote Vets is speaking on the policy changes needed to end the Iraq occupation. Please tune in.
And that other rethuglican hack, Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty, following the lead of Dubya's response to Katrina, vetoed a transportation infrastructure bill which would have provided funds to fix sagging infrastructure like the I-35W bridge.For the good of our military, our troops, the Tillmans, and our nation, I respectfully call on you to comply with all past and future requests of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the matter of the death of Corporal Tillman.I don't believe the evil bastards in office will care, but to document our dismay at what appears to be not only the assassination of Pat Tillman, but the cover-up and refusal by ANYONE to take ANY responsibility for war crimes. Listening to the hearing conducted by Henry Waxman today, it felt like old footage of Nuremberg. Please sign.
