Smafty Mac: Fighting the kakistocracy!!!

World AIDS day

This pandemic is one of the worst to befall mankind!



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Rumsfeld uses a machine to sign the KIA letters

poow wittle rumsfewld, his hand is tired of signing letters to the families of dead soldiers

Donald Rumsfeld who's known as a people-eating systems man has a long history that shows he prefers technology to humans. Certainly as SecDef he's always gone for high-tech military gear rather than giving the boots on the ground max priority when it comes to the basics: armored vehicles and vests, sufficient ammo and all the other vital stuff that helps soldiers make it through the Valley of Death.
His beloved shock-and-awe whiz-bang wonder weapons worked well enough initially in Afghanistan and Iraq, but as we saw on the tube last week, we're once again back to the age-old struggle of man against man with grunts, not machines, taking and holding ground.


And now, apparently, Rumsfeld's obsession with machines and their efficiency has translated into his using one to replace his own John Hancock on KIA (killed in action) letters to parents and spouses. Two Pentagon-based colonels, who've both insisted on anonymity to protect their careers, have indignantly reported that the SecDef has relinquished this sacred duty to a signature device rather than signing the sad documents himself.
When I went to Jim Turner, a good man saddled with a tough job as one of Rumsfeld's flacks at the Pentagon, for a confirmation or a denial, he said, "Rumsfeld signs the letters himself."

I then went to about a dozen next-of-kin of American soldiers KIA in Iraq. Most agreed with the colonels' accusations and said they'd noticed and been insulted by the machine-driven signature. One father bitterly commented that he thought it was a shame that the SecDef could keep his squash schedule but not find the time to sign his dead son's letter. Several also felt compelled to tell me that the letter they received from George Bush also looked as though it was not signed personally by the president

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Pentagon using American Media for Psy-Ops

As if this weren't obvious enough, the media is being used by the government to trick the enemy.

On the evening of Oct. 14, a young Marine spokesman near Fallujah appeared on CNN and made a dramatic announcement.

"Troops crossed the line of departure," 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert declared, using a common military expression signaling the start of a major campaign. "It's going to be a long night."


 
CNN, which had been alerted to expect a major news development, reported that the long-awaited offensive to retake the Iraqi city of Fallujah had begun.

In fact, the Fallujah offensive would not kick off for another three weeks. Gilbert's carefully worded announcement was an elaborate psychological operation -- or "psy-op" -- intended to dupe insurgents in Fallujah and allow U.S. commanders to see how guerrillas would react when they believed U.S. troops were entering the city, according to several Pentagon officials.

In the hours after the initial report, CNN's Pentagon reporters were able to determine that the Fallujah operation had not, in fact, begun.

"As the story developed, we quickly made it clear to our viewers exactly what was going on in and around Fallujah," CNN spokesman Matthew Furman said.

In this line of thinking, couldn't the government use the media for any propaganda it wanted as long as their reason was for "National Security"?

So we know that the government will lie shouldn't be the media's job to to filter through that nonsense and present the truth? The fourth estate as the media is know should act in our best interest.

Sadly enough it isn't happening here.
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Ridge resigns

His color coded alert system has scard the crap out of the American people since 2002.

Good to know he's gone!

"There will always be more to do, but today, America is significantly stronger and safer than ever before," he said in his resignation letter.

Asked what he plans to do, he told a reporter, "I am going to step back a little bit, breathe deeply and then decide."

The former two-term governor of Pennsylvania added that, after 22 years in public service, he plans to get more involved in personal and family matters.

"I am looking forward to going to my son's rugby games," he said.

Ridge, 59, met with President Bush on Tuesday morning before the president headed to Canada. According to one official, he then met with his department's senior staff and told them of his plans to leave.

Ridge is the first secretary of the department, which was created in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It folded 22 agencies with 180,000 employees into one organization, charged with developing and coordinating a national strategy to protect against terrorist threats or attacks in the United States.

Perhaps his highest-profile move was to oversee the creation of the color-coded threat-warning system. During his time as adviser and secretary, the national threat level was raised from yellow (elevated) to orange (high) and back five times. It is currently at yellow.

Ridge has won praise for tackling what was widely regarded as an exceedingly difficult job. But many outside observers say the department is falling short of delivering what it should and could.

Some outside analysts also felt that Ridge lost a number of important battles and said they were hoping his replacement would be able to get more money and therefore more clout for the department.

"Tom Ridge is a decent man and a fine public servant but unfortunately was not given the leeway or resources to tighten up homeland security in the way it should be done," said Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat. "We hope that whoever the administration chooses to succeed him will be given the tools needed to really do the job."

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So they hate our policy not our freedom

Well, no shit thanks for the breaking news. Will the Bush administration wise up and change their rhetoric and try to find a way to work with Arabs instead of going on a "crusade" and killing them?

Probably not.

* Muslims do not "hate our freedom," but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the longstanding, even increasing support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, and the Gulf states.

* Thus when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy. Moreover, saying that "freedom is the future of the Middle East" is seen as patronizing, suggesting that Arabs are like the enslaved peoples of the old Communist World - but Muslims do not feel this way: they feel oppressed, but not enslaved.

* Furthermore, in the eyes of Muslims, American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering. U.S. actions appear in contrast to be motivated by ulterior motives, and deliberately controlled in order to best serve American national interests at the expense of truly Muslim self-determination.

* Therefore, the dramatic narrative since 9/11 has essentially borne out the entire radical Islamist bill of particulars. American actions and the flow of events have elevated the authority of the Jihadi insurgents and tended to ratify their legitimacy among Muslims. Fighting groups portray themselves as the true defenders of an Ummah (the entire Muslim community) invaded and under attack - to broad public support.

* What was a marginal network is now an Ummah-wide movement of fighting groups. Not only has there been a proliferation of "terrorist" groups: the unifying context of a shared cause creates a sense of affiliation across the many cultural and sectarian boundaries that divide Islam.

* Finally, Muslims see Americans as strangely narcissistic - namely, that the war is all about us. As the Muslims see it, everything about the war is - for Americans - really no more than an extension of American domestic politics and its great game. This perception is of course necessarily heightened by election-year atmospherics, but nonetheless sustains their impression that when Americans talk to Muslims they are really just talking to themselves.

What's damning is this is from the military not some left or right wing think tank, no different than what happened when the CIA, the NSA and other groups in the Government told Bush Iraq wasn't a threat and by doing this we are creating a hugh recruitment drive for Terrorism.

The people in charge just don't get it and we're going to pay for it, the economy the middle east we will reap what we've sown.
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Gitmo human rights abuse

Are any of you suprised?

The International Committee of the Red Cross has charged in confidential reports to the United States government that the American military has intentionally used psychological and sometimes physical coercion "tantamount to torture" on prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.



The finding that the handling of prisoners detained and interrogated at Guantánamo amounted to torture came after a visit by a Red Cross inspection team that spent most of last June in Guantánamo.



The team of humanitarian workers, which included experienced medical personnel, also asserted that some doctors and other medical workers at Guantánamo were participating in planning for interrogations, in what the report called "a flagrant violation of medical ethics."



Doctors and medical personnel conveyed information about prisoners' mental health and vulnerabilities to interrogators, the report said, sometimes directly, but usually through a group called the Behavioral Science Consultation Team, or B.S.C.T. The team, known informally as Biscuit, is composed of psychologists and psychological workers who advise the interrogators, the report said.



The United States government, which received the report in July, sharply rejected its charges, administration and military officials said.



The report was distributed to lawyers at the White House, Pentagon and State Department and to the commander of the detention facility at Guantánamo, Gen. Jay W. Hood. The New York Times recently obtained a memorandum, based on the report, that quotes from it in detail and lists its major findings.



It was the first time that the Red Cross, which has been conducting visits to Guantánamo since January 2002, asserted in such strong terms that the treatment of detainees, both physical and psychological, amounted to torture. The report said that another confidential report in January 2003, which has never been disclosed, raised questions of whether "psychological torture" was taking place.

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Attacking the blue states

Apperently Bush's new tax plan will bite we Blute statesmen right on the ass!

In the past election, the states that collect the most income tax were solidly “blue” supporters of Democratic challenger John Kerry.



Eight of the 10 states with the most revenue in 2000 voted for Kerry: California, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey and Maryland. Only Ohio and North Carolina favored Bush.



The federal deduction for state and local income taxes “predominantly benefits the blue states,” said William Gale, a tax policy expert at the Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning research group. “There is definitely a political calculation to this.”



But before conspiracy theorists get too carried away, political observers note that by eliminating deductions for state income taxes, Bush would be inflicting political pain on two of the nation’s most prominent Republican governors, George Pataki of New York and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.



And they’ll be watching closely to see if Bush will also seek to end the federal deduction for property taxes.



That would spread the pain more widely, including to “red” Texas and Florida, which collect little or no income tax but rely heavily on property taxes. However, it would rile real estate interests, one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington.



Seven states are big gainers under the new law, because they have sales taxes but little or no income tax. Six of them — Texas, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming — voted for Bush. Washington is the only state in the group that went for Kerry.



But in the states that have long depended on federal deductions to soften the blow of state income taxes, the change could have a serious impact. State legislatures that face budget deficits might be forced to cut services or shift to other sources of income, such as lotteries, because they would not be able to muster political support for higher income taxes.

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Stem Cell therapy helps 20 year cripple walk again

This is what the phoney science and phoney moral issues hinder.

A South Korean woman paralyzed for 20 years is walking again after scientists say they repaired her damaged spine using stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood.



Hwang Mi-Soon, 37, had been bedridden since damaging her back in an accident two decades ago.



Last week her eyes glistened with tears as she walked again with the help of a walking frame at a press conference where South Korea (news - web sites) researchers went public for the first time with the results of their stem-cell therapy.



They said it was the world's first published case in which a patient with spinal cord injuries had been successfully treated with stem cells from umbilical cord blood.



Though they cautioned that more research was needed and verification from international experts was required, the South Korean researchers said Hwang's case could signal a leap forward in the treatment of spinal cord injuries.



The use of stem cells from cord blood could also point to a way to side-step the ethical dispute over the controversial use of embryos in embryonic stem-cell research.



"We have glimpsed at a silver lining over the horizon," said Song Chang-Hoon, a member of the research team and a professor at Chosun University's medical school in the southwestern city of Kwangju.



"We were all surprised at the fast improvements in the patient."



Under TV lights and flashing cameras, Hwang stood up from her wheelchair and shuffled forward and back a few paces with the help of the frame at the press conference here on Thursday.



"This is already a miracle for me," she said. "I never dreamed of getting to my feet again."

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Good to be back

A good days rest is always refreshing and I didn't get to the Perl or the Russian lessons I got to do something I hardly ever do, veg out. I just played video games and watched bad movies when I wasn't sleeping! This is one of the joys of being self employed I can do this when ever I want, I just never do so every once in awhile I encourage you to take just one day to slack off and doing nothing.

It felt weird not blogging not posting something I thought was interesting even if I wanted to my Internet was acting funky all day cutting me off every few hours or minutes so that kept me from the computer today.

Well back to blogging goodness!
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Day of Rest, maybe

Sunday is a day of rest and If it's good enough for the lord, it's good enough for Smafty! I have had a bout of insomnia and have not had an hour of sleep in three days and when you have insomnia when you're tired you have to take advantage of it and if that doesn't work out I have to learn some perl scripting for when I move this site to my new URL and up my Russian language lessons, do I have too much on my plate

I will be back Monday Morning unless news breaks otherwise........



You'll know where I will be!
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John Gibson's Hating America

What a loaded bunch of propaganda this is, I know for sure I could make a "News Special" about Hating the Arab world, the French, Europe and I'm sure many other subjects.

Do you need more to see John Gibson is a hack?

BTW: the French author interviewed didn't start the 9/11 truth movment!
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Corsi to run against Kerry?

Swfit boat liar Jerry Corsi is setting the stage for a run to take Kerry's seat according to Newsmax.

John Kerry's nightmarish challenge by his Swift Boat veterans and their allies may not be over.



NewsMax recently chatted with Jerry Corsi, the co-author with Swiftee John O'Neill of "Unfit for Command" - the runaway New York Times best seller that torpedoed Kerry's presidential campaign.



Attending a conference in the suburbs of Washington recently, Corsi let it be known that he is actively considering a run against Sen. Kerry when his term is up.



Corsi is not a Massachusetts native, but says he has already scouted for property to declare his residence there.



He appeared excited about the challenge. Federal law allows him to declare his candidacy at any time and open up a full fusillade against the Senate's most liberal member.



Corsi thinks his criticisms of Kerry will be well received in the state that elected Republican Mitt Romney. Even Bush fared better in Massachusetts in 2004 against its home state candidate than he did against Gore in 2000.



Corsi also notes that his Italian-Irish ancestry will give him an edge in a state given to ethnic voting. Kerry is neither Irish nor Italian, Corsi notes.

So in the interest of being fair, here are some quotes Enjoy!

Corsi on Islam: "a worthless, dangerous Satanic religion"

Corsi on Catholicism: "Boy buggering in both Islam and Catholicism is okay with the Pope as long as it isn't reported by the liberal press"

Corsi on Muslims: "RAGHEADS are Boy-Bumpers as clearly as they are Women-Haters -- it all goes together"

Corsi on "John F*ing Commie Kerry": "After he married TerRAHsa, didn't John Kerry begin practicing Judiasm? He also has paternal grandparents that were Jewish. What religion is John Kerry?"

Corsi on Senator "FAT HOG" Clinton: "Anybody ask why HELLary couldn't keep BJ Bill satisfied? Not lesbo or anything, is she?"

Fucking bring it I hope this douche bag runs!

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Wingnuts agree; the courts don't have an Army or Navy.

This is your pro constitution, freedom loving Republican party!

"When the courts make unconstitutional decisions, we should not enforce them. Federal courts have no army or navy… The court can opine, decide, talk about, sing, whatever it wants to do. We're not saying they can't do that. At the end of the day, we're saying the court can't enforce its opinions."

Rep. John Hostettler of Indiana at a Christian Coalition meeting

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Bush's plan to privatize Social Security

So we're already in debt and what's this administration's plan?

More Debt!

Facing record budget deficits, the Bush administration likely will turn to short-term government borrowing to help finance its plan to add personal retirement accounts to Social Security (news - web sites), officials said on Saturday.


President Bush (news - web sites)'s economic advisers have been analyzing financing options for more than a year in preparation for Bush's second-term push to overhaul the Social Security system. Officials say no final decisions have been made.



Bush's advisers believe a short-term increase in borrowing is likely necessary to finance the transition to private accounts. They say this increase is economically feasible, and that the cost of doing nothing would be far greater long-term.



While the nation's debt load would increase initially, it would fall as the reforms are phased in, advocates say.



"In talking about moving some of those costs forward to make some reform to the system, it may ultimately involve some borrowing in the short-term," said Chad Kolton, spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget.



One analysis this year by the White House Council of Economic Advisers found that tapping the bond markets to pay for private accounts would increase the nation's debt-to-GDP (news - web sites) ratio by 23.6 percentage points by 2036.



Under this scenario, the debt held by the public would increase by as much as $4.7 trillion. But the new government bonds would be repaid 20 years later, eliminating Social Security's unfunded liability while reducing the tax burden in the long term, advocates said

A quick Economics lesson, subject Argentina
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Ukraine Parliament annuls elections

So that's what a body of elected officials elected by the people are suppose to do when the election obviously a fraud, that's what a people who appreciate democracy does.

Ukraine's parliament, in a vote providing a moral boost for opposition supporters massed in the capital, said on Saturday the disputed presidential poll handing victory to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich was invalid. Parliament has no legal authority to annul the election results, but with vast crowds backing liberal challenger Viktor Yushchenko's call for a new vote, the declaration carries political weight.

Do you remember the scene from Fahrenheit 9/11 where the Senate Democrats wouldn't back up the House Democrats to dispute the election?

We don't know what we have in this country, we've grown complacent and arrogant about it. Will it take a foreign electoral crisis to wake us up and have us examine our own?

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Ukraine opposition leader hit with Chemical weapon?


Would you honestly be surprised if Czar Putin didn't try something against this man?

As Ukraine's popular pro-Western opposition leader claimed victory Tuesday in hotly contested presidential elections, the mystery surrounding an appearance-altering illness that twice prompted him to check into a Vienna hospital persisted.

Yushchenko accused the Ukrainian authorities of poisoning him. His detractors suggested he'd eaten some bad sushi.

Adding to the intrigue, the Austrian doctors who treated him have asked foreign experts to help determine if his symptoms may have been caused by toxins found in biological weapons.

Medical experts said they may never know for sure what befell Yushchenko.

I Believe there a re some illnesses that can do something similar to that however the fact that he was an opposition leader against Putin raises my eyebrow a little.

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Check out this blog

Tex Rants An entertaining blog!

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Dick



This child has his finger on the button.

This is President Clinton's day you would think the big Christian who learned humility through Christ would let Clinton out first in the order that was agreed upon instead of pushing past him to be first.

The thing with bullies is, they will eventually get knocked on their ass; right now Brazil, Russia, China, and India are getting too cozy for me not to worry. An economic shift from the dollar to the Euro as each of these countries have indicated favor towards would cripple America and without a strong economy we're looking at a great depression and a loss of the American Economic superpower and Bush is not FDR.

BUT HEY, AT LEAST TWO DUDES CAN'T GET MARRIED and that's the important thing....right?



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Happy Thanksgiving

Well Blogger was fucked up almost all day yesterday and today so posting wasn't an option, my apology to all of you who read this blog!

I am kind of a bastard about Holidays, I don't celebrate them if I can avoid it. Back when I was am 8-5 person I volunteered for Holiday work to avoid them and for the double pay you get, that's serious cash fuck Thanksgiving, double Fuck Christmas I'm getting paid!

The Holidays are for you to give thanks and the other big one is peace on Earth, good will towards man. I don't think paying lip service towards common decency is OK you should always be wanting that, striving to do that and not over Turkey. The golden rule and being thankful is what being a good person is all about and I hate holiday sales that make morally cheap holidays the whores fall and winter.


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Buy this album!



Gwen Stefani has hit the shelves with a solo project and with No Doubt it has to be one of the best albums of the year.

The Album is a dance, pop, electronica in all of it's glory throwing us back into the eighties with sounds reminiscent of Madonna and the feel of Harajuku counter culture Tokyo scene plays through out (And constant references to Harajuku Girls isn't why.) with the ambience of New Order. Her influences woven with her lyrics are refreshing and exciting to see Gwen isn't stuck in Ska pop when she branches out she is in control and shows the depth of her talent something you could only see glimpses of in No Doubt.


This is a very diverse album and few that run that spectrum are ever worth the money. This album exceeds what I was expecting without hitting any snags it runs the spectrum flawlessly bridging the Cars and Eve chasm all the while the pretentious nature of solo projects is absent.

The Album is solid, go buy it.
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Charter schools doing worse than public schools

What else do you expect?

A new study commissioned by the Department of Education, which compares the achievement of students in charter schools with those attending traditional public schools in five states, has concluded that the charter schools were less likely to meet state performance standards.



In Texas, for instance, the study found that 98 percent of public schools met state performance requirements two years ago, but that only 66 percent of the charter schools did. Even when adjusted for race and poverty, the study said, the charter schools fell short more frequently by a statistically significant amount.



The study added new data to a highly politicized debate between charter school supporters, including senior Bush administration officials, and skeptics who question the performance of the publicly financed but privately managed schools.



Deputy Education Secretary Eugene W. Hickok minimized the report's significance even as he released the results. But academics who have been critical of charter school performance called it an important contribution.



"In five case-study states, charter schools are less likely to meet state performance standards than traditional public schools," the report said. Those states, Texas, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts and North Carolina, all have made significant public investments in charter schools.



The report's finding appears to present a new complication for the Bush administration as it seeks to carry out the No Child Left Behind law, which says that public schools failing to meet achievement objectives over several years may be converted into charter schools.

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How will the Republican Congress deal with the Federal Deficit?

By ignoring it, that's how!

Republican budget writers say they may have found a way to cut the federal deficit even if they borrow hundreds of billions more to overhaul the Social Security system: Don't count all that new borrowing.

As they lay the groundwork for what will probably be a controversial fight over Social Security, Republican lawmakers and the Bush administration are examining a number of accounting strategies that would allow the expensive transition to a partially privatized Social Security system without -- at least on paper -- expanding the country's record annual budget deficits. The strategies include, for example, moving the costs of Social Security reform "off-budget" so they are not counted against the government's yearly shortfall.

You Bush voters are getting exactly what you wanted!
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Screwing up, Dubya Style

The following article is of a reporter who almost lead the Iraqi Army for one day

One of the first things you learn upon visiting an Arab home is the enormous value placed upon hospitality. Yet we invaded a sovereign country, but didn't bother to bring gifts. If we could pull off the Berlin airlift, I wondered, why couldn't we get 1,000 electrical generators and 100 water trucks into Baghdad? No official I talked to offered a good explanation.



Despite the euphoria in the White House over Iraq's liberation, on the ground I kept hearing this refrain: "It was better under Saddam." Given my opinion of the dictator, that was shocking to hear -- but I had lessons to learn about Arab pride and Iraqi culture. "Many young people I know cried when his statue fell," a student in her mid-20s told me as we talked by candlelight inside her apartment. (She was afraid to venture outside for fear of rape.) "He was Baba Saddam -- Father Saddam -- and he was all we ever knew."



Because U.S. postwar planning was so meager, Iraqis who wanted to help the Americans often found nowhere to turn. The coalition haughtily -- and foolishly -- ensconced itself on Saddam's old palace grounds (it's now called the Green Zone), where few Baghdadis would ever willingly tread, and fewer still wished to brave checkpoint after checkpoint to enter. Filling crucial civilian-military assistance and liaison roles were Special Operations reservists, some thrown into the chaos with little or no expertise in their assignments. I recall meeting an aircraft specialist in civilian life who was suddenly, according to the logic of the U.S. Army, supposed to run a water-purification plant.

One of the reasons I didn't support the war was because I knew who would be running things. Can you imagine the morons who would tell you exactly how they will invade your country. I knew about the war on the cheap, less ground troops and the privitization experiment; not because I am a Genius but I do know how to read. The PNAC white paper detailed all of the steps taken by Rummy and crew and they were all wrong as we see unfolding everyday.

If I were a military planner I would suggest the following things happens; Use overwhelming force to control everything, Become the people's Champion show them the sharp contrast between you America and Saddam. Use the "Liberated peoples" to rebuild their own country and pay them a decent rate.

Too simple?

Not really we did the same thing during the rebuilding of Germany and Japan and that seems to have worked out very well!
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Welcome to Amerika!



Fascists, these people need the authoritarian leader Bush lovers are no different than Castro lovers.
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Did Green tea kill the Kerry Campagin?

Newsmax by way of Candy Crawly is pushing the elitist Kerry angle with his request from Green tea in DUBUQUE, IA

Green tea supposedly has all sorts of healthful benefits, but don't tell that to John Kerry. It helped destroy his presidential candidacy.



CNN political correspondent Candy Crowley, in a speech this week to Forum Club of the Palm Beaches, said she saw the beginning of the end for the Massachusetts Democrat in January 2003 when they had breakfast at the Holiday Inn in Dubuque, Iowa.



"I'd like to start out with some green tea," Sen. Kerry told the waitress, who stared at him before replying, "We have Lipton's."



Crowley told the crowd in West Palm Beach: "There were many green tea instances. There's a very large disconnect between the Washington politicians and most of America and how they live. Bush was able to bridge that gap, and Kerry was not."



Kerry had other gastronomic gaffes on the campaign trail that earned him widespread ridicule.

What a large disconnect, who drinks Green tea really?

Who cares if Lipton sells green tea and who cares if the local K-marts sell green tea in Iowa, didn't you know the K-Mart is the place the elite shop?
This whole thing is talking down to the "little people" who don't drink "fancy pants" tea. You know Green Tea is in almost every supermarket for reasonable prices. He wasn't talking about his beday he asked for Green tea you stupid hacks, c'mon this isn't news!

What a bunch of hacks they are, Candy can bite my ass!

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More Red state Vs Blue state state

I dislike the red state blue state debate but this is interesting none the less.

On Sunday, the Times presented a map and chart ranking states in what it called "random" categories, again throwing doubt on red state piety. For example, the states with the three highest divorce rates are all red (Nevada, Arkansas, Wyoming), while Massachusetts has the lowest rate.

Top three states for readership of Playboy magazine? Again, all red (Iowa, Wyoming, North Dakota), and they all top heathen New York by 2-1 margins.

Suicide rate? Once again, all red (New Mexico, Montana, Nevada), with the lowest rates all-blue (New Jersey, New York, Massaschusetts).

Murder rate? Again, reds in the lead, with two of the three the worst (Mississippi, Maryland, Louisiana). Blues hold two of the three with lowest rates (New Hampshire, Maine, South Dakota).

The top three states for abortions, however, were blue: New York, Delaware, Washington. Blues also topped the list of readers of The New Yorker and percentage of people holding bachelor's degrees or highe

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The case of the Terrorist who wasn't and the Administration who painted him out to be one

This guy wasn't a terrorist, it still didn't stop Ashcroft from trying everthing in the book to make him into one.

"This case really stood the normal order of business on its head," said al-Hussayen's lawyer, David Nevin. "The typical situation would be a crime gets committed and you go and find the people you think committed it. In this situation they instead focused on people they were suspicious of and set about trying to prove they had indeed committed a crime."

Authorities were suspicious enough to want to tap al-Hussayen's phones, but Nevin said they didn't have the required "probable cause" to believe a crime had been committed and therefore couldn't get a typical search warrant.

To get around that Fourth Amendment requirement, they turned instead to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which was created in the 1970s so government could spy on spies. That court, which is conducted in secret, doesn't have the strict "probable cause" requirement. And under the Patriot Act, its jurisdiction was expanded, and it has increasingly been used in cases that don't involve spies.

In spring 2002, the court granted a government request to record all of al-Hussayen's phone calls and e-mail. All told, some 20,000 e-mails and 9,000 phone calls were captured over the course of about a year.

In addition to the wiretaps, as many as 20 local, state and federal law-enforcement officers began tailing al-Hussayen, according to his lawyer, recording his daily activities around campus and elsewhere.

Essentially, the government vacuumed every corner of al-Hussayen's life looking for crumbs of terrorist activity. After nearly a year of investigating, the FBI was ready to pounce.

5000 arrests 0 convictions!
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Vilsack out of the running for DNC head

This is good news

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said Monday that he will not seek the chairmanship of the Democratic Party.



Citing his responsibilities as governor, Vilsack said "these challenges and opportunities require more time than I felt I could share. As a result I will not be a candidate for DNC chairman."



Earlier this month, Vilsack, an ally of failed presidential nominee John Kerry (news - web sites), telephoned several Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) members, seeking advice and asking them to temporarily withhold endorsement of any candidate.



The 400-plus DNC membership meets in February to select a replacement for Terry McAuliffe, who is not seeking another term.



Vilsack has been mentioned as a potential presidential candidate in 2008. A possible factor in his decision to forgo the DNC race was the likelihood that the party chairmanship would preclude any run for the Democratic presidential nomination.



"Because I will be the senior Democratic governor in the country, I will continue to be an active voice in our party and a zealous and committed advocate for a Democratic agenda of opportunity, responsibility and security," Vilsack said in a statement.



Alexis Herman, who served as Labor secretary in the Clinton administration, also said Monday that she will not seek the chairmanship. Some Democrats had urged her to pursue the post.



The challenge for the next Democratic chairman is daunting after two straight presidential losses and defeats in the House and Senate that have tightened the Republican grip on Congress.



Former presidential candidate Howard Dean (news - web sites) has called party regulars, expressing his interest in the DNC job. Other Democrats interested in the job or being asked to pursue it include Harold Ickes, adviser to former President Clinton (news - web sites); Leo Hindery, former chairman of the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network LLC, a New York-based sports cable channel that televises New York Yankees' baseball games; former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk.

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JFK Reloaded

See there are some people who are going to hell!

A new video game to be released on Monday allows players to simulate the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.



The release of "JFK Reloaded" is timed to coincide with the 41st anniversary of Kennedy's murder in Dallas and was designed to demonstrate a lone gunman was able to kill the president.



"It is despicable," said David Smith, a spokesman for Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), the late president's brother. He was informed of the game on Friday but declined further comment.



Kirk Ewing, managing director of the Scottish firm Traffic Games, which developed the game, said he understood some people would be horrified at the concept, but he insisted he and his team had nothing but respect for Kennedy and for history.

Is this a future trend?

Jesus cross hanging, John Wayne: Cancer lung.
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Simpler Times




Sometimes a room full of people thinking is just a dumb idea!
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Congress buying Bush a Yacht

If the Democrats don't have a full media blitz about the big party boat and the Big brother IRS bill slipped into a spending bill Democrats don't deserve to be in power in 2006 or 2008.

The U.S. Congress on Saturday passed a $388 billion package financing government programs in this fiscal year after days of tough talks, but a last minute snag means it may not be sent to President Bush for signing into law for several days.

The Senate voted 65-30 for the legislation late on Saturday that sets aside funds for a range of priorities including a presidential yacht, foreign aid and energy. It is one of the final pieces of work for the 108th Congress and they may return to finish a spy agency overhaul before the end of the year.

The House of Representatives passed the bill 344-51 earlier on Saturday. But it must also approve a resolution that would correct part of the spending bill that would have allowed lawmakers access to the tax returns of Americans and which provoked outrage among lawmakers from both parties.

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GOP removing label laws

For fans of Corn Beef hash now you won't know if the corned Beef is from Brazil, where Mad Cow is very rampant or America..where we're not sure if it's rampant here but getting back to the point wanting to buy American just became a game of chance.

And don't eat beef or use beef biproducts anywhere near you or your family.

Enjoy!

Telling consumers where their meat, fruit and vegetables come from seemed such a good idea to U.S. ranchers and farmers in competition with imports that Congress two years ago ordered the food industry to do it. But meatpackers and food processors fought the law from the start, and newly emboldened Republicans now plan to repeal it before Thanksgiving.



As part of the 2002 farm bill, country-of-origin labeling was supposed to have gone into effect this fall. Congress last year postponed it until 2006. Now, House Republicans are trying to wipe it off the books as part of a spending bill they plan to finish this month.



House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said he expected the Senate to agree to repealing the measure, whose main champion two years ago was Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.



“I can’t find any real opposition to doing exactly what we want to do here,” Blunt said.



President Bush never supported mandatory labeling. Chances for repealing the law improved when Daschle, still his party’s leader in the Senate, was defeated for re-election Nov. 2.



“For Republicans to deny Americans the opportunity to ‘buy American’ at the grocery store is anti-consumer, anti-farmer and anti-rancher,” Daschle said Wednesday.



He and other Western senators were making an effort to keep repeal of the labeling law out of the wide-ranging spending bill Congress plans to pass before it leaves. Democrats acknowledged there was not much of an appetite to wage a battle over it.



Those who want the repeal say the labeling system is so expensive that it far outweighs any benefit to consumers. The Agriculture Department has estimated the cost could range from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in the first year alone.

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Monkey Mail

Enjoy this

From the monkey:
>
>hello: in reading your web site i find some things
>very interesting and somethings very sad... you and
>people like you are doing and saying the same things
>that you are against freedom... i find it very
>interesting that you only want your side to
shine..yet
>as far as i am concerned you and people like you are
>what have divided this country because you all are
the
>most unbelivable in your attitudes about
everything...
>your way or the highway... kerry is and was a
>traitor... did not have anything new to say but only
>condemn everything and that is what defeated him his
>own lack of vision and lack of any substance...
people
>are tired of all of these radigal groups... like the
>freedom of queers to get married, murder of unborn
>babies...just to name two...no matter how you slice
it
>the first is unnatural by anyones standards and the
>second one we {women} should have the choice their
>choice stops when they spread their legs!!!!!! yes i
>agree that sometimes hannity is alittle over the top
>but you and people like you only offer divisons ....
>sucking up to people who only feel that their ideas
>are the only valid way to go and embraces the
diveants
>of the world you just got what you deserve..
>
>
*********************************************************************************
The Reply:




>From: Smafty Mac
>To: >
>Subject: Re:
>Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2004 07:04:43 +0100 (CET)
>
>Against freedom?
>
>Liberals and anyone to the right of Strom Thurmond
are
>apperently divissive to you.
>
>You say Kerry's a traitor and I'm suppose to take you
>seriously, calling Homosexuals "Queer" and
"Unnatural"
>well here's a link about Gay Animals, you know in
>nature apperently it's very rampant in
>nature-something we are part of!
>
>http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0722_040722_gayanimal.html#main
>
>Choice stops when they (women) spread their legs, who
>the fuck are you to say something that ignorant? So
>does the woman have choice when she's raped, by
>stranger or a relative what happens when that choice
>is taken away from you? The subject is more than just
>careless people making poor choices.
>
>What you fail to understand is your ilk are deviants
>as well. Bob Dryer was outed recently, the new head
of
>the GOP is a homosexual as well as the national field
>director, in this case he solicited unprotected sex
>with multiple men on gay.com. What about those
>terrible pro-choice guys like the Terminator or Tom
>Ridge, NY Governor Pataki perhaps the frontrunner for
>the GOP nomination in2008 Ruddy Gulliani is Very
>pro-choice AND for gay rights like MARRIAGE!
>
>E-mails like yours make my day because it reminds me
>just how silly people like you are!
>
>
>

*********************************************************************************

The Monkey's reply:



---------------------------------

just as i figured you would pickup on the thing about
abortion so lets deal with that first you did not need
to curse... but 95% of all abortions do not fall under
incest or rape.. but why let facts get in the way also
6% of all abortions are 2nd and 3rd timers.. so that
leaves less that 4% that fall into rape and so forth

now for mr. kerry the taitor i see from the comments
that you made you could not have lived though those
times and where not around to see what really took
place but why let the facts get in the way... his
record the last twenty years voted for EVERY THAT IS
EVERY TAX INCREASE AND AGAINST EVERY INCREASE IN
SPENDING FOR MILITARY..
now for the homos there is NOTHING NAUTRAL about it
you and other people who with their bleeding hearts
have given these people a foot hold in acceptable
socity through the last 40 years starting in the late
60s early 70s have no one to cry to when child
molestation is on the rise because perverts are
accepted i am surprised that you were not at last
years may day parade in washington with all of the
homo and deviants especially the ones with the leather
bondage and leather wips and especailly the people
that had their stand up wanting people to sign a
petition so that child porn would be acceptable and
that their rights had been violated... also i am
hoping that with the 13 states that voted DOWN gay
marriages tells you and others like you that people
are tired of having your perverted life styles shoved
down our throats and won"t stand for it anymore and i
hope that a consitution amendment will be done in the
next couple years..remember Jesus said go and sin no
more try it you may find that being normal maybe more
fun than you think...






********************************************************************************
My Final Responce:

I knew If I got a response it would be this type, ill
informed bigot trying to make sense of a world that
left him behind years ago.

So what's your hard data on abortion?

95% is an pretty big number, what study is it you site
because all I see is you making up figures to support
your "fact" what were the number of random samplings,
what were the questions asked to arrive at such a high
number. Too bad you didn't mention Rape or medical
reasons at all, your tirade was about "sluts" so stop
pretending you're anything more than just some
closeted woman hater wanting to go back the the
mythical 1950's. Leave it to beaver was a documentary!

I personally think you heard that number somewhere and
because it makes sense to you, you use it regardless
of what the truth is.

Kerry in your words: "EVERY THAT IS EVERY TAX INCREASE
AND AGAINST EVERY INCREASE IN SPENDING FOR MILITARY."

This is just untrue and rather lazy on your part, I
know the answer but I'll ask anyways have you ever
read ALL of his Senate record? Have you read the
debates they had over bills? Or did you hear something
you liked that slammed Kerry and never checked it out
just to see if it were accurate. I'm thinking it's the
later.


Homosexuality is natural, whether you like it or not
you're born that way and though I am not a homosexual
myself I know many grew up with a few and know what we
saw. To equate these people with a "surge in Child
Molestation" (Which I'm sure you have hard data to
support this theory too) is so absurd I fail to find
any reason in that kind of belief.

A word of advice someone like you should not invoke
Christ in your discussions, you use his words and
memory in vain.
***********************************************************************

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into the kind of mail I get, it serves us all to learn from these dumbasses!


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GOP slips in big brother bill into 3300 page budget

Big ups to Sen. Conrad of N.Dakota and his staff for finding this and exposing it!

Sen. Conrad from ND just called the GOP out on this budget bill.  Apparently they stuck a provision that removes any expectations of privacy regarding our tax returns in the middle of this 3000 page bill in the middle of the night.  They didn't tell the Dems.  But they caught them.  This is amazing to watch - they're going OFF.

This tactic is NOT new, but getting caught and having Dems throw fits IS.

Found it on Daily Kos.

This would allow if passed staffers can release tax returns of ANY American without any legal recourse.

The house GOP members snuck this in!

Update

"Hereinafter, notwithstanding any other provision of law governing the disclosure of income tax returns or return information, upon written request of the Chairman of the House or Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service shall allow agents designated by such Chairman access to Internal Revenue Service facilities and any tax returns or return information contained therein."
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Hate mail day

Usually on Saturdays I spend my time reply to the mountains of hate mail I get from the wingnuts.

I have quite a few to answer however I will post the best one here so you can laugh, the identity will of course be hidden so will his e-mail address however his words will not be!


So bear with me it's coming up!
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http://www.stopalbertogonzales.com/

A very detailed website with usable info to stop this moron from getting in as Attorney General.



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Crazies burn copies of the Massachusetts Constitution

Aren't these the guys who ban flag burning?


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Washington Post becoming a picture book

Instead of trying to be a better paper, they're dumbing it down...ugh!

In an effort to win new readers, Downie said Post reporters will be required to write shorter stories. The paper's design and copy editors will be given more authority to make room for more photographs and graphics.




The paper will undergo a redesign to make it easier for readers to find stories. It is considering filling the left-hand column of the front page with keys to stories elsewhere in the paper and other information readers say they want from the paper, which they often consider "too often too dull," Downie said.




"Newspapers should be fun and it should be fun to work at one," Bennett said.

Get me a drink!


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Bush fundraisers get appointments.

So I guess giving lots of money gives you some clout in Washington.

Go figure!

One-third of President Bush (news - web sites)'s top 2000 fund-raisers or their spouses were appointed to positions in his first administration, from ambassadorships in Europe to seats on policy-setting boards, an Associated Press review found.


The perks for 246 "pioneers" who raised at least $100,000 also included overnight stays at the White House and Camp David, parties at the White House and Bush's Texas ranch, state dinners with world leaders and overseas travel with U.S. delegations to the Olympics and other events, the review found.



Top fund-raisers say the real charm of the rewards was getting the chance to rub elbows with the president.



"All of us in politics, we've done so many parties and receptions it's old hat to us," said David Miner, a North Carolina textile executive and state lawmaker who helped raise more than $100,000 for Bush in 2000. He was rewarded with invitations to the White House, the vice presidential mansion and Bush's ranch.



"But knowing that here's the commander in chief, the most powerful man on the face of the earth, and you have this first-name-basis with him, that's very special," Miner said.



For some, the chance to mingle with the world's power brokers came in the form of diplomatic appointments. At least two dozen of the 2000 pioneers or their spouses became ambassadors, mostly to Europe.



Howard Leach, a California agribusiness investment banker and former finance chairman of the Republican National Committee (news - web sites), went to Paris. Lobbyist Peter Terpeluk went to Luxembourg.



At least 57 contributors or their spouses were named to agency positions, advisory or decision-making committees and boards or to U.S. delegations.

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Berkley study shows Bush votes inflated due to evoting machines

There isn;t any proof that the election was stolen, yet there is more than enough to ban electronic voting!

What: A research team at UC Berkeley will report that irregularities
associated with electronic voting machines may have awarded
130,000 - 260,000 or more excess votes to President George W. Bush in
Florida in the 2004 presidential election. The study shows an unexplained
discrepancy between votes for President Bush in counties where electronic
voting machines were used versus counties using traditional voting
methods. Discrepancies this large or larger rarely arise by chance -- the
probability is less than 0.1 percent. The research team, led by Professor
Michael Hout, will formally disclose results of the study at the press
conference.

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Condi Rice being treated with kid gloves

She lied under oath, more than once so why give her a free ride?

Since President George W. Bush nominated national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to succeed Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, major news outlets have produced numerous reviews and assessments of Rice's record during Bush's first term. But these reports have generally omitted mention of Rice's numerous apparently false statements, even when the reviews were conducted by outlets that originally broke the news of the statements in question.

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UN warns US about the rising Afghan Narco State

Well when you don't finish the job, things always go wrong

A UN report released on Thursday urged the US and Nato forces to fight drugs as well as Taleban insurgents.

It said Afghanistan now supplied 87% of world opium. In 2003, the trade was worth $2.8bn, representing more than 60% of gross domestic product.

One in 10 Afghans are now estimated to be involved in the business.

The UN said it would be an "historical error" to abandon the nation to opium.

Do you know how we're fighting the Opium trade over there?

We are offering the farmers two alternatives and it might shock you if you're into agriculture.

Cotton and Corn

For those who aren't savy about those crops let me give you the gist, Corn, even the Bio engineered seeds do terriblbly in climates with extreme temperatures and they need lots of waters to maintain.

Cotton needs lots of water, more than most of the citizens of the entire country can get their hands on and the successful "Farmers" are, Warlords.

Both cost give average about $15-$27 dollars per crop, Opium varies between $248- $380 depending on who owns the crop or if they are higher quality plants.

We cannot compete with against that kind of economic boom in the region, so unless we secure ALL of the country and bomb to hell those fields or can find a crop that pays out that much money without the downsides of heavy water use They will remain a narco-economy.
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Ahnuld hasn't fixed the budget

With all that big talk about terminating the deficit it looks as if Det. Kimball is in over his head!

Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill estimated yesterday that the state will have a $6.7 billion budget gap next year that could grow to nearly $10 billion in the following year if corrective action is not taken.


An improving economy is producing more tax revenue than expected, but the nonpartisan analyst is predicting another year of difficult budget decisions, perhaps with an early dispute over school funding.

"It's very important to understand that with the increase in revenue we really get very little effect to the bottom line," Hill told reporters.

She is urging lawmakers not to take the easy way out, by once again pushing debt into the future, as they struggle to close the $6.7 billion gap in an $89.5 billion general fund for the new fiscal year beginning next July.

The annual update from the analyst shows that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who temporarily closed a $15 billion gap in the current budget, is making some progress on reducing an ongoing "structural" gap between revenue and spending.

A series of budgets, including one signed by Schwarzenegger in July, have avoided spending cuts and tax increases by borrowing and other temporary measures that balance the budget for a year and then allow the gap to reopen.

Schwarzenegger is working on a budget he must propose by Jan. 10 for the new fiscal year beginning July 1. As in the current budget, the governor wants to avoid a tax increase.

At recent news conferences, Schwarzenegger has said that even though revenue is growing faster than expected, built-in spending requirements based on inflation, caseload growth and other factors are growing even faster

Here in California despite what the Republicans say cutting services by let's say 30% in no way will solve the budget problems What's interesting is here in California because of his budgets "Services" have gone up, we have new higher taxation in diffrent forms and we have more debt thanks to the bonds.
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Soviets building new Nukes

Going retro isn't always a good thing, especially when it comes to rebuilding nuclear arsenals!

Was anyone missing the Cold war besides the Neo-Cons?

Russia is developing a new nuclear missile system unlike any weapon held by other countries, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday, a move that could serve as a signal to the United States as Washington pushes forward with a missile defense system.

Putin gave no details about the system or why Russia was pursuing it, and it was unclear whether the Kremlin's cash-strapped armed forces could even afford an expensive new weapon.

But in remarks that could also be aimed at a domestic audience, he told a meeting of the top leadership of the armed forces that the system could be deployed soon, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

"We are not only conducting research and successful tests on state-of-the-art nuclear missile systems, but I am convinced that these systems will appear in the near future," Putin said. "Moreover, they will be systems, weapons that not a single other nuclear power has, or will have, in the near future."


"We'll continue our efforts to build our armed forces and its nuclear component," he said.

ITAR-Tass indicated the new system could be a mobile version of the Topol-M ballistic missile, which have been deployed in silos since 1998. But Alexander Pikayev, a senior military analyst with Moscow's Institute for Global Economy and International Relations, said Putin seemed to be referring to the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, a solid fuel missile that had its first test in September.

See when we break treaties it allows others to disregard the rules as well.

We understand it, why can't they?
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Kerry using election money to control the party.

There is a civil war in the Democratic party, Centrists and the Republican lites and Progressives.

Democratic Party leaders said Wednesday they want to know why Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) ended his presidential campaign with more than $15 million in the bank, money that could have helped Democratic candidates across the country.



Some said he will be pressured to give the money to Democratic campaign committees rather than save it for a potential White House bid in 2008.



"Democrats are questioning why he sat on so much money that could have helped him defeat George Bush (news - web sites) or helped down-ballot races, many of which could have gone our way with a few more million dollars," said Donna Brazile, campaign manager for Al Gore (news - web sites)'s 2000 presidential race.



Brazile is a member of the 400-plus member Democratic National Committee (news - web sites), which meets early next year to pick a new party chairman. One high-ranking member of the DNC, speaking on condition of anonymity, said word of Kerry's nest egg has stirred anger on the committee and could hurt his chances of putting an ally in the chairmanship.



Congressional Democrats and labor leaders also privately questioned Kerry's motives. One said he would personally ask the Massachusetts senator to donate some of the money to the Democratic House and Senate campaign committees.



Three former Kerry campaign aides, also demanding anonymity out of concerns about alienating their former boss, said they were surprised and disappointed to learn that he left so much money in the bank.

This has been floating around today and so far everyone agrees with each other on this very important matter:

1. Kerry is saving money for a run in 2008 and stacking the DNC to assure smooth sailing for the nomination

Watching a small bit of an interview of Kery earlier it became cemented that Kerry developed an ego about the election and he's playing the game and stacking the deck so Hillary or Edwards cannot run and guys like Dean aren't involved in the party.

This money could go very far instead it's in his pocket for his next bid.
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Truth to power

The most important thing a government offical is to be honest and tell the people in power that they are wrong, George Bush doesn't believe that. Bush has purged his administration of people who didn't were enthralled in a cult like group that worships him and that is dangerous to America. People are wrong, they make bad choices I am among those who have made bad choices as are you, the joys of Humanity. If I had someone came up to me and said "You're wrong", I'd be pissed and I would try to prove them wrong; my view against theirs and if I'm full of shit I'll admit it and thank God someone was there to stop me from making that dumb ass choice. That quality is needed in our leaders people who are not so full of themselves they cannot take ANY critisism.

Too Bad the President doesn't share that quality.

Porter J. Goss, the new intelligence chief, has told Central Intelligence Agency employees that their job is to "support the administration and its policies in our work,'' a copy of an internal memorandum shows.

"As agency employees we do not identify with, support or champion opposition to the administration or its policies," Mr. Goss said in the memorandum, which was circulated late on Monday. He said in the document that he was seeking "to clarify beyond doubt the rules of the road."

While his words could be construed as urging analysts to conform with administration policies, Mr. Goss also wrote, "We provide the intelligence as we see it - and let the facts alone speak to the policymaker.''

The memorandum suggested an effort by Mr. Goss to spell out his thinking as he embarked on what he made clear would be a major overhaul at the agency, with further changes to come. The changes to date, including the ouster of the agency's clandestine service chief, have left current and former intelligence officials angry and unnerved. Some have been outspoken, including those who said Tuesday that they regarded Mr. Goss's warning as part of an effort to suppress dissent within the organization.

In recent weeks, White House officials have complained that some C.I.A. officials have sought to undermine President Bush and his policies.

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Gay GOP field director in a scandal

The party that ran a very aggresive anti-Homosexual campaign and pushed a "values" down everyone's throat.

Speaking of pushing things down people's throats; The Republicans talk a great game when they call themselves the values party. So it always brings a smile to my face to see the hypocrites being outed as Homosexuals or Abortionists, their shit does stink whether they acknowledge it or not

Such is the case with The National Field Director and deputy political director for the Republican National Committee Daniel Gurley. Having unprotected Sex with multiple men isn't what I'd call a "traditional value"




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Military and draft roles getting cozy together

So there isn't going to be a draft

It’s taken one year, seven months and 19 days of combat in Iraq for the Lone Star State to lose 100 of its own.

Texas is the second state, after California, to lose 100 service members, according to The Associated Press.

With continuing war in Iraq and U.S. armed forces dispersed to so many other locations around the globe, Americans may be wondering if compulsory military service could begin again for the first time since the Vietnam War era.




The Selective Service System (SSS) and the U.S. Department of Education now are gearing up to compare their computer records, to make sure all men between the ages of 18 and 25 who are required to register for a military draft have done so.

The SSS and the education department will begin comparing their lists on Jan. 1, 2005, according to a memo authored by Jack Martin, acting Selective Service director.

While similar record checks have been done periodically for the past 10 years, Martin’s memo is dated Oct. 28, just a few days before the Nov. 2 presidential election, a hard-fought campaign in which the question of whether the nation might need to reinstate a military draft was raised in debates and on the stump.

It took several more days, until Nov. 4, for the document to reach the Federal Register, the official daily publication for rules and notices of federal agencies and organizations.

The memo was also produced after the U.S. House voted 402-2 on Oct. 5, against House Resolution 163, a bill that would have required all young people, including women, to serve two years of military service.

Under federal law, a military draft cannot be started without congressional support.

About 94 percent of all men are properly registered for a draft, according to Richard Flahavan, associate director of the office of public and intergovernmental affairs for SSS.

Martin’s memo is just a routine thing, Flahavan said.

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McCain angry at Bush admin over climate change

If the good Senator was so worried why did he support the guy we know wouldn't get the job done?

Wasting no time distancing himself from President Bush on an issue that has long divided them, Senator John McCain yesterday called the White House stance on climate change "terribly disappointing" and said inaction in the face of mounting scientific data was unjustified.



Two weeks after the end of a campaign in which he stumped for Mr. Bush's re-election, Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona, is convening a Senate hearing today on the human effect on climate and what to do about it.



Mr. Bush, citing the cost to the economy and what the administration describes as the uncertainty of the science, has opposed restrictions on carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases since early 2001, when he abandoned a pledge he made in his first presidential campaign to restrict carbon dioxide from power plants.



In contrast, for three years Mr. McCain has pushed for a bill he wrote with Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, that would create the first, modest curbs on greenhouse gases.



"This is a very time-sensitive issue," he said in an interview yesterday.



Dana M. Perino, a White House spokeswoman, said that Mr. Bush saw climate change as a serious issue but that he favored using voluntary means to slow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, as "a first step in an aggressive strategy to meet the challenge of long-term global climate change."

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Powell wanted to stay

You're not crazy enough to stay with them, your use as window dressing is over!

Colin Powell says it was always his intention to serve one term as secretary of state, but the Washington Post reports today, citing one government official "with personal knowledge of the situation," that Powell had "second thoughts" and wrote up a list of conditions for staying for a second term. These conditions included greater engagement with Iran and a harder line against Ariel Sharon.




In the end, Powell "was not asked to stay." Instead, the president seems more than content to have his close friend and adviser Condoleezza Rice move into Powell's job.



According to the Post, "Republican officials said the selection of Rice reflects Bush's determination to take personal control of the government in a second term, especially departments and agencies that he felt had undermined him in the first four years. Powell's departure is also a victory for conservatives, removing the administration's most forceful advocate for negotiations and multilateral engagement on such issues as Middle East peace and curbing nuclear activities in Iran and North Korea."

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Suicide of historian raises questions about the study of tragedy

Iris Chang committed suicide on the 10th of this month, I didn't know much about the author I was familiar with only one of her books by title only (Thread of the Silkworm). I was watching her interview on Booknotes from 1997 and not on purpose, in fact I changed the channel but decided to go back. After settling in I watched a little bit before the infograph said she committed suicide and I was really for whatever reason shocked and just kept watching and I saw a women who not that long ago was a happy, bright, glowing person ready to tackle life she just got married at the time and looked excited to start a family (at the time of her death she had one child age 2). While watching I shook my head and watched it the entire way through just not getting why she would do something like that.

I just thought I should share this with you guys, this has bugged me for the last two days and I think this will exorcise this feeling of saddness of a death of a person I never knew. Yes it's a little weird!

Here is a article on authors who go through the same problems she went through.


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Iraqi elections might be put off

You could knock me over with a feather with this Shocking News!

Iraq's deputy prime minister has indicated for the first time that the much-heralded elections due in January could be derailed by the country's violent insurgency.

Barham Salih said the authorities were determined to hold the vote, but admitted they would have to assess the security situation nearer the time.

"Holding free and fair elections on time is an obligation that we have undertaken towards the Iraqi people," he said. But he added: "Nearer the time, the Iraqi government, the United Nations, the independent election commission and the national assembly will have to engage in a real and hard-headed dialogue to assess the situation."

It is the first time a senior figure in the interim government has acknowledged that the dire security situation in large parts of the country could affect the political process.

Yesterday, as US troops widened their control of the insurgent bastion of Falluja, marines found what appeared to be the mutilated body of a western woman. Only two foreign women are being held by kidnappers: Margaret Hassan, 59, the British-Iraqi director of the charity Care International, and Teresa Borcz Khalifa, 54, a Polish woman who has lived in Iraq for many years.

I'd like to say "I told you so" but a half retarded lemur could have told you the same thing, the plans of this administration aren't thought out or realistic!
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Iraqi farmers not allowed to save extra seeds

Privitization is out of control, the fighting isn't the only thing to watch for it's also the economic raping of Iraq.

When the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) celebrated biodiversity on World Food Day on October 16, Iraqi farmers were mourning its loss.

A new report [1] by GRAIN and Focus on the Global South has found that new legislation in Iraq has been carefully put in place by the US that prevents farmers from saving their seeds and effectively hands over the seed market to transnational corporations. This is a disastrous turn of events for Iraqi farmers, biodiversity and the country's food security. While political sovereignty remains an illusion, food sovereignty for the Iraqi people has been made near impossible by these new regulations.



"The US has been imposing patents on life around the world through trade deals. In this case, they invaded the country first, then imposed their patents. This is both immoral and unacceptable", said Shalini Bhutani, one of the report's authors.

Becoming Monsanto customers at the barrel of a US gun.
The new law in question [2] heralds the entry into Iraqi law of patents on life forms - this first one affecting plants and seeds. This law fits in neatly into the US vision of Iraqi agriculture in the future - that of an industrial agricultural system dependent on large corporations providing inputs and seeds.

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Fuck the South

Now I don't believe because I live in a blue state I'm better than a southern citizen, however there is a small piece of me that says fuck'em when I hear the south called the REAL AMERICA, location doesn't make you authentic.

Click here for a big laugh!

Fuck the South. Fuck 'em. We should have let them go when they wanted to leave. But no, we had to kill half a million people so they'd stay part of our special Union. Fighting for the right to keep slaves - yeah, those are states we want to keep.

And now what do we get? We're the fucking Arrogant Northeast Liberal Elite? How about this for arrogant: the South is the Real America? The Authentic America. Really?

Cause we fucking founded this country, assholes. Those Founding Fathers you keep going on and on about? All that bullshit about what you think they meant by the Second Amendment giving you the right to keep your assault weapons in the glove compartment because you didn't bother to read the first half of the fucking sentence? Who do you think those wig-wearing lacy-shirt sporting revolutionaries were? They were fucking blue-staters, dickhead. Boston? Philadelphia? New York? Hello? Think there might be a reason all the fucking monuments are up here in our backyard?

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War is hell!
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Condi to replace Powell?

Talk about failing up!!!

Powell announced his resignation in a letter to President Bush dated Friday and released Monday.



"I believe that now that the election is over, the time has come for me to step down," Powell wrote, adding that he would leave his post at a time of Bush's choosing.



The president praised the outgoing secretary in a statement. "Colin Powell is one of the great public servants of our time," Bush said. "He is a soldier, a diplomat, a civic leader, a statesman and a great patriot. I value his friendship. He will be missed."



A formal announcement is expected as early as Tuesday; Rice would be only the second woman to serve as secretary of state. Bush is also expected to tap Rice's deputy, Stephen Hadley, to become National Security Adviser, an administration official said.



In addition to Powell, three other members of Bush's Cabinet resigned Monday, including Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Education Secretary Rod Paige.



That's six out of 15 Cabinet members to quit. More resignations are expected, but it's unclear who will leave and when. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has reportedly told colleagues he is eager to make more money in the private sector.



Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans already have announced their intentions to leave the administration.



White House counsel Alberto Gonzales has been chosen to succeed Ashcroft. Rice would be the second replacement announcement, if she officially succeeds Powell.



Powell, whose resignation had been widely expected, has been the moderate voice in an administration of hawks, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.



The secretary of state submitted his letter of resignation to the president on Friday. He will go about his usual schedule and continue at full speed until a successor is named and in place, a senior administration official said.



Asked about his own future, Rumsfeld told reporters Monday that he prefers to talk about such matters with Bush, adding that he has not done so.



Powell, who often butted heads with fellow members of the administration's foreign policy team, said he never intended to serve beyond a first term.

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DNC chair fiasco

From My DD

Kerry is not behind Shaheen right now, he's behind Vilsack (not that he wouldn't turn to her if Vilsack dropped out). As I stated earlier, it's mostly a "Stop Dean" movement that Kerry is leading the charge on from behind the scenes. And yes, Kerry does have that $45M leftover from the campaign that he's not ready to handover to the DNC at this time-- why not?

From everyone I've talked to inside the Dean campaign, he's ready to take the chair at the DNC. He's just got to get the votes. It's obvious that the "anyone but Dean" movement has no vision of it's own, other than stopping the grassroots from actually taking control of the party. We need to re-invigorate the local level with power that has a say, and take away power from the vested interests (mostly their own) inside DC.

Alright, this is how I feel about the whole situation. John Kerry lost; he ran a disorganized, overly cautious campaign staffed with far too many DNC talking heads who, when arriving in Washington they found the deepest, darkest hole and never left DC. Many of us voters didn't like Kerry during the primaries, especially for his vote for the war regardless of his nuanced reasons for doing so we didn't support it or him. The fault lies at the feet of the press for the Dean Campaign going down, the media was vicious to Dean and Clark and seemed like they were pushing for Kerry and the scared primarily white voters acted like lemmings and followed Kerry into the booth. We were stuck with Kerry so we made the best of what we had. Kerry wasn't a total disaster in and of himself he was by far a better choice than the current occupant and Nader had a snowballs chance in hell.


So we worked trying to model Kerry a DNC clone into the grassroots candidate and boy did it not work, whether or not Kerry understood the importance of the Dean Revolution is up to debate as we can clearly see that this was another incident where the overly cautious Kerry hurt him in the long run. The feeling when I met DNC leadership wasn't that of passion, where with the Dean and Clark campaigns made you feel like you were part of a giant movement the DNC people acted like they were putting up decorations for a lame office party. There was a great disconnect between the people who volunteered and those in "leadership" Positions and the candidate himself. I saw more of the 'Anybody but Bush' than loyalty to Kerry from E-mails, to face to face talks it was getting sad watching the best hope of defeating Bush self destruct before my eyes.

What Kerry should be reminded of is the only reason a majority of voters who went your way voted for you was because you weren't Bush, the lesser of evils so to speak this election is no more a Kerry mandate than Bush mandate. This loss should be the grave stone of the old DNC and if Kerry doesn't want to be part of the solution, then get out of the way. The old Centrist idea is not what wins the day, did you see what happened when Kerry tried playing the center, then playing the left, then playing right was trademarked by the old guard and it hasn't won a single election.

What is needed is someone with a giant broom and a "can fire attitude", Dean has that down pat so do a few others. An outsider taking control will change the DNC and it will change for the better if we're willing to take risks, redefine the message, and stop being afraid of losing!

That little tidbit about Kerry got me a little pissed
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Powell is finished

The former General is leaving this train wreck of an administration

Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) and three other Cabinet members submitted their resignations, a senior administration official said Monday, as the shake-up of President Bush (news - web sites)'s second-term team escalated.




Besides Powell, who had argued Bush's case for ousting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) before a skeptical U.N. Security Council in February 2003, others whose resignations were confirmed Monday included Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Education Secretary Rod Paige and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham (news - web sites).



The departures of Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans had been announced last week. The resignations revealed Monday bring to six — out of 15 — the number of Cabinet members to leave so far.



Bush already has chosen White House counsel Alberto Gonzales to succeed Ashcroft.



Powell, who long has been rumored planning only a single term with Bush, told his aides that he intends to leave once Bush settles on a successor, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.



The White House was preparing an announcement. According to one official, Powell expects that his departure date will be sometime in January. It was not immediately clear whether he would leave before Bush's second inauguration, on Jan 20.

You knew they were lying and you still went ahead, whatever respect you had in this country is gone!
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Gov. Vislack wants the DNC chair

Guess why he wants the post.

Gov. Tom Vilsack is considering a bid to become the next chairman of Democratic National Committee, in part to protect Iowa’s leadoff precinct caucuses, a spokesman said Wednesday.



"The governor is interested in preserving the Iowa caucuses," spokesman Matt Paul said.



DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe steps down in January and party officials have mentioned a long list of possible successors, including former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.



Vilsack was in Europe on a trade mission all week but spoke with aides by telephone, Paul said.



He said Vilsack could help protect Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses from other states hoping to usurp that position.



Democrats typically approve the next round of presidential primaries and caucuses during their nominating convention, but this year appointed a commission to study the calendar.

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The Purging of the CIA

Bush and crew want one party rule, no dissent and everyone who doesn't agree gets purged or fired.

The White House has ordered the new CIA director, Porter Goss, to purge the agency of officers believed to have been disloyal to President George W. Bush or of leaking damaging information to the media about the conduct of the Iraq war and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, according to knowledgeable sources.

"The agency is being purged on instructions from the White House," said a former senior CIA official who maintains close ties to both the agency and to the White House. "Goss was given instructions ... to get rid of those soft leakers and liberal Democrats. The CIA is looked on by the White House as a hotbed of liberals and people who have been obstructing the president's agenda."

One of the first casualties appears to be Stephen R. Kappes, deputy director of clandestine services, the CIA's most powerful division. The Washington Post reported yesterday that Kappes had tendered his resignation after a confrontation with Goss' chief of staff, Patrick Murray, but at the behest of the White House had agreed to delay his decision till tomorrow.

But the former senior CIA official said that the White House "doesn't want Steve Kappes to reconsider his resignation. That might be the spin they put on it, but they want him out." He said the job had already been offered to the former chief of the European Division who retired after a spat with then-CIA Director George Tenet.

Another recently retired top CIA official said he was unsure Kappes had "officially resigned, but I do know he was unhappy."

If you rememebr the build up to war we heard all sorts of leaks from the CIA about how this administration was being dishonest, from specific sources we learned that Saddam wasn't a threat, there were no nukes, Chalabi was not to be trusted nor any of his fellow Iraqi council members.

What if George Bush decided to go after Iran or Syria and we don't have those honest people in there?
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