WHEN REPUBLICANS ATTACK: Heath Ledger

The Crimes of George W. Bush

Further evidence that George Bush is the Worst President in History.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.a...
By TAMMY BALDWIN
Posted: Jan. 19, 2008
On Dec. 14, I joined with my colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee, Reps. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) and Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), in urging Chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) to conduct hearings on a resolution of impeachment now pending consideration in that committee.

Among my constituents, there are those who say I have gone too far in calling for Congress to examine possible impeachable offenses by the Bush administration. There are also those who argue I have not gone far enough. In letters, emails, phone calls, personal conversations and listening sessions, I have heard passionate arguments from those who think we are losing our democracy and that I should do more to hold the Bush administration accountable for its actions.

The call to impeach is one I did not take lightly. But as we said in our letter to Chairman Conyers, the issues are too serious to ignore. We simply cannot discount or overlook numerous, credible allegations of abuse of power by the Bush administration that, if proven, may well constitute high crimes and misdemeanors under our Constitution. To prove this, we must follow the form of the signers of our own Declaration of Independence who wrote, "let Facts be submitted to a candid world."

Impeachment hearings in the House Judiciary Committee will establish the facts and prove whether or not this administration did the following:

• Spied on Americans without a court order in violation of the Fourth Amendment;

• Directed senior members of the administration to ignore subpoenas in contempt of Congress;

• Outed Valerie Plame Wilson as a covert agent of the CIA and then intentionally obstructed justice by disseminating false information through the White House press office;

• Ordered U.S. attorneys to pursue politically-motivated prosecutions in violation of the law;

• Fired eight U.S. attorneys and allowed others to retain their jobs because of partisan political considerations;

• Refused to provide subpoenaed emails and other documentation;

• Purposefully manipulated intelligence to deceive American citizens and the Congress;

• Fabricated a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify the war in Iraq - a war that has taken the lives of nearly 4,000 U.S. troops, injured 60,000 more, and that will cost more than a trillion dollars by many accounts;

• Alleged, despite all evidence to the contrary, a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida, to justify the war in Iraq;

• Manipulated and exaggerated evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities;

• Undermined national security by openly threatening aggression against Iran, despite no evidence that Iran has the intention or capability of attacking the U.S.;

• Suspended habeas corpus by claiming the power to declare any person an "enemy combatant" - ignoring the Geneva Convention protections that the U.S. helped create;

• Endorsed torture and rendition of prisoners in violation of international law and stated American policy and values, and destroyed videotaped evidence of such torture;

• Awarded unlawful no-bid contracts to political friends at home and abroad; and

• Skirted legal consequences by employing paid mercenaries to act as bodyguards for American diplomats in Iraq.

The abuses of this administration demand a formal response. Congressional oversight is a fundamental part of our constitutionally-proscribed system of checks and balances.

I had hoped that Congress could begin to repair the damage that has been done to our democracy, our Constitution and our standing in the world, so that censure or impeachment could be averted. Unfortunately, this administration not only fails to accept responsibility for its misdeeds, but it also blocks attempts to right the wrongs and address the tragic consequences of those misdeeds. We have seen the American people's will thwarted by the exercise of veto power. We have seen subpoenas ignored. We have seen signing statements used to circumvent the law of the land.

If we fail to take action to either impeach or repair the damage, then the next president will "inherit" unchecked powers. Unchecked powers are unacceptable no matter who is president.

It is unlikely that impeachment will move forward this session. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressed her view that impeachment should be "taken off the table," and that is her prerogative. I took an oath of office to uphold the Constitution. That sacred pledge gives me no choice but to call for executive branch accountability in any and all forms possible.

Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, represents Wisconsin's second congressional district.

Homeless vets to protest O’Reilly.

Earlier this month, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly claimed that there aren’t “many” homeless veterans, challenging John Edwards for saying that there are 200,000 such vets. The Huffington Post reports that in response, homeless veterans are planning to protest O’Reilly today:

Now, a group from Fitzgerald House, an “organization representing homeless veterans,” plans to bring their fight for recognition to Fox’s doorstep. They plan on visiting the Fox News Channel Studios today at 3:00 pm, and will come carrying a petition signed by 17,000 people demanding an apology from O’Reilly for his ignorance and abuse. In a press release, Brave New Films and Fitzgerald House say thay “have found that it is very easy to locate homeless veterans and are willing to help O’Reilly find them if his desire to help homeless vets is sincere.”

Brave New Films took up O’Reilly’s “challenge” and spoke to some of these homeless vet here.

Scaife at Home

Story is from the Pittsburgh City Paper by JOHN MCINTIRE. I've posted some research I did about Richard Mellon Scaife early on . Enjoy this one.

Tawdry affairs ... cheap motels ... what is this -- the White House?

You'd think with all his millions, his reputation for philanthropy and his exalted status as the titular head of Hillary Clinton's "vast right-wing conspiracy," Richard Mellon Scaife would resemble Thurston Howell III -- a man dripping in the accoutrements of the filthy rich.

But in the end, he and his wife more closely resemble what is commonly referred to as poor white trash.

Of course, Scaife isn't battling with his soon-to-be ex-wife, Ritchie Battle Scaife, over who gets the trailer. They're battling over stuff like $1,800 asparagus tongs. But, apparently, rich trash put their pants on one leg at a time, just as we poor trash do.

Various details of the Scaife's venomous divorce proceedings have appeared in newspaper accounts. But nothing has been quite so voluminous in its tawdry detail as Michael Joseph Gross' lengthy and highly amusing article in February's Vanity Fair.

According to the piece, the Scaifes met when they were both married to other people. One source told Gross that the soon-to-be new Mrs. Scaife showed up drunk at the soon-to-be-old Mrs. Scaife's estate, and was kicked and called a "guttersnipe."

Years later, after Ritchie found out Dick was cheating on her, she reportedly one-upped the old Mrs. Scaife: She kicked her beloved Dickie in the crotch, whereupon "his testicles swelled to such a size that he had to be taken to the emergency room," Gross narrates.

Well, no one has ever accused Scaife -- who funded the "Arkansas Project" to dig up dirt in Bill Clinton's past -- of having tiny testicles.

Once, I was struck by a low-rent wedding I went to, in which the words "don't let your meat loaf" were spray-painted on the couple's honeymoon automobile. The new Mrs. Scaife updated that tradition quite nicely. At her wedding reception, she had the Zambelli fireworks company do some major-league fireworks. Part of the display, at Ritchie's behest, was a blazing sign on the lawn that said "Ritchie loves Dick."

These two crazy kids got married, but Dick decided to get his wife her own freaking mansion, and they lived separately. It apparently didn't cause them any problems until Dick started cheating and Ritchie caught him. Was it another socialite? Some irresistible Kitty Carlisle clone? Some Margaret Dumont type that neither Groucho nor Dickie Cougar MellonScaife could resist? No -- we're back to the poor-white-trash theme here.

According to Vanity Fair, Scaife's latest flame is a 43-year-old blonde bombshell whose history includes being busted twice for prostitution.

Well, at least tell me that Dickie the Cougar had some elegant, fancy-shmancy setting for his tryst? 'Fraid not. Ritchie hired a private Dick, who caught Dickie carrying out his affair at Doug's Motel, located on Route 30 in Irwin. You could rent a room at Doug's for just under 50 smackers a night -- or for just three hours for a cool $31. (No word on which option Dickie chose.)

There's more. Gross repeats earlier news accounts of Ritchie being arrested for trespassing, and trying to kidnap a family dog -- an incident which involved her allegedly accosting the housekeeper. During their marriage, Gross writes that the two visited Dickie's son in prep school and brought him pot and alcohol. Ritchie denies it. Dickie says Ritchie's a pill-popper. Ritchie says Dickie's a drunk, or at least was one.

Maybe the biggest surprise of all, though, is that Dickie actually talked to Vanity Fair for the story. For years he's been a Wizard of Oz recluse -- why he's going public all of a sudden is anybody's guess. He's even had lunch with Bill Clinton, whose presidency he nearly destroyed. The former president, eager to suck up to anyone so his wife can become president, let bygones be bygones, and Dickie donated $100,000 to Clinton's charitable foundation.

Scaife tells Vanity Fair that both his marriages ended in affairs, that he believes in "open marriage," and that philandering is something he and Clinton "have in common." What they don't have in common, though, is mind-numbing hypocrisy. This asshole wasted our country's precious time and resources on a moral crusade that was one giant flaming bowl of hypocrisy.

But Scaife didn't sign a pre-nup, and now the old Battle-ax is taking out the trash. You don't have to be rich to be a slimy, two-timing viciously vindictive bastard or bastardette -- but it does make it somewhat more entertaining.

How Many More Gonna Be Knockin' On Heavens Door

WaYs LiNn - Knockin' on heaven's door

Don't get me wrong; I believe in the US Constitution and the Second Amendment. Will Someone please tell me why we need Assault Weapons on the Street. The story below is heart wrenching. It's not the first time this has happened here and I imagine in other towns as well.

Shots kill girl, 12, in N. Side house

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

By Wade Malcolm, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A 12-year-old girl was shot to death and her mother was wounded last night in a house in Perry South on the North Side, and police said the neighborhood has been the scene of several shootings in recent days.

At least 40 shots were fired from an assault-style rifle at a house on Brightridge Street. The shots tore through a door and a boarded up window, hitting people inside the house.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the shooting.

At least seven people were inside the house at the time of the shooting, which occurred about 7:15 p.m.

Police Chief Nathan Harper said officers found at least 40 shell casings outside the house.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office identified the victim as Jolesa Barber, 12. She did not live at that address, but lived in the neighborhood, a medical examiner's spokeswoman said.

"The people on this street, they are scared, and you can't blame them when there's 40 rounds being shot into a house with an assault-type rifle," Chief Harper said.

"What's so serious that you have to put kids in harm's way," he added. "There's no rhyme or reason for that."

The woman and the girl were both taken to Allegheny General Hospital, where the girl died at 7:38 p.m. The mother was in critical condition but was expected to survive.

Five other people in the house were taken in for questioning.

Police had no description of any suspects or a vehicle they might have been in.

Chief Harper said the neighborhood has been the scene of several shootings and disturbances recently. He said there had been at least five calls of shots fired in that neighborhood in the last week.

That same house was hit by gunfire about a week ago. A nearby house on Brightridge was struck by shotgun fire Sunday night.

Police last night found a handgun in a nearby parking lot, but it was not clear whether it was connected to the shooting.

----

The Story doesn't mention that Jolesa Barber was a bright kid that did well in school and and was in an after school program cause she wanted to go to college. It doesn't show her teachers and principal crying when they were interviewed on TV. Since the story broke they have busted two men. One is 15 years old and the shooting is gang related.

I ask you: HOW MANY MORE KIDS HAVE TO DIE BEFORE AK-47's and GUNS LIKE THEM ARE OUTLAWED?

Bush Seeks Surplus via Medicare Cuts

From The New York Times

WASHINGTON — In his new budget, to be unveiled Monday, President Bush will call for large cuts in the growth of Medicare, far exceeding what he proposed last year, and he will again seek major savings in Medicaid, according to administration officials and budget documents.

Over all, the 2009 budget is likely to be the first $3 trillion spending request by a president.

Health care savings are a crucial part of Mr. Bush’s plan to put the nation on track to achieve a budget surplus by 2012. But before then, the officials said Wednesday, the White House anticipates higher deficits in 2008 and 2009, reflecting the current weakness of the economy and the cost of a stimulus package.

The president’s budget will not seek money for another full year of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pentagon officials said the administration would request $70 billion for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1. That would be enough to continue combat operations for several months, until the next president takes office.

Mr. Bush has repeatedly said that the costs of Medicare and Medicaid, which dwarf spending for lawmakers’ pet projects, are unsustainable. The two health programs account for nearly one-fourth of all federal spending, and their combined cost — $627 billion last year — is expected to double in a decade.

Budget documents show that Mr. Bush will propose legislative changes in Medicare to save $6 billion in the next year and $91 billion from 2009 to 2013. In his last budget, by contrast, his legislative proposals would have saved $4 billion in the first year and $65.6 billion over five years.

The president’s budget also takes aim at Medicaid, the insurance program for low-income people. He would pare $1.2 billion from it next year and nearly $14 billion over five years.

Those figures do not include tens of billions of dollars that Mr. Bush wants to save through new regulations. Such rules are not subject to approval by Congress, but could be revised by a future administration.

Congressional Democrats often pronounce Mr. Bush’s budget dead on arrival, and they have no reason to make unpopular cuts in this election year.

But lawmakers say they feel obliged to pass a Medicare bill in the first half of this year, to spare doctors from a 10 percent cut in Medicare fees that would otherwise take effect on July 1. Lawmakers say that bill could easily become a vehicle for other changes in Medicare and Medicaid.

Most of the Medicare savings in the budget would be achieved by reducing the annual update in federal payments to hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, ambulances and home care agencies.

The budget would not touch payments to insurance companies for private Medicare Advantage plans, even though many Democrats and independent experts say those plans are overpaid.

In the next five years, the largest amount of Medicare savings, by far, would come from hospitals: $15 billion from an across-the-board reduction in the annual updates for inpatient care; $25 billion from special payments to hospitals serving large numbers of poor people; and $20 billion from capital payments for the construction of hospital buildings and the purchase of equipment.

In addition, the president’s budget would reduce special Medicare payments to teaching hospitals, including many in the New York area, by $23 billion over the next five years.

To justify prior budget proposals, the White House has often cited the work of an independent federal panel, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. The panel voted this month to recommend that Medicare payments to hospitals be increased about 3 percent in 2009, to reflect the expected increase in the cost of goods and services hospitals use. Under the president’s budget, Medicare payments would not keep pace with those costs in 2009 or any subsequent year.

The advisory panel found that the special Medicare payments to teaching hospitals were excessive, as the White House contends. But it recommended a much more modest cutback than Mr. Bush will propose.

Kenneth E. Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said the president’s proposals showed “great insensitivity to teaching hospitals” across the country. The proposals “would undermine our ability to train young doctors at a time when the nation is facing a shortage of doctors,” Mr. Raske said.

Under the president’s budget, Medicare payment rates for nursing homes would be frozen in 2009, and payment rates for home health agencies would be frozen at current levels through 2013.

William A. Dombi, vice president of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, a trade group, said the proposal could affect many of the three million Medicare beneficiaries who receive home health services each year.

“Under the proposal,” Mr. Dombi said, “75 percent to 80 percent of home health agencies would be doomed. They would not be able to meet payroll. They would not be able to operate.”

Within 15 days of sending his budget to Congress, Mr. Bush is supposed to submit legislation to strengthen the financial condition of Medicare and to reduce its reliance on general revenues, which include income taxes. The 2003 Medicare law established special procedures to ensure that Congress would consider such legislation.

House Democrats want to eliminate this requirement, saying it is a Republican device to undermine Medicare’s status as an entitlement.

Suzanne Hinn - Holy Ghost Enema

Sorry, every time I watch this I start laughing my ass off and all kinds of strange thoughts come to mind about the religious right.

What Do Fainting Goats And The Democratic Congressional Leadership Have In Common?

The GOP has been trying to rewrite history

The GOP has been trying to rewrite history, claiming "Saddam would not let the inspectors back in" to justify invading Iraq. Unfortunately for them, we have a little something called "video tape". Clips of UN/UNMOVIC inspectors in Iraq destroying Saddam's stockpile of al-Samoud missiles in the MONTHS just prior to the invasion of Iraq before President Bush orders everyone out of Iraq the week before the invasion on March 19, 2003.

SOTU: Veterans Health Care Has Gotten Worse Under Bush

Bush said: “Over the past 7 years, we have increased funding for veterans by more than 95 percent. As we increase funding, we must also reform our veterans system to meet the needs of a new war and a new generation.”

FACT — 1.8 MILLION VETERANS LACK HEALTH INSURANCE: “The new study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, estimated that in 2004 nearly 1.8 million veterans were uninsured and unable to get care in veterans’ facilities.” [New York Times, 11/9/07]

FACT — NUMBER OF UNINSURED VETERANS INCREASED BETWEEN 2000 AND 2004: “Just under two million veterans (12.7 percent of non-elderly veterans) were uninsured in 2004, up 290,000 since 2000, the study published in the December, 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health found.” [Harvard Science, 10/30/07]

FACT — NEARLY 20 PERCENT OF VETERANS RETURNING FROM IRAQ HAVE MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES: “Screening efforts show 10% to 20% of Marines and soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq may have suffered this wound, according to the Army. The task force last May found that ‘major gaps’ in identifying and treating the injury ‘were created by a lack of coordination and policy-driven approaches.’” [USA Today, 1/18/08]

FACT — NUMBER OF PTSD CASES INCREASING DRAMATICALLY: “The number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder from the Department of Veterans Affairs jumped by nearly 20,000 — almost 70% — in the 12 months ending June 30, VA records show.” [USA Today, 10/18/07]

LOU REED - Kill Your Sons (1983)

Been a big fan of Lou since Andy bought the Dom on St. Marks Place and featured the Velvets. I lived a block away from the Dom and Yes!!!! I was there almost every night the Velvets played. This song is about Shock Treatment. Bet you didn't know Lou got zapped when he was young. Not my favorite Lou song but it makes a point. Favorite Lou Reed album "New York"

START ANSWERING YOUR PHONE WITH *FUCK BUSH!* ~OLBERMANN

The Real State of the Union... Call Bush's Bluff

Another Crash

Yes folks the old notebook crashed again.
Hopefully this is the last time.
Repeat after me. "I will never buy another Compaq."
wolf

Rock and Crow Saturday

Kid Rock Featuring Sheryl Crow "Picture"

AssHole of the Week

Excuse me Bill O’Reilly, you don't know what your talking about. Take it from someone who has worked with the homeless for close to thirty years.

From Think Progress

O’Reilly Admits There Are 200K Homeless Vets, Still Says Edwards ‘Is A Liar’ Who Owes ‘An Apology’

Recently, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly attacked former senator John Edwards for noting the 200,000 homeless veterans who “go to sleep under bridges and on grates” every night. “The only thing sleeping under a bridge is that guy’s brain,” quipped O’Reilly. O’Reilly continued his attack earlier this week, claiming “They may be out there, but there’s not many of them out there.”

Last night, however, O’Reilly pulled an about-face, acknowledging to National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse President Joseph Califano that there are upwards of 200,000 homeless vets in America:

CALIFANO: We have 200,000 veterans who are homeless.

O’REILLY: Right.

Watch it

O’Reilly admitted Edwards’ claim was right, but still refused to admit his own inaccuracies. He also continued to attack the former senator, calling him “a liar” and “a charlatan.” O’Reilly insisted that homelessness “has nothing to do with the economy” and is “mostly because of addiction and mental illness.”

“So if the poor are not destitute in America, and they obviously are not,” declared O’Reilly. “John Edwards owes us an apology.”

UPDATE: Robert Greenwald at Fox Attacks has more on O’Reilly’s war against “non-existent” homeless veterans.

UPDATE II: Crooks and Liars has more.

UPDATE III: Brandon Friedman writes “Bill O’Reilly just needs to go.”

Political Cartoon of the Week

HUCK A BUCK Pulls a Tricky Ricky

Remember when Ricky (man on dog) Santorum said this?

May 27, 2003

Santorum, one of the Senate's most strident social conservatives, made the comments in the context of the Supreme Court's consideration of Lawrence v. Texas, a challenge to the state's same-sex-only sodomy law. After making the remark in the interview, he added, "In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be."Asked for an apology, Santorum refused, calling his comments "a legitimate public policy discussion" about sodomy laws.

Huck A Buck
January 17 2008

Huckabee equates homosexuality with bestiality.

TPM’s Greg Sargent notes that in a recent interview with Beliefnet, Mike Huckabee equated homosexuality with bestiality. Asked whether he wanted to bring the Constitution into conformity with the Bible, the former Arkansas Governor answered this way:

Well, I don’t think that’s a radical view to say we’re going to affirm marriage. I think the radical view is to say that we’re going to change the definition of marriage so that it can mean two men, two women, a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal.

The Bastard Fairies - WE'RE ALL GOING TO HELL!

Olbermann: Why does Bill O'Reilly hate homeless Veterans?

Big Crash

The Black Screen Of Death hit my computer last week.
Back now I hope.
wolf

Sen. Stevens: putting pipelines over polar bears.

Think Progress » Sen. Stevens: putting pipelines over polar bears.

Environmental groups are currently pushing the Interior Department to list polar bears “as a threatened species due to global warming under the federal Endangered Species Act.” Yesterday, Sen. Ted Steven’s (R-AK), who is currently facing a federal ethics investigation, said he opposes the move because it would “block the development” of a natural gas pipeline in Alaska’s North Slope. Stevens added that he believed the designation was “unnecessary.”

BLOGGERS ATTACK! *WAR WE JUST MIGHT WIN* NYT ARTICLE

The Future of Western Civilation?

Ron Paul’s Old Newsletters Filled With Bigotry And Conspiracy Theories

Let me say this about Ron Paul and his followers. I have seen all his Internet Support. You can't help it. It's all over YouTube and Live Leak. His brainwashed bullies are in the chat rooms pushing his agenda. I'll admit some of his ideas are great. Who doesn't want smaller government control and thats where it ends. When it comes to Freedom of religion (he wants prayer back in school) and Womens Rights (he is very pro-life), against Public Schools, against Medicare and SS , I draw the line and vow to fight his brainwashed bullies at every turn.
The Bullies never look at his record at the On The Issues Web Site.
wolf

There has been more and more info coming out about his Racism.
From Think Progress

Beginning in 1978, Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-TX) name graced newsletters that were released on a seemingly monthly basis: Ron Paul’s Freedom Report, Ron Paul Political Report, The Ron Paul Survival Report. “The Freedom Report’s online archives only go back to 1999,” but The New Republic’s Jamie Kirchick recently tracked down physical copies of many of the pre-1999 reports.

According to Kirchick, they’re peppered with a “decades worth of obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing militia movement, and deeply held bigotry against blacks, Jews, and gays.” Here are a few examples:

On David Duke: “Our priority should be to take the anti-government, anti-tax, anti-crime, anti-welfare loafers, anti-race privilege, anti-foreign meddling message of Duke, and enclose it in a more consistent package of freedom.”

On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “[A] comsymp, if not an actual party member, and the man who replaced the evil of forced segregation with the evil of forced integration.”

On African-Americans: “I’ve urged everyone in my family to know how to use a gun in self defense. For the animals are coming.”

On Gays: “Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities.”

In his article, Kirchick writes that “with few bylines, it is difficult to know whether any particular article was written by Paul himself” and that “the vast majority of the editions” that he “saw contain no bylines at all.” Paul emphasized this point in his response to the article:

The quotations in The New Republic article are not mine and do not represent what I believe or have ever believed. I have never uttered such words and denounce such small-minded thoughts. […]

Several writers contributed to the product. For over a decade, I have publically taken moral responsibility for not paying closer attention to what went out under my name.

But as Kirchick — who has been criticizing Paul for months — notes, “[I]t is difficult to imagine how Paul could allow material consistently saturated in racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, and conspiracy-mongering to be printed under his name for so long if he did not share these views.”

Some of Paul’s supporters in the blogosphere give him more of the benefit of the doubt, but still admit that the “truly odious material” released under his name is “really stunning.” Andrew Sullivan writes that “it’s up to Ron Paul now to clearly explain and disown these ugly, vile, despicable tracts from the past.”

PDFs of some of the old newsletters can be found here.

UPDATE: A 1992 Ron Paul Political Report said: “I think we can safely assume that 95% of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal.”

Quote of the Day

Bill Kristol: “It’s the tears. She pretended to cry. The women felt sorry for her. And she won.”

Disclaimer - I am not supporting anyone in the primarys - wolf

Just let me say this about the Spin Doctors coverage of "Hillary's Tears"

It was Bullshit!!!

I think she was showing true emotion of how she felt about herself and her plans for the country.
Did she cry? So what if she did.

Nuff said!!

Rant

I know I haven't written much as of late. There are lots of reasons why.
Living here in the Vets Old Folks Home doesn't leave much time for creativity.
My life is in transition once again - Going through those changes.
Waiting for those changes to happen - and folks they are good changes.
Writers Block - I think it happens more when you get older.

Please watch the two videos below this post.
Yes I know they are hard to watch.
If they don't piss you off and make you wanna get out and do something
about this war, this government, the idiots in DC, I don't know what will.

On Sundays I watch the Network News Spin Doctors.
Right now they are spinning the primary elections.

Reminds me of the local TV sports guys here after a Steeler Loss.
(yes the Steelers blew it in the playoffs (sigh))
The sports guys talk and talk how the team should have done this or that.
They even get phone calls from fans moaning how the team should of did this or that.

So on Sunday the Spin Doctors yap about how the candidates should have done this or that,
They tend to make one or two their darling, so you hear more about those than the other ones.
Same with the printed media and the online news sites.
I hear a whisper once again in my ear.
The media is choosing our candidates again.
Wake up People!

I can't remember so many debates, can you?
What is it, one debate per state now?
Guess they are gonna have a hard time on Feb. 5th
24 states have primary or caucuses.
Guess that day will decide who they chose to be our candidates.

Enough of the political bullshit for now.

A few people have written me and wanted to know how Pook is doing.
The Pookster is fine, staying with my friend Jan till I move out of here.
Jan says he grew some more, hard to believe cause he's a big guy.
He misses you all and hopes to be back blogging in a few months.

I'm not gonna whine and tell yunz how bad the food in this place is.
56 guys whine about it at every meal.
The guys here are great and I've made some new friends.

And thats te way I see it for now.
Peace and Blessed Be
Wolf

What if you knew - David Rovics

WARNING - Violent War Pictures

David Rovics - When Johnny Came Marching Home

This is a hard music video to watch - brought tears to my eyes.

"Coyote" Joni Mitchell

In Memory of Coyote. He showed me the way to MorningStar Ranch the 1st time.
And yes, this song is about him.

And They Kept Kucinich Out Of The N.H. Debate as Well

George and Laura Bush: An Intimate Conversation

It's gonna get worse

Something Different

Apocalyptica - Enter Sand Man
These Guys blew me away the 1st time I heard them!
and here is the original by Metallica

Saturday Rockin' The Free World with Neil Young

Political Cartoon and Asshole of the Week

Muggles Against Huck A Buck

Death of A Blogger

Major Andrew Olmsted, who posted a blog since May 2007, was killed in Iraq on Thursday, Jan. 3. Major Olmsted, who had been based at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, began blogging after his unit was sent to Iraq with the mission of helping to train the Iraqi Army. No official details have been released on his death, but reports say that he and a second member of his unit were killed during an enemy ambush in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad. Olmsted was determined to make a difference in Iraq. "The sooner the Iraqi government doesn't need U.S. support to provide security for its people, the sooner we will probably be asked to leave.

His blog was carried on the Rocky Mountian News
Read his final post on his Olmsted Blog

Once again I say Support The Troops, Bring Them Home Now!

Margaret Cho -- These Christian Groups Have Lost Their Minds

UnAmerican?

Yes This Blog Is Talking Bout A Revolution

Tracy Chapman

SCAB

Sick Rudy Giuliani TV Ad

Bye Bye Bears, sigh

Alaska oil exploration to begin

By Warren Bull BBC News

The US government says it will offer exploration rights for oil and gas in a north-western region of Alaska.

The federal Minerals Management Service said it would take bids next month for concessions in the Chukchi Sea, which separates Alaska from Siberia.
But environmental groups fear the effects on wildlife in the region, including the polar bear population.
There have been no lease sales for over 15 years and the groups fear further exploration could damage marine life.

Rich reserves

Energy exploration in Alaska has always been a tough choice between preserving one of the planet's last great areas of pristine wilderness and the potential for huge profits to be made from its development.
The American sectors of the Chukchi Sea are believed to hold 15bn barrels of recoverable oil and over two trillion cubic metres of natural gas.
But the authorities had not held a lease sale in the sea since 1991, both due to the difficulties and cost involved in extraction from the Arctic continental shelf and concerns over the environment.

The Minerals Management Service says exploration will not be allowed to take place any closer than 80km (50 miles) from the shoreline, therefore striking a balance between development and protection of coastal resources. But ecologists say any further exploration could have a major impact on marine life, with polar bears one of the hardest-hit species.

The Chukchi Sea is home to one of two populations of polar bears in the US, and their numbers have already been depleted by loss of habitat due to global warming. Many protestors are angry at the timing of the announcement, which comes days before the US Fish and Wildlife Service decides whether to list the polar bear as a threatened species.

Pity The Nation

This Poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti was posted to the Morningstar Commune E-mail List this morning.

PITY THE NATION
(After Khalil Gibran)

Pity the nation whose people are sheep,
and whose shepherds mislead them.
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars,
whose sages are silenced,
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice,
except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero
and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.
Pity the nation that knows no other language but its own
and no other culture but its own.
Pity the nation whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.
Pity the nation--oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away.
My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.

BLACKWATER : THE CRUSADE

Holiday on Ice

Sidney Crosby added the final bang with his winning shootout goal against the Buffalo Sabres, Penguins 2, Sabres 1. It was a real treat watching the 2008 Winter Classic yesterday.

U2 - New Years Day

2007 Asshole of the Year

The two talking cats

Re: Cats Talking Translation