ThinkFast AM: June 16, 2006
ThinkFast AM: June 16, 2006
Vice President Dick Cheney claimed that the Iraq war was “in part responsible” for the absence of terrorist attacks in the United States since the September 11, 2001 strikes. The State Department reported in April that the number of terrorist attacks worldwide increased nearly fourfold in 2005.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the flag-burning amendment yesterday. The 11-7 vote “was supported by all committee Republicans and opposed by all but one Democrat — Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.”
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education yesterday “voted to eliminate $115 million in federal funding for public broadcasting” like NPR and PBS, representing “a 23 percent decrease in the previously-approved 2007 appropriation.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter is upset that he has not received a response to his request that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testify before his committee on the NSA’s warrantless spying programs. Specter said yesterday, “I will ask for authorization for a subpoena if we do not get an adequate response.”
59: Percentage of Americans who say climate change warrants “some action” or “immediate” steps, up from 51% in 1999, according to a WSJ/NBC poll.
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has documented in a U.N. report “thousands of alleged direct killings of civilians†and “a significant number of large scale massacres†in Darfur. The ICC “also registered hundreds of alleged cases of rape.â€
The Smithsonian has removed an exhibit featuring a “rare surviving example” of the battery-powered car that is the focus of the new film “Who Killed the Electric Car?” The movie shows how General Motors “created a dynamic battery-powered auto that drivers loved, only to crush it to smithereens.” GM is one of the Smithsonian’s “biggest contributors.”
A new Congressional Research Service report finds that since World War II, “the government has typically used emergency supplemental appropriations bills to fund ongoing military operations only sparingly, switching to regular annual budget submissions as soon as a better picture of costs were known.†In related news, the Senate passed the ninth emergency supplemental bill since 9/11.
A 74-page Pentagon briefing book with talking points on Iraq may be illegal. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld complaining that his office had spent “taxpayer dollars to produce partisan political documents,” possibly in violation of laws prohibiting the Executive Branch from using taxpayer dollars for lobbying and propaganda activities.
And finally: Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) may be “one of the stalwart votes for ‘kid-friendly’ regulation in entertainment,” but that doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy a good video game. “I’ll have to confess, Mr. Chairman, that I am also a video game player. I have worked my way up to Civilization IV. I haven’t yet been able to beat it but I at least understand the fundamentals of it.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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I’ll have to confess, Mr. Chairman, that I am also a video game player. I have worked my way up to Civilization IV. I haven’t yet been able to beat it but I at least understand the fundamentals of it.â€
You don’t “beat” civilization 4. You create something that survives. I guess that goes tot the heart of the repub thinking. Everything created must be beaten into submission before it can be called a success.
June 16th, 2006 at 9:14 amA new Congressional Research Service report finds that since World War II, “the government has typically used emergency supplemental appropriations bills to fund ongoing military operations only sparingly, switching to regular annual budget submissions as soon as a better picture of costs were known.†In related news, the Senate passed the ninth emergency supplemental bill since 9/11.
Which is it, Bush? Is the Iraq War an emergency requiring emergency funding? Or is it a long fight that we need to stay resolved to fight?
June 16th, 2006 at 9:15 amA 74-page document released by the Pentagon consisting of talking points on Iraq may be illegal. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld complaining that his office had spent “taxpayer dollars to produce partisan political documents,†suggesting that the document may have violated laws prohibiting the Executive Branch from using taxpayer dollars for lobbying and propaganda activities.
[Read the following outloud in a monotonous tone]
Gee. They did something illegal. I am so shocked. Whoa. Oh my. I never thought they would do something like that. They are such stand up guys. Gee wilikers.
June 16th, 2006 at 9:19 amGeez, Spector keeps flip-flopping on this NSA wiretapping thing. What’s his problem?
June 16th, 2006 at 9:20 amGeez, Spector keeps flip-flopping on this NSA wiretapping thing. What’s his problem?
He’s a Republican.
June 16th, 2006 at 9:26 amDid anyone see Tucker Carlson? He reported on Stephen Hawking suggesting colonization of other planets because he predicts a possible apocalyptic event. Tucker then went on to compare Hawking to Charles Manson and Jim Jones.
June 16th, 2006 at 9:35 amTypical of those idiots. He can’t even think of debating science with Stephen Hawking, he resorts to smears. Guts over knowledge. Tucker is a pre-monolyte non-evolved type.
June 16th, 2006 at 9:38 amGeez, Spector keeps flip-flopping on this NSA wiretapping thing. What’s his problem?
Comment by cynicalgirl — June 16, 2006 @ 9:20 am
He’s a Republican.
Comment by bobcat_grad — June 16, 2006 @ 9:26 am
And they’ve got something on him, which they found out about through their illegal wiretapping, of course. :)
June 16th, 2006 at 9:40 amIraq VP Asks Bush for Pullout Timeline
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq’s vice president has asked President Bush for a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq, the Iraqi president’s office said.
Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni, made the request during his meeting with Bush on Tuesday, when the U.S. president made a surprise visit to Iraq.
“I supported him in this,†President Jalal Talabani said in a statement released Wednesday.
SOURCE
June 16th, 2006 at 9:42 amTucker is another of MSNBC’s dumb-as-a-rock show host.
June 16th, 2006 at 9:43 amHis is unbelievable ignorance - he can’t begin to understand the knowledge of Stephen Hawking, so he resorts to name calling and false comparisons. What an idiot.
I admit to being overwhelmed when trying to understand the universe; Carlson won’t even try.
But Tucker is so much more credible now that he’s given up his bow tie.
June 16th, 2006 at 9:47 amAnd Cheney continues to lie with impunity because there is no one bold enough to challenge his bullshit. The lies simply get re-wound and replayed over and over again, so 35% of the people take them as fact.
June 16th, 2006 at 9:48 amBuzz Flash suggests that the first act, post-Supreme Court no-knock trashing of the 4th Amendment, might be the police storming the White House, and Cheney’s office too.
Random inspections may be carried out on US aircraft, the Irish government has warned, after a manacled marine was discovered by cleaners on board a military charter flight at Shannon airport.
The transfer of the prisoner - deemed illegal because permission had not been sought in advance from Ireland’s justice department - has aggravated the political row over CIA renditions of terrorist suspects through European airspace.
The US ambassador, James Kenny, was summoned to the foreign affairs department to explain the failure to comply with international regulations. He has been asked to produce a report on the incident.
well done Ireland
June 16th, 2006 at 9:57 amMarie, ……police storming the white house and Cheney’s office to would be something I would buy a ticket to see…..Yep!, that would be a happy day. Ofcourse seeing huge swat teams arresting and loading all these bloated politicians up and off to jail would please me more…….Blessings
June 16th, 2006 at 10:01 amDo you think the stupid Rethuglicans who jumped on the Iraq amnesty announcement are feeling a little more stupid today upon hearing that the Iraqi official who said it has been fired?
June 16th, 2006 at 10:03 amWe should send them paper napkins to wipe the egg off their faces. Dumbass footsoldiers.
It was 8 and a half years between WTC attack 1 in 2/93 and 9/11/01 with no al-qaida attacks in between (on US soil) and we didn’t even have to invade another country to achieve that. Nope, didn’t spend half a trillion or lose tens of thousands of lives for 8 and a half years of no attacks. At no time did you hear Clinton or Gore bragging about it. Cheney’s bravado is disgusting.
June 16th, 2006 at 10:03 am#14, Sharon
June 16th, 2006 at 10:05 amWelcome back from wherever you’ve been.
Yes, isn’t that a pleasant thought for this Friday morning? I’d like to visualize that, close my eyes and sip a glass of lemonade.
This flag-burning thing is such nonsense. As much as any of us may object to someone burning a flag, we have to fight for their right to do so.
I once heard that if people really want to make a statement with the flag, they should wash it, not burn it. Perhaps after our legislators are done they’ll be forced to.
June 16th, 2006 at 10:05 amDick Cheney forgot about that terrorist who was drinking and hunting in Texas a few months ago.
That particular terrorist attacked a lawyer.
As for me, I’m going to start drinking at noon today. It’s Friday. If at all possible, it will be Harvey Wallbangers. If not them, it will be some Screwdrivers.
June 16th, 2006 at 10:05 am#13 Tobey,
Thanks for the update. I would be surprised if this story were in any of our newspapers. Do you have a link to a Guardian or Times story about it over there? (You know which Times I’m referring to. :) )
And I, too, applaud Ireland for standing up for what’s right. It’s bad enough that our government is even doing this at all, but to do it in violation of the agreements we made with those countries is even more dispicable.
June 16th, 2006 at 10:06 amWhat is worse than burning a US flag? Not caring for its appearance.
Flag Police
June 16th, 2006 at 10:12 amBut Tucker is so much more credible now that he’s given up his bow tie.
Comment by Wilco
Tucker had to give up his propeller, he’s so puffed up with himself that it spun off…
June 16th, 2006 at 10:34 amHe had to get rid of the bowtie because he was attracting all the ladies and his wife got tired of all the threesomes.
June 16th, 2006 at 10:39 amI admit to being overwhelmed when trying to understand the universe; Carlson won’t even try.
I enjoy when someone says something that Tucker disgarees with and he stares at them with his mouth hanging open as if they were speaking Swahili and then says, “I just don’t see it…” Credibility is lost when you are only able to see one side of the issue. I could do without his hangdog approach to tabloid journalism.
June 16th, 2006 at 10:44 amDid anyone see Tucker Carlson?
I try not to look directly at the Wizard of Oz floating head… But do tell.
He reported on Stephen Hawking suggesting colonization of other planets because he predicts a possible apocalyptic event.
It’s actually our government who is trying to colonize other planets. Why they’ve funded the Mars probes, and are working ona current mission to send astronauts. They are also funding a school bus-sized bomb to impact the moon with the intent of breaking off a chunk of it to see if water is underneath the surface. I swear, I am not making this up, I read it on Science News websites when i was reaserching stuff for my classes last year.
NASA has also sponsored an architectural compitition of a Mars habitat design. Seriously.
If anyone one is worried about the future of the Earth, and looking for an escape, it is ironicallythe Right-wing Christonazis… using scinece…
Tucker then went on to compare Hawking to Charles Manson and Jim Jones.
Comment by Wilco — June 16, 2006 @ 9:35 am
June 16th, 2006 at 10:46 amThe terra-forming of Mars will have to be done when you are terror-forming the earth. Something has got to give.
June 16th, 2006 at 10:55 amWhen Cheney claims that there hasn’t been an attack here since 9/11 he conveniently forgets about the anthrax attacks. Why haven’t they caught that guy?
June 16th, 2006 at 10:59 amThe National Breakdown:
1/3 = Ignorant (but not stupid) Republicans
1/3 = Apathetic (but not uncaring) Common folk
1/3 = Intelligent (but not street smart) Democrats
Seems to me the DNC should be focusing on winning over the 1/3 in the middle with a UNIFIED and TOUGH message/plan! Hope something like this happens before November!
June 16th, 2006 at 11:01 amMarie and all, good posts…….Nightmare two weeks….Changing ip that didn’t work, 1st week lost, no puter. Second week one of my best friends died of cancer. ….Life and death issues always ground us and set us back. Late last night, exactly two weeks since the mess started got back on line.. Lost tons of good sites will work on retrieving………Good post, Unbelievable….So now it appears this administration is working on chipping away at the moon….Well sure, when they are done screwing up our planet the ” bring it on”, bible thumping, armagedon bunch need a place to go and water not oil will be their first priority. Bull shit bush is probably having cheney and hallaburton do a bid on stringing a planatary pipe line just in case they can’t get off the ground…LOL….Blessings
June 16th, 2006 at 11:44 amJust an idea: they are thinking of terraforming the Moon (you know, a satellite without air or water or life, and dismiss any attempt to clean the Earth already existing environment and/or its atmosphere because combatting Global Warming would be too costly? I’m missing something? Who in the heck cooks the numbers for Republicans?
June 16th, 2006 at 12:11 pmSharon Cox,
I’m sorry for your loss. But it is good to have you back here again.
And, of course, that contract for a “pipeline to the moon” would be a no-bid, cost-plus contract awarded by the Executive Branch (or, as the president has been known to call it, the “Administrative Branch”) so that Congress doesn’t stop it. And since it can’t be done and it’s a cost-plus contract, they’ll be getting our tax dollars forever! The perfect scheme!
June 16th, 2006 at 12:15 pmEscept for 7 anthrax attacks that sickened 22 people, killed 5 people and closed doent he government, there were NO terrorist attacks since 9/11.
-GSD
June 16th, 2006 at 12:15 pmAside from the “Anthrax Terror Attacks” that were carried out in 7 different locations in our nation, the anthrax sickened 22 people and killed five Americans. Besides those incidents which are “easily forgotten by repetitive propaganda pushed by Bush/Rove” there were no attacks.
-GSD
June 16th, 2006 at 12:18 pmBull shit bush is probably having cheney and hallaburton do a bid on stringing a planatary pipe line just in case they can’t get off the ground…LOL….Blessings
Comment by Sharon Cox — June 16, 2006 @ 11:44 am
You’re so funny. We’ve missed you. Glad to have to back! Sorry about your friend. Lots’ of deaths in my family from cancer. It is a terrible way to go. And more likely to kill people than terrorist - yet guess where we spend our monye - yep - boogeymen, when think of teh cancer cures we could be giving away for free with the same billions of dollars wasted by this Bush Regime… And them the ‘Intelligent’ Design people want to say we aren’t animlas? Wake the f up…
Welcome back :)
June 16th, 2006 at 12:20 pmFlag burning has long been a protected form of political speech. Senator Feinstein has just lost my vote this fall.
June 16th, 2006 at 12:20 pmIf we count embassies as USA soil, there have been hundreds of attacks in a radius lesser than 10 miles the last 5 years.
June 16th, 2006 at 12:21 pmFollowing the logic of the National Anthem, let’s make mandatory the fabric of flags of asbestos. Then nobody would be able to burn a flag, nor nobody would want to touch a single one.
June 16th, 2006 at 12:23 pmI will bet that they will spend billions to find out that the moon has no water on it…
There are other candidates that are more fitting (i.e. have water), but they are all farther away from the sun… The most ‘ideal’ candidate they’ve located so far is a Jupiter moon - Io, where a probe was also sent. Beneath it’s cozy CO2 atmosphere, it boasts large quantities of water. The problem is that it’s freezing cold due to location and the lack of sunlight readhing the surface - and the years it would take to transport anything there.
So, for right now, they are limited by space travel to go anywhere else. That measn they should be facing the mess they’ve made here instead of lookiing for ‘miracles’ elsewhere…
June 16th, 2006 at 12:26 pmVice President Dick Cheney claimed that the Iraq war was “in part responsible†for the absence of terrorist attacks in the United States since the September 11, 2001 strikes. The State Department reported in April that the number of terrorist attacks worldwide increased nearly fourfold in 2005.
Shut up Cheney, you know better than any of us what causes terror attacks on US soil.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the flag-burning amendment yesterday. The 11-7 vote “was supported by all committee Republicans and opposed by all but one Democrat — Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.â€
Not on the list of high priorities, I agree this is just to rile up the base
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education yesterday “voted to eliminate $115 million in federal funding for public broadcasting†like NPR and PBS, representing “a 23 percent decrease in the previously-approved 2007 appropriation.â€
Does this mean more suffering through watching PBS ask us for money?
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter is upset that he has not received a response to his request that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testify before his committee on the NSA’s warrantless spying programs. Specter said yesterday, “I will ask for authorization for a subpoena if we do not get an adequate response.â€
Specter, they think your a joke, don’t you get it by now?
59: Percentage of Americans who say climate change warrants “some action†or “immediate†steps, up from 51% in 1999, according to a WSJ/NBC poll.
What will the same people think when they are asked to change things about thier own lifestyle?
June 16th, 2006 at 12:44 pm#29 - Welcome back Sharon,
Things just aren’t the same around here without your wisdom and razor wit. Sorry you lost your friend — always a difficult thing. What kind of tree will you hug for me today? ;)
June 16th, 2006 at 12:48 pm#39 - For Truth, great run-down, as usual.
Here’s a bizarre story I was reading this morning. Idaho only makes CNN when GWB visits and when we have truly weird shit going on.
A guy in Boise was driving erratically, and he crossed traffic and ran head-on into another car killing a mother and her daughter, injuring another daughter. During the wreck, the severed head of the erratic driver’s wife flies out of the car, but the wife’s body isn’t in the car, it’s at home in the garage where he left it after he murdered her. It didn’t say in the story, but this is screaming methamphetamine to me. Weird…
June 16th, 2006 at 12:56 pmOMG, Zoo,
I read the headline on that, but didn’t read enough to see it was in Idaho. Very good guess about the Methamphetamine being a factor, otherwise probably a Republican? He He.
June 16th, 2006 at 1:09 pmAnd here I thought you were off on vacation somewhere — so sorry for all your troubles and loss.
June 16th, 2006 at 1:15 pmFor whatever comfort it is, you can see how many of us noticed your absence.
#43 is to Sharon
June 16th, 2006 at 1:16 pmThis is the second time I have omitted the addressee’s name. Sorry.
Specter is flipflopping because he was helping Plame and later was told it was her and the investigation of domestic plitical groups by Plame that brtought up all those 501s Congress investigated and CIA used NSA assts to investigate; PA is a big telecommuniactions center.
June 16th, 2006 at 1:51 pmLet’s see if I get this. Burning the flag is HORRIBLE, unless you are disposing of it. Desecrating the symbol of our nation is HORRIBLE, but desecrating the foundation of our nation is patriotic. Burning the flag to protest is HORRIBLE, but using the flag in printed advertisements (which will be burned or sent to a land-fill) is American capitalism. No, I guess I don’t get it.
June 16th, 2006 at 2:07 pm#42 - For Truth
Count on it. :-D
June 16th, 2006 at 2:13 pmI’m wearing a T-shirt right now with an image of the US Flag on it. If this anti-Flag Burning Amendment gets ratified, what happens to me if I decide to burn this shirt? Will they try to prosecute me for that? it is, after all, just a shirt and not a flag.
Molly Ivins once pointed out that for George H.W. Bush’s birthday one year, they wheeled out a giant sheet cake decorated as a flag. As she said, “When you think about what ultimately happened to that cake, if that isn’t flag desecration I don’t know what is.” (or somethign like that.)
The point is, what will be considered a “flag”? A cake decorated like one? A T-shirt with a flag on it? A newspaper ad with all kinds of flag images in it? And how would they decide where the anti-flag burning part ends and the rest of our free speech rights begin? This is a stupid idea. You don;t like to see people burning the US flag? Too bad. I don’t like seeing the Republicans in Congress pass legislation benefitting nobody but the wealthiest among us, but I have to live with it. So do you with flag burners.
June 16th, 2006 at 2:29 pm#48 - Well said as usual, Wayne. Try not to sweat on the T-shirt, ok? And for heaven’s sake, don’t eat it. ;)
June 16th, 2006 at 2:53 pmExcellent post and point Wayne… They left the terminology so broad that will companies stop manufacturing items with the flag on it for fear of being sued? Will, in the long run, this actually cost people jobs and income from selling flags and associated flag items? Sounds rather anti-Capitalistic to me…
June 16th, 2006 at 3:03 pmOh, and - so much for ‘less government’…
June 16th, 2006 at 3:06 pm[…] Think Progress […]
June 16th, 2006 at 5:16 pm#42 - Very good guess about the Methamphetamine being a factor, otherwise probably a Republican? He He. - Comment by For Truth
June 16th, 2006 at 5:32 pm******Wrong again, ForB$. A recent poll in Jackson county Missouri - the nations’ hotbed of meth production and tweakers, show 98% of meth freaks are left-of-center. Who knew????
#54 - Mighty Haggis, you’ve got to have a link for that one. It’s a must read.
June 16th, 2006 at 5:38 pmDear Zooscooper - thank you for taking my Prog test - NATURALLY you ignored the post about NO terror hits inside the US since 9/11 - - but jumped headlong into the meth cooker…..
June 16th, 2006 at 6:11 pmWell, MA, could be because terrorist attacks in the US don’t happen every day. As someone noted upthread it was 8 1/2 years between foreign terrorist attacks on our soil. Unless you consider the millenium bomber, which Clinton THWARTED then it is only about 7 years so we are looking at 2008? Just in time for the presidential elections. Wonder how Bush will react…I mean after soiling himself.
June 16th, 2006 at 6:58 pmWayne and others, as desecration is undefined in the Amendment, Congress will be free to define the term in any manner it so chooses. So, yes, clothing, a bumper sticker, a printed advertisement, a button, anything with the red/white/blue motif could be subject to statutory proscription, and, even more important, what is the intent necessary for desecration to occur?
Is it desecration if you intend the message to be of protest? If so, then it is not about protecting the flag, it is about restricting protests against the Government. Is that the freedom and liberty our young men and women are dying for…to restrict the ability of people who disagree with the Government to speak out?
The fact is, laws prohibiting the “desecration of the flag” were stricken as an unconstitutional infringement on the right of free speech. The solution? Take away the right of free speech.
If nobody can complain about the Government, that will make everything alright.
June 16th, 2006 at 7:02 pmBriseadh, I am not lawyer. It seems to me it is pretty tough to enforce a law based on intent. Any thoughts?
June 16th, 2006 at 7:08 pmEspecially considering that burning the flag is the respectful way to destroy the flag. I can’t see charging someone with no context.
June 16th, 2006 at 7:09 pmThank’s for the great posts all….I hugged a 80 foot cedar today and the lab pup drug me all over the place….My day started at 4:30 so winding down by now. ….I did miss all the news and views from T.P. and your notes. It is good to be back and most especialy slamming the right wing nut cases…..The nut case decider was in our state today,,bbooooooo, there were a few protesters. Sure hope to see some good changes soon…..Good post Wayne…I always wonder how many people have read the flag eticate and rules, more importantly how many have read our constitution. It amazes me how these people (republicans) thump their bibles, wave the flag and wear their little pins and send our troops off to a peremptive war for this maniac and no thought of true rights to our country and her people..Totaly dismanteling the constitution, our country and the air, soil and water all over the world is certainly not christian or even humane…….Even mother nature and the animal kingdon doestn’t crap in their own nest. I realy don’t get it and don’t get how they are still walking around doing more damage….Blessings all and thanks for the kind words..
June 16th, 2006 at 7:25 pmFlag desecration? Now there’s an issue that really needs the attention of our elected officials.
I, as a Democrat, am extremely proud of our American flag. To me, it represents a symbol of all the good in this country. I AM A PATRIOT. To me, that does not mean I blindly follow leaders who are conducting themselves in such a manner as to desecrate the flag I love.
It’s not the person burning the flag in protest that bothers me, it’s the government who misrepresents and lies to its people. That’s the real desecration. When did the Conservative Right make our flag some untouchable religious symbol, something comparable to the crucifix.
The Republicans are always claiming to be for “less government”, except of course when they want to legislate the lives of homosexuals, eavesdrop on telephone conversations or American citizens, dictate what a woman does with her body, prohibit flag burning…blah blah blah.
If I see someone burning a flag, it offends me, indeed it hurts. But I do not expect everyone to feel the same as I do about it. If one chooses to burn a flag to symbolically make a statement, it is his or her right to do so. It does not diminish the meaning behind the flag for me. It is merely a SYMBOL of something much deeper, much greater than simply a cut of cloth.
June 18th, 2006 at 11:21 pmDid you call the authorities? Did you let someone know? Did you do your part, live up to today’s society of making a positive contribution?
June 30th, 2006 at 6:13 pmJessie
I like Your article
April 4th, 2008 at 8:37 pm