ThinkFast: June 17, 2008
ThinkFast: June 17, 2008
A Senate investigation has found that “top Pentagon officials began assembling lists of harsh interrogation techniques in the summer of 2002 for use on detainees at Guantanamo Bay and that those officials later cited memos from field commanders to suggest that the proposals originated far down the chain of command.” It provides evidence that the policies were “not the work of out-of-control, lower-ranking troops.”
Yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a lawsuit brought by a Pakistani man who was living in the U.S. before being imprisoned after Sept. 11, 2001. The man was held for in solitary confinement for several months, “where he was subjected to daily body-cavity searches…as well as to beatings and to extremes of hot and cold,” after which he pleaded guilty to document fraud.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, former Justice Department official John Yoo condemns last week’s Supreme Court habeas corpus ruling as “judicial imperialism of the highest order,” claiming it gives rights to those “captured fighting against the U.S.” Glenn Greenwald responds, “[A] huge bulk of our ‘War on Terror’ prisoners, including those at Guantanamo, were not ‘captured fighting against the U.S.’ at all.”
Charles M. Smith, the Army official who oversaw a multibillion-dollar contract with KBR, “says he was ousted from his job when he refused to approve paying more than $1 billion in questionable charges to KBR.” “They had a gigantic amount of costs they couldn’t justify,” he said. His successors “approved most of the payments he had tried to block.”
On the trail today: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) continues his “Change That Works For You” Tour today with a meeting with students in Taylor, Michigan. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) “will try to appeal to oil-state interests” with an energy speech in Houston.
In a letter sent to Karl Rove’s attorney Robert Luskin, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said they may be willing to accept “that Rove appear ‘without a transcript or oath,’ but without any limit on the committee’s right to seek sworn testimony later.”
The New York Times writes that “McCain appears to have ceded some of his carefully cultivated reputation as a maverick.” On the big-ticket issues, McCain’s “stances are indeed similar to Mr. Bush’s brand of conservatism.”
In the past two fiscal years, nearly 20,000 soldiers have been discharged. Many of them run the risk of “financial ruin” while they wait for their “claims to be processed and their benefits to come through.” Injured soldiers are usually “discharged on just a fraction of their salary and then forced to wait six to nine months, and sometimes even more than a year, before their full disability payments begin to flow.”
“The global number of refugees and displaced people reached 67 million last year,” according to the UN refugee agency. Once again, Afghanistan and Iraq topped the list of the countries of origins for refugees with 3.1 million and 2.3 million respectively. In Iraq, “the number of internally displaced rose from 1.8 million at the start of the year to close to 2.4 million by the end of 2007″ due to sectarian and political divisions.
“Congressional leaders lost millions in last year’s economic downturn,” financial disclosure reports show. Yet “while House members suffered losses, senators defied the odds and saw their profit margins rise.” Both Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “added hundreds of thousands to their holdings between 2006 and 2007.”
And finally: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has made 22 trips to Israel during the Bush administration, including this past weekend. Yet as Time’s Jerusalem Bureau Chief Tim McGirk notes, “[S]he has little to show for it.” There was “no fanfare, no motorcades snarling up the city’s traffic,” and she couldn’t even book a room at her usual hotel, having to settle for a “less grand” one. Israeli TV announcers have even “coined her name as a verb, meaning to go endlessly around in circles, accomplishing nothing.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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Soldiers risk ruin while awaiting benefit checks
His lifelong dream of becoming a soldier had, in the end, come to this for Isaac Stevens: 28, penniless, in a wheelchair, fending off the sexual advances of another man in a homeless shelter. The injury alone didn't put him in a homeless shelter. Instead, it was military bureaucracy — specifically, the way injured soldiers are discharged on just a fraction of their salary and then forced to wait six to nine months, and sometimes even more than a year, before their full disability payments begin to flow.
Typically, the first 100 days after discharge are spent just gathering medical and other evidence needed to make a decision on disability, VA officials say. If paperwork is incomplete, or a veteran moves to another state before the claim is decided, the process can drag on longer. Disagree with the VA's decision, and the wait time grows.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/Soldiers_risk_ruin_while_awaiting_b_06162008.html
Even if you do all the paperwork right, your wait can typically be a very long time. There is no one assigned to help you through the VA once you are out. "A veteran goes and serves and does what the country asks them to do," the congressman Hall D-NY said. "But when they come back they're made to jump through these hoops and to wait in line for disability benefits."
John Hall (D-NY) is trying to make this easier on the disabled veterans, he is pushing through legislation to get compatible computer systems for the VA. Hopefully this will help cut down the time they have to wait to receive benefits. After all these years there is no excuse for all this red tape and complicated paperwork. I think it’s pretty much a no-brainer if a veteran is confined to a wheelchair for life there isn’t any grey area about his disability. The VA needs to start treating these vets with the respect that they deserve and quit adding to their hardships.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:01 amIn a Wall Street Journal op-ed, former Justice Department official John Yoo condemns last week’s Supreme Court habeas corpus ruling as “judicial imperialism of the highest order,” arguing against giving rights to those “captured fighting against the U.S.”
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Coming from the man who deemed it acceptable to crush the testicles of a child, this is high praise indeed.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:01 am"...top Pentagon officials began assembling lists of harsh interrogation techniques in the summer of 2002 for use on detainees at Guantanamo Bay..."
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Never plan anything illegal without devising a way to blame it on someone else. I wonder if THAT is in the field manual?
June 17th, 2008 at 9:03 amWashington, DC, Puts Itself Under Surveillance
From a dimly lit room in a secure command center, 21 streaming video feeds from 4,775 surveillance cameras around the nation’s capital are projected across three screens and monitored at all hours. Every few seconds, footage from a different location pops up — a busy road, a picnic bench, the entrance to the new baseball stadium. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is trying to set up one of the most comprehensive centrally controlled visual surveillance systems in the world. In the nerve center, which opened last month, the city’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency can monitor video from four city agencies — covering streets, schools, housing projects, parks and roads — for threats and other nefarious activities.
For those who have accepted the city’s fate as a prime terrorist target, this may be cause for relief. But to the many civil liberties groups headquartered in Washington, the move undermines privacy, encourages abuse and represents the first step toward a surveillance system like London’s, where a person’s every public move can be tracked on about 10,000 government-funded cameras that have been dubbed a “ring of steel.”
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/16/9662/
You Are Under Surveillance. One more way the government is trying to control your life and infringe on your civil liberties. Sponsored by the Federal Government.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:04 amYay, Yoo; you go, girl. Imperialism is strictly the province (so to speak) of the Executive. Damn the Republic, full speed ahead.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:05 amGlenn Greenwald responds, “[A] huge bulk of our ‘War on Terror’ prisoners, including those at Guantanamo, were not ‘captured fighting against the U.S.’ at all.”
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Do we know how many detainees at Guantanamo are there merely because one of their neighbors was looking for a bounty payment? It might explain why our government is so afraid that the SCOTUS determined they have a right to a trial.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:06 amCharles M. Smith, the Army official who oversaw a multibillion-dollar contract with KBR, “says he was ousted from his job when he refused to approve paying more than $1 billion in questionable charges to KBR.”
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Apparently, Mr. Smith never got the memo that said KBR could do anything and spend any amount of money without question.
After all, what would we have done with money we saved by making KBR accountable? Squander it on education for returning G.I.s or some other silliness?
/snark off
June 17th, 2008 at 9:09 amGovernments step up blogger arrests
No matter what you think of blogging, Internet-based citizen journalism is a real threat, not just to traditional media business models but to totalitarian governments. How do we know that bloggers are drawing blood? Because some governments are hitting back harder and harder; last year saw a tripling in the number of bloggers arrested around the world compared to 2006, according to a report from the University of Washington.
"Last year, 2007, was a record year for blogger arrests, with three times as many as in 2006. Egypt, Iran and China are the most dangerous places to blog about political life, accounting for more than half of all arrests since blogging became big," said Assistant Professor Phil Howard, lead author of the World Information Access Report. Howard also suggests that the real number of arrests may be much higher, as not every arrest makes it into the media.
The report separates the reason for arrests into six categories: violation of cultural norms, blogging involved with social protest, blogging about public policy, blogging about political figures, exposing corruption or human rights violations, and finally "other." In addition to Iran, Egypt and China, Middle Eastern regimes in Syria and Saudi Arabia, and South East Asian nations such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand also figure in the report. Another troubling trend has been the complicity of western Internet firms such as Yahoo and Google, both of whom have handed over details of bloggers to the Chinese government, despite publicly condemning such policies.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080615-worldwide-rise-in-the-number-of-blogger-arrests.html
What makes me angry is Yahoo and Google are making it easier for these bloggers to get arrested. What a bunch of hypocrites.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:09 amYou know, we used to have a Quartermaster Corps and every so often some Spec 4 would get thrown in the stockade for stealing a case of booze. Now we have Dick Cheney's gang of looters plundering hundreds of billions of public monies immune from even investigation. Wunnerful.
BTW, I'd say every penny paid to Halliburton and its "former" subsidiaries is questionable.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:12 am...“that Rove appear ‘without a transcript or oath,’ but without any limit on the committee’s right to seek sworn testimony later.”
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Rove will never, never, ever say anything under oath. Beats me why not. His lying is so automatic and effortless he could probably pass a polygraph test. And he himself thinks he's good enough that he'll never get caught for any of his crimes. So why not lie under oath? What does he have to lose?
As much as I would love to see Rove testify under oath before Congress (hog-tied if necessary), I doubt we could ever trust any testimony from him.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:12 amBlogger arrests in the US in 4...3...2...1...
snark off
June 17th, 2008 at 9:12 amFreedom Rebel Says:
From a dimly lit room in a secure command center, 21 streaming video feeds from 4,775 surveillance cameras around the nation’s capital are projected across three screens and monitored at all hours.
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So let me see if I can work out the math here. I'm assuming that the screens are each showing nine simultaneous video streams apiece.
4,775 cameras divided by 21 streams = each stream must feed 227 cameras per day. Considering that there are 1,440 minutes in each day, this means that each individual camera is being watched for about six minutes and twenty seconds per day.
So if a terrorist happens to be carrying out an attack in any of the other 1,433 minutes and 40 seconds of any given day, he's pretty much in the clear.
Makes one wonder if this measure is supposed to make us feel safer, or just make us feel like we're being watched.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:13 amCompassionate Conservatism rears its horned brow.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:14 amWaxman: "Potentially Thousands of Criminal Cases Involving Fraudulent Contracts in Iraq"
A letter from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-Cali.) states that there may be "potentially thousands of criminal cases involving fraudulent contracts in Iraq." Chairman Waxman's letter to Pentagon Inspector General Claude Kicklighter is based on an audit by the DoD IG that found that 4% of 702 transactions examined in a sample worth $1.5 billion "appeared to involve criminal misuse of taxpayer funds." Waxman's staff extrapolated this to the entire pool of 180,000 transactions. Thus, "there may be more than 7,000 potential criminal cases involving more than $190 million in federal spending that have not been identified." He added, "This is an astounding amount of potential criminal fraud."
Waxman requests that the DoD IG spend further resources and dig in to find and prosecute the full extent of the actual fraud.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3355449
Why is it always a Democrat that finds major criminal misuse and fraud of taxpayers money? Thanks Waxman for always looking to correct the never ending problems in our government.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:15 am"In a letter sent to Karl Rove’s attorney Robert Luskin, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said they may be willing to accept “that Rove appear ‘without a transcript or oath,’ but without any limit on the committee’s right to seek sworn testimony later."
...and once again, the Dems turn p*ssy and let these scum off the hook.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:16 amThe New York Times writes that “McCain appears to have ceded some of his carefully cultivated reputation as a maverick.”
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"Ceded"???? No, McBomb has thrown whatever "maverick" reputation he ever had into a car crusher. And what is truly baffling is that he really stepped up the pace on this AFTER he clinched the GOP nomination.
Why? He actually might have had a chance with some independents before -- now he's only assured of the Bushco 25% and whoever he can scare over to his side by trashing Obama.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:17 am"In the past two fiscal years, nearly 20,000 soldiers have been discharged. Many of them run the risk of “financial ruin” while they wait for their “claims to be processed and their benefits to come through.” Injured soldiers are usually “discharged on just a fraction of their salary and then forced to wait six to nine months, and sometimes even more than a year, before their full disability payments begin to flow."
Republicans: SO? SCR*W THE TROOPS!
June 17th, 2008 at 9:18 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
Do we know how many detainees at Guantanamo are there merely because one of their neighbors was looking for a bounty payment? It might explain why our government is so afraid that the SCOTUS determined they have a right to a trial.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:06 am
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Well, according to the last stats I heard from 2007, only about 15% were actually picked up on the battlefield and only 8% have any suspected connection to al-Qa'ida.
Though it's not necessarily the case that the other detainees were picked up solely because a neighbor wanted the cash. It's also possible that they were ratted out by a family or tribal rival who wanted to settle an old grudge, or they were a political columnist who was saying something the government of Pakistan or China didn't like, or they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are oh-so-many reasons to end up at GTMO.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:19 amIn a letter sent to Karl Rove’s attorney Robert Luskin, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said they may be willing to accept “that Rove appear ‘without a transcript or oath,’ but without any limit on the committee’s right to seek sworn testimony later.”
Well, I guess the Democrats aren't going to get tough with Rove after all. I was excited there for a while thinking they might use Inherent Contempt to make him testify. I really don't understand the Democrats. They have the country behind them. WHAT ARE THEY AFRAID OF? Do they really think that voters are going to get angry with them for making Rove and the others testify under oath before Congress?
June 17th, 2008 at 9:19 amDaily body cavity searches? What did they think they would find up his butt that wasn't there the day before?
June 17th, 2008 at 9:19 am#12 hussein toasterhead Says:
Freedom Rebel Says:
From a dimly lit room in a secure command center, 21 streaming video feeds from 4,775 surveillance cameras around the nation’s capital are projected across three screens and monitored at all hours.
________
So if a terrorist happens to be carrying out an attack in any of the other 1,433 minutes and 40 seconds of any given day, he’s pretty much in the clear.
Makes one wonder if this measure is supposed to make us feel safer, or just make us feel like we’re being watched.
Good Morning hussein toasterhead :) Basically being watched.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:21 amWith a government sponsored surveillance system. Your tax dollars hard at work. (sarcasm off)
"Daily body cavity searches? What did they think they would find up his butt that wasn’t there the day before?"
I think they are still looking for those darn WMDs...
June 17th, 2008 at 9:22 amshoeless Says:
Daily body cavity searches? What did they think they would find up his butt that wasn’t there the day before?
June 17th, 2008 at 9:19 am
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The last remaining pieces of America's credibility as a world power.
They've got to be somewhere, right?
June 17th, 2008 at 9:22 amIsraeli TV announcers have even “coined her name as a verb, meaning to go endlessly around in circles, accomplishing nothing.”
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ooooo, I like it. And there are a number of applications for such a verb here in this country, too.
I wonder which name got coined as the verb? "Rice"? "Condoleezza"? "Condi"?
Application: "The president announced today a bold new plan to establish new benchmarks for the Iraqi government, but most an*lysts predict it will just result in more Ricing..."
June 17th, 2008 at 9:23 amYoo's comment about the habeas corpus ruling provides further evidence of his Nazi aspirations.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:27 amIn a letter sent to Karl Rove’s attorney Robert Luskin, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said they may be willing to accept “that Rove appear ‘without a transcript or oath,’ but without any limit on the committee’s
Complicit. Ineffective. Idle. Without a spine. These are only a few words to describe your democratically-controlled 110th Congress. Even without overwhelming majorities, they could be doing more.
How would you like to pay for that, Nancy? Cash or lip-service? Would you like a receipt?
Nancy: Lip-service. No receipt necessary, I don't do accountability. Thank you.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:30 amInteresting study comparing the brains of women and homosexual men.
I believe as time goes one, science will show that homosexuality is NOT a choice!
June 17th, 2008 at 9:31 amBut of course, us free thinkin' folks already knew that!
Protest Group Calls Bush Invitation An Outrage
The Bush Not Welcome group, which represents in excess of 100 people, have organised a protest at Stormont scheduled for 2.30pm. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, group spokesman Paddy Meehan said it was an outrage for Northern Ireland’s politicians to have invited the US leader to the province: “Bush Not Welcome opposes Bush’s legacy in Iraq, his environmental crimes and his anti-worker policies,” said Mr Meehan.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/16/9654/
The protesters have Anti-Bush T-Shirts that show his picture with Psycho as the camption. I want one of those. The Bush Not Welcome group should have a chapter in the US, I would join in a heartbeat.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:34 amFrom Yoo's Wall Street op-ed: "Last week's Supreme Court decision in Boumediene v. Bush has been painted as a stinging rebuke of the administration's antiterrorism policies. From the celebrations on most U.S. editorial pages, one might think that the court had stopped a dictator from trampling civil liberties."
Yes, Mr. Yoo. That's precisely what the Supreme Court did, and it's precisely why anyone who cares about the U.S. Constitution is celebrating this decision. And you, Mr. Yoo, should be tried as a war criminal. You are an enemy of the people and a traitor to the U.S.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:34 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
Application: “The president announced today a bold new plan to establish new benchmarks for the Iraqi government, but most an*lysts predict it will just result in more Ricing…”
June 17th, 2008 at 9:23 am
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I believe the term "ricing" is already in use. In contemporary slang, it means:
Interestinly, it's still quite appropriate in the Iraq war context.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:35 amIn a Wall Street Journal op-ed, former Justice Department official John Yoo condemns last week’s Supreme Court habeas corpus ruling as “judicial imperialism of the highest order,” claiming it gives rights to those “captured fighting against the U.S.” Glenn Greenwald responds, “[A] huge bulk of our ‘War on Terror’ prisoners, including those at Guantanamo, were not ‘captured fighting against the U.S.’ at all.”
Why is anyone still listening to this man? What do you have to do these days to discredit yourself, crush the testicles of a small child? Oh wait...
http://progressiveworldreview.com
June 17th, 2008 at 9:37 amFreedom Rebel Says: Protest Group Calls Bush Invitation An Outrage
In the CNN Ticker yesterday they posted an article about Jeb Bush running for President in the future. I scanned about 100 of the comments and not one person was even remotely supportive. It was all outrage. It was also the first time I'd ever seen uniform comments like that. Usually there are a variety of opinions. Not on this one. "God no!" was the typical response. I hope it means we've learned a lesson.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:41 amIn a letter sent to Karl Rove’s attorney Robert Luskin, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said they may be willing to accept “that Rove appear ‘without a transcript or oath,’ but without any limit on the committee’s right to seek sworn testimony later.”
Why bother? Why "seek sworn testimony later?" Are the Democrats waiting for a spine transplant before doing their Constitutional duty?
http://progressiveworldreview.com
June 17th, 2008 at 9:42 amDRxJ Says: Interesting study comparing the brains of women and homosexual men. I believe as time goes one, science will show that homosexuality is NOT a choice!
But of course, us free thinkin’ folks already knew that!
Some years ago, I saw a study done by a doctor in Amsterdam who had dissected the brains of 8 transexual men and discovered that the hypothalimus was identical to that of a typical woman, confirming that these were in fact women trapped inside men's bodies as they so often described themselves.
60 Minutes recently did a story of another doctor who discovered that there could be a link between the Y-chromosome in a devloping male fetus and the mother's body seeing it as a foreign object with which to be fought. Rarely are first born males gay. It usually takes another cycle or two for the mothr's body to figure out how to 'attack' the foreign object and as a result, the more older brothers you have the more likely the odds that you'll be gay.
So much evidence - but really, I think the proof comes from knowing the struggles of gay people by first hand account. I find it hard to believe that so many of them would choose to be gay in such a homophobic culture.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:47 amCan Georgia Be Obama's Ohio?
No one who has been following Barack Obama's upstart path to the Democratic presidential nomination should be surprised at his campaign's claim that he does not need to win Florida and Ohio to have a chance at winning it all in November. Obama has been pursuing an ambitious national strategy from the start.
In Georgia, the Obama campaign has wasted no time, launching massive voter registration drives before he the primaries had even ended. "By some estimates we have about 600,000 African Americans in Georgia are eligible but unregistered. I think that number is a little high, but we will be working very hard to register as many voters as we can before the election," said Jane Kidd, chairwoman of the Georgia Democratic Party. "Georgia is one of the most progressive southern states. There are a lot of people moving in, there's a lot of transition, a lot of progressives."
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1815194,00.html
June 17th, 2008 at 9:49 am#32 unbelievable Says:
Freedom Rebel Says: Protest Group Calls Bush Invitation An Outrage
In the CNN Ticker yesterday they posted an article about Jeb Bush running for President in the future. I scanned about 100 of the comments and not one person was even remotely supportive. It was all outrage. It was also the first time I’d ever seen uniform comments like that. Usually there are a variety of opinions. Not on this one. “God no!” was the typical response. I hope it means we’ve learned a lesson.
Good Morning! I read the same article, LOL. The fact that George Bush would even suggest that his brother would make a good candidate for Presidnt almost made me vomit. George is quoted as saying "He did such a great job with Florida".
I was glad, like you, to see the consensus was the same, what a horrifing thought to have another Bush in office.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:55 amIt was a gradual transition and decline...from respectable legislators and academics...to oil company think-tank shills and legalistic fascists.
America is actually quoting and encouraging torture advocates.
Of course, it's now fitting and not a little ironic that America shares its symbology with both imperial Rome and the Third Reich...the eagle.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:56 amFreedom Rebel Says: Good Morning! I read the same article, LOL. The fact that George Bush would even suggest that his brother would make a good candidate for Presidnt almost made me vomit. George is quoted as saying “He did such a great job with Florida”. I was glad, like you, to see the consensus was the same, what a horrifing thought to have another Bush in office.
I can't believe how proud of my country I have been in the past couple of months. I really, after 2004, didn't think all of this would be possible. It's quite promising.
I heard the speech Obama gave yesterday and was particularlly thrilled with his ideas on education. He said everything every good teacher I know wishes for. If we don't fix the broken education system in our country, we really will watch China take our place. After all, they have more gifted students than we have students...
June 17th, 2008 at 10:06 amhanshiro Says:
It was a gradual transition and decline…from respectable legislators and academics…to oil company think-tank shills and legalistic fascists.
Did "repectable" legislators and acadmics go along with the internment of American citizens during WW2? I think you have a slightly scewed vision of America's ruling elite. When push comes to shove, they don't have the best track record for protecting ALL Americans.
Respectability? More like craven self-interest.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:07 amWe knew that the impetus for torture came from the top--this merely further confirms that fact and points up the callous cowardice of those who wield power unchecked either by the other branches of government or any semblance of personal ethics, morals, or respect for the rule of law.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:08 amuncle ho - did you get to see OBAMA and GORE last night?
gore's speech was a good one... for some reason, msnbc did not show the obama speech...
i loved gore'd line: even our pets know we need change...
June 17th, 2008 at 10:10 amfunny!
In a letter sent to Karl Rove’s attorney Robert Luskin, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said they may be willing to accept “that Rove appear ‘without a transcript or oath,’...
that's a big step BACKWARDS...
imagine that...
June 17th, 2008 at 10:11 amThe drum beat from the right against SCOTUS' correct decision on Guantanamo prisoners' rights should make us all wary as any day any one of us who opposes their reign of terror and intimidation might similarly be accused of being a terrorist and, therefore, not possessed of right to even confront our accusers and prove our innocence. O tempora! O mores!
June 17th, 2008 at 10:13 amunbelievable Says:
“By some estimates we have about 600,000 African Americans in Georgia are eligible but unregistered. I think that number is a little high, but we will be working very hard to register as many voters as we can before the election,”
But, like Ohio in 2004, Georgia now has both Republican Governor and Republican Sec. of State. So, like Ohio in 2004, it doesn't matter how many African Americans register to vote, the Republican Sec. of State can just refuse to deliver enough voting machines to heavily African American precincts, and they won't be able to cast their ballots.
It worked so well in Cleveland and Columbus in 2004, you can bet they will attempt to pull the same trick in Atlanta and Augusta.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:14 amFor background in regard to Charles Smith's firing and KBR and other contractors' administration-protected bilking of the American taxpayers, see Rasor and Baumann's Betraying Our Troops: The Destructive Results of Privatizing War for examples of the ills involved in Iraq War contracting.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:18 amThe above photo struck me as being very descriptive of the position of our government - The main perpetrator (Bush) and his strongest supporter (Rice) looking straight ahead and proud and the other members of the gathering all with bowed heads either as they tried to avoid being identified or were ashamed to their souls for what they are involved in or both.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:19 amdubya and condi look like they're holding hands in that picture...
June 17th, 2008 at 10:21 amor hooking pinkies... how cute.
kasty; no, I did not see it. was playing games on the computer.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:21 amshoeless Says: But, like Ohio in 2004, Georgia now has both Republican Governor and Republican Sec. of State. So, like Ohio in 2004, it doesn’t matter how many African Americans register to vote, the Republican Sec. of State can just refuse to deliver enough voting machines to heavily African American precincts, and they won’t be able to cast their ballots. It worked so well in Cleveland and Columbus in 2004, you can bet they will attempt to pull the same trick in Atlanta and Augusta.
Our Govenor is a former Democrat. He's frequently more liberal than the Democratic candidates who have challeneged him in elections.
And don't forget the Bob Barr factor. He'll probably win his old district which, according to the article, accounts for 8% of the vote alone. Very conservative people here like the idea of no government so much that they will vote against McCain, even if it means Obama will win. And the moderate conservatives will vote for Obama because they think McCain is scary.
I think that will be hard to steal. Remember Bill Clinton won Georgia in 1992... A lot of people here voted for Perot then too, even though Bush Sr. was Reagan's VP.
I will be surprised if McCain wins Georgia. I still see Bush bumperstickers, but so far, not one McCain bumpersticker...
June 17th, 2008 at 10:35 am#40 Doc Rock Says:
We knew that the impetus for torture came from the top–this merely further confirms that fact and points up the callous cowardice of those who wield power unchecked either by the other branches of government or any semblance of personal ethics, morals, or respect for the rule of law.
They would rather be right than think of the consequences of their actions. But their justifications for wanting to be right and winning have always been skewed. "National Security" is the cover they keep using to "protect us".
The concept they just keep missing is that, when you go down the path of torture and wrongful imprisonment you have to sacrifice all the principles and values that are the foundation of our constitution and our country. There is never a justification for these methods that can possible be in the best interest of the country. The world looks to our country as a moral barimeter, at least they use to, and we have an obligation to set an example that other countries should live by. What Bush has done is tarnish that image for a very long time. We have alot to make up for.
We have to be better than the terrorists that car bomb, blow up buildings, and kill many innocent people who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bush lowered the bar, out of fear and cowardice, as you so eloquently put it. That needs to change and never ever go back to our current agenda of handling prisoners.
Great Post Doc Rock :)
June 17th, 2008 at 10:45 amJohn Yoo, one of the slimiest examples of a legal mind in the world. He was a major architect of the torture position for the BushCo regime.
And, he was also on the short list ar Gozo's replacement as AG.
EEEWWWWW!!
June 17th, 2008 at 10:47 am'ar Gozo's' s/b 'as Gonzo's'
June 17th, 2008 at 10:47 amrogerse Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 10:51 am…These rosy projections make universal health care seem almost painless, particularly when the savings estimates far outweigh the costs of Obama’s plan (his campaign projects $50 billion to $65 billion a year in new government funds). But it’s highly questionable that Obama could reach the level of savings he touts within one term.
Bullhshit! We're currently blowing $10-12 Billion a month in Iraq. Explain to me how we can do that, but we can't afford National Healthcare coverage...I'm waiting...
Bush to Conduit: Do i look like a cowboy condi ?
Conduit: You got your belt . . buckle, & your boots . . dusty, you'll always be my cowboy georgie.
Rummy to Dick: How's the family dick?
Dick: I've gotten rich as hell off this whole terror gig, how 'bout you dummy, I-mean rummy, how are you gettin' along after we fired you, still cashin' in on the meds ?
Dude on the end: Please just let me go home, I don't wanna do this no more, I just wanna see my mommy.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:54 amIn a letter sent to Karl Rove’s attorney Robert Luskin, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said they may be willing to accept “that Rove appear ‘without a transcript or oath,’ but without any limit on the committee’s right to seek sworn testimony later.”
It sickens me to see they've gone from strongly-worded letters
to meekly-worded capitulation.
How do these wimps sleep at night?
June 17th, 2008 at 10:59 amGeorge and Condi holding hands, rummy, dick and myers (?) hang their rejected heads. Oh, George must be the decider or does he just command her faint heart?
June 17th, 2008 at 11:01 amFreedom Rebel Says:
Soldiers risk ruin while awaiting benefit checks
Why do the republics hate the troops?
Good morning FR :)
June 17th, 2008 at 11:05 amFreedom Rebel Says:
You Are Under Surveillance. One more way the government is trying to control your life and infringe on your civil liberties. Sponsored by the Federal Government.
This country has become a very scary place to live. I still don't understand how this can be acceptable to any right-minded American.
June 17th, 2008 at 11:07 amFreedom Rebel Says:
“Last year, 2007, was a record year for blogger arrests, with three times as many as in 2006. Egypt, Iran and China are the most dangerous places to blog
If McFascist gets elected they'll add America to that list before his 1st term is up.
June 17th, 2008 at 11:10 amThe senates investment success comes from being heavily invested in Haliburton and KBR types. Inother words they are just shoveling your money throught their bank accounts.
In addition it is obviously timre that Condi return to the US and stop wasting our tax dollars flying to cheap hotels in the middle east. Sure they would like to see her leave as well.
June 17th, 2008 at 11:12 amFreedom Rebel Says:
Why is it always a Democrat that finds major criminal misuse and fraud of taxpayers money?
Perhaps because it's always a repuke committing the fraud :)~
June 17th, 2008 at 11:13 am#58 Exit Stage Left Says:
Freedom Rebel Says:
Soldiers risk ruin while awaiting benefit checks
Why do the republics hate the troops?
Good morning FR :)
Good day Exit Stage Left :)
They Don't Vote Republican.. Can we blame them? NO, LOL
June 17th, 2008 at 11:14 am#59 Exit Stage Left Says:
Freedom Rebel Says:
You Are Under Surveillance. One more way the government is trying to control your life and infringe on your civil liberties. Sponsored by the Federal Government.
This country has become a very scary place to live. I still don’t understand how this can be acceptable to any right-minded American.
Even scarier thought, do you trust the person doing the watching (the hired help)? Your every move being monitored and scrunitized. It is suppose to detour crime, is their selling point. Sorry doesn't work for me, criminals are usually not that stupid. They will go out of camera range and wait for their opportunity. I agree completely, not acceptable to me either. :)
June 17th, 2008 at 11:19 am#60 Exit Stage Left Says:
Freedom Rebel Says:
“Last year, 2007, was a record year for blogger arrests, with three times as many as in 2006. Egypt, Iran and China are the most dangerous places to blog
If McFascist gets elected they’ll add America to that list before his 1st term is up.
I agree. The guy just can't take criticism of any kind. He starts getting red in the face and stutturing, not a pretty sight. If his wife's around, she gets called bad names also. She is a fill in for a punching bag he so desperately needs to vent out his frustrations. :)
June 17th, 2008 at 11:23 amFreedom Rebel Says:
criminals are usually not that stupid. They will go out of camera range and wait for their opportunity. I agree completely, not acceptable to me either. :)
Perhaps we should all move to the country....I doubt they'll put a camera on every corn stalk and scarecrow :)~
June 17th, 2008 at 11:30 amSo as least two new units of measure came from this Administrations occupation of America. The Friedman equals 6-month chunks of time, and the Condi equals going endlessly around in circles, accomplishing nothing. Congratulations!
June 17th, 2008 at 12:14 pmHere's a panoramic photo my wife took from the Detroit rally last night:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080617/MULTI/80617040
20,000+ in attendance. I wonder how many McBush will draw???
June 17th, 2008 at 12:40 pmunbelievable Says:
I will be surprised if McCain wins Georgia.
Will you be as surprised as everyone was when Max Cleeland lost to scumbad Saxby Chambliss?
Remember, the result of that election was strikingly different than the exit polls.
June 17th, 2008 at 1:10 pm.
John Yoo defends the usurpation of Habeas Corpus Rights...
John Yoo defends the use of torture...
John Yoo defends the ability to warrantlessly wiretap...
On what grounds does John Yoo call himself an American...
When he's defended a governments ability to strip it's citizen's identity and national principles?
.
June 17th, 2008 at 1:17 pmAn over sized buckle and a shirt with pockets on both sides and pocket flaps? No wonder Dr. Rice has to hold his hand. Who dresses this guy? Damn, he even has one thumb tucked in...
June 17th, 2008 at 3:57 pmYesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a lawsuit brought by a Pakistani man who was living in the U.S. before being imprisoned after Sept. 11, 2001. The man was held for in solitary confinement for several months, “where he was subjected to daily body-cavity searches…as well as to beatings and to extremes of hot and cold,” after which he pleaded guilty to document fraud.
The gummint's defence is that Ashcrft was just 'doing his job', so we should ignore any alleged Constitutional problems with what he did because, acting in his official capacity, he has immunity for acts done in the carrying out of his job functions. Reprise of "If the preznit does it, that means it's not illegal"....
More here.
Cheers,
June 17th, 2008 at 4:05 pmWelcome to "Yoo's World", where the president having the ability to sexually torture children at his whim ISNT imperialism but judges insisting the constitution being follow IS imperialism..
screew Yoo, the guy a delusional joke, i'm starting to think less and less of my chosen profession daily after seeing what delusional morons can be admitted into the practice. this guy DEFINITELY would be more at place as an adviser to hitler or saddam hussien, because according to his logic, nothing any of those guys did would have been wrong..
June 17th, 2008 at 5:04 pm