ThinkFast: April 22, 2009
ThinkFast: April 22, 2009
The Bush administration did not hear a “single dissent” in seeking approval of its torture program, in part, because Cabinet members and senior lawmakers did not know waterboarding had been prosecuted as a war crime after World War II. The officials also did not know that the military training program on which the techniques were based was designed to counter “torture methods used by Communists in the Korean War.”
Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told the White House that harsh interrogations of detainees produced “valuable” information but it is impossible to tell if the same information could have been gleaned “through other means.” “The bottom line,” he said, is “the damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us and they are not essential to our national security.”
In 2005, former State Department counselor Phillip Zelikow wrote a legal memo holding an “opposing view” from the infamous OLC torture memos. But “[t]he White House attempted to collect and destroy all copies of my memo. I expect that one or two are still at least in the State Department’s archives,” he writes. Zelikow discussed the matter on the Rachel Maddow Show last night.
Roll Call reports, “As hearings over climate change legislation commence this week in the House, Republicans have made known their distaste for the Democratic solution to the problem. Their own solutions, though, remain unclear.” A former GOP aide said, “Republicans need to rally around a strong messaging alternative, and that has to be the free market.”
As of 8 am this morning, more than 9,500 of you have taken action to urge Congress to begin impeachment hearings against Jay Bybee. Please help us spread the word. Thanks for your support.
Yesterday, the Senate voted 73-23 to approve veteran diplomat Christopher Hill as U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Hill’s nomination had been stalled by several Republican senators, including John McCain (AZ) and Lindsey Graham (SC) (who both voted against him yesterday).
The Senate Finance Committee approved the nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services, “probably clearing the way for her confirmation.” Eight of the 10 Republicans on the panel voted against Sebelius, “underscoring the increasingly partisan nature of the emerging healthcare debate on Capitol Hill.”
Yesterday, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) suggested that “the lack of Republican support for Kathleen Sebelius’ nomination to be Health and Human Services secretary is an early indication that the GOP may not be willing to work with Democrats on healthcare reform.” “Maybe the Republicans are telling us they want us to pass healthcare reform through the budget reconciliation process,” said Schumer.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a leading opponent of the Employee Free Choice Act, is “not ready to declare victory just yet.” “It is a little bit of a jump ball at this point. … There is still a lot of potential for this to get destabilized, and we might have so-called compromises offered,” a Chamber official said told The Hill.
Gen. David Petraeus said yesterday that the military situation in Afghanistan will probably deteriorate in the near term. “We do believe we can achieve progress, but it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Petraeus said. “When you go into the enemy’s sanctuaries, they will fight you for it. There will be tough months ahead, without question,” he said.
And finally: Fallen Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich won’t be fulfilling his dream of becoming a reality tv star. Yesterday, a judge denied him permission to travel to Costa Rica for the show, “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.” U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel “called modifying the terms of Blagojevich’s bail on political corruption charges ‘a bad idea.’”
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Following is my post (charming seconds) that TP deleted on Monday 04/20/09 with slight
mods. Note that today in the post signifies 04/20/2009. Complaint is at
this link:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/21/thinkfast-april-21-2009/#comment-5607594
Gene X Portraits of a Liberal Blogger (Hardcover) will be on display for extended
perusal today through 04/22/09 at the London Book Fair, New Titles Showcase at the
entrance foyer to Earls Court Exhibition Center. A special LBF price of $15.00 is set for
all orders booked by 23:59:59GMT 04/22/09 at http://publisher.amplecare.com after which
price reverts to the original $24.95 list. (Illinois residents add $1.53 – sales tax.
Free shipping within CONUS and $10.00 International). A dollar of every book sold through
http://publisher.amplecare.com goes towards helping to fulfill Hill’s election
obligations.
In response to the email barrage the Publisher received about: ©MeeCayne and the
Guitar-Totting Huckleberry, here’s a link to an untitled poem penned by Author in
support of the LGBT protest to not use a particular inflamatory preacher for the
Inaugural:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/12/19/obama-maddow-warren/#comment-5389802
Important email addrs:
Marketing: comfortbeyerbuch@amplecare.com
Publisher: publisher@amplecare.com
FULL DISCLOSURE: Larry Martin is the Author of Gene X Portraits of a
Liberal Blogger (pseudonymously as: “James Saville Row”); Also the Commenter
of same sobriquet, among others documented in the refr’d book.
TODAY’s SPECIAL CONTRIB
THE FLARING NOSTRILS OF PURE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE UNREQUITED
There was once a wondrous vessel hand-laid with the choicest of the Big Bang. Travellers
came from wide and far to behold and pay homage to its beauty. The vessel glowed,
resplendently basking in the attention and hardening its appeal.
Then one day, a rocket ship…
There was a rupture of momentous proportions. The vessel survived, but its thorough ways
collapsed. Gone were its age-old flow of admirers. The full embodiment of its splendor.
And then the vessel broke in perfection.
May the supreme eternal whispers of the mighty winds of time convey you into the safe
hands and divine care of Amenti of the land of the west.
Goodbye My Mother Adieu!
Mrs. Cecilia O. Martins
January 18, 1930 – March 29, 2009
She was a Christian (Anglican)
**Funeral Proceedings and Interrare: April 24, 2009 10:00GMT**
Kathleen Battle & Jessye Norman Sing Vangelis’ Mythodaea – Movement 9:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_0vaNUD9WY
Anyone interested in attending the funeral with me? Big Bro, can you spare an Air Force
Jet?
But…
I Remain Yours,
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:02 amJames Saville Row
Writer of Scrolls
Lover of Women
Broker of Karma
“The Bush administration did not hear a “single dissent” in seeking approval of its torture program, in part, because Cabinet members and senior lawmakers did not know waterboarding had been prosecuted as a war crime after World War II. The officials also did not know that the military training program on which the techniques were based was designed to counter “torture methods used by Communists in the Korean War.”
What’s the expression? Those that don’t know history are doomed to repeat it? Cabinet members and senior lawmakers are woefully ignorant, but I guess that we get the government that we deserve…
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:05 amTo speak plainly, Republicans are partisan to the point of treason.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:05 am‘…the GOP may not be willing to work with Democrats on healthcare reform.’
The GOP, Party of NO.
NO ideas
NO morals
NO intelligence
NO plans
NO honesty
NO cooperation
NO collaboration
NO fairness
NO justice
NO time for average Americans
Your ship of fools is sinking, GOP…maybe Pirates will save you.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:06 amThe idea that ‘nobody knew’ that waterboarding was torture is patently absurd. In any event, ignorance of the law is no excuse, especially ignorance at the highest levels of our government. They wanted to exclude themselves from the reality based community, so they did. They should face the consequences.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:08 am“Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told the White House that harsh interrogations of detainees produced “valuable” information…”
But we only have the word of those accused of pushing torture that the methods used “produced valuable information.” They’re word (and integrity and character and values) are no good.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:08 am(Here, I have cleaned it up. TP, feel free to ax #1)
Following is my post (charming seconds) that TP deleted on Monday 04/20/09 with slight mods. Note that today in the post signifies 04/20/2009. Complaint is at this link:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/21/thinkfast-april-21-2009/#comment-5607594
Gene X Portraits of a Liberal Blogger (Hardcover) will be on display for extended perusal today through 04/22/09 at the London Book Fair, New Titles Showcase at the entrance foyer to Earls Court Exhibition Center. A special LBF price of $15.00 is set for all orders booked by 23:59:59GMT 04/22/09 at http://publisher.amplecare.com after which price reverts to the original $24.95 list. (Illinois residents add $1.53 – sales tax.
Free shipping within CONUS and $10.00 International). A dollar of every book sold through http://publisher.amplecare.com goes towards helping to fulfill Hill’s election obligations.
In response to the email barrage the Publisher received about: ©MeeCayne and the Guitar-Totting Huckleberry, here’s a link to an untitled poem penned by Author in support of the LGBT protest to not use a particular inflamatory preacher for the Inaugural:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/12/19/obama-maddow-warren/#comment-5389802
Important email addrs:
Marketing: comfortbeyerbuch@amplecare.com
Publisher: publisher@amplecare.com
FULL DISCLOSURE: Larry Martin is the Author of Gene X Portraits of a Liberal Blogger (pseudonymously as: “James Saville Row”); Also the Commenter of same sobriquet, among others documented in the refr’d book.
TODAY’s SPECIAL CONTRIB
THE FLARING NOSTRILS OF PURE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE UNREQUITED
There was once a wondrous vessel hand-laid with the choicest of the Big Bang. Travellers came from wide and far to behold and pay homage to its beauty. The vessel glowed, resplendently basking in the attention and hardening its appeal.
Then one day, a rocket ship…
There was a rupture of momentous proportions. The vessel survived, but its thorough ways collapsed. Gone were its age-old flow of admirers. The full embodiment of its splendor.
And then the vessel broke in perfection.
May the supreme eternal whispers of the mighty winds of time convey you into the safe hands and divine care of Amenti of the land of the west.
Goodbye My Mother Adieu!
Mrs. Cecilia O. Martins
January 18, 1930 – March 29, 2009
She was a Christian (Anglican)
**Funeral Proceedings and Interrare: April 24, 2009 10:00GMT**
Kathleen Battle & Jessye Norman Sing Vangelis’ Mythodaea – Movement 9:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_0vaNUD9WY
Anyone interested in attending the funeral with me? Big Bro, can you spare an Air Force Jet?
But…
I Remain Yours,
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:08 amJames Saville Row
Writer of Scrolls
Lover of Women
Broker of Karma
…Ugh…
Their word (and integrity and character and values) are no good.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:11 amUgh…
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:12 amTheir word (and integrity and character and values) are no good.
All that Republicans have shown themselves willing to do is sabotage Democratic efforts at reform. They have no interest in ‘working with’ anyone and they have nothing to offer but lies and fear.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:13 amJames – my condolences on the loss of your mother. However, since you advertised your own book in the same posting, I can see why TP deleted it. Perhaps you should read the “Terms of Use.”
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:20 amThe Bush administration did not hear a “single dissent” in seeking approval of its torture program, in part, because Cabinet members and senior lawmakers did not know waterboarding had been prosecuted as a war crime after World War II. The officials also did not know that the military training program on which the techniques were based was designed to counter “torture methods used by Communists in the Korean War.”
____________
Oh, they didn’t KNOW it was torture? They didn’t KNOW it was a war crime?
Then why did they have the OLC write a series of memos specifically detailing why the practice didn’t constitute torture if they didn’t know it was torture in the first place?
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:23 amwow, what’s with the spam?
but, ON-TOPIC:
right wingers support torture because they are frightened little cowards and they believe America is so weak tat we can’t defeat terrorists without becoming them
why do right wingers think America is so WEAK?
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:24 amMr. Row,
I suspect your posts were deleted for violation of the Terms of Use. From the section where You agree not to:
Use the Blog for advertisements, chain letters, “spamming,” survey solicitations, junk mail or solicitations.
Shilling, really.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:24 amWhoa! David Kellerman, 41, CFO of Fannie Mae, committed suicide. Before being CFO he was the chief controller. Did he know where the bones are buried? Why at 41 would he commit suicide?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090422/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_freddie_mac_official_dead
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:27 amJames Saville Row Says:
(Here, I have cleaned it up. TP, feel free to ax #1)
Feel free to axe #7 as well.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:28 amaquarius2 Says:
Whoa! David Kellerman, 41, CFO of Freddie Mac, committed suicide. Before being CFO he was the chief controller. Did he know where the bones are buried? Why at 41 would he commit suicide?
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:27 am
__________
Congratulations, Sean Hannity. You now have the Obama administration’s Vince Foster. Have fun screaming about this for the next three years.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:31 am> The bottom line,” he said, is
> “the damage
> they have done to our interests
> far outweighed whatever benefit
> they gave us and they are not
> essential to our national security.”
wow. a big “f#ck you” to cnn.com for totally not mentioning this part his statement on thier story. thankfully the fanny mae suicide story knocked thier fascist pro-torture propaganda off thier frontpage….to be be honest, i dont even care if torture sometimes works…it should still be illegal…there is a legal defense known as “necessity” that should protect any torturer who truly does diffuse a “ticking time bomb” with his acts. for instance, if your child was injured and you were going 200 miles per hour on the highway trying to get to a hospital and you didnt pull over when the police tried to get you to stop, you could claim necessity and a jury would almost certainly aquit you, even in the unlikely even a prosecutor decided to prosecute. same principal is at work with the so called “ticking time bomb scenarios”..according to the logic of the “pro-torture” crowd, the fact you might one day have to speed to save your child’s life means we shouldn’t have any speed limits at all, ever…
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:31 amIf Republicans, or at least all conservatives, are anti-government, then why are they participating in the process? Aside from subverting the good that it can do for ALL the citizens of this country.
Let them go into the private sector and fend for themselves.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:34 amChocolate Jesus Says:
well, i get your point, but personally, I believe speed limits are arbitrary and wrong and have more to do with revenue collection than public safety
besides, if a person can’t drive safely at 100mph on a straight, flat interstate highway, they shouldn’t be allowed to push a shopping cart
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:37 amGood morning, campers
The Bush administration did not hear a single dissent in its seeking approval of its torture program…
Because good Nazis never disagree with their fuhrer.
Hang ‘em.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:38 amHang ‘em high.
Kellerman committed suicide.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:39 amMay the rest of Wall Street follow his example.
#19
Hannity will have a problem making Kellerman a Vince Foster. Kellerman was with Freddie Mac for 16 years before becoming CFO last fall, long before Obama entered the picture.
Of course Hannity isn’t known to stick with facts.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:41 am> I believe speed limits are arbitrary and wrong
fine..change it to “running stop signs” or something else that unneniably necessary to be illegal..
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:41 amRepublicans are all corrupt corporate whores. This is not a secret. In fact, right-wingers consider such prostitution to be an admirable profession. But, they need to serve in government first so they will have influence to sell to the private sector.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:43 amLiars. It is impossible for a group of elite lawyers to hold the position that they didn’t know that waterboarding is/was a capital war crime. I am a casual amateur follower of law and history and knew better. To think that the best of the Federalist Society didn’t have the same knowledge is a self-serving lie. It’s the common legal trick of telling your client that if he tells you certain things, my ability to wage unethical defenses will be compromised. Again, they are all liars and traitors.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:44 amThat works for me. I find that most people that drive below the speed limit will still run a red light that they forced everyone behind them to get stuck at because of their lack of ability to drive at the speed limit.
of course, I live in Atlanta, where we automatically add 15mph to whatever is posted. They used to call us the “city too busy to hate” until I pointed out how many of us can multitask.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:45 amas long as you keep plugging your book here, you’re going to continue to get flagged for abuse.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:45 amThere’s an easy way to end the ‘debate’ about torture.
The press should ask every defender of torture:
“So if these methods are as effective as you say, you’d have to appreciate the same methods being used on any captured American soldiers, wouldn’t you? WOULDN’T YOU?!“
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:46 amGood Morning youngsters, happy earth day…Plant a flower or tree,Please, for the earth and air we breath.
James, I am sorry for your loss but this is not your personal advertising thread..Keep it up and no matter your views you will be considered a troll and therefore reported for abuse….Blessings
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:48 amI’m still amazed that the Federalist society exists. These totalitarian bastards were forced to disband as a party in the early 1800s when the public realized they were trying to turn our government into a dictatorship. Yet, they retreated into the shadows and continued to work toward that end for the past 200 years.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:49 amuh oh… someone’s got some splainin’ to do…
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:51 amAll suspects held in British terrorism raids freed
Reuters – ?1 hour ago?
By Michael Holden LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) – British police said on Wednesday they would bring no charges against 12 men seized in raids to foil a suspected al Qaeda plot that were brought forward due to a security breach.
All 11 men arrested during anti-terror raids released without charge guardian.co.uk
UK police release al-Qaeda suspects Aljazeera.net
Wall Street Journal – Reuters UK – AFP
all 473 news articles »
http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ncl=1338557548&topic=h
Since these folks seem to so desparately belive that these “harsh interrogation techniques” yield valuable information, I heartily recommend that the investigation into whether or not torture was committed utilize those same techniques.
Since they so fervently maintain that the techniques are not torture, they cannot complain when those same techniques are used on them to elicit information which will determine thier guilt or innocence regarding war crimes.
After all, a little waterboarding now and then (6 time a day for a month) is good for the soul.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:52 amIn 2005, former State Department counselor Phillip Zelikow wrote a legal memo holding an “opposing view” from the infamous OLC torture memos. But “[t]he White House attempted to collect and destroy all copies of my memo. I expect that one or two are still at least in the State Department’s archives,” he writes. Zelikow discussed the matter on the Rachel Maddow Show last night.
At the very least, I think that this item is indicative of the mindset of the Bush administration — a mindset which, as I pointed out many times over the last eight years, was clearly at least somewhat Orwellian. It’s hard not to see the reported efforts to destroy rather than merely reject the Zelikow memo as an attempt, either symbolic or literal, to erase it not only from existence but also from history and memory just as if it had never been written. That’s not only reminiscent of “1984″ — that’s taken right out of the book! Remember the “memory hole”, the incinerator where anything which conflicted with Party propaganda was destroyed? This seems to confirm what I believed virtually throughout the Bush administration…that there were people in the White House or working for it who saw Orwell’s books as instruction manuals instead of the cautionary tales he designed them to be.
Yesterday, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) suggested that “the lack of Republican support for Kathleen Sebelius’ nomination to be Health and Human Services secretary is an early indication that the GOP may not be willing to work with Democrats on healthcare reform.”
Golly, Chuck…YA THINK???? Not very quick on the uptake, are ya? Have the Republicans shown themselves to be willing to work with the Democrats on much of anything of late? Not so much, no…so why would this be an exception?
Ye gods…the man is as dense as a white dwarf star.
Fallen Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich won’t be fulfilling his dream of becoming a reality tv star. Yesterday, a judge denied him permission to travel to Costa Rico for the show, “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.” U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel “called modifying the terms of Blagojevich’s bail on political corruption charges ‘a bad idea.’”
If this hasn’t sufficiently revealed Blagojevich’s true personality — that of a quintessential narcissist who seems to need attention to the same degree that other people need oxygen — I don’t know what will! The fact that someone like Blagojevich was even thinking of appearing on this particular variety of reality show — for the most part nothing more than a platform where the “where-are-they-now” people make fools of themselves and subject themselves to humiliation for a few more seconds in front of the camera — should prove to the good people of Illinois that they are far better off without this pathetic, contemptible, ridiculous individual in the gubernatorial seat.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:52 amIf I may,
James, sorry for your loss.
That being said, you continuously break the terms and agreement of posting here at TP.
Then you whine that you’re being censored.
Get over yourself.
And no, I (among many) don’t want to read what you got.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 amIn that case, why did Dennis Blair also say on January 22nd that “I believe strongly that torture is not moral, legal or effective.”
Which is it?
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 amHappy Earth Day, Witch 1 and everyone!
In wilderness is the preservation of the world
Henry David Thoreau
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 ammore bad news to come…
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 amTaliban tighten their grip on Pakistan’s northwest
The Associated Press – ?11 minutes ago?
ISLAMABAD (AP) – Taliban militants from Pakistan’s Swat Valley are tightening their grip on a neighboring northwest district closer to the capital – patrolling roads, broadcasting sermons and spreading fear in another sign that a government-backed …
Taliban seizes Pakistan’s Buner district United Press International
Pakistan Taliban Expanding Beyond Swat Valley Voice of America
Washington Post – CNN International – Bloomberg – RTT News
all 520 news articles »
http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ncl=1338409891&topic=h
Cabinet members and senior lawmakers did not know waterboarding had been prosecuted as a war crime
That’s a lie.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 amI hope they hear the Special Prosecutor approaching.
TP,
Would love to have you post this artist rendition from medieval times regarding waterboarding, with every single torture thread.
Let’s face it.
Early centuries torture: BAD
Bush administration’s “interrogation techniques”: GOOD
And that, my friends, is FCKED UP!!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:56 amUS lawmakers eye Medicare in health reform drive
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:57 amReuters – ?15 hours ago?
By Donna Smith WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Medicare program for the elderly may offer ways to encourage better care at a lower cost as a big part of reforming the US healthcare system, a leading Senate Democrat said on Tuesday.
Medicare to play big role in health care overhaul The Associated Press
US Sen Jay Rockefeller Eyes Health Cost Savings In Proposal Wall Street Journal
WOWK – USA Today – Daily Beast – New York Daily News
all 255 news articles »
http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ncl=1336371704&topic=m
James, I’m sorry for your loss. However, be that as it may, it does NOT give you license to advertise products.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:59 amThe Bush administration did not hear a “single dissent” ;… where did THAT come from?
Are they claiming that all of them are that ignorant?
They never heard of Geneva Conventions, or the Nuremberg Trials and did not know what was learned there?
Zelikow (Rice’s aide) was on Rachel’s show last night and he said that he expressed reservations.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 amI don’t like Zelikow – I think he is a toady, trying to save his own ass now – but he says there are records to prove his claim.
James, I’m sorry for your loss. However, be that as it may, it does NOT give you license to advertise products.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 amsnoopzepup;
Daryll called, he says you are late for your circle jerk/doggie butt-sniffing meeting.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:01 amblotchdog is in da howze!!!
Can’t wait for it to disrespect a fallen soldier’s family, again.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:01 amBack at ya Noseeum, Blessings to you on this great day and every day..Saw a Raven yesterday and thought of you..
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:01 amsnoopzepup;
Daryll called, he says you are late for your circle jerk/doggie butt-sniffing meeting.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:02 am” Cabinet members and senior lawmakers did not know waterboarding had been prosecuted as a war crime after World War II. ”
Government of the Dumas by the dumbass and for what used to be America.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:06 amblotchdog (you hater of our heroes):
Since you’re so concerned about domestic terrorists, I’ve got a
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:06 amradical right wing one for ya!
Following is my post (charming seconds) that TP deleted on Monday 04/20/09 with slight mode.
No, what follows that is a copy/pasted ad followed by a copy/pasted chain email. And you wonder why your posts get deleted? Fascinating pathology there, though. I spent like a half an hour wondering what delusions drive a creature like you. But then again, I haven’t had any coffee yet, so I might have just been nodding off.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:07 amEnough of the torture article du jour, nothing will be done about it so lets move on to things we can change
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 amclockMongrel says:
Woof! Arf!ArfArfArfArfArfArfArf! (Then farts his alpo breakfast, licks balls then butt.)
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:13 amThe Lament of a Field Biologist, by George W. Folkerts
“My former choice collecting spots
Are shopping center parking lots.
The meadow, once abuzz with bee
Is still now, thanks to DDT.
Shades of Rachel Carson,
Whatever will become of me
The glen where trilliums lolled in shade
And toadlets hopped, and chipmunks played,
In a watery grave has lain for years
Drowned by the Corps of Engineers.
My wild world is sinking fast,
Whatever will become of me
The marsh, a haunt of coots and rails,
Where Typha waved and wagged its tails,
Succumbed to an ignominious fate,
It’s a cloverleaf on the interstate.
Nature heaves a dying breath,
Whatever will become of me
Clear birch?edged stream with fauna rank,
With iris blue upon your bank,
Your poisoned pools I now scan,
My seine haul yields one Falstaff can.
Everything I love is gone,
Whatever will become of me
The fields are being, with great precision
Transformed into a subdivision,
The eagle falls, the lily dies,
And on the road a ‘possum lies.
No doubt what will become of me,
Molecular Biology. ”
Happy Earth Day all.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:14 amUncle Ho Says
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:38 am
Hang ‘em.
Hang ‘em high.
Uncle Ho Says
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:39 am
Kellerman committed suicide.
May the rest of Wall Street follow his example.
____________________________________________________________
Geez — who p!ssed in your coffee this morning? You’re wishing a lot of people dead and the day is just starting.
The anger at the torture enablers and apologists is understandable. The “harsh interrogation” practices have served more to satisfy the torturers’ need for sadistic jollies than they have to provide useful and reliable information — costing us stature in the world and endangering our safety by fueling terrorist recruitment. Not to mention making confetti of our values. Add to that the lack of accountability, and it’s enough to make Pollyana join a lynch mob.
Anger at Wall Street greedheads is understandable, too. Our economy has collapsed, and the people who live in the Wall Street bubble are still completely out of touch with those of us who are feeling the pain. They fail to realize any culpability in the matter, they willingly grab their bailout money, and they’re still getting their cushy bonuses, perks, and spa vacations despite failing at their jobs. And the fact that they are oblivious to the anger of the American people is itself worthy of outrage.
But do we have to wish these people dead? First, we’re better than that — wishing people dead is more the style of the other side (the yeehaws that make up Michael Savage’s audience, for example). Second, let’s not give the trolls the ammunition to accuse this of being a “hate” blog. And third, wishing people dead just isn’t cool.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:17 amKeith H.42,
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:23 amI seriously hope that Cheney gets to hear the special prosecutor coming someday, soon.
U.S. to create cybersecurity military command: report
The Obama administration plans to create a new military command to focus on Pentagon computer networks and offensive capabilities in cyberwarfare, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing current and former officials.
http://www.reuters.com/ article/technologyNews/idUSTRE53L0G720090422
And they will beat their cyberswords into plowshares…
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:24 ammisscoleopteramolly:
1) I do NOT want to be a “good German” while our “leaders” look like a bunch of fuhrer wannabes and their monstrous henchmen.
2) As for Wall Street; their greed wrecked a lot of people’s lives, life-savings, homes, careers, and that’s just for starters. They certainly DO deserve every chance to make amends with their deaths, by their own hands.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:25 ammisscoleopteramolly:
1) I do NOT want to be a “good German” while our “leaders” look like a bunch of fuhrer wannabes and their monstrous henchmen.
2) As for Wall Street; their greed wrecked a lot of people’s lives, life-savings, homes, careers, and that’s just for starters. They certainly DO deserve every chance to make amends with their deaths, by their own hands.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:25 amBTW-Sorry about the 2x, 3x posts, but I see that I’m not the only one experiencing this.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:26 amthanks for that, missmolly…
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 amsuch posts are cringe inducing, indeed…
“Cabinet members and senior lawmakers did not know waterboarding had been prosecuted as a war crime after World War II.”
Do they honestly expect us to fall for this line of crap? Seriously? What, they didn’t have history classes in any of the schools they attended?
Man, talk about throwing shit out there to see what will stick!!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:31 amthanks to the brown acid for the poem!
TP, could we please have a thread today about some positive happening in regards to Earth Day? Many of us here are planet conscious, and we’d love some happy news.
Besides, it would certainly bring out any number of trolls for us to skirmish with.
This is a rather auspicious Earth Day for me, on Monday I start a new job as a trail maintenance crew leader in a large southwestern wilderness.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 amI will be greatly blessed to spend weeks at a time in the mountains, away from cars, cell phones, and alas, my computer…
“The Bush administration did not hear a “single dissent” in seeking approval of its torture program, in part, because Cabinet members and senior lawmakers did not know waterboarding had been prosecuted as a war crime after World War II.”
No, the primary reason was Bush’s messianic vision of himself that colored his worldview such that anyone who dissented was a disloyal traitor.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:39 amSee Bunnatine (”Bunny”) Greenhouse, Richard Clarke, Paul O’Neill, Flynt Leverett, Ben Miller and Hillary Mann
Sounds like a great gig noseeumNevar! So will noseeum you for a while?
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:40 amI’ll have to send smoke signals.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:42 amWow, look at that! A sign of life. Thanks for all of your kind words of sympathy and support for my mother’s passing, Uncle Ho, wind~, Brisehd~, Barracks9. All of your opinions about the “Terms of Use” are also well placed.
However, if you were here with me during the heat of that 8- year hell we all went through, I think TP should bend the rules slightly to allow products that came out of that process and grueling painful time to see the light of day.
DRxJapanese Beetle, no one cares what you have to say, sir/ma’am, for you are indeed a bum. And with all due respect, you have your head right up your big fat ass and you are the kind of person who would greatly benefit from perusing my work.
My next post, at the danger of invoking the wrath of the big G from the great podium will be titled:
“Concerning the 44th, 1600-Penn and the Voodoo economics of third world countries.”
Now folks, I have to go chase down the Almighty Dollar. Have an awesome day!
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:43 amnoseeum
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:43 amI am unsure I will have the chance to get out today but I did have the first sapsuckers, osprey, and pine warblers of the year a few days back. Every day is EarthDay…
Cool deal nooseeum
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:45 amCan I steal your identity?
James is sort of bumming me out…
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:45 amJames,
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:48 amWhy thank you, sir, for the kind words.
Now have a great day.
James Saville Row Says
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:43 am
My next post, at the danger of invoking the wrath of the big G from the great podium will be titled:
“Concerning the 44th, 1600-Penn and the Voodoo economics of third world countries.”
_____________________________________________________________
Um…did I just see a TEASER for an upcoming post? Does this guy think that everything he does has to be advertised?
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:49 am…and just for the record, I don’t have a big fat ass.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:50 amAt least, I don’t think I do.
dbadass Says:
Can I steal your identity?
Go for it. I’m thinking of reincarnating as a Gila monster.
I found a golden eagle nest recently.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:52 amI’ll pop in from time to time when I get back out to civilization.
Now folks, I have to go chase down the Almighty Dollar. Have an awesome day!
I’m picturing a big, fat pig, barely able to move under it’s own sheer mass, with very little money in its pudgy, drooling, sniveling snout.
My mother passed, tragically, 3 months ago so I definitely feel your pain (father passed over a decade ago).
However, I did choose to soil her memory by shamelessly dragging her corpse into the blogosphere for the sake of “chasing the almighty dollar” as you have.
Fcuk off you disgraceful, detestable piece of human bile.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:55 amAt 61: SoD Says: U.S. to create cybersecurity military command: report
Which will be turned against US Citizens within hours of its completion, no matter who is “preident” or wht directives they promulgate for its regulation.
They won’t be able to resist spying on the People. They never have…
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 amp.s. revealing a bloggers identity (YES, EVEN YOUR OWN) is a big NO-NO with regards to the Terms of Use.
You violated this on at least 3 prior occasions.
You might have written a book or two, but I seriously doubt your ability to READ.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 amBlessings to you Dear noseeum on the new gig…Old song from the past.” Happy trails to you”…..We will await your return and many good stories of your travel’s…Dito on your request of good new’s earth day..P.B. & J…
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:59 am“The Bush administration did not hear a “single dissent” in seeking approval of its torture program, in part, because Cabinet members and senior lawmakers did not know waterboarding had been prosecuted as a war crime after World War II. The officials also did not know that the military training program on which the techniques were based was designed to counter “torture methods used by Communists in the Korean War.”
Nothing like well read and informed government electees and appointees.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:59 amOr, were they told to ignore history and the rule of law and common sense?
noseeum Says:
on Monday I start a new job as a trail maintenance crew leader in a large southwestern wilderness.
You can actually get paid to do that? That pretty much sounds like the perfect job to me. Sigh. I’m probably not strong enough to handle the chain saw though.
Good luck with that!
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:00 amjames isn’t the only one bumming ME out…
jeez, why so mean???
condolences to all… everybody hurts…
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:02 amMy first thought exactly! Just more of the “who could have known / no one could ever have expected!” defense from the Bushies. Feigning ignorance to cover their misdeeds. They’ve trotted out that weak rubric from 9/11 to Iraq to Katrina. Just like a child who’s caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar; “But mother! Who would have ever thought that I would find actual cookies in that cookie jar!?”
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:06 ammary lacewing Says: “You can actually get paid to do that? That pretty much sounds like the perfect job to me. Sigh. I’m probably not strong enough to handle the chain saw though.
Good luck with that!”
Thanks mary lacewing…
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:12 amIt is a dream job for me, I also get to lead archeological crews in, and get them back out. As well as continue my work as a wildland firefighter.
I only wish it was easy as using a chainsaw, but being in designated wilderness, there is no motorized equipment allowed. I have to use a crosscut saw.
noseeum:
With the arrival of Spring I feel the never ending urge to go to sea.Still my hands are tied due to circumstances I control not. I have enjoyed your deserts and mountains but I am still most satisfied upon the water.
best to you-
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:32 amThanks dbadass. I spent many years on the Great Lakes in everything from kayaks to 100 ton class commercial ferries.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:39 amI’ve seen enough green walls of water coming over the bow for one lifetime.
I like my water now in the summer deluge of thunderstorms and the small secret springs where the creatures come to drink.
The blessings of our sacred and fragile spaceship Earth come to us wherever we may be.
Always in wonder…
Raven
Wow noseeum that’s great news! Sounds like a very exciting job. Remember to bring your camera! pleeeeeeease …. :)
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:40 amTHe Republican positioning on a global warming solution points out their fundamental problem: Responsible adults look at a problem and try to determine the best way to solve it. Republicans, by contrast, come up with the solution first and try to grease it and spin it so that it looks like it will work.
This is the real Marxist behavior–the solution must be fund within approved dogma.
The free market, while good for some things, is no good when dealing with things for which an immediate price doesn’t exist.
The free market failed and fails to deal with environmental concerns because of the arbitrary convention that natural resources are free, and that extracting them creates money out of nothing for the price of labor.
It ignores the value lost to the community, the degradation of the environment, and the real damage down the line to all manner of assets. There should be a cost involved, if the free market is to deal with the whole picture–but becuse nobody adds it, the free market system does not give good results.
Taken quarter by quarter, basic research by a corporation is a bad idea: money poured down the drain. You’re supposed to maximize profits, right? The fact that it may save the company ten or fifteen years down the road–or may not–how can you put a free market value on that right now? And there’s no answer the free market gives to decide whether long term viability or immediate profit is preferable–if your ‘owners’ atre stock traders, why should they care about the fte of the company a few years down the road? But then, what kind of corporate system do we have–and suddenly the question arises whether the ‘free market’ gives the best results.
If there is a free market solution to global warming, it means that the costs of greenhouse pollution have to be factored in. But the Republicans don’t think that ‘a free market solution’ means modifying the free market, heavens no! That’s socialism–or something….
The real fee market forces us to ask the question, what’s the relative cost of not having a degraded and less livable world thirty years on? How much is that worth now? And what if it’s fifteen years? Ten? What costs do we add to the free market equation for cheap, environmentally degrading behavior? how much investment in longer-term fixes is good market behavior?
But Republican free marketeering is get what you can as quickly as you can. Plunder natural resources until they’re gone, and then whine. Don’t have the forethought to invest in n electric car–that reduces yourquarterly take! Keep on making SUV’s until the bottom drops out–and then wring your hands.
The real free market can work. It can turn competition into improvement of life–if you frame its assumptions properly.
The Republican free market, though, has been shown to be a disaster.GM acted according to its rules :act like greedy children without planning, maximizing your current take and ignore changing market conditions and long term changes–and they destroyed one of the biggest enterprises in America, and stand there whining.
I have no doubt that the republican solution will involve the Republican Free Market, and will invoke its magic: that predatory behavior mystically solves all problems. But we can see that that magic doesn’t work, for a very simple and larger truth: if you don’t plan for the future, you’ll get whacked.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:58 amwatchdog Says:
Husband’s business ties to China dog Feinstein
For years, Richard C. Blum’s vast business portfolio has been a nettlesome issue…
____________
You’re WAAAAAAAAAAAY late on Feinstein, dude. Some folks here, like me, have been pointing out her problems for YEARS now. Of course, you’d have to actually READ our comments and REMEMBER what we say to know that, huh?
If you had been PAYING ATTENTION, you’d KNOW a lot of us don’t like Feinstein and wish she’d just RETIRE.
Apart from that… boy… you do come across as one bitter, self-pitying wanker there, li’l feller. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re STILL FEELING sorry for yourself over the November elections.
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:08 pmDirector of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told the White House that harsh interrogations of detainees produced “valuable” information but it is impossible to tell if the same information could have been gleaned “through other means.”
There is no exception in 18 USC § 2340A for torture when the information obtained thusly is “valuable”.
And the Convention Against Torture (which 18 USC § 2340A was intended to implement) explicitly states that there is no exigency, no emergency, of any kind whatsoever, that may be used to justify or excuse torture.
Cheers,
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:12 pmCabinet members and senior lawmakers did not know waterboarding had been prosecuted as a war crime after World War II.
Did not know? How can they not know?
It’s been part of the standard propaganda campaign against any government in the world Washington does not like, justifiably or not.
And it doesn’t speak very well of the cabinet members in the Bush administration; did anybody care to make sure? A quick search online would have returned all kinds of information on the illegality of waterboarding.
Everything about the previous administration screams incompetent, lazy, and ignorant.
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:59 pmNoseeum, congrats on the new job! That sounds like fun. We will miss you, watch out for the rattlesnakes!
Dude, we were all there, and in fact, were all here – you’re the newbie. And you are still being deliberately dense. Buy and ad if you want to advertise. Support TP instead of trying to mooch off it. No one will buy your product from spamming, whereas if you were a paying advertiser, we might just to support TP.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:46 pmIf you want free advertising, I suggest Craigslist.
Sorry about your mom, but she would not be proud of you for deliberately breaking the rules and making a bunch of people mad, would she?
You have been warned repeatedly, and the moderators will probably be blocking your IP if they have not already.
The Republican Party, folks.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:09 am