BLOGTOPIA

Glenn Greenwald has required reading for anyone wishing to talk about fighting terrorism(as we all know terror is a tactic so no war is possible on that.) :

Glenn: During the 2004 campaign, Democrats argued that the key to preventing terrorism lay not in invading and occupying countries which have not attacked us, but instead, in improving our intelligence-gathering capabilities, strengthening law enforcement cooperation with other countries, increasing counter-terrorism resources, and solidifying border security -- ideas which were, first, wildly distorted, then caricatured, and then scornfully laughed away by the Bush campaign and the tough-guy media pundits: "Oh, how funny - weak little John Kerry wants to treat terrorism like a law enforcement problem! He wants to serve subpoenas on Osama bin Laden! He wants to protect against Al Qaeda attacks with police methods! He wants to surrender to the terrorists and give them therapy! That is so so funny."In his new column today, George Will makes a critical (if not obvious) point about all of that: namely, despite the fact that Bush followers spent the week crowing about the U.K. terror plot as though it validates their views of the world, it actually does the opposite. We can't rid the world of Islamic extremism (a belief system) or terrorism by bombing it away. Will thus points out that the way in which the plot was thwarted demonstrates the foolishness of warmongering as a solution to terrorism, and the correctness of the anti-terrorist approach advocated by Democrats:

................ F-16s are not useful tools against terrorism that issues from places such as Hamburg (where Mohamed Atta lived before dying in the North Tower of the World Trade Center) and High Wycombe, England.Cooperation between Pakistani and British law enforcement (the British draw upon useful experience combating IRA terrorism) has validated John Kerry's belief (as paraphrased by the New York Times Magazine of Oct. 10, 2004) that "many of the interdiction tactics that cripple drug lords, including governments working jointly to share intelligence, patrol borders and force banks to identify suspicious customers, can also be some of the most useful tools in the war on terror." In a candidates' debate in South Carolina (Jan. 29, 2004), Kerry said that although the war on terror will be "occasionally military," it is "primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation that requires cooperation around the world."Immediately after the London plot was disrupted, a "senior administration official," insisting on anonymity for his or her splenetic words, denied the obvious, that Kerry had a point.

......Glenn: The more military force that was used, the worse the problems became. The belief that attacks on militants would turn the population against those militants and in favor of the invading force turned out to be completely false. Indeed, the opposite was true: the invasion and military attacks did more to enhance the prestige and popularity of the extremist group than anything the group itself could have done. It resulted in vastly increased radicalism and resentment. .....
There is, at long last, a growing recognition that waging more wars does not make us stronger or more secure. It does exactly the opposite. Those who want to pursue our failed policy in Iraq indefinitely or who want to attack more countries -- in the process alienating the whole world even more and exacerbating the Islamic radicalism which even the President says is what causes terrorism -- are not people who are "strong on security." They are gradually, though inexorably, destroying our security through a mindless militarism which becomes more reckless and crazed the more it fails. And this bloodthirsty militarism becomes more desperate as the sense of weakness and humiliation felt by its proponents -- including those in the White House -- intensifies........perhaps we can soon reach the point where national journalists will understand that there is nothing "strong" about wanting more and more wars, and nothing "weak" about opposing warmongering and advocating more substantive, rational and responsible methods for combating terrorism.Anyone rational can see that our invasion of Iraq did not make us "safer." Nor will attacking Syria and/or Iran or fueling more proxy wars in the Middle East make us any "safer." Quite plainly, those measures have had, and will continue to have, the opposite effect. And all the while, we neglect the genuinely effective methods for protecting against terrorism because those methods are boring and unappealing and unexciting to the increasingly crazed warriors looking for militaristic glory and slaughter for its own sake. Untold benefits will accrue if journalists can finally understand that whatever adjectives accurately describe such individuals -- especially those in the Bush administration and their Congressional loyalists -- "strong" is not one of them.

Ron: I have high lighted the pertinent points here. Please read the entire piece for the full picture.

The idea that using a proven failed policy is “strong on terrorism” is propaganda at its most blatant. We are living in an age of fear mongering never seen in most of our lifetimes save Joe McCarthy. Mindless unthinking fear. Honestly, deep down in your heart do you feel safer than you felt 4 or 5 years ago. I certainly don't. I feel less safe everyday. So why is it that the failures are considered as strong on terror? Many more things than mentioned in this article can be done. From a full blown alternative energy and conservation push to securing our borders, chemical plans and ports to providing a path for our great minds and companies to improve terrorism fighting technology. There is so much we can do but we are stuck in the stone age of the fight against terrorism. Many seem to think the proper way is to be gripped with fear and kill as fast as possible. It is politically incorrect to think otherwise. Maybe someday they will get past their “pre 9/11” thinking on how to win a giant struggle.


Newshounds watches Fox so I don't have to. Thank goodness.

Sean Hannity, ever bloodthirsty for other people to fight and die, was a vision of peevish disgruntlement last night on Hannity & Colmes (8/14/06) during a discussion about the Israeli/Lebanese cease fire. Complaining about the “phony agreement that’s not going to last,” Hannity argued that Israel had the ability to “obliterate” Hezbollah. “One nuke and it was all over,” he said. Later, he insisted he hadn’t meant that Israel should actually do that. In the interim, FOX News military analyst Bill Cowan called Israel "appeasers" for agreeing to the ceasefire.

Ron: If it is not a rational answer to the problems being discussed why even bring it up? Sean is my award winner among some seriously stiff opposition as the worst debater on the radical right. The man spews nonsense at an astonishing rate. Team him with his Fox comrades Bill O Reilly and the talentless Brian guy in the morning and you have cornered the market on the thoughtless, phony Christian, patriot, family man genre.


TMP Cafe:
A new poll from Pew -- taken mostly after news broke of the foiled terror plot -- shows that there are more Americans who worry that a GOP-controlled Congress will result in more militarism abroad than there are Americans who worry that a Dem takeover would weaken the fight against terror. And get this: What percentage do you suppose said that "terrorism" is the issue they want candidates to discuss most? Answer: Two percent. Here's what the poll found:]

There is no evidence that terrorism is weighing heavily on voters. Just 2% cite that as the issue they most want to hear candidates discuss, far fewer than the number mentioning education, gas prices, or health care. And while roughly a third of Americans (35%) say they are very concerned that, if Democrats gain control of Congress, they will weaken terrorist defenses, even more (46%) express great concern that Republicans will involve the U.S. in too many overseas military missions if the GOP keeps its congressional majorities.

Ron: I am sure the American people in both parties are concerned about terrorism. I think it has been so politicized that people have already made up their minds and want to hear about the other issues. Also we are hearing no new ideas on how to fight terror. Please see the first post in this piece for more on that. I also feel many are getting “terror fatigue”. I know I certainly am.


Tristero at Digbys Hullaballo has the quote of the day. George Bush on the wiretap ruling:
I would say that those who herald this decision simply do not understand the nature of the world in which we live.

Tristero: Let's not forget that this expert on the true nature of the world once asked the president of Brazil whether he, too, had black people in his country. Which wouldn't be endearingly human in a "hey, I'm a just folks all American ignoramus" kind of a way even if his administration, and he himself, hadn't been entirely wrong about the danger from Bin Laden, the presence of WMD in Iraq, and the cakewalk of Iraq. And Katrina. And so on, so on, so on. This isn't funny, ladies and gentlemen and you, too, Republicans. It truly is hard to believe someone so ignorant and/or cynical commands the the most powerful military the world has ever seen. And he will accept no restraints whatsoever on his desire to do whatever he wishes.

Ron: What bothers me is BUSHS' lack of understanding of the nature of the country in which he lives. No one is saying “hang up on AL Queda”. No one is saying don't wiretap. No one is saying don't ask for new powers. Lord knows with the so called Patriot Act he has done that. I am of the opinion that he has acquired far more power than a President or government from any party deserves. All that is being said is follow the law and uphold and defend the Constitution as you took an oath to do. We know from the 90s that the Republicans are sticklers on rule of law and that no one, even the President, is excepted. That is what they said in the 90s. They have no core.

The Constitution Lives Another Day

I would expect you have heard, a federal judge has declared the NSA WARRANTLESS wiretap program unconstitutional. Well DUH!
4th amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

From Find Law:.....Unanimously, the Court held that at least in cases of domestic subversive investigations, compliance with the warrant provisions of the Fourth Amendment was required. 152 Whether or not a search was reasonable, wrote Justice Powell for the Court, was a question which derived much of its answer from the warrant clause; except in a few narrowly circumscribed classes of situations, only those searches conducted pursuant to warrants were reasonable. The Government's duty to preserve the national security did not override the gurarantee that before government could invade the privacy of its citizens it must present to a neutral magistrate evidence sufficient to support issuance of a warrant authorizing that invasion of privacy. 153 This protection was even more needed in ''national security cases'' than in cases of ''ordinary'' crime, the Justice continued, inasmuch as the tendency of government so often is to regard opponents of its policies as a threat and hence to tread in areas protected by the First Amendment as well as by the Fourth. 154 Rejected also was the argument that courts could not appreciate the intricacies of investigations in the area of national security nor preserve the secrecy which is required.

This is a no brainer as far as I'm concerned. I don't even know how it made it this far. Now, if the ruling holds(it is aready stayed on appeal) they have to get warrants and follow the law and constitution. You know, real America. Apparently the ruling notes the program has been going on for over 5 years. This of course would be BEFORE 9/11. It didn't stop it. They have been breaking the law early and often. Has the terrorist threat been diminished since then? I don't think so. It was a problem then and a tragedy of global proportions now.
Of course the radical right is chiming in with there usual wingnuttery. I tuned in to Fox just to see what they would have to say about it late this afternoon. Very little. I guess they hadn't gotten their talking points from the White House yet. There was 2 or 3 minutes on Hannity and Colmes with the expected reaction. I had to laugh out loud at the phony patriotism Sean and Michael Reagan were trying to pass off to their unsuspecting viewers. Here's a few comments from the wingnut gallery at Red State.

Judge Rules Defending US Citizens Unconstitutional.......And who says democracy can't be a suicide pact?
Yep. if we don't violate the constitution we can't defend our country and we will all DIE! The Constitution is a pre 9/11 document!

"Anna Taylor has made her decision; now let her enforce it."
Don't like the law, don't follow it.

The Justice Department should reply to this ruling by announcing that they are really busy monitoring the race and sex of all government employees to comply with "diversity"requirements. This task will render the DOJ unable to comply with this ruling for several....years.
Huh? This would be a..ummm... non sequitur, not an argument against the ruling.

she was/is a Carter appointee. Also, the fact it's in E. Michigan, where Dearbornistan is located, should be telling.
And we all know what an evil liberal Carter is huh? Dearbornistan..why I bet she is a terrorist herself! Don't forget she is BLACK!

this judge was appointed by Carter in 1979.
Of course if she wasn't a Reagan or Bush appointee she holds no standing. I don't even know why she shows up at work everyday.

Anna Diggs Taylor - appointed May 1979 by President Jimmy CarterConfirmed by Democratically-controlled Senate in October 1979
One of Carter's last actions to destroy this country before he was booted from office. Ugh.
What a great talking point! She was appointed by Carter, And a democratically controlled senate too. She and Carter are in cahoots in a conscious effort destroy this country!

too bad she is so old else she'd be a candidate to be Queen Hillary's first Supreme Court nominee.....
See they are fighting Queen Hillary but can't find a problem having King George. They will certainly be sorry if this law is overturned and the potential for them to be spyed on for their political views comes to reality...Opps I forgot, they can't think past yesterday.

...one giant leap for terrorists.
Yep, those terrorist are gonna be soooo happy that they weren't able to make us give up our way of life and our Constitution based on liberty and freedom. Oh wait, they hate our freedoms, apparently the Red Staters do to.

we can address it when either an appellate court or SCOTUS overturns this exercise in activism........I would like to see a lot more or the originalist types on the bench
You get a ruling that strictly adhears to the 4th amendment and she is STILL an activist judge. Anyone getting the feeling that these people "have no core".


Hey, all. Last time I checked our government was a system of checks and balances. The judiciary is finally doing its job, unlike the Republican led congress. Nixon tried to get away with spying on American citizens without a warrant. It was illegal then and is illegal now.
Don't let the boogey man scare you into giving up your rights.
HEY, how'd that guy get in there!

"Judge Rules Defending US Citizens Unconstitutional"So getting a warrant before engaging in these activities will not protect the American people? All the judge said was that a warrant was required, I believe. The activities themselves are not wrong; just a warrant is required. This is bad how?
Hey! There's another one!

You know, last night I was thinking to myself that I'm in danger of going overboard in trying to poke at the liars who come onto this forum and misrepresent themselves with the goal of impeding the Republican agenda of this site.
I thought that with my hair trigger and with my style of writing not always coming across very well in a social setting like this, that maybe I should just stop.
But posters like this make it very hard to agree today with what I thought last night.
See, you'll never win. You are talking about the Constitution and they are talking about the Republican agenda.

Walmart Shoppers Turn On Bush

President Bush’s job approval rating dipped two points in the last three weeks, despite the foiling of an airline terror plot and the adoption of a cease–fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows....... Even among weekly WalMart shoppers – a demographic group identified by Pollster John Zogby as a critical support group for Bush – just 45% now give him positive job marks, though his numbers among those shoppers have improved 10 points since early June.More than three out of four – 76% – of weekly WalMart shoppers voted for Bush over Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, earlier Zogby polling showed.

Radio Talk

An interesting observation here. In most larger radio markets the news/talk station is the overall ratings leader. Admittedly their audience is usually much older than most. The fact remains that these are heritage stations with large total numbers. After looking over the newest ratings in a number of markets it seems they are dropping to a noticable amount all around the country. In many cases losing their long time #1 or 2 positions. The question is why? There has been plenty of topical stuff over the last several months. I have 2 guesses. 1. Most of these stations feature the well know syndicated radio talkers, all right wing. Could people be getting tired of their speal and vacuous hate? Have they discovered how often they are flat wrong? One could only hope so.
Now to be fair about this, in markets where there is liberal talk(which is very few) it is not up or slightly down too. Which brings me to possibility 2. People have heard all they need to hear and have made up their minds. Liberal talk is in its infancy on the radio and have a far better argument for weak ratings than the mature right wing market. Are people tuning out both sides? That in my opinion would be a sad day for America. What do you think?

From The Planet

News and Commentary For 8/16/06

Nation Page

Suspect arrested in Ramsey case-
A former schoolteacher was arrested Wednesday in Thailand in the slaying of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. Federal officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the suspect as John Mark Karr, a 42-year-old American, and one law enforcement official told The Associated Press that Boulder police had tracked him down online. The Ramsey family's attorney in Atlanta pronounced the arrest vindication for JonBenet's parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, who had long been under suspicion in the slaying..........Wood said Karr confessed to elements of the crime. A law enforcement source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP that Karr had been communicating periodically with somebody in Boulder who had been following the case and cooperating with law enforcement officials.....Authorities said Karr was being held in Bangkok on unrelated sex charges. CBS reported he will be brought back to the United States this weekend.
I never really got a good reading on this case as it is not within my interest zone. I speculated it was the son. A case of jealously that sis was getting all the attention. I am thankful that does not seem to be the case.

Update: A former American school teacher said publicly Thursday he was with JonBenet Ramsey when she was killed and called the 6-year-old's death "an accident." ...He said Karr insisted his crime was not first-degree murder but that she died during a kidnapping attempt that went awry.
"He said it was second-degree murder. He said it was unintentional. He said he was in love with the child, she was a pageant queen," Suwat said....Suwat quoted Karr as saying he tried to kidnap JonBenet for a $118,000 ransom but that his plan went awry and he strangled her. Patsy Ramsey reported finding a ransom note in the house demanding $118,000 for her daughter.

Tour de France Father in law found dead-
The father-in-law of embattled Tour de France winner Floyd Landis was found dead, and a family spokesman said Wednesday authorities were investigating it as a possible suicide. David Witt, 57, was discovered in his car Tuesday afternoon in a San Diego parking garage.
The Coast Guard caught Mexican drug lord Francisco Javier Arellano Felix deep-sea fishing off Mexico, decapitating a murderous cartel that drug smuggling tunnels under the U.S. border, officials said Wednesday.

Was he on crack ?
Arellano Felix, 36, was captured when the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Monsoon boarded a U.S.-registered sport fishing boat at 9 a.m. local time Monday about 15 miles off the coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula. DEA agents discovered Arellano Felix's fishing plans and asked the Coast Guard to seize the boat in international waters. The Arellano Felix gang, along with the Gulf Cartel and the Federacion, are the largest Mexican drug cartels.


Politics Page

Whoa Baby!
Rep. Bobby Jindal barely had time to call 911 when his wife woke with labor pains Tuesday. Minutes later, he helped deliver his own son.Slade Ryan Jindal arrived before the ambulance did at about 3:25 a.m. Jindal, coached over the phone by a nurse at the doctor's office, put the baby in the arms of his wife, Supriya, and tied off the umbilical cord with a shoestring. Their third child, born two days before his due date, weighed in at a healthy 8 pounds, 2 ounces, and measured 21 inches long. Mother and baby were resting comfortably Tuesday at a nearby hospital.

Another Dynasty Dance
Presidential son Jack Carter easily won the Democratic primary to challenge U.S. Sen. John Ensign, while Nevada voters set up an intriguing governor's race and delivered a razor-thin victory to a GOP candidate vying for an open U.S. House seat.
Former President Carter's son easily advanced to the November general election, drawing 78 percent of the vote in Tuesday's Democratic primary.


Goofball Page

Life at the Good life mobile home park
Police have arrested a man who they believe watched women shower, exposed himself and performed sex acts at nine mobile home and RV parks in Mesa. Dan Martin, general manager of the Good Life RV Park, said a female resident reported that a man using an outdoor shower at about 7:30 a.m. last month exposed and fondled himself. When police confronted Holt Monday at his home, they say he admitted to most of the crimes but grabbed a gun hidden in a television cabinet and pointed it at himself. Detectives retreated from the home and called in a SWAT team. After a three-hour standoff, police launched a chemical agent and Holt surrendered peacefully.

Work for us. Be a proud dumpster diver!
Bankrupt Northwest Airlines Corp. advised workers to fish in the trash for things they like or take their dates for a walk in the woods in a move to help workers facing the ax to save money......The four-page booklet, "Preparing for a Financial Setback" contained suggestions such as shopping in thrift stores, taking "a date for a walk along the beach or in the woods" and not being "shy about pulling something you like out of the trash."
Only the worst for our employees !!


Sports Page

Barry Bonds hit his 724th career home run Wednesday night, a solo shot leading off the second inning against San Diego's Chan Ho Park. Bonds is now 31 shy of tying home run king Hank Aaron's record of 755. Bonds has 16 homers this season for the San Francisco Giants. Sure he can do it on steroids but can he do it on beer and cigars like the Babe did !?

Oops, strike that
Lee Suggs has never felt healthier -- or more confused. Suggs returned to practice with the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday, one day after his trade to New York was voided when the Jets said the oft-injured running back had failed his physical.

Coffee Table

Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none. Benjamin Franklin


Talk it up.

Blogtopia

Credit to Sadly No for the pic



Blogotopia

Glenn Greenwald notes the radical right is going all “treason” on the Pres.
Hit the link. They are calling the Pres a loser and more.

Greenwald: Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer both said this weekend on Fox that Hezbollah won and Iran has been strengthened. Attacks on the Commander-in-Chief and proclamations of American defeat are ubiquitous - among the same group that insisted for the last five years that such attacks are dangerous and wrong and that talk of American defeat helps the terrorists.Aren't terrorists going to be so happy to see that Americans are divided in this way? Doesn't it make us less safe for all of these people to be branding the U.S. as weak losers and to be glorifying the strength and power of our enemies? Don't these people realize that we're in a war and that weakening the Commander-in-Chief with such criticisms and declaring American defeat endangers all of us?

When will the sheeple realize that the radical right has little at its core? It’s only core is truly evil. It involves killing and maiming as the only solution to our problems. These people are wildly narrow thinkers. So narrow that they think the last 50 years of American leadership and respect was a failure. So narrow that they think no one but them has any ideas on how to handle this excepting “cut and run”. So narrow that they think anyone advocating a sane answer to our problems is scared. Precisely when they are crapping their pants over the imminent destruction of America.

Crooks and Liars- I am sure I will disagree with this guy someday but I have yet to find anything to dislike about him. Statesmanlike, common sense, intelligent and a man who cares deeply about the rule of law and the average American.
Yes, this is a lengthy download but worth the time. Just do something else while it loads.

Barbara at Maha points out the non sequitur nature of the right wing dialogue.- I’ve come to believe that righties think entirely in non sequiturs.
Me too Barbara…read it for yourself.

Arianna Huffington points out the inconsistencies of the debate on media “truth” and wonders how all this happens. Cuz they are suck ups Arianna and are scared of being called the “liberal media”. Hell, even Rushbo gave up on that one.-

Accountability -- it's all the rage. At least you'd think so if you've been following the story of the Reuters photographer Adnan Hajj, who doctored photos from the war in Lebanon. Once a fraudulent image of Beirut was first exposed by Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs, Reuters canned the photographer…..And I want to take this a step further and say that we should hold all journalists accountable, whether they are photojournalists or not, for deceptive statements, whether they're images or words.
I mean, you had your own headline anchorman, Chuck Roberts, describe Lamont as the al Qaeda candidate. This is an equally deceitful, fraudulent, fabricated statement. There should be zero tolerance for all those deceits, whether in images or words.
KURTZ: Well, what Chuck Roberts said, according to the transcript, was that some are calling Ned Lamont the al Qaeda candidate. But it's certainly not a formulation I would have used.
HUFFINGTON: You cannot find a single person who called Lamont the al Qaeda candidate, except Chuck Roberts. And what have been the consequences when it comes to Chuck Roberts? Has he been demoted to be covering Paris Hilton or entertainment news? ... It's about time that there is that same kind of accountability that Charles is demanding from photojournalists from journalists, as well.
Indeed, an exhaustive Lexis Nexis search confirms that no one has called Lamont "the Al Qaeda candidate." Except for Chuck Roberts. In fact, you know what you find if you Google "Al Qaeda candidate"? A lot of references to John Kerry being smeared by the RNC and its cronies during the 2004 election. Clearly, Lamont as "tha Al Qaeda candidate" is the latest rendition of an old G.O.P. tune. The question is: why do the media play along?……A subtler example is the headline on the August 11th New York Times story by Adam Nagourney:
"Arrests Bolster G.O.P. Bid To Claim Security as Issue"Really? Do they? How do we know they do?

But people just eat this stuff up without a thought..lame.

From The Planet

News and comment from 8/14/06


Nation Page

Gas Pump Politics- With the country‘s gas prices averaging $3 a gallon, congressional and gubernatorial candidates nationwide are trying to turn pain at the pump into smart politics. …Democrats try to pin the blame on Republicans who control the White House and Congress. Republicans counter that Democrats oppose increased oil exploration and don‘t have a good plan to rein in gas prices.
In Maryland, GOP Senate candidate Michael Steele held a news conference at a filling station in Annapolis to urge Bush and Congress to suspend the federal gasoline tax for four months. ….Only a quarter of Americans approve of the way Bush is handling gasoline prices, according the AP-Ipsos poll.
"If they (prices) go down, maybe they go down to $2.80," said Richard Curtain, director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan. "Is that enough to change consumers‘ views? I don‘t think so."
Things need to happen here and fast. I have been pushing alternative energy for sometime now. The people in charge are obviously beholden to the oil industry. We need a Manhattan style project to get this done. Believe me the naysayer’s are going to regret it. I have seen people from both parties, thankfully, note how we ignore this at our peril, how our money from oil supports terror and how far we are behind other countries in doing this. It is a waste of time or money to drill. Forget about oil completely. That is the only way to move America in the right direction. Candidates that are willing to point this stuff out to people and vow to get’er done will get serious consideration for my vote.

Recent Polling- Many adults in the United States believe their country will be unable to prevent sectarian violence in Iraq, according to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. 67 per cent of respondents think the U.S. will not stop the situation from becoming a civil war.
That’s ok, the neocons are ready to move on to war with somebody else now. We’ll just borrow and spend another 350 billion from China.

Adults in the United States would vote differently in a rerun of the last two presidential elections, according to a poll by Scripps Howard News Service released by Ohio University. 46 per cent of respondents would support Democrat John Kerry in a repeat of the 2004 ballot, while 40 per cent would vote for Republican George W. Bush.
No they wouldn’t. The right would say boo! Be scared, gay marriage, librls bad, Bushco good and all progress in educating the American public would be lost.

But the scare was fun while it lasted wasn’t it? -CARO, Mich. — The FBI said Monday it had no information to indicate that the three Texas men arrested with about 1,000 cell phones in their van had any direct connection to known terrorist groups.
Also, a prosecutor in a separate Ohio case said he can't prove a terrorism link between two men arrested after buying large numbers of cell phones and won't proceed for now with terrorism charges against them.
The idea that the rightwingosphere considered this as a terrorist threat first instead of waaay down the list is proof that they are in the business of fear mongering and finding anything any Arab American does as suspicious.

Oops, We harm our own-More evidence that war is hell

Proof, the inmates are running the asylum- In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the intelligence official who crafted President George W. Bush's domestic spying program also said international phone calls targeted by warrantless surveillance are the most valuable to protecting national security.
"Why should our laws make it more difficult to target al Qaeda communications that are most important to us -- those entering or leaving this country," said Hayden, an Air Force general who set up the administration's eavesdropping program in 2001 as director of the National Security Agency.
MMMMMM, maybe because this is suppose to be AMERICA! Maybe because it is unconstitutional? There are rules for a reason and if I have to point out the reason these laws are in place you have already lost your country. Anything and everything would be easier with no rules. It would be easier if I could steal my food from the store with no consequences rather than buy it. An ability to look at the big picture tells us why this is not allowed. Some people are incapable of that basic skill though.


World Page

Ceasefire holds(maybe)- Hezbollah fighters hugged each other and celebratory gunfire erupted in Beirut when the Islamic militant group's leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah claimed a "strategic, historic victory."
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also claimed success, saying the offensive eliminated the "state within a state" run by Hezbollah group and restored Lebanon's sovereignty in the south.
Ya, Ya, you’re both big “winners”…sure.

Fear mongers reap the harvest

Australia proves they care about foreign oil dependence-Car-loving Australians on Monday were offered cash rebates to convert their vehicles to run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rather than petrol in a government move to reduce the country's dependence on Middle East oil.Australia's 20.6 million people own about 10.7 million passenger cars. The country produces 4,600 megalitres (1,200 million U.S. gallons) of LPG a year and exports about 2,800 million litres a year. Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said 25,000 to 30,000 cars currently used LPG, but about 3 million more could easily be converted. "Australia is exporting LPG. We have ample supplies of it. What we wanted to
do is increase consumption of LPG and increase Australia's self-sufficiency," he told Australian television. Spokesman Alan Evans said motorists who drive 15,000 km (9,300 miles) to 20,000 km a year would save A$30 to A$40 a week on their fuel bill. But he said Australia had shortages of people qualified to install LPG units in cars.
"This is something you cannot have your backyard mechanic do," he told reporters.
Howard said the government would also do more to encourage ethanol blends in fuel, with payments of up to A$20,000 to petrol retailers to help them install new pumps capable of selling ethanol blends.
When do our nonleaders step up to the plate?

Rumsfeld wants out of Iraq.-A report buried deeply in an April edition of the New Yorker--which claims it is an "open secret" in Washington that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld wants to exit Iraq--is being featured today as front page news in the Middle East Times.
I would hope he would find more productive roles for our military but…



Goofball Page

Not a lasting piece..peace-Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson are splitting up after nearly six years of marriage, said her publicist, Brad Cafarelli. Hudson, 27, is the daughter of Goldie Hawn. She was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar for her role as rock groupie Penny Lane in 2000's "Almost Famous." Robinson, 39, is the lead singer of The Black Crowes.

I guess it is more important to their lives- Three quarters of Americans can correctly identify two of Show White's seven dwarfs while only a quarter can name two Supreme Court Justices, according to a poll on pop culture released on Monday. Twice as many people (23 percent) were able to identify the most recent winner of the television talent show "American Idol," Taylor Hicks, as were able to name the Supreme Court Justice confirmed in January 2006, Samuel Alito (11 percent).

Sports Page

Seauless NFL-Junior Seau retired from the NFL on Monday after 13 seasons as the live-wire leader of his hometown San Diego Chargers and three less-productive years with the Miami Dolphins.

Jets Sugg-The New York Jets, preparing for the possibility of life without Curtis Martin, acquired running back Lee Suggs from the Cleveland Browns on Monday for defensive back Derrick Strait. The 33-year-old Martin, the NFL's fourth leading career rusher is on the physically-unable-to-perform list because of a lingering knee injury. Suggs hasn't been able to stay on the field for the Browns. At various times, Suggs has been sidelined by injuries to a shoulder, neck, toe, ankle and thumb. Ok ,get a prone to injuries guy to replace an injured guy. That’s my Jets!

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"Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear - kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervour - with the cry of grave national emergency. Always there has been some terrible evil... to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it by furnishing the exorbitant funds demanded."

General Douglas MacArthur, USA (1957).

See how little things change? -Open forum...go for it!

How The Radical Right Aids The Terrorist Cause

SUNDAY EDITORIAL





It was proved again this week that America faces a serious danger. Yes terrorist threats but even more so from the radical right. Terrorists can scare some, maybe kill some. The radical right and their sheeple have the power to destroy our way of life. Fearmongering has convinced many to give the right carte blanche to do whatever they want. I heard a Fox host the other night insist that we would be crazy not to alter the constitution to make it easier to "fight terrorism". Bill O Reilly inferred we would be better off if our laws were more like Britains, If we changed the 4th amendment. Huh? Are these the same people that complained about activist judges? That said that constitutional laws should be "strictly" interpreted? That thought we should not consider foreign law when making constitutional decisions? I guess it's easy to scare them into giving up all they believe in. The scaredy cat fear mongering is at a fever pitch. They want to "cut and run" from our constitution.
If anything was proven this week it is that there are more effective ways to fight the terrorist threat than eternal war. Investigation, footwork and Moslem informants or moles get the job done. Fearmongering makes the population feel weak not empowered.
Our thinking and methods as a country have done more to increase the threat. Staying the course on a failed policy makes no common sense. We need a new course in America. First we must realize that one thing that Bushco says is true. This will be(and has been) with us for a long time. What we are doing now works to Al Quedas'(or whatever you want to call those that would do us harm) favor not ours. War makes more enemies. It scares innocents and makes Osamas' argument that we are out to get them all even more convincing. The idea of fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here should be pretty well debunked now by any reasoning individual.
When the radical republicans demonize Moslems saying they are all evil and the people of that religion must die, who wouldn't be convinced that we have bad intent for Arab peoples? This again fits into Osamas' plans, convincing others to be "home grown" terrorists. The radical right is working perfectly toward the plans of Osamas agenda of jhiad. When it is insisted that we must change our constitution, give up our freedoms and way of life, Osama is rubbing his hands and laughing in his cave. If you don't like the U.S. constitution...well, love it or leave it wingnuts.
We need many Moslems on our side if we ever hope to get a handle on this. Alienated and fearful people will never work to our advantage.
Find the better way. Don't give up your constitution or rights. Don't let them see you as scared. Don't demonize innocents. Policework, investigation, enjoining others to your cause in an effort to marginalize and not maximize their influence.

Addendum: Glenn Greenwald looks at the legal angles.