read this

The Disastrous Rule of a Mayberry Machiavelli
By Sidney Blumenthal, AlterNet Posted on September 20, 2006, Printed on September 20, 2006http://www.alternet.org/story/41808/
The following is an excerpt from How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime (Princeton University Press, 2006).
No one predicted just how radical a president George W. Bush would be. Neither his opponents, nor the reporters covering him, nor his closest campaign aides suggested that he would be the most willfully radical president in American history.
In his 2000 campaign, Bush permitted himself few hints of radicalism. On the contrary he made ready promises of moderation, judiciously offering himself as a "compassionate conservative," an identity carefully crafted to contrast with the discredited Republican radicals of the House of Representatives. After capturing the Congress in 1994 and proclaiming a "revolution," they had twice shut down the government over the budget and staged an impeachment trial that resulted in the acquittal of President Clinton. Seeking to distance himself from the congressional Republicans, Bush declared that he was not hostile to government. He would, he said, "change the tone in Washington." He would be more reasonable than the House Republicans and more moral than Clinton. Governor Bush went out of his way to point to his record of bipartisan cooperation with Democrats in Texas, stressing that he would be "a uniter, not a divider."
Trying to remove the suspicion that falls on conservative Republicans, he pledged that he would protect the solvency of Social Security. On foreign policy, he said he would be "humble": "If we're an arrogant nation, they'll view us that way, but if we're a humble nation, they'll respect us." Here he was criticizing Clinton's peacemaking and nation-building efforts in the Balkans and suggesting he would be far more restrained. The sharpest criticism he made of Clinton's foreign policy was that he would be more mindful of the civil liberties of Arabs accused of terrorism: "Arab-Americans are racially profiled in what's called secret evidence. People are stopped, and we got to do something about that." This statement was not an off-the-cuff remark, but carefully crafted and presented in one of the debates with Vice President Al Gore. Bush's intent was to win an endorsement from the American Muslim Council, which was cued to back him after he delivered his debating point, and it was instrumental in his winning an overwhelming share of Muslims' votes, about 90,000 of which were in Florida.
So Bush deliberately offered himself as an alternative to the divisive congressional Republicans, his father's son (at last) in political temperament, but also experienced as an executive who had learned the art of compromise with the other party, and differing from the incumbent Democratic president only in personality and degree. Bush wanted the press to report and discuss that he would reform and discipline his party, which had gone too far to the right. He encouraged commentary that he represented a "Fourth Way," a variation on the theme of Clinton's "Third Way."

put down the crack pipe and back away slowly

al qaeda had him on their hit list right next to me on their hit list (if you get what i mean)

Bill O'Reilly Calls Himself 'T-Warrior'

..............O'Reilly says his fame and success -- and sometimes controversial views -- have come with a price.
"With the controversy comes death threats on a daily basis," O'Reilly said. "Not only from kooks. But the FBI came in and warned me and a few other people at Fox News that al Qaeda had us on a death list. … That's a little disconcerting."...........

i have avoided writing about the abc 9/11 movie

until now. until i read this article on the writer of the movie. he thinks he is a martyr and he thinks he's been wronged.

he's an asswipe is what he is. who HAS been wronged is every person who was murdered on 9/11 and each and every one in their families and each and every one of their friends and each and every innocent. that amounts to a whole hell of a lot of us.

when the american people lap this shite up (the king george shite that is) i get so angry i cannot even see. most politicians are not angels. democrats as well as republicans and everything in between and on the ends. however, most politicians do NOT spit on the constitution. they do NOT ignore or CHANGE laws simply to suit themselves or save themselves from being persecuted for war crimes. they don't condone torture of people who not only haven't been CONVICTED of a crime but HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN CHARGED WITH A CRIME.

we, as americans CANNOT let this continue to happen

Writer of 9/11 Film Compares Critical Backlash to the Salem Witch Hunt

By E&P Staff Published: September 19, 2006 11:50 AM ET updatted 12:20 PM
NEW YORK Not content with comparing a New York Times story about him to "McCarthyism," Cyrus Nowrasteh, who wrote the screenplay for the recent ABC docudrama "The Path to 9/11," has now, in an interview with Foreign Policy magazine, compared the critics' reaction to the film to a "witch hunt," a "book burning" and "Salem all over again."The two-part movie, which aired Sept. 10 and Sept. 11, was criticized for inaccuracies, invented scenes and quotes, and alleged pro-Bush bias. Under pressure from liberals, some conservatives, and former Clinton aides, ABC made several last-minute trims, many minor, and went ahead with the airing of the movie as planned. It drew mixed reviews from TV critics but won the ratings' war on its final night. Obviously angry about the uproar, Nowrasteh -- who also wrote an Op Ed for the Wall Street Journal on Monday hitting the Times and Washington Post coverage -- now says, in the Foreign Policy interview, that he disagreed with the need for any late edits but still stands by the film, both in its original and final form.Asked if he was surprised by the reaction to the film, he said, "No, this was a witch hunt. It was like a national book burning. It’s Salem all over again."..........

oh and DO NOT equate yourself with the salem witch trials. just don't. for that matter, DO NOT equate yourself with the victims of mccarthy either.

at about 10:30 this morning

i was walking down to the kiosk at work where they have some microwaves. i was going to heat up my soup. in the walkway, they have a GIANT flat screen tv. on it was king george with some sort of demographic figures. 44% are IN FAVOR of him (i didn't stick around to see any details). i had to dig my nails into my palms and bite my tongue (LITERALLY). i was astonished. WHO THE F**k ARE THESE 44%? what the f**k kind of acid are they on? i want to know

rolling stone has had some

kick ass political articles of late. i let my subscription lapse MANY years ago. perhaps i should rethink that

The Phony War
President Bush not only created a fake "War on Terror" to scare voters into supporting his policies -- he is failing to address the real threat facing America

ROBERT DREYFUSS

More: See a history of the Bush administration's terror alerts and the real news they buried.


In August, even before the official announcement that some two dozen would-be terrorists had been arrested in London, President Bush and his top advisers swung into action. Their goal was not to stop the terrorists, who were already safely behind bars, but to use the threat to justify the president's seemingly endless "War on Terror."
Vice President Dick Cheney, who had known in advance about the pending arrests, hinted darkly about the threat posed by "Al Qaeda types." The president, standing on an airport tarmac in Wisconsin the next morning, warned that the arrests were "a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists." And that afternoon, Peter Wehner, the director of the White House's Office of Strategic Initiatives, declared that America is engaged in nothing less than a "civilizational struggle" with enemies who seek "to establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia."
Fortunately, Wehner added, the country has a leader who knows exactly how to combat terrorism: "George W. Bush understands, with extraordinary clarity, the great struggle of our time."................

since he is my all time favorite

i thought i'd publish this; van morrison one of the ten best of 2006 at austin city limits (let's hope we get to see his performance on pbs). click the title for the other 9

VAN MORRISON Closing out the festival's first night, Morrison spanned nearly all genres in one performance. There was bluesy Morrison, tight-lipped on the saxophone for "St. James Infirmary." There was jazzy Morrison, who with "Moondance," made the vast festival feel as intimate as a club. The early doo-wop and rock & roll Morrison, on stage for the rarity "Don't Start Crying Now (the first song he ever recorded as a vocalist) gave way to soul for Morrison's tease of Sam Cooke's "You Send Me." Switching to country, Morrison pulled from his latest album, Pay the Devil, singing "Don't You Make Me High," which showcased his distinctively scattered syncopation. Best of all: his rendition of the hits "Brown-Eyed Girl," "Gloria" and "Wild Night" -- which seemed to transcend all genres.

can you imagine this:

being falsely accused. being kidnapped and taken to a foreign land. being beaten. made to confess to crimes you did not commit. being kept in a coffin like cell?

who did this? the north koreans? the iraqis? the russians? the cubans? the sudanese?

no no no no and no

WE, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DID THIS

what are we allowing ourselves to be turned into? why don't we wake up and STOP this. it is just plain wrong. WRONG.

Canadian was falsely accused, panel says
Muslim held by U.S. was sent to Syria for interrogation


By Doug Struck

TORONTO, Sept. 18 - Canadian intelligence officials passed false warnings and bad information to American agents about a Muslim Canadian citizen, after which U.S. authorities secretly whisked him to Syria, where he was tortured, a judicial report found Monday.
The report, released in Ottawa, was the result of a 2 1/2-year inquiry that represented one of the first public investigations into mistakes made as part of the United States' "extraordinary rendition" program, which has secretly spirited suspects to foreign countries for interrogation by often brutal methods...............

sign a hold harmless agreement for halliburton

and get a medal! we are surprised by this???????????? NOT

Halliburton to Wounded Employee: You'll Get a Medal -- If You Don't Sue

By Justin Rood - September 18, 2006, 2:10 PM
Halliburton will help its combat-zone employees get the honors and recognition they deserve -- if they promise not to sue the company. That's according to new documents released today by Senate Democrats.
Ray Stannard was a truck driver in Iraq for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. In 2003, he was part of a fuel convoy that was ambushed by insurgents. Seven Americans died in the attack and 26 were injured, including Stanner. He is suing the company.
His company knew the convoy's route was dangerous and unprotected, he says, but sent the convoy through anyway. "What they did was murder," Stannard told CBS News recently. "And I stick by that." .........

Sept. 14, 2006 Daily Show - Bush on Secret CIA Prisons

if you don't like what you see, just arrest the person who is showing it

is he guilty (when i say guilty i mean is he a terrorist) OR is he a citizen of iraq who just wanted to take pictures for the ap, tell a story, show the world what is truly happening in his country? either way, being held for five months WITH NO CHARGES FILED AGAINST HIM is obscene. it is unacceptable.

U.S. Holds AP Photographer in Iraq 5 Mos

By ROBERT TANNER

The U.S. military in Iraq has imprisoned an Associated Press photographer for five months, accusing him of being a security threat but never filing charges or permitting a public hearing.
Military officials said Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi citizen, was being held for "imperative reasons of security" under United Nations resolutions. AP executives said the news cooperative's review of Hussein's work did not find anything to indicate inappropriate contact with insurgents, and any evidence against him should be brought to the Iraqi criminal justice system.
Hussein, 35, is a native of Fallujah who began work for the AP in September 2004. He photographed events in Fallujah and Ramadi until he was detained on April 12 of this year.
"We want the rule of law to prevail. He either needs to be charged or released. Indefinite detention is not acceptable," said Tom Curley, AP's president and chief executive officer. "We've come to the conclusion that this is unacceptable under Iraqi law, or Geneva Conventions, or any military procedure."
Hussein is one of an estimated 14,000 people detained by the U.S. military worldwide - 13,000 of them in Iraq. They are held in limbo where few are ever charged with a specific crime or given a chance before any court or tribunal to argue for their freedom.
In Hussein's case, the military has not provided any concrete evidence to back up the vague allegations they have raised about him, Curley and other AP executives said.
The military said Hussein was captured with two insurgents, including Hamid Hamad Motib, an alleged leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. "He has close relationships with persons known to be responsible for kidnappings, smuggling, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and other attacks on coalition forces," according to a May 7 e-mail from U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jack Gardner, who oversees all coalition detainees in Iraq...........

fighting for jesus in a funner way (but not learning any grammar obviously)

Film Shows Youths Training to Fight for Jesus

New Documentary Features Controversial Bible Camp, Evangelical Movement
By DAN HARRIS
Sept. 17, 2006 — - An in-your-face documentary out this weekend is raising eyebrows, raising hackles and raising questions about evangelizing to young people.
Speaking in tongues, weeping for salvation, praying for an end to abortion and worshipping a picture of President Bush -- these are some of the activities at Pastor Becky Fischer's Bible camp in North Dakota, "Kids on Fire," subject of the provocative new documentary, "Jesus Camp."
"I want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Palestine, Pakistan and all those different places," Fisher said. "Because, excuse me, we have the truth."
"A lot of people die for God," one camper said, "and they're not afraid."
"We're kinda being trained to be warriors," said another, "only in a funner way."
The film has caused a split among evangelicals. Some say it's designed to demonize. Others have embraced it, including Fischer, who's helping promote the film.
"I never felt at any point that I was exploited," Fischer said.
"I think there is a push right now in a lot of evangelical churches to definitely keep the teenagers and keep the children in the faith," said Heidi Ewing, co-director of "Jesus Camp." "And this is one version of that attempt."............