this goes beyond 'insulting jews'

it insults ANYONE with a brain

(the earth doesn't rotate....how the HELL can anyone think that)

i have no idea if rep bridges approved or knew of this memo prior to it's distribution. i don't care. what i DO care about is ANYONE even considering any of this shite to be anywhere NEAR legitimate (and unfortunately there ARE people who DO believe this crap)

Anti-evolution memo stirs controversy

By Jeremy Redmon Thursday, February 15, 2007, 01:37 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Anti-Defamation League is calling on state Rep. Ben Bridges to apologize for a memo distributed under his name that says the teaching of evolution should be banned in public schools because it is a religious deception stemming from an ancient Jewish sect.
Bridges (R-Cleveland) denies having anything to do with the memo. But one of his constituents said he wrote the memo with Bridges’ approval before it was recently distributed to lawmakers in several states, including Texas, California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio.........

.....“This scenario is derived concept-for-concept from Rabbinic writings in the mystic ‘holy book’ Kabbala dating back at least two millennia.”..........

..............It also directs readers to a Web site www.fixedearth.com, which includes model legislation that calls the Kabbala “a mystic, anti-Christ ‘holy book’ of the Pharisee Sect of Judaism.” The Web site also declares “the earth is not rotating … nor is it going around the sun.”..................

and

Copernicus Was Wrong ? : The Flat Earth Temptation

Posted by Bruce Wilson

Influential Christian right leaders say the Sun revolves around the Earth

Geocentrists accept a spherical earth but deny that the sun is the center of the solar system or that the earth moves.... The basis for their belief is a literal reading of the Bible. [ source ]
An emergent scandal over a Texas Republican Party politician's distribution of a memo citing a "fixed Earth" website alleging the Earth to be non-rotating and at the center of the universe has raised the question; where do such eccentric views as Rep. Chisum's, that the Copernican model of the Solar System is wrong and derives from a Jewish Kabbalistic Conspiracy, come from ? Until recently, it's been generally assumed that the debate over heliocentric vs. geocentric models of the universe, that raged up until the advent of Copernicus, had been well resolved...........

Tech Tags: adl evolution marshall+hall copernicus

i have never heard of this dude before

but it certainly comes as no surprise to me he exists AND is the type of person (he appears) he is. the good ol' white boy network is certainly frightening

Dick Cheney’s Dangerous Son-in-LawPhilip Perry and the politics of chemical security.

By Art Levine

In March 2003, when the world’s attention was focused on U.S. soldiers heading to Baghdad, twelve senior officials in the Bush administration gathered around a long oak conference table in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex. They were meeting to put the final touches on a proposed legislative package that would address what was perhaps the most dangerous vulnerability the country faced after 9/11: unprotected chemical plants close to densely populated areas............
..............No one present was prepared for what came next: the late arrival of an unexpected visitor, Philip Perry, general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Perry, a tall, balding man who bears a slight resemblance to Ari Fleischer without the glasses, was brusque and to the point. The Bush administration was not going to support granting regulatory authority over chemical security to the EPA. “If you send up this legislation,” he told the gathering, “it will be dead on arrival on the Hill.”.............
...........To understand the workings of Philip Perry is to get a sense of the true lines of power in the executive branch. “Perry is an éminence grise,” says one congressional staffer. “He’s been pretty good at getting his fingerprints off of anything, but everyone in this field knows he’s the one directing it. He is very good at the stealth move.” And, as it turns out, Perry’s stealth moves have often benefited opponents of chemical regulation.............

Tech Tags: philip+perry chemical+industry epa dick+cheney

why would the pentagon prevent va doctors

from having important medical files (digital records i believe) on patients they are treating? the patients are from iraq and afghanistan and have serious medical problems such as traumatic brain injuries. all of a sudden, BAM, the doctors (who work at va hospitals mind you - but i don't care WHERE they work - THEY ARE DOCTORS TREATING OUR WOUNDED TROOPS) are stopped from getting complete medical records on those they are treating. talk about effed up

i understand about the privacy act. this ain't it by the way. our troops deserve THE VERY BEST treatment in the entire universe! period

catch-22 (i AM the bombardier)

Pentagon Red Tape Keeps Medical Records From Doctors of the Wounded By Al Kamen Department of Veterans Affairs doctors are furious over a recent decision by the Pentagon to block their access to medical information needed to treat severely injured troops arriving at VA hospitals from Iraq and Afghanistan. The VA physicians handle troops with serious brain injuries and other major health problems. They, rely on digital medical records that track the care given wounded troops from the moment of their arrival at a field hospital through their evacuation to the United States....... ..................The access cutoff came after Morris, in a Jan. 23 e-mail, instructed a colleague: "If the VA currently has access I need a list of persons and I need their accounts shut off ASAP. It is illegal for them to have access without data use agreements and access controls in place by federal regulations and public law." There have been meetings between VA and Pentagon officials. The Pentagon declined to comment yesterday............

Tech Tags: pentagon va+hospitals iraq afghanistan wounded+troops

ANOTHER duh.........

yes virginia, there IS a war

and i quote "war is a big complex thing"

Tony Snow: 'I'm Not Sure Anything Went Wrong' In Iraq

By E&P Staff

Published: February 15, 2007 3:55 PM ET

NEW YORK Surely, at this stage, the White House would be willing to admit that conditions in Iraq following the 2003 invasion haven't gone exactly according to plan? White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was asked about this today at the daily briefing, following the release of military documents from 2002 that revealed that the U.S. expected that by now a token American force of 5,000 would be able to keep things under control in Iraq -- and the occupation would require only a two or three month "stabilization" period.

"What went wrong?" the reporter reasonably asked.

Snow replied: "I'm not sure anything went wrong."

He elaborated: "At the beginning of the Civil War, people thought it would all be over at Manassas. It is very difficult -- no, Jessica, the fact is, a war is a big, complex thing. And what you're talking about is a 2002 assessment. We're now in the year 2007, and it is well-known by anybody who has studied any war that war plans immediately become moot upon the first contact with the enemy...........

Tech Tags: tony+snow iraq+war

alaskans wake up

when this dude comes up for re-election VOTE HIM OUT

HANGING? i thought this was AMERICA. i thought everyone had a RIGHT to speak their mind. confront EVIL, LIES, GREED


Republican calls for hanging of those who oppose president
Posted by Evan Derkacz at 2:33 PM on February 15, 2007.

Peddles fraudulent Lincoln quote in Iraq debate

As the House debates whether to nominally oppose the escalation of the war on Iraq and to support the troops -- a "nonbinding" resolution -- Alaska's sole congressman Don Young rose to oppose it, quoting (video right):
congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saab tours and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged.
The Republican believed (giving him the benefit of the doubt) that he was quoting Abraham Lincoln.
He was not. He was actually quoting a mistake from Insight magazine -- a publication full of half-baked claims and rumors -- funded by Rev. Moon.
That mistake, from December of 2003, has, over the course of the years, made its way into emails and the speech of a failed Republican candidacy..............

how much would TEN BILLION have helped those ravaged by katrina?

it's 2 am and i have neighbors. that is the ONLY reason i'm not screaming. once i get in my car (shortly) i'll not be able to contain myself

Auditors: Billions Squandered in Iraq

By HOPE YEN

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government has squandered as much as $10 billion in public money on Iraq reconstruction aid because of overcharges and unsubstantiated expenses. More is yet to come, federal investigators said Thursday.The three top auditors overseeing work in Iraq told a House committee their review of $57 billion in Iraq contracts found that Defense and State department officials condoned or allowed repeated work delays, bloated expenses and payments for shoddy work or work never done.More than one in six dollars charged by U.S. contractors were questionable or unsupported, nearly triple the amount of waste the Government Accountability Office estimated last fall."There is no accountability," said David M. Walker, who heads the auditing arm of Congress. "Organizations charged with overseeing contracts are not held accountable. Contractors are not held accountable. The individuals responsible are not held accountable.""People should be rewarded when they do a good job. But when things don't go right, there have to be consequences," he said.......................

Tech Tags: iraq+reconstruction us+contractors government+accountability

duh

like we couldn't figure this one out....

and we better DO something to stop this type of shite from continuing to happen.
(note: the rawstory article below has an error in it. it states the ny times article was written by david cay johnston. it was not. it was written by david johnston. thank you to david cay johnston for pointing this out to me)

NYT: Did former Bush Counsel Harriet Miers 'intervene' on behalf of replacement for US attorney let go for no 'apparent reason'?

Was President Bush's former counsel and one-time Supreme Court nominee involved in the dismissal of a United States attorney? An article in Friday's New York Times reports that sources indicate that she might have been.
"A United States attorney in Arkansas who was dismissed from his job last year by the Justice Department was ousted after Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel, intervened on behalf of the man who replaced him, according to Congressional aides briefed on the matter," David Cay Johnston reports for the Times.
"Ms. Miers, the aides said, phoned an aide to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales suggesting the appointment of J. Timothy Griffin, a former military and civilian prosecutor who was a political director for the Republican National Committee and a deputy to Karl Rove, the White House political adviser," Johnston continues. "Later, the incumbent United States attorney, H. E. Cummins III, was removed without explanation and replaced on an interim basis by Mr. Griffin. Officials at the White House and Justice Department declined to comment on Ms. Miers’s role in the matter."...........

and the article from the nytimes

White House Is Reported to Be Linked to a Dismissal

By DAVID JOHNSTON
Published: February 16, 2007
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 — A United States attorney in Arkansas who was dismissed from his job last year by the Justice Department was ousted after Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel, intervened on behalf of the man who replaced him, according to Congressional aides briefed on the matter.
Ms. Miers, the aides said, phoned an aide to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales suggesting the appointment of J. Timothy Griffin, a former military and civilian prosecutor who was a political director for the Republican National Committee and a deputy to Karl Rove, the White House political adviser.
Later, the incumbent United States attorney, H. E. Cummins III, was removed without explanation and replaced on an interim basis by Mr. Griffin. Officials at the White House and Justice Department declined to comment on Ms. Miers’s role in the matter.
Paul J. McNulty, the deputy attorney general, said at a hearing last week that Mr. Cummins had done nothing wrong but was removed to make room for Mr. Griffin. It was not known at the time Mr. McNulty testified that Ms. Miers had intervened on Mr. Griffin’s behalf............

Tech Tags: harriet+miers justice+department us+attorneys alberto+gonzales

now i know a bit of the person behind the name

when i initially read about the three soldiers (and one killed at the attack sight) who were kidnapped then murdered by men wearing us miliary uniforms, speaking english and carrying us weapons, i was aghast. i didn't know these men, but something inside of me broke.

well something inside of me (even though i'm crying) opened up a little bit with this story on captain brian s freeman

and to me captain freeman truly was a hero. THIS is what being a hero is all about. to all of his friends, family and fellow soldiers, i am so very sorry for your loss. his legacy will live on though.

Quest to Heal Iraqi Boy Became a Final Mission


By Ernesto Londoño Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, February 15, 2007; Page A01
HILLA, Iraq -- Hours before getting killed the way he feared most, Capt. Brian S. Freeman looked up and smiled when Abu Ali dropped by his office.
After nearly six months of overcoming financial and bureaucratic hurdles in a war zone, Freeman told the Iraqi man, there were promising signs that a pair of U.S. visas -- the last big step in getting Abu Ali's 11-year-old son to the United States for lifesaving heart surgery -- would be issued soon.
The Iraqi was speechless. He asked an interpreter to express his gratitude to the tall American soldier who had made saving the child's life an unofficial mission. Then he pulled out his camera, swung his arm around Freeman's broad shoulders and posed for three photographs..........

......Freeman was buried Feb. 1. He left behind two children, Gunnar, who will turn 3 next month, and Ingrid, a 1-year-old who began taking her first steps while he was home for Christmas.
Ali Abdulameer and his father are expected to arrive in New York this week. After the surgery, they hope to meet Freeman's widow.
"I want to be there for the father," Charlotte said. "I'm sure he has a need to meet me just as I feel the need to meet him.".............

Tech Tags: brian+freeman marikay+satryano gift+of+life heart+surgery iraq

love

photo: nina berman/redux pictures

Love During a Time of War

Former Marine Sgt. Ty Ziegel, wounded in Iraq in December 2004 by a suicide car bomber, stands with his high school sweetheart, Renee Kline, at a photo studio on the morning of their wedding day, October 7, 2006. ..........

one good thing about the nba

they had the GOOD SENSE to distance themselves from that ass tim hardaway

every time i hear something like this, it makes my skin crawl

Former Heat player Tim Hardaway: 'I hate gay people'

By Ira Winderman South Florida Sun-Sentinel February 14, 2007, 11:04 PM EST
A week after retired center John Amaechi became the first active or former NBA player to publicly acknowledge he was gay, one of the most popular players in Heat franchise history offered a blunt view on homosexuality Wednesday during a radio interview.Former Heat guard Tim Hardaway, who had been making public appearances for the NBA, said on Miami-based 790 The Ticket he would not have tolerated a gay player on his team and would have asked to have been traded in such a situation or would have asked to have the gay teammate be traded."Well, you know, I hate gay people," Hardaway said near the close of an interview that mostly focused on his tenure with the Heat and the team's current state. "I let it be known, I don't like gay people. I don't like to be around gay people."Yeah, I'm homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world for that or in the United States for that. So, yeah, I don't like it."After the NBA learned of Hardaway's comments, a league spokesman said Hardaway had been removed from further league-related appearances.................

Tech Tags: john+amaechi John Amaechi tim+hardaway homophobia nba

yet another slap in the face of women's rights

stacey, if you don't think republican women have abortions YOU ARE SADLY MISTAKEN.

stop trying to trample on OUR bodies. JUST EFFING STOP IT

Lawmaker wants Tenn. to issue death certificates for abortions

By ERIK SCHELZIGAssociated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee would collect death certificates for aborted fetuses under a bill introduced in the General Assembly.
Rep. Stacey Campfield said his bill would provide a way to track how many abortions are performed in Tennessee. The measure would also likely create public records on which women are having abortions.
"All these people who say they are pro-life -- at least we would see how many lives are being ended out there by abortions," said Campfield, R-Knoxville.The measure would give abortion providers 10 days following an "induced termination of a pregnancy" to file a death certificate with the state Office of Vital Records."Hopefully we'll be able to get a little information out of this," Campfield said............

Tech Tags: stacey+campfield tennessee abortion women's+rights

when i saw the article title, i thought it was a joke

i think it's real now

Controversial Tibetan lama releases rap CD

By David Chang

dpa German Press Agency
Taipei- A handsome but controversial young Tibetan lama hasemerged on Taiwan's music scene by releasing his first CD - acollection of rap and hip-hop songs which he claims can help promoteBuddhism.Singa Rinpoche, 30, who is barred from entering Taiwan due to hisflamboyant behavior on a visit to the island last year, released theCD - Wish You Well - on February 10 through Taiwan's Forward Musiccompany.Since then, several Taiwan TV channels have been airing the MTVspots promoting Singa's album - showing Singa recording songs in thestudio, running in a forest and releasing a bird into freedom.Wearing his trademark white shirt and blue pants, Singa, 179centimetres tall and weighing 63 kilogrammes, shows a natural talentfor performing by flashing smiles and making poses, showing off hisyouth and confidence.Singa signed a contract with Forward Music in April 2006 and beganrecording at a Beijing studio in July 2006............

i think i found his blog too. i'm not quite sure though

rinpoche

if that ISN'T it, it sure looks interesting enough to explore none the less OR all the more

ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Tech Tags: singa+rinpoche buddhism tibetan+lama rap+music hip+hop

way to go kansas!!!!

this gives me great joy. how anyone can believe some of this is beyond me. i'm not disparaging the bible. however, i know it's a book written BY humans FOR humans. to take it literally is frightening to me.


Conservatives lose latest Darwin battle in Kansas

By Carey Gillam
TOPEKA, Kansas (Reuters) - The Kansas Board of Education on Tuesday threw out science standards deemed hostile to evolution, undoing the work of Christian conservatives in the ongoing battle over what to teach U.S. public school students about the origins of life.
The board in the central U.S. state voted 6-4 to replace them with teaching standards that mirror the mainstream in science education and eliminate criticisms of evolutionary theory.
"I'm glad we've taken this step. If we are going to have a well-educated populace, this is important," said board member Sue Gamble.
Similar efforts to weaken the teaching of evolution in public schools have occurred throughout the United States including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kentucky and Georgia...............

Tech Tags: kansas evolution darwin creationism science

is someone gonna get an ass-whompin'???

i hope it is NOT general peter pace. i know what job general pace has. i know he has to watch what he says. he, in the past has seemed like a straight shooter (so to speak). i hope they don't muzzle him OR 'make' him change his mind about what he said.

i wonder if tony snow is sorry (yet) he took the job

White House spokeman has 'contentious' battle with CNN reporter over alleged Iranian 'meddling' in Iraq

David Edwards and Ron Brynaert

White House spokesman Tony Snow's press briefing turned "contentious" this afternoon, CNN reports, after correspondent Ed Henry asked if the Bush Administration and the US Military were both "on the same page" with regards to accusations that Iran is "meddling" in Iraq.
"You know, this past weekend, US Military officials in Baghdad laid out what they claim to be evidence of Iranian meddling in Iraq," Henry reported on CNN. "Specifically, providing bomb-making materials to insurgents in Iraq who were, in turn, using those materials to kill US soldiers and Marines."
Henry noted that the allegations were "being met with skepticism in part because so many claims the Bush administration made in advance of the Iraq war turned out to be false."..........

...............So Henry said to Snow, "General Peter Pace is now saying that he was not aware that this briefing was going ahead in Baghdad where military officers were talking about Iran's influence in Iraq, this past weekend. How could the chairman of the Joint Chiefs not know that military officers would be briefing in Baghdad?"...........

..........The White House press secretary said that he'd "refer that back to General Pace, frankly," before accusing some in the media of trying to "whomp up" controversy.
"Let me tell you what -- I think a lot of people are trying to whomp up a fight here that doesn't exist," Snow said. "I spoke with General Pace a bit this morning as well."...........

Tech Tags: peter+pace tony+snow iran iraq cnn ed+henry

are we surprised by this?

hell no!!!

please believe me, i have nothing against those who may have had convictions on their records. of course it would depend upon what the conviction was for. i also think some with criminal records SHOULD be allowed to join the armed forces. SOME SHOULD NOT. i hope they are judging on a case by case basis. (we had a case in connecticut of a man who was NOT sent to jail for committing a crime because he had joined the armed forces and was going to be deployed in the very near future. he ended up shooting and killing someone in a little hartford bodega)

i don't think being a high school graduate should weigh heavily on acceptance either. I DO think relaxed testing standards and relaxed weight standards are a bad bad bad idea.

Waivers to Army recruits with criminal backgrounds double from 2003 to 2006

The number of waivers granted to Army recruits with criminal backgrounds has doubled in three years, according to press reports on data released by the Defense Department.
"The Army and Marine Corps are letting in more recruits with criminal records, including some with felony convictions, reflecting the increased pressure of five years of war and its mounting casualties," Lolita C. Baldor reports for the Associated Press.
In Wednesday's New York Times, Lizette Alvarez notes that "the number of waivers the military granted to Army recruits with criminal backgrounds has nearly doubled in the past three years, jumping to more than 8,000 in 2006 from about 4,900 in 2003, Department of Defense records show."................

Tech Tags: military+waivers army+recruitment criminal+records

need i say more

other than, do you want THIS dude to be YOUR president?

McCain To Deliver Keynote Speech For Creationists

Today is Darwin Day, commemorating the anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and of the publishing of On the Origin of Species. The National Academy of Sciences, “the nation’s most prestigious scientific organization,” declares evolution “one of the strongest and most useful scientific theories we have.” President Bush’s science adviser John Marburger calls it “the cornerstone of modern biology.”
Yet, on February 23, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will be the keynote speaker for the most prominent creationism advocacy group in the country. The Discovery Institute, a religious right think-tank, is well-known for its strong opposition to evolutionary biology and its advocacy for “intelligent design.” The institute’s main financial backer, savings and loan heir Howard Ahmanson, spent 20 years on the board of the Chalcedon Foundation, “a theocratic outfit that advocates the replacement of American civil law with biblical law.”...........

Tech Tags: john+mccain charles+darwin discovery+institute intelligent+design

talk about stating the OBVIOUS

we ARE indeed trying to goad iran into outright conflict. most people in the middle eastern countries WOULD have left us alone had we NOT invaded (the wrong country) iraq.

yes we were attacked on september 11 and yes, without a doubt i would have gone after those responsible. none of whom or none of which CAME FROM IRAQ.

isn't anyone else afraid of what we are actually doing? we CANNOT allow the king and his court to continue to escalate this situation. WE CANNOT
write to your representatives. tell them you want our men and women HOME NOW

i personally do NOT believe in the rapture. all that is coming is THE END. that's it. THE END

(p.s. don't get me wrong. i think that those in high offices in iran are beyond nuts. i wouldn't trust them as far as i could throw them. )

Ex-Bush Iran official: US seeks pretext for conflict with Iran

David Edwards
A former top Bush administration official for Persian Gulf affairs has said in an interview this morning on CNN that the US may be trying to spark a conflict with Iran.
Hillary Mann is the former National Security Council Director for Iranian and Persian Gulf Affairs. She warned in the interview that the recent flare up between Iran and the US over the former's alleged assistance to Shi'a militias results from a US desire to provoke conflict with the Iranians.
"They're trying to push a provocative, accidental conflict," Mann said. ...

Tech Tags: iran iraq

you go grrrls!!!

i am so wicked happy for you!
can't think of anyone else i would rather see these awards go to


Dixie Chicks earn Grammys triumph

Country trio The Dixie Chicks have made a triumphant comeback by dominating the major honours at the Grammy Awards.
The group's five prizes come four years after they caused uproar among many US country music fans for saying they were "ashamed" of President George Bush.
Their awards included best song, record and album..............

At the Grammys, Making Very Nice
The Dixie Chicks Take Five, Including Album of the Year


By J. Freedom du Lac Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, February 12, 2007; Page C02
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 The Dixie Chicks got the last laugh Sunday night. Rejected by the country establishment, the polarizing group was tickled to find itself in the warm embrace of the broader Recording Academy, which honored the Chicks with five Grammy Awards -- including the three biggest: album of the year, record of the year and song of the year.
The Texas trio also won for best country group vocal and best country album. The latter award was especially surprising since they were excommunicated from the church of country music in 2003 after singer Natalie Maines popped off about President Bush and the war in Iraq. Upon bouncing to the podium after the result was announced, Maines said what just about everybody inside Staples Center was probably thinking: "That's interesting." She closed her gaping mouth just long enough to grin mischievously, then said, "Well, to quote the great Simpsons, 'HA HA!' "

Tech Tags: dixie+chicks grammy+awards

web site of the day

etsy

i stumbled across this site. it's a place to buy and sell handmade items