this is definitely

worth the read. we didn't learn our lessons then, we sure as shite aren't learning them now

'We Killed Her… That Will Be With Me the Rest of My Life'
Lawrence Wilkerson's Lessons of War and Truth

by Nick Turse

Nations in flux are nations in need. A new president will soon take office, facing hard choices not only about two long-running wars and an ever-deepening economic crisis, but about a government that has long been morally adrift. Torture-as-policy, kidnappings, ghost prisons, domestic surveillance, creeping militarism, illegal war-making, and official lies have been the order of the day. Moments like this call for truth-tellers. For Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. For witnesses willing to come forward. For brave souls ready to expose hidden and forbidden realities to the light of day.

Lawrence B. Wilkerson is such a man. He came to national prominence in October 2005 when -- having left his post as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell earlier in the year -- he laid bare some of the secrets of the Bush White House as he had experienced them. He had been inside the halls of power as the invasion and occupation of Iraq took shape. In Bush's second term, on the outside, he found that he had had enough. The American people, he thought, had a right to know just how their government was really working, and so he offered them this vision of the Bush administration in action: "[S]ome of the most important decisions about U.S. national security -- including vital decisions about postwar Iraq -- were made by a secretive, little-known cabal. It was made up of a very small group of people led by Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld."

In the years since, Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel, has not been reticent, especially when it came to "the militarization of America's foreign policy" and the practice of extraordinary rendition (the kidnapping of terror suspects and their deliverance into the hands of regimes ready and willing to torture them).

Nor, earlier this year, did he shy away from testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties about how, in 2004, while still at the State Department, he had compiled "a dossier of classified, sensitive, and open source information" on American interrogation and imprisonment practices at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq that yielded, he said, "overwhelming evidence that my own government had sanctioned abuse and torture."

"We have damaged our reputation in the world and thus reduced our power," he told the panel in closing. "We were once seen as the paragon of law; we are now in many corners of the globe the laughing stock of the law."........

free.will.power

video number II

protect the future of pro-choice america

not saying he is or he isn't

BUT

i do agree with diane at greatscat! he sure doesn't LOOK sober to me........

in celebration of true blood's finale

the other night (shite, i am going to have to wait until NEXT summer to watch the new season.)

i am not going to talk about the finale because i'm guessing some haven't watched it yet. i WILL say jason stackhouse DOES NOT get any smarter. that's not news to anyone who watches the show though

i love that show. it's funny, sexy, poignant AND it's making a point (god hates fangs is a kick ass take off)

again from boing boing

True Blood Featurette (video)

My friend Clayton Cubitt describes this spectacular little featurette by Digital Kitchen in four words: "Southern gothic art boner." Link to QuickTime file (contains blurry, fleeting art-nudity). UPDATE: sorry, looks like that direct "Link to QuickTime file" won't work as a clickthrough from BoingBoing, but if you copy and paste the url into your browser, it does.

Found on the excellent artofthetitle.com, in a post linking the opening sequence for Alan Ball's killer (heh) new HBO series with the cultural roots of the film Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus.

i hope he was high as a kite

because i know i couldn't do it sober

snoop and martha make mash (ed potatoes that is)

found via boing boing

keep 'em on the grass

i'm mighty darned impressed by the students that produced this

Princton Proposition 8 to protect traditional sidewalk values



John Aravosis (DC) ·
CAMPAIGN TO REMOVE FRESHMEN FROM SIDEWALKS IN SECOND SUCCESSFUL WEEK
11/24/08--Princeton, NJ

A group of students at Princeton University would like to eliminate the right of freshmen to walk on campus sidewalks. Stating that they would like to "preserve traditional sidewalk values" that define a sidewalk as a "pathway for sophomores, juniors, seniors, graduate students, faculty, staff, and other members of the university community," the group, which is acting in support of a measure termed "Princeton Proposition 8," is now entering its second successful week of demonstration.

The students emphasize that they are not "froshophobic" and that some of their best friends are freshmen, but they maintain that freshmen on the sidewalk degrade the sacred institution of sidewalks, and jeopardize the validity of upperclassmen's own perambulation. It also makes some of them uncomfortable. They are very excited that California's Proposition 8 has set a clear precedent for a majority to eliminate a minority group's civil rights, and they see it as a perfect opportunity to utilize this development for their own gain..,

another no surprise

story here. it's just like in the movies only the united states IS THE BAD GUY

Is Tony Blair a Terrorist? NSA Eavesdropped on Britain's Prime Minister
Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly
And to think, some of us nervous nellies were concerned that the NSA might abuse its surveillance powers and listen in on communications it shouldn't have.

A former communications intercept operator says U.S. intelligence snooped on the private lives of two of America's most important allies in fighting al Qaeda: British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Iraq's first interim president, Ghazi al-Yawer.

David Murfee Faulk told ABCNews.com he saw and read a file on Blair's "private life" and heard "pillow talk" phone calls of al-Yawer when he worked as an Army Arab linguist assigned to a secret NSA facility at Fort Gordon, Georgia between 2003 and 2007.

Last month, Faulk and another former military intercept operator assigned to the NSA facility triggered calls for an investigation when they revealed U.S. intelligence intercepted the private phone calls of American journalists, aid workers and soldiers stationed in Iraq..........

you go grrrl!

but candace, let's face it. chances are he is NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER going to understand. he's full of hate, fear, ignorance and goddess only knows what else. there is NO WAY a same sex marriage is going to destroy HIS marriage. oh wait, didn't HE do that all by his own dang self? whooooooooooopsssssssssssss, yup, i think he done did

A Response to the Extreme Anti-Gay Comments by My Brother, Newt Gingrich
By Candace Gingrich, Human Rights Campaign.
Note: This letter to Newt Gingrich from his sister is prompted by his outrageous statement on Nov. 14 to Fox News's Bill O' Reilly: "I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion."

Dear Newt,

I recently had the displeasure of watching you bash the protesters of the Prop 8 marriage ban to Bill O'Reilly on FOX News. I must say, after years of watching you build your career by stirring up the fears and prejudices of the far right, I feel compelled to use the words of your idol, Ronald Reagan, "There you go, again."

However, I realize that you may have been a little preoccupied lately with planning your resurrection as the savior of your party, so I thought I would fill you in on a few important developments you might have overlooked.

The truth is that you're living in a world that no longer exists. I, along with millions of Americans, clearly see the world the way it as -- and we embrace what it can be. You, on the other hand, seem incapable of looking for new ideas or moving beyond what worked in the past.

Welcome to the 21st century, big bro...........

and you wonder

why this great nation is falling apart. i don't. although i wonder WHY we allowed this shite to go on for so long.

we allowed our country to be stolen. our laws to be broken. our constitution to be torn apart and spit upon.
we allowed a madman and his good ol' whiteboy network to send 4,204 of our men and women to their deaths for NO reason

we should be ashamed of ourselves. then we should pull on our (vegan of course) boots, stand up and shout NO F**KING MORE.

no, i don't want to pay for this pile's attorneys. let him pay for his own. this country needs the money for OTHER things (like tossing at chairmen of failing companies who go to spas in california while rome new york (and the rest) is burning
Lawmakers ask: Why are taxpayers footing Gonzales's legal bills?
Nick Juliano
Two members of Congress are demanding answers following revelations that taxpayers are paying up to $24,000 per month to foot former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's legal bills.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), who chair the Judiciary committees in their respective chambers, wrote to Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Monday demanding to know the details of the arrangement.

At issue is a lawsuit filed against Gonzales alleging that he oversaw discrimination in two Justice Department programs aimed at recruiting law students into federal service. During his time in office, department officials systematically denied entry to liberal applicants and only admitted Republican supporters.

Administration of the Department of Justice Honor Program and Summer Law Intern Program were two of the many areas in which Gonzales is alleged to have politicized the Department..............

and we are surprised

because? come on now. don't act. this isn't a surprise to ANY of us. well it's a surprise in that it's 'news'. i'm DONE being politically correct. i EXPECT the chairperson (or someone who is running for that office) of the rnc to belong (or to HAVE belonged until a couple of months ago) to a WHITES ONLY country club. if you're outraged at my thought there, you're living in a fantasy world. IT'S TRUE

Candidate For RNC Chair Was Member Of Whites-Only Country Club
By Greg Sargent
Now here's a good way for the GOP to make the case that it hasn't been reduced to a southern regional rump party that's held hostage by intolerant crackpots: Elect as the new chairman of the Republican National Committee a southerner who just resigned a longtime membership in a whites-only country club.

Katon Dawson, the South Carolina GOP chairman, announced his candidacy for RNC chair yesterday.

And guess what: Back in September, when Dawson was first quietly laying the groundwork for his RNC run, The State newspaper reported that he resigned his membership in the nearly 80-year-old Forest Lake Club. Members told the newspaper at the time that the club's deed has a whites-only restriction and has no black members.........

no ordinary love tuesday

i swear i'm OBSESSED

with shane mercado

(i already posted HIS video alone dancing in that wonderful 'outfit' (or 1/8th of an outfit), now he's on national tv.)

i'm not kidding I LOVE HIM

(i wonder if beyonce has seen his ORIGINAL VERSION. she MUST have. i wonder what she thinks? how could she NOT love him? i want to go find my nasty ass spikes, my fishnets, my blood red lipstick and go out dancing with shane)

and now for something

completely different


Mystery piano in woods perplexes police
By Josh Levs
CNN
(CNN) -- Was it a theft? A prank? A roundabout effort to bring some holiday cheer to the police? Authorities in Harwich, Massachusetts, are probing the mysterious appearance of a piano, in good working condition, in the middle of the woods. Discovered by a woman who was walking a trail, the Baldwin Acrosonic piano, model number 987, is intact -- and, apparently, in tune.

Sgt. Adam Hutton of the Harwich Police Department said information has been broadcast to all the other police departments in the Cape Cod area in hopes of drumming up a clue, however minor it may be.

But so far, the investigation is flat.

Also of note: Near the mystery piano -- serial number 733746 -- was a bench, positioned as though someone was about to play.

The piano was at the end of a dirt road, near a walking path to a footbridge in the middle of conservation land near the Cape.........

nothing need be said here

Brenden Foster: 'I could have done more'

By KOMO Staff
BOTHELL, Wash. -- The local boy whose dying wish to feed the homeless inspired thousands across the world has taken a turn for the worse.

Brenden Foster is growing weaker, but his message is growing stronger.

His body is failing, his skin yellowing. His mother is trying to decide on the wording for his grave marker.

"B-Man is his nickname, or Mr. B. But most people call him B-Man," said Wendy Foster.

The end is near, and Brenden has one question for God.

"Why at so young an age? I could have done more. But if it has to be now, it has to be now," he said.

It's easy to imagine all he could have accomplished after seeing what the 11 year old has achieved in his final days. Brenden's dying wish to help the homeless has touched hearts from Saudi Arabia to South Carolina. Many of them left voice messages for their new hero.

"We saw you on television and love you with all of our hearts and we're praying for you," said Gayle Cleveland. ............

the nutmeg grater: i dislike the steamin' pile o' shite

the nutmeg grater: i dislike the steamin' pile o' shite

wtf?????????????????????

what alternate universe is HE living in?

Bush 'very pleased' with Iraq war outcome: report
US President George W. Bush believes the Iraq war was a success and is "very pleased" with what is happening there, he said in a pre-recorded interview broadcast on a Japanese television network Sunday.

"I think the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was right," Bush told the Sunday Project programme of the private Asahi network.

Saddam was an enemy of the United States and a lot of people thought he had weapons of mass destruction, Bush said, adding "remarkable" progress had been made in Iraq since the late dictator was toppled in 2003.

"People have been able to take their troops out of Iraq because Iraq is becoming successful. I'm very pleased with what is taking place there now," he said, adding there still is "a lot of work" to be done.

"We are bringing troops home because of the success in Iraq. But Iraq is not yet completely safe.........

how the fuck did they get there to BEGIN with????????????????? really king george, WTF?????????

i've written about the bogus

case against don siegelman many a time. (if you want the best scoop go to larisa alexandrovna's blog, at largely. she REALLY has researched the hell out of this mess). there is SO MUCH that was dirty about the prosecution, it isn't even funny. this is a man's LIFE we're talking about here. railroaded.....

now FINALLY the new york times has gotten on the bandwagon (how long did THAT take?)
New Twist in Appeal of Ex-Alabama Governor
By ADAM NOSSITER
New accusations have emerged during the appeal of the bribery conviction of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama that could buttress Democrats’ claims that the case against him was politically tainted, even as he prepares to argue against his conviction in a federal appeals court in Atlanta early next month. The accusations, from a Justice Department employee, suggest that the Republican United States attorney whose office prosecuted Mr. Siegelman remained substantially involved in the case, long after she insisted that she had removed herself from it because of her partisan connections.

And the formal complaints by the employee, a legal aide in the office of the United States attorney in Montgomery, Ala., have brought to light an episode in the 2006 bribery and corruption trial that Mr. Siegelman’s lawyers now say could have led to a key juror’s removal: flirtatious messages sent by jurors to the prosecution about the marital status of an F.B.I. agent who was working with prosecutors. Other jurors have said that they felt pressured by the judge to reach a decision in order to go home and that some jury members read about the case on the Internet during the trial......

there are some things i don't believe in

then again there ARE some things i DO believe in. if you don't think i believe in santa (even though i am NOT in virginia) you are sadly mistaken. because i DO believe)


With Santa's Return, a Happy Ending at Tysons
By Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer

Strictly speaking, it does not always look like fun.

Waiting in line, many children are so hopped up with excitement that they forgo breakfast, visits to the bathroom and parental attempts at conversation. But the closer the children get to their destination -- the twinkling Christmas trees, the giant throne-like chair, the bearded, strangely attired man -- the more their emotions build and build into what can only be described as sheer panic. Even terror. Several cry.

But this is the memorable experience that parents love each year -- and that drove thousands of them to raise a hullabaloo last month after Tysons Corner Center tried to fire the Santa of 18 years, Michael Graham, and put another in his place.

Photo from Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive by Courtesy of Brotman-Winter-Fried Communications

and the domestic violence

continues. in many cases with NO consequences to the perpetrator.

do you think it's a good idea to continue to arm this type of person and keep sending them into combat? i don't

Despite Army’s Assurances, Violence at Home
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ
On Christmas Day two years ago, Sgt. Carlos Renteria, recently back from his first tour in Iraq, got drunk and, during an argument, began to choke his wife, Adriana. He body-slammed her. He threw her onto the couch, grabbed a cushion and smothered her, again and again — until, finally, he stopped, she told the police in San Angelo, Tex. He was arrested and charged with assault, and she went to the hospital for her injuries, which included bruises and a severely swollen knee. It was his second domestic violence arrest. Assured by an Army officer that the military would pursue the case, the Texas prosecutor bowed out.

Yet Sergeant Renteria has faced no consequences. Instead, since his arrest, he has been redeployed to Iraq and promoted to staff sergeant. ........

he is leaving us with MANY gifts

prior to the (forced) abdication of his throne. he just can't stop f**king ALL of us over can he?

Top Scientist Rails Against Hirings
Bush Appointees Land Career Jobs Without Technical Backgrounds

By Juliet Eilperin and Carol D. Leonnig

Washington Post Staff Writers

The president of the nation's largest general science organization yesterday sharply criticized recent cases of Bush administration political appointees gaining permanent federal jobs with responsibility for making or administering scientific policies, saying the result would be "to leave wreckage behind."

"It's ludicrous to have people who do not have a scientific background, who are not trained and skilled in the ways of science, make decisions that involve resources, that involve facilities in the scientific infrastructure," said James McCarthy, a Harvard University oceanographer who is president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "You'd just like to think people have more respect for the institution of government than to leave wreckage behind with these appointments.".......