Cheers and Jeers: Rum and Coke FRIDAY!: "From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...What the Terrorists WantI lived for 5 years in Dusseldorf, Germany inthe late 70s when I was just a li'l nipper. Terrorism was a fact of life thereand throughout Europe. The police carried machine guns, bombs went off,…
page 40...Article II of the United States Constitution provides that any citizen of appropriate birth, age and residency may be elected to the Office of President of the United States and be vested with the executive power of this nation.48The duties and powers of the Chief Executive are carefully listed,…
The War Bush Isn't Fighting:When unsmiling agents at the airport take away your contact lens solution, your toothpaste, and your cologne or after-shave, remember Osama bin Laden. Remember the real war on terrorism that the Bush administration and its allies decided not to fight, preferring cowboy-style military adventures.The revelation yesterday…
Andrew Sullivan | The Daily Dish: "Yglesias Award Nominee10 Aug 2006 04:37 pm'And yet, much as I'm reluctant to agree with him, Weisberg has a point: aside from kvetching about Bush's policies, the liberal blogosphere has chosen to almost unanimously sit out any substantive discussion of the fight against radical…
As for the primary election in Connecticut last night, I know there's a lot of concern and interest about that. Democratic voters in Connecticut have made their choice, and they have chosen Ned Lamont over Senator Lieberman. Just a couple of observations. Key leaders in the national Democratic Party have…
War Crimes Act Changes Would Reduce Threat Of Prosecution: "The Bush administration has drafted amendments to a war crimes law that would eliminate the risk of prosecution for political appointees, CIA officers and former military personnel for humiliating or degrading war prisoners, according to U.S. officials and a copy of…
BUSH'S BACKFIRE:As usual, Jim Hightower says it better than I can:Giving credit where credit is due, I'll concede that Bush's gang of neo-con ideological nutballs were right when they said that Bush's approach to Iraq would be held up as a model of success in the Middle East. Unfortunately, it's…
HoustonChronicle.com - Court rules GOP can't replace DeLay on ballot:"Aug. 3, 2006, 4:39PMCourt rules GOP can't replace DeLay on ballotBy R.G. RATCLIFFECopyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Austin BureauAUSTIN - A federal appeals court panel today in a bipartisan order ruled that former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay cannot be replaced on the…
Molly Ivins - Creators.com - Creators Syndicate: "The poor man who is currently our president has reached such a point of befuddlement that he thinks stem cell research is the same as taking human lives, but that 40,000 dead Iraqi civilians are progress toward democracy." You know, I've been reading…
It's Disproportionate. . .: "I felt better when I thought the Decider didn't have a worldview, just a set of instincts about freedom and democracy. But even if you set aside the president's embarrassing open-mike performance at the Group of Eight summit, which is hard to do, events of the…
I.R.S. to Cut Tax Auditors - New York Times: "The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half of the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service who audit tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those who are subject to gift and estate taxes when…
Bush's Tactic of Refusing Laws Is Probed: 'The President's constitutional duty is to enforce laws he has signed into being unless and until they are held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court or a subordinate tribunal,' panel members wrote. 'The Constitution is not what the President says it is.'" Just kinda…
The People's Business: "On Tuesday it (the House) took up the gay-marriage amendment. This was a meaningless exercise, except in terms of amassing political ammunition: The Senate had already defeated the amendment. Nonetheless, some members had no trouble explaining the value of the dead-end debate. 'This is probably the best…
Daily Kos: What Did You Expect, America?: "If you put people in charge of running a project they are ideologically committed to proving a failure, it will fail. " I would normally add something here, but I don't think I can say it any better than SusanG so go read…
OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan: "I note here what is to me a mystery. It is that people with lower IQs somehow tend, in our age, to have a greater apprehension of the meaning of things and the reality of life, than do our high-IQ professionals, who often seem, in areas…
Blowing the Whistle on Diebold -- In These Times: “The single greatest threat to our democracy is the insecurity of our voting system,” warns Kennedy. “Whoever controls the voting machines can control who wins the votes.” After reading his article in Rolling Stone I was impressed, now it looks like…
USNews.com: Washington Whispers: "To the list of those penning books about the prez add the most authoritative source of all: President Bush. Insiders say that he's been working on the project for a year. 'He's doing a memoir,' one insider says. 'He's keenly interested in it.' But here's the odd…
I know we are all holding out great hopes for biofuels, but these nagging pieces keep showing up in the papers... The False Hope of Biofuels: "Biofuels such as ethanol made from corn, sugar cane, switchgrass and other crops are being touted as a 'green' solution for a large part…
Here's another article on the sustainable foods culture. The tie is to the book by Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma. Looks like another trip to the booksellers for me. Everthing I keep reading about "Omnivore" makes me want to check out the book. Common Ground: The Shortest Food Chain: "In the…
Let There Be Law: "Let There Be Law The Supreme Court has offered a chance to put the war on terror on solid legal ground. Will Congress rise to the occasion?" One of the basic problems I have with this administration and the Congress is the way our democratic set…
I guess one of the things that really bothers me about this country is the way everyone lives the myth. If you ask almost anyone in the USA, they will tell you they are "middle class" or "middle income". The funny thing about this is the disconnect between what people…
CNN.com - Democrats vow to block pay raises until minimum wage increased - June 27, 2006: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Democrats ratcheted up their election-year push for an increase in the federal minimum wage Tuesday by promising to block a congressional pay hike unless some of the lowest-paid hourly workers get…
It looks like if there is a common thread running through recent posts it is the idea of buying local. My concern was originally in the way of food. I feel a bit leery of the commercialization of the organic movement. Call me a “Luddite” but when the big Agri-Business…
In the Senate, Covering Themselves in Old Glory: "The Citizens Flag Alliance, a group pushing for the Senate this week to pass a flag-burning amendment to the Constitution, just reported an alarming, 33 percent increase in the number of flag-desecration incidents this year.The number has increased to four, from three."The…
Washington Post: House Sacrifices Revenue and Earmarks: "The legislation, which passed 269 to 156, would exempt estates worth as much as $5 million -- $10 million for couples -- from taxation indefinitely. The tax rate on estates worth more than the exemption level up to $25 million would be set…
Thursday, June 22, 2006 Thoreau's Journal: 22-Jun-1851 As I walk the railroad causeway, I notice that the fields and meadows have acquired various tinges as the season advances, the sun gradually using all his paints. There is the rosaceous evening red tinge of red clover,—like an evening sky gone down…
'Organic' Loses Its Freshness: Until recently, organic practices were sneered at by those in academia, in government and in chemical agribusiness -- now called 'conventional agriculture.' Thanks to a fast-growing demand for organic food, the sneers are now reserved for those who practice organics on a small scale. Long accustomed…
Lawmakers' Profits Are Scrutinized: House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) made a $2 million profit last year on the sale of land 5 1/2 miles from a highway project that he helped to finance with targeted federal funds.A Republican House member from California, meanwhile, received nearly double what he paid…
Latest measles case brings total to 14 - The Boston Globe: "June 21, 2006 The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed another case of measles yesterday, bringing the total to 14 since early May. The patient, a woman in her early 20s, has recovered from the disease and is back…
The Carpetbagger Report: "It hasn't generated a great deal of attention, but congressional Dems are keeping Republicans on the defensive over a minimum-wage increase. At this point, the GOP leadership looks a little flustered.Last week, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $2.10-an-hour increase to the minimum wage, despite the demands…
