New from Counting Crows: "You Can't Count On Me"


-Diane

I can't resist kittens...

-Diane

Scott Bateman spins Bosnia. ;)

-Diane

Pony worthy...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than half of U.S. doctors now favor switching to a national health care plan and fewer than a third oppose the idea, according to a survey published on Monday.

The survey suggests that opinions have changed substantially since the last survey in 2002 and as the country debates serious changes to the health care system.



It will be at lot harder to fight the call for universal health care with this percentage of doctors finally on board.

Encouraging.

-Diane

The Great Depression of 2008

Does this make it 'official' now?

-Diane

Alabama Rep. warns against Seigelman testifying before Congress

WASHINGTON - Democratic Rep. Artur Davis of Birmingham warned House Democrats Monday against calling Don Siegelman to testify before Congress, saying Republicans would use the occasion to try to embarrass the former Alabama governor.

In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., Davis said it would be "extremely unwise" to open Siegelman up to fresh attacks and could jeopardize his appeal.

Davis said the appearance would probably turn into a partisan debate over Siegelman's guilt or innocence and shift attention from the committee's true goal of determining whether Republican politics influenced his prosecution on corruption charges.

"I fear that we will undermine what we value most if we divert this committee into a fact-finding quest into what Don Siegelman did or did not do," Davis wrote.

A former federal prosecutor, Davis is a member of the Judiciary Committee who has worked closely with Conyers and other Democrats to focus attention on Siegelman's case.

But Davis said he was not told of the committee's decision last week to seek Siegelman's testimony and would have advised against it, even before the former governor was released from prison Friday while he appeals his case.

Davis said the committee should focus on getting testimony from political operatives, particularly from former chief White House adviser Karl Rove. Siegelman's testimony would probably provide little new information about Justice Department behavior, he said.

"We may offer (Siegelman) a day in the court of public opinion, but our critics will assail us for doing nothing more than second-guessing a jury verdict," Davis wrote. "The Republican opposition within the committee will use the occasion to discredit him with the least flattering facts of the trial and his governorship. It is even conceivable that they could call some of the cooperating witnesses who testified against Siegelman to further damage his credibility."



I hope that we'll soon have a statement of some sort from Rep. Conyers, as I don't think I could make any sort of opinion here one way or the other without hearing his thoughts. I certainly would hate to see anything damage the hope for an appeal to go in Seigelman's favor.

-Diane

-Diane

Sad, Sadr, Saddest

Countdown MSNBC with Keith Olbermann 3-30-08: Keith and Rachel Maddow discuss 5 year in Iraq. Also, the grim confirmation that the remains of MIA Sgt. Matt Maupin of Batavia, OH have been identified nearly 4 years after his capture in Iraq. Condolences to his family and friends.

-Diane

Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., bowls at Pleasant Valley Recreation Center in Altoona, Pa., Saturday, March 29, 2008.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

-Diane

Celeste Allen, 15, sits on the roof outside a bedroom in her home while observing Earth Hour in Phoenix, Arizona, March 29, 2008. A time exposure helped illuminate the sky.
REUTERS/Jeff Topping (UNITED STATES)


-Diane

-Diane

Vicious hackers target epilepsy forum

Internet griefers descended on an epilepsy support message board last weekend and used JavaScript code and flashing computer animation to trigger migraine headaches and seizures in some users.

The nonprofit Epilepsy Foundation, which runs the forum, briefly closed the site Sunday to purge the offending messages and to boost security.

"We are seeing people affected," says Ken Lowenberg, senior director of web and print publishing at the Epilepsy Foundation. "It's fortunately only a handful. It's possible that people are just not reporting yet -- people affected by it may not be coming back to the forum so fast."

The incident, possibly the first computer attack to inflict physical harm on the victims, began Saturday, March 22, when attackers used a script to post hundreds of messages embedded with flashing animated gifs.

The attackers turned to a more effective tactic on Sunday, injecting JavaScript into some posts that redirected users' browsers to a page with a more complex image designed to trigger seizures in both photosensitive and pattern-sensitive epileptics.


This report just floored me. To think that someone would use their computer to inflict physical harm on innocent people is just incomprehensible.

I was diagnosed with epilepsy at 19, although I haven't visited the Epilepsy Foundation's forum in years now, I know that millions of people depend upon the information there, as well as the community on the site for support and guidance. The Foundation is also invaluable with their updates for members on new advances in treatments, new medications as they become available, and information on resources for support, where to turn with questions, and a plethora of other functions.

I'm not certain what crime hackers are charged with when they are caught -- and they do get caught -- but this instance is not just a prank. It's not an identity theft type hackery. As it inflicted physical harm, I'm inclined to call it terrorism, and I hope they're caught and charged accordingly.

Now I've gone and done it, and revealed something personal about myself. Don't expect me to make a habit of it. ;)

-Diane

Saturday night...

Maroon 5 - "Won't go home without you"

-Diane

Jon Snow's 'Hidden Iraq'

These videos are a special report on the state of Iraq from British newscaster Jon Snow. Some of the images are most graphic, so consider yourselves warned. I would urge you to watch it, and consider what is happening to the civilian population in Iraq when considering the reports that we receive from Washington, and even from some of our own media.



Part One.



Part Two.



Part Three.



Part Four.



Part Five.



Part Six.


This series was done on the 'anniversary' March 19 of 5 years of occupation forces in Iraq.

-Diane

Rove: My ‘tail and horns are retractable.’

Making friends wherever he goes.

-Diane

Wal-Mart v. The Shank Family

March 29, 2008 CNN. Don't they call themselves 'the family store'?

-Diane

Money & Power

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration will propose a sweeping overhaul of the way the government regulates the nation's financial services industry from banks and securities firms to mortgage brokers and insurance companies.

The plan would give major new powers to the Federal Reserve, according to a 22-page executive summary obtained by The Associated Press.

The Fed would be given broad authority to oversee financial market stability. That would include new powers to examine the books of any institution deemed to represent a potential threat to the proper functioning of the overall financial system.


I'm certain there's a lot more to this plan than is discussed in this article, however, why does everything Bush gets involved with have to start out with him needing more power? That never works out well for us.

-Diane

-Diane

The Afghanistan Hilton

CBS) A German resident held by the U.S. for almost five years tells 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley that Americans tortured him in many ways - including hanging him from the ceiling for five days early in his captivity when he was in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Even after determining he was not a terrorist, Murat Kurnaz says the torture continued. Kurnaz tells his story for the first time on American television this Sunday, March 30, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Kurnaz, an ethnic Turk born and raised in Germany, went to Pakistan in late 2001 at age 19 to study Islam and wound up in Pakistani police custody. It was three months after 9/11, and Kurnaz says the U.S. was offering bounties for suspicious foreigners. Kurnaz says he was "sold" to the Americans for $3,000 and brought to Kandahar as terrorist suspect.

He claims American troops tortured him in Afghanistan by holding his head underwater, administering electric shocks to the soles of his feet, and hanging him suspended from the ceiling of an aircraft hangar and kept alive by doctors. "Every five or six hours they came and pulled me back down and the doctor came," he recalls. "He looked into my eyes. He checked my heart and when he said 'okay,' then they pulled me back up," he tells Pelley.

The U.S. Pentagon responding by e-mail says, "We treat all detainees humanely… and all credible claims are investigated thoroughly…. The abuses Mr. Kurnaz alleges are not only unsubstantiated and implausible, they are simply outlandish."



Unsubstantiated and implausible, the nerve being taken prisoner without a buddy to witness, a camera phone, or notary. How could we possibly take his word over the stellar reputation of the Pentagon?

There's a brief interview video at the link.


-Diane

A ring-tailed lemur nuzzles a cub at a zoo in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province. The cub was born on March 24. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Liu Bingsheng)
(March 27, 2008)


-Diane

Actual audio from a John McCain TV ad, animated by Scott Bateman.

-Diane

A brief statement from former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman

Man, just once it would be nice to see the media act like human beings. Not a single word of kindness, just shoving the microphones in his face after his says that he just got out of the gotdamn prison, and would like to see his home and family before anything else. He looks good, but tired, and sounded tired. They should've backed off. Maybe it was the Britney Spears chaser crowd?

-Diane

Baghdad under lockdown.

March 28, 2008
MSNBC First Look.

-Diane

5 former secretaries of defense call for closure of Gitmo

Even Kissinger. March 28, 2008 MSNBC First Look.

-Diane

-Diane

-Diane

The Tide is Turning

-Diane

Gads!

Again, and again, and again...

-Diane

Siegelman released !

A federal appeals court has approved the release of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman on bond while he appeals his bribery conviction.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that Siegelman has met the legal standard necessary to allow him to be free from prison while he seeks to show he was wrongly convicted.


Amazing how quickly wheels can move when congress mentions testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.


-Diane

Teh surge is awesome

Part One.



Part Two.



Part Three.



Part Four.


CNN, March 27, 2008: George W. Bush speaking from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. He is trying to 'splain to everyone how the violence in Iraq is a good thing, and how it means the 'surge' is working. No violence, the surge is working, uncontrollable violence, surge is working. Then, he scolds congress...or rather tries to publicly shame congress into giving him what he wants.

-Diane

Caption this.

I dare ya.

-Diane

Basra

BBC's World News Today reports on the fighting in Basra, Iraq.

-Diane

Wednesday Monkey Blogging

-Diane

Blackwater

FALLUJAH, Mar 26 (IPS) - Iraqi doctors in al-Anbar province warn of a new disease they call "Blackwater" that threatens the lives of thousands. The disease is named after Blackwater Worldwide, the U.S. mercenary company operating in Iraq.

"This disease is a severe form of malarial infection caused by the parasite plasmodium falciparum, which is considered the worst type of malarial infection," Dr. Ali Hakki from Fallujah told IPS. "It is one of the complications of that infection, and not the ordinary picture of the disease. Because of its frequent and severe complications, such as Blackwater fever, and its resistance to treatment, P. falciparum can cause death within 24 hours."

What Iraqis now call Blackwater fever is really a well-known medical condition, and while it has nothing to do with Blackwater Worldwide, Iraqis in al-Anbar province have decided to make the connection between the disease and the lethal U.S.-based company which has been responsible for the death of countless Iraqis.

Congrats, Mr. Prince. You have arrived.

-Diane

QOTD

"I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so if I misspoke, that was just a misstatement."


– Hillary Clinton acknowledging that she didn’t run from sniper fire in Bosnia, to the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News editorial boards






-Diane

-Diane

Late.

Ray Charles: "Georgia on my Mind"

-Diane

An American flag is covered by flood water in a rural neighborhood outside of Des Arc, Ark. The White River flooded low-lying areas of Des Arc on Monday and continued to rise, as other towns along the river were warned they could suffer their worst flooding in more than a quarter-century. (AP Photo/Mike Wintroath)
(March 24, 2008)


-Diane

Caption this.

-Diane

oops...

-Diane

Peace through violence

Quote of the day: 'We never tortured anybody' though 'sometimes we beat them'




-Diane

4000

Thanks to Nico of HuffingtonPost for the mosaic.

The Toll. The figure includes 25 US casualties in the past 2 weeks. American forces have just experienced the most violent two-week period in Iraq since September 2007.


More disturbing, 97% of casualties came *after* Mission Accomplished.

-Diane

Chesus Crisp

-Diane

Faster than a speeding bullet!

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Andreia Schwartz, who was accused of helping run a prostitution ring allegedly used by former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, returned to her native Brazil after deportation by the U.S., the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper said.

According to U.S. prosecutors, Schwartz worked for the Emperors Club VIP, the same service that allegedly provided female company for Spitzer, and helped investigators understand how its clients paid, Estado said.


Someone didn't waste any time getting Schwartz out of the country. Now in Brazil, she's promising to tell her 'full story.' This is too difficult to speculate on beyond the possibility that whatever she has to say is something the New York GOP doesn't want anyone to hear.

-Diane

Gay marriage is bad because there are no gay potatoes.

Or something like that...

-Diane

How to make a terrorist cry.

Former FBI Interrogator Jack Cloonan talks about the techniques he used while working in the elite Bin Laden unit. You can also see interviews with Jack Cloonan in the Oscar award-winning documentary, "Taxi to the Darkside." For more, visit http://www.foreignpolicy.com


-Diane

An Easter tradition...

With Dick Cheney.

-Diane

Republican slime machine behind Spitzer investigation

Photo Roger Stone and wife Nydia.

According to various media accounts -- including the New York Times -- the investigation that led to the Spitzer scandal, and his eventual resignation, was triggered by a suspicious financial transaction report from North Fork Bank. A report in the Friday night news dump at the Miami Herald the case of the former New York governor seems more likely to have been a political hit job:

Almost four months before Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in a sex scandal, a lawyer for Republican political operative Roger Stone sent a letter to the FBI alleging that Spitzer ''used the services of high-priced call girls'' while in Florida.

The letter, dated Nov. 19, said Miami Beach resident Stone learned the information from ''a social contact in an adult-themed club.'' It offered one potentially identifying detail: the man in question hadn't taken off his calf-length black socks ``during the sex act.''

Stone, known for shutting down the 2000 presidential election recount effort in Miami-Dade County, is a longtime Spitzer nemesis whose political experience ranges from the Nixon White House to Al Sharpton's presidential campaign. His lawyer wrote the letter containing the call-girl allegations after FBI agents had asked to speak to Stone, though he says the FBI did not specify why he was contacted.

''Mr. Stone respectfully declines to meet with you at this time,'' the letter states, before going on to offer ''certain information'' about Spitzer.

''The governor has paid literally tens of thousands of dollars for these services. It is Mr. Stone's understanding that the governor paid not with credit cards or cash but through some pre-arranged transfer,'' the letter said.

''It is also my client's understanding from the same source that Governor Spitzer did not remove his mid-calf length black socks during the sex act. Perhaps you can use this detail to corroborate Mr. Stone's information,'' the letter said, signed by attorney Paul Rolf Jensen of Costa Mesa, Calif.

This new revelation brings back to the forefront a rather cryptic interview given by Stone to March 12, 2008 Newsday recently, where he himself alludes to being the catalyst in the scandal:

"I didn't make him go to a prostitution ring," said the most famous and ruthless Republican dirty trickster who still walks the earth. "He did that all on his own."

Stone said that even before I asked if his hand was somehow in Spitzer's latest trouble. I figured, somehow or another, it had to be.

"No comment on that," Stone said. "I will say I knew it was coming. That's why I wasn't too upset about the results of the special election," where a Democrat grabbed a supposedly safe Republican State Senate seat, leaving Democrats just one vote shy of control.

Conversations with Stone often go like that. Always cocky. A little cryptic. Leaving you wondering about more.

With a guerrilla-politics resume that goes all the way back to Richard Nixon, Stone's fingers have been in some of the most dastardly Republican schemes of the past 40 years, up to and including the Florida 2000 presidential recount. He helped rich guy Tom Golisano make high-priced mischief in the previous governor's race. He returned to Albany last year on the dime of Senate boss Joe Bruno. Desperate to keep his tiny Republican majority in the Senate, Bruno figured Stone could help. And he helped, until he had to quit when a voice that sounded awfully like his turned up making threats on the governor's father's voice mail.

But Stone never really left.

He set up a 527 political-hit committee. He's been shopping anti-Spitzer stories for months. He's been warning darkly about some "really ugly" stuff to come.

Even though there's no evidence he sent the governor to a hooker or made the Bush Justice Department follow up on a banking tip, he's been energetically working to undermine the governor.

And he may not be done.

"Everything's about to change," Stone said.

Well, sure.

Of course it is. Spitzer, mortally wounded, will almost certainly have to resign. Standing ready to take his place and make double-big history, too, Lt. Gov. David Paterson would be the first black governor of New York - and the first nearly blind one.

That wasn't what Stone meant.

"My work isn't done there," he said.

"Just watch."

In a another NYT piece on March 21, 2008, veteran Justice Department trial lawyer Bradley Simon attempts to defend 'tough tactics' used in the Spitzer case yet concedes the following:

Mr. Simon said it was unusual for the department to bring criminal charges in a prostitution case in which there was no allegation of the exploitation of children, human trafficking or some far more serious crime.

He said that in his eight years in the Brooklyn office in the 1990s, he could not recall a single major criminal case that centered on prostitution charges. “There were a lot of serious crimes — organized crime, narcotics cases, major financial crime investigations,” he said in an interview. “Prostitution was not a high priority.”

Other Justice Department officials, while insisting a strong involvement in busting up alleged or suspected prostitution rings also reveal an interesting note:

"And for years, they acknowledge, the department has rarely, if ever, prosecuted or even identified the clients of a prostitution ring."


It seems that someone -- Roger Stone? -- made bringing down Eliot Spitzer their own personal crusade.

Joseph Bruno, the Republican leader of the state Assembly -- was only too happy to threaten impeachment if Spitzer didn't resign.

Senators David Vitter and Larry Craig remain relatively unscathed after far more smarmy public revelations, public bathroom sex, and a diaper fetish, with Craig due to retire as promised at the end of his current term with full government retirement benefits.

It would be an absolute shame if Spitzer doesn't find his way back into the political arena, of course not as a champion against the evils of prostitution, naturally. Cretins like Roger Stone should not be allowed to have the final say in anyones political career.


-Diane

The Day in Photos

Plastic eggs in bright colors were collected by participants in the We Be Clowns Easter egg hunt in Chillicothe, Ohio. (AP Photo/Chillicothe Gazette, Sarah Wright)
(March 22, 2008)



A young penitent is seen during the "La Soledad" procession in Madrid. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter holy week. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
(March 22, 2008)




A Tarahumara man is painted to represent Judas during holy week celebrations in the village of Norogachi, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
(March 22, 2008)




Twins Mikaela, left, and Tiana Tolles, 19 months, of Miami Beach, Fla., hold Easter baskets at the New York Palace Hotel, during an Easter celebration. (AP Photo/Lindt & Sprungli, Diane Bondareff)
(March 22, 2008)





An unidentified child holds a candle during the Easter vigil mass in Cathedral-Basilica at Vilnius, Lithuania. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
(March 22, 2008)





A youngster enjoys sledding the Easter snow in the village of Rastrick, Yorkshire, England. The Easter holiday has fallen at the earliest time for nearly 100 years with snow, rain and high winds battering the country. (Anna Gowthorpe/PA Wire)
(March 22, 2008)





A solitary tree stands on the Riggisberg hill near Berne, Switzerland. Cold air moved in from the north, bringing snow showers and strong winds to much of Europe during an Easter holiday that has fallen at the earliest time in nearly 100 years. (AP Photo/Keystone, Peter Schneider)
(March 22, 2008)





Camellia and magnolia flourish near the lake of Lugano, Switzerland. In the background the San Salvatore mountain is seen. (AP Photo/Keystone/Karl Mathis)
(March 22, 2008)






A mallard swims through a pond at Riverfront Park in Billings, Mont., after a spring snowfall. (AP Photo/Billings Gazette, Casey Riffe)
(March 22, 2008)





Cherry blossoms begin to bloom around the Tidal Basin, near the Washington Monument, background, in Washington. The National Park Service forecasts the Yoshino cherry trees around the Tidal Basin to reach peak bloom from March 27 to April 3. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
(March 22, 2008)





A girl pulls her sled through a forest near Frankfurt, Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
(March 22, 2008)





A 15-meter balloon in the shape of a domestic water filter, placed by activists of the World Wide Fund for Nature, is seen at the Iguazu Falls during a protest marking World Water Day in Foz de Iguazu, Brazil. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
(March 22, 2008)





Trucks traveling on westbound Interstate 44 drive over cresting flood waters from the Meramec River on Missouri state Route 141 in Fenton, Mo. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
(March 22, 2008)





A truck's cab sits partially submerged in flood water from the Meramec River at the intersection of state Route 141 and Interstate 44 in Fenton, Mo. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
(March 22, 2008)





Sara Nordstrom, a college student from New Jersey, works to recover wood from a demolished home in the Lower Ninth ward of New Orleans. Volunteers are spending their Easter holiday working to help the area recover from Hurricane Katrina, which struck the area in 2005. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)
(March 22, 2008)





Tibetans light thousands of oil lamps in Katmandu, Nepal, to pray for the souls of those who died during protests in China as well as to urge the Chinese government to resist from using force against Tibetan protesters. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
(March 22, 2008)





A demonstrator, his face painted in the colours of Tibet's flag, joins the protest in Trafalgar Square in London against China's crackdown on protests in Tibet. Hundreds marched through central London to show solidarity with Tibetans after Beijing vowed to "resolutely crush" anti-government demonstrations in Tibet. The protest, organized by the London-based Free Tibet Campaign, aimed to pressure China into allowing organizations such as the Red Cross and the United Nations into Tibet to give medical treatment to those hurt in the violence. (AP Photo/Fiona Hanson/PA)
(March 22, 2008)





Protestors walk down Second Avenue in New York to demonstrate against China's crackdown in Tibet. The leading communist Chinese newspaper called Saturday on the government to "resolutely crush" demonstrations in Tibet against Chinese rule. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
(March 22, 2008)





Supporters of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party wave flags after their presidential candidate, Frank Hsieh, lost election to opposition Ma Ying-jeou, in Taipei, Taiwan. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
(March 22, 2008)





Truckers gather and listen to speakers during a truck drivers' rally to protest high fuel prices at the Gables truck stop in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
(March 22, 2008)





A bungee jumper leaps from a bridge over the Yantra River in the town of Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. Two hundred bungee jumpers will try to jump more than 440 times from the bridge in 24 hours to attempt for the second time a new world record for mass bungee jumping. (AP Photo/Petar Petrov)
(March 22, 2008)





Former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill "Tony" McPeak speaks to a crowd, condemning a speech by Bill Clinton that he said questioned Barack Obama's patriotism, as Obama, right, stands by during a town hall in Medford, Ore. (AP Photo/Bob Pennell, Mail Tribune)
(March 22, 2008)





A Sri Lankan mourner reaches out to touch the remains of Arthur C. Clarke during his funeral in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Visionary science fiction writer Clarke was buried Saturday in a brief secular funeral in Colombo, the capital of his adopted country. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
(March 22, 2008)




When I first started out blogging, I used to post a lot more photos. Mostly photos centered around Iraq and Afghanistan, but I always liked mixing in some from around the world.

I might get back into doing more with photos. They say so much more than words ever could.

-Diane

McBush vs. The Truth

From Countdown with Keith Olbermann with guest Rachel Maddow on 3-21-08. Thanks to Izzy from MSNBC.

BTW, in the clip of Dana Perino's press conference, the reporter she is speaking to is Raw Story's Eric Brewer. Small world, eh?

-Diane

Why does KBR hate our troops?

At least 12 soldiers have been electrocuted to death because of KBR's failure -- or complete disregard -- for US safety standards.


-Diane

So there you have it.

Eighty-one percent say when making "an important decision" government leaders "should pay attention to public opinion polls because this will help them get a sense of the public's views." Only 18 percent said "they should not pay attention to public opinion polls because this will distract them from deciding what they think is right."

When ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz cited polling data showing majority opposition to the Iraq war, Cheney responded, "So?" Asked, "So--you don't care what the American people think?" he responded, "No," and explained, "I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls."

Americans also roundly reject the position put forward by White House spokeswoman Dana Perino in an effort to explain Cheney's comments. Asked whether the public should have "input," she replied, "You had your input. The American people have input every four years, and that's the way our system is set up.

When Americans are asked whether they think that "elections are the only time when the views of the people should have influence, or that also between elections leaders should consider the views of the people as they make decisions," an extraordinary 94 percent say that government leaders should pay attention to the views of the public between elections.


I think most of America just flipped Cheney the bird.

-Diane

-Diane

Another reason not to continue to support the war.

They've got rape rooms.




-Diane

Listen up...

This is a sermon given by Obama's minister, the Rev. Wright, and if you have a couple of minutes you'll learn something I found interesting. The beginning of this sermon is a bit shocking(ok, not so much for bloggers perhaps, but enough for Fox news to make a big deal out of)yet a couple minutes into his sermon notes, Wright explains that his words were based on quotes from the former Ambassador to Iraq, Ambassador Peck. A Reagan era appointee.

The Rev. heard him in an interview on Fox News.

I wonder how many calls to judgement were made on short clips of old sermons without hearing the entire story first? I understand some in the media are referring to Obama's church as a 'cult' now, must be the fundie crowd. Imagine a minister who ties his sermons in with actual real world events and goings on? He must have skipped his classes on zygote worship, or maybe he was home with the flu. Who knows?

-Diane

Edit: Here's the link to a diary @ Kos with the full transcript of this sermon, and much more information on it than I had at this point. Thanks to NOLA lady @ DU for the link.

Happy Easter

Or Happy Spring. Seems odd saying 'Spring' when I just had near a foot of snow dumped on the ground...again. Enjoy your weekend, and if you're traveling, be safe, and don't forget to be kind to the Peeps.

-Diane

Late night.

-Diane

Merci McCain!

The French really like John McCain...

-Diane

New Rules

Bill Maher on 3-21-08.

-Diane

Countdown

Olbermann's Worst Person in the World from 3-21-08.

-Diane

cruel...

Give Peeps a chance.

-Diane

Fruitless, nutless wonders

WASHINGTON — Older White House computer hard drives have been destroyed, the White House disclosed to a federal court Friday in a controversy over millions of possibly missing e-mails from 2003 to 2005.

The White House revealed new information about how it handles its computers in an effort to persuade a federal magistrate it would be fruitless to undertake an e-mail recovery plan that the court proposed.

"When workstations are at the end of their lifecycle and retired ... the hard drives are generally sent offsite to another government entity for physical destruction," the White House said in a sworn declaration filed with U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola.

It has been the goal of a White House Office of Administration "refresh program" to replace one-third of its workstations every year in the Executive Office of the President, according to the declaration.

Some, but not necessarily all, of the data on old hard drives is moved to new computer hard drives, the declaration added.


I got ten bucks says Neil is selling 'em on Ebay.


-Diane

Payday

Starbucks baristas get a long overdue tip.


-Diane

Cut that 'hope' crap out.

-Diane

Bill Richardson endorses Barack Obama today.

-Diane

From the wtf? files...

I don't get it. An assassination plot from 2005, and they're just now investigating? Oh.kaaay.

-Diane

-Diane

CBC...Ice Cool Cold Edition...

~SSquirrel

Jon talks to Alex Kingsbury

Interesting view of life in Iraq today...

~SSquirrel

The Daily Show Birthday Bash,,,

~SSquirrel

Caption This...Or You Won't Find Any Cool Easter Eggs...

~SSquirrel

"Poor" Democrats...not...

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama's campaign spent at the rate of nearly $1.5 million a day in February as he racked up the victories that pushed him ahead of rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in their chase for Democratic nomination delegates.

It was a fierce pace fueled by extraordinary fundraising. Obama, the junior senator for Illinois, raised $55.4 million in the month and still had about $30 million in the bank for the primaries going into March, according to his report to the Federal Election Commission Thursday.

Meanwhile, aides to Republican Sen. John McCain reported Thursday that his campaign this week paid back a $4 million loan that had become the focus of a stalemate between McCain and the FEC. In his FEC documents, McCain reported raising $11 million in February. He ended it with $8 million in the bank, but that was before he paid off his loan.

Clinton has said she raised $35 million in the month, a feat surpassed only by Obama. Their lengthy reports, filed electronically, had still not appeared on the FEC Web site by late Thursday.

A summary page supplied by the Obama campaign reported that he spent $42.7 million in February. He had nearly $39 million cash on hand, but more than $7 million of it could only be used in the general election.

In a testament to the financial heft behind the Democrats, Obama's spending for the month approached McCain's spending for the entire year-long election.


The Democrats with waaaay more money than the Repukes? That's so weird it's kinda scary...I'm gonna buy a lottery ticket...

~SSquirrel

"Moneybags" McCain...

In February, the month before he became the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain raised $11 million, which was slightly less than he had raised in January and reflects the thinness of his financial backing, even as he headed toward a certain nomination.

Mr. McCain, whose ability to raise money has risen and fallen with his political fortunes, has embarked on a nearly daily schedule of fund-raising since March 4. But, in February, as he racked up one primary win after another, his attention focused more on gaining delegates than dollars. The $11 million he raised that month was less than the $11.7 million raised in January. At the same time, his campaign maintained the same amount of bank debt as before, slightly under $5 million.


Nobody likes you and your mother dresses you funny...

~SS

Al-Sadr Ceasefire Unraveling...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Mehdi Army fighters attacked police patrols in southern Baghdad overnight, police said on Friday, further fraying a seven-month-old ceasefire called by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to rein in his militia.

Two police officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the clashes in Shurta began on Thursday night when Mehdi Army fighters launched simultaneous attacks on police patrols and attacked a checkpoint.

"They captured 17 policemen and forced them to take off their clothes. Then they freed them in their underwear," said one of the officials.

The second police source said the gunmen had burnt several cars and captured a number of weapons from the police. U.S. forces later brought eight bodies in black plastic sacks to al- Bayaa police station in southern Baghdad, he said.


They stole police uniforms, then weapons, and maybe a car or two? I hope somebody thinks maybe they have a plan involving fake police forces...cuz I do...

S(herlock)Squirrel

Loophole Gate #3...

WASHINGTON — House Democrats demanded documents Thursday about a multibillion-dollar overseas contracting loophole to track down how _ and why _ the Bush administration slipped it into plans to protect taxpayer money.

Leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee gave the administration until April 4 to turn over the documents or, aides have said, face a possible subpoena.

The controversial loophole has irked Democrats and Republicans alike. But it has the support of a trade association that lobbies on behalf of giant global government contractors, including Blackwater USA, KBR Inc., Boeing Co., CACI International Inc. and Lockheed Martin.

"Preventing fraud by contractors overseas should be a high priority," Democrats wrote in letters sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget and four other executive agencies. "Instead, the exemption for contracts to be performed overseas appears to have been inserted in the rule late in the process and against the wishes of the Department of Justice, which raises serious questions as to why and how such a policy was developed."


A license to steal, how cool is that? From the biggest pot of gold on the planet, your tax dollars... Who was it that said the fastest way to make a billion dollars was a government contract and the balls to ask for it???

~SSquirrel

TGIF Seems Inapproptiate...

But then so does Good Friday

~SSquirrel

CBC...Sadshine Edition...

~SSquirrel

Year Six: The Blood Feuds...

Five years on, Iraqis, US and allied forces face daily attacks from insurgents and Islamist militants, and fighting continues between factions from both sides of Iraq's Sunni-Shiite sectarian divide.

The war has killed tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Between 104,000 and 223,000 died between March 2003 and June 2006 alone, according to the World Health Organisation.

More than 4,000 US and allied soldiers have also lost their lives.

"The war has been an unlimited disaster in terms of US foreign policy, in terms of stability in Iraq and in the Middle East," Joost Hiltermann, Iraq expert with the International Crisis Group, told AFP.

"I can only hope the US finds a way to navigate itself out of the mess without allowing Iraq to fall apart."

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the plight of millions of Iraqis who still have little or no access to clean water, sanitation or health care was the "most critical in the world."

The economy, the main concern of Iraqis after security, is also a wreck.

Unemployment is running at between 25 and 50 percent, according to government figures.

Oil exports, the country's main money-earner, are a key source of contention between rival political factions.

Iraqi officials say production is at 2.9 million barrels per day, higher than pre-war levels when Saddam's Iraq was under UN sanctions. Oil analysts believe it is really around 2.2 million.

Such public services as water and electricity have yet to be fully restored, despite billions of dollars having been spent on often badly managed reconstruction projects.

Insurgents continue to carry out spectacular attacks, such as a bombing on Monday in the Shiite shrine city of Karbala that killed 52 people.

At a national unity conference on Tuesday -- undermined by a boycott from two key parliamentary blocs -- Maliki boasted that Iraq's sectarian civil war was over.

You heard it here first...The war is over..Mission Accomplished(again)...Perfect timing for those Fourth of July parades...

~SSquirrel