October 17, 2006

THE THINKING SPOT

From a fiasco of intended 600 dead, it became 3000. The next thing we hear is *mushroom cloud*. How are we supposed to get a reality handle on this to shape our decision making re executive branch power?How many does it take to metamorphose wickedness into righteousness? One man must not kill. If he does, it is murder.... But a state or nation may kill as many as they please, and it is not murder. It is just, necessary, commendable, and right. Only get people enough to agree to it, and the butchery of myriads of human beings is perfectly innocent. But how many does it take?: Adin Ballou, The Non-Resistant, 5 February 1845

ALERT

Web could be terror training camp: Chertoff U.S. Homeland Security Secretary said on Monday. Disaffected people living in the United States may develop radical ideologies and potentially violent skills over the Internet and that could present the next major U.S. security threat, (Ooooh, they really ARE afraid of the net, aren't they!)
http://tinyurl.com/y349a5

LAUGH OF THE WEEK! LAUGH OF THE WEEK!

It's True: Bush Declares 'National Character Counts Week' --- Whether you realize it or not, we're smack-dab in the middle of what Bush has officially proclaimed National Character Counts Week!!!!!!
http://tinyurl.com/yera66

WAR

White House advisers ready to back Iraq withdrawal --- A panel of White House advisers, which includes former US secretary of state Baker, is ready to recommend large troop withdrawals from Iraq, it emerged today.
http://tinyurl.com/yhczuz

Iraqi Death Rate May Top Our Civil War -- But Will the Press Confirm It? --- The press, after its initial coverage, has turned away from the shocking Johns Hopkins study which estimated 400,000 to 800,000 deaths in the Iraq war since 2003. One of the authors of the study has issued a challenge: Check out their findings in the field -- and then confirm or debunk it -Greg Mitchell/Editor & Publisher
http://tinyurl.com/y6g7x2

Christians in the Crossfire --- Oddly, the American evangelical leadership that campaigned for war has paid little attention to the catastrophe enveloping Iraq’s Christians
http://tinyurl.com/w3roa

Scott Ritter on "Target Iran *** The Truth About the White House’s Plans for Regime Change”*** Former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter: “The path that the United States is currently embarked on regarding Iran is a path that will inevitably lead to war. Such a course of action will make even the historical mistake we made in Iraq pale by comparison.”
http://tinyurl.com/yx3fsh

What would you think if your state were losing 25 police/day? Iraq is in this position and loses 25 police to violence each day:
http://tinyurl.com/y4rqt9

General Says Abu Ghraib Officer Lied - The highest-ranking officer charged with crimes at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq allowed detainee abuses and then lied about it, a general who investigated the scandal testified Monday.
http://tinyurl.com/yy3g74

THE WHITE HOUSE

“The name of God is being destroyed in the name of politics” - But Kuo says the so-called compassion agenda has fallen short of its promise and he blames President Bush for that in his new book.
http://tinyurl.com/wezr5

Bush Signs Harsh, Controversial Interrogation Bill...
http://tinyurl.com/y28mn8

POLITICS

A Secret in the Line of Succession - House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) shows no sign of resigning over the Mark Foley-House page scandal. But the mere suggestion that he might do so raises an intriguing political and constitutional question: Who would replace him while Congress is in recess?
http://tinyurl.com/v9gy7

SCANDAL

Foley's rehab paid for by taxpayers - Salley Collins, a spokeswoman for the clerk's office, said the Florida Republican is covered by a "temporary continuation of coverage" program that is available to federal employees who leave or resign their positions, Capitol Hill Blue reported Monday.
http://tinyurl.com/ybqv2p

Blog 'outs' GOP Sen. Larry Craig ---
http://tinyurl.com/v26af

SECOND CONGRESSMAN IN PAGE SCANDAL…
http://tinyurl.com/yblmbu

National GOP Yanks Funding From Crawford, TX Candidate...
http://tinyurl.com/y4zmwj

Dr. Dobson: Other GAY REPUBLICANS will be "outed"…
http://tinyurl.com/yxc3a6

Don't mention the president: how Republicans hope to stay in power --- Citing the President's own "with us or against us" approach, if a candidate did not speak out against the war and against torture, they are part of the problem. Get rid of them.
http://tinyurl.com/yxfom2

FBI Agents Raid Home of Rep. Curt Weldon's Daughter --- Federal agents raided the home of the daughter of US Rep. Curt Weldon this morning. The agents departed Karen Weldon's three-story brick home on Queen Street in Philadelphia with their arms loaded with boxes. The raids came three days after news broke that the FBI is investigating whether the Republican congressman used his influence to help his daughter, a registered lobbyist, win consulting contracts.
http://tinyurl.com/y7jwt8

LEGAL ISSUES

Woman Sues Over Ticket for Anti-Bush Bumper Sticker - 1st Amendment Issue
http://tinyurl.com/yd54oh

Attorney Lynne Stewart, Facing Up To 30 Years in Prison Speaks Out : Stewart was convicted of five counts of conspiring to aid terrorists and lying to the government. Stewart’s case has reverberated with defense attorneys around the country. Many argue that the government’s aim is to discourage them from representing unpopular clients. (Sentenced to 2 1/2 Years )
http://tinyurl.com/y4o5hd

ELECTION ISSUES

GOP bloggers raise $250k in 60 days
http://tinyurl.com/ygc6ja

Poll: Dem lead grows in Republican-held districts ---
http://tinyurl.com/ylxwes

Foleyisms --- Trusting our nation's security to Republicans is like trusting your son to Mark Foley. ---Letting Republicans make environmental regulations is like letting Mark Foley set the boy's dress code.
http://tinyurl.com/w9a94

Wal-Mart Targets Dems in Employee Voter Education --- The world's largest retailer is about to wade into this fall's elections, distributing information about specific candidates to its 1.3 million employees nationwide. The company plans to specifically target local, state and national leaders who appeared last summer at a series of anti-Wal-Mart rallies organized by Wake Up Wal-Mart, a union-backed group that has called for better pay and benefits for Wal-Mart employees.
http://tinyurl.com/w4wbh

Colorado Republican Operatives Sue Unions for Political Gain --- Colorado Republican operatives who filed a lawsuit accusing a union of illegally taking campaign money from noncitizens were using the issue of illegal immigration for political gain. Republicans hoped to use the lawsuit, filed this summer, to "paint all unions with a broad brush" and "illustrate unions as facilitators of illegal immigration," according to internal emails obtained by the Denver Post.
http://tinyurl.com/y3q5fe

Twelve ways Bush is now stealing the Ohio vote: The Republican "November Surprise" to steal the 2004 election is in full force here in Ohio. With polls showing a dead heat, the GOP is staging an all-out attack on a fair vote count in the Buckeye State.
http://tinyurl.com/3uvh9

ECONOMY

Taxes, Spending, and Debt are the Real Issues ----- Many conservatives have touted the Fair Tax proposal as an issue in the upcoming election.A pure consumption tax like the Fair Tax would be better than the current system only if we truly did away with the income tax by repealing the 16th amendment. But the real issue is total spending by government, not tax reform -Rep Ron Paul M.D.
http://tinyurl.com/y7hy33

911

Blog: Whistleblower had 'corrupt boss'---Mike Feghali is literally a one-man gatekeeper standing between the entire FBI and the entire Arabic world and is the one Sibel Edmonds blew the whistle on for covering up info, incompetence, and sex with a foreign agent. An yet he was promoted. etc. etc. ....(Quite a read!)
http://tinyurl.com/y93uab

9/11 - ALL THE PROOF YOU NEED! --- why there has been no attempt by the US government to identify the person who anticipated huge stock profits from a disaster that was yet to occur.
http://tinyurl.com/vw6ut

Post-9/11 Security Standards Not Being Met at Uranium Facility --- The Energy Department cannot meet its own post-September 11 security standards to repel a terrorist force at the Ft. Knox of uranium, a facility in Tennessee that stores an estimated 189 metric tons of bomb-grade material, agency officials acknowledged.
http://tinyurl.com/vumkp

DOMESTIC

THE FUTURE OF FOOD: MONOPOLIZING SEEDS THAT FEED THE WORLD - Americans who have taken the time to understand the big picture and what is happening to our republic repeatedly ask, "What is it going to take to get Americans out of a state of denial and wake up?" Many reply it won't happen until the grocery store shelves are empty.
http://tinyurl.com/y8kgmt

ENVIRONMENT

World’s Largest Carbon Sequestration Project Approved - The co-generation plant will operate at a very high energy efficiency, in the longer term up to 80%. By comparison, traditional gas-fired power plants have an energy efficiency of approximately 58-59%, according to the Ministry of the Environment.
http://tinyurl.com/ykq2on

INTERNATIONAL

Filial subordination and a future of internal strife --- Fidel Castro's sudden surgical operation and the transfer of power to his brother Raúl
http://tinyurl.com/w3roa

Wal-Mart acquiring chain in China ---
http://tinyurl.com/yj645t

MEDIA AND JOURNALISM

Conservative Radio Hosts Breaking With Bush, GOP Leaders....
http://tinyurl.com/ykmqrw

Keith Olbermann Goes On the Attack Against President Bush --- Keith Olbermann has delivered a series of hard-hitting commentaries on the failures of the Bush administration on MSNBC. As a result, his ratings are moving up. Olbermann says he hasn't spoken to NBC Chairman Bob Wright or anyone at corporate owner General Electric Co. about his commentaries, and no one has asked him to tone things down. Such is the almighty power of the Nielsen meter.
http://tinyurl.com/wqsgq

EDITORIALS - OPINIONS

Noam Chomsky: U.S. Intervention in Venezuela and in Latin America: Keep your eyes on Ecuador,[Rafael] Correa was recently asked what he would do with the big Manta US airbase in Ecuador and his answer was, well he’d allow it to stay if the United States agreed to have an Ecuadorian airbase in Miami.
http://tinyurl.com/y5nwpa

HEALTH

The Major Mistakes Doctors Often Make With Your Health - Failure to order appropriate tests and incorrect interpretation of test results play a role in almost 60 percent of injuries and deaths resulting from missed or delayed diagnoses.
http://tinyurl.com/y363g3

OMEGA 3. Research suggests violence may be tied to treatable diet problems.
http://tinyurl.com/yd8gn3

Water in Kansas Crisis Demands Attention --- Beneath the soil of landlocked Kansas lies a vast, life-sustaining source of water called the High Plains aquifer. Now, in some areas of western Kansas, the aquifer has been sucked dry or is close to it. "There will need to be a lot of changes. We can't have near the amount of irrigated corn and alfalfa that we have. We don't have the water," said Susan Stover, a water manager for the Kansas Water Office.
http://tinyurl.com/y6en3h

SPECIAL INTEREST ITEMS

Scientists: Humans Might Split Into “Upper” And “Underclass” Species...
http://tinyurl.com/y9e5r8