and they bitch about bloggers not having professionalism?

from the frontpage (online) of the des moines register:

It was 3-1/2 years ago that someone inadvertently dropped a checkbook onto the floor of the men's room at City Hall in Spirit Lake, sparking a criminal investigation, a state audit and two federal lawsuits.

Today, former Police Chief Dan Thomsen faces theft and misconduct charges tied to three secret bank accounts he allegedly used that contained public funds. Thomsen resigned as chief in 2002 as part of what state officials have called a potentially illegal deal with Mayor Eric Nielsen. An arraignment on the criminal charges is scheduled for Monday.

so, we only get to hear about this 3.5 years after the investigation STARTED?

 

the media ... watchdogs?  or lapdogs? 

Letter Of The Day`

sorry for being so late.  it's thursday.  queersday as they say in pennsylvania...

 

our winner is..

A big thistle to the Register for its April 25 poll on the death penalty ("Majority of Iowans Back Death Penalty"). By using a very leading question, the poll pushed death-penalty support higher than it really is.

Why not ask, "Given that Iowa already has life without parole, and that nonpartisan estimates put the price of executions at $2 million each, do you support the return of the death penalty to Iowa"?

State Senate Republican leader Jeff Lamberti also deserves a thistle for his insistence that the Iowa Legislature debate the death penalty this year. The media - and legislators - should focus on real issues to improve our lives rather than costly, ineffective symbols.
-Jon Krieg,
Des Moines.

KUDOS Jon!!

its just one of those pesky things... but

watching george bush "flip" the pages of his speech makes me ill.

 

that action tells me more about that man(sic) than anything else.  what a cocky flip.

 

he's a cocky kid, always has been, and always will be.  wanna know why?

 

because he always got his way one way or another. 

get ready for the dog and pony show

because, if you think for a minute that this 'investigation' is a real true blue investigation, i've got a bridge to sell you.

 

but he's going to be the whipping post boy.

and you thought it couldn't happen in America?

think again.

The chairman of the Colorado Young Republicans was one of the people involved in a March 21 incident in which three Denver residents were forcibly removed from a speech given by President Bush because of a bumper sticker.

Jay Bob Klinkerman, leader of the state group for Republicans ages 18 to 40, admitted in an interview that he was at the gate of the Wings over the Rockies Museum when the three people were stopped.

Two of the three who were removed, Bauer and Leslie Weise, said that Klinkerman is the event volunteer who was wearing a magenta shirt and smiley-face tie that night, and told them, "Secret Service is coming down to talk to your group."

Then a man who looked and acted like a Secret Service agent arrived and threatened them with arrest. He allowed them to enter but then found them 20 to 30 minutes later and forced them to leave.

But Klinkerman, 31, of Thornton, told the Rocky Mountain News that he never said anything to Bauer and Weise about the Secret Service.

He declined to identify the man who threatened the trio with arrest.

The real Secret Service says the man who ousted Bauer, Weise and Alex Young from the president's speech was actually a Republican Party staffer. The Secret Service has told the three that the man admitted to an agent that he ousted them because they arrived in a car with a "No more blood for oil" bumper sticker.

The service is investigating that man on possible criminal charges of impersonating a Secret Service agent. He was wearing a dark suit, earpiece and lapel pin.

The Secret Service and the White House know the man's name but have refused to reveal it. The White House has said he was a volunteer "concerned that these people were coming to the event to disrupt the event."

rockymountainnews.com

when was the last time....

• you heard the name osama bin laden?
• you heard the bushite people raise the terror threat level?

unless terrorists have an on-off switch, i think Americans were duped into believing that there was a threat in the first place.

 

pay off the cops and you're sure to get off scot free huh....

an interesting tidbit from TP today

A front-page piece in USAT points out that four of the five Republicans on the ethics committee at one point or another banked checks from House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's PAC. The fifth Republican on the panel has donated to DeLay's defense fund. "Recusal is pretty much an individual choice, if there's any possibility of a conflict of interest," said one Senate historian.

 

the BIG LIE

and we're supposed to believe that the world is safer because of bush?  from the wire

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. count of major world terrorist attacks more than tripled in 2004, a rise that may revive debate on whether the Bush administration is winning the war on terrorism, congressional aides said on Tuesday.

 

The number of "significant" international terrorist attacks rose to about 650 last year from about 175 in 2003, according to congressional aides briefed on the numbers by State Department and intelligence officials on Monday.

The aides were told the surge partly reflected an increased tally of violence in India and Pakistan related to the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both countries claim, and the devotion of more manpower to the U.S. monitoring effort, which resulted in more attacks being counted overall.

media's HALL OF SHAME

they're alllll so good, i don't know which one of these nominations for freepress's contest, Media Hall Of Shame, should win:

Roger Ailes -- Fox News Puppet Master
Conrad Black -- Big Media Kleptomaniac
George W. Bush -- Propagandist-in-Chief
Bill Clinton -- Friend to the 1996 Telecom Act
Ann Coulter -- Ms. Wrong
Tom DeLay -- Ethics Exterminator
Michael Eisner -- Money-Grubbing Mouseketeer
Jeff Gannon/James Guckert -- White House Errand Boy
Sean Hannity -- Republican Noise Machine
Mark Hyman -- Sinclair Mouthpiece
Rush Limbaugh -- The Mound of Unsound
Michael Jackson Media Horde -- Kings of Pap
Judith Miller -- Chalabi's Secret Weapon
Bob Novak -- Prince of Darkness
Bill O'Reilly -- Lying Liar
Dan Rather -- Memogate's Front Man
Sumner Redstone -- Political Pinball Wizard
Karl Rove -- The Man Behind the Curtain
Tim Russert -- Softball Pitcher to the Powerful
Ted Turner -- Media Magnate

read the nominations yourself at freepress

wanna bet george wasn't getting his rocks off?

Guckert made more than 200 appearances at the White House during his two-year tenure with the fledging conservative websites GOPUSA and Talon News, attending 155 of 196 White House press briefings. He had little to no previous journalism experience, previously worked as a male escort, and was refused a congressional press pass.

Perhaps more notable than the frequency of his attendance, however, is several distinct anomalies about his visits.

Guckert made more than two dozen excursions to the White House when there were no scheduled briefings. On many of these days, the Press Office held press gaggles aboard Air Force One—which raises questions about what Guckert was doing at the White House. On other days, the president held photo opportunities.

On at least fourteen occasions, Secret Service records show either the entry or exit time missing. Generally, the existing entry or exit times correlate with press conferences; on most of these days, the records show that Guckert checked in but was never processed out.

In March, 2003, Guckert left the White House twice on days he had never checked in with the Secret Service. Over the next 22 months, Guckert failed to check out with the Service on fourteen days. On several of these visits, Guckert either entered or exited by a different entry/exit point than his usual one. On one of these days, no briefing was held; on another, he checked in twice but failed to check out.

“I’d be worried if I was the White House and I knew that a reporter with a day pass never left,” one White House reporter told RAW STORY. “I’d wonder, where is he hiding? It seems like a security risk.”

Others who have covered the White House say not checking in or out with the Secret Service is unusual, especially in the wake of Sept. 11. The Secret Service declined to comment.

http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/secret_service_gannon_424.htm

*GUFFAW*

from rawstory on DU:

The first set of times for each date is Guckert's login and logout. The second set is the briefing time

2/25/03 11:46 - 1:25 (briefing 12:26-1:03)
2/26 9:56 - 2:17 (unusually long) (briefing 1:25-1:53)
2/27 11:49 - 1:34 (no briefing)
2/28 11:20 - 1:26 (briefing 12:35-1:10)

3/3/03 9:51 - 1:32 (unusually long) (briefing 12:21-1:00)
3/4 11:48 - 1:45 (briefing 12:46-1:20)
3/5 11:56 - 1:57 (briefing 12:21-1:00)
3/6 11:58 - 12:42 (no briefing)
3/6 9:11 pm exit - no entry (Bush press conference, 8 pm)
3/7 3:22 pm exit -- no entry (briefing 2:20-3:00)
3/10 12:47 - 3:11 (briefing 1:23-2:10)
3/11 12:25 - 1:47 (briefing at 12:38 - no end time given)
3/12 12:55 - 2:40 (briefing 1:20-1:59)
3/13 12:12 - 1:55 (briefing 12:40-1:19)
3/14 12:02 - 1:49 (briefing 12:35-1:06)
3/17 12:01 - 1:30 (no briefing)
3/18 12:09 - 1:31 (briefing 12:21-1:05)
3/19 9:38 - 3:27 (unusually long) (12:15-12:59) (Bush speech, 10 pm)
3/20 12:19 - 1:38 (briefing 12:32-1:15)
3/21 10:52 - 12:31 (briefing 2:31-3:12 -- doesn't match)
3/24 1:02 - 2:43 (briefing 1:00-1:44)
3/25 1:45 - 3:30 (briefing 2:30-3:15)
3/28 12:34 - 3:51 (unusually long) (briefing 12:35-1:15)

4/4/03 12:18 - 1:31 (12:20-12:59)
4/9 1:48 - 3:48 (2:32-3:20)
4/10 12:14 - 2:00 (12:20-1:03)
4/11 12:24 - 1:52 (12:15-12:45) (arrives late)
4/14 12:34 - 1:46 (12:30-1:15) (arrives late)
4/21 3:33 - 4:19 (no briefing)
4/22 11:36 - 1:37 (12:30-1:14)
4/23 12:16 - 2:26 (1:17-1:55)
4/25 11:21 - 1:25 (12:19-1:00)
4/28 3:01 - 4:40 (11:08-11:23 -- doesn't match)
4/29 11:25 - 1:10 (12:23-12:58)
4/30 11:37 - 3:14 (unusually long) (12:32-1:19)

5/6/03 11:27 - 12:56 (11:50-12:30)
5/7 11:53 - 1:29 (12:30-1:10)
5/8 1:09 - 7:10 (unusually long) (1:45-2:26)
5/9 9:49 - 11:38 (no briefing)
5/14 12:02 - 1:47 (12:35-1:15)
5/14 5:15 pm - 6:56 pm (second evening visit)
5/15 12:27 - 2:25 (1:08-1:47)
5/16 12:05 - 1:40 (12:35-1:19)
5/20 12:27 - 2:04 (12:55-1:34)
5/27 11:56 - 1:31 (12:23-1:05)
5/28 11:50 - 12:53 (12:05-12:44)
5/28 3:26 - 4:53 (second visit)
5/29 11:42 - 1:43 (12:20-1:00)

6/10/03 12:13 - 1:19 (12:33-1:12)
6/17 12:29 - 1:41 (12:32-1:11)
6/18 12:16 - 1:42 (12:50-1:34)
6/22 3:32 - 4:49 (no briefing)
6/23 1:41 - 2:21 (no briefing)
6/25 12:16 - 1:01 (12:30-12:55)
6/26 11:32 - 12:35 (11:45-12:24)

7/1/03 11:25 - 1:42 (12:50-1:26)
7/2 11:50 - 1:20 (12:35-1:12)
7/3 3:04 - 4:16 (Condi Rice briefing, 3:40-4:10)
7/14 11:33 - 1:32 (Ari's goodbye party) (12:03-12:56)
7/15 12:15 (no exit) (12:38-1:23)
7/16 12:26 - 2:05 (12:50-1:20)
7/17 4:43 - 6:13 (12:36-1:17 -- doesn't match)
7/22 12:23 - 1:53 (12:58-1:35)
7/23 12:21 - 2:23 (1:17-2:07)
7/25 2:08 - 3:30 (2:39-3:15)
7/27 3:08 - 5:24 (no briefing)
7/28 12:53 - 2:04 (briefing 10:12-10:23 -- doesn't match)
7/30 12:13 - 12:45 (no briefing) (Bush press conference earlier than that)

8/1/03 12:18 (no exit) (12:24-12:54)
8/1 12:39 - 1:20 (two sets of times if put together seem to match the briefing)

9/2/03 12:37 (A4 HC Entry Lane, no exit) (12:42-1:23)
9/3 12:10 - 1:18 (12:30-1:10)
9/10 12:17 - 1:32 (12:49-1:23)
9/16 12:23 - 1:59 (1:00-1:39)
9/17 12:12 - 1:55 (1:00-1:41)
9/22 1:54 - 3:06 (no briefing) (Bush meets with Iraqis, remarks end 4:35)
9/25 12:49 - 1:53 (12:48-1:35)
9/26 12:09 - 2:24 (12:36-1:15)
9/29 12:09 - 1:10 (12:18-1:03)

10/1/03 11:51 - 1:37 (12:44-1:30)
10/2 11:52 (no exit) (12:47-1:26)
10/6 12:58 - 6:10 (unusually long) (1:15-1:54)
10/7 12:46 - 2:03 (12:58-1:46)
10/8 12:10 - 1:27 (12:16-12:42)
10/14 12:22 (no exit) (12:40-1:14)
10/27 12:32 - 1:33 (12:39-1:15)
10/28 10:54 - 12:22 (Bush press conference 11:15-12:03)
10/29 12:20 - 1:08 (12:20-12:57)

11/6/03 12:09 - 1:09 (12:35-1:04)
11/12 12:09 - 1:58 (1:10-1:47)
11/14 12:54 - 2:07 (1:36-2:00)
11/21 5:25 - 6:49 (no briefing)
11/24 8:49 - 9:43 (no briefing)

12/2/03 2:08 - 3:29 (no briefing)
12/3 12:03 - 1:11 (12:32-1:06)
12/7 3:25 (no exit - entry via A4 HC Entry Lane) (no briefing)
12/9 12:33 - 1:45 (12:55-1:21)
12/10 12:05 - 1:23 (12:35-1:15)
12/12 11:51 - 1:35 (12:15-12:52)
12/15 10:45 - 12:42 (Bush press conference 11:15-12:03)
12/18 12:44 - 2:28 (2:05-2:43)
12/19 12:21 - 12:56 (B4 Entry Lane 2) (12:30-12:50)
12/19 1:36 - 2:13 (second visit)
12/22 12:15 - 1:23 (12:28-1:01)

1/14/04 12:30 - 1:33 (12:41-1:15)
1/16 12:08 - 12:48 (12:11-12:44)
1/23 11:52 - 1:12 (12:33-1:06)
1/28 11:53 - 1:26 (12:50-1:20)
1/30 12:30 - 1:23 (12:37-1:09)

2/2/04 12:32 - 1:35 (12:48-1:28)
2/3 12:44 - 1:55 (12:54-1:20)
2/4 11:50 - 1:38 (12:56-1:36)
2/6 11:58 - 1:44 (Bush announcement 1:32-37)
2/10 11:50 - 1:55 (12:53-1:38)
2/11 11:57 - 1:09 (12:30-1:02)
2/13 12:07 - 1:08 (12:30-1:02)
2/18 12:04 - 1:29 (12:36-1:08)
2/19 12:05 - 1:30 (12:37-1:14)
2/20 12:32 - 1:29 (12:33-1:03)
2/23 12:55 - 1:17 (12:43-1:10) (arrives late)
2/24 12:06 - 1:52 (1:00-1:36)
2/27 1:55 - 3:39 (2:18-2:48)

3/1/04 12:50 - 2:04 (1:20-2:00)
3/2 12:29 - 1:23 (12:46-1:14)
3/9 12:40 - 1:49 (1:03-1:37)
3/12 12:54 - 1:00 (unusually short) (no briefing)
3/16 12:43 - 1:52 (1:10-1:46)
3/17 12:18 - 1:56 (1:26-1:50)
3/22 12:03 - 2:10 (1:24-2:04)
3/23 12:03 - 1:34 (12:47-1:10)
3/24 12:17 - 2:03 (1:10-2:02)
3/30 exit only, 12:04 (no briefing)
3/30 4:22 - 4:55 (no briefing)

4/1/04 12:42 - 1:57 (1:25-1:53)
4/13 9:42 - 10:29 (no briefing) (Bush speaks to reporters on the WH lawn)
4/13 6:59 pm - 9:49 pm (Bush press conference)
4/16 10:51 - 3:08 (2:41-3:09) (Bush/Blair press conference)
4/21 12:14 - 1:00 (12:31-1:00)
4/27 12:10 (no exit, entry via A4 HC Entry Lane instead of Entry Lane 2) (12:27-12:59)
4/28 12:26 - 1:47 (1:20-1:47)
4/29 11:10 no exit (well before briefing) (Bush and Cheny testify)
4/29 2:15 - 2:57 (2:23-2:56)
4/30 1:24 - 2:47 (2:22-2:45)

5/5/04 12:02 - 2:25 (1:38-2:16) (arrives unusually early)
5/6 12:01 - 3:35 (12:20-12:54) (stays unusually late)
5/10 1:22 - 2:50 (2:02-2:33)
5/12 11:56 - 1:03 (12:34-12:55)
5/24 no entry, exit logged twice, 2:04:43 and 2:04:51 (1:14-1:46)
5/26 12:09 - 1:51 (1:15-1:51)
5/28 2:17 - no exit (3:02-3:34)

6/1/04 9:20 - 12:03 (Condi Rice briefing, 9:45)
6/3 9:02 - 10:32 (no briefing)
6/14 10:02 - 11:45 (no briefing)
6/15 11:03 - no exit (2:25-2:52) (there well before briefing)
6/15 5:19 - 6:38 (B4 Exit Lane instead of usual A4 Exit Reader) (after briefing)
(Bush and Karzai in Press Availability)
6/16 2:50 - 4:34 (no briefing)
6/17 11:57 - 1:25 (12:47-1:20)
6/21 9:27 - 10:03 (no briefing)
6/22 12:13 - 5:04 (unusually long) (Al Gonzales briefing, 3:12-4:55)
6/24 1:27 - 2:13 (Condi Rice briefing, 1:51-2:03)
6/30 12:21 - 1:55 (1:15-1:55)

7/1/04 12:22 - 1:36 (1:01-1:37)
7/2 9:43 - 11:53 (no briefing)
7/6 12:15 - 12:58 (12:33-12:48)
7/8 1:07 - 2:21 (1:53-2:22)
7/15 12:48 - 1:48 (12:54-1:23)
7/19 1:04 - 2:24 (1:52-2:22)
7/21 12:22 - 2:02 (1:10-1:40)
7/22 10:11 - 10:47 (no briefing)
7/29 6:03 - 6:21 (no briefing)

8/2/04 10:59 - 1:47 (1:02-1:39) (there 2 hours early)
8/9 12:07 - 1:03 (12:31-12:59)
8/17 11:06 - 12:31 (no briefing)
8/27 9:10 - 9:37 (no briefing)

9/10/04 11:19 - 12:55 (no briefing)
9/15 12:17 - 1:56 (1:11-1:45)
9/22 11:57 - 12:34 (no briefing)
9/23 11:19 - 1:14 (Bush press conference with Allawi)

11/2/04 1:31 - 2:20 (no briefing) (Election Day)
11/4 9:16 - 12:11 (Bush press conference 11:17-11:57)
11/8 11:50 - 1:08 (12:20-12:52)
11/10 12:35 - 12:58 (12:26-12:45) (arrives late)
11/12 10:57 -- no exit (Bush press conference with Blair)
11/16 12:26 - 1:51 (12:20-1:32) (arrives late)
11/17 12:07 - 2:14 (12:38-1:10)
11/29 12:23 - 1:49 (12:56-1:32)

12/6/04 12:37 - 1:59 (1:03-1:36)
12/8 12:07 - 1:41 (1:05-1:39)
12/10 12:32 - 1:51 (1:06-1:32)
12/13 12:18 - 1:36 (12:50-1:18)
12/14 12:46 - 1:53 (12:48-1:23)
12/17 12:16 - 1:48 (12:47-1:14)
12/20 10:05 - 11:49 (Bush press conference, 10:32-11:25)
12/21 12:00 - 2:04 (12:35-1:10)
12/22 12:04 - 1:08 (no briefing)
12/23 12:31 - 1:26 (no briefing)

1/18/05 12:05 - 1:36 (12:28-12:57)
1/19 12:26 - 1:38 (12:48-1:19)
1/25 12:19 - 1:04 (12:23-12:53)
1/26 9:54 - 10:56 (Bush press conference, 10:00-10:47)
1/31 12:27 - 1:24 (12:45-1:16)

2/1/05 12:11 no exit (12:18-12:47)
2/7 12:10 - 3:00 (1:45-1:06)

Joke of the Day

Called MyPyramid, the new version looks like a vertical rainbow, with different colored bands running up and down. Each color represents a different food group. The widest band, orange, represents grains -- so consumers are supposed to somehow figure out that they should be eating more grains.

This would all be simpler if only the graphic included some labels that indicated what each color stands for. But the USDA said that would have been too confusing.

attribution

 

the boys of Company E

excuse me while i wipe the tears from my face.

 

this is a MUST READ story!

 

They were not the only losses for Company E during its six-month stint last year in Ramadi. In all, more than one-third of the unit's 185 troops were killed or wounded, the highest casualty rate of any company in the war, Marine Corps officials say.

In returning home, the leaders and Marine infantrymen have chosen to break an institutional code of silence and tell their story, one they say was punctuated not only by a lack of armor, but also by a shortage of men and planning that further hampered their efforts in battle, destroyed morale and ruined the careers of some of their fiercest warriors.

The saga of Company E, part of a lionized battalion nicknamed the Magnificent Bastards, is also one of fortitude and ingenuity. The marines, based at Camp Pendleton in southern California, had been asked to rid the provincial capital of one of the most persistent insurgencies, and in enduring 26 firefights, 90 mortar attacks and more than 90 homemade bombs, they shipped their dead home and powered on. Their tour has become legendary among other Marine units now serving in Iraq and facing some of the same problems.

"As marines, we are always taught that we do more with less," said Sgt. James S. King, a platoon sergeant who lost his left leg when he was blown out of the Humvee that Saturday afternoon last May. "And get the job done no matter what it takes."

The experiences of Company E's marines, pieced together through interviews at Camp Pendleton and by phone, company records and dozens of photographs taken by the marines, show they often did just that. The unit had less than half the troops who are now doing its job in Ramadi, and resorted to making dummy marines from cardboard cutouts and camouflage shirts to place in observation posts on the highway when it ran out of men. During one of its deadliest firefights, it came up short on both vehicles and troops. Marines who were stranded at their camp tried in vain to hot-wire a dump truck to help rescue their falling brothers. That day, 10 men in the unit died.

Sergeant Valerio and others had to scrounge for metal scraps to strengthen the Humvees they inherited from the National Guard, which occupied Ramadi before the marines arrived. Among other problems, the armor the marines slapped together included heavier doors that could not be latched, so they "chicken winged it" by holding them shut with their arms as they traveled.

"We were sitting out in the open, an easy target for everybody," Cpl. Toby G. Winn of Centerville, Tex., said of the shortages. "We complained about it every day, to anybody we could. They told us they were listening, but we didn't see it."

The company leaders say it is impossible to know how many lives may have been saved through better protection, since the insurgents became adept at overcoming improved defenses with more powerful weapons. Likewise, Pentagon officials say they do not know how many of the more than 1,500 American troops who have died in the war had insufficient protective gear.

lots more @ the nytimes

beware of dictators who make promises

from today's papers @ slate

The WP reports that the pope outlined the themes he expects to pursue, but the NYT emphasizes that he specifically said he'd decided not to talk about his future plans for the church. Possibly responding to criticism of his "dictatorial" manner, he told the crowd that his program was not to pursue his own ideas, but to listen to God.

one needs to beware of any man, described as dictatorial, making promises to not pursue his own ideas.  his statement makes no sense whatsoever because how else is God going to make Himself known if not THROUGH man's ideas?

Letter Of The Day

aren't you lucky today.  TWO winners for the price of one!

Regarding David Yepsen's April 7 column, "Gas-Tax Hike May Be Painful, but Necessary": In his column about hiking the gas tax, Yepsen states, "Liberals will want money for other things."

As if Regressives, aka Republicans won't? The state Legislature generates the spending bills. And who has controlled the Iowa Legislature the past few years? If Iowa has a budget problem, perhaps the party that controls the spending bills should be held accountable for the fiscal condition of the state.

At the national level it's worse. A recent study of economic benchmarks over the past 40 years comparing Democratic administrations to Republican administrations shows that not only do Democratic administrations result in lower inflation, less unemployment, etc., but they also do a better job fiscally - meaning less debt.

Yepsen needs some remedial work about budget and economic politics to learn who the big spenders of our tax dollars are.

-Scott O'Brien,
Geneva.

and

David Yepsen typically has the right issues in mind in his column. However, in his April 12 column on public safety, he misses the big picture. Without rehabilitation and treatment, the number of inmates in the system will skyrocket. Offenders who should be locked up are let go. Taxpayers and legislators love to punish but are unwilling to bite the bullet and go after the underlying cause of crime in the state, primarily poverty and a lack of opportunity.

-Aaron Staker,
Cedar Rapids.

attribution

inching closer to fascism every day

from TIME:

 

The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission meets three times a year in various cities across the Americas to discuss such dry but important issues as telecommunications standards and spectrum regulations. But for this week's meeting in Guatemala City, politics has barged onto the agenda. At least four of the two dozen or so U.S. delegates selected for the meeting, sources tell TIME, have been bumped by the White House because they supported John Kerry's 2004 campaign.

The State Department has traditionally put together a list of industry representatives for these meetings, and anyone in the U.S. telecom industry who had the requisite expertise and wanted to go was generally given a slot, say past participants. Only after the start of Bush's second term did a political litmus test emerge, industry sources say.

The White House admits as much: "We wanted people who would represent the Administration positively, and--call us nutty--it seemed like those who wanted to kick this Administration out of town last November would have some difficulty doing that," says White House spokesman Trent Duffy. Those barred from the trip include employees of Qualcomm and Nokia, two of the largest telecom firms operating in the U.S., as well as Ibiquity, a digital-radio-technology company in Columbia, Md. One nixed participant, who has been to many of these telecom meetings and who wants to remain anonymous, gave just $250 to the Democratic Party. Says Nokia vice president Bill Plummer: "We do not view sending experts to international meetings on telecom issues to be a partisan matter. We would welcome clarification from the White House."

 

Letter Of The Day

George W. Bush's approval rating in Iowa is at an all-time low of 42 percent ("Bush's Ratings in Iowa Reach New Low," April 17). What changed? The Bush administration's policies are the same as his first term. I'm proud to say I voted for John Kerry.

-John R. Stone,
Mason City.

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journalism ON/OFF button

if you dont think rove has his greasy lil' fingers on the 'OFF' button for the media, then explain why we never heard anything more about schiavo after she passed.

 

it was never really about her.

 

it was about seeing how far the right can push America.

 

and it was evident, not very far.  so what does the lapdog media do?  they switch on the crises like lights in a banquet hall.  not working?  no problem, just turn the story off and nobody will make a fuss about it.

 

what a sad bunch of wannabe-journalists we have in this country.

the assault on judges has begun

and i wonder how many people really see what is going on.  this is bad.  very very bad.  as you can read in the new york times

 

and i think the enormity of this action will not be apparent until after it has had time to sink in.

A new federal policy will make it significantly more difficult for Medicare beneficiaries to obtain hearings in person before a judge when the government denies their claims for home care, nursing home services, prescription drugs and other treatments.

and then i see that our own senator is involved, but on the right, er excuse me, correct... side.

Senator Charles E. Grassley, the Iowa Republican who is chairman of the Finance Committee, and Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the senior Democrat on the panel, said four hearing offices were not enough.

Mr. Grassley and Mr. Baucus were among the principal authors of the 2003 Medicare law. The law, they noted, says Medicare judges are to be distributed "throughout the United States."

Under the new arrangement, hearings for Medicare beneficiaries in New York, New Jersey and all of New England will normally be held by judges in Cleveland. Hearings for people in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska will be held by judges in Southern California.

Judith A. Stein, director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, which has represented thousands of people in hearings since 1986, said: "The videoconferences are one of many changes that will reduce the beneficiaries' ability to get fair, favorable decisions. Sick, old and disabled people can be much more effective in person because the judge can see their illnesses and infirmities - how they walk, how they get up from a chair, how their hands shake with tremors."

The government is still working out details and lining up sites with the necessary videoconference links. Nancy A. Thompson, director of the transition team at the department, refused to answer questions about the new hearing and appeal procedures or the logistical arrangements.

Ronald T. Osborn of Charlotte, N.C., who has been an administrative law judge since 1974 and has specialized in Medicare cases since 1996, said he had no interest in moving to the Department of Health and Human Services.

"Under the department's procedural rules," Mr. Osborn said, "judges will have less freedom to handle individual cases as they see fit."

this is how the assault begins.  in the fine print.  in this case, in the department which low-income people depend on.

 

i'm posting from firefox for linux. installed fedora on the spare.
gonna try and install some packages for blogging. there were a few i wanted to try on krak but joe was going to overhaul krak, then maybe give me cgi privs.

oh well. i'm actually quite tired, and too tired to be doing any of this right now. but suffice it to say that i kinda like the *x world.

understatmenet of the day

Revenues in the print publishing unit—i.e., the Journal—fell 8.8 percent from the year-ago quarter. Advertising linage at the U.S. Wall Street Journal was down 9.9 percent in March alone. Worse, "Print publishing had an operating loss of $7.1 million in the first quarter." In other words, the daily diary of the American dream, the paper designed to help you make money, is probably losing money. And as the flagship drifts on, the captain who guided it into becalmed seas remains firmly entrenched at the bridge.

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the well DUH post of the day

With President Bush telling the Senate to "put politics aside and confirm John Bolton," the NYT and WP both front Colin Powell chatting with some fence-sitting Republican senators and giving a less-than-rosy assessment of Bolton. The chatter was confirmed by a spokesman for Powell. He didn't explicitly call for Bolton's defeat, but Powell didn't have to, purportedly saying Bolton "had problems" with people who disagreed with him.

 

from slate's today's papers

 

bolton has problems with those who disagree with him huh.

what KIND of problems are they?

 

but nontheless, isn't it just like bush to put patsie yes-men (and in the case of condi, yes-women) into positions of power?  that's what dictators DO for chrissake.

see? slate is independent

Slate writers have come out in support of the filibuster and against it.

got lemons? try making lemonade

like this little girl did.

When I was a young girl living on the south side, I could lie in bed listening to the train horns blowing their warnings in the night. I'd pretend that I lived on the ocean and the sounds were ships traveling on a foggy night to faraway places. Maybe the people living down by the river should pretend they own oceanfront property. It worked for me.
-Janet Boggs,
Des Moines.

 

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now THAT's putting it into perspective

a perspective that every man in American should hear:

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to eliminate the federal estate tax - a $290 billion tax break for the richest 1 percent of Americans. The true cost of the tax break over 10 years will be $745 billion.

At the same time as members of Congress voted for the huge tax break for the very rich, they're talking about slashing food stamps and Medicaid.

Kudos to Congressman Jim Leach for opposing this giveaway. Shame on Congressmen Jim Nussle, Tom Latham, Steve King and Leonard Boswell for supporting it.
-Mark L. Smith,
Des Moines.

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ya, i know, a lot of letters in the des moines register were indeed worth repeating.

democrat of republican?

is the letter writer a democrat ... or republican?

 

Now that the judicial system has approved the execution of handicapped individuals, the medical community will have to devise a more humane method than starvation and dehydration, which are too emotionally draining for most observers.

The Schiavo spectacle was so heinous that courts may be willing to accept a simple lethal injection or pill to accomplish the same result.

We can expect that "assisted suicide," like unlimited abortion, will soon be im-posed on all 50 states. Consider how much money can be saved by emptying out the nursing homes and handicapped facilities. It might be the way to save Social Security.
-Ruth Naberhaus,
Scranton.

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understatement of the day

Renewable sources could play a major role in energy self-sufficiency by 2020, while solving our greenhouse-gas emissions problem and the balance-of-payments crisis and providing job creation and energy security. If terrorists hatched a plan to undermine the United States by making it wholly dependent on foreign countries for energy and capital, they would be hunted and destroyed. But we have done it to ourselves.

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WAL-MART Watch

an interesting bit in today's register about wal-mart wanting and obviously getting, a sneaky attempt to skirt the open-meetings law in iowa.  disgusting. and probably nobody had any idea that shit was happening like it is.  which raises two questions:  are the des moines city council members that stupid and ignorant? and why does wal-mart want to do business in secret?

This was not just a routine meeting to discuss a mundane topic, such as parking requirements or sign restrictions. The issue is whether West Des Moines will forbid Wal-Mart from operating its planned Jordan Creek store 24 hours a day. It has divided the council, raised a ruckus with residents near the shopping center and led the Arkansas retail giant to hint about a lawsuit.

West Des Moines officials at least initially had the right idea in proposing the meeting be open to the public. But they backed down when Wal-Mart representatives canceled the meeting and insisted on meeting with council members individually.

Rather than politely decline, council members Loretta Sieman, Bob Parks and Jim Sandager took turns meeting with the visitors. Which raises the obvious question: What did the company have to say in private that it couldn't say in a public meeting?

des moines register

watch out rickie, we're on to you ....

santorum may be in for a ride....  one that will make him wish he had fastened his seatbelts.

 

 A conservative Republican senator who proposed that federal meteorologists be forbidden from competing with companies such as AccuWeather and the Weather Channel, has received nearly $4,000 from AccuWeather's founder and executive vice president since 2000, RAW STORY has discovered.

 

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i did NOT have .... what was it defined as again?

like it really mattered....

 

 Republican Congressman Henry Hyde made some surprising comments Thursday on the impeachment hearings of President Bill Clinton. He now says Republicans may have gone after Clinton to retaliate for the impeachment of Richard Nixon. Hyde is stepping down after this term.

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*giggle*

Nelson Galloway, fellow poopyhead

i got a call today.

 

from an old old OLD friend, nelson galloway.

the stories i could tell about him are endless, as is this blog of poopy.

however, i will be succinct and suffice it to say it was just the thing i needed today.... so thanks nelson.  i'll email you soon.

 

but for those of you who are just dying to hear the stories, stay tuned.  i'm gonna go get some help and i'll be back with a good post about PITTSBURGH P.A.

what does a bushite sound like when they dont get their way?

waaaahhhhhh

waaaaahhhhhhhh

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush on Thursday urged the Senate to confirm John R. Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, as a key Republican senator signaled he is leaning against the nominee accused of mistreating co-workers.

Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., said he is troubled by Bolton's behavior and wants to discuss it with other Republican senators.

nytimes

Quote of the Day

 ``I am sick and tired of a bunch of people trying to tell me that God wants a bunch of conservative judges on the court and that's why we have to change the rules of the United States Senate,'' (John) Kerry (to a group of Bay State residents who traveled to Capitol Hill for U.S. Rep. Martin Meehan's annual legislative seminar)

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i couldn't have said it any better...

WaPo puts this one out of the ballpark,  trying to prove that there are still some in journalism who still have respect for the craft:

Inflation and interest rates are rising, stock values have plunged, a tank of gas induces sticker shock, and for nearly a year, wages have failed to keep up with the cost of living.

Yet in Washington, the political class has been consumed with the death of a brain-damaged woman in Florida, the ethics of the House majority leader, and the fate of the Senate filibuster.

again, at WaPo

amazing that the word DUH doesn't appear in the article.

and then there were ...

one less, it seems.

 

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), a leading advocate of the “nuclear option” to end the Democrats’ filibuster of judicial nominees, is privately arguing for a delay in the face of adverse internal party polls.

Details of the polling numbers remain under wraps, but Santorum and other Senate sources concede that, while a majority of Americans oppose the filibuster, the figures show that most also accept the Democratic message that Republicans are trying to destroy the tradition of debate in the Senate.

The Republicans are keeping the “nuclear” poll numbers secret, whereas they have often in the past been keen to release internal survey results that favor the party. David Winston, head of the Winston Group, which conducts Senate GOP polls, did return phone calls seeking comment.

Confirming public disquiet over the “nuclear” or “constitutional” option, Santorum said, “Our polling shows that.” But, he added, public thinking had been muddied by what he called false Democratic arguments that checks and balances were being eroded.

“People see checks and balances as Democrats checking Republicans, not the legislative checking the executive or the judiciary checking the legislative,” Santorum said. Filibustering presidential nominees was not something the Founding Fathers envisioned as a tool for balancing power between the branches, he argued. In other words, Democrats have managed to convince the public of their right to check Republicans in the Senate.

Santorum’s raising of reasons that Republicans should delay the constitutional option may surprise conservative activists who count him as one of the most passionate advocates for the tactic in the Senate.

“There is no doubt that Santorum was the backbone of this from the very beginning, and he continues to be,” said Manuel Miranda, head of the National Coalition to End Judicial Filibusters, an alliance of more than 200 conservative groups working on the judges issue.

thehill.com

DeLayWatch

has it been registered yet?

 

House Republicans yesterday offered to open an investigation into overseas travel and other activities by Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), as part of an effort to resolve a three-month impasse with the Democrats that has kept the ethics committee from functioning.

 

With questions mounting about DeLay's past dealings with lobbyists, ethics committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) said he would name Rep. Melissa Hart (R-Pa.), a lawyer who sits on the committee, to head a subcommittee to "review various allegations concerning travel and other actions by Mr. DeLay." Hastings said it would be up to Hart's panel to decide whether to bring in an outside counsel.
 
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said he would welcome a "fair process that will afford me the opportunity to get the facts out." (Melina Mara -- The Washington Post) 
 
But Democrats said the concessions outlined by Hastings did not address their chief objections to rule changes that the Republicans pushed through in January, most notably a new provision that would cause a complaint to be dismissed -- rather than lingering in limbo -- if the chairman and ranking minority party member cannot agree on whether to take up the case.

WaPo

this should be bringing down the republicons

if any issue was able to do it, this should be it.  what an miserable failure.

 

NEW YORK — Tom Burke recently tried to print out a boarding pass from home before one of the frequent flights he takes.

He couldn't. When the San Francisco lawyer got to the airport, he was told the reason: His name, or one similar to it, is now on one of the Transportation Security Administration's terrorist watch lists.

"There was a certain irony to it," says Mr. Burke, a First Amendment expert who is suing the federal government on behalf of others who have found themselves on either the TSA's "no-fly" or "selectee" list.

Almost 3-1/2 years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a year and a half after Congress ordered law-enforcement agencies to consolidate and coordinate its terrorist screening processes, the status of the watch lists remains uncertain and is a cause of frustration for thousands of travelers as well as the nation's airlines.

Every day, thousands of people like Burke find themselves unable to do things like print a boarding pass and are pulled aside for extensive screening because their name, or a name that sounds like theirs, is on one of the watch lists. Even well-known lawmakers, like Edward Kennedy (D) of Massachusetts, have found themselves caught in the screening dragnet.

usatoday

brownback is a yellowback

anyone who is afraid of gays is a fish, just waiting to be baited.

A leading Senate Republican warned Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) yesterday that a move to recognize gay marriages in the nation's capital would trigger a sharp backlash from Congress, and the mayor acknowledged that the District could jeopardize its budget agenda and domestic partner benefits if it mishandles the issue.

Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (R), the new chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the District, said he wanted to hear more from Williams but opposed a statement by the city's attorney general that "validly married same-sex couples" may file joint D.C. tax returns.

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Letter Of The Day

I am extremely disappointed that all five of our congressmen followed U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in voting for the bankruptcy bill.

The legislation was opposed by a large number of law professors and bankruptcy judges. Credible studies demonstrate that a majority of bankruptcies result from divorce, death in the family, sudden medical crises and/or job loss.

This bill does nothing to close asset-protection trusts that allow the wealthy to retain their fortunes when filing bankruptcy.

It also does nothing to curb predatory lending practices or make corporations such as Enron more responsible to shareholders. This means the majority of Iowa's elected representatives voted to penalize middle- and working-class families for occurrences beyond their control while supporting corrupt corporations and a double standard for irresponsible wealth.

One can only hope that the next election brings opponents smart enough to cite our current representatives' allegiance to corporate lobbies at the expense of their working- and middle-class constituents.
-Ben Saddoris,
Osceola.

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social security minus the security

a ltte in the globe today from an 18 year old, speaks like it was written by rush limbaugh.  replete with stats that no 18 year old would know by him/herself.

 

but it took that letter to see and understand what the bushite people are doing. 

 

there's no question social security needs tweaking.  it's been tweaked many times in the past, and was built to be tweaked in the future.

 

however, the bushite people are screaming that the 'only way' to tweak it 'this time' is to move to privatize the system, and dump an unearthly sum into the stock market.

Joke of the Day

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin had too much personal power and that Washington was closely watching the trial of oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

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this had better be the straw the breaks the camel's back

 

Washington -- The growing price tag of tax breaks to oil, gas, nuclear, coal and other energy producers in a new House energy bill is raising concerns among White House officials and some conservatives, who say the costly subsidies aren't needed at a time of sky-high energy prices.

Republican leaders had promised a slimmer version of the energy bill the House has passed the last few years to avoid worsening the federal deficit. But a new analysis by a watchdog group showed that lawmakers added $35 billion in the last three weeks since the bill was introduced -- a total of $88.9 billion in subsidies to industry over 10 years in the bill.

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WOO HOOO

(CT) Governor Rell has signed a bill that recognizes same-sex civil unions in the state.

This comes after the Senate quickly passed the revised bill which added a definition of marriage.

http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=3235885

Letter Of The Day, Part II

seems there's another winner in the register today:

Tax junk food

Raising the tobacco tax for health reasons? Why not increase the tax on beer, junk food, spectator sports and the couch-potato-producing media for health reasons, too?
-Charles Tweed,
North Liberty.

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Letter Of The Day

you're lucky.  today, we have TWO!

 

 

Arrogant GOP creating a new silent majority

The Senate Republican leadership in Washington, D.C., wants to abolish the right of senators to filibuster to block judicial nominations. Just one more example of the extremism and arrogance of the current leadership of the Republican Party.

I used to consider myself a Republican, but that was in the days of former Iowa Gov. Bob Ray. Would Ray even be welcome in the national leadership of the party today with its win-at-all-costs, destroy-all-our-enemies mentality?

What with the debacle of congressional interference in the Terri Schiavo case sending leading Republicans into retreat mode, the failure of President Bush to "sell" his Social Security proposal with the public and now the unpopular Senate proposal to silence the minority in judicial nominations, one wonders whether a new "silent majority" is developing. One increasingly uncomfortable with the extremism and arrogance of today's Republican Party.
-Kim Jones,
Des Moines.

***

Republicans are going for the ultimate power grab by trying to silence the voice of Democrats in the U.S. Senate. They want to change the rules and eliminate the filibuster, which has protected the voice of the minority for more than 200 years.

This abuse of power would eliminate debate and dissent in Congress, giving President Bush a blank check to push the most radical agenda and extreme judges. It would put our most fundamental values at risk by eliminating the checks and balances that keep democracy strong.

I urge our senators to stand up and protect our democracy by opposing the GOP power grab.
-Louise S. Treangen,
Ankeny.

both from the des moines register

what did adolf do?

i'm sure he had his way of coming up with the dubious means to torture his victims.....  we now see how the bush administration did their research.

Army intelligence officials in Iraq developed and circulated "wish lists" of harsh interrogation techniques they hoped to use on detainees in August 2003, including tactics such as low-voltage electrocution, blows with phone books and using dogs and snakes -- suggestions that some soldiers believed spawned abuse and illegal interrogations.

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Letter Of The Day

Grocers do not like redeeming empty beverage containers because, they say, the grocery business and the container-redemption business are inherently incompatible for sanitary reasons.

Iowa lawmakers want to address their concerns by giving them 2 cents per container instead of 1 cent.

How is 2 cents a bottle any more sanitary than 1 cent a bottle?

What's really going on?
-Rick Olson,
Indianola.

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the well DUH post of the day

The buck stops elsewhere … President Bush on the new White House-approved policy that will require U.S., Canadian, and Mexican citizens to show passports even for quick cross-border trips: "When I first read that in the newspaper about the need to have passports," he told some editors last week, "I said, 'What's going on here?' "

from slate's today's papers

runners up for Letter of the Day

Looking good where it counts

It's time to add the section "Personal Appearance" to my resume. The April 8 article, " It Pays to be Good-Looking, Fed Analysis Shows," states that my chances of a pay raise increase if I am above-average looking.

My worth as an employee should not rest on whether I am "tall, slender and attractive." As I work at my job, it is my education that gets the job done, not my mascara.

-Hannah Hacker,
Des Moines.

What really needs fixing

Richard Doak is correct in his April 5 column, "Let's Fix Something That Actually Needs It." Health care in this country is in a terrible crisis, and it must be dealt with. But the president ignores it and travels the country to frighten you into believing that we have an emergency with Social Security.

The truth is Social Security needs to be tweaked. We have adjusted it in the past, and we will have to adjust it again. Taking money out of the trust fund to set up private accounts will cause an emergency with Social Security funding levels.

How to fix it? Remove the cap on income subject to Social Security taxes - currently at $90,000. Let those who earn millions per year pay on all their income. They can painlessly afford it and the system will be solvent for decades.

Social Security is not a retirement investment fund, and it never was. It is insurance against abject poverty for our elderly, widows, orphans and disabled.

-JoAnn Hardy,
Mason City.

Who won?

In the last presidential election, Republicans said if voters elected John Kerry gasoline prices would go up. Did Kerry win?

-D. A. Benda,
Toledo.

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letter of the day

Why is it, in a time when crude oil is selling at more than $50 a barrel, our government is encouraging the purchase of gas guzzling SUVs, Hummers, etc., with tax incentives, capital-equipment deductions and minimum tax breaks of $25,000, while the measly (in comparison) $2,000 tax incentive for hybrids is going away next year?

Bad tax breaks are a fiscal waste and send the wrong message. Correcting the current loophole and investing instead in bringing more advanced, economical and environmentally friendly vehicles to market would be far wiser.

-Pat Bowen,
Winterset.

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iowa legislature, a funny klan

couldn't let this one slip by without notice.  an editorial in the local paper, about the legislature voting themselves a raise:

It's also been several years since lawmakers raised Iowa's minimum wage, thanks to Republicans who refuse to debate the issue and Democrats who do little more than talk about the idea every two years.

But Senate Republican Leader Stewart Iverson argues that's an unfair comparison.

"The minimum wage really isn't a huge issue because I don't know anybody working for that," he said.

Well, some introductions apparently are in order, senator.

According to the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute, 74,000 Iowa workers earn between $5.15, the minimum wage, and $6.65, the threshold reached if lawmakers ever raise the wage floor by $1.50. Most of those workers are adults and 59 percent are women. Many bring home a large chunk of their family's income.

But Iverson's right. There really is no comparison between a raise for 74,000 people toiling for economic table scraps and a pay hike for 150 part-time politicians who struggle to decide which interest group will feed them free food today.

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