and from today's papers

And in other papers ... Yesterday's Boston Globe had a big takeout on the president's fondness for "signing statements":

President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, "whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.

Judging from a quickie Nexis search, the number of front-page stories the LAT, NYT, and Post have had on the president's signing habit: one

.

Quote of the Day

"What kind of insult is this? Instead of buying us off and treating us like we're a bunch of whores, just solve the problem.
--Rush Limpbagh

attribution

speaking about the $100 giveaway plan by the republicans in the House to stave off gas relief. kinda interesting that he would say such a thing to his own party.

ya know what causes so much wait time on these sites?

where you sit there forever waiting for the page to load? fuckn ads servers are crappin out.

son of a bitch

he's asking vinnack for VP. hot DAMMM... and you can tell i saw it first here.

i'm sitting here watching the west wing, and i'm thinking....

jus why don't they grow some bold balls and have santos offer vinnack (sp?) the VP role. that would have ramnifications far beyond the audience.

it's what dictators are made of

WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

--more

wanna bet we don't see a bit of that at the pumps?

Saudi King Abdullah ordered petrol prices in the oil-rich kingdom slashed by more than 30 percent, according to a copy of the decree carried by the official SPA news agency.

"In order to improve the living standards of citizens and for the public good, we have ordered that the price of one litre of petrol for the consumer be changed to 0.60 riyals (17 cents) instead of 0.90 riyals (24 cents) until 10/12/1427," the decree said, referring to the last month of the Muslim lunar calendar which would coincide with next January.

The decree, which becomes effective on Monday, also cut the price of one litre (0.26 gallon) of high octane petrol by 25 percent to 0.75 riyals (20 cents) and that of diesel fuel by almost 35 percent to 0.25 riyals (6 cents) per litre.

-=-source

we have no authority on this issue

Military officials claim that of the almost 500 suspects being held at Guantanamo, 150 are ready for repatriation as soon as their return can be negotiated with their home countries. Talks with these countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Yemen which account for almost half of the detainees, have been "complex, time-consuming and difficult." The State Department's human rights bureau is insisting on guarantees that prisoners will not be tortured upon their return and will be treated in accordance with international humanitarian law. Enforcement seems to be the sticking point—officials have no way of monitoring the prisoners. One proposal had the Red Cross visiting prisoners but when the Saudi government refused to allow the Red Cross access to its prisons, the proposal was scrapped.

Letter of the WeeQ

Regarding “Term Limits Lose Appeal Among Those in Congress” on April 16: The quoted congressmen decided against “retiring” early because they “need more time to earn seniority and bring money to their districts.”

Excuse me? When did that become the raison d’être for serving in Congress? I’d gladly give up the Iowa pork in exchange for lawmaking for the general welfare of the American people.

— Kathy Collins Reilly, Des Moines
attribution

Quote of the Day

comes to us from another letter writer:

Marijuana may be a gateway to illegal drug use the way beer is a gateway to alcoholism. Most alcoholics probably started with beer, but most beer drinkers do not become alcoholics.
— Gail Halloran, Iowa City.

attribution

Letters of the Day

yes, lets stop the hypocrisy!

Regarding “A More Wicked Weed” (April 23): The Iowa crime-lab officials who stated that marijuana today is 10 times more potent than it was 30 years ago are mistaken.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy made this claim in 2002, but retreated sharply in 2005, when it stated in a newspaper advertisement that today’s marijuana is, on average, only twice as strong as that of decades past.

Claims of vastly increased potency are based on research from the 1970s using a small number of poorly stored samples in which THC had degraded before testing.

More important, there is no scientific evidence demonstrating greater risks of addiction or health problems from higher-THC marijuana.

The Marijuana Policy Project strongly opposes children smoking marijuana, but we don’t think that exaggerating the dangers will help young people or their parents. The best way to keep our kids away from marijuana is to tax and regulate it like alcohol and tobacco.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more teens today smoke marijuana than cigarettes, which proves that the most effective way to keep a substance away from children is to put it behind the counter and require valid identification for purchases.

Factually inaccurate articles like this destroy any chance we have at a reasonable and informed debate about our nation’s marijuana policies.

— Rebecca Greenberg, Marijuana Policy Project, Washington, D.C.

and

The problem with marijuana is an unregulated market. Remember alcohol prohibition in the 1930s? You had high-potency forms of alcohol being made in people’s bathtubs, only bathtub gin was often toxic. Even at today’s higher standards of potency, marijuana still hasn’t produced a single death in recorded history.

If you want to have any kind of control you have to legalize and regulate the commercial production and sale [of marijuana].

All the exaggerated scare stories have only increased interest in, and experimentation with, marijuana. I’m sure all the pot dealers want to thank the Register for the free advertising.

If your kid experiments with alcohol, at least your kid isn’t going to be stigmatized for life by a drug conviction. The chances for intervention and treatment are better when society recognizes that people need help instead of locking them up and labeling them as rejects for the rest of their lives.

So, go on keeping marijuana illegal and forcing it into the black market. See where it has gotten you?

— Carl Olsen, Des Moines.

and

Marijuana today is 10 times stronger than that of previous generations?

Having smoked the “wicked weed” of the ’70s and today myself, I can assure you this is not true. The super high-potency strains that came from places like Thailand and Panama were much more potent than any of today’s marijuana.

The reason teens prefer marijuana over alcohol is because it is easier to get than beer. Most pot dealers don’t check IDs like liquor and convenience stores do. As long as marijuana continues to be illegal, this trend will continue.

It seems funny to have a state government that controls the distribution of a dangerous drug, such as alcohol, turn around and throw people in jail for possessing marijuana. Especially considering all the people who die of alcohol poisoning. It is not possible to die of THC poisoning. Let’s stop the hypocrisy.

— Lee Selly, Des Moines.

attribution

wonder why i hate george bush junior as much as i do?

CLEVELAND -- Managers at a downtown mall stopped a performance by a band whose members wore T-shirts critical of President Bush.

Mifun, an Afro-beat band, had been playing for about 20 minutes Friday as part of a jazz festival when the sound system was cut off at Tower City Center.
"They didn't like that all the band members wore a T-shirt with a picture of George Bush with a line through it," said band leader Jacob Fader, 28, of Cleveland Heights. "They said we either remove the shirts, turn them inside out, or get off the stage. I said that doing so would be against our core principles and free speech. We told the audience what happened from the stage after the microphones were cut. The crowd booed."

Tower City general manager Lisa Kreiger said the band's attire was distracting and inappropriate.
"The purpose of the show was to provide musical entertainment," she said.

Fader said the band was stopped during a performance of "Supercrush," which he described as a "song about how the Bush administration separates the wealth, causing the elimination of the middle class."

"When my father started to say that it was wrong to silence us, a security cop told him to shut up," Fader said. "My dad said he had the right to free speech and the security guy said, 'Not in here you don't.'"

--source

talk about gestapo technics. adolf would be so proud of kreiger. even that name sounds nazi.

what? no republican protesters?

Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Burlingame), a Holocaust survivor and human rights advocate, was one of the lawmakers who were willingly arrested. Lantos was taken into custody by the U.S. Secret Service along with Democratic Reps. Jim McGovern and John W. Olver of Massachusetts, James P. Moran of Virginia and Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas. Also arrested were six members of religious and humanitarian aid organizations.
--story

so george bush junior is making us safer eh?

then what the hell is this about?

The WP fronts the latest annual State Department Country Reports on Terrorism that reveals the number of terrorist attacks increased four times in 2005 to a total of 11,111, which resulted in the death of 14,600 noncombatants.

--story

Letters of the Day

today there are 3 winners:

Driver education teaches students not only the rules of the road but also the hazards. They often are shown pictures of horrific crashes and mangled bodies.

Do schools use the same philosophy in sex-education classes? Are they shown pictures of the final days of a 25-year-old man dying of AIDS? If not, why not?

— Jack Banghart, Des Moines.

and

I agree with Jim Nussle: We need an inspector general. Maybe an inspector general could figure out what Nussle and the Republicans did with President Clinton’s surplus.

— D.A. Benda, Toledo.

and

G.W. Bush: “I listen to the voices.” The only voices Bush hears are the ones in his head.

— Keith Nichols, Perry.

attribution

a new source for decent music

Imogen Heap performed on the tonite show. her singing wuznt all that (it was good), but it was her being the only member of her 'group' and doing it live. very kewl.

i'm going to mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Owning marijuana, cocaine and even heroin will no longer be a crime in Mexico if the drugs are carried in small amounts for personal use, under legislation passed by the Congress.

Police will not penalise people for possessing up to 5 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of opium, 25 milligrams of heroin or 500 milligrams of cocaine, under a bill passed by senators late on Thursday and earlier approved by the lower house.

- source

ever see double without reason?

i'm seeing double now, and i'm not sure why, but it's sure disconcerting. calld the doctor's office, and of course, they would like me to come in.

Letter Of The Day

I am pleased to see that the Iowa Legislature finally banned anti-gay demonstrators like Fred Phelps from protesting within 500 feet of funerals. But where were they for almost 10 years when Phelps and his clan protested funerals of gay people and people with AIDS? Where were they when Phelps and his clan protested graduation ceremonies of gay high-school students?

Where are they now as Phelps, the Iowa Family Policy Center and the rest of the pro-bully lobby continue to protect bullies in Iowa schools?

Don’t our young people deserve the same protections from name-calling, violence and harassment as our veterans and their families?
— Brad Clark, Des Moines.

attribution

will the elevation of snow to a somewhat prominent state

what will tony's cost to get that post be the 10% of Americans who believe fox is the only source for news. even that 5% that watch it for masochistic value.
'

well, DUH

if the media isn't playing it, then it doesn't seem to matter to the American people. we need to make everyone aware of the scandal.

The scandal surrounding disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been a Washington obsession for months, but Republican lawmakers who returned from a two-week recess this week said they felt free to pass a relatively tepid ethics bill because their constituents rarely mention the issue.
--source

ya think this could be why iraq is such a mess?

The LAT says on Page One, "VISIT BY RUMSFELD, RICE SETS OFF CRITICISM IN IRAQ." That's interesting, but the piece buries a crucial and fascinating bit of nuance: It was Shiite politicians who were complaining. The Sunni politicians who were quoted welcomed the swing-by.

--today's papers

one can only guess at the reason the U.S. are aiding the sunnis. wasn't saddam a sunni?

a bushite dream come true

Everybody notes inside that E.U. investigators have concluded that the CIA has had about 1,000 undeclared flights in European airspace since 2001. Nobody, except of course the CIA, is sure how many of the flights were used to transport "ghost prisoners."

--story

ROVE WATCH

from the Washington Monthly

77% feels the economy is cause for concern

The Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox leads with an in-house poll in which 77 percent of respondents called themselves "uneasy about the state of the economy."

--source

pro-war vs anti-war

take a look at these protests.

this one is of the pro-war contingent.

this one is of the anti-war contingent.

you decide.

the CIA's proter goss should recheck his to-do list

He has taken no disciplinary action against CIA personnel identified by his inspector general as having played a part in the failure to prevent the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He has taken no action against CIA interrogators known to have participated in the torture and killing of foreign detainees, or against those who knowingly violated the Geneva Conventions in Iraq.

but he wants to stop leakers cold. dictators do things that way.

Quote of the Day

"Crude oil supplies are at an almost eight-year high. The price is obviously not reflecting that. It's reflecting the worries about the future."
-- John Kilduff, a senior vice president at commodities firm Fimat USA Inc. in New York.

attribution

i don't drive, so the price of gas is only hitting me at the shelves of things i buy. but it just seems to me that since supply isn't the culprit, the only thing that can be done is reigning in the traders' speculation about oil. they're the evil monsters of high prices.

saddam would be proud

dictators hold people without charges.

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - Nearly 30 percent of the Guantanamo detainees have been cleared to leave the prison but remain jailed because the U.S. government has been unable to arrange for their return to their home countries, the Pentagon said on Friday.

The Pentagon refused to identify these 141 men despite having released on Wednesday its first comprehensive list of detainees held at the prison for foreign terrorism suspects at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Of these 141 detainees among the 490 still at Guantanamo, various military reviews have cleared 22 to be freed in their home countries and the remaining 119 for transfer to the control of their home governments.

"It's just an outrageous situation where people have gone through this system that has been established, such as it is, and the (U.S.) government itself has found there's no reason for them to be held any longer, and yet they continue to be held," said Curt Goering, a senior Amnesty International USA official.

--source

a man i almost fell in love with, gets arrested

MASON CITY — A Mason City man has been arrested by the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force and charged in a three- count federal indictment.

James Mariner, 38, is charged with conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and a mixture of cocaine; and money laundering.

If convicted, according to a news release from the drug task force, Mariner faces 40 years in prison and $12.5 million in fines.

The investigation has been ongoing since 2003, according to authorities.

In addition to the task force, the case was investigated by the Mason City Police Department, Mason City Drug Enforcement Unit, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department, Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa State Patrol, Clear Lake Police Department and Iowa Army National Guard.

Mariner was held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail and taken to Cedar Rapids for his initial appearance in federal court.
--link

i remember first meeting jim in 2003 when he was a close friend to one of my employees. i remember his stunning handsome good looks and how i fell head over heels for him. then there was the time i went to his house and spent some time fixing his computer. we came this close to actually getting it on, but it never happened. i had since then tried to see him several times, but never could find him home. now he'll never be home. and i'm really saddened by this development.

more good newes

HARTFORD, Conn. --A Hartford Courant/Connecticut poll shows that President Bush's job approval rating has dropped to 24 percent among Connecticut residents.

-source

from the good news files

Brokerages and fund managers for the first time since 1994, helped by support from hedge funds and companies such as Merrill Lynch & Co.

Democrats got $13.6 million, or 52 percent of the financial industry's $26.3 million in political donations in 2005, said the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan Washington group that researches the influence of money on elections and public policy. In the two years leading up to the 2004 presidential election, Republicans received 52 percent of the $91.6 million given by the industry.

``Wall Street wants change'' on issues such as the Iraq war and the budget deficit, said James Torrey, chairman of the Torrey Funds, which manages about $1 billion. `∏`I'm finding people who are registered Republicans who are saying to me, `what can I do to help?''' The securities and investment industry is among the biggest sources of campaign cash in U.S. politics. The industry's 2004 contribution total to candidates and parties was higher than any group except lawyers, health professionals and the real estate industry, according to the center, which studied Federal Election Commission records.

--story

create a bad situation, then be the white knight to the rescue

the American people can't be so dumb as to swallow this:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush, his popularity sinking while gas prices soar, hopes to stave off a potential election-year problem for fellow Republicans with a drive to stop price gouging and push alternative fuels.
--story

incompetence defined

The NYT's off-lead looks at a key oil pipeline in Iraq that was supposed to be rebuilt as part of a Halliburton no-bid contract. The method planned was just a touch short of insane. "No driller in his right mind would have gone ahead," said one Army geologist who inspected the site. Halliburton didn't give the government a clear heads-up about the concerns, and the Army didn't seem to care much anyway. So, project went ahead ... and failed.

down in gitmo, where the military gets to play dictators

The Los Angeles Times leads with an official at Guantanamo Bay saying the Pentagon is planning to "release" 141 prisoners from there and bring charges against only about a dozen more. That would leave about 300 prisoners who "face neither imminent freedom nor a day in court." Reuters has a slightly different take, saying the military has suggested most of those being "released" will be transferred to prisons back in their home country—an issue this TPer raised in the Wash Post last month. Meanwhile, the LAT could have benefited from flagging a few recent studies and reports that strongly suggest, as Slate's Dahlia Lithwick put it, "most of the prisoners are guilty only of bad luck."
--today's papers

Letter Of The Day

the brownshirt brigade is alive and well.

On April 11 [the day of President Bush’s visit to Iowa], I walked on the sidewalk on Grand Avenue across the street from Wesley Acres carrying an “Impeach Bush” sign.

After the president arrived, Polk County officers told the spectators that the Secret Service wanted us to move east, away from the corner. We did.

A few minutes later the officers told us that the Secret Service wanted us to move back from the curb to the sidewalk. We did.

A few minutes later the officers told us that the Secret Service wanted us to move east to the next block. Some of us argued that this was the third contradictory instruction in five minutes.

Immediately the sergeant called for help on his radio. In moments an SUV arrived and four SWAT officers got out to confront us. They were wearing body armor and carrying assault weapons, although they did not point the weapons at the crowd. We were told “move or we will move you.” An 80-year-old man sitting in a lawn chair in his own front yard was told to move to the next block or go inside his house.

The president’s visit had been carefully planned, and it would have been simple for authorities to string yellow tape in advance, clearly marking areas where spectators were allowed.
— John Ousterhout, Windsor Heights.

attribution

in other words THEY LIED

The Central Intelligence Agency tried to warn the Bush administration on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq that Saddam Hussein did not appear to have weapons of mass destruction but the warning was dismissed because the US political leadership was not interested in what the intelligence showed, according to a retired senior CIA operative.

--SOURCEΩ

saddam would be proud

The WP fronts the news that six joint U.S.-Iraqi inspections of Iraqi detention centers between November and February found abuse of prisoners at all of them. In the past, detainees have been removed from abusive sites, but this time, the detainees have remained in place, prompting concerns that they could be victims again. Two of the sites showed signs of "severe abuse," including "broken bones, indications that they had been beaten with hoses and wires, signs that they had been hung from the ceiling, and cigarette burns" at one and "scars, missing toenails, dislocated shoulders, severe bruising, and cigarette burns" at the other.

--story

Letter of the Day

Richard Doak was spot-on in his criticism of massive CEO salaries when he suggests it has a negative effect on American morale ("CIETC Director and Most CEOs Have Quite a Bit in Common," April 16 column). The free-market economy is often used as a justification tactic by the rich to acquire more wealth at the expense of the poor.

It is terribly unjust that CEOs make 431 times the salary of their employees (in addition to lucrative benefit packages and golden parachutes when they retire), while many of these workers are paying more for health benefits and losing pension plans.

Is it ethical for CEOs and entertainers to bring in dazzling salaries while many toil for the absurdly inadequate $5.15-an-hour minimum wage?

Has George Bush's corporate America lost all compassion for the have-nots? FDR twirls in his grave.

Sadly, many Americans — and most of the rest of the world — perceive the U.S. as the Land of Greed and Home of Excess.

- Rick Burns, Pella.

attribution

the scuttlebutt in the halls of congress

REPUBLICANS are urging President George W Bush to dump Dick Cheney as vice-president and replace him with Condoleezza Rice if he is serious about presenting a new face to the jaded American public.

--source

dept. of moral outrage

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/21/AR2006042101767_pf.html

this bothers me, but to say i'm surprised would be a lie

The Vatican has signaled that it is willing to break its ties with Taiwan in order to set up an official diplomatic relationship with China.
--source

pope benedict is a creep. he looks like one, and now he acts like one.

the numbers

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – The outcome of the 2004 United States presidential election would be different if a new ballot took place this year, according to a poll by Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times. 47 per cent of respondents would vote for Democrat John Kerry, while 40 per cent would support Republican George W. Bush.

John Kerry (D) 47%
George W. Bush (R) 40%
Someone else 6%
Would not vote 4%
Don’t know 3%
-source

Letter(s) of the Day

You have to wonder why President Bush allowed millions of dollars to be spent investigating leaks that, he now admits, came from him. Every time Bush was asked about White House leaks, he said that he knew nothing about it, he would get to the bottom of it and would punish whomever did it.

Does it mean nothing to him to waste millions of taxpayer dollars on a needless investigation? Why didn't he come forward sooner and just say "Yes, I declassified it"?

What's even more galling is that the information Bush leaked in order to supposedly "spread the truth" was in fact information that had already been proven wrong months before he authorized it to be leaked. Bush didn't want people to see the truth so he intentionally leaked false information in order to trick Americans into supporting the war in Iraq.

Bush has repeatedly abused power, lied to Congress and the American people, lied to the military, started war on false pretenses, demonstrated the most egregious incompetence and placed the nation in a precarious economic and diplomatic condition.

At least he didn't lie about sex or we'd have to impeach him.
— Alan L. Light, Iowa City.

and

It is amazing how this administration rewrites the rules to the game as it goes along. President Bush stated that he would fire whomever was responsible for outing CIA agent Valerie Plame to the press.

Of course, those of us who were following this media story suspected it would be Vice President Dick Cheney and perhaps Bush himself who authorized Lewis Libby to squawk. Now that the jury will be hearing the details, we hear the defense, "We have the right to declassify information... ."

Talk about flip-flopping nonsense. To put our nation's national security at risk by outing an agent considered to be an expert on weapons of mass destruction and putting people under her at risk also — that should be an impeachable offense. What kind of government condones these tactics?

It appears the Bushies are more dangerous and closer to fascism than some of the regimes they condemn. Who is part of the axis of evil now?
— Lisa Honnold, Ankeny.

attribution

incompetence defined

WASHINGTON - A Senate measure to fund the war in Iraq would chop money for troops' night vision equipment and new battle vehicles but add $230 million for a tilt-rotor aircraft that has already cost $18 billion and is still facing safety questions.
--story

support for the troops must be only lip service for these guys.

from the WELL DUH files

Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice says Americans should be prepared for more violence in Iraq -- even after a government forms there.

--source

this would have never happened under saddam

BAGHDAD, April 19 (Reuters) - Separate groups of gunmen entered two primary schools in Baghdad on Wednesday and beheaded two teachers in front of their students, the Ministry of State for National Security said.
--story

the numbers

NEW YORK — More Americans disapprove than approve of how George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and Congress are doing their jobs, while a majority approves of Condoleezza Rice. President Bush’s approval hits a record low of 33 percent this week, clearly damaged by sinking support among Republicans.

--foxnews

imagine that

USAT notices one U.S. construction effort in Iraq that's right on schedule: the $600 million, 104 acre U.S. embassy. As for other projects, a recent Senate report concluded, "No large-scale, U.S.-funded construction program in Iraq has yet met its schedule or budget."

they STILL aren't doing the job

The WP goes inside with a government watchdog report concluding that federal agencies still aren't doing a good job of sharing counterterrorism info.