follow the money my son, follow the money

USAT mentions, and the WSJ goes high with data that show that the Army paid more than $1 billion last year in bonuses to attract and retain soldiers. In 2002, the Army paid $127.8 million in retention bonuses.

--source

make that hundreds of thousands

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shias have gathered in the holy city of Najaf for a mass demonstration calling for US-led troops to leave Iraq.

Up to one million people were expected in Najaf after an appeal by Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, who branded US forces "your arch enemy" in a statement.

--story

the anti-US sentiment in iraq is growing

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of Iraqis streamed to the holy southern city of Najaf on Sunday in response to a call by fiery Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for a big anti-American protest on Monday.

--story

toda's Letter Of The Day

I presume that Eugene Lutz, the pharmacist who refuses to fill prescriptions for the morning-after pill because of his moral standards, asks to see a copy of a marriage license before filling prescriptions for Viagra.

--source

all about poop

from the des moines register:

The scat stops here. After garnering international attention and traveling around the country, the "Scoop on Poop" exhibit is coming to Des Moines. The Blank Park Zoo will be giving Iowans the goods on guano from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

and you may wanna check out the site's trivia page

the numbers

are lookin GOOD!

The latest Diageo/Hotline poll finds that a generic Democratic candidate would beat a generic Republican candidate, 47% to 29%, in a 2008 presidential matchup.

--source

SAY IT AGAIN SAM

over at daily kos...

And as for McCarthyism, the best example is this Administration's behavior during the past six years. It has rounded up hundreds of Arab and Muslim men based on racial and ethnic profiling and bogus material witness warrants; kept 500+ people in the legal black hole otherwise known a Guantanamo bay; held people, including American citizens, without charge, conviction or judicial review; reversed the usual presumption into a bastardized "guilty until proven innocent" standard; denied due process under the inaply-named Patriot Act; conducted secret trials; tortured; eavesdropped on American's phone calls; wiretapped citizens without warrant; put anti-war protesters and political dissidents on terrorist watch lists; resurrected long-interred relics of the McCarthy era like denying entry to aliens for pure speech; and gone on witch-hunts and missions of personal destruction that make Joseph McCarthy look like Floyd Abrams. Terrorism is the new Communism.
--source

YEAH NEW MEXICO!

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (Reuters) - New Mexico doctors are allowed to prescribe marijuana to help some seriously ill patients manage symptoms including pain and nausea under a bill signed into law by Gov. Bill Richardson on Monday.

--source

they're simly dilusional

The delegation, led by Senator John McCain, arrived at Shorja market on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armoured vehicles as attack helicopters circled overhead. Soldiers redirected traffic, restricted access to the Americans and sharpshooters were posted on the rooftops.
...
Senator McCain and his three colleagues described Shorja as a safe, bustling place full of hopeful and warmly welcoming Iraqis — "Like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime," offered Republican Mike Pence.
--source

buildup to attack iran?

Five thousand Marines and sailors deployed Monday morning aboard the USS Nimitz. The men and women will be spending the next six months in Iraq and Afghanistan.
--source

so things are getting better, according to bush

At least 2,078 people died in Iraq last month, 15 percent more than in February despite a massive security crackdown in Baghdad, the epicentre of violence, a security official said on Sunday.
--source

FARPOINT.FACTOID

caught this in an article about income inequality and the top 1% of those Americans receiving the largest share of income raises.

the top 300,000 Americans collectively enjoyed almost as much income as the bottom 150 million Americans
--source

the numbers

In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday-Sunday, respondents said by nearly 3-to-1 that Congress should issue subpoenas to force White House officials to testify.

--source

THREE TO ONE!!

well DUH. whoever believed that it wouldnt turn into this

is plain stupid about American politics.

The military buildup in Iraq is likely to take longer than the American people or Congress want to wait, the Marine commandant said Wednesday.
--source

finally, taking back our country

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to end the Bush administration's ability to unilaterally fill U.S. attorney vacancies as a backlash to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' firing of eight federal prosecutors.
--source

the numbers

via today's papers:

An ABC News survey in 2005 found that 57 percent of Iraqis say they want a democracy; that number has now gone down to 43 percent. Meanwhile, 94 percent of Sunnis and 51 percent of Shiites said that attacking U.S. troops is an acceptable political act. Although 83 percent of Shiites and 97 percent of Sunnis oppose the presence of coalition troops in Iraq (75 percent of Kurds support them), only 35 percent of Iraqis think U.S. forces should leave immediately.

well DUH. whoever believed that it wouldnt turn into this

is plain stupid about American politics.

The military buildup in Iraq is likely to take longer than the American people or Congress want to wait, the Marine commandant said Wednesday.
--source

well DUH: it WAS about oil after all

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/opinion/13juhasz.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

well DUH: it WAS about oil after all

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/opinion/13juhasz.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

well DUH: it WAS about oil after all

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/opinion/13juhasz.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

FARPOINT.FACTOID

Forty percent of Republicans think a Democrat is going to win the presidential election.
--source

liars are always liars

from today's papers:

The idea of firing all the U.S. attorneys was immediately dismissed because it was determined that it would be too disruptive. Instead, Sampson started working on a smaller list of prosecutors that could be ousted, and Miers was updated throughout most of the decision-making process when several names went back and forth. At least a dozen U.S. attorneys were on a "target list" at some point. Until now, the White House had said it approved the list of fired prosecutors only after the Justice Department put it together.

HYPOCRISY ALERT

WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was having an extramarital affair while he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal, he acknowledged in an interview with a conservative Christian group.

--source

libby guilty on 4 counts

cnn, msnbc, cnbc, fox, take your pick

tranny coulter's remarks

here are some other remarks made by tranny annie coulter.

"[Clinton] masturbates in the sinks."—Rivera Live, Aug. 2, 1999

"God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said,

'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.' "—Hannity & Colmes, June 20, 2001
The "backbone of the Democratic Party" is a

"typical fat, implacable welfare recipient"—syndicated column, Oct. 29, 1999
To a disabled Vietnam vet: "People like you caused us to lose that war."—MSNBC, Oct. 11, 1997

"Women like Pamela Harriman and Patricia Duff are basically Anna Nicole Smith from the waist down. Let's just call it for what it is. They're whores."—Salon.com, Nov. 16, 2000

"I think there should be a literacy test and a poll tax for people to vote."—Hannity & Colmes, Aug. 17, 1999

"My libertarian friends are probably getting a little upset now but I think that's because they never appreciate the benefits of local fascism."—MSNBC, Feb. 8, 1997

iran isn't the source for roadside bombs

The Wall Street Journal tops its world-wide newsbox with word that a U.S. raid in southern Iraq uncovered a factory that officials say was used to construct deadly roadside bombs that the military previously thought were made only in Iran.

iran isn't the source for roadside bombs

The Wall Street Journal tops its world-wide newsbox with word that a U.S. raid in southern Iraq uncovered a factory that officials say was used to construct deadly roadside bombs that the military previously thought were made only in Iran.

FARPOINT FACTOID

Seventy billion dollars for fiscal year '07 were approved for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan last fall. Another $100 billion is being requested. About 90 percent of these dollars are for Iraq; say, $150 billion.

Divide by 365, that's $411,000,000 per day. Divide that by 24 hours, and that's $17 million per hour.

today's PICTURE OF THE DAY

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz, right, gazes at a military drill through binoculars Wednesday, apparently without realizing the lens caps were left on. The army's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi is at left.
--PICTURE

GOP fundraiser is hit with terror charges

A New York man accused of trying to help terrorists in Afghanistan has donated some $15,000 to the House Republicans' campaign committee over three years.

--AP

u.s. has contingency plans in place to attack iran

US contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country's military infrastructure, the BBC has learned.

--source

today's MUST KNOW

from TPM muckraker:

As we noted in the post below, Republican campaign contributor Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari got indicted on Friday for attempting to send over $150,000 to fund terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.

He contributed a decent amount of money to GOP congressional campaign committees in the 2002 and 2004 cycles and managed get named to a number of 'committees' and 'councils' set up as perks for GOP campaign contributors, including something called the "White House Business Advisory Committee."

Now a reader of the Cunning Realist blog has dug up the archived version of the website of Mr. Alishtari's company, GlobalProtector, which shows that at the same time Alishtari was giving money to the GOP he was bidding on multiple government contracts -- including ones with the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security.

FARPOINT FACTOID

Experiments have found that an average person tells about two lies every 10 minutes. Also, those who lie frequently have the best intentions and think they are benefiting others.

--SOURCE

i'm BACK

after a few days *cough* ok weeks. i'm back in form. and ready to push it past go.

but he IS the dictator

President George W. Bush has given his administration a boost in how the government regulates key issues such as civil rights and the environment
--source

it's not working mr bush, it's not.

sir, your assumption that sending in more troops will disband the 'infidels' is naive.

The U.S. military on Sunday reported six more American troops killed in fighting the day before, raising the toll to 25 in the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Iraq in two years.
--source

couldn't have said it better myself

from a letter to the editor in today's des moines register:

Bush has proven to be pompous, vindictive, misleading, condescending, self-righteous and radically partisan.

news of America spending $100B on replacing our nukes

brought about this canny note from a fellow DU'er:

The only country in the world to actually USE a nuclear weapon against another country and who has recently invaded and occupied another country for supposedly having nuclear weapons, (Iraq did not) now threatens to attack yet another country (Iran) for supposedly developing nuclear capabilities, now announces plans to spend 100 billion dollars on MORE nuclear weapons for its own arsenal?

the beginning of WWIII?

because if iran is attacked by israel, you can best rest assured that we will have started WWIII. bush is moving ships into the gulf, and rumors of an attack have been on the skuttlebutt airwaves for months. and now today, we have this:

LONDON - A British newspaper reported Sunday that Israel has drafted plans to strike as many as three targets in Iran with low-yield nuclear weapons, aiming to halt Tehran's uranium enrichment program. The Israeli Foreign Ministry denied the report.

--

bush is seeking to destroy iran's government

he Los Angeles Times off-leads the Iraq surge and leads a report on American efforts to stop outside investors from financing the development of new Iranian oil fields. Over time, the U.S. hopes, these back door sanctions will drastically curtail Iran's oil exports and ultimately destabilize the regime.

gerald ford dead

i'm not shedding any tears for he brought us dick cheney and don rumselfd

9/11: Press for Truth

Flickr: Photos from leQ

Flickr: Photos from leQ:

My Song Of The Day

Mad World

and we want these people to be our friends?

The LAT focuses on and the NYT mentions, while the WP ignores, the strange handoff ceremony that involved Iraqi commandos displaying their bravery by eating almost-live animals. Iraqi forces took bites out of frogs, and one cut open a rabbit and proceeded to sink his teeth into its still beating heart. This is apparently common in Iraq, where Saddam Hussein's special forces frequently performed these sorts of displays with all kinds of animals.
--today's papers

it's called INCOMPETENCE

The NYT fronts word from sources who say the team in the Justice Department that was put in charge of investigating accusations that civilian employees abused detainees has decided not to prosecute most of the 20 cases that have been referred to them. The group was established in June 2004 in the aftermath of Abu Ghraib. Since then, it has been overwhelmed with problems, from missing information in referral forms to a difficulty in finding witnesses and nonexistent forensic evidence, so they have been unable to bring a single indictment.
--from today's papers

saddam would be proud of you georgie

More than 90 per cent of Iraqis believe the country is worse off now than before the war in 2003, according to new research obtained by Al Jazeera.

--story

the lied

and thousands died

today's independent

and read what the AFP has to say about it

why i'm against the death penalty

In Florida: After it took "34 minutes and a second injection" to kill a death row inmate on Wednesday, Gov. Bush ordered a medical inquiry into the incident, which eventually found that the first needle had passed through the prisoner's veins and deposited the poison in his arm tissue, causing a visible amount of pain and requiring the second dose. When this information was released, Bush halted the executions and appointed a commission to review injection procedures in the state. But Florida doesn't seem to be have much luck with capital punishment: It apparently switched to lethal injection in 2000 "after flames shot from an inmate's head during his execution by electric chair."

did you know that you can't raise a family on $165,000 a year?

"If you become a federal judge in the Southern District of New York (Manhattan), you can't raise a family on what the salary is," Scalia said during a speech to the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

Federal judges earned salaries of $165,200 in 2006. Scalia said lawyers can easily earn significantly more by staying in the private sector.
--story

FUCK YOU SCALIA