corrupt justice system?

taken from today's papers:

Everyone says the move by the Iraqi government reflects the wider frustration felt toward contractors in general, who are seen as mercenaries who have little respect for civilian life. Although the Iraqi government has vowed to prosecute Blackwater, a 2004 order gave contractors immunity from local law. The LAT quotes some private security contractors who say it's unlikely the Iraqi government will actually expel Blackwater. The paper also talks to contracting guru Peter Singer, who describes it as a complicated situation for American officials since cooperating would mean turning over U.S. citizens to a corrupt justice system while refusing to do so could undermine the Iraqi government.

corrupt justice system? wasn't it that corrupt justice system celebrated when they executed saddam hussein? this is pathetic because Americans, actually people who are representing America, are being looked at with the intent of charging them with offenses they most likely are guilty of.

8 to 10 months?

from fox news:

Consequently, according to a well-placed Bush administration source, "everyone in town" is now participating in a broad discussion about the costs and benefits of military action against Iran, with the likely timeframe for any such course of action being over the next eight to 10 months, after the presidential primaries have probably been decided, but well before the November 2008 elections.

get a load of this quote:

"the cost of the war in Iraq now exceeds $3 billion a week."
from the Washington Post

litening to...

there's a new breeze in the air

and it's blowing across the front pages of today's papers. take a look.

figures, he's a bush appointee

The Post piles the bad news on with an A1 hollowing-out of "a pillar of the U.S. strategy in Iraq" —the effort to get U.S. businesses to buy Iraqi products. The problem seems to be that there are almost no Iraqi products to buy. Nevertheless, the U.S. official overseeing the plan is optimistic. He is also under investigation, the Post reports, by the Pentagon's inspector general for "erratic behavior, public drunkenness, mismanagement, waste of funds and sexual harassment."
--slate's totday's papers

jim crow is alive and well in the U.S. military

Here at this searing, dusty U.S. military base about four miles west of Baqouba, Iraqis — including interpreters who walk the same foot patrols and sleep in the same tents as U.S. troops — must use segregated bathrooms.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/18685.html

maybe bloomberg knows something

from slate's today's papers:

More than three-quarters would strongly consider voting for a independent candidate.

today's MUST READ

Under Dick Cheney, the office of the vice president has been transformed from a tiny acorn into an unprecedented giant oak. In grasping and exercising presidential powers, Cheney has dulled political accountability and concocted theories for evading the law and Constitution that would have embarrassed King George III. The most recent invention we know of is the vice president's insistence that an executive order governing the handling of classified information in the executive branch does not reach his office because he also serves as president of the Senate. In other words, the vice president is a unique legislative-executive creature standing above and beyond the Constitution. The House judiciary committee should commence an impeachment inquiry. As Alexander Hamilton advised in the Federalist Papers, an impeachable offense is a political crime against the nation. Cheney's multiple crimes against the Constitution clearly qualify.

it's not a top ten list, so sue me.

The top five most secretive things about Dick Cheney from the WP lead:

5. "In the usual business of interagency consultation, proposals and information flow into the vice president's office from around the government, but high-ranking White House officials said in interviews that almost nothing flows out."

4. "Man-size Mosler safes, used elsewhere in government for classified secrets, store the workaday business of the office of the vice president."

3. "Even talking points for reporters are sometimes stamped 'Treated As: Top Secret/SCI.' "

2. "Cheney declines to disclose the names or even the size of his staff, generally releases no public calendar and ordered the Secret Service to destroy his visitor logs." (Three in one!)

1. "His general counsel has asserted that 'the vice presidency is a unique office that is neither a part of the executive branch nor a part of the legislative branch,' and is therefore exempt from rules governing either."

read (and weep0

or laugh, depending on who your domestic partner is.

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/bljonstewartquotes.htm

FARPOINT:FACTS

are you a sucker for cats?

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

they cant have it both ways

states want a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriages, but when it comes to domestic partnerships and the domestic abuse calls of those partnerships is in serious jeopardy with those same sex bans.

from today's papers:

USAT fronts a look at how some states that have passed constitutional amendments banning marriage for gay men and lesbians are now beginning to take away benefits that had been awarded to the domestic partners of public employees. Some states have ruled that no public institution, including universities, can offer benefits to same-sex couples or any unmarried partners. The amendments are also having some unexpected consequences for heterosexuals. An article inside details how, in Ohio, many unmarried people who are being charged with abusing their live-in partners are contending that the domestic violence law is unconstitutional because it is based on "domestic partnership," a status that is no longer recognized because of Ohio's same-sex marriage ban.

saddam would be proud

A Council of Europe investigator says he has evidence to prove the CIA ran secret jails in Poland and Romania to interrogate "war on terror" suspects.

--source

first to fall?

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000 for lying to investigators about his role in leaking the identity of an undercover CIA officer.

--washington post

one down, 47? left to go?

i haven't been keeping track, but isn't there already a few states on record for allowing civil unions for gays? oregon, massachusetts, and now new hampshire. i think there's a number of states that have it in their pipeline to pass laws, but i could be mistaken about how many remaining states there are.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18960528/

RIP Charles Nelson Reilly

Charles Nelson Reilly, the Tony Award winner who later became known for his ribald appearances on the “Tonight Show” and various game shows, has died. He was 76.
--link

jerry fallwell is dead

not that i'm going to miss him, in fact i hope he rots in hell.

FARPOINT FACTOID

i can claim i saw it on the in-ternet.

From 2002 through 2006, 729 Israeli and Palestinian minors were killed as a result of the violence in Israel and the occupied territories. … During the same period in Rio de Janeiro, 1,857 minors were reported murdered."

--source

it's starting to fall apart

The head of Moqtada Sadr's Iraqi parliament bloc says the radical cleric has ordered his ministers to withdraw from the cabinet.
Mr Sadr's bloc, which has six cabinet ministers, is trying to press Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to set a timetable for a US troop withdrawal.

--source

have we become our enemy?

American troops responded to a suicide bombing with excessive force, killing 12 people, including 2 children.

saw it on the internet

Taffy was a Welshman,
Taffy was a thief.
Taffy came to my house
And stole a leg of beef.
I went to Taffy's house,
Taffy was in bed.
I picked up the leg of beef
And hit him on the head.

You ever Welsh on a bet, Ms. Floden?

--source

what is it about iraq that keeps these suicide bombers attacking?

The Post's Sudarsan Raghavan was in the cafeteria when the suicide bomber struck and, on Page One, writes a gripping first-person account of his experience. When Raghavan went back to the bombed-out cafeteria to recover his belongings, he discovered that his tape recorder was still running, which allowed him to hear "the vocabulary of a bombing's initial moments." Among the screaming and chaos, someone said, "It's all a curse on us, Ayad. It's because of the stealing, the corruption."
--from today's papers

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.