KSDK NewsChannel 5 - St. Louis Woman Says She Lost Job over Harry Potter Dispute
Southern Baptist library worker refuses to work at Harry Potter promotional event, and is forced to quit. ACLU suing on her behalf, but don't let that stop you from claiming they're out to destroy religion (courtesy of fark)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Former White House Press Secretary, McClellan whacks Bush, White House
Exclusive: McClellan whacks Bush, White House - Mike Allen - Politico.com
"Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan writes in a surprisingly scathing memoir to be published next week that President Bush “veered terribly off course,” was not “open and forthright on Iraq,” and took a “permanent campaign approach” to governing at the expense of candor and competence.
Among the most explosive revelations in the 341-page book, titled “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception” (Public Affairs, $27.95):
• McClellan charges that Bush relied on “propaganda” to sell the war.
• He says the White House press corps was too easy on the administration during the run-up to the war.
• He admits that some of his own assertions from the briefing room podium turned out to be “badly misguided.”
• The longtime Bush loyalist also suggests that two top aides held a secret West Wing meeting to get their story straight about the CIA leak case at a time when federal prosecutors were after them — and McClellan was continuing to defend them despite mounting evidence they had not given him all the facts.
• McClellan asserts that the aides — Karl Rove, the president’s senior adviser, and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the vice president’s chief of staff — “had at best misled” him about their role in the disclosure of former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity."
"Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan writes in a surprisingly scathing memoir to be published next week that President Bush “veered terribly off course,” was not “open and forthright on Iraq,” and took a “permanent campaign approach” to governing at the expense of candor and competence.
Among the most explosive revelations in the 341-page book, titled “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception” (Public Affairs, $27.95):
• McClellan charges that Bush relied on “propaganda” to sell the war.
• He says the White House press corps was too easy on the administration during the run-up to the war.
• He admits that some of his own assertions from the briefing room podium turned out to be “badly misguided.”
• The longtime Bush loyalist also suggests that two top aides held a secret West Wing meeting to get their story straight about the CIA leak case at a time when federal prosecutors were after them — and McClellan was continuing to defend them despite mounting evidence they had not given him all the facts.
• McClellan asserts that the aides — Karl Rove, the president’s senior adviser, and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the vice president’s chief of staff — “had at best misled” him about their role in the disclosure of former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity."
Monday, May 26, 2008
John Boehner demands protection from illegal wiretapping - but only for himself
Boehner's wiretapping stance draws ire - Chris Frates - Politico.com
"'Mr. Boehner is trying to kick millions of Americans out of court in a wiretapping case while collecting more than $1 million in his own wiretapping case.'"
"'Mr. Boehner is trying to kick millions of Americans out of court in a wiretapping case while collecting more than $1 million in his own wiretapping case.'"
Gov't tells fed. judges that president can send military into any U.S. neighborhood, capture a citizen and hold him in prison w/o charge, indefinitely
'Sleeper cell' case tests Bush powers - Security- msnbc.com: "To justify holding him, the government claimed a broad interpretation of the president's wartime powers, one that goes beyond warrantless wiretapping or monitoring banking transactions. Government lawyers told federal judges that the president can send the military into any U.S. neighborhood, capture a citizen and hold him in prison without charge, indefinitely."
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Bush May 17, 2008: Saudi oil output hike would not solve US problems
AFP: Saudi oil output hike would not solve US problems: Bush: "'It's not enough, it's something but it doesn't solve our problem,' Bush told reporters in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh."
May 16, 2008: Saudi Arabia rebuffs Bush on oil output
Saudi Arabia rebuffs Bush on oil output - Saudi Arabia- msnbc.com
"It was Bush’s second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, head of the monarchy that rules this desert kingdom that is a longtime prime U.S. ally and home to the world’s largest oil reserves."
"It was Bush’s second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, head of the monarchy that rules this desert kingdom that is a longtime prime U.S. ally and home to the world’s largest oil reserves."
Bush in June 2000: My Personality Will Drive Down Oil Prices
THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE TEXAS GOVERNOR; Bush Would Use Power of Persuasion to Raise Oil Supply - New York Times: "Gov. George W. Bush of Texas said today that if he was president, he would bring down gasoline prices through sheer force of personality, by creating enough political good will with oil-producing nations that they would increase their supply of crude."
Suicides of Vets from Iraq and Afghanistan May Exceed Combat Deaths
Bloomberg.com: Science: "May 5 (Bloomberg) -- The number of suicides among veterans
of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll
because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government's
top psychiatric researcher said."
of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll
because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government's
top psychiatric researcher said."
Friday, May 23, 2008
Internal audit of $8 bil. paid to Iraqi and US contractors finds that the govt skirted rules designed to prevent fraud in almost every transaction
News from The Associated Press: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- An internal audit of some $8 billion paid to U.S. and Iraqi contractors found that nearly every transaction failed to comply with federal laws or regulations aimed at preventing fraud, in some cases lacking even basic invoices explaining how the money was spent."
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Orthodox Jewish youths burn New Testaments in Israel
Orthodox Jewish youths burn New Testaments in Israel - International Herald Tribune: "JERUSALEM: Orthodox Jews set fire to hundreds of copies of the New Testament in the latest act of violence against Christian missionaries in the Holy Land."
If it was young Muslim boys who did this, the Neocons would be up in arms and Fox News would be playing clips of it over and over. But, since it is Israelis our "allies," they'll all just gloss over it.
If it was young Muslim boys who did this, the Neocons would be up in arms and Fox News would be playing clips of it over and over. But, since it is Israelis our "allies," they'll all just gloss over it.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
U.S. Soldiers Did 'Dirty Work' for Chinese Interrogators
ABC News: Report: U.S. Soldiers Did 'Dirty Work' for Chinese Interrogators: "U.S. military personnel at Guantanamo Bay allegedly softened up detainees at the request of Chinese intelligence officials who had come to the island facility to interrogate the men -- or they allowed the Chinese to dole out the treatment themselves, according to claims in a new government report."
WTF?
WTF?
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
FEMA:"You must get floodwall inspected." Town:"Okay, here's the money" Corps of Eng: "Sorry, you must use our money, and we don't have any to give you
14 WFIE, The Tri-State's News Leader: Town wants to pay for inspection, gov't says "No": "The mayor of Hawesville has been ordered by FEMA to have the Ohio River flood wall inspected and certified."
U.S. is 97th on List of Peaceful Nations
Iceland tops list of peaceful nations, U.S. 97th - Yahoo! News: "The 'Global Peace Index,' compiled by the Economist
Intelligence Unit, ranked the United States 97th out of 140
countries according to how peaceful they were domestically and
how they interacted with the outside world."
Intelligence Unit, ranked the United States 97th out of 140
countries according to how peaceful they were domestically and
how they interacted with the outside world."
US Envoy Sees 'Quickening Pace' to North Korea Nuclear Talks
VOA News - US Envoy Sees 'Quickening Pace' to North Korea Nuclear Talks
Bush must be so mad that his envoy is "appeasing" the North Koreans like this! Damn you, Bush! You must stop yourself from this Neville Chamberlain-like appeasement!
Bush must be so mad that his envoy is "appeasing" the North Koreans like this! Damn you, Bush! You must stop yourself from this Neville Chamberlain-like appeasement!
Report: EPA head reversed stand on greenhouse gas
Report: EPA head reversed stand on greenhouse gas -- -- chicagotribune.com
"The head of the Environmental Protection Agency initially supported giving California and other states full or partial permission to limit tailpipe emissions -- but reversed himself after hearing from the White House, a report said Monday."
Wait, I thought Republicans were for states' rights...nope, not Bushy. He's all for centralized power, centralized planning, and supreme secrecy. What other forms of government are these similar to?
"The head of the Environmental Protection Agency initially supported giving California and other states full or partial permission to limit tailpipe emissions -- but reversed himself after hearing from the White House, a report said Monday."
Wait, I thought Republicans were for states' rights...nope, not Bushy. He's all for centralized power, centralized planning, and supreme secrecy. What other forms of government are these similar to?
McCain’s campaign manager’s name still on lobbying firm’s letterhead
Think Progress » McCain’s campaign manager’s name still on lobbying firm’s letterhead.: "Black’s claim that neither Davis nor his anyone at his firm have been registered as lobbyists in five years appears to be false. Here’s an image of a lobbying report from 2005 that has Davis listed as an “individual who acted as a lobbyist.”"
Monday, May 19, 2008
Record Obama Crowd, the Size of a City
Record Obama Crowd, the Size of a City | The Trail | washingtonpost.com: "By Matthew Mosk
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Sen. Barack Obama has seen his share of large crowds over the last 15 months, but his campaign said they have not approached the numbers gathered along the waterfront here right now."
Sunday, May 18, 2008
FBI agents say aggressive interrogation tactics yield little actual intelligence, prevent them establishing rapport with detainees and violate the law
F.B.I. Gets Mixed Review in Interrogation Report - New York Times: "The department inspector general’s office is expected to conclude that no agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation took part in the military’s rough interrogations, a key validation for the bureau, officials said. “The F.B.I. should be credited for its conduct and professionalism in detainee interrogations in the military zones,” the inspector general said in one section of the report, which is likely to be released publicly next week."
"The 20th hijacker" on 9/11–was released from Guantanamo without prejudice after more than six years of imprisonment and torture
Crooks and Liars » Bill Moyers Journal: Detainee 063 Update: "Bill Moyers provides an update to the segment offered last week on torture and detainees in the War on Terror™. Mohammed al-Qahtani–long held up as the 20th hijacker on 9/11–was released from Guantanamo without prejudice after more than six years of imprisonment and torture. "
The Defense Department had famously sought the death penalty in a case that rested largely on “confessions” achieved through torture
The Defense Department had famously sought the death penalty in a case that rested largely on “confessions” achieved through torture
Want to blow the whistle on government corruption? Welcome to the court that rules in favor of the whistleblower only one percent of the time
Daily Kos: State of the Nation
"The court referenced above is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the only court where federal government whistleblowers can go if they do not succeed at the Office of Special Counsel (2.5 percent success rate) or at the Merit Systems Protection Board (success rate less than 5 percent) [2]. And, because there is no provision at any step of the process for a jury trial and there is no requirement to publish details, evidence of official wrongdoing routinely disappears. Worsening the dilemma for honest feds, in many cases they are required by law or the code of ethics to report wrongdoing, as whistleblower attorney David Colapinto explained at a Congressional forum last week."
"The court referenced above is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the only court where federal government whistleblowers can go if they do not succeed at the Office of Special Counsel (2.5 percent success rate) or at the Merit Systems Protection Board (success rate less than 5 percent) [2]. And, because there is no provision at any step of the process for a jury trial and there is no requirement to publish details, evidence of official wrongdoing routinely disappears. Worsening the dilemma for honest feds, in many cases they are required by law or the code of ethics to report wrongdoing, as whistleblower attorney David Colapinto explained at a Congressional forum last week."
115 lobbyists work for John McCain's campaign. MAVERICK!!!
McCain to Campaign Staffers: No Lobbying : NPR: "Veteran political consultant Craig Shirley was asked to leave the McCain campaign late last week when the publication Politico pointed out that he also worked for an anti-Obama group called Stop Him Now. Shirley had performed paid and unpaid work for the campaign and working for both groups raised questions because the law forbids coordination between the campaign and independent political groups."
Bush’s appeasement speech angers Europeans, too
Bush’s appeasement speech angers Europeans, too. « TheZoo: "Without even a hint of any sense for history Bush went to the Knesset of all places to utter political slurs, that have no roots whatsoever in historical facts. Well, what would we expect from him, after the last years. It took someone like Matthews to point out the utter cluelessness of people propagating this nonsense."
Saturday, May 17, 2008
U.S. Planning Big New Prison in Afghanistan
U.S. Planning Big New Prison in Afghanistan - New York Times: "Until now, the Bush administration had signaled that it intended to scale back American involvement in detention operations in Afghanistan. It had planned to transfer a large majority of the prisoners to Afghan custody, in an American-financed, high-security prison outside Kabul to be guarded by Afghan soldiers...The proposal for a new American prison at Bagram underscores the daunting scope and persistence of the United States military’s detention problem, at a time when Bush administration officials continue to say they want to close down the facility at Guantánamo Bay."
Instead of fixing the problem, just move it to where it will get less scrutiny. The lesson Bush learned from the failure of Guantanamo wasn't, "don't torture, it gives the U.S. a bad name and its results are not useful." What he learned was, "I gots to have me some torturin', just keep it secreter than that place down in Castroland."
Instead of fixing the problem, just move it to where it will get less scrutiny. The lesson Bush learned from the failure of Guantanamo wasn't, "don't torture, it gives the U.S. a bad name and its results are not useful." What he learned was, "I gots to have me some torturin', just keep it secreter than that place down in Castroland."
Between a quarter and a third of the world's wildlife has been lost since 1970
BBC NEWS | UK | Wildlife populations 'plummeting': "Humans are wiping out about 1% of all other species every year, and one of the 'great extinction episodes' in the Earth's history is under way, it says."
Thursday, May 15, 2008
FLASHBACK: McCain Called Chalabi ‘A Patriot’ With Iraq’s ‘Best Interests At Heart’
Think Progress » FLASHBACK: McCain Called Chalabi ‘A Patriot’ With Iraq’s ‘Best Interests At Heart’: "A new book by Aram Roston reveals that Chalabi supported John McCain (R-AZ) for president in 2000, believing that the senator would be the most receptive to his agenda. Muckraked reports:"
Ya gotta question the guy's judgement.
Ya gotta question the guy's judgement.
US cuts ties with Chalabi over Iran
Press TV - US cuts ties with Chalabi over Iran
"The US military and civilian officials have accused Chalabi for unauthorized contacts with the Islamic Republic, an allegation the Iraqi politician denies, sources told NBC News."
This guy and "Curveball" were the U.S.'s whole case for going to war in Iraq.
"The US military and civilian officials have accused Chalabi for unauthorized contacts with the Islamic Republic, an allegation the Iraqi politician denies, sources told NBC News."
This guy and "Curveball" were the U.S.'s whole case for going to war in Iraq.
Atheist soldier returns home from Iraq early because superiors can't ensure his safety
This atheist finds he needs a foxhole - St. Petersburg Times
"There is something deeply amiss when we send soldiers on a mission to engender peaceful coexistence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, yet our military doesn't seem able to offer religious tolerance to its own."
"There is something deeply amiss when we send soldiers on a mission to engender peaceful coexistence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, yet our military doesn't seem able to offer religious tolerance to its own."
U.S. Forcibly Drugs Some Immigrants
Careless Detention | Some Detainees Are Drugged For Deportation (washingtonpost.com): "The U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their will to keep them sedated during the trip back to their home country, according to medical records, internal documents and interviews with people who have been drugged."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
ACLU says membership has doubled -- thanks to Bush presidency
ACLU says membership has doubled -- thanks to Bush presidency - Salt Lake Tribune
OK, I admit it, there are good things that are coming from Bush's reign.
OK, I admit it, there are good things that are coming from Bush's reign.
Venezuela's Chavez to buy Chinese K-8 planes
Venezuela's Chavez to buy Chinese K-8 planes - Yahoo! News
More U.S. petrodollars going to supply dictators and tyrants with military supplies. Do you feel safer?
Let me get this straight...we're spending $3 trillion to defend ourselves against guys in caves. And that threat is so scary, so threatening to our country, that it is worth the additional consequences of a further dependence on an energy source in which we are not rich, paying 5x higher for that source, and having that money fund dictators and despots whose political ideologies we disdain. Is that right? Have I summed it up?
More U.S. petrodollars going to supply dictators and tyrants with military supplies. Do you feel safer?
Let me get this straight...we're spending $3 trillion to defend ourselves against guys in caves. And that threat is so scary, so threatening to our country, that it is worth the additional consequences of a further dependence on an energy source in which we are not rich, paying 5x higher for that source, and having that money fund dictators and despots whose political ideologies we disdain. Is that right? Have I summed it up?
Venezuela's Chavez to sign $2 bln military deals in Moscow
Venezuela's Chavez to sign $2 bln military deals in Moscow - report - News Wires - CNBC.com: "MOSCOW (Thomson Financial) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will buy military equipment worth nearly $2 billion during a visit to Russia at the end of the month, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported Monday."
Hmmm....I wonder how he can afford this?
Hmmm....I wonder how he can afford this?
GOP Rep. introduces bill to limit presidential signing statements. Bush expected to sign it with statement clarifying why it doesn't apply to him
GOP Rep. Hits Bush On 'Signing Statements' - WashingtonPost.com: "A House Republican lawmaker has fired a shot across President Bush's bow over his frequent use of 'Presidential Signing Statements' to give his opinion on -- or to even express his intent to ignore -- laws passed by Congress."
Monday, May 12, 2008
JPMorgan Chase Admits It Received a Multi-Billion Dollar Gift From the Fed
NationalEconomist.com » JPMorgan Chase Admits It Received a Multi-Billion Dollar Gift From the Fed: "The controversial deal orchestrated by the Federal Reserve that pushed Bear Stearns into the hands of JPMorgan Chase, at the height of the sub-prime crisis, will turn into billions of dollars in gains for for JPMorgan Chase."
Translation: A bunch of bankers gave another bunch of bankers billions of dollars in taxpayer money to buy another bank. Yeah "free markets" and "capitalism." No one gets upset about this, but try and give some poor people a million bucks worth of food stamps and watch them freak out.
Translation: A bunch of bankers gave another bunch of bankers billions of dollars in taxpayer money to buy another bank. Yeah "free markets" and "capitalism." No one gets upset about this, but try and give some poor people a million bucks worth of food stamps and watch them freak out.
Domestic spying far outpaces terrorism prosecutions
Domestic spying far outpaces terrorism prosecutions - Los Angeles Times
Remember how they needed us to give up some civil liberties to catch "terrorists?" Don't worry they told us, we'll only use these powers against the foreign bad guys. Well, they're using more against Americans, not the terrorists...just like the founding fathers predicted. If only they had left us some document which passed along this wisdom, warning us of situations like this...
Remember how they needed us to give up some civil liberties to catch "terrorists?" Don't worry they told us, we'll only use these powers against the foreign bad guys. Well, they're using more against Americans, not the terrorists...just like the founding fathers predicted. If only they had left us some document which passed along this wisdom, warning us of situations like this...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)