They’re in the know. They have the reputation. Listen to them.
Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey has repeatedly refused to state whether or not waterboarding is illegal. In a legal dodge, Mukasey called the torture technique “hypothetical” and said that he would need the “actual facts and circumstances” to strike a “legal opinion.” But in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), four [...]
Categories: Waterboarding
That’s really what they’re doing - spending a few bucks to get a ton, thanks to cooperative members of Congress.
….Big Sugar™ spends $1.5 million to gain $100 million per year in federal subsidies. That’s an ROI of 6,700%. Ken Lay would be envious [....]
Categories: Bush Administration · Congress
It’s just wrong. Somehow the system needs to change.
Twenty-one House lawmakers were responsible for about $1 billion in financing for pet projects inserted into the military appropriations bill [...]
Categories: Congress
And, then, a triple smackdown..
Friday’s Worst Person in the World segment was preceded by a correction and apology to Rudy Giuliani for inaccurately reporting a quote of his from an AP story. Keith Olbermann then promptly awarded Giuliani the Bronze for the corrected quote as it was equally offensive. In fact, Rudy [...]
Categories: Giuliani
Let’s hope this continues. It’s honestly the first really good news we’ve seen for quite a while, despite the constant harping of the Right that things have been going well for quite a while.
Roadside bombings decline and lots of people are coming back to Baghdad…
But, are they returning because it’s safe? Or because they have to:
It’s rare that I hear a word about the plight of Iraqi refugees in the media. Over five million and counting. While I was in the hospital, I read a story in the Seattle Times that Iraqis who fled to Syria are running out of money and have to return to Iraq and [...]
Categories: Iraq War
Let’s hope this continues. It’s honestly the first really good news we’ve seen for quite a while, despite the constant harping of the Right that things have been going well for quite a while.
Roadside bombings decline and lots of people are coming back to Baghdad…
Categories: Iraq War
There’s been more than a little complaining from some camps about the fact that Hillary Clinton’s documents from the Arkansas era haven’t been released. What horribly incriminating information might be contained therein? We’re fixin’ to find out…
"The Clinton library is readying a trove of detail about Hillary Rodham Clinton’s eight years as first lady in the White House for release in late January," according to The Politico. "But Bill Clinton’s lawyer will have the final say on whether 10,000 pages of Hillary Clinton’s private White House ‘daily schedules’ will be immediately released to [...]
With Sen. Barack Obama continuing to directly challenge Sen. Hillary Clinton today — both in South Carolina and in a Tribune interview — his presidential primary campaign is also firing from Iowa with a letter challenging her to more quickly make public documents from her time as first lady. The assault from the Illinois Democrat’s campaign comes by way of Iowa Atty. Gen. Tom Miller, who was one of the first public officials in the state to endorse Obama, as well as Lu Barron, a Linn County supervisor. The two suggest that many documents pertinent to [...]
Categories: 2008 Election · Clinton
The horror stories continue…
Yesterday I wrote about claims and counter-claims being made about cancer treatment. A number of statistics say that the United States leads the world in successful treatment of cancer, and those stats have become beloved of righties who argue that our crippled, hemorrhaging behemoth of a health care system is still The Best Health Care [...]
Categories: Health Care
I hope this doesn’t give somebody here any ideas…
General Pervez Musharraf has suspended Pakistan’s constitution, halted all television broadcasts and suspended telephone service in Islamabad, and declared a state of emergency [...]
The problem with supporting military regimes is evidenced by the arbitrary declaration of martial law just imposed by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. What hangs in the balance is Pakistan’s ability to move towards democracy and our ability to insure a government which will be supportive of American efforts in the region. Should Pakistan follow the [...]
Categories: Uncategorized
Electronic Voting Machines are creating headaches next door in Texas. And, they continue to have some inane judges down there!
The latest e-vote mess with Texas… A Travis County judge ruled Thursday that West Lake Hills’ last City Council election will not be overturned, prompting the city’s mayor to blast the electronic voting machines used in the election and call for a return to paper ballots. The judge ruled on a lawsuit [...]
Categories: Electronic Voting Machines
It’s huge. Nothing in Arkansas, but it does hit ten states..
Cargill Inc. said Saturday it is recalling more than 1 million pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, the second time in less than a month it has voluntarily recalled beef that may have been tainted. No illnesses have been reported, said [...]
Categories: Consumer
Settling in for some football watching. Both Missouri and Arkansas have TV games this evening. We landed some just-caught Yellow Fin Tuna and fresh gulf shrimp at the Farmers’ Market this morning, so that’s our half-time diversion. Errands are pretty much done for the day, an unimportant game’s on the TV machine and I’m scanning through bloglines..finding stuff like this…
The FBI is preparing for the outbreak of hostilities with Iran. They have been for quite a while. Like Hansel and Gretel hoping to follow their bread crumbs out of the forest, the FBI sifted through customer data collected by San Francisco-area grocery stores in 2005 and 2006, hoping that sales records of Middle Eastern food would lead to Iranian terrorists. The idea was that a spike in, say, falafel sales, combined with other data, would lead to Iranian secret agents. A similar project was aimed at Sunni Arabs in [...]
Categories: Iran
Yes, it continues. And I’m headed there momentarily. Hopefully, I’m not running too late for the good stuff! A report…later.
In the meantime, the folks at the Arkansas Times continue to do a great job of keeping us up to date on everybody’s favorite candidate, Mike Huckabee (removing tongue from cheek now…)
Arkansas presidential candidate Mike Huckabee’s penchant for exaggeration finally earns him a little high-profille attention (and the mockery he deserves). It’s a New York Times columnist making sport of Huckabee’s pandering to a narrow sliver of the wackjob base by declaring the Law of the Sea Treaty the most important issue of our time. Everybody is for this treaty except the black helicopter crowd. And speaking of the The Huckster: Unconfirmed rumor [...]
Categories: 2008 Election · Huckabee
And I still can’t blame them. Trading brilliant fall Saturdays here for Saturdays in Iraq? When they’re not military personnel? Just State Department employees?
US Diplomats were screaming at a Town Hall meeting because they are being forced to serve in Iraq. Jack Crody was especially honest calling it a “death sentence” if they are forced to go. The State Dept. didn’t even have the guts to tell them face to face. They read about it in the Washington [...]
Ah, but the Conservatives have a solution!
A reader just wrote to say that Rep. Duncan Hunter of California has a plan to alleviate the problems posed by those State Department diplomats who won’t go to Iraq. Hunter is saying that we should fire them all, and replace them with qualified Iraq veterans. Sounds like a plan to me. Not only would it send a message to those [...]
Categories: Bush Administration · Iraq War
Why can’t we have both? A strong business economy AND a strong consumer economy?
I feel sorry for the doom and gloomers! "Well, well, well … 166,000 new jobs. Twice the consensus view. Did somebody say Goldilocks? Did somebody say the greatest story never told? U.S. businesses and entrepreneurs are in very good shape. These are the real job creators. And with low tax rates, low inflation, and low interest rates, the economic and stock market outlook looks extremely bullish. The economic bears continue to [...]
Categories: Economy
It’s been the talk all week, the misquote that went round the world. Time for the apologies.
ICN is hearing that tonight on Countdown a correction on the Assad/Bin Laden Giuliani misquote will be given and Keith Olbermann will apologize. Update: Broadcasting & Cable’s John Eggerton has more… Keith Olbermann plans to apologize Friday night on his MSNBC show for criticisms he leveled at Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani based on a mishearing of [...]
Categories: 2008 Election · Television
ABC News has been digging pretty hard on this issue. And coming up with some good reporting. It all just seems to build the case that waterboarding IS torture.
A senior Justice Department official, charged with reworking the administration’s legal position on torture in 2004, became so concerned about the controversial interrogation technique of waterboarding that he decided to experience it firsthand, sources told ABC News. Daniel Levin, then acting assistant attorney general, went to [...]
Categories: Bush Administration · Torture · Waterboarding
Hate to mess up a good Saturday, but this blogger seems to know what he’s talking about. And he’s not painting a good picture for the housing market. Not now. Not anytime soon.
The Foreclosure Picture Worsens: An Ugly Spiral
The foreclosure picture worsens, with no end in sight, as USA Today reports: Number of U.S. homes facing foreclosure doubles: LOS ANGELES — A soaring number of U.S. homeowners struggled to make mortgage payments in the third quarter, with properties in some stage of foreclosure more than doubling from the same time last year, a mortgage data [...]
Of course, this isn’t helping any, either…
Oil And Gold Surge To New Highs
The commodities markets rallied Friday as the dollar skidded to fresh lows, driving investors to seek an inflation hedge in holdings of crude oil, gold and other raw materials. The greenback tumbled to a low against the euro as investors looked [...]
Categories: Economy · Housing Market
But somebody’s gotta do it! Don’t be thinking of cutting out early, folks!
Reid Predicts Difficult Path to Thanksgiving Break
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., warned his colleagues Friday to expect long days and important votes before the start of the Thanksgiving break two weeks from now [...]
Categories: Congress
