Dependable News

'Cash for Clunkers' Continuation Looks Good

2009-08-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

If you are wanting to participate in the federal government's "Cash for Clunkers" program that quickly ran out of money, you will have a second chance. Passage by the Senate looks likely before Friday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned senators that their coveted August vacation may be jeopardy if the measure was not passed.

"If we don't work something out on the cash for clunkers," Reid said from the Senate floor Wednesday morning, he would file motions to close debate. Under Senate procedure, that could mean votes on both Friday and Saturday, when lawmakers would otherwise be scattering for their coveted summer break.

"We all acknowledge there's a significant majority that want to move forward with this legislation," said Reid, D-Nev.

On a personal note, my 21-year-old car missed the mileage threshold by one mile per gallon, so I will be keeping it a while longer.

Money Rushed to Cash for Clunkers Program

2009-07-31T12:27:00.001-07:00

The House reacted swiftly to reports that the Cash for Clunkers program was running out of money, voting to add $2 billion from previously approved economic stimulus funds.

Called the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS, the program is designed to help the economy and the environment by spurring new car sales. Car owners can receive federal subsidies of up to $4,500 for trading in their old cars for new ones that achieve significantly higher gas mileage.

The Senate is expected to vote on the issue next week.

Israel to do "anything it takes"

2009-07-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Reported by the Associated Press:

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak used a brief news conference with Gates to insist three times that Israel would not rule out any response — an implied warning that it would consider a pre-emptive strike to thwart Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

"We clearly believe that no option should be removed from the table," Barak said. "This is our policy. We mean it. We recommend to others to take the same position, but we cannot dictate it to anyone."

Hope they wait until our troops are totally removed from Iraq.

Actress Lori Petty Charged with DUI

2009-06-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

Lori Petty, an actress who obviously reached her peak in the '90 with roles in Tank Girl and Point Break, was arrested for DUI last weekend in Venice, CA.

What caught my eye about this story was the $100,000 bond she had to post before getting out of jail. The initial news account did not have any details, but did mention the bond. A subsequent story included the information that she was arrested for felony DUI after allegedly hitting a 14-year-old skate boarder.

Now the high bond makes sense.

Most recently she has had guest roles on television shows House and Prison Break.

Alaska Volcano Erupts

2009-03-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

This from Yahoo! News:

WILLOW, Alaska – Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano erupted five times overnight, sending an ash plume more than 9 miles into the air in the volcano's first emissions in nearly 20 years. Residents in the state's largest city were spared from falling ash, though fine gray dust was falling Monday morning on small communities north of Anchorage. The ash began falling around daybreak and continued into midmorning. They were supposed to end by noon.

"It's coming down," Rita Jackson, 56, said early Monday morning at a 24-hour grocery store in Willow, about 50 miles north of Anchorage. She slid her fingers across the hood of her car, through a dusting of ash.

Ash from Alaska's volcanos is like a rock fragment with jagged edges and has been used as an industrial abrasive. It can injure skin, eyes and breathing passages. The young, the elderly and people with respiratory problems are especially susceptible to ash-related health problems. Ash can also cause damage engines in planes, cars and other vehicles.

Alaska Airlines on Monday canceled 19 flights in and out of the Anchorage international airport because of the ash.

North Korea Threatens South Over Leaflets

2008-10-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

North Korea has said unless South Korea takes steps to stop the distribution of leaflets criticizing their government, they will launch a pre-emptive strike.

"We clarify our stand that should the South Korean puppet authorities continue scattering leaflets and conducting a smear campaign with sheer fabrications, our army will take a resolute practical action as we have already warned," the official KCNA news agency quoted the military spokesman as saying.

At a rare round of military talks on Monday, North Korea complained about the leaflets while South Korean activists sent a new batch of 100,000, despite warnings from Seoul not to do so.

"The puppet authorities had better bear in mind that the advanced pre-emptive strike of our own style will reduce everything opposed to the nation and reunification to debris, not just setting them on fire," the spokesman said.

South Korean groups have been sending the leaflets into the North for years. Analysts said the recent wave appeared to have touched a nerve because they mentioned a taboo subject in the North -- the health of leader Kim Jong-il.

Georgia Must Allow Voting

2008-10-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

Any citizen "flagged" by Georgia's new voter ID law must be allowed to vote, federal judges have ruled:

The state of Georgia must allow persons whose citizenship has been questioned in a new voter verification system the opportunity to cast a ballot in the Nov. 4 elections, a three-judge court ruled Monday.

The court also ordered Secretary of State Karen Handel to “make diligent and immediate efforts to notify, in a uniform manner, every person whose voter registration presently remains flagged.” Those voters must be told that they can vote by a “challenged ballot,” if necessary, and that there is a discrepancy in the voters’ registration information, the court said.

Squandering Taxpayers' Money

2008-09-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

Think progress has this to say about the Bush Administration's massive taxpayer funding of the bailout of Wall Street fat cats:

This weekend, President Bush proposed a massive, $700 billion buyout of troubled financial institutions, in a plan that "would place no restrictions on the administration" and stipulates that actions by the Treasury Secretary "are non-reviewable...and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency." The proposal also would grant the Treasury the power to hire outside firms "to help manage its purchases." Given Bush's history of fiscal mismanagement -- particularly when it comes to hiring contractors -- Americans should be skeptical of his new plan. In Iraq, $142 million was wasted on projects that were either terminated or canceled, a "significant" amount of U.S. funds have been funneled to Sunni and Shiite militia groups, $5.1 billion in expenses has been charged without proper documentation, and another $10 billion has been wasted or poorly tracked, to name just a few examples. Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina was equally mismanaged. An estimated $2 billion was spent in fraud and waste, nearly 11 percent of the total spent by FEMA in the first year following the hurricane. In the area of defense spending, the Pentagon reported $1 trillion it could not account for in 2003. It also paid $1.7 billion in excessive fees to the Interior Department, and another $50 million Air Force contract was awarded in a process "fraught with improper influence, irregular procedures, and glaring conflicts of interest." It's no wonder that Princeton economist Paul Krugman called the Treasury's demand for "dictatorial authority" "an unacceptable proposal."

Voice your opposition at VoteNoBailout.org.

Who is Sarah Palin?

2008-09-06T03:56:00.000-07:00

John McCain stunned the political world when he picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. But who is she?

An authenticated email from someone who has known Sarah Palin for years provides some insight.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

There is much more in the email. Check it out.

If it walks like a duck . . .

2008-07-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

The author of Oklahoma's draconian anti-immigration laws reports that some of his campaign signs have been defaced with the words "bigot" and "racist."

Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, said Monday that dozens of his campaign signs were defaced, primarily in the Norman area.

"It is unfortunate," Terrill said. "It is childish. It is a criminal act. And it is an affront to our electoral process."

Last year, Terrill authored House Bill 1804, legislation that cracks down on illegal immigrants in the state that was signed into law by Gov. Brad Henry.

The bill includes this tidbit:

Section 3 replicates the federal provision that makes it a felony punishable by imprisonment for not less than 1 year or a fine of $1000.00, for any person to transport, harbor, or shelter an alien in reckless disregard for their illegal immigration status. State and local prosecutors now have the tools to stop illegal aliens from "residing" in Oklahoma, or traveling instate in search of unlawful employment.

Just what is "reckless disregard?" That is left up to interpretation.

Obama Attracts a Multitude; Media Mostly Silent

2008-05-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

Barak Obama attracted 75,000 people to a campaign event in Portland, OR, and the big media were mainly quiet about it.

The New York Times described the crowd as a multitude. When is the last time a multitude came out to see a politician in America? A pope, maybe. Or U2. But not a politician.

What was odd is that other major US dailies failed to treat a turnout the size of a small city at a political rally as anything remarkable, or particularly newsworthy.

The LA Times mentioned it, four paragraphs into a story about Obama's attacks against John McCain on social security, lobbyists and foreign policy.

It was hard to find any reference to the Portland multitude on the Washington Post's site, which also gave greater prominence to the McCain/lobbyist story.

Is anyone really surprised by the lack of coverage?

Real Estate News Not All Bad

2008-04-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

Despite what is being reported widely in the national media, not all real estate news is negative.

For example, the news coming out of Faulkner County, Arkansas, shows the real estate market in that area in only down by 1 percent over the same time last year.

Local Realtor Richard Henley had this news to share:

"We're seeing increased real estate activity," he said. "Last month was one of our best months. I've been busy, and I know other Realtors have been busy as well. That's always a comforting thing."
He added, "We've been tracking this quite a while. Home prices are apparently not going to have any significant decrease in this area. We are all quite pleased with this news."

In Oklahoma home values continue to rise prompting the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association and the Oklahoma Association of Realtors to start separate marketing campaigns trumpeting the good news about real estate in the Sooner State.

The Realtors' main message is that home values in Oklahoma rose more than 4 percent last year compared with 2006, in stark contrast to other markets where values are plummeting. Lisa Yates, chief executive of the Realtors group, said Realtors were glad to see the builders' campaign, "which reinforces the facts about our solid market.”

Lenders in these neighboring states avoided the real estate trap of subprime mortgages found in other areas of the country.

For additional news concerning real estate, visit National Realty News.

Bush: Economy Facing Tough Time

2008-03-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

President George W. Bush has just found out what most Americans have known for a long time.

“Our economy obviously is going through a tough time,” he said on Friday March 14.

Well, welcome to our reality, Mr. President.

From The New York Times:

President Bush on Friday acknowledged more starkly than ever that the economy has slipped into trouble, dogged by falling home prices and turmoil in financial markets, but he inveighed against government bailouts aimed at limiting the pain.

“Our economy obviously is going through a tough time,” the president told the Economic Club of New York in a morning speech at a Midtown Manhattan hotel. “The temptation of Washington is to say that anything short of a massive government intervention in the housing market amounts to inaction. I strongly disagree with that sentiment.
“I believe there ought to be action,” Mr. Bush added, “but I’m deeply concerned about law and regulation that will make it harder for the markets to recover.”

What a bullshitter.

War Costs Put at $12 Billion Per Month

2008-03-10T04:59:00.000-07:00

The cost of the Iraq war is projected to cost $12 billion per month during 2008. At least the Bush cronies are being taken care of.

The flow of blood may be ebbing, but the flood of money into the Iraq war is steadily rising, new analyses show. In 2008, its sixth year, the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month, triple the "burn" rate of its earliest years, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and co-author Linda J. Bilmes report in a new book.

Beyond 2008, working with "best-case" and "realistic-moderate" scenarios, they project the Iraq and Afghan wars, including long-term U.S. military occupations of those countries, will cost the U.S. budget between $1.7 trillion and $2.7 trillion — or more — by 2017.

Interest on money borrowed to pay those costs could alone add $816 billion to that bottom line, they say.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has done its own projections and comes in lower, forecasting a cumulative cost by 2017 of $1.2 trillion to $1.7 trillion for the two wars, with Iraq generally accounting for three-quarters of the costs.

Variations in such estimates stem from the sliding scales of assumptions, scenarios and budget items that are counted. But whatever the estimate, the cost will be huge, the auditors of the Government Accountability Office say.

In a Jan. 30 report to Congress, the GAO observed that the U.S. will be committing "significant" future resources to the wars, "requiring decision makers to consider difficult trade-offs as the nation faces an increasing long-range fiscal challenge."

Frankenstein in Space

2008-03-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

The writer of this article takes a whole lot of literary license in comparing a device at the International Space Station to Dr. Frankenstein's monster.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts bound for orbit this week will dabble in science fiction, assembling a "monstrous" two-armed space station robot that will rise like Frankenstein from its transport bed.
Putting together Dextre, the robot, will be one of the main jobs for the seven Endeavour astronauts, who are scheduled to blast off in the wee hours of Tuesday, less than three weeks after the last shuttle flight.

They're also delivering the first piece of Japan's massive Kibo space station lab, a float-in closet for storing tools, experiments and spare parts. For the first time, each of the five major international space station partners will own a piece of the real estate.

At 16 days, the mission will be NASA's longest space station trip ever and will include five spacewalks, the most ever performed while a shuttle is docked there. Three of those spacewalks will feature Dextre, which is sure to steal the show.

With 11-foot arms, a shoulder span of nearly 8 feet and a height of 12 feet, the Canadian Space Agency's Dextre — short for dexterous and pronounced like Dexter — is more than a little intimidating, at least for astronaut Garrett Reisman.

"Now I wouldn't go as far to say that we're worried it's going to go run amok and take over the space station or turn evil or anything because we all know how it's operated and it doesn't have a lot of its own intelligence," Reisman told The Associated Press last week.

"But I'll tell you something ... He's enormous and to see him with his giant arms, it is a little scary. It's a little monstrous, it is."

Contraceptive Patch May Cause Blood Clots

2008-01-22T06:31:00.000-08:00

The FDA has issued a warning about the contraceptive patch and blood clots. Talk to your doctor, they advise. Just make sure the doc is not on the payroll of Big Pharma.

The agency said the label on the Ortho Evra Contraceptive Transdermal Patch will include the results of a study in women aged 15-44 indicating a higher risk of clots than for women using birth control pills.
The blood clots could potentially lead to a lung embolism, the agency said.
"For women that choose to use contraceptives, it is important that they thoroughly discuss with their health care providers the risks and benefits involved," said Dr. Janet Woodcock, the FDA's deputy commissioner for scientific and medical programs.
The agency said it believes the patch is a safe and effective method of contraception, but recommends that women with concerns or risk factors for serious blood clots talk with their health care provider about contraceptive options.

The possibility of blood clots was first placed on the Ortho Evra label in September 2006.
Ortho Evra is a prescription patch that releases hormones through the skin into the bloodstream. Because the hormones are processed by the body differently than hormones from birth control pills, women using the product will be exposed to about 60 percent more estrogen than if they were using typical birth control pills, FDA said.

High School Students Suspended Over War Protest

2007-11-08T11:16:00.000-08:00

High school students in this country continue to be second class citizens. An Illinois school superintendent suspended a group over an anti-war protest after they followed all the rules.
A group of Illinois high school students protesting the Iraq war have been suspended for their act and may face possible expulsion. What a nice lesson in civil disobedience for them. By all accounts they followed the wishes of the administration, but still face stiff disciplinary action. There is some evidence that certain students were warned before hand and pulled out of the demonstration. What a country!

Scott Ritter: Iran No Threat

2007-10-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

Former Marine and weapons inspector Scott Ritter says the big lie is that Iran poses a threat to the United States.

Iran has never manifested itself as a serious threat to the national security of the United States, or by extension as a security threat to global security. At the height of Iran’s “exportation of the Islamic Revolution” phase, in the mid-1980’s, the Islamic Republic demonstrated a less-than-impressive ability to project its power beyond the immediate borders of Iran, and even then this projection was limited to war-torn Lebanon.

Iranian military capability reached its modern peak in the late 1970’s, during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlevi. The combined effects of institutional distrust on the part of the theocrats who currently govern the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning the conventional military institutions, leading as it did to the decay of the military through inadequate funding and the creation of a competing paramilitary organization, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command (IRGC), and the disastrous impact of an eight-year conflict with Iraq, meant that Iran has never been able to build up conventional military power capable of significant regional power projection, let alone global power projection.

Where Iran has demonstrated the ability for global reach is in the spread of Shi’a Islamic fundamentalism, but even in this case the results have been mixed. Other than the expansive relations between Iran (via certain elements of the IRGC) and the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, Iranian success stories when it comes to exporting the Islamic revolution are virtually non-existent. Indeed, the efforts on the part of the IRGC to export Islamic revolution abroad, especially into Europe and other western nations, have produced the opposite effect desired. Based upon observations made by former and current IRGC officers, it appears that those operatives chosen to spread the revolution in fact more often than not returned to Iran noting that peaceful coexistence with the West was not only possible but preferable to the exportation of Islamic fundamentalism. Many of these IRGC officers began to push for moderation of the part of the ruling theocrats in Iran, both in terms of interfacing with the west and domestic policies.

Holding Bush Accountable

2007-09-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

BuzzFlash has a recording of Richard Nixon talking about Lyndon Johnson and the failed war in Vietnam. This is how Congress should hold Bush accountable for Iraq.

The set-up by Thom Hartman:

"An unpopular president [Johnson] was prosecuting an unpopular war, which was despised by more than half the American people. His political opponent [Nixon, although Nixon actually ran against Humphrey, Johnson's Vice-President] knew that the best way to take him down - and ultimately to take down his entire Party - was to simply say out loud what everybody knew to be true. To call out the President. To declare him and his war a failure. To call on the American people for truth and honesty in government, and an end to war. Here's a quick clip composite, sent along to us by a listener (I'm sorry, I don't remember whom) a year or so ago, of Richard Nixon at the 1968 Republican National Convention..."

-- Thom Hartmann in an e-mail to BuzzFlash

Biden: Bush Wants Chaos After He's Gone

2007-08-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

Sen. Joseph Biden says President Bush is seeking to delay any chaos until after he leaves office. This fits with Bush never taking responsibility for any of his actions.

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Democrat Joe Biden charged Tuesday that President Bush's policies in Iraq are designed to confuse voters and ensure that a chaotic end to the war is delayed until after he leaves office.

Biden pointed to the turmoil that accompanied the end of the Vietnam War, with Americans plucked from the roof of the U.S. Embassy as enemy troops poured into Saigon. He said Bush wants to avoid such a stain on the end of his presidency.

"They would not be the ones who would have to deal with the reality of picking people up off the roofs of the embassy," said Biden, a Delaware senator and presidential candidate.

Biden, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Congress will launch hearings on the Iraq war the first week it's back in session. He rejected Bush's assertion that an increase in the number of troops has improved the situation in Iraq.

Speaking at a news conference, Biden called for a diplomatic offensive that would reach out to major industrial nations as well as Iraq's neighbors.

"It's long past the time we make Iraq the world's problem, not our own," he said.

Murtha's crazy talk

2007-07-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

Rep. John Murtha, while sounding sane most of the time, can reel off some real crazy-sounding doozies.

Lot's of stupid things are said in and around Washington, DC, but John Murtha's comment about the upcoming September discussion of the Iraq war has to be the most inane.
"This is big time. Then you get to September, this is history. This is when we're going to have a real confrontation with the president trying to work things out."
Everything done in Washington is history, Mr. Murtha, along with everything that is not done.

Vets Group Front For Bush Policies

2007-07-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

In the tradition of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, another pro-war veterans group is hoisting the Bush banner.

As reported by MediaChannel:

VFF is today a powerful, well-funded pro-war lobby, essentially a front group for Bush policies in Iraq that is often treated with kid gloves by reporters unfamiliar with its funding and connections, journalists who often depict the lobby group as simply another military veterans organization. In fact, the group’s sole mission is to lobby on behalf of Bush’s global war on terror.
Republican funders and PR experts have created and bankrolled astroturf pro-war groups including Vets for Freedom and Move America Forward. However, there is a genuine grassroots movement of Iraq war veterans, but it doesn’t have the budget or political backing of pro-war lobby groups like VFF, and it is truly non-partisan, criticizing both Republicans and Democrats for failing to end the US occupation of Iraq.

Woman, Toddler Kicked Off Flight

2007-07-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

Associated Press:

ATLANTA - A woman said she and her toddler son were kicked off a plane after she refused a flight attendant's request to medicate her son to get him to quiet down and stop saying "Bye bye, plane."

Kate Penland, of suburban Atlanta, said she and her 19-month-old son, Garren, were flying from Atlanta to Oklahoma last month on a Continental Express flight that made a stop in Houston.

As the plane was taxiing in Houston en route to Oklahoma, "he started saying 'Bye, bye plane,' Penland told WSB-TV in Atlanta. The flight attendant objected, she said.

"At the end of her speech, she leaned over the gentleman beside me and said, 'It's not funny anymore. You need to shut your baby up,'" Penland told WSB-TV in Atlanta.

When Penland asked the woman if she was joking, she said the stewardess replied, "You know, it's called baby Benadryl."

"And I said, 'Well, I'm not going to drug my child so you have a pleasant flight,'" Penland told the TV station.

Penland said other passengers began speaking up on her behalf, and the flight attendant announced they were turning around and that Penland and Garren were going to be taken off the plane.

Penland and her son were let off the plane and did not complete the trip to Oklahoma, said Kristy Nicholas, spokeswoman for Express Jet Airlines, which flies as Continental Express on behalf of Continental Airlines.

White House tells Congress to Shove It

2007-06-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

The Bush White House told Congress to shove their subpoenas for information concerning the firing of U.S. attorneys. What else can we expect from a group that makes it own laws:

Excerpt:

The Democratic chairmen of the two committees seeking the documents accused Bush of stonewalling and disdain for the law, and said they would press forward with enforcing the subpoenas.

"With respect, it is with much regret that we are forced down this unfortunate path which we sought to avoid by finding grounds for mutual accommodation," White House counsel Fred Fielding said in a letter to the chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. "We had hoped this matter could conclude with your committees receiving information in lieu of having to invoke executive privilege. Instead, we are at this conclusion."

Thursday was the deadline for surrendering the documents. The White House also made clear that Miers and Taylor would not testify next month, as directed by the subpoenas, which were issued June 13. The stalemate could end up with House and Senate contempt citations and a battle in federal court over separation of powers.

White House Officials Illegally Destroyed Email

2007-06-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

Seems that some officials in the Bush White House broke the law by destroying emails.

We are not surprised by the congressional committee's findings. The Bush administration has been flagrantly violating just about every law in the United States. The problem is Congress does not have enough time to investigate each one. Perhaps they should just go ahead and start the impeachment hearings now

Bush Preparing for War with Iran?

2007-06-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

A Bush administration diplomat makes charges against Iran. Is the Bush Administration laying groundwork for an attack on Iran?

Will the cowardly Democrats in charge of Congress try to stop him?

Tune in next week for another exciting episode of "Fustercluck at the White House."

GOP Candidates Separating from Bush

2007-06-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

The Republican presidential candidates are going out of their way to separate themselves from the failing presidency of George Bush.

Check out GOP Candidates Play 'Pile-On Bush'

The Republican base showing cracks

2007-05-30T08:48:00.001-07:00

Some Republicans are beginning to see the folly in Bush's Iraq policy.

From Capitol Hill Blue:

As opposition to his failed war in Iraq mounted, President George W. Bush always knew he could count on the unwavering support of hard-core Republicans.

That was then. This is now.

Increasingly, Republicans express weariness with the war and his lack of progress and support for candidates who back Bush without question is eroding.

And more and more Republicans now admit, belatedly, that they may have been wrong to back the President without question.

Congress Caves In

2007-05-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Democratic leadership in Congress has caved in to the mad man in the White House.

Watch Keith Olbermann's Special Comment:

The entire government has failed us on Iraq

Cowards? Really?

2007-05-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

A. Alexander writing at The Progressive Daily Beacon is calling the Democratic leadership in the nation's capital cowards.

Know what the saddest part about this entire sick circumstance is? That so many people knowingly, albeit out of sheer desperation, allowed themselves to be duped into thinking the Democratic Party had somehow evolved beyond the timorous, tremulous and lily-livered jellyfish that rolled over for the Iraq War in the first place.

Cowards!

We wish he would quit beating around the bush (pun intended) and say what he really thinks.

Cheney Satisfied

2007-05-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Dick Cheney must be the only one pleased with his recent trip to Iraq.

SHANNON, Ireland - Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that he generally got good responses from Arab allies in his appeal for more help in stabilizing Iraq. He also said he recognizes that advancing the Israel-Palestinian peace process is a related issue that also must be addressed.

"You don't get to pick and choose," the vice president told reporters aboard his plane as he returned from a weeklong tour of the Middle East, including an unannounced two-day visit to Iraq and stops in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.

Of his meetings with rank-and-file U.S. troops in Iraq, Cheney said, "I thought they were amazingly positive. They believed in what they were doing."

Terror In New Jersey

2007-05-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

The FBI has stopped a plot by terrorists to kill soldiers at Fort Dix.

FORT DIX, N.J. — Six Islamic militants from Yugoslavia and the Middle East were arrested on charges of plotting to attack the Fort Dix Army post and "kill as many soldiers as possible," authorities said Tuesday.

In conversations secretly recorded by an FBI informant over the past year, the men talked about killing in the name of Allah and attacking U.S. warships that might dock in Philadelphia, according an FBI criminal complaint.

Killing Their Own

2007-05-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

Reports out of Iraq indicate a top al-Aqeda official may have been killed by his own people.

From Capitol Hill Blue:

raqi authorities are investigating reports that the alleged leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, has been killed in a struggle within his own group, the interior ministry said Tuesday.

"There is intelligence information. Some information, you know, needs confirmation, but this information is very strong," interior ministry operations director Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf said.

"The clashes took place among themselves. There were clashes within the groups of Al-Qaeda. He was liquidated by them. Our forces had nothing to do with it," he added, in an interview on state television.

A US military spokesman could not confirm the report.

"I hope it's true, we're checking, but we're going to be doubly sure before we can confirm anything," said Lieutenant Colonel Chris Garver, noting that several previous reports of Masri's death had proved unfounded.

US officials say Masri, who is allegedly also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, is an Egyptian car bomb specialist who heads Al-Qaeda's Iraq's subsidiary. The US State Department has put a one million dollar bounty on his head.

John McCain 'bombs' on The Daily Show with John Stewart

2007-04-25T09:07:00.000-07:00

If you missed John McCain's latest faux pas on "The Daily Show with John Stewart," watch the clip below. You'll hear the presidential wannabe talk about placing an IED under Stewart's desk, along with kicking a dog.

It's a wonder we can understand what McCain says since he always has his foot in his mouth.

Leadership Failure

2007-04-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

Finally someone is saying it out loud: Bush is a failure.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said Monday that President Bush has fallen short in his role as leader of the free world, and the 2008 election is a chance to change that.

"This president may occupy the White House, but for the last six years the position of leader of the free world has remained open. And it is time to fill that role once more," Obama said in a speech to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

TLN: An Affiliate Program That Pays

2007-04-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Every web site owner, including us bloggers, should be making a bit of change for our work and we've found a great way to do just that - the affiliate program at Team Link Network.

All we had to do was sign up for free, add a bit of code to our site and wait for the checks to come in.

TLN pays a flat 25 percent commission on every sale and they pay by the week.

It's an offer we couldn't refuse and you shouldn't either. Check it out!

Rudy for America?

2007-04-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

Rudy Giuliani says we need him as president. Not when he tries to out-Bush Dubya.

Michigan Congressman Angry Over Military Bill

2007-03-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

Michigan Congressman Dennis Kucinich is angry about the House military funding bill.

This from Ravel Babel:

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is not at all happy with the Military Funding Bill passed by the House last week, calling it "a disaster for America."

Kucinich made the comments in an exclusive telephone interview with the editors at truthdig.com, and he didn't hide his displeasure with the Democratic party.

"The Democrats should have been voting—or come up with a plan to get out of Iraq," Kucinich said. "Not one that’s going to keep us there a year or two. It’s the same kind of thinking that led us into Iraq—that we didn’t have any alternatives."

He said the Democrats should be listening to the American people and taking steps to immediately end the war and bring the troops home.

" ... that means to set in motion a plan to end the occupation, close the bases, bring the troops home using money that’s already in the pipeline to do so. At the same time there’s a parallel process of bringing in international security and peacekeeping forces to stabilize Iraq. And we can get that help once we end the occupation."

Complete Article at Ravel Babel

Say Goodnight, Al

2007-03-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

Time is past for this man to go:

Three key Republican senators sharply questioned his truthfulness over the firings last fall of eight federal prosecutors. Two more Democrats on Sunday joined the list of lawmakers calling for Gonzales' ouster.

Several Republicans also urged President Bush to allow sworn testimony from his top aides about their role in dismissing the U.S. attorneys — a standoff threatening to result in Capitol Hill subpoenas of White House officials.

Gonzales faces the toughest test of his two-year tenure at the Justice Department with the release of documents suggesting he was more involved with the firings than he indicated earlier.

Cancer's Back For Elizabeth Edwards

2007-03-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

The Edwards clan are real troupers. We wish her a long life.

From CNN.com:

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (CNN) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday his wife's cancer has returned but his bid for the White House will continue.

"The campaign goes on," the former senator from North Carolina said at a news conference, contradicting earlier media reports to the contrary.

John Edwards said tests this week had shown his wife, Elizabeth, had cancer in a rib on her right side. He said the cancer is treatable but not curable.

"We are very optimistic about this," he said, noting that the tumor is small in size and has a "relatively minimal presence."

Elizabeth Edwards said she was "incredibly optimistic" and said her expectations about the future were unchanged.

"I expect to do next week all the things I did last week. And the week after that, and next year at the same time," she said.

And she wanted her husband to continue his run for the presidency.

If you believe this ...

2007-03-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

... I've got a land deal for you!

Schools told of terrorist bus drivers

WASHINGTON — Suspected members of extremist groups have signed up as school bus drivers in the United States, counterterror officials said Friday, in a cautionary bulletin to police. An FBI spokesman said parents and children have nothing to fear, however.

Asked about the alert notice, the FBI's Rich Kolko said, "There are no threats, no plots and no history leading us to believe there is any reason for concern," although law enforcement agencies around the country were asked to watch out for kids' safety.

The bulletin, parts of which were read to The Associated Press, did not say how often foreign extremists have sought to acquire licenses to drive school buses, or where. It was sent Friday as part of what officials said was a routine FBI and Homeland Security Department advisory to local law enforcement.

It noted "recent suspicious activity" by foreigners who either drive school buses or are licensed to drive them, according to a counterterror official.

Caught in Another Lie

2007-03-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

Stolen from The Progressive Daily Beacon:

NY Times, March 13th, 2007

The role of the president and his advisers in the prosecutor shakeup is likely to intensify calls by Congress for an investigation. It is the worst crisis of Mr. Gonzales’s tenure and provoked charges that the dismissals were a political purge threatening the historical independence of the Justice Department.

The idea of dismissing federal prosecutors originated in the White House more than a year earlier, White House and Justice officials said Monday.

Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman, disclosed that White House officials had consulted with the Justice Department in preparing the list of United States attorneys who would be removed.

MORE>>>>

Gotta check out SoonerThought Podcast

2007-03-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

If you haven't checked out Sooner Thought's Podcast, you are really missing out.

Alex has some interesting guests, including a recurring character named EuroSatan. However, we can't figure out why he interviewed Jake from RavelBabel. Listen in to Alex, then go visit RavelBabel and see if you can.

Nancy Pelosi on Libby Verdict

2007-03-07T10:43:00.000-08:00

From House Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

Today’s guilty verdicts are not solely about the acts of one individual.

This trial provided a troubling picture of the inner workings of the Bush Administration. The testimony unmistakably revealed – at the highest levels of the Bush Administration – a callous disregard in handling sensitive national security information and a disposition to smear critics of the war in Iraq.

Writer against co-habitation at Carnegie Mellon U.

2007-03-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

Could this be tongue-in-cheek?

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via Capitol Hill Blue:

Carnegie Mellon University, perhaps the finest academic institution in Pittsburgh and one of the best in the nation, has announced that it will allow opposite-sex students to share rooms under a pilot program in the fall.

Being a leading member of the fuddy-duddy community, I am against it, as this could start a new trend — already roughly 30 schools, private and public, are said to have some form of gender-neutral housing.

I find it shocking that these young people are allowed so much freedom in this modern era. Freedom is a precious right and should only be encouraged in countries that we invade and lay waste. At home, it merely causes people to become too free and easy.

My view is that people of all ages should behave and dress modestly, perhaps in head-to-toe garments impregnable to romantic overtures at all times. In the good old days, members of opposite sexes lived in separate digs patrolled by guard dogs and the cold showers ran non-stop.

Pretty Only, Please

2007-02-25T07:43:00.000-08:00

National officials of Delta Zeta sorority stirred up a hornet's nest recently at Depauw University. From The New York Times:

Worried that a negative stereotype of the sorority was contributing to a decline in membership that had left its Greek-columned house here half empty, Delta Zeta’s national officers interviewed 35 DePauw members in November, quizzing them about their dedication to recruitment. They judged 23 of the women insufficiently committed and later told them to vacate the sorority house.

The 23 members included every woman who was overweight. They also included the only black, Korean and Vietnamese members. The dozen students allowed to stay were slender and popular with fraternity men — conventionally pretty women the sorority hoped could attract new recruits. Six of the 12 were so infuriated they quit.

Is this the 21st Century?

Who will mourn the mourners?

2007-02-21T11:21:00.000-08:00

From the LA Times:

BAGHDAD — Unlike so many deaths in this city these days, the passing of Ahmed Lami was remarkable not for its violent end, but for its lack of bloodshed: He died of natural causes at 65.

But even peaceful death has become a magnet for violence. As his Shiite Muslim family and friends gathered to mourn his passing Tuesday afternoon under a tent in a middle-class, religiously mixed neighborhood on Palestine Street, a suicide bomber walked in, sat down and detonated his explosives, killing at least seven people and injuring 21.

The funeral blast was among several car bombings, shootings and explosions around Iraq on Tuesday that suggested insurgents were finding new ways to evade the ongoing security crackdown by U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Illinois Mascot Axed

2007-02-16T08:38:00.000-08:00

The 81-year-old mascot at the University of Illinois has danced his last half-time dance according to The Chicago Tribune:

The University of Illinois' American Indian mascot, Chief Illiniwek, no longer will perform at athletic events on the school's main campus after Wednesday — the last men's home basketball game of the season.

School officials today issued a news release on the retirement of the 81-year-old mascot, who is portrayed by buckskin-clad students who dance at football and basketball games and other athletic events.

Chalk up another victory for the politically correct.

Fox News on Obama

2007-02-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

Here is the headline Fox news put up on the response of democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama's response to the Australian prime minister saying Obama's election would help the terrorists:

Obama Blasts Aussie Prime Minister for Iraq Policy Criticism

Fair and balanced:

Pre-war Intel Manipulated

2007-02-09T11:50:00.000-08:00

Seems the Pentagon's Inspector General is blaming politically connected civilians for faulty intelligence linking Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pentagon officials undercut the intelligence community in the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq by insisting in briefings to the White House that there was a clear relationship between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, the Defense Department's inspector general said Friday.

Acting Inspector General Thomas F. Gimble told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the office headed by former Pentagon policy chief Douglas J. Feith took "inappropriate" actions in advancing conclusions on al Qaeda connections not backed up by the nation's intelligence agencies.

Gimble said that while the actions of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy "were not illegal or unauthorized," they "did not provide the most accurate analysis of intelligence to senior decision makers" at a time when the White House was moving toward war with Iraq.

Not illegal, but the practice should be stopped.

Gay no more

2007-02-07T03:17:00.000-08:00

It's a miracle! Rev. Ted Haggard is now "competely heterosexual" after a mere 90 days of counselling. Thank you, Lord!

Spending 90 days in intensive "counselling" with four evangelicals will cure just about anything.

Too Little, Too Late in Florida

2007-02-02T09:23:00.000-08:00

Florida got rid of the hanging-chad system of voting and replaced it with touch screens. The problem with the replacement system is that it left no paper trail. Now they are changing again.

From The New York Times:

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Feb. 1 — Gov. Charlie Crist announced plans on Thursday to abandon the touch-screen voting machines that many of Florida’s counties installed after the disputed 2000 presidential election. The state will instead adopt a system of casting paper ballots counted by scanning machines in time for the 2008 presidential election.

Voting experts said Florida’s move, coupled with new federal voting legislation expected to pass this year, could be the death knell for the paperless electronic touch-screen machines. If as expected the Florida Legislature approves the $32.5 million cost of the change, it would be the nation’s biggest repudiation yet of touch-screen voting, which was widely embraced after the 2000 recount as a state-of-the-art means of restoring confidence that every vote would count.

Several counties around the country, including Cuyahoga in Ohio and Sarasota in Florida, are moving toward exchanging touch-screen machines for ones that provide a paper trail. But Florida could become the first state that invested heavily in the recent rush to touch screens to reject them so sweepingly.

“Florida is like a synonym for election problems; it’s the Bermuda Triangle of elections,” said Warren Stewart, policy director of VoteTrust USA, a nonprofit group that says optical scanners are more reliable than touch screens. “For Florida to be clearly contemplating moving away from touch screens to the greatest extent possible is truly significant.”

Bush makes another power grab

2007-01-30T07:22:00.000-08:00

After losing control of Congress the Bush administration has found another way to project their agenda against the American public. This time by planting political stooges in government offices designed to protect the citizenry against abuses by big business interests.

Who has the cojones to stop him? Our guess is no one. Bend over America, you're about to be Bush-whacked again.

MLK Party Not Politically Correct

2007-01-25T07:01:00.000-08:00

Some students at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX, showed how insensitive they are by conducting a Martin Luther King, Jr., Day party dressed as stereotypical Blacks.

From ajc.com:

DALLAS — Authorities at Tarleton State University said they plan to investigate a Martin Luther King Jr. Day party that mocked black stereotypes by featuring fried chicken, malt liquor and faux gang apparel.

"I feel like there is no excuse for this type of ignorance," said Donald Ray Elder, president of the Stephenville school's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Photographs posted on social networking Web site Facebook.com showed partygoers wearing Afro wigs and fake gold and silver teeth. One photo showed students "mocking how African-Americans do step shows," Elder said. In another picture, a student is dressed as Aunt Jemima and carries a gun.

"That upsets me," Elder said. "That's someone who knows nothing about Dr. King, because Dr. King was totally about nonviolence."

Wanda Mercer, the school's vice president of student life, said an investigation was planned into the Jan. 15 party.

We suggest a few seminars featuring sensitivity training are in order.

One Sick Man

2007-01-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

What does Bob Woodward of Watergate fame do for fun?

Rereads the Senate Watergate Report and listens to Nixon tapes while in the car.

Hey, Bob, get a life.

Apple set to shake up mobile phone industry

2007-01-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

Having already shaken the music biz with the i-Pod, Apple appears to in the right position to take over a big share of the mobile phone industry.

From The LA Times:

The sleek iPhone will shake up the wireless industry and force manufacturers to come up with more user-friendly handsets, industry analysts said Tuesday after Apple Computer Inc. showed off its highly anticipated mobile phone.

The handset, to be launched in June by Apple and Cingular Wireless, has a plethora of features that challenge the way handset makers are building so-called smart phones. A frequent refrain among analysts Tuesday was that the iPhone will set a high bar for customer expectations.

As things set right now, you have to download what you want from Apple, but look for that to change as the service providers start getting more dollar signs in their eyes.

Will U.S. border ever be secure?

2007-01-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

It's looking more and more like the Republican politically desperate move to call for building a fence along the southern border of the U.S. will not become a reality.

Waste, the American way.

What to do about global warming?

2007-01-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

From Alternet:

Examining 24 major ecosystems that support human life, scientists found that 15 are "being pushed beyond their sustainable limits," toward a change that will be "abrupt and potentially irreversible." Humanity's genius at economic development has taxed our ecosystems to the point where we face "imminent ecological and economic crises."

Economically, the world is booming. Steel, aluminum, vehicle production and Gross World Product set records in 2005, as did Internet usage and cell phones. Unfortunately, the production of atmospheric CO2 concentrations, the main greenhouse gas, is also booming -- 2004 measured the highest annual increase ever. Average temperatures in 2005 were the hottest ever recorded on the earth's surface, the warmest in 10,000 years.

Warming has led to the destruction of 20 percent of the world's coral reefs and 25 percent of the world's mangrove forests. Sea ice fell to the lowest levels ever recorded and almost a third of the Arctic Ocean, normally covered by ice in the summer, has melted. Weather-related disasters, attributed to global warming, reached a record cost of $204 billion, with record hurricane, forest fire and tornado seasons in the US.

Global warming is here and scientists predict that the number and severity of weather-caused disasters will increase as the earth warms through the heat trapping effects of greenhouse gases created by burning oil, coal and natural gas, which accounts for 80 percent of the world's energy use. With the US consuming roughly a quarter of the world's oil and, along with automobile exhaust, creating almost a quarter of the world's greenhouse gases, pressure is mounting to switch to alternative sources of fuel to modify the amount of damage created by global warming in the future.

More>>>

Watch Out for Falling Farm Houses

2006-12-30T05:25:00.000-08:00

From The Huffington Post:

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush were moved to an armored vehicle on their ranch Friday when a tornado warning was issued in central Texas, the White House said.

The vehicle was driven to a tornado shelter on the ranch at 1:30 p.m. CST, and the president, Mrs. Bush and their two Scottish terriers, Barney and Miss Beazley, sat inside until the weather cleared, deputy White House press secretary Scott Stanzel said. They were never moved into the shelter, he said. The shelter is a few hundred yards away from the president's house on the ranch.

Repubs to end war?

2006-12-28T06:14:00.000-08:00

From Alternet:

It seems more likely the Republicans, not the Democrats, will try to derail the Cheney-Bush war express. Senator Gordon Smith (R-Ore) declared last week on the Senate floor: "I, for one, am at the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way, being blown up by the same bombs day after day. That is absurd. It may even be criminal. I cannot support that anymore."

Robert Parry on Moon

2006-12-27T05:48:00.000-08:00

Investigative journalist Robert Parry has written a three-part special report on The Washington Times, Reverend Moon and their influence on American politics.

It's well worth the time spent to read what Parry has to say.

America's present from the GOP

2006-12-12T07:19:00.000-08:00

Capitol Hill Blue has this to say about the 109th Congress:

Gridlock was good to Congress under the Republicans. With Democrat Bill Clinton in the White House, it produced such landmarks as the welfare reform act of 1996 and a string of budget surpluses.

But with a Republican president in the White House discipline began breaking down. The surpluses vanished, spending soared, traditional courtesies to the minority party were ignored and a series of ethics scandals culminated in the resignation of four Republican House members this year.

In November, the voters ended the Republicans control of Congress and maybe just in time. In 12 years of GOP control of the House and 10 of the Senate, the 109th that just adjourned was the worst yet.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., called it "the most useless Congress in modern times." That might be dismissed as partisan excess except that many Republicans share his assessment.

This Congress finally ended in the wee hours of Saturday with the leadership congratulating itself on passing a $45 billion tax and trade bill, filled with unrelated issues, and several major health care initiatives.

That's fine but it's a sloppy way to legislate -- who knows what all is in the tax and trade bill -- and it should have been earlier in the year. And it could have been except that Congress wasn't around to do it. The lawmakers were in session just over 100 days, fewer even than the notorious "Do Nothing" Congress of 1948. A three-day work week and generous recesses will do that.

The incoming House Democratic leader provoked muffled protests when he announced five-day work weeks for next year. We'll see if that lasts. Institutional inertia can be hard to overcome.

Most egregiously, Congress failed in its principal constitutional duty, appropriating the money to run the government. Of the 13 spending bills that fund the government's operations and that are supposed to be passed by Sept. 30 at the latest, Congress has just passed two.

One of the lawmakers' last acts was to pass a temporary, stop-gap measure funding the government until Feb. 15, meaning the ineptitude of the 109th will spill over into the 110th.

Congressional Democrats won't have to do much more than show up and do the statutory minimum of work to surpass the bar the Republicans have set for them.

Question of the Week

2006-12-04T03:57:00.000-08:00

Is President Bush Sane?

Exerpt:

Bush has destroyed the entire social, political, and economic fabric of Iraq. Saddam Hussein sat on the lid of Pandora’s Box of sectarian antagonisms, but Bush has opened the lid. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed as “collateral damage” in Bush’s war to bring “stable democracy” to Iraq. Tens of thousands of Iraqi children have been orphaned and maimed. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have fled their country. The Middle East is aflame with hatred of America, and the ground is shaking under the feet of American puppet governments in the Middle East. US casualties (killed and wounded) number 25,000.

'Creed of Greed'

2006-11-28T02:24:00.000-08:00

A. Alexander at The Progressive Daily makes some interesting points on the "Creed of Greed" of the Conservative movement.

Exerpt:

Conservatives have convinced America that it is unacceptable for government to spend tax revenue helping citizens and yet, Conservatives see no problem with providing large taxpayer-funded incentives to mega-corporations.

According to Conservatives it is unacceptable for government to help a poor mother of three pay her heating bill, but it is a good thing that government provides big oil producers with huge tax-breaks.

According to Conservatives it is unacceptable for government to help family farmers, but it is deliciously spectacular for government to subsidize corporate farming.

More >>>

McCain High on Lott

2006-11-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee in 2008, called Trent Lott "the most effective leader I know."

If that's the case, Senator, why don't you support him for the presidency?

Bush's 'Respect' of the Election

2006-11-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

The New York Times has an editorial concerning President Bush's "respect" of the election results and his working with the new Congress.

Exerpt:

President Bush was back on TV yesterday, without the scowl he’d been sporting the day after the election but with the surviving members of his Cabinet. He talked about how much he was looking forward to lunching with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and working on “the great issues facing America.” Mr. Bush said his team would “respect the results” of the election.

Just maybe not right away.

Without missing a beat, Mr. Bush made it clear that, for now, his idea of how to “put the elections behind us” is to use the Republicans’ last two months in control of Congress to try to push through one of the worst ideas his administration and its Republican allies on Capitol Hill have come up with: a bill that would legalize his illegal wiretapping program and gut the law that limits a president’s ability to abuse his power in this way.

Bush Still Lying

2006-11-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

From Capitol Hill Blue by Doug Thompson:

President George W. Bush decided before Tuesday's mid-term elections to fire Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld but lied, once again, to the press and the American people about his intentions.

Bush admitted Wednesday that he interviewed former CIA director Robert M. Gates over the weekend for Rumsfeld's job and said he intentionally misled reporters last week about the defense secretary's future to avoid making the Iraq war more of an issue in the election.

Emperor Nixes Lord Vader

2006-11-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

Looks like the evil emperor wannabe has bowed to the will of the populace and sent Lord Vader to the space pasture.

Question: Why did they wait so long? They could have changed the outcome of the election had they done this last week.

From the Trib:

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned today, just hours after the Republican party suffered a resounding defeat in nationwide mid-term elections, a vote that became a referendum on President Bush's strategy for the war in Iraq and on Rumsfeld's own stormy stewardship of the Pentagon.

President Bush announced Rumsfeld's departure during a news conference and said he had nominated former CIA Director Robert Gates as his next secretary of defense. Rumsfeld and the Pentagon declined to comment on the decision.

While Bush explained his decision as a need to put "fresh eyes" on his Iraq policy, it came after voters Tuesday turned control of the House of Representatives to Democrats who had made the military stalemate in Iraq a campaign priority. The Senate teetered on the verge of falling into Democratic hands as recounts in close races in Virginia and Montana were contemplated.

The speed of Rumsfeld's resignation caught official Washington by surprise. A combative bureaucrat with a razor-sharp wit, Rumsfeld was expected by many to depart only when conditions in Iraq improved.

Brits: US more of danger than North Korea

2006-11-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

Oops. Seems like the U.S. reputation throughout the world is slipping. Big surprise.

Debt Notices Are Not Always Real

2006-11-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

This from Consumer Affairs:

Just because a debt collector sends you a notice that you owe money, it doesn't mean the claim is legitimate. Oftentimes these companies make honest mistakes. Sometimes they engage in out and out fraud.

In West Virginia, one consumer received a notice from Pinnacle Credit Services demanding payment for a debt it was assigned to collect. The consumer denied she owed the money and when the company persisted, she contacted the state attorney general's office.

It turned out Pinnacle wasn't licensed to collect debts in West Virginia, so the attorney general sued. As part of the settlement, the company cancelled more than $1 million in debt it was trying to collect in the state.

The take-home lesson?

"Consumers may receive collection notices for debts in amounts they believe to be inaccurate or for creditors they do not recognize," said West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw. "Consumers should dispute the debt in writing and request documents that verify the debt."

This is Bush's America

2006-11-02T06:39:00.000-08:00

As reported in the Rocky Mountain News:

Two people who say they were ejected from a speech by President Bush over a bumper sticker won a victory Wednesday in their court battle to learn if a White House official ordered the heave-ho.

But they could still lose the war.

A federal magistrate made it clear in court Wednesday that the two local men being sued must give up the names of their supervisors when they give depositions this month.

But the men's attorneys may file an appeal that could delay the depositions until after the statute of limitations expires, killing the case.

Instead of getting to the bottom of what really happened, and who ordered whom to do what, lawyers will play the system to the bitter end.

GOP Sleeze

2006-10-31T09:18:00.000-08:00

Once again Doug Thompson nails it:

With the party's back against the wall, the Republican sleaze machine went into high gear this past week, appealing to the inherent racism, bigotry and homophobia that lie within GOP extremist, hoping that fear and ignorance will turn the tide in an election they can't win on truth or the issues.

Bush 'not satisfied' with Iraq

2006-10-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

How's this for an understatement:

"I know many Americans are not satisfied with the situation in Iraq," President Bush said. "I'm not satisfied either." So, he said, the American effort in Iraq is "constantly adjusting our tactics."

The comments appear in an analysis of Bush's news conference by Thomas E. Ricks of The Washington Post.

The written report does not tell the full story about how Dear Leader fumbled his way through, avoiding answering direct questions, and interpreting reporter's queries to fit with his pat answers.

Bush is truly a moron, but he's our moron.

Sign of things to come

2006-10-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post reports on what to expect from the Rove machine over the next two weeks.

Exerpt:

Republicans have been promising they would ratchet up the rhetoric against Democrats in the final two weeks of the fall campaign, and the man President Bush called "The Architect" of his political campaigns offered a preview of what they have in mind on Friday night.

Appearing in support of embattled GOP Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), Karl Rove offered biting jibes against House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), took a shot at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and asserted that Democratic policies would leave the country weaker.

You're safe, says NY Times

2006-10-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, American citizens are not targets of the draconian, illegal Military Commissions Act of 2006, says The New York Times.

Before you start celebrating, read this from Robert Parry: Who Is 'Any Person' in Tribunal Law?

The U.S. healthcare scandal

2006-10-18T02:57:00.000-07:00

Jesse Jackson writes:

The U.S. health care system is an open scandal. We devote far more of our national income to health care than any other industrial nation. Yet we get worse results -- higher child mortality, higher deaths from breast cancer, less prevention and more expense. If you have wealth, the best medicine in the world is available to you. If you are poor, or increasingly a middle- or low-income family, too often you will lack insurance or be vastly underinsured. You will forgo costly tests and let illnesses fester until they become debilitating.

This is getting worse, not better. More and more small businesses simply don't offer health care for their employees. More and more large ones are imitating Wal-Mart and moving to part-time employees, who can't afford what plan is offered. They count on Medicaid to provide some coverage for their workers. We pay the highest drug prices in the world, even though the U.S. government pays for much of the research that develops the drugs.

How not to 'reform' workers' comp

2006-10-17T02:47:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago California reformed its workers' compensation law. The result: employer costs down, insurance company profits down, injured employees not receiving the care they need.

Exerpt:

Under the new law, services and disability payments for many injured workers were cut, opportunities for rehabilitation were trimmed, and insurance companies received more power to scrutinize and reject doctor recommendations.

That review process is at the heart of many complaints.

"Every little request is a battle, and the patient is worse for the wear," said Dr. Paul Slosar, a spine surgeon and associate director of a Daly City medical group specializing in back injuries. "The delays are 10 times worse than anything I was dealing with three or four years ago because everything is being challenged."

Mary Stone of Yorba Linda agrees. The former assistant principal at Anaheim's Western High School was assaulted and seriously injured while working late in her office in 2003.

Stone blames the new system for denying her the care her doctor recommended. As a result, she said, she was forced to give up her career.

She waited more than a year to get approval for surgery on her right shoulder. After the operation and the denial of a request for postoperative physical therapy, her shoulder locked in its socket. Unable to return to work, she lost her job.

"I'm more disabled than the day I left work," Stone said.

Repubs to purge gays

2006-10-13T08:03:00.000-07:00

Max Blumenthal at The Nation writes that some want the Republican Party is to purge Republican congressional staffers who are gay.

Exerpt:

Immediately after the Mark Foley scandal broke, some anti-Republican gay-rights activists composed a memo containing the names of closeted gay Republican Congressional staffers and sent it to leading Christian-right advocacy groups. The founder and chairman of one of those groups, the Rev. Don Wildmon of the American Family Association, told me he has received that memo, which he referred to simply as "The List." Based on The List's contents, Wildmon is convinced that a secretive gay "clique" boring within the Republican-controlled Congress is responsible for covering up Foley's sexual predation toward teenage male House pages. Moreover, Wildmon calls on the Republican Party leadership to promptly purge the "subversive" gay staffers.
"They oughtta fire every one of 'em," Wildmon told me in his trademark Mississippi drawl. "I don't care if they're heterosexual or homosexual or whatever they are. If you've got that going on, that subverts the will of the people; that subverts the voters. That is subversive activity. There should be no organization among staffers in Washington of that nature, and if they find out that they're there and they're a member, they oughtta be dismissed el pronto."

Pulling no punches

2006-10-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

Doug Thompson's column at Capitol Hill Blue is aptly named: The Rant.

Latest:

Corruption, scandal, immorality and lapses in ethical judgment have become so pervasive in today's government that Americans find themselves numb. Our government is awash in deceit, driven by a lust for power and controlled by those for whom truth and morality are foreign concepts.

In 1994, Republicans marched into control of Congress astride promises to reform the system, eliminate pork barrel politics and restore honesty and accountability to government. Instead, they have proven even more corrupt, dishonest and immoral than the Democrats they replaced in the seats of power.

Six years later, George W. Bush would promise "the most ethical administration in history." Instead he delivered the most corrupt, a despotic power-mad White House bent on domination and driven by lies.

The Distraction of Foley's Follies

2006-10-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

The disgusting behavior of Foley the Cyber-Fondler is distracting the nation away from a more serious issue -- the granting of dictatorial powers to Dumya.

Exerpt:

What it comes down to is this: You're walking down a street, a car pulls over, and two FBI agents take you away. Here, according to a recent New York Time editorial, is what you could face, keeping in mind that at least one Republican politician has already suggested that crimes against the state are, by definition, terrorist acts:

"Enemy Combatants: A dangerously broad definition of “illegal enemy combatant” in the bill could subject legal residents of the United States, as well as foreign citizens living in their own countries, to summary arrest and indefinite detention with no hope of appeal. The president could give the power to apply this label to anyone he wanted.

"The Geneva Conventions: The bill would repudiate a half-century of international precedent by allowing Mr. Bush to decide on his own what abusive interrogation methods he considered permissible. And his decision could stay secret — there’s no requirement that this list be published.

"Habeas Corpus: Detainees in U.S. military prisons would lose the basic right to challenge their imprisonment. These cases do not clog the courts, nor coddle terrorists. They simply give wrongly imprisoned people a chance to prove their innocence.

"Judicial Review: The courts would have no power to review any aspect of this new system, except verdicts by military tribunals. The bill would limit appeals and bar legal actions based on the Geneva Conventions, directly or indirectly. All Mr. Bush would have to do to lock anyone up forever is to declare him an illegal combatant and not have a trial.

"Coerced Evidence: Coerced evidence would be permissible if a judge considered it reliable — already a contradiction in terms — and relevant. Coercion is defined in a way that exempts anything done before the passage of the 2005 Detainee Treatment Act, and anything else Mr. Bush chooses.

"Secret Evidence: American standards of justice prohibit evidence and testimony that is kept secret from the defendant, whether the accused is a corporate executive or a mass murderer. But the bill as redrafted by Mr. Cheney seems to weaken protections against such evidence.

"Offenses: The definition of torture is unacceptably narrow, a virtual reprise of the deeply cynical memos the administration produced after 9/11. Rape and sexual assault are defined in a retrograde way that covers only forced or coerced activity, and not other forms of nonconsensual sex. The bill would effectively eliminate the idea of rape as torture."

Politics wins over Constitution

2006-09-29T07:15:00.000-07:00

From a BuzzFlash editorial:

Just as it is hard to fully comprehend the grief of a beloved friend or relative killed needlessly in an accident, it is excruciatingly painful to try to come to terms with the pernicious betrayal of our Constitution and liberty that occurred in the Senate on Thursday, September 28.

In the past week alone, we have seen factual evidence that belies the need for the power play/pre-election attack on our Constitution. In fact, these developments indicate that giving Bush even more unprecedented power is not only unconscionable; it puts the national security of the United States of America in peril:

Bush’s newly "revamped" top 16 intelligence agencies reached the conclusion that the Iraq War had become a primary cause in the growth of terrorists and the increased threat of terrorism to the United States. Bush called the report of his own top intelligent agencies "naïve." Meanwhile, a second U.N. report came to the same conclusion as the American spy agencies. The U.N. also reported that more Iraqis may now be being tortured under U.S. occupation than were tortured under Saddam Hussein.

And there is a second National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report just on Iraq that the Bush Administration will not release until after the election. So it clearly must be even more harsh in its assessment of the Iraq War than the White House "selective conclusions" Executive Summary of the first NIE, which was revealed by the New York Times.

Must Read Interview with Salt Lake City Mayor

2006-09-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Rocky Anderson, the Democratic mayor of Salt Lake City, is one voice of sanity in this insane country.

Read and or listen to Rocky's interview with Democracy Now!

Thompson Calls 'em as He Sees 'em

2006-09-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

One thing about Doug Thompson at Capitol Hill Blue, you always know where he stands. From his latest Rant:

In George W. Bush's perverted, pathetic, partisan view of the world, anyone who disagrees with his lunacies is not only wrong but unpatriotic - a traitor who cannot be trusted and a voice of dissent that must be silenced.

In recent weeks, a growing number of Republicans have joined the loyal opposition, telling the President, mostly in private, he is dead wrong to wage his illegal invasion of Iraq while refusing to appear with him in public because they are scared shitless that his escalating unpopularity will rub off and end their miserable careers in elected office.

Now Bush has a new set of "enemies," ones that are neither partisan nor political in their assessment of his failures but provide a sobering look at just what a miserable failure his Presidency has become and verifies what many have known for months - that the actions of this madman has placed this country in harm's way more than any acts of terrorism that have been waged on our shores or elsewhere in the world.

Olbermann on Bush

2006-09-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

Check this out from Keith Olbermann:

In four simple words last Friday, the President brought into sharp focus what has been only vaguely clear these past five-and-a-half years - the way the terrain at night is perceptible only during an angry flash of lightning, and then, a second later, all again is dark.

“It's unacceptable to think," he said.

It is never unacceptable to think.

As usual, Bloggermann gets right to heart of the matter.

Fox getting religion

2006-09-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

Never one to turn down a buck, Rupert Murdoch has found a way to capitalize on religion, other than his usual right-wing trash talking.

Fear Factor Bush Style

2006-09-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

Brent Budowsky has an excellent piece at BuzzFlash entitled
George Washington, George III, George Bush: If Thomas Paine Were Here, Part 1.

We consider it a must read for all.

Exerpt:

Never before in the history of the Republic have the politics of fear been used so ignobly to put our freedoms under basic attack.

Never before in the history of the Republic have those freedoms been surrendered so casually, so fearfully, so timidly. and so meekly by a society that so easily forgets about the rivers of blood of American heroes who died to give us what we so casually, so fearfully, so timidly and so meekly surrender today.

'Swiftboater' Back in Action

2006-09-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

The money-bags behind the Swiftboating of Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 presidential campaging is back at it, according to an account in Capitol Hill Blue.

Exerpt:

The Republican donor who helped bankroll the Swift Boat attacks on Democratic Sen. John Kerry's war record has given $5 million to a new group targeting Democratic candidates.

Bob J. Perry, a Texas homebuilder with close ties to White House advisor Karl Rove and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, recently made the hefty donations to the Economic Freedom Fund, a newly created California group.

The group is a so-called 527 that is not subject to conventional campaign finance restrictions and can spend unlimited amounts on election advocacy, similar to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. In the 2004 presidential race, the group of Vietnam veterans made unsubstantiated allegations challenging Kerry's record of wartime heroism.

So far, the new group -- which lists Perry as its sole donor -- has spent slightly more than $500,000 on television ads and mailings criticizing Democratic Reps. Jim Marshall of Georgia and Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, according to a disclosure form filed last week with the Federal Election Commission.

Here we go again.

Tell Congress to Reject Bush's Dangerous Plan

2006-09-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

human rights first is sponsoring an email campaign to stop the White House from getting congresssional approval to abuse prisoners.

Here is a copy of the proposed message:

Last Wednesday the White House announced extremely troubling proposals with regard to treatment of detainees in U.S. custody. President Bush is asking you to not only permit the use of coerced evidence but also to provide immunity to those who have abused or authorized the abuse of detainees in U.S. custody.

As a concerned constituent, I urge you to reject the Administration's proposal. This is clearly the wrong approach. It violates Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and evades the recent Hamdan v. Rumsfeld Supreme Court ruling.

I hope you make every effort to ensure this legislation never comes to pass. Our nation has complied with the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit cruel and degrading treatment, for over a century.

Please don't let the Bush Administration's plan signal the start of a dangerous new era. Not only would you be sacrificing our nation's reputation, you would be sacrificing the safety of our troops. By condoning abuse of detainees in U.S. custody, we are inviting other nations to do the same when our own soldiers are taken captive.

There is too much at stake.

I am counting on you, as my elected representative, to put America back on the right course and make sure torture never again happens in America's name.

Join the campaign to stop the Bush evildoing

What Republican Really Think

2006-09-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

House Majority Leader John Boehner speaking about Democrats:

I wonder if they're more interested in protecting the terrorists than protecting the American people." They certainly don't want to take the terrorists on and defeat them.

What a waste of human skin.

Cheney: Iraq Invasion Right Thing to do

2006-09-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

In spite of the fact that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction, the Bush administration was right to invade that country, Vice President Dick Cheney said on NBC's Meet the Press.

President Bush would have ordered an invasion of Iraq even if the CIA had told him that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction, Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday.

In the build-up to the U.S. invasion in 2003, Bush and other administration leaders argued that Saddam should be removed from power because he had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and was actively seeking to build a nuclear weapon.

Subsequent investigations concluded that he did not have such weapons, and in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Cheney acknowledged that, “clearly, the intelligence that said he did was wrong.”

If you watch the video, notice how often Cheney turns red when asked the hard questions.

One gets the feeling that he would have liked to "invade" Tim Russert, too.

Final Word on Path to 9/11

2006-09-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

This post at MediaMatters nicely sums up the reasons for the opposition to ABC's planned miniseries: The Path to 9/11.

If you haven't read "Media Matters"; by Jamison Foser, then just shut up.

Are Ken, Karl Gay?

2006-09-05T03:19:00.000-07:00

Read this interesting post and decide for yourself:

The Closets of Karl and Ken

It would certainly explain a lot ...

Rummy gets history wrong again

2006-08-30T07:30:00.001-07:00

Headline from The New York Times: Rumsfeld Says War Critics Haven’t Learned Lessons of History

Comparing terrorist groups to a “new type of fascism,” Mr. Rumsfeld said, “With the growing lethality and the increasing availability of weapons, can we truly afford to believe that somehow, some way, vicious extremists can be appeased?”

Excuse, us, Mr. Secretary, but we don't remember anyone against your illegal war in Iraq saying anything about appeasing the terrorists.

What we're really interested in is a real fight against terrorism, not you made-up version.

2006-08-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

Headline from The New York Times: Rumsfeld Says War Critics Haven’t Learned Lessons of History

Comparing terrorist groups to a “new type of fascism,” Mr. Rumsfeld said, “With the growing lethality and the increasing availability of weapons, can we truly afford to believe that somehow, some way, vicious extremists can be appeased?”

Colorado flag controversy

2006-08-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

A seventh grade geography teacher in Lakewood, CO, is supended for insubordination after he was ordered by the principal to remove Chinese and Mexican flags he placed in his classroom.

It seems Colorado has a law forbidding the permanent placement of foreign flags.

The principal said he has no choice but to follow state law.

But if one reads the comments posted in the forum a clearer picture emerges.

One poster said:

I have delt with this school as well as this principle and school board members many many times. This is just another example of the unfairness that goes on in this school, and the show of the lack of education the kids in this and other area schools are receiving. I feel that if this teacher is to return to this school he will feel the pain of this incident for a long time to come. As I see it, this was a chance for the students to have a teacher that would get them interested in the learning process. We do not see that much anymore in the school systems.

All too often, people in positions of power allow their personal views to cloud their professional judgment.

This seems to be such a case.

Terrorism in Ohio

2006-08-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

A story we almost missed when are attention was focused on airplanes from the UK:

Michigan men held on terror charges

MARIETTA, Ohio (AP) -- Two men were charged Wednesday with money laundering in support of terrorism after authorities said they found airplane passenger lists and information on airport security checkpoints in their car.

Deputies stopped Osama Sabhi Abulhassan, 20, and Ali Houssaiky, 20, both of Dearborn, Michigan, on a traffic violation Tuesday. They found the flight documents along with $11,000 cash and 12 phones in the car, said Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks.

Prosecutor Susan Vessels declined to say how the phones, cash or flight information involved terrorism.

Abulhassan and Houssaiky admitted buying about 600 phones in recent months at stores in southeast Ohio, said sheriff's Maj. John Winstanley. The men said they sold the phones to someone in Dearborn, a Detroit suburb.

Investigators going through the car after the pair were pulled over in Marietta, about 90 miles southeast of Columbus, also found a map that showed locations of Wal-Mart stores from Ohio through Kentucky, Tennessee and into North and South Carolina, Vessels said.

FBI spokesman Mike Brooks in Cincinnati said his office was notified about the arrests and an agent was investigating.

Good work, deputies.

Wal-Mart Announces Pay Increases

2006-08-08T03:32:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has been attacked over its pay and benefits, said Monday that it was raising starting wages at a third of its stores but capping the pay of veteran workers.

But critics were not cheered by the news.

Chris Kofinis, of the union-backed group WakeUpWalMart .com, said the salary caps were little more than an effort to get rid of higher-paid veteran employees. "This is a determined attempt to push full-time workers out of this company, and they should be ashamed of themselves."

Is the change really aimed at helping workers? Some analysts don't think so.

Monday's announcement is aimed more at public opinion than at Wall Street, which is likely to be indifferent to the news, said Mark Husson, an analyst with HSBC in New York. Wal-Mart shares fell 5 cents to $44.82 on Monday.

"It seems to me that Wal-Mart is trying to make some kind of PR out of the fact that you have to pay a market rate, otherwise nobody turns out for their jobs," Husson said. "It sounds like they are paying upfront and finding the money by capping the wages in the future."

Even workers seem to see through Wal-Mart's ploy.

The salary caps are unfair to employees who have worked their way up the pay scale, said Delora Lewis, a 14-year Wal-Mart veteran who works as a cashier in Ponca City, Okla.

A good worker ought to be able to earn raises through hard work and dedication, she said, without having to increase responsibilities or time spent at work.

"It makes me mad," said Lewis, who said she believed that at $15.82 an hour she was paid more than the maximum that would be allowed for cashiers at her store.

"If I quit and start over someplace else, I'd have to start at $8 an hour. You're kind of stuck in a rut. And they know it, so they've got it over your head and you stay and put up with it."

Pentagon: No 'Intentional' Misleading of 9/11 Commission

2006-08-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

This should come as no surprise to anyone, but the Defense Department's Inspector General has said the Pentagon did not supply the 9/11 Commission with information that "was knowingly false."

And we bet that if you allowed Mafia to conduct investigations on itself, they would find that none of their people ever "knowingly" participated in organized crime.

Do they think we are idiots?

Of course they do.

Lieberman on 'cool'

2006-08-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

I think you can try too hard to be cool and the coolness can come back to hit you in the face.

--Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, commenting on Ned Lamont's appearance on The Colbert Report. Lamont is challenging Lieberman in the Democratic primary.

Are we supposed to believe that Joe "Kiss me, George" Lieberman knows anything about being cool?

UN gives Iran another month

2006-07-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

In the infinite wisdom, the United Nations has given Iran until Aug. 31 end their uranium enrichment program.

Of course Iran rejected it:

Iran immediately rejected the council action, saying the resolution would only make negotiations more difficult over a package of incentives offered in June for it to suspend enrichment.
"All along it has been the persistence of some to draw arbitrary red lines and deadlines that has closed the door to any compromise," Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Javad Zarif, said. "This tendency has singlehandedly blocked success and in most cases killed proposals in their infancy."
"This approach will not lead to any productive outcome and in fact it can only exacerbate the situation," he said.

Ah, yes, another "showdown" in the Middle Ease. Just what the world needed.

At least we can bomb them there, so we don't have to bomb them here.