Did media miss real Colbert story?

www.suntimes.com

Did media miss real Colbert story?

A "blogstorm" is thundering across liberal Web sites. Many liberals are furious at the White House press corps for virtually ignoring Stephen Colbert's keynote speech at the press corp's own White House Correspondents' Dinner last Saturday. To non-liberals, this may seem like an isolated complaint. To liberals, it further justifies their belief that the media, particularly TV news, is a big stinking cabal of conservatives.

The truth is many in the media wrote about Bush's stand-up routine at the dinner as if they had just watched the coming of a comic genius, but they didn't report much on Colbert's funnier, harsher jokes. This may have been a case of the press corps following a standard motto: to the winner goes the spoils, and Bush got more laughs (out of copy written for him) than Colbert did.
How did Bush tickle reporters? He made fun of the fact that he can barely speak English (he is quite simply the worst communicator of all U.S. presidents), that our vice president is a heartless face-shooter, and that Bush is basically an idiot.

Ha ha, our "war president" knows he's a village idiot? To members of the White House press corps, that's some real funny stuff. To non-insiders, this looked like another example of good old boys and gals slapping each other on the back.

Colbert's routine was more remarkable for its unique and creative brazenness. He joked that Bush's presidency is like the Hindenburg; that Bush's wiretappers were monitoring this very event, and that the White House press corps, sitting in front of Colbert, gave Bush a free pass, scandal after scandal, until recently (when his polls numbers dropped).

How's this for a newsworthy lead? It was perhaps the first time in Bush's tenure that the president was forced to sit and listen to any American cite the litany of criminal and corruption allegations that have piled up against his administration. And mouth-tense Bush and first lady Laura Bush fled as soon as possible afterward.

From whom were they fleeing? A star comedian pretending to be a Fox News-like blowhard doing a sort of performance art that America hasn't witnessed nationally since the days of Andy Kaufman. Even if Colbert's bit had been reported as a train wreck, that would have sufficed. Instead, shocking lines like the following were barely covered by any traditional organ except industry magazine Editor & Publisher: "I stand by" Bush, Colbert cracked, "because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble, and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world."
For TV reporters in particular to quote that gruesome line would be an agreement with Colbert, that they helped Bush mix politics with corruption from the ashes of 9/11 ("aircraft carriers and rubble"), and failed to see through Bush's politicization of the drowning of an American city after a hurricane ("recently flooded city squares").

But ignoring a newsworthy keynote speech -- at an event the press corps itself set up -- doesn't go unnoticed anymore. Internet stables for liberals, like the behemoth dailykos.com, began rumbling as soon as the correspondents' dinner was reported in the mainstream press, with scant word of Colbert's combustive address.

This is trouble for the media. It has been losing customers to bloggers and Web sites for years. This won't help. The media's implosion of silence could be one of the final reasons many liberals use to not turn on TV news. It's not like they feel a vested interest in the industry anyway, since it has been bought and parceled by conservatives.

There is Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, that Pravda of GOP propaganda and breeding ground for Bush appointees. There are the networks' Sunday news shows that give more face time to Republicans. There are cable news channels like MSNBC, where Republicans have programmed the shows and hired on-air Republicans and conservatives-lite, from Tucker Carlson to Joe Scarborough and Chris Matthews. Some TV watchdogs even chronicle these conservative media daily, backed up by transcripts and video clips from TV news shows, in the expansive Web site, MediaMatters.com.


On cable, only CNN still plays the journalism-school middle ground most of the time, questioning liberals, moderates and conservatives with equal skepticism and respect. Clearly, in terms of advertising revenue, CNN alone cares to attract the disposable income of American viewers of all political stripes.

To liberals, this must be somewhat puzzling, since the rest of the conservative media primarily sides with a president whose approval ratings stand at 32 percent, a whisker better than Nixon's before he resigned in disgrace.

Liberals find true solace on TV only in the fake news of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show," a place where Jon Stewart merely has to show actual clips of Bush speaking, or Condi Rice, or Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld to elicit laughter at their hubris. If NBC News let in audiences during its broadcasts, those people might also laugh at the president.
But the TV news corps, the unthinking and unblinking herd of pack journalists, prefer to laugh with the president, and kiss many viewers goodbye.

BY DOUG ELFMAN Television Critic

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-elfman07.html

It's Impeachment Time !

I don't know about you but I am sick of the cowardly members of Congress who sit back as George Bush tramples all over our Constitution & the Bill of Rights. I agree with Carl Bernstein that the time has come where we can no longer turn a blind eye to the way this pathetic little man has lied, cheated & deceived the American public.

Murder & mayhem has been undertaken in our names resulting in the deaths of almost 2500 U.S. Soldiers and thousands of innocent citizens of Afghanistan & Iraq, mostly women and children. The bumbling incompetence has shown it's ugly face again this week with Rumsfeld being exposed as the arrogant know nothing that we knew him to be. Are we going to stand idly by as the king of egos, George Bush, nukes Iran? I read an article this morning that declared Bush to be certifiably insane. Although I am not qualified to determine if he is insane, I do feel that we are insane if we allow the murder & mayhem to continue.

It's Impeachment Time !
Carl Bernstein has this to say in Vanity Fair.....
...............................................
After Nixon's resignation, it was often said that the system had worked. Confronted by an aberrant president, the checks and balances on the executive by the legislative and judicial branches of government, and by a free press, had functioned as the founders had envisioned.
The system has thus far failed during the presidency of George W. Bush—at incalculable cost in human lives, to the American political system, to undertaking an intelligent and effective war against terror, and to the standing of the United States in parts of the world where it previously had been held in the highest regard.
There was understandable reluctance in the Congress to begin a serious investigation of the Nixon presidency. Then there came a time when it was unavoidable. That time in the Bush presidency has arrived.
Full article at:
http://www.vanityfair.com/features/general/articles/060417fege08

George Bush is a power hungry, out of control person who is aided and abetted by a bunch of old war lords who have convinced him that he is above the laws of this land, that he can do as he pleases. It's time to hold Bush & the United States Congress to the oaths of their office. We The People have been shoved aside, dismissed by a bunch of corrupt war-mongering, fake Christians who seem to think they have the divine right to trample on our rights in order to obtain their own greedy, self-serving goals.

In the process we believe that they have committed war crimes & crimes against humanity with their vile policies. A friend, (Edward P) wrote that "Bush & Cheney are not scared of the rest of the world. Their response is simple: f**K them, Nuke them, Move on, No Problem"

Let's make it a problem for George Bush and his gang of thugs who have violated our Constitution and made a mockery of our entire justice system. Whether you believe that Bush/Cheney were legally elected or not, it's time to get rid of this gang of crooks. They have no respect for the laws of the land nor for We The People. It's Impeachment time. These abusers of the Constitution of the United States should be impeached, removed from office & prosecuted for their crimes against the Constitution & the citizens of this country.

Let's get the ball rolling! Sign this petition and then call your congressmen and demand an investigation into this corrupt presidency. Keep the calls going until they decide to get off their comfortable, ample backsides and do their job. These people were installed in office against the wishes of the U.S. Voters. We The People need to see that they are removed from office before they start World War III.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/806547876

Toll Free to Congress -888-355-3588, 888-818-6641 or 800-426-8073

Auditioning for "The Apprentice" - Jane Stillwater

"We are going to hold the next season's auditions in California," said The Donald on TV last Monday night. "If you want to be on the show, come to one of our casting calls." Okay. I want to be the next Apprentice. Hang in there, Mr. Trump. I'm on my way!

The nearest auditions were being held on March 31 in Sacramento. 75 miles away? I could do that. My 1990 Toyota could make it that far. No sweat. So I booked a room at the nearest Motel 6, drove to Sacramento, sat around all that evening in my motel room watching HBO and showed up at 5 am the next morning at the Channel 3 TV studios on D Street. 5 am? That's insane. No one gets up at 5 am! I did. And even despite all that, there was still nine people ahead of me.

Then the news crews came. They asked me, "Ms. Stillwater, why are you doing this?" They looked around. I looked around. I was easily 30 years older than anyone there.

"Mr. Trump always tries to get a variety of types on his show," I replied. "Men, women, ethnic minorities, different nationalities. Well, I am here to represent SENIOR CITIZENS! The Donald needs some geezers to go on his show." In addition, every group of Apprentices so far seems to have at least three bitchy ladies and one loose cannon in the cast. So with me they could get two for the price of one -- a loose cannon AND a bitchy female. Represent!

Well, we stood around outside the studio in long lines in the cold for another five hours before they let in the first 20 applicants. We were ushered into this large room and were instructed to all sit around this huge table, next to a casting director who was old enough to be my grandson. "Tell me why YOU would make a good Apprentice," he asked.

"Because I love to write and I could help Mr. Trump write his books -- not, mind you, that he needs any help of course." Plus I was cute?

Then the casting director asked a hot-button question of all 20 of us and then all hell broke lose. "Is America safer before or after 9-11?" I think he wanted to see who could hold their own in an argument. He did. We did.

"I'm a blogger," I spoke up first. "Bush knew beforehand about 9-11. And what about the photo of the woman standing on the steel beams in the North Tower -- the ones that were allegedly supposed to be so red-hot that they were about to melt?" Then everyone else around the table jumped in.

"Bush is a saint."

"We must double security."

"We got to start investing in infrastructure at home and get out of Iraq."

Everyone else tried to drown me out (I was just an old lady after all) but I wouldn't let them. I jumped right in there with the rest of them. And, among all those sharks, I had the final word. "We need to run the U.S. like Mr. Trump runs his organization -- we need to look for talented and honest and capable people instead of just a handful of rich guys and greedy jerks who steal America blind!" Ha!

Then the group job interview was over. It had been five minutes of hell. Grueling. I left the room shaking. But when I got outside, some guy actually asked me for my autograph! "I saw you on the news this morning! You were great!" Really? I signed his napkin, "To Ron, lots of luck from Jane 'Senior Citizen' Stillwater" and I went home happy. I had had my 15 minutes of fame.

Will the casting director call me back? Probably not. Did I have fun? Absolutely YES!



http://jpstillwater.blogspot.com

Stillwater is a freelance writer who hates injustice and corruption in any form but especially injustice and corruption paid for by American taxpayers.

Corrupt Elections, Corrupt Government, Etc.

A lot of things have bugged the hell out of me since the first time I was old enough to vote.

** I hate the two party system. At least 99% of the time I have had to chose the lesser of two evils. We should have at least a half dozen parties to even pretend to start representing the people of this country. Some people say this would create a mad house in Congress. In my opinion, a madhouse would provide welcome relief from the self-aggrandizing Millionaire Good Old Boy's Club that currently exists.

** Down with the electoral college..... Direct election of the President & VP is a must. The words electoral college is a misnomer if ever there was one. The people of this country are intelligent enough to choose their elected officials. We don't need any winner take all or the 'go betweens' (electoral college) who may or may not vote according to the wishes of the people. A national election should have national totals.

Back to the old system of electing a President with the guy who comes in second being the VP.

When the Founders of the American Republic wrote the U.S. Constitution in 1787, they did not envision a role for political parties in the governmental order. The electoral college was supposed to insulate the new republic from political parties and factions. http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/election04/parties.htm . But since we have evolved into the very thing the forefathers tried to prevent some things need to change.


** The instant run-off method of voting, where one votes for their first, second, third, etc., choice of candidates, might be ideal for promoting honest and verifiable elections.


** Forget the phony primaries where a half dozen states decide who is going to be president. Bush & Cheney are the best example ever, of two people who give us a good argument for changing the system where one thug buys the primaries, then selects his own personal crook to assist him in his rotten agenda.

** A political party must be recognized by 51% of the states in order to have a presidential candidate on the ballot. States could determine the limitations/qualifications to be recognized as a legitimate party thereby preventing every Tom, Dick & Harry Party from appearing on the ballot.

** In the National elections, the only thing appearing on the ballot would be President, Vice president & Congressional candidates. State & local elections will not be conducted on the same day as the national elections.

** Electronic voting machines were designed with fraud in mind . Let's go back to paper ballots & counting them in each precinct by hand then transmit the totals to multiple sources, election officials, news sources,etc., for grand totals and confirmation. These paper ballots would be counted publicly with an area where citizens can observe the counting process. The confirmed precinct totals would then be publicly checked at every state level with precinct totals read aloud, displayed publicly for easy checking. These totals could be transmitted electronically but with checks and double checks all along the way. A simple majority wins.


** Public funding of elections is a must. Get the corporations out of our electoral system and out of government by prohibiting all donations.

** Speaking of corporations, whatever laws that were passed that gave them the same rights as a person should be rescinded. Let those jokers get back to running their businesses. If they don't spend money bribing Congressmen then they should be able to lower the prices of their products.

** Women should be president for the next 43 elections then we could alternate ! We have elected 43 male presidents and they have not lived up to the idea of a Democratic government of the people, by the people, for the people. It's time for the women to show us how it should be done! Yep, we can already hear the screams of righteous indignation from the Good Old Boys!

** And speaking of presidents, the person elected to the office of president & vice president should be prohibited from campaigning for members of their own party since he occupies an office that is supposed to represent all the people. Once again George Bush is a prime example of a presidency gone bad. Combining vacations, campaign trips, & humping for the rabid right religious nut cases, we U.S. taxpayers have been stuck with a huge bill for a job not done. In the case of this current, fraudulent president that might be money will spent. If he had been on the job full time the world might be nothing but charred remains like Iraq.

** We should adopt some of Great Britain's parliamentary procedures in our Congress. Can you imagine the fun we could have if Bush had to appear before Congress for a grilling on a regular basis? And speaking of Bush, this little dictator should have his presidential powers stripped down to bare bones basics. It's time for this sorryass congress to do the job for which it is handsomely paid.


For sure elections would be more interesting if we were not stuck with just the
two pathetic, greedy, self-serving parties in today's 'market'.

AND I'd bet millions (if I had millions) that the general citizenry would be a thousand times more interested in politics & more likely to vote! We the citizens, who have been screwed for generations, could watch the heads roll as we conduct real, legitimate, and verifiable direct presidential & congressional elections.

Ah.... what a grand day that would be!

Proud Liberal Bitch........ still dreaming, still hoping.

Are You Buying Into It? --How the Dimocrats are Gaming You

Are you buying into the confirmation vote record of Alito as evidence of the Dimocrat Congress being staunch, firm, fierce, and loyal? Yes? Congratulations, you just got hosed. That little caper, wherein it was made to seem that only four were Party traitors, was merely a mild form of PsyOps (Pyschological Operations). Do you remember what came just before that? That's right: a 72-to-25 Senate vote to end debate, bring cloture, and vote to confirm Samuel Alito. That was what guaranteed Alito his passage: all those joyously delivered Dimocratic cloture votes. Now, all you have to do is sit back and listen to the machinery endlessly bleating (because the quisling Congressionals will never say it with their own mouths) about "the poor, brave, hard-fighting, disconsolate Dims worrying about re-election chances in Red States"...hence their outrageous ballot-casting.

From there, you start buying into their re-education process. However, if you do accept venality that easily, there's no reason to read further; this article will make little sense to you. In fact, it'll probably piss you off.

The way the media - all the media; let me say that again: ALL the media - inferred it, was that there was still a filibuster opportunity after the cloture vote. There never was. There couldn't be. ‘Cloture' means ‘a closing' and it cut off any further procedural possibility of debate and, thus, filibuster. A congressperson can only filibuster while debate is open, not during the actual vote. But, um, you weren't really told that, were you? Certainly not by the Right press and...not by the Left either. This should be disquieting.

So, the Dims made absolutely sure there would be no filibuster at the very same time they were telling you that it was a wide open possibility. But think about it: most Dims voted for cloture absolutely knowing it would guarantee Alito his spot on the court. No doubt about it. Then they began the theater work, "standing firm", "supporting the rank and file", "holding strong to American principals" when it all was absolutely devoid of meaning. Didja fall for it?

Ah, but there was also the fusillade of diversionary role-playing all the while. The Sunday before, Minority Whip Dick Durbin informed the press he had 37 of the 41 votes needed to clinch the filibuster. What happened? No one cared to follow up his allegation, Right or Left. If Durbin's claim was indeed a truism, yet so jaw-droppingly many Dims voted for cloture - voted against filibuster - what went on there? Might Durbin have been lying? If not, was he being lied to? Without a micron of doubt, blatant prevarications were being told, it only remains to determine exactly where. I know what I think.

Note, too, that all eight Dims on the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously voted against Alito before the nomination appeared on the floor. That is, the Dimocratic members of a committee totally devoted to jurisprudential candidate fitness overwhelmingly rejected him on all fronts...and yet...the committee's comrades elsewhere were about evenly split on the question of filibuster. Isn't that interesting? Were they paying attention at all? The most involved Dim members as much as said "Drop this idiot like a scalding anvil!!!" and they were ignored...by their own.

John Kerry once again waffled. Early on, he was against filibustering, following the futile hope that his primary silence wouldn't be broached; then, at the last minute - hmmm, almost at the exact same time the entire PsyOps scheme would have been coming together - he flew in "valorously" to push for something it appears he may well have known hadn't a hope in Hades. Where'd he wing it from? Ah, well that was ignored too, again: by both Right and Left press. It was the Davos Conference, where the richest people on Earth gather to decide the fate of the globe. John Kerry, who married into immense wealth. John Kerry, who wouldn't raise even the feeblest leg up on a hideously obvious Vote Fraud and who caved in, in what may have been a world's record in concessions, amidst very public and very heated knowledge that something was criminally amiss in the electoral process...just as...hmmmm...just as Al Gore had also done during the last Vote Fraud. What a coincidence! Are we seeing a pattern here?

But also: John Kerry, who was once an icon, protesting the VietNam War and cracking open the biggest financial scandal in world history (BCCI), and now appears to be no more than an actor with lines written by divers hands, playing a Centrist role to attenuate the malefactions of what may not be a party opposite him, after all.

Oh, and remember "Hot Again, Cold Again" Dianne Feinstein, the corporatist's dream? You may recall the Dims were quietly, and not so quietly - certainly not on Feinstein's part - whispering that Alito was a "done deal" and that filibuster was foolish, until public pressure ratcheted up, then suddenly very grudgingly mouthing the public position, saying they'd support a filibuster, simultaneously stating such could never succeed. Say what??? Gentlemen and ladies, movies have been made about the filibuster as the most wildly successful ace-in-the-hole in American history. Does the name "Mr. Smith" ring a bell? How about "Jimmy Stewart". The Dims were hoping you never saw the flick. Maybe you didn't.

What, exactly, would be the only thing that could have defeated the confirmation process once it started, and at exactly what point? Filibuster, right at the cloture juncture and nowhere else. Oh, I forgot: neither the Right nor the Left press much cared to state that clearly enough. Odd, no? Well, as exculpatory nonsense currently goes, they probably "didn't even think of it!". Are you buying into that? They certainly hope so and, if polls (God help me, now I'm referring to the damn things!) are correct, you did. Or...did you? After all, what's prompting the polls, who's being poled [sic], what were the questions, and who are these faceless bastards running them? Doesn't matter, as any unwillingness to initiate the filibuster at all was a clear signal of collusion with the Repuglican status quo. The rest is horse manure. All the Dims now have to do is obfuscate that fact as much as possible, and that's what they're doing.

And by the way, where was "rebel" Howard Dean during all this? Did you like his weak-kneed from-the-closet Dim performance?

Merrily joining the flip-floppers, Barack Obama was said to have criticized filibustering, then, at the very last moment, pledged to vote it in. Note what went on there: one doesn't vote for a filibuster, one votes against cloture, then a filibuster just occurs. But that's not what Obama said. He was referring to something that doesn't exist. Makes for a good excuse later on. Let's see now, is he a lawyer? Obama didn't like the filibuster at all, instead averring, "There's one way to guarantee that the judges who are appointed to the Supreme Court...reflect [Dimocratic] values and that's to win elections." So, voting for anything but candidates is a mistaken action, is that it, Mr. Obama, and screw anything like, oh, issues, law, Supreme Court Justices, and such trivialities? That's an alleged verity I find surprising in an American.

Joe Biden was equally cagey, gritting his teeth as he said, "I think a filibuster makes sense when you have a prospect of actually succeeding...I will vote one time to continue the debate." Pardon me? Condescending to follow the will of the people...one time? Because it perhaps goes against one's own private interests? Let me check again and see what Party Biden belongs to. He, all along, was heralding that "the fact of the matter" was that Alito's confirmation was - and one has to wonder where this came-from-nowhere sentiment originated - a done deal. Is that a "D" I see next to is name? Must be a typo.

Alito got through because the Dimocrats allowed it and for no other reason. The Repuglican vote was the only "done deal", and there was a possible several-member dissent there almost from Day One, which means the Dims could still have handily thwarted the necessary 60 vote halt. They didn't. Why?

You can either listen to their inane blather, delivered pontificatingly as received wisdom (and wisdom is gaining its hoariness in mere nanoseconds nowadays, it appears), amidst welters of hand-wringing, choked-back tears, looks of exhaustion, and other stage effects, or you can look at the facts, decide what's really going on, and quit regurgitating back the cue lines Dims are feeding you. That's where the PsyOps can be found - an' it ain't jes' yer down-home Repugs who're peddling it to ya, Jeeter. It used to be called propaganda...but that's what propaganda is: PsyOps. Goebbels knew it, Mussolini knew, Rove knows it, and now the Dimocrats know it.

Do you know it?

by Mark S. Tucker
February 3, 2006
-----------------------

Mark S. Tucker, a critic, has written for numerous magazines and presently writes for Perfect Sound Forever on-line, as well as this forum. He can be reached at progdawg@hotmail.com. This article is originally published at opednews.com. Copyright Mark S. Tucker, but permission is granted for reprint in print, email, blog, or web media so long as this credit is attached.



Toll Free to Congress -888-355-3588, 888-818-6641 or 800-426-8073

Comment From Cyberspace

In a different context or under other circumstances, I'm quite sure I'd like you guys and would enjoy spending time with you and tossing ideas back and forth - on faith, on governance, on compassion and suffering, on football. That's sincere, not a rhetorical deception. But I don't like you now. I am deeply angry and dismayed at the moral and intellectual positions your partisan or nationalist loyalties have led you to.

You accept, with almost no reflection, nearly anything and everything this adminstration you support tells you from the small details to the large "mottos".

Abramoff was an "equal money dispenser", said Bush. It was a lie. You bought it, or at least excused it. How many more such inaccuracies and deceptions have I seen you swallow and parrot?

"They want to destroy our way of life and Western Civilization", says Cheney. You guys suck that in and it gives you meaning and purpose even while that consequence from that cause is so nearly impossible as to be laughable. There are how many of these guys on camels with rifles? The combination of Germany, Italy and Japan - highly technically and militarily advanced nations with millions of trained soldiers and huge military machines didn't pose the threat described above, though they posed something real but much smaller. In fact, it is our modern culture and militarism which poses that threat to the cultures of the desert arabs. Perhaps it ought to, but at least you should get the whole picture right side up in your thinking.

You argue that the media doesn't tell the good news about the war. But the media has been almost completely sterile and devoid of the realities of this war. Have any of you seen even a single picture of a blown apart innocent Iraqi child? Have any of you heard them screaming for the two days it took for their burned bodies to expire? I don't want to witness this either, but we should be forced to witness exactly this.

You justify and excuse torture, though you define what has happened as something else even when if your parents of siblings suffered these acts, you would consider it nothing other than inhuman. Or you justify it as necessary and think "turn the other cheeck" and "let him who has no sin throw the first stone" are notions as quaint as the international rules on torture. Do you imagine Christ committing such acts? Do you imagine Christ condoning such acts? Do you imagine Christ dropping a cluster bomb?
................Blatham

 
 

Narcissism, the public, and the President

Bush spoke last week to wounded soldiers at Brooke Army Medical Center and uttered these immortal words indicating a lack of true appreciation for the suffering of the gravely wounded, often permanently disabled soldiers he was speaking to:


"As you can possibly see, I have an injury myself -- not here at the hospital, but in combat with a Cedar. I eventually won. The Cedar gave me a little scratch. As a matter of fact, the Colonel asked if I needed first aid when she first saw me. I was able to avoid any major surgical operations here, but thanks for your compassion, Colonel."

At a time when the number of severely wounded soldiers is rising, this lack of appreciation is disturbing and portends badly for adequate resources being made available to care for damaged soldiers and veterans over the coming months, years, and decades.

This episode was far from the first time Bush uttered bizarre sounding comments in response to the injuries of others. Who can forget his remarkable message to the hundreds of thousands of people, many poor and black, whose lives were devastated by Hurricane Katrina:

"Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch."

While Bush's comments to wounded GIs were uttered together with the usual platitudes expected on such occasions, these quotes illustrate Bush's greatest strength and also his greatest weakness, his narcissism.

Narcissism

At an observable level, narcissism involves a self-centeredness that makes one oblivious to the emotional existence of others. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (IVth edition: DSM-IV) defines its pathological extreme (narcissistic personality disorder) as:

"A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy."

In the odd DSM manner, this condition is diagnosed by having a threshold number of the following symptoms (5 out of 9), regardless of which five symptoms they are. (To be diagnostic of a clinical condition each symptom should be possessed to the extent that it interferes with functioning or causes distress):

"Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

"Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love

"Believes that he or she is "'special"' and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)

"Requires excessive admiration

"Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations

"Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends

"Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others

"Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her

"Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes"



full article at: http://www.opednews.com

Comments from Cyberspace

Our army is getting it's butt kicked in Iraq, and the commander-in-chief is a maniac. A narcissist psycho who knows nothing because he loses it when he hears something he doesn't like, he lives in a dream world. He's not the only one. His pals live in a dream world too. In the gulf war Iraqi army was no match, and when it was ruined, Iraq suffered ten ormore years of bombing and enbargoing by Americans, mostly killing children (thanks Bill) . Yes, Iraq was easy pickings, but they're fighting back. Syria and Iran won't be pushovers like Iraq.

Iran has a gigantic defense machine, a navy and missiles poised on the mountains overlooking the the Hormuz Straits. Both Syria and Iran are supplied ofmilitary by both Russia and China. Iran has contrrolled missiles that fly at 5.5 mach that can destroy large navy vessels, and we have nothing that can match that. In a war with America, both Russia and China would backIran, they could care less about Israel. An overworked right-wing mantra is the world is dangerous. Well yes, when we don't behave ourselves, it could even get more dangerous. Americans should learn not to vote maniacs into the office of president.


Don Phelps
California

_________________________________________________________________


I almost can't stomach watching the judiciary proceedings without having my emotions getting wrung dry. Although I vote Democratic, I find almost everything Republican has a stain of repugnant dishonesty about their hypocritical behavior trying to showcase Alito as pillar of the community type when in reality, he is a rightwing anti-abortion pro-corporation extremist who supports an imperial presidency and I just can't link this kind of cesspool methods to Democrats.

During the judiciary hearing I hear straight forward questions from Democrats with Alito giving evasive answers or not answering the question at all, then comes a Republican softball question that allows him slime through his anti-abortion stance as something that protects Democracy, but in reality it forces women to accept health care concepts as practiced by intelligent design instead of medical science.

This nominee should be rejected and quit wasting the people's money for a performance in which the votes have been cast before the hearings began. The Republicans haven't asked Judge Alito not one question of substance. The Democrats must be unanimous in their rejection of Samuel Altio, and if necessary, filibuster. The future of our nation is at stake.

Larry Little

Over 50, Have SIA , Kiss My Grits !

My cyber friend, Les, wrote this amazing, insightful commentary this morning and it's too good not to share:

From: Hubmaster@aol.com

I’ve been a different man since I developed SIA.

You know, when you’re young, you’re easily intimidated by the so-called mores of our society that dictates how you are supposed to act, what you are supposed to wear and what you are inclined to say.

All my life I heard from my two spinster aunts (no one would marry these viragos, harridans, “castrators:,” whatever God rest their heartless souls!) about all of the things that I was doing wrong and how I was rapidly becoming the black sheep of the family. Everyone in my family did things better than I did, it seemed. Exactly right; not really an ego-building environment because all of the ego was already used up.

Whatever I managed to accomplish, they accomplished it better, faster and smarter!

I guess that was the reason I was so eager to get away from everybody, left home young, joined the Army, became an adviser and disappeared for four years plus!


When I got out, I lived in California, Florida and Boston before coming home for a fortnight before moving out to my own pad and my own freedom and a home that I was never to return to.

And you know what?

Somehow, despite all of my failings, I actually was able to survive. Without all of the guidance, without all of the minute directions and details of what I should do and without

Becoming an activist in the First Church of Science where my aunt was a mucky-muck!

Now, my old age is proving the happiest time of my life.

Why?

Like I said before, after I developed SIA.

And I have to tell you, it’s contagious.

For those of you not familiar with SIA, let me explain.

It usually accompanies your AARP subscription. It means that you are now in your fifties, and you don’t have to explain anything to anybody anymore. You don’t have to smile when you don’t want to. And you don’t even have to be nice. On your time off, you can laze around in your underwear or your bra and panties. You can listen to the worst music on the air. You can rob the refrigerator; you can eat with your hands standing up, you can burp without fear~….and you can live.

Most importantly, I don’t have to put up with anyone’s bullshit. I can tell it like it is without fear of having somebody toss it back at me. And I can ignore anyone who is a complete asshole. I don’t have to be nice to my son-in-law’s parents, and if they don’t like it, who gives a rat’s ass. That’s what SIA is all about!--which is short-hand for Screw It Anyway…

My guiding philosophy.

Under a heightened condtion of SIA, I have told clients to pack their bags, I have turned down jobs, I have chosen to let my wife go visit the kids while I indulge in all of those cheap B movies that I love, I can cook all those heart-wrenching great foods that cut down on your life, I can get on the Internet and stay as long as I like and I can tell some idiot to suck lemons if that’s how I feel.

Ah yes, old age has its blessings.

Between you and me, I’ve never felt so good in my whole bloody life as I do now as an old codger. And I make sure that I go on the record in my local newspaper, and during all the meetings I participate in. Over all, I have never changed the fact that I am a curmudgeon. Why am I curmudgeon. Because I was once an Idealist. Idealists always become curmudgeons in their old age.

In fact, I wrote something the other day that I got back a few days later from Joe with a picture of Andy Rooney. I read it before realizing that I had written it originally.

But it sounded just like Andy Rooney. In fact, it sounded so much like him, that I sent it to him. If I sound like Andy Rooney, I feel I am in pretty good company.

But between you and me, I’m having a field day. So there….

Hurry up and get old and then join me in expressing yourself any way you like!...

It’s the nearest thing to Heaven!

Les Aaron

www.lesaaron.blogspot.com


Les,

ROTFLMAO ! I have been reading your commentaries for several years now and as the years rolled by I started noticing that you were writing more and more like I was thinking without the "kiss my ass" routine that I usually insert when I try to write what I am feeling.

When I got to your sentence "It means that you are now in your fifties, and you don’t have to explain anything to anybody anymore", I literally ROTFLMAO because it was exactly what I have been saying for over ten yrs now!

I have had a great case of SIA for over 10 yrs. and I am loving it! I didn't know what it was called but I damn sure have it! It took a couple years after 50 until I got into the real swing of SIA but damn it has been fun since then.

And all this time some people almost had me convinced that I was a bitter old lady! Bitter my arse! I'm the Proud Liberal Bitch!

YeeeeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaaawwww and now I have a cyberSIAmate! What more could one ask for in their old age? LOL

By the way what do you call a female curmudgeon? hehehehehe!

I have to post this at my Proud Liberal Bitch blogspot! If you don't like it sue me!

HOW the NeoCons Stole Freedom

HOW the NeoCons Stole Freedom

Our pRes Is A liar

Our president Is A liar!

He was lying then and he is lying now!

A must watch 5 minute video: Windows media and Flash format

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11348.htm



Angry About the Strike? Then Where's Your Outrage at Politicians & Goldman Sachs?

And if you believe the city and state governments are in such financial dire straits that they can't afford $20 million, then how do you feel about the city and state governments recently giving away $2 billion of your hard-earned taxpayer dollars to Goldman Sachs, one of the wealthiest, profitable investment banks on the planet?

That's right, New York - your hard-earned taxpayer dollars were handed over to Goldman Sachs so they could build themselves a new palatial office.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/from-it-was-legal-to-i_b_12692.html


You'd think Americans would wake up to the idea that Republicans are always keeping us in deep doo-doo. Eisenhower kept sending spyplanes over the Soviet Union. They caught us. Nixon, well you know about Nixon, Republican as hell. Then Reagan's Contras and death squads in Central America, and now this idiot. Who's going to be next, Rush Limbaugh? How dumb can we be? Why not try someone who's smart? It can't get worse.

Don Phelps

To the ID's (Intelligent Designers): How come God put nipples on Adam?

..........................................

“This is the right thing to do for the country,” Schumer said after the deal had been announced. “To let the Patriot Act lapse would have been a dereliction of duty.” http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10562008/

Once again the Democratic "leadership" rescued defeat from the jaws of victory. What a sell out!.......... Jay Hubbell, Democracy Depot
..................................


ECONOMY -- TREASURY SECRETARY CLAIMS CLINTON'S SURPLUS WAS A 'MIRAGE': Bloomberg reports that Treasury Secretary John Snow called the $127 billion budget surplus left by President Clinton a "mirage." Upon entering office, President Bush immediately whittled away the Clinton surplus, running up a deficit of $319 billion in 2005 primarily through handsome tax cuts for the wealthy. But Snow incredulously believes "the president's legacy will be one of having significantly reduced the deficit in his time." "Snow's comment would be laughable if it weren't so pathetically and obviously inaccurate," said Thomas Mann, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution. Snow's economic analysis that Clinton's surplus "wasn't a real surplus" ranks up there with Vice President Cheney's prior claim that "deficits don't matter."

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/


The ‘Most Corrupt' Congress EverIncluding Elements of the Black Caucus
by BC Publishers Glen Ford and Peter Gamble


The term "corruption" is vague, as is "theft" and "fraud" and other crimes. The "pork" that seems to be the princely meal savored by American legislative gluttons, is but one aspect of corruption. Putting aside the bid to fund "bridges to nowhere" in Alaska, the most gruesome (and lucrative) manifestation of endemic corruption is the Iraq war and occupation - a cash cow for favored corporations, and even companies that did not exist previous to the war and the promise of "reconstruction" of Iraq. However, even the rip-off of billions in this scam (and the theft of billions in Iraqi oil revenues) does not come close to describing the enormity of the crime: an attempt to steal the resources of a vast swath of the Earth, far beyond the boundaries of Iraq, and to transfer the proceeds to private hands, all the while billing the American public for the military muscle required.

Now, that's corruption, by anybody's definition.

www.BlackCommentator.com
12/22/05

The Prodigal Frog Sez'

After being asked to leave by the end of next year, The Bush Administration has already began its bombardment of pathetic excuses why we can't! This began with Condi Rice stating today that she didn't think Iraq could handle terrorism in its OWN country WITHOUT our help in that short a time span! The difference between the Bush view and Iraq's view cannot be better illustrated than by what Iraq ALSO said yesterday! If you read the WHOLE article* as opposed to JUST what was under the pictures (Placed there for Republican benefits) then you would ALSO understand Iraq ordered all of its citizens released that were not already sentenced or had sentences pending with a court date! This stems from Bush's attempt to stamp out all resistance whether they are actually terrorists or not by phosphorous bombing or napalming them or attacking them conventionally! The survivors, innocent or not, are then rounded up and jailed indefinitely without the benefit of trials! Iraqi's understand this and distrust Americans for this reason! It seems Bush came to Iraq, intent on stopping the torture of its citizens by torturing them himself! In fact, it appears Iraq has learned well from its occupiers, ALREADY torturing people in dungeons! Iraq ALSO made it abundantly clear, that Iraqi's participating in bombing incidences had a legal right to do so as long as INNOCENT arab's were not targeted! Well, when we THINK about that, that ONLY leaves Foreign born terrorists and American citizens which they now VIEW as legitimate targets for insurgents! So it seems Bush is intent on keeping our troops there for years while the Iraqi Govt excuses KILLING them! One can ask why Bush would do this?

Of course the answer is simple: Regardless of the govt Iraqi's want (Pro Iran/Islamic Law) Bush does not have the Govt HE wants there yet! (Pro American Business) Bush needs American Corporations to be able to FORCE their feet in the Middle East's oil and to be able to sell American products there! Bush KNOWS that if he leaves before he has an American Puppet in Charge, they will TOSS American's and their greedy corporations OUT on their ears and his wars will have been for NOTHING! This was the ORIGINAL reason I was against the war to start with! Down thru the decades of my life, I have learned that almost ANYTIME our country starts a war, it is for something that will be a net gain for our Godless corporations who have interests seeded thru out our govt thanks to their billions! At least this has been the case post WW2. This is of course true for the Democratic party too but in the past, they have been at least reluctant to involve us in wars over economics, though they have passed trade treaties just as bad for Americans! It seems our corporations are out to do ANYTHING to seize control of America and the World to increase their profits! The eventual aim is a One World Govt under fascism! Eventually we will WORK for the company Store, Live in the Company subdivision and BUY from the company store all designed to make us Economic slaves to them! They will even control our wages because they can raise the prices of their rent and products to offset any wage gains! By doing this, it keeps money FLOWING into the corporation and AWAY from workers!

Meanwhile Back in Iraq, Our boys are over there becoming LEGAL targets of the Same Govt we just installed, sorta, to increase profit margins for our corporations! We can also DIE for the company store it seems! Already 2000 plus American's have died for this STUPID Bush Policy! How can anyone THINK this is about terrorism anymore? It began with 911. They used the "Rebel Yell" to unite Americans into one massive mind set and then perverted the deaths of our very own citizens into their agenda! Like Rumsfeld said, "There are no interesting targets in Afghanistan!" and every since then, Bush has down played Afghanistan's importance, drawing troops from that terrorist laden country into Iraq! Afghanistan was a SECONDARY target!Remember O'Sama Bin Laden? Well, he's STILL over there even though recently Bush announced pulling 4000 troops from there in favor of Iraq! In fact, at the time Iraq HAD NO TERRORISTS and DIDN'T so until long AFTER the invasion. The terrorists became so put off by our ignoring them that they began pouring across the borders and ENTERING Iraq to GET to us! That's pretty bad when Bush says he's going after terrorism and misses them so badly that terrorist have to relocate to GET to us! In fact Iraq is NOW becoming a terrorism BREEDING ground and Bush has merely miscalculated their resolve! Why do you think Bush entered Iraq so unprepared? Not enough troops, no body armor, no armor for MOST of our military vehicles! I say its because he THOUGHT there were no terrorists in Iraq (A correct assumption at first) and didn't see the need for protection! All he wanted was to Force open Iraq's oil fields thereby lowering the cost of oil and Iraq was easy pickings because they had an Iraqi army that was basically demoralized by losing two major wars! He assumed Iraq would be a cake walk and NEVER contemplated terrorist relocating to get to us in massive relocation programs! He also never calculated Iraqi's JOINING in against him. He is an idiot though and MAJORLY wrong! Iraq IS an Islamic country! 2/3's are arabs and only an idiot would think an arab would side against another arab to help blue eyed Americans pilfer their resources to increase the profit margins of Haliburton and Exxon! What a BUMBLING Idiot! What's amazing to me is that these corporations backed Bush at all, but they needed an average looking Joe Blow like Bush to win! (Corporations think Bush is an average american and 52% of the really ignorant in America BOUGHT into that scenario! He looked great Against Kerry with all his billions! Don't get me wrong. Kerry is better than Bush and grew up in the middle class so he better than Bush knows how the Average American lives but the Democrats guessed wrong on one count! They didn't calculate Kerry coming off as a billionaire and Rove is a master at lying and making people think they've seen the truth!

So where do we go from here? Of Course I am biased having a daughter AND a nephew now serving and BOTH returning recently from Iraq! (My daughter leaves there in a week) But that is not my only reason for wanting to withdraw! I love America too. We must weigh our net gains with our net losses and CHANGE the way we think!

First off, we have to change our foreign policy! The First thing we have to do is NEVER again use our military for economic reasoning! I have NOTHING against helping to free the world's people and HIGHLY believe in freedom. But, if you do that, you do it for freedom alone and you never do it by launching wars! You get the people oppressed to free themselves and you do it without attaching stipulations such as doing Business with us! That is selfish and TWO faced and is exactly why our countries image has and is being damaged! Freedom is its own reward and security in the world is best based on democracies! This is best based on allowing a people to free its self by supplying them with money and assistance! When you do this and DON'T stick in selfish reasons, those people will THANK you later! We must also recognize that not ALL govts that are NOT democratic are evil! There are hundreds of examples of non democratic govts in the world and in the past that in fact were quite good and did lots for their people! You only need to worry about those that are NOT free and that Harm MOST of their people! Lots of govts are monarchies, socialistic and democratic and do WELL for their people! If they are successful, LEAVE them alone! Because a govt has ONE leader, doesn't make it evil! Europe and south America have many examples of these countries! Even China is an example. Though China is not perfect yet, they ARE moving in that direction and I believe sooner or later they will be ok. They are the way they are because our Govt NUDGED them in that direction but did NOT go to war to FORCE them! Wars are highly destructive and SELDOM solve any problems! They should be reserved for TRUE self defense and in the case of extreme genocide! America cannot afford to be the world's police either economically or thru its sons and daughters due to limited man power!

Secondly, we need to change our govt at home! We are very two faced to the world! we preach about helping the oppressed and poor souls of the world but we treat our own people no better than many of today's unsuccessful govts! We deprive them of decent wages while we breed billionaires in excess! 44 million can't even afford health care! Why do we do this? It is thru greed! The wealthy know there is a limited amount of money here and recognize they can only remain billionaires if MOST of Americans are poor! So they use the power of their wealth to lobby laws to make it EASIER for them to keep their wealth! Don't be fooled! Most of their money is not EARNED: It's STOLEN! Stolen from workers who they vastly under pay for their services! When it comes down to it, workers are business owners too. Their widgets are hours they work and they should have the same rights as a Business when determining prices! Prices are determined by supply and demand but wages are NOT! At least not Legally! They are interfered with in MANY instances! One example is the FED! When raises rise too fast, the FED raises interest rates clamping down on the money supply which has the effect of cutting off capital needed for the rise of wages! CEO wages have gone up astronomically the past 4 decades but nobody interfered in that? Why should they interfere in the wages of lower paid Americans? And if the govt's allowed to do that, Then the govt SHOULD set a basic wage that ALLOWS Every American to have at least the basics! No One should be paid a wage so low, he cannot possibly live on it and thereby be FORCED to live off welfare JUST so some billionaire can make 100 million as opposed to 40 million! A basic Federal minimum wage should be high enough and KEPT that way automatically being adjusted for inflation to insure the Following:
1. Reasonable Healthcare
2. Housing
3. Transportation (To get to work and back)
4. Education (So that today's workers can keep up when a corporation dumps them)
5. Food
6. A little for savings for a rainy day!

Personally, in today's job market I think it should be some where between $12-15 an hour with healthcare provided by the job or the govt! It should also be tied to inflation rising with it without any votes! If the cost of living is 2% then the next year it automatically rises that much! Congress just voted them a 7% pay raise and has received pay raises every year just about for awhile! They also get free healthcare and Pensions if they serve a minimum amount of time!

I can hear them now! Oh, That will hurt business! The poor will suffer. LOL The poor are already suffering and I dont care if it DOES hurt business! America is NOT in the business of helping corporations that HURT their workers! If they cant make a buck without screwing their workers, I say tough shit! You shouldn't be in business anyhow! Sure some will go under and it will take a transition period but a few years down the road we will be much better off than we are now! This bleeding heart Liberal doesn't bleed for billionaires or millionaires! People today act like going from a billionaire to a millionaire is so sad! I should have such rotten luck!

The Prodigal Frog

*Iraqi Leaders Call for Timetable for U.S. Withdrawal, by SALAH NASRAWI , AP

Boozer Bush

W. gets by with a little help from Jack and Jim.

It doesn’t explain everything, but it explains a lot: George Bush, our president, is hitting the bottle again. The drinking rumors have been making the rounds for months, and even before that people speculated that Bush’s “accidents”—choking on a pretzel, dropping his dog, crashing his bicycle—were “alcohol-related.” For someone who makes such a point of flaunting his physical prowess, his habitual clumsiness is somewhat suspicious. After all, Bushie (his wife Laura’s pet name for him, just as it’s his pet name for her, which is a bit creepy) first gained prominence as a high-kicking, back-flipping sis-boom-bah male cheerleader at Yale.

Of course, we are all familiar with Bush’s epic battle with the bottle: He boozes his way through college; he is persistently liquored up through his 20s (failing to show up for National Guard duty, but never missing booze-drenched weekend barbecues with his Texas buddies); into his 30s, he is so continuously sloshed that he screws up every sure-thing business venture his daddy sets up for him; at 40, so the story goes, his wife gives him the made-for-the-movies sound-bite ultimatum, “Bushie, it’s me or Jim Beam,” and the chastened former cheerleader renounces alcohol forever. (In a medium shot, we see Bushie mournfully pouring out the last of a fifth of bourbon onto the patio pavement, while Laura witnesses the act with a wifely look of affection, relief, and secret triumph.)

Bushie’s renunciation of booze has gained such mythic status that many people (Republican true believers) conveniently overlook the fact that his renunciation of adult beverages was hardly a redemptive turn of fortune. All that happened was that Bush the obnoxious drunk became Bush the obnoxious teetotaler, proclaiming that his life was now in the hands of Jesus Christ, not Jim Beam.

But the recent revelations about Bush slugging down Southern Comfort as Iraq goes down the tubes and New Orleans goes down the drain calls into question whether he actually gave up booze and gave his life to Jesus in the first place. That Bush continued to hit the sauce after taking the pledge explains a good deal of his weird behavior, one minute scared s—tless, the next, after a secret swig of Early Times, inflated with Texas swagger.

One minute Bush goes limp with fright when desperate aides inform him that planes have crashed in the World Trade Center; the next minute, stiff with bravado, he boasts of his resolve to get Osama “dead or alive.” One minute, when he hears Hurricane Katrina howling, he cringes like a scaredy-cat behind his Mama; after a few pops of Old Granddad, he’s full of phony bluster, telling his feckless FEMA chief, “Brownie, you’re doin’ a heckuva job.”

Other creepy traits of our commander-in-chief make sense when seen in the light of his unacknowledged alcoholism. There is his adolescent habit, for instance, of conferring nicknames on all who come within his ken. We all know drunks who, deep in the throes of inebriated bonhomie, bestow terms of affection on friend and foe alike.


One can almost feel Bush’s sticky breath and his humid embrace as he christens his confederates, immortalizing them with his own special brand of corny wit: Turd Blossom (Karl Rove), Lima Green Bean (Karen Hughes), Number One (Barbara Bush, who is no doubt relieved that Junior did not name her Number Two), Guru (Condoleezza Rice), Big Time (Dick Cheney), Balloon Foot (Colin Powell), Ali (Barbara Boxer), Big O (Olympia Snow, who may or may not wonder at the cheekiness of Little G’s presumption regarding the magnitude of her orgasms), and last but not least, Pootie Poot (Vladimir Putin, who in times past might have launched the Doomsday Machine upon receiving a moniker with connotations of the female genitalia).
Bush’s prolonged sousitude also explains his verbal miscues, his syntactical insurgencies, his grammatical catastrophes. It’s as if the bourbon marinade left deadly lacunae in his already diminutive brain, making it impossible for the most elementary thought to navigate its way through the decimated labyrinth of his frontal lobes.

Then there are the quirky smirks, the bug-eyed glares and goofy grimaces, his words and facial expressions so out of sync that you are reminded of a badly dubbed Japanese monster movie. Finally, what about all those lip gyrations when Bushie is under stress, the tiny mouth working this way and that as if it were engaged in attempting to remove the cap from a bottle? It must be the sauce.


http://www.slweekly.com/editorial/2005/deep_2005-10-06.cfm


Dissent is the highest form of patriotism

I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.-Thomas Jefferson

Correcting Mistakes - New York Times style.

TO: Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr. October 2, 2005
Publisher, New York Times

Dear Mr. Sulzberger,

I quote from an article by Ms. Gail Collins in today's editorial section:

"We correct all errors, from heart-stoppingly egregious to sublimely insignificant, because we believe that The Times should take its reputation for accuracy seriously. But mistakes of significance are much more urgent than minor ones. They need to be corrected quickly, and in a way that guarantees the fix is seen by as many people who read the original piece as possible."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/02/opinion/02collins.html?hp

So, would you explain to me why you are not correcting all the lies written by Ms. Judith Miller in support of the illegal war in Iraq but instead you are shown escorting her from jail and putting her on a pedestal as a symbol of virtue among journalists?

Doesn't the hypocrisy create a massive gag reflex?

If the Times had an ounce of integrity left, it would have fired Miller months ago, perhaps even before you fired the young black journalist for lifting the work of other writers.

Please explain why one set of rules for the young black man and a different set of rules for the rich white liar?

Your actions demonstrate that "mistake of significance are much more urgent than minor ones" & "they need to be corrected quickly" is a joke.... a nasty joke played on the American people.

An earlier statement from your newspaper "Judy has been unwavering in her commitment to protect the confidentiality of her source" is so laughable that it defies the imagination. The only thing that Ms. Miller seems to be committed to is one bald face lie after another. The only question that remains is how long will the Times continue to make excuses and cover her backside. That woman is just as responsible as Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc. for the murder and mayhem that has been going on in Iraq for the past two years.

Your endorsement of this corrupt woman thereby makes your hands just as bloody as the ones who planned and carried out this illegal military action.

The only conclusion I can reach as a reader of the NY Times is that it's really true that the media become nothing more than a propaganda machine that doesn't even blink at the lies anymore?

Shame on you for treating your country in this manner.

Pig Farm Quickly Vacated- Pretend Concern for Katrinas's Victims

Bu$h couldn't get out of Crawford fast enough after Hurricane Katrina. He pretends that he is making a great sacrifice by shortening his 50th vacation by two days! Then.... Off he goes to make a speech to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VJ Day which he obviously thought was more important than bothering with those pesty poor people who were wading in water and human feces in New Orleans.

Along comes hate mongering Matt Drudge, doing what he does best and posting bald faced lies about the German people & others that he thought were not providing the lockstep, kiss ass service that he considered necessary to stay in his good graces as if any thinking human being gives a damn what Drudge thinks.


This morning Der Speigel ran the following article which mentions among other things the hundreds of hate mails they received thanks to Drudge's hog wash.


Katrina Demonstrates How Wide the Atlantic Really Is---By Charles Hawley in Berlin

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,372565,00.html

I sent my own feedback to Der Spiegel:


Please allow me to speak as an American with eyes wide open.

First of all Matt Drudge is one of the worst hate mongers in the United States. That vile excuse for a man has never met a lie that he didn't love. If he can't find a suitable lie from sources like Fox New's Bill O'Reilly or similar source, he simply manufactures his own lies.

Matt Drudge and his ilk do not represent the U.S.

Secondly, if other countries choose not to help the U.S. I can certainly understand why since we sat on our backsides allowing the so-called leaders of this country to run roughshod over most of the world and saying, "there's nothing we can do about it".

Thirdly, if other countries did want to send people to help, I shudder to think what they would have to go through to gain entrance to this country with George Bush and his gang of paranoid thugs in charge. I can just visualize a large number of helpers being held incommunicado in some secret prison because one of those fools may decide that he is a terrorist.

Please don't think that the oceanic divide is as wide as fools like George Bush and Matt Drudge would have you believe. Most citizens of the United States are decent and caring people. We just happen to be caught in a spot with a fraudulent president who thinks he is some kind of god, and loud mouthed, lockstepping fools like Drudge pretending to speak for the entire country. Unfortunately the media in this country are either owned by goosestepping conservatives or controlled by them and aided and abetted by the likes of loud mouth Drudge.

They don't even speak for one third of this country. I apologize for the hate mongers who have decided to attack you. I don't even blame your politicians for pointing out the obvious; that George Bush does not give a royal hoot about the environment and seems total oblivious to science or anything else that contradicts his screwed up thinking.

Please note that while New Orleans was sinking into the mud along with it's poorest citizens, Bush was giving meaningless, say nothing speeches as usual. A New York Times editorial says, "George W. Bush gave one of the worst speeches of his life yesterday, especially given the level of national distress and the need for words of consolation and wisdom.....Nothing about the bu$h's demeanor yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis........... Complacency will no longer suffice, especially if experts are right in warning that global warming may increase the intensity of future hurricanes. But since this administration won't acknowledge that global warming exists, the chances of leadership seem minimal."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/01/opinion/01thu1.html

And The Union Leader said: "Bush carried on with his plans to speak in San Diego, as if nothing important had happened the day before." http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=59785

As you can see we are fully aware as to what an incompetent, corrupt, leader we have. What we haven't figured out yet is how to get this 'don't give a damn person', through the rest of his term without starting WWIII and/or totally bankrupting our country. One thing that would help is for more world leaders to speak out against this war criminal and demand that he & his gang of thugs be brought to justice instead of coddling him and being fearful of saying anything that might hurt his feelings.

Frankly, I am sick of world leaders rolling over and playing dead for this schoolyard bully just as our own Congress has done. No one seems to give a damn about the distruction & misery he has created. Stop the non-sense. George Bush is as corrupt as the day is long. He doesn't give a damn about you or me.

Somewhere on Pig Farm Road.................

Yesterday evening a common thug barreled down Pig Farm Rd just outside that phony ranch and mowed down the rows of white crosses that honored our fallen soldiers. The jerk who did this was caught a short time later with evidence still hanging on his truck. He was charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief.

MISCHIEF??? How about attempted murder?

Did you hear that on Friday or Saturday morning when bu$h and his gawd forsaken caravan were hot 'rodding' out of the ranch for his fund raiser (or meeting) they tore past the camp at 5:30 am with all the horns blaring full blast till they were out of sight. How childish can that bastard get? Did anyone hear that mentioned on the news?

Oh it's so much more important to drown us in the damned Gaza strip crap. And where is that treasonous Karl Rove? What else is that ffffffffing idiot up to behind the doors of the pig farm.

I must say that all the driver of the pickup truck was doing was following the example set by his illustrious leader who seems to think that he and his goons are above the law of this or any other country. Both bu$h, the gun toting bu$h lover and the thug in the pickup truck were cheered on by Faux Spews, some idiot named Gallager, the usual hate sites and more than likely Karl Rove & george bu$h!

Keep on asking questions people. Who benefits from 9-11? Who lied & lied and lied about the reasons for this illegal & illicit war? Who benefits from all these activities?

Who is scared to death of a poor mother who is asking too many questions about the "noble causes" of one george bu$h?

From True Majority:

Stand Up With Cindy Against This Intimidation

Last night a pickup truck dragging chains ran over the rows of white crosses on the side of the road next to Cindy Sheehan's vigil in Crawford, Texas.[1] And you probably already saw the news yesterday about President Bush's neighbor firing a shotgun into the air trying to scare the mothers of fallen soldiers who have gathered around Cindy.

Cindy and the other moms in Crawford have vowed to stay, and now a neighboring rancher, who is a veteran, has offered them some of his nearby land if they need it. He is standing up. Tomorrow night all of us can do the same, at more than a thousand candelight vigils across the country.

Here's a page where you can find the vigils planned near you: http://political.moveon.org/event/events/index.html?action_id=24&search_distance=30&search_zip=32507&submit=Search

Don't let the Coward of Texas & his hate mongering supporters have the last word on this illegal & murdering war.


Speaking of George, I understand that he was riding his bike yesterday out at the ranch. (I hope no London Bobbies got in his way). He took a 2 hour bike ride and when he got back, he was asked how he could go for a two hour bike ride when he doesn't have time to meet with me, and he said: "I have to go on with my life." (Austin Statesman, August 14) WHAT!!!!!????? He has to get on with his life!!! I am so offended by that statement. Every person, war fan, or not, who has had a child killed in this mistake of an occupation should be highly offended by that remark. Who does he think he is? I wish I could EVER be able to get on with my life. Getting on with my life means a life without my dear, sweet boy. Getting on with my life means learning to live with a pain that is so intense that sometimes I feel like throwing up, or screaming until I pass out from sorrow. I wish a little bike ride could help me get on with my life. I can't believe that someone who is the figurehead of an administration that has killed tens of thousands of innocent people doesn't spend his days hiding under his bed in shame, let alone riding his bike. ..... Cindy Sheehan, Crawford, Texas... somewhere on Pig Farm Rd.


Christian Conservative take on the PNAC agenda. "So we are spending money that we do not have in a country that was not a threat with an eye towards other military targets in the same region. Based on the encouragements in the letter above and recent statements from the administration we seem to be following the agenda of the PNAC rather than the American people and our elected officials who are apparently mute or just plain ineffective about this matter. This situation is probably in part the result of the pervasive fear the citizens of this country felt after 9/11. We are willing to trade many of our liberties for a measure of security. We, by our sheep-like silence, must also be willing to give up the last vestiges of our constitutional republic in favor of becoming an empire builder. As the vulture-like war hawks circle overhead, we must also be prepared to give up our Judeo Christian heritage for questionable dominance over those too weak to fight our counterfeit superiority. I can almost discern the death rattle." http://www.theconservativevoice.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=6554


AND OF COURSE


Nothing Is Ever The President's Fault By Reggie Rivers

Each new Bush administration story reminds me of the scene in the movie "Good Will Hunting," when Robin Williams' character, a counselor, has a breakthrough with Matt Damon's character.
"It's not your fault," Williams says over and over to the brilliant but troubled Will Hunting, whose overly aggressive, angry, self-destructive behavior constantly lands him in trouble. Hearing that it was not his fault, Hunting eventually breaks down, sobbing uncontrollably. He's finally on the path to redemption.

In America's version of this drama, President Bush lacks Hunting's brilliance but he's got the aggression and destruction mastered. He insults, dismisses, attacks, denies and disappears - usually to his ranch in Texas, where he has so far spent 20 percent of his presidency on vacation.

This week, Bush bypassed the Senate and appointed controversial figure John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton had been the subject of five months of debate in the Senate, because many people suspected he manipulated intelligence prior to the war in Iraq when he was the undersecretary of state for arms control.

Rather than turn over requested documents that might have exonerated Bolton or nominate a different candidate, Bush decided to wait until the congressional session ended and install Bolton through an infrequently used provision that allows the president to make recess appointments.
Bush's critics have charged him with abandoning the political process and misusing a process that was designed for emergencies, not controversies. But Bush doesn't worry about his critics. Instead, he focuses on his supporters, who always give him absolution.

"It's not your fault," they've told Bush. The blame, they say, lies with partisan Democrats who held up Bolton's appointment. Bush had no choice but to ignore the Senate.

So far, nothing in Bush's 4 1/2 years in office has been his fault. He's either been ignorant of problems that developed within his administration or he was forced by outside groups to take drastic action.

It wasn't his fault that an impostor kept the Denver 3 from attending a March town hall meeting at the Wings Over the Rockies museum or that the Secret Service has refused to identify the man. It wasn't Bush's fault that his adviser, Karl Rove, was involved in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame.

The intelligence failures prior to Sept. 11 weren't Bush's fault. Neither was the bad intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. It wasn't his fault that he insulted and alienated U.S. allies who demanded proof of Iraq's guilt prior to the war.

The abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison weren't his fault, nor was the establishment of an extralegal camp at Guantanamo Bay where Bush abandoned the Geneva Convention. A few rogue soldiers committed all the abuses, and the terrorists created the need for Guantanamo Bay.

It's not Bush's fault that there was no post-war plan in Iraq. Nor can he be blamed for our skyrocketing national debt, budget deficits and war costs. He can't be blamed for the more than 1,800 U.S. soldiers who have been killed in Iraq; the insurgents bear responsibility for that.
In the movie, the counselor said "It's not your fault" to Hunting exactly 10 times, and it worked, because deep down, Will Hunting believed that his miserable childhood and the actions of his abusive father were his fault.


President Bush has been absolved more times than we can count, but he's never going to have a moment of introspective clarity, because the public is only confirming what he already believes about himself. Nothing is ever his fault.

So why not start a war? Why not cover up for Rove? Why not ignore the Senate and appoint Bolton? Why not take another vacation? His supporters will never blame him for anything, so Bush may as well do whatever he wants.

(c) 2005 Reggie Rivers

Just wait till Jesus gets his hands on you, you little bastard...... Abbie Hoffman

Revolution At The Pig Farm

George bu$h said our son's & daughter's lives were taken for a "noble cause"...... Noble to him, the Coward of Texas but not to us, the parents of the children caught up in this quagmire, and certainly not to Cindy Sheehan whose son, Casey, was murdered in Iraq just over a year ago.

Cindy has been camped outside the pig farm, now known as vacation spot of the century, waiting for a lazy, don't give a damn person who calls himself the President of the United States, asking this cowardly, loudmouth to simply walk outside and talk to her.... to tell her just what is this "noble cause".


Come on george, you with the great smirk and the phony strut that makes you look as though your are nursing a diaper rash, what are you so afraid of? You seem to think that you are such hot schitt....you, the mighty bu$h! So why are you so afraid of one petite woman who simply wants to have a short discussion with you.


Cindy just wants to know how on earth you consider the murder of her son to be a "noble cause". Are you really so damned arrogant that you think it's noble to die for your bald faced lies? Have you ever had a conscience? Even as a child? What happens to turn a human being into such a brazen, corrupt, murdering thug with not a speck of conscience?

Whatever happened that made you turn out to be such an arrogant, self-serving SOB? You will have to answer for it someday and something tells me that Cindy Sheehan is going to do something that the cowed, corporate owned Congress doesn't have the guts to do. Her Revolution at the Pig Farm may bring down your high and mighty arrogant ass! I hope I live to see the day that you and your gang of thugs are frog marched into a prison for the rest of your lives.

It's the beginning, georgie boy. I can feel it now. In the coming days you will have you looking over your shoulder for a change. You will find that the laws of this country apply to you too. I just hope that the day your goons turn on you comes soon, to put a stop to the evil that will be forever connected to your foul name.


The Revolution at the pig farm is showing who really supports the troops and it ain't you george. We see that phony, pious face as you pretend to pray. We see the instantaneous smirk and smile before the "amen" makes it out of the preacher's mouth. We know that you wouldn't know the Ten Commandments if they slapped you in the face. You have flipped the Ten Commandments a bird as you continue your murderous rampage against two defenseless countries. You, the school yard bully, are the kind of person who makes one hope that there is indeed a god and that he is exactly what you and your rabid right wing fundamentalists claim because if there is, you will surely fry like a blob of lard in the deepest part of that hell which you use to frighten small kids & dumb fundamentalists.


To quote Shelia Samples in an article today at Lew Rockwell site, http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/samples5.html - - - "Bush might wish later that he had come out to meet with Sheehan upon her arrival Saturday when there was but a handful of supporters accompanying her. If the media covered the meeting at all, he would have been portrayed as a caring president, and by Sunday it would all have been over. But that isn't how Bush operates. He does not negotiate; remember, his will is strong, his resolve will not be broken. Bush is not satisfied until everything he touches turns into a steaming, odious pile of manure. So - as Bush likes to say, "history will show" the Revolution started on a steamy August day...at the pig farm.


Who knew? Who would have believed just a week ago that, after all our years of hard work, the crude and pitiless Bush would run out there, ram his middle finger in the face of a heartbroken mother, and jump-start the Revolution?

By the time Cindy Sheehan leaves her station at the pig farm, Bush will know that he was wrong."


Yeah george, I have to agree with Shelia Samples, you will truly know the meaning of the word "Mother". "Ultimately", Shelia says, "Mother will bring out troops home".

Another half dozen of our sons died yesterday, george..... 44 so far this month and we are not even half way through the month of August. But you don't give a damn do you george? It's just collateral damage to you isn't it? Collateral damage that you don't want to look at and that you don't want the American people to see. Heaven forbid that those coffins coming home by the plane load be shown to the American people as they might turn on your ugly arse overnight.


POWER TO THE REVOLUTION AT THE PIG FARM!

Just wait till Jesus gets his hands on you, you little bastard...... Abbie Hoffman

Cindy Sheehan - George's Nightmare on Prairie Chapel Rd

Dear Cindy,

Good for you. I could not be prouder if you were my own daughter or sister! Keep on being a thorn in the side of this lying administration. If I could afford the trip & the rental of a wheel chair, I would be in Crawford with you with my favorite bumper sticker printed out in huge letters, "I Served, Bush Deserted" !


Since I don't have the means to join you, I will publicize your good work every chance I get. In a few minutes I am going to call my Senator (Nelson - Florida) to ask that he and other members of this roll over Congress take immediate steps to put a stop to this silly little man from Crawford and his Nazi like actions when they threaten you with arrest for simply utilizing your guaranteed right to protest him or any other elected official who is abusing the powers of the office he occupies.


I am the mother of a son who served 14 months in Iraq and who managed to return safely. I, like you, supported my son and other soldiers, because I know they are not responsible for the insanity of our greedy, self-serving leaders.


I am also an Air Force Veteran and the widow of a Vietnam era Air Force officer. That does not in any way influence my opinion about George bu$h, his theft of the presidency, the lies about this war and dozens of other atrocious lies that have become the trademark of one, george bu$h.


This heartless administration and those who support their actions have the blood of thousands of innocent bystanders as well as that of our sons, daughters, or spouses on their vile hands. I, personally, will never forgive any of them for their support of this murderous, blood bath which has reduced two innocent countries, who posed no threat to us, to a pile of rubble.


I have never been more ashamed of my country's leaders and the actions of those leaders than I have been since this usurper was allowed to occupy an office to which he is not entitled. Added to this shame are the atrocities that this miserable excuse for a human being has committed in that name of this country and in the name of God, of course!


I know that I don't have to tell you that if there is a God he is probably cursing the day he allowed this little cretin to be conceived. Heaven knows that george bu$h is no Christian. He doesn't know the meaning of the Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" not does he care. He illustrated that in the arrogant way he lied us into war and in despicable way you and other military families who have lost loved ones have been treated.


This country is in grave danger of losing the freedoms our forefathers fought for so gallantly. We need to do everything we can to hang on to our Constitution and to see that those elected or appointed to public office abide by them also. No man is above the laws of this country and that especially means george bu$h.


Don't let that cowardly little weasel scare you. You have the support of millions, thanks to the internet and to the media which seems to be slowly awakening from a long slumber.


Give Him Hell Cindy! You have the truth & millions of other Moms (& Dads) on your side.

Magginkat

_______________________________________________________________


How to support Cindy Sheehan:

Monetary donations are needed and can be sent to:
Crawford Peace House
P.O. Box 710218
Dallas, TX 75371-0218

Come to Crawford: The Crawford Peace House is located in the center of Crawford, Texas on Hwy185 and the railroad tracks, 9142 5th Street, Crawford, Tx. 76638-3037.


The Vigil is on Prairie Chapel Road near the entrance to Bush's ranch. Email your support.

Send messages of encouragement to: crawfordpeacehouse@yahoo.com
Get the latest news from these websites: www.gsfp.org
www.crawfordpeacehouse.org



Just wait till Jesus gets his hands on you, you little bastard...... Abbie Hoffman

Harper's Weekly Review (excerpts - With Comments)

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Vacation for George!

Ah.... August 1st and our magnanimous leader needs another vacation! This one will the 50th trip to the pig farm in Crawford, TX since he slithered into the Oval Office 5 yrs ago, never mind the vacations to Camp David and other places.


According to Scott McClellan, press secretary, george likes to spend time outdoors clearing the brush and riding his bike AND this year he will speak to Americans about being physically active! Wow! The anticipation! The suspense!


Has it ever dawned on him that most Americans don't have a yacht, a private pool, a gym, servants, and most of all don't have someone else to do their job for them?! Nah.... that was a dumb question. George doesn't read and doesn't think. That's Turd Blossom's job.


Clearing brush? Is that the same tree, posed on the side of the same ditch for the past 5 years?


I can see it now..... George struts down the side of the ditch with someone holding the back of his pants (off camera of course) so that he does not go crashing down on his face..... strikes a pose, (cut the camera) ....the chain saw started by someone who knows how and is handed to him (still off camera). Pose george, pose. Big smirk ..... a few pictures..... ah... that takes care of george's farming for the day. On to the next photo-op.


Mr. Magnificent has to be the most underworked and overpaid public servant in the history of this country. As previously mentioned and quoting from the mouth of the great one himself, he doesn't read. So it's no surprise that he doesn't have a clue what is going on in the country and the world.


If he did read he might know that National Geographic News is reporting that Rare Fossil Embryos dating back 190 million years were recently found in South Africa. But no, his handlers won't tell him about that because it interferes with his religious beliefs. You see george thinks that the earth was formed shortly before the birth of one Jesus Christ..... maybe a few thousand yrs ago!


National Geographic is interesting reading and even more interesting is what others are saying about george's plans for the world.


'Universal Democracy' Is the Goal As Congress Eyes New LegislationWhen senators return to Washington this September, they will be set to consider new legislation that would commit America to ending tyranny the world over.
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/?Page=Article&ID=4264


What a goal! What at farce awaits him! One only has to look at what he has "accomplished" already. Take for example this film that illustrates so vividly what he has done to Iraq, it's people and to our soldiers who are forced to serve in this hell on earth..........

June, 2005 Video Release by the Iraqi Resistance - The Cowboys in Iraq
http://johnmccarthy90066.tripod.com/id362.html


Bush and his team of thugs should be forced to watch this film every night before going to bed. They are most deserving of the nightmares that would surely follow. (Warning, this film is very graphic, especially towards the end)

If bu$h bothered to read he might know that most of the world is now aware that....
"This war has been advanced on lie upon lie. Iraq was not responsible for 9/11. Iraq was not responsible for any role al-Qaeda may have had in 9/11. Iraq was not responsible for the anthrax attacks on this country. Iraq did not try to acquire nuclear weapons technology from Niger. This war is built on falsehood."
- Rep. Dennis Kucinich, April 1, 2003

Or more correctly stated... this war was built on bald faced lies!


If george bu$h bothered to read he might have read this ad placed by one of his supporters in Pensacola Florida:

We have a chest freezer that works fine, however it is full of rotted meat from sitting without electricity after Hurricane Ivan. Yes, you read that right... it's been almost a year and it has been sitting in my garage. I'm too much of a girl to want to even consider dealing with it. I have decided to just buy a new one so I'm giving this away. It's been plugged in all this time so except for right after Dennis it has remained refrozen. It is absolutely disgusting however and will require some major, major cleaning.
But It's free!


Gosh, wouldn't that be a good job for king george to perform while on vacation. Just think what he could accomplish if he got rid of all the rotten meat in his administration. What a lofty goal for a vacationing pResident! If only he could read.