RNC DEMANDS "DUES" FROM VOTERS

The Republican Party has, sadly, become a kind of cult where it seems only mendacity and venality can thrive.

Latest case in point is the now notorious threatening "audit letter" the GOP is sending out to unsuspecting voters.

Some TPM commenters note the point that caught my eye too - that the letter demands "dues" - from letter recipients.

The letter threatens an "audit", demands dues, and links such threats to lack of support for the President.

The use of term "dues" is fraudulent on it's face -- the kind of cheap and sleazy trick one would suspect of the lowest spammer or direct marketer.

If the RNC isn't prosecuted for this, it will only because of, and not in spite of, the political nature of the mailing.

This is straight out of the playbook of fascist regimes, Soviet, Bolshevik, Italian Fascist, Nazi -- although I'm sure to say out loud is to violate DC protocol enough to give Cokie Roberts and David Broder the vapors.

We know the Bush administration has become a Cult of Personality, promoted by loyalists educated at places like Regent University, who swear an oath to him, and view the federal government as an instrument to promote the Bush Cult. This letter encapsulates that ideology: loyalty to Bush is loyalty to America, and Americans must be continually examined for deviation from that absolute fealty. In 1984, all citizens were expected to put in time devoted to promoting the party -- failure to do so would lead to suspicions of a lack of patriotism; perhaps of even helping the unseen enemy.

It's clear, yet again, that the party of been taken over by sniggering, junior league Nixonian ratfuckers (their term, not mine) who genuinely seem to have no morality whatsoever.

All societies produce their share of such people - the trick is to keep them, if not imprisoned, away from civilized, decent folk trying to lead their lives in peace.

Societal failure is to grant to control of the levers of power in the hopes that giving them what they wants will quiet them down and make them go away. That way, lies madness and chaos.
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"INCREDIBLE" SHRINKING OF ARCTIC ICE

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Analysts See ‘Simply Incredible’
Shrinking of Floating Ice in the Arctic

"The area of floating ice in the Arctic has shrunk more this summer than in any other summer since satellite tracking began in 1979, and it has reached that record point a month before the annual ice pullback typically peaks, experts said yesterday.

William L. Chapman, who monitors the region at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and posted a Web report on the ice retreat yesterday, said that only an abrupt change in conditions could prevent far more melting before the 24-hour sun of the boreal summer set in September.

"The melting rate during June and July this year was simply incredible,” Mr. Chapman said. “And then you’ve got this exposed black ocean soaking up sunlight and you wonder what, if anything, could cause it to reverse course."

Mark Serreze, a sea-ice expert at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., said his center’s estimates differed somewhat from those of the Illinois team, and by the ice center’s reckoning the retreat had not surpassed the satellite-era record set in 2005. But it was close even by the center’s calculations, he said, adding that it is almost certain that by September, there will be more open water in the Arctic than has been seen for a long time. Ice experts at NASA and the University of Washington echoed his assessment.

Dr. Serreze said that a high-pressure system parked over the Arctic appeared to have caused a “triple whammy” — keeping away clouds, causing winds to carry warm air north and pushing sea ice away from Siberia, exposing huge areas of open water."

- New York Times, August 10, 2007

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ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "TRUTH"

Speaking a Culture of Truth, this editorial is an instant classic in annals of the practice of Journalism in the 21st Century, where apparently truth has no meaning:

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Atlanta Journal-Constitution

'Objective truth' passes the test for letters to editor
By Angela Tuck, Public Editor
August 4, 2007

"Here's a question that has come up a few times in recent months: "Why does the AJC allow letter writers to make statements that aren't factual?"

Once it's printed in the newspaper, it's highly possible that someone will adopt the statement as fact, said Barbara Latimer, a reader from Rockdale County. Perhaps the newspaper should run a small disclaimer with the letter for clarity's sake, she said.

Editorial page editor Cynthia Tucker once believed all letters should be factually accurate, but now she's more likely to let readers have their say and let others decide whether the letter writer is indeed stating facts.

"I believe there is such a thing as an objective truth, but a lot of readers have an objective truth that differs from mine," she said.

"We live in such a politically polarized age that not everybody agrees on the facts. My letters policy tends to be a bit looser than those of some other editorial page editors. I believe as long as they are willing to sign their names to it, and it's not violent or libelous, we should print them."

Tucker says the AJC has printed many letters from readers insisting that PeachCare has run out of money because so many illegal immigrants are on the rolls. "That's not true, but if we don't print those letters, those readers will believe we're biased," she said.

Readers who still believe Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that they were taking to Syria are allowed to express that view even though it is clearly not true."

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Oh well. It's only a newspaper.

George Packer Condemns Both Sides

"The same people who believed the first story refused to believe the second, and vice versa. In a sense, they believed or refused to believe each story before it was published—even before it had occurred. What mattered was whether the story supported or undermined their view of the war."
- George Packer, referring to Scott Beauchamp and O'Hanlon/Pollack

I generally like George Packer, but it isn't a question of "believing" one or the other. Like many who get sucked into the beltway vortex, he reduces to politics to a kind of catechism, easily ridiculed as dogmatic by journalists and pundits who imagine themselves inhabiting a higher realm of reason.

Packer et al will say "a pox on both your unthinking houses, liberals and wingnuts, why don't you wait until the facts are in before coming to a conclusion??"

But the facts are always rolling in from a place like Iraq. No wonder pundits write that they are paralyzed by indecision about what to do in Iraq. There's always going to be a reason to put off leaving, to find some slender reed of hope.

Which is another way of supporting the Bush policy wholesale. But that would be partisan.

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Ninth Circuit Rules "Vote-Swapping" Legal

Back in 2000, those crazy kids on the internet had the idea to create a web site where people in safe states could swap their vote for Al Gore with a person in a swing state who wanted to vote for Ralph Nader.

Of course, it was all based on the honor system, and there was nothing to stop voters in safe states from voting for Nader anyway (to "send a message" or something) but I guess it was one more arrow in the quiver in a desperate attempt to prevent Naderites from handing this country over to George W. Bush and his coterie of Regents Death Eaters.

Yes, it's illegal to pay someone to vote a certain way (is that true Ed Rollins?) but this hardly qualified. But the busybodies who are so very concerned about the fairness of U.S. elections decided it was illegal, and the outraged California Secretary of State, Bill Jones, (yes these guys have real power) yammered about prosecutions so the websites shut down. Next stop: President Stupid.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, (just in time!) sensibly, that the website's efforts to unite voters interested in "vote-swapping" is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The Court writes:

"Both the websites' vote-swapping mechanisms and the communication and vote swaps that they enabled were... constitutionally protected. At their core, they amounted to efforts by politically engaged people to support their preferred candidates and to avoid election results that they feared would contravene the preferences of a majority of voters in closely contested states. Whether or not one agrees with these voters' tactics, such efforts, when conducted honestly and without money changing hands, are at the heart of the liberty safeguarded by the First Amendment."

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The Internet and blogging has gotten even more popular since 2000, so I've heard. This has great schoolyard potential. It used to kids would trade baseball cards or Pokemon or whatever. Now maybe you can trade one Kucinich vote in New York for an Edwards in Iowa, or something.

Bobblespeak Beat The Onion on McCain Snark

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I see from Ana Marie's link (another acid-tongued liveblogger) that The Onion made a funny about John McCain riding Greyhound.

As is happens, they owe The Bobblespeak Translations a coke -- he beat them to it by a month.

THE ONION
August 6, 2007

DES MOINES, IA—"Citing a series of unanticipated disruptions to the Greyhound bus service, a red-faced and breathless Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) arrived 50 minutes after the start of the Republican presidential debates Sunday.

According to the beleaguered candidate, a series of departure delays, missed transfers, and a flat tire outside Oxford, OH forced him to arrive at the outskirts of Iowa's capital five minutes before the debate was about to begin."

The Bobblespeak Translations
July 8, 2007

Gregory: McCain is running the suckiest campaign ever

Purdum: he's not trying to pander to people anymore - he still supports the war

Gregory: he has no more money

Purudm: last year he had a private jet and last week he was seen in Row 29 of a coach

Gregory: on a commercial airline? Wow

Purdum: no Greyhound dood

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CRAZY FRENCH MAN IN AMERICA

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President Sarkozy and companions were headed for open water in a boat on Lake Winnipesaukee when he spotted Associated Press photographer Jim Cole and freelancer Vince DeWitt aboard Cole's boat, which was outside a buoy barrier monitored by the New Hampshire Marine Patrol.

Before Sarkozy spotted him, Cole had driven his boat up to the patrol boat, identified himself and received permission to be there.

"He was happy and smiling and he waved at the security people as he was coming out," Cole said of the president. "And then he noticed us taking pictures and his happy demeanor diminished immediately."

Coming alongside Cole's boat, Sarkozy, clad only in swim trunks, jumped aboard and began shouting at them.

"The president was very agitated, speaking French at a loud volume very rapidly," DeWitt said.

Both men said they repeatedly stated they did not speak French. Cole said that he asked whether any of the other passengers on Sarkozy's boat spoke English, but that no one answered or intervened.

Sarkozy picked up DeWitt's camera but then put it down. A woman then spoke up in English and relayed Sarkozy's request to be left alone, DeWitt said. The woman did not identify herself.

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Cat Blogging Returns

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16 DEMOCRATS VOTED FOR BUSH'S FISA BILL

Democrats who voted for the FISA bill:

* Evan Bayh
* Tom Carper
* Bob Casey
* Kent Conrad
* Dianne Feinstein
* Daniel Inouye
* Amy Klobuchar
* Mary Landrieu
* Blanche Lincoln
* Claire McCaskill
* Barbara Mikulski
* Bill Nelson
* Ben Nelson
* Mark Pryor
* Ken Salazar
* Jim Webb

Naturally Lieberman voted in favor, while I believe Chuck Hagel voted NO. (Was that so hard?)

I was liveblogging and caught Pryor and Landrieu's votes last night.

Not surpirsed by Salazar, and Webb - well he's still better than George Allen.

Others like McCaskill, Casey, Carper, Casey, Nelson (both) and Hillary's buddy, Evan Bayh, are a little disappointing.

Most surprising are people like Mikulski, Inouye, Klobuchar, and Feinstein. These are people from safe seats, who should know bettter.

Just out of curiosity - did they even read the bill?

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TURTLE ATTACKS NEW YORK

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BE THE FIRST ON YOUR BLOG WITH ALL THE NEW TALKING POINTS!

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Apparently Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Chris Dodd have all called Barack Obama "naive."

But where did that meme start?

Here's what that rat-bastard author of The Bobblespeak Translations wrote as he was liveblogging the event over at that commie website Eschaton:

Q: will u meet with the leaders of the Scary Bad Countries

Obama: damm right i would why not Reagan met with teh Commies

Q: Hillary answer the Scary Man question

Hillary: unlike naive Obama i will not promise to meet with these doods i mean why meet with Castro for god's sake

Edwards: what she said
- 8:09 p.m.

The Bobblespeak Translations:
Come for the Humor, Stay for the Insights!
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________________________________________________________________

17 kidz doods

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____________________________

"when do u c them?"
"all teh time"
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FISA Judge Struck Down Bush Spying

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Lately we've all been wondering: what's the rush to change the federal wiretapping and surveillance laws all of a sudden?

Bush has, of course, been going around demanding that Congress change the FISA statute, and Congress seems pretty willing to do it.

It turns out that a FISA Court judge ruled earlier this year that yet another one of Bush's warrantless spying programs violated the law.

So he needs to Congress to change the law to let him keep doing it. It's not clear exactly what the problem is, but indications are that it involves, unsurprisingly, spying on non-Americans having contact with people inside the United States.

But hey, at least he didn't just keep doing it and blow Congress off. So that's progress, sort of.

The Washington Post reports that the ruling prevented the NSA from monitoring telephone calls and e-mails originating outside the United States as the pass through the U.S.

I'm willing to bet this story was linked the Bush-friendly Washington Post in an effort to light a fire under Congress and create support for amending the law among the general public and pro-Bush bloggers.

Indeed, House Minority Leader John Boehner, mentioned the decision on Fox News, according the Post.

Reuters sums up the differences between Bush and the Democrats by saying Bush wants to spy on non-Americans based outside the U.S., even if they are communicating with someone inside the United States, without a warrant and without involving the FISA court.

Democrats feel, presumably, that vests too much power with Bush and his people, who do not exactly have a spotless track record.

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WHAT WAS PROJECT X?

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Something has been bugging me since Alberto Gonzalez testified last week. We all know that Gonzalez may have committed perjury when he denied that there were objections to the President's surveillance plan. He admitted there had been objections, but to other activities. These are the activities that Bush has not confirmed even exist. What other surveillance actions was Gonzalez talking about?

Among others, Spencer Ackerman and Paul Kiel have already done great work regarding what they dub "Project X."

Simply, Project X may have been a highly intrusive, possibly illegal, surveillance program that raised such strong questions about its illegality that John Ashcroft, James Comey, and many others threatened to resign en masse unless it was changed.

Assuming it existed and we aren't just talking about the well-known FISA violations.

After the threat of resignations it was apparently, allegedly, changed to make it legal.

I will blog more on this, but for now I have two questions, concededly big questions.

(1) What was Project X?

(2) Is it still going on?

Update: I and others have long speculated that the project involved some form of large-scale sifting through massive amounts of data accessible electronically, including phone calls, e-mails, and internet traffic. In others words, data mining. Such a project would not be amenable, at least on an ongoing basis, to FISA court approval, nor would it necessarily violate, at least in the mind of someone like Alberto Gonzalez or John Yoo, the Fourth Amendment. Computers, either here or overseas, utilizing Echelon or other such technology, could search for designated patterns or keywords, raising a flag.

What then? Do they get a warrant? What if both parties are overseas? What if one is? Many more such questions could be asked.

I for one do not believe it likely that Total Information Awareness was completely shut down. For one thing, it goes against everything we know about the Bush administration.

Whatever its status, it is interesting that they remain resolutely secret about the details of a program they claim no longer exists.

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Tom Tancredo. So Very, Very Wrong

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"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina," the GOP presidential candidate said. "That is the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they would otherwise do. If I am wrong fine, tell me,"

- Tom Tancredo

Tom, you are so wrong. So very, very, fucking wrong.

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Is Mitt Romeny Too Weird to Be President? Part V

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"Did you notice in Lebanon, what Hezbollah did? Lebanon became a democracy some time ago and while their government was getting underway, Hezbollah went into southern Lebanon and provided health clinics to some of the people there, and schools. And they built their support there by having done so. That kind of diplomacy is something that would help America become stronger around the world and help people understand that our interest is an interest towards modernity and goodness and freedom for all people in the world. And so, I want to see America carry out that kind of health diplomacy..."

- Mitt Romney, this week

That's right.
Under President Romney, America is going to model it's foreign policy after Hezbollah.
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ONE GIANT COLD LEAP, BABY

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Submarines accompanying a Russian naval mission aimed at boosting Moscow's claim to Arctic territory are shortly expected to dive below the North Pole.

The two Mir submarines plan to dive to the ocean floor, 4,200m (14,000ft) below the pole, to carry out tests and plant a capsule with a Russian flag.

A Russian official said the "risky and heroic" mission was comparable to "putting a flag on the Moon".

Melting polar ice has led to competing claims over access to Arctic resources.

Russia's claim to a vast swathe of territory in the Arctic, thought to contain oil, gas and mineral reserves, has been challenged by other powers, including the US.

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COMBINING HIPPY LOVE-INS WITH MEGA-CAPITALISM

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U.S. stocks had a tough week with the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffering its worst one-week point drop in five years, but a group of meditators promise their good vibrations will send the index past 17,000 within a year.

A group called the Invincible America Assembly made that claim and more on Friday, insisting they have America's prosperity under control and their positive vibes will bring fewer hurricanes and better U.S.-North Korean relations.

Through group transcendental meditation the assembly -- which has 1,800 people meditating daily in Iowa since it was formed in July 2006 -- releases harmonious waves which benefit all aspects of U.S. life, spokesman Bob Roth told Reuters.

And the group's leader, John Hagelin, said when that number reaches 2,500 within the next 12 months, America will see a major drop in crime and the virtual elimination of all major social and political woes.

Source: Reuters
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MIRACLES ARE HARD!

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BBC:

Instead of Spiderman or Bratz dolls, children in the US could soon be clutching a talking Jesus toy, a bearded Moses or a muscle-bound figure of Goliath.

Wal-Mart, the biggest toy retailer in the US, will for the first time stock a full line of faith-based toys.

There, the Tales of Glory dolls will take on what their makers are calling "the battle for the toy box" with some of the nation's most popular action figures.

The market is notoriously hard to crack, with every child wanting what their friends at school have and high-profile brands like Transformers and Spiderman dominating marketing.

So will the 12 inch Jesus doll quoting scripture or the 3 inch figure of Daniel in the lion's den open up children's imaginations - and their parents' wallets?

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Cat Blogging

Tiger posing with a photo of himself as a kitten

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WAS GONZALEZ TALKING ABOUT DATA MINING?

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Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez testified this week there was dispute about Justice Dept. activities, but that it did not involve what he called the "terrorist surveillance program."

He may have been referring to large scale searches of electronic databases of domestic phone call and e-mail records, or data mining, according an article in the New York Times.

That the government can do this is well-known, utilizing the NSA's ability to intercerpt electronic traffic.

In 2004 there was disagreement within the Department of Justice over a program, but Gonzalez refuses to discuss it, and President Bush will not confirm its existence.

It may have involved Justice Dept. disagreements with the White House over the President's power to access large volumes of domestic records of phone calls and internet usage, looking for specific patterns or combinations of words, rather than usage by a person or group.

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NOT HOGWARTS, BUT CLOSE

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La Châtaigneraie is part of the International School of Geneva. We look over Lac Leman with stunning views of the Alps and the Jura.

These Units of Inquiry are planned under six organising themes:

* Who we are
* Where we are in time and place
* How we express ourselves
* How the world works
* How we organise ourselves
* How we share the planet

The children are divided into House Teams – Rhone, Alps and Jura.

There are various house competitions throughout the year i.e. Winter Sports, Cross Country, Tag Rugby, Athletics, Field Hockey, and Kwik Cricket.

Rules, attitudes in competition and team behaviour are stressed. Students also get points for poems, music, stories, and instruments to encourage the children to explore, express and develop creativity.

Athletics includes: Long jump, high jump, ball throw, sprints and long distance running and Gymnastics. Formal gymnastics will include the basic skills involved in handstands, rolls, head- stands, cartwheels, balances. The educational gymnastics programme is based on various themes i.e. travelling, space, direction, pathways, twisting, turning, jumping, stretching, curling and shape.

The Winter Sports Programme involves the basics of downhill and cross-country
skiing.

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FBI MISUSES NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS

Ann Broache:

The FBI's chief on Thursday attempted to defuse lingering concerns about abuse of secret requests for telephone and e-mail logs, as politicians proposed new limits on the practice.

Director Robert Mueller's afternoon appearance before a U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary oversight committee highlighted the lingering fallout over a Justice Department inspector general report issued earlier this year. That inquiry found the FBI underreported its use of a secret surveillance tactic--called a national security letter--and concluded "serious misuse" had occurred.

Mueller told the committee that he "absolutely understands" the concerns raised by the report, although he emphasized there were no findings of "intentional" attempts by FBI agents to sidestep the law.

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IS THERE HOPE?

There's a lot of despair out there. Is there was any cause for hope?

There is.

Bush is, after all, very unpopular. Fred Hiatt loves him, but only the crazies in general public still do.

I would despair to the point of head-banging, or moving to another country if that weren't the case. But it's not as if Bush has enforced all his Creeping Fascism rules and policies and gotten away with it. He is widely hated, despised, ridiculed.

If Bush attempted to run again, he would be crushed, roundly rejected by the people. That is an undeniable fact. News coming out yesterday strongly suggest that this Administration is in free fall. The people, across the board, reject the man and all his works.

A lot of liberals and bloggers are putting their hopes in the most sluggish of solutions, impeachment, trial, removal; arrest, trial and The Hague. Which is fine.
Others want to stage a million man March on D.C. Which would be great.

But we may just have to wait and toss this crew out using old fashioned elections, which in the end is as good, and, I submit, maybe preferable, to a criminal trial. Which is more likely to be respected by the people, and by history? Which is more likely to have enduring effects? Which will bring about long-lasting change?

I'm not advocating one approach over the other. All I'm really saying is that there is some reason for hope. Bush is wrong and his critics are right. And everyone knows it.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY

***OH NOES THEY BE GRABN MY BEEK***
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Chicken Elmos in China: Chang W. Lee / New York Times

BLADE RUNNER IS BACK

(Hollywood Reporter)

Director Ridley Scott is working on a "definitive" new version of his science-fiction classic "Blade Runner."

"Blade Runner: The Final Cut" will get a brief theatrical run in Los Angeles and New York, beginning October 5, before its December 18 DVD release through Warner Home Video.

Scott went back into postproduction to complete the new version of the film, which has been restored and remastered from original elements and contains never-before-seen and extended scenes. The film also includes new and improved special effects, director and filmmaker commentary and an all-new Dolby Digital audio track.

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HALP I IZ THIRSTY

(Reuters)
New York University postgraduate students are developing a system that lets over-watered or dry plants phone for help.

The "Botanicalls" project uses moisture sensors placed in the soil that can send a signal over a wireless network to a gateway that places a call if the plant's too dry or wet.

Recorded voices are assigned to each plant to match its biological characteristics and to help increase the charm of the phone message and give plants their own personality.

Interactive communications student Rebecca Bray, who developed the concept with three colleagues, said the technology wasn't new. It's the way of communicating by voice and adding personality to the plants that's different.

"They will call and tell you they are thirsty and need a lot of water. They are also really polite," Bray told Reuters.

"We wanted to make sure that you weren't just getting phone calls that were really needy. So we have them calling you back when you've watered them to say thank you for watering me."

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NO PAPER TRAIL IN TIME 2008 ELECTIONS

Senators to abandon '08
e-voting paper trail mandate

"Democratic senators on Wednesday made another push for banning electronic voting machines that lack paper trails, but they've backed away from doing so in time for next year's presidential election.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chief sponsor of a contentious bill called the Ballot Integrity Act that proposes such changes, said she fears requiring all states to employ so-called voter-verified paper records in their systems, with some primaries only six months away, "could be an invitation to chaos."

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Bombings Hit Iraqis Celebrating Soccer Win

(AP) Two suicide car bombings struck soccer fans in Baghdad as they were celebrating Iraq's victory in the Asian Cup semifinal on Wednesday, killing at least 50 people and wounding more than 100, officials said.

The first attack took place about 6:30 p.m. when a bomber exploded in a crowd of people cheering near a well-known ice cream parlor in Baghdad's western neighborhood of Mansour, according to police and hospital officials. At least 30 people were killed and 75 were wounded, an Interior Ministry official said.

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A REAL MAN WOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR IT

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"The FBI wants to pay the major telecommunications companies to retain their customers' Internet and phone call information for at least two years for the agency's use in counterterrorism investigations and is asking Congress for $5 million a year to defray the cost, according to FBI officials and budget documents."

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Mass Funerals For U.S. Soldiers

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Twenty soldiers deployed to Iraq from this Army base were killed in May, a monthly high. That same month, the base announced a change in how it would honor its dead: instead of units holding services after each death, they would be held collectively once a month.

The anger and hurt were immediate. Soldiers’ families and veterans protested the change as cold and logistics-driven. Critics online said the military was trying to repress bad news about deaths. By mid-June, the base had delayed the plan.

On Base, a Plea to Give Each Death Its Due

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Marc Ambinder Obsessed With Edward's Follicles

Ambinder, Atlantic Monthly blogger:

"Why doesn't John Edwards's hair equal Mitt Romney's face paint?

The primary difference is definitional: The centerpiece of Edwards's campaign is his anti-poverty efforts; he presents himself as a dedicated messenger for the cause, and he likes expensive haircuts, bought a gimungous house, etc. etc. His credibility as a messenger comes into question when he spends money ostentatiously. (The haircut was inadvertently billed to the campaign, a spokesman later said."

From The Atlantic Website:

About Marc Ambinder

Marc is an associate editor at the Atlantic and a contributing editor to both the Hotline and Naitonal Journal. He's a 2001 graduate of Harvard, and he pays his taxes in Washington, D.C.

--------------------------------------------------------

And he misspelled "National" in his own fucking bio.

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GREAT MOMENTS IN PUBLIC SAFETY

GREAT MOMENTS IN PUBLIC SAFETY

"Undercover Congressional investigators set up a bogus company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a so-called dirty bomb.

“Given that terrorists have expressed an interest in obtaining nuclear material, the Congress and the American people expect licensing programs for these materials to be secure,” said Gregory D. Kutz, an investigator at the accountability office, in testimony prepared for the hearing.

The bomb the investigators could have built would not have caused widespread damage or even high- level contamination. But it still could have had serious consequences, particularly economic ones, in any city where it was set off."

Link to New York Times story by Eric Lipton

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SARA TAYLOR DENIES BUSH INVOLVEMENT IN FIRINGS; REFUSES TO TESTIFY FURTHER

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TAYLOR REFUSES TO ANSWER; CITES "OATH TO THE PRESIDENT"

Sara M. Taylor testified before a Congressional panel a today, saying that she did not discuss firing U.S. Attorneys with President Bush.

"I did not speak to the president about removing U.S. attorneys," Taylor said. "I did not attend any meetings with the president where that matter was discussed."

When asked whether the president was involved in any way in the firings, Taylor couldn't rule it out, saying only, "I don't have any knowledge that he was."

"Who decided which U.S. attorneys to fire, and why were they fired?" Senator Dianne Feinstein asked.

Taylor cited Executive Privilege, saying she was trying to "determine what is a deliberation and what is a fact-based question," Senator Feinstein cut her off.

Sen. Feinstein: "You decline to answer."

Sara Taylor: "Yeah."

Later Taylor said, "I took an oath and I take that oath to the president very seriously."

Sen. Leahy replied, "Your oath is not to uphold the president."

"I think sometimes you've stepped on one side of the line and then not wanted to step on the other. This broad claim of privilege doesn't stand up," said Sen. Chuck Schumer.

But Republican Arlen Specter told her:

"I think your declining to answer the last series of questions by the chairman was correct under the direction from White House counsel. Whether White House counsel is correct on the assertion of executive privilege is a matter which will be decided by the courts," However, he said "congressional oversight has the better of the argument."

According to the AP:

"Taylor revealed a few other details: She said she did not recall ordering the addition or deletion of names to the list of prosecutors to be fired. And she disputed testimony by Kyle Sampson, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' chief of staff, that Taylor wanted to avoid submitting a new prosecutor, Tim Griffin, through Senate confirmation. I expected him to go through Senate confirmation," Taylor said under questioning by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

She rather pointlessly tried to protect her friends in the White House.

"I don't believe there was any wrongdoing by anybody. I don't believe anybody in the White House did any wrongdoing."

(Sources: Associated Press; New York Times)
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First Rule about Firing Club?

Don't talk about Firing Club

Green Zone Hit By Multiple Rocket Attacks

Joe Klein at Swampland reports:

"AP is reporting that Baghdad's Green Zone was hit by as many as 35 rockets this evening--3 dead, 18 wounded. And while the Green Zone is mortared most nights, this seems an escalation by insurgents who, in this case, are NOT Al Qaeda, but most likely members of Muqtada Sadr's Jaish al-Mahdi (JAM) or, even more likely, members of the Iranian supported JAM Special Groups, who may operate outside Sadr's control.

US military intel sources in Baghdad told me a few weeks ago that these mortar attacks are often in response to specific events--like raids on JAM cells or members--but I wonder, in this case, if the attacks have anything to do with the growing split between Sadr and Prime Minister Maliki?"

***********************************************************************

So can anyone doubt that Joe Lieberman will increase his calls for attacking Iran?

Of course, if attacks were down, he would claim vindication. If Al Qaeda attacked, he would say he was right. If it's linked to Iran, then more war. If the days ends in "y" - it must be time for more war.

GREAT MOMENTS IN ENGINEERING

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"A yearlong study by federal investigators into the cause of the Interstate 90 tunnel connector ceiling collapse that killed a Boston woman in July 2006 has led to the conclusion that contractors and builders probably used the wrong kind of epoxy glue to secure ceiling panel anchors."

************************************************************************

Bush Invokes Executive Privilege For Taylor and Miers

********************************************************************************

"President Bush invoked executive privilege Monday to deny requests by Congress for testimony from two former aides about the firings of federal prosecutors.

In his letter regarding subpoenas the Judiciary panels issued, Fielding said, "The president feels compelled to assert executive privilege with respect to the testimony sought from Sara M. Taylor and Harriet E. Miers."

"You may be assured that the president's assertion here comports with prior practices in similar contexts, and that it has been appropriately documented," the letter from the White House said.

In a letter to the heads of the House and Senate Judiciary panels, White House counsel Fred Fielding insisted that Bush was acting in good faith and refused lawmakers' demand that the president explain the basis for invoking the privilege."

Statement of House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers:

"Contrary what the White House may believe, it is the Congress and the courts that will decide whether an invocation of executive privilege is valid, not the White House unilaterally."

Fielding was responding to a 10 a.m. deadline set by the Democratic chairmen, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Conyers, for the White House to explain it's privilege claim, prove that the president personally invoked it and provide logs of which documents were being withheld.

Associated Press: "As expected, Fielding refused to comply."
**************************************************************************

Hot Cat Blogging

*********************************************************************************

Cat Blogging

The Electric Cat
*******************************************************************************

Great Moments in Journalism

Associated Press Headline:

"WHITE HOUSE CHIDES
CLINTONS OVER LIBBY"




"uhh.............. what??"

************************************************************

Bush Commutes Scooter Libby's Sentence

********************************************************************
Surprising no one, Bush has (effectively) pardoned Libby. There were two schools of thought on this. One, that Bush doesn't really care about anyone else, aside from how useful they can be to him, and so would not pardon Libby. The other, that Bush cares nothing for the law but prizes loyalty, and would not let Scooter go to jail.

Due to the cover given Bush for this action by the Beltway media, increasingly I was assuming he would pardon, but obviously they were going to wait until it looked like he would actually see the inside of a cell.

Lucky for Bush we are coming up on a holiday week, but I think we can assume that this will get some press coverage, regardless.

I believe Bush campaigned on restoring honor and dignity to the White House, but he has in fact accomplished something far more remarkable.

He has made Paris Hilton look good.
*********************************************************************

Is Mitt Romney Too Weird To Be President? Part IV

***************************************************************************
Obviously I'm late to this party, but given the ongoing series "Is Mitt Romney Too Weird To Be President?" I had to include a posting about Mitt Romney putting his dog the roof of family station wagon for a 12 hour drive. This is from the AP story:

"Seamus expressed his discomfort with a diarrhea attack. When Romney's eldest son, Tagg, and his four brothers complained about the brown runoff down the back windshield, their father quietly pulled the car over, borrowed a gas station hose and sprayed down both the dog and the kennel before returning to the road."

Terrific. Romney says the dog just loved it up there. I mean who wouldn't? Fresh air and everything.

The latest update in this story is Mitt's statement definitely proving he is not at all a strange person:

"My family pet used to climb up there and lie down on his own. And we love our family pets. Have always loved our family pets."

Well I'm convinced.

For more on Mitt's weirdness, check out Parts I, II, III.
**************************************************************************

Kill The Right People

"Under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. special operations became a “giant killing machine,” according to former Army colonel Douglas Macgregor, who anticipates a change when Navy Vice Adm. Eric Olson takes the helm of the operations. “The emphasis will be on, ‘If you have to kill someone, then for God’s sakes, kill the right people,’” Macgregor said. “That’s been lost over the last several years.”

Oh, the white folks hate the black folks,
And the black folks hate the white folks,
To hate all but the right folks,
It's an old established rule!

- Tom Lehrer, "National Brotherhood Week
*************************************************

Bush Blames Al Qaida For Violence in Iraq

"Al Qaida is the main enemy for Shia, Sunni and Kurds alike," Bush asserted. "Al Qaida's responsible for the most sensational killings in Iraq. They're responsible for the sensational killings on U.S. soil."

- George W. Bush

And yet they're apparently invicible.

What do they have, the Ark of the Covenant or something?
********************************************************************

Buzz on Fred Thompson: He's a "Soft, Safe Place" to Be?

Reuters article
By Steve Holland

"Things must be going well for prospective presidential candidate Fred Thompson because even his ex-wife and former girlfriends are endorsing him.

One-by-one they've said the Tennessee Republican is their man -- at least for president, according to London's Sunday Times newspaper.

Thompson, 64, dated for a long time after his 26-year marriage to his first wife, Sarah Knestrick, ended in 1984. In 2002 he married Jeri Kehn, who is 24 years younger than he.

"I think he has a great chance of capturing the women's vote. He's majestic. He's a soft, safe place to be and that could be Fred's ticket. Women love a soft place to lay and a strong pair of hands to hold us," ex-girlfriend country music singer Lorrie Morgan told the Sunday Times.

Another old flame, Republican fund-raiser Georgette Mosbacher, said he would defeat Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton because of his appeal to "traditional women who will like the Southern gentleman in him," according to The Times."

Well, that's interesting, I guess. Not every man is good terms with his wives and girlfriends. I'm not sure what it means that he is a "soft, safe place to be," nor do I want to. Perhaps Chris Matthews can explore this matter on an upcoming show.
******************************************************************************

TIME OUT, DUDE!

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine police chased down an unfit thief on Tuesday after he ran out of breath and asked his pursuers for a "time out."

"He was panting and gasping for air when we caught up with him after a 500 meter sprint," Erwin Buenceso, one of the arresting officers, told local radio station dzBB.

Buenceso said the man and an accomplice broke into a house in the Philippine capital and stole two expensive mobile phones. Screams from the residence alerted a local police patrol, which gave chase.

The robber asked for a "time out" using hand signals.

After he regained his composure, police seized the two stolen phones and brought him to a station for questioning."
*****************************************************************

So harsh. The man called "time out"!!

Fred Thompson -- Avid Blogger?

According to an article in Reuters, actor, lobbyist and former Senator Fred Thompson is an avid blogger and commenter on conservative Web sites as he gears up for a 2008 "posting thoughts on topics ranging from the French election to the Middle East and the immigration debate."

The article quotes Roger Simon of Pajamas Media saying: "The guy actually likes blogging. Before he decided he was going to take the plunge on a presidential race, he cruised the blogs. It attracted him."

From the article:

"That's why so much of my effort has been focused on talking to Americans through this medium," he wrote on Pajamas Media. "By empowering individuals and building communities, the Internet provides a way of going around the inside-the-beltway crowd to reach people in numbers unheard of not that long ago."

If true, it demonstrates a certain level of savvy one might expect from a Hollywood actor that you may not get from say, a Tommy Thompson or Duncan Hunter.

Speaking of second tier candidates, I also caught Gov. Gilmore on MSNBC this morning. Not an idiot, but I wouldn't expect much from him either. The peculiar thing about the brief interview was that you pull quotes from it to bolster a claim that Gilmore really wants to invade Iran, and that he thinks its a really bad idea. Also, he seems to want to pull troops out of Iraq as long dirty hippies get no credit. Ideally, he would dig up Ronald Reagan and run him for President, but alas, that is currently possible.
*******************************************************************************

Is Mitt Romney Too Weird to be President? Part III

******************************************************
According to this morning's New York Times, Jay Garrity, the director of operations of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, is going on "a paid leave of absence while the authorities investigate accusations that he impersonated a state trooper in Massachusetts and told a reporter in New Hampshire that he had run the reporter’s license plate".

According to reporter Pam Belluck, "Mr. Garrity has worked for Mr. Romney since his successful 2002 campaign for governor of Massachusetts. In 2004, Mr. Garrity was cited by the Boston police and fined after a Crown Victoria that was registered to him and that had been illegally parked was found to have police equipment without the requisite permits. The equipment included flashing lights, a siren, a nightstick and identification with a state police patch on it."

Quite a charmer, this guy.

Someone left a voicemail message at a company called Wayne’s Drains, saying he was "Trooper Garrity," of the "Massachusetts State Police" and complained about one of the company's drivers. As if that weren't creepy enough, then the person said he was coming to the company to issue a citation.

Promising to show up in person to issue a ticket! That's either one very industrious state trooper, or someone with a serious screw loose.

The call was made from a call apparently linked to Jay Garrity. Garrity says is completely innocent, and far be it from this commenter to suggest otherwise. Culture of Truth and all that.

Garrity has had some bad luck lately, because a reporter for the Times, Mark Leibovich, says that Jay Garrity recently got out of Mitt Romney’s car, walked over to his car, and told him that he couldn't follow Romney's car, and further, that he had "run his license plate."

Paul Nagy, the chairman of "Conserve NH," must be backing another candidate, because he has apparently filed a complaint with the state attorney general’s office on Thursday.

From the Times: “They broke New Hampshire law,” Mr. Nagy said. “It was very arrogant, and that’s not the way we treat people up here during a presidential primary season.”

*********************************************************************************

NOW THAT'S A LOT OF WINDEX

(Reuters) - "France will unveil one of its most dazzling architectural showcases, the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, next week after a restoration that has brought fresh life to colors buried for years under grime.

Frederic Didier, chief architect of France's historical monuments, told Le Figaro daily that it now looked "like a dazzling old lady. And all the wrinkles in her face tell a story," he said.

Built in 1684 on the orders of the "Sun King" Louis XIV, the Hall, which takes its name from 357 mirrors that run along its 73 meter (220 feet) length was the centerpiece of a palace designed to emphasize the power and glory of the monarch.

The decor is considered a high point of European art in the 17th century, a period when France's might and influence was at its height.

***********************************************************************

Supreme Court Upholds Rights of Passgener in Stop

************************************************************************
The Supreme Court has ruled that passengers, as well as drivers, have the right to challenge the legality of a stop by the police.

The ruling was unanimous.

In the case, the California Supreme Court found that, as a matter Constitutional law, only the driver had been "seized" by the original traffic stop, but the passenger, who was convicted of a crime as a result of the stop, argued that he was seized as well, and therefore had the right to challenge the use of evidence against him under his rights against unreasonable search and siezure.

The Court agreed. Justice Souter wrote:

"When police make a traffic stop, a passenger in the car, like the driver, is seized for Fourth Amendment purposes and so may challenge the stop’s constitutionality."

********************************************************************************

Cat Blogging

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Cloisters Blogging

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ROBERT F. BAUER TAKES OBAMA CAMPAIGN OFF MESSAGE

*****************************************************************

Just read the "Pardon Scooter" Huffington Post column by Obama campaign General Counsel Robert F. Bauer.

I still like Obama, but this falls into the category of "way too clever by half."

I think I get what Bauer is trying to say, but on it's face it is simply ridiculous to wade into this snake pit. My advice: just campaign, and try not get sucked into irrelevant arguments like this one.

This piece, along with the incident with Edwards adviser Mudflap Saunders (I know, Mudcat) indicate that once a person is attached to a candidate, they should run all public statements through the campaign. As far as I can tell, all this will do is roil the liberal blogosphere completely unnecessarily.

Don't tell me "Pardon Scooter" is Obama's Message for the Day.

There's a class of Democratic advisers who spend too much time trying to show everyone else how smart they are. In fact, this is popular among Democrats in general, and is generally a good thing. There's nothing wrong with being smart, and as well all know, too many Republicans seem to spend all their time showing the world how stupid they are, even if, in fact, they are not. This is supposed to make them seem genuine, or something.

But sometimes cleverness can go too far. Bauer should spend a little less time showing us how he can bend logic like a pretzel and more time helping his candidate win.
*************************************************************************************

ANCIENT ROME LIVES AGAIN

Ancient Rome has been brought back to life through a unique digital reconstruction project, said to be the world's biggest computer simulation.

An international team of architects, archaeologists and experts spent 10 years working on a real-time 3D model of the city called Rome Reborn. Some 7,000 buildings were scanned and reproduced using a model of the city kept at a Rome museum.

Users enter the city at the time of Constantine and see inside buildings. The simulation takes place in the year AD 320, which is said to be the city's peak, when it had grown to a million inhabitants.

"We can take people under the Colosseum and show them how the elevators worked to bring the animals up from underground chambers for the animal hunts they held," said Bernard Frischer, the project's leader who heads Virginia's Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities.

For an eyewitness view of an empire's decline and fall, the U.S. evening news is suggested.
**************************************************************************************

TOO MANY WANGS IN CHINA

Chinese Government: We Have Too Many Wangs

Chinese officials are considering measures to expand the number of surnames in the country in order to prevent confusion, state media says. At the moment around 85% of China's 1.3 billion residents share around 100 surnames, a survey in April by the Ministry of Public Security found. The most popular name, Wang, is shared by some 93 million people.

I imagine most people will want to hold on to it.

Their name, that is.
***************************************************************************************

TUTU'S NOBEL PRIZE STOLEN; RECOVERED

Police find Archbishop Desmond Tutu's stolen Nobel Peace Prize

Police have found the Nobel Peace Prize medal awarded to South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, after it was stolen from his Soweto home on Sunday. The archbishop - who was overseas when the robbery took place - won the international award in 1984 for his work against apartheid.

I knew that on Nobel Prize on eBay too good to be true!
********************************************************************************

DO THE TALIBAN USE HELICOPTERS?

"U.S. Troops Kill 7 Afghan Police"

(By AP/Amir Shah)

"U.S. forces mistakenly killed seven Afghan police and wounded four in an apparent friendly fire incident early Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said.

Police manning a remote checkpoint in Nangarhar province said an American convoy backed by helicopters approached and opened fire despite their protests and calls for them to stop.

"I thought they were Taliban, and we shouted at them to stop, but they came closer and they opened fire," said Khan Mohammad, one of the policemen at the post. "I'm very angry. We are here to protect the Afghan government and help serve the Afghan government, but the Americans have come to kill us."

I have a question, aside from the specific circumstances of this case, prompted by the policeman's comment. Is it common for the Taliban to attack in large convoys backed by helicopters?
********************************************************************************

JOHN EDWARDS' PIRATE TREASURE

AVAST YE MATEYS!

"Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration recently announced finding what could be the richest shipwreck ever – a 350-year old sunken ship containing 500,000 gold and silver Colonial-era coins worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the Atlantic off the English coast.

So what does this have to do with John Edwards? The bulk of Mr. Edward’s $30 million personal fortune is invested in Fortress Investments, a New York hedge fund that is the second largest shareholder of Odyssey Marine, whose stock nearly doubled on news of the find."

- New York Times
********************************************************

SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY: WHY I'M VOTING AGAINST THE IRAQ FUNDING BILL

******************************************************
Why I'm voting "No" on
the Iraq Supplemental

by Patrick Leahy

Later today, the Senate is expected to vote on the 2007 Emergency Supplemental -- the Iraq War funding bill -- and I wanted to take a moment to explain to you why I will be voting against this flawed bill.

There is much that I support in this bill -- including assistance for Afghanistan and funding we added to help the National Guard address equipment shortages -- but it contains a serious flaw that I simply cannot vote for: It does not begin the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.

The original supplemental bill that passed the Senate and was sent to President Bush's desk last month paralleled the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, recommendations that would have fundamentally changed the course of our military mission in Iraq.

Unfortunately, the President vetoed the original supplemental bill and has refused any meaningful compromise that would give us a clear path toward ending of our military involvement in Iraq.

This brings us to the current version of the supplemental bill. In short, the Iraq War funding provisions in this bill represent little more than a continuation of the failed status quo -- a continuation that I find unacceptable. The current bill will not begin to redeploy our troops from Iraq, it does not put adequate pressure on the Iraqis to stand up both politically and militarily, and it does not put a stop to President Bush's escalation plan.

While the legislation sets benchmarks for the Iraqi government to follow toward reconciling the country's various political factions, these benchmarks can be waived by the President at his discretion. These benchmarks are a move in the right direction but they are far from adequate.

As long as the Iraqi government believes American troops will always be there, they'll have little reason to make the tough choices that need to be made. And this supplemental bill does little to change this dynamic.

Our engagement in Iraq has been a foreign policy failure of epic proportions. Not only have thousands of Americans lost their lives, tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis have as well. Our standing in the world has been diminished, and our weakened influence in the region has compromised our ability to fight terrorism throughout the world.

Clearly, it is time to bring our troops home, and I am disappointed that President Bush vetoed the first bill that would have done just that. Since this new supplemental does not begin the withdrawal of our troops -- while providing tens of billions more dollars in taxpayer money for the President's failed policy -- I cannot in good conscience vote for it.
***********************************************************************

DINOSAURS IN EDEN!!

From Edward Rothstein's New York Times review of the new Creation Museum, in Kentucky:

It could be like any other natural history museum, luring families with the promise of immense fossils and dinosaur adventures. But step a little farther into the entrance hall, and you come upon a pastoral scene undreamt of by any natural history museum. Two prehistoric children play near a burbling waterfall, thoroughly at home in the natural world. Dinosaurs cavort nearby, their animatronic mechanisms turning them into alluring companions, their gaping mouths seeming not threatening, but almost welcoming, as an Apatosaurus munches on leaves a few yards away.

...here at the $27 million Creation Museum, which opens on May 28 (in Kentucky) this pastoral scene is a glimpse of the world just after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, in which dinosaurs are still apparently as herbivorous as humans, and all are enjoying a little calm in the days after the fall.

It also serves as a vivid introduction to the sheer weirdness and daring of this museum created by the Answers in Genesis ministry that combines displays of extraordinary nautilus shell fossils and biblical tableaus, celebrations of natural wonders and allusions to human sin. Evolution gets its continual comeuppance, while biblical revelations are treated as gospel.

It is a measure of the museum’s daring that dinosaurs and fossils — once considered major challenges to belief in the Bible’s creation story — are here so central, appearing not as tests of faith, as one religious authority once surmised, but as creatures no different from the giraffes and cats that still walk the earth. Fossils, the museum teaches, are no older than Noah’s flood; in fact dinosaurs were on the ark.

So dinosaur skeletons and brightly colored mineral crystals and images of the Grand Canyon are here, as are life-size dioramas showing paleontologists digging in mock earth, Moses and Paul teaching their doctrines, Martin Luther chastising the church to return to Scripture, Adam and Eve guiltily standing near skinned animals, covering their nakedness, and a supposedly full-size reproduction of a section of Noah’s ark.

Whether you are willing to grant the premises of this museum almost becomes irrelevant as you are drawn into its mixture of spectacle and narrative. Its 60,000 square feet of exhibits are often stunningly designed by Patrick Marsh, who, like the entire museum staff, declares adherence to the ministry’s views; he evidently also knows the lure of secular sensations, since he designed the “Jaws” and “King Kong” attractions at Universal Studios in Florida.

The heart of the museum is a series of catastrophes. The main one is the fall, with Adam and Eve eating of the tree of knowledge; after that tableau the viewer descends from the brightness of Eden into genuinely creepy cement hallways of urban slums. Photographs show the pain of war, childbirth, death — the wages of primal sin.

Start accepting evolution or an ancient Earth, and the result is like the giant wrecking ball, labeled “Millions of Years,” that is shown smashing the ground at the foundation of a church, the cracks reaching across the gallery to a model of a home in which videos demonstrate the imminence of moral dissolution. A teenager is shown sitting at a computer; he is, we are told, looking at pornography."

**************************************************************************
Or blogging.

Smithsonian Alters Climate Exhibition

Associated Press:

"The Smithsonian Institution toned down an exhibition on Arctic climate change, fearing that it would anger Congress and the Bush administration, a former museum administrator said. The official text of the exhibition was rewritten to minimize and add uncertainty about the relationship between global warming and people, said the former official, Robert Sullivan, who was associate director in charge of exhibitions at the National Museum of Natural History."

As usual, truth and the Bush administration are at odds.
***********************************************************************

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"If the Internet crashed permanently tomorrow, I'd be thrilled."

- Robert J. Samuelson, Newsweek

***************************************************************

HOW EASY IS NETWORK PROGRAMMING? SO EASY EVEN. . .

************************************************************
New York Times:

ABC, part of the Walt Disney Company, is replacing darker, complicated series that viewers and advertisers disdained with more upbeat, accessible fare. Examples include “Private Practice,” a spinoff from the hit series “Grey’s Anatomy”; “Dirty Sexy Money,” a nighttime soap opera about an “absurdly wealthy” family in New York; and even a sitcom based on the misunderstood cavemen characters from television commercials for Geico insurance."

***********************************************************

NAVY LAWYER FOUND GUILTY OF REVEALING NAMES OF GITMO DETAINEES

***********************************************************
(AP)"A Navy lawyer who gave a human rights attorney the names of 550 Guantanamo Bay detainees was convicted in military court Thursday of communicating secret information that could be used to injure the United States.

Prosecutors said Diaz mailed an unsigned Valentine's Day card that included a printout of the detainees' names, nationalities, the interrogators assigned to them and intelligence sources and methods. They contend that his actions endangered the lives of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, and of American troops.

Defense attorneys said that the information was not labeled classified and that Diaz had no reason to think the document could be used to injure the U.S.

Patrick McLain, Diaz's civilian lawyer, acknowledged that his client sent a card to lawyer Barbara Olshansky containing names and other identifying information about detainees.

At the time, Olshansky worked for the Center for Constitutional Rights, a nonprofit group that was suing the federal government to obtain the detainees' names. She turned the document over to federal authorities, and they traced it to Diaz.

**************************************************************

THE BIBLE AS A WEDGE ISSUE?

****************************************************************
"Hong Kong's media regulator has rejected calls to reclassify the Bible as an indecent publication following more than 2,000 complaints about its sexual and violent content, including rape and incest.

"The Bible is a religious text which is part of civilization. It has been passed from generation to generation," Hong Kong's Television and Licensing Authority (TELA) said in a statement issued late Thursday.

The regulator received 2,041 complaints against the Bible this week, following an uproar over a sex column in a student magazine that was classified as "indecent" by authorities for asking if readers had ever fantasized about incest or bestiality."
-Reuters

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BIPARTISAN GROUP OF SENATORS CALL FOR RELEASE OF 9/11 REPORT

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(AP) "A bipartisan group of senators is pushing legislation that would force the CIA to release an inspector general's report on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The CIA has spent more than 20 months weighing requests under the Freedom of Information Act for its internal investigation of the attacks but has yet to release any portion of it.

The agency is the only federal office involved in counterterrorism operations that has not made at least a version of its internal 9/11 investigation public.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and two other intelligence committee leaders — chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and senior Republican Kit Bond of Missouri — are pushing legislation that would require the agency to declassify the executive summary of the review within one month and submit a report to Congress explaining why any material was withheld."
****************************************************************

OK, SO IS IT ACTUALLY A WEB?

****************************************************************
Judge Peter Openshaw, in London, England, is presiding over a trial of three men stand charged with inciting terrorism over the Internet. According to a Reuters account of from Wednesday, Judge Openshaw spoke out to get a clarification on the whole intertubes thing:

"The trouble is I don't understand the language. I don't really understand what a Web site is," Openshaw said. After the prosecutor did some explaining, the judge still was at a bit of a loss: "I haven't quite grasped the concepts."

###
Well, you see, the Internets is a series of tubes.....
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It's OK, in Farsi Esfandiari Means 'Padilla'

**************************************************************************************

"Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner and the lead attorney for imprisoned American scholar Haleh Esfandiari, charged yesterday that the Iranian government has turned down her request to represent the Potomac resident, refused information on the charges against Esfandiari and denied a legal team access to its client."

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POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN SECOND LIFE?

(Reuters)"Spain's bitter political wrangling has spread to Second Life, with supporters of socialist and conservative parties trying to burn down each others' party offices in the virtual world.

"They have thrown bombs, entered the building with submachine guns, lit fires, everything you could imagine," an official from Spain's ruling Socialist Party, using the Second Life moniker Zeros Kuhm, told Reuters.

Can't we all just get along?
***************************************************************************************

Hardball - Thursday, May 17

Hardball - Thursday, May 17 (Last Ten Minutes)

***********************************************************

Tweety: yur from chicago like teh deep dish

Chicago Reporter: thanx

Tweety: immigration bill is teh fake

Chicago Reporter: its teh song and dance

Tweety: all that jazz

Chicago: yeah

Tweety: im cynical but tomorrow there will still be illegals

Chic: well give it a day

Tweety: will Congress really make it illegal to hire someone legally

Chic: maybe

Tweety: teh angloes luv the fence

Tweety: WSJ supports Abu Wall Street Journal is Shakespearean they also can't get blood off their hands

Ron Reagan: this scandal leads to the White House question is now who was beating up on Ashcroft in the hospital

O'Beirne: im in teh beltway i say this is boooring

Tweety: Ashcroft was in a coma like Michael Douglas in that Crichton movie

O'Beirne: but he followed the balloon with his eyes and he said go ahead and wiretap

Tweety: its like Barzzini in teh Godfather he sleeps with teh fishes

O'Beirne: his sex life is irrelevant dood

Reagan: it was totally illegal

O'Beire: no its legal now

Reagan: how about B4

O'Berine: i dunno

Reagan: well maybe we should r u a citizen or sheeperson

Tweety: wow David Mamet couldn't write this

Reagan: coffee is closers dood now take yur meds tweety

Rosie O'Donnell: invading iraq it like teh terrorism

O'Beirne: poor elizabeth she ain't not Hasselbeck girl she has to sleep with teh looser

Reagan: most americans would not accept $2,000 if their child was killed by an arab soldier in their hometown call me crazy

O'Beirne: the troops! the troops!

Tweety: u go gurl

O'Beirne: im bending over backwards to justify killing civilians

Reagan: Rosie isnt a good poster gurl

Tweety: im a nationalist but there r many people who hate america in know because they disagree with me

O'Beirne: rosie is fat

Tweety: there r gud critics like me who luv America and there are dirty hippie bloggers like that dood who duz teh Bobblespeak Translations who hate america and we must always remember the difference

GREAT MOMENTS IN SPAMMING

Just received this in my inbox:

"My late husband was very wealthy and after his death, I inherited all his health. The doctors has advised me that I may not live for more than six months, so I now decided to divide the part of this wealth, to contribute to the development of the church in Africa, America Asia and Europe especially creating solution to problems of less privileged ones...."

Good luck with all that.
******************************************************************************

War Czar: El Lute

I, for one, welcome our new War Czar

He had only seen the dark side of life
The man they called El Lute
And he wanted a home just like you and like me
In a country where all would be free
So he taught himself to read and to write
It didnt help El Lute
He was one who had dared to escape overnight
They had to find El Lute

Soon the fame of his name
Spread like wild fire all over the land
With a price on his head
People still gave him bread
And they gave him a hand
For they knew he was right
And his fight was their fight

The man they called El Lute
And he wanted a home just like you and like me
In a country where all would be free
And then freedom really came to his land
And also to El Lute
Now he walks in the light of a sunny new day
The man they called El Lute
**************************************************************************

Yes, Bush has a Civil Liberties Board. Sort of.

Lanny Davis has quit Bush's Civil Liberties Board because they're politicized and weren't doing anything.

In other news, Vlad Dracul's anti-impaling Board failured to hold a single meeting, Ghengis Khan's Pacifist Board didn't issue a report, and The Hulk's No-Smash Board was dissolved after the conferenced table was destroyed.

**************************************************************************

BLOGGERS TO MEDIA: WHY IS THERE FEAR BEHIND YOUR EYES?

Atrios, Digby and Ezra Klein have all addressed this Grubisich business pretty well.

I would only add that Grubisich and other cushioned, coddled and ensconsed writers panicking at contentious bloggers while proudly announcing their defiance of anonymous writers are beginning to remind me of the Prince played by Chris Sarandon in The Princess Bride.

Prince Humperdinck was constantly going around yammering "I would not say such things if I were you!" and insisting his fiancee's true love, Westley, is bluffing and lacks strength and that nothing is wrong in his kingdom and his wedding will proceed and his uncredentialed upstart archenemy is dead because he killed him himself.

And the Princess responds "Then why is there fear behind your eyes?"



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Einstein like Ayn Rand?

What I just learned from MSNBC:

Albert Einstein's political
philosophy was just like Ayn Rand.


Good to know.
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Bonus Cat Blogging

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Friday Feline Blogging

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GOODLING IMMUNITY DEAL APPROVED

JUDGE APPROVES IMMUNITY DEAL FOR
MONICA GOODLING IN PROBE OF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

(Associated Press) "A federal judge approved an immunity deal Friday allowing former Justice Department aide Monica Goodling to testify before Congress about the firing of eight federal prosecutors.

Goodling, who served as the department's White House liaison, has refused to discuss the firings without a guarantee that she will not be prosecuted. Congress agreed to the deal, Justice Department investigators reluctantly agreed not to not oppose it and U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan gave it final approval Friday.

"Monica Goodling may not refuse to testify," Hogan began his brief order, which said that Goodling could not be prosecuted for anything other than perjury in connection with her testimony."

The immunity deal itself removes her Fifth Amendment right, since it can only be invoked to protect against self-incrimination. So let's hear it, Monica.

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UNPOPULAR BABY NAMES

DEPARTMENT OF
"NO SHIT, REALLY?"

Headline:
"Katrina dips in popularity as baby name"
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QUEEN DISSES BUSH

Associated Press:

"At one point in the South Lawn ceremony, Bush noted that the Queen has dined with 10 U.S. presidents and had helped the United States "celebrate its bicentennial in 1776.."

"Bush caught himself and corrected the date to 1976. This brought loud laughter from many in the invited audience of thousands."

"A chagrined Bush deadpanned that the queen just "gave me a look that only a mother could give a child."

The queen had the last laugh.

Dispensing with protocol briefly at the formal dinner she hosted for
President Bush, Queen Elizabeth II said, "I wonder whether I should start this toast by saying, 'When I was here in 1776.' "

Bush took it in stride, though, starting his toast by saying, "Your Majesty, I can't top that one."
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Someone finally bullied the bully. That must have stung.

"Convenience is a big factor when you're a terrorist."

They can do it around the corner, and convenience is a big factor when you’re a terrorist.”

- Dick Morris, Fox News

Oh definitely. For your busy modern terrorist, constantly on the go, convenience is a top priority. Afghanistan was originally chosen as a safe haven, for example, for it many fine schools, but also for its proximity to major transportation hubs, laundromats, dry cleaners, low taxes, and restaurants serving halal to go.

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Is Mitt Romney Too Weird To Be President? Part Two

Mitt Romney:

"It seems that Europe leads Americans in this way of thinking," Romney told the crowd of more than 5,000. "In France, for instance, I'm told that marriage is now frequently contracted in seven-year terms where either party may move on when their term is up. How shallow and how different from the Europe of the past."

Recently I speculated that while Gov. Romney certainly looks and sounds the part, he might be too weird to be President. And although the consensus is that he performed well in the GOP debates, his recent comments do nothing to disabuse one of the notion that Mitt Romney's capacity for thinking and speaking is like that of a man operating one golden plate short of a holy book.

Via Ana Marie Cox, we learn that Romney's nutty crack is from "The Memory of Earth," a sci-fi version "of the Book of Mormon set in outer space."

They say when fascism comes to the USA it will be draped in the flag and carrying a cross.

And when a crazy man becomes President, he will he have a chiseled chin and perfect hair.
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PEER REVIEWED CREATION SCIENCE

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Hey Regents grads - we know times are tough, what with Congress looking into hiring practices the Department of Justice, and elsewhere in the Bush administration. On the upside, the International Journal for Creation Research is calling for a peer-reviewed papers for their inaugural issue. This is a very special opportunity, especially as it might be the only inauguration you will be involved with for a while. So get cracking!

Did Adam and Eve Ride Dinosaurs to Church? A Study of Human-Lizard Relations in Pre-Flood Eden isn't going to write itself.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the home page:

The Institute for Creation Research is pleased to announce the inaugural Call for Papers for the International Journal of Creation Research (IJCR). IJCR is a professional peer-reviewed journal of interdisciplinary scientific research that presents evidence for recent creation within a biblical framework. Addressing the need to disseminate the vast field of research conducted by experts in geology, genetics, astronomy, and other disciplines of science, IJCR provides scientists and students hard data based on cutting-edge research that demonstrates the young earth model, the global Flood, the non-evolutionary origin of the species, and other evidences that correlate to the biblical accounts.

It is our hope that you will be encouraged in your study of creation science issues that remain at the forefront of education and research.

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BUSH: "I'M THE COMMANDER GUY"

"And as you know, my position is clear -- I'm the commander guy."

- George W. Bush

That's it. Sorry to disappoint Res Ipsa Loquitur and the rest, but my humor liveblogging days may be done.

How can one top that?

Bush rapidly outpaces even the most exhaustive efforts of tireless satirists.

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LIEBERMAN FOR PRESIDENT?

WASHINGTON (AP)-Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Lieberman said Monday a third-party candidate could emerge to shake things up in the 2008 presidential race unless the two major parties tackle the growing problem of partisan polarization that alienates many voters.

"I think the public is fed up," he said. "If the two major parties don't hear this going into '08, there is a real chance of an independent third-party candidacy -- and watch out if that happens," he said at a forum on civility and politics on Capitol Hill."

Because this country is clearly clamoring for a nagging flip-flopping scold who favors higher taxes and escalating the Iraq war.

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CHAVEZ TAKES OVER OIL FIELDS

CNN:

"President Hugo Chavez's government took over Venezuela's last remaining privately run oil fields today, intensifying a decisive struggle with big oil over one of the world's most lucrative deposits. The companies giving up control include BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Chevron."
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IS MITT ROMNEY TOO WEIRD TO BE PRESIDENT?

I'm serious. Mitt Romney has a rather slick and chisled look that one might think a President "ought" to look, but one often gets the sense underneath the surface may be a character of surpassing strangeness just waiting to come out. To wit:

"When asked his favorite novel in an interview shown yesterday on the Fox News Channel, Mitt Romney pointed to “Battlefield Earth,” a novel by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. That book was turned into a film by John Travolta, a Scientologist."

Such statements are so given to scrutiny any candidate would be forgiven for giving a calculated response, but this is bizarre by any standard. Expect a "clarification" any minute now.
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