Thursday, January 31, 2008

because the law doesn't apply to him

Bush will ignore more of Harry Reid's and Nancy Pelosi's laws
(Americablog)
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I've always despised people who think that the laws that everyone else has to follow do not apply to them and bush is the worst offender of them all. And no one ever calls him on it!
Sickening...
Will we ever again have a president who is not a criminal?

gee, what a surprise

unimaginable

1 million:

Iraqis who have died “as a result of the conflict in their country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, according to research conducted by one of Britain’s leading polling groups.” The survey also found that “20 percent of people had had at least one death in their household as a result of the conflict, rather than natural causes.”

(Think Progress)
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How can bush and his unholy cohorts sleep at night? The magnitude of this is literally mind-boggling!

i wish that this could still surprise me

24 Hours After Touting Clean Coal In SOTU, White House Drops Ambitious Clean Coal Project
(Think Progress)
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I can't even be outraged anymore - i just expect this asshole to screw America and the world and to lie to our faces. It's not like we've been able to believe a word that he has said since he took office.
Can anyone still imagine having a president that you don't expect to break laws, lie constantly, be universally hated, have the speaking ability of a 3 year old, and generally not give a shit about anyone expect his big corporation buddies?

not like he gives a shit

Bush shrugs off plummeting international reputation.
(Think Progress)
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I think that his goal all along has been to ruin to good will people had for our country under the Clinton administration. What else could explain his insane policies?

more on bush's "progress"

January shows signs of backslide in Iraq security gains.

“There are growing signs of backsliding in Iraq,” writes Spencer Ackerman today. According to “Iraq security statistics over the past 13 weeks,” roadside bomb explosions in Baghdad “have ticked up slightly to 131 in January from 129 in December — and the last week of January is not included in these latest figures.” Additionally, “the week ending on January 25 saw seven suicide explosions Iraq-wide, the most since the week ending Dec. 21, 2007.”

(Think Progress)

well, duh - who doesn't know this?

US military may not be ready for attack

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military isn't ready for a catastrophic attack on the country, and National Guard forces don't have the equipment or training they need for the job, according to a report.

Even fewer Army National Guard units are combat-ready today than were nearly a year ago when the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves determined that 88 percent of the units were not prepared for the fight, the panel says in a new report released Thursday.


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So what's all this about the repugs making us safer?

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

and somehow he has people supporting this

they can't give up pork!

because he wants to stay forever

Bush Issues Signing Statement On Defense Act, Waiving Ban On Permanent Bases In Iraq
(Think Progress)
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Man, i hope we get someone sane in the WH next year (f'k, we still have to wait another year!) who will do something positive for us and our country and our troops instead of this one-trick moron....

same old story

Bolton: ‘The Mullahs In Tehran’ Want A Democrat To Win The Presidency In 2008
(Think Progress)
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Yeah, i'm sure that they would rather have someone who is likely to do something in the WH rather than bush who has played into their hands from day one. Sure they would...

not surprising and not sorry to see him go

another ancient city found

Ruins of 7,000-year-old city found in Egypt oasis

CAIRO (AFP) - A team of US archaeologists has discovered the ruins of a city dating back to the period of the first farmers 7,000 years ago in Egypt's Fayyum oasis, the supreme council of antiquities said on Tuesday.

"An electromagnetic survey revealed the existence in the Karanis region of a network of walls and roads similar to those constructed during the Greco-Roman period," the council's chief Zahi Hawwas said.

The remnants of the city are "still buried beneath the sand and the details of this discovery will be revealed in due course," Hawwas said.

"The artefacts consist of the remains of walls and houses in terracotta or dressed limestone as well as a large quantity of pottery and the foundations of ovens and grain stores," he added.

The remains date back to the Neolithic period between 5,200 and 4,500 BC.

The local director of antiquities, Ahmed Abdel Alim, said the site was just seven kilometres (four miles) from Fayyum lake and would probably have lain at the water's edge at the time it was inhabited.


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sorry to see him go

Edwards to quit presidential race

DENVER - Democrat John Edwards is exiting the presidential race Wednesday, ending a scrappy underdog bid in which he steered his rivals toward progressive ideals while grappling with family hardship that roused voters' sympathies, The Associated Press has learned.


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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

good for Hillary!

Hillary speaks out about gay youth suicide
(Americablog - you can see the video there)
Compared to:
McCain is now gay-baiting
(also Americablog)

wow - do they expect anyone to believe this?

Democratic response to SOTU

not a comparison that i would think he would endorse

Matthews To McCain: ‘The President Gave Your Speech Tonight’
(Think Progress)
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I would think that most sane people would be furious at such a comparison, but McCain seemed to approve of it!
I guess that he really is losing grips with reality!

very cool

Researchers seek animal test alternative

TROY, N.Y. - The lab rat of the future may have no whiskers and no tail — and might not even be a rat at all.

With a European ban looming on animal testing for cosmetics, companies are giving a hard look at high-tech alternatives like the small, rectangular glass chip professor Jonathan Dordick holds up to the light in his lab at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

The chip looks like a standard microscope slide, but it holds hundreds of tiny white dots loaded with human cell cultures and enzymes. It's designed to mimic human reactions to potentially toxic chemical compounds, meaning critters like rats and mice may no longer need to be on the front line of tests for new blockbuster drugs or wrinkle creams.


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This is definitely a field that needs more research. We need to get away from the inhumane treatment of animals in the lab.
Obviously, this is going to take some time, but it's good to know that people are at least thinking about it and working on it.

dumb asses

Home foreclosure rate soars in 2007

LOS ANGELES - The number of U.S. homes that slipped into some stage of foreclosure in 2007 was 79 percent higher than in the previous year, a real estate tracking company said Tuesday. Many homeowners started to fall behind on mortgage payments in the last three months, setting the stage for more foreclosures this year.
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Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation last year, with 3.4 percent of its households receiving foreclosure filings. That was more than three times the national average, RealtyTrac said.


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I can attest to the number of foreclosures in Nevada as just my neighborhood has had an absurd number of them.
I do feel bad for people who through no fault of their own have gone into foreclosure - lost jobs or what-have-you - but i have no sympathy whatsoever for fools who took ARM loans thinking that they were going to "flip this house" and lost out.
We bought a house that we could afford and made sure that we had payments that wouldn't be a problem for us and we have done fine.
People have to learn how to operate in the real world and not some fantasy land where they'll become overnight millionaires...

Monday, January 28, 2008

because facts have a liberal bias!

because he believes the war should have unlimited funding but not the welfare of the American public

Bush seeks $70 billion more for war.

“The Bush administration will ask Congress next week for $70 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other related operations for part of the 2009 fiscal year, the Pentagon said on Monday.”

(Think Progress)

because fear tactics are all they have

Sicko DVD - Michael Moore


I realize that I am probably the last person to see this movie, but I just picked up the DVD and definitely recommend this whole-heartedly.

As usual with Moore, the movie is funny, sad, ironic, touching and more all at the same time.

The absurdity of one of the world's major powers not providing health care for its people is highlighted again and again and something that Americans take for granted - needing insurance to get any type of health care and still sometimes being denied - is shown to be positively insulting. As my wife said, "doesn't it make you feel foolish to live in America"?

Of course, I understand how it has come to this and that there are intense, major hurdles to jump before we could have anything close to the universal health care enjoyed by most of the civilized world, but it doesn't mean that it isn't something that we should strive for!

I also understand that Michael Moore movies are propaganda pieces, but they are also truthful and he shows the ridiculousness of our country.

Well worth seeing!

"lost touch"? I don't think he was ever "in" touch!

never-ending chaos

5 US soldiers killed in northern Iraq

BAGHDAD - Five American soldiers were killed Monday by a roadside bomb in the northern city of Mosul, described as one of al-Qaida in Iraq's last strongholds, just days after a house explosion and suicide attack killed as many as 60 people there.


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hahahahahahaha - if only!

Romney, McCain call each other 'liberal'
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Maybe they'd have some sane people backing them if they had some sane, progressive ideas and weren't trying to copy bush's failures...

Senate trying to improve economic insentive package

Senate may add to stimulus package

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats will move to add to a $150 billion economic stimulus package rebates for senior citizens living off Social Security and an extension of unemployment benefits, setting up a clash with the White House and House leaders who are pushing a narrower package.
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Adding rebates for senior citizens living solely off Social Security checks — who are ineligible under the plan hatched by House leaders and the White House — would likely mean doling out smaller rebates overall, shrinking the size of the payments from $600 to $500, according to aides familiar with the emerging proposal.
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The House plan leaves out some 20 million seniors, according to the AARP.

The Senate measure is likely to include a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits and a 26-week extension in states where the unemployment rate exceeds 6 percent, the aides said.
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But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said the Senate would consider adding to that plan, including extending unemployment benefits, boosting home heating subsidies, raising food stamp benefits and approving money for public works projects.


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Of course, the WH is against helping the people who actually need help, but at least the Senate is trying. I'm not holding my breath on this, though - it makes too much sense!

Friday, January 25, 2008

Friday Beagle Blogging - big paw edition!


they do realize that the show has been off the air for decades, don't they?

Fonzie to get bronze statue in Milwaukee
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This is just bizarre...

Thursday, January 24, 2008

before and after bush

The legacy of Bush’s presidency.

A new chart put out by the House Democratic Caucus compares the state of the country when President Bush took office to the state of the country today.

Click here for the chart.


(Think Progress)
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Take a wild guess on which direction this country has gone?

because he can't possibly nominate someone qualified and non-controversial


Bush re-nominates Bradbury as OLC head.
President Bush announced today that he is re-nominating Steven Bradbury to be head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, despite the Senate’s objections. Bradbury came under criticism last fall “when it was disclosed that he was the author of a pair of secret legal opinions that endorsed rough techniques for suspects in the custody of the Central Intelligence Agency.” More on Bradbury’s history with torture here.
(Think Progress)

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Gawd forbid that he ever compromise in the least! He's sure that he'll be able to force his way no matter what because he's been given the green light so many times before, despite legitimate objections. The House needs to stand up to this asshole and not give in to his unreasonable demands yet again...

bush's utter failure in Iraq

Iraq report card: only 3 of 18 benchmarks met.

On the one year anniversary of President Bush’s State of the Union address justifying his “New Way Forward” in Iraq, Center for American Progress has compiled an “Iraq Benchmark Report Card” showing that “the surge has failed to meet its objectives” as “the Iraqi government has only met three of the 18 benchmarks laid out last year.”

(Think Progress)

too bad, but understandable

economic stimulus deal

Congress unveils economic stimulus deal

WASHINGTON - Congressional leaders announced a deal with the White House Thursday on an economic stimulus package that would give most tax filers refunds of $600 to $1,200, and more if they have children.
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The package would allow businesses to immediately write off 50 percent of purchases of plants and other capital equipment and permit small businesses to write off additional purchases of equipment. A Republican-written provision to allow businesses suffering losses now to reclaim taxes previously paid was dropped.

Pelosi, D-Calif., agreed to drop increases in food stamp and unemployment benefits during a Wednesday meeting in exchange for gaining the rebates of at least $300 for almost everyone earning a paycheck, including those who make too little to pay income taxes.
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The package was drawing fire from liberal activists and labor unions upset that proposals to extend unemployment insurance and boost food stamps had been dropped. Many Democratic lawmakers had assumed those proposals would make it into the package, and critics of the deal said those ideas could pump money into the economy more quickly than tax rebate checks that won't be delivered until June.

Democrats wanted to extend unemployment benefits for people whose 26 weeks of benefits have run out, but Republicans resisted.

Conservative Republicans, meanwhile, were likely to be restless over tax rebates going to those without income tax liability.


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While free money is always nice, a few hundred bucks won't make a big difference to me personally, but unemployment insurance and food stamps can be a life or death matter to some people and would also make a major difference in the economy.

I'm far from an economist, but this sounds like the priorities are screwy, as usual...

There's a really odd post at Americablog regarding this issue. Whereas i was thinking that i don't need this rebate and it should go to the truly needy, John at Americablog thinks that the $75,000/$150,000 is too low of a cut off point! I'm sorry, but my wife and i don't make $75,000 (the cut off point for a single person!) together and yet we're doing fine, own a house, both have new cars, insurance, etc. No, we don't live extravagantly, but we have everything that we need and plenty of luxuries. If we were making twice as much, we'd be banking most of it. It's true we don't have much in the way of savings, but otherwise, we're doing good. And, we're making more than when we lived in Los Angeles, which has a higher cost of living!

Very much out of character for Americablog...

More on this package from Crooks and Liars. The reason that the truly needy were left off of this package was so that businesses could get yet another tax break! Priorities!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

hardly a surprise

An ‘inconvenient truth’ for GOP war on earmarks.
Though President Bush and congressional conservatives are seeking “to shame Democrats for failing to kill the practice of earmarking money for pet projects,” an “inconvenient truth” undermining their strategy is the fact that “Democrats last year actually approved fewer earmarks than Republicans did when they ran Congress.” Compared to the Republican-controlled Congress in 2006, “the total number of earmarks is down” by nearly 25 percent.

(Think Progress)
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Everyone knows that despite the repugs' rhetoric, the Dems are far more fiscally responsible and don't give out nearly as many corporate freebies...

bush continues to deny children health care

House fails to override health bill veto

WASHINGTON - For the second time in three months, the House failed Wednesday to override President Bush's veto of a bill that would greatly increase spending on a popular children's health insurance program.

Democratic leaders fell 15 votes shy of obtaining the two-thirds majority needed for an override. The final vote was 260-152, with 42 Republicans siding with Democrats.

The result was expected, even as supporters of an override turned to the slowing economy as another reason to spend an additional $35 billion on the State Children's Health Insurance Program over the next five years.

"Hardworking American families are struggling and in dire need of assistance," said Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.


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It is pretty amazing that even repugs want to be known for denying kids health care coverage!
Would it be possible to portray anyone as a bigger ogre?

cheney continues his war on our rights

Cheney wants surveillance law expanded

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney prodded Congress on Wednesday to extend and broaden an expiring surveillance law, saying "fighting the war on terror is a long-term enterprise" that should not come with an expiration date.

"We're reminding Congress that they must act now," Cheney told the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. The law, which authorizes the administration to eavesdrop on e-mails and phone calls to and from suspected terrorists, expires on Feb. 1. Congress is bickering over terms of its extension.


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study confirms what we already knew - bush & co lied numerous times

Truth was first US casualty in Iraq war: study

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush and his top officials ran roughshod over the truth in the run-up to the Iraq war lying a total of 935 times, a study released Wednesday found.

Bush and his then secretary of state Colin Powell made the most false statements as they sought to drum up support for the March 2003 invasion to topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, the study alleged.

In a damning report, the Center for Public Integrity found "935 false statements by eight top administration officials that mentioned Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, or links to Al-Qaeda, on at least 532 separate occasions."

"Bush and seven of his administration's top officials methodically propagated erroneous information over the two years beginning on September 11, 2001," the center said.

"These false statements dramatically increased in August 2002, just prior to congressional consideration of a war resolution and during the critical weeks in early 2003 when the president delivered his State of the Union address and Powell delivered his memorable presentation to the UN Security Council," the CPI added.

The study calls into question "the repeated assertions of Bush administration officials that they were merely the unwitting victims of bad intelligence," it added in a statement.

The US president was found to have made the most false statements referring a total of 260 times to Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction and Al-Qaeda alleged links to the Baghdad regime.

But then-secretary of state Powell only just lagged behind with 254 false communications, said the study by the center's founder Charles Lewis and researchers.

Charges that late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had stockpiled an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction were the main argument used publicy in parliaments around the world and in the United Nations to justify the US-led invasion.

But after the invasion they turned out to be untrue, when no weapons of mass destruction were found by the invading forces.

Former national security advisor Condoleezza Rice, then defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and ex-deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz were also fingered in the study, along with former White House press secretaries Ari Fleisher and Scott McClellan.

"This is a report like no other, which calls into question more than 900 false statements that were the underpinnings of the administration's case for war," argued the CPI's Executive Director Bill Buzenberg.

Cheney, for example, on August 26, 2002, in an address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention, asserted: "Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.

"There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us."

Former CIA chief George Tenet later noted Cheney's assertions exceeded his agency's assessments at the time, the report said.

In late September 2002, Bush with a congressional vote approaching on authorizing the use of military force in Iraq, insisted in a radio address that the Baghdad regime posed a global threat.

"The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons, is rebuilding the facilities to make more and, according to the British government, could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given," Bush said.

"This regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material could build one within a year."

Other administration officials muddied the waters on the alleged relationship between Iraq and the Al-Qaeda terror network, the CPI said. Asked in July 2002 if Iraq had relationships with Al-Qaeda terrorists, Rumsfeld said: "Sure."

Still, an assessment the same month by the Defense Intelligence Agency, confirmed by later by CIA chief Tenet, found an absence of any "compelling evidence demonstrating direct cooperation between the government of Iraq and Al-Qaeda."


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I'm actually surprised - and impressed - that our "liberal media" is even reporting on this study, though i doubt that it will receive widespread coverage.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

a hypocrtical repug? what a surprise! (a continuing series)

but it's ok cuz they're repugs

Early in the Bush administration, the White House “scrapped a custom archiving system” for e-mail records “that the Clinton administration had adopted under a federal court order.” “The Bush White House also recorded over computer backup tapes” for archiving e-mails, “even though a similar practice landed the Clinton administration in legal trouble.”

(Think Progress)
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This just goes to show how little oversight there is for this out-of-control administration and how much there was for the last admin.
Absolutely sickening....Is there no accountability to be had anymore?

because repugs deny reality they think that the rest of us do, also

Norquist: voters don’t care about global warming.

In an interview with CQ, conservative activist Grover Norquist says that he doesn’t think “there’s a person in this country that votes on this subject.” Norquist’s claim flies in the face of public opinion as 60 percent of Americans believe “we must take action now or it will be too late to stop it” and 58 percent favor capping carbon emissions. Contradicting Norquist, pollster Frank Luntz has said climate change is “the single biggest vulnerability” for conservatives.

(Think Progress)

thankfully, he can't do much about this

Bush embraces pro-lifers.

This morning, on the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, President Bush met with the participants in the March for Life, anti-choice group. The National Review’s K-Lo describes the scene:

On a cold morning in Washington today, the president got a warm reception by pro-lifers in the East Room of the White House. The crowd — which included the organizers of the official March for Life — expressed their gratitude in what seemed like an endless sea of applause, breaking up the president’s speech, which continued as he worked the room.

The president said that “in a civilized society, the strong protect the weak.” He talked about the unborn as not only being lives that deserve protection, but beings with “souls.” The president said that “America is better than this” — meaning legal abortion. … The president’s receptive audience was grateful — no doubt a gratitude that was intensified by the prospect of a less-welcoming administration to come.


(Think Progress)
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Of course, bush wants to take away as many rights as he possibly can, but seeing as a majority of America is pro-choice, I think this is one right that even bush can't remove, but he may still try!

I tend to be glib and not take much time on my posts these days just because i seem to never have spare time anymore, but this is a really important landmark. I have lived my adult life with the knowledge that this right exists and that it has helped literally countless people maintain a productive life without having to have their lives unduly burdened due to a mistake or due to contraceptives not working properly. This is taken for granted these days and I don't believe that most thinking Americans can imagine life without this literally life-saving right. We do need to maintain a dilligence and not let anti-choicers take away this vital right that every person on the planet should have.

Plenty more from Feministe

unfortunately, i'm not holding my breath

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) writes on impeachment:

“If we fail to take action to either impeach or repair the damage, then the next president will ‘inherit’ unchecked powers. Unchecked powers are unacceptable no matter who is president.”

UPDATE: “Nine out of 23 Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee favor starting impeachment hearings against Vice-President Dick Cheney. Six of the nine are co-sponsors of H.R. 799, which contains three articles of impeachment,” according to CounterPunch.


(Think Progress)
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This is all too true - i don't want anyone to have unchecked power and this admin has raped the system for far too long...

Monday, January 21, 2008

bush proves himself to be weak on terror again - will the Dems capitalize on it?

Bush to cut state anti-terror funds

Hi, Democrats. This is one of those things we call a gift from God. It's one of those moves that ends careers. That wins you elections. That destroys your enemy. It's one of those things that if we did it, we'd be paying for the gaffe for decades.

The Bush administration will cut counterterrorism money for police, firefighters and rescue departments next year...

So where is the coordinated Democratic campaign to destroy the Republicans over this incredible mistake? To forever brand them as a party weak on terror?

[Crickets]

I don't want to hear anymore about how you don't have a big enough majority in the House or Senate. You just got handed a gift from God. What you plan to do with it will speak volumes about whether you deserve to remain in office.


(Americablog)

hahahahaha

Hannity: ‘The economy is phenomenal.’
(Think Progress)
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Even bush has given up on this idiocy. Hannity is behind in reading his repug handbook!

i would love to be this poor!

Fox News pundit: I was ‘poor’ at $100,000 a year.

In 1995, current Fox News judicial commentator Andrew Napolitano left his seat on New Jersey’s Superior Court to begin a career as a news commentator. Napolitano told the Washington Times recently that the reason he left the judiciary is because “I really was tired of being poor.” His salary as a judge? $100,000 a year.

(Think Progress)
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Another stunning example as to how far out of touch these idiots are from real Americans.

typical

O’Reilly Admits There Are 200K Homeless Vets, Still Says Edwards ‘Is A Liar’ Who Owes ‘An Apology’
(Think Progress)
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This is standard for the repugs - they are forced to admit that they were wrong but they continue to deny that their opponent was right.

continued chaos in Iraq

At least 68 dead in clashes across Iraq.

As “members of a messianic cult and Iraqi troops” continued fighting for a second day, the death toll “in two predominantly Shiite southern cities rose from 50 to at least 68“:

Iraqi authorities said at least 36 people were reported killed in Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, and at least 32 in Nasiriyah, including Iraqi security forces, civilians and gunmen. At least 10 people were reported slain in Nasiriyah Friday.

There was also “a deadly bombing in northern Iraq.” The AP describes the violence of the past two days as part of “a series of recent high-profile attacks” that are “eroding the security gains of the previous six months.”


(Think Progress)

nothing suspicious about this, is there?

Cheney emails missing from day leak probe started.

Last week, House Oversight Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) revealed that the White House failed to preserve emails for at least 473 separate days. Waxman’s report said “Vice President Cheney’s office showed no electronic messages on 16 occasions from September 2003 to May 2005.” Among the sixteen days for which email are missing from Vice President Cheney’s office “is Sept. 30, 2003, the same day the day the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced they were investigating who outed former CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson.”

(Think Progress)

utterly idiotic that he has to address this

Obama takes on question of faith

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Barack Obama is stepping up his effort to correct the misconception that he's a Muslim now that the presidential campaign has hit the Bible Belt.


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Who gives a f'k what religion - if any - he is?! How does that have anything to do with his political performance?

What a stupid country we live in...

Sunday, January 20, 2008

but can we last that long?

One More Year

One year from today, at noon, we get a new President. The Bush reign will end. He still has one full year to wreak destruction on the U.S. and the world. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Just need to make sure that it's a Democrat taking the oath of office a year from today.

(Americablog)

Friday, January 18, 2008

McCain ripping on bush and his fellow repugs

McCain: Spending is out of control

FLORENCE, S.C. - John McCain blamed overspending by the federal government in part for the nation's economic troubles as South Carolina voters Friday received the sobering news that the state unemployment rate had hit 6.6 percent, the largest one-month increase in nearly 20 years.

"As a Republican, I stand before you embarrassed. Embarrassed that we let that spending get out of control," the presidential candidate told voters on the eve of the state's GOP primary.

"The economy is not good. The stock market continues down. And the indicators are not good. I'm not too astonished. ... We let spending get totally out of control, and it continues today, and I'm sorry to tell you this," McCain said at a town-hall style meeting at the Carolina Hospital East Campus in Florence.


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Funny that the repugs are finally talking about the economy that bush and his repug minions have destroyed over the last 7 years.
But he still isn't willing to stop the tax cuts to the ultra rich....

but i thought that bush said that our economy was booming!

Bush calls for $145 billion economy plan

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Friday called for about $145 billion worth of tax relief to stimulate a sagging economy and fend off a possible recession.


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He really does think that tax cuts are the solution to everything, doesn't he? What a small, small imagination...

Friday Beagle Blogging!

Rare photo of Harley standing!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

i can show him a huge contingent myself

O’Reilly: ‘There’s not many’ homeless veterans.

On last night’s O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly challenged John Edwards’ claim that 200,000 veterans “will go to sleep under bridges and on grates” because they are homeless. O’Reilly said, “They may be out there, but there’s not many of them out there. Okay? … If you know where’s a veteran, sleeping under a bridge, you call me immediately, and we will make sure that man does not do it.” The Washington Post checked into Edwards’ claim and reported that the Department of Veterans Affairs does indeed report that about 195,000 veterans are “homeless on any given night.”

UPDATE: The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America have launched a petition to tell Bill he was wrong.


(Think Progress)
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My wife works right outside a vet's center and can show Bill dozens of homeless vets any time.

but it won't happen because the Dems are wimps

severe disconnect from reality

Bachmann: I’m ‘Proud’ That ‘We Have People Working Two Jobs’ And ‘Longer Hours’
(Think Progress)
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I don't understand how anyone who is struggling to make ends meet could ever vote for these elitist asshole repugs who think it's great that people have to kill themselves just to get by.

We need someone running this country who cares for its people and for the economy.

i guess he couldn't be a repug if he wasn't a hypocrite

well, that's ok then!

Huckabee defends his call to re-write the Constitution.

Last night on Fox’s Hannity and Colmes, Mike Huckabee was forced to defend his quest to “amend the Constitution” to “God’s standards.” Huckabee said his comments were in reference to his support for a “human life amendment” and a “traditional marriage amendment.” He added, “I’m not suggesting that we re-write the Constitution to reflect tithing or Sunday school attendance. I want to make that very clear.”

(Think Progress)
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This guy is insane if he thinks that he can turn this country into a theocracy based on his personal religion and that no one will have a problem with that!

even rove is distancing himself from bush

Rove neglects to mention Bush’s name once.

Karl Rove, President Bush’s former chief political strategist, delivered a 3,200 word speech yesterday rebuking Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. One name Rove did not mention? George W. Bush. NPR’s David Welna attended Rove’s speech and asked one attendee, South Dakota national committeewoman Mary Jean Jensen, what her reaction was to that glaring omission:

WELNA: I didn’t hear Karl Rove mention his former boss possibly once during his speech.

JENSEN: Ahh…you know. [Sigh.] That’s sad, but true. But why aren’t we? He’s a great President! As Republicans, we’ve got to be mentioning his name and what he’s accomplished.


(Think Progress)
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If only they would start mentioning his name and his "accomplishments"!! What better endorsement for the Democrats could there be?!

mid-east madness

Suicide bombing kills 10 in Iraq

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber attacked a mosque in violent Diyala province northeast of Baghdad on Thursday, killing 10 people as worshippers were beating their chests in observance of Shiite Islam's holiest holiday.


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Blast at Pakistan Shiite mosque kills 7

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A suicide bomber fired gunshots then blew himself up at a Shiite mosque in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least seven people and injuring 20 others, authorities and witnesses said.


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you would think that he would give up...

Giuliani tries for Hail Mary in Florida
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But, I suppose the more divisiveness among the repugs, the better!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

another corrupt repug!

Ex-lawmaker charged in terror conspiracy

WASHINGTON - A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.

Mark Deli Siljander, a Michigan Republican when he was in the House, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.

A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying — money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Siljander, who served in the House from 1981-1987, was appointed by President Reagan to serve as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations for one year in 1987.


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Seriously, i know that politicians overall should not be trusted, but is there a single honest republican in this country?!

bush failed war - keeping us in Iraq for decades

funny repug chaos in Michigan

Dems trying to help America - repugs trying to help the rich

“Economic stimulus proposals favored by Democrats, including tax rebates and] extended unemployment benefits…are cost-effective ways” to boost the economy, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). At the same time, however, “some options floated by Republicans such as extending President Bush’s tax cuts…may be less cost-effective.”

(Think Progress)

because we know he doesn't give a f'k about the American public

Bush: Should I ‘go in fetal position because of polls?’

Yesterday on ABC, President Bush discussed his poor image at home and abroad. “I’m sure people view me as a warmonger. And I view myself as a peacemaker,” he declared. Bush said his 32 percent approval rating — the “worst approval rating of his career” — won’t stop him from ignoring the public will:

Q: But is George W. Bush still relevant? … He hasn’t had majority support in three years. He laughed off my question about that.

BUSH: So what am I supposed to do? Go in the fetal position because of your polls?


(Think Progress)

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

scary beyond belief

Huckabee: ‘amend the Constitution’ to ‘God’s standards.’

At a campaign stop yesterday, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee recommended — to a cheering audience — that the Constitution be “changed” to fit “God’s standards”:

I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that’s what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than trying to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.


(Think Progress)
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Wow - he wants to undermine the basis for the founding of this country! How can someone this insane be this close to a presidential nomination? I think the only thing worse than bush as prez would be this kind of a nutjob.

Though, i suppose he wouldn't have any chance of actually doing this as there is no way that Congress would do something as batshit crazy as this (i would hope!) but damn....

Monday, January 14, 2008

even bush thinks that he's wrong!

Bush: If I ran for President, I’d be an ‘agent of change.’
(Think Progress)
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Amazing - even he thinks that it's the right thing to campaign for a change from his failed policies!

can't be nearly as much enthusiasm as there is here in the states!

Global ‘enthusiasm’ for Bush’s departure.

The 2008 U.S. elections are attracting an “eager” audience worldwide. This past week, for example, major British newspapers “devoted more than 87 pages to news of the U.S. primaries, including 22 front-page stories.” Much of the enthusiasm, according to the Washington Post, is for the end of the Bush presidency:

But much of the enthusiasm comes from anticipation of President Bush’s departure, according to several analysts. U.S. prestige and popularity in much of the world have sunk to historic lows since Bush took office, over such issues as the Iraq war and climate change. Many analysts said the election has created high expectations that the new president will be more in tune with the rest of the world.

“In many capitals people have been waiting for this change for some time,” said Rosa Balfour, a senior analyst at the European Policy Center, a Brussels-based research group.


(Think Progress)
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The rest of the world doesn't know the half of it! They can't imagine having to live under the presidency of this idiot!

because reality doesn't reflect his view

Bush Disowns U.S. Intel, Tells Israelis Iran NIE ‘Doesn’t Reflect My Own Views’
(Think Progress)
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We all know from our sad, sad experience that bush doesn't give a shit about reality and that facts will never alter his opinions - no matter what the consequences...

utterly callous and untrue

repugs don't like to talk about health insurance

GOP candidates on staff health care coverage: no comment.

NPR attempted to contact all of the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns about whether they provide health care coverage to their staffs. All the Democratic candidates confirmed they offer health insurance, except Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who, ironically, “advocates the most generous tax-funded health plan of any candidate.” On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson, and Mitt Romney refused to even answer the question.

(Think Progress)

would be funny if it wasn't revolting

more on the bogus Iranian threat story

Gulf prankster possible message source

CAIRO, Egypt - A threatening radio message at the end of a video showing Iranian patrol boats swarming near U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf may have come from a prankster rather than from the Iranian vessels, the Navy Times newspaper has reported.


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bush the diplomat

Bush delivers arms sale to Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - President Bush, on his first visit to this oil-rich kingdom, delivered a major arms sale Monday to a major ally in a region where the U.S. casts neighboring Iran as a menace to stability.
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The sale is an important part of the U.S. strategy to bolster the defenses of oil-producing Gulf nations, such as Saudi Arabia, against threats from Iran. The official announcement will start a 30-day review period during which Congress could try to block the sale, which has already raised concern among some lawmakers.
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And the king greeted Bush at the base of the steps of Air Force One — a gesture the president never affords foreign leaders visiting the U.S. A band played each country's national anthem as the leaders walked on a red carpet behind a high-stepping uniformed officer carrying a gold sword.

The hospitality masked Bush's deep unpopularity among ordinary Saudis.

A recent poll conducted for Terror Free Tomorrow, a bipartisan group whose goal is undermining world support for terrorism, found only 12 percent here view Bush positively — lower than Iran's president or even al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden — and more think warmly toward Iran than America. Top among the reasons are the chaos in Iraq that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and the widespread Arab feeling that the United States is biased toward Israel and not serious in seeking Mideast peace.


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The leaders love bush cuz he kisses their asses, but the people hate him. A familiar tale...

Friday, January 11, 2008

more on the phony story about naval attack

living with delusion

White House Predicts ‘Remarkable Shift’: Bush Will Leave Office With 45 Percent Approval
(Think Progress)
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Do they expect anyone to believe this wacky prediction?

SOP under this admin - no accountability for anything

Army throws out conviction of Abu Ghraib commander.

“The US army has thrown out the conviction of the only officer court martialed in the Abu Ghraib scandal,” Lt. Col. Steven Jordan, and “instead given an administrative reprimand.” The order has drawn complaints from human rights activists, who are accusing the Pentagon of a “whitewash” of the scandal. “Barring any new information, the decision means no officers or civilian leaders will be held criminally responsible for the prisoner abuse.”

(Think Progress)
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disgusting...

bizarre incompetancy from this admin

FBI wiretaps dropped due to unpaid bills

WASHINGTON - Telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures to pay phone bills on time.


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is this his answer to everything?

Bush: US should have bombed Auschwitz

JERUSALEM - President Bush had tears in his eyes during an hour-long tour of Israel's Holocaust memorial Friday and told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the U.S. should have bombed Auschwitz to halt the killing, the memorial's chairman said.


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Not to say that we shouldn't have done more about this at the time, but it is interesting that this seems to be his stock answer for solving any problem.

Also, will the press report on his being a cry-baby and how it affects his leadership, as they have with Hillary?

wow - what a surprise!

Bush ends peace mission without breakthrough
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Who would ever think that bush of all people couldn't make peace?!

Friday Beagle Blogging!

Lazy, lazy dog in his natural habitat!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

lying about Iran

Surprise! U.S. Concedes Voices on Recording May Not Have Been From Iranian Speedboats

The Bush Pentagon lied again about a threat from a Middle Eastern power and the entire media just believed and repeated it, hook, line and sinker. No one could have imagined they'd lie (again). Oh wait, we did. From ABC:

Just two days after the U.S. Navy released the eerie video of Iranian speedboats swarming around American warships, which featured a chilling threat in English, the Navy is saying that the voice on the tape could have come from the shore or from another ship.

The near-clash occurred over the weekend in the Strait of Hormuz. On the U.S.-released recording, a voice can be heard saying to the Americans, "I am coming to you. You will explode after a few minutes."

The Navy never said specifically where the voices came from, but many were left with the impression they had come from the speedboats because of the way the Navy footage was edited.


(Americablog)
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The story of Iran saying that the video was doctored by the US appeared and disappeared from the online news sources yesterday before i could reference it, but i thought at the time what a shame it is that we would accept that our government could easily do something like this.

Wouldn't it be amazing to actually trust our "leaders" once again and not assume that they are lying to us?

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

more on the forgotten war

US to send 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is preparing to send at least 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan in April to bolster efforts to hold off another expected Taliban offensive in the spring, military officials said Wednesday.

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wha?

sobering

151,000:

Number of Iraqis killed because of violence since the start of the war in March 2003 through June 2006. “The estimate comes from projections by the World Health Organization and the Iraqi government, based on door-to-door surveys of nearly 10,000 households. Experts called it the largest and most scientific study of the Iraqi death toll since the war began.”

(Think Progress)

Monday, January 07, 2008

astonishingly self-delusional

Bush's Messiah Complex

From Froomkin at the Wash Post:

With time running short on his presidency -- and on the eve of a trip to the Middle East -- President Bush seems to have overcome his aversion to talking about his legacy and is now speaking fervently about how he expects to be remembered.

As it turns out, the president sees himself as quite the heroic figure.

"I can predict that the historians will say that George W. Bush recognized the threats of the 21st century, clearly defined them, and had great faith in the capacity of liberty to transform hopelessness to hope, and laid the foundation for peace by making some awfully difficult decisions," Bush told Yonit Levi of Israel's Channel 2 News....

Bush's self-image contrasts sharply with his image among his fellow Americans. More than 60 percent of Americans disapprove of the job is doing, and a CNN poll in November found that 58 percent of Americans rated Bush either a poor president, a very poor president, or the worst president ever.

Bush's view of himself is particularly delusional as he heads to a region that remains traumatized, angry and distrustful on account of Bush's disastrous war in Iraq, his antagonism of Iran and his perceived crusade against Islam.


(Americablog)
If he's actually serious, this is crazy, even for him!

clever

lying or just not paying attention?

White House Spokesman: No One Is ‘Predicting A Recession’
(Think Progress)
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I suppose it could be that they are simply ignoring what they have done to the American economy - it's not like they care!

more horror in Iraq

Baghdad suicide bomb kills Sunni leader

BAGHDAD - A double suicide attack outside an agency that cares for Sunni mosques and shrines killed at least 12 people on Monday, including the Sunni leader of a U.S.-backed group fighting al-Qaida, officials and witnesses said.

A police officer said as many as 14 people died in the twin bombing that killed Riyadh al-Samarrai, which comes a little more than a week after an audiotape of Osama bin Laden was released in which he called for renewed attacks on the mostly Sunni armed groups.


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continuing to pound the drums for war with Iran

Pentagon says ships harassed by Iran

WASHINGTON - In what U.S. officials called a serious provocation, Iranian boats harassed and provoked three U.S. Navy ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, threatening to explode the American vessels.

U.S. forces were on the verge of firing on the Iranian boats in the early Sunday incident, when the boats — believed to be from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's navy — turned and moved away, a Pentagon official said. "It is the most serious provocation of this sort that we've seen yet," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman called it a "serious incident. This is something that deserves an explanation."

Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the weekend incident was "something normal" and was resolved.


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I notice that they never say what these boats did that was so threatening
This is mighty scary - bush is really looking for a reason for another war before leaving office...

Friday, January 04, 2008

Obama wins at Iowa caucus

amazing find

Baby mammoth could shed light on warming

TOKYO - Frozen in much the state it died some 37,500 years ago, a Siberian baby mammoth undergoing tests in Japan could finally explain why the beasts were driven to extinction — and shed light on climate change, scientists said Friday.

The 6-month-old calf, unearthed in May by a reindeer herder in northern Siberia's remote Yamal-Nenets autonomous region, is virtually intact and even has some fur, though the tail and ear of the animal dubbed "Lyuba" were apparently bitten off.

"Lyuba's discovery is an historic event," said Bernard Buigues, vice president of the Geneva-based International Mammoth Committee. "It could tell us why this species didn't survive ... and shed light on the fate of human beings."

The last of the ancient beasts are thought to have roamed the earth from about 4.8 million years ago to 4,000 years ago, and researchers have debated whether their demise was due to climate change or over-hunting by humans.

"This is what we've all been waiting for — the chance to explain everything about the mammoth," said Naoki Suzuki of the Jikei University School of Medicine, who is leading the first phase of an international study of the carcass's structure.

"Our findings will be a big step toward resolving the mystery of their extinction," Suzuki told a press conference in Tokyo.

The 4-foot gray-and-brown mammoth underwent a computed tomography scan that produced 3-D pictures with an almost surgical view, Suzuki said.

Lyuba, which appeared to have died with no external wounds and was discovered still frozen, is the best preserved mammoth yet unearthed, according to Sergey Grishin, director of the Shemanovsky Yamal-Nenets Museum.

Scientists hope to analyze the 3-D data to get a better picture of the mammoth's internal organs and structure, as well as for clues on the baby's diet and why it died, Grishin said. They will also analyze tiny air samples left in Lyuba's lungs for clues to the earth's atmosphere during the last Ice Age.

Meanwhile, at a display in central Tokyo, children peered into a freezer displaying Lyuba's shriveled body. The mammoth is on display until late February.

"It looked amazing, almost like it was alive," said 10-year-old Chikara Shimizu.

"Maybe they found Lyuba because the ice in Siberia is melting from global warming," said Chikara's father, Misao Shimizu. "I find that very worrying."

Akito Arima, head of the Science Museum in Tokyo where Lyuba is on display, said global warming may be a reason the mammoth was discovered now, but he gave no details.

Permafrost — earth that remains frozen year-round — lies under much of Siberia but scientists fear that global warming will cause it to melt and could accelerate climate change by releasing large amounts of warming carbon dioxide gases into the
atmosphere.


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Thursday, January 03, 2008

more on bush's version of "supporting the troops"

funny

Pat Robertson: God told me who will win ‘08 election.

Each year, Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson “goes off alone with the Lord and then comes back to share with us what the Lord has shown him about the coming year.” This year, according to Robertson, God told him what will happen in the ‘08 election:

On Wednesday, Robertson, 77, implied that God informed him who will be elected president in November.

“He told me some things about the election, but I’m not going to say, because some old man on “60 Minutes” would make fun of me, so I’m not going to tell you who the winner’s going to be,” Robertson said, in apparent reference to CBS humorist Andy Rooney, who turns 89 on Jan. 14.


(Think Progress)
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"I know but i'm not going to tell you!" That's hilarious!

scariest thing i have ever heard

frightening and stupid

Romney: I ‘love’ Bush.
(Think Progress)

hardly a surprise

The beginning of the end for Bush.

A nation long afflicted with “Bush fatigue” anxiously takes its first step tonight towards ending the Bush presidency. Not surprisingly, President Bush does not plan to stay up to watch the Iowa caucus results. From today’s Progress Report:

In Jan. 2007, Newsweek conducted a poll asking Americans if “they wish the Bush presidency [were] simply over.” Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they did, including 59 percent of independents and 21 percent of Republicans. Today in Iowa, the final chapter of President Bush’s two terms in office will begin to unfold as an estimated 200,000 to 240,000 voters participate in the first nominating battle of the 2008 election. With Bush’s approval rating hovering around 33 percent — and with roughly 67 percent of Americans believing that the country is on the “wrong track” — a common thread running through the campaigns of the candidates from both parties is the need for a break from the policies and passions of the Bush years.


(Think Progress)

WH obstructing justice? I wish that was a surprise

romney courting the homophobes

Jim Talent: Romney will stop ‘the militant gays.’

Today on MSNBC’s Hardball, former senator Jim Talent, now an adviser to Mitt Romney, discussed Romney’s record on gays. Talent maintained that Romney has never been inconsistent on gay rights and has “always” wanted to stop the influence of “the militant gays”:

He’s always had the same position as to regards to the gay agenda. Look, he wants to know people to know he values gay people as people, okay? But he doesn’t want the militant gays to be able to change the cultural institutions of the country.


(Think Progress)
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I wonder what anyone thinks the "militant gays" are trying to do. I wonder if they mean "every gay" who simply wants equal rights?

only on Fox - education about how to avoid STDs will give you STDs!

Fox News guest: sex ed boosters want kids to get STDs.

During the Dec. 31 broadcast of Fox News’ Special Report, Concerned Women for America President Wendy Wright claimed that proponents of comprehensive sex education are trying to “encourage” sex because “they benefit when kids end up having sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies and then they lead them into having abortions.” She then added, “You have to look at the financial motives behind those who are promoting comprehensive sex ed.”

(Think Progress)
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Incredibly enough, there appears to be a handful of morons who actually believe this incredible lunacy! How anyone could think that educating kids on how NOT to get pregnant, get STDs, etc, would cause kids to get pregnant or STDs is a mystery to me!

WH lying again? What a surprise!

Perino Falsely Claims Congress Has ‘Not Moved Forward’ On Bush’s ‘Good’ Judicial Nominees

The LA Times reports today that the current 110th Congress has approved more of Bush’s nominees than did the previous GOP-led Congress:

Despite the Republicans’ loss of control of the Senate, 40 of Bush’s judges won confirmation this year, more than in the previous three years when Republicans held the majority.

By contrast, the Republican-controlled Senate in 1996 confirmed only 17 of President Clinton’s judicial nominations.


(Think Progress)

not holding my breath for justice, but this is at least a start

DOJ launches investigation into CIA tape destruction.

The Justice Department has “opened a criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes,” reports the AP. Attorney General Michael Mukasey has named John Durham, a federal prosecutor in Connecticut, to oversee the case.

(Think Progress)

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

go California!

California sues EPA over blocked emissions law.

The state of California filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today, contesting the decision last month by administrator Stephen Johnson to deny the state the right to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles. The lawsuit, which is expected to be joined by other states, will challenge “the Bush administration’s conclusion that states have no business setting emission standards.”

(Think Progress)

gawd help us all

After enjoying “a good rest” at his Crawford, TX ranch, President Bush returns to Washington with an “ambitious agenda for 2008,” which includes “tackling the mortgage lending crisis,” “securing more money from Congress for Iraq,” and pushing Congress to “permanently revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.”

(Think Progress)

2007 the deadliest year in Iraq since 2003

899:

The number of American soldiers who died in Iraq during 2007. Despite a dramatic drop in violence during the latter part of the year, 2007 was still “the deadliest for the U.S. military since the 2003 invasion.”

(Think Progress)

Also:

In “the most brazen and deadly attack” that Baghdad has seen in months, 36 people were killed and 32 were wounded by a suicide bomber who “targeted a funeral procession for a victim of another bombing.” There has been “a slight rise in suicide car and vest bombs” in Iraq since October.

And:

Iraqi civilian deaths increased in 2007.
According to Iraqi health, defense and interior ministries, 16,232 civilians died in Iraq in 2007. The year before, the ministries said that 12,371 civilians were killed. Similarly, an AP count found that 18,610 Iraqis were killed in 2007, compared to 13,813 in 2006. “Figures for the most recent months indicate that violence in Iraq has returned to the monthly levels Iraq Body Count was recording in 2005, a year which was itself (until 2006) the worst since the invasion.”

more huckabee lunacy

madness in Pakistan

More than 40 killed in violence following Bhutto’s death.
In the days since former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, “nationwide rioting” has “brought life in Pakistan to a standstill.” Yesterday, as “the death toll from the violence climbed above 40,” government officials began “to consider delaying next month’s elections.” Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Brian Katulis writes: “As violence escalates, a temporary postponement of the elections might be best not just for stability but also for the sake of Pakistan’s democratic process.”

(Think Progress)

continued chaos in Iraq

Rate of suicide bombs rises in Iraq.

Figures supplied at Gen. David Petraeus’s year-end briefing to journalists “showed a slight rise in suicide car and vest bombs since October.” Petraeus also emphasized that recent security gains in Iraq are “reversible.” “Although the security situation has improved this year, U.S. commanders have been careful not to declare victory after years in which their statements were often seen as overly optimistic,” Reuters adds.

(Think Progress)