tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34392942236900176342024-03-19T04:28:39.326-07:00The Impeachment Hearing RoomThis Blog Room will be dedicated solely to matters and news related to efforts to Impeach George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney. Ed. DickauUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger512125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-45394609279205122402008-11-25T06:47:00.000-08:002008-11-25T07:17:26.229-08:00Preparing For The Final Insult Or Assault: Impeachment, Indictment, The Bush Pardons: The 1st Wave (Plus Breaking News From Texas!)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha15uTGwwtYISmFvB9XjYMdu_I0_Wb-JJnnwWIOPJvNCYPQFIpspNuIZrH0J7UxqCbO1FACR7AiZGqvChj2BNUfdM9rfPxwKELJvNgE8ZuZU327lwLtcRR1I7ke0oXA07blrkkeNdGNsk/s1600-h/CCRIM.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha15uTGwwtYISmFvB9XjYMdu_I0_Wb-JJnnwWIOPJvNCYPQFIpspNuIZrH0J7UxqCbO1FACR7AiZGqvChj2BNUfdM9rfPxwKELJvNgE8ZuZU327lwLtcRR1I7ke0oXA07blrkkeNdGNsk/s400/CCRIM.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272607266946212210" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span">Preparing For The Final Insult Or Assault: Impeachment, Indictment, The Bush Pardons: The 1</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span">st</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span"> Wave (Plus Breaking News From Texas!)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.politickertx.com/bendubose/640/cheney-arraignment-delayed-yet-again">Cheney Arraignment Delayed Yet Again</a></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Just In:<span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6131207.html">Hearing set for Monday to oust judge in Cheney indictment</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Houston Chronicle, United States - 2 hours ago</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >RAYMONDVILLE, Texas — A hearing was set to determine whether or not to disqualify the judge presiding over the cases filed by a South Texas prosecutor against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The state Supreme Court's chief justice appointed District Judge Michael Peden of San Antonio to preside over a hearing Monday on a motion to recuse and disqualify Judge J. Manuel Banales.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The hearing is slated for Dec. 1. Last week, a Willacy County grand jury indicted numerous high-level officials including Cheney and state District Judges Janet Leal and Migdalia Lopez on allegations of abuse of power.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Texas Supreme Court assigned Peden to preside at the hearing, The Herald learned.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">The hearing starts at 10 a.m. at the Willacy County Courthouse in Raymondville</span></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >, the notice that District Clerk Pro-Tem Gloria Puente issued today states.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">{Insert}</span> <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/MYSA101305_01A_SakaiDistrictBench_18621524_html5933.html"><b>Judge</b> can't run while on bench</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Judge Michael Peden</span></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >, a Republican and one of the 10 civil judges at <b>...</b> At the time, he was heavily recruited by Specia and 73rd <b>District Judge</b> Andy Mireles</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php">MichaelMoore.com : Newsroom</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Nov 25, 2008 <b>...</b> Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson has appointed<b>District Judge Michael Peden</b> to determine if <b>District Judge</b> J. Manuel<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><b>...</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The prosecutor asked that Banales not hear the case. District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra contends Banales has worked closely with state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., one of the defendants in the case.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Half of the indictments are linked to privately run federal detention centers in the sparsely populated southern Texas county and accuse the public officials of culpability in the alleged abuse of prisoners. The indictment against Cheney alleges that his personal investment in the Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies, gives him culpability in alleged prisoner abuse. Lucio is accused of illegally profiting from prison consulting fees.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The other half of the indictments target judges, special prosecutors and the district clerk who played a role in an earlier investigation of Guerra. It accuses them of abusing their powers in investigating Guerra's office.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Charges alleging Guerra extorted money from a bail bond company and used his office for personal business were dismissed in October, but he had already lost the March Democratic primary by then. Guerra has accused Banales of allowing the 2007 indictment against him to languish for more than a year to damage his re-election chances.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Banales appointed a temporary prosecutor to handle the local officials indicted in the case because Guerra has sparred with them for years and would be a witness in their cases.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">{End Insert}</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=98ddef34-8dac-4dac-8d75-d124b1b4ccda"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-bush-pardonsby-scott-horton-harpers-magazine">The Bush Pardons?By Scott Horton Harper's Magazine</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.democrats.com/nadler-pardons">Support The Nadler <span style="">Resolution on Bush Pardons</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.blogforiowa.com/blog/_archives/2008/11/22/3989487.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Resolution Opposing Possible Bush Pardons</span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >By Linda Thieman<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Pardons can't interfere with<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="">impeachment</span>. But if we allow these pardons, we not only guarantee no federal prosecutions, and not only give Congress an excuse to drop its investigations, but we also establish the precedent that from here<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="">...</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.blogforiowa.com/blog" target="_blank" title="http://www.blogforiowa.com/blog"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Blog for Iowa - http://www.blogforiowa.com/blog</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=f3610dbe-f0ee-4b9e-8200-634b582a3605"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/blog-for-iowa-resolution-opposing-possible-bus">Blog for Iowa :: Resolution Opposing Possible Bus</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://aurionmission.blogspot.com/2008/11/congress-opposes-bush-pardonsnadler.html" target="_blank">Congress Opposes Bush Pardons Nadler Introduces Resolution <span style="">...</span></a><br />By aurion(aurion)<br />Pardons can't interfere with <span style="">impeachment</span>. But if we allow these pardons, we not only guarantee no federal prosecutions, and not only give Congress an excuse to drop its investigations, but we also establish the precedent that from here <span style="">...</span><br /><a href="http://aurionmission.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="http://aurionmission.blogspot.com/">Aurion Mission - http://aurionmission.blogspot.com/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=48c872b0-a257-4c44-bbf7-59be4692924a"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/salon-archives-by-date">Salon: Archives by Date</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081124/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_pardons">Bush pardons 14 and commutes 2 prison sentences</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081124/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_pardons">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081124/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_pardons</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush has granted pardons to 14 individuals and commuted the prison sentences of two others convicted of misdeeds ranging from drug offenses to tax evasion, from wildlife violations to bank embezzlement, The Associated Press learned Monday.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The new round of White House pardons are Bush's first since March and come less than two months before he will end his presidency. The crimes committed by those on the list also include offenses involving hazardous waste, food stamps, and the theft of government property.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Bush has been stingy during his time in office about handing out such reprieves.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Including these actions, he has granted a total of 171 and eight commutations. That's less than half as many as Presidents Clinton or Reagan issued during their time in office. Both were two-term presidents.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the latest pardon list were:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Mo. She was convicted for unauthorized use of a pesticide and violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Milton Kirk Cordes of Rapid City, S.D. Cordes was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits importation into the country of wildlife taken in violation of conservation laws.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Richard Micheal Culpepper of Mahomet, Ill., who was convicted of making false statements to the federal government.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Brenda Jean Dolenz-Helmer of Fort Worth, Texas, for reporting or helping cover up a crime.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Andrew Foster Harley of Falls Church, Va. Harley was convicted of wrongful use and distribution of marijuana and cocaine.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Obie Gene Helton of Rossville, Ga., whose offense was unauthorized acquisition of food stamps.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Carey C. Hice Sr. of Travelers Rest, S.C., who was convicted of income tax evasion.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Geneva Yvonne Hogg of Jacksonville, Fla., convicted of bank embezzlement.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_William Hoyle McCright Jr. of Midland, Texas, who was sentenced for making false entries, books, reports or statements to a bank.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Paul Julian McCurdy of Sulphur, Okla., who was sentenced for misapplication of bank funds.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Robert Earl Mohon Jr. of Grant, Ala., who was convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Ronald Alan Mohrhoff of Los Angeles, who was convicted for unlawful use of a telephone in a narcotics felony.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Daniel Figh Pue III of Conroe, Texas, convicted of illegal treatment, storage and disposal of a hazardous waste without a permit. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >_Orion Lynn Vick of White Hall, Ark., who was convicted of aiding and abetting the theft of government property. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Bush also commuted the prison sentences of John Edward Forte of North Brunswick, N.J., and James Russell Harris of Detroit, Mich. Both were convicted of cocaine offenses.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Under the Constitution, the president's power to issue pardons is absolute and cannot be overruled.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Some high-profile individuals, such as Michael Milken, are seeking a pardon on securities fraud charges. Two politicians convicted of public corruption — former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., and four-term Democratic Louisiana Gov. Edwin W. Edwards — are asking Bush to shorten their prison terms.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >One hot topic of discussion related to pardons is whether Bush might decide to issue pre-emptive pardons before he leaves office to government employees who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Some constitutional scholars and human rights groups want the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama to investigate possible war crimes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >If Bush were to pardon anyone involved, it would provide protection against criminal charges, particularly for people who were following orders or trying to protect the nation with their actions. But it would also be highly controversial.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >At the same time, Obama advisers say there is little — if any — chance that his administration would bring criminal charges.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.yahoo.com/s/992499">658 convicts seek Bush's pardon</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=10725869&ch=4226716&src=news">http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=10725869&ch=4226716&src=news</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.yahoo.com/s/992500"><br /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.yahoo.com/s/992500">Find presidential pardons in history</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=presidential+pardons+in+history&fr=fp-today&cs=bz&sado=1">http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=presidential+pardons+in+history&fr=fp-today&cs=bz&sado=1</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=2e16da79-7df8-4242-8d5e-fc1cfe56d515"></script><noscript><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></noscript></p><p class="MsoNormal"><noscript><span style="font-size:100%;">Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-la-progressive">The LA Progressive</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</span></noscript></p><p class="MsoNormal"><noscript><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></noscript></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://theaxemen.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/the-constitution-of-the-united-states-of-america-dont-believe-the-hype/" target="_blank">The Constitution of the United States of America - don’t believe <span style="">...</span></a><br />By theaxemen<br />Judgment in Cases of <span style="">Impeachment</span> shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be <span style="">...</span><br /><a href="http://theaxemen.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" title="http://theaxemen.wordpress.com/">The Axemen's Y2K Blog - http://theaxemen.wordpress.com/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=1e8fc1b0-e495-4f1f-801f-dfe6acbad30c"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-constitution-of-the-united-states-of-america">The Constitution of the United States of America</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.docudharma.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10520" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Nadler Responds to the Coming Pardons</span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >By buhdydharma<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />As a powerful member of Conyer's Judiciary committee, he has been in a critical position regarding<span style="">impeachment</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and has expressed his sympathies with the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="">impeachment</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>movement 'privately' to these constituents....while of course,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="">...</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://www.docudharma.com/" target="_blank" title="http://www.docudharma.com/"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Docudharma - Front Page - http://www.docudharma.com/</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Call It What You Will: Justice Is Justice!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://arendezvouswithdestiny.blogspot.com/2008/11/liberals-are-sharpening-blades-of-their.html"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Liberals Are Sharpening The Blades Of Their Guillotines</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://arendezvouswithdestiny.blogspot.com/2008/11/liberals-are-sharpening-blades-of-their.html"><br /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;font-family:Georgia;font-size:18;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://arendezvouswithdestiny.blogspot.com/2008/11/liberals-are-sharpening-blades-of-their.html" style="display: block; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"></span></a></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=b6bd140a-73ff-4ae2-893e-deecce9a1736"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/a-rendezvous-with-destiny">A Rendezvous with Destiny:</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://election2008ucdenver.wordpress.com/2008/11/23/the-headline-on-january-19-2009/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">The Headline On January 19, 2009?</span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >By pumpkincookie<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Article II, Section 2 of the US Constitution gives the president “Power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="">impeachment</span>.” A pardon removes both punishment and guilt.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="">...</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><a href="http://election2008ucdenver.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" title="http://election2008ucdenver.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: rgb(66, 99, 171);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Election 2008: UC Denver Political... - http://election2008ucdenver.wordpress.com/</span></span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color:green;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;color:green;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://nwitimes.com/articles/2008/11/23/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/doc9554e65b9f29ceca862575080008f353.txt" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Begin<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="">impeachment</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>proceedings vs. Bush</span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >For the last eight years, I have watched the Bush administration abuse its power to the detriment of not only US citizens, but to the entire world.<br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://nwitimes.com/" target="_blank" title="http://nwitimes.com/"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Opinion/letters To The Editor... - http://nwitimes.com/</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://womzilla.livejournal.com/227002.html" target="_blank">What's my favorite mint?</a><br />By Kevin J. Maroney(Kevin J. Maroney)<br /><span style="">Impeachment</span> and conviction of federal officials is not limited to the time that they are in office. Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rice, Card, Libby, Addington, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Mukasey, Paulson--they can all be<span style="">impeached</span> and convicted even <span style="">...</span><br /><a href="http://womzilla.livejournal.com/" target="_blank" title="http://womzilla.livejournal.com/">My Life in the Bush of Wombats - http://womzilla.livejournal.com/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=79b5b368-cec6-4dee-a976-eb89985974bf"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/florida-speaks-action-alerts">Florida Speaks: Action Alerts</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">This Is Not An Uncommon Sentiment/Idea</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/Bush-Should-Go-NOW-but--by-Rob-Kall-081123-294.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Bush</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Should Go NOW, but...</span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >OpEdNews - Newtown,PA,USA<br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >...</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >hope for<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="">impeachment</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>was gone, since the only reason to start it was to get the Republicans to act, to do "THE WALK" to tell<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="">Cheney</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="">Bush</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>to leave.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="">...</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.alternet.org/rights/108317/can_george_w._bush_%27self-pardon%27_himself/" target="_blank">Can George W. <b>Bush</b> 'Self-Pardon' Himself?</a><br />AlterNet - San Francisco,CA,USA<br />Would <b>Bush</b>, <b>Cheney</b>, Rumsfeld, et al., care? Not a bit. After all, given the choice between a trial for high treason and murder (resulting in a possible <b>...</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Charlotte Dennett promised that, if she won her race for attorney general of Vermont in the recent election, she would prosecute George W. Bush for the murder of 4,000 American soldiers and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians after he left office.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Unfortunately, Dennett did not become Vermont's attorney general. But it is possible (perhaps very possible) that one or more of our other 49 state attorneys general will take up that case after Jan. 20. Hopefully, that AG will appoint -- as Dennett promised to do --famed criminal attorney Vincent Bugliosi (author of <i>The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder</i>) as special prosecutor.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >However, there will be no prosecution or trial of George Bush -- or Dick Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, or any of the others who deliberately deceived America into a war that should never have been waged -- if Bush decides to pardon not only his accomplices in crime but also himself.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >We know that a president can pardon anyone, for any reason, and for any federal crime (except in cases of impeachment), not only after a conviction has been handed down in trial, but before any trial has even taken place, indeed before any charges have even been filed -- as Gerald Ford infamously pardoned Richard Nixon for Watergate; as George H. W. Bush pardoned Caspar Weinberger, Elliott Abrams and various CIA officials accused and/or convicted in connection with the Iran-Contra affair; as Bill Clinton pardoned his brother, Roger, for drug trafficking and financier Marc Rich for tax evasion (after Rich's wife made a significant donation to the Clinton Presidential Library); and as current President George W. Bush more recently commuted "Scooter" Libby's prison term.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >So -- can Bush do it? Can he pardon himself before leaving office?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.alternet.org/rights/108317/can_george_w._bush_%27self-pardon%27_himself/">More….</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">Cheney Gonzales Indictments Now In This Man’s Hands! Wallace B. Jefferson</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_B._Jefferson">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_B._Jefferson</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.houston-opinions.com/Tex-Jefferson.html">http://www.houston-opinions.com/Tex-Jefferson.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.texas-opinions.com/Tex-Jefferson-Opinions-Record-Texas-Supreme-Court-Chief-Justice-Wallace-Jefferson.html">http://www.texas-opinions.com/Tex-Jefferson-Opinions-Record-Texas-Supreme-Court-Chief-Justice-Wallace-Jefferson.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/court/justice_wjefferson.asp">http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/court/justice_wjefferson.asp</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.blackrepublicancounciloftexas.com/Justice_Wallace_B_Jefferson.html">http://www.blackrepublicancounciloftexas.com/Justice_Wallace_B_Jefferson.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.wallacejefferson.com/">http://www.wallacejefferson.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.wallacejefferson.com/about/">http://www.wallacejefferson.com/about/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkyHOSGi8lw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkyHOSGi8lw</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=59079">http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=59079</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Wallace_B._Jefferson">http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Wallace_B._Jefferson</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.txdirectory.com/online/person/?id=22637&office=20362">http://www.txdirectory.com/online/person/?id=22637&office=20362</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://texas-opinions.blogspot.com/2007/04/texas-supreme-court-2006-opinion-tally.html">http://texas-opinions.blogspot.com/2007/04/texas-supreme-court-2006-opinion-tally.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/paulkrugman/index.html?inline=nyt-per">http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/paulkrugman/index.html?inline=nyt-per</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/opinion/21krugman.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/opinion/21krugman.html</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=67bdc4f5-dd78-407c-bb1a-14ec23459ead"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-new-york-times-opinion">The New York Times | Opinion</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=181399d9-0070-424e-b13d-7fe10d9b60b0"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-center-for-public-integrity-eddickau">The Center for Public Integrity</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=dea26826-e9e3-41e3-a3b7-4561e39f294f"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/canadian-daily-digest-daily-digest-november-24">Canadian Daily Digest: Daily Digest November 24,</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=a1b8158b-0d1c-4491-8db3-bbb014061acc"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/jinuflection-twenty-six-things-we-now-know-seven">Jinuflection: TWENTY-SIX THINGS WE NOW KNOW SEVEN</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=5a5a886f-86ff-40ac-b2bc-4b8838bc81fb"></script><noscript><span style="font-size:100%;">Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/antiwarcom-eddickau-2">Antiwar.com</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</span></noscript></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-8104280538038978292008-11-24T17:38:00.001-08:002008-11-24T20:22:00.862-08:00In Search Of The New “Holy Grail”: The “Self Charging Electric Vehicle or (The Unplugged Self Charging Electric Fuel-less Zero Emissions Green Car<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkGyQrdiJgn6dE4h3IC0VR0iE0KcN9RBFGT0LvRFgYlWyhhlm1cmxZpm1NYOfGGyHzPzJe2wQJdwybBr4uAiPz6UAhYYjcStUhRV_IJm59trbmxyvON91bES5vcA4uVrBjlfy4Cb7-os/s1600-h/green.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkGyQrdiJgn6dE4h3IC0VR0iE0KcN9RBFGT0LvRFgYlWyhhlm1cmxZpm1NYOfGGyHzPzJe2wQJdwybBr4uAiPz6UAhYYjcStUhRV_IJm59trbmxyvON91bES5vcA4uVrBjlfy4Cb7-os/s400/green.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272403588934857586" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">In Search Of The New “Holy Grail”: The SCEV “Self Charging Electric Vehicle or (The Unplugged Self Charging Electric Fuel-less Zero Emissions No Battery Exchange Electric Vehicle: </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">(The Green Dream Machine Electric Car)</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">I am always surprised at the amount of response that I get on this subject, and I am glad to say that the dialog is becoming increasingly creative and informative.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">For instance the suggestion that I have been remiss, point well-taken, and that I could make a point by spelling out what you do not have to contend with in the “True Electric Vehicle”, like: the traditional: motor, driver train, gas tank, catalytic converter, exhaust system, radiator, clutch, vehicle computer and a whole host of repair bill polluting components.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Now please realize that here we are speaking of Non-Hybrid Electric vehicles without compromise, Fuel-less vehicles.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">But let me digress for a few moments for the sake of providing a sense of perspective as regards things to come, later in this post, and in a larger sense in worldwide events. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Like<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"> some</b> of you; I am a product of that generation that has had a “Love Affair” with the American Automobile.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Yes we were a generation that liked our cars big, or small and sleek, but always luxurious and powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We asked Detroit for that type of product and they delivered it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But when the tide was turning against that product and Detroit management began their campaign to offer vehicles the yuppie culture “needed” as part of their identity and life style, SUVs and the lot; the “Car Culture” hit a great divide and the market place became a glut of changing offerings, one after the other, without a sound response to the environmental issues identified planet wide and the economic issues creeping up on the industry.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Profit remained the singular motivation and the bottom line dictated all, and now here we are.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The days of my youth were those days when a family did its shopping on Friday nights or Saturday mornings and yard work was disposed of as well on Saturdays because Sunday was a down day that usually ended with an afternoon family drive somewhere just cruising for the sake of being on the road.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In my family it meant we ended the drive at either the local family ice cream/eatery, Roberge Dairy which also delivered our milk in the milk box on the back step. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Sound a bit nostalgic and a few years ago?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Well you’re right; my Grandparents had an ice box and an ice delivery service.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Doctors and insurance men made house calls, and our first TV was 10 inch black and white Hallicrafter.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You get the picture.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">My first automobile was a “classic”, a 4 door Black (of course) 1957 Chevy with the great 283 V-8 engine that earned me every speeding ticket I have ever had.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I grew up with that car purchased in my senior year in college, put 109,000 miles on it, filled it up every Sunday for $5.00 and became an expert in fixing it myself.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>All you had to have was a small tool kit the trunk, spare generator brushes, and a spare fuel and water pump.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That did it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/'57_Chevy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/'57_Chevy</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/625.cfm">http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/625.cfm</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/625.cfm">The chevy 283</a> |<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><a href="http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/625.cfm">http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/625.cfm</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">When I turned it in I think I turned in my lead foot for a “bit of maturity” at the same time but not the love of big powerful American auto.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The big Oldsmobile 455 engine was next and I ran through a number of them! <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_V8_engine">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldsmobile_V8_engine</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.experiencefestival.com/oldsmobile_v8_engine_-_455">http://www.experiencefestival.com/oldsmobile_v8_engine_-_455</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Oldsmobile 455 v8 engine (The Rocket) <a href="http://www.kitcarusa.com/kb.php?aid=77">http://www.kitcarusa.com/kb.php?aid=77</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">A touch of insanity entered the picture with a couple of well-warranteed<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The 400 cu in (6.6 L) B engine <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(Mopar More Parts) Chryslers that needed every word of those warrantees. The engine was a winner the computer controller was an inconsistent dog and by the time that got that thing working I was<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>moving down to a modern classic, all power, but a classic consistent performer, you know you turn the ignition key and it works, repairs low frequency and mechanics so in love with it that they could just listen and diagnosis a repair… <a href="http://www.autocarepronews.com/default.aspx?type=art&id=87714&">The Buick 3800 V6 engine</a> | <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">the <a href="http://en.mobile.wikipedia.org/transcode.php?go=Buick+V6+engine%23L32+Supercharged&PHPSESSID=784d0f226969efc643af3216891030ec">3.8L Buick Engine V6</a>!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/GM-3800-engine">It’s been installed in over 25,000,000 cars since ’95 and is still being used in some applications even today.</a> We trace the evolution of the 3.8L from 1988 to 2008 and see how it has changed through the years.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The <b>Buick V6</b>, initially marketed as <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V6_engine#Fireball_V6">Fireball<span style="font-style:normal"> </span></a></i>at its introduction in 1962, is a large <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V6_engine" title="V6 engine">V6</a> engine used by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Corporation" title="General Motors Corporation">General Motors</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Production of the renowned 3800 V6 engine was officially ended on Friday, August 22, 2008 when plant 36 was closed. There was a closing ceremony and speakers who extolled the virtues of the engine, but none that could give a definitive answer why they did away with it. Originally GM had set this date for January 1, 1999, however due to the vast number of complaints from both investors and customers because of the popularity and reliability of the engine, the date was extended. At the end of production, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_High_Value_engine#LZ4" title="GM High Value engine">LZ4</a> 3500 OHV V6 will replace the naturally aspirated 3800 applications, and the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_High_Feature_engine#3.6" title="GM High Feature engine">LY7</a> 3600 DOHC V6 will replace the supercharged 3800 applications<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.autocarepronews.com/default.aspx?type=art&id=87714&">The Buick 3800 V6 engine</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Love affair continued| <a href="http://www.theautochannel.com/vehicles/new/reviews/gap9624.html">http://www.theautochannel.com/vehicles/new/reviews/gap9624.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">But finally the reality of our times, life style, up keep, running costs and environment set in and even to the “Auto Love Affair Generation” a real need for change became obvious, at least to those with any common sense and intelligence.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">But before I move on down the road on this discussion there is a bit more on this matter of history and perspective to share for consideration, and that is the matter of our often feeling that we are being sold a bill of goods by corporations, government and the media, and that is because all too often we have been and continue to be, served up a truck load of pasture droppings.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">I have a Seth Thomas pocket watch that commemorates “The End Of The Industrial Revolution” with every touch of craftsmanship in its find wind up mechanism that characterized the finest of that age, and adorned with the finest of hand engraving that is difficult to find any more.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is an ironic piece.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Ironic in that we Americans pronounced The Industrial Revolution as Dead and everything left from it except for Detroit we shipped abroad and/or out sourced and declared ourselves to be the new leaders of “The Age Of Technology And Information” as if we had seen this all coming and had prepared for the transformation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What a crock!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That was the epitome of pontifical spin if there ever was one.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We had missed the boat, and as the information spiraled into existence we spent more time trying to control it than we did exploiting for our advantage and we found every way possible to outsource those aspects of it that dealt with resolving problems of all sorts!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">But true to form we followed the proven path of the Industrial Revolution.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It started in this nation with the mass production of interchangeable parts slapped together on an assembly line of gun manufacture and so marched into this age with the depersonalization of war and the creation of smart weapons that could destroy even more efficiently human kind in computer game like indifference and the collection of information with which to control our society. Enough to this!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">There are all kinds of exciting things happening in the arena of building the “Green Dream Car”, none of which hold the entirety of the answers and solutions at the moment but taken in the aggregate the answers are there!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Just remember, and as matter of providind continued perspective that <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><a href="http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/Car_History.htm">It is estimated that over 100,000 patents created the modern automobile</a>. You can point to the many firsts that occurred along the way to producing the modern car; and with that goal in mind, highlighted below are articles, biographies, timelines, and photo galleries related to the history of the automobile and its many inventors.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">A new History is about to written, a new record of patents will <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>be established and a new list of inventors will march into history and we should be supporting their ever effort and exploration.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">While there are a whole host of experimenters and conversion kits to apply to “donor vehicles”, approaches in play, and while many of them constitute hybrid experiments I do not intend to demean or dismiss those efforts because quite frankly they offer options at success, progress, and the more options we have the better the final realization of the electric vehicle will be.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Unfortunately I have to say that Companies in Europe and the Far East are moving quickly and constructively in the direction I would have our own foot dragging automakers move.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">I have already staked out my position that hybrid offerings in America should be viewed as only short-lived transitional steps and the truth be known I would have this entire phase simply skipped in favor of R&D leading to the True Electric Vehicle.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We really don’t have the luxury of waiting around before making the technological efforts needed to get to the finish line and into production.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Nissan is moving full speed ahead with plans to introduce a pure electric car in 2010 for fleet customers in Japan and the United States.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Nissan is testing its lithium batteries in the Cube, a tall, boxy car sold in Japan. The vehicle's distinctive styling is reminiscent of the squared-off Scion xB.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The lithium ion battery pack will have 24 cells, each with four batteries.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We will have more to say by way of exploration of that battery technology and its evolution and possibilities later in this post.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The key for me is: <u><a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/wecandoit/home/electric_cars.asp">Running on Empty: Cars that Never Need Gas</a>. <o:p></o:p></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none"> </span></o:p></span></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">*The<u> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_VQ_engine" title="Nissan VQ engine">Nissan VQ engine</a> </u>is the only engine to have been present on the</span><span style="font-size:18.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%;-webkit-sans-serif","serif";font-family:";font-size:11.5pt;color:black;"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Ward's 10 Best Engines list every year since the competition’s inception in 1995. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none"> </span></o:p></span></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The Sierra Club supports the notion, as do I, that we can do it. <u><a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/wecandoit/home/electric_cars.asp">http://www.sierraclub.org/wecandoit/home/electric_cars.asp</a><o:p></o:p></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The real impediment at the moment is the issue of the battery or batteries.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Neil Young has provided enough of the answer in the Linc Volt to an on board recharging approach, no plug in, not station stopping for recharging or battery swapping, and you and I know that, that is the type of electric vehicle that is going to fly in the consumer market place.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">No hybrid is going to revolutionize the automotive world.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22240865/">Breakthrough battery could boost electric cars</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’ll take that a step further.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Break through batteries will bring about the realization of the electric vehicle!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So let’s take a look at some the developing work and some almost science fiction technologies that are about to shake the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">“Toshiba promises 'energy solution' with nearly full recharge in 5 minutes.” That’s nice but a continuous on board generator recharging system resolve3s over 90% of our problems.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">TOKYO - A new battery that can be recharged to 90 percent capacity in under five minutes and <b>lasts 10 years</b>, (Now That We Standing Ovation Applaud), will start shipping in March, Toshiba Corp. announced this week, hailing it as "a new energy solution" for cleaner transportation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Toshiba plans to initially make the quick-charging Super Charge ion Battery for electric bikes, forklifts, construction machinery and other industrial use. It can work in temperatures as low as minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">A newcomer in rechargeable batteries, Toshiba said the lithium-ion battery could be used in hybrid and electric cars by 2010, Mochida said.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>No Hybrids please!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Battery innovations are expected to be key in making hybrid vehicles more widespread, because lighter and easier-to-recharge batteries will improve efficiency. They could also spark mass-produced plug-in hybrids <b>and even resurrect the idea of all-electric vehicles that use no fossil fuel.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The Resurrection is at hand! <o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">"This is a truly innovative battery," said Toshiba Corporate Vice President Toshiharu Watanabe, emphasizing its potential "in the electronic vehicles markets as a new energy solution."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Most lithium-ion batteries in use now, such as those in laptop computers, require hours to recharge to full capacity, with the fastest ones requiring about half an hour.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Toshiba also said its new battery, which is estimated to last 5,000 charges, is unlikely to rupture or catch fire, problems that have beset some lithium-ion batteries used in laptops.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The Tokyo-based electronics maker expects global sales of the new fast-charging battery to reach nearly $900 million by fiscal 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">You can place money of the fact that their R&D will continue and the final product will exceed these specifications.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The question is when are we going to get on the stick?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">A short stop at Wikipedia for some basic back ground; consider it a briefing if you will.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="square"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">electric drive vehicle needs electricity, which comes from sources such as batteries or a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_generator" title="Electrical generator">generator</a>. on-board <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_electricity_storage_system" title="Rechargeable electricity storage system">rechargeable electricity storage system</a> (RESS), called Full Electric Vehicles (FEV). Power storage methods include: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_energy" title="Chemical energy">chemical energy</a> stored on the vehicle in on-board batteries: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_electric_vehicle" title="Battery electric vehicle">Battery electric vehicle</a> (BEV)<o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="square"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">static <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy" title="Energy">energy</a> stored on the vehicle in on-board <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_double-layer_capacitor" title="Electric double-layer capacitor">electric double-layer capacitors</a><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="square"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">kinetic energy storage: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrobus" title="Gyrobus">flywheels</a><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">How To Make Lithium Polymer Batteries For Electric Car<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MqywKcJ0J2M&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MqywKcJ0J2M&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.engineeringtalk.com/news/sgt/sgt111.html">World's most powerful storage battery to be built</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is included here because there are technological achievements in this project that can be applied to smaller scale battery developments and applications.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There are many such instances the we can draw from and learn from and apply to creating the dream vehicle.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=15149">Sony Develops World's Most Powerful Small Biobattery</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Here is another one!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/09/01/2352015.htm">Viruses to power batteries of the future</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And here is one that could rock the world!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Their most recent advance, detailed in the <a href="http://www.pnas.org/" target="_blank"><i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Science</i></a>, involves stamping a base material, in this case silicon, so that the negatively charged M13 virus and positively charged cobalt can self-assemble based on their relative charges and the pattern of the stamp.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Eventually Belcher hopes to scale up virus-based batteries for larger devices like computers or even cars that wouldn't need a separate battery. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">The battery would instead be built into the surface of the car itself.<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;">"It would be part of the manufacturing process," says Belcher. "What we do is provide the surface and the ions, and the batteries built themselves."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/08/25/virus-battery-technology.html">http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/08/25/virus-battery-technology.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">And here is a good question<b> </b>and yet another avenue of exploration<b>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/jun2006/bw20060628_655501.htm">For Cars of the Future, Will Batteries Be Required?</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">MIT professor Joel Schindall is developing ultra capacitors that could one day make battery-powered electric cars cheap, viable and fun to drive<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Microengines: The Batteries of the Future</span></i><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.ideasforlife.tv/watch/129">http://www.ideasforlife.tv/watch/129</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.research-tv.com/stories/technology/nano/bb/">http://www.research-tv.com/stories/technology/nano/bb/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">All I can say or Ask About this one is: “Do you see the possibilities?”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/11/researchers-del.html">Researchers Deliver Electric Motor Achieving More than 1M rpm</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/11/researchers-del.html">http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/11/researchers-del.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;">15 November 2008<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Researchers at <a href="http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/11/researchers-del.html">ETH Zürich’s Department of Power Electronics</a> have <a href="http://www.ethlife.ethz.ch/archive_articles/081114_drehzahlrekort_MM/index">developed</a> an electrical drive system in cooperation with its industrial partners that can achieve more than 1,000,000 rpm. Up to now, industrially-deployed motors have normally reached 250,000 revolutions per minute.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The new drive system generates an output of 100 watts and is barely bigger than a matchbox. The rotor construction has a titanium shell that is able to withstand extreme centrifugal forces and the ball bearings are optimized for extremely high speeds.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Conventionally, the higher the rotational speed, the more losses there are. But the researchers from ETH Zürich solved the problem with an especially low-loss stator. Ultra-thin copper wire is used for the windings which are inserted in a cylinder made of special iron previously unused for machines. In addition, the machine is fed by electronics specifically designed for such engine speeds.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The drive system was brought to fruition in collaboration with industry. The machine was manufactured by the German company, ATE GmbH, which specializes in the development of highly efficient electrical drives. The ball bearings came from the company, myonic, which is also based in Germany and has been manufacturing high precision miniature ball bearings for over 70 years. The construction of the whole system, the development of the electronics and the regulation of the drive system, however, was developed at ETH Zurich’s Department of Power Electronics.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Based upon the results of this research, Christof Zwyssig and Martin Bartholet, also a post-graduate in the same department, founded the spin-off company, <a href="http://www.celeroton.com/">Celeroton</a>, in August 2008. The company will seek to provide ultra-high revolution electrical drive systems for different branches of industry and areas of application.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Celeroton is set to become a supplier for manufacturers of, for example, fast-spinning drill or milling machines. The trend towards increasingly smaller cell phones and other electrical appliances means that increasingly smaller holes have to be drilled for the electronics. This is only possible using a drive system that boasts a high rotational speed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">And it can be developed and applied to larger entities like automobiles!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">SCEVS (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicles) <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/05/america-is-running-out-of-gas-and-is.html">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/05/america-is-running-out-of-gas-and-is.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/07/electric-car-i-told-you-so.html">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/07/electric-car-i-told-you-so.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/2008/11/neil-young-how-to-save-major-automobile.html">http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/2008/11/neil-young-how-to-save-major-automobile.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/2008/11/scevs-self-charging-electric-zero.html">http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/2008/11/scevs-self-charging-electric-zero.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-young/how-to-save-a-major-autom_b_143749.html" target="_top"><b>Neil Young</b>: How To Save A Major Automobile Company</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">How To Save A Major Automobile Company - The Huffington Post.<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-young/how-to-save-a-major-autom_b_143749.html">www.huffingtonpost.com/<b>neil</b>-<b>young</b>/how-to-save-a-major-autom_b_143749.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Find a new ownership group.</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"> The culture must change. It is time to turn the page. In the high technology sector there are several candidates for ownership of a major car and truck manufacturer. We need forward looking people who are not restricted by the existing culture in Detroit. We need visionary people now with business sense to create automobiles that do not contribute to global warming.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />It is time to change and our problems can facilitate our solutions. We can no longer afford to continue down Detroit's old road. The people have spoken. They do not want gas guzzlers (although they still like big cars and trucks). <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">It is possible to build large long-range vehicles that are very efficient.</b> People <i>will</i> buy those vehicles because they represent <i>real</i> change and a solution that we can live with.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The government must take advantage of the powerful position that exists today.</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"> The Big 3 are looking for a bailout. They should only get it if they agree to stop building autos that contribute to global warming now. The stress on the auto manufacturers today is gigantic. In order to keep people working in their jobs and keep factories open, this plan is suggested:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />The big three must reduce models to basics. a truck, an SUV, a large family sedan, an economy sedan, and a sports car. Use existing tooling.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />Keep building these models to keep the workforce employed but build them <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">without </i>engines and transmissions. These new vehicles, called Transition Rollers, are ready for a re-power. <i>No new tooling</i> is required at this stage. The adapters are part of the kits described next.<br /><br />At the same time as the new Transition Rollers are being built, keeping the work force working, utilize existing technology now, create re-power kits to retrofit the Transition Rollers to SCEVs (self charging electric vehicles) for long range capability up to and over 100mpg. If you don't think this technology is realistic or available, check out the Progressive Insurance Automotive X prize. Alternatively, check out <a href="http://www.lincvolt.com/">Lincvolt.com</a> or other examples.<br /><br />A bailed-out Auto manufacturer must open or re-purpose one or more factories and dedicate them to do the re-power/retrofit assembly of its vehicles. These factories would focus on re-powering the Transition Rollers into SCEVs but could also retrofit and re-power many existing vehicles to SCEVs. These existing vehicles are currently sitting unsold at dealerships across America.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Auto manufacturers taking advantage of a government bailout must only sell clean and green vehicles that do not contribute to global warming. No more internal combustion engines that run exclusively on fossil fuels can be sold period.<br /><br />No Big Three excuses like "new tooling takes time". New tooling is not a requirement for SCEV transition rollers.<br /><br />Build only new vehicles that attain the goal of reversing global warming and enhancing National Security.<br /><br />Government legislation going with the bailout should include tax breaks for purchasers of these cars with the new green SCEV technology. The legislation accompanying the bailout of major auto manufacturers must include directives to build only vehicles that attain the goal of reversing global warming while enhancing National security, and provide the financial assistance to make manufacturing these cars affordable in the short term while the industry re-stabilizes.<br /><br />Eventually the SCEV technology could be built into every new car and truck as it is being assembled and the stop gap plan described above would have completed its job of keeping America building and working through this turbulent time. <br /><br />Detroit has had a long time to adapt to the new world and now the failure of Detroit's actions is costing us all. We pay the bailout. Let's make a good deal for the future of America and the Planet. Companies like <a href="http://www.uqm.com/">UQM (Colorado)</a> and others build great electric motors right here in the USA. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Use these domestic electric motors. Put these people to work now. This plan reverses the flow from negative to positive because people need and will buy clean and green cars to be part of World Change. Unique wheel covers will identify these cars on the road so that others can see the great example a new car owner is making. People want America to win!<br /><br />This plan addresses the issue of Global warming from our automobiles while enhancing our National Security and keeping Detroit working.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Neil Young, activist (Bridge School, Farm Aid) rock legend, has assembled a team that is in the process of transforming his gargantuan 1959 Lincoln Continental from a gas guzzler into a showcase for green technology and sustainability. The car will be entered into the Automotive X Prize that offers a $10 million prize to develop a vehicle that can get 100 miles per gallon or better. The almost 50 year old Lincoln, one of the biggest, heaviest production cars of all time, has been re-named "Linc Volt" and is the subject of a feature documentary called "Repowering The American Dream" that is now in production under the aegis of Young's Shakey Pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/automobiles/autospecial2/30young.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=neil%20young%20lincvolt&st=cse&oref=slogin">Here is a link</a> to last month's New York Times story on the Linc Volt. Here are some photos of the car.</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-young/so-you-want-a-big-electri_b_145077.html" target="_top"><b>Neil Young</b>: So You Want A Big Electric Car?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">President-elect Obama's plan to put a million electric vehicles on the road in 10 years is doable and should be surpassed by its own momentum. As people discover the many advantages of electric vehicles (EVs), this momentum will build. Not only are these cars green and responsible, they also enhance National Security. From all we've been told about EVs we know a little. They are cleaner. We've heard about plugging them into our homes to recharge overnight. But most of us don't know much about electric cars yet.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The momentum of the Electric Vehicle Age will stem from enhanced performance, smoothness of acceleration, quietness, and superior control. The way an electric car can be tuned to behave a certain way for a certain driver allows for a whole new feeling in the driving experience. People just don't know how cool these cars are.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Existing designs can be manufactured as electric cars with no change to the tooling of the existing designs. Adapting kits are possible. Build electric versions on these existing tools to keep people working and get people interested in buying again. The technology to make these new electric vehicles exists today right here in this country.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">From Wichita, Kansas we get this report: A 1959 Lincoln Continental repowered to be a self charging electric vehicle by a small group of engineers and local services, is now achieving up to 65 mpg in informal tests. Work there continues. The goal of the project is to attain up to and beyond 100mpg for the biggest and heaviest car made in 1959. The car has been driven in California and Kansas and shown to over 15,000 people. In an audience of 12,000, one tenth of the people raised their hands when asked if they would like to have a car like that. That Lincoln represents a future for Detroit. It is the possibility of Big Clean cars that do not promote Global warming. Let's build them now, as well as economical small clean and green electric cars and let's put people to work. We already have the existing tooling and the facilities and manpower.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">From Detroit we get <a href="http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/">this report</a>:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">We have devoted significant resources to this project: Over 200 engineers and 50 designers are working on the Volt alone, and another 400 are working on related subsystems and electric components. That's how important we think this is, and that's how much stock we place in the future of extended-range electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt. - Tony Posawatz, Vehicle Line Director - E-Flex Systems and the Chevy Volt, General Motors Corp.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The GM, FORD and Chrysler CEOs then each boarded private personal business jets to be paid for by taxpayers money, and flew to Washington to ask tax-payers to give them a 25 billion dollar infusion to save hard working American's jobs. Have they changed direction but it's just too early for our senators and congress representatives to see it yet? I don't think so. Maybe introducing a new high-performance fossil fueled Shelby Mustang and jumping into a private jet to go to Washington for a bailout was not such a good idea. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />Efficient technology can power the existing designs we have today.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">We don't need a car that looks different with a new sunroof over the back seat creating an air conditioning challenge as a feature.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">We don't need new tooling to start building electric cars now.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">We need kits to adapt what we are currently making to today's demands.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">We need new thinking from new leaders and we need new perspectives from unions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Today the news is Hybrids. Everyone is making them. Some of these hybrids offer very poor mileage in the 20-30 mpg range. They may be already on their way out because of the inherent inefficiency of their design. An electric motor and an internal combustion engine both driving the wheels in one car may not be the most efficient approach. Forward thinkers are wondering about that inefficiency and working on ways to solve it. Plug-in kits are now available for Prius and Ford Escape, allowing these vehicles to plug in for a re-charge, increasing their efficiency and reducing their negative impact on the environment. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) look like the future, but are they the future?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">There are huge limitations. The battery is the biggest. An average EV is only good for a short trip before it needs a charge. Maybe 40 miles or so is a good estimate. Some electric cars get a long range like 100 miles before they lose power and have to recharge. The Tesla (a super light sports car) goes over 150 miles on a charge. Two things that all basic EVs have in common is they are small in size and they have to stop and re-charge. If you run out of power you are down. Just like gas.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">To re-charge, you need a power source. It may be your home, or it may be your parking garage at work. It might be a charging system that is privately owned and is a business enterprise (Better Place), or it may be a public utility service (PG&E). You may have a cable to plug in that identifies you so your account can be automatically charged. One thing is for sure. You need to re-charge. So you are going to be more conscious of your energy use.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Not every EV has to plug in. For some, it's optional. Cars like the Chevy Volt have an onboard generator to re-charge batteries or power the car. These cars are Self-Charging EVs (SCEVs). That means on long trips you use gasoline. A long trip is over about forty miles in a Volt, on level ground. When the battery starts to die, an onboard generator rescues it and powers the electric motor, while slowly recharging the battery. This sequence cycles on and off while you take a long trip. Mostly the generator is on... using gasoline, a fuel widely seen as a National Security disadvantage. The Volt generator will charge the batteries faster if the car is not moving, by using gasoline. On short trips, you won't even use the generator. You will go the first 40 miles on plug-in power. An average commute in the USA is about 35 miles.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Efficiency in the self-charging electric car is the big decider. If the efficiency of your charging system allows you to make electricity with less financial cost than buying it from the grid, then your car can power your house and turn the meter backwards to reduce or eliminate your electric bill. Potentially, you may even be able to sell electricity to the grid someday. That would be a good reason to buy a SCEV with a highly efficient self-charging system. These cars are mobile power plants.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Big electric cars are left out of the story so far by major manufacturers. They have made some very poor hybrid SUVS. SUVs, big sedans, pick-up trucks are all by the wayside. They have been relegated to dinosaur status. But don't count them out. A big Self-Charging SUV with a super efficient self-charging system would create enough power to support 6 homes. You could be part of a distributed power system by using the grid backwards, selling power back to your Utility Company. In this approach, power enters the grid from plugged-in vehicles, avoiding the loss found in the lines when power comes to you from a central Power Plant located miles away. Imagine a big electric car that earns you income.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">But you just wanted a big electric car. You may be surprised to know why size is important. Big SCEVs, while taking big power to run, and requiring large battery banks and big electric motors, will undoubtedly be getting up to 100 mpg or more in the near future. A big developmental car, Lincvolt, seen at <a href="http://lincvolt.com/">Lincvolt.com</a> , is proving this technology. Big SCEVs may well be earning you money while you are charging the grid. They may be recharging with super efficient self-charging systems, and even using Domestic Green bio-diesel fuel, a fuel that does not contribute significantly to Global Warming. Big may be an unexpected Green alternative.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;">The Bottom Line:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">We are about to witness the demise of the electric vehicle being a curiosity with limited ability.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The real machine for the generation of cars on the auto show rooms is at hand.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>All we have to do demand that they get there no later than 2010!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Despite what naysayers and nuts, foot draggers and perpetuators would like to pass off as reasonable explanations for <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>not changing anything when it comes to building <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">The “TRUE”SCEV “Self Charging Electric Vehicle or ( The Unplugged Self Charging Electric Fuel-less Zero Emissions No <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Battery Exchange Electric Vehicle)</b> big enough, luxurious enough and fast enough to satisfy the needs and desires of the most crazed automobile addict are simply nonsense. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The challenges are not overwhelming; the science and technology is not decades away.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is here now and if we decide, if we declare like putting a man on the moon, that we are going to do it, and we put our money where our mouths are we can have the dream Green Machine vehicle on the road in 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">(The Green Electric Car)…<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">And then there will be the Green Truck, the Green Jet Aircraft, The Green Train, and on and on.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Then you can all come to Washington and join me at the Smithsonian to look at a fascinating relic from out of the past… <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">The Dead Internal Combustion Engine!<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">For your further research: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=gmail&q=the+total+electric+engine&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=news_result&resnum=11&ct=title">The Total Electric Engine Search</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">LINCVOLT DESIGNED WITHOUT A BAILOUT!</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.lincvolt.com/gazette/gazette.html">http://www.lincvolt.com/gazette/gazette.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/31/update-on-neil-youngs-linc-volt-uqm-is-working-on-the-propulsi/">http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/31/update-on-neil-youngs-linc-volt-uqm-is-working-on-the-propulsi/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=the+history+of+the+electric+car&btnG=Search">http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=the+history+of+the+electric+car&btnG=Search</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bSQDN6Iz2zDGHUyYin0V0v0GpUfE25mkUOWe5TUQzWkvuWGfPeoOcjqa8Ehlh5Xe9DxPs1XwuebFM27ihyphenhyphen_barUcgCXLlx20xWrhgUrIdgYgkrB96RmG-wrg8n3FzeuMYCvL8jb68JU/s1600-h/C57.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bSQDN6Iz2zDGHUyYin0V0v0GpUfE25mkUOWe5TUQzWkvuWGfPeoOcjqa8Ehlh5Xe9DxPs1XwuebFM27ihyphenhyphen_barUcgCXLlx20xWrhgUrIdgYgkrB96RmG-wrg8n3FzeuMYCvL8jb68JU/s400/C57.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272403508409335218" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 217px; " /></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-25601295836866979612008-11-21T19:48:00.000-08:002008-11-24T20:20:55.397-08:00SCEVS (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicles) I Want A Revolution<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrA43g3E2MlFnSZSxP6Moay_gaoyqQysOle3tg0h02vSTpnfXC0MPYJHfDs7zqDJw5CDL1lL8vdSZh_fJgRYP9DfMIngdNBjJGW35rtTGF31HSLc6eyzKicEwCml5ghxt5iWCstSPEzd4/s1600-h/DTTICE.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrA43g3E2MlFnSZSxP6Moay_gaoyqQysOle3tg0h02vSTpnfXC0MPYJHfDs7zqDJw5CDL1lL8vdSZh_fJgRYP9DfMIngdNBjJGW35rtTGF31HSLc6eyzKicEwCml5ghxt5iWCstSPEzd4/s400/DTTICE.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271324238521594642" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMSUgSBANAbIO4Kzma3reC06bKtWoahj6ih2ZzPuekFdwqq-fQmC3mxUIdv4R2JcI4CB1VLGMwgGg-Sv-hX6wDnoX2JamOzhHoqMMUhUvr2L4DzB7dYxV3Ny9jKD6F2YozRyS2gMUJ-E0/s1600-h/DT2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMSUgSBANAbIO4Kzma3reC06bKtWoahj6ih2ZzPuekFdwqq-fQmC3mxUIdv4R2JcI4CB1VLGMwgGg-Sv-hX6wDnoX2JamOzhHoqMMUhUvr2L4DzB7dYxV3Ny9jKD6F2YozRyS2gMUJ-E0/s400/DT2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271324083561207586" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">SCEVS (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicles) :</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I Guess I Have Not Made Myself Clear Enough For Some Folks.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I Want A Revolution And The Internal Combustion Engine To End Up In The Bone Yard Of History Museum!</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">We have seen enough going on across the globe that indicates the old expression that: “There is nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come!” is about to give rise to a change as global shaking as the birth of the Industrial Revolution.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The only question is whether Detroit and the United States will ride the crest of the wave or will be<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>drowned in a tide of resistance…because this time no one will be asking: <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsJAlrYjGz8" title="Who Killed The Electric Car?"><b>Who Killed The Electric Car</b>?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nsJAlrYjGz8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nsJAlrYjGz8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">Who KILLED The Electric Car? You DID!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mlAbj6N9nA0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mlAbj6N9nA0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">OH! <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But It’s Not Dead And Like The Phoenix Of Legend It Is rising From The Ashes In Many Incarnations Of Ideas And Implementation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Detroit Has Best Get On Board Before The Engine That Will Rule The World Is Built In Someone’s Garage, Becomes A Silicon Valley Project Or Some Other Nation Rolls Out The 1<sup>st</sup> True SCEV (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicle) <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">Electric Car in-wheel motor Siemens eCorner</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zPSoNfmuBXc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zPSoNfmuBXc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">How many of you remember two high school pals by the name Steve: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack? Yes we can trace the development, the concept of the computer from the abacus to the usual historical jump off point in<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><b><a href="http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa050298.htm">1936</a></b> <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>and the Konrad Zuse - <b>Z1 Computer, </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">the<b><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></b></span>first freely programmable computer, but it was On April Fool's Day, 1976, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs released the Apple I computer and started Apple Computers. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The Apple I was the first single circuit board computer. It came with a video interface, 8k of RAM and a keyboard. The system incorporated some economical components, including the 6502 processor (only $25 dollars - designed by Rockwell and produced by MOS Technologies) and <a href="http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa100898.htm">dynamic RAM</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">The pair showed the prototype Apple I, mounted on plywood with all the components visible, at a meeting of a local computer hobbyist group called "The Homebrew Computer Club"</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"> (based in Palo Alto, California). <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">A local computer dealer (The Byte Shop) saw it and ordered 100 units, providing that Wozniak and Jobs agreed to assemble the kits for the customers. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">About two hundred Apple Is were built and sold over a ten month period, for the superstitious price of $666.66.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">In 1977, Apple Computers was incorporated and the Apple II computer model was released. The first West Coast Computer Faire was held in San Francisco the same year, and attendees saw the public debut of the Apple II (available for $1298). The Apple II was also based on the 6502 processor, but it had color graphics (a first for a personal computer), and used an <a href="http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.threedee.com/jcm/audio/index.html">audio cassette</a> drive for storage. Its original configuration came with 4 kb of RAM, but a year later this was increased to 48 kb of RAM and the cassette drive was replaced by a floppy disk drive.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak duo revolutionized the world! Their invention of the first true personal computer revolutionized today’s society, changed people's ideas of what a computer could look like and what it could do for them to make their lives easier and their work more efficient.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%">What A Hobby; What A Piece Of Plywood!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">"The first Apple was just a culmination of my whole life."<i> - </i>Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder Apple Computers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Probably the most difficult challenge for all the people busy modifying gas guzzling dinosaurs because it pleases them to do so is; they need the battery makers of the world to get on the stick…quick.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They can build the batteries to carry us into space now it is time to design the batteries that will carry us everywhere else.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is that simple!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Detroit Is In Trouble And Politicians And Pundits Are Playing Ping Pong With The Arrogant Detroit CEOs When They Should Be Laying Down The Law And Giving The Directive: <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%">“The SCEV (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicle) …BUILD IT!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9y3BQUO_rts&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9y3BQUO_rts&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><br />In the first part of our discussion with Jim Stanford and Justin Fox, the two discuss what they see as the causes of the current crisis in the automotive industry, the importance of that industry to the North American economy, and debate the wisdom of allowing the companies in question to go bankrupt.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.lincvolt.com/soyouwant.html">So You Want A Big Electric Car</a> </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;line-height:115%">by Neil Young<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-young/so-you-want-a-big-electri_b_145077.html" title="Permalink">So You Want A Big Electric Car?</a></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"> Huffington Post<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://pesn.com/Radio/Free_Energy_Now/shows/2006/12/30/9700220_Nova_Technologies/">Nova Technologies Pursuing Self-Charging Vehicle Technology</a></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/11/neil-young-has-some-advice-for-detroits-big-three.html">Neil Young has some advice for Detroit's Big Three :: Culture News <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">...</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">Solid-State Ultracapacitors For <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Electric Vehicles</span> And Consumer <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">...</span></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"> (1999)<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/762520-C0MNov/webviewable/762520.pdf">http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/762520-C0MNov/webviewable/762520.pdf</a><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=17746&url=">Oil-Free Transportation Looms Large on the Horizon</a></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.newrules.org/">Driving Our Way to Energy Independence</a> | </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.newrules.org/">http://www.newrules.org/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><br />Updating our path breaking 2003 report, this April 2008 report by David Morris describes how commercially available technologies today could transform our petroleum powered transportation system into one powered by electricity and biofuels. Provisions in the recently passed Energy Act could accelerate that transformation. With the adoption of complementary policies, the revolution in our transportation sector can generate an equally profound revolution in our electricity sector. Hundreds of thousands of locally owned wind turbines and solar electric arrays supplying flexible fueled, plug-in hybrid vehicles can allow tens of millions of Americans to become energy producers not just energy consumers.<br /><a href="http://www.newrules.org/electricity/drivingourway.html" target="_blank"><b>Executive Summary </b></a>and <a href="http://www.newrules.org/electricity/drivingourway.pdf"><b>Download the full report</b></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.newrules.org/podcast/08-05-23midday.mp3"><b>Podcast of Driving Our Way author, David Morris, on Minnesota Public Radio's Midday Program</b></a> - May 23, 2008<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122721116741545211.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">Start-Up Plans Electric-Car Network</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122721116741545211.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122721116741545211.html?mod=googlenews_wsj</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">SAN FRANCISCO -- Better Place, a start-up company developing technology to support electric cars, Thursday announced plans for a $1 billion network to charge electric cars in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of a broad push into the U.S.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The closely held Palo Alto, Calif., company, founded by former SAP AG executive Shai Agassi in 2007, already is building networks for electric cars in Israel and Denmark and in October announced plans to expand into Australia. The company said it would now move into the U.S. market, with construction of battery-recharging stations in the Bay Area starting in 2010.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%">(Build The Batteries we need and we won’t need this either.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It has already been demonstrated that self recharging is possible and works)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The stations are critical because existing electric-car batteries go only about 40 miles on a single charge. Better Place also is promoting the idea of removable car batteries that could be swapped for charged ones at centers akin to service stations, sending drivers on their way without waiting to recharge.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Mr. Agassi, who predicts mass-market production of electric cars in the U.S. by 2012, said operations in the San Francisco area would serve as a precursor for deployment of electric-car networks across the U.S. The $1 billion cost of the initial network would be raised by an operating company Better Place plans to start in the Bay Area, he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Mr. Agassi said in an interview that the money would be raised over about three years, with about $200 million needed initially. He said Better Place's banks would initiate a financing round to raise the money, primarily through equity from pension funds and other institutions. Credit markets are so tight, though, Mr. Agassi said his company probably won't be able to raise a lot of that money from debt.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">He added that the initial network would eventually have 250,000 small charging stations, about the size of parking meters, and 100 to 200 centers where motorists can switch batteries.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The announcement comes at a difficult time for alternative-energy companies as oil prices continue their slide. Tesla Motors Inc. in early October announced it was cutting staff and delaying the introduction of its second battery-powered vehicle, the Model S, until 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">But industry and government officials express confidence that demand for electric vehicles will soar over the long term. State and local officials at a news conference with Better Place announced an initiative to create public-private investments in electric vehicles and other elements of green infrastructure.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The mayors of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose said they would begin work next month with the region's cities, business leaders and others to help make the Bay Area the electric-car capital of the U.S. and one of the first major urban centers in the world to make the transition from petroleum-based energy. A news conference here was also attended by representatives of the electric-car industry, as well as auto giants, including <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=gm">General Motors</a> Corp. and <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=tm">Toyota Motor</a> Corp.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Other backers of the concept include Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of the late Sen. Kennedy and venture partner and senior adviser to VantagePoint Venture Partners, Better Place's lead investor. He estimated that the total cost to switch the U.S. over to renewable energy is about $1 trillion.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Maybe in some High School Study Hall there are a couple of young people thinking about how make a fortune and how to build an electric car that will wow everyone in their school…<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">the next Jobs and Wozniak.<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AJ0Z720081120">Automakers detail electric car plans at L.A. show</a></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AJ0Z720081120">http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4AJ0Z720081120</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Many of the world's biggest automakers on Wednesday detailed ambitious electric-car plans that promise zero emissions but will demand patience from consumers and subsidies from governments to succeed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Nissan Motor Co, BMW's BMWG.DE> MINI, General Motors Corp and Volkswagen's Audi were among the automakers who promised, at the Los Angeles auto show, to bring electric cars to market in the next few years.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Consumers have been clamoring for greener vehicles amid soaring gasoline prices and increased concerns about global warming. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%">The costly batteries required to power gas-free electric cars, however, are not powerful enough to deliver the long driving range car buyers are accustomed to.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">So maybe we ought to spend a bundle on the battery people and their R&D Programs instead of all the folks that are still just offering excuses with their hands out!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Whoever puts the first full power, full feature <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">The SCEV (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicle) </b>on the market is going to be fabulously wealthy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Anyone out there motivated by that fact?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">"It's going to be a tough sell," said David Champion, director of auto testing for Consumer Reports. "People are used to buying their cars and being able to take them anywhere they want. There are a lot of hurdles for electric vehicles."….<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%">Start thinking and acting out side of the box; be an automotive revolutionary!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/">Tesla Motors</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kudzFHd3w0Y&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kudzFHd3w0Y&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/w1C44JQU7Pc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/w1C44JQU7Pc&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xb9ypkc9Uvs&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xb9ypkc9Uvs&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">Electric Car: Bye Bye Petroleum<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PY8I_gyACvA&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PY8I_gyACvA&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">We are not at the stage of infancy in the development of a serious <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">SCEV (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicle).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span> </b>We are at the point where management excuses and lowered expectations are not going to fly and those who don’t get on board are going to find their stocks and corporations crash…so get with the program!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Watch out Detroit.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You just might find some kid coming down the street with a plastic bucket on a skate board marked <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">“The Battery”!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Science Fair 1<sup>st</sup> Prize.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">You are always telling us that you build what we want, and what we want is a true Automotive Revolution, a true <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">SCEV (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicle).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So Damn It Build it!</b></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2xsfdIvbIZ01TwD8lFKSt21cxeyIXDBghiyP7Lt2-OH-r9s8aS2OObPUDIdxb7uKDJv_j8BgDasTBADTZkPFSVoHlI6b28JNJTusm9cYyCerdFRHiLNrx3jwC3qf0J0h3iuE_zP-9Ks/s1600-h/trash.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2xsfdIvbIZ01TwD8lFKSt21cxeyIXDBghiyP7Lt2-OH-r9s8aS2OObPUDIdxb7uKDJv_j8BgDasTBADTZkPFSVoHlI6b28JNJTusm9cYyCerdFRHiLNrx3jwC3qf0J0h3iuE_zP-9Ks/s400/trash.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271323893372078306" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-47784769776620407262008-11-21T06:25:00.000-08:002008-11-24T20:21:11.218-08:00No Agreement For US Car Bail-Out | Things Are Going Up In Smoke And That's No Joke!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHcOqqRMP2fejlnmCgNXWN2ep_xuHRCcRDkCkNbrIlWzTXnY3wk7Cl1ttPfp4M8BltdReVL8ChQJpW4OSIBoBeOLWEIFqs_dxnF07LlaDDLYq5zZEHnc2RhCccCq27LqhVqEvBGn9o2Q/s1600-h/THE+DTSA.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHcOqqRMP2fejlnmCgNXWN2ep_xuHRCcRDkCkNbrIlWzTXnY3wk7Cl1ttPfp4M8BltdReVL8ChQJpW4OSIBoBeOLWEIFqs_dxnF07LlaDDLYq5zZEHnc2RhCccCq27LqhVqEvBGn9o2Q/s400/THE+DTSA.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271117182537661410" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvA4jobOkv6-9_S3ZrFbsSin_Z0BquLtVOiKZmWAgW3EBNjE3B-c6-LZ61DBSnsJZLWSH9ZtAjoqa2YUgBaPqnIfkEwh6WgdaZu6H0QkUvGXBqZuu90jKzxK1SFhUNvh6CHSfTCW3Egsc/s1600-h/TVB.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvA4jobOkv6-9_S3ZrFbsSin_Z0BquLtVOiKZmWAgW3EBNjE3B-c6-LZ61DBSnsJZLWSH9ZtAjoqa2YUgBaPqnIfkEwh6WgdaZu6H0QkUvGXBqZuu90jKzxK1SFhUNvh6CHSfTCW3Egsc/s400/TVB.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271117097182902802" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7740670.stm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">No Agreement For US Car Bail-Out | Things Are Going Up In Smoke And That's No Joke! </span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">The leaders of both houses of Congress said Ford, General Motors and Chrysler had until 2 December to present a plan.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Their comments came after four senators - Republicans and Democrats - said they had agreed a bipartisan aid deal.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">The White House said President George W Bush favored their deal, which would have used an energy department loan.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">"This is an agreement the president could support," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "We encourage the Congress to pass it as soon as possible."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there would be no bail-out without a plan showing that the money would make the firms financially viable.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">"Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, said that motor industry leaders needed "to get their act together".<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">"The executives of the auto industry have not been able to convince the American people or the Congress that this bail-out would be their last," he added.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">After the car industry executives return to Washington on 2 December, Congress could be reconvened the following week to vote on a bail-out bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">But time is short: the car-makers have suffered a collapse in sales and General Motors says it will run out of money by early next year.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">'Disappointed'<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Earlier on Thursday, Democratic Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, from Michigan, the heart of the US car industry, and Republicans Kit Bond of Missouri and George Voinovich of Ohio said they had a bipartisan deal, but this did not garner wider support.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Their deal called for using a $25bn energy department loan to the motor industry, which was originally designed to spur the development of fuel-efficient vehicles.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">The idea was that as the industry recovered, it would replenish the fund and the money would be used for its original purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">This was the approach favored by the Bush administration.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">"Their plan provides assistance from already-appropriated funds and has strong taxpayer protections," Ms Perino said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Senator Levin said she and her three colleagues were "obviously... disappointed".<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Jobs risk<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">The chief executives of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler pleaded for the $25bn bail-out before two congressional committees this week, but came away empty-handed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">They were lambasted for making the trip to Washington by private jet.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">The car firms say they risk collapse, which could lead to millions of Americans losing their jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Democrats have demanded that the White House and the Treasury carve out $25bn in funding from the already-agreed $700bn finance industry bail-out to support the car firms.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers president, Ron Gettelfinger, said on Thursday that politicians needed to take immediate action on a $25bn bridge loan bill to support the US car industry; otherwise he said one or more firms could fail.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Mr Gettelfinger, who testified on Tuesday and Wednesday to congressional committees in support of the loans, said action was needed "now, today". <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">This is our brave new world</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Confront the Delusions</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">By Jim Kirwan</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">November 20, 2008 "</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%"><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Information Clearinghouse</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">" -- </span>In the 1970s, the film NETWORK was made; but its commercial success was more about the message that it brought than it was about the caliber of its cinematic excellence. From that film several video clips have survived on the web, but since they may not continue to survive as videos I have made partial transcripts of them for this article.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">What the film dealt with then, was nothing less than what far too many people now still seem to have virtually no idea about. That was, and still is about the power of television, and the inherent corruption of the host society, that is continuing by way of subliminal messaging coupled with the Orwellian power of Big Brother; enhanced by the New World Order that has combined to surpass anything that might have been even remotely possible forty years ago when NETWORK was made.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Yesterday Chris Hedges wrote: “America the Illiterate,” in which he said:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">“There are over 42 million American adults, 20 percent of whom hold high school diplomas, who cannot read, as well as the 50 million who read at a fourth- or fifth-grade level. Nearly a third of the nation’s population is illiterate or barely literate. And their numbers are growing by an estimated 2 million a year. But even those who are supposedly literate retreat in huge numbers into this image-based existence. A third of high school graduates, along with 42 percent of college graduates, never read a book after they finish school. Eighty percent of the families in the United States last year did not buy a book. <br /><br />The illiterate rarely vote, and when they do vote they do so without the ability to make decisions based on textual information. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">American political campaigns, which have learned to speak in the comforting epistemology of images, eschew real ideas and policy for cheap slogans and reassuring personal narratives. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Political propaganda now masquerades as ideology. Political campaigns have become an experience. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">They do not require cognitive or self-critical skills. They are designed to ignite pseudo-religious feelings of euphoria, empowerment and collective salvation. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Campaigns that succeed are carefully constructed psychological instruments that manipulate fickle public moods, emotions and impulses, many of which are subliminal. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">They create a public ecstasy that annuls individuality and fosters a state of mindlessness. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">They thrust us into an eternal present. They cater to a nation that now lives in a state of permanent amnesia. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">It is style and story, not content or history or reality, which inform our politics and our lives. We prefer happy illusions. And it works because so much of the American electorate, including those who should know better, blindly cast ballots for slogans, smiles, the cheerful family tableaux, narratives and the perceived sincerity and the attractiveness of candidates. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">We confuse how we feel with knowledge.” (1)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Kirwan: In NETWORK, Howard Beale had this to say to these people, many of whom had not even yet been born. The video clip is "Network – We’re in a lot of trouble."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MTN3s2iVKKI&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MTN3s2iVKKI&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">“Edward George Ruddy died today. Edward George Ruddy was the Chairman of the Board of the Union Broadcast System and he died this morning at eleven o’clock of a heart condition, woe is us—we’re in a lot of trouble!</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">So; a rich little man with white hair died - what has that got to do with the price of rice - right! And why is that ‘Woe to us.’ Because you people and sixty-two million other Americans are listening to me right now: Because less than three percent of you people read books! Because less than fifteen percent of you read newspapers! Because the only truth you know is what you get over this tube. Right now there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn’t come out of this tube!</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation. This tube can make or break presidents, popes or Prime Ministers; this tube is the most awesome god-damned force in the whole godless world! <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Woe is us if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people, and that’s why ‘Woe is us’ when Edward George Ruddy died: Because this company is now in the hands of CCA, the Communications Corporation of America. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">There’s a new Chairman of the Board called Frank Hacket sitting in Mr. Ruddy’s office on the twentieth floor and when the twelfth largest company in the world controls the most awesome god-damned propaganda force in the whole godless world: Who knows what shit will be peddled for ‘truth’ on this network!</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">So you listen to me! Listen to me: television is not the truth—television’s a god-damned amusement park. Television is a circus, a carnival a traveling troupe of acrobats, story tellers, dancers, singers, side-show freaks, lion-tamers, and football players. We’re in the boredom killing business!</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">So if you want the truth go to God, go to your guru’s—go to yourselves—because that’s the only place you’re going to find any real truth! Ha-ha – because man - you know you’re never going to get any truth from us. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">We’ll tell you anything you want to hear. We’ll lie like hell: we’ll tell you that Kojack always gets the killer and that nobody ever gets cancer at Archie Bunker’s house. And no matter how much trouble the hero is in don’t worry just look at your watch at the end of the hour he’s going to win – we’ll give you any shit you want to hear! <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">We deal in Illusions man, none of it is true! But you people sit there day after day and night after night; all ages, colors, creeds: We’re all you know! You’re beginning to believe the illusions we’re spinning here! You’re beginning to think that the tube is reality- and that your own lives are unreal! <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">You DO whatever the tube tells you, you dress like the tube you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube, you even think like the tube!</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">This is mass madness you maniacs! In God’s name you people are the real thing—We are the illusion! So turn off you television sets, turn it off now, turn them off right now: turn them off and leave them off—turn them off right in the middle of the sentence I’m speaking now – Turn them OFF!</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">”</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Chris Hedges: “The illiterate and semi-literate, once the campaigns are over, remain powerless. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">They still cannot protect their children from dysfunctional public schools. They still cannot understand predatory loan deals, the intricacies of mortgage papers, credit card agreements and equity lines of credit that drive them into foreclosures and bankruptcies. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">They still struggle with the most basic chores of daily life from reading instructions on medicine bottles to filling out bank forms, car loan documents and unemployment benefit and insurance papers. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">They watch helplessly and without comprehension as hundreds of thousands of jobs are shed. They are hostages to brands. Brands come with images and slogans. Images and slogans are all they understand. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Many eat at fast food restaurants not only because it is cheap but because they can order from pictures rather than menus. And those who serve them, also semi-literate or illiterate, punch in orders on cash registers whose keys are marked with symbols and pictures. This is our brave new world. <br /><br />Political leaders in our post-literate society no longer need to be competent, sincere or honest.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They only need to appear to have these qualities. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Most of all they need a story, a narrative. The reality of the narrative is irrelevant. It can be completely at odds with the facts. The consistency and emotional appeal of the story are paramount. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The most essential skill in political theater and the consumer culture is artifice. Those who are best at artifice succeed. Those who have not mastered the art of artifice fail. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">In an age of images and entertainment, in an age of instant emotional gratification, we do not seek or want honesty. We ask to be indulged and entertained by clichés, stereotypes and mythic narratives that tell us we can be whomever we want to be, that we live in the greatest country on Earth, that we are endowed with superior moral and physical qualities and that our glorious future is preordained, either because of our attributes as Americans or because we are blessed by God or both.” </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Network – Money Speech: <i>“You have meddled with the primal forces of nature Mr. Beale and I won’t have it—is that clear! You think you’ve merely stopped a business deal - that is not the case! The Arabs have taken millions of dollars out of this country and now they must put it back! It is ebb and flow,~ gravity, it is ecological balance.</i></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and people’s – there are no nations – there are no people’s – there are no Russians – there are no Arabs there are no third world’s there is no West!<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There is only one holistic System of Systems: One vast and ~ interwoven, interactive and multi-variant, multi-national dominion of dollars. Petrol-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, Reich marks ~ rubles, pounds, and shekels. It is the international system of currency, which determines the totality of life on this planet! <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">That is the natural order of things today! That is the atomic, and sub-atomic, and galactic structure of things today! And YOU have meddled with the primal forces of NATURE- AND YOU WILL ATONE!</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Am I getting through to you Mr. Beale? You get up on your little twenty-one inch screen and howl about America and Democracy: There is no America, there is no Democracy—there is only IBM and ITT and AT&T and DuPont, DOW, Union Carbide, and Exxon: those ARE the nations of the world today!</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">What do you think the Russians talk about in their counsels of state—Karl Marx? <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">They get out their linear programming charts, their statistical decision theories, mini ~ solutions and compute the price-cost probabilities of their investments and transactions, just like we do. We no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies Mr. Beale. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">The world is a college of corporations; inexorably determined by the immutable by-laws of business the world is a business Mr. Beale. It has been since man crawled out of slime. And our children will live, Mr. Beale, to see that perfect world in which there’s no war or famine, oppression or brutality. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">One vast and ecumenical holding company for whom all men will work to serve the common good: In which all men will hold a share of stock: All necessities provided, all anxieties tranquilized, all boredom – amused.”</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Chris Hedges: “As we descend into a devastating economic crisis, one that Barack Obama cannot halt, there will be tens of millions of Americans who will be ruthlessly thrust aside. As their houses are foreclosed, as their jobs are lost, as they are forced to declare bankruptcy and watch their communities collapse, they will retreat even further into irrational fantasy. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">They will be led toward glittering and self-destructive illusions by our modern Pied Pipers—our corporate advertisers, our charlatan preachers, our television news celebrities, our self-help gurus, our entertainment industry and our political demagogues—who will offer increasingly absurd forms of escapism.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><br /><br />The core values of our open society, the ability to think for oneself, to draw independent conclusions, to express dissent when judgment and common sense indicate something is wrong, to be self-critical, to challenge authority, to understand historical facts, to separate truth from lies, to advocate for change and to acknowledge that there are other views, different ways of being, that are morally and socially acceptable, are dying. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Obama used hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign funds to appeal to and manipulate this illiteracy and irrationalism to his advantage, but these forces will prove to be his most deadly nemesis once they collide with the awful reality that awaits us.” (1)</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Kirwan: There can be only one pre-requisite for this ever-deepening cauldron of destruction.; and that is for each of us to follow Howard Beale’s example, each in our own way, as his now infamous call that prompted the foregoing two outbursts. That speech is abbreviated here:</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Network- I’m Mad as Hell: <i>“I don’t have to tell you things are bad – everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression, everybody’s out of work, or scarred of losing their jobs. The dollar buys a nickels worth: Banks are going bust; shop-keepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there’s nobody anywhere seems to know what to do and there’s no end to it!</i></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">We know the air is unfit to breathe, the food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV’s while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes as if that’s the way it’s supposed to be! We know things are bad, worse than bad—they’re crazy—it’s like everything everywhere is going crazy. So we don’t go out anymore, we sit in the house and slowly the world we’re living in is getting smaller and all we say is PLEASE at least leave us alone in our living room, let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials, and we won’t say anything—just leave us alone!</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Well I’m not going to leave you alone! I want you to GET MAD! <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">I don’t want you to protest, I don’t want you to write to your congressman; I wouldn’t know what to tell you to write.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I don’t know what to do about the depression and the inflation or the Russians or the crime-in-the-streets. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">All I know is that first YOU’VE GOT TO GET MAD! <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">You’ve got to say “I’m a human being—DAMNIT—my life has value! So I want you to get up now, I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, stick your head out and yell: “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Things have got to Change!</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> <object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dib2-HBsF08&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dib2-HBsF08&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Kirwan: We are just over two-weeks into the twilight zone that is the period between the election and the swearing-in ceremonies. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">This is the last chance we shall have to weigh-in on all the shit that’s coming down, in the process that is defining just how much more of this we’re going to have to put up with in the extension of Cheney-Bush that will be overseen by a different face, but by the same controllers that have been running this show since 1838: <a href="http://www.vyzygoth.com/Roth.pdf">“The Rise of the House of Rothschild “<i>Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its law.” Mayer Amschel Rothschild, 1838</i> </a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">That last statement was made 230 years ago, and just look at what it has brought us to: Last chance people – GET MAD and then DO something!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><a href="http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/72384-Impeachinator/" target="_blank">The Impeachinator</a><br />The Phoenix - Boston,MA,USA<br />A <b>Bush impeachment</b> is now moot, of course, as a new president prepares to assume office in January. But <b>impeachment</b> was never to be, notes Fein, <b>...<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#B6DDE8;mso-themecolor:accent5; mso-themetint:102"><a href="http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/2008/11/darth-cheney-torquemada-gonzales-indicted-a-pardon-would-save-them.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-themecolor:accent5;mso-themetint: 102">Darth<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Cheney</b>, Torquemada Gonzales Indicted; A Pardon Would Save<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>...</b></span></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#B6DDE8;mso-themecolor:accent5; mso-themetint:102">By Milt Shook<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">The only way to have at least some control over who gets pardoned, and for what, is to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>impeach Bush</b>, and name the principles in his administration as witnesses. Guerra himself was under indictment for more than a year and half until a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>...</b><br /><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-themecolor:accent5;mso-themetint:102"><a href="http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/" target="_blank" title="http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/"><span style="color:#B6DDE8; mso-themecolor:accent5;mso-themetint:102">Please Cut the Crap! - http://pleasecutthecrap.typepad.com/main/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:green"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#B6DDE8;mso-themecolor:accent5; mso-themetint:102"><a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/lifestyle/columnists/x1772951685/COLUMN-Who-s-on-the-pardon-menu" target="_blank"><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-themecolor:accent5;mso-themetint: 102">COLUMN: Who’s on the pardon menu?</span></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#B6DDE8;mso-themecolor:accent5; mso-themetint:102">Marblehead Reporter - Marblehead,MA,USA</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><br />What if President<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Bush</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>died tomorrow and then new president Dick<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Cheney</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>or a White House aide found in a vault a signed, sworn and witnessed statement by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>...<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Altercation, by Eric Alterman<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">We've got a new Think Again column</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"> -- the first in a series actually -- called "The Bush War on the Press: Its Legacy" and you can find it <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.americanprogress.org%252Fissues%252F2008%252F11%252Fbush_legacy_press.html&lid=760726&rid=18046326" target="_blank">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Yesterday in Washington, the CEOs of the big three automakers made their case to Congress for an industry bailout -- and they flew private jets! The mainstream media was all over this: <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.cnn.com%252F2008%252FUS%252F11%252F19%252Fautos.ceo.jets%252Findex.html&lid=760727&rid=18046326" target="_blank">CNN</a>, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.foxnews.com%252Fstory%252F0%252C2933%252C454844%252C00.html&lid=760728&rid=18046326" target="_blank">Fox News</a>, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.abcnews.go.com%252FBlotter%252FWallStreet%252Fstory%253Fid%253D6285739%2526page%253D1&lid=760729&rid=18046326" target="_blank">ABC News</a>, <i>The Washington Post</i>'s <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.washingtonpost.com%252Fwp-dyn%252Fcontent%252Farticle%252F2008%252F11%252F19%252FAR2008111903669.html%253Fhpid%25253Dtopnews%2526sub%253DAR&lid=760730&rid=18046326" target="_blank">Dana Milbank</a>, and many others headlined stories about the CEOs' extravagant mode of transportation. ABC News' headline read "First class not good enough for Auto Execs" before it was changed online; Diane Sawyer actually made an ABC News investigation package, which she led off thusly: "This morning, begging for money, while flying high. ABC News cameras catch the CEOs of big auto asking for a bailout, while flying on private jets."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Well, it was dumb, to be sure, but let's ask a question: Is Diane Sawyer really surprised to learn that CEOs travel in private jets? What does the head of ABC travel in? Hell, how about Diane, Charlie, George and all the rest of them. Ever see any of them in coach? These are people -- and I've heard it over and over -- who complain about having to "fly commercial." The talking heads on cable -- like Greta Van Susteren, who said "those CEOs must be out of their minds" -- are indignant only over the imagery. It's surely poor public relations, not to mention arrogant, at a time when the industry needs billions of dollars in public funds to stay afloat.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">But are these journalists really angry about excessive executive compensation? I wish. Remember some of these stats I employed in <i><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fbooks.google.com%252Fbooks%253Fid%253DmhO41uVWOQIC%2526printsec%253Dfrontcover%2526dq%253Deric%252Balterman%2526ei%253DHReGSNnLOpGMtAOl94S8CA%2526sig%253DACfU3U1tAZ6olQDR4zZgm0DgH0OE0EOSSg&lid=760731&rid=18046326" target="_blank">Why We're Liberals?</a></i><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">According to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the only taxpayers whose share of taxes declined in 2001 and 2002 were those in the top 0.1 percent, or Americans who earn more than $10 million a year. The following year their tax share declined by another million. These same lucky folks now pay a lesser share of their income in taxes than those making $100,000 to $200,000.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Meanwhile, the average hourly wage of a U.S. worker, according to the 2006 Economic Report of the President, fell, in constant 1982 dollars, from $8.21 in 1967 to $8.17 in 2005. This gap grew so large that a Fortune 500 CEO could expect to earn, in his first hour of his first day on the job, more than a minimum wage worker would make that entire year. (The CEOs of America's largest corporations [the Fortune 100] make an average of $17.6 million per year. That is $67,692 per day, or approximately $8,461 per hour. The federal minimum wage was, until 2007, $5.15 per hour or $10,712 per year for a 40-hour work week. It takes the average CEO 2 hours and 2 minutes to earn $10,712. The CEOs of Fortune 100 companies can earn $10,712 in an average of 1 hour and 16 minutes. See "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcancampaign.3cdn.net%252F413f158867745fd117_6wm6bxi3r.pdf&lid=760732&rid=18046326" target="_blank">Research Report: The Minimum Wage, CEO Pay and the Gap in Achieving the American Dream</a>," Americans United for Change, January 2, 2007; David Cay Johnston, "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2007%252F03%252F29%252Fbusiness%252F29tax.html&lid=760733&rid=18046326" target="_blank">Income Gap Is Widening, Data Shows</a>," <i>New York Times</i>, March 29, 2007.)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Meanwhile, the Bush economic policies were deliberately designed to redistribute even more money to the extremely rich from the rest of us. Recall Vice President Cheney's response to Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill when the latter complained that new tax cuts would bust the budget: "We won the midterms. It's our due." By "our" Cheney was clearly referring to the wealthiest swath of American society, particularly its corporate elite, who financed the political careers of the president, the vice president, and their political allies, including those who sat in the CEOs' offices of Detroit's Big Three.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Sure, we'd love to see more stories on the earnings of the Big Three CEOs and their top underlings vs. both skilled and unskilled workers, the rate at which each has grown (or not) over the past 10 years, and so on. I'd like to see that for executive vs. worker compensation nationwide. But Greta Van Susteren hasn't done that story, nor have many of the rest. But this cheap outrage from the network's own million-dollar babies, well, forgive us if we pass.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">We wrote a <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.americanprogress.org%252Fissues%252F2008%252F04%252Falterman_networks.html&lid=760734&rid=18046326" target="_blank">Think Again</a> in April</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"> about network news -- we've all had problems with coverage on the three networks, for sure, but it still provides some of the best television journalism we have in terms of range and quality of reporting. The networks prepare taped, edited correspondent packages, which afford more precision and depth than the manic coverage of the 24-hour cable networks. Well, it wasn't just the recent sit-down with the Obamas. Jacques Steinberg has a <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2008%252F11%252F20%252Farts%252Ftelevision%252F20sixty.html%253F_r%253D1%2526partner%253Drss%2526emc%253Drss%2526pagewanted%253Dall&lid=760735&rid=18046326" target="_blank">piece</a> in today's <i>New York Times</i> about the recent success of <i>60 Minutes</i>, the CBS newsmagazine that was the most-watched television program in the country over the past two weeks. Steinberg writes that the show has stepped up its hard news coverage, reporting regularly from Iraq and Afghanistan, doing 20-minute packages on unsexy but important topics like credit-default swaps. Steinberg says CBS has protected the program from the staff cuts common at virtually every other news organization. If the president-elect was deciding to reward such investment and initiative, well, then, bully for him.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">To be fair, <i>60 Minutes</i> is also benefiting from a lack of competition; NBC isn't running its newsmagazine, <i>Dateline</i>, nearly as much as it used to, and "To Catch a Predator" packages aren't exactly hard news anyhow. ABC is still doing <i>20/20</i>, but this week, for example, the<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%252F2008%252F11%252F18%252Fashley-alexandra-dupre-si_n_144700.html&lid=760736&rid=18046326" target="_blank">featured interview</a> is with Eliot Spitzer's former high-priced call girl, which the network advertises as "a continuation of [Diane] Sawyer's recent and exclusive reporting on prostitution." (Exclusive?)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">So, imagine that -- a news program doesn't cut back staff position, takes on serious topics, and gets high ratings. Who'da thunk it<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">One of the more popular talking points</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"> these days is that the average auto worker makes $70 an hour, which is the fault of the big bad unions, who, by the way, are also at fault for the crisis in the automotive sector.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Trouble is, as any auto worker is surely and painfully aware, they don't make $70 an hour, or anything close to it. Felix Salmon has the fact-check <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.portfolio.com%252Fviews%252Fblogs%252Fmarket-movers%252F2008%252F11%252F18%252Fthe-return-of-the-70-per-hour-meme%253Ftid%253Dtrue&lid=760737&rid=18046326" target="_blank">here</a>. What's more, in every other Western industrialized nation, they can expect government-provided health care, while, here, it is part of their compensation package and an awful -- actually unbearable -- drag on these companies' ability to earn a profit against their unburdened foreign rivals<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">George Zornick writes:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"> From the <i>New York Observer</i>, a great piece:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">"How Did Hillary Clinton Get Reported Into the State Department? It Exploded -- From NBC's Andrea Mitchell to Huffington Post, But Did Reports Precipitate Reality? 'It's Confusing,' Says Ben Smith"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">It's <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.observer.com%252F2008%252Fmedia%252Ffoggy-bottom-top%253Fpage%253D0%25252C1&lid=760738&rid=18046326" target="_blank">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">We were going to write about</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"> the two-part wet kiss <i>The Washington Post</i> is giving Henry Paulson -- the <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.washingtonpost.com%252Fwp-dyn%252Fcontent%252Farticle%252F2008%252F11%252F17%252FAR2008111703787.html&lid=760739&rid=18046326" target="_blank">first installment</a>, "A Conversion in 'This Storm' " features probing quotes from Paulson like "[I]f you take charge, people will follow...Someone has to pull it all together" -- but <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.prospect.org%252Fcsnc%252Fblogs%252Fbeat_the_press_archive%253Fmonth%253D11%2526year%253D2008%2526base_name%253Dpost_covers_up_for_paulson&lid=760740&rid=18046326" target="_blank">Dean Baker</a> says it best:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">The point is extremely simple. There was a huge housing bubble that should have been visible to any competent economic analyst. The bubble was fueled by an enormous chain of highly leveraged finance. (As head of Goldman Sachs, Mr. Paulson personally made hundreds of millions of dollars from this bubble.)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">It was entirely predictable that the housing bubble would burst and that its collapse would have a huge impact on the financial system and the economy as a whole. There is zero excuse for Paulson being caught by surprise by a "storm" that he helped create. The Post should not be in the business of covering up for Paulson's massive failure.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">What are the chances Deborah Howell addresses this in her ombudsman column?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">From TomDispatch:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">"It's the ultimate argument," <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.tomdispatch.com%252Fpost%252F175005&lid=760741&rid=18046326" target="_blank">Tom Engelhardt</a> begins, "the final bastion against withdrawal, and over these last years, the Bush administration has made sure it would have plenty of heft. Ironically, its strength lies in the fact that it has nothing to do with the vicissitudes of Iraqi politics, the relative power of Shiites or Sunnis, the influence of Iran, or even the riptides of war. It really doesn't matter what Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki or oppositional cleric Muqtada al-Sadr think about it. In fact, it's an argument that has nothing to do with Iraq and everything to do with us, with the American way of war (and life), which makes it almost unassailable."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">He continues: "In a nutshell, the Pentagon's argument couldn't be simpler or more red-bloodedly American: We have too much <i>stuff</i> to leave Iraq any time soon. In war, as in peace, we're trapped by our own profligacy. We are the Neiman Marcus <i>and</i> the Wal-Mart of combat." Think of us not as the Spartans of 21st century war, but as Athenians abroad on steroids. And this is the argument that, this very week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen -- the man President-elect Obama plans to call into the Oval Office as soon as he arrives -- wheeled into place and launched like a missile aimed at the heart of Obama's 16-month withdrawal plan for U.S. combat troops in Iraq.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">In the rest of his most recent post at TomDispatch.com, Engelhardt explores the way in which former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's Military Lite became a Military Heavy in Iraq and what key top military officials claim it will take to get all our troops and all our stuff, from helicopters and Humvees to ice-cream making machines and Porta Johns, out of that country. This argument has been the equivalent of a background hum in the withdrawal debate for the last two years. Now, it is sure to be a key part of what Barack Obama will hear when he meets his key military commanders and top Pentagon officials just after January 20, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Engelhardt concludes: "As Donald Rumsfeld so classically said, in reference to the looting of Baghdad in April 2003 after American troops entered the city, 'stuff happens.' How true that turns out to be. When it comes to withdrawal, the most militarily profligate administration in memory has seemingly ensured that the highest military priority in 2009 will be frugality -- that is, saving all American 'stuff' in Iraq. Irony hardly covers this one. The Bush administration may have succeeded in little else, but it did embed the U.S. so deeply in that country that leaving can now be portrayed as the profligate thing to do."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a name="11dbb9d2aa1ae72b__"></a><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">This week on <i>Moyers</i>:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"> The <i>Bill Moyers Journal</i> and Exposé: America's Investigative Reports present an investigative story into tragic accidents resulting from natural gas explosions. The report is part of Blueprint America, a PBS-wide series on the nation's infrastructure. "Beneath the North Texas Dirt" follows Brett Shipp, a television reporter from WFAA in Dallas, who discovered that aging equipment connecting homeowners' gas lines to their gas meters was failing, causing horrific explosions. Shipp found evidence suggesting that for decades state regulators and local power companies ignored this fatal problem in the vital infrastructure that brings natural gas into hundreds of thousands of Dallas area homes<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">All This Kind Of News Can Turn One Cynic Satirist; Or Is It Satire?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qNv-oDbBZQU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qNv-oDbBZQU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9KVTfcAyYGg&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9KVTfcAyYGg&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9X0F1Qjn0Ac&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9X0F1Qjn0Ac&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rrZwAyToxwA&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rrZwAyToxwA&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jCljFYn3zTY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jCljFYn3zTY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">If You Can’t Laugh You’ll Go Crazy Right Now!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I Know It’s Poor Taste To Laugh At Stupid Folks, But In The Case Of Our Congress, I Make An Exception.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">My God How The Money Rolls In!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kZkXjhG1_BQ&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kZkXjhG1_BQ&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_raahWqf4uY8fzOMvrFBwxGRYo-BX3jvsqqkGJc40yNFURshKJ4v7o298sPKx25XUObP7zgQsL24mPU10WxhA4Vw1etphnaYVN7Zni_MAlQtmqp-FCrdK-Wl6ImeqwewET_BMlcBmMZI/s1600-h/UIS.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_raahWqf4uY8fzOMvrFBwxGRYo-BX3jvsqqkGJc40yNFURshKJ4v7o298sPKx25XUObP7zgQsL24mPU10WxhA4Vw1etphnaYVN7Zni_MAlQtmqp-FCrdK-Wl6ImeqwewET_BMlcBmMZI/s400/UIS.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271117003683099394" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-19816411306189283342008-11-20T18:40:00.000-08:002008-11-20T18:49:32.695-08:00Aces And Eights: Friday, November 20, 2008: A Financial Report: America Is Nearly All In.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYq4ru5c-YRlytHOFMJNq9ZWifOjM9yhzgoJ3xOTFyXNpJ1woJNMMHTOJrV23u_gU5fi36zFvbujK5-sFVlsDkJb5MoaMJhAUQvFzlanQsYu15Y5Hvpbz6kxX9CQtbnLhiY5XzzZgeww/s1600-h/AA8AIN.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYq4ru5c-YRlytHOFMJNq9ZWifOjM9yhzgoJ3xOTFyXNpJ1woJNMMHTOJrV23u_gU5fi36zFvbujK5-sFVlsDkJb5MoaMJhAUQvFzlanQsYu15Y5Hvpbz6kxX9CQtbnLhiY5XzzZgeww/s400/AA8AIN.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270935383412356738" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Aces And Eights: Friday, November 20, 2008: A Financial Report: America Is Nearly All In. Most Of The Bets Are On The Table With A Few Stalling, Fumbling</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYq4ru5c-YRlytHOFMJNq9ZWifOjM9yhzgoJ3xOTFyXNpJ1woJNMMHTOJrV23u_gU5fi36zFvbujK5-sFVlsDkJb5MoaMJhAUQvFzlanQsYu15Y5Hvpbz6kxX9CQtbnLhiY5XzzZgeww/s1600-h/AA8AIN.jpg">With Cards Under The Table.</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >No One Wants To Talk About What They Are Going To Do With Their Winnings And No One Wants To Be Told What They Have To Ante Up To Get In The Game. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >It’s A Big Game With Everyone Trying To Cover Their Losses And Their Asses With More Of Our Money.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">It’s Time To Bust Up The Game With A Citizen’s Raid And A Parade Of Arrests And Prosecutions!</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=ab3240b3-b577-4c95-9ca1-49d51e044af4"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-daily-reckoning">The Daily Reckoning</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=493c5c19-570e-44f8-9565-fdf30720627e"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/golds-trading-range-tightens-volatili-eddickau">Gold's Trading Range Tightens, Volatility Jumps,</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/?b=0&Intro=intro3">http://www.bloomberg.com/?b=0&Intro=intro3</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://money.cnn.com/news/">http://money.cnn.com/news/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=82badcd5-a28c-419c-a019-f6c2257cf86f"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/business-and-financial-news-cnnmoneycom">Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance">http://www.reuters.com/finance</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/">http://www.marketwatch.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=12507bea-d645-4e9f-b995-f4b533ae985a"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/marketwatchcom-stock-market-quotes-bu-eddickau">MarketWatch.com:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Stock Market Quotes - Business</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=b8cdd72a-9f0c-4c56-a22a-8c26fc3e03f2"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/business-news-finance-retirement-stock-market">Business News, Finance, Retirement, Stock Market</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=21304ae8-8f97-4078-9650-bba63a65a5b9"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/rge-monitor">RGE Monitor</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/jonas/135">Dr. J.'s Commentary: Why the Republicans Want to Kill GM</a></span></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Thus I think that it goes rather deeper than those three. There are three other reasons that are likely more significant. Two are ideological and one is political, but at a much broader level than just red state/blue state thing. First, and this one has been mentioned a bit, bankruptcy would permit the companies to break their union contracts, both for current employees and for their "legacy" beneficiaries who depend on the U.S. automakers for their pensions and health care coverage. Forgetting about what that would do to those workers, such actions would break the United Auto Workers, one of the last U.S. industrial unions that has any real power. That would be a real achievement for the Republicans.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,24650136-14334,00.html">http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,24650136-14334,00.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.georgesoros.com/articlesandessays">http://www.georgesoros.com/articlesandessays</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-46850255306771624792008-11-19T19:09:00.000-08:002008-11-19T19:37:05.464-08:00Cheney, Gonzales Indicted By South Texas Grand Jury For Engaging In Organized Criminal Activity Updates And Continuing Video From Texas.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0oE4Cs8Y4tqi-TJNW5lwinMhWf0wzluUN6kwpqu9yH9tqomtlUaR9UKsxfFt6jtQq5egOne8CBHY7a0uFveF2maE22XfabMjw-NqRUy6BkKp2ah6-C4SD81YxQokoHEaLUBynQ5XLi0/s1600-h/dcin.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0oE4Cs8Y4tqi-TJNW5lwinMhWf0wzluUN6kwpqu9yH9tqomtlUaR9UKsxfFt6jtQq5egOne8CBHY7a0uFveF2maE22XfabMjw-NqRUy6BkKp2ah6-C4SD81YxQokoHEaLUBynQ5XLi0/s400/dcin.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270571746833056802" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Cheney, Gonzales Indicted By South Texas Grand Jury For </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Engaging In Organized Criminal Activity Updates And Continuing Video From Texas.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/18/cheney-gonzales-indicted_n_144749.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/18/cheney-gonzales-indicted_n_1...</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on state charges involving federal prisons in a South Texas county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles under the outgoing prosecutor. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/18/texas-grand-jury-indicts-cheney-gonzales/" target="_blank">http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/18/texas-grand-jury-indi...</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The indictment returned Monday has not yet been signed by the presiding judge, and no action can be taken until that happens. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The seven indictments made public in Willacy County on Tuesday included one naming state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. and some targeting public officials connected to District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra's own legal battles. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Regarding the indictments targeting the public officials, Guerra said, "the grand jury is the one that made those decisions, not me." <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Guerra himself was under indictment for more than a year and half until a judge dismissed the indictments last month. Guerra's tenure ends this year after nearly two decades in office. He lost convincingly in a Democratic primary in March. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Guerra said the prison-related charges against Cheney and Gonzales are a national issue and experts from across the country testified to the grand jury. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Cheney is charged with engaging in an organized criminal activity related to the vice president's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds financial interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees because of his link to the prison companies. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">McALLEN — A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on state charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County's federal detention centers. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The indictment, which had not yet been signed by the presiding judge, was one of seven released Tuesday in a county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles in recent years. Another of the indictments named a state senator on charges of profiting from his position. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra himself had been under indictment for more than a year and half before a judge dismissed the indictments last month. This flurry of charges came in the twilight of Guerra's tenure, which ends this year after nearly two decades in office. He lost convincingly in a Democratic primary in March. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Cheney's indictment on a charge of engaging in an organized criminal activity criticizes the vice president's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees because of his link to the prison companies. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Megan Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Cheney, declined to comment on Tuesday, saying that the vice president had not yet received a copy of the indictment. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The indictment accuses Gonzales of using his position while in office to stop an investigation in 2006 into abuses at one of the privately- run prisons. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Gonzalez's attorney, George Terwilliger III, said in a written statement, "This is obviously a bogus charge on its face, as any good prosecutor can recognize. Hopefully, competent Texas authorities will take steps to reign in this abuse of the criminal justice system." <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Willacy County has become a prison hub with county, state and federal lockups. Guerra has gone after the prison-politician nexus before, extracting guilty pleas from three former Willacy and Webb county commissioners after investigating bribery related to federal prison contacts. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Another indictment released Tuesday accuses state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. of profiting from his public office by accepting honoraria from prison management companies. Guerra announced his intention to investigate Lucio's prison consulting early last year. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Lucio's attorney, Michael Cowen, released a scathing statement accusing Guerra of settling political scores in his final weeks in office. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">"Senator Lucio is completely innocent and has done nothing wrong," Cowen said, adding that he would file a motion to quash the indictment this week. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Last month, a Willacy County grand jury indicted The GEO Group, a Florida private prison company, on a murder charge in the death of a prisoner days before his release. The three-count indictment alleged The GEO Group allowed other inmates to beat Gregorio de la Rosa Jr. to death with padlocks stuffed into socks. The death happened in 2001 at the Raymondville facility, just four days before de la Rosa's scheduled release. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">In 2006, a jury ordered the company to pay de la Rosa's family $47.5 million in a civil judgment. The Cheney-Gonzalez indictment makes reference to the de la Rosa case. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">None of the indictments released Tuesday had been signed by Presiding Judge Manuel Banales of the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">A second batch of indictments targeted public officials connected to Guerra's own legal battles. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Willacy County Clerk Gilbert Lozano, District judges Janet Leal and Migdalia Lopez, and special prosecutors Mervyn Mosbacker Jr. — a former U.S. attorney — and Gustavo Garza — a long-time political opponent of Guerra — were all indicted on charges of official abuse of official capacity and official oppression. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Garza, the only one who could be immediately reached Tuesday, called it a sad state of affairs. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">"I feel sorry for all of the good people this unprofessional prosecutor has maligned," Garza said. "I'm not at all concerned about the accusations he has trumped up." <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Banales dismissed indictments against Guerra last month that charged him with extorting money from a bail bond company and using his office for personal business. An appeals court had earlier ruled that Garza was improperly appointed as special prosecutor to investigate Guerra. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">After Guerra's office was raided as part of the investigation early last year, he camped outside the courthouse in a borrowed camper with a horse, three goats and a rooster. He threatened to dismiss hundreds of cases because he believed local law enforcement had aided the investigation against him. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">On Tuesday, Guerra said the indictments speak for themselves. He said the prison-related charges are a national issue and experts from across the country testified to the grand jury. Asked about the indictments against local players in the justice system who had pursued him, Guerra said, "the grand jury is the one that made those decisions, not me." <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The indictments were first reported by KRGV-TV. None of the indictments released Tuesday had been signed by Presiding Judge Manuel Banales of the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">"In the March 2008 Democratic Primary, 70 percent of the Willacy County voters elected to remove Juan Guerra as Willacy County District Attorney," Cowen said in a statement. "Now, with only a few weeks left in his term, Mr. Guerra has again chosen to misuse his position in an attempt to seek revenge on those who he sees as political enemies." <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6119459.html" target="_blank">http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6119459.html</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Cheney's indictment in south Texas moves forward (?)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h9PvQtj8plxTnRZS7hHmJap_Rt2AD94IAULG0">http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h9PvQtj8plxTnRZS7hHmJap_Rt2AD94IAULG0</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN – 39 minutes ago<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge has set an arraignment for Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other officials accused of involvement in prisoner abuse.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Presiding Judge Manuel Banales (buh-NAHL'-ehs) said Wednesday he will allow them to waive arraignment or have attorneys present rather than appear in person Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Banales also said he would issue summonses, not warrants. That allows them to avoid arrest and the need to post bond.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Willacy County District Attorney Juan Guerra (GEHR'-uh) accuses Cheney, Gonzales, a state senator and others of involvement in prisoner abuse at a federal detention center in south Texas.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Defense attorney Tony Canales (kuh-NAHL'-ehs) accuses Guerra of "prosecutorial vindictiveness" and not following procedure.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6121728.html">http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6121728.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">But the prosecutor who won the indictments, lame duck Willacy County District Attorney Juan Guerra, was a no-show in court. Banales ordered Texas Rangers to go to his house, check on his well-being and order him to court on Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Because Guerra wasn't there, Banales refused to hear any of the motions to dismiss the indictments until Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/34722294.html">http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/34722294.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">BROWNSVILLE — A district attorney with a reputation for wackiness and little time left in office has stunned observers by securing indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Brownsville Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., among others.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Is this reality TV or something that will prove real?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">At least for now, the White House isn't saying. But Lucio's lawyer described outgoing Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra as a circus act.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Guerra, a 53-year-old Rio Grande Valley prosecutor who drew national attention for suing counterparts in the county justice system and staging a protest with barnyard animals, long has alleged high-ranking corruption in the deals that brought the impoverished county a $60 million immigration detention center.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">On Monday, he got a grand jury to sign off on a slew of indictments including an acceptance of honorarium charge against Lucio and an engaging in organized criminal activity charge against Cheney and Gonzales.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">“I didn't intend to go after the vice president. That was not my intention,” said Guerra, who dubbed the investigation Operation Goliath. “We just followed the money, followed the corruption. It just happened that it just took us all the way to Washington.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Lucio's lawyer, Michael Cowan, fired back Tuesday with a news release trumpeting Guerra's continued “one-man circus.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">“Having been voted out of office, Willacy County DA commits one last act of political revenge,” Cowan said. “With only a few weeks left in his term, Mr. Guerra has again chosen to misuse his position in an attempt to seek revenge on those who he sees as political enemies.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Cheney is accused of contributing to the neglect of federal immigration detainees by contracting for-profit prisons.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">“By working through corporations as prisons for profit, Defendant Richard Cheney has committed at least misdemeanor assaults of our inmates and/or detainees,” the indictment reads, adding that a “money trail” can be traced to Cheney's substantial investments in the Vanguard Group, which invests in privately run prisons.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Megan Mitchell, spokeswoman for Cheney, said: “We have not received an indictment. We haven't received a call from the district attorney's office. ... We haven't heard anything from the district attorney.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Guerra said he kept Operation Goliath secret for four months over concern that pressure would be brought to bear to stop it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">He said “everything was being worked out of my house” and only one trusted member of his staff knew about it. He said he enlisted the help of people all over the country and talked to witnesses all over the country. Everyone who helped was assigned a biblical name. Guerra was known as David.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">He said the investigation continues and that when he leaves office, he'll probably ask for a special prosecutor to be named.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Cowan said he was working on a motion to quash the indictment against Lucio, which is based on allegations Lucio misused his contacts and influence as a senator in his consulting work. Guerra has said another company could have built the facility for half the cost.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">“There's no crime here,” Cowan said. “The senator's done nothing wrong. Being a senator is not a fulltime job — you're allowed to have outside employment.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Also named in at least eight separate indictments:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia;font-size:11.5pt;">•</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">GEO Group, Inc., formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp., and David Forrest, a warden, for murder and manslaughter of an inmate in 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia;font-size:11.5pt;">•</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">District Clerk Gilbert Lozano for official abuse of official capacity and official oppression.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia;font-size:11.5pt;">•</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Special prosecutor Gustavo Garza for official abuse of official capacity and official oppression.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia;font-size:11.5pt;">•</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Special prosecutor Mervyn Mosbacker for official abuse of official capacity and official oppression.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia;font-size:11.5pt;">•</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">District Judge Migdalia Lopez for official abuse of official capacity and official oppression<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Georgia;font-size:11.5pt;">•</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">District Judge Janet Leal for official abuse of official capacity and official oppression.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Guerra said he has requested that those indicted be given a summons to appear.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Guerra himself has faced indictment before and has defended himself in a colorful fashion while claiming to be the target of political vendettas.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">In 2007, after being indicted on public theft charges, he camped in front of the county jail with goats, roosters and a horse to symbolize what he called a “circus” against him. Those charges were dismissed, as more recently were other indictments accusing him of corruption including tampering with government records and abusing his office.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Guerra later sued the county judge, county sheriff, county clerks, and others.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Guerra has contended the indictments against him were meant to keep him from being re-elected. He lost in the March primary election.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Regarding Lucio's comment that the indictments are a circus act, he said, “This was a grand jury that had been looking into this for the past four months. That's belittling the grand jury.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HQEMPdIxZcY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HQEMPdIxZcY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/W_A_V8eRY44&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/W_A_V8eRY44&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111804164.html">Texas Grand Jury Indicts Cheney, Gonzales on Charges Related to Prisons</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111804164.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111804164.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE4AI11B20081119">http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE4AI11B20081119</a> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.newschannel5.tv/2008/11/18/1001457/Guerra-Indicts">http://www.newschannel5.tv/2008/11/18/1001457/Guerra-Indicts</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.newschannel5.tv/2008/11/18/1001457/Guerra-Indicts">http://www.newschannel5.tv/2008/11/18/1001457/Guerra-Indicts</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/20/america/Cheney-Indicted.php">Arraignment set for Cheney, Gonzales in Texas</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://impeachforpeace.org/impeach_bush_blog/?p=5848">Prison-Industrial Complex Investment Brings Unexpected Dividends!</a></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=cheney+Indicted&spell=1">Keep Up</a> With <a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&resnum=0&q=cheney%20Indicted&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn">Breaking Developments</a> Here!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=540599ad-87cc-4979-9ca6-83d9bade0549"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/pbs-frontline">PBS Frontline</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-83887021038915121852008-11-19T09:05:00.000-08:002008-11-19T09:13:33.814-08:00Administration Engaging In Burrowing Of Loyalists In The Obama Government To Weaken Performance Via Sabotage. Cheney Indicted 1st Video…Quash Move?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKqEmSUJvJ-CbyqfQu8-WILNhcIpdirAhEFWZ4O9uoalvxym5pnQW6tHLoWdThYMz0_1eJvamQpxUGSYYJNp6U_aA3LBdrZnZ5gDOUkyelZlh2g1dVzz2fq6rPxmxrSRyVIgHj5YtgJw/s1600-h/fire.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKqEmSUJvJ-CbyqfQu8-WILNhcIpdirAhEFWZ4O9uoalvxym5pnQW6tHLoWdThYMz0_1eJvamQpxUGSYYJNp6U_aA3LBdrZnZ5gDOUkyelZlh2g1dVzz2fq6rPxmxrSRyVIgHj5YtgJw/s400/fire.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270416012305357138" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Administration Engaging In Burrowing Of Loyalists In The Obama Government To Weaken Performance Via Sabotage.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cheney Indicted 1</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">st</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Video…Attempt To Quash Next!</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703537.html?hpid=topnews">Administration Moves to Protect Key Appointees | <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Political Positions Shifted To Career Civil Service Jobs</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Just weeks before leaving office, the Interior Department's top lawyer has shifted half a dozen key deputies -- including two former political appointees who have been involved in controversial environmental decisions -- into senior civil service posts.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The transfer of political appointees into permanent federal positions, called "burrowing" by career officials, creates security for those employees, and at least initially will deprive the incoming <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Barack+Obama?tid=informline">Obama</a> administration of the chance to install its preferred appointees in some key jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Similar efforts are taking place at other agencies. Two political hires at the Labor Department have already secured career posts there, and one at the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Department+of+Housing+and+Urban+Development?tid=informline">Department of Housing and Urban Development</a> is trying to make the switch.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Between March 1 and Nov. 3, according to the federal <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Office+of+Personnel+Management?tid=informline">Office of Personnel Management</a>, the Bush administration allowed 20 political appointees to become career civil servants. Six political appointees to the Senior Executive Service, the government's most prestigious and highly paid employees, have received approval to take career jobs at the same level. Fourteen other political, or "Schedule C," appointees have also been approved to take career jobs. One candidate was turned down by OPM and two were withdrawn by the submitting agency.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The personnel moves come as Bush administration officials are scrambling to cement in place policy and regulatory initiatives that touch on issues such as federal drinking-water standards, air quality at national parks, mountaintop mining and fisheries limits.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The practice of placing political appointees into permanent civil service posts before an administration ends is not new. In its last 12 months, the Clinton administration approved 47 such moves, including seven at the senior executive level. Federal employees with civil service status receive job protections that make it very difficult for managers to remove them.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Most of the personnel shifts have been done on a case-by-case basis, but Interior Solicitor David L. Bernhardt moved to place six deputies in senior agency positions with one stroke, including two who have repeatedly attracted controversy. Robert D. Comer, who was Rocky Mountain regional solicitor, was named to the civil service post of associate solicitor for mineral resources. Matthew McKeown, who served as deputy associate solicitor for mineral resources, will take Comer's place in what is also a career post. Both had been converted from political appointees to civil service status.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">In a report dated Oct. 13, 2004, Interior's inspector general singled out Comer in criticizing a grazing agreement that the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Bureau+of+Land+Management?tid=informline">Bureau of Land Management</a> had struck with a Wyoming rancher, saying Comer used "pressure and intimidation" to produce the settlement and pushed it through "with total disregard for the concerns raised by career field personnel." McKeown -- who as Idaho's deputy attorney general had sued to overturn a Clinton administration rule barring road-building in certain national forests -- has been criticized by environmentalists for promoting the cause of private property owners over the public interest on issues such as grazing and logging.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">One career Interior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize his position, said McKeown will "have a huge impact on a broad swath of the West" in his new position, advising the Bureau of Land Management and the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Fish+and+Wildlife+Service?tid=informline">Fish and Wildlife Service</a> on "all the programs they implement." Comer, the official added, will help shape mining policy in his new assignment.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">"It is an attempt by the outgoing administration to limit as much as possible [the incoming administration's] ability to put its policy imprint on the Department of Interior," the official said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">In a Nov. 13 memo obtained by <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/The+Washington+Post+Company?tid=informline">The Washington Post</a>, Bernhardt wrote that he was reorganizing his division because the associate solicitors' original status as political appointees undermined the division's effectiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">"This has resulted in frequent turnover in those positions, often with an attendant loss in productivity and management continuity in these Divisions, despite the best efforts of the newly-appointed Associate Solicitors," he wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">But environmental advocates, and some rank-and-file Interior officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of hurting their careers, said the reassignments represent the Bush administration's effort to leave a lasting imprint on environmental policy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">"What's clear is they could have done this during the eight years they were in office. Why are they doing it now?" said Robert Irvin, senior vice president for conservation programs at <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Defenders+of+Wildlife?tid=informline">Defenders of Wildlife</a>, an advocacy group. "It's pretty obvious they're trying to leave in place some of their loyal foot soldiers in their efforts to reduce environmental protection."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">In an interview yesterday, Bernhardt reiterated that he thinks the move is in the government's long-term interest.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">"I believe these management decisions will strengthen the professionalism of the Office of the Solicitor and result in greater service to the Department of the Interior," he said. "However, the next solicitor and the department's management team are free to walk a different path."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">One senior Interior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said an incoming interior secretary or solicitor could create new political positions upon taking office and could shift Senior Executive Service officials to comparable jobs within a few months. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">As a general rule, career SES employees may be reassigned involuntarily within their current commuting area within 15 days, and beyond their commuting area within 60 days, but they retain their lucrative and permanent government posts. When a new agency head is appointed, he or she must wait 120 days before reassigning career SES officials.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Outside groups are trying to monitor these moves but are powerless to reverse them. Alex Bastani, a representative at the Labor Department for the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/American+Federation+of+Government+Employees?tid=informline">American Federation of Government Employees</a>, said it took months for that agency even to acknowledge that two of its Bush appointees, Carrie Snidar and Brad Mantel, had gotten civil service posts.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">"They're trying to burrow into these career jobs, and we're very upset," Bastani said. "Everyone should have an opportunity to apply for these positions. And certainly career people who don't have partisan bent and have 10 or 15 years in their respective fields should have a shot at these positions."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Kerry Weems, acting chief of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said he discourages political staff from moving into career slots. "It typically doesn't work out for either party," he said. Even though Weems is a career staffer, he expects to leave the administration when the Obama team takes over.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Alphonso+Jackson?tid=informline">Alphonso Jackson</a>, who was HUD secretary under <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/George+W.+Bush?tid=informline">President Bush</a>, warned his political appointees not to try to burrow in when the administration changed. But one of his regional directors objected to that flat-out prohibition, according to union leaders at HUD, and has told his colleagues that he has been promised first crack at a career <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cheney+Indicted&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=">Dick Cheney Indicted By Texas Grand Jury</a>: 1<sup>st</sup> Video</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/E0vmlDUBjuE&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/E0vmlDUBjuE&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-46177296570744960802008-11-18T17:38:00.000-08:002008-11-19T09:14:16.414-08:00Time Is Running Out On Many Fronts. The Call To The Future Is Being Made!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSd5ZkJDzw6xSjOHDWK5inDFrXPgg9LhEYCkekXI1xrxUS609YSlaKcTvfzKHOwfHfPnCCztgrfJh7q7wn_7a-UXp0kvkwgw5cCMCBTXQ5fehKDz7Bo4Z1QsbTGL_hdCpTPSH55qAcd9I/s1600-h/newday.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSd5ZkJDzw6xSjOHDWK5inDFrXPgg9LhEYCkekXI1xrxUS609YSlaKcTvfzKHOwfHfPnCCztgrfJh7q7wn_7a-UXp0kvkwgw5cCMCBTXQ5fehKDz7Bo4Z1QsbTGL_hdCpTPSH55qAcd9I/s400/newday.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270177324470729698" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">UN mandate for US troops in Iraq running out (The Video Updates) (Plus Gitmo Shut Down.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Don’t Miss This and The Reality Of The Financial Crisis And The Coming Of The True Electric Car… SCEVS (Self Charging Electric Vehicles) <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">Sabah al-Nasseri: Iraqi Parliament expected to turn down US-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6IOeErNQWyU&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6IOeErNQWyU&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">This weekend the Iraqi Parliament will sit down to decide whether or not to accept the newest US draft of the Status of Forces Agreement. Senior Editor Paul Jay sat down with Sabah al-Nasseri to discuss the contents of the proposed agreement. While the US has backed down on many of its main points which were rejected in earlier attempts to pass the agreement, it appears to most observers that SOFA will once again be rejected by the Iraqi parliament. Complicating the situation is the fact that the UN mandate for the US occupation of Iraq expires on December 31st of this year, though Sabah believes that the security council will extend the mandate for another year without issue. Sabah explains how SOFA agreements normally deal exclusively with legal jurisdiction over US personnel when operating in foreign countries, but that the 2008 agreement has been combined with the broader security agreement to create an all-encompassing proposal on the future of the US occupation in Iraq. Beyond the fact that it is unlikely to pass, Sabah points out that the current proposal includes broadly interpretable language such as the US maintaining the right to self-defense, a clause that could easily be used to justify the breach of any of the major concessions that the US has made.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Iraqi Cabinet Accepts US Agreement<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Sabah al-Nasseri: Strong nationalist movement has mobilized against the agreement, and they have guns<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wBz6fv-qF20&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wBz6fv-qF20&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The Iraqi cabinet agreed by a vote of 27-1 on Sunday to approve the newest US draft of the Status of Forces Agreement between the two countries. The agreement speaks to a variety of issues concerning the occupation, including the complete withdrawal from Iraq of US forces by the end of 2011. Moreover, it includes a promise from the US to not use Iraqi territory as a launch pad to attack inside other Middle-eastern countries, as it did in late October during a raid on a village inside Syria. Sabah al-Nasseri believes that the Iraqi parliament will eventually turn down the agreement for political reasons, in the interests of securing one with Barack Obama when he comes to power in January. The timing is important as the Iraqi provincial elections, which are extremely significant given the power granted provinces under the Iraqi constitution, will take place on January 31. Sabah believes that the importance of fairing well in those elections will force the parliament to reject an agreement which has received the rebuke of numerous groups, both religious and secular, who have organized massive protests over recent weeks. One piece of the agreement that very few people are talking about, which Sabah believes has angered many nationalists of all stripes, is the labeling of any armed resistance against occupation forces as terrorists, thereby criminalizing their activities under Iraqi law. Sabah believes that the most recent violence in Iraq was carried out by secular nationalists who are opposed to the deal, given that the targets of the attacks were all US and Iraqi government elements. Sabah, who was born and raised in the Southern Iraqi city of Basra, reiterates his support for an immediate withdrawal of all foreign occupiers, believing that the violence in Iraq stems from the occupation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Closing Down Gitmo?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">President-elect Barack Obama says closing down the detainee camp in Guantanamo Bay will be a top priority of his new administration. David Cole, author of Justice at War: The Men and Ideas That Shaped America's War on Terror, legal affairs correspondent for The Nation, and a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, reviews some of the dilemmas ahead. Should the U.S. continue to hold prisoners without charge? Should we prosecute the top Bush Administration officials responsible for detainee abuse? And how do we regain the respect of the world community?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><embed src="http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1417423198" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=2461899001&playerId=1417423198&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="400" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Reality Asserts Itself<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Solutions to the economic crisis will be found when we cut through the propaganda and spin<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6IXbWGklMhM&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6IXbWGklMhM&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">G-20 Summit 'Punts' Till April<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">G-20 leaders have a nice dinner but do not deal with how to make financial institutions serve the public<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r0Fr1ffzzGs&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r0Fr1ffzzGs&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Following the wrap of the G-20 summit, The Real News Network spoke to Prof. Leo Panitch, and economist, Doug Henwood about what was proposed at the meeting and what was accomplished. Henwood says its very difficult to imagine these varied countries coming together and ceding sovereignty to an international economic body. Panitch says it's time to democratize the financial system while they're on their back heels.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Democrats shield automakers<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">ANP: The automobile lobby is back on Capitol Hill warming up to some of their best friends – Democrats<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><embed src="http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1417423198" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=2064051001&playerId=1417423198&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="400" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.thenation.com/blogs/passingthrough/384140">Zapping the Volt</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/2008/11/neil-young-how-to-save-major-automobile.html">Beyond The Volt</a><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-young/how-to-save-a-major-autom_b_143749.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-young/how-to-save-a-major-autom_b_143749.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www-waa-akam.thomson-webcast.net/us/dispatching/?event_id=724b9733151ff78e4c9ed2c3e2df43e1&portal_id=490b5b11bea71c00458d586691c5b5f5">http://www-waa-akam.thomson-webcast.net/us/dispatching/?event_id=724b9733151ff78e4c9ed2c3e2df43e1&portal_id=490b5b11bea71c00458d586691c5b5f5</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13953_3-10081362-80.html">Neil Young</a> Green Machine!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/j0UG5Jr5L_s&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/j0UG5Jr5L_s&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gVUIpLYsgIo&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gVUIpLYsgIo&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u_vzNH0nkX4&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u_vzNH0nkX4&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.lincvolt.com/">LINC VOLT</a> A HIT AT DREAMFORCE 2008 CONFERENCE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.thomson-webcast.net/us/dispatching/?event_id=724b9733151ff78e4c9ed2c3e2df43e1&portal_id=490b5b11bea71c00458d586691c5b5f5" target="_blank">Monday, November 3rd, 9:00 am (PST)</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">Watch the Keynote Address <a href="http://www-waa-akam.thomson-webcast.net/us/dispatching/?event_id=724b9733151ff78e4c9ed2c3e2df43e1&portal_id=490b5b11bea71c00458d586691c5b5f5">here</a> (use the pull-down menu to skip ahead).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">Title Marck Benioff/Neil Young Closing<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-714836282580726462008-11-18T11:08:00.000-08:002008-11-19T09:15:16.419-08:00Democrats Check Their Balls, Principles And Integrity At The Caucus Door: Democrats Let Lieberman Keep Senate Chairmanship<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi006wRllSCePol00pBuuS1trScW8_k06-5BED9PURKn553fefWoJUDLEyp33mVC59VOh7CscCkMp8gCPRNTNXSdrkpm5FMoTbDTaibFowGkJ09YkOVXwPfjEsRUV-BmzFDG72ARksNYKw/s1600-h/CAUCII.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi006wRllSCePol00pBuuS1trScW8_k06-5BED9PURKn553fefWoJUDLEyp33mVC59VOh7CscCkMp8gCPRNTNXSdrkpm5FMoTbDTaibFowGkJ09YkOVXwPfjEsRUV-BmzFDG72ARksNYKw/s400/CAUCII.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270077298966913970" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Democrats Check Their Balls, Principles And Integrity At The Caucus Door: </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/us/politics/19cong.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Democrats Let Lieberman Keep Senate Chairmanship</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=3c407e0a-9d55-414b-b2e2-a7e31834ab83"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-impeachment-hearing-room-eddickau-4">The Impeachment Hearing Room</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">On the other side of the aisle, Senate Republicans deferred action on any move to expel Senator <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/ted_stevens/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Ted Stevens.">Ted Stevens</a> of Alaska because of his recent conviction on felony charges that he failed to report numerous gifts. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The Republicans prefer to wait for the result of the election, in which Mr. Stevens currently trails his Democratic opponent, Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage, with some absentee ballots still to be counted.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">The Republicans’ action, or non-action, came on Mr. Stevens’s 85th birthday.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.rttnews.com/Content/PoliticalNews.aspx?Node=B1&Id=779084">http://www.rttnews.com/Content/PoliticalNews.aspx?Node=B1&Id=779084</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object width="400" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cgVAJzScpC8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cgVAJzScpC8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="349"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111800231.html?hpid=topnews">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111800231.html?hpid=topnews</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Looks Like Real Change To Me…NOT! <o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-49799501315249423342008-11-18T07:29:00.000-08:002008-11-18T07:49:09.419-08:00Tuesday Morning 11.18.08 News Views Reviews And Different Voices<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKksR5tqQEW3nmy9_JLmY1Y6Vo6_-8FZCth8ULHe1Pd2Lu_EesvjEpzd7_-mHEULcCHXfCe1MD75yatokbiA9cHXHjZthTOBFmB2sCCH438I9xec-CXtI51ynBXQnvZ8i1ZIhDLkiRWog/s1600-h/wolf2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKksR5tqQEW3nmy9_JLmY1Y6Vo6_-8FZCth8ULHe1Pd2Lu_EesvjEpzd7_-mHEULcCHXfCe1MD75yatokbiA9cHXHjZthTOBFmB2sCCH438I9xec-CXtI51ynBXQnvZ8i1ZIhDLkiRWog/s400/wolf2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270020214812447314" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Tuesday Morning 11.18.08 News Views Reviews And Different Voices</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=9b3340ec-61cf-4456-82fb-badd2910e163"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-impeachment-hearing-room-eddickau-3">The Impeachment Hearing Room</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=33b0aef9-c5da-4c17-8ab4-e235615c8452"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/alternet-home">AlterNet: Home</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/107458/">Naomi Klein: The Borderline Illegal Deals Behind the $700 Billion Bailout</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=d9933997-bb78-43e8-abdc-1ffc45c308b8"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/us-trash-for-cash-bailout-tool-kit">US TRASH FOR CASH BAILOUT TOOL KIT:</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=d4264091-1a26-47d4-9acc-610c37bfa4f4"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-new-york-times-breaking-news-worl-eddickau">The New York Times - Breaking News, World News</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/world/middleeast/18iraq.html?ref=middleeast" target="_blank">Iraqi and American Critics of Security Pact Speak Up</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">New York Times - United States<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">If the agreement passes, it will go to the <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">three</span>-<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">member</span> presidency council for approval. In Washington, officials acknowledged on Monday that the agreement <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">...</span><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/world/middleeast/18iraq.html%3Fref%3Dmiddleeast" target="_blank">See all stories on this topic</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=6c9e1542-ce97-4193-9462-ed2881b85319"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/washington-monthly">Washington Monthly</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_11/015704.php">LIEBERMAN LOOKING LIKE A 'SURE BET'</a>....</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"> The Senate Democratic caucus will meet in about an hour and a half, and at the top of the agenda is Joe Lieberman's fate. For those hoping to see Lieberman face consequences for his betrayals, it's probably best to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-Senate-Lieberman.html?_r=1">start lowering expectations</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Sen. Joe Lieberman appears likely to hold onto his prized chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee despite lingering hard feelings over his vocal support for GOP nominee John McCain during this year's presidential campaign. [...]<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">According to Democratic aides who demanded anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, it appears Lieberman will receive a lesser sanction, such as losing a subcommittee chairmanship on the Environment and Public Works Committee. That move would come as other top Democratic chairmen may lose subcommittee gavels anyway, to bring them in line with long-standing Democratic caucus rules limiting the number of such lesser chairmanships.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">But while he appears likely to emerge without harsh sanction, Lieberman's presentation in the closed-door session with Democrats and their reaction could affect the outcome.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Or maybe, it couldn't. At this point, the fix appears to be in. The <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Politico</span> reported last night that a top aide to a Senate Democrat close to the issue said that it was "becoming a sure bet" that Lieberman would keep his committee chairmanship. The report added that Lieberman would likely lose his seniority on either an Environment and Public Works subcommittee or Armed Services subcommittee. <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/17/lieberman-likely-to-keep-top-democratic-post-sources-say/">CNN</a>, <a href="http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lieberman-may-stay-homeland-chairman-lose-status-elsewhere-2008-11-17.html"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">The Hill</span></a>, and <a href="http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/source_dem_caucus_wont_vote_to.php">TPM</a> had similar reports.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.rollcall.com/issues/54_57/news/30211-1.html"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Roll Call</span> added</a> that a subcommittee punishment for Lieberman "may be seen as a stinging rebuke." A Senate Democratic aide said, "I don't know if it's enough for the net roots, but it's enough to say we stood up as Democrats" against Lieberman's actions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Can we please cut the nonsense?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Lieberman demanded that he keep his Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs chairmanship, and the party is poised to give him precisely what he requested. Losing the leadership of an inconsequential subcommittee is not a "stinging rebuke," and giving into Lieberman's leverage-less demands is not "standing up as Democrats."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">As <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/17/164127/72/694/662392">Markos concluded</a>, "The only thing that matters, the only thing that Lieberman wants, and the only thing <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">we</span> don't want him to have -- is the chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee. If this is the 'starting point', and given the Senate Democrats' history of capitulations, expect Lieberman to come out of that meeting as majority leader."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000002987130" target="_blank">Auto Bailout Gains Little Traction in Congress</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Six weeks after enactment of a $700 billion financial industry bailout, Senate Democratic leaders face numerous obstacles in an effort to extend the law to the struggling domestic automobile industry. <a href="http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000002987130" target="_blank"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">READ MORE</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/17/hillary-clinton-secretary-of-state" target="_blank">Hillary Clinton to accept Obama's offer of secretary of state job</a> <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/11/18/hungry.kids.ap/index.html">WASHINGTON (AP) </a></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">-- Some 691,000 children went hungry in America sometime in 2007, while close to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately even before this year's sharp economic downturn, the Agriculture Department reported Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=b0a53fbb-f99e-41b4-a2ae-2e4c8365f957"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/impeach-groups-impeach-them-eddickau">Impeach Groups Impeach THEM</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=a3659281-f3c3-4365-a57f-81c361022f70"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/true-blue-liberal-eddickau">True Blue Liberal</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=0b5cbb2a-c4e1-4d81-adb7-660039eb5a70"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/tpmcafe-talking-points-memo-">TPMCafe | Talking Points Memo |</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=d60f035e-39a1-4f10-89c1-3d2de47eade8"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/tpmmuckraker-talking-points-memo-">TPMMuckraker | Talking Points Memo |</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=c4042bcb-003a-4972-8ca7-ec1ebed5f0cd"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/truthdig-drilling-beneath-the-headlines">Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=3e070787-ce4d-4297-a905-3248132d7b6f"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/us-senator-christopher-j-dodd-d-connecticut">U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd | D-Connecticut</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=f817c9a1-adcd-4bd1-b707-0337b76161ea"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/wonkette-the-dc-gossip">Wonkette: The D.C. Gossip</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=47cc2060-d90a-4096-a5b5-62159725065f"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/vermont-commons-voices-of-independence">Vermont Commons | Voices of Independence</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=3d43ab9c-20e6-4776-a58e-fa6940b846b3"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-smirking-chimp-news-and-commentary-from-the">The Smirking Chimp | News And Commentary from the</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-35837942398902517352008-11-18T05:28:00.000-08:002008-11-18T06:01:15.740-08:00Shedding Some Light On Post Election Ohio…There Will Be Change! Not So Red.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqTOBmy6oIia7cpQxweqTqBEWD5zOzpLACBqQpb383htfMsXPoHFQWwlG8tZx8bHmxCr3m-SM1VNt9ZKxm6qjBt-Th3-pEM-60jHx8XxOXYjz8U0e-3b6gU7iDrO7u8M8JWaKHBGwHxY/s1600-h/shed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqTOBmy6oIia7cpQxweqTqBEWD5zOzpLACBqQpb383htfMsXPoHFQWwlG8tZx8bHmxCr3m-SM1VNt9ZKxm6qjBt-Th3-pEM-60jHx8XxOXYjz8U0e-3b6gU7iDrO7u8M8JWaKHBGwHxY/s400/shed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269990040094124050" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span">Shedding Some Light On Post Election Ohio…There Will Be Change! </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzqTOBmy6oIia7cpQxweqTqBEWD5zOzpLACBqQpb383htfMsXPoHFQWwlG8tZx8bHmxCr3m-SM1VNt9ZKxm6qjBt-Th3-pEM-60jHx8XxOXYjz8U0e-3b6gU7iDrO7u8M8JWaKHBGwHxY/s1600-h/shed.jpg">Not So Red</a></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;">.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9r3pXsFB5VAKcFjMT2nhYHrIZ1U1ZLWVwRvE3c7OtT2N7uIRefPvebsAkSnCUIwv8tUWo5vv20FYo2fVc3vKKuYPpFKMK-iRNRbO1L5hwC6OChnEtj2_aW0eGaML8WPwpzcq6KcCXClk/s1600-h/ohv.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9r3pXsFB5VAKcFjMT2nhYHrIZ1U1ZLWVwRvE3c7OtT2N7uIRefPvebsAkSnCUIwv8tUWo5vv20FYo2fVc3vKKuYPpFKMK-iRNRbO1L5hwC6OChnEtj2_aW0eGaML8WPwpzcq6KcCXClk/s400/ohv.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269989700982220802" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=7882845b-9add-4e65-b18f-ccde8d957bff"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/politicker-ohio-report">Politicker Ohio Report</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p><noscript><br /></noscript></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.politickeroh.com/alexisenstadt/lungren-challenge-boehner-house-gop-leader"><b>Lungren to challenge Boehner for House GOP leader</b></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=b91b6fb1-4834-4bea-ba85-66d40ff586e0"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/daytondailynews-dayton-ohio-eddickau">DaytonDailyNews: Dayton, Ohio</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/ohiopolitics/entries/2008/11/16/kevin_dewine_mends_fences_with.html">Kevin DeWine mends fences with “values voters” in GOP</a></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;" lang="EN"><a href="http://www.politickeroh.com/justinmiller/dewine-sends-damage-control-email-party-leaders" target="_blank">DeWine sends damage control email to party leaders</a></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/index/news/politics/index.html?cxntlid=nav_politics">http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/index/news/politics/index.html?cxntlid=nav_politics</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/11/16/ddn111608ohyouthgap.html"><b><br /></b></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/11/16/ddn111608ohyouthgap.html"><b>GOP faces future without youth support</b></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >So They Recycle This Has Been Dinosaur!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/11/batchelder_picked_to_lead_hous.html" target="_blank">Batchelder picked to lead House Republicans</a></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081115/NEWS09/811150356" target="_blank">Election results pointing to new religious coalition</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081115/NEWS09/811150356" target="_blank"> </a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/states/ohio.html">http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/states/ohio.html</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=18b3608c-c968-4cf8-92b0-950798220374"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/dispatchpolitics-disputed-provisional-ballots-p">DispatchPolitics : Disputed provisional ballots p</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/11/17/provisional_ballots.html?sid=101">Disputed provisional ballots put on hold</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Federal judge ponders ruling; case might decide congressional race</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=13f2c6ad-18c7-4c2f-a8df-cb442c9c1d85"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/a-few-lawmen-seek-out-post-of-us-atto-eddickau">A few lawmen seek out post of U.S. attorney 4 CC</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/11/a_few_lawmen_seek_out_post_of.html">A few lawmen seek out post of U.S. attorney for Cleveland</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Posted by <a href="mailto:pkrouse@plaind.com">Peter Krouse/Plain Dealer Reporter</a> November 16, 2008 02:38AM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >A new administration in Washington will mean a new U.S. attorney in Cleveland, and speculation about who that might be has already begun.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Among the early names mentioned are Steve Dettelbach, who prosecuted Nate Gray and went to law school with President-elect Barack Obama, as well as former federal prosecutors James Wooley and Subodh Chandra and Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Steve Dever.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Whoever is tapped will take over an office that employs more than 75 attorneys and covers 40 northern Ohio counties. That person also will inherit a massive corruption probe in Cuyahoga County that threatens to ensnare some of the region's most powerful politicians……</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/11/_capri_cafaro_i_think.html" target="_blank">Capri Cafaro chosen to lead Ohio Senate Democrats</a></span></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > (Important Change)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The daughter of wealthy Youngstown shopping center developer J.J. Cafaro, the Democrats' new leader will have her hands full trying to transform a caucus that has been dysfunctional and fractured in recent years.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2008/11/ohios_political_landscape_chan.html" target="_blank">Ohio's political landscape: Democrats gain in northwest, GOP in east</a></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=53938969-85a1-4b25-a042-e45ddb929028"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/ohio-politics">Ohio Politics</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=c88d4d2e-8817-4cf0-aac7-a7742d5d38f9"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/carnival-of-ohio-politics">Carnival of Ohio Politics</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=894abfe4-744f-4a15-a98c-59e29abd7ab8"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/ohio-daily-blog-blog-on-ohio-politics">Ohio Daily Blog -<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Blog On Ohio Politics</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=0656f51f-4aaf-4236-8b0b-03d7115fbe7f"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/ohio-political-news-us-politics-today">Ohio Political News - U.S. Politics Today</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1nQXuwbXrWlTe1A_RM64B9e9z1krL1EuX3X5GzJeTGqqIUZv2kNhe3M3BpPw5MbqyanpjdhPEICTumfZcDcW9o1ObkrdoyZ0GFTCVw7xvShdwF1QCWv0H4BePL6UBU_UkRK44z9wF-W4/s1600-h/2008_Election_Map.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1nQXuwbXrWlTe1A_RM64B9e9z1krL1EuX3X5GzJeTGqqIUZv2kNhe3M3BpPw5MbqyanpjdhPEICTumfZcDcW9o1ObkrdoyZ0GFTCVw7xvShdwF1QCWv0H4BePL6UBU_UkRK44z9wF-W4/s400/2008_Election_Map.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269989369467896002" border="0" /></a></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTi7X2UnMLGxDxnKQ9pGb0v2IrkdHiAyj6HjCLIuogQpE7jFMxD4mQ5VRr_CTzgseWfJMnAVhwt6SzGcfvNlESOLg4WKN463O5UAMSg4LQEFc53T4HwEDj7Kg7Olk5oY8TncfFgGFy4-o/s1600-h/map2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTi7X2UnMLGxDxnKQ9pGb0v2IrkdHiAyj6HjCLIuogQpE7jFMxD4mQ5VRr_CTzgseWfJMnAVhwt6SzGcfvNlESOLg4WKN463O5UAMSg4LQEFc53T4HwEDj7Kg7Olk5oY8TncfFgGFy4-o/s400/map2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269989257574742082" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-57126316768738134842008-11-17T20:36:00.001-08:002008-11-18T05:57:46.758-08:00Turn A Crisis Into An Opportunity For Real Change. The debate over whether or not to bail out General Motors etc… is a case of real silliness.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgRF3m7JkZSVbVGtYAv1TyC4TuJAmsYvU832KgHFkfpJ8Xh02qgAkyijit3EUkdDVJfLqAJhIlGFhHrkwo_FB5Ta0u-8Yck9e7tU-ClNt0iiGavfO6HZk8CW7G7_E2mHUKxIWfBma_kk/s1600-h/crisis.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgRF3m7JkZSVbVGtYAv1TyC4TuJAmsYvU832KgHFkfpJ8Xh02qgAkyijit3EUkdDVJfLqAJhIlGFhHrkwo_FB5Ta0u-8Yck9e7tU-ClNt0iiGavfO6HZk8CW7G7_E2mHUKxIWfBma_kk/s400/crisis.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269851878628842194" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Turn A Crisis Into An Opportunity For Real Change. The debate over whether or not to bail out General Motors etc… is a case of real silliness.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">First, the production they do for the war machine will be called into play.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Second, this nation cannot absorb 3 million suddenly unemployed at the moment. Third, attempting to place the cost burden on union contracts and wages is simple right wing Republican Gospel. Fourth; is there is need to redirect and revamp the Detroit Dinosaurs?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You bet your ass there is and that moment of a “strings attached bailout” should not be viewed as another imposition upon us the taxpayers, because we are already screwed and we might as well get something for the screwing, <a href="http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/2008/11/neil-young-how-to-save-major-automobile.html">and this is one of the places where we and nation, the world can benefit.</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Now is the time to back the industry in the corner of modernizing, retooling and producing non-carbon based fueled vehicles and the electric engine power plant of the future. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Auto manufacturers taking advantage of a government bailout must only sell clean and green vehicles that do not contribute to global warming. No more internal combustion engines that run exclusively on fossil fuels can be sold period…only <b>SCEVs </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">(self charging electric vehicles) for long range capability up to and over 100mpg.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">There are already enough technologies available that can be brought together to accomplish that goal now!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Once that power plant is a reality it will be only a short step to perfecting it to power trucks, railway engines, and yes the jet engine of the sky.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">It is time to tell Detroit that we are going to stand with them, if they stand with us and change.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is almost that simple; they change and survive and we all benefit or they die.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Well there is one other possibility:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>they blackmail a gonad less Congress into shelling out the dough and they continue the same old production crap!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Let your Congressman know that you support Detroit aid if, and only if they are ready to make the big shift, and the oil companies…I’m sorry I can’t find any sympathy for them and they had better damn well start figuring out what they are going to do next! <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">“</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Be</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">cause frankly Scarlet I don’t give a damn!”</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=9389e5a5-a483-4566-9d48-bf0b8235fb5b"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/dems-poised-to-let-lieberman-keep-title-">Dems poised to let Lieberman keep title -</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/alert/?alertid=12212401&PROCESS">Dump Joe Here!</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-48675616268269307112008-11-17T09:16:00.001-08:002008-11-17T09:27:44.487-08:00Things Returning: Vets, Fireside Chats and Continued Calls For Impeachment and/or Prosecution Of Bush And Cheney<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTy9hQRl-lAaBIv9FNfTiV2nqt9h98X-7jYaoLRym_osdEl-e2XYFoTYIK6t4T9i0JnQ57zGUh91ndi_aS6ej5LTSb6HJHBbKwPIWITpL05-ixAVayFbRvspxPStaLMBE9P7V1qZHx0Q/s1600-h/3.BEWARE.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTy9hQRl-lAaBIv9FNfTiV2nqt9h98X-7jYaoLRym_osdEl-e2XYFoTYIK6t4T9i0JnQ57zGUh91ndi_aS6ej5LTSb6HJHBbKwPIWITpL05-ixAVayFbRvspxPStaLMBE9P7V1qZHx0Q/s400/3.BEWARE.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269676793508905522" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1CsQlvfK6EwKuiQbjA7iTa2OSMtcdfj91FE3XAc3d4m4j9NqYzZ9D8Kuf043S69YHKLw6udQOCWnI9LUPV2tvzR9WEhF0eTjVfWhOHx_HdL_SJxq7dtKDm7ml0D7QO3sWwiUI1OIIh0/s1600-h/2.which.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1CsQlvfK6EwKuiQbjA7iTa2OSMtcdfj91FE3XAc3d4m4j9NqYzZ9D8Kuf043S69YHKLw6udQOCWnI9LUPV2tvzR9WEhF0eTjVfWhOHx_HdL_SJxq7dtKDm7ml0D7QO3sWwiUI1OIIh0/s400/2.which.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269676698701950930" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;">Things Returning: Vets, Fireside Chats and Continued Calls For Impeachment and/or Prosecution Of Bush And Cheney</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><br /><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; font-weight: bold;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.prosecutionofbush.com/">http://www.prosecutionofbush.com/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><object height="344" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yN3Ja-SBuDA&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yN3Ja-SBuDA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="400"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/washington/13inquire.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin">Bush, Out of Office, Could Oppose Inquiries</a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Dear Representative and Senators,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">President George Bush and <a href="http://www.skippystalin.com/?p=1552">Vice President Dick Cheney</a> stand accused of <a href="http://www.democrats.com/articles-of-impeachment" target="_blank">39 grave and impeachable offenses</a>, including war crimes, torture, warrantless wiretapping, and outing a covert CIA operative.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Most of these offenses are felonies for which Bush and Cheney can be <b>criminally prosecuted</b> after they leave office. But prosecutions will be impossible if Bush issues <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/07/10/bush_pardon/" target="_blank">blanket pre-emptive pardons</a> for Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby,<a href="http://afterdowningstreet.org/citizenarrest" target="_blank">other senior officials</a>, and even himself.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Can Bush do this? Absolutely. <a href="http://www.watergate.info/ford/pardon-proclamation.shtml" target="_blank">Gerald Ford set the precedent in 1974 when he gave Richard Nixon a blanket pre-emptive pardon</a> for any crime he "may have committed."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Presidential pardon power is nearly unlimited under the Constitution. We support efforts in Congress to outlaw pre-emptive or self-pardons, but even if a bill passes Congress before Bush leave office, Bush will certainly veto it. So how can we stop Bush's pardons?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Founding Fathers clearly anticipated a corrupt President might pardon his co-conspirators, and <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/swanson07032007.html" target="_blank">specified impeachment as the remedy</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">George Mason, the father of the Bill of Rights, argued at the Constitutional Convention that the President might use his pardoning power to "pardon crimes which were advised by himself" or, before indictment or conviction, "to stop inquiry and prevent detection."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">James Madison, the father of the U.S. Constitution, added that "if the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds to believe he will shelter [pardon] him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As your constituent, I urge you to impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney <b><a href="http://themillercircle.org/2008/11/will-bush-leave-office-unscathed/">before</a></b> they issue pardons. But if that fails, I urge you to impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney <b>afterwards</b> for issuing pardons that constitute obstruction of justice and abuse of power.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=75519&sectionid=3510303">A post-inaugural impeachment</a> would prohibit those impeached from ever holding federal office, either elected or appointed. Arguably, impeachment would also nullify pre-impeachment pardons and permit prosecutions. Finally, impeachment would tell future Presidents they cannot abuse their pardon power to put themselves above the law.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In 1776, Thomas Paine famously wrote, "in America, the law is King." Congress must not allow a President to commit crimes with impunity, or it makes the President a King - or worse, a Dictator.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=xQatI6QBdXzc%2B4cgKuXEhaTUbgG8GV3M" target="_blank">Return of the Fireside Chat: Obama Delivers First Democratic Video Address</a><br />By Staff, Think Progress<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">"It may seem like a political no-brainer in the age of YouTube, but as aides to Mr. Obama pointed out, it is a first ..."<span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"> <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=c3zqeE%2FCrX6%2Bjli3dH8CtqTUbgG8GV3M" target="_blank">Read more</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=zAgBSKFQ6yavd%2BX2RAz%2BK27kFIW2qGMg" target="_blank">Obama: Close Gitmo, Ban Torture to 'Regain America's Moral Stature'</a><br />By Staff, Huffington Post<br />Obama 60 Minutes interview: talks national security, financial crisis, first dog. <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Oxp7Zooj3fuvQSOI01QG4qTUbgG8GV3M" target="_blank">Read more</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=thEVxN9dwdbhPu1N5FBn3KTUbgG8GV3M" target="_blank">Obama's Youtube Plan: Is it Really That Important?</a><br />By Matt Stoller, Open Left<br />I want to inject a slight note of skepticism as to how important Obama's Youtube addresses really are. <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=6Nqwzdw49V9pCpIpwboFOKTUbgG8GV3M" target="_blank">Read more</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.pr.com/article/1112" target="_blank">Dennis <b>Kucinich</b> Stands by His Liberal Agenda and Calls on Barack <b>...</b></a><br />PR.com (press release) - Levittown,NY,USA<br />Dennis <b>Kucinich</b>: Nothing remains the same. Once you start putting things through<b>Congressional</b> committees, you can’t predict how it’s going to come out. <b>...</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" href="http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2008/1697" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Election Protection in </span><b style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Ohio</b><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> (and America) Isn’t Over</span></span></a><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >Columbus Free Press - Columbus,OH,USA</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />The data was handled under a state contract funneled by Blackwell to</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <b>Michael Connell</b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">, a shadowy Bush family IT specialist who programmed the official</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <b>...</b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2008/1697" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=3b82b016-e343-46e3-a7ac-80e86ddb8a06"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/alternet-home">AlterNet: Home</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><noscript></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://vox.96mm.com/2008/11/16/military-general-defends-gm/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Gen. Wesley Clark: Military needs GM</span></a><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >By admin</span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">If General Motors needed another reason to be saved by taxpayers, Gen. Wesley Clark wrote that it would be within the country’s security interest to do so. This should be no giveaway. Instead, it is a historic opportunity to get it</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.libertylounge.net/forums/37397-remember-ignore-republican-strategists-fox-news.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Remember to ignore Republican Strategists (and Fox News "panels")</span></a><br />By Thorgrim</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="">Vox</span> Day, <span style="">Vox Populi</span> Blog I haven't checked the Savant's math, but he's a competent guy and assuming that he added the states up correctly, it looks as if McCain will not only win, but will win by a larger margin in the electoral college <span style="">...</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://www.libertylounge.net/forums/" target="_blank" title="http://www.libertylounge.net/forums/"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">The Liberty Lounge Political Forums - http://www.libertylounge.net/forums/</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=0GtGDop85pF6DldP2%2FjxBqTUbgG8GV3M" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Rachel Maddow Calls Out Lieberman, Asks Him to Appear on Her Show</span></a><br />By Egregious, Firedoglake<br />Maddow vs. Lieberman continues. <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=glbjLfDlU6LoNXDoJKdFtqTUbgG8GV3M" target="_blank">Read more</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=4AZoko7x071wCd3Ke05EmaTUbgG8GV3M" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Gop Senator: McCain Betrayed Republican Principles</span></a><br />By Steve Benen, Washington Monthly<br />Sen. Jim DeMint (R) stepped up to become the first high-profile Republican official to blame John McCain for his defeat. <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=JN3vfhJw5o7%2Fsz1qTAmVsKTUbgG8GV3M" target="_blank">Read more</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002986795" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">CQ Transcript: Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. Carl Levin and T. Boone </span><b style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">...</b></span></a><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >CQPolitics.com - Washington,DC,USA</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />And Jim Manley, speaking for</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <b>Senate</b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Majority</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <b>Leader</b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Harry Reid , said, “We cannot do it without the support of</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <b>Senate</b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Republicans, who I hope will join us</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <b>...</b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm%3FdocID%3Dnews-000002986795" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=6b5b1879-3202-4dc2-b38a-c757f214bd44"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/indictment-for-dummies">Indictment for Dummies</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=0714a07b-61bd-474d-9615-813f97aea7d5"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/impeach-groups-impeach-them-eddickau">Impeach Groups Impeach THEM</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=ec0062d2-02f4-4223-b4c8-f695a5ebff60"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/consortiumnewscom">Consortiumnews.com</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=1f5e754e-0348-4b4b-aeab-879169fa6b1d"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/truthdig-drilling-beneath-the-headlines">Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=7a09fb67-fd7c-4db5-ab21-60806e74b6af"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/t-r-u-t-h-o-u-t-news">t r u t h o u t | News</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=73d02335-0f6e-4161-b7e6-38cbf9df73f3"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-nation-unconventional-wisdom-since-1865">The Nation | Unconventional Wisdom Since 1865</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=63f3552e-cb15-4b4d-9c53-cc7094a6db3a"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/opednewscom-rss-really-simple-syndication-fe">OpEdNews.com - RSS (Really Simple Syndication)</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=0a83857d-3491-4abc-a7ad-04d7d1bbfd77"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-washington-monthly-eddickau-1">The Washington Monthly</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=7486e99a-c0e0-445a-a098-32f00d854565"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/torture-is-enough-for-war-crimes-prosecution">Torture Is Enough For War Crimes Prosecution</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=ac62b316-f5bb-4925-8874-ff365e77ee60"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/think-progress-eddickau-1">Think Progress</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=694f9310-c37f-40e5-b288-a12345846348"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-washington-monthly">The Washington Monthly</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=93dff14c-597b-415b-8ffe-b92d0399fbc9"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/abc-news-online-news-breaking-news-fe-eddickau-2">ABC News: Online news, breaking news, features</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=149bf325-35e0-4aeb-aba8-cc27443485d8"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/politics1-american-politics-elections">Politics1 - American Politics, Elections</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=d9b0043e-4388-4b8f-a2fd-55b93f8e6464"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/lawmakers-return-to-washington-for-the-last-time">Lawmakers Return To Washington For The Last Time</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=2d43e27f-cfdc-4428-8159-e8e6620b90b4"></script><noscript><span style="font-size:100%;">Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/its-the-judiciary-committee-stupid-eddickau-4">It's The Judiciary Committee Stupid</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</span></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoTo_x43FEaoLppVb9WxRna_h06LXznY-VmQB-V7im3TJar5XnZXz9jnD7eA4xFqe8Ac1duMrWLcpQlOi4GXim00oGEwsIHMvWz76AiZxsRgg-r5FVp_MN1m8H8TBeeWd_qQuw-4JAKs/s1600-h/1.tfff.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoTo_x43FEaoLppVb9WxRna_h06LXznY-VmQB-V7im3TJar5XnZXz9jnD7eA4xFqe8Ac1duMrWLcpQlOi4GXim00oGEwsIHMvWz76AiZxsRgg-r5FVp_MN1m8H8TBeeWd_qQuw-4JAKs/s400/1.tfff.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269676577990302002" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-4713901522664901002008-11-15T18:40:00.000-08:002008-11-15T18:49:24.949-08:00Washington DC: Veterans Occupy National Archives...Again! 11-15-08<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8D629nDK3RrcWkLTKVuE2s6lUYBFc9ABgjKxwvgmZansj84Tgyz9fqk5bC9wvRl1JDUZyGedpPfjhZvkl-0sIPrH1LQLPYhTuXRhhrBut4EEigqNVziyQ8vRYp9Lka210bebOIscW2U/s1600-h/VT.1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP8D629nDK3RrcWkLTKVuE2s6lUYBFc9ABgjKxwvgmZansj84Tgyz9fqk5bC9wvRl1JDUZyGedpPfjhZvkl-0sIPrH1LQLPYhTuXRhhrBut4EEigqNVziyQ8vRYp9Lka210bebOIscW2U/s400/VT.1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269081959373705874" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQ8ZBoiZWtA_6G1clpkmL4-uuWsm_fdUYMFCP2FViWkBhfcQPlDEPvANexNyPC3Mh7d1Nl3NoX_W1NOimBxmPh9mw_TNLvDyQiybv619D2BH8GO2yf8PXfBuJ-hAURddNLvL0kCKH4UI/s1600-h/VT.3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQ8ZBoiZWtA_6G1clpkmL4-uuWsm_fdUYMFCP2FViWkBhfcQPlDEPvANexNyPC3Mh7d1Nl3NoX_W1NOimBxmPh9mw_TNLvDyQiybv619D2BH8GO2yf8PXfBuJ-hAURddNLvL0kCKH4UI/s400/VT.3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269081698448836786" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span">Washington DC: Veterans Occupy National Archives...Again! 11-15-08</span></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >VIDEO COMING SOON<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Contact: Mike Ferner 240 274-9785<br />Elliott Adams 518 441-2697<br />Ellen Barfield 410 948-8023<br />Tarak Kauff 845 249-9489<br />Kathleen Hernandez (L.A.) 310-339-1770<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Photo opportunities:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Two banners, each 450 sq. ft., hung on 90-ft. scaffold against the<br />National Archives Building<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Eight veterans, one military mother occupying scaffold<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><b style=""> VETERANS OCCUPY NATIONAL ARCHIVES BUILDING<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />"Our goal is to have the Bush administration tried for war crimes no matter how long it takes. <b style="">There is no statute of limitations on war crimes</b>," vets say.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />Washington – On Saturday, November 15, at 8:00 am, at the National Archives Building on Connecticut Ave., eight military veterans and a military mother climbed a 9-foot retaining fence and occupied a ninety-foot high scaffolding to raise two 450 square foot banners stating:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">"DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION. ARREST BUSH AND CHENEY: <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">WAR CRIMINALS!"<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">And<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">"WE WILL NOT BE SILENT."</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The same message will also be displayed at demonstrations in Santa Monica and Long Beach, California on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Members of Veterans for Peace (VFP) chose the Archives for their nonviolent protest because it is symbolic of their military oath to "defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." In September they occupied the Archives for 24 hours, and plan to stay longer this time.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />"The offenses of Bush, Cheney, and their accomplices are appalling," said Kim Carlyle, a VFP member and Army veteran. "Their misdeeds have killed or maimed more than a million people – American soldiers, innocent civilian children, women, and men. They have displaced almost five million people, with millions seeking refuge in other countries.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />Their total disregard for international agreements has severely tarnished the reputation of America in the world. Their unlawful wars have squandered billions of dollars that could have bolstered a troubled economy."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />The veterans are demanding Bush administration be tried for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace; asking themedia to clearly inform the public of the administration's crimes; andencouraging citizens to take similar nonviolent actions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />According to Tarak Kauff, a VFP member, "People say Bush and Cheney will be gone soon so what's the point? <b style="">The point is, there is no statute of limitations on war crimes</b>, and if not held accountable, criminality will continue regardless of who is in office. We either are or we are not a nation of law."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Six of those on the scaffold are members of Veterans For Peace, one is from Military Families Speak Out, and one is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War:<br /><br />• Elliott Adams VFP: 61, Sharon Springs, NY, VFP President and former Army<br />paratrooper, Viet Nam<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Ellen Barfield VFP: 52, Baltimore, MD, former Army Sgt.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Kim Carlyle VFP: 61, Buncombe County, NC, former Army Spec 5<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Doug Zachary VFP: 58, Austin, TX, VFP staff, former USMC Lance Cpl.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Tarak Kauff VFP: 67, Woodstock, NY, former PFC, Army Airborne<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Will Covert VFP: 63, San Diego, CA, VFP lifetime member, former E4 Navy<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Elaine Brower MFSO: 54, Staten Island, NY, Military Families Speak<br />Out, National Steering Committee, mother of USMC Sgt. James Brower on<br />third tour in Iraq<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Matthis Chiroux IVAW: 24, Army Sergeant, served in Afghanistan,<br />refused deployment to Iraq<br /><br />Providing support on the ground:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Mike Ferner VFP: 57, Toledo, OH, former Navy corpsman<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Debbie Tolson VFP: 52, Potomac, MD, associate member of VFP<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Michelle White MFSO: 24, Clarksville, TN, Military Families Speak<br />Out, wife of Iraq war vet currently serving in Afghanistan<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Michael Marceau VFP: 59, Rockville, MD, VP VFP Chapter 16, former<br />Army, Viet Nam<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Bruce Berry VFP: 62, Minneapolis, MN, former SPC 4 Army, Viet Nam<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Fred Nagel VFP: 65, Rhinebeck, NY, former SPC 4 Army<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />• Jay Wenk VFP: 82, Woodstock, NY, former rifleman, 90th Infantry Div., WWII<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />• Anthony Teolis VFP: 42, Fairfax, VA, US Army Field Artillery, Gulf War<br /><br />Founded in 1985, Veterans For Peace has 120 chapters throughout the country and has actively protested the Afghanistan and Iraq wars since their inception. Membership includes men and women veterans of all eras and duty stations spanning the Spanish Civil War, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq. VFP is an official Non Governmental Organization (NGO) represented at the UN.<br /><br />Military Families Speak Out is an organization of people opposed to the war in Iraq who have relatives or loved ones currently in the military or in the military since the fall of 2002. Formed by two families in November of 2002, MFSO membership now numbers over 3,400 military families, plus contacts throughout the U.S. and other countries.<br /><br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Anthony Teolis</span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqItkuDz5ohZX-PvF45TRvLfaTpJTA9JO8BIypB-vmm47x8gZXXN8adn0NZMA8m59fsJaZb6G-CQZu9LM_HAS_UuwOHNI8M25HKt_R2f_oIaDt5G2NlcDJLmxUhAr6CdMZUe7edUNQ_nI/s1600-h/VT.2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; text-align: center; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqItkuDz5ohZX-PvF45TRvLfaTpJTA9JO8BIypB-vmm47x8gZXXN8adn0NZMA8m59fsJaZb6G-CQZu9LM_HAS_UuwOHNI8M25HKt_R2f_oIaDt5G2NlcDJLmxUhAr6CdMZUe7edUNQ_nI/s400/VT.2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269080274878483746" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-35467503965332381682008-11-15T08:21:00.000-08:002008-11-15T08:39:17.260-08:00Impeachment Remains A Serious Issue With Those Most Devoted To Justice Despite The Daily Fall Off Of Impeachment Groups<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtd0JWN5Bw1aYaYdbB8uQ-euSsDAB6FrzBAVn_Uu5yc-yXKu7NozJ7jw6Cn2tYqtQV4oL0Gn_rqoPc5FbpjUeI6m53IcIFergFPDU9SDvYqtDzZL9Jeag8z_iaKNA7BYS_PR0HIdEdEQQ/s1600-h/harpush.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtd0JWN5Bw1aYaYdbB8uQ-euSsDAB6FrzBAVn_Uu5yc-yXKu7NozJ7jw6Cn2tYqtQV4oL0Gn_rqoPc5FbpjUeI6m53IcIFergFPDU9SDvYqtDzZL9Jeag8z_iaKNA7BYS_PR0HIdEdEQQ/s400/harpush.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268920854681542498" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtd0JWN5Bw1aYaYdbB8uQ-euSsDAB6FrzBAVn_Uu5yc-yXKu7NozJ7jw6Cn2tYqtQV4oL0Gn_rqoPc5FbpjUeI6m53IcIFergFPDU9SDvYqtDzZL9Jeag8z_iaKNA7BYS_PR0HIdEdEQQ/s1600-h/harpush.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Impeachment Remains A Serious Issue</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;">With Those Most Devoted To Justice.<span style=""> </span>Despite The Daily Fall Off Of Impeachment Groups We Are Seeing A Dual Focus Among The Remaining Advocates:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"> Impeachment And Prosecution---And <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/07/10/bush_pardon/">No Toleration</a> Of The <a href="http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=42953">Notion</a> Of <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/07/10/bush_pardon/">A Massive Bush Pardon</a> Move.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The picture of administration abuse grows with each passing day and the world sinks deeper into financial crisis the Bush Crowd remains solid in their “Ideology First, Protect The Fat Cats” approach to the point where rebellion with<span style=""> </span>the administration is surfacing and a world community is walking in the direction of taking things out of our hands.<span style=""> </span>Symbolic Gestures, Rhetoric and posturing are not going to do a damn thing.<span style=""> </span>All attempts at restoring psychological confidence in the economy are now viewed as just another Bush Confidence game and there is going to be hell to play shortly.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">The Problems Are Real; The Solutions Must Be Real!</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;">In the mean time the desperation of “White Supremacists” and the Old KKK are right out in the open.<span style=""> </span>McCain and Palin have given them validation!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kywIOAe%2Fh64ZuM41jgOm8L%2BbYDaZLR59" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><br />Our Economy May be in a Death Spiral -- Will Washington Stop the Bleeding?</span></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">By Joshua Holland, AlterNet<br />The Bush-Paulson plan isn't doing anything to address the underlying problems threatening America's economic future. <span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=F0QYyzKYv6Hn8c0treMbv7%2BbYDaZLR59" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Read more</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://ralphlopezworld.com/%20vince.html"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Indictment for Dummies: A Reader-Companion to Vincent Bugliosi's "The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder"</span></a><span style=""> </span>| <a href="http://ralphlopezworld.com/vince.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">http://ralphlopezworld.com/ vince.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><object height="349" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JtVZ8WYAJxo&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JtVZ8WYAJxo&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="349" width="400"></embed></object><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/news_columnists/x541351923/Rick-Holmes-Presidents-and-pardons" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Rick Holmes: Presidents and pardons</span></a><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;">Enterprise News - Brockton,MA,USA<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Bush</span><span style="font-size:100%;">,</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Cheney</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">and the gang may want to make their international travel plans in consultation with some good lawyers. And Obama, a former professor of</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">...</span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/news_columnists/x541351923/Rick-Holmes-Presidents-and-pardons" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://wormtownnightlife.com/wnl/2008/11/15/its-not-too-late-to-impeach-bush-cheney/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">It’s not too late to <span style="">impeach Bush</span>, <span style="">Cheney</span></span></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">It is not too late to</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">impeach</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">President George W.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Bush</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">and Vice President Dick</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Cheney</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">for violating the fourth, sixth and eighth amendments to the Constitution, for lying repeatedly about reasons to invade Iraq, for failing to prevent</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">...</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://wormtownnightlife.com/wnl/" target="_blank" title="http://wormtownnightlife.com/wnl/"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Worcester Nightlife - Worcester... - http://wormtownnightlife.com/wnl/</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://andrewyu-jenwang.blogspot.com/2008/11/impeach-bush-if-he-attacks-iran.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">“<span style="">Impeach</span> Bush If He Attacks Iran” petition</span></a><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;">By Andrew Yu-Jen Wang(Andrew Yu-Jen Wang)</span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" href="http://www.democrats.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">http://www.democrats.com/</span></span></a><span style="">impeach</span>-bush-if-he-attacks-iran As the 651st person to sign this petition, you are helping us reach our goal of signatures. You can help make this petition a success by sharing this petition with your friends</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">...</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://andrewyu-jenwang.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="http://andrewyu-jenwang.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">george W. Bush Is The Worst President... - http://andrewyu-jenwang.blogspot.com/</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.soulcast.com/post/show/165991" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Impeach</span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"> Bush To Stop Pardons</span></a><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;">By Oceanwaves</span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">This is a new petition to</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">impeach</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Bush, and prevent him from pardoning himself and others.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Please sign- PEACE-DL<span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">.</span></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.democrats.com/pardon?cid=ZGVtczk4MTYwZGVtcw==" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">http://www.democrats.com/pardon?cid=ZGVtczk4MTYwZGVtcw==</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.soulcast.com/post/list" target="_blank" title="http://www.soulcast.com/post/list"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Soulcast: All New Posts - http://www.soulcast.com/post/list</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;color:green;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-size:100%;color:green;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/worldpolitics/discuss/72157608810794368/72157609097875687/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Reply to <span style="">Impeach</span> Bush Before He Pardons Himself</span></a><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;">By</span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="mailto:nobody@flickr.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">nobody@flickr.com</span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;">(lwolfe26)</span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">I struggled for a long time with the question of whether or not to lend my official support to<span style="">impeachment</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">proceedings. Our nation faces myriad challenges that require urgent action by Congress: families have been plunged into debt,</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">...</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/worldpolitics/" target="_blank" title="http://www.flickr.com/groups/worldpolitics/"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">US Politics and the World - http://www.flickr.com/groups/worldpolitics/</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://travel.blogdig.net/archives/articles/November2008/15/Impeach_Bush.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Impeach</span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"> Bush</span></a><br />By <a href="http://blogdig.net/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">blogdig.net</span></a> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br />This is a great read. Especially when the author writes:" Then the little fucker would be rendered to my basement and put on the waterboard."Easy enough for most of you to get through without feeling <span style="">...</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://travel.blogdig.net/" target="_blank" title="http://travel.blogdig.net/"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">BlogTrippers: The Best Travel Blog Posts - http://travel.blogdig.net/</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/107052/_now_is_no_time_to_sing_kumbaya:_we_must_hold_the_bush_regime_accountable_/"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Now Is No Time to Sing Kumbaya</span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">: <span style="">We Must Hold the Bush Regime</span> <span style="">...</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">Now Is No Time to Sing Kumbaya</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">: <span style=""><a href="http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=gmail&q=Now%20Is%20No%20Time%20to%20Sing%20Kumbaya:%20We%20Must%20Hold%20the%20Bush%20Regime%20Accountable">We Must Hold the Bush Regime Accountable</a></span>. Posted by Ian Welsh, Firedoglake at 7:34 AM on November 14, 2008. <span style="">...</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/107052/_now_is_no_time_to_sing_kumbaya:_we_must_hold_the_bush_regime_accountable"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/107052/_<span style="">now_is_no</span>_<span style="">time_to_sing</span>_<span style="">kumbaya</span>:_<span style="">we</span>_<span style="">must</span>_<span style="">hold_the_bush</span>_<span style="">regime</span>_<span style="">accountable</span></span></a><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=yfdxbwI78RBkzgblr0Dj5b%2BbYDaZLR59" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><br /></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=yfdxbwI78RBkzgblr0Dj5b%2BbYDaZLR59" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Blackwater Busted? Six Guards May Be Charged in Iraq Massacre</span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">By Jeremy Scahill, TheNation.com<br />Critics still fear reckless behavior by the 140,000 private corporate contractors in Iraq will continue.<span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"> <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=vNKlI4PifoJw3xYsj%2B2H8r%2BbYDaZLR59" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Read more</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Huf6ejDg%2Bwevgenf%2BYf9SL%2BbYDaZLR59" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">The Siegelman Case: More Proof That the Bushies Were Up to No Good</span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">By Steve Benen, Washington Monthly<br />Karl Rove's fingerprints are all over this thing. <span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2WfZNHpXT8Y%2F%2FxGC5eQSiSjPDQ0Li7qL" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">Read more</span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">Time: <span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=1217958933" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);">More Allegations of Misconduct in Alabama Governor Case</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=e9a88a3c-4b04-4765-9a09-140f21ff0921"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/gords-poetry-factory-bush-regime-scandals">Gord's Poetry Factory: Bush Regime Scandals...</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081115/ap_on_el_pr/obama_threats">Obama Has More Threats Than Other Presidents-Elect</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">Chatter among white supremacists on the Internet has increased throughout the campaign and since Election Day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">One of the most popular white supremacist Web sites got more than 2,000 new members the day after the election, compared with 91 new members on Election Day, according to an AP count. The site,<a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_el_pr/storytext/obama_threats/29889593/SIG=10ns8scad;_ylt=AlRBuvPL.1hF40VdC.b6Alth24cA/*http:/stormfront.org">stormfront.org</a>, was temporarily off-line Nov. 5 because of the overwhelming amount of activity it received after Election Day. On Saturday, one Stormfront poster, identified as Dalderian Germanicus, of North Las Vegas, said, "I want the SOB laid out in a box to see how 'messiahs' come to rest. God has abandoned us, this country is doomed."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">It is not surprising that a black president would galvanize the white supremacist movement, said Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who studies the white supremacy movement.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">"The overwhelming flavor of the white supremacist world is a mix of desperation, confusion and hoping that this will somehow turn into a good thing for them," Potok said. He said hate groups have been on the rise in the past seven years because of a common concern about immigration.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">The following paragraph appeared in an AP story in the Cols Dispatch -- <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Civil-rights+group+sues+Klan+in+%2706+assault+on+Latino+teen%22,&sa=X&oi=revisions_inline&ct=unquoted-query-link">"Civil-rights group sues Klan in '06 assault on Latino teen",</a> that ran on Wednesday, November 12.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">"Still, the Montgomery, Ala.-based center (<a href="http://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?aid=345&splcnewsletter=newsgen-111408">Southern Poverty Law Center</a> -Morris Dees), which tracks hate groups, deems the Imperial Klans the country's <b><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=second-largest+Klan+organization,+after+the+Brotherhood+of+Klans,+Knights+of+the+Ku+Klux+Klan+in+Marion,+Ohio.%22&btnG=Search">second-largest Klan organization, after the Brotherhood of Klans, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Marion, Ohio."</a> </b>(emphasis added)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">I thought at first it was an error and that <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KLAN_SUED?SITE=OHCOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-11-13-13-29-00">Brett Barrouquere</a> of the AP had meant Marion, IN. The Klan originated in Indiana. But he was talking about Marion, OH.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">I have no desire to give this organization any publicity, but does any Ohio media or law enforcement organization keep track of what they are up to? See links below.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.knightskkk.com/BOK%20App.doc" target="_blank">http://www.knightskkk.com/BOK%20App.doc</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.knightskkk.com/" target="_blank">KKK - Ku Klux Klan - Knights of the Ku Klux Klan - Brotherood of Klans Knights of the Ku Klux Klan</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Orlett_Ed_10918758.aspx">Ed Orlett</a> | State Representative Retired<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=657b9a58-3922-4a42-8a85-242e62bc00ee"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/southern-poverty-law-center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.progressohio.org/page/community/post/brianrothenberg/CLsk">Shadows On High: Why Would This Government Official Sue Himself?</a></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.progressohio.org/page/community/post/brianrothenberg/C3c7">http://www.progressohio.org/page/community/post/brianrothenberg/C3c7</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.constitutionproject.org/">http://www.constitutionproject.org/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.constitutionproject.org/article.cfm?messageID=502">Coalition Releases Criminal Justice Policy Roadmap</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><a href="http://www.constitutionproject.org/article.cfm?messageID=501">Detention of Uighurs is Unconstitutional</a> | <a href="http://www.constitutionproject.org/pdf/Kiyemba%20v%20Bush%20amicus%20brief.pdf">Kiyemba v Bush amicus brief.pdf</a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><a href="http://www.constitutionproject.org/article.cfm?messageID=499">Supreme Court Should Examine Post-9/11 Domestic Detention</a><br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=22db7693-a456-4875-9476-f856f56883e8"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/pdb-saturday-report-and-progressive-reading-room">PDB Saturday Report and Progressive Reading Room</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/33322" target="_blank">Expectations low for G20 summit</a><br />RT - Moscow,Russia<br />Dennis <span style="">Kucinich</span> is an outspoken critic of the <span style="">Bush</span> administration, who has called for George <span style="">Bush</span>’s <span style="">impeachment</span> dozens of times. “Mr <span style="">Bush</span> is unfortunately <span style="">...</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><object height="349" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/txGPLxR9ACA&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/txGPLxR9ACA&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="349" width="400"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">World leaders mull reforms at financial summit</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">G20 leaders meeting in Washington are considering how best to reform the global banking system in the wake of the financial crisis. However, expectations of a breakthrough remain low, partly because the summit’s host, President Bush, will be stepping down in a matter of weeks.</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">George W Bush, though, was quite optimistic at the opening meeting. He said that reforms will not help if the world abandons the ideals of the free market and further restricts trade. He said the summit would be “the first in a series of meetings”.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br />He then outlined the summit’s goals: <i>“We’ll focus on the key five objectives: understanding the causes of the global crisis, reviewing the effectiveness of our responses thus far, identifying principles for reforming our financial and regulatory systems, launching a specific action plan to implement those principles, and reaffirming our conviction that free market principles offer the surest path to the lasting prosperity,”</i>Bush said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><span style="">Just talking <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br />The financial crisis, which began in the US, is crippling the American economy and creating serious problems for the rest of the world. To deal with it, the leaders of the world’s 20 richest countries are gathering in Washington for a one-day brain storming session. Will they succeed in finding a way out of the crisis? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize winner in Economics and New York Times columnist, calls the summit a “major non-meeting of minds”, and says no binding agreements will come out of it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><i>“It’s more of a touchy-feely meeting right now. We’re not going to reach a pact for everybody to spend three per cent of GDP on stimulus this weekend. Possibly, there could be some commitment in principle to some kind of exchange rate stabilisation for emerging markets. I wouldn’t set the expectations too high right now,”</i> Krugman said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br />The U.S. is at the core of the ongoing financial crisis. However, American president-elect Barack Obama won’t be attending. It is George Bush who is hosting the summit, even though he’s leaving the White House in just two months. This has made many wonder why the summit is being held at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Dennis Kucinich is an outspoken critic of the Bush administration, who has called for George Bush’s impeachment dozens of times.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><i><br />“Mr Bush is unfortunately not in a position where anything he says is going to be relied on by the world community,”</i> Kucinich said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><span style=""><br />Balancing the distribution of money<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br />The population of the G20 states makes up two-thirds of people on the planet. The countries also account for 80 per cent of the world’s GDP.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br />They are also members of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - an international organisation that oversees the global financial system, and is an international lender of last resort. Many analysts say the IMF is at the core of the problem. They say the IMF will need to be reformed in order to put a new financial architecture in place.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Quotas and voting power among IMF members do not reflect the sizes of economies and ability to contribute resources.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><i>“49.5 per cent of the voting shares in the fund are represented by the United States and Europe. Only 5.6 per cent of the IMF voting structure is in the hands of China and India. This is ridiculous. This does not make sense,”</i> Colin Bradford says, nonresident senior fellow from the Brookings Institution in Washington. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Russia and the EU have called for reform of both the IMF and the World Bank. However, the U.S. has been sending mixed signals in terms of the specific action it would want to see taken.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">Related links:</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><a href="http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/33258" target="_blank"><span style="">Bush defends free markets ahead of G20</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/33258" target="_blank"><span style=""> </span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.russiatoday.com/business/news/32983">BRIC countries bearing brunt of downturn</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><a href="http://www.russiatoday.com/guests/detail/1771">Interview with Aleksey Kudrin</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><br /><a href="http://www.russiatoday.com/business/news/33058">G20 meeting looks for overhaul of global financial architecture</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">By MASSIMO CALABRESI / WASHINGTON<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1859305,00.html">The G-20 Summit: A Vote of Confidence for Capitalism?</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=b82dbf57-3467-4076-8a70-00ac124c5251"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/home-alternet">Home | AlterNet</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=d34bf53c-21d5-4b7e-b7fd-c3fe7017b61d"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/breaking-news-and-opinion-on-the-huff-eddickau-3">Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=590b84a9-db81-4446-a1cb-5e2fa6994f22"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/breaking-news-analysis-politics-blogs-news">Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=57b50071-83ad-4be8-90aa-25f9120892e0"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/mcclatchy-washington-bureau">McClatchy Washington Bureau</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">A Different View; A Different Vision<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3814946%E3%80%88=en-us/10444494">Cat on horse</a> @ <a href="http://video.yahoo.com/">Yahoo! Video</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a name="&lid=cover_feature&lpos=text"></a><a href="http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/11/15/pathos_lolcats/"><span style=""><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">I Can Has Cheezburger ... And Pathos?</span></b></span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;">The lolcats, the Internet's most famous felines, may be hilarious. But in their yearning, I see nothing less than the tragedy of the human condition</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">Beware Bush's Preemptive Strike On Torture</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/02/hbc-90002346">http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/02/hbc-90002346</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.the-peoples-forum.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=6751">The president might issue a blanket pardon to block prosecution of top U.S. officials behind brutal interrogations -- including himself.</a></span></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-64827724931270767822008-11-14T15:51:00.000-08:002008-11-14T15:56:22.657-08:00Neil Young: How To Save A Major Automobile Company| SCEVS (Self Charging Electric Vehicles)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjt3qEhfm6upafPAvDm4YmCni6vhsXcBm_M2PPeJlw13ypEkIxpvnxnNzEBmymESXD1W_dMstHZNu9IlHxRk7WoB1FZ7246pRyzvSBMUzSHWopz8aNIUrx2jHJCwcH2G253C7Vnp_CX7U/s1600-h/ny.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjt3qEhfm6upafPAvDm4YmCni6vhsXcBm_M2PPeJlw13ypEkIxpvnxnNzEBmymESXD1W_dMstHZNu9IlHxRk7WoB1FZ7246pRyzvSBMUzSHWopz8aNIUrx2jHJCwcH2G253C7Vnp_CX7U/s400/ny.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268665127805217202" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Neil Young: </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-young/how-to-save-a-major-autom_b_143749.html" title="Permalink"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">How To Save A Major Automobile Company</span></a></span><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">| SCEVS (Self Charging Electric Vehicles) Which You Know Have My 100% Support And Advocacy!</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-young">Neil Young</a></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"> | Neil Young, activist (Bridge School, Farm Aid) rock legend, has assembled a team that in the process of transforming his gargantuan 1959 Lincoln Continental from a gas guzzler into a showcase for green technology and sustainability. The car will be entered into the Automotive X Prize that offers a $10 million prize to develop a vehicle that can get 100 miles per gallon or better. The almost 50 year old Lincoln, one of the biggest, heaviest production cars of all time, has been re-named <a href="http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=gmail&q=linc%20volt">“Linc Volt”</a> and is the subject of a feature documentary called “Repowering The American Dream” that is now in production under the aegis of Young’s Shakey Pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Find a new ownership group. The culture must change. It is time to turn the page. In the high technology sector there are several candidates for ownership of a major car and truck manufacturer. We need forward looking people who are not restricted by the existing culture in Detroit. We need visionary people now with business sense to create automobiles that do not contribute to global warming.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />It is time to change and our problems can facilitate our solutions. We can no longer afford to continue down Detroit's old road. The people have spoken. They do not want gas guzzlers (although they still like big cars and trucks). It is possible to build large long-range vehicles that are very efficient. People <i>will</i> buy those vehicles because they represent <i>real</i> change and a solution that we can live with.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The government must take advantage of the powerful position that exists today. The Big 3 are looking for a bailout. They should only get it if they agree to stop building autos that contribute to global warming now. The stress on the auto manufacturers today is gigantic. In order to keep people working in their jobs and keep factories open, this plan is suggested:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />The big three must reduce models to basics. a truck, an SUV, a large family sedan, an economy sedan, and a sports car. Use existing tooling.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br />Keep building these models to keep the workforce employed but build them <i>without</i> engines and transmissions. These new vehicles, called Transition Rollers, are ready for a re-power.<i> No new tooling</i> is required at this stage. The adapters are part of the kits described next.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">At the same time as the new Transition Rollers are being built, keeping the work force working, utilize existing technology now, create re-power kits to retrofit the Transition Rollers to SCEVs (self charging electric vehicles) for long range capability up to and over 100mpg.</b> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">If you don't think this technology is realistic or available, check out the Progressive Insurance Automotive X prize. Alternatively, check out <a href="http://www.lincvolt.com/">Lincvolt.com</a> or other examples.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />A bailed out Auto manufacturer must open or re-purpose one or more factories and dedicate them to do the re-power/retrofit assembly. These factories would focus on re-powering the Transition Rollers into SCEVs but could also retrofit and re-power many existing vehicles to SCEVs. These existing vehicles are currently sitting unsold at dealerships across America.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Auto manufacturers taking advantage of a government bailout must only sell clean and green vehicles that do not contribute to global warming. No more internal combustion engines that run exclusively on fossil fuels can be sold period.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />No Big Three excuses like "new tooling takes time". New tooling is not a requirement for SCEV transition rollers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />Build only new vehicles that attain the goal of reversing global warming and enhancing National Security.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />Government legislation going with the bailout should include tax breaks for purchasers of these cars with the new green SCEV technology. The legislation accompanying the bailout of major auto manufacturers must include directives to build only vehicles that attain the goal of reversing global warming while enhancing National security, and provide the financial assistance to make manufacturing these cars affordable in the short term while the industry re-stabilizes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />Eventually the SCEV technology could be built into every new car and truck as it is being assembled and the stop gap plan described above would have completed its job of keeping America building and working through this turbulent time. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />Detroit has had a long time to adapt to the new world and now the failure of Detroit's actions is costing us all. We pay the bailout. Let's make a good deal for the future of America and the Planet. Companies like UQM (Colorado) and others build great electric motors right here in the USA. Use these domestic electric motors. Put these people to work now. This plan reverses the flow from negative to positive because people need and will buy clean and green cars to be part of World Change. Unique wheel covers will identify these cars on the road so that others can see the great example a new car owner is making. People want America to win!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br />This plan addresses the issue of Global warming from our automobiles while enhancing our National Security and keeping Detroit working.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Neil Young, activist (Bridge School, Farm Aid) rock legend, has assembled a team that is in the process of transforming his gargantuan 1959 Lincoln Continental from a gas guzzler into a showcase for green technology and sustainability. The car will be entered into the Automotive X Prize that offers a $10 million prize to develop a vehicle that can get 100 miles per gallon or better. The almost 50 year old Lincoln, one of the biggest, heaviest production cars of all time, has been re-named "Linc Volt" and is the subject of a feature documentary called "Repowering The American Dream" that is now in production under the aegis of Young's Shakey Pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/automobiles/autospecial2/30young.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=neil%20young%20lincvolt&st=cse&oref=slogin">Here is a link</a> to last month's New York Times story on the Linc Volt.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-size:11.5pt;">Plus Some One Else Who Agrees With Me!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 18px; "><a href="http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/2008/11/any-day-now-some-one-is-going-to.html">http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/2008/11/any-day-now-some-one-is-going-to.html</a></span></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Arianna Huffington:</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">So, $290 billion into his bailout plan, Hank Paulson is calling for a do-over. Now there is a confidence booster. Not that Paulson's midstream direction change is a bad thing - indeed, the lip service he's now paying to putting the focus on consumers is encouraging - but it shows just how uncertain Washington is about how to keep the economy from imploding. In the meantime, oversight of the massive bailout plan remains a mirage, undermined by White House inaction and Congressional turf wars. Unfortunately, while Paulson waffles, the White House dawdles, and Congress dithers, the economy continues to burn - with 516,000 American filing new unemployment claims last week and 84,868 homes lost to foreclosure in October. "It's a mess," said Eric Thorson, the Treasury Department's inspector general. Bartender, another round of lack of confidence for everyone. <b><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/while-paulson-waffles-the_b_143666.html" target="_blank">Click here to read more.</a></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-26402219212788900632008-11-14T12:23:00.000-08:002008-11-14T12:38:06.071-08:00News, Views, Issues Of The Day And Impeachment Reviews: Censure, Impeach, And Prosecute: I Vote For The Reverse Order!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBBZdOWeCzWdb7VcrdecNFS9vQHhfRPLdVAMQgZ61Y7pDGuKomoVK9femBHO5zzWdsWkUQu1a7Il5ECcp6WjdDndtLFlDroReW9-2UkUb1B-5C_1rSCogV1dU8wS32w7eNOYWenbRWHg/s1600-h/LIGHT.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBBZdOWeCzWdb7VcrdecNFS9vQHhfRPLdVAMQgZ61Y7pDGuKomoVK9femBHO5zzWdsWkUQu1a7Il5ECcp6WjdDndtLFlDroReW9-2UkUb1B-5C_1rSCogV1dU8wS32w7eNOYWenbRWHg/s400/LIGHT.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268611580617014354" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span">News, Views, Issues Of The Day And Impeachment Reviews: Censure, Impeach, And Prosecute: I Vote For The Reverse Order!</span></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">ROBERT REICH:</span></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > Obama's stunning victory, combined with larger Democratic majorities in both Houses of Congress and the deepening economic crisis, should provide him a strong mandate for change. America and the world have signaled they're ready for it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >But as we roll up our shirtsleeves, it's important to be aware of the challenges ahead.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >First is the ever more powerful army of Washington lobbyists. Pharmaceutical companies, insurers and giant hospital chains will seek to control any health-care initiative. Producers of coal, ethanol and nuclear power will try to dominate the energy and environmental agenda. Military contractors will want to maintain defense spending. And Wall Street will want even more control over its massive bailout.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Then there's the ballooning budget deficit brought on by slower growth and the Wall Street bailout. As a result, fiscal conservatives -- including a newly-enlarged group of "blue-dog" Democrats -- will be reluctant to support any new spending.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >And don't forget all the business groups, Republicans, libertarians, talk-radio hosts and yell-television personalities will fulminate over anything resembling a tax hike on the rich or big corporations.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Obama's agenda can survive all this, but only if he continues to mobilize and energize the public behind it. That means creating a new politics, utilizing his vast campaign network of volunteers, grassroots activists and Internet participants and turning it into a movement to take back our democracy from the lobbyists, naysayers, pork peddlers and moneyed interests that normally run things in Washington.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >In other words, the real contest is just beginning. Can Obama succeed? As we heard last night, yes WE can.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=ecbfe824-d850-48e6-a428-c4e4b68bb432"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/politics1-american-politics-elections">Politics1 - American Politics, Elections</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=ebb8e110-e011-4ea1-9546-b70e2155632b"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-washington-monthly-eddickau-1">The Washington Monthly</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=16ee103a-ca61-40b8-a2da-16bed0253cbf"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/detroit-news-online-detnewscom">Detroit News Online | Detnews.com</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=97d504a5-4e9d-469b-8e0d-dd621357aba2"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/alternet-home">AlterNet: Home</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=1047bde3-481e-4bec-8a67-ae836a43480a"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/opednewscom-rss-really-simple-syndication-fe">OpEdNews.com - RSS (Really Simple Syndication)</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/12/AR2008111202778.html" target="_blank">Grab a Chair</a><br />Washington Post - United States<br />Christopher J. <b>Dodd</b> (D-Conn.) would take over for his close friend and mentor, opening up the banking chairmanship. A spokesman for <b>Senate</b> Majority <b>Leader</b> <b>...</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" href="http://www.impeachthem.com/?q=node/2220"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">http://www.impeachthem.com/?q=node/2220</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=8126fa37-6590-4382-93e0-a2d28701495b"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/-impeach-bush-before-he-pardons-himself-">? IMPEACH BUSH Before He Pardons Himself ?</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.ihatewhatyoujustsaid.com/2008/11/13/hold-that-dick-accountable/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Hold That Dick Accountable</span></span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >By JimLarkinsGhost</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />(See Rep. Dennis<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Kucinich</b>’s Articles of Impeachment against The Dick by clicking here). Perhaps a strong showing on<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>election</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>day will embolden<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Congressional</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Democrats. A small, but not insignificant peice of good news appeared today:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"><a href="http://www.ihatewhatyoujustsaid.com/" target="_blank" title="http://www.ihatewhatyoujustsaid.com/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">I Hate What You Just Said - http://www.ihatewhatyoujustsaid.com/</span></span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color:green;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" href="http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-digbrflet1113.art3nov13,0,4776372.story" target="_blank"><b style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Impeach</span></span></b><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Bush</span></span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >Hartford Courant - United States<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Impeachment</span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >proceedings were begun against Richard Nixon (for covering up a burglary) and against Bill Clinton (for lying about cheating on his wife),<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>...</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;color:green;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" href="http://obamaism.org/?p=137" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Should Congress *censure* </span><b style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Bush</b><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">/</span><b style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Cheney</b><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">? Poll, discuss, act</span></a><br />And it may not be as satisfying as <b>impeachment</b>, but it is a good in itself. Nor is it vengeful or injurious; it doesn’t put <b>Bush</b> or <b>Cheney</b> into jail, or into exile, or into poverty. Nor does it punish their families. <b>...</b><br /><a href="http://obamaism.org/" target="_blank" title="http://obamaism.org/"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Obamaism.org - http://obamaism.org/</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1858991,00.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">More Allegations in Justice Dept. Misconduct in Siegelman Case</span></span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >TIME - USA<br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >John Conyers, chairman of the House<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Judiciary Committee</b>, which investigated the Siegelman case as part of a broader inquiry into alleged political<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>...</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/13/152626/92/234/657775" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Should Congress *censure* </span><b style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Bush</b><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">/</span><b style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Cheney</b><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">? Poll, discuss, act</span></a><br />By David Boyle<br />The esteemed buhdydharma has recently spoken of <b>impeachment</b> lately, while admitting that it might not really happen. However, not <b>impeachment</b>, but censure might be something achievable, as Nancy Pelosi told me herself at Netroots Nation <b>...</b><br /><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/section/Diary" target="_blank" title="http://www.dailykos.com/section/Diary"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Daily Kos - http://www.dailykos.com/section/Diary</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/section/Diary" target="_blank" title="http://www.dailykos.com/section/Diary"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/37661" target="_blank"><b style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Impeachment</span></span></b><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Prevents Pardons; Whistleblowers Wanted</span></span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >By Chip<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />...</span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >General appoint a prosecutor to convene a grand jury to investigate not only the criminal FISA violations but also the numerous other crimes of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Bush</b>,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Cheney</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and their underlings and henchmen, especially including their war crimes.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"><a href="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/" target="_blank" title="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">AfterDowningStreet.org - Convict... - http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/</span></span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color:green;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.newscloud.com/read/Impeach_Bush_To_Stop_Pardons_Democratscom" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Impeach Bush</span></b><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> To Stop Pardons | Democrats.com</span></a><br />Most of these offenses are felonies for which <b>Bush</b> and <b>Cheney</b> can be criminally prosecuted after they leave office. But prosecutions will be impossible if <b>Bush</b> issues blanket pre-emptive pardons for Dick<b>Cheney</b>, Scooter Libby, <b>...</b><br /><a style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" href="http://www.newscloud.com/" target="_blank" title="http://www.newscloud.com/"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">NewsCloud.com Top Rated Stories - http://www.newscloud.com/</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.democrats.com/bush-has-69-days-to-pardon-scooter-libby-and-himself" target="_blank"><b style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Bush</span></span></b><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Has 69 Days to Pardon Scooter Libby - and Himself</span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(182, 221, 232);font-size:100%;" >By Bob Fertik</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />My bet is that<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Bush</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>will pardon everyone in his administration, including Dick<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Cheney</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and even himself. So the real "Big Number" is how many Members of Congress will stop<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Bush</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>from issuing these pardons by pledging to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>impeach</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>him if he<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"><a href="http://www.democrats.com/" target="_blank" title="http://www.democrats.com/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Democrats.com - The Aggressive... - http://www.democrats.com/</span></span></a></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=278c6a63-df49-468b-aeeb-f8d649762f35"></script><noscript><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/irregular-times-news-unfit-for-print">Irregular Times: News Unfit for Print</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</span></span></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-76186039973624151422008-11-14T12:03:00.000-08:002008-11-14T12:27:57.741-08:00Any Day Now Some One Is Going To Declare That The Second Great Depression Is Upon Us And That Washington Does Not Know What The Hell It is Doing.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWSCI57lDIhx14CTECSC5BDz2y4kD1imHROqT2hwSfu_8GVJWH1MHpnBJgjpyV_Emld9uj_OLJ-fk2McWpv9aS4DphyphenhyphenTePJjs-XHYnyJCTqNKd0XoM1kKCiJWAzXFDVPYgAF2NVCcGWY/s1600-h/HOME.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWSCI57lDIhx14CTECSC5BDz2y4kD1imHROqT2hwSfu_8GVJWH1MHpnBJgjpyV_Emld9uj_OLJ-fk2McWpv9aS4DphyphenhyphenTePJjs-XHYnyJCTqNKd0XoM1kKCiJWAzXFDVPYgAF2NVCcGWY/s400/HOME.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268606498304987602" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Any Day Now Some One Is Going To Declare That The Second Great Depression Is Upon Us And That Washington Does Not Know What The Hell It is Doing.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In the “First Great Depression” The Post Depression Analysis defined the fundamental or root cause as a failure to understand the “novelty” of the economy of that era. Any serious analysis would then attempt to then explain the variety of contributing economic components and their interrelationship in the collapse.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If the economy of that era was a “novelty” the current economy can only be described as a nightmare of a severely mentally deranged economic community whose dreams defy any rational interpretation and understanding to date.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The complexity of the current day economy and simply beginning to understand it is beyond the grasp of most normal beings, and when you add to the bad witches brew the fact that the stew has been poisoned by the practitioners who are doing their damnedest to escape exposure and accountability; we are involved in a never-never-land of “once upon a time” schemes of repair by a work crew that has no idea of what they are doing! </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But a first step that can be taken with an assured outcome would be for Geprge Bush to pick up his telephone and make this call…</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=pvjFow7TQBp28uW6cWfUs92BnWh%2BO%2B7P" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">With One Phone Call, Bush Could Relieve the Economic Pain of Millions</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br />By Staff, Office of Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)<br />With just one telephone call, the President could single-handedly jump start the U.S. economy. Why doesn't Bush make the call?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Currently the steps that are being taken are a façade and an attempt to cover-up a vast financial crime scene.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We’re supposed to believe that the bailout proposals are well thought out and will work, painful as they may be and as difficult as they are to accept.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.alternet.org/workplace/107000/wall_street%27s_bailout_is_a_trillion-dollar_crime_scene_--_why_aren%27t_the_dems_doing_something_about_it_/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wall Street's Bailout is a Trillion-Dollar Crime Scene -- Why Aren't the Dems Doing Something About It?</span></a></span><span style="line-height:115%; mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> | By Naomi Klein, The Nation</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The facts are as follows: </span><a href="http://www.alternet.org/workplace/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace:</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Washington's handling of the bailout is not merely incompetent. It may well be illegal.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Paul Craig Roberts has put his finger on the singular flaw in the current approach (es).</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We all can accept that the challenge is of Rooseveltian proportions, but though that experience may offer some clues, some directions it cannot be drafted an imposed as the absolute prescription for the solution to our present collapse because simply stated; this is a different economy, a different set of problems and dynamics and until we get a handle on those components we will stumble around with the market going up and down as individuals find long range profit opportunities and others idiotically attempt to interpret and spin every move as some sign of definitive value.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">They do not because… </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/America-s-Economic-Crisis-by-Paul-Craig-Roberts-081112-201.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">America's Economic Crisis Is Beyond The Reach Of Traditional Solutions</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">By Paul Craig Roberts</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br />The world has had enough of American irresponsibility and is taking away the reins.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">By most accounts the US economy is in serious trouble. Robert Reich, an adviser to President-elect Obama, calls it a “mini-depression,” and that designation might be optimistic. The Russian economist, Mikhail Khazin says that the “U.S. will soon face a second ‘Great Depression.’” It is possible that even Khazin is optimistic.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I cannot predict the future. However, I can explain what the problems are, how they differ from past times of troubles, and why traditional remedies, such as the public works programs that Reich proposes, are unlikely to succeed in reviving the U.S. economy.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Khazin points out, as have others such as University of Maryland economist Herman Daly and myself, that consumer debt expansion is the fuel that kept the U.S. economy alive. The growth of debt has outstripped the growth of income to such an extent that an increase in consumer credit and bank lending is not possible. Consumers are overburdened with debt. This fact takes monetary policy out of the picture. Americans can no longer afford to borrow more in order to consume more.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This leaves economists with fiscal policy, which, as Reich realizes, also has problems. Reich is correct that neither a reduction in marginal tax rates nor a tax rebate is likely to be very effective. Reich, a Keynesian, has an uncertain grasp of supply-side economics, but as one who has a firm grasp, I can attest that marginal tax rates today are not the stifling influence they were prior to John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. As Art Laffer said, there are two tax rates, high and low, that will produce the same tax revenues by expanding or contracting economic activity. Marginal tax rates are no longer in the higher ranges. As for a tax rebate, Reich is correct that in the present situation a tax rebate would be dissipated in paying off creditors.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Reich sees the problem as a lack of aggregate demand sufficient to maintain full employment. His solution is for the government to spend “a lot” more on infrastructure projects on top of a trillion dollar budget deficit --”repairing roads and bridges, levees and ports; investing in light rail, electrical grids, new sources of energy.” This spending would boost employment, wages, and aggregate demand.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I have no opposition to infrastructure projects, but who will finance the baseline trillion dollar US budget deficit plus the additional red ink spending on infrastructure? Not Americans. The US savings rate is zero or negative. Home mortgage foreclosures are in the millions. Officially, US unemployment is 10 million, but if measured by pre-Clinton era standards unemployment is much higher. Statistician John Williams, who measures the unemployment rate by the pre-Clinton standards concludes that the rate of US unemployment is about 15 percent. President Clinton “reformed” the unemployment statistics by ceasing to count discouraged workers as unemployed. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For years, the US government’s budget has been dependent on foreigners financing the red ink. Countries such as Japan and China and OPEC suppliers of oil to the US have huge export surpluses with the US. They recycle the dollars by buying US Treasury bonds, thus financing the US government’s red ink budgets.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The open question is: how much longer will they do so?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Foreign portfolios are overweighed in dollar assets. Currently the dollar’s value is benefitting from the financial crisis, as investors flee to the reserve currency. However, sooner or later the huge outpourings of dollar debts will cause foreign creditors to draw back. Already China, America’s largest creditor, has sent a signal that that time might be drawing near. Recently the Chinese government asked, as they do indirectly through third parties, “Why should China help the US to issue debt without end in the belief that the national credit of the US can expand without limit?”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Is the rest of the world, which has demanded a financial summit to work toward a new financial order, going to permanently allocate the world’s supply of capital to covering American mistakes? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If not, the bailout and the stimulus package will have to be financed by printing money. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And the bailout needs are growing. Car loans and credit card debt were also securitized and sold. As the economy worsens, credit card and car loan defaults are rising. Moreover, AIG needs more money from the government. Fannie Mae’s loss has widened to $29 billion despite the $200 billion bailout. General Motors and Ford need taxpayer money to survive. General Motors says that its GMAÇ mortgage unit “may not survive.” Deutsche Bank sees General Motors shares “as likely worthless.”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Shades of the Weimar Republic.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What Reich and the American economic establishment do not understand is that the recession paradigm does not apply. There are no jobs waiting at US manufacturers for a demand stimulus to pull Americans back into work. The problem is not a liquidity problem. To the contrary, there have been many years of too much liquidity. Credit has grown far more than production. Indeed, US production has been moved offshore. Jobs that used to support the growth of American incomes and the tax bases of cities and states have moved, along with US GDP, to China and elsewhere. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The work is gone. All that are left are credit card and mortgage debts.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Anyone who thinks that America still has a vibrant economy needs to log onto </span><a href="http://www.economyincrisis.org/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">www.EconomyInCrisis.org</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and face the facts. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Economists associate economic depression with price deflation. However, traditionally, debts that are beyond an economy’s ability to service are inflated away. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This suggests that the coming depression will be an inflationary depression</span></span></b><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Instead of falling prices mitigating the effects of falling employment, higher prices will go hand in hand with rising unemployment--</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">a situation worse than the Great Depression. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The incompetent Clinton and Dubya administrations, unregulated banksters and Wall Street </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">criminals, greedy CEOs, and a no-think economics profession have destroyed America’s economy. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What is the remedy for simultaneous inflation and unemployment? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Three decades ago the solution was supply-side economics. Easy monetary policy had pushed up consumer demand, but high tax rates had curtailed output. It was more profitable for firms to allow prices to rise than for them to invest and increase output.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Supply-side economics changed the policy mix. Monetary policy was tightened and marginal tax rates were reduced, thus stimulating output instead of inflation. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Today the problem is different. The US has abused the reserve currency role, thus endangering its credit worthiness and the exchange value of the dollar. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Jobs have moved offshore. The budget deficit is huge and growing. If foreigners will not finance the widening gap, the printing presses will be employed or the government will not be able to pay its bills. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The bailout funds have been wasted</span></span></b><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The expensive bailout does not address the problem of falling employment and rising mortgage defaults.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson could not see beyond saving Goldman Sachs and his bankster friends. The Paulson bailout does nothing except take troubled assets off banks’ books and put them on the overburdened taxpayers’ books, thus endangering the US Treasury’s credit rating. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What the Bush Regime has done is to stick the taxpayers with the banks’ mistakes.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">An intelligent government would have used the money to refinance the troubled mortgages and stop the defaults. By saving the mortgages from default, the banks’ balance sheets would have been made secure. By failing to deal with the subprime crisis, Bush and Congress have added a financial crisis to the exhaustion of consumer demand and the problems of financing huge trade and budget deficits.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Belatedly, Paulson has realized his mistake.</span></span></b><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On November 12, Paulson announced, “We have continued to examine the relative benefits of purchasing illiquid mortgage-related assets. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Our assessment at this time is that this is not the most effective way to use [bailout] funds.”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The financial crisis has cost taxpayers far more than the amount of the bailout.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Americans’ savings and pension funds have been devastated. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Americans in investment partnerships, who have been required by IRS rules to pay income taxes on gains in the partnerships’ portfolios, have had the accumulated multi-year gains wiped out. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">They have paid taxes on years of “capital gains” that have disappeared, thus doubling their losses.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">America’s economic troubles will rapidly accumulate if the dollar loses its reserve currency role. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">To protect the dollar and the Treasury’s credit standing, the US needs to curtail its foreign borrowing by reducing its budget deficit. It can do this by halting its gratuitous wars and slashing its unnecessary military spending which exceeds that of the rest of the world combined. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The empire has run out of resources, and the 700 overseas bases must be closed.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Can Americans afford massive infrastructure spending when they cannot afford health care?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In Florida a Blue Cross Blue Shield </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">group policy</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> for a 60-year old woman costs $14,100 annually, and this is a policy with deductibles and co-payments. Supplementary policies from AARP to fill some of the gaps in Medicare can cost retirees $3,300 annually. When one looks at the economic situation of the vast majority of Americans, it is astonishing that the Bush regime regards wars in the Middle East and taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street criminals as a good use of scarce resources.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">US corporations, which have moved their production for US markets offshore in order to drive up their share prices and provide their CEOs with multi-million dollar bonuses, can be provided with a different set of incentives that encourage the corporations to bring employment back to the US. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For example, the corporate income tax can be restructured to tax corporations according to the value-added in the US. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The higher the value-added in the US, the lower the tax rate; the lower the value-added, the higher the tax rate.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Cutting the budget deficit by halting pointless wars and unnecessary military spending and reducing the trade deficit by bringing jobs back to America are simple tasks compared to confronting inflationary depression.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The World Has Had Enough Of American Irresponsibility And Is Taking Away The Reins.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">At the November 15 economic summit, the world will begin the process of imposing a new financial order on the US in exchange for continued lending to the bankrupt “superpower.” With bailouts eating up the world’s supply of capital, continued foreign financing for Washington’s wars of aggression is out of the picture</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal, has held numerous academic appointments. He has been reporting shocking cases of prosecutorial abuse for two decades. A new edition of his book, The Tyranny of Good Intentions, co-authored with Lawrence Stratton, a documented account of how Americans lost the protection of law, was published by Random House in March, 2008.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And just what does this development/symptom suggest to you?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style=""><a href="http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/1349158-reno-tent/blogs" target="_blank"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Blogs - Tent Cities for Homeless on the Rise in United ...</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Now the Automotive Industry is the high beams of bailout chatter!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The questions here are what should we do and what are we going to do?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/business/14auto.html?bl&ex=1226725200&en=8493bad0556dcca4&ei=5087%0A" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Chances Dwindle on Bailout Plan for Automakers</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br />New York Times - United States<br />Susan Walsh/Associated Press Senator Christopher J. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dodd</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> said Thursday that he did not think there would be enough Republican support in the </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Senate</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to get </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/business/14auto.html%3Fbl%26ex%3D1226725200%26en%3D8493bad0556dcca4%26ei%3D5087%250A" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">See all stories on this topic</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_081114.htm" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Detroit Bailout Loses Steam</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br />U.S. News & World Report - Washington,DC,USA<br />20 to provide further help to the carmakers," </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Senate</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Majority </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Leader</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Harry Reid "rejected that idea." The Wall Street Journal reports Reid spokesman Jim </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_081114.htm" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">See all stories on this topic</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";color:accent5;"><a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/493062.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint: 102color:accent5;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What if General Motors goes broke?</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><span style=";color:accent5;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Buffalo News - NY, United States</span><br /></span></span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Christopher J.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dodd</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, DConn., chairman of the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Senate</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Banking Committee, said there wasn’t enough Republican support to guarantee passage of the bailout</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">...</span></span><span style="color:#500050;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint:102color:accent5;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/493062.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint: 102color:accent5;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">See all stories on this topic</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";color:accent5;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><a href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/105821-gm-headed-to-zero-with-or-without-the-pelosi-bailout" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">GM Headed to Zero, With or Without the </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Pelosi</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> Bailout</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br />Seeking Alpha - New York,NY,USA<br /></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Nancy Pelosi</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">’s “too-big-fail” theory certainly succeeded in encouraging buying interest in General Motors (GM) on Wednesday. However, before analysts start </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">...</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2008/11/13/dont_subsidize_industrial_dinosaurs/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Don't subsidize industrial dinosaurs</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (Here is a position that has as its implied solution the reduction of auto workers to a near slave labor class, their pay checks, retired and health care gutted so the fat cats can keep rolling!)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Given that the Globe's weekend automotive reviews frequently tout the wonders of domestic trucks and SUVs, no doubt you understand why Americans persist in subsidizing industrial dinosaurs like General Motors to make unreliable, oversized gas-guzzlers, while paying unionized employees inflated wages and retirement benefits.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In fact, bankruptcy may be the best thing for the auto industry. It would force resolution to industry problems such as unsustainable healthcare costs for employees and retirees</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-mbailout1408nov14,0,1446116.story" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Depressed yet? Brace for still more bad news</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=zd3ox2gSu4NJ5NEYZlJtYt2BnWh%2BO%2B7P" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Washington Panics as the Economy Burns</span></a><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(And Panic Is The Word For It!)<br />By Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post<br />$290 billion into his bailout plan, Hank Paulson is calling for a do-over, but does his next plan have any more chance of success; is it any more intelligent?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><a href="http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/11/14/1114economy.html" target="_blank"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Deficit hits record, unemployment surges, but Dow rises</span></span></span></a></span><span style=" line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><a href="http://uspolitics.einnews.com/article.php?oid=p8Gvf8vptemAHY0&v=3127Ee2WXJfGrQqJjLb7X8cTcy2Vk" target="_blank" title="'It's a Mess,' Says Treasury Department's Inspector General; Bailout Lacks Oversight Despite Billions Pledged"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">'It's a Mess,' Says Treasury Department's Inspector General; Bailout Lacks Oversight Despite Billions Pledged</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> | » </span></span><a href="http://uspolitics.einnews.com/?v=3127Ee2WXJfGrQqJjLb7X8cTcy2Vk" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">follow the topic</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><a href="http://realestate.einnews.com/article.php?oid=L4LWEuxrXqbwAw&v=3127Ee2WXJfGrQqJjLb7X8cTcy2Vk" target="_blank" title="U.S. Treasury Abandons Plan to Buy Up Toxic Mortgages"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">U.S. Treasury Abandons Plan to Buy Up Toxic Mortgages</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> | » </span><a href="http://realestate.einnews.com/?v=3127Ee2WXJfGrQqJjLb7X8cTcy2Vk" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">follow the topic</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The initial costs of the government's economic bailout efforts sent the U.S. budget deficit for October soaring to a record $237.2 billion, putting it on track to reach the once-unfathomable sum of $1 trillion for the year.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"And as bad as these numbers are, they may look good a year from now because things are going to get much worse," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at the Smith School of Business at California State University.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In more grim economic news Thursday, the number of newly laid-off workers applying for jobless benefits — 516,000 — last week hit the highest level since the period right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Unemployment, which jumped to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October, is now projected to climb above 8 percent.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The stream of negative news initially sent Wall Street down sharply, with the Dow Jones industrials briefly trading below 8,000. The markets rebounded with a fury, though, and closed up almost 553 points , the third-largest point gain on record, following the 889-point rise Oct. 28 and the 936-point surge Oct. 13.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Treasury Department said the $237.2 billion federal deficit for October, the highest ever for a single month, reflected the $115 billion spent last month to purchase stock in eight of the country's biggest banks, the opening phase in the $700 billion rescue of the financial system passed by Congress on Oct. 3.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">October's deficit was far bigger than analysts had expected, more than four times as large as the October 2007 deficit of $56.8 billion, and more than half the total for all of last year.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A $1 trillion shortfall estimate for the year reflected not only the expenditures for the rescue effort but also an expected second stimulus program and the effect of a steep recession.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Meanwhile, the prospects of a government rescue for the nation's foundering automakers dwindled Thursday as Democratic congressional leaders conceded that they would face potentially insurmountable GOP opposition for such a plan in a lame-duck legislative session next week.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said he didn't think there was sufficient Republican support to get the 60 votes needed to move forward a bill to provide $25 billion in aid for the automakers.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">At the same time, hope among many Democrats on Capitol Hill for an aggressive economic stimulus measure all but evaporated. Democratic leaders have been calling for a package that would include help for the auto companies as well as new spending on public works projects, an extension of unemployment benefits, increased food stamps and aid to states for rising Medicaid expenses.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would open a lame-duck session in the Senate on Monday, hoping to move forward with legislation that would extend unemployment benefits and to attach to it an amendment providing aid for the auto companies.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Aides to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House would be brought back into session Wednesday afternoon.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Also on Capitol Hill, some of the largest U.S. banks sharing in the $700 billion government bailout tried Thursday to assure lawmakers that they are using the money to make more loans and help financially strapped homeowners avoid foreclosure.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Executives from JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs Inc., Bank of America and Wells Fargo & Co. told the Senate Banking Committee that none of the $85 billion they have received from the government is being used to pay salaries or bonuses.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Some of the executives said bonuses this year will be lower because of the economic downturn.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This weekend in Washington, President Bush will host the leaders summit of the Group of 20 — which includes the world's wealthiest nations and major developing countries such as Russia, China, Brazil and India — to seek a common approach to the global economic crisis.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bush on Thursday defended his administration's response to the crisis, which has included extensive government assistance to banks and government takeovers of the country's biggest mortgage finance companies.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"I'm a market-oriented guy, but not when I'm faced with the prospect of a global meltdown," Bush said in a speech in New York. "But the crisis was not a failure of the free market system."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We are dangerously close to the day when the run on the banks is at hand, mattresses are going to be stuffed, folks will be looking for refrigerator boxes to live in on the streets, cat food, Campbell’s Baked Beans and Chef Boyardee Spaghetti, warmed over burning Barrels on streets will become common and the lucky folks will be those working and serving in the warmth of soup kitchens. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You think I’m kidding you.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You think I’m over the edge.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you do; just ask yourself a few serious questions: (1) Do the folks in DC know what they are doing, (2) Does the media really understand what is going on, (3) Are we being told the truth by our government and (4) Do they know the truth?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And there so many other problems to deal with and some ugly motivational solutions that Washington does not have the balls for.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Let’s just round up the Executives of Freddie and Fanny, AIG…arrest them, prosecute them and send them to jail.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">How much would you like to bet that if we did this that suddenly a significant number of financial institutions would suddenly find ways to correct things in house before they dare stick their hands out for bailout loot?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Let’s have a policy that no one gets a cent without opening their books to full review and that they have to report the expenditure of every penny of those monies.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Stop all foreclosures and renegotiate every faltering loan now!</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">No one gets any money from us without strings attached!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">To keep Congress focused on the task let us simplify the health care problem for them and place all Americans under the Federal Government’s Program.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It will work big time!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Appoint several “Blue Ribbon Panels separate from the Congress to prepare the recommendations and plans for Constitutional Restoration, Judicial Reform, Regulation of our Financial Institutions, Election System Reform, Infra Structure Renewal and the Greening of America, Building the no plug In Electric Car and Development of The battery Technology to Implement that goal as if it were “The Put A Man On The Moon Project”….and more.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Congress can deal with the final product when it is set before them as they have proven time and again they don’t have the brains, vision or commitment to do what must be done!</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Just a few thoughts before I go find a refrigerator box!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080211/younge"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Some Things Even Obama Can't Transcend</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-90199057640082024142008-11-13T18:36:00.000-08:002008-11-13T18:53:37.337-08:00Is Hate As American As Apple Pie? Women, minorities, autistic children: Conservative radio's vitriol not reserved for Obama<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZuZKZTQD4mbRopoTFWsVgv45XO-_bM4d6Uo4k0aoAwmrDB702H-TjKR26OhvlkUc5_kp8lNDIHWXiylLqRAWYhfeeAA8igMeIPIOFsryvCZTB_kUE3ma4E32VLFD4mcnn0X1KkPM7AU/s1600-h/which.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZuZKZTQD4mbRopoTFWsVgv45XO-_bM4d6Uo4k0aoAwmrDB702H-TjKR26OhvlkUc5_kp8lNDIHWXiylLqRAWYhfeeAA8igMeIPIOFsryvCZTB_kUE3ma4E32VLFD4mcnn0X1KkPM7AU/s400/which.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268336765535929106" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;">Is Hate As American As Apple Pie</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200811130002"><span class="Apple-style-span">?</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">Women, minorities, autistic children: Conservative radio's vitriol not reserved for Obama</span></a></span></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;font-size:100%;" >In the Euphoria of the Obama Election, in the contemplation of , the passionate desire for changes so drastic and extensive that you have to assign to me the label revolutionary, changes that must come sooner or later because the human spirit demands them as surely as we need food and shelter that they will be realized, either in the arena of reasoned legislated national rebirth or in the animalist collapse of this nation into the streets of depression, insurrection, mob violence and revolution come again; I am filled with a deep sadness as the voices of hate and division, the voices of willful imposition fill the airwaves of this nation with their continued injection of the venom of national destruction.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Is Hate as American as Apple Pie?<span style=""> </span>Though this is not the most elegant exploration of the problem; it will suffice as I am very near the point of closing up shop here and heading in a direction that most readers do not wish to turn.<span style=""> </span>While I still have the strength of mind and body and age has not slowed me very much, am I going to walk that most dangerous path of: “I believe”.<span style=""> </span>By now you must al understand that those two words are among the most dangerous in the human vocabulary?<span style=""> </span>They have given birth to greatness.<span style=""> </span>They have also been uttered just before the most horrific of destructive impulses of our species have been unleashed on our fellow beings, our sisters and brothers, almost always because people in quite resignation, fear, conspirators in silence failed to act or marched as a blind flock into the Genocides that other have authored and given justification.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Those who have done so cannot be excused or forgiven because they were “just human”. They have been enabling cowards and hypocrites too often hiding behind the question of: “What can I do; I’m only one person?” <span style=""> </span>Sam Adams was but “one person”, an individual as were: Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Martin Luther King Jr., and yes Jesus in whose name every kindness has been extended at one time or another and every perversion and inhumanity has been visited upon human kind.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >As <span style="">Media Matters for America</span> documented, the nationwide network of conservative radio hosts -- personalities without the national prominence of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh -- engaged in an all-out effort to foment hate and suspicion of Barack Obama by participating actively in an echo chamber of smears and falsehoods about the primary candidate and then Democratic nominee. But these same radio hosts were by no means discerning in their vitriol and did not save their ire solely for Obama. The smears ran the gamut, both in the context of the 2008 election, as <span style="">Media Matters</span> noted in the previous report, and beyond. Immigrants, female politicians (and women in general), the LGBT community, the poor and homeless, minorities, progressives, unions, college students, and even autistic children were targets of these radio personalities' invective. <span style="">Media Matters</span> and <span style="">Colorado Media Matters</span> have compiled some of their more noteworthy attacks on these groups.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Immigrants<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >In discussing immigration reform or immigration in general, conservative talk-radio hosts have repeatedly smeared immigrants -- Latino immigrants in particular -- as violent, uncivilized, or having sinister motives against the United States. <span style="">Media Matters</span> has documented several instances of talk-radio hosts baselessly blaming undocumented immigrants for the mortgage crisis, citing bogus statistics -- refuted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development -- to claim that they held a significant percentage of subprime loans.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >G. Gordon Liddy</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060004?f=s_search&lid=744226&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060004?f=s_search"><span style="">G. Gordon Liddy smeared undocumented Mexican immigrants, claiming they "want to reconquer America, they say"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the June 5 broadcast of his radio show, G. Gordon Liddy asserted: "[T]he problem that I have is with people who come over here and instead of wanting to become Americans, you know, fly the American flag, learn English, and so forth, they want to fly the Mexican flag, they want to speak Spanish, you know, and other varieties of illegal alien." Liddy later added: "They want to reconquer America, they say."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Jim Quinn, Lee Rodgers</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810130015?f=s_search&lid=744227&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810130015?f=s_search"><span style="">Conservative radio hosts claimed HUD said 5 million illegal immigrants were given subprime mortgages, despite HUD's reported denials</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On October 10, KSFO's Lee Rodgers repeated a variation of the claim that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that it gave "5 million illegal aliens" subprime loans which have not been paid back. The same day, <span style="">Quinn & Rose</span>'s Jim Quinn also claimed that "[f]ive million of these bad mortgages went to illegal aliens" without citing a source for the figure. But neither noted that HUD has reportedly stated that this statistic is false.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Michael Savage</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808050009?f=s_search&lid=744228&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808050009?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage: "Illegal aliens" have "raped and disheveled" the Statue of Liberty</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Discussing the Italian government's reported decision to deploy soldiers on city streets to combat violent crime allegedly committed by illegal immigrants, Michael Savage said during the August 4 broadcast of his radio show: "So they've done there what we need to do here. We need to get our troops out of Iraq and put them on the streets of America to protect us from the scourge of illegal immigrants who are running rampant across America, killing our police for sport, raping, murdering like a scythe across America while the liberal psychos are telling us they come here to work." Savage added: "[Y]ou turn on the cable news, they're covering again a missing child. Not a missing country but a missing child. ... We hear about the rape of a woman, but not about the rape of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is crying, she's been raped and disheveled -- raped and disheveled by illegal aliens."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806250001?f=s_search&lid=744229&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806250001?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage: "We're getting refugees now who have never used a telephone, a toothbrush, or toilet paper. ... [T]hey never assimilate. And then their children become gang-bangers"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Michael Savage asserted on the June 23 broadcast of his radio show: "We're getting refugees now who have never used a telephone, a toothbrush, or toilet paper. You're telling me they're going to assimilate? They will never assimilate. They come here and they bring their destitute ways to this country, and they never assimilate." He continued: "And then their children become gang-bangers. It is a disaster." Savage added that earlier immigrants to the U.S. "had used toilet paper and toothbrushes and they knew how to survive in this country. They took a job or they worked. They didn't come and sit and have 16 children and eat beetle nuts."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200801310003?f=s_search&lid=744230&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200801310003?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage: "Bring in 10 million more from Africa. ... They can't reason, but bring them in with a machete in their head"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the January 29 broadcast of his radio show, while discussing President Bush's AIDS spending <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fallafrica.com%252Fstories%252F200801290637.html&lid=744231&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://allafrica.com/stories/200801290637.html http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fallafrica.com%2Fstories%2F200801290637.html">proposal</a> in the State of the Union address, Michael Savage responded to a caller's assertion that he "do[es]n't know anything about Africa" by unleashing a series of attacks on the continent and its people, including the claim that AIDS "got" to Africa "because it was spread from eating green monkey meat" and that "in Africa ... people settle arguments with machetes."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809180003?f=s_search&lid=744232&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809180003?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage on Muslim immigrants: 15th-century "throwbacks, some of whom are no doubt terrorists, and some of whom are gonna produce children who will become terrorists"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On September 16 broadcast of <span style="">The Savage Nation</span>, discussing a caller's claim that "Muslim fundamentalists" are "walk[ing] around Northern Virginia as if they own the place," Michael Savage asked, "Why would a nation that is as evolved as America, and as liberal as America is socially, want to bring in throwbacks who are living in the 15th century?" He also asked: "What is the societal benefit of bringing in throwbacks, some of whom are no doubt terrorists, and some of whom are gonna produce children who will become terrorists?"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Sex and gender<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >As <span style="">Media Matters</span> <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200811060005?f=h_latest&lid=744233&rid=17668895" target="_blank">noted</a>, right-wing talk-radio hosts have also repeatedly made sexist comments about female politicians -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- often highlighting a woman's physical characteristics, in one instance referring to Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin's "smoking-hot" looks while calling Obama a "little bitch." Others referred to Sen. Hillary Clinton as a "bitch" and, in numerous instances, remarked on her voice, with one describing it as "screechy, fingernails-on-the-blackboard voice." Also, as <span style="">Media Matters</span> noted, hosts and guests have attacked progressive women as "ugly skanks" or "whores," impugned women's abilities as political leaders, and some have even questioned allowing women the right to vote.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Chris Baker</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810070010?lid=744234&rid=17668895" target="_blank">Baker called Obama a "little bitch" who "won't even stand up to" "smoking-hot" Palin</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >While discussing Palin's assertion that Obama was "palling around with terrorists" on the October 6 broadcast of his radio show, Baker called Obama a "little bitch" who "won't even stand up to a smoking-hot chick from Alaska." Baker did not note that <span style="">The New York Times</span> article Palin cited for her claim about Obama's association with William Ayers reported that "the two men do not appear to have been close," or that the Obama campaign did indeed respond to Palin's claim.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810060010?lid=744235&rid=17668895" target="_blank"><span style="">Baker on Palin's appearance at VP debate: "Shoulda had a little cleavage going ... I noticed a panty line on her"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 3 broadcast of <span style="">The Chris Baker Show</span>, Baker said Palin "shoulda had a little cleavage going" during the vice-presidential debate, and that he "noticed a panty line on her."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810030004?lid=744236&rid=17668895" target="_blank"><span style="">Baker: "I don't think homeless people should vote"; "I'm not that excited about women voting"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 2 broadcast of his radio show, Baker said, "I don't think homeless people should vote. Frankly. In fact, I have to be very honest. I'm not that excited about women voting, to be honest." Baker later said: "But that's just me. I'm a pig, and that's fine. All right?"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809050024?lid=744237&rid=17668895" target="_blank"><span style="">Minneapolis radio host said Code Pink protesters "ought to have all their tubes tied"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >During the September 5 broadcast his show, Baker stated of McCain's speech at the Republican National Convention, "I'll tell you, though, in the speech -- the best part of the speech was when those Code Pink nuts -- another bunch that ought to have all their tubes tied. All right? I can't stand these Code Pink broads."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Mark Belling</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809120018?lid=744238&rid=17668895" target="_blank"><span style="">Belling: "When you think of Hillary Clinton," the word "bitches" comes to mind</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Milwaukee radio host Mark Belling declared on his September 11 radio show, "What's the process that determines which potholes get patched the fastest [in Milwaukee]? I'll tell you what it is. No, they don't go and judge it on severity. ... It's who -- can I use this word? When you think of [Sen.] Hillary Clinton what do you think -- what word comes to mind? Yes, can I use that word here? All right, it's who bitches the most."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809050016?lid=744239&rid=17668895" target="_blank"><span style="">Belling called Gloria Steinem a "grizzled old bag," "old witch"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >During the September 4 broadcast of <span style="">The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show</span>, Belling called Gloria Steinem a "grizzled old bag," "old witch," and "embittered old has-been" and also stated that the "previous generation" of feminists "were so ugly you couldn't stand to look at them." Belling made these remarks while discussing Steinem's September 4 <span style="">Los Angeles Times</span>op-ed, in which she criticized McCain's choice of Palin as his vice-presidential running mate.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Jon Caldara</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Fitems%252F200806170001&lid=744240&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200806170001?f=s_search"><span style="">On Caldara's KOA show, Coulter claimed women's suffrage "explains the destruction of America"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Appearing as a guest on the June 16 broadcast of Jon Caldara's Newsradio 850 KOA program, Ann Coulter asserted that women aren't "concerned with how capital is generated and created," and claimed that women's suffrage "explains the destruction of America." Her remarks echoed those in a 2007 blog posting that quoted her as saying, "If we took away women's right to vote, we'd never have to worry about another Democrat president."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Fitems%252F200801230002&lid=744241&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200801230002?f=s_search"><span style="">Caldara asked Coulter if Clinton was "bitch-slapped" in debate</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Discussing the January 21 CNN Democratic presidential candidates' debate, Caldara during his broadcast that evening asked Coulter whether it was "fair to say" that Clinton "got bitch-slapped tonight."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Bill Cunningham</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810300017?lid=744242&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810300017">Cunningham on Democratic women: "[A] lot of women who are single are vulnerable; they need like a daddy government to keep an eye on them"</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 29 broadcast of his Cincinnati-based radio show, host Bill Cunningham stated: "Traditionally, we think of women as Democratic voters because a lot of women who are single are vulnerable; they need like a daddy government to keep an eye on them."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Mark Levin</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809090022?lid=744243&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809090022"><span style="">Levin on his "National Organization of Ugly Women" remark: "[F]or now on, it's the National Organization of Really Ugly Women"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Addressing his September 4 comments on Sean Hannity's radio show, in which he called the National Organization for Women, the "National Organization of Ugly Women," Mark Levin said on his September 8 radio show: "I just wanted to underscore that maybe I shouldn't have called them the National Organization of Ugly Women. For now on, it's the National Organization of Really Ugly Women." Levin first made his <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809050025?lid=744244&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809050025">remarks</a> while discussing with Hannity NOW's opposition to Palin.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Quinn & Rose</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809040008?lid=744245&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809040008">Quinn called NOW the "National Organization for Whores," said columnist Fatimah Ali should "get an American name"</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On his syndicated radio show, Jim Quinn referred to the National Organization for Women as "the National Organization for Whores," and said of<span style="">Philadelphia Daily News</span> columnist Fatimah Ali: "[Y]ou know, Fatimah, what's your real name? Come on, seriously. I mean, get an American name, will you, if you want to be an American." He then asked: "You don't suppose she's a liberal black Muslim, do you?"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200811060011?f=h_latest&lid=744246&rid=17668895" target="_blank">Quinn: "[T]he goal of the public school system -- the feminists in the public school system -- is to make male behavior illegal"</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >After reading from a blog post about a Georgia teacher who <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.wistv.com%252FGlobal%252Fstory.asp%253FS%253D9272165&lid=744247&rid=17668895" target="_blank">reportedly</a>informed the school principal and campus police that a picture of a vampire one of her students had drawn might contain gang symbols, Quinn stated on the November 6 broadcast of Clear Channel's <span style="">The War Room with Quinn & Rose</span> that the incident is evidence of "the chickification of schools, the feminization of society, and the war on masculinity." He then stated that "the goal of the public school system -- the feminists in the public school system -- is to make male behavior illegal, a crime."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810070020?lid=744248&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810070020"><span style="">Jim Quinn: Steinem opposes Palin because Palin "declined to slaughter her own unborn child, Trig, to the goddess of feminism"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 6 broadcast of <span style="">The War Room with Quinn & Rose</span>, Jim Quinn claimed that Gloria Steinem opposes Gov. Sarah Palin because Palin "refused the sacrificial right of passage, better known as the Eucharist of the feminist church: abortion. That's right. She declined to slaughter her own unborn child, Trig, to the goddess of feminism, even after doctors told her that he was one of those Down syndrome 'throw-aways.' "</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809170001?lid=744249&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809170001"><span style="">Quinn: To feminists, even "a childless feminist who looks like a Bulgarian weightlifter in drag" can be a "real woman"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the September 15 broadcast of <span style="">The War Room with Quinn & Rose</span>, Quinn stated: "If you don't agree with the feminist scolds, then you're not a real woman -- even if you are a very feminine working mom. But even if you're an actual man, never mind a childless feminist who looks like a Bulgarian weightlifter in drag, you're a real woman solely because you nod your head like a windup clapping monkey every time you read the latest editorial from<span style="">Ms. Magazine</span>." Quinn made these remarks while discussing, among other things, prominent feminists' opposition to Palin.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808270022?lid=744250&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808270022">Quinn introduced segment about Hillary Clinton by playing Elton John's "The Bitch Is Back"</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the August 27 edition of the syndicated radio program <span style="">The War Room with Quinn & Rose</span>, Quinn introduced a segment on Sen. Hillary Clinton by saying,<span style="">"</span>By the way, that brings us to our Hillary Heads-Up," and then playing audio of the Elton John song "The Bitch Is Back." Quinn then said, "I was going to play 'Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead.' But you know what, I -- you never know with the Clintons."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Lee Rodgers</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810170007?lid=744251&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810170007"><span style="">KSFO's Rodgers said many "professed leaders of the feminist movement" are "hags" who "couldn't get laid in a men's prison"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 17 broadcast of San Francisco radio station KSFO's <span style="">The Lee Rodgers Show</span>, Rodgers said: "[Y]ou look at many -- perhaps most -- but many of the women who are professed leaders of the feminist movement in this country, and they're a bunch of hags." He added: "They couldn't get laid in a men's prison, let's be honest about it." Rodgers made these remarks while discussing, among other things, feminists' disapproval of Palin.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809230018?lid=744252&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809230018"><span style="">KSFO's Rodgers: "[P]uckered-butt Democrat women hate Sarah Palin ... because her idea of choice was choosing not to have an abortion"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Returning to a previous claim he has made, Rodgers asserted on September 23: "I believe that the reason a bunch of puckered-butt Democrat women hate Sarah Palin is because her idea of choice was choosing not to have an abortion." Guest Steven Hayward of the American Enterprise Institute responded in part by saying: "[T]here is that very vocal segment of feminist opinion that celebrates abortion as a positive good in the same way that, you know, Southern slaveholders 150 years ago celebrated slavery as a positive good."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809170017?lid=744253&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809170017"><span style="">KSFO's Rodgers: "[F]emale leadership of the Democratic Party" consists of "ugly skanks" who "hate" that "Sarah Palin's good-looking"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the September 17 broadcast of his KSFO radio show, Rodgers said that "the female leadership of the Democratic Party" is made up of "ugly skanks." He also stated: "Sarah Palin's good-looking and they hate that." He also declared: "I think we have to ask: Would you like Sarah Palin better if she got pregnant again and did have an abortion, because it's obvious, with a lot of liberal women, killing babies is the main priority they have."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808270011?lid=744254&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808270011"><span style="">KSFO's Rodgers: "With that screechy, fingernails-on-the-blackboard voice of hers, it is impossible for Hillary Clinton to deliver a great speech"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the August 27 broadcast of his radio show, Rodgers said of Sen. Hillary Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention, "With that screechy, fingernails-on-the-blackboard voice of hers, it is impossible for Hillary Clinton to deliver a great speech." Rodgers later said that Bill and Hillary Clinton are hoping Obama "falls flat on his face so the Hilldebeest can have another run in four years, and Billy Bentpecker can hide behind the curtain in the Oval Office telling Hillary what he wants her to do as president of the United States."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806120001?lid=744255&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806120001"><span style="">KSFO's Rodgers on voting gender gap: For "a lot of women in this country who get knocked up ... the government becomes Daddy in terms of paying the bills"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the June 11 broadcast of San Francisco radio station KSFO's <span style="">The Lee Rodgers Program</span>, host Lee Rodgers said: "[T]he historical voting records show that Democrats have, historically, enjoyed a huge advantage in women voters. Why is that?" Rodgers continued: "Well, some women may be offended by this, but here's another dose of reality. We have a lot of women in this country who get knocked up and they don't have a husband. In effect, the government becomes Daddy in terms of paying the bills. And that accounts -- that's not all of it, but that accounts for a large part of that vote."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >LGBT-related smears<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Media Matters</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > has identified numerous examples of smears pertaining to sexual orientation or targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans that are routine among conservative talk-radio hosts. As <span style="">Media Matters</span> noted, legal rulings and ballot propositions regarding same-sex marriage prompted several radio hosts to target the LGBT community, in some cases suggesting that same-sex marriage will "lead to legal human-animal marriage."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Jon Caldara</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Fitems%252F200807250002&lid=744256&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200807250002 http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200807250002?f=s_search"><span style="">On Caldara program, Coulter called John Edwards "the very definition of faggy"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Referring to a <span style="">National Enquirer</span> <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.nationalenquirer.com%252Fsen_john_edwards_caught_with_mistress_and_love_child_in_la_hotel%252Fcelebrity%252F65193&lid=744257&rid=17668895" target="_blank">report</a> alleging that former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has an illegitimate child with "his mistress," a "blonde divorcée," Coulter told Caldara during his July 23 broadcast, "I just think John Edwards is an incredibly creepy individual and the very definition of faggy." Coulter's remark echoed her <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Frd%253Fhttp%253A%252F%252Fmediamatters.org%252Fitems%252F200703030002&lid=744258&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://colorado.mediamatters.org/rd?http://mediamatters.org/items/200703030002">reference</a> to Edwards as a "faggot" during a 2007 speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Dan Caplis</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Fitems%252F200806180002&lid=744259&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200806180002 http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200806180002?f=s_search"><span style="">KHOW's Caplis again asserted that gay "conduct is not natural" and is "immoral"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >During a discussion about same-sex adoption on his June 17 630 KHOW-AM broadcast, co-host Dan Caplis repeated his contention that gay "conduct is not natural," adding that "that conduct is immoral."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"Gunny" Bob Newman</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Fitems%252F200805190001&lid=744260&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200805190001 http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200805190001?f=s_search"><span style="">KOA's "Gunny" Bob repeated concern that "crushing tyranny of the left" could "lead to legal human-animal marriage"</span></a></span><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Discussing the California Supreme Court's <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.abcnews.go.com%252FTheLaw%252FwireStory%253Fid%253D4859659&lid=744261&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/wireStory?id=4859659">decision</a> invalidating a state statute banning same-sex marriage, Newsradio 850 KOA's "Gunny" Bob Newman on May 15 asserted that "under the crushing tyranny of the left, America will legalize gay marriage at the federal level -- or at a minimum recognize gay marriage in states with such laws." and that "[s]ome Americans fear that this will lead to legal human-animal marriage." Newman similarly warned of "[l]egal polygamy" and "[l]egal marriages between [parents] and their offspring."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Michael Savage</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810310015?lid=744262&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810310015">Savage: "If you're insane, hate the family ... hate your mother and father, hate the Bible, hate the church, and hate the synagogue," you oppose CA gay marriage ban</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 29 broadcast of his radio show, Savage said of a California ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage, "[T]here's a ballot initiative on homosexual marriage that is more important than you could imagine. It's called Proposition 8, and you must vote 'yes' if you're sane. If you're insane, hate the family, hate man and woman, hate your mother and father, hate the Bible, hate the church, and hate the synagogue, of course you're in favor of 'no' on Proposition 8." The next day on his program, Savage stated: "[T]he people who don't have families don't understand that, as difficult as family life is, life is impossible without it. They don't understand that. They don't understand what the family unit is. It's the strongest bond on Earth, which is why homosexual marriage is such a threat to civilization itself."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810030006?lid=744263&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810030006 http://mediamatters.org/items/200810030006?f=s_search"><span style="">After railing against gay marriage, Savage said "the spiritual side of the downturn on Wall Street was directly related to the moral downturn"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 1 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Savage said: "[Y]ou may say, 'Why should we care about homosexuals trying to destroy families through the mock marriage that they perform in order to mock God, the church, the family, children, the fetus, the DNA of the human species? Why should we care about it while we have a financial meltdown?' Because the spiritual side of the downturn on Wall Street is directly related to the moral downturn in the United States of America." Savage later said of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom: "Today it's the gays, tomorrow it'll be a man marrying a horse."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809300015?lid=744264&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809300015 http://mediamatters.org/items/200809300015?f=s_search">Savage linked San Francisco event to the "artistes" and "leather fetishists" of Weimar-era Germany, whom he blamed for Hitler's rise</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Discussing the Folsom Street Fair, a leather-themed adult-entertainment event in San Francisco, Savage declared on the September 29 broadcast of his radio show: "This country today is far beyond the excesses of the Weimar Republic that led to Adolf Hitler. God forbid that should ever happen here. But the German people, who were not all Nazis prior to Hitler's arrival on the scene, were shocked by the degenerates of Berlin. They were sickened by the perverts, sickened by the artistes, they were sickened by the leather fetishists, they were sickened by the degeneracy, and they couldn't handle it."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806180005?lid=744265&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806180005 http://mediamatters.org/items/200806180005?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage: "The children's minds are being raped by the homosexual mafia"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Responding to a caller who said, "I had to explain to my young son why these two men were holding hands the other day," Savage stated on the June 16 broadcast of his radio show: "You've got to explain to the children ... why God told people this was wrong." He went on to say, "You have to explain this to them in this time of mental rape that's going on. The children's minds are being raped by the homosexual mafia, that's my position. They're raping our children's minds."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Brian Sussman</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806180009?lid=744266&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806180009">KSFO's Sussman invited guest to talk about his claim that "gay and lesbian radicals actively recruit through our schools and the media"</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the June 16 broadcast of San Francisco radio station KSFO's <span style="">The Lee Rodgers Show</span>, guest host Brian Sussman hosted theologian <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.thepoweroffocus.ca%252Fcharlie_self.asp&lid=744267&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://www.thepoweroffocus.ca/charlie_self.asp http://www.thepoweroffocus.ca/charlie_self.asp">Charlie Self</a>, whom Sussman called "Dr. History," to discuss the California Supreme Court's May 15 ruling <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.sfgate.com%252Fcgi-bin%252Farticle.cgi%253Ff%253D%252Fc%252Fa%252F2008%252F05%252F15%252FBAGAVNC5K.DTL&lid=744268&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/15/BAGAVNC5K.DTL http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/15/BAGAVNC5K.DTL">overturning</a> the state's ban on same-sex marriages. In the course of the discussion, Sussman referenced a <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Finsightsforimpact.blogspot.com%252F2008%252F05%252Fpolitical-morality.html&lid=744269&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://insightsforimpact.blogspot.com/2008/05/political-morality.html http://insightsforimpact.blogspot.com/2008/05/political-morality.html">post on Self's blog</a> and said to Self: "On your website -- it's interesting you're addressing this very topic, Dr. Self, and you talk about how gay and lesbian radicals actively recruit through our schools and the media in order to swell their ranks. Talk to us about that for a moment."<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >After asserting, "It is amazing how little the traditional family is pictured in either drama or comedy on TV anymore," Self said that "[t]he only way that you are going to grow the ranks of this kind of movement is this kind of onslaught because it is simply not part of the nature of things as designed or as evolved or as historically recorded for thousands of years." During the interview, Sussman also claimed that "Darwinism just doesn't jibe with gay marriage" and asserted: "[I]n our society we say, here are the rules: man and a woman, you can't marry anyone under this particular age, you can't marry a family member. So, the rules are the same for all of us, Dr. History. But, for some reason, the gays want to change those rules. I just don't understand it."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Quinn & Rose</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200811070005?f=h_latest&lid=744270&rid=17668895" target="_blank">Quinn: "Gay sex produces AIDS"; "They should charge homosexuals more for their ... health insurance"</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the November 6 broadcast of <span style="">The War Room with Quinn & Rose</span>, Quinn said: "The only thing that -- the only thing that gay marriage produce -- well, gay marriage doesn't produce anything that the state has an interest in. Gay sex produces AIDS, which the state doesn't have -- or should have an interest in. They should charge homosexuals more for their -- for their health insurance than they charge the rest of us." Quinn made the comment while discussing the passage of a California <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fag.ca.gov%252Fcms_pdfs%252Finitiatives%252Fi737_07-0068_Initiative.pdf&lid=744271&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://ag.ca.gov/cms_pdfs/initiatives/i737_07-0068_Initiative.pdf">ballot initiative</a> to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Race and ethnicity<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Several right-wing radio hosts have promoted insulting stereotypes regarding African-Americans, Mexicans, and other groups.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Neal Boortz</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200805300003?lid=744272&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200805300003"><span style="">Boortz: "Muslims, making tortillas? ... [W]ith all of the illegal Mexicans in this country, we can't find some Mexicans to make those tortillas?"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the May 29 broadcast of his radio show, while discussing reports that six Muslim women were fired from a Minnesota tortilla factory because of dress code violations, Boortz asked: "Muslims, making tortillas? You know, this world is really screwed up when Muslims are making our tortillas, folks." He added: "I mean, with all of the illegal Mexicans in this country, we can't find some Mexicans to make those tortillas?"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200804100005?lid=744273&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200804100005"><span style="">Boortz's commentary on his inability to use a floor buffer: "I would make a lousy Mexican"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the April 10 edition of his radio show, Boortz asserted, "I would make a lousy Mexican." Engineer and "sidekick" Royal Marshall asked Boortz: "Why is that?" Boortz responded, "Well, because I wanted to scrub the hangar floor the other day, so I went and rented one of these big buffers," later adding: "I turned on that buffer, and it damn near killed me! It was dragging me across the hangar floor, throwing me around like I -- it was like a dog shaking a cat or something like that. You know, that's skilled labor."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Bill Cunningham</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810300019?lid=744274&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810300019">Cunningham on Obama Sr.: "That's what black fathers do. They simply leave"</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 28 broadcast of his radio show, Cunningham stated of Obama's childhood: "[I]magine at the age of 1 or 2 seeing your father for the last time. See, his father was a typical black father who, right after the birth, left the baby. That's what black fathers do. They simply leave."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810210015?lid=744275&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810210015">Cunningham guest Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson: "[M]ost black people today are racist"</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 20 edition of Clear Channel's <span style="">The Big Show with Bill Cunningham</span>, guest Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson said of former Secretary of State Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama: "[H]e's clearly for the color of the man and not the character." Cunningham replied, "Great comments, and if Obama was white as chalk, do you think that Powell would be endorsing the Democrat? He didn't endorse [Al] Gore, he didn't endorse [Sen. John] Kerry. I think color trumps everything in his mind." Peterson responded: "That's right, because if it was about what Barack Obama stood for, then he would have endorsed Gore and all those guys, but he did not. You know, it's so sad, my friend, that most black people today are racist. Not all, not all -- but most of them are racist."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810140009?lid=744276&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810140009"><span style="">Cunningham: "I think there will be 100 cities burning if Barack loses. Yeah, that's what the black intelligentsia says"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >During the October 10 broadcast of <span style="">The Big Show with Bill Cunningham</span>, Cunningham stated: "I think there will be 100 cities burning if Barack loses. Yeah, that's what the black intelligentsia says." Cunningham also asserted that "Flavor Flav, 50 Cent, and Diddy" are "really in charge of the [Obama] Inaugural [Ball]."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >G. Gordon Liddy</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810090017?lid=744277&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810090017"><span style="">In sketch on Corsi's detention in Kenya, Liddy played audio of "jungle telegraph drums"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 7 edition of his radio program, Liddy discussed the detention of Jerome Corsi in Kenya and aired a sketch in which he said: "We've used the satellite connection to Kenya, and we are now focusing in on the trial of Dr. Jerome Corsi. ... [H]e's being accused of impersonating a human being. My Zulu's not -- not as good as Obama's, but -- yeah, they're really upset with him. You can probably tell." Liddy then aired a clip apparently from the 1950 movie <span style="">King Solomon's Mines</span>, which featured characters speaking in Kinyarwanda (not Zulu), one of the official languages of Rwanda, and playing music on drums.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Quinn & Rose</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810200015?lid=744278&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810200015">Quinn and Tennent: Powell endorsed Obama because "he's tired of being called an Oreo," "an Uncle Tom"</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 20 broadcast of <span style="">The War Room with Quinn & Rose</span>, co-host Rose Tennent asserted that former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Obama "because he doesn't want to be known as an Uncle Tom anymore. He wants to be black again." Co-host Jim Quinn later said of Powell, "He's tired of being called an Oreo."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Lee Rodgers</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810030022?lid=744279&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810030022"><span style="">Rodgers suggested that just as the O.J. Simpson verdict "was a racial vote," African-Americans support Obama because of "racial brotherhood"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >During the October 3 broadcast of KSFO's <span style="">The Lee Rodgers Show</span>, arguing that "some things never change," Rodgers claimed O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder because of a "racial vote" by the jury and said of polls that show "98 percent of black voters voting for" Obama: "[A]re we to assume they all agree with him on all his principles? Or could there be a hint of racial brotherhood in that vote? Come on, we know the answer to that." Rodgers also declared, "If any white person, for whatever reason -- because they think he consorts with terrorists or communists, or believes in all the things that black racist preacher said for 20 years votes against him for that reason -- no, no, no, no. If you're a white person voting against Obama, you are a racist."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Michael Savage</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810280016?lid=744280&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810280016">Savage on Obama: "America's first affirmative action candidate about to become president"</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >During the October 27 broadcast of his radio show, Savage said: "Obama and I are on the opposite sides of the political spectrum, as you can well imagine. While he benefited from affirmative action, stepping over more qualified white men, I actually lost as a result of affirmative action, many times in my life. Although I'd get near 100s on certain exams, they put me at the back of the bus because they said -- the ACLU said -- certain people will have to put their futures on hold in order to let others advance, and take a look at where we are today -- we have America's first affirmative action candidate about to become president."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810130012?lid=744281&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810130012 http://mediamatters.org/items/200810130012?f=s_search">Savage: "Kenya is going to move to America if Barack Hussein Obama wins"</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >During the October 10 broadcast of his radio show, Savage baselessly accused Obama of running a "corrupt campaign," suggested that white liberals "hate white people," repeated the discredited charge that Obama "won't produce his birth certificate," and asserted "Kenya is going to move to America" if Obama wins the election.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Attacks on the poor<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Several talk-radio hosts have attacked low-income and homeless Americans over the past year, characterizing them as "welfare broodmares" and "lack[ing] values, morals, and ethics." Some have advocated that the poor be disenfranchised, or even that the homeless be sent to "work camps."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Chris Baker</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810030004?f=s_search&lid=744282&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810030004?f=s_search">Baker: "I don't think homeless people should vote"; "I'm not that excited about women voting"</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 2 broadcast of show, Baker said: "I don't think homeless people should vote. Frankly. In fact, I have to be very honest. I'm not that excited about women voting, to be honest." Baker subsequently added: "But that's just me. I'm a pig, and that's fine. All right? And we'll see that, I'm sure, on a lame-ass website very soon. But I don't think hobos ought to vote at all. They're nuts. And I think that there needs to be a little more care in who votes."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Neal Boortz</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808200005?f=s_search&lid=744283&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808200005?f=s_search">Boortz: "Single mothers receiving public assistance" are "welfare broodmares"</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On his August 19 program, Boortz described "single mothers receiving public assistance" as "welfare broodmares." The Merriam-Webster Dictionary<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.merriam-webster.com%252Fdictionary%252Fbrood%252520mare&lid=744284&rid=17668895" target="_blank">defines</a> a "broodmare" as "a mare [a female horse] kept for breeding." Boortz made the comment while discussing a report that women in Georgia who received public assistance gave birth at more than three times the rate of women who did not receive public assistance, according to 2006 U.S. Census Bureau figures.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806190009?lid=744285&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806190009">Boortz again referred to victims of Hurricane Katrina as "parasite[s]"</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the June 19 edition of Cox Radio Syndication's <span style="">The Neal Boortz Show</span>, host Neal Boortz asserted that "the real question" concerning the difference between the current floods in the Midwest and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is as follows: "[W]hy is it that the people who are being affected by the floods in Iowa and the upper Midwest, why is it that they seem to be so much more capable of taking care of themselves and handling this disaster than were the people of Katrina in New Orleans?" Boortz continued, "I think the answer's pretty clear, is that up there in that part of the country, you find a great deal of self-sufficiency. Down there in New Orleans, it was basically a parasite class totally dependent on government for their existence." Boortz described this as being a "cultural issue, not a racial issue."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200802010015?lid=744286&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200802010015">Boortz: "[P]rimary blame" for Katrina goes to "worthless parasites who lived in New Orleans"</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Boortz asserted during the January 30 edition of his radio show: "I am fed up with this conventional wisdom that Katrina and the disaster that followed was George Bush's fault. It was not. The primary blame goes on the worthless parasites who lived in New Orleans who you -- couldn't even wipe themselves, let alone get out of the way of the water when that levee broke."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Bill Cunningham<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810290010?f=h_top&lid=744287&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810290010?f=h_top">Cunningham: "[P]eople are poor in America ... because they lack values, morals, and ethics"</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 28 broadcast of his radio show, Cunningham asserted that "people are poor in America ... not because they lack money," but "because they lack values, morals, and ethics." He also said that "unlike many countries in the world ... we have fat poor people. We don't have skinny poor people. Ours are fat and flatulent." Cunningham made similar remarks on the October 23 broadcast of his radio show, asserting that "[t]he reason people are poor in America is not because they lack money, it's because poor people in America lack values, character, and the ability to work hard."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810280013?f=s_search&lid=744288&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810280013?f=s_search">Cunningham: America's "so-called noble poor" don't use birth control so that "the mom can get more checks in the mail from the government"</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >After declaring on October 27 that "most responsible couples engage in birth control so they don't bring children into the world they cannot afford," Cunningham claimed that "[a]mong the so-called noble poor in America, just the opposite is true. Birth control is not used so illegitimate children can be brought into the world, so the mom can get more checks in the mail from the government." Cunningham then added: "And then once the child is born, that is the key to financial riches in the poor communities -- white and black -- in America. And that key is Section 8 housing and vouchers; the key is food stamps, no work -- if you work you're punished."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >G. Gordon Liddy<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810310009?f=s_search&lid=744289&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810310009?f=s_search">Liddy: Obama is relying, in part, on "the welfare class" to win Pennsylvania</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On his October 30 program, Liddy said of Obama's electoral prospects in Pennsylvania: "Pennsylvania has been described as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, with Alabama in the middle. Obama is counting on the urban elites and the welfare class to win the state for him. But he's putting on a show for the rest of Pennsylvania."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Quinn & Rose</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200811060012?f=h_latest&lid=744290&rid=17668895" target="_blank">Quinn stated that unlike welfare recipients, slaves "had to work" for food, housing</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the November 6 broadcast of <span style="">The War Room with Quinn & Rose</span>, Quinn compared "slave[s] in the Old South" to welfare recipients today, stating that the "difference" is that "[t]he slave had to work for" the benefits Quinn said they received. Quinn said: "You know, if you were a slave in the old South, what did you get as a slave? You got free room and board, you got free money, and you got rewarded for having children because that was just, you know, tomorrow's slave. So, you got a free house, you got free money, and you got rewarded for having children. Can I ask a question? How's that different from welfare? You get a free house, you get free food, and you get rewarded for having children. Oh, wait a minute, hold on a second. There is a difference: The slave had to work for it." The show then aired an audio clip of a buzzer sounding and a voice repeating, "Insensitivity!" Quinn then stated: "Ah, the truth stings, does it not?"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200811100005?f=h_latest&lid=744291&rid=17668895" target="_blank">Responding to <span style="">Media Matters</span> item, Quinn defended comparison of welfare recipients to slaves</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the November 7 broadcast of <span style="">The War Room</span>, Quinn addressed comments he made on the previous day's broadcast comparing "slave[s] in the old South" to welfare recipients today, the "difference" being that "[t]he slave had to work for" the benefits Quinn said they received. Quinn said: "Now, naturally, the point that I was making was that there are two forms of servitude: There's the servitude that you can be forced into, and there's the servitude you can be coerced into, I mean, the horrors of slavery notwithstanding -- naturally, that was my point." He later added: "[W]hen you think about it, the slave had more personal nobility than the welfare recipient, because he or she had no say in their station in life. The welfare recipient actually volunteers for it. It is the liberal plantation."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810310014?f=s_search&lid=744292&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810310014?f=s_search">Rose Tennent on Obama ad: "[D]on't put that jive out there in front of me, devil, and tell me that these people are hurting when they are not hurting"</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 30 broadcast of <span style="">The War Room</span>, Tennent said of the families featured in Obama's 30-minute ad: "Well, OK. They were sad stories, but I'm looking at the background. I'm not looking at the person talking in their home, I'm looking at what they have in their home. They have color television sets; they have everything that I have in my house. I'll bet you they have an iPod, I bet you they have, you know -- I'll bet they have a lot of luxuries in that home. They are not poor." Tennent later said: "So don't put -- don't put that jive out there in front of me, devil, and tell me that these people are hurting when they are not hurting. All they need to do is make some cuts and figure out a way to do this."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810220012?f=h_latest&lid=744293&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810220012?f=h_latest">Quinn: "Originally, if you didn't have land, you didn't vote, and there was a good reason for it"</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 21 broadcast of <span style="">The War Room</span>, while reading from an opinion column by conservative blogger Scott Johnson that discussed the history of taxation and property rights in the United States, Quinn declared: "Originally, if you didn't own land, you didn't vote, and there was a good reason for it: because those without property will always vote away the property of other people unto themselves, and that's the beginning of the end." Quinn added: "But, oh no, that was -- that was just too mean-spirited." Moments earlier, Quinn said, "Now -- I mean, I can hear the appeal to the masses: 'It's not fair, it's not the American way that you don't get to vote,' but let me ask you a question: If I don't own anything, what kind of a problem do I have with voting for a measure -- a tax, a law -- that takes somebody else's property and gives it to me? I have no stake in personal property ownership 'cause I don't have any. Now, back in the day, when this was the law of the land, anybody who wanted to vote needed to step up to the plate, achieve, get a stake in America, and then vote."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Michael Savage</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810230016?f=h_top&lid=744294&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810230016?f=h_top">Savage: "Why should a welfare recipient have the right to vote? They're only gonna vote themselves a raise"</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On his October 22 show, Savage asked: "Do you think a person on welfare has the right to vote? I don't. Why should a person who is on public assistance maintain the right to vote? Tell me why. Where is it written that they should have the right to vote?" He added: "I support them, and they should have the same vote I do? That would be like saying an infant has the right to vote or an insane person has the right to vote. Why should a welfare recipient have the right to vote? They're only gonna vote themselves a raise."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806090014?f=s_search&lid=744295&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806090014?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage's answer to homelessness: "Why not put them in work camps?"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the June 6 broadcast of <span style="">The Savage Nation</span>, Savage responded to a caller's question about how Savage would address the "problem with the homelessness in this country" by asking, "Why not put them in work camps? Most of them are able-bodied." He went on to say that "since they're already receiving public assistance, I'd pay them nothing." He later asked: "Why do you have to pay a man who's right now living off the fat of the land?"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Other attacks<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Beyond smears of Obama, his supporters, racial and ethnic minorities, women, gays and lesbians, and the poor, talk-radio hosts often directed their ire toward a broad range of other groups of people: those with HIV/AIDS, people with autism, teachers, other radio hosts, comedians perceived as progressive, Democrats in the House and Senate, and the organizations that document their attacks.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Chris Baker</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810080020?f=s_search&lid=744296&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810080020?f=s_search"><span style="">Minneapolis radio hosts Baker and Perry are "convinced" that Magic Johnson "faked AIDS"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the October 8 broadcast of <span style="">The Chris Baker Show</span>, Minneapolis radio host Langdon Perry stated, "I'm convinced that Magic [Johnson] faked AIDS," to which Baker replied, "Yeah, me too." Perry then called Johnson "the only cured AIDS guy ever."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809190020?f=s_search&lid=744297&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809190020?f=s_search"><span style="">Baker: <span style="">Media Matters</span> "can kiss my supple buttocks"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Responding to a <span style="">Media Matters</span> item documenting previous remarks he made about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Baker said on the September 19 broadcast of his show: "<span style="">Media Matters</span> people can kiss my supple buttocks. What I say is what I say, and if they don't like it, instead of hiding like a bunch of commie girls, they can challenge me if they like."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Mark Belling</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808130006?f=s_search&lid=744298&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808130006?f=s_search"><span style="">Belling smeared "greedy, overpaid unionized schoolteacher[s]" who talk about global warming</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the August 12 broadcast of his show, Belling referred to schoolteachers who talk to their students about global warming as "idiot union teacher[s]," "liberal unionized hack[s]," "greedy, overpaid unionized schoolteacher[s]," and "fruitcake[s]."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Neal Boortz</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200804170009?f=s_search&lid=744299&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200804170009?f=s_search"><span style="">Boortz: Teachers unions "do more damage to this country than all the drug pushers together"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >While discussing the issue of public education with a caller on the April 16 broadcast of his radio show, Boortz stated: "I think the most dangerous -- the single most dangerous entity, group of people in this country right now are the teachers unions." He continued: "I think teachers unions do more damage to this country than the Los Angeles Lakers. They do more damage to this country than all the drug pushers together. ... If I had a button right now, two buttons -- push this button and it gets rid of all the drug dealers; push this button, it gets rid of the teachers unions -- I'm getting rid of the teachers unions."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Mark Levin</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807180010?f=s_search&lid=744300&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807180010?f=s_search"><span style="">Levin attacks "Jon Leibowitz, a.k.a Jon Stewart": "I'm really tired of these phony intellectuals ... arrogantly looking down their sizable noses at our armed forces"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the July 16 broadcast of his radio show, Levin said, "As you know, from time to time, we monitor Jon Leibowitz, a.k.a. Jon Stewart, as well as some of the other nudniks out there." While discussing remarks Stewart made on his Comedy Central show, Levin stated, "I'm really tired of these phony intellectuals -- and that's what they are, phony -- arrogantly looking down their sizable noses at our armed forces."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"Gunny" Bob Newman</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Fitems%252F200804140001%253Ff%253Ds_search&lid=744301&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200804140001?f=s_search">"Gunny" Bob's suggestions for replacing Air America's Rhodes included Obama, Stalin, bin Laden, Charles Manson</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Commenting on <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Frd%253Fhttp%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Frd%253Fhttp%253A%252F%252Fairamerica.com%252F&lid=744302&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://colorado.mediamatters.org/rd?http://colorado.mediamatters.org/rd?http://airamerica.com/">Air America Radio</a>'s April 10 <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Frd%253Fhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2008%252F04%252F10%252Fbusiness%252Fmedia%252F10cnd-radio.html%253Fex%253D1365566400%2526en%253De8dc85b9eb176525%2526ei%253D5090%2526partner%253Drssuserland%2526emc%253Drss%2526pagewanted%253Dall&lid=744303&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://colorado.mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/business/media/10cnd-radio.html?ex=1365566400&en=e8dc85b9eb176525&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all">announcement</a> that host Randi Rhodes would be leaving the progressive network following her April 3 <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Frd%253Fhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2008%252F04%252F04%252Farts%252F04arts-AIRAMERICAHO_BRF.html%253F_r%253D1%2526ref%253Darts%2526oref%253Dslogin&lid=744304&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://colorado.mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/arts/04arts-AIRAMERICAHO_BRF.html?_r=1&ref=arts&oref=slogin">suspension</a> for using vulgar language to insult Sen. Hillary Clinton at an off-air event, Newman on his April 10 broadcast suggested possible replacements for Rhodes, to "stay true over at Air America to their programming ideology." In addition to Clinton, Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and former President Jimmy Carter, Newman's suggestions included "Osama bin Laden. [bin Laden collaborator] Ayman al-Zawahiri. Robert Mugabe, the dictator down in Zimbabwe ... [former Ugandan dictator] Idi Amin," and "[a]dmitted terrorist Nelson Mandela." Newman also stated that former cult leader "Charles Manson would be a <span style="">fantastic</span> Air America host" and included Joseph Stalin among "those characters [who] would fit right in at Air America."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Lee Rodgers</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809180014?f=s_search&lid=744305&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809180014?f=s_search"><span style="">KSFO's "gentleman" Rodgers lashes out at Media Matters</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the September 18 broadcast of his KSFO radio show, responding to a<span style="">Media Matters </span>item documenting his comments that "the female leadership of the Democratic Party" consists of "ugly skanks" who "hate" that "Sarah Palin's good-looking," Rodgers stated that "one of the little left-wing websites" "inferred that I had said that these women, prominent women in the liberal movement, are prostitutes. And of course I didn't say any such thing as that because I am a gentleman." Rodgers also said that "left-wing bloggers ... are men in their 30s and 40s who are single and likely to stay that way" and are "[s]till living at home with one or both parents." He added: "And, of course, handwriting analysis has revealed that ... they have to use tweezers to masturbate."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Michael Savage</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809300018?f=s_search&lid=744306&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809300018?f=s_search"><span style="">Discussing economic crisis and bailout plan, Savage said Rep. Frank "should be in the gallows for this"</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the September 29 broadcast of his show, Savage said of Rep. Frank's role in proposed federal financial bailout legislation: "Barney Frank should be in the gallows for this. Barney Frank should be in jail for doing this."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808260019?f=s_search&lid=744307&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808260019?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage: Democratic Party's "membership is made up largely of minority blocs ... that are all against the white person"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On his August 25 radio show, Savage said, "The Democrat [sic] Party is the minority party. ... Obama is a minority, a half minority at least. The membership is made up largely of minority blocs, the Hispanic caucus and the gay caucus -- caucuses that are all against the white person." Savage also claimed: "Now, the white women generally are not as hard-nosed about things as the white male, and so many white women don't even understand that they're being duped, and they vote for a Democrat, not knowing that they're digging their own grave."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807220010?f=s_search&lid=744308&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807220010?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage reportedly likened <span style="">Media Matters</span> to HIV</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >A July 22 WorldNetDaily.com article reporting on the controversy over Savage's July 16 remarks about autism stated that Savage "told WND that Media Matters itself is as much a part of the story as autism," adding: "Acting like the HIV virus, he said, 'they invade the body politic and mimic the defense cells until they poison the entire organism.' "</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807220008?f=s_search&lid=744309&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807220008?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage on <span style="">Media Matters</span>: "They have no place in America"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the July 21 broadcast of his radio show, Savage repeatedly attacked<span style="">Media Matters</span>, calling the group a "Stalinist," "anti-family," "illegitimate, dangerous fascist group[]," and asserted that <span style="">Media Matters </span>"ha[s] no place in America." His comments came after <span style="">Media Matters</span> documented, with transcript and audio, his July 16 remarks describing autism as "[a] fraud, a racket." Those comments have <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fabclocal.go.com%252Fwjrt%252Fstory%253Fsection%253Dnews%252Fnational_world%2526id%253D6279117&lid=744310&rid=17668895" target="_blank">sparked protests</a> and generated widespread media attention.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807170005?f=h_top&lid=744311&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807170005?f=h_top">Savage on autism: "A fraud, a racket. ...In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out"</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On his July 16 program, Savage claimed that autism is "[a] fraud, a racket," and went on to say, "I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' " Savage concluded: "[I]f I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, 'Don't behave like a fool.' The worst thing he said -- 'Don't behave like a fool. Don't be anybody's dummy. Don't sound like an idiot. Don't act like a girl. Don't cry.' That's what I was raised with. That's what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You're turning your son into a girl, and you're turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men. That's why we have the politicians we have."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807160006?f=s_search&lid=744312&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807160006?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage referred to Pelosi as "Nancy Mussolini"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On his July 15 show, Savage referred to Pelosi as "Nancy Mussolini." As<span style="">Media Matters</span> noted, during the June 27 broadcast of his program, Savage similarly referred to Pelosi as "the Mussolini in a skirt," "Nancy Pelosi Mussolini," and the "Mussolini-like woman of the day." During his June 27 show, Savage also said of Obama: "We don't know whether he'd be more like Mussolini or Stalin, but one of the two would work."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200805220011?f=s_search&lid=744313&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200805220011?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage plays Dead Kennedys song again after asserting he "is now being persecuted for refusing to take the party line" on Sen. Kennedy's illness</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On his May 21 show, Savage stated of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), "His poor health does not excuse him from what he has done to our nation, and so, now, the Soros-run media sets on Michael Savage for daring to disclose the truth about Ted Kennedy's legacy." Savage added: "Just as in a Soviet show trial, Michael Savage is now being persecuted for refusing to take the party line that the great lion of the left must be praised -- all praise, all praise." On May 20, Savage <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200805210001?f=h_top&lid=744314&rid=17668895" target="_blank">aired</a> the Dead Kennedys song "California Über Alles" while discussing Kennedy's diagnosis with a malignant brain tumor. Savage again aired the song during his May 21 broadcast.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200804010007?f=s_search&lid=744315&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200804010007?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage: "I would round up every member of the ACLU and of the National Lawyers Guild and I'd put them in a prison in Guantánamo and I'd throw the key away"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On the March 31 broadcast of his radio show, Savage stated: "Cops are getting knocked off all over the country because of the rules of engagement, written primarily by the scummiest class in America, the vermin of vermin, which are the left-wing lawyers who should be put in Abu Ghraib with hoods over their head, as far as I'm concerned." He then stated: "If I had the power by executive order, I would round up every member of the ACLU and of the National Lawyers Guild, and I'd put them in a prison in Guantánamo and I'd throw the key away."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200802120004?f=s_search&lid=744316&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200802120004?f=s_search"><span style="">Savage claimed Lantos used the Holocaust as "a weapon the rest of his life"</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Discussing the <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2008%252F02%252F12%252Fwashington%252F12lantos.html&lid=744317&rid=17668895" target="_blank">death</a> of Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), Savage stated on February 11, "You're not supposed to talk badly about the dead. I generally wouldn't do it. But in the case of Tom Lantos, I'll make an exception. I think he was one of the most -- he was a scoundrel. And I'll tell you why I detested Tom Lantos. The man survived the Holocaust of World War II and used it as a weapon the rest of his life."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >THE SHOWS<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Chris Baker Show</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > is a Minneapolis-based talk-radio show that airs weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. CT on <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.ktlkfm.com%252Fpages%252Fchrisbaker.html&lid=744318&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.ktlkfm.com/pages/chrisbaker.html">KTLK-FM</a>. Baker <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.chron.com%252Fdisp%252Fstory.mpl%252Flife%252Fhoffman%252F5844463.html&lid=744319&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/hoffman/5844463.html">previously</a> hosted two different Houston-based radio programs before reportedly being dismissed in November 2007. Baker joined KTLK in February and was nominated to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in June. Since moving to KTLK, Baker discussed with a co-host being "convinced that Magic [Johnson] faked AIDS"; claimed that "it's very rare to find a woman worthy of serving in political office"; said that Gov. Sarah Palin "shoulda had a little cleavage going" during the vice-presidential debate; and declared "I don't think homeless people should vote."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > is carried on News/Talk 1130 <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.newstalk1130.com%252Fmain.html&lid=744320&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://www.newstalk1130.com/main.html http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newstalk1130.com%2Fmain.html">WISN-AM</a> in Milwaukee, which is owned by Clear Channel Communications. <span style="">Talkers Magazine</span> includes Belling in its "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Ftalkers.com%252Fmain%252Findex.php%253Foption%253Dcom_content%2526task%253Dview%2526id%253D19%2526Itemid%253D44&lid=744321&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=44">Heavy Hundred</a>," which it describes as "the 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America." According to 1130 WISN-AM, <span style=""><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252F2005.newstalk1130.com%252Fpages%252Fmarkbelling.html&lid=744322&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://2005.newstalk1130.com/pages/markbelling.html">The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show</a> </span>"is regularly rated number one in its time slot in the Milwaukee radio market and is the highest rated afternoon drive talk show host in the country." In 2001, Belling was awarded National Association of Broadcasters' <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.nab.org%252FAM%252FTemplate.cfm%253FSection%253DSearch%2526template%253D%252FCM%252FHTMLDisplay.cfm%2526ContentID%253D8597&lid=744323&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.nab.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=8597">Marconi Radio Award</a> for medium-market "Personality of the Year." Belling has said "[w]hen you think of Hillary Clinton" the word "bitches" comes to mind; has called Gloria Steinem a "grizzled old bag," an "old witch," and an "embittered old has-been"; and has smeared teachers who have talked about global warming as "idiot union teacher[s]," "liberal unionized hack[s]," "greedy, overpaid unionized schoolteacher[s]," and "fruitcake[s]."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Neal Boortz Show</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > is an Atlanta-based program that airs weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET. The program is nationally syndicated by <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcoxradio.com%252Fcompany%252Fsyndication.html&lid=744324&rid=17668895" target="_blank">Cox Radio Syndication</a>, which says that it "partners with the Jones Radio Network to service more than 200 affiliate stations with programming listened to by several million people each week." According to <span style=""><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.talkers.com%252Fmain%252Findex.php%253Foption%253Dcom_content%2526task%253Dview%2526id%253D17%2526Itemid%253D34&lid=744325&rid=17668895" target="_blank">Talkers Magazine</a></span>, the show is the seventh-rated talk-radio program and averages at least 4.25 million listeners a week. Boortz has repeatedly referred to Hurricane Katrina victims as "parasites"; commented that he would "make a lousy Mexican" because of his inability to use a floor buffer; and described "single mothers receiving public assistance" as "welfare broodmares."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Jon Caldara Show</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > airs on Denver's 850 KOA-AM on weeknights from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. MT. Caldara is <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.i2i.org%252Fmain%252Fauthor.php%253Fauthor_id%253D93&lid=744326&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.i2i.org/main/author.php?author_id=93">president</a> of the "free market" Independence Institute and has had a public role in numerous anti-tax and anti-government spending campaigns. Caldara also hosts a "current affairs" television program, <span style="">Independent Thinking</span>, on Denver's KBDI-TV. Caldara has asked a guest if it was "fair to say" that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) "got bitch-slapped" during a primary debate; and he described <span style="">Colorado Media Matters </span>as a "hate group" for highlighting his remarks.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Caplis & Silverman Show</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > airs weekdays from 3 to 6 p.m. MT on Denver's 630 KHOW-AM. Co-host Dan Caplis, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.dancaplislaw.com%252Fhtml%252Fcaplis.html&lid=744327&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.dancaplislaw.com/html/caplis.html">an attorney</a> who in 2007 <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.rockymountainnews.com%252Fdrmn%252Felections%252Farticle%252F0%252C2808%252CDRMN_24736_5282377%252C00.html&lid=744328&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5282377,00.html">publicly discussed</a> running for U.S. Senate as a Republican, has also made occasional appearances on Fox News' <span style="">The O'Reilly Factor. </span>Caplis has <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Fitems%252F200806180002&lid=744329&rid=17668895" target="_blank">asserted</a> that gay "conduct is not natural" and is "immoral." While discussing a photograph of Obama wearing Somali clothing, Caplis questioned why Obama would "put on similar clothing to the outfit worn by the man [Osama bin Laden] who personally ordered thousands of Americans, including women and kids, to be burned to death."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Big Show with Bill Cunningham</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > is a weekday Cincinnati-based radio program that airs from 12:25 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET on Ohio's <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252F700wlw.com%252Fpages%252Fonair_willie.html&lid=744330&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://700wlw.com/pages/onair_willie.html">WLW-AM</a>. The program is also simulcast on XM Radio Channel 173. Cunningham, a former Ohio assistant attorney general, also hosts a nationally syndicated Sunday-night talk program titled <span style="">Live on Sunday Night, It's Bill Cunningham</span>, which is broadcast live on 325 affiliates, according to its syndicator, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.premiereradio.com%252Fshows%252Fview%252Flive_on_sunday_night.html&lid=744331&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.premiereradio.com/shows/view/live_on_sunday_night.html">Premiere Radio Networks</a>. In 2001, Cunningham received the National Association of Broadcasters' <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.nab.org%252FAM%252FTemplate.cfm%253FSection%253DSearch%2526template%253D%252FCM%252FHTMLDisplay.cfm%2526ContentID%253D8597&lid=744332&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.nab.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=8597">Marconi Radio Award</a> for large-market "Personality of the Year." Cunningham has alleged that "Obama wants to gas the Jews;" compared Obama to Hitler; has repeatedly suggested that if Obama lost the election "there will be 100 cities burning;" has invoked "six-six-six" and "the beast" while discussing Obama; has asserted that "a typical black father... simply leave"; has repeatedly <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810290010?lid=744333&rid=17668895" target="_blank">claimed</a> that poor people "lack values"; and has <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200810280013?lid=744334&rid=17668895" target="_blank">claimed</a> that "the so-called noble poor" don't use birth control so that "the mom can get more checks in the mail from the government."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Mark Levin Show</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > is a nationally syndicated program hosted by <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.landmarklegal.org%252FDesktopDefault.aspx&lid=744335&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.landmarklegal.org/DesktopDefault.aspx">Landmark Legal Foundation</a> president Mark Levin. Based in New York City, <span style="">The Mark Levin Show</span> broadcasts from WABC-AM Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET and is <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.wabcradio.com%252Fshowdj.asp%253FDJID%253D12009&lid=744336&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.wabcradio.com/showdj.asp?DJID=12009">syndicated</a> by ABC Radio Networks. According to <span style=""><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.talkers.com%252Fmain%252Findex.php%253Foption%253Dcom_content%2526task%253Dview%2526id%253D17%2526Itemid%253D34&lid=744337&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=34">Talkers Magazine</a></span>, <span style="">The Mark Levin Show</span> reaches a weekly average audience of at least 5.5 million listeners and is tied for the ranking of fifth among talk-radio programs nationwide. Levin has compared Obama to Hitler; has referred to the National Organization for Women as the "National Organization of Ugly Women" and "the National Organization of Really Ugly Women"; and while discussing Comedy Central host Jon Stewart<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807180010?lid=744338&rid=17668895" target="_blank">complained</a> of "phony intellectuals" who are "arrogantly looking down their sizable noses at our armed forces."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The G. Gordon Liddy Show</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > is hosted by convicted Watergate felon G. Gordon Liddy, who often refers to himself as "the G-Man," and is <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.radioamerica.org%252FPRG_ggordonliddy.htm&lid=744339&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.radioamerica.org/PRG_ggordonliddy.htm">nationally syndicated</a> through Radio America. <span style="">Talkers Magazine</span> lists Liddy in its "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.talkers.com%252Fmain%252Findex.php%253Foption%253Dcom_content%2526task%253Dview%2526id%253D19%2526Itemid%253D44&lid=744340&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=44">Heavy Hundred 2008</a>." Liddy has advanced claims that Obama was not a U.S. citizen; has <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060004?lid=744341&rid=17668895" target="_blank">said</a> that undocumented Mexican immigrants "want to speak Spanish, you know, and other varieties of illegal alien" and "want to reconquer America, they say"; and claimed that Obama was relying, in part, on "the welfare class to win" Pennsylvania. In the 1990s, Liddy <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809190012#advice?lid=744342&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809190012">reportedly advised</a> his radio audience on multiple occasions on how to shoot Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Gunny Bob Show</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >, hosted by "Gunny" Bob Newman, airs weeknights on Denver's 850 KOA-AM from 7 to 10 p.m. MT. Newman is the author of <span style=""><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.paladin-press.com%252Fproduct%252F908%252F63&lid=744343&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.paladin-press.com/product/908/63">Minefields to Microphones: Global Asymmetric Warfare, the Radical Left, and Winning the War on Terror</a> </span>(Paladin Press, September 2006), which, according to its publisher, "exposes the treason and treachery of America's maniacal liberal machine while laying out a roadmap to victory in the war on terror that will stun the enemy and infuriate America's wild-eyed left." Newman has described Obama as "just another blowhard, make-believe thug" and "a far-left, terrorist-hugging politician"; has asserted that "there will be an invasion of Muslim terrorists" if Obama is elected; posted doctored photos of Obama on his website depicting Obama as meeting with Osama bin Laden and dressed as "Che Obama"; has suggested that legalizing gay marriage could "lead to legal human-animal marriage"; and <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fcolorado.mediamatters.org%252Fitems%252F200705090001&lid=744344&rid=17668895" target="_blank">declared</a> that "every Muslim immigrant to America" should be "required by law to wear a GPS tracking bracelet at all times."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The War Room with Quinn & Rose</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > is a syndicated radio program based in Pittsburgh on Clear Channel's 104.7 WPGB-FM. <span style="">Talkers Magazine</span> lists <span style="">Quinn & Rose</span> on its "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.talkers.com%252Fmain%252Findex.php%253Foption%253Dcom_content%2526task%253Dview%2526id%253D19%2526Itemid%253D44&lid=744345&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=44">Heavy Hundred</a>." According to the show's website, it <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.warroom.com%252Faffiliates.php&lid=744346&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://www.warroom.com/affiliates.php">airs</a> on 18 radio stations and XM Satellite Radio Channel 158. Jim Quinn, who co-hosts the show with Rose Tennent, has repeatedly described the National Organization for Women as the "National Organization for Whores"; <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809180020?lid=744347&rid=17668895" target="_blank">told</a> columnist Fatimah Ali to "get an American name"; has said that, in the past, "if you didn't own land, you didn't vote, and there was a good reason for it"; and often introduces segments on Hillary Clinton by playing audio of the Elton John song "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.lyricsfreak.com%252Fe%252Felton%252Bjohn%252Fthe%252Bbitch%252Bis%252Bback_20046531.html&lid=744348&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/elton+john/the+bitch+is+back_20046531.html blocked::http://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/elton+john/the+bitch+is+back_20046531.html">The Bitch Is Back</a>."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Lee Rodgers Show</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > is the morning drive-time talk program for San Francisco's 560 KSFO-AM and airs Monday through Friday from 5 to 9 a.m. PT and from 5 to 7 a.m. PT on Saturdays. The show features co-hosts Lee Rodgers and Tom Benner, known on-air as "Officer Vic," and is listed as one of <span style="">Talkers Magazine</span>'s "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.talkers.com%252Fmain%252Findex.php%253Foption%253Dcom_content%2526task%253Dview%2526id%253D19%2526Itemid%253D44&lid=744349&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=44">Heavy Hundred</a>." The program is sometimes guest-hosted by KSFO's <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.ksfo560.com%252Fshowdj.asp%253FDJID%253D12168&lid=744350&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://www.ksfo560.com/showdj.asp?DJID=12168">Brian Sussman</a>. Rodgers has described many "professed leaders of the feminist movement in this country" as "a bunch of hags," who "couldn't get laid in a men's prison"; has<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200809180014?lid=744351&rid=17668895" target="_blank">said</a> that "the female leadership of the Democratic Party" is made up of "ugly skanks"; and has referred to Hillary Clinton as "the Hilldebeest" who has a "screechy, fingernails-on-the-blackboard voice."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Savage Nation</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > is a top-rated nationally syndicated radio program hosted by Michael Savage. The program, which airs from 4 to 7 p.m. PT, is based in San Francisco and is syndicated through Talk Radio Network. Talk Radio Network <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.talkradionetwork.com%252Fpg%252Fjsp%252Fgeneral%252Fhost.jsp%253FchartID%253D3%2526position%253D18&lid=744352&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://www.talkradionetwork.com/pg/jsp/general/host.jsp?chartID=3&position=18 http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://www.talkradionetwork.com/pg/jsp/general/host.jsp?chartID=3&position=18 http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%3A%">claims</a> that Savage is heard on more than 350 radio stations, and, according to <span style=""><a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.talkers.com%252Fmain%252Findex.php%253Foption%253Dcom_content%2526task%253Dview%2526id%253D17%2526Itemid%253D34&lid=744353&rid=17668895" target="_blank" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=34 http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://www.talkers.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=34 http://mediamatters.org/rd?t">Talkers Magazine</a></span>, <span style="">The Savage Nation</span> reaches at least 8.25 million listeners each week, making it one of the most listened-to talk shows in the nation, behind only <span style="">The Rush Limbaugh Show</span> and <span style="">The Sean Hannity Show</span>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Savage has attacked everyone from politicians to children with autism. He has insisted that Obama was a Muslim; has described Obama as an "unknown stealth candidate who went to a madrassas in Indonesia and, in fact, was a Muslim"; has referred to Obama as an "affirmative action" candidate and complained that "affirmative action" stole his "birthright"; has <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200808050009?lid=744354&rid=17668895" target="_blank">claimed</a> that "illegal aliens" have "raped and disheveled" the Statue of Liberty; has linked "homosexuals trying to destroy families through the mock marriage" to "the downturn on Wall Street"; has <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806180005?lid=744355&rid=17668895" target="_blank">claimed</a> that "[t]he children's minds are being raped by the homosexual mafia"; has asserted that "welfare recipient[s]" should not "have the right to vote;" and has <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200807170005?lid=744356&rid=17668895" target="_blank">described</a> autism as a "fraud, a racket," and said, "In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://mediamatters.org/reports/radio/?src=radio-1" target="_blank">Join the fight against local radio hate</a></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/11/13/torture_commission/print.html">Obama's plans for probing Bush torture</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">President Bush could pardon officials involved in brutal interrogations -- but he may also face a sweeping investigation under the new president.</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=d3149c4f-3aa5-4206-bed8-203fb97c71be"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/saloncom-news-obamas-plans-for-probing-torture">Salon.com News | Obama's plans for probing Torture</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">Impeachment Remains On Our Table And War Crimes Charges Have No Statute Of Limitation<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=2b474fab-5fb7-4fa1-a3ce-ecfb482d05f8"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/its-the-judiciary-committee-stupid-eddickau">It's The Judiciary Committee Stupid Tool Box</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=e3c1d713-5c6a-4361-8362-48ce0d970b31"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/torture-is-enough-for-war-crimes-prosecution">Torture Is Enough For War Crimes Prosecution</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=eda2ffc4-fb80-453a-918e-85345028ac55"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-geneva-convention-and-george-bush-eddickau">The Geneva Convention And<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>George Bush</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=62b8369c-4112-4ce5-a27d-6122afff81be"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/impeach-bush-for-peace">Impeach Bush For Peace</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=0c3f3e59-b52e-4ebc-953d-0680bbeadd39"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/massachusetts-impeachment-coalition">Massachusetts Impeachment Coalition</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Vincent Bugliosi | </span></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.prosecutionofbush.com/">http://www.prosecutionofbush.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Vincent Bugliosi At Alternet | </span></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.alternet.org/rights/86232/">http://www.alternet.org/rights/86232/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">Ralph Lopez</span></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > | <a href="http://ralphlopezworld.com/vince.html">http://ralphlopezworld.com/vince.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">Charlotte Dennett Updated</span></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > | <a href="http://www.charlottedennettforattorneygeneral.com/">http://www.charlottedennettforattorneygeneral.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><a href="http://www.change.gov/"><span style="font-size:100%;">http://www.change.gov/</span></a></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-87138268161049327822008-11-13T09:08:00.000-08:002008-11-13T09:17:36.782-08:00IRAQ WAR ENDS New York Times Spoofed. You Have To Read This For The Sheer Creativity Of The Piece!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjdwGnyC2nFl1ippRRPmdHYGeqd7fsBnZSxxPVc_FbnGWo0KVYcy7DSXzHIK0dh-Xzq48JMuuAYmVJRQ_My4f7DMhJ1j-Sb5yVuCxp7AfcydxjlqkaH1GTNYCVnRjyxxuGoqttVoDbWw/s1600-h/award.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjdwGnyC2nFl1ippRRPmdHYGeqd7fsBnZSxxPVc_FbnGWo0KVYcy7DSXzHIK0dh-Xzq48JMuuAYmVJRQ_My4f7DMhJ1j-Sb5yVuCxp7AfcydxjlqkaH1GTNYCVnRjyxxuGoqttVoDbWw/s400/award.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268191110327765650" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><a href="http://nytimes-se.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">IRAQ WAR ENDS</span></a><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">New York Times Spoofed.</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You Have To Read This For The </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 21px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjV_H2rOW9P8SgDbqYQC1CsEDjjDvg5VHLcoG2XDEEif5AHHOLCW5wcRicY3R5CGckRV4ZdamI6XTVBqkYqU3iJy-ayiaXuokadzxTlzbtXomBY6NWXpzQP0Iyg8zGTdQfeqbB0_T9dm0/s1600-h/award.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sheer Creativity</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Of The Piece!</span></span></span></b></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-67665112538015761782008-11-12T17:15:00.000-08:002008-11-12T19:29:39.205-08:00Joe Lieberman Back In The News As A Major Question Mark: Dump Him Or Demote Him, Or Do Nothing?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqAANBUtXzMzsOSUtf1f2WIA4FiLli9XO1dq0TAlirW4KT9lBKD_fv2Z44yBwWF5GDhk5_s-O0a6KyV199f2RzhNIh_SI8nYbFCflT-8idNS317yOchsNtDbJpZmnw27R9IP76DDcHtc/s1600-h/fade.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqAANBUtXzMzsOSUtf1f2WIA4FiLli9XO1dq0TAlirW4KT9lBKD_fv2Z44yBwWF5GDhk5_s-O0a6KyV199f2RzhNIh_SI8nYbFCflT-8idNS317yOchsNtDbJpZmnw27R9IP76DDcHtc/s400/fade.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267944649304712274" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Joe Lieberman Back In The News As A Major Question Mark: Dump Him Or Demote Him, Or Do Nothing?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It Is Unbelievable How Many Excuses People Can Come Up With For Doing Nothing And Tolerating His Arrogant Bullshit!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Just keep in mind that “Judas Joe” is done in Connecticut in the next election.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Not even a “Miracles Of Biblical” proportions can save him.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He will probably take Dodd down with him, and what does that tell you the folks of Connecticut will be sending to Washington as replacements.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> "</span>The Nutmeg State" is going to be a Midterm Elections war zone!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;">But First!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;">FROM RALPH LOPEZ:<br /><br /><a href="http://ralphlopezworld.com/vince.html">Here it is, the Cliff Notes version of <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Vince Bugliosi's "Prosecution</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=7c65bf2e-bf61-44e4-9b6c-274eee149bf5"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/firedoglake-eddickau-1">Firedoglake</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">We'll find out this week if the Democratic Party will boot Joe Lieberman from its ranks, and we have a chance to help them make the right decision.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Since losing the Connecticut Democratic primary, Senator Lieberman has threatened to leave our ranks and even joined the Republican Convention to attack Barack Obama in a keynote speech. The long and the short of it is that he is no Democrat. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">As such, it's high time the Democratic Caucus took appropriate action and stripped him of his committee chairmanship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Members of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee will be deciding if Lieberman keeps his chairmanship this week, so we need to take to the phones and let them know that we want him out of the caucus.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">To make phone calls to get rid of Joe Lieberman, go here:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://action.firedoglake.com/page/m2/5958d7ed/4590a1d5/6305b1e2/3dc65107/3299641133/VEsH/" target="_blank">http://tools.advomatic.com/7/kickjoe</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Our voices can make a real difference here. The members of the Steering and Outreach Committee know that they can't turn their back on their base. If enough of us take action, we can sway this decision, which may already be leaning our way.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Thank you,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Jane Hamsher, Firedoglake Action<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/Obama-s-First-Big-Mistake-by-Dave-Lindorff-081112-823.html">Obama's First Big Mistake on the Job: Rescuing Sen. Joe Lieberman</a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"> | <i>by <a href="http://www.opednews.com/author/author63.html">Dave Lindorff</a> </i></span> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/article.cfm?aid=10501">The View From CT</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">By Andy Bromage<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">oe Lieberman and Connecticut Democrats have endured a loveless marriage for years, but now the party's filing for divorce.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Three Democrats — George Jepsen of West Hartford, Audrey Blondin of Litchfield and Myrna Watanabe of Harwinton — are circulating a resolution that censures Lieberman for his betrayal of the party, and the Democratic State Central Committee will vote on it next month.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Their logic is simple: Joe's support of McCain/Palin was the final F-You to the party Lieberman's been cheating on for years.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Political analysts get it — the Dems are pissed off — but say removing Lieberman from his committee post would be short-sighted and censuring him would be just "silly."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Lieberman himself met behind closed doors with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid last week to discuss his future, and emerged to tell reporters he's considering his "options."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Here's what Dems and politics watchers are saying about the Lieberman condundrum:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: boldfont-size:11.5pt;">George Jepsen</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><i>Former state Senator, former State Democratic chairman, Ned Lamont campaign chairman<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"It's perfectly appropriate for Connecticut Democrats to express their outrage at the way Joe has conducted himself. [Senate Democrats] should take away his chairmanship. Occasionally in politics you need to do the right thing. Why you'd keep someone in a recognized leadership position who just supported McCain/Palin is beyond me. What does it mean to have a party that tries to forge a cohesive set of ideals and move forward when you reward that kind of incredible behavior?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Audrey Blondin</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Former Litchfield Selectwoman</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Democratic State Central Committee, District 30<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"Joe is no longer a Democrat. He can register Republican, independent, Party of Joe, whatever, but he's making a mockery of the state Democratic Party and somebody needs to say that.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"Absolutely, he should be stripped of the committee chairmanship. How can he retain his leadership position nationally in the Democratic Party? He went in the face of every Democrat across the nation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"We have to look at our potential loss of influence [if Lieberman is removed], but honestly how many times has Joe been back in the state since he ran for president? He's basically been an absent senator. Connecticut has already lost with this."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><br /><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Myrna Watanabe</span><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Harwinton Democratic Town Chair</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Democratic State Central Committee, District 8<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"Joe should be stripped of his chairmanship and basically beyond that, he needs to be ignored. This man was supported by loyal Democrats for what, 20, 30 years? I met people who followed him, who went to New Hampshire and Iowa with him, who supported him before that in all the positions he ran for. He thumbs his nose at all those people.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"Basically, we're impotent. I don't believe we have a recall mechanism. It would be fun, but even if we did, it probably wouldn't fly. Let's put it this way, in terms of talking to people about this [censure] resolution, some people scream and yell and holler, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">I supported Joe against Ned, I had signs on my lawn, I did this and that, I hate his guts, that miserable S.O.B.</span> But they might not vote to censure him."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Ken Dautrich</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Professor of public policy, University of Connecticut<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"It's a big mistake if Harry Reid decides to remove Lieberman from his chairmanship. They don't know when they are going to need him. Typically in off years, the president's party loses [seats in Congress] and they could need him to maintain the majority. They should try to appease Lieberman to the extent possible. The smart thing to do is welcome him back. Not an easy thing to do for politicians who just won a victory and have big egos. The time to impose discipline is when Lieberman is up for re-election and pour loads of money into the Democrat's campaign. Don't do it when he's still a force to be reckoned with.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"There's no real detriment to Connecticut if he loses the chairmanship. We're very well represented in the Congressional delegation with [Sen. Chris] Dodd, and even on the House with Rosa [DeLauro] and [John] Larson. They are really influential. I don't think we'll be spared any pork money or any important influence when it comes to military bases.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"The censure resolution is kind of a gotcha thing.<span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic"> You were a bad boy. Now we're going to punish you.</span> It's silliness and reeks of partisan politics and the kind of negativity that really turns voters off. What gets accomplished through a censure vote? What people care about right now is getting the economy going and a whole bunch of policy issues. They will see it as Democrats spanking Joe Lieberman instead of figuring out problems."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Martha Aasen</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Former Westport Democratic Town Chair</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Democratic State Central Committee, District 26<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"Joe Lieberman said a while ago that he'd like to see a Democratic president of the United States and that's not exactly what he's done. He's not only stood behind John McCain figuratively, but physically. Every time you looked there was Joe Lieberman behind John McCain. You don't go out campaigning for the other side. I don't think he deserves to chair the committee he heads up. But you can't kick someone out of the party. He's a registered Democrat in Stamford. What matters in the Senate is where you are in the pecking order and I don't think he's going to walk out of this unscathed."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">P.S. If you haven't yet, please also sign out petition to the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee: <a href="http://action.firedoglake.com/page/m2/5958d7ed/4590a1d5/6305b1e2/3dc65104/3299641133/VEsE/" target="_blank">http://action.firedoglake.com/page/petition/nomorejoe</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Despite his <a href="http://www.westlifenews.com/2008/10-29/lieberman.html" target="_blank">vigorous support</a> of John McCain’s White House bid, Senate Dems last week let <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/11/lieberman-party.html" target="_blank">Joe Lieberman</a> keep his homeland security <a href="http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002980660&referrer=js" target="_blank">chairmanship</a> for the time being, The <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lieberman-keeps-gavel-for-now-2008-11-06.html" target="_blank">Hill</a></span>’s <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">J. Taylor Rushing</span> relates.“Homeland security needs to be . . . devoid of<a href="http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-lieberman1108.artnov08,0,1521405.story" target="_blank">partisan politics</a>. As an Independent, <a href="http://www.westlifenews.com/2008/10-29/lieberman.html" target="_blank">Sen. Lieberman</a> is just right for that job,” <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><a href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977500984" target="_blank">gather</a></span>’s <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Anthony Del Pellegrino</span> weighs in. “Lieberman, as <a href="http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Home.Home" target="_blank">chairman</a> for the last two years, <a href="http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/lieberman_aide_booting_him_wou.php" target="_blank">barely used</a> his committee to actually explore domestic security policy,”<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_11/015592.php" target="_blank">Washington Monthly</a></span>’s <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Steve Benen</span> counters. “Strip Lieberman of the Homeland Security gavel, but give him <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a97M1ISnxUyg&refer=us" target="_blank">something else</a> — anything that doesn’t deal with security,” <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2008/11/remove_lieberma" target="_blank">Washington Note</a></span>’s <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Steve Clemons</span> counsels.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Feds:</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"> The background of prez-elect Barack Obama’s <a href="http://www.mlive.com/us-politics/index.ssf/2008/10/dems_sketch_obama_staff_cabine.html" target="_blank">pick</a> to head DHS will reveal a lot about how his nascent administration views the <a href="http://www.hstoday.us/content/view/5936/149" target="_blank">future</a> of the troubled agency, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.metimes.com/Security/2008/11/10/analysis_pick_will_show_obama_dhs_vision/f3d3" target="_blank">United Press International</a></span>’s <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Shaun Waterman</span> surveys. <a href="http://www.wittassociates.com/1127.xml" target="_blank">James Lee Witt</a>, “the man that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/10/national/nationalspecial/10witt.html" target="_blank">Bill Clinton</a> credited with turning around FEMA, may get a shot at doing the same thing with [DHS],” The <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AR_OBAMA_WITT_AROL-?SITE=ARMOU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT" target="_blank">Associated Press</a></span>’ <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Andrew DeMillo</span> mentions. A veteran <a href="http://www.delrionewsherald.com/story.lasso?ewcd=8a8f5dd3d4fde0e5" target="_blank">Customs inspector</a> arrested in Texas helped traffickers smuggle in about 3,000 pounds of cocaine over five years, The <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/us/10dea.html?ref=us" target="_blank">New York Times</a></span>’ <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Andrew Becker</span> cites from an <a href="http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/press_releases/2008/Leija_Ind_DR.pdf" target="_blank">indictment</a>. The <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2004/03/02_402a.html" target="_blank">victim</a> of a 2003 terror strike in <a href="http://andreasharsono.blogspot.com/2007/01/murder-at-mile-63-part-two.html" target="_blank">Indonesia</a>, has joined the federal government in a role that allows her to help other victims of overseas attacks, The<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/07/AR2008110702249.html?hpid=topnews" target="_blank">Washington Post</a></span>’s <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Carrie Johnson </span>recounts.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">In transition: </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">“This subject is borderline taboo, but I don’t think I was the only one momentarily gripped by <a href="http://voices.kansascity.com/node/2674" target="_blank">terror</a> when Obama walked on to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/04/obama-victory-speech_n_141194.html" target="_blank">that stage</a> in Chicago” last Tuesday night, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/10/AR2008111002480.html" target="_blank">Post</a></span> columnist <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Anne Applebaum</span> writes — as The <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/11/obama_street_fortified_hyde_pa.html" target="_blank">Chicago Sun-Times</a></span> notes the Secret Service barriers now surrounding the prez-elect’s <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/08/content_10327750.htm" target="_blank">Hyde Park home</a>. “DHS has been <a href="http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40338&ref=rellink" target="_blank">preparing</a> for the change in administrations for the past 18 months . . . , <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/11/06/dhs_secretary_chertoff_outline.html" target="_blank">naming</a> career employees to fill the No. 2 or No. 3 spots in every division,” <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96827904" target="_blank">NPR</a></span>’s <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Pam Fessler</span> spotlights. “The Bush administration had <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2001/0404governance_light.aspx" target="_blank">only 30 percent</a> of its national security appointees in place nearly <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011221-2.html" target="_blank">eight months</a> after inauguration. In these times, such a lapse should not be repeated,” Clinton transition chief<a href="http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/biographies/christopher.html" target="_blank">Warren Christopher</a> recommends in the <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-christopher6-2008nov06,0,4471674.story" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times</a></span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;">Taking A Break I’d Just Like To Show You What Some Of The Money That The Musch Maligned George ($oro$) Soros Does In This World!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;">CLICK BELOW<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www3.soros.org/sandbox/MW14/#pageTop"><span style=" mso-no-proof:yes;text-decoration:none;text-underline:nonecolor:windowtext;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="75" preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:formulas> <v:path extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" connecttype="rect"> <o:lock ext="edit" aspectratio="t"> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_26" spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://www3.soros.org/sandbox/MW14/images/thumb-georgiou.jpg" style="'width:85.5pt;" button="t"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Ed\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg" title="thumb-georgiou"> </v:shape><![endif]--><img border="0" width="114" height="157" src="file:///C:/Users/Ed/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.jpg" alt="http://www3.soros.org/sandbox/MW14/images/thumb-georgiou.jpg" shapes="Picture_x0020_26" /></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;">NEAT SURPRISE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/movingwalls">http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/movingwalls</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www3.soros.org/sandbox/MW14/#pageTop">http://www3.soros.org/sandbox/MW14/#pageTop</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;">And Now In Other News!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-color:#B6DDE8; mso-thememso-themetint:102font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:accent5;"><a href="http://donklephant.com/2008/11/11/the-bailouts-just-keep-coming/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint: 102color:accent5;">The Bailouts Just Keep Coming</span></a><br /></span><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:#7030A0;">Donklephant - USA</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=aeaac780-8d34-464e-a9a8-aa2b1950ebcc"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/donklephant-blog-archive-the-bailouts-just">Donklephant<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>» Blog Archive<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>» The Bailouts Just</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint:102; mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;color:accent5;"><a href="http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/111208.html"><span style="color:#B6DDE8; mso-thememso-themetint:102color:accent5;">The Danger of Keeping Robert Gates</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br />According to press reports, President-elect Obama is considering keeping on Defense Secretary Robert Gates, but Obama first might want to examine Gates's record, writes Robert Parry. November 13, 2008<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=57f00520-eae0-4ed0-8ff0-1fd062532f97"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/consortiumnewscom">Consortiumnews.com</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-color:#B6DDE8;mso-theme mso-themetint:102font-family:Arial;font-size:11.5pt;color:accent5;"><a href="http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/obama-team-taps.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint: 102color:accent5;">Obama Team Taps Venture Capitalist And Tech Company Execs To<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">...</span></span></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-color:#B6DDE8;mso-theme mso-themetint:102font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;color:accent5;">Wired News - USA<br /></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Terrell previously worked for Vice-President Elect Joe Biden's staff on the Senate<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Judiciary Committee</span>, where she worked on criminal sentencing,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">...</span><span style="color:#500050;"><br /></span><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint:102color:accent5;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/obama-team-taps.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint: 102color:accent5;">See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%;color:#B6DDE8; mso-thememso-themetint:102font-size:11.5pt;color:accent5;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-color:#B6DDE8;mso-theme mso-themetint:102font-family:Arial;font-size:11.5pt;color:accent5;"><a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/11/12/obama_announces_agency_review.html?hpid=topnews" target="_blank"><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint: 102color:accent5;">Agency Review Teams</span></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-color:#B6DDE8;mso-theme mso-themetint:102font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;color:accent5;">Washington Post - United States<br /></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">Louisa was Deputy Chief of Staff for Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Previously, Louisa was counsel for Senator Biden on his Senate<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Judiciary Committee</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>staff<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">...</span><br /><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint:102color:accent5;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/11/12/obama_announces_agency_review.html%3Fhpid%3Dtopnews" target="_blank"><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint: 102color:accent5;">See all stories on this topic</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint:102font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;color:accent5;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-color:#B6DDE8;mso-theme mso-themetint:102font-family:Arial;font-size:11.5pt;color:accent5;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/what-doesnt-kill-the-far_b_143398.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:#B6DDE8;mso-thememso-themetint: 102color:accent5;">What Doesn't Kill The Far-right Only Makes Them Crazier</span></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-color:#B6DDE8;mso-theme mso-themetint:102font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;color:accent5;">Huffington Post - New York,NY,USA<br /></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;">The obvious intention here is to cobble together an abuse of power meme against President-elect Obama, despite President<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Bush</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and Vice President<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Cheney</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">...<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-family:Arial;font-size:10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122646150211820091.html">WASHINGTON</a> -- The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday will release a sweeping proposal to overhaul the health-care system that largely reflects President-elect Barack Obama's vision, increasing the chances for action next year.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">There is one important difference between the initiative coming from Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus and the plan Mr. Obama laid out during his presidential campaign: Mr. Baucus would require all Americans to have health insurance, while Mr. Obama has rejected the idea of a mandate.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops:265.4pt"><span style=" line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aatlky_cH.tY&refer=home">Bloomberg Federal Reserve Transparency Suit</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops:265.4pt"><span style=" line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="line-height:115%; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=a3yAuZ.McV3I">Bear Stearns Risk Manager to Guard New Henhouse: Caroline Baum </a></span></b><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Commentary by Caroline Baum<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Let’s say you were the chief risk officer of the former Bear Stearns Cos. in the two years preceding the bank’s collapse in March.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">And let’s say, just for argument’s sake, that the postmortems revealed Bear to have had too much risk and too little management of it. The only way JPMorgan Chase & Co. would agree to acquire Bear was with a $29 billion sweetener from the Federal Reserve for some of the less-palatable assets.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Following the acquisition of Bear Stearns by JPMorgan, you would expect said chief risk officer to:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">a) Retire quietly to his country home;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">b) Open a “consulting” business, allowing him to deduct the costs of a home office at the country home;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">c) Land a plum job offer from another Wall Street bank;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">d) Land a job as a bank supervisor at the Federal Reserve.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">If you picked a, b or c, you would be incorrect. The correct answer is d.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Michael+Alix&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1"><b>Michael Alix</b></a>, chief risk officer at Bear Stearns from 2006 until its demise in March, was <a href="http://www.ny.frb.org/newsevents/news/aboutthefed/2008/oa081031.html" target="_blank"><b>named</b></a> senior vice president in the Bank Supervision Group of the New York Fed on Oct. 31.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">It’s not unusual for Wall Street to reward its own, offering rogue traders -- the ones who escape criminal prosecution -- new jobs at different firms. But the Fed? At a time when its balance sheet is <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=FARBAST%3AIND"><b>exploding</b></a> with increasingly risky <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=.TSY%2FFED%3AIND"><b>assets</b></a>?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Losing a big wad of money is something of a badge of honor on Wall Street, a sign of being a “player.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Second-Act Poster Boys<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Who can forget <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Howie+Rubin&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1"><b>Howie Rubin</b></a>, who lost $377 million for Merrill Lynch & Co. in 1987 stripping mortgage-backed securities into IOs and POs (for “interest-only” and “principal-only”). Rubin sold the IOs, stuffed the POs into his desk, according to press reports at that time (apocryphal accounts, according to <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Michael+Lewis&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1"><b>Michael Lewis</b></a> in “Liar’s Poker”), and took a bath on the POs when interest rates rose, auguring a slowdown in prepayments.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">It was the largest loss on a single trade in history at that time.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Rubin, a graduate of Salomon Brothers’ vaunted arbitrage desk, was fired by Merrill, only to surface a few months later at Bear Stearns Cos., where he built a <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=.MBS%3AIND"><b>mortgage-trading</b></a> powerhouse.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">While we’re on the subject of Salomon, <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=John+Meriwether&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1"><b>John Meriwether</b></a> is the poster boy for second acts on Wall Street. Long-Term Capital Management lost $4 billion on arbitrage trades in 1998 -- another once-in-a-century event -- necessitating a Fed-orchestrated capital infusion of $3.6 billion from Wall Street’s big banks.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">A year later, Meriwether was back, opening JWM Partners with $250 million in capital.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Rogues’ Gallery<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Some rogue traders find life after Wall Street, reinventing and retooling themselves for other métiers. <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Nick+Leeson&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1"><b>Nick Leeson</b></a>, who brought down Barings Plc, Britain’s oldest bank, in 1995 with a $1.4 billion trading loss, served 3 1/2 years of a 6 1/2 year sentence in a Singapore jail for fraud. He went on to earn a degree in psychology, open a gallery, write two books, join the Galway United football organization, become its chief executive and trade for his own account.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Leeson is also available, for a fee, to share his wisdom on all things financial, not to mention insights into the psychological profile of fellow members of the rogues’ gallery, such as <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Jerome+Kerviel&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1"><b>Jerome Kerviel</b></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Kerviel, you will recall, was a low-level employee at Societe Generale who managed to lose 4.9 billion euros (the equivalent of $7.2 billion at the time) earlier this year on “unauthorized” trades in European stock-index futures.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">After a short, pretrial jail stay, Kerviel was hired in April by Lemaire Consultants & Associates, a French firm specializing in computer security.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Inside Information<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">The parallels to Alix’s employment as a senior adviser in the New York Fed’s Bank Supervisor Group are obvious. Kerviel’s edge, if you can call it that, was his familiarity with back- office risk-management systems, enabling him to evade risk controls.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">In other words, if you want a crack IT person, hire a computer hacker. Similarly, if you want to know what shenanigans the banks are up to, hire someone with first-hand experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Now, I don’t know Mr. Alix. Neither he nor the New York Fed would comment on his employment, which was bound to raise eyebrows.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">“He may have discovered things internally, and no one listened to him,” says <a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Charles+Elson&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1"><b>Charles Elson</b></a>, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware in Newark.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">In other words, Alix and his team may have done their jobs splendidly, using sophisticated models to predict potential losses. If traders and portfolio managers used pie-in-the-sky prices for complex derivatives or chose to disregard the risk- managers’ advice, the result is what we’re witnessing now.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Employer of Last Resort<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Why not avoid the publicity and let Blackrock hire him? Blackrock Financial Management Inc. was <a href="http://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/markets/2008/rp080324.html" target="_blank"><b>retained</b></a> by the New York Fed to manage the portfolio of Bear Stearns’s former assets.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">“Maybe the Fed has better benefits,” Elson says.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">Or look at it another way. Wall Street isn’t hiring. The Fed, which has assumed Wall Street’s traditional role of allocating credit, may be the only game in town.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">(<a href="http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Caroline+Baum&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1"><b>Caroline Baum</b></a>, author of “Just What I Said,” is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;">To contact the writer of this column: Caroline Baum in New York at<a href="mailto:cabaum@bloomberg.net"><b>cabaum@bloomberg.net</b></a>.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-40466475423957210672008-11-11T20:21:00.000-08:002008-11-11T20:27:47.613-08:00Let’s Take A Look At Things From A Little Different Perspective Intellectually and Culturally; Meaning Not The Main Stream Media Mental Midgets<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BpgPcN_ScbU3Xx9FqRaNUngKThyphenhyphen8czXUx4c7vfRRy0s12abCY1hLGRPsq8GajJEYFTF-vjrpSopY5csslQqkngL1y3A9apDkG0ybQ5c-CTLzgqtpEZNqY4H4C2lQV6nwM_RevfDeSIQ/s1600-h/intro.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BpgPcN_ScbU3Xx9FqRaNUngKThyphenhyphen8czXUx4c7vfRRy0s12abCY1hLGRPsq8GajJEYFTF-vjrpSopY5csslQqkngL1y3A9apDkG0ybQ5c-CTLzgqtpEZNqY4H4C2lQV6nwM_RevfDeSIQ/s400/intro.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267621622194248866" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%"><o:p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Let’s Take A Look At Things From A Little Different Perspective Intellectually and Culturally; Meaning Not The Main Stream Media Mental Midgets And Their </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablum"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Verbal Lint Propaganda Pabulum</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">.</span></span></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%"><a href="http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2767">Pakistan and Afghanistan Are Moving Backwards!</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">More US missile strikes kill civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Pakistani President Asif Ali Zadari stated on Monday that Pakistan is succeeding in its fight against Islamic extremists. Since August, the United States has launched at least 18 missile strikes on militant targets from unmanned drones killing innocent civilians and angering local Pakistanis. Meanwhile in Afghanistan 14 people were killed on Sunday after US coalition forces fired on their car. A US military spokesman, alleged the men were militants who opened fire on approaching soldiers after their car had been stopped. A claim disputed by the provincial governor who stated the men were civilian workers and not militants. IPS journalist Anand Gopal believes "that both countries are moving backwards."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" width="450" height="319"><param name="width" value="400"><param name="height" value="319"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vUsq-jkkyCo&fs=1&rel=1"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/vUsq-jkkyCo&fs=1&hl=en" width="400" height="319" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%"><a href="http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2754">Obama's Foreign Policy Challenge</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height: 115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Eric Margolis: Bush admin has left Obama an international 'mess', with Russia at the top of the list<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">After news of Barack Obama's electoral victory on Tuesday night, celebrations were seen worldwide and international leaders were falling over themselves to issue statements of approval. Eric Margolis believes that that reaction is fueled by the view that the Bush administration has created a mess that the world hopes Obama can rectify. In the first part of our interview, former GOP supporter Margolis explains why he is "elated" by Obama's victory and dismayed with his former party. Margolis outlines his belief that Obama's biggest challenge will not be in confronting non-state actors like Al Qaeda, but rather in deescalating the heightening tension with Russia which the Bush Administration has created with a series of recent provocations. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%">Secondly, he will have to put forward a consistent position on relations with China, something that Bush has yet to do despite China's meteoric rise in international influence during his tenure. With respect to the economic crisis' impact on US foreign policy, Margolis offers that US power is projected to a greater extent through its dollar, as expressed through the strategic funding of allies within foreign countries, than through its military. As such, the US will have to acclimatize itself to a reduced level of influence in the world if the economy does not recover.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" width="400" height="319"><param name="width" value="450"><param name="height" value="319"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZN0qZv7ozHg&fs=1&rel=1"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/ZN0qZv7ozHg&fs=1&hl=en" width="400" height="319" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><a href="http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2772">Miriam Makeba dies aged 76: The South African singer and anti-apartheid campaigner dies in Italy after performing a concert</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">The $700b bailout :<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/11/11/the_700b_bailout/">With $40b spent on AIG stock, half of funds are accounted for. Who will get what is left?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.bushagenda.net/article.php?list=type&type=44">The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry, and What We Must Do To Stop It</a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><br />by Antonia Juhasz > 2008-10-07 > HarperCollins | Finally, the inside story on Big Oil. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=872ffc54-7fd8-41fd-91cb-f3c15567b854"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/antonia-juhasz-the-bush-agendaindex">Antonia Juhasz - The Bush Agenda : Index</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=bc7c679f-6e45-48f9-9538-7aa59a158735"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/afrospear-in-the-news-eddickau">AfroSpear in the News</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=d447993f-48a7-496a-bab5-5874abdb572d"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/alex-constantines-blacklist-bush-replaced-rex84">Alex Constantine's Blacklist: Bush Replaced REX84</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=78c73f53-ef67-409a-bbe7-cc5254c5c8d7"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/antifascist-calling-democracy-or-police-state">Antifascist Calling...: Democracy or Police State</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=ae4f2cd6-ab77-479a-8f6d-02ab3b39c660"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/blogs-black-talk-radio-network">Blogs - Black Talk Radio Network</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=b74d048f-bc61-401b-ac4a-f47f447aff1a"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/chomskyinfo-news-and-reports">chomsky.info : News and Reports</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">Click To Open <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/">Then Click On English</a> Please!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=4c03f898-9d46-4da2-ae7e-c6667b7dc8fb"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/international-spiegel-online-nachrichten">International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><a href="http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/10/should-the-us-attack-al-qaeda-without-permission/" title="Permanent Link: Should the U.S. attack al Qaeda without permission?">Should the U.S. attack al Qaeda without permission?</a></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"> (<a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/11/10/sot.cafferty.file.monday.cnn?iref=videosearch">More</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt; line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><script src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/js/2.0/video/evp/module.js?loc=dom&vid=/video/politics/2008/11/10/sot.cafferty.file.monday.cnn" type="text/javascript"></script><noscript>Embedded video from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video">CNN Video</a></noscript></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-45426207089406715522008-11-11T18:14:00.000-08:002008-11-11T18:42:21.397-08:00"Family Angel" Beth Ann Kucinich Joins The Angels” (Plus Other Matters Of The Day)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibqx5I5iDpY7WOU_ikEUnGBnmn2gJny3TYtVDqhoMZslrTPoxeRxv-3-CfUccDIo0jQqy7kCZVSkZN4npO4fLyShcvybVEGoplcw_J6eDXK68mX0JhRkPXlozs-96dlTi4Ms4RBNpnpc0/s1600-h/dome.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibqx5I5iDpY7WOU_ikEUnGBnmn2gJny3TYtVDqhoMZslrTPoxeRxv-3-CfUccDIo0jQqy7kCZVSkZN4npO4fLyShcvybVEGoplcw_J6eDXK68mX0JhRkPXlozs-96dlTi4Ms4RBNpnpc0/s400/dome.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267592485930596050" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> "Family Angel" Beth Ann Kucinich Joins The Angels”</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">(Plus Other Matters Of The Day)</span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Congressman Dennis Kucinich's youngest sister, Beth Ann, passed away today.</span> </span></span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></i></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:130%;">Please keep her and the Kucinich family in your prayers and in your hearts.</span><br /><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238);font-size:100%;" ><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdAYA2vC3DU7aUHvMOtW7iMofGNAEi3OujOtvK2HbND-qI3lqlmJEMR5mpxxr9hzNuhAZl8UBvIUSlYQkMtmT9H7FPQerIlSnimJib3crU_qsl4J1DwMnLxyxe_X9n43F19XXhmeYTuTU/s400/beth2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267591517688590290" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 103px; height: 200px;" border="0" /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> CLEVELAND, OH (Tues. Nov. 11) - Proud Army Veteran, Beth Ann Kucinich, beloved youngest sister of Congressman Dennis Kucinich, died today, Veteran's Day, at Veteran's Hospital in Cleveland, after a battle with acute respiratory distress syndrome. She was 48 years old.</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Her family was at her side throughout the three week ordeal, as she struggled to survive while on life support.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Beth Ann Kucinich served in the US Army at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. A talented musician as well as an artist, she sold many of her works of art to her fellow veterans at the Brecksville Veterans Center. Her specialty was drawing famous cartoon characters for friends and loved ones on special occasions.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">An avid heavy metal fan, she attended many local area concerts and practiced her own music with a guitar, with an extraordinary impression of Janis Joplin.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">"She was pure love. Every action, every sentiment, every piece of art, every word she spoke was an expression of love. Beth Ann was our family's angel, our 'Heavy Metal Angel', said her eldest brother Dennis.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">"Our brother, Perry, passed away last December. Beth Ann never got over Perry's sudden passing. The two had been inseparable. She talked about Perry constantly and she longed to be with him," Dennis said.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span">She was the beloved mother of Asher; treasured sister of Dennis, Frank, Gary, Teresa, Larry, and the late Perry Kucinich; and dear aunt and a great aunt.</span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The Kucinich family will receive visitors at Golubski Funeral Home, 6500 Fullerton Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday, November 12, 4pm to 9pm, and on Thursday from 9:30 am until 11:00. The funeral service will begin at 11:00 am, with interment at Calvary Cemetery</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The Re-Elect Congressman Kucinich Committee</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.newburyportnews.com/puopinion/local_story_315223544.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span">Not too late to </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span">impeach</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span"> Bush, others</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />It is time to </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span">impeach</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span"> the not-yet-convicted felons occupying the White House. Their term is not over. This must be accomplished before George Bush pardons himself and everyone else who has done his bidding over the last eight years.<br /></span><a href="http://www.newburyportnews.com/" target="_blank" title="http://www.newburyportnews.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport,... - http://www.newburyportnews.com/</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://newscottage.blogspot.com/2008/11/bush-cheney-guilty-of-war-crimes.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span class="Apple-style-span">'</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span">Bush</span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" class="Apple-style-span">, </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span">Cheney</span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" class="Apple-style-span"> guilty of war crimes'</span></span></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span">By Bobbi Lea(Bobbi Lea)</span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />Mukasey, saying outgoing President George W.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Bush</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">and Vice President Dick</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Cheney</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">should be taken accountable for treason, murder, bribery and other high crimes. "This is not about getting them out of office, that's</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">impeachment</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">...</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><a href="http://newscottage.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="http://newscottage.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">News Cottage - http://newscottage.blogspot.com/</span></span></span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/2008/11/ipeachment-is-still-on-our-table-george.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><span class="Apple-style-span">Impeachment Is Still On Our Table: George Bush, The Most Unpopular </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span">...</span></b></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">By Ed. Dickau(Ed. Dickau)</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">"This is not about getting them out of office, that's</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span">impeachment</span></span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">. This is about holding them accountable," said David Swanson, the founder of After Downing Street (ADS). On the way to the department, the crowd, however, was stopped by</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span">...</span></span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span">The Impeachment Hearing Room - http://theimpeachmenthearingroom.blogspot.com/</span></span></a></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=5282a9c5-6c3b-4ee2-a3fd-137ab0c8ae38"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/news-cottage-bush-cheney-guilty-of-war-crimes">News Cottage: 'Bush, Cheney guilty of war crimes'</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The </span><a href="http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=secret+service&cs=bz"><span class="Apple-style-span">Secret Service</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> takes a lot of risks for the first family. So it's only fair that the agency gets the honor of coming up with code names for the president-elect and his family. Various sources within the Buzz recently revealed the not-so-secret nicknames.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Mr. Obama will be known as "</span><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-obama_code_names_bdnov09,0,7865884.story"><span class="Apple-style-span">Renegade</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span">" (move over, </span><a href="http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=lorenzo+lamas+renegade&cs=bz"><span class="Apple-style-span">Lorenzo Lamas</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span">). Michelle, a woman of many talents, will be referred to as "Renaissance." Malia Obama's name will be "Radiance," while little sister Sasha's will be "Rosebud."</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">And what of the Bidens? We were hoping the Secret Service would stick to the "R" theme and dub Joe "Rogaine." Alas, his name will be "</span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/10/obama-family-secret-servi_n_142767.html"><span class="Apple-style-span">Celtic</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span">." His wife Jill will be "Capri." A bit boring, but hey, nobody asked us for our opinion.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Too bad, because while we don't have the power to assign nicknames to the world's most powerful family, we </span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span">can</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> dig up the most popular nicknames in Search. Here they are below for your enjoyment. And if you have your own ideas for code names for the future first family, chime in below. </span><a href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92024/?fp=1"><span class="Apple-style-span">Buzz Log, over and out.</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span">Maybe There Is Something We Can Learn Here!</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><object height="349" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/o6afSVtSuF4&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/o6afSVtSuF4&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="349" width="400"></embed></object><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">A Quiet Windfall For U.S. Banks</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/09/AR2008110902155.html"><span class="Apple-style-span">With Attention on Bailout Debate, Treasury Made Change to Tax Policy</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><a href="http://www.sphere.com/search?q=sphereit:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/09/AR2008110902155.html" title="Related Blogs & Articles"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span">Links to this article</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">By </span><a href="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/amit+r.+paley/" title="Send an e-mail to Amit R. Paley"><span class="Apple-style-span">Amit R. Paley</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Washington Post Staff Writer<br />Monday, November 10, 2008; Page A01</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The financial world was fixated on </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Capitol+Hill?tid=informline"><span class="Apple-style-span">Capitol Hill</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> as Congress battled over the Bush administration's request for a $700 billion bailout of the banking industry. In the midst of this late-September drama, </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/U.S.+Department+of+the+Treasury?tid=informline"><span class="Apple-style-span">the Treasury Department</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> issued a five-sentence notice that attracted almost no public attention.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">But corporate tax lawyers quickly realized the enormous implications of the document: Administration officials had just given American banks a windfall of as much as $140 billion.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The sweeping change to two decades of tax policy escaped the notice of lawmakers for several days, as they remained consumed with the controversial bailout bill. When they found out, some legislators were furious. Some congressional staff members have privately concluded that the notice was illegal. But they have worried that saying so publicly could unravel several recent bank mergers made possible by the change and send the economy into an even deeper tailspin.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">"Did the Treasury Department have the authority to do this? I think almost every tax expert would agree that the answer is no," said George K. Yin, the former chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the nonpartisan congressional authority on taxes. "They basically repealed a 22-year-old law that Congress passed as a backdoor way of providing aid to banks." (</span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/09/AR2008110902155.html"><span class="Apple-style-span">More, Much More…)</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=59a8050b-01bd-4384-be56-7944538319be"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/citizens-for-legitimate-government-in-eddickau-1">Citizens for Legitimate Government - Index</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=3033ef50-29c1-4a4b-baa1-61a13a20c396"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/impeachment-podcast-conversations-and-eddickau-1">Impeachment Podcast-Conversations and Commentary</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><a href="http://liebermanmustgo.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span">http://liebermanmustgo.com/</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=d99b04b8-adbd-4283-8192-9bcb1ded6c5e"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/robert-greenwalds-brave-new-films-eddickau-1">Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><object height="349" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AfJunZu22VU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AfJunZu22VU&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="349" width="400"></embed></object><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/11/11/obama_supports_keeping_lieberm.html"><span class="Apple-style-span">http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/11/11/obama_supports_keeping_lieberm.html</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=dae3eb75-18e8-4a8a-b91c-f444e5cdacbf"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-nation-unconventional-wisdom-since-1865">The Nation | Unconventional Wisdom Since 1865</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">What a week! Has it sunk in yet? In 70 days, President-elect Obama (!) will take office and kick off a new era. For the first time in over a decade, we'll have a Democratic President, House and Senate. This is our chance to </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span">undo the damage of the past eight years and move America in a fundamentally new direction.</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><br />That's why </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span">your voice is so important</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">. What are your top priorities for the new administration? Your decisions will inform our planning for the next seventy days and beyond, so please take a minute and </span><a href="http://act.truemajority.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=XIaTCGj8HF1Quivef1%2B%2B69e3GJMhXp89" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span">vote</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span">.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://act.truemajority.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=EQdEcRqvtK1Quivef1%2B%2B69e3GJMhXp89" target="_blank"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">CLICK HERE TO VOTE RIGHT NOW</span></b></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Over the past 12 months, we've led in moving the progressive agenda forward. Our Million Doors for Peace day of action brought attention back to Iraq, and we opposed the crazy march to war against Iran with our traveling Iran Mobile. We led the fight against telecom immunity and rallied against the Wall Street Bailout. YOU have shown the power of TrueMajority members to stand up and </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span">shape the progressive agenda.</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Now, we are going to have a lot to do: passing health care for all, increasing energy independence, ending the war in Iraq, and restoring the constitution. But, </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span">we can't act without you.</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" href="http://act.truemajority.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=koIQS3S%2BlTFQuivef1%2B%2B69e3GJMhXp89" target="_blank"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">VOTE ON YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT NOW</span></span></b></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" href="http://act.truemajority.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=koIQS3S%2BlTFQuivef1%2B%2B69e3GJMhXp89" target="_blank"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"></span></span></b></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">After you vote, I'll be following up in the next few days to hear more about why you voted the way you did and about any other priorities you have for our work in the next year. So </span><a href="http://act.truemajority.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=42H3nvXbch1Quivef1%2B%2B69e3GJMhXp89" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span">vote right now</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span">.</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Let's move this country forward,</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">-Ilya<br /><br />Ilya Sheyman<br />Online Organizer</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);" href="http://www.theweek.com/article/index/90570/3/Make_my_decade" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">'Make my decade'</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The Week Magazine - USA<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">He cites a pointed observation by retiring Congressman Tom Davis of Virginia—a capable legislator denied a chance even to run in a Republican Senate</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">primary</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">...</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(182, 221, 232);"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.theweek.com/article/index/90570/3/Make_my_decade" target="_blank"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span">See all stories on this topic</span></span></a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span">'Make my decade'</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Across the post-election landscape, Republicans have called for a reappraisal of the party’s relevance and rationale. A tide of blue has left few red enclaves outside the Great Plains and the deep South, with even North Carolina and Virginia falling to the Democrats. Predictably, conservative true believers favor a move even farther right. However, pragmatists and some influential conservative commentators have concluded that threadbare condemnations of liberalism, hollow attacks on “unpatriotic” Democrats, and ritualistic charges about “class warfare” and tax increases are the residue of a bygone era. These Republicans envision a broader reach to suburban, younger, and minority voters. </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><br />While the post-mortems on the death of the Reagan-Bush era differ, they have one feature in common: Everyone seems to agree that something must be done. </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><br />Except </span><a href="http://www.theweek.com/article/index/90507/3/The_GOPs_brand_equity"><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Shrum</span></b></a><span class="Apple-style-span">. He cites a pointed observation by retiring Congressman Tom Davis of Virginia—a capable legislator denied a chance even to run in a Republican Senate primary because he bears the non-scarlet letter of moderation. Davis said the Republican brand is so discredited that “if we were a dog food, they would take us off the shelf.” So far, so good. But Frum immediately pivots to an improbable celebration of the “robust . . . market share” McCain won as a foundation for the Republican future. Frum’s silver lining has a lot of clouds, political and otherwise.</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><br />First, the political front: Frum inches up McCain’s share of the vote from 46 to 47 percent, apparently to enable a slightly favorable comparison with Michael Dukakis’s performance in what Frum calls “the not-so-bad Democratic year of 1988.” This is the first time I’ve read that doing as well as Dukakis is an encouraging sign. </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><br />If the popular vote is Frum’s preferred metric, then perhaps he should note that Barack Obama secured the second highest percentage of any first term President since Dwight Eisenhower—higher than Reagan’s total in the realigning year of 1980. Frum focuses instead on a racial booby prize: McCain’s lead in “the white vote.” But the trend here is all wrong for Republicans. Obama increased the Democratic share among white voters by seven percent in Ohio; 15 percent in Virginia; 17 percent in North Carolina; and an astounding 22 percent in Indiana—where he actually carried white working-class voters.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />At the same time, Hispanic support for Republicans collapsed, a seismic shift triggered by the party’s scarring (and scary) rhetoric during the immigration debate. The fallout here has only begun. Within a few years, Texas, where Obama captured 44 percent of the vote without campaigning, is likely to change from red to blue. </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><br />So Shrum’s forensic analysis offers Republicans little more than demographic doom, ignoring altogether another, potentially decisive, trend—that younger white voters went heavily for Obama. Even worse, his recommendations would further disgrace the party of Lincoln, which, in effect, he proposes should become even more the party of Rove. </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><br />How would Frum mobilize what he calls the Republicans’ “residual assets” (and what others less charitably call the Republican “rump”)?</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><br />First, appeal to “nationalism.” Shrum describes the exuberant reaction to Obama’s victory in Kenya and decides that Americans might ask: “Who is this guy working for anyway?” This is ridiculous. Election night here brought outpourings of relief and happiness everywhere, not only in Asia and Africa but across Europe, Canada and, most significantly, these United States. Is an American President only supposed to be popular in majority-white nations? Or is he or she perhaps only supposed to be white? </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><br />Second, Shrum advises Republicans to go after Democrats as the party of “affirmative action” and “the racial spoils system.” He puts an edge on this recipe for backlash politics by positing Republicans as the true representatives of “American indigenous culture.” (Who knew they represented Native Americans?) He pictures Obama as someone who “offers a very different vision of what it means to be an American.” Incredibly, amid the dismal gloom of President Bush’s poll ratings, Frum concludes that Bush is seen by Americans as “more authentically their own.” This is exactly the stereotype of “the real America” that failed disastrously in the campaign and left John McCain’s reputation in the bargain bin. </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /><br />Shrum does pay lip service to the idea that Republicans need “new policies and a new tone.” But he would marry these to base appeals that would again lead the Republicans down the dirt road to defeat.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />When I heard McCain’s graceful concession speech last Tuesday, I thought: Where has that guy been for the past few months? The McCain of election night would have been better for America—and he would have had a better chance to win American votes, indigenous or otherwise. Something like that is what a lot of Republicans are thinking and saying now. But are there enough of them to pull the party back from the brink? Instead, the party very well may follow Frum’s advice. If I were to put politics—and not country—first, my reaction would be this: Go ahead. Make my decade.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span">- Robert M. Shrum</span></span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> has been a senior adviser to the Gore 2000 presidential campaign, the campaign of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and the British Labour Party. In addition to being the chief strategist for the 2004 Kerry-Edwards campaign, Shrum has advised thirty winning U.S. Senate campaigns; eight winning campaigns for governor; mayors of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and other major cities; and the Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. Shrum's writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times , The New York Times , The New Republic , Slate , and other publications. The author of </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/No-Excuses-Concessions-Serial-Campaigner/dp/0743296516" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span">No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"> (Simon and Schuster), he is currently a Senior Fellow at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Shrum is an idiot past his prime and out of touch with the times.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">He is done and considered a boring wind bag with an inflated resume.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><a href="http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/11/poll-crashers-tilt-unscientific-polls-their-way311.html"><span class="Apple-style-span">Poll Crashers Tilt Unscientific Polls Their Way</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=867cdd31-582b-45bd-81f4-3a062562295e"></script><noscript><span style="font-size:100%;">Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/mediashift-poll-crashers-tilt-unscientific-poll">MediaShift . Poll Crashers Tilt Unscientific Poll</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</span></noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-53426864097414340662008-11-11T06:02:00.001-08:002008-11-11T06:08:58.537-08:00Impeachment Is Still On Our Table: George Bush, The Most Unpopular President Since The US Was Founded<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jeqxAWGeN9jlXrqdKy3h-S750iYYCApO-cZ-EhIURkDpYArsALbgear-ErpvqwifMa1uv5gDGp8IkbQsE5l8hr4h_qQS7eaKNMZoIjyxvIBYE_SP9Ebzr8c9uzFTI85lSEfoB-XIdeM/s1600-h/imbc.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jeqxAWGeN9jlXrqdKy3h-S750iYYCApO-cZ-EhIURkDpYArsALbgear-ErpvqwifMa1uv5gDGp8IkbQsE5l8hr4h_qQS7eaKNMZoIjyxvIBYE_SP9Ebzr8c9uzFTI85lSEfoB-XIdeM/s400/imbc.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267400063028156626" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal"><span style=""><a href="http://www.politicalcortex.com/story/2008/11/10/235626/28" target="_blank"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">George Bush, The Most Unpopular President Since The US Was Founded</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=78ebd58c-ed5f-46ed-be2f-6b0946b33406"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/political-cortex-george-bush-the-most-unpopular">Political Cortex: George Bush, the Most Unpopular</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jaron-lanier/a-geeky-side-of-bushs-leg_b_142383.html" title="Permalink"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A Geeky Side of Bush's Legacy that Must Be Overcome</span></a></span><span style="line-height:115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height:115%;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Part of the project of climbing out of the deep, deep pit George W. Bush tossed our nation into has a geeky quality. We need to learn to stop using computers to lie to ourselves.<br /><br />You don't need me to point out the Bush years were poisoned by illusions. We loan-sharked ourselves, pretended New Orleans was dry, and invaded the wrong country. <br /><br />But take a moment to notice how we all succumbed to the process of wasting the precious time we have on this Earth in order to enter stultifying lies into computers in order to make Bush's illusions seem real. <br /><br />During the Bush years a great many Americans -- perhaps most -- and in every walk of life spent an astounding amount of time entering phony data into information systems in an attempt to enforce some illusion or another declared from above. Every era has its illusions, of course, but the Bush years brought an unprecedented level of tedium to the process of illusion coaching.<br /><br />One thing that was weird about the Bush era was the ritualistic "make work" quality of the tedium everyone had to endure. For example, Chief Financial Officers reshaped companies to generate mountains of hard disks filled with Sarbanes-Oxley documentation, while at the same time buying up preposterous mortgage-backed securities, which resided within a monstrous underworld of hard disks containing undisclosed, esoteric contracts. In the old days, executives with sticky fingers would have just committed breezy malfeasance.<br /><br />Similarly, military and political figures laid out an intensely detailed brief for the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. (Fooled me, by the way... ) In the old days, someone would have just fabricated a provocation, as happened at the start of our presence in Viet Nam. I am not saying one wrong way of getting into a war is worse than another. But how did Bush get us all to buy in to his obsession with a phony-work ethic? Why all the tedium?<br /><br />One possibility is that it's the closest approximation to a work ethic that W could imagine, given his privileged background. Another, more optimistic, theory is that at least putting effort into pretending to pay attention is a positive evolutionary step. Under that theory, faking evidence IS a little better than faking a provocation. <br /><br />Americans were coached to fill out forms to get mortgages that would blow up in their faces a few years later. In the late Clinton years, by contrast, Americans were able to inflate the dot com bubble with the light touch of online day trading. The dot com bubble might have been ridiculous, but it wasn't tedious and time consuming to inflate. During the Bush years, we had to pretend to be working very hard to inflate our bubble.<br /><br />The pattern repeated everywhere, at every level. Schoolteachers during the Bush years were forced to teach to the test to create the illusory documentation of "no child left behind." All the teachers I know feel they are doing a less authentic job, creating an illusion of education. Similarly, NASA scientists had little choice for a while but to create doomed research proposals as if they were part of an illusory mission to Mars. Doctors have been spending a preposterous portion of their time on paperwork wars with insurance companies. These companies attempt to get the doctors to enter data into the system that enforce the illusion that each patient only needs a predetermined level of care.<br /><br />Our hard work to create illusions in the Bush years didn't amount to much. What a waste of time! In each case above, the reality would have been preferable to the illusion.<br /><br />The Bush White House put far more effort into responding to the illusion generated by the tedious fake documentation (invading Iraq), than to a horrific, genuine provocation (9/11.) We chose the worse of two evils, when the lesser happened to be the truth. 9/11 was awful. (I was there, by the WTC.) But an attack from Iraq with weapons of mass destruction might have been worse. But it was never in the cards, as it happens.<br /><br />The pattern repeats in each case: Making informed investments makes more money than buying toxic debt. Getting people into plausible mortgages generates more profits, taxes, and a wealthier populace than getting them into traps. Treating a patient when needed costs less than delaying treatment until there's an emergency. <br /><br />Bush, and by extension, the nation he governed, did not live in denial, but in anti-denial. He preferred the worse case, because that means there would be more forms to make everyone fill out.<br /><br />The Bush years have been like a ritual performed by a tribe that believes that whatever is the most tedious must be the most real.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=6071c1e7-19ca-4069-950e-fbe47d854952"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/daily-kos-state-of-the-nation-eddickau-1">Daily Kos: State of the Nation</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style=""><a href="http://www.alternet.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://www.alternet.org/</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=3d8a970c-61ff-45a9-8015-b50c07c1b2fa"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/alternet-home">AlterNet: Home</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=1280edb8-db33-409c-bb71-b5ede7b33140"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/consortiumnewscom">Consortiumnews.com</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style=""><a href="http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/106361/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dean to Depart DNC a Hero</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Four years and two very successful campaign cycles later, Dean's achievements as chairman are unquestioned, and the benefits of his innovative 50-state strategy are self-evident. We learned today that Dean is departing the DNC, but he'll leave as something of a hero. </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/10/dean-prepares-to-step-dow_n_142614.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sam Stein reports</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Stein added that Dean's vision is "poised to become party orthodoxy," and Dean may even "extract promises from all potential replacement candidates to preserve the 50-state-strategy." Even his would-be successors are smart, this won't take too much arm-twisting.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=e829988a-864a-4acd-9d05-28a46271fb16"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/breaking-news-and-opinion-on-the-huff-eddickau-2">Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><a href="http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20193988&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=664104&rfi=6"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Letter: Cheney/Bush 'disease' must be treated now</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br />The Saratogian, NY - 6 hours ago<br />If we wish this nation to heal itself we must first treat the disease that has rotted our Constitutional freedoms and protections: the Cheney/Bush </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">...</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style=""><a href="http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=75001&sectionid=3510203"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dozens of protesters have gathered outside the Department of Justice to urge indictment and trail of the US President and Vice President. </span></a></span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The activists and legal observers participating in the demonstrations wanted to deliver a letter to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, saying outgoing President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should be taken accountable for treason, murder, bribery and other high crimes. <br /><br />"This is not about getting them out of office, that's impeachment. This is about holding them accountable," said David Swanson, the founder of After Downing Street (ADS). <br /><br />On the way to the department, the crowd, however, was stopped by a low-level press secretary who pledged he would hand the letter over to the attorney general, Press TV correspondent Jahan Hafez reported. <br /><br />"We really need to have a medium with him (Michael Mukasey) and we need him to agree to look into the crimes of the Bush administration which are many," stressed Linda Letendre of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR). <br /><br />As Justice Department officials passed the protesters, activists read off the names of those lost in the war. <br /><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The protesters then lay on the ground to symbolize those who killed in the so-called war on terror. <br /><br />"If in fact your elected officials are not held the same standard that the regular citizens are, then you don't have the standard, you don't have the rule of law," one of the activists said. <br /><br />"That's extremely dangerous for everybody," she warned. <br /><br />"We are directly responsible for those and I would call them murders …Then you have another four million Iraqis who have been displaced from their homes and businesses and their children. There is cholera, there is no water, there is no electricity," another protester lamented, referring to the dire consequences the Iraqi nation has been suffering after the US-led invasion of the country in 2003.<br /><br />"There is constant fear and it's hard to sit still, knowing that we have done this and that we are allowing it to continue," she added. <br /><br />The anti-war community says that choosing a new commander-in-chief is not enough and it does not justify thousands of people who have died because of the policies of the Bush administration. <br /><br />They say the real change comes about when George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are indicated over war crimes and crimes against humanity. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09kristof.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Obama and the War on Brains</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Barack Obama’s election is a milestone in more than his pigmentation. The second most remarkable thing about his election is that American voters have just picked a president who is an open, out-of-the-closet, practicing intellectual.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Maybe, just maybe, the result will be a step away from the anti-intellectualism that has long been a strain in American life. Smart and educated leadership is no panacea, but we’ve seen recently that the converse — a White House that scorns expertise and shrugs at nuance — doesn’t get very far either.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We can’t solve our educational challenges when, according to polls, Americans are approximately as likely to believe in flying saucers as in evolution, and when one-fifth of Americans believe that the sun orbits the Earth.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Almost half of young Americans said in a 2006 poll that it was not necessary to know the locations of countries where important news was made. That must be a relief to Sarah Palin, who, according to Fox News, didn’t realize that Africa was a continent rather than a country.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Perhaps John Kennedy was the last president who was unapologetic about his intellect and about luring the best minds to his cabinet. More recently, we’ve had some smart and well-educated presidents who scrambled to hide it. Richard Nixon was a self-loathing intellectual, and Bill Clinton camouflaged a fulgent brain behind folksy Arkansas aphorisms about hogs.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Mr. Obama, unlike most politicians near a microphone, exults in complexity. He doesn’t condescend or oversimplify nearly as much as politicians often do, and he speaks in paragraphs rather than sound bites. Global Language Monitor, which follows linguistic issues, reports that in the final debate, Mr. Obama spoke at a ninth-grade reading level, while John McCain spoke at a seventh-grade level.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">James Garfield could simultaneously write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other, Thomas Jefferson was a dazzling scholar and inventor, and John Adams typically carried a book of poetry. Yet all were outclassed by George Washington, who was among the least intellectual of our early presidents.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Yet as Mr. Obama goes to Washington, I’m hopeful that his fertile mind will set a new tone for our country. Maybe someday soon our leaders no longer will have to shuffle in shame when they’re caught with brains in their heads…..</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=1QZGUiKSoUFaqEG0Ra1LTMIaqjkKB2wE" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bush Disapproval Ratings Reach All Time High </span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br />By Steve Benen, Washington Monthly<br />Bush is now more unpopular than Nixon was when he resigned from office during Watergate. By a lot. </span><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=iJXd8HQYjy5DveaN6ATmPMIaqjkKB2wE" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Read more</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=ecf6c1f1-5bdf-4483-85ea-74d2bc9f0955"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/abc-news-online-news-breaking-news-fe-eddickau-2">ABC News: Online news, breaking news, features</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=ef03dbde-bc29-49e4-9569-3d770c929eec"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/the-washington-monthly">The Washington Monthly</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=dc18e028-3619-461d-ad16-73951603f0c3"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/think-progress-eddickau-1">Think Progress</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439294223690017634.post-90722758011626870722008-11-10T20:28:00.000-08:002008-11-10T20:39:54.901-08:00The Final Abuse Of Power, The Planned Bush Self-Pardon: The Cyber Headline That Just Won’t Go Away Today!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOXw8N_r00nTmgHW9LJZkgJq_3a6V3XJ_egIO5lrYSIjvHxUJswf3WSk2Gi_ldGbhYtUj97weIDRBG1OmoDeYc7IrA2BJ1VuGwtRuJjAvGV1S2Bcu2l6pIEUv6X_ORZS8ucXR6UIsYEc/s1600-h/HARVEST.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilOXw8N_r00nTmgHW9LJZkgJq_3a6V3XJ_egIO5lrYSIjvHxUJswf3WSk2Gi_ldGbhYtUj97weIDRBG1OmoDeYc7IrA2BJ1VuGwtRuJjAvGV1S2Bcu2l6pIEUv6X_ORZS8ucXR6UIsYEc/s400/HARVEST.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267252327685759458" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Final Abuse Of Power, The Planned Bush Self-Pardon: The Cyber Headline That </span><a href="http://www.usalone.com/impeach_now.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just Won’t Go Away Today!</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight: boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">There is no reason not to press Conyers, The Judiciary Committee and your Congress person to move on Impeachment now that the elections are over.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There is no reason not to convey them that if they don’t Civil Persecution, pardons notwithstanding, are available to <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>the citizenry at a state level, and the march to The Hague is very much on the minds and in planning stages with the most avid advocates of justice. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Failure to act on the part of Congress will not absolve them from their guilt and nonfeasance. And it will not free them from events down the road. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;mso-yfti-tbllook:1184"> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-irow:0;mso-yfti-firstrow:yes;mso-yfti-lastrow:yes; height:.75pt"> <td width="1" style="width:.75pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in;height:.75pt"></td> <td style="background:#EEEEEE;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in;height:.75pt"></td> <td width="1" style="width:.75pt;background:#EEEEEE;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in; height:.75pt"></td> <td style="background:#EEEEEE;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in;height:.75pt"></td> <td width="1" style="width:.75pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in;height:.75pt"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">IT IS UP TO US TO CONTINUE TO PURSUE EVERY AVENUE AVAILABLE TO US!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/08/AR2008110802266.html?sub=AR">High Court May Consider Legality of Detention</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">By <a href="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/jerry+markon/" title="Send an e-mail to Jerry Markon">Jerry Markon</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Washington Post Staff Writer <br />Sunday, November 9, 2008; Page A02.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Ali+Abdullah+Saleh?tid=informline">Ali Saleh</a> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Kahlah+al-Marri?tid=informline">Kahlah al-Marri</a> was close to going on trial for fraud when prosecutors marched into an Illinois courtroom with a demand. Dismiss the charges, they said, because <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/George+W.+Bush?tid=informline">President Bush</a> had just designated the defendant an enemy combatant.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Marri's attorneys protested, but U.S. Attorney Jan Paul Miller declared that the military had already taken custody of the Qatari national, now deemed an <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Al+Qaeda?tid=informline">al-Qaeda</a> sleeper agent. "There is no longer a judicial proceeding before this court," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">With that, Marri was whisked to a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., where he has spent more than five years. His case raises a question with vast implications for presidential power and civil liberties: Can the military indefinitely detain, without charge, a U.S. citizen or legal resident seized on U.S. soil?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The Supreme Court is now being asked to consider the legality of Marri's detention, which is one of the broadest and most controversial assertions of executive authority since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Marri's attorneys want the court to overturn an appellate ruling that backed the administration. The final brief is due Monday, and the justices are expected to decide soon whether to take the case….<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/washington/10military.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin">Secret Order Lets U.S. Raid Al Qaeda</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">WASHINGTON — The United States military since 2004 has used broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a dozen previously undisclosed attacks against <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaeda/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about Al Qaeda.">Al Qaeda</a> and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere, according to senior American officials.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">These military raids, typically carried out by Special Operations forces, were authorized by a classified order that Defense Secretary <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/donald_h_rumsfeld/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Donald H. Rumsfeld.">Donald H. Rumsfeld</a>signed in the spring of 2004 with the approval of President Bush, the officials said. The secret order gave the military new authority to attack the Qaeda terrorist network anywhere in the world, and a more sweeping mandate to conduct operations in countries not at war with the United States…<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.truthout.org/110908Y">Sarah Palin Blamed by the US Secret Service Over Death Threats Against Barack Obama</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Saturday 08 November 2008<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/sarahpalin/3405336/Sarah-Palin-blamed-by-the-US-Secret-Service-for-death-threats-against-Barack-Obama.html">by: Tim Shipman, The Telegraph UK</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italicfont-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=b3cb1988-9080-437e-82eb-691e1b48e0a4"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/t-r-u-t-h-o-u-t-palin-blamed-for-death-threats">t r u t h o u t | Palin Blamed for Death Threats</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate us?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">The revelations, contained in a <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">Newsweek</span> history of the campaign, are likely to further damage Mrs Palin's credentials as a future presidential candidate. She is already a frontrunner, with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to take on Mr. Obama in four years time.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><embed src="http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1137883380" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=1902611366&playerId=1137883380&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="400" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=f69df4b8-b6b9-4ef4-a1d6-ee08b096b6a2"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/its-the-judiciary-committee-stupid-eddickau-4">It's The Judiciary Committee Stupid</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://impeachforpeace.org/impeach_bush_blog/?p=5842">November 10, 2008: Rep. Conyers Promises Post-election Impeachment Hearing</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://impeachforpeace.org/impeach_bush_blog/?p=5012">Conyers: Obama's More Important Than Justice, Impeach Later</a></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=a41571e2-ad00-4597-a847-c84fb8be9c05"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/impeach-bush-for-peace-eddickau">Impeach Bush For Peace</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Filed under: <a href="http://impeachforpeace.org/impeach_bush_blog/?cat=6" title="View all posts in Impeachment Progress News">Impeachment Progress News</a> — Jodin Morey @ 8:58 am<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200803/POL20080319c.html">By Josiah Ryan, CNSNews.com [CNSNews has since removed the article] –</a> At a gathering of liberal activists in Washington on Tuesday, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) was asked if he would commit to holding the Bush administration accountable once a Democrat is in the White House and illegal acts have been pinned on President Bush.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"Yes, you have my word on that," Conyers replied. He then shook the questioner's hand as a sign of his commitment.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Conyers, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, told an audience at the liberal <a href="http://tba2008.confabb.com/conferences/tba2008/sessions?sort_by=session_name&day_of_conference=2">Take Back America Conference</a> that he is wrestling with the idea of beginning impeachment proceedings against President Bush and Vice President Cheney, but he believes that such an effort might hamper Sen. Barack Obama's chance of winning the presidency.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://impeachfp.blogspot.com/2008/11/rep-conyers-promises-post-election.html">However, Conyers guaranteed his liberal audience that he will pursue legal action against Bush after the November elections.</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"There are those who said, if you elect Democrats to Congress, we will guarantee you two things: Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y) will become chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and he will raises taxes; and Conyers will become chairman of the Judiciary and he will impeach President George W. Bush," Conyers said. "You want to make them half right?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The audience replied with thirty seconds of hearty applause. Conyers was speaking at a <a href="http://tba2008.confabb.com/conferences/tba2008/sessions/12383/details">panel discussion entitled "The Republic Against the Rogue Presidency."</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"A dear friend, this [impeachment] is a decision I am struggling with, and I want to share it here. Do I want to jeopardize the election by taking up this issue?" Conyers asked. "The problem is, this could become the issue of the 2008 election. This brilliant, talented Senator (Obama), who has more delegates and more votes than anybody else, could get derailed."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">When Cybercast News Service asked Conyers to clarify the statement, he said, "I am afraid they would raise it in the campaign, and that they will use it against us, and that we would end up getting McCain. I would regret that for the rest of my life," he said. "That's the only reason. That would be my fear."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">But Conyers told Cybercast News Service this does not mean the Bush administration will not be held accountable. "We can win this election and go get these guys afterwards. But we just don't want to jeopardize November 4th," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Different panelists offered perspectives on why they think President Bush deserves to be brought before a court.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">David Cole, a law professor at Yale University and a legal correspondent for The Nation magazine, said Bush's refusal to yield to the constitutional system of checks and balances is one of his biggest crimes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">President Bush has decided he has "unilateral, uncheckable power with respect to the enemy," Cole said. "The only checks and balances this president believes in is check and balances within the White House," he added.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Conyers has his own list of complaints against the Bush administration. "You get cocky, you get arrogant and you think you can do anything. And frequently you will try to do anything," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Conyers told the crowd there is one scenario that could trigger immediate impeachment proceedings against the president: "If Bush goes into Iran he should be impeached," Conyers said, noting that "many members of Congress" have signed their names to a letter warning Bush not to invade Iran.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The fifth annual Take Back America Conference includes forums that allow liberals to discuss important issues, including how to recover from the "ashes of this conservative era," as the Web site put it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Conyers is one of the Bush administration's chief antagonists in Congress, opposing the president on almost every issue, including the Iraq war, health care, terrorist surveillance, and other issues.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Just last week, his Judiciary Committee took the rare step of filing a civil lawsuit against former White House aides Joshua Bolten and Harriet Miers for failing to obey a committee subpoena. Conyers wants to force the two to testify about the firings of nine federal prosecutors in 2006.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The House cited Bolten and Miers for contempt of Congress last month….<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Write<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>and/or Call Congressman Conyers and Encourage Him To Keep His Word!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br />Rep. John Conyers<br /></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="mailto:John.Conyers@mail.house.gov" target="_blank"><b>John.Conyers@mail.house.gov</b></a><br /><b>Website<br />2426 Rayburn Building<br />Washington, DC 20515<br />(202) 225-5126<br />(202) 225-0072 Fax<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://afterdowningstreet.org/" target="_blank"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">AfterDowningStreet.org | Convict</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Bush and Cheney</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">!</span></span></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;">While listeners said that a Wall Street Journal editor spoke up for prosecuting<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Bush and Cheney</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>on the Diane Rehm Show on NPR recently, the transcript<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>...</b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://getoffthis.blogspot.com/2008/11/holding-murderers-accountable-case.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Holding murderers accountable: The case against Bush, Cheney et al.</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=130ffa55-15c5-48ce-bb46-312057c977b5"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/get-off-this-holding-murderers-accountable-the">Get Off This!: Holding murderers accountable: The</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/37547" target="_blank"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Preemptive Impeachment to Prevent Pardons!</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">By Chip</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;"><br />All of the "politically pragmatic" excuses for NOT<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Impeaching</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>George and the boys are now....off the table! There is now no excuse for excusing their crimes. But... As always when there has been some sort of trauma...and we have had<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>...</b><br /><span><a href="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/" target="_blank" title="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">AfterDowningStreet.org - Convict... - http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/</span></span></a></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;font-size:12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/Now-It-s-Time-To-Clean-Up-by-PeterJ-081107-63.html" target="_blank">Now It's Time To Clean Up The Mess Left Behind. The First Thing To <b>...</b></a><br />OpEdNews - Newtown,PA,USA<br />It's time to impeach both <b>Bush</b> and <b>Cheney</b> now and seat Obama and Biden to get on with fixing things before <b>Bush</b> can do any more damage. <b>...<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://blog-reporter.blogspot.com/2008/11/protesters-willing-to-risk-jail-to-urge.html" target="_blank"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Protesters ‘willing to risk jail’ to urge</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Bush</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">,</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Cheney</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">indictment</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height: 115%;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">By Whisleblower(Whisleblower)</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;"><br />The group has worked closely with Code Pink, Iraq Veterans Against the War and others to protest US involvement in Iraq and urge President<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Bush</b>’s<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>impeachment</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>at myriad demonstrations over the last several years.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>...</b><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><a href="http://blog-reporter.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" title="http://blog-reporter.blogspot.com/">Tipping points - http://blog-Reporter.blogspot.com/</a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204);"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><a href="http://owstarr.com/2008/11/10/final-shot-at-impeaching-the-criminals-will-bush-pardon-himself/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Final Shot at Impeaching the Criminals: Will</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><a href="http://owstarr.com/2008/11/10/final-shot-at-impeaching-the-criminals-will-bush-pardon-himself/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> </span></a></span><b><a href="http://owstarr.com/2008/11/10/final-shot-at-impeaching-the-criminals-will-bush-pardon-himself/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Bush</span></a></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><a href="http://owstarr.com/2008/11/10/final-shot-at-impeaching-the-criminals-will-bush-pardon-himself/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> </span></a></span><a href="http://owstarr.com/2008/11/10/final-shot-at-impeaching-the-criminals-will-bush-pardon-himself/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">Pardon Himself?</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">By admin</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;">immediate<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>impeachment</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of both<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Bush</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Cheney</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>for what is already known. At the very least the defiance of congressional subpoenas at the behest of the White House is an open and shut case for accountability now.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>... </b><span><span><a href="http://owstarr.com/" target="_blank" title="http://owstarr.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">StarrTrek - http://owstarr.com/</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; "><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/24012700/the_new_trough"></a></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;"><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; "><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/24012700/the_new_trough">The New Trough</a></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%; mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Wall Street bailout looks a lot like Iraq — a "free-fraud zone" where private contractors cash in on the mess they helped create</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="line-height:115%; mso-bidi-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">NAOMI KLEIN Posted Nov 13, 2008 12:00 AM</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;mso-bidi-"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=da72bd61-cb3f-449f-a869-bc07db255b3d"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/politics-rolling-stone">Politics : Rolling Stone</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/21477.html">A Justice Department inquiry into secret eavesdropping is on again</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has reopened an inquiry into the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping program after its investigators received security clearances that President Bush once blocked.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Tuesday's acknowledgement of the probe by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility came days after retired federal judge Michael Mukasey was sworn in as attorney general.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">H. Marshall Jarrett, counsel for the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, announced that he was investigating Justice Department lawyers' roles in the "authorization and oversight" of the surveillance. Investigators also would determine whether department lawyers complied with laws that require court authorization for eavesdropping, Jarrett said in a letter to U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Hinchey, a New York Democrat who demanded a probe in January 2006, called the development "very positive."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">"I'm encouraged by the way in which the attorney general's office is now beginning to operate," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">White House and Justice Department officials said they couldn't comment on the timing of the latest probe or on why investigators were granted security clearances that Bush had denied.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the National Security Agency, which conducts high-tech spying, began wiretapping Americans' international phone calls, e-mails and other electronic communications without court authorization when at least one party was suspected of supporting or engaging in terrorist activities.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The disclosure of the program by The New York Times in 2005 provoked an outcry from civil liberties groups and members of Congress, including some Republicans. At the time, administration officials asserted that the president had the power to authorize eavesdropping without court oversight.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Beating a retreat last January, the Bush administration disclosed that it had obtained approval for its domestic surveillance program from a special national security court and no longer would resort to warrantless wiretaps. It's unclear whether the secret court has set up a special program that gives broad authority for wiretaps or requires the administration to seek individual warrants.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Hinchey called the Office of Professional Responsibility investigation "very important," although it won't be looking into larger questions of the program's constitutionality.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">In a statement, Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the latest inquiry would focus on whether lawyers "complied with their ethical obligations of providing competent legal advice to their client and of adhering to their duty of candor to the court." He declined to elaborate.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility is the second agency to investigate the program. Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine announced a separate probe in November 2006, saying he'd look into whether the program complied with government procedures.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Fine's investigation is continuing, and Hinchey said he's been told it that will be completed by the end of this year or early next year. A spokeswoman for Fine said she couldn't comment.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/14893.html">Cheney confirms that detainees were subjected to water-boarding</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">WASHINGTON—Vice President Dick Cheney has confirmed that U.S. interrogators subjected captured senior al Qaida suspects to a controversial interrogation technique called "water-boarding," which creates a sensation of drowning.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Cheney indicated that the Bush administration doesn't regard water-boarding as torture and allows the CIA to use it. "It's a no-brainer for me," Cheney said at one point in an interview.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Cheney's comments, in a White House interview on Tuesday with a conservative radio talk show host, appeared to reflect the Bush administration's view that the president has the constitutional power to do whatever he deems necessary to fight terrorism.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The U.S. Army, senior Republican lawmakers, human rights experts and many experts on the laws of war, however, consider water-boarding cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment that's banned by U.S. law and by international treaties that prohibit torture. Some intelligence professionals argue that it often provides false or misleading information because many subjects will tell their interrogators what they think they want to hear to make the water-boarding stop.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Republican Sens. John Warner of Virginia, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have said that a law Bush signed last month prohibits water-boarding. The three are the sponsors of the Military Commissions Act, which authorized the administration to continue its interrogations of enemy combatants.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Graham, a military lawyer who serves in the Air Force Reserve, reaffirmed that view in an interview last week with McClatchy Newspapers….<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/106275/">Is the GOP Looking to Newt Gingrich?</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%;mso-bidi-font-weight:boldfont-size:11.5pt;">Posted by <a href="http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/benen/" title="View all stories by Steve Benen">Steve Benen</a>, <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/">Washington Monthly</a> at 4:10 PM on November 8, 2008.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">After Tuesday's embarrassing rout, Republicans need a Moses to lead them out of the political wilderness.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">2012 <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>SPECULATION? ALREADY? ... As far as I can tell, there was very little positioning among Republicans for the next presidential race for about 48 hours after Barack Obama became the president-elect. But with only 1,460 or so shopping days until Election Day 2012, that apparently didn't last long.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Mitt Romney is off on a Caribbean cruise with influential conservative leaders. Romney, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee are stepping up to help Sen. Saxby Chambliss' runoff campaign in Georgia. Huckabee is poised to kick off a national book tour ... in Iowa.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">And then there's Bob Novak, fresh off his bizarre argument that Obama lacks a mandate, promoting his new favorite as the Republicans' future leader.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">In serious conversations among Republicans since their election debacle Tuesday, what name is mentioned most often as the Moses, or Reagan, who could lead them out of the wilderness before 40 years?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a name="more"></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">To the consternation of many Republicans, it is none other than Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Gingrich is far from a unanimous or even a consensus choice to run for president in 2012, but there is a strong feeling in Republican ranks that he is the only leader of their party who has shown the skill and energy to attempt a comeback quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Even one of his strongest supporters for president in 2012 admits it is a "very risky choice." But Republicans are in a desperate mood after the fiasco of John McCain's seemingly safe candidacy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Gingrich, of course, distinguished himself as a giant of the 2008 presidential campaign, arguing that "Saturday Night Live" should be sued for its skits about Palin, and laughing like a school-boy about the notion of improving fuel efficiency with properly inflated tires.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">But Gingrich's ridiculousness notwithstanding, it's interesting how Republicans like Novak continue to look backwards. While Democrats chose a new, forward-thinking leader for the 21st century, Novak is arguing that the Republican Party needs to look to a failed former Speaker who made his mark in 1995, before becoming widely loathed by the electorate, and ultimately forced from office by his own Republican colleagues.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">The GOP's Moses? I don't think so.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">And Yes There Is This To Think About!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OXT9gOL%2FOtsYWQAcRGxtC95cYJLpfCof" target="_blank">Palin Faces Rough Road To Stevens' Senate Seat</a><br />By John O'Hara, AlterNet<br />After Sen. Frank Murkowski's engineered his daughter's path to the Senate, Alaskans have limited a governor's appointment powers. <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=O9rFwLEMCvYNAzetLD7N4fqeYU0djbjz" target="_blank">Read more</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- line-height:115%font-size:11.5pt;">Wouldn’t She Just Love To Pull This OFF!<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0