Boehner -Shameless Two-faced Party-line Animal

This one is over the top, even for Boehner. Boehner, a totally partisan mouthpiece for the Bush administration, is one of a chorus of Republican lawbreakers (oops-lawmakers) who have been spouting the party line that the Democrats are guaranteeing defeat in Iraq by insisting on a withdrawal date as a condition for war funding. This despite having voted in the past for de-funding and early withdrawal from Somalia in 1993.

Other top Republican officials have done the same thing in past conflicts, including John McCain and Jon Kyl . Even Dear Leader Bush blasted President Clinton because he didn't set a timetable for leaving Kosovo. But Boehner is in a class by himself. This shameless shill had the gall, despite his votes on Somalia, to give a speech on the House floor again blaming the Dems for passing a funding bill with a deadline, and actually referred to Somalia as an example of a country we didn't have courage to stay in.

Thanks to Think Progress for their article and video clip.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/27/boehner-somalia

You know, I just gotta find a better word for "hypocrite". I can't write anything anymore without needing to use it, and though it's spot on accurate, it's becoming worn out from overuse. Any suggestions?

Onward Christian Traitors

Waaaay back on Feb 3rd, I posted a little essay about the rapid and dangerous infiltration of our armed services by radical Christians, who now hold a disproportionate number of chaplaincies, and have in place a large cadre rising through the officer corps as well. These zealots openly place "serving God" ahead of "family", and more importantly, the Constitution. Link here:

http://carpebaloney.blogspot.com/2007/02/army-of-god-attacking-us.html

Now I've found an article by Bruce Wilson on the Talk to Action website which shows several examples of the problems we face from these people.

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/4/21/113553/663

By their actions within the military,they are damaging the security they are tasked with providing for the United States, and at the same time, are closely allied with religious extremists plotting "Armageddon".

Trust me when I say that I would feel infinitely safer if every one of these scum were replaced with gays, whose "agenda"(whateverinhellthatis) I'm sure, does not include either treason or ending life on Earth. Remember, if our country falls it will be from within, and this threat may be the most serious of them all.

Regent U.-only the best and brightest

Monica Goodling is a central figure in the widening scandals concerning the political firings (and hirings) of U.S. Attorneys General by the Department of Justice. She was the third highest person in the DOJ until she abruptly resigned her position. She was subsequently subpoenaed by the committee investigating the USAG purge, and pleaded the Fifth amendment. That committee just offered her immunity to compel her testimony about what she knows. It will be interesting to see if she can bring herself to tell the truth.

Ms Goodling is an attorney, as evidenced by the diploma which she "earned" at Regent University, having gone there after graduating from Messiah College. Regent U. is a law school founded in 1986 by televangelist businessman Pat Robertson, so you know that God must have told him to start the school. I'm giving you two video links here, one by Bill Maher, who dissects Regents ties to the Bush Administration, and the other from Jon Stewarts The Daily Show, who also destroys them, but with just a little more humor.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/04/14/maher-blasts-regent-law-schools-transformation-of-the-doj/

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/04/27/daily-show-monica-goodling-and-pat-robertson-university/

Despite the way this subject is treated in these clips, this is a very serious matter, as is points up the right-wing Christian supremacists ongoing under-the-radar efforts to place as many of their people into the government as they can to advance their drive for a theocratic state. It also illustrates the eagerness of the Bush Administration to hire poorly-educated ideologues to help advance their OWN agenda, which includes creating a permanent Republican majority and subverting every government agency to that end. Soulless traitorous bastards kinda nails it for me.

Global warming and the Republican hot air machine

I watched a PBS Frontline show a few nights ago about global warming. It contained in-depth interviews and video footage showing the pattern of lies, deceit, distortions, backstabbings and betrayals by the Bush administration regarding the whole issue. You have to see it-I'm going to give you a link, but I don't know how long it will be up.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/hotpolitics/interviews/luntz.html

The link to PBS and frontline also contains a printed interview with Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster and general whore. The interview was shown on the same program and is particularly noteworthy, because it was Luntz, who in the mid-1990s, that came up with the memo instructing Republicans to take every opportunity to dispute the science about global warming. They are still following his advice to this day.Luntz is the same guy who came up the the phrase "deep sea exploration" for offshore drilling, and the infamous "death tax" for the estate tax. He's a" hack of a guy" who has done tremendous damage to the truth on many issues, and is immensely proud of his skill. What an arrogant prick!

Follow through these links and you will learn what deception really is, and how the Republicans excel at it.

As an aside, here's a little news to show that there's a good side to global warming. You remember all those heart-wrenching pictures of helpless baby harp seals being clubbed to death for their fur? Well, it seems that thanks to global warming, that annual slaughter may soon come to an end! Isn't that great!

Yep, it seems that the seals must be born onto ice thick enough to support them until they can fend for themselves, and the ice just isn't lasting long enough now to do the job, so the baby seals are drowning before they can be clubbed. Good news, indeed.

Just ran across this link to Media Matters titled Global Warming: Misinformation Action Center.

http://mediamatters.org/action_center/global_warming/

If you're smart, you'll bookmark this site, read it, and sign up for their e-mail updates.

Limbaugh's oKKK -might get a Grammy

Racist references permeate the right-wing media machine, especially talk radio, and Rush Limbaugh leads the pack. I'm not an Obama supporter, but what Limbaughs latest attempt at political "humor" speaks to doesn't come close to politics. It is a clear signal to the racist elements in our society that racism will always have a home in the Republican party. Those bastards work overtime to both play up fears of and make fun of blacks, gays, liberals, Arabs, Asians, and Mexicans , and to undo the painstakingly slow progress we have made in this country against inequality based on discrimination. They thrive on divisiveness, regardless of the damage it does, because it gets them votes.

Here is a link to an audio file of a recent Limbaugh program on which a "parody" got prominent play. It's called Barack the Magic Negro.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/04/27/breaking-limbaughs-barack-the-magic-negro-on-air-song-has-staffers-up-in-arms/

This disgusting piece of shit (the song-not Limbaugh) has actually ruffled a few feathers. Can you imagine!Some people of color, including some who work for Limbaugh, are really offended.
I can imagine Limbaughs explanation--"What? You mean that these folks are actually black? If I had known that, I never would have played that song. I thought they were just wetbacks in blackface using affirmative action to get hired".

Remember, this program has had as guests many top Republicans, including Bush and Cheney, and if they don't quickly and clearly repudiate Limbaugh for his blatant racism, they can never make any claim about supporting equal rights or civil rights or representing a majority of Americans. And forget any posturing about the "moral high ground".

If any of you have been voting Republican, you should try real hard to reclaim your humanity. If this doesn't make you feel dirty, I don't think you can be redeemed.

Mike Gravel speaks for me

Whaddya know, Dennis Kucinich isn't the only presidential candidate who has the guts to tell the absolute truth. Here's a link to a You Tube video highlighting former Senator Gravel at the Democratic debate held at South Carolina State. Someone really does have a "Straight Talk Express", but it sure as Hell isn't John McCain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gMlHv2lDqA

Wanna know how to get out of Iraq? Wanna know about nuking Iran? How about nuclear proliferation? Maybe something about the influence of the military-industrial complex? Or how about something you can really use, like the perfect response to the fools who say we can't leave Iraq because "our soldiers will have died in vain".

Don't ever shut up, Sen. Gravel, even though most of the other candidates treated your comments lightly. Like all the Republicans, some of the Democrats simply can't handle the truth.

Eau de Dough--It's Heaven scent

Play those suckers like a heavenly harp! Some imaginative types have introduced a new perfume called Virtue. It's designed to suck bucks from the uber-gullible, like Fundamentalist Republicans who'll believe anything they're told as long as it sounds good.
I picked this up from the Pensito Review:

Is That Christ I Smell?
Posted by Trish Apr. 26, 2007, 11:18 am

Want to literally smell divine? Thanks to a new perfume, which supposedly mimics the scent given off by Christ and the saints, you can!
The makers of “Virtue” say they were guided by the Lord in picking their product’s name, ingredients — including apricot, fig, pomegranate, frankincense, and myrrh — logo and bottle design. Who knew Jesus was such a marketing whiz?
We turned to the Bible and let Spirit guide us through the process of picking and choosing the right elements to include in the fragrance…
What was right? When the Spirit let us know, through both, an inner knowing and outer worldly confirmation. The worldly confirmation was a process of holding to our Inspirations, even when our “deadlines” were not met. Holding our Faith, when money and circumstances were not always in alignment with our intent to move ahead. Even, when our suppliers delayed us by either internal practices or personal bias.
Well isn’t that commendable? These folks soldiered on because it was their mission to bring a new perfume to the world. A perfume that costs only $80 per 1.7 ounce bottle. And for which Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and PayPal are accepted. I’m inspired!
The thing is, you want to smell right when you commune with your creator.
…if you choose to use is as it’s creators intended, it’s a simple matter. Spray your wrist(s) and prepare yourself to begin a spiritual practice that you are familiar with; prayer, meditation, contemplation, etc…
All the while, Feel, in the Stillness, the Presence that is your Spiritual Self. Smell your wrist. Let Virtue’s scent wrap this Awareness with it’s unique character that is slowly transitioning into your own Signature version of Virtue®. In time, your association with the fragrance will give you the ability to transition to a Spiritually Centered state, almost instantaneously. For Christians, we call this practicing the Presence of God, the Holy Spirit or Christ. Being Christ Centered.
Jesus should lead them to a good copywriter.
Fundraising opportunities are available, in case your church or faith-based initiative wants to buy into this hooey. In the meantime, the makers are getting on beauty pageant sponsor lists by awarding bottles to winners in the Miss Anaheim and Miss California contests.
The only fragrance I’m sniffing is horseshit — and bald greed. ( end)
**

Anything for a buck. Personally, I wouldn't buy this without a notarized certificate of authenticity signed by God Himself, but sometimes I get a little cynical. I should realize that these people would never lie about being guided by the Lord, but my faith isn't strong enough. If you want to get some though, you have my blessing. You'll go straight to Heaven when you die, and will smell so good that God will probably make a pass at you. Really!

Fascist America, in 10 easy steps

I know what I know,but as a "writer" my biggest difficulty is organizing my thoughts in a coherent fashion so that they can be presented and understood by those who read them. I fully recognize that others are much better at this, so when I see an article on a subject that is as important to me as it should be to you, and written with more clarity and logic than I could ever muster, I am going to do us both a service and refer you to it. This is a case in point.

Naomi Wolf, writing in The Guardian, uses examples of how other dictatorships have come into being around the world, and draws chilling parallels showing that the U.S. is well along the same dark path.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.html

If you value freedom, if you value democracy, if you value the lives of yourself and others, don't dare pass this off as a malcontents rant. Get involved in any way that you can to help stop and reverse this awful slide into a police state. Scream and shout, write to the newspapers, contact your elected officials (constantly), join activist organizations like the ACLU, MoveOn.org,People For the American Way, Progressive States, etc. Passivity is another form of suicide, so don't be lazy or claim you're too busy, because your freedoms will be much harder to regain than they were to lose.

Bush gets a Purple Heart--WAY TO GO GEORGE!

Bill Thomas and his wife, Georgia, met with President Bush at the White House for 20 minutes recently, and gave Bush one of three Purple Hearts Thomas had been awarded during the Viet Nam war.

http://www.thecoveherald.com/page3.html

Thomas was thrilled at the opportunity to present the medal. He and his wife also got to meet Barney, the Presidents dog.

Mr Thomas did not specify exactly the reasons that he awarded Bush the medal. It may have been that Bush sprained his ankle in his haste to go AWOL from his National Guard service, or it might have been for all the well-deserved flak he has taken about leading us into an illegal war that so far has killed over 3,000 of Mr. Thomas's brothers-in-arms.

I have never served in the military, but have enormous respect for those who have, and have always felt that medals earned by their recipients were badges of honor bestowed on behalf of a grateful nation as recognition for service above and beyond the call of duty.

If I held a medal, especially a Purple Heart for injuries received in combat, I would feel that Mr Thomas's action had insulted and dishonored the medal I had earned, and would be sorely tempted to throw it away.

By this time Bush has probably given the medal to Barney for a chew toy.

DOJ-- ignorance and disdain rule Gonzo's world

The blogosphere is exploding with new revelations and speculations about the firing of the U.S.Attorneys for partisan political reasons. Even the mainstream media are exploring this scandal more and more, as it reveals a very widespread problem with the administration of impartial justice. If you are not yet aware of this scandal, which reaches at least as far as Karl Rove, you are comatose, so I am not going to bore you with all the juicy details. Anyway, much more will come out in the near future, and it will definitely dominate the news, almost as much as Anna Nicole Smith.

Rather, I would like you to read two really good articles that provide perspective on "purgegate". They were both published on 4/16/07 on Law.com.

The first is an in-depth interview with Daniel J. Metcalfe, a highly respected career attorney with the DOJ, who recently retired after more than 30 years in the department. Mr Metcalfe, who is a registered Independent, offers some very telling views on the culture at DOJ under Alberto Gonzalez, and how it differs from all of the previous AG's. It aint pretty, but it explains the thinking and the processes that go on in a politicized department staffed with inexperienced ideologues, who don't understand the law and show disdain for government procedures.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1176455062969

The second piece gives background information Preet Bharara, Senator Chuck Schumer's chief counsel, who is the man most responsible for running the Senate investigation. It also gives a synopsis of the investigation thus far.
http://www.law.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/View&c=LawArticle&cid=1176455065937&t=LawArticle

Both articles are well worth the read, and will help you understand events as they unfold.

FEMA-- The bungle boys bungle along

This is what happens when you staff a critical Federal agency with political hacks.FEMA used to be run by highly trained professionals, at least during the Clinton administration, but since Bush took office, the agency has been virtually destroyed by the party loyalists placed into top management positions as rewards for their fealty. We all know the horror of Katrina and the gross mismanagement of Michael(heckuva job) Brown and others, who were not prepared in any way for a quick response to that 2005 disaster. Unfortunately, FEMA today is in no better shape than it was then. The agency is riddled with problems ranging from lack of logistical coordination to fraud to massive waste. Here is a Washington Post article by Spencer Hsu:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/12/AR2007041202411.html?hpid=topnews

I won't mention the many Katrina related foul-ups that cost the taxpayers billions of dollars, but will show how far the agency has progressed since they pledged to improve their ability to respond to disasters as ordered by Congress.

The article reveals a few of the problems that have come to light. For example, Fema managers, anticipating a busy hurricane season in 2006, and determined to avoid the criticism that surrounded Katrina, loaded the area up with massive amounts of food, water and ice. The only problem is that they failed to take into account that they did not have enough storage for all of these supplies, and when they weren't used because of the mild season, over $40 million in food rotted and had to be thrown away.

In addition, two FEMA staffers are being investigated for misappropriating money for unauthorized purchases. No names have been made public yet.

One neat bit of possible illegality, so common in this administration, concerns a $71 million no-bid contract awarded to a Georgia firm in 2005 to develop a system that would enable Fema to track all shipments from their warehouses, similar to what FedEx uses. This system was to have been in place in mid 2006, but the first phase has been pushed back to 2009 so far.

The contract was given to a company named Stratix, who was favored by FEMAs chief operating officer, Kenneth O. Burris, Jr. He is no longer employed by FEMA, having been hired into an executive position by Stratix, in what I am sure is nothing but the merest coincidence.

Impropriety, illegality,waste and mismanagement, thanks to Mr Bush and company, remain the hallmarks of Fema today. If we have another disaster in the U.S., the folks affected won't be able to count any government help.

Next election, vote for people who at least have some concern for the welfare of our citizens-vote Democrat!

Sex education mis-directed, Dobson says

A detailed Federal study just released compared students who had received "abstinence-only" sex education with students who had not, and found no difference in the sexual habits of the two groups. Here's a link to a 164 page pdf file containing the full report, with the relevant summary on page 17:http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/PDFs/impactabstinence.pdf

The study shows that teens who had received "abstinence-only" sex education : 1) were just as likely to have sex; 2) had just as many sexual partners; 3) started having sex at the same age; and 4) had the same amount of unprotected sex.

Other studies have suggested that many teens resort to anal sex, unaware that while it may help to avoid pregnancy, it does nothing to stem the epidemic rates of sexually transmitted disease. In that regard, anal sex is still a crap chute.

It is clear that the concerted effort to destroy the First Amendment separation of church and state by insinuating "abstinence-only" education into our public schools should be stopped immediately, as this religion-based curriculum has been proven to be without merit.

Even the right-wing ultra conservative Christian groups who have pushed hard for abstinence education would seem to agree. Dr James Dobson, head of the powerful organization Focus on the Money, sent a letter to his followers acknowledging the failure of their efforts, but indicates that he now has a deeper understanding of the causes of teenage sex. I obtained a copy from a mole in the Bush administrations Office of Faith-Based Fallacies , and am reprinting it below.

To my faithful contributors,
I have recently learned that the "abstinence-only" sex education courses we had been so successful in getting inserted in to the public school curriculum have failed to produce the desired results. It appears that the problem of teen sex is the same regardless of the method of sex education that is taught. I have anguished over the failure of our pet program, trying to understand how we blew it so badly, but God has appeared to me and explained it.

We have been teaching these kids about Gods wish that sexual congress be avoided until sanctified by marriage. You know-"no fun until one", which is clearly explained in Scripture. However, I now know that teens are NOT responsible for their promiscuous behavior, and we have been preaching to them for naught.

Teens, God told me, are unwilling and unwitting carriers of EVIL THINGS lurking in their bodies, that they cannot control. We have something called "hormones", and while many of them are good for us, there are two HELL-SPAWNED DEMONS. They are named Estrogen and Testosterone, and it is they who make the "bad thing" happen. That these demons really exist should have been obvious, because we even use the word "horny" to describe the victims of their handiwork. It is they who create in their unwilling hosts the overwhelming feelings of lust and desire that must be sated even if it means eternal damnation.

Thus, my friends, it is clear that it is not the children, but the demons with whom we must communicate directly and convince to screw off. I have been praying hard on teen sex most of my adult life, just as many of you have. However, it is now time for me to take a more hands-on approach with teen sex. I must and I will learn how to talk with these demons, even if I have to get right in there with them. Doing Gods work is never easy, but I am his willing servant, and will gird my loins for this effort.

Please help my loin-girding by making a generous love offering today. It is vital that my research be as well-endowed as I am, and I can't wait to get started.

Once I have plumbed the depths of the teen sex thing, and satisfied myself that I have solved the demon-convincing angle, it will be easy to thrust our newly developed program back into the schools as an integral part of the Leave No Childs Behind Act. We can call it "teaching to the testes".

Pray for the day of our return.

Capitalism works, but not for you

Washington Post op-ed columnist Harold Meyerson has written a thoughtful, disgusting little article about the Circuit City plan to fire 3,400 sales clerks simply because they make too much money, and to replace them with entry-level employees.

Meyerson uses this to illustrate how American businesses consider loyalty, job performance, and longevity to be detrimental to their bottom lines, and increasingly view their employees as totally expendable. He also points out that total income rose 9% in 2005 over 2004, but ALL of the increase went to the wealthiest 10% of Americans. The bottom 90% actually LOST 0.6% in the same period.

There was a time when a rising tide of prosperity lifted all boats, but now it just lifts yachts. If the trend continues unchecked, there will no longer be "wage slaves", because there won't be any wages.

Any of my faithful readers who may be affected negatively by the Republicans whorish adoration of the wealthy might want to think twice about voting for them because they're against gay marriage or some other phony issue.

Here is Meyerson's article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001309.html

Green Zone bombing reddens faces

A suicide bomber infiltrated the cafeteria at the Iraqi parliament building today, killing at least two Iraqi legislators and wounding many others. The building is located inside the super-secure super-fortified "Green Zone" in Baghdad, long thought to be impenetrable by terrorists and insurgents, and is the supposed safe haven for U.S. and Iraqi officials. Guess not now.

Initial reports blame Al Qaeda for the bombing, and it may be true, because the Iraqis don't like them any more than we do. Who was responsible doesn't matter so much as how they managed to do it, given all the extra troops Bush surged in to make the city safe and secure.

Any time you hear happy talk about how the surge is working, remember this incident. If Bush and the boys can't even make this one comparatively small area safe, you know damned well that they can't do it anywhere.

I'm curious how they're going to spin this one to show we're on the road to success. "Temporary setback"."Isolated incident". "Proves they're desperate"."Definitely the last throes -they're almost out of suicide bombers". "If they're bombing the Green Zone, it's because they're afraid to go into the neighborhoods where we're operating". Etc. Etc.

Oh well, death goes on.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070412/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=ArqQe.7tPzCoJqCjnwJvunnMWM0F

Dan Burton-Mr. Hypocrazy himself

Representative Dan Burton(R-IN) is one of a number of Republicans who have been spinning the line warning Democrats about issuing subpoenas in a partisan witch hunt. Holy moley, Battyman! Methinks you are guilty of partisan hackery! A little double double standard standard music, please.
Burton was one of the most prolific abusers of subpoena power EVER. While the Clinton impeachment hearings were going on, he subpoenaed over 140 people, investigating anything he could think of. He even held ten days of hearings on the White House Christmas card list!. This clown is also well-remembered for a news event at his Indiana farm, where he shot watermelons trying to prove that Vince Foster was murdered, not a suicide.

Link to Raw Storyhttp://rawstory.com/news/2007/Republican_who_probed_Clinton_White_House_0410.html

Neither Burton nor any other House Republican has any right to claim some kind of high ground now, not after what they did to Clinton. All of their efforts were part of a totally partisan campaign to smear Clinton, and they knew from the outset that the Clintons had done nothing wrong. The difference now is that there has been literally no oversight or investigation of the Bush administration in six years, and the Dems have a lot of catching up to do. If the Democrats manage to spend $100 million on their "witch hunts", like the Republicans did on the Clinton blow job, then it'll be money spent to a necessary purpose. If they end up issuing subpoenas to everyone at all connected with the Republican thieves, then fine--we can always build more prisons.

Good stuff here

Most of the time here I try to add my spin to news articles about political happenings, but every so often I run across an essay so thoughtful and well-written that I can't add anything to it without diminishing the essay itself. Here are some that are definitely worth reading. Take the time and broaden your understanding.

1) Why Having More No Longer Makes Us Happy , by Bill McKibben.
An excerpt from his latest book that shows that the accumulation of wealth is NOT the way to
happiness. This is a long one, but read it through anyway.
http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/49593/

2) Sweet Little Lies, by Paul Krugman.
Explains how the Republican attack machine constantly uses deliberate lies to create
negative impressions, aided by the media.
http://welcome-to-pottersville.blogspot.com/2007/04/paul-krugman-sweet-little-lies.html

3) The Legacy of the Plame Affair, by David Sirota.
On what happens when the press grants anonymity to sources for all the wrong reasons.
http://www.workingforchange.com/blog/index.cfm?mode=entry&entry=67D04FC2-E0C3- F084-D86022AE8AD7D017

4) The Complicity of Congress in a Criminal War, by Richard W. Behan.
The Democrats are advancing the Iraq war by requiring an Iraqi oil-sharing plan as a funding
benchmark, and by not impeaching Bush for lying repeatedly about the reasons for the
invasion.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/06/353/

If anyone disagrees with these essays, please let me know.

Bush fixes illegal immigration! Yeah, right.

Used to be in this country, slaves didn't have to pay for the privilege of their status, but President Bush is a clever fellow. He has just unveiled and is busy touting his plan to deal with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. As you might expect, the plan is unworkable and extremely punitive to the illegals.

His plan would require that these folks go home, apply for U.S. residency at a consulate, obtain a special visa at a cost of $3,500 every three years, and pay a one-time fine of $10,000 before returning.

The fine alone would come to $50,000 for a family of five (@10k/head). That's chump change!
Could you come up with $10, 000 for everyone in your family, even if you were single? Didn't think so. How do you suppose that low-paid workers are possibly going to afford it? Just in case they all did, however, that comes to a tidy $1.2 TRILLION dollars, almost enough to pay for Bushes wars.

Additionally, the special visas at $1,167/yr would bring in another $140 BILLION annually. Plus, of course they would all be paying taxes (many are already, with no recovery). This annual bounty to the Treasury would pay for the border fence and allow more tax breaks to deserving corporations, Republican donors, and the super-rich(including both Democrats).

The only problem is , it won't work. It can't work, because the illegals can't afford to do this. If it cost $10,000 to get in, the Indians , God bless 'em, would still own this land if Bushes plan had been put into effect 200 years ago. Do you think that 12 million illegal aliens are going to pick up and leave because they can't afford to comply with these draconian regulations? Hell no they're not! They're going to stay right where they are, scraping by, doing work for lower wages than others get so that their employers can make greater profits, until they are picked up and deported. In other words, NOTHING WILL CHANGE.

Yes, they are illegal. Yes, something should be done, but surely to God there has to be something better than this! Make no mistake, this plan was put forward as a sop to racists who don't care one bit about practicalities and realities. Bush wants to keep them happy because they represent a solid Republican voting bloc. Although the immigration problem has been around for years, they've made it a BIG ISSUE recently to keep people distracted from the Bush gang rape of our country.

Two links:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070407/ap_on_re_us/immigration_protest;_ylt=AvOmaD3WbOCQ6Eo0LcEVd3ms0NUE

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070409/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_25;_ylt=AjXkGArvjZQNnT4M3FocoSVH2ocA

John Edwards in 2008 (so far)

David Sirota, my absolute favorite progressive writer, has written a cogent in-depth analysis on the positions of the three major Democratic candidates for President-Clinton, Obama, and Edwards. His article is exceptional, primarily because it mirrors my own views on these candidates almost exactly, as you can see from my previous posts.

http://www.workingforchange.com/blog/index.cfm?mode=entry&entry=BEAA1AD7-E0C3-F084-D74FE7E45E334D6E

My only criticism of his piece is that it makes no mention of Dennis Kucinich, who is light years ahead of the others in true progressive thought, but light years behind in fund raising.If this fact doesn't make a case for full public financing of elections nothing will.

Nonetheless, at least at this stage in the game, it appears that John Edwards is the straightest shooter among the "big three" and deserves all of the support we can give him.

GWB's recess disappointments

GAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

And the hits just keep on coming. I've been carping lately about George"The Bastard" Bush and his unrelenting determination to appoint the worst possible people to positions where they can neuter regulatory agencies and turn them into corporate subsidiaries. He has again defied the will of the Senate and named Susan E. Dudley director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the White House Office of Management and Budget, which gives her the power to block or change regulations proposed by different government agencies.

Bush used his now infamous "recess appointment" powers to do this dirty deed, after even the Republicans had problems with her positions during her confirmation hearings last year. Bush is allowed to do this when the Senate is not in session. They recently closed up shop for two weeks so that they could go back to their districts or on vacation or whatever.

To say she is a "free-market" corporate whore is actually putting a nice face on her. She has opposed industry air pollution controls in favor of a "warning system" so that adversely affected people would know to stay indoors on bad air days. She has argued that automobile air bags should be only an option for people to buy if they wanted the protection they afford. She has also opposed strict limits on arsenic in drinking water because the EPA gave too much value to old people when doing a cost/benefit analysis on the issue. Unfortunately, I'm not making any of this up. It's all true.

How goddam bad can it get? The damage being done to our health and safety by hacks like Dudley is enormous and Bush can't get them into their jobs fast enough.

The link here also deals with two other recess appointments which are also bad news, but inflicting Dudley on us is the worst.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-ne-recess5apr05,1,6382618.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Considering Bushes love of the recess appointment, maybe the Senate can turn the tables on him and appoint a new President the next time he goes home to Crawford on vacation. What the hell, it can't hurt to try.

DOJ lies themselves into becoming lawbreakers

God almighty, they can't even lie well! The assholes at the DOJ cooked up several reasons why David Iglesias, former U.S.Attorney for New Mexico, was fired from his job. This was done to disprove allegations that his dismissal was done for parstisan political reasons. However, they screwed up royally by asserting that one of the main reasons for his firing was that he was absent too much. The only problem with that is that Iglesias is a Captain in the Naval Reserves, and when he was gone from his office, he was on duty with the Navy fighting the "war on terror", and his job as U.S. Attorney is legally protected while he is on duty with the military.

Here's a link to a Newsweek article with details:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17951419/site/newsweek/

Iglesias has been advised by the Office of Special Counsel (headed by a Republican appointee) to file a formal complaint against the DOJ protesting his dismissal.

DOJ can cover this up all they want, but the smell still escapes, and it's enough to make you gag.

Finally! Irrefutable proof against evolution!!!!

This might be the dumbest damned thing I've ever seen. Here's a video "proving' that evolution is a hoax. A right-wing Christian evangelical illustrates his point using a jar of peanut butter.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/50013/

How these fraudulent assholes can do this crap without laughing out loud is way beyond my understanding. What's more disturbing is that they have an audience of believers stupid enough to swallow this whole and then run for office to overturn the teaching of science in our schools.

Why are these people even around, using up MY oxygen, and contributing to global warming every time they fart?

How now mad cow?

A federal judge has ruled that a Kansas meatpacker should be allowed to test all of the meat it processes for mad cow disease. Our very own United States Department of Agriculture had threatened to prosecute Creekstone Farms Premium Beef if they proceeded with plans to test all their beef for mad cow.

The USDA currently tests fewer than 1% of cows for the disease, and threatened Creekstone because larger meatpackers felt that Creekstone would gain a competitive advantage by being able to advertise safe meat.

Do you see conflicts of interests here? The USDA is more interested in protecting the profits of the meatpacking industry than in protecting consumers from a fatal disease, and the industry itself is concerned with good profits at the expense of good products.

This is another horrid example of the weakening of our regulatory agencies as they become, more and more, shills for the industries on which they are supposed to "ride herd".To them, the word "scruple" is a contraction for "screw people".

http://thegallopingbeaver.blogspot.com/2007/03/before-you-eat-that-usda-prime-steak_30.html

PLEASE work to get these corporatist hacks out of power. Our lives are being endangered in so many ways by this administrations policies that it's mind-boggling.