50 years of revolution: Columbus, Luther, and CopernicusEach has the advantage of focusing on a short period of time, with three central figures.
The Jewish Century: Marx, Freud, and Einstein
VP Candidate Palin Supports Teaching CreationismAllow debate? That sounds reasonable.
Posted on: August 29, 2008 1:02 PM, by Matthew C. Nisbet
In running for Governor of Alaska in 2006, GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin said she supported teaching alternatives to evolution. When asked during an election debate, she said:"Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both."She later attempted to clarify her statement by saying in an interview:"I don't think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class. It doesn't have to be part of the curriculum."She added that, if elected, she would not push the state Board of Education to add such creation-based alternatives to the state's required curriculum.
Pro-LifeMy impression? She'll be a wonderful help to McCain in getting the hard-core conservative base out to vote... all 30% of 'em. Seems to me that leaves 70% of the electorate for the Major Party Candidate Who Isn't McCain.
Thinks creationism oughta be a debate option in public school science classes
Being Gov of Alaska - closest state to Russia - gives her foreign-policy cred
Currently embroiled in abuse-of-power scandal
The arrest of Ali al-Lami — taken Wednesday as he left a plane arriving from Lebanon — reinforced suspicions about Tehran's influence within the Shiite-led Iraqi government and could open wider probes into Shiite networks, including possible links to Lebanon's Hezbollah.Ah! Hezbollah again is featured prominently in an AP story! (Recall: the AP is none too diligent about sources. They question only Iraqi & American officials when reporting on, e.g., al Sadr's intentions!)
[emphasis added]
... a contention the White House dismissed as "patently false."Yes, I'm to the point with W and his minions that, if they immediately and reflexively denounce an accusation as "patently false", I'm rather willing to give the accusation credence!
"Remember all those signing statements & presidential directives Bush signed over the last 8 years? --a few of them were about a NATIONAL EMERGENCY where Bush suspends the Constitution, declares martial law and suspends the elections. I think WAR with Russia would qualify. They didn't spend 8 years pulling all this off-the-radar stuff - creating an imperial presidency - just to walk away..."Is it possible we goaded Georgia into South Ossetia?
Democrats choose Obama in historic acclamationI note that IN MY LIFETIME there were "Colored Only" waiting-rooms and restrooms. Blacks were forced to sit at the back of the bus. Diners were free to refuse service to Blacks. Poll-taxes and Literacy Tests precluded African-Americans from voting. (Yes - in my lifetime!)
Is there an appropriate mythological reference to something like the anti-Midas touch?Just asking.
Everything W touches turns to shit!
... Raziak's release comes two days after the military freed an Iraqi cameraman for Reuters, Ali al-Mashhadani, who was held for three weeks without charge after being arrested while renewing his credentials at a U.S. military press office.Recall:
In April the U.S. military freed Bilal Hussein, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Iraqi AP photographer who had been held for just over two years.Ah, yes! Freedom of the press!
Iraq's Prime Minister declares Militias hold no armsThen I started paying attention:
Iraqi prime minister: No arms in hands of militiasAgain, the Iraqi govt seems at odds with U.S. policy.
By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 23, 2008
BAGHDAD - Iraq's government is grateful to U.S.-allied Sunni fighters but won't allow them to keep their weapons indefinitely, the prime minister said Saturday, hinting at a more intense crackdown on the Sunni groups.
Run on W's record!Perhaps more to the point:
Make your Republican opponent run on W's record!!!Stop the madness!
Run against W!I'll keep saying it, over and over: EVERY Democratic candidate, from Obama down to local dog-catcher, ought run on W's record!!!
Run on W's record!
"It could last, you know, six days, six weeks. I doubt six months."Freddie & Fannie tanking, loss of jobs, $600Bn down the Iraq drain, Taliban resurgent, Osama & Mullah Omar still at large...
[SecDef Rumsfeld, 7 Feb 2003]
"There is a lot of money to pay for this. It does not have to be U.S. taxpayer money. We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction."
[Paul Wolfowitz, 27 Mar 2003]
"... we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
[Nat'l Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, CNN LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER, 8 Sep 2002]
Forget McCain!Stop the madness!
Run on W's record!!!
This will be a one-pager that discusses the importance of higher education, how college is out of reach for many New Mexicans, and what the federal government can do about it. Here's what we need:I've identified the following resources:
-- information about the difference in lifetime income between a person who has only a high school degree and a person with a college degree.
-- by how much have college costs increased in the last decade (or so--for whatever time period you can find information)?
-- how many New Mexican students are priced out of a college education each year?
-- by how much has the Bush Administration/Republican Congress cut student aid funding?
-- what are some of the legislative proposals for increasing access to higher education?
Chronicle of Higher EducationAny other suggestions?
New Mexico Higher Education Department
UNM Bureau of Business & Economic Research
U.S. Dept of Education
"I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue.Ah, yes: the old "looking the man in the eye" trick!
"I was able to get a sense of his soul.
"He's a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country and I appreciate very much the frank dialogue and that's the beginning of a very constructive relationship," Mr Bush said.
[Bush and Putin: Best of friends,
BBC News, Europe, June 2001]
A defiant Vladimir Putin hit out at America and the West today for its “cynical support” of Georgia, saying that Russia would continue its military operation until “its logical end”.W's foreign policy: eye-gazing.
[Vladmir Putin attacks the West's 'cynical support' for Georgia, TimeOnline, Aug 2008]
"Did you see this connection somewhere in MSM?"Short answer: no.
"Remember all those signing statements & presidential directives Bush signed over the last 8 years? --a few of them were about a NATIONAL EMERGENCY where Bush suspends the Constitution, declares martial law and suspends the elections. I think WAR with Russia would qualify. They didn't spend 8 years pulling all this off-the-radar stuff - creating an imperial presidency - just to walk away..."Jeff & I are on the same wavelength.
Let's assume they're not idiots...I've since set a specific date: 31 October 2008 (Halloween).
Note: I am not usually a conspiracy theorist... BUT...
W's Administration has done everything in its power to expand the Executive. They have asserted "inherent" Presidential powers based on an extremely expansive interpretation of the designation "Commander in chief." They have invoked the "state secrets" doctrine to thwart legitimate judicial challenges to Executive authority. They have asserted expansive "Executive privilege" to thwart Congressional oversight.
At some point, someone surely has asked, "Do we really want to bequeath an unlimited Executive to our Democratic successors?"
Two possibilities present themselves.
1. W and his minions truly believed in Rove's "permanent Republican majority."
2. They've something else in mind.
I find it hard to believe that anyone - even W - could buy into the notion of a PERMANENT Republican majority. I mean, Rove is good, but he's not THAT good! At some point in the future a Democrat would surely assume the Presidential mantle.
That leaves option #2: They've something else in mind.
Okay: just what is "something else"??
[warning: here comes raw "conspiracy theory"]
Let's assume the Democratic candidate leads in the polls come 15 Oct 2008. This is not an unwarranted assumption.
The W cabal cannot afford to hand over his carefully crafted expansive Executive to the Democrats. What other option do they have?
Ah!
Orchestrate a "clear and present danger": an imminent threat to the the nation! With the help of the CIA and whatever other Executive agencies can help, stage a terrorist attack on the U.S. It probably isn't that hard to manipulate Hezbollah - give 'em some money, suggest a target. Hezbollah as the enemy has two advantages:
1. they are a non-state actor
2. they can easily and plausibly be linked to Iran
So, come 16 Oct, the U.S. experiences a terrorist attack from Hezbollah.
In response, W declares a "state of emergency" (learning lessons from his best bud, Musharraf). Martial law is declared. Elections are cancelled. The Permanent Republican Executive becomes a fact.
Do I believe this? ... well, not quite. BUT: neither will I be surprised if Dems are ahead in the polls in Oct and the U.S. is hit by terrorists a few weeks before the election!
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press WriterQuestion: will U.S. troops be deployed to provide security for Chinese oil-devlopment projects?
Sun Aug 10,2008
BAGHDAD - Iraq and China are set to revive a $1.2 billion oil deal that was canceled after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the Iraq's oil ministry said Sunday.
An initial agreement with China is expected to be signed at the end of August to develop the billion-barrel Ahdab oil field south of Baghdad, the ministry said in a statement.
On Sunday, Vice President Dick Cheney told Georgia's pro-American president that "Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States," Cheney's office reported.Meanwhile, from his unimpeachable high-moral perch, W pontificates,
[emphasis added]
"I've expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn the bombing outside of South Ossetia."Is W under the illusion that he ought be taken seriously when chiding anyone for a "disproportionate reponse"?
Amendment IVWhich word(-s) don't they understand?
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
[U.S. Constitution]
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military blamed al-Qaida in Iraq Saturday for a suicide car bombing in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, while an Iraqi official said the death toll in the attack had risen to 25.What's fun about 25 deaths? Well, nothing...
"... today I'd like to share a concrete example of progress in Iraq that most Americans do not see every day in their newspapers and on their television screens. I'm going to tell you the story of a northern Iraqi city called Tal Afar, which was once a key base of operations for al Qaeda and is today a free city that gives reason for hope for a free Iraq."Yeah - I was SURE we'd driven AQI out of Taf Afar!
[President Discusses War on Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom, 20 March 2006]
Picture of Reagan.I'd like to pin the Little Ice Age (16th century - 19th century) on W, but can't seem to manage it and still maintain a semblance of intellectual honesty. Otherwise:
Caption: "Fiscal Conservative"
Result: down-arrow, "$200Bn+ deficit"
Picture of H.W. Bush
Caption "Fiscal Conservative"
Result: down-arrow, "$300Bn deficit"
Picture of Clinton
Caption: "Tax and spend Liberal"
Result: up-arrow, "$200Bn+ surplus"
Picture of W
Caption: "Fiscal Conservative"
Result: "$482Bn deficit"
Final frame:
Picture of McCain
Caption: "My friends, you'll be pleased to know I'm a fiscal conservative."
We've poured $600Bn down the drain that is Iraq.... oh, yeah:
Osama bin Laden (remember him?) is still at large.
Oil is trading at $120/bbl; gas-at-the-pump is hovering just under $4/gal.
... and now: Russia has invaded Georgia!
Michael Phelps set a world record in taking his first Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympics:Congratulations, Mr. Phelps!
4:3.84 in the 400m IM
Crispin & L. Noble are householded.Note: the names have all been changed... but the database soap opera is accurately represented.
I finally figure out that "L." is "Leah".
More recent data indicates Leah no longer lives with Crispin, and that Crispin now resides with Jane Austen Jackson.
I note that these folks aren't spring chickens.
Crispin is 60, Leah is 52, and Jane is 54.
Well, at least Crispin didn't run off with a younger woman!
"In the coming days it's going to be interesting to watch this debate between John McCain and John McCain."Ridicule is not a bad tactic.
[Obama referencing McCain's energy "policy"]
GAO: Iraq could have $79 billion budget surplusWould someone please explain to me again why we're still there?
Iraq MPs break for summer without passing elections law
No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.Why is this so difficult?
U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 9
"... The judge allowed secret testimony and hearsay evidence."... and that during his five (5) years of incarceration, Hamdan has been subjected to "coercive interrogation"... hmmm, I wonder what that could mean.
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