Human-Animal Hybrids?
You know, I've been REALLY worried about just this issue. I have to say I have never been prouder of the President of the United States than I have been tonight. This is a tough, but serious issue, people! We cannot stand idly by whilst mad scientists breed such abominations! These creatures of death and evil will only escape from their creators and breed new and more frightening creatures beyond our most horrific nightmares! YES! This man stood before our nation, nay, THE WORLD, and DID proclaim... A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners, and that recognize the matchless value of every life. Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research -- human cloning in all its forms ... creating or implanting embryos for experiments ... creating human-animal hybrids ... and buying, selling, or patenting human embryos. Human life is a gift from our creator -- and that gift should never be discarded, devalued, or put up for sale. Excuse me, I need another drink... and possibly some nice paper for a suicide note.
Peace Mom Arrested at SOTU
OOoooooh, she unfurled an anti-war banner! ARREST THE RIOTOUS TRAITOR! Fucking A. So did anyone actually watch the monkey? I can't do so anymore. He talks a lot and says nothing other than what his flock want to hear him bleat to them.
Did Gonzales Lie To The Senate?
Don't get too excited or anything, I mean it's not like many people actually get caught and are held responsible for their actions anymore (unless you're a low scrubby on the totem pole like the guy in the next post or you're on "24", then Jack Bauer will kick your ass). Needless to say, someone appears to have "misled" the Senate. Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) charged yesterday that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales misled the Senate during his confirmation hearing a year ago when he appeared to try to avoid answering a question about whether the president could authorize warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens. In a letter to the attorney general yesterday, Feingold demanded to know why Gonzales dismissed the senator's question about warrantless eavesdropping as a "hypothetical situation" during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January 2005. At the hearing, Feingold asked Gonzales where the president's authority ends and whether Gonzales believed the president could, for example, act in contravention of existing criminal laws and spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant.
Gonzales said that it was impossible to answer such a hypothetical question but that it was "not the policy or the agenda of this president" to authorize actions that conflict with existing law. He added that he would hope to alert Congress if the president ever chose to authorize warrantless surveillance, according to a transcript of the hearing. I was in my Constitutional Law class last night. Came out of it with mixed feelings of relief and dispair. Relief in that these times are no different than those of the founding days, when it was all politics of rich white men designed to make them more powerful and wealthy. Dispair in that these times are no different than those of the founding days, when it was all politics of rich white men designed to make them more powerful and wealthy.
Wait... The Good Guys Won This Time???
I know, it sounds like a Hollywood "underdog" movie instead of a Hollywood Horror, but it appears that Arizona has bitchslapped someone for breaking the rules! An Arizona legislator has been removed from office for overspending during his 2004 primary race, making him the first lawmaker in the country to be ousted for violating a state's public campaign financing system.
After a five-month court battle, the Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday ordered first-term Republican Rep. David Burnell Smith to leave office at midnight. "I will no longer exercise any duties as a representative," the 64-year-old lawyer said Friday.
The best part is that it was over a mere $6K, which, quite frankly seems like chump change. But the law is the law and anyone who breaks the law should be brought to justice.
(*Looks furtively left and right after speeding on the way home from class...*)
BTW, hat tip to the ever-awesome Sans!
Study Finds Rich-Poor Income Gap Growing
If you're currently in the middle-class, I hope you're busting your ass to claw your way to the upper-middle-class, because in case you haven't noticed, the middle-class is disappearing among the stretch between RICH and POOR. The good news is that with the help of all the US outsourcing over the past few years, India is developing a fantastic new class of people - a middle-class. Yay for them! You might think that "true patriots" (i.e. right-wingers who think that questioning authority is akin to treason) might be a little more upset seeing American jobs moved overseas. But I don't see that. Maybe not enough widgets are being maufactured elsewhere to make Red State Johnny torqued off. Maybe when the majority of Americans will be living in squallor, while people like Bush and Cheney are living high on the hog off their payoffs and shady deals, someone might realize how wrong things have gone.
Thursday PM Update
I feel so neglectful of my readers, and I'm sorry for it. Just know that I DO read everyone's comments and emails, even if I don't address them all. My days are just so much longer now that it makes it difficult to be as involved as I was. So before I head off to my history class, I thought I would bring you some news... Check out this video of Nixon and Bush. Katie Couric gets a big fat raspberry for acting like an incompetant boob this morning. She was interviewing Howard Dean and trying to snag him by stating that Abramoff had donated to Democrats. Howard told her that was false, and she tried to say it was true. Except the source she was quoting from shows Abramoff donated to no democrats. WTF, Katie? Way to look like a fuck-up. There's been a "scrubbing" of a photography website that sells photos taken at political events. Up until perhaps the 11th of January, there was a photograph available on their website of George Bush and Jack Abramoff together. Investigation of why it no longer exists on the site or in backup archives reveals that the president of the photography company deemed the photo "not relevant". Is anyone surprised that she has donated thousands of dollars to Bush and the Republican party? Alright, I have to go finish my homework. See ya!
Wednesday PM Update
Oi. I have like 5 minutes before Blogger has a scheduled outage, so here's some fun stuff to chew on while I head off to Basic Statistics class (whee.)... Protesters got on camera, disrupting Alberto Gonzales (who was talking out of his ass anyway, so WhoTFCares) with a very famous Ben Franklin quote. C&L has a picture and video. I would have put up the pic if I had the time. C&L also has clips of The Daily Show talking about Bush's speech and a clip about Scotty being questioned about Abramoff. Later kids!
Tack on another White House LIE
Bush Rejects "Evesdropping" Criticism? WhoTheFCares
Step #1: Rename "Wiretapping" as "Eavesdropping" 'cuz it sounds better. Step #2: Pretend that Congress has approved said "eavesdropping" when it's on record that they hadn't. The more you say it, the more dumbfucks will believe it. I mean, come on! You're the fucking president. SOMEONE will believe it. Step #3: Make believe that this whole wiretapping thing is a partisan issue, because you think you have all the Republicans sitting all neat and tidy in your billfold. Step #4: Pretend that the completely choreographed "Q&A sessions" with said dumbfucks who still believe you will allow you to regain that stupid "folksy" image you and those dumbfucks think you have. (See caption of photograph: "The White House believes the Q-and-A sessions reestablishes President Bush's folksy image.")Step #5: Have a beer and choke on a pretzel.
Are They REALLY Changing Their Minds?
Call me cynical, but I will wait until Wednesday before I believe the freeholders are doing the right thing for Laurel Hester. If things go the way they should, her partner will receive benefits upon her death that will allow her to keep the house they have been living in. That's excellent news, but the bitch in me is still angry that they made a dying woman go through all this heartache when they could have made the right decision months ago and allowed her to spend her last days with those who love her without extra worries.
I'm Not Loving New Jersey Right Now
And it's because we have a bunch of middle-aged white men telling a lesbian dying of cancer that she cannot leave her pension to her partner, despite the 24 years of service as a police officer AND the fact that New Jersey passed the Domestic Partnership Act. These men had a chance to show their compassion and at the same time show that gays and lesbians are NOT second-class citizens, but that's kind of hard to do when one of them says "that if Hester's request was granted it would 'violate the sanctity of marriage.'" Christ. I thought New Jersey was among the more progressive states. Then I read about these yahoos. I need a drink.
OMG! We Caught Bin Laden!
Well, that's what you would have thought if you happened to watch Gonzales yap about the garden-variety eco-extremists they hauled in. Yes, the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front have been accused of arson, attempted arson, vandalism and illegal releases of animals. Ooooooooo, don't frighten me so! Yes, absolutely, do not let people who burn down buildings or harass and threaten people get away with that behavior. The law is the law, and must be followed - BY EVERYONE. But when Gonzales describes the group as a "cell" (twice), "terrorists", and "terrorist movements," the average citizen would have no trouble assuming that these people are on par with muslim extremists willing to kill scores of people, including themselves, to cause chaos and mayhem. This was clearly orchestrated to try and make a show of the government's handle on the "war on terrorism". It makes me awfully sad to see that they are able to catch people who set fires and freed a few monkeys almost 10 years ago, but they still have no idea where Osama is. That would be the guy who orchestrated the deaths of 3000 people, in case someone out there has forgotten. I know it's hard to remember, considering how little our government and the media talks about it. Gosh, with all this extremism, it's surprising no one's trying to get students to rat out those horrible "radical" professors or something.
3,200 People Still Missing After Katrina
Posting the whole thing... More than 3,200 people are officially still unaccounted for nearly five months after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, and the state medical examiner wants the search to resume for those missing from the most devastated neighborhoods.
A total of nearly 11,500 people were reported missing to the Find Family National Call Center, a center run by federal and state workers. The reports included people from throughout the Gulf Coast area, but most were from Louisiana.
As of Wednesday, all but about 3,200 had been located, the agency said.
Dr. Louis Cataldie, the state's medical examiner, said he planned to ask state and parish officials to recheck about 400 addresses where authorities have consistent information about people missing from badly flooded neighborhoods. Most are in east New Orleans; about 50 are from St. Bernard Parish.
It's possible some of those missing were washed into Lake Pontchartrain, or their bodies remain in the rubble that still blankets much of the city. Over the last several weeks, at least one family returning to a wrecked home has found the remains of a relative inside.
Some of those still listed as missing likely have been found already by relatives but the center hasn't been notified of their status, the call center said. Others may not want to be found because of criminal or legal problems.
More than 1,300 Katrina-related deaths have been reported across five states, with 1,080 of those from Louisiana. Seventy of those killed in Louisiana remain unidentified, Cataldie said.
I Think I Might Join Them
How scary is THAT? Tip to AB. Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances (PRCB) today called upon Congress to hold open, substantive oversight hearings examining the President's authorization of the National Security Agency (NSA) to violate domestic surveillance requirements outlined in the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, chairman of PRCB, was joined by fellow conservatives Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR); David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union; Paul Weyrich, chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation and Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, in urging lawmakers to use NSA hearings to establish a solid foundation for restoring much needed constitutional checks and balances to intelligence law.
"When the Patriot Act was passed shortly after 9-11, the federal government was granted expanded access to Americans' private information," said Barr. "However, federal law still clearly states that intelligence agents must have a court order to conduct electronic surveillance of Americans on these shores. Yet the federal government overstepped the protections of the Constitution and the plain language of FISA to eavesdrop on Americans' private communication without any judicial checks and without proof that they are involved in terrorism."
Tuesday PM Update
My American Politics class began tonight. Several of my classmates and I are already declaring each other on suicide watch. The professor is a lawyer who announced that what he says does not necessarily mean he believes them, but rather he is trying to get us to see facts as they are. Well, he's already pushed enough buttons on the girl in the front row to make her challenge him... Because he's an attorney, I was waiting to hear both sides of things, but lo and behold I was hearing a whole lotta stuff that doesn't exactly lean left. One thing he mentioned was how vocal liberal protestors were during the last presidential election, and that he didn't notice any conservative groups. I wonder why he would say that??? Anywho, here's some news of the day: If you missed it, WaPo claimed that Abramoff had donated to Democrats as well as Republicans, when that was false. Howard Kurtz tries to explain the falsehood by claiming the article was "inartfully worded." Of course, he says this without actually talking to the writer about what she really meant to say. Can someone please write a neutral article based on facts? Is that even possible? The same guy who said "[T]his is horrible to say, and I wonder if I'm alone in this -- you know, it took me about a year to start hating the 9-11 victims' families? Took me about a year." has been hired by CNN. I don't want this asshole's opinion on things. I don't want ANYONE'S OPINION on things. I want some REAL FUCKING JOURNALISM. Fuck you, CNN. Fuck you and your lame-ass excuse for a news source. See previous paragraph's last two sentences... Alberto "All torture all the time" Gonzalez uses the beaten-to-death "Clinton Did It Too!" excuse, except Clinton didn't. Clinton followed the law when HE wanted to wiretap. If Bush had gotten off his fucking throne and followed the law, this wouldn't have been a problem. Because you KNOW if this were Clinton, he'd already have been removed from office... Apparently Hillary Clinton is in hot water over having used the word "plantation" when referring to describe the GOP. Convenient how soon they forget their OWN use of the word "plantation"... I'm cartain all the black Republicans in the House and Senate will have something to say about this... Okay, I'm done being a complete bitch for now. Later kids!
Check This Out
I found this a very interesting read. Pass it on if you like... 
Ney Steps Down
Chairman steps aside during probeOhio congressman Ney identified in Abramoff lobbying scandal
Rep. Bob Ney gave up his chairmanship of the House Administration Committee on Sunday amid an influence-peddling probe that has roiled the Republican Party, but he predicted the investigation would clear his name.
Ney, a six-term Ohio Republican, was under heavy pressure from House Speaker Dennis Hastert to give up his chairmanship after Ney was implicated in the scandal surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to corruption charges January 3. He goes on to whine about how all allegations against him are false. Yes. Right. Get him his halo, please. Better yet, get him his cross so he can crawl on up and nail himself to it. Whatthefuckever. On another note, "24" FUCKING ROCKED tonight. Oh my darling Jack Bauer. Sexy, sexy man.
Hey! We got al Qaeda's #2! Oh... wait....
You probably saw the headlines where the US claimed it might have killed al-Zawahiri, and you probably saw the myriad of bloggers casting significant looks to each other, possibly declaring the 12 miners actually alive. Well, those suspicious glances were well-founded, because they did not in fact get anyone except livestock and civilians, four of which were children. And they're pissed as hell. 
Protesters hold anti-U.S. signs during a protest in Islamabad, Pakistan on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2006. Islamic groups staged nationwide protests Sunday against a purported CIA airstrike that Pakistan says killed innocent civilians instead of the apparent target, top al-Qaida lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahri. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)They see US as the terrorists. How fantastic! Can someone please buy Bush the book on how to win friends and influence people? Better yet, someone raise Dale Carnegie form the dead so he can get some one-on-one training. This is a mess.
US Makes Us Laugh Hysterically
Strap in kids... they've found Jose Padilla's application to be in al Qaeda! No, I am totally serious! Stop laughing! They DID find it, I swear!
Padilla's attorney, Michael Caruso, questioned the authenticity of Padilla's alleged mujahadeen application, saying there was ''no direct evidence'' he filled out the form. He asked Garber three times if he could call an FBI agent to the witness stand to ask about the document. Garber rejected his requests.
Jesus' General has gotten a hold it it: 
ACLU Opposes Patriot Act Provision
The American Civil Liberties Union raised objections yesterday to a little-noticed provision of the latest version of the USA Patriot Act bill, arguing that it would give the Secret Service wider latitude to charge protesters accused of disrupting major events including political conventions and the Olympics.
But Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who sponsored the provisions, and his aides said the concerns are misguided. The changes are meant to clear up legal confusion about the Secret Service's role at major events and to ensure that venues are fully secure before the president or other top officials arrive, they said. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT. One of my favorite professors is a local judge, and even HE says the Patriot Act scares him.
Short Cat Update
Asia is now curled up in one of her favorite sleeping spots. She's got two medications and special canned food, but I heard her nibble at her regular dry food and she seems happy to be home. Loki appears confused by her unfamiliar smell, but seems happy she's home, too. :)
Thursday PM SPEEDY Update!
Scroll down for my kitty update, but here is some quick news: Alito's Wife Cries - You know, I understand that she's probably been under a lot of stress, but for fuck's sake woman, pull yourself together! You can't handle your husband being asked questions??? The inteview to get such an important job isn't required to be laden with love-sighs and questions like "Do you like the color blue?" Christ that kind of thing annoys me... AmericaBlog buys Gen. Wes Clark's phone records for $90. Poor bastard. Hope he's already gotten himself a new line. But how well does that bode for the rest of us, and does anyone have $90 to try and get George W. Bush's number? I'm tapped out right now, ya know, vet bills and all. *snicker* Republican Senator Cornyn actually referred to Alito as "Scalito" - Twice! Are they drugging them or are Republicans just naturally retarded? Lots of other stuff going on, but I have a test in less than an hour and a half, and I still have some studying to do. Later kids!!!
Update on Asia
We are bringing her home tonight! :D She has been fed from a syringe several times since last night and she hasn't thrown up, but hasn't eaten on her own, so we are bringing her home and hoping she will eat once she gets here and that she was just too nervous about being in a weird place. This doesn't mean that things couldn't take a bad turn, but I'm happy that we'll have her home and hope she just had a nasty infection or something. I have my final exam in Tort Law tonight, so I can't be there to pick her up from the vet, but I will be racing home the second I am done to snuggle up with her. Now that the craziness with Asia is (mostly) over, back to some bloggin'!!! (YAY FOR KITTIES!)
My Cat's Not Well
UPDATED 1/10 at 8:30pm - scroll down for some good news!...Will hear from a specialist tomorrow because they don't know exactly what the problem is. Either way, it's not going to be pretty. My poor wee sheepie. Here she is as part of the Infinite Cat Project. UPDATE (01/09/05, 5:10pm): It's 50/50 right now. Spoke with the specialist who believe it may relate back to an early problem with her teeth. For those unaware, we had the vet remove all her teeth behind her canines because she has a condition which causes her gums to bleed when there's a buildup of plaque. Poor thing only ate enough to survive because it hurt so much, but after the surgery she gained 3 pounds. Anyway, they are trying medications. If she doesn't respond to them, the only thing left is to try an endoscopy, and we cannot afford the $2500 they tell me that procedure costs. I should know in 24 hours which way it will go. Thanks for everyone's good wishes. She is the cat I got after my 18-year-old cat died, and that was only 2 years ago. Losing pets just suck. Fingers are crossed. UPDATE (01/10/05, 5:15pm): I have a few minutes befopre my class so I am here in the school library updating. So many people have offered support, here in the comments and in private emails, and I cannot begin to tell you all how much I do appreciate them. In my real life, I can be rather bi-polar in my emotions - one minute sobbing like a child over the prospect of losing this dear, sweet creature, the next feeling like a total moron for getting so upset over a cat when people lose pets every day and there are so many that can use a wonderful home if only for the short time they are here. At this moment, my husband should be en route with her to our regular veterinarian. I spoke with them earlier today, and they assured me that even though the emergency place is REALLY expensive, they are excellent at what they do and they refer all their emergencies there. Yes, I am frustrated and even angry about how much they charge, but in the grand scheme of things, it's only money and Asia deserves to be treated to the best. Anyway, when I spoke with the specialist from UberPricey place, he said she's no longer throwing up, but she is not showing an interest in eating. At that point, I felt it was better to bring her closer to home, where her regular vets can administer medication and watch her for the next day. The UberPricey place is giving them all the information they need. My great concern right now is that she's not eating. They did try giving her something to stimulate her appetite, but if that isn't doing it and she doesn't eat something by tomorrow, I'm not sure what to do. She has not eaten since Saturday, and I can't bear make her starve in the hopes she will start eating at SOME point. I'm sorry if this brings up sad memories of your own pet losses, or if you think I am just being a flakey girl, and I'm sorry I have not been writing political stuff. Trust me, I'd must prefer that over what's going on. UPDATE (8:30pm): Got out of class early (THANK YOU!) and immediately called home. Kid Bastard tells me Asia is settled in at her regular vet, and was acting quite normally for her personality - very peeved at being in her carrier, and several attempts to escape the exam table. The doc feels certain she has some sort of intestinal infection and believes that she may not be eating because she is nervous about being at a strange place with other unfamiliar animals. She is staying one more night while they wean her off the initial meds and try and get her to eat, but unless she begins throwing up blood again, I will be picking her up tomorrow after work! (*doing the happy dance*) She could still take a turn for the worse, but for now, I will stay cautiously optomistic while I distract myself with wretched studying for my final exam in Tort Law on Thursday. >;[ Anon: Please extend appropriate groveling and begging of forgiveness. My inferior humanness got in the way.
Bush Packs Up Reconstruction of Iraq
Dear Iraq: I'm really bummed, but we're gonna have to stop trying to rebuild your country. Yeah, I know, we kinda came in and fucked up the place, but we were doing it to stop Saddam Hussein from using Weapons of Mass Destruction... wait, we did it to stop terrorism... hang on a sec, I can't find my talking points.... OH YEAH! We did it to bring you freedom from tyrrany! So yeah, now that we've done that, I know the place is a fucking pit, and that insurgents have moved in to blow up more of our guys and you guys keep getting blown up and all that, but we're gonna have to stop helping you rebuild. It's time you schlubs got off your asses and did it yourself. I know we promised to help, but I have a country of my own to fuck up and I've done all I can with yours. No, I didn't say anything about not occupying your country anymore, just the reconstruction thing. You're on your own now. Good fucking luck! Love, George W. Bush PS: If you need any help with that oil, you just let me know... I bet I could buy it from ya to help fund your own reconstruction costs.
Try Not To Soil Yourself From Laughing...
but Bush sez "In 2005, the American economy turned in a performance that is the envy of the industrialized world." Dude has started taking some serious fucking drugs, and I'm pissed he's not sharing.
Amanpour Eavesdropping Revelation Is Spreading Like Wildfire
Christiane herself was not aware of it and is investigating, but CNN is picking up the blogosphere buzz and running with it. I have a great deal of respect for Christiane Amanpour. She has always come across to me as a real reporter. Someone who refuses to sit behind a desk with a plastic face and bleached teeth waxing moronic like the lot of them. She's out there in the world. And now they've caught her attention. You stupid motherfuckers. You fucked with the wrong chick.
Sean Hannity, Bush Lackey
He needs that on his business card. Can we order some for him? Hehe, check this out: ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Joining us now on the phone is the former director of the National Mine Safety and Health Academy, Jack Spadaro. In terms of safety, Jack, what do we know about this mine and its relative safety in how it should have been operating?
JACK SPADARO, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL MINE ACADEMY: We know from the record that the mine, in particular in the past year, has been cited over 180 times for violations of federal mine health and safety law and regulations. And about 90 of those violations were called serious and substantial violations of the law. So we know that it was a very unsafe mine and that there were serious problems with mine ventilation and roof control.
COLMES: Are you saying that these men should not have been allowed to go down there?
SPADARO: Yes, sir.
COLMES: You're saying this mine should not have been open?
SPADARO: This mine should have been closed. And there were too many serious violations. And the record is very clear.
COLMES: Why was it open then? If you, as a safety expert, feels it should not have been, why was it open?
SPADARO: I think it's because of the current Bush administration's policies toward mine operators and their reluctance to take the strong enforcement action that's sometimes necessary. And that often involves closing a mine.
SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: Jack, let's not politicize this! I mean, already, what do you want, to blame George Bush with this? Is that where you're headed with this political question? I don't think this is the time to go into that.
There certainly are issues. This mine was cited for over 200 violations, 46 during an 11-week period late in the year. They've been fined thousands of dollars. But I can't see an instance where it was recommended that they close it.
SPADARO: Well, actually, there were three orders to close portions of the mine that were issued in the October to the December period. And there has been a significant change since the Bush administration took over, the enforcement of mine safety and health.
And I can speak to that, because I worked in the agency, and I talk with people every day who tell me that, in recent years, and particularly in recent months, there's been a reluctance on the part of the top management at the Mine Safety and Health Administration...
HANNITY: All right, you've got a political...
SPADARO: ... to enforce the law.
HANNITY: We don't have time tonight to get into this, nor do I think it's appropriate. But you clearly have a political agenda that, if I had enough time, I'm sure I...
SPADARO: No. You called me and asked me to make a comment.
HANNITY: I know, but I'm sure...
SPADARO: And I'm telling you what's...
HANNITY: You want to turn this into a political thing...
SPADARO: No, I'm telling you what the truth is.
HANNITY: ... and we have families that are suffering tonight, sir.
SPADARO: And that's the truth is that there were 180 violations...
HANNITY: You want to blame George Bush...
SPADARO: ... that were serious.
HANNITY: ... like a lot of extreme left-wingers. All right. Go ahead. You got your point out.
COLMES: Mr. Spadaro, I'm not sure that you have a political point of view, but I do thank you very much for coming on the show tonight. Thank you for your time. Via CrooksAndLiars, who only bring you the best, and have links to relevent info regarding this exchange. Twee!
Is NBC Editing It's Transcripts?
AmericaBlog had posted this at 2:09pm: Mitchell: Do you have any information about reporters being swept up in this net?
Risen: No, I don't. It's not clear to me. That's one of the questions we'll have to look into the future. Were there abuses of this program or not? I don't know the answer to that
Mitchell: You don't have any information, for instance, that a very prominent journalist, Christiane Amanpour, might have been eavesdropped upon?
Risen: No, no I hadn't heard that. And noticed at 4:29pm that the transcripts read differently now: Mitchell: Do you have any information about reporters being swept up in this net?
Risen: No, I don't. It's not clear to me. That's one of the questions we'll have to look into the future. Were there abuses of this program or not? I don't know the answer to that
Mitchell: You are very, very tough on the CIA and the administration in general in both the war on terror and the run up to the war and the war itself Â? the post-war operation. Let's talk about the war on terror. Why do you think they missed so many signals and what do you think caused the CIA to have this sort of break down as you describe it? WTF?
ABRAMOFF PLEADS GUILTY TO CORRUPTION
Just thought ya might be interested... Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff has reached an agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to two criminal charges stemming from the 2000 purchase of SunCruz Casinos, his attorney said Tuesday.
Abramoff will also agree to cooperate in any ongoing federal investigations in Washington, according to his Miami attorney Neal Sonnett. Prosecutors there are investigating several members of Congress who received favors from Abramoff or his clients.
Rude Pundit Visits New Orleans
Why Does Barbie Hate America???
Because apparently Barbie is promoting bisexuality amongst 4-8 year old girls (or boys who play with Barbies, because there's nothing wrong with that...). Now, granted, my daughter just recently turned five and she's on her 11th boyfriend, but I have yet to hear her talk about gettin' some from the little blonde girl down the street. I'll let you know if she does though. But John says it best: PS They also attack Barbie for not being a good Christian because good Christian girls only want to serve the Lord, get married, stay at home and have kids. I'm not making this up. I guess if you're a woman (or a doll) who wants a career, then you're a dyke. Speaking of John, he has an excellent little checklist that you could have simply handed to your staunch Republican cousin rather than waste the time and potential fat lip if it had been out for the holidays. That's right I said HOLIDAYS. I'll give you a hint: Osama Bin Laden having not yet been located is #1. Speaking of holidays, was anyone's Christmas a casuality of this war they've been yapping about? I dunno about you, but it still happened here in NJ... I wonder when they will start using the term "eavesdropping" to soften the "wiretapping" blows they been taking hits on? Bets anyone?
Did Everyone Party Like It's 1999?
I refrained from partying so hard that I was unable to function the next day, but I did indeed party hard. Hope you all were safe and had a great New Year's Eve. Can someone please kill Dick Clark, though? That poor man needs to be put out of his misery. Onto a new year of corruption, deception and dirty tricks... William Safire is with the critics over Bush's wiretapping: I was writing a speech on welfare reform, and the president looks at it and says, "OK, I'll go with it, but this is not going to get covered. Leak it as far an wide as you can beforehand. Maybe we'll get something in the paper." And so I go back to my office and I get a call from a reporter, and he wants to know about foreign affairs or something, and I said, "Hey, you want a leak? I'll tell you what the president will say tomorrow about welfare reform." And he took it down and wrote a little story about it. But the FBI was illegally tapping his phone at the time, and so they hear a White House speechwriter say, "Hey, you want a leak?" And so they tapped my phone, and for six months, every home phone call I got was tapped. I didn't like that. And when it finally broke--it did me a lot of good at the time, frankly, because then I was on the right side--but it told me how easy it was to just take somebody who is not really suspected of anything for any good reason and listen to every conversation in his home--you know, my wife talking to her doctor, my--everything. BUT...BUT...BUT, the preznit says they only tapped BAD GUYS!!! Honest injun!!! "This is not about monitoring phone calls designed to arrange Little League practice or what to bring to a potluck dinner," he told reporters. "These are designed to monitor calls from very bad people to very bad people who have a history of blowing up commuter trains, weddings, and churches." If that's true, the someone stop that horrible William Safire before he takes down the United Methodist Church down the street from me!!! DAMN YOU, SAFIRE!!! But wait, Bushy says it's all been reviewed, so it's okay, ya know! Asked Sunday about internal opposition, President Bush said: "This program has been reviewed, constantly reviewed, by people throughout my administration. And it still is reviewed.
"Not only has it been reviewed by Justice Department officials, it's been reviewed by members of the United States Congress," he said. "It's a vital, necessary program." Except if they'd reviewed it, it would have been killed. Why would the president lie? Oh yeah, because he's been given a blank check. For fuck's sake, how are people even entertaining the thought of standing behind Bush after all this? They create their own reality and the rest of us are left in the wake of their disasters! AND SOME OF YOU STILL LIKE HIM! You don't think there's a problem with someone who does whatever they want without abiding by the law? If this was a Democratic president, Republicans would be going over every blue dress they could get their hands on with a fine-tooth comb. Citizens would be baying for blood. This man, and his group of cronies, ARE ALL FUCKING CRAZY. Their actions have gained us more terrorists than stopped them, they have destroy our international relations, they have created an enormous splintering of the Republican party, and American citizens have been fucked by Dubya and a lot of them don't even know it. The amount of damage one guy and his friends have done to this country is astounding.
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