Very good article Nancy!

Neptunian duplicity runs amuck. Take a look at this:

----

Thanks For the Help, Suckers!
Paul Waldman (9:55AM) link

Now that the Republicans have strengthened their majorities in Congress, and with a staunchly conservative president, what is their message to the Radical Religious Right voters who allegedly put them there? Thanks - now go away.

The GOP leadership unveiled its top ten priorities yesterday, and guess what was missing? We'll let the Washington Post describe it:

Senate Republican leaders outlined their 10 top legislative priorities yesterday, focusing mainly on cutting taxes and restructuring Social Security. But two notable omissions -- changes to immigration laws and a ban on same-sex marriage -- underscored tensions with their conservative wing...

The Senate Republicans' top 10 list calls for adding private accounts to Social Security, extending President Bush's tax cuts, limiting personal-injury lawsuits and expanding domestic oil exploration. But GOP Senate leaders moved cautiously on more contentious issues, including abortion, same-sex marriage and immigration...

Ah, the old bait and switch. Let's see, we've got something for Wall Street, something for rich people, something for corporate criminals, and something for oil companies. Truly the party of the common folk, these Republicans.

This explains why Tom Frank's What's the Matter With Kansas is still on the best-seller list. Frank described this act perfectly:

Their grandstanding leaders never deliver, their fury mounts and mounts, and nevertheless they turn out every two years to return their right-wing heroes to office for a second, a third, a twentieth try. The trick never ages; the illusion never wears off. Vote to stop abortion; receive a rollback in capital gains taxes. Vote to make our country strong again; receive deindustrialization. Vote to screw those politically correct college professors; receive electricity deregulation. Vote to get government off our backs; receive conglomeration and monopoly everywhere from media to meat-packing. Vote to stand tall against terrorists; receive Social Security privatization. Vote to strike a blow against elitism; receive a social order in which wealth is more concentrated than ever before in our lifetimes, in which workers have been stripped of power and CEOs are rewarded in a manner beyond imagining.

----

Honestly folks, the next time I run into a conservative evangelical, I'm just going to laugh in their face and will say, "Ummm, sweetie, you been HAD!"

The God types always fall for religious pandering. It's in their nature. "You've been had" should become the rallying cry for the Dems in the 2006 election.

This is just so damn funny, if only the implications weren't so serious. And did you see the news about conservative groups threatening not to back Bush's social security plan unless he backs a gay marriage ban? Puh-leeeeaase. I wonder what's going to happen when the evangeicals realize they have nothing in common with their Republican leaders.

excellent nancy. they have a wound all right and it's already starting to show. i believe that the chiron-saturn opposition will be the coup de grace and whatever manifests in april 2005 the catalyst. boxer stood up and said 'the emperor has no clothes' and she's still walking and talking; gaining popularity. she will be the hero of this movement. i'm talking about the movement that will either marginalize or evict bush.

thanks tonight to those democrats who opposed the insidious rice:

boxer...byrd...dayton...durbin...etc.

shame on lieberman and feinstein for supporting rice.

OK, now i know that there is something really intense and strange happening...the crumbling of the republican party. i didn't understand people who said this would happen, but here is another article from traditional conservative icon craig paul roberts (hoover institution, cato institute, etc. pedigree)

http://www.vdare.com/roberts/050125_bush.htm
------------------------------------------------
"The neoconservatives are Jacobins. The neocons are the greatest threat America has ever faced, and they have the reins of power. Americans need to wake up to this fact and stop indulging their macho "kick their Muslim butts" fantasies and their "end times" Rapture fantasies.

The Bush administration is not establishing any democracies. It is starting a war that will last a generation.

That is the neocon plan. They have put their intentions in writing just as Hitler did. It is no protection that their plan is detached from reality. Robespierre was detached from reality, and that did not stop him. So were Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot. People with power in their hands who are detached from reality are the most dangerous people of all.

The delusional quality of their rantings disarms people from taking them seriously: "Oh, they couldn’t mean that."
----------------------------------------------

this isn't from "counterpunch" or some of the hard left blog, it's from one of the premier american conservative intellectuals.

WOW

* Religious right now questioning bush's faith!!!

Make my day!!!!!!

LOL I love this. You lay down with dogs, you wake up with fleas. bush stoked the flames of these intolerant bigots for the past 4 yrs, & now they're turning on him with talk of "just what kind of faith does he have?" Ie, bush isn't a real christian because he mentioned the Koran nicely, & because the RNC appointed a pro-choice co-chair to serve alongside the ambiguously-gay Ken Mehlman.

This is from the American Family Assn's propaganda organ AgapePress, & note that I have NEVER seen the AFA publish stories it doesn't agree with. This story was pub'd to raise questions about bush's faith in view of his waffling on issue of concern to the religious right. Love it.

Of course, the incredibly offensive thing is that they're actually questioning his faith because they disagree with him on like 2 or 3 things, incl a job appointment & a mention of the Koran. So what do they do? QUESTION HIS FAITH. Man, if any liberal grps have money & a brain out there, pls grab this & get it to the WH & the media. bush will be PISSED.

"... Some con christians are asking questions regarding the faith of [rez] based on his recent actions. Christian social commentator John Lofton is upset over some things [rez] has done lately, incl the chief exec's praise of the Koran during his inauguration speech last wk. "It was deeply distressing to hear [rez] mention the Koran, which is a vehemently anti-christian [&] anti-Jewish document, in the same breath with the Old & the New Testaments," Lofton says. The columnist also notes that in his xmas address, bush failed to mention the name of Christ--yet he honored Ramadan & an Indian holiday that features an 8-legged elephant god. And today's (Jan 24) March for Life in Wash DC, follows on the heels of [rez]'s approval of a pro-abortion woman for the #2 spot on the [necroporn] Natl Committee. Lofton has written a column wondering just what kind of faith [rez] has."
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/01/religious-right-now-questioning-bushs.html

I think we ought to have a new slogan for every time a Republican loses an election:

"You've been raptured."

Wonderful read as usual, Nancy! Thank you for all the hard work you do to make these articles possible! Only a bit dismayed to read that it may take another several years (Dec /05 - Feb/07) to see this group hit the wall. Sigh, too many things can happen between now and then with these madmen in power and too many more people hurt under this administration. It's going to be very hard to get through another 4 years of * and his perpetual wars of hatred and greed.

Dave - loved the "rapture" bit! If only it could be so!

Mike - thanks for the Paul Craig Roberts article! Could this really show there is trouble in Washington "Paradise"? I've forwarded it around - good read!

Oops - for some reason my name did not come out on the above ... thanks again for a great article, Nancy!

Nancy,
your analogies are so vivid and expressive! Good article.
Heres a poisenous little island, that will grow, watch out for it.
Monsanto corp. has just purchased Seminis seeds. They supply 1/3 of the world with fruit & vegetable seeds! Including Fedco & Johnny's seeds here in Maine! Monsanto is also buying stock in or ownership of many of the Health food producers.

See these websites

http://www.seminis.com/

http://www.ithacanews.org/greenstarstock.html
Pitfalls everywhere!
PQOP

How can you be a Senator and vote Democratic when your husband is making huge sums of money on government contracts with the Neocons?? Don't the Dem's see this in Dianne Feinstein's district???

Army contract for Feinstein's husband
Blum is a director of firm that will get up to $600 million
URS Corp., a San Francisco planning and engineering firm partially owned by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, landed an Army contract Monday worth up to $600 million.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/04/22/MN310531.DTL

Ted Kennedy speaks out on Condoleezza! Go Ted!

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=5

The Barbara Boxer rebellion spreads! Wow!

Give Barbara Boxer credit for sparking the most engaged debate that the Senate has yet seen over the Bush administration lies that led the United States into the quagmire that is Iraq (news - web sites).

Boxer, the California Democrat who has been increasingly vocal in her objections to the Bush administration's reign of error and excess, seized the opening provided by President Bush (news - web sites)'s nomination of Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) to serve as Secretary of State to try and force a necessary discussion about the misstatements, misconceptions and misdeeds that Rice and others in the administration used to make the "case" for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. And, to the surprise even of some war foes, she got it.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2281&ncid=742&e=1&u=/thenation/20050126/cm_thenation/12148

Sen. Byrd speaks out!

Full remarks of Sen. Byrd on Condoleezza Rice’s nomination

U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., delivered the following remarks Tuesday as the Senate debated the nomination of Dr. Condoleezza Rice to be Secretary of State. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the nomination on Wednesday.

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=4

You continue to honor the astrological community (and more) by this fine investigative writing. Great article, Nancy!

Rats jumping ship -- the image that keeps playing in my head. The ship is sinking fast though for many of us it couldn't happen soon enough.

Believe wholeheartedly that a "cleansing" of this planet is imminent. Many entities will play a tragic part, others heroic. All, however, have some higher purpose.

We are being called upon -- to meet the soul's demand -- to evolve and dissolve those aspects of our complicity in hate and harsh judgment. The latter is difficult for me.

It's was a challenge (when campaigning for Kucinich and later working voter registration) to counter some of the hate-filled statements, or the mad-scowl abrasiveness of those in full righteousness of their christian certainty.

It's a challenge now to watch the *ush smirk and not want to take him to the woodshed.

Yet i know a new day is coming. I feel it in my bones.

Thank you for the links, astroworlders!

karen

Sad, sad, sad, sad.

31 U.S. Marines killed today in chopper crash in west Iraq, military officials confirm.

Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com for the latest news.

Wonderful article Nancy... as usual. Regarding May 2005 and the difficulties you see coming: the USA progressed Mars makes an exact square to the progressed Moon (people) about 5th of the month, while it opposes the progressed Chiron/Venus conjunction — all forming a tight T-square, which appears to dump into the USA natal second house, which Saturn rules. Progressed Uranus is at 6 degrees Gemini, moving close to its natal position of 8 degrees, squaring pSun/Mercury conjunction, and trining pPluto at 29 degrees Cap (degree of expiation). Please comment on these progressions as they relate to the “merry month of May” — or, not so merry.

Again, thanks for your time and comments. I particularly enjoyed the imagery evoked by your comment: “There is yet another face to the Bush regime, the face of the clean-up crew that loyally follows the Chief Elephant, clearing up the mess left behind. “

great article Nancy, you are such an astute, professional astrologer it takes my breath away when I see you've written something. Thank you. Today's death toll really pissed off the military :)

Great article Nancy. I loved Dave's comment on "you've been raptured." This adminstration reminds me of that "Mars Attack" movie spoof. The aliens are saying, "do not be afraid, we are your friends..." over and over while they blow the people away. A friend of mine received an email from one of her kool-aide drinking coworkers asking, if there is global warming why is it snowing in Mexico? Do they get any dumber than that?? Geez!

January 26, 2005
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Winning Cases, Losing Voters
By PAUL STARR

rinceton, N.J.

AS Republicans revel in President Bush's inauguration and prepare for his agenda-setting State of the Union address next week, many Democrats would like to consider almost anything but the substance of politics as the reason for their defeat last November. If only John Kerry had been a stronger candidate. If only the message had been framed differently. If only the party's strategists were as tough as the guys on the other side.

The limits of candidates and campaigns, however, can't explain the Democrats' long-term decline. And while the institutional decay at the party's base - the decline of labor unions and ethnically based party organizations - has played a role, the people who point to "moral values" may not be far off. Democrats have paid a historic price for their role in the great moral revolutions that during the past half-century have transformed relations between whites and blacks, men and women, gays and straights. And liberal Democrats, in particular, have been inviting political oblivion - not by advocating the wrong causes, but by letting their political instincts atrophy and relying on the legal system.

To be sure, Democrats were right to challenge segregation and racism, support the revolution in women's roles in society, to protect rights to abortion and to back the civil rights of gays. But a party can make only so many enemies before it loses the ability to do anything for the people who depend on it. For decades, many liberals thought they could ignore the elementary demand of politics - winning elections - because they could go to court to achieve these goals on constitutional grounds. The great thing about legal victories like Roe v. Wade is that you don't have to compromise with your opponents, or even win over majority opinion. But that is also the trouble. An unreconciled losing side and unconvinced public may eventually change the judges.

And now we have reached that point. The Republicans, with their party in control of both elected branches - and looking to create a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that will stand for a generation - see the opportunity to overthrow policies and constitutional precedents reaching back to the New Deal.

That prospect ought to concentrate the liberal mind. Social Security, progressive taxation, affordable health care, the constitutional basis for environmental and labor regulation, separation of church and state - these issues and more hang in the balance.

Under these circumstances, liberal Democrats ought to ask themselves a big question: are they better off as the dominant force in an ideologically pure minority party, or as one of several influences in an ideologically varied party that can win at the polls? The latter, it seems clear, is the better choice.

Rebuilding a national political majority will mean distinguishing between positions that contribute to a majority and those that detract from it. As last year's disastrous crusade for gay marriage illustrated, Democrats cannot allow their constituencies to draw them into political terrain that can't be defended at election time. Dissatisfied with compromise legislation on civil unions and partner benefits, gay organizations thought they could get from judges, beginning with those on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, what the electorate was not yet ready to give. The result: bans on same-sex marriage passing in 11 states and an energized conservative voting base.

Public support for abortion rights is far greater than for gay marriage, but compromise may be equally imperative - especially if a reshaped Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade by finding that there is no constitutional right to abortion and throws the issue back to the states. Some savvy Democrats are already thinking along these lines, as Hillary Clinton showed this week when she urged liberals to find "common ground" with those who have misgivings about abortion.

And if a new Supreme Court overturns affirmative-action laws, Democrats will need to pursue equality in ways that avoid treating whites and blacks differently. Some liberals have long been calling for an emphasis on "race neutral" economic policies to recover support among working-class and middle-income white voters. Legal and political necessity may now drive all Democrats in that direction.

Republicans are leaving themselves open to this kind of strategy. Their party is far more ideologically driven and more beholden to the Christian right than it was even during the Ronald Reagan era. This is the source of the party's energy, but also its vulnerability. The Democrats' opportunity lies in becoming a broader, more open and flexible coalition that can occupy the center.

In the long run, Democrats will benefit from their strength among younger voters and the growing Hispanic population. But the last thing the Democrats need is a revived interest group or identity politics. As the response to Senator Barack Obama's convention speech showed, the party's own members are looking for an expansive statement of American character and national purpose.

Secure in their own lives at home, Americans can be a great force for good in the world. That is the liberalism this country once heard from Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy - and it is the only form of liberalism that will give the Democratic Party back its majority.

Paul Starr is the co-editor of The American Prospect and the author, most recently, of "The Creation of the Media."

SpongeBob, Evil Gay Heathen
How sad to be a right-wing Christian in a world full of homo cartoons and scary nipples
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist

And oh my God, you think, how these people's lives must be one screaming firehouse of inexorable, nipple-torquing, kidney-stabbing pain. I mean, really.

Because then you read about how James Dobson, the cute little founder of the cute little ultraconservative rabidly backward happily neo-homophobic Focus on the Family, actually stood up and proclaimed, to the media, to the world, with a straight face, with no sense of irony or shuddering humiliation or an overpowering sense that he was, in fact, contributing quite nicely to the overall violent oatmealy ignorance of the planet, came right out and announced that the wildly popular and much-loved SpongeBob Squarepants cartoon character is, actually and truly, probably gay.

And therefore, of course, SpongeBob is a dire threat to all childrenkind and must be avoided at all costs lest the wee ones watch the cartoons and become overwhelmed with a mad desire to wax their chests and buy a new Miata and drink cocktails made with lemonade. More or less.

And why? Why is the adorable yellow sea sponge suddenly considered to be contributing to the mental and spiritual and genital degradation of millions of innocent children? Because he's a hyperactive none-too-bright short-attention-spanned spazzball of lovable non-sequiturial nonsense who induces rabid devotion among children and gay men and straight adults alike? Why, no. Not quite ....

(click here to read the rest)

(Full URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/01/26/notes012605.DTL&nl=fix)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Message to:

Paul Starr is the co-editor of The American Prospect and the author, most recently, of "The Creation of the Media."

Dear Sir:
The Republicans did not win the election. The Democrats did not drop the ball. The Democrats/ Progressives do not need to adopt the fascist methods of the Republicans in order to win. We need to return free elections to the USA.

Respectfully,

Yes, hooray for Sen. Byrd. Remember his speeches to an empty chamber during the runup to the invasion of Iraq? And the many times he took * to task? He’s the ONLY Democrat who has been vocal from the getgo (imho). Chalk it up to age and wisdom? Perhaps. He’s a “true” patriot, in my book (of few pages).

The “Boxer Rebellion”? Well, that’s another matter. Yes, I know — I’m totally irreverent to even question her motives. But, question I do. Here’s my ‘brief’...

1) She was re-elected Nov. 2 as Senator in a ‘blue’ state. Gives her six years, minus one to gear up for re-election... again. So, now that she’s “safe” — she’s speaking out.

2) Where was BB last year? Take the Negroponte appointment for instance. Ms. Boxer sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Where did she stand when its chairman, Sen. Luger began the rush to appoint this odious man of death squad reputation TO BE AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENIPOTENTIARY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO IRAQ (not my ‘caps’ — that’s from the committee’s letterhead)?

SENATE SCHEDULES RUSHED HEARING
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has scheduled a rushed hearing on the nomination for
Thursday, April 29, 2004. Negroponte's lack of democratic credentials and his record of support
for, or turning a blind eye to, gross human rights violations, held up his nomination for UN
ambassador in 2001. But, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a quick approval vote on
Sept. 12, 2001, rushing him through during the chaos following the tragedy of the day before.

Lugar chaired five hearings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Iraq in the month of April, including Negroponte’s confirmation hearing on April 27. The committee unanimously approved Negroponte in a vote on April 29. Negroponte was confirmed just 13 business days after his nomination. The Foreign Relations Committee will have more Iraq hearings on May 18 and 19.

http://lugar.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=221234

3) Where were all the questions about the War then? Not enough she voted for appointment, in Committee and in full Senate vote — NYT says:

Two Democrats, Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and Barbara Boxer of California, noted that they had disagreed with Mr. Negroponte when he was an ambassador in Honduras and deputy national security adviser because of the Reagan administration's policies of providing covert aid to anti-Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua in the 1980's. But they said they would set aside those concerns out of personal respect for him.

4) “personal respect”????

5) May 7th, 2004 Chomsky on Democracy Now!
On Thursday, the Senate voted 95 to 3 to approve UN ambassador John Negroponte as the head of the new US embassy in Iraq. According to the Los Angeles Times, only one Senator, Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa said that Negroponte's record as ambassador of Honduras made him the wrong choice to represent the country in Iraq. Harkin accused the nominee of lying to his bosses and to Congress about the death squads that were responsible for the disappearance of 184 people, including an American priest, while he was ambassador to Honduras.
Harkin said, "Ambassador Negroponte turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the human rights abuses in Honduras. To send Mr. Negroponte to Iraq would send entirely the wrong message at this time."

Democrats Mark Dayton of Minnesota and Richard Durbin of Illinois also voted against Negroponte's nomination. (Harkin ONLY one to speak against Negroponte)

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/05/07/1450219

6) Sen. Harkin (Iowa) was re-elected in 2002; up again in 2008. Sen. Dayton (Mn) is also voting against Rice( and as he says — against ‘lying’); Sen.Durbin (D) IL (Durbin's election as Assistant Minority Leader, also known as Democratic Whip, will mark only the fifth time in history that an Illinois senator has served as a Senate leader. Maybe the first time one with backbone has been elected.

7) Suddenly, there is minute opposition to Rice (only Senate Foreign Relations Committee members Sen Boxer and Sen Kerry vote against) and Gonzales. And that’s called a “Rebellion”.

8) Saturday, March 19 has been designated Global Day of Protest on the two-year anniversary of the Iraq War. UFPJ groups are asking for support: physical, monetary and moral. Many of them were at the “inaugural” — protesting, at risk... They will be present again on the 19th of March, after Boxer and Kerry have safely voiced their opposition to the War in Iraq, and after Condi assumes the mantle of Secretary of State and Gonzales becomes to America what Negroponte is to Iraq. [news this a.m. is Sen Judiciary Comm split along party lines - 10 to 8 - before sending nomination to full Senate, where it is expected to pass.]

Jo - I hadn't seen the progressed Moon square to prog mars for April to early May. That fits right in. I can't find the prog chiron/Venus conjunction. But I just checked the gulf War chart and the spring will prove veryi nteresting.

Uranus conjunct Uranus in the Iraq chart in March. Will they declare independence from us or have a civil war? Either is possible under this highly rebellious and independence seeking aspect.

As I mentioned in my last article, progressed IC in the Gulf War chart is conjunct natal Saturn right now, which is why the war is such a complete failure. From 3/10 to 4/10 the progressed Moon will be quincunx Saturn, triggering the progression of Saturn/IC.

So Iraqis demand independence and the war effort goes downhill. All of this amidst strong Uranus transits to Bush Mars, US Uranus, and Inaugural Moon. Upsets, surprises, changes. Then prog Moon square prog Mars in US chart. we respond with anger and aggression.

Late May and June things not going well for US effort and administration: Saturn square Bush MC, Saturn conjunct Inaugural IC, Inaugural tertiary progressed Mercury opposite Saturn, Saturn conjunct US Mercury, Saturn opposite Inaugural Chiron, Pluto opposite Saturn in Gulf War chart, Saturn conjunct Bush's Saturn and opposite US Pluto.

I don't think we have to wait for 2006 for Bush to have difficulties. I think it will be a wild ride all the way through beginning with all the Uranus in late March and April. I so look forward to the smirk rubbed off his pinched ugly mug..

Nations ranked as protector's of the environment...US 45th

http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/printer_012605X.shtml

Yea, verily, Jo... you got that right. Starr is a freakin' rt-wing con in sheep's dem-skin. "Now go to sleep... go to sleep, lil sheeple... then you won't know when we strangle & eat you."

Rice will be sworn in tonight with a more elaborate swearing in on Friday. But tonight's is the official birth of her time as SoS. Any help on an exact time will be greatly appreciated!! The chart will be horrid no matter what: Mars conjunct Pluto (note all the violence today through Friday) and Veus opposite Saturn (note all the sorow connected with all the violence.) She already has very difficult aspects in her natal chart. This will only cement the rough ride she will have. An exact chart would be very helpful.

May all that the USian Unca Tomette-condi has dished out to others come back to her, pressed down & running over. Blessed Be.

"The neo-cons are Jacobins" is exactly the point I've been trying to make. The French Revolution wasn't what the myth and spin say it was and those people were as lied to as we were and have been. The only lie they weren't told is that the French king had weapons of mass destruction. Truly history is repeating itself. What stopped the Terror was the people outside of Paris (DC) getting totally fed up with the wanton destruction of their country and citizenry.

Nancy,

Thanks for your quick response and your promising comments... run a progressed chart on USA for 6 May 2005 and you'll see the Chiron/Venus conj., two degree orb

Russert (Pumpkinhead): "Are Iraqis willing to die for their country, or are they just going to make the Americans do it."

How do these people sleep at night? I hate these guys! I really really really do!

Feingold: 'Alberto Gonzales Lacks Respect for the Rule of Law'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012705X.shtml

http://www.spaceweather.com/

QUIET SUN: Giant sunspot 720 is gone and the sun is quiet again. Solar flares and auroras are unlikely this week.

WOLF MOON: According to folklore, tonight's full moon is called the Wolf Moon. Step outside an take a look. You might see a lovely moon halo or a lunar corona.

abilene,

The real question pumpkinhead should be asking is "am I willing to die for MY country? for America? for our Constitution? our Bill of Rights?" Obviously, he's not. He prefers his status, his job --- over his country. Iraqi "insurgents" (translate rebels/people who oppose occupation of their country) on the other hand have been dying at our hands since March 18, 2003.

Anyone have a list of the 8 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee? Can't find it any where! The official Senate J C site still lists the 108th congress; incl. Sen Edwards.
I'm pleased to see that Sen Lautenberg of NJ voted against Condasleeza.......& Clinton voted her in. I'm writing her a letter to tell her she just lost my vote in 2008!!!!!!
PQOP

These people are really sick - they think the
"Tooth Fairy" is a dyke...

Education Secretary Condemns PBS Show

BEN FELLER
Associated Press

Tue, Jan. 25, 2005

WASHINGTON - The nation's new education secretary denounced PBS on Tuesday for spending public money on a cartoon with lesbian characters, saying many parents would not want children exposed to such lifestyles.

The not-yet-aired episode of "Postcards From Buster" shows the title character, an animated bunny named Buster, on a trip to Vermont - a state known for recognizing same-sex civil unions. The episode features two lesbian couples, although the focus is on farm life and maple sugaring.

A PBS spokesman said late Tuesday that the nonprofit network has decided not to distribute the episode, called "Sugartime!," to its 349 stations. She said the Education Department's objections were not a factor in that decision.

"Ultimately, our decision was based on the fact that we recognize this is a sensitive issue, and we wanted to make sure that parents had an opportunity to introduce this subject to their children in their own time," said Lea Sloan, vice president of media relations at PBS.

However, the Boston public television station that produces the show, WGBH, does plan to make the "Sugartime!" episode available to other stations. WGBH also plans to air the episode on March 23, Sloan said.

PBS gets money for the "Postcards from Buster" series through the federal Ready-To-Learn program, one aimed at helping young children learn through television.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said the "Sugartime!" episode does not fulfill the intent Congress had in mind for programming. By law, she said, any funded shows must give top attention to "research-based educational objectives, content and materials."

"Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in the episode," Spellings wrote in a letter sent Tuesday to Pat Mitchell, president and chief executive officer of PBS.

"Congress' and the Department's purpose in funding this programming certainly was not to introduce this kind of subject matter to children, particularly through the powerful and intimate medium of television."

She asked PBS to consider refunding the money it spent on the episode.

With her letter, Spellings has made criticism of the publicly funded program's depiction of the gay lifestyle one of her first acts as secretary. She began on Monday, replacing Rod Paige as President Bush's education chief.

Spellings issued three requests to PBS.

She asked that her department's seal or any statement linking the department to the show be removed. She asked PBS to notify its member stations of the nature of show so they could review it before airing it. And she asked for the refund "in the interest of avoiding embroiling the Ready-To-Learn program in a controversy that will only hurt" it.

In closing, she warned: "You can be assured that in the future the department will be more clear as to its expectations for any future programming that it funds."

The department has awarded nearly $99 million to PBS through the program over the last five years in a contract that expires in September, said department spokesman Susan Aspey. That money went to the production of "Postcards From Buster," and another animated children's show, and to promotion of those shows in local communities, she said.

The show about Buster also gets funding from other sources.

In the show, Buster carries a digital video camera and explores regions, activities and people of different backgrounds and religions.

On the episode in question, "The fact that there is a family structure that is objectionable to the Department of Education is not at all the focus of the show, nor is it addressed in the show," said Sloan of PBS.

But she also said: "The department's concerns align very closely with PBS' concerns, and for that reason, it was decided that PBS will not be providing the episode." Stations will receive a new episode, she said.

__

On the Net:

Postcards from Buster: http://pbskids.org/buster/

Education Department: http://www.ed.gov

Let your Senators know you oppose Gonzales

Subject: Oppose Attorney General Nominee Alberto Gonzales

> Dear Friend,
>
> As White House Counsel, Alberto Gonzales helped open the door to
> abuses at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. He approved a definition of
> torture so narrow that it undermined discipline in the military,
> put American fighting men and women at greater risk, and
> compromised the ability of United States Government to hold the
> moral high ground.
>
> Please urge your Senators to send a message to the rest of the
> world that the United States doesn't condone torture and abides
> by the rule of law. Click on the link below to take action.
>
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Senator Russ Feingold rips into Gonzales...

http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/printer_012705X.shtml

Pat QOP,

Here you go ---

Senators Leahy, Kennedy, Biden, Feingold, Schumer, Feinstein, Kohl and Durbin.

http://judiciary.senate.gov/members.cfm

As I have said time and time again...Hillary

would kiss anyone's behind in Times Square at

high noon, if she thought it would get her a vote.

She and Bill are Republicans...

I'm disappoined with americans here because they
have put up iwth this mad man shrub(Nero like)for
4 years and now for 4 more years; he is a total
imbecile.How can you call yourself a superpower
when here you put up with shrub like iraqis had
saddam? Both are mad men, difficult to say which
one is more devilish. Here less than 40% vote and
shrub asking the iraqis to go and vote and do their civic duty.First he should start preaching that civic duty here to make sure at least 90% do
their civic duty here. I don't know what kind of
a total moron is shrub with a Harvard MBA?

wv, I guess you don't really read my posts.

Dems on Judiciary Comm may have responded to the clout demonstrated by the blogsphere... KOS initiated a call to apply pressure for them to vote NO to Gonzoles and they joined him by the handfuls... see link for update on original post which I can't find right now...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/26/14452/5704

Additionally, the vote came on the waxing of the Moon, which as Pat C. tells us is a Wolf moon and full tonight.

I can't get a complete tally Pat POQ on those 12 Sen Dems who voted against Condi --- Kennedy and Kerry is all I can garner, with Indep James Jeffords (thank you James!) Anybody have the other ten Dems?

Ready for this? Race card is being played, with Andrew Young being quoted as saying he is dismayed at the "Dems attack against a Black woman who has proven her qualifications" --- Young is joined by a few Black Women in the House. 'Course The Black Commentator has shown Condi no respect during the last four years and is not doing so now. Perhaps the Hon Andrew Young et al should give the BC a read! Bring 'em up to speed on this pirate...

Fascists are smooth aren't they? Dangle a token Black, a token female, a token Latino --- never mind that there are millions more Blacks and Latinos and women MORE qualified --- but they wouldn't fit in with the unqualified boyz, now would they?

Anon at 8:52 pm

You might want to read these comments from FT of London and a British blogger living in USA - KOS borrowed them from MYDD... they list example after example of why USA no longer considered a superpower OUTSIDE USA.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/26/144024/687

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5952770833

Saw this on First Draft: A conservative talk show host offers his services on e-bay.

I guess it's safe now to openly ask to be on *'s gravy train. These people are pathetic!!

Jo, I agree 100%. The other question might be - is he willing to send his own son into battle? We all know the answer to that one. NOT!

The full moon was yesterday so today's vote was on a waning moon.

I don't understand why any Democrat voted to confirm Condi. She was going to be appointed anyway but the symbolism of Democratic unity would have spoken volumes.

Teresa,
My calendar said full moon was yesterday... but three months back I was wrong... sure didn't want to go there again.

Totally agree with you that Dems should take a stand... that's been the problem since 9/11. Time to grow some backbone, fish or cut bait. Which brings us to the REAL test. How many Dems are going to support Gonzales?

Sy Hersh was on Democracy NOW... you can read his remarks --- pretty chilling --- on kos diary:

Seymour Hersh: "We've Been Taken Over by a Cult"

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/26/165055/159

Jo - It must be the two degree orb where we are getting confused. I only use one degree waxing orb for progressions, with maybe a few minutes separating, particularly if there is a big transit triggering.

On that note Jo...

http://tinyurl.com/5jgbz

Veterans' Benefits "hurtful" to National Security, says Pentagon
 
Veterans' Benefits "hurtful" to National Security, says Pentagon

The Wall Street Journal describes the pittance set aside for veteran's benefits as "Congress' generosity," even as the Republican-controlled Congress and Bush Pentagon get set to slash billions more from Veterans Administration's (VA) programs. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (1-25-05), Pentagon official David Chu, in a mockery of the contribution of veterans, defended a new round of cuts by ironically describing funding for programs like veterans' education and job training, health care, pensions, VA housing and the like as "hurtful" to national security.

Despite Republican pretense that spending increases for the VA budget under the Bush administration have been large, new spending neither has matched inflation over the same period, nor does it keep pace with growing need.

For example, as private sector health care costs skyrocket, veterans are more and more turning to the military's health insurance program, Tricare. Retired service members account for half of the people covered by Tricare, whereas just five years ago they accounted for only 40 percent. The Bush administration wants to find ways to stem this tide – none of which have anything to do with keeping private sector insurance affordable. The slow rate of VA spending growth enforced by Bush and the congressional Republicans over the last four years won't cover growing deferred benefits, such as education, housing, retirement, health care and so on, promised to current service members or that are supposed to be available for new enlistees.

Slow spending growth isn't even the biggest immediate problem for vets. In the last two years, Bush ordered the closing of several VA hospitals in different parts of the country, pushing waiting lists for medical services for veterans as high as six months for about 230,000 vets. These closings followed in the wake of the congressional Republican's concerted drive in 2003 to cut $15 billion from VA spending over the next ten years.

And, since his razor thin victory over Senator Kerry and his claim of "political capital" to rule as he sees fit, President Bush, according to an Associate Press story about a leaked White House Budget Office memo, plans to slash veterans' health care benefits by over $900 million and veteran's housing programs by $50 million in 2005 alone. A Center for American Progress analysis says, "President Bush's 2005 budget would increase prescription drug co-pays from $7 to $15 for many veterans. In 2002, the co-pay went from $2 to $7." This co-pay increase would have the biggest impact on "near-poor" veterans whose incomes are just high enough to require that they pay the new premium.

In fact the Republicans are so desperate to cut veterans' benefits they have started attacking fellow Republicans who want to preserve current benefit levels. The Wall Street Journal reports that "the House Republican leadership took the unusual step of stripping New Jersey Rep. Christopher Smith of his chairmanship of the Veterans Affairs Committee" for pushing "so aggressively for veterans benefits that he at times threatened to oppose their spending plans – and President Bush's – unless more retiree benefits were included."

The Wall Street Journal attributes the fact that the Republicans haven't been able to cut more from the VA budget to the work of large veterans' lobby groups such as the Military Officers Association of America and other veterans groups like American Legion and Vietnam Veterans of America who have consistently blocked cuts and have pushed for expanded programs and spending. Veterans groups have called for expanded VA hospital usage, larger retiree, disability, and survivor benefits, equitable pay for service members and better access to health care and health insurance for retirees and survivors.

The Bush administration and the congressional Republicans lament the fact that increasing entitlements promised to veterans have forced them to limit the growth of spending for questionable missile systems and other weapons programs. New funding for their illegal war on Iraq, they claim, is also in jeopardy as long as so much new military spending is set aside for veterans' programs.

More....

I saw Andrew Young today being interviewed, and I was horrified. He criticized the Dems for opposing Rice. He said that the election is over and we must all support our president on foreign policy. Period. He does agree about opposing Bush's domestic policies. I was screaming at the TV he was so awful. He criticized Gore and Kerry for not listneing to the black voters and complained that they had never known hunger or struggle and couldn't understand the difficulites blacks go through.

Letters to Senators re Gonzales?

Well, as of Nov. 3, I now have not one, but two --- Republican Senators... one of whom I would not dare write (Dimwit) as he would probably have me carted away in one of those bright orange suits. The other, Lindsey Graham... well, I write and I write... and don't really see the point anymore. But since our 'leaders' are not leading... we have to keep protesting, right? (I'm ready to revolt, actually.)

So, I wrote Senator Graham, Monday, on the waxing of the moon, Teresa :-)Actually, this one may buy me an orange suit.

Jo, some people do look really good in orange (LOL).

Sally, Nancy,
Thank you both for your wonderful and haunting articles~I so appreciate your time, skill, support and limitless insight.

Nancy,
As far as Andrew Young is concerned I am appalled at his solicitous defense of someone, regardless of color, that has been so harmful to African-Americans/causes. He should know that the face of evil comes in many shades of color and Rice’s black face truly represents the face of the Devils Handmaiden.

WV,
I feel you are right about the Clintons. The Democratic Party has moved so far to the right that moderate “Republicans/Democrats” like the Clintons seem liberal. In years past the Clintons would have been more aligned with Republicans.

A TRAITOR TO HER RACE~Condoleezza Rice: THE DEVIL'S HANDMAIDEN

by THE BLACK COMMENTATOR
January 23, 2003

The old, reflexive Black applause for members of the race who are chosen for high office, now works against us with a vengeance. The GOP understands the game and, with the enthusiastic connivance of corporate media, plays it with increasing skill. Authentic Black opinion, sensibilities and leadership are relentlessly devalued, even at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden, Maryland on the day set aside for remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King.
The Associated Press recorded the surprise presidential visit:
Though warmly greeted, Bush's applause paled in comparison to the cheers that followed Rice's introduction. She smiled and blew kisses to the crowd from her seat behind Bush.
Authentic Black leadership has done little to impress upon the people that Rice is the devil's handmaiden, an eager accomplice in Bush's crimes. It is one thing to bear insults with dignity. It is quite another to cheer about it.

CONTINUED~
http://www.counterpunch.org/commentator01232003.html

http://www.thereisnocrisis.com/

THERE IS NO CRISIS
Social Security is America's promise that those who work hard and play by the rules will retire with dignity. Even the most pessimistic of economists agree it will remain solvent for decades. There is no crisis.

............

U.N. Calls for Aid to U.S. to Ease Budget and Trade Deficits
http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012705W.shtml

............

This was posted on Salon.

I wandered into Ruppert's economics section and found a long article about derivatives that I plowed through because it explained how they work--something I have never understood.

Written just before 9/11, the article describes how the JPMorganChase manipulated--held down-- gold prices in order to support their huge portfolio of derivatives.The economist-author, Adam Hamilton, alleges that Rubin and Greenspan artificially pegged the price of gold and that JPMorganChase participated in the fixing, to great advantage in the derivatives market. http://tinyurl.com/6modo

They wouldn't do that, would they?:(

..............

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/the_new_bush_doctrine.php

The New Bush Doctrine

George Soros

January 25, 2005

If you're going to end tyranny in the world, writes George Soros, you have to respect and understand how open societies work. Bush does not—and his inaugural address shows this clearly. While Bush is right when he says what goes on inside other countries is of vital interest to the United States, intervention can only be successful if there are clearly established rules, which in turn require international law and institutions.

George Soros is president of Soros Fund Management and chairman of the Open Society Institute.

President George W. Bush’s second inaugural address set forth an ambitious vision of the role of the United States in advancing the cause of freedom worldwide, fueling worldwide speculation over the course of American foreign policy during the next four years. The ideas expressed in Bush’s speech thus deserve serious consideration. 

“It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture,” Bush declared, “with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.”

There is a bow to diplomacy in the assurance that fulfilling this mission “is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend our friends and ourselves by force of arms when necessary.” Similarly, Bush recognizes that outsiders cannot force liberty on people. Instead, “Freedom by its nature must be chosen and defended by citizens and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities.”

More....

...............

http://newyorker.com/printable/?fact/050124fa_fact

THE COMING WARS
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH

Other point I want to make besides the mad man shrub I've made above is that women repugs like to be called DUMB as long as it comes from another
another man repug like larry summers who is Harvard prez.He said women can't do maths and
sciences and you should see all these repug women
like idiotic moronic laura ingram saying larry is
right. no wonder these repug women are the dumbest
species you'd find on the face of this earth!

The Intolerance of Christian Conservatives...

http://207.44.245.159/article7845.htm

Oh my gosh, Pat C. ---
They are so blatant! We know they see the people as fodder, but this is ridiculous!

Nancy, I was surfing to get info on the Gonzales vote, when it might go to full Senate (Soon I'm sure!), and I ran across a portion of Rush's transcript which was among the "NEWS" reports --- I never listen to that man, but the excerpt caught my attention "Dems aided by Klansmen oppose the nomination of a Black Woman..." I went to the website - there was a thumbnail picture and when I clicked on the image, there was an old picture of a man coming out of a doorway (Gov Wallace? looked more like Sen Byrd, though) surrounded by guardsmen, and a current pic of Condi in color had been superimposed! Rush is dangerous!

Nancy, I too am shocked at Young's comments. He recently wrote an article that appeared in TomPaine called "Dismantling the Dream" wherein he criticizes *'s "Ownership Society"... I can't find the link right now... but, go figure! Has he had a stroke or something? Seriously!

As for the orb, I used astro.com for the chart and used the default orb, which is probably 2-3 degrees.

Jo,

That link to the Michael Lind article was fantastic. Oddly reassuring. It seems as though checks and balances are in effect, and this insanity will be halted.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/26/144024/687

How can anyone publically declare support for Bush's foreign policy? Aren't they embarrassed?
We definitely have a lot of losers serving the American public.

Jo,
that Anon @8:52 is none other than I

If you have not already written Senators about Gonzales' appointment --- please do so. There was a rumor on a site today that Repubs are accusing Dems of "trying to muddy the water for him so that * will be unable to nominate him for the Supreme Court" [now there's a scary thought!]

Here are some talking points I found while surfing this week:

The Attorney General represents the United States in legal matters generally and gives advice and opinions to the President and to the heads of the executive departments of the Government when so requested.

The Department of Justice was established by act of June 22, 1870 (28 U.S.C. 501, 503, 509 note. The affairs and activities of the Department of Justice are generally directed by the Attorney General.

The United States Attorney serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer of his/her respective district and is responsible for coordinating multiple agency investigations within the district. U. S. Attorneys are appointed by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, to serve four-year terms. U.S. Attorneys and their offices are a component of the "world's largest law firm," the Department of Justice. While U.S. Attorneys are the "top cop" in their own district, they serve at the direction of the Attorney General of the United States. There are a total of 93 U.S. Attorneys appointed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Northern Marianas. Each one is responsible for a specific judicial district with the exception of Guam and the Northern Marianas where one U.S. Attorney serves both districts.

The Attorney General decides the allocation of resources... What the U.S. attorneys do, how the FBI spends its time and importantly, what cases do they take to the Supreme Court, and in what cases they intervene. There are many ways that policy is actually shaped by those decisions.

Additionally, under the independent counsel statute, the President has executive oversight over the decision of the Attorney General to appoint or not to appoint an independent counsel. Such oversight is required by Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution which vests federal executive power in the President and only the President. [See Morrison v. Olson, 487 U.S. 654, 695-96 (1988)].

Lastly, the appointment of Mr. Gonzales as US Attorney General would affirm the actions of Abu Ghraib and world opinion about Abu Ghraib and GITMO in general. We should be sending a message that America does not support torture. Confirmation of this appointment will send a contrary message.
----------
Personally, I fear that if we are ever to make the top of the chain accountable for Abu Ghraib and GITMO, we will need legal interpretation on the Presidential Memos... and guess who would be rendering that opinion (on his own opinion!)?

------------

While on the subject of torture...

Some irony in British soldiers being tried in court in Germany for abuse of Iraqi male prisoners (most of whom were arrested for theft from the barracks in Basra – hungry teens? Other charges against Brits for ‘thrashing’ of Iraqi citizens during roundup where looting was occurring. ) "Following orders", they were... [isn’t that what those guys at Nuremberg said?]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/0,11816,670957,00.html

Jo - Thanks for the heads up about Seymour Hirsh on Democracy Now today. I caught the evening repeat. He was just incredible!! He seems the only one in the MSM who really says it like it is with nothing held back.

I also enjoyed him last night on John Stewart's The Daily Show, which I'm quite sure you saw, Nancy. :-)

Thanks Jo,
I did find the Senate roll call on the Rice vote.
In the Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4757760,00.html
No votes Boxer: ( of course)
Akaka Hawaii
Durbin Ill.
Bayh Ind.
Harkin Iowa
Kennedy MA
Kerry Ma
Levin MI
Lautenberg N J ( yeeeeh NJ )
Reed R Isl.
Jeffords VT
BYRD WV ( my hero!)
Dayton Minn.
And thanks WV,
duuh! I forgot to refresh the Senate page I had bookmarked last year when the 108th was still in session!
I'm still upset about Monsanto buying the Seminis Seed producer. How can we grow our own fruits & veggies to get thru the financial hard times, if they are messing with the seeds? It has thrown the local ( Maine )
producer of "ORGANIC" seeds, Fedco into turmoil, possibly loss of business! I called & talked to them today. For this season anyway there is nothing anyone can do but hope it's too soon for Monsanto to make an imprint.
They are vicious......there was a lawsuit against Oakhurst Dairies based in Portland Me. because they advertised bovine hormone free dairy products. Somehow I don't fully understand Monsanto prevented them from advertising this publically. We know & buy the product, but it makes it hard for them to find new buyers. WOrd of mouth advertising is difficult in this " 2 minute memory" society.

PQOP

Jonathan - How right you are!! He was really excellent there as well.

If people can't see the Emperor's madness at this point they are really blind. * had a press conference today. After 2 seconds of his voice I had to turn him off. I caught a few clips on the evening news. I saw the same scary behavior he had during the debates.Pushing up on the podium, that whiny frustrated little boy voice. His eyes looked blank, a black hole.He frightens me. His photos show him looking faded and small. He looks deranged.

Only fitting that the Xtian Right would eat it's own *. Pass the popcorn.

Does anyone know when Rice was confirmed? Supposedly she was sworn in 7 hours later. That is the best I can do for now.

Nancy, I've looked around and all I have found is that she was sworn in quietly by Andrew Card.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=national&story_id=012605b1_warcosts

Bush budget alarms GOP, angers Dems

..............

http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2005/3204hersh_cheney.html

Hersh Exposé Hits Cheney Cabal Like Political Tsunami

Pat - I found another link for that article that seems to work better. Saturn is now moving to station opposite Cheney's Venus. Should be a bad time for him.

http://www.thepowerhour.com/news/expose_hits.htm

Nancy, do you think he will survive the investigations?

Bhakti,

Whoa, I briefly saw/heard Bush speaking tonight too! He was sputtering and gulping and blinking like a cornered wild animal. I find that “man” so utterly repulsive. God! I thought Neanderthals had become extinct between 230,000 and 30,000 years ago.

What a horrible day for so many military families and all that ginormeous Ignoramus can muster is some more *ull*hit about bringing freedom to I-rack ~ Ugh!

Pat - Great article on Cheney!! That Saturn is now hitting him and not a moment too soon. The continuing Hersh revelations must be giving him a fit. Next fall Saturn will station opposite Cheney's Sun. Hopefully all this Saturn will force him to back down.

I don't know if he will survive or not. There are so many wild aspects for this crew coming up. But all the Saturn he is under will at least slow him down and impede his march to conquer the world.

For anyone who missed the Democracy Now broadcast today, here is the Seymour Hersh speech that was played on it. What a gift he is.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/26/1450204

Thank you, Nancy--and thank all posters--you are amazing! Am going to get back to the comments/issues you have provided with so much to think about and act upon.

On a side issue--but important to me and some of us locally--Astroworlders have so much cumulative life experience/wisdom. Calling on you please help here--a dear child, 12 years old in our neighborhood was molested by someone who should have been protecting her. Do any of you know of any books, etc. that could help? This dear one, a few years ago loved the series "Babysitter's Club." She has outgrown that now, but I am wondering if the series "Sweet Valley High" or maybe it is "Sweetwater High" ? might include a book about a character who triumphs above that experience. All the rational reasonable steps (protection, counseling, etc.) are being taken--but it would be helpful to have some outside sort of "in-my-age-group" validation. All suggestions welcome. Thank you so much,

Baarbara, I strongly recommend immediate and frequent conversations with a good child therapist. I really do. There is so much now known about dealing with this situation, thank goodness, and a good therapist would be a treasure.

Worth a thousand words, and we don't have to hear the sound of his voice.

http://images.ucomics.com/comics/wpnan/2005/wpnan050125.gif

Great Article Nancy. I don't know what time Rice was sworn in but it is a really bad chart for her and the rest of the world. Lord that Mars/Pluto conjunction, Mercury conj. Chiron, and maybe a VOC Moon.

Starrynights: Bush lies all the time but isn't always aware he is lying, when he knows he is lying I've noticed he gets really nervous and blinks like crazy. Wonder how he plays poker

From The Sydney Morning Herald

The Emperor of Vulgarity
By Mike Carlton
January 22, 2005

George Bush's second inaugural extravaganza was every bit as repugnant as I had expected, a vulgar orgy of triumphalism probably unmatched since Napoleon crowned himself emperor of the French in Notre Dame in 1804.

The little Corsican corporal had a few decent victories to his escutcheon. Lodi, Marengo, that sort of thing. Not so this strutting Texan mountebank, with his chimpanzee smirk and his born-again banalities delivered in that constipated syntax that sounds the way cold cheeseburgers look, and his grinning plastic wife, and his scheming junta of neo-con spivs, shamans, flatterers and armchair warmongers, and his sinuous evasions and his brazen lies, and his sleight of hand theft from the American poor, and his rape of the environment, and his lethal conviction that the world must submit to his Pax Americana or be bombed into charcoal.

Difficult to know what was more repellent: the estimated $US40 million cost of this jamboree (most of it stumped up by Republican fat-cats buying future presidential favours), or the sheer crassness of its excess when American boys are dying in the quagmire of Bush's very own Iraq war.

Other wartime presidents sought restraint. Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address in 1865 - "with malice toward none, with charity for all" - is the shortest ever. And he had pretty much won the Civil War by that time.

In 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt opened his fourth-term speech with the "wish that the form of this inauguration be simple and its words brief". He spoke for a couple of eloquent minutes, then went off to a light lunch, his wartime victory almost complete as well.

But restraint is not a Dubya word. Learning nothing, the dumbest and nastiest president since the scandalous Warren Harding died in 1923, Bush is now intent on expanding the Iraq war to neighbouring Iran.

Condoleezza Rice did admit to the US Senate this week that there had been some "not so good" decisions. But the more I see of her gleaming teeth and her fibreglass helmet of hair and her perky confidence, the more I am convinced that back in the '60s she used to be Cindy Birdsong, up there beside Diana Ross as one of the Supremes of Motown fame. I don't think it's a good idea to let her make a comeback as Secretary of State.

THE war in Iran is under way already, if we believe Seymour Hersh, the distinguished investigative writer for The New Yorker magazine.

Hersh reported this week that clandestine US special forces have been on the ground there, targeting nuclear facilities to be bombed whenever Bush feels the time is ripe.

"The immediate goals of the attacks would be to destroy, or at least temporarily derail, Iran's ability to go nuclear," he wrote, quoting reliable intelligence sources.

"But there are other, equally purposeful, motives at work. The government consultant told me that the hawks in the Pentagon, in private discussions, have been urging a limited attack on Iran because they believe it could lead to a toppling of the religious leadership."

Naturally, Pentagon flacks rushed out to deny all. But then they did that when Hersh broke the story of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam in 1968, and again when he revealed the torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. A tussle for the truth between Hersh and the Pentagon is no contest.

What terrifies me most is the people planning this new war. The CIA professionals have been frozen out: too weak and wimpy for the Bushies.

The Defence Secretary, the incompetent Donald Rumsfeld, has seized control, aided by two Pentagon under-secretaries. One is Douglas Feith, a mad-eyed Zionist largely responsible for the post-invasion collapse of order in Iraq, a civilian bureaucrat memorably described by the former Centcom commander, General Tommy Franks, as "the f---ing stupidest guy on the face of the Earth".

The other is army Lieutenant General William G. (Jerry) Boykin, whose name also rings a bell. Jerry is a born-again Christian evangelical, a three-star bigot who, in his spare time, stumps the country in full uniform, preaching that America's enemy is Satan, Allah is a false idol, and that George Bush has been ordained by the Lord to rout evil.

"He's in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this," Jerry told a prayer meetin' in Oregon just a while back.

Be very afraid.

******************************************
Let's Thank Them NOW--Our Senators
(They're all our senators since they serve the nation. Lets thank them all!)

-------------------------------------------------
Dear Sen. :

I want to commend you for your vote of nay on the Rice nomination. She has a history of misrepresenting, misinterpreting, and misstating facts and policy. Her errors cost lives, money, and national prestige.

You said enough! and I thank you for that. First there was one (challenging the Ohio election fraud) now there are 13. At that rate, we will be a majority soon!

Thank you again sir.

Very truly yours,

mike
1 Quaker Way
Celestial, Plains
-------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.senate.gov/
then click on "SENATORS" upper left corner for email addresses.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

The Current Hall of Fame:

NAYs ---13
Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Boxer (D-CA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Dayton (D-MN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Harkin (D-IA)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Levin (D-MI)
Reed (D-RI)

While Ms. Rice was testifying Mercury was coming to a conj. to her Chiron and squaring her Neptune, she was lying through her teeth and it will come back to bite her when Saturn turns direct and Conj. her Uranus/Jupiter, opposes her Chiron and squares her Neptune. There is such a huge amount of late degree Cardinal signs with this group (condemmed together?)

jo, i liked what you said about andrew young. he's been sitting in the sky box, air conditioned, for far too long. what a stupid remark. the essence of equal rights is color blind judgement. what a clown young is.

i take exception to your disection of boxer. we were all ALONE on 1/6/05. you have no idea how alone we were unless you were in lafayette park, across from the white house, at 9:30AM for a 10:30 rally and there were only 30 people there. that's ALONE. fortunately more came, as you can see by the photo links i posted. nevertheless, it was really amazing how thin the line was between starting back up and utter failure.

i can assure you, if boxer had not made her challenge, many would have left the only currently viable opposition, the democratic party, and the neocons would have ruled forever. it was that intense.

boxer did what she needed to do and what the country desperately needed her to do. now is not the time to demand sainthood. it's the time to act and to link arms with those who act with us.

without boxer's courage on 1/6/05, we would be screwed.

with her courage, she has multiplied her number from 1 lone voice to 13 pissed off senators. the acceleration will continue and we'll be close to 35-40 against mr. torture. watch the n.e. "moderate" republicans become "independents" or democrats as bush falls apart.

WHEN THE HISTORY OF THIS IS WRITTEN, THE OPENING SALVO OF OUR MOVEMENT WILL HAVE BEEN ISSUED BY ONE LONE, BRAVE WOMAN: ***BARBARA BOXER***

Dear Sally -
When will Saturn bite the sleeza in the a**? That is one meal that, with the other planets circling like sharks, will seem like a buffet.

I am eagerly anticipating their condemnation and waiting on pins and needles for payback time.

Mike the crowd was equally meager during the Clinton impeachment. I've never been so sad.

BTW, I sent Barbara Boxer ONE DOZEN ORANGE ROSES. I do hope others did as well.

Speaking of a lone brave woman, I believe Senator Boxer has a Moon conjunct the South Node in Aries.

This is cool. CCC aka KKK group to meet with state lawmakers

http://tinyurl.com/7y94g

Conservative group to meet with state lawmakers

Some Mississippi lawmakers are scheduled to speak Thursday to the Council of Conservative Citizens, an organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center calls "a patently white supremacist group."

Bill Hinson of Pearl, president of the Great Southern chapter of CCC, announced on the group's Web site that "several House and Senate members" are to speak.

He wouldn't tell The Associated Press the names of lawmakers or where the event is taking place, although AP learned it will be at a south Jackson fish house.

Hinson said he wouldn't release details of the meeting because, "we've had so much negative publicity."

He said the CCC does not make an issue of race.

"Our chapter is more focused on taxation, Southern heritage," Hinson said. "I guess you could call us the Christian right, something like that."

Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project for the Montgomery, Ala.-based Southern Poverty Law Center, said it is a "patent falsehood" to say the CCC — also known as the C of CC — is not driven by racial issues.

"I think five minutes on the C of CC Web site will convince anyone that the C of CC is a patently white supremacist group," Potok said.

More...

Because there is no cause - into History's Cauldron:

In an immoral war with no cause, in an aggressive invasion without reason, in a dehumanizing occupation with no justification, those pawns fighting the battles implemented by elite warmongers and corporatists in power have no enthusiasm to risk their lives, sacrifice their minds and endanger their bodies to the horrors befalling men fighting their fellow men. Yet today, in the lands of deserts ancient and wise, where once glorious rivers provided fertility allowing civilization to blossom, where ancient cities sprung forth, prospered and were erased from history, where for millennia society had evolved even before the first Europeans had settled the Americas, in a culture thousands of years old, a product of ceaseless wars and human catastrophe and foreign invasions and cascading conflagrations, that is exactly what is happening to American soldiers.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7831.htm

Great article Nancy!
Let the scandals continue - make's one nostalgic for a mere stain on a dress doesn't it.

Happened across this today - enjoy -

2005 CDC Alert -

The Centers for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of sexually transmitted disease. This disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lecthym

(Pronounced “Gonna Re-elect Him”). Many victims have contracted it after having been screwed by the Bush-Cheney-Rove-Ashcroft administration for the past 4 years, and failing to have taken adequate measures to protect themselves.

Cognitive sequellae of individuals infected with Gonorrhea lecthim include: Antisocial
personality disorder traits; delusions of grandeur with a messianic flavor; cognitive perseveration; inability to incorporate new information into a rigid idée fixee; xenophobia; inability to accept responsibility for actions; and a strong propensity for categorical, all-or nothing thinking.

This epidemic is out of control. MMWR reports it has already resulted in brain death in over 59,000,000 Americans. Excessive exposure to trailer parks, country gospel music and yellow ribbon asphyxiation are thought to be contributing factors. New CDC Director Archbishop Burke has ordered a halt to research into the disease after determining the disease is incurable and is merely God's will. Apparently, however, at least 55,000,000 of us have natural immunity and are poised to lead a brief, but exciting life right after the rapture begins and our afflicted fellow Americans ascend to their eternal reward. Godlessness has its rewards."

In the context of my past 65 years, this sounds so normal; would that it were still!
From the Wash Times.

KRAKOW, Poland (AP) -- Vice President Dick Cheney remembered the Holocaust on Thursday, saying that the mass murder that went unanswered until Nazi death camps were liberated exactly 60 years ago is reminder that evil must be faced down in the world today.
more.....................
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHENEY?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME
Have you heard about CHeck 21?
No more grace period for checks to clear. Your check is processed instantly digitally. Has your bvank notified you of this? Mine hasn't.....was inacted into law in Oct. '04!!!!
Good for the banks bad for their customers.......
Pat QOP

Sidney Blumenthal: The Pollyanna Army..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1399444,00.html

Scott Ritter - Criminals, The Lot of Us...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5112851-103677,00.html

WV,
I wouldn't call it a pollyanna army, except, maybe from Georgieboy's view. The military is so understaffed and ill-equiped for the two countries that BushCo has going that it isn't possible to go after more oil rich countries that "must" be set "free"! Can he be so delusional that he believes that there are enough soldiers, equipment and resourses to spread around to all these battlefields he wants? I image GWB has toy soldiers and a gameboard that he plays with right next to his bible to help him make those important decisions!

Mondo Washington
Left for Dead
Democrats still insist on righting themselves to compete with the GOP

by James Ridgeway
January 25th, 2005 12:57 PM alert me by e-mail
write to us
e-mail story
printer friendly

Party down: Dean commiserates with his youthful cadre last month.
photo: John Pettitt/DeanForAmerica.com
WASHINGTON, D.C.—For four years the centrists in the Democratic Party, i.e., the Democratic Leadership Council run by the Clintons, whined on about how Ralph Nader, not Al Gore, lost them the presidency in 2000. In last year's presidential primaries, the DLC spared no effort to bring down Howard Dean, who replaced Nader as the party's primary hate object. The DLC sent one loser after another into the fray. First there was Joe Lieberman, who warned that Dean was a dangerous lefty. When Lieberman got clobbered in one state after another, all efforts shifted to Clinton look-alike John Edwards. When he got beaten, the DLC had to settle for one of its lesser lights, John Kerry.
Soon after Kerry lost, the mainstream whiners started blaming him, who never was the right candidate and who ran a lousy campaign. Now, they said, it's time to move toward the center and focus on values, and oh, by the way, let's not forget religion next time around. The party needs a fresh candidate. Maybe Hillary could do the trick, although she has been looking rather listless of late.

Then, wouldn't you know it, out of the woodwork came that damn Dean again, this time running to replace Terry McAuliffe as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. A fate worse than death. The Dems dropped everything, and took off after the troublemaker.

Dean is being attacked, as usual, as a marginal lefty (which, as Vermont governor, he proved he is not—unless, that is, you call providing all children in the state with health insurance a leftist program). Even if you have to confess to close friends that Dean is probably not a socialist, you've got to admit he's a nut, as evidenced by his yelling in Iowa. He ought to be in a mental hospital.

What do these politicians want? They want, as always, to move to the center, that is, the right, so as to be in a position to better attack George W. Bush by imitating him.

The party chair will be chosen by 430 voting members of the Democratic National Committee on February 12. In addition to Dean, the candidates include former congressmen Tim Roemer and Martin Frost, party activist Donnie Fowler, New Democratic Network president Simon Rosenberg, former Ohio party chairman David Leland, and former Denver mayor Wellington Webb.

Roemer is controversial because he is against abortion, but he promises not to change the party's position if elected. Frost opposes Washington consultants. Webb, the one black candidate in the field, strongly backs abortion rights. Fowler emphasizes his experience in running campaigns and got applause at a recent meeting in Sacramento by slamming the Beltway power structure. "I am tired of conceding to the aristocracy of consultants in Washington and the Republican Party and the crazy right wing," he said. Leland runs on his experience as a former state party chair. And Rosenberg wants to improve the party's use of technology and downplays the importance of New Hampshire and Iowa in the selection process.

Any one of the above probably would do the trick for mainstream Dems, especially the candidates emphasizing technology, which is a fetish at the DLC. But Dean, who wrecked the party by opposing the war, openly discussing 9-11, backing gays, and generally being a "liberal," will further wreck the party by alienating voters in conservative Southern states, and—most importantly—provide fodder for Republican media campaigns, making it that much harder for the Dem campaign spinners to win.

To which Dean said, "My attitude is that they are going to run those ads anyway, so why not go down and stand up for what you believe in?," adding, "How are we going to convince people in Mississippi that their economic interests are the same as ours if we don't show up? It is incredibly insulting to people."

The very idea you can do something besides cower before the red-state conservatives is too much for the DLC robots. Dean's gotta go. He's liberal, crazy, and in a refrain from the election, doesn't "share our values."

Nancy,

Do you see a come back for the Democrats soon in time for the 2006 elections? Wolfstar's (of StarIq)interpretation of the 2005 Inaugural chart is that there will be weak opposition to the Bush Administration due to Saturn in the 4th, retrograde and in its fall. However, It seemes to me that the fourth house would represent the Republican base? And the opposition would be the 7th house. Am I wrong?

Excellent Article Nancy!!!

with friends like these....

Israel Refuses to Rule out Attack on Iran

http://news.independent.co.uk/low_res/story.jsp?story=604945&host=3&dir=75

Sorry, I made the above post...

I hear you Mike —

I truly respect your perspective on Boxer [I note the lower case i in you comments — you are a diplomat of the first order... would that I could reign in my passion more velvet gloved-like, but am still working on it!] Couple of things going on for me regarding her participation:

The senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, was ‘johnny-on-the-spot’ in Ohio recount. His 102 page report is the result of hard investigative work. House (I repeat “House” not Senate) Dems were hoping to open debate on Ohio’s electoral college votes, based on the Constitution and the procedures set forth in an 1877 Act of
Congress governing the formal process for an Electoral College challenge. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) had been enlisted to sign a formal letter requesting debate, but the signature of a US Senator (one) was also necessary. The House Dems sent out letters, 24 I believe, to Democratic Senators, and Sen Boxer agreed to sign on.

Where are the accolades for Rep. Conyers? For Rep Tubbs Jones? Suddenly, Boxer is savior, and as you commented last night:

WHEN THE HISTORY OF THIS IS WRITTEN, THE OPENING SALVO OF OUR MOVEMENT WILL HAVE BEEN ISSUED BY ONE LONE, BRAVE WOMAN: ***BARBARA BOXER***

You’re right. I was not with you in LaFayette Park. And you’re right that without her signature, or another Senator’s, the debate would not have happened. In my effort to level out the kudos she has garnered, I have totally diminished her efforts. Your plea to not look for ‘sainthood’ is on target. My comments took on Boxer and that was the mistake. My fear is that we are being snuckered, teased — with a show of opposition here and there, that can’t possibly succeed because too few people are taking a stand, and the ones we stood behind have run for cover. Where was Kerry after Nov 3rd? Where was the army of attorneys who were going to protect us from theft again? More importantly, where was everybody last summer and fall when they should have been regaling against the war? My anger is consuming me. We are killing innocent people... projecting ourselves as monsters to the rest of the planet... Mostly, I am angry at myself for giving Kerry the benefit of the doubt when he did not rage against the war... for believing that he had to remain low key in order to get elected. What a crock! I was just so stupid to believe that the Dems were giving it their all. Election Day my eyes opened when I learned the local County Dem Party had not allowed the Black neighborhoods to be canvassed for Kerry - all focus had gone to elect Irene - a deal had been struck with local Repugs... same ol’ same ol’ —

Bottom line... Robert Kennedy Jr. is right on — 75% of Repugs are fascists, 50% of Demos are. The system is broke... rotten to the core. All the things that we always thought we could do as citizens to protect our country, our rights — they’re gone, right out the window.

My position still is that when duty called, Boxer failed to vote No for Negroponte — she was campaigning for re-election, keeping her Committee seat secure... refusing to rock the boat. Once re-elected, she answered a request to place her signature on a letter which would allow an exercise in futility — debate on Ohio’s electoral college votes. John Kerry was silent as usual on the question of the legitimacy of the election.

Some say the 2004 election was not called into question because American people would not be able to face the concept of their vote not being counted, that it would cause them to question previous elections. DUH!

This is absolutely MY position... I realize I pretty much stand ALONE here in my POV. And that’s okay. I honor your position on Boxer, and I apologize if I have offended you. Thank you for discussing this in your usual honorable manner. Namaste

PS - I envy your optimism... you're right that we should encourage and applaud every effort... like ripples in the pond. I'm working on my cynicism.

Jeanie - I LOVED the Gonorrhea Lecthym post. I laughed so hard. I'm sending it out to my friends!

GOP seeks donations to get Bush's message past
"The Liberal Media"...

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000777693

China moving away from US Dollar

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050126/world_forum_china_5.html

"The U.S. dollar is no longer -- in our opinion is no longer -- (seen) as a stable currency, and is devaluating all the time, and that's putting troubles all the time," Fan said, speaking in English.

"So the real issue is how to change the regime from a U.S. dollar pegging ... to a more manageable ... reference ... say Euros, yen, dollars -- those kind of more diversified systems," he said.

"If you do this, in the beginning you have some kind of initial shock," Fan said. "You have to deal with some devaluation pressures."

Another talking point in letters to Senate re Gonzales... ENRON!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Cantwell%20Gonzales

Cantwell to vote against confirmation of Gonzales

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEATTLE -- Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Thursday she will vote against the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general because of his legal advice on torture and refusal to recuse himself from matters involving Enron Corp.

In a statement from her office in Washington a day after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10 to 8 to send the nomination to the Senate floor, Cantwell said she made up her mind after reviewing Gonzales' statements and responses to questions in committee hearings.

Democrats on the committee also criticized Gonzales, who was White House counsel during President Bush's first term, for his legal advice asserting that the White House need not be bound by domestic and international laws on torture.

"We want our attorney general to uphold the law no matter who the criminal is or who asks for his advice," Cantwell said. "It is essential that the person the Senate confirms for this position is independent. I am unconvinced that he has the independence to be the nation's leading law enforcement officer."

Cantwell, a former Judiciary Committee member whose state was hard hit by soaring energy costs in the Enron scandal, also was unhappy that Gonzales - a former partner in a law firm that represented Enron - did not promise to stay out of the Justice Department's investigation of the bankrupt energy giant.

"What Enron did to my constituents in Washington and countless others across the nation was disgraceful, and one of the most important things the next attorney general will do is conduct that investigation and bring Enron criminals to justice," she said.

Cantwell noted that outgoing Attorney General John D. Ashcroft recused himself from Enron matters "because of similar political ties."

The nomination of Gonzales is expected to go to the Senate floor next week.

You're not alone Jo, I agree with you. Heard somewhere that Boxer's daughter married H. Clinton's brother- am going to look for verification of that. I'm so proud of my Senator Dick Durbin for not selling out EVER as far as I can tell, and as much as I wanted to give Obama some credit (see last thread), it hurt for him to start his representation as an appeaser. My cynicism is at an all time high these days too.

Seem to have motor mouth --- hogging the board. But Kos has a piece you'll find as more validation that * doesn't "support the troops" --- that they're 'fodder'... expendable...

Immediately after announcing * press conference, word came about the 31 marines in the copter crash, and in walks * all chipper and 'rearin to go... No evidence of remorse... no 'affect' of any kind (frontal lobe problems? what do you say Nancy?)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/27/12758/0469

okay, enough info. for me: Barbara Boxer is Jewish, was implicated in a bad check-writing scandal:http://www.alamanceind.com/newfol~2/nation_45.html and this on her daughter Nicole:Boxer and her husband Stewart Boxer have two children. Their daughter, Nicole Boxer, married Tony Rodham, brother of United States Senator Hillary Clinton, in White House ceremony in 1994. The couple had one son, Zachary, and they divorced in 2000.

They're all con artists.

http://salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/27/walter_reed/print.html

Insult to injury
Some wounded soldiers back from Iraq are having to pay for meals at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Veterans' groups say it's another symptom of fighting a costly war on the cheap.

Most patients at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington have a lot on their minds: the war they just fought, the injuries they came home with, the future that lies ahead. The last thing a wounded soldier needs to worry about is where the next meal is coming from. But for hundreds of Walter Reed patients, that's a real concern. Starting this month, the Army has started making some wounded soldiers pay for the food they eat at the hospital.

Paying out of pocket for hospital meals can impose a serious financial burden, costing hundreds of dollars every month. That can be a lot of money to a military family. But perhaps worse, the meal charge feels like an ungrateful slap in the face to some soldiers. "I think it sucks," said a soldier from West Virginia who broke his neck in Iraq after falling off a roof. "I think that people should be able to eat. They get us over there, get us wounded and shot up and then tell us: Fend for yourself. You are all heroes, but here you go."

Whether it is the lack of protective armor for troops in the field or, now, wounded troops paying for food, complaints from soldiers have shed an unflattering light on how the military bureaucracy takes care of its troops. And they have prompted accusations that the Pentagon is fighting the Iraq war on the cheap, no matter what the cost to soldiers. The meal charge policy "is an example of a much larger problem relating to the overall cost of the war. It is all an indication of extreme costs they are trying to make up on the backs of these men and women," said Steve Robinson, a retired Army Ranger and the executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center. "If the war is costing too much, the one place you don't skimp is on soldier and veteran programs. The administration has no problem deficit-spending on the needs of conducting war, and we see no reason not to apply the same methodology to veterans' benefits and soldier care."

A veterans' advocate who lost the use of his legs fighting in Vietnam said the meal charges constitute a personal affront to soldiers. "I don't care what bureaucratic bullshit they come up with, this is an insult," said Bobby Muller, chairman of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation and director of the foundation's Alliance for Security. "I cannot believe that people are being charged for their meals. This is a showstopper.

More...

Peg,

Please tell me you're not insinuating anything against Barbara Boxer because she's Jewish. Help me out here! I want to keep a little bit more faith in this Forum than what I'm feeling right now. It feels like it's turned into an anti-Democrat, anti-Kerry, anti-Boxer, anti-Clinton, anti-Jewish(?) Clearing House!

???????????????????????????????????????

Yes, Pat C., I read that Salon article as well and have written the Times, and some reporters I keep in contact with and asked them when they're going to do their Big Expose on DinnerGate (still looking for a title for this one) at Walter Reed! It's disgusting, isn't it? Grrrrrrrrrr ...

I'm not Jew bashing Jonathon, anyone who has read anything I've ever said would know that. If you have done your research, you'd know it is but ONE criterium for dishonest actions-

Jonathan, it's downright outrageous! There are no words sufficient to color these fascists accurately.

You'll like this.

http://policy.house.gov/2005_calendar/
Republican Freedom Calandar

and....

http://www.alternet.org/story/21004/
Civil Rights, Brought To You By... Republicans?

Jonathan, I agree with you!

I think most of the democrats in high office are waking up and starting to make a splash. What's the point of this hate-fest?

Jonathan, I agree with you!

I think most of the democrats in high office are waking up and starting to make a splash. What's the point of this hate-fest?

Oh shoot, sorry for the double post!! It must be my Gemini moon!

:-)

I'm not Jew bashing Jonathon, anyone who has read anything I've ever said would know that. If you have done your research, you'd know it is but ONE criterium for dishonest actions-
Posted by Peg at January 27, 2005 04:44 PM

So let me see... If your Jewish, you are inhenently dishonest??? Well, thats certainly progressive of you. There are plenty of NAZI sites on the web. Post there.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/26/224827/750

Stop the GOP Attack - Defend the Fraud-buster Four!

The GOP is going after the Ohio layers. That's another chilling effect.

Woops. That should have been lawyers.

Sorry folks, not here to start a religious flame war. Ya'll can think whatever it is you want to think. For the record, I'm primarily Buddhist, and believe that religion of any persuasion is one of the root causes of the problems on this Earth along with greed, power seeking, lust, etc. I DON'T think that ALL religious people have these sinful desires. A nazi?? lolol, that's funny.

we don't need permanent friends or permanent enemies, just permanent interests.

i really like boxer right now.

i've always liked rep. conyers and, in a sense, nothing would have happened without him but boxer had to stand up. i'm all in favor of critical analysis but not paralysis because we can't find perfection.

here's a link i posted earlier of the 1/6/2005 rally(s) and march. this is where we turned the corner (not just the march but the local OH challenges (greens), OH activist work in the trenches, the conyers investigatio, the huge e-activism efforts,the small but energetic public gathering, the last minute calls by hundreds and thousands to all democrats (which really shook them up), and the challenge in the senate, debate, and vote.

WE WERE ONE(1) IN THE SENATE. NOW WE'RE THIRTEEN(13) OPPOSING RICE. WE WILL BE 30 PLUS OPPOSING GOZALES.

that's a wonderful trend line!!!!! i'm excited.

refresher course below:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=272275

There you go Jonathan... find a comment you feel offensive and throw EVERY dissenting comment into the mix and wail away. So this is now an anti- Democrat, anti-Kerry, anti-Boxer, anti-Clinton, anti-Jewish clearing house? And I suppose my comments have contributed greatly to making it thus? What power! Who would have thunk I was capable of such!

Let's don't focus on the fascist state this nation has become. Let's attack those who pop our bubble.

Dems in high places waking up? When did they go to sleep? They know very well what is going on. If they don't they should not be where they are. Watch them throw Dean to the dogs.

I'm not picking up my marbles and leaving the sandbox. Apparently I've lost them anyway.

Apologies for creating a hate-fest.

Worth a read....

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Maybe I'm reading things wrong but I don't see a hate-fest going on here except for the post that called Peg a Nazi and if she were she would have been long gone from this board. I think sometimes the "tone" gets a little intense and it's more than some of us can handle but that's ok. We need to discuss everything that matters and, Jonathan, I am still so PO'd at Kerry and the Dems that I'm feeling a little anti too. However, it makes me feel better that 13 stood against Rice and it makes me sad that only 13 stood against her.

Jo, we need your passion on this board. Keep your marbles in the sandbox. I'll play with you.

It's best to ignore.

Okay, I NEVER called Peg a Nazi. That's unfair. I'm much too kind-hearted to do something that base. The sentence that gave me pause, and which led me to ask that she clarify because I couldn't BELIEVE that's what she meant, was from her Post that began "okay, enough info. for me: Barbara Boxer is Jewish" and then was followed by a couple actions that many might find dishonorable. In no way did I insinuate that Peg (or anyone!) was a Nazi. I asked for clarification, that's all.

And I don't believe I even mentioned Jo in my Post at all! Yet she's taken responsibility for creating a Hate-Fest. Very interesting.

We must admit, though, that this Board has become more about all those Anti-things I mentioned above and less and less about astrology and how it might possibly play out in Politics. Had I more experience with astrology, I'd contribute more. So, I just continue my studies and look forward to the day when I can contribute astrologically.

But, please, I never called anyone, let alone Peg, a Nazi. That's an unfair accusation and one I don't take lightly.

There was another poster after you, Jonathan. Never said you called her that.

Laurie

The fact that so many Democrats voted for Condi
is a disgrace. That more than proves to me that
they are asleep.
Watch their votes on Gonzales.
Ralph Nader was right, there's not a dime's worth
of difference.
The Clinton's are a pain in the Tush, and have been for years.
The influence of Zionism in our Government is
appalling. 85% of Congress votes Zionist by their
own admission. We are fighting this war for Israel
I have read articles by Congressional aides that
quote Senators and Congressmen saying "We are all
Likud". Many of my Jewish friends feel they can
no longer attend family garthering because of the
pro Zionists in their family. I suggest you start
reading the Israeli papers..The Jerusalem Post and
Haaratz.
Getting back to the Democrats and the Ohio vote..
please explain why only Barbara Boxer stood up in
the Senate...and the only white males in the House
that stood with her were Dennis Kuchinich and Jerold Nader, all the rest were Blacks who seemed
more concerned with protecting everyone's rights
than all the whites in the Senate. Not one had the
balls to tell the world that Republicans are racist. Say it to their faces on live TV. Then
they vote for Condi who is a lying bitch...and will make America the laughing stock of the world.
I long for the day a politician will care less
whether they get reelected, but do the right thing
while in office. You will know the Democrats true
colors after Feb.12 when they vote for a new chairman for the DNC. The right didn't get where
they are by compromising with the Republican Party.
They made the party move to them, and then backed
them with their votes.
Progressives can do the same.All we have to do is
not vote for Democrats until they get the message.
I suggest we take on the Christian ayatollahs, they
are no better than the Mullahs. Expose them for
the hate mongers they are. Ask them why they are
sending their followers to Israel to live in kibbutz to be on hand for Armageddon, which by the
way things are going may not be far off.

I'm sorry, Teresa. I now see the earlier Post you were referring to. Didn't see it at first glance. Guess that explains my confusion. LOL As long as people understand that I wasn't accusing Peg of that at all! Thank you for your patience and your kindness.

Only one Senator needed to stand in order for the Debate to begin. Anything more than that would have been political theatre. I, too, wish more had stood, more as a show of solidarity than anything else. But I also understand that the rules are what they are and only Boxer was needed. The debate happened and that's what was important. I only wish something more had come of it.

Okay, all, off to run errands. Be well and, if you're on the East Coast, stay warm!!!!! :-)

I'm getting to this a little late but-

okay, enough info. for me: Barbara Boxer is Jewish, was implicated in a bad check-writing...

Peg, my question to you would be, why did you bring up that she was Jewish? For that matter what were you trying to say about Barbara Boxer? That she is really a bad person and we should discount her recent actions? Help me out here. Because, "I DON'T think that ALL religious people have these sinful desires." just doesn't cut it.

You're exactly right Jonathan. You didn't mention my name. But I'm the only one who has commented about Boxer without waving pompoms, so I assumed you were referring to my posts expressing my cynicism. See what happens when one assumes, don't you? I made an a@# of myself. I apologize to you and all of the board for my rant.

Couple of threads back you expressed opinion that this board needed more astrology and less politics. Well this site is about 'mundane astrology' and I really don't quite know how to separate the two. While I'm not a "newbie" as you call yourself, I am a student --- perpetually, that Gemini Sun I guess :-) I really put myself out on a limb upthread, with my comments to Nancy about progressed USA chart and that's hard for me, considering I've been wrong about the actual time for the full moon twice in the last six months! But I will endeavor to bring more astrology to the board... and less cynicism.

Mike,
Thank you for posting your DU post and pics... they are beautiful. And I am working on my cynicism... truly, I am. Thank you for your comment:
"i'm all in favor of critical analysis but not paralysis because we can't find perfection."

I dumped a whole lot of my anger on Boxer... and that's not fair. She deserves kudos for standing up to Cheney, for putting her name on the line. In reflection I believe you're right that I expected too much from her... perfection probably. My Virgo Rising showing it's rear end :-) Thank you for making me aware of it.

Teresa,
I said I was NOT taking my marbles... but thank you for wanting to continue to play with me.

Namaste

Jonathan

Perhaps you haven't noticed, but most of the
columns posted here the past year have been
about astrology and politics. And most letters
posted to this site reflect that - and most
are anti the current state of affairs.
The current state of affairs were created by both
Republicans and Democrats...both need to be brought to task.
Especially the Clintons - who took the Democratic
Party to the right, passed NAFTA, accepted "Don't
Ask Don't Tell", he turned his back on Lanie
Granier, and Jacqline Elders. Hillary apologized
to a Jewish group for kissing Mrs. Arafat on the
cheek when she was First Lady. She recently appoved of Bush's giving money to religous groups
at a meeting of religous groups in Boston. And
she voted for Condi! She has about as much integrity as Diane Feinstein, who I know, after
living in San Francisco for 40 years is a Republican. You can't elect one in SF so she poses
as a Democrat.
I appreciate intellectual women - but they must be
honest. Barbara Jordan was a great example as was
Eleanor Roosevelt.

Well Jonathan,
We are experiencing that mars pluto conjunction! in sag.
mars god of war & pluto lord of destruction! If this is a warlike & destructive as this group of people gets............WE'RE OK!
JO, YOU DIDN'T START THIS. IT JUST SORT OF SPONTANEOUSLY ERRUPTED!
I bet you are the oldest child ( in your family) ??????
Pat QOP
I didn't mean for the above to be caps but I'll let it stand.

Got that right, Pat POQ! Oldest, and I say I'm sorry... if it rains...

You're right about the transits... explosive energy everywhere.

Everyone seems to be getting a bit on the testy side ...... must be that conjunct pluto/mars.
Breathe deeply and Lighten up!

I can't thank you enough for all of your effective work during the recent debate over Condoleezza Rice's nomination as Secretary of State. Your support means so much to me.

More than 94,000 Americans from across the country signed my petition and stood together to demand the truth from Condoleezza Rice. It was truly an overwhelming response -- much more than I could have anticipated.

And you made a difference. You gave me the voice I needed to ask the tough questions during the Foreign Relations Committee's confirmation hearings. And you gave the entire United States Senate the voice it needed to take its "advice and consent" responsibility seriously. In fact, Condoleezza Rice received 13 votes against her confirmation -- the most votes against any Secretary of State's nomination since 1825.

Two weeks ago, who would have thought that Condoleezza Rice's nomination would allow us to have a full debate about our policy in Iraq? Who would have thought that we'd have the chance to truly expose all of the misstatements and misjudgments that led us into that conflict and continue to plague this Administration to this very day?

The Republican Senate leadership intended to easily approve Dr. Rice's nomination in a routine voice vote last Thursday afternoon, after President Bush's Inauguration and before the Inaugural balls got into full swing.

But you didn't let them ram this nomination through the Senate. You forced the Republican leadership to give us the debate we wanted on the floor of the United States Senate, and you gave us the opportunity we desperately needed to hold Dr. Rice and the Bush Administration accountable for their failures in Iraq and in the war on terrorism.

The American people deserved no less.

As you and I both know, this is just one more of the many battles we'll be having as we fight for our nation's future. So I ask you to stick with me -- we're going to need to work together to make our voices heard and build a better America.

I look forward to standing with you in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

In Friendship,

Barbara Boxer
U.S. Senator

Kennedy offers plan to exit Iraq

http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/printer_012805X.shtml

Good news - Feith leaving Pentagon...

http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/printer_012805Y.shtml

Interesting............

The Power of Nightmares
by Katrina vanden Heuvel

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x101242

Hear, Hear! Thank you Sen Boxer. Thank you.

Thanks for posting that WV.

Mike,
I find it poignant that 13 stood against Condi's confirmation. There were 13 original colonies... perhaps we're entering a 'rebirth'?

I believe that someone some time ago mentioned that the United States would be undergoing some kind of Revolution around 2011 or something like that. I know there was an astrological component in the mix, but I don't remember what exactly. And now we have 13 standing up which does, in fact -- and this is very astute of Jo to notice --, echo the original 13 Colonies. Great Movements don't just "happen" ... there's usually many years of subtle change before the HUGE event takes place. I suspect we're living in the Subtle Change Period right now.

Last night I got the strangest peaceful feeling and a vivid image of "the crowning" stage of birth.
I think the tide has turned and their black influence will be ebbing.
Yes, this is still yet a most critical stage for the truth to be heard, but the cervix is fully dilated, the groundwork of 'labor pains' is almost over, and the birth itself will soon unfold.
Of course then we will all have to deal with 2 hour feedings, crying, and diaper changes for a few years until the baby can fend for itself. Lots of effort and sleepless nights ahead for a few years yet, interspersed with profound joy.

Hi, Can i speak as a Hindjew.
I certainly have never remembered any time I went to synagogue (loooong time) that Zionism is ever discussed. Nor discussed in my family. What goes on in Israel is concerning to me. I felt sensitive to some comments and maybe it would be good to really look at a mentality that is not ok. Maybe Zionism = Xtian Fundamentalism=Muslim Fundamentalism. It's all the same garbage draped in a different coat/cult. If we are anti that, Fundamentalism, ok. But not to scape-goat a group of people coz certain remarks feel personal and distorted and that is not good. Maybe we can consider ways to communicate clearer.

Let's make it a priority to stay in our centers today on such an acute transit. I believe everyone here speaks their truth and I love all of you. Let's let the Neos eat each other alive. That's much more fun ;)

Ok folks, let's follow the bouncing ball and sing...

"WE ARE THE WORLD, WE ARE THE CHILDREN, WE ARE THE ONES TO MAKE A BETTER DAY, SO LET'S START GIVING"

I'm not sure about the revolution happening here,
unless it hurts the people's pocket books; for
ideolgical and standing right on issues like the 13 senators did,I don't envision a revolution, not
even a chance of 1%.As long as people getting
brain washed by the almighty media, no chance at all.Case in point, here in LA, newspaper Daily news has big headline HORROFIC for the train accident, which was due to a mentally depressed man, vitim of the society he was brought up, who
wanted to commit suicide, but got cold feet in the
last moment. But I see no HORRIFIC headlines for
37 marines dead in Iraq, because of a Nero like
mad, corrpt administration waging an illegal WAR.
Gimme a break, unless people come out of this coma
like 37 dead is a very normal happening in our lives, chances of a revolution here now or in 2011
is a BIG ZIPPO

Revolutions occur naturally when the time is right.

I applaud all of you here for having the courage to express your opinions, for being activists and fighters, each in your own way, and for having the courage and humility to clarify and look at your words objectively.

There are so many heros and heroines alive today, but the progressive ones are the most special because we have the vision. The ones who have the most courage are the ones who appear before the public and take a stand, whether they are journalists, filmmakers, political figures, grassroots leaders and participants or voters. I am so happy that the movement is spreading (as was predicted here). To me, when historians write about these times,one of the most important figures will be Howard Dean. And whether he wins the chairmanship of the DNC or not, he will still continue being Howard Dean!

Jo, as a sometimes overly optimistic person I find a need for the cynic as a balancing tool. The cynic gives reason for improvement.

I think all politicians are a bit suspect. The urge for power over others should always be questioned.

I found it! The time when Con Rice was sworn in!
Washington – Former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was sworn in as the 66th U.S. secretary of state at 7:07 p.m. in a White House ceremony on January 26.

Also found out that the State of the Union address by GWB will be at 9pm ET Feb 2.

Good grief! I emerge from under the bed for a while to check on y'all, and I see y'all have been fighting. These are heavy transits right now, aren't they? Glad to note that everyone seems to have gotten back to "normal" (as in in touch with our better selves, which is what we usually do to/for each other here at astroworld).

Thank you for the excellent article, Nancy. And Laurie, I loved your analogy with the birthing process.

Well, it's back under the bed for me. Ouida May and I are trying to om our way through this nasty transit.

common dreams: Guardian/UK Free Trade Leaves World Food in Grip of Global Giants
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0127-02.htm

Global food companies are aggravating poverty in developing countries by dominating markets, buying up seed firms and forcing down prices for staple goods including tea, coffee, milk, bananas and wheat, according to a report (.pdf) to be launched today.

As 50,000 people marched through Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil, to mark the opening of the annual World Social Forum on developing country issues, the report from ActionAid was set to highlight how power in the world food industry has become concentrated in a few hands.

The report will say that 30 companies now account for a third of the world's processed food; five companies control 75% of the international grain trade; and six companies manage 75% of the global pesticide market.

It finds that two companies dominate sales of half the world's bananas, three trade 85% of the world's tea, and one, Wal-mart, now controls 40% of Mexico's retail food sector. It also found that Monsanto controls 91% of the global GM seed market.

Household names including Nestlé, Monsanto, Unilever, Tesco, Wal- mart, Bayer and Cargill are all said to have expanded hugely in size, power and influence in the past decade directly because of the trade liberalization policies being advanced by the US, Britain and other G8 countries whose leaders are meeting this week in Davos

===============================

slate: The Poultry Boom It's never a good time to be a chicken, but now is really awful.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2112698/

Food inflation is taking its toll everywhere from high-end restaurants to megamarketers like Sara Lee. Higher prices for essential inputs like milk and beef (along with the weak dollar) are chopping profits and tamping down growth in consumer demand.

But there's one sector of the food world where the sky isn't falling: the chicken economy. The companies that buy, process, and peddle chicken parts are doing quite well. While many foods are getting more expensive, chicken seems to be getting cheaper. And while food fads come and go, chicken consumption has been rising consistently.

Chicken businesses are clucking about their stellar performance. Buffalo Wild Wings, a 300-store wings chain (based, naturally, in Minneapolis), pre-announced higher earnings on Jan. 10. Earnings for the quarter were projected at as much as 50 percent above expectations because sales rose smartly and because "chicken wing prices average $1.30 per pound—lower than the originally anticipated $1.40 per pound."

On Monday, Pilgrim's Pride, the self-proclaimed "undisputed number- two poultry producer in America," likewise announced an excellent quarter. Each week, Pilgrim's Pride turns about 30 million chickens into nuggets, wings, drumsticks, and sundry other parts. CEO O.B. Goolsby cited "strong performance in our prepared foods and fresh chicken businesses, lower feed ingredient costs, rising exports and strong demand in the foodservice sector."

Next week, the undisputed champion poultry producer, Tyson, will report earnings. Tyson diversified from white meat and dark meat into red meat by buying huge meatpacker IBP in 2001. But beef, the company's biggest unit by sales, is struggling with higher prices and apparently lower demand. Citing unfavorable operating margins, Tyson earlier this month temporary closed four beef plants. [snip] Chicken revenues rose 20 percent from the year before, while beef revenues fell. In the 12 months ended Oct. 2, 2004, chicken accounted for less than a third of sales but nearly 60 percent of total operating income. Beef, with 45 percent of total sales, contributed less than 14 percent of operating income.

http://pesn.com/2005/01/25/6900062_Exxon_Tripped_Indonesian_Tsunami/

Indonesian Tsunami Probably Tripped by Exxon-Mobil Works

29 Leo rising, voc moon at 24 Leo in the 12th -- so far for good (bad) for Condi's swearing in -- isn't there a fixed star at 29 of a fixed sign that causes problems? The rest of the chart doesn't look too great either. Thanks for digging up the time, Jill G.

Jeanie,
Your dream follows exactly the one I had two nights ago where I felt pregnant! I like how you interpreted it. Hope you keep a dream log.

Sally, Nancy...Condi's SoS chart has 28 Leo 45 rising. Juno, Neptune, Part of F, and the Sun are in Aquarius in the 6th. Chiron, Mercury, Venus, Vertex are in the 5th in Capricorn. Pluto and Mars in Sagg 4th house. Pallas and Jupitar in the second in Libra. Moon in the 12th in Leo. Saturn and Lilith are in the 11th in Cancer. The north node is in the 9th in Aries and squares Saturn, Mercury, Venus and Chiron. Chiron also squares Jupitar and is opposite Saturn.
What caught my eye is that Neptune in the 6th = delusions about job. Jupitar in the 2nd = in it for the money.
I'm positive that you experts can come up with much more. Pretty please!

Teresa,

Re the Fixed star question you raised above...

I surfed the net and found the following varying opinions. Jury is out awaiting word from Cap't Sally or Nancy or others:

-----------

Fixed Star --- Regulus - [29 degrees of Leo]

1) Astrological ability, independent and high spirited. Destructiveness, mlitary honors. Power, success and leadership ability. Possible disastrous fall from prominent position.

2)The most Royal Star. Raphael, the Healing Archangel, the Watcher of the North. Nobility, ambition, alertness, great power, status, leadership, sudden downfall, accidents, violence

3) Regulus, placed as the Heart of the Lion, or Cor Leonis, of the constellation Leo, is affiliated with courage, liberality and generosity, nobility, and high and lofty ideals. That's the good news. Robson states also that it can give temporary success ("military honor," he says) followed by eventual failure, which may culminate in imprisonment or a violent death. Bernadette Brady, using Greek and Egyptian legend, finds a middle course, stating that one can "gain great success by facing a particular nemesis." (pg. 263)

If Regulus is rising, culminating, or conjunct the Sun or another planet within a degree, it may be especially powerful in your chart. Look to see if you have planets or angles near 29 Leo.

It would be even more powerful if your work in life entails competition for success and fame. This star may give notoriety and fame but not lasting success or happiness. For example, it's conjunct Moon in George Wallace's chart and conjunct the Midheaven in Jackie Kennedy's. For a person more like one of us, if Regulus is prominent, expect high-minded ideals and a competitive spirit, which results in success which may not be lasting.

http://first-draft.com/

The WaPo tells us that one more vote against Condi as Secretary of State would have tied a 180-year-old record.

Not since 1825 -- when 14 of the Senate's 48 members voted against Henry Clay -- have so many senators opposed a secretary of state nominee. Even at the height of the Vietnam War in 1973, Henry A. Kissinger's nomination drew only seven negative votes.

What was that you were saying about a mandate, Mr. Bush?

Condi in for the money? Oh my, what a shock!

Idea urgings from eric francis website ...

Pointing Proper
The Galactic Times for January 26, 2005
By PHILIP SEDGWICK

Mars now mercifully inches over the conjunction to Pluto and starts pointing at the Galactic Center (26 Sag 55). Once the log jam of concerns over whose in charge of what, and can they infringe upon one's interests, the way clears for pure, cosmically-inspired insight to pour down the spout for those willing to receive it.

Since Mars has to do with enacting the cosmic inspirations, there are two ways to consider this passage, which culminates on February 1st. First, check back in your idea files from about six to nine months ago. These ideas should now please the taste of a society that would have rejected such ideas last year. It seems that it takes humans a while to catch up with good ideas. It's a form of psycho-technological adjustment, which is a form of me making up words. The idea is: it takes awhile to get used to the ideas of progress. The Galactic Center dominated the horoscope of the Wright Brothers' first flight. Decades later, the public began flying.

So, now, if a person takes previous ideas, polishes them, pursues development and puts them out there, a responsive greeting is more likely.

What? You don't keep idea files? In that case, start now. Over the next week or so, write down every good, out there, "somebody should do" kind of thought entering your conscious attention. You can even afford to put it away for a while, say three months or so. Then, the idea should commence haunting your consciousness for more attention. Given three months of thought after that, the ideas should be clear enough to present to the world.

The call for progressive action implied in this Mars passage shows up again in two years. Those who cultivate now, will be well on their way by then. Those who only pondered in this interval watch from the sidelines. Next time around, Pluto will be very close to the Galactic Center as well. While that time should be unprecedented in development of ideas, understanding Universal Mystery and social healing, consider this next week to be the first, huge step.

For every issue that concerns you, bring a new idea down the pike. Take a couple of intervals a day (and if you're an astrologer, preferably when the GC rises and culminates for your location) to sit and muse. Play "what if" in your mind. Think freely. Let your mind conjure up progressive insights and unlock previously undisclosed insights.

Some often ask when they hear about the Galactic Center, "What gives a person a right to make up new idea?" Perhaps a more to the point question is: "What gives one the right to ignore the insight and inspiration of the Cosmos?"

Here's for pointing proper. Tweak your satellite dish, sit in your favorite meditation corner, crush some more aluminum foil on your forehead. Whatever your method, may the points of progress come your way. It's out there and coming to a theater in your head soon!

"The National Government will regard it as its first and foremost duty to revive in the nation the spirit of unity and cooperation. It will
> preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built. It regards Christianity as the foundation of our national morality, and the family as the basis of national life." : Adolph Hitler, My New World Order, Proclamation to the German Nation at
> Berlin, February 1, 1933

hmmmm..... the fundies will be appoplectic!
Ron Howard directing Tom Hanks in DaVinci Code targeted to be released May 2006! Can't wait.

Jo, thanks for looking that stuff up on the fixed star. I immediately latched on to the "sudden downfall." The swearing in chart does look pretty combustible. With a voc moon, anything can happen. It really might be entertaining and even shylurker might come out from under the bed for some popcorn.

Stephanie asked about the Midterm elections. I've got questions too. Starcats made a natal chart for the first voting at: http://starcats.com/polls_open06.html
The rising sign is 29 Leo 50 on the fixed star Regulus. Capricorn and Cancer are intercepted signs which looks bad for the Repugs?? But there are numerous squares and oppositions happening; same old same old cheating by them??
What say you?

Stephanie asked about the Midterm elections and I have questions too. At StarCats there is a chart for the first voting http://starcats.com/polls_open06.html
29 Leo 50 is rising and has Cancer and Capricorn intercepted. That cuts out the Repugs?? But there are numerous squares stressing planets; so is it good for the Dems?

When she’s good, she’s very, very good.... check out the redhead

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/27/opinion/27dowd.html?oref=login&hp

Love for Sale
By MAUREEN DOWD

Published: January 27, 2005

I'm herewith resigning as a member of the liberal media elite.

I'm joining up with the conservative media elite. They get paid better.

wv, while I understand your sentiment against the Clintons, I have absolutely HAD enough of the right-wing attack dog against them and so I tend to want to be protective and it hurts to have like-minded people bash them. But of course you are entitled to your opinion and I respect you for that.

DailyKos thread - What's the problem with Hillary? - worth a look:

http://dailykos.com/story/2005/1/27/174136/999

http://billmon.org/archives/001657.html

http://phoenixwoman.blogspot.com/2005/01/tax-codes-powerline-and-super-rich.html

Tomorrow is going to be heavy all right. For one thing, the Iraqi resistance is hitting the Green Zone, and it's obvious all over the net that emotions are wacking out big time.

I'm not gonna comment on the Barbara Boxer/ nazi stuff. It really serves no further purpose. I'm not in the least upset about anything at this time, and I hope you are all feeling peaceful also. I love you all.

I'm hesitant to post this....is so depressing.......
but, on the other hand it is out in the MAINSTREAM..................if 3 years too late!
Part of the birthing process???

Dream On America

The U.S. Model: For years, much of the world did aspire to the American way of life. But today countries are finding more appealing systems in their own backyards.
By Andrew Moravcsik
Newsweek International

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6857387/site/newsweek/
PQOP

Hi, everyone. Nice to be back at AW. Regarding the comments about Barbara Boxer, we need to realize the most important point about the Democrats: they are the mirror image of the Republicans. Our governing body is ONE creature with 2 heads. They really aren't that different. If we think about that, it helps explain why Obama and Salazar suddenly are acting like a traitors.

Mike Malloy said 2 weeks ago, "I'm not a Democrat anymore", because so many of them are betraying us. Randi Rhodes on Air America Radio is puzzled, debating out loud, "what's the matter with them? (the Dem's). She's as upset as the rest of us are.

Just last week, Obama was talking about a "surgical strike" against Iran.

It's not a mystery when you realize both parties have the same agenda. Unfortunately. The pull is just too strong for them to resist.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. I'm not sure if Humpty can be put back together again.

Keep talking, Teddy:

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/27/kennedy.iraq.ap/index.html

http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012805A.shtml

White House Abandons Effort to Relax Media Ownership Limits

 Washington - The Bush administration will not ask the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that struck down the Federal Communication Commission's sweeping changes of media ownership rules.

    The FCC had until Monday to decide whether to appeal the ruling by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. The Justice Department, in consultation with the FCC, decided against an appeal, FCC spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher said Thursday.

    The FCC must now return to the drawing board and revise the rules. Fisher did not say why the administration decided not to appeal.

    The Republican-dominated FCC completed two years of review and voted 3-2 along party lines in 2003 to ease decades-old ownership restrictions. The changes included allowing a single company to own TV stations and a newspaper in the same area.

    Critics said such a change would encourage mergers and stifle diversity in news and entertainment.

Laurie:

Thanks for the KOS info on the Clintons - a good
read. They are both too "right" for me. But what
disturbs me most about them is that they both are
"Pander Bears".

Cliss: EXACTLY. To repeat myself again, part of what is happening is the dis-olution of all our systems. It's very difficult to be completely dis-illusioned over & over again. I really had my hopes up about Obama. I guess others do about Boxer.

Boxer's rebellion and Democrats' new tone

Smarting from defeat, Senate minority leaders talk about values and let colleague play 'bad cop.'

By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON – Still smarting from the loss of their party leader in November's vote, Senate Democrats are setting a deliberately lower and softer profile at the start of the 109th Congress - except for the ones tossing bombs.

The leading flamethrower would be Sen. Barbara Boxer, who rocked the opening days of the session by initially blocking the presidential electoral vote count and, more recently, by ripping into Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice during her Senate confirmation bid.

The contrast between Senator Boxer's moves and the more modulated tones of the party's new Senate leadership team is partly a matter of personal style, but it also reflects the challenge that Democrats face as the minority party after an election that left many shellshocked. They want to expand their reach into the American electorate and avoid the "obstructionist" label, while reassuring core activists that the party is not going soft…

In the run-up to President Bush's State of the Union address next week, Democrats are laying the groundwork for their response in terms of values. The "ownership society" of the Republicans boils down to the notion that "we're all in this alone," Durbin said on Monday - referring in part to proposals for private accounts in Social Security. "That's wrong. There are many problems facing America which we need to face together, and not alone."…

For Boxer, who led six other women House members up the steps of the Senate to protest the 1991 nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, the new Congress offers many opportunities to cut a stronger edge. No stranger to conflict, she told staff on election night that she wasn't "going to be afraid to stand alone."…

She is unapologetic about her questioning of Rice's nomination. "This is a real war that is causing real deaths and real injuries," she says. "We could get hit with a stack of new misstatements getting us into a new war. We have to be tough on holding people accountable."…

Rhino’s Blog

Real Women Don't Kiss Ass

RHINO SEZ:
The Rhino can not be prouder of his Senator, Barbara Boxer, whose steadfastness in confronting the oil tanker princess, Condi Rice, not only made her look like a real national representative of the people, but also made many of her peers, like Diane "kiss ass" Feinstein, look like the campaign fundraising mealy mouthed compromisers that they are. I've called both of my lady Senators several times in the last couple weeks and told them what I think of them. Whether you're from California or not, I urge you to contact Boxer's office and let her know that you support her courageous stances. You can find all her contact info [here].

Stephanie - I am not clear on the midterm elections. If they don't fix those voting machines, it won't matter how unpopular Bush is. I think 2006 will be a very difficult year for BushCo.with prog MC conjunct Chiron and solar arc Saturn conjunct IC in the Inaugural chart. Both are in effect for the election. The latter aspect will be triggered by Pluto in quincunx from 10/11 to 11/17/06. Another way of saying Saturn conjunct the IC is Saturn opposing the MC. In other words, obstacles and difficulties for the administration in pursuit of its goals (MC). It will also be the season of Saturn conjunct Bush's Venus. Though that won't be exact for the election, it will be in effect. Whether or not the Repubs win at the polls, Bush will be up to his eyeballs in sh*t.

Jo -

"No evidence of remorse... no 'affect' of any kind (frontal lobe problems? what do you say Nancy?)"

Bush lives in an alternative reality. He really has to make an effort to bring up painful stuff since he is such a genius at denial. In HIS war, we are winning, we are bringing freedom to the ME, and the Iraqis are creating a democracy. End of story. Those marines hardly exist for him. It reminds me of the stories about how his family was not allowed to discuss the death of his sister at all. Just like we are not allowed to look at the coffins of the dead soldiers. This guy has denial down to an artform.

Hello again, AstroWorld. It's nice to be back. I haven't gone anywhere, just burrowed myself into the Internet doing research. Every once in a while I'll surface, but quickly go back to my tunnel as I'm excavating new and interesting facts about what's to come.

Yes, I'm completely fixated on future prognostication. While I still love astrology for the insight it gives me, in particular Vedic astrology, I got somewhat disappointed in the last election when Bush "won" again.

I think most of it was just hoping against hope, desperately looking for some affirmation that the creep was finally going to get swept out like yesterday's garbage.

Sometime I felt like the kitten at the end of the rope; just hanging on. I think everyone here understands what a hellish experience these past 4 years have been, and we didn't even get bombs rained on top of us.

And in retrospect, Sally did say that Bush would probably be "elected" again. So did lots of other astrologers, like Chakrapani Ullal.

I just turned a blind eye, because I didn't want to believe it. So I went, eagerly, like a fish following a worm, to the ones who predicted Bush would lose. And in fact, maybe he did lose. There's a very strong stench of voter fraud once again. Who could guess that even if you predict the winner, it doesn't mean he will take office.

So I've been swimming in an ocean of future prognostication, this time from people who predict using scientific formulas and the like. I've found some really good ones.

My favorite is Gerald Celente. He's nationally known; he's been around for quite some time, and he's built up a reputation for following trends and pushing them into the future. He writes that he "ignores what the media tells me what to think and the spin doctors say", and comes to his own conclusions.

Mr. Celente made millions in the futures market based on what he knew was going to happen (the Shah was about to be deposed in Iran) and what would happen to oil prices (they were going to go up, and by a lot).

Here's what he writes in his latest edition of the Trends Research Institute's Winter Issue:

"Very Ugly Americans"
People of the world and their governments, increasingly fed up with all things American, will be putting out the "unwelcome" sign for President Bush, Made-in-Usa consumer products, and U.S. citizens.

In December 2000, when we first detected the trend, anti-Americanism was generalized - directed mainly at US unilateral policies concerning issues such as human rights, the environment, and the Florida debacle which challenged the legitimacy of the newly appointed President.

But now the anti-American finger pointing is targeted. Back then the American people were not directly blamed for government policy. But now they are seen as willing accomplices in making the world a more dangerous place.....

ON THE IRAQ WAR (this is the worst part)

"There will be no democracy, no independent government nor will there be an Iraqi armed force capable of accepting the transfer of US military power.

Forced into waging war on their own, thousands more Americans will die, tens of thousands more will be wounded, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis will be killed and wounded, and hundreds of billions more dollars will be spent before the US and its handful of coalition forces are eventually forced to withdraw......

"America has lost its soul"
and much more. He makes predictions about the economy, world politics and so on. Very interesting reading.
http://www.trendsresearch.com/journal.html

Where is all this Anti-semitism coming from? Just the fact that someone mentions that Boxer is Jewish shows that that person has "issues" with her religion. No one looks at me and uses my belief system against me!

Just because someone is Jewish doesn't mean that they automatically support Sharon or aggresive Zionism. Likewise, Democrats and Clintons are only responsible for the current mess we are in only because of the "law of polarities". While Clinton apitomizes democratic ideals, republicans have defined themselves as his opposite.

Sure, the Democrats and Republicans are the same...except for gay rights, women rights, workers rights, social security reform, abortion, education, health care, approach to the Irag war, childcare, economic policies, foreign policy approaches, enviromental policies, tax reform, and affirmative action......sure, they're all the sign (Not!!!)

Sorry, the last comment was supposed to end with "same" not "sign". Thinking astrologically too much.

okay, I'm going to address the Boxer is a Jew comment just for YOU, Travis. You say: "Just the fact that someone mentions that Boxer is Jewish shows that that person has "issues" with her religion."
guess what? I see it exactly opposite. Boxer is a Jew. big damn deal. I'm a white heterosexual single mom. Want to stereotype me? I was listing a FACT, period. It's darn funny to me all the folks who have come out to defend this fact. WHY is it necessary to defend it? I don't defend being a white heterosexual mom, why should I? it's who I am. You folks who cry naziism and anti-semitism need to look in the mirror to find out why you don't like what you see. I don't judge Barbara Boxer on her religious beliefs, but it certainly is applicable in evaluating her political motivations in this day & age, given the fact that MOST (all?)politicians are "on the take", or pandering for votes, not to mention the deluge of information available concerning the Israeli influence that permeates our government. I couldn't care less if someone worships the dog poop that still sits in my front yard waiting to be picked up, but it sure as heck does lend credence to their chosen description of theirself. It's not me that has an issue with Jews. I DO have an issue with politicians period, especially ones with skeletons in their closet, or who speak out of both sides of their mouths, and dishonesty, and corruption. Sorry if you haven't educated yourself enough to know the influence of the Clinton's on our political history. Sorry if you can't understand that MAYBE Boxer was duped into POSSIBLE collusion for her bad check scenario. Sorry if I can no longer pretend to be naiive enough to think that ANY politician will "save" us. But you can, for as long as you like.

This is not a good arguement. Please DROP it everyone. Right or wrong religion is usually mentioned in most biographies.

As for the check charge, I wonder how many schemes can be pinned on most of the neocons. The list would be a boggle to most sane people.

I'm not buying any one charge for any reason on Boxer or anyone else. At this point, I just don't care. Scandal is the weapon of the foul, and the small, and that is exactly what the contract with American was and is. It's more like the contract on America.

I'll take my heros by their acts.

The arguement is puny and not worth having. There are much bigger ones to have, and our future is at stake. Don't get distracted.

You have always been a wonderful poster Peg, and I thank you for that. Namaste

Cliss,
Your feelings and thoughts are so reflective of my many confused feelings and disappointments about four more Bush years. As America so blindly embarks on such a treacherous journey I am unquestionably worried about the repercussions worldwide and what it will all eventually mean for my/ALL children and their futures.

It is so bewildering to me how America remains such a pompous, introverted society. Unfortunately, September 11 gave the Bush Regime the perfect opportunity to pray upon these qualities to further their frightening agenda. By using fear they have literally programmed Americans to give up their freedoms in the false, irrational and emotionally based belief that they can exchange their freedom for protection and therefore ensure their survival.

Wrapped in collective fear and denial America has become the perfect reflection of a foolish, insipid and out of touch warmonger that panders to the lowest common denominator of our society and constantly shows Americans how great it is to wallow “with pride” in our superior ignorance and denial.
God Help Us

Peg,

As a homosexual male of mixed race ancestry, I celebrate who you are. I celebrate what you have done for us as a woman, as a Caucasian, and as a mother. Peg, it's not about judging, its about loving you for who you are as an individual. About looking into my self, well I know a lot about Naziism since so many of my mother's family were taken by the Vichy government to the Polish death camps. Peg, maybe we can disagree, and that's fine. I wish you love anyway. Peace.

May God Have Mercy On Our Souls...

The Ultimate War Crime: Breaking the Agricultural Cycle

Edited by Iman Khaduri, http://abutamam.blogspot.com/ January 2005
www.globalresearch.ca 25 January 2005

The URL of this article is: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/KHA501A.html

For the record: “U.S. declares Iraqis can not save their own seeds”

"As part of sweeping "economic restructuring" implemented by the Bush Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to save their seeds, which include seeds the Iraqis themselves have developed over hundreds of years. Instead, they will be forced to buy seeds from US corporations. That is because in recent years, transnational corporations have patented and now own many seed varieties originated or developed by indigenous peoples. In a short time, Iraq will be living under the new American credo:

Pay Monsanto, or starve ."

"The American Administrator of the Iraqi CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) government, Paul Bremer, updated Iraq's intellectual property law to 'meet current internationally-recognized standards of protection'. The updated law makes saving seeds for next year's harvest, practiced by 97% of Iraqi farmers in 2002, and is the standard farming practice for thousands of years across human civilizations, to be now illegal.. Instead, farmers will have to obtain a yearly license for genetically modified (GM) seeds from American corporations. These GM seeds have typically been modified from seeds developed over thousands of
generations by indigenous farmers like the Iraqis, and shared freely like agricultural 'open source.'"

Iraq law Requires Seed Licenses November 13, 2004

"According to Order 81, paragraph 66 - [B], issued by L. Paul Bremer [CFR], the people in Iraq are now prohibited from saving seeds and may only plant seeds for their food from licensed, authorized U.S. distributors.

The paragraph states, "Farmers shall be prohibited from re-using seeds of protected varieties or any variety mentioned in items 1 and 2 of paragraph [C] of Article 14 of this chapter."

Written in massively intricate legalese, Order 81 directs the reader at Article 14, paragraph 2 [C] to paragraph [B] of Article 4, which states any variety that is different from any other known variety may be registered in any country and
become a protected variety of seed - thus defaulting it into the "protected class" of seeds and prohibiting the Iraqis from reusing them the following season. Every year, the Iraqis must destroy any seed they have, and repurchase
seeds from an authorized supplier, or face fines, penalties and/or jail time."

As per an Iraqi proverb, the day will come, sooner rather than later, when the Iraqis will shred Bremer’s Laws, soak them in water and offer the glass to Bremer to drink.

*** *** **
Iraqis Can't Save Seed
By Bud Landry
Jan 19, 2005, 10:58

"U.S. Declares Iraqis Can't Save See," by David Deschesne

According to Order 81, paragraph 66 -[B], issued by L. Paul Bremer [CFR], the people in Iraq are now prohibited from saving seeds and may only plant seeds for their food from from licensed, authorized U.S. distributors.

The paragraph states, "Farmers shall be prohibited from re-using seeds of protected varieties or any variety mentioned in items 1 and 2 of paragraph [C] of Article 14 of this chapter."

Written in massively intricate legalese, Order 81 directs the reader at Article 14, paragraph 2 [C] to paragraph [B] of Article 4, which states any variety that is different from any other known variety may be registered in any country and
become a protected variety of seed - thus defaulting it into the "protected class" of seeds and prohibiting the Iraqis from reusing them the following season. Every year, the Iraqis must destroy any seed they have, and repurchase
seeds from an authorized supplier, or face fines, penalties and/ or jail time.

This is the freedom that comes with the American form of democracy?

http://magic-city-news.com/article_2812.shtml

For sure this Mars/Pluto conjunction is explosive. The bad guys are in the White House, though. They manipulate us, lie to us, frustrate us... they gain their power by dividing us. We can't allow that...

Labels are tools for communicating... but they are not definitive of us as individuals. We are "beings" --- experiencing the labels of whatever... and it is okay if we disagree... the important thing is to do so with respect.

Namaste

That's right Jo. Now from the article on Monsanto, a real issue.

"As part of sweeping "economic restructuring" implemented by the Bush Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to save their seeds. Instead, they will be forced to buy seeds from US corporations -- which can include seeds the Iraqis themselves developed over hundreds of years. That is because in recent years, transnational corporations have patented and now own many seed varieties originated or developed by indigenous peoples. In a short time, Iraq will be living under the new American credo: Pay Monsanto, or starve."

It must be time to fond the corporation date for Monsanto.

Well, this page should curl your hair.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Monsanto&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

...and if that is not enough, this will surely do it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto

And if that is not enough, Monsanto is owned by Pharmacia, based out of Missouri. If that's not enough, Pfzir recently acquired Pharmacia. Pfzir is now world's largest drug company, makers of Lipitor and other drugs made part of the daily diet of millions. Their labs draw most of the blood in the country (world?). They were part of the cabal of corporations backing *'s infamous Medicare Bill, part of the group reducing retirees benefits and wonders upon wonders... Monsanto is and has been one of major contributors not only to * and GOP but to Kerry, Gephardt et al.

Corpo-fascists own us from fetus to the grave, decide what we eat, what diseases we get, what medical treatment we get (if we get it), and who should sit in the White House.

There's a huge difference between Nazis and American Corpo-fascists... when the Nazis invaded a country, they didn't tell folks to destroy their seed. Nor did they blanket the country with uranium-enriched soil to nurture their seed.

Net says native people call Monsanto MONSATAN. Gee, we're spreading Democracy guys!

And they think the Iraqis want American-controlled elections, so that its slate of corpo- fascist pigs gets to continue running the country into the ground? Guess again. These are not third world uneducated, uninformed folk. These people know what Bremer set up... and this administration claims laws passed under its so-called "occupation" cannot be broken or made void by subsequent governments. That's Democracy!? Sounds like the kind they want for us here in USA. Wake up America. It's Mourning time.

[P.S. a five min google will make your day]

Pat C -- Began a sci-fi book several years ago (still unfinished). Part of the subtext includes an historical perspective on a plot called "the thinning" -- thinning the population, controlling water rights and (yes) seed production.

Enron, Monsanto, General Electric, et al have acquired mercilous power, but it's an ambiguous one. The same power they wield will be the one that destroys them.

karen

Wonder how this explosive tMars/Pluto conjunction will treat the scheduled (s)election in Iraq this weekend?

For your leisure reading, this article explains what and who Shiites are (esp. as relates to the Sunni). While they basically are the MAJORITY in Iraq (previously ruled by the minority Sunni under Sadaam), they comprise only 15% of the Muslins worldwide... they are fundamental and see their clerics as infallible. Most importantly the Iraqi Shiites are CLOSELY tied to Iran. Guess who Rummy is supporting in the (s)election? Remember Sistani? the cleric who supposedly 'controls' the Shiites? Promises have been made to him for not unleashing the Shiites in the beginning of the occupation. Now come the folks who were in control under Sadaam, the Sunni - to oppose the coming elections. Juxtaposition that with the recent attitude of Rummy group that security can only be gained by bringing back those former members of the Iraqi Army (Sunnis). They're supposed to make the country safe for the new ruling party (Shiites, if the majority wins - which they do, in a 'Democracy', right?)

And Rummy wants us to believe this chaos in Iraq was unexpected? Pleeze... Divide and conquer, right? Spread that chaos ('scuse me, 'Democracy') to all of the ME, so we can get all the resources (oil, serfs, seeds --- fodder... for the army)...

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10751185.htm

An Honorable Dissent on Rice and Gonzales....

http://www.observer.com/index.html

Juan Cole has a piece this a.m. on David Feith's departure/resignation while under investigation. It's not Feith's summary of shortcomings I wish to bring attention to, rather it is Cole's persona itself --- why people respect him. Here's the last two paragraphs of his article... an excellent model to emulate, imho...

-----

It is important to note that what is objectionable about Feith is a) his playing fast and loose with the truth, producing poor intelligence analysis that has been shown to be completely false and b) his doing so on behalf of not only American nationalist aspirations but also on behalf of a non-American political party, the Likud coalition of Israel, which desired to destroy the Oslo peace process initiated by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (and which was therefore on the same side of this issue as the fanatic who assassinated Rabin). There is no objection to Americans having multiple identities or love for more than one country. Someone of Serbian heritage would make a perfectly good Pentagon administrator. But you wouldn't want a vehement supporter of Slobodon Milosevic as the number three man in the Pentagon. It is ideological dual loyalty that is dangerous. Mere sentiment based on multiple ethnic identities is not dual loyalty, and hyphenated Americans mostly have other countries they wish well (and rightly so).

It is also important to underline that only a small minority of American Jews support the Likud Party or its policies, and that a majority of Jewish Americans opposed the Iraq war. In short, the problematic nature of Feith's tenure at the Department of Defense must not be made an excuse for any kind of bigotry.

http://www.juancole.com/2005/01/feith-resigns-under-pressure-of.html

Condi sworn in at 9:54 AM EST, Jan.28, 2004

Oops, make that 2005

Some people are really sick...

The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:
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sick, sick, sick...

The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:
Shortcut to: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Guantanamo-Sex-vs-Faith.html?pagewanted=print&position=

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WV,
Your link above takes me to front page of Observer. Help! I can't find dissent on Rice & Gonzales...

Jo, the articles and the views expressed by both articles you posted make very plausable and excellent points.

1) It's entirely possible and a shrewd and brilliant strategy for the Americans to foment civil war in Iraq, as they manipulate the puppet regime they want from behind the scenes, all the while making it look like "the people" are exercising the right to choose. When things are degenerated and chaotic enough, the Neocons have the perfect excuse to step in and take control. But wouldn't a messy civil war cause the public to see the exercise in bringing democracy to Iraq as a futile one? Of course, the media would control what we see.

) Although you didn't post Juan Cole for the context, I'd like to comment. His statements about Feith and Israel seemt to be on the mark. The Likkud party is composed of extremists who want a strong defense for Israel but also seem to to be one-side and over aggressive and defensive in achieving their aims. (Many say that that's the attitude of all peoples in the Mideast -- strength is respected, kindness is scorned as weakness. Yet, surely, people can change their attitudes as we move towards the Aquarian Age.) Yet, a nuanced explanation like this one (and to many people it would be) brings to mind the great article posted recently about why the Republicans are so successful. They present the situation in black & white - good guys versus bad guys. Thus, a criticism of Israel's government can be taken as a criticism of Jews by those who make quick assumptions in black and white. It's a tricky situation. Israel's government deserves to be criticized, yet, it is hard to do this without it being confused with bigotry by those with those leanings or even small seeds of anti-Semitism planted in their mind during childhood. Most do not know that Likkud extremists are in the majority, especially because the Israeli people voted in Sharon at the height of the Intifada, when civilians felt their most vulnerable. And look what happened -- the intifada has subsided for the time being, seemingly with the help of "the wall." So, althought the wall is inequitable, and allows Israel to get the better deal (or so I've read), it seems to be keeping Israel safer.

My comments are only a partial explanation of a very complex situation, as most political-historical situations are. Things do look hopeful at this point, though, and I hope fair compromises are made so Palestine can move forward as a country with full rights. I hope people can see, however, why it has been important for Israel, an exrremely small country among many homogeneous and opposing nations, to create a fortress for itself. Part of a strong defense though has to be a willingness to extend the hand of friendship. All the Jews I know and know of, as is taught in our litergy, are very much humanitarians. I think that this is the "real" nature of Israel and hope that Israel feels safe enough for it to emerge.

Well Pat C....I always wanted curly hair.............
'till today!
It's frizzed up into tight little kinks....after reading full disclosure abouMontsanto's criminal activity!
And article 81 of the Iraqi constitutuion!
My dilemma, how to communicate this material to the local kids, who are being seriously propagandized, by our criminal media. A good many of them are overweight from eating this GM crap; ( modified high fructose corn syrup, doesn't metabolize normally, instead goes right to the liver ) Now the Gov. is wanting to put their weight on their report cards.....(in case their parents hadn't noticed they are overweight?) while supporting these gastly food corps!
I personally, have figured this out through my senses, taste buds etc.over the last decade. ( Call me the Princess & the pea!) But to learn the reasons behind it for sure is a real blow.
( I guess I had a fantasy of being able to increase my income & go to another place where I could buy healthy food once again!)
Nope......... no place to run.....no place to hide... time to raise my pitchfork ( paintbrush ?)
& fight!
How about a reality show on TV pitting several small mid western farmers against a corporate farm.
Fat children whose single Mothers can't afford anything better than Conagra Chef Boyardee for dinner, against Ann Vennaman's children eating home raised, black angus beef. The one who loses the most weight wins!!!!!
My hair was on fire when I posted the bit about Seminis Seed Co being bought.......now it's spread all the way down to my toes!
Pat QOP /Taurus don''t mess with my FOOD!!!!!!

Sharon,

My communication skills must be nil... as you missed the point of my post of Cole's last two paragraphs entirely. I was not attempting to criticize or defend the government of Israel. But you responded defensively, so I blew it. If you, as intelligent and sensitive as you are, missed my point, I can only assume I lacked clarity.

What I was attempting to show is that one should stick to criticizing another's ideology rather than one's ethnicity. I thought Cole did that rather well.

I find myself frustrated by your comment that:

“Israel's government deserves to be criticized, yet, it is hard to do this without it being confused with bigotry by those with those leanings or even small seeds of anti-Semitism planted in their mind during childhood. “

In my opinion, bigots are just that — bigots... unreasonable... So, I can only conclude that your comment translates to — since criticism of the government of Israel can be construed as fodder for bigots, we should withdraw from criticism? Please tell me that is NOT what you are saying.

In my humble opinion, there is no way to dialog about mundane politics without discussion of the Middle East, and there is not way to discuss the Middle East without discussing Israel. It is the * administration which has convoluted its foreign policy in the Middle East such that one is tied up like a pretzel attempting to discuss US foreign policy without discussing Israel. We are at war, in Iraq, in the Middle East.

Sharon, my post was made in the interest of creating an atmosphere of peace on this board with regard to this issue. It is my belief that if one sticks with criticism of the ideology, that is to say the politics of an individual or a government, a semblance of ‘peace’ will hold sway. Hopefully there are no bigots on this board... my antennae has not detected any, at least in the regular posters.

Please give me some clarity on my interpretation of your comments that criticism of the government of Israel should be avoided on this board.

Regarding my other post, and my thoughts that chaos is the intent of the Neocon/fascist regime in Washington... that is not an original idea of mine. There are pundits with far greater knowledge and expertise than I, who believe that to be the case. However, it is just an interpretation of this regime’s goals. Goodness knows an interpretation is the best what can do with this group. In hindsight, I was rendering an opinion, an editorial... and this is not the place for that, actually.

Shalom

Regarding the above comments about "the system" being corrupt and broken as we watch Obama and the Clintons shifting to the right, (as well as others). I don't know if the system is broken so much as the system is changed or is changing. I was talking to a friend of mine the other day, a politician, and she said she would not be surprised to see Obama shift parties in a year or so, same with Gonzales. I don't see a lot, if any Republicans shifting to the left in their votes or attitudes, but I do see Democrats shifting.

Does that mean the corruption of America is complete and "we the people" are just catching up to that, or does it mean it's time to focus our attention on a new party, new voices? Or does it just mean that the perception of Democrats is they have become the party of losers and no one wants to be associated with losers, not the Clintons or Obama or several dozen other Democrats in Washington and around the country. The Democratic leadership in the states believe they have to shift right in order to win at all. I don't know, but I do know things have changed and there isn't any going back and we need to find leaders who can take us forward.

'I think that this is the "real" nature of Israel and hope that Israel feels safe enough for it to emerge.'

I respectfully ask, what is 'safe enough' and who will define what 'safe enough' is? According to at least 50% in this country, if 'election' results are enough to go by, they don't feel safe enough and felt it necessary to put *ush in office to protect us. As a result, we will be in an interminable war until we feel 'safe enough' and innumerable innocents have paid the price for us to be 'safe enough.' We are all being 'played' by corporate fascists determined to control most of the world and its resources. They want it all. I also believe that same scenario is being played out in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict each of the power players on either side don't want peace they 'want it all.'

On a side note, as soon as I read Peg's original post I knew it would set some off. As an african-american, it's not uncommon to see our ethnicity mentioned in connection with our name (ie. Rep. Conyers, african-amernican memeber of the house said...)and I used to wonder why it automatically had to be mentioned as if to offer explanation for what ever follows. I see it all the time in print and have learned to filter its impact on content according to the intent of its author.

Sally,

Your comments are on the mark. I was one of those asserting the system is broke - in the sense that dissent is no longer the tool it was previously. Folks at Kos and elsewhere believe the Dems have to change, appeal more to "values" --- heck, we have values... I hear that as a move to the Right. Gingrich et al stole our mantras... but they didn't deliver... instead we have evolved to doublespeak where what Reps say is opposite of what they do. My hope is on Dean. If he gets the job at DNC, there is hope for the Demo Party. If they choose someone else, I fear same ol', same ol'... Do you think if they don't give Dean the nod, he will organize another party? I agree wholeheartedly with your last remark... we need leaders who can take us FORWARD.

Nancy, thanks sharing your astrological and writing talents. I look forward to each of your articles.

While we try and ride out this turbulent interval, you might want to read Merriman's article for January 24, 2005, over on StarIQNewsScope's Market Week. Very interesting in terms of portents for the dollar and US economy--particularly in light of the huge debt the Repugs have built.

I think this is all a matter of categories of people becoming aware of how they choose to define themselves. It's everywhere. Even if they "shift" into a different category, they're still not happy because it doesn't define who & what they think they are. People are VERY confused because labels are very confusing. Mark Krueger wrote this today:

You likely will enjoy a deepening of community, of like valued sharing in your life. The world is heading toward centering around affiliation at all levels, rather than the turfland security of family, tribe, company, nation and such. This is why the cretinesque trailing edge of fundamentalism screams violently to keep everybody in boxes of family values or religious paranoia and parochialism. It's all breaking down and dissolving. Big noise is emitted when this happens.

We all tend to long for deep association but it can be quite difficult in modern life. The Net with its eBay trinket collectors or bloggers or interest groups of myriad variety in cyberland represent new strategies to join with others. The connection of blood is waning as a main source of identification.

Peg, I totally agree with you. I was born this way, but my goal in life is to transcend the confines of my condition and try to understand those who are so different from me. I think this comes from my Pluto sextile Neptune and sextile Uranus.

Even though I hate what the conservatives are doing, I understand why Jesus said,"forgive them, they know not what they do wrong." I really feel sorry for them, because they are not just limiting my own freedoms, but also their own. Whenever one "buys" into a system that keeps them from questioning, from critiquing, from exploring, and feeling, a part of them dies spiritually. Ultimately, if we are on this plane, we are connected to each other somehow. Peace

DO YOU ALL KNOW ABOUT THIS?

DONALD RUMSFELD NAMED IN $350 MILLIAN CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OVER ASPARTAME.

Friday, January 28, 2005
NewsTarget.com sUMMARY from
http://www.newswithviews.com/BreakingNews/breaking25.htm

Overview:

* A $350 million class action lawsuit was filed on September 15, 2004 in United States District Court in San Francisco, California, case no: C 04 3872.
* Plaintiffs maintain that this lawsuit will prove how deadly the chemical sweetener aspartame is when consumed by humans.
* Contained in the lawsuit is the key role played by current Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld in helping to get aspartame pushed through the FDA.
* Plaintiffs maintain that Rumsfeld used his political muscle to get aspartame approved by the FDA despite objections of many FDA health researchers and negative studies.
* These studies conducted in 1983/84 by the J.D. Searle Company were translated to English from Spanish by a translator in 1984.
* According to the Affidavit, the doctor directing the studies has been missing since the approval of aspartame in 1984.
* The affidavit also describes how the affiant was directed by J.D. Searle officials to destroy all records of the studies - including filed notes and/or translations - possessed by the affiant.
* This lawsuit charges the defendants engaged in unlawful acts of "knowingly and intentionally using the neurotoxic Aspartame as a sugar substitute in the manufacture of Equal, while knowing that exposure to Aspartame causes among other diseases/symptoms: abdominal pain, arthritis, asthma, brain cancer, breathing difficulties, burning eyes or throat, burning urination, chest pains, chronic cough, chronic fatigue, death, depression, diarrhea, headaches/migraines, hearing loss, heart palpitations, hives (urticaria), hypertension, impotency and sexual problems, memory loss, menstrual problems or changes, nausea or vomiting, slurring of speech, tremors, tinnitus, vertigo and/or vision loss."
* The lawsuit also states, "Further, Aspartame disease mimics symptoms or worsens the following diseases: Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Lupus, Diabetes and diabetic complications, Epilepsy, Alzheimer's Disease, birth defects, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lymphoma, Lyme Disease, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Panic Disorder, Depression and other psychological disorders."

>>>>>>>>>>>>
AND THIS.......

SWEET MISERY: A POISONED WORLD

Video Chronicles Medical Horrors of Aspartame

An industry case study of a food supply in crisis
After 7000 miles, and 25 hours of footage, "Sweet Misery" reveals one of the most pervasive, insidious forms of corporate negligence in the history of the industrial revolution. The toxic long-term effects of aspartame are often dismissed as a "hoax" by the sweetener industry and at least five other Internet websites. The real footwork, however, unravels something less comforting than a mere "Hoax." "Sweet Misery" is a documentary just released by Sound and Fury Productions.

"Aspartame is inherently, markedly and uniquely unstable in aqueous media" is a quote from the congressional record in 1985, yet it was approved for use in soft drinks and other beverages.

So what happened?

Is there credible evidence if you look beyond the smokescreen of corporate medicine? The primary research and interviews have been quite disturbing.

In November of 2001, Cori Brackett, co-owner of Sound and Fury Productions, unaware of any controversy surrounding artificial sweeteners,and who had been a heavy consumer of diet soda, began experiencing a tingling sensation in her hands and feet. She read an article about aspartame being connected to many health problems and quit using products like diet soda - which contain aspartame.

However, the tingling stubbornly continued, eventually convincing her to seek medical advice. Her doctor ordered an MRI of her brain which resulted in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis..."

VIDEO AVAILABLE AT
http://www.soundandfuryproductions.com/Pages/shopcart/shopcartindex.html

May this year bring more awareness, commitment to the truth, respect for the earth and understanding of all beings, even those who are so successfully playing out roles of negative projections to prod us into waking up!

PEACE

Jo & Soulchild,

I'm on the fly right now and may not be able to get back to a keyboard until Sat. night. I just scanned Jo's post really quickly and Soulchild's even quicker.

I'll just respond a bit to Jo and then do a more thoughtful response later. Dear Jo (always makes me think of "Little Women," I didn't miss your point. I agree with your point. I wasn't referring to people such as you, I, Juan Cole, and the rest of the board. I know everyone here understands that governments can be criticized without bigotry towards their ethnicity. I just thought of other comments that I wanted to make that run through me my mind and spirit, as things I think about. I really would like to discuss this a little more later and will get back to you guys. I appreciate this particular discussion. It is a bit sensitive at time but it is good to dialogue about it at a high level.

Have a lovely weekend.

Sharon

"No evidence of remorse... no 'affect' of any kind (frontal lobe problems? what do you say Nancy?)"

Bush lives in an alternative reality. He really has to make an effort to bring up painful stuff since he is such a genius at denial.

I COMPLETELY disagree with this take on *'s "lack of remorse," and feel it is dangerous to chalk same up to "denial."

George W. Bush is a serial killer, in the classic sense. As a child, he took great pleasure in torturing and killing animals [and he, his mother, and his childhood friends still consider this "boys being boys" rather than a tendency towards casual cruelty].

As an adult, though there have been rumours of his involvement in rapes and possibly even murders, there is absolute evidence of his lust for death in both the numbers of executions in Texas during his governorship [and lack of consideration for any and all "extenuating circumstances"] and the fact that federal executions were a thing of the past until he grabbed the reins.

There is also the fact that he commuted only ONE death sentence. For a fellow [three-named]serial killer...apparently he could "relate" and couldn't bring himself to pull the switch on this particular man.

He gets tense and nervous when he's not killing. Did anyone else notice that it was considered a "surprise" to find he is much more involved in the new assassination squads than with anything else on his plate? Not a "surprise" to me!

This is a man who LOVES death! Were he not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he'd be driving around Texas or Florida with a trunk full of machetes, ski masks, piano wire, and duct tape, etc., ad nauseam.

We should "feel for him," but we shouldn't make flimsy excuses for him. The man is not in denial, he's in heaven!

vcz

Cheney meltdown transits beginning to take effect?
Heavy criticism for his choice of wearing an olive colored parker and ski cap to Auschwitz memorial ceremonies - certainly not in keeping with the solemnity of the occasion. He looked like a buffoon playing army dress-up at a funeral. As astute a politician that he is, I can only surmize he was trying to play to the american military liberation angle, but it has backfired bigtime.

PNAC's letter to Frist, Reid, Hastert, and Pelosi, asking them to reinstate the draft:

http://www.newamericancentury.org/defense-20050128.htm

Letter to Congress on Increasing U.S. Ground Forces
January 28, 2005

Dear Senator Frist, Senator Reid, Speaker Hastert, and Representative Pelosi:

The United States military is too small for the responsibilities we are asking it to assume. Those responsibilities are real and important. They are not going away. The United States will not and should not become less engaged in the world in the years to come. But our national security, global peace and stability, and the defense and promotion of freedom in the post-9/11 world require a larger military force than we have today. The administration has unfortunately resisted increasing our ground forces to the size needed to meet today's (and tomorrow's) missions and challenges.

So we write to ask you and your colleagues in the legislative branch to take the steps necessary to increase substantially the size of the active duty Army and Marine Corps. While estimates vary about just how large an increase is required, and Congress will make its own determination as to size and structure, it is our judgment that we should aim for an increase in the active duty Army and Marine Corps, together, of at least 25,000 troops each year over the next several years.

More...

RIPPING OFF VETERANS
In the wild and woolly world of unbridled commerce, you'll often encounter disgusting life forms than can only be described as sleaze or slime. For example, take the roving band of companies that profit by essentially bilking vulnerable military veterans of their pensions.
http://updates.jimhightower.com/ctt.asp?u=2226780&l=76039

STAR WARS MISSILE MISFIRES...AGAIN
Gosh, it's sad that the Bushites have not been able to provide protective armor for all of our troops in Iraq - resulting in untold numbers of needless deaths and maimings - but... well, the Pentagon has other priorities. Such as playing with its Star Wars toys.
http://updates.jimhightower.com/ctt.asp?u=2226780&l=76040

Uh-oh. Harold Ickes just came out in support of Dean for DNC Chair. Whazzup?

dKos has a diary with few comments, gist is Dean's the best they've got and EVERYONE knows it. But how 'bout you Shylurker? Takes a lot to get you out from under the bed. What's the skinny on this? Ask Mikie... Mike, what's going on? Are they trying to sabotage, sandbag or otherwise destroy Dean --- or has the oxygen reached their brain cells and they know he's the best thing going?

The use of racial, ethnic, and religious identification is often a manipulative tool designed to trigger primitive response. For example, when criminal acts are reported, if the accused is African American, it is always mentioned. Long term effect, of course...."black men are dangerous".
The label "Jewish" is so loaded with emotion, one doesn't know where to begin to sort that one out. Look how far back in history it goes. I'm afraid our only hope is time and evolution. If our survival depends on recognizing the unity of mankind, then we will do it.

Chaos is definitely the PNAC credo, and the situation in Iraq was intentional. I do believe, though, that the chaos has surpassed expectations and is now out of THEIR control. This is their grand experiment, with no prior experience, and it does look like it is failing.

I think progressive leadership will come eventually, but we have to face this disillusionment and realization first. We need to clarify our thinking, get in touch with our autonomy, and learn to govern ourselves more effectively. That's where the Internet comes in... the free public forum of our time...where we police ourselves, and work out are differences. We love and need this forum so much that we automatically reach peaceful agreements. It will spread.

An afterthought:

I don't think there is such a thing as complete destruction. Or so the scientists say. The seeds of creation are always being planted.
I do believe that man's desructive powers are overrated.

>We all tend to long for deep association but it can be quite difficult in modern life. The Net with its eBay trinket collectors or bloggers or interest groups of myriad variety in cyberland represent new strategies to join with others. The connection of blood is waning as a main source of identification.<

Maybe when if Pluto through Capricorn brings us to our knees, Pluto through Aquarius will reconnect us a bit with the brotherhood of man approach.
Some of us will even be around to enjoy it.

I see PNAC's letter stating "The administration has unfortunately resisted increasing our ground forces to the size needed to meet today's (and tomorrow's) missions and challenges" omits some important signatures - the same administration they castigate that got us into this mess in the first place.
Too bad they omitted their mission purpose includes the signatures of Jeb Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld & Wolfowitz!
Lets hope the democratic leadership will see thru their manipulative chicanery.

Dunno, Jo. I was hoping you would. After all they've done to hurt Dean, they're now going to support him? I hope he's got the upper hand on this thing and will keep the upper hand. I'm having a hard time imagining he's succumbed to a deal. Most interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/4217413.stm

Heartbreaker/strokemaker! This is all so hideous.

This would be good! Now, if they don't wimp out and back down, we might get somewhere.
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=8
1/27/2005

Democrats plan aggressive policy investigations
By John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor

Democratic senators plan an array of policy committee hearings in which they plan to resume an aggressive congressional oversight role on Bush policies and decisions, RAW STORY has learned.

The committee – the Senate Democratic Policy Committee – is a longstanding caucus committee of Democrats which was created in the 1940s. It will, Democrats believe, allow them a platform from which to conduct hearings and investigative action despite the fact that Republicans have an edge in both chambers of Congress.

On Friday, Democrats will hold their first policy meeting on Social Security. But this meeting, a top Senate aide told RAW STORY, is only the tip of the iceberg.
------- more

Very well said by Gore Vidal:

Iran next, then who?

George Bush's apparent desire to create a state of perpetual war spells disaster

Gore Vidal

01/27/05 "The Independent" -- Last week, courtesy of Seymour Hersh and The New Yorker, we learned that a long-held prediction of mine had come true. American forces have been operating inside Iran, thus extending yet further the President's "war on terror".

There is no war, other than the one the President unilaterally is waging against a weak Congress and weak countries with oil. It's true that Congress has given the President certain unusual powers, but as only Congress has the constitutional power to declare war, he is not, as he keeps yapping, a wartime president. Hence his conviction that he can lock anyone up, foreigner or native, and send them off to Guantanamo without due process of law.

This is simply a Bush war. It has nothing to do with the American people. And we were not in danger from weapons of mass destruction. The danger is an Administration that has fallen in love with war because of the special powers war gives the Administration to rid itself of the Bill of Rights and lock up dissenters. We've had some scary times in the past but nothing to compare with this. So what do we have to look forward to?
Read More:
http://207.44.245.159/article7897.htm

   http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=7

Ohio recount volunteers allege electoral tampering, legal violations and possible fraud

Why were there stickers on ballots in Clermont County, Ohio?

well, I'll tell ya what I think for what it's worth. I think [this administration] has decided to put out the word to back anyone & anything that has the ability to take money from people. I truly believe that that is their #1 goal these days- sucker the people anyway you can so they'll all be broke & we can enslave them into our fascist police state. I don't think Dean is part of this, but who the heck knows anymore. How's that for lovely cynicism Jo? lol

Well! What do you know?

http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012905B.shtml

What If (It Was All a Big Mistake)?
    By Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

Delivered to the U.S. House of Representatives.

    America's policy of foreign intervention, while still debated in the early 20th century, is today accepted as conventional wisdom by both political parties. But what if the overall policy is a colossal mistake, a major error in judgment? Not just bad judgment regarding when and where to impose ourselves, but the entire premise that we have a moral right to meddle in the affairs of others? Think of the untold harm done by years of fighting - hundreds of thousands of American casualties, hundreds of thousands of foreign civilian casualties, and unbelievable human and economic costs. What if it was all needlessly borne by the American people? If we do conclude that grave foreign policy errors have been made, a very serious question must be asked: What would it take to change our policy to one more compatible with a true republic's goal of peace, commerce, and friendship with all nations? Is it not possible that Washington's admonition to avoid entangling alliances is sound advice even today?

    In medicine mistakes are made - man is fallible. Misdiagnoses are made, incorrect treatments are given, and experimental trials of medicines are advocated. A good physician understands the imperfections in medical care, advises close follow-ups, and double-checks the diagnosis, treatment, and medication. Adjustments are made to assure the best results. But what if a doctor never checks the success or failure of a treatment, or ignores bad results and assumes his omnipotence - refusing to concede that the initial course of treatment was a mistake? Let me assure you, the results would not be good. Litigation and the loss of reputation in the medical community place restraints on this type of bullheaded behavior.

    Sadly, though, when governments, politicians, and bureaucrats make mistakes and refuse to reexamine them, there is little the victims can do to correct things. Since the bully pulpit and the media propaganda machine are instrumental in government cover-ups and deception, the final truth emerges slowly, and only after much suffering. The arrogance of some politicians, regulators, and diplomats actually causes them to become even more aggressive and more determined to prove themselves right, to prove their power is not to be messed with by never admitting a mistake. Truly, power corrupts!

    The unwillingness to ever reconsider our policy of foreign intervention, despite obvious failures and shortcomings over the last 50 years, has brought great harm to our country and our liberty. Historically, financial realities are the ultimate check on nations bent on empire. Economic laws ultimately prevail over bad judgment. But tragically, the greater the wealth of a country, the longer the flawed policy lasts. We'll probably not be any different.

More....

Whoa, did anyone hear Randi Rhodes this P.M.? She got a caller who had Sergeant A Gonzales over him in the Air Force Academy in Colorado in the mid 70s. Guess what Sergeant Gonzales taught at the Academy??? Give up? Torture class, and what a pilot could expect if he is captured!! [Thanks to Vietnam they got to experience being stripped naked, smeared with feces, covered with urine, hung by their wrists.] Yes, Mr Torture Memo, the next Attorney General, learned how to do torture decades ago. Randi was going "Oh, my god!" over and over. And said his story sure explained how the torture methods were the same in all the prisons. THE OFFICERS BROUGHT THE TORTURE TOOLS WITH THEM AND TAUGHT THE IGNORANT SOLDERS HOW TO DO THE DIRTY WORK! *&^%@#* it makes me so furious to hear something like this! Some nice farm boy doesn't take a hood and electrodes with him to the Middle East damn it! I'm ready to spit nails, my father had been an Air Force Captain; he would have been horrified and sick over such disgraceful behavior as that smearing the image of his Air Force!

Jill, I heard it. I couldn't believe it. I was on my way home from work, when the gentleman called and shared his stories about Alberto Gonzalez.

Randi Rhodes has a big mouth, and she has quite a bit of clout. Knowing her, she's going to squeeze every last drop of publicity from this.

I feel very fortunate that I got to hear history in the making. 2 + 2 = torture (and when know where it came from, now).

jo, i think that the Dean campaign for DNC chair is typical democratic politics, which is good. it's tough, unruly and indicative that we're getting our old attitude back. i don't think it's possible to stop Dean and I believe Dean learned from his national campaign. he's doing everything right and he's got no "professional" consultants.

when he wins, we'll have a national spokesman who is battle-tested and experienced. he'll also go to the south, i can guarantee that. at least we'll be a national party again.

i'm semi-optimistic.

let's see how many people stand up and oppose the little torturer, gonzo.

cheers

Interesting PatC - anyone know what is the political background on this republican named Ron Paul?

Oh, Mr. Mike, but he is not "little torturer". Uh-uh, he's Big Time T! I hope everyone will consider writing their senators in support of a defeat of the Gonzales nomination.

A picture is worth a thousand words!
He never looked at Colin Powell like this...
Friday 28 January 2005 @ 12:50
scroll down a little to the 5th article a pict. of Bush & Rice!

http://truthout.org/fyi/
PQOP

Ron Paul is a good guy, a Libertarian, NOT a Repug. Only way to go in Texas I hear... all the Libertarian bloggers rave about him, have for a long time. Libertarians are for small gov't... but they are sure giving the Neocons and * grief! You can find more of his articles at antiwar.com

PQOP - I love Will Pitt's blog and look forward to his comments section once he gets that going. I swear they look like lovers, don't they. They adore each other. Very dangerous for a Secretary of State to be in love with her boss and vice versa. Wouldn't it be fun to have a blue dress moment?? heeeeee

Regarding Condooooleeeeeza, I was wondering if you would use the chart for the first time she took the oath under wraps, or the second time in front of the world. And if you use the first, how do we know whether *ush took his oath secretly first before the "official" one, and if so, would you use that time instead of the official one?? Am I being confusing?

That comment was not clear (we're in the middle of a ice storm and I expect to lose power any time so writing too quickly)

I mean running on the Libertarian ticket would not get him elected, so he runs on the Repug...

Mike,
Thanks for your take on Dean... re Gonzales... they may have wanted to hold off his confirmation 'til after elections this weekend so as not to have folks associate him so directly with Iraq and torture... won't help, imho... sending light and prayers for Iraqis this weekend.

Evidently my post above from the NYTimes can not
be brought up - so here, hopefully is the story I
called sick..sick...sick:

January 28, 2005
AP: Gitmo Soldier Details Sexual Tactics
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:50 p.m. ET

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Female interrogators tried to break Muslim detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay by sexual touching, wearing a miniskirt and thong underwear and in one case smearing a Saudi man's face with fake menstrual blood, according to an insider's written account.

A draft manuscript obtained by The Associated Press is classified as secret pending a Pentagon review for a planned book that details ways the U.S. military used women as part of tougher physical and psychological interrogation tactics to get terror suspects to talk.

It's the most revealing account so far of interrogations at the secretive detention camp, where officials say they have halted some controversial techniques.

``I have really struggled with this because the detainees, their families and much of the world will think this is a religious war based on some of the techniques used, even though it is not the case,'' the author, former Army Sgt. Erik R. Saar, 29, told AP.

Saar didn't provide the manuscript or approach AP, but confirmed the authenticity of nine draft pages AP obtained. He requested his hometown remain private so he wouldn't be harassed. Saar, who is neither Muslim nor of Arab descent, worked as an Arabic translator at the U.S. camp in eastern Cuba from December 2002 to June 2003. At the time, it was under the command of Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who had a mandate to get better intelligence from prisoners, including alleged al-Qaida members caught in Afghanistan.

Saar said he witnessed about 20 interrogations and about three months after his arrival at the remote U.S. base he started noticing ``disturbing'' practices.

One female civilian contractor used a special outfit that included a miniskirt, thong underwear and a bra during late-night interrogations with prisoners, mostly Muslim men who consider it taboo to have close contact with women who aren't their wives.

Beginning in April 2003, ``there hung a short skirt and thong underwear on the hook on the back of the door'' of one interrogation team's office, he writes. ``Later I learned that this outfit was used for interrogations by one of the female civilian contractors ... on a team which conducted interrogations in the middle of the night on Saudi men who were refusing to talk.''

Some Guantanamo prisoners who have been released say they were tormented by ``prostitutes.''

In another case, Saar describes a female military interrogator questioning an uncooperative 21-year-old Saudi detainee who allegedly had taken flying lessons in Arizona before the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Suspected Sept. 11 hijacker Hani Hanjour received pilot instruction for three months in 1996 and in December 1997 at a flight school in Scottsdale, Ariz.

``His female interrogator decided that she needed to turn up the heat,'' Saar writes, saying she repeatedly asked the detainee who had sent him to Arizona, telling him he could ``cooperate'' or ``have no hope whatsoever of ever leaving this place or talking to a lawyer.'''

The man closed his eyes and began to pray, Saar writes.

The female interrogator wanted to ``break him,'' Saar adds, describing how she removed her uniform top to expose a tight-fitting T-shirt and began taunting the detainee, touching her breasts, rubbing them against the prisoner's back and commenting on his apparent erection.

The detainee looked up and spat in her face, the manuscript recounts.

The interrogator left the room to ask a Muslim linguist how she could break the prisoner's reliance on God. The linguist told her to tell the detainee that she was menstruating, touch him, then make sure to turn off the water in his cell so he couldn't wash.

Strict interpretation of Islamic law forbids physical contact with women other than a man's wife or family, and with any menstruating women, who are considered unclean.

``The concept was to make the detainee feel that after talking to her he was unclean and was unable to go before his God in prayer and gain strength,'' says the draft, stamped ``Secret.''

The interrogator used ink from a red pen to fool the detainee, Saar writes.

``She then started to place her hands in her pants as she walked behind the detainee,'' he says. ``As she circled around him he could see that she was taking her hand out of her pants. When it became visible the detainee saw what appeared to be red blood on her hand. She said, 'Who sent you to Arizona?' He then glared at her with a piercing look of hatred.

``She then wiped the red ink on his face. He shouted at the top of his lungs, spat at her and lunged forward'' -- so fiercely that he broke loose from one ankle shackle.

``He began to cry like a baby,'' the draft says, noting the interrogator left saying, ``Have a fun night in your cell without any water to clean yourself.''

Events Saar describes resemble two previous reports of abusive female interrogation tactics, although it wasn't possible to independently verify his account.

In November, in response to an AP request, the military described an April 2003 incident in which a female interrogator took off her uniform top, exposed her brown T-shirt, ran her fingers through a detainee's hair and sat on his lap. That session was immediately ended by a supervisor and that interrogator received a written reprimand and additional training, the military said.

In another incident, the military reported that in early 2003 a different female interrogator ``wiped dye from red magic marker on detainees' shirt after detainee spit (cq) on her,'' telling the detainee it was blood. She was verbally reprimanded, the military said.

Sexual tactics used by female interrogators have been criticized by the FBI, which complained in a letter obtained by AP last month that U.S. defense officials hadn't acted on complaints by FBI observers of ``highly aggressive'' interrogation techniques, including one in which a female interrogator grabbed a detainee's genitals.

About 20 percent of the guards at Guantanamo are women, said Lt. Col. James Marshall, a spokesman for U.S. Southern Command. He wouldn't say how many of the interrogators were female.

Marshall wouldn't address whether the U.S. military had a specific strategy to use women.

``U.S. forces treat all detainees and conduct all interrogations, wherever they may occur, humanely and consistent with U.S. legal obligations, and in particular with legal obligations prohibiting torture,'' Marshall said late Wednesday.

But some officials at the U.S. Southern Command have questioned the formation of an all-female team as one of Guantanamo's ``Immediate Reaction Force'' units that subdue troublesome male prisoners in their cells, according to a document classified as secret and obtained by AP.

In one incident, dated June 19, 2004, ``The detainee appears to be genuinely traumatized by a female escort securing the detainee's leg irons,'' according to the document, a U.S. Southern Command summary of videotapes shot when the teams were used.

The summary warned that anyone outside Department of Defense channels should be prepared to address allegations that women were used intentionally with Muslim men.

At Guantanamo, Saar said, ``Interrogators were given a lot of latitude under Miller,'' the commander who went from the prison in Cuba to overseeing prisons in Iraq, where the Abu Ghraib scandal shocked the world with pictures revealing sexual humiliation of naked prisoners.

Several female troops have been charged in the Abu Ghraib scandal.

Saar said he volunteered to go to Guantanamo because ``I really believed in the mission,'' but then he became disillusioned during his six months at the prison.

After leaving the Army with more than four years service, Saar worked as a contractor briefly for the FBI.

The Department of Defense has censored parts of his draft, mainly blacking out people's names, said Saar, who hired Washington attorney Mark S. Zaid to represent him. Saar needed permission to publish because he signed a disclosure statement before going to Guantanamo.

The book, which Saar titled ``Inside the Wire,'' is due out this year with Penguin Press.

Guantanamo has about 545 prisoners from some 40 countries, many held more than three years without charge or access to lawyers and many suspected of links to al-Qaida or Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime, which harbored the terrorist network.

------

EDITOR'S NOTE: Paisley Dodds is an Associated Press reporter based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and has been covering the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since it opened in 2002.

------

On the Web:

http://www.defenselink.mil

I was wondering about the REAL time of Con Di's swearing in myself!
I SOOOOOOOO Hope for a blue dress moment! Could this be the source of the "permanent wound " on this Admin?
It has to be SEX, because obviously murder, torture, grand theft....mean nothing to so many of the sleeping sheep!
THIS IS THE 2ND. clue of hanky panky going on here for those of us who have a "heightened state of awareness" Too bad the general populace didn't take that piece of Gov. advice after 9/11; they just went 'shopping'.
PQOP

Jeannie,

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul-arch.html
Articles by Ron Paul (R - Texas)

http://www.google.com/search?q=voting+record+for+Ron+Paul&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Voting record, etc.

http://www.house.gov/paul/index.shtml
His site.

Here comes article in NYT virtually (no pun intended!) stating nominee for top "Ho@#$%^%$ Security" (can't bring myself to use that Nazi term)job is a clone of Gonzales... also mentioned is following:

"Mr. Chertoff is scheduled to appear on Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Senators have said that Mr. Chertoff, a highly respected former prosecutor, will have little difficulty being confirmed."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/29/politics/29home.html?hp&ex=1107061200&en=0b261acbf233ce4a&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Second sentence above says it all. We have reached the zenith in American government... the "ins" will secure the POWER they have ursurped through the so-called war powers --- at any cost. Torture is now to be a primary tool toward that goal, at home and abroad?

Are we opposing Chertoff's nomination? Pat C., who is on that committee? the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee?

Here you go Jo.

http://hsgac.senate.gov/

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8209-1461165,00.html

The US economy slowed to its weakest growth rate in nearly two years during the last quarter, hit by a record trade deficit and slowing consumer spending.

The annualised growth rate of 3.1 per cent in the fourth quarter was well below economists’ forecasts of 3.5 per cent and down from a 4 per cent rate of growth in the third quarter.

The weak figures, coupled with signs that inflation was picking up rapidly, dealt a blow to the White House at a time when President Bush is attempting to overhaul the American pension system while reining back the Government’s soaring deficits.

More..

The Progress Report: Bye Bye Rt-Wing Base; & more ...
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/pp.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=100480&lftnav=progressreport#1

More on Ickes backing Dean for DNC Chair.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4763138,00.html

Harold Ickes, a leading Democratic activist and former aide to President Clinton, said Friday he is backing Howard Dean to be chairman of the Democratic National Committee - giving a powerful boost to the front-runner.

``I think all the candidates who are running have strong attributes, but Dean has more of the attributes than the others,'' said Ickes, who considered running for chairman himself before dropping out in early January. ``Many people say Howard Dean is a northeastern liberal, he is progressive, but his tenure as governor of Vermont was that of a real moderate.''

Ickes, who heads the political action committee of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said the endorsement was his alone and ``does not reflect Sen. Clinton's opinion.''

While Ickes would not comment on the Clintons' preferences, he is a close ally and would not be endorsing Dean against their strong objections. No one was immediately available in Sen. Clinton's office to comment.

Ickes said Dean ``has a real ability to communicate with people in leadership, but also to grass-roots and average Americans. He understands the need for party building.''

Ickes' endorsement comes at a critical time in the chairman's race and gives Dean almost 50 of the more than 215 votes he would need to win the post.

The field could be narrowed in the next few days, as state party chairs and organized labor offer their views on the race.

With Democrats out of power in the White House, Senate and House, the Democratic Party's leadership role is especially important.

More...

Joanna! :-D

Here is (IMHO) the meat of Ron Pauls letter to the house. What I know of Ron Paul is that he is for sound money. He has been around a long time and has supported a return to the gold standard:

Entire article at:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012905B.shtml

If we're willing to consider a different foreign policy, we should ask ourselves a few questions:

1. What if the policies of foreign intervention, entangling alliances, policing the world, nation building, and spreading our values through force are deeply flawed?
2. What if it is true that Saddam Hussein never had weapons of mass destruction?
3. What if it is true that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were never allies?
4. What if it is true that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein did nothing to enhance our national security?
5. What if our current policy in the Middle East leads to the overthrow of our client oil states in the region?
6. What if the American people really knew that more than 20,000 American troops have suffered serious casualties or died in the Iraq war, and 9% of our forces already have been made incapable of returning to battle?
7. What if it turns out there are many more guerrilla fighters in Iraq than our government admits?
8. What if there really have been 100,000 civilian Iraqi casualties, as some claim, and what is an acceptable price for "doing good?"
9. What if Rumsfeld is replaced for the wrong reasons, and things become worse under a Defense Secretary who demands more troops and an expansion of the war?
10. What if we discover that, when they do vote, the overwhelming majority of Iraqis support Islamic (Sharia) law over western secular law, and want our troops removed?
11. What if those who correctly warned of the disaster awaiting us in Iraq are never asked for their opinion of what should be done now?
12. What if the only solution for Iraq is to divide the country into three separate regions, recognizing the principle of self-determination while rejecting the artificial boundaries created in 1918 by non-Iraqis?
13. What if it turns out radical Muslims don't hate us for our freedoms, but rather for our policies in the Middle East that directly affected Arabs and Muslims?
14. What if the invasion and occupation of Iraq actually distracted from pursuing and capturing Osama bin Laden?
15. What if we discover that democracy can't be spread with force of arms?
16. What if democracy is deeply flawed, and instead we should be talking about liberty, property rights, free markets, the rule of law, localized government, weak centralized government, and self-determination promoted through persuasion, not force?
17. What if Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda actually welcomed our invasion and occupation of Arab/Muslim Iraq as proof of their accusations against us, and it served as a magnificent recruiting tool for them?
18. What if our policy greatly increased and prolonged our vulnerability to terrorists and guerilla attacks both at home and abroad?
19. What if the Pentagon, as reported by its Defense Science Board, actually recognized the dangers of our policy before the invasion, and their warnings were ignored or denied?
20. What if the argument that by fighting over there, we won't have to fight here, is wrong, and the opposite is true?
21. What if we can never be safer by giving up some of our freedoms?
22. What if the principle of pre-emptive war is adopted by Russia, China, Israel, India, Pakistan, and others, "justified" by current U.S. policy?
23. What if pre-emptive war and pre-emptive guilt stem from the same flawed policy of authoritarianism, though we fail to recognize it?
24. What if Pakistan is not a trustworthy ally, and turns on us when conditions deteriorate?
25. What if plans are being laid to provoke Syria and/or Iran into actions that would be used to justify a military response and pre-emptive war against them?
26. What if our policy of democratization of the Middle East fails, and ends up fueling a Russian-Chinese alliance that we regret - an alliance not achieved even at the height of the Cold War?
27. What if the policy forbidding profiling at our borders and airports is deeply flawed?
28. What if presuming the guilt of a suspected terrorist without a trial leads to the total undermining of constitutional protections for American citizens when arrested?
29. What if we discover the army is too small to continue policies of pre-emption and nation-building? What if a military draft is the only way to mobilize enough troops?
30. What if the "stop-loss" program is actually an egregious violation of trust and a breach of contract between the government and soldiers? What if it actually is a backdoor draft, leading to unbridled cynicism and rebellion against a voluntary army and generating support for a draft of both men and women? Will lying to troops lead to rebellion and anger toward the political leadership running the war?
31. What if the Pentagon's legal task-force opinion that the President is not bound by international or federal law regarding torture stands unchallenged, and sets a precedent which ultimately harms Americans, while totally disregarding the moral, practical, and legal arguments against such a policy?
32. What if the intelligence reform legislation - which gives us bigger, more expensive bureaucracy - doesn't bolster our security, and distracts us from the real problem of revamping our interventionist foreign policy?
33. What if we suddenly discover we are the aggressors, and we are losing an unwinnable guerrilla war?
34. What if we discover, too late, that we can't afford this war - and that our policies have led to a dollar collapse, rampant inflation, high interest rates, and a severe economic downturn?

Why do I believe these are such important questions? Because the #1 function of the federal government - to provide for national security - has been severely undermined. On 9/11 we had a grand total of 14 aircraft in place to protect the entire U.S. mainland, all of which proved useless that day. We have an annual DOD budget of over $400 billion, most of which is spent overseas in over 100 different countries. On 9/11 our Air Force was better positioned to protect Seoul, Tokyo, Berlin, and London than it was to protect Washington D.C. and New York City.

Moreover, our ill-advised presence in the Middle East and our decade-long bombing of Iraq served only to incite the suicidal attacks of 9/11.

Before 9/11 our CIA ineptly pursued bin Laden, whom the Taliban was protecting. At the same time, the Taliban was receiving significant support from Pakistan - our "trusted ally" that received millions of dollars from the United States. We allied ourselves with both bin Laden and Hussein in the 1980s, only to regret it in the 1990s. And it's safe to say we have used billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars in the last 50 years pursuing this contradictory, irrational, foolish, costly, and very dangerous foreign policy.

Policing the world, spreading democracy by force, nation building, and frequent bombing of countries that pose no threat to us - while leaving the homeland and our borders unprotected - result from a foreign policy that is contradictory and not in our self interest.

I hardly expect anyone in Washington to pay much attention to these concerns. If I'm completely wrong in my criticisms, nothing is lost except my time and energy expended in efforts to get others to reconsider our foreign policy.

But the bigger question is:

What if I'm right, or even partially right, and we urgently need to change course in our foreign policy for the sake of our national and economic security, yet no one pays attention?

For that a price will be paid. Is it not worth talking about?

Thanks Pat C., your research skills are AWESOME! Definitely a treasure...

Members to write to oppose Chertoff's confirmation are:

Susan M. Collins Chairman (R-ME)
Ted Stevens (R-AK)
George V. Voinovich (R-OH)
Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Lincoln D. Chafee (R-RI)
Robert F. Bennett (R-UT)
Pete W. Domenici (R-NM)
John W. Warner (R-VA)

Joseph I. Lieberman Ranking Member (D-CT)
Carl Levin (D-MI)
Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI)
Thomas R. Carper (D-DE)
Mark Dayton (D-MN)
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Mark Pryor (D-AR)

Sen Dayton (D-MN) voted against Negroponte last summer. He also voted against Con Rice. Kudos to him. Thank him for past deeds when asking for opposition to Chertoff, please.

Joseph I. Lieberman Ranking Member (D-CT) is a piece of work in my opinion, a Repug in Dem clothing. Remember his comments at kangaroo hearing for Rummy after Abu Ghraib was exposed? His definition of 'torture'? Afraid it may agree with the Administration's.

Carl Levin (D-MI) Current 'Hall of Famer' !! He voted against Con Rice.

Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) is quoted as:

"Michael Chertoff has a history of anti-terrorism experience that makes him an excellent fit for the Department of Homeland Security," Lautenberg said. "Michael Chertoff's nomination is good news for America but particularly good news for our region. Michael Chertoff knows that the most at-risk two miles for terrorism in the country are between the Port of Newark and Newark-Liberty International Airport."

http://www.jewishsightseeing.com/dhh_weblog/2005-blog/2005-01-blog/2005-01-11-chertoff-homeland_security.htm

Anybody have info on any others?

Talking points?

See link above at 2:11 pm

See this link for following comment and info that he helped craft the Patriot Act; was Counsel for committee that brought us White Water (you know Hillary won't be voting for him!)

"The American Civil Liberties Union said Chertoff's public record suggests "he sees the Bill of Rights as an obstacle to national security, rather than a guidebook for how to do security properly."

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1576/5180217.html

Here for allegations of perjury three years ago.
https://ssl.capwiz.com/usatoday/bio/userletter/?id=688&letter_id=177606441&content_dir=y

Also, you can goggle him and find a few more points, objections.

dKos just threw up comments on the NYT piece. It gets more specific with Times' summary.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/28/23461/5347

Joanna,

Thanks for your link... guess the fascists are hearing from the folks back home! *'s domestic policy reminds me of the husband who quits his job, cashs his mother's ss checks, turns his kids out to work in foreign sweatshops, drives his wife in his SUV to work a corner in the affluent section of town, with his other 'girls', takes his meals at the local Chinese Restaurant, telling them to run a tab, and spends the bulk of his time sleeping and hanging at the poolhall.

Shylurker,

Re your post upthread at 12:03 am of BBC report that 'Coalition' has killed more Iraqi civilians than the 'insurgents'... these figures are for last six months... and they don't include all the 'mass graves' do they?

That's about the time length for Negroponte's service as 'Ambassador' right? Guess he's doing what they sent him to do...

Are these over-achievers trying to outdo the Third Reich? Cheney was out-of-place at Auschwitz recently in more ways than his attire.

Jo, those numbers are important, I think, because they are official and from the UK. I don't intend to be facetious, but they merely reflect how many people were counted. Who knows how many others have been killed and wounded and simply have not come to the attention of the "counters"? Anyway, I look at those numbers as the minimum count, a baseline. But, at least we have those. And, yes, they are for the six month period only, as I understand it.

We've come a long way, haven't we? From being titillated by a blue dress and the meaning of "is" to trying to keep torture advocates out of our government.

Creatures of night, brought to light...

Didn't one of our wonderful astrologers predict that pharmaceutical companies would start running into big problems (i.e., Vioxx)? Here's another:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=452421

Here is a prediction off the track(bit of levity)
I strongly believe in 29/30 yr. cycles - based on
that, I stick my neck out to predict that Hewitt
will win the Aus open tomorrow(last time an Aussie
won that tourney was Mark Edmondson in 1976 and
2005 is 29 years on)Any way we'll know by tomorrow
if my prediction comes true or not!

Seems the new definition of "brave troops" is "reptilian, soulless, psychotic, deviant, perverse, inhuman killing machines." No wonder God loves us best! vcz

http://mparent7777.blog-city.com/read/1036870.htm

Warning: Graphic Photos : Anger over U.S. Forces posting photos of Iraqi war dead on Internet
Anger over Iraqi war dead on Internet
Mark Dunn

January 27, 2005 - THE US Defence Department has been asked to investigate a website being used by American soldiers to post grisly pictures of Iraqi war dead.

The site (http://www.undermars.com/), which has been operating for more than a year, describes itself as "an online archive of soldiers' photos".

Dozens of pictures of decapitated and limbless bodies are featured on the site with tasteless captions, purportedly sent in by soldiers.

Captions include "plastic surgery needed", "road kill" and "I said dead".

Australian expat Iraqis, most of whom supported the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, have been angered by the website and called on the US government to ensure it was taken down.

US President George Bush in 2003 demanded the Iraqi military not release photographs of US war prisoners for publication and the Pentagon has banned publication of pictures of coffins containing US war dead being transported back to America.

Australian Iraqi Forum president Dr Riadh al-Mahaidi said: "It is abhorrent to see gruesome pictures of dead bodies in Iraq posted on this offending website.

"It is no less cruel and sickening than web postings by terrorist groups of decapitated bodies of kidnapped victims."

http://www.undermars.com/

UnderMars.com
An online archive of soldiers'photos

December 9th, 2003
new meaning to giving head

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0175.jpg

September 4th, 2003
my neck, my back, oh shit....

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0174.jpg

September 4th, 2003
plastic surgery needed

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0188.jpg

November 9th, 2003
IMG_0776

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0160.jpg

October 25th, 2003
IMG_0659

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0156.jpg

October 25th, 2003
MG_0658

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0155.jpg

October 25th, 2003
IMG_0654

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0153.jpg

December 9th, 2003
im an indian outlaw....look my first scalp

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0149.jpg

September 4th, 2003
i had a body

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0146.jpg

September 4th, 2003
fuck it.throw em in der

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0144.jpg

January 6th, 2004
does this death make me look fat

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0141.jpg

September 25th, 2003
damer buffet

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0140.jpg

January 6th, 2004
come on in, the waters...er....dead

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0139.jpg

September 28th, 2003
come on and give me some sugar

http://www.undermars.com/images/mars0138.jpg

caught with his pants down

This site contains an archive of photos taken by soldiers serving in active duty. This site aims only to visually document their experiences and is not a political site. The name "Under Mars" is an homage both to Mars, the Roman God of War, and to the otherworldly nature of the experience.

If you'd like to add your photos to this archive, just email them to undermars@gmail.com along with any note you'd like included with them. Please only send photos that you took, or you know you have the permission of the photographer to send.

Credit and thanks for this site goes exclusively to the men and women who created the photos which are contained inside.
www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12065854%255E401,00.html

www.uruknet.info?p=9225

Related: Under Mars: Perfectly Normal for Yahoo Redneck God-Fearing Soldiers

posted Friday, 28 January 2005

A visitor made this comment,
Thanks for this article and pictures. I intend to soon start a copy and post service through my local alternate paper. I would like permission to copy this article to send to others through fair use.
Myra Wigley [ritew1@yahoo,com]

comment added :: 28th January 2005, 11:42 GMT-07
A visitor made this comment,
THESES ARE NOT SOLDERS BUT ANINMALS. THEY COULDN'T COMPAIR THEM SELFS WITH VEITAM WAR VET'S. AT LEAST THE VEITNAM VET'S WHEN KNOWING THAT THE WAR WAS ELEGAL STARTED TOO GO AGAINST THE WAR AND THE PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON WHO PUT THEM THERE. THESES PICTURE ARE MORE THEN AN OUT RAGE. WHOME EVER KILLED THESES PEOPLE KNOWING THAT THESES WERE INOCENT PEOPOLE SHOUL GO THOUGH THE SAME FATEWHEN HE COMES HOME. IRAQIS ARE INOCENT REGARDLESS WHAT THAT LUNITIC SAYS IN WASHINGTON.WE SHOULNT BE THERE AND SHOULD COME HOME WERE WE BELONG. KNOWING THAT THIS WAR IS ELIGAL AND UNJUSTIFIDE MAKES THIS A CRIME NOT TOO BE GLORIFIDE AS A VICTORY
JOHN ALFANO

comment added :: 28th January 2005, 12:24 GMT-07
A visitor made this comment,
Hopefully this leads to the death of a lot of occupiers! Hey, lets face it they shouldn't be the hired guns of imperialism subverting a national liberation struggle.Bastards!
killtheyankkkeedevil

comment added :: 28th January 2005, 13:52 GMT-07
A visitor made this comment,
But wait a minute someone said there is a GOD somewhere. Where is S/He in terms of need when the innocent Iraqis mostly needed Him/Her. What is going to be the fate of Blair and Bush on the long run? May we all live long to see how the Almighty being will punish these two monsters of our time. May blood not depart their home, may they be chase from earth to grave by those that have been killed in Iraq.
Ijakumo

comment added :: 28th January 2005, 14:32 GMT-07
A visitor made this comment,
The animals taking these pictures and mocking the dead are not protecting me. They don't represent me as an American.
T [dogmaphobicincali@yahoo.com]

comment added :: 28th January 2005, 16:03 GMT-07
uruknet made this comment,
And do you think they died by themselves?
Or did they die for the same people that shoot the pictures?

comment added :: 28th January 2005, 16:29 GMT-07
A visitor made this comment,
It is really worrisome now after seeing these photos to think about the American/Iraqi relations future. How will the people of Iraq react to these photos? The American liberators? What is the difference between Saddam and G.W.Bush except that the latter as he described himself is a "crusader"? The difference is in the degree of cruelty. The Saddamites were not that cruel to the Iraqi people as this "crusade" is.
A Canadian

comment added :: 28th January 2005, 17:55 GMT-07
A visitor made this comment,
Did OUR (USA) military personnel kill these people, or take photos of the dead who were killed by others?
Janet

comment added :: 28th January 2005, 22:36 GMT-07
uruknet made this comment,
Obiously, they were suicide.
They cut by themselves their throats and their limbs before suicide.
They burned themselves with Napalm.
And the good american soldiers well thought to take them pictures for their graves, as the wild iraqi do not belong cameras.

Wake up, Americans!!! Your soldiers are brutal assassins.
Since the killing of native americans, and then remember Dresda, Nagasaky, Hiroshima. And then Vietnam, Afghanistan and now Iraq!.
All civil people, not soldiers nor terrorists! Normal people, women, children!

Thanks for the info on Ron Paul, Jo & PatC. While I certainly don't agree with all of what he stands for, I do applaud him for being pretty consistent in his voting record, which seems to be in keeping with his Libertarianism. I also notice he ran unopposed in the last election.
Interesting that he is a doctor too - maybe he & Dr. Dean could develop some sort of strategy to bring this country back from the edge of madness to some common-sense, Ben Franklin type, values. I would be curious to see what his chart indicates.

Shylurker,

Of course the BBC numbers are important! They are horrific --- 'course we KNOW in our gut the number is higher, but it doesn't have to be higher to be awful... we reached awful, horrific the day of 'Shock 'n Awe'... as far as I am concerned. The fact that Negroponte would admit anything to the BBC is incredible.

You're right... what's ten blue dresses compared to this?

Question: are these people our 'government'? I mean, didn't they hijack our government?

Another question: Present day Germans have extreme difficulty reconciling the events of their past with themselves as individuals... and it's sixty years past. Will Americans sixty years from now have difficulty with this? Fifty years? Forty? Ten? Five? Next week?... when?

If you like Ron Paul, you'll LOVE Harry Browne:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/browne/browne30.html

January 29, 2005

Why I Am Obsessed With War
by Harry Browne
HarryBrowne@HarryBrowne.org

George Bush was reinaugurated in Washington last week. Fittingly, the inauguration parade route was lined the entire way with armed
guards - so many armed guards that they had to stand shoulder-to-shoulder. As with the rest of America, Washington, D.C. was in a state of siege.

The militant air of the entire affair was very much like a parade in the old Soviet Union or even in Nazi Germany.

And in his speech, George Bush proclaimed his desire for world domination - to have the power and the right to decide who is good and who is bad, who shall live and who shall die, what form of government will exist in each nation.

He made it clear that if he has a use for your government, you will keep it - no matter how oppressive.

But if your government doesn't suit him, if it declares its independence from the United States, we will "liberate" your country and
impose what we call "democracy" on it - no matter how advanced your civilization, no matter how much or how little your people may approve of your current form of government.

Of course, by "we" he meant George Bush.

George Bush is, in effect, the ruler of the world - more powerful than the United Nations, more powerful than the countries of
Europe, more powerful than the Congress of the United States, more powerful than the people of the United States - a majority of whom now believe that George Bush was wrong to invade Iraq. But that majority opinion has no effect on George Bush, who continues to try to impose His way upon Iraq, and who most likely now has His sights set on Iran.

My Obsession

If you've been reading my articles or listening to my radio show, you may be aware of how much attention I've given to this drive for
world domination - dressed up as the "War on Terror" and "Operation Iraqi Freedom." I've written over and over about these wars.

You might say I'm obsessed with war.

And you'd be right.

I'm obsessed with war because of what war really is. And because of what war is doing to America.

Why am I so obsessed?

Sacrifice

A January 21st editorial in The Wall Street Journal summed up George Bush's inauguration speech very neatly:

The entire speech was about Iraq, as a way of explaining to Americans why the sacrifice our troops are making there is justified.

Aye, and there's the rub.

Troops don't sacrifice. Only individuals can sacrifice. For some of them, the sacrifice is a year out of their lives. For others, the sacrifice is in living for a year or more in constant fear and danger.

But for too many, the sacrifice is one's life. The loss of one's whole life.

That's not the same as giving a tenth of your income to the church, or working 15 hours a week in a soup kitchen, or spending a day a
week helping out at a nursing home. When you sacrifice your life, you give up everything. The world has ended. What you were no longer exists. No more life, no more love, no more music, no more sports, no more breathing, no more interest in anything.

And when you've sacrificed your life, it no longer matters whether Iraq is "liberated" or oppressed, because you don't exist any more.
It no longer matters whether George Bush is a great leader or a megalomaniac, because you no longer have a life with which to be affected by
it. You are no more.

George Bush can speak cavalierly about such sacrifices. He can say "freedom is always worth it." He can speak with gratitude about such
sacrifices - because he is making no sacrifice whatsoever.

He can tell young people that when you die "you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its character."

But he is not the Messiah. He can't bring those dead people back to life. He can not restore their ability to taste love, to enjoy
fellowship, to pursue a career, to bask in the sheer joy of being alive.

He can't return to a mother her dead son. He can't return to a wife her dead husband. He can't bring a dead soldier back to raise his
children. He can't do anything to restore what he has stolen from people with his glib assurances about WMDs, mobile bioweapons labs, unmanned planes dropping chemical weapons on the East Coast of the United States, about freedom always being worth the price - a price that to him is effectively zero.

The dead are dead, and they can't come back. They won't dance at any inaugural balls - or even attend their alumni reunions. They won't
attend presidential banquets - or even eat at the local coffee shop. Not ever again.

They are dead. And George Bush killed them. He killed them as certainly as though he personally had fired a rocket launcher at their
homes.

Who or What Is He?

If he didn't know that his plan to "liberate" people who hadn't asked to be liberated, to bring democracy to people who hadn't asked for democracy, would lead to the deaths of thousands of people, he is not only incompetent and unfit to hold office, he is surely psychopathic and needs to be incarcerated.

Only a psychopath would stand in the midst of thousands of security guards and speak of "the force of human freedom."

Only a man so insulated from the real world by palace sycophants, by little Napoleons filled with utopian fantasies, and by callous, ambitious schemers to whom the lives of others mean nothing - only a man so insulated could possibly speak of "the expansion of freedom in all
the world."

Only a man with no link to reality could start a war that destroys lives and families and then say, "Every man and woman on this earth
has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth."

Only a snake oil salesman can rain missiles and bombs on other countries and then say that no "human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies."

Only a man divorced from human reason can imprison people - possibly for life - without due process of law and then say that "Those who
deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."

Only a liar can proclaim that he will decide which countries must be remade and then say, "No one is fit to be a master, and no one
deserves to be a slave."

Only a devious schemer can announce a goal of "ending tyranny in our world" while he is imposing a new tyranny in his own country - our
country.

So you tell me: what kind of a President do we have?

And what has he given us other than wars, fear, and a state of siege?

Why the Obsession?

Yes, I have become obsessed with these wars.

Josef Stalin is reputed to have said that a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths only a statistic.

But no matter how many people die in Iraq, every single one of them is a tragedy - a tragedy I will neither ignore nor forget. And that's why I'm obsessed with this war.

I'm obsessed with each and every death - because in fact each and every death is more than a statistic or a tragedy. It's murder.

I will never forget the people, American or Iraqi, whose lives have been irrevocably destroyed - the people who have been murdered, the people who lost those they love, the people whose homes have been smashed to bits, the people who are maimed for the rest of the only lives they will ever live.

And neither will I ever forget who it is that killed them.

They were killed by a relatively small group in Washington who believe they were put there by God to remake the world - not remake it in God's image, but in Their own.

I believe it is a crime to take the life of another person. And no murder of an innocent person can be justified by saying it was necessary to achieve some larger goal - whether or not that goal is claimed to be a worthy one.

When reformers create murder and mayhem, they justify it by saying, "You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." But it's
always someone else's eggs that get broken. And the omelet never materializes - even after millions of eggs are broken, as they were during
the two World Wars.

Life

Yes, I'm obsessed with war.

I'm obsessed with war because I'm obsessed with life.

I love life. I love my wife Pamela. I love being in love with her. I love the 19 years we've been playing house together - pretending
we're grown-ups, just like our parents.

I love music. I love food. I love reading. I love sports. I even love sleeping. I taste and love so many parts of life.

I don't ever want to die.

And I don't want anyone else to die - except maybe those who treat life so trivially that they can speak of the sacrifice of other
people's lives as being a worthwhile price to pay for some idealistic goal they believe they will achieve - a goal that will give them an exalted position in the history books.

Reformers such as George Bush are like children playing games based on fantasies. They see no reason to discover whether others before
them have harbored the same ambitions - and failed miserably to achieve their goals. It's of no concern to them that without an understanding of the history and cultures of other peoples, they have no hope either to persuade or to dominate other people.

And they pay no attention to the fact that in the process of "ending tyranny in our world" they are imposing a new tyranny in their own country - our country.

Yes, I'm obsessed with war.

I'm obsessed with war because I love life.

And so I will continue to fight against America's wars with every bit of strength, with every bit of talent, with every resource I can spare.

Harry Browne, the author of Why Government Doesn't Work and many other books, was the Libertarian presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000.

© 2005 Harry Browne

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/8b65194a-7182-11d9-a5d6-00000e2511c8.html

says about conniving shrub/cheny asis calling'em
evil axis with right side of the mouth and left
side of the mouth talking and doing business BIG
time with iran; What kind of fooling of the voters
and citizens here? Wake up America!

asis should be axis, ABOVE

Bill Gates is short the $, says it's going down -

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=atQjxQiQeANA&refer=us

Raj, I strongly believe in 29/30 yr. cycles too.

vcz, I saw the pictures, but missed the comments. Pretty horrifying stuff, hunh?

these animals who are predominately our news are gonna have to kill each other out; it's gladiator time.

So Buffet & Gates are betting against the US$ - no surprise there, but any ideas where they are putting their money?

Sally said pharmacuetical companies would start having trouble.

Jeanie,

To answer your question, best bets to put your money is in precious metals such gold, silver and
there is a share/stock value being 1/10th ounce
gold value(ex:if gold is at $430, share is $43),
put your money to short dollar etc.

Jeanie,
The article quoted Gates as saying he was investing in "mixed basket of currency" but he was especially excited about China and its exploding economy... ? total recall and maybe not correct.

I've read at least one pundit say the tax cuts didn't help at home as the money was (outsourced) put to Euros, Asian economies, etc. Probably the only thing keeping the stock market from falling down completely is the shorts against the Dollar. There's some irony there, don't you think? Sort of like hoping it will fall so you get rich! That's what's known as 'globalization' huh?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1399353,00.html

Scion of traitors and warlords: why Bush is coy about his Irish links

Tapestry artist reveals ancestors of US president as murderous bunch

It is perhaps not the best omen for US foreign affairs. Local historians in Wexford have discovered that George Bush is a descendant of Strongbow, the power-hungry warlord who led the Norman invasion of Ireland thus heralding 800 years of mutual misery. With a long line of Scots Irish presidents including Woodrow Wilson, the Irish are normally quick to claim US leaders as their own. But, despite President Bush's large Ulster Scots vote in the American Bible belt, Ireland had let his family escape the genealogical microscope.

But now Ann Griffin Bernstorff, an artist working on a tapestry to commemorate Ireland's Norman heritage, has discovered what she claims is the Bushs' missing Irish link.

Ms Griffin Bernstorff was researching Strongbow's son-in-law, William Marshal, when she discovered the connection. A descendant of Marshal married Anne Marbury Hutchinson, a famous 16th century religious dissenter who had already been linked to Mr Bush.

"It is one of those bizarre developments," she said. "We traced the Bush genealogy through a Republican source in Chicago and found it was correct. People here are absolutely shocked. I'm not sure what the wider reaction will be, Bush has not been seen as a great friend of the Irish."

More....

http://www.willthomas.net/Convergence/Weekly/Microwaving_Iraq.htm

MICRO WAVING IRAQ Pacifying Rays Pose New Hazards To Iraqis

http://www.mindcontrolforums.com/history-of-electromagnetic-technology.htm

Thanks Raj & Jo,
maybe Bush is hell bent on SS privatization because that will be the only guaranteed money infusion into the stock market to fend off collapse.

This whole idea of globalization is such a mixed bag. With the ease of transportation and communication today, trying to stop it is like trying to dam the river with your arm - its gonna happen regardless.
The bigger question is, how do we address the inequities and greed on a global scale?
Fair rewards for those that are willing to put forth effort for the good of all, vs free ride for slackers & criminals - while still providing compassion and aide for those through no fault of their own have nothing vs controlling the greedy and predatory types among us?

I'm full of questions today... watching the trees freeze and hoping we don't lose our power.

What if... the American government has not really changed at all? What if... what if the only change has been --- for some --- in our own awareness... that is our move from ignorance to awareness? so that, with the coming of the internet and the lifting of useless filters, some of us are now able to see the real America? What if... the American government, our country, is exactly as its natal horoscope shows it?

New book out on Thomas Jefferson, by Roger G. Kennedy titled “Mr. Jefferson’s Lost Cause” – suggests TJ advocated a Republic of small farmers - free and independent yeomen. Yet as president he presided over a massive expansion of the slaveholding plantation system – particularly with the Louisiana Purchase — squeezing the yeomanry to the fringes and to less desirable farmland. According to the book dust cover the LA purchase had a major impact on land use (well guess so - it doubled our area!) and the growth of slavery. Well, most of us knew THAT, how we got all that land for almost NOTHING... and how Manifest Destiny was shouted from the rooftops.

Kennedy examines the great financial interests (such as the powerful land companies that speculated in new territories and the British textile interests) that carried the day against slavery’s many opponents in the South itself (Native Americans, African Americans, Appalachian farmers, and conscientious opponents of slavery).

Well, that's the part that went right over my head in grammar school... and outside of our resident historian, Cap't Sally, I bet it did yours too.

Kennedy, who has a fine background in history, has also spent some time in environmental studies. In his book he describes how "slaveholders’ cash crops (first tobacco, then cotton) sickened the soil and how the planters moved from one desolated tract to the next. Soon the dominant culture of the entire region – from Maryland to Florida, from Carolina to Texas – was that of owners and slaves producing staple crops for international markets. The earth itself was impoverished, in many places beyond redemption."

Well, I know Jared Diamond has been telling us for decades how stupid homo sapiens were to start farming, but I haven't run across too many other academics who would concur with that, until Mr. Kennedy. [And you thought all this damage was done to the environment in the past decade or so! (I did... she says very softly)]

Then there's this other really interesting bit --- an entity called "The Firm" - no, I'm not talking about John Grisham's book. Names like Panton, Leslie and Forbes (later as John Forbes and Company)... heck, this book looks more interesting than those Greek plays I try to get my daughter to read --- lot more sex and intrigue than the soap operas! I digress, there's no sex in this book, but there's lot of intrigue and dishonesty and exploitation and.. well, like what goes on in Washington today.

My point is, the time of the Louisianna Purchase (1803) looks like a terrific time in our history for astrological analysis. I know Cap't Sally is interested in McKinley forward... but I wonder, how far back does this WILL to exploit the people and ursurp power go with the powers to be in this country, and of course, the world?

Just a thought... if you're watching the trees freeze or the snow fall... tired of whatever the electronic box has to offer... and want to take a look at some charts. After all, I promised Jonathan I'd make an effort to bring more astrology to the board...

I don't know about anyone else, but when I press

on Astroworld - the bar beside it reads:

Astroworld: Political Astrological Insight and

Prediction.

Jo... did you ever get around to reading The Great Cosmic Mother by Monica Sjoo & Barbara Mor? You'll be glad you did. ;O)

Thought you might be interested that William "Jerry" Boykin, Army Lieutenant General, the very Boykin who thinks his God is bigger than the Moslem God, the one who exhaulted in killing the "infidel," the one who had his hands slapped ever so gently by *sh for being so loud about what he believed in Iraq, is reported by Seymour Hersch to be heading some of the covert forces in Iran, and was somewhat implicated in Abu Ghraib. Nothing has changed. I got this from the Arab American email site posted every week to those who are interested in another point of view. http://aaiusa.com I wonder if General Boykin knows that when Arab Christian pray, they call their God Allah. I wish this Neptune/Pluto stuff would hurry up and finish. And all those guys in the USA who are my age, roughly, who have Pluto at around mid Leo are experiencing the double whammy of Transiting Pluto square the USA Neptune and a transiting Neptune opposing their natal Plutos. Tomorrow/today, the "vote" in Iraq. May the force be with them. I don't want to see anybody killed ... not marine, not soldier, not citizen. Yet, if it goes well, *sh comes out smelling like a rose. Go figure...

Whoops, that's http://aaiusa.org
not .com

I don't think there is much of a chance of it going well in the long run Beasley. Consider the Israeli/Plaistine conflict. When there is a force that doesn't wani peace, there is not peace. Destruction is easy.

William Thomas ON AIR tonight discussing MIcrowaving Iraq with Ersking Overnight on the genisis network

http://www.willthomas.net/Appearances/index.htm

Shoud be a good show...

The Emergence of the Homeland Security State
by Nick Turse and Tom Engelhardt
Tom Dispatch

Back in the Watergate era, we had a would-be imperial president, Richard M. Nixon, who provoked a constitutional crisis. Actually, it amounted to a near constitutional coup d'état -- and if you don't believe me, check out The Time of Illusion, Jonathan's Schell's classic work on the subject. Now, it seems, we're in Watergate II, but without a Democratic Congress, a critical media, or a powerful antiwar movement (yet). All we have at the moment is the constitutional crisis part of the equation, various simmering scandals, a catastrophic war abroad, and an ever more powerful military-industrial-security complex at home. And we're not just talking urges here, we're talking acts. We're talking programs. We're talking the continual blurring of distinctions between the domestic and the foreign, the civilian and the military, between liberties at home and "securing the Homeland." The problem is, we can only guess at the extent of that "securing" process because so much is clearly happening just beyond our sight (or oversight).

http://www.tomdispatch.com/

http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=4637

Is the mainstream catching up to us?

Robert Kennedy Jr. implies (directly) *sh a fascist...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/30/35851/5400

Conservatives tiring of the war?

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/nation/10768167.htm

Interview with Goroge W Bush - 1-30 - 05

http://www.q-and-a.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1008

I know of Ron Paul quite well since I grew-up (partially) in his district. Though I don't agree with most of his politcs(I'm a staunched ol' time Texas democrat), I actually used his office for a complaint with an insurance company concerning an ennuity account.

Ron Paul is libertarian, but also a populist who really understands his constituents. Kudos to him.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43145-2005Jan27.html?referrer=emailarticle

Oooooo Henry Higgins.....Just.......You.....Wait

DAVOS, Switzerland -- There's a trace of what might be called the "Eliza Doolittle Factor" at this year's gathering here of global movers and shakers. Instead of the usual griping about tutelage from arrogant Americans -- who play the Henry Higgins role in the globalization drama -- there's a new note of independence and even defiance, as in Eliza's famous refrain: "I can do bloody well without you."

The Elizas say they're going their own way, Henry be damned. Every European nation has now signed the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, which will go into effect next month despite the Bush administration's disdain. The French, British and German leaders are each making star appearances here, announcing their own paths into the future as if the United States doesn't matter.

snip

The Elizas of Davos may wish they could be rid of the wastrel Henry for good, but they know that's impossible. So they are watching for some sign that the old boy has come to his senses. A big test will come next week, when President Bush delivers his State of the Union speech. If he doesn't make a believable commitment to fiscal responsibility, look for the Elizas holding dollars to shout: Sell!

Speaking of Europe, remember the lawsuit in Germany against Rumsfeld? the security meeting is now is not attending? Well, guess whose name has been appended to the suit?... Alberto Gonzales. See interview at Democracy NOW at this link... excerpt below...

"We're filing major new papers, actually, today and Monday. One of them, of course, names Alberto Gonzales now as an additional defendant in the case. His testimony is one that really they could have put into a war crimes trial in Germany and said, “You're convicted.” Someone told me this incredible story about Germany and what happened with torture. One of the key people, Keitel, who got a death sentence in Germany was the man who scrawled on a memo to the high command about Russian soldiers that said, “Geneva Conventions? Obsolete rubbish.” Remember the word that Gonzales used to describe Geneva, “obsolete”. And when they sentenced Keitel to death, what they said was one of the reasons we're giving you the death penalty is for basically saying the Geneva Conventions are obsolete. So this is a very serious issue in Germany. We hope to have some really big news about this case in terms of our filing next week. But one of the things we've done is add Alberto Gonzales. Again, this is crunch time. I mean, if there's listeners out there who want to support this case or oppose Gonzales, go to the center website, it’s ccr-ny.org. Send a letter to the German prosecutor, send a letter to your Senator about Gonzales. It’s just critical. I mean, we should not be implicated, as Americans, in what our government is doing right now."

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/28/1521255

This link will take you to complete complaint in English filed in Germany against 10 individuals for war crimes... Perpetrated Against Iraqi Detainees at Abu Ghraib Detention Center 2003/2004:

War crimes against people, §§ 8, 4, 13 and 14 Criminal Code of Crimes Against
International Law (CCIL) and grievous bodily harm, §§ 223, 224 Criminal Code
in connection with §§ 1 CCIL, 6 No. 9 Criminal Code and the UN Convention on
Torture

http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/legal/september_11th/docs/German_COMPLAINT_English_Version.pdf

We're talking the continual blurring of distinctions between the domestic and the foreign, the civilian and the military, between liberties at home and "securing the Homeland." The problem is, we can only guess at the extent of that "securing" process because so much is clearly happening just beyond our sight (or oversight).
____________________________________
While it's true that most Americans have yet to feel the brunt of such policies, select groups, including Muslims, Arab immigrants, Arab-Americans, and antiwar protesters, have served as test subjects for a potential Homeland Security juggernaut that, if not stopped, will only expand.

OK Astroworlders..........Here in PLAIN VIEW!
My tall blonde blue eyed Anglo Aryan son.........
was arrested at Walmart yesterday afternoon!!!
His crime????????Not being alert & mindful!
When the man exiting in front of him set off the alarms with the items in his pockets....My son failed to stop dead in his tracks. He was tackled from behind; struggled with his attacker thinking it was a mugging..............and was hauled off to a room for interregation. He called to me at the checkout but I was 5 or 6 cashiers over & writing a check so didn't hear him. HE WASN'T OUTSIDE OR AT THE CAR.......I waited & waited; it was getting dark, there would be black ice on the road for the 32 mile drive home, so I went in & had him paiged. The clerk at the customer service desk, got a phone call & told me Eric would be over in about 10 minutes...........
( While waiting I tuned in to the employes who were fearfully, anxiously peering at the door, and muttering to each other. I overheard one say "we'll never make our $40,000. QUOTA TODAY."
They admitted to me when asked that, that was their expected daily goal! Eric had just read something in the Times {we'll research & get back to you} that there is a corresponding daily loss quota that factors into the daily expected figures. So the more shoplifters you can apprehend the better the balance column!
Sitting patiently ( well sort of) on a parked motorized cart I noticed Eric's head moving towards the door ; NOT coming over to where I was at the service counter. ( "why wasn't he wearing his coat?" As I ran after him I saw he was handcuffed! The Walmart GOON carrying his coat. The local cop told me to follow them to the jail............apparently...........he had in his pocket ONE of 2 DVD tapes, purchased at Walmart before Xmas ( He had jammed & recorded with a friend Weds. night ) They would have let him go ( apparently the other guy HAD, stolen merchandise) BUT the local
cop on searching his coat found a bottle of MIXED PILLS! Thats a CRIME!! FEDERAL? STATE? WILL FIND OUT!
You must have your pills separate, in a bottle labeled for that specific medication, or you are breaking the law! Put my blood pressure pills, with my armour thyroid pills for convenience traveling.................. A CRIME!
None of the drugs he had is a "recreational drug" or saleable on the street!
They treated me like ***t! If I hadn't seen Eric being taken out.........I would have sat there all evening at Walmart, wouldn't have been home for him to call me & tell me what was going on! Just marginally polite at the jailhouse too!
Being a principled person of integrity hurts twice! Once when you don't flourish because of your principles & twice because you are judged by other 's " footstick" ( 1/3 as tall as a yardstick!)
I went to a friend's house, fortunately she was grandchildren sitting, to wait for a call from the jail, have coffee, & call my daughter & let her know......
Of course the ATM machine didn't work! I tried 3 times to get cash, before giving up & doing some fast shopping at Shaws Supermarket, where my same ATM card worked! Bail was $40.00. Thank you Mom, if she had not sent me a check for Xmas, I would have had to drive 25 miles to a friends house to borrow the money as my paltry pension is due on the 3rd & it never lasts the month!
Hopefully the Dr.s prescription for the meds he had will prevent him from getting a "RECORD" He's looking for work, non available in the frozen North at this time of year..................( Where Mt Everest & the North Pole are losing ice, we seem to be gaining snow & artic weather here in Maine!)

JOIN me in a complete boycatt of Walmart!
I will buy a new portable phone because the present one requires a battery ONLY AVAILABLE AT WALMART! WHY I WENT THERE YESTERDAY!
BTW: They were out of the hp29 black printer ink, for the 2nd time this year! They are punishing the community ( Kerry won here!)for voting out a superstore several times, & have put the other stores out of business.
My friend the Librarian is going to let me order thru their catalogue, as she needs ink for the library soon !
Postscript: The clerk in customer service, A Morroccan here only 6 months admitted to me he was a "little disappointed in the American Dream" It didn't meet his expectations.........
PQOP

Well Jo, they are oblivious - apparently. I wonder if they will continue to fool enough of the American people while the rest of the world looks on and jeers?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A47559-2005Jan29?language=printer

Bush Aims To Forge A GOP Legacy
Second-Term Plans Look to Undercut Democratic Pillars

Washington Post January 30, 2005; Page A01

When President Bush stands before Congress on Wednesday night to deliver his State of the Union address, it is a safe bet that he will not announce that one of his goals is the long-term enfeeblement of the Democratic Party.

But a recurring theme of many items on Bush's second-term domestic agenda is that if enacted, they would weaken political and financial pillars that have propped up Democrats for years, political strategists from both parties say.

Legislation putting caps on civil damage awards, for instance, would choke income to trial lawyers, among the most generous contributors to the Democratic Party.

GOP strategists, likewise, hope that the proposed changes to Social Security can transform a program that has long been identified with the Democrats, creating a generation of new investors who see their interests allied with the Republicans.

Less visible policies also have sharp political overtones. The administration's transformation of civil service rules at federal agencies, for instance, would limit the power and membership of public employee unions -- an important Democratic financial artery.

If the Bush agenda is enacted, "there will be a continued growth in the percentage of Americans who consider themselves Republican, both in terms of self-identified party ID and in terms of their [economic] interests," said Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform and an operative who speaks regularly with White House senior adviser Karl Rove.

Many Democrats and independent analysts see a methodical strategy at work. They believe the White House has expressly tailored its domestic agenda to maximize hazards for Democrats and tilt the political playing field in the GOP's favor long after this president is out of the White House.

All presidents weigh the political implications of their agendas, and hope that policies that prove popular will strengthen a party's claims on particular constituencies. What is notable about the Bush White House, some analysts believe, is the extent to which its agenda is crafted with an eye toward the long-term partisan implications. ...

Pat QOP IMHO, Walmart should not be patronized for any reason. They should be picketed daily by Americans. Do a Google on Walmart. It will not make your heart happy.

Pat QOP,

My heart goes out to your son... I am boycotting Wal-Mart, Pat C.'s list of 'Blue' showed Target so that's where I now go...

Light to you and Eric

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/secrets/

Pat QOP, you might want to write to these people.

http://www.walmartwatch.com/

I'm very sorry your son had this experience with this very Maoist establishment.

Pat C,
Oh I've pretty well memorized the choose to buy blue list, & watched the Frontline piece on them. &
We all try to boycott Walmart here too......but the new Target that finally arrived is over in Bangor 70 miles away. along with Kmart/Sears/ JC Penny & Joanne Fabrics ( no listing in the blue)
The road to Bangor is a second class 1 A, NO SHOULDERS, 3 really high hills, prone to icing this time of year, & lots of moose & deer to run across the highway! This is how the prosperous tourists get from Bangor airport to Acadia Nat. Park!
To his credit our Gov. that I praised last week has ordered it to be widened finally!
Guess I will now pay the $10.00 tariff to ship in paper mache boxes to paint from that Ontario CA company. Thanks for the good wishes & glad you have your power Jo!
PQOP

Pat QOP, that's what they do. They open up and close down all the local stores, making themselves "what is available". It has been a clear effort and it has been allowed to happen. I am so disturbed by them I can not tell you.

I have head similar stories like yours from other people. I've heard of people who have been confromted by several Walmart employees as Witnesses to shoplifting they had not comitted. This is a scary place IMHO.

Take a look here,

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=when+was+walmart+incorporated%3F&spell=1

and particularly these two.

http://www.wal-martchina.com/english/walmart/history.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart

BTW, today is Dick Cheney's birthday. Oh my.

well PatC, thanks so much for making my day (haha). this actually answers the question: why would cheney so obviously flaunt diplomatic protocol at auschwitz by wearing casual clothes? could it be, as some suggest, he's signaling that he's a holocaust denier? or could it be his age old tradition of taking the week before his birthday as casual week? we'll never know.

with the discovery of bush's sociopathic ancestors, i wonder what geneologists could tell us about the dickster? oh, i know, he's a direct descendent of a plague carrier; reborn to complete his mission of destroying the human race.

dick, happy birthday and thanks for absolutely nothing.

"U.S. Companies Back in Business in Libya Sat Jan 29, 2005 03:50 PM ET By Salah Sarrar

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya awarded its first contracts to U.S. companies in 18 years Saturday, handing oil and gas exploration licenses to three American firms to draw a line under decades of international isolation.

The United States eased its trade embargo on oil-rich Libya last spring as a reward to Tripoli for giving up weapons of mass destruction.

The European Union swiftly followed suit, paving the way for a plethora companies with oil and gas interests to renegotiate business deals with the North African state.

Tripoli's ties with the West were helped by its agreement in 2003 to accept civil responsibility and make payouts for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Scotland which killed 270 people.

U.S. bid winners Occidental Petroleum Corp, Amerada Hess Corp and ChevronTexaco were among more than 120 companies who registered bids or expressed interests on the offers, Libyan officials said."

Give US your oil or else.

MIke, knowing that old Dick Cheney shares the election with Iraq is such irony to me, I am left speechless. I've really never been quite so sickened than when I saw Cheney in his sporting gear. It just validates the ignorance/arrogance one more time. These are the ugly Americans.

All You Need Is Love - Frank Rich

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/arts/30rich.html?oref=login&8hpib=&pagewanted=print&position

Pat QOP, If it helps any, we are fighting Wal-Mart tooth and nail here in Northern CA. Your experience contributes additional resolve. Bastids!

UK Military plane crashes in Iraq; no news available re crew or equipment or cause, though Brits say weather not a factor and C-130 Hercules has excellent safety record

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/4220649.stm

Pat QOP, I am appalled at your horrendous experience at Wal-Mart. If it's possible, get a lawyer. White light to your son.

Pat, I wish everyone would boycott Wal-mart. I have been boycotting it for years, and instead, go to Target. Target has much nicer stuff anyway.
Walmart is so disgusting in it's merchandise, it's stores, it's treatment of it's employees, it's false and misleading advertisements, and how it treats the communities it destroys.DON'T GET ME STARTED. I CAN RANT FOREVER ABOUT THIS!!! Pat, I'm so sorry this had to happen, but hopefully this can wake some people up. You and your son are in my prayers.

Thanks all........My friend that I sat with last night had a splendid idea today!
After the court case May 3 ( so we don't jeopardize my son's future record ( & yea I'm going to look for a lawyer on this one.)
She suggested that all we "mature Grandmothers" mix our pills on one bottle & go downtown & get arrested enmass!
Think we should all wear purple?
And happy bday dickie! It's pure arrogance, that tackie coat.

PQOP

So, d'ya think Dickie chose this date for the election way, way, way back, as an anticipated birthday present? Sorry for the WalMart pain PatQOP.

Hey all,

That DC get up spelled skinhead to me. His ski cap said 'Staff 2001'. No fooling around. It was a big F*** yourself to us and the holocaust. Was probably taking notes.

At this point NYC has no Walmarts and I would not step foot in one with someone else's body after Pat's ordeal.

Someone on DU you said,
"Cheny wore that outfit because he thought Aucshwitz meant German for Walmart'.

Okay, Brits are admitting 9 dead... 'possibly' up to 15... and the cause of the crash? Report says plane "wreckage was spread over a wide area", indicating the C-130 came apart high in the air.

* says US troops were on plane, but gives no number. Why? Plane can hold a lot more than 15. This on the heels of the helicopter with 31 aboard.

Do Iraqis now have the capability to bring down our aircraft?

Why else are they being so hushed up, covering their butts...?

Sally,
Please start a new thread, we're over 300! Let's talk about Arabian Parts in a natal or progressed chart. Do you ever look at the Parts of Assasination, Peril or Death when you try to clarify the future of dubya? I think it is fascinating and McEvers & March have a whole chapter on them in Vol. 1.
Part of Peril = ASC + Ruler of 8th - Saturn.
Part of Death = ASC + 8th cusp - Moon.
Part of Assassination = Mars + Neptune - Uranus.
Part of Imprisonment, sorrow = ASC + Part of Fortune - Neptune.

I just got on, and read of your son's Wal-Mart ordeal, PatQOC. I'm so sorry, what a terrible thing. For what it's worth, I NEVER shop there, hate it & always have.

Jo, many questions surrounding the plane, the true # will be anybody's guess. The Iraqi's have brought down quite a few of our helicopters, although never reported as such. This US-built troop carrier is used by both British and US and
carries a crew of five or six and up to 92 or 128 troops, 64 paratroops, or 74 stretchers

Uuuuuugh!!!

Still looking for a job. Anybody hiring in the Dallas area?

My entire family is yelling at me and telling me to go out and get a job as if I can just magically make one fall into my lap. I've been canvassing the major streets in the city, making follow-up calls, varying my methods based on all this "advice" I'm getting, and somehow none of it seems to be working.

My horscopes keep saying that I have all this light surrounding me, but right now it feels like the reverse is true. I'm busting my ass to get a job--any job: delivering pizzas, waiting tables, doing data entry and running up against nothing but brick walls. Everyone's looking at me like "What's wrong with Dave, why is he so unhirable, why doesn't he just go out and ask for a job?"

Sorry, I'm just getting pissed about it all.

This is SO not a criticism or flame, but I do feel the need to reiterate what we're up against, universally, and a perfect example was found herein, today...

Walmart. They've been boycott-worthy for a couple of decades. An individual had a recent and very personal travesty occur on their premises, and is now "up in arms" and wants everyone else to boycott walmart. But this individual was shopping at walmart when countless others had felt as passionately about the ongoing boycott -- primarily due to their personal travesties [many of which were and are FAR worse than the absolutely terrible thing which happened in this case].

This is really no different than the mothers who now crusade against the massacre on Iraq...but who were avidly pro same -- until their children died.

This is the reason I fear there will be no change in this country, nor in the world, until we are all Hurting, personally. And, unfortunately, that will require a situation more horrible than any of us can or wish to imagine. It's human nature, apparently. Very few of us are willing to truly see beyond "our own pain" in any meaningful way.

When we allow ourselves to become "angered" by others' lack of passion about things which are of the utmost importance to us, we must remember that we, ourselves, could have become passionate about same long before we actually did. And from this will come Compassion, and true Understanding. The motes in our own eyes are always the best teachers...

Again, NOT a flame! Just a friendly reminder.
vcz

Saw the picture of Dick Cheney,all bundled up in his army surplus coat and beanie sitting at the ceremony at Auschwitz, with a very funny caption reading~

*CHENEY DELAYS DUCK HUNT FOR AUSCHWITZ ANNIVERSARY*

Interesting comment vzc. There is always that troublesome flip side of the coin.
Like globalization -
for years we 'new agers' (for lack of a better term) have been talking about the age of aquarius and the goal of warm fuzzies global group-think where everyone is prosperous and happy.
Be careful what you wish for - the global group think is now here in the form of corporate fundie cool-aid think.
I think we all need to get creativly specific about how and what we want the world to look like in the future. The peace and love that we all talk about has to start inside each one of us for the ripple effect to go forth and reach critical mass. The struggle is first and foremost inside.
I read an interesting comment somewhere yesterday, that I cannot find now, but it essence it was talking about capitalism and socialism, saying that socialism tended to wane when it began to stifle business creative innovation, and capitalism waned when it began to stifle humanity, and that generally the two would cycle back and forth.

MONEY, MEDIA AND THE MESS IN AMERICA
By Robert Parry
January 28, 2005

Sometime after 2009, when historians pick through the wreckage left behind by George W. Bush’s administration, they will have to come to grips with the role played by the professional conservative media infrastructure.

Indeed, it will be hard to comprehend how Bush got two terms as President of the United States, ran up a massive debt, and misled the country into at least one disastrous war – without taking into account the extraordinary influence of the conservative media, from Fox News to Rush Limbaugh, from the Washington Times to the Weekly Standard.

CONTINUED~
http://consortiumnews.com/2005/012805.html

Jo: I've been wondering the same thing myself. I posted the question on the DU: what on earth is going on with the helicopters in Iraq? There have been so many reports recently; one on Friday, one on Saturday, and 1 today, unless are all one and the same.

I believe the cost of these is $50 million apiece (!?!). However, lives are more important so I'm urging troops not to get into these death traps unless it's absolutely necessary.

As usual, we can't trust what the military is saying about this. They are claiming malfunction; sand storm (even when there was none), sand in the blades.

Rumour has it that if word gets out that Iraqis are shooting these things down like fish in a barrel, it could be open season on heli's. So we don't know what the real story is.

There is an article on Counter Punch about Lockheed Martin and the crony deals it got through the government to make heli's. Apparently there's lots of corruption and quality control is not good. (that's what happens in corruption; there's no incentive to make good machinery because you got a crony deal).

I also believe Russia is assisting in Iraq. They've already make a public announcement that they're going to sell missiles to Iran. This has GOT to make the Cro-Magnons in Washington sweat.

Putin is making it clear he won't put up with this crap any longer. The US is taunting Iran by doing fly-over's to see if they can activate any sensor devices or locate any nuclear armaments.

Dangerous shit they're doing right now. As the finger hovers over the button.......

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1198151
Viva Chavez! You might want to see the pics of him--who knows how long he'll be with us.

Dear Jeannie, isn't the problem the group with which you think? Check out the Chavez link I just provided above. That's an entirely different group, and probably one much more to your liking.

Cliss,
Sure some have crashed. But I believe some are being shot down. That C-130 was hit ---

Anglo-American forces don't want to admit any, and particularly this C-130, were "brought" down... we don't control the major road to the airport or any other road... the control of the sky is an illusion they would like everyone to buy...

We supplied the missiles for Afghans to bring down Russian helicopters and planes... that's when they (Russians)packed up and went home.

All we get from this admin is lies, lies and more lies about this "war" --- so tired of word "insurgents" - they're Iraqis, people, who don't want their country occupied. We sure as heck would not want ours invaded. Now that this farce of an election is over (voters didn't even know who was on the ballot -- secret candidates!) do you think our troops will come home? I don't.

Also, British Daily Telegraph, the military mouthpiece, speculates it was shot down... and that the troops were Special Forces... they were headed north of Baghdad

http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/31/wcrash31.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/01/31/ixnewstop.html

Shylurker,
Thanks for the wonderful pictures... gives one hope to see such happy people.

Dave, I feel for you, I applied over and over in Houston before something came up. The best chance for me was applying for City and County jobs. They could use anything from court workers to truck mechanics; find the job lines for the city of Dallas and Dallas county and see if you remotely qualify for anything, then go into their offices and fill out all the applications. I bet you get something.

Thanks Jill G!

The whole thing just sucks though. I hope something will turn up soon.

vcz,
Saying it's not a flame doesn't put out the flames!
YOU have personally HURT me with your rant!'
Including the comparison, to the army mother that gets up in arms, after her child is killed.
I marched against the war, in Augusta on Oct 26 2002. I have spent my valuable time campaigning, and participating in political actions, this past year. I have boycotted Walmart until Ames closed ......I bought the portable phone at Ames. Walmart is the only place to get a battery for it I didn't go to Walmart to shop for a new Easter Outfit! That will come from the "Faith based Cherryfield recycle shop" .25c an item! BTW they also gave me a zip lock baggie of EQUAL with my last food pantry box."
I don't have the time or the money to make a 170 mile round trip to get a phone battery so i can communicate with the outside world!.NOW there are NO OTHER CHOICES!

I AM HURTING.......I HAVE BEEN HURTING..The injury started the day Ronald Reagan swore his oath! 25 years later I am a walking wounded American Dream! You obviously havn''t reached that point of pain yet, or you WOULD understand!
Like Global warming the devestation of America has reached its critical point & I am on the front lines.................................
Pat QOP

"Saying it's not a flame doesn't put out the flames!
YOU have personally HURT me with your rant!"

That you saw my comments as a "rant" means only that you read them in a tone other than that in which they were written. Please try to read my words without emotion.

You say that you are "hurting" and have been since reagan, and you state that I "obviously haven't reached that point of pain yet."

I was born to activist parents, and have known wire-taps and "men in black suits" since infancy. We grew up going from moratorium to march, and there wasn't a day of my childhood that someone [actually, just one someone was a lucky day] didn't want to beat me up for my parents pacifist beliefs and actions, and our regular association with "undesireables" [be they black, hispanic, arab, russian, native american, you name it] and refugees. "Patriotic Americans" often took their anger out on our animals when they couldn't reach us. And I grew up to continue along the same path, which meant many "sacrifices" friends consider "foolish" [ie, quitting jobs should it mean doing the unethical for a paycheck].

But I don't say to you, "where were you before reagan?" I say -- we weren't little girls dragged into the bushes to have our clits removed with shards of broken glass. We aren't Saudi or Afghani women, or any number of other "third world" women. We aren't children in Iraq, missing limbs and families and painkillers.

No matter how much I "hurt" I am well aware that my pain is "nothing" compared to the pain that exists in this world.

My comments were about human nature. The tendency to feel passionately about things only once they have touched us, personally. What we see in the micro [not boycotting walmart because of others' horror stories, but now wanting others to boycott walmart because of a personal horror story] is what we see in the macro [mothers who are "pro Iraq invasion" until their sons and daughters are killed. They did not feel the pain of Iraqi mothers when their children were still alive].

We tend to look at others and ask, "why can't they see this??? It's so obvious!!!" Rarely do we look at others and say, "I remember when I couldn't see that, either."

Being a "walking wounded American dream" is still "a walk in the park" compared to many daily realities on this earth. "New Easter outifits" are a luxury [and finding them at thriftstores is a Godsend]. Phones, period, let alone those which require batteries, are a luxury. A 170 mile round trip in a car makes me think of the refugees [many of them women over 50 and even 60] I've known who carved sheep out of their skins, put the fresh skins on their backs, and then crawled hundreds of miles on their hands and knees, mid flock under scorching sun, to get where they needed to go. Pain is relative...

As Yogananda said, so beautifully, "those who are too good for this world adorn another." No matter how much "more aware" we may be than others, we can always be "even more aware." Simply because we may be "anti-bush" and "anti-war" does not mean we are Evolved and have nothing left to learn.

Read in an accusatory tone, I'm sure this will sound awful. Read as simply a calm observation regarding the human condition, my words can make much sense.

Peace,
vcz

Hi shylurker, not sure what you're trying to say ... are you upset with me? My comments were made only from a sort of detached place looking at the world, sort of Buddhist mindset. No harm mean't to anyone - just putting something out there to think about more on an esoteric, spiritual level. :) xox
If no one gets what I was trying to say, thats OK - I've been going thru a misunderstood phase for the past year or so. I'm working on clarity.
Jeanie

Oh, certainly not, Jeanie! Not upset with you at all. I was only suggesting that you look around a bit more for an Age of Aquarius group that is more to your liking.

Shylurker, But I LOVE all your comments here so much! A fabulous combination of astro,spirit,& day-to-day world events - great for wandering eclectic minds. LOL.
I do pop in to other forums from time to time - do you have any good ones in mind?

Sally: Yes, it was "Mission Accomplished" all over again, with that juvenile and sheltered "I say it, you believe it" megalomania he does so well. [He always looks like his mommy just spit in her hand, fixed his hair, straightened his tie, told him what a big man he is, then turned him towards the stage, patted his butt, and pushed him front and center. He knows he's a very special boy...]

More for those who believe there was an election in Iraq. I had to laugh when an embed talked about "Iraqis dancing in the streets," saying it was "as historic and symbolic a moment as when they pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein." LOLOLOL It certainly was! It's sad that, by now, an American citizen wouldn't know the truth regarding such propaganda as "Iraqis tearing down the statue of Saddam Hussein," but it's pathetic to hear such claptrap from alleged "journalists."

[Whenever I have a free moment, I write "Mrs. Mark Morford" on all my peechees...(*sigh*)]

Come See Our Brutal Democracy
Freedom rings in Iraq! Bush was right all along! American wins! Or, you know, not
- By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Wednesday, February 2, 2005

Ah, the violent march of democracy.

Beautiful thing, really, seeing repressed and weary Iraqis vote for the first time, and dance in the bloody bombed-out streets, and avoid the suicide bombers and of course not be able to travel between provinces or drive anywhere in their locked-down nation and by the way watch out for the snipers on the roofs.

It really is amazing, watching the deeply flawed system of democracy take hold in a raw and decimated nation like a thorny weed cracking through shattered concrete. All people deserve to be free and now Iraqis have a tiny bloody taste of it and this is always, always a good thing. I am not kidding.

So, should we be proud? Is Bush's thuggish and illegal pre-emptive attack strategy justified? Are Iraq's first-ever elections a defining moment in American political history? Are we all righteous and good and holy, despite all the dead bodies and the hatred?

Well, sort of. But then again, not really. Should Bush get some credit for all the cheering Iraqis who are now breathing sort of free? Well, no. Not even close.

While it's always heartwarming to see a brutalized and disheartened people flex their newfound freedom for the first time, the costs of this teetering, fragile, force-fed, implode-at-any-moment democracy are nauseating and appalling. You already know the numbers: $300 billion, over 1,400 dead U.S. soldiers and over 10,000 permanently wounded and countless thousands of dead innocent Iraqi civilians -- and many, many more to come.

And let us not forget the biggest disclaimer of all: Not a single one of BushCo's alleged reasons for dragging our fractured and bankrupt nation into one of the most brutal wars since Vietnam has actually proved valid or justifiable. The disgusting array of WMD/nuclear/biotoxin lies and deceptions are not suddenly erased because we set up some polling places.

How quickly we forget: A democratic Iraq was never the reason Bush forced us into this war. Iraq's fledgling democracy is a pleasant side effect, a bonus PR move, a heartstring-tugging and patriotic patina of bogus humanitarianism BushCo is now trying to slather over one of the most disastrous and inept military efforts in recent history. It makes for terrific photo ops. It makes for miserable and debilitating foreign policy.

Look. Democracy is good. Treasonous BushCo dishonesty and misprision and an outright ignorance regarding exit strategies and the true costs of war are not. Republicans and Bush apologists are quick to ignore, in this momentary orgy of political spin and PR, how not a single one of the problems Iraq faced before the elections has been solved. The brutal insurgent violence is only increasing. U.S. soldiers are dying in record numbers. Iraq is a violent mess. And Bush just asked for $80 billion more from the broke U.S. economy to fund the occupation, with no end in sight.

Let's just say it outright: The ends do not justify the means. A barely democratic Iraq is fine and good, but you well know that if Bush had mumbled to the nation three years and $300 billion ago that we were going to start bombing this piss-poor country back to the Stone Age and gut the U.S. economy and put thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis in death's way to deliver it, all while sending the nastiest possible message to the world and actually increasing the threat of terrorism while turning our backs on every major U.S. ally, I doubt many Americans would have giddily waved the flag of support (except maybe Ann Coulter, who apparently loves anything involving guns and dead foreigners).

Let's put it another way: Here is your choice, America: $300 billion and massive international disrespect and a huge pile of dead American soldiers in an effort to force a fragile democracy onto a torn and fractured Iraq by ousting their useless dictator who was, let us repeat, no threat to us, or to anyone, and who was, in fact, our ally, until he dared to threaten our oil.

Or: $300 billion to assist struggling nations and battle AIDS and protect the planet, to evolve our international relationships and set up treaties and unifying alliances and maybe even have a little left over to help fix our own schools, maybe help all those destitute American city upgrade their hospitals and fix their homeless problems and even maybe launch a national health-care plan, spend that money on trying to solve a huge host of social ills plaguing this crumbling beautiful egomaniacal empire we call home.

Which do you choose? What cost democracy? Where do you draw your lines?

Bush does not get credit for Iraq's fleeting glimpse of democracy for the exact same reason you don't give the tsunami credit for cleansing the streets of Indonesia. His motives were never, repeat never, to bring democracy to Iraq. His motives were to oust a pip-squeak dictator who threatened our access to 10 percent of the world's oil. It was about power, and regional control, and ego, and petroleum. Period.

Does this matter anymore? Iraq gets a glimmer of democratic hope and all lies and broken international laws and oily policy shifts are forgiven? Hardly.

Because if this is our new agenda, if we are suddenly the Hammer of Democracy that slams our political system onto every country we feel deserves it and damn the fiscal, emotional, spiritual and human costs, well, let's get to it, already.

Let's right now start preparing for U.S. forces to march into that pesky repressive China. Let us look forward to BushCo declaring war on Iran, and then North Korea, and then huge parts of nondemocratic Africa. Any day now, yes? How about Egypt? And Pakistan? And Jordan? Dictatorships and monarchies and repressive, antidemocratic oligarchies, all. Man, we'll be at war until 2045! Whee!

What about poor, beautiful Nepal, where the king just shut down the government and closed all the airports and severed communication with the rest of the world, and over 10,000 people have died in rebel fighting and the military is patrolling the streets and citizens are terrified and repressed and democracy is dying on the vine? Shouldn't we be marching in there next week, Georgie? Saddle up, cowpokes!

Oh wait. Won't happen. Reason: Not convenient. Not strategically lucrative. No oil reserves. No real power gain, except for maybe Iran, which is why BushCo is already busy working with Israel to map out bombing strategies.

In fact, to prove we don't really give a crap for the lovely "march of democracy" Republicans so love to gloat over, let's note right here how the U.S. regularly gives billions in aid to those very same repressive, dictator-friendly burgs of Egypt and Jordan and Pakistan. Ah, flagrant hypocrisy, thy name is Bush.

Look. Does America have a responsibility to the world to promote peace and democratic ideals in the world whenever possible? Hell yes. Does the world's richest and most gluttonous superpower have an obligation to intervene when absolutely necessary and help repressed peoples taste freedom and emerge from the shadow of evil dictators? You're damn right.

But not this way. Not at this cost. Not via a staggering and soul-mauling string of lies and abuse of power and a brutish foreign policies that only alienate and aggravate and inflame. Not through torture tactics and economic plundering and fear stratagems designed to keep the exhausted American populace from asking too many questions about this administration's real motives.

And not by way of a thuggish pre-emptive attack-first policy that goes against everything America has stood for (i.e., defense, containment, peace) for the past 100 years.

Meanwhile, in related news, an international team of scientists and researchers announced that the world has roughly 10 years before the effects of global warming become permanent and irreversible. Before the Gulf Stream is permanently weakened and massive ice shelves melt and the world is plunged more deeply in danger than we could ever imagine.

You really want to protect democracy, Dubya? Ensure its survival? You really want to have a lasting legacy, one not tainted with blood and war and humiliating claims of "mission accomplished?" Here's a tiny reminder: that $80 bil you just asked for to kill more Iraqis is 17 times higher than the EPA's entire budget. Maybe, just maybe, something is just a little off in our nation's priorities? Just, you know, a thought. Go democracy!

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2005/02/02/notes020205.DTL&type=printable

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