Astroworld: AMBER TO CRIMSON

AMBER TO CRIMSON

The beauty of this Total Lunar Eclipse masks some of the more sinister aspects lurking behind this Eclipse. We've already been given a peek at the tip of the iceberg at Walter Reed Hospital. That bastion of medical marvels is coming apart at the seams and that is only part of the story. VA Hospitals across this country are in as bad or worse shape. Closures and no money as it's all been sucked into this war have contributed to the appalling conditions for our Vets.

Top brass heads are rolling and it's just begun. You can bet they will be on top of it because not one GOP candidate will be able to show their face in public if it's not cleaned up fast. How could a party who has touted being "for the brave men and women" fighting "their" war look any American in the eye with an ounce of credibility. Walter Reed was right in their backyard and they made multiple photo op trips to see the "brave men and women" trying to recover from horrific wounds in moldy, rat infested quarters.

Shame is too soft a word to describe this, just as it's too soft a word to describe our acceptance of torture.

In mundane Astrology the 6th house rules the military, and in America's chart Taurus (ruled by Venus) is on the cusp of the sixth house. The military is scrambling to shut soldiers up, the pressure to hide their "shame" is enormous. Both Saturn and Neptune are squaring the 6th house cusp, and Venus in the Eclipse is squaring the US Sun and opposing the US Pluto. Oh yes, soldiers, top brass, Congress and this Administration are frantically trying to make this all go away. With the NN in Pisces and in a sextile to the sixth house, repression might not be their best path, particularly since Uranus follows the sextile to the 6th house cusp this spring. Remember, Eclipses' just keep on giving. And Mars in this eclipse chart at 4 degrees Aquarius inconjuncts the US natal Venus and Jupiter. Mercury is retrograding back to an inconjunct to natal US Mercury. Information will come flying out over the next few weeks and that's just on the treatment of our vets, it doesn't even approach the secrets of the war, over-spending, fraud, corruption.

Pisces after all rules unseen "infections" and mis-diagnose of the disease. Lies and mis-steps, and revelation of those lies will beset our leaders. Who knew what was happening and who didn't will rule conversations.

We want a Gore or Kerry or someone to save us from this administration because we need saving from them but eventually all of us will have to stand up as a group and save ourselves because no one person can, not even a body of persons like Congress can. The people will have to find a way to lead and then the others will follow.

I still say it is shifting, we are still going through the birth process into something new, I am trying to find a way to be a part of making that something new, or a piece of it positive and progressive and life affirming, I feel all of you are trying to do the same thing. I don't think the present administration trapped in their fear and greed and anger is life affirming, not the life I want around me.

This upcoming Lunar eclipse in Pisces will trine the US Sun make way for the potential of creative solutions at least a start on them.

This eclipse is marked by inconjuncts to the US chart, a mass of them, it will be like watching the Keystone Kops in Washington as they try to stem the tide of leaks and will not be able to do so.

The Eclipse chart itself has the Sun in the 6th House conjunct Uranus opposing the Moon in the 12th, here we are again back to the military. The Saturn and Neptune opposition also falls in the 6th house of the Eclipse Chart, more military and more attempts to repress and silence, Jupiter sextiles and trines respectively both ends of that Saturn/Neptune opposition. Saturn is pulling back the foggy curtain of Neptune and just look at the trash underneath and the last opposition of Saturn to Neptune, and the next and last aspect between these two planets fall across GWB's Venus, he is about to discover how deep and tragic his mistakes are and how many people are against him and he won't know what to do.

Shocks for our leaders are in store with the eclipse and Uranus squaring the 14 degree Gemini mid-heaven and secrets begin to bleed out of Washington and both parties. By the time Saturn completely leaves Leo in the fall there won't be a public politician who will not have faced grave public humiliation due to lies.

There is a lot of "unraveling" energy to this eclipse, including the stock market, not a depression but a huge correction before the month is over, we've already seen some of that beginning now, with eclipse Venus on the Cusp of the 8th house, opposing the US Saturn (ruling our 2nd house of values) and squaring the US Sun in the US 8th house and again the eclipse Moon inconjunct the eclipse Venus, economists either can't see what's happening, won't know how to address the problem, or make huge mistakes in trying to correct the problem and this is a World wide issue, not just the US. Again, a comedy of errors on the financial horizons.

As soon as Mercury goes direct next week, Congress can expect to hear from the people as "the people" continue their awakening from slumber.

There are no less than 5 planets applying to the cusps of houses, plus the NN. In fact the NN and three of the planets apply to the cusps of the angles. This is an important month in the ongoing shifts taking place. Pisces, where the Lunar and Solar Eclipses fall this month are at the exact same degrees they were in 1960 and 1988. As Winston Churchill once said "is this the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?" The eclipses in 1988 marked the rise of the Bush/Clinton years, I think these eclipses mark the beginning of the end to those years and that's just one coming shift. which will not complete for at least 15 years, but it will shift.

While we are propelled into the fast track election season of 2008, don't forget that both parties are one party under the umbrella of big business, however over the next 15 years there will be real opportunities to break the hold they have over the world including us.

Don't bet on the status quo for quite some time, certainly not with Pluto on the Galactic Center and with the Saturn/Neptune opposition and the Jupiter/Uranus square going back and forth over each other for the next few months. These aspect will have the effect of breaking boulders of rigid thinking and being. You can also count on wild weather and earth changes just about anywhere the next several months. Instability in just about every area of life will be the rule of the day. Pisces can teach us all a lesson as they blithly go along and completely ignore the falling building, they don't even see it and they don't get hit. That's the beauty of Pisces, let's all take a lesson.

Sally Cheyne McDonald on Mar 3 | Link

Comments

Thank you Sally!!!!!!! I feel the beginning also. We have had a very warm and dry winter in Xi'an but the last two days have been cold and wet. I awoke this morning to see swirling rain and snow at the same time.I think the swirls are caused by the high rise buildings in the area. Skies are almost always grey here. I will see the eclipse on tv or the internet.bt

Posted by: Betsy on March 3, 2007 10:32 AM

Sally, terrific as always. You can't miss the military energy in this chart. With an emphasis on mutability, change, Uranus squaring the Gemini mid-heaven, betcha we hear about all kinds of dirty little secrets out of the White House. You know the rumblings are coming out of Washington that the National Guard is broken, the military is broken, and Snarly wants to push the button on Iran.

Posted by: Morgana on March 3, 2007 10:57 AM

The Bush-Cheney regime is America’s first neoconservative regime. In a few short years, the regime has destroyed the Bill of Rights, the separation of powers, the Geneva Conventions, and the remains of America’s moral reputation along with the infrastructures of two Muslim countries and countless thousands of Islamic civilians. Plans have been prepared, and forces moved into place, for an attack on a third Islamic country, Iran, and perhaps Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon as well.
Where is the difference to Hitler.The entirety of their success in miring the United States in what could become permanent conflict in the Middle East is based on the power of propaganda and the big lie.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17216.htm

Posted by: on March 3, 2007 11:08 AM

I'll never get used to living in "interesting times". That's why I scurry under the bed so often. But, hot d*mn!, I'm eager for all the ugly stuff to ooze out so we can corral it, throw it in the toilet and f-l-u-s-h!!

Thanks so much for this article, Cap'n Sally. You have enticed me to stay out from under the bed for a while. Tee hee.

Posted by: shylurker on March 3, 2007 12:20 PM

And there are two other areas where things are churning and being disclosed:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/012760.php

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070303/us_nm/monsanto_alfalfa_dc_1

What activity in what houses indicate these two major developments, Cap'n Sally, and what's your progosis? Many thanks!

Posted by: shylurker on March 3, 2007 12:35 PM

This eclipse is in the 6th and 12th house in the Eclipse chart and falls across the 3rd and 9th in the US chart relating to daily communications and higher level communications such as hospitals, courts, schools (as the tornado through the school, the school bus turning over) long distance travel etc.

I hope Morgana puts up an eclipse article for another perspective. Energy works in a multitude of ways and just one astrologer or just one article couldn't not possibly cover all the potential basis.

Posted by: Sally on March 3, 2007 03:11 PM

Sally, you did a remarkable job delineating the varying aspects of this eclipse. There IS a shift occuring, a profound one. This country -- the world, in fact -- will not be the same again. The previous obsession with money determining status and power is coming to an end. I hear it more in daily conversation and from people who were formerly in greed's grasp. This is necessary, it seems, to make room for the revolution of spirit that is fast approaching.

Shy, i just want to hug you. :)

Judi, how has the news (and experience) of so many death/birth incidences altered your consciousness? It seems as though there is some message for you in this.

Posted by: karen on March 3, 2007 03:32 PM

Sally, here's an article that falls right in line with yours. Further in the article (not posted here) is Cheney acting totally delusional, adding even more to your statements about Neptune.

http://pmcarpenter.blogs.com/p_m_carpenters_commentary/2007/03/bombshells_blac.html

p m carpenter's commentary
March 03, 2007

Bombshells, Blackguards and General Breakdown

Incompetence, neglect, profligacy, isolation, malfeasance, even a textbook psychosis of clinical disconnect -- all are reaching critical mass at government's highest levels. Every day, it seems, we read another disclosure of scandalous failure. Taken separately, they're bad enough. Lump them together and one wonders just how much longer the nation can endure, how much more it can tolerate.

The latest -- merely the latest in this accelerating implosion -- is that the Bush administration has permitted the Army National Guard and Reserves to fall to 12 percent readiness. The "12" is no typo. Should a natural catastrophe strike, oh, let's say Alabama, the Guard would find itself without "trucks, Humvees, generators, radios, night-vision goggles and other gear that would be critical for responding to a major disaster," not to mention a "terrorist attack or other domestic emergency," reports a congressional commission.

The reason for this deplorable state of readiness is, of course, the administration's singular fixation on Iraq, which is sucking all the material oxygen from anything and everything unrelated to its civil war, but profoundly relevant to the war on insecurity and unpreparedness at home.

more....

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 3, 2007 03:43 PM

Sally, thank you so much for this informative and inspiring article. I know that the energy right now sometimes gives me goosebumps and causes our oldest cat to run in circles around the living room.
I am so excited even though this eclipse/ nodal path has kicked my butt personally. I welcome my own essential changes and I certainly embrace this time of revelations for this corrupt administration with their intentions to enslave us all.
Great writing Sally and as I said very inspiring.

Posted by: clymela on March 3, 2007 04:36 PM

Oh, wow, a hug in cyberspace. Thanks, Miz Karen!

Posted by: shylurker on March 3, 2007 05:34 PM

Haven't read anything yet, but I just had to post this!

New Orleans Sues Army Corps for $77 Billion Over Katrina

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030307Y.shtml

Submitting a claim for a staggering $77 billion, the city of New Orleans joined tens of thousands of would-be plaintiffs who rushed to beat a Thursday deadline to alert the Army Corps of Engineers that they may sue for losses resulting from the levee breaches after Hurricane Katrina.

Posted by: Pat C on March 3, 2007 06:02 PM

Must be the Mercury retrograde motion causing misunderstanding about my comments on chinese, that Joanna has.I've nothing whatsoever against them, afterall I come from the land of their neighbor. But here the pundits are all saying to be fearful of the chinese military power, blah,blah NOT me. For that, I tell US and the pundits to be more wary of their stock market which started the global meltdown this week. That
is for SURE, no ifs and buts there. Also don't be all that cozy and cuddly with chinese. Any one here remembers or have they all forgotten in a jiffy about the oppression in Tibet and His Holiness Dalai Lama. What a short memeory. Thanks
shylurker.

Posted by: Raj on March 3, 2007 06:32 PM

Blame it on mercury, that my blog on previous column had ruffling effect on Joanna. I was making fun of the US experts on China who had been warning since 1980s and this was supposed to be 'tongue in cheek' to say worry about their stock market doing global damage and not their military might. Also too bad that the misunderstanding blog had to be repeated twice since the first punch on 'post' said not delivered
Again blame it on mercury retrograde. Even today
computer delay and kinds of snafu experience!

Posted by: Raj on March 3, 2007 06:50 PM

Sally and all: As a psych tech at an inpatient rehab facility for the chronically mentally ill, with grassroots authority I can say in metaphor, we in this country are still locking our mentally ill in towers and attics. For years USA mental health treatment has struggled toward a recovery model based on the strengths of the whole person verses labeling the person with their diagnosis.

Recently Federal funding has required us to write our treatment plans, once again, using the "medical model" which focuses on the pathology of the client.

As we watch our nation, we too must look to a recovery model and not merely at the current symptoms screaming at us. We must give the USA an A+ grade for its potential and look to its strengths to guide us to the upside of the change spiral.

Posted by: Timmy J on March 3, 2007 07:21 PM

Also, I want debunk a myth, shylurker, about the government and people of country being all that different. When Iraq was attacked, 99.99% of people here were with the government including almost all senators and congress and people. We didn't hear about Cindy Sheahan also, whom we heard after a year or two after what happened to her son. Same In China. I met a couple of UCLA foreign graduate students here and asked if they
were from Taiwan for which they replied NO, 'we're
chinese. Then I told them about my friend in Pittsburgh, who like to be called Taiwanese and
not chinese, since he was from Taiwan, at which these girl students scoffed and said Taiwan belong to China. Ditto must be their thinking on Tibet that belongs to China etc. To make it short,
99.99% of people China are with the government except when it comes to them(eg farmers) losing their lands etc etc. But on foreign policy they're
all hand in hand with government. May be less than 1% think independently and say NO, Tibet does
not belong to us. Tibet must be a FREE country.

Posted by: Raj on March 3, 2007 08:20 PM

I'm with you Timmy J.

China has a history of being inherently cruel and chauvinistic. China throughout history has given up nothing and taken everything it can. The US is a child in comparison.

I'm filled with joy that the veternans are finally getting something good in the exposure of these neocons, and as is shown in the planets, not a moment too soon.

Let truth and beauty prevail for all children of G-d.

Posted by: Pat C on March 3, 2007 08:37 PM

http://tinyurl.com/3arhql NYT Editorial

No More Denials, Please

It is time for the Justice Department to stop issuing rote denials that are becoming increasingly hard to believe about the suspicious firing of eight United States attorneys. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should appoint an impartial investigator to get to the bottom of this unfolding scandal.

More...

Posted by: Pat C on March 3, 2007 08:47 PM

Climate Change Impact More Extensive Than Thought
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030307C.shtml
Global climate change is happening faster than previously believed and its impact is worse than expected, information from an as-yet unpublished draft of the long-awaited second part of a United Nations report. No region of the planet will be spared and some will be hit especially hard.

David Swanson | Doug Feith Versus the Blogosphere
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030307D.shtml
David Swanson interviews Allison Hantschel, the blogger at First Draft http://www.first-draft.com , and the author of the book "Special Plans," on the topic of Douglas Feith and the intelligence that took us into this war?

Top Court Weighs Lawsuit Against Bush's Faith-Based Program
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030307E.shtml
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer looked skyward Wednesday as he tried to come up with a “more amazing” hypothetical during arguments in a key church-state case.

Posted by: Pat C on March 3, 2007 08:50 PM

Speaking of secrets and "Haul-iburton", Nancy posted a link to a very revealing article indicating that the services at Walter Reed and other VA centers had been outsourced to - no surprise here - a company headed by a former exec of Halliburton, who actually testified before Congress about their "perfectly reasonable" overcharges and lack of accountability.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/Bush_Administration_push_for_privatization_may_0303.html

Why would we expect anything different? Let the shift gain speed and momentum with every thought we have!

Posted by: baraka on March 4, 2007 03:00 AM

"...Saturn is pulling back the foggy curtain of Neptune & just look at the trash underneath & the last opposition of Saturn to Neptune, & the next & last aspect between these two planets fall across GWB's Venus, he is about to discover how deep & tragic his mistakes are & how many people are against him & he won't know what to do. ..."

Upon reading that, Miss Sally, my mind rec'd an instant picture of a bar after a long night of drunken partying... say, like by the likes of bushaholic & its crowd. In the cold quiet light of early morning, the mega-trashing is obvious, the piss on the walls (not to mention the smell), the toilets... well, never mind describing those... the piles of empty booze bottles, a body here & there laying around in comatose pass-out... you know, in a very sleezy bar & the AM clean-up crew is looking around in complete dismay. Unfortunately, this "bar" we're talking about is the USia govt & the halls of washington for which we pay thru the nose. ;O)

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 4, 2007 03:07 AM

...oh, the piss & the vomit... ;O)

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 4, 2007 03:08 AM

Ever see this one JoannaO? O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh with Robert Ryan (himself dying of cancer at the time, and turning in the performance of his lifetime), Lee Marvin and directed by Frankenheimer. Your description sent my memory right to this movie and the gritty sleaziness of the bar. Great movie.

"In the faded light of Harry Hope's 1912 skid row bar, a rag tag group of fallen men, each like a ghost haunting the wreckage of his own life, await the annual arrival of Hickey . . ."

http://www.kino.com/video/item.php?film_id=586

Posted by: shylurker on March 4, 2007 03:25 AM

The Globe has a 3rd article, this week, describing the terms of the Bush divorce & settlement..........house in Texas with 5 bdrms & 5 baths, booqeau ( sp?) bucks, in exchange for sham, wifely/ escort, charade thru Jan. 20 2008, courteous treatment expected!
More chickens roosting & pooping!
QOP

Posted by: on March 4, 2007 03:32 AM

I think the word is "beaucoups", QOP, but I'll leave it to Garry to supply the correct Southern spellin' of it. Who wants that stupid TX spread with all the brush floppin' around needin' to be cut? If I were she, I'd go for that larger piece of real estate down in Paraguay, assuming one could ignore the neighbors (the Moons).

Posted by: shylurker on March 4, 2007 03:42 AM

Saw the eclipse tonight in the Southern Hemisphere. Sure looked like a bad moon rising...

Also, there were two stars in a line above it, one to the left, and one farther to the right - thus making a cross (on its side) in the sky. It reminded me very much of the Grand Cross of 1999. Any thoughts?

Posted by: Mars on March 4, 2007 03:57 AM

Ah, but Pat C, Smirky&Co have even more pollution to add to the toxic environment that has become Gaia:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17441481/

Posted by: shylurker on March 4, 2007 03:57 AM

Hog-wild privatization

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/03/Weightmansubpoena/

Committee subpoenas former Walter Reed chief

.......

All I can say is that I'm hoping with all my might for some seriously good leadership in the US. I'm hoping, hoping, hoping.

Posted by: Pat C on March 4, 2007 05:31 AM

ttp://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_expert_on_Russian_intelligence_s_03032007.html

US expert on Russian intelligence shot in Washington

US authorities were Saturday investigating the shooting of a US expert on Russian intelligence who was shot outside his house in a Washington suburb, an FBI spokeswoman said.

Paul Joyal, 53, was hit several times as he returned home on Thursday evening, FBI spokeswoman Michelle Crnkovich told AFP.

The shooting came four days after Joyal alleged in a a major television network interview that the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin was involved in the radiation poisoning of a former KGB agent in London.

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

Lie by Lie: The Mother Jones Iraq War Timeline (8/1/90 - 6/21/03)

In this timeline, we've assembled the history of the Iraq War to create a resource we hope will help resolve open questions of the Bush era. What did our leaders know and when did they know it? And, perhaps just as important, what red flags did we miss, and how could we have missed them?

This is the second installment of the timeline, with a focus on how the war was lost in the first 100 days. [ java ]

http://www.motherjones.com/bush_war_timeline/

Posted by: Pat C on March 4, 2007 05:52 AM

Joanna, that's exactly the image I had in my mind, the filth of a bar room floor. Perfect description.

Mars, the two stars you saw would be Neptune and Saturn and they don't by degree hit the Grand Cross of 1999, although they have hit it in the last 18 months and I held my breath when Neptune hit that point 18 months ago.

It's the Solar eclipse on March 18th that is a concern for me because it squares Pluto, now that has the potential of being nasty, even if it is a partial eclipse. It won't be visible from the US or Australia, but it will be visible in India and close to Afghanistan. I would think the US financial markets might rise through the next two weeks to ten days because this eclipse will sextile the US natal Pluto in the 2nd house. However the square from transiting Pluto would say we eventually pay a high price for this artificial rising of the markets.

Posted by: Sally on March 4, 2007 06:20 AM

Sally, please delete the porno spam. A work in progress: http://www.aquariusmoon.info. May be only accessible sporadically, since I'll be working on it all day.

Posted by: Carol on March 4, 2007 01:42 PM

Oh Carol, how nice! Your site looks like a place I'll love to read.

Posted by: Pat C on March 4, 2007 02:14 PM

Hey Shy and QOP-
some down here spell it "boocoo" (I just saw a brand new energy drink with the name BooKoo, so there's another spelling, I reckon)...just fyi, y'all!!! :)

namaste/love y'all
GT

Posted by: Garry Todd on March 4, 2007 02:15 PM

Carol, your site looks great and a terrific addition to the Astro community. Thank you for sharing it with us. If I can figure out a blog issue I have here, I will put a link to your site on the astro menu down the side.

Posted by: Sally on March 4, 2007 02:41 PM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/03/AR2007030301311.html

FDA Rules Override Warnings About Drug
Cattle Antibiotic Moves Forward Despite Fears of Human Risk

Posted by: Pat C on March 4, 2007 03:16 PM

Having earned my living in government employment I am tickled (admittedly a lack of spiritual maturity here) to read that Walter Reed has been run by private enterprise. ( Sabian symbol for my MC is 18 Capricorn-it sure would seem to indicate a government career). For the past 26 years starting with Reagan and going on we welfare workers, Social Security workers, VA emplyees, etc have listened to the talk about how good the private sector is and how lazy we are and have then watched as contract by contract the highly praised "private sector" was unable to produce at the level we had. Social Security is one of the least expensive systems ever. OOOH the s--- is starting to hit the fan and I pray that the collective looks behind the curtain of the Bush administration to the real forces, the corporadoes who say things like "a company's only duty is to make money" or "government is useless". We have been sold a lie-we have lost our jobs and much of our social security while these monstrous forces move around the world looking for the cheapest labor and planning to eliminate about 33% of us.

Posted by: clymela on March 4, 2007 03:36 PM

Carol, Your site is very friendly and so promising! I love cats and dogs! But I noticed that you didn't give yourself a name in it. Was that deliberate or just an oversight? It's kind of nice to be able to refer to AW as Sally's site or Starlight News as Nancy's site.

I'm happy to add it to my bookmarks (favorites)

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 4, 2007 04:44 PM

Luna, Scorpio rising here. Still haven't decided whether or not to use my regular name or not. BTW, I'm Carol, and once I get my blog going, you'll learn more about me, I promise.

Now I really have to focus on finishing the site now, since all of you have seen it and enjoyed the view! Mars in Pisces in the Fourth, (and the eclipse is conjunct!)

Posted by: Carol on March 4, 2007 04:56 PM

San Jose Mercury News is urging Al Gore to run.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/4/111621/4292

neato.

Posted by: Morgana on March 4, 2007 05:40 PM

Morgana, I hope he runs and I also hope he consults with an astrologer for the timing of his announcement. If Nancy Reagan can do it.......

Posted by: Teresa on March 4, 2007 07:09 PM

Here’s a list of Primay dates per State for January and February.

Iowa 1/14/2008
New Hampshire 1/22/2008
South Carolina 1/29/2008
Arizona 2/5/2008
Arkansas 2/5/2008
California 2/5/2008
Colorado 2/5/2008
Delaware 2/5/2008
Florida 2/5/2008
Georgia 2/5/2008
Illinois 2/5/2008
Kansas 2/5/2008
Michigan 2/5/2008
Missouri 2/5/2008
Nevada 2/5/2008
New Jersey 2/5/2008
New Mexico 2/5/2008
North Carolina 2/5/2008
Oklahoma 2/5/2008
Tennessee 2/5/2008
Utah 2/5/2008
Louisiana 2/9/2008
District Columbia 2/12/2008
Virginia 2/12/2008
Wisconsin 2/19/2008
Hawaii 2/26/2008

2/5/08 seems to be the most cingular date.

Posted by: Pat C on March 4, 2007 08:28 PM

Very important to read in this month's issue of Vanity Fair Magazine: 'Washington's $8 Billion Shadow,' by Donald L. Bartlett and James B. Steele

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/03/spyagency200703

Mega-contractors such as Halliburton and Bechtel supply the government with brawn. But the biggest, most powerful of the "body shops"- SAIC, which employs 44,000 people and took in $8 billion last year- sells brainpower, including a lot of the "expertise" behind the Iraq war........

Posted by: Shade on March 4, 2007 09:22 PM

The progressed chart for the US for 2/5/08 is interesting. Very theatrical chart. It’s a Splash pattern chart. Leo rising. Mars in Libra in the Thrid House, oppose Venus in Aries conjunct Chiron in the Ninth. Leo Moon in the First oppose Aquarian Mercury in the Seventh. More, much more….

Thank you Shade. That looks like a must read.

Posted by: Pat C on March 4, 2007 09:32 PM

Hi All! I've started a new bookmark folder entitled "Recovery USA".

Here is a thumbnail intro to the contents of my first entry to the folder.

TO ESTABLISH A NEW CENTER FOR THE ADVOCACY OF COOPERATIVE INDIVIDUALISM AND THE STUDY OF POLITICAL ECONOMY

http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/

With the concept below, Abraham Maslow became the President of the American Psychology Association: (paraphrased) We must take half the money we are spending on the study of pathology, study psychologically healthy people and raise our children that way.

We too must study what works politically and make it known. Perhaps a new paradigm and language are needed to replace "politics".....Peace out, Timmy J

Posted by: Timmy J on March 4, 2007 10:35 PM

!! :-D

From the Committee On Oversight and Government Reform, Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), 110th Congress:

On March 1, 2007, Rep. Henry A. Waxman along with Reps. Platts, Clay, and Burton introduced H.R. 1255, the Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007, to nullify a 2001 presidential executive order and restore public access to presidential records.

Overturning the Bush Executive Order. Under the Presidential Records Act, presidential records are supposed to be released to historians and the public 12 years after the end of a presidential administration. In November 2001, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13233 which overturned an executive order issued by President Reagan and gave current and former presidents and vice presidents broad authority to withhold presidential records or delay their release indefinitely. The Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007 would nullify the Bush executive order and establish procedures to ensure the timely release of presidential records.

The Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007
http://www.oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1193

Posted by: Pat C on March 4, 2007 10:40 PM

Frank Rich | Bring Back the Politics of Personal Destruction

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030407D.shtml

"If you had to put a date on when the Iraq war did in the Bush administration," says Frank Rich,"it would be late summer 2005. That's when the bungled federal response to Hurricane Katrina re-enacted the White House bungling of the war, this time with Americans as the principal victims. Now this pattern is repeating itself: a searing re-enactment of the Iraq war's lethal mismanagement is playing out on the home front, again with potentially grave political consequences."

Posted by: Pat C on March 4, 2007 10:49 PM

Sally...1988 may have signaled the beginning of the Bush years, but those years were actually the tail end of the Reagan years....not Bush sr and Clinton. I am so puzzled as to why those two are connected in people's minds, other than the fact that Clinton won an election Bush considered to be HIS. I understand people now feel Clinton is complicit with the Bush regime....but not sure HOW it got to that point.

Pres Bush sr.'s CIA engineered all of the illegal stuff (Iran Contra) which is the model for everything which came after(they learned from that to create a better model, so to speak). I also read Scott Ritter's column at Alter Net on the Hillary/Bill duplicity about WMDs in Iraq, in essence saying that based on HIS information (and boy was he saying it in no uncertain terms) that they are liars etc.

People are really pissed at the Clintons...but they sure as hell had nothing to do with the stink from the Reagan Years, which is the real Bush territory. Frankly, I would bet that every president has done stuff that later generations call bad....based mainly on the fact that in hindsight we SEE how bad it is. It is depressing at best to think that Iran Contra spawned a band of 'heroes' instead of prisoners. And I would bet that every president risks assassination for 'discontinuing' the ideas (good or bad, doesn't matter) of a strong predecessor. That is even MORE depressing, and even more paranoid on my part, but I happen to think it is true.

PS..Shade : good to see Bartlett and Steele back on the front burners with their exposes of national wrongdoing. They did magnificent work under Bush sr's reign of financial terror...when corporations took their corp. offices offshore and abandoned towns across the mid states, turning them into ghost towns, and plundering the retirement funds. PBS ran those shows....based on their books.

Posted by: judiGem on March 5, 2007 12:45 AM

Karen, thanks for asking about the death influence. Well, with Scorpio rising and Uranus/Sun/Saturn in the 8th, I can't avoid thinking about it. But this is how I feel now....it doesn't scare me. Witnessing the passing of anyone (I was with my aunt 20 years ago when she died) has left me philosophically neutral. It is a process...when you are sitting with the person and see it, it an no longer be frightening as in 'unknown'....and some of us will be luckier than others in their process. But I do believe there is some organizing principal for the reasons and timing...spiritual and astrological.

BTW, got another email from the friend in MI who asked another RN who said: this is from another RN that I know.......

I asked my wife and she yes, they do that coma procedure in the hospital

Blessings...

Posted by: judiGem on March 5, 2007 12:53 AM

Sally, Clymela...I actually sent this edition of astroworld to a friend of mine from high school .... he founded the homeless vets program at the VA and U of Washington in Seattle...retired now. Not a moment too soon...he was SO fed up. But he still has friends there....I'll send feedback.

Posted by: judiGem on March 5, 2007 12:58 AM

Shy...I saw Jason Robards in The Iceman Cometh on Broadway about 20 years ago, I think...longest play I've ever seen...coulda flown back to SF from NYC in the time it took....I think it is an apt comparison.....

The vote by the Cherokee disenfranchising the black descendants of the tribe or those not on the Dawes list is a sad developement. Is it the greed syndrome? What is it? All I know, is this is the time when DNA testing should be done if they want to make it legitimate...

Posted by: judiGem on March 5, 2007 01:09 AM

"The vote by the Cherokee disenfranchising the black descendants of the tribe..." is so stereotypical of the rt-wring script. I mean, somebody didn't even bother to change it a little bit except the names to unprotect the innocent. That script has been around to cause dissention & trouble between member of a group... how many decades now? Jeeeezzzz I'm SOOOO sick of these bio-units, human becomings, mega-idiots, whatever...

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 5, 2007 01:57 AM

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/009948.php

Genuflecting to Industry, Bush Admin Once More Sells Out People

When penicillin was discovered in 1896, for the first time people had an upperhand in the life and death battle with deadly bacteria. But the misuse of these miracle drugs has created strains of bacteria that cannot be killed by any antibiotics. One area of particular concern is the use of antibiotics in our food animals which has led to the emergence of strains of bacteria that are drug resistant. Here's an FDA report put out under Clinton's watch that clearly describes the problem.

Under Bush's administration, anti-regulation fever to promote whatever industry wants to make a buck makes today's FDA an enemy of the people. Why? Because despite the recognition that authorizing the use of a particular class of antibiotics for use by the cattle industry can lead to drug-resistant pneumonia, the Bush FDA has written the regulations so that the effect on human health cannot be considered when deciding whether the company can sell this type of antibiotic to the cattle industry.

The shame of it is there is no need to use this antibiotic for cattle because there are other drugs that are already being used that are working. Furthermore, if the cattle industry just treated their animals better, they wouldn't need any of these drugs to have healthier cattle. And the advisory panel has come out against allowing this antibiotic to be used in cattle.

The panel also learned that the disease would be a relatively minor issue but for the stressful conditions under which U.S. cattle are raised, including high-density living spaces and routine shipment on crowded trains for hundreds or thousands of miles. Those "production dynamics" suppress the animals' immune systems, explained feedlot consultant Kelly Lechtenberg of Oakland, Neb., and virtually guarantee that bovine respiratory disease will be a major problem.

Yet Stephen Sundlof, head of the FDA's Veterinary Medicine Center, told the panel members that under agency rules they should ignore those issues and consider only the language in Guidance #152.

More...

Posted by: Pat C on March 5, 2007 02:19 AM

THIS IS SO NEAT!!! AEROTURBINES - WIND ENERGY FOR CITIES - instead of those windmill-like things.

GO HERE AND PLAY THE VIDEO.

http://www.aerotecture.com/

Posted by: Jaycee on March 5, 2007 04:14 PM

Stargazers aglow over stunning eclipse
Key quote:
"Saturday's eclipse was probably the best I've ever seen. The Moon was spectacularly red, and the shadow of the Earth cast on its surface was extremely sharp" - Douglas Cooper, secretary of the Scottish Astronomer's Group
Story in full
IT WAS, experts agreed, the most spectacular lunar eclipse they had ever seen. As the skies across most of Scotland cleared, the surface of the full Moon first darkened before turning a brilliant coppery-red as the Earth's shadow was cast across its surface. (more)

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=344842007

Posted by: judigem on March 5, 2007 04:28 PM

Greenwald: State Department promotion sends Iran war signal Mike Sheehan
Published: Monday March 5, 2007

The promotion of a neoconservative to a key position at the U.S. State Department may be yet another signal of impending war with Iran, Salon reports.

"As they have done many times before, neoconservatives, with Iran in their sights, have installed one of their own at State to block any war-avoiding rapprochement," writes Glenn Greewald for Salon.

Last Friday, Eliot Cohen was chosen by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be new Counselor of the State Department.

"It is not hyperbole to say that Cohen is as extremist a neoconservative and warmonger as it gets," says Greenwald, who quotes a conservative writer's point that Cohen "was an early supporter of the military intervention in Iraq" and opposed negotiations with Iran and Syria.

Greenwald argues that Cohen is even "far more extremist than just that."

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/State_Department_promotion_sends_Iran_war_0305.html

Posted by: Shadowhawk on March 5, 2007 06:32 PM

More with video

Posted by: Pat C on March 8, 2007 07:57 PM

http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1205

Committee Will Hold Hearing on Disclosure of CIA Agent Valerie Plame Wilson’s Identity

Chairman Henry A. Waxman announced a hearing on whether White House officials followed appropriate procedures for safeguarding the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. At the hearing, the Committee will receive testimony from Ms. Wilson and other experts regarding the disclosure and internal White House security procedures for protecting her identity from disclosure and responding to the leak after it occurred. The hearing is scheduled for Friday, March 16.

In addition, the Committee today sent a letter to Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald commending him for his investigation and requesting a meeting to discuss testimony by Mr. Fitzgerald before the Committee.

More…

Posted by: Pat C on March 8, 2007 08:05 PM

WAXMAN ANNOUNCES HEARING ON DISCLOSURE OF VALERIE PLAME'S IDENTITY

Thursday, March 08, 2007
Disclosure of CIA Agent Identity
Committee Will Hold Hearing on Disclosure of CIA Agent Valerie Plame Wilson's Identity

Posted by: Jaycee on March 8, 2007 08:05 PM

Good job!
Sickened by the Repugs scratching the Libby trial under the kitty litter!
I wondered what ever happened to Aron Brown! He really just dropped out of sight!
Keep em coming!
QOP

Posted by: on March 8, 2007 08:58 PM

Steve Bell

Goodbye to the Yellowcake Road

http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoons/stevebell/0,,2029006,00.html

Posted by: wv on March 8, 2007 09:38 PM

Aaron Brown is at Arizona State University...

March 5, 2007

Journalism majors draw on Brown's expertise
Rhodes lecture set for March 8

Former CNN anchor Aaron Brown is stepping away from the camera and up to the podium as he joins prestigious faculty at ASU's Barrett, the Honors College and Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

On Mondays and Wednesdays Brown co-teaches the honors seminar “Turning Points in Television News History” with Cronkite School professor William Silcock. The course covers pivotal moments in the history of TV news – everything from Edward R. Murrow's earliest TV reports to the assassination of JFK, the Vietnam War and the Iraq War.

“Journalism and journalists are integral to a democratic society,” says Mark Jacobs, dean of Barrett, the Honors College . “Aaron Brown is a supremely good journalist, and we jumped at the chance to have him serve as Rhodes Chair this semester.

http://www.asu.edu/news/stories/200703/20070305_brown.htm

Posted by: wv on March 8, 2007 09:57 PM

Comment

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

A dark underbelly of mass graves and electoral fraud

Congress is questioning a Latin American policy that has left George Bush with a best friend who is a major embarrassment

Isabel Hilton
Thursday March 8, 2007
The Guardian

There is little to cheer a US president on a visit to Latin America these days. Where it once enforced its will on the region the US now looks increasingly out of touch. The presidents of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile were not elected as friends of the US, and China has quietly filled the economic gap left by seven years of US distraction and neglect.

Article continues

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2028781,00.html

Posted by: wv on March 8, 2007 10:10 PM

SPONSOR A WOMAN OF WAR AND CHANGE A LIFE

http://www.womenforwomen.org/

Posted by: Pat C on March 9, 2007 01:12 AM

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/08/1443232
COL. JANIS KARPINSKI: Because the women, in fear of getting up in the hours of darkness to go out to the portoilets or the latrines, were not drinking liquids after 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. And in 120-degree heat or warmer, because there was no air conditioning at most of the facilities, they were dying from dehydration in their sleep. And rather than make everybody aware of that, because that’s shocking -- and as a leader, if that’s not shocking to you, then you’re not much of a leader -- so what they told the surgeon to do was, “Don’t brief those details anymore. And don’t say specifically that they’re women. You can provide that in a written report, but don’t brief it in the open anymore.”

MARJORIE COHN: Was there a commander who saw dehydration listed as a cause of death of a woman, a woman female US soldier, and after that he said "Do not list dehydration as a cause of death anymore”?

COL. JANIS KARPINSKI: Yes.

MARJORIE COHN: Who was that?

COL. JANIS KARPINSKI: General Sanchez.

MARJORIE COHN: General Sanchez. Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Colonel, formerly Brigadier General, Janis Karpinski being questioned by the law professor Marjorie Cohn. The general she’s referring to is Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, who served as the commander of the coalition forces in Iraq. Professor Benedict, you write about what Janis Karpinski, what the former Brigadier General demoted after the Abu Ghraib scandal, had to say.
QOP

Posted by: on March 9, 2007 03:20 AM

This is really interesting.

http://www.daykeeperjournal.com/alex2.shtml

Fire that starting pistol, the race for the White House in 2008 has begun! We may be almost a year from the first caucuses and primaries, but voter discontent with the current administration (according to a recent Newsweek poll, 58% of Americans just want the Bush presidency to be over) and an accelerated primary season with heavy-hitters Florida, California, Michigan, North Carolina and New Jersey preparing to move up to “Super Tuesday” in early February, has the candidates scrambling for position.

And do we have candidates! By some counts, as many as 26 contenders from both sides of the aisle have announced their candidacy or are expected to do so shortly. In such a crowded field, can we weed out potential winners from the also-rans?

With Exploratory Committee data, we just might be able to.

Exploratory Committees are the warning shot across the bow which says that a candidate is preparing to officially announce his or her honorable intentions toward the nation. Exploratory Committees have a looser structure than Election Committees; their purpose is simply to determine a potential candidate’s viability, and they are not governed by the same campaign finance laws that kick in once the candidate has officially thrown his hat in the ring.

Exploratory Committees are a kind of legal shell game, allowing candidates who are spending more than $5000 to perform certain political activities, such as polling, travel and making phone calls, without fully disclosing their financial sources and backers, nor the amounts they contribute. This period of testing the waters also allows a candidate to bow out gracefully if the numbers seem to be against him, and his candidacy isn’t getting any traction.

From an astrological point of view, the candidate’s announcement of the formation of an Exploratory Committee can be considered the official “birth” of his or her candidacy, and thus creates a celestial snapshot of the candidate’s aspirations and chances of success.

More....

Posted by: Pat C on March 9, 2007 04:20 AM

My kitty passed away on Tuesday. The eclipse was at 13-14 Pisces, wasn't it? She became very ill on Sunday, wouldn't eat on Monday, went to the Vet on Tuesday, and died Wednesday. Check out my website-and I need 10 Chart (full interpretation) for $50 to cover other expenses during this time. Didn't think of being so commercial yet, but money is an issue right now....

Posted by: Carol on March 9, 2007 07:23 AM

ACTION NEEDED............
I've never even heard of these "Senators"? are they mislabled Reps.?
Impeach Bush! - Filed under: Impeachment Progress News, IfP Progress — Jodin Morey @ 4:07 pm

The following just happened after NM Senators had successfully got the impeachment resolution through the three Senate committes designed to kill the measure. Democracy for NM-… SJR 5, New Mexico's impeachment resolution, was killed when it failed to get the votes necessary to move to the Senate Floor for debate … I did hear that [9] Democratic Senators voted against debating the measure, including Senator Phil Griego from San Jose, NM … [Phil A. Griego, (505) 986-4861 senatorgriego@yahoo.com] … [Senators Altamirano, Pete Campos, Carlos Cisneros, Tim Jennings, John Pinto, John Arthur Smith, James Taylor and David Ulibarri.] I hope they hear from plenty of their constituents. If Democrats won't even allow something this timely and critical to our nation's future to be DEBATED, why do they call themselves Democrats?

http://impeachforpeace.org/impeach_bush_blog/?p=506

A list of their phone numbers at the link!

QOP

Posted by: on March 9, 2007 11:55 AM

QOP, I suspect they are Senators in the NM state senate.

Posted by: on March 9, 2007 02:12 PM

QOP, I suspect they are Senators in the New Mexico state senate.

Posted by: on March 9, 2007 02:12 PM

I'm sure you're right Joanna, do you think that no matter when the earth's crust disappeared it would be constant steam in that area? I just don't know enough about the ocean's floor and what makes it up to the top where we can see. I do know earthquakes happen on the floor and never make it to the top. My only question is "when" did thousands of miles of earth's crust disappear and has it always been like that and what would the ramifications be for that kind of loss?

Posted by: Sally on March 9, 2007 02:56 PM

MARCH 2007
GALACTIC PROFILE

John McCain

by Alex Miller-Mignone

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is arguably the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. With more than 20 years’ experience in the US Senate, a prior presidential bid in 2000, and established links with the GOP hierarchy, McCain should be difficult to defeat in the primaries. But the Senator, despite his backstory as an honored Vietnam veteran and POW, and a reputation for being honest and straightforward, is also prickly and contentious, and his unwavering support for the Iraq War has weakened his image in the eyes of many voters, even in the GOP.

http://www.daykeeperjournal.com/alex.shtml

Posted by: wv on March 9, 2007 04:19 PM

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/03/09/fbi/index.html

Glenn Greenwald:

The FBI's lawbreaking is tied directly to President Bush

That the FBI is abusing its NSL power is entirely unsurprising (more on that below), but the real story here -- and it is quite significant -- has not even been mentioned by any of these news reports. The only person (that I've seen) to have noted the most significant aspect of these revelations is Silent Patriot at Crooks & Liars, who very astutely recalls that the NSL reporting requirements imposed by Congress were precisely the provisions which President Bush expressly proclaimed he could ignore when he issued a "signing statement" as part of the enactment of the Patriot Act's renewal into law. Put another way, the law which the FBI has now been found to be violating is the very law which George Bush publicly declared he has the power to ignore.

snip

When a country is ruled by an individual who repeatedly and openly arrogates unto himself the power to violate the law, and specifically proclaims that he is under no obligation to account to Congress or anyone else concerning the exercise of radical new surveillance powers such as NSLs, it should come as absolutely no surprise that agencies under his control freely break the law. The culture of lawlessness which the President has deliberately and continuously embraced virtually ensures, by design, that any Congressional limits on the use of executive power will be violated.

Posted by: Pat C on March 9, 2007 04:37 PM

Priests to Purify Site After Bush Visit

By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA
The Associated Press
Friday, March 9, 2007; 12:20 AM

GUATEMALA CITY -- Mayan priests will purify a sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday.

"That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture," Juan Tiney, the director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan religious and political leaders, said Thursday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030900076.html

Posted by: wv on March 9, 2007 04:42 PM

"Mr. Humpheries" is dead....

Obituary

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

John Inman

Comic actor whose camp character entertained millions but enraged the gay community.

Dennis Barker
Friday March 9, 2007
The Guardian

The actor John Inman, who has died aged 71 after a long illness, endeared himself to millions as the outrageously camp menswear shop assistant in the 1970s BBC television series Are You Being Served. But the role had a less welcome side; it subjected the actor to unsought controversy and protests from militant gay men who thought the character's limp-wristed gestures and mincing walk ridiculed homosexuals.
Inman's Mr Humphries was, against stiff competition, one of the most arresting characters on the staff of Grace Brothers department store, created by the formidable comedy writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft (Croft himself had once worked in a department store). The show was first tried as a pilot in the BBC Comedy Playhouse slot in 1972. It ran at peak time for 12 years from 1973 to 1985 - a total of 69 episodes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2029603,00.html

Posted by: wv on March 9, 2007 05:28 PM

Whooo-hoo, Cap'n Sally! A big one's coming!:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x377023

And you said so, too.

Posted by: shylurker on March 9, 2007 05:59 PM

Fiore takes on Walter Reed...

http://www.sfgate.com/comics/fiore/

Posted by: wv on March 9, 2007 06:10 PM

"Just take two congressional hearings and call me in the morning."

Posted by: Pat C on March 9, 2007 06:37 PM

Spying Room

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/48972/

Posted by: Pat C on March 9, 2007 07:22 PM

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/009974.php

FBI Illegally Using Patriot Act Against American Citizens

Posted by: Pat C on March 9, 2007 07:46 PM

Go get 'em, J.C.:
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002723.php

Posted by: shylurker on March 9, 2007 08:57 PM

This guy probably thinks the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it!

Zell Miller: Abortion has shrunk our military, hurt social security, caused illegal immigration Michael Roston
Published: Friday March 9, 2007

Zell Miller, the former Democratic Senator from Georgia who backed President George W. Bush in 2004 and spoke at the Republican National Convention, recently told an anti-abortion gathering that the "killing" of unborn babies was the cause of many of America's woes, including its military, social security, and immigration problems.

"How could this great land of plenty produce too few people in the last 30 years?" Miller asked. "Here is the brutal truth that no one dares to mention: We’re too few because too many of our babies have been killed."

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Zell_Miller_Abortion_has_shrunk_our_0309.html

Posted by: Shadowhawk on March 9, 2007 10:23 PM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-jane-harman/a-course-correction-on-i_b_43051.html

A Course Correction on Habeas Corpus - Jane Harmon

snip

As a result, the United States has paid a steep price in eroded moral authority. We have never been as unpopular in the world as we are now. We have flouted the very legal protections we have sought to export to the rest of the world. We have undermined international human rights standards that we helped create, and which we have used to press other nations to protect the rights of their citizens.

Yesterday, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and I introduced two bills to correct the worst excesses of the Military Commissions Act and restore our international standing.

The "Habeas Corpus Restoration Act" would reinstate the right of habeas corpus for terrorism detainees so they can challenge their detention before an impartial judge. The second bill, the "Restoring the Constitution Act," affirms the applicability of the Geneva Conventions, prohibits the use of coerced testimony, and gives the trial judge more discretion to ensure a fair trial.

These are not partisan issues. At yesterday's press conference, Republican Sen. Arlen Specter described a discussion with Sen. Lindsey Graham over whether habeas corpus is a constitutional right. Specter pointed out that the Constitution says "the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion." Graham could not claim that either condition is present. (Too bad that Specter voted for the Military Commissions Act.)

Congress should never have passed the Military Commissions Act and the President should never have signed it into law-and it's a sad commentary on this institution that we must now try to pass new legislation to fix such a flawed statute. But fix it we must, and our bills are, we hope, the beginning of a badly needed course correction.

Posted by: Pat C on March 9, 2007 10:32 PM

Oooooooh, I do love this stuff. Out of this world. And how!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=228x28251

Posted by: shylurker on March 10, 2007 03:38 AM

Carol, I'm sorry about the loss of your kitty - pets are such dear,precious creatures - I have 4 dogs living with me - and a cat. It really hurts to lose one. Whath is your website address again?

Posted by: Sharon on March 10, 2007 04:16 AM

Be interesting to be there if I were close enough to attend. But since I'm not, here's the infoto attend if you're of a mind to.

Calling all “V”s to Washington
March 30th at 3 PM
Stand In Support Of Our Petitions for Redress

Full “V” Costumes Available for $55 !

Over the past two months, We The People Foundation has circulated two new Petitions for Redress of Grievances, one pertaining to the government’s failure to stop illegal immigration and one regarding the impending, and unconstitutional, “North American Union.”

Many of you have signed these Petitions online and forwarded news about them to friends, family and associates.
These new Petitioners have now joined the untold thousands of Americans that have already signed our previous Petitions regarding constitutional violations arising from the Iraq War Resolution, the Patriot Act, the Federal Reserve System and the Income Tax.

On (or about) March 15 these new Petitions for Redress, along with our previous Petitions, will be formally served upon every member of Congress, the President and other officials of the U.S. Government.

Each package will contain a transmittal letter, the Petitions for Redress of Grievance (along with their respective constituent signatures) and an informational CD-ROM containing copies of the legal pleadings from the landmark Right-to-Petition lawsuit, Law Review articles establishing the nature of the Right to Petition and other supporting materials. The lawsuit appeal is currently awaiting the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington.

The constituent transmittal letter respectfully demands that the elected and appointed officials formally respond to the Petitions in writing or meet with representatives of the People across from the White House at Lafayette Park at 3 PM on Friday, March 30th.

more

http://www.wethepeoplefoundation.org/UPDATE/Update2007-03-08.htm

Posted by: Shadowhawk on March 10, 2007 05:28 AM

Sharon, my website is http://www.aquariusmoon.info. I'm proud of my little work in progress, and that I actually got a top-level address, too...considering all of the millions of people looking for one.

Thank you for your kind words regarding my loss...It has been harder than I thought it would be to lose her and come home to an empty house. I still haven't cleaned out her kitty litter yet, or her carrier.

I got my first order tonight, which gave me an incentive to open up a business Paypal account for the first time. It will be hard concentrating on chart interpretation, but I will try, like I will try to clean up after my kitty, and finish my site, and somehow find sleep enough to take care of Daylight Savings Time.

Posted by: Carol on March 10, 2007 07:22 AM

shylurker-thank you for that link to the democraticundergrund.com article on who owns what and what that money is doing!
I had decided not to visit democraticunderground.com after the number they did on Kristi and me but am so grateful for the link and the heads up. I am praying that some journalist will start investigating this as Dana Priest and her partner did with Walter Reed. We need our media now more than ever and the extreme rightwing continues to buy up newspapers and radio stations.

Posted by: clymela on March 10, 2007 03:40 PM

It's over at dailykos now, clymela:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/10/21556/5045

Posted by: shylurker on March 10, 2007 05:41 PM

Does anyone here have knowledge about this?

http://www.freedomfest.com/ag07/freedomfest.htm

Welcome to FreedomFest 2007, the most exciting Festival yet, set for July 4-7, 2007 in Las Vegas - that's 7-7-7!

Independent and Non-Partisan

FreedomFest is an annual festival where "free minds meet" to celebrate "great books, great ideas, and great thinkers" in a liberal, open-minded society. It is independent, non-partisan, and not affiliated with any organization or think tank.

Founded and produced by Mark Skousen since 2002, FreedomFest invites the "best and the brightest" from around the world to talk, strategize, socialize, and celebrate liberty. FreedomFest is open to all and is purely egalitarian, where speakers, attendees, and exhibitors are treated as equals.

Posted by: Timmy J on March 10, 2007 06:56 PM

Carol, Your website is so interesting.

Would you please contact me at sharonkatz.realtor@cox.net?

Timmy J,would you please also contact me?

Posted by: Sharon on March 10, 2007 07:25 PM

I did a clusty search (I don't use google anymore since they started doing weird things), Timmy J., and came up with several hits for FreedomFest 2007. You might want to try it yourself. At any rate, here is one site to which I was directed. As you can see, that Dinesh D'Souza guy is one of their featured speakers(yuck!), so . . .. Anyway, be sure to search and evaluate for yourself.
http://www.freedomfest.com/speakers.htm

Posted by: shylurker on March 10, 2007 07:54 PM

Timmy J., I just did a clusty search for "progressive calendar" (without the quotes) and came up with some events around the country. Here's an example:
http://www.austinprogressivecalendar.com/

So, you might try that approach if you're looking for something of interest happening near where you live.

Posted by: shylurker on March 10, 2007 08:31 PM

Timmy, if you check out the FreedomFest roster of speakers, I think that will give you a better idea of what's on offer. At best, it appears you might hear the right wing corporate agenda glorified beyond all belief.

As a keynote speaker, Laffer (the economist) is, if memory serves, the proponent of the "Laffer Curve" which has been pretty much discounted as having any real world application. The speakers list appears to be pretty strong on non-alternative approaches. Overall, it's pretty weighted toward finance and the conservative agenda. And deSouza, from Stanford's Hoover Institute,, is not someone I'd consider even mildly progressive.

Of course, if you're looking for a hot weekend in Vegas and a chance to see folks like FauxNoise giving them lots of coverage, this would be a great opportunity.

Posted by: Baraka on March 10, 2007 10:18 PM

Hey thanks guys for the info, I appreciate your experience. Also thanks for something I hadn't heard of---clusty.

Posted by: Timmy J on March 11, 2007 01:00 AM

Would liberal, free thinkers, progressives really choose Vegas as a gathering place?
Don't mean to offend anyone but intuitively, San Francisco or NY seem so much more compatable.
QOP

Posted by: on March 11, 2007 01:24 AM

Go,Gonzo, Go. Away, I mean! And the NYT agrees! Yaaaaaaaaaaay!
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/012958.php

Posted by: shylurker on March 11, 2007 04:28 AM

Actually, the first Yearly Kos was held in Los Vegas, and an atheist convention, I recall reading, is also held in Vegas. Besides the fact that loads of people enjoy Vegas glitz, Los Vegas has several advantages for progressives. Los Vegas has a vanishing small number of the fundy types, so a progressive get-together has little hassle. Los Vegas is non-judgemental, so all sorts of alternative events can go on without a hitch. Not to mention, there's little competition from major sports events typing up facilities and hotel rooms. Also Los Vegas is a union town with a lot of people who are working class despite the coat of glitter, and don't necessarily side with reactionaries.

Los Vegas also often has access to discount deals and fares, which can make it cheaper than some larger towns to get to and stay.

Posted by: Carol on March 11, 2007 05:39 AM

You should all read this warning.
http://www.leap2020.eu/Surprised-by-the-collapse-of-global-stocks-Welcome-to-the-phase-of-impact-of-the-global-systemic-crisis!_a478.html

Surprised by the collapse of global stocks? Welcome to the phase of impact of the global systemic crisis!

http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-12-is-available!-Global-systemic-crisis-April-2007-Inflexion-point-of-the-phase-of-impact-US-economy-enters_a448.html

Global systemic crisis - April 2007: Inflexion point of the phase of impact / US economy enters recession

Posted by: on March 11, 2007 12:52 PM

Well Carol, that sums up my feelings about Kos very well. ( In spite of their really great reporting)I havn't gotten over being offended by their dialogue, trashing the votenowar rally in DC a few years ago because of the young Inigos,(pluto in scorpio ) protestors in their knit caps dreadlocks & duct taped converse sneakers, as well as their focus on some niche issues; completely missing the point that they were willing to go to DC and march in protest of the war.
You make good points in favor of VEGAS, but it is a fire /air place....I am water/earth.( at least Atlantic City has an ocean!) If I won a free trip to Vegas I would sell it or give it away! WILD HORSES COULDN'T GET ME ONTO A PLANE RIE THAT LONG, now that I know the maintainance for the airlines has been OUTSOURCED too! Shoes made in China are horrible, don't fit, aren't skid proof....but I doen't depend on them to keep me up in the air!
QOP

Posted by: on March 11, 2007 04:01 PM

The depredations to our society are right under our noses, doen't have to look to DC orthe M E, or South Americato find them. Did you know that your Fed Ex driver isn't an employed, salaried, person? Mine who delivered my new printer, Fri. is a free lancer. She earned $1.80 on my delivery! She was required to PURCHASE HER OWN TRUCK, PAY FOR ALL REPAIRS.........and averages about 80 deliveries a day. The company gives her $160. per week for gas!
I didn't think to sask about health benefits; but I bet they are her responsibility too) Actually that's better than working for Walmart! Maybe I'll buy a truck!

The deciduous trees are turning rusty pink......very early for up here in spite of the fierce cold here the past 2 weeks!
Happy DST all.
QOP

Posted by: on March 11, 2007 04:13 PM

Alarming find Anon. If this plays out we are in deep Sh**.

In April 2007, nine practical consequences of the unfolding crisis will converge:

1. Acceleration of the pace and size of bankruptcies among US financial organisations: from one per week today to one per day in April
2. Spectacular rise of US home foreclosures: 10 million Americans out on the street
3. Accelerating collapse of housing prices in the US: - 25%
4. Entry into recession of the US economy in April 2007
5. Precipitous rate cut by the US Federal Reserve
6. Growing importance of China-USA trade conflicts
7. China's shift out of US dollars / Yen carry trade reversal
8. Sudden drop of US dollar value against Euro, Yuan and Yen
9. Tumble of Sterling Pound

Posted by: Cybear on March 11, 2007 04:13 PM

I have never been to Las Vegas, and I'm not interested in ever going, but I've always thought of it as an 'honest' town in that it doesn't pretend to be anything but the dazzling superficial glitzy playground it is. There is no pretention to culture, art, history or morality. It brazenly takes your money up front and gives you free drinks to ease the pain, all with your implicit permission.

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 11, 2007 04:20 PM

I'm just teasing, QOP, but did you know there are wild horses outside Vegas? Magnificent animals,too!

Posted by: shylurker on March 11, 2007 04:52 PM

And Luna, there actually is some pretension. There's a Los Vegas Symphony, and recently there's been art upgrades. But the general thrust is just that: have fun, have money, and we don't care too much how you have either.

So they don't fuss too much about your politics, unlike more "respectable" towns. Plus the local environs are Democratic (the Mayor is Dem), filled with people who've migrated for jobs and freedom, or both.

Shoes...my mother worked in a shoe factory, first making them, and later cataloging them. It was a good-paying job that helped raise us all without Dad. It wasn't the quality that led to outsourcing, I can assure you. Every pair she got for us was well-made and wore out instead of fell apart. I think about that every time I go to Payless these days-what I wouldn't give to get the kind of shoes my mother's factory made these days.

But it was union-albeit weak. And American workers had rights that had to be respected. So they went over to China, India, et al, where dictators made sure a real union movement never got off the ground. Wages are probably a quarter of what my mother used to make-and with longer hours and no right to protest, let alone strike.

And now America is vulnerable in more ways than they care to admit. Even the slightest disruption leads to no supply because we don't even have a domestic backup capacity. And it's no accident that things went sour in the cities when the jobs went away. The jobs that my mother's generation relied upon to lift themselves up out of poverty don't exist anymore, the sort of jobs where you didn't need a master's degree to buy a house. Or even move out. I spent the eighties looking for that kind of job, and never really found it. It took Government work to get a living wage. And if they would offshore that, they would.

Posted by: Carol on March 11, 2007 05:04 PM

Also, did you know that 2000, Nevada was a swing state? It came within 4 points of a Gore win. Gore made a late campaign stop in Los Vegas towards the end of his campaign. And with the explosive growth of Los Vegas and its suburban environs, growth not only of tourist workers, but retirees too, Vegas and Reno are beginning to slowly overtake the less populated part of the state. Much like Northern Virginia is slowly creeping downstate and becoming a decisive factor in State elections.

When you think about it, should we be surpised? The kind of person that would work in Vegas and environs isn't likely to be a fundie that worships Bush. Those folks generally stay put and sit in judgement. Vegas would attract show people, folks with shady past(the original illegal gambling people were hired to work and then train folks), folks looking for a fresh start. The newcomers would hardly buy into Republican social conservatism-which is what the Republican party has evolved into recently. A Republican party that hates diversity and free living is hardly going to work in Vegas.

So the growing emphasis is on cities like Vegas, with expanding libertarian and liberal bases.

Posted by: Carol on March 11, 2007 05:27 PM

The fiction is still out there that "a good education gives you a good job." What it does, more & more, is require a fully padded extra layer of very expensive personal costs in time/money in the hopes of that "good job" bullsh*t. Because olies/pluties can get them, it now requires a PhD to get a job that once... say, during the latter 40s & the 50s... required 2 yrs of technical training. It's imo one of the more heartbreaking fictions out there & an extra hard one of which to let go.

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 11, 2007 05:40 PM

So true, Joanna. The best job I have had is the one I have now, with Government work. People work here for 40 years, and hardly ever quit unless they have to.

Pluto in Capricorn features the Returns for both the American and French Revolutions, and Pluto in Aquarius the South American ones. Pluto in Capricorn trines the Independence Plutoes of a whole boatload of Third World Countries, makes inconjunct with the first Independence for the British Empire. The
Third World will likely bid for second world status due to alternative energy, the first post-colonial nations like China and India and Israel are likely to have adjustments forced upon them, and the last nations to become independent like Angola and Zimbabwe are like to suffer their first disruptions.

What does that mean for us Americans? We may be finally forced to see the Third World as a partner or rival, to revisit the revolutionary energy we were founded under. I think it means creative devolution to the states on some things to bypass the national neocons.

Posted by: Carol on March 11, 2007 05:51 PM

Was this why Snarly was in the ME recently? What else are they doing?
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/11/114721/693

Posted by: shylurker on March 11, 2007 08:49 PM

Sunday Funnies

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/10/201447/539

Posted by: Pat C on March 11, 2007 09:04 PM

Woah shy!

Posted by: Pat C on March 11, 2007 09:05 PM

I can't help but think that all these corporations moving their headquarters out of the US are just asking for trouble. Terrorists will be able to attack them much more easily if they aren't in the US. It's one thing to outsource factory work, but to take your headquarters to the Middle East will make them targets, and it'll make all those American corporatist easier to kill through kidnapping, car bombings and suicided bombers. There's a reason terrorists have always (except on 9/11) attacked outside the US. It's just easier. The pompous corporations are just making it easier just so they can chase the all important profit.

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 11, 2007 09:31 PM

Lunaoscura,
Haliburton is likely moving out of the US because they are so busted by Waxman, gotta get those assets in a safe place. Walter Reed is just one of their failing subsidiaries...oops.

Posted by: Morgana on March 11, 2007 09:49 PM

http://hnn.us/articles/35958.html

Is Israel Falling Apart?

Posted by: Pat C on March 11, 2007 11:48 PM

And don't overlook the likelihood, Morgana, that they are taking lots of documentation and US taxpayers' dollars with them, too.

Posted by: shylurker on March 12, 2007 01:26 AM

I wonder if we have been playing chicken with China? Now that they are shutting-out the dollar, do we now bomb Iran? Trying to connect the dots! Geez---Scary Dots!

Posted by: Timmy J on March 12, 2007 01:37 AM

Waxman is scheduling hearings on the Halliburton Dubai move:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/11/waxman-plans-hearings-on-halliburton-move

It is scary, Timmy. You're not alone.

Posted by: shylurker on March 12, 2007 02:55 AM

I am sure the least of Halliburton's worries are about being attacked by terrorists. It's more about protecting their assets etc. like Morgana says. The best legal advice in this country is available to them, so I'm sure they would not be making this move if it were not going to benefit them.

Joanna, higher education is now big business in America, so Universities make big bucks, and they work hand in hand with the corporations who hire the college grads; and there is a big pool to choose from, because everybody is sold on getting a college education. Of course all the degrees in the world cannot substitute for on the job training and experience, but I guess companies feel obligated to hire them because they know how much they pay to get those degrees. And too, the standard of education in most high schools these days is so low, that a college degree is all but necessary.

Posted by: Crystal on March 12, 2007 03:15 AM

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/11/schumer-gonzales/

Sen. Schumer Calls For Alberto Gonzales To Resign
Today on CBS’s Face the Nation, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign. Schumer said Gonzales has “been even more political than his predecessor, Attorney General Ashcroft,” and that Gonzales “either doesn’t accept or doesn’t understand that he is no longer just the president’s lawyer, but has a higher obligation to the rule of law and the Constitution, even when the president should not want it to be so.”

“For the sake of the nation,” Schumer said, “Attorney General Gonzales should step down.” Watch the video.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/opinion/11sun1.html?hp

– Gonzales “repeatedly defended Mr. Bush’s decision to authorize warrantless eavesdropping on Americans’ international calls and e-mail.”

– Gonzalez “was an eager public champion of the absurd notion that as commander in chief during a time of war, Mr. Bush can ignore laws that he thinks get in his way.”

– Gonzales “was disdainful of any attempt by Congress to examine the spying program, let alone control it.”

– Gonzales “helped formulate and later defended the policies that repudiated the Geneva Conventions in the war against terror, and that sanctioned the use of kidnapping, secret detentions, abuse and torture.”

– Gonzales “has been central to the administration’s assault on the courts, which he recently said had no right to judge national security policies, and on the constitutional separation of powers.”

– Under Gonzales, the Justice Department “has abandoned its duties as guardian of election integrity and voting rights. It approved a Georgia photo-ID law that a federal judge later likened to a poll tax, a case in which Mr. Gonzales’s political team overrode the objections of the department’s professional staff.”

– Under Gonzales, the Justice Department “has been shamefully indifferent to complaints of voter suppression aimed at minority voters. But it has managed to find the time to sue a group of black political leaders in Mississippi for discriminating against white voters.”

Posted by: Pat C on March 12, 2007 03:16 AM

International Women's Day has come and gone, and it's left me with a question. Is there any indication astrologically that women can break free of that part of Sharia law (or at least the interpretation of it) that relegates them to the lowliest status? Thnx Cap'n Sally, Morgana, or whoever will kindly respond.

Posted by: shylurker on March 12, 2007 04:31 AM

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/23369.html

This is from a website called “The Conservative Voice” and describes itself a “dedicated to Faith, Family, Freedom.”

Should President Bush Be Impeached?

There have been calls for the impeachment of President Bush from certain left-wing groups for years. For the most part, those calls have been correctly ignored.

snip

When considering impeachment, the American people, and their representatives in Congress, must answer one question: Does the conduct, or misconduct, of a sitting president meet constitutional criteria? Specifically, is President Bush guilty of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors? The guilty verdict of Vice President Dick Cheney’s Chief of Staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby begs for answers to that question.

snip

At issue is whether President Bush and Vice President Cheney deliberately manipulated evidence regarding Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and whether they deliberately lied to and deceived the American people and Congress in order to invade Iraq.

snip

The American people and history may forgive a leader for an erroneous decision predicated upon bad intelligence. However, neither the American people nor history will forgive a leader for deliberately manipulating evidence and lying to Congress in order to satisfy a personal bloodlust.

Therefore, Congress should immediately commission an independent counsel to investigate whether President Bush and Vice President Cheney did indeed manipulate evidence and deliberately lie to the American people. If that investigation proves that President Bush acted in good faith and with no ulterior motives, his decision to invade Iraq will go down in history as a colossal lapse in judgment. If, on the other hand, the investigation proves that he manipulated evidence and lied to the American people, his actions most definitely rise to the constitutional standard for impeachment. We need a thorough investigation to find the truth.

more...

Posted by: Pat C on March 12, 2007 04:49 AM

Does anyone here know of a planetary aspect cycle with 8.6 yr increments or 1/4 of that, 2.15 yr increments?.....I'm starting to look at Martin Armstrong's business cycles based on pi (3141 days)= 8.6 years. He called the 98 crash and the 07 crash TO THE DAY.....

Posted by: Timmy J on March 12, 2007 05:01 AM

Clymela do you really believe your 3:15 am post?!?!?! Of course everyone is sold on getting a college education. It's imperative! (Yes, i've heard of the hi school drop out zillionaire, but she's the exception). A college education will ALWAYS be needed to get a good job. Nowadays, you almost really need a grad degree, because as you say most people have bought into the idea that education counts, as well they should. It's a fact of life; education does count. Corps "feel" no obligation to give grads jobs because they spend so much money!! Wouldnt that be cool if they did?!? Corps dont have emotional responses! They give them jobs because of their academic records, knowing full well that they will train them in the specifics once they have been hired. Take for example, law school grads. In most cases they dont know the first thing about traversing the court scene, but they are NOT supposed to learn that in law school. Law Schools have only one purpose: to teach the students to think in a legally logical manner and to be analytical. Law firms WANT to train their new hires "their way." Same is true for biz majors. They learn theory and analysis in college. Corps EXPECT to train them from the bottom up. Not because these grads are deficient, but because that is how corps are structured and that is how higher education is structured. School is for theory; jobs are for putting that theory to use - - the way the boss man wants it. I would never put down higher education. Education is its own reward; the enlightenment, the exchange of ideas, the enrichment, the insight, the refinement of thought processes, etc. are invaluable in one's own development, while at the same time, understandably, being highly esteemed by employers. The tragedy is that so many students these days cant afford the ever spiraling costs of a higher education with student loans and grants getting harder to come by. And also, kids dont always have family encouragement or family circumstances that would set them in that direction. Thankfully the dems are trying to help with the financial barriers; they are in favor of lowering interest rates on student loans, expanding pell grants and making college tuition tax deductible.

Posted by: on March 12, 2007 05:13 AM

30-day Countdown to War. We are almost certainly in the last days of a countdown to nuclear war. Israel has made plans to attack Iran in a war of aggression, which will probably begin with some staged attack such as the attack on the Liberty in 1967.

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/moriarty/comment/20070311.html

Posted by: on March 12, 2007 09:33 AM

Anonymous,
I'm backing up what "Crystal" wrote at 3:15. re: formal education.
To be sure; if you are gong for a job in the technical, or scientific fields, you DO need that education/ degree.
But the need for a college degree is also a manufactured need....like the NEED to invade Iraq!
WWII deprived a lot of people of their college educations, here & in Europe. To be sure the returning GI's were able to go to school on the GI bill, but the older ones missed out on that ( and there was no GI bill in Europe) Public education was of High quality! I got the equivalent of a college ed. in high school and was priviledged to witness the same in Germany in the summer of '55.
My Grandfather was a self made man and his mail order wall paper company was the 3rd. best selling business in the country after Sears & Montgomery Ward, during the depression. My Uncle was a self made man, who traded his way up to state senator, MVA, holder of insurance on the Del Mem. Bridge
with out going to college. On the other hand my FATHER, graduated from U of Pa. Wharton School of Business. Bless his heart he was a wonderful man but, didn't have a head for business! ( If he had gone into singing instead of the family business, he would have been the first of the 4 tenors, he had a beautiful voice......) My Grandfather's ( & Uncle's ) business acumen jumped a generation, to me! I test high on the CEO qualities as well as the creative ones.
I went to college at age 57 for my Jr. year, really to learn computer technology. ( I could get college pell grants & loans/ couldn't get a $10,000. loan for my own computer equipment so I could teach myself!) In spite of my successful 34 years on the job experience, I was accepted for my tuition. ( hindsight is 20 20 ) not my accomplishments! Toward the end of the school year I was one of 12 chosen, NATIONALLY to attend a Graphic Design intensive through the National Park Service, in Bar Harbor, ME. I couldn't afford the fee and the college refused to back me up & provide a scholarship! My classmates ( gen-x -er's) were nothing to write home about artistically , but they knew how to work the system, vis a vi good grades & Dean's list!
Meanwhile back in the day; my husband & I had with the help of our weekend employees......( the professor who creatged the FRESHMAN FOUNDATION program at a prominent Art University, A MAN WHO WAS CHOSEN PROFESSOR OF THE YEAR there, and a woman who was the exect. sect. to the President of another prominent respected Art college worked on our mural painting crew on weekends to earn extra money! Together, based on Ed's and my tour of classic murals int Italy, South of France and Southern Germany, with this crew we worked out an efficient consistant, method for painting murals, and earning a profit on it.
I feel a book coming on!
I also have no respect for this NEW RULE for a new american century, that you have to have letters after your name to be worthy! Just listen to all those TV Journalists! The've the letters but not the education!
Book learning has gone the way of "quaint old europe"! Did Abraham Lincoln have a college degree?
BTW the technology I paid $14,000. for is totally obsolete now! ( anothe black mark against BillGates!) and I still owe $8,000.!
QOP

Posted by: on March 12, 2007 02:04 PM

To sum that up ( above / education) we need not only nore Pell grants but AN ATTITUDE SHIFT!
QOP

Posted by: on March 12, 2007 02:12 PM

After completing an apprenticeship to a confectioner in 1876, Milton Snavely Hershey founded a candy shop in Philadelphia, which failed six years later.[9] After trying unsuccessfully to manufacture candy in New York, Hershey returned to Pennsylvania, where he founded the Lancaster Caramel Company, whose use of fresh milk in caramels proved successful.[10] In 1900, Hershey sold his caramel company for $1,000,000[11] (about US$24,000,000 in today's currency) and began to concentrate on chocolate manufacturing.[12]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hershey's
Henry John Heinz was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 11, 1844. He began his business career by grating horseradish roots in his basement and selling it in glass jars door-to-door, along with surplus vegetables from the family's garden. In a day when most foods were sold in dark jars in order to hide their many impurities, Heinz made a very pure product. To show this and inspire trust in his product, he used clear glass jars, one of the first of his many improvements to the food industry. His first factory was opened in Sharpsburg in 1869 with a friend, L. Clarence Noble, and named it Heinz and Noble. It went bankrupt in 1875, due to a surplus of crops that year.

Heinz recovered from the bankruptcy in 1876 by raising capital and enlisting his brother and cousin in a firm named F&J Heinz. Although he ran the company, the bankruptcy made it illegal for him to own it.
You get my drift!
QOP

Posted by: on March 12, 2007 02:22 PM

Halliburton is very successful today but that doesn't mean it isn't unknowingly putting itself in danger. Of course it's their interests and their asses they're covering by moving to Duvai. My post was about what may happen while they think they're getting away with their crimes. Just like their ex-CEO, Dick Cheney, they may have a good head for how to fleece, steal and strong-arm governments into doing business with them, but also like Dick Cheney, they believe everyone will be so grateful that they'll throw flowers at them. The big decisions, like moving the headquarters to the area in the world where all hell has broken loose, partly because of that company's policies and practices is made by people like Cheney who have very limited understanding of their victims. And I still think that terrorits will welcome them simply because they'll be easier to attack. Like the spider sitting at the center of the web, they can wait quietly while Halliburton ignorantly settles on part of their web.

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 12, 2007 03:33 PM

Dear anonymous, it was Crystal who posted at 3:15 AM,
I do in part agree with her although I do not have the talent nor treasure to turn my back on the college degree but I do agree with both Crystal and QOP.
I remember one afternoon sitting in a college class while we went over the levels and order of "prehistoric man" and being almost knocked out of my chair with the realization that everything I was reading and memorizing was a story made up by the good professors who wrote the books-we have no idea what was going on with these "people" whose bones and trinkets we have dug up.
I have noticed that the requirements for jobs in my field are yearly demanding more degrees. The demands of government social work have not increased but the number of young people with postgraduate degrees has. And frankly all the blah-de-blah talk about education being its own reward is just another way the bourgeois types talk to exclude those who don't have the cost of admission. I am self-educated but my partner is getting his degree(s) because there is still time for him to offer his talents as a teacher. He will owe a lot of money for the opportunity to make about $40,000 a year. HUMHH? And this when they can't find enough talented teachers.

Posted by: clymela on March 12, 2007 04:16 PM

QOP, your feelings about education are, of course, colored by your experience. I am not talking about specific individual experiences, but about education in general. Like it or not it is the international currency. And we better be able to compete. Instead of dissing it, we need to support it and help our kids find the mind set and the $$ to pursue it. We are no longer in the industrial age; we have moved on to the information age. Doesnt mean there isnt room for entrepreneurship by high school grads; look at Bill Gates for a more current example. But then not everyone is a Bill Gates. That's why we have colleges. The problem is that they are not affordable for many deserving students, as you, unfortunately found out.

Posted by: on March 12, 2007 04:24 PM

Posted by: on March 12, 2007 04:25 PM

It doesn't matter HOW MANY "Information Ages" into which we've moved, we STILL live in a physical world which requires physical world... um, technicians... plumbers, electricians, garbage haulers, house builders, cement layers/smoothers, gardners... I'm not a fan of the equivalent order of "You Lost! Git Over It!" Innovation & creativity isn't in the "do as we say or else!!" crowd, just misery & bloated expenses in time/money & a very low positive kind of self-esteem.

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 12, 2007 05:39 PM

Alright Sally, I'm gonna put my toe in again.

Has anyone noticed the kite formation around the Neptune Saturn opposition? Jupiter falling into the US 1st hse I see as helping us wax philosophical about who we are as a nation. "The unexamined life is not worth living." Venus falls in our 4th hse which I see as helping us redefine homeland values and who/how we want to be as a grand extended family.....I hope someone else will chime-in with more precise info on the kite as regards the Sat Nep Opposition. I'm wayyy still a student; and though I've sent my boxtops in, I've yet to receive my decoder ring....Peace-out, Timmy J

Posted by: Timmy J on March 12, 2007 07:23 PM

KBR's $400 Million Iraq Question

... It's a scandal that has been brewing for more than two years, kept alive largely through the efforts of Representative Henry Waxman. The California Democrat has been on a warpath against Halliburton and KBR almost since the Bush Administration took power in 2000.

In the bigger picture, $400 million is a drop in the bucket to KBR-- [Halliburton] the company has raked in more than $17 billion from Iraq-related work since 2003. But what remains unanswered is why alarm bells weren't sounded about tens of thousands of civilians running around Iraq, servicing the military, apparently without protection? And why, if KBR was supposed to be provided with security, did it not request it, since it would have avoided having to pay private companies? Did KBR and an overstretched Army essentially collude in a "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding security in Iraq?

KBR and the Army are apparently still negotiating whether the company will be stripped of the $400 million it is estimated that its subcontractors spent on private security.

KBR says the Army has informed the company it will dock KBR "unless [KBR] can provide timely information sufficient to show that such action is not necessary to protect the government's interest. We are working with the Army to provide the additional information they have requested."

It took nearly two years for the Army and KBR to provide Waxman with details of the contract that resulted in it being docked $20 million for using Blackwater's security services.

KBR has sixty days before the Army begins suspending payments. It will be interesting to see if its ability to answer questions drastically improves. That is the $400 million question.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070326/scahill_ordower

Moving to Dubai has suddenly become attractive.. Halliburton is also facing lawsuits on New Orleans non-competitive contracts.

Posted by: Pat C on March 12, 2007 07:49 PM

As Resistance to Stryker Shipment Grows, Police Turn Violent on Peaceful Protesters

Following an afternoon rally at the Federal Courthouse in Tacoma on Friday, members of Port Militarization Resistance staged a peaceful demonstration at the Port of
Tacoma, where they were met by Tacoma Police. Later, police turned violent and launched tear gas and rubber bullets at activists as they sat chanting peace slogans.

Tacoma, WA, March 10, 2007 ? Activists opposed to a military shipment bound for Iraq continued their week long campaign with a rally in downtown Tacoma and a demonstration
at the Port of Tacoma. They are protesting the deployment of a Ft. Lewis-based Stryker brigade deploying to Iraq as part of the US escalation of the conflict.

At an afternoon rally at the Federal Courthouse, anti-war activists from throughout Western Washington and Oregon held signs and listened to speakers denounce the US mission in Iraq and call for active resistance to the escalation.

Among those at the Port of Tacoma Friday night was TJ Johnson, an Olympia City councilman who is a part of Olympia Port Militarization Resistance. Johnson, the winner of
the 2006 Dr. Paul Beeson award from Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility and a well-known anti-nuclear activist, told the crowd "We have a moral obligation and a growing sense of urgency to make it clear that we want to keep soldiers safe
at home, and spend our tax dollars to meet humanitarian needs, here and in the Middle East."

Also speaking at the rally was Lynn Stewart, a nationally renowned New York civil rights attorney.

After the rally hundreds of activists from Bellingham, Port Townsend, South Sound and Portland converged on the Port of Tacoma to continue to demonstrate their opposition
to the military shipments. The large crowd vowed to continue the protest, and has issued a broad appeal to opponents of the war to come to Tacoma to join in this public demonstration of dissent from the Bush administration's Iraq policy.

One YouTube link where video of Port of Tacoma actions are being posted is here:

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Acumensch

Two specific clips so far are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hIIuJK_Uh8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfhUaUuG1sM

Posted by: Pat C on March 12, 2007 08:00 PM

Shylurker, you would need to go country by country to determine if women can break away from their sub-standard existance. In this country there have been several aspects indicating women can break free and emerge as leaders. The main problem is the Moon in the US chart makes no aspects so women here have little help from other energies, save those transiting or progressed. the progressed Mercury is retrograde and is pretty close to the US Moon (women) when that goes direct in a few years there will be opportunities. Women need to stand up for themselves and for other women and we don't do a very good job of that. We keep blaming men for our problems but it's not men, men are afraid of women when they stand up and buckle pretty rapidly. I think we are moving more toward a balance of energies between the feminine and masculine, but could be a long way off.

Timmy J. A kite is a very interesting aspect, made up of a composite of three trines (the grand trine) two sextiles and an opposition, it's very dynamic. The outlet to the kite is the planet that sextiles the two points of the grand trine. While there is a grand trine and neptune sextiles two ends (jupiter and venus) Venus is moving too rapidly to give more than a day of success that is promised by the grand trine. In this kite instance it's already passed, although anyone born on the 8th, 9th or 10th of March, this year, has a very promising life if they can rise to the challenges of the Saturn/Neptune opposition.

The next planet to briefly (for a day or two) touch off that Kite will be the Sun, Mars touchs it in a couple of months but unfortunately Jupiter will be retrograding out of orb of the potential of the fire trine (Jupiter/Saturn and whatever planet in at 20 degrees Aries)

That said, Venus in the US progressed chart is at 16 Aries (still too far away but drawing closer) and progressed Mars at 18 Libra, retrograde (a better fit for the kite degrees right now)particularly since US natal Mars at 21 Gemini, trine transiting Neptune at 20 Aquarius and progressed US Mars at 18 Libra makes a Grand Air trine and Saturn sextiles the US Mars and the US progressed Mars. the progressed Mars in its retrograde motion would indicate a cessation of hostilities in the world could bring a new respect for the United States if they would turn their energies toward more creative endeavors; taking the lead on global warming for instance. The progressed Venus at 16 Aries, if stretched a bit could be considered the apex for this rare opposition of Saturn/Neptune for several years to come, again Venus calls for a more moderated approach than what the US has been taking.

When progressed US Venus, opposes US progressed Mars in 2009 I would expect the US to be in middle of a jealous fit as we see other countries, countries we've considered lesser on the totum pole of life, rise and get choices, freedoms, prosperity, and the luxury that once belonged to the US. Most important other countries will be getting a middle class as the US middle class diminishes and we find new and perhaps evolved ways of being.

Posted by: Sally on March 12, 2007 11:43 PM

In every one of those spots where it says "white," the color is "pink" unless they're albinos... which they're not. I 'spose we'll always have the supremacist pink malebots causing suffering & misery... from the dirty Pink House in Wash DC to nazi germany &... well, any place else in the world that has pink supremacist infestations & that nobody will ever be rid of them. Mebbe it's their cosmic job... there's a terrible thot.

* PARIS, Texas -- The public fairgrounds in this small east TX town look ordinary enough, like so many other well-worn county fair sites across the nation. Unless you know the history of the place. There are no plaques or markers to denote it, but several of the most notorious public lynchings of black Americans in the late 19th & early 20th Centuries were staged at the Paris Fairgrounds, where 1000s of white spectators would gather to watch & cheer as black men were dragged onto a scaffold, scalded with hot irons & finally burned to death or hanged.

Brenda Cherry, a local civil rights activist, can see the fairgrounds from the front yard of her modest home, in the heart of the "black" side of this starkly segregated town of 26,000. And lately, Cherry says, she's begun to wonder whether the racist legacy of those lynchings is rebounding in a place that calls itself "the best small town in TX." "Some of the things that happen here would not happen if we were in Dallas or Houston," Cherry said. "They happen because we are in this closed town. I compare it to 1930s."

There was the 19 y/o white man, convicted last July of criminally negligent homicide for killing a 54 y/o black woman & her 3 y/o g'son with his truck, who was sentenced in Paris to probation & required to send an annual xmas card to the victims' family. There are the Paris public schools, which are under investigation by the US Educ Dept after repeated complaints that administrators discipline black students more frequently, & more harshly, than white students. ... http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703120170mar12,1,1921178.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 13, 2007 12:00 AM

History is full of women who've "stood up to men," Miss Sally & the women have not fared well at all. That's when the "men" become really violent & that's how things have gotten where they are to this day. Women & people of all other colors besides pink (& sometimes pink) "know their place" because of extreme violence done by supremacist pinks. This is one of the bi-products of a pink supremacist/racist/genderist/homophobic monster in the dirty Pink House. That would be minus the rufflie curtains I do believe.

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 13, 2007 12:08 AM

More "interesting reading" linking JFK JR to W, JFK to GHWB, and Hitler to Prescott.....as usual, "truthiness" not vouched for by this poster, but it does give a few new theories as to where KBR and Halliburton got their cues.....

namaste and love y'all
GLKT

Posted by: Garry Todd on March 13, 2007 12:56 AM

Thanks so much, Cap'n Sally for responding to my request. I was thinking of those courageous women in Iran who recently, and with great dignity, tried to raise awareness about the treatment of women in that country. I am hoping (however futile that might be) that women could lead the way from all the suffering brought on by the Islamic fundamentalism (sharia) and toward the Religion of Light. Oh, well, there I go again.

Posted by: shylurker on March 13, 2007 02:28 AM

Posted on Salon’s TT:

Received this in Democracy4NC forum email:

MORE ON [BIG BANK CORP] – Riches for CEO, Unemployment for workers –
[Big Bank] CEO gets $18 Million

AND, SOON TO OUTSOURCE NC PROCESSING JOBS TO INDIA

Businessweek JANUARY 30, 2006

[Big Bank] will have outsourced 500 to 1,000 jobs, with plans to move an additional 3,000 or so by the end of 2007. .. Most, but not all, of those jobs are going to India…. Still, [Big Bank] expects offshore outsourcing to produce big gains for the bank. [Big Bank] believes that offshoring will be a key component of its goal to take out $600 million to $1 billion in costs over a three-year period {imbedded link to Business Week article}
In the article, [Big Bank] emphasizes that they arent outsourcing call center work.

NO, but in a few weeks, Indian Contracting Firm Gentec will have people from India coming to main [Big Bank] operation centers in North Carolina.

These contractors will come sit at desks in many departments in [major cities in NC].

They will observe the employees at work to see which of their jobs they can offshore.

The sender adds: ***I don’t know of any processing jobs that don’t involve reviewing a customer’s account and or personal information. Account information may include ss #, birth date, drivers license number etc.

Posted by: Pat C on March 13, 2007 04:03 AM

Thank the Goddess for the Latest Energy Alert from Karen Bishop at What's Up on Planet Earth. As always, she has an absolutely uncanny way of putting her finger exactly on my own experiences (altho she didn't mention the terrible grief, she did mention the chest pains)... how about the rest of you? http://www.whatsuponplanetearth.com/latest.htm

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 13, 2007 05:29 AM

Dems abandon war authority provision

Mon Mar 12, 7:22 PM ET

WASHINGTON – Top House Democrats retreated Monday from an attempt to limit President Bush’s authority for taking military action against Iran as the leadership concentrated on a looming confrontation with the White House over the Iraq war.

Officials said Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the leadership had decided to strip from a major military spending bill a requirement for Bush to gain approval from Congress before moving against Iran.

Conservative Democrats as well as lawmakers concerned about the possible impact on ISRAEL had argued for the change in strategy. ...

MORE…..

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070312/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq

Posted by: Pat C on March 13, 2007 05:31 AM

http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0307/The_Crypt.html

Gore's Earth Concert, Live From the Capitol?

Al Gore is comin' home -- and he wants a big gig on the Hill.

Yes, the former vice president wants to stage a global-warming concert at the Capitol. I can't believe it'll come off, but if it does, I want a ticket. Look at some of the bands they have lined up for this thing (at liveearth.org), including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg and Bon Jovi. Even I know these guys are pretty cool. Get it? Pretty cool.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) have introduced a resolution to use the Capitol grounds as a site for the huge, multi-venue global-warming concert on July 7.

The Live Earth concert will take place on seven continents and reach more than 2 billion people, according to its promoters. One of the groups involved is the Alliance for Climate Protection, founded by, among others, … wait for it … Al Gore.

Anyway, I hope this comes off. The resolution was referred to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which means Republicans can block it, even though Snowe is a co-sponsor.

FYI: The Alliance for Climate Protection includes not only Gore but also former EPA Administrator Carol Browner, Brent Scowcroft, who was Bush 41's national security adviser, and a bunch of other very important people. And I can personally vouch to the Senate that they'll leave the Capitol grounds just the way they found them. I swear they will.

More...

Posted by: Pat C on March 13, 2007 05:53 AM

So when does he call the next crash, Timmy?

Posted by: Sharon on March 13, 2007 06:06 AM

I'm on Ebay!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Personal-Astrology-Get-Your-Own-Private-Horoscope_W0QQitemZ220091806989QQcategoryZ1467QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Posted by: Carol on March 13, 2007 10:25 AM

Ya think this might do it?
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/012983.php

Posted by: shylurker on March 13, 2007 01:44 PM

Looks good Carol,
My gut reaction is that you should be asking $50.00, not $40.00. I was getting that much 6 years ago here in rural Maine, and I don't havenearly the experience that you do!
16 years ago, my daughter collected $50. for me to do a chart of someone she had worked with. She had a VERY SPECIFIC question about her new job, with a sizable company. All I could get from her chart was that she was going to go into business with an old lover, ( no corporate job ) and they would be successful..so I returned her money & called it quits. ( I was busy moving from NJ to Me and so preoccupied I didn't trust my own intuiton! 6 months later she called me. would I do her chart, because it had happened exactly the way I said!
Where did your Mother make shoes? Our shoe factories inmaine closed down about 6 years ago, luckily I bought several pairs then, because I have a real problem with any shoes made since then! They don't fit right, they hurt my feet, they don't prevent skids on rocki ( bad inMaine) they cost TOO MUCH!.....................
And Shy, Yeh! I'll stay out in the desert with the wild horses!
QOP

Posted by: on March 13, 2007 01:52 PM

Joanna, I'm on the fence about Karen Bishop. She seems to nail the symptoms pretty acurately, but is it higher energy or is all that pain and rashes and spacey-ness from chemtrails? How can you tell the difference? Also, I was pretty surprized to read her thoughts that Bush is just doing his soul's work and that even though he's evil, it's that he's soulfully correct. I have a real hard time with the "it's all good" attitude. What if every one of us has a positive, creative soul contract, but some, like bush, cheney, and other serial killers/mass murderers are rebelling against that contract?

Posted by: Raven on March 13, 2007 06:36 PM

http://donkeyod.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/how-do-you-solve-a-crisis-like-darfur/#more-2338

How Do You Solve a Crisis Like Darfur?
March 13, 2007

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

For anyone who thinks that “genocide” is absolutely the rock-bottom possibility, keep an eye on Darfur.

.......

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2349990.ece

Iraq talks could pave road home for America

By Robert Fisk, Middle East Correspondent

Posted by: Pat C on March 13, 2007 06:39 PM

I know what you mean, Raven... it's just that I take what feels okay & I leaves the rest. "Man's" whole world has literally gone bonkers... what else can I say? ...just flying by the seat of my depends here. Bright Blessings to you...

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 13, 2007 07:02 PM

I don't have his birth data, but I'll bet his aspects are interesting.

Gonzales Says He Won’t Quit, As ‘Wash Post’ Launches New Study on ‘Among the Worst’ Attorney Generals Ever

By E&P Staff

Published: March 13, 2007 2:25 PM ET

NEW YORK With calls for the attorney general’s resignation in the air, The Washington Post on its Web site this afternoon launched what it calls a “special report”—a four-part study of Alberto R. Gonzales at Andrew Cohen’s “Bench Conference” blog/column. It opens this way.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales is the 80th attorney general of the United States and if recent events in the law and at the Justice Department are any indication, he is rapidly staking a claim to being among the worst.

More…

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003557482

Posted by: Pat C on March 13, 2007 07:57 PM

Wikipedia sez Abu was born Aug 4, 1955, San Antonio TX:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Gonzales

Posted by: shylurker on March 13, 2007 08:29 PM

http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/03/13/thats-all-folks/

That’s All, Folks!

For those of you who missed it, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales just appeared before the press, made some mealy-mouthed equivocations, and claimed that the US Attorneys who were fired were “underperforming”. He regrets that Congress were given “bad information” and wants them to know that they can “trust” him. This is all just a routine personnel matter which he knew nothing about and yet accepts “full responsibility” for. But it was all the work of CoS Kyle Sampson, and he’s gone, so nothing to see here, yadda, yadda, yadda…

And the press were all over him like a cheap suit.

snip

Abu Gonzales stood there looking like his usual sweaty, shifty self, a living, breathing instance of the Peter Principle elevated to the level of comic opera. He was so clearly out of his depth that it’s a wonder he didn’t get the bends or just spontaneously combust.

But then, after about 140 seconds of taking questions, he spun on his heel and like a greased piglet, all but squirted from the room, “That’s all, folks!”

Oh, no, Mr. Gonzales. That’s not all. Not by a long shot.

Stay tuned.

Posted by: Pat C on March 13, 2007 09:46 PM

uglystuff.hits.fan

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/03/13/us-attorney-removal-halted-abramoff-investigation/

US Attorney Removal Halted Abramoff Investigation

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

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/13/sampson-rove-attorney/

Gonzales Chief Of Staff (Who Resigned Today) Rebutted Rove's Claim That Clinton Purged Prosecutors Too

...in an e-mail to Harriet Miers on Jan. 9, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s chief of staff Kyle Sampson (who resigned yesterday) admitted that the Clinton administration never purged its U.S. attorneys in the middle of their terms, explicitly stating, “In recent memory, during the Reagan and Clinton Administrations, Presidents Reagan and Clinton did not seek to remove and replace U.S. Attorneys to serve indefinitely under the holdover provision”

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

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/03/13/couricandco/entry2562808.shtml

Gonzales & The White House: The Plot Thickens

Posted by: Pat C on March 13, 2007 10:12 PM

The Shift

http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/03/13/the-shift/#comments

Posted by: Pat C on March 13, 2007 10:40 PM

Sally, thank you for the kite formation info. I don't see alot written about kites, yods etc.

Sharon, Armstrong's generic info, available on the net, does not describe the events for each period. The info does identify April 23, 09 as an event time. I've focused on that because another forecaster (not astrological) who has had success is H Dent. He calls for DJIA to 20,000, then fall off big in 2009. An astrological financial forcaster whose name I cannot remember, but who published in Mountain Astrologer, last yr I think, calls for Uranian shocks in 2009.

Armstrong's 4/23/09 didn't turn up much on a global chart, but the USA Solar Arc shows Chiron conj Asc, Uranus 150* from MC, and t mars (the catalyst I figure) opposite MC.

Remember I'm still a fledgling student.

Here is part of an email I sent a friend on this subject........."Dent calls for the DJIA to rise to 20,000, then fall off in 2009. Armstrong too calls for a 2009 event at 4/23/09. For Sept 15, 09 the global chart shows Saturn 180* opposite Uranus and Sat 150* to Neptune with the Sun loosely (more than 1* away) from Saturn, as the catalyst. Note: Pluto will be 00* in Capricorn at that time, symbolizing the ,not gentle, transformation of the status quo. 00 represents a powerful degree."

I've not yet looked for T-Squares.

Hehe, more than you probably wanted to know.

I have to read-up on triggers, as Armstrong called for the 2/27/07 market drop, but the exact Sat/Nep opposition was 2/28. On 2/27 the moon was 151* away from Neptune, so I think that may have been the trigger.....I have jpg's of those charts which I could send you if you wish....Also I haven't done a synastry chart on China/USA, or a synastry chart between China USA midpoint and USA on the inner ring. I use Solar Fire 6.

Back to cycles studies tomorrow cause I'm pooped today. I live on a boat in a current, and last night a houseboat I used to own, which had mostly sunk, broke loose of its moorings, crashed into two floats, which let go their moorings, and the whole mess crashed into my two boats. I was up till midnight straightening it all out with dock friends. Hmmm, Sat (limitation) opposite Neptune (water) you say, and maybe some of Chiron conj my DC.....Nap-time, Timmy J

Posted by: Timmy J on March 13, 2007 10:53 PM

http://snipurl.com/1cxrq Wa Po

Rough Justice - The Case Against Alberto Gonzales
Part I
Alberto Gonzales: A Willing Accessory at Justice

Posted by: Pat C on March 14, 2007 01:47 AM

Joanna...and Raven....yep, Karen Bishop did it again...she said major spaciness was happening starting Mar 9 and on Mar 11 I locked myself out of my apartment (thru a series of lucky breaks, got a new key) but since then have left my purse in my car with doors unlocked, left the car unlocked at least 5 times, just weird stuff I NEVER do. As for chemtrails, I don't think chemtrails produce these things...this is about ENERGY. Chemtrails do their thing, but I spent almost 3 years working with an energy intuitive like Karen, and this is all energy.

Posted by: judigem on March 14, 2007 02:28 AM

Pat C...re: the BIG BANK in NC and outsourcing. I remember when that BIG BANK (if indeed it is the same one) was headquartered in SF....and shylocked the president of same into selling the BIG BANK to this NC holding company....I would never bank with them anyway. I will reiterate what I've said before...put your money into a credit union local to your county....don't fund the BIG ONES. This is just more of the Man owning the STORE which then sells at high prices to his employees. Stay local, spend locally.

Posted by: judigem on March 14, 2007 02:33 AM

judi, I'll never go back to one of the Bigs. It's a different world, but I hold out hope.

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

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/009997.php

Jebbie's Business Partner Got His

That's right, the Bush Administration managed to screw over the citizens of New Orleans once again by buying crap from a friend of Jeb's. I wish I was making this one up.

If Clinton had done this, how would the Mighty Wurlitzer react? I doubt they would couch it in terms of "they were only rushing to meet Bush's commitment."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17597203/

Posted by: Pat C on March 14, 2007 03:36 AM

I don't want to drag out the higher education = big business today argument, but there is a big difference between getting degrees behind your name in order to earn bigger bucks or increase one's chances of being hired as a CEO by a large corp.and getting paid the outrageous salaries that some CEOs receive versus "learning" because the mind and spirit is curious and seeks knowledge at whatever cost, not caring if it is rewarded with large sums of money, and in the process becoming a corporate slave with an insatiable appetite for more and more (corporate greed). I have worked in many different environments, and I have seen people with great potential passed over just because they lacked a degree, in favor of those who had one, and in most cases, who could not string 2 sentences together, or write a grammatically correct sentence, or sprout an original thought. This is not to say that I am against higher education, but true geniuses rarely gain their inspiration being taught in a formal environment,parroting other people's thoughts and ideas. They have their own thoughts and ideas and for the most part are original, and occasionally do meet with great material success. That is why I have more respect for, and value more - the struggling artist, writer, philosopher, astrologer etc. than the corporate ladder climber which has resulted today in the collusion between higher education establishments, and the corporate world.

I don't know if this makes sense to anyone, and maybe I am not expressing myself very well, but I am definitely not against higher learning, just what motivates it, and to what use it is put, and what value we place on it.

And that is why I think that JoannaO is a treasure, because she is so original, and unique in the way she thinks, and expresses herself, that I can tell she is the author of a post before I see her name. QQP is another original. They are artists, originals, not manufactured to be marketed to the highest bidder. Ok, I'm done with my rant.

Posted by: Crystal on March 14, 2007 04:04 AM

YEAH!! Crystal. I so agree with you.

Posted by: clymela on March 14, 2007 04:21 AM

As history rhymes and the US goes through its next revolution, what would you like to see emerge?

Bucky Fuller said (paraphrased) If you want people to think in a new way, give them tools, the use of which leads to that thinking. Trading with the US would be a new experience. I saw a documentary on LINK TV on how local coffee growers (from Columbia?) were able to market their coffee directly in the US, cutting out middlemen such as big coffee corporations. A grassroots to grassroots operation. Impressive!

Just as the US taught the world, by example, about a new form of national government, my hope is we shall next teach the world how to be a win win trading partner. To infect the world as the first co-independent member of the United Counties. Idaho does not bomb Wisconsin when it is short of cheese. The metaphor just isn't coming to me. What we learned as a child shapes how we lead as an adult? There is some merit in that as we individuate from corporate rule. Perhaps instead of a V, we'll hand signal the letter "C" as in: Not the bottom line, but the Common line.

George Bush et all, as the son of Pluto, will see that what is NOT working is knocked down. I would like to see us start a goals list of what we want next........Rambling mode off, Timmy J

Posted by: Timmy J on March 14, 2007 07:16 AM

Looks like Abu has typical Leo arrogance, and with Saturn in Scorpio probably squaring his Leo Sun, that self-righteousness of the inquisitor.

Posted by: Carol on March 14, 2007 09:34 AM

Gonzales has Sun conjunct Jupiter, conjunct Mars, all squaring Saturn in Scorpio. He has Uranus in late Cancer squaring Neptune in late Libra. I looked at the Solar Chart for the day itself, and groaned. He was probably one of those kids who went to confession extra times, more than was needed, because his Leo pride got squashed too much by religious strictures that didn't allow him room to breathe as an individual.

Posted by: Carol on March 14, 2007 09:41 AM

Gonzales strikes me as a gay homophobe who loathes anyone except for who he thinks is the embodiment of power... like bushadruggie or drunkie cheney. These are some of the most dangerous individuals on the face of the planet imo... considering all Life as compared to themselves as its own projected sense of verminess & unworthiness. The three of them are perfect Opus Dei. http://www.starpathvisions.com/SaintEscriva.html Gonzales is an enormously creepy boy that unhappily happens to be this country's AG. That fits doesn't it?

Thank you for your kind words, Seestas... I think this whole board has a rather astonishing collection of cracker-jack minds, yes? ;O)

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 14, 2007 01:06 PM

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/013019.php

What was Lam investigating?

snip

What people tend to overlook is that for most White Houses, a US attorney involved in such a politically charged and ground-breaking corruption probe would have been untouchable, even if she'd run her office like a madhouse and was offering free twinkies to every illegal who made it across the border. Indeed, when you view the whole context you see that the idea she was fired for immigration enforcement is just laughable on its face. No decision about her tenure could be made without the main issue being that investigation. It's like hearing that Pat Fitzgerald was fired as Plamegate prosecutor for poor deportment or because he was running up too many air miles flying back and forth from Chicago.

Lam's investigation (and allied ones her probe spawned) were uncovering a) serious criminal wrongdoing by major Republican power players on Capitol Hill, b) corruption at the CIA -- which reached back to the Hill, c) and as yet still largely hidden corrupt dealings at the heart of the intelligence operations in the Rumsfeld Pentagon.

Nothing matters unless the investigation gets to the heart of what happened there.

Posted by: Pat C on March 14, 2007 04:01 PM

Joanna

I think your 'gaydar" is right on the mark. I
have been saying the same thing since he took
office.

Posted by: wv on March 14, 2007 04:23 PM

Yea, verily, wv... these critters are around at all times in patriarchy, but they especially ooze out from under the rocks during times of totalitarianism... when they are so likely to be given free rein to their twisted up kundalini (e.g. sexualized torture). It's a gay homophobe that also detests actual women (e.g. 500 yrs of unrelenting religiose Burning Times).

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 14, 2007 05:18 PM

My two cents worth, or maybe even worthless. I'm not sure Gonzalez is gay in the normal description of that word. He thinks he loves Bush. Or, is IN LOVE with Bush, or Bush's power or how he looks all dressed up as a 'manly' man (as when he dressed up on the aircraft carrier). I think that like Rove who is also in love with his creation that is Bush he is a coward who hates his cowardice so much that he will hide behind the most powerful person on the planet in the hopes of fooling even God about who they really are. It's more about submissiveness which can appear to be gay, but isn't. And about deep down rage and hatred - mostly at their own 'inadequacy', which may even spill over into their sex lives (which might be pretty perverted, kind of like J. Edgar Hoover's).

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 14, 2007 05:26 PM

I simply don't know any gay person who is that ugly in spirit. I do know one or two homophobes who are though.

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 14, 2007 05:30 PM

...the difference between a gay self-accepting healthy gay person... & the ones who are not.

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 14, 2007 05:55 PM

And isn't it interesting that gay women don't appear to have near the angst as the males.

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 14, 2007 06:13 PM

Has everyone seen "Pan's Labyrinth" yet? ...since the subj is gonzales.

* ...As part of the AG confirmation process, Human Rights First prepared a series of materials, below, incl a report, Background Papers on Alberto Gonzales, that outlined & analyzed Gonzales’ views on torture, the Geneva Conventions, military commissions, & exec power/role of the courts. The report outlines that as WH Counsel to [bushaholic], Gonzales:

Approved a legal memo defining torture so narrowly so as to authorize practices such as “waterboarding,” denial of pain killer medication, simulated drowning, & threatening to transfer detainees to other countries’ interrogators.

Advocated the position that [rez] has power as Commander-in-Chief to ignore laws passed by Congress, specifically arguing that applying a congressional prohibition against an act of torture ordered by [rez] would be unconstitutional.

Advised [rotten-rez] that the “war on terror” rendered provisions of the Geneva Conventions “obsolete” & recommended that the Geneva Conventions not be applied to the conflict in Afghanistan, contradicting the recommendations of senior military advisors. ... http://www.humanrightsfirst.com/us_law/etn/gonzales/index.asp

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 14, 2007 07:40 PM

CANNY COMMENTS by a poster, another site...

"The drop in the US stock market is predicated on subprime lenders making "liar loans". Those loans were bundled & traded, like stocks, but w/o the built-in protections that stocks have, re: reportings on value.

"That's just now being reported in the mainstream press, but the situation has been reported in the financial press since at least 2005. Get used to hearing these two terms: "subprime lenders" & "liar loans". It's huge.

"Mortgage securities are a 6.5 TRILLION dollar market in the US. As much as 3 TRILLION of that may have been grounded in "liar loans", ie: mortgage loans that were made to unqualified borrowers. Easy money. Those borrowers are now defaulting, hence the rise in foreclosures, & the subprime lenders are going under.

"If you have a pension, your pension fund bought them. Banks bought them. Everyone bought them (well, not me), because they were hugely profitable, as long as they lasted, but it was clear that [it] couldn't continue. The borrowers never should have gotten the loan. They are tanking, "big time". If commentators act "surprised" by this, don't believe them: it never made any sense."

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 14, 2007 07:49 PM

New Moon in Pisces
Sunday, March 18, 2007
7:43pm PDT
28º 07'
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:31pm PDT
28º 00'

Another New Moon in Pisces; another year mired in the ignorance of war spurred on by the illusion of separation. So once again I find it necessary to speak these deeply real and paradoxically intertwined truths: We are all connected and there is no security; for all things are uncertain. We are nothing and everything; full and empty. It is time we relinquish hatred, fear and greed, and start living together in love and peace. Retrograde Saturn (traditional systems, old thinking) in Leo (power, glory, personal/nationalistic grandiosity) is being pressured so intensely by Chiron (the healer) Mars (the warrior) and Neptune (the mystic) in Aquarius (awakening into new ideas, liberation, humanitarianism, globalism.) Add to this Mercury (mind), Uranus (awakening), North Node (humanity's evolutionary imperative), Sun (self-motivation) Moon (emotion, intuition) in Pisces, intensely vibrating with waves of unconditional love, total compassion, and absolute oneness. Aquarius extends self-care to the community. If all is not well around me, I am not well. This kind of consciousness builds the bridge to the Piscean extension of self, which includes all other existent life and the cosmos. It is time to break down the walls of separation; walls built with hatred, suspicion, and ignorance.

Especially with a partial solar eclipse—visible from eastern Asia and parts of northern Alaska http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OH2007.html#2007Mar19P —how can we not feel the necessity to stand up and demand peace? We are duty-bound by our awareness of suffering. It is time to lift the Neptunian/Piscean veil of denial from our eyes and see how we are all responsible for the continued violence, hatred and suffering in this world. This is the New Moon to practice compassion and selflessness by radiating peace and calm through prayer and meditation. Unlike Virgo, its opposite sign, Pisces knows no distinctions or differences: it perceives the unity within the diversity. Pisces acknowledges our essential connectedness and realizes it through the practice of unconditional love and unwavering compassion. Pisces is Bodhisattva consciousness embodied in self-sacrifice. Pisces' bottom line is to learn to love unconditionally, and to work for the collective enlightenment of all sentient beings; no matter how hard it may be or how long it may take.

http://www.astrowisdom.com/thisnewmoon.htm

Posted by: wv on March 14, 2007 08:12 PM

**Iraq & Iran Action Alert**

Please Distribute Widely!

Urge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (202-225-0100) & Your Reps (888.851.1879) to VOTE NO on another 100-billion for the Iraq Occupation. Reject the Iraq supplemental appropriations bill scheduled for debate tomorrow.

** Urge Pelosi (202-225-0100) & Your Reps (888.851.1879) to Force Bush to get congressional authorization for any attack on Iran. Tell them the LA County Democratic Party Central Committee voted last night to encourage members of the California Democratic Party to ONLY ENDORSE CANDIDATES WHO OPPOSE A US OR PROXY ATTACK ON IRAN and to require Bush to get congressional authorization for war.

More information & Contact Numbers Below (also Iran resolution)

Call Pelosi's office in DC 202-225-0100 ask for Mike Sheehy, or call (415)-556-4862 for her San Francisco office and ask for Dan Bernal. Tell them the Speaker should cut off all funds for the war. Don't allow Bush to attack Iran! Don't forget to also call your own Representative to tell him or her to Vote NO on the supplemental appropriations. The Congressional switchboard can be reached at 888.851.1879.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17309.htm

Posted by: Shadowhawk on March 14, 2007 09:09 PM

http://patrick.net/housing/crash.html

This is about the housing bubble burst...it is on the Bay Area SF, but applies everywhere with the subprime loans and millions of people with ARMs....

Posted by: judigem on March 14, 2007 09:17 PM

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/10/21556/5045

Larger CIA and DoD Privatization Scandal Emerging from Walter Reed Story, US Attorneys Firing

"Let's recap: a corrupt Israeli PM - has a stake in a corrupt Israeli bank- owned by a corrupt Wall Street global hedge fund - which owns a corrupt US defense contractor - which contributes to corrupt GOP Congressmen - who also receive money from another corrupt defense contractor - that defense contractor produced faulty intel under contract to a corrupt CIA Assn't Director - that faulty intel was used to justify a corrupt US Administration's case for invading Iraq - that was planned and executed by corrupt neocons inside DoD who had written a proposal years earlier to wage wars to privatize the Israeli economy.

What a tangled web. One wishes Chairman Waxman’s staff and other Congressional investigators the strength of Hercules in taking down the Three-headed Dog, Cerberus, that guards the gates to Hell."

Posted by: Pat C on March 14, 2007 10:16 PM

http://www.snowshoefilms.com/filmmakersnb106.html

Poverty, Slavery, and Globalization

Posted by: Pat C on March 14, 2007 10:17 PM

yikes Pat, quite a find...that Chomsky thing.

Posted by: judiGem on March 14, 2007 11:26 PM

This generation's Dylan!
http://www.myspace.com/donmccloskey

Posted by: shylurker on March 15, 2007 12:30 AM

Judigem, thanks for the comment and your insight.
I know she really nails the symptoms....last month she said it was strange rashes, and right on cue my husband broke out in a rash that covered his torso for a week. I have been nausous at every full moon since last August, it just goes on and on. I've been watching the movie " The Secret" since I last posted...I think I'm just nor going to care if its "really an energy thing" or not.
I haven't been posting alot lately, but read comments as often as possible. Love everyone's sharing, insights, astro-info.etc. Yep, great minds here!
Bright Blessings

Posted by: Raven on March 15, 2007 12:39 AM

Wow!! He's wonderful! Great music everyone!!

Posted by: Pat C on March 15, 2007 01:49 AM

* Whole lotta shakin’ going on

Despite my earlier disgruntlement, I DO want you to appreciate the moment we’re in … we’ve worked long & hard for it. You don’t see an entire govt meltdown too often — & that’s what we’ve got. I’m thinking it’s the energy tucked into the two bookends of eclipse — we’ve got the 2nd of those coming up next wk. This is the “new true,” the new cross on the “t” & dot on the “i.” It’s really pretty impressive, with no recovery time between the hits the bushies are taking to their credibity/character … so take note & a deep breath.

The AG is on the hot seat — dubby, still in S America, has announced he isn’t happy about it, that Alberto “serves at the pleasure of [rotten-rez].” That old saw is getting old … over 70% of us know dubby's pleasure to be our pain. The purge in the DoJ wasn’t Pubs removing Dems, as is their right at the beginning of each political cycle — but a purge of their own, previously approved by Congress, who were not aggressive enough in partisan matters.

This is an Alberto [Fredo the Consiglieri, bringer of Torture to our shores] collection, but there are other examples of seismic activity in the [regime] below, incl an illustration of dubby’s privatization obsession [this time granted to friends] that backfired in New Orleans; coming on the heels of Halliburton’s backpeddle to the safety of offshore laws, the handwriting's on the wall.

It’s all coming out, worms from the can, crawling everywhere we look. ... http://polwaves.planetwaves.net/

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 15, 2007 03:20 AM

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressingissues_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003558239

Gen. Petraeus Linked To High-Profile Suicide in Iraq

Col. Ted Westhusing, a West Point scholar, put a bullet in his head in Iraq after reporting widespread corruption. His suicide note—complaining about human rights abuses and other crimes—was addressed to his two commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, now leader of the U.S. “surge” effort in Iraq. It urged them to “Reevaluate yourselves….You are not what you think you are and I know it.”

The scourge of suicides among American troops in Iraq is a serious, and seriously underreported, problem, as this column has observed numerous times in the past three years. One of the few high-profile cases involved a much-admired Army colonel named Ted Westhusing.

A portrait of Westhusing written by T. Christian Miller for the Los Angeles Times in November 2005 (which I covered at the time) revealed that Westhusing, before putting a bullet through his head, had been deeply disturbed by abuses carried out by American contractors in Iraq, including allegations that they had witnessed or even participated in the murder of Iraqis.

His widow, asked by a friend what killed this West Point scholar, had replied simply: “Iraq.”

More…

Posted by: Pat C on March 15, 2007 03:40 AM

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4266

Ohio Election Workers Sentenced to 18 Months for Rigging 2004 Presidential Recount

Judge Says He Believes the Conspiracy Goes Higher...

CLEVELAND (AP) - Two county election workers were sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison for rigging a recount of 2004 presidential election ballots...

Posted by: Pat C on March 15, 2007 03:55 AM

http://salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2007/03/15/rove_attorneys/

All roads lead to Rove - By Sidney Blumenthal

The Bush administration's first instinct was to shield Karl Rove from scrutiny when Congress began inquiring about the unusual firings of eight U.S. attorneys. Among the replacements, the proposed new U.S. attorney for Arkansas happened to be one of Rove's most devoted underlings, his head of opposition research, Tim Griffin, who boasted during the 2000 presidential election about the effectiveness of the negative campaign against Al Gore: "We make the bullets!" Griffin also posted a sign in his department at Bush headquarters: "Rain hell on Al!" A letter written by the Department of Justice in late February informed Congress: "The department is not aware of Karl Rove playing any role in the decision to appoint Mr. Griffin." Despite this categorical disavowal, a sheaf of internal Justice Department e-mails released this week to Congress under subpoena revealed Kyle Sampson, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' chief of staff, writing in mid-December 2006, "I know getting him appointed was important to Harriet, Karl, etc." Harriet, of course, was Harriet Miers, then the White House legal counsel.

The Justice Department's statement on Karl Rove was simply one part of its coverup. The department's three top officials -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty and William E. Moschella, principal associate deputy attorney general -- all testified before Congress under oath that the dismissed U.S. attorneys had been removed for "performance" reasons, not because they had been insufficiently partisan in their prosecution of Democrats or because they would be replaced by those who would be. Yet another Sampson e-mail, sent to Miers in March 2005, had ranked all 93 U.S. attorneys on the basis of being "good performers," those who "exhibited loyalty" to the administration, or "low performers," those who "chafed against Administration initiatives, etc."

The day before the e-mails were made public Sampson resigned, offering a classic fall-guy statement, claiming that he was the one who failed to inform Gonzales and other officials about the firings. Sampson, who was Gonzales' closest aide, accompanying him from the White House Counsel's Office to the Justice Department when Gonzales was appointed attorney general, had sought to become a U.S. attorney himself through the purge. And Sampson was considered to be politically adept enough to be considered a stand-in for the supposedly indispensable Rove. When it was rumored that Rove might be indicted in the Valerie Plame case, the Washington Post reported that Sampson was likely to replace him.

More...

Posted by: Pat C on March 15, 2007 01:44 PM

Sally,

Any insights into the eclipse degree on the Fix star Sheat?

BTW, almost finished on my book deadline.
One the of the things I had to do was paint in the word 'Astroland' on an object in two scenes.
But I wrote it as ASTROWORLD!!!! TWICE!!! This was done a while back and caught it last night.
I had to white it out and repaint in the real word. OMG! Guess you guys and gals are on my mind even if I'm not writing in.

Posted by: bhakti on March 15, 2007 02:20 PM

Yes, there was a hefty fine imposed, but why aren't the individuals involved facing prison time? Corporations are really very special, aren't they?
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070315/NEWS01/703150398

Posted by: shylurker on March 15, 2007 03:41 PM

Howard Dean in an interview:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0307/3142.html

The New Dean Political Plan

[snip]
Dean is very concerned about world affairs and believes that after the November election in 2008, the president-elect should take a month off and travel the world to bolster America's image.

[snip]
Dean also said that the Bush administration's failure to cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was a turning point for the country.

"It destroyed George Bush's presidency," Dean said. "Permanently. The one thing that Americans and everybody else in the world have always believed, whether you like America or not, whether you like the government or not, is that the most organized, best managers in the world are the Americans. And if anything really, really awful happens, send in the Americans. And we all saw on television around the whole world, that this just wasn't true of this president and this government. It was just ludicrous. It's still ludicrous to this day."

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 15, 2007 04:00 PM

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/14/leahy-rove-subpoena

Leahy Says He’ll Subpoena Rove, Discusses Potential Crimes Involved In Attorney Purge
Today on CNN’s Situation Room, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) blew off White House signals that Karl Rove and other senior Bush officials may resist testifying before Congress on the U.S. Attorney purge.

“Frankly, I don’t care whether [White House Counsel Fred Fielding] says he’s going to allow people or not. We’ll subpoena the people we want,” Leahy said. “If they want to defy the subpoena, then you get into a stonewall situation I suspect they don’t want to have.” Asked whether he’ll subpoena Rove, Leahy answered, “Yes. He can appear voluntarily if he wants. If he doesn’t, I will subpoena him.”

more...

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 15, 2007 04:29 PM

Is this news as important as people think it is? With Schwatzennegger signing it I wonder what the benefit is for Republicans?

http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/03/governor_schwar_8.html

Governor Schwarzenegger to Sign Bill Tomorrow to Move California Presidential Primary to February 5, 2008

By Frank D. Russo

The stage is set for a bill signing ceremony in Sacramento of SB 113 by Senator Calderon to move the California Presidential primary to February 5, 2008, making it one of the earliest primaries in the United States.

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 15, 2007 05:53 PM

So with many of the States considering moving their primaries to Feb. 5, how do the candidates aspects look on that day or shortly thereafter?

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 15, 2007 05:57 PM

Lunaoscura, other then these guys have to talk to us now before they pick their pockets, I'd hazard a guess that California could give an edge to a moderate Repug. Mostly we're sick of our pockets being picked and not having a voice in the choice. I was really unhappy that Dean didn't make it that far.

Posted by: Morgana on March 15, 2007 06:00 PM

Morgana, I get the feeling that this is like a huge earthquake that changes the landscape completely. We've always trailed behind on election days because we're on the West Coast. Now it feels like we've suddenly changed everything.

I wonder if it's too much to hope for doing away with the electoral college?

I guess we'll get plenty of feedback about this in the next few days.

Posted by: lunaoscura on March 15, 2007 06:04 PM

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-13-archives_N.htm

AP: 1M archived pages removed post-9/11

By Frank Bass and Randy Herschaft, Associated Press
More than 1 million pages of historical government documents — a stack taller than the U.S. Capitol — have been removed from public view since the September 2001 terror attacks, according to records obtained by the Associated Press. Some of the papers are more than a century old.
In some cases, entire file boxes were removed without significant review because the government's central record-keeping agency, the National Archives and Records Administration, did not have time for a more thorough audit.

"We just felt we couldn't take the time and didn't always have the expertise," said Steve Tilley, who oversaw the program. Archives officials are still screening records, but the number of files pulled recently has declined dramatically, he said.

The records administration began removing materials under its "records of concern" program, launched in November 2001 after the Justice Department instructed agencies to be more guarded in releasing government papers. The agency has removed about 1.1 million pages, according to partially redacted monthly progress reports reviewed by the AP. The reports were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The pulled records include the presumably dangerous, such as nearly half an enormous database from the Federal Emergency Management Agency with information about all federal facilities. But they also include the presumably useless, such as part of a collection about the Lower Colorado River Authority that includes 114-year-old papers.

More....

Posted by: Pat C on March 15, 2007 07:22 PM

Bang bang veto proof!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070314/pl_nm/congress_bush_secrecy_dc_1

House overturns Bush order on papers secrecy

Posted by: Morgana on March 15, 2007 07:28 PM

Interesting article with an impressive panel behind it.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/13710030/leaving_iraq_the_grim_truth

........

That's really good news Morgana. I was busy celebrating when someone said to me, "Yeah, what if he doesn't choose to follow it, and uses another signing statement.". My happiness bubble burst, but I'm hoping the Dems have something in mind for that as well.

I think things only get hotter for the commander.

Posted by: Pat C on March 15, 2007 09:36 PM

Ben Stein has a column at http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=11130 He use to be a Bush fan.

A few days ago, a man from a slick new magazine about business sent me an e-mail. He wanted me to do a column for him about what was "new, hot and exciting -- or terrible -- in business today." The only catch was that he did not want me to complain about the rich.
This is what I sent him:

Here is what's new and hot and exciting (or terrible) in the world of money today: The average wage of the American worker adjusted for inflation is lower than it was in 1973. The only way that Americans have been able to maintain their standard of living at the middle and lower ends has been to send more family members to work and to draw down savings or go into debt or both.

snip

Here's what else is new and exciting (or terrible) in money: there is real poverty among the soldiers who fight our wars. There are fist fights to get children into $30,000 a year kindergartens and pre-schools in the right neighborhoods in Manhattan. There are 40 million Americans without health care insurance. There are almost 40 million baby boomers with no savings for retirement. There is a long waiting list for Bentleys at the dealership in Beverly Hills.

There are soldiers' wives selling blood to buy toys for their kids. There is a man selling non-functioning body armor who threw a $10 million Bat Mitzvah for his daughter.

Read it all. A great column.

Posted by: Pat C on March 15, 2007 09:49 PM

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/14/eveningnews/main2571355.shtml

Former U.S. Attorney: Why I Was Fired
Exclusive: John McKay Says White House Didn't Like His Handling Of Disputed Election

(CBS) President Bush says he is troubled by the Justice Department's misleading explanations to Congress of why it fired eight U.S. attorneys, but that the dismissals were "appropriate." In an exclusive interview with CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes, one of the fired prosecutors says it certainly wasn't in his case.

"I am disappointed with the president," says John McKay, former chief prosecutor for western Washington state. "I am disappointed with the attorney general."

McKay was fired in December for reasons he now believes had nothing to do with the way he did his job — but very much to do with politics.

"I asked for the reasons that I was being asked to resign and I was given no reasons," he says.

McKay's office convicted the "millennium bomber" who was planning to blow up the Los Angeles airport and won a conviction against James Ujaama, who was planning to build an al Qaeda training camp in Oregon. He was also lauded for cracking down on drug smuggling from Canada.

So when the attorney general said McKay was fired for performance reasons, he was livid.

"I knew that was false and I felt obligated to speak up," McKay says.

More...

Posted by: Pat C on March 15, 2007 11:32 PM

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002771.php

CREW: White House Breaking Records Law?

A number of readers have pointed out that Karl Rove's deputy at the White House, Scott Jennings, used an outside domain, gwb43.com, for his emails. The domain, it turns out, is owned by the Republican National Committee.

Now Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has sent a letter to House government reform committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) requesting an investigation of whether the White House has been violating the Presidential Records Act -- in an attempt to keep certain correspondence away from prying eyes.
Jennings use of the RNC's email "raises serious questions about whether the White House was trying to deliberately evade its responsibilities under the PRA, which directs the president to take all necessary steps to maintain presidential records to provide a full accounting of all activities during his tenure," says CREW.

And there's evidence that Jennings' use of an outside domain was a pattern in Rove's office. CREW points out that Karl Rove's former assistant Susan Ralston also frequently used outside domains to communicate to her old boss, Jack Abramoff.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that House Democrats are also planning on investigating the White House's use of outside domains for correspondence. Namely:

More...

Posted by: Pat C on March 15, 2007 11:48 PM

http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?id=1205

There’s a hearing tomorrow before Waxman’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:

Committee Will Hold Hearing on Disclosure of CIA Agent Valerie Plame Wilson’s Identity

snip

The Oversight Committee will webcast the hearing live at

http://www.oversight.house.gov/

Witnesses

Ms. Valerie Plame Wilson, former employee, Central Intelligence Agency
Dr. James Knodell, Director, Office of Security, The White House
Mr. Bill Leonard, Director, Information Security Oversight Office, National Archives and Records Administration
Mr. Mark Zaid, Attorney
Ms. Victoria Toensing, diGenova & Toensing, LLP

Posted by: Pat C on March 16, 2007 12:17 AM

http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0307/Rumsfeld_Hospitalized_for_Heart_Treatment.html

March 15, 2007

Rumsfeld Hospitalized for Heart Treatment

Posted by: Pat C on March 16, 2007 12:58 AM

Rumsfeld bears a striking resemblance to the "grim reaper". Did anyone see an old Ingmar Bergman film with Max Von Sydow, called the Seventh Seal, where he plays a game of chess with the embodiment of death? Well, the embodiment of death is the character I'm referring to. I've seen many Ingmar Bergman movies, but the one that remains with me is Summer Interlude.

Posted by: Crystal on March 16, 2007 01:48 AM

"We've only had subpoena power for the last six weeks and every tree that we've barked up so far has had a cat in it. Imagine where we'll be in six months." - Anonymous Senior Democrat

Source: The Politico quoted on Scarboraugh

Posted by: Pat C on March 16, 2007 02:28 AM

Sally, any chance of a quick update on Rove's chart? I hope some of the mud being thrown around really sticks this time.

Posted by: Teresa on March 16, 2007 02:34 AM

Can George W. Bush Be Purged?

Mayan priests purified their sacred land after Shrub scurried off. Can we do the same?

By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist

Friday, March 16, 2007

Sage is always good. Or maybe lavender. Pine is nice, too. Dried, bundled, tied with string, burned with hot, divine intent. Would it work? Do we have enough to go around? This is the question.

I speak, of course, of ritual. Purging and cleansing and purifying and, truly, burning a nicely dried, blessed smudge stick can be a terrific slice of personal magic, to rid a space (or perhaps even your own body) of negative juju or vicious spirits or just to make way for the new and the moist and the good. You can smudge a room. You can create a divine smoldering cloud and then move through the smoke, invoke change, purge the negative, invite hot licks of yes. It is a thing to do.

But here's the thing: Can you smudge an entire nation? Do we have enough lavender for 300 million? It is, all things considered, a big goddamn country. Windy. Rocky, in places. Could be tricky. Not to mention, you know, hazy. From all the smoke. Think of the potential traffic accidents. Coughing.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2007/03/16/notes031607.DTL&type=printable

Posted by: wv on March 16, 2007 03:40 PM

Fiore on Gonzales

http://www.sfgate.com/comics/fiore/

Posted by: wv on March 16, 2007 04:09 PM

Plame hearing being blogged live.

http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/03/16/enter-the-wife/

Posted by: Pat C on March 16, 2007 04:21 PM

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/16/snow-on-bush-involvement-anythings-possible/

Snow on Bush involvement: ‘Anything’s possible.’ – Just out from the AP:

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/16/gonzales-caught-on-tape/

CAUGHT ON TAPE: Gonzales Lies Under Oath

Posted by: Pat C on March 16, 2007 06:53 PM

"Few of us can easily surrender our belief that society must somehow make sense. The thought that The State has lost its mind and is punishing so many innocent people is intolerable. And so the evidence has to be internally denied." -- Arthur Miller playwright

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 16, 2007 07:04 PM

Excellent quote Joanna!

......

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Plame_hearing_transcript_0316.html

Plame hearing transcript

Posted by: Pat C on March 16, 2007 07:48 PM

Thank you, Pat C. I found it in a mighty fine site called MN Veterans for Peace. They have a whole list of quotes... every one of them worth reading imo. http://www.twincitiesvfp.org/quotes.htm

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 16, 2007 11:02 PM

* Chris Kelly: Tom DeLay: Tome of the Unsoldier

The full title of the DeLay book is No Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight. Yes, it's a story so bellicose, even the subtitle is scrappy. And he's earned the right to talk tough, too. Not just because of his own student deferments, but also by the student deferments of Rush Limbaugh (who wrote the forward) and the "other priorities" of Sean Hannity (who wrote the preface) and the book's co-author, Stephen Mansfield. Four fightin' Americans. Zero seconds in uniform. $25.95 at bookstores everywhere. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

Posted by: JoannaOregon on March 16, 2007 11:38 PM

Thank you Joanna! I bookmared it. It's a wonderful site.

..........

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/16/55138/4131

Sibel Edmonds, Valerie Plame and Brewster Jennings

Posted by: on March 16, 2007 11:43 PM

Hi Crystal,

Yep there is a strong resemblance. Speaking of Bergman, the film I remember most is Wild Strawberries. It was shown in Atlanta in the '50s in Swedish with English sub-titles. But Atlanta had a film censor then--a well-meaning lady with a narrow life experience--and the sub-titles were censored.

This made the film all the more interesting for me, as the actors rolled happily on the bed, or in the hay, and talked paragraphs of dialog, while the sub-titles read, "Dinner will be ready soon", or "It's getting late."

By chance, my dear mother-in-law brought an end to the censor's job when she wrote a letter to the newspaper pointing out that some fairly innocous (sp) film was banned, while Tennessee Williams' "Suddenly Last Summer" was passed. My mother-in-law suggested that if the censor lady called her, she would explain the meaning of Williams' plot.

Posted by: Barbara on March 17, 2007 01:53 AM

Barbara, your account is hilarious. I can't imagine censorship of any of Bergman's movies, although some of them must have seemed pretty racy by American standards back then. It must have been very bizarre, especially in the way they manipulated the subtitles. Really funny.

Posted by: Crystal on March 17, 2007 03:15 AM

Newest word out on the internets:
Gone-zales.

Hahahahaha.

Posted by: shylurker on March 17, 2007 03:27 AM

Remembber that guy who confessed to everything in the world yesterday? It seems he confessed to blowing up something that hadn't even been built yet. Hmmmmmm Confess to absolutely everything and anything just to get them to quit torturing him? How can we believe anything at all that comes out of this government? Here's the link

KSM "Confessed" To Targeting Bank Founded After His Arrest
Fallacy of testimony exposed as story blows up in Pentagon's face

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Friday, March 16, 2007

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's alleged confession testimony has been thoroughly discredited after it emerged that one of the targets he identified, the Plaza Bank, was not founded until 2006, four years after the alleged Al-Qaeda mastermind's arrest.

In his confession, KSM claims, "I was responsible for planning, training, surveying, and financing for the New (or Second) Wave of attacks against the following skyscrapers after 9/11: ...Plaza Bank, Washington state."

http://prisonplanet.com/articles/march2007/160307afterarrest.htm

Posted by: Shadowhawk on March 17, 2007 05:26 AM

Shadowhawk, thanks for link re the confession of planning an attack on a bank that wasn't there yet.

As I read the AP story of Khalid's many confessions I expected to see he had taken responsibility for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Besides being morally wrong in every way, torture renders any confession meaningless.

Posted by: Barbara on March 17, 2007 03:42 PM

Posted by: rimor on June 21, 2007 10:53 AM