Falling Laundry

Is White House Blocking Search for Bin Laden?

2008-06-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

Is White House Blocking Search for Bin Laden?
Pentagon Would Use Special Forces to Nab Bin Laden in Pakistan, New York Times Says
By MARTHA RADDATZ
June 30, 2008

RSS The Pentagon has drafted a secret plan that would send U.S. special forces into the wild tribal regions of Pakistan to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, but the White House has balked at giving the mission a green light, The New York Times reported today.

New leaked reports have exposed U.S. covert operations in the Middle East.The Bush administration, which has seven months left in its term, gave the go-ahead for the military to draw up the plan to take the war on terror across the Afghan border and into the mountains of Pakistan where bin Laden is believed to be hiding, according to the newspaper.

Intelligence reports have concluded that bin Laden has re-established a network of new training camps, and the number of recruits in those camps has risen to as many as 2,000 in recent months from 200 earlier this year.

Although the special forces attack plan was devised six months ago, infighting among U.S. intelligence agencies and among White House offices have blocked it from being implemented, the Times reported.

Related
Accused 9/11 Planner in Guantanamo CourtHow Much Did He Really Do?ABC Exclusive: Pakistani Bomb Scientist Breaks SilenceThe Bush team would like to leave office next January having put bin Laden, the man behind the Sept. 11 attacks, behind bars or in his grave.

But sending U.S. forces into Pakistan would be controversial and risky. The rugged mountain area is populated by bin Laden sympathizers, hurting the chances that such a raid could succeed. It would also trigger a diplomatic outcry from the Pakistani government.

The United States has conducted a series of aerial drone attacks on Taliban and al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan, killing several key Qaeda figures and narrowly missing bin Laden's deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, in one strike. But an attack earlier this month killed several Pakistani border guards instead and has made Pakistan less willing to allow U.S. strikes on its territory.

The Taliban of Pakistan, who are close al Qaeda allies, have grown alarmingly stronger in Pakistan's lawless border areas and threatened the regional capital of Peshawar last week.

Pakistan's new coalition government, which has made a series of truces with the militants in recent months, was forced over the weekend to launch an offensive to push the militants back from the outskirts of Peshawar.

Pakistan called the operation a success, even though none of the heavily armed militants in the area were reported killed.

UNITY!!! YAY

2008-06-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

After the longest primary battle in modern U.S. history, Barack Obama will campaign with former rival Hillary Clinton on Friday for the first time since the New York senator abandoned her presidential bid.

Sen. Barack Obama will make his first campaign appearance with Sen. Hillary Clinton on Friday.

Their joint appearance will be at a rally in Unity, New Hampshire, a small town on the state's western border where the two candidates tied in the January primary.

"It is not only well-named, but in the New Hampshire primary both of us received exactly 107 votes," Clinton said Thursday in Washington. "So it pretty much mirrored the rest of the campaign, where it was right down the middle."

Clinton and Obama endured a protracted and, at times, fierce primary season. After months of divisive contests that took them through every state, the two are now focused on uniting their party in order to defeat the Republicans in November.

Concern about the division in the party arose because the two candidates appealed to such different segments of the electorate. Clinton did well with working-class voters and the elderly. Obama rallied the support of affluent, well-educated voters, African-Americans and the younger generation. Watch what Clinton and Obama hope to accomplish »

In exit polls conducted throughout the primary season, many Clinton backers said they either would not vote or would vote for Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate, should Obama become their party's nominee.

Clinton has said it would be a "grave" mistake for her supporters to cast their votes for McCain.

"Anyone who voted for me has very little in common with the Republican party. If you care about the issues I care about, and the future that I outlined during my campaign, then you really have to stay with us in the Democratic Party and vote for Sen. Obama to be our next president," she said in Washington on Tuesday.

Ever since Clinton endorsed Obama this month, she has been urging her supporters to follow suit.

"The way to continue our fight now to accomplish the goals for which we stand is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States," she said as she suspended her campaign.

Obama and Clinton have appeared on good terms in recent weeks. Obama has repeatedly praised Clinton while on the trail, and this week he asked some of his top donors to help Clinton retire some of her campaign debt.

Obama has shied away from any talk of a possible joint ticket, although he's said Clinton "would be on anyone's short-list."

The senator from Illinois has made it clear, however, that he wants Clinton to help as much as she can.

"I want her campaigning as much as she can. She was a terrific campaigner. She I think inspired millions of people, and so she can be an extraordinarily effective surrogate for me, and the values and ideals that we share as Democrats," Obama said Wednesday while in Chicago.

"I think we will have a terrific time together in New Hampshire. And I think that she will be very effective all the way through the election," he said.

But voters aren't quick to forget what was, at times, was a contentious race for the Democratic nomination.

Clinton labeled Obama and "elitist" for saying some small-town Pennsylvanians were "bitter" people who "cling to guns and religion" in the days leading up to that state's primary.

Obama accused Clinton on Sunday of acting like "Annie Oakley ... packin' a six-shooter" in her attempts to connect with gun owners.

Clinton questioned Obama's experience; he made swipes at her judgment.

The two also endured preacher-gate, Bosnia-gate and a bitter battle over the race card, among other controversies that have framed the race.

So will Democrats be able to coalesce around their nominee? Political analyst and Democratic superdelegate Donna Brazile says absolutely.

"They were allies before the campaign. They will be allies again. They are very -- two astute politicians, very smart individuals, and I am sure that Sen. Obama will have Sen. Clinton as a trusted adviser. Someone who can help guide him along the path as he goes forward," she said.

Ahead of their appearance Friday, Clinton and Obama planned to meet privately with donors Thursday night.

More lives taken to this war today!

2008-06-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

Three US Marines and two interpreters were among scores of people killed Thursday in two bombings in predominantly Sunni provinces in Iraq, the US military said.

See full story here.

10 things to know about McCain

2008-06-11T13:26:00.000-07:00

10 things to know about John McCain

For all the coverage this week of Senator John McCain's background, there are some important things you won't learn about him from the TV networks. His carefully crafted positive image relies on people not knowing this stuff—and you might be surprised by some of it.

Please check out the list below, and then forward it to your friends, family, and coworkers. We can't rely on the media to tell folks about the real John McCain—but if we all pass this along, we can reach as many people as CNN Headline News does on a good night.

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):
John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.

1. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."

2.His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.

3.McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."

4.The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.

5.He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.

6.Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

7.McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.

8.McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."

9.He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.

John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html
"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/

2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us
"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/

3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/

4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/

5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008
http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007
"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/

6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80
"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home

7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022
"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/

8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/
"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251

9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html
"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/
"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/

10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/
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Here's how the average tax bill could change in 2009

2008-06-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here's how the average tax bill could change in 2009 if either John McCain's or Barack Obama's tax proposals were fully in place.

Income Avg. tax bill Avg. tax bill MCCAIN OBAMA
Over $2.9M -$269,364 +$701,885
$603K and up -$45,361 +$115,974
$227K-$603K -$7,871 +$12
$161K-$227K -$4,380 -$2,789
$112K-$161K -$2,614 -$2,204
$66K-$112K -$1,009 -$1,290
$38K-$66K -$319 -$1,042
$19K-$38K -$113 -$892
Under $19K -$19 -$567

Here is the link to the news article

Source:The Tax Policy Center

The Status Quo

2008-03-27T09:53:00.001-07:00

When our lives are going well, and sometimes even when they aren’t, we may find ourselves feeling very attached to the status quo of our existence--life as we know it. It is a very human tendency to resist change as though it were possible to simply decide not to do it, or have it in our lives. But change will come and the status quo will go, sooner or later, with our consent or without it. We may find at the end of the day that we feel considerably more empowered when we find the courage to ally ourselves with the universal force of change, rather than working against it.

Of course, the answer is not to go about changing things at random, without regard to whether they are working or not. There is a time and place for stability and the preservation of what has been gained over time. In fact, the ability to stabilize and preserve what is serving us is part of what helps us to survive and thrive. The problem comes when we become more attached to preserving the status quo than to honoring the universal givens of growth and change. For example, if we allow a situation we are in to remain stagnant simply because we are comfortable, it may be time for us to summon up the courage to challenge the status quo.

This may be painful at times, or surprisingly liberating, and it will most likely be a little of both. Underneath the discomfort, we will probably find excitement and energy as we take the risk of unblocking the natural flow of energy in our lives. It is like dismantling a dam inside ourselves, because most of the work involves clearing our own inner obstacles so that the river of our life can flow unobstructed. Once we remove the obstacles, we can simply go with the flow, trusting the changes that follow.

What's your number? Mine is 2.

2008-03-26T13:01:00.001-07:00

By LIEUT. SEAN WALSH

The passing of the 4,000th service member in Iraq is a tragic milestone and a testament to the cost of this war, but for those of us who live and fight in Iraq, we measure that cost in smaller, but much more personal numbers. For me those numbers are 8, the number of friends and classmates killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 3, the number of soldiers from my unit killed in this deployment. I’m 25, yet I’ve received more notifications for funerals than invitations to weddings...

The number 4,000 is too great to grasp even for us that are here in Iraq. When we soldiers read the newspaper, the latest AP casualty figures are glanced over with the same casual interest as a box score for a sport you don’t follow. I am certain that I am not alone when I open up the Stars and Stripes, the military’s daily paper, and immediately search for the section with the names of the fallen to see if they include anyone I know. While in a combat outpost in southwest Baghdad, it was in that distinctive bold Ariel print in a two-week-old copy of the Stars and Stripes that I read that my best friend had been killed in Afghanistan. No phone call from a mutual friend or a visit to his family. All that had come and gone by the time I had learned about his death. I sometimes wonder, if I hadn’t picked up that paper, how much longer I would have gone by without knowing - perhaps another day, perhaps a week or longer until I could find the time and the means to check my e-mail to find my messages unanswered and a death notification from a West Point distro list in my inbox. The dead in Afghanistan don’t seem to inspire the keeping of lists the same way that those in Iraq do, but even if they did it wouldn’t matter; he could only be number 7 to me.

I’m not asking for pity, only understanding for the cost of this war. We did, after all, volunteer for the Army and that is the key distinction between this army and the army of the Vietnam War. But even as I ask for that understanding I’m almost certain that you won’t be able to obtain it. Even Shakespeare, with his now overused notion of soldiers as a "band of brothers" fails to capture the bonds, the sense of responsibility to each other, among soldiers. In many ways, Iraq has become my home (by the time my deployment ends I will have spent more time here than anywhere else in the army) and the soldiers I share that home with have become my family. Between working, eating and sleeping within a few feet of the same soldiers every single day, I doubt I am away from them for more than two hours a day. I’m engaged to the love of my life, but it will take several years of marriage before I’ve spent as much time with her as I have with the men I serve with today.

For the vast majority of American’s who don’t have a loved one overseas, the only number they have to attempt to grasp the Iraq War is 4,000. I would ask that when you see that number, try to remember that it is made up of over 1 million smaller numbers; that every one of the 1 million service members who have fought in Iraq has his or her own personal numbers. Over 1 million 8’s and 3’s. When you are evaluating the price of the war, weighing potential rewards versus cost in blood and treasure, I would ask you to consider what is worth the lives of three of your loved ones? Or eight? Or more? It would be a tragedy for my 8 and 3 to have died without us being able to complete our mission, but it maybe even more tragic for 8 and 3 to become anything higher. View this article on Time.com

Balancing Self With Family Life

2008-03-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

Many of us have a hard time balancing taking care of ourselves with taking care of our family responsibilities. For people with young children, this can be especially challenging, but even people without children have obligations to care for extended family, partners, pets, and the home in which they live. It's easy to lose track of our own needs as we give ourselves to the people, pets, and places we love. However, it is essential to their well-being that we take care of ourselves, filling our own wells with water so that we have something to offer when we return home each day.

It is easy to get caught up in the demands of home life because they never stop. There is always one more thing you can do, another dish in the sink, a counter that needs wiping, or a person who needs a ride somewhere. If you don't set some boundaries, you will find yourself on an endless journey of housework and doing for others. Eventually, you will probably feel drained and out of touch with your inner life force. Instead of waiting for this to happen, integrate self-care into your daily schedule. Even Buddha insisted that he have one hour completely to himself every day. There are times when even that will not be possible-for example, with a new baby or a sick relative. At times like this, retreating inward energetically can be a lifesaver. You can always find five minutes to close your eyes and breathe consciously. You may even be able to meditate.

Most of the time, though, it is possible to set aside a full hour for yourself each day. In addition, scheduling a longer interval of time, perhaps on a weekly basis, can really help to restore your energy. Get a massage or go to a movie or out with a friend. Taking time to experience the world outside of your home makes returning home all the more wonderful. In the same way, taking care of yourself is a natural complement to taking care of your home and family.

Perception

2008-03-26T10:22:00.001-07:00

There is no secret recipe for happiness and contentment. The individuals who move through life joyously have not necessarily been blessed with lives of abundance, love, success, and prosperity. Such people have, however, been blessed with the ability to take the circumstances they've been handed and make them into something great. Our individual realities are colored by perception-delight and despair come from within rather than without. Situations we regard as fortuitous please us while situations we judge inauspicious cause us no end of grief. Yet if we can look at all we have accomplished without dwelling on our perceived misfortune and make each new circumstance our own, the world as a whole becomes a brighter place. A simple shift in attitude can help us recognize and unearth the hidden potential for personal and outer world fulfillment in every event, every relationship, every duty, and every setback.

The universe is often an unpredictable and chaotic place, and the human tendency is to focus on the negative and assume the positive will care for itself. But life can be no more or no less than what you make of it. If you are working in a job you dislike, you can concentrate on the positive aspects of the position and approach your work with gusto. What can you do with this job that can turn it around so you do love it. When faced with the prospect of undertaking a task you fear, you can view it as an opportunity to discover what you are truly capable of doing. Similarly, unexpected events, when viewed as surprises, can add flavor to your existence. By choosing to love life no matter what crosses your path, you can create an atmosphere of jubilance that is wonderfully infectious. A change in perspective is all it takes to change your world, but you must be willing to adopt an optimistic, hopeful mind-set.

To make a conscious decision to be happy is not enough. You must learn to observe life's complexities through the eyes of a child seeing everything for the first time. You must furthermore divest yourself of preconceived notions of what is good and what is bad so that you can appreciate the rich insights concealed in each stage of your life's journey. And you must strive to discover the dual joys of wanting what you have. As you gradually shift your perspective, your existence will be imbued with happiness and contentment that will remain with you forever.

Accepting Yourself

2008-03-25T13:21:00.001-07:00

There is no such thing as a good person or a bad person. There are choices and actions that lead us in different directions, and it is through those choices and actions that we create our realities. Sometimes we choose or do something that takes us in the opposite direction of the reality we want to create for ourselves. When we do this, we feel bad?uneasy, unhappy, unsure. We might go so far as to label ourselves ?bad? when a situation like this arises. Instead of labeling ourselves, though, we could simply acknowledge that we made a choice that lead us down a particular path, and then let it go, forgiving ourselves and preparing for our next opportunity to choose, and act, in ways that support our best intentions.

Many of us experienced childhoods in which the words good and bad were used as weapons to control us?you were good if you did what you were told and bad if you didn?t. This kind of discipline undermines a person?s ability to find their own moral center and to trust and be guided by their own inner self. If you were raised this way, you may find yourself feeling shockwaves of badness when you do something you were taught was wrong, even if now you don?t agree that it?s bad. Conversely, you may feel good when you do what you learned was right. Notice how this puts you in something of a straitjacket. An important part of our spiritual unfolding requires that we grow beyond what we learned and take responsibility for our own liberation in our own terms.

You are a human being with every right to be here, learning and exploring. To label yourself good or bad is to think too small. What you are is a decision-maker and every moment provides you the opportunity to move in the direction of your higher self or in the direction of stagnation or degradation. In the end, only you know the difference. If you find yourself going into self-judgment, try to stop yourself as soon as you can and come back to center. Know that you are not good or bad, you are simply you.

Apologize by OneRepublic

2007-12-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

I'm holding on your rope,
Got me ten feet off the ground
I'm hearin what you say but I just can't make a sound
You tell me that you need me
Then you go and cut me down, but wait
You tell me that you're sorry
Didn't think I'd turn around, and say that...

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late

I'd take another chance, take a fall
Take a shot for you
And I need you like a heart needs a beat
But it's nothing new
I loved you with a fire red-
Now it's turning blue, and you say...
"Sorry" like the angel heaven let me think was you
But I'm afraid...

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late
It's too late to apologize, yeah
I said it's too late to apologize, yeah-
I'm holdin on your rope, got me ten feet off the ground...

The Five Star Hangover!

2007-12-12T14:52:00.000-08:00

One Star Hangover (*)No pain. No real feeling of illness. You're able to function relatively well. However, you are still parched. You can drink 5 cokes and still feel this way. For some reason, you are craving a steak & fries.

Two Star Hangover (**)No pain, but something is definitely amiss. You may look okay, but you have the mental capacity of a staple gun. The coffee you are chugging is only increasing your rumbling gut, which is still tossing around the fruity pancake from the 3:00 AM Waffle House excursion. There is some definite havoc being wreaked upon your bowels.

Three Star Hangover (***)Slight headache. Stomach feels crappy. You are definitely not productive. Anytime a girl walks by you gag because her perfume reminds you of the flavored schnapps shots your alcoholic friends dared you to drink. Life would be better right now if you were home in your bed watching Lucy reruns. You've had 4 cups of coffee, a gallon of water, 3 iced teas and a diet Coke--yet you haven't peed once.

Four Star Hangover (****)Life sucks. Your head is throbbing. You can't speak too quickly or else you might puke. Your boss has already lambasted you for being late and has given you a lecture for reeking of booze. You wore nice clothes, but that can't hide the fact that you only shaved one side of your face. For the ladies, it looks like you put your make-up on while riding the bumper cars. Your eyes look like one big red vein, and even your hair hurts. Your ass is in perpetual spasm, and the first of about five shits you take during the day brings water to the eyes of everyone who enters the bathroom.

Five Star Hangover (*****)You have a second heartbeat in your head, which is actually annoying the employee who sits in the next cube. Vodka vapor is seeping out of every pore and making you dizzy. You still have toothpaste crust in the corners of your mouth from brushing your teeth in an attempt to get the remnants of the poop fairy out. Your body has lost the ability to generate spit so your tongue is suffocating you. You don't have the foggiest idea who the hell the stranger was passed out in your bed this morning. Any attempt to take a dump results in a fire hose like discharge of alcohol-scented fluid with a rare 'Floater' thrown in. The sole purpose of this 'Floater' seems to be to splash the toilet water all over your ass. Death sounds pretty good about right now...

MY HOUSE!

2007-12-11T15:20:00.000-08:00

So Come January 1... I get my house back. I have been gone a year and I have missed my home. I had made a mess of my personal finances but have bounced back and hopefully will not return. I still have a ways to go but when you can make a 1800 payment at once it feels good.

All I needed to do was to make it happen. Thinking positive really helped.

Destroyed!

2007-12-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

DESTROYED CIA TAPES:The CIA and the Justice Department announced that they are starting an inquiry into the destruction of the CIA torture videotapes.The CIA was told to keep the videotapes from being destroyed.One of the destroyed tapes showed the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah who supposedly pointed the finger at members of the Saudi royal family.CIA Director Michael Hayden will testify before Congress on Tuesday about the destroyed CIA videotapes. .Joe Biden is calling for a special counsel to investigate the destroyed CIA tapes. Back in 2002 four members of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi, were given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites in a secret meeting. They were supposedly shown interrogation techniques, including waterboarding. No objections were raised.The Senate Intelligence Committee has begun an investigation into the destroyed CIA tapes.Senator Edward Kennedy called the destruction of the tapes a cover-up. Watch Kennedy’s comments.A “well informed source” told CBS News that the videotapes were destroyed to avoid criminal prosecution.Lawyers for a Guantanamo inmate say the CIA took photos that prove their client suffered terrible injuries during torture. Here's the final vote on the Military Commissions Act, which made torture legal.

OTHER DOCUMENTS DESTROYED!Oliver North shreds Iran Contra Documents. North's secretary describes effort to hide evidence. Oliver North said he came to tell the truth.Nixon’s secretary, Rosemary Woods, erased White House records. Woods obituary had another angle of her "erasing position".The Pentagon destroyed Bush’s service records. That kept his Vietnam secrets safe!The EPA in contempt for destroying electronic documents in violation of a court order issued.Rove’s emails...Destroyed! Scott Bloch, who was put in charge of the Rove investigation, does seven level wipe of hard drive.FAA managers destroyed 9/11 tape. The recording contained accounts of communications with hijacked planes.

THE HOUSING SLUMP:Effects of the sub prime crisis are spreading: 24 states say their revenue has been affected by the housing slump.Here are a few more details on the mortgage freeze plan.On The Situation Room on Friday, CNN financial analyst Ali Velshi did a breakdown of the Bush mortgage plan. Surprise! Bush’s numbers are skewed.

Updates about the Iran thing and more...

2007-12-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

IRAN:Even though the NIE report says that Iran halted their nuclear weapons program back in 2003, Bush is still claiming that Iran is dangerous.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is declaring a major victory after the NIE report contradicted Bush’s rhetoric about Iran. Israel, like Bush, is convinced that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, despite what the NIE says.

Journalist Seymour Hersh said that Cheney had his foot on the neck of this NIE report. The info in the report has been circulating in the White House for the past year.Here is Seymour Hersh’s article in the New Yorker entitled, “Last Stand: The military’s problem with the President’s Iran policy”.Hersh also says that Bush told Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of the NIE findings 2 days before Bush claims his was briefed on it.Bush said yesterday that Mike McConnell came in and told him we have some new information. “He didn’t tell me what the information was.” Evidently, Bush didn’t ask. Democratic Presidential candidates are questioning Hillary’s vote earlier this year calling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group. Here is a statement released by Clinton back in September defending her vote. A day after the NIE report was released Hillary Clinton is still on the defensive.

EDITORIALS ABOUT THE NIE:From the NY Times: Good and Bad News About Iran.From the Christian Science Monitor: Mulling the nuclear intent of Iran's mullahs.From the Washington Post: Intelligence on Iran.From the L.A. Times: Iran's nonexistent nuclear program. Score one for deterrence -- and the Russians.From the Wall Street Journal: “High Confidence' Games”.

GITMO:From the L.A. Times and author David Cole, " Are We Safer? A Report Card On The War On Terror".

GITMO terror detainees are getting their day in court. Lawyers will be arguing in front of the US Supreme Court today for 36 prisoners who say their detention is unconstitutional.The Gitmo detainee cases involves a critical separation-of-powers issue. Can the President and Congress strip the courts of their power over these cases? In recently declassified documents, military tribunals repeatedly ignored exculpatory evidence in the case of a 19-year old German man held at Gitmo. The man was held by the tribunals despite the intelligence community’s finding that he was not a terrorist.Here is an excerpt of Judge Green's ruling in this case and The Lacquement Memo.How bad are conditions at Gitmo? A prisoner tried to cut his throat with his own fingernail.

THE OCCUPATION:Instead of releasing all of the war-funding that Bush wants all at once, Rahm Emanuel and Steny Hoyer want to release war funds in small increments, with further installments tied to specific performance benchmarks for Iraq's politicians.Just a reminder of the consequences of the war in Iraq: Here is a list of the casualties of all the soldiers in the war on terror.

CONTEMPT!Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy has set a vote for Thursday on contempt resolutions against Josh Bolten and Karl Rove for failing to respond to subpoenas.

PRIVATE SECURITY:Gen. David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker have agreed on details controlling private security contractors in Iraq. “The agreement requires all State Department convoys in Iraq to coordinate their movements with the military’s main operations center in Baghdad, sets minimum standards for training the contractors and outlines when armed guards may use force in self-defense”.

THE ’08 CANDIDATES:Mitt Romney fired his landscaping company after learning that they are employing illegal immigrants.Mike Huckabee supported a release of a serial rapist back in 1999 even after victims warned he would strike again. Wayne Dumond, the convict, was released 25 years early and went on to rape and murder at least 1 other woman.Here is one letter from a rape victim expressing concern about releasing the serial rapist Wayne Dumond. Here is a letter from a rape victim’s daughter expressing more concern. Yet one more letter from a rape victim asking for Dumond not to be released.

SIDEBARSAT&T will be phasing out its pay phones in 13 states by the end of 2008.Bah! Humbug! Dick Cheney skipped the annual White House holiday party to go hunting.

Sick & Tired

2007-12-05T09:33:00.002-08:00

I am sick to death that people cant understand the difference between supporting our troops and not supporting this war or president!

I support our troops but I do not support this war or president in anyway shape or form. I can see the difference. A parent can love their child but not love how they act. But they still love them regardless, am I right?

So how come I can't go out and protest against this war without someone saying I don't support the troops? It's just not true. I do support the troops 100%

It is so insane to me that some people cant make out the differences. Makes me want to puke.I support all troops but I have little sympathy for those who sign up *right now* knowing the circumstances. You have a 50/50 chance of getting killed, and or horribly injured. I will mourn the loss of them, try to help when they come home without their limbs, I do however support them and want the to come home safe and sound. I support the troops because I am doing everthing in my power to bring them home.

If less people decided to sign up, they would have to force an enlistment. When that happens and if we are forced to go to Iraq/Afghanistan or god forbid Iran... all hell will break loose.

That is the difference between the 60' war protests and today's protests. People are not going to war against their will, yes many signed up to get Osama Bin Fk Head but instead are somewhere else and they are pretty ticked about it. If they start taking people against their will/beliefs, then you will see protests like you have never seen before!!!!

That is why President Bush and Co. have not done it already, because his tiny approval rating of 22% will fall even faster, he will loose supporters and finacial backers and he doesn't want that now does he.

You will see how people really feel about this war... when it AFFECTS them, if it doesnt really have any kind of impact on them they could care less.

Well I care, I care alot, I support my troops but not this president or this war.

I will stand in front of where I have too to show my distaste for this war and president awhile SUPPORTING my troops!

P.S. I did loose a family member to this war who fought hard but all for the wrong reasons.

Think people think!!!

/end rant

Idiot Landlords!

2007-12-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

It's official: My Landlord is a total Douche BAG!

I can't wait to move out in Feb. I am going to make sure he knows who he has messed with. I am reporting him all over the county. Sucks to have a bad rep in the Real Estate world these days.

I have a sewer problem at my house. He refuses to fix the problem. He sends out a guy every three months, but, only when there is a problem. Jerk!! and EWWWWW

*puts on fighting gloves*

Irritated and I will snap!

2007-11-30T08:56:00.000-08:00

Ever have one of those days where nothing will give you peace of mind. Your on edge and can't get out of the funk? Well today my friends is my day, I am irritated to no end and I no patience for anyone or anyones crap!

I am here at work until 10 pm for this Art show, I hope it goes well for them but man, they are all pains in my butt... needy, needy, needy people!

Looking forward to my massage tomorrow and my pottery barn decorating class on Sunday. I can't wait to clean my house and do laundry. Ahhhh the life I love.. clean laundry :)

Adults who act like children.

2007-11-29T13:31:00.000-08:00

It's the law of order: Your born, your a child, your a teenager, then your an adult.

As we grow older we learn new things, new lessons, new strengths. As we grow older the lessons we have learned should help us become wiser, more aware and stronger as an adult.

I can't tell you how frustrating it is for me to sit and watch people stay idle. They physically get older but still act like a child. Fits and tantrums are the norm for them.

I have met a few in this last year of my life that have thrown me for a total loop. I take pride in being strong within myself and working hard to please myself and not worry about what others think. I don't worry about who likes me or who doesn't like me or what I was or was not invited too. It to be honest is not all that important to want to be liked by everyone. Not everyone we meet we are going to like in life. I know I am a good person and mean well and most everyones else does too.

But please to those out there that think they for some reason think that everyone ALWAYS attacks them and always wonders why they seem like the third wheel. Maybe it isn't them, maybe it's YOU. Have you ever taken your own inventory? Have you ever taken note of how you interact with people. SOmetimes acting like a total know-it-all isn't the best course of action. It turns people off, or seeming to judgemental. Go with the flow....

A Nation Divided

2007-11-29T10:42:00.000-08:00

"Even if our new strategy works exactly
as planned, deadly acts of violence
will continue, and we must expect
more Iraqi and American casualties." - George W. Bush

As the presidential primaries near, voters agonize over a prolonged war. As I sit here looking ahead to January 20th 2009. I hope I see a Democrat in office and that the War has ended or is quickly coming to an end.

What makes our lives here more valuable than the lives of Iraqis or Afghans? Why the need to say, better to fight them over there than here? I don't get it. I don't get any of it. Leave them be... if we want true security in our country, we need to fix OUR country not anyone elses.

I have a personal issue with this war for several reasons. Despite the fact that a Brother In Law of mine was killed in Iraq in 2005 and that I have many friends deployed now and a few home injured badly. I still support our troops even though I do not support this WAR!

There is the ability to support troops and not support the war. Where do people get that you have to support the war to support the troops, and if you don't support the war you are not supporting the troops? It's crazy! People that say that, are all missing a nut and bolt somewhere.

I have issue with this war or ANY war for that matter. Killing is involved always. If these leaders are so god fearing and bring religion into state business, where our fore fathers said they should remain seperate. Why are they authorizing the murder of our troops by continuing with this war and the killing of others?

These so called god fearing, religious, right wing nut jobs and along with some Dems and every other political party nut jobs are not following gods order. Remember the 10 Commandments? Thou shall not kill. Obviously they really dont follow religion very well. Why else do they say may God Bless Us, why would'nt god bless everyone. Are we not all his chidren?

Im so frustrated!!!!!!!

George Draws The Line At Stem Cells

"I will not allow our nation to cross this moral line.
I felt like crossing this line would be a mistake, and once
crossed, we would find it almost impossible to turn back."
— G. W. Bush