Hey We're Still Here!!!!!

I even gave our "friends" on the wacky right 3 full days of the benefit of the doubt. Well August 22nd has come and gone, and I don't know about you but I sure didn't see any horse with flaming wings zooming across the night sky in a blaze of glory. Oh well guess we must wait until next year. Hell, I was especially looking forward to those 72 virgins that were supposed to show up after all the fireworks. Well let's face it I AM a little too old to take advantage of 72 beauties anyway, but an old man can still fantasize can't he? So it's back to reality I guess. Too bad the (Grand Oil Party) GOP now in a position of absolute power can't do the same thiing.

Another Ally Leaves, And The Right Is Predicting Armageddon.

Almost constantly in recent months there have been "behind the scenes" reports that the Cabal in the White House known as the Bush Crime Family is planning to invade and cause regime change in Iran even using "targeted nuclear weapons" if necessary. Reports have even surfaced that the Israeli/Hezbollah confrontation in Lebanon was planned well ahead of time by the US and Israel in order to justify and pave the way for their Iranian attack. In today's Scotsman News.com, Egyptian President Mubarak warned against any military strike on Iran, saying in an interview with Egypt's Akhbar al-Youm newspaper. "The conflict between the United States and Iran must be resolved through diplomatic channels and direct dialogue, because any strike on Iran means the end of stability in the region and the world." [snip] He went on to say Iran is an important country in the region, and relations between countries are governed by pacts and treaties and agreements that prohibit interference in any internal matters of the countries." Well back in April of 2006 we had Seymour Hersh stating this in The New Yorker. Courtesy of Truth Out.org Current and former American military and intelligence officials said that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups. The officials say that President Bush is determined to deny the Iranian regime the opportunity to begin a pilot program, planned for this spring, to enrich uranium. If all this is not enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, take into consideration that King (born again and rapture ready believer) George is clashing right up against a fellow "end of times" believer in Iranian's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He and his followers clearly believe that the time is now for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. In an opinion piece published by of all papers The Wall Street Journal, Bernard Lewis, professor emeritus at Princeton, and author recently, of "From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East" (Oxford University Press, 2004), wrote the following regarding the date of August 22nd as the date when Ahmadinejad will respond to the UN's requests to cease Nuclear production. In Islam, as in Judaism and Christianity, there are certain beliefs concerning the cosmic struggle at the end of time--Gog and Magog, anti-Christ, Armageddon, and for Shiite Muslims, the long awaited return of the Hidden Imam, ending in the final victory of the forces of good over evil, however these may be defined. Mr. Ahmadinejad and his followers clearly believe that this time is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development by Aug. 22. This was at first reported as "by the end of August," but Mr. Ahmadinejad's statement was more precise. What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to "the farthest mosque," usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind. Well now that I have managed to put on my tinfoil hat and possibly scared the bejesus out of all of you, why not go ahead and read the entire opinion HERE.... Heck I even took a stroll over to the conservative side of the blogosphere to give you another link to this armageddon nonsense: Right Truth that describes itself as "A conservative blog on terrorism." among other things. Excuse me now while I go take a very very long shower if you know what I mean. What the hell if nothing else you can't say I didn't give you a good laugh. Say if any of you are available on Aug. 22 let's get together and throw an "End of Times Barbeque Bash". At least we'll have the fire going agaid of time. BYOB of course.

NRSC Comes Out Of The Closet

Not only has the National Republican Senate Committee remained stunningly quiet in its' support for their candidate in Conneticut Allan Schlesinger, but now we learn from The Politicker a source at the National Republican Senatorial Committee confirmed in a phone interview that the party will not help Schlesinger or any other potential Republican candidate in Connecticut, and it now favors a Lieberman victory in November. "We did a poll and there is no way any Republican we put out there can win, so we are just going to leave that one alone," said the NRSC source. Instead, the NRSC is pulling for Lieberman over Ned Lamont, who rode an anti-war message to a victory in the Aug 8 primary. Read on.....

LIEberman Gets His First Endorsement From A Fellow Senator.

Even though he still maintains he's a loyal Democrat, Joementum has decided to run as an Independent. Well today he received his first major endorsement from a fellow member of the Senate. Was it another Democrat? NO!! How about another Independent? NO!! A member of the Green Party? NO!! Well that only leaves what? Why a Republican of course. This fairly high profile member of the Senate, was none other than Senator Susan Collins of Maine . You know of course that there IS an official Republican candidate running in this race, But it looks as though poor Allan Schlesinger has been left out to twist in the wind. Hell even party chairman (Miss?) Ken Mehlman hasn't endorsed him. In fact he couldn't even bring himself to say the guys name on Hardball with Chris Matthews. In answer to a direct question from Matthews about RNC support for Schlesinger he totally dodged the question, saying only he would tell just people to give cash to the RNC to spend strategically. It looks to me that Schlesinger has been left to twist in the wind. This is typical of Republicans however. They send out all their noise machine pundits attacking Ned Lamont and criticizing the Democratic Party for "abandoning" dear Joe, while at the same time refusing to even acknowledge their own candidate..........quietly and behind the scenes of course. Just another example of Republican hypocritical values.

Stop Warrantless Wiretaps - Judge Anna Diggs Taylor

Via WDIV Detroit. Ruling in favor of the ACLU on behalf of Arab-Americans in the Detroit area and others who claim that the mere existence of the program violates their free speech and privacy rights by making them reluctant to speak freely, due to fear of having their private conversations illegally intercepted by the Bush administration. DETROIT -- A federal judge said Thursday that a federal warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional Thursday and ordered that it be immediately halted. The judge in U.S. District Court in Detroit is the first to strike down the National Security Agency's program. Judge Anna Diggs Taylor said it violates the rights to free speech and privacy and that it also goes against the separation of powers in the Constitution. I am confident there will be appeal after appeal in this case as will the cry from the right-wing wackos about those "activist judges".

Clinton Issues Smackdown To LIEberman

Former President Bill Clinton gave a complete smackdown to Joementum saying Lieberman’s position on the Iraq war is the “Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld position.” Appearing on ABC’s Good Morning America, he also went on to describe Lieberman's position on the Iraq war as: “I want to attack Iraq whether or not they have weapons of mass destruction.” Transcript below: JAKE TAPPER: Joe Lieberman said that this was basically liberals in the party purging moderates such as him and you out of the party, and that there needs to be a voice for more moderate national security voices. CLINTON: Well, if I were Joe and I were running as an independent that’s what I’d say, too. But that’s not quite right. That is, there were almost no Democrats who agreed with his position, which was I want to attack Iraq whether or not they have weapons of mass destruction. And his position was the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld position.ollows: Regarding the way the administration has tried to politicize the London terror threat, he said: The Republicans should be very careful in trying to play politics with this London airport thing, because they're going to have a hard time with the facts. They seem to be anxious to tie it to al Qaeda. … If that's true, how come we got seven times as many troops in Iraq as in Afghanistan? "Why have we imperiled President [Hamid] Karzai's rule and allowed the Taliban to come back into the southern part of Afghanistan? Why was Iraq deemed to be seven times more important than finding the al Qaeda leaders for the last five years?" Oh how I wish a man with this intelligence occupied the White House instead of the total imbecile that's there now. The entire interview is available in an exclusive interview at ABC News

Progressives Demand And Get Roberts Appology

Yesterday we posted here about CNN Headline News anchor Chuck Roberts despicable words about Ned Lamont: “How does this factor into the Lieberman/Lamont contest? And might some argue, as some have, that Lamont is the al Qaeda candidate?”. Arianna Huffington led the way to bring this to everyone's attention, then David Brock of Media Matters followed that up with a letter to CNN's President Jonathan Klein demanding that action of some kind be taken angainst Roberts. Well today via Think Progress, we learn that Roberts did indeed issue an appology to Ned Lamont live, and also afforded Ned the opportunity to correct the record and answer all the right-wing slams against him in an interview. Congratulations to the entire progressive community for standing up and demanding accountability and an appology. Chuck Roberts should also be commended for having the personal integrity to appologize live and on the air directly to Ned Lamont. You can watch the original remarks here, and the appology here both courtesy of Thin Progress.

Cheney Crossed The Line

Unlike CNN's Chuck Roberts some in the media are showing they aren't being bamboozled by the right-wing chattering class including V.P. Darth Cheney. Dan Froomkin in his White House Briefing column today brings it into true perspective, giving us not only his thoughts on Cheney's scumbag talking points, but also those of other reporters. By insinuating that the sizeable majority of American voters who oppose the war in Iraq are aiding and abetting the enemy, Vice President Cheney on Wednesday may have crossed the line that separates legitimate political discourse from hysteria. [snip] In making the case that Lieberman's defeat was actually an enormous boost for Republicans, the customarily furtive vice president let loose not with compelling argument, but unsupported invective. It's nice to see for a change that there are at least a few reporters that have a sense of decency.

CNN's Chuck Roberts Should Be Disciplined Harshly

Yet another right-wing talking head (and a second rate one at that) has decided to jump on the trash Ned Lamont bandwagon. This time it is Chuck Roberts on CNN Headline News. While discussing the London terror plot with John Mercurio, the senior editor of Hotline, Roberts asked Mercurio, “How does this factor into the Lieberman/Lamont contest? And might some argue, as some have, that Lamont is the al Qaeda candidate?”. What the hell kind of ridiculous crap is this from CNN. Rightly so, Arianna Huffington has posted a peel the paint off the walls report on this over at Huffington Post, with a transcript from her appearance on Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz. you had your own headline anchorman, Chuck Roberts, describe Lamont as the al Qaeda candidate. This is an equally deceitful, fraudulent, fabricated statement. There should be zero tolerance for all those deceits, whether in images or words. KURTZ: Well, what Chuck Roberts said, according to the transcript, was that some are calling Ned Lamont the al Qaeda candidate. But it's certainly not a formulation I would have used. HUFFINGTON: You cannot find a single person who called Lamont the al Qaeda candidate, except Chuck Roberts. And what have been the consequences when it comes to Chuck Roberts? Has he been demoted to be covering Paris Hilton or entertainment news? ... It's about time that there is that same kind of accountability that Charles is demanding from photojournalists from journalists, as well. How right you are Arianna this kind of crap is totally despicable. Not only has Arianna raised hell over this, but David Brook of Media Matters has been in contact with Jonathan Klein the President of CNN. Here is an excerpt of the letter: during a discussion on CNN Headline News of the recent Connecticut Senate Democratic primary won by Ned Lamont, anchor Chuck Roberts asked: "Might some argue, as some have, that Lamont is the Al Qaeda candidate?" One expects to hear this kind of hyperbolic rhetoric -- which also perfectly plays into the Republican Party's baseless smears of Democrats as soft on national security -- coming from the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, or Michael Savage. CNN, however, is supposed to be a legitimate news organization. We at Media Matters for America, along with your viewers, would like to know what action you intend to take in response to this incident. Will CNN be issuing a retraction? Will Mr. Roberts be offering Mr. Lamont an on-air apology? Will some disciplinary action be taken against Mr. Roberts? We eagerly await your response. I would urge everyone to contact CNN and express their disgust at this kind of deceitful journalism by using the contact form HERE. Please remember to be polite and professional and stick to the facts. If you wish to view a clip of Roberts making this statement, it is available for viewing at Think Progress The CNN clip of Arianna on CNN's Reliable Sources can be viewed at C&L

Kennedy On Cheney

Hat tip AMERICABlog. From Courant.com Cheney's comments about the election were ugly and frightening. They show once again that he and his party will stop at nothing to wrap Republicans in the flag and to insinuate that anyone who votes against them is giving aid and comfort to the terrorists. It's obvious that this administration lacks basic respect for our fundamental freedoms. Read On

Feingold Speaks Out

Via Think Progress. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) echoed Vice President Cheney last week by arguing that a timeline for Iraq redeployment “will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England. It will strengthen them and they will strike again.” Thank goodness we have '08 Presidential candidate (and I have to say my pick as the best of the lot) Russ Feingold to speak truth to power. Watch the video HERE.....

Lamont Hits Back

Immediately after Ned Lamont's primary win, the right-wing talking heads started the drumbeat of partisanship. Then Darth Cheney stated about Lamont's victory “What is particularly disturbing about it is from the standpoint of our adversaries. ... They are betting on the proposition that ultimately they can break the will of the American people in our ability to stay in the fight and complete the task This even before the news of the London terror plot was released, he than went on to refer to Lamont and his supporters as “the al Qaida types.” Of course what the lapdog press didn't tell you was that Cheney knew about the London terror plot when he made his statement. And don't you find it just a little ironic that Cheney called a teleconference with the very press he has despised and avoided for years? LIEberman joined in the chorus saying, “If we just pick up like Ned Lamont wants us to do, get out by a date certain, it will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England, it will strengthen them, and they will strike again.” Unlike the actions of John Kerry in the last election when he was "swiftboated", Lamont had the courage to strike back and stand up for himself saying "My God, here we have a terrorist threat against hearth and home and the very first thing that comes out of their mind is how can we turn this to partisan advantage. I find that offensive," As ABC News reported from an interview with Lamont Lamont said Lieberman's swipe at his candidacy "sounded an awful lot" like Cheney. "It surprised me," he said. "It seemed almost orchestrated. It's sort of demeaning to the people of Connecticut. … I thought the senator and the vice president were both wrong to use that attack (strategy) on the voters of Connecticut." You go Ned, these kind of slimey political tactics (indicative of Karl Rove) are totally off base and disgusting. Hopefully the voters of Conneticut (and the rest of the country) will sit up and take notice then act accordingly in November.

Ratchet Up The Fear - Remove Even MORE Rights

Now that there has been a convenient terror threat, King George and his crime lords want the authority to remove even more rights from its' citizens. The Boston Globe reports in today's edition: At a time when Congress is questioning the scope of the Bush administration's executive powers -- including a highly controversial program to listen to domestic phone calls without a warrant -- Chertoff said more powers to track potential terrorists inside the United States may be needed. [snip] The British ``have an easier time getting electronic surveillance, and they also can detain people for up to, I think, 28 days without charging them," Chertoff said on ``Fox News Sunday." ``And those are very useful tools when you're trying to intercept an ongoing and very dynamic plot when you may not have collected all the evidence." King George and the rest of the conservative talking heads found yet another phrase to put into their talking points - "Islamofascism" . From what I read in this article, we must ask, is this the opposite of their version of "Amerifascism"? MORE.....

Corporate Media Get's It's Long Over-do Smackdown

When Ned Lamont defeated Joementum LIEberman in the CT Democratiic Primary, not only did Joe get his butt smacked handily, but so did the Washington press corps and the rest of the Corporate media. As Jeff Cohen points out in an article from CommonDreams.org Besides defeating Sen. Joe Lieberman, challenger Ned Lamont has also registered a triumph over much of the Washington press corps that had rallied so ridiculously to Lieberman’s defense. Even (fair and balanced???) Fox News got into the act. Lieberman is not just the favorite Democrat of the White House and corporate interests; he’s also a favorite of conservative pundits and Fox News and Sean Hannity, who proposed “Conservatives for Lieberman” and has volunteered to campaign and fundraise for Joe in Connecticut. Can someone please explain to me the sudden concern from the Conservative Republican camp about the health of the Democratic Party? Election coverage saw conservative columnists feverishly denouncing a “liberal inquisition” against Lieberman; they attacked “Ned’s nutcases” and “crazies.” Given the invective aimed at Lamont’s grassroots and Netroots supporters, it was fun to see Fox News pundit Mort Kondracke whining that Lieberman’s defeat could mean the end of “civility in American politics” and a victory for “hatred politics” and “savage Internet-based attacks.” Persecuted Lieberman was “The Last Honest Man,” according to the headline of a Washington Post column. Of course this must have all been done in the "interest" of "bi-partisanship". These pundits seem to conveniently forget of course that "bi-partisanship" is a two-way street. Rest assured, the next assault on the Democrats and Ned Lamont, that will come during the campaign up to the general election in November will be the "suspicious" campaign contributions from the netroots supporters. These contributions are suspicious because after all most of these people are outsiders. Of course no mention will be made of the massive influx of money given to Liebermann from all those outside corporate interests referred to in this article from Rolling Stone He is everything a Washington insider loves in a politician. He is pompous, pious and available. Routinely one of the very top recipients of campaign donations from the insurance, pharmaceutical and finance sectors, and a man whose wife, Hadassah, is a pharmaceutical-industry lobbyist for Hill and Knowlton, Lieberman has quietly become one of the greatest allies corporate America has in Washington. For example, Lieberman, who as chairman of the DLC (Democratic Leadership Council) in the mid to late Nineties presided over an organization heavily subsidized by companies such as AIG and Aetna (the latter of which also contributes lavishly to his campaigns), sponsored a bill that limited auto insurance suits by permitting the offering of lower rates to consumers who forfeited their right to sue. He has fought for similar anti-lawsuit laws for tobacco, for HMOs, for pharmaceutical companies. Victor Schwartz, general counsel for the American Tort Reform Association, once bragged that "if it were not for Lieberman, there would never have been a Biomaterials Access Act"—a 1998 law that protected companies like Dow Chemical and DuPont (also big DLC contributors) from lawsuits filed for the production of defective medical implants. Yes, that's right: Joe Lieberman fought for the principle of manufacturing faulty fake tits with impunity. Awe damn it Joe we hardly knew thee, and now you're soon to be history. Now, now all you media pundits, stop that whining about how all those Lamont supporters are not only outsiders, but anti-Semitic too! Funny how it took 18 long years to suddenly discover that St. Joe was actually Jewish eh? Hmmmm guess that kind of shoots that theory all to hell also. Then again, there are all those uppity bloggers picking on poor Joe. Jonathan Alter wrote in Newsweek that bloggers had “noisily intervened” in Connecticut’s primary because they “brook no dissent” on Iraq; he warned of “a cannabilistic distraction” among Democrats Come on Jonathan do you really believe that Joe and his high-priced minions could be "distracted" that badly by the netroots and its' bloggers? Perhaps just maybe what all us bloggers did, was to wake up the rest of the country to what we have known all along........that Joe, the darling of the Corporate elite and their personal whores in the Washington press corps and at the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), look after nobody's interests but their own. Wake up and smell the coffee Joe - the Democratic voters in Conneticut didn't desert you, you deserted them a long long time ago. Now it's time to pay the piper.

This Is What Terror Looks Like

Lebanon - Looking through the fog of war Lebanon War Documentary. Lebanese Doctors and Civilian's Speak Out against the Terrorism they are facing from Israel. Shocking Documentary About the War in Lebanon and the tragedy in Qana. Thanks to the U.S. unconditional support for Israel this will continue regardless of the announced UN Resolution. Please do not misunderstand this comment. There is blame to be had by both Israel and Hizbollah. My point is that it is the innocent people of Lebanon that are paying the ultimate price. Warning This video contains images depicting the reality and horror of war and should only be viewed by a mature audience 08/11/06 Runtime 30 Minutes What more can be said except...... May God Help Us All.

Blair And Bush Complicit In Israeli Strike Against Lebanon

Tony Blair (the Lapdog) and King George (the Decider) both knew in advance that Israel intended to strike Lebanon. John Kampfner of the magazine New Statesman is reporting that Blair knew the attack on Lebanon was coming but he didn't try to stop it, because he didn't want to. He has made this country an accomplice, destroying what remained of our influence abroad while putting us all at greater risk of attack. I am told that the Israelis informed George W Bush in advance of their plans to "destroy" Hezbollah by bombing villages in southern Lebanon. The Americans duly informed the British. So Blair knew. This exposes as a fraud the debate of the past week about calling for a ceasefire. Indeed, one of the reasons why negotiations failed in Rome was British obduracy. This has been a case not of turning a blind eye and failing to halt the onslaught, but of providing active support. Blair, like Bush, had no intention of urging the Israelis to slow down their bombardment, believing somehow that this struggle was winnable. Israel has a right to self-defence, but it could have responded to the seizure of its soldiers, and to the rocket attacks, by the diplomatic route. That would have ensured greater sympathy. Now, growing numbers in Israel itself realise that military action will bring no long-term solution. I for one don't understand how these two warmongers can sleep at night let alone live with themselves. The amount of blood on their collective hands is beyond comprehension.

Sirota Shuts Coulter Down!

The GOP has overplayed its hand on national security, and Ann Coulter's declarations calling for the bombing of office buildings in New York, the poisoning of a Supreme Court Justice and the murder of Rep. Jack Murtha make her and the Republican Party sound like terrorists - and the American public is revulsed. Coulter, of course, had no answer - instead doing her best deer-in-the-headlights routine, and then reverting to tired, cliched RNC talking points. As David says, Frankly, if this is the best the Republicans have, Democrats are going to really carry election day come November. We are watching the very public implosion of the GOP - and boy is it fun to watch. View the exchange below: You can read David Sorota's excellent blog HERE