EVIDENCE OF CONCEALED DEATHS?
Then, from 2003 on, we only get lists of how many people died in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. No more total deaths.

Huh! I guess the military has stopped all suicides, homicides, and accidental deaths!

Or, possibly, that they don't want us to know that, despite there being only about 1,800 dead listed from OIF, the actual death rate for the military has suddenly, mysteriously spiked by almost 5,000 per year since the war began. By sheer coincidence. Really.

Panel indicts US, UK over Iraq

The independent panel of academics, writers and activists in its concluding verdict on Monday found the US and UK governments guilty of "planning, preparing, and waging the supreme crime of a war of aggression in contravention of the United Nations Charter and the Nuremberg Principles".

It also found the US-led forces had been "intentionally directing attacks upon civilians and hospitals, medical centres, residential neighbourhoods, electricity stations, and water purification facilities" in violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights.

The deaths listed for this war include only those that die on Iraq soil. Seriously and mortally wounded soldiers are tranported immediately. Deaths in transport, at hospitals, suicides are not included.
There must be a sight that has this information. I will check some of your links.

I don't remember where I read this. So it'd not verfied.

http://johnmccarthy90066.tripod.com/ a vetrans view of the forged death count. The links from this page are taking a lot of hits so may load real slow.

V.W. #2
That's why condaslezza wants bolton in the U.N. position---so he will make it 'look' like the bushmob wants.

That will be the end of Geneva, and Imperialism will have only green lights with no speed limits to do as it wants-Globally.

http://baltimore.indymed...g/newswire/display/10554 another page on military deaths

Most Dems seem to subscribe to the tin foil theory - if you are concerned about possible stolen elections, you are a nutjob.

All I can say is "great, prove me wrong in 2006. Win back Congress. I'd love to be wrong."

Fat chance. And in 2006 they won't forget to rig the exit polls.

Colleen: you are blathering away on a worthless story that keeps coming up on the internet blogs.

The 1,750 deaths include every single American soldier that died anywhere as a result of action, even accidents, in Iraq.

There are any number of web sites that list the entire 1750 deaths.

Don't you think families that had lost loved ones in Iraq would NOTICE that their loved one's name was not on the 1750 death list?

Good grief. You are reciting crap that Al Jazeera started a year ago or more!

The number of wounded and sick are also accurate as to whether they are the result of action in or occurred during service in Iraq.

Quit spreading INTERNET lies created by those that want our sons and daughters, MINE INCLUDED, dead!

Subj: Could the SEC Enforcement Division and DoD IG complement the FOIA request to the White House?

I was looking at Conyers blog and someone posted an image-link.

Then it occurred to me: The trading in the stocks in the Summer of 2002 had some strange blips in the trading.

Wait a minute. Given there are other DSM-like meetings and memos, wouldn't you be able to figure out what times to look for these to-be-discovered-memos based on the trading blips of the insiders? [ More . . . ]

Yes!

Jimo - Are we to believe your "INTERNET lies" or are you ever going to bother with even an inkling of evidence?

I have been reading that the Diebold stock is down as Diebold continues under siege from progressive groups.
Help keep them under seige. I recently sent this letter to Bank of America. If 6 or 7 other BOA follow up with similiar letters perhaps we can keep the pressure on.
This was the letter.

June 24, 2005

Bank of America, Marketing Manager
John Mungenast
Lakeview Center
6700 Lake view Center Dr.
Tampa, FL 33619

Dear Mr. Mungenast,

It has come to my attention that the ATM machines at Bank of America are made and serviced by the Diebold Company. I have long been a customer of BOA and have been generally satisfied with our relationship.

I have begun to question this relationship due to Diebold’s connect with the 2004 elections. Specifically with their part in Ohio and other states where they have refused to allow their software to be examined by outside sources (open source code) and their refusal to provide a paper trail for future elections.

I would not allow the bank to take my money without providing a receipt with which I could double check that the deposit is correct when I make it. I also do not believe that any American should trust their vote to Diebold or any other voting machine company without the ability to have a paper trail which assures that the vote is properly registered.

I am not taking a political position on this matter and I would not expect BOA to take a political position. Having an assurance that the votes are properly counted is not a matter of right or left but a matter or right or wrong. I feel it is necessary for BOA to stand up and be counted on this matter and would appreciate hearing from you on this matter.

Respectfully yours,

JIMO's Mantra =bush is god why think

BEYOND TREASON: What causes Gulf War Illness?
As ailing Gulf War Heroes from all 27 coalition countries slowly die of “unknown causes,” they wait for answers from their respective governments… but no satisfying or even credible answers have come forth from the military establishment. Records that span over a decade point to negligence and even culpability on the part of the U.S. Department of Defense and their “disposable army” mentality.

Time to keep BUYING Diebold stock!

Thanks for pounding the stock down!

I am picking it up for a few bucks a share cheaper and everybody as smart as I am will make a lot of money in a few short months!

Wow, this is so easy making money on Diebold thanks to you guys that it ought to be illegal!

There is a group of us that just follows you haters around and whomever you target, we sell their stock short, wait for it to go down, buy it back, or go long on it when its down!

Thanks!

Time to keep BUYING Diebold stock!

Thanks for pounding the stock down!

I am picking it up for a few bucks a share cheaper and everybody as smart as I am will make a lot of money in a few short months!

Wow, this is so easy making money on Diebold thanks to you guys that it ought to be illegal!

There is a group of us that just follows you haters around and whomever you target, we sell their stock short, wait for it to go down, buy it back, or go long on it when its down!

Thanks!

The final result of the corrupted Ohio recount conducted by Secretary of State and Cochair of the Bush Cheney reelection campaign Kenneth Blackwell's: 385 votes gained to Kerry. I voiced my opinion on the Ohio Democratic website blog and spoke to their contact person. His stock answer was all the cards are on the table. It's not like they closed off a precinct for a level 9 terrorist alert that didn't occur or that CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, and FOX refused to release their raw exit poll data for 6 weeks after the election because it was touched up. The words of the Democratic leadership was this is the final result and we must accept it. The Anger of Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb who was actually responsible for the recount in Ohio (not John Kerry) in regards to Blackwell election interference and bogus illegal recount did not matter. All the testimony and evidence of the rigged election that was being investigated and unearthed was a queef in the wind at Democratic corporate headquarters. No hard stance was ever taken in regards to questioning the legitimacy that George Dubbya won this election fair and square. Nothing was ever said about electronic fraud, disgusting humanistic fraud, or the obstruction caused by Ohio American parasite Kenneth Blackwell during this time ever. The truth about what really happpened in Ohio as uncovered by Robert Fitrakis and Co. at Freepress.org was not welcomed information by the brains at the Democratic Party.

(Whispered) There a bunch of conspiracy nuts and internet wackos. Don't print or say anything in the mass media concerning corruption in Presidential Election of 2004 and the story will go away. Shhh!... it's working.

Like a plant in a fixed boxing match, Kerry was never supposed to get up after being knocked down. Don't ever believe otherwise. Don't even bring up New Mexico which had 20,000 more votes cast than registered voters. "Just Quickly clear the voting machines before a recount!" OK.

Bush kerried the state by 6000 votes.

# 16

Buyer beware, when you hear this:
"make alot of money"
"so easy making money"

Observation

Notice he said "going to pick it up a few bucks cheaper" [Suggesting a purchase]; however he later says that he's selling it short. This is inconsistent.

Analysis

The problem is when you "short sell" a stock you're not buying anything; you're doing the opposite--you're borrrowing the shares; then selling them.

Unlike stock purchases, when you short-sell as stock, you want it to go down. If you were buying the stock back, then you would be assuming it was going to go up.

Thus to claim "I'm picking it up for a few bucks cheaper" is not what you do when you short sell.

Conclusion

Thus, I conclude he neither actually owns stock nor has short sold. Rather it appears as though he is providing false and misleading informatoin about his positions in the Diebold Corporation.

Recommendation

If you have concerns or additional information about Jimmo's alleged stock purchases or short sales but believe he is providing misleading information, or may be encouraging you to purchase stocks but Jimmos is not a licensed analysis . . . you can contact the Enforcement Division at the SEC.

Congrats, Jimmo. You're on the watch list!

Brad, I would encourage anyone with additional information to both save/archive the informatoin at #16; take it down; and forward it all to the SEC.

Thanks!

The heinous jimmo troll hates Americans and just loves the fact that bush is sending Americans to be slaughtered on foreign soil. Way to go troll.

Re: Justice O'Connor Retirement Announcement

The only reason this announcement comes now, three days after the failed Bush speech, is to move the national dialog away from DSM and impeachment. Methinks Mr. Rove made a call.

From a diary at DailyKos:

He said something like, "I'm probably gonna get pulled into the grand jury for saying this, but it will be revealed in Cooper's notes that it is Karl Rove who leaked Plame's identity."

The writer is referring to Lawrence O'donnell on the McGloughlin Group.

This should be interesting.

I hope they put his ass in jail

Subj: Potential Obstruction of Justice against someone in the White House?

#21

Alison,

FYI if so, then perhaps there is another area the FBI needs to look into. For in 2003, White House denied Rove had anything to do with it. [ More . . . .]

Translation: If Rove is the actual source as reporeted in #21, we apparently are seen a potential allegations of obstruction of justice against someone in the White House.

* Who denied what Kos is now reporting was Rove, per the Cooper notes?

* What knowledge did Geroge W. Have of the annoucement?

* Was anyone who made the 2003 statements on the Rove-denial in a position to provide information to the FBi in their investigation?

* Did the FBI rely on the 2003 denials?

* Are the findings of fact in 2005 as they appear to be reported in the Cooper Notes in contrary to the informatoin provided to the FBI in 2003?

The only way the world can begin to recover is by dealing the neo-cons a death blow. Jailing the lot of them and throwing away the key, then making "think"-tanks and commissions that advocate violence in the pursuit of wealth or goods illegal. THEN reimposing strict regulations on the way corporations may legally exist and conduct business.

I know - pie in the sky. But the juggernaut has gained such momentum by now that it must either crash and burn against a solid, unyielding wall of unrelenting public outrage or it will sweep everything in its path away - including, ultimately (of course), itself.

Constant #23 -

And who is going to bring the obstruction of justice charge? Alberto's Department for Injustice, Sabotage and Abuse?

Kira and I would like to announce our successful delivery to Brad of a 14# baby...

no, wait... 14-page single-spaced typed whopper of a transcript of Brad's interview with Ray McGovern (June 11, 2005 Brad Show). Kat@BradShow.com was the genius midwife, or more--- did the heavy lifting that allowed it to to happen.

Kira has been having major "no internet" problems of late-- so I'm taking the liberty of writing this on her behalf as well. Jen, Kira is going to email you and explain the details...

This was a stellar interview. I trust Brad will be able to post the transcript in a way that makes it an easy find on google-- more publicity for the issues discussed (including l'affaire Plame), and for BB.

Sounds like Brad's hair might be on fire right now, but I hope the transcript shows up on the site as soon as possible. Brad? Are you there?

VG

#23

PegC: Good catch.

How about revelatoins of memo showing that they knew? It would be helpful if we had some physical evidence. Perhaps, in light of the inconsistency, there could be a FOIA request for documents from the FBI, White House, etc. If they do not coorperate, perhaps a reporter in the UK might be so luck to have another memo show up from GCHQ. [ More . . . ]

Once the memos were not provided, but corroborated that they had to exist because of the inconsistencies between the statements and the actul results], that would be the subject of a FOIA complaint; and that could spiral into a subsequent obstrution charge . . . prompted by the appointment of a special counsel . . . which could get rejected . . . which would get publicity . . . which would get more RNC defections.

Chinese-blogger water-blog torture-by-blog.

Peg C,

Any chance you are going to the 4th parade on CR?

VG

Harvey #12-

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

{Post deleted. Jimmo personally attacking other commenters. Again. It's fun being his kindergarten teacer. - BF}

V.G. #26
and Kira
Happy Birthday!
14 pounds !-you guys need a rest.

#30 Buy Buy--bye bye
Don't forget to contribute!

Valley Girl #28 -

Nope. I'm not a big "event"-lover. Are you going?

Thanks Cole. Too true! Turns out that making an accurate transcript w/o proper playback equip. esp. is very time consuming, as Kira and I learned. And, w/o Kat, it wouldn't have been possible, as we also learned.

It's been very rewarding, however, and god knows I practically know "my half" of the McGovern interview by heart!!! Even learned one new word: "encomia", as in,

RM: "Joe Wilson was pristine pure. He’s got walls full of encomia, including from the first George Bush. There’s nothing on Joe, so we go get his wife. For what? Well, she works for the CIA, we’ll blow her cover. What’s the message? The message is,“--Look all you other bureaucrats that know about this deception of mine, we’re going to get you if you decide to do what Joe Wilson did."

McGovern is sooooo smart, in so many ways.

The Record, of Hackensack, NJ, is the dominant regional paper in North Jersey - a really diverse community. WE moved away eight years ago so I don't know how they have been faring. But if MSM looked like The REcord things would be different, no? [sorry so long but good]
Mud, lies and a wretched war
Bergen Record July 1, 2005 MARK HOWAT
LINK

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below."
- Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, (1872-1918)
* * *

HAVING CRIED OUT against the outrages of the tyrant king, the ragtag band of rebels defied all wisdom when they challenged the power and muscle of the most disciplined military force in history.

From the roadsides and the hills the rebels attacked and ran, their army having been defeated in almost every major encounter. Still, these insurgents and their leader would not give in or give up. Insurgents fighting on their own soil don't lose wars or win wars; they merely outlast the occupying force.

The war that began with a declaration in '76 proved too costly and too tiresome for the all-powerful, all-mighty British navy, the British army, and their hired Hessians. The rebels, with help from the French, defeated the occupying army and soon set up their own government in their own country. That's the way it was.

And that's the way it's going in Iraq on this Independence Day weekend. The latest technology, laser-aimed missiles and supersonic jets, pound the insurgents daily, wipe out nests of them, kill scores in powerful sweeps of villages - and victory is nowhere in sight.

In fact, in spite of the delusionary babblings of Dick Cheney and the irrational doubletalk of Donald Rumsfeld, things are getting worse, not better.

Remember "shock and awe"? That certainly has proved hollow. Remember "Mission accomplished," as a smug George Bush in his Halloween jumpsuit announced that the Iraqi war was over? Remember "Bring 'em on?"

Well, they brought 'em on, and now close to 1,800 Americans lie in the Flanders fields of 2005, with insurgents pouring daily into Iraq, their armies swelling while we fail month after month to meet enlistment quotas.

Remember our going to the United Nations with maps and charts and positive declarations that we knew where weapons of mass destruction were? Remember the lies we were told about Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman? We have been lied to about the cost of the war, the cost of the revamped Medicare mess, about Social Security, about Terri Schiavo. We have seen mud thrown on everyone who dares to speak out against this lying administration.

We have seen attempts to cut back on the only worthwhile viewing on television - the independent PBS - and the only honest news broadcasts — NPR — available. We have seen scientific reports on global warming edited so that science becomes a theory.

We have seen political discourse sink to the level of mud and slime when the vice president of the United States tells a senator to go f---- himself.

It's really time to think about our country and pay attention to the Downing Street memo and not to Michael Jackson and "American Idol." It's time we the people took back America, time we held to account the axis of Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld and demanded to know where they are taking this country.

It's time we declared our independence from the superpatriots who plaster their gas-guzzling SUVs with Hallmark slogans about supporting our troops. Their stickers, shallow and without substance, make a mockery of honest patriotism, patriotism that can't be bought at Wal-Mart for $2.95

You don't hijack patriotism with bumper stickers.

You honor patriots by speaking out and pointing out what's wrong and correcting it, not by blindly following an administration that hesitates not a minute to lie and edit the truth to push forward its agenda to dismantle the social progress the nation has made in 200 years, the freedoms we enjoyed before patriots started listening to our conversations and asking to know what books we read. That's not freedom. It's tyranny.

You want to support our troops; bring them home. Get them out of this mess George Bush has gotten them into.

It's time for Bush to speak before Americans who have not been hand-picked from his right-wing ideologues, and talk honestly to America.

It's time for America to declare its independence from the theology of George Bush that divides America. It's time George Bush admitted he made even one mistake in his life. It's time he admitted we were wrong to attack Iraq.

If he can't, then it's time to call for the impeachment of still one more lying president.

* * *

"We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields."

* * *

Mark Howat is retired senior editor of The Record. He now lives on Long Beach Island. Send comments about this article to oped@northjersey.com.

Peg C#34-
Yes, I am, as I'll be near by. The CR 4th parade is the only such event I'd ever ever go to- I hate crowds and traffic, but this event is in a world/class of its own! Plus, I know some of the organizers on CR/ at HS. BTW, I pretty much keep my mouth shut about CR and the area-- the lack of random vacationers is such a good thing, IMO. Curiosity makes me ask-- "are you from away?", or not? Hoping to catch a Grange Hall supper, too...probably too early for good BBs, tho. VG

Even though Jimmo can be obnoxious at times, I think he really likes us. Why else would he hang around a progressive blog?

# 24 Peg C. I think the only way it will happen is by building a healthy alternate culture. Independent media is pioneering in the endeavor as is natural on the edge of current events. But the process of coming unmeshed from a violently senile and thoroughly hypocritical political and economic system will require ultimate personal and even generational commitment. Mass boycotts, civil disobedience, Gandhian depth. A true movement. A developing culture.

Concentration of power and wealth in the form of monopolistic capital and development of a true class of power brokers is basically criminal, and it is deadly to democracy and to the ideal and reality of a republic. We see clearly some of the nightmarish possiblities of its use of amoral (or is it immoral?) power in the present obsessive neocon agenda.

I think much of what we do is "management" - often a necessity - but what we should be thinking and growing is "revolution".

Public outrage should be molded and transformed into moral purpose and meaning. It's tough to do in a society of entertainment. How will we do it? There is no other way out that I can see.

Peg C#34 p.s.--
It will be very interesting to learn how GWB and Iraq are "playing" with the locals in *very* small town America. Some while ago, I was reminded by a CR friend (?assuming this is correct) that the Presidents elected in years with 20 year gaps either died or were attacked and wounded in office-- e.g. FDR, 3rd term was 1940, died during 4th term; JFK 1960-63; Reagan 1980, would-be assassin tried in 1981; Bush, 2000--- still hoping-- but maybe he'll get a special dispensation because he's never been elected! Alas. VG (p.s. Don't forward this comment to Gonzales, please.

Arry, very interesting comments-- it might take a few more years for this to happen, but it just might... I don't see any other way out of our current mess either... and, please don't take the following comments as frivolous, because they're not meant that way... okay, the (official, not back-door) draft is reinstated; gasoline prices go above $5 a gallon (hard on this society of entertainment), and then?? I've lived abroad, and from that perspective, I've seen that most Americans have absolutely not a clue as to how well-off they are in terms of daily comforts-- "we" are so complacent, and so wasteful of our resources. Why haven't we developed alternative energy/power sources (NOT meaning nuclear ones!)? Rhetorical question. I think we know the answer... the big "C:- Corporations... sorry, bit of a rant here, tends to happen late in the eve, my time. VG

# 40 Valley Girl - I don't think you comments are frivolous at all. The big "C" - making the world unlivable, colonizing every element of civic life and personal and cultural meaning.

We know (I think) that wider distribution of power, resurgence of civic life and responsibility would get us out of the hypnotic glitter of corporate culture and, practically speaking, would allow for legitimate debate (rather than simply spin). This in turn would lead to likely decentralization and development of regionally appropriate clean energy, healthy communities, etc. (There does seem to be a growing interest in local economies - a good sign.)

But the oppressive weight of corporate greed and obsession with total control continues and grows and has to be stopped.

We should bring back the old populist octopus symbol of concentrated corporate greed. It always seemed so to-the-point to me. (Couldn't find a link to a picture in a quick search.)

VG #36, 39 -

No, I'm a maineiac who truly hates the summer madness; and "the locals" are pretty steamed about current events. Our little town went overwhelmingly Dem in November, and it's gotten even better since.

Arry #38 -

YES! What I'm seeing is a coming-unglued-to-infotainment cultural wave-in-the-making. For one thing, it's boring. For another, it's insulting. And for an even other, it's deadly.

People are catching on, becoming more positively explosive in their rhetoric - and they are "making provisions" for social collapse.

Yes, we must have a revolution. But it must rely as much on stealth and logic as it does on dogged resistance. I'm tired and can't really put this together coherently at the moment. One final thought:

"Oh, say - does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

This was a QUESTION. It is even more so now.

Speaking of Corporations--

I've just learned a few new things about about corporations involved in election machines. See the revealing diaglogue about the Open Voting Consortium (OVC), BBV, the recent Houston hearing and Brad Blog's favorite guy Pastor here.

Hi Arry, #41

Thanks for taking up on the big "C".

What also distresses me is that it is so hard to keep up with all of the Bush bad doings. There are such an overwhelming number of things to tackle, and this is only possible via the non-corporate media-- blogs that rely on personal committment and not $$, for example, that I can image people who try to keep up with these things via and publish via the internet are feeling stretched pretty thin-- hope we don't start hearing about "battle fatigue" amongst these dedicated folks.

Also, also, it seems to me that because the economy ain't so great right now, many people simply don't feel that they have the time-luxury leisure time to read blogs and non-corporate media. I really don't think that Americans as a whole are all that lazy-- naive perhaps, but not lazy, and many are simply overwhelmed by life and the pace of events.

So, they take the "easy way out", and get their "info" from radio (commute drive time), and from TV, which allows multi-tasking- one can cook dinner, do a load of wash, mind the kids, and listen to the TV at the same time-- hard to do while reading internet stuff. I certainly wish there was more of a "progressive" presence on the radio-- why can't we get Mr/Ms MoneyBags liberal (Soros?) to sponsor such?

I haven't done my part *yet* for the Whispering Campaign of Winter Patriot, but the more I think about it, the better the idea seems-- get out info to people who are "captured" at the laundromat, waiting for their take-out order, etc. Oh, WP, if you are reading this, maybe you should call it the "Whisper Campaign" instead of the "Whispering Campaign"-- former much easier to remember, and seems to be good google currency.

All for now. VG

Catherine A #43 -

"Open Voting Consortium:" Making money where it can be made by rooking concerned consumers. Of course. Of what other is unregulated capitalism composed?

VG #44 -

Most people don't see "battle fatigue" as an option, I pray. The battle hasn't been truly joined yet.

#42 PegC

Well, now I know where you stand on the not away/away thing! I've been going to ME for 15+ years now, so I'm also aware of the love/hate relationship (?) between Mainers and the tourists wooed by Vacationland.

I am so curious to know what "little town" you are living in-- I assume not BH, because I think of that as a big town, at least by local standards. For example, it has that nasty CVS now, in place of the old RiteAid with the ice cream counter. If you don't want to say it outright, maybe you can give me a hint.

ME has changed, even since I've been going there. I witnessed the outcome of implementing 911 service-- every road had to have a name (sure you know about this)-- one of the most notable that I saw was "Purple Haze Lane/Place/whatever"! PAX, VG

Just got #46, Peg C. Agreed.

Don't quite know what to make of this, but here's Tom Delay's 1980 Tax Lien (PDF in a ZIP file).

I'm back!
I've been without an internet connection for past few days!............it's been hell, like a cyber solitary confinement.
Meanwhile it looks like the Bu$hi$t$, not the insurgents, are in their final death throws!

Peg C #45

Agree completely with you about unregulated capitalism.

For more insight into another unregulated octopus--banks and our system of money creation-- see here.

My husband and I are only a third of the way through this three-and-a-half-hour documentary and we are both "gobsmacked" as they say here in Ireland. Even though we knew some of the basics already (about how the Federal Reserve and other national banks are private institutions and how they create money). It sure shows who the big winners are in wars with all the national debt that they create. This is surely an important missing piece in the puzzle of war-mongering and why it occurs.

Seeing this documentary also relates back to your point about unregulated capitalism. It's a reminder that earlier in US history, corporations had charters that were for a fixed period of time. After their time was up they had to reapply. Just think if we had a system like that today! At least it would be one way to limit corporate malfeasance or at least put some kind of limit to it, since congress would have to vote to renew or extend a company's charter. Originally, all corporations were supposed to exist for the public good. My, how things have changed.

If you can find someone who has a copy of this documentary, get it--or buy it from the website. It is making my mind spin with the implications--including the implications relating to who really "owns" our democracy. This is like discovering another coverup on the scale of 9/11.

Bush's dead cat bounce!

Valley Girl, Kira and Kat L'Estrange ,Great job on the "Ray McGovern" transcript - what an amazing tool the internet is .

NEW YORK Now that Time Inc. has turned over documents to federal court, presumably revealing who its reporter, Matt Cooper, identified as his source in the Valerie Plame/CIA case, speculation runs rampant on the name of that source, and what might happen to him or her. Tonight, on the syndicated McLaughlin Group political talk show, Lawrence O'Donnell, senior MSNBC political analyst, claimed to know that name--and it is, according to him, top White House mastermind Karl Rove.

will this mean jail ?or a greased pig circus ?
what charges would it earn in the "reality based world" in other times ?keep waiting for the "last straw event"

Riverbend blog (Baghdad Burning) takes apart Bush's recent speech here.

Wow. Corruption links to Katherine Harris:

Interesting how an investigation of corruption on Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-CA) is turning up evidence in so many areas. But why is it that in so many corruption cases, does there always seem to be a link to Florida?

Yes. This guy sub-contracted out a goverment contract to a company called MZM which in turn forced employees to donate to the company's PAC, which in turn donated $50,000 to the 2004 campaign of Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla). It seems if you have corrupt government contracts, you must return the favor to the people that helped get the "inside" guys into power.

These roots of corruption are literally turning up from sea to shining sea.

Catherine A #51,

Thanks for the link to that video.

You know, one thing that always stops my Republican pro capitalism, anti regulation friends dead in their arguments' tracks is this statement I make:

"Unbridled capitalism is drug dealing. Unbridled capitalists are hit men. Unbridled capitalism is the child pornography business. So, you were saying?"

They can't argue against it, because they know that it's true. They know where that capitalist slippery slope leads. All black market activities are capitalist ventures. Pure (as in "unregulated", not "holy") capitalism is Anti-American.

It lies.
It kills.
It rapes.
It steals.
It infects.
It pollutes.
It corrupts.
It starts wars.
It makes a profit.
That's all it does.

Warning

If Sandra Day O'Connor is replaced by a neocon Roe v Wade will be overturned. And so will a lot of civil rights jurisprudence.

Gitmo and torture will return stronger. The gestapo will prevail.

A big battle is in the works. We will either move far to the right or the battle in congress will keep the status quo.

Just for the record, from a man who spent 28 years as a broker with Wall Stree firms:

Diebold stock has not been down because it's under siege by progressive bloggers. It's down because investors have been dumping it en masse, in particular institutional investors who have responded to recent publicity surrounding machines that can be hacked (see blackbloxvoting.org...Bev Harris).

Institutional activity in a high-profile stock, and short-term trends in the stock (up or down) tend to intensify near the end of a quarter. Thus, in late June portfolio managers increased their selling; this is called "window dressing." They want the stock out of their portfolios before the quarter ends so that they don't have to show it as a holding when they file their quarterly reports. Sounds impossible...but that's how Wall Street operates.

On Friday, July 1 (beginning of new quarter) the stock bounced a couple of points. Typical action for a stock that has been driven down. The point to recognize is that BLOGGERS HAVE NOT BEEN DRIVING THE STOCK DOWN, BECAUSE BLOGGERS DON'T OWN THE STOCK. A troll that tries to convince people ptherwise is ignorant of how Wall Street functions. Should that be a surprise?

VG #26 - I was wondering what happened to you guys on the transcript thing! I had done a portion Kira had painstakingly typed then didn't hear more. Glad you all worked it out in what sounds like a more practical fashion! Great great job!! Thank you! (And yes, Kira did email me about it last night! Thanks Kira!)

ARREST White House mastermind Karl Rove.

"Since I revealed the big scoop, I have had it reconfirmed by yet another highly authoritative source. Too many people know this. It should break wide open this week. I know Newsweek is working on an 'It's Rove!' story and will probably break it tomorrow."

http://www.editorandpublisher.com
/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000972841

Re: #51 - Catherine A. --- Relating to the "Money Masters - Have you seen this, a proposed National Economic Stabilization and Recovery Act? It abolishes the Federal Reserve, issues real citizen currency and so on. It is a recommendation that can only come about in the event of a populist uprising - which is exactly what we are beginning and need (and of which Brad Blog is an element, I believe.)

A MAJOR SPY SCANDAL IS BREAKING IN ITALY --- PARALLEL, UNOFFICIAL NEO-FASCIST ITALIAN INTELLIGENCE GROUP HAS TIES TO NEO CON INTELLIGENCE APPARATUS IN BUSH ADMINISTRATION INVOLVED IN KIDNAPING MILAN IMAM. GENOA POLICE BUST PRIVATE INTELLIGENCE CELLS AROUND ITALY. POSSIBLE LINKS BETWEEN BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND TERRORIST GROUPS FIGURE IN PROBE.
http://www.waynemadsenre...m/diplomatic/foreign.htm

If Rove is in fact the source of the Plame leak, the media can't avoid the story, as they have avoided election fraud and the Downing Street minutes. That's the best news in this...the story is about them, so they can't ignore it.

Exposing a C.I.A. agent acting undercover can be a crime. Thus Rove might be an accessory, provided Valerie Plame were undercover at the time her status was revealed by Novak.

Was she? Did Rove know her status? What motiveated him? Did he call Novak, or vice versa? Expect these questions and more to be asked. Expect Joe Wilson to visit every talk show. Expect Rove's entire history to be reviewed in the media.

"Rovegate" could lead to the opening up of
"Electiongate" and "DowningStreetgate" coverage.
Could be fun to watch.

Arry #61

Thanks for the link. This is the kind of thing that has to be prepared now, even if it won't pass yet. As The Money Masters documentary mentions, we neeed to have this kind of legislation ready in advance for if/when our existing economic system implodes.

Who knows--if we could get election reform and campaign finance reform, then we could have legislators who represented our interests (instead of elite corporate interests) and then maybe we could get this kind of legislation passed.

Catherine A #64 -

One of the huge problems in the US political establishment, in fact perhaps the most intractable, is the kind of people politics itself attracts. For the most part, the individuals who are drawn to a political lifestyle are not activists, idealists or humanitarians but ego-driven opportunists who are attracted by the lime-light and the power that goes with it.

I think this is largely a failure of education in this country, a failure in the "civics" classes of our schools to emphasize overwhelmingly that the responsibility for governance in America rests not with a powerful elite but with an informed and dedicated public - a public which must be ready to make sacrifices for the good of the nation and of the world. THAT is democracy. Anything else...well, it's corporations at a masquerade ball, each hiding behind a human mask.

Great analysis, Peg C. We should label our Representatives who fall into the "Corporatist" or "NeoCon" factions accurately and stop calling them Republican or Democrat.

In many cases good people are drawn to politics for the right reasons, but they are not usually the ones who succeed in getting through parties' political machinery or the campaign fund-raising gauntlet.

If you're honest, you don't want to sell your soul. If you don't sell your soul, it's likely you won't have enough funds to mount a successful campaign. Lots of good people who would like to be involved probably never try, because they see the obstacles.

It's heartening to see that the campaign finance reform in Arizona and Maine is producing results. It can be done.

Peg C #65

You're right about the education side of things. This week I was at a conference of Ireland's independent Democracy Commission. The opening speech was given by the current Minister for Education and Science. She made the same point as you, stressing that it's unrealistic to expect people to turn 18 (voting age here) and then suddenly "get involved" and vote.

She emphasized that young people need more experience throughout their school years of situations in which they can make decisions for themselves and, through this, experience that their participation made a difference. She gave the example of the "Green Flag Program" in which schoolchildren choose environmental projects for their own class/grade and then follow through.

This seems like a good idea. If young people have repeated opportunities to participate meaningfully in something of relevance to them, and to experience the empowerment that results, it's more likely that they will continue active participation in community life as adults.

Catherine A #68 -

This will probably get swallowed in obsolescence, but I've got to report it anyway.

The ONLY two things I remember clearly from my senior high school POD (Problems of Democracy) class are the small guy who piled his books on my seat every day so I'd have to return them and the intercom announcement of JFK's assassination.

Teachers drone. Kids fall asleep. But democracy must stem from alive. alert and aware practitioners of same.

Thanks for the dialog!

Hi Peg C
Not swallowed in obsolescence yet

I agree with you about teachers droning etc. That's why the only thing with a hope of working is a lived experience. Over here, anyways, the Green Flag projects are participatory and empowering--not an assignment or a meaningless exercise. The kids really make the decisions.

We all need more of this in our lives--the chance to make a difference in something that is personally meaningful, and to build on that experience.

Most of what goes on in schools is irrelevant to young people's lives--most schools teach kids to shut up, sit down, obey authority without questioning, and "don't complain, because this is the 'real' world." It's very useful to elites to have masses brainwashed in such a way and become cut off from their natural curiosity and creativity.

Good teachers really suffer in this system. And the good schools out there are the exception that prove the rule.

I'm a big fan of John Holt (education reformer in the 1960s; he did a lot to develop "unschooling;" but he never lost his hope that the US school system would someday become a more genuine place of learning and constructive growth). He learned about children and education not by doing a university degree, but by sitting in classrooms and observing what really goes on. (Like kids falling asleep as teachers drone, or kids learning how to get the teachers to answer the questions for them--and other survival strategies.)

Bushw@cker #70

Thanks for that. The images with the poetry are really powerful.

The America I Love.

Happy 4th, Catherine A!

Thanks, Bushw@cker!